conflictresolution

[Unaware of her inner thoughts, Silco continued to tend to her hair but watched her. He burned with questions about what happened to her, to Zaun, to everything that he had built. He wanted to know what happened to his body, the Chem-Barons, how Piltover had responded to the bombing. However, he knew that peppering her with questions in such a state would only drive her away from him, and that was not a risk that he was willing to take after recently having her arrive back.

His fingers continued their work, making some progress at the worst portions for her hair. He turned his head to regard her at the question.]

If you wish me to, yes I will. I'll watch over you as long as you need.

[The water was already turning gray as the roughness of her journey was soaked off of her skin. He would decide to change the water to fresh in time.]

Once you're warmed up and bathed, we should get a small meal into you and then an attempt at sleep? When was the last time you had a few hours?

[when was the last time she slept? jinx rolls her head so she could tilt it back to gaze up at their ceiling, maybe this is her way of contemplating, or this is her mind is floating away from her again. it's hard to distinguish what is what, but she does answer him with a slight drawl in her voice:]

After my shift with Vander. ... I can't remember what day that was. We were at the Heaven for almost a week.

[Silco returned his mismatched gaze to her matt of hair and continued as it seemed she needed time to think about her last restful period. He entire body froze as that name fell from her lips, and he stiffened up as he mentally verified that she had not made a mistake. His jaw worked and his head turned to regard her, expression a mix of shock, anger and hurt.]

Vander?

[No, surely not. Vander was dead. He'd seen the man's body himself, though after he had taken Jinx back to the Last Drop to claim it as his own again, he had returned to the spot where Vander's body had been. It hadn't been there, but it was common that corpses disappeared and the water was rather close by. It had been an easy logical leap to make, disappointing as it had been at the time.

He teetered on the verge of his world falling out from under him.]

Mm-hmm...

[she supposes she should elaborate further than that, seeing he wasn't there with her to follow along the journey she went through. his daughter screws her eyes shut and sinks further into the tub — not entirely letting the water consume herself, of course, but now it glides at shoulder level.]

He came back, but. But not like himself. I dunno what happened to him, but he looked... so different. Like a wolf. He didn't recognize me first, and I didn't recognize him. — But... when he spoke and called me, "Powder", I... I knew it was him. I didn't question it.

Edited 2025-01-01 02:58 (UTC)

[His hands almost clenches in her hair when she moved to sink further into the tub, but he halted himself before he could. He stared at the back of her head, hair still in his lap as he listened to her.

Vander alive? No, it wasn't possible. And if it was? Who had the capability and for what purpose? Someone who had the capability of significant body modifications. Vander being alive both changed everything and changed nothing at all.]

That's... no possible. He's dead.

[A twisted fury suffused him, boiling from a previously empty pit in his stomach and choking him on the hot acid of it. He needed to focus on his daughter, not be distracted by realities that didn't exist and certainly not one that he would ever see either. That moment at the statue was...

No, he put it behind him.]

Yeah... now he is.

[she weirdly agrees as she draws her legs back up to her chest, shifting to sit more up right so she can coil into a ball of herself in the tub.]

But I need to go out and look for him. ... See if they brought him here too, along with me.

[jinx is mostly letting her thoughts flow now, allowing her tongue to be free from all restrictions. if her head wasn't so misty, she would, at least, filter this information for another day.]

I don't want people to get hurt.

[Now he is? What did that even mean?

He had made a personal vow not to push her for answers on her experience, especially in light of that being the reason that she was running away from everyone else in her life currently. This bombshell was massive for him though, realigned everything that could have escaped his notice to the ultimate detriment of his dream.

Automatically, he returned to working on her hair to provide his hands something to do as his mind kept freezing over the knowledge that Vander was alive (though now dead). He had missed it. How could he have missed that? Was it a reaction to the Shimmer? Why hadn't Vander come back to challenge him?]

I'll... go with you.

