"WAKE UP!"
"OUCH!"
I winced and sat up after getting slapped across the head. My mother, my new mother, was glaring at me and shaking her open hand threateningly.
Why do I say new mother? Well, I was originally from Earth.
A year ago I woke up here in the Undercity, or Zaun, confused and scared, and my mother Relia assumed it was because of everything happening at the time. After I woke up, the Battle over Piltover's Bridge of Progress had ended with the Undercity's defeat.
"Get outside and clean the gutters!" Relia shouted. "How many times do I have to tell you? If the drains aren't clean before the next rain, we'll have a leak! Debris falls every day, and I can't afford another roof repair because you don't want to do your chores!"
"I didn't forget! There's no school today so I was going to do it later!"
"It could rain later! Don't put off what can be done now. Get your ass outside before—!"
"Okay! Sorry!"
Rolling out of bed, I changed into black pants and a burgundy shirt before racing outside.
Relia, my mother, didn't used to be this snappy. At least, not as far as I could remember.
She used to be a Chem-medic for revolutionaries before the Battle of Progress Bridge. She used to smile brightly while wearing dark teal outfits with glittery, jeweled rings. Her wispy pitch-black hair had a muted teal sheen that fell to her mid-back when it wasn't tied into a ponytail. It's the same now except for the gray streak running through it.
Sharp cheekbones, a soft expression and jawline, pale skin, and a calm intensity behind rare teal-green eyes that see more than she says. Her brows were narrow but expressive. Her thin lips often pressed into a thoughtful frown. And while she kept an energetic rhythm to her speech, her fingerless gloves and tired, slumped shoulders told a different story.
I remember her coming home late and scrubbing blood from her hands. I remember when she got the scar on her left arm from a surgical blade slipping and the times she used to make Roast-Rat with vegetables.
My father, on the other hand, well I can't remember anything about him. He was never around when he visited Mom and made sure it stayed that way while he was in the revolution.
There wasn't any violence between them when they separated. No knives, no screaming, nothing like that.
Honestly, it still feels messed up to me. But the reasoning Mom gave was that it was to keep me safe if the revolution failed. And it did. Some people from Zaun were rounded up, but it wasn't as bad as mom made it out to be.
More than likely, though, it was because of Vander. He was one of the revolutionary leaders and after the revolution he probably aligned with Sheriff Greyson in a mutual understanding against violence.
Taking a plunger and wiggling my gloved fingers, I walked outside and started clearing the drains while humming tunes.
A dense green smog floated throughout the city no matter the time of day. In the lower fissures where our home was, the haze gave everything a light green hue during the day and at night it settled into a gray, eerie mist. There were a few other shacks around us, some homeless tents, and up against the fissure wall several hundred meters south was the purple Eye of Zaun sign atop a home.
That was Vi and Powder's old home. But ever since the battle, it's been abandoned. Why? Their parents were killed on the bridge so Vander took them in. They currently stay at the Last Drop. I vaguely remember seeing them from my previous memories, but I never approached them.
What about my previous world?
Sadly, my memory is hazed over. I know I graduated high school. I used to get into fights and got pulled out of public school because of it. It probably didn't help that my dad was a martial arts enthusiast, so I kept wanting to "experience" the fight even when I was attending boxing classes.
And right before reincarnating… or transmigrating… I don't really know which, since I just woke up here, I was planning to switch out of retail and into a blue-collar job as an electrical apprentice.
"Varyn! Are you done?"
"Yes, Mom!"
Stepping outside in her typical dark teal coat and simple black boots, she briskly walked over to me. I stiffened unconsciously. A split second later, her fingers were running through my pitch-black hair, fixing it as she let out a long sigh.
"If your father saw you now…"
"Mom… why don't you tell me what he looks like? I'm fifteen."
When I asked that again, I saw her bite her lip and stiffen, her breath hitching.
"It's for the best that you don't, Varyn," she murmured, rubbing her nose. I noticed her eyes were watery so I shut my mouth instead of protesting. She sniffed again before taking a deep breath.
"You have work at the Gearwrights' Guild this evening, right?"
"Yeah…" I mumbled.
"What will you be doing today?"
"Clearing out the chem-rats, most likely… the big ones, so…"
Relia immediately turned and walked back inside the house. I blinked in confusion before she stepped out again with a small bottle.
"If you get scratched, pour this on the cut. It'll bubble and hurt really badly but it's better than getting an infection." She paused. "I've known people who've lost an arm and worse because of the diseases those creatures carry."
"Come on, do you really think a rat will scratch me? I'll have a bunch of adults around me, and they're even going to give me my very own knife!"
I couldn't help but smile excitedly, but my mother grimaced with distaste.
"Tsk. Be careful. And don't listen to everything those guys tell you. They can be real jerks and get you hurt just because they're bored."
"I know," I answered, nodding. I wasn't unfamiliar with workplace hazing.
It was usually harmless. Usually. Key word.
"Step back and ask yourself, 'Is this stupid?' before doing it."
Relia nodded. "And if it's stupid?"
"Don't do it. No matter how much they pressure you. Have them do it and prove it to you first."
"Good boy." Relia kissed my head and smiled. That smile, however, faded into an unpleasantly innocent one and she suddenly yanked my ear.
"Ow ow ow!"
"By the way… you forgot to close the window last night."
"I'm sorry!"