One to the kidney, two to the dome.

jinx has imagined a life with a real family over and over and over and over again until it was nothing but agonizing and she can no longer do it. IT HURTS . there has been so much noise in her head that she can't picture anything anymore. UNTIL ISHA . there is no more noise, just the ability to move one foot in front of the other. A DAY AT A TIME . it's not blank. maybe it could be nice. maybe it could all just be over with. @pltfighter

jinx cocks her head, the hollow remnants of the fruit she was eating in her hand. THE PICTURE IS IN HER HEAD . it feels so nice. it almost feels comforting. almost feels like something she can grasp. jinx's hand falls forward and she throws that fruit core at her bigger sister, where it clunks at vi's side and then tips and taps when it hits the dirty ground. FORGOTTEN .

The idea of moving on from this place, from the two cities seems more inviting every day. Neither city had use for her, and she had no use for them either. The one person outside of Jinx and Vander that was keeping her here had abandoned her, even if she haunted her waking moments. It was fruitless to linger on the thought of Caitlyn, that ship had long since sailed. Maybe she could have what she wanted from the start, her family, together once more.

There is just one problem. Where would they even go? Ionia is too far away, Noxus was right out. Bilgewater was going from one place where survival was rough into another and she wasn't looking to have to stick to dirty tactics to keep surviving. She wants peace, a chance for them all to relax and heal.

She winces when the apple core hits her. Probably hit a bruise she doesn't remember getting. "I... don't know yet. Hadn't really got that far." If only it was as easy as the books she read as a child made it seem. Fantastical adventures between siblings, escaping to far off lands where dreams could come true. But that shit doesn't happen in the real world. Not for people like them.

they get the time. they get the energy. they get to learn to be a couple. OUTSIDE OF A SIMPLE PARTNERSHIP . there has been so much trauma around them that it feels insane to even think about something that would be considered normal━ they deserve it. CAITLYN HAS TO PAUSE AND TELL HERSELF THAT THEY DESERVE IT . having a savior and heroic mentality can be so empathetic, but it can also destroy an individual. until there is no individual left and just a collective of thoughts.

perhaps vi and caitlyn ought to recognize that them being inseparable is prominently frightening to anyone searching for power and recognition━ because they will be everything everyone looks at. NO, EVERYONE WILL LOOK TO THEM . they have their flaws, they've made their mistakes. now they want to be good. CREATE A BETTER WORLD . that matters.

it's the fact that caitlyn doesn't even think about vi being there. she absolutely doesn't care if vi makes a space within her mother's old spaces or in the family home, at all. THE TELL-TALE SIGN CAITLYN WANTS VI TO BE IN THOSE SPACES . to combine the life she had a matriarch in a council family within piltover high society life with vi's zaun-faring livlihood. COMBINE THEM , NEVER SEPARATE THEM . together is whole.

sometimes caitlyn is entirely aware of how rich she is now, but that was mostly vi's influence and being in zaun━ but here she is rummaging through an attached closet to her bedroom that's the size of a small room for the specific box she keeps very important belongings until she has that key. IT SPECIFICALLY GOES THERE WHEN SHE'S NOT WEARING IT IN SOME CAPACITY . she fixes the robe around herself again, walks briskly back to vi and slides the key into the projector that serves more as a monitor for enhancing photograps and other physical visuals. THE REALIZATION IT'S DARK IN HERE WHEN THE SCREEN SEEMS BLINDING .

A couple without the urgency, without the dire weight of two cities bearing down upon them the entire time. They went from constant life and death situations to their biggest decision of the day being what to have for dinner. That kind of adjustment takes time and now they have plenty of it. Vi is certain this is where she's meant to be, she just has to adjust to how new everything feels. The safety of a secure roof over her head, a house so large that she could take up even one third of the building and it would still feel like more than enough. And to have the unending love of another. Caitlyn loved her for who she has always been, and she never asked Vi to take care of her, Vi just did it, much like how Caitlyn takes care of her.

They will make things better. They're in a position very few were in, they had the combined knowledge of topside and undercity, what made it tick and breathe, and how both could exist in harmony. There's something beautiful about that. For now she doesn't care what people think when they look upon them, as long as they know that Vi and Caitlyn are a pair and nothing is going to change that.

