CH 8: Singing
"Oh, by the way, Powder!" Slathilia called out, stopping her. As she turned to look, he rubbed the back of his neck, looking away with a calmness rarely seen in him :"I'm gonna go Topside for a while by myself, alright? I'm gonna sing to earn some money and... ease my nerves a bit."
Powder :"Huh? But won't that be dangerous? Those enforcers are probably looking for us already."
Slathilia :"Yeah, but when searching, the place where people will suspect the least is right in front of them. They won't be expecting me to be right under their nose in Piltover. So don't worry."
Powder, hesitating :"Well... but..."
Slathilia, smiling :"Geez, don't worry. As I said, they won't think we'd be stupid enough to return there when we're trying to hide. So I'll be safe and sound, alright?"
Powder :"... Sigh, alright. Fine. But will you go alone? You won't go with Vi this time."
Slathilia :"No, I'll go alone. She needs some rest after today's whole ordeal."
Powder, nodding :"Alright then. Just... be careful, alright?"
Slathilia, nodding with a smile :"I will, don't worry. I may even lay low there for a bit till the situation calms down a bit."
After she nodded and walked into the building, he leaned back against the wall, second guessing his decisions. He did feel bad about it, but he couldn't help. For some things to be set in motions, sacrifices were needed. And frankly, if Vander's way of doing stayed like this, the Lanes would be completely destroyed in a few years after Hextech is utilized for combat and violence.
And, honestly, he didn't care as much as he thought he would. He was always a compassionate person unless someone betrayed or took advantage of him. So him not doing anything in the face of their death was. surprising, to say the least.
'Guess my compassion died with me, huh? I guess that's my sacrifice.'
Getting up, he nonchalantly started walking towards Piltover. He wasn't in a hurry, since he knew things would take a little while. While walking, he noticed, but didn't pay attention to the guy following behind him. He didn't even need to fully look back to see his huge grin. Just glancing was enough to see it.
'Yet another day, and another freak.' He sighed gently :'Welp, I guess I can "eat" my feeling away.' Unsuspiciously walking, he turned to an alley, and the man happily followed. Getting even happier and more excited when he saw that it was a dead end, and the beautiful little boy didn't have anywhere to escape.
"Hey, kid-" He started, a giant grin on his ugly face and a hard-on in his pants. But was silenced when Slathilia turned back, a cruel and dangerous glint in his eyes and emotionless face, as a giant claw with blade-like nails plunged deep into his chest.
As he coughed up blood, life began to fade from his body as Slathilia sighed :"Sorry, but I'm in no mood for bullshit at the moment." As he died, tendrils came out of Slathilia and began to devour the man's body and biomass. In a few seconds, the man was nowhere to be seen.
Licking his teeth, the slightly sad and reluctant look began to fade away from the hybrid's face. Replaced by a cruel smile :'Uh, I knew it. You're not you when you're hungry. Thanks for the meal, bud. Greatly appreciated.'
He had done this a few times. The Lanes could be compared to a trash can, with trash everywhere. And well, nobody would notice trash missing every once or twice. He didn't need to be worried about his mentality being altered because of his meals either. He had figured out a way to separate his mind, and form something of a mental library where he could store all the information acquired from his Symbiotic Abilities and his Blacklight Virus Abilities.
He could just look into them anytime he wanted, and didn't need to be worried about his mind changing. Continuing his way, he ate a few more people on the way before reaching the river separating Piltover and the future Zaun.
The bridge was a bit lively, and he wasn't in the mood for a big excitement. So he had to do something else. Going to the side of the bridge sneakily, he simply stuck to the underside of the bridge before casually walking from there. He could just go invisible through perfect camouflage and walk on the bridge, but he wasn't in the mood for playing carefully.
But after reaching Piltover, he did go invisible for a while to get away from the enforcers. After doing so, he created his signature black and red masquerade mask from his own biomass, created a guitar the same way, and walked into the bright and clean streets.
It was still daytime, so he had to wait for a bit before returning. So he decided to distract himself. And well, what better way to distract himself than to listen to music? More specifically, his own music. Walking to where he would always sing, he saw an audience already in place.
'Oh yeah, I did put up a sign to announce I'd be singing today this afternoon.'
Smiling a little to himself, he walked towards the waiting audience :"I'm sorry for making you all wait, everyone." Catching their attention when they turned to see him. Immediately, most of them cheered as they made way for him to reach his stage. Which was just where he would sit, honestly.
Sitting down, he sensed a weird presence. Something that he hadn't eaten yet. Glancing over, he saw a short figure in the audience, who, surprisingly, the people gave space to. From how they silently treated him, he would seem to be an important or high ranking person.
And he was one. Specifically, one of the most important people of Piltover, and arguably THE most important person of Piltover. Heimerdinger, a Yordle, the head and a founding member of the Piltover Council. He didn't know why he was there, but from the looks of his excited face, he seemed to be here simply to listen to his music.