[He needed to see with his own eyes, needed to understand what his old friend had turned into to be able to survive. Was he a Shimmer addict down in the deepest parts of the slums? Would he have lurked about in the abandoned mineshaft they had once spent considerable time in? Silco had never returned to any of their old haunts on purpose.]

[she turns her head to study her father's face, a little surprised he offered to come with her, but... when she ponders deeper about this, maybe it'll make sense for him to tag along.]

Okay, yeah. Yeah, you being there might help him. [jinx sucks in her cheeks for a moment as the cogs spin further, faster now than seconds prior.]

He might... be angry at first, but once he sees me and I tell him all about how you've been taking care of me all this time, he'll calm down. He has to. Besides, maybe he'll be happy to see you, too.

Edited 2025-01-02 01:47 (UTC)

Help him?

[That was never the word that he would associate with him and Vander coming into contact with each other. There was too much history, too much hurt, too many slights against each other to ever make them anything others than broken angry versions of themselves when in one another presences. He didn't doubt for a second that he would feel the old burn of anger at years old hurts and betrayals.

Silco shook his head even as he brushed out Jinx's hair, finding it easier the more that he managed to work though. If anything, his hands worked faster to keep up with his twisting and churning thoughts. No, he needed to see for himself, and he would perhaps have to eliminate the threat to his relationship with Jinx. That she was already concerned for Vander was enough of a weight to increase his hostility towards the man, if he was indeed alive and here.

He would kill him. Would it matter? No. This place removed that, but it would feel good for a split second. Or he would die in the attempt. He needed to see.

He didn't realize his breathing rate had increased, his face twisted with conflicted emotions, and he was shaking his head.]

No. [He took a deeper breath and held it, forcing calm.] No, happiness is not an emotion he would experience for me. I'll... go to make certain you're safe.

[her face falls, and worry masks over. even if jinx wasn't already examining her father's features, she would have sensed his conflicted emotions ballooning in his chest just by hearing the sound of his breathing, or listening to the frenzied sounds of the brush and comb.

it results in his daughter sitting more up right; her back straight, with her hands stretching over to touch each side of his cheeks. she's not sure if this will soothe his racing mind, but she's prepared to try.]

Hey... Dad. It's okay. I know what he did to you was horrible, and... and I get that you're angry at him. You got every right to be. He meant a lot to you, and then he did... that —

[she wets her lips, not entirely sure if she should go any further. so instead, she thumbs over his cheeks sweetly.]

I can shaddup about it, i-if you want me to. If... talking about this hurts.

Edited 2025-01-02 03:33 (UTC)

[He shook his head, trying and failing to force calm for Jinx's sake. She had only just returned to him, and he was not going to lose control right now on a dead phantom which he had spent the last decade trying to overcome. If Vander was alive, it changed everything. He couldn't let it stand, wouldn't.

His hands paused in her hair when he felt her wet hands on his cheeks, and his mismatched eyes dropped to stare into her purple ones. His lips pulled into a thin angry line.]

I will go with you to keep you safe from him.

[He wasn't willing to risk losing her to anyone, least of all him. He cupped the side of her face with a hand.]

Okay... okay, we'll go together. I promise.

[maybe if she keeps reassuring him they will look for vander together, his fury will die down to a low buzz. and jinx slants forward to plant a gentle kiss between his brows before settling back in the tub again, not daring to yank away her hold on his face.]

But if I can't stop him from getting riled up, you have to run away, okay? I'll have to upgrade my gun like I did back home before we go looking. It's the only thing that will kinda stall him for a few seconds. But he's fast, and his claws are not fun.

[She had clearly met this Vander, though the circumstances and the changes would never discount the sins that the man had made. How had he missed this? It wasn't as if a missing leader of the underground could easily be hidden away, not from rumors or whispers. Yes, there were places that people could disappear even in the undercity, but someone would have seen.

In the sweep of the undercity to put it under his control, he should have picked it up. People bought and sold information readily, and Vander had been an all too trusted prominent member of the city for so long.]

You and I are still family, yes? That will never change, Jinx?

