Into the Rain

by Lairoflight

A Noxian girl's life hangs by a thread, as her friends race against time to save her. [Just an OC one shot I've been working on as a side project, thought I'd publish it while thinking of what to write for my other one]

Nera woke up in her room. The grey sunlight filtered into where she lay. She reached up and spread her ratty curtains open, and looked outside. The sky was dull and covered in clouds, with rogue beams of light coming through from between clouds. Bad weather seemed imminent.

She got out of bed, made it, then walked to her closet. Her closet doors often stuck, so she had to simply take the hinges off to get it open. Whenever she had visitors, many questioned why she kept the door on if she had to take it off every time. And every time she told them it was to keep the rats from ravaging her few good clothes.

She changed into a faded green dress, slipped her shoes on, and opened, then closed and locked, the door behind her as she entered the landing. Nera lived in a small room above a butcher shop, across from another room populated by a small family. The rent was relatively low, and at least she got easy access to the street of food merchants.

As she walked down the steep, crumbling steps into the narrow street, she noticed something a bit different than normal days. The merchants were often very chatty and the street bustling, with the lower class Noxians filling the streets. She had to find out what made today so different.

Nera knocked on the door of the fruit shop about 30 feet from where she lived. She opened the door and into a poorly lit shop with shelves and cases stocked with everything from apples to a dark green pear-shaped one.

A brown haired girl with a blue apron walked out of the back room, and smiled when she saw the newcomer in her shop.

"Nera!" she greeted. The girl placed a small rag on a counter and came over to her.

Nera smiled. She didn't think it was possible to be in a bad mood near the girl.

"It's nice to see you, Chari." Nera pointed at the green oddity she saw earlier. "What is that?"

"It's an avocado. Got it just yesterday from a farmer in Demacia." Chari picked an avocado up and tossed it to Nera.

"From Demacia? How'd you manage to get a Demacian to trade with you?"

"Wasn't as hard as you think. Old fella named Gell trades with some of us Noxian merchants now and then. We simply use a middle man."

"Ah." Nera examined the avocado from close up.

Chari began to pull boxes off the top of a shelf. "You can have that one."

"I couldn't. I have to at least pay for it." Nera began to reached for the bag slung around her shoulder.

"Nonsense. Friends give for no take, and it's just one avocado anyways. Not like my business will tank by giving one away."

"...Thanks". She put the avocado into her pack and slung it back over her shoulder.

Chari began to speak again. "So what brings you here? Sure as hell can't be to mooch a fruit off me."

"Oh, yeah. Forgot about that. I was just wondering why the street was so quiet. It's rarely like this."

Chari looked fairly surprised. "Didn't you hear?"

"Why would I ask you if I already heard?"

"Well, with that attitude, I ain't telling." She began to turn away.

Nera smiled. "Fine, I'm sorry. Can you tell me why it's so quiet then? Please?"

Chari turned back. "Now there we go. Not so hard to ask nicely, isn't it?"

She pulled a chair our from behind the counter, and placed it in front of Nera. Chari jumped and sat down on the counter. "Sit down, Nera. It's sort of a long story. Want some tea?"

"Sure, I'll take some."

"I have water only."

Nera sighed as Chari smiled innocently. As Chari reached behind the counter, she began to tell the story.

"So you know about the gangs around here, right?"

"Of course." The street Nera and Chari lived on, along with many other streets populated by lower class citizens, were gang territory. Their street was always a point of interest for three gangs: the Puppets, the Cobras, and the Clowns.

"Well, the Puppets' leader had a... I don't know a nice way to put it. The Puppets' leader had a prostitute he was ... particularly fond of, to say the least. Now, when one of the Clowns found out about this special lady of his, of course this sparked some interest.

"So, last night, the Clowns attacked a tavern the Puppets' leader and lady, along with a handful of his thugs, were at, and killed everyone but the leader and, if I remember correctly, two and one quarter of his henchmen."

"Two and a quarter? Did one lose three limbs or something?"

"Bingo. Anyhoo, you could imagine the Puppets weren't happy. So, I heard they're planning a huge fight with the Clowns. And you know what makes us lucky?"

Nera sighed. "The tavern happened to be the one down the street?"

Chari grinned. "You're a smart little girl, aren't you? But yeah, it was the Giddy Jester, the one down the street. So people are locked up and not coming out in fear of getting caught in the crossfire."

"Sucks to be us, I guess. Well, I appreciate you taking the time to tell me all this. I gotta head to the arena before I'm late. I have to be there by 3, and it's already 1:50." Nera began to walk to the door.

"Wait!" Chari followed her to the door. "Could I go too?"

"I thought you didn't care for the arena?"

"I still don't. I don't understand people find it so entertaining. But I was wondering if I could work there with you today. Business is slow because of the gangs, so I don't have much to do. I might as well make some money rather than not making any."

Nera knew Chari wouldn't take no for an answer. "Alright, lock up. I'll grab an extra pair of gloves from my place, and we'll leave in 5 minutes".

The brown haired girl smiled. "Sweet."

Five minutes later, Nera handed Chari the gloves, and they headed down the street.

And as Chari would, she began to talk again.

So what exactly is it that you do at the arena?"

"Nothing special. I have to work the concessions, clean up after the event, throw passed out people onto the street."

