There's violence ahead-both sexual and otherwise. Nothing too crazy, but if that isn't your cup of tea, turn back now.

Here we go!

Bloody Mess—

Zyra stirred just as soon as the sunlight managed to pierce through the thick foliage. She got lethargic after dark, her primarily plant body tending to function better when the life-giving orb was present. She had expended large amounts of magic the previous afternoon and as such, fatigue made her movements sluggish.

She stretched, the leaves that covered her modesty perking up as they drank in solar energy. She still hadn't actually seen the Spider Queen with her own two eyes, though she suspected that was purposeful. Elise was a cunning and ruthless woman on and off the Fields of Justice. If she was quiet, then she was up to no good.

For a moment, the Rise of the Thorns stared up at the sky, her vine-made hammock swaying with the breeze.

It was going to rain. The change in atmospheric pressure made her already lethargic body feel heavier still.

She supposed that was why she slept in a bit.

When the mage awoke again, the sun was directly overhead. The dark clouds that had been gathering on the horizon had moved further away, their dark bulks shimmering with bolts of lightning. If she squinted, she thought she could see pale blue shapes drifting upwards between flashes, but that was likely a trick of the light.

She planted a few seeds with a wave of her hand, magic springing forth from her fingertips to breathe life into them. They rose like cobras, nudging their pointed heads against her calves, and she stooped amongst them to bury her fingers in the loam. At her touch, the Vine Lashers spread outwards, seeking out breakfast: a grizzled old boar with wickedly curved tusks.

It squealed, driving off its attacker with frenzied lunges. Zyra allowed it to tire itself out before catching it by the horns with her vines and, with one powerful wrench, snapped its neck. A Thorn Spitter bloomed, doing as its name suggested and unloading a line of long, sharp thorns into the thick brown pelt. Blood seeped from the wounds, dripping to the earth, and Zyra quickly hoisted the creature up by its hind legs, suspending it from a low hanging branch.

Breakfast was served.

The Rise of the Thorns procured a vessel made from woven banana leaves and waited for it to fill with crimson. She brought it to her lips, draining it thirstily before refilling it again. Best to get her fill before the body cooled and the blood congealed. Then, she would commit it to the earth and let the roots feed-no bit of the animal was wasted.

Her hunger sated, the mage set about reinforcing the floral sentinels around the perimeter of her home. The other carnivorous plants, ranging from your typical pitcher plants and fly traps to more exotic species that lured their prey with mimicry or camouflaged themselves, snapped gladly at the hunks of raw meat she tossed them.

It felt like just another day in her own secluded paradise... and that sent off a warning flag at the back of her mind. Why was it so peaceful?

Come to think of it, she hadn't heard a peep out of Nidalee. The Bestial Huntress wasn't one to remain silent, especially since they had established a truce of sorts. She was just the goody-goody type who would report in…

...

The cougars snarled at Zyra's approach, but they kept their distance. They knew better. The mage glared at them distastefully, but she soon realized that Nidalee was not among them.

If only she could communicate with the wretched creatures... But without the huntress, such a task was impossible.

The woman turned her back on the pack and the growling quieted to a warning rumble. When she turned to face them, it escalated swiftly, and she shook her head. "You're lucky your guardian is already a thorn in my side or else I'd bleed you dry."

She chuckled at her own joke and made as if to return to the jungle, only to pause when a capricious cougar kitten approached her. It seemed unafraid as it trotted over and she wrinkled her nose when the feline came close enough to touch her foot.

"Enough."

A single vine poked out of the grass and swatted the kitten on the rump, causing it to yelp and skitter away and its presumed parent snarled a warning. These noisy little pests were giving her a headache.

Again, she tried to leave and, again, the runt pursued her. It's playful, clumsy leaps would have warmed the coldest of hearts, but the mage only sighed. She scooped the kitten up by its scruff and brought it to eye level. "What is it? What do you want from me?"

She was about to drop it, when she noticed the shimmering strand of web in its mouth.

Orange eyes narrowed. "Where...?"

The kitten couldn't answer, of course, and when it sneezed, she let it fall to the ground with a disgusted exclamation. Cats always fell on their feet. It would be fine.

Zyra returned her attention to the cougar pack, wracking her brain for something Nidalee had said to her not too long ago. There was something she was missing here and it was irritating.

What was it? She should have been listening, for once, but talk of the beasts was very low on her priority list.

/ "Kittens are not so common, nowadays. We are fortunate to have a full litter of healthy newborns."

