HAPPY BIRTHDAY THOMAS!
A second attempt at his birthday story, as the first one was an utter disaster. This is a continuation of it before, and only the ones who read it will understand, although I feel as if you can all understand as well once you read. Many inside jokes are compiled in here, so I apologize if you don't understand everything. Also, if I forgot any inside jokes, I'm sorry. But anyways, enjoy!
"... and as we further investigate this new situation over Noxian and Ionian border policies, we will wait longer on a court ruling to determine the severity of the situation, and once it is done we will await a verdict and a final statement… As many of you may have heard rumors of within the past week, the League of Legends has made a decision to affect Valoran's future. With the approval of all city states partaking in the event and after months of heated discussion, the Institute of War declines further responsibility of the champions housed and will be featuring a full scale shutdown in the near future. Champions will be safely discharged of their contracts with the League of Legends and, after the shutdown occurs, be safely returned to their city states. The same rule applies to all of the summoners. Although, as many of you may know, many current summoners came to the Institute of War in search of a home. With this in mind throughout all of the city-states of whom partook in the League of Legends, rapid maneuvers are being taken to expand the residential areas of the cities as fast as possible. Please note that the shutdown was just now officially announced; no date on when the shutdown will actually occur has been announced. The Prince of Demacia, Jarvan IV, who is also a champion of the League of Legends, can dictate the situation across the continent as devastating. Jarvan said, quote, "Although Demacia is one of the most populated cities currently in all of Valoran, many residents who moved to the Institute when it was first constructed will now be returning. With the great fear of overpopulation spreading within our government, we've decided to focus our efforts into expanding our residencies, so that those who come home will be greeted with a place to live. I feel as if I can speak for all of the other cities when I say this." Jarvan's words can not go unheard of, so if you know someone who doesn't know about this, pass this information along to them... On a more uplifting note, Captain Teemo of the Bandle City Swift Scouts has finally declared to the public of his romantic relationship with the Meggling Commando, Tristana -"
Just then did the television shut off with a loud warp sound that filled the rest of the apartment. The sound of the news broadcast that had filled the room disappeared, replaced with nothing. The screen was black, displaying nothing. The light that showed through the little crevices in his curtain shined down onto his bare feet. But it can only relate, as the area he was sitting in was soon to be demolished: this light displayed nothing.
He let his arm fall down in front of him with no motivation to pick it back up, and not caring when the battery of the television remote control fell out when he accidentally banged it against the coffee table in front of him. Soft feelings were erased as his back slowly grinded upwards against the couch he was sitting in front of, and the rug that he was sitting on let his leg slide across it without the rash feeling of rugburn. The boy cradled his knees close to him and hugged his arms tight around them; the position gave others a feeling of a newborn baby being completely birthed from their mother's womb. Instead an indecipherable layer of blue covered his body, and the blue fully represented the depression he had just begun to suffer.
Thomas knew this situation all too well. The moment of realization, and realizing that there is nothing that he can do about it. He had felt it once before. That day back in the beautiful outskirts of Demacia. Where it rained almost every night and goats would wake him up early in the morning. He would remember the light being seeped through the small holes in his curtain. How the oven wouldn't cook in the morning until he had the willpower to stand up, turn on the oven, and overcook his breakfast.
It was what he had once called home.
He could remember the night causing his room to go dark. The first light he saw kindled a disaster, causing that curtain to almost send burning ashes over his eyes. His bedroom door evaporated. His front door eviscerated. His roof collapsed. And the faint Noxian crest on a man that ran by.
It could not have happened then, but it did. Just at the time he was most relaxed. And the same situation applied here. It was an abasement to his existence.
He could not leave. He would die if he left now.
Thomas balled his fist in anger and slammed down upon the coffee table, grinding his teeth to the force of it, shaking at the thought of it. It took every ounce of willpower to not shout mindlessly at the television screen and disturb the neighbors who were only a thin wall's width away. One wrong slip up could mean him leaving here earlier, then this would mean that this was the last time comparing his filthy apartment room here at the Institute of War to the one he used to have.
To live a life of luxury would be undeserving to him.
