Chapter Text
The dream was just starting to form.
This one wasn't bad from the start, it had been a flashback to her childhood, once when she'd ran off and gotten lost, and her mother had scolded her. In reality, her punishment had been being forbidden from leaving the palace for a month. In the dream, things had taken on a more twisted spin. In this vision, her mother had declared that if she wanted to live so much around the mortals, then she could be a mortal. Then pain, unbelievable pain as it felt like the essence was being drawn from her. Just as the agony started to get more than Caitlyn could bear, she felt a hand on her shoulder. The grip was tight, but it was a secure kind of tightness, the grasp of someone letting her know they were there, not that she couldn't leave.
Caitlyn sat up, eyes wide. She was in the room at the Singing Harp. She was safe. It had been another dream. Next to her, sitting upright with her on the mattress was Vi. Her eyes wide and concerned, one strong, scarred hand resting on Caitlyn's shoulder.
"Cait?" Her voice was quiet, calming. Caitlyn turned to look at her and felt her heart crack. The concern, the worry on Vi's face was almost more painful than the dream had been. The archer reached out with one hand to rest it atop Vi's, giving it a little squeeze.
"I'll be alright. Just.. Just a bad one." From the light coming in from outside, she'd likely only been asleep for an hour. That was a mercy, sometimes the dreams came even faster than that.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Caitlyn shook her head.
"No. Not so different from some of the more regular ones." It seemed the longer they went on, the more the source of these nightmares was learning to hurt her in more personal ways. She wasn't sure if it was good or not that she felt herself becoming almost used to some of them. Vi's expression had grown more grave and Caitlyn leaned over, resting her forehead against Vi's. "Thank you." She murmured softly. Strong arms wrapped around her, pulling the taller woman into Vi's lap.
"You don't have to thank me. I'm going nowhere." Vi mumbled into Caitlyn's hair. "We have to find something tomorrow. We need to." One of the things that Caitlyn most adored about Vi was her sense of hope. Even in the darkest moments, when things looked bleakest, it always seemed like her human could find the smallest light of hope and cling to it.
"We will." Caitlyn mumbled, not sure if she believed it, but willing to try. For Vi. "How long was I out?"
"About an hour and a half. You did really well, Cupcake." Vi gave Caitlyn a little squeeze before letting her go, in case the archer wanted to get up. Presumptive of her. Caitlyn was perfectly comfortable and had no intention of leaving Vi's lap until absolutely necessary.
They sat there like that, Caitlyn grasping one of Vi's hands and exploring it, memorizing every knuckle, every callus, each of the tiny scars. Vi's other hand gently combed through Caitlyn's hair, long soothing strokes that left delicate tingles in their wake. Each basking in the other's presence
"Where would you like to go?" Caitlyn murmured after a while.
"Go? Tonight? I thought we had that music thing?" Vi asked, arching an eyebrow. Caitlyn gave a soft huff of a laugh.
"Not tonight, but when we're done here. When we clear things up with your sister, and when I'm...When I'm better. Where do you want to go?" Vi was silent for a while, deep in thought.
"I hadn't really planned that far ahead." The brawler admitted eventually. "Wherever I go, as long as I've got you, I'm sure it'll be great."
"Flatterer," Caitlyn said with a tired smile. "But you must have some places you've heard of? That you wanted to see?" Vi was quiet for a while before nodding.
"I'd always been curious about Bilgewater. I knew a couple of good people from there. The Freljord sounded interesting, but it might be a bit cold." Caitlyn listened, turning her head to lock her eyes on Vi's, watching them brightly. "I heard there's some statues as tall as cities in Shurima." The brawler looked around the room. "And if this is what Ionia's like, that'd be good to see too."
"You'd want to visit Ionia?" Caitlyn's tone was cautious.
"Of course I would." Vi's smile lit up the room. "It's where you're from, why wouldn't I want to see that?"