Vi settles into the seat, her hands on her lap, fingers gently tapping out a silent rhythm on her thigh to keep her hands occupied. That desk held so much knowledge and Caitlyn spent so much time there that she worries that even touching one thing could mess up Caitlyn's system. It's funny, for as thorough as Caitlyn could be, her way of mapping out her thoughts and her discoveries was chaotic, but the kind of chaos she knows makes sense in Caitlyn's mind. Vi doesn't need to be able to follow the organization method to appreciate how brilliant her love is.

In the silent moments that Caitlyn is away fetching the key, Vi takes in the paintings on the wall. Kiramman matriarchs past, for certain. She recognizes Cassandra, the ones further back must be Caitlyn's grandmother and great grandmother. The latter seemingly in another land, Ionia, most likely. She doesn't recognize the backdrop of the painting. One day, Caitlyn's portrait will adorn the wall as well, she wonders what her theme will be.

She is startled from her thoughts by Caitlyn appearing beside her, sliding the key into the projector and firing it to life. Vi's eyes take a moment to adjust to the sudden shift in brightness. "What did you discover?" Caitlyn likes to build up to her point, it is something she had done since they first met, and as important as this seemed to her now, she knows better than to rush her. She'd be lying if she said the curiosity wasn't killing her, though.

Her head tilts. The Ghost looks up at her with an expression unreadable not because it's conflicted, but because it just... isn't. A flat, impassive face with no suppositions one way or the other, her former disappointment having been set aside in favour of acceptance. Of the situation and what the next steps are going to require, if not Vi's spiteful taunting.

She doesn't sound sorry. But, then, this was just the first of Xue's ideas on how to get a proper audience with the Hound. To that end... she bobs her head, huffs gently, and turns back towards the exit. "None taken. Though I'd ask that you don't pose yourself an expert on graves... when you're speaking to the Ghost."

Xue's not looking at Vi when she smiles, but smile she does, quietly appreciating the irony of the situation. She almost follows it up with something pithy or slightly ominous, a we'll meet again or something to that effect, but it was hard enough to get Vi to stop swinging on her in the first place.

This was the most she's talked with anyone for months. Not even Loris could get more than a few words or grunts from her. She spent most of her time talking to ghosts in her room, as if they ever had anything to say to her in return. They never did. She never did. Just a silent phantom she could project everything onto in her rare moments edging on lucidity.

Truth be told, she isn't sorry. The woman Xue was looking for had checked out awhile ago, all that remained was a scale with apathy on one side and rage on the other, it was a coin toss which felt heavier depending on the time of day. Saying sorry just felt like something she's supposed to say. "I've buried enough people to know about graves, Xue. Thought you'd know that." The Ghost and the Hound. Look at them now. They certainly weren't the kids who used to roam the streets of Zaun years ago.

"Right," she murmurs, "because the man coming to take what I've been doing in his memory is the reason I'm doing it. Were you always so transactional..."

Truth be told, Xue doesn't rightly know. They were never close. Even among the misfits, the child had been a little off. Quiet, watchful, not given to participating in... hijinks. Here they both are now, though, differing paths having carried them to the same place. Vi asks what she wants... and why she's doing this.

The Woman in White's nose wrinkles.

"I'm doing this because when I asked the people who know who you are how to find you, they said that if I came to you before a fight you would be drunk and confrontational, and if I came after a fight you would be concussed and exhausted. If I wanted to have a proper conversation I would have to stop one of those things from happening."

Hence the fact that she's been taking care to work the Hound's body, not her head. She rolls her wrist, turns towards the arena's entrance, and glances over her shoulder.

Vi just gives her an unamused look, though her gaze is a little unfocused. Side effect of too many concussions too many nights in a row. "Well, when you don't got anything else going for you..."

And she really doesn't. Jinx is nowhere to be found, and she's not even sure she wants to find her right now. She's wrestling with the ghost of the Caitlyn she knew versus whoever she saw last. The thing that had replaced her in her grief. Fuck, it feels like this is even the first time she dares to think of her name and not just her face. Zaun is just where she exists right now but doesn't really belong in either of the cities. Neither wants her. They both chewed her up and spat her out.

Vi scoffs. "Well, guess you're shit out of luck, I'm a little bit of both right now." She's a mess, an absolute and utter mess. Then again, she can't remember the last time she felt sober or her head was on straight. Something about her died back in those tunnels. Died in that old temple to Janna. "Don't really think you're gonna get a proper conversation now, either. Sorry to waste your time."

