"How are you walking without your cane?" Jayce asked, running a hand through his hair in shock and joy. "This... This is incredible! We have to celebrate."
Immediately, he began tidying up the worktables, filing study papers back as if the day were already over despite the sun still hanging high in the sky. But Viktor grabbed his shoulder and shook his head firmly.
"No. Leave it. We'll have a guest tonight- a token of my gratitude."
"Really? Who is it?"
Viktor paused briefly, his gaze searching Jayce's eager expression before carefully answering, "The mage."
"What?! You met with the mage?!"
"I was returning with an alternative solution from the Undercity when-"
"Why were you in the Undercity?! They're dangerous! They behave like animals!"
"I'm from the Undercity," Viktor said flatly, frowning. Jayce froze mid-rant.
"I'm sorry," Jayce lowered his tone. "That was wrong of me. But still, this mage- he's dangerous. The city is on the verge of civil war and he's the key to stopping it dead in its tracks. Maybe we can use this as an opportunity to trick and arrest him like Ambessa-"
"No!" Viktor shouted, stepping forward, his tone sharp. "I will not condemn my savior!"
"Thousands of lives could be saved! Thousands- over one man. One mage who shouldn't even be here!"
"Perhaps he didn't have a choice," Viktor said, shrugging. "I didn't have a choice when I was born in the Undercity. Besides, he's willing to help us. With our research. He wants to identify the flaws and dangers that he believes will destroy the city."
"He said that?" Jayce frowned, tone softening.
"Yes. He also warned my assistant-" Viktor stopped short as the door opened and Sky stepped inside.
Her face was beaming, her expression full of excitement. She looked like it was Progress Day all over again, practically skipping as she had been previously reciting to herself:
"Viktor, I was hoping you might take a look at something I've been working on..."
"I was inspired by you—" she sighed dreamily, unaware anyone could hear. "Everything you do inspires me..."
But when she looked up and locked eyes with Viktor, her momentum halted. Her gaze instantly dropped and a soft blush spread across her cheeks.
When Viktor made eye contact with her, something shifted. Previously, he would have never thought twice about these behaviors from her. But Orion's words, "You will kill Sky," echoed sharply through his mind, and he flinched. The long-unnoticed but now obvious signs of affection and admiration she'd been showing him finally clicked.
"Sky," Viktor nodded, his voice calm, but this time his heart skipped a beat. "H-how are you doing?"
Sky tilted her head, blinking in confusion at the sudden shift in his tone that was so unlike his usual distant demeanor. Her eyes shifted again and widened in shock as she finally took in his full posture.
She gasped, dropping the book she'd been holding which held her notes for an invention proposition.
"Viktor! Your leg! How?!"
-------------------------------
"You've gone mental, haven't you?" Powder said, tapping the side of her temple with a smirk. She added a little "Poof" sound and wiggled her fingers as if mimicking a brain exploding.
Orion sat hunched on his bed, shakily eating some of Jericho's reheated stew. The room was dim, lit only by the dying light pouring in through the cracked blinds and the occasional spark from the stovetop heater. With only Powder and Isha in the room, the atmosphere was oddly quiet for once. Isha, sitting on the floor cross-legged, nodded slowly in agreement with Powder's assessment.
"Is that really a surprise?" Orion replied between bites, his voice laced with dry humor.
"Do the others know?" Powder asked, tilting her head.
"Of course not."
"Will you let them know?"
"No. Will you tell them?"
Powder paused. The playful edge in her tone faded as she looked at him- really looked at him. She bit her lip, her fingers drumming along the bed. Then, without another word, she gently sat beside him, her tone changing as she glanced at Isha.
"Tattle," she muttered and teased. "Like Isha here?"
'I would never rat us out!' Isha signed furiously, sticking her tongue out with a dramatic huff.
Powder smirked but didn't speak. The silence lingered for a few seconds. Then she leaned in closer and whispered, "No. I wouldn't."
Orion's spoon paused mid-air.
He glanced at her. That flicker of nervous honesty in her voice, the way her fingers trembled slightly as she clasped them together in her lap, her lashes fluttering before her eyes darted away like she'd said something too raw.
He wasn't used to that kind of vulnerability anymore. His voice came out as if they were caught in his throat, startling even himself with its roughness.
"…Thank you."
Powder's eyes widened. It was as if she'd just heard something impossible. She glanced down, then up again. A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth before her lips pressed together to hide it. Her cheeks flushed and she let out a small, soft laugh. Almost embarrassed.
"I wasn't expecting that," she murmured, trying and failing to sound nonchalant.
She hesitated for a second, then gently rested her head on his shoulder. It was awkward at first with her hair brushing his neck as it swayed, but the weight was light and warm.
The tension in the room eased.
Isha, however, was not having it.
She glared and then growled a deep, guttural warning noise before leaning forward with narrowed eyes.
"Don't you dare," Powder warned under her breath without lifting her head.
Too late.
With a sudden slap, Isha struck Powder's leg.
"Ow- HEY!" Powder yelped, jerking upright. "Can't I have a moment too?!"
'Not when you're hogging the moment!' Isha signed furiously, before lunging at her.
What followed was chaos.
Slaps, elbow nudges, a tug on clothes, and then a full-on tumble as both girls began rolling across the rug like two alley cats fighting for turf. Powder shrieked as Isha grabbed a fistful of her hair, while Isha grunted as Powder shoved her away with her foot.
"Not this time, you little brat!"
"Raaaaa!" Isha roared in retaliation, giggling mid-growl.
Orion leaned back on the couch, watching the miniature war zone unfold in front of him with the weary stare of a man who'd seen too much but could still manage a smile.
"Every time," he muttered, shaking his head with a faint grin, finally setting his empty bowl on the table. "Absolute crazies."
And despite it all- the war, the pain, the countless burdens- this chaotic moment felt strangely… okay.
Like a new, makeshift family.