"Sounds like a hell of a time."

"It stinks. That place literally smells."

The girls looked at each other then began laughing. As horrible as some things were, it was always better with someone to laugh with.

With all the talk, time passed quickly as they entered the Glorious Plaza, the center of Noxus. Silver and gold statues of famous Noxians which young children were taught to adore and worship dotted the brick plaza. Because upper and middle class children were granted education, they were the ones with respect to the blood-loving Noxian generals and tacticians. And since nobody outside of Noxus cared for lower class citizens who, on the most part, despised these idols, everyone saw Noxus as the cruel city-state it was, thanks to the middle and upper classed.

The arena stood in the back of the plaza, with massive lines of eager citizens holding handfuls of coins in their fists. Nera turned a left and headed to the side of the gargantuan structure.

Chari piped up once more. "But isn't the entrance over there?"

"That's for gross people who actually like watching Draven. I think he's just an overrated murderer." Several glares came her way at this statement, since Draven was a god to some in Noxus. Nera found his ego overbearing and irritating.

"Besides, employee entrance is over here." Nera opened up a small wooden door and the girls entered.

The door opened into a very poorly maintained locker room. The lockers were either rusty or moldy, and in some cases, a disgusting mix of both. The sinks to the left of the room sported an unhealthy yellow color, and the mirrors were cracked or stained.

"Nera! You're a little later than usual!" A big man walked through one of the doors across the room and smiled. "It's not like you to be late. But I guess it's a first time for everything."

He turned to look at Chari. "And who is this pretty lady?"

Chari blushed and turned away.

So Nera spoke for her instead. "This is Chari. Business was slow at her fruit store today, so she tagged along with me here today."

"Good. We could always use more hands around here. I'm Roade, by the way." Roade extended a massive hand to Chari. She reached out and shook it.

"Come on, Chari. We have disgusting folks to pretend to care for. I know a locker that isn't rusted or moldy."

Once they put their things into a locker that was only rusty at the top of the door, stored their things, pulled the gloves on, they headed out a door labeled "EAST WING"'. The girls closed the door behind them as tthey entered a dark, dank hallway. The pitch black hall seemed to stretch forever to Chari.

Isn't there a-a light or-or something around-d?" Chari nervously stuttered.

"There is."

"So why-y aren't you tu-urning it on?"

"It's busted."

"NERA!"

"I'm kidding. Sort of. Gimme a sec."

A scratching noise came, then a moment later, a candle flared into life, revealing Nera's smile.

"This isn't fair." Chari complained. "I'm the one that's supposed to mess with you."

Nera simply continued to smile.

As the girls pushed the rusted door at the end of the hall open, they walked into the eastern wing of the arena. Pre-Draven "entertainment" was being presented within the arena, which in this case happened to be a starved lion fighting a frail man. The crowd cheered in sadistic joy, and Nera turned away in disgust.

She cleared her throat and turned to Chari. "Time to get to work. Concessions seem to be taken care of, and looks like everyone is cleaning the floors everywhere, except there..."

"So where's there?"

"...over there." Nera pointed to a balcony about 200 feet away, right beneath the host's podium. There sat 3 chairs, two of which were currently occupied.

"It's the DuCouteau balcony. It's reserved only for the DuCouteaus, since they provided a huge fund in the creation of the arena. Bunch of snobs, honestly." Nera sighed, obviously disappointed by today's task.

Chari didn't seem too perturbed. "So why are you so depressed about it? If they are just a bunch of snobs, they'll be too distracted by praising themselves."

Nera looked blankly at the balcony. "Yeah, I wouldn't mind if they were JUST snobs. The redheaded girl sitting on the right, she's Katarina. I've heard she's got one hell of a temper. But I suppose it is what it is.''

"Well, it's not gonna do us any good if we keep a hothead waiting. " Chari pulled on Nera's arm, and they walked to the balcony.

As they arrived at the balcony, Katarina, in a timely manner, knocked her cup of wine over, then stared down at Nera as she stooped to wipe the mess. The redhead snapped her fingers impatiently as she signaled for a fresh glass. Nera returned to her position next to the door at the back of the balcony, side by side with Chari.

A sound came from the other side of the door next to the girls. It wasn't footsteps, it was more like a... slithering. The door opened up and a woman walked onto the balcony. Or would've walked if she had legs, but instead, she slithered in on her tail. Chari's jaw dropped as she stared at the tail, and Nera poked her in the side.

"Don't stare. I'll explain later." Nera whispered. Chari shook her head and maintained her original position, doing her damnedest not to stare.

Katarina looked back towards the snake-woman. "Took you long enough to get here, Cass. Got your tail stuck in the banister again?" She smirked as the snake-woman glared.

"That's enough, Katarina." the elderly man in the middle seat spoke up. "Cassiopeia, take a seat, and you two can sort your sibling issues later." Cassiopeia and Katarina glared at each other then at the elder, then looked into the arena as Cassiopeia coiled onto her seat.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the arena on this day!" a booming voice announced. "Today's event has been sponsored by the gracious DuCouteaus. And now, the event of the day, please welcome, the Axe of Awe, the Spinner of Success, the Exquisite Executioner, Draven!"

