I awoke in a daze, momentarily not recalling the events of the previous day. Drowsily, I yawned and snuggled deeper into my fluffy blanket as sunlight shined through the window. It was then that the blanket started to move with a life of its own. Alerted, I jotted back my memory and remembered Runeterra, Ahri. The events all came flooding back to me, and I recalled my current predicament.
Ahri was asleep in bed next to me, her tails wrapped tightly around me, keeping me warm through the chilly night's air. Her reassuring warmth almost put my consciousness to sleep once again.
"This was quite comfortable." I thought to myself. At that moment, I never wanted to get up. I just wanted to live forever in this moment, and enjoy the warmth that I've lacked in the bleakness of my homeworld.
Another ten minutes passed, before Ahri's tails started to move more aggressively. Besides me, Ahri yawned before stretching and opening her gold colored eyes, which were simply mesmerizing to look at like a pearl of solid gold in the ocean. When she saw me, she smiled before stretching her arms around me, pulling me into a tight hug while using her chin to slowly rub against my forehead.
I purred sleepily, before slowly starting to struggle as Ahri's tight embrace became too warm for my liking, slowly suffocating me in heat.
"Please let me go, Ahri." I whimpered as I desperately attempted to break free from her grasp.
"Hehe." Ahri giggled as she slightly loosened her hold on me.
"But what if I don't want to?" She drawled seductively as she rubbed her face against mine. "It's so comfortable isn't it?"
I blushed, before helplessly staring up at her with big pleading eyes. Ahri laughed good naturally, before patting my head and finally unwrapping her tails and arms from my body to let me get up.
Getting dressed, I ran downstairs into the cabin and prepared for the new day. My clothes were dirty and ripped from my previous dash through the woods, so Ahri had lent me some of her spare wardrobe. Why did she keep male clothing around the house? I didn't ask.
Strolling down the stairs towards me, Ahri ascended elegantly in her usual attire. Her nine tails stood lazily behind her and her yellow eyes blazed vividly in the sunlight. She wore a slightly revealing pair of red and white robes with numerous trinkets and patterns of a variety of colors scattered across it, and had a pair of matching red and white boots to finish the scene.
"Hungry?" She asked kindly, as she heard my stomach growl. "My apologies. Aside from small snacks, I often refrain from keeping mortal foods in the house. I mostly sustain myself with life essence you see."
Seeing me tremble uncomfortably at the mention of this, she quickly patted my head gently and told me I had nothing to worry about.
"Anyhow, now that you are with me, let's get you a meal." She drawled. "I haven't had real food in a while anyway. Stay here little one."
With that, Ahri ran gracefully out of the cabin, past the lake, into the woods where I had first met her.
In the forest, Ahri carefully sniffed the air for the scent of prey. The scent of a wild deer caught her attention, and she quickly summoned her orb of deception to launch at her prey if she were to find it. The orb of deception was a sphere of pure energy in which contained the essence of the many men who were unfortunate enough to cross her path, and it sparked an awe-inspiring shade of blue in the morning sunlight. She could both attack with it in combat to burn through her enemies, as well as heal herself or others with it's spirit magic when needed.
Carefully, she followed the scent of her prey using the wild instincts of a fox. She soon arrived stealthily in a clearing where she saw the deer grazing in the open. With a yell, Ahri spirit-rushed towards the deer and sent her orb at the animal, which responded with a panicked yelp before the orb of exception seared its flesh, putting an end to its life. She knelt before the animal, making a sign of respect before grabbing ahold of the deer and dragging it back towards the cabin.
Back at the cabin, I paced around the room, waiting for Ahri's return. As much as I had wanted to leave the cabin and roam the wild, I knew quite well the dangers of Runeterra. A stray beast could easily kill me.
Hearing footsteps, I glanced out the doorway to see Ahri effortlessly dragging a deer towards the cabin. She placed the deer near a pit dug into the earth by the lake, and twirled to summon fox fires. The fox fires leaped into the pit, which immediately burst into a roaring bonfire before slowly settling down to a warm welcoming flame.
"Wentao!" Ahri sang, and I left the cabin to join her outside.
"Wow! You are incredibly strong!" I marveled at the fact that she had single handedly dragged an entire deer back to the cabin while barely breaking a sweat.
"Awww." Ahri laughed. "I am able to draw power from the Spirit Realm. It allows me to use my magic."
I then looked over towards the dead deer, and flinched. Having lived in the more urban areas of the city, I had never actually seen a large dead animal up close before.
"Now, this might just be a tad bit too bloody for you, but a fox needs to learn to prepare its own food." Ahri told me, as she took out some cooking utensils from the cabin. "I'm going to show you how to prepare meat fresh from the wild."
"Thank you Ahri." I replied, to which Ahri gently patted my back with one of her tails.
