Riven's right arm was a lot stronger than her left arm.
Like Tryndamere, she used a gigantic sword in battle.
Like him, she usually wielded it with only one hand.
But that didn't mean she neglected training her left arm. She made sure she trained it just like her right arm, just like the rest of her body. Her left arm was not weak.
But right now, it currently had the strength of a baby compared to before.
"C'mon!" she grunted through gritted teeth, her face contorting into a scowl from the amount of effort she was exerting. She looked down at the dumbbell clenched in her left hand, her breathing uneven and sweat dripping off her forehead, her arm burning with unmeasurable pain.
Ten pounds.
She couldn't even lift ten pounds off the ground.
Her grip on it tightened. Barely.
She tried again.
No luck.
Riven switched to her right arm.
She lifted it easily, her arm barely straining with effort, the way she should be able to it with her other arm. The way she used to be able to.
She frowned and dropped it on the floor carelessly, letting out a wordless groan that was drowned out by the harsh sound of the dumbbell hitting the ground.
Riven walked over to the couch nearby and fell back onto it with a sigh, rubbing her left arm.
Weak.
She grimaced at herself.
The former poster child of Noxus, reduced to a state like this. It was unthinkable, to imagine that she who once embodied the pinnacle of strength and discipline had allowed herself to deteriorate both physically and mentally.
Perhaps the war changed her even more than she'd realized.
Riven leaned back into the couch and closed her eyes, putting a cushion to her chest, hugging it closely as she thought about it.
She was so tired. She felt completely exhausted. She knew it wasn't from exercising because that always made her feel more alert, and today was not an exception. The abnormal fatigue plaguing her didn't make any sense. She'd gone to bed early yesterday and had at least eight hours of undisturbed sleep.
No nightmares, no dreams, nothing.
Maybe she was just hungry then. She hadn't eaten anything besides a single protein bar and her morning coffee.
Her stomach suddenly began to hurt and her arms pushed the pillow closer to her body.
Yeah, she should go get some breakfast. The cafeteria should be open by now.
She glanced at the clock on the wall.
It was exactly half past seven.
She frowned. She would have to wait half an hour if she wanted to get food at the Institute, and that was not going to happen. Not with the way her stomach was growling right now.
She pushed herself off the couch, glancing at the door when she heard someone knock a few times.
There was only a few other instances where she'd gotten a visitor this early in the morning, and even fewer visitors whose knocking was like clockwork. That meant it was either a summoner or Irelia.
Her heart sped up at the thought of the Ionian.
She hastily checked her covered scar in the restroom mirror before jogging over to the entrance and unlocked the door, her heartbeat pounding in her ears as she opened.
She didn't know if she was feeling disappointment or relief when she saw a summoner standing in the hallway, but she knew she felt excited when she saw what was in his arms.
"Good morning, Exile." The summoner said it with no malice unlike many others, only using her official title as a greeting. The lack of hostility he had while saying it Riven feel uneasy for some strange reason. "I was your summoner for the competition, and the prizes for winning the match have arrived."
He held out the toy poro that resembled her in his arms and placed it in Riven's now outstretched hands, grinning as he saw her eyes widen in joy. "They're really cute, huh?"
Riven nodded wordlessly, her lips slightly parted as she lifted the stuffed animal closer to her face, looking it over with childlike amazement.
It was so soft. She ran her fingers through its silky fur, suddenly aware of how rough her calloused hands were in comparison. She pet the imitation of her hair, surprising herself when it was even smoother than her own. She touched the little pieces of fake armor on it, feeling the intricately crafted textures on the tiny version of her runesword.
The summoner's voice suddenly broke her out of her trance. "Um, if you don't mind me asking, are… are you okay? You really uh, underperformed that match," he said timidly, fearing that he would upset the warrior.
She sighed, lowering the poro and instead hugged it snugly against her abdomen. "I wasn't feeling too great," she replied. It wasn't necessarily a lie, but it wasn't the entire truth either. She didn't want people to know about her weakness.
"Ah." He coughed awkwardly, obviously uncomfortable after hearing Riven's guarded answer. "Well, I hope you're feeling better now. I should get going."
The summoner waved goodbye, Riven returning the gesture halfheartedly before she closed the door.
"Hmm," she hummed as she looked around her room for a place to put the poro. Maybe she should put it on display instead of just throwing it on her bed. But then again, it was really comforting to hold. Maybe she could have a place to display it during the day then cuddle it at night. Maybe it would help her against the nightmares.
She looked down at the plushie in her arms, softly smiling to herself as she looked at it again.
Yeah, it probably would, but she definitely wanted to show it off too.
Her stomach made a loud growl.
