[ Kaeya laughs at Jinx's display with her fingers, mimicking it with an amused smile without saying a word, but he does give Silco a particular Look. If it's dangerous, then he can't exactly allow Jinx to go ahead by herself so he stands right next to her, helping to move the grate along. ]
Would you like to go first?
[ He isn't about to stand in the way of what Jinx wants to see. Of course, he'd be right behind her. Even though he isn't saying anything, he's likely just as curious as Jinx is regarding what this is all about.
Silco called them both over here for a reason, and he's determined to find out what it is. ]
[ He says, with a roll of two blackened eyes. He can already feel the tug, toward Highstorm. It's weak, it has really only been less than an hour, but that pull of Discord makes him want to return quicker. The twin draw, of course, is to head deeper in, toward what he thought both Jinx and Kaeya might find interesting.
It is, after all, a curiosity. He snapped the last of the grate's mechanisms back into place, locking it for all but those who know. ] We need to take a specific path, is all. Down first, though.
[ Silco would go after them, obviously. And as long as Jinx didn't immediately scamper off ahead, there was no danger at the end of the... actually very long ladder. ]
[ surprisingly enough, Jinx isn't in a huge rush to go and ditch Silco to his own devices; there's no Sevika here, and if she goes and steals Kaeya - is he like, new, better Sevika?? hm, she'll have to contemplate this - then Silco remains unprotected somewhere potentially dangerous.
yeah, can't allow that when they're in Springstar and heading somewhere potentially dangerous.
...despite this train of thought, soon as the grate is dragged open with a whiny creak of metal, Jinx is leaning over to look down the ladder, and then promptly begins descending at a rapid and agile pace,
only to pop her head back out a second later, pointing at Kaeya. ]
You're on babysitting duty, so don't let him out of your sight, young man!
[ Ah, so he's on babysitting duty now? That's fine.
With an amused look tossed down Silco's way, Kaeya gestures for the other man to right ahead with a sweep of his hand. He isn't about to disregard Jinx's request since who knows what punishment she'll deem appropriate if something happens to Silco... ]
After you. I'll be right behind.
[ This way, he can protect them both from anyone that might be tailing them. He glances at the now-closed grate, as if expecting it to open all of a sudden, but when it doesn't, he goes back to waiting for Silco to head down the ladder. He'll do the same once it's his turn. ]
[ Silco protested, but like, he had just died recently, so it's only with a soft sniff of indignation. He eyed the closed grate, for just a moment, just to make sure there was nobody behind one last time, before he started to descend after Jinx -- and it's not a short go. Even straight down, it opened into a large sewer pipe -- something that could fit several human beings wide -- and it's dry enough that there's only the faint whiff of ancient, crusted mustiness.
Honestly, to people from Zaun, it's practically nothing.
Oddly, it's lit. Not frequently, but enough that the three of them won't be stumbling.
Silco waited for Kaeya to follow, before he nudged his head in one direction, and led them on, his hands in his pockets, itching to get moving. Time outside of Highstorm was precious, after all. ]
[ it's probably for the best that Jinx is descending at a slide along the side rails of the ladder, and thus Silco won't quite hear her quip about yeah, he's capable of getting her CENSORED up his CENSORED CENSORED ...CENSORED,
anyway, when they reach the bottom, she has (thankfully) lingered nearby and hasn't gone far, waiting for both Silco and Kaeya to make it before she lets Mr. Itchy Fingers take the lead. she's walking close to his right shoulder and eying their surroundings curiously. ]
We're underneath Springstar.
[ yeah, isn't that ironic? strange how this feels far more like home than either of the lavish cities above-ground ever could... and they're simply navigating dank and musty sewer pipes and tunnels. ]
How did you find this, anyway? [ her eyes momentarily slide to Kaeya as if to check if he had heard anything about this little excursion, too. ]
[ It doesn't take Kaeya much longer to reach the bottom either. Once he's firmly on his feet, he catches the look Jinx tosses his way, prompting him to shake his head. He hadn't heard anything about this place at all, but the fact that it's underneath Springstar is an interesting thing to note. ]
I wouldn't be surprised if Silco managed to ask the right people.
[ The man has an affinity for the Shadier Side of life, after all, so it's to be expected.
Well, then. Time to commit this path to memory since he's sure wherever they're headed, it's going to be just as confusing to get the heck out of it. ]
Do we get any more hints about where you're taking us now that we're down here?
