AN: A friend of mine made a page for Aeneas with his idea of abilities, and I really liked it. It's on the league wiki, at wiki/User_blog:SenicamDuCouteau/Aeneas_Du_Couteau,_the_Bastard_Child

Also, sorry about the massive delay. Was busy with studies and a camp. Back now, and as a way of saying sorry here are two chapters.

Disclaimer: League of Legends has never been, or ever will be, mine.

When he opened his eyes again, Aeneas found himself lying on his bed back at the Inn, buried beneath the covers. The pristine white sheets had the scent of the walls; signs of lack of use. Raising his arms to rub his eyes, he laid tiredly on the mattress as he tried to recall what had transpired. He remembered lunging at his uncle who parried the attack and reformed his stance. Aeneas expected Talon to continue through a counterattack, but he simply remained silent as he kept his poise. Aeneas has lunged at him again and again, only to be parried again and again. He remembered getting angrier and angrier with every parry, but nothing after that.

Aeneas sat up from the bed, almost instantly collapsing back onto the bed. His head spun and ached, forcing him to take it slowly as he got up. He realised that his entire body was in pain, feeling his flesh pulse with waves of discomfort. He limped towards the closet and changed out of his slacks to a cleaner set of clothes. His body ached with fatigue, his stomach sending quakes through his body to signal its owner to feed it. He slid into his shoes and limped out into the living room.

The acrid smell of rotting alcohol made him wrinkle his nose in disgust. He turned towards the source, where he saw the unmoving figure of Talon, lying serenely on the sofa with a bottle of Zaun-brand wine in a deathgrip in his left hand. He seemed to have passed out from drinking.

'He never struck me as a drinker,' he thought to himself as he limped towards the balcony door to get to fresh air. His joints cracked with disuse as he opened the door and stepped outside. He held a hand to his forehead as he leaned on the railing. The sky was as dark as the ground below, with only the lamps to illuminate the atmosphere. The empty streets below intrigued Aeneas; when he was mingling in those same streets he remembered the density of people that weighed him down heavily, how they moved seemingly without restraint. He gave a small grin as he rested his head on the sill.

'You seem glad, child.'

Aeneas shot to attention at the voice, raising his head to see the visage of a wispy, ethereal being that wore a mask that was very familiar to him. His mismatched pupils widened in fear as he threw himself away from the sill. Lamb was floating opposite the sill, hovering up and down in the air.

'You have met my other, before. His name is Wolf.'

Aeneas felt his body, searching and hoping to find a weapon of any sort, to no avail. Lamb gave something akin to a high-pitched, mocking laugh.

'Do not worry, child. I have no wish to hurt you.'

'W-What are you?'

Lamb hovered over the balcony sill, revealing the ghostly visage of Wolf's head. She gracefully leapt down from his head, standing upright with bow in hand.

"We are like you, child. Hunters, looking for their mark."

"What?!"

Wolf turned towards Lamb.

"See? He doesn't even get it."

"Quiet, Wolf."

Wolf turned away in some instance of exasperation, as Lamb stepped closer towards Aeneas.

"I am Lamb. The reason as to why Wolf over here had come to you last night is because we have been watching you, Aeneas."

"What? Why?"

"It is our job. What we do."

"Then who even are you?!"

"We are what you call 'Death'."

Aeneas turned white.

"But we have no interest in taking you, yet. We had come to warn you."

"You had nearly taken what was ours, young hunter!"

"I-I don't...?"

"Days ago, you met with another child, a child that has come from numerous almost-lives. And on that day-"

"-YOU could have killed him!"

"But you didn't."

"So we only have one question."

"How?"

Aeneas was shaking. The one named Lamb showed no ill intent, but Wolf made him shudder. It was as if he was ready to eat him right up.

"I...I don't..."

"Do not bother answering, child. We already know that you are incapable of telling us."

"That is why we made a pact with you!"

"As it is obvious that you have no wish to use your powers to kill the boy...

WE will do it for you!"

Aeneas swallowed. He didn't know what they meant and he didn't want to.

"Whenever you tap into that power of yours again...we will be watching."

And if you ever meet that boy again, and bring him to his knees again, WE will finish the job for you!"

Aeneas' eyes widened in disbelief.

"But I don't want to kill anyone!"

It was Wolf's turn to laugh.

"Don't make a fool of yourself! Your entire existence is for it! You're even hunting for your father right now, aren't you? And besides-

In exchange for letting us take host of your body, you will share powers similar to us. This is a most profitable exchange, is it not?"

Lamb turned backwards, towards the rising sun.

"It is time for us to take our leave, Wolf."

"We will meet again, little hunter.

