#[ v. Portal Mortventures: Summer Rickflections of Iron and Glass ; Zaun regulars verse :: Summer ]

[countlessrealities]

{ @shimmerbeasts }

If asked later, Rick would have denied it, but his shoulders relaxed a bit as Silco's voice answered from somewhere ahead of him. It seemed like the other man had landed further from the site of the collapse than he had, which hopefully meant that he was less injured than the scientist himself. Having at least one of them able to work properly would have been very helpful in their current circumstances.

"I-I wasn't worrying, just not looking forward t-to having to drag your ass all the way out of here," he shot back with a scoff, but the cockiness he had tried to convey was ruined by the slight slurring of his words.

Useless to say, it was pretty obvious that for once it wasn't due to him being intoxicated.

Rick scowled to himself, mentally cursing his body for openly giving away how bad his wound had to be. He was used to bullshitting his way through his injuries, as he did with everything else, acting like he was more in control of the situation than he actually was. However, Silco was usually too smart to fully buy his crap to start with and there was no way that the other man would have believed his act this time, with all the clues that pointed towards it being a lie.

The sounds of the other's approaching steps snapped him out of his thoughts, just in time for him to notice a hint of unevenness in them. Silco might not have had it as badly as him, but it looked like the Eye of Zaun wasn't unscathed either.

The feeling of those eyes burying into his form almost made the scientist want to squirm. He wasn't too fond of the other man's penetrating looks in general, but in that moment he couldn't even balance the uneasiness they gifted him with how they made Silco look pretty hot, as he usually did.

"Y-Yeah, no shit, Sherlock," he grumbled moodily in response to the statement. And to hell with the fact that his companion wouldn't get the reference. "B-But yeah, it would help if you could get me out. I-I know that I'm a looker, b-but you can stare at me plenty later."

Despite his defensive sarcasm, Rick was more than willing to let Silco remove the rocks that had been trapping him and then drag him away from the cave-in site. He didn't even complain or make a lewd joke when the Eye of Zaun carelessly slashed his shirt open, as one might have expected.

Blue eyes followed the flame as it heated up the blade of the knife, fully knowing what was coming next. Yet, he didn't even try to move away when the scorching metal was pressed into his wounded flesh and the only sound he let out was a soft hiss through clenched teeth. To an attentive eye, it would have been clear that this wasn't the first time he got a wound cauterised in a similar fashion.

"W-Well, shit, that's gonna leave a scar," he commented once it was over, voice slightly hoarse. He pulled out his flask and downed a generous gulp of hard liquor. "A-All this is giving me war flashbacks. Literally. J-Just here we have less lasers an-and bombs going around."

He wordlessly offered the flask to Silco, in case the other wanted a dose of makeshift painkiller, while his free hand reached out to tap his temple. Unfortunately, as it turned out, his cybernetic eye had been damaged when he had hit his head and all he got in response was a light electric shock and his vision on that side turning into static for a few seconds.

"A-Alright, no cheating with night vision," he muttered under his breath. Thankfully his human sight was still as perfect as he had been in his best years, thanks to the repairing agents he had been injecting in his eyes through the decades. "W-We'll have to do this the old-fashioned way."

With that, he tried to push himself on his feet, only to have to stop because of the burning shot of pain that spread through the whole left upper side of his body, starting from where his injury was. Apparently Silco wasn't the only one to be forced to admit that he needed assistance.

"...H-Help me up first, will you?"

[countlessrealities]

"W-We'll see," was all Morty said in response to Sevika's reiterated warning. His voice held nothing but stubborn defiance, making it clear that her insistence, instead of dissuading him, had just made him want to prove her wrong more.

He didn't know the "greenhorns" the deputy had mentioned, but he was ready to bet that they had never seen and gone through the sort of shit he had faced during his and Rick's adventures.

The was a little startled when Jinx stopped walking without a warning and his eyebrows knitted together in confusion, both at her questions and at the way she groped his arm and shirt. Was it really that normal for the people of that place to face death and blood every day, like it was part of their routine?

