#mythae

breaking into viktor's lab wasn't difficult, at least not for her -- but those alarms they never did learn how to shut up. "i know, i know, fishbones," she all but crooned to her bazooka as she precariously plopped down with a box of candy and stared at the chalk-drawn formulas on the board. "--- but good ol' vikky likes it when we visit, ain't that right?" wild pink eyes race to pinpoint the scientist in the doorframe behind her.     /     unprompted; @mythae ( @vaultbreak​ it won’t let me tag ur multi RIP )

A SIGH, BARELY AUDIBLE, before he quiets the alarm with the press of a button. at least she entered without breaking anything this time — he doesn’t relish the idea of having to reattach the door again after the last time she decided to pay him a visit. if she were less volatile in her moods, he might be inclined to program an exception for her into his defenses, if only to minimize any property she might cause, but as is … well, he’d prefer not to encourage her behavior any more than he already has. the last thing he needs is jinx deciding she has free access to his lab at her own leisure.

         “  when you aren’t causing collateral damage.  ”  his voice is mild as he says it, watching as she makes herself at home in front of the chalkboard. he wonders how much of it she understands — he’s long since learned not to underestimate her. while her education might be limited, she has an instinctual understanding of engineering that he can’t help but find impressive. where might she be, he wonders, if she’d been raised by a more nurturing hand than silco’s ?

         he was about the age she is now when he enrolled in the academy in piltover, he thinks, and the thought of it almost makes him feel nostalgic. almost.

         “  also, speaking of collateral damage …  ”  he steps around her to his workbench, barely glancing at her before picking up something that looks suspiciously like one of her grenades from the table and holding it up toward her, just out of her reach. [ his expression, hidden behind the mask, is unreadable, but there’s something almost like amusement in his voice. ]  “  … apparently someone took out half a block in piltover using something suspiciously similar to one of my gravitational fields. you wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you ?  ”

          the  paint  on  the  walls  of  the  riga  apartment  they’re  positioned  in  is  cracked  and  peeling  with  age,  revealing  layers  of  paint  underneath,  and  the  whiteout  midmorning  sky  illuminates  the  spare,  impersonal  room  through  the  window  —  this  is  the  most  light  they’ll  have  all  day.  on  the  wood  kitchen  table,  sova  has  laid  out  his  daggers  and  arrows  neatly.  one  by  one  he  examines  them,  checks  them  for  their  sonar  frequency  and  electric  flux,  weighs  them,  inspects  the  fletching  and  calibrates  their  currents.  this  isn’t  even  half  his  arsenal,  most  of  his  gear  he  has  stored  on  board  of  the  aircraft  they  will  take  to  icebox  this  evening,  but  he  would  never  leave  the  house  without  base  equipment,  much  less  going  to  a  kingdom  researching  site  that  has  almost  been  compromised  before  by  their  doubles’  radianite-stealing  technology.

          the  hunter  doesn’t  look  up  when  chamber,  his  partner  for  this  mission,  approaches  behind  him,  though  he  is  keenly  aware  of  him.  any  person  can  tell  that  chamber  is  a  very  special  kind  of  man  only  by  looking  at  him,  or  hearing  his  voice,  but  it  is  something  in  his  presence  that  feels  momentous,  too.  there  is  certainly  more  to  him  than  meets  the  eye,  even  one  as  sharp  as  sova’s.

          new  agents  don’t  get  eased  into  the  program  after  their  initial  training,  much  less  those  starting  out  in  such  high  profile  position,  but  out  of  all  people  chamber  seems  to  come  into  all  this  knowing  more  about  kingdom  and  its  mirror  company  than  even  some  people  in  the  protocol.  with  the  level  of  clearance  and  valorant  resources  given  to  him,  he  should  be  a  valuable  asset  on  this  mission.

    Now if this isn’t curious.

    Khada Jhin is in the Zhyun foothills, not far from Jyom Pass. These days it’s a borderland, near the southern front, and the merchant caravan he’s traveling with tire him daily with their stories of fear and nervousness for coming here. Fortunately today had been the last day he had to listen to their squabbling, as unlike the merchants Jhin is not here to get closer to the Ivory Coast and Valoran beyond. Woe to be anyone that’d think war would mean anything to the Devil of Jyom Pass but another iron in his fire.

    Out of all things, he hadn’t expected a child.

    The redleaf forests are thick here as they are always in Zhyun, a favorite for Ionian troops when retreating after battle as Noxians are as graceful navigating the briars as they are with just about anything, which is to say never. A little bird has told Jhin that members of the Order of Shadow are to be counted here, and who would he be if not a snoop? He doesn’t expect Zed would mind… or know, given Zed’s track record with seeing through an illusory mien. Typical.

    But why a child?

    That’s what Jhin sees: a solitary child having made camp. Not particularly well or well hidden, but what could anyone expect? The boy’s thrown together enough sticks to get the facsimile of a campfire going, with what Jhin presumes is a hay mat aside. Ruddy face and mud-soaked arms. Hnh. An orphan?

