#sorry ekko you might think caitlyn is normal and approachable. but she is not

[ly-cub]

Getting into the Academy with Heimerdinger to access research materials had been the easy part; hell, even getting the (apparently now former) High Councillor to help with their investigation had been surprisingly straightforward. Navigating Jayce's private library to hunt down a specific book to cross-reference a specific passage about runes, however, was proving to be far more tedious. Had the guy never heard of chronological order? Alphabetical order? ...Any kind of order? There were tomes on shelves, tomes in stacks on the floor, tomes scattered across desks. It was like a very disorganised bookstore - except no bookstore would have this many rare and banned books on arcane subjects, bookmarked with sheafs of paper covered in scrawled research notes and observations. ...Was that a real, actual valdiani next to that plate with an old sandwich crust? Focus. Relocating a stack of tomes from the footstool to the desk, Ekko set about checking the upper rows of the nearest bookshelf. Helpfully, Jayce had been able to recall what colour leather the book had been bound in. Unhelpfully, that colour was a shade of brown, so it didn't really narrow his search all that much. ..Were those footsteps? Ekko paused atop the stool, head tilting to listen. That wasn't Heimerdinger's distinctive pattering - and Jayce's shoes didn't have heels. A frisson of foreboding stirred in his gut. Shit. No one else was supposed to know he was here. Being caught by Jayce - as serendipitous as it had turned out to be - was already one more Topsider encounter than he'd intended to have. With the rapidly growing animosity between the two cities and the spate of increasingly retaliatory attacks launched by both sides, it was more unsafe than ever to take a Topside day trip. It certainly wasn't safe to be seen rifling through the research wing of the (former) High Councillor's lab. Without Heimerdinger here to defuse the situation and vouch for him, there was only one reasonable option left to him. Hide. As quietly and quickly as possible, Ekko dropped down from the stool, snatching up his coat and shucking it on, before crouching out of sight behind a set of shelves. There was no time to lock the door - he couldn't risk the distinctive sound of the metal key in the lock carrying, and alerting the approaching stranger in the hall to the fact that someone was in here. Likewise, there was no time to put the room back exactly as he'd found it. Hopefully, whoever was coming would simply pass right by without even trying to come in here - how many people were likely to have free access to this place, anyway? - but failing that, he'd have to rely upon Jayce's naturally eclectic, disorganised style to cover for him. A new stack of books on the desk and a moved stool didn't look that noticeably out of place, at a first glance, amidst the rest of the room's clutter. Hopefully it shouldn’t be enough to raise suspicions if this passerby did make a stop in here. Hopefully it wouldn't occur to them to wonder why someone as tall as Jayce would need a stool to reach the top shelves. Ekko could have smacked himself. Fuck. You idiot. Well, it was too late to do anything about it now. He'd just have to stay quiet, stay put, and wait until the coast was clear.

// academy grounds isn't a place caitlyn visits often. with everything that has been going on, she has not really had the time to be thinking about jayce. she waltzes the halls with confidence - her heels clack against the ground in an almost elegant way.

her hair - done up into a neat ponytail. a stray strand of her bang hanging over her face. something about her is off, different. she hasn't really had the time to think about anything. not her mom, not vi, not anything that matters. ambessa puts her hand on her shoulder and she just melts - and doesn't really know what to do else, but make her proud.

something about the library draws her in. maybe she's looking for jayce, maybe she just wants to see a familiar face. too many days spent with ambessa, or on her boat, or- she doesn't want to think about ambessa right now, either.

her fingers draw over her cheek, brushing back the strand of her hair, while she finally stops, just in front of the door of the library. deep breath, she opens the door. slowly peeking her head through the door, her feet follow, pressing the door open. she considers calling out for jayce, but the library proves to be empty. unsurprising, jayce seems to spend most of his time in the lab, nowadays. the library isn't a place he's normally in.

but jayce wasn't the only thing she was looking for. investigation, maybe. maybe a way to understand everything that has been going on. maybe, too, for ambessa. she's been so interested in the ways of hextech, she doesn't think she ever shuts up about it.

the thought brings a small smile to her lips, stepping forwards into the big room. the door closes behind her. the big coat on her shoulders - too akin of noxian colours. it's a little jarring, if you knew caitlyn before. the expression on her face is different, too. colder.

luckily, or unluckily for ekko, she is too preoccupied with her thoughts to really notice the stool. or the fact that there are books scattered around. not really unusual, jayce is known for many things, but being neat isn't one of those.

instead, she sits down onto the marble in the middle of the library, looking up at the big shelf in front of her. well, where does she even start?