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Ilona settles when Kaz is seven, younger even than most kids brought up in the barrel. She had settled that night in the river, though both had been too distraught at the time to notice. It isn’t until later when they are relatively safe and warm and had sworn their revenge when they realized that her current form was permanent. Kaz had touched the smooth, black scales on her back in wonder. Ilona had become a black mamba, the color of night and as deadly as Kaz would eventually become himself. Those in the barrel quickly learned to not only look out for the tall boy with the striking crow cane, but also for his snake daemon lying in wait.
Arjun settles when Inej is fourteen, the night of her first client at the Menagerie. He had crawled out of her piles of silks and Inej lay a trembling hand on him. She was a little disappointed that he wasn’t something a little more formidable-looking, but quickly changed her mind during her time at the pleasure house. He had settled as a small, brown pine marten, able to bury himself in her silks around Taunte Heelen’s peacock daemon or avoiding her client’s greedy hands. When she becomes the Wraith, he is able to move as fluidly and silently as her. Together, they move in the shadows.
Sebastian settles when Nina is eleven. They are curled up in bed on her last night at home before leaving to train for the Second Army. She feels the shift before the feathers brush her cheek and she’s so excited. A lot of great Grisha commanders had bird daemons, all the better to fend off the Fjerdan wolf daemons. She wonders if he is a eagle, or a falcon like Zoya’s. She hurriedly lights a candle and turns to find a swan in her bed. She feels a twinge of disappointment but shrugs it off almost immediately. They already know how it feels to be shamed because of things beyond their control, and like always she refuses to let it bother her. Sebastian may not be as quick as a falcon or as bold as an eagle, but he is elegant and fierce, like Nina strives to be.
Adele settles when Matthias is eight, after Grisha burn down his village and murder his family. Neither of them are surprised when she is a tundra wolf. Most Fjerdans have wolf daemons, especially those recruited for the Druskelle. They train along their brethren, both becoming skilled killers, and they don’t question anything until the shipwreck that changed everything. Though Matthias is prickly, Adele snuffles at Sebastian’s feather that night by the fire and is licking him clean by the time they arrive in Ketterdam. When Nina and Sebastian have them arrested for being slavers, it’s days before Matthias can quieten her howling in Hellgate.
Nadia settles when Jesper is twelve when his mother dies. Jesper had already stood out from his serene mother and steady father with his endless amount of energy. Nadia is the same. She’s a lemur, always moving, always searching for something to get her hands on. When they move to Ketterdam and finally find something distracting, it seems to get better. They always feel calmer at the tables or looking down the sights of a rifle. Unlike Jesper, Nadia hasn’t mastered her tells. Her tail twitches whenever he has a poor hand or right before he squeezes the trigger. He supposes it has something to do with the unrest in his soul.
Vera settles when Wylan is eight. It’s when he and his father realize that his reading problem is bigger than they expected. It’s also when his mother dies. She settles as an elf owl, a source of constant amusement for his father and his golden monkey daemon. Wylan resents her for mocking him while she resents him for being cowardly. It isn’t until they jump from the ship together, finally in agreement, that they come to peace with one another. She seemed to be born to be in the barrel. She’s small and watchful when he’s bumbling and steady when he doubts himself. If not for her, he would have never lasted long enough for Kaz to find him.