She walked over to the couch and placed the stuffed poro there. She'll find a better spot for it later. For now, her main focus was finding food before her stomach starts hurting even more.
She made her way back to the entrance and opened the door again, jumping back when she saw Soraka outside with her fist raised.
"S-Soraka! What are you doing here?" Riven asked, her head barely tilted in confusion.
The Starchild returned her arm to a normal position before answering. "Well, I was going to ask if you'd like to get some breakfast with me," she said with a cheery disposition.
Riven blinked a few times. That sounded nice, but she was worried that she wouldn't only be eating with Soraka, but also with Irelia.
And Riven wasn't ready to face her again.
"I appreciate the offer, but I uh, I'll pass." Riven gave a strained smile in an attempt to remain polite.
Soraka's expression darkened and she crossed her arms. Riven suddenly felt uncomfortable.
"I'm sorry, Riven," she said strictly, not sounding very apologetic at all. "You don't have a choice again. You've already disobeyed my request to stay with Irelia yesterday, and I've decided that I need to watch you guys today."
Riven gulped nervously. "O-okay," she stuttered.
Soraka's mood brightened again, although Riven still felt discomfort from the atmosphere before. "Great. I've already made the reservation, and we needn't keep Irelia waiting."
"Good morning, Exile."
A sharp cough from a certain horned lady.
A sigh escaped the Ionian's lips, her posture slackening before she stiffened again. "Good morning, Riven."
Riven hesitantly decided to return the greeting. "Good morning," she said as she carefully observed the Ionian.
Irelia was very pointedly avoiding eye contact with the Noxian. Her arms were folded across her chest and her head was completely turned to the side, her eyes intently focused on something that was not the exile in front of her.
Her behavior did not go unnoticed.
"Irelia," Soraka warned. "Let's not be impolite."
Irelia made a disgruntled noise before facing the two that just sat down across from her.
The Ionian just stared straight into Riven's eyes, reminding her of their initial interactions. Making eye contact with her right now made her feel uneasy like before.
"So!" Soraka clapped her hands together in an attempt to lighten the mood. "What seems to be the problem between you two?"
Riven flushed red as she remembered her embarrassing behavior from the day before. "I uh, I didn't understand why there were so many written words for something that sounded the same when spoken."
Soraka gave Riven a look. Riven couldn't quite pinpoint the exact expression Soraka was showing, but she was sure it wasn't a good one. If she had to guess, she probably thought Riven was dumb.
If that was the case, Riven agreed completely.
The Starchild turned her attention to Irelia for her side of the story. "I got frustrated with her questions about language. Plus she called me stupid," Irelia pouted.
"What?" Riven asked, confused. "I did not!"
"You did," Irelia said stiffly, her lips pursed in displeasure.
Riven's brow furrowed as she tried to think back to when that could have happened. She didn't remember calling Irelia dumb. "When did I do that?" she asked in a demanding tone. If she actually did insult Irelia, she was the dumb one, not the Ionian.
Irelia frowned. "You said that I just accepted things without questioning it, and that that was stupid."
Riven gaped unbelievingly in response to her reasoning. "That doesn't mean you're stupid!" she argued defensively.
"Yes it does," Irelia said with a sharp sniff. She looked Riven up and down in disapproval.
Riven's head began to hurt and she groaned, putting a hand to her forehead. This conversation was a fucking mess. "How?"
Soraka interrupted Irelia before she could answer. "Okay, let's calm down. I'm starting to think the reason you two fought wasn't actually about the difference between written and spoken language."
"It's not?" The two warriors asked in almost perfect unison, looking at each other strangely afterwards.
Soraka shook her head, a small smile on her face as she watched the them interact. "No. I think this is alluding to something deeper than language. Riven, you said that accepting things without question is stupid, correct?"
Riven nodded.
"And Irelia, you felt offended because of this?" Soraka inquired.
Irelia bit her lip unsurely, looking down at the surface of the table. "I was upset because she implied that I was stupid, just because I accepted the way the written common tongue worked without knowing the reason why certain words are spelled the way they are."
"I didn't mean to make you angry," Riven said softly.
Irelia glanced at Riven, briefly making eye contact before she bashfully returned her gaze to the tabletop.
"Okay," Soraka said after a prolonged silence. "I think that's a good reconciliation. Shall we finally order some food to eat?"
Riven nodded affirmatively. She had forgotten all about being hungry, but at the mention of food her hunger returned.
She looked down at the menu.
Ionian.
She sighed, opening it anyways to see if there was anything she could read.
Luckily, there was the name of the dishes in the common tongue as well. Some of them she couldn't read, but that was expected. She skimmed over the words, her attention more focused on the pictures of food displayed next to some of the dishes. Riven squinted and scrunched up her face to get a better look at them.
