AUTHORS NOTE

This story will involve violence and romance between Diana and Leo later on, as of right now I hope you enjoy and I apologize for any English structural mistakes, I had to write this one in a single sitting. Without further waiting, enjoy!

Calm before the Storm

Leo was sitting outside of his small cottage like house, peering onto the oncoming sunset anxiously as his parents conversed with a traveler that they let stay at their homestead. Etching his nails into the ground and lifting up dirt as his hand rose seemed to be the only reconciliation for his impatience at the private conversation to be had in the dining room. He slowly rose from his seat, turning on his heels and stepping carefully along the stone path that lead to the small tea garden adjacent from Leo's own bedroom. Making his way around the small set of steel table and chairs, he arrived to the side door of his bedroom, cautiously opening the door to let himself inside. The décor of the room reflected the Ionian style of living, Fung Shui gave balance to his modestly sized room. To his left lay a full size bed, intended and used for a single person. It was lacking in a frame and sat neatly on the floor, next to it a short wooded circular table with a lamp sat calmly. Turning to his right showed his desk tucked into the only open corner of the room. On the desk was a portable net drive, similar to the laptops of the summoner world. His parents used to tell him wonderful tales of their trading with the summoners under the Ionian King's wishes to bring good favor to the Ionians. Perpendicular to the desk and enclosing it to the wall was a bench that sat a medium sized tanto, clad in a black matte finish, reasonable enough to hold in one hand and still use effectively. Behind Leo's sword lie a locked marble box, very large, and shallow. Being only half a foot tall but at least four feet long and two feet wide, he had kept it there since his father's giving of it to him and he had specifically said that he would only unlock the box when Leo was ready to receive its contents. He began to head for the door that lead to the small dining room, where his solemn parents and the weary traveler were conversing. Gripping the handle and twisting it, he slowly revealed a triad set of table and chairs, all of which occupied. His parents turned to him, Asira Shale and Alex Shale, both in their upper thirties and Leo being only seventeen at the time anyways. They greeted him with smiles and his father was the first to speak.

"Leo! It's good to see you son, we were about to go and find you but it seems you beat us to it, would you like some tea?" His father's signature oriental accent and deep tone always comforted Leo, being able to find protection in the smallest of things around him.

"I would love some, but as for right now I must pass, I simply wanted to know if our guest would be staying the night?" He motioned slightly towards there guest who sat up slightly and reached a hand out to Leo, meeting it with his they shook hands.

"The names Lashire, Sergeant of 102nd Ionian Kamas. It's nice to meet you Leo, I hear you work with a sword is quite marvelous at such a young age." Leo's confusion now cleared, understanding why the man in front of them wished so eagerly to speak privately with his parents, Leo shifted his shoulder towards him and smiled modestly.

"I would be lying if I claimed I was not skilled, but I still have a very far path before I reach solace in such an art." Leo noted the grin that quickly appeared on Lashire's face, nodded at the man before returning to his room once again, scavenging for his notepad before sitting at his computer and beginning his continued study of Ionian strategy.

had begun this class as a form of extra credit in Ionian military schools, seeking to raise his histories grade but instead he found himself intrigued by warfare and tactics like his grandfather was. Before his grandfather's passing in a Noxian invasion, he had taught Leo simple strategies and methods to use whenever defending a platoon or a communications outpost. His father and mother were both held in regard for their tenacity on the front lines, but what else would you expect from a noble family in the Ionian military. Finally reaching a stopping point he switched his tabs to check the news near him. Apparently Noxian's have been budging the front lines recently but not much ground has been gained by them. That's when a name in the article caught his attention. He scrolled back up to see a man by the name of 'Yasuo' being criticized for his avoidance of justice at the charges of killing his master. Leo pondered for a moment before realizing where he had recalled the name from. He went directly to the Institute of Wars' website and checked the champion roster, easily able to find a 'Yasuo' near the bottom of the entries. According to his bio Yasuo is a master swordsman able of harnessing the wind techniques in combat and using it in a deadly proficiency. He began reading in detail the samurai's abilities and strategies before caving into curiosity and clicking on the corresponding 'Background' tab. It stated that Yasuo knows he did not kill his master, and though they have sent many to kill him, he has never fallen. He seeks the true killer of his master in hopes of returning justice to Ionian courts. Leo was interested in Yasuo's perseverance on battlefield as well as his dedication to bringing justice to the killer of his master. He sighed to himself and closed the laptop, turning to his clock and seeing that it was already past four a.m., he began to stride to his bed and prepare the blanket for sleeping, before his thoughts got the best of him and he found himself sat in front of his computer researching the implementations of wind techniques and how to acquire such. He learned that in order to effectively use the wind technique you must be level-headed and swift in your mind, ready to tackle a task as quickly as it appears. After digging deeper into his research he found himself inside a small wiki page speaking of technique that, once learned, could be used to channel wind into other abilities.

