Chapter 2

"So, where exactly are we?" The man that randomly appeared earlier in the day still remains under watch from Ahri.

"We're far enough south of Piltover, you know what that is right?" Ahri asked making sure of her explanation. The man nodded and stared on with his gleaming hazel eyes (which were now a light shade of blue), Ahri found the man's eyes to be some what hypnotizing. "We're far enough south of Piltover no one comes here, but close enough they have jurisdiction here. It was Caitlyn herself who gave me this small house to stay." Ahri added, again finding herself staring into the eyes of the man.

"Alright… So… In relativity, where are we to the shadow isles? Because if I can get a good idea of which direction to avoid I can keep my wits about me." The man asked. He wanted to make sure if he couldn't die in this world and come back, he would at least be safe.

"That's very far to the east. Almost five hundred miles between there and here. You wont have to worry about anything coming from that direction. Plus, you've got me, I can fight some monsters off if it comes to that." Ahri added with a wink.

"What makes you so sure I'll stay here?" The man asked.

"Because if not, I could easily kill you. You know that right?" Ahri asked rhetorically.

"You're a sharp one." The man admitted. "Wait…" The man's head shot up as he spoke eyes widening.

"What is it? Are you okay?" Ahri suddenly felt worry for the summoner, an odd feeling she hadn't really felt to anyone before.

"I… Uhh… My name… Is… Uh… Marcus? No... Uh… Mark! Yeah! My name is Mark!" "Mark" exclaimed.

"Mark huh? An odd name, but its nice to meet you regardless." Ahri responded somewhat happily. She now had a name to call the (begrudgingly handsome) summoner. Ahri found herself with an odd sense of pride in the summoner. Like there was more of a bond there than she thought. "So… Do you remember anything else?" Ahri asked, now strangely intrigued with Mark.

"Er… No.. Yes! But… No… I'm… Approximately…. Nineteen years old… And uh… I'm… Irish? No… German… No… I'm both!" Mark suddenly clutched his head with his hands, (short) nails digging into his skull.

"Mark! Are you okay? What's going on? What's an Irish? What's a German?" Ahri started frantically asking questions; her curiosity about magic went further than she had intended it too.

Mark, inside the house fell in a sitting up position and started slowly moving into a corner, the pain refused to subside. There was a large ringing in his mind. The ringing was caused from the large blast that had sent him here. He was a scientist… Or was he just a summoner? Either way in a short vision he could see a white room with various monitors and wires running everywhere.

Ahri ran over and put an arm on Mark's shoulder. Mark looked back at her with empty eyes, eyes that just showed pain. His eyes started to darken back to a brown and yellow mixture for a color. "Mark. Are... Are you okay?" Ahri asked. Mark shook his head furiously. Ahri quickly scanned the house for a medicine she had been studying. It was a healing potion from the War Institute. It could heal bullet wounds, sword cuts, explosive injuries, and just about anything imaginable.

Ahri quickly returned back to Mark who was now slightly shaking. She lifted his head, uncorked the bottle and let the liquid run down his throat. Mark began to cough up the liquid, his body rejecting the fluid. After sputtering up some of the potion, a shiny green aura danced around his body. His body became more responsive as the usual spark in his eyes returned and he lessened the grip on his skull. There were two small streams of blood running down from his head to his cheeks, but the wounds closed quickly with the help of the potion.

Mark began looking around if he had just found himself in a new environment. "Ahri…" Mark said shakily. "Ahri… I…" Mark was utterly dumbfounded. "T-Thank you… So… So… Much." Mark spoke in gaps, almost like he was crying. In fact a slight tear fell from his right eyes, just enough to wet the small line it traveled upon. "I thought… I was… Going to… To…" Mark failed to finish his sentence and instead was brought into a warm comfortable embrace given by Ahri.

"Its fine… It's okay now. You're safe now. I'm just glad I had that potion." Ahri said to the man, whose face was now resting slightly above her breasts. "I'm just glad you're okay."

"Thank you… I can't say or do anything that will repay you for any of this… I've been nothing but a burden since I first appeared." Mark broke from the embrace and put his hands on Ahri shoulders, now sitting on his knees. "I understand if you'd prefer I leave. I think I can make it to Piltover on my own." Mark said sadly. He wanted nothing more than to stay in the warm embrace that Ahri provided. She even made him feel safe and secure. Not even anyone in his old world offered this feeling to him, or so he knew.

