[Caitlyn looks down at herself, then back at the screen, and then around to check whether anyone's watching her. A couple people are glancing, which only makes her walk that much more quickly and stiffly. She's not used to her looks being commented on, and she's certainly not used to being gawked at.
Part of her had gotten a thrill out of the idea of sneaking over to the other half of the city, and that part is disappointed to hear that apparently it's not really an issue.
Sigh. Huff.] Very well. I'll meet you shortly.
[It doesn't take her too long to find her way to the... library? Well, that is a surprise. She wouldn't have thought of Vi as an avid library patron. Despite Vi's assurance that her that her presence in Eidris will at worst garner a few looks, she's trying to be covert. 'Covert,' of course, means constant furtive glances in all directions and walking like all her joints have rusted to the point of near immobility.
She makes her way towards the front doors, keeping a lookout for that familiar shock of red hair.]
[ She'll be leaning against the wall near the doors, keeping an eye out for Caitlyn as well as everyone else around her. The place still unnerves her. Everything is so...big. Tall. Open. Weirdly, she misses Zaun's air.
Vi is definitely more dressed down, still sporting most of her outfit from home, except it has been blessedly run through the wash. More than once a week, even, imagine that. She's living like a fucking princess.
Spotting Caitlyn, there's a smile full of curiosity at the image she makes. Damn. A little too pristine for a library, but at least it's not a back alley in the Lanes. ]
Nice get-up. Do you get to keep it?
[ She wouldn't really mind that...really. Absolutely doing an appreciative once over (twice over), before sliding over to hold a door open. ]
I. Um. [She'd been assuming that yes, she gets to keep the clothes. But perhaps she shouldn't assume. Would she even want to? They're not very comfortable or practical. Though she's watching closely as Vi's eyes rake over her. Closely and still a little bit surprised that someone like Vi finds her, well, 'hot.'
Still stiff as a board, she makes her way into the library, taking in the interior of the building as she goes. It's not quite as grandiose as the main library in Piltover, but it's impressively large and strikingly beautiful.
After a moment, she catches herself staring up at the ceiling, and turns back to Vi.]
Is there somewhere private we could speak? [she asks in her most polite library voice.]
[ She'll smile when she catches Caitlyn looking at the ceiling, then nods and leads her towards the elevator. It may not go all the way to the top, but it'll at least carry them several floors, and from there they can take the stairs to the roof. Whatever lock was on that access door is definitely not there now.
The flirt to her smile does sober up at Caitlyn clearly wanting to pursue a specific topic. Did she discover something new about this place? Probably something awful. ]
[Caitlyn follows Vi to the elevator, relaxing a bit once they're inside and away from prying eyes or ears.
She shakes her head.] I spoke with Viktor. About the gemstones.
[This is a sensitive topic, she knows, and one they might disagree about. She doesn't want to start an argument, but this is a conversation they need to have.]
[Caitlyn pauses, considering what to say next. As much as she likes to think she's a neutral and objective third party when it comes to the hexgems, she's still upset that Vi went to Jayce after leaving her, and she doesn't understand why Jayce did what he did. She's anything but neutral and objective when it comes to Vi and Jayce.]
Viktor isn't well. [She says it softly. There's no sense sugar-coating it, but the idea that he's ill and suffering is not easy to verbalize.] He believes that he can create a device with the hexgems that will cure his illness.
[ The news isn't particularly surprising, but it's not what she expected to hear. She was waiting for a lecture. Now she feels a bit guilty over that, grimacing for a moment while glancing down.
He'd looked weak; like the sort with a sickly constitution. She might have seen this coming, except he'd kept pointing out ways to use it to help others and she'd let the distraction work. Vi can guess why he 'isn't well', and there's a bitter edge to her melancholy. She should have spotted how bad it was right away. ]
Must be pretty bad if he needs to turn to the gemstones for a cure.
[A sideways glance seems to confirm that Vi isn't happy. Whether it's sorrow for Viktor's illness or frustration at the implication that he ought to have the gemstones, Caitlyn isn't entirely certain. She suspects it's likely a mix of both.]