[ Silco looked at the two of them with a half-smile, something a little proud of himself for finding. It's the kind of thing he's well suited for, Kaeya is right. Being the boss of a literal underworld was certainly the kind of thing that would lead him to rifling through enough conversations to find word of it. ]
Hm, we're currently in the Below. Springstar has a series of tunnels underneath it.
[ It really is like being home, honestly. Like walking through narrow passageways and old sump pipes and catacombs. There's a network of them spread out from them, like spiderwebs, and he started forward, making sure the two of them were close. He had a pathway that he was going to follow, as he explained. ] Technically, all of these pipes underneath are the Below, but there's a good deal of... dangerous elements in some of these tunnels. I'd even heard of wild beasts roaming them.
[ That had been an interesting discovery. Good thing Silco had Kaeya and Jinx with him. ]
I'd heard whisper of this place, but... Kathova was the one who gave me directions through here.
Apparently coming down without directions will probably end in a final wrong turn.
[ ...huh, she wouldn't have pegged him as the type - but then again, he had kindly gifted her some neat and shiny paints explicitly to her tastes, so maybe he wasn't half bad. ]
Guess you really can't judge a bird by his feathers! Think we should bring him a souvenir?
[ from the way she's smiling as she says that, it's probably a Bad Idea, ]
So what's below the Below-below? Is there a sub-below Below? Wonder how low the below goes...
[ aaaand now she's peering down another tunnel curiously, absentmindedly. ]
[ As the self-proclaimed enabler of bad decisions, Kaeya pipes in with an equally helpful inquiry. Of course, he'd like reel Jinx back in if she suggests anything too outrageous, but if Kathova deemed it prudent to tell Silco about this place, then surely he's the type who would appreciate unexpected surprises.
Maybe.
The tunnels seem like they spread out forever, slithering out into a void expanse that would be quite impossible to navigate if one isn't travelling with someone who knows their way around here. Kaeya pays close attention to the path they're taking, noting every turn and corner they go through as they deeper and deeper.
And while Jinx asks about what's below the Below-below— ]
I suppose it's a good thing you have both Jinx and I here, hm? If it truly is so dangerous.
[ Just a casual reminder that he Sees What Silco is Doing Here. :) At least the man realizes they can keep him safe — and you know, protect him from dying. ]
[ Silco looked at Kaeya, sidelong, but his lips quirked into a half-smile. Something like that, but...
There's more to it, of course. Silco was the type to do things for more than one reason if he could, and while the danger was one component, there was always the second layer to it. Not that he would say that, or even admit to the first one. Not really. ]
Hm, that worried about me? [ Okay, it was one incident so far! He hadn't even gotten dissipated once in Horos, despite getting into way more danger -- but perhaps he'd been getting cocky, and that was why, huh? ]
Below the Below is where we're going. Don't make me ruin the surprise too early. Up here we're going to take a left. [ There's three notches on the side of a tunnel, faint, cut into the old sump pipe. It will angle down, though it's gentle. Easy enough to both ascend or descend. ]
[ Jinx flashes Kaeya a grin at the question, and her lack of verbal answer might be a bit disconcerting. suppose someone is scheming Machinations,
but she is again distracted by the call from Silco directing them leftward. Jinx decides to lead the pack, jogging over to the opening and peering on down the slope; she reaches up to grasp the mouth of half-broken metal hanging over the top and decides the best descent is to slide on down, so,
you know, that's what she's doing!! ]
Keep up, slowpokes - or I'm leaving you behiii~nd!
There is a moment where Kaeya simply watches Jinx go down the pipe as though it were a children's slide. If you think there's a spike of jealousy showing on his face, you're absolutely right because damn, why is he stuck on babysitting duty? He wants to do the same thing— ]
There won't be a prize if you win, you know?
[ Just saying!! Then again, if Jinx wanted one, surely Silco can provide something appropriate.
The slope isn't too difficult to trudge through, but he is taking his time anyway. So far no one else is coming up from behind them so it seems fine to continue talking like normal. ]
How much further are we going? At this rate, we'll end up at the Abyss if we go any lower.
[ It feels like they've been going down and down for a while, but it makes sense. Of course they'd make it difficult to reach the Below. ]
A few more turns after this. It's a bit deep -- and not exactly easy to get to.
[ he said, but his feet move down the pipe with less care than Kaeya shows. Sure, he has too much self-restricting dignity to slide down it, but Silco's been slipping through Sump pipes all his life, just like Jinx. His feet don't slide out of clumsiness, but he certainly let them catch and slide down a rather slick patch, before he hopped, to stop the slide, and then back down onto solid ground for the last few steps down the pipe.