Together, we prepared, skinned, and separated the edible sections of the deer from the non-edible sections. Ahri taught me how to hold a knife, cut into a carcress, and to tell which parts were edible and which weren't. We finished cutting up the meat into smaller pieces on a large rock nearby, before plucking a couple of them onto a stick and roasting them over the blooming flame. At last, we salted the leftovers to preserve the rest for later.
While waiting for the food to cook, Ahri and I lay together in a glade near the lake and we discussed each of our own individual histories. Although I was sure Ahri could simply examine my soul and memories to glean any information she exceptionally wanted, it made me feel better about my predicament to talk about my past, my home world. Being the caring and wise person she was, I was certain Ahri had planned this on purpose.
Ahri was a great listener. She teased me lightly on past mistakes, reassured me when I was in doubt, and provided me with wise insights on decisions I had made. To her, I entrusted my deepest secrets, my darkest fears, and my most humiliating experiences. I took off the many masks I wore in public, and revealed to her my true self within. When it all became too much, the tears began to drip and she let me cry freely on her shoulders, all the while gently patting me and telling me that everything was going to be okay. When I finished, I felt like a new man. The burdens that once weighed me down were gone, and I looked into the future not with the remorse of my past, but with the wisdom it left behind.
"Thank you so much Ahri." I told her, as I wiped away the tears and the grief each drop held with it. "I never realized how much I needed to tell someone all this."
"Thank you Wentao, for sharing." Ahri replied, and smiled. "It takes great strength to review and come to terms with your past, both your triumphs and regrets. You were extraordinarily brave to share your thoughts with me. Now turn that frown upside down. The food is done cooking. Let's go eat."
We each took a piece of meat from the pit, and bit into it. The meat was simple, pure, yet delicious, and drops of it's oil dripped into the grass. I savored the taste of each bite, before finally finishing my meal.
"How was it?" Ahri inquired, while putting her stick away.
"It was great." I replied happily. "I love your cooking, Ahri."
"You're sweet." Ahri replied, before patting my head.
After we finished eating, Ahri took me sightseeing after filling a bottle with fresh water from the lake, explaining it was important I knew my way around the area in case I got lost. We hiked past the lake, into the woods, and up a nearby mountain. Ahri stopped to let me catch my breath each time I became tired, and told me the history and stories of the lands on which we hiked during our trip.
"You are currently in Ionia," Ahri explained, "The First Lands of Runeterra. It is a land of both magic and wonders, and it is home to a great variety of species of both plants and wildlife."
She told me more about the geography of Ionia, and Runeterra in general, most of which I knew since I was somewhat associated with League of Legends lore. To summarize, Ionia was an island of magic off the coast of the mainland, with plentiful amounts of hidden magical artifacts from back when the land was created. It also possessed an extremely close connection with the spirit realm, which was basically a world of magic that coexisted with Runeterra.
We arrived at the summit of the mountain, which overlooked a vast portion of Ionia that spanned all the way towards the ocean. At the mountain's foot, lay our cabin beside the small lake, surrounded on all four sides by vast forests. Rivers streamed from and into the lake, and I was able to make out the place where I first arrived in Runeterra.
Far away, most likely tens of miles from where we stood, I spotted a place of destruction, fires and smoke, as if it was a mini-warzone.
"And then," Ahri whispered softly, noticing my gaze. "The Noxians came. They are a brutal nation that wants and respects only power. They've come in an attempt to expand their territory as well as to search for magical artifacts."
I nodded, knowing all too well of the Noxian's brute and savage ways.
"How is the invasion looking?" I asked, slightly trembling at the thought of the Noxians.
"Fortunately, we currently have the upper hand. Ionia has a home turf advantage." Ahri replied with an assuring smile, before wrapping a few of her tails protectively around me. "But don't worry little one. They won't hurt you. Not on my watch."
"Thank you Ahri." I told her, as I comfortably rubbed my head on her tails. "For caring about me when no one else does."
We spent some more time observing the land around us, and Ahri pointed out a few important landmarks to me. I saw the far away village close to the front lines of battle, which Ahri had told me was named Wuju. A jagged cliff that held a circular structure within was identified by Ahri to be the Sett's arena.
After that, Ahri and I packed up our things and descended once again towards the cabin at the mountain's foot. Once we got home, Ahri took out some of the meat we had preserved earlier, and we had a simple yet hearty dinner.
At the day's end, Ahri took me outside to watch the beautiful Runeterrian sunset as we roasted marsh-mellos over the fire pit. She told me Ionian legends, both delightful and dark, until at last the world was drowned in the darkness of night.
For hours, we looked up into the night sky and admired the stars. The flickering flames kept our feet warm from the cool night air. Each star sparkled with a light undiminishable by the darkness surrounding it. Ahri then led me back into the cabin, up the stairs, into the bedroom where we sipped some fresh water from the lake, before at last getting into bed. Ahri strapped her arms and tails around me, and I drifted into a deep sleep.
"Sleep well Wetao." Ahri whispered. "Everything will be alright."
And with that, she too, fell asleep.
Alright guys, done world building. Feel free to leave a comment whenever! Plot starting next chapter.