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Vi is sitting at the bar, half laying on it with her arms crossed for a pillow. She is facing the wall, hiding, trying to avoid the fleeting looks of the usual customers of the Last Drop. She huffs, dry smile on her face, is she gonna be the protagonist of a bad joke?
I've been the butt of one for a while so why not? She thinks and then basks in the silence that follows, the voice has been mostly silent today with the exception of some growls and jabs here and there. It's easier to keep out of trouble when you don't have someone goading you into doing stupid things. Like, punching the first person that rubs you the wrong way, or accepting a challenge to see who can parkour the fastest starting at the Sumps and coming all the way up here.
That had been fun, she left Devaki eating dust, winning with time to spare. Almost five minutes, Vander had given her a long talk about impulsive decisions and responsibility. But then gave her a good pat on the back and said: That's my girl.
Her smile sours, she misses him so much, and being here isn't helping. It all reminds her of him, the carefully polished counters, the smell of alcohol mixed with grease and spice coming from the kitchen. If she closes her eyes she can almost feel Vander standing across from her, cleaning the glasses, shouting over the people talking to be heard all the way to the other side. She squeezes her eyes shut, not to imagine him but to prepare to be berated by the voice. A second goes by, then two, three, silence. She feels almost disappointed, she is starting to miss them, whatever they have to say would be better than being alone right now.
And now she is made herself think about why she is alone and who is to blame. Powder and Silco had gone out to get all the stuff she would need for her new workshop, and they had asked her to stay, Powder had asked her to stay.
Grrrr.
And there they are. Did she say she was starting to miss them? Shut it, we don't have the luxury of getting into trouble.
Vi turns to look away from the wall, the Last Drop is at half capacity, but it's early so there's still time for it to get packed. Only the regulars are here right now, bunch of traitors, life has gone on almost without a hitch as if Vander had never been the owner. Same clients came, drank, had their fun, none even thinking about her father. But that's the thing, right? She is no longer Vander's daughter, this time around she is truly an orphan, it isn't Powder's case tho. Does that mean Vi lost her sister too?
Grrrr.
Yeah, Vi doesn't like that thought either, it's her fault they lost Powder. And to Silco no less, in the worst way possible, by Powder's choice. Jinx now, she hasn't asked Vi to call her that yet but she could feel it coming. As if today marked the beginning of the end, Jinx's take over.
Vi frowns and it's only now that she pays attention to her surroundings, finding the fleeting looks. A right, that's why I was looking at the wall, less tempted to punch faces.
Among the looks thrown her way, the most common is pity, as if she were some kind of prisoner of war. Vi wishes it were the case, no soul-consuming guilt in that case, though there are times she does feel like a prisoner in here. How much of it is by her own doing and how much is Silco's? Vi doesn't want to find out so she runs away from the ugly truth by resuming her cursory glance.
There's disdain too, something easier to deal with, she feels it too. Becoming a true-and-through traitor to Vander's memory does that. Vi has become nothing but a coward constantly coming up with excuses for not getting revenge.
She hates it, it lits a searing hot fire in her belly that makes her wanna puke. The image of Vander's broken body comes to mind and then is quickly replaced by Powder's happy face. Walking hand in hand with Silco on her way to get all the stuff she needs, wants, money hadn't been an issue for them since he took over.
Vi groans then, squeezing her hands into fists and scaring the new bartender in the process. Thieram, he is a bit skittish, Powder loves to call him Chuck instead. Vi can't help smiling at that. She likes that her sister has more confidence now, but is ruined by the bitter aftertaste left from knowing Silco is the main reason.
I wasn't enough to help her with that.
Silco with his encouragement, with his sweet and gentle words, with his talk about feeling proud of our origins and showing the Pilties who we are. Part of Vi still wants to believe it, it had felt so right that night, but now without the scary shadows looming over her and being under the little daylight that reaches down here, she couldn't help thinking about who's blood they will have to spill to make his dream of Zaun a reality. How many fathers, mothers, daughters, and sons will have to die from both sides.
You have a good heart, Vander had said, Silco thinks that’s a liability. That they need to fix it so she can let her passion run rampant to achieve her goals. A good heart is only gonna stop someone with heart to do what they need to do. Look at what happened to Vander. Powder has nodded in agreement that time and Vi almost screams at her. God, what was wrong with her? It was Vander's good heart that let him to take them in for god’s sake! But thankfully for her or not, Vi had been behind Powder and a carefully raised eyebrow with a shake of the head from Silco had let her know to shut it. A tug on the leash he had around her, a leash she had wanted to pull since day one and that she hasn't dared to do yet.
Her musings are interrupted by a man drowning in alcohol, that on itself spelled trouble, but when she saw the purple haze of shimmer in his eyes Vi straightens on the seat.
He walks to the bar, slamming his glass so hard Vi is surprised it didn't crack. She can see him better now and notices he is not really a man, Devaki is barely older than her. The purple shine is not as strong as the one in Silco's thugs the night of the fire, so at least she should be able to put him on his ass if needed. That doesn't mean he isn't trouble thought, he looks exactly like the kind of trouble Vander would have already kicked out.
