Oddly enough I managed to write a chapter, sometimes I feel motivated to write, other times I don't. It's been way too long since I updated anything, not entirely sure if I'll have the time or energy to continue but I had fun writing this again so I might give it a shot. On a side note, only one term of school left and I'm home free! I may write a chapter for Lunar Lights after this.
Quinn slowly opened her eyes, gazing up into the darkness. The hospital room was pitch black, all the lights were off. She could hear someone breathing beside her, the deep, laborious breaths indicating they were asleep. Slowly moving the covers to the side she went over to the window, a heavy wall of snow seemed to have blocked off the view of the outside world. Turning around she flicked one of the switch on the wall, a lamp dimly illuminated the room, revealing a middle aged male resting in the chair beside her bed. Quinn inched closer, bending down to peer at the man's face, her hand shot over her mouth as she realised it was Talon.
What is he doing here? she thought, unable to stop herself from nearing him. Her heart beat a little quicker as she inspected the assassin in detail. His rough face, the scars and marks of past fights, his chin, barely shaven as rubble shot out.
"Do you mind?" asked Talon, his sharp eyes piercing hers.
"I- Uh" Quinn stammered, taking a few steps back and almost tripping over the IV drip. Talon looked around the room, ignoring the flustered scout.
"Damn" Quinn heard him mutter before he stood up slowly from the chair, cracking his neck from left to right and unfurling his fist repetitively. Quinn moved out of the way as he strode past her, opening the door and looking down the hall both ways.
"Are you looking for something?" Quinn asked, leaning against the medical bench. Talon merely glanced in her direction, too busy peering out the door to pay attention. As Quinn made to ask another question he dashed out of the doorway, leaving her alone in the room. Only a few seconds later Akali walked in, unaware of the awoken scout as her eyes scanned a pile of paper vigorously.
"You're awake!" she exclaimed, finally noticing that Quinn was not in bed.
Quinn nodded, taking a seat as Akali gestured to the empty bed. Akali's nostrils flared up, her eyebrows furrowing at a familiar smell when she sat down on the vacant chair.
"How are you feeling?" Akali asked, taking the stethoscope from around her neck and pulling it up to her ear, Quinn pulled up her gown to allow the metal object to be pressed against her chest
"Fine"
Seemingly satisfied, Akali withdrew, allowing Quinn to lower her gown.
"How long have I been here for?" Quinn asked, squinting at the clock on the wall.
"About 4 days"
Four days? Quinn mouthed, gripping the edges of the bed.
Akali nodded, ruffling her head.
"Did you happen to see, uh, anyone on your way here?" Quinn said, her eyes flickering over to the door.
Akali raised an eyebrow, peeking outside the door and into the dimly lit hallway.
"No" she said, the corners of her lips turning upwards slightly. She watched as Quinn fumbled nervously with the edges of her blanket, the windows facing outside had fogged up from the stark contrast between winter and the warm hospital room.
A loud squawk down the hallway caught the duo's attention, Quinn gasped, having completely forgotten about Valor. Akali pushed Quinn back down onto the bed when she tried to get up.
"I'll go" she said, slipping out the door and leaving Quinn alone in the room.
The heater rumbled softly, warm air expelling out into the room, Quinn pushed the blankets off of her, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed forcing herself to stand up, she hobbled over to the folded clothes beside her. She got dressed with great difficulty, choosing to attach the hand-crossbow to her hip instead of on her wrist.
As Quinn closed the door behind her, the lights in the hallway flickered off, expelling the way she needed to go into darkness.
"Just my luck" she mumbled to herself, feeling her away down the hallway and towards Valor.
Quinn pushed the gurney out of her way, her hand brushing briefly against a metal door handle. Retracing her steps she gripped the handle, pushing it down and pressing the door forward. A cold burst of air flooded past, the hair on her arms and head standing up straight.