His thoughts consisted mainly of the hatred for life he had ever since that day. And even after making many new friends here, those bonds will now be severed by this black flame that disintegrates anything in its path, and if the electrically charged sword could cut through anything, it surely just cut open a huge hole in his life. He thinks nothing could fix it. Or relate to it…
It not only burdened him, but seemed to have a significant impact on everyone around him. Some days were just not the same. Feelings are known to be contagious, and his certainly were.
That was just the reason he would make the excuse for. Yes. He'd say that he was too down to go out today and enjoy the remainder of time he had left here all by his lonesome. Then they'd have to concede to his thought. Yes. That would be joyful… if he didn't want to see his friends. Things would at least be more entertaining with his (nimrod) brother here, as much as he despised the fool. A flurry of conversation could come about, or a spree of arguments and hatred. Thomas was the only one to know those times with his brother, as he was the only one to turn south and walk away at the moment of his accidental death.
"Hmph." He chuckled to himself. He could only ridicule himself for his over-convoluting set of thoughts. It might just be better to go outside. At least it would free his mind.
Shaking his head he finally put his hands to his side and pushed himself upwards. Standing on his own feet blood finally decided to pump through him again, and that might have been just enough motivation. He kept his curtains closed (for his own mental sake). The light that poured through had changed direction just slightly, now peering one small beam into the small closet-sized room that he called his bathroom. Thomas followed the beam, taking the very few steps needed to round the small corner and enter the room with a sink and mirror in front of him, toilet on one side, and shower on the other. He rubbed his eyes and looked up.
A cold shiver was sent down his spine. Inside his head he heard the sharp sound of an old fingernail drag itself along dead wood. It was aggravating, like chalk on a chalkboard. Uneven strands of hair emerged from the creature's face, and its snout grew out of figure. It was completely disfigured, but familiar. A manikin could pose a better figure of a human. Was the creature human? It certainly regarded itself as one; although many would say otherwise. Hell, even the author would...
Oh, it was only his own reflection.
He turned the knob to the sink and quickly splashed cold water on his face and looked up again. It had not looked liked he had seen the light of day in ages. A caveman would be proud of the beard he had grown, and his hair had extended past the point in which it was most comfortable for him. The lump of hair probably consisted of half of his pillow. Knowingly, Thomas quickly grabbed a razor and took his time to shave it off. No matter how much he liked it, it certainly didn't look nice. And he wanted to at least look half-decent for the remainder of him here.
After he was done and satisfied with himself turning from a caveman to a pillock, a smile came about his face. Maybe this day wouldn't be as bad as he thought it would be. He left the bathroom and proceeded to his wardrobe where he had put on a basic blue shirt along with a fully zipped grey sweater and black jeans, as well as bending over to equip a pair of socks and shoes. When he had finished readying himself, he stepped to his front door, took a deep breath, and turned the knob.
The door creaked open and no sunlight filled the room, mainly because this was his apartment within the building. If it wasn't for this, he'd have to adjust to the bright sun sooner. A faded brown wallpaper dulled down the long hallway just like its accommodation of the players within the Bronze Building's hopes to get out of there some day, but being placed upon the fifth floor was more than enough of a hassle. At least he was above the other players in one way. Jumping to attention, he wandered down the bare hallway, went down the stairs, and exited the main lobby without any distractions.
It was the beginning of December. Snow fell down little by little out of the sky, leaving a fluffy snow carpet to layer the ground. The sun shone far away from Runeterra, and in return it gave the blessing of light without stripping the world of its winter privilege. Although currently it was covered by clouds, light managed to warp around them and brightened the way.
The pathways that were supposedly there were now hidden due to the snow, although a commoner here would know his way around without the guidance anyways. Knowing his destination, he took off to the right of the his home, passing the apartment's sign which read "Bronze Apartment Building #27" along the way.
The path he took was the path most traveled, and unlike the hallways of his apartment building the streets seemed lively today. As he was going to, friendly groups of fellow summoners made about their day by joining together on the streets to converse. Most of the conversations Thomas had overheard normally consisted of a League match and how it went so well or so poorly for them. The more entertaining ones were the latter. He could relate to them, but he always found it comical when other people began complaining, and sometimes bickering with their friends about possible things that could've gone better. The tempers of summoners definitely had their own psyche, some of which Thomas couldn't quite understand. However he had one of his own. Guess he could be considered a hypocrite in that respect.