The girl's words and what he had seen so far of Zaun pushed him to think that the answer to that question was a loud "yes", but that still didn't make it less unsettling. He had met plenty of civilisations whose culture was based on violence, but usually they didn't look anything like humans and that made it easier for him to wrap his mind around how and why their world worked in such a way.

Zaunites, instead, at least for the most, didn't look any different from the people of Earth.

"Uh, I-I'm from...another part of t-the planet," Morty answered awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. That was plausible, right? "An-And we don't...get a lot of that. Blood and gore and murder, I-I mean. Or, well, we have some, b-but it's not like it happens under your nose, y-you know? Mom...s-she has seen her share an-and she's a surgeon," well, for horses, but never mind that, "so she's used to...stuff. B-But she worries about me. S-She doesn't like Rick dragging me into dangerous situation and...W-Where I'm from people my age don't exactly go around k-killing and all that."

The States didn't lack their own generous amount of violence, but it usually concerned only the people directly involved in it and who was closest to them.

"A-A rifle? Uh, kind of?" He went on, abandoning those thoughts. A laser blaster was similar enough to a rifle...right? The recoil, though, was much less strong with those. "B-But not an actual rifle. An-And I'm more used to guns. T-They are, you know, easier to handle."

Hazel eyes drifted in front of them, noticing that Sevika seemed to be heading for a specific building. From the outside, it looked completely abandoned, with its dirty walls and broken windows. It was obvious that it wasn't very used these days.

"I-Is that the place?"

Sevika looked like she was about to say something worse again, however, the deputy then seemed to remember that she was the deputy and thus had a certain reputation to uphold. Thus instead of insulting Morty again, she merely shook her head and said: "Very well. I am just saying: Don't be surprised if Jinx's behaviour ends up being too much for you. I've seen enough greenhorns, thinking they could handle Jinx's personality and not a week later come crying to me that I hadn't warned them enough about how bad it was."

"Awwwhhh, you are looking out for me, brutish bear", Jinx chimed in with a teasing grin, "Isn't that sweet?"

The older woman met her with a merciless and unimpressed expression as she replied: "I am not doing that for your sake, girl. I am doing it to keep our group functioning. Since you love to sabotage missions so much."

Jinx ignored her; she was already preoccupied with half-hugging Morty and thanking him for standing up for her. As soon as Sevika unlocked the door, the Loose Canon was already half-bounding down towards the hall, however, she stopped in her tracks as Morty explained that for the sake of his mother, he and Rick never went into too much detail about their adventures. That was weird. Had Morty's mother never seen bloodshed before? Or death?

Jinx asked in confusion: "Where you are from, are you topside there? Is that why your mother cannot stand to hear about blood and gore and murder? Because it would offend her higher class sensibilities?" She squinted her eyes and walked back over towards Morty. Picking up his arms one by one to check how much meat he had on his ribs and feeling the fabric of his shirt - it was unlike anything she had ever seen, but it also didn't scream fancy at her -, Jinx added: "You don't look very topside to me. More Promenade level Undercity."

"Not sure", Jinx admitted while she twirled Zapper in one hand, deep in thought, "I suppose I could let you use Zapper for the shooting range and just switch over to Pow-Pow. The Undercity does not have many guns. Most here are melee fighters. Though I am sure, I still have a stolen Enforcer rifle somewhere at the shooting range. Have you ever shot a rifle? Because damn, is it weird."

[countlessrealities]

Personalised verses tags dump

@mcltiples - Mercenary Rick & Vampire Rick

@technodromes - Rick & Morty & the Technodrome squad

@hvbris - Bill & the Gideon twins

@misstantabismuses - Rick, Morty & Summer in Zaun

[countlessrealities]

"This does not have to mean anything."

Are you Rick's type? || Accepting (whether we have a ship or not) !

Shit, that's a lot of ticked boxes. He already knew that he and Silco have common ground and share a few tastes too, but seeing it written down, black on white (well, purple on green, but you get the gist)...It has a whole other effect.

