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horizon cont.

[techmaturgy]

The first time had been enlightening. Refreshing, maybe, to meet Jayce in his most distilled form, without any of the baggage from home attached. It had reminded him starkly of the trial--all passion and excitement and handing him a blank slate of pure possibility had created a thrilling feedback loop. Despite his teasing, Viktor had not taken advantage of the situation, nor did he catalogue anything embarrassing on Jayce's part to use against him later. Even if he'd wanted to, beyond making a joke about it, he thinks he was too enthralled, as always, by Jayce's enthusiasm and curiosity to even think it. He decides, for now, to keep all of that to himself.

The second time is, of course, easier. More straightforward. Things make more sense. For as much as Viktor enjoyed guiding someone else through their first visit, now the real work can begin.

He opens his eyes and they're in the lab, the most sensible location to ease Jayce into--he's not sure when and how he's going to breach the subject of the other locations he's dragged up from his own childhood. In time, he supposes. For now, this seems like the best place to start, and Viktor smiles broadly when he sees Jayce in the space with him, face fuller, less pale. He stands up straight in a way that he doesn't in the real world, using a cane instead of the crutch they've both become accustomed to.

"Welcome back."

[hextechhead]

Jayce still doesn't know entirely what happened that first Horizon, but he truly wasn't worried about it. Viktor would never do anything bad, all he could do was hope he wasn't actually as boring as he joked he would be. The last thing Jayce Talis ever wants to be is boring. He was enthusiastic about actually getting to experience it this time, and it does not disappoint.

He opens his eyes and they're in the lab, and Jayce can't help it, he laughs incredulously. "Wow." It truly feels like they are there, the only obvious change being that his workstation isn't filled out the way it was before. But it's still there. Jayce walks over to it and puts his fingers on his desk, smiling. It's surreal and he turns to face Viktor, and that's when the real surprise hits him. It shows on his face, obviously, because Jayce is not enough of a politician to hide his feelings.

Viktor looks like he did when they first met. His face is full, it has color in it, those sharp cheekbones are there but now hollowed in, and the crutch that Jayce designed for him is gone. He is overwhelmed for a moment, feeling like he's staring at the past, at a time when they were both just happy. Jayce wishes like anything he could touch him and pretend it was years ago, but he shakes it off, turning back toward his workstation.

He remembers Viktor telling him he could modify things to his memory, and he needs to focus on something that isn't staring at Viktor with his heart in his eyes. So he focuses and waves a hand (not necessary, but it feels like it is) and everything that was last on his desk fills in exactly as before, all his trinkets or half-modified projects, his papers and notebook. "Okay I love it."

[techmaturgy]

Jayce's reaction is to be expected, though perhaps Viktor is a little caught off-guard by how quickly he shifts his attention from the lab to his current appearance. He knows that he doesn't have to say anything--why wouldn't he make himself healthy in a place where that sort of thing is entirely under his control? Still, it's hard not to offer up some kind of explanation, to the point where he has to actively stop himself, caught under Jayce's gaze. It's not pity, or sadness, but something else. Maybe a wishing for something they won't be able to reclaim.

Thankfully it lasts only a moment, and Viktor is able to quickly reconfigure, like Jayce didn't just look at him like that. He makes his way over to Jayce's desk, leaning against it and watching with interest.

"I thought you might. We can share this, if you like. That hadn't been my intent, exactly, when I started to build, but it didn't feel right, to make the lab without your space in it."

So, he'd left it empty, and had been fully prepared for it to remain that way, until now.

[hextechhead]

There is no explanation needed and Jayce would hurry to say as much if necessary, but it simply wasn't something he thought he'd see again. He is happy for Viktor, truly. In here he never has to be in pain, he can be whatever he wants. Recently Jayce has tortured himself over how oblivious he was to Viktor's illness, how he knew his friend was degrading but still convinced himself it wasn't that serious. He can see it clear as day now. But neither of them are pretending anymore. It would be more worrisome if he didn't give himself a break in here, when anything was possible.

But truly, Viktor has always been beautiful. He still is, to Jayce, but it was startling to be reminded of how it took his breath away in the start. Not that he has ever or would ever admit to such. Even his occasional longing looks were careful not to linger, like now. The key to hiding those thoughts comes solely from avoiding eye contact, staring, or direct attention.

