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"Shouldn't your horns have grown in by now, little lamb?" Kaz, grabs one of them, and it's just barely long enough for him to properly do that. He lets go before Jes figures Wylan even realized what was happening.
"My father said it was too dangerous for an idiot like me to be running around with them." He turns his gaze up, challenging Kaz's.
Kaz raises an eyebrow in return. Jes can't tell whether it's amused or an unspoken "thin ice."
Wylan might be stupid, doing something like that. But still, Jesper felt indignation crawling up in his chest. "He.. trimmed them?"
Matthias seemed similarly disturbed, brows knit tightly. Inej and Nina bristled.
Wylan shrugged. "Something like that."
Jesper knew it didn't hurt–the well behaved goats and sheep on the farms back home didn't even bleat once they realized they were fine. And he knew better than to pry into another piece of Barrel scum's history. But it didn't stop him from getting mad at whatever bastard thought he had the right to do that–whether Wylan was stupid or not. Despite how much trouble Jesper was at times, Pa never bluffed about trimming his wings, not when Jes ate more sweets than he was supposed to and not when he destroyed some of their jurda with a crash landing. And he certainly never did it.
Matthias growled. Literally. Somehow, it was still less intimidating than the near-purr that came out of Kaz when he had a similar point to make. "I will let nobody take your defenses again, lamb."
"Not until he's back is the drüskelle, anyways." Nina rolled her eyes.
"There is a difference-" Nobody needed to be told how he'd finish that sentence. "Between you and them." Between "natural" and "unnatural" defenses.
A bead of guilt settled in Jesper's stomach, but it was pretty small. It really was better than nobody else learned he was grisha, not even Nina. And especially not Matthias. Nina could fend for herself, he didn't need to worry about her.
Kaz was interrupting him, luckily. Jesper was glad to be ordered off to make himself useful, both as a loyal Dreg and as somebody really eager to escape this conversation. He could ignore the feelings that had been stirred up once the inciting incident was out of sight and out of mind.
He's pretty sure, anyways.