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“One day, I’m gonna ride in one of those!” Powder exclaimed in childlike glee, pointing upwards towards a blimp floating lazily in the sky above them. Straining against the bright sunlight, Violet caught a glimpse of it as it passed by.
“Ha, sure you will, kiddo,” She teased, lighthearted. It was the sort of dream that held such pull in a child’s eyes, but she knew Powder would likely forget about it within a month’s time and come up with an even more outlandish proposition. “You know, I don't even think that one's for passengers-”
“Whatever!” Her younger sister stuck out her tongue in defiance. “You know what I mean!”
Chuckling, Vi took Powder by the hand. “Yeah, I do. Maybe one day you will- hide out in one of those shipping crates, maybe?”
“Hey! That’s actually a good idea!” Powder beamed, and then began planning out her heist, animatedly waving her free hand about at each crucial junction. Violet just looked at her and smiled, occasionally throwing in an idea or two of her own. Imagination was always one of Powder’s best talents- it couldn’t hurt to indulge her once in a while. That sort of hope was scarce in Zaun- in a way, she could even feel herself become more light as she listened to Powder’s wild fantasies, even if she herself didn’t share them. And sometimes, there was something she c ould do, even if it was small in comparison to such big dreams.
Case in point- as they passed over the rooftops, Violet found herself with a good view of the many stands of goods that the vendors were hawking on the streets. Knickknacks, little windup toys, fried treats that produced delicious smells that wafted upwards and filled the air- a testament to the peace and prosperity of Piltover. She could see families walk along the promenade, kids crying and pulling their parents towards the myriad of trinkets set up in a tantalizing display. It did its job- Violet could see quite a few of those parents give up and sigh, pulling out their wallets and dropping coins in the hands of the sleezy vendors, who grinned and passed over toys and little bits of fried dough into the waiting hands of spoiled children. But one stall in particular stood out above the rest- a collection of delicate models, some suspended midair through a marvel of engineering Vi could never hope to understand. And among them all, sat a small model of a passenger dirigible.
Vi didn’t have the coin for such things, and she knew it- but that didn’t mean she couldn’t do something about it. Stealing was second nature at this point, and who cared if a few Piltie trinkets went missing here or there? There certainly wasn’t any shortage up here, that was for sure. Making up her mind, Violet signaled Ekko, who had been following them closely since they left the Undercity. Twisting her face in a look she hoped he would pick up on, she nodded her head towards Powder a few times, begging for a distraction. Ekko, smart as he was, didn’t need more than that. With a look of understanding, he suddenly grabbed Powder and pointed her attention in another direction, towards a stall selling toy replicas of weapons. Enthralled, the two went to go get a closer look, and Violet jumped from the rooftop into the alleyway near the model stall. She didn’t have much time- maybe a few minutes at most, but she would make do. Powder was a nosy little brat- she’d surely figure out what her older sister was planning if she didn’t do this quickly.
Sighing, she peeked out from the shadows, eyes tracking the movements of the vendor. He was distracted hawking his wares to a young man, gesturing wildly at one the floating models and seemingly reciting a sales pitch. Rolling her eyes, Vi zeroed in on her target. The small toy dirigible was sitting near the edge of the display, among a group of unicycles which wound up, the facsimile of a man that sat atop them running his legs around in circles as they traveled across the table. It was still in the view of those on the street, however- even if the vendor himself was distracted, someone was bound to see her snatch it if she wasn’t careful. Too bad Powder hadn’t gotten her bombs to work yet- a smoke bomb would be a welcome distraction right now.
Thinking, she noticed the neighboring stall, which was selling some kind of sweet pancake-things covered in cream and fruits. The vendor was too busy fulfilling orders to give a care to much else around him- a perfect opportunity. Palming a rock, Vi spotted a pot full of batter sat to the side, not yet ready to be put onto the grill. Grinning, she aimed, and fired, knocking the pot over and spilling the contents everywhere, including on said grill, where they quickly began to burn. The smell of burnt pancakes filled the air as onlookers gawked at the chef, who was frantically trying to clean up the mess and reassure his customers. Said customers looked incensed, and one lady began screaming at him, causing a further ruckus. Stifling a laugh, Violet quickly snuck out from the alleyway, making her way towards the stall selling the model dirigible.
There it sat, right on the table, just in reach. The toy vendor had chased the young man to the other stall, where said man was trying in vain to cool down the situation between the pancake vendor and the screaming woman. Quickly palming the toy, Violet looked around to make sure she hadn’t been spotted. Satisfied that she had not been, she jumped right back up onto the rooftop, looking out on the chaos she had caused. She winced a bit as the angry lady started getting in the vendor’s face, screaming something about a “refund”. Jeez, Pilties were uptight. The dark haired man who was trying to break up the situation looked a little like a lost puppy, and the model vendor was already returning to his stall, pride wounded from the loss of a sale. With a last look at the scene below, Vi turned to go rejoin Ekko and Powder. They had a job to do, after all.
__
Jinx wasn’t sure what had brought her back here. Perhaps she was more sentimental than she thought- or perhaps it was the reopened wound in her chest which drove her backwards, into the past, back to that past she could never return to.