Vi slowly pulls herself off the floor, staggering only a little as her head still feels a little spinny. If she's being honest, she's still not sure what Xue wants with her, or if she's willing to find out. Nothing about her has made for good company as of late.

"maybe because i didn't think you would choose an enforcer over your fucking sister," they hiss, then immediately clench their fists and squeeze their eyes shut. they stop walking, their focus turning to not screaming or, worse, crying. their breathing speeds up, the riot in their head almost coming to a breaking point.

then isha's hand wraps around theirs, and they look down at her with wet eyes, matching their breathing to hers. like you've changed for the better. they hate that she's probably right. but there's no chance that they'll agree with her, if only out of spite.

"i never thought... you'd choose them. i spent every day you were gone with your words in my head. your hatred for them. and then you chose them over zaun. over me. of course i lost my fucking mind. everything i knew about you was suddenly wrong, and then i killed my dad to protect you!"

at that, they spin around, eyes red around the burning pink, breathing harsh again. "he was everything to me. he raised me when you left. and i killed him. for you. and you chose them." the last sentence is snarled, lip curled like they'll go against every instinct that screams to roll over and show their belly to instead attack her.

"She was different, she was trying to help. I didn't want to hurt either of you!" Still can't say her name, hurts like a hole in the chest. A conversation she's not ready to have or a reality she doesn't want to face. "You put me in a position I shouldn't have had to be in." But Vi stops, noticing the way Jinx's body tenses.

There is that silence again. Crushing, deafening. She thinks she prefers the noise in her head after a brutal fight in the pit to this. At least then she could wash it away with some booze and hope the visions didn't start coming back. Gods, she needs a drink.

"I didn't. I didn't choose them over Zaun. She was trying to get Zaun to help us! I was trying to help Zaun! But you didn't—" breathe "—I didn't change, Jinx. But Silco was never your dad. He made Zaun worse!" But what did she care anymore? Zaun wasn't her city anymore, it hadn't been since she was thrown in a cell to rot. Piltover wasn't her city either. She truly didn't belong anywhere.

Vi's eyes narrow, her own temper rising. How could she talk of Silco like this when he was the cause of all of their problems? "Everything to you? He was the reason we lost dad! He tried to kill us, was fine with having me killed as a kid! I didn't choose them, I did what I had to to stop you! To stop what remained of Silco's men and the chem barons! Fuck!"

caitlyn always had a protective streak for vi, whether the dhampir was annoyed or not, she was ultimately irritated a teenager was locked up for zero reason and then subjected to a werewolf outbreak. ON TOP OF THE GUARDS KNOWING SHE HAD BEEN BITTEN AND WAS JUST GOING TO LEAVE HER . which would have then left the whole prison and vi especially to any of the heavy vampire clan's fear and wrath for one of the creatures that could best them in a fight quite easily. IT'S ACTUALLY KIND OF AMUSING . . . in a way to find out vi is also a particularly talented fighter. AN AMAZING ALLY TO HAVE .

the falling in love did come secondary, probably right after the first time she officially looked at vi and thought she was entirely attractive. AND WONDERED WHAT HER BLOOD TASTED LIKE .

Vi was never going to have a fair shot at life. Came as part of the package of growing up in Zaun. The fact that she survived as long as she has is a testament of her tenacity and everything Vander had taught her. She really did end up being his daughter, hadn't she? A wolf, just like him. Only difference is, she's a wolf in love with a vampire. Dhampir, really, but there was no difference in the eyes of many. A blood sucker was a blood sucker all the same. But not Caitlyn. She is kind, a good soul with strong morals and an unwavering sense of justice.

The fact that their goals aligned just happens to make this alliance all the better. She doesn't feel so conflicted being this worked up over some rich topsider, let alone one that's a vampire. She doesn't feel conflicted at all. For the first time in her life, she finds herself wanting something that's just for her. Not for the sake of anyone else.

She waves a hand in dismissive annoyance, both to Vi and to the crowd. This isn't her place, and she isn't going to give any more credence to them than she thinks they've earned... which is just about nothing.

The vigilante puts her hands on her hips, presses her lips together, and speaks in a more terse undertone - just to Vi. Granted, the audience is making enough noise that it might be drowned out anyway, but she's coming closer to at least be properly audible.