"Not nervous about meeting my family?" Caitlyn's tone was dry, an eyebrow raised, but she couldn't help the waiver in her voice. She loved her family. She really did. But it didn't always feel like she could be herself when she was there. Like there was a mask she needed to put up, to be the version of herself that was palatable to them. And if they did meet her Mother and Father? Would VI still be this adoring to the version of Caitlyn which she became in their presence? The thought sent a very slight tremor through the archer's spine.
"Nah, I charmed one dragon, what's a few more?" Caitlyn's mouth dropped open and she glared at Vi's grin.
"I promise you, the tricks you used on me wouldn't go down so well on my Mother." They might work on her father, he was always more trusting of heroic souls than Mother, but Caitlyn wasn't going to tell VI that.
"Lucky for me, I've got the only dragon who I'd want to charm." Vi's grin was almost feral, but it froze and faded when Vi saw the slight shift in Caitlyn's expression. "What's wrong?"
"I'm not sure I'm that dragon anymore, Violet." The words stung when said out loud, almost as much as they had moments before when they'd echoed through Caitlyn's head. She was doing her best not to think of it too much since she'd gotten Seraphine's diagnosis. Trying to treat this as a prolonged stay in her human form, something she'd done plenty of times in the past. Like this was no different. But it was.
Each day was getting harder and harder. Like she was consciously choosing to not use one arm, or keeping it strapped to her side. She desperately wanted to stretch, to become her true self but whenever she tried the fear had been overwhelming. With each day she spent like this she could feel the tole it was taking on her mind. A feeling of being trapped, of being caged but knowing that it was her own fears keeping her stuck.
She couldn't meet Vi's eyes, looking down and almost feeling herself get smaller within Vi's embrace. Strong, gentle fingers reached up to just under Caitlyn's chin, lifting her head until she met Vi's gaze once more.
"You're still you. You're still my Caitlyn." Vi's eyes blazed. A expression a mixture of rage at whoever had done this to Caitlyn, and a powerful devotion to the woman. "This? What's been done to you? It doesn't change who you are. It doesn't change what you mean to me. Understand?" Caitlyn had to blink back the tears she could feel beading at the edge of her eyes. She nodded and leaned forward, capturing Vi's lips in a kiss, pressing herself tight against the brawler, relishing the feeling of Vi's closeness, of the little bump on her top lip where the scar broke into sensitive skin.
Vi's eyes widened for a moment before she melted into Caitlyn's kiss, returning it with equal hunger. It felt like the world faded away, that they were the only two stars in the night sky and that this moment was all that mattered. For the briefest moment, Caitlyn allowed herself to believe it to be true. That it was just them, just a moment of peace and bliss and safety.
They had lowered themselves back to the mattress, laying in each other's arms, the passionate kiss replaced with softer, slower, more languid kisses and the feeling of their bodies pressed against each other.
When there was a knock at the door, Caitlyn was forced to admit it was probably a good thing that, at this precise moment, she couldn't become a dragon, because whoever had interrupted them would have had a rather unpleasant day. Sensing the rage building up within the archer, Vi flashed her a grin and leaned forward for one last peck on the lips.
"Unless the city is burning down, I am going to exact terrible vengeance upon whoever is knocking." Caitlyn growled. Vi laughed as she untangled herself and began to move towards the door.
"It's probably dinner." Vi said as she shrugged her black jacket back on.
"Don't care. Terrible vengeance." Caitlyn replied, baring her teeth in a snarl. She didn't know what it was, but time with Violet brought out all parts of herself that she'd thought long gone. When they had first met, the protectiveness she felt towards the woman had almost overwhelmed her, and while it wasn't as strong anymore, she still knew she would always feel that way towards Violet. What she hadn't expected was how childish Vi could make her.
Her mother hadn't ever really felt it was appropriate for a dragon to act in such a way, and even when some of the other draconic families were visiting and other whelps her age were playing and having fun, Caitlyn had been expected to compose herself as the heir she was. Sitting quietly, well behaved and mature, almost a smaller clone of her mother.
