"Explain how you know for sure," Riven pleaded. Yasuo had never heard her sound so desperate.
So he gave all the details, revealed how he made the connection and confirmed it. Riven remembered leading the mission, working her way through the small town and the guards–some were very weak swordsmen, likely unqualified students. It made sense, it all fit. At some point, she had wiped the blood of Yasuo's charge, friends, and acquaintances off of her sword. What were the chances? She sucked air into her lungs as her vision lost focus, stuck on dust particles hanging lazy and indifferent in a shaft of light. Yasuo waited for her to say something, observing her reaction as the truth of the past came out in the open.
Riven staggered back, hands clutching her head and running through her silver hair. Finding her back against a wall, she ran her hands over her face as her entire form withered. She could feel her sword digging into her back. Riven hadn't said anything yet, but the diffused glow of her runic blade betrayed some of what was going on inside–furious turmoil. Yasuo traced her steps, stopping in front of her and coaxing her hands away from her face.
Perplexed by his gentleness, Riven opened her eyes and looked at him in anguish. All his features spoke to her of Ionia and the terrible wake of blood she'd left there. When she tried to speak and her voice cracked into a sob, empathy took over and drew his hand to hers. Riven put her head back against the wall and opened her red eyes, tried again. The way she whispered to him pulled forth memories of dying men, their bodies rent by his own blade. The searing pain that came only with thoughts of Yone forced him to blink back tears. He looked at the strap that held her sword to her back briefly. Yes…the story of a sword is inked in blood.
"I'm sorry Yasuo, I-I could say it a thousand times but–" the way she stopped abruptly reminded him of his friends choking on their own blood.
"Can't undo the past," He finished. Her body seemed to collapse in on itself with that, burdened by regret.
"This is my fault. All of it. Your brother, the elder.." Riven looked at Yasuo's hair, his cheekbones, could feel her scarred arms burning again, muscles aching just like they did after weeks on the battlefield. She'd practically bathed in the blood of Ionians, had done the cruel bidding of High Command, but it had never felt quite so personal as this. Unforgivable.
Riven was shaking. The hands he held had done so much harm–she snatched them back, making fists before running them over her arms.
"Riven.." She seemed so frantic, fragile, burning with self-hatred. Yasuo struggled for words. "I'm not even close to being over those things, but I've accepted my burden in this," she shook her head weakly, jaw clenching. "I killed my brother. Me. And I killed those sent after me. And I abandoned the elder."
"And I killed him," Riven added. Yasuo sighed, feeling heavy.
"Yes."
Riven pushed his hand away and walked a few paces away into the center of the room, back towards Yasuo. "What do you want me to do?" Her posture was that of a soldier's, waiting to take on whatever she had to.
"What do you mean?"
She spun toward him, blade flashing bright, muscles wound tight, eyes hard and ablaze. "I," She seemed to want to say too much at once, all Yasuo could do was take her in. She was angry, overwhelmingly so, and as far as he could tell all the rage was for herself. "I have to pay. For what I've done."
"It's not my place to go down that road…not that I could. Not with you." His statement puzzled Riven–it was the exact opposite of what he should think. She couldn't understand what he meant. "What are you saying? You don't even know the half of what–" Yasuo surged forward and gripped her shoulders, cutting her off.
"Riven," Instinct kicked in. She had started, probably because of the violence she expected from him, and had her hands in motion to retaliate before she froze, seeing there was no threat. Her hands relaxed, landing on his chest and shoulders. "I couldn't do anything to you, not even if I wanted. And I don't. Truly." He swallowed and kept his eyes on hers. "We're the same. Don't you see? We both need redemption."
His chest tightened as he breathed shakily for a moment, fighting an impulse to hold her tight. The longer he looked at her skin and silver hair, red eyes and cheeks contrasting magnificently, the more strongly he felt. "…And I just want to find that together." He thought he saw a tear finally spill over but she ducked her head and processed what he'd said. The last thing he'd registered on her face had been some mixture of bewilderment and relief.
"Okay." She sounded breathless. Forgiveness was one of the last things that should have been expected, he supposed. Their eyes met again, then searched the other's face. Seconds ticked by. Dust roamed the air in the shifting, muted light. Their shadows shifted, melding together on the wall, mimicking their embrace.