"We knew each other once. Before the city openly went to war with itself. You were closer to Vander than I was, but I still owe him a debt that I imagine I'll be paying until the ground opens up to swallow me. I'm certain you can relate. I came here, to meet you in the ring, because from what I've been able to hear at ground level there's no other way you would listen. As for them..."

Xue raises her voice anew. "Let the record show that this fight went to the Hound of Zaun. If you put your money on her, congratulations. If you put your money on me... perhaps you should've realized that backing someone in her very first bout might not have been the best idea, mm?"

Her head is ringing, crowd is getting rowdy and it's hard for her to focus. All those concussions catching up with her and probably going to leave some lasting damage. Not like she hasn't blocked punches with her face before. Whatever, she doesn't really expect much to get better these days.

She's still trying to put together where she may have met this woman, maybe she did once. But from where? Her mind is such a mess right now that she can't think straight on a good day, let alone right now. She just wants to fight and get her bag and drink and do anything but think.

Vi squints, trying to get a better look at the woman, trying to get past the blurred vision. Wait... she does know her, but that was years ago, before the was locked away for seven years. "Xue?" She thinks that's the name, she remembers her more clearly now, but the constant fights have left her a little uncertain. "I don't think Vander's coming to collect any time soon. Sorry." The cold reply did little to ease the pain of her statement. "What do you want from me?"

the reason she seems so indirect when something bothers her is because it's bothering her so much that she has a hard time focusing━ which makes her seem incredibly distant. HER FOCUS IS ON THE PROBLEM THAT IS PERSONALLY BOTHERING HER . and sometimes that makes it hard to see what that looks like to others outside of her own perspective. which in some moments almost leads her to do hurtful things like she almost just did. CAITLYN ROLLS OUT OF BED AND THROWS ON HER THIN, SILK ROBE . there's a pause as she hugs herself, tightens the robe around herself, then looks back at vi. she just accidentally entirely missed that vi had her hand out. @pltfighter

caitlyn's hands do instantly untuck from themselves to reach out and grab vi's hand. ONE TUCKS IN VI'S PALM , THE OTHER WRAPS AROUND VI'S WRIST . she's both nervous of the upcoming answer she'll get, but far too infatuated to just leave vi hanging. caitlyn never did like being touched when she's upset.

and caitlyn does absolutely walk out of the bedroom, down the hall, and to the office / library with such an urgent purpose. ALL THE WAY TO HER DESK . the one that used to be her mother's. she pulls out the chair, very lightly urges vi to sit in it.

Vi has learned to adapt to how Caitlyn does things. Part of their journey together after everything. It is a process but they're getting there, now that they have the time to really know each other, when chaos isn't raining down on them. It isn't always easy, but she never expected it to be. So she keeps her hand extended, waiting for Caitlyn to notice, if she doesn't take it, that's fine. Whatever it is that's bothering her must have been pretty bad. She gets it, she's been that far in her head before.

But she does take her h and, and more, her wrist as well. Vi's brows furrow, concerned about what has Caitlyn so bothered. It had to be something big if she's taking this much time to get moving and just silently leading her.

The silence continues as Caitlyn leads Vi down the hall, to that office where they ended up spending so many quiet moments. Reading, researching, sitting in silence and watching the fire crackle in the fire place. As Caitlyn pulls the chair out at her mother's desk, Vi gives her a quizzical look. As if surprised she is being given permission to sit there, urged to even. But she does so, noticing immediately how immensely comfortable the chair is, just as all the other furniture in this house has been.

there are some traumas that caitlyn can't yet heal from, like a child always being afraid of the mysterious monster under the bed, taking a shower leaves her watching over her shoulder━ even though she doesn't necessarily fear jinx any longer. it was just the action that leaves her reactive when she takes a shower. they also all thought jinx was a little more violent than she even attended. like almost everyone at one point. extremely violent. @pltfighter

it's the way caitlyn feels instantly uncomfortable, heartbeat racing, she does take a deep breath in. the room is dark, but for some reason vi is incredibly visible. the room feels a little hotter than it should be. the emotions that were rampant during the dream still linger, caitlyn's blue eye flicking around vi's features. like she was just woken up simply for bad news. caitlyn's stiffness is kind of uncanny, she doesn't move except for that single eye. she's just waiting for the━ i knew you were hiding something. how could you do this? i'm leaving. who's going to be on your side? any number of those types of sentences that indicate caitlyn is alone.