Now though, when she'd been adventuring with Vi, something about the other woman made Caitlyn feel that she was allowed to be silly. Like she could be playful, childish, maybe even daft. She could act as her feelings wanted, and if that meant baring her teeth in a mock snarl at the woman she would burn the world for, then she'd do it. Caitlyn dreaded to think what her mother would say if she saw her acting in such a way.
Vi opened the door and revealed the large, well dressed form of Mister Dovelorn. He was carrying a wide trey, laden with bowls and dishes. From the covered plates drifted smells which made the archer's mouth water. Fine, if the food he brought was as good as it smelled then Caitlyn would put off her vengeance for a few years. Maybe as far as five. She was too far away to hear what Vi was saying to the man, but Vi came back, carrying the laden tray in one hand. Even with her gauntlets retracted to bracers, the strength they added to her form was no joke.
"Breakfast in bed, Lady Mirazen." Vi flashed Caitlyn a grin.
"At five in the evening?"
"Huh, fair point. 'Supper in Sleepwear'?" That almost drew a laugh from the archer, it definitely drew a smile.
"Lets just use the table." Rolling her eyes, Vi nodded and took the tray over to the small table next to the long seat.
"You make a mess with one chocolate cake and you never get to eat in bed again."
"We had to do a quest just to get the tent cleaned out again, Violet. It wasn't a case of making a mess. It was a case of chocolate icing everywhere."
"You didn't seem to mind how it got everywhere.." Vi's grin was positively feral and Caitlyn could feel the blush spreading over her cheeks. The brawler started moving food off the tray. Back home, this would be viewed as a simple, maybe even boring, meal but to the archer it looked like a work of art.
Two small bowls of cloudy broth with chunks of white tofu in it. A plate with a rainbow display of different pickles. A bowl of steaming, glistening rice each, and on a plate, two fillets of fish, still sizzling, grill marks dark against the pink flesh.
"Ionian food?" Vi asked, watching Caitlyn with a small smile on her lips. The archer nodded.
"Looking very close to it." She sat down and picked up the pair of chopsticks, eyebrows raising as she watched Vi pick up the sticks on her side of the tray and click them together.
"You've used them before?" Caitlyn asked. Vi smiled, a sad little smile.
"When I was a kid, Vander would take us to this noodle place in Downtown. Was near the docks, did the best food, and the guy there taught us how to use them. Might be a bit rusty."
"If you are, I'll help." Caitlyn promised as she lifted the bowl to her lips and took a sip. The miso soup was a bit saltier than she remembered, and the tofu had an after taste that, while not unpleasant, wasn't traditional, yet despite this, it tasted like heaven.
The rest of the meal disappeared almost as quickly as the soup did. A meal of quiet chatter, of helping Vi get used to using chopsticks again, and the taste of home. It wasn't quite there, but it seemed to have been made by someone who knew what they were doing and was doing the best they could with the ingredients they could get in Piltover.
When Mister Dovelorn returned forty five minutes later, There was barely a scrap left on the plate. If she was honest, Caitlyn could have eaten both of their portions all over again, but that would probably cause a few raised eyebrows.
Caitlyn had stayed silent, once more hooded and blindfolded when the butler had come in, but Vi wouldn't stop talking about how good it was. Every word brought a spark of joy to the archer's heart as Vi quizzed the man.
If Caitlyn had her way, this would be what she'd like to spend the rest of Vi's life doing. Experiencing new places, new people with her, enjoying every moment of the time she had with the pink haired woman. Making sure that Vi had the very best of lives ahead of her, and that every one of her remaining days was full of joy.
The fact that Vi was having to spend so much of her time looking after Caitlyn sent a pulse of guilt through her, one strong enough to have permeated the bond between the two, as Vi snapped her head away from the conversation to look at Caitlyn. Blindfolded, Caitlyn couldn't see much of what was going on around her, but she always knew where Vi was. It was like the brawler was a beacon even with Caitlyn's eyes shut, a permanent light in the darkness.