[After everything that Vander had done, all the pain and twisted anguish he had suffered had to mean something. He would kill him. He would hurt him. He would never allow Vander the opportunity to take away what he had fought so hard for, and yet... who had it been whom he had sat below and considered the dream that they had shared together? Bile rose to the back of his throat, but he breathed out heavily at the feel of Jinx's lips on his brow.]

What do you mean 'riled up'? Is he on Shimmer again?

[her eyes search his mix-matched ones, and the look that showers over her face screams as if what he is asking is something outrageous.]

Of course we're still family, Silco. Just because Vi is in my life, or Ragna, or even Vander, you are still gonna be my dad. And I'll still be your daughter, no matter what happens.

[with one final caress of his cheek, jinx draws back her hands and then shakes her head at his question.]

No, no, Shimmer's been long gone in the Lanes after you left. If there are leftovers, it's not a very big supply. He just...

[how does she explain it? his daughter bites the inside of her bottom lip to think quickly.]

Loud clanking noises bother him, and he has those... weird tubes on his back that I think irritates him too. Maybe. I-I dunno what they do, actually. I just know that he can snap out of his beast mindset and be himself. Nnnnot a big chatterbox, but. He communicates well with his body language.

[He didn't allow his skepticism show. A part of him would never want her to associate with her sister or Vander for that matter, but he knew when to choose his battles in that front. The sister was a lost cause, but if he could steer her well clear of Vander...]

No matter what happens, yes. I'll never forsake you.

[He moved one hand to cup and stroke the side of her face again, assuring himself that she was here and present with him. He blinked his blue eye, considering the information. Shimmer had been dismantled on his orders, but there would always be a war for it in the Lanes. It made all the Chem-Barons very, very rich.]

Is it? Renni was supposed to keep supply running normally, if at a downturn due to the previous attack on the refinery.

[He dropped his hand and returned to her hair, picking out a twig and tossing it in the bin. Then he began to comb it out, working through more knots and tangles, listening to her words. He considered each one. Loud noises. Tubes. The beast? No doubt body modifications, but Smeech wouldn't dare, least of all on a mostly dead man.]

He doesn't talk then.... what's this beast?

Like I've written to you, a lot of Chem-Barons kicked the bucket, there weren't many left after you went away.

[just thinking back on vander and how he looked pains her. and jinx does her best to keep her voice leveled, but the words come out in wavers.]

I dunno. Like a wolf. He didn't... look like that when he died. I dunno what happened to him, or... who did that to him. But... it looked painful to him, to be like that with... whatever those tubes would do to him to make him go crazy.

[Of course she had written that to him, hadn't she? He reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose between this thumb and forefinger. His empire fallen, his daughter an icon, and his old friend somehow still alive in some form or fashion.]

I see. Those sound like... extensive body modifications. Someone had to be capable and well resourced.

[And how many of the brilliant ones were well funded? Especially if the Chem-Barons fell. There were some that fit that bill, some that would struggle to rise to fill the void.]

Someone who knew him then. Hound of the underground...

[jinx wouldn't have the slightest idea, vander was well-known to many from her knowledge. it could really be anyone, but maybe her father can peice it better together than she can. noticing the water beginning to chill, she bends over to uncork the plug to allow some of the cool water to drain. after a few seconds, she seals it again and twists on the dials.]

I think he was looking for you. When I tried to catch up with him, he went straight to the mines.

[Of course. There was a job to finish, so it made sense that Vander would come to complete it. That had always been the goal, right? After all that they had been through, all the betrayals, all the furious anger at each other, it would always return to Vander finishing the one job that seemed to override all others. Like Silco was this filthy creature to once more discard.

He'd kill him. For good this time.]

Of course he was. [He twitched at the sound of running water again, and he swallowed hard as if he could feel the phantom of those fingers around his throat, squeezing, cutting off his air, choking the life out of him. It had always been personal.] There are plenty of places to hide in the mines, to disappear for a time. He knows this.

