#a prodigy

Your dream? It wasn't a dream if you'd have to be honest, neither was it a nightmare or a night terror, as you dubbed it. It was a collection of memories and events that shaped your life. Memories you tried to bury deep under time and time again. You've never succeeded. The demons found you in the still of the night, sat on top of your chest, and let you suffocate until you'd see the dream to its end.

The dream always began the same - cold creeping up your skin, seeping into your bones and flesh, darkness cutting off all vision, and water drops dripping from the ceiling. The place was moist, thanks to the neighboring underground lake; the water ran down the walls, and seeped through the ground, making the air cold and heavy. It was very humid. The only source of incoming light was the dim lights lit up the neighboring room dug into the cave system; it wasn't a natural cave, beams and metal constructions were supporting the ceiling. Looking back at the layout of his laboratory years later, you concluded it was either a former mine that caved in or an old lab, which he overtook after it was abandoned. There were numerous abandoned buildings in the Undercity, you and the other kids even turned one into a lair.

You were locked behind rusty steel bars. If you'd give it a proper kick, it would tear from the wall - but you weren't strong enough to do that. You were just a little, horrified girl cowering in the middle of the cell, crushing your old teddy bear between her fingers. Your head was buried on your knees as you shivered, attempting to find at least a bit of comfort in the dire situation you've been in. The teddy bear helped. Not much, but it did. The formerly fuzzy guy had seen better days - one of his little plushy limbs was missing, and the button that used to represent his eyes was torn off. It was muddy and wet, just like you. You've remembered better days too, even though when thinking about your life before the cell felt like a bittersweet fantasy. Was it even real? For how long were you locked up in his lab? Weeks, months, year tops? And yet, everything that came before this had faded, making you unsure whether it was even real. How old were you? Four? Six? Recalling a precise timeline of anything that came before Vander was almost impossible - it was a long streak of blotchy faces, unspecific events, and feelings; mostly dread and despair, that was.

The first event you recalled clearly was the first riot - the one when crimson smoke billowed on the bridge connection between Piltover and Zaun, blurring everyone's vision. Sounds of struggle and scrimmage could be heard everywhere, eruptions and screaming accompanying it. As you stood there, the teddy bear in your hand, you couldn't move - with your eyes open wide, you waited for your parents to wake up. They've laid on the ground, still holding hands as rigor mortis set in, watching the sky; your knee was bruised from how your dad dropped you when something hit his head. As their bodies laid in a pool of fresh, dark red blood, it wasn't hard to conclude neither of them was waking up anytime soon. As a Zaunite child, you've seen dead people before - you realized what 'being shot' meant. And yet, you couldn't move an inch. As an adult, you could positively assume people didn't even care who they were beating up by this point in the riot - whether it was an Enforcer, a Zaunite, adult or adolescent, friend or foe, they didn't really care. The riot failed. Pilties were on their way to suppress the last fighters and re-establish the domination over the Undercity and the Zaunites knew they wouldn't get a chance like this for a long time. They were desperate. Disappointed. Furious.

It was then that the man found you. Steel clacking on the stone pavements resonated closer and closer - the Enforcers were about to emerge from the smoke any moment now, looking for survivors. Some of which, probably horrified women, elderly, and children, would get aid; resisting rebels regardless of age or gender, however, would be shot on sight. The panic made your breath shallow - that was when someone's long, slender fingers grabbed your shoulders and made you turn at them. It was the man, the man whose name you never learned. He looked funny, you remembered. He was tall and tendinous, his limbs almost too long for his body. He was bald and most of his face was covered with a mask - the same one he carefully put over your nose. Right after, the stranger started examining you, as if to see that you weren't hurt. Rest assured, your good health was the least of his concerns. From an outsider's point of view, it could be perceived as a thoughtful, almost caring gesture coming from a stranger to a child who newly found themselves to be an orphan. The funny man was raising your hands, letting them fall back to your waist, inspecting your skin (whether for wounds or possible infections, you weren't sure), inspecting your eyes, snapping his fingers next to your ear (startling you), and then, turned you around as if he was looking for something. When he was done with the inspection, the man nodded to himself and mumbled under his breath. - "That will do, yes." As he stood back up, he lowered his head to you and offered you his hand. Without a word, you accepted, following him into a part of Zaun you've been to - away from the screaming, from the smoke, from the smell of blood and Enforcers marching over the bridge. Back then, you still trusted strangers. You were a fucking child, you couldn't know better.

