Chapter Text
It probably wasn’t the best thing that all Jinx had to wear was the cloak she wore while she stormed the hexgate tower with Ekko, and ragged white wraps to cover her chest. The hood did happen to be lined with big, white, jagged shark teeth. Not the most inconspicuous…
Even if she stood out a little bit, Jinx still had to admit that she had - hands down - the most style out of everybody on the airship. That was one of the things about Piltover that pissed Jinx off. They could dress any way they wanted, and they choose the blandest , most dull, least exciting outfits imaginable! Down in Zaun, people were happy just to have clothes on their back, but somehow they always manage to make the drab cloth that they cover themselves in feel colorful.
But screw the shark-tooth hoodie - Jinx was a hero! In Piltover’s defense against Noxus’ forces, she put everything aside to team up with them and keep them out of the Hexgate Tower. Not that it’d be acknowledged by Piltover - by now she knew far better than to expect that from them. In the eyes of the Piltovan public, she was most likely still a highly wanted terrorist.
Even if she were to be welcome, Jinx was just so used to hiding - even in the undercity. So used to feeling unwelcome, to letting herself present to the world around her in any human way.
On that note, though, the new hairdo made it a little bit easier to pass as… not Jinx - maybe just another Jinxer? And with Isha by her side, she even looked like she could be - dare she say it - harmless. Just another pair of scared nobodies - a tired young woman and a naive little girl - trying to escape the horrors going on in Piltover and Zaun.
Before meeting Isha, she probably would have been pissed off to pass as so harmless - but not anymore. Isha kind of put a dampener over the raging fires that kept her on a neverending rampage. That didn’t piss Jinx off as much as she would have liked (which pissed her off).
When she was little, Jinx would always talk about riding one of these airships. It looked like so much fun! More than that, though, they looked so… free. All Jinx could do was rot down in The Lanes, all while those airships, so high up in the sky, could go wherever they wanted! Anywhere at all!
There was a whole wide world beyond Zaun - this decrepit, chemical-infested corner of the world - and now Jinx and Isha had the chance to explore any part of it that they wanted to.
Now she was on an airship, and it totally lived up to her expectations all those years ago. The idea of soaring off to some foreign land, never to return, was thrilling to Jinx, kind of in the same way a roller coaster might thrill a child. Supposedly, Demacia was really pretty, this time of year. And , there definitely wouldn’t be any magic disasters to worry about. That was supposed to be a big no-no in Demacia. Even all the way down in her corner of Zaun, Jinx had heard about Demacia’s reputation for hating anything ‘arcane’.
Not that it really mattered where they went, as long as they went there together. Vi wasn’t in the picture anymore, so… they were kind of all they had. Bilgewater, Ionia, Shurima - it wasn’t that important. But yeah, Demacia would probably be cool.
“Hey, Isha?”
Isha looked up, giving a nonverbal hum of acknowledgement
“You ever thought about what you’d wanna do with your future?”
The question was met with an immediate shake of her head. Figures. It’s probably been years since Isha had the time to think about anything other than surviving another day. Jinx, too.
When she met the little girl, her only possession that Jinx knew about was that scrappy helmet and goggles that she refused to part with. How could you even begin to plan for your future when all you had was something so meager, and you still had to fight to hold onto it?
“Yeah, me neither, I guess. Guess I’ve spent my life just trying to, you know, make it to next week. But… Now we have years. Like, to live. To really live. I’m not sure if I know what that feels like.”
It didn’t really seem like Isha could process what she was saying. That’s okay, though. Jinx was gonna be there, by her side, either way.
Even not having known one another for all that long, it wasn’t hard for Isha to tell that Jinx wanted to say something. She was happy to sit in silence with her until Jinx was ready to speak (not that Isha could really speak up, anyways).
“I think that nutjob cult leader might’ve been on to something.”
Isha looked up to Jinx.
