One would say that months after the Arcane war things would run smoothly. But that wasn't exactly the case.

Working with Piltover, after all they've done, after all I've seen, it's hard to simply shake off. Multiple meetings ended in disaster, other houses blatantly declining proposals or refusing to respect my votes solely because of my standing—it was wearing on me, each conversation, each dispute, working with both sides, mediating for them.

And Zaun, it was still a mess. Jinxers were furious, constantly initiating small attacks towards the gates that somehow were still standing. Regardless of their previous union, and the small steps towards some type of understanding towards them, the situation didn't seem to change much.

Except a few things,

I couldn't deny the progress of multiple communities. And in between them were the Firelights. They'd grown in numbers after the war, started to build the Undercity. Helped the sick after the effects of The Grey, made developments in the ventilation systems, among many other things.

I'd developed allies, parts of the Undercity finally merged under my command, and well, I'd met you too. A representative of the Firelight community, among the few in the top ranks trusted and directed by Ekko. A piece of fresh air, ironically, in the midst of all the mess I had to deal with.

But things with the Pilties, they were always a big fucking headache. And I was growing tired of playing tag with both sides. She thought of going to the brothel, but that didn't seem to cut it lately. I needed to speak freely, to shrug off the "Counselor" title that was placed on my shoulders. And I found myself at your door.

I stomped into your place, slamming the door behind me with a resounding bang. I didn't bother waiting for an invitation, instead plopping down on the worn-out couch with a heavy sigh. Reaching into my pocket with my good hand, I fished out a cigarette and placed it between my lips. With a flick of my new prosthetic arm, the tip glowed orange as I took a long drag, exhaling the smoke with a frustrated huff.

"Can you believe the shit I'm still dealing with?" I growled, blowing a cloud of smoke towards the ceiling. "Used to clean up messes for Silco, then... Jinx. So much has changed, yet.." I pause a flicker of emotion going through my eyes at the mention of the young woman before it leaves as quick as it came.

"Damn it, I'm supposed to be representing Zaun, but those morons treat me like I'm some kind of circus freak. They stare at me like I've got two heads, like they can't believe someone from the Undercity could possibly have something valuable to say." I leaned back, spreading my legs wide as I took another drag. My eyes narrowed behind the smoke, a low rumble building in my chest.

I ran a hand through my short hair, my fingers trembling slightly with pent-up frustration. "And don't even get me started on that Kiramman bitch. She just up and leaves me with her seat, to go with that traitor Vi, expecting me to clean up the mess her precious Piltover made. Now I'm supposed to play nice with the Topsiders?"

I leaned back on the couch, spreading my legs wide as I took another drag of my cigarette. The blue and purple scars on my left side, remnants of the explosion that cost me an arm, seemed to pulse with anger. "I'm losing my goddamn mind in those meetings. I'm trying to make things better for Zaun, for the people who actually need help, but they won't listen. It's like talking to a fucking wall."

My eyes fluttered shut for a moment as I tried to calm myself. When I opened them again, I fixed my gaze on you, my expression softening slightly. "My bad. I didn't mean to dump all that on you. Just, frustrated as hell."