Well it looks like I've got some grovelling to do D: I'm sooooorrrrrryyyyy! I ended a relationship (the irony I know) because I might have fallen for another writer. Oop. But yeah the past few months have been tough and I honestly thought I was gonna give up on the fic :S
But I have an amazing partner for a support system and she's getting me back on track to being myself so you've got her to thank for this one.
This chapter was kinda a test to see if I could write again, I wasn't going to post it but y know what fuck it xD yes it's gay asf and you can tell I'm *emotional* :))))
The sun was setting modestly behind its shield of clouds, casting dull orange shadows across the room. Caitlyn had barely noticed the time of day, she'd focused tirelessly on the pointless cases thrown at her throughout the evening, each one pushing her closer and closer to snapping. She hadn't even had the chance to think about the things she'd found, and the anxiety was starting to grip her headspace. This was the first time that Caitlyn had found herself angry at Piltover, for relying on her, letting her carry it through its highs and lows. Where was her shoulder to lean on?
The sheriff was deep into frustration filled focus when she heard the flittering sounds from the left side of her desk, her eyes glared accusingly at the source of the sound, only to be taken aback by the simple cause.
"Oh." She whispered, her lips parted as her brow immediately softened. It was a moth, quite a large one for Piltover, it's wingspan just wider than her hand. With the increase in heat rising from Piltover's lower counterparts it was unsurprising that insects this big had migrated to the city of progress. The moth seemed to be in a panic, its wings tapping at the glass in desperate bursts as it attempted to get back to the outside.
"How on earth did you get in here?" She asked softly, getting up from her seat. She offered out a fingertip, the moth clumsily climbed onto her hand, as if its wings were too heavy to hold itself up. She studied the creature, a smile of childlike innocence fell on her lips as she held it up to the light, the dusty wings shimmering in the suns evening glow. Her mind rested, and for the first time in months she wasn't thinking about anything, just taken aback, hypnotised by the intricate pattern on the moth's wings.
With her spare hand she twisted the windows lock mechanism, pushing it open, letting the warm breeze slip through. A breath fell from her mouth as she gently stretched her fingertips out of the window, the moth gratefully accepted its freedom, the breeze seemed to activate its wings, and with a couple of flutters it had gone, as had the smile from the Sheriff's lips.
Vi and her sister slept close together, the nights weren't as warm as she'd remembered from their childhood, but they didn't know any better back then. Piltover and its lavish lifestyle had definitely spoilt her, not that she'd ever care to admit it. Every part of her that missed it, was hidden away, ignored, completely blacked out. If she let herself miss Piltover, then she would have to allow herself to miss Caitlyn too.
She stirred in her sleep, the dreams were too intense, too immersive. She thought it was bad before, waking up her partner with heavy breaths and shaking hands. What she didn't think to appreciate, was the fact that there was someone to wake up too, someone to disturb, to feel the warmth of. It was different to her now, she only dreamt about Caitlyn, good dreams that she never wanted to end. What's worse, losing your reality to a night terror, or your night terrors becoming your reality?
It was jarring, one minute she was warm, embraced, enveloped in Cait's scent and the next she was freezing, wide-eyed with a sour taste in her mouth. This was the biggest challenge, waking up next to Jinx, the fight with herself, whether she made the right decision or not. No, she owed it to her sister, and she owed it to Caitlyn. Jinx let out a high pitched snore. Vi rolled her eyes and sat up, glaring at the obliviously sleeping figure next to her. She held back the growl that hung at the back of her throat.
Vi walked for a few minutes, fiddling with a bit of wire she'd found on the floor. It was dark, it was always dark, but at night, to her it was ..brighter. The contrast of the night made the polluted light glow stronger, giving the prickly Zaunite architecture a sickly yellow outline.
She kept walking, a destination in mind, what the locals called 'The Edge'. It was a sinkhole amongst the lowest parts of the sump, a place that held anxieties for many, how long would it be before the rest of the city fell through? No one knew what laid underneath and it was far from safe to find out. She perched herself on a half collapsed wall, letting her legs hang over the edge, grinning. Cait would string her up for being this close to danger for no real reason at all.
There was something addictive in it, pushing boundaries she no longer lived by, a tiny part of her thought, hoped, that if she pushed enough buttons Caitlyn was sure to appear out of nowhere and scold the shit out of her.
She chewed her lip as she bent the piece of metal between her fingers, as she did something flashed before her vision, making her jump.
"The fuck?!" She said, gripping the wall with her fists, vaguely aware of the fact that she almost fell. She looked around sharpish, before seeing the huge moth that fluttered tauntingly over the middle of the sinkhole before her. She watched it, the weightlessness of its freedom somewhat inspiring to her, if not making her a little jealous. It drifted slightly towards her, a little above her head, she followed it with her eyes as it headed straight for a thick matted spider web.
"Lord no." She said standing up. The moth paid no heed to her warning and flew directly into the sticky silk, wrapping itself up almost entirely trying to escape.
"Fuck man." She said to herself, quickly running over to rescue it, she saw the spider lurking in the corner as she neared it. "Fuck fuck fuck." She said mentally psyching herself up. "Everyones scared of somethin right?" Her voice came out a little wobbly, if there was one thing she couldn't throw punches at and move on from it was spiders. Taking a gulp and a deep breathe she blew on the spider, making it scuttle into the cracks of stone. She shuddered and shook herself, before delicately breaking away some of the web, letting the tangled insect rest in the palm of her hand.
"Hey I got you bud. Let's get you cleaned up.." She said, taking the moth gently back to their camp. She sat down and pulled out the small tool kit she used with her gauntlets, thankful for her history with intricate mechanisms. Vi painstakingly removed every strand of web from the tired creature, as gently as she could. All the way admiring how determined and strong such a frail insect could be, and more beautiful than anything she'd seen up in Piltover. Well Almost.
"EW what is that, kill it!" Jinx said from behind her, raising her hand to squish the insect that was happily exploring Vi's forearm. Vi had never been more ready to defend something in her life. Swerving easily out of the way and sneering at her sister.
"Go back to sleep ya little psycho, she ain't done nothing to ya!"
Jinx rolled her eyes and flopped herself back down on the matt she'd been using as a bed.
"Sorry about her. She's got some issues n' we're tryina work through 'em." Vi whispered. She stood up and walked to a nearby vent, she checked that it wasn't too hot and looked up to where the flow of air was headed.
"This should help ya get back up to Piltover, go get the fresh air and the light, it's beautiful up there ya know, you'd fit right in." She said as she held her hand over the air vent. The moth heard her and took the hint, flying up towards Piltover. Lilac eyes followed the pale glow from its wings as it drifted towards the light of the city.
"Say hi from me.." She whispered as it vanished from her sight, leaving her alone in the darkness.