"Hey, Chuck! Give me another one."
"Thieram."
Vi puts a hand on the bar and turns to look at the pair, making sure both notice that they have her attention.
"What's that?" Devaki asks with a sneer on his face.
Thieram gives Vi a scared look, shrinking back. "That’s my name, Thieram, not Chuck."
"Then why the little blue-haired girl calls you Chuck?"
Because she is Silco's little girl, his favorite, his new daughter! The voice says with a tone full of scorn and bitterness.
Not now! They are right though, Powder barely passes time with Vi anymore, she is either with Silco in his office or at her new workshop making things explode and working on all the new toys she is promised him.
She hadn't even made the gauntlets she said she would do for us!
Vi sights internally, almost groaning out loud, now the voice is jealous and the worst part is that she felt the same. She couldn't tell if she feels jealous of Silco for taking away her sister or of Powder for getting all the attention and love, which terrifies Vi.
"Because I’m — her friend? You are a customer so —"
Devaki slams his hand beside his glass, dropping it and making it explode in dozens of pieces. Vi's brow twitches, her eyes moving to Sevika who is laughing and playing cards without a care in the world.
Why isn't she doing something!? Vi has half a mind to slam this guy's face on the bar and kick him out, she hates the woman but some part of Vi still feels respect towards her. She is strong, doesn't allow shit from others and everyone listens to her if only out of fear.
"Are you saying we aren't friends, uh, Chuck?" He says getting uncomfortably close to Thieram.
"I mean —"
"I think you should leave, dirtbag." Vi says standing and taking the few steps she needs to be at punching distance of Devaki. The whole bar lowers the noise, they don't stop chatting but slow down their conversations to pay attention to the altercation over at the bar, even Sevika does it.
Devaki turns to look at Vi, all smug and brave from the alcohol and the shimmer."Make me, pipsqueak."
Vi grips her fists, glaring and grinding her teeth. Shit how much I want to punch him now.
Do it. The voice says, cold, angry, bloodthirsty.
But Powder —
Stop making excuses, Silco is incapable of upsetting her, the leash around your neck is nonexistent.
That is a lie, it might not be as short as Vi thinks it is, but it's certainly there. Silco doesn’t have the same qualms with Vi, but if Powder is out of his reach — and Vi doesn't particularly care about the repercussions for her —
Nothing is stopping us.
Empty threats do nothing, you have to be careful when threatening someone Vi, you have to commit or they will never take you seriously again. Be careful when you throw them around.
Vander's words still ring true for her and with a bit of creativity she thinks she might be able to twist them around to win Silco's approval — she stops herself there and instead commits, raising her guard and giving Sevika a brief look with a raised eyebrow.
Since when do we need her permission!?
Sevika clearly shakes her head and Vi only smirks, giving her a cheeky wink before throwing Debaki an uppercut with all her weight behind.
He doesn't even raise his arms, receiving the punch right on the chin, and ends up flying back all the way to a table with four burly people drinking and playing domino. He bounces off it despite the obvious pain he is showing in his face, wincing and even holding a hand to his shoulder, he takes one of the chairs right from under one of the people and wields it to hit Vi.
"Fuck!" The person shouts as they fall to the floor, and then someone else from the crowd adds.
"BAR FIGHT!"
Vi feels more than sees the mayhem she just unleashes, busy with Devaki, she roars alongside everyone else as punches are thrown, chairs and glasses become weapons and the bar becomes a war zone where everyone is punching everyone just for shits and giggles.
Exchanging blows with Devaki takes her back to that night, back to the catwalk, and she gets lost in the moment. Guard up, deftly avoiding some of the punches thrown her way, completely forgetting to block others, and fully focusing on throwing the best punches she has in her arsenal even if that means her face gets to be the one doing the blocking by chance. At some point, she manages to get him into a chock hold, and that’s when she kicks his knee in, pulling a scream out of him and going down to the floor together where she proceeds to punch his face again and again and again.
She is slamming her fist even though Devaki went slack three punches ago and she is about to get a sixth in when a shot echoes around the place stopping everyone, except for her.
"The next to throw a punch gets a bullet in the head." Sevika shouts, she has a split lip and her mechanical arm is now uncovered whirring purple. There is a pause for a second or two, where no one moves and the punches Vi is delivering are the only thing everyone hears. Then as if Sevika's words finally dawn on people they drop the fighting stances, some hightailing it out of there and others simply picking up their chairs and sitting.
She groans when Vi is the only one still going. "I said stop, you are making a mess on the floor!" But her words don’t seem to be coming through and despite what she just said, this was Silco's little monster, so she puts the gun away glaring at anyone who is looking at her as she moves to Vi and picks her up from the collar of her shirt, like an unruly puppy being picked up from the scruff.
"Ack — " Vi lets go only because she needs to pull her shirt down to stop it from choking her.
What the hell?
Sevika drags her off to the back door and into the alley where she throws her against the wall. "This was cute three years ago, now it's fucking annoying, cool the fuck down, Vi. You made more of a mess than the stupid Devaki being an annoyance."