This does not have to mean anything.

Of course the asshole would hand him such proof and then say that. Goddammit, as if Rick wasn't already struggling with whatever the fuck their relationship is beyond a business partnership.

Because sure, it doesn't have to mean anything, but what if it did?

"Y-Yeah, I know that. I-It doesn't...N-Nothing has to man anything. I-It's the fuckin' general rule." Don't ramble. "B-But, you know, it could be a sign that w-we could be...friends. A-Actual friends, you know? I-Instead of me barging into your office at random o-or you calling me just when you need something."

[countlessrealities]

Summer wrinkled her nose as she stared at the boxes. Something smelled really nasty in there and the idea of getting it all over her hand wasn't exactly thrilling. However, on the other hand, she could never say no to a challenge, even more if refusing would have meant letting her brother win or show off.

And maybe she also wanted to impress Jinx, just maybe.

"I'm no chicken," she shot back, features curling in a determined frown as she glared hard at the boxes. "Never been and won't start now, so...I'm going first."

Both she and Morty had gone through the trouble of dressing up accordingly to the local traditions, fake fangs and glittery blood-like stains and all, because they had wanted to live the full experience. Refusing to participate to the activities would have made no sense.

Besides, it was the spirit of the festival and, if there was something she hated, it was party-poopers, so she refused to be one on principle.

Sucking in a quiet breath, Summer reached out for the hole at her left. Whatever she would touch, it couldn't have been worse than some of the body fluids she had ended up covered with during adventures. Like that one time with the blue alien blood that tasted like blueberry milkshake. Disgusting, but absolutely delicious.

Her free hand clutched at the silvery cloth of the skirt for her steampunk-styled dress, nails scratching at some of the synthetic blood they had had Rick make for them, as her fingers grabbed whatever was inside the first box. It was mostly solid but slimy, as if covered in goo. Or, even worse, macerated flesh.

"Ew, is it a rotten fish head?" She asked after having prodded at it for a few moments, looking up at Jericho to see if she had guessed right. "My hand is going to stink for, like, forever now. And I think I poked my thumb into its eye."

Next to her, Morty smirked in amusement at her disgust. He was glad not to have been the one sticking his limbs into something disgusting for once. He would have to, once Summer would have been done, but just not being the first was a nice change of pace, compared to what he had to suffer through during his and Rick's adventures.

"A-At least it's not Porfrutan excrements. T-That really leaves you stinking for a week," he claimed, puffing his chest out a little. "W-We should get you some, Jinx. I-I bet you could use it for your pranks!"

Usually, the boy wasn't so actively mischievous, but the atmosphere of the festival seemed to be fuelling his naughtier side. Or maybe it was the fact that he was dressed like a punk from a post-apocalyptic world. Or, perhaps, it was just the effect of the foul smelling liquor he had gobbled down with Rick earlier.

@countlessrealities liked for a Halloween-esque festival in Zaun starter.

"I double-dare you both!"

Jinx plopped her arms around Summer's and Morty's shoulders as she grinned at the small stand, consisting of three shoe boxes with a hole covered by a piece of cloth. It was a guessing game. Inside each box lay some strange and possibly creepy or gross item to guess. Given that Jericho had built the stand, it could be anything from a dead fish's head to some bird's stomach to scales and spines.

Beside the box was a chest, upon which stuck a cardboard sheet. On it, Jericho had scribbled 1 right = small gift, 2 right = medium gift, 3 right = big gift. The chest was filled to the brim with all sorts of trinkets, which all seemed to stem from Piltover. Pocket watches, bracelets, little statues, coin purses, quills, ink bottles. Even a bag of gemstones. For a Zaunite, those gifts as small as they were, could easily be used in trade. Plus it was just fun to see how far stolen goods went.

Jericho was grinning at the Smith family, his fins wiggling and his tail swaying idly. His teeth shone in a bright fluorescent green. He wore an apron, which looked like he had dumped it intentionally in a bucket of fish blood. Speaking in his dialect, the large Vastaya offered a hand to the two children, waiting for a brave soul to drop a few cogs into his scale palm to try their hand at the game.

