cantilevers | Inbox (Etraya)

[Vander's expression remained cordial but became overly formal. Yet, he made certain to soften his body language otherwise, as if this topic of the conversation didn't particularly bother him. The truth was complicated and full of old regrets, and if he allowed himself to think on the subject - the memory of them dead on the bridge - he knew he would let something slip. He had once built a peace on the foundation of their corpses along with everyone else who had paid the ultimate price.

He flexed his right hand casually, and he made a point of meeting Caitlyn's gaze. He doubted there was time to delve into the complexity of undercity family dynamics on their little adventures.]

No. I adopted her and Powder after they were killed. Two boys whose parents died that day too.

[Knowing she's asked something personal, and painful, Caitlyn simply watches, listens, meets his eyes while he speaks. Both parents killed, adopted by someone who loved her only for him to die too, and then years spent in prison... Caitlyn feels an almost physical pain in her chest at everything Vi has been through.

A thought of her own mother steals into her head, but she shuts it away, deep in some storage vault in her mind where she won't need to contend with it.]

She's lucky to have had you.

[He had always wondered if the Day of Ash had sent any kind of ripple through Piltover, but he supposed that aside from congratulating their fine officers, burying their dead, it had likely passed without much legendary status as it had in the undercity. He supposed putting down a group of unstart trenchers was common enough in Piltover. He'd pulled some fairly ballsy stunts in Piltover before then, all leading to nothing more than a crack down in the Lanes and beyond.

If Vander hadn't taken them across the bridge that day, if it hadn't gotten out of hand, Vi's parents would still be alive. A lot of people would still be alive. He would never consider himself any kind of hero due to the costs, and it was the least he could do to take in some of his children left orphaned because of some of his own actions.

That was the price of leadership. People died. Good people, bad people, just people.]

Well, I've known her and Powder since they were born. They deserved a family, and I did what I could.

[When she'd first met Vander, he had spoken of his children being killed. Knowing that Vi and Jinx are alive, she assumes he must have been referring to the two boys, unless there were others. Vi's never mentioned adopted brothers killed years ago, and all of this only raises more questions that Caitlyn is burning to know the answers to, but she still won't pry.

Instead of asking anything further, she sets the tea down so that she can move towards Vander, drop to her knees next to him on the floor, and wrap him in a tight, brief hug.]

[The death of his boys was still extremely fresh, but he pushed down the grief until he was alone. That kind of vulnerability was not meant for the public eye, and he did have plenty of time on his hands it seemed. He would eventually fill the time, but for now, it was a welcomed distraction to talk about Violet and the trials and tribulations of a cross-city relationship.

He knew that Caitlyn had questions, and he appreciated that she was restrained enough to not pepper him with particular sore subjects. The Day of Ash remained a point that upended everything.

He watched her set the tea aside and move, expecting that she had completed the reason she was here and would be off. He stilled when she came to the floor next to him, watching her and offering a soft 'oof' at her hug, though there was no way she could wrap even those long arms around his shoulders.]

...thank you? To what do I owe the affection?

[She pulls out of the hug a little awkwardly, her eyes glancing away and then back at him as she tries to think of how to answer that question.]

I...

[She hadn't known what to say, really. I'm sorry your sons were killed and you were also killed seems insufficient, the sort of formula one is meant to follow that lends a veneer of insincerity no matter how sincerely one might mean it.

I'm sorry your family lost so much, and I'm sorry you didn't get to watch your daughter grow up into the brilliant woman she's become, and I'm sorry she's lost so much too seems like too much, or not enough, an over-expression of emotions that still somehow fails to capture how deeply sorrowful Caitlyn is about all of this.

Apparently I've lost a family member too, and if I allow myself to think about it for even a moment, I fear the tenuous grip I have on my emotions may shatter, and I don't know if you feel the same but I can't imagine you feel much differently is too vulnerable, though no less honest.

A hug can say all of those things more easily, and more honestly, and more sincerely, than the words.]

I thought... You might like one. A hug.

[Vander watched, and the substance of her message came through in her body language. Sometimes words cluttered up the space between two people, and he wondered where this empathy had come from in her. They had only just met recently, but it didn't particularly surprise him that Caitlyn would offer a comfort that was considered weakness in the undercity between strangers.

He reached out and set a hand on her shoulder, providing a little squeeze of support. She had gone out of her way to keep him safe when there was no reason for her to until she had realized he was Vi's father.]

Thanks, Caitlyn. I probably needed one.

[His arm slid around her shoulders to pull her back in for another smaller hug.] You're a good person. Got a good heart.

[As soon as he pulls her into another hug, she flings her arms around his neck as though he were her own father. She doesn't hold on for long, but she does hold on tightly.

When she pulls away again, she ducks her head for a split second to make absolutely certain that her expression is under control and there's nothing too vulnerable in her eyes or on her face and that she isn't about to start crying over how terrible so much of this is.]

I should get going. If there's nothing else.

[She picks up the tea and walks towards the kitchen counter to set it down.]

Thank you for the tea.

[Vander found a small smile when Caitlyn's arms locked around his neck, and he held her a little more tightly in response. It didn't last long, and he found it enough to chase away the lingering pain that threatened to be overwhelming until he could be alone again. He could see why Vi would probably like Caitlyn; someday he did hope to see them together and understand their dynamic better.

He nodded to her indications to leave. He hesitated for a moment before plunging back in as she went to the kitchen, waiting for her to emerge again.]

If what they said at the meeting was true about the future, know that I'll do what I can to support you. That kind of lose digs deep, so... if you ever want to talk, you now know where I'm staying.

[She was the only one to know where he was living at present.]

[There's a tremble in her lower lip that she can't quite suppress and a heat in her eyes that threatens to spill over into tears but she can't—

For a long moment, she stares down at the mug. And then she takes a breath, swipes beneath one eye to catch a stray drop of moisture in a gesture she hopes is subtle enough not to notice, and forces her mind back to Vi. This whole meeting was meant to be about Vi, and here she is, thinking about— about things she doesn't want to dwell on. There may be trials in the future she shares with Vi, if Jinx is to be believed, but Vi will live, and whatever trials they have to endure, Caitlyn is confident they'll get through them. She thinks of the glint in Vi's eyes, her crooked smile, the notch in her brow, her strong yet gentle arms, her freckles and her tattoos and the sweep of her hair, and she takes another breath, and turns back to Vander.]

I do.

[She's grateful for the offer, but that sort of talk has never come easily to her.]

And you're welcome in my home, of course. If you want to come by.

[For now, she decides to take her leave.]

Inbox (Etraya)

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject