Starshadow made me stay in my room while I recovered from my latest faint. Yasuo returned to his lessons. Yone went off to find his teacher. The next day, Yone comes to my room bright and early. Starshadow suns
"Are you sure you can take so much time off to teach me?" I ask Yone shyly.
"My sensei agrees that your safety is a priority. It also helps that Starshadow yelled at the others enough that they backed down. You and Starshadow are the only ones I know of that can get away with yelling at the monks." Yone remarks.
"Well, we have a very high value to them. I'm not certain why they tolerate our behaviour anyway." I cringe.
"You are an Aspect, someone of massive potential to help the world. You are more valued than the monks."
"That's just Starshadow trying to protect his best friend." I wave his protest.
"I agree with Starshadow that you are worth more than you believe." Yone states. He looks at me with such a soft look that I blush.
"Are you sure you can teach me?" I scramble to change the subject.
"I'm sure. I also plan on training my skills as we spar, so my training is not put to a halt, merely I have been given a time of self-study." Yone explains. I pause.
"What do you mean, spar?" I ask warily.
"You should at least know how to block." Yone comments. He starts to stretch out his arms.
"Um, you do realize that I can't block a sword without losing my limb?" I start to panic.
"Perhaps you can hold something or use your magic to protect yourself. You must learn how to defend yourself." Yone firmly repeats.
"I have Starshadow! He'll protect me!" I cry out.
"And what happens when Starshadow is held away? Don't forget that I saw what happened at the top of Targon while you were showing my brother. Starshadow was held up and you were barely able to keep the other being from overwhelming you. Only the interference of Aurora saved you from that other being. You need to learn how to defend yourself." Yone reminds me.
"And that's a huge celestial! Someone that I had no chance against!"
"But that doesn't mean you won't find someone like that in Runeterra. Just try, Leilah. You need to learn." Yone pleads. I sigh before nodding.
"OK, what's first Sensei?" I tease him. He grimaces.
"Drop the sensei calling. I like it when you call me by my name."
"Ok. So, what's first, Yone?" I repeat.
"Hold the sword." He pulls out a wood sword from nowhere and offers it to me. I hesitantly hold it. I would swear that I could feel it judge me.
"Ok. Holding sword." I whisper. Yone shakes his head and makes me hold the weapon properly.
"You need to hold the sword properly if you are going to use it." He teases me. I gulp.
"Last time I did and Sensei was trying to teach me, I almost gutted myself." I whisper. Yone nods.
"I remember hearing about it. All the other students were mocking how someone was still in the school when they couldn't hold a sword." Yone reminisces.
"Could we just forget about that?" I plead. Yone laughs a bit.
"I'm curious though. You could use your magic against the wolves. They were attacking you. You are also still holding this sword without you messing up. I have a theory. You can not attack, but there's no reason why you can not protect yourself." Yone theorizes. He brings his own swords down on me. I lift my stick and block. We both freeze for a moment. When I'm not trying to spear myself, I feel relieved. "Try and strike me." I move to tap his hand. Somehow I manage to throw the stick into my gut instead. Thankfully, it was more of a tap than anything, but I lost my stick. Both Yone and I watch the stick roll to a stop.
"Well, it's nice to know that I can hold a sword, but I can't actually fight." I sigh.
"It's nice to know you can defend yourself." Yone corrects me.
"How is that any different?" I protest.
"It means you are not helpless, just in need of a different method of learning." Yone calms me down. He gives me a stick and proceeds to attack. I yelp and try to smack his hand. The sword smacks into me as it flies away. I glare at it. "You can not attack me to defend yourself, Leilah. You have to block or dodge." Yone lectures. He grabs my weapon and hands it back to me. "Again." He starts to attack me. Instead of intending to hurt him to back away, I just move my wood sword enough to block his punch. The stick remains in my hands. Yone smiles. "We are getting somewhere. From now on, I want you to use your sword only. No magic."
"But-"
"You need to learn to defend yourself without passing out. That leaves you even more vulnerable than getting injured from a weapon. Now, defend!" Yone orders as he moves to strike me.
The entire week Yone was teaching me how to block with a sword. I learned how to block with a sword, but it's not the best. We learned that all it takes before I start attacking myself is me attempting to hurt the other person. Disarming has been a pain as I can't hurt my opponent while doing so. It's slow learning, and each day I get a little bit more desperate.
Yone's been kicking my ass with one sword. I'm barely able to dodge most of his attacks. The ones that I don't, I have to block. I manage to keep Yone from hitting me, but I have to back up. Eventually, I walk into a pillar and he knocks my weapon out. As the sword flies, he swipes my legs out from under me. I fall harshly on the ground. Yone points his sword at my face.
"Be faster, Leilah." Yone orders me.
