Archive of Our Own

It hurt. 

Not just his muscles, but every molecule of his being screamed for him to stop. The blood on his temple leaked down to his eyelid, asking for him not to do it again. 

Going back in time, even for just four seconds, again and again did a lot more damage than one thought. 

But it wasn’t the muscles that hurt the most. Not the molecules almost tearing themselves apart. 

It was his heart. 

A heavy, sinking feeling hit the bottom of it, like lead was dropped inside. If it fell anymore, it would rip right through. 

And it only sunk more every time she pulled that pin. 

The look in her eyes, it was more painful than that night on the bridge. The look she gave him now, it wasn’t fear. It wasn’t that instinct within her to fight back. 

It was defeat. An animal that’s run itself ragged trying to escape that which chased it. It has caught up, and it was only a matter of time before the end. 

No amount of his own words would help, he thought. 

Maybe she needed to hear the words of someone else. 

“You know,” he began, “I learned from someone…very special…”

That seemed to have caught her a little bit. Her violet pink eyes flitted aside to look at him. They wondered what he was going to say. 

“That no matter what happened in the past,” he continued, “it’s never too late to build something new.”

She turned more towards him, the light of the grenade blinking pink on her features. He looked down at the device hanging by his hip. His mind going to the people that helped him build it. 

“Someone worth building it for.” 

Her eyes kept on him, almost drilling through him. There was a lot going on behind them; a lot of thoughts. He knew it’s never been easy for her to sift through them all so quickly. 

So he waited. 

Eventually, she looked down at the grenade, and his hand went for the pullchain again. It didn’t matter to him how much it hurt. 

He just wanted her to try. 

Yet, she didn’t pull the pin. Her finger uncurled from it and she turned to face him, holding the grenade out.

Slowly, he stepped in and cupped one hand under hers, the other being placed over the grenade. He grabbed it and pulled it away, placing it in his bag. Then he returned his hand to hers. 

It felt so rough. The skin has been through so much trauma, it was plain to see she hasn’t been taking good care of herself. It wasn’t the hand of someone who tinkered with toys and gadgets. 

It was the hand of someone who scraped it against concrete.

He couldn’t help but stare down at it. At what’s become of her, of the two of them. All he could think about was how to help her. 

He watched as her other hand was placed on his. It closed upon it. Tight. His gaze lifted to the girl, to see her looking at him. Her eyes squinted slightly, lips parting to reveal the overbite underneath. 

She loosened her grip, taking the hand off his to raise to his cheek and caress it lightly.

“So,” she began, her voice cracking as it usually did, “you are real.”

Ekko woke with a start, twitching awake in his bed as his eyes opened wide to see the ceiling of his home. His home at the tree. With the Firelights.

The sun had just started to pour in through the window onto his bare chest, lighting up his dark skin with a beautiful radiance. The sounds of the tree waking up was apparent to hear, people milling about, managing somehow to continue their lives after such a traumatic event. 

It reassured him, almost. Let him know everything was okay. 

Yet…he dreamed about her again. 

The hand resting on his chest clenched into a fist, like he wanted to grab his heart. It thumped loudly in his chest, and he desired it to stop. 

He audibly sighed, resting a forearm across his eyes, shutting the light out. All he wanted to do now was just lie in bed. He had things to do on his schedule, but he was feeling demotivated. Not exactly depressed, not nearly. Just demotivated. 

The loud pounding on his door was almost on cue, like the universe knew he was trying to be lazy and instead is trying to force his ass out of bed. 

“Ekko!” A voice on the other side called, “You awake in there?” 

He knew the voice. It was Scar. Practically his second, but he didn’t like using a title like that for him. He was his friend, foremost of all. 

And one of the only voices that would actually get his ass out of bed. If he was calling for him, it was important. 

Emitting a small groan, Ekko threw off his arm, accepting the light into his eyes once again. Looking aside, he rolled out of bed, still in his fit from the night before. It was a long night, filled with planning for the future, followed by a little drinking. He pulled on some socks, stepped into his boots, and stood up, scratching the back of his head as he made his way over to the door. 

“I’m comin’!” Ekko shouted, the wood creaking weakly beneath his boots as he approached the door. 

Opening it, a new blast of light hit the dusty floor of his room, only blocked by the tall Chirean in front of him. Looking up at Scar, Ekko mustered a weak smile. 

“Mornin’, Scar,” he said, “What’s up?” 

“Morning. Someone wants to see you.” 

Ekko sucked on his lip, his shoulders slumping. “Great. What’d I do now?” 

“Don’t know with her. Ever. She’s always scowling.” 

“Her?”

“If you had to deal with the Pilties I do, you’d be pissed all the time, too.” 

A familiar voice. Always sounding like it came from the end of a sneer. An imposing figure stepped into view, the gears of her mechanical arm grinding as she held it out to her side. A pair of tired, grey eyes set between fallen black bangs glared at the young man. 

She didn’t even try to hide her disdain at the sight of him. Thick lips curled, she gave him a once-over before addressing him.

“Hey, Ekko.” 

“Oh,” Ekko responded in kind. “You.” 

“I have a name, you know.” 

“I do. Doesn’t mean I have to use it.” 

“Always were a little punk, weren’t you?” 

“I live up to it,” he smirked. 

“Well, I’m not here to argue that,” she said, glancing at the Chirean, then back at Ekko, “I got something for you. Best if you hear it alone.” 

“Anything I can hear, Scar can too,” he gestured to Scar, the two of them nodding to the other. 

Sevika curled her nose. “Not that kind of info. Something more…personal.” 

The way she looked at him after she said that. A knowing look, like he should understand what she meant. Instead, Ekko’s brow furrowed. 

They stood like that for a moment, one that felt too long, before Ekko looked to Scar. He sighed audibly and jerked his head aside. The chirean glanced at Sevika suspiciously, then nodded and walked away, leaving the two to talk. 

When Scar left, the bubble they were in seemed to have burst, and the sounds of the village waking up reached their ears. A good morning with a good morning in return. Yawns and intense stretches. Shoes padding on wood and crushing the grass. 

Felt as lively as ever. Ekko usually enjoyed the ambience of it. 

Just not with Sevika around. 

“So,” he started, gesturing to her with a stray hand, “what is it? I got things to do.” 

Sevika glanced from side to side, then stepped closer, causing Ekko to step back. Her brow cocked, eyes flitting from his feet to his face. 

“That scared of an old lady?” 

“Who’s the lady?” Ekko said, earning a chuckle from the woman. 

“Hm. I ain’t here to hurt you. This is something that concerns us both.” 

“Then you could easily tell me from this distance. Go on.” 

She groaned and put her hand on her hip. “Fine. It was all yesterday. I was with some of the council, going over some money stuff.”

“Yeah, yeah, your new Topside friends hit you up with some gossip?” 

Sevika scoffed, her scarred lip curving aside. “As if I’d ever care for their dirty laundry. No, they hate me. Don’t want me there.” 

“Then what is it?” 

“It was something my eye had caught. A history of outgoing airships. There was an airship out of Topside, the cargo of which was redacted. Including the passengers.” 

“So?” 

“The one who signed off on this one specifically, it was Cait.” 

While she had the look like she just dropped a bomb, the impact had very little effect on Ekko. “You'd better have a point to this.” 

“Why else would Queen Piltie herself keep passengers redacted? For an outgoing ship? That’s not her job. C’mon, you’re a smart kid.”

“Not that smart, apparently. Now, I gotta go.” Ekko wrinkled his nose and pushed past her with a small shoulder check. 

Sevika growled, hand grabbing his shoulder to pull him back, closer than before. She looked over her shoulder before pulling Ekko even closer to her scowling face, eyes glancing back at him.

“It’s Jinx.”

Ekko exhaled sharply, then immediately pushed her away. The look on his face showed more than annoyance. It showed pain. 

“Screw you. That’s not funny.” 

“Do I look like I’m telling a joke right now?” 

“You heard it from Vi herself. J-...Powder fell in the Hexgate with Vander, pin pulled and all. There’s no coming out of that.” 

Sevika turned her eyes away from him. He could see there was pain there. He, too, hated thinking back to that day. Vi herself was absolutely broken, and it took so much just for her to say it. 

“I…understand that, Ekko. But in that same vein,” she glanced back up at him, “She’s survived worse.” 

His mind went to that night. The one where she pulled the pin on him. 

Ekko can never look at that bridge the same again. 

He took a loose step away, his breath turning ragged. “I wish I could believe that,” he said, his hands hanging limp by his sides, “but I can’t have that hope. Not again. I can’t…I can’t lose her a third time.” 

Sevika nodded. “Well…yeah, I get it,” she said, lifting a hand to brush some of her hair out of her eyes. “It could be anything. It might not be Jinx. But all I know is when I couldn’t fix my arm, she made me a new one. When her father returned as a bloodthirsty beast, she did all she could to get him back. When Isha was captured by Enforcers, she broke into prison to get her out.” 

Ekko frowned, meeting Sevika’s gaze with an iron one of his own. 

“And when she really, really needed someone,” she said, taking a finger and stabbing it right into his chest, “You came for her. Despite all she had done, you came for her.” 

The frown subsided, and his iron gaze softened as he looked down at his chest. Brows raised, he felt something tug at his heart. 

“Just like her, you didn’t give up.” 

His eyes closed, his teeth grit. He shook his head slowly. 

“I…” 

“I ain’t gonna force you, kid,” Sevika said, removing her finger from his chest to instead put a hand on his shoulder, “But I can’t do it. I got people to look after, a city to represent.” 

Her grip was hard. She wasn’t used to comforting others. Or perhaps not this way. 

They stood there in silence, letting the noise of the Firelights fill the void between them. Ekko’s heart felt weird in a way he couldn’t describe. He knew what the feeling was, though. He just didn’t want to think about it. 

Yet it was there, staring him right in the face. 

Two large, vibrant, purple orbs blurred out of focus.

After a moment had passed, Sevika patted his shoulder twice before turning away, only taking a few steps before looking back over her shoulder. 

“The ship’s label is C7-1585. Headed for the outskirts, somewhere on the northern coasts. And hey,” she said, turning to look at him face on, her eyes pleading with him to go. 

“I know you meant a lot to her. I meant…something to her. Not sure what. But to her, kid, you meant a lot.” 

With that, she left him with his thoughts, her heavy boot steps following her until they dissipated among the bustle of Firelights waking up. At this time, he’d be walking out there, greeting everyone their good morning while going about his work. 

But now, he took a few steps back and closed the door, shutting himself from the world. In a daze, locking himself within himself, he stumbled over to his bed and sat down on its edge. Resting his elbows on his knees, he let his hands hang limp while his gaze kept itself to the floor. 

His mind was going miles a second, unable to truly decipher one thought enough, just an endless whirlwind of them. Around and around they went, freezing him in this moment. It even took some amount of effort just the keep drawing breath. 

Another knock at his door wrenched him from this trance, turning to the door to hear Scar’s voice on the other side. 

“Saw Sevika leave. Can I come in?” 

Ekko glanced to one corner of his room, then the other, before nodding. “Yeah. Yeah, come in.” 

The door opened, and there his second in command walked in, closing the door behind him before looking at the young man, his arms crossed. 

Ekko glanced up. In Scar’s green eyes, he saw a question in them. Then he noticed his ears flicker. 

“You heard it all.” 

“I did.” 

“And? What do you want to say?” 

“That in the entirety of your time as leader of the Firelights, I never once saw you do something for yourself. You’re a selfless man, Ekko. Even to your own detriment.” 

“So?” 

“So…maybe it’s time to change that.” 

Ekko stared at him a moment, then sighed and shook his head. 

“I can’t. I have the Firelights to look after.” 

“We can take care of ourselves plenty.” 

“It-it just wouldn’t be responsible of me to run off in search of…something I might never find.” 

Scar leaned against the wall. “A large leap always means taking a few risks.” 

Leap. A voice echoed in Ekko’s mind.

“Sometimes taking a leap forward means leaving a few things behind.” 

“If it’s something that matters to you,” Scar continued, “I’d say take it. I took that leap when I joined the Firelights. I knew it’d endanger me, but I still did it. Look at us now.” 

Swinging one leg onto his bed, Ekko gazed out the window again, seeing a couple meeting up. The man brushed some greasy hair out of his face before wrapping his arms around his partner. Pulling her in close, they embraced in the sunlight’s warmth. 

Suddenly, Ekko’s heart felt heavier. Tears he never thought could be shed were threatening to well up in his eyes, but he shut them close. A deep inhale through his nose, held in his lungs to pressure his heart to stop. 

When it calmed down, he opened his eyes to see the couple walking away, hand in hand. 

Slowly, he turned back to Scar, who looked at him expectantly. He kept his eyes averted, instead towards the floor.  

“Maybe you’re right,” he said, standing up. He took a few steps to Scar, hands in his back pockets. Scar’s brow raised, unsure what the man was about to do. 

Ekko went in for a hug, arms wrapping around his friend’s lithe form, catching the Chirean by surprise. 

“Thank you, Scar,” he said, pulling away, “For everything. Safe to say, I don’t think this place would be quite as it is without you there by my side.” 

Scar, still taken aback from the hug, just gave a small chuckle, reaching out to place a hand on Ekko’s shoulder. “I don’t know. You probably would’ve found some other guy to take it on.” 

“None quite a tough as you though. And none willing to talk me into something as…dumb as this.” 

“Hey, if nothing comes of it, you always have a family to come back to. Now go out there. Do you have a plan on what to do next?” 

“Yeah,” Ekko said, reaching out to take a jacket from a hangar and slip it on, “A chat with Piltover’s finest.” 

Caitlyn Kiramman always kept a clean office. But especially nowadays, when she had visitors to it almost daily, she had an appearance to upkeep. Organized and uniform, she knew where everything was, all without cluttering her desk with papers and files. 

On it right now were a few papers she was signing, the scratching of the pen tip against the paper being the only noise in the room. Across the dotted line she wrote her name, and all the prestige behind it, in a neat cursive style. 

Once it was complete, she dropped the pen aside and gathered the papers before inserting them in a file and placing it across from her, on the other end of the desk. 

She leaned back in her chair, stretching out her taxed fingers to prepare them for more writing. It wasn’t uncommon that her fingers would ache from the strain that being an official has put on them. 

Almost makes her wish she was just a simple officer again.

Two knocks at the door, then it promptly opened, a tall man with blue skin walking in. Caitlyn was used to seeing him in his enforcer uniform, but he currently wore something more civilian. In his hands, he held a folder. 

He approached her desk without a word and scooped up the folder Caitlyn just finished, replacing it with the one he was holding. Sliding it across the desk for her to pull closer and open.

“Thank you, Steb,” Cait said, spreading out the stack of several papers across her desk, her single ice-blue eye scanning the contents of each page individually. “Thank you.” 

Steb nodded, and began walking towards the exit with the finished folder in hand. However, before he could open it, the door swung open, nearly hitting the man if he didn’t step out of the way. As he regained his balance, he looked to see who had barged in.

In the doorway stood Ekko. 

“Sorry for barging in,” he said to Steb, who was giving him a stern stare. He glanced over at Caitlyn. “I, uh, need to talk.” 

Caitlyn’s visage carried more surprise. “Ekko? Uh, a pleasure as always,” she greeted him, gesturing for Steb to leave. 

The man raised his brow, his gill-like markings fluttering slightly before nodding and stepping past Ekko. Closing the door behind him, he left the two to themselves. 

Then, silence. The awkward kind that grows between people who don’t have much in common, with not much to talk about. Despite their newly made alliance, there wasn’t anything the two could talk of. 

Ekko slowly stuffed his hands in his pockets. “So, how are you doing?” 

“Oh I’m…fine,” she said, glancing down at her desk, “Keeping busy with…all of it. Scars still remain, but…I must hold my head high. Any holes left have been partially filled by those around me.” 

Ekko smirked. “Vi?”

She smiled, showing the gap in her teeth. “Well…she’s one of them, but yes.” 

“Good,” he said simply, eyeing around her office. 

Caitlyn leaned in to rest her elbows on her desk, her eye searching him for anything she could glean. Her mind went over anything that could’ve happened recently that would elicit such a visit. 

“If you’re still worried, I am by no means thinking of canceling the community outreach between Piltover and Zaun. You needn’t be concerned.” 

Ekko shook his head once, looking out the window of Caitlyn’s office to see the bustling city of Piltover. Due to the alliance between the city and Zaun, as well as adding one of Zaun’s own to the council table, there’ve been plans for the two lands to connect socially. In the works already, many business opportunities could help Zaun flourish to the level of Piltover if it were all to work out. 

The young man has shared his hesitation, mainly with previous hostilities between Zaun and Piltover, but Caitlyn has been assuaging any such concerns that would come up. 

She was pretty good at it. 

And despite their differences, Ekko and Caitlyn been able to see eye to eye myriad times, if only for the benefit of their homes. 

“No,” he said, looking back to the chief enforcer, “I’ve come for a different reason.” 

Caitlyn cocked an eyebrow his way, then gave a simple nod as she straightened a bunch of paperwork and slid it aside. She gestured to the chair across from her. 

“Any questions you have, I’d be happy to answer them to the best of my ability. It’s the least I can do after…everything that happened.” 

Ekko nodded in return, glancing out the window one last time before taking a seat. It was nice, plush. Almost able to comfort the most anxious of minds. But Ekko was not in need of its comfort, instead sitting near its edge.

Silence once again seeped in between the two. It always happened, but Vi was usually there to fill it in. Like a bridge between them, she was the link. Her laidback attitude helped to loosen both up.

Without her, Ekko had to just come out and say it.

“Jinx is still alive.” 

Caitlyn froze, glancing at him with fiery eyes for just a moment before averting her gaze. “That’s a cruel thing to say, Ekko.” 

“But it’s true…isn’t it? Ship C7-1585, headed towards the north.”

Caitlyn froze, her wide eye darting from him to the door behind him. It was a sturdy door, made of thick wood. It shouldn’t be too easy to listen through it. 

She leaned in. 

“How do you know?” 

He scoffed. “To be honest, I wasn’t fully sure. Not until now.” 

Caitlyn winced, her fist clenching as she realized the trap she stumbled into. There were a few ways that info got to him, and she has a feeling she knows what it was. 

Nonetheless, after a moment of quiet contemplation, Caitlyn wrenched open a desk drawer and picked something up out of it. With a quick movement of her hand, she tossed it onto the desk, letting it clatter across before stopping in front of Ekko.

It was half of a toy monkey head. One of the ones Jinx would use for her grenades. But this one was…broken. Burnt. The paint had faded, and bent screws protruded from the top. 

Ekko glared at Cait, lips curling in a scowl. 

Caitlyn parted her lips, but shut them instantly before glancing away, eyes narrowed.

Ekko continued to probe. “And you haven’t told Vi?” 

“No, I haven’t.” 

“Why not?” 

“Because…because Jinx told me not to.”

His eyes tensed. “You spoke with her?” 

“Of course. A suspicious departure from my city after the invasion? I investigated it as soon as I heard of it. Jinx was sitting right where you do now. She looked…broken. In need of repair.” 

“What did she say?” 

Caitlyn looked at him, her visage firm. “She told me to let her go. That her staying here would only make things worse for everyone.”

“And you didn’t even try to convince her to stay?” 

“When you’re confronted with the evidence of your failings, your heart feels almost willing to consent to commands. I let the fury of my mother’s death push me to the worst lengths, and instead of trying to understand my opposition, I saw them as my sworn enemy. As a Kiramman, and as a head figure of Piltover, I should’ve reined in my ego. Kept a level head.” 

Silence befell Caitlyn as she looked out the window, more towards Zaun. 

“I’m so sorry, Ekko, for everything. Maybe…maybe I should’ve begged Jinx to stay, but it looked like the last thing she wanted. For her, there was…too much pain here.” 

Ekko curled his lip and got up from his seat. “Don’t say you're sorry to me. That doesn’t matter anymore. You just need to do better for all of us.” 

“That is what I am trying to do,” she said, pulling the stack of papers back to her and picking up a pen to start writing on it. She glanced at Ekko with a brow cocked. 

“I assume you want to know where she went?” 

Ekko remained silent. She knew the answer.

“Well, I can get you on the next airship to the exact station. From there, I can’t give you anything more. She’s gone off the grid. You’ll need to figure things out on your own.”

Ekko sighed. He knew it wouldn’t be that easy. 

Looks like he’ll have to start canvassing.

He stood up, audibly exhaling his discontent. “How soon?” 

“Next one leaves in a couple hours. Ekko, are you sure you want to do this?” 

Ekko shrugged. “She deserves more than to be alone.” 

Caitlyn sighed. “Very well.” 

Ekko turned to leave, but stopped himself as his eyes landed on a framed picture of Caitlyn and Vi on the bookshelf. Peering over his shoulder, he reached out and grabbed the monkey head from the desk. 

The next words he spoke were accompanied by some venom. 

