This will be my first attempt to make a League of Legends fanfic, featuring a bit of the lore I have been reading an a new champion.
Prologue.
The first thing a heroine remembers in her life, was a tree branch in the form of a twisted shape, giving her the impression of a claw, the first skin contact, was the grassy field in the middle of the Ionian forest, a place where magical creatures belonged, such as Ahri, the Nine-tailed fox, or the "person" that was by her side, as long as she can remember, Maokai, the twisted treant, who after traveling from the shadows isles, decided to rest and recover from the horrors that had pursuited him during his travel.
The treant upon arriving Ionia decided to take refuge inside the forest, where he asked for Ahri´s help, the fox lady was a bit reluctant at first, because due her cunning personality and strengthened senses, the fox quickly noticed the dark magic surrounding Maokai, to the point that in their first actual meeting she tried to kill him and end his suffering… yet an uninvited guest made the fox girl, change her mind totally.
On top of Maokai´s head, a ten years old girl, with innocent pure blue eyes and middle length green hair, yet messy, adorned with leaves and tree branch surely from Maokai´s branches. She looked at Ahri´s eyes instantly and as if understanding her mentally, Maokai decided to grab the girl, as if he was touching a flower, and leave her on the floor, gracefully, even if her supposed white one-piece plain dress, was a bit, torned and mud colored, certainly living on top of a treant´s head wasn't a pleasurable life.
Ahri actually waited for the girl to talk to her, but, as soon as she lowered to her size, crouching a little, the girl just fixated her gaze on the foxgirl, her hands crossing behind her back as if she was trying to be polite, it was then when Maokai, due another, mentally guessing started to talk.
"She, is the real reason I had to leave my late home, she never learnt human language, so, she can't do as much as communicate with people, yet I believe somebody as cunning, and intelligent, as you are, can guess… she is almost going to have a panic attack." He said and then Ahri, did notice, the subtle tremble her body made, as if trying to shake off the panic from her. This made the foxgirl kindly at her, then slowly, she raised her hand and reached for the little girl's head, upon contact, the younger person made a yelp of surprise and fear, but quickly it subsided as Ahri began to pet her head.
It should have been a wonderful feeling for the little girl, as after a couple of minutes the girl began to emit, little purrs as if she was a kitten, much to Ahri´s pleasure as she had never have much of human contact, she was maybe, the only person that she could touch like this, in a long time, and to be honest, for her maybe being entitled as "mother" was something she actually desired to feel since a long time ago.
The meeting didn't take too much for Ahri to accept Maokai´s request, after all, he had a genuine intention of protecting the girl he was raising, but there were a few things that the fox had not forgotten to ask, Why he had to escape, from where, and how did he pretend to protect not only the girl he was carrying, but also the place where he would be settling, from the dangers that pursuited him.
His replies were simple, yet carried enough information, along with the deep inspection the foxgirl secretly made while "innocently" caressing the little girl. "I was a habitant from the Shadow Isles, during the time of prosperity and glory, it was a beautiful scenario, but, human folly, tried to mess with the natural order and the boundary between life and dead shattered, dooming the whole island, and my forest too, I was a great spirit, the king of the mystical forest inside the island, upon seeing how everything started to change I did my best to stop the death of plaguing my people, it was futile, then I made a plan and inserted my soul inside this… Abomination… in order to keep the seed of life within me, I succeeded but, I couldn't escape undamaged, my branches became claws, my twigs became demons, even my belief, shattered, I was about to give in the darkness, but I saw, this girl." He said as he caressed the little girl's cheek as she was now lying on his rough tree branch. "Even such death and darkness, couldn't kill this girl, and, her light… helped me" He added finally.
Ahri indeed noticed that the girl was special, yet, she couldn't believe her to be this otherworldly, the foxgirl, herself, couldn't understand at all the reason of her own transformation, as simply as "being in contact" with the magical world inside oneself, yet, if such girl had enough power to "stay alive" inside the island of dead, then it would be or she was immortal, or she had even befriended, at some point, the Eternal Hunters, but, how could she do such achievement at her young age… she needed to inspect her more.
After that meeting, eleven years passed as if their were a whisper in the wind, silently, peacefully, or those where Leila´s own beliefs, as inside such a thick forest, protected by the chant of sleep that Maokai casted on her every time danger approached, little she knew about the Noxian war that eroded Ionia of its proper glory, she had always remained inside the forest, with Ahri teaching her to write, to read, and even to talk, something that the foxgirl thought would be extremely difficult, yet another thing that amazed her, was her raw intelligence, as it didn't took her more than 3 years to learn, what human people take 18 years, from babies, to adults, she never had a teacher until she was 10 years old, and by the age of 13, she had mastered it all, gladly, she hadn't mastered any seduction skill, or Maokai would be angry at both of them.