"If we didn't share it, I would just make a copy in mine, it makes more sense to keep it in one place." Jayce smiles at him. He took for granted the way it felt to fit in here, for it to be his automatic favorite location. "Although you do realize that we'll be working together in both places and living together. Are you sure you won't get sick of me?" For Jayce it is laughable to think he would ever feel that way. He used to stay in their shared space long after his side of work was done, to tinker or sketch, solely since being in Viktor's area felt so much better than being alone.

But he is a bit much sometimes so it seems safe to check.

[techmaturgy]

He knows, by now, what it feels like to have Jayce's eyes on him--two months in a strange world hasn't done anything to lessen his awareness. Perhaps it's even more apparent now, having felt the absence. They're both trying to shake it off, it seems, and he feels a little relief that Jayce continues the conversation instead of addressing this unspoken thing that's hanging between them.

Already he's thinking about the adjustments he's going to make, given Jayce's arrival here. Viktor will have to see what he builds, but he imagines that their respective domains can slot right into each other. Still, he understands the concern--maybe he's concerned as well, though likely for different reasons more to do with sharing a living space in the real world. For as much time as they spend together, they've always had their own apartments.

"I've made private spaces for myself, here. If you think I don't know how to escape you by now, you haven't been paying attention."

He does have that penchant for disappearing, after all, and there's still plenty for him to do both here and in the real world that doesn't involve Jayce, so Viktor isn't overly concerned. They're both adults that can take the space they need when they want it, but possibly it's good to bring it up now. It's not a secret that Viktor's rented room isn't sustainable for the both of them, so hopefully they won't drive each other crazy in the time it takes for them to find a place more suited for two people.

"Maybe it was presumptuous of me, to suggest a roommate situation. We don't have to, if you'd rather live by yourself."

Jayce is going to say no, of course, but Viktor feels better offering him an out.

[hextechhead]

They've already had seven years of experience avoiding the unspoken thing so it's an easy adjustment back to what was understood. At least in Jayce's mindset, it was always understood. He goes out of his way to make sure Viktor is comfortable and he's not the culprit as to why if he isn't. He is his best friend, his most treasured life partner. There is nothing that matters more. Which is why he brought up the potential conflict, so they can work out the details if need be. So far he has been happy to spend so much time together.

"Escape me? Ouch." Jayce is teasing though, he knows exactly what Viktor means. He will start working soon to get them seed money which will give them decent time apart, and also lead them to get a better apartment. With enough space for them each to have a bed, hopefully, maybe even a two bedroom if all goes well and they can pool the funds. He hasn't looked at potential housing yet since they don't have the cash, but they're very good at juggling.

"I'm not going to get sick of you." Obviously. They both know that. Viktor values his privacy more, Jayce prefers company to being alone. "We can look at getting another place later on. Escape away until then." Jayce opens the notebook he put on his desk, it helpfully has been made blank a few pages in, for their new projects. Everything they need to know about their projects back home is permanently in their brains. This has to be a new start.

"Okay I think I have an idea for a new space. Come with me?" Jayce doesn't know what Viktor put together outside of this room, he just arrived, so he walks toward their door and peeks out of it, seeing the familiar hallway. Wow. It really is surreal. Jayce pauses halfway down it and then turns to face the wall of it, focusing. A door slowly starts to take form in front of him, familiar to him.

[techmaturgy]

"You say that now. You've never had to cohabitate with me."

Of course, now he's just doing a bit, but Viktor is more than capable of poking fun at himself in turn. They both know that renting a place together is the most economical choice, especially if they want to save as much money as possible for other things. No sense in both of them paying for separate living arrangements when it will be cheaper to rent a place together.

All of this, however, is secondary to the subject at hand--that is, Jayce getting accustomed to the Horizon. Viktor seems pleased with how easily he seems to be taking to it, and he doesn't need to be asked to follow along. He'll keep a few steps back, not wanting to inadvertently influence whatever Jayce is making, but curious nonetheless. "What are you making?"

[hextechhead]

"We spent more time in the lab than we did in our beds. My apartment became unusually pristine because I was never there." He got a new one after his blew up and he got famous, and it was decent enough, but they really started cranking. It was only recently he bothered at all with space other than the lab, and he's not convinced it was ever a good idea.

This is connected because Jayce knows exactly what he wants to do now. Viktor said they could imagine anything. He smiles over at Viktor. "The first place we met." Jayce is a sentimental person and so when he focuses on the door and what he can imagine behind it, when he opens it, he steps right into his old apartment. No longer blown up, everything back in its place the last time he saw it. He still doesn't know what happened to it, but it was special to him, the first location that was really his.

