Arcane Anew

Clang, Clang, Clang

Mylo's ball slammed violently off the metal panel hanging just beyond the couch in the Last Drop. Vi was sprawled out on the sofa, trying to consolidate her thoughts in between letting off stress.

Orion had gone back to his place to change clothes while the rest of the gang had gone out to get something to eat. She, however, had chosen to stay behind to brood.

Clang, Clang, Clang

Catching the ball mid-air, she sat up, hunching forward with her forearms braced against her knees. Vi gritted her teeth, eyes darting back and forth over the ground as her grip tightened on the ball.

"Everything was going fine," she thought bitterly. "Vander was starting to trust me- then he showed up."

"Within a day he had Vander's ear. And apparently, he has his own jobs too!" Jealousy flared in her mind, throwing the ball back at the metal panel again, the sharp clang ringing through the empty room. Each strike acted as a catalyst for her jealousy and rage until she finally launched it full force with a loud, echoing slam that reverberated around the room.

Vi stood up, huffing, and fists clenched before collapsing back onto the sofa with a depressed sigh.

Despite her jealousy, she couldn't help but admire him to a degree. Vi smirked, and a faint smile crossed her face as memories of the alleyway fight and the Old Hungry flashed through her mind. An image lingered of the scene of Orion standing over the corpse with a resolute demeanor, eerily reminiscent of Vander.

Admiration washed away into guilt and sadness. Vi pulled her legs in close, wrapping her arms around them and burying her head. "I had to be protected again- and I put Powder in danger..." she muttered bitterly.

Her chest tightened as her mind wandered back to her behavior in the ring. The look on Orion's face, his bleeding figure as he left, all of this weighed down on her conscious.

"I hurt him again." Vi whispered, her voice cracking. Tears fell from her cheeks as her heart and mind twisted with sadness and regret.

"Tis' but a scratch!" A humorous voice interrupted, breaking through her tears.

Vi flailed wildly, startled, desperately trying to recompose herself but it was too late. Her tear-stained face and puffy eyes looked up at Orion who leaned casually in the doorway, smirking faintly. She chuckled weakly between sobs, unable to fully mask her embarrassment.

"You weren't supposed to hear that," Vi said, her voice distorted with emotion. Orion descended the stairs and she hastily wiped her tears away, "Or see this." she added, her tone laced with frustration and vulnerability.

Orion hadn't planned this. After heading back to change clothes, he performed healing on the worst of his lacerations, and returned to the Last Drop with a growling stomach. He wanted to grab a bite to eat with the gang, hoping to mend some friction.

Instead, he found Vi having a breakdown on the couch.

His gaze shifted to Vi's bed with the saxophone and various singer posters lined up along the wall. The only one he recognized from both memories was the Zaun Diva, Scratch. Shifting the conversation, he asked in an amused but curious tone, "Gonna impress Scratch with some jazzy tunes?"

"What?" Vi asked confused, tilting her head back toward her bed. "Oh, yeah." she sniffled, a small smile starting to creep onto her face.

"I go to the concerts whenever she plays. Her smaller gigs are supposedly better, but Vander won't let me go." She mimicked Vander's deep voice with a playful snort. "When you're older."

Vi chuckled softly, a faint smile lingering as she shook her head before looking back at Orion. Her eyes were still watery, but she looked far more relaxed now.

"I haven't been. Isn't her music more rock-and-roll? Screaming and metallic guitar solos?" Orion asked, his casual tone revealing his ignorance as he sat down.

Vi stared at him, disbelief written all over her face, before launching into a passionate explanation. "Are you kidding? Those are just the beats! Her music represents the heart and soul of the Undercity! She doesn't scream just for the sake of it- she screams for us! Everyone who starved, died- or who've been crushed by topsiders!"

She jumped up suddenly, her tone wavering as she retrieved her saxophone. Her voice softened, "It doesn't matter if it's a saxophone or guitar. What matters is the message- and the hope for something better. Why else do we fight?"

A long silence followed. Orion sat there, his posture stiff, as her last words sank into his soul. His gaze drifted downward, and he questioned himself for the first time in awhile, "When was the last time I thought something remotely close to that?"

His fingers tapped on the armchair while at a loss for words, and his voice came out a hushed whisper. "Why don't you show me? I'd like to see it."

Vi flicked a glance back at Orion, hesitating for a moment, before sitting down, her back straight and shoulders relaxed. He'd never heard a solo saxophone play before and was intrigued- until she started to play.