"Seriously?" I pant. "You're the one that is telling me not to use my magic. Something I have access to. I'm not comfortable with a sword."
"Anyone can learn how to wield a blade."
"Anyone else can attack. I can't, so half of what a sword can do is basically useless to me."
"You can learn how to defend yourself without attacking."
"I have magic! I can use that to protect me! You saw what I can do!"
"But your magic makes you ill. It's better to have the skills for when your magic fails you." Yone argues.
"It's more instinctive to use magic than a sword! Besides, half the time I'm throwing my sword away anyway. Wouldn't it be better to let me use my magic? At least I can't throw my weapon away."
"Show me then." Yone snaps. He swings his stick down. I create a shield and roll away. My head aches, but I manage to keep up with Yone's attacks. He swings his stick faster than when I was fighting him with a weapon. This time I conjure an illusion and I sneak away. Yone attacks the illusion for a bit while I sit against a pillar. Sitting while my illusion plays against Yone helps my head ache ease a bit, but not much. Eventually, Yone strikes through the illusion and it disappears. I slump down as I finally stop using magic. My headache subsides a little bit.
"Perhaps you were not meant for a sword. My apologies for wasting the week."
"I know why you did. Better that I can pick up another weapon and be able to defend myself than just sitting on the side, but magic is still better for me." I argue weakly. Yone takes a seat next to me.
"Are you ok?" Yone asks. He pulls on me enough to make me lean onto him.
"I will be." I mumble. "Just, let me relax a bit. My head is pounding worse than the Firebrand's steps." Yone looks curiously at me.
"What is a Firebrand?" I use some illusion magic to create a visual of the creature. I did my best to make it full sized, but I also felt so tired showing it to him. My vision blackens. "You saw that thing… from underneath it?" Yone sounds amazed. I stop fueling the spell and nod against his chest.
"That was a fun time. I didn't know Starshadow back then. Someone had just saved my life from a really bad storm, pulling me into a cave and giving me some food. He watched over me as I slept. Next day, I saw that thing outside the cave with my saviour's clothes hanging out of it's mouth. There was blood on the cloth. It tried to kill me by burning the cave. I had just managed to escape and dived into the snow. Freezing cold, but it tricked the Firebrand into thinking that I died. Still, not my favorite thing." I explain. Yone tightens his grip slightly.
"You would benefit from learning how to fight with every weapon." Yone whispers. I groan.
"No, no, no. I don't think I have enough time to learn every weapon. I just need to learn how to fight with magic. I don't need a weapon." I protest. Yone sighs.
"If you insist on the path, you need to figure out what is causing you to get sick from using that magic."
"You know that Starshadow won't be pleased with that. He hates that magic with a passion." I whimper.
"You don't have a choice, Leilah. Even if Starshadow hates that magic, it is a part of you and as such you need to accept it." Yone is firm with his opinion. I sigh.
"Ok. Meditation chamber?" I ask. Yone nods and picks me up. "I can walk on my own!" I protest.
"I do not trust you to yet as a little magic sent you to the ground. I'm amazed you haven't passed out." Yone returns. I sigh and let him do what he wants. He's pretty comfy to be held by. We make it to the chamber in no time. Yone sets me down on some pillows and takes a seat next to me. He offers me his hands. I sit up straight and place my hands in his.
"Deep breaths." Yone intones. I listen to Yone breathing and follow his lead. "Go back to that place when you meditated last time. Find your river of light." He murmurs. It takes me some time, but I do find the river I saw before. It's glowing and bright. I touch the surface and the lights ripple. The river feels content and happy. I look into the river and see Aurora smiling at me.
How are you, my dear? Aurora asks me.
"I'm doing ok. Though, I'm struggling with using magic to defend myself. I thought I'd ask the other being here to let me use their magic." I tell her. She shivers.
Are you sure you wish to use that magic? She cautions. I shrug.
"I really don't know, but I get sick trying to keep myself safe. Don't get me wrong, your magic is beautiful and useful, but the other magic, it helps too." I explain to her.
"I wouldn't use it." She states.
"Why?" I frown.
"He wishes to be left alone." She shows me the dark spot nearby. Looking into it, I spot a black and red being. Judging his slow breathing, he's asleep. "He wants to sleep. Let him."
"I'll have to think about it." I whisper to her. She smiles and my own reflection appears. I take a seat by the edge of the river and just think. The being has amazing magic and has helped me quite a bit, but he's asleep. Is it worth asking him about my magic?
"And what do you think you're doing back here?" Starshadow appears next to me. I jump.
"How do you still manage to scare me in my own mind?" I demand.
"You were thinking quite a bit. Answer my question. Why are you back here? And more importantly, why are you looking at him?" Starshadow asls. I look back to think.
"I want to ask him if I can use his magic."
"I'm pretty sure Aurora and I both said don't." Starshadow snaps.
