A/N
Gonna start including flashbacks when applicable, let me know if you think it messes with the pacing at all.
A few years ago, Piltover.
"Not to spoil the mood of this reunion or anything, but I heard about that crazy mage who broke out. That doesn't happen in Demacia, right? Just who was this 'Sylas' dude?" Ezreal asked far too casually.
The question was crass in retrospect, but he hadn't known the whole story yet.
Ezreal first noticed something was off when Lux flinched at the mage's name. He felt his face soften when he saw her demeanor drastically change at the question.
"Oh- sorry. Were you there? I didn't know."
She nodded, remaining silent for a moment or two. "It's a bit more than that. That's actually why I came out to Piltover. It's all anyone's talking about back home, I wanted to get away from it for a bit." Her eyes glistened sadly as she spoke. Ezreal felt a sharp pang of guilt.
"Shit, I'm sorry Lux. I feel like an ass." The explorer cursed himself. "We don't need to talk about it, I'll just drop it."
"No- I mean... I don't mind telling you about it." She gave him a glum smile. "I can't really talk about what really happened in Demacia, anyway. It might be good to get it off my chest."
"Okay. If you want to talk about it, I'm all ears for you."
Lux took a few deep breaths to collect herself while Ezreal patiently waited for her to go on. After a few moments, she did.
"Sylas was part of the Mageseekers for quite a while. They were in charge of finding and arresting magic users in Demacia. They were the reason my power was a secret for so long, even if you're a Crownguard they'll come after you all the same." Another pang of sympathy stung Ezreal. She'd told him a lot about the cruel ways magic-users were treated in Demacia, despite the nation's deep magical roots. She'd always felt alienated in her own home.
"He has this weird sense when it comes to magic. He could always sense the presence of magic in others, and that made him useful to the Mageseekers. As it turns out though, he was a magic user himself. He can temporarily steal other people's magic, and he did it by accident. He didn't know how to control it, and he accidentally killed 3 other Mageseekers when he was only a teenager."
"That's why he went to prison? That's awful." Ezreal shook his head.
"He was set to be executed, too. But while he was in prison, I met him and his story felt- I dunno, familiar. I was sympathetic for him. We were both mages, rejected by a nation for misplaced fears. I kept visiting him for a while. We would talk about our lives, and about magic. I thought we had a real bond, and that I could find a good friend in Sylas."
Lux closed her eyes for a moment, squeezing out tears that dragged down her cheek. Ezreal remained silent, giving her all the time she needed. She took a deep breath to compose herself, and when her eyes opened again they were void of the sadness he'd seen in them earlier. In fact, they were now void of any emotion.
"So, I trusted him for some reason. He made me feel less guilty for being a mage, for who I was. He taught me a lot about magic that I couldn't have learned in Demacia, and I would tell him about what was going on outside his cell. Eventually, he asked me to start bringing him books. I did, and it was no big deal. Until he asked for a book that was pretty difficult to get, even for me. He offered to tell me some huge magic secrets and share what he learned in the book if I brought it to him." She paused again, her voice remaining blank. "And so I did."
"Pretty soon after, my family found out about our meetings. They immediately condemned it, and told me to never go again. Right after that, his execution was planned. I still saw him as a friend, and I went to his execution to try and put a stop to it." She closed her eyes again. "I'm so stupid thinking he was a good person. He was just using me." A few more silent tears fell down her face as she continued. "He took my power. And he used it to kill almost everyone else there. he left me to live, and he just left." Her tone was distant and unfeeling, it sent a chill down his spine.
"Lux..." Ezreal murmured, not knowing what to say.
"It's not fair that those men had to die because of my mistake. It's just not fair, Ez." Her face started to flicker away from its numb guise. "But I have to live with that. The crown is tweaking all the facts around it, trying to minimize my involvement, but it's my fault." Her face crumpled as she let out a loud and sudden sob. She shrunk into herself, bringing her knees up to her chest.
Ezreal moved next to her and put an arm around her, giving her a comforting embrace. The sobs came harder as she buried her face into his chest. He stroked her back softly as she let her feelings burst. "It's not your fault for trusting someone, Lux. He's the one who used you. There's nothing that blaming yourself can accomplish."
"But I was so stupid, Ezreal." Her voice was muffled through her sobs and his shirt. "Without me childishly trusting someone like that, those men would still be alive."
"There's nothing stupid about wanting to see the good in people." He told her softly, hoping to get through to her. "You're a good person, Lux. Being used by someone evil doesn't change that about you."
Present Day, The Institute of War.
