A/N: This storyline is probably somewhat cliché and overused, but eh, I thought I'd add my own to the fray. Hope you guys like it.
It was underhanded, and she probably shouldn't.
Yes, she probably, absolutely shouldn't. But still, one had to understand that for the past few months in Riven's life, things had been nothing but a blazestorm of sheer torment. In sum, Riven had found herself unable to focus her attention on anything, much less accomplish anything. Her recent performances on the rift had been ghastly to say the least, having been slain far too many times in matches that she was eventually slapped with a brief suspension and told to get her shit together.
If that wasn't bad enough, the sharp and sudden clenches that came and went sporadically around her chest was drastically affecting her physical and mental state. Normally she would seek out Soraka when it came to issues pertaining health, but she knew all too well that afflictions of the heart possessed no cure.
And the very source of her heartache… a certain somebody whom she had quite persistently sought the attention of in recent months. Yet, try as she might, all of her attempts seemed to come up short. The person had either failed to notice her feelings or was simply choosing to ignore it, either way, it was easy to see that her love was a rather unrequited one, which brings Riven back to her current dilemma: to do it, or to not?
Looking down at the small unassuming vial clutched tight in her hand, Riven swirled the purple liquid around with a small flick of her wrist. The potion might not even work anyway, and besides, it seemed to be fairly harmless at least according to Syndra.
When Riven had finally managed to gather her courage and approach the mage about possibly employing her services, the Dark Sovereign had coughed out a heartily wicked laugh before outright declaring that there was no such thing in life as a love potion, and even if there were, Riven would be the last person she'd help. However, upon hearing the desperate pleas of the Exile as well as learning the object of Riven's desires—ultimately who the recipient of said love potion would be—Syndra had mysteriously decided to change her tune. It was uncanny the way the girl's ears had perked up, but Riven tried not to dwell on that too much since there was no point looking a gift horse in the mouth.
Having agreed to lend her assistance, Syndra then went on to explain that, yes, her previous assertion hadn't exactly been untrue. While there were no magical potions or enhancements in all of Runeterra (at least not that Syndra knew of) that could make someone fall in love per se, there were however, certain elixirs that could be mixed to cause a person to pay more attention and be more aware of another's presence. In short, evoking outright feelings of passionate love was impossible but subtle suggestions, not so much.
And that was all Riven wanted in the first place anyway, to somehow be noticed. She reckoned that the new development made administrating the potion slightly less evil since she wouldn't exactly be forcing someone to love her, just merely placing subtle suggestions in their head to glance her way. That seemed harmless enough… right? Glancing back at the vial of purple liquid in her hands, Riven made up her mind.
The way the potion needed to be administered, it was strange; Riven even had to double-triple-check with Syndra just to make sure she'd heard it right, much to the other girl's ire.
"Yes. How many times must I say it? Do you have a peanut for a brain?" Syndra rolled her eyes dramatically. "It's really not that hard. You drink the purple thing and in exactly 10 minutes, you would be seized by a wet sneeze. Make sure you direct your sneeze at your intended target, and the mucus would be instantly and magically absorbed into their bloodstream. Just one small droplet would be enough to take effect. Anyway, it's for one use only, so make sure you don't waste it sneezing into blank space."
Sounds simple enough, Riven reminded herself with a deep breath. Sneeze at target, just sneeze at target. Alright, now all I have to do is find her. Where will she be? It's seven in the morning so, knowing her, probably the training grounds.
Hastening her strides, Riven quickly made her way to the open-air courtyard that many champions went to hone their skills in combat. The compound was large and still fairly deserted at that hour since most members of the League were late risers. Circular targets lined one end of the court, while wooden dummies lined another. It was near one of these wooden dummies that Riven caught sight of her beloved.
It seemed the girl was not in the midst of her usual combat sessions but was instead sitting cross-legged on the ground with her hands on her knees in a deep meditative state. Seeing the silk strands of her hair sway ever so gently in the morning breeze and the way her face looked so unguarded in a perfect picture of peace, Riven felt her pulse sped up involuntarily.
