AFYE chapter 11

A full week later, Vi was still getting teased for how her siblings found her practically wrapped around Caitlyn when they woke up that morning. Caitlyn, having woken up first, seemed embarrassed, almost hiding her face in Vi's chest and if it hadn't been for the laughing of her siblings, Vi would have liked the closeness of the topside girl.

Vi had practically leapt away in an attempt to untangle herself from Caitlyn before suggesting they go up to the bar for breakfast. Caitlyn had declined, but Vi insisted she get her home's tube address so she and Caitlyn could send messages. She agreed under the condition that the undercity family would only send messages with some fancy seal Caitlyn gave her. Vi wasn't sure what it was for, but she figured it was an easy enough ask to just use it.

Vi's sibling snickered throughout the whole exchange, causing Caitlyn to stumble in embarrassment as she left. Vi wasted very little time in crafting a message and sending it to the given address to ensure both that it worked and that her friend got home safe. She received a reply almost as quickly, confirming she made it and thanking Vi for her letter and letting her spend the evening with her and her family.

This started a habit of daily (sometimes twice a day) messages, bringing the two girls even closer despite not being able to see each other in person very often. It was a few weeks of constant communication before Vander brought her a half-destroyed tube message.

"Sorry, Vi. Some addicts got into the tubing system and tore it up. I swear, they've been getting more and more violent lately." He shook his head and handed her the shredded letter. Vi was a bit upset about it getting damaged, but she figured she could read what was written and ask Caitlyn for clarification in her next message. She opened up the letter, only to see it was even more damaged than she thought.

"Vi,

Today has been odd to say the least. My parents made the rare decision to leave me to my own devices…"

After that, the next few sentences were too torn up or waterlogged for Vi to make anything out. She skimmed through the letter to see what else she could make out.

"…come up to the manor as soon as you are able. I require your help…"

Those words gave Vi pause. Caitlyn was alone and needed her help? What could she need her help with? Was she in some kind of trouble?

"…Without you, I fear…"

To Vi's dismay, she wouldn't make out anything else other than Caitlyn's signature. The paper was too torn up and too waterlogged to make out any other words, not that Vi really needed them. She had told Caitlyn she would help her if she ever needed it, and Vi wasn't one to go back on her word. Even if it turned out to be nothing, Vi knew she would never forgive herself if she brushed it off and it was serious. No matter what, she had to go.

Vi shoved the useless paper into her back pocket and made for the door. She needed to get topside. Fast.

Vi's run topside was brutal. She spent half of it on the street, not caring about the people she shoved out of the way to get by, and the other half recklessly jumping off rooftops. Anything that could get her to Caitlyn's house faster. Vi might have been winded by the time she reached her friend's house, but the adrenaline in her veins and the blood rushing through her ears made it impossible to tell. She couldn't afford to focus on stuff like that anyway. Not now.

Vi was incredibly thankful she had cased the place the day Caitlyn brought her there after the shooting tournament. Already knowing the best entrance to the place and how to get in it saved Vi several precious minutes as she scaled the walls of the manor and pried open the window to gain access to a hallway. Caitlyn had pointed out her room from the outside, so Vi knew its general location, but finding it from inside the house was a bit different than counting windows from the street.

Nevertheless, Vi started her trek up two floors to where she thought her friend's room was, hoping against all hope that Caitlyn would be in there. Ever the unlucky soul she is, Vi ran into someone almost halfway to the stairs. Vi only got a quick look at him and could only make out that he was wearing all black before the man dropped several silver objects and took off through one of the doors.

Vi cursed herself. She needed to move faster now. Sure enough, an alarm went up (what kind of house has its own alarm? Stupid topsiders) and Vi would hear the pounding of feet converging on her. The brawler made the stairs moments before her pursuers burst into the hallway she was just in. She hoped staying out of sight might buy her some time.

After tipping a shelf in front of the door to barricade it, Vi ran for the top floor. "Second room from the left. Second room from the left." Vi chanted to herself as she ran. She needed to get to Caitlyn before those other people did!

