Valor had been furious with her. He'd already been unhappy with her decision to go drinking with the Noxian, but then she didn't come back when she'd said she would. Of course, she'd received a stern scolding from him, which involved severely loud squawking and a few irritated nips at her shoulders. Quinn apologized and explained that some things had come up, to which Valor angrily pulled at her hair with his beak. She assured him it wouldn't happen again and the two hastily returned to Demacia.
It'd been a couple of weeks since her encounter with Talon and she was unable to think of anything else. Jarvan had insisted she take some time off, saying that she seemed to be acting strangely and the rest would do her good. Quinn preferred being out of the kingdom's walls, away from all the people who judged and questioned her, but she couldn't disobey the prince's orders. She decided to take a walk near the training grounds in order to inspect the new recruits they'd recently received and hopefully distract herself from thoughts of a certain Noxian. Valor tagged along, perching himself comfortably on her shoulder.
There were a few dozen new recruits, all young and bright-eyed, determined to bring justice to Demacia. They reminded Quinn of herself, full of hope and excitement. But they were being trained by Garen, so she knew that fire in their hearts would soon be extinguished.
She had nothing against Garen – he was an accomplished fighter and Jarvan trusted him with his life. But he'd always been a stickler for rules and disapproved of Quinn's unorthodox methods. In turn, Quinn wasn't his biggest fan and Valor had no respect for him, constantly telling jokes about him to Quinn, which she enjoyed with only the smallest pang of guilt.
"Quinn!"
She turned her head surprised, as most people tended to avoid her and would avoid starting a conversation with her if possible. She had a feeling it was because she spoke to Valor, but they were probably just jealous.
A familiar young woman waved at her as she ran closer, a smile on her face. Quinn couldn't help but smile back. Lux was probably the closest thing she had to a friend aside from Jarvan, so her company was often appreciated, though sometimes her blind optimism could become annoying.
"Lux," Quinn replied, "Nice to see you."
Valor squawked a greeting as well. He too enjoyed Lux's company, mainly because she always showered him with affection.
Lux trotted up to them, immediately reaching up to scratch Valor under his chin and earning a coo of happiness from the eagle as he stretched his neck out to allow for more affection.
"Valor's happy to see you," Quinn remarked.
"And I'm happy to see him!" Lux replied with a giggle, "Though I thought you two would've left for another mission by now."
"Jarvan's having us stay in Demacia a little longer. Says we need to rest."
Lux's brows furrowed in concern.
"Did something happen on your last trip?" she asked.
"No!" Quinn said a little too quickly.
Of course, she couldn't tell Lux what had happened with Talon; sure, they were sort of friends, but if she told anyone that she had slept with a Noxian she was sure it would find its way back to Jarvan and she'd be executed immediately.
Lux noticed Quinn's rushed response, but decided not to press the matter further.
"So, what are you doing over here?" Lux asked, "I thought you tried to avoid my brother as much as possible."
Quinn looked away in embarrassment.
"It's ok, you're not the only one," Lux assured with a laugh.
"Just came by to see how the new recruits are doing," Quinn answered as she turned to look back at Lux.
The blonde nodded and looked over at the men her brother was instructing, disappointed to see that they were merely going over strategies and nothing of interest.
"You seem distracted," Lux commented, "Something on your mind?"
"No, I…" Quinn started.
"Is it a guy?" Lux asked.
The scout was immediately caught off guard, and bit her lip nervously, looking away and trying to make up some kind of excuse.
"I knew it!" Lux practically squealed, "Who is he? Is he one of the new recruits? Is that why you're here?"
"What? No! Of course not!" Quinn spat out.
She'd been trying to avoid thinking about Talon and now all she could see was his face, his bright eyes staring at her with a darkness that both thrilled and terrified her.
Dammit Lux.
"I met him on a mission," Quinn muttered, "Please don't say anything to His Majesty…"
"On a mission! How romantic! Where?"
Lux's eyes sparkled with curiosity and wonder. As far as Quinn knew, Lux had never left Demacia, her brother refusing to let her leave. It was kind of sad, Quinn thought, to have never been out of these walls, to have never seen what the rest of Runeterra had to offer. Maybe one day, Garen would grow a heart and let her go, but Quinn didn't see that happening anytime soon.