The crowd went insane as the gate inside the arena opened and a grand fanfare began to play. Surrounded by flamboyantly armored men on horseback, Draven entered atop a pure white horse into the center of the arena. Once he reached the center, he slipped off the horse and threw an axe into the air as the armored men around him turned to exit the arena. The crowd screamed with a gleeful insanity as the axe plummeted into his skyward hand.

The booming voice returned. "Now let's get the fun started! Here comes today's challenger as he attempts to survive Draven's merciless showmanship!"

The gate across from Draven opened as the crowd jeered. A frail, starved man was pushed into the arena, and the gate closed behind him. The crowed joyfully squealed as today's challenger, a nice word for victim, was presented.

From Nera and Chari's position, you could only hear the crowd's cheers and boos, and see an axe or two Draven tossed to get the crowd riled up now and then. Nera considered this an upside of her job, so that she didn't have to see the gore get generated. She only had to clean it up, and to her, that was enough.

Screams of agony began echoing through the arena. Giddy cheers followed soon after.

There was a small breaking noise as Katarina dropped her wine glass again. Nera walked over with a rag to begin cleaning it up. Katrina repetitively snapped her fingers to signal another glass.

"Bring me another glass! I'm starting to grow impatient with the service here!"

Nera sighed as she bent down next to the seat to clean the red stain up. Meanwhile, the elder was speaking to Katarina.

"Katarina, you know your limits. You've had enough wine for the day."

Katarina narrowed her eyes and stared back at him.

"Dropping those glasses were a coincidence, not because I've reached my limit. Won't drop this one."

"A coincidence that capped your drink limit." Nera muttered, almost done with the wiping.

Suddenly, a blinding pain exploded inside Nera's head as Katarina swiftly kicked the side of her head. The redhead pinned Nera against the ground with a knife in her hand, pointed directly at Nera's throat.

Chari began run to Nera's aid but a few other workers held her back.

"Don't get involved. You could get hurt too." A bald worker murmured.

"And what did you just say?" Katarina questioned.

Nera would've said "Nothing" back if the pain in her head and the smell of alcohol on Katarina's breath hadn't disoriented her mind.

"I don't need any 'criticisms' from you lowlife scums. I work behind enemy lines and gain fame, while you crawl through the streets and scratch the bricks for every last penny. Let's see you do something with your life."

Nera could see blood through her peripheral vision, and she began to feel nauseous.

"People know me.I've worked my way to fame and fortune, and you... you can't even begin to dream about what I've become. You're nothing."

Katarina's blade began to move to Nera's lips.

"Maybe if I cut your pretty little tongue out, then you'll have learned your lesson. No one, and I mean NO ONE, criticizes me, and when they do, they pay the price, just like you. Maybe you can tell your filthy peasant friends about what happened today... oh, wait... you won't have your tongue with you!"

Katarina held Nera's jaw open and begin to reach in with the blade.

"KATARINA!" a voice roared.

The elder had risen from his seat in the center to face the redhead. His jaw was clenched and he looked displeased.

"There is no need to mute this peasant. The bleeding in her head will probably cause an infection inside, and she'll die from it soon. Besides, you're interrupting the show."

The entire arena had grown silent since Katarina's loud threats had been publicly announced via the proximity to the microphone on the host's table. Even Draven had been looking, an axe mindlessly spinning in one hand.

The redhead glared down upon Nera. With a quick movement of her wrist, she delivered a quick cut onto Nera's left cheek. Standing up, Katarina spat in her face then walked away. The arena remained silent.

Chari rushed to Nera's side. Nera's long, pitch black hair was spread out in a pool of blood originating from where Katarina had kicked her head. Chari placed Nera's head in her lap.

"Nera? Can you hear me? Do something if you can!"

Chari registered the slightest nod from Nera, indicating she could hear her.

"That's great. Listen, I know someone who can get you all fixed up nice and good, and you'll be up and running in no time. Good news, right?"

A faint smile blossomed on the girl's face, and tears began to fall from Chari's eyes.

She wiped her tears away, leaving a small streak of blood on her face from where she held Nera's head.

"Well, we got no time to waste. Let's get going."

Nera nodded, then her eyes closed as she blacked out. Chari picked up the girl's body, placed her on her back, and began to sprint. As she exited the arena, rain began to drizzle from the grey sky. She ran fiercely, into the rain. Nothing would get in her way until Nera was well.

She madly ran as the rain began to slowly drip from her bangs, and into her eyes. She shook her head to rid the droplets. She didn't care if she had gotten rain in her eyes, her clothes got soaked, or if her shoes became waterlogged. Nera was her priority. She had to get her to him.

Sprinting through the street she lived on, she leapt over an overturned food cart. Normally, she wouldn't have been able to do that, but the adrenaline rush gave her physical strengths she didn't have before.

Chari turned a sharp right into a corner, which led to a small alley. At the other end was a street going downhill.

Another sharp right and Chari ran up about 10 feet then stopped, ramming her right arm into a streetlamp. She was facing a door, a relatively small one. Unless you looked for the door, a passerby wouldn't notice it. Chari smashed her forehead on the door, as she was unable to knock with both hands occupied, and her insane sprint through Noxus left her breathless.

A blue-haired girl, about Chari's age, so around 19, answered the door. It had opened up to show nothing but a steep staircase. She saw Nera on Chari's back and immediately turned her head and called, "Jiraiya!"