'Oh yeah, he was simple like that sometimes.' Slathilia mused to himself before putting his hoodie up and setting a blanket on the ground. Why? Because a can or such simply wasn't enough for tips anymore. These people enjoyed his music a lot, and really didn't mind paying handsomely for a good song. So in the end, he had to put a blanket on the ground for all the money they would give him.
Coughing, he silenced the excited and chattering people in front of him :"Well, everyone, I have two new songs for you today. They're called Outrunning Karma (by Alec Benjamin), and Silent Scream (by Damien Dawn). Honestly, they're sad songs. But I hope you all enjoy them nonetheless." And as his hands moved on his instrument, the music came to life.
"Outrunning karma, that boy
He's such a charmer, all the
Bugs and their larva follow
Him out to Colorado
Ten-dozen hearts in a bag
Their bodies lyin', he'll drag
Them down to Colorado
A modern desperado
And he'll race for miles through the night
He runs because he knows he cannot hide
Outrunning karma, that boy
Can't run no farther, it's the
Last days of Sparta, follow
Him down to meet Apollo
And he'll brace for battle in the night
He'll fight because he knows he cannot hide
He's never gonna make it, all the
Poor people he's forsaken, karma
Is always gonna chase him for his lies
It's just a game of waiting from the
Church steeple down to Satan karma
There's really no escape until he dies
Outrunning karma, that boy
Can't run no farther, it's the
Last days of Sparta, follow
Him down to meet Apollo
And he'll brace for battle in the night
He'll fight because he knows he cannot hide
He's never gonna make it, all the
Poor people he's forsaken, karma
Is always gonna chase him for his lies
It's just a game of waiting from the
Church steeple down to Satan karma
There's really no escape until he dies
La-la-la, la la, la-la-la, la la
La-la-la, la la, la la
La-la-la, la la, la-la-la, la la
La-la-la, la la, la la
He's never gonna make it, all the
Poor people he's forsaken, karma
Is always gonna chase him for his lies
It's just a game of waiting from the
Church steeple down to Satan karma
There's really no escape until he dies
La-la-la, la la, la-la-la, la la
La-la-la, la la, la la
-
And so, he began his show. Despite not feeling bad, he still did feel a bit sad. So, instead of holding it in, he sang it out for the people in the form of art. And well, they all stayed silent and listened intently. Despite always singing and dancing with his excited and happy songs, they stayed silent and quiet, listening to the silent weeping hidden inside of the music.
Even Heimerdinger couldn't help but stay silent, and be impressed at the music that could move not just their feelings, but also their hearts and minds. After finishing both songs, his hands stilled. And moments later, the clapping echoed throughout the place.
There was no cheering, nor any compliments. But the awe in their hearts could be heard in their claps as they looked at the boy in amazement. They couldn't help it, but they didn't want to ruin the wordless silence after the music. The aftertaste of the songs was still there, and their hearts were still dazed. They didn't want to ruin it.
But after a few moments, Slathilia himself let out a chuckle :"I'm sorry for the depressing mood I made, everyone. I just wanted to try my hand in a new area and style. I guess I'm good at that though. But now, as an apology, please choose a song you'd like me to sing. And don't rush, I have a lot of time right now."
And afterwards, his songs were chosen by the audience who had been a fan of him for a longer time than the new fans.
-
Night had finally come, and once the people had cheered, celebrated and had asked for a few autographs, they had begun to leave when Slathilia announced that everything was done. However, he himself didn't leave immediately. It wasn't his style to immediately leave after finishing the show. He'd sit there for some time to relax before leaving.
But this time, he sat there to let the feelings fully leave before getting up. However, as he did so, he noticed there were still two people in place. The ones that came to him when everybody was gone.
A Yordle, Heimerdinger. And a teenage girl, who he didn't know. The girl had dark blue hair, and seemed to be the same age as Vi. He didn't have time to ponder about it since Heimerdinger passionately spoke :"Bravo, my boy, bravo! In all of my long life, I've never seen someone so young yet so talented as you! You said that you've written all these songs yourselves, correct?"
Taken aback slightly by his excitement, Slathilia couldn't help but chuckle and nod, taking off his hood in the process :"Hm, that's correct, sir." 'Technically not wrong, since the ones who have sung them don't even exist here in this world. But hey, kudos to them.'
Heimerdinger :"Hahaha, that is simply amazing! It is astonishing to see such a talented young boy working so hard on what he has a gift for and enjoy it in the process! Mark my words, if you continue as you have now, I am sure you'll achieve many things through this talent. I've listened to many songs and music, but even I was immersed in your beautiful melodies! And that is saying a lot."
Slathilia, chuckling :"I'm happy to hear that, mister. Hearing people enjoy my music is the best thing I could ask for. Hahaha, along with the money since I need it to live and all."