Jinx huffed to herself, clarifying, “Not about all that ‘glorious evolution’ shit. I mean… I could, you know,” Jinx scratched the back of her head, smiling nervously, “not use my talents… to hurt people?”
Isha smiled a little bit. If that’s what makes Jinx happy, then that’s what makes me happy .
Jinx scrunched her nose, “Well, I mean- gah, maybe not use my talents, like, for good , I just mean-” Jinx took a deep breath, trying to slow her thoughts and gather her words. She exhaled slowly, continuing, “I spent so much time, just… full of hatred, you know? I was just so hell bent on breaking things, and… well, I did some bad things. I think - no, I know I need to walk away from all the blood and violence. It’s- It’s just- I’m tired. Of all of it. I need to rest. Maybe I can try building things, instead of destroying them?… and you,” Jinx jabbed a finger in Isha’s direction, “-you deserve better than what that kind of life can get you.”
Isha smiled wide at Jinx. She was happy that Jinx was finally doing the best thing for herself.
Jinx reached down to give Isha a big hug, planting a kiss on her forehead with a hopeful smile, promising, “I promise to try to get you the kind of life you deserve.” Isha smiled just about as wide as she could, trying her best to wrap her little around her adoptive big-sister as best she could.
——————————————
“The Great City of Demacia” (blegh) was a bustling city. It was kind of weird that way. Zaun was a bustling city. Piltover was a bustling city. Here, though, nobody recognized her. She was just a strangely dressed stranger to everybody around her. No fear of being recognized by the Wardens. No hope of being recognized by her blue-haired followers or Sevika or…
Huh, guess there’s not really anybody else. I guess they’re all gone now. Gonesoes. Dead. Kicked the bucket. Rolled over.
…
I miss Vi already.
…
…
I don’t wanna think about that right now.
To nobody in particular but herself, Jinx muttered, “That’s not important now. I’m here for a second chance. To get it right for once. C’mon, Jinx.”
Right on time to break Jinx out of her thoughts, a light impact against her legs sent her ever so slightly off balance.
“Hey, watch where you’re- oh, it’s you, Isha.” Jinx let out an amused Pfft , narrowing her eyes with a smirk once she saw a bundle of fruit in Isha’s hands. “Oh? Whatcha got there?” Looking ever so slightly guilty, Isha offered up a handful of pears and apples. In an expression of mock disbelief, Jinx gasped exaggeratedly, accusing, “Did you steal these…? You thief! How could you?!”
Isha held Jinx’s intense glare for a long moment - until Jinx cracked up a little smirk, and the two started giggling uncontrollably.
After Jinx was able to collect herself, she flicked a tear of laughter from the corner of her eye, ruffling Isha’s hair up, saying, “Aww, you got these for us? You’re sweet, kid.”
By that point, the two had wandered the city until they neared the perimeter walls, and it was nearly dark. They should probably look for a place to stay the night before the sun was fully set.
That said, it wasn’t all too hard to track down a nearby inn - it was, after, the capital city of a major nation. There were, however, other problems.
“Right then, the room for a night’ll run ya’ two gold coins. We take payment upfront.” The innkeeper was a large man with a thick scruff of a beard and dense chest hair - and a low, gravelly voice to accompany his stature.
Jinx waved the demand away. “Yeah, yeah, I got it! Not to worry, Chuck - can I call ya’ Chuck? ‘kay, awesome.” She stuck her hands in her pockets, fishing around for any coin she might have on her, only to come to the revelation that her pockets were perfectly empty. Flipping her pockets inside out - just for absolutely nothing to fall to the ground - Jinx gave the innkeeper the most appeasing smile she could.
“Sorry, kid, can’t just go an’ give out free rooms to everyone askin’. It’s bad for business, I’m sure ya’ understand.”
What was she supposed to tell Isha? Hey, kid, I know I’m supposed to be taking care of you, but it looks like we’ll be slumming it for a while.