A young man walked down the narrow staircase that the door had opened onto, and saw the girls at the door. He beckoned them up, then ran up the stairs.

The girl with blue hair turned to face the stairs and said, "Jira should be to the room on the left."

The two girls carried Nera's injured body up the stairs and into the room on the left, where the only things inside was a small bucket of water, a shelf stocked with oddities in a jar, and a mat. They laid Nera onto the mat, and Jiraiya began inspecting her head injury. Chari held the blue-haired girl's hand tightly with anxiety and fear she would lose her friend.

"So... how bad is it?" the blue-haired girl asked Jira. Jira was originally an Ionian healer who was kidnapped and sent to prison by Noxus. During a prison riot, he managed to escape, and since Noxus prison security was so underwhelming, they never noticed. He now offered his services for free for those who couldn't afford it.

Jira looked up with a grim expression. "It's bad." he said. Chari's eyes began to well up again. "I'll have to watch her and do what I can overnight. Chari can spend the night here." The blue-haired girl held Chari's hand as Chari stared directly onto the ground. Tears had begun falling at a steady pace, just like the rain outside.

Jira stood up and pulled a rag off the shelf, along with a roll of gauze. He put the rag in the bucket as he began to wrap Nera's injury from the kick. "Where did she work before this happened?"

Chari seemed angry as she answered. "In the arena. Why does the matter? Her life is on the line right now!" Chari ended with a shout. The lamp rattled a bit.

Jira nodded, as if he understood something. "She's a fragile girl. She wasn't particularly strong in the first place, but she constantly overworked herself on a daily basis, and the corpses and trash she dealt with consistently has weakened her body. If you got here 10 minutes slower, it would be too late to save her."

Chari began to sob. One of her closest friend, no, her absolute closest friend, was on the edge of death right now. Losing Nera would be like losing part of her heart.

Jira pulled the rag out, wrung it in his hands, then placed in on Chari's forehead. The cut had relatively healed decently on its own, so at least that was one less thing to worry about. The blue-haired girl tugged on Chari's hand.

"Come. Let's get you something to eat." the girl said softly. "I'm sure Nera wouldn't want you to starve; she'll think it's her fault you did."

Chari stood weakly, and took one last glance at Nera before she slid the sliding door behind her shut. The blue-haired girl, meanwhile, had gone across a miniscule hall, into a slightly larger room, and lit two lamps inside. Inside were a couple pieces of furniture: a small table about a foot high, a stove, and a closet.

"Take a seat. We might as well catch up. It's been so long since we last talked." the blue-haired girl reached into a cupboard, pulled out two cups, and filled them with tea from a kettle on the stove. She then sat cross-legged on the floor behind the table, across from Chari. She slid Chari a cup.

"Come on, drink. Dehydrating yourself doesn't make Nera get better faster." The blue-haired girl took a sip.

Chari cleared her throat. "Well... um, I guess the store's going well. How about you,Raph?"

Raph replied almost instantly. "First of all, I decided Raph seemed too... manly a name. I like it better when people call me Raphae." She smiled. "I am a lady, after all."

Chari tried to smile back, but simply couldn't. Sorry I'm such a downer right now, Raph." Raphae narrowed her golden eyes. "Oh, right. Raphae. I'm just so distracted by Nera at the moment."

Raphae sighed, and reached across the table and placed her hands around Chari's. "I don't blame you. It was just the three of us when we were kids, and now that we might lose a part of... the trinity. Isn't that what we used to call ourselves?"

As this nearly forgotten memory was brought back up, Chari finally managed a hint of a smile. Her, Nera, and Raphae were all orphans roaming Noxian streets when they were young. They stole, they begged, and they scavenged for every last bit of food and clothes they could manage. But, despite what would seem like a grim childhood, the trio, or the trinity, as they called themselves, were almost always on cloud nine because they had one another. As they grew older, they had begun finding their own ways, but they still were at each other's side frequently. Nera had found her job in the arena, Chari opened up a fruit shop, and Raphae became an assistant to Jira. And in times of crisis, they would always be side by side to support one another.

Raphae had cooked up a small meal for the two of them, and cleaned up. She pushed the table against a wall, then opened up the closet, which revealed a large amount of blankets, from thin to thick, from hand-sewn to machine-made. Chari knew that Raphae slept on the floor since she couldn't afford a bed, but seemed completely comfortable about it. She spread a layer made of a thick blanket down, then placed a thin one on top.

"It's 1 AM. We should get some rest. Won't do us any good if we stay up worrying." Raphae said. She had already snuck under one of the blankets, then patted the empty one next to her, indicating Chari's spot. "Come on."

Chari laid down, and the room remained silent for a while, with the quiet hum of the rain pattering on the window and roof. The lamp in the corner flickered now and then as a moth found its way to a fiery death.

A quiet voice spoke up. "Shell be just fine, you know. Nera's in good hands, Jira's dealt with worse back when he was in Ionia." Raphae turned to face Chari's back.

A small sigh left Chari. "I know... It's just, I've never been so close to losing someone I care this much about. I mean, I guess my parents died, but I never got attached to them since I was like 4."

A slow sniffling rose up as well, making it evident that she was crying. Raphae put an arm around her.