I doubt he'd resort to using the gemstones if there were any other way.
[She trusts that, despite Vi's feelings, Vi understands that Viktor's need for the gemstones is greater.
She glances quickly again at Vi, before her gaze returns to the elevator doors and her brow furrows, unsure of how to address her own frustration.]
It's possible the two of you may be able to share them. He mentioned coming to an arrangement.
[ She doesn't answer right away, with her silence on the matter only drawn out when the doors ding open and a squat, yawning man wanders in. Fortunately it's time to exit, so she'll reach for Caitlyn's wrist to gently pull her along. If anything, her gentle touch should reveal that she isn't resistant to what Caitlyn's suggesting. ]
This way.
[ It's a bit of a walk through the stacks, but behind a collection of monolithic book cases and leather chairs in a forgotten section of the library is a door with stairwell access leading to the roof. Several books keep the door propped open, courtesy of yours truly. ]
[Caitlyn follows along after Vi, her head turning periodically to glance at the book titles out of curiosity. There's probably a lot of useful and interesting information here, they could really--
Her thought gets cut off as they enter the stairwell.]
Is this... Are we going up to the roof? [She probably should have known that the roof would be Vi's preferred destination, but she's still rather surprised that access is this easy.]
[ It was easy for Vi to locate the staff member and steal the key for the door, but it probably wouldn't have been easy for Cait. The key had been returned before anyone was the wiser, and that back door just isn't used often enough for anyone to have noticed the books Vi wedged there. It had only been a few minutes, after all.
She hops up ahead of Cait steps several steps at a time, using the banister for a boost, but always stopping on the next landing so she doesn't leave her too far behind. They pass a few locked doors for records, something that just says 'staff only', but Vi keeps going until they reach the roof access, where—you got it—the door is wedged open again.
She wonders if Cait's ever been this high up, but even to Vi it's breathtaking every time she touches the sky like this once they're on the roof. To be honest, Vi isn't sure which city has the higher skyscrapers. It's a pretty close competition. ]
[Caitlyn hurries after Vi, though she takes the stairs one at a time. Each time they pass by a door to a records room, she pauses, wondering what's inside and how fascinating and informative its contents must be - but Vi's easily keeping ahead of her, and she doesn't want to lag too far behind.
She finds herself blinking in the light when they finally step out into the roof, but once her eyes adjust, she has to pause to take in the sight. It's not unlike the view from the highest floors of the Academy or the Council building, but the fact that Caitlyn's seen such a view before doesn't make it any less stunning. And this is an entirely new city laid out before her. New sights she's never seen, new people, new buildings, a new world.
She catches sight of a dragon swooping around a tower and beams, throwing a glance to Vi to see whether she finds this as thrilling as Caitlyn does.]
Vi, this is beautiful.
[How high up are they, exactly? She decides to lean over the edge of the roof to look, but grabs hold of Vi's jacket with one hand and clings on for dear life while she does so.
Very high, is the answer. She jolts back, stepping away from the edge, still clinging to Vi's jacket. She'll enjoy the view from the safety of a few feet back.]
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Part of her had gotten a thrill out of the idea of sneaking over to the other half of the city, and that part is disappointed to hear that apparently it's not really an issue.
Sigh. Huff.] Very well. I'll meet you shortly.
[It doesn't take her too long to find her way to the... library? Well, that is a surprise. She wouldn't have thought of Vi as an avid library patron. Despite Vi's assurance that her that her presence in Eidris will at worst garner a few looks, she's trying to be covert. 'Covert,' of course, means constant furtive glances in all directions and walking like all her joints have rusted to the point of near immobility.
She makes her way towards the front doors, keeping a lookout for that familiar shock of red hair.]
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Vi is definitely more dressed down, still sporting most of her outfit from home, except it has been blessedly run through the wash. More than once a week, even, imagine that. She's living like a fucking princess.