But now, at the age of 21, the once little girl had matured a lot, her green hair became even longer, reaching around her knees, and it was tied in the middle on a sort of large pony tail, her chest became as developed as the gumiho, much to her dismay as she thought that she couldn't call her, nor little girl, nor her daughter, anymore, as she was now pretty seductive, yet she was still as innocent as she was eleven years ago, her smile was tender and now she was wearing new clothes that her "mother" had bought from the nearby village.
The girl's clothes consisted in a pink and purple flower printed short skirt yukata with pointed armguards, on her waist, a red big lace tied her clothes ending with a butterfly knot on her back, as for her feet, she had only tapped her legs, from her knees, to her feet, with white and red colored bandages, the reason she disliked to use shoes, was because she liked to feel the ground below her, and the second Ahri had brought and tried to sheath her feet, she had a panic attack that made her turn totally pale, yet as the foxgirl wouldn't let her to walk barefoot she had to forcefully tape like that, much to her dismay.
Having passed the years, the improvised parents started to grow too attached towards the now mature girl, and thus, they had a great pain inside their hearts as well, as both of them knew, that the girl had a unavoidable fate, she has exceptional learning skills, she also had potential as a sorcerer, and she also had… a taint deep inside her pure self, they had seen it appear specially when the harrowing occurred when she was 15 years old, an untamable shadow covered her and almost killed Maokai, if not for Ahri´s charm and the occasional appearance of Soraka to help them.
When the star child saw the girl, Ahri and mostly Maokai, explained the situation that happened, but he didn't receive the answer he was looking for, he only received the answer he had wished to never hear and now, with the girl fully matured it was time for her departure towards the world, to learn more about her possibilities, and to overcome the darkness that gradually grew inside of her, in order to prevent it from escaping again in the future.
But for now, just for today, the foxgirl decided to keep all things under the cover, or so she thought as her daughter had her head on the mother's lap as she was taking a nap, after her studies. She passed her hand against her cheek, giving the woman a soft caress on her smooth cheek and waking the girl up. "uhmmm uhmmm hmmmm, one hundred years more, mommy" Or she thought so, as her "daughter simply rolled to her side and continued with her eyes shut and started to sleep while snoring, "Aww, and here I was expecting to have a little, girl talk with her, who knows what things she may find outside the forest." Ahri said teasing Maokai who had just arrived, clearly mocking him a little as he was spying on them.
At her words Maokai tensed, but then he heard her laugh and relaxed at her words. "Well I don't think she will choice a bad path, after all, she had learnt a lot from a senile spying treant that is hiding behind the trees" She spoke these last words clearly louder, to make him realize he had been spotted a long time ago, much to his shame. "Sorry for eavesdropping but, there are times I can't know what you think, nor your schemes." He said and the fox as reply simply laughed even more. "Well I surely won't be eating her liver anytime soon, and surely I won't kidnap her, I simply, grew too attached to her silly Oak." And with that she laid her head against the tree they were resting.
Maokai only let a few minutes to pass before speaking again, Ahri could notice that his voice was now deep, sorrowful and sad. "So… tomorrow we shall make her… leave this place?" He asked sitting on the floor near them as if trying to keep their company near. "Yes, I will guide her towards the wuju village, I believe Master Yi can be of help for her, but I won't be able to take her longer with me, as I also have the duty of protecting the people of the village nearby here." The foxgirl replied gently still petting the head of the girl on her lap.
Maokai then grabbed a branch of his wood body and snapped it, then he proceeded to clean it of any leaves and thinner branches in order to make a hand made wooden sword. "Do you think this will be sufficient to protect her?" He asked to the foxgirl just to receive a smile from her. "I think you feelings will reach her with that, after all, she is pretty sensitive." She replied and then looked at the girl that was sleeping sounding quite tired. But, the girl actually just had her eyes closed, in her mind, the words the two were speaking reached her quite easily.
"So, that time already came… if only time were just something that I had, I wouldn't mind to spend it being here" She thought as she moved her head to get more comfortable on the foxgirl lap, yet she knew better. The young girl had known since a long time that she had a fate, she had a mission and what is more, she had a creature deep inside her soul, she had seen that creature in the past, inside her dreams, disguised as herself, but with a slightly darker green tone of hair, with flurry arm and legs that ended in canine claws, with a bloodlust that only matched the ferocity of her attacks towards her loved ones, with intense red eyes, that had viper-like pupils. She didn't like her own self, and more than once she had tried to end her life, just to remember how miserable her family would be without her around and deciding to carry on just for their well-being, after all she knew, that Maokai was strong, but Ahri, despise her strong personality, her cunning self, she was too attached to her, and the girl also was fond of Ahri, a lot.
