Request from a Twitter role-player, I took a step into the fandom I'm partially familiar with: League of Legends. A slight romance and fluffy story, I am not sure about Vladimir's and Taliyah's personalities but in fact I did some researches about them. Don't worry, the story sets in alternate universe, and don't flame about my lack of understanding towards the said characters. Enjoy!
Note: 1. The characters, places and anything related to either or both are belonged to League of Legends which is under Riot; 2. I wrote "Zhao Xin" instead of "Xin Zhao" because I'm familiar with the surname first when it comes to Chinese names (for more information regards of Xin Zhao, search Xin Zhao in LoL wikia and check under Trivia section).
You Got my Attention
Taliyah was uneasy of attending high school. In fact, her dream to be a true sorcerer had to be altered when her parents wanted her to attend Shurima High School. Although she is the Stoneweaver by the age of teenager, according to her parents, Taliyah should get herself a certificate by completing 3 years of courses to be a true sorcerer. Before she moved on to her high school life, Taliyah asked her uncle Yasuo about it. To her surprise, only sorcerers are required to attend, as swordsmen and marksmen are required to sharpen their skills on swords and bows without any extra knowledges.
It was the day one of her high school life and Taliyah was still uncomfortable. Standing in front of the Shurima High School building – much like a smaller palace in Shurima, Taliyah was thinking if she would be okay. She never heard of the word "school" before, as she spent most of her childhood befriending goats and exploring stones beneath the dunes. She thought these knowledges were enough to contribute towards her sorcerer dream, but that's not it. According to her parents, Taliyah would have much to do to face unknown dangers outside Shurima.
"Hey, still standing there?" A 7 ft tall creature approached her from the back. That's Azir, the Emperor of Shurima. "Are you worried about the new environment?"
"No, that's not it," Taliyah replied, "It's just… I am not sure if I really like school."
"Trust me, Taliyah, by the blessings from Shurima, you'll be fine here. Your parents said you have talents when it comes to manipulating rocks, but you must know your talent should be sharpened by diving into a sea full of knowledge."
"So, that's why you're attending school too? You know, high school is designed for teenagers, said my parents. Which means, teenagers like me should attend, instead Your Majesty."
"Oh," Azir chuckled, "that's not the case. In this high school, I'll be a teacher. To be exact, I'm one of your parents, but only in school. And because of that, don't call me Majesty. I'm just doing my job, passing down what I know in classes so all people of Shurima will benefit. Now, go ahead and make new friends, you'll thank your parents later."
"Well, if your words are true, I'll thank you later too," Taliyah sighed in relief, as her respected emperor was now in the same school as her. Despite he's holding a different role, at least Taliyah could see him every day. Taking a deep breathe, Taliyah took steps forward into the school compound.
Soon, she became the centre of the attention in the compound. As study period was about to start, the Shuriman teenagers were gathering at the compound, either studying or playing mini games to kill times. Everyone knows Taliyah is a legit sorcerer, but the teenagers were surprised about the fact that such talented sorcerer had to go through three years of high school education. Some of the teenagers started discussing about Taliyah, but unfortunately more to a negative side.
"Hey, hey, is that Taliyah? Why she has to attend here anyway? I thought she's talented one."
"Maybe… She ran out of talents?"
"That's not it, I think she wants to be score 100 in every subject. But, it's really pathetic when such talent girl is wasted in this normal high school."
The teenagers' voice was not really loud, but their conversions were overheard by Taliyah. Taliyah felt more uneasy from the insults commented by the teenagers. As she was heading towards the teenagers and about to scold them, a guy appeared to block her way. Taliyah attempted to bypass him, but the guy spread his arms out, leaving her still standing in front of him.
"Hey, you," he said towards the teenagers, "no point of insulting anyone when you don't put much efforts in study at first place." The teenagers fled.
"And you," the guy continued, "Seems like you're new to this school. I'm Vladimir." The white-haired teenager introduced himself, attempting to shake her hand.
"Taliyah," she didn't respond to his handshake signal, "you're not a Shuriman, are you?"
"Well, you'll find out later! See you around!" Vladimir walked away, with a little sorry towards himself of not getting a handshake from Taliyah. He thought she could make new friends here, but he told himself that the barrier inside Taliyah was preventing her from making any new friends.
On the other hand, Taliyah was walking swiftly towards Azir. The presence of Vladimir got her attention, and this made her more uneasy of staying even a day at high school. "Hey Azir, I don't think I'll survive here."
Azir, who was standing aside before Taliyah walked towards him, saw what happened between Taliyah, the white-haired dude, and the teenagers who insulted her. The 7 ft tall Shuriman bird lowered his body and gave some advices to his high school novice, "I saw that. It happens to someone who is new to the different environment. You're a talented one but that's not an exception. Take this as a challenge, because more warriors will judge your abilities to take down enemies after your graduation. Wish you luck!"