Nightmares weren't uncommon for either of them. There were traumas that were silent wounds, ones they weren't fully ready to reopen just to get them out there. It wasn't the same as hiding secret, not entirely. They were both hurt and navigating the situation in ways they didn't know how to just yet. Caitlyn has her fears, and Vi... Vi worries she's going to lose Caitlyn too, and this new precarious peace she's found. She's lost damn near everyone else.

But her eyes are soft and never once leave Caitlyn. They shine like silver in the slants of moonlight that filter through the skylight. It actually amazes her how still Caitlyn can remain, and she wonders if that was a skill she honed when learning to shoot or if it came from something else entirely. Something to ask about when things didn't seem so tense and dire. When Caitlyn seems less likely to jump at the slightest provocation.

Vi quirks an eyebrow. "Show me something?" Seemed hardly the time, but Caitlyn was rarely direct with what bothered her. She spoke more with actions or by talking around what she really wanted to say, while still spelling it out in a way someone more observant like Vi would notice. "Yeah, sure, Cait," she holds out her hand, silently entreating Caitlyn to guide her, "Lead the way."

"In a fight, the shortest path to victory is identifying what your opponent wants and making sure they don't get it." She takes a couple more steps back, swaying slightly in a natural, thoughtless way. Another bottle from the crowd - this time, it's caught and thrown back in the general direction of whence it came. Xue breathes deep, and turns back towards Vi.

"You want me to hit you. You... want to be hurt. Maybe you want to hurt in kind, but you aren't really fighting me. You're just... sprinting towards the ending of a fight that I was hoping would-"

This time it's a rock, and since the last warning wasn't sufficient, this time the throw is accurate. It comes from the front of the crowd up top, and it spends barely a moment in the woman in white's hand before it's rocketing upwards again. There's the crack of it impacting someone's head, and the little warrior shakes her hand out, scowling at the audience.

Air hisses through her teeth, and she shakes her head.

"Don't act like you know me..." She slowly starts to stand, that scowl permanently etched in her face. "You don't know me at all." No one did, least of all herself. Her hand drags across her face, dirt and makeup smearing against her cheek and the wraps on her fist. Vi watches as the woman in white throws the bottle back at the crowd and shakes her head.

"I didn't come here to be analyzed. Put up or shut up!" The last thing she needs is to have someone try to tell her who she is. This woman is going to get herself killed and not by Vi's hands. That crowd was rough, some of the other fighters would often be in there placing their own bets. They weren't going to part with their money so easily.

"You got a death wish? They're gonna tear you apart." Not that she cares, it's hard to care about anything these days except the cogs, the drinks, and the fight.

That glare is responded to in kind with... an expression. It doesn't sound like much, but with the most emotion Xue's shown so far this evening being faint disdain, the fact that Vi looks up and is greeted by heartfelt satisfaction at having made her stumble and reassess is... telling. The Woman in White isn't so above it all, at least not in the way she's currently acting like she is.

Granted, the eye contact makes realizing what's about to happen a sight easier, and when Vi lunges, her opponent already has a plan in mind. It could have been bad. She's literally leading with her face, swinging her skull like a wrecking ball- and having the front of her shirt grabbed as Xue uses both of their momentum and a foot in the middle of the Hound's stomach to send both of them to the floor and one of them tumbling.

Unfortunately, only one of them is drunk, and only one of them is concussed, and both of those traits belong to the same person. Xue is up fast, turning around as she pushes up to her feet- and holding a hand out, speaking in a sharp, firm tone... and then a softer, more tired one.

Vi isn't even paying attention to her expression, she's just trying to win the damn fight. She's got a tab to wrack up at the bar and a headache to nurse with more booze. Maybe she can knock those visions of missed opportunities out of her head. Anything to avoid having to sit with her thoughts for too long, or for any time at all.

She's getting sloppy, maybe she's been sloppy all along. Or at least since this mess started. In Stillwater, she had to fight to survive, it wasn't just for cogs. In her youth, it was much the same, she fought to survive, and to protect her family. She doesn't have to be in the pit, she chooses to be in the pit. Because she doesn't know what else to do with her life now. The thoughts are interrupted by a foot to the gut, lifting her up and sending her over her opponent until suddenly she was looking up at the ceiling and the angry crowd that surrounded the pit.

