"And They Say I Lack Balance! Ha!"

"Zed." Ahri shifted in her chair.

"What about him?" Syndra glanced around. A powerful sovereign wasn't to be seen around commoners, but the fox was to teach her the ways of seduction.

"You might want to know his feelings about all of this before you pursue Yasuo." Ahri sipped her glass of tequila. Tequila is an attractive drink. Guys like tequila drinkers.

"I don't understand." Syndra furrowed her eyebrows.

"Chicks over dicks! Wait, no. Bros over hoes!" Ahri looked at Syndra sheepishly.

"Irrelevant."

"What I'm saying is– friendship is precious," Ahri looked sullen, "Don't sell your friends out for a guy."

"Your argument remains redundant. Zed doesn't have any romantic feelings for me. We are a union." Syndra stated, gently placing her twenty-fourth glass of whiskey on the counter.

"Damn, girl, you're a heavyweight." Gragas burped from behind the counter.

"Invest in mouthwash, and get me another glass of this beverage. Thank you." Syndra spoke flatly. This was going nowhere. Ahri just wanted an excuse to get laid quickly and what better place to do so than the bar?

"Gragas, my man! Gimme some Graggy Ice!" Olaf came to the counter and called out.

"Hey," Ahri looked over, smiling seductively.

"Ahri, I'd suggest you back off. Your cause of death tonight will be blunt force trauma to the skull with fractures and signs of asphyxiation on the neck."

"Whatever. Tell that tomboy I said hi." Ahri looked behind her shoulder, wiggling her fingers at Vi.

"And that's why you have no girl friends." Syndra drank her shot of whiskey robotically.

"Oh, shut up. What do you know?" Ahri's eyebrows knit together. Syndra had no idea what happened to the fox when she first arrived at the Institute of War. It's been lonely. Syndra and Zyra are the only friends she'd made, mainly because they're the only ones who don't take interest in romance.

"How would you feel if I had to charm Yasuo in order to live in the Rift?" Ahri dropped her head on her arms, avoiding Syndra's gaze. At first, the Sovereign was confused at the question. But then it clicked.

"That's why you're the only friend I've had," Ahri's voice was muffled, "No matter how many times I've charmed someone on the Rift, you didn't care. Now, you will! It takes approximately four hours for my charm to completely wear off. You've never felt love before! But now you have! And now you're going to feel jealousy very soon." Syndra didn't know how jealousy felt, but it had to be a savage emotion. Syndra never envied anyone else in her life. She's looked up to some people, hated others, felt indifferent to some– but never jealous. She looked over to see Ahri spelling out the word 'SLUT' on the counter with a heap of salt spilled on the counter. There was one emotion Syndra felt right now. Pity. What a sad sight. The fox compensated her loneliness with sex, and for that she was judged.

"It was never about Zed, was it?" Syndra leaned her head on Ahri's.

"Yes, actually, but not anymore! Now it's about everyone that cares about you. I can smell your infatuation for him, and I don't want you to hate me for doing what a do best," Ahri threw her hands up, a single tear sliding down her cheek, "being a whore!"

"You're not a whore," Syndra said in her most confident, assuring, bad ass voice. The voice that actually echoed, "You're a kick-ass, dominating sex bomb. You live in a woman's world. You take the world by storm and receive what you want. Everyone else will rely on love and relationships to prove their worth, and other girls will be envious because you make the demands, instead of worrying what a man wants. You command the very atmosphere around you. That's why we're feared. That's why we're envied. That's why we're hated. But the world is ours to take, and no one can take that away from us."

Ahri's eyes widened. She had never heard such kind, commanding and uplifting words. Especially not from Syndra, but she was right. A little grin played along the fox's lips and she sniffed and wiped away the stain the tear left on her perfect complexion.

"So it's a 'no' for Yasuo?" Ahri wiggled her eyebrows.

"I don't know. I'll sleep on it. But you can sleep easy knowing that I will never let a guy get in the way of our friendship. Ever." Syndra assured her. And Ahri was right. True, pure friendship, like the one she had with Zed and Ahri is precious. The vapid, fake relationships she had with the people of Ionia came and went fast. But these friendships were true, honest, and priceless. And for that, she wouldn't trade all of Runeterra for it.