It was similar to someone who was trying to learn how to play the trumpet for the first time. Unable to join together notes, disjointed and unpleasant on the ear. She tried making it soulful, drawing out some notes and putting force into others, but it was still a cacophony.

Orion could tell she was trying though. He put up a facade, smiling and nodding whenever she glanced up nervously, searching for reassurance.

For a moment, he thought he heard something through the noise but gave up as Vi started to pick up the beat and volume, sighing internally as he resigned himself to the chaotic performance.

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"Vi's honking again!" Powder exclaimed loudly and in an accusatory tone, clamping her hands over her ears as she stood just inside the entrance to the Last Drop.

"Who's going to tell her to stop this time?" Claggor asked worriedly, sending a pointed glance at Mylo. "I did it last time."

Sighing in frustration, Mylo ran a hand down his face and groaned, "Fine, I'll stop her- before we go deaf."

With Mylo leading the charge, they made their way to the stairway that led down to the rooms. The cacophony was deafening at this proximity. Yet, just before the open door in the dim light, Vander stood leaning against the wall, arms crossed. A faint, knowing smirk tugged at his lips as he raised a finger to his lips, hushing the group.

Mylo came to a stop, hands raised upward in confusion as he peeked inside the room. His expression shifted to a wide-eyed "Oh" before quickly stepping back.

Claggor and Powder did the same, with Claggor's eyebrows raising before he retreated silently. Powder was a little more noisy, barely able to stifle a giggle as she clamped one hand over her mouth while the other remained firmly pressed to her ear.

She plopped herself on the steps, shoulders shaking as she struggled to contain her bubbling laughter.

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Ringing, his ears wouldn't stop ringing. By the time Vi stopped playing and silence graced the room with its presence, Orion was mentally and emotionally drained. Carefully, he exhaled through his nose, careful not to let Vi notice the relief washing over him as she sat there, lost in melancholy.

"I'm sorry Orion," Vi said softly, her tone tinged with sadness. "Just like with this saxophone... I'm not a very good leader. And I was jealous..."

"Ah- Er..." Orion fumbled, struggling to regain his composure and caught off guard by her sudden vulnerability. He slowly spoke up in a gentle, reassuring tone, "That's not true- well, outside of the saxophone. You are what I lack."

A brief smile flickered across her face before she glanced up at him. "How so?"

Orion hesitated for a moment, gathering his thoughts. "People look up to their leaders, right?" he asked rhetorically. After a pause, he continued, "Why's that? Because the leader represents what they believe in- what they want most- but more strongly and openly. They express the hearts and minds of everyone around them."

He leaned forward slightly off of his chair, his tone measured. "A leader with a cause but no smarts, might falter. But a leader who has smarts but no passion or connection to people's desires? Many would ignore you, wanting their desires and emotions fulfilled first."

Sighing, he leaned back into the armchair, his gaze distant. "Decisions made by the latter can be cold and without regard to people, drawing ire despite having a similar cause. Also, what or who determines that you're 'smart,' anyway?" His voice drifted off at the end, his gaze wandered the ceiling before returning to Vi.

Vi's brows furrowed in thought as she clutched her saxophone tightly, taking her time absorbing the onslaught of words. It took a few moments before she gave a wry smirk, her tone deliberate but with a playful touch, "Back to the old patience and think before you act, huh?"

Orion just shrugged, his head flopping back against the armchair as he heard a barely audible "Thanks..."

What happened next was far from what he expected. Vi put down her saxophone and strode over to him with a purpose. Worried by the sudden movement, and stood up abruptly, his muscles tensing in anticipation of something. But instead, he found himself embraced in a sudden, tight hug.

"Thank you, I'm sorry for everything," Vi whispered, her tone genuine and filled with remorse.

Orion froze, arms awkwardly out at his sides, not exactly reciprocating the embrace. He felt stiff from this emotional outburst, patting her head as some way to offer comfort back. "Ah- it's alright. We're good now, right?"

Orion felt her head nod against his chest before, just as suddenly, she pulled away. He tried to catch her expression, but she was already striding toward the exit, leaving him perplexed and confused.

From outside the door he heard a mix of noises from Vi's "Weirdos" to giggling, a deep rumbling laugh, and the sound of shuffling feet.

"Ah, the gang heard," he thought, amused.