Everything hurt.

There was no part of her body that didn't feel like it was on fire, her head was throbbing painfully and her back felt like someone had stabbed it with a hundred's swords.

What happened?

Ah right. The fight with the Ionian ambushers, the chemical explosion and the remaining survivors trying to kill her as she fell unconscious.

Was she dead?

It didn't seem like it based on the pain she was feeling, but then how the fuck was she still alive? She had been sure that only Ionians had survived.

Had they taken her hostage?

The sudden realization causer her eyes to snap open, only to immediately close again as a horrible pain shot through them. She had to remain calm. Panicking would only bring attention to her which was definitely not what she needed right now.

With a slowly calming heartbeat, the young warrior impatiently waited for the pain to recede while trying to gather her thoughts.

If she had been taken hostage, then she needed to get out of there as soon as possible. The fact that they hadn't already killed her meant one of two things: They either planed on torturing her to death while she was awake, or to use her as a way to pressure Noxus. The fact that she was a defenseless woman who, if the words of many men she had met during her time in the army were to be believed, was "the hottest babe in all of Noxus", didn't make her feel any safer.

If not for the situation, she would've chuckled at the nickname. She was a sucker for compliments, no matter how crude and simple.

Focusing back on the task at hand, she tried to open her eyes again, though much slower this time. Everything was still blurry, but she could make out a dark sky and some trees here and there. Sadly though, her field of vision was limited since someone had laid her on her stomach. It made information gathering much more difficult.

Being in a forest wasn't bad though, because it meant that she could lose any followers more easily once she eventually tried to run.

As her vision became clearer and her thoughts more collected, she also noticed some light and a familiar kind of warmth next to her. There was a fire, perfect for a short distraction. Now, she only needed to know how many people were here and she could start to form an escape plan.

She slowly, very slowly turned her head slightly to the side, trying to see if anyone was there, and sure enough, there were two figures sitting at the other side of the fire, unmoving. She could not see them well because of the flickering lights blocking her vision, but they didn't seem to have noticed her yet.

Turning her still painfully throbbing head further, she noticed a pair of legs that indicated that someone was sitting behind her on something. Probably a fallen log. Not that it mattered.

There didn't seem to be any more people, but experience told her that she shouldn't act hastily or assume something that she didn't know for sure. So, she focused on her hearing to try and determine any sounds of more people outside of her field of vision.

…

…

…

There were none. She decidedly ignored the possibility that there might be someone who was simply making no sound, because if there was someone like that, she would be fucked either way.

Continuing to assess her situation, Riven gently wiggled her fingers and toes. Moving them hurt, but she had gone through worse. Plus, they were moving as she wanted them to.

That was good.

Next, she moved her arms and legs very slightly. There was no resistance, meaning she wasn't bound.

That was also good.

She had to silently admire the guts of the Ionians. To capture her, a champion and still be confident enough to not restrict her took some serious arrogance.

Just because she had been hurt badly didn't mean that she couldn't fight.

The gentle sound of a yawn from behind her caused her body to stiffen painfully. Had she been discovered?!

Apparently not, because the person was mumbling something incoherent instead of approaching her. He did sound quite young though, which meant that the person was likely still inexperienced. That made things easier.

A plan slowly started to form in her mind, the only variables being the two people that she couldn't see well from her position. She was confident in dodging some spells, but if they were enhancement users, things would get more complicated. She could not yet use her own magic unless she wanted to destroy her body in the process, meaning that outrunning other enhancement users would be a very difficult task.

Still, she had to try, because there was no way that she would be a prisoner to anyone, let alone some rage driven Ionians.

Her muscles tensed and her heartbeat quickened as she readied herself to set her plan into action. She only had one shot, so she had to make it count.

Summoning up all the energy her damaged body had left, Riven rolled onto her back and jumped up in one smooth motion. Or at least that was the plan, but the moment she jumped onto her feet, her whole body went slack, and she let out a pathetic whimper of pain.

She had completely underestimated the sheer pain that her body had suppressed in its shocked state. To think that she would fail before she could even try to escape. What a shitty way to throw away her last hope of freedom.

Squeezing her eyes shut in fear as her body quickly approached the ground, Riven found herself confused as instead of pain, two strong arms wrapped around her, successfully keeping her upright.

Had arms always been this comfortingly warm?

"Shh, you're gonna distract the kids." A gentle voice whispered from next to her.

Huh?

What did he mean by that? There were children here? And why was there no hostility in his voice? Wasn't he Ionian? And why the fuck was she blushing like a teenager just because the first thing she associated his scent with was 'manly'?!

Even more questions formed in her mind as she turned her head slightly to look at the person still holding her, spotting a young man with wild brown hair and a kind smile. Everything about him screamed nice and friendly, but that made absolutely no sense!