"Thanks," Taliyah responded. Azir is a veteran in war so he understood her emotion at this moment, Taliyah thought. She would be fine, as long as Azir was around her. But, from an infinite area of sands and stones to now a smaller school compound, she shrugged about the fact stepping out of her comfort zone was a huge challenge for her.
"Alright Taliyah, your classroom is just upstairs, the first room. I'll be heading to my office to report for duty."
"Duty? I thought you're the boss of the school!"
"That's not it, Taliyah. I'm the Emperor but that's not the case when I'm in the school. In fact, I'm just a normal teacher, and the principle of the school acts like my boss. I'm not the boss."
"So… Who's then?"
"Shyvana."
"Shyvana? The heck? That dragon from Demacia?"
"Heh, she's hot too. But she's strict when requesting tasks, so you better be careful. Talking about that, I have to go now. See you later!" Soon, Azir ran towards his assigned destination, leaving Taliyah alone.
"Adapt to new environment, hey? Well, I can handle this," Taliyah said to herself, walking upstairs and towards her classroom as told by Azir. But, how did Azir know about the classroom location? Simple: Shurima High School is a rather high school. Despite being established three years ago, the reputation of the school was good that even caught anyone's attention, from Noxus or Demacia, or any other factions. That explains why Shyvana was the current principle of Shurima High School instead of any other Shurimans. Currently, there's only one class for each batch to match the current population of Shuriman teenagers, but more spots would be opened for teenagers for other factions in the future.
The Stoneweaver stepped into the classroom that was labelled as "freshman", which means the classroom was designed for newcomers of the school. Taliyah chose a desk which was far from the teacher's table and was closest to the window. She would choose the said desk, so she could gaze towards the sky above Shurima when she found out any boring courses. Carefully, she sat down and placed her bag beside her desk. Moments later, more teenagers entered the same classroom, including a familiar face she had seen in the school compound. The white-haired dude.
"Oh, we meet again," Vladimir greeted, "Didn't expect that you're in same class as me. I thought you're my senior." Vladimir chose the place which was beside Taliyah.
"No, not really. I thought you're older than me too. But, you didn't answer my question yet."
"Oh, that-" Vladimir was interrupted by the ringing school bell, "I'll tell later." Taliyah's question went unanswered again as Vladimir sat straight, and so did Taliyah and other students in the same classroom.
This year, Nasus would guide Taliyah's class on the path to be the true sorcerer. After he entered the class, he introduced himself as a guardian of Shurima who was willing to teach them about whatever he have learnt from countless battles. "You can call me General Nasus, or simply Nasus, I'll be fine with Nasus when you're not comfortable with General Nasus because generally, I'm not really a general anyway." The whole class giggled.
Nasus checked the name list he had before he moved on to say something else. "Well, most of you are Shurimans, that's true. Despite this is a rather new school, the school reputation is uprising, thanks to my plans, and we are attracting students from other factions. I call this as cultural exchange. You, at the back, that white hair handsome guy, can you come and stand beside me please?"
Vladimir pointed to himself with his lips saying "Me?". Nasus nodded before Vladimir stood up and walked towards Nasus. Everyone else, including Taliyah, had their eyes on the white hair teenager, as he was different from other Shurimans Taliyah acknowledged.
"Meet Vladimir, he's from Noxus, but he's willing to learn whatever Shurima can offer," Nasus explained, answering Taliyah's question indirectly, "but Vladimir, you must remember that Noxus is different from Shurima, so don't take everything for granted."
"Sure, Nasus."
"Now, get back to your seat. I'm going to start my course now."
Vladimir headed back to his seat without even saying anything further. Everyone else in the classroom was amused but puzzled at the same time, wondering how anyone from any other factions are allowed inside the Shuriman High School, even though the faction wars were still ongoing outside Shurima. Meanwhile, Taliyah scribbled something on a piece of paper and threw it onto Vladimir's desk before he returned to his seat on time. Vladimir noticed the paper on the desk and read the scribbles quietly.
Seriously? Noxus? Do you want to burn the school down?
Vladimir scribbled on the exact paper and threw it back to Taliyah.
Nah, this school got my attention so I'm here now. Turns out that you got my attention too.
Taliyah's heartbeat went fast at the point after she read whatever Vladimir wrote. She looked at the sky above Shurima for five seconds before she returned to scribble. Again, she threw the paper back towards Vladimir.
I'm here for study, not to face such a nonsense person like you.
Vladimir, in response, wrote:
Well, if I'm such a nonsense, why are you still scribbling?
Vladimir threw the paper back towards Taliyah, this time he added with a smile and a wink on his face while facing Taliyah. Taliyah sighed and decided to ignore him by not further elaborating the conversation on the paper anymore, and eventually brought her attention towards the course.
Nasus was teaching about war planning and he brought a book named The Art of War for teaching purpose. "I got this book from Zhao Xin because he recommended me this book. Although they say I gain victories because I always planned before war, this book much resembles me, so I'll bring it anyway, in case I forgot." When Nasus flipped the book open, he realized that the contents were 99% written in Chinese. "Damn, what the-" Nasus flipped the book again before realized that there's English translation after pages of Chinese characters, "Oh, didn't expect that one. Zhao Xin won me this time."