He caught sight of Jinx, and pointed in their next direction, through another grate. This one popped open with a catch, which he opened with an expert hand. ]
It should be worth it, but I think it's a maze to get down here for a reason. They don't want just anyone getting down here.
[ But these three? Silco was convinced they'd fit right in. ]
[ the call comes up from the bottom of the slope back for Kaeya - she heard that!! - but Jinx's footsteps amble away from the pipe. she doesn't wander far, just far enough to get a good view of what's to come. ]
Sooo... we're almost there?
[ her impatience is mounting alongside her curiosity as she watches Silco open the next grate; at least he seemed confident about his directions, and she already knew how familiar a Zaunite was with the underground.
it has her sliding her eyes toward Kaeya, thoughtfully. ]
How'd you and Silco get so buddy-buddy, anyway?
[ is it just striking her now she never thought to ask,
[ 'Almost' there can mean a multitude of things. Ah, well. If it's going to take them a while to get there, then so be it. It doesn't hurt to have more time to memorize the pathways anyway just so he'll be just as confident about his directions as Silco is.
Then again, that also means more time for questions such as the one Jinx threw his way. He'd been wondering when it would come up, but it's not like they haven't been busy with Other Things. ]
Hm? He drowned me.
[ It's not quite a lie when there is some truth to it, even if it isn't the complete picture, but the way he says it may come across as such. It feels like forever ago when he found himself asking Silco how he can avoid being cast aside, the icy waters remoulding him into something he doesn't know if he wants to be.
With the grate open, he approaches it from the side and places a hand against it — to keep it open. He gestures with a graceful sweep of his hand for both Jinx and Silco to go through first. ]
After you.
[ If Jinx wants to know more, she's going to have to hassle him, it seems. ]
[ Silco had just been about to explain that "Almost" was relative, and there was still a bit to go, when she asked a very interesting question.
Silco, of course, was going to be silent during this part of the conversation. It's difficult to describe, the moment that he and Kaeya had found something in common, and it certainly wasn't the sort of thing that he could say. It was Kaeya's secret to share, that he'd been betrayed. The drowning, though, well -- he hoped Jinx would not take it personally.
He went first this time, through the grate, taking the lead, although he didn't move ahead like Jinx had, taking his time through a smaller tunnel -- one where he had to duck his head slightly every now and then, although it wasn't too tight. Not like the kinds of pipes that they used to crawl through to move around the fissures.
He wondered if Kaeya would share, the thing that tied all three of them together. The ever-present reminder that for each of them -- they had been cast away, for who they were. For being Too Driven, or Too Willing to Help, or for being honest with a goal. Silco might be the only one who can see the connection, that bound all three of them together, but he did see it. That each of them had been betrayed by someone important to them, and it's what had brought he and Jinx together, and then he and Kaeya.
He did not, however, say anything, and continued on. Willing to wait to see how Jinx felt about that first. ]
[ she trails off as whatever thought she was having is interrupted by another, and then another, and then a whisper at her right she physically waves off. she is rather pointedly staring at Kaeya, now. ]
How about you go ahead and elaborate on that one, Ice Boy? [ does that sound... bitter? definitely. there's an edge in her voice that hadn't been there a moment ago, and Jinx is rather purposefully nudging him out of the way of the grate--
so she can slam it shut, trapping Silco on the other side and Kaeya here with her. ]
Kaeya thinks he's beginning to understand what it is that makes him step on them all the time, but it doesn't help that he's also the type to incite this kind of reaction. He doesn't flinch when Jinx traps him on the other side of the grate with her.
If anything, he meets her pointed gaze with one of his own. It's no wonder Silco would look at him sometimes and wish he was someone else. This is a lot like staring into a mirror. ]
There was an affliction that caught me off-guard in one of the cities at Horos. Silco found me when I was already lost in my own mind, reliving a particularly stormy night. [ A beat passes, and then it's hard to tell what emotion filters through his voice. It tastes like something bitter. Melancholic. ] I almost died back then, because I told someone the truth.
[ He leaves it at that, regardless of whether or not it'll be enough. That's the most he's told someone else about this story. Maybe it's because he has a feeling Jinx can fill in the blanks herself. ]
[ Maybe, just maybe, Silco should have just given it up. He heard the grate slam behind him, and he whirled around, and shifted back to the entrance. He looked between the two of them, his eyes to Jinx, then Kaeya, and then back to Jinx, where they stayed. He should have avoided this landmine, but perhaps he'd hoped that Jinx would have distance from the moment --
She had just arrived, hadn't she? Silco had now almost eight months of distance from what happened on Runeterra, but for her, hadn't he promised her that she could move on from those doubtful thoughts just recently? He'd dipped her under the water just like he'd been -- because it was the only way they could move on.