"It's nothing, please don't make this a big deal…" Quinn begged.
"I'm sorry, it's just… you're the last person I would expect to be distracted by a crush."
Quinn wasn't sure if that was an insult or not, but she didn't care. She just wanted to get as far away from Lux as quickly as possible.
"Yes, that's all it is," Quinn replied, "Just a silly crush. I'll get over it in no time."
Lux wasn't stupid; she could tell that Quinn was hiding something. But they weren't super close and she didn't want to pry into the older girl's love life when she was trying so desperately to avoid it. She'd hoped that maybe they could talk about their crushes together (that was something girls did with their friends, right? Lux didn't have many friends so she wasn't sure) but maybe they could another time, when Quinn was more accepting of her feelings.
"I have to go," Quinn said quickly, already walking away as fast as she could without looking suspicious.
"Oh, okay! I'll see you later, Quinn! Valor!" Lux called out.
Valor squawked back happily, but Quinn merely raised a hand in acknowledgment, painfully aware of the heat that was crawling up her face.
Dammit, why did Lux have to bring that up? Was she that perceptive or was she just being curious? Regardless, it had stirred up memories of Talon that Quinn had been trying to repress. That stupid smirk of his and the way it made her melt. Damn him!
Quinn had run off towards the forest that surrounded a large portion of the royal grounds, a place that she went to often. It reminded her of home, in Uwendale, where everything was so much simpler and she and Caleb would play amongst the trees and use branches as their swords when they fought. She made it to a tree much larger than the rest and leaned against its trunk, sighing deeply.
A concerned Valor called out to her, nuzzling the side of her face gently. The scout smiled and reached up to pet him reassuringly.
"Sorry, Val," she sighed, "I just got… overwhelmed. Thinking about him…"
The eagle made a small noise of disapproval, but continued to nuzzle her. Despite his distaste for the Noxian, he was truly worried about his partner.
"I'll be alright," she assured, "I just… do you think he meant what he said? About… continuing what happened that night?"
Valor was quick to disagree since no Noxian ever kept their word.
"You're right," she admitted, "I don't know what I –"
She reached for her crossbow, grateful that she'd brought it with her. There had definitely been a sound, one that wasn't from her or Valor. It was faint, but she was certain she'd heard a twig snap. Valor quickly stood alert, listening carefully as his eyes scanned the branches above.
They were both silent, steadying their hearts and waiting for any other sort of sign. Moments passed without any activity and Quinn slowly began to put her crossbow down. She was clearly paranoid, hearing things and thinking that there was someone else here with her. Her eyes fell to her feet, looking to see if perhaps she had been the one to step on a twig and scare herself. How embarrassing that would be. But there was nothing.
"I'm losing it," she muttered.
She looked back up, only to find a woman standing directly in front of her, almost as if she had teleported to the spot.
"Boo," she said in a rather monotone voice.
Quinn gasped and Valor, who had flown up into the trees to investigate, screeched angrily as he flew back down to Quinn as quickly as possible. But he was too late. The woman had already pushed Quinn into the tree and had a knife to her throat. Valor came to a halt at the nearest branch, screeching again, but not wanting to get closer and risk Quinn getting hurt.
The woman was striking, with fiery red hair and a long scar that ran over her left eye. She was clad in tight black clothes, her midriff exposed to reveal a distinctly Noxian looking tattoo. Shit.
"You're not far from Demacian training grounds," Quinn said through gritted teeth, "All I have to do is scream and there will be dozens of soldiers on their way to kill you."
"Oh, target practice," the woman said coyly, "Sounds like fun."
Her cockiness was infuriating and Quinn was livid that she'd allowed herself to be so distracted to get caught off guard like this.
"What do you want?" Quinn spat.
Before the woman could respond, another voice called out from behind.
"That's enough, Kat. I'll deal with this one."
Quinn's heart jumped up into her throat. A familiar figure came up behind the redhead and brandished the oversized blade on his arm.
"Let me have my fun," the woman whined.
"I don't think he'd be happy to see you if you just killed one of his comrades," Talon answered.
