"Two adventurers cross into unknown territory. Danger could be hiding under any rock, Willump, keep on your toes." Nunu said, a wild sense of excitement in their voice. The young Freljordian boy was riding atop of his friend's head, peering at the forest around him. The fresh smell of pine and earth was vastly different from the smell of salt and ice up north.
Willump growled, matching his best friend's excitement. For this was indeed unknown territory for them. This was the farthest south east either of them had gone. They might as well be out of Freljord territory at this point. The mountainous terrain gave way to green lush forests, that had the chill of winter in the air yet none of its snow. Something that Nunu was doing his best to reconcile. Nunu felt his magic chill his bones. To others it would be numbing them to the core, yet to him, it felt like a rush of freedom. Magic was simply amazing, it was a sign for the duo that they were meant to be great heroes. Nunu was sure of it. The ice that left his hands formed a patch of snow that Willump trodden into. The forest hadn't even heard of snow before the two came down here. Now there was a cold blanket of it covering the ground.
"We can leave a trail, so we know which way we came." Nunu said, he peered down from atop of his perch. Willump growled, bringing up an important point. Always a font of wisdom to the boy. Nunu shook his head. "The snow won't melt right away. And we won't stay that long… just gonna have a look around. OH!" Nunu swung around Willump's horn, so he may hang across it and looked off to the distance.
They came across a steep hill, one that was perfectly suited for a slide. Nunu sent a wave of cold down it, coating it in lush powered snow. As if the yeti read the boy's mind, Willump grabbed Nunu into a tight hug and dove down the hill. The two slid down the terrain, swerving pass trees and rocks until the hill gave way to a large clearing. The crash at the bottom sent a wave of snow all around them. Willump rolled, Nunu still clutched in his four arms. They laughed as they seperated and patted away the snow clinging to their bodies. Willump shook from head to toe, making it drizzle with snowflakes.
Nunu shook out his hat, eyes roaming back up from where they had came. "Let's do that again!"
Nunu grabbed Willumps arm to lead him back up, but the yeti didn't move. The beasts big eyes were transfixed on expanse the clearing exposed. Nunu sensing his friend becoming distressed, climbed up. "What's wrong?" Nunu peered over his friend's head and saw what he saw.
Ash. All around the far end of the clearing was black ash. A fire had engulfed that half of the forest, leaving only a black marr in the landscape. The few trees that still stood were dead and jagged. Brittle to the touch. The fire must have been so intense to have this effect.
Nunu pat his friend, soothing him and brushing any worries away. "It's okay buddy, sometimes forest fires just happen…"
Willump huffed. He started to walk towards the ash. Something wasn't right. The wind still smell like smoke, meaning the fire must have died only a day ago. Willump could feel the warmth beneath his feet. The embers hidden in the dirt still burned. The trees leaning limp against each other also looked off. Nunu hopped off Willump and trotted alongside him. His feet kicking up little clouds. That's when he noticed the oddities too. The ground below was cut stone. There was a road here. Nunu bent down and swept his hands across the dirt. The cobblestone was jagged, but there was no mistaking it. It was pressed down even to make traveling by cart easier for the riders. His eyes went back to the trees. He rushed over to one and brushed a hand against it. This wasn't tree, it was a wood yes, but it wasn't a tree. It was posting for a frame. There was going to be a house built here.
Willump growled.
"Yeah… me too buddy. This is giving me the heebee jeebees." Nunu rubbed his arms. "But a hero must be brave!" Nunu grabbed onto Willump's paw, and with minimum effort the yeti hefted the kid up to his horns. "We must get to the bottom of this."
Willump nodded, shaking Nunu. The village here wasn't cramped together, the clearing allowed for ample room and expansion. So a single house fire shouldn't have spread so severely. Whatever caused this, was something bigger… possibly a raid...
"We should follow the road." Nunu pointed out east, and Willump followed. He hoped it wasn't a raid.
…
The ash gave way to a paved road. The well worn path was all packed dirt and cobblestone. Over time the path had widened from its original size, and the small sliver of cobblestone running down the center was now flanked by trodden dirt on either side. The forest was thick again, anywhere that wasn't the path was heavy with brush and tree. The only break in the scenery was when a river bisected the forest and ran alongside the road.