He chuckled again at his thoughts. The buildings that he had passed only housed more residents, and he was quite surprised that not many people were leaving at this time in the morning. For the summoners, volunteering at the top of the Institute was a privilege as they sometimes got to meet the champions personally. Sadly, to Thomas, this privilege was only granted to those in Gold and above. A fact that Thomas would kick himself for, and be extremely jealous of his friends for. Well, two of them, at least. However, that didn't mean that champions were not allowed to talk to summoners below that rank. He knew a select few who talk to certain champions quite often.
It took Thomas several minutes of walking to come about his destination. Though it was not the most prominent area of the entire Institute of War, it certainly held sentimental value with him. After all, not everyone comes to the same spot everyday where they remember being sucked through a wormhole and teleported to another land. Most people would be scared. A large field stood before Thomas, and like always during the winter time, nobody seems to be traversing the sheet of white before him. It looked abore. Any dabber of color would stand out like a taw amongst small marbles. He didn't mind looking over the area any further, as that was literally all of the detail he could make out. If someone was watching behind him, they would conclude that he was proceeding to wander out into the middle of nowhere. However, Thomas knew where he was going.
And like the analogy, the color's that he thought of became a reality. A patch of unnatural color came into his view in front of a tree off in the distance. He offered no hesitation but to move forward. As he knew but somewhat doubted, his friends wouldn't kill him upon seeing him…
"Why do we never decide to murder him whenever we see him?" Thomas could make out a female voice, but couldn't quite tell what she was saying.
"That's a great question that I wish I knew the answer to." He heard another familiar voice say.
"We could just make snowballs and throw it at him." A different female voice said.
"Should we waste so much effort on him though? He's Bronze 5 and has no hope." He heard a male voice say, and could make out his mouth move as he lay flat on the ground. Meanwhile, his eyes transitioned a small bit over.
"I think so."
"It won't work, ya know?"
"Who cares? At least we can still hurt him. That's the whole point, right?"
"Ehh, I guess you're right."
-thwack!-
"Oww!" Thomas exclaimed and jumped up in a brief period of pain as a pretty large snowball came into contact with his knee. He looked down to examine his now white spotted jeans to overhear them laughing out loud ahead of him. "Why am I friends with such dicks?"
"That was uncalled for, ya know!" He shouted out, looking back up bristled. Without a doubt it only prompted the five sitting there to laugh more.
The base of the tree clustered three people on it, all three of them leaning their backs against it at a different angle. A common theme between all three of them was that they all wore the same clothes they would wear everyday in this type of weather. A sweater and jeans were all they needed to keep warm. However, Oly was the only one to double up on sweaters. He leaned awkwardly on the tree, as the two sweaters made his upper torso look uncomfortably stiff. Oly didn't seem to be shivering as he probably would in this type of weather, and it made Thomas laugh. They'd been at the Institute of War for five years and he still hadn't become accustomed to the snow. Next to him was Max, as one could tell as he was the only one in the group that actively wore glasses. He had one knee propped up and the other leg straight forward, causing his sweater to barely bulk up over his mouth.
The third figure sitting next to the tree would probably easily murder Thomas whenever she had the chance for how many jokes he has made about her in the past. As a result, Oly created an unofficial restraining order that Alicia could not be within ten feet of Thomas or else Alicia gained the right to beat him up. However, that didn't necessarily mean that she couldn't throw stuff at him. Her mittens patted down on another ball of snow which she was so cautiously calculating to be heavy enough to make Thomas suffer again. Her dark and long brown hair was combed neatly down and only disturbed by small snow pieces. The challenging smirk on her face led him to strongly believe that she was the one that incapacitated his knee.
"That's exactly my intention." Alicia responded, looking back down and meticulously carving out her next snowball. Thomas stopped walking at this point at sat down, carefully measuring ten feet, and marking the closing of the circle the five had made. He looked at Max.
"Mate, you better find somethin' to fill her pouch or else we'll be seein' blood at the barbie tonight." Thomas said in the most inaccurate, profounding, and provocative Australian accent ever! Not only did Alicia shoot Thomas a death glare, everyone else glanced at him unpleasantly as well (although Oly did hold back a small chuckle).
"You better watch out deadhead. If what they say about us and crocodiles is true, I could take you down with one hand tied behind my back." She retorted, echoing her braggart nature they had come to adore. When given a challenge of wits, she was tenacious and wouldn't back down easily. Her tirades were educational to listen to.
