Discl.: I don't own anything
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Out of the Purple
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"Are you sure you are going to be okay, Fallen Angel?" the summoner leading her asked.
Her ears twitched in annoyance and she glared at him.
"Of course, summoner! Do you underestimate my power?"
He cowered underneath her glare.
"N-never, Fallen Angel."
Morgana scoffed and followed him in silence.
They were in the part of the Institute where those champions who were not allowed to roam freely were held. It was darker than most places in the Institute, and calmer. They had just passed a room which glowed white from the sheer heat that had seeped into the enchanted metal; obviously the cage of the Burning Vengeance. Nocturne's cell from where she could hear screams. However, she wasn't there to see them. She had another to meet.
Eventually, they reached the very dead end of the building, the deepest possible, and stopped in front of one of the most heavily guarded cages ever. The summoner was visibly trembling as he turned to her for hopefully the last time.
"This is it, Fallen Angel. Beyond that door is what you want. Once you enter, there will be bars which will keep you safe from... it. You may stay here for as long as you wish. However, pay in mind that what you are visiting is a vicious creature who will not hesitate to devour you at any moment's notice and there won't be anyone to hear your screams."
"Watch your mouth, summoner," she hissed; was that mongrel annoying, "I can very well defend myself and unless you want to serve as Icathian breakfast, I suggest you disappear from my sight!"
That chicken of a human was all too happy to leave, fast as though the floor was on fire. It didn't matter anyway – Morgana was happy to have him gone. Now, she could do what she came for.
Ever so slowly, she turned to the door and studied it carefully. Although she'd put up a strong front before, she was well aware that the creature she was about to face was no means predictable or moral and could devour her in a second. That was why she readied a Dark Binding just to make sure. There was a vast difference between being cautious and being a coward.
Powerful runes ran the edge of the door and literally glistened with magic. Some of them she recognized as Valorian, others from her world, surely offered by her blasted sister, while others had a distinct purple glow she could not recognize. What she could feel, however, was the vast magic that was trapped in this doorway. She knew it would not give out no matter how much the creature within tried.
On the other side though, only the barest touch of her hand sufficed. It would have been appropriate that the door had creaked, however it appeared its hinges were well oiled. Or protected by magic. Anyway.
She took a step inside, blackening the earth beneath her. And there it was, behind bars which surely held more magic. Just as the summoner had said
Ahh. Kog'Maw. The Mouth of the Abyss.
Once you looked past his power and that mouth, he was cute.
The Fallen Angel's stony expression melted away to something akin to kindness to the ones with greater imagination and she glided over, as close as possible. Right now the poor creature was yowling quietly and so sadly that she couldn't help but empathize with him. At least she had freedom. This little one didn't even have that.
Once he noticed her, however, he gave a happy gurgle and ran towards her, stopping right in front of her, just short of bumping into the bars. She smiled softly at that notion, though she did take a step back when he opened his maw and breathed some nasty smell into her face. Although she wasn't afraid of the creature, she had to be careful.
"Hello Kog'Maw," she started, taking another back, dissolving the Dark Binding into the air and preparing a new spell, "Although we have fought many battles together, I believe we haven't been properly introduced yet. My name is Morgana."
The Mouth of the Abyss made a sound which she liked to think was a "hello" or "nice to meet you, too".
"Well then, Kog'Maw, I believe I have a gift for you," and with that in her hand appeared a tray with probably the most miserable gingerbread men ever.
Anyone else would have cringed at the sight, but Kog'Maw jumped up and down with the prospect of food.
Ever so careful, Morgana sat down on the ground, her skirt fanning around her, covering almost all of the black of her corrupting aura. Again as unhurried as possible so as to annoy him a little and make him savour the pastry, she took a gingerbread man and threw it in the air. The creature from the Void resembled a dog way too much when it jumped up and caught the food with its tongue, spitting saliva everywhere.
She continued that routine until each one of the gingerbread men was gone, despite the fact that they were overly burned and most probably tasted like dirt. That made her feel self-accomplished.
Content after devouring all the gingerbread, Kog'Maw belched loudly, blinked twice and span like crazy, as though he was chasing his tail. That earned him a smile from Morgana. She remained on the ground.
"You aren't really as awful as they say, are you?" she sniffed and pulled her knees close to her chest, the tips of her ears falling dejectedly, bangs easily covering half of her face "You are just misunderstood. I guess I can identify with that."
You know life sucks when the only one you could empathize with was an otherworldly monster whose only purpose of living was to eat.
She rested her head on her folded arms and gazed at Kog'Maw as it ran around happily in its small cage.
That lasted for who knows how much time, until she was snapped out of her reverie by a masculine voice.
"Well, well, well. It seems our little Kog'Maw has a visitor."
She quickly scrambled to her feet and whirled around in a flurry of skirts and feathers. In front of her was a man she knew quite well.