Nunu looked up the river. It was a small one, wide enough for barges to use and that's about it. Now that his view wasn't obstructed he could see that the river and road ran parallel for almost a mile.
"This gives me an idea!" Snow danced around Nunu's hands. Cupping them around his mouth, he blew and a flurry spread across the river. Ahead of him the river turned to ice. Tentatively he stepped onto it. Well, it didn't immediately crack, so that must be a good sign. Giggling he stepped farther onto the ice. He slid a few feet, pushing off from one foot to the other to gain speed. "Awesome!"
Willump took a step and the ice held. Seeing that, the big ball of fur slide and chased after Nunu. He leapt forward and landed on his belly. Nunu saw his friend closing in, and jumped. He caught onto the horns and let the momentum take him. He cupped his hands again and blew out another long patch of ice, extending their slide. This was much faster, and way more fun than walking.
As they slid further down the river, they kept up the speed, expanding the ice more and more until the length of river was all ice. They only slowed when they came across a bridge. The river forked in two directions, and the bridge crossed over one branching path while continuing on alongside the other. Nunu jumped off Willump and angled himself so he came to a halt right at the bridge. He looked down the road, then where the river had branched off to. Should they continue on the road? Nunu rubbed his chin mulling it over. As he thought, he heard the splash of water.
Willump had a crate upturned, pouring water from inside back into the river. A few of its contents came spilling out as well.
"What'd you got there?" Nunu walked over to Willump, the yeti put the crate back down and showed it to the boy. On the side was the branding of a merchant group. While the symbol wasn't known by Nunu he knew that it meant it had previously belonged to a caravan. "Was this floating down the river?"
Willump nodded. The yeti walked under the bridge and show that there was more crates. The contents were still there. Strewn about haphazardly. Willump sniffed the air. It smelled of smoke, and there was ash here too. Nunu noticed that there was wagon tracks underneath the bridge, they lead into the river heading upstream it seamed. Whoever started the fire must have stolen the cart, hidden it underneath the bridge, ransacked the goods, and then escaped by fording the river.
That settled it they would continue following the river.
…
While ice skating was fun, it was also exhausting. Having run themselves ragged, they decided to take things easy. The duo floated on a sheet of ice. The yeti laid on his back, using his four arms to paddle their way up river. Nunu laid atop of Willump, he made for an excellent bed, he was warm and his fur was the softest thing there ever was. As they rested, Nunu played svellsongur, the flute his mother gave to him. In his mind it was a mighty sword.
He was immersed in his song, an age old story his mother told him, when Willump tapped him on his shoulder. Looking down he saw that Willump had found another crate, and another, and another…
Nunu looked up and saw the wagon they were looking for. This must be the one all the crates had come from. The wagon was actually in tact, it was badly burned and covered in ash, but it was still in one piece. All the goods from the empty crates were strewn about the riverbank. Thrown around carelessly. Willump paddled their ice sheet closer. They drifted up to the wagon, Nunu jumping from Willump and into the cart. He saw that the cart was still half loaded. The crates that littered the river all had been empty, their contents not stolen but here, littering the ground. It was as if someone was looking for something specific. The ones inside were still full. By the contents it looked to be general goods. Cloths, glass bottles, ink and dyes, some parchment. There was a few crates of preserved food, too. Dried and salted elk from how it smelled. Nunu looked around the cart. From how waterlogue the wagon was, he had guessed right. It was used to ford the river. Heading up stream must have been difficult. Nunu pushed aside a crate and he gasped. There was a girl here!
She was unconscious. How did she get here? Was she kidnapped? Nunu looked around the area. Maybe her parents were nearby, and the cart wasn't stolen, but was running away cause of the fire? He tried to shake her awake. She groaned in response, and coughed into her hand. Nunu felt her forehead and pulled back in surprise. She had a fever.
Willump growled. A warning growl.