"I can't believe that's the first thing you said when you got here…" Oly mumbled, putting his hand up to his forehead.
"Yeah! Seriously! Like, what the fuck Thomas!" The second female voice said. Across to the right was Brice, who was casually sitting on the snow. However, like Oly, it didn't seem natural for her to be wearing a sweatshirt, especially one that large. Either the reason was that the cold would've instantly given her hypothermia without one, or the dang thing was just too big. Everything besides that was normal. Her countenance looked disgusted and sorry for her friend that she had to put up with this. It seemed too familiar to him. "You just love to disturb the peace, don't you?"
He scratched behind his head nervously. "Yeah, I guess so." He said with a smile convincing enough to make Brice spare his life for another day. Actually, everyone here could kill him. It was rather the unfortunate scenario.
"Really, Brice?" Oly said from the side. Brice looked over.
"What?" She exasperated.
"Do you expect him to take you seriously when you look like that?" He complained. "Yes!...!" Brice looked down to examine herself.
"Like what?" She asked, and Oly exhaled.
"We had this conversation already. You look like a damned penguin!" Oly exaggerated.
"What the f-, I look nothing like a penguin!" She yelled at him, again looking back down at herself trying to spot the similarities. Oly gawked and pointed with both hands at her arms, which were extremely stiff and straight due to the size of the sweater.
"Get up and walk right now then! Waddle your way over to Nick!"
"Not to me, someone else." Nick's voice was heard from the opposite side of Brice, projecting upwards into the snowy day. Everyone looked over at him as he lay on the ground, not caring if anyone found him staring up at the sky was odd. The oddity on him was that he was the only one pursuing a scarf, which was wound up around his neck where only one end hung loose on his chest. "I don't want to be disturbed right now."
"Yeah, that might not be the best idea. We don't want Brice to trip onto him." Oly teased.
"You're a faggot."
"Ok then, lets restart! Shall we?" Alicia said. Even though those words seemed fake, everyone obliged by it.
"Did you all hear the news?" Thomas broached.
"Yeah. It's really unfortunate, but at least we can all go back home for a change." Oly said, somewhat optimistically. Both Thomas and Max eyed him with a somewhat annoyed expression. "What?"
"It's good for you, at least." Thomas mumbled under his breath, somewhat depressed. They all knew his situation but mostly disregarded it due to the notification that new homes will be given. Hey, maybe Nick will be his neighbor. "You only want to go back because of the yordles."
"Not really." Oly said, and put his hands behind his head. "Bandle is a nice place. Very peaceful with nothing much to disturb you."
"Wow, you're a total bitch." Alicia commented with a smug expression, and again shooting an asserting smile.
"And what about you then?" Oly asked back, challenging her aggressive tone and replicating that smile. "Where are you off to?"
Alicia rose a prideful fist into the air. "Back home to Zaun! Back to where I can kick ass myself without a set of bullshit rules." She said. She crossed her arms. "Like seriously. If a group of boys walks up to me I should be able to kick their asses…"
"Yeah, that's certainly why I set a restraining order for you and Thomas."
"I'm happy you did, or else he'd be dead by now."
"I can release it if you want."
"Gladly."
"Hey, hey, hey! Too much!" Thomas recoiled and swayed his hands in the air in defense. Both Alicia and Oly chuckled and, behind Max, gave each other the friendly fist bump.
"What about you, Max?" Alicia asked, nudging Max's shoulder with her own.
"Noxus. Enough said." He's always been one for Noxus; even though it was primarily interest in the champions that hailed from there, Max didn't mind the life there. It was just interesting enough to keep him entertained. Although all of them knew that he likes it there for more than just that reason. Alicia glared and snickered knowing this.
"Jeez Max. You're really decisive when it comes to her, aren't you?"
"Just because she lives there doesn't mean that I only want to go back just for her."
"Oh, well aren't you a robust man than?" She teased, and Max slightly blushed under the pressure Alicia was (and had always) put him under in situations like this.
"Nick, I'm assuming you're going back to Demacia?" Thomas asked.
"Yup." Nick said nonchalantly and, throughout this conversation, has not reacted at all to what anyone has said. Nick's reasons for going back to Demacia were the same as Max's to go back to Noxus.