Her back is aching from the impact, but she has to get up. She has to! She can't lose this fight, she can't lose another bout. People will stop betting on her, and then what? What does she have if she doesn't have the fight? Her frown deepens as she sees her opponent standing over her.

the garden was lifeless. what once was filled to the brim with colorful leaves and branches that reached willingly forward was now filled with nothing but brown and grey and lifeless bark. there were no purples, and pinks, and blues, and green. there was grey and brown and the cold winter sky couldn't make up any beauty that was lost. all the branches stopped reaching to greet visitors and were instead reaching upward towards an empty sky as grey as the rest of the colors of the once alive garden.

a piece of calityn knew this was a nightmare but she couldn't distinguish enough to talk herself awake— she just felt heavy, her limbs just a weight on her body. her mother is always a ghost now. she watches that woman's shadow walk into the manor. she could call out to her mother, but she won't answer. she won't take a walk with caitlyn in the garden any longer.

horrors bleed together, but the most effective horror is always the emptiness a heart feels when it thinks it is utterly alone. there's a little snicker of a laugh besides caitlyn— she stiffens. she knows if she turns that maddie will be sitting there in the last form she remembers maddie. lifeless eyes, blood all over her. so caitlyn doesn't dare turn her head. she doesn't move at all.

"caitlyn. what did you even think would happen—" nightmares are always so devolved of reality, so maddie's voice bleeds into vi's voice and caitlyn gets up to leave, the garden fades away within two steps. she's standing on the edge of the city, vi is holding jinx. a train is waiting to take them away. she's not going to come back is she? caitlyn feels so utterly helpless and alone. nobody here is on her side— perhaps nobody ever was.

"please," caitlyn whispers to no avail. desperation rises in her chest and forms like bile in her throat. she feels so helpless. she feels so alone. nobody is taking her side. nobody is with her. she knows this is a fear, a desperate and lonely fear in a sad nightmare, but she's still watching vi walk away with jinx. maybe it's even a little jealously. why shouldn't vi get her family back? because you wanted to be a family with her. vi should get to choose though, caitlyn doesn't get that decision for her. when are you going to tell vi that there's a very real possibilty jinx is alive? probably when she's ready to give vi up— NEVER .

Sometimes Vi had a hard time getting to sleep in such a large and luxurious bed. It's far softer than anything she ever had, a perfect amount of pillows and blankets, the room was always just the right temperature and giant curtains filtered out the light of the moon at night, and the harsh sun in the morning. But tonight it's not the softness of the bed that bothers her.

It's Caitlyn.

Normally, if the bed feels too soft, she'll position herself slightly on top of her, if not fully so, acting as a human weighted blanket. But Caitlyn seems restless tonight, unable to maintain the stillness that comes with a restful sleep. And it bothers her greatly. She knows how important rest is to Caitlyn, restless nights can lead to bad mornings or bad days and in her line of work, bad days can be dangerous.

For awhile, she observes. Grey eyes focused on Caitlyn, a hand gently rubbing along her side. She's seen Caitlyn get like this before, mostly in the early weeks after the war. Nightmares. She can't say she's a stranger to those, she's had them most of her life. Caitlyn went through so much trauma and pain in such a short time, not to mention the weight she carried there after, nightmares felt inevitable. She only wished there was more she could do.

it's fine to chase the animal. IT'S JUST MORE COMFORTING TO DO IT WITH SOMEONE YOU TRUST . caitlyn still eats regular food and it even serves as sustenance, but nothing really energizes her as blood ⸻ she would just very strongly prefer if she got that sustenance from someone she trusts, loves, and gives her permission. IT'S SOMETHING SACRED TO HER . sometimes curiosity and want peaks, almost like sex, but nothing has quite felt as whole as this whole entire thing has been.

rage can be both an out of control and violent experience, or it can be a controlled and powerful weapon. EMOTION . caitlyn also happens to like the thrill of vi's claws just pressing into skin. she knows it's because vi is actively choosing to both embrace and control the rage just for the emotion of the moment. CAITLYN ADORES PHYSICAL INTIMACY , ACTUALLY . but she's always sort of been distant in any relationship because she's always felt . . . strange, or out of place. SHE DOESN'T HERE .

vi doesn't even know how present caitlyn is in the moment.