“You need to tell Vi.” 

Caitlyn’s gaze lowered as the words settled in. She rested her head in her hand, shoulders slumped in defeat. 

“I know.”

With that, Ekko simply walked out, leaving the door open. Through it, Steb was seen eyeing the Firelight, then looking over at Caitlyn. 

Caitlyn lifted her head, eye meeting with her subordinate.

“Just make sure to send a card when you find her.” 

Scar’s last words to Ekko permeated within his mind. It was reassuring, and did more to help push him onto the deck he stood on now, a pack of everything he owned stuffed inside. 

The wind was strong, blowing past his ear with a slight ferocity that mixed well with the beating of his heart. It unsettled him, the blood pumping faster through his veins. Though it didn’t fill him with energy, it just made him nervous. It welled up inside of him, giving him quite the anxiety. 

Like the breeze that blew on his face, it hit him. 

Never in his life did he think he’d ever leave his home. 

Now he stood on the deck of an airship, arms resting on the brass railing as he watched the city of Piltover, and the city of Zaun below it, grow farther in the distance. The sun shone on it in such a way that the clouds rolled away to let the light pierce down from the heavens. 

It filled him with a hope. That…

“Maybe I’m not as needed as I once thought,” he said, looking down at the object he was fiddling with in his hand. The monkey head. He sighed and pocketed it, readjusting the strap on his bag before turning around. If this trip was as long as it seemed, he wanted to get acquainted with the living area. 

“Needed? For what?” A voice and a figure stopped him in his tracks. 

Right there in front of him stood a tall Vastaya wrapped in the fluffiest shawl he’s ever seen. It surrounded her neck in a layer similar to a pillow, made up of all sorts of colors that brought out the tones of her person. The light gray of her fur. The gold of her eyes. The red of her lips. 

She stood so nonchalantly, hip popped to the side, almost leaning on the railing. Between her fingers was a pipe, wisps of pink smoke trailing up from its tip. She used it to point toward the living area.

“It’s no smoking in there. Besides, I needed some air.” Her voice, it was like velvet. Even hearing it in the way he was, Ekko couldn’t help but relax in its presence. 

She pointed the pipe towards him. “What’s your name, handsome?” 

In her gaze, wrapped in her voice, Ekko did find it a bit hard to speak. It was like she knew just how to get under someone’s skin. Perhaps…in different ways?

“Uh…Ekko,” he stammered.

“Ekko? Hm. Feels like I heard that name somewhere,” she said, looking out to the passing world, then back to him, “My name is Lest, by the way. Used to be a healer out there, in the city. Putting Piltover behind me, now.”

It seems she wanted to chat. Ekko would feel bad to try to blow her off, so he stepped closer. “Why?”

“Oh, I simply needed to get away. I want to embrace the new day in a new place, and Piltover is just…too suffocating for that now,” her eyes danced over to glance at him, “What about yourself?” 

“Well, I…” He shifted his gaze, hand lifting to scratch the back of his neck. Red crept into his cheeks, and there Lest’s sage eyes widened. It looked like she was narrowing in on prey.

“Cat got your tongue?” She hummed. 

“No, it’s just. Someone. I don’t know how to feel about her.”

“Oooh,” she cooed, blowing some pink haze into the air. It looked as if she slid closer to him, brows pointed. “A girl?” 

Ekko glanced up, head shaking. “Uh…yeah. I thought she was dead, but…turns out she isn’t. Not sure if she wants to even see me.”

“Does she matter to you?” 

“I’m on this ship, aren’t I?” 

“I mean in the personal sense. Any man is willing to grovel for a lady he likes, to get on the next ship just to see her again. I’ve seen it too many times myself. But…there’s history here.” 

“Oh, that,” he said, head turned back down, “Well, there’s a lot there. We used to be childhood friends, then…something brought us apart. The next time we met, actually face to face, I…hurt her.” 

“Hurt her?” 

Ekko thumbed the strap of his pack, then leaned against the railing. “I…didn’t have a choice. She was hurting people, and had already done so much I couldn’t forgive, I…still kinda wonder if this is a good idea. She wanted to go. Wanted to leave. Maybe she wants to be left with her thoughts, as a punishment? Would she even…want me to come to her?” 

He looked up at the sky as it passed them by. He could feel his thoughts going the same way. 

“Getting lost in your own mind is a terrible thing.”

Ekko turned to look at Lest, brow furrowing. “Huh?” 

“Why do you think the worst punishment is being confined with yourself?” She tapped her pipe on the railing, sending a couple puffs of pink smoke off. “Like clouds, the more there are, the more they befuddle the sky. Leave it…blocked off. Just as you are getting lost in the thoughts of what can or should be, this girl could be lost in the thoughts of what was. Then you’re unable to think of the next step. You cannot begin to heal. It’s torture. As I said, a terrible thing.” 

“So, what…I should save her from herself?” 

“No, nothing so…naively chivalrous,” she chuckled, head swaying side to side as her ears bent to catch up, “No, all you should do is be there for her.” 

“I don’t even know what to say when I see her.” 

“Simple. Be honest.” 

Ekko chuckled. “Is that all? She isn’t the type to…talk about feelings like that.” 

“Are you?” 

“I…not really.”

“A good place to start.”

“But…”

“Listen, honey,” Lest began, taking a few steps closer to Ekko. She leaned close, enough for him to get a whiff of her perfume. “Hearts are like cups. When they overfill, it leaves a mess to clean up. So the best you can do is rely on another cup to pour into. Then you can share it together.” 

Ekko’s brow shot up. “Whose cup is whose?” 

Lest hummed. “Whose indeed…” 

Stepping past, she brushed a bit of her arm against his. Ekko turned to watch as she walked over to the other end of the airship, brow still crinkled as all she said bewildered him. To parse it all, he might need more time than this airship ride could provide.

Be there for her, he thought as images of the other Powder he met flashed in his mind’s eye. 

Turning back, he slowly started to wander towards the living area, staring at nothing, really. 

The rest of the ride was uneventful, even with the novelty of his first trip away from home. He rested in the living area, watching the clouds go by, his mind still racing with the thoughts of Lest’s words. He had heard them loud and clear, yet he had trouble understanding them. 

Then the intercom crackling to life pulled Ekko from his thoughts, the deep voice of the captain coming through. “Daunt is within view! We will be making a landing soon, so make sure to gather all your things before stepping off. We are not liable for any lost goods.” 

It whined before turning off, and Ekko looked at the only pack he had, happy he didn’t try to bring too much to keep track of. He looped an arm through a strap to pick it up and joined some people in leaving the living area, back out onto the deck, the wind returning to whip around his white hair. 

Holding a hand up to block some of the wind off, he made his way over to the railing to see this town they were approaching. Sure enough, amongst the endless sky, boundless ground, and crowding clouds, he saw the town of Daunt sitting there. 

It looked like a diorama from where he stood, like a toy. Yet as they got closer, the more real it became. It looked to be a well-built city amongst the moors and hills of the north. He could see the Piltover influence on its architecture. Though not quite as grand, not as high-reaching as the towering structures of the upper city, it felt familiar. 

Which was nice, as it made the culture-shock of traveling faraway not so unbearable. 

The airship slowed the lower and lower it got, aimed towards a well-marked zone to park. As it did, it smoothly slid into position by the landing, a nice solid foundation built with brick, similar to those at a train station. Though it did have to make some small adjustments so it was perfectly aligned, it seemed to be a clean arrival. 

“Now arriving at: Daunt Station,” the captain said over the intercom. Ekko watched the small gate built into the railing open, and stairs emerge from beneath to give passengers a safe step off. People began to slowly crowd around it, getting off one by one, some stopping to help their partner get the luggage off. 

Ekko went to move towards it when a voice called to him. 

“Excuse me. Ekko, was it?” 

He turned to see Lest there, standing by a couple of suitcases. She didn’t have her pipe, but she did keep her slender arms crossed. 

“Would you be a dear and help me with my luggage?” 

He glanced at the suitcases, then at Lest, before sighing and making his way over. She stepped aside so he could position himself between the suitcases and grab the handles. As he lifted them, he felt their weight pull on his muscles, and he had to drop them for just a moment to recalibrate his expectations. 

Safe to say, they were quite heavy. He grit his teeth as he began to trudge towards the landing.

“What’s…in these things?” 

Lest chuckled, sidling alongside him. “Oh, just my entire life. The clothes, the apparatuses, the implements. Everything I’ll need to start anew.” 

He grunted as he carefully descended the steps and onto the solid landing, enjoying not experiencing the constant swaying of the airship. He’s grown so accustomed to it in the last day that solidity felt strange, yet welcome. 

“Just get them on a cart, I can do the rest.”

Lest ordered him towards one of the carts meant for carrying luggage out. She even took one to bring it closer so Ekko could heft them up onto it, doing so with a big grunt. It slammed on the cart, its weight audibly apparent. 

“Thank you for the help.” 

Ekko stepped back, stretching his taxed arms out. “So what’s next for you?” 

“The next few steps. Establishing myself here in Daunt may prove…well, daunting, but it shouldn’t be much tribulation. How about you?” 

“I guess…looking for leads. All I know is that she took an airship here. That’s it.” 

“Well, I wish you good luck in your search,” Lest said, pushing the cart forward towards the exit. Ekko turned to the city, gazing upon it as the previously tiny city expanded out before him. 

“And Ekko!” 

It was Lest, she stopped just a few feet short of the exit, looking at him with a pair of wide, golden eyes. A hand clasped her shawl. 

“I hope you find her.” 

Ekko smirked and raised a hand to wave her away. As she returned it, along with a wink, she turned back towards the exit and rolled her luggage out. 

Turning back to the city, he grabbed the strap of his pack as his mind went over his next few steps. 

A lead…

The sun was soon to kiss the horizon, so he didn’t have too long to search before he’d need to stop for the day. 

Only problem was he wasn’t sure where to start.

Where would a girl like Jinx go? 

Once he had proposed that question in his brain, it didn’t take him too long to think. A couple of places already came to mind. She was definitely no ordinary girl, not by any means. 

The Rusted Cog was the average junk shop. Whenever there was something someone didn’t need anymore, but it still held some use, they could bring it here to sell it off. It wasn’t a substantial fee, unless it was a rather rare piece of hardware. 

Ekko sighed as he looked up at the slightly deteriorated sign. Turns out, Daunt had its fair share of junk shops, which wasn’t that surprising now that the young man had thought about it. With an airship route heading straight to it, there’s no doubt some sprinkling of the ambitious inventors of Piltover would find their way here. 

Maybe they were looking for something no one else did. 

What was Jinx looking for? 

For each one he walked into, Ekko felt pensive. There were a lot of memories with junk shops. He practically grew up in one. So the history and the memories did cause some apprehension. 

The sky had darkened considerably since his arrival in Daunt. This was the last shop he would check before finding a place to sleep. 

Taking a deep breath, Ekko opened the door, a little bell jingling to signal the arrival of a new customer. From the moment it rang, it only took a handful of seconds before the proprietor stepped out. 

A lanky lady, middle-aged but still looking healthy. As she parted the cloth that separated the backroom from the shop, Ekko could see her auburn hair slightly blackened in spots. Same with her face, the bronze skin patched with dark. Like soot. 

Seems she’s been busy. 

“Ah, greetin’s!” She said, her accent hard to ignore. She walked the length of the counter, wiping some grime on her hands on her coveralls before placing them on its surface. 

“Anythin’ I can help ye with?”

“Uh, hey,” Ekko said, grabbing his pack’s strap as he approached the counter. Reaching into his pack, he produced a rolled up piece of paper. “I’m looking for someone. Should’ve passed through here.” 

He unfurled the paper and showed it to her. It was the wanted poster for Jinx, the one plastered all over Zaun months ago. On it, Jinx’s eyes were drawn so tense, it gave her a more intimidating look than one would originally get. He wished he could’ve gotten something better, but this was the only thing with her face on it that he could find. 

The lady narrowed her eyes to get a better look, one frayed eyebrow raising. “A wanted poster? She a criminal?” 

“Uh…well, at one point. Things…changed. I just want to find her.” 

She glanced from him back to the poster, giving it a few more good seconds of examination before placing her hands on her hips and shrugging. “She don’t look too familiar. Is it possible she changed anything?” 

Ekko pursed his lips, looking at the poster. “I guess her hair wouldn’t be in the braided pigtails that they are on here, she cut it short before leaving.” 

She nodded, eyes narrowing further. “What color was her hair?” 

“It was a vibrant blue. Like the sky out here.” 

“Blue?” Suddenly, Ekko saw a spark of recognition behind her eyes. They shifted to look out the window. 

“A few months back, I saw a girl with short blue hair walkin’ the streets just over there,” she said, nodding in that direction. “She was skinny as a twig. Looked lost.” 

Ekko’s eyes widened. He leaned closer, causing the woman to back up slightly. “Where did she go? Did you see?” 

The woman’s brow shot up at seeing the young man’s excitement. Though it wasn’t too hard to figure out why. Glancing back out the window, she pointed to it, specifically towards a corner just across an intersection. 

“She was headin’ towards the bar down a ways. Skip Across The Pond, it’s called. Not a very classy place, mind. A girl like her, the way she looked, probably didn’t last too long before skippin’ out.” 

Ekko nodded, rolling the poster back up. “Trust me, she can handle herself fine.” 

Though he wondered why she went for the bar, and not any other place. 

“Hope that was enough,” the lady said. 

“Better than I got elsewhere,” Ekko said, stuffing the poster in his pack before turning towards the door, “Thanks.” 

“Good luck!” 

Passing through the door, Ekko held a hand up as a goodbye before it swung shut behind him. 

The cold welcomed him as the last of the sun had disappeared beneath the horizon. The street lights were flickering on, illuminating the streets for any who walked them. 

Looking down the street, Ekko saw the bar the woman was talking about. He began to make his way over. 

Skip Across The Pond was cut into a piece of metal above the double doors, which opened to have a drunken man stumble out. He was raving about something in a slurred speech, too indiscernable to understand. 

Just like with the crowd in Zaun, Ekko found it best to ignore him, entering the bar with eyes averted. The doors creaked open loudly, alerting all in the bar to his arrival. Every person turned to look his way, some with cocked eyebrows and grit teeth. Ekko kept an indifferent visage. One showing that he wasn’t here to cause trouble, but that he could handle it if something started. 

Eventually, everyone returned to their drinks. 

“Haven’t seen your face around,” said the bartender, a barrel chested man with a large grubby hand cleaning a glass. He seemed to be more tolerable than the rest of the crowd, tone a mite kinder than their threatening gazes. 

Ekko shrugged as he approached the counter, head turning to look at the bar itself. The woman was right, it wasn’t that classy, but he’s definitely seen worse in the underpits of Zaun. 

Not of the quality of The Last Drop, but he admitted he had a bias. 

Ekko scooted onto one of the stools, resting his arms on the counter’s surface. “I just came into town. Probably won’t be here long.” 

“Hm,” the man put the glass he was just cleaning rim down before grabbing another to begin cleaning, “Just passing through?” 

“Yeah. Looking for someone. A girl.” 

“Ohhh, a sweetheart of yours?” 

“More like a-a friend,” Ekko stammered, reaching behind to scratch his neck, then down into his pack to get the poster out. Unrolling it, he placed it on the counter. 

“Someone down the street said she was heading here a few months ago.”

The man leaned over to look at it. “Hm…I feel like I’ve seen that gaze staring at me. Short, blue hair? I think she had.” 

Ekko tried to rein in his excitement. “Yeah, that should be her. Did she come in here?” 

“Yeah. Wasn’t looking the best, honestly. Like she’d been through hell and back.” 

Something like that, Ekko thought. 

“What did she do?” 

“Just asked for a drink. Not alcohol, just some juice. Tried to strike up some conversation, but she wasn’t in the mood to talk much.”

“‘Much’?” 

“I got some things out of her. She said she was leaving a place she couldn’t return to.” 

Ekko glanced aside. 

“But I’m guessing you want to know where she went?” 

“Uh, yeah, that’d be preferable.” 

“Uh-huh. Well, the only thing she told me was that she was following the road west, out of town. The next town is miles away, closer to the coast. Skiff, is what it’s called.” 

Ekko sighed, his shoulders slumping. “Miles away, huh?” 

“Just the way it is out here. If you’re lucky, you might be able to hitch a ride on a wagon. Those go through here infrequently.” 

“Hm, well, I might just try my luck at the walk.” 

“Heh, she’s just that worth it, is she?” 

Ekko smirked, rolling the poster back up and putting it in his pack. 

“Yeah,” he said, turning to walk to the exit, “she is.” 

Ekko was a fit young man. His body was toned through years of surviving in the under city. Running from thugs, fighting Silco’s goons, and helping build a refuge for those who need it.

Yet that didn’t mean he was ready to trek several miles. 

With the town of Daunt already hundreds of meters behind him, all he could see in front of him was boundless green. The fields were populated with shrubs and weeds, biodiversity taking its course everywhere besides the dirt path he now walked. It stretched on far into the distance. 

Ekko had a feeling this will be what he sees for most of the journey. 

Not that he was complaining. The dirty, grungy streets of Zaun were an eyesore, one he was all too used to seeing over and over again as time went on. To be out here, amongst nature and clean air, it was a change. A good change. 

That being said, he wished he brought his hoverboard, but he had a feeling the air outside of Zaun wouldn’t be as dense. Breathing it in with that in mind, he could feel the difference. It was smoother. Easier to pass through his lungs. 

It did remind him of the books he’d read when he was younger. The young striking it out on their own to travel the world, and all the adventures they would get into. 

“‘Just me, the ground, and the sky,” he muttered, smirking to himself before shaking his head with a chuckle. He didn’t want to get too comfortable talking to himself like this. The journey was long, sure, but he had to consider his sanity. 

The morning was young, after all. There was plenty of time to start losing his mind. 

“Good morning!” A cheery voice called from far behind, followed by the creak of taxed wood. 

Peering over his shoulder, he saw an old wooden wagon wheeling his way, with a enthusiastic old man sitting in the front seat. He seemed to be the average cheerful farmer Ekko could imagine in one of his books: wrinkled, sun-beaten, with a piece of long grass sticking out from his grinning teeth. His eyes were shadowed under the brim of his sun hat, protecting them from the bright rays of the sun. 

Ekko smiled back and waved. “Didn’t think I’d see anyone come this path this early.” 

“Well, you know how it is,” he said, pulling on the reins to slow the beast pulling it. The creature groaned lightly as it slowed to a halt right by Ekko.

“Early birds, worms, all that.” 

“Yeah I get you,” Ekko said, glancing at the back of the wagon. In it were a few sheep, chewing on some grass. One stuck its head off the side to stare at the young man. 

“What are you on the road for?” The old man asked. 

Ekko shrugged. “Just going to the next town. Skiff. Can I ride along?” 

“Sure, I’m heading the same way. Just hope you don’t mind Cathy back there. She can chew your ear off…figuratively, of course.” 

Ekko glanced back to the sheep that was looking at him. In her gaze, he sensed some form of…malicious intent. He wasn’t sure how to feel about it.

Nonetheless, he tossed his pack in the back and climbed in, sitting down as he nodded towards the driver. 

“Thank you, by the way. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to make it there on my own two feet.”

“Don’t mention it. Might as well, since we’re going the same way. Less awkward than you just walking by the wagonside.” 

Ekko chuckled and began to make himself comfortable, resting the back of his head against his hands as he watched the countryside roll by. 

He had to admit, he was surprised by the hospitality of those outside of his home. In Zaun, asking for help usually meant asking for a beating, and in Piltover, doing the same would earn you a disgusted wrinkle of the nose, like a stench emanated from them. 

Yet, everyone here has been quite happy to help him. Was it the cleaner air? The more open spaces? Was life just easier out here? 

Or, perhaps, a good support network by being such a close-knit community? In Zaun, there was always fights between gangs, and allyship was more of a transaction, less of a peaceful solution. 

Ekko’s eyes turned up towards the sky. The bright blue sky. 

He wouldn’t mind staying out here for a long time. 

The trip had taken most of the day, with the sun moving across the expanse of the sky until it had turned the blue to red. The sun was setting, and Ekko had dozed off in the back, finding Cathy’s fluffy coat to be a pretty decent pillow.

Nonetheless, a hardy knock to the backboard of the driver’s seat woke Ekko up to the crimson sky above. He nearly awed at the sight, never having seen it so clearly in…ever. Yet he was grounded as the bumps in the road went at his back, and he sighed before moving off of Cathy. 

“We’re nearly there, kid. Skiff ahead.” 

Sitting up, Ekko craned his neck to look around the driver, seeing a quaint town, seemingly still in its starting years. It was growing, but at a steady pace. It sat near the edge of a cliff, with a steep drop down to the raucous ocean below. 

However, it looked like something was being built on the cliff's edge. Windmills, lined up across. But even though the wind blew hard past his ear, they didn’t move an inch. Just stock still.