Ahri looked into the man's eyes for some sort of answer. Silence fell on the two for what felt like an eternity. Ahri finally spoke up. "Don't be ridiculous. You wouldn't be able to survive. Jarvan would suspect you a terrorist and have you jailed. Just… Just… Stay with me." Ahri sounded slightly distressed. She didn't want the man she had just met (and admittedly is attracted to) to leaver her. Not just yet.

"I… I just don't want to be a burden. I don't want you to suffer because of my stupid mistakes. I don't want you to worry about me; I'm just a dumb summoner. I have no right to be here intruding on you. I just know I'll do something to hurt you… I don't want that." Mark replied.

Ahri let out a long sigh. "Mark…. Listen… If you go out there… You'll die for real. That potion I gave you will go to waste. I'll lose a new friend I made and you'll lose all the work you put in to getting here. You aren't the only one who is curious on how you got here. I.. I want to know you're safe. I want to know that you'll be here. I… For some damn reason want you to stay with me… Even if the times get hard. I cant explain my feelings that I feel toward you, but they seem very important. So I can't just let you go. Listen… We'll find a way. You and me. We'll find a way through the darkness. Who ever we need to contact, we will."

Mark looked at Ahri in utter awe. A person (a fox girl in fact) would go so far as to risk her life to have Mark by her side… Its complete blasphemy! "You… You would go that far?" Mark asked still in shock.

Ahri nodded her head. "Yes. Yes I would." She confirmed. "In fact I would fight the entire world for you if that's what it came to. But… I can't do it alone. We need allies."

"Braum." Mark said flatly.

"The heart of the Freljord?" Ahri asked confused. "Why would he help us?"

"He's a kind soul Ahri. He fights with honor and holds no grudges. If we can trust someone, its him and if we have him, Ashe is soon to follow. Then, hopefully Piltover's warriors, Vi, Caitlyn, Jarvan, Garen and Lux. They seem to have a "we-are-the-good-guys" vibe to them."

"Good luck with Jarvan. He's so stubborn, I have no clue where to start." Ahri said rolling her eyes with an annoyed grunt.

"Alright… We need to travel north. We need to reach what ever province to find Braum and Ashe."

"Freljord." Ahri chimed in.

"Right. Should we leave right away?" Mark asked looking to Ahri for advice. She let out a short sigh of content then looked back at him with a fire burning in her eyes.

"Let me pack a few things, then we will make way to Rakelstake. This is where Ashe resides. But we need to pack well, many ice storm haunt Freljord."

Mark nodded a few times then a thought occurred to him. "I have no extra clothes…" He admitted somewhat embarrassed.

"I believe that should be fine… We just need to get into Piltover, with Caitlyn's help of course." Ahri chimed in. "In the mean time…" Ahri released her nine tails from its grouping. "You can use my tails for warmth. Hopefully it wont be too uncomfortable."

Mark gently reached his hand out before retracting it. "May I?" He asked giving a gesture to her tails.

Ahri giggled and responded, "Yes. Go ahead."

Mark ran his hand along one of the nine tails, closest to him. It was a very, very soft fur. Mark could hardly believe how calming her tails felt then suddenly realized a sound coming from somewhere. It was… A moan? As Mark kept stroking the tails the moan became louder. Ahri was actually enjoying herself, yet trying to stay as quiet as possible, however with her high pitched, almost whisper moan, it was hard not to notice. The tail Mark had was stroking flicked away.

"Okay, enough of that. Let's move on." Ahri said a small blush dusting her cheeks. Ahri walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a dagger, it looked like it had some use to it, but still seemed very sharp. "While it's not an amazingly rare item, it does its job. You should also feel a bit lighter on your feet when using it. Also, take this; it'll keep you a bit warmer." She said throwing a purple cloak to him. "It a cloak of agility, it should keep you warm and quick. As for me, I've got what I need." She said in a non-descriptive way.

Ahri walked over to the "some-what-repaired" door and opened it slowly, making sure it could still lock and serve its basic purpose, which it did. "Let's go. We don't have time to waste. Oh and… I was thinking… There was a few more I would like to seek out." Ahri added.

"Who would this be?" Mark asked with his head tilted slightly.

"Teemo, Himerdinger, and Ryze. If we want magical knowledge, Ryze has it. Himerdinger is a technological genius and Teemo… Well Teemo is Teemo."

"Sounds like a plan… I just hope it works." Mark added.

"We'll see."