"Regardless of how much you hate that magic, it helps us." I reason.
"I don't hate the magic. I respect his wish. You using his magic makes him wake up. He's not stable. Aurora managed to calm him down enough to get him to sleep and not overpower your soul." Starshadow explains. "In exchange, he leaves us alone. He doesn't hurt us, he doesn't overwhelm us. You make it difficult to keep that peace each time you decide to use his magic."
"I want to talk with him anyway. At the very least to get him to not hurt me as much when I use his magic." I protest. Starshadow looks over my shoulder and immediately surges forward to stay between the two of us. I turn back and stare at the being in fear. He emerged from his slumber. His eyes are red, and he's dripping ooze. He's covered in ridges, all jagged and sharp. He also does not look very happy.
"Leave me. ALONE!" He booms. Starshadow keeps himself between the two of us. I shiver.
"I just want to know if I can use your magic." I demand. The body in the ooze glares at me.
"I have no desire to be awoken to this world. Leave me be." He snarls. He starts to ooze back down into the black spot.
"Please! People need help!" I cry. The being stops for a moment.
"I care not for life in this world. Not anymore." He rumbles.
"But you are a part of this world!" I yell.
"They banished me. They did not want me to be a part of life."
"What if I do?" The being freezes when I state that.
Are you sure Leilah? Starshadow asks.
"I'm sure, Starshadow. No one should be lonely." I voice loudly. The being turns his head.
"If you insist upon using my power, you may try." He disappears into the black spot. The spot flows towards me rapidly. Starshadow looks like he wants to attack it, but I hold him back. The black spot wraps around me, almost overwhelming me. I feel so much hate and fury from him. There's a little bit of pain, but it's almost drowned out.
Leilah! Starshadow cries out. I struggle to not pull away as the darkness climbs over me. Something is shaking my shoulder.
"Leilah!" Yone's voice interrupts my meditation. I gasp for breath as I come back to the meditation room. "Leilah, your arm!" He sounds panicked. I look at my right arm and gasp. It's black and pulsing red. Sharp edges all over. My fingers are claws. The ridges are reaching up to my neck and are attempting to spread.
YOU ARE AN IDIOT! YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT HIM BE! Starshadow screams as he zips over to my side. He coils around that arm and the darkness stops spreading. The ridges on my arm start retracting. Both Yone and I watch as the darkness fades away. My claws turn back into fingers. Starshadow's body is not changing as he absorbs the corruption. Once my arm is back to it's normal self, Starshadow releases me. He falls limply to the ground.
"Never. Do that. Again. Until I. Say so." Starshadow sounds incredibly angry. I nod fearfully and shrink as small as I can.
"Don't be too hard on her, Starshadow. She needs to use that magic."
"We've both been bonded to that magic. Aspect and that magic are complete opposites, so of course you're going to be sick! Trying to merge them so quickly and without preparation is disastrous and could have caused you to be corrupted! Then no more Leilah!" Starshadow shouts. I flinch.
"I'm sorry Starshadow. I just didn't want to be sick anymore." I whisper. Starshadow calms down.
"I can understand why you don't enjoy being sick each time you need to access the magic, but you are already doing better. You didn't die when you held that just need time to get used to using that magic. Just… keep practicing. You won't feel anything after a while." Starshadow relents. "You have light illusion magic from the Aspect. I don't know what magic came from the darkness, but from what I can tell, it's magic meant to help people. Just focus on those for now." Starshadow shudders.
"Are you ok, Starshadow?" Yone asks.
"Tired. It's not easy to keep her alive. Just focus on teaching her how to get away and using her illusions to protect herself." Starshadow goes to sleep in my lap. Yone and I look at each other.
"You heard him. You're not going to go looking for this thing again. And we are going to work on keeping you alive long enough to get away with magic. Just like you wanted."
"Ok." I shiver and clutch Starshadow to my chest.
What was that thing in me?
Now we know why Leilah just couldn't use a sword. And what is that thing in her? Spooky! Anyway, spending time with Yone is adorable! I did try to make him to be a teacher and not just a friend for this chapter, but when he doesn't understand what's happening, he worries. Starshadow is Starshadow and it's nice to see Aurora again. It's also good to know that Leilah will not be getting so sick all the time. Just while she's still new.
I'd really love to hear if you guys want any one-shots. I'm super ahead but I want to stick to my schedule of posting for this story. I just really love thinking about how Starshadow and Leilah interact with this world. So far it's just Leilah, but I have afew one-shots that see things from the other champions' perspectives. The poll will still be up and may be up for a long time to give you guys a chance to reply.
Thank you for reading this far. I understand that right now it's slow and a bit painful, but she will not remain in Ionia the entire time, I can guarantee that at the very least. She's going to be back into the events timeline very soon.