From a distance, he could see people milling about and finishing up their days before heading home. Slowly, windows lit up with candlelight, and he was sure to see more as the sun sank below the horizon.

Ekko grabbed his bag and shouldered it. “Think I’ll walk the rest of the way. How much do I owe you?” 

“Nothing, lad. Nice to have the company.” 

“Heh, thanks,” he said, hopping off the back of the wagon to walk alongside it for a little. “You remain safe.” 

The driver raised a hand to wave goodbye, riding off towards the town and leaving the young man behind to walk. It was nice to get his feet back on the ground and moving, as he was a bit cramped in the back of the wagon with all the sheep. Cathy was a greedy little thing, too, taking up a lot of space. 

He rolled his shoulders at the thought, stretching his neck from side to side as he set his focus on not just the town ahead, but the environment around him. The sounds of the wagon and its creaky wheels eventually dissipated into the distance, and all that was left was the breeze. The breeze and the waves. 

From where he was walking, all he could hear was the subtle crashing of the waves against the rocks. It had a rhythm to it. In and out. In and out. 

It had a meditative effect, calming his heart. The rest of the walk was spent in peace, and he had made it to the town of Skiff before he even realized it. By then, the sun was only peeking out over the horizon, and Ekko could see workers walking around, lighting the street lamps to illuminate the cobblestone streets for any traveling at night. 

Ekko approached one of them. “Hey, uh, is there an inn I could stay at?” 

The worker had shut the glass door on the lamp with a creak, turning his head to look at the young man. “Yeah, just go down this street and turn right. It’s right there at the corner.” 

Ekko nodded his thanks and walked past, following the direction he was given. 

All in all, walking the streets of the town reminded him a bit of Zaun. It had that undercity vibe, a town held up by its own community. The fact it didn’t have much power showed it didn’t get much help from the outside. 

But maybe they wanted that? 

It wasn’t a narrow street by any means, built with wide spaces. It almost seemed intended for a market. There were still strays about, not yet heading home to instead spend more of the night outside of it. They didn’t seem wary or worried of the night, or any people that skulk it.

He was glad that aspect wasn’t similar to that of Zaun. When he was still building up the Firelights, walks through the streets were spent with a hand on a weapon, prepared to grab and swing at any mugger or goon that approached him. Over time, with the Firelights, he’s helped lower the chances of that, but it was never really gone. 

Yet here it felt…peaceful. His eyes spotted a mother and her daughter walking home, the mother with a bag of groceries in one hand, and her daughter’s hand in the other. The bits of conversation he could pick up were talking about some school project, but it faded from earshot as he passed them on the street, walking further down towards an intersection.

Rounding the corner on the first intersection, he saw the inn right where the man said it would be. It was nothing fancy, similar to any of the other stone buildings with windows lit up by candlelight. 

He opened the door, one oiled well as it made not a creak when he stepped past its threshold. The room welcomed him with silence, where those still in it were going about their own business, speaking amongst themselves, only paying him a glance before returning to their own lives. The counter was barren; no one standing behind it.

Ekko eyes scanned the room, going over every single person as he slowly walked up to the counter. One of the people he saw, chatting with a couple of friends, noticed him and gave a few more words to his friends before patting one on the shoulder and making his way over to the counter. As he stepped behind, he tried to fix up his posture, possibly being more mature than he actually is.

“Hey,” he said, his voice betraying his youth, “looking for a room?”

“I might,” Ekko said, reaching into his bag to produce the poster again. “I’m looking for this girl. Seen her?” 

“Oh…wanted?” 

“Have you seen her?” 

“Hmm…maybe a little? The eyes look a bit familiar, but nothing else does.” 

“Anything…anything at all helps.” 

“Afraid I can’t help any more than that. I try not to remember random people on the street, much less the road you traveled on…much less wanted criminals.” 

“She’s,” Ekko went to try and say something, defend her, but sighed and rolled it back up, stuffing it in his bag, “She’s past that. She may have come in within the past couple of months, maybe? Anything like that help?” 

“I’d say talk with the local kids. They always love to buddy up with newcomers, especially if they have plenty of stories from the outside.” 

Ekko nodded. Kids. Yeah, Jinx would probably hang out more with the kids, if given the chance. Or at least allow them to hang around. Maybe tell them highly exaggerated stories to entertain them. 

He chuckled at the thought, then glanced up to see the concierge still looking at him. Ekko cleared his throat and reached into his pack to produce some coins, placing them on the table. 

“This enough for a room?”

The man scooped up the coins and counted them one by one, nodding to himself before smiling at Ekko. Putting the coins somewhere under the counter, he reached a bit further in and produced a key, handing it out to Ekko. 

“Upstairs. Third room on the left.” 

“Thanks.” 

Ekko held up the key in one hand, readjusting his bag with the other as he made his way towards the stairs. Each stair creaked very little, less than any of the wood stairs in Zaun. They’ve been well taken care of, or more recent than one would think. With the town still up and coming, some things were bound to be more new than others. 

As he ascended to the second floor, he saw before himself rows of doors on either side, about ten in total. He counted the doors on his left, stopping at the third one and inserting the key into the lock.

The room was rather basic, but it had a bed and some other furniture, which was all he really needed. It had been a rather long trip, so shrugging the bag’s strap off his shoulder onto the floor, thumping loudly, gave him an immense relief. He trudged over to the bed, letting gravity take him the rest as he fell down upon it, the soft mattress supporting him. 

He closed his eyes and sighed, taking the time to pull his mind together, gather his thoughts as to a plan. It may not have been the largest town, but that doesn’t mean it’d be easy to find a single person amongst it all. A blue needle lost in a small haystack. He needed to be smart, lest he reaches in too far and gets pricked. 

That was, if she was even here. She could’ve gone beyond this town. Perhaps to the next one, or towards the next kingdom. Maybe she crossed the ocean and found a home in Ionia. The possibilities were near endless, and it did set his heart stirring. 

Planting a hand on his chest, like it would calm him, he took a deep breath and began to gather his thoughts once more. He’s here, after all this, he should at least attempt looking for her here. 

He just needs a place to start. 

The kids, he thought, opening his eyes to stare at the bare ceiling above him.

The kids see everything.

The kids would be the best place to start. 

Skiff was even prettier in the daylight, the lightly-colored buildings shining the sun’s rays perfectly. In the daylight, it was easier to see how strong they were built, foundations made from stone, thanks to the tempestuous storms that came from Ionia, which was almost just across the ocean. The brick streets were now bustling with people coming to and fro, some stopping for discussions, sharing tea at a table just outside a cafe. 

As Ekko stepped out onto the streets, a flock of seagulls flew nearby, their flapping wings sounding off into the distance, before they turned into dark shapes amongst the sunlight. He simply watched until they disappeared from view, then turned his attention to the street before him.

The area just outside the inn was an intersection, and thus commanding a large amount of traffic. The town was abuzz with activity as people seemed to be preparing for some kind of festival. Besides decorations and banners being hung up from the light posts, merchants had already begun setting up their stalls to await for a great day of commerce. 

Seeing it all, it took him back to a time. A time in another universe, where the bridge between Piltover and Zaun that held too much history for him was brimming with life at every inch. Stalls for clothes, food, any ware one could look for was lining up both sides of the bridge, giving it a life he had never seen before. 

A corner of his lip curved up in a smile. That other world, the other Jinx…it was nice. But it wasn’t his. To see his world start to look so similar, it brought warmth to his chest. 

All he needed now was to find her. 

A couple of rowdy kids ran through the street, nearly bumping into myriad people on the way, earning them all sorts of remarks, both playful and annoyed. 

His eyes followed the two of them, knowing the plan he had decided on. 

The kids would be the best place to start. 

He kept his eyes on the kids as he tailed them, staying on the brick sidewalks, maneuvering through the crowd like an owl flying past the trees. Smooth and tactful, he’s had plenty of practice in the streets of Zaun. 

The kids continued to run on and on, more and more people calling after them, but they paid them no mind. It almost reminded him of what he and Jinx would get up to when they were kids. Plenty of mischief, much to the chagrin of Benzo and Vander both. Yet it was the most fun he remembered having when he was younger, before…

Well, before everything went to shit. 

The kids slowed as they approached a corner, skidding around it and disappearing behind into an alleyway. At this, Ekko picked up his pace, fast walking across the street towards the corner, hoping he hasn’t lost them already. 

However, as he turned the corner, he saw them sitting amongst a bigger group of kids, watching as they seemed to be kicking around a ball. The alley opened into a much bigger backstreet, allowing enough room for a game to be played. They had chalk outlines on the floor, and goals made from scrap metal.

Back and forth, back and forth the ball went, trading feet as it crossed between from one team to the next, until one kid, a Vastayan with pink hair, was finally able to step in, steal the ball, and aim it just so to kick it right into the opposition’s goal. 

“Hell yeah!” The kid exclaimed as his buddies came in to give him praise for his score. He looked to them and nodded his thanks, his swinging gaze eventually having him spot Ekko at the end of the alley. 

Lips parting, revealing a visible overbite, he cocked an eyebrow at seeing him. His whole body took on a more tense tone. Eventually, others followed his gaze to see the young man, who responded with a smile as he approached. 

“Hey. Nice setup you guys got here.” 

“Who are you?” The boy asked, arms crossing tightly across his chest.

Ekko’s seen the same tough guy attitude from some of the kids back home. Hell, he was one of those.

“My name is Ekko. I, uh, wanted to know if you guys saw a certain person around.”

Reaching into his coat, Ekko pulled from it the poster, now folded. Unfolding it, he held it out to them, the intense stare of the poster’s subject piercing through them. From his point of view, they looked like little kittens, heads tilting as they studied the picture. 

After a moment, the head kid, the one who won the game, leaned back, nose wrinkled as he met Ekko’s gaze. With his hand, he waved the young man away.

“Don’t know her.”

Ekko himself studied their eyes. He’s met plenty of liars and has told a few lies himself to know the signs.

The way their eyes shine, how they shift or dart around. Tiny movements in their faces: pursing lips, shifting jaws, or wrinkling noses.

There was no doubt in his mind. They were lying. 

And Jinx is here, or at least traveled through enough to make friends with the kids. 

But why lie? To protect her? Do they know about her past? 

Ekko crouched down, more to the child’s height, and held the poster out again. “Are you sure?” 

The kid’s eyes, a bright yellow with pupils shrunk to slits in the bright daylight, glanced between the poster and Ekko. They then settled on Ekko’s, and he nodded silently. 

Ekko lowered the poster, his eyes scanning along the other small faces looking at him. 

All their eyes said it, too. 

He sighed and folded the poster back up, stuffing it in his coat. As he did, he considered his options.

There was always waiting and tailing. They would go to tell her someone was looking for her, and he could use that opportunity to follow them.

But, looking at their faces, he had no desire to trick them into doing such a thing. Softening his features, he put his hands on his knees. 

“Listen,” he began, voice turning softer, “I can see you’re trying to protect her.”

The Vastayan kid’s ears twitched, as if knowing he’d been caught. His gaze turned away, breaking eye contact with the young man. He looked…ashamed, like he failed his mission.

Ekko leaned his head down. “And I don’t blame you. If there was someone I cared about, I’d do everything to keep them safe. Look, I don’t want to cause any trouble. She’s just…a friend. One I really…really want to see again.”

In return, the kid lifted his head, his lip quivering before muttering, “We don’t snitch.” 

Ekko nodded. “You don’t. You watch out for your own. Because everyone you hold dear…you hold here,” he gently prodded a finger at the kid’s chest, then placed the hand flat against his own, “That’s where I hold her. I’ve known her since we were little. She went by a different name then. Ever since, so much changed. She’s done a lot of bad things in her past, hurt a lot of people.”

He reached into another coat pocket with one hand, taking the kid’s hand with the other. Taking something out of the pocket, he placed it in the kid’s hand. 

“But in the end,” Ekko said, “she was able to build something new for herself to help a lot of people, too.” 

As his hand pulled away, the kid saw it was half of a toy monkey’s head, staring up at him with withered, burnt eyes.

The kid, and those close to him, saw it and their eyes shone.

“This is…” said the Vastayan. 

“It looks like some of the fireworks she made!” 

Ekko’s eyes darted to one of the other kids, a little girl who was jumping up and down, jabbing a finger in the monkey head’s direction. 

“Fireworks?” 

Another kid, taller than the rest, spoke up, “A few weeks ago, there was a big celebration for the coming of the season, and she set off a bunch of these fireworks for it! There were so many colors and-and shapes like butterflies and monkey faces and owls! I got to see some of them before they were set off, and they had monkey heads on them!” 

Ekko sniffed and chuckled, looking down at his hands. “Owls, huh? That sounds amazing, and...just like her.” 

There was a sudden silence amongst the kids as they started looking between each other. Words were muttered, indiscernable to Ekko, standing too far away to hear it. It was like they were all trying to decide on something. He imagined the Piltover Council was kind of like this. Even the childish muttering. 

Eventually, one of them picked their blonde head up.

“We should bring him.” 

The Vastayan kid frowned and looked over his shoulder at the kid. “Wait, no! We should…should…”

Another kid spoke up, “Come on, Gent, he seems cool. He obviously knows her, we can let her decide!” 

“But…” Gent turned back to face Ekko, brow knitted together. His eyes were searching every inch of the young man, like as if there was some bit that could give him away. 

He just sighed and looked down. “Al…alright.” 

“Come on!” One of the kids shouted, running past Ekko.

“Huh!?” Ekko said, whipping around to see them sprint out of the alley. 

Soon, the entire mob filtered around him, following after the child and leaving Ekko in their dust. 

His eyes were wide in confusion. It took him a moment to realize, his head shooting up.

“H-hey!” He shouted, running after them, “Wait up!” 

They were fast kids, that’s for sure. Every time he ran around a corner, he saw the last kid rounding the next one. They took him through side streets, alleys, and even the wide open streets full of people. For the little ones, it was easy for them to slip through the crowds, but Ekko was not so lucky. Several times he accidentally bumped into someone, earning their ire. 

“Watch where you’re going!” 

“Sorry!” He shouted back, skidding around another corner that brought him to a narrow set of stone stairs between some buildings. It was going up, where it seemed there were some homes and structures. At the top, like always, he saw the last kid climbing the last step to round another corner. 

“Jeez,” he said, sighing heavily as he started ascending the stairs, trying his best to keep up his pace. 

Though, a few steps in, he began to hear the kids clamoring over something. 

Did they finally stop?

This seemed to be correct as the further up he went, their voices grew louder. He was starting to pick out some words. They were talking about him, if he was indeed “some guy.”

Though, a new voice came prominent amongst them. It had a familiar scratchy sound to it as she spoke to them. 

“Why so many of you? What, the squirt army roll into town? Can’t ya see I’m busy here? Lemme focus!” 

He had reached the top, sighing in relief as he planted his hand on the brick wall next to him, turning the corner. As he did, though, he stopped in his tracks. 

The area before him seemed like a little residential niche planted atop the tallest hill in the town, taking whatever space they had left. Some houses flanked both sides of a wonderful view of the ocean, the sun shining high above, reflecting all these little lights off the water and creating something more bedazzling. 

But that wasn’t the only thing. Built right by the edge of the cliff was a structure composed of two large metal posts with several metal rods connecting the two. On these metal rods were what looked to be a series of fan blades.

“Like I said, scram!” The scratchy voice said, catching Ekko’s attention as he turned his gaze to the other end of the structure. 

And there he saw her. 

A thin figure, illuminated beautifully in the sun’s rays. Her skin, usually pale, seemed to be in the process of gaining color thanks to being out in the sun more often. It gave her a sort of glow she never had in Zaun. 

She was on the rungs of a ladder, shooing away the children gathering around it with a wrench clench in her gloved hands. Despite the annoyance in her voice, there was a light smile on her face. 

Though as her gaze swung towards someone else emerging from the stairway, the smile dropped. Her lips parted, revealing that slight overbite she always had. 

The kids turned around to look at Ekko too, then back to her, pointing at him and telling her about him. 

All she could do for a good few moments was stare, trapping his gaze with her own. Her purples with his greys, as her hair blew around in the ocean breeze. 

Her hair had grown. It reached just down to her collarbone, and was better groomed than it was back then. It was like a mix between a wolf cut and a bob, with the much added poof of the latter. The way it parted in the center framed her face so…so…

Ekko took a few steps forward, sticking his hands in his pockets. “Uh…hey.” 

Jinx’s eyes scanned him up and down, as if trying to figure out if it was the real him, before answering, “Hey.” 

“Oooooo,” the group of kids awed at them. Jinx looked to them with raised brow, head shaking as she waved her wrench at them again

“Hey, shut it, all of you!” She scoffed, looking down to begin descending the ladder.

“He went on and on about you,” one girl said, leaning forward with a cheeky grin, “I think he liiiiikes youuuu!” 

“Ahh can it, Tem!” Jinx waved away the girl’s comment as she slid down the ladder, dropping her wrench in the toolbox and dusting her fingerless gloves off. The entire time, she didn’t look at Ekko, like she was trying to avoid his gaze as long as she could. 

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them, gazing upon Ekko with those large, purple irises. In them, he could spot something. He wasn’t sure. Maybe…regret?

But it was only for a moment, as she began to make her way over in her usual swagger, pulling the sleeves of her top up. She wore a loose flowing shirt with its drawstrings loosened down the middle to show the light pink flesh of her chest. 

She slapped her hands on her hips, clothed in a leather pants tucked into worn work boots, as she looked at him with an inquisitive expression.

“Honestly, I expected one of you to show up eventually, just not this soon. So what, did the Pilty Princess squeal?” 

Her question snapped him out of the trance he was in. He felt heat rise in his cheeks as he glanced only for just a moment. 

“Uh, actually Sevika told me.”

“Oh,” she stopped, just a few mere steps away from him, brow furrowing as she glanced to the floor, “That's…somehow both less surprising and more surprising.”

Ekko noticed out of the corner of his eye that the kids were all watching their interaction with an active interest.

As she turned her head up, she followed his gaze to the kids, then turned back to him. 

“Uhm…is it okay if we talk elsewhere?” 

Just outside the town of Skiff was a path that led over a few hills inundated with weeds, nature making its presence readily apparent. Thankfully the path cut a line straight through it, so there was no need to wade through bug-infested greenery. 

Nonetheless, Ekko held his hand out to brush past some of the higher grown weeds, feeling it against his fingers. All the green reminded him of the Firelight Sanctuary; an escape from the grey and grime of Zaun. It’s just that now he has a wonderful view of the coast: the cliffs and the beach below, where a small harbor was built. 

It would be considered quaint were it not for the scrap piling on the shores. Sea water rushes in between jagged and rusted metal. This made any beach enjoyment not just impossible, but dangerous. 

Jinx peered over her shoulder at Ekko, following his gaze to the shore. 

“Just across from this coast is Ionia. The storms are so violent that they break ships apart. Some of their parts wash up here. It’s made trading and fishing difficult for Skiff.” 

Ekko glanced sidelong at Jinx, flattening his lips. “Has anyone tried to clean it up?” 

Jinx shook her head. “They don’t have the tools to do it. Some of these parts are huge...impossible to move. This town doesn’t have the money to pay for mechanical saws, and especially not the power to use them. Though…I’ve been salvaging some of the parts to use for my project.” 

“Project?” 

“Mhm. The town is fairly poor, and they don’t have any electricity like we did in Zaun. But the winds here, they’re strong, right? If we can harness that strength with wind turbines, the town could get some power. I’ve been working on it for about a month.” 

“What’s the problem?” 

“The turbines just won’t budge enough to produce any power. The winds come in and they move just…a little bit, but only a little bit. I can’t tell you what it might be.” 

“Are they oiled?” 

“More than the sink water in Zaun. Nothin’.” 

Ekko knitted his brow as he pondered over this issue. He’s never made wind turbines himself, but maybe some of his mechanical experience could assist? 

“There it is,” Jinx said, Ekko turning his head up to see the path’s endpoint. 

A large farmhouse sitting in the center of a wide field. While it wasn’t old, the white paint had some chips even Ekko could see from where he stood. It looked to be at least three stories high, the third most likely being an attic of sorts. 

To its left was a huge crop field, lined with all sorts of vegetables soon to be ready for harvest. Out from the field’s soil were metal pipes linked to a top that looks like a huge bottle cap. 

“Remember to be polite,” Jinx said, taking the couple of steps up the shaded porch before turning around to face Ekko, “They’re…good people.” 

Ekko scoffed. “Are you telling me to be polite? Has the world flipped upside down?” 

“Oh shut it, you,” Jinx said with a smirk before she stepped backwards towards the door and opened it all casually, like she was born there. 

“Mister Ku! Miss Fyyo! I’m back!” 

“Jinx!” An old voice responded. 