"Quinn!" Akali exclaimed, struggling to contain the giant eagle that was attached to the hospitals power-board and investigating the cords. Upon hearing her name, Valor turned its head abruptly, squawking happily and recklessly nose dived towards her. Quinn started to fall back as Valor narrowly avoided collided with her, accidentally causing her to stumble backwards out of the room. She landed on something soft, rubbing her forehead as Valor landed on the floor in front of her, cocking his head.
She looked upwards to see Talon's face looming above her, unimpressed at being used as a cushion. Quinn's face quickly turned red as she pushed herself off of the brooding assassin, scrambling across the floor until her back rested against the door frame. Valor trod along the floor after her, nestling its head into the crook of her arm. She smiled at him, running her hand down the length of his neck. Quinn, oblivious to the ongoing tension between Talon and Akali, continued to smooth down Valors ruffled feathers.
"Hello Talon" she said through gritted teeth, Talon smirked back at her, pushing himself off of the ground and offering a hand to the scout. Quinn took it tentatively, feeling herself being pulled up abruptly.
"Thanks" she mumbled, looping a strand of hair behind her ear. Talon turned to Akali, offering his hand. She unwillingly shook it, keeping her grip on the assassin. Quinn yelped as Akali flipped him over her shoulder, his boots thudding onto the ground. The two let go, facing back to back.
"You never called" Akali spat, venom in her voice. Talon only chuckled, lingering in the doorway to wink at Quinn before disappearing.
"What… you?" Quinn sputtered, looking over at Akali who shrugged in return.
"We went out for a while"
Quinn looked at Akali bewilderedly, drawing a laugh from the ninja. She placed her hand on the scout's shoulder.
"Careful not to get too invested" she said, following in Talon's footsteps and slipping into the hallway.
Talons boots crunched lightly over the top of the thick snow layer, making his way towards the desolate entrance. A single guard sat hunched over in the gatehouse, flipping through the pages of a book halfheartedly. He noticed the approaching assassin, pulling the large lever on the wall to open the gates enough for Talon to slip through. Talon nodded at him as he passed, shielding his eyes from the reflecting light. He felt the magical presence fade away upon leaving the institute of war, replaced by the bitter air. Talon didn't care for the cold weather, used to horrible conditions as a child he simply trudged along, making his way to the equally as empty train station.
A small device attached to a pole displayed the train times, Talon peered down to find a proper time. The nearest train was an hour away. With nothing better to do, Talon took a seat on the frozen bench and waited. The time went by slowly, a weather warning had played over the speakers, a snowstorm wasn't far off. Talon heard somebody else approach the station, the light snow crushed under small feet. Quinn's slim frame came into view, her body covered in the skintight outfit and small vest. She was shivering rapidly, holding her arms close to try and ward off the cold. A loud alert interrupted his thoughts as the train was fast approaching. Talon stood up from the bench, alarming the frozen scout.
"T-t-talon" she mumbled, giving him a quick wave before wrapping her arm around her again. The large train came to a rumbling halt in front of them, warm steam expelling out into the cold air. The doors opened and to the duo's surprise, a single summoner emerged from within and smiled at the two. The summoner quickly greeted Talon before bursting into a run towards the institute, ignoring Quinn completely. Talon scowled, glancing over to the quivering woman before him. He took off his top layer with a sigh, throwing the heavy garment to the scout leaving him with just a shirt. It landed on Quinn's head, falling into her hands. She looked over at Talon questioningly but he had already boarded the train.
The speakers crackled to life, departing in five minutes.
Quinn tried to peek in through the window, but a thick layer of fog covered the glass panes. She has no other choice but to just put on the coat in hopes to avoid freezing or contracting hypothermia. The fabric had an odd scent, something she hadn't expected Talon to wear, it seemed to be some type of cologne. She wrapped the thick material around her shoulders, sliding her arms into the long sleeves that drooped over the end of her hands. She was practically swimming inside of it, but at least it was warm. The chimney on the top of the train shot to life, pillows of steam erupting from the metal tube. She watched as the train began its way towards to Noxus, leaving behind a trail of smoke as it went. Quinn pulled the coat tighter around her, wary of the fact that she was now alone again.