Nunu came around the wagon and saw Willump, the big guy was pointing to massive paw prints. It looked like bear prints, but the size was so much bigger than a normal bear. They were fresh too, made maybe earlier in the day. Nunu saw something move in the brush, he yelled out to Willump. The yeti turned in time to lock claws with a terrifying bear. The creature came roaring out of nowhere, appearing in a burst of heat and flame. Fire erupted around his mouth and… seams? Willump matched his growl with his own. His frosty breath quelling the fire. Willump used his extra arms to gain the upper hand and push the bear aside, sending it crashing into the river. The water boiled in an instant and steam filled the air.
"Get him Willump!" Nunu cheered.
Whatever that thing was, it clearly was the cause for the fire back at that village. They had a duty as heroes to protect this girl from the same fate.
Willump bite the bear and scalded his tongue. He fanned his mouth to cool it down. The bear used that distraction to push Willump off of him and return to the cart. Nunu's hands were covered in ice. He threw a trio of snowballs at the bear. A normal snowball wouldn't harm the bear, but these were imbued with magic. The ice slammed into the bear, and it slowed. Slowed just enough for Willump to wrap the bear in a tight hug.
"Stay away!" Was this how the hero felt in those songs his mother sang? Nunu felt a rush, of fear and of excitement, as he stood defiantly between the bear and its prey. He wielded svellsongur like the sword he imagined it to be.
The bear stopped fighting, staring at Nunu as if sensing the good nature of the boy. It was enough of a pause that it confused Willump and Nunu. The bear shrugged out of the hug, and came at the cart again. Nunu threw another trio of snowballs. The bear ignored it and approached the cart. Nunu stood in the way of the bear again. It did nothing in response. It huffed at his defiance and waited. Nunu looked to Willump, who looked back just as confused.
"T-Tibbers."
Nunu spun around and saw that the girl was tossing and turning. She was looking for the bear through groggy eyes, and she reached out to him once she saw him. The bear, apparently named Tibbers, reach in and holding out a claw to her, the two held each other gently. In a flash the bear was a stuffed toy clutched gingerly in her arms. She coughed into her hands again, and held Tibbers close. Her throat hurt and beads of sweat dotted her flushed face. Tibbers protected her from any trouble, whoever this boy was didn't pose any threat to her.
Nunu watched her as she shivered. So many questions needed to be answered. First things first though, "We need some medicine Willump."
Willump growled, and pointed to the sky. It was getting dark now.
"Yeah, and find shelter soon."
…
Nunu hung his cloak and hat on the spit above the fire. The fire they were nursing would help them dry after being in the river all day. The float back down river was easier this time. Though the thrill of adventure had died down at the moment. He was worried about the girl, who ever she was. The story was coming together. The bear, Tibbers, was looking for some medicine among the crates. That's why the cart was in such a mess, the scald marks and ash was caused by the bear. Now they only needed to figure out why the village was burned down. Was it the bears fault? Had it gone into the village looking for medicine for the girl, only to accidentally set fire to everything? Nunu had time to think about all this while Willump went off hunting for them.
Shelter was easy to make with magic at the tips of his fingers. There was a resting ground for travelers near the bridge. The two must have missed it, too engrossed in solving the mystery of the burnt down village. The ground was nice and leveled, there was also a patch of ground dug to create a fire pit. And there was also some wood fencing to keep out the wildlife. Nunu knew it would do little if the wildlift actually wanted to get into the resting grounds. That's why he was making shelter himself. An igloo formed seconds later, and Nunu moved the girl inside. He made it large enough to hold Willump, and if it had to be that large might as make it so the fire was also inside. It would keep the igloo warm, and keep out the chill of the night. Nunu made sure that the ice was spaced far enough away that it wouldn't melt while the fire was burning. Now that everything was situated, he sat down to wait for Willump to come back, and relaxed.
Nunu played a few notes on svellsongur, making up a new song. He didn't know what words would go with them yet. The melody was the only thing he had worked on. But he knew that he wanted this song to be about this adventure. A Song of Fire and Ice… no that sounded stupid. He'd work on a title later.
He played more notes. He sighed, his mouth was dry from playing too much. He should have refilled his waterskin at the river. Despite being able to create ice from thin air, Nunu disliked drinking water created from his magic. It tasted funny, and also it was way too cold. He almost gave himself hypothermia one time from drinking too much of it.