"You are still not fully healed yet, so you shouldn't move that much." He spoke up again, gently carrying her to the fire and laying her down next to it.

Riven just let him do that. Not because she couldn't do anything about it with her current state, but because the whole situation was just confusing and wrong. The man should be torturing her right now. He should be trying to extract information from her. Hell, he should be raping her right now!

…

Ok, that probably sounded wrong. But the fact remained that he should definitely not be so nice and caring! What in Targon's name was going on?!

One of her many questions were finally answered, because now that she was in a different spot, she could see the two unmoving people clearer, and sure enough, those were children sitting in a meditation pose, eyes closed and bodies still.

The answer to one question brought up another one though.

Why the fuck were kids in the Ionian army?

The man sat down next to her, and as if reading her thoughts, he started speaking quietly.

"You don't have to worry about us, we are not your enemy. We are just some travelers that happened to come across the battle site. My name is Narlou, nice to meet you."

The man gave her a radiating smile, almost lighting up the forest with how bright it was and Riven dared to give a shaky smile back, though her focus was on his words instead.

He didn't say it directly, but the meaning was still not lost to her. He had saved her.

But why?

Well, it didn't matter right now. If his words were to be believed, she did owe her life to the man, so she might as well be upfront about herself with him. The last thing she needed right now was this Narlou guy suspecting her because she was too prideful to answer.

Her voice was hoarse and quiet when she finally started speaking, but she still tried to answer as best as she could.

"I-I'm Riven. A champion of Nox- no. Just a champion."

She suddenly froze. In the weirdness of this situation, Riven had completely forgotten her popularity as a blessed person. Everybody knew the name 'Riven', whether they thought of the name as an ally or an enemy. And since Narlou was a wanderer in the forests of Ionia, there was an uncomfortably high chance of him being one of the people who associated her name with an enemy rather than a friend.

Her mind already went over ways to convince him to spare her, when she spotted the smile on his face widen even further.

"Riven… I've heard quite a bit about you. So, you left Noxus?" He asked with a voice full of curiosity and devoid of even the smallest bit of anger or hate.

Riven paused for a second as she comprehended his reaction.

"Y-you don't want to kill me?"

His eyes widened as if even being accused of such a thing was an insult.

"What?! No, I'm not gonna harm you unless you give me a reason to. The fact that you are a champion doesn't change that."

Riven couldn't stop the small blush from spreading on her face as silence settled over them. Not being judged for being a Champion? That certainly was a first.

"Sooo, did you leave Noxus?"

Her face went from blushing to scowling in less than a second as she was reminded of what had happened, though she quickly schooled her features before Narlou could interpret her expression wrongly.

"Yes, those bastards betrayed me. I should have known better."

It wasn't much, but he didn't ask any further questions which Riven was very grateful for. Before another round of silence could happen though, Riven decided to ask some questions on her own, wanting to know more about her savior.

"So, are you guys Ionians?"

He shook his head with amusement.

"I was originally from Noxus too, but I left the nation for personal reasons some time ago. I found these two during my travels, and we became close very quickly. One might even call us brothers. The left one is named Yasuo, and the right one Yone."

Now it was Riven's turn to smile at the fondness in Narlou's tone. He clearly cared a lot about the kids which already made him a good person in her book.

Speaking of them, both were becoming more restless, which Riven knew was a sign that they would stop meditating soon.

Narlou spoke up again, having noticed the movement too.

"Just to warn you, Yasuo is very energetic, so I apologize in advance if he annoys you."

Riven had to suppress a snort.

Not a second later the brothers opened their eyes, and the white-haired champion could immediately feel their eyes locked on her.

"Any success?"

The brothers silently shook their heads, still staring at her. The one Narlou called Yasuo opened his mouth to say something, but Narlou interrupted him before he could even say a single word.

'Quick reaction.' Riven noted with a small smirk.

"This is Riven, a champion. She was wounded and needed some help, so she's with us for the time being. Be nice to her."

"Riven? As in, Riven the Noxian general?!" Yasuo exclaimed as he jumped up in surprise, almost stumbling if not for the other kid quickly grabbing him and holding him up.

"Careful."

Riven watched curiously as Narlou chuckled, gesturing into her direction.

"Yes, that Riven. Don't worry though, she's not with the army anymore."

Riven found herself blushing again as Narlou's words registered into her mind. He was already so accepting of her situation, even going as far as to help her recover, and he barely even knew her. There might still be the possibility that he was just being nice because she was a champion, and he was hoping to gain something in return, but Riven didn't get that feeling from him at all.

"Are you stronger than her?" Riven quickly recognized the excited voice as Yasuo's, and she turned to look at Narlou's reaction as well, curious how he would answer.

"No, I would easily lose in a fight with her when she's at full strength."

Riven's respect for the man kept increasing at a fast pace. He knew that he was hopelessly outmatched, and yet he kept her around and made sure that she was healing properly.

