𝙼𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙳𝚊𝚛𝚔𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝙶𝚘 𝙰𝚠𝚊𝚢 - H&S

Kelsier didn’t reply immediately, the urge to quip right back and fall into the easy rhythm they’d had for so long now tugging at him.
But something else tugging back. Something he didn’t know how to explain, or even if he wanted to.
“You’d be disappointed, I’m afraid,” he said finally, keeping his voice as light as he could. “There are plenty of monsters there, too. Believe me, I’ve met them. Besides, if you came there, who would give me an excuse to visit here again?”
He touched the trunk again, then shifted, pulling himself just a little bit higher, ignoring the way the branch creaked dangerously under his weight. “You know, I can’t wait to see what your night looks like without the mists. It’s strange enough to walk around with no hint of ash on the ground, and ash isn’t a friend to anyone.”
He couldn’t imagine a night without mist. It was like…well. He supposed it would have been like imagining green plants and flowers he could cup in his hand, before the House had turned that into a reality. It had ruined him, really. Tasting his dream had only made him that much more determined to claim it.

“They’re monsters,” Kelsier replied, the words quiet but certain. “Human or not, it’s all they are. Have you ever befriended one of your monsters? Ever felt like there was any other way an interaction with them could go?”
Still…Vin’s accusations echoed in his ear. She’d had his fury in her eyes as she’d said it…the fury that could only come from injustice. Only this time, hers had been aimed at him.
He didn’t live as a regular Skaa would. He hadn’t realized how used to safety he’d become, but she’d been right about that. His own life mirrored a nobleman’s more than a Skaa’s, now, in most practical ways.
He shook his head a little. These weren’t thoughts he needed to dwell on, now, and they certainly weren’t thoughts he wanted to burden Nico with. Not yet, at least.
“I am,” he agreed, smiling a little. “And I know you’re not going to let it go that easily. We’ll talk about it, alright? But it’s only my first day here, and I haven’t even been inside a McDonald’s yet.”
He turned, watching him descend, a small smile touching his expression. “I believe you promised me French fries.”

“I wish it were always that easy,” Kelsier said wryly, shaking his head just a little bit at that. The fact that there were monsters who weren’t necessarily enemies all the time…well. It wasn’t his world. As much as he had his doubts about it, he knew monsters and noblemen weren’t actually the same. There were parallels, to be sure. But if anyone represented the nobility in Nico’s world, he thought it would be the gods, not the other monsters.
As a matter of fact, he wouldn’t have been all that surprised to learn that the other monsters weren’t completely to blame for their part in it.
He watched Nico begin to make his way down, one eyebrow cocked at his slow, careful progress. And then he leaned casually to the side.
The fall took a remarkably short time. He was used to leaping from buildings that would have probably been considered skyscrapers in this world, from city walls and his own steel-pushes. The tree, though admittedly much taller than any tree he’d ever seen before, was nothing in comparison.
He landed lightly, using just a little bit of pewter to make it look effortless, and turned to smile up at Nico.
“I could eat,” he called up, as though he’d merely been waiting on the ground the whole time. “Also, if you jump, I’ll catch you. Just so you know.”
He did have to admit he was impressed with Will’s stitches. As far as he could tell, he hadn’t torn a single one.

“That surprises you?” Kelsier replied, grinning up at his son with more satisfaction than anyone deserved to get from falling out of a tree.
He doubted he fit in here, but he didn’t fit in even in his own world. He prided himself on it, in fact…being an element of chaos in an otherwise orderly system. It was always nice to be needed, after all.
“Yes, you could,” He continued, shading his eyes so he could see Nico better. “But I seem to recall you telling me we’re meant to blend in. Besides, you know perfectly well I’d go ahead and use the rest of my pewter if you did.”
He’d have done it, too. But he knew Nico wouldn’t really use shadow travel like that…neither of them had much of a self preservation instinct, perhaps, but they were both very good at staying alive without one. They were reckless, not stupid.
And then Nico was falling, and Kelsier moved, guided by instinct more than anything else. The thrill of being trusted so completely by Nico never really went away, no matter how much time had passed since it had been won again…Nico, trusting him to catch him.
Nico, being alright with what would happen when he did.
He caught him effortlessly, not even needing to burn any pewter to steady himself from the impact. He grinned at him, pride and everything else filtering through the expression for just a moment before he set him down lightly on the ground and dusted himself off.

“That seems unfair, somehow,” Kelsier noted. “With me being the only Mistborn, out of the two of us. Maybe I’ll just have to make a friend out of your Mist, too, then.”
They weren’t entirely the same thing, he knew. But he had to admit there were similarities…both of their mists hid them, protected them, kept certain people from finding them when they didn’t want to be found. And even if Nico’s wasn’t an actual, physical mist - at least not one that could be seen - he liked to think it would recognize him as something to protect, anyway.
“Cryptic?” He continued, tasting the word curiously as Nico continued, trying to get the pronunciation just right. He wasn’t convinced he’d succeeded. “Or we could just see if anyone notices a few flying coins here and there. It’s not like they’d be able to tell it was me doing it, would they?”
He was willing to leave that to another time, though. For now…he was more interested in seeing whether McDonalds deserved its reputation, not to mention its status as the only thing he could really remember Nico reliably saying he’d eaten.
“That sounds dreadful,” he said brightly, grinning at the name. “What a terrible name for a food. It’s like calling your soup Slow Trinam or Tall Vinele. Mac is a common name here, isn’t it?”

Nico had a point. Kelsier hadn’t thought of what could have happened if he hadn’t been able to see through it…would he have been able to help? Would he have been able to fight back, if he couldn’t understand what he was fighting?
It didn’t matter now, though. He could see through it, and as far as he knew, that wasn’t something that ever changed.
“Oh, I’m just very thorough,” the Mistborn assured him, lips quirking up into a small, only slightly arrogant smile. “It’s always a good idea to see what your limits are. Besides, it’s not as though anyone could trace it back to me. In fact, it’s probably the least dangerous thing I’ve ever wanted to do.”
He really was looking forward to McDonald’s, though. He’d heard enough about it since he’d met Nico, and though the House had gifted him with the experience of powder hot chocolate, it had really been neglecting the possibility of French fries.
“McNuggets,” he repeated, trying out the word. “Sm…smaaa…smash burger? Smash…you’re right, that’s even worse.”