"I don't understand you," Riven admits into his shoulder, voice soft and muffled. His deep chuckle only served to confuse her more, all while coaxing a smile onto her face. "I think you're the only one that really does." Her face colored at the way his voice resonated and rumbled against her. His warmth was overwhelming even in spite of the situation. Riven shuddered. They lingered a few more moments, then separated. Eye contact felt electrified and new.
"Well, I never got what I went to the dining hall for," Riven trailed off, unsure if he would want to come with her and a little too flustered with all that had happened to ask. "I'll come with you." Riven looked back and shot him a smile as they stepped into the hallway.
"I didn't know you enjoyed drinking tar," Yasuo peered into her cup, appalled at how dark the tea was. Ionia was populated with all sorts of oolongs and green and white teas. He'd never even considered what a Noxian brew might look like. Tea didn't seem like their thing, but the crimson color certainly fit Noxus.
Riven rolled her eyes and took a sip. "I guess this doesn't grow in Ionia then. It's called pu-erh…Pretty popular in Noxus." Another sip, looking at him this time. Yasuo relaxed into the seat and carded a hand through his thick dark hair. This was pleasant, but he was starting to think about the practical implications of what they knew now. Without realizing it, he sighed as his eyes fell into a blank stare.
"What's wrong?" Yasuo blinked a few times and met Riven's eyes again. The tea seemed to have stained her lips slightly, making them pop against her skin.
"It's just…this is a very awkward thing," Riven stiffened, prompting internal panic in Yasuo. "I-I mean our…legal-fugitive status. We've made it to the League, which means immunity, but where are we going from here?"
"You mean my 'legal-fugitive' status. I'm the key to absolving you of what had you on the run in the first place." Riven gripped her cup, half full of the ruddy liquid, hands tense as she thumbed the rim. "Both Ionia and Noxus will want me to answer for what I've done." Yasuo swallowed, looking away. Riven still had her eyes on him, though her face was entirely sombre. "If we went to Ionia as champions to sort things out, what would they do?"
"I don't know," Yasuo said. Something made him nervous, despite their membership in the League granting protection from their respective city-states. It was like a red thread of guilt was what held them together–the more Yasuo thought about it the more he could see it was indeed the foundation of this bond they shared. How they met, what drove them here, why they identified with each other so strongly. His chest felt heavy. It could snap and tear them apart, or wind around their wrists and necks and end them–
Something suddenly blinked behind Riven and startled both of them out of their brief silence. "Oh," Yasuo breathed, recognizing the form that came into view. Riven's hand had slipped in surprise as she turned and spilled her tea. Yasuo pressed his lips together at the sight of her hands covered in the vermillion liquid.
"Hey Riv." Katarina regarded Yasuo for about half a second, then turned back to her old friend. "Listen," She seemed serious as she lowered her voice, especially after picking up on the mood off their conversation before she interrupted. Riven turned around to look at her, brow furrowed in concern and confusion. She shook some of the mess on her hands off to the side.
"Swain and your friend aren't playing around with the ways they've 'noticed' you. They haven't quite gotten over your…survival." Yasuo watched as Riven's neck muscles tensed and her pulse point jumped.
"What are you saying? They can't do anything, I'm a champion."
"You know their power has always reached far beyond where it should." Riven didn't respond for a while, remembering her violent trysts with Katarina in Bilgewater, cutting throats and limbs at Swain's command. "What reason do they have to put so much effort into trying to kill me?" Katarina took the seat next to her, leaned in close.
"You're a threat to what they're building. Noxus is…well, you know. Not what it was. They know the principles we have–me, you, Darius, are not the same as theirs. They killed my father preemptively, and they know that their death-defying paragon could be a problem." Katarina paused, looking between the two of them, tracing something and making the connection in her mind. "You two…the both of you are high-profile, strong, and rebellious. I know you didn't think you'd be slipping under anyone's radar." Riven nodded, fidgeting with her hands. The tea had started to dry. Katarina stood to leave with one last whisper, eyeing the rest of the crowd in the dining hall.
"Just watch yourself."
It's NaNoWriMo! I plan to finish the story this month alongside working towards a novel. It's really been too long, I'm sorry TT. Had some trouble and doubts with what I wanted to do with the story again.
Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed. Review!