"Sounds delicious." Nidalee glared and the plant mage shrugged in return. "I grow weary of boar blood. I'm sure you have one to spare."

"There are only six."

"And I only want one." /

Six cubs. She scooped up the kitten rolling around at her feet again and made for the den. When she approached, she was given the typical greeting, to which she held out the mewling cub. When the growling diminished and a pair of cougars inched towards her, claws and fangs flashing, she quickly counted the kittens that peeked around their feet. There were only four in total, counting the adventurous kitten she deposited at the lip of the cave as she made her exit.

It was then that Zyra caught the metallic scent of blood. It wasn't the aroma she was used to, either: this blood, recently spilled, belonged to predator, not prey.

To the cave's exterior, wrapping around its curved side, was a footpath worn clear by the cougars' passing. Bloodied scraps of fur littered the earth like a nightmare breadcrumb trail. When she touched the ferns that had been bent by the weight of an oddly shaped foot, she found that whoever had left it behind had passed through here recently.

Paw prints and large, smudged imprints indicated that there had been a scuffle, after which one of the kittens had been taken away. There was no trace of Nidalee, which was perhaps the most perplexing aspect. If she hadn't been here during the kitten-napping and wasn't here now, then it was safe to assume she hadn't been here earlier either.

So then where was she?

Zyra followed the imprints in the grass slowly, her burning gaze making sense of the slightest impressions. A bent fern drew her attention to faint claw marks along the outside wall. The surface had proven too hard and an entire claw had broken off.

She entered the jungle and skirted around a pile of vines that had been torn down by an impatient passerby. They had been dragged some distance, caught on the kitten's claws, and once those had been shaken loose, there were still fragments of plant fiber in the air that floated like pollen. Zyra followed them until the path dispersed, by which time she knew exactly where the cougar kitten had been taken.

She used her Grasping Roots to latch into the side of a bluff and brought herself up. It overlooked a deep chasm known simply as the Great Ravine, which had been torn open during a massive earthquake that had destroyed the Kumungu Jungle nearly a century before. The plants had grown back everywhere but here, where the land itself was still tainted-a gaping sore around which no living thing could take root.

It was the perfect place for the invasive species to set up shop, being so far removed from her sphere of influence, and Zyra felt a flash of irritation at not having thought of it right away. No sense fretting about it now.

She leaped down from her perch and made her way over to the rift. At first glance, there was nothing worth noting. The dark clouds that hung ominously overhead rumbled, releasing some of its pent up aggression in the form of a light shower. As though the rain had opened the floodgates to another realm, several pale blue specters came flooding out of the rift and began a ghastly din that made Zyra cringe. It was enough to inspire madness-a chorus of all the lamentations of this world condensed into a single, high-pitched note.

Zyra's hands glowed and Thorn Spitters bloomed along the edge of the rift, rapid firing to clear the air. With a feeling of dread settling in the pit of her stomach, the Rise of Thorns dove into the abyss headfirst.


Zyra managed to catch herself with twin Grasping Roots just before hitting the bottom of the Great Ravine. It was dim, but even so she could make out the shimmering strands that coated every surface. She couldn't feel the vibrations that ran through them, but she knew any attempt at stealth had been all but thwarted.

The mage sighed as she glanced one way, then the other. There was no sound at all, just the distant growl of thunder; no evidence beyond the webs that something was amiss. The eerie stillness combined with the far off noises of the outside world created the disjointed sensation of being on an alien world and Zyra's dread worsened.

Magic glowed blood red at thorned finger tips as she made an underhanded throwing motion that sent vines roiling across the ground. They would latch onto anything in their path, but they simply reached the end of their active range and withered. That path was clear. She did the same with the other direction, frowning when the vines once again raced to the end of their range and withered. No help there.

Walking in either direction didn't yield results as they just seemed to stretch out endlessly in the dark. Zyra planted seeds as she went, their faint luminescence serving not only as a trail marker, but would warn her of any creature trying to sneak up on her from the rear. It was slow going and the magic expended to create each seed drained her just a little bit more, but she pressed on determinedly.

Call it some silly sense of respect for the other woman, but the pact that she had made with the Bestial Huntress meant something to her, whether she liked to admit it or not. A mage was one who kept their word. She felt, in some small way, that she owed it to the cougar to keep her and her pets safe-at least from the Spider Queen.

A quiet sound in the darkness made the mage fall still, senses straining. A whimper echoed faintly, followed closely by a keening cry, and Zyra frowned.