"And Brice?"
"I'm not sure." Brice put her hand on her chin, no matter how difficult it was to keep it there. Time past and snow blew by as she thought. "Freljord would be an interesting place to live, although Zaun would be a bit closer to Piltover just in case I'd want to go there."
"Just in case you needed to borough Caitlyn's sniper for whenever Oly walks in?" Alicia proposed, and if the thought wasn't in Brice's head before it was probably now.
"Pfft. You'd be more of a threat." Oly unintentionally dissed himself.
"Aww, thank you. I'm flattered." Oly stuck a tongue out at her.
"What about you, Thomas? Where will you be heading?" Max asked. As he said that, everyone but Nick looked at him anxious for a response. Although they were, Thomas didn't quite have a response. He'd guess that the most legitimate answer would be back to Demacia, and that maybe him and Nick could possibly be neighbors (despite Nick's probable disposition on agreeing). Yes, that would be the most plausible solution as of current. He wondered how his mind would cope with that. Living in the place where he had lost everything. "We all know what had happened -"
"Yes, I know." Thomas interrupted. He realized that everyone looked astray at the source of his discomfort. It led to awkwardness; then it was followed by a nerve wracking silence. "I mean... I guess that Demacia is the best place for me."
"Yeah, it'd be for the best... I mean, you wouldn't want to end back up in the Shadow Isles again, haha!" Oly said optimistically, closing his eyes and proceeding to smile like a character in an anime. "You remember that, don't you?"
"Yeah... yeah I do." Thomas said. His voice wavered. He wished now wasn't the time to bring up repressed memories.
"That was a pretty fun time, wasn't it?" Oly asked him, keeping his positive attitude to try to lighten his mood. Given this was the topic, it wasn't working. He didn't want Oly to feel down with his optimism, in fact he kind of appreciated it. He cradled his knees and rested his head on them, making it look like he was loafing.
"Wait. What happened?" Alicia asked.
"Max never told you the story?" Alicia shook her head. "Jeez Max. You hide her from us for so long and you don't tell her anything."
"He's a very irresponsible person by the way. It's so annoying sometimes. An affable suggestion: lets take his glasses and dig his own eyeballs out with them! We could then proceed further by taking scissors and cutting his entire tongue out, then using his tongue to suffocate him and shrivel him up. Afterwards we crumple him up like tinfoil into a ball and play soccer with him, and at the same time we use the blood from his dangling intestines as lubricant so we can shove him down one of those tiny trash disposers around here. Then we can here him scream in delightful pain and we can all have a good laugh after! However, of course, this would all be prep for Thomas."
...
"Anyways, continue." She smiled.
As much as Thomas dismayed hearing the story again, he didn't want to interrupt.
"Well it was a wondrous, and accidental, venture into the Shadow Isles that we embarked upon led by yours truly. It was full of wondrous miracles of kittens, doges, and Shreks' that even look like Alicia! -thwack- Owwie! Anyways, along with a few other companions we traveled to survive and, overall,was a bonding experience for all of us."
"You sound like a professional advertiser advertising for a homophobic game Nick made."
"That's not the subject! It was Thomas, Chase, Max and I, and we would've died by ourselves if it weren't for our other friends."
"How much detail are you going to go into with this?" Thomas asked, afraid that with his enthusiasm he might get into subjects that were better left untold.
"I don't know, as much as I feel like." Oly answered. He took a deep breath, realizing his annoying tone. The next he spoke was with a calmer voice, "I was with Ahri for most of the trip, as the entire group became separated a lot. Eventually we met up with Max and Katarina on one side of Thresh's Ward, the exact opposite side that Thomas and Chase were on. Since champion violence isn't restricted off of the Institute, we had to get out alive, or at least them. Ahri, Katarina, Rammus, and..."
Oly's voice trailed off as he started to say the last name but couldn't muster it. As he was talking, he raised a finger up by his mouth to get his point across more sternly, but afterwards turned bent. His eyes roamed towards Thomas, and through both his own and Thomas' expression, Oly had realized he had made a heartbreaking mistake. Thomas' eyes didn't connect with him but instead quivered in the site of the wind blowing the snow in front of him.
