eastbound | video, un: hopscotch

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video, un: hopscotch

[Caitlyn enthusiastically shows off a small wooden box. Visible on the lid is an insignia of a Minaras governmental medical facility. Over Caitlyn's shoulder is a redhead looking wholly uninspired by this discovery.]

This was found following an altercation with a group of drunk individuals. One man was tall, must have been a little over six feet, with a blond beard, head shaved, and some sort of tattoo visible on his neck. Another was a few inches shorter, clean-shaven and close-cropped black hair, wearing a rather ostentatious, if tattered, blue coat. The third was a few inches shorter still, also clean-shaven, with long brown hair tied in a ponytail and several scars along the length of his forearms.

[Vi rolls her eyes as Caitlyn rattles off these descriptions. Caitlyn, oblivious, continues:] Does anyone know who these men might have been? If they could be identified, they could perhaps be located and questioned as to how a box belonging to a medical facility came into their possession.

[Vi mutters,] Probably going to sell whatever it is to the highest bidder.

[At the interruption, Caitlyn glances over her shoulder to respond to Vi. Her tone is less critical and more like she's excited to brainstorm possible motivations.] We can't assume that.

[Caitlyn turns back to the contents of the box.] Yes. Um. There are herbs inside, they smell-- [She takes a whiff, wrinkling her nose.] --earthy. Musky. And faintly of fruit. And... [She smells again, and a horrified look crosses her face, as though she's just smelled the most odious smell imaginable. She quickly moves the box further away from herself, looking at it as though it's done her a great personal wrong.] Urine.

[Vi shouldn't look so amused at the posh description, but she does.

Caitlyn holds up a few of the whole dried leaves and flowers: foxglove, wisteria, passion flower, and valerian. There is a small sack visible inside the box containing more herbs ground up.]

Are there any herbalists in the group who might be able to identify these? What purpose could these serve, either individually or in combination?

[Vi leans in closer and says,] And by the way, I need to talk to the resident hextech genius.

[ooc: for the herbalists out there, this combination of herbs leads to memory loss]

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Don't sniff that too hard, it causes memory loss.

[ A beat. ]

Unless you've got stuff you wanna forget.

Memory loss? [She frowns down at the box with grave concern.] I suppose those men must have tampered with the medical facility's supply. But how? There aren't exactly a wealth of herb gardens down here. And to what end? Would there be a demand for such a thing?

[ Immediately plucking the herbs from Cait and clapping that box shut. Nobody needs any more memory loss today, thanks. Vi may not blindly trust someone's word, but she doesn't want to risk Caitlyn's memories just to be contrary. ]

You're sure? You can tell just by looking?

Well, that and the smells you described. Matches some of my research.

[ She shrugs. ]

Honestly, I wouldn't even be surprised if there was.

[ So much this face at Caitlyn's assumption that it was tampered with. Obviously could be, that's something any undercity might do. Not the only suspect, though. ]

Some guy could have just pissed on some of it for all we know.

[ She's half joking. The contents of the box are in pretty...'dry' condition, at least. Better not to take the chance either way. ]

It's not all bad. Some of it smelled a little nice. Familiar almost.

I suppose there are nearly unlimited nefarious purposes to which someone so inclined could put a memory-erasing cocktail.

I don't suppose you know of anyone down here who would be on the market for such a thing?

[She reaches out and tries to take the box back.] What's that face for? Have you got any other ideas as to how or why the box was tampered with?

["Red hair, face tattoo" is not an easy description to forget, so when this particular post gets his attention, he knows immediately who this is. He should feel some relief--Caitlyn was extremely worried, after all, but there's a part of him that's still suspicious. He doesn't know much about how they came to meet, nor does he know the circumstances that brought Caitlyn to Stillwater in the first place. He doesn't know why Vi is asking for him, specifically.]

Looks like you found each other.

[And a box of medicinal plants, but he has a feeling that's not what they want to ask him about.]

Is there something I can help you with?

[ She pulls it back a little more, her grip over the lid like a vice. It's been identified, why tempt fate? ]

We don't know for sure that it was tampered with.

[ Says the one who has watched her undercity tamper with so many things. Not like Piltover didn't, either. ]

[ For this she'll use her own pocket watch, letting Cait do her detective thing. ]

Viktor? [ Like his username doesn't all but confirm it. ] Caitlyn said you worked with the pretty boy Councilor. So, theoretically, you'd know how to fix broken hextech?

Jayce Talis is my research partner, yes. You're Vi?

[Her referring to Jayce as a Councilor first just reminds him of how much things changed over his last few days at home, to the point where it feels almost wrong to be speaking in the present tense. He's removed from it all, now, but the unexpected well of bitterness in his chest lets him know that he's not as far away as he likes to think.

