An ornate pair of daggers spun lazily in the air glinting and shimmering in the evening sun's last rays. Almost as an afterthought, a soft and nimble pair of hands reached out and caught them mid spin on the descent. Red hair as vivid as blood sprawled out messily on the verdant grass of the noxian field as a woman lay there. A skin-tight leather jacket hugged the slim torso of the young woman inclining on the grassy terrain, cutting off abruptly well above her midsection, leaving her stomach bare. A pair of snug fitting leather pants, on which were strapped a dozen more daggers served to highlight her curves and left a scandalous amount of flesh visable.
Her face had a sharp angularity to it, much like the blades she loved to play with. Marring her otherwise flawless visage was a vicious scar, faded red against her pale skin that ran down her perfectly functional left eye, stopping midway on her cheek. Her green yellow eyes were currently closed, even as her hands continued to play with her twin daggers in a mesmerizing pattern of dexterity.
Soft footsteps crunched on the fresh grass as a hooded man garbed in light blue cloth with metal vambraces and greaves slowly approached her still form.
"Brother." She greeted him, slowly sitting up and sheathing her weapons before propping herself with her arms. "What brings you here?"
"I may have found a lead to the whereabouts of your father." Talon said without preamble. Katarina appreciated that about him. He always cut to the chase, and never danced around with his words. They were as sharp as the blades he liked to use on his enemies.
"Really?" The redhead murmured softly, knowing Talon would not have come to her with the news unless it was a solid lead. "Where do we start?"
If she hadn't known him as well as she did, she might have missed the slight fidget of his right hand as he fingered one of his knives. He was nervous, a rare thing to behold. Katarina's curiosity flared to life as she waited for his answer.
"I'm afraid I must do this alone, Kat." His tone was as apolegetic as he could make it, which was not very at all. Neither of them were particularly good in admitting fault, their pride simply did not allow for it.
Katarina narrowed her eyes at him. "And if I were to insist that you change your mind on this?" Her voice was a hiss, menace and promise rolled into one. It was not a question.
Talon only shook his head, undeterred. "The place I am headed to, they will not let you come." For a second Katarina saw red, but she fought down her rage. I will not let my emotions rule me. Never again. Her left hand traced her scar as she chanted her mantra in her mind and clamped down on her fury with a will of iron.
"The council cannot stop me." But even as she hissed it, she knew Talon was right. If he was going to go there, then unless the redheaded assassin was willing to betray her country she would not be able to go.
"Fine." She said abruptly. "Go to the league then." She turned and left before Talon could say another word.
/
Katarina stalked through the halls of her home, her expression furious. The servants of the Du Couteau family wisely refrained from addressing her, recognising that the scion of the family was in a foul mood. They bowed their heads as she passed, but the redhead paid them no attention as she climbed the wooden staircase in a huff.
"Hello sister." Cassiopeia greeted her from atop the stairs, soft emerald eyes carefully scrutinizing the infuriated figure of her sister. Blonde hair fell in soft curls to her shoulders, her figure seemingly sculpted by the gods themselves. Cass was the jewel of Noxus, her beauty so renown that men from all around Runeterra flocked to merely catch a glimpse of her. Of course, some of it was propaganda, but Katarina was acutely aware that her younger sister was by far prettier than her. Especially now, as the red head's tousled hair fanned behind her in a messy sprawl, a far cry from the beautiful golden curls of her sister.
Their relationship was odd to say the least, as Cassiopeia did not like the savage art of fighting and held it with such disdain that she refused to acknowledge Talon as a sibling despite having grown up together. She felt the way of the sword was for those who did not know the path to true grace and valued her beauty in the same way Katarina valued her skill as an assassin. The two of them never saw eye to eye in most things, but there was a sort of mutual respect. Both were, after all, the best in their respective fields.
"What is it?" Katarina growled, her ire rising at the mirthful glance her sister gave her after catching sight of her rumpled hair.
"I just wanted to tell you that I'll be out for a while, the Freljord delegation arrived a few hours ago." Her sister's lips curled into a soft pout and her eyes glimmered with mischievous intent. "I've found a new toy to play with."