"... and yeah! We all got out alive. Happily ever after! Oh, also Kirito died. But who cares. Fuck him." Oly attempted to end as optimistically as when he started. The atmosphere changed when Oly was about to bring up the name; another unwelcomed vibe amongst the group. The only one who had a joyful time listening was Alicia, of whom was greatly intrigued.
A moment of tense silence passed by before Alicia spoke up, "Well… that sounded like a fun journey, I guess."
"Well it'd be more fun if things weren't trying to kill us the entire time." His tone was opposite of optimistic now.
A brief gust of wind blew snow into their faces, but none of them minded it. It melted with a resonating heat that they were all producing.
"Hey… do we have anything planned for tomorrow?" Thomas asked with the intent of already starting to forget about today.
"Not really."
"Whatever you guys plan on doing count me out. I've got stuff to do tomorrow." Nick said while stretching himself out.
"What're you doing?"
"High Council called me down to work on a project regarding Demacia. I have to answer the call."
"Is Quinn going to be there?"
"Yeah, we're partners on it." As they had been for mostly everything in the past year. It made them wonder if Valor ever became jealous since the duo suddenly became a trio.
"What about you Oly? You doing anything with Ahri lately?" Thomas asked.
"Ahri's vacationing in Ionia. Hearing the news, she's probably going to be back a bit earlier. She said the vacation was going to last a week." Although knowing Ahri as well, she wouldn't care. Her lax nature, along with her home in Ionia, would certainly tax the time.
"And Max, how about -"
"Hey shitheads!" Even before speaking of the devil.
If their past experiences of being greeted with a verbal abuse weren't proven, this was a perfect example of it happening. Along with her semi-deep voice (for a woman) resounding even through the snow, it still held the vocal power to beat down even Darius, and Max being one to witness that actually happen he found it more comical than Thomas' osu! skills.
Two figures meandered towards them, both of them easily distinguishable. One strut about as best as she could in the shoes she wore. Her red hair had a hard time staying still with snow dotting it along the way. From the distance they were at she held a smirk for all of them to see, and the faint glisten of one of her teeth resembled her thirst for blood like the Sinister Blade was used to. However her face looked irked and surely she erred. Her "comrade" was skipping about alongside her, being the joyful person that she normally was, and was in fact extremely rare to see her down on anything. Her puerile nature was somewhat the exact opposite of Katarina, and overseeing her long purple hair blow in front of her face, she wondered how anyone in Bandle City could handle such a demented being she knows as Lulu. Lulu looked somewhat like Brice as of current in that state. A sweater was being worn under a faded blue trench coat which was so large for her that the bottom of it was being dragged through the snow.
The whole sequence of events was foggy, although the outcome just somehow happened. It wasn't unexpected, just surprising that Max became so famous so fast (and for that matter, all of them). Within days of returning from the Shadow Isles, matches within the League of Legends had people recognizing his IGN from quotes Katarina had said outside of the game, and boy did rumor spread fast. And also, boy did they hate rumors. Katarina had remembered the time where her and Talon were supposedly dating from the public's perspective. She vomited after even thinking about it. That's why this relationship became an official and public thing. They both loved it, especially Katarina. She knew she had power over him, which could lead to Katarina doing some indescribably embarrassing things to Max in public. Max would never say such horrible things about her, although if Thomas had someone like that do things like that to him he wouldn't hesitate to call them an unbearable cunt to his/her face.
"Hey there." Max greeted first and rose to a greater attention. It was admirable how obedient he was to her. Lulu tugged on Katarina's jacket.
"Do you have to be so mean to them, especially to your boyfriend? We only just got here." The concern in her voice strained Katarina's temper, but she really didn't want to hurt the innocent thing. She remained calm and patted the yordle on her head.
"That's exactly why I am mean to them… hon. All of it is in a friendly manner and means no harm at all. Think of words as… a friendly sport, for say." Her motherly voice was crass, but she still tried her hardest. She knelt down to Lulu's height and with a comforting smile she raised a fist. "No mercy!"
"Right! No mercy!" Lulu mimicked Katarina, holding her purple fist up next to hers. Afterwards, she turned to them, "Hey shitheads!"
"Ok, maybe that's too much."
"You're teaching her some very uncharacteristic stuff." Brice commented. Katarina shrugged.