"I'll leave you both to get ready for tonight's performance." Dovelorn said, before backing away, by the sound of things. There was the sound of a door closing, and then Vi rapidly approaching her.
"What's wrong?" Vi asked, voice strained. She'd moved over to join Caitlyn on the long seat, pushing the hood back and pulling down the blind fold. Grey, stormy eyes locked with Caitlyn's blue, and the fear in them sent a pulse of pain through Caitlyn again. She'd made Vi worry. Again.
"I'm fine, really." Caitlyn lied. This kind of thought didn't usually bother her this much. It was a painful realisation, one she normally kept compartmentalised away, but life spans had been something she'd thought about once she first felt herself getting closer to Vi. If Vi was lucky, if she didn't run afoul of a monster, or illness, she maybe had sixty years left. That was it. Caitlyn, if nothing similar happened to her, with her natural life span could have a hundred times that.
There was a reason why romantic dalliances between dragons and humans were rare. Many dragons thought it was because there were simply too many differences between the two races. That wasn't entirely true. In truth it's because to love a human, was to know a brief burst of love, and happiness, and centuries of pain. Most who'd done it would never try again. Caitlyn hadn't planned for this when she'd left Ionia. But when she'd met Vi, she understood that even if the agony would be millennia, it would be worth it for the time they spent together.
Normally, she was able to keep the dread of the inevitable under wraps, reminding herself to savour every day she had with her partner. But with so little sleep, and the stress of this curse, all her emotions felt closer to the surface. Felt more raw.
Strong arms wrapped tight around Caitlyn and held her tight. Vi didn't try to pull Caitlyn into her lap this time, instead almost wrapping herself around Caitlyn, trying to shield her from the world.
"You're not, and that's okay. I've got you. Promise." That pang of guilt stabbed forwards once more, deeper and more painful. Caitlyn buried her face in the soft fabric of Vi's black coat.
"I'm causing you so much trouble. We should just grab your sister and leave. You don't need to be looking after me. It's not your burden." Vi leaned back, silver eyes no less full of love, but now mixed with fury.
"You, are not a fucking burden, Caitlyn." Vi growled. The sound was almost feral. "I'm with you in this to the end of the line. We're getting you free of this." She sounded angry. Worse, she sounded angry and that the anger was directed, at least partially, Caitlyn's way. "Do you think I'd leave you? Like this? Let you sort it out yourself."
"No, I don't-"
"No. Caitlyn, there's no chance in hell of me leaving you behind. After all you've done for me, after how I feel-, How could you-?." She paused, eyes bright as she leaned her forehead against Caitlyn's. "You're not the one causing me trouble, and you're definitely not a burden. We're going to solve this together. Understand?" Caitlyn just nodded, her throat felt full and a little sore, like if she said anything, the ache there would overwhelm her into a flood of tears.
"You're too good to me." Caitlyn whispered.
"You deserve better, but I'll give you all I've got." Vi murmured back, leaning up to press a kiss against Caitlyn's temple. "Don't feel like you've made me stay. I'm here, I'm going to help you, because I want to. Okay?" Caitlyn nodded again, hands grasping Vi's cloak and clinging to her like a lifeline.
"Do you want me to start a bath running? So you can get ready before the performance?" Vi asked after a short while. Caitlyn lifted her head, and gave a small little smile.
"Yes please." There was a pause before Caitlyn's smile turned into the smallest of smirks. "But maybe don't fill it all the way. Especially if it's a bath for two."
***
They were almost late. They weren't of course, Caitlyn's sense of propriety would never let her be late for an event she'd been invited to, but they definitely had less time to get ready than Caitlyn had planned for in her head.
