THE WORLD BELOW (VixCaitlyn) / a dive into season two

Dawn

"Make her go away. Please." Jinx begged, hunched over the chair where Vi sat tied up and shaking, the gun in her bound hands. "Send her on her way and-"

Catilyn groaned in fear through her iron muzzle. She could feel the rusty metal digging into her skin as she stared into Vi's eyes, pleading, searching for the glimpses of caring she had found in them before.

"-And... you can have Powder back." Jinx continued in a pained tone, her eyes skipping back and forth between the two captives. Caitlyn vainly tried to scream and flailed powerlessly within her restraints as Jinx cut though her sister's bindings. Vi was now staring at the gun, ignoring Caitlyn's pleas as she tightened her hold on the grip and raised the barrel towards her direction. "Look at me!" Caitlyn tried to beg "Vi! Please..."

Jinx had laid her arm around her sister's shoulders, whispering into her ear as she nodded frantically. Without raising her eyes from the ground, Vi pointed the gun at Caitlyn's face, her arm shaking wildly as she spoke:

"I'm sorry, Cupcake. Oil and Water. It just wasn't meant to be."

Then she pulled the trigger.

Caitlyn bolted out of her bed, soaked in cold sweat. It was just before dawn and the first birds were anxiously announcing another stormy day for Piltover. She tried to rub the shivers off her shoulders as she frantically stumbled towards the window and tried to force it open. It was locked. She grabbed her gun from the bedside table, her heartbeat slowly stabilizing, and walked up to the door. The alarm was still armed. She entered the code and opened the door. Two guards were standing to either side of it

"Awake so early, Miss. Kiramman?" the senior asked. Caitlyn knew him: He was a retired enforcer who had been her instructor when she had just started her training. On the other side, a young rookie was leaning his head against the doorframe, snoring lightly.

Caitlyn lowered her gun and left it just behind her bedroom door.

"I want to go see my mother" she said in a firm voice, trying to hide her fear.

"I wouldn't mind a morning walk, if you don't mind the company..." the old man spoke softly with a knowing look on his face. Caitlyn nodded, thankful she didn't have to ask. The guard picked up his weapon and poked his colleague in the stomach with the handle. "Time to wake up, new blood!" he added as he walked by, Caitlyn at his side "It's a new day."

- - -

Elsewhere, deep down in the lanes, the faint daylight had a harder time reaching the sleepy streets, dampened by the gases and drowned out by the neon lights. Vi woke up to the disappointed grumbles of Jericho, the giant owner of the main street seafood stall. He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her, as she struggled to keep her eyes open.

"You're cruel, man..." she moaned, pulling herself up to a stand while the world spun all around her. She dragged her heavy limbs to one of the barstools, fighting hard not to fall over as she clumsily climbed onto it and slammed her forehead on the counter.

Jericho continued grumbling in disapproval as he poured oil onto the grill and lit it on fire. He lifted a bucket onto the counter and began pulling out toads, tearing off the legs to put aside while throwing the limbless corpses into a boiling pot of soup behind him. Unbothered by the sound of his slashing and the helpless croaks of his prey, Vi was about to fall back into a drunken slumber. Just before she was able to slip away, however, she was hit by a gush of freezing water so violently that it sent her flying off her chair.

Coughing and gagging she picked herself up and sent an incredulous stare at the shopowner. Jericho's expression was a mixture of anger and malicious joy, as he threw the dripping bucket at her feet.

"What?" Vi complained "Why would you do this? I'm going to smell like frogspawn for days!"

She shook herself like a dog, picking a piece of algae from her jacket "Ew..." she groaned, throwing the sticky greens out into the street. "You're not going to put this back in the soup now, are you, Jericho?" she teased as she sat back onto her stool, now fully awake. Jericho grinned, turning to his work.

"Why are you mad at me anyway, my man?" Vi pulled out a coin from her pocket and spun it around on the counter "I'm up and awake in the early morning and I even showered, just for you. Don't you think I deserve some breakfast?" she asked in a flattering tone, raising an eyebrow.

Jericho grumbled something without looking up from his work. He ignored Vi as he sliced a large octopus into bite-sized pieces for his famous skewers, hammering his large knives onto the cutting board with the confidence of a lifetime's experience. Only when he had finished his last bucket of meat he turned around to Vi, who was slouched over the counter again with a playful pout.

"Please?" she begged "For old times' sake?"

The shopkeeper sighed, dipping a large bowl into the soup while complaining loudly. He slung the bowl at Vi who caught it eagerly, dipping her hands into the sticky goodness. "You just can't resist me, can you?" she said between slurps. Jericho remained quiet. Deep under the layers of grease and his thick amphibian skin he was longing for the days he'd serve four snickering children instead of the miserable shadow of the one who had been left behind.