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[He didn't prevent her moving her feet into the tub as it filled. The water would warm her feet faster than any other method, and he did wish for her to be warm and comfortable first and foremost. He finished with her bangs and moved on to the nest that was her long hair, and he busied himself picking out large environmental debris then tossing each one in the bin.

He looked up from his work at her confession, and it warmed his chest that she had chosen to come home first. They could contend with the others when she was feeling up to it, though he silently hoped that such a time would be a far ways off.] Well, I will refrain of questions and allow you to choose when you wish to speak to me about your time away.

[He knew there were significant differences, and while he was curious, he would not press her either. In her own time, he was confident that she would tell him.]

We need to get your clothing off so you can settle into the tub. I'll hold your hair so you can remove your top.

[she blinks slowly as it just occurred to her that, yes, in order to bathe, she needs to remove her clothing in order to do so. which feels... like busy work to her right now, but having to procrastinate when her father is already doing the hardest part of her grooming isn't necessarily fair. so gradually, she stretches for behind her crop top to unhook a little strap to keep everything together, and peels the attire off her frame — now bare.

besides the already scarring she received from when she attempted to evaporate herself and ekko on the bridge, there are no new blemishes to her skin. maybe some light bruising in some places, but nothing but time can't fix. his daughter grants the clothing drop to the tiles, then peeks down her trousers next. she'll have to stand back up to remove those, and she doesn't feel quite ready for that big move. maybe in the next minute or so.]

[Silco held up her mass of hair so that she would have access to the clip that held on her top easier before he was dropping the mass of tangled blue back down. He tugged the blanket away next to throw towards the door of the bathroom. He was unoffended by her nudity, having both experienced it before on numerous occasions as she had done him in return. It was perfectly natural.

He lightly touched her shoulder when she didn't move to remove her trousers, which also looked as if they required a good wash.] Jinx, let me assist? The sooner we get you undressed, the sooner you can relax in the bath water and warm yourself.

[He shifted so he could sit behind her, propping her up as he reached around to work open her belts and remove them and then her trouser front. That done, he slipped his arms around her slim waist and moved to help her stand.]

Shove them off and into the water is fine. Then we'll get you in.

[again, he'll get a stall reaction from her, and she stands cautiously over in the tub as he undresses for her. she isn't trying to be difficult, and she wants to get this washing over with so she can maybe hide in her room, or shield herself underneath the covers. but now that she is in a place where no real danger will come to her, her head is floating up and onward from her reach.

all the events had left her too tired to chase after her mind, and decided somewhere between the living room and here that it would just be easier to let her brain do whatever it wants to do. which in this case, levitate around in an atmosphere so it can't make any decisions or critical thinking. doing what she is told, she shimmies down her slacks, and they plop and sail into the bathwater. gingerly, jinx places her hands on each of her father's shoulders for balance as she steps out of them, one leg out of time.]

Edited 2024-12-30 06:00 (UTC)

[For all of his faults, Silco liked to believe he was at his most patient when his daughter was so afflicted. She seemed calm but not entirely present in the moment. Normally he wouldn't take such a direction with her, but he expected she would feel better in the warm bath water just soaking. She could allow her consciousness to flit about where it would, and he could keep an eye on her.

So, once the remainder of her clothing settled into the tub, he moved his hands to assist her, even leaning closer so that he could pull the dirty material away once her feet rose out of it. One hand remained on her elbow lightly as he scooped her waterlogged clothing up and out, tossing them in the sink to be tended to later. He noted each mark, bruise and scar on her frame that he could see, but he said nothing to inquire after it. For now.]

In you go. [He reached out to turn off the water which had risen well enough that she could completely submerge her body.] Rest your head on this side so I can untangle your hair. [He wanted to at least attempt to work out as many knots and snarls as possible before washing it up.]

[while he briefly transfers her filthy attire to the sink, jinx purely watches him move around and taking in with how the way he shifts. no real reason as to why she is so fixated by his movements out of the blue, just to take note of it just because. when he reports her to sink in her bath, her attention drifts off to the water... almost contemplating, but complies after a second or two.

feeling the warmth of the water becomes overwhelming, but in a pleasant way. it's like being coated in heated sweet honey if it was made loose, not heavy. she pulls her legs a little closer to her chest, her toes idly curling and rubbing against one another as her head slant in a direction, so her father can continue to tend to her locks. all the while, though, her index fingernail presses down against her thumb — instinctively picking and allowing harsh pressure to the point of slight self-injury. ]

Edited 2024-12-30 06:18 (UTC)

[He noted the way she watched him, and he expected it was partially due to the fact that she had aged somewhat which meant that whatever had happened to him, he was long gone from her life. It annoyed him that he had died on her when she potentially needed him the most, when Zaun had needed him, but there was nothing that he could do about it but occasionally fume.

Once she was in the water and soaking, he settled himself on the edge of the tub and pulled her hair into his lap to return to working on it. He started at the tips and began to untangle the knots. He worked meticulously while also keeping an eye on Jinx herself in case she fell asleep and potentially sank into the water.

As he worked and watched her, he allowed the silence to persist for a time.] Your café remains in good order. The cats have found homes, especially that one which had her kittens in my closet. [He purposefully sounded put upon by having to deal with kittens in his closet some time ago.]

[she halt digging into her thumbnail, and she shifts her head slightly to get a better angle to peer up at silco. that's right, she had cats in her café, didn't she? a small smile glitters over her pale complexion, and jinx stirs in her bathwater, so her legs can rest flat and relax.]

That's great. [if it weren't for her smile, the tone might have been mistaken as fake or ironic. however, she truly means it, even with her voice being off.] — I'll have to search around town for any more strays later. They're probably cold...

[He cast her a patient look when she peered at him, still picking his way through her long locks. They were a massive mess, but he expected they would both be here awhile so it would be worth the effort if she could simply settle down and exist with him. As much as his ambition weaved its way through his entire life, he didn't mind having an evening and even early morning hours just existing with his daughter.]

Perhaps give it some times, Jinx. You will need a few days to recover from your journey. [And whatever events had befallen on her between her leaving her and coming back. He switched between brush and comb as he worked through her hair, tossing the occasional leaf or stick in the garbage nearby once he encountered them.] Your room is exactly as you left it.

[somewhere in her mind, she knows her father is right, and she does want to stay with him from a while, and be sheltered away from everyone in her world. jinx missed him so much, however, she still needs to seek out for isha and for vander. to make sure if their presence is either here or not. and if they are here, they're not in danger.

she can't necessarily tell if it would be better if it's good for the two to be here in aldrip with her, or... would it make matters worse. the simulation can be a lovely place when it wants it to be, but it carries many horrors and the thought of them going through something like having their entire body controlled makes her skin crawl. the bluenette idly waves her feet from side to side, watching the light ripples she creates while doing so.]

Can you stay in the room with me...? If I fall asleep?

[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?

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