Upon entering the tent, Marson first shooed out the people inside before exiting himself. He stood guard just outside the large tent, wisely leaving the space to Leo and the two sisters. He acted as security, preventing anyone from entering—especially the tall, impressively built female enforcer who was currently wearing a look of extreme annoyance.
"I said, let go of me!"
"Let go! I won't go in, alright!" Caitlyn shouted.
Marson watched this from a distance. Seeing the situation, he gave a slight lift of his hand. At his signal, the people restraining Caitlyn released her. Caitlyn rubbed her wrists, glanced at her surroundings, and then obediently found a place to sit down.
Right now, her weapons were in the hands of this gang, and she was surrounded by their people. She was no fool; she wasn't about to do something stupid.
Although she was incredibly frustrated, Caitlyn could see no way to resist at the moment. All she could do was wait quietly by herself for Vi to come out.
Inside the tent, Vi watched as Jinx sat down next to Leo. A complex expression crossed Vi's face, but she said nothing.
Vi couldn't help but think that if this were the past... Powder would only ever sit by her side. But everything had changed.
Her attention was then drawn to Isha, who was sitting obediently next to Jinx, occasionally looking up to gauge Jinx's expression. Watching the child's gaze on Jinx, Vi suddenly felt a tightness in her chest, a sharp, constricting pain in her heart.
She was so familiar with that look. It was how Powder used to look at her.
An expression that saw no one else, as if having Vi was enough, as if Vi was her entire world.
And now?
The look in Powder's eyes was so foreign to her.
"Let's talk. How did you end up running with a cop?" Jinx's gaze on Vi was intense, but if you looked closely, you could see that her beautiful blue pupils were slightly unfocused.
She was desperately trying to control her emotions, to ignore the piercing voices in her head and maintain her focus. Jinx forced herself not to see the colorful, human-shaped outlines that flickered around Vi, nor the flashing images that danced in her vision.
But even if she didn't look, the voices still echoed in her mind.
Instinctively, she raised a hand and rapped it hard against her own head. She only managed one tap before Leo, sitting beside her, gently stopped her.
Jinx tilted her head and looked at him.
"It's okay," Leo told her softly.
"..."
Jinx stared at Leo, blinked, and the light returned to her eyes. She nodded.
Then she turned back to face Vi.
"Alright, I'll explain now," Vi said, taking a deep breath as she watched the exchange. She then recounted how she had met Caitlyn, how she had learned from her about the smuggling and explosion case in Piltover, and how finding the monkey graffiti at the scene had led to her cooperation with Caitlyn, which ultimately secured her release from prison.
Beyond that, she truly knew nothing else.
"I was locked up in prison. How was I supposed to know what was happening on the outside?" Vi said with grave sincerity.
But Jinx didn't believe her.
How could there be so many coincidences?
She had caused plenty of trouble for Piltover over the years. This time might have been a bit bigger, but how did it happen to be the exact thing that got Vi released?
"She's telling the truth," Leo chimed in from the side.
Vi shot Leo a grateful look before turning back to Jinx. "Your turn, Powder," she said.
"Are you really working for Silco now?"
Vi had to ask the question that had been a thorn in her heart ever since she arrived in Zaun.
How could she not care?
Silco was the man who killed Vander. And now, her own sister was working for him.
Vi hadn't planned on digging into it. Like she had said, no matter what Powder had done, she would assume it was for survival. All that mattered was seeing Powder again, being with her.
But could she really pretend not to know, to bury her head in the sand and act as if none of it had happened?
That was impossible. It wasn't in her nature.
This was only happening because it was Powder. If it had been anyone else, Vi wouldn't be sitting here talking. She would have thrown a punch first and asked questions later. Maybe after throwing another damn punch.
But since they were sitting down to communicate, the question had to be asked.
Hearing Vi's words, Jinx leaned forward. "Ha! That's right, I'm working for Silco," she declared loudly.
"What's wrong? Did I disappoint you, my dear sister?"
"I told you, Powder, no matter what you've done, I can understand."
"I~ un~der~stand~ you~," Jinx mocked, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes disdainfully. "Yeah, right. I might have believed you if you hadn't brought a cop with you."
"Haven't I already explained it? Powder, Caitlyn and I are just working together. Without her help, I never would have been able to see you!" Vi's patience was wearing thin.
Listening to the sisters' conversation from the side, Leo felt a mix of amusement and helplessness.
Still, he could see that Jinx was gradually calming down.
After all, her current complaints about Caitlyn were no longer delivered with a neurotic expression. Her constant harping on the subject was simply because... she was jealous.
Jinx was jealous of Caitlyn, jealous that she wasn't the one by Vi's side the moment she got out.
But he had to admit, watching Jinx and Vi bicker was pretty interesting.
In the show, Jinx and Vi's meetings rarely lasted more than a few minutes before something chaotic erupted and cut their conversations short. Right now, even though the atmosphere was tense, they were actually communicating.
A sudden sense of satisfaction washed over Leo.
Yeah, he thought. Let's see who dares to interrupt the sisters' conversation now.
"Help? If Mom and Dad knew you befriended an enforcer, my god, I can't even imagine what they would think," Jinx said, throwing her hands open in a snide gesture.
"And what about you?" Vi retorted instinctively. "If Mom and Dad knew you became a..." She trailed off, catching herself as she met Jinx's eyes.
Defeated, she lowered her head, looking for all the world like a beaten dog.
Then, she looked up again, actively trying to change the subject.
Her gaze fell on Isha, who was sitting by Jinx's leg. "Who is she?" she asked.
Jinx looked at Isha, then reached out to pat her on the head. "What's the matter? Are you the only one allowed to have a little sister? Can't I have one too?"
At these words, Isha happily hugged Jinx's leg, rubbing her cheek against her thigh and letting out a couple of contented hums.
Stung by Jinx's retort again, Vi said sadly, "You never used to defy me like this, Powder... What's happened to us?"
"..."
"Can we ever go back to how we were?"
Jinx looked at Vi. She opened her mouth to speak, but then fell silent again.
Seeing this, an expression of sorrow and pain washed over Vi's face.
But then, she heard Jinx's voice.
It was very quiet, but in the silence of the tent, it was perfectly clear.
"I don't know," Jinx said.
Vi's head snapped up. She stared at Jinx.
What did she say?
She said, I don't know...
Not, we can't.
In an instant, Vi's eyes brightened considerably.