Ekko followed shortly after Jinx. It looked like a nice home. A middle foyer/hall with stairs going up and rooms on both sides and at the end. The doors, with lattice windows cut into them, were both opened, but the voice came from the left room, as Jinx slinked over. She leaned her head into the room before she emerged from behind the wall, hands behind her back. 

“Hey. Didn’t mean to be back so early, but…someone I know came to town. Ekko?” 

Ekko cocked an eyebrow, then slowly walked to the threshold of the room. 

It was a dining area with a connected kitchen. It certainly looked lived in, but not in a messy way. Memories strewn about the walls, pots and pans hung from the ceiling, and a multitude of books, flowers, and other such things placed all around. 

“Well hello, uh, Ekko, was it?” 

In the center of the dining room was an older man, cup of tea in his hand as he looked at the young man through round spectacles. He appeared to be Ionian, which he could’ve already gathered from the name. A life of hard work seemed to form his tough physique, even in his old age. 

“Yeah, uh…Ku, right?” 

“Indeed it is. Welcome to my farm. Want any tea?” 

Ekko’s nose reflexively wrinkled at that. “N-no thanks, sir.” 

“Ah, so be it. What brings you all the way out here?” 

“Oh, well, I…wanted to visit Jinx.” 

“Ah, of course! Well, I’m sure she’d enjoy the company of someone closer to her age again. All she does is spend her time alone in the attic, or with those kids in town.” 

“That’s…not ALL I do, Mister Ku,” Jinx whined, which earned a laugh from the old man. 

“Of course, of course. But really, it’s nice of you to visit her this far out. She’s been nothing but helpful for us in Skiff.” 

Ekko glanced at Jinx. “Is that so?” 

“Yeah. She made those sprinklers out there in the fields for us. Makes it easy to water them, and less stressful on my aging body.” 

Ekko raised his brow. Those structures in the field must be the sprinklers he referenced. 

“Well, that’s certainly Jinx. Once she sees something broken she,” Ekko said with a smile aimed at her, “she fixes it.” 

Jinx smirked and turned to look away, though Ekko spotted some red creep into those pale cheeks of hers. 

“If this turbine project of hers works,” Ku continued, “there’s no doubt that Skiff’s potential will soar! I believe in her, one-hundred-and-ten percent!” 

“Jeez, keep laying on the pressure, old man.”

Ku could only laugh while Jinx shook her head and turned towards the stairs.

“Anyway, I’m gonna take Ekko up to the attic. Call me if you need any help.” 

“Oh, I’ll be fine on my own. You kids have your fun!” 

“Pfft, yeah. Come on,” she muttered to Ekko as she leisurely climbed the stairs, peering over her shoulder once to see Ekko following suit. The wooden steps creaked loudly under their feet, and tracked them all the way up the stairs to the second floor.

“So…” Ekko began, watching Jinx twist around the top newel post to walk down the second story hallway. As Ekko came after, he saw her reach for a cord that hung from the ceiling, but she stopped to look at him with an eyebrow cocked.

“Hm? So…what?” 

“Oh, nothin’, just,” he rubbed his hands together as he approached her, then spread his arms out in a questioning manner, “How’d you meet these two?” 

Jinx’s wide purple eyes rolled so hard, it looked as if they were going to spin right out of their sockets. 

“Ah, that. I’ll tell you in my room.” 

“Your room?” 

Jinx looked up to the cord as she pulled it and a part of the ceiling came down as an attic ladder descended and extended its steps. Once it hit the floor with a dull thud, Jinx took them up. 

“Watch your big head, you might thump it on the way up.” 

Ekko frowned, but subconsciously ran a hand over his hair as he took the first step to climb upward into Jinx’s room. 

Even before he was fully all the way up, he could tell Jinx made it her space. While it still held some small boxes, it looked like the rest of the space was made for Jinx’s designs. Multiple chalkboards were hung up, showing anatomies of differing mechanisms, and any table space there was was covered in devices and apparati, each in different states of progress. Hung up by string were several blueprints and papers with art of concepts, this way and that across the ceiling space. 

The only thing that really marked it as someone’s room was a bed on one end, by the window that showed a nice view of the backyard. 

Jinx reached for one device on a stray worktable. She picked it up and tinkered with it a bit before she tossed it onto another worktable. She ignored its loud clatter as she sighed. She held her hands behind her head and pivoted on the ball of her foot to face Ekko.

“Don’t mind the mess. I assure you it’s up to my…organizational standards.” 

“No doubt about that,” Ekko said as he moved towards one of the worktables. “What is some of this stuff?” 

“Odds and ends. People have requests and I see if I can make them work. Other times it’s…just for fun.” 

Ekko nodded slowly as he surveyed the array of contraptions. He couldn’t make heads or tails of any of them, but none of them looked to be anything dangerous. 

He closed his eyes and shook his head. He shouldn’t think of that. 

Jinx sat down on her bed, her lithe figure barely making a dent in it as she propped herself up with her hands and stared at the opposite wall. As Ekko got closer, she glanced up at him. 

He stuck his hands in his pockets. “You, uh…look healthier.” 

“Blame that on the folks. Fyyo refuses to let me leave the table until I clear the plate.”

“Seems like they care a lot about you.” 

“Yeah,” Jinx veered off and looked aside at the wall.

“They’re from Ionia,” Jinx said, “when I first came, I didn’t have anywhere to go. I…kinda ran myself ragged getting here. I was tired, and hungry, and…I just decided to rest on a bench out in the market and I must’ve dozed off. Suddenly, I woke up to see two wrinkly faces smiling at me. They offered me a bed to sleep on. I refused, but they insisted.

“They brought me to one of the rooms downstairs. It was…nice-looking. Pastel colors and comfy furniture. I saw a picture on the nightstand, some…pretty girl. Turns out, they had a daughter back in Ionia. Xize, she was called. She died, and they…took a boat here. Escaping a terrible memory to build something new.” 

Ekko moved over and sat down next to her. His weight caused the springs of the bed to groan underneath him. 

“I declined the bedroom, and took the attic instead. I didn’t want to burden them, so I was planning on only staying a few days, no more.” 

“And help make some sprinklers for them along the way?” 

“Well, second day of me staying here, I watched how the farm work was wearing on their bodies. I saw the problem and I fixed it, like you said. Others found out about it and asked me to help with this project or that project. Again and again I helped, and eventually those plans I had just…woosh. Gone. I woke up one day thinking about the next thing I’ll fix, not the next town I’ll go to.” 

“You found a home for yourself.” 

“It’s strange, you know? Having people come up to you to ask for something, when most people back home are taken aback at the sight of me. Scared of me.”

“I wasn’t scared of you. Vi wasn’t. Sevika wasn’t.”

“Sevika had too thick of a head to be scared of me. How did she gather enough brain cells to even find me?” 

“Airship manifest. She told me about it.” 

“Huh.” 

“She…pushed me to come find you, in fact.”

“Heh,” Jinx scoffed, turning around, “she always couldn’t stay out of my business.” 

“She was worried about you.” 

“What is she, my mom?” 

“I…was worried about you.”

That stopped her. She looked sidelong at Ekko when he said that. Her voice cracked as she tried to respond to that, unsure how, “I…”

“I thought you were dead.”

Her gaze turned back down to the floor, her hands now hung limp at her sides. “I’m…sorry, Ekko. I know you probably want a better answer than that, but…I don’t have one. I just had to go.” 

“Without telling anyone? Not me? Not Vi? She mourned you for days. Weeks. Hell, she still mourns you. Every time I visited her, she was lighting candles in front of your picture.” 

Jinx responded with silence, eyes glancing to the floor.

“Why? Why did you leave?” 

“It…” She started, but stopped and bit her lip briefly before she tried again, “It was better for everyone if I was gone. All I brought about there was fear and destruction. Everyone flinched near me. To them, I was a gun with a hair trigger, just one light push and I’ll go off.” 

“No…”

“And Vi…she deserved someone better. If I was there, she would’ve had to make a choice, and so I decided it for her. Caitlyn makes her happy. I…I would’ve just ruined her life again.” 

Ekko sprung up from the bed, an incredulous expression on his face. “None of that is true. Jinx, you saved Topside, and Zaun, all of Runeterra. The people saw the real you that day. A person willing to risk themselves for the greater good.” 

“If I had stayed, they’d just look at me like a disaster waiting to happen. They all know what I’ve done to…to their own people. The fear I caused. No amount of good deeds can undo our crimes.”

“So what, we just run away? Run from our problems? What happened to the girl who the Firelights, and all of Zaun, followed into that battle all that time ago?” 

“Zaun was under the wrong notion of me being some noble hero. A girl they can use for a cause. And the Firelights…all they did was follow you.” 

Ekko scoffed and took a step back. Gazing down at the girl in front of him, he slowly shook his head.

She was so happy with the kids before. What happened? Did she just want to forget all that occurred? But…

“If you wanted to escape…why did you stick with the name Jinx?” 

She raised her head, then dropped it.

Ekko released a mild growl. “If all you want is to stir in your regrets, then I’m sorry. Guess I should leav-”

“Wait!” As Ekko turned to walk towards the stairs, he felt his hand get yanked back. 

Over his shoulder, he saw Jinx with both her hands wrapped around his, eyes aimed down at the floor. Slowly, she raised her head.

She looked the same as she did back then, feet at the edge of a jump with a grenade in her grasp. 

“Don’t…don’t go.”

Ekko shifted his jaw at this, then sighed. He shouldn’t have done that. His other hand went for his side, only to find nothing there. No chain to pull. No four seconds back. 

He then remembered Lest’s words. 

“All you should do is be there for her.” 

He sighed again and turned back to her, placing his other hand on top of hers. 

“I…I didn’t mean that. I’m sorry. I’m not going anywhere.” 

Jinx’s lips curved up in a very brief smile, but it was gone as soon as it arrived. After an awkward moment, she coughed and pulled her hands away, one of them lifted to brush some hair behind an ear, only for it to fall back into place. 

“So…you got a place to stay?” 

Ekko shrugged. “That one inn in the middle of the main street. Room three. Though I’ll need to find some work to keep staying there.” 

“This town is always looking for someone willing to get their hands dirty. I can introduce you to some people. I want to get the turbine done and ready before the festival in a week, so I’ll be busy with that.” 

“Thanks. And, in the meantime, I can help you with your turbine project.” 

Jinx wrinkled her nose, then tilted her head, eyes narrowed as a finger lifted to tap against her chin. “Well…you could help me find more parts from the shore. Sometimes that can take an entire day for me, so the extra help would be cool.”

“Anything you need,” Ekko said with a smirk as he took a few steps back. 

“Yeah…thank you, Ekko. Right now, I think I just need to relax. It’s been a hell of a day,” she sighed as she sat back down on her bed, hands gripped around the edge of the mattress. 

“Oh, yeah. Sure thing.” He turned to head to the stairs, hand placed on the rail, but he stopped before the first step down. He gazed down the wooden stairs to the second floor hallway, then lifted his gaze to his friend.

“Uhm…Jinx?” 

He saw her eyes still on him. He wondered if she never took them off as he made his way over. 

“Yeah, Ekko?” 

He glanced aside to avoid her wide purple gaze. 

“I’m…glad you’re okay.” 

Jinx seemed a bit taken aback by the statement, head pulled slightly back as she averted her widened eyes. She reached up to grab her other arm and smiled. 

“Thanks…Ekko.” 

Ekko gave a single nod and slowly went down the stairs. Each step was reluctant, hesitant before the descent to the next. As he reached the bottom, he stood there and peered over his shoulder back at the stairs, eyes wistful. 

He sighed and shook his head. She asked for space. 

He made his way over to the other stairs and went down to the main hallway, about to head for the door before a voice stopped him. 

“Going so soon?” 

Ekko had almost forgotten about Ku, his mind so occupied by his talk with Jinx. The old man was still sat at the table, hand on an opened book to keep it on the current page. While he still smiled, it was weaker than before. 

“Uh…Jinx wanted to be alone. It was a hell of a day…for the both of us.” 

“Mmm, I get it. Reunions can be exhausting,” Ku said before he looked out the nearest window.

Ekko turned back towards the door when Ku spoke up again. 

“She’s…a good kid.” 

Ekko stopped and took a step back to look at the man. Ku looked at Ekko and pulled off his glasses to place them on the table. 

“I don’t know much about her. I haven’t bothered to ask her, she seems like she’s going through enough already, but…whatever she did, it matters not to me. All she’s been doing is trying to help the community. She’s a bright light, and I only want what’s best for her. But she doesn’t try to talk with us much. Maybe she’s just not comfortable with us yet.” 

Ekko nodded. 

“So…I guess what I’m saying is…I’m happy she has someone she can speak freely with. And I ask that you be patient with her, and be kind with her, and…be the shoulder she can lean on.” 

Ekko glanced away from Ku’s gaze. He wasn’t sure what to say to all that.

“Ah,” Ku swiped his glasses to put them back on his face with a small adjustment, “Don’t mind me, I’m just an old man rambling. You must have things to do, and it is a bit of a walk, so don’t let me keep you. It…it was nice meeting you, Ekko.” 

Ekko met his gaze and smiled. “It was good to meet you too, Mister Ku. Thank you for taking care of her.” 

“Oh we were more than happy to. The house, it feels empty sometimes, and she’s filled it with just the right amount of life.” 

“Oh, no doubt.” 

The two nodded their goodbyes to each other before Ekko exited the house through the front door, back into the windy plains. Off in the distance, Skiff sat in the bright sun’s gaze. 

It was going to be a bit of a walk, definitely. 

But he had plenty to think about on the way back. 

Bang bang bang!

Ekko flinched awake as a loud sound wrenched him from his slumber. His mind tried to suddenly pull itself together while he was still enveloped in darkness. He started with his bearings. He felt the softness of the bedsheets and chill outside of its confines brush against his skin. 

He groaned and opened his eyes to let the light in.

Even now, the hotel room was still an unfamiliar place to him. He was so used to his bed at the sanctuary. It had a sort of warm embrace that would welcome any who entered it. While the town of Skiff itself has been somewhat amenable, it just didn’t have the same feeling. 

At least, not yet. 

Bang bang bang! 

Pounding. Pounding on the door. At first he wasn’t sure what it was, his brain so clouded by the fog of sleep, but now that he was slightly more awake, he identified the noise was from his door. 

He groaned as he pushed himself up, the pounding returning once again. 

Bang bang bang!

“I’m comin’!” Ekko said, tempted to just slump back onto the bed for a few extra winks, but he had a feeling whoever was at the door was not the patient type. 

He grunted and rolled out of bed. His feet hit the cold, smooth wooden floors. They barely creaked under his weight when he stood up and moved in the door’s direction. He rubbed some more of the sleep from his eyes before he grabbed the doorknob and pulled the door open.

Stood there in the threshold of his hotel room door was Jinx, a smirk on her face as she looked up at him. The way she stared, it almost made him feel like a fish in a bowl, and she was a cat. 

“You always were a heavy sleeper,” she said, head tilting to one side, her bang dangling towards the floor.

But most prominent of all, she had on a jacket too big for her, going down past her thighs. It was green, and covered in the pink and blue graffiti she was known for. It…looked familiar to Ekko, actually. 

“What…”

She smiled and walked past him into the room. “You’re so cute when you’re tired.” 

He squinted at her. “What are you doing here? Is that my old jacket?” 

A twist of her heel to face him, she looked down and shrugged her shoulders. “Well…I mean, yeah? I kept it. Needed something to keep me warm on the trip. Besides,” she lifted one side to her nose to sniff, a smile directed at him, “it smells like you.” 

He could feel the warmth across his nose. Nothing he could do would hide it well at this point, so he waved her comment away. 

“Quit it. Why are you here?” 

“Well, you did offer to help me with looking for scrap on the shore, so I thought I would take you up on the offer…right now.” 

“It’s,” he looked to the window, where there was light, but the outside was hazy, “it’s early in the morning.” 

“I told you it takes me a while to collect whatever I need, so I start early. With you, it shouldn’t take quite so long, Mr. Muscles.” 

He rolled his eyes and put his hands on his hips. “Ugh…alright. Give me a bit to put something on.”

She showed a toothy grin as she walked towards the door. “You got three minutes.” 

“Five, please.” 

“Agreed! Three!” And she shut the door in his face. All he could do was sigh.

Maybe this trip wasn’t the best idea…

“C’mon, slowpoke!” 

Ekko groaned and rubbed his eye with the heel of his palm while he picked up his walking pace a bit to try and catch up with the hyperactive blue-haired girl. She skipped on ahead, further into the coastal fog several yards away from him. Periodically, she would peer over her shoulder to tease him to go faster. 

“And to think you beat me in so many footraces when we were little.” 

“Most of those I wasn’t dead tired.” 

“Are those excuses I hear?” 

“Yeah, sure.”

“Pfft, no fun.”

“Sorry, Fun Ekko has left. Sleepy Ekko is taking over.”

Jinx twisted around to face him with a smile. “I don't mind Sleepy Ekko. Better than Grumpy Ekko.”

“When have I ever been grumpy?”

“Oh, all the time. Especially when you got older. Always wearing that scowl on your face.” 

Ekko scoffed and looked away, a frown on his face as Jinx chuckled.

“Yeah, looked kinda like that. Honestly surprised you don’t have wrinkles at this point.” 

As she turned back towards the path, she took a sand-ridden series of wooden steps down to the beach filled with scrap. Like a barrier made of sharp, rusted metal, it stood against the tide, very little able to get through the cracks and spread out over the sand before it was pulled back in. It might’ve been the coastal fog, but to Ekko, the beach, a place known for beauty and vibrance, just looked so gray and depressing. 

Even the smell, the usual briney salty smell that stung the nostrils, had a tint of rust in it. 

“It looks like there’s more than yesterday,” he muttered.

Jinx looked to him as he stopped at her side, crossing her arms. “Yeah. It just keeps piling and piling. Even with the two of us, there’s no way we can get rid of it all. That’s one of the reasons I want to bring power to Skiff. The possibility of using more powerful tools to cut this ugly pile of scrap down to pieces and make this beach…fun again.” 

The two stood there a moment and soaked in all the silence left between the tide’s ebb and flow. Ekko could imagine this place without all the dangerous metal. Where kids could come and dip their toes in the water, or go out for a swim. The kind of fun he would have with his friends back in Zaun, down by the river. 

Eventually, Jinx sighed and slapped her hands on her hips, turning back to her more cheery self. “Well! Nothing will get done if we just mope here! Shall we get to it, partner?” 

Ekko looked over to see Jinx with a fist held out to him with an expectant expression. Wide eyes that practically leaned forward along with her body. He shook his head and smirked. 

“You got it…partner.” 

He raised his fist and bumped it into hers. Her smile widened in such a cute way, Ekko could feel some warmth flow into his cheeks. It reminded him of the goofy crooked smile she would have when they were kids. 

Jinx pulled out some thick leather gloves from the waistband of her pants and slipped them on with a heavy tug, all the while her eyes scanned the debris. 

“It’s best to look for rudders. I’ve been using those for the fans, and I assume there’s some right shape I need, but I just can’t find it.” 

Ekko stroked his chin and scanned the field of rusted scrap metal himself. “So, we won’t know until we test each rudder we find?” 

“Exactly my thinking. Glad I have you now, we can carry them back easier.” 

“Right. Well…let’s see what we can find.” 

The two began their search with a sift through the pieces of scrap, one by one. The sounds of thin metal banging against thicker metal reverberated throughout the beach as they would pick one up, check it, then shove it down elsewhere. While they did all this, they tossed smaller bits aside into a pile, something out of the way for future disposal. 

“Might as well. Drop in the bucket, but it’s something,” Jinx would say. 

Piece after piece after piece, the clang of metal on metal grew as the day grew brighter. The fog would begin to dissipate as the sun rose higher into the sky. 

Despite this, it didn’t make the beach look any happier. With the myriad metal piled on the shore like a pile of body parts, it still had the same depressing feel, just with a shinier coat. 

All the sun did was fall upon the two as they sweat to find anything that could work for a wind turbine. Ekko stepped back and wiped some sweat from his brow, sighing. 

He wasn’t used to the sun beating on his skin this hard. Now he understood why Jinx had color in her skin again. If she spent this much time in the sun, she had to have dealt with her fair share of sun burns. 

Ekko glanced over to her, with her—well, his—jacket thrown aside, he saw the sweat turn the back of her loose shirt translucent. The muscles of her back flexed as she pulled on a piece of flooring, teeth grit and arms bulged with the strength she gathered.

“Let me help you with that one,” Ekko said, stepping up to grab on and pull with her. Once he felt the heft of it, he had to put his back into it and lean with Jinx.

“Oh…such a…gentleman…” Jinx growled. 

They felt it give, and the two grunted as they tipped it over. This was just enough to let gravity take over and slam into the sand. Clumps of sand jumped into the air with its impact.

 Jinx let go a bit too late and fell to the ground, though she was able to catch herself as she coughed onto the sand. 