And yeah, the first place they met. Jayce's hazel eyes move around with some wonder as he fills in the details of his memory, his former room with guitar and a ridiculous amount of books and notes intact, although none of them currently have details. He may have a sharp mind, but he can't remember everything from then, so most of them are blank, but they make it seem like the messy place of brilliance/madness it used to be.

Jayce steps into the main room where the chalkboard is, for now it too is blank as if it's a brand new start, and he laughs, running his fingers along it. The terrace is intact and the space feels as warm and lived-in as it once was.

"Now all you have to do is arrest me to really take us back." He teases.

[techmaturgy]

"You know, I never did get to see this apartment intact."

Viktor waits in the entrance while Jayce starts to fill things in. It's nostalgic, of course, though he scoffs a little bit when Jayce calls it the place they first met, like it isn't also the place where Jayce lived and performed all of his illegal experiments while they were students at the academy. Interesting, though perhaps unsurprising, that he'd refer to it in this way, even as he recreates it in a state that Viktor never saw.

"If you really want to be historically accurate, you should blow out that wall. I'll conjure up Sheriff Grayson to put you in cuffs."

He won't actually do that--he's not sure if he can, first off, and secondly he doesn't really like the idea of re-creating humans, let alone people they know, but he can tease, too.

[hextechhead]

Jayce loved this apartment. He spent so much time unraveling the information he had, trying to guess at the answer that would finally get him what he needed. This was a glowing memory for him, not as glowing as the lab is for the two of them, where they actually accomplished the things that he used to dream about. But it does remind him of where it all started. It was the location of the lowest point of his life too, standing at the edge, until Viktor's voice 'interrupted.' He has no intention of telling Viktor that he 'interrupted' him in their last talk too. It's not something they've ever directly talked about, they knew what it was.

"No, this time it's going to stay perfectly imperfect, thanks." Because it is imperfect, it's a little messy and cluttered and like the scattered mind Jayce used to have. All his living spaces since have been colder or less used, since he was rarely there. He is glowing with happiness over this, and as he slides his fingers on the chalkboard, it fills up with their final calculations from that night, the one that led to the success.

"Wait," Jayce snaps out of it for a moment, glancing over his shoulder at his friend. "Can we ... put people in here? That aren't real?" He too doesn't really want to re-create a human and won't do it, but he is still curious about whether it's possible. It would likely be a creation of the mind, not the real thing. As far as he knows, Sheriff Grayson was a good person, Caitlyn always spoke well of her as did everyone else. Her replacement turned out to be a horribly corrupt man.

[techmaturgy]

Just watching Jayce start to work is enthralling in its own right, and he smiles to himself when the equations materialize on the blackboard and he recognizes the math. Maybe there's something bittersweet about all this, that Jayce is trying to recreate a time where everything seemed less complicated. It's nice to see, in some ways, affirming his commitment to re-focusing on their partnership now that there are no political distractions in the way, but Viktor can't help but feel like it might be fleeting, regardless. There's no escaping the real world, even with the Horizon available to them.

"I haven't made the attempt myself, but from what I've experienced the effect is...less than authentic. Some things are simply too complex, even for a place like this." In his wanderings, he's seen the domains of other summoned--some have attempted it, but he'd found it unsettling and not something he'd be willing to try. "Besides, it seems, ehn. Slightly irresponsible, from an ethics standpoint."

Not that he thinks he can really talk about ethics, anymore, but that's not something he's going to say out loud.

"Animals, however, are possible."

And he is, of course, speaking from experience.

[hextechhead]

Jayce knows they can't go back in that too much has happened since, some of it bad recently, but a lot of it good too, all their work together. But for him, it's more about recapturing that part of himself that he feels like he's lost, like Viktor said. He let himself get so far off their path and he can't turn back those choices, but he can stop making the same mistakes. If he can just remember who he was, before the fame and the politics. If he can focus on Viktor and their work and not have so much divided attention.

"I think it would probably be creepy. It'd just be a projection of how you see someone." It can't be the actual person. But it's still interesting. He can be curious about something and still know that it's not the right thing to do. He also is not someone who can talk about ethics. That was more their mentor's thing.

Even as they speak more details seem to ripple through, names on books, colors and notes with more specifics, as he's going from the bones of the creation to more specifics. Jayce knows Viktor's cadence of speech and he raises an eyebrow. "What, do you have a pet?"

[techmaturgy]

"Yes. Creepy. You're welcome to try it, but maybe wait until I've left."

