Kaz swung himself off the roof and just slid down the drainage pipe. Inej giggled and followed his example. Once they were both down, he started to stroll leisurely into the street. Kaz quickly spotted the boys, as they had stopped by a booth to purchase some food. Inej motioned towards his hand and he nodded. Most people weren't gonna question two people holding hands and walking down the street.

She laced her fingers through his, and whispered "Are you ready to act like the teenagers that we are?"

Kaz nodded confusedly. Out of nowhere Inej squealed and started to drag him towards the booth. She then started talking excitedly about How pretty the city was and askiing whether he would buy her some food. With their hands still intertwined, Kax had no choice but to follow in her wake.

A smile made its way onto his face at how excited she seemed. He knew it was fake, but still her acting skills seemed to be on point. They sidled right up by the boys and Inej ordered a meat pie.

Kaz shook his head and handed the man 4 kruge, and said "Keep the change.". The man smiled and handed Inej her meat pie and nodded his head at them, as they started to walk away. They went into the next alley and waited. They heard the excited chatter of a young boy slowly approaching and they got into positions.

When the boys passed, Inej and Kaz both lunged forward. Inej grabbed the older one by the arm and pushed him farther into the dead end alley into the cover of darkness. Kaz had grabbed the smaller one by the shoulder and put a hand over his mouth as he walked father into the darkness of the alley.

Once both boys were positioned at the brick wall at the end of the alley the duo let them go and stood as a formidable team. The older one was whimpering. However the smaller one quickly put his fists up and got into what Kaz assumed to be a fighting stance.

Kaz clicked his tongue and said "Move your feet a little more apart. You need a low center of gravity, it'll help you from getting knocked over when fighting people bigger than you." The kids eyes widened as he slowly and hesitantly made the adjustments.

Inej chimed in "And take your thumb out of your fists, if you punch anyone like that, you'll do more harm to yourself than you will to them."

The Older one had stopped whimpering at this point, as it seemed that the two people in front of them were not gonna hurt them.

He wiped his nose, and said "Who the hell are you guys?"

Kaz smirked and countered "Who the hell are you guys?"

The older one scowled and said, "The name's Damian and this is my younger brother, Virgil."

Virgil obviously didn't appreciate Damian giving them information.

"What do you guys want?" Virgil asked acidly. Kaz felt his lips twitch at the tone. Inej was right, the kid really did have spunk. Kaz gave Inej a sideways glance and saw her chin tilt ever so slightly downwards into a subtle nod.

Kaz took a deep breath and started,"I saw you two talking to Pekka Rollins." He studied both of them for any sort of recognition in their eyes. And because he was looking so closely he saw Damian and Virgil exchange a look before glancing forward again.

Instead of denying it like he had expected them to, Damian lifted his chin and said defiantly,"And what of it?"

"And that's not a good person to get into with. You're too young to understand what's gonna happen. He's gonna make it seem like you're making all the money and you're on the top of the world. Then the money will stop coming and when you go to ask him why, he'll be gone. Or he won't and he'll have you killed." Kaz told them, while motioning for Inej to go scout the edge of the alley for any listening ears.

He could tell that Damian was getting ready to deny the possibility but what was more interesting to Kaz was Virgil's reaction. He looked Kaz right in the eye and softly nodded.

"Damian shut up for a minute." Virgil whispered. Damian's mouth shut with a audible click and he turned to look at his brother astonished. Virgil stepped forward and pushed his brother behind him. He then continued,"Are you speaking from personal Experience?"

Kaz had no idea why, but he felt his whole demeanor soften towards the child even more, due to him putting on a softer tone of voice. Kaz nodded his head and said "My situation was identical to your guys. Even down to that Dog windup toy that he gave you."

"What happened to your brother then?" Virgil asked him. And Kaz could tell that the kid wasn't trying to be mean, he was just simply curious.

"After we were swindled, we had no money. So me and my brother, Jordie, were on the streets. And that's when the Queen's plague swept through Ketterdam. We both got sick. He died and I was left to wander the streets." Kaz explained, his voice getting a bit rougher when he got to Jordie's name. Virgil took this all in with a nod.

"I believe you. I usually wouldn't but you seem somewhat honest. And I never trusted Pekka. He seems like the kind of person that would kick a dog, and I don't trust anyone that can kick a dog." Virgil stated matter-of-factly. Kaz agreed silently with that fact. Kaz got distracted by the arrival of Inej who walked closer and away from the mouth of the Alley.

She squatted down to Virgil's height which was honestly her just dropping down a inch or so.

She then said "You have three options with this new found information. You can one, forget what we've told you and go on with what you're doing currently. You can two, Run away from both of us and Pekka and go about your lives, Keeping the money that you guys have now. Or three, you can come with us, and we'll take care of you guys." Kaz not having agreed verbally to this, still nodded his head.

He wasn't gonna let them die. Normally he would. But Inej had changed things. And them reminding him of Jordie and himself had nothing to do with it....totally.

Damian stepped forward said,"If it's okay with Virgil we'd like the third option.". Virgil simply nodded and held his hand out for Inej to take.

She did so with a smile and a hushed "Awe" under her breath. Damian hesitantly reached for her other hand and she nodded and smiled. She laced their fingers together and said "let's go".

Virgil reached out and grasped Kaz's hand with his other one and together they all headed for the Slat.

'Kaz is really good with kids.' Inej noted to herself, filing that piece of information away for later.

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