"Everything's gonna be fine. Don't worry. I'll be here for you."

Raphae's comforting murmurs echoed into the rain.

Across the hall, Jira had put his best effort into saving Nera. Katarina's kick had done quite a number, from cracking her skull to causing several veins to implode. Nera could've also suffered brain damage, but that wasn't his area of expertise. He did his best, and now all he could do was wait.

Jira pulled a blanket from a cabinet built into a shelf, placing it over Nera. He leaned back against a wall and closed his eyes, falling asleep soon after.

But Nera was, in a way, awake. As the night deepened and more stars rose above Noxus, Nera woke up. She felt unusually light, and the pain was gone. She called for Chari, then Raphae soon after, remembering she lived inside a healer's home. No one answered.

She tried again, and just like last time, no one answered. Out of curiosity, Nera looked out the window. Rain still fell, drumming aquatic beats onto the bricks. A young man slept against a wall, his head in one hand. She turned around.

Nera gasped. There lied there, looking serene, Nera. A blanket over her, a fair amount of gauze around her head.

"You've found out, didn't you?"

Nera jumped, as a girl's voice came from behind her. The voice had seemed almost void of emotions, just a hollow series of words. Shaking, Nera turned around.

A white figure stood. It possessed the body of a small girl, with the exception of hooves. It held a bow in its hand. The one thing not completely white about her was a black mask.

Around this white figure, a jet black snake floated around her. At least on first glance, it did. Nera soon realized that the snake was in fact an ethereal being circling the white figure. The ghost, a word that seemed appropriate for it, wore a white mask, and had sharp, irregular fangs.

"Who are you... people?" Nera squeaked.

The same voice from before spoke. "I am Lamb, the bringer of swift death. This is Wolf, the hunter of runaways. And we together, make Kindred, the Eternal Hunters."

"So why are you guys here? What's happened?" The moment she asked, she immediately didn't want the answer.

"You have met death. For now."

An immediate panic set into Nera. She couldn't have died, Chari promised she would be fine, that she'd be up and running in no time. But then she heard the "For now".

"For now?" she questioned. "What's 'For now'?"

"The line between life and death is more fine than one thinks. Your injuries were severe enough to put you right on that line. You're physical and mental state is flickering between life and death, which brings us here in your moments of death."

"So what'll happen when I actually die?"

"That's when we swoop in and take action. I and Wolf will finalize your death. If you fully accept it, then I will swiftly execute you and put an end to your woes. But if you don't believe in your death, then-"

A snarl from Wolf cut her off. " Then I begin my chase. You can flee all you want, you can hide all you want, it just makes it that much more fun for me..."

Lamb turned to face Nera. She had begun to fade away along with Wolf. "I suppose your body's growing a touch stronger. It won't be long until that strength wanes again, and then we'll meet again..."

By the time Lamb finished her words, they had faded away, and Nera began to feel a light pulling sensation. She was being pulled back to her body, as her mind began to grow blurry again. Her sight grew darker and darker, until it gave out and Nera was back in her body.

In all this, the sun had begun to rise above the rooftops of Noxus. Light slowly began to flood the rooms and illuminated the blown out lamp, the table pushed against the wall, and the mass of blankets on the floor named Raphae and Chari. The blankets shook.

Raphae pulled the blankets away from her face, narrowing her eyes as the new light was too bright for her to immediately adjust. She pulled the blankets back over head and turned on her side to try and sleep again. But her shuffling around had awoken Chari.

The only indication Raphae had moved around was strand of blue hair sticking out from beneath the blankets. Chari's eyes felt raw, as she had spent most of the night using them to cry. There was a tear stain on her pillow.

While Chari would've gone back to sleep again under normal circumstances, she was too stressed to sleep. She had barely slept the night before, maybe three hours tops. She sat up stared out the window as the street began to grow alive. Merchant's voices calling about deals were mingling with the joyful laugh of children. For them, life was as it always was.

Chari sighed. Just last morning, everything was normal. If she hadn't held back Nera from getting to the arena quicker by asking and preparing to go, she wouldn't have had to work at the DuCouteau balcony, and she wouldn't have had her head almost shattered open by Katarina. She couldn't help feeling it was her fault.

She had no idea how long she had been looking out mindlessly through the window when she heard a yawn. The blankets beside her shuddered and fell apart as the bedridden head of Raphae peered out. Her long blue hair was strewn across her face, slivers of her golden eyes visible through the azure curtain. She yawned again.

Raphae finally seemed to notice Chari sitting beside her. She smiled. "Good morning. What time is it?"

Chari looked at the clock on the door on the closet. "10:40'"

Raphae brushed the hair out of her face, then shook her head before getting up. She stretched. "Well, I'm feeling breakfast. Want some?"

"Sure." Chari got up to help Raphae place the blankets away. "What are we eating?"

Raphae seemed the ponder their options for breakfast. She grinned as an idea came to her. "We should get breakfast outside. I got a friend who cooks really well."

"Whatever you say. I wanna look in on Nera before we go."

"Suit yourself. I'm gonna change, then we can head out." Raphae looked up and down Chari's clothes, which were still the blue shirt and jeans she had on from the previous day, with mud splatters from her crazed ran last night. "You want something to change into?"

