The sun woke me against my wishes. I found myself snuggled against Sejuani after the cold of the night and wished that I could rewind back time. There was something so strange about the whole business - I having only just met her and her being a ruthless warrior that I probably should not be eager to trust. She had saved my life, though. Not once, but twice.

She must have noticed my shuffling because she let out a frustrated groan as she opened her eyes.

"We goin' already?" she asked.

"Afraid so."

I had already started packing our things away and clearing all the signs that we had ever set up a fire. We couldn't afford to leave any traces in case someone had decided to follow us.

Sejuani rubbed her eyes and slowly got up. She nudged Bristle and he too showed the same enthusiasm as his master, trying to push her away so he could get more sleep.

A jolt of realization hit me and I thought of how I had no idea of where Sejuani and I stood. I hadn't forgotten that night, and I hoped she hadn't either, but truly I had never felt this for anyone before. I wouldn't be lying if I said that it took me completely by surprise. I had found my gaze lingering on her every now and then and felt way too comfortable in her arms, and got lost in her blue eyes and wanted to kiss her again and...

It was a lot to take in, and I felt oddly skeptical about it, having only just met her.

"Come on, boy. Think about all the fun we'll have." Sejuani had tried to get Bristle to wake up again.

Nothing could cheer him up, but eventually, he stood up and we mounted, leaving breakfast to another time in our hurry to get moving again.

"Do you know where we're going?"

I thought for a moment. Looking behind me, I tried to figure out how far away from the mountain range we needed to be before making a turn East. I figured I'd realize when the time was right and told Sejuani to just keep going straight ahead. Deep down, I hoped that my navigation skills weren't as useless as they seemed.

"Have you known Valor for long?" Sejuani asked suddenly, breaking the silence between us, which although persistent, wasn't uncomfortable.

"For a hell of a long time. I can't imagine what my life was like before knowing him."

"I know how that feels."

"So how did a huge boar become your best friend?"

Sejuani chuckled, and I couldn't help but smile at the sound.

"Well, when I was young I strayed from my tribe one night. I had argued with my father for some time and being a rebellious teen I thought I could brave Freljord all on my own," she began.

"I, too, learned that's not easy."

She laughed and nodded. "True. So I was planning on camping out for the night, maybe in some weird attempt to teach my parents a lesson. I got caught in the blizzard - just my luck - and was nearly swept off my feet by the winds. I had nestled between a couple of boulders to try to escape them - you know, cowered up in a ball and regretting my decisions up to that point."

She seemed to gather her thoughts briefly before carrying on.

"I still remember the helplessness I felt - and it was all my fault, don't get me wrong, but it's a feeling that stuck with me. I hated it, and I hated myself for being so scared and weak. Not only did I fear for my life, but I felt like I had let my father down too. I was nearly in tears when I heard Bristle's grunts above the raging storm." She chuckled. "As it turns out, I wasn't the only one that found shelter behind the boulders and there was a small little piglet limping towards me, neck deep in the snow."

She patted Bristle's fur and he grunted in response as if he knew what she was talking about.

"And here I was, holding another weak and lost creature in my arms. He nudged his little snout deeper into my chest to try and get away from the cold and there was no way I was letting go of him."

"How did you get out of the storm?" I asked.

"I didn't. My father found me. Weirdly enough he sent the whole tribe out to look for me."

"Why is that weird?"

She sighed. "Because I ran away thinking all my parents ever wanted from me was to fight and win them the Freljord. I thought they never would care if I died because of my own weakness and foolishness. To some extent, I'm glad that night proved me wrong." She paused again. "I'll never forget that night. Not only did I nearly die, but it was the first and only time I ever saw a tear come from my father. He was the toughest guy in those lands and fought beasts three times his size, but he cried when he thought he'd lost his daughter."

I tightened my embrace around her waist and she leaned back into my arms. I didn't know if this counted as comforting her, but she seemed to feel better.

"Obviously I kept Bristle with me after that. He was an orphan, poor sod. And damn did he grow up to be impressive."

Bristle looked up at her in agreement.