Nunu squeezed his cloak and hat, feeling if they were dry enough to wear. It felt warm from the fire, so it would be okay for a few minutes. Before he left, he went to the fire, and pulled a few stones from it. Ol' Freljordian trick. Heat up a few rocks to carry with you, so when you went out foraging, you could still be kept warm. He dropped it into his cloak and wrapped it tight around his body. He looked back one last time to see that the girl was still sound asleep. The cloth taken from the cart were bundled around her tightly. He crawled out from his shelter. Willump was still gone. He was taking much longer to hunt it seemed. The game must be different around these parts.
They hadn't traveled far from the cart, they parked it at the entrance of the resting ground. It was a good source of supplies so it was best to keep it nearby. The sun was just about gone, so he better make this quick before night really set in. He searched around momentarily before finding what he had found earlier. Water barrels. Traveling from village to village was difficult, and water was needed for both the people traveling and the horses pulling the cart. So merchants would use barrels instead because they stored much more water than personal waterskins. These barrels had taps, making access easier. Nunu popped open his waterskin and started to refill it. As the water gurgled, Nunu looked up at the sky. Looking for any shooting stars.
What he saw was fire erupting from the clearing, lighting up the cart and the surrounding forest. A pillar of fire was bursting out of the top of the igloo. Wide eyed he rushed back, spilling the water barrel and fumbling to cap the waterskin. He came back to the grounds and saw fire engulfing the igloo. Rubbing his hands together he forced a wall of cold to combat the flames. He pushed his way inside, parting the fire around him. He saw that the girl was tossing and turning. Her hand reaching out for someone.
Nunu couldn't hear her. The fire crackled too loudly in his ears, and the smoke was making seeing her a challenge. He pushed his way forward anyways. Nunu was next to her before he knew it, and a hand slapped across his face, his cheek stung but he shook off the surprise. He grabbed her hand and fell forward as she pulled him in. She was literally hot to the touch. He poured his magic through himself, chilling his body so he wouldn't be harmed by her. The two polar opposites of magic swirled in the air until it all snapped out of existence. There was no explosion, no thunderclap of power. Just instant equilibrium as intense heat and intense cold canceled each other out. The girl pulled him in close, and he hugged her. Whatever nightmare she was having was now fading at his touch.
…
Willump was exhausted, chasing rabbits around wasn't easy. They would run in one hole, only to appear out another. It took a lot of time, snow, and plugging of holes to finally get enough for him and Nunu to share. Returning back to the resting grounds, Willump noticed the igloo Nunu made. The entrance was large enough for him to crawl through. Ducking his head down, he shuffled his way in. Rabbits ready for Nunu to skin and cook.
What Willump saw first was Nunu and the girl huddled together in the spare cloths, keeping each other war. The yeti smiled, as he noticed when the girl became restless, Nunu was there to calm her down. The yeti placed the rabbits on the far end of the igloo, creating a pile of snow to preserve the meat for the morning. He curled up close by, watching over the two sleeping kids.
…
The girl woke up and looked around the igloo. The strange surroundings confusing her.
"Dad?" She called out, then remembered what she had done so many nights ago. Tears formed in her eyes, and she sobbed. As the ragged breath left her, she felt the reassuring touch that held her all last night. She thought it had been Tibbers, but the boy laying beside her was a stranger.
She pushed away from him, and fell backwards. Her back pressed against warm fur. She turned around expecting to see Tibbers, but again, it was someone else. Something else. It was as large as Tibbers, and just as furry, but it had white fur instead of brown, and two large curled horns atop its head. Anxiously she patted around, until she found her stuffed toy. She quietly stared at him. He was suppose to protect her from strangers, yet he left her in the care of these two?
The boy stirred awake. He yawned expressively and stretched. She scooted back, giving him room, and subconsciously putting space between them.
He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and noticed the girl was watching him. "Oh uh… rise and shine!"
"W-where am I?" She asked, eyes roaming the igloo. There wasn't an entrance to this place at all.
"We're just down the road from your village." He said, stretching again. Though his demeanor was friendly, she was put on edge by his words. Did they know what she done? "We were passing by and saw that it was burnt down, then we found you."