Caitlyn has become a safe place for Vi to truly be herself. In any way that means. Whether it's vulnerable, or the animal that threatens to spill over now. But she has enough control, she won't fully wolf out, become the mindless beast that Caitlyn captured all those weeks ago. She can handle it. Because she needs to, she's not going to let herself hurt Caitlyn because the wolf was too eager to come out. Just enough, this strange state in-between, where everything is perfectly heightened.

And maybe this is how she learns to control it, in matters of intimacy. The claws press against Caitlyn's skin just a little more, still not drawing blood, but testing the boundaries of how possessive she can get. The rage is hers, she can command it, she can make it something else. She can be what she truly is, and Caitlyn will not judge her for it.

"This is it? All you can- guh!"

Okay. She was right the first time. Trying to talk during the fight is a bad idea, and Vi is more than ready to remind her of that fact if she lets her guard down. Xue had assumed that a ranging kick would have the effect of making her opponent reevaluate her current position, not to decide to go through the kick.

Seems that even now she's earning her old namesake. The Student, despite herself, still has some things to learn. The Ghost, however, isn't going to let this go unanswered. She got rocked by that low cross, but has enough of her wits about her to take a big step back from the followup and shake her arms. Reset herself, a bit, letting out a hissing breath. Seems that she's going to have to talk to this woman in language that she understands.

To that end. As the other fighter comes forth, detecting an advantage and meaning to press it, Xue rears back and-

Vi can't help the little smirk that forms on her lips. A smirk, but one that is empty of any actual mirth. Just the momentary fleeting joy of landing a hit. A bit of unearned cockiness, given her latest performances. Vi found a thrill in the fight but lately even that was harder and harder to chase. Why couldn't she grasp just one thing to give her the joy she needed?

Vi isn't much for being chatty during a fight. Sure, there was the occasional quip, but beyond that her mind was in the fight. At least, what little she could spare. Had to keep her focus, those coins were running low and if she ran out she couldn't get her fill. Not the booze, not the food. Sadly the former occupied her mind more than the latter these days. Despite Loris' best efforts, she went spent more coin on spirits than food.

It was showing now.

Vi intends to keep going, to absolutely obliterate anyone who stood between her and those cogs. A shame, then, that her opponent had other plans.

To her credit, Xue doesn't make Vi come all the way to her. As the Hound bounces forwards, she's picking her approach as well - but it's clear that her "sparring" partner would rather the fight be over as quickly as possible. Xue pitches forward and under the (admittedly textbook) hook, swivelling on her feet to come up at Vi's right. Her leg comes out and lashes across the back of the brawler's thigh- and they separate, the white-clad warrior taking a few steps back to find her preferred spacing again.

"Right."

She almost starts again. Stops herself. Despite it all, she doesn't actually want to pound this injured beast's ego into the ground... and not least because the lion's share of the work has already been done for her.

Instead, changing direction, Xue approaches again. More ready this time, one hand slightly higher than the other and keeping her eyes on Vi's hands rather than her face. Her footwork's light, but confident, and- her leg comes out again, aiming roughly centre mass when her opponent lurches forth to meet her.

She's fast, the woman in white is faster. And that familiar feeling remains unshakeable. Maybe if she was sober she could place it. Maybe. Doubtful. Too much in her head that was not related to the booze, or too little. The constant blows to the noggin had done a number on her, combined with the lack of any meaningful rest and she was in a world of hurt. Just like right now as she feels a powerful kick connect with her thigh as her opponent steps out of the way.

She doesn't yelp, doesn't cry out, just grunts through the pain.

Vi is desperate, she has to win, the crowd had started to turn on her the past few days as the injuries and the lack of care had began to pile up as did her losses. Her vision refuses to focus entirely on the woman in white, weaving for a moment, a snarl forming on black painted lips. Like all that training Vander had given her, all her fighting in the prisons, had meant nothing.

She charges again, guard staying up as best she can, her elbows only slightly blocking the blow that comes for her mid-section. Still hurts, the wind still forces itself from her body most violently. Now she's mad. She lets out a roar of irritation, retaliating with a body shot from her right that she plans on following up with an uppercut with her left hand. If she can get a momentum going, the other woman won't have the time or the room to strike with those legs.