After the events that unfolded that evening, the rest of the day passed smoothly, the girl woke up an hour later and then continued learning a bit more about society, more exactly, about Runaterra and the nations that governed Valoran to be more precise, she also asked a bit about a certain island that was on the map that Ahri used for her explanation, to which the foxgirl stated that it was a dangerous place called the Shadow Isles, yet she didn't give more information about it, yet when it was late at night, Maokai woke the girl up, one more time, he then placed the girl on top of his head and moved towards a clearing which also offered a view of the shore, with its crystal clear waters, and the moon reflecting on it.
Then he proceeded to pet the girl's head softly until she purred to his touch, then he started to speak with a melancholic tone. "My girl… tomorrow, you will be leaving this place, you… you need to, discover the world around you, you know? You need… to meet new people, to share experiences with people around the world, you need to live." He was not even looking at her while saying these words, clearly, he couldn't bare to do that, if he wanted to stay strong, after all, maybe, if she said that she didn't want to leave this place, if she dared to voice her opinion about what living her own life would mean to her, maybe… no, it was an absolute fact that she would convince Maokai, even if the world begin to hate him due that, he would ask her to stay here forever, for that reason, she didn't reply at all while the treant spoke to the ocean, and her.
As soon as Maokai finished his speech, the girl didn't answer for a couple of minutes, but not because she wanted to create an tense environment around them, it was because he didn't tell her, anything about the secret talks Ahri and him would have about her destiny, nor the thing that once had unleashed and almost murdered him, at first, the green-haired woman wanted to be harsh at him, but, inside of her, she knew it too well, why would a father fill his family with guilt?, what would he achieve if he inflated her soul with fear, wouldn't that cause the contrary effect and force her to stay? Clearly, Maokai knew it very well, and at soon as she had thought about the words she wanted to tell him, she decided to hug the tree creature's claw in order to let him feel, that he shouldn't blame himself or feel guilty, she wanted that hug, to convey the deep affection she had for both her new parents.
After that, the twisted treant reached for the thing he had crudely crafted a few hours ago, it was the wooden sword that he did using one of his branches, yet, Ahri had taken it to the village in secrecy in order to "make it look cuter" as now it had the form of a wooden sword, those that were used for practice in the Ionian schools for fighters. The design was pretty simple as it was similar to a long katana, yet it didn't have the edge nor the cutting ability that a real one, but, being made of one of the branches from an ancient an powerful being like Maokai, it was clearly special, and it wouldn't break even against sturdy weapons, nor sharp edges, it was clearly, meant for protection.
"I want to give you this, as a parting gift, it is made from my body, and it will keep you safe, as it will also keep your company, my child." He continued as the girl picked the weapon with her arms, and upon feeling the scent of her "father" on it, she hugged it and leaned it towards her chest. "I will, keep it always… with me" She spoke, cutting after a few words, to not say anything impolite towards him. While hearing her reply Maokai sighed and looked at the sea again. "You have matured so much in such a little time, that I am having a difficult time asking you to leave, my child."
The girl knew that too well, but she also knew that she had to leave, in order to protect the ones she loved that much, and thus she decided to take the first steps, in order to leave his side and with a graceful series of steps, she jumped on his armed and walked towards his shoulder in order to plant a kiss on the top of his head as she tried to also hug him with all her strength, she didn't succeed in this plan, as well his head was pretty big for her arms to achieve it, then she jumped off his body and landed on the ground. "Until the time I return, I would like you to know, that I was honored in being your and mother's child and I assure you two, that I would never forget you at all."
With these words she smiled at Maokai brightly and then grabbing the present her father give to her she started to run towards the forest again at great speed, normal for a child that had grown up in the wild, a girl that, after becoming a woman, was giving the first steps towards the world, towards the fate that awaited her there, towards the people she would mate, towards the goals, she may overtake as silently, a foxgirl appeared behind the great treant, having a saddened expression on her face.
"In the end, it was you, who, wouldn't be able to say good bye to her, Ahri" Maokai spoke towards her as the nine tailed fox lay with her back against his. "She knew exactly how you would feel about having to say good bye, which is why, she decided to leave on her own today." He added as the foxgirl started to cry a little. "Its natural for us, human have short life span, so they have to move on quicker than us, I wouldn't let this make me sad" She replied and then she was lifted and positioned on top of Maokai's head. "You can cry… all you want, alongside me… as I am also crying and crying makes the pain wash away."
And thus, under that full moon night, covered with tears from both sides, the adventure of the sole survivor from the shadow isles started… the legend of the Deadlight, Jubei Kairi.