Hastily, she downed the vial of liquid held in her hands and gingerly approached the meditating girl from behind, coming to a stop just a few feet away. She silently prayed that the girl would be so deeply immersed in her meditative trance that she would not come to notice her presence. No such luck. The girl's enchanted blades had sprung to life at the sound of her footsteps and were now hovering around the Will of the Blades in a defensive formation.
"Exile," Irelia's voice carried a touch of wariness, but she still hadn't moved an inch. "What is your business with me?"
In her eagerness, Riven had neglected to come up with a reasonable explanation for why she had chosen to seek out the Ionian. And it was fairly obvious she was seeking her out too, there was simply no other reason to be standing in such close proximity, especially when there were so few people around.
"I—uh, I—uh," Riven inwardly facepalmed. "I—uh." She tried again, and failed. "I—uh," Shit! Get it together! "I—uh, was just wondering what you were up to." It was very lame, but at this point Riven was just relieved she was capable of words other than 'I—uh'.
Irelia didn't reply, although Riven noticed her blades twitching slightly. A whole minute went by with neither of them moving or saying anything. The mood was decidedly awkward when Irelia abruptly stood up and brushed the dirt off her black Ionian styled silk pants before turning to face Riven.
"I think it is fairly obvious that I was meditating, Exile. I do not take kindly to being interrupted." Her tone was harsh and stony, sending a barrage of little figurative steel spikes straight through Riven's broken heart.
"I—uh—"
"Yes, I know. You've said that about six times now. If you'll excuse me." Irelia gave a curt nod before brushing past Riven, making to exit the compound.
Oh my god. That was so bad. She hates me, she hates me now. But I like her so much. She smelled nice—Wait, what did I do? Shit! I can't let her go yet. If my counting is right, there's still around 6 minutes before the wet sneeze comes about. I need her to be here when that happens!
Riven's mind raced with an abundance of thoughts, sending her into overdrive. Without thinking, her hand shot forward and grabbed the upper right arm of the Ionian Captain. The arm was more petite than she had imagined, and for a brief moment, Riven reveled in the feel of the seemingly delicate, but firm appendage.
"Wh-h—unhand me." Irelia was caught off guard as she faltered for a second before attempting to jerk her arm away indignantly, her blades now changing to adopt a more dangerous stance around her. Without warning, her left palm lashed out, swiftly striking Riven in the chest and effectively shoving her back a few steps. Coughing, Riven was just about to apologize for her rudeness but a loud commotion a distance away, drew her attention.
"Give it back!" It was Leona who was shouting angrily while in the midst of chasing someone around the court.
"Hahahaha," An all too familiar laughter rang out in the air as its owner skidded to a stop a few feet away and gave a taunting gesture with her left hand while raising her right hand up high, fingers waving around a thin sheet of paper. "I just wanted to take a closer look Sunshine, what do you have to be so mad about?"
Leona audibly growled and made a lunge at the mischievous red head, but the assassin was too fast for her and was already dancing her way out of Leona's grasp before disappearing in a mist of red that marked her Shunpo. To both Riven and Irelia's shock, Katarina proceeded to materialize right in front of them.
"Oops, I miscalculated." The redhead muttered under her breath. Riven and Irelia were barely given enough time to register the developments since Leona had caught sight of Katarina and, with a one-tracked mind, came barreling straight towards her target.
Riven's mind was panicked.
Shit. At this rate, Leona's going to crash into us like bowling pins.
With that thought, and with the charging Leona looming closer and closer, Riven did the first thing that came to her mind, and pulled Irelia protectively behind her with a sharp yank while bracing herself for impact as the female tank crashed bullishly into Katarina right in front of her.
Before the dust had even settled, a loud and infinitely wet sneeze rang out and reverberated through the area just as a thin sheet of paper, the one that Katarina was previously holding, landed gently on the ground. With its edges now slightly crumpled, the paper depicted a picture of both Leona and a certain silver-haired Lunari dressed in matching swimwear at some beach setting, leaning close together as they smiled contently into the camera.
Shit.