[There is yet another flash of hesitation in Richard when Silco turn his head away from the touch. For half of a second his hand balks and the eyes narrow a small hesitation. He can tell that something is off here, but not put a finger on what they're missing. But the defiant glare that he gains from his lover is enough to unfreeze the movement. The words, despite the fight and discontent within them, are enough to budge the boulder off his chest

It's alright Silco still wants him. He is not rejecting him here.

Richard takes a deep breath, swallowing more of the poisonous doubts as he leaned more into the moment. He licks the blood off his lips and grabs his lover's jaw into a tight hold and forces their eyes to meet. His free hand slipping down between their bodies, fingers beginning to unbuckle the belt.]

Nay. [He says, summoning the sense of authority to his voice as he tugs and pulls on the belt until it clicks free.] I think I like you this way. You wear bonds surprisingly well.

[her brows knit together for a moment, thinking back when she, vi, and isha were venturing in the mines on the search for him. her toes wiggle underneath the waters again, and her tongue trail slowly along her slightly cracked lips.]

I wonder if... that's what got him so upset. He wanted to go to the room you two had, but... couldn't fit. To see if you were there waiting for him.

[it's not at all the reason, but it's not like jinx is aware that blood is what triggers vander's wrath. although, it is a good theory, maybe.]

Edited 2025-01-03 17:50 (UTC)

[It has already been couple days since Richard had left and made room for Jinx's return, bursting their shared domesticated bubble with his exit. And there had not been a word or a sign of him ever since. Who knows. Maybe Richard wanted to give the father and daughter some space to have their reunion properly. Or maybe it was to put distance between the lovers, returning things 'back to as they were' as they had talked. Well, who knows!

Well, either way. It's late in the night after the Christmas and there is a very familiar thumbing against the front door. If that wasn't enough to get Silco's attention it is followed by a rather loud squeal.

Let the pig in!!]

[He hissed as he showed his misaligned teeth at the grab to his face, his shoulders twitching once as if experiencing an old phantom expectation of pain. It was a hypersensitivity generated by the situation, and he stared defiantly into Richard's mismatched eyes. He took the usual comfort from looking into them, the reminder that they were one and the same in many instances.

As Richard worked on his belt, his hands continued to twist in the silk before taking to jerking one hand hard against the binding. His lover had bound his hands well, and the knife plunged in the chair limited his ability to pry at the material with his fingers even as he returned to twisting them.

His face turned positively furious, and he began to jerk his hands with all the force the position would allow him.] I'm not your slave to be bound at your whimsy. [He snapped, bucking his hips to attempt to dislodge Richard's position.]

Edited 2025-01-04 03:44 (UTC)

[His context for the situation that Jinx was alluding to was flawed, and he assumed she meant something about his office at the Last Drop. The idea that Vander couldn't fit through the door was absurd of course, and he just shook his head mutely as he continued to work on her hair. He was making real progress now, and with the tub filling, he would even consider putting some of this mess in the water soon.]

Any room that we associated with each other in is long gone. Just the Last Drop.

[The orphanage remained of course, but the house in the slums, the apartment in the Lanes. The only thing that actually remained was the Last Drop which they had built up together.]

[While they had discussed how the situation would play out, it had been a difficult adjustment to return to the distance with Richard again. He had his hands full with Jinx returning, and he had been hard-pressed to be convince himself to leave her presence for long. She was... different than when he had last seen her, which encouraged him to remain in the house or encourage her to come to his various work places.

After he had discovered that this place had pulled numerous people from Piltover and Zaun, he had not dared show his face to the Inn either. There would be too many opportunities for confrontations in that case, and he wasn't going to risk Jinx on a whim of his personal wants and desires. They had agreed to keep space.

Of course, Christmas was not a holiday in his city, so it was easy to overlook it. He knew the sound of Whitey at this point, so he left his office to check the front door. His daughter had settled in for some sleep, and she liked the albino boar anyway. He opened the door after the squeal and looked down at Richard's companion.]

You seem to be at the wrong location. Richard isn't here.

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