Immortalized | Viktor - arcane

Roses

Despite her years living in the northern side of Piltover, Rose was still unfamiliar with most of the city. During her recovery she was confined to the Medarda estate and the hospital for nearly a year. Once she was healed, she spent most of her time in the estate focusing on her training. The bit of the city she had seen, had only been from her errands with either Mel or Elora.

She felt ready for more now. After two years of floundering in uncharted waters she was ready to learn every street in Piltover. She already had the way from the estate to the bathysphere memorized from the few times she had gone to see Bea since she returned, but she would need alternate routes as well.

Elora was working which gave Rose free time during the day. She decided there was no better time to get familiar with Topside, she was already overdue. Bea had given her a warning to be careful living in the north with the under city so restless, she'd need to know every block of the city if she wanted to be careful.

She passed by the Academy first, then towards the council building and eventually all the way down to the bridge.

She memorized each brick on the roads she took and the nearby side streets she passed, making note to see where each side street lead to at a later date, but there was only so much ground she could cover in one day. Or only so much she wanted to cover after viewing the bridge.

It looked so different now than it did the night that set her life on a different path. She'd seen the bridge in passing on her outings with Elora and Mel but she never looked at it for too long, afraid of what it might bring up.

Even though what she saw now was clean and quiet, and under a clear blue sky, she couldn't unsee the battle from her memories. She stared at the bridge for a while hoping her memory would fade and let her see what everyone else saw when they passed by the bridge but it never did.

She passed by the council building again, on her way back towards the estate, where Mel and Elora were now working inside. She still hadn't seen much of the council. During meetings Elora got to stand by Mel's side and witness new law's passed. Rose hoped to get there someday but she knew that even at eighteen years old, Mel still thought of her as too young to be capable of that.

Beside the academy there was a small park where students strolled and where parents took their aspiring children to see the academy. Sitting on one of the benches in the park close to the street was the same man that inspired Rose to visit her home not so long ago.

She spotted him reading a textbook on a bench beneath a tree, with his cane leaning against the armrest of the bench. With a small smile she quietly approached him.

"Can I join you?" She asked.

Viktor seemed surprised to see her but delighted nonetheless. A smile of his own grew on his lips when he saw it was her and he gestured to the seat beside him.

Her smile grew and she tucked a strand of red hair behind her ear as she took her seat. She leaned her head back and stared up at the sky through the canopy of leaves above them before she turned to face him. Her eyes narrowed when she saw the book he was reading.

"Is than an anatomy book?" She guessed from what she could see of the description of the back cover.

"It is."

"That doesn't seem like the science you usually study." She said curiously.

"It's not." Viktor nodded and began to close the book so he could speak to her properly.

"I meant to ask you before Mel pulled me away," she began "About how you hurt your leg." She was blunt but kept her voice gentle. She knew it was a sensitive question to ask, but the subject of anatomy had reminded her, and she figured it was better to ask now than later on.