If Jayce wants to experiment with making weird facsimiles of people they know, Viktor isn't going to stop him, but he also doesn't really want to be around for it. They do, however, seem like they're in agreement, and Viktor is content to keep watching Jayce create, scanning the books and the notes and watching more familiar sights fall into place.

He knows he walked into this, by bringing up animals with some kind of authority, but perhaps he hadn't expected the two of them to get to his creations so soon. Viktor, generally speaking, talks very little about his childhood, but now it's unavoidable--he can't have expected to keep Jayce from it forever, especially now that a part of it exists, fully, in his own domain.

"I'll show you later." Noncommittal! "You can't possibly be finished here, yet."

[hextechhead]

Jayce's eyebrows furrow and he shoots him a look. "Of course I'm not going to try that." It was theoretically interesting, but he doesn't like the idea of having weird projection versions of people around either. It bothers him momentarily that Viktor thinks he would, he's not the experimenting on people type. He didn't even think a person could be created here until Viktor brought it up as a joke about the Sheriff.

That is brushed off when Viktor answers and his eyes light up. "You do have a pet." They've never had a pet in the lab before. Did Viktor have one when he was a child he replicated, or did he just have one here? Jayce has been trying to glean information out of his friend carefully for years, and it's never been easy. He, on the other hand, talks constantly about his past and interests. Viktor knew almost everything about his life before they met within a month of them working together. Jayce rambles.

"I'll have time to fill this in, I want to meet it!" Sorry Viktor, he's a dog with a bone sometimes, and he is utterly starved for any piece of unexpected information. Interesting things about Viktor will always supersede him poking at other things.

[techmaturgy]

Despite the fact that he knows this is entirely inevitable, he manages to look flustered anyway, suddenly losing his composure and tripping over his own words.

"No, no, not a--a pet, exactly." But, of course, that makes it sound even worse, because there's no good way to talk about how he was childhood best friends with a giant pink salamander creature that is now kept in suspended animation and also is possibly being used to produce everyone's favorite mutagenic drug. It's too much to get into, all at once--perhaps he hoped that he'd have more time to sort things out, prepare what he wants to say or how he wants to talk about this, but of course he isn't that lucky. Jayce is going to have questions, and Viktor want to be honest with him. He just isn't quite sure how.

It takes him a second, but he does realize a potential solution, one that doesn't involve dragging them both down to the very bottom of his domain, into a place he'd rather not remember. Viktor looks momentarily defeated, before he voices his compromise.

"Okay," he starts, clearly choosing his words carefully and motioning for Jayce to follow him back out into the hallway. They can go to his study--Viktor is already rearranging the spaces he's created to fit alongside the spaces Jayce is making in turn. It's simply what makes sense. "You can meet her, but you should know that the Horizon has a way of taking your subconscious thoughts and using them to fill in the blanks. That's how--I'm not sure I brought her here on purpose."

[hextechhead]

Viktor is not someone who flusters easily and Jayce's enthusiasm turns into confusion, unsure why this would throw his friend off so much. He's always been private and typically Jayce would back all the way off just to not push him, but he wants to share more in his life. They live together, share this space together, he is maybe a little too eager to dig into Viktor and claim as much as he can. His desire for more information vies against his instinct to back down before Viktor gets upset.

"Vik," Jayce says after some internal torment, reaching out to grab his elbow and stop them from moving wherever he was leading them. "If you don't want to, you don't have to. It's fine, I can ... make something else." He sounds disappointed because he is, but it's not in him to be happy when Viktor looks defeated. "I was thinking I have to make a forge here anyway for when testing out things, so ... let's do that." Again it's not that hard for him to replicate places and things he knows well.

[techmaturgy]

Jayce's disappointment immediately makes him feel embarrassed in turn, that he's making such a big deal out of something that's probably not a big deal. Hell, he can probably talk the whole thing off as some weird Undercity experience. It's just hard. He's not used to this, and even after so many years together there are still things about himself he feels he can't share, or doesn't want to explain. Irrational, perhaps, though after the last few conversations he remembers from back home, perhaps not unwarranted. Jayce's hand is on his elbow and he stops, shoulders stiffening a little. He turns.

"No, I want to."

That's sincere--he's trying to signal that he means this, no matter how conflicted he feels. Despite any reservations, however, Viktor wants to build this place together. He knows that much.

"I can help you with the forge," he says, as though Jayce doesn't know it like the back of his hand. "Then, I can show you."