"I know this might be sudden, but would you be willing to prove that once you are fully healed?" The calm voice of Yone asked, looking directly into her eyes.

"S-sure?" Riven asked unsurely. The kids had just accepted her into their little group, and all that was needed were a few words from Narlou. Just how much did the brothers respect him?

"Why don't we continue our talk tomorrow? You two seem tired and Riven over here is still healing."

Now that he mentioned it, she could feel exhaustion nibbling at her mind. The pain was really draining all her energy.

The brothers seemed to agree, because Yasuo let out a big yawn once Narlou stopped speaking, grabbing his brother in a big hug and pulling them both down onto the wet ground. Riven found the display of brotherly affection to be quite adorable.

"Good night." Was all Yone said, not bothered in the slightest by his brother's antics.

It took less than a minute for quiet snoring to be heard from the two, showing them to be fast asleep.

"Do you always sleep on the ground just like that?" Riven asked curiously, staring at the brothers cuddling together in their sleep with something akin to jealousy in her tired orange eyes.

Narlou chuckled, causing Riven to glance at him again with another light blush on her face. She just now realized that his voice was pretty damn pleasant to listen to.

"It's not like we want to sleep on the ground, we just don't have anywhere else to sleep."

Riven silently nodded, her eyelids becoming heavier as a comfortable silence fell between them. But before she fell asleep for good, she cracked an eyelid open to glance at Narlou.

"Thank you."

She didn't even hear his response as sleep finally took her, leaving Narlou alone as the last one awake.

He let a slight smile grace his lips as he watched the three sleep for a while. The wind, the animals who rose in the night and even the slight breathing from Riven and the brothers. Everything was peaceful. A wistful sigh escaped his mouth and he silently stood up, throwing one last glance at his sleeping companions. That had gone better that expected.

But there was no time for him to rest. He might have acted cool when Yasuo asked him if he could beat Riven, but the question had made him want to train again immediately. Sadly though, it would be almost useless to try and train his body with just his own weight. So, he made the decision to focus solely on controlling his mana better.

Narlou practiced his mana control all night long, slowly but surely becoming better at keeping the corruption at bay and gaining 6 points in the Mind stat. He only went to catch some sleep when the sun was already rising again, though he was already up before anyone else.

Morning exercise, no matter the impact on his stats, was important after all.

Riven awoke with a start, her eyes snapping open and her body jumping up, ready to fight, only to realize that there was no enemy. Her sleep-clouded mind slowly cleared up and Riven found herself standing in the middle of a small clearing next to a burned-out fire. The beautiful and cloudless blue sky smiled back at her as she stared up at it and Riven lowered her head to look around.

"Good morning." Narlou said once their eyes met, another one of his bright smiles on his face.

Riven could only stare as said man was doing pushups without a shirt on, exposing his lean body to the world. His defined muscles were glistening under a thin sheen of sweat that covered them, giving him a glow that made it look as if he was a mystical creature as the rising sun shone its rays on them.

She quickly coughed and looked away to hide her blush from Narlou. She had seen plenty of men's upper body during her time as a general in the army, but none of them were quite as perfect as Narlou's. His body was exactly her type, not too bulky and not too thin, and though she would never say it out loud, she found the many scars on his body to only add to his appeal.

Riven had always been a sucker for that.

"Good m-morning." She hastily stuttered out a reply, having remembered the basics of human conversations.

Narlou must have noticed her slight stutter, because a small blush crept onto his face as well.

"I can put my shirt back on if it makes you uncomfortable."

Riven immediately shook her head.

"NO! I-I mean, n-no need to! I don't mind."

"Ahh, alright then."

Riven thanked the heavens for not ruining this once in a lifetime chance of watching a man with such a body train without a shirt on as silence settled over them. She eventually sat down again, with the silence only occasionally being broken by Narlou's huffing from his exercise.

"Are the kids not here?" Riven eventually asked, having finally noticed their absence.

Narlou's body was just too distracting.

"They went on a run." He answered shortly, doing one last pushup before he stopped with his exercise.

Riven watched with a continuously reddening face as he stood up to approach her. She could see every tiny muscle movement that followed every breath, she could spot every single drop of sweat rolling down his broad chest and she could see his perfectly shaped sixpack in all its manly glory.

She bit her lip to keep herself from salivating at the sight.

"How are you feeling?" He finally asked as he plopped down in front of her, successfully breaking her out of her daydream.

It was a simple question, but Riven found herself appreciating his concern, nonetheless. Her body seemed to agree too based on the warmth spreading through her chest.

"S-surprisingly well. I guess the Champion's blessing is not only good for fighting." Riven replied, stretching her body to show that her back was really healed.

She did not notice Narlou sneaking a glance at her chest during the motion.

