"General," Riven dipped her head. "It's good to see you again."
"You look well, Riven," Du Couteau commented. He stuck a cigarette into the wick of a candle on the table beside his chair, promptly lighting it before putting one end into his mouth.
And he was right. Riven, although a warrior at heart, retained the feminine beauty she had been blessed with. Her silver hair fell in a clean sheet to her shoulders, and the bulky Noxian military uniform was not enough to disguise the figure underneath. She stood in front of the General with her hands pressed to her sides and her head held high.
Du Couteau exhaled a lungful of smoke. "Perhaps you are familiar with the issue of the thief currently residing in Noxus' underground."
"Yes, of course."
"Good," Du Couteau nodded. "The Noxian High Command has sent out countless assassins to capture him, but none have returned. Now they have chosen you to finish what has been started."
"Understood, General," she immediately answered. Inwardly, Riven wondered why she had been summoned specifically by the High Command. It was true that she was respected in Noxus, but any General should have the ability to capture the criminal easily.
"The High Command would like it if you merely captured this thief. He is mostly wanted alive, but if that cannot be achieved, feel free to kill him. You will have a squadron of lower ranked assassins with you, so be prepared to lead the mission."
Riven nodded once, never breaking her excellent posture as she waited for the General to dismiss her.
"Be careful," Du Couteau said with another lungful of exhaled smoke. "Don't underestimate the opponent. If he was truly able to defeat a group of twenty skilled assassins, his abilities must be exceptional."
"Yes."
"Very well then. Return to your quarters. You will be called when it is time to depart."
"Hang on for a second."
Riven stopped mid-turn and faced the direction she was in previously out of habit.
A heartbeat later, a young woman with red hair who was dressed completely in dark leather appeared from the door behind her. At her hip hung two sets of blades, and if Riven was honest, she was sure there were plenty hidden somewhere amongst her clothing. The gleam in her eye was impassable. She was a predator.
"Miss Katarina."
"Riven."
Katarina picked her way over to her father's side. "Good luck with your mission."
"Thank you," Riven replied automatically.
"You will be needing it."
"Katarina," Du Couteau cut in, but there was a half smirk on his face. "Riven knows what she's doing."
"That's right." Riven shot her a glare through amber eyes.
"I heard that the criminal is surprisingly skilled," Katarina replied subtly.
"That is true." General Du Couteau's face suddenly became somber. "Remember what I taught you, Riven."
"Yes, General."
"You are dismissed. Return safely." He waved his hand, signalling the end of their brief discussion.
Riven dipped her head once more and stepped out of the room.
Silence followed her hasty exit as Du Couteau exhaled another lungful of smoke.
"Charming girl," he commented. "You can see the spirit in her eyes, the Noxian determination."
Katarina stared at her father with an unreadable expression on her face. This was one of the times when she couldn't tell if her father was being serious or not. Even though the two looked extremely alike, father and daughter were not particularly close. Katarina blamed a lot of things – the Noxian way of life, their call to duties, their different responsibilities. Yet the greatest thing that Katarina thought stood in their way was her father's many connections in Noxus – namely, his former apprentice Riven.
She couldn't help but feel a twinge of dislike when confronted with her. Riven was certainly dedicated, she would give her that much. Every morning she could be found training with that giant hunk of metal supposedly titled the "rune sword". And as much as Katarina hated to admit it, her father was impressed by Riven, like much of the Noxian population.
"Have you trained yet?" Du Couteau asked, holding the cigarette away from his face.
"Not yet."
"Please do," he replied abruptly.
Katarina briskly exited the room, knowing that not even she should argue with her father.