Chapter Text
Being born a paralyzed Piltovan makes you destined to be looked down upon by your own people.
It’s not like Salo knows any better.
“Traffic lights will tick in different rhythms for each color, letting the blind know when to cross.” He says, sharing his vision and ideas to improve Piltover out loud as if he’s presenting it to the council itself.
His only friend Lest is always his audience.
“Shouldn’t you sort those documents Councilor Hoskel gave you?” She asks him, her eyes glued to her notes.
“I already did.” Salo answers, glancing at the two stacks of papers on the desk. Being the assistant of a counselor and wheelchair-bound to boot, he can only do so many tasks that don’t require running through the whole academy building bringing stuff or informing everyone of something in record time. Not that Salo minded, but it can get quite boring from time to time. “What are you working on, anyway?”
“Something your politics will faint over.” Lest answers, handing him one of her notes. While Salo’s expertise is politics, hers is medicine and drugs. And thanks to him offering her to be Bolbok’s assistant when the position was free, she could pursue it.
Reading through the notes, Salo finds himself rather confused.
“Shimmer?” He asks, quickly reading the list of accomplishments it can achieve with its use. “Huh, doctors can do a lot with this-“
“It’s extremely addictive.” Lest says sternly, destroying her friend’s aspirations before they’re even built. “And it depends on the type. You can’t heal a stab wound with shimmer that gives you strength.”
“It’s all purple?”
“Yes, and don’t ask me why.”
Salo sighs, giving the paper back to Lest. Sometimes, she can really be too cynical for her own good.
“Where did it even come from?” Salo asks, wanting to know a little more now that they’re still on this topic.
“According to the professor, a drug lord in the undercity has created it.” Lest explains as she sorts her notes. “Perhaps Heimerdinger’s assistant knows something about it. He’s from there.”
“That piece of shit whose ego is the size of the planet?” Salo asks, not exactly wanting to think about that egotistical asshole. “No thank you.”
Viktor, Councilor Heimerdinger’s assistant, is known for his intellect which he oh-so loves to brag about. The guy just can’t seem to shut up about his achievements, and Salo knows he isn’t the only one who finds the inventor insufferable.
He pities Viktor’s poor assistant…
“You have my permission to run him over.” Lest says jokingly, lightening the mood for once.
Salo, however, still has a few questions regarding shimmer.
“Why are you even tasked with studying such a drug?” He asks, turning his wheelchair around a bit properly look at some of Lest’s notes. “The council hasn’t intervened in the undercity’s affairs in years.”
“Because Piltover wants to utilize shimmer for the elite. There’s a whole lab dedicated to it.” Lest answers. As an aspiring politician, Salo sure is quite out of the loop. “How would you handle it?”
That has Salo thinking for a moment. If it’s that addictive, it should be banned outright. The city of progress doesn’t need drug junkies.
Wheeling himself back to his desk, Salo grabs a pen and a clean sheet of paper and writes down the solutions if this problem will come up someday.
Just in case.