[hextechhead]

Jayce doesn't know if it's a big deal or not, but he is going to react to it like it is, since something is throwing Viktor off. He may have a better idea once he sees said pet, there has to be a reason for him to be anxious about it. The idea that Viktor had a pet before, one maybe in the Undercity, fascinates him. He says so little about himself. It is one of those very rare occurrences where Viktor is opening a small window and Jayce can't help but try to push it open fully.

"Okay. Good." Jayce smiles hesitantly again. This awkwardness between them is sticking around because there are things left unsaid, but they are always capable of moving through it. He remembers to drop his hand away before it lingers too long on Viktor, trying hard to be careful of his boundaries. They rarely fought so that tension is still there from the bridge and the weapon conversation. But he has faith.

"Do we have multiple floors? It's probably best to put it on a lower level. It'll be hot." That is obvious but necessary. Jayce doesn't know if it would be easy to just make it room temperature with their brains somehow, but if he's actually making anything in here, real or not, it'll have to get going. He doesn't want to be doing something in there and Viktor to be sweating in the lab because he still is new to manipulating their area.

[techmaturgy]

"We can have whatever we want." He smiles warmly, trying to dispel some of the tension, even though he knows it's mostly his fault. Vertical is a good instinct, given the fact that the real-world diameter of the Singularity is reflected in the Horizon itself--he's already built up, so why not a lower floor, as well? Jayce's worry that the forge will be too hot to put anywhere else is endearing. It gets a little laugh out of him.

"We're not bound by the laws of the real world. The forge can be as hot as you need without changing the surrounding temperature at all." If he can change his own physical state, then why shouldn't that apply to other things as well? "The sooner you internalize that, the more you can build. Shall we?"

[hextechhead]

All these years later and Viktor's smiles and laughs are things to be treasured and held close to Jayce's heart, his own responding grin so easy and warm, and it instantly washes away any anxieties or confusion. Viktor's smile is like an eclipse, blotting out anything else, unforgettable. And Jayce does the opposite of what someone should do during an eclipse, staring right at it, so fond and adoring. He's always looked at Viktor with his whole heart in his eyes, from the time they were floating in the lab to now.

"Ignoring the laws of physical science might take a little while to adjust to." Yes he can make it not hot in there, but it probably still will be when he's not thinking about it. Jayce then walks in the direction of where Viktor planned on taking them before, noticing that there's a lift not unlike the one that exists in the main building too. He gestures for them to go on it, kind of lost in the details of how any of this works. Are they going up and down? It feels like it. So strange.

"Okay, uh, let's see." Technically Jayce is more creative than simply replicating places that he's already been, but it seems smarter and easier to go with what they know. It fills in the space faster than coming out of sheer imagination, and there is something comforting about his old apartment, their lab, and now his family's famous forge. Jayce often goes there to think, to get his anger and pain and struggles out in a safe physical way.

Despite what Viktor says, it is hot right away.

[techmaturgy]

Again, Viktor is not oblivious to Jayce's gaze, but he finds himself wholly unable to decide what to do about it. Better to just press on--gloss over it, as he always has. Pointless, to ascribe more meaning than he should, or even to hope for something that might not even be there (and is impossible for him, anyway). It helps that there's still plenty to do, and the mood is lightening. Makes for an easy distraction.

"You'll get used to it."

He isn't sure that he's used to it, but they can figure it out together. Viktor gives him a little nudge as they make their way into the lift (because, of course, he's got a lift--the Horizon is, theoretically, his ideal world, which means stairs are fully optional), the feeling of descent convincing enough. He watches Jayce as he concentrates, not expecting him to get it right the first time, something confirmed when they step out into the newly-created forge and he's hit with a blast of heat. He visibly winces at the hot air (though the rest of it is certainly impressive).

"Well, I suppose this is your first try. Here."

Viktor steps out of the lift, eyebrows furrowed in concentration, driving the heat back into the furnace as he goes. Maybe it's easier for him, that he doesn't have Jayce's particular associations with the space--he can simply focus on the task at hand.

[hextechhead]

The thing about the way Jayce looks at him is he never asks for anything in return. He doesn't search for the same thing coming from Viktor, he isn't disappointed when it never happens, it's simply honest, just like him. Jayce wears his heart on his sleeve and being open with his feelings is part of who he is. He looks at Viktor because he can't help himself, but he respectfully tries to stop when it goes too long. But he sees no reason to be sorry that he adores his best friend. There's nothing wrong about it in his eyes. It's sincere.

