A strange kind of weight pressed down on Vi's shoulders as she stepped out of the arena and back into the cage. Her fingers fiddled with the bands of the gloves, trying to get them loose enough to slip out of.

The tips of her fingers trembled a little as she finally shed the leather. Blood was sprinkled all over the back of her hand.

With a slight grunt of displeasure, Vi wiped away the stains and was about to throw the gloves into the dirt as the elevator suddenly rolled down.

With a dark glare, Vi kept her mouth shut while the enforcer named Eloise approached. She had her hands crossed behind her back and strange glimmer in her eyes.

"You did well.", she simply said.

Crunching her nose in response, Vi kept her mouth shut. Without a word she lifted the gloves in her grip. Drops of red and shimmer fell down her fingers.

"You want to give them back?", Eloise asked but took them anyways.

"Do I have the option to keep them?", Vi asked, tilting her head and one eyebrow lifted in a sarcastic manner.

The enforcer chuckled, both amused and mocking.

"Of course not.", Eloise put the gloves away, not minding the blood that got all over her uniform.

With a quick movement of her hand she told Vi to follow her and then closed the gates of the elevator. For a brief second Vi could feel vomit crawl up her throat as it started to move upwards.

Her stance shivered, it felt like she was about to fall through the floor. But the feeling faded as Eloise threw a glance at her from the corner of her eyes.

Vi could feel the judgement. The kind that only the people from Piltover could cast upon the ones who crawled out of the lanes.

"You owe me a favour.", Vi said to break the uncomfortable silence.

Eloise let out a snort.

"What makes you think that?", she asked dismissively.

Rolling her eyes, Vi let out a deep breath.

"I know the rules of the arena. And I won.", curling her lips, she let out a low sound that gave away how little she was willing to argue about it. "You owe me a favour. Unless you want the rats to riot."

Displeasure lit up on Eloise's eyes. But she did not argue about it. Instead, she turned the back of her hand to look at her own glove that was now stained with purple and red blood.

"You listen too much to that monster.", she muttered.

Vi wasn't sure if the purple even was blood. It looked more gooey, thicker and a little like rotten flesh. She had seen wounds from the inside that had been quite similar to this. Then again, if there was shimmer involved it could have been much worse.

She didn't want to get in contact with it. And it irritated her that the enforcer handled it with such carelessness. Almost as if she felt invincible. Too good to get infected by Undercity dirt.

"What do you want?", Eloise asked as they reached the level on which the lower cells were located. "You can't ask for weapons."

Letting out a low snort, Vi shrugged.

"I just want a shower.", she said and plugged a piece of dirt from her sleeve. "For the lady too."

Confused, Eloise frowned. She pushed her out of the elevator and urged her with a gesture of her chin to get moving. Impatience and a hint of annoyance shimmered in her eyes.

Vi made a mental note to not annoy her any more than was necessary. Or not at all. Then again, she knew she could be a handful and that had gotten her in some hot waters before.

Especially with you. However it did surprise Vi that you hadn't skinned her alive yet. She had picked up signs of warning from you from the start and yet had somehow managed to win you over.

Which was a miracle if she believed the rumours that were told about you. She would be lying if she said she did not fear you a little.

But as long as you were on her side she felt safe. You knew your way around the lower levels of Stillwater Hold Prison. And even though others would have said otherwise, Vi was pretty sure that you also had a good chunk of influence down here.

She knew it was wisest to stick around you. And getting on your good side surely wouldn't hurt either.

And who did not want to get clean? Maybe even warm.

The cells were far from perfect or dry. Vi could feel her bones decay with every breath she took. All she needed was a bit of warmth to heal her insides.

A little sceptical, Eloise eyed her for a moment before a soft sigh rolled off her lips. With a shrug, she stopped in front of your shared cell and threw a glance inside.

At the sight of her, a flinch chased through your body. Your muscles tensed and you wanted to jump out of bed. But you restrained yourself and remained motionless hidden in the shadows.

Your gaze wandered over to Vi. She looked distressed, a little too gloomy for her usual self. As you searched for more indications of her mental state you noticed the stains of blood and purple all over her clothing and arms.

And the tips of her fingers were slightly curled.

She seemed lost in thoughts and didn't even meet your gaze with her own as you flashed her a genuine but quick smile.

Eloise, on the other hand, was a sharp as ever in that moment. Her face radiated satisfaction and it felt like she had seen exactly what she had wanted to.

Or what she had been ordered to witness. Either way, her day was going better than Vi's. Much better.

"Get up.", she said with a quick nod of her head. "I don't have any shackles for you so you need to behave. Or I'll make you."

A soft sound filled the silence as the door to the cell was unlocked.