Jinx clasped her hands together, making a little pout and pleading, “Please?”
Jinx’s appeal to the bartender’s pathos didn’t seem to be very effective. He wore a sterner look than the one he had on when they’d entered the establishment. He grumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose, before demanding, “Get out.”
Whatever. Stupid Chuck. Didn’t need him or his stupid, warm rooms or his dumb, soft beds anyways. Better to just walk away, come up with some other sleeping arrangement, not get pissy about it.
Isha didn’t seem all too perturbed to end up on the streets for the night - which made sense, considering that she spent her earliest years in Zaun. Still, it felt like a failure to Jinx. Like she was proving herself incapable of caring for the little girl she’d grown so attached to.
Retreating to the alleyway behind Chuck’s inn, Jinx huffed a defeated sigh as she let herself slide down to the ground against the cold, stone walls of the alley.
“Sorry, kid,” Jinx mumbled under her breath.
“Hmm?” Isha hummed a little curiosity to indicate that she couldn’t hear Jinx.
In a pouty tone, Jinx repeated herself, “Isha, I’m sorry. I’m supposed to be giving you something better than Zaun. Can’t even give you a place to sleep.”
Isha was quiet for a second, as if unsure how to express her thoughts, but then shook her head in denial. “Mmm mmn,” She voiced in disagreement, before inching closer to Jinx’s seated figure to wrap her head in a hug. Isha lowered herself, finding a place to sit in between Jinx’s legs and huddling close to her for a little bit of warmth.
Isha liked Jinx’s warmth. It was always a little colder without her big sis. Her mom? Both? The thought confused the both of them, but they were definitely family.
Nightfall brought a chill to the air, but it was nothing they couldn’t handle together.
After some amount of minutes, Jinx passing the time with playful stories and jokes to entertain Isha, eliciting a giggle from the little bluenette here and there, Jinx heard something. No, someone. It was footsteps. Soft and carefully treaded, but the shimmer running through Jinx’s blood made sure it wouldn’t be easy to sneak up on her.
Jinx faltered in her story, going quiet and earning a curious look from the little girl in her lap.
What should I do? I could fight. They don’t think I know they’re here - I could wait for a clean angle and shoot her. Put a bullet right into that stupid head. Yeah, watch the blood -
Wait, no. No more blood, right? No more violence, right? I’m here and I’m gonna stop breaking things. That includes people
Should I try talking to them? Maybe.
Hiding? They might find us.
Running? That’s probably a better idea.
Putting a finger up to her lips, Jinx whispered at a hardly audible level, “We need to go. Someone’s watching us.”
Suspiciously narrowing her eyes and darting them around, Isha looked for the person Jinx was talking about, but couldn’t find them. Jinx’s word was enough for her, though. They trusted one another. Silent as a mouse, Jinx got up, Picking Isha up and setting her lightly on her feet, taking her hand to walk calmly away.
Slowly, gotta look unsuspecting. Not too slowly, c’mon pick up the pace a little. We’re still sump-rats, skittering around to live the night. Quiet, Isha!
Jinx couldn’t actually shush her, but a little squeeze on the shoulder seemed to do the trick.
A subtle peek around her shoulder showed Jinx the tiniest sliver of a hooded figure, peeking in their direction from behind the cornerway of the alley.
Okay, time to pick up the pace.
Jinx grabbed Isha by the hand, starting to walk a little faster, only for the subtle sound of footsteps to restart. Quiet as could be, Jinx whispered to Isha, “Don’t turn around, we’re being followed.”
The footsteps continue, and it becomes apparent that whoever is following the two bluenettes don’t want them to get away. The two speed up once more, and their follower does the same. It’s not long before Jinx exhales in frustration and blurts out, “Okay, fuck it, time to go.”
Jinx picks up Isha, hoisting the little girl up and over her shoulder, which only served to elicit a playful giggle from her. Sticking her thumbs in her ears, Isha blew a big raspberry at the hooded silhouette on the other side, only for Jinx to turn around and do the same.