Ezreal let out a satisfied sigh as he set down a now-mostly empty cup of Ionian-blend coffee. It was only halfway through his day but he needed a small caffeine boost before he could go on through the rest of it. Having another day of early games, he'd woke up extra early to question his roommates about any news on Sylas. Most of them hadn't heard anything, but Xayah and Rakkan mentioned seeing him a couple of days prior walking around The Institute's courtyard with a summoner and Kayne. Just like what he'd seen in the Library the day before, this struck Ezreal as completely odd.
As far as he knew, Sylas had no ties to Kayne. He also wondered if the summoner they'd seen with Sylas was Drak or if Sylas had been meeting with multiple summoners. Either way, it made him worry. It certainly could just be nothing and the rumors of him 'turning a new leaf' could have some truth to them. Ezreal had a hard time believing that, knowing more about the guy than most did.
After asking around, he ended up winning 3-1 in his games for the day, and was now enjoying some coffee in Ivywood. He paid close attention to the time as it passed since he'd agreed to meet Kai'sa within the next hour.
He relaxed in the café for a while longer before exiting to make his way to the nearby tavern. It was a different tavern from the one he'd seen Lux and her friends at. This one was run by Gragas when he had the time since he'd started staying at The Estate himself. And apparently, it was the talk of the town.
Noticing he was technically a couple of minutes late by then, he hurried inside and scanned the building for Kai'sa. The inside was decorated with several iterations of the "Graggy Ice" logo as well as Freljordian paintings and knick-knacks. It had a charming atmosphere that Ezreal immediately felt relaxed by.
After looking around for a couple of minutes, Ez spotted Kai'Sa sitting by herself on one side of the bar. She was dressed in casual clothes, black jeans, and a light blue tank top. If it wasn't for the shrunken jets attached to her back, she would've looked like an ordinary girl. He rushed over and slid into the seat beside her.
"Hey, sorry I'm a little late." He greeted softly.
She turned to him with a smile, the timid demeanor she'd had since he'd arrived was barely present. "No worries, thanks for coming out." Her hand was curled around what looked to be a gin and tonic, lime slices and cubes of ice floating lazily in the half-empty glass. "I don't get to go out much."
"Well, the rest of your drinks are on me tonight. I never got to properly thank you for saving my ass."
"Oh, thank you." Her smile stretched further across her face. "I'll definitely take that offer."
Their conversation was paused as a shirtless Gragas approached them on the other side of the bar. He and Ezreal had met a few times before, and he still wasn't used to the sheer size of the man. Despite his awe, he nodded at the giant in greeting.
"Ah, The Prodigal Explorer, how's it going?" Gragas welcomed warmly, his voice incredibly thick as always.
"Doing good Grag, how about yourself?"
"Well as you can see, business is good." He gestured around to his many customers. "So I'm doing just fine." The man chuckled heartily. "So, what'll you have?"
"I'll take a white Russian to start, thank you." Ezreal placed the money on the counter. "And I'll be paying for the rest of her drinks too, big guy." He gestured to Kai'Sa next to him.
"Speaking of which, could I have another one?" She pointed to her cocktail.
"Well lucky her, eh?" He let out another jolly laugh. "Coming right up, both of ya." He retreated further behind the bar.
"You've got history with everyone, don't you?" Kai'Sa asked, looking amused.
Ezreal smiled bashfully, scratching the back of his head. "I mean, I wouldn't say that. I just travel a lot, you get to meet a lot of people, ya know?"
"I guess the charisma helps." She pointed out before taking a deep sip of her drink. "That's something I'm certainly lacking."
"I wouldn't say that. You seem pretty relaxed right now." Ezreal pointed out. "You did seem a bit tense before, though."
She nodded her acknowledgment. "Yeah, sorry about that. I have a hard time talking to people most of the time." She downed the rest of her drink. "Drinking helps, though." She added with a laugh. "But ya know, probably shouldn't rely on that all the time."
Ezreal chuffed his own laughter. "Yeah, probably not." He agreed. They paused again briefly as Gragas delivered their drinks, giving their thanks before carrying on.
"I mean I used to be the same way. Social skills are like a muscle, you just gotta work them out. The more you try and talk to people, the more comfortable you get."
Kai'Sa gave what he said a firm nod. "Ya know, you're right about that." She flashed him another grin. "In that case, thanks for being my workout partner." She raised her glass to him again. Having a drink of his own this time, he clinked his glass against hers before they each took hefty sips.
"Happy to do it." He grinned back. He took yet another sip from his white Russian, wanting to catch up to her. "What's kept you from working on it before?"
"Well, you know... A lot of people aren't exactly jumping at the opportunity to hang out with me. My links to the void are pretty misunderstood, people think I'm some psycho like Malzahar. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, and ended up like this." Her voice grew less energetic the longer she continued. "So, I get avoided a lot. I hoped you knew better after what happened in Shurima, so I figured you'd at least be willing to hang out."