"Wait!"

But as the sun shone through the dark clouds, the beings vanished with the dawn.

Talon opened his eyes. The dim sunlight that signified the morning was more than enough to wake him. When he was just a street urchin, he was forced to sleep with an eye open lest he be stabbed in his sleep. The assassins that the guilds had sent after him only set that habit in concrete. He propped himself up from the couch and stared through the open door, where the visage of Aeneas stared out into the distance. Leaving the bottle on the ground, he sat up groggily while clutching his abdomen.

While he wouldn't admit it to her face, Katarina and Aeneas looked more alike than any family he had ever seen. Red hair, polite persona, even the glint in his jade eye was identical to his mother. If it weren't for his gender and one blue eye, he would be a carbon copy of his mother. He was surprised that it irked him far more that he was like his mother than his father. He was a prodigy of the blade, for sure, but he lacked a certain something. But Talon knew, it hid within his identity, a trait that would surface in time.

But for now, he must cultivate it.

Talon tried to stand up, but the sharp pain to his liver and back made it hard. He spat a gob of blood into a nearby tin, wiped his mouth clean and staggered towards the balcony. He took his place at Aeneas' side.

"Hey."

Aeneas broke from his stupor and looked at his Uncle with surprise.

"Hello."

Talon noted the softness in his voice, a tone that he had not heard for a long time. Talon resisted the urge to pat his belt, knowing that there was no rusty blade to reach for.

"Feeling better? You were out the entire day."

Aeneas meekly nodded.

"You do know that we only have a few days left before you have to go back, right? If you keeping dropping to sleep like that you'll be good as dead in the arena."

Aeneas kept silent and kept his head down. Talon gave a small sigh.

"But, at least you're improving, even if it's as small as a Yordle's step. You landed a good hit on me, which means you aren't completely worthless."

Aeneas took attention, but remained silent.

"...Hey, are you listening?"

"Yes."

"Okay, then what did I say?"

"You said that I'm not completely worthless."

"Wrong."

Aeneas looked at him with innocent confusion. Talon gave a small smirk.

"I said you're improving." Talon rolled his eyes. "You were faster than when you were training with your mother. Don't beat yourself up over your losses; that's my job."

"...Oh."

"But...there is one reason why you're going to die if we go back home for you to fight."

Aeneas cocked his head to a side in question. Talon produced a flask from his belt, took a long swig and pointed at Aeneas.

"You fight like a bitch."

"...what?"

"I mean that you fight like a girl."

"...?"

Talon turned towards him and kept his flask.

"All right, let me ask you something.. What's your mother's name?"

"...Uh..."

"Holy shit, are you kidding me? You've lived with her your entire life!"

"Uhm...I always hear people call her a cat."

"Her name is Katarina. Katarina Du Couteau. She's the Head of the oldest clan in all of Noxus. Does she teach you anything at all?!"

"Oh."

" 'Oh'?! Do you even know who you are?!"

"..."

"Kid, if she's your mother that means you're the direct heir. You're gonna be the Head of the House of Du Couteau one day."

"...!"

"And the Heads of the Houses have the be the strongest in all of Noxus. And even I have to admit, she's stronger than me."

Aeneas looked at him with confusion.

"But you are too much like her."

"...I'm sorry, what?"

"She was trained by her father; my master, your grandfather. He had the uncanny ability to discern talent and cultivate them; like your mother and I. He taught us how to fight, how to condition ourselves to kill."

Talon leaned harder on the balcony.

"He was the only man I have ever respected."

"..."

"But he's gone now, unfortunately for you."

"...Me?"

"Yes, you. I'm going to admit it; I have no damned idea how to train you. Remember the first fight you had with me?"

"Uh..."

"I thought I underestimated you. But when I saw you fight two days ago...I wondered where the heart in you went."

"Heart?"

Talon poked Aeneas' chest.

"Bloodlust, kid. It's as if you have like a kill-switch inside of you that kills only when it wants to. Your mother and I, we don't even come close to how fucking crazy you were when you fought me back at the House. But two days ago? I thought you were a girl."

"..."

"Since I promised your mother to train you, I tried to think what was different between the two fights. Can you guess what I found out?"

"I...threw blades in the first one but I didn't in the second one?"

"Ye-NO! How your mother sees you as a prodigy is beyond me. In the first fight I came at you first. In the second you attacked me first. Get it now?"

"...Oh!"

"Yeah. Your bloodlust hides until you're attacked."

"But...isn't that good when I fight in the arena?"

"Nope. You're gonna get slaughtered."

"What?"