    This was the Golden Demon, yes, but Khada Jhin was also a boy once. He sees something in the child’s eyes that reminds him of himself, of younger years and younger anger. Having heard nothing that would indicate more Order goons are on their way, he makes the decision to reveal from the trees a perfectly normal, blue-eyed man in inconspicuous clothes and traveler’s gear.

    “Hello,” he says. “Is there a reason why you’re all alone?”

“     NO.     WAY.     it’s  a  poro  with  a  mustache,     just  like  yours     !!!!     ”

‘  i  bet  it  never  ever  occurred  to  you.  ’ / sevika to mel [ @mythae​ ] lyric prompts: accepting but slow 

“  THAT WHAT NEVER EVEN OCCURRED TO ME ?  ”  there is an iciness in her voice as she says it, hands steepled primly in front of her face. brown eyes never leave the other woman’s, sharp and catlike; behind them, at the door, she can see her guard detail at the ready, just in case the other woman decides to try something. [ mel is reasonably certain she won’t, but it never hurts to be cautious. ] she leans forward in her seat, head tilted to one side, eyes narrowing in thought.

         “  that jinx might turn on silco after learning of the council’s proposal ?  ”  she watches sevika for any hint of weakness, any crack in her armor, any tell. she is — was — silco’s second, and the councilor knows better than to underestimate her. a man like silco would never have placed such value in her if she had nothing more to offer than muscle. no — she may be brash, even crude, but she is no fool. she knows better than that.  “  no, i suppose we had not planned for such.  ”

powder was strategically crouched beside his desk as she reaches to slide the monkey mug she'd made for him out of varying scrap with a cute multi-color angry face drawn on with her oil crayons into his view. admittedly, the scientist was distracted with his work so she did wonder if he'd notice right away. she waits for a breath, then two, chewing at her bottom lip before deciding to try to sneak away --- leaving her gift to him as a surprise.

unprompted | @mythae​ 

HE’S AWARE, DISTANTLY, OF HER PRESENCE, in the same way he might be aware of a chill in the air, or an aching limb, or of his own hunger. a distraction, tuned out in favor of the hextech crystal in front of him. [ they’ve learned how to stabilize them, but that is only the first step in learning how to use them. ] the scratch of a pencil against paper, scribbling patterns of runes, is the only audible sound in the lab, free hand twisting idly in the strands of hair just behind his ear.

         it isn’t until his elbow bumps something on the desk — something that had not been there mere moments before, he’s certain of it — that he stills, glancing down at the item in question. built of mismatched scrap-metal. a cup ? a mug ? he plucks it from the table with gentle fingers, turning it over between his hands. the construction is simple, even crude, but the craftsmanship is quite competent; he inspects the sides, the inside, the bottom, tests the integrity of the handle with a gentle tug.

         a small smile tugs at the corners of his lips before he sets the mug back onto his desk, in the far corner this time, where it’s unlikely to be jostled. she reminds him of himself at that age, sometimes — though certainly her creations are more … colorful than his had been. unnecessary, perhaps, but he cannot deny that it lends it a certain charm.

@mythae  ❤’d. 

‘  when was the last time you were in the city?  ‘   rosaria believed she already knew the answer to her query, but she had to ask anyway.  if he’d been in mondstadt at all over the past few days, surely she would have seen him.  she glanced around his lab, making mental notes about it looked like he was almost out of supplies.  she knew he didn’t really need rest either though they never talked about it, just like they never talked about her vampiric nature.  it went without saying between the two friends, though they both silently acknowledged it at the very least.

gloved fingers tucked stray ivory tresses behind her ear before looking down at him, then at the notes on his desk.   ‘  you need to take a break from your experiments for a day or two.  go back to the city to stay in your apartment for the night, go see sucrose & timaeus, klee...  something to get you out of here for a bit.  ‘

          the  gifts  that  chamber  leaves  behind  are  infamous,  especially  by  the  standards  of  the  enemies  he  leaves  trapped  and  exposed.  this  certainly  won’t  be  sova’s  fate,  he  trusts  his  partner  and  fellow  agent  enough,  unless  they  happen  to  come  across  his  mirror  self,  in  which  case  he’d  be  best  advised  to  run.  even  on  such  occasion,  though,  chamber  may  have  a  secret  treaty  or  trick;  as  versed  as  he  is  in  handling  their  omega  counterparts,  sova  is  sure  he  is  prepared  for  any  turn  of  events.  a  hard  man  to  trust,  but  a  fantastic  ally  to  have  on  your  side.

          if  he  were  somebody  who  bothered  with  feigned  smiles  and  distant  politeness,  his  response  could  have  been  colder,  but  once  trust  is  established  there  is  no  reason  not  to  show  it.  sova’s  smile  is  hearty  and  genuine;  even  if  he  has  no  need  for  anything  material,  a  gift  is  always  from  the  heart.