He touched a finger to the grate, to try to push it back open, but his fingers just rested there, waiting. He could excuse it, that they'd had to hurt each other to get free, and Silco was so good at hurting others, wasn't he? It also wouldn't matter, even in his head, it sounded like an excuse. ]
Jinx -- [ It's a little soft, as if he's trying to impart something unspoken to her, without delving too much. ]
she feels like a fool. she feels stupid, suddenly, for having cared so much that Silco had died and for trusting Kaeya to help her (even though he had helped her, and even though she couldn't have stopped herself from caring about Silco if she tried). rationality was never her strong suit. she was always prone to impulsive decisions and even more impulsive whims of a sick mind that twisted in on itself on the regular.
and it's telling her now that she's been caught like an animal with its belly exposed. that they're laughing at her inside. that she had thought it meant something when he--
and Kaeya, had been--
Jinx unholsters the pistol at her side, though all she does is spin it 'round her index finger by the trigger guard, eying Kaeya in the face at an uncomfortable proximity. then her eyes slide past him, pointedly fixing on Silco. ]
I bet it's a funny story. Real barrel of laughs, right? You know what they say - if you can't join 'em, drown 'em!
[ no one actually says that?? anyway,
her eyes flick sharply back to Kaeya's, an unsteady gleam in her gaze. ]
What else did he do? Tell you about a certain someone, maybe? About someone who betrayed him? Hm?
[ the pistol stops spinning, and she slowly clicks the safety off. ]
Seems to be going around lately. You notice that, Ice Boy?
[ Kaeya can only shake his head, unfazed by the appearance of the pistol and its safety coming off. It wouldn't be the first time he's come face-to-face with death. Probably wouldn't be the last.
This is how it always ends, whenever he tries to tell the truth, but it's fine. He's learning many valuable lessons today. ]
Of course not. He didn't tell me anything. Why would he? Back then, at the Tree, that was the first I've ever heard it was Vander who betrayed him.
[ Kaeya could only make assumptions, after all, because he didn't know the full story. All he knew was that betrayal had to be involved somehow, or else Silco probably wouldn't have even looked his way. ]
Is that what he told you?
[ He doesn't feel like fighting whatever comes next, and yet— ]
[ Since Silco can't open the grate, he can't really interject. Not in any meaningful way. He can't really protest, but the way Jinx interpreted it as a betrayal is -- exactly what Silco would have worried about -- but in the moment, it hadn't been concerned about what Jinx would think. He'd been focused on the mindscape before him -- and a too-similar feeling, a situation he'd seen played out time after time. First with himself, then with Jinx, and then there was this new person, who'd been betrayed in just the same way, and he'd done what felt right. He'd tried to separate him from that which held him back.
And yet now...
There were some things Silco was particularly predictable about. When it came to Jinx, no matter the subject, no matter who or what it was, Silco would always, always choose Jinx. Even in this moment, with his fingers against the grate, he wanted nothing more than to soothe that errant buzz he could see drag across his daughter's face, and placate that violent burst of anger that meant that she was afraid she had been replaced.
He'd wondered, if it would help for her to know that Kaeya had been through the same thing, but as he'd considered uttering the word --
His head whipped to Kaeya, who had put this together quicker than he'd expected, and then back to Jinx. His eyes then danced to the grate, to look for the catch, to see if he could open it up -- he just had to get to his daughter, right? That would solve this? His fingers inched toward the grate, but he looked at her again, while his fingers moved. He wanted to protest, or explain, but with Kaeya here...
Silco is fooling himself, if he thinks that Kaeya has not put together the fact that he's Jinx's father, but even still, he holds onto the shred of secrecy. ]
[ Jinx rather purposefully lifts the pistol, though she doesn't point it at Kaeya. instead, it finds an almost leisurely target in Silco between the bars on the grate, positioned toward his face - but her eyes remain locked on Ice Boy.
there is the most meager flinch when he says those words so casually - 'when he drowned you too?' and for a brief moment, her anger fear spikes. drowned... too. he really went and repeated that whole performance, did he? but he hadn't followed through. no meaningful story, no waxing poetic about the pain of betrayal and all that? why? why not? wasn't that part of the point?