He'd led you through a nicely looking part of the Undercity. This part of the city, closer to Piltover and the Sun Gate canal, wasn't actually as tarnished as the part you lived in. You could feel sunshine on your skin warming you up, what a strange sensation. Remnants of children playing around the nearby sewage outfall could be seen - toys lying around, wet footprints on the stone and in the sand. The riots clearly caught this part of the town off-guard. And hidden under this nice place... Was the cave. First, he fed you and gave you something to drink - the entire time, he sat opposite you, watching you with a frown. Not a word was spoken, not even when he led you there. Into the dark, wet corner behind bars. Since you were a good-willed idiot in nature, you believed he was perhaps trying to find someone who'd know you or that he was preparing you a room to actually live in. Minutes turned into hours, hours into days, dripping of water was the only sound you could hear. Plink. Plink. Plink. The man would come to check on you sometimes, feed you irregularly, and always leave you a bottle of fresh water so you wouldn't die of thirst. You felt like an unwanted pet... And it wasn't even the worst part. That came when he started taking you out into the actual laboratory.

If your memory served you right, while your parents never had much, they always prioritized caring for you, ensured you were clothed appropriately, and that your stomach wasn't grumbling; their occupation in a chemtech factory wasn't much, but it provided for the family. When you weren't at school, you were out wandering about with your friends - it wasn't a bad childhood by any means. This man ruined it all. The first time he'd led you out of your cell after weeks of just observing you, noting down your vitals in a chart was exciting. You asked if he got you a room or something, which earned you a confused glance. He didn't answer, just sat you down on a cold iron table and strapped you in with leather belts, pulling the pressure gauge on your left arm. After he ensured you couldn't move, he disinfected your elbows. That was when your child brain realized you're not getting a room. You won't even see the sun again, most likely.

The first time he stuck a needle inside you, tears rolled out of your eyes as you tried begging him to let you go. The man ignored your whining for a bit before he punched the table you laid on, looking you directly in the eye. "Stay silent, child." - The scientist uttered through gritted teeth. Just like you never learned his name, he'd never cared to learn yours. - "You're disturbing me at work. Quit whining." - The terror you felt had you gasping for breath as you looked around, watching the poisonous green liquid traveling through the tubes... Until it reached the needles stuck inside your elbows. The moment it entered your veins, you could feel coldness rushing through your veins - until the chill turned into fire, burning everything it met on its way. The pain was so great you remembered very little from what was happening. The pain clouded your perception of reality for what could be weeks - the scientist would scoop you off the ground in your cell, regularly administering the liquid to you, measuring your vitals before carrying you back. The entire time, you were in pain; by that point, you didn't bother with screaming or crying, watching as the bruises on your elbow became darker and darker. Sometimes, you could feel droplets of blood leaving the small injection spots.

The man didn't give a single fuck about your well-being. Your state was nothing but a mere complication to his scientific studies. He even praised your detachment from reality, calling you his greatest test subject. None of the previous ones endured such hardships without flinching or resisting. As he whispered the praises, you could feel something was different - your palms grew heavy, ice-cold, and animated. The madman watched the new development with batted breath, immediately scribing everything down; later, when you could take a look at your hands, you learned that metallic particles started covering your skin. It wasn't just any metal, though, it wasn't immovable at all. It was almost fluid, shelling your skin from something. It looked and felt strange. You watched as your fingers moved when you gave them the order, but it didn't feel right; it was as if you watching a robotic arm repeating your movements.