“Wait, hold on!” The hooded figure called out, as the . It was the voice of a girl, not sounding too old. Nineteen years old, maybe twenty? That’d be around the same age as Jinx, then.
Isha almost bit her tongue off as her raspberry blowing was cut short by Jing leaping high, only to jump again, off one wall of the alley, and landed neatly on the nearest rooftop.
“There we go, kid, that should probably lose them.”
Isha giggled, voicing an “Mhm,” in happy agreement. Just then, The same figure landed gracefully on the same rooftop. Clearly, they hadn’t lost her. To that point, how the hell did their stalker get up here, this high up? The roofs had to be at least thirty feet above the ground.
Not yet making another attempt to close the distance between herself and the two, the stranger pleaded, “Hold on! I just want to talk!”
Jinx muttered to Isha, her voice spiked with sarcasm, “Yeah, right. I bet Smeech woulda said that too, if he weren’t so busy getting off on the idea of me dead.” Isha didn’t seem to understand that one. Was the joke too much? Too much was kind of Jinx’s specialty.
Jinx took off again, Isha still slung over her shoulder, the shimmer in her eyes pulsing with a glow, before she took off in a blur that should be too fast for their assailant to keep up with.
Jeez, didn’t this chick ever learn how to take a hint?
It’s not like there shouldn’t be anyone in Demacia that could keep up with Jinx’s shimmer-boosted physical capacities, but… coming from what Jinx presumed to be a common thief or stalker, this felt like a bit much. She was still hot on their trail, Jinx hardly even gaining steady distance on the two. Somewhere in their chase, the stranger’s hood had been peeled back by the wind, revealing a head of golden hair, and a pair of shocking-blue eyes.
Their race above the rooftops kind of reminded Jinx of home - back when she’d path her way through Zaun in the quickest ways to any-which-place, or used Piltover’s rooftops to avoid getting caught.
In the midst of their chase, the stranger pleaded once more, “Stop running for a second! Please!”
Jinx replied in her most insincere voice, “Ha! Fat chance, blondie!”
Her quip earned a groan of frustration and exasperation from the blonde pursuer, and even facing away from her, Jinx’s eyes burned from a brightness originating from the stranger. Heat radiated from that same center as a ball of light shot towards Jinx and Isha.
“Sorry, but we really need to talk!”
Just as Jinx took a leap from one rooftop to another, the ball of light hit her head-on, and suddenly Jinx found herself locked in place, a cylindrical cage of solid, prismatic light surrounding and trapping herself and Isha midair, quite a ways above the paved, concrete ground.
Hardly able to slow herself down in time, the blonde ended up tackling into the two, breaking the light-made binding and sending the three of them crashing down towards the ground. Preparing for a cruel, hard impact, Jinx curled protectively around Isha, doing her best to mitigate any damage that might happen to the little girl.
Fortunately, the mage-stranger was able to cast another wave of prismatic light, this time soft and cushioned, instead of the rigid, sturdy light that composed the binding spell just a second ago. It broke their fall, giving way as the three of them slowed their fall, then dissipating as they were hardly two feet above the ground.
A significantly shorter fall than the one before led the three to the ground, just hard enough to elicit a little oof from each of them as the air left all their lungs collectively. By pure happenstance, the blonde stranger landed on top of Jinx, an arm on either side of her head, with Isha sandwiched in between the two, dug firmly into Jinx’s torso.
There was nobody out on the street at such a late night, but illuminated by the light of a nearby lamppost, Jinx and Isha got their first actual look at their assailant’s face. It was a young woman, with blue eyes, fair skin and blonde hair that’d gotten tangled and poofed in the cool night’s winds.
She was pretty. Her eyes were kinda nice to look at. For a split-second, her gaze disarmed Jinx, only for her to realize it and tense up, raising her guard back up (as much as she could, currently being pinned to the ground and having a child laying on her stomach).
