#arcanacontained

[byteing]

'I thought I was doing the right thing. I had no idea…I'm sorry.' Jayce apologised, they pair of them were sat on the sofa bed after another of Viktor's "worked beyond fatigued" nights, and Viktor had rolled into an awkward position during the night, being just as fatigued, Jayce had slept through Viktor's screams of pain that would usually wake him. Talis couldn't pinpoint what had gone awry this time, however the guilt was clear in his voice. Hesitant, Jayce reached out as cupped Viktor's hand in his own. He didn't feel any muscle cramps but that didn't negate the near delirium his partner had seemed to be when Jayce first awoke. He opened his arms, giving Viktor the open to lean on him, if Viktor wanted.

'I swear to you. As long as I'm by your side, you'll never be harmed.' He whispered, he wanted to protect Viktor even if the only danger left was Jayce's own idiocy. 'I'll keep you safe.'

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Viktor muttered, eyes closed. To his great relief, the painkiller he’d taken the moment he could sit up on his own without dry heaving was starting to kick in. If he kept his eyes closed and focused on the lingering pain and its slow withdrawal, he wouldn’t have to think about how humiliating it was to have woken Jayce. It had felt like his spine was being squeezed by a pair of pliers: like his leg was rotting from the inside out, strange shocks of new pain reverberating down it. Now that he was lucid, he suspected a few things: muscle cramps, trapped nerves. But at the time it had felt like he was dying.

He withdrew his hand, flexing the fingers, ashamed of himself. If he had been with anyone else, he would have white-knuckled his way through the pain by now to leave the laboratory and return home just to escape being around anyone.

But Jayce was Jayce and, suspecting his partner needed it more than he did, Viktor let himself lean into him. Not all the way—he pushed Jayce’s arm away gently when it tried to come around him—but enough that his weight was resting against his friend’s shoulder, the top of his head just under Jayce’s jaw. He didn’t open his eyes. Opening them would mean having to look at his surroundings, at Jayce, at the reality that his conditions were finding new and more appalling ways to make him feel out of control of his body.

The quiet murmurs just over his head made him smile, albeit wryly. “You can’t keep me safe from my own body, I fear,” he said, and regretted it. “…But, thank you. I know.” He lifted his head slightly just to thunk it gently against Jayce’s shoulder, like a cat administering a brief headbutt of affection.

[valiantthearts]

@arcanacontained - About six months after the Piltover-Zaun war, Jayce had recovered in his physical body again. Though no matter what he and Viktor attempted with the arcane, he had a permanent limp from his time in the future - noticeable when someone is in close proximity. The gates across which created a physical border and check points between Piltover and Zaun pulled down, removed and now seemed to be unguarded.

Almost twilight, Jayce walked along the Bridge of Synergy, his head kept down dressed in common Zaunite clothing – dark grey leathers and cloth, including his gloves. Only a small gold clasp around the waist, buckled at the right hip was the same as many others at Viktor’s commune wore was the only colour in his outfit. He had the urge to visit Caitlyn since he regained his physical consciousness, much to Viktor’s discomfort and guilt. A fall from grace, Jayce knew in his gut this he had lost his status as a Helical, and was perceived as a Hyploid if he hadn’t been declared deceased.

Eyes flickered as he walked up to the side of the Kiramman residence, pressed against the stone; the large floor to ceiling window of Caitlyn’s study had it’s green curtains drawn, the fire was out and gloom hung overcast. Talis frowned, tapping the bottom corner of the window – a stone wiggled loose and slipped out the lower pane of glass.

Breath held, he squeezed through the narrow gap, pushing the curtain aside and into the study. Swallow breaths through his nose, he carefully replaced the glass and put the curtain back into place. Feet shuffled, he sat on the bench across from the fire, eyes on the spiral staircase. Brow furrowed as his eyes adjusted to the darkness and his focus turned to the pinboard on the under the stairs – a list of names down the far side.