This development, however, earned you a muffin. Singular, meager, crusty muffin and a cup of hot chocolate. The scientist also started bringing you a whole lot more food, and this time, it wasn't just leftovers - real food, like fruits you'd only see on the market or fish, meat, and real potatoes. He was fattening you like a pig for slaughter. His endeavors, whatever he attempted to achieve, were fruitful - in the next few weeks, the sentient living metal covered both your hands up to your elbows, spreading a strange tingling sensation through both limbs. As you looked down, you realized it wasn't the metal, but poison-green flames indulging your palms. The scientist was thrilled upon this discovery, immediately taking notes. - "He'll be enthralled upon this discovery, this is... Wonderful. Simply wonderful." - He mumbled under his breath.

From that point on, you weren't living in perpetual darkness anymore - you learned you could induce the flames anytime you wished to, watching it with childish fascination. The flames were so pretty; ranging to every imaginable shade of green, they danced on your hands and livened up the room. The fire wasn't warm, it was cool, actually. The sensation felt chilly on your skin, making you giggle. Your last day inside the cave started as every other - waking up in a merely lit-up place, the ice-cold ground hard under you. You were so tired and hungry. The madman came in the nick of time - to your surprise, however, he wasn't bringing any food. In fact, he looked saddened as he offered you his hand, just like the day you met. It didn't make you happy to accept the gesture, but reluctantly, you accepted, picking yourself off the ground. - "The teddy." - The man gestured, making you look at the toy lying on the ground. You've never taken it with you when he dragged you to experiment on you. "Would you allow me to look after it?" - He asked, making the frown on your face deepen. With even bigger reluctance, you bend down to pick it up, offering it to the scientist. He hadn't said a word but nodded as his thumb smoothed the dirty plush. Only now, around twenty years later, you realize you were supposed to be dead in the few following hours. The scientist wanted memorabilia of his most brilliant experiment. That fucker planned on killing you.

As usual, he bound you to the metal table, ensuring the straps were tight enough - and as usual, he put the pressure gauge on your arm. This time, however, something was different - the way he smoothed your hair horrified you, even more so when his thumb soothingly caressed your forehead. It was then that you noticed the scalper in his hand; as you said, Zaunite children learned to recognize death and violence very early in their lives. You'd cry and beg, but you were too tired for that; too starved and tired to even attempt it. Instead, you watched the scalper with irregular breaths, trying to stop your bottom lip from trembling. Soon, it'll be over. All the adults often said it was better to be killed - that they'd rather die than press on living this shitty fucking life in Zaun. Being a merely five-year-old child, you started to understand this sentiment - the cruel reality of Zaun. One fairly quickly realized that the only valuable currency in Zaun was pain and death.

Flaming, cutting pain overwhelmed you when the tip entered your body. You've started to say your goodbyes, hoping you'd see your mom and dad again. On the back of your head, there was this wish the scientist wouldn't prolong killing you. The man seemingly emphasized with you to one degree or another. Quickening your death was the least this scientist could do for you. Some diety must've been watching over you on that day. The spirits said that it wasn't your time yet, you were to live. Lab's door busted open. The scientist stepped aside, the scalpel in his palm aiming at the newcomer. This was unplanned, you realized; the newcomer wasn't invited.

Before the madman said anything, the incoming person knocked the scientist to the ground, punching him with a war cry. Stifled skirmish filled your ears, muffled swearing and punches, soon joined by moans of pain. Those belonged to the scientist. The stranger properly fucked him up. As the young man stood up, he breathed heavily, presumably watching the scientist squirming at his feet. Then, as if lightning struck him, he turned to you - his palms undoing the leather straps, words of comfort leaving his mouth, smoothing your hair and cheeks here and there. His touches made you cry - each gentle touch was filled with care and tenderness. He wasn't there to hurt you... He was saving you. Whoever he was, his actions gave you a new life, far away from the cave. And he was... Breathtakingly beautiful. You couldn't recall much detail other than his bright brown eyes and gentle smile, tears in his eyes as he picked you to his arms, carrying you away from that horrible place. He was mumbling something, but you couldn't understand a word. As you always did, you tried to look at his face - right then, the dream ended, as it always did.