Vi burst out of the staircase to encounter a larger man, also dressed in all black, trying to swing at her with a bat. Fortunately, Vi had a lot of experience defending against bats from her fights in the undercity. She dogged the blow and grabbed the bat. Launching herself off the wall, Vi nailed the man in the jaw with a right hook, sending him sprawling on the ground.

Two other men came out of the doors, seemingly ready to fight, but when they saw the first man on the floor, they decided to book it in the other direction. Vi figured it was likely to get back up.

Finally, she reached her destination. Vi threw open the door and slammed it shut, quickly barricading it with a dresser that was next to the door and then moving a table to support it.

"Vi? What are you doing here?" If Vi had been a little less panicked, she might have noticed the pure confusion in Caitlyn's voice. But as it was, Vi was too focused on getting Caitlyn out of there to notice.

"Hey," Vi huffed, winded from her mad scramble to get to her friend. "Got your… letter." Taking a deep breath, Vi grabbed onto Caitlyn's hand and led her over to the window just as the pounding started on the bedroom door. "We don't have a lot of time, so we are going to have to take the window to get out."

"Vi?" Caitlyn said, trying to get her attention. But Vi was distracted, scoping out the mansion walls for the best way down. The effort was made harder when she remembered Caitlyn didn't have a ton of experience scaling walls.

"It's not going to be an easy climb down, but I'll give you a hand and we will be fine." Vi tried to assure Caitlyn just as much as herself as she unlatched the window.

"Vi." Vi could barely hear Caitlyn say her name again over the pounding at the door. They really needed to get out of there.

"So, what we are going to do is climb out this window and drop down to that ledge. From there, we are going to wall walk over to that-" Vi tried to explain how they were going to climb down, but Caitlyn cut her off.

"VI!" The undercity girl paused, unsure why Caitlyn stopped her. "What are you talking about?"

Vi felt even more confused. "I got your letter? It said you needed help…" Vi trailed off, realizing Caitlyn still didn't understand what she meant. Now unsure of what was going on, Vi handed Caitlyn the letter. The sharpshooter looked it over before sighing heavily.

"I wrote that I needed your help with my parkour footwork. It has been useful in shooting contests, and I wanted to get better at it before I attempted any kind of undercity run again." Vi paled at the words. So, Caitlyn wasn't in danger? And Vi just broke into her house and fought her way to her room. She might have just really screwed up. "What happened to this letter? How did it get so torn up?" Caitlyn asked, flipping the paper over in her hands.

"Oh, I-" Vi started to speak, maybe to apologize or maybe to explain the state of the message, but never got a chance as the door burst open and a woman with blue hair the same shade as Caitlyn's burst in, aiming a gun directly at Vi.

"Back away from my daughter!"

Yup. Vi screwed up. Bad.

Vi had been gone a while. Usually, this wasn't such a big problem, yet here Powder was, watching Vander pace back and forth worrying about her sister. While Powder didn't think his fear was justified, she understood the reason he was so afraid. The addicts.

The addicts in the undercity were getting more violent and staying out for longer hours. It was starting to put everyone in the lanes on edge and whispers of some new drug lord were circulating. Powder just thought the whole thing was annoying. Undercity citizens were notoriously paranoid. It was most likely that one of the mining facilities had some unexpected delay and the miners were given extra time off and were using it to get high. It wasn't anything that hadn't happened before.

Powder figured it would blow over within a couple of weeks, but until it did, the danger was very real. And Vi could be out there in the thick of it. But the thing that really confused Powder was that Vi had no reason to be out there. Sure, she had gone out a lot to look for Caitlyn in the last few weeks, but now that they had constant communication, Vi preferred to stick around The Last Drop more, waiting for letters. It drove Powder nuts, but right then she would give about anything to be annoyed at her sister for refusing to leave instead of her being missing.