The first seven names at the top the list, including Sevika. With “Council” in red ink scrawled in Caitlyn’s handwriting down the side. Near the bottom “Viktor” in the same red ink and circled with a question mark next to it, along with his own, written over twice or thrice probably as the ink ran low. What did all of this mean?

Strode across the room, a finger traced the other papers tacked to the board. The word enforcers struck out on one page with “WARDENS” written in block capitals and notes on how to ease the dismantling of the caste system. His eyes narrowed at a newspaper article attached to the lower edge of the board – a declaration of the new Council members and new structures of order.

‘Hmm.’ He mused, absent-minded fingers fidgeted with the buckle at his hip.

It had taken Caitlyn a long time to heal. Her left eye was severely injured, causing her to lose her sight completely. She stood there in her room, staring at the mirror, but only one good eye. Her other eye was devoid of the black iris, now just blue and slightly milky all over, and a giant scar across the eye itself. It also extended from her eyebrow, along with her upper eyelid and down her lower eyelid. There was a hint of amusement in some ways that Caitlyn had a match eyebrow scar to offset Vi’s; despite that, she struggled with the fact she had blind spots now.

A breath left her lips as she dropped the eyepatch onto the table, not needing it at home. Her fingers brushed over the gold and white cane she had been using, though she hadn’t needed it for the last month now. Still, her leg would ache from it, taking so long to heal. An external stabilizing fixator fitted around her leg, which aided her ability to walk and no longer needing the cane, and it was the last path for her leg to fully heal. Ambessa had shattered her leg. That it took months to heal and ensure the bones would be in the right place.

Vi had left for dinner, picking up some of their favorite food at the restaurant down the street and picking up some chai teas as well. Caitlyn had offered for the chef to make something, but Vi wanted to treat them instead. Naturally, Caitlyn just laughed at the thought and had given her a kiss goodbye til she got back.

A click from the far room caused Caitlyn’s head to swivel sharply and her eyes narrowed. She parted her mouth slightly, taking in a deep scent. The smell came from the underground, dirt mixed with sweat. Zaunite perhaps? Immediately, Caitlyn grabbed her hextech rifle from the corner of her room and slotted a bullet into the chamber and traveled quietly down the hall. With her hearing affected by the explosions and tinnitus, she narrowed her blue eye in disdain for the blind spot, choosing to focus more on listening.

Her paw pad palm slowly pushed open the door to her study, the door silent as she slipped inside. Her eyes fell upon the long dark brown hair, a man leaning over her board and looking over everything she had been working on. Bare feet silently moved against the ground, thanks to the paw pads on her feet that made her a deadly silent predator. Her blue hair had been up in a ponytail as she lifted her rifle up against her shoulder and ready position. The material he wore looked ratty and old, again something similar she saw in the lower cities of Piltover or the sumps of Zaun. Yet the golden touches did not match the ratty leather and cloth.

Immediately, she presses the muzzle of the rifle up against the back of the man’s head. The snow leopard fur on her shoulders bristled as she hissed in warning. “One false move, and I will blow your head clean off. You should know better than to enter the Prince of Kiramman’s house,” Caitlyn threatened, using a title Piltover had given her (even though she didn’t want it). However, there was merit and power in the title and enough to draw fear in her enemies.

“Slowly turn around and face me. Who the bloody hell are you and why did you break into my house?” Caitlyn demanded as she held her finger against the trigger ready to reach in a second.

[ly-kos]

@arcanacontained said ; -

Viktor frowned, The Herald couldn't yet make sense of the wolf despite using the doctor as a puppet. There was something about Ambessa that intrigued Viktor, her will was one of the strongest he had ever come across in his lifetime and her alone - with or without Reveck's involvement could bring both Piltover and Zaun to their knees.

He was unsure of how the beast's blood what push forward to next stage of evolution, but Merdarda had a fire in her belly that was determined to see the Glorious Evolution through.