'Nidalee.' The thought came, unbidden and she picked up her pace in response to its urgency.

There was a literal light at the end of the tunnel and, when Zyra emerged into the wider area, she was bathed in a menacing red luster.

"To what do I owe this honour?"

Elise stood in the center of the room and she didn't bother to turn around at her guest's entrance. She was suspiciously alone-at least until you looked up and saw the sea of glowing eyes directly overhead. Her brood had constructed a dome of solid white spider silk to close in her lair. Skulls lined the walls, their gaping mouths giving off the malicious red glow. They had clearly been brought from elsewhere because they were human.

The Spider Queen had a penchant for theatrics, it seemed.

Movement from beyond the imposing woman caught Zyra's attention: Nidalee strained against her the collar of bones that bound her to the wall, her eyes red-rimmed and her cheeks wet. Seeing the proud huntress in that state was like a physical blow.

"Release her. This fight is between you and I."

Elise rounded on her and even Zyra felt sickened by the gore that dripped from her chin and down her front. "You'll have to excuse the mess. I was feeling peckish, so I stopped for a bite." Crimson eyes glowed with a manic delight as she licked blood from clawed fingertips. "Young flesh is so tender."

Nidalee released a sound that was half scream, half snarl. "I'LL KILL YOU!"

The Spider Queen scoffed and a few of her spiderlings descended. They proceeded to encase the lower half of Nidalee's head in a layer of silk even as she continued to threaten violence and thrash.

The pest silenced, Elise turned to her guest. "This vermin became a part of our squabble the moment she decided to run to you for protection. I had only intended to hunt, but the two of you have convinced me to stay and conquer this overgrown hellhole."

Zyra's fingertips glowed and the seeds along the corridor withered as she reclaimed the energy that gave them life. "Release the huntress. I won't ask a third time."

Elise's savage grin was all the more disturbing due to the bloody mess she had made.

In near perfect sync, both Champions slung spells at one another and a tide of creepers met a wave of spiders that exploded on impact. In the smog that followed, Zyra planted a dozen seeds, ducking a Cocoon and pressing her fingers to the soil. The taint that blackened it made it difficult, but she coaxed life into the seeds and they sprouted into Thorn Spitters that immediately rapid-fired spines at her opponent. Elise shed her human form and took to the walls, her quick skittering keeping her one step ahead of the projectiles. She pounced on Zyra, who bloomed Vine Lashers to keep her at bay.

She needed time to charge her Ultimate and even then, she'd need to pin down her very mobile target before unleashing it. Spiderlings began to drop from the ceiling and the Thorn Spitters changed targets. Zyra's gaze burned as thorns rose from beneath the massive spider, forcing Elise into the path of a Vine Lasher. As her slender legs were bound, the Spider Queen changed forms and sent out another wave of rapidly flickering spiders. They made a beeline for Zyra, who swore and quickly planted seeds beneath their feet that activated their proximity-based detonation.

Elise tore at the thick vines grasping her left arm and leg, but she wasn't able to undo them before a wave of Stranglethorns spread, then receded like a whirlpool, drawing her into their center most point. Before they could engulf her, the Spider Queen's brood shot strands of shimmering spider silk, pulling her bodily from the snare. Zyra raised a glowing hand from the dirt to cast another spell, but she had to roll clear of the line of explosive arachnids that had gotten past her thorned sentries.

She was fighting a losing battle; there were just too many of them. If she didn't strike Elise down soon, this war of attrition would go in the Spider Queen's favour.

The Rise of the Thorns shook off her weariness and glanced to Nidalee: the woman had given up on struggling and watched them with glittering green eyes. Perhaps if she got the brunette free, they could combine their efforts...

Deadly Spines sent thorns shooting out of the ground like spikes in a death trap, impaling several spiderlings and driving back their hissing mistress. She was slowing, though that wasn't saying much given her surprising agility despite the bulk of her form. Zyra coaxed vines from the walls that caught Elise by her headpiece and, as she jerked away, the object fell to the ground with a dull sound.

The Spider Queen grimaced, splashing Neurotoxin at the plant mage's feet and forcing Zyra to make a hasty retreat. The substance bubbled, eating through the ground beneath it, and the plants in the pool's proximity wilted almost instantaneously. More spiderlings descended, plucking entire Vine Lashers and Thorn Spitters from the ground as they retreated. Zyra was forced to rely on her own spells rather than on her familiars, pushing her already drained magical reserves to their limit.