Spotting Caitlyn, there's a smile full of curiosity at the image she makes. Damn. A little too pristine for a library, but at least it's not a back alley in the Lanes. ]
Nice get-up. Do you get to keep it?
[ She wouldn't really mind that...really. Absolutely doing an appreciative once over (twice over), before sliding over to hold a door open. ]
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Still stiff as a board, she makes her way into the library, taking in the interior of the building as she goes. It's not quite as grandiose as the main library in Piltover, but it's impressively large and strikingly beautiful.
After a moment, she catches herself staring up at the ceiling, and turns back to Vi.]
Is there somewhere private we could speak? [she asks in her most polite library voice.]
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The flirt to her smile does sober up at Caitlyn clearly wanting to pursue a specific topic. Did she discover something new about this place? Probably something awful. ]
Did something happen?
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She shakes her head.] I spoke with Viktor. About the gemstones.
[This is a sensitive topic, she knows, and one they might disagree about. She doesn't want to start an argument, but this is a conversation they need to have.]
I'd like to discuss what he said.
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fuck. Mood tanked. The temperature drop might be palpable. ]
Yeah?
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Viktor isn't well. [She says it softly. There's no sense sugar-coating it, but the idea that he's ill and suffering is not easy to verbalize.] He believes that he can create a device with the hexgems that will cure his illness.
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He'd looked weak; like the sort with a sickly constitution. She might have seen this coming, except he'd kept pointing out ways to use it to help others and she'd let the distraction work. Vi can guess why he 'isn't well', and there's a bitter edge to her melancholy. She should have spotted how bad it was right away. ]
Must be pretty bad if he needs to turn to the gemstones for a cure.
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I doubt he'd resort to using the gemstones if there were any other way.
[She trusts that, despite Vi's feelings, Vi understands that Viktor's need for the gemstones is greater.
She glances quickly again at Vi, before her gaze returns to the elevator doors and her brow furrows, unsure of how to address her own frustration.]
It's possible the two of you may be able to share them. He mentioned coming to an arrangement.
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This way.
[ It's a bit of a walk through the stacks, but behind a collection of monolithic book cases and leather chairs in a forgotten section of the library is a door with stairwell access leading to the roof. Several books keep the door propped open, courtesy of yours truly. ]
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Her thought gets cut off as they enter the stairwell.]
Is this... Are we going up to the roof? [She probably should have known that the roof would be Vi's preferred destination, but she's still rather surprised that access is this easy.]
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[ It was easy for Vi to locate the staff member and steal the key for the door, but it probably wouldn't have been easy for Cait. The key had been returned before anyone was the wiser, and that back door just isn't used often enough for anyone to have noticed the books Vi wedged there. It had only been a few minutes, after all.
She hops up ahead of Cait steps several steps at a time, using the banister for a boost, but always stopping on the next landing so she doesn't leave her too far behind. They pass a few locked doors for records, something that just says 'staff only', but Vi keeps going until they reach the roof access, where—you got it—the door is wedged open again.
She wonders if Cait's ever been this high up, but even to Vi it's breathtaking every time she touches the sky like this once they're on the roof. To be honest, Vi isn't sure which city has the higher skyscrapers. It's a pretty close competition. ]
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She finds herself blinking in the light when they finally step out into the roof, but once her eyes adjust, she has to pause to take in the sight. It's not unlike the view from the highest floors of the Academy or the Council building, but the fact that Caitlyn's seen such a view before doesn't make it any less stunning. And this is an entirely new city laid out before her. New sights she's never seen, new people, new buildings, a new world.
She catches sight of a dragon swooping around a tower and beams, throwing a glance to Vi to see whether she finds this as thrilling as Caitlyn does.]
Vi, this is beautiful.
[How high up are they, exactly? She decides to lean over the edge of the roof to look, but grabs hold of Vi's jacket with one hand and clings on for dear life while she does so.
Very high, is the answer. She jolts back, stepping away from the edge, still clinging to Vi's jacket. She'll enjoy the view from the safety of a few feet back.]