The Machine Herald couldn't see into all of Evolved's minds. If he wanted to win this war, he needed Ambessa as an ally. He hummed, he wanted to wolf to witness and experience glory even if Jayce and her daughter stood in their way.

'How far will you take this war, Ambessa, do you want the Glorious Evolution to take out Swain, or is there something more I don't know from your soldiers' minds?' His disembodied voice asked in almost a whisper as his physical body pushed through a metamorphosis.

// ambessa is a woman who's come across many battlefields in her lifetime. the strength that had grown in her chest over all of those fights is one that burns bright.

but what she is as well, in this very moment, is a desperate woman. one who is afraid to lose everything she's gained her entire life.

one who's seen everything crumble in front of her and she's desperately trying to grasp onto anything that is left. whatever there is for her to hold onto, it has proven fruitless. all of the power she'd amassed inside of noxus hadn't been enough, and piltzaun isn't going to rescue her from her own fate either.

she draws a nervous breath. the mention of swain absolutely baffles her and exposes her more than being directly nude would. there is nothing that feels more intrusive than what viktor is doing to the people, but she feels she has had no other choice.

" as far as I need to. " , is her answer, but she rolls her head, tries to put aside her initial confusion and hide just how cornered she'd felt.

" you've missed the mark. " swain is absolutely one of her targets, eventually, but right now, she's got much more pressing threats from the black rose. in some ways, they almost got similar goals. she is not one to throw away a possible ally. " but I commend your attempt at learning my actual motives. "

[stonesunk]

'Huh? What? I'm awake, I swear!' Jayce mumbled, he hadn't slept in days and been keeping an eye on Caitlyn since Cassandra passed, a quiet ask by Tobias.

Caitlyn  wasn't  doing  much  sleeping  herself  -  refusing  the  sedative  her  father  had  offered  ,  several  times.  She  was  somewhat  thankful  for  the  company  ,  but  pretending  she  was  managing  was  getting  harder  ,  and  the  enforcer  did  not  want  to  cry  in  front  of  Jayce.  Curled  up  in  her  bed  -  truly  she  was  missing  the  warmth  and  safety  that  Vi  offered  her.

❝  you  can  sleep  you  know  ❞ ,  her  eye's  flickering  over  to  him  ,  ❝  I'll  be  fine  ❞.  She  didn't  have  the  energy  to  disappear  or  run.  Caitlyn  just  wanted  to  fall  apart  -  on  her  own.  ❝  and  I  won't  tell  my  father  -  if  that's  who  you're  worried  about  ❞. 

[shimmerbeasts]

[ 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐩 ] : receiver finds the sender trapped and unable to escape from them. Isha let out sounds of distress, her right arm was pinned under rubble of a small condemned building near to Jinx's hideout. Unable to sign, as her left hand attempted to pry the rubble off. Her feet scrambled on the spot in an attempt to sit upright.

Amber eyes wide they clocked Jinx, as the girl yanked at her arm. Isha heard a crunch and pop as her elbow and lower arm went numb. Now limp, she grunted, fingers on her left hand bled against the scrap metal and stone.

Horrors||Accepting.

Where was that girl?

Jinx had not been gone for a long time. She had merely been patrolling the outer peripheries of the immediate area around her hideout. With how much the Noxians and Enforcers were invading and banging down doors in their relentless manhunt for her, it was essential for Jinx to regularly get rid of any of them getting too close. With the loss of Pow-Pow and Fishbones, the Loose Canon had to get increasingly creative with taking out threats. It was easy to claim that Jinx was dead in the heat of the moment. However, it seemed Silco's carefully crafted beast was still necessary for survival.

"Isha?", Jinx called as she combed through her hideout, looking for where Isha may be hiding, "Where are you, speck? Are we playing hide and seek now?" At first, there was a playful tease in her voice, however, as Jinx began to go through the usual spots Isha hid in, worry knotted in her gut. The girl was nowhere to be found. "Isha?!", she called again, feeling her heart race uncomfortably in her chest, "Isha, come on where are you?! This isn't funny!"