"Of course I was down. Not only do I seriously owe you, but I've always thought you were cool." Ezreal admitted.
She raised a suspicious eyebrow at him.
"No, really!" He assured her. "I'm not the type to judge someone for something like that. I honestly don't get why anyone would. What does that void symbiote have to do with you as a person?"
She avoided eye contact and smiled. "Well thanks, Ez. I'm glad you feel that way. It's a shame so many people don't."
They went on telling each other more about themselves. Ezreal told her about how his parent's disappearance had led to him uncovering the power gauntlet that was now his, and how he still hadn't found them. She told him about her childhood being spent literally in between worlds, being trapped underground yet just above the depths of the void after those depths had swallowed her village.
Then Ezreal went on to talk about some of his adventures exploring the world, searching for treasure, as she talked about her village before the rift split and her short time since escaping the dangers of the void.
They shared their stories, both sad and fun, for the entire night. Drink by drink, the night passed on until Ezreal felt himself convulse in a sudden hiccup. That was when he knew the night would have to end soon.
"Alright Kai'Sa, I've had a really good time tonight but I feel like we should call it." His words came out somewhat slurred. "I'm on the verge of being way too drunk." He laughed to himself.
"I think you're right." She said, setting down the empty glass of her final drink. "Let's go home."
"Oh right, I totally forgot we're fuckin' roommates!" Ezreal giggled at his own expense.
She laughed with him. "Nice one, Ez. C'mon, let's get out of here."
They said their goodbyes to Gragas, climbed down from their tall seats, and made their way out of the tavern, both of them stumbling a bit.
As they made their way home, walking down the long path connecting The Institute to Ivywood, they both gazed around at the dimly lit forest surrounding them. The darkness past the road was occasionally dissipated by fireflies floating through the dense trees, signaling to each other in the night.
"I know I already said it, but thanks for coming out tonight Ez," Kai'Sa murmured as they walked side-by-side. "I really did have a lot of fun with you tonight."
"Me too." They shared a smile. "This was my first real night out since I moved in. So thanks for accompanying me."
They broke their eye contact and moved their gaze down to the ground in front of them. The rest of the walk back was accompanied by an oddly comfortable silence until they reached the front of The Estate.
As they approached the lobby/main hall, Ezreal noticed Lux lingering inside, sitting on a bench with a book in hand. He figured she was there waiting for him. No doubt she'd want to hear if he heard anything about Sylas. He stopped in front of the door and turned to Kai'Sa.
"I'm gonna hang down here for a bit, you can just go on up. Thanks again, Kai'Sa." He hoped his sincere gratitude was apparent in the smile he gave her.
She met his eyes and beamed at him. "I'll follow it up with you anytime, Ez." She lunged forward, pulling him into a hug as she wrapped her arms around his back. He was caught off guard at first but returned the hug after a second. After giving him a squeeze, she pulled back from the hug without meeting his gaze. Her face was bashful but she kept her grin. "Goodnight." That was all she said before she headed inside and up to the Marksman's quarters.
He watched her walk back for a moment before he followed suit. Once inside he immediately approached Lux.
"Hey, blondie." He greeted warmly, his words still slurring a bit.
She looked up at him and stifled laughter. "Hey yourself, also-blondie." She scooched over on the bench and placed her book on the table beside her. She patted the spot next to her and he sat promptly sat there. "So, did you ask the other ADC's about Sylas?" She had clearly waited a while to ask him, he felt a bit bad he hadn't met with her earlier. "Also, are you drunk?" Her amused face washed away his worries that she was annoyed with him.
He cleared his throat. "Yes and yes. I was just at Gragas' tavern." He admitted with a light laugh. "But more importantly, most of the people I asked hadn't seen or heard anything, but Xayah told me that she and Rakkan saw him the other day."
The amusement in Lux's expression faded quickly. "Really? What'd they see?"
"They said they saw him with a summoner. And Kayne."
"Kayne? What business does he have with Sylas?" She asked, puzzled. She brought her fingers up to her mouth and started to lightly gnaw on her fingernails.
"Whatever it is, it's probably not good." He deduced. "We can meet with Riven and Akali tomorrow and talk about it, try to figure out what might be going on. Right now though, I don't think I'm in the best state to be speculating." His point was reiterated by his completely slurred pronunciation of "speculating"
Thankfully, she laughed. "Yeah, that's a good point. I'll let you get to bed, then." She stood up and gave him a warm smile. "Goodnight, Ez."
"Goodnight Lux." He responded with his own smile. She went upstairs to her room and he quickly followed to his own.
Being far too drunk and much too tired to do any deep thinking for the night, he faceplanted into his bed and let sleep easily take him away.