“You okay?” Ekko approached and crouched by her side, shoulders rising and falling with each breath. The effort took a good amount out of him as well, and required he take deep breaths himself as he held a hand out to her. 

She lifted her head and looked up at him with two wide purple eyes. Then her gaze fell to his outstretched hand, and she smiled weakly. 

“It’ll take more than some piece of scrap to bring me down.” 

She grabbed on, being hoisted back up to her feet, though she ended up pulled in a bit too close, and Ekko grabbed her trim waist to steady her. 

And they were inches apart.

Suddenly, the both became rather flushed as they gazed at each other. Their eyes flit here and there in micro amounts this way and that to take in every centimeter of detail. 

He could feel her ragged breath on his neck. Her heartbeat pulsed through her hand. Her nose nearly brushed by his. 

“Uhm…” Ekko began, the silence used to think of something to say. 

Jinx’s lips stretched into a smirk, but then her eyes slowly moved to look behind him, and the smirk grew into a smile. 

“That should work!” 

Ekko peered over his shoulder. Just where that piece of metal was, there was a small metal rudder. Three thick fans, one of them stabbed into the wet sand. 

A rush of wind as Jinx moved around him towards it. She nodded several times to herself as got closer to check every angle on it. 

“Mmhmm, I think we’ve got a candidate.” 

Jinx bent down and grabbed one of the blades before she began to pull. Ekko saw it gave just a little. 

“C’mon, boy savior! I need you and your chiseled musculature!” 

Ekko snorted at the comment and shook his head. “On my way.” 

The streets of Skiff had just began to grow busy. With the sun high, halfway to its zenith, people had set up their stalls and gone about their business. Passerbys gave their greetings to each other, and kids played in the road. 

“Coming through!” A scratchy shout warned. Everyone looked towards the source, and were surprised to see a young man and woman carry a rudder through the streets. The former had to carefully walk backwards, teeth grit as he tried to keep the rudder off the ground.

“Jinx!” One of the kids shouted as the lot began to swarm the two. 

“H-hey, watch it!” Ekko said, now required to look down at his feet so he wouldn’t stomp on any small toes. As if his aching muscles weren’t enough to worry about.

“Listen to the man, shrimps. We need to get this up to the turbine, pronto! Make way!” 

The kids listened and flanked the two adults. They marched alongside while they carried it down the street and brought it to the stairway that Ekko had climbed just the day before. 

“Carefully,” Jinx said. Ekko nodded his confirmation and took one backwards step up, then another. Slowly, the two of them carried it up, step by step, until relief washed over the two of them as they both felt flat ground. They had made it. They brought it to the top. 

They looked towards the ocean to see the structure Jinx built still standing. The fans remained static, even in the heavy wind. 

“Let’s hope this one works,” Jinx said as she and Ekko brought it over and gently lowered it to the ground. 

Meanwhile, the kids gathered around them. Their excitement was palpable, and almost overwhelming, though this didn’t seem to affect Jinx.

“Agh,” Jinx groaned as she planted her hands flat against her back and stretched, pops echoing along her spine. “Ooof.” 

Ekko grunted, rolling his shoulders and craning his neck to the side. 

So this is what Jinx did in the morning? Every morning?

“Let’s get it up there!” One of the kids shouted, but Jinx held a hand out to them. 

“Woah, woah, let’s take it easy for a moment. We had to carry this junk from the beach, and that was no easy trip, even with the help,” she said, jerking a thumb at Ekko, “So…we’ll rest a bit.”

With that, she plopped down onto the brick floor, crossing her legs as she leaned back and held herself up with her arms. A heavy sigh escaped from her lips as she gazed up at the turbine. 

With the sweat still coating her skin, the sun shining down on her almost made her glow. Ekko had no doubt he was looking the same. 

He slowly lowered himself into a sitting position, resting a hand on his knee. 

“Will you be needing help getting this thing up there?” 

Jinx glanced to him, then at the turbine. She shook her head. “No, I got a pulley system that can bring it up.” 

“Who operates it?” 

“They do.” She jerked another thumb towards the kids. 

“Oh, right.”

“Installation shouldn’t be too rough. Besides, you got a job to do.” 

“Huh? I do?” 

“Yup. There’s an old man, Yarnham, lives in the market. His store has a sign with a rat digging a needle into a ball of yarn. He does textiles, and one of his sewing machines is broken. He asked me, but I threw your name in there, so he’s expecting you.” 

“You…didn’t think to tell me this at any point this morning?” 

“You were looking grumpy with that scowl of yours. Didn’t want to bother you so early in the day.” 

“Gee, thanks.”

“No problem!” 

Ekko rolled his eyes before redirecting them to the ocean. The waves were calm, undulating smoothly in small hills of water. He could feel his breath, at first heavy and fast with the exhaustion, begin to slow as he gazed upon the serene sea. 

Then, he looked at Jinx, who was also turned towards the sea. 

Despite everything she’s been through, in this moment she looked content. Happy. 

And no matter how many times she irritates him, he can’t help but feel warmth for her. Especially now. 

She turned her head, catching him gazing at her. She smiled and briefly lifted a shoulder up. 

“Take your time, boy savior.” 

He blushed and looked away, head shaking as he went to push himself to his feet. “No, I’ll just get it done now. Get it out of the way. He’s paying me, right?” 

“Yup! And once you’re done with that, I should be done with this! You’ll know if it works!” 

“Heh, I’m sure you’ll be jumping for joy.” 

“Oh I’ll hop over mountains!” 

The two shared a chuckle as Ekko held a fist out to her. She frowned at it and shot her hand out, bumping it before grabbing it and pulling in for a hug. 

“Good luck. Old man Yarnham can be a stickler. Don’t let him nitpick you.” 

As she let go, she gave him a smile before turning towards the kids. “Alright, you little scrimps, man the pulley!” 

A cheer resonated out from the hilltop, echoing off the homes that stood around them as the herd rushed towards the mechanism near the turbine. 

Ekko shook his head, the red from his cheeks dissipating as he turned away to take the steps back down to the main street. 

“I-I always knew I could trust ye, tha-that Jinx knows her stuff, so when I heard sh-she had a friend! I-well, I just knew I was in good…good hands!” 

Old Man Yarnham was tip-tapping his cane against the old wooden floor of his store with every word, his wide mustashe bouncing along. In his hand he held a pouch of coins, jingling loudly along before being plopped onto the counter in front of Ekko. 

“It was nothing, really,” Ekko said, picking up the pouch, “once I understood the problem, it was fairly easy to fix. Just glad you can keep your work up.” 

“Oh-oh, there’s no importance to my work. Plenty more in this town, I-I am just one humble man.” 

“I don’t think so. Anyway, I should get back to Jinx.” 

“Of course, of course. You-you two have a good day. Give her my-my best!” 

“Thanks, Mr. Yarnham!” 

The bell above the door jingled as Ekko left the store with a wave, back out into the market square, now slowing down with the sun descending from its zenith. Soon they would all close up and head home, only to begin again the next day. 

Ekko though, only thought of Jinx. She was probably done installing the rudder, so he’ll have to see if it actually worked. Yet, he thought that Jinx would’ve burst into Yarnham’s store screaming with excitement that it did. She was always so proud of the works of hers that actually began to function, especially when they were kids and she still had a low rate of success. 

A smirk flashed across his face at the thought. He turned towards the main street and followed it up to the stairs that led up to the hilltop. 

The steps he ascended felt smaller every time he went up them. Like less and less steps were there than actually were. The first time he came to this stairway, he thought it would go on forever. And now it just felt like a simple walk up. He made it to the last few steps faster than he remembered. 

And what he saw was partly what he expected. Though he wished he hadn’t.

The sun, lowering further still into the horizon, shone orange upon the figure standing in the center, arms hanging limply at their sides as their head was turned upward to look at the turbine. The new rudder that had been installed was sitting still on its frame, not moving in the strong winds that were blowing against it. All that could be heard was the small, brief creaking of the turbine and the brushing waves of the sea beyond it. 

“Jinx?” 

The head dropped, the fluffy strands of hair dangling delicately in front of their eyes. Despite being covered, he could feel her eyes on him. 

“Hey…Ekko.”

Ekko made his way over to her side. Just standing next to her, he could feel depression emanate from her being. He gestured to the motionless rudder on the turbine. 

“No luck?” 

Jinx looked away. “No, like always…it didn’t work. And…I got a little frustrated and…the kids left.” 

Ekko looked back up at the turbine, letting the silence comfort her a bit. Then, he leaned forth into her view, offering a small smile. “Hey…that’s normal. It’s normal to feel frustrated. This is the process, isn’t it? Test, fail, test, fail, test, fail. We take each failure and use it to improve the next test. Until it’s done.” 

“Yeah, I know, it’s just…it still sucks.”

“Of course. You remember how depressed I was after that one bike I tried to make spiraled out of control?” 

Jinx chuckled, that small bit doing enough to make her smile at him. “You refused to get up from where you fell because of it. Though…I think it was more due to the pain.” 

“Mmm, well, that was…part of it.” 

She smiled, then leaned over to bump him with her shoulder. “I kicked your shin and you screamed.” 

“That…that was just because you kicked a guy in the shin. You don’t do that. That always hurts.”

“Uh-huh, uh-huh. Sure.” 

“I could kick you in the shin right now. You’ll scream.” 

Jinx’s brow raised, and she cocked an eyebrow in his direction. Ekko looked away. 

“Okay…not the best defense, I’ll admit.” 

“I should kick you in the shin for saying that.” 

“Please do not.” 

The two burst into laughing; a raucous, yet beautiful noise. Jinx leaned closer into Ekko, her side pressing against his. Her giggles, scratchy as they were, still sounded so pleasant. Like the vibrations of her laughter against his chest felt. 

It slowly all died down, and he looked down at her. 

“So…give it another try tomorrow?”

“Yeah…until it’s done, right?” 

“Right,” Ekko said, “Now…should I get you home?” 

“What, I can’t take care of myself?” 

“No, no, I just thought—” 

“Kidding, kidding,” she said, her fingers suddenly interlocking with his, giving his hand a nice compressing squeeze. 

Ekko felt his face turned flush, but his darker skin could hide it well. That being said, his expression left nothing to imagination. 

“What?” Jinx said, leaning closer, their arms grazing, her lips curving in a little smirk, her voice growing huskier. “What’s wrong, Ekko?” 

“N-nothing. Come on, let’s get you home.” 

“Hmph.” 

They both turned towards the stairs, Ekko carefully helping her down to the final step, where she pushed herself into his body. Though the contact did make Ekko blush, he continued leading her down the street.

“Thank you, Ekko. You’re so nice.” 

“M-me? I’m…not that nice.” 

“No, no, you are. All you think about is other people. You’re selfless. A real boy savior.” 

“You always throw that name around.” 

“Because it fits you to a T.” 

“You…quiet.” 

She giggled, reinforcing her grip on his hand as they walked down the street together. They were emptied of the usual fare, now just with those going home, or other couples out on a walk. Jinx pulled away from Ekko’s side, swinging their hands together in a wild arc.

“So…what should we do next?” Ekko asked. 

“With what? The turbine?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Well…I think we might just need to keep trying. Finding metal. Rudders might be too heavy, so perhaps we can look into making our own?” 

“Our own? Not sure we have the tools for that.” 

“There is a smith in town. Doesn’t like me too much, and probably wouldn’t do what I ask of him. Buuuuuuut…he might like you.” 

“Me?” 

“I did say you were a nice guy. Maybe you can shatter that ice cold shield of a heart he has?” 

“I’m not that kind of guy, Jinx.” 

Ekko felt Jinx stop, pulling on his arm. He turned to see her with a wide, devious smile. 

“But you’ve warmed my heart so. Please, Ekko? Try?” 

She had such wide eyes. Like a doe begging for scraps…or a cat ready to pounce. He wasn’t sure what he should prepare for. That being said, with those same wide eyes…he can’t say no. 

He sighed, head shaking. “Fine…I guess I’ll try.” 

She pulled herself close and wrapped herself around his arm. “Oh, thank you, Ekko!” 

“Yeah, yeah…thank me after we get his help.” 

Eresmis the blacksmith was a solitary older man who only enjoyed the clang of metal on metal. He’d begin each morning starting up his smithy, getting the heat going on the forge so he could prepare to do his work. 

Though, working in such a small, already established town as Skiff didn’t raise his prospects much. Nonetheless, people come to him for little matters. New horseshoes, a new tool, or a small bit of a clock in need of a new gear. He didn’t mind the small work, though. 

He wasn’t much for standing out anyway. 

The embers rose into nothingness, rising from his forge as it grew hotter, the unmistakeable golden glow emanating from inside. He gave it a couple good pokes to allow more air in, letting the fire growing within breathe. 

“Hey, uh, good morning!” 

Eresmis turned his head only slightly, glancing over his shoulder to see a young man approaching. From the way he was dressed, he looked like any other of his usual clients: overalls, slight tone in the arms, and a look that showed years of work. This one just looked a bit smaller than most. 

“Hmm,” Eresmis replied, paying him the littlest of minds as he continued poking at the rising flames. 

“My name is Ekko, and I’m new to town. I’m…kind of an inventor of sorts, so I was hoping you could help me with a wind turbine I’ve been wanting to make. The only problem is, the fans I’ve been using are too heavy to even produce any power from. I was hoping you could help me forge some fans that might be better suited to picking up wind?” 

Eresmis grunted and tossed the firepoker off to the side, the tool clanking against the stone floor harmlessly. He walked up to the young man, his taller stature being somewhat menacing to him, but nonetheless Ekko remained steadfast. 

His eyes glanced from Ekko, to an alley off to the side, one that cut off his smithy from another nearby store. 

A flash of blue hair dangled into view. 

He grunted again and spoke with a low, accented voice. It sounded Noxian.

“You can come out, Jinx,” he said, turning away from Ekko to return to his forge. 

A small growl as Jinx stepped out from the corner. “Wha– how did you know!?” 

“I only know of one person making a wind turbine here, that being you. Recently, I heard she got a little partner alongside her. Not to mention, I saw you two carrying a rudder through the street yesterday.” 

“Dang it!” 

Ekko smirked. “We weren’t very covert about that, to be fair.” 

“Well, I didn’t have Eresmis in my idea yet. I thought I could do it on my own.” 

Eresmis shook his head, gazing into his forge. “Foolish to use rudders for such things. Too heavy, meant for water.”

Jinx rolled her eyes. “Well…it was either that or I talk to you.” 

“Well the former doesn’t seem to be working out well for you.” 

“Which is why I am now talking to you. We need someone who can make these fans. Someone talented and experienced…and handsome.” 

“Obvious flattery will get you nowhere.” 

“Works with this boytoy,” Jinx looked at Ekko, who responded with a frown.

Eresmis gave a very brief, humorless chuckle. He turned back to them, crossing his toned arms across his chest. 

“I’ve never made a wind turbine, nor know anyone who has. But…I can try.” 

“But it’ll be—wait, huh?” 

He nodded. “I’ll do it.”

Jinx looked confused. “Oh, no refusal due to my involvement?” 

“I may not like you much, but this project…it can help the people of this town. That comes first and foremost to me. However, if you give me one reason to doubt it—” 

“Yeah, yeah, you’ll make my life a living misery, take a ticket. So, what do you need?” 

“Well, first, I need metal to smelt down. That scrapyard you’ve been digging out of should provide enough.” 

“Ah! How lucky you said that!” Jinx did a little hop as she turned and ran around the corner she was once hiding behind. Soon, the sound of something being dragged could be heard, before Jinx appeared from the corner again to swing her arms around, a huge burlap sack emerging from the corner and plopping onto the floor, the force almost pulling Jinx along. It jingled loudly upon impact.

“All the tiny pieces of scrap we could collect, ripe for smelting!” 

Eresmis glanced at Ekko, who smiled and shrugged. Grunting, Eresmis trundled over and pulled open the bag, reaching in with a gloved hand to rustle around before pulling one out. 

He turned it over in his hand. It barely shined in the sun that poked through the openings in the cloth covering the outside of the forge. The rust that coated it degraded the luster it once had. 

“I can’t even tell what this used to be.” 

Ekko cocked a brow at the smith. “Will it be recoverable?” 

“Recoverable? No. Not entirely. We can smelt this down for the metal, but it won’t be the same amount. What kind of size of fan are you two hoping for?” 

Ekko stepped in before Jinx could overshoot. “Nothing huge. We only have so much metal to work with, and we aren’t sure what will work. So we’re going to try experimenting with some shapes before we commit to something.” 

“Hmm, smart,” Eresmis turned the piece of metal in his hand again, then tossed it into the air before catching it, “Well, I can’t say I am not a lover of discovery. I’ll do it, but I do ask one thing of you both.” 

“Oh, what’s that?” Jinx said, resting her fist on her hip as she planted a foot on the bag of metal, like it was some sort of treasure she was protecting. 

“You let me keep the fans that don’t work. Might not be the best metal, but scrap is scrap. I should be able to find uses for it.” 

“Oh,” Jinx straightened up, removing her foot from the bag, “that’s it?” 

“What she means is, that’ll be perfect,” Ekko said, holding his hand out to Eresmis to shake. The man glanced at the hand and grunted, grabbing his hand. His large fingers nearly consumed Ekko’s entire hand. 

The shake was firm, a single up and down. 

“It’s a deal.”

Ekko smiled. “It’s a deal.” 

“So, do you have any plans for these turbines?” 

Jinx clapped her hands with a wide smile. “Oh! Way ahead of you!” 

Reaching behind the corner, she pulled from it a tube container and tossed it over to Ekko. He caught it and screwed open the top, pulling out a rolled up parchment. 

“We actually have several,” Ekko said, unfurling the paper to show multiple different plans. “We tried to remember the different kinds of fans we’ve seen at home, from big to small. There were plenty of different kinds, so we made plenty of different plans.” 

Eresmis nodded and glanced about the forge, seeing a table covered in different odds and ends. With a sweep, he knocked over some tool to make space for Ekko to lay the plans down so he could get a look at them. 

Ekko stared for a bit, only a bit, at the tools knocked off the table, then back to Eresmis before stepping in to place the parchment down. He quickly stepped away from the smith as he started to examine the plans.

Planting his large hands on the sides of the parchment, he pulled out a small pair of spectacles to place on his broad nose. Quickly, he sifted through them, scanning each and nodding alongside. 

Meanwhile, Ekko glanced at Jinx with some apprehension, while Jinx responded with a more confident gaze of her own. 

Eventually, he stepped back and took off his spectacles, reaching for the piece of scrap he picked up not too long ago. 

“We’ll need more than you have in there. I assume you’ll carry the extra metal when necessary?” 

Jinx jumped over to Ekko’s side, flexing her muscles. “We got the guns for it!” 

Ekko rolled his eyes, then flexed his muscles. 

She would pester him until he did it. 

So began the process Ekko spoke of. The never-ending cycle of the inventor. Build, attempt, fail, repeat. And as much as they would hope for success on the first attempt, there was very little. The first fan they used, now actually made by them, did have some movement, but not enough. It spun only a little before swinging back to where it was. 

The second fan wasn’t much different. Nor the third. And every time, the looks on the kids faces would hurt them.

Eresmis was right about the metal. Due to the rust, what came out wasn’t a whole lot, so the bag of scrap they had was eaten through rather quickly after so few fans. For the next couple mornings after that, they would bring more and more pieces of metal to Eresmis’ forge, at the cries of their aching muscles, to smelt down for fans.

Then, every time, there was something that would make it not work. Some fans, though spinning, would spin too fast in the high winds, and their sharp features made them a danger to the residents nearby, especially the kids. 

Those were considered failures. 

And with each failure, Jinx’s frustration would leak out, in bigger and bigger displays, despite Ekko being there to keep her to the ground. Though he had to admit himself, he was getting frustrated too. 

And eventually, this all came to a head. They were running low on ideas, and even lower on patience. The festival was only a couple days away, and the pressure was mounting. They’ve been taking notes for every attempt, and decided to try fan blades built flat, but at an angle, like some mills do. 

“Careful with it!” Ekko warned as the children began to use the pulley, several of them holding onto the line, pulling it back with their weight as the newly-made fan rose up. Jinx was standing on the ladder, hands out carefully as she guided the fan to its axle. She was leaning around too much, making Ekko stress as he tried to keep a grip on the ladder while it swung this way and that. 

“Almost, almost!” Jinx exclaimed, nearly tipping off again.

“Watch it!” 

“Ahhh, I’m tryin’!” 

She grabbed the fan and slowly brought it down onto the axle, the sliding of metal on metal confirming its purchase before locking in with a shunk!

“There!” 

The kids who manned the pulley groaned and stepped away, nursing their aching muscles and reddened hands as Jinx slid down the ladder, skipping a couple steps backward to examine their work. It creaked as it spun slowly, whining loudly against the wind forcing its rotation. 

“Alright, seems to be spinning good!” Jinx said, clapping her hands before running to the turbine’s side. There, she had a cable with a plug, and a small light she had crafted herself. 