But his feelings are less pressing than what she says next. There's definite suspicion in his voice, now, like he has some idea of where this is going, but does't want to allow himself to hope that there might be Hextech here.]

More than theoretically. I helped invent it.

Uh─ Yeah.

[ Caitlyn obviously already mentioned her. What did she say? ...Not important.

Vi can't help but wonder about how much he helped, because research partner definitely seems like more than an assistant. He was nowhere near the council room, though. By choice? How closely do his ideals line up with Jayce's?

Jayce had said he wanted to act, but it ended up just talk when real trouble knocked. She's going to have to assume this guy might think the same and try to keep it from her if he gets his hands on it. ]

Okay, well say I more than theoretically have some hextech around. You'd want it back, wouldn't you? What would you use it for?

Yes! I'm so glad you'll finally be able to speak with each other. Since we're all from the same place, the three of us ought to work together to get home, don't you think?

[She glances over at Vi, a faint look of concern crossing her face. She doesn't actually know why Vi wants to talk to Viktor, but she has a guess.]

I don't suppose you know anything about herbs?

[She tightens her grip on the box even though there's no way she wins a tug-of-war. It's a Clue. She's got to collect all the clues.]

You think this combination of herbs was procured from a medical facility? [She's skeptical, but not dismissive.] Why would a medical facility want to distribute something that causes memory loss?

[He has a lot of questions lined up, not the least of which is what Caitlyn said about him (mostly so he knows how much to explain), but a hypothetical quickly becomes not that. Viktor is suddenly urgent, all at once surprised and skeptical.]

You have Hextech. Here?

[How. Why. What does she have, exactly? One of their portable devices? This changes everything.]

I think you shouldn't be so quick to assume that Minaras is innocent.

[ Vi lets go, but she's ready to take it again if Caitlyn starts sticking her nose back in it. She can't believe Caitlyn would have just returned it right to the medical facility... ]

You want someone to forget when you've made a mistake, right? So who's trying to hide their fuck-up? And what is it? [ A soft sigh. ] I should have followed one of those guys. I didn't think it'd be anything like this...

[ It would be pretty stupid to deny it now, since she's the one who contacted him. She's still worried, though. ]

My question first. What would you use it for? More mining?

[She considers for a long moment, fingers tapping against the box, before nodding. Yes, she'd been ready to assume Minaras' innocence. Or at least the innocence of Minaras' doctors and nurses. Members of those professions are sworn to help people and save lives, not...

Not whatever this is.]

Hide their fuck-ups. Or control people. [Another glance down at the box.] We'll track them down, if we need to. If you truly believe the medical facility is behind this, we ought to start by questioning the staff.

Sorry, I don't believe I've seen either of those people.

But, um. How long ago did you see them? Was there anyone else nearby who might have seen them?

[Her powers are on the fritz since coming out of the unwinding but maybe...she could find something useful from someone nearby...? It's moments like these that she thinks psychometry would be a useful power to have.]

Mining--

[Caitlyn must have told her, who must have heard from Jayce, in turn. He's almost insulted by the fixation on mining equipment, like the tools he devised don't contain an energy source that with nearly infinite uses. If anything, he needs that.

But that doesn't explain what she has, and how. If it needs to be fixed, perhaps it's missing the gemstone. He's not going to be more forthcoming until he has more information, however, so it seems as though they're at something of an impasse.]

We need to meet in person. Bring the device.

[He concludes the exchange with a set of fairly convoluted directions to the makeshift workspace he's found for himself in the Mouse House. Sure, he's likely inviting trouble, but if she does have one of their devices, and it does need to be fixed, then she doesn't have much of a choice but to bring it to him. He'll take that chance.]

[ It's interesting hearing Caitlyn swear. Almost gets a smile. ]

I'm not saying they are....but it wouldn't surprise me.

[ Neither would it surprise her that someone underground altered it, but Caitlyn's assumption just proves how differently they see things. At least Vi isn't against 'questioning' anyone who may be involved, to which she'll nod in agreement. ]

Must have been about ten minutes ago, now.

[She glances around, but there's only her and Vi in the alley.]

Only the two of us, I'm afraid.

[ Bring the device. Everyone's about trying to give her orders, lately, but what's the point in saying no? Then she definitely won't get what she wants. Might as well wait a little, until Caitlyn's found somewhere to settle that isn't a dark alley. She wants to help figure this out with her, but considering all she's been hearing, Vi would prefer to get the gauntlets at full capacity as soon as possible.

The pack strapped to her back is no easy carry, but the weight of the gauntlets inside don't drag at her as much as they should. Their size and shape make it a little awkward as they claink together when she shrugs off the pack to let it hang from her hand.

This definitely looks different from Jayce's workshop, but just like there, she dismisses any concept of knocking. She'd rather invite herself to look at things she probably shouldn't touch. ]

Ever hear of saying please?

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