The temperature of the igloo rose, as she mentally prepared for a fight. She'd burn a hole through this igloo if she had to. Well, she would have, if she didn't started coughing. Her whole body shook with each cough, and she nearly dropped Tibbers because of it. The boy came up to her, gently forcing her to lay back down.
"You're still sick. You have to rest." He smiled at her. "I'll cook us up some lunch. Willump caught us some rabbits last night that we can eat!" He looked over to the furry beast. He was still sound asleep. The boy laughed, commenting on him being too lazy for his own good. He pulled out the rabbits from a snow pile. They were already skinned and gutted… and wait did he say lunch?
The girl looked up through the hole of the igloo, the one used to let out smoke. Sure enough the sun was high in the sky already. He hummed a song as he stuck the rabbits onto the spit. The fire was dying out, so he fed it more wood. She sneezed and the fire rose in a burst. He leaned back at the sudden eruption.
"...Sorry."
"It's okay, that's nothing compared to the fire you were making last night. That was really cool, but really scary, too."
Last night? She had a horrible nightmare last night, and usually when that happened, everything would be ash when she woke up. Yet he looked fine, not even a small bit of singeing. He saw her staring and he smiled back. She forced herself to look away, turning around to stare at the icy wall instead. She sniffed, her sinuses were clogged up, though she could still smell the aroma of cooked meat. It made her stomach rumble. She hadn't had a good hot meal in days.
"Hey, I'm going to go out for medicine, the cart we found you in didn't have any, so I was gonna trade some of the goods at the nearest town for some. It's not that far." He said. "Promise you'll be here when I come back? Willump will keep you company until then. He doesn't do well in villages." He leaned in and whispered the last part, as if it was a secret he shouldn't be sharing behind the yeti's back.
He sounded so earnest. Curling up into a ball, she looked over her shoulder to see that he was waiting for her to answer him. She wasn't one to trust easily. Her step-mother sought to that. But his disarming smile and honesty was hard to hate. She gave in, and nodded.
"Okay, I'll be quick!" He put a the roasted rabbit before here. "Eat if you're hungry."
He crawled across Willump and slipped behind the big creature. The entrance must be behind it. She watched him go, only just remembering that she should have asked for his name. Guess she'll have to ask once he comes back. Sitting up she began to eat the roasted rabbit. It was bland, there was no season what so ever. Figures, wasn't like there was a fully stocked kitchen in here.
...
Waiting was boring. She still felt too weak to even go out for a walk. The best she could do was stretch inside the igloo. Tibbers sat in her lap, and she mentally conversed with him. He was the only connection she had left of her family. Her mother was gone, missing after she went out one night and never came back, and her father was… that was her fault that time. She was just so angry at her step-mom. She caught Willump staring at her and she froze, he stared back as if reading her soul. It frowned at her, not upset at her but empathetic for her.
Willump growled, his voice like a gravely purr. It sounded cute. Way cuter than she thought how he should sound. He waited, and she then realized he was trying to talk to her. She looked at him, and again he growled and nudged his nose to the stuffed toy in her hand.
"His name is Tibbers."
He nodded. She must've guessed right. He growled and purred, way longer this time. All meaning was lost to her, and he must have noticed it by the look of her face. He growled and slumped down. Having given up trying to talk to her. Willump was far too used to Nunu, the boy understood him perfectly. As if he talked yeti fluently. Willump let magic dance across his paws, and imagines made of snow dust came to life.
A bear, a village, fire, and then a question mark. Willump again nudged his nose to the stuffed bear.
She looked down, hands petting Tibbers anxiously. She looked at him earnestly, she didn't want the boy to be mad at her. "Please don't tell him…"
Willump paused, he hesitantly nodded and held out his pinky. Something Nunu had taught him. The girl smiled and accepted the pinky promise.
"It was my fault…" She hugged her knees as she remember what had happened.
"Some adults-" Her hands balled up tight in anger. "They were threatening me, because of a fire that burned down some crops further south. That wasn't my fault, I wasn't anywhere near there when that one happened. But they didn't listen, they only knew about what I could do. They kept yelling at me, to talk to my parents. Yelling that they needed repay them for their loses… They were yelling and yelling and…"
Her hands twisted around Tibbers, playing with the loose seams on his arms. Fire was sparking to life between her fingers. And Tibbers was growling between the stuffing. Willump laid a paw on her head. He growled and she could sense that he understood. The fire died down in her as he gently patted her head over and over again. She was reminded how her dad would do this when should couldn't sleep. She hugged him and allowed her mind to rest.
