Act 1, Chapter 1:
Veigar, from the day he had first come to, was a little bit different from the other yordles in Bandle City. With scruffy, coal-colored fur and big, beady yellow eyes, he didn't quite fit in with the bubbly, pastel complexion of other yordle children. He was naturally scrawny, and his affinity with magic was poor. Just about every feature that lay present in Veigar was considered unappealing in the yordle culture. By the time he was known by many of his peers, he had unwillingly adopted the nickname, "Black Cat". Go near him, and you'll get bad luck, is what the other kids would utter behind his back.
But he didn't mind, because they just didn't understand that he was special; he was the only one who knew that. His parents had made sure to tell him that every day before he left for schooling, but they didn't understand either. That was naught but the patronizing of a pitying caretaker. Veigar was the only one who understood what made him special. Because while the other yordles idolized those who had left the city for greater purpose among the physical plane of Runeterra, he knew better; he knew that their heroes were no more than mediocre. A watchmaker's apprentice in Piltover? A sorcerer in the Noxian army? He scoffed. What a waste of sacred magic and ability, to be called great for living such regular lives, and what simple minded fools to follow them blindly.
The real greats were rarely special beings, or even anymore than human. Emperor Azir, who had expanded the Shuriman Empire, and brought forth its great reign! The three sisters of Freljord, who fought nail and tooth for their right to the throne! These were names of greatness; the ones you read about in the history books, or heard in bards' tales. Feeble names passed from relative to relative meant little to Veigar, for he would not be one of them. He would be great. He knew that in his heart, and that realization, to him, is what made him special.
And so instead of tossing in the mud or playing with enchanted toys, he read books and scrolls; heaps of them. History of the world and the ones who shaped it, fairy tales of old and new, legends of runes and powerful magic; nothing was outside his realm of interest, as long as it was on parchment. But what piqued his interest more than anything else was what lay beyond Valoran, Runeterra, or even the world.
He simply loved the stars.
When Vegiar got bored of books, he would revel in the stars, tossing and turning in the ticklish grass of the fields, giddy about constellations and the stories that bound them. When Veigar first learnt of celestial magic, which honed this universe that was seemingly beyond his reach, he vigorously engaged himself in learning it without hesitation. Despite his poor magic affinity, and despite being outcast, he knew that celestial magic was his big break. It was how he would go down in history as one of the greats. The greatest great that existed.
And Veigar was right, too. He just didn't understand how terrible of a thing being right could be.
There was no shortage of good reading spots in such a peaceful place as Bandle City. Hidden among the physical plane with special gates connecting the two realms, it was always a peaceful place. So be it the high roof of his schoolhouse, or the far end of the alleyway by the local market, Veigar had plenty of spots prepared to escape to when the bullying got rough, or when he just needed to get away from everything; little as there was.
On a warm morning, while departing to one of these spots, Veigar passed by a certain forest on the further reaches of Bandle City, which seemed to call him forth. Upon entering with a bag full of freshly checked out novels, he noticed that something about the forest was quite different than other parts of the city. The wind had a calming whistle, and the chirps and crickets of strange inhabitants around him lulled him. He figured at first that he had found a prime spot for his latest studies, but later found that it would be even better for a peaceful nap.
So laying his back against a welcoming stone that had been mossed over, he put his bag behind his head and let his eyelids rest. His mind wandered onto daydreams without a care in the world, as he wondered how some sort of weak bond like "friends" could ever beat such a peaceful happiness. And then as if on queue, a rustling bush in the near distance interrupted his daze like a grammatical error in old writing, but he quickly dismissed it and returned to sleep.
Or at least, he tried, but the shaking of leaves persisted, out of tune with the melody of the forest. It had become a battle of Veigar's patience versus this creature's persistence; of which he had lost to his short temper.
"Would you quit that?!"
"Ah, you found me!"
So it was a yordle after all. Veigar was both disappointed and clearly irritated.
"I wasn't looking for you! Now leave me be!"
"Now that I think about it, I didn't see such a weird looking yordle in our hide-and-seek party..."
"Are you picking a fight!?"
"No, I'm playing hide-and-seek! You should play with me!"
Veigar, who was already on a short fuse, was even less capable of handling such a nuisance after being awoken so abruptly from sleep.
"I'm not playing hide-and-seek! Go hide somewhere else!"
"But- but, I'm really good at hiding, you know? Nobody else has found me before!"
"Yes yes, sure. That's very interesting. Now-"
Veigar, who had lost interest in the annoying voice nearby, suddenly recalled an unpleasant memory and tuned back into the conversation.
"You fool. They probably haven't been looking for you to begin with."
"What? But they said they were! Liar liar, kite flyer!"
"What even- It's 'Liar liar, pants on fire', you idiot… And the only 'liars' here are your so-called 'friends', so that they could get rid of you for the day."
"No way they would do that! They're nice!"
And that's what he got for trying to offer some friendly advice. Veigar was done dealing with this bother.
"Nobody would become friends with somebody so annoying. Now get lost!"