She stopped outside of her hideout. Her mind was racing. Of course, even when she had been little, both Vander and Silco had let her explore the Undercity to her heart's content, but back then, things had been different. At first, Powder always had Vi by her side or Ekko when they chased each other in the streets and explored every nook and cranny. So she was never alone. And even when she had started to explore things alone, she had been Silco's daughter. Most gang members, heck, most of the Undercity knew not to mess with her or bring harm to her unless they wanted to deal with Silco's wrath directly.

Now, things were different though, far more dangerous. Not that the Undercity had ever not been dangerous, especially for a child. However, back then, nobody had to worry about invading forces to the extent they were present now. Of course, the Enforcers had always carried too much entitlement. They had always believed it was their right to advance as deep as they wanted into the Undercity, regardless of whose territories they were crossing through.

Zaunites could usually deal with Enforcers, even if that normally led to someone ending up in Stillwater. What they were not so sure about were the Noxian soldiers nowadays. Maybe that was why they were even more driven to commit murder. At least, Jinx felt like it had been quite a while since she had last been filled with such bloodthirst and hatred. Only Caitlyn Kiramman could rival the emotions she was feeling now.

Her worry mounted on her like a carcass with clammy, slender fingers grasping her neck as she realised that Isha was not in the hideout. The blood thumped in her ears and sweat glittered on the nape of her neck. Jinx felt like she could not breathe. "You lost her. Just like you lose everybody!" Mylo's sneer made Jinx let out a quiet sob. She bit her lips bloody. Focus, focus, focus.

"Pow-Pow, focus. In through the nose, out of the mouth. You have an excellent sense of smell due to your ocelot genes. Use it! Come on, Powder! You can do it. I know you can."

Vi's much smaller teenage hand closed around hers, giving it a reaffirming squeeze. Jinx pinched her nose, gasping for breath. Focus. Focus, focus. It took an effort to centre herself around the rise and fall of her chest, and the flare of her nostrils, but eventually Jinx managed to focus entirely on her breathing. With it, came a clarity of mind and an ability to act.

There. Isha's smell was faint, but it was unmistakable. In her panic, Jinx likely would have missed it completely. Following the faint trail of scent, the Loose Canon marched up a narrow street and reached a decrepit building not too far away from where she had made her lair. One part of the wall in front of her was already coming down, the rock and mortar around it as dry as sandpaper. The supportive wood bars were brittle. This house would not be standing for much longer.

And there, entangled in barbed wire, clutching onto a few pieces of scrap metal and buried under some rubble lay a snot-covered, whimpering Isha. One of her arms lay at a weird angle. She must have pulled it in her attempt to get out. The other hand bled out of a small cut. Jinx gave a comforting smile as she met Isha's gaze. "There you are, speck", she teased, "Have been wondering where you went."

Jinx knelt down before her so they were eye to eye and cupped her cheeks. "Come on, Isha. Your dinner is gonna get cold", she said, "I am gonna dig you out of there, okay, speck? It should be easy. I just have to move that piece of rubble over there. Then you should be able to crawl out. This might hurt though, because of your injured arm. So I am gonna need you to be brave, okay? Can you do that for me? Come on! Show me your grrrr face!"

[recursiveimpulse]

[  ACCIDENTAL BRUSH  ]  *  my muse touches your muse ( somewhere intimate ) on accident.

From Jayce

“A little close, don’t you think,” says Viktor mildly, glancing down at the hand much too far up his thigh. He knows Jayce only meant to clap him on the knee and misjudged. He also knows that Jayce will be mortified, which is perhaps the only reason Viktor finds himself… relatively unbothered, visibly trying not to laugh as he watches the realisation set in on Jayce’s face.

