-Departure-

(a Katarina x Talon fanfic)

-Part I-

Such cold rainy night in the Noxus alleyhood pains a somber common view from Du Couteau balcony. It was cold and the watery air imprints Katarina`s clothes. Her long dyed red hair looked grotesque in the moonlight. She was the youngest daughter of the great Noxian General and she wasn`t supposed to stay away that night. She used to be in the middle dangerous zone, just like always, but this time, she dealt a personality issue. Her beautiful face was ripped. A raw scar could be seen on her left eye marking her pain. She might cried out for so long, till she went outside to feel the rain crying in her . There was no one that could see her face now. The pale moon light didn`t reach her entire face as her features where just pale and vague.

"The war is over." She thought as she gets in, lifting her casual, not expensive lady clothing. The watery weather just made her face to sweat and itch the new scar, so as long as nobody seem to return from the battlefield, she takes a seat inside waiting nervously.

A hooded man soaked in blood and dark rain arrived at the mansion where the previous woman was nagging her thoughts.

"Talon!" She runs to him and clings on his neck noticing that he couldn`t even keep himself on feet. "Are you alright? how is our army? did we win this time?" As she started asking thing, he allows her to take his hoody off, so she could see his webed eyes, but he only returned a silent glare."What`s the matter?" Her greeny eyes widen worried at him. Him, who looks like an average dark haired man with hairdresser fear and hoodied cape of an assassin. All Du Couteau took good training to raise the assassin beneath them and even if Talon was not blood related, he trained in past with Katarina. This is the reason their bond grew much stronger almost like brother and sister carry.

"...Withdraw..." He huffs exhausted. He run till there not because he was afraid, not because he feared death, not because he was bleeding to death... He run to Du Couteau mansion to announce that the General, Katarina`s father, disappeared in that night on the battle field.

"No!" She yells at him shaking him a little, then releasing his weak shoulder. Blood imprint through his dark blue hoodied uniform started to sink on the floor, on the rich carpets as Katarina notices.

"You are bleeding too much. go to infirmary." She orders not carrying much about him as for her father.

"He`ll return, right?" She peaks in the mansion infirmary at Talon as his wounds got patched. She was angry just seeing her face scar, but Talon had a lot of deadly wounds in his vital sides. "How can you still walk...?" She asked aware of the pain Talon suffered till here.

"He will return. I want your father to return." He looks down letting the nurse to do her job. He was too weak to face an angry Katarina right there.

A few more days and Talon felt even worst. Nurses said that it was a miracle a man could get out of a war and return to his belonging people with such wounds, so Katarina got concerned and visited him a few times per day to see if he gets any better. But he was sleeping like forever. She couldn`t take the her father missing as well, but Talon was still in their house, hurt and probably this will last a few weeks.

"Hey, Talon." She forces herself to act more cheerish as she enters his room with a plate of some fancy food she was used to.

"How are you feeling?"

He could hear her noisy recall, so he fakes getting up like nothing happened, glaring in silence.

"I know you are a strong guy, so a few scratches won`t kill you. Is that true, Talon?" She smiles peacefully wanting to feed him.

"Do I look like dying to you?" He grabs the plate from her hands feeling awkward and insulted in the same time, but the worst part was that she was the General`s daughter. He respected him so much so even if Katarina was nothing like his wise mind, he didn`t lose his priorities and he knew his place. "How bad is it? What the doctor and nurses said?" He shows an awake brave expression for any kind of bad answer, but... "You`ll be fine." She said with a kind voice, caressing his face and taking his long bangs out of his eyes.

She gave him hope for the moment, even if he wasn`t sure ten percent sure, he forces himself with her help to sit up so he could touch the patch in his heart side. "It seems it wasn`t my time." He chuckles a little looking at how poor he looks now and Katarina covers his back with a light shirt.

"You still need to eat to get healthy." She handed him the plate sitting near his bed.

It`s been two weeks and Talon could walk around the mansion at least where he was told he can go. The mansion was too big and also he never deceived the rules in that house. His respect for the General transferred to Katarina turned him into a loyal dog, but the truth was he wanted to leave this place as soon as possible. He was free now. Du Couteau General was missing and his duty to seek for his answers for him was awake. The dark haired Talon could do his job anyway and he didn`t have to stay bond of the mansion.

"Hey, Katarina. I need to talk to you." He knocks and enters without waiting her answer. She turned to be so close to him like they were real related. "I need to leave this place..."

"For how long?"

"...in a while."

"For how long?"

"I don`t promise my returning."

"What did you say?"

"I`ll leave and maybe never return."

She gets up from her red velvet chair and slaps him wearing the eyes of a mad woman.

"What did you say? You want to leave? How can i be sure that you`ll stay alive? How can I know that you`ll not get missing like my father? How can I stay here without anyone I trust that will return?" She yells at him with one of that expression of a common concerned woman. Even if he didn`t know much about women, he could read her so easily. Katarina changed so much in the past years and the new scar on her eyes just made her realize that for herself. She was carrying way too much for her family.

"Katarina, we are not blood related, so stop it. As long as my wounds healed, I need to go. I have things to do."

She tood there with her red hair covering her wet face in silence, yet Talon was too weak to touch her shoulder and say that it`ll be alright and she doesn`t have to worry about him. He didn`t know how much it hurts her, but he was always a cool mind, just like an assassin should be. Katarina melted and the recent things occured made her even weaker. The scar and her father disappearance, then Talon fatal wound and now he wants to leave after in a hurry.

"Is there anything I can do to make you return some time?" She added with a raw voice holding her sorrow.

"I appreciate your concern, but..." He couldn`t finish his last part and received another slap from her.

"Lies. I hate nice words when they are not meant to be nice!"

"..." He cups his face listening.

"I know I lied to you when you were sick, but I really wanted you to get well. I know I am a bad person by nature, but I regret nothing. I know I was mean with you in past, but look at you, you grew into a fine man and you almost make me giggle thinking of my handsome brother." As she started to count all the things that matter to her, Talon just waited her to finish her long speech.

After everything was set, he agreed to return after he finds out who were the ones who betrayed the General.

Meanwhile Katarina made the preparations to leave the mansion for Demacia and find out the secrets beneath the ancient war between Noxus and Demacia.