Gasping for air and drenched in cold sweat, you were finally allowed to wake up from the nightmare - the cave was long gone, the only water dripping around you were droplets of rainwater after a quick summer shower. You were safely in bed, according to your clock, your watch ended just two hours ago. Great, you sighed, laying back down for a bit. Your body and head ached, and your palms trembled as you drank a glass of water to calm down. The strange sentient metal was still covering your right hand, up to your shoulder. These dreams always took you back, making you re-live it all. Each time Ekko would ask you to set out with him, the dream was bound to come the next time you'd go to sleep. Were it late at night, you'd slip on your sweatshirt and walk over to his room, joining him in bed.

Watching the metallic liquid spread on your hand, the flames soon followed suit. Letting it cool your hand, you sighed and put the glass down too harshly. It didn't break, but the bang was audible. You never tried searching for the mad scientist. Ekko offered this many times, but you didn't feel like accepting the offer - if Ekko caught a whiff of the guy's identity, he was sure to be six feet under within hours. That fact alone was as scary as assuring. How many other people ended up in that lab? How many suffered? Were there more mutants like you? What exactly were you?

Whatever the answer was, you didn't feel enough at times. The people who saw your 'abilities' with their own eyes, mainly when you lost control of your emotions. A few people saw your skin cover itself with the metallic shell, bursting ablaze. Those amuck were rare, but it pained you to admit it happened. Each time it did, the same cycle of questions followed suit. What was that? Can you do that deliberately or were you just 'losing control'? Will you hurt them if they get you angry enough? Have you killed anyone before? Yes. The answer to the last question was yes. It's not like you planned it - it all sort of... Happened. You and Ekko watched Benzo and Grayson getting mauled by Deckard - you were both running for your fucking lives when the seven Enforcers encircled you. You've tried negotiating with them at first before you just... Let go, letting yourself get lost in the flames for the very first time.

All you remembered was that the Enforcers tried to fire their arms at you, and two of them even tried to catch you with their bare hands; you were just a teenager, what could go wrong? Everything. You couldn't recall what exactly went down - when you woke out of the trance, Ekko was shaking your shoulder, screaming your name. The ground under you was scorched, the stench of searings, burned flesh, and gunpowder almost overpowering the Grey. The Enforcers didn't make it - their bodies were thrown on the ground in a pool of blood, some of them had their limbs twisted in the wrong direction, and... A hole in the middle of their chests. That was where the pools of blood came from. At first, you were afraid something bigger had attacked you and tried to tell Ekko you had to run away. Some kind of monster just ravaged these seven adult men, you weren't safe. Ekko, however, shook his head and took your palms to his - they were still covered with the liquid metal, but there were blood and chunks of... Without warning, you started to choke on your own vomit. As other people started to gather around to look at what caused this, they stared at you in shock - a twelve-year-old girl overpowered seven Enforcers on her own. The blood on your hands was damning evidence. The people weren't furious, just curious... And scared. Ekko gripped your hand and forced you to run even faster, leading you to the sewage system under Zaun.

The dream reminded you of who you truly were. The man from your dream, the one who saved you... You never learned his name. You wished you did. Until this day, you promised you'd repay his kindness if you met him again - no matter how he learned about the scientist and his experiments, he saved your life. Except for his eyes and smile, you couldn't recall any semblance of his face, so finding him was impossible; therefore, your brain proceeded to project Ekko's features onto his face. You've asked Vander about his identity, but he'd never seen your savior either - they'd only met once. Vander never met the stranger again. Whoever he was, his legs led him right to the Last Drop. It was dark when he frantically kicked on Vander's door, curling you onto his chest firmly. The pub had just closed, no way Vander already left. As the old innkeeper opened the door, he wanted to send the man to hell... Until he saw the malnourished, fragile little girl in the man's arms.