He can’t help it: he cracks, laughing behind his hand as Jayce snatches his own hand back like he’s just committed a crime. “It’s fine!”

[empyreau]

[ 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 ] : sender warns the receiver to not antagonize them

Warwick grumbled as Vander and the beast fought between themselves. 'Watch it.' He warned as Viktor dug around his head. 'There's a lot of trauma and repressed memories in here which neither of us have control of.' He exhaled a ragged breath. 'It's a maze. Even we get lost in them. We are struggling to tell what is from who.'

The vastness of Vander's mind, his complete psyche, stretched out above and beyond him. A near infinite expanse--seemingly infinite to those who could not see as he could--that was both pleading and perturbing. But Viktor was unafraid, unflinching, and as he delved further in he made sure to not reach out hastily.

"There is a hostility that I can feel, gathered in certain areas. A call to remain concealed. I will not venture where you do not want me." The harsh reds and jaggedness made up most of the space, overpowered it. Yet, when he looked closer, there were small patches that broke up the anger and the pain. Where nurturing was needed the most. "I can help you parse these parts of yourself, begin to map out the maze and put these memories in their proper place."

[bitch-mittxns]

❝  I  can  handle  myself  Jayce  ❞.

It  had  been  a  while  since  Vi's  last  drink  -  but  today  -  today  she  needed  something  just  to  get  her  to  the  end  of  it.  She  didn't  really  give  a  shit  about  the  councillor  status  though  ,  Vi  knew  it  was  his  name  Caitlyn  had  used  to  get  her  out  ,  so  perhaps  the  brawler  should  be  a  little  more  thankful  for  Jayce's  achievements.   

❝  nothings  gonna  happen  ,  so  don't  worry  about  Cait  ,  besides  even  if  I  did  fall  on  my  face  ,  it'll  probably  do  more  good  that  not  ❞ ,  a  playful  smile 

❝  on  the  rocks  ,  thanks.  ❞ 

"I'm fine, I want another drink -"

Drinking to Excess

Jayce frowned but understood Vi's need to wipe the day's events from her memory.

'Agreed there, I am just ensuring you aren't going to collapse and hit your head on the hard ground.'

Not that it would happen, but more so that fact that, 'One, as a councillor it is my responsibility to ensure people are safe, and two - more importantly, if I let you get injured under my watch...' he sighed, 'Cait won't let me hear the end of it ever.' He raised an eyebrow as a weary chuckle passed his lips as he spoke.

'Neat, or on the rocks?' Talis asked, he wasn't a bartender but he knew how to pour simple liquors such as wine and whisky.

[vastayan--vigilante]

Once you're stripped clean, what's at your core?

Tagging: @f1shbonez @hoverpunk @zaunrising (Jinx/any muse) @fishymedic @saviourofzaun @zauneyed @mxchineherald @hammerforgedblood @arcanacontained @stonesunk @bitch-mittxns @behind-the-progress and anyone else who wants to do it!

[byteing]

'You have pretty eyes.' Jayce blurted out. He felt his face flush as he registered the words that barrelled out of his mouth unprompted. Talis could choose to blame exhaustion of late nights in the lab, or the fact watching paint dry would have been more stimulating than listening to Salo yap for a full ninety minutes about his next party gala and self-importance - an item not on the agenda for the day's meeting, which Cassandra had cut short as they were going over time; or the fact he was tispy from the whisky he had knocked back to drown out the memory of Salo's voice. All excuses. Perhaps the combination of alcohol and exhaustion had removed any mental filter Jayce would use day-to-day (not that he had much of one to begin with) and let his subconscious thoughts slip out unchallenged. Talis hummed softly. He could get lost in those pools of liquid gold for eternity, and he wouldn't complain.

The eyes in question sparked as Viktor laughed—a short heh! like it had been chased out of him rather than voluntary—and he leaned in slightly, peering at each of Jayce’s eyes in turn like he was checking for a concussion. He was smiling. It was an endearing compliment—Jayce had a way with those—but not one he would ever have expected, and a prime opportunity to gently tease his partner for having given it in the first place.