Jinx's eyes suddenly jerk to her right shoulder as if listening to something unheard. it doesn't last long, though, and she's quick to resume her attentions on Kaeya. those eyes are more alive with an unhealthy energy that is feeding her fear rage and paranoia. ]
So, what. Is that what you are? To him?
[ she wants to sound viscerally angry, accusatory. her grip on the trigger tightens subconsciously.
instead, she just sounds unhinged, and half-way a girl lost and alone whose footing has been yanked out from under her, and halfway a young woman desperate to maintain face in front of someone she feels sees her as weak, vulnerable. ]
What did he have you leave behind in the water? I'm feeling like [ she leans her right hand against the grate, pinning Kaeya between it and her, gun still trained on her father ] you and I have a lot we really oughta get out in the open, Ice Guy. Do you know what I mean?
[ He isn't trying to be difficult, really, but it's hard to see what it is they're supposed to 'get out in the open,' as it were. To Kaeya, it's as clear as day what's going on here: the line has already been drawn in the sand, and now Jinx is lining it up with gasoline and an open flame. This is how it was with the Ragnvindrs, whenever he looked and saw both Diluc and his father—
(In the end, he has really no one, doesn't he?)
This is all the same. They're all the same. He's still that young boy who was left behind by his father to serve a purpose. That's all he ever will be, and nothing more.
He gets it. ]
I don't think I'm anything to him, really. Perhaps a glorified version of a hired muscle. [ Hah. ] Nothing more than that.
[ As for what he left behind in the water... ]
Betrayal is a funny thing, isn't it? Even when you try to move past it, it'll always find its way back to you.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Would you like to go first?
[ He isn't about to stand in the way of what Jinx wants to see. Of course, he'd be right behind her. Even though he isn't saying anything, he's likely just as curious as Jinx is regarding what this is all about.
Silco called them both over here for a reason, and he's determined to find out what it is. ]
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[ He says, with a roll of two blackened eyes. He can already feel the tug, toward Highstorm. It's weak, it has really only been less than an hour, but that pull of Discord makes him want to return quicker. The twin draw, of course, is to head deeper in, toward what he thought both Jinx and Kaeya might find interesting.
It is, after all, a curiosity. He snapped the last of the grate's mechanisms back into place, locking it for all but those who know. ] We need to take a specific path, is all. Down first, though.
[ Silco would go after them, obviously. And as long as Jinx didn't immediately scamper off ahead, there was no danger at the end of the... actually very long ladder. ]
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yeah, can't allow that when they're in Springstar and heading somewhere potentially dangerous.
...despite this train of thought, soon as the grate is dragged open with a whiny creak of metal, Jinx is leaning over to look down the ladder, and then promptly begins descending at a rapid and agile pace,
only to pop her head back out a second later, pointing at Kaeya. ]
You're on babysitting duty, so don't let him out of your sight, young man!
[ that's right.
Kaeya is babysitting
Silco, ]
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With an amused look tossed down Silco's way, Kaeya gestures for the other man to right ahead with a sweep of his hand. He isn't about to disregard Jinx's request since who knows what punishment she'll deem appropriate if something happens to Silco... ]
After you. I'll be right behind.
[ This way, he can protect them both from anyone that might be tailing them. He glances at the now-closed grate, as if expecting it to open all of a sudden, but when it doesn't, he goes back to waiting for Silco to head down the ladder. He'll do the same once it's his turn. ]
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[ Silco protested, but like, he had just died recently, so it's only with a soft sniff of indignation. He eyed the closed grate, for just a moment, just to make sure there was nobody behind one last time, before he started to descend after Jinx -- and it's not a short go. Even straight down, it opened into a large sewer pipe -- something that could fit several human beings wide -- and it's dry enough that there's only the faint whiff of ancient, crusted mustiness.
Honestly, to people from Zaun, it's practically nothing.
Oddly, it's lit. Not frequently, but enough that the three of them won't be stumbling.
Silco waited for Kaeya to follow, before he nudged his head in one direction, and led them on, his hands in his pockets, itching to get moving. Time outside of Highstorm was precious, after all. ]
It's a bit of a walk, let's get moving.
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anyway, when they reach the bottom, she has (thankfully) lingered nearby and hasn't gone far, waiting for both Silco and Kaeya to make it before she lets Mr. Itchy Fingers take the lead. she's walking close to his right shoulder and eying their surroundings curiously. ]
We're underneath Springstar.
[ yeah, isn't that ironic? strange how this feels far more like home than either of the lavish cities above-ground ever could... and they're simply navigating dank and musty sewer pipes and tunnels. ]
How did you find this, anyway? [ her eyes momentarily slide to Kaeya as if to check if he had heard anything about this little excursion, too. ]
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I wouldn't be surprised if Silco managed to ask the right people.