She didn’t look too winded (which was annoying - this chick has some serious nerve), but exhaled deeply enough that it turned into a grumble. Jabbing a finger above Isha’s head, right into Jinx’s sternum, the stranger complained, “How on Runeterra are you so fast? That was absolutely annoying.”
Jinx shrugged. “You’re one to talk. Here I was, thinking you’d be eating our dust.”
The stranger looked even more annoyed. “And here I was, telling you that I just wanted to talk.”
“...In the middle of the night? In some dark alleyway where two blue-haired crazies are huddled up together? Sure thing, Toots.”
The stranger was unamused.
Do they not do humor around here? Is ‘Toots’ like, a locale-specific thing?
“Well, doesn’t look like we can go anywhere. Talk away, blondie.”
Huffing once more, the stranger mocked, “ Well , Chuck, my name is Lux. Luxanna Crownguard. But don’t call me that. Call me Lux.”
“Will do, Blondie.” Jinx tried to move her arm up in a salute that matched her remark, but realized that she couldn’t, as she was stuck in place, by way of having Lux on top of her. She blew a big blue tuft of hair out from her eyes, settling for a wink at the stranger.
The wink seemed to help Lux realize the position they were all in, and blinking a couple of times, she blushed a little bit - just as quickly dismissing the redness in her face - before climbing off of Jinx and Isha and sitting a comfortable distance from the two.
Well, that’s kind of adorable .
Legs folded underneath her and gloved hands sitting tightly in her lap, Lux stared intensely at the ground, as if she were kicking herself over just having her would-be escapee pinned to the ground. Collecting herself, Lux took a breath and assumed a much more disarmed air than the one she’d been wearing until then.
Lux started, “I… I know what it’s like. To have to hide yourself away from the world. To not be wanted - to
know
you wouldn’t be wanted, ‘cause if they knew who you
really
were, they’d think you were a freak.”
Jinx gave a suspicious, confused look. She had no idea what Lux was talking about.
…Do I know this girl? Does this girl know me?
Lux continued, “It doesn’t have to be that way, though. There’s a place for us. For mages. A place where we don’t have to constantly be afraid of being caught - of having to wear masks and hope that they won’t slip off.”
Uh, nope. Haven't known her a day in my life.
Also, mages? No way those guys are freaks. All that magic shit’s awesome!
Giving voice to her confusion, Jinx interjected, “Uh, sorry, Blondie, you got the wrong idea. Between me an’ the little one, the number of mages here are…” Jinx made a comic show of trying to count on her fingers, “Zero. Zilch, nada. You got the wrong folks.”
Lux dismissed the notion, as if it weren’t even a possibility. “No, no, it’s okay! I’m not here to arrest you two, I promise.”
Jinx gave Lux a quizzical look, agreeing, “Yeah, sure hope you’re not here to arrest us. We haven’t even been caught doing anything illegal since getting here! ”
Lux tried in her best comforting effort, “Hey, you saw the things I did earlier, right? I’m a mage, too. I can sense magic coming straight from you, Chuck. There’s no need to hide it. I can take you two someplace magic is okay - and you can take your sister!”
“Okay, you’re getting two things wrong here: One, my name is Jinx, not Chuck. And two, I’m not a mage, so unless Isha here - wait, kid, are you magic?” Isha shook her head unknowingly, prompting Jinx to continue, “Yeah, so unless Isha is magic - which she’s not - you got the wrong folks.”
Apparently, nothing was getting through to Lux, and she was still convinced that at least one of the two bluenettes was a mage, because she pressed on, “Look, there’s a refugee camp for mages, hidden in the woods past the city walls. It’s a good place, I swear , so let me take you there, just to take a look around. You can stay! For free!” Under her breath, Lux grumbled quietly, “ Jeez , you’d think I’m trying to ask a little kid to go do her dishes … ”
Jinx gave herself a moment to think about it. This lady thought she was magical. And magic is illegal here - so they have refugee camps to hide away from the government? And this… this Lux wants to let her stay there. For free.