“Do I,” he asked dryly, mouth still curled at the corners. “How much did you drink? Did your brain leak out of your ears in that meeting?”

He leaned back in his chair and coughed, turning his face away to cover it as he did so. That had been happening more and more, lately; whenever something made him laugh, or even a little exerted, his lungs threw a fit about it. At this point it was routine.

“I have been told,” said Viktor after a moment, eyeing Jayce sideways, ���that they are almost the same colour as yours.”

It was difficult to tell if it was a compliment or a simple observation—but the way Viktor swung his chair slightly and used his good leg to gently push Jayce’s, in the same way someone else might have knocked their shoulders together companionably, said it was likely more of the former.

[bitch-mittxns]

HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE LOVED BY YOU?

it feels like burning

everything about you is captivating. you're very intense, and passionate, and some people can't handle that. but no one loves as powerfully as you do, and some people will love that about you. you're easily excited, and tend to feel things very deeply. your emotions are unpredictable. but you are so so beautiful. more so than you know

Tagged by : @gaevaer tysm angell

Tagging : @arcanacontained , @knowthings , @officrnolen , @saviourofzaun , @gettnup

[valiantthearts]

🧠 What if Jayce chose to abandon you and not to visit you in hospital after Jinx attacked you during her twisted tea party; seeing you as weak? You should have been able to fight back against Jinx. Jayce would walk away from a failure like you. The Kiramman house, so high and mighty - out done by a blue-hair Hyploid with anger and daddy issues.

Caitlyn’s chest tightened as she twisted in her bed. She never cared for the caste system. It was flawed in her eyes, making people stay trapped in their hardships. And yet, her mind unraveled with this thought. Why didn’t she fight back harder? Why didn’t she take the shot?

Her mother was gone. Everything in her grasp is gone. The empty hole in her chest burned and all she could think about was the anger and rage that Jinx still roamed free. How dare she? HOW FUCKING DARE SHE!? Caitlyn’s hands pressed up against her face, spiraling into her impending troubling thoughts and shook her head.

What would any of them think? She was an excellent shot, and she missed it. Now, the missed shot shattered the entire council. Viktor was barely alive, her mother dead. So much pain, so much heartache.

It was her fault. No wonder Jayce didn’t want to visit her. She had failed everyone.

[stonesunk]

[ BLANKET ]: having found the receiver either sleeping or just lying on the couch, sender gently takes a blanket and drapes it over them.

[ TEA ]: sender prepares a mug of hot tea for the receiver.

[ COOK ]: in an effort to boost the receiver’s spirits, sender arrives with all the ingredients needed to make it

From Jayce

❝  you  didn't  have  to  drop  everything  to  come  and  take  care  of  me  you  know  ?  ❞ she  pout's  ,  snuggling  deeper  into  the  blanket  that  Jayce  had  laid  over  her  shivering  body  and  sipping  on  the  mug  of  tea  he'd  brewed  for  her  ,  Caitlyn  was  sick  and  mopping  ,  she'd  come  back  from  her  school  dorm  to  be  in  her  home  comforts  only  to  discover  that  her  parents  were  out  of  town  -  another  business  trip.  ❝  I  just  sort  of  laid  down  and  couldn't  bring  my  self  to  get  back  up  ❞ . 

❝  are  you  sure  you  should  be  here  -  you  don't  want  to  catch  what  ever  this  is  ❞ ,  she'd  been  taken  out  for  three  days  already  ,  no  sign  of  improving  yet  but  Caitlyn  was  over  it.  She  had  no  patience  when  it  came  to  recovery  ,  and  the  fact  it  was  affecting  her  studies  was  mentally  weighing  her  down. 