Kat snorted softly, feeling a modicum of pity for the man who had caught her sister's attention. If there was one thing the two siblings shared, Katarina mused to herself as she prowled gracefully across the marbled floor, it was their delight in hunting prey. Only, Katarina preferred the more physical aspects of the hunt. As she walked into her room, her earlier anger at Talon's decision began to cool. It still simmered in her chest, but she began to see his point. Huffing slightly in annoyance, she resolved to find him and ask for a spar. Perhaps she would even let him win. Ha. As if. She fingered her daggers and quirked her head, feeling rather excited at the prospect.
Three days later
She was sitting beside the fireplace in her room, polishing her blades when the servant burst in, a panicked look on his face. "She's gone missing, my lady." Kat looked at him confusedly, and set aside her whetstone with care. "Nobody can find her. The word around the street is most distressing. She hasn't been back for two days but no one..." The man seemed dead set to continue blabbering, but Kat silenced him by raising her hand. It spoke of her reputation that he immediately fell silent. Or it might have something to do with the newly sharpened blade in her raised hand pointing directly at him. Kat did not care either way.
"Who has gone missing?" The redhead asked patiently, wondering what the fuss was all about. Typically Cassiopeia handled all of the ongoings in the house, so it was rare indeed for her to be bothered.
The man gaped at her for a second, then choked out. "Cassiopeia du Couteau, milady."
Katarina felt the blood in her veins turn to ice and she very nearly dropped the dagger in her hand. For maybe half a second she sat there, frozen in disbelief and incomprehension. Then the reality of the situation sank in and she stood and focused her attentions on the short figure of the servant before her. Her movement were so abrupt that the servant jerked back in surprise, even as the tools on her lap clattered onto the floor in a haphazard mess.
"Find my brother." She hissed, her green eyes burning intensely. "Now."
The servant managed to give a weak nod, and Katarina stalked past him without another word. As she departed, the man slumped weakly to the ground in relief. There was murder in her eyes, and even though it wasn't directed at him, he had no doubts on what she intended to do to the culprit responsible for the disappearance of the Couteau heiress.
Katarina stalked through the dining room, a dagger twirling through her fingers, done almost subconsciously as she paced in fury and worry. She refused to believe that her sister had eloped with a foreign dignitary from Freljord, such a thing was as ludicrous as her wearing a gown and attending a ball. It simply was not possible.
Eventually her ears caught the sound of a slight rustle and she immediately turned to the open balcony window.
"Do you know where she is?" She asked without preamble, her sharp eyes catching the flicker of movement as Talon ascended the walls with his usual lithe grace.
"I do." He spoke the words impassively, but she detected a note of hesitation. Not good. His face was veiled in a cloak, making it impossible for her to divine what he was thinking.
"Well?" She demanded impatiently. "What is going on?"
Her brother shook his head slightly. "It's not my story to tell. Come, I'll take you to her." Katarina growled in annoyance, but rolled her eyes when Talon didn't react. She hated these games, why couldn't anyone just tell her what was going on? This was why she detested politics.
They darted across the darkened rooftops, keeping to the shadows in case they were followed, but the moon was covered by a thick cloud and Katarina doubted anyone was foolish enough to follow them. Still, it paid to be cautious, just in case.
Talon led her past the market district, brimming with people trying to make a profit even at this late hour and through the slums, and only slowed when they reached the heart of the lower district where only the poorest and most destitute of people dwelled. The red headed assassin began to feel worry overwhelm her confusion and anger. Why would Cass be here? She opened her mouth to speak, but Talon suddenly came to a halt in front of a tattered building, and Katarina was distracted by what she saw.
The building loomed tall into the night, it's walls crumbled and dilapitated, and even in the darkness she could see no one in their right mind would choose to stay here. Before she could say anything, Talon pointed to a small shattered window on the third floor.
Katarina shot him a venomous glare, wondering if this was a prank of some sort and vowed that she would pay him back if it was. In blood.
Talon rolled his eyes from under his hood when Kat turned to him, knowing that she was glaring at him. He waved her off, grinning under his cloak. Sometimes, his sister was so predictable. Then again, he mused to himself as she darted into the dark hallways of the broken building, who needed subtlety when you could gut a person in less time than it took for them to blink? Speaking of subtlety, Talon's thoughts drifted to his other sister. Cassiopeia du Couteau. They had never really seen eye to eye, her disdain for his heritage evident from the very first day, but there was a sort of neutral cordiality between them. As long as Talon didn't bother her, she was content to ignore him. So when Cass came to him for help, he knew something very bad had happened.