Admittedly, Vi looked a little rushed, but she still looked devastatingly handsome in her 'uniform'. Caitlyn had needed to change to a different dress. After all, it wouldn't do for a newly arrived Lady in the city to be wearing the same dress to travel, as to attend a concert. This dress was even darker than the cherry one she'd arrived in. A midnight blue that would have matched her hair, if Caitlyn's hair was visible. Once again, she was wearing her hood and mask, carefully escorted downstairs by Vi.
"Just a few more steps, M'lady." Vi mumbled as they made their way downstairs. The concert was due to begin in about ten minutes, and already they could both hear the hubbub of people coming from the large room with a stage.
After a couple more steps, Vi paused.
"Lady Sona has asked me to escort you to one of the booths and keep you company for her performance." Ahri. Caitlyn wasn't sure what to make of the woman. She could feel the magic coming off the other woman, but without her sight, she didn't know what it was that was making the hairs on the back of her neck rise. Ahri didn't seem to have the same difficulty. She definitely still had made up her mind about Caitlyn and Vi. Despite Sona's earlier admonishments it still seemed like she didn't want to be in either of their presence.
"Thank you Ms Ahri." Caitlyn said, bowing her head slightly in the direction of Ahri's voice. She couldn't see how the woman responded, but the slight change in Vi's stance, the tensing of muscles in the arm Caitlyn grasped gave a good indication that she hadn't made any friends.
"Please follow me." The translator said, her voice sounded like she'd just been forced to suck on a lemon. Vi gently led Caitlyn down the rest of the stairs and through the crowd of people. It seemed like some bar had been opened up from the clinking glasses and smell of alcohol as Caitlyn was guided through the crowd. Eventually, Ahri led them both through the audience and into a larger room, past even more people until they were in a small enclosed booth.
"May I get either of you some refreshments?" Ahri asked, voice still on the ruder side of neutral.
"Some more of that tea would be lovely." Caitlyn said, almost without having to think about it. She couldn't tell the woman's reaction, but she could hear her turn and stalk away.
"How hidden away are we?" She asked Vi, voice low and quiet.
"Pretty well. Good view of the stage, but anyone who wants to get a good look at us practically has to come into the booth to do it." Vi gave her hand a short squeeze. Caitlyn squeezed back before settling into the plush bench of the booth.
"The view is amazing." Caitlyn remarked, letting a slow smirk spread over her lips as Vi turned to her. The dragon could almost imagine the blush spreading over the brawler's cheeks as her grey eyes met Caitlyn's blindfold.
"Well, maybe this is a really good spot for listening." Vi admitted sheepishly. Their conversation was cut short by the return of Ahri. She joined them, sitting in the booth, and once again pouring out cups of tea. One was placed in front of Caitlyn and there was a silence in the booth for a moment.
"I'll get that for her ladyship." Vi finally broke the silence, lifting the elegant cup and putting it in Caitlyn's waiting hands.
"Oh yes. Of course. I forgot for a moment that you were unable to see, Lady Mirazen." Ahri said, voice dry and not sounding at all apologetic. "Terribly sorry."
"Do you have a problem with -" Vi began before Caitlyn's hand gripped Vi's wrist, not tightly, but enough to divert the brawler's verbal assault.
"It's quite alright, Ms Ahri, I sometimes forget myself." Caitlyn put on her most polite smile, and while she couldn't see the woman's reaction, she hoped it would be enough.
"What was it that you wanted to look for, if I may be so bold, Lady Mirazen?" Ahri asked as Caitlyn took a sip of tea. "Something to do with a curse?" Caitlyn paused as she lowered the cup to the table once more.
"Yes. I wanted to consult any books regarding demonic curses or dark magic."
"A demonic curse?" Ahri sounded sceptical. "What did you do to earn one of those?" She sounded like she was half way between genuine curiosity and disbelief.
"Lady Mirazen doesn't-" Vi began, but was cut off by Caitlyn.