Still, she pressed on, moving nimbly to avoid spiderlings and Spider Queen alike. Steady placements of Deadly Spines served as a buffer between her and the arachnids, but it was only a quick fix to a swiftly escalating problem. For every three spiderlings she felled, eight more appeared in their place.

A well-aimed vine lash caught the Spider Queen dead in the face and a stillness descended over the battlefield. Many clicking mandibles seemed to question Elise's next course of action and some of the spiderlings went as far as to scurry to her side, where they created a protective huddle around their matron.

The voice that emerged from behind the hand Elise raised to cover her bleeding nose and mouth was a terrible rasp that was incongruous with her beautiful appearance: "Enough!"

The ground split and several large spiders clambered out, latching onto Zyra's legs before she could react. Their combined weight as they crawled upwards toppled her and soon her limbs were pinned and her hands encased in spider silk to prevent her from casting spells. Her plants withered, cut off from the magic that sustained them.

Elise sauntered up to her, running a clawed hand through short dark hair. She looked younger without the head covering, though its absence did nothing to lessen her regality. She seemed amused, despite the bright red hue that coloured fair features—as though she felt none of the tiredness her opponent did. As though their fight had been nothing more than a game to her.

Narrow black feet, more spider-like than human, entered Zyra's field of view. She grit her teeth, a mixture of frustration and rage giving way to a distinct sense of shame that left her feeling exhausted. She had been bested.

Elise chuckled, as though reading her thoughts. She took a victorious lap around the captured woman, her wandering gaze like a physical touch. When she came to stand in front of Zyra again, she lowered herself into a crouch.

"To the victor, the spoils. Serve your queen and you may yet keep your life."

There was no mistaking what her intention was by the husky tone of her voice. The plant mage understood the intoxicating arousal that conquest could inspire.

Zyra balled her hands into fists, her fury returning two-fold. No part of her would submit willingly to another. "Damn you."

Elise straddled her lower back, her body surprisingly light. She was also cool to the touch and Zyra shivered, instinctively shrinking away from the other woman. "I'd hold my tongue, if I were you. You don't want to end up like the beast over there."

A muffled growl was the only response Nidalee could muster.

"So stubborn. I'll deal with you next."

When Elise shifted, blanketing herself over Zyra, the plant mage tried to buck her off, but could only manage a wriggle. Her bindings were too tight. Sharp canines, dripping with Neurotoxin, sank into her shoulder and she released a pained hiss. Pins and needles spread outwards from the point of contact, the sensation closely followed by a leaden heaviness.

This time when Elise walked a circuit around the plant mage, she deftly unwound the silk ropes that kept her pinned. Zyra wasn't so foolish as to feel hopeful at the action, her limbs having already proven to be totally unresponsive.

The Spider Queen smirked as she pushed the plant made onto her back with her foot. There would be no struggling—her Neurotoxin would see to that. It was a conqueror's right to take what she wanted and the conquered's duty to give generously.

There was a chitinous cracking sound as Elise shed her outfit like a second skin. The pale, slender form it revealed was resplendent in the red glow of her skull torches and she straddled Zyra's face, grabbing a fistful of red hair.

"Eat me. If you serve me well, you will be rewarded."

"And if I refuse?"

Elise sank her claws purposefully into Zyra's scalp, smirking when the woman winced despite her stony gaze. "Don't test me."

Of the two options, she would almost certainly rather die. But then her gaze flicked towards the Bestial Huntress. Two lives were on the line here. Not only that: without her, the Spider Queen would turn the jungle into the same barren hellscape as the Spirit Isles. Slow starvation was a fate she had once met in her original body. It wasn't something she'd wish upon her garden.

.

.

.

Swallowing her pride was perhaps more painful than anything Elise could inflict upon her.

Elise's sex was completely smooth, its outwards appearance that of a human woman's, though as she parted her thighs she revealed that the inner flesh was a lavender colour. At the first touch of Zyra's tongue, the woman purred. Sure enough pale purple flesh was suffused with wetness, swollen slightly with arousal. Soon, her chin was drenched with the faintly bitter liquid, the clawed hands that held her hair keeping her in place. It was difficult to breathe, but she thrust her tongue rapidly into wet heat even as her vision swam.