"Sorry," he grimaces, not as good at this right off the bat as he'd like. But sometimes they fail and figure things out as they go. It's part of the experimentation process. Mostly it is familiar. He's been in the forge off and on since childhood, the pumping of machinery, the heat and smell comfortable. This isn't that intricate once it gets started and he pushes away the memory he had last of here. Of the woman, Vi, showing up. There is no sign of that particular regret right now because it's conscious thought.

The heat disappears and it is manageable. Jayce smiles as he walks to the tools strung out on the tables. "My father would take me here. He wanted me to always know what it was to work." Jayce knows he is lucky, he was born into a successful household, but they did not linger in their privilege either. His father was one of those rare subjects Jayce didn't speak about often, compared to everything else he talked about off the cuff.

[techmaturgy]

"Why are you apologizing? It takes practice."

That said, he immediately takes to exploring the space with interest, especially now that he can temper some of the oppressive heat. It's possible that it won't last, given Jayce's emotional connection to the forge, but for now he can do the work to keep the temperature comfortable. He makes his way around one of the long worktables with ease, only stopping when Jayce brings up a topic he doesn't touch upon very often. Viktor stands opposite him, his expression a little searching, though his hands fidget at a hammer that materializes on the table.

"You don't talk about him, much. Your father."

Probably unfair of him to say, given how cagey he is about his own past--hell, he's sure that most of the stories of Zaun that he'd told Jayce were purposeful exaggerations, to make him squirm. Now it all just feels like a silly defense mechanism on his part, and it occurs to him that maybe Jayce is talking about this now to make Viktor feel more comfortable about sharing, in turn.

[hextechhead]

It's nice to see Viktor in here, it wasn't a place most people visited him often, although that was part of the design. He liked the quiet of creating their schematics and bringing them back to the lab in a grand reveal. They could technically have other people make things for them, but Jayce preferred doing as much of it himself as he could. The Hexgates of course was more of a huge many-people project, their design turned into a massive scale, but when it's their inventions, he trusts his own hands better.

Jayce always thinks of his father in this space. It is such a close association and for good reason. And yet, he is sharing a little on purpose. He smiles faintly and runs his fingers along one of the tool desks. "You would have liked him." And Viktor doesn't like a lot of people, so Jayce knows what he's talking about. "He cared so much about this city and the people in it. He wanted to put better tools in their hands, for a better world." It is not that difficult to see how Jayce's love and respect for him also became his own version of that same drive.

He picks up a wrench, twirling it in his hand, looking at it instead of Viktor. "He made being good look easy." When Jayce found it honestly so much more difficult to know what being a good man was. He tried, he thought about it a lot, but he doesn't feel like a good one now. His father would have been annoyed by his fame-seeking, rather than impressed.

[techmaturgy]

He used to come much more frequently--back when he felt it wasn't a waste of time to do anything but work in the lab. His visits to the forge were few and far between in more recent years, but that hasn't changed the fact that he likes watching Jayce work. It's so different from anything he does that he can't help but be impressed whenever he sees it (though he knows it goes both ways). His own skills trend towards finer, less physical work--delicate engineering and particularly fussy details. They compliment each other in that way, and now that it's all materializing in front of him, he resolves to join Jayce down here, even if nothing they make can be removed from the space. It will be nice to see him at work again, in this capacity.

"That's quite the assertion." Because, as they both know, Viktor doesn't like a lot of people. He's civil, yes, more than able to navigate the strange particularities of both the Academy and the larger scientific community, but as the years went on mostly withdrew from public life, in part because Jayce was so much better at navigating that world--and more palatable to Piltover, too. Generally speaking, Viktor has his doubts about those who care about the city, because more often than not they only care about one half of the city. Even Jayce, for all his talk of improving lives and their shared goal, slipped on occasion, and Viktor is not so far removed from home that he doesn't remember. Still, he wants to believe it, if only because Jayce is so earnest. Viktor leans against the worktable, thoughtful, eyes on the wrench that Jayce fidgets with.

"Being good is never easy." And it is, also, very subjective. It makes him wonder what they should really strive for, because being a good person is sometimes different than getting results. What is good, even? Doing the least harm possible? Creating actual, tangible change, even at the cost of one's integrity? He can tell, perhaps, based on Jayce's expression, that he's wrestling with similar questions. Viktor doesn't feel like the right person to say this, given the various ways he suspects they've failed to meet their own standards, but the encouragement feels needed, regardless. "What's important is that you try, and you do not compromise, even when it gets hard. Maybe it's not my place to say, because I didn't know him, but I think he would have been proud of you. Of Hextech."