He turned his head to the sound of another rustle in the bushes. He caught his first glimpse of the one that the irritating voice belonged to; it was a little yordle girl, with pastel purple fur, and long, violet hair. So long, that it dragged behind her picking up all sorts of gunk as she ran. And she was running fast, with tears trailing behind her. Veigar had made her cry.
Despite his poor understanding of common decency, the snacks he brought still didn't quite taste right to him after that, nor could he focus on his reading. Though he didn't want to admit it, even the gloomy realist in him knew that he had gone a little too far. By the time evening struck, a multitude of failed attempts to regain focus alluded to him that it was time to pack up for the day and go home, since he wouldn't get much done anyway. But as he began to put his things away, he heard the crunch of leaves and grass approach him. The same girl who had turned tail on him had returned.
Veigar was surprised she had come back after his rude remarks. He couldn't look her in the eye out of guilt, so he instead turned down toward her thin ankles, discolored from what was likely dirt and mud. He wondered when the last time was that she bathed. But even more so, he wondered what the expression on her face looked like.
"You were right!"
She sounded… joyful? Surely he misheard.
"So I was..."
"Hey, you're actually a nice person, aren't you?"
"Huh?"
A remark that nobody had ever uttered to him quickly caught his attention. Veigar looked up to match the yordle girl's gaze to find but a hopeful smile, illuminated by spots of sunset sneaking through the foliage above. It was the first time he had gotten a good look at her face, and she was actually quite cute. Her cheeks, already quite chubby, were further puffed out by her wide grin that spanned her face from corner to corner. It was a smile pure and innocent enough to stop time for Veigar, framed perfectly by her loose, wavy hair and thin white sundress, seemingly unaffected by the unkempt mess surrounding it. He had never seen such happiness in his life, and he had definitely never smiled like that; he doubted he was capable of even doing so if he tried. Before he was able to think about it, a single sentence escaped his mouth.
"What an honest smile…"
"Hmm… That's a compliment, isn't it? Thanks, black cat!"
At the mutter of his infamous nickname, he quickly snapped back into reality.
"Wh- where did you learn that name!?"
"That's what my fr- I mean, the other kids were calling you. I told them that this gloomy black boy told me that they were lying to me about playing hide and seek, and they said, 'duh huh, you mean black cat? Why don't you play with him then if you two are so close? Maybe you two weirdos are soo-ooted for each other, duh huh.'"
While improvising a crude impression of one of the other kids, Lulu pressed her nose up and made a weird face while using a half-wit voice, which both irritated, and entertained her audience of one. He was even more irritated that he found it a little bit funny. Just a little bit.
"I'm pretty sure he didn't say 'duh huh'... And don't call me black cat!"
"You smirked! I saw it!"
This girl suddenly jumped about victoriously wearing the same grin she had before, and yet it wasn't so cute anymore to Veigar. In fact, he found it mildly infuriating. Almost fuming with embarrassment, He turned his head away from her to try and hide it. To no avail, at that.
"What did he mean by that, anyway? Are you like me?"
"No! I'm nothing like you! I'm smart, and level-headed. And I'm great!"
"Wow, me too! We really are soo-ooted for each other!"
"That's-"
Veigar chuckled under his breath.
"That's impossible!"
"You smirked!"
"Did not!"
"Liar liar, clothes dryer!"
"It's 'pants on fire'!"
"Food fryer! Ha-haha!"
"You are…! Gah! I can't take this!"
Veigar, on the brink of blowing his top, threw his hands up in defeat before dramatically falling backwards on his bottom, as if physically wounded by Lulu's barrage of playful teasing. Lulu, for no good reason, copied his movements even more enthusiastically, before falling on a bed of her own fluffy hair. She spread her arms and legs out among the grass and soil, squirming about in a childish manner. Veigar didn't really understand what she was trying to accomplish, but he silently watched her having the time of her life, before finally chiming in.
"Veigar."
"Shmeigar!"
"No- That's my name, you dimwit!"
"Oh! I'm Lulu!"
"Lulu, huh..."
He returned to an awkward silence and looked off in a different direction. What should he say at a time like this, to a person like this? What did two people talk about when they were alone? Veigar possessed knowledge on many subjects, but one area which he lacked was social ability. He didn't have too much time to ponder, as his train of thought was once again broken by an abrupt calling.
"Nice to meet you!"
"N- nice you meet you too. I suppose."
And more silence.
...
"Hey, you know what else we have in common?"
"I don't."
"We're both yordles!"
"Obviously!"
Lulu sat up, satisfied with the gloomy boy's reaction. She quieted down, and closed her eyes. Following such loud, spastic behavior, it took Veigar by surprise. In a softer tone, she followed up with another point.
"And, we both have one friend."
Friend. What a rose colored word, Veigar thought.
"Nonsense. I've never had a friend in my life."
"Then that makes me your first! Yaay!"
"You… meant me?"
"Yes you! My friend, Veigar!"