The name of the technique was "Steel Tempest" and in order to preform it, you must be adequately skilled with a blade no shorter than seven inches. Leo took out his tanto and quickly slashed the air to ensure his grasp and pose were firm yet free. Allowing for swift reactions and firm stances, he had learned such from his father while they sparred. Leo took in a deep breath, and gripped his sword within its sheath tightly, before sliding it out, rotating it to face the direction in front of him and thrusting it forward into the hay practice target set before him. He returned the sword to its holster before continuing once more, this time channeling his meditated thoughts into the blade that he held within his solid hands. He returned it to the sheath for the third time, soft exhales coming from his diaphragm assisted in his meditation. He focused solely on the wind that flowed around him, channeling it down the steel blade resting inside of its wooden sheath. He gripped the handle of the sword once more releasing it much more swiftly this time than last, he braced his entire body before shifting it with his arm. When he rotated the blade small funnels of wind began to form on the hilt, and as he thrust it forward they firmed a small cyclone under it extending towards the dummy in a vain attempt to knock it into the air. Leo took deep, long breaths to gain back his normal composure and return his lost stamina.

Leo sighed to himself and looked up towards the deep blue night sky, "No wonder it took Yasuo years to do this, I tried it once and I'm almost completely out of breath." He returned his gaze to the ground before being startled by the sound of soft clapping, his father walking up beside him and putting a hand on his shoulder.

"I knew there was something more to you than just a swordsman like me and your mother, that right there was natural ability, not just luck my son." he began to pace around him and smiled up into his sons eyes.

"I apologize if I woke you father, my curiosity bested me." His father chuckled lightly to himself waving it off in a calm manner. He rested his hand on Leo's shoulder and walked him inside with him, telling Leo that it was late and that he should rest before practicing any more that night. Both ushered themselves off to bed and the house lay calm once again.

Leo had woke up before his parents had, but that is to be expected on the weekends. When your parents have to both, monitor the front lines and, offer sales to summoners outside of Valoran, he knew that those few days they had off they deserved their rest. He prepared himself a cup of coffee and began sharpening his blade while playing soft music in the background. After an hour or so of his maintenance on his sword he returned it carefully to its silk holding case with its sheath lying on top of the blade. He turned and began doing more research on the tactics of city-states outside of Ionia, such as Piltover and Demacia, though he was interrupted by a faint knocking on his bedroom door, he turned in his chair so that he faced it and called for whoever it was to come inside.

His mother merely leaned inside of the room and told him that she was heading to the market to get groceries and as well his father was out of the house so he would be alone. He nodded in quiet agreement and turned to his computer once more, finishing his research on Piltover's special strategy including Heimerdinger's artillery shell being fired at Zaun entrenchments. He rose from his chair and neatly sorted the dishes in the kitchen before making himself a pot of tea and retrieving his glass from the cabinet. He grabbed his computer and set it on the metal table outside making himself a spot of tea. He anxiously sipped at his tea and researched the infamous Yasuo, attempting to make sense of the powers that he seemed to have. He was only halfway through his research before the battery inside the computer died and it powered off into a black glossy screen.

In the screen he saw himself, his jacket that he wore was plain and grey, it came down to about his knees and had a large hood on the rear of it. The collar wrapped around the back of his neck before arching downwards into the curve at the top of his chest. His shirt was a simple black V-neck that you could purchase in a pack of 5 at the local store, and his pants were slightly baggy black jeans that complimented the pants quite well. His eyes were pale blue, almost resembling a pure white but the shallow hue prevented such. The white locks that stemmed from the top of his head and down into a pony-tail draped over his right shoulder. His face was thin yet strong, showing his good physique, yet his calm demeanor. After studying himself in the reflection he found that his tea reserve was emptied, he went inside lugging the computer and tea all at once, setting the tea with the dishes and returning the computer to its charging station. Shortly after his mother and father returned home from their own adventures and greeted there son solemnly, his father motioned for him to sit at the dining table.