"Eh. The League told me to keep an eye on her until the whole 'Institute is shutting down' issue is resolved. They know how she likes to wander off by herself." Katarina explained, and looked down at her. "She can be a real pain… but she's entertaining company." She looked back and pointed her finger at Max. "You, Oly, and Nick are coming with me."
"Why?"
"The League boss says that he needs some extra hands working construction equipment up at the main office. Knowing how you boys like to jerk off in your free time, I thought that you'd be good with your hands." Her hips wooed them with a taunting swivel which eventually turned her around and she started walking off purposely slowly. Lulu looked dazed by what she had just said, though eventually joined her.
"What about me?" Thomas asked innocently, though to the wrong person. Katarina turned her head back around.
"Sorry but not really so sorry Tom-tom. Amumu caught a cold inside Kraven Manor. We don't need another bronze epidemic."
Katarina stopped momentarily as she heard the three boys stand up behind her and smirked. Nick stuck his hands in his pockets and strode along, not quite caring about any of their conversations. Especially the one Oly had struck up with Lulu about Teemo and Tristana officially being declared as boyfriend and girlfriend. Katarina giggled when she overheard the two, and giggled a little bit more when Max tried to brush shoulders past her. She stuck her arm out, cutting him off.
"What?" He asked, looking at her.
"I'll wait." Katarina lowered her arm just barely so Max could get the jist of what she was referring to.
"Really? Now?"
"Yes now. Don't keep me waiting." Katarina pouted, and although Max knew it was fake, Max intertwined Katarina's hand with his own, making warmth even in the snow. Katarina giggled and beamed again. She made it a habit to loll herself into the arm of his sweater, and afterwards made haste towards the Institute building.
Dumbfounded. Baffled. Confused. Rejected. Thomas lodged himself into the ground, not in the habit for moving right now. He only longed for something positive to happen right now.
"Hey Thomas." Brice called from the side, attracting Thomas' attention. It wasn't everyday where Brice called out to him without someone near as an aid (except in this case, Alicia was one).
"What?"
"Did you get your ribbon?" Ribbon? Thomas looked up and saw Brice holding one in front of him. It was brown but shiny and was indented at its tip. It was threaded through a thin layer of blue and black garland, which seemed as if it could also be used as a lei. "You get one based on your rank. Alicia and I have a bronze one. Max has a silver one, Oly has a gold one, and Nick has a green one."
"No, I haven't actually." Did she expect him to be prideful walking around with a bronze ribbon hanging by his neck or hanging on his door?
"You should. They're only giving it out for a limited time." Alicia said from the side. Thomas looked over, though her focus was on something else. Something off in the distance. Thomas didn't bother trace to trace her eyes.
"Where are they giving them out at?" Thomas said, already getting up from his spot.
"The Champion's Building, east side." Brice pointed in the direction, which was also where Alicia was currently looking at. Now Thomas followed where Brice was pointing, however he couldn't see what Alicia was looking at. Maybe she was just dozing.
"Alright, thanks."
Cold winters weren't new for Thomas. Well, at least not now. His visibility even in the smallest of snowfall was very little considering of how much ground the snow at this part in Valoran covered. The entire place basically became Freljord for the winter, and Ashe was probably very excited for that. However he had much preferred a place where winter was relatable to fall. Even if the snow was replaced by rain, he would be fine as long as the rain did not seep through his roof. As long as he still maintained a pretty view from his house instead of a desolate landscape. A barren world that turned into ashes. And the ashes consuming his world.
Dammit. Fuck me. God dammit. He cursed to himself, knocking himself on the head for even thinking about it. Again. He couldn't be so motivated to hit himself like this in public as he walked further on. For once, a pathway came into his line of sight to grant him guidance. He shook his head and got himself into the right mindset. He was set in a regal town in Demacia, the Motherland, about to go meet his brothers at a local bar. Right, that was where he was at.
There was nothing wrong here at all.
Before he knew it he was surrounded by people and buildings again. The ground beneath his feet was not just snow but also stone. The city was welcoming, but also unnerving. Screaming in public should have been accepted as a normal thing to do. That way he could do it and not feel like a total asshole about it later. He stuck his hands in his pockets now and enclosed himself a little further into his mind. Bystanders were just talking about their new ribbons as they walked by, marking that Thomas was pretty close to his destination. Each building was separated by a small alleyway that led to the back of the buildings like old-school towns. They were dark, adding contrast to the bright snow.