The woman rolled her eyes in annoyance, removing the blade from Quinn's neck, only for Talon's to replace it. He placed his hand against the tree and leaned closer to her. That damn hood covered his eyes, but she could see the devilish grin on his lips and was at a loss for words.
"Finish her quickly," the woman said as she began to leave, "We don't have much time."
"Then you better get started," Talon replied, still looking at Quinn, "I'm sure he's waiting for you."
The woman scowled and ran off, leaving the two alone. A few moments passed before Talon sighed heavily, pulling the blade back ever so slightly. Valor noticed and prepared himself to attack if he let his guard down. That blade was gigantic and he didn't want it anywhere near Quinn, but he couldn't attack with it still so close to her neck.
"What are you doing here?" he finally asked.
"I should ask you the same thing," she hissed, "If you're gonna kill me, do it already."
He was quiet for a moment before laughing, though Quinn wasn't sure what was so funny.
"I'm not going to kill you," he said through his laughter, "Why is that the first thing you assume?"
"The blade to my neck is a good starting point."
"Fair enough."
He turned to look at Valor, who was leaning closer and closer, wings open and ready to take off.
"I'm not gonna hurt her," he said, "So I need you to not attack me. Alright?"
The eagle made an angry hissing noise and ruffled his feathers, opening his wings wider. Talon sighed and looked back at Quinn.
"Can you stop him from gouging my eyes out?" Talon asked, "I have a feeling he's only gonna listen to you."
Quinn still couldn't see his eyes and wasn't sure if she could trust him. This was the man she'd slept with and had been thinking about nonstop as of late, but she knew better than to pretend he was innocent.
"Take off your hood," she instructed.
Talon snorted, not sure what good that would do, but obliged, reaching up with his blade free hand and pulling the hood back. He looked the same as she had remembered, amber eyes burning as he raised an eyebrow.
"Better?" he asked teasingly.
"Yes," Quinn choked out, "Now… now look me in the eyes and tell me you're being honest. Otherwise I'll have Val rip your throat out."
He smirked, admiring the bold threat. It was stupid of her to think that this would prove his honesty, he thought. But if that's what it took to avoid death by bird, then he didn't have any other option. His eyes locked onto hers and she trembled slightly, though not out of fear.
"Demacians are so obsessed with keeping their word. But fine, I'm not going to hurt you. Or kill you."
Dammit. She could tell he was telling the truth. She had half-wished that he'd been lying so she could just have Valor kill him and not have to deal with him ever again. But that'd be too easy.
"Stand down, Valor," she said softly.
The bird looked to his partner wearily, squawking at her to see if she was certain.
"Trust me, Val."
With a disgruntled squawk, the eagle sat down, bringing his wings in slowly as his eyes carefully watched Talon's blade.
Quinn and Talon stared at each other for a moment, and she suddenly wondered if she'd misjudged him. But the feel of cold steel against her neck disappeared, Talon bringing his arm down to his side. He looked to Valor and gestured to the blade, assuring him that he wasn't going to do anything. Valor just continued to stare at him, untrusting. Talon rolled his eyes and looked back at Quinn.
"Nice to see you again, birdie," he teased, "It's been a while."
"Who was that woman?" Quinn asked, turning to look in the direction the redhead from earlier had gone in.
"Hmm? Oh, Kat?" he replied, "She's with me."
"Kat? As in Katarina Du Couteau?"
"The one and only. I'll let her know that her reputation precedes her."
He stepped back, allowing Quinn to step away from the tree she had been so uncomfortably pushed against.
"What's she doing here? And with you?"
"Noxian stuff," he answered curtly, "Getting intel. She's currently providing a distraction. I always have to do the dirty work myself. So, I should get going –"
He started to follow the same path as Katarina, but came to a stop when a very angry Quinn jumped in front of him.
"You're sneaking into Demacia for intel?" she nearly screamed.
"Uh, yeah? It's kind of what I do. No need to be a hypocrite, birdie."
Quinn glared at him, her hands balling into fists. Of course, he was right. They were both spies and that's what spies did, but now that they'd slept together it was a bit more complicated.
"You said Katarina's causing a distraction," Quinn said, "What… what kind of distraction?"