As the stranger carefully put you in Vander's arms, he watched your body with horror. Your skin didn't look healthy, your hair was messy and stuck together, your cheeks were hollow, your limbs were flabby, and your formerly pink dress was muddy and bloody. Where did the mysterious savior fucking find you? - "Take care of her for me, yeah?" - The stranger whispered, smoothing your head for the last time before he took off, disappearing in the dark alleys. Vander's horror rose when he realized how bruised and impaled your elbows were. Usually, he'd let his patrons stick around for a bit as he'd clean up the local; not this time. Not wasting a second, Vander saw them all off before he walked to the attic to wake Vi up. The two girls he'd found marveling the bridge as the riots died down were living with him for seven months, they were good kids - he was sure she'd help him with accommodating you; meaning they'd give you fresh clothing, and prepare you a tub of water and something to eat. She also had a sister who could be approximately your age. It was hard to determine how old you were precisely, but you couldn't be much older.

She did just as Vander predicted. The girl took things slowly, talking you through everything she was about to do. As you fully woke up, the panic overtook you, letting the flames burst around your forearms. The duo watched you with genuine worries before Vander approached you, putting his palms on your shoulders. - "Breathe in and out for me now. In and out. Attagirl. Keep the flames within for now, kiddo, 'kay? We're here to help. Whoever did this to you isn't here to hurt you anymore. You can trust us." At first, Vander swore you'd only stay in the Last Drop until he'd see you recover a bit. A lot of people lost their children during the riot, so there surely would be some couple who'd taken you in. The infamous innkeeper already looked after five little nuisances, he didn't need a sixth. Well... That didn't turn out to be the case. It was a grueling process to start trusting people again. It took you months to open up to Powder, of all people. The girl might've been a bit energetic, but overall, Powder was the sweetest kid Vander ever met. Even though what she saw and had been through, her outlook on life remained positive. And even though that fact, it took you months to tell her about how much you liked her crayons, asking if you could borrow them.

In Vi's case, you started talking around her soon after Powder - regarding Vi, however, you only used yes/no/maybe. Making you truly communicate took Vi additional weeks. It was her who nicknamed you 'Duckling' - even though you barely spoke, you were always sure to be hot on her heels, following her around. Before first talking around Mylo, Clogger, Vander, or even Ekko, you took at least half a year. Until then, you only used expressions and non-verbal signals. But the moment when Ekko made you laugh for the first time? You never forgot it. All three of you (Powder, you, and Ekko) laughed so hard your tummy hurt. The longer he was around, the more lively and mischievous you started to become - in a sense, Ekko truly saved you.

It was around then Vander realized you weren't leaving anytime soon. All the kids he took in accepted you as a part of their little family, mainly Powder and Claggor. The rest of 'his' kids normalized having you around, and taking care of you even though they often whined about how annoying you were (mainly Mylo, that was). You became a family. And Vander wasn't as cruel as to simply tear you apart from all the people you felt safe with. And so, he had a sixth 'little brat' on his hands.

All it took was to call out Ekko's name or to look at him and he'd never leave your side even if the Devil was about to drag you down into the deepest pits of hell. Sighing, you let the flames burn out and shook your palm as you let the metallic feeling be replaced by the softness and warmth of your skin.

You had no idea about what the man had done to you or what were you capable of, but it changed your whole life. When you got into your soft, weak spot (something you let only Ekko see now and then), the thing you hated the most was that you weren't even a fucking human being. What were you? What the fuck did the man make out of you? If you couldn't be one as a whole, could you be at least a silhouette? Something reminding a normal human being so closely and yet being unnoticeably different? You'd like to think so.

