Years had passed, maybe ten, fifteen... you didn't know anymore. Time had never felt so fragile and liquid at the same time. It was obvious that time no longer mattered, not on the battlefield that you had met. What you saw was beyond good and evil, war could not be categorized and you experienced it firsthand. Up close. Right in front of your eyes.

To you it felt like only a few moments had passed after one of your comrades sounded the alarm. You were on an important arms shipment, something had to go wrong. Even before you set out, you had a strange feeling that you couldn't put into words. The connection between this situation and the memories that overtook you days ago and which haunted you even while you were asleep could not be recognized until you could perceive a shadow out of the corner of your eye. It was no more than a split second that made your thoughts circle again. Night had fallen, everything around you was dark. Or maybe you were just imagining things. After all, it wouldn't be the first time your mind went crazy during the night. Nevertheless, you had the feeling that something was wrong with that thought, the attack had not happened in vain and it would be far too easy to assume that it was over right away. The aftermath was almost too clearly noticeable and this shadow, the slight breeze and the fine hairs that began to straighten up on your arms at that moment, clearly told you that you were not mistaken. If there was one thing you learned from the Noxian Code, it was not to sit back and relax too soon.

You pulled the reins of your horse, trying to steer it over to the person who was riding closest to you. If you were the only person who noticed this shadow, you had an obligation to make a note. Then the survival of the whole caravan could have been up to you and you couldn't bear that burden. After all, you were already wondering why you had gone to the warriors in the first place. Perhaps it had influenced you too much to see the child soldiers being drafted, or the last time you saw Kayn and that you still couldn't let go of what could have become of him. In such a long period of time, he could have changed so much that you might not even recognize him.

If he was standing right in front of you... would you really know that it was him?

You weren't even sure anymore why the thoughts of him wouldn't go away. You hardly knew each other, you briefly exchanged names but after that? You had seen each other several times, met, but never even had a conversation. You always just looked at each other, maybe greeted each other briefly – you were just children of course –, and yet he did not let go of your thoughts. You didn't understand, you didn't understand how it could be that he could make such an impression on you without even being there.

Or…?

Maybe he was there the whole time and you just hadn't noticed him. Your horse suddenly stopped, tearing you out of your thoughts. You didn't notice anything. Everything around you was black and the others...? You weren't even that far away. Until a few moments ago you were still in the immediate vicinity of the group, but you couldn't even see them anymore. The feeling of being unable to breathe spread through your body. An invisible burden began to press on your chest. You tried to counter pressure with your hand while you looked around almost in panic.

Nothing.

There was nothing to be seen. You couldn't see the lights of your group or hear the other horses, combined with the wooden sound of the wagon wheels. There was a dead silence. You quickly noticed that your horse seemed afraid too, but you still didn't know what was actually happening at that moment. You just pulled the reins slightly to lean forward to stroke your horse's throat, but it seemed so focused on something you couldn't even see that it flinched, and you fell to the ground before it did started running and like everything else, all the noises, disappeared into the darkness. Your back caught the hard impact. For a moment you weren't even able to straighten up. The pain shot through your entire body.

Only with difficulty did you finally manage to straighten up a little when you felt a hand on your throat. It was real. Your eyes widened in shock. This feeling had only passed through you a few days ago, you knew it far too well. The grip tightened and your hands inevitably went to the hand that clasped your throat. You could still breathe, but the feeling was still uncomfortable.

"Do you feel the fear?"

Of course you did. You probably felt the same fear as your horse, only you couldn't run away. Your legs had failed you.

The voice echoed in your head, circling and bouncing off your mind. This person was so close to you that you could feel his breath at your ear as he talked. Only you couldn't get a single word out.

"You are just as inexperienced as you were back then."

You paused, held your breath for a moment. Your heart was beating up to your throat, you had the feeling that he could feel how fast it was beating.

"Kayn?"

Your voice sounded muffled, almost toneless, but maybe the silence was just fooling you. A light laugh, much softer than you expected reached your ear before the grip around your throat suddenly loosened, thus also freeing itself from your grip. Only the cold stayed on your skin while the night wind rustled around your ears.

Wind?

The whole time you hadn't heard any noises or noticed any environmental influences. Immediately you looked up and faced the sky. The stars were clearly visible, the blackness gone. You grabbed your throat again, parts of your skin still felt a little cold. Even if you couldn't see him, it was him and you were sure abut that. Even if he disappeared as quickly as he appeared.

Inexperienced?

Yeah, he was probably right. But maybe that was the moment you knew it was the right decision to join the warriors after all. If he came back to this place... You would be able to find him.