"Every single one of the Houses aren't dumb. If they find out you only fight like a real assassin when you get attacked first, they're simple going to keep their difference until you go for them. Then all they need to do is parry you."

"Oh...but I don't know how-"

"Kid, I told you. I'm here to help you. As much you piss me off with your existence, you're still my master's grandkid. As long as I'm your teacher, and you listen to me, you'll win the bracket fights, alright?"

"Okay."

"Good." Talon reached into his pockets and gave Aeneas a wad of notes. "Go and have fun out there. We'll train at night, so save your energy and keep yourself hidden. And get a souvenir, your mother would probably want to know that I'm at least trying to give a shit."

Aeneas studied the Zaunite money in curiosity. "What...is this?"

Talon raised an eyebrow. "It's Zaun money. It isn't gold, but its still money."

"What is money?"

"...Katarina, what the hell have you been doing with this kid...You give people it and you get stuff in return. More important stuff needs more money."

"Oh, okay."

Talon took another swig of his flask and pointed towards a far away, but bustling street.

"You can get hextech stuff there. They're cheap, but they will try to cheat you till your pockets are emptier than a Demacian's head. Take your blades with you and kill anyone that you see fit."

"...!"

"I'm joking, jeez. Lighten up a bit. Enjoy yourself."

Talon walked back into the room, heading for his bedroom and leaving Aeneas at the balcony. He sat on the side of the bed and reached for the bandages on the nightstand, rebandaging himself as he heard Aeneas leave through the front door. Once he was done, he changed into his purple robes and put on his blade cloak. He dug through his pockets to pull out the picture of Ekko once more, just to double-check his target. It had disturbed him how young Ekko looked; but a job was a job.

"Sorry, kid. I don't know what you did, but you must have done something really damned terrible if Piltover is asking for your head."

Zaun, Commodity District

Aeneas strode through the crowd, keeping his head down hidden under his cloak. The wad of Zaunite money filled his right pocket, making him feel slightly insecure. It was apparently a vacation day, he inferred from the size of the crowd. The smell of oil and metal was overwhelming, even though he was surrounded with stalls of anything but. He glazed his eyes over the variety of mechanical toys, clothes, groceries and computers, discovering that almost everything in the market was affordable by him. He kept his head low and began to wander around from stall to stall, checking out their wares.

"OI! GET BACK HERE!"

The angry yell of a nearby stall-owner caught his attention. He swivelled his head to the source, where the visage of a thief passed his sight. The shopkeeper, a middle-aged woman, pointed angrily behind him.

"SOMEONE CATCH THAT THIEF!"

Aeneas turned to where she was pointing, to see the perpetrator dashing through the crowd. The crowd seemed to not give half a damn, even giving way. He immediately gave chase. The crowd seemed to be on his side as well, giving way to him and allowing him to have a clear view of the thief.

But they soon turned into one of the many alleys, the thief twisting and turning the sharp corners. As fast as he was, Aeneas was running out of stamina. He felt his lungs ache as the thief got further and further away from him, eventually turning a corner. Aeneas was reduced to a walk, and he already knew by the time that he turned the corner the thief would already be gone.

"Oh, hey! It's you!"

The bright white smile of Ekko, sitting on top of the unconscious thief, shone through the dark lighting of the alleys.

"Now we can turn him in together!"

Aeneas gave him a tired look.

"Hey, you chased him, I whacked him. We both had a part to play in this. What do you say?"

Aeneas rolled his eyes.

"Awesome. C'mon."

Ekko got down from the unconscious body, tied his hands together with rope and began dragging the body, out of the alley.

"I don't believe we've introduced ourselves. The name's Ekko."

"Aeneas."

"Nice to meet you again, A."

"It's Aeneas."

"Whatever you say, A."

The thief didn't stay unconscious for long, waking up as Ekko and Aeneas were leaving the alley.

"Oh, look who woke up."

"W-Where are you taking me?"

"Back to the scene of the crime. Then..."

"Then...?!"

Ekko flashed a smile.

"Then we're going to let you go."

They brought the thief to the stallkeeper, who screamed and yelled expletives in his face, before taking back the stolen ware.

"Don't worry ma'am, we'll take him to the authorities." Ekko said.

"Damn right! Thank you, both of you." She replied.

"You are welcome." Aeneas said.

They turned to leave, and once making sure that the stallkeeper was no longer watching them, they turned a corner.

Ekko held the thief to the wall.

"Okay, I want to make this clear to you. You are going to walk away from this, as if nothing ever happened. And I never want to see you do anything illegal ever again."

The thief gave an arrogant smirk.

"Oh yeah? Or else what?"

