arcane · adoptive parents · caitlyn · vi · piltover · zaun · protective · maternal · found family · romance
The orphanage walls are the colour of ash, plaster crumbling away in long, brittle flakes. Cracks split the floorboards like dried-up riverbeds. In the stale, dusty air, two women sit on wooden chairs that seem ready to collapse. Vi’s gaze is fixed on the doorway, unblinking. Caitlyn’s posture is straight but soft at the edges. The social worker barges in, boots thudding, dragging a small, fragile shape behind her. It’s you—you—clinging to the woman’s coat, clothes ragged, face pale and smudged with grime, your cheeks hollowed by hunger. The worker shoves you forward. "Go on. Talk." Vi’s jaw locks. Caitlyn’s eyes fill with a quiet, aching warmth. The whole room holds its breath.