"That sounds familiar." Standing at a distance, Viktor had a curious look on his face as he peered at this version of Jayce. It was clearly not the same man he'd known before, that much was glaringly obvious. He was slimmer, more worn, bearded, and he even carried himself differently. This Jayce looked — tired, to say the very least, as though he hadn't slept properly in months. It alarmed Viktor, but he gripped his cane just a little tighter and fought down the concern. For now, he would need to approach this man with some semblance of caution. He hadn't grown up in Zaun with little to his name and no survival instincts. He'd be dead long before he stepped foot in Piltover otherwise.

Still. That didn't mean Viktor had to pass up the opportunity to tease him a little.

Tilting his head, he forced his gaze away to eye the board. At this distance, he couldn't quite make out what was posted, but he'd picked up a few things by listening to the ambient chatter around him. That was the thing about Viktor — he was sharp, always listening, constantly processing new information. "I heard something about a blue bottle," he commented, twisting his cane idly. "Eh. A little too poetic for my tastes, but we should look into collecting it." Because of course he assumed they were doing this together. His Jayce or no, he wasn't about to let him wander off and take all the credit. And if a tiny, covetous part of him was desperate for even a brief reminder of the way things used to be between them, well. He deliberately ignored that.

( ooc: apologies for the wait, work decided to body me today 🫠 )