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“I wasn’t sure you would come.”
The Herald has his back to her, hunched over a journal he skims with his fingers. Jinx doesn’t need to strain her eyes to see they are about Hextech. The annotations in there indicate they are from the earlier days before it was launched, the bottom corner is signed Viktor & Jayce Talis. She scoffs.
“Well, Zaun isn’t going to build itself.”
She side-eyes him.
“That is true.”
He finally closes the journal and stands up to put it on a shelf before turning to face her.
“The things you have created are proof of a brilliant mind, you only need to… steer it towards a less destructive path.”
She rolls her eyes and crosses her arms in front of her chest. “Yeah, sure, whatever. Give me something to work on before I regret it.”
“I don’t have anything yet, starting this community has taken up all my time.” The other gestures at a chair for her to sit, and she has to roll her eyes again. Everything he does and says feels as if he is trying to evangelize her. Jinx plops in the seat, spinning in it and around the studio. “But I am… was a man of science once and I guess there is a part of me that misses those times.”
Jinx hums, she wonders if the was is because now the Herald is more machine than man or if there is something else in it.
“Wait, we ?” She stops twirling, eyes trying to focus on a point now that the place has decided to keep spinning without her. “You mean as in partners?”
It takes the Herald longer than she expects to answer, and for the first time since they met, she hears hesitance in his voice.
“We could call it that.”
“M’more in the business of working alone.” Her focal point is the window. She can see Isha running around and playing with other Zaunite kids, laughing freely. She sighs. “But I suppose that we are doing things a little bit differently now.”
She lets her head fall between her knees and extends an arm.
“Hand me a pen and paper. Where do we start?”
“By how should I call you?” He says but still places an empty journal and pen in her hand. “I’m aware of the debate over Powder and Jinx, I think it should be your decision.”
Her decision. The concept in itself is foreign. It has never been her decision.
There is Powder, that girl was born from her parents, sister, Vander, Mylo, Claggor, Ekko. Jinx is the creation of all the events that unfurled that one night. She had told Vi it was her, and it’s partially true, but it was the Vi from that night, not the one that made up tales on the spot and san lullabies for her so she could fall asleep. Silco came in and for him, Jinx was perfect, Powder no more than a defective version of her. Ekko tried and for him, Jinx is everything that could be wrong, she deemed her beyond salvation. She worked hard for him to believe it, so she guesses she can’t fault him. Then Vi returned from death and she didn’t know who she was anymore, the voices in her head louder than ever so she let her sister choose for her.
That gave her purpose… for a while. She convinced herself that only Jinx was left, little crybaby Powder drowned at the bottom of a river. However, too many things have happened since then, enough to make her question her identity again. A never ending loop.
It’s time for her to make the choice. She isn’t ready. She is still not sure of who she is but she does know what she wants to be for the people of Zaun.
“Just call me friend .”
“Sounds good, friend. You may call me Viktor”
“To be clear, I’ll call you Cookie and you have no say in that.”
Viktor doesn’t answer, only smiles. It’s invisible in his mouth but very much present in his eyes.