Chari also looked at her filthy clothes. "I guess. Pick something out for me, I'm gonna check in on Nera." She slid the door open as Raphae began to look for an extra pair of clothes.

When Chari opened the door, Nera lay there with a blanket over her, and Jira leaned against the wall. At least the bleeding had stopped, and her breathing, while still shaky, was closer to normal. Her black hair was streaked with red here and there, and a small scar had developed on her cheek.

Chari's eyes began to water again. She turned back and slid the door behind her shut. Meanwhile, Raphae presented a yellow shirt and beamed. "I don't have any spare pants, and I know you hate dresses. So I got you this." She seemed quite proud of her accomplishment. Raphae had always been the childish one of the three, more emotionally deep than the rest.

Chari changed into the presented shirt and got ready to leave. "Don't we need to tell Jira?"

" Don't worry about it. He'll know we're out for a meal. He can tell these things really easily." Raphae opened the door at the bottom of the staircase. They walked into the street, which was teeming with life. "Come on," said Raphae. "Our meal awaits."

They walked downhill silently. Raphae usually would be chatting incessantly, but seemed aware of Chari's emotional weakness. Their steps clicked and clacked onto the bricks, a splash here and there with the occasional puddle. While the rain had gone away and sunlight took its place, dark clouds were still floating across the sky.

"Here we are." Raphae claimed. They had stopped in front of a small, quaint shop. While the shops in the districts of the lower class were dark and dank, this one looked quite homely. A soft light shone inside, and a girl with a bandanna could be seen wiping down a table. The girl inside took notice of them looking inside, and when she spotted Raphae, immediately smiled and beckoned them inside. Raphae turned to Chari. "Prepare yourself for the best breakfast yet."

A chime clicked as they opened the door. The bandanna girl faced with her arms crossed and a smile on her face. "Long time no see, Raph. You brought a friend too !"

"First of all, it's Raphae now. I like my full name better. Secondly, this is Chari. She's been through a lot, so I thought maybe you could whip up something to get her cheered up."

"Well, I can try my damnedest. Even if I fail, I at least tried." She turned to Chari. " I'm Aliet. It's nice to meet you. Take a seat right by the window." Aliet walked behind a counter and the sound of a stove flickering on. A quiet humming emanated from her.

"So." Raphae leaned forward and looked directly at Chari. "Are you feeling better?"

Chari sighed. She wasn't really in a talking mood, but she didn't want to just ignore Raphae straight up. "I'm good."

Raphae brushed hair out of her eye and took a drink from the glass in front of her.

A few moments later, she spoke again. "Nera will be fine. Katarina's the one with the issues. She might be weak physically, but she's strong inside. She'll hold up just fine."

Aliet came to their table with two plates. "Cinnamon waffles. One of my favorites, one of Raphae's favorites."

The golden waffle was marked with small brown flecks of cinnamon, which glistened under the light. Raphae pulled her plate forwards and began digging in. Chari's sat in front of her untouched.

Raphae paused in her meal and sighed. "Don't you remember what I said last night? Starving yourself isn't gonna help Nera one bit. If you're going through all this stress, you need to have the energy to help bear through it. Now, go ahead. Eat."

Meanwhile, Aliet had pulled a chair up to the table, her bandanna unwrapped and in her hand, her brown hair falling down to her neck. She looked at Chari, too. "If she's not feeling it, then we can't force her to eat. If you're not hungry, then I can take it away." She began to reach for the plate, but Chari put her hand on it first.

" It's fine. I'll eat. Raphae's right. Plus, I might as well check out why this is your guys' favorites." She picked the fork and knife up, took a slice and ate it.

She smiled.

Raphae involuntarily broke into a grin. It had been the first time she saw Chari smile since last night. "See? I told you to eat it, and now you didn't regret it."

Chari had finished her meal and stood up, facing down. She looked up and smiled at Aliet. "Appreciate the meal. It was great. Come on, Raphae."

Raphae stood up, brushed her lap, and thanked Aliet. The two girls walked out, Chari clearly in a better mood than when she left the house earlier.

They returned to the house, then walked into Jira's room. He was looking through the shelf contents, busily sifting through the jars, failing to notice the girls. Raphae cleared her throat.

Jira seemed startled when he heard her. "Oh. Welcome back. Nera's doing fine, I'm just looking to help fully heal her head injury. This should do." He pulled a jar with a grey heart floating inside.

"How are you gonna use that? Are you gonna grind it up or something?" Raphae questioned.

Jira was pulling the lid off the jar and drained a little bit of the liquid within into a small dish. "For being my assistant, you don't pay enough attention to what I actually do."

"I'd know better if I wasn't only getting stuff for you from dealer's in the black market." Raphae giggled, a habit of hers which occurred every time she sassed someone. "So you're just gonna use the water from inside?"

"Yes. The Ursine heart has special properties which accelerates all flesh wound healing. I just need one more thing."

"What is it?"

"I need a root from a plant called the Bloodleaf. It'll help Nera wake up from her coma. I've contacted an acquaintance of mine, and they'll meet you up at the Steel."

The Steel was a pillar at the center of a warehouse in the Production District. The Steel was named after the material the pillar was made of, which today was nothing more than rust holding old pieces of metal together. The Steel was a meeting spot for all black market meetings.

"Sounds good. Do you have the cloaks?"