Malzahar.
The heartthrob of most of the females in the league, though she couldn't understand why. Killer tan, mysterious aura of prophet and all that jazz, but nothing more. The only thing she saluted him for was his choice of color: purple, which was her favourite, along with black.
But now he was unwanted in her tranquil corner in the universe.
Mustering her best scowl on her previously unguarded features, she all but growled at him.
"What are you doing here?"
"Spare me the theatrics," he chuckled, making her stop channeling whatever magic was on her mind, "I heard you before."
Her hand fell from where it had been extended, resting against her side, and she managed to blush a beet red. From behind her Kog'Maw started wagging his tail and each time his tail hit the floor a loud sound echoed between them. Malzahar's stare moved from her red face to the creature and he took a step towards the bars (figuratively speaking – that man glided with more grace than her sister). Morgana suddenly became aware that he was way too close for her comfort.
He extended a hand through the bars and Kog'Maw run up to him like a small puppy, jumping and rubbing his head against his palm. A strong scent wafted from them too, and although it was mostly the stench of Kog'Maw's, she caught a hint of travels and sandstorms and places far more dangerous than she ever could imagine. Suddenly she wanted to feel that scent in all its intensity.
Involuntarily, she took a step towards them, eyes trained on his hand petting the creature from the Void. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him glance at her, but didn't say anything, leaving him to do the talking.
"It isn't often that Kog'Maw gets visitors, you know," he broke the silence eventually, moving his hand to scratch the side of the creature's head, "It's usually… just me or with my voidling."
"Well, I can understand why," she all but snapped at him, which confused her. Really, what did she want?
"Says the one who was feeding and opening her soul to him a minute ago," he snickered, making her flush a second time today, but this time from anger, not embarrassment. Unconsciously, she took another step towards him, her hand already forming a ball of dark magic.
"Why you little―"
"Hey, careful with that magic," he quickly intervened, putting a hand on her bare shoulder, startling her and sending jolts up and down her spine, "This place is crammed with magic just to keep Kog'Maw in. It's a bad idea to add more magic!"
Her Soul Shackles faded into thin air, just a breath from being launched. She heard him visibly sigh. His thumb briefly caressed her shoulder before leaving it, with the aftertaste of sand. A tiny voice in her head whined when he stopped their contact.
"So how did you make Kog'Maw not eat you?" trying to shut that voice up, Morgana asked the first thing that came to her mind.
"Ah, that," he chuckled, "Well, he knows me; that I'm not food. You know, you can try too, as long as you're with me!"
With that and no warning, Malzahar seized her hand, engulfing it into his own sand-textured one, making that little voice in her head return victoriously, and thrust it through the bars and onto Kog'Maw's head. A small gasp tore from her lips as she patted him – his head was scaly and warm to the touch and each one of his eyes closed, and his tongue stuck out in the exact portrait of contentment. A smile graced her lips, ears perking up, and she looked up to his face for the first time.
The moment their eyes met, she was taken aback. His were same as hers, crackling a brilliant white from arcane energy (though there was a nice sky blue tint to his, which made them all the more pleasing to the eye). For the first time she actually paid attention to someone's eyes, and they were the same as hers. For a second she actually felt like she could fly again.
The fabric against his mouth wrinkled and she imagined he was smiling. Unknowingly, they leaned into each other.
"Anyway let me ask a question of my own," suddenly he backed away ever so visibly; she suppressed a strange feeling of disappointment , "Why did you give your cookies to Kog'Maw? He isn't exactly the one who'd give you an honest opinion on them."
She flushed and looked away. Again. But anyway, her baking skills were a tender subject.
"He's the only one who'd want them."
"Really?" his eyebrows shot up and though his eyes were pretty unreadable, they looked thoughtful, "That's wrong. I'd like to try them too."
"You do?" enthusiasm flowed into her and she all but glowed. Her ears were two small pillars rising directly up. No one had ever said that.
He nodded.
She was just this close from jumping up and down and smothering him. However, she managed to control herself and remain dignified.
"I'm warning you though, you will suffer great horrors if you try," she shook a finger at him in a way that she could only dub playful.
"I have faced great dangers both in this world, in its worst corners and in the Void, where I have met unspeakable abominations," he declared dramatically, "I think I'm going to survive some cooking."
Morgana only smirked. It was all a matter of time.
"Well then, follow me."
With that she turned and went for the door. Behind her was the soft swish that indicated that he was following.
Once they were out of the room, Kog'Maw's happiness dilated. From what he understood, his friend was going to try the nice woman's not so nice cooking. Poor, poor prophet – he was in for a surprise far worse than even the Icathian Surprise.
Malzahar is quite the ladies' man. Killer looks, mysterious as hell and what's more, he has a DOG (smth like a dog, anyway XD) – Kog'Maw. And his voidling, come to think of it XD