Sighing, you managed to climb out of bed and search for some fresh and elastic clothes that could still be considered very comfortable; you weren't interested in any skin-tight bullshit since that was something for Ekko and his hitman squad. Walking through the settlement with a sports bag hanging on your shoulder, the people smiled at you and greeted you, reminding you of the fact that none of them could know. And those who did have already forgiven you - for them, you were always a full human being even if you didn't feel that way at times. It was the people reminding you that you always have your place in the colony, whether your brain was telling you otherwise.

You found yourself a spot between your local youngsters - there, you put down the tray with your breakfast and listened to various freestyles they dropped. Truth be told, Ekko was into music a big time. And whoever was interested to share this passion was not only encouraged, but greatly appreciated too. Ekko loved to spend the evenings with them sometimes (taking them out of the safe walls of the colony) and walked a small group to a horrendously tall building up north that overlooked both Piltover and Zaun. There, they sat and did whatever until the very morning. He encouraged you, many times, to come with, but you never really got the balls to do so. As was said previously, you were the more reasonable, people and emotionally based leader while Ekko lived for rebellion and rule-bending or breaking. Sometimes, he could be also the worst to deal with, since anyone could punish him for overstepping the rules.

That was also where he found you, shoving your mashed eggs down your throat while moving in the rhythm of Calum's verse. He didn't interrupt you straight away; he just leaned his shoulder into the doorframe and watched you. Since the first moment he saw you that morning, Ekko knew you either didn't sleep or couldn't sleep well. Your hairstyle was messy to put it nicely, there was no spark in your eyes and the bags under them were visible from all the way there. He also knew that he needed you to make him feel successful before heading off to the Zeppelin dock in Piltover. Sure, you were surely letting him win most of the time, but it felt good... Meeting someone who could either beat Ekko in a fight or someone who had the same strength he had. Never, ever since you trainer for the first, had he had a feeling that he can simply beat you. You were possibly the most powerful Ekko came across. He had the smarts and the raw power, sure, but it was nothing compared to the arcane inside your body.

"I think I need to go now, guys. Work on your verses, alright? I'll listen to them later." - With a gracious smile, you got up and waved in Ekko's general direction for him to know that you're on your way. That was also when Calum dropped a question so simple and yet so daring that it made you almost drop your tray. "Did Ekko finally get the balls to ask you out? Doesn't happen often that you'd leave the colony with him." - This made most of the boys look at him, you could even a quiet whistle coming from one side of the table. Most of them were either looking around or looking directly at you. With a snicker, you put the tray back down and looked Calum right in his eyes. - "What makes you think Ekko even wants to ask me out, hm?" "Look at the guy looking at you. Last time you walked by us when I and him talked, he zoned out and watched you walk away." "Well, that's none of your business anyway, is it?" - You asked, ruffling his hair and leaving the table finally. In a few seconds, you caught with Ekko and ran right outside. The weather was nice, the sun was shining and the air smelled sweet. Your favorite kind of a day; a safe one.

Traveling to your final destination took you at least an hour and a half since mostly, you had to climb through many levels of the severs, avoiding being seen. Catching one of you would be bad enough for the colony, but catching both leaders at the same time? Sure, there was no doubt in your mind that your people were capable of surviving and continuing without you two around, but still; you liked to play it safe. Ekko, not caring about safety too much, understood that and agreed to go with you in the more time-consuming and harder way.

Walking into one of the old factories, just a few blocks away from the one that was blown on the night Vander died, the memory took you over again. Inhaling, you looked around and let the bag go with a loud bang. You wanted to forget so hard, you wanted to forget everything connecting you to the Lanes and this part of this city, yet the truth was that the horrors resurfaced on your brain quite often. Sure, you haven't seen Vander dying, and neither did you witness what happened inside the "Crab" building, as you all called it back in the day, but it was a horrendous sight. As soon as you saw the flames and heard Silco's men nearby, Ekko grabbed your hand and tugged it so hard that it set you both in motion; that night, you saved his life just as he saved yours. As you blinked again, Ekko got you out of your trance by gently shaking your shoulder.