"She's not murdering your men, if that's what you're asking," Talon replied, "She has a thing with one of your commanders. Big guy, kinda like a mountain? He's always with your prince, looks like he has a stick up his ass."
As amusing as his description of Garen was, Quinn couldn't wrap her head around what he was saying.
"Garen? A thing with…? What do you mean a thing?"
"They fuck. A lot."
She was caught off guard by the abrupt answer, had opened her mouth to speak, but it clamped shut quickly. Talon snorted in amusement.
"Doesn't seem like the dirty, Noxian-fucker kinda guy, does he?" he asked.
"Not really," Quinn admitted, "He and I don't get along very well…"
"Well now you two have something in common that you can bond over."
Quinn raised a brow confused and Talon sighed, gesturing to himself.
"You're both dirty Noxian-fuckers now."
Her face burned as she glared at him, feeling the heat rise to her ears as he laughed at her reaction.
"Shut up!" she snapped, "You're making all that up about Garen, for all I know."
"Tell yourself that. But, I have been wondering…"
He stepped closer and brought his face to her ear, which felt like it was on fire at this point.
"Have you considered my proposition from our last meeting?" he asked in a sultry whisper.
Quinn felt her knees buckle beneath her. Of course she had, that's all she'd been able to think about whenever she'd forget to act like that situation had never happened. She bit her lip to prevent herself from saying anything because she knew if she spoke she'd tell him the truth. And the truth was that she did want to take him up on his offer. She'd been alone for so long and she craved the intimate human interaction he provided her.
There was suddenly a nip at her ear and she couldn't help but let out something that sounded like a mix between a gasp and moan, much to Talon's pleasure. He'd grown impatient with her and decided that a bite would bring her back to reality. It certainly did, and judging by the sound she made, she enjoyed it.
"Fuck," Quinn hissed under her breath.
"Is that a yes?"
The Demacian fidgeted nervously, her breathing quickening as she realized that his mouth hadn't moved from her ear. Truthfully, she did want this. She wanted Talon to take her and give her the affection she so desperately desired, but she wouldn't let him break her so easily.
"Right here?" she asked, taking a deep breath, "Thought you had some intel to gather."
"Believe me, I'd much rather have sex than go looking for some stupid papers."
He could tell she was conflicted by her lack of a direct response, so he decided that perhaps she needed a little bit of convincing. He bit the lobe of her ear, harder this time, and she moaned helplessly, her knees shaking.
"I'll just tell Kat I couldn't find shit," he murmured, "Come on, I bet there's somewhere we could…"
Quinn had to do something. She was melting in the palm of his hands and had to act quickly if she wanted to keep some of her dignity. His teasing had proven effective, so she decided to use his own weapon against him.
"I don't know," she finally managed to say, "I'm not even sure if you're any good or not."
Talon pulled back abruptly, standing straight and stiff as he looked at her confused, quirking an eyebrow at her remark.
"Really?" he asked.
Quinn nodded, a smirk forming on her lips. It worked! She'd caught him in his own trap. Now she just needed to figure out how to get out of the same trap herself.
"I mean, I don't remember anything," she continued, "Sounds like it was a pretty forgettable experience."
Talon didn't seem to like that. His brows furrowed together and he pointed his finger in her face accusingly.
"Hey, it was you who was screaming my name the whole time!" he snarled.
"Huh, you'd think I'd remember something like that. Funny, isn't it?"
Quinn could practically see the smoke coming from his ears. Good. She knew how much men valued their ability to pleasure a woman and it was clear that Talon was no different. The jabs at his ego would not go unnoticed.
He reached out and grabbed her biceps, pulling her close with more force than Quinn thought necessary.
"Guess I'll just have to remind you," he growled.
Before Quinn could try to make another snide remark, Talon had crashed their lips together and squeezed her arms so tightly that she could feel his nails digging into her skin. And damn him for it, because it felt amazing and she couldn't stop herself from moaning into his kiss.
It was short lived, as a very angry and somewhat jealous Valor screeched and soared from the branch to put a stop to this. He reached for Talon's hair with his own talons and forcefully yanked back, causing the Noxian to cry out in shock.
"Son of a bitch!" he roared, reaching up to try and strangle the damn bird.