"Over there." Jira pointed at the top of the shelf, where two tails of cloaks could be visible. Raphae headed over, jumped up and grabbed the cloaks and walked back.

"Alright, let's go , Jira." But Jira didn't seem to show any indication of leaving.

"No, I need to stick around to monitor Nera. I also need someone else around here to help me maintain Nera's current state. If she gets even a touch worse than now, it could be the end. She's in a particularly fragile state right now. Chari, can you stick around with me?"

Chari looked a bit surprised. "Why not let Raphae stick around? She knows how it works around here."

Jira stated his answer in a matter-of-fact tone. "I would normally, but I doubt you know how the black market works. You own a fruit shop, and fruit isn't a black market item. Raphae's been there often. She knows the ins and outs."

"Well, I'll be off." Raphae pulled the cloak on brushed her iconic blue hair under the hood, and headed out.

She turned a right and headed uphill along the street. When she reached the Glorious Plaza, she walked entirely across it to enter the Production District. Workers in blackened clothes could be seen running from one building to another, delivering instructions and supplies as ordered. Raphae took another right, and stopped in front of a closed warehouse. She knocked twice, and voice came from inside.

"The words?"

"Armada. Storage. Altitude."

The double doors creaked open and Raphae walked in. The three word code system was simply a security measure to prevent undercover agents from infiltrating since the words changed every 4 days, and since every individual had to say the code.

As the doors slowly shut behind her, she looked over the black market. A poorly lit, musky scented shady spot. Temporary shops were open here and there, which were basically people standing behind crates with products on top of them. The Steel loomed ahead, and Raphae scurried over.

She waited, leaning against a pile of crates near the Steel. Jira's acquaintance would find her, as they always did. She pulled a coin from her pocket and began flipping it as she waited.

A tap on her shoulder startled her. A cloaked figure stood behind her, and the only thing that could give her identity away were the strand of white hair peeking out from under the hood, and what looked like a massive sword sheath on their back.

"Did Jira send you?" Raphae briskly asked.

A nod.

"Do you have the bloodleaf?"

Another nod.

Raphae handed over the coin she was flipping. "Then we trade."

The cloaked figure reached to inside her cloak and pulled a small leather pouch out, took the coin, and handed the pouch over. Raphae peeked inside the pouch to see the unmistakable red leaves and shriveled roots of the Bloodleaf.

The figure turned around and walked away when a drunk ran into them. As the drunk began to shout gibberish, then figure grabbed him by the collar and threw him behind them, as the hood fell off due to the momentum. It showed a white-haired woman around Jira's age, with scars marking her face. She pulled her hood back up and walked out.

A huge crash came out of the main entrance. Then another, and then a third. On the fourth, the doors swung open, and a small army poured through. A large figure with a giant axe strapped on his back could be seen prominently. He stood at least a foot over all his men, and wore a face of authority.

"Black markets are an illegal form of commerce in Noxus! We have infiltrated to cease the operation and imprison those related. Men, attack!" the large man pointed forwards.

The army began to spread out and attacked everyone they could see. People began fleeing in all directions, praying to survive.

Raphae had to get out. If she wasn't killed by the army, she'd be imprisoned and sent to Noxus prison, where someone like her would barely make it past a week.

But the only way out was clogged by the army, so to get out, she would have to sprint out. One wrong step, and she would be skewered by a blade. She snuck the Bloodleaf inside her cloak, took a deep breath and sprinted forwards.

For the most part, she had done well, dodging blades and axes, pushing past soldiers. But the one mistake she made was not looking where she was stepping. Her foot got caught on a corpse, and she fell, arms crossed in front of her face.

The large commander had noticed the fall out of the corner of his eye. He swung his axe out of a body, raised it up, and brought it down atop Raphae.

On the nick of time, she managed to roll to her right, and the axe only caught the tail of her cloak. The axe soon swung up and sideways towards her again. This time, she almost fully dodged it, but the top of the axe caught her cheek, leaving a fresh, near-lethal cut.

Despite the explosion of pain in her cheek, Raphae stood back up and ran out while the commander was yanking his axe out of a pillar. She turned the corner and was out of sight of the warehouse.

During the commotion, rain had begun to fall again, and muddy puddles began to form here and there. Streams of this muddy water flowed into the sewers.

She stood against a streetlamp to regain her breath and analyze the pain from the axe. She had sprinted about a mile and was near the center of the Plaza. First thing she made sure was the Bloodleaf, which was still tucked inside her cloak. She had some blood from the raid on the fringes of her cloak, but that was insignificant.

She reached up and lightly tapped the cut. She cringed and stifled a scream as the pain radiated in waves for several seconds, indicating the cut had clearly not begun to heal. She felt the pain from the bottom of her right ear to about an inch away from her lip, so she assumed that's where the cut would be.

She stood still for a moment, then began to walk away and into the rain. Every step seemed weighed down, as if the physical and mental burden of obtaining the Bloodleaf had become an actual weight. The drizzle overhead continued endlessly, as the blood from the soles of her boots washed away into the stream heading into the sewer.

Raphae opened the door and pulled her hood down, her blue hair falling down around her shoulders and back. She bad been through too much at the black market. All she wanted was rest.