"You okay?" "Yea, yea, yea." - You sighed and looked around the empty space. - "Just remembered the old days when us and... They used to play here." "Vi was never playing." - Ekko smirked, setting his own bag up on one of the walls, taking a sip of his drink. - "She was always aiming for the face." - At that, you started laughing. It always felt good to find one good memory amongst all the bad ones. - "You're laughing, but can you even imagine how many times did I have to listen to Benzo's and my parents? You can't imagine, man." - As he said, still smirking, you could hear the familiar metallic clicking, throwing you back to another memory.

Ekko and Powder used to love this game, especially when you spent your evenings at the Arcade. To explain it all, Ekko loved watches and the concept of breaking the time ever since he was a kid. He was a specialist when it came to repairing old clocks, pocket watches, and other items that were supposed to say the time. Usually, they had one-on-one training on the shooting range. Powder stood on the far end with a fake pistol in her hand and Ekko was supposed to reach her with his foam sword before the time on his pocket watch runs out. Those were the rules - Powder was learning how to shoot properly and Ekko was working on his flexibility. It was always fun to see and there was no determination which one of them is better. There were days when Powder won every single one and the opposite. Sometimes, it was more of a game-to-game matter. Either way, it was amongst Ekko's favorite childhood games. And now, when you were all grown up, he only practiced this with you... Since both Powder and Vi were dead for a long time.

"Are we doing this again?" - You mumbled as Ekko lowered himself to pick up a rusty pipe off the ground, leaning it into his shoulder. In the meantime, you checked your clothes and stretched your limbs a few times to make sure you won't fuck up any of your muscles. "Come on, you love it." - Ekko mumbled, licking his lips as he stepped a bit closer to you. At the same time, he let the watch go until it hung on its chain, making the metallic chipping of the chain almost hypnotic as it rung in your ears. - "And every time you'll get me, I can do this." - With a quick motion, Ekko caught his pocket watch in his palm again, pressing a side button. To mimic jumping back in time, he walked back with a few over-dramatized steps; that made you snicker again. - "And we start over again. I can't lose, you know that, right?"

"I'll kick your times over and over again, even if you keep jumping back in time." - Mimicking him, you walked a bit closer too, lighting up your whole forearm with the poisonous flames. - "Doesn't matter how much you try." "Is it getting hot in here or is it just me?" - The young man asked rather flirtatiously, licking his lips again as he filled the empty space between your bodies. It wouldn't take much for you to touch chest to chest at that point. - "What about a bet to make this a bit more exciting?" "Sure, Ekko, you're up." "If I manage to beat, no matter how many times obviously, you owe me a kiss." - Looking into your eyes, he smiled even more and waited for what you had to say about it. For the first time that morning, your eyes had sparks and life inside of them. This made you amused. - "Whatcha betting on?"

As usual, Ekko was sure you'd make your bet focused on something entirely different. Usually, when he asked for such a win prize, you betted on him taking care of the colony's toddlers in the kindergarten for a week straight... Needless to be said he has done that many times. What also needed to be said was that Ekko didn't always bet on favors like kisses and such - sometimes he just asked you to spend your time with him when he worked on his watches or to come freestyling with him and the kids (whenever they were inside the walls). Yet this time, your bet made him scoff and show you his teeth in a broad smile. - "If I win, you owe me a kiss and a bottle of beer when you come back, how does that sound?" "You got yourself a deal, missy." - And with that, Ekko turned on his heels and walked to the other side of the enormous hall. For you, it was an unbreakable promise - he betted on it, so he had to come back from the risky Zeppelin operation and buy you the damn bottle. The thing you were most terrified of was that one day, the troops will come and tell you that Ekko was killed in action. That would be something you knew you wouldn't be able to go through. If he'd die, a huge part of you would die with him.