"Son," his father began, fidgeting with his knuckle, "I'm sorry to say that your mother and I have been ordered by the council, the Noxian's are getting extremely close to our lines and they're calling all military personnel to the high command facility for further deployment orders.

Leo thought calmly to himself, but he knew that his father and his mother were both plenty capable on their own, besides that he had no trouble staying on his own for a while. He slowly looked up to meet his parents gaze and nodded understandingly. "Orders are orders, I know you too can handle yourself. And I promise not to burn the house down while you're gone."

His mother and father smiled, hurriedly gathering their things and hugging Leo before rushing out of the door. Leo turned to the now empty home and sighed hollowly to himself before preparing his own dinner. He decided against sitting alone at the dining table and instead sat at the small tea table outside calmly eating tea-sandwiches and looking off into the moon. He finished his plate quickly before turning in his chair and standing himself up, preparing to take the dishes inside.

Just before he reached the door, he heard a small bit of rustling coming from the brush outside the area of his patio, he cautiously stepped towards it with the handle of his sword gripped tightly by white knuckles.

"If anyone is there step out now! If you come peacefully I shall not hard you!" He clicked the blade past the locking point so that it was audible to the unknown presence. Before him, to small hands came up in surrender, these hands had grey metal armor coverings, and as the figure became more revealed, Leo was able to pinpoint just who this character was. Leo completely sheathed his sword and raised an eyebrow at the woman. She had glistening white hair which seemed to bounce the moonlight off of it rather well, her armor all being a space grey type color and seeming to be metal laid on top of a standard cloth suit. The most distinguished features, and the ones which helped Leo uncover her identity so quickly, were her pale white eyes, and the mark of the 'heretic' laying upon her forehead.

"Diana, I believe is your name, what brings you here?" He shifted onto his right leg and crossed his arms giving a calming tone to his voice, Diana simply looked around her nervously.

"You, aren't going to try and kill me?" Leo raised an eyebrow at her but brushed it off. He knew that Ionians much favored the Solari but she must've ran into some crazy bunch that took things into their own hands. Leo had always admired Diana for her ability to openly question the beliefs that had been forced upon her when she was a Solari herself.

"Ionian's mostly fear me, though I suppose they have good reason to thanks to the Solari. Anyways what is your name, boy?" The last was said in a condescending manner stating that Diana may be older than she appeared, which in the flesh, she appeared to be around Leo's age but her demeanor said otherwise. Leo simply brushed it off, such behavior is to be expected when a person is commonly treated coldly.

"My name is Leo, may I ask, where exactly are you trying to go?" She shuffled her hands together taking a pause, Leo had already concluded that she didn't really have an answer and lifted his hand to stop her before she tried to conclude the thought. "Actually never mind, you can stay here for at least tonight, if not until the end of this week. I'll help you find a safe path out of Ionia."

She looked at him with her signature ice cold glare, soliciting a response but getting not even so much as a flinch. She finally gave up this method and moved onto her question. "How do I know you won't just give me up to Ionian authorities?"

He laughed and pressed his foot to the ground kicking a small buff of dirt up, the knocking a rock lightly about two meters in the air. As it was still airborne Leo drew his sword and split it in two before it was able to hit the ground, Diana looked concerned at the two halves of the stone as he sheathed his sword.

"Because if I thought the same way as other Ionians did about you, I'd have killed you already." Diana hid the shock that she felt inside, but she knew he was right. She finally relented and grasped his extended hand as they exchanged greetings, Leo took her inside of his home and toured her of the house. After he was finished he made a pallet of bedding on the floor of his dining room and let Diana take his own bed out of hospitality. He was still concerned about the unknown person being inside of his room but he shook the worry away as he remembered her expression as it dipped out of the woods.

Everything he had been taught told him that Diana could only be evil, some Ionians even related her to the Noxians, but Leo felt a small pit inside of his stomach that seemed to make him question the thoughts of his fellow city-state members. Finally he restlessly closed his eyes and drifted into sleep calmly.

If you enjoyed do please take the time to review, and if you didn't please tell me what specifically it was that set you away from it. Have a wonderful day, until chapter two!

-Wolf