The cool night breeze wafted over him, ruffling his cloak and Talon heard a muffled gasp. Kat must have caught sight of her sister. Sighing, Talon seated himself comfortably atop a nearby piece of broken masonry. This was going to take a while.
Once inside, Katarina slowed down, taking care not to make too much noise. It was a testament to her trust in her bother that the thought of an ambush never even occurred to her. Instead, she tread softly in order not to startle her sister. A sliver of candlelight caught her attention as she ascended the rickety wooden stairway in the middle of the large building, the muted light coming from under one of the few intact doors left in the broken establishment. She cautiously swung the door open, wincing at the loud squeak it made as it opened.
A figure huddled in the furtherest corner, wrapped in an expensively crafted white cloak, with her back to the doorway. Even from a cursory glance, Katarina could tell something was wrong. The dimensions under the cloak did not fit her sister's elegant form, there was far too much bulk hidden under the soft silk.
Frowning, she cocked her head to the side. "Cass?" She whispered softly, uncertainty coloring her tone. The cloak shifted and a head peeked from under the curtain of white silk and the red head felt her eyes nearly pop out as she recognized the beautiful features of her sister. Cass's eyes were wide in surprise, but it was undeniably her. Katarina made to step forward, but her sister's expression transformed into that of panic.
"No!" The green-haired heiress gasped. "Stay away from me. Don't come any closer." The shame and fear transfixed Katarina like twin blades piercing through the soles of her feet. She froze, and then caught sight of the green hair, and what was that shimmering green hue on the sides of her sister's face?
Was that… a scale? Horrified, Katarina let out a soft gasp of shock as the silk cloak slipped from her sister's prone form and revealed the half body of a snake. This was why the form beneath the cloak had not fit her sister's porcelain figure. Somehow she had been transformed into a monster.
Cassiopeia closed her eyes in shame, tears forming on her face and trickling down her still beautiful features. Katarina moved, her body instinctively grasping her sister in a tight embrace. "Tell me everything." She commanded, feeling the sobs that wracked her sister's frame vibrate through her arms and she gritted her teeth. Somewhere deep inside her, in a place where she kept all her fury and anger, a flame began to burn, stoked further by the flickering shadow produced by the candlelight of her now mutated sister.
It took a little coaxing before Cass finally told her what happened. Apparently, the dignitary who had caught her eye had information the noxian leaders wanted, and being the good girl she was, she had pried it from him with her usual tricks. But, somehow he had tricked her into a contract of some sort. The details were sketchy here as Cass broke down again. Katarina tried to comfort her, but she was really bad at this sort of thing.
Eventually, Cass continued, still clinging to her older sister's shoulder. When she informed her superiors of the information, the curse had kicked in and transformed her into a half creature, half human. The process had taken the last few days to complete, but Katarina was able to deduce by the claw marks on the walls that it had not been a pleasant transformation. The dignitary had fled shortly after, no doubt alerted to the transgression by the contract. She had fled, to the last place anyone would look for her. Talon of course, had found her with little preamble. Nobody escaped the spymaster of Noxus.
The two of them sat in the dingy room, neither knowing what to say. Katarina wished she could offer her sister some sort of assurance that things would work out, but she knew it was a lie. Instead, Katarina hummed a lullaby. One that their mother used to sing to them when they had been children, before she had passed away. Eventually, Cass fell asleep. Kat gently covered her with the silk cloak that doubled as a bedsheet and blew out the candlelight. The cloud had passed by now, and the silver light of the crescent moon illuminated the dirty broken world around her. Talon sat motionless atop a jutting concrete pillar, his white cloak shimmering silver under the moonlight.
They shared a long silent glance. "Take her to the League." Katarina said at last. "Perhaps someone there will be able to reverse the magic." her voice was flat however. They both knew it was a long shot, but Talon nodded in agreement anyway. It was their best option given the circumstances, besides, there was no amount of gold in the world that could convince him to say no to his sister when she was in one of her moods. He gazed at his surrogate sister, her red hair billowing behind her wildly, stirred by a passing wind. A refracting sliver of moonlight sweeped past her face, letting him catch a glimpse of the murderous fire that burned within her emerald pupils.
"Name?" It wasn't a question.
Talon felt a dry smile curl his lips. Somewhere in Runeterra, a dead man was walking.