[ The man has an affinity for the Shadier Side of life, after all, so it's to be expected.
Well, then. Time to commit this path to memory since he's sure wherever they're headed, it's going to be just as confusing to get the heck out of it. ]
Do we get any more hints about where you're taking us now that we're down here?
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Hm, we're currently in the Below. Springstar has a series of tunnels underneath it.
[ It really is like being home, honestly. Like walking through narrow passageways and old sump pipes and catacombs. There's a network of them spread out from them, like spiderwebs, and he started forward, making sure the two of them were close. He had a pathway that he was going to follow, as he explained. ] Technically, all of these pipes underneath are the Below, but there's a good deal of... dangerous elements in some of these tunnels. I'd even heard of wild beasts roaming them.
[ That had been an interesting discovery. Good thing Silco had Kaeya and Jinx with him. ]
I'd heard whisper of this place, but... Kathova was the one who gave me directions through here.
Apparently coming down without directions will probably end in a final wrong turn.
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[ ...huh, she wouldn't have pegged him as the type - but then again, he had kindly gifted her some neat and shiny paints explicitly to her tastes, so maybe he wasn't half bad. ]
Guess you really can't judge a bird by his feathers! Think we should bring him a souvenir?
[ from the way she's smiling as she says that, it's probably a Bad Idea, ]
So what's below the Below-below? Is there a sub-below Below? Wonder how low the below goes...
[ aaaand now she's peering down another tunnel curiously, absentmindedly. ]
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[ As the self-proclaimed enabler of bad decisions, Kaeya pipes in with an equally helpful inquiry. Of course, he'd like reel Jinx back in if she suggests anything too outrageous, but if Kathova deemed it prudent to tell Silco about this place, then surely he's the type who would appreciate unexpected surprises.
Maybe.
The tunnels seem like they spread out forever, slithering out into a void expanse that would be quite impossible to navigate if one isn't travelling with someone who knows their way around here. Kaeya pays close attention to the path they're taking, noting every turn and corner they go through as they deeper and deeper.
And while Jinx asks about what's below the Below-below— ]
I suppose it's a good thing you have both Jinx and I here, hm? If it truly is so dangerous.
[ Just a casual reminder that he Sees What Silco is Doing Here. :) At least the man realizes they can keep him safe — and you know, protect him from dying. ]
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There's more to it, of course. Silco was the type to do things for more than one reason if he could, and while the danger was one component, there was always the second layer to it. Not that he would say that, or even admit to the first one. Not really. ]
Hm, that worried about me? [ Okay, it was one incident so far! He hadn't even gotten dissipated once in Horos, despite getting into way more danger -- but perhaps he'd been getting cocky, and that was why, huh? ]
Below the Below is where we're going. Don't make me ruin the surprise too early. Up here we're going to take a left. [ There's three notches on the side of a tunnel, faint, cut into the old sump pipe. It will angle down, though it's gentle. Easy enough to both ascend or descend. ]
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but she is again distracted by the call from Silco directing them leftward. Jinx decides to lead the pack, jogging over to the opening and peering on down the slope; she reaches up to grasp the mouth of half-broken metal hanging over the top and decides the best descent is to slide on down, so,
you know, that's what she's doing!! ]
Keep up, slowpokes - or I'm leaving you behiii~nd!
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There is a moment where Kaeya simply watches Jinx go down the pipe as though it were a children's slide. If you think there's a spike of jealousy showing on his face, you're absolutely right because damn, why is he stuck on babysitting duty? He wants to do the same thing— ]
There won't be a prize if you win, you know?
[ Just saying!! Then again, if Jinx wanted one, surely Silco can provide something appropriate.
The slope isn't too difficult to trudge through, but he is taking his time anyway. So far no one else is coming up from behind them so it seems fine to continue talking like normal. ]
How much further are we going? At this rate, we'll end up at the Abyss if we go any lower.
[ It feels like they've been going down and down for a while, but it makes sense. Of course they'd make it difficult to reach the Below. ]
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[ he said, but his feet move down the pipe with less care than Kaeya shows. Sure, he has too much self-restricting dignity to slide down it, but Silco's been slipping through Sump pipes all his life, just like Jinx. His feet don't slide out of clumsiness, but he certainly let them catch and slide down a rather slick patch, before he hopped, to stop the slide, and then back down onto solid ground for the last few steps down the pipe.