Jinx eagerly looked between her friends, smiling a nudge. Her fangs were painted a scarlet red and her incisors were pink. Her nails too were painted red and sharpened to look even more like a Vastaya's claws. Her braids were sticky and messy looking as she had smeared a paste of glitter, fluorescent paint and blood all over them. Instead of wearing her purple striped pants, she donned a skirt, which must have gotten the same treatment. Jinx had used glitter paint to painstakingly shade each of her clouds purple with red lines. On her head stuck a mask, which seemed to resemble a wolf and a lamb all at once, a strange swirl on its forehead as if the mask was trying to capture duality.

"Come on!", Jinx insisted again, "You are gonna get some fun Piltie stuff! Or are you chicken? Bawk, bawk, bawk!" She wandered around her friends, miming wings with her arms and even wobbled her head around like a hen looking for some corn to eat.

Silco and Rick were somewhere else right now, probably trying to organise dinner. Jinx had snatched Morty and Summer by their collars and excitedly hauled her friend's asses to the stands, which contained the small handful of games, Zaunites played during this festival. Most of them, much like Jericho and her, were wandering around with painted teeth and nails and a lot of actual blood on their clothes. The whole air smelled funky, which was helped by the numerous fires, which had been lit in the nearby dumpsters.

[countlessrealities]

Request or randomized kisses meme || No longer accepting

@misstantabismuses sent: 'I want the K' (Jinx for Summer, maybe one of them finally works up the nerves to go smooch)

{ Randomly generated number: 10. Neck Kiss }

After agonising over it for almost a whole week, Summer had decided that this would The Day. She had know about the trip to Zaun Rick and Morty were planning to take and she had insisted on tagging along, despite the scientist's grumbling about how he didn't want to waste time "babysitting" her too.

As if she would have needed it, especially in a place that was almost familiar territory by now.

The whole ordeal wasn't supposed to take long, just a few hours to collect some...crystals or whatever after a brief stop to Silco's office, even if you could never known. After all, it wasn't uncommon for the duo's adventures to meet some unexpected, usually dangerous complication that prolonged them for days to no end. Not that any of that mattered to the redhead. Hours or days, anything would do for her, because that visit would still be the perfect chance for one, simple reason: Morty had to remain by Rick's side for the whole time.

As jealous as Summer still felt at times because her brother was obviously her grandfather's favourite, this time around she couldn't have been more glad to not be given the same amount of attention the boy got. She would would have been left to her own devices, which mean that she could have some time alone with Jinx.

Sucking in a quiet breath to still herself, the redhead turned his head slightly, to side-eye the other girl as she dug around in a pile of junk nearby. They had decided for a trip to the junkyard, to collect parts they could use to make accessories that Jinx could have sold or traded at the market. The location wasn't exactly fancy or charming, but it was one of the places where the two of them had bonded.

Besides, this was Zaun and this was Jinx. There was nothing more appropriate than a place that represented on of the many faces of that land.

Summer's expression shifted into a determined frown. Alright, enough stalling and overthinking. She had to act before the growing nervousness in her stomach could manage to convince her to chicken out.

"Uh, hey," she started, pushing herself back on her feet so that she could walk over where her friend was rummaging. He hand slipped inside the pocket of her trousers, in a way that she hoped would look casual. "I got you something. Well, more like made you something. Grandpa Rick brought home these small stones from space the other day, but they have turned not to be what he thought they were. He wanted to throw them away, but I grabbed them instead. They are, like, just space rocks, but I thought that they were pretty and..."

Her voice trailed out and, instead of continuing, she pulled two hairbands. Each of them were composed of a cobalt blue elastic thread that could have easily become invisible once wrapped around Jinx's blue locks and of fives little gems, with a colour scheme that recalled the way the shades the other girl used to paint her nails. They had been polished by hand and it showed, but the little imperfections just made them unique, compared to anything machine made.