"It's still daylight, we can just go find her," Mylo said, rolling his eyes. Powder about growled in annoyance. She loved her brothers, but sometimes they just didn't understand some of the dangers she and Vi faced.

"You might have to." Vander stopped pacing long enough to look at them all. "Okay. Here's what we're going to do. You all are going to look for her for two hours and you will come back well before sunset." He looked at them all sternly. "If you don't find her…" Vander trailed off, looking at his old gauntlets hanging over the bar with an unreadable expression. "I'll go find her myself."

The sentence sent shivers down Powder's spine. She knew what Vander meant. He would tear apart the lanes, addicts included, to find Vi. He would use the gauntlets he had sworn off and hung over the bar so many years ago, and he would bring her home.

Powder's resolve to find her sister only grew. She didn't want Vander to have to do that again. She would bring her sister home, so Vander wouldn't have to.

And she had a horrible feeling about where to start.

Caitlyn figured her day was going pretty okay. She sent a letter to Vi that morning, expressing her desire to work on her free-running skills, cleaned her room, and was given the rest of the day to do as she pleased by her parents. In all, it was a calm and peaceful day.

At least until the house alarm went off and Vi practically broke down her door, ranting about how they needed to leave through the window if they wanted to get out while barricading her door.

It took several tries, but Caitlyn eventually managed to get Vi to explain why she thought they needed to run and saw the sorry state of the letter she had sent to the undercity a couple of hours ago. Numbness spread through her veins as Caitlyn explained what she actually wrote in the letter, watching as the confusion on Vi's face melted into realization, then horror.

"Oh, I-" Vi tried to speak, but the door splintering and breaking open stopped her.

"Back away from my daughter!" Caitlyn hadn't even registered that she moved, but in that moment, she found herself standing in front of Vi, staring down the barrel of her mother's own rifle.

Everyone froze. Caitlyn's mother was clearly shocked her daughter stepped in front of her gun, and Vi was scared Caitlyn was in harm's way. Caitlyn noticed the pull on the back of her shirt, trying to move her, but she stubbornly refused to budge and kept herself positioned in front of her friend.

"Mom, it's okay. This is Violet. She's a friend." How she managed to keep her voice steady was a mystery to Caitlyn. But luckily, it had the desired effect and got her mom to lower her gun.

"A friend?" Cassandra sounded confused before her face hardened and she glared at Vi. "Your supposed 'friend' tore up the house and broke Johnathan's nose!" Caitlyn registered Vi's flinch behind her at the words, the action causing the protective spark in Caitlyn's chest to ignite further.

"It's not her fault!" Caitlyn yelled back. "She thought I was in trouble!" her mother scoffed in response.

"And why on earth would she think that? It's not like some stray would care about the honest citizens of Piltover." Cassandra sneered, still looking at Vi with contempt and disgust.

"Because she received a damaged letter." This finally turned her mother's attention to Caitlyn, who made use of it by handing her the waterlogged and torn paper, letting her read through it and see exactly what brought Vi to the conclusion she had.

"I see." Cassandra turned to Vi with a quizzical eye, as though seeing the girl in a new light. "Let me get this straight. You received a letter from my daughter, whom you are apparently in regular contact with," she locked eyes with Caitlyn who refused to look ashamed. "That was very clearly damaged and could only make out a few words. Using the few words you could make out, decided my daughter was in danger and raced over, broke into my home, beat up my staff, and destroyed several pieces of my furniture." Caitlyn could see Vi flinch back, but she didn't even turn her gaze away from the irate woman as she nodded. "What on earth were you thinking?!"

"That Caitlyn needed me." Vi answered steadily, causing the rage to fall from Cassandra's face and melt into something more resembling confusion. For a few moments, Caitlyn observed her mother and her friend, relaxing a little as the tension in the room slowly faded. Suddenly, a thought occurred to her.

"Hey, Vi?" Vi hummed in response, not taking her eyes off Caitlyn's mother. "I only sent that letter about three hours ago. Doesn't it take like two hours for those letters to get to the lanes?" Vi shot her a confused glance but nodded in confirmation. "It takes me over an hour and a half to get here from the bridge, how did you get here so fast?"

