Welcome to Summo- uh, wait, that's the other line.
Welcome to my first League of Legends story. I hope you enjoy your time spent reading - if so, I would appreciate any comments. I feed on reviews and I NEED MORE DAMAGES!

Warning: This story will at some point contain femslash (girlxgirl) pairings, swearing and character death (nothing above T rating, though). If you feel offended by it, please stop reading now.
Note: All characters are dressed in their usual clothes, except for Garen and Riven, who are dressed as pictured in Desert Trooper Garen and Redeemed Riven. I just like them better that way. Things written in italic are emphasises, unless in quotes, which are Leona's thoughts.
Disclaimer: All characters and places mentioned belong to Riot.

Stray Dogs

Chapter 1: Sunlight

Leona breathed in deeply. The air on Summoner's Rift was heavy with magic surrounding the area and dense from the blinding fog of war. Every new champion coming to the League had to take at least few games just to get used to it, some feeling the suffocating pressure even at the supposedly safe fountain. She participated in enough matches to be familiar with the sensation, but still, her lungs cried for clear air every time she entered the Fields. Paying no mind to it, she quickly took off to the bottom lane, the Frost Archer at her side. They exchanged quick glances, having laned together numerous times before. They knew their strategy far too well to need verbal communication.

They hid in the enemy team's bushes, crouching in the thick, tall grass. Leona inhaled the sweet scent of the soil beneath her feet, a smell too peaceful and comforting for a place like this. She closed her eyes for a second, but not long enough to get distracted. They heard the footsteps before they could see the figure appearing from the fog of war. She felt Ashe moving at her side, taking one of her arrows from her back quiver and drawing her bow. They waited.

The silhouette could not be mistaken for anyone else. Teemo strolled happily down the lane, humming some jumpy Yordle song. He was unsupported by anyone. Easy first blood.

"Wait for it," she whispered to Ashe, who was just about to shoot her first arrow at him. The hamster edged closer to their bush, just in range of a good, solid jump. Leona tightened her grip on the great Solari shield as Teemo started his standard camouflaging routine. They had to act quick, before they lost sight of him. Not bothering telling the Frost Archer what to do, she jumped at the unsuspecting victim, hitting him hard with her shield, stunning the poor little guy as Ashe's arrows punctured his frail body with unbelievable speed.

"First blood!" shouted the commentator and Teemo's body fell lifelessly on the grass. She turned to congratulate the Archer on her amazing skills, but found her teammate surrounded by light magic, pinning her to the ground. Luxanna was coming at them, a mix of shame and fear on her face. She was obviously being reprimanded by her Summoner. Leona quickly moved in the way of the Light Mage's spells, shielding Ashe from her blows and hissing from the burning pain it inflicted. She heard her Summoner's voice in her head saying her allied Cassiopeia was heading for their lane and she pulled Ashe back a little, allowing Lux to move from under her turret. The blonde fell for the trap, oblivious to the slithering danger lurking in the bushes just to her right.

"An enemy has been slain!" echoed through the Fields of Justice as Luxanna fell face-first into the shallow water, poisoned by the serpent. The game was going to be good.

"Great job with the first blood," Riven said, as she appeared on the summoning platform and caught glimpse of Leona gathering some healing potions from the shop. Her steel gauntlets were stained with blood, and her cheek was bruised for a second, before the healing magic started its work. "Cass told me you had him gone in a second."

"Well, he doesn't pay much attention to armor," she replied, mockingly beating on her golden breastplate, the metallic sound echoing through their base. She then looked Riven over, taking in her disheveled appearance. "Having hard time with Garen?"

The Exile let her hood fall to her shoulders as she ran her hand through the white hair. She took a few potions from the shop as well.

"Not really," she said, smirking. "But it's not easy, too. Just how I wanted it to be." Leona arched her eyebrows at the statement, urging her to go on. "Challenging."

They exchanged single nods as they both started in opposite directions. Leona secured the healing potions at her belt where she could easily and quickly reach them if things got too rushed.

Profiting from the extra gold Ashe got for her first kill, they were pushing the lane hard now, having almost destroyed Lux's and Teemo's first tower, but turned out only they had it easy. Cassiopeia came to them eventually, with a word on the other teammates. Riven was still doing fine, they even managed to push Garen under his turret until his allied Warwick came to aid him, but still failing enough to give the Exile an almost free kill.

Things were worse with Katarina, though. She couldn't get the upper hand on the middle lane.

She hadn't met Diana in fight before nor talked to her at all since she joined the League. She tried to, of course, but the Lunari would always move in the other direction whenever she saw her. Leona had so many questions to ask and so many answers to give, but in the past two weeks since Diana's arrival she didn't succeed in anything. This game was the first chance she had to actually spend some time with her old, dare she say it, friend, though it mostly consisted of dodging each other's attacks.

"Never knew you could wield a sword," she taunted her, protecting her falling turret on the middle lane. The corner of Diana's mouth shot up a bit, but she didn't reply in any other way, only swung her sword around, sending a blast of... some sort of lunar energy at Leona. She wasn't prepared for anything like that, but still countered it with the Eclipse; it seemed to work just fine.