She'd  seen  the  bag  of  ingredients  Jayce  had  tried  to  sneak  past  her  ,  ❝  if  you're  making  anything  -  please  let  it  be  soup  ❞ ,  she  didn't  have  the  stomach  for  much  else. 

[shimmerbeasts]

Viktor raised an eyebrow as Jinx pointed her gun his in face. He could feel his followers hovering in his peripheral vision – their concern rippled at the back of his mind. He gave a slight chuckle. ‘If you were to shoot me dead, then what?’ His voice remained calm as he could see Warwick shake his head in the background eye contact held with Viktor, Isha ran circles around Vander and poked at each metal component. He looked at the ocelot directly, as he broke eye contact with Vander. ‘No one in the commune means you harm Jinx,’ he brushed a purple finger over the muzzle of the gun. Silver eyes narrowed as he studied the magenta irises. ‘You do realise it was your grenades from many years ago, when Hextech was in it’s infancy that allowed myself and Jayce to crack which frequency made the gemstones stable.’ The Herald dropped his hand and fidgeted with the cog between his thumb and index finger. ‘If you must keep your gun on your person, please holster it, and remove the gemstones from the magazine.’ Viktor had always been curious around Zaunites of Vastayan decent, he didn’t know much of his own heritage has his father had died when he was young and his mother, Natacha, knew little of her family history aside from the disabilities and inherited genetic illnesses. He knew at least part of his genetic makeup used to be human before he fused with the Hexcore, but doing any genetic testing now would be more difficult because of the arcane. With a sigh, he turned his attention back to the blue-haired woman. ‘You are all welcome to stay, please make yourself at home.’ Viktor gave a warm smile. He walked past Jinx and checked on Warwick for a moment and sat on the bank of the estuary which ran through the commune off from the River Pilt. ‘You’re talents can be used to build and heal, you will be able to achieve that here – if you want it.’ His eyes followed Jinx as she moved.

From the moment, they had stepped foot into this so-called sanctuary, it had made Jinx's skin crawl. The air smelled of something unnatural, in spite of it being laced with the scents of herbs, fresh plants and cantaloupes - one of the only fruits Zaunites with a carnivore Vastaya ancestor enjoyed eating as it mimicked the consistency of meat. The unnaturalness was in the people. Their scent marks felt like someone had taken a brush and coated them with something, which replaced their individual scent marks with something new and alien. Something foreign, which changed smell way too fast and even had scents, Jinx could not place at all.

That feeling of discomfort had not gone away on their way to the so-called miracle healer. The moment, Jinx laid eyes on him, she wondered whether or not Vi had been wrong in proposing to bring Vander here. While the sisters agreed that Vander had to be somewhat cured of his affliction, Jinx was of the belief that Vander should not be shamed for being a monster now. After all, she was a beast too. She understood that type of predicament in ways, Vi could not process. In fact, her sister still seemed to be somewhat weary of how the majority of her family had become monsters. Isha meanwhile seemed to be either incapable of seeing the dangers of monsters or even seeing monsters altogether.

Seeing what the miracle healer actually was, every hair on Jinx's body stood on edge. Unnatural, unnatural, unnatural. Her instincts were screaming at her. Wrong, wrong, wrong! Everything about Viktor looked wrong. It did not matter that he still had a human face and long, brown hair, streaked from what seemed to be traces of edge. The rest of his body was covered in a strange purple glowing metal, which seemed to have replaced the tissues of his own flesh in parts. The smell, Jinx had been able to catch the moment they had gotten in here, emitted from him stronger than ever before. Just what was he?

His chuckle made Jinx narrow her eyes. Her finger flexed against the trigger of Zapper. Part of her idly wondered whether or not the magical blasts, her pistol could eject, would be enough to strike him down. Her teeth remained clenched, especially as those purple fingers brushed over Zapper's muzzle. Shoot them off his hand! However, as Viktor remarked how her grenade was the reason they had figured out the frequency at which they had to stabilise the Hextech gemstones, Jinx's eyes widened. For a fraction of a second, she was no longer an adult, but instead the child, which was thrown back by the explosion, which was supposed to save them all. Before she had doomed everyone.