"That's g-great to hear! So, what are your plans now that you have completely healed?"

Riven looked up in surprise. She had not expected him to give her a choice like that without at least trying to keep her with them. She was a champion after all and having a champion as a bodyguard was not something that many people could brag about.

"I'm going to stay with you guys of course. How could I not after you saved my life?" Riven said as if it was obvious, taking some pleasure in seeing Narlou's eyes light up.

"You don't have to if you don't want to. But we would of course be very happy to accept you into our little traveling group!"

Riven smiled at his consideration, but her mind was already set. Plus, there was nowhere to go anyways, and she would rather kill herself than go back to the Noxians. The incidence had made her realize the true nature of Noxus, and while she did love fighting, she did certainly not love killing innocent people, which was exactly what she had done during the war. Her thirst for battle had taken over her mind, and now she was paying the price in form of regret and hate for herself.

"Ah right, I almost forgot." Narlou said as he summoned her sword from thin air and placed it in front of her.

Riven just stared at him with wide eyes, not knowing whether to thank him for getting her sword or asking how the fuck he summoned it out of nowhere. So, she just did both.

"Thank you so much! But how the fuck did you do that? If you don't mind me asking, of course!" She hastily added, hoping that she was not stepping over the line. Everyone had their secrets, after all.

Narlou just looked with a confused expression for a moment, before his eyes lit up with understanding and a hand went up to his head, rubbing the back of it in embarrassment.

Riven found the combination of his blushing face and his still naked upper body surprisingly cute.

"Err, magic?"

The woman let out a barking laugh. Of course, it was magic, what else could do that.

"Don't worry, you don't have to tell me. Everyone has their secrets."

Narlou just nodded thankfully.

A minute of comfortable silence fell between the two, before Riven suddenly started speaking again.

"You must be hungry after the workout. Do you want me to go hunt something for us?"

Narlou just gave her a silent smirk, causing Riven to quirk an eyebrow.

"-bigger! How can you not see that?!"

"Yasuo, I know you've never been the smartest guy, but to think that you also can't see the facts when they are right in front of you just shows how truly low your intelligence is."

"Hmpf! We'll see about that. I'm sure Narlou will agree with me."

"Sure he will."

The two arguing brothers arrived in front of them, both holding up a small animal that were the same size by the looks of it.

"Narlou! My animal is bigger than Yone's right? Right?!"

The older man had to hold back a chuckle as Yasuo's eyes looked suspiciously like a hurt animal.

"Why don't you fight it out like you always do?" he said in an amused voice, grabbing the two animals from the kids' hands.

"You're on! Let's go Yone!" Yasuo shouted, dragging a determined looking Yone a bit away from them.

"That's what we are going to eat." Narlou answered as he reignited the fire with two sticks, a certain smug tone in his voice.

Riven laughed out loud again.

"So, you are just letting the kids hunt for you."

"Yep! Saves lots of time, trust me." Narlou answered with humor, only causing Riven's smile to widen.

It was surprisingly easy for her to joke around with him, which was something that couldn't be said about any other person she had met so far.

Even Fren, a person she had known for years had not been able to make her feel that comfortable. Thinking about Fren made her feel sad though, so she quickly discarded that thought. She should not compare anyone to another person.

With a shake of her head, the white-haired woman silently turned to watch the kids battle some distance away from them as they waited for the food to finish, the brothers' swords gliding through the wind at fearsome speeds. She had to admit, they were very good. At least for their age.

She spotted Narlou staring at her from the corner of her eyes, and she turned to look at him with a slight questioning tilt of her head.

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but would you be willing to help them with swordsmanship? You are obviously very talented with it, and I can't be much help to them since I don't use swords. You can of course decline if you don't want to."

The request was something that Riven had not expected, but it was also not something that she was opposed to. In fact, she found herself enjoying the thought of training two talented young swordsmen.

Helping them also meant that she could grant Narlou's wish, which was a good start for repaying the debt that she had towards the young man for saving her live.

"I'd love to. They are quite talented, and to have learned wind enhancement magic at such a young age is definitely impressive."

"Well, that's the thing. They have not yet unlocked their mana. It's the sword style that utilizes wind magic."

Riven stared at him for a second before turning back to the fight, and sure enough, there was no hint of mana coming off of their bodies. It all came from the surrounding Nature.

It looked scarily similar to her own sword style.

"That actually makes things much easier for me. I also have a sword technique that utilizes wind magic without me having to use magic."

"Really? You are amazing! You'd be the perfect teacher for them!"

Riven nodded, trying her best to not look into his direction. Her face was beet red.

Had she already mentioned that she was a sucker for compliments?

"Let's not talk about training for now though, the food is almost ready."

He waved the brothers back to them, and together, they ate what the kids had hunted while chattering about different things, and for the first time since she had joined the army, Riven felt a peace.