Watching him walking back, you shook both your forearms and let them light up, consumed by the flames. Ekko, hearing them, turned his head back and smiled daringly. For him, this was one of the most beautiful sights ever. The flames, no matter how dangerous they were, looked magical and magnificent... Especially on a woman like yourself. With another exhale, you let a circle under you lighten up, letting you levitate in that certain area. Arcane was a mysterious, incredible thing to possess; yet there was not a single moment in which you could able yourself to forget how dangerous it could be. Setting steady in his position, Ekko turned to face you, letting the pocket watch fall down as he let it dangle.

From a second to second, there was a sudden mood shift - from best friends (more appropriately "almost lovers") to two people who had the same goal; defeat the other one. For a second, your eyes traveled down to Ekko's watch before you smirked, getting ready. It didn't take Ekko long before he started running towards you - which was also the exact moment in which you fired your first ball, dodging to your far left as your feet touched the ground again, leaving a trail of scorch on the ground. With ease, Ekko rolled out of the fireball's way, and before you could blink, he was on his legs; this time, he almost haven't moved out of the second ball's way.

Looking in your face and on the amount of focus inside of it, Ekko knew you weren't playing around. This was happening in real-time - you weren't sparing him anyway. Each of your balls or touches could leave an ugly burn on his body... He knew so because it had happened before. To surprise the both of you, since there weren't any regular flames, the burns weren't leaving any sort of scar behind - but they still hurt like a motherfucker. Jumping on a nearby wall and moving himself to the upper floor, you lost Ekko out of your sight. Making sure you're calm, you sharpened your eyes and ears as you moved around; since you used the dashing quite a lot, the entire floor was soon to be filled with scorch marks. Marking a movement on the second floor, you fixed your gaze to it and with an amused grimace, you sent a whole bunch of flames that way. At that moment, you were sure you got Ekko; until the next second, when the man circled your throat with his pipe gently, making you fall back to the ground. Kissing your cheek (which you'd call cheating in a way), he let you go and prepared back to his position on the other side of the hall. - "1:0." - Ekko shouted at you, letting his watch go once more.

It was hard to tell how long did you spend doing the same thing over and over again, but you were sure as hell tired at the end of it. Sure, Ekko was burned here and there, but he got more serious ones just a few years ago. Now, he was pinning you down with his pipe (gently so you wouldn't exactly the chance to hurt yourself) and waited for you to give up. The score was 6:6, this being the last training match of the evening. What he didn't count with was the fact that you still possessed healthy limps - so when he felt a kick to his shin, he looked rather surprised. Catching air, Ekko fell flat on his ass and caught the spot to his palms because it was one damn fine hit. It hurt like hell.

"We never established I only have to use Arcana. Hope you know that." - With light coughing, you slid down to sit on the ground and tried to calm yourself. Yes, you knew Ekko wouldn't let you be harmed by his notorious rusty pipe, but there were moments when it pressed your whole throat with more strength than you hoped for. Weirdly looking hematomas were sure as hell coming your way. And if signs of strangling weren't enough, you also bumped your knuckled when you bashed too far up your left. - "By the way, I won." "Because you kicked me to my shin." - Ekko mumbled with pain, letting his leg go. - "I would never expect you to do that." "Yea, but generally, I think it's better to bite the tip of your nose." "Bite the tip of my nose? What?" "Listen, I went through all my options before I kicked you. I chose the least painful one, you should be thankful." "Thankful for a huge-ass hematoma right on my shin. That's a really funny thing to say, mis..." - Before Ekko finished the sentence in its entirety, you caught his chin in your palm and kissed him lightly. As you moved a bit away from him, you looked into his eyes. Both of you were sitting on a cold, concrete floor; you were sitting between his legs spread wide.