She shifted her attention to her surroundings which were getting greener and greener the further we ventured.

"I've forgotten how real forests even looked like," she said, her wide grin audible in her tone.

"I guess you're glad you tagged along."

She nodded.

"Quinn," she said after a few moments, slightly hesitant, "I just wanted to ask-"

She was interrupted by the sound of hooves approaching. She turned towards me confused, unsure of what could be making that sound. I figured that she hadn't ever seen a lot of horses so I reassured her that whoever was approaching couldn't be the Avarossan.

Bristle came to a halt, looking around anxiously. Before us, a rider passed, stopping within a few meters of us, astonished by Bristle's size and thick fur.

"Quinn?"

I looked up in surprise.

"Talon?"

He chuckled. "You're the last person I thought I'd run into today. You never did pay another visit like you said."

"I know, Valor and I wandered South. But I promise I was planning on seeing you again soon after."

"I hope you were. Where's Valor?"

He must have noticed my face drop as he stopped smiling. "We're looking for him actually. We think Demacia has him."

Sejuani gave me a wary look before returning her gaze to the young man.

"Really? How did that happen?"

"It's a long story, but we really need to get moving."

"Now hold on a minute!" He called out to us before Sejuani could get Bristle going again. "You don't just expect me to bump into you like this, hear you've lost your friend and do nothing about it. I can help out - just say the word and-"

"I think we got this," Sejuani butted in.

He smiled. "Who's your friend?"

"Sejuani, meet Talon. Talon, meet Sejuani. She's from Freljord."

He let out a long whistle. "Heard things are tough over there."

She glared at him and nodded slightly. He got the hint and changed the subject.

"As I was saying - I'm happy to help."

"Thanks, Talon. We were heading over to Demacia right now, maybe sneak in and see what we can find."

"I'll guide you. And I'll help you sneak in. I've been there lots of times before when I was working as I spy for Noxus. I know any way in and any way out."

"That'd be great!"

"Would it?" Sejuani turned to look at me.

"We need all the help we can get, right?" I asked her.

"I guess so." She seemed defeated, but I didn't ask her what the matter was, though I should have.

"I'm happy to tag along with you guys, if neither of you mind," Talon added and we nodded, setting off once more.

As midday approached we decided to stop briefly and have something to eat. We shared whatever supplies we had left and realized that we'd have to hunt soon.

I suddenly remembered something.

"Sejuani, did you want to say something before?" I asked.

She looked up at me confused. "When?"

"Before we bumped into Talon. I realized I never asked you about it again, sorry."

Sejuani considered it for a moment, before shaking her head. "I don't remember," was all she said before returning her gaze to her food.

I thought nothing more of it and we finished our lunch. Talon and I had caught up on what had happened since we last saw each other, and I told him all about what happened with Valor. Other than that, he told me about how things had been going in Noxus, and how the tension between them and Demacia had dissipated. It all made sense, taking into consideration the fact that Demacia now had other plans in Freljord.

"I used to visit Talon from time to time for hunting supplies," I turned to Sejuani. "He owns a forge now that he's out of the whole spying business."

Sejuani nodded.

"Quinn, d'you reckon I can still do that thing with my daggers?"

I chuckled. "No way."

He stood up and walked over to his horse. Strapped next to the saddle was a series of holsters where he kept his daggers. He took all five of them out and took a deep breath. With what seemed to be immense concentration he placed on his nose, one on each shoulder, one of his right index and the other on his left. He held them there, balancing all five of them simultaneously for some solid moments before Quinn's chuckles made him break out into laughter too and the daggers fell to the ground.

"Can't believe you didn't think I was still capable of that," he said.

"Thought you were too old."

"Shouldn't we get going?" Sejuani asked.

"You're right! No more time to mess around," Talon said, putting his daggers back and mounting again.

Sejuani and I got back onto Bristle and the three of us continued our journey. I noticed that Sejuani was feeling a little uneasy, her body tenser than it had been previously, but I thought it was just because of the strange lands that she found herself in. I made a mental note to talk to her about it later.