Vi's face immediately turned bright red, and she stammered, clearly trying to explain the measures she took to get topside so fast. Caitlyn smiled at her friend's reaction. "Did you drop everything and run all the way over here just for a half-destroyed letter?" Caitlyn joked, laughing. But the laughter died as Vi nervously rubbed the back of her neck. "Oh my gosh, did you actually run here from The Last Drop? Vi! You could have hurt yourself doing that! it's over eight miles!" Caitlyn chastised.

"Well, you needed me!" Vi defended. "Or at least I thought you did." Suddenly, Vi seemed a lot smaller, cowering under her gaze in a way she hadn't when her mother was yelling at her. Guilty at the realization that her words hurt her friend, Caitlyn went to apologize but was stopped by her mother clearing her throat loudly, getting both girl's attention.

"You ran here? From deep within the undercity?" Vi didn't answer Cassandra, but the guilt still written all over her face was apparently answer enough for her mother. "Well, then you must be hungry. I insist you join us for lunch."

Vi's jaw dropped and Caitlyn shared the sentiment. Her mother was never one for having spontaneous guests, she had always required at least a week's notice for Caitlyn to have a friend over, even if it was just Jayce. "Umm, I…" Vi trailed off, looking to her for help or guidance, but Caitlyn had nothing to offer.

"Excellent, it's decided then." Cassandra declared, not giving Vi or Caitlyn any choice in the matter. "You two should wash up and prepare for lunch. It will be served in the dining room in half an hour. I trust you will be able to guide your friend there?" She asked Caitlyn, who just nodded, still in shock. "Now, I must go and ensure they remove the broken furniture from the house and see to it that your father treats Jonathan's nose." With that, Cassandra turned and strode out of the room, leaving the two girls standing there in shock.

Caitlyn racked through her brain, trying to figure out what her mother's game was. She hated guests, yet she let Vi stay even after the undercity girl basically raided their house. There was no risk her mother was stalling for enforcers. If she really wanted Vi arrested, she would have just had the houseguards drag her to the nearest station. The more Caitlyn thought about it, the more confused she became.

"Umm, do I need to be worried?" Vi's voice broke through her thoughts.

"I don't think so." Caitlyn could tell she sounded unsure as Vi only got more tense. She made an effort to sound more positive. "I'm sure everything is fine." Vi still glanced nervously at the window, as though contemplating using her planned escape from before.

"…Okay," Vi said, slowly dragging her eyes away from the window and focusing back on Caitlyn. The topsider girl's chest grew warm at the realization that Vi was trusting her to take care of her in an environment she was unfamiliar with. She straightened her spine, resolving to ensure that Vi's trust in her was well-placed.

"Well then, we should probably wash up. Mother doesn't appreciate tardiness." She made her way to the washroom, Vi following on silent feet behind her. She watched as Vi washed the dirt and grime from her fingers, no doubt accumulated by her mad dash to get to Kiramman manor, but soon enough her hands were clean and dried, ready to go to lunch.

"We still have a few minutes. Would you like to see some more of the house before we eat?" Caitlyn asked, glancing at the clock. When no answer sounded from her friend, Caitlyn turned back to see Vi looking at the window again. Quickly, she strode over to her friend, laying one hand on her arm and the other on her cheek, turning her head away from the window. "Hey, everything is going to be okay. I promise."

The brawler relaxed slightly at Caitlyn's touch, nodding softly. Caitlyn slowly, so Vi could stop her if she wanted to, slid her hand down so it was holding Vi's. "Besides, you might want to see more of the house should you ever feel the need to break in again." Caitlyn joked, causing Vi to choke on a laugh, finally smiling.

Caitlyn's cheeks strained to match that smile as she led Vi around her home, showing her all her favorite rooms. And if Vi didn't let go of her hand, well, Caitlyn was alright with that.