A sudden thought had struck her, why had Talon even been at the institute, she remembered him asleep on her bed but she hadn't gotten to ask. She could remember inklings of what had happened four days ago, she remembered falling off the balcony and into the water, and watching two people fighting on the beach before she blacked out again. The fighting style was briefly familiar, Garen had been one of the contenders, yelling Noxian scum at the other person, she hadn't been able to make out his shape. Standing alone as the bitter winter winds blew through the desolate train station Quinn made the connection. The man at the party, the dancing, falling into the sea and waking up on the beach. It had been Talon. Her cheeks flushed red, remembering her clumsy dancing skills and smirking slightly at the fancy footwork Talon had displayed. She imagined Talon learning to dance, the thought was foreign to her. Perhaps I should learn to dance? She thought to herself. She shook her head, clearing the thoughts from her mind as the last train of the day rumbled into the station.
"Quinn?" somebody asked as they departed the train, laying a hand on the scout's shoulder.
"Lux?" Quinn asked, pulling the hood back to let her see more clearly, a rough scowl was enough to answer that question.
"Do I look blonde to you?" Shyvana asked, standing unimpressed with a hand on her hip.
"Sorry" Quinn said, fumbling with the buttons on the coat, Shyvana sighed exaggeratedly, pushing Quinn's hands to the side and doing up the buttons for her. Her nose twitched, her eyebrow raising as she brought Quinn's coat sleeve up to her nose.
"And to whom might this belong to?" Shyvana asked, jabbing a finger into the flustered scout. Quinn pulled back, looking away.
"It's ok" Shyvana said, giving her a wink before she trudged off towards the institute, her metal armour clinking around her. The train doors nearly closed before Quinn slipped inside, sitting down on the empty bench. Nobody else was in the carriage, or any of the carriages for that matter. Her eyes slipped closed slowly, listening to the rumbling of the train along the tracks as she sped towards home.
"I'm worried about her" Shyvana whispered, flipping through the various notes on Jarvan's desk. Jarvan looked up at the notes in her hand, grumbling as she handed them to him.
"She'll be fine" he muttered, turning the pages over and throwing them into the furnace.
"But I smelt him" said Shyvana, knelt down in front of the metal cask as she blew more fire into the inferno inside. Smoke shot out the top and the room rose in temperature. Jarvan grunted in response, pulling the sweater off and stretching his arms out wide. Shyvana took the opportunity to slip her hands under his arms and pull up behind him.
"Oi" he muttered, turning his head to look into the mischievous half-dragons eyes.
"I'm going to miss this place" she said, resting her head against his back. Jarvan smiled, picking up one of the loose leaflets of paper and reading through the old news article. The coffee stained paper depicted Shyvana's entrance into the institute. He could hear her giggling behind him as she snatched it from his hands, pulling the paper to her chest and hugging it tight.
"I'll be keeping that" she said, winking at Jarvan before storing it in a small bag on the floor. The windows rattled under the strong winds and the light in the room went out. Jarvan turned to Shyvana who shrugged in return, opening the top of the furnace to let light out.
"You really should do something about Quinn though" she said, slinging the bag over her back.
Jarvan shrugged, planting his lips on her cheek as she slid past, waving back to him before quickly sliding out the door. The prince of Demacia sat back in his chair, rubbing the tiredness out of his eyes. Only a few more documents lay strewn across the table, the last traces of Demacia left in the institute of war. Jarvan lazily swiped a slip of paper off the desk, scanning the document for any useful information.
"Of course" he muttered, realizing it belonged to Quinn.
Shyvana walked through the empty halls, running her hand along the icy walls. Before the announcements there had been many champions living here. She missed talking with Lucian in the bar, practicing with Pantheon in the fighting arena and reading with Nasus in the grand library. She noticed a summoner shoveling snow away from the magistrates room.
"I guess it isn't completely empty" she whispered to herself, tracing a cut in the stone she'd made a year ago. The winds picked up again, blowing a fresh load of snow across the hallway. Shyvana continued onward, making her way into the old Demacian dorm rooms.