"Good morning!" she greeted me with a smile.
"Morning..." I grumbled, while shielding my eyes from the incoming rays of light.
"Are we actually going to the Institute?" she didn't hesitate to ask.
"Yes. I told you, it is way simpler. And since time isn't working for us right now, we might need to hurry as well."
I was smart enough to bring my traveling sack with me. It was a medium sized sack like pouch, always strapped to my back. In it, I always brought the bare necesities in case my staying somewhere was prolonged. It always contained four items: A health potion, a flask of water, a few slices of bread, and chopped, cooked beef. That was a decent meal that could keep my energy up through the day, or at least until I would be able to reach a tavern, and then stock up on more food. Katarina brought plenty of food supplies, so she advised me to keep my reserves, offering me to join her in a full size feast worthy of the Gods themselves. After the meal, we felt hale and hardy, ready to take on a new day of our journey. The time went by so much faster, since now we were shortening it by talking to each other. We've discussed the latest champions, a few builds we were fighting over, and a few new ideas on countering some champions. Katarina remarked that our skills of countering Morgana and Caitlynn so far are godlike. The talking, and the traveling went on for the following three hours, when we reached our goal, which was the Institute Of War.
"Ahhh... This place brings so many memories..." I sighed as the glimpses of the tall, ancient looking building with markings and arcanic rune boulders towering at the entrance. The radiating half - fluid - half - gas pink matter flowed around the boulders.
"Yes, the institute of war... This is where you began your education as a summoner... Though, in my opinion you wouldn't have made a bad champion either..." she replied, while stopping in order to admire the view.
"It's a shame my parents considered it to be a very risky and unprofitable career... So they made me purusue summoning instead." I explained.
"I understand their concern... It really is a very dangerous life you live if you choose the path of a champion." she added.
"But also rewarding and glorious..." I pointed out.
"Oh please, that is overrated... What is so glorious about it? Is it the fact you have no privacy, or the fact that you are obliged to fight for the so called peace, even at the price of being forced to face your closest allies... Or even... Loved ones..." she seemed to get agitated by the topic. I chose to change it.
"So what are we doing here? We're supposed to be inside... For the practice..."
"Yes, yes, certainly... Let us proceed..."
And so, we entered the massive courtyard of this huge district. The area looked flourishing and quite pleasant to spend time in. Everything suited to the needs of summoners to be was able to be found here... Marketplaces, offering shortswords, snacks, customized summoner gloves, hoods, robes... Taverns, offering refreshing beverages and tasty meals for the students, in their time off, and even a several parks, where they gathered to share their experiences and interact with each other.
"Where do we go from here?" Katarina asked impatiently, while her eyes quickly scanned the vicinity.
"We are headed for the training district... Don't worry, we are close to it..." I replied, to soothe her a bit. She nodded, and we were just about to make our way to the training district, when we were distracted by a high pitched voice, coming from an excited summoner that rushed to us.
"It's Katarina! The sinister blade of Noxus! She came to visit us! Katarina! You are my idol! Will you walk with me, please? Just a few steps?" the summoner was anxious, but Katarina was uninterested, and simply brushed her way past him, and soon, he ran off, to spread the news of this strange visit. She rolled her eyes at his retreating figure, and then we decided to rush to the training area, before new interruptions would occur. Finally, the training grounds were in front of us. A massive arena, and an old man in front of it greeted us.
"Are you looking to practice your skills?" he asked in a shaky voice.
"Yes, yes we are." I replied hurriedly, eager to just step into the arena.
"Why, you must bring another champion to practice against, lassie... Surely you have read the rules by now!" he said.
"Ah... Right... I will be back." I informed him and instructed Katarina to enter the arena and wait for me in the hall. I rushed off to find a summoner of any kind... It was just important for him to summon Garen and then leave the lanes to our newly formed couple. I ran into a colleague, a summoner in rising, on level 17 to be precise, Nigel. I asked him if he would be able to do me a favor of this sort, and he said that he would love to, but still, he proposed that we move this 'date' for tomorrow, as today was Garen's 'free week'. Many summoners would choose to lead him into battles, and the chances of him being eligible for a training match were little. I went back to Katarina with these news. She wasn't really pleased to hear of this delay, but she agreed that we spend the rest of the day training other summoners, and then, after we were exhausted from all the matches, take two rooms in a tavern nearby, and brighten up the time before sleeping with a few tankards of ale followed by spiced, roasted meat with vegetables. After the dinner, and a few boasts of battles, we parted ways and went to our beds... Tomorrow was going to be a big day for Katarina... She probably won't be able to fall asleep now from all the excitement...