She knocked on Jira's door and walked in. Nera still laid where she was, looking serene more than anything. The only indication of her life was the rise and fall of her chest due to breathing. Chari sat against the wall, reading through a book Jira had handed her. The healer himself had placed a fresh rag against Nera's forehead, then looked up to see Raphae standing.

"Did you get the Bloodleaf?"

She nodded and tossed him the pouch.

Chari heard Jira speaking to her and looked up. She looked positively shocked at Raphae's new cut. "What happened?!"

She sighed, sat down, and explained the raid that happened. "We all knew the black market would get busted sometime, but I didn't think it'd be today." she finished.

"Well, isn't Jira going to do anything about the scar?" Chari inquired, looking at the healer, who was preoccupied with grinding the Bloodleaf root.

"No, I got it." Raphae walked to the shelf, pulled two jars and a roll of gauze down, then headed into the next room. "I'm going to sleep early."

Chari seemed disturbed by how weary Raphae was. She had never seen her so tired before, but the close encounter with decapitation must've wore her out.

Raphae closed the door behind her and sat down. She put the materials onto the table, then reached under the closet to pull out a small hand mirror out. She had stolen it when she was a kid, and it was one of her treasured possessions. The one crack on it was when she dropped after getting caught a few years later, trying to steal a pair of shoes. She held it up and looked into it.

The fresh cut was hideous. It wasn't a nice clean one, but a rather jagged one, with smaller cuts spreading away from it. No matter how well she or Jira treated, it would still scar. She supposed she could wear it as a trophy for saving someone's life.

Raphae tore a small square of gauze and placed it on the table as she twisted the jar lids open. The first contained some sort of paste. The other was full of dried leaves.

She put some of the paste in her finger and spread it over the cut. It was a painful task, since some of it got into the cut, but she couldn't do anything about that. A few leaves were them crumbled in her hand and dusted over the wound. She placed the square of gauze on top of all that. The paste was sticky enough to hold it in place. Then she looked in the mirror once more. It wasn't pretty, by it would do.

The lamp went out as Raphae closed her eyes, listening to the rain as she fell asleep.

That night, Nera's soul woke up again. Kindred was staring at her, eyes blank. This was their fourth or fifth visit, and after the first eerie encounter, Nera had become more and more curious about the subject of death. Kindred, mostly Lamb, had explained the finer points of what they do. Until a person's soul had accepted death via Lamb's arrow or Wolf's fangs, the physical body would technically not be dead. Their body would appear dead on the outside, but the soul would be trapped within, tormented by Wolf's frantic chase.

And that was the gist of it. Of death. All curiosities from Nera had been answered, so she wasn't sure what to do with their arrival.

"Youre very lucky, Nera." Lamb began to speak in her hollow voice.

"What?" Nera queried.

"Youre very lucky." she repeated.

"How so?"

"Youre very lucky to have friends like you do. One has been emotionally distraught over the last few days trying to save you. Another was nearly decapitated. But they've saved you."

Nera was silent. Chari was clearly the first friend, but the second must've been Raphae, since it looked like she was in a healer's place. She knew her friends would try, but not to the extent of sacrificing themselves.

Lamb was aware of Nera's thought process at that moment. " Yes. Truly lucky. So it isn't our time to take you yet. Yet. Nera. We will meet again."

The two ethereal beings began fading away.

As per the usual process, Nera knew she had a minute before she'd be dragged back to her body. She wanted to see Raphae as she opened the doors.

Raphae was leaning against the window, a blanket around her torso as her head rested against the windowsill. Her blue hair framed her quiet, serene face. The only thing disturbing was a square of gauze on her right cheek, and Nera could see the ends of a scar on both ends.

A smile spread on her face as her soul rejoined her body.

The sun never rose the next morning, as the rain continued to pour over Noxus. Chari had spent the entire night reading a book Jira gave her, a book full of Ionian folklore. It held everything from a story about a fox turned human to a floating castle held up by a sorceress. It had kept her mind off of Nera's perilous condition, but by 6 AM, she had become mentally exhausted due to her lack of sleep. She slowly dozed off, book still open in her hands.

Across the hall, Raphae stirred awake. She had slept leaning against the window since she was too tired to make her usual bed. Her neck was a bit sore, her wound stung a little, but besides that she was rested. She stretched, the blanket falling from her shoulders to the ground. The clock read 6.

She pulled the mirror out once more. It showed her face, the gauze, her jumbled blue hair, and her new bags under reddened eyes. Raphae peeked the gauze away, and the scar was a bloody red line surrounded by raw, pink flesh. She stared for another minute, then threw the mirror into a corner, where it shattered and clattered onto the floor.

She couldn't bear to see herself in the mirror, her very own face haunted her. Every time she saw the scar, her brush with death reanimated itself in her mind. Her own face reminded her of the unpredictability of her life, and she couldn't bear looking at it any longer.

Rather than sitting around moping, Raphae decided to check upon Nera. If the Bloodleaf worked properly, she would've awoken from the coma.

She slowly slid the door open, and walked inside. Nera was turned on her side, facing away from her. She had a book, the very same Chari was reading last night.

Nera heard the footsteps entering and turned, her black hair falling around her face. She smiled.

"Hey."

Raphae smiled back. A tear rolled down her cheek.

"Hey."

She fell to her knees as more tears fell, just like the drops of rain.