"I'm not entirely sure, Ms Ahri, it may be as simple as a case of random maliciousness, or something my family did in the past, for some reason the creature seems.. fixated." It wasn't a lie. There were some details omitted, quite a bit, but she still had no idea why this Fiddlesticks, or whatever it wanted to call itself, was so fixated on her.
"And you're sure it's a Demon? I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who would fling curses out." There was almost a hint of delight in the situation, one that almost broke Caitlyn out of the polite mask she was keeping up for this role.
"Lady Sona's friend seemed convinced." Caitlyn had no reason to doubt Seraphine, and it did match everything she'd been told. There was a slight shuffling from Ahri's direction, as if she was folding her arms, or settling back in her seat.
"I'll help you find the sections on them in the library, but beyond that, you're on your own." Ahri eventually said. The chatter outside was starting to dim and Vi murmured in Caitlyn's ear.
"Think we're about to begin." Caitlyn sent a smile in Vi's direction and then turned her head out to the rest of the room.
The silence seemed heavy, like everyone was holding their breath. Then, a pluck of a string. Music that seemed to have a physical presence, that seemed to sweep through the room like a strong autumn breeze.
Then another.
Then another.
Then a torrent of notes, a windstorm of sounds as delicate hands brushed over strings, filling the air with a tune and melody as complex as any Caitlyn had heard before.
The air sang. It was like nothing else existed for the blue haired woman, like all of reality had faded away to be replaced with the sound coming from Sona's playing. Maybe it was her tiredness, maybe the blindfold, maybe some magic within the musician's instrument, but it became easy to get lost in that sound.
The song was one of spring. It felt full of life, notes dancing against each other, leaping from one scale to the next, as if a dozen songs were being played at once, yet each complementing and joining the others to become this beautiful song that sapped away everything in the world that wasn't it's plucking strings and the occasional rhythmic knock of strong fingers on polished wood.
"She's...She's incredible." Caitlyn wasn't sure if she'd said it out loud until Ahri answered her.
"She really is." For the first time since meeting her, there had been no suspicion, no hidden judgement in the translator's words, just pure adoration.
"She's Ionian?" How had she never heard of such a musician? She'd hear the instrument type many times. Guzhengs had often accompanied any formal gathering in her parent's house, but never anything like this.
"Originally, yes. But she moved to Demacia when she was very young." Ahri's voice was quiet, as if not wanting to break the pattern Sona was weaving.
"What made her come here?" Vi asked, it sounded like she was facing away from Caitlyn, likely eyes locked on the performance. Caitlyn couldn't blame her.
"Demacia is not.. kind to wielders of magic. Even magics such as Sona uses." Ahri's voice still didn't have the earlier suspicion, but there was anger there.
"She's using magic to do this?" Vi's voice almost sounded disappointed. There was a soft chuckle from their host.
"No, there's magic you may feel in what she's doing, but this is all Sona, she doesn't need magic to play like this." The anger in the dark haired woman's voice had faded to pride.
Caitlyn closed her eyes, focusing inside as she tried to sense the magic. It was subtle, a soft thing. Similar in some ways to Seraphine's musical enchantments, though while Seraphine's casting had been more about reading and understanding, Sona's felt more calming, almost like a healing spell just for the spirit.
Caitlyn didn't feel rested, the tell tale ache of sleep deprivation still pulsed against her temples and she could still feel the grip of fear on her heart, but in the moment, with music swirling around her, it felt like fresh air filling her lungs. It felt like the universe telling her that as dark as life was, as terrible as the fates could be, there was still hope and joy and beauty in the world. That as bad as things could get, they would get better again.
The tune had changed, lacking in the bursts of energy that had started, but slower, more languid, like a lazy summer's day, with swirling rises and dips that made Caitlyn remember flying high, sun on her back, and a pink haired woman waiting for her to return with her hunt. For once, thinking about flying and her true form didn't bring pain or fear, just a quiet, longing wistfulness.
"She plays like she's happier here." Caitlyn murmured, half to herself.