With a flourish of her hand, she grabbed the cable and plugged it into the light. 

At first, nothing. 

But then, a flicker. A small one. In and out, it went. Then, it held, a small, weak light glowing in its cage as the turbine spun. 

It was easy to see Jinx’s excitement as she cradled the light in her shaking hands. Her lips curved into a wide smile as the illumination made her eyes shine. 

“Ekko, look!” 

Ekko smiled. “Oh, I see it.”

The kids all crowded around, looking at the weak light with awe. For children that have only ever seen the light of a fire or candle, this was a new sight for them. Taking the wind that blows through their hair, between their fingers, and harnessing its power into light. 

But, the light then flickered to nothingness. Then back to light, then back to nothingness. It repeated this, again and again. 

Jinx’s brow furrowed, her head looking up at the turbine. The fan was spinning. 

“What…” 

Ekko looked up at the turbine with a tilted head. “Is that not enough power?”

“But…” 

“Maybe the fan is too heavy? Spinning too slow?” 

He glanced over at Jinx, who looked at the light with a more somber expression. The same one he’s been seeing more and more over the past couple of days. 

“Hey, it’s something right? We just go back to the drawing board and—” 

“I’m tired of the drawing board, Ekko!” 

She snapped her head to look at him. In her eyes, he could see tears welling up. Her hands gripped the light hard, thumbs spreading over the glass, with her nails cutting into it. All the while, her jaw jutted out as her teeth grit so hard he could hear them creak. 

The glass then broke. Her grip grew so strong it crushed the glass in her hands, sending shards clinking to the floor along with a small drop of blood. 

“Jinx!” Ekko crouched down by her side, reaching for the light, but as he tried to pull it away, she pulled back. 

“Stop this,” he begged, “you’re hurting yourself.” 

“Shut up!” Suddenly, he felt a hand shove hard against his chest, pushing him back slightly as she tore his grip from hers. She wound her arm back and threw the light towards the ocean, the small device flying over the balustrade and down. The cable connecting the two grew tighter the farther it fell, turning taut before it disconnected, the light falling into the sea below. 

A shout of rage. Looking back to Jinx, Ekko saw her crumpled there, spine easily poking through her back as she was arched heavily, hanging over her bloodied hands, shards of glass sticking from them. The blood slid down between her fingers, spilling onto the stone floor below in steady drops. 

All the kids surrounding them had slowly begun to back away. 

“Uhm,” one kid spoke up, “it’s getting late…I should go home.” 

The child broke away from the group, turning their back from Jinx to go down the steps. 

“Me too,” said another kid, and they broke away. 

Then another, and another. One by one, the kids left to go back home until there were no more, leaving Ekko and Jinx by themselves.

The only sounds heard were the ocean, Jinx’s ragged breathing, and a distant thunderstorm. Ekko turned his head up to see a huge gathering of clouds approaching from Ionia.

“Jinx…”

She remained downturned, watching as the blood from her hands gathered into a small puddle beneath her. Her hair surrounded her face, covering it from Ekko’s sight as he leaned down to try and get a better look at her. 

“Hey, Jinx…” 

“You should go, too.” 

Her voice was always scratchy, but now it just sounded broken. Her vocal cords strained to eke out more syllables. 

“I’m not leaving you.” 

“It’s alright, Ekko, you don’t have to keep working for my benefit,” her fists clenched, more blood squeezing from the gaps. 

Ekko shook his head. “It’s not work. You’re not a machine to be fixed.” 

“I was broken a long time ago. I…can’t be fixed.” 

“Enough of that. Come on.” 

He stood and pulled Jinx up with him, wrapping an arm around her waist to guide her towards the stairs. She trudged at his side, like an anchor was weighing her down. 

Need to bring her somewhere I can take care of her wounds, he thought. The hotel, maybe?

The trek was slow and quiet. Passersby would stop to stare at the two as they made their way down the street, but a look from Ekko told them not to ask any questions. When he entered the hotel, he just ignored the looks he got, bringing them to the stairs and up.

Ekko pushed his door open and led her to the bed, sitting her down before going to his pack. Rummaging about, he returned with a small aid kit.

He grabbed a chair and dragged it across the floor, sitting down and placing the kit in his lap. 

Ekko breathed in deep, then started to reach for her hands when he stopped himself and addressed Jinx.

“Uhm…is it okay if I…?”

She kept her gaze locked on the floor, almost motionless. Slowly, though, she pushed her hands onto his. 

He nodded and began to look them over. Plenty of cuts all over the fingers and palms, as well as a couple of small shards of glass embedded in the flesh. 

He wondered if it hurt. 

Sighing, he grabbed some tweezers from the bag and began to slowly take out the bits of glass, dropping them on the nightstand. Jinx didn’t flinch as the shards were pulled out. 

She didn’t even make a noise, not even as he put disinfectant on the cuts and began to wrap her hands in bandages. Over, under, pull tight, secure. 

Once both hands were patched up, he put the kit away and went to sit down at Jinx’s side. The thunderstorm outside grew louder the longer they sat, until the pitter patter of rain could be heard hitting the window. 

“Thanks, Ekko,” Jinx finally muttered, standing up and making her way to the door without another word. 

Ekko was instantly on his feet, passing her to open the door for her. “W-want me to walk you back?” 

“No, Ekko…that’s okay.” She stopped in front of him to turn her head and look at him. Her eyes said more than words could say, especially with the streaks of black now staining her cheeks. 

“Are you sure?” 

“Yeah…I’ll be fine.” 

With that, she stepped past the door’s threshold and down the hall, leaving Ekko to watch her leave. 

He really wanted to go after her, to help comfort her. Yet, she wanted to be alone. He wasn’t sure what would be the best action, yet his feet remained as stone, sticking him there as if they decided for him. 

Slowly, he closed the door and wandered back to his bed, falling down onto the mattress. He lay on his side for a minute before rolling onto his back to stare at the ceiling. Meanwhile, inside, he was berating himself for letting her go on her own. 

What an idiot. A fool. 

He wished Vi were there to knock some sense into him. She was always abrasive in an affectionate way and would’ve pushed him to do something. 

But no, he’s alone. And feeling helpless. 

He lifted his hand to push back the dreads in front of his eyes. The ceiling was blank, nothing, not even a light to mar its perfect surface. There was nothing to gain from gazing at it, yet Ekko’s mind was so awash he couldn’t think of anything better to do. 

Instead, his mind eventually wandered to that moment back on the hill. It was so ingrained in his memory now, he could remember the scratch marks Jinx’s nails made on the bulb’s glass before it turned to shards on the floor. He could remember her teeth, clenching into a grit so deep he could hear the bone scraping. And then the children, too scared to get closer to her for fear of collateral damage. 

All this reminded him of the Jinx he saw on that bridge, in that airship. An unwieldy creature that could snap at a moment’s notice, biting any hands that come to help.

Tentacles of doubt encircled his brain, almost trying to squeeze it, suffocate it. 

Shutting his eyes, he shook his head, untangling his mind. 

No, he thought, it was that doubt that kept me from helping her all that time. 

A knock at the door. 

Ekko, suddenly dispelled of the trance he was in, lifted his head to look at the room’s entrance. He could see a shadow at the crack below, illuminated by the candlelight of the hall. 

“Hello?” He asked. No answer.

Who could be here at this hour? 

Frowning, he slipped out of bed and crept towards the door. 

“Who is it?” 

No answer still. 

Maybe they left? Thought this was another room? 

He looked down at the light creeping in through the bottom crack, and there still seemed to be a shadow there. 

Reaching for the doorknob, he carefully opened it, peeking his head out to see who was there. 

A flash of damp blue hair. 

She stood there, head down, looking smaller than she actually was. She must’ve been out in the rain for a long time, as she was soaking wet, dripping water all over the floor, along with some droplets of red staining the clear pools. Her hands hung limp at her sides, the bandages covering them soggy and loose. 

“Jinx?” 

She raised her head, but not her gaze. That remained glued to the floor. Under that very same gaze he saw red. Red and raw and angry.

“I…thought you went home.” 

“I couldn’t.” 

She sounded defeated. 

“Well…you’re drenched. Your bandages are soaked. We should change them.”

She lifted her hands, glancing listlessly at them. “Oh…yeah.” 

“But first, let’s get you in a shower. You can use mine.” 

“Okay…thank you,” Jinx nodded and stepped past the threshold. She stopped a few steps in, turning to the opened bathroom door and walking in.

“Oh!” Ekko exclaimed, turning towards the drawers, “Let me get you some dry clothes. I have some.” 

“Wait.” 

He stopped before taking a single step, turning back to her. She was halfway through the bathroom door, looking at him for the first time with her large eyes.

“Can…you stay by the bathroom door? I don’t want to feel alone. I’d just…like to know you’re there.” 

Ekko tilted his head, dreads leaning to one side, but nodded nonetheless. “Yeah…yeah, sure I can.” 

“Thank you,” she said, her eyes trailing the floor before curving up to the bathroom she entered, the door closing behind her. Ekko moved over and leaned his shoulder on the wall beside the door, resting his head too. 

“You there?” 

“Yeah, Jinx. I’m here.” 

“Okay…sorry.” 

“Nothing to apologize for.” 

He heard the shower turn on, a heavy sprinkling against the tiled floor. He heard the bare footsteps of Jinx as she tested the water and stepped in. The droplets plopped against her skin loudly, but Ekko just kept his mind on keeping her company. 

“Are you still there?” He heard her ask through the door. 

“Yes Jinx,” he said, leaning against the door, “I’m here.” 

She went silent, and stayed so for the rest of the shower until she finally shut it off, silence rushing in, intermittently broken up by a softer, slower shower of drops.

Though, this too would cease as she dried herself before walking up to the door, opening it very slightly to peek through the crack. 

“Uhm…I forgot extra clothes.” 

Ekko looked over, then quickly away, his cheeks red as he nodded. “Yeah, I can, uh, I can get you some of mine.” 

Turning around, his eyes swung across the room until they landed on a drawer. He walked to it and opened it to grab a shirt and some shorts, returning to the bathroom to pass them through the crack. 

“Hope these are fine.” 

“They should be,” she said as she took them and closed the door. 

He heard the shuffling of cloth as she slipped them on. 

“How do they fit?” 

“The shorts are a bit big…and the shirt.” 

“Yeah.” 

The door opened, and Ekko stepped away from the door as Jinx stepped back into the room. She was right, they were big. The shirt acted as a dress mostly, down to the tops of her thighs, but the shorts barely clung to her hips. The only thing holding it to her was one of her belts. 

Ekko put his hand to his mouth, trying to cover the smile while also looking just like he was stroking his chin. 

It didn’t work. 

“Do I look funny?” 

“No, no,” he said, shaking his head, though his shuddering shoulders told a different story, “You look nice in that.” 

She gave a light roll of her eyes before stepping up to him. “You’ve always wanted to see me in your clothes anyway, right?” 

Well, at least she was a little playful now. 

“You look nice.” 

“Uh-huh.” 

“I mean it.” 

“Yeah, yeah,” she tilted her head, eyes wandering aside to look out the window at the pouring rain outside. It pelted the glass screen with a shower of drops, almost sounding like bullets against a metal surface. 

Ekko followed Jinx’s gaze to the window. “Yeah, I have a feeling it won’t let up any time soon.” 

Jinx took a step back, head slowly shaking. “It never does. Sometimes not for days,” she glanced over her shoulder, towards the door, then back to him, “Uhm…is it okay if I…stay here? I, uh—”

“Yes.” 

Her eyes flashed at the quick response. She turned back to him, eyes wide as plates, as she leaned forward

“You sure you…trust me?” 

Ekko wasn’t entirely sure. He had his doubts, and he tried to push those from his mind, but there still lingered that nagging bit. 

Yet, hesitating even a few seconds could change her perception. He needed to be firm with himself.

He smiled. “Of course I do, Jinx.” 

Her brow knitted as she stepped back. “Even if there’s,” she wrapped her arms around herself, “everything wrong with me?” 

“All I see in front of me is a girl who is trying her best to help people. Nothing is wrong with who you are.”

“I could…go crazy again. I scared the kids this time, what if I…do something worse?” 

“You won’t.” 

“How do you know?” 

“Because you wouldn’t. You’re not Jinx. You’re…you.” 

She turned her head down. “I am Jinx. I always have been.” 

“It’s a name. You can change. And you have.” 

“I needed you for that. You got me down from that ledge. I…relied on you to keep going.” 

“And there’s nothing wrong with that.” 

Her head lifted. “Hm?” 

Ekko stepped closer. “We all need someone to lean on. The Firelights kept me going after everything. There’s nothing wrong with finding strength in someone else.” 

“But if they’re gone, if…you go…” 

“I’m not leaving.” 

“You can’t promise that.” 

“I can.” 

“How?” 

“Because,” he stopped, closing his eyes and breathing deep, “I need you too.” 

Jinx’s gaze slowly swung to him. Her eyes were usually so fierce, but now he just saw infirmity. 

Ekko continued. “After you…died, I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I couldn’t go to sleep without there being a dream involving you. I couldn’t even close my eyes without there being a flash of you on my eyelids. For the longest time, I just accepted it as grief. Memories of someone lost who I will never make more memories with again. And then…Sevika came to my doorstep with news that you were alive and I realized…it wasn’t grief. It was need. It was…the universe telling me to go and find you.” 

She cocked an eyebrow. She didn’t respond. 

Ekko began to feel the red creep into his cheeks. Did he say the wrong thing?

“Oh,” he turned away, finger to his chin, “was that too strong? I’m sorry, I—”

He turned back, only to find her lunging for him, planting her hands on his cheeks and pulling him into a kiss. 

A kiss. Her lips pressed against his. He could feel their rough chapped surface as they clung to his upper lip. They didn’t taste like anything. Anything but flesh. 

And he savored it. 

Just like that night. Before the battle. 

Her thumbs stroked his cheek bones. In towards out they slid, smooth, before her hands slid to get her fingers lost in his hair. A soft grip she used to hold him in it, tight, despite him showing no signs of pulling away. 

She was the one to pull away. Her eyes opened, flitting to him for a moment before they widened. She gasped, pulling her hands towards her. “Uhm…I…”

After coming down from the high, he glanced at her hands, then lifted a hand to brush a thumb against his cheek. 

Right, her bandages came off. 

He pressed the back of his hand against his mouth as he snorted. “Right…let’s, uhm…get you patched up again.” 

The storm continued outside unabated, droplets illuminated in the brief flashes of lightning as rain pelted the window. Even in some of the worst storms of Zaun, it was never this brutal. 

Comes with being so close to Ionia, Jinx thought, still stretching her hands out in their newly wrapped bandages. She was gazing through the room’s window, or attempting to as the rain was pouring down the glass surface, distorting the world outside, making any visibility almost nil. 

“It’s just pouring out there,” Ekko stepped close to her side, viewing the torrent with her. “I don’t think you should try to go home in all that.” 

“The wind will just carry my scrawny ass all the way to Ionia if I try,” Jinx chuckled, glancing over at him. Maybe a bit too long, as when he looked back, his cheeks turned wholly red. 

The hour was nearing night. The two of them had already dressed down to their underclothes. Ekko gestured behind him to a makeshift bed he had made on the floor in front of the bed. 

“I, uh…I’m fine with sleeping on the floor. You take the bed.” 

“No, no, I shouldn’t. It’s your room, and I’d just get all your sheets bloody.” 

“They can be cleaned, I don’t care. You should take it.” 

“I-” she stopped herself. Ekko is just as stubborn as she is. 

She took a single step towards the bed before sitting down on its edge, the mattress barely creaking from her weight. Adjusting the sheets with her hand, she looked over to Ekko and smiled. 

“Why don’t you join me?” 

It was like he was shot. Something impacted his chest as his eyes grew wide as saucers, the red on his cheeks expanding to dominate more territory on his face. With lips parted, he began to stutter. 

“I-I-I, uh, I don’t think…I just- I don’t think that-that would be proper. And all.” 

She smirked deviously. “Come on, it’ll be just like the sleepovers we’d have at The Last Drop.” 

“It is…completely different from that.” 

“How?” 

“Because…well…because…” 

He didn’t want to say it. Yet he didn’t have to. The kiss from before made its affect rather clear. 

She rolled her eyes and swung her legs up onto the bed, crossing them. “Boy savior through and through. Typical goody two shoes, with all that entails.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” 

“Can’t sleep in the same bed with a girl? Oh, are you afraid we’ll get up to…mischief?” 

“I-” 

“‘Oh, Ekko…I am feeling…needy,’” she teased with the most cat-like grin he’s ever seen her wear. 

Her words certainly affected Ekko. In more ways than one. 

Ekko’s underclothes were holding nothing back.

“I’m…goodnight, Jinx!” He quickly shuffled over to his makeshift bed and slipped right into it. 

“Heh…prude,” was all she said before reaching over to turn off the lamp. 

As the morning poked itself over the horizon’s edge, the rain that nearly flooded the town had relented. The grey clouds that once hung above parted to reveal a clear blue sky, the only hints of a torrent being the puddles that formed in the brick roads. 

Skiff could breathe a sigh of relief knowing the storm had ceased, and most likely wouldn’t return until after the festival the following day. Everyone had begun about preparing, constructing stages, clearing out the square, practicing their performances. The streets were alive once again. 

Something was being built nearby the inn, as the sound of hammering reached their way into Ekko’s room. Unlike the pelting of the rain the night before, there was a rhythm to it, sound banging against window at an equi-distant pace. 

Ekko, who was once sleeping soundly even on the room’s tougher floor, furrowed his brow, groaning as he was wrenched from slumber. It took him a moment, but he eventually opened his eyes and sat up with a growl. 

“Ain’t it a little early to be this loud?” 

He heard shifting in the bed, followed along with a smaller, cuter growl. 

He threw his blanket aside and got up, deciding he might as well stay up as he went over to the bathroom to prepare for the day. 

Of course, he had to sneak a glance at Jinx’s slumbering, or at least trying to slumber, form. 

She looked peaceful. Even when she opened one eye a slit length and gave him a cheeky grin. 

“Merning,” she said, face half in the mattress. 

“Morning,” Ekko responded with a smile of his own, before entering the bathroom to do his business. 

Jinx simply laid there as she heard him go through his morning routine. Shower, brushing his teeth, probably shaving too. All the while she tried to keep honed on the banging hammers going on outside. Turning onto her stomach, she pointed her ear toward the bathroom door. 

With a slight creak the door opened, whatever steam was left coming in tufts as Ekko stepped out. He pulled on his gloves before he reached back in to grab something and toss it onto the bed. 

Jinx’s clothes, now dry. Somewhat. 

“C’mon, we should go. Ku and Fyyo are probably worried you didn’t come back last night.”

With her one eye opened, face embedded in the mattress, she glanced at him and mumbled something into the fabric.

“Ahmhubbyertwersyew.” 

“Huh?”

“I’m,” she sat up in bed, looking at the shapes of her legs protruding from the sheets, “just happy it was you. That found me, I mean. I wasn’t sure who, if any, would try to find me. Piltie Princess would’ve been…just annoying. Sevika would give me that stare she always gives. And Vi…would just hurt too much.” 

Ekko didn’t expect to be talking about this now. She always finds ways to surprise him. Slowly, he made his way over to the bed and sat down on the edge, near her covered legs.

“They miss you, you know. Vi lights a candle every day.” 

“I do. I do know.”

“Then why haven’t you sent anything back? Postcard? Letter?” 

“She…deserved to be happy.”

“Don’t give me that again, Jinx.” 

“I heard her screams for me, Ekko. I…it took everything within me not to go out and tell her I’m okay. At that point, I decided to just…leave her life. It was for the best. For her. If I had sent anything, she’d rip open every door in all of Runeterra just to find me.” 

“Of course. She’s your sister.” 

“Yeah…and you?” 

“I’m…whoever you need me to be.” 

“Hmm,” Jinx fell silent and sat up straighter in bed, reaching over to grab her clothes. “Well…right now, I need a friend. Just a friend.” 

Ekko let out an amused breath. “Then yeah, I can absolutely be that.” 

The rest of the morning went smoothly for the two. They started with going to Ku and Fyyo to show them Jinx was still alive, and after a couple of tight relieved hugs, they were invited in for breakfast. 

They accepted greedily before saying they are going out on the town for “inspiration.”

As they heard when waking up that morning, the town was abuzz with sounds of construction and organization. All hands on deck, as it were, with even Jinx and Ekko offering to help with some positioning here or some hammering there. Some even didn’t ask, just pulled them aside to assist with some matter. 

But they actually did have a goal in mind. A goal on Jinx’s mind as they closed in on their destination. 

“What if they are scared of me?” 

“They might be, but you can’t let that stop you. Show them the real you, and they’ll understand.” 

“I’m not so sure.” 

“You wanted to do this, and I’m not letting you walk away.” 

“Damn, you really are pushing that friend thing, huh?” 