"If you like them, I was thinking...maybe you could wear them like..."

Once again she didn't finish the sentence and, instead, she took one of the hair ties, to set it against the root of one of Jinx's braids. Her fingers softly brushed the cobalt locks and Summer suddenly became hyperaware of how close they were. Sure, it had sort of been on purpose, but the awareness still manage to catch her off guard.

Now or never, now or never, nowornever...

Green eyes met blue ones and Summer moved before she could lose the spark of courage she had been clinging on since walking through Rick's portal. She refused to let another great moment pass her without trying to seize it.

Ideally, she would have taken her time, spent a few moments admiring the speckles in those blue orbs and tracing the sharp lines of that pale face. She would have allowed herself to think how beautiful Jinx was, in a feral way that made her just more captivating and exciting. She would have also leant in slowly, and not rushedly as she did, because she wouldn't have to worry about freezing up.

But that was a fantasy, created and played inside her mind, where she could control everything, including her emotions. This instead was reality, with all its unpredictable variables and where nothing obeyed her thoughts.

And it was also the reality where Summer's mouth never reached its chosen destination, because she lost her nerve at the very last moment and ended up ducking her head down instead of forward.

The movement came too late for her to avoid any contact and her lips ended up pressed against the side of the other girl's neck, just under the corner of her jaw. The smell of gunpowder, dust and chemicals filled her nostrils, dangerous and enthralling, causing her to freeze e accidentally prolong the unplanned kiss.

After a few moments of daze, however, the redhead abruptly came back to her senses and jolted back, her feet catching in a piece of junk protruding from the ground and sending her falling backwards on her ass.

Great. As if she had been needing to look even more like a fool.

"I...Shit, that wasn't..." She stuttered out, face burning in humiliation, and then buried it in her hands not to have to look at her friend. "...Can we just pretend that none of this, like, ever happened?"

[countlessrealities]

@misstantabismuses sent: Ⓐ (Summer and Jinx) Send me Ⓐ and my muse will rate yours || Accepting !

Attractiveness:

repulsive || hideous || ugly || not attractive || unappealing || not unattractive || meh || no preference || ok || mildly attractive || nice looking || cute || adorable || attractive || pleasant on the eyes || good looking || hot || sexy || beautiful || gorgeous || hot damn || would tap that || perfect || godlike || holy fuck there are no words

"I like how she's so...unique. Her style really, like, matches her personality and that's awesome. She is badass and she looks badass. She's a...whirlwind of things and her outfit is made of a lot of little details. I could go on, but I don't want to, like, ramble." She isn't her brother and she doesn't want to sound like him. "Just...I think she's cute and, uh, good-looking. And it gets better when you get to know her. Even with the...darker parts."

Personality:

grating || irritating || frustrating || boring || confusing at best || awkward || unreasonable || psychotic || disturbing || interesting || engaging || affectionate || aggressive || ambitious || anxious || artistic || bad tempered || bossy || charismatic || appealing || unappealing || creative || courageous || dependable || unreliable || unpredictable || predictable || devious || dim || extroverted || introverted ||  egotistical || gregarious || fabulous || impulsive || intelligent || sympathetic || talkative || up beat || peaceful || calming || badass || flexible

"Jinx is...a lot of things. It really depends on the day at times, and on whom she is with. She's, like, nice and fun around me and Morty, and Grandpa Rick too, but she can be the exact opposite with other people. And of course there's the whole episodes thing..." Her voice trails of for a moment. "But I still think that she's, like, rad. She's smart, inventive, she pulls you in, you know? It's like she has this...magnetic pull around her. And if you're lucky and she likes you, then you can get to know stuff about her that, like,most people can't imagine."

How likely they would have sex with them:

not if they were the last person on earth and the world was ending || fuck no! || never || no way || not likely || not sure || indifferent || I’m asexual || maybe || probably || it depends || fairly likely || likely || yeah sure || yes || would tap that || hell yes || fuck yes! || wishing that could happen right now || as many times as possible || we are already having sex

"I...Uh, that's..." She goes quiet for a moment, trying to hide the hint of redness on her cheeks. "We're just friends."