Thomas' eyes were stuck to the ground at a forty-five degree angle so he could just barely see the feet of people in case he were to run into someone. His eyes refused to go above that point. Two thirds of his vision were dark from the alleys, and the middle third was the pitch white that he saw.
As he kept walking, a different color made the gradient on his left side. A grey figure annoyingly blocked white from touching black. Immediately his teeth grinded as this sudden change peeved him. Although it had confounded him before. Something about the change was familiar. The outlier… maybe just a self-reflection. He could make out a human wearing a grey jacket, zipped up, and grey sweatpants that completely covered the human's legs. The human cradled and casted a grey shadow upon the small spot the human was not sitting on. The human's face was hidden by the hood that the human wore very far up. Traces of the human's blonde hair fell over the human's face, although Thomas didn't recognize this human. It disturbed him. Greatly.
He had almost passed the Champions Building with that distraction, but luckily the red innards of the building were enough to regard it more important. The insides looked like a cathedral, and was practically as large as one. He hadn't been to the Champions Building much, but that was because there was no reason for him to go to it most of the time. It was the place for players above Gold ranks would come and converse with Champions, and a place where Champions would come and converse with summoners whenever they were bored. However, during the end of the season, the building was being hosted for people wanting to collect their ribbons. Thomas walked and waited in the Bronze line for nearly ten minutes before he was given his preposterous Bronze garnet-lei thingy. He looked at it once, then instantly grimaced. It was merely an insult.
He stepped outside and looked at it again, hopefully expecting to see it a different way in the snow, however to no avail. All the work he had put in this season for nothing but a fucking bronze collector's item and pity that should only be given to League tyros. And with all of the work he has put in this season, he still never made it anywhere. Maybe that's why Katarina didn't take him with her. He didn't know how to climb ladders that well.
A sudden nudge on his shoulder spun him around and made Thomas drop the garland into the snow. Like Katarina's hair, the garland was now tainted with specks of white snow all over it. He looked down and frankly disregarded it, thinking that it was better with a bronze item being trashed like that. Instead he looked over. To his right was the person in the grey jacket. Whoever it was, it seemed like the person was in a hurry. And angry. The person's footprints were deep, meaning that the person was stomping along. He could see the person fading into the distance and felt a strange attraction pulling him forward. His intuition told him to go forward and follow the strange person. The person unnerved him before, and did the same thing now. Just like in League matches, he followed his intuition even though his intuition was almost never right.
The straight path that the person took led directly outside of the Institute of War. Although it was highly recommended for summoners to advise a League official before venturing into the nature of Valoran, Thomas disregarded it for now. He had no clue how far he would be following this person. Probably until his intuition got him into a bad situation and he was forced to turn back. With or without success was the hard part.
Either he was gaining momentum or the person was losing speed. Before he knew it, Thomas was surrounded by a white, snow covered forest, and was gaining speed on the person. Was the person afraid? The person must've heard Thomas' footsteps by now, and must've concluded that he was following for quite some time. He still noticed the deep footprints the person was making. Still mad, Thomas assumed. Very mad, if that. Thomas was an idiot though; of course he would pursue.
A few minutes later, Thomas closed the gap between the two to earshot range.
"Hey!" Thomas called out. He waited, but after a while the person didn't respond. Probably trying to escape Thomas. He was the stalker here. He tried calling out again, still no response, and he couldn't blame the person. He could hear the person's footsteps now though. They were definitely stomps.
"Hello? Can I help you with something?"
"Go away." The person finally spoke in a stern attitude. It was a female. Thomas stopped walking for a second and just stood there. Go away. The words echoed in his head. He had considered it, maybe just letting the woman walk off and relieve herself by herself. But Thomas wanted to help. Just this once. He jogged to catch back up to her.
"Excuse me!" He said, slowing to a walk right behind her.
"I said go away!" She said sternly again.
Thomas placed a hand on the woman's shoulder. It turned her around.
"Look ma'am. I'm sorry if I'm disturbing you, but if you give me a chance I'm sure that I can -"
… now the blonde hair that he saw earlier, her upsetting attitude, and her antagonizing tone all made sense.
"J… Janna…"
"What the fuck do you want?"