“As you asked.” 

“Okay…okay.” 

They heard the children just around the next corner, in the alley Ekko had first met them. They were just hanging around the alley, some using chalk on the walls for drawing while others played small games. 

Ekko glanced over to Jinx. She was biting her lip, exposing her overbite, eyes constantly moving. Her hands were flat against her hips, patting them in a broken rhythm. 

“Hey,” Ekko said, taking her hand in his and giving it a squeeze, “I’m here to help. You got this.” 

She glanced down at their hands and nodded. “Right. Right.” 

Ekko slowly began to lead her by the hand, further down the alley. She wasn’t pulling away, but she was needing to be dragged a little as her feet remained planted. 

Skid…skid…

Of course, this display was not lost on the kids, who all stopped their activities to turn and watch as their friend was being dragged over, frozen like a statue. Then, when they were close enough, Ekko pulled her to his side and righted her. Her eyes stared into the middle distance for only a moment before she flitted them downward to scan the kids’ faces. 

Most of them just looked confused. Though a couple were stone-faced. Gent was one of the latter, his arms crossing. 

Jinx began to crane her neck down, when she felt Ekko’s hand squeeze hers, then her head rose again, swallowing back her fear. 

“I’m…I’m sorry about freaking out yesterday. I should’ve been able to keep my cool, but instead I got a little mad.”

“It’s okay,” a child said, the one Ekko remembered as Tem, “We all get a…lil mad sometimes.” 

“But still,” Gent spoke, “you once told us a good inventor doesn’t just give up when something fails.” 

Jinx chuckled dryly. “Who said I was a good inventor?” Her eyes wandered aside, “Listen, there’s…a lot of things I haven’t told you guys, and I want to eventually, it’s just…I need more time. I’m not perfect. I’m not cool. I used to do horrible things, but…but…”

“We don’t care about that,” Gent said, “You also said we were a team, and that a team relies on each other for support.” 

Jinx noticed Ekko glance at her. “I was never a good team player either. I spit out all these fancy schmancy word meals meanwhile I have yet to fully finish one myself. I’m still learning.” 

“Well,” Gent stepped forward, arms now relaxing at his side, “to be fair, we haven’t either. Not all the time.” 

“It’s what makes us people,” Ekko chimed in, smiling at Jinx, “We make mistakes, but we’re always learning from them.” 

Jinx met his gaze, returning a small smile herself. Then, she felt something hit her legs. Looking down, she saw Tem with her arms wrapped around her. Jinx put her free hand on Tem’s head to give it a little rub. 

Soon, the other kids joined in, one by one, until it became one giant group hugging together. 

Gent didn’t join, but smiled instead. “You opened up a whole new world to us. Made us feel special when there was not much for kids to do in this town.” 

Tem lifted her head. “Your apology is accepted. Will you…still try to work on the fan?” 

Jinx nodded, this time squeezing Ekko’s hand back. “I may not be a great inventor, but I am a persistent one.”

One of the other kids stepped back and saluted to Jinx. “Whenever you need us, we’ll be ready!” 

“That’s good to hear,” Jinx said, before waving the kids away, “Alright, you stinkers, back to what you’re doing. I gotta get back to work.” 

The kids eventually went back, though a few were waving Jinx goodbye as she and Ekko walked back out to the street. They made their way over to a stretch that had a wonderful view of the ocean, where they decided to rest. Ekko leaned his back against the railing, elbows propped on top. 

He looked over to see Jinx facing towards the ocean, the sun at its zenith shining down upon her bright blue hair.

“Wasn’t so bad, right?” Ekko said. 

“No…no it wasn’t. I guess I always expect the worst nowadays,” she said, staying silent for just a moment before starting up again.

“They…remind me so much of her. She wasn’t as talkative, no…barely, in fact. Despite that, she had a lot to say. And she…she kept me grounded.” 

Ekko was confused for only a moment, before he realized. 

“Oh.” He shifted awkwardly, then turned to join her in staring out at the horizon.

“I can’t imagine what her loss was like. I wish I could’ve been there.”

“You came when I needed you most,” she smiled at him. 

He looked back at her, eyes shining in the sunlight.

She continued. “She would’ve liked you. A lot, actually. Both of you had a strong sense of justice. Always willing to save someone at your own risk,” she said the last words with a crack in her voice, a tremble in her jaw. 

The conversation went silent again. Ekko didn’t know what to say about it. He was at a loss for words. Though there was something else he wanted to tell her. 

“Hey Jinx?”

She wiped her cheek, though there were no tears. “Yeah?” 

“I…I just want to say sorry again for…that time in the attic. When we talked about you leaving.” 

“Oh…oh, it’s fine, Ekko.”

“No, it’s not. I was so consumed with finding you, I never really thought about what I would say. And I said all the wrong things. You’re in pain too, I can see that, and I didn’t consider why you would leave. But…things are more complicated. I’m not you. I’m not in your head, and I never will be. However, the least I can do is try to…share whatever burden you feel. I am another cup you can pour into.” 

“A…cup?” She scoffed, letting her hands dangle over the edge, “When did we start talking about cups?” 

“Well, it’s…a strange allegory, sure, but it was…something someone said to me once. Guess it stuck.” 

“Alright. What kind of cup am I?” 

“Huh?” 

“If we’re cups, what kind of cup am I?” 

“Uh, I dunno…one of those fancy gilded cups Silco always had?” 

“Really? That one? I always thought of myself as a plain tea cup.” 

“Eh, well…I don’t really like tea.” 

“Huh, you don’t like me?” 

“No, no, that’s not what I–” 

Jinx giggled and bumped his shoulder with hers. “Cool it, boy savior. I’m just messing with ya.” 

“Hm. Okay, what kind of cup am I?” 

“Easy. One of those plain cups Vander gave me to drink out of when I was little.” 

“Really? I’m boring?” 

“No, no. You just…can hold a lot. And you comfort me when I need it most.” 

“Ah, well…thanks, I guess.” 

“I guess? Be honored. That was my favorite cup.” 

“Fine, fine. I’m honored.” 

“Heh, you better be.” 

The two chuckled, and their eyes met again. The silence between them returned and the sounds of the festival being prepared around them filtered back in. Progress being made in every aspect of its design. 

Except for the two of them.

“Only a day or so left. We really should focus on that turbine, huh?” Ekko suggested.

Jinx’s grin widened. “Yeah. Yeah we should. But…we don’t have any ideas…I don’t at least. Nothing viable anyway. How about you?” 

“No, not really.” 

“Damn.”

“That last design could’ve worked better if we just had the room to build a bigger one. And we’d need so many of those big fans, and there simply isn’t enough room for it on that structure. They might overlap, impact one another. It wouldn’t work.” 

“And smaller fans wouldn’t produce enough pull to drum up shit.” 

“Perhaps overtime we could move them out to the coast, outside of the town, but we don’t have the materials to do so.” 

“Whenever that will happen…”

So, the two inventors slumped their shoulders as they turned their gaze back to the ocean. To the soft waves brushing up against the rocky cliffs. To the seagulls gliding along the coastal winds. 

Jinx looked over at her colleague. “If only you brought one of those fancy hoverboards of yours.”

Ekko cocked an eyebrow. “Why?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “Those blades of yours,” she waved her hand for effect, “woosh, they could help us figure something out.” 

He looked back out to the horizon, staring at it like he was studying it. In reality, his mind was combing over past events. Phrases he’s heard before. Conversations he’s been in. All of it being analyzed right then and there.

The words she said, he thought, they remind me of something. Or someone. 

“Oh…ingenious. Though these blades seem improperly pitched.” 

I had leaned out from the alcove I sheltered in, nursing my wounds. “You’re wrong,” I said, as he turned to see me, “It’s designed for the fissures. Air is denser.”

“The air…was denser.”

Now it was Jinx’s turn to cock an eyebrow. “Heh?” 

Ekko frowned, then quickly turned to Jinx, eyes wide. “Wait…that’s it! Quick, do you have something I can write on!?” 

She was bewildered. “No, no I don’t!” 

“Gah…there’s a pen and some paper at the hotel room. Come on!” 

Before she could even ask what he was thinking about, he was off in a sprint, nearly crashing into a man carrying boxes. A quick apology and he was back to his sprint. 

“H-Hey!” Yelled Jinx, pushing herself off the railing to follow after him, “Wait up!” 

But he wasn’t hearing her. He was speeding through the main street, dodging around structures and people with perfect reflexes. It was like a spirit of industry had taken him over and pulled him along. 

She hadn’t seem him like this since…well…

Once he made it to the inn, he wrenched the door open and made his way inside. 

“Hey!” A bark from inside could be heard. 

Once Jinx had made it to the door, she stopped in the doorway, chest heaving as she saw the lobby all staring incredulously at the stairs, then turning to her. 

“Your man needs to watch where he’s running!” The innkeeper said with a scowl. 

“He’s not my- ah, whatever!” Jinx said, sprinting towards and up the stairs, ignoring the shouts of the innkeeper as she made it to the second floor. 

There, he left his door open. Jinx ran over and entered, seeing Ekko was fumbling around, pulling out some paper from the desk before finding a quill and inkwell. Slapping them all on the desk, he began to scribble as she approached. 

“We’ve been looking at this the wrong way. Thinking too inside the box of what we’re used to. The air in the fissures has more density, so we pitched them a certain way. You need to make the blades hollow and duller. This isn’t the underground with our heavy air. This is clean. Fresh.” 

Jinx watched as he scribbled with a fiercer intensity, as if the ideas came in faster than he could write. First it was just words, then sketches to accompany, before he was making full-blown blueprints. 

“A-and if we need more room, we need to just…think of a more practical solution! What if…what if the blades weren’t like your standard windmill. What if they were…more vertical?”

He stepped back and tossed the quill onto the desk, spattering some of the ink across its surface. And Jinx got a good look at his design.

It wasn’t that it was something she’s never seen before, just not for this purpose. Some of the boats on the water in Piltover would use this design. A paddlewheel, powered by an engine that propelled it forward. But here, the paddles weren’t connected together in one long row of paddle circles. Instead, it was singular. Made up of three paddles per fan. 

“With them being hollow,” began Jinx, hand stroking her chin, “it would have less weight, more ease to be pulled, and…being vertical, it means we could add more over time without them overlapping.” 

Ekko turned to her with a smile. A genuine one full of wonder and excitement. “With this, it…it might not be enough to power the entire town, sure, but—”

“It’ll be enough to power. Period!” 

Ekko chuckled and picked up the paper, giving it a few blows to dry the ink. “We need to bring this to Eresmis.” 

Eresmis’ dark, tired eyes glanced between the scribbles in his hands to the couple of kids gathered at his side, watching his every move with expectancy. He had never seen these two so excited. 

“So…you think this is gonna work?” 

“I haven’t seen Ekko so enthusiastic about a design. Safe to say, it rubbed off on me,” Jinx said, leaning over to nudge her colleague. 

Eresmis looked at Ekko, who nodded. 

“It’ll work.” 

He sighed, then looked over the blueprint in front of him once more. “Well, it’s certainly a unique design. Never seen it used for wind power in my time. Water, perhaps, but not air. And how many did you say you needed?” 

“We think five,” Ekko responded almost immediately. “At least, for what we want to do.”

“And that is?” 

“Hm, a secret,” Jinx giggled. 

“Hmm, well that’s quite a lot to make, and with such confidence. What if it doesn’t work?” 

“Well…”

“How about this?” Eresmis started, “I’ll make the one. You have enough scrap left for that. Then, when you get it on and it works, come back to me and we’ll figure out the rest.” 

Ekko shrugged. “It might take a bit to install.” 

“I’ll keep the smithy open a bit longer for you.” 

“You sure are doing a lot for us,” Jinx said. 

“I get what it means to strive for something. Besides, it’s been fun making something new.” 

Jinx wrinkled her nose. “Didn’t think a codger like you could still have fun.”

Ekko ignored her. “If you’re sure.” 

“I am, but we’ll need to start working if we want to get this done before the festival tomorrow. So,” he began, firing up the forge, “let’s get started.” 

The scene was almost too familiar to Ekko. The sun off in the distance kissing the horizon, tinting the sky a gradient of yellow to red. The wind blew his locks this way and that, the perfect time to experiment with a fan. 

He watched as the kids were together again, all of them grabbing the rope and hoisting the new fan up to the waiting Jinx on a ladder, held by him. She grabbed onto the fan as it reached her, and carefully went about installing it to the structure. Her delicacy with it was reflected in her tensed eyes. 

She didn’t want a repeat of yesterday. 

As the sounds of metal sliding against metal rang out, Jinx reached to her tool belt to get the proper tools to affix it before pulling her hands away. 

“Alright,” she said, descending the ladder, Ekko reaching out to take her hand and help her the rest of the way. She gave him a smile once her foot hit the ground, gesturing for him to help as they put the ladder off to the side. 

“Okay!” Jinx exclaimed, stepping away from the structure to reach down and pick up the lightbulb hooked up to a cable. “This is our final chance.” 

Soon, everyone was crowded around. Ekko had his hand placed on Jinx’s shoulder, while the kids just watched the turbine with a tense curiosity. The waves crashed against the cliffs below as the winds picked up speed, howling out loud past their ears. 

As Jinx’s hair flailed about, she looked past her blue bangs at the turbine. 

And, slowly, it began to turn. A squeal sounded out from the metal as it was pushed along by the wind. Over, it turned. Over, and over. It then started to pick up speed, turning faster. Faster.

The light in Jinx’s hand flickered. In and out, in and out, it reflected off the faces of all who beheld it. As the fan turned, the flickers grew shorter and shorter, until it kept on a constant low dim, building up until it shone bright, illuminating all around them. 

A murmur travelled across the crowd. Ekko glanced at Jinx, who was holding the lightbulb with such delicate hands, her lips curving into a warm smile, her cheeks tinted with a slight pink. Her violet eyes then flitted to Ekko’s, and her smile widened. 

He chuckled and came in to hug her, wrapping his arms around her tight as she laughed with him. 

Finally, all their hard work had paid off. The blood, sweat, and tears shed for this has culminated in a successful endeavor. 

The two pulled away from the other, the light shining bright between them. At this point, Ekko wasn’t sure which lit up more: the light bulb or Jinx’s smile.

Then they heard clapping off from somewhere.

“Well, well, I’ll be,” a gruff voice sounded from the steps. Sure enough, Eresmis was there, gloved hands clapping slowly, as he witnessed the spinning fan. 

“Eresmis?” 

“Thought I’d come to see how it’s going.”

Jinx crouched down to give the light to one of the kids, and they began passing it around between each other as she and Ekko walked over to Eresmis.

“See you two finally found ‘the one’.” 

“Yep,” Jinx said, looking back at the turbine. “But it won’t be enough for what we want to do with it.” 

“We’ll need the other four,” said Ekko. 

“Well, it took all the scrap you collected to make that one. I’m afraid we’re out.” 

Ekko looked to Jinx. “I don’t think we can collect enough scrap in time to make them.” 

“Not unless we start right now, but…it’s already getting late.”

Eresmis pursed his lips, glancing between the two. They were both so downcast, looking to the other as they tried to figure out what to do. 

The blacksmith sighed and planted a hand on his face. “Listen,” he said, “I…still have the rejected fans we made. We can…use them.” 

Suddenly, the two turned to Eresmis with wide puppy eyes. 

“Are…are you sure?” Ekko asked. 

“Yes…yeah, but only enough for the other four! And stop looking at me with those eyes!” 

The two instead came in for a hug, wrapping their arms around the larger man. “Thank you, Eresmis!” Jinx said, “I never should’ve doubted you!” 

Eresmis looked miserable, eyes half-lidded as he endured the double hug, nose wrinkling at this show of kindness. 

“Don’t mention it. Please. And stop hugging me.” 

The two acquiesced, letting go of the blacksmith, though they were still smiling gratefully at him. His hand lifted to scratch the back of his head. 

“I’ll get started on it fresh in the morning. I should be able to get them ready by midday, if I work hard enough.”

“We might be cutting it close,” Ekko said, “But if it’s as smooth as this installation, then we could have it ready before our presentation.” 

Jinx turned to Ekko, who glanced back. She stared, confused.

Then her eyes shot wide open. 

“Oh shit! The presentation!” 

“Yeah, the one to show off the saw?” 

“I…I forgot to register us.” 

“You…said you would do it a couple days ago.” 

“I say a lot of things, Ekko.” 

“Jinx…”

Eresmis sighed. “You can still register if you get there before shops close.” 

“Which is?” Jinx looked to Ekko.

He sighed and pulled out his pocket watch, flicking it open. 

“We got ten minutes.” 

Looking back to Jinx, he was met with nothing but empty air right next to him. Instead, he saw Jinx already at the steps down to main street. 

“I’ll be right back!” 

Ekko clicked the pocket watch shut, listening to her little steps down the stairs. 

Eresmis was slowly shaking his head. “This is why I try not to work with her.” 

The sun had fallen well below the surface of the horizon. Ekko stood alone by the turbines, the light still glowing in his hand, when he heard the pitter patter of boots on stone. Ragged breathing filtered up the steps until he saw the lithe figure just out of the light’s reach. 

“Where’d everyone go?” A scratchy voice asked. 

“They left. You took forever,” Ekko said, stepping forward with the light in hand. It lit up the area, the figure becoming illuminated to show Jinx there, hands on her knees as she was bent over trying to recover her breath. 

“Well, yeah. The mayor was…annoying. ‘This would’ve been easier if done sooner,’ like yeah, no shit. Then the papers, and the writing, and the bleh, the blah.” 

“But it got done?”

She took her hands off her knees and straightened her back. “Of course! Though we are fairly far down the road, not near the main square. It was…the only one left.” 

“Hmm,” started Ekko, holding the light out for her to take, “Well, that should be fine. You’re not forgetting anything, right? No more surprises?”

She smirked as she took the light. “Unless you want one?” 

“Nah, I’m good,” Ekko said, turning towards the ocean. He walked over and put his arms on the balustrade. Though the storm had passed, the violent waves below did not. They crashed as they always did against the rocks below. Loud, yet…soothing. 

Behind him, he saw the light grow nearer as Jinx approached to join him. She rested her arms with him, holding the light between them. 

“How does it feel?” Ekko asked.

“All this, you mean?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Well, though we’re not done just yet, it…feels relieving.” 

“Yeah…we did it.” 

“Heh…we did.” 

They went silent to continue listen to the crashing waves, letting their victory stand between them wordlessly. The light was still holding well enough. A flicker here or there, but nothing substantial. 

A cold breeze blew over them both. The two shivered slightly.

Jinx looked over at Ekko briefly, then back to the view. Slowly, she scooted closer to him. Ekko could see it clearly, but she wasn’t trying to be sneaky. When their shoulders touched, warmth spread from the point of contact.

Eventually, Ekko felt the weight on him as Jinx leaned more into him, resting her head on his shoulder. He was content to let this moment be. 

But he…wanted to say something. 

“I still think of that night,” Ekko said, glancing at Jinx. 

He felt her cheeks turn red against his shoulder. She straightened up and looked back with her lips quivering. “I…had been trying to forget about it the past few months.” 

“Why?” 

“Because I felt I didn’t deserve happiness. Not like that. Not anymore.” 

Ekko breathed out his nose, looking down at the ground. His hands balled into fists, his teeth grit. It was just…so frustrating to keep seeing her like this. But he had to think about what he said next. 

He can’t say the wrong things again.

Once he formulated what to say, he turned back to Jinx, lips parting only for a delicate finger to press on them. 

Jinx smiled at Ekko. “But I’ve realized there’s no use sulking around, feeling bad for myself.” She lowered her finger, turning back to the light. “I may be…broken in some ways, but I’m not useless. I can use what I know to make people’s lives better, whether it’s helping make watering the crops easier, or giving them power and bringing them to the level of other towns. Maybe not redeeming myself, but at least not wasting the life given to me.”

He saw her eyes were stained pink. Tears were sliding down her cheeks. She glanced aside. “I couldn’t have done any of this if I stayed as some sad sack. What I needed to pull me out of it were the people around me. If it wasn’t for Ku and Fyyo, or the kids, or…or you,” she glanced back at Ekko, “I would…I don’t know where I would be. And I don’t want to think about it. I used to imagine my own death so many times, but now…now, I want to keep living.” 

Ekko’s raised his brow, and went to asked something, when he already saw it answered in her eyes. Her wide, purple, longing eyes. 

Looking down, he saw her hand on his. The light came closer to show it better, and he looked back up to see Jinx move the light over, glancing at it, gesturing for him to hold it. 

He grabbed it, caressing her hand gently around it, then holding tight. As he gazed at Jinx, he felt his own arm pulling at the light, and thus Jinx, bringing them closer to him. 

Jinx didn’t pull away. She allowed herself to be brought nearer, inch by inch closing between them. Her pulse pounded in his hand, her quickened breath overlapping with his. 