He caught sight of Jinx, and pointed in their next direction, through another grate. This one popped open with a catch, which he opened with an expert hand. ]
It should be worth it, but I think it's a maze to get down here for a reason. They don't want just anyone getting down here.
[ But these three? Silco was convinced they'd fit right in. ]
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[ the call comes up from the bottom of the slope back for Kaeya - she heard that!! - but Jinx's footsteps amble away from the pipe. she doesn't wander far, just far enough to get a good view of what's to come. ]
Sooo... we're almost there?
[ her impatience is mounting alongside her curiosity as she watches Silco open the next grate; at least he seemed confident about his directions, and she already knew how familiar a Zaunite was with the underground.
it has her sliding her eyes toward Kaeya, thoughtfully. ]
How'd you and Silco get so buddy-buddy, anyway?
[ is it just striking her now she never thought to ask,
maybe, ]
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Then again, that also means more time for questions such as the one Jinx threw his way. He'd been wondering when it would come up, but it's not like they haven't been busy with Other Things. ]
Hm? He drowned me.
[ It's not quite a lie when there is some truth to it, even if it isn't the complete picture, but the way he says it may come across as such. It feels like forever ago when he found himself asking Silco how he can avoid being cast aside, the icy waters remoulding him into something he doesn't know if he wants to be.
With the grate open, he approaches it from the side and places a hand against it — to keep it open. He gestures with a graceful sweep of his hand for both Jinx and Silco to go through first. ]
After you.
[ If Jinx wants to know more, she's going to have to hassle him, it seems. ]
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Silco, of course, was going to be silent during this part of the conversation. It's difficult to describe, the moment that he and Kaeya had found something in common, and it certainly wasn't the sort of thing that he could say. It was Kaeya's secret to share, that he'd been betrayed. The drowning, though, well -- he hoped Jinx would not take it personally.
He went first this time, through the grate, taking the lead, although he didn't move ahead like Jinx had, taking his time through a smaller tunnel -- one where he had to duck his head slightly every now and then, although it wasn't too tight. Not like the kinds of pipes that they used to crawl through to move around the fissures.
He wondered if Kaeya would share, the thing that tied all three of them together. The ever-present reminder that for each of them -- they had been cast away, for who they were. For being Too Driven, or Too Willing to Help, or for being honest with a goal. Silco might be the only one who can see the connection, that bound all three of them together, but he did see it. That each of them had been betrayed by someone important to them, and it's what had brought he and Jinx together, and then he and Kaeya.
He did not, however, say anything, and continued on. Willing to wait to see how Jinx felt about that first. ]
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[ she trails off as whatever thought she was having is interrupted by another, and then another, and then a whisper at her right she physically waves off. she is rather pointedly staring at Kaeya, now. ]
How about you go ahead and elaborate on that one, Ice Boy? [ does that sound... bitter? definitely. there's an edge in her voice that hadn't been there a moment ago, and Jinx is rather purposefully nudging him out of the way of the grate--
so she can slam it shut, trapping Silco on the other side and Kaeya here with her. ]
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Kaeya thinks he's beginning to understand what it is that makes him step on them all the time, but it doesn't help that he's also the type to incite this kind of reaction. He doesn't flinch when Jinx traps him on the other side of the grate with her.
If anything, he meets her pointed gaze with one of his own. It's no wonder Silco would look at him sometimes and wish he was someone else. This is a lot like staring into a mirror. ]
There was an affliction that caught me off-guard in one of the cities at Horos. Silco found me when I was already lost in my own mind, reliving a particularly stormy night. [ A beat passes, and then it's hard to tell what emotion filters through his voice. It tastes like something bitter. Melancholic. ] I almost died back then, because I told someone the truth.
[ He leaves it at that, regardless of whether or not it'll be enough. That's the most he's told someone else about this story. Maybe it's because he has a feeling Jinx can fill in the blanks herself. ]
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She had just arrived, hadn't she? Silco had now almost eight months of distance from what happened on Runeterra, but for her, hadn't he promised her that she could move on from those doubtful thoughts just recently? He'd dipped her under the water just like he'd been -- because it was the only way they could move on.