When Elise came, pale thighs trembling, her death grip loosened and Zyra was given an opportunity to catch a single inhale of sweet, sweet oxygen before her face was buried once again between splayed thighs. She heeded the pleasurable litany the woman released in order to figure out what drove her wild: long licks along her labia made the tall woman quiver and buck, while prolonged attention to the sensitive nub at the top of her slit made her cry out loudly, a shiver running the length of her frame. The shallow thrusts of the plant mage's tongue proved to be the most effective, however, and velvet soft walls twitched, attempting to clench around the muscle each time it dipped inside. She brought the Spider Queen to climax three more times before the grip on her hair was released.

The moment Elise stood, the insatiable woman rearranged the plant mage, rolling her onto her front and raising her hips. The way her face was pressed into the dirt was far from comfortable, but that slight discomfort was completely eclipsed by the sensation of cool air on her exposed sex.

"You've had your fun—"

Claws dug into her hip. "Quiet."

When she assumed her spider form, alarm made the plant mage tense as best she could. Just what was she up to?

There was a soft, wet sound as the giant spider began to draw silk from her spinnerets and weave it swiftly and skillfully. The process took a minute or so, during which Zyra made a futile attempt to move. The heaviness in her limbs had subsided to a degree, but she still couldn't control them. She could just barely see the crouched huntress out of her peripheral vision and the fact that the brunette could see her like this made her wish for a swift end.

The Spider Queen returned to her human form, a long, smooth white object that flared at either end in her hands. It roughly resembled a human phallus and, though Zyra couldn't see it, her eye twitched when something cool and solid smacked against the curve of her rear. Elise chuckled, and there was another soft, wet squelch as she slipped one end of the double-sided phallus into her snatch. She aligned the other end with Zyra's sex, rubbing until the plant fibers that protected it parted to allow her passage.

The damnable woman was playing with fire. She'd better-

"Ah...!"

The sudden intrusion of a too large object stretched the walls of her sex. The uncomfortable sensation of being forced open made her grit her teeth, pain shooting up along her spine. She hadn't been wet—how could she be?—and the friction was jarring to say the least.

It felt as though she was going to be split in two...!

When a whine escaped through tightly clenched teeth, Elise laughed low. "The Shadow Isles can be such a lonely place. This was a little trick I learned in order to please myself. Spider silk is such a versatile material, don't you agree?" She thrust her hips forward, her pelvis coming into contact with Zyra's ass, and the makeshift dildo inside them both slid deeper still.

Gods above, the acute soreness between her legs made tears sting sunset coloured orbs. Though the soft, flesh like material had some give, it was still a very solid object. A maelstrom swirled beneath her breast-pain, shame, and above all rage-sent a wave of heat through her frame. The woman who was taking her from behind would pay dearly for this.

"I altered it so we could share in the experience. Don't you like it?" The smugness in her tone was almost palpable.

She focused on flexing her fingers, rather than on the excruciating feeling of having her private flesh stretched to its limits without proper preparation. The toxin's paralytic effect was wearing off as the other complications worsened. The plant-turned-woman didn't possess the same internal organs as your average human and that was her one saving grace; even still, she was beginning to feel its debilitating effects.

Her head was yanked back by her hair and she could see Nidalee tearing at the collar on the other side of the room, emerald orbs wide. "How precious," Elise crooned in her ear. "See how she worries for you?"

Elise's pace sped up and Zyra cried out hoarsely, pleasure tinging pain.

The soft, discomfited grunts that escaped her were drowned out by the slap of flesh against flesh and the Spider Queen's own enjoyment and for that she was glad. Their rough coupling was almost bearable by this point, if only on a physical level. She pushed through the warring sensations, focused hard on her goal.

"I want to hear you scream."

And scream she did, the teeth that bit down on her shoulder a second time lining perfectly with the still-bleeding imprints from before. The bite sent a second wave of Neurotoxin rushing through her system, coating the frenzied nerve endings that conveyed pain to every inch of her body. Sensations dulled- a faraway feeling, as though she was a mere spectator within her own self.

'Almost...' She actually managed to shift her weight, her arm sliding limply some small distance.

The elation that followed the discovery was rudely interrupted by the claws that dug into Zyra's hip and raked along her back, managing to break the skin. Elise groaned as she rutted with wild abandon, her orgasm building in her loins. Every thrust of her hips drove the silk toy deeper and her sex clenched around it spasmodically. Zyra was merely an anchor-a prop-though the plant mage's pained cries fanned the flames of her arousal.

'So... Close...'