The scruffy black yordle widened his eyes, confused at the statement so casually tossed at him. Did she really want to be his friend? He had clearly been nothing but rude to her the entire time, calling her names and telling her off. Surely, she didn't see him as a 'friend'. The thought occurred that she might have been making fun of him, but frankly, she seemed too simple minded for that. Veigar's mind quickly shifted back to earlier in the day, when he had said some bad things to her. He quickly forgot about the topic at hand, and figured that he should apologize, first and foremost.
"I'm… sorry about earlier today."
"Hmm? Did something happen?"
"You- I- nevermind..."
Lulu blushed a little bit, enjoying Veigar's extreme embarrassment just a bit more than she had anticipated she would.
"Hehe, I was kidding…"
After twiddling her fingers, she spastically jumped up pointing her finger toward the sky, regaining her previous vigor.
"I accept your apology! In exchange, let's play hide and seek!"
Suddenly, Veigar felt another wave of guilt wash over him. Surely the only reason she would be friends with him is because everybody else didn't want to… He felt guilty, but also a bit irritated at the fact. What were 'friends' anyway? So what if he didn't have any? He didn't need them. There was no yordle that was interested in him, nor was there one that he was interested in. Friends were pointless. That's how it had been before, and that's how he liked it. He had to drive her away.
"How do you know I won't just tell you to hide and leave you there, like the other kids did?"
"Because you're a good person! Duh!"
A good person…
"It's too late to play hide and seek. We'd get lost."
He said those words to her quietly, with a gloomy tone, before starting to walk back in the direction he had originally come from.
"You should head home too."
Lulu only held her grin, having absolutely no idea what was going on in Veigar's head. She didn't need to, however.
"Okay! Bye bye, then!"
She was confident that she would find him in the very same spot the next day.
And she did.
In fact, it took her almost no time at all to find him. All she did was follow some more open pathways and alluring foliage, and before she was able to tell, there he was.
What caught her eye was a nicely stitched leather outfit with a big black ball of fur peeking out of it, and long, erect ears parted to the side by a feathered cap. It seemed to be a little too big for his head. Veigar's eyelids just barely hung down over his yellow irises, almost glowing like golden coins to accentuate his focus. He was engrossed in a tattered hardcover book, which starkly contrasted with how well fitted he was.
Lulu giggled under her breath, giddy with excitement at how she might surprise the little yordle. But she was too eccentric for her own good, as her footsteps quickly turned his ears toward her attention.
"Ah."
"What took you- What are you doing here?!"
A slight grin escaped the yordle boy's irritated look, making clear to Lulu that he was waiting for her. Just like she had predicted. But she was satisfied enough with her own validation, and decided not to press him on it.
"I'm here to play hopscotch, just like we promised!"
"It was hide-and-seek, not hopscotch!"
"Ha-ha, so you do remember!"
Just kidding. She fully planned to take advantage of him today as well.
"I- Do you live to irritate me?"
"Heehee, maybe!"
Lulu felt that it was more so that he was so easy to read, which surprised her, considering how smart he was. She decided that she would keep that part a secret, though. Veigar had put his book down by this point, looking down as if he was waiting for her to annoy him some more. She thought him to be quite different from the others, as she held a bright, cheerful smile at him without saying another word. It didn't take long for Veigar to return her gaze, realizing she wasn't going to say anything.
"What is it?"
"Nothing!"
Their stares held like this for a few minutes, as if locked in a passive aggressive showdown. Finally, Veigar grumbled a bit under his breath, before giving in.
"Are we going to play, or what?"
Lulu closed her eyes and gave a big, enthusiastic nod.
"Yup!"
The two of them spent their time giving and taking the same casual mischief while playing outdoor games. Lulu didn't quite seem to have a clear understanding of how to play hopscotch, though neither did her introverted companion, so he followed her lead anyway. While Veigar became increasingly infuriated at her nonsensical remarks, his counterpart's smile grew increasingly wide. From afar, however, it was clear that the two were having the time of their lives. It was the first time the young scholar had put down a book for somebody. And for Lulu, it was the first time one of her peers had put down anything for her as well.
As the two began to spend their days together in that forest from dusk to dawn, they had no leisure to notice the passage of time. Veigar opened up about his love of the stars, and the grand future that surely awaited him. He showed her his celestial magic which, though weak, never failed to make her eyes glow. Lulu had never cared for the mystical arts before, nor Veigar's weighty explanations about them. But when he made sparks fly, her eyes never failed to go wide, full of whimsy and wonder. She never knew it could be so beautiful.
While they were carefree, rumors spread of the yordle duo, and their careless adventures. It wasn't just about being different anymore; while the rest of the yordle children matured and their interests changed, Veigar and Lulu were always 'just playing around'. So others grew even more distant from the two, but they didn't care. They were having the time of their lives. And unbeknownst to them, they had a third friend who thought so too; for the isolated forest that they found their home in, the Glade, was more than just a plot of greenery; it was alive, and enjoyed watching the two companions gleefully waste away their days. Whether leading malicious yordles astray, or offering up its inhabitants to join in on the fun, it ensured that their friendship would have a sacred place to grow forevermore.
But Lulu disappeared.