Huh, how about that?
Jinx looked over to Isha, who clearly seemed to just be along for the ride. Even without words, her expression seemed to question, ‘ Why not? ’
Actually, that was a good question. Why not? Besides, with the plumes of colorful smoke that Jinx could make with her explosions, she might as well have been a mage!
Opening her mouth, then closing it with a pout, Jinx looked for the right words to voice her thoughts. Raising one finger in enlightenment, Jinx opened her mouth again and said, “Okay, fine . If you insist, we can go to your mage encampment. But I don’t know how clear I need to make myself, Blondie - I’m not a magician.”
Lux’s shoulders relaxed a little bit, and she let herself smile a little bit. “I’m glad you decided to see some reason.” You’re an awful liar, you know. I can sense so much magic coming from you, I actually had to do a double take when you first walked into that inn.”
Jinx gave a look to Isha, and even though they didn’t exchange any communication, they were on the same page: She’s strange. Although Isha probably wasn’t on the same page as Jinx when it came to Jinx’s opinion that Lux was a very attractive woman. She might’ve been a little bit too young for that.
Standing up and brushing the dirt off from her trousers, Lux tried for a warm smile, offering a hand up to Jinx. Even though she didn’t want to present herself with any weakness or reliance, Jinx grumbled and took Lux’s hand, who helped her onto her feet. Jinx did a similar nicety for Isha, except this time picking Isha up from underneath either of her arms and plopping her down onto her feet.
“Well, shall we?”
Jinx huffed, saying “I suppose we shall… Although, you really can’t go and get disappointed once I prove to be wholly unable of any extraordinary arcane feats.”
Jinx took Isha’s hand, and the three set off towards the city walls.
————————————————————
Even after leaving the city perimeters, the walk to Lux’s mage encampment was sizable. It was still dark out, but they must’ve walked a couple of hours before Lux announced that they’d even passed the halfway mark. Wise enough to recognise that continuing on would do the three no good, they all agreed to set up camp for the night, and finish the rest of their trek the following day.
That said, the walk thus far wasn’t even boring. And for Jinx, that said something!
If Jinx were to have had any expectations, it would have been for tense boredom and awkward silence. Despite, however, at the beginning being intentionally antagonistic towards Lux, Jinx found it difficult not to start enjoying Lux’s company. She found the time they spend walking to be filled with fun and playful conversation.
Lux seemed to be good at that sort of thing - at chatting someone up. Keeping the conversation light and fun, and never overly intrusive or serious. By the time the three of them set themselves down for the evening, Jinx actually found herself to be really enjoying herself.
She wondered if Lux was like this with everyone. She wasn’t sure why, but the thought that she might be rung sour in Jinx’s thoughts. It’d be pretty cool if it were only Jinx that Lux got along so well with.
As it turned out, Lux had not come prepared to equip two strangers with camping supplies on her trek home. She might’ve been ready for a couple of nights out in the wilderness - Jinx and Isha, on the other hand, were anything but. To make matters worse, it was actually beginning to get somewhat chilly.
It’s nothing that Jinx couldn’t put up with, but she wanted more for Isha than to have to put up with all the discomforts that might come their way.
“You know, you’re really lucky that I found you and got you out of that city. It’s a miracle you’ve gone this long on the streets and haven’t been arrested yet.”
Jinx whispered to Isha, “Gods, is she still on this mage thing?” Isha just shrugged.
Having gathered a bundle of dry wood in a pile, Lux used a tiny spark of her magic to concentrate enough light to set the wood aflame. On a note more serious than any they’d touched on thus far, Lux asked, “...You really can’t take this seriously, can you? Do you not know what Demacia does to mages like us?” Jinx just shook her head.