She was thinking hard of what else to say - what do you even say to a girl that became the Avatar of the Moon since the last time you saw her a year ago? - as she heard soft footsteps behind her. Katarina was back from the base, her eyes blazing with fury.

"I got it, Leo," she snarled, throwing some blades at an approaching minion wave. "The bitch's mine now."

Leona considered refusing, but then moved to the bushes the Summoners nicknamed as the jungle and headed for the bottom lane. There was no point in arguing with Katarina when she was in her battle mode, and even less when she had just been killed. Leona herself resented the feeling, as she knew most other champions did too. It was horrifying, even if just for a split second, the feeling of life being drained away from her body and into nothing. But then she was safe, waiting the time penalty at her home fountain till she could feel her limbs again, the blood rushing through her veins and the suffocating pressure of the Summoner's Rift air in her lungs.

"The air," she realized suddenly. "Something's wrong with the air."

She stopped dead in her track, inhaling deeply. The air was clear, almost sweet in taste, definitely cooler than it used to be just mere moments ago. She couldn't feel the heavy magic field anymore, as if someone has lifted and invisible dome that has been surrounding them all this time. She moved to the shallow march the Summoners nicknamed the river and rushed in the direction of the sound of the Frost Archer's arrows piercing the cold air. She could see everything much too clearly, even the flies hovering just above the water's surface. It took her but a moment to realize the fog of war was non-existent anymore. The Sun shone on the arena.

"What's happened here?" she asked her Summoner in her mind's voice, looking carefully at a minor cut she received a second ago through the softer part of the armor covering her arm; it just didn't want to vanish now. She took a few more steps in the water before stopping, waiting for a response. Her mind was silent, except for her own thoughts. "Summoner?"she tried again, already predicting the silence. Her Summoner's presence was completely gone from her head.

She collected her sword and shield and ran for the bottom lane as fast as her heavy Solari armor let her. Upon her arrival, Teemo fell dead again, frost arrows sticking out of his chest and the Freljord Queen was just about to aim for Lux, completely defenseless under her turret's ruins.

"No!" Leona shouted out loud, as she jumped for the Light Mage, who had just enough time to look at her with panic as she tackled her to the ground. Ashe's arrow flew with lightning speed just above Leona's left shoulder. They stayed like this for a second, Leona panting heavily, Lux too shocked to even breathe and Ashe looking at them dumbfounded.

"Leona?" she asked, an uneasy tone in her voice. "What in Valoran are you doing?"

The redhead stood up, releasing a moaning Lux and held up her hand in the air, telling the Archer to calm down. Ashe put her bow down and relaxed her stance, shooting a brief look at Lux climbing her way up the turret's remains and trying to stand straight, before locking her eyes onto Leona.

"Care to explain?" she asked, her voice as neutral as she could make it sound.

"I will," she started as she offered Lux an arm, which the young blonde took willingly. She was limping on her right leg. "There's something wrong with the arena," she started, looking straight into Ashe's face. "I can't feel the presence of the force field anymore, and I can't contact my Summoner. Also, the cut I got from Diana's blade refuses to heal. I didn't want to risk anything before checking the situation."

The Frost Archer looked at her intensely before nodding, looking down at her thigh. She seemed lost in thought for a moment, a sight which Leona recognized from watching her contact her Summoners multiple times. She looked down at Lux, still hanging from her arm. Her face bore the same expression.

"I can't reach him as well," Ashe said at last. Lux only nodded her head in agreement, ensuring them it wasn't only their team's problem. The blonde moved her hand to her mouth, touching a cut she got from Leona's "attack". The blood was dark, but the cut wouldn't heal. Then, almost as if on command, all three of them looked down at Teemo's body.

"Too long," Ashe said, as she kneeled down next to the tiny corpse. Leona could feel Lux starting to tremble at her side. It's been over two minutes since the Yordle's fall.

"Oh, no," the blonde moaned. She had her eyes fixed on the little rodent, his face as peaceful as if he was just sleeping. Then, her head shot up. "Garen," she said, absent-mindedly. She yanked herself free from Leona's grip and attempted to run on her limping leg, but was stopped by a firm hand on her shoulder.

"Wait," the redhead said, trying to sound as calm as possible. Lux was too young for all of this, she realized. She shouldn't have been in the League to begin with. They were exposed to dying and killing all the time, not even afraid of it anymore, but it never was real. Until now, every death on Summoner's Rift has been celebrated by the enemy team and scolded by allies, but never taken seriously. They all came back, after all, even those decapitated during battle, even people completely blown up to pieces, even those who were actually eaten alive. But, this now was real. She looked at Teemo again as Lux broke into sobs, Ashe still kneeling at his side, her face completely drained of any emotion. During their stay at the Institute, they all have forgotten what it really meant to die.

"Let's get to our base first," she commanded in a voice as powerful as ever. She almost lifted Lux up, forcing her to come along. The Frost Archer stood up on her own, still looking at the feeble figure on the ground, as if considering taking him along. Leona shook her head at her, and Ashe nodded slowly, casting a last look at him before continuing after her.

A/N: Thank you again for reading. Stay tuned for the next chapter!