Level of Friendship:

never in a million years || worst of enemies || enemies || rivals || indifferent || neutral || acquaintance || friendly toward each other || casual friends || friends || good friends || best friends || fuck buddies || bosom buddies || practically the same person || would die for them || true friends || my only friend

"I like to think that by now we're, like, a team. Me, her and Morty. We've gone through a lot of things and yeah, we still don't know everything about each other, but we trust each other. And that means a lot. She's there for us and we're there for her as much as we can."

First impression of them:

I hate them so much || I don’t like them || I don’t trust them || they annoy me || they’re weird || I’m indifferent || meh || they seem alright || they’re growing on me || truce || I think I like them || I like them || I’m not sure if I trust them || I trust them || they’re cool || they’re genuine || I think we’re going to get along || I really like them || I think I’m in love || oh fuck they’re hot || I love them

"Jinx and first impression are...She's a lot, when you firstly meet her. She acts so weird, she's too full of energy, she's...confusing. But she still, like, does cool things and looks cool, so you're, like, sort of awed at her? And a little scared to. Or, well, that's how it was for me."

Current impression of them:

I hate them so much || I don’t like them || I don’t trust them || they annoy me || they’re weird (in a good way) || I’m indifferent || meh || they seem alright || they’re growing on me || truce || I think I like them || I like them || I’m not sure if I trust them || I trust them || they’re cool || they’re genuine || I think we’re going to get along || I really like them || I think I’m in love || oh fuck they’re hot || I love them

"Getting to know her just, like, confirmed the good things I thought of her the first time we met. She is cool. Cooler than I thought. And I also found out that she can be an amazing friend. She's not always, like, easy to deal with, but...it's worth it. We have bad days, but...the good ones make up for it. I think...I'm glad Grandpa bumped into her and made that mess. Because I got to meet her."

How good of a kisser:

worst kisser ever || terrible || bad || awkward || just okay || alright || pretty good || good || makes me moan || excellent || exciting || oh god they’re good || I dream about it || fucking amazing || absolute perfection || we haven’t kissed

Cue to a nervous chuckle. "I don't think that kisses on the cheek, like, count? So, not yet...I mean, no. As I said, we're just friends. Good friends, but like...still just friends."

[countlessrealities]

Silco's lack of response to his rambling didn't bother Rick much. Not anymore, at least. At first, failing to get a reaction or even just a verbal acknowledgement from the other man had annoyed the hell out of him, but by now he was used to it. In a way, it was even better, because not only it allowed him to babble at his heart's desire, but he also get to test the level of patience the other was ready to show him in the different occasions.

In a way, it was a little trick he used to determine in what kind of mood Silco was, so that he could slightly adjust his behaviour not to come off too annoying. The scientist might be stubborn and act overconfident, but he wasn't stupid. After the on time he had been thrown out of his companion's office, which had resulted in them not speaking for weeks, he had been careful not to cross certain lines again.

So far, he had managed it well enough.

The surprise that the Eye of Zaun showed when he mentioned the war caught Rick off guard. He hadn't expect the other man to acknowledge, and let alone comment on, that piece of tale either. And the sentiment that came with those words left him speechless for a moment.

"I-I don't know if I count as a survivor. I-I was one of the fighter," he explained with a stiff shrug, pocketing the flask once Silco handed it back. "I-I won't bore you with the details, b-but...long story short, t-there's this alien species w-who think they are the fuckin' best an-and want to force all the planets within their reach t-to join their lame ass Federation. An-And when you say no, t-they force you to do it through violence."

He let the Eye of Zaun lift him on his feet, letting out a grunt that was a mixture of pain and annoyance, but then he allowed himself to lean against the other man at least until when he regained his balance. As they started to trudge forward, he left his arm wrapped around Silco's shoulders, but he tried to put as little weight as possible on him.

