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your pov
I rummaged through the alleyway, kicking around broken pieces of scrap and the occasional bottle, the sounds of glass clinking echoing through the narrow space. Jinx had left earlier, muttering something about meeting someone. Who? I didn't know, and I didn't bother to ask. She never said much about her plans, and I never pressed. Isha had stayed behind, preoccupied with her usual kid stuff—maybe admiring her newly dyed hair for the hundredth time in a mirror or tinkering with some scrap metal. Sevika, of course, had already left for that rally at Vander's statue, her boots pounding the pavement with purpose.
And me? I wasn't sure where I stood. I hadn't decided if I'd show up at the rally or stay hidden. Everything felt so uncertain, like I was constantly hovering between the past and the present, unable to ground myself in either.
These past few days had been a mess—confusing, disorienting. I felt like I was moving through a haze, unable to grab hold of anything real. I missed Violet. I missed her presence, the way she filled a room with quiet strength, the way her warmth steadied me. I'd be lying if I said I didn't think about her every day, every minute, every second. But the anger was still there too, simmering beneath the surface.
She'd moved on. Fast. Too fast. With Caitlyn. The thought stung more than I cared to admit. Was it to get over me? Or was it to forget me entirely? I didn't know, and I wasn't sure I wanted to.
With my hood pulled low over my head, I wandered through the streets aimlessly, hands buried deep in my pockets. The dull hum of the Undercity buzzed around me—distant voices, the clatter of machinery, the occasional shout—but I tuned it all out. I kicked a pebble along the ground as I walked, watching it skitter across the cracked pavement, feeling strangely comforted by its predictable path.
I didn't know where I was headed, but eventually, my feet carried me to a set of worn stone steps. Someone sat there, head bowed, elbows resting on their knees, hands tangled in their hair like they were trying to hold their thoughts together.
I walked past without a word, but something made me stop. I took a few steps backward, eyes narrowing as I looked closer. "Loris?" I muttered, the name falling from my lips like it had been buried deep for too long.
The figure's head snapped up, furrowed brows softening into surprise, then relief. "Thank Zaun," he said, exhaling like he'd been holding his breath for weeks. "Where the hell have you been?"
I stepped closer, sitting beside him on the steps, the stone cold beneath me. "Away from Violet, as you know," I said with a half-smile, leaning back. "Sorry for leaving you behind. I just...I couldn't stay. Not on that team. Not with them." I nudged the pebble with my foot, sending it clattering away.
Loris nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. "I left too," he admitted, his voice quieter. "Realized it wasn't what I wanted to be a part of. Too many things that didn't feel right."
