deushexmachina | ic contact.

And he won't do that again. Not to me, anyway.

(he's promised. silco might be a lot of things, but he is a man of his word. he's already suffered under the hand of an enraged jinx, and now that she fully takes over the name, she wouldn't back down from fighting for the truth if needed.)

Yep. Sure was. You do know that I've known Marcus since I was a little girl, right? He'd been playing you for sure.

I've known him for a week, [or a month, time moves differently in Piltover. Jayce's term as de facto head Councilor flows in mysterious ways, ] so I'm not really taking it personally.

Well, anyway.

(she waves a hand, only to proceed with the rest of the story.)

After that, let's see, death, resurrection, kidnapping, which I'm sure the blabbermouth's told you everything about, exploding the Council. It's that last detail that makes me think we're in different times. If you were there, you'd definitely know about it. It was a big one. You'd hear it, you'd have seen it. So, exactly because of this, I just think you don't actually remember the deal the Council made.

I don't remember it because it hasn't happened. [His mouth presses into a small line.] Hasn't happened yet, according to your theory.

[Caitlyn had suggested something similar, and it wasn't unreasonable; the transition to this world affected space, so why not time? But his qualm wasn't the chronological inconsistency as much as it was the catalyst. If there was a delay in a few hours, a day, a week, a month, then what changed the Council's mind?

A crucial variable was missing.]

What did Silco tell you, exactly?

The Enforcer remembers it, doesn't she? I'm sure Vi does too. Ekko, probably-- we are still kind of processing the whole I-Exploded-You-On-A-Bridge, so we haven't really had time to circle around that part yet.

(for a second, the bravado dies, and it becomes clear that it does with her drawing her knees towards her chest, feet sliding back to the seat as her hands cup her elbows.)

Independence. A seat at the table. All if he gave me to the Council. I don't know who asked -- I didn't ask myself. He wasn't going to do it, I-- I misunderstood. I thought he was abandoning me too.

Independence, sure, [he had gathered that much,] but a seat at the table — the Council table? As an independent city-state? Wow.

[Silco, thinks Jayce, is an exhausting man.]

You were the only term negotiated?

I think so. I'm not part of the whole... Political thing. I'm more like... The muscle and the transporter. So I never really cared about the details.

(with a bottle now in hands, she gulps to the point that her lungs scream for air, and she lets go with a sigh.)

I don't think he's lying, Talis. I just think it hasn't happened to you yet, and where does that leave us? I don't think you'd fight for my freedom, you barely trust me enough to be around you. Are you scared I'm going to hurt Viktor?

[He shakes his head, scoffs. It's impossible, it's incomplete; he can't fault Jinx for having only part of the picture, but the unknown variables distract him. Obsess him. Jayce taps his chin, immersed in thought.

He glances up when she speaks again. His eyes narrow, his pout thins.]

Viktor can take care of himself, [clipped, crisp words,] and I know you wouldn't.

[Hands flat on the table, he doesn't break eye contact. He leans forward,]

But if you did hurt him, [a brief pause, his throat tenses.] Do you think I'd just let that happen?

(two can play this game, and one can step it up to an uncomfortable realm without breaking a sweat. jinx presses her elbows and forearms onto the wood, coming close enough that he can feel her breath faintly against his skin, eyes never leaving his in a threatening aura.)

I don't want to hurt Vik, he's the closest friend I've got. And so far, I don't want to hurt you either. Don't do anything stupid out of assumptions, Cheeks.

Give me the same courtesy, Jinx, [sharp teeth, bared lips, he isn't backing down; invoking Viktor's name in such taut context melts away any paralytic trepidation. His courage for himself is tenuous — but in defense of Viktor? Unparalleled.]

(it hadn't been a taunt when she spoke of their mutual friend's name. nothing other than sole need to hear an answer, test waters to see how jayce truly feels. he started out well, saying she wouldn't hurt viktor, correct, but it's the unnecessary bravado that knocks her from the logical, and she tilts her head to bring a smile to her lips, eery in form and suspicious in shape.

it's a ridicule, and hopefully, he doesn't fall for it.)