"I didn't mean to… not really." She sniffled, "The last thing I remember was crashing the cart into the water to try and escape…"
Willump really did understand. Before Nunu, Willump attacked any and all Frostguard that wander into his territory. Untrusting of anyone who came his way.
…
It was almost dark again when Nunu returned. He smiled when he saw that she kept her promise. He crawled into the igloo and settled next to the fire. The fire was alive despite it barely having any wood left, Nunu suspected that it was because of the girl. He shrugged off his backpack, digging through it and pulling out a small jar. Whatever the medicine was made of smelled awful.
"You're supposed to mix it with hot water and drink it." Nunu said, he took out a pot to start boiling water. From the look of the pot and its pristine condition, he had just bought it.
She didn't want to waste time, and raised the temperature of the fire. In seconds, the water was boiling. Nunu scooped in the medicine and let it steep in the water. He stirred it and once it was fully incorporated, he handed the pot to her. She looked down at it and then up at him. He sheepishly shrugged.
"I, uh, didn't have enough to get cups." He chuckled at his bad luck.
She accepted that. Honestly he probably got swindled out of his money from who ever sold him the pot, and medicine. The scent of the medicine wafted up into her nose and she grimaced at the smell. Was this really going to help her feel better? She took a sip, and nearly gagged. It was medicine alright.
"I got honey if you want that."
She nodded eagerly, and let him pour in honey from another jar he had. This was foraged from the wild hives by Willump. She liked her sweets, and didn't tell him to stop until a huge dollop fell into the pot. The flavor was much more bearable this time, and she took her time to drink the medicinal tea.
She drank in silence as he squirmed in his seat. She looked up when it started to get annoying.
"What happened at the village?" He broke down and asked out of the blue.
She looked over to Willump and the big yeti gave a her a smile and a wink. Rolling her lip between her teeth, she settled on a believable lie. "When I get sick, I have trouble controlling my magic."
"Oh no, I'm sorry." He was so trusting, she almost regretted lying to him, "That must have been some fever then. When we found you, you were still burning up."
She nodded. "Uh-huh. I was brought here cause the village was said to have a doctor. A really good one."
"Brought by your parents? Is that their cart then? Cause we sorta lost a lot of the goods in the river, and I just sold a bunch to get you your medicine." Nunu stopped talking as he saw her curl further into herself. He was prying too much.
"Let's start over," He say up straight, and held out his hand. "My name's Nunu, and the big guy over there is Willump. We're adventurers and traveling heroes. The greatest of Freljord's"
She looked down at his hand, and took it gently. He happily shook it and sat back down, waiting for her to introduce herself. "...Annie. Just, Annie."
"Nice to meet you!"
Annie smiled at him. She placed the pot back onto the fire. She sighed, "I was brought over here by… family friends… I don't have any parents. Not anymore." She drew circles in the dirt, waiting for him to say something.
Nunu felt like he found a kindred spirit. It wasn't so long ago that his mom went missing during an attack on his caravan. She was still out there. He had to believe that. Annie wasn't so lucky as him though. But at least she knew what had happened to her parents. "I'm sorry…" He looked over to Willump, the yeti had been quiet this whole time. "Guess that means all three of us are all alone… Willump's the last of the yetis and I'm still trying to find my mom… Maybe, maybe we can be each other's family. That way we don't have to be so lonely all the time."
Annie looked up at Nunu, his earnest smile was infectious. He and Willump were smiling at her, both trying to help her feel better. She smiled back at them. "Sounds like fun."
A/N: Just something quick I wrote up after I read Nunu's new lore. This new backstory for Nunu is so GOOD, he's too pure and innocent for this world. His new lore shares some similarities with Annie that I thought were interesting, what's up with League having all their children champions be orphans? So I just wanted to write something where they meet for the first time.
I don't know if I'll leave this as a one-shot or continue this later.