It wasn't just out of pride or stubbornness. He knew that he wasn't the only injured one and he didn't want to hinder the other more than it was strictly necessary.

"T-They tried to conquer the home planet of a friend of mine an-and that's why I joined the rebellion. F-Fuck those guy an-and fuck the system," he went on, breath slightly ragged. "W-We won the war. D-Damn, we fuckin' did, e-even if the price was high. T-Those goddamn space bugs are still kicking, an-and they put me on a wanted list as an intergalactic war criminal, b-but...that hardly matters. I-I have a shit ton of bounties on my head anyway. I-I'd do it all again."

Aside from the very ending. He would have gladly spared himself the embarrassment of confessing to his best friend just to be rejected.

"A-Alright, I spilled my beans here, s-so your turn now," he claimed, chasing away those thoughts. "H-How did you start a fuckin' war? An-And who's this Vander guy? I-I've heard his name everywhere, b-but no one told me shit when I asked."

His free arm reached out for the other man's side, pulling him closer to his own to prevent him from stepping on a dip in the ground.

"An-And don't worry about rats. N-No matter the size, y-you can be sure that I-I've seen much bigger things."

{ @shimmerbeasts }

There was the characteristic Rick Sanchez bravado. Janna forbid this man to show weakness for even a second. As much as Silco respected Rick for strutting around like he owned the place and throwing his weight around, he also had to admit that it wouldn't kill the man to appear a bit more malleable from time to time.

For as much as Rick liked to claim that he was the smartest man in the universe and that he had control over every situation in his life, his behaviour spoke of a different tale. The man, who was in control, did not need to announce that he was in control. You just felt it. It was how Silco had managed to dismantle Rick's lies and bravado the moment, the stranger had stepped into his dimension. Rick might have the abrasiveness of a honey badger, but that only impressed the other Chem-Barons. It was more a mild nuisance for as seasoned a killer as Silco.

He stayed almost deaf towards Rick's snark and sarcasm. By now, the Eye of Zaun was so used to this behaviour that even this life-or-death situation couldn't impact his responses towards his guest's snappy repertoire. Silco had made his feelings, concerning this behaviour, quite known prior. Outside of Jinx's habit, he had little respect for it. The only good thing, which came of this, was that Rick at least allowed him to get out and have his wound treated without making it more complicated than it needed to be.

And then the cranky old man actually did something, which surprised the Eye of Zaun. As they sat there in the rubble of the cave-in, Rick Sanchez started to speak of a war, he had never heard of, and drinking some alcohol out of a cheap flask. Silco gave a surprised rumble in response. His eyes locked onto the flask, the smell of alcohol penetrating his sharp nose. However, he then took the invitation and sipped some of the alcohol himself.

The liquor tasted terrible. It was strong and stale at the same time. Like it had been in that flask for only Janna knew how long. Yet at the same time, it at least, made him forget the bruising on his leg and even better it didn't make him think of the last time, he had been trapped underground with blood running down his leg.

Silco spoke: "There is nothing wrong with scarring. All it means is that whatever tried to kill you, failed. Only Piltover cares about the concealment of scars. They are terrified to seem blemished in any way." He handed the now much lighter flask back. "I could tell you were drinking to escape some kind of misery. I didn't know that you were a war survivor. You have my condolences. If we do not count gang wars, the only significant war, I ever fought in, was that first failed uprising. I was the one, who, for the lack of a better term, threw the first stone."

As Rick almost collapsed from his pain, Silco caught him underneath his lower arm. Shifting his weight, he slowly helped the scientist on his feet. Allowing Rick to lean himself on him with one arm over his shoulders, Silco began to shuffle towards the dark entrance, which led them deeper into the mountains. He tried to steady his breathing.

"Janna damn it", Silco cursed under his breath, "I cannot believe how much I wish Vander or Sevika were here right now." He fumbled out his lighter and clicked it, allowing the flame to grant them some meagre aid in their already obscured vision. "Let's hope we do not run into any gutter or plague rats. Not sure how large animals are on your planet, but our rats grow pretty big."