Ekko, with his free hand, swung his club to destroy a huge chunk of the wall right next to the thief's head. He revealed his Z-Drive on the back of his hand.

"Or else I will break every bone in your body in 30 different timelines. Got it?"

The thief's eyes widened in fear. Ekko let him go, allowing him to flee down the alleyway. Ekko let out a small sigh and turned to the awestruck Aeneas.

"What's up?"

"Don't you think that that was a bit harsh?"

"It's people like them that gives Zaun a bad name. And I know that if I just let them go and 'give them a chance' they will never change."

"You didn't have to threaten him that badly."

"Whatever. Let's change the subject." Ekko leaned against the wall. "You aren't Zaunite, are you?"

"Yes, I am from Noxus."

"Yeah, I thought so. And from your hair you're one of those elite bastards. What is someone like you doing in a place like this?"

"Oh, I'm training."

"Training?" Ekko scoffed. "Training for what?"

"I'm not really sure...but I'm supposed to fight other people my age back home."

"Wait...how old are you?"

"I celebrated my 14th birthday recently."

"What?! What kind of city do you live in?!"

"Oh? Does this place not have such spectacles?"

"Of course not! What the hell is wrong with your city?!"

Aeneas shrugged. Ekko rolled his eyes and shook his head in incredulity.

"Okay, okay...but why are you alone?"

"Oh, I came with my uncle."

"Why not your parents?"

"Mother said that she was too busy to train me."

"How about your dad?"

"...I-I don't have one."

"Oh. Sorry, man. Dead?"

"No, I just don't have one."

"Left?"

"...I never had a father."

"You're one weird kid, you know that?"

Aeneas broke a small scowl.

"Well, how about your parents then?" Aeneas rebutted.

"They're both okay. Working at some dumb factory most of the time."

"Y-You have...both of them?"

Ekko realised his mistake too late. Aeneas' eyes began to water.

"O-Oh. Sorry." Ekko scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Hey, you free? I wanna show you something."

"...Okay."

They then headed through the alleyways, with Aeneas drying his eyes.

"Look at this."

They arrived before a huge mural, dotted with people that seemed no older than Aeneas, with lit candles beneath that illuminated offerings that people had left. Scorch marks from fire and chemicals littered the floors and walls, but the mural was perfectly preserved. It was a serene, tranquil site, hidden behind a maze of alleys.

"Oh, wow." Aeneas remarked.

"Nice, ain't it? My friends and I made these ourselves a long time ago."

"Your friends? Who are they?"

"Ah, we don't talk much anymore. Or at all, actually."

"What happened?"

"I guess...we grew apart. Vi ran away, Jinx went crazy, Ajuna...well. Nevermind."

Aeneas slowly approached the mural, seeing faces that he didn't recognise. The detail of the artistry was actually quite distinct, although the colouring was crude. It was clearly aged.

"It looks very nice. Why are you showing this to me?"

Ekko left his club leaning against one of the walls, crossed his arms and walked to Aeneas' side.

"Well, I wanted to show you why you shouldn't be so sad about not having a dad." Ekko's head drooped. "Even though my parents were there, they always had to work and always left me alone at home. They always came back after I fell asleep and left before I woke up. Even during holidays, they would have to work. It was like I had no parents at all. The money they earned wasn't enough either; I had to make most of the meals for myself by myself. They were...really useless."

Ekko motioned to the mural.

"But then I met them. We didn't know each other, but we had something in common; useless parents. We learned how to live together, love each other; even when newer people joined us...Do you get it now?"

Aeneas looked at him with questioning eyes.

"It doesn't matter how many people you have in your life; its the relationships you have with the people that you care about. So who do you care about the most in this world?"

"...My mother."

"Okay, good. Do you think she loves you?"

"I hope so."

"Then you shouldn't beat yourself up over your missing dad. There's a lot of kids out there that have useless parents like me, or worse. You shouldn't cry over something like that."

Aeneas wiped the growing tears from his eyes and smiled.

"Thank you...Ekko. That was (somewhat) helpful."

Ekko gave a smirk and gave a friendly punch to Aeneas' shoulder.

"No problem, A." Ekko glanced at Aeneas' red hair and furrowed his brow.

"Say...who did you say your mother was, again?"

"Hm? Oh, her name is Katarina Du Couteau."

Ekko's eyes widened in terror as he slowly realised the second mistake that he had done.

"Ekko?"

Ekko suddenly dashed towards his resting club, but was forced to dodge three razorrangs that sourced from the entrance of the alley as they embedded into the wall. Aeneas jumped away from the blades in surprise, hearing the blades of Talon's cape scrape the floor.

"Thanks, kid. You've been a great help."