When Duty Calls

When they returned to the station, a short line of suspects had already been formed. At this point, Caitlyn’s eyes were weeping tears of irritation and she could barely breathe through her nose. Even she had to admit that there was no way she could screen suspects herself. With trepidation, she left Vi with explicit instructions on what to look for.

Deep inside, she knew they weren't necessary. Vi was a natural at picking out details most people overlooked. She was an expert at subtly, much better than Caitlyn herself had been when she first set foot in the Lanes alongside the newly released convict. A childhood in Zaun had ingrained that intuition into Vi. It was a means of survival rather than just a police tactic.

Despite Vi's overqualification in reviewing suspects, Caitlyn felt like she needed to be there for all to go well. She needed to look each of them in the eye, play with the fragments in her mind until they fit came together and to form the image of the suspect. She craved control, required it even, but her own health sometimes took it out of her hands.

With a deep breath, Caitlyn gave the enforcer a nod, before she departed for the nearby apothecary.

Matilda, the head pharmacist, turned toward the door as soon as the bell jingled. She was attentive as always. A brief look of surprise crossed her face, before it broke out into a smile.

“Afternoon, Sheriff. Is it wrong for me to say that I’m happy to see you again?” She grinned merrily as she looked Caitlyn over, tutting as she took in her red nose and irritated-looking eyes.

Caitlyn couldn’t help but chuckle despite how awful she felt. “No offense taken, Matilda. Lovely to see you as well, although I wish it were under different circumstances.”

“It’s odd to have you drop by at this time of the year,” Matilda noted. “You’re usually only a regular between the months of March to June.”

Caitlyn paused to clear her throat before speaking. “Greenhouse raid. Really the worst possible location.”

“You poor thing,” Matilda said, her eyes crinkling with sympathy. “Give me a second.”

She disappeared into the labyrinth of shelves behind her, before emerging with a familiar olive-green bottle in her hand as well as what looked to be a bottle of water, albeit with a peculiar long cap.  “Here you go. 20% off. Thank you for all you do.”

Caitlyn shook her head and smiled good-naturedly before paying the full amount. “You know I can’t accept that. Thank you very much. I’ll see you in a few months.”

She tipped her hat before leaving, the door dinging behind her.

Twenty minutes later, she hunched over the sink in her office’s private bathroom, using both hands to scoop cold water over her face and clear the pollen as best she could. After drying her face and hands with a cloth towel, she turned to the nasal irrigator Matilda had included. Might as well keep an extra one in her office in case situations like this arose in the future.

She shook the salt and water solution a couple times, before bending over the sink again. Taking a deep breath, she cocked her head before gently putting the spout against her upper nostril. She poured it carefully, feeling the warm stream of water trickle through her nasal cavity and out of her lower nostril. As usual, the sensation tickled, and a few seconds passed before Caitlyn reflexively inhaled, her eyebrows scrunching with discomfort as she sneezed twice.

The sound echoed off the tiles in the bathroom, and Caitlyn hoped it wasn’t audible beyond the doors of her office.

The Sheriff of Piltover sniffled and reached for a handkerchief, folding it over and pressing it against the underside of her nose to blot the flow. She paused from the rinse for a minute, knowing that it always took a few turns for her to get used to the feeling of the saline. After the sensitivity decreased, she picked up the pot again and repeated the procedure until she felt her sinuses clear out.

 Within thirty minutes, her breathing eased as the swelling in her sinuses went down. She wet another washcloth with cool water and placed it over her eyes, giving them a few minutes to decompress, before she washed her hands and put her tophat back on.

It was time to get back to work.