Alright, Talis. Elephant number two, shall we? Truce or no truce, you trust me nothing, do you? I want to be friends, you don't believe that?

Edited 2022-02-08 02:57 (UTC)

[He keeps his posture rigid, his angle leaned, his golden eyes on her vibrant, otherworldly pair. The silence weighs between them, until:] Why do you want to be friends? That's what I'm wondering. You and I are peaceable, [a nod,] in no small part to the truce established, but why do you want to be friends?

Honestly? I don't agree with you over a lot of things, but you're too damn intelligent, Talis. I think I can learn from you, can't I? You're not the only genius.

(a nod to his own previous words.

finally, she retreats, dropping her weight on the couch as she stretches her arms above her head.)

Besides. Viktor told me nice things about you, and I want to see for myself. Is that so much of a crime?

[His line of a mouth softens, his pinched brow eases. Curiosity — he understood that. The intellectual chase, the unyielding need to know more, through this lens he saw himself in her. With her testament of Viktor spoken, he leans back in his seat, his hands cupping his elbows.]

Okay, [the scrawl of a grin on his mouth,] okay. I needed to know, is all.

I haven't had friends in, like, a decade though. You're gonna have to bear with me.

(back to alcohol she is, liquid swimming down her throat before she offers.)

I wanna learn how to forge and how to blow glass. My main field is weapon engineering, but I'm gonna have to dabble into everything now.

(a peace offering. she reaches to her bag to set her sketchbook on the table and slide it towards him. inside, all her plans, all her bombs designs, her butterflies, everything she's ever built. not the originals, of course, but it's all there.)

[He puts his hand flat on the offered journal and slides it towards him, realizing the irony of handling her blueprints. His contradictory fingers—calloused yet manicured—flip through the pages, his focus shifting from those inspired grenade designs to various bomb circuitry, the bottom bend of his stomach dropping he sees the wiring of those chemically explosive butterflies. Jayce bites his lower lip, his breathing focused and steadying.]

Wow, [he turns the page,] and you're self-taught? [He couldn't help but consider what she'd be creating instead, had she the benefit of an Academy education.] It's impressive, [sincerely, he looks at her as she offers a drink. He accepts without yet indulging.]

I can do more than teach you forging.

Totally self-taught, yeah. Trial and error. There just isn't this sort of education in the Undercity, you know. I've been creating since I was little, took a long ass while for the things I made to work.

(good thing that she's never given up on what makes her happy. failure, she's learned, it's part of something great, so she stopped worrying whether her inventions would work to open space in her brain to figure out how to make that a reality.)

What do you mean? What's cooking in your brain?

I'm an engineer, too, [he points to her blueprints, fingertip tracing the dimensions of a grenade.] Your designs are inspired, [he knows he's repeating Viktor,] so imagine what you could do with a little more foundation.

Are you going to join Vik and be my tutor too? I'm not against it-- but, like I told him, I'm... Difficult to teach. My brain's really loud, Jayce. Really, really loud. You're going to need a lot of patience. Are you up for that?

Viktor has more teaching experience than I do, [he's self-aware enough to know his shortcomings here.] And I'm not [extroverted] used to prolonged performance, academic or otherwise.

We can try it. That's my best offer.

(her pinky finger extends, one final attempt at closing what they've been discussing.)

[A momentary hesitance, and he extends his own pinky finger to locked with hers, sealing the deal.]

Not so scary, right?

(she presses her thumb against his, laughing as she remembers their first encounter.)

The person you imagine when you thought Jinx, her name's Sevika. She's like, much less cool than I am.

[The name doesn't ring a bell; Marcus kept any real clues clean of his "investigations" into Silco's affairs, and Jayce isn't surprised he hadn't known. He furrows his brow, wondering if he could persuade his brain to remember this detail if—when—he arrived back to Piltover.]

She sounds it.

[Another shadow to chase.]

Super incompetent and bitching all the damn time, Jayce. Just never-ending bitching. She's been around since Vander, when I was little, and God, she never stops.

(honestly, she just drags her hands across her face, dramatic in gesture as she rolls her eyes.)

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