The whole class giggled, including Taliyah, who found Nasus' lecture was as interesting as if she explored the world outside. Taliyah, having her empty notebook on her desk, quickly grabbed a pen and started jotting down whatever Nasus had taught. By the end of the class, the first two pages of her notebook was filled with her neat handwritings, and most points about The Art of War in her notebook were identical as what Nasus had taught. She was focused in the class, but on the other end, Vladimir was not. He simply scribbled the very important points and ended up just a half-written page on his notebook. Taliyah turned her head slightly to take a sneak peek of her desk neighbour, finding out that white-haired teenager was half-asleep. She quickly scribbled on another piece of paper and threw it towards Vladimir's head, knocking him awake.
Hey, did you even focus?
Vladimir read the scribble quietly, before scribbled on the same paper and threw it back again.
Meet me at the rooftop. Bring your notes. Was lazy to follow Nasus' lesson.
After reading the message, Taliyah looked at Vladimir, rolled her eyes before responded him with a nod. "What the heck," she sighed, gazing at the sky above Shurima again before the school bell rang.
As Nasus waved goodbye to his students, the school bell rang, reminding students of recess time. Vladimir was the first one who exited his classroom, eager to have some recommended food made in Shurima. Meanwhile, Taliyah was cleaning up her desk before taking out a lunch box she brought from her home. She looked at the scribbled paper and it reminded her to bring her notes written during Nasus' lecture to Vladimir, the lazy Noxus guy she called. "This is crazy," she shrugged before taking her lunchbox and the notes, and then she headed upstairs towards the rooftop.
Meanwhile, Vladimir was taking a break at the said rooftop. He was lying on the floor of the flat rooftop, gazing at the sky of Shurima. "Well, Shurima is not a bad place, after all," he said to himself. Seconds later, Vladimir sensed someone blocking his view, and was no other than Taliyah.
"Hey, I brought as you wanted," said Taliyah.
Vladimir sat up and grabbed the notes from Taliyah, without saying any other words, before taking out his phone to take pictures of the notes written.
"Uhm… What are you holding?"
"Phone."
"For?"
"I would like to take pictures of notes during class. Too bad, Azir told me that phones are forbidden in class because most Shurima teenagers don't own phones until they turn 18."
"So… You're taking pictures of my notes instead."
"Exactly," Vladimir giggled.
"And, by the way, did you have some food here?" Taliyah asked.
"Just a piece of bread. I'm not really hungry for now."
"The food here is not as tasty as the food in Noxus, I assume."
"Not really. I don't consume food, actually."
"Then?"
"Blood," Vladimir answered boldly.
"Blood?" Taliyah was in confusion.
"Actually, just one drop of blood is enough."
"Well, technically, I think you are in vampire, and you want to suck my blood. You ARE freaking me out. Don't stop me, I'll shout for-" Taliyah was about to finish her sentences when Vladimir moved swiftly, ended up with his lips touching hers, silencing Taliyah. As soon as Vladimir pulled himself away from Taliyah, she managed to gasp with the word "help".
"You got my attention since you stepped into this school. You can call me a stalker, but that's what I do throughout my childhood years. But, this is the different case because you're my potential… new friend?"
"Friend? Then explain the kiss, please. You're freaking me out."
"Oh, that's for silencing you, of course," Vladimir chuckled.
"Say, we're not even friend yet, and you're starting to bother me, you're freaking me-"
"Shhh… Do you want me to kiss you again?"
Taliyah shook her head, "Ok, fine, you win. You can be my friend."
"Promise?"
"A Stoneweaver will mark her own words, trust me, Vladimir," Taliyah sighed, "and, if you don't believe me, don't try to stop me for whatever I'll do next." She proceeded to bite her finger as hard as she could, bleeding herself. "Here Vladimir, I'll call this the sign of friendship, before I can eventually accept you as my… dating partner, or prom night partner, or whatever it is."
At that moment, Vladimir knew he was friend-zoned, but he would accept the fact anyway since they were still young and dumb. "You mean, I'll suck it out from you?"
"Just one drop, Vladimir. I'll be fine, I even brought my meal over." Taliyah was confident, no sign of regrets from her. Vladimir approached her bleeding finger slowly and licked her wound. Soon, he felt energized as he could feel the power merely from one drip of Taliyah's blood. He did some warm-ups on purpose to absorb the lifeforce from Taliyah completely. "Thanks, Taliyah," he said.
"I was hoping you'll feel good after this. Again, I always mark my words, and please put your efforts on study before getting me," she said as she opened her lunchbox, revealing two pieces of bread, "Do you need one?"
Without hesitation, Vladimir took one of the pieces, "I have to be honest with you, Shurima bread isn't bad at all." Taliyah and Vladimir were sitting together, eating the bread while discussing about what Nasus had taught until the next bell rang again.