"I like to think she is. I think she wants to go home someday but..." Ahri's voice trailed off and there was a pulse of bitterness to it, one that Caitlyn couldn't trace it's source.
"Ionia?" Vi asked.
"I think she misses it more than she does Demacia." Ahri admitted. "But she says she's made a home here and doesn't want to leave."
"You don't believe her?" Caitlyn asked, turning her head towards where Ahri's voice had come from. There wasn't a reply, not straight away. The music had shifted again, becoming slower, more tranquil. It made Caitlyn think of the days after summer, with the tree's leaves slowly curling in on themselves. Not sad, but with a longing melancholy that reached to the dragon's heart.
"I want to." Ahri murmured. "The alternative is she's staying here because of me." It was almost a breath, little more than a whisper.
"You wouldn't go with her? If she did?" The whisper vanished at Vi's question, instead replaced with a growl that was almost feral. Not like Caitlyn's draconic growl, but something almost even more bestial.
"If she wanted to, I would go with her wherever she wished." Ahri hissed. Vi settled back in her seat, turning to face directly towards the translator.
"Then maybe she's where she wants to be, and that's where you can both be happy?" Caitlyn could feel Vi's eyes on her and beneath the hood, the archer felt her cheeks start to flush. "Home doesn't always have to be a place, sometimes it can be a person."
The music had slowed to a stop, the gentle, sad notes of the fall slowing until perfect silence. There was a brief conversation which started from further within the audience, one which was very hurriedly shushed by another watcher and then..
It started with a single tone, one sound that danced up and down the scales, unaccompanied as it flitted through the air like a snowflake. Eventually, it's dance ended and there was silence once more. And then, another tone, this one with an accompanying dancing sound, and another, and another. The air burst into sounds as if Sona had taken the angriest of winter blizzards and transformed it entirely into song, capturing the majestic beauty of a night sky in a winter snowstorm and turning it into music.
It felt alive, there was the sharpness of the cold, but there was so much life in the song. The feeling of gatherings, of merriment, of togetherness and huddling in the warmth, all hidden within the flurry of the musical snowstorm. The conversation in the booth had stalled, the trio purely locked in on enjoying the show as the music captured all of their spirits and souls.
Caitlyn didn't feel cured. A song wouldn't be enough for that, but there was a feeling of restoration, of healing and peace that she didn't know she'd been missing, and there at the centre of this feeling, the greatest gift that Sona could have given to her.
Hope.
Vi's hand was in Caitlyn's, fingers interlaced, a gentle touch that meant the world to the blindfolded woman. They had been for most of the concert, hidden under the table, away from Ahri's eyes. As the music slowed to silence, Caitlyn felt those strong fingers tense. It wasn't a grip, not exactly, but like the tendons and muscles in Vi's arms had just locked. up.
"What is it?" Caitlyn asked, quietly, voice hidden beneath the applause echoing around the room.
"I'm not sure. I thought.. I think I saw someone out there. Are you going to be okay here if I go out and take a look?" Vi's face had turned towards Caitlyn, and while she couldn't see her expression, she could feel the concern in the other woman's voice. She nodded.
"I'll be fine. Just be careful, okay." Vi gave Caitlyn's hand another squeeze before turning her attention fully back to the other occupant of the booth.
"Ms Ahri, would you be able to keep my lady company while I go and fetch her some refreshments?" From the other side of the booth, Ahri spoke.
"Of course, Ms Heather, she's in safe hands." She could sense the brawler walking away, when a voice caught her attention, one that was far closer than it was moments before. A voice speaking in perfect Ionian.
"I wasn't expecting to find one of your kind in Piltover, Lady Mirazen." The voice was quiet, barely more than a hiss, but with a definite undercurrent of a threat, one emphasised by the feeling of four clawed finger tips pressing against Caitlyn's side. "Was one country ruled by Dragons not enough? You've come to take over Piltover as well?"