Before the second bout of paralysis could set in, Zyra managed to dig her fingers into the earth, the digits twitching spasmodically. She shored up her final reserves of magic and pumped it into one last Thorn Spitter; the spiny familiar set to work even as its mistress slumped. She didn't have the energy to lift her head from the dirt. Zyra was unable to keep the pleasure that crashed into her like a tidal wave at bay, her inner muscles convulsing as orgasm swept through her. Tremors ran the length of her prostrate form, escalating into full in spasms as the domineering woman pulled the toy free.

Elise scoffed. "Is that all? I'm disappointed. I had expected more from the Rise of the Thorns." The Spider Queen licked her lips, her instinct to devour her mate barely kept in check. "Still, you have been a most enjoyable toy. I hope I haven't managed to break you... Yet."

Zyra tried, and failed, to move. She felt her Thorn Spitter wilt and with it died her hopes of escape. Her eyelids fluttered shut as her body gave out, her physical form unable to go on despite her strength of will.

"Tch. I know I had the anti-venom somewhere..." she heard faintly overhead, accompanied by the sound of movement.

Three seconds passed, each heartbeat that punctuated the passage of time stretching on for a small eternity in her ears. She'd been here before, had made peace with knowing there would be no third chance at rebirth.

A spear flew straight and true, piercing Elise through the abdomen. She howled as she recoiled, stumbling backwards, and the vial she had been holding cracked open, spilling a sickly purple substance on to the ground. Her hands went to her middle, and upon touching the black liquid that spilled forth, her eyes went wide with disbelief.

Nidalee was next to Zyra in an instant, another spear in her grasp. The bone collar was still around her neck, but the Thorn Spitter had managed to remove most of the silk rope. She stooped next to the plant mage, reaching with red glowing hands-

"Don't bother." Save your energy.

"I'm sorry..." For failing you. For bearing witness and being unable to do anything.

The duo fell silent, but then emerald eyes went to Elise and fury burned within them. The Spider Queen was dripping black blood, a hole torn clean through her midsection by the spear still lodged firmly in her gut, but that savage smile was firmly in place.

"This was fun. We really must do it again sometime."

Nidalee started forward, the muscles in her arm tensed to deliver a killing blow, but it was too late. The weapon struck the wall where Elise's head had been as a pillar of white light whisked her away to the relative safety of the Fields of Justice. The spear that had impaled her clattered to the ground, still coated in her blood.

The spell that bound the Spider Queen to the Summoner who had chosen her would also save her life and that knowledge made the Bestial Huntress sick to her stomach.

She turned her attention back to Zyra, who had managed to raise herself onto her forearms. She didn't have the strength to sit up, however, her muscles refusing to cooperate as the toxins that circulated through her system took their toll. Nidalee's hands glowed red with a Primal Surge despite the plant mage's protests; the healing magic soothed some of her discomfort, but it wouldn't be enough. In the tense silence that followed, a strand of arcane energy stretched between them, borne of the desperate desire to preserve life. It burned brilliantly, a light that the plant mage instinctively leaned towards. Suddenly, she felt at peace.

"Zyra?" Nidalee sounded far away. "Zyra!"

As Zyra collapsed, the ground beneath her trembled and giant leaves jutted up to close around her in a protective bulb.


Nidalee was playing with the remaining kittens when the Rise of the Thorns came to the edge of the clearing. When her family began to growl she hushed them with a growl of her own, then went to greet the woman.

Before she could make nice, however, Zyra said, "We have done what we set out to do. Our alliance is at an end."

Right. She knew the woman hadn't come all this way just to tell her that, so she waited.

"If not for your aid... Zyra cleared her throat. "You have my thanks, huntress... Nidalee."

"You're welcome." She couldn't help the smile that curved her lips.

Had that anti-venom not soaked into the earth where the rejuvenating bulb could soak it up with its sprawling roots... Had Nidalee listened and forgone sharing what little magic she could before the plant mage collapsed... Everything could have gone so much worse. The fact that the Rise of the Thorns stood before her, her expression the very epitome of disapproval and her body aching in places she hadn't known to exist beforehand, was nothing short of a miracle.

It was a debt she would not soon forget.

Just then, a familiar tingling made its way from the crown of her head to the soles of her feet-she was being summoned. The plant mage was, too, if her sigh was anything to go by.

"I'll see you on the Fields of Justice." Nidalee offered her hand and, after a brief pause and a suspicious look, Zyra clasped her forearm.

Part of her hoped they'd be on the same team as they were engulfed in pillars of light.

"Welcome to Summoner's Rift!"

End—

Well, now I ship Nidalee and Zyra. Go figure. Maybe I'll do a companion piece if I can find the time. Let me know what you guys thought!