Vi, remembering the dirtbag's move back when she punched him against the table, bounces off the wall in the same way. Coiling her muscles, tightening them despite the pain, and using the force of her enemy to get back on her feet. She charges Sevika, grabbing her from the middle and attempting to push her against the wall but of course, she can't. She doesn't have the muscle, yet.
"You are light-years from pushing me around kid, but if you want me to fight you like an adult, I will."
Vi growls, letting go and trying to release a flurry of punches instead, but before she gets to land even one, Sevika beats her to it by punching with her mechanical arm right below her ribs.
"Fuck — bring it — then." Vi is panting both from the exertion and the punch, she would be doubled over if she weren't so stubborn. She lunges with a punch aimed at Sevika's face, which is easily parried.
Their dance goes on for half an hour, maybe even one, if you were to ask Vi later, she would tell you she wants to think she gave as good as she took. She knows that's not the case right now, she is getting the beating of her life. Every part of her body is on fire, her vision starting to blur and she thinks one of her teeth is loose, but she can't stop. The pain is so addicting, so merciful, she doesn't have to think about anything when she feels it torturing her, she just has to react and throw a punch in the direction it came from.
Everything ends when Vi falls to the floor face first and doesn't stand. Sevika's breathing is labored tired but mostly unharmed.
"You — done — with the temper tantrum? Damn — your guard sucks. Who thought you to fight?" The smirk on Sevika's face disappears when she realizes she is throwing that jab at a seventeen-year-old that lost said person not long ago, even if she said she was going to treat her like an adult. She still felt kinda shitty.
"Alright too soon." She adds, tone dry, hiding the small bit of guilt, she might have felt. It quickly goes away when she feels the sting in her jaw. Vi's guard may suck but the kid punches like a truck. She has time to get better and when she does she might even put Vander to shame. Damn, this is why Sevika keeps telling Silco they need to get her inducted now, use that anger to their advantage before she falls into complacency. The little sister won't be useful for another four or five years if she becomes useful at all.
Vi spits out blood on the ground, panting too, she hears Sevika but it's as if her mouth is muffled by something. Only getting half of what she is saying. Vi is floating, her mind silent, her body warm and the ache just an afterthought. She had needed that for a while — whether that means receiving a beating or giving one she isn't sure though.
"Vi?" Sevika asks and when she doesn't receive an answer she crouches in front of her, lifting her face just enough to see if she is breathing and when she receives a groan she lets out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. The kid is alive, so she can start dealing with the aftermath then. Sevika gives another glance at Vi's face, notices her eyes are open but glassy, and recognition flashes in her face. She knows that look, the look of someone blissfully floating out of their head while coming down from the adrenaline rush of a fight.
With a huff from Sevika and a groan from Vi, she pulls her up, hanging her upside down from her shoulder, and walks back inside. Nodding in the direction of the kitchen when she passes Thieram, he only needs to look at Vi to know Sevika is asking for ice and rags.
Vi is thrown unceremoniously on the couch. "Ugh — where?" She looks around, but her vision is still blurry, there is a figure in front of her that then sits right beside her head. Making the couch sink. "Vander?" The smell of nicotine tells her she is wrong, but just maybe —
Sevika scoffs. "Far from it." Thieram comes in with a bucket of ice and some rags and Sevika nods, he gives Vi one worried look before leaving, thinking he will slip extra servings when he is in charge of feeding the sisters.
Sevika starts wrapping pieces of ice on the rags and placing the bundles on top of Vi's abdomen, face, and everywhere she can see bruises forming. It's a welcomed sensation for Vi, calming down the burn she is slowly starting to feel as she comes back to her body. Sevika takes one of Vi's hands when she is done placing the ice and carefully starts dabbing her knuckles while removing the blood-stained bandages.
"You feel like him, he used to do this after each of my scraps on the street."
"I'm the one that gave you the beating."
"Gave as good as I took."
"In your dreams."
A few minutes pass in silence then. "Is Thieram ok?"
Always the good-hearted — Sevika stops herself, Vi is no longer a kid, they had to stop treating her like one if she wanted to get her up and running doing jobs for her, for Silco, she corrected herself. But he would probably put her under her command. She deals with the muscle, he with the rest. "What was that for? Devaki wasn't so far gone that he would have hurt Thieram, the worst that could have happened is him having to put up with Devaki calling him Chuck and he already does that with Jinx."
"Vander would have put him on his ass."
"Listen, Vander is gone, and the fastest you get that through your thick skull the better for you."
"Whatever." Vi closes her eyes and pulls her hand back, taking one of the bundles on her shoulder. "I can do it thanks." Caustic tone in her voice and a rude signal with her middle finger in the general direction of the woman.
Sevika has half a mind to give Vi a good knock on the head but before she gets to do it she lets out a deep breath and lits a cigar instead. She is got the attitude, they just need to set her on the right path, find what ticks her in the direction they need here to tick, and keep her focused on that. Yes, that should be enough to have her forget Vander and earn a force to be reckoned with. One that will make Sevika's life as Silco's lieutenant way easier.