She closed her eyes as their lips were only centimeters apart. 

But before they closed the gap, Jinx pushed the switch on the light.

The light flickered off, and they were drowned in darkness, none able to witness their kiss, if any were there. 

But they felt it. They felt it.

It was the day of the festival, and the town of Skiff was bustling with energy. In addition to those of the town that are joining in the festivities, many from neighboring towns have come to celebrate the town’s founding. 

While the festival was going to have its fair share of generic activities found in every festival, there was at least one that would round out the night: a grand dance in the town center. Due to this, the center had been blocked off as decorations were being set, so Jinx and Ekko had to have Eresmis let them in so they could collect the fans they had made. 

It was midday, and the dance was to occur by the time evening pulled the veil of night over the town. 

Safe to say, Jinx and Ekko had to work double time. Thankfully, the kids were there to help with transporting the fans and hoisting them up to be installed. It was a herculean task for them, but with how vertical the fans were, it was easy not to overlap any, putting them in a row across the turbine. 

And just like the first, the other four began to turn. Several lightbulbs they had connected were all lighting bright with such ease, they began to think they underestimated just how much power the coastal winds will give them. 

“If all goes well, we can wow the crowd,” Jinx said. 

“Is the tool ready for use?” 

“I tested it out before we went to meet Eresmis. With the power we have now, it’ll be a cinch.” 

“Then…can I leave the rest to you?” 

Jinx cocked an eyebrow his way. “Huh? What, you got other plans?” 

“Just a little something I need to finish before tonight,” Ekko said, already backing away towards the steps.

“But you’re a part of this as much as me. We should both show it off! We got a stall and everything!”

“And we will show it off! I’ll be back in time, I just gotta get it done!” 

Jinx narrowed her eyes at him. “Mmmm, okay. I’ll see you tonight.” 

“See you tonight!” 

With that, Ekko ran off, down the stairs. Jinx could only watch as he did so, her mind

wondering what the man could possibly be up to. 

Tem walked up to her side, following Jinx’s gaze towards the steps. “Could it be another girl?” 

Jinx scoffed, shaking her head. “No. He wouldn’t dare.”

Jinx’s room was filled with the sounds of shrieking metal as the girl herself was taking a file to something held in a vice. With care, she went about sharpening the small jagged edges, one by one. She’d shave off some metal, then blow it off. 

Shink, shink, blow. Shink, shink, blow. 

Then she’d adjust it and work on the next. 

Though her mind wasn’t fully on the blade. Instead, she continued to ponder over Ekko’s secret. All this time, they kept this little tool of theirs a secret until they thought they could make it function, and all along, Ekko had something hidden of his own? 

It bothered her, a little growl escaping from her as she took the blade off the vice and put it on a device, sticking a blade guard on top. It was a circular saw. She gave the blade a small spin. 

Smooth as ever. 

Taking off her goggles, she tossed them aside and put the tool in her bag, shouldering the bag’s strap and making her way down. The house was quiet, the only sound heard being the wood creaking under Jinx’s weight. But as she walked past the dining room on the first floor, she heard Fyyo’s voice call out to her. 

“Jinx?” 

The young woman looked aside, seeing the Ionian woman sitting at the table, lowering a tea cup onto a saucer. 

Readjusting the shoulder on her bag, Jinx took a step into the dining room. “Yeah?” 

“Are you going out to the festival?” 

“Uh, yeah. Ekko and I, we got something we want to show off. Could really help the people of Skiff.” 

“Oh, I have no doubt. You’ve done nothing but help this town. But…will you be going to the dance?” 

“Me? Dance? Uh…I’m not really one to dance. Especially those slow…sappy ones. Eugh.” 

Fyyo held a hand to her lips to stifle a giggle. “Hmm, I agree. My daughter wasn’t much for them either,” she said with a slight sad twinge. “But…you will be partaking in the festival?” 

“Yeah. Yeah.” 

“In that?” 

Jinx looked down at herself. It was her usual get up these days. The button up and the suspenders. The pants and boots. 

“I mean…there’s not much else I have.” 

Fyyo nodded, her eyes searching Jinx up and down. “You…you are just the same size as my daughter was.” 

Jinx pursed her lips. 

Fyyo stood up from her chair. “I got something you can wear. At least something with a bit more…class.” 

Footfall after footfall, a heavy breath beating his lungs, Ekko ran down the streets of Skiff, almost crashing into someone on the main street. 

“Hey!” They cried. 

“Sorry!” He said, dodging around them and diving back into the crowd. 

Hadn’t checked the time, he thought, I’ll be late! Jinx is gonna be pissed! 

He can already imagine her with her fists on her hips, scowling at him and yelling his ear off. 

It wouldn’t be pretty. 

While the sky above began to turn to its vibrant red as the sun fell once again, he saw the street lamps being lit. Soon it would be time for their presentation. 

And then the dance. He knew Jinx, or at least this Jinx, wasn’t much for the kind of dancing that would be happening there, but he nonetheless got dressed up. A patterned vest over a button-up, slacks and dress shoes, he was wearing something similar to his other self. Yet not as fancy. 

And without the earrings. 

Jinx stood there, clad in a leather apron that covered nearly her entire body, the circular saw in hand. 

“Glad you could make it, fancypants,” she said, deadpan. Her eyes went down to his outfit, brow raising at it. 

“Sorry…traffic, heh.” 

He looked to the crowd that had gathered, but saw no one finding his joke amusing. He sighed and walked over to the equally disappointed Jinx.

“Here, little man.” She held out an apron to him. 

“Don’t…call me that,” he said with a smirk, taking the apron and turning to put it on, not seeing as Jinx gave his backside a look. 

Her purple eyes scanned up and down, flashing a smile. “You look good in that.” 

Ekko turned slightly to her, shaking his head amusedly as he finished tying the apron and facing the crowd with Jinx. 

“Ready?” She muttered.

“Yeah, let’s do this,” he said, nodding to her. 

She returned the nod and turned to the crowd. Stepping around the table, she put her hands on her hips and smiled. Not a great smile, but one nonetheless. 

“My name is Jinx, I’m from Zaun, and I…guess I’m an inventor of some sort. I’ve been in this town for…only half a year, really. When I came here, I saw the problems that plagued it. The debris on the beach from the ships destroyed on the Ionian coast, some too big to move by hand, made it impossible for anyone to fish, and the town suffered for it. I’ve seen some struggling to buy what they need. 

“So, I wanted to go about helping by nipping the problem at its source: the debris. Over the last few weeks, I began building a small wind turbine—a device used to take the strength of the wind’s push and turn it into power—right up there looking over the ocean.” 

She pointed towards the stairs, just across from them, that led up to their invention, then turned to Ekko, who continued. 

“It was a bit of trouble trying to get it to work. We needed a design that was able to accommodate multiple for extra power, and was not too big to overlap with each other, as well as hurt any who might get too close. So, we came up with a blunt paddle-like design turned vertically, allowing more to be added over time. There are currently five fans set up drawing power from the wind, and with time and investment, we could even build bigger ones out on the coast.

“We were able to power a lightbulb to full strength, but lighting isn’t the main reason we made this. So, we constructed a circular saw. Something strong, powerful enough to cut through the rusted metal of the boats on the shore.” 

Jinx walked behind the stand and grunted while she pulled the circular saw from under the table, placing it on top to the murmur of the crowd. She grinned slyly at them, then reached down and picked up a cable, gesturing to the saw with its port. 

“With the power of the wind, we should be able to power up this circular saw, and cut through…”

Ekko reached under the table to pull out a piece of rusted metal.

“...this sheet of metal!”

Some awes, some nods amongst the crowd. Jinx glanced over at Ekko, who smiled back as she grabbed the circular saw and plugged the cable in. Lifting it, she reached up to pull down some goggles over her eyes before flipping the switch on the handle. 

VrrrrRRRRRRRRRRR!

The saw began to turn, starting at a low rumble before grinding its way into a screech. Sparks shot out from the blade, but Jinx just grinned madly, managing to keep it under control in her hands. 

“Here we go!” She shouted, but only Ekko could partly hear it. Turning to the metal, she moved closer, holding the saw blade out. It neared inch by inch until she felt the metal stop the advance. 

ReeeeEEEEEEEEEEE!

A metallic scream reverberated through the air, causing some of the onlookers to clamp their hands around their ears. A shower of sparks flew erupted from the contact, Ekko taking some steps back to avoid it so they bounced on the floor harmlessly. Despite this, he kept his eyes on the display so he could still watch as the saw slowly sunk into the metal, cutting through to the other side. 

Once Jinx felt the purchase, she then pulled downward, the saw moving even slower to slice the metal in two. She kept it firm, her muscles bulging in her skin as the circular saw was a bit rowdy, trying to bounce off. 

Jinx yet held firm. 

The grinding screech continued for a minute more, but soon Jinx wrenched the circular saw through the bottom, nearly being pulled along with it due to her momentum. Luckily, she caught herself and stood tall, holding the saw by her side in both hands, marvelling at her handiwork.

She shut the saw off and turned to the crowd with a toothy smile. 

The onlookers pulled their hands away from their ears, their eyes growing wide as the metal they saw put on a stand, once in one piece, was now sliced into twain. Slowly, as their realization hit them, they began to clap, one by one, until it was a thunderous storm of applause.

Ekko walked over to Jinx as she reached up and pulled her goggles up. Turning to him, the way she looked, the way she smiled, brought him back to their crazy experiments when they were younger. 

Still the same Powder under there, he thought before turning to address the crowd.

“We plan to make batteries so anyone can power anything anywhere. This should enable us to start a bigger effort in cleaning up the debris on the shore, and allow Skiff’s fishing industry to grow back!” 

Jinx smirked as she raised the saw up above her head. “Thank you for coming to see us!” 

The crowd applauded once more.

As Jinx went to put the circular saw back on the table, a couple of the men emerged from the crowd, approaching to talk to her. She was caught a bit by surprise, staring at them with wide eyes with faint nodding. As they spoke, it looked like Jinx flipped a switch, turning the charm on.

Ekko heard only snippets amongst all the noise around them, but he was able to gather it had to do with investing. He turned back towards the street. 

And he raised his hands high.

“But, that’s not all!” 

Jinx’s head turned on a dime to look at Ekko, her brow furrowing down between her large eyes. Everyone had joined her in looking at the young man with confusion.
There’s more? That’s what their faces said.

Ekko smirked at her and pulled out a pocket watch, giving it a look. “Yeah, we’re on time,” he mumbled, stuffing it back into his vest pocket, “If everyone can go to the plaza, I can showcase one more thing!” 

He reached behind, untying his apron and tossing it aside as he began walking down the street, pretty much leading everyone to it. 

Jinx had to run a bit to catch up right next to him. “Hey, what’s this all about?” 

He maintained his smirk. “Thought we didn’t need to let the power go to waste for one demonstration. I wanted to…give them something else to look at.” 

“Huh?” 

Ekko simply shook his head and took her hand, watching her blush a bit in surprise. She glanced away for only a moment before turning back with a frown. 

“Fiiine! Keep your secret! It better be good!” 

She wouldn’t have long to wait, for they joined a crowd waiting just outside the plaza, a man stepping onto a stage in front of it, where it seems a band was setting up.

“Ladies and gentlemen of Skiff and beyond! With our wonderful festival coming to a finish, it is time for the dance to close us out! However, this time, we come with a surprise, provided by one ambitious young man and woman.” 

Ekko nudged Jinx, who rolled her eyes. 

“I present to you the Skiff Festival Dance, now under a new light!” 

As the cloth around the plaza was dropped, what was in the center shone down upon the crowd. Surprised gasps and awes came over them, even Jinx managing to feel her breath taken away as she saw it. 

It was a brilliant display of luminance. Surrounding the plaza was a series of lights on a cord, all powered and illuminating the center dance floor. 

Before anyone could fully grasp it, the band on the stage began to play. A song of lovers and enemies, its rhythm drawing movement from the crowd. 

The younger among them began to step away onto the dance floor, moving and swaying to the song’s beat. 

More and more of the audience dispersed, either going to sit and enjoy the festivities around, or to join on the dance floor. Before long, there was only a few stragglers, including Ekko and Jinx. 

Ekko was simply soaking in Jinx’s reaction. Her eyes were wide enough he could see the reflection of the lights in them, her lips parted just enough to expose her overbite.

It was adorable. Beautiful.

“You like it?” He asked.

She didn’t turn away from the show, unable to pull her eyes off it. She slowly shook her head, almost like in disbelievement. “How’d they allow you to set this up?” 

Ekko smirked, lifting his arms to rest his hands behind his head. “Had to put on the charm with the planners. Turns out, I can be a pretty convincing guy.” 

With that lousy line, she managed to tear her gaze away from it to scoff at him. 

“Yeah…alright.”

“So?” He asked, offering a hand to her. “Do you care to dance?” 

Her brow raised, eyes peering down at the hand held out to her, then back to Ekko with a dry chuckle, sliding her jaw to the side. 

“I— no, I shouldn’t. I can’t. This isn’t the kind of dancing I do, anyway.”

“It’s easier than you think, just gotta follow my lead.” 

“I’d probably just step on your foot a lot.”

“I’ll live.” 

Pursing her lips, Jinx glanced away, hand grabbing her other arm. Her eyes flitted to and fro, at the hand, then away, over and over. She wasn’t one to really hesitate in these situations, but there was something that made her pause. Fear? 

Jinx wouldn’t let fear overtake her. It might not be something she’s into, but she could at least try to make it hers.

Reaching behind her, she began fiddling with the apron ties, undoing them and grabbing the neck hole to pull up over her head before dropping it to the side.

Ekko almost felt his breath leave him. 

He hadn’t been paying attention to her when they were demonstrating their saw, so he didn’t realize she was wearing something different under her apron. 

Vibrant, blue, short cut robes in Ionian fashion, wrapped tight around her waist with a large leather band. Sleeveless, so as to let her pale arms breathe, with the end of the robe thrown over a shoulder to let hang over her front. A white long skirt felled down to just below her knees, ending in a pair of leather boots. In Ionian style, she also wore a litany of accessories around her. 

“What’s the matter?” 

Curving her lips into a smile, she shot her hand out to take his, dragging him up the steps, under the hanging lights, to the main plaza floor. Dodging around the other dancing couples, she found a nice spot and twirled around to take his other hand. 

“Whoa!” Exclaimed Ekko as she pulled him close, then twisted them around. 

She wasn’t following the rhythm of the other dancers, but taking that of the music and doing something else with it. Not slow movements, but heavy gyrations, swinging them both around wildly. So much movement packed into the following of the rhythm that it caught the attention of bystanders and even other dancers. 

A twirl, a twirl, then a slow rotation and a pull close to one another. Ekko couldn’t help the laugh that escaped from his lungs, and neither could Jinx. They laughed more, sharing in each other’s joy as they held each other close, now slowly turning as their arms wrapped around the other’s body. 

Ekko’s laugh tapered off as he found himself mesmerized by the woman in front of him, still laughing the same beautiful laugh she had. Eventually, hers faded and her gaze turned up to his. 

“So…how does it feel?” 

Jinx glanced over at the people around them. People onlooking with wonder. Dancers swirling under the lights. Children running about the plaza. Smiles shone on their faces while their laughter faded out into the night sky. The joy expressed around them was nearly tangible. 

“I’m…not used to it. It’s a strange feeling.” 

“Describe it to me.” 

Jinx looked back to Ekko with wide, questioning eyes. They glimmered in the yellow lights above, reflecting them like little stars amongst the black and purple and white. 

Ekko smiled and nodded to her. 

Turning her head down, she said nothing for a minute or two, her hair covering her face. When she finally raised her head to meet his gaze once more, she spoke slowly. 

“There is this…overwhelming feeling in my chest. A good feeling, I guess. It wants to rise up into my throat, but it won’t. It just stays there and…radiates to the rest of my torso. My shoulders feel ready to shake. My fingers want to curl up into my palm. My stomach fills with this ticklish sensation. I don’t know exactly what it call it. Pride, maybe? I…don’t know.” 

Ekko let out a small chuckle. “I think you were meant to create things that make people happy, Jinx.” 

“Most of what I made has only hurt people. I am covered in grime, and not even the most volatile of Ionian storms can wash it off.” 

Ekko squeezed her hand softly, lifting it up to their view. 

“We were all raised in grime. You, me, Vi. And while it may never be cleaned, we can share in it…together.”

Slowly, he let go of her hand and reached out to caress her cheek. Her cheek gave a little, the taut skin accepting his touch. It was rough to feel, but Ekko didn’t want it any other way.

Jinx’s eyes closed, and she leaned her head into his palm, the weight pushing his hand down, but he held it. Tears, previously pooling on the rims of her eyelids, now spilled over the top and down her cheeks. Yet, these were not ones of sorrow, as when she opened her eyes again, she smiled so warmly at him, so…enchantingly. She lifted a hand to place on his, thumb rubbing against the back of it. 

Despite their upbringing in dirt and rust, they were so tender with each other. 

“I’m…so happy you came, Ekko.”

Her voice crackled with raw emotion.

Ekko pulled her closer and planted his lips on hers. She accepted it greedily, her bottom lip hooking under his like she was trying to keep him in. She pressed against him, her waist to his waist as she pushed further into the kiss. Now her whole weight was falling onto him, and still he held her. 

He always would. 

They stopped their movement altogether to bask in the warmth of their love beneath the strung-up lights. It almost felt like the kiss would go on for even longer, if it hadn’t already. Had it been minutes? Hours? Time felt like it had passed on for much longer. 

So when they had finally tore themselves away from each other to gasp for air, they were surprised to see it hadn’t been that long. The lights still shone, the people still danced, and the music still played. 

The night was still so young.

Turning back, they gazed into each other’s eyes, both breathing heavily in the aftermath of their passion. They seemed lost; unable to think, unable to speak. Just standing together in the middle of Skiff’s main plaza. 

“So…do you still need a friend?” Ekko asked. 

“No,” she said simply, her hands sliding down his arms.

“Should we—woah!”

Jinx took Ekko’s wrist again and pulled him along, sprinting out of the plaza. It took Ekko by surprise, having to stumble a bit just to catch up with her pace, but once he did he found himself running alongside her, hand in hand. 

They knew where they wanted to go.

Across the roads, up the streets, they paid everyone around no mind, even when they called out to them, leaving them in the dust as they were in a rush. 

The street in front of the inn was not too busy. The calm that was hovering there dissipated as the two ran through it, bursting through the inn’s front door. 

“Hey! Not you two again— hey!” Said the innkeeper, leaning over his counter to further yell at them, but they ignored his lamentations, sprinting up the steps to Ekko’s room. 

Once they had reached his door, Jinx shoved her hand into a pocket, then another. 

Ekko chuckled and reached into his back pocket, pulling from it a key and dangling it in front of her. 

With a scowl and growl, the inventress grabbed the key and unlocked his door, pushing it open and him inside. 

Tumbling in, he was able to catch himself and turn around to see Jinx shut the door behind her and lunge at him, grabbing him and pushing him onto the bed. He fell on his back, and she wasted no time getting on top, straddling his waist and leaning back down to continue the business they halted back at the dance floor. 

She took his hand in hers and planted it against her hip, forcing him to grab it tight before sliding her hand up his arm, feeling his rough skin against her even-rougher fingertips. When she perched it atop his shoulder, she advanced upon him, hungrily pressing her lips against his. 

This was different from the first time they kissed here. Even from the kiss they had not long ago. Like everything she held within was finally coming out here, pouring onto him.

Like a cup to hold it all for her.

 He grabbed her hips as she directed him to and squeezed them tightly, holding her in place as she put all her weight on him. He didn’t want her to go anywhere, and she felt the same. 

Eventually, the heat between them became too much, and Jinx slid her hands down to his vest’s first button. As she took it, she pulled away from the kiss to look at him, then at the button, then back at him, a question in her eyes.

He chuckled and put his hands on her, helping her undo the button.

The answer was yes. 

It was always going to be yes. 

The light pierced through the darkness veiled behind his eyelids, knocking upon his cornea. That was all the alarm he needed as he groaned and slowly opened his eyes to the sunlight shining through the window. 

Ekko groaned and raised a hand to block it, letting his eyes open more, his pupils grow larger to accept more information. 

And see the small pale form wrapped around him, her blue hair a mess all over the pillow she lay her head upon. The sun shone upon the bare skin of her back, nearly white; it almost blinded him.

It also illuminated the histories on their bodies. The scars and tattoos that told tales.

She held him close, comforted in his embrace. Though she stirred, she didn’t want to wake up. 

Who was he to keep that from her? 

Lying his head back onto the pillow, he wrapped the arm blocking the sun back around her and kept her close. 

Both souls were born in dirt and rust, and they both had their fair share of scars—physical or not—that marred them. 

They knew there wasn’t to be a happy ending. At least, not one easily. It took work. 

And the strength they used to hold each other showed they were willing to break their backs for it.