Quinn watched in surprise, never expecting Valor to be the jealous type. She couldn't help but giggle at Talon's desperate attempts to get the eagle off of him, but was quickly silenced when he shot her a particularly enraged death glare.
"A little help?" Talon snapped, "This damn thing is – ow!"
"Hmm, I didn't hear a please," Quinn taunted.
Valor squawked in amusement; he'd stopped pulling as violently, but he still had a firm grip on the assassin's hair. Talon's eyes burned with frustration and tried to smack the bird away again, only to receive a firm tug at his hair.
"I swear, if you don't get this thing off me –"
"Hmm, sorry what was that? I noticed a distinct lack of a certain word."
"Quinn!"
A chill shot up the Demacian's spine. He'd never addressed her by her name before. And to hear it now, in that low growl with those burning eyes on her, she became unusually nervous.
"That's enough, Val," she said meekly, unsure of why she suddenly felt so exposed.
Valor made a low sound of displeasure, but ultimately listened to his partner and released his prisoner, flying back to the branch he'd previously been on to preen.
Talon reached up and rubbed at his scalp, muttering something under his breath that Quinn was pretty sure involved multiple curses, some of which she wasn't sure she'd ever heard.
"The hell was that for?" he hissed.
"I don't think he likes you," Quinn replied, "Don't take it personally though. He doesn't like any Noxians."
Valor squawked in agreement and nodded before returning back to pick at his feathers, worried that Talon might have messed them up somehow with his filthy Noxian hands.
"Little shit," Talon muttered.
Valor just continued to preen, only offering a noncommittal huff when Talon swore at him.
"I'd say that he's sorry, but I'd be lying," Quinn admitted.
To be honest, Quinn was pretty sure that Valor wanted to inflict even more pain on Talon, but he didn't need to know that.
"Well, perhaps we should meet without a certain animal in our way."
The eagle squawked indignantly and looked back at Talon, narrowing his eyes and preparing to make another assault on the assassin's hair.
"That sounds like an invitation for you to murder me," Quinn said flatly.
Talon rolled his eyes and stepped closer to Quinn again, careful not to actually touch her or else that damn bird would be on him again.
"Killing you would be a waste," he said under his breath, "I have… other plans."
Quinn bit down on her cheek and averted her gaze, pretending not to notice that Talon's face was inching closer to hers.
"You interested?" he asked, "It's kind of something that takes two people…"
This was a bad idea. A really bad idea.
Talon's hand lingered towards her waist and she swore she could felt something like a spark of electricity between his fingertips and her waist.
She hated that she wanted this, needed this. She'd been without intimacy for far too long and now there was someone willing to give it to her. But for it to be her enemy, the man she was supposed to kill… It only added to the thrill.
"What'd you have in mind?" she finally asked, turning her head back to meet his gaze.
A devilish grin crawled on his lips and the low chuckle that escaped them caused Quinn to shudder.
"Remember where we went last time?"
The Demacian could only nod, her throat suddenly dry. Of course she remembered, how could she forget? It wasn't exactly close though; it would take her a day or two to get there since it was on the outskirts of Noxus.
Talon leaned in closer, his lips brushing her ear as he spoke.
"Meet me there in three days… midnight. Same room. I'll be waiting."
Quinn's throat tightened as she felt his hand rest on her waist for just a moment, gone as suddenly as it had appeared.
It took a moment for her to find words, but by the time she could speak he was gone. Valor squawked and gestured towards the direction he'd gone – away from Demacia. Apparently, he still planned on lying to Katarina about finding intel. Quinn wasn't sure if it was out of thoughtfulness for her or if he simply wanted to get back to Noxus as quickly as possible. Perhaps he wanted to prepare for their meeting.
Valor flew from his branch to land on Quinn's shoulder, rubbing his face against her cheek and cooing lovingly. Her hand naturally went up to pet him reassuringly, giving him a few quick scratches on the top of his head.
"Well," she sighed as she looked to Valor, "What could go wrong?"
Author's Note: Long chapter is long. Well we've reached the point where I am now in the process of writing more and don't have a bunch of chapters backed up, meaning updates will take more than a day, hope you can forgive me. I love all the positive feedback and I'm glad you guys are enjoying the fic! Til next time.