He touched a finger to the grate, to try to push it back open, but his fingers just rested there, waiting. He could excuse it, that they'd had to hurt each other to get free, and Silco was so good at hurting others, wasn't he? It also wouldn't matter, even in his head, it sounded like an excuse. ]
Jinx -- [ It's a little soft, as if he's trying to impart something unspoken to her, without delving too much. ]
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she feels like a fool. she feels stupid, suddenly, for having cared so much that Silco had died and for trusting Kaeya to help her (even though he had helped her, and even though she couldn't have stopped herself from caring about Silco if she tried). rationality was never her strong suit. she was always prone to impulsive decisions and even more impulsive whims of a sick mind that twisted in on itself on the regular.
and it's telling her now that she's been caught like an animal with its belly exposed. that they're laughing at her inside. that she had thought it meant something when he--
and Kaeya, had been--
Jinx unholsters the pistol at her side, though all she does is spin it 'round her index finger by the trigger guard, eying Kaeya in the face at an uncomfortable proximity. then her eyes slide past him, pointedly fixing on Silco. ]
I bet it's a funny story. Real barrel of laughs, right? You know what they say - if you can't join 'em, drown 'em!
[ no one actually says that?? anyway,
her eyes flick sharply back to Kaeya's, an unsteady gleam in her gaze. ]
What else did he do? Tell you about a certain someone, maybe? About someone who betrayed him? Hm?
[ the pistol stops spinning, and she slowly clicks the safety off. ]
Seems to be going around lately. You notice that, Ice Boy?
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This is how it always ends, whenever he tries to tell the truth, but it's fine. He's learning many valuable lessons today. ]
Of course not. He didn't tell me anything. Why would he? Back then, at the Tree, that was the first I've ever heard it was Vander who betrayed him.
[ Kaeya could only make assumptions, after all, because he didn't know the full story. All he knew was that betrayal had to be involved somehow, or else Silco probably wouldn't have even looked his way. ]
Is that what he told you?
[ He doesn't feel like fighting whatever comes next, and yet— ]
When he drowned you too?
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And yet now...
There were some things Silco was particularly predictable about. When it came to Jinx, no matter the subject, no matter who or what it was, Silco would always, always choose Jinx. Even in this moment, with his fingers against the grate, he wanted nothing more than to soothe that errant buzz he could see drag across his daughter's face, and placate that violent burst of anger that meant that she was afraid she had been replaced.
He'd wondered, if it would help for her to know that Kaeya had been through the same thing, but as he'd considered uttering the word --
His head whipped to Kaeya, who had put this together quicker than he'd expected, and then back to Jinx. His eyes then danced to the grate, to look for the catch, to see if he could open it up -- he just had to get to his daughter, right? That would solve this? His fingers inched toward the grate, but he looked at her again, while his fingers moved. He wanted to protest, or explain, but with Kaeya here...
Silco is fooling himself, if he thinks that Kaeya has not put together the fact that he's Jinx's father, but even still, he holds onto the shred of secrecy. ]
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there is the most meager flinch when he says those words so casually - 'when he drowned you too?' and for a brief moment, her anger
fearspikes. drowned... too. he really went and repeated that whole performance, did he? but he hadn't followed through. no meaningful story, no waxing poetic about the pain of betrayal and all that? why? why not? wasn't that part of the point?Jinx's eyes suddenly jerk to her right shoulder as if listening to something unheard. it doesn't last long, though, and she's quick to resume her attentions on Kaeya. those eyes are more alive with an unhealthy energy that is feeding her
fearrageand paranoia. ]So, what. Is that what you are? To him?
[ she wants to sound viscerally angry, accusatory. her grip on the trigger tightens subconsciously.
instead, she just sounds unhinged, and half-way a girl lost and alone whose footing has been yanked out from under her, and halfway a young woman desperate to maintain face in front of someone she feels sees her as weak, vulnerable. ]
What did he have you leave behind in the water? I'm feeling like [ she leans her right hand against the grate, pinning Kaeya between it and her, gun still trained on her father ] you and I have a lot we really oughta get out in the open, Ice Guy. Do you know what I mean?
[ why?
why. why, why, why, why. ]
is it fine...
[ He isn't trying to be difficult, really, but it's hard to see what it is they're supposed to 'get out in the open,' as it were. To Kaeya, it's as clear as day what's going on here: the line has already been drawn in the sand, and now Jinx is lining it up with gasoline and an open flame. This is how it was with the Ragnvindrs, whenever he looked and saw both Diluc and his father—
(In the end, he has really no one, doesn't he?)
This is all the same. They're all the same. He's still that young boy who was left behind by his father to serve a purpose. That's all he ever will be, and nothing more.
He gets it. ]
I don't think I'm anything to him, really. Perhaps a glorified version of a hired muscle. [ Hah. ] Nothing more than that.
[ As for what he left behind in the water... ]
Betrayal is a funny thing, isn't it? Even when you try to move past it, it'll always find its way back to you.
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