Irelia noticed Riven struggling with looking at the menu. "Do you require assistance?"
The Noxian looked up at Irelia, who was patiently waiting for an answer. "Uh, yeah, that would be nice, actually. What do you like to eat usually? I've never had Ionian food besides the other day when you brought me some."
Irelia smiled for a second before her lips formed a frown. The mention of food or eating always resulted in negative responses, but this was the first time she'd seen her smile when Riven discussed it, even if it was just for the briefest of moments.
Before Riven could ponder the reason as to why she initially reacted in a different way, Irelia spoke. "I'd suggest getting chow mein. It's stir-fried noodles, and it's one of the more popular Ionian dishes for foreigners. Maybe you'll finally understand why Ahri wanted to eat some the other day."
Riven frowned at the mention of the mage, but then a lightbulb went off in Riven's head. "Oh, I think I've heard of that before. I've always heard people say 'chow main' though."
Irelia scowled. "No, it's pronounced like 'chow mean' in Ionia. Only foreigners say it the other way."
Riven looked down at the menu again and tried to find what Irelia had recommended.
… Found it. There was a picture of noodles next to it too. Irelia said it was stir-fried noodles, so that must be a photo of the dish.
Her stomach made another loud sound, attracting the attention of her companions.
"Oh my, I think we should call the server over before poor Riven starves to death," Soraka joked. The Starchild glanced at Irelia discreetly before looking away.
Riven raised an eyebrow at the action, before looking over at Irelia.
She didn't notice anything abnormal. Was Soraka expecting a reaction? Maybe, she was probably seeing if Irelia liked the joke.
She turned to Soraka, who was staring right back at her. Did she expect her to laugh too?
Riven chuckled nervously. "Uh, yeah. I think I'm ready to order."
Soraka gave her a strange look before waving over an unoccupied waitress nearby.
She said something in Ionian.
Riven blinked.
Oh boy.
Soraka responded in Ionian, and Riven looked to her for help, but she was too busy ordering food. At least, Riven was assuming she was ordering food.
The waitress turned her attention to the exile and said something. Was she asking her what she wanted to eat?
"Uh, chow mein?" Riven cringed at herself. She sounded so awkward, appropriate since she currently felt like a fish out of water. She had tried to replicate the way Irelia had said it, but it still sounded off in her ears.
The waitress paid no extra attention to her distress. She just nodded and exchanged a few more words with Soraka before leaving.
"Do you speak Ionian, Riven?" Soraka asked, an amused expression on her face.
Riven shook her head slowly. "I don't. Did I say something wrong?"
Soraka laughed. "No, no. You guessed correctly; she was asking you what you wanted to eat. But please, just ask you're confused next time. I'm always happy to help, even with the small things."
Riven nodded, relieved. She was worried she'd made a fool of herself in front of Irelia.
"How long will the food take?" Riven asked. She could feel herself getting hungrier by the second.
"Not that long, hopefully. When I come here, I usually only have to wait ten minutes or so."
The two talked, Irelia being content with just listening. A while later, their food arrived. Riven's mouth watered at the smell.
"What'd you order?" Riven had never seen something like it before.
Soraka hummed in thought, putting a finger to her chin. "It's an Ionian appetizer I'm quite fond of. I believe they're called summer rolls in the common tongue, if I'm not mistaken. Would you like to try one?"
"Sure," Riven said. She grabbed one, Soraka stopping her before she took a bite.
"Dip it in the sauce first. It's not nearly as good plain."
The exile nodded, doing as she was told. She carefully took a bite. "It's good," she commented while chewing. "Is that all you're going to eat?"
"Table manners, Riven," Irelia chastised, although her face was anything but stern.
Riven swallowed, sticking her tongue out at Irelia afterwards.
"Yes, it is. I'm not too hungry right now," Soraka said. "You, on the other hand…"
Riven laughed. "I'll eat the rest of those if you don't want them," she joked. She took another bite.
Soraka gave her a feigned look of annoyance. "Eat your own food before you start eating all of mine."
The exile ate what remained of her summer roll before digging into what she had ordered.
Not bad, she thought. She took a peek at Irelia, curious as to what she would be doing. Would she finally see her eat?
Nope. She wasn't eating, like usual. But what caught Riven off guard was the Ionian looking in her direction longingly, biting her lower lip. Irelia quickly turned her head away when she noticed Riven looking at her.
Riven wanted to ask if she wanted to eat some of her food, to ask if she ever ate around people, but she knew better than to do that at this point. She would just make Irelia upset, and she probably wouldn't even get an answer.
Still, she couldn't help but wonder as she watched Irelia attempt to sneak glances towards her throughout the meal.