Chapter Text
It was dark. The guards had let the prisoners into the courtyard for their scheduled time, and even though the grass was dead and the cement was cracked, it was the best time of Vi’s day.
She’d been in prison for years, and learned that it doesn't get better. Sure she knows a few people who are less of assholes than the rest, but it's nothing compared to what she's lost. She's starting to forget things, Jericho's food, what it feels like to run freely. Powder's voice. Her face.
She's what keeps Vi going. Every day she wants to quit, every long night and early morning. Just the hope that Powder is out there somewhere. But to find her, Vi needs to get out.
She waits until it's the new guard. The one who hasn't seen her beat an inmate yet. Vi’s group of prisoners was being led to the courtyard, with a guard in the front.
Vi grabs the helmet and bashes it against the guards head. Caught by surprise, he's knocked out before he knew what she was doing.
But not before he could yell. Other guards rush in, but Vi’s already climbing the fence, spikes digging into her hands only covered by bandages she got for this moment specifically. She makes it over the fence, and into a janitor's closet of all places.
“Fuck”. She cursed as she realized how little she knew about the layout. Even though the guards catch the rest of her group, they don't search in Vi’s direction. (She only learns later that her cellmate had told the enforcers she had run a different way).
It takes hours of sitting in the dark, fearing what would happen if she was caught, thinking about how much worse it would be if she didn't at least try to get back to Powder.
But eventually, someone comes to the closet. Thankfully it's just a janitor, and she's not wearing the same level of armor as the guards.
Vi comes out swinging, but the janitor isn't knocked out immediately. She gets a hit in, but Vi knocks her to the ground before the custodian could get another punch.
She drags the unconscious worker into the closet before taking the little armor she had along with the jacket.
Vi walks out of the closet and gets on the shuttle back to the mainland. The car is filled with enforcers, and she tries her best to not show how scared she is.
“Haven't seen you around here before, I would remember a pretty face like your’s” an older man comments. Vi knows punching him in the face could blow her cover, but boy does she want to. Instead she forces a laugh, “yeah, I'm new here”.
Thankfully they arrive back at the mainland soon. Vi gets off with no idea where she's going, just that she needs to get away. She goes into town, searching for a store with clothes that looks easy enough to rob and not be noticed. When she find one, she grabs some plain pants, a shirt, and a long red jacket. She puts it on in the changing room and hastily leaves, wondering how long it would take for someone to find the enforcers gear she left.
While she wanted to go to Zaun immediately, there would likely be enforcers on the way there. Piltover didn't trust Zaun, and they were trying to regulate the borders. They had tightened security, and she knows the news of her escape had probably spread. And as Silco seems to have ears everywhere, the runaway would need to be on the lookout for him too. She had to lay low.
The truth was, Vi had nowhere to go. She didn't know anyone up here, and she definitely couldn't rely on Piltie strangers to help her and not just send her back to Stillwater. That's how she ended up climbing a fancy gate into a fancier garden. There were a few fruits growing, though sparse among the flowering bushes and trees and ferns.. Only in Piltover could so much space and resources be used for something so impractical. She wandered to a willowy tree with violet blossoms.
Of course, Vi’s luck had to come to an end. She shouldn't have assumed the garden was empty, she shouldn't have broken in, she shouldn't have done any of this and now she's going back to jail and never going to see powder and- she takes a deep breath. She can do this. Just play it off. The other girl speaks first.
“Hello. I'm Caitlyn, who’re you? Someone else my Mom made to attend?”
“Uhh hi. What do you mean someone your mom made attend? Is there an event happening here?”
The other girl -Caitlyn- looked a little surprised by her response.
“Yes, there's a party being thrown right inside. If you're not here for that, why are you here?”
Vi paused, not sure of the correct response. “It’s complicated” (it wasn't. She was hiding)
Caitlyn looked at her for a second.
“You broke in didn't you”.
Vi began to worry, but Caitlyn quickly added “It's okay, I'm not going to tell on you. I'm not really supposed to be here either”.
“Thank you, you don't know how much you're helping”, Vi said, sitting on the bench where Caitlyn had scooted over to make room.
“But why aren't you supposed to be here?” ‘Aren't you a Piltie?’ goes unsaid.
“I hate those events. It's a bunch of adults discussing politics and stroking their own ego in there. Enough about me though, I'm honestly much more interested in you”.
“I’m afraid it might disappoint you. My story's not very interesting, just the whole dead parents spiel”.
“That's terrible! If you need somewhere to stay, I could get you a guest room at my house”
Vi’s first instinct is to say no, to not trust her. But looking into her bright blue eyes, she finds herself agreeing. Just for a little while, she tells herself. Just for a day or so.
Turns out getting Vi a guest room meant sneaking her into one of the unused rooms. She's honestly surprised by Caitlyn’s climbing abilities considering she's a Piltie. They go in through a large window into an ornate room with more room than a family of four would have in Zaun.
“My parents don't come in this room often, you should be good. I live just one door over if you need anything”
“Thank you Caitlyn. Can you stay and just, I don't know, talk?” Vi says, finding herself wanting to get to know the blue hair stranger.
“Sure!” Caitlyn looked happy she asked. “Wait, my parents are going to kill me once they realize I've been missing. I have to go back to the party, but I'll be back as soon as I can. Just stay in here and don't cause too much chaos” Caitlyn said with a smile. Vi sat down on the bed, hoping she had trusted the right person. All she knew was that it sure felt like it.