For a moment, she had thought she could. But that had been foolish, stupid, so stupid - Vi had a new life now, people she loved (she wanted to tear that Enforcer’s throat out- ) and she had no use for a Jinx. No, what she had wanted was Powder- but Powder was dead . Kicking a can in frustration, she collapsed to the ground and cried out. Old cutouts marked with vivid paint surrounded her, mocked her. Saying ‘See? Don’t you see? You’re just like us now- left to rot, after outliving your use!’ Screaming, she grabbed her gun, and pulled the trigger, again, and again, and again. A burning smell filled her nostrils, and Jinx dug her nails into her skin. Burning, burning, just like that night -
A loud clattering sound broke through her delusions, and the young woman startled, blindly shooting in the vague direction of noise. After a while, Jinx noticed there wasn’t actually anyone there- instead, a metal pipe had dislodged itself from the ceiling. The smoking bullet holes littering it clued into how exactly it had managed to meet such a fate- wincing, she stepped closer, inspecting the mess she had made. Shards of metal littered the ground, and she had to dance around them, giggling a bit as she found herself skipping around, then thinking better of herself, fell limp. There was no room for levity in her heart, and even that weak attempt just pulled Jinx closer to the dark abyss below. Sighing and wringing one of her braids in her hands, she reached towards one of the shards. Palming it, she squeezed, and drops of pinkish blood ran down her arm, dripping onto the floor. The action grounded her.
Looking downwards, as Jinx watched the blood begin to pool upon the ground, she saw a light within the pipe. Squinting, she crouched, and pushed her face up to one of the bullet holes, feeling the rough metal scratch against her skin. Leaning closer, she spotted a small flame, ignited by the gunpowder, slowly eating away at a dusty piece of paper. Intrigued, she dug around in the pipe with her free hand, finally taking the paper in her grasp. It ripped slightly as she pulled it free- it was brittle, and dry, clearly having been left here a long time ago. A hidden treasure! How exciting- she wondered, distantly, why it would be hidden here , of all places- she couldn’t call upon any memories of doing so herself, anyways- and feeling impatient, she yanked it free.
The paper was actually an old newspaper, Jinx realized. Faded words, too faded to read, covered its yellowed surface. And connected to said paper, was a small wooden box. It had once been wrapped neatly, but by now the tape holding it together had spoiled, and the paper had curled up on the edges from the moisture of the pipe. Only half covered now, it didn’t take much effort at all to free the wooden box from the rest of the paper. Eager, she inspected the box from all angles- Looking upwards at it from the ground, Jinx frowned. It looked terribly boring and nondescript- nothing interesting about it from the outside, that was for sure. Definitely not hers- perhaps it had belonged to Ekko or no no don’t think about them don’t-
Biting her lip, Jinx slammed the box down into her lap. The blood from her injured hand smeared across its surface, giving it some color, at least. Taking a shaky breath, she decided that no, it absolutely didn’t matter who this belonged to, now it was hers, she had found it, finder’s keepers, ya know? Scraping her nails across the lip of the box, she let out a frustrated groan, not being able to find purchase on the lid. The humidity had warped the box itself, and it remained stubbornly shut. Not willing to give up, she pulled out the metal shard once more and jammed it between the two sides of the box, letting out a cheer as she finally popped it open.
And then, she paused.
Inside, nestled carefully among more newspaper, was a small model dirigible. The metal filigree adorning it shimmered a bit even in the dim light of the hideout. Running a finger over the fabric of the balloon, Jinx gasped. It was beautiful . Glancing behind her, as if someone would suddenly run in and snatch it from her, she held it close to her body. Vague shadows flitted about, and she screamed at them to go away- its mine its mine its mine- and she looked down as it rested in her arms. Suddenly aware of the wound on her palm, she pulled her hand away, frightened to stain the pretty thing with her blood. A small patch of bright color made her heart pound- had she already tainted it? Already messed up this treasure she had just found?
No, no, the color was blue. Her blood wasn’t blue- pulling the toy up to her eye and inspecting it, Jinx saw a small piece of metal formed into the crude shape of a person. It was placed in the bottom platform of the toy, where passengers would sit on a real dirigible. The figure had a basic stick-figure appearance, and a big smile- and most shockingly, a head full of blue hair. Throwing the toy down, she dug around in the box frantically, until she pulled out a brittle scrap of paper filled with messy handwriting.
Dear Powder,
Happy Birthday! I uh, totally didn’t steal this or anything- don’t wanna be a bad influence for my sis, so DON’T GET ANY IDEAS, YOU HEAR ME? - Haha, I’m joking. Of course I stole it- but seriously, don’t try going off on your own. If you wanna go make trouble, make sure to bring your big sis along, okay?
Make sure to thank Ekko, too- he helped me make the lil Powder, you know I’m not crafty like you or him are- but I painted the hair! So technically, I did part of it. Also, he was kinda my partner in crime- distracted you while I was getting this ready. Man, I hope it was actually a surprise, and you didn’t find this early. Fingers crossed, I guess?
Anyways, I know you would have preferred a real balloon ride, but this’ll have to do for now. Don’t worry- you’ll get up there one day. I know you will.
Love ya, little monkey.
Vi
A wetness slipped down Jinx’s cheeks. Roughly, she wiped them with her good hand, sniffling. Why now? Why had she found this now? Early? ‘Ha, sis, looks like you missed my birthday by a lot… and not just one of them, either. I’m gonna need more than one lousy present to make up for that… Sobbing, she pulled the toy closer to her chest, hoping in vain that it would meld to her body. There was a splinter in her heart, and it was being pushed further and further down with each moment. How cruel- she had hoped it had been pulled a long time ago, but it seemed that Jinx just wasn’t strong enough. Would she ever be strong enough, on her own?
She didn’t want to be alone.
__
Deep in the Undercity, hidden in an abandoned ventilation shaft, a young woman had made her home. Fluorescent paint, colorful cloth, and strings of lights decorated the place- it had all the trappings of a secret base, a hidden lair for the misfits of the world. A young girl looked at it and marveled, perhaps in the same way that the woman who had built it once had. And as she went to bother Jinx about another beetle fight, the girl noticed a toy sitting reverently upon a shelf, pushed to the side. Interested, she got on her tiptoes to look inside.
In the front seat of a tiny model dirigible, two stick figures smiled, hand in hand.