"Because you are a jinx, do you hear me?! Mylo was right!"

Her chest heaved as Jinx tried to keep the past at bay. There was a fluttering of wings above their heads. A merl on its way to the nearest nest. Almost as if on autopilot, Jinx rose Zapper, lined up her shot and fired. The blast of magical energy shot past Viktor's shoulder, vibrating with power before it cleaved one of the merl's wings off. The poor animal gave a painful twirp as it trundled down towards the ground.

Satisfied in having refocussed herself back to the present, Jinx gave a low sigh and angled Zapper sideways to access the magazine. "If you insist", she muttered with cold detachment. Plopping the blue gemstone out of its casing, Jinx put it into her pocket before she holstered the empty and useless pistol.

Her weariness did not leave her, even as Viktor approached Vander briefly. Isha had hurried over to her. Hammering a hand against her thigh, Jinx met her eyes. Isha hurriedly signed her version of "Are you okay?". The Loose Canon cast another mistrustful look Viktor's way. She then whispered as she signed: "I don't know."

She leaned over Isha and softly nuzzled the top of her head, briefly licking her temple. Partly to self-soothe, but also to reassure the little girl that things were going to be alright. Pointing at Vander, Jinx whispered: "Keep an eye on him for me, will you?" Isha nodded and bounded off. Vi was quietly talking with Viktor, probably wanting to know whether or not he could cure Vander. Jinx did not bother to pay attention.

Wandering along the brook, Jinx froze and clenched her hands into loose fists when Viktor addressed her again. A low scoff escaped her mouth and she murmured: "I prefer sticking with what I know ... Thanks." First the Jinxers and Sevika, now the metal fortune cookie too? What was it with people assuming they could somehow make her the big, fat hero of this story? She was a jinx, had they forgotten? Doomed to ruin everything she touched!

But you saved Isha. You busted half of Zaun out of Stillwater. You did a good thing.

Still her a hero? Using her abilities to heal instead of destroy?

"Seriously, what are you smoking?"

@arcanacontained cont. from here.

[recursiveimpulse]

[  CLOSER  ]  *  my muse comes closer, invading more of your muses personal space.

From Jayce

Viktor is so used to Jayce's closeness these days that he usually doesn't really notice it; they've spent enough days and nights huddled at the same workbench or notebook or chalkboard together now that being shoulder to shoulder is nothing to him now. Jayce is much more--how to put it--effusive in his friendship, and Viktor's become accustomed to that, too.

Which is why it's all the stranger that when Jayce leans down to speak in his ear, his lips just shy of brushing Viktor's skin, Viktor's body reacts like he's suddenly started running a marathon. His heartrate quickens; his breath gets stuck somewhere in his chest. The back of his neck starts to burn as if he's been caught doing something embarrassing, which is baffling--it's just Jayce, for fuck's sake.

Viktor clears his throat. "Hang on, I can't hear you over the..." He leans away to turn off the delicate machinery he's working on, putting space between them, then swivels in his chair to face Jayce directly. His expression betrays some of his nerves, his hands fidgeting the moment they're unoccupied. "What were you saying?"

[hexedevolution]

What Pokémon Type would you specialise in?

Electric Type

Known for their lightning speed, any Electric Type expert needs to be quick on their feet. That doesn't necessarily mean you have to be an Olympic sprinter, just someone who lives their life in the fast lane. You're energetic, and you're never afraid to dive head first into a situation. You're a quick thinker, an amazing problem solver, and you don't slow down for anybody!

Tagged by: @runes-menagerie Tagging: @jynxd (lets go for Silco), @arcanacontained (Jayce), @warwaited (Student), @abhorsenslives (Orianna) and YOU! Yes, YOU!