“What’s your deal, then?”
In response to Lux inquiring about her new friends, Jinx made a silly face, looking around and asking, “Who, us?”
Lux let out a tiny little giggle, playing along, “Yes, you, silly.” As she waited for Jinx to speak, Lux began to brush the forest debris aside to make a place near the campfire for her bedroll.
“Well, Blondie, I dunno if Demacia gets a whole ton of visitors this time of year, but we’re not really from around these parts.” That didn’t really seem to surprise Lux, but she smiled and inquired further, “Oh? Do tell.”
“...You ever heard of Zaun? Piltover?” Lux nodded, responding, “Yeah, I’ve also heard that things haven’t been too good over there.”
Jinx thought about telling Lux what her deal really was. The reasons she wasn’t still in Zaun, why two trench-rats like them were all the way out in Demacia. It was a little bit tempting.
“We’re just two nobodies from the trenches - way down in the Undercity. Shit started hitting the fan, figured sticking around wasn’t the brightest idea.” Jinx smiled sadly down at Isha, who by now was drifting off a little, nestled into Jinx’s side, pondering, “Guess it doesn’t really matter where we find ourselves, just gotta stick together… you know? Right about now, the twin cities aren’t much good - if you wanna keep yourself, or the people you love, alive, anyways.”
Lux patted the spot on her bedroll beside where she was sitting, prompting Jinx to gently pick Isha up and carry her over by Lux, sitting herself down and putting the smaller bluenette in between the two girls.
Lux assured her, “There’s no shame in running, you know. Not from war. I guess… I guess it just means you have your priorities straight, right? You know what it is you want to protect.”
The two women made eye contact for a moment, and for some reason, neither could bring themselves to tear their eyes away from the other. That long moment - born from a place of sincerity and vulnerability - turned into a couple of longer, burning seconds, before Jinx snapped herself out of her daze, realizing that her face had grown a little bit hot. Placing her gaze anywhere but on Lux, Jinx cursed herself.
Stupid Lux, and her stupid eyes. Her big, blue, stupid eyes. And stupid me, for getting lost in them.
Lux smiled to herself, offering, “Well, this way… I guess you get a second chance, right? Another try to get the things you really want out of life. Find something better than what you had in your last life.” Jinx thought for a second. She supposed that Lux was right, but…
Lux doesn’t know. The things I’ve done, the people I’ve hurt - everything I’ve broken. Ruined. How much I’d need to do to atone. How much fixing I’d need to do to undo the breaking.
Wonder if she’d still think I deserved a second chance if she did know.
Jinx snuck a glance at Lux, who all the while, had a soft gaze and a warm smile cast upon Jinx.
Gods, someone as nice as that… She probably would.
…
…Do I? Do I deserve a second chance?
Breaking the chain of thoughts that Jinx was lost in, Lux took one of Jinx’s hands, gently prodding, “What are you thinking about?” Lux’s hand was soft - despite the callouses that ridged her palms and fingers. And warm.
Squeezing Lux’s hand, Jinx just gave a tiny smile, shaking her head. This was probably a conversation for another night. Lux picked up on the cue and said nothing more, basking in the silence of chirping crickets and leaves swaying in the branches above them.
After a few minutes, Lux shifted so that she was laying down atop her bedroll, and made no effort to push Jinx or Isha away, who were also resting on the bedroll. By now, Isha was fast asleep, and as if to accommodate for Lux’s change in positions, she unconsciously shifted to lay her head on Lux’s stomach, gravitating towards her warmth.
Lux and Jinx were still connected at the hand, and although Jinx was still sitting upright besides the two other horizontal figures, the warmth that Lux and Isha radiated was enough to lull her into a pleasant sleepiness.
Eventually, the three found themselves bundled atop a bedroll - Isha sandwiched in between Lux and Jinx - as Jinx found her way into a pleasantly dreamless unconsciousness.