An Angel's Thief

Chapter 6: First days are rough

~ 300 years ago, Forest

The forest was empty, almost as if we were alone, obviously, this wasn't the case but it was definitely how it felt. Dad always told me that it was hard to hunt for food in the winter because of the many animals hibernating and the animals that don't, adapting to their environment.

With the snowstorms finally settling down, I and my dad were able to hunt for the first time ever, at least for me that was. He had no other choice but to take me with him, he needed all the help he could get because our reserves were nearly empty and asking others to help means sharing.

We had been walking through the cold snow for hours with nothing to show for until suddenly my dad grabbed me and pulled me down into the snow.

''Look Oliver!'' He whispered as he pointed at what looked like another lifeless lump of snow. ''It's a white rabbit!''

''Dad, I think you're going nuts that's a lump of snow…'' I said skeptically as the lump began to hop around as if it was trying to prove me wrong.

''See Oli? I got a good eye for an old man.'' My dad laughed as he handed me the old buckshot weapon. ''This'll be your first kill on your first hunt, just don't tell your mother, ok?'' He asked smiling.

I aimed the gun at the small rabbit that was chewing on some grass it found, not noticing its imminent death closing in as I lined up the shot, I took a deep breath and… dropped the weapon making my dad sigh silently.

''What is it now Oli?'' He whispered, giving me an annoyed face. ''Don't start this again. Oliver…''

''But, dad-'' I wanted to argue but he shushed me.

''Oliver. J. Q. DeWitt. What did I tell you about using this weapon?'' He said with an annoyed face as he pulled out a silver gun-shaped artifact, showing it off as we laid in the snow.

''That I'm too young to be using The Rose…'' I said pouting as he showed off the golden decorative rose that was carved into the weapon.

''Exactly.'' He said shoving the buckshot back into my hands. ''Now get to aiming.''

''But,'' I said, earning me another sigh from my father. ''You also promised mom that I wouldn't be killing anything until I turn twelve and here I am, pointing a gun at a rabbit.'' I argued with a large grin.

*Sigh* ''Fine, here.'' He said handing me the silver weapon. ''But only this one time and not a word about this to your mother!'' He hissed as he moved his hands over mine, helping me aim the weapon. ''Now what you want to do is-''

''I know how to aim and shoot dad…'' I said giving him a bored look as he quickly let go of my hands.

''Fine, suit it yourself, but if it recoils into your face don't come crying to me.'' He said, eyeing the rabbit.

I felt the sleek and elegant design of the silver weapon for the first time in my hand, carefully putting my finger on the trigger. I moved my face a bit closer to where the chamber of a revolver would usually be, the only difference is that The Rose didn't use ammo but a keystone to power itself.

I closed one of my eyes as I looked at the rabbit, pointing The Rose awkwardly at the animal. I was about to pull the trigger when my father grabbed the barrel of the artifact and pointed it into the snow with a sigh.

''Oliver what is the most important thing that I taught you?'' He asked as he pressed the gun into the snow, but not taking it from my hands.''

''Always respect woman?'' I half asked confused.

*Sigh…* ''The other thing?'' My father said as he massaged his eyes with one hand.

''All woman are queens?'' I half asked once more, this time with a grin.

''Oliver…'' my father said with a hint of annoyance in his voice. ''You better be joking.'' He never stopped rubbing his eyes out of annoyance.

''Yeah, yeah. Aim with your eye and kill with your hand. I remembered that's what I was doing until you stopped me!'' I hissed as the both of us eyed the rabbit that was looking around.

''That isn't remotely close to what I taught you…'' My father said as he let go of the weapon. ''You aim with your hand but always kill with your heart.'' He said with a serious tone in his voice.

As he removed his own hand from the artifact's barrel he pulled one of my own off of the gun as well, taking me by surprise.

''Now kill that animal properly before it hops away, I know you can do it.''

I gave him a quick nod and aimed the weapon once again. ''What if it recoils into my face? What if I miss? What if- No I got this.'' I took a deep breath. Finally, I pulled the trigger of the weapon a bit insecurely.

The light around me intensified as the trigger of The Rose was pulled, almost like the light was coming from the silver of the artifact. I expected a screech but the only thing I heard the sound of a raging fire as the golden rose engraved on the barrel lit up, showing me images of my father using the silver and gold artifact, literally burning the images into my mind as the light began to blind me and wake me up.

~ Institute of War, Summoners hotel

''Hmmmm….'' I sat up in a large unfamiliar bed before blinking a few times and running a hand through my messy hair. ''No random woman in the bed with me? Drunk me did a decent job this time…''

I put my feet next to the bed before slowly getting up and groaning as a wave of pain reached my head.

''Where are those pills when you need them?'' I said stumbling around the unknown room, cursing in pain as I hit my foot on something. I picked up an empty whiskey bottle as I slowly started to remember bits of what happened the night before.

''Right… The League… THE LEAGUE! SHIT!'' I told myself as I stumbled groggily and hungover into the bathroom.

I looked into the mirror of the hotel bedroom as I ran a finger over the scar on my nose that I earned during the shanking accident in the prison. ''Dammit Oli, you have to start taking better care of yourself?'' I asked my reflection who mimicked me.

I let out a sigh as I noticed the bags underneath my crystal eyes and the light stubble beard starting to form. ''Gods, I look like crap…''

''Oliver, you smell horrible…'' Kayle's voice suddenly rang through my head, suddenly waking my up from my little negative moment.

''Taking better care of myself step one, showering… I suppose.'' I said throwing the black pants aside before getting into the shower and letting the water flow down my tired, hungover body.

''Another dream… Or a vision? Gods, I'm not sure anymore.''

After a moment of showering and using up all the free little shampoo's that you always get at hotels (it was needed anyway, I mean which sane person showers in prison regularly?), I got out of the shower, covering myself with a towel before taking another look in the mirror, this time inspecting my full body.

My body looked weak and tired. The worst part is that it's not only looking like that but my body felt weak and tire as well, my clothes don't even fit like they used to… Not to mention the bruises all across my body due to prison fights every time I got out of my cell.

''It's… not that bad, right?'' I asked myself as I tried to force myself to smile.

''Pathetic, all of it. Just look at yourself.'' The cruel voice whispered. I felt its presence in the room, almost like it had its hands on my shoulders while whispering into my ear. Too bad that the voice was just what I needed to hear to snap back to reality.

''Oh hush you. I don't listen to you any- Hey, that sounds pretty good actually.'' I told the voice.

''What are you talking about you damn ingrate?'' It hissed in my head, clearly annoyed at my sudden change of mood.

''Hush sounds like a pretty good name for you, what do you think?''

''I truly despise you, you damned fool, godsdamned ingrate.'' The cruel voice began to insult me before silencing itself.

''Why are you calling me an ingrate all of a sudden?-''

*KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK*

My mental conversation was interrupted by knocking on the hotel door, making me raise one eyebrow in confusion.

*KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK*

I snapped out of my suspicion as the knocking became more aggressive and louder, making me realize that it might be handy to respond to stop the knocking which was causing a horrible headache.

''Just a minute!'' I yelled as I struggled with putting on my pants as I stumbled towards the door, nearly tripping over one of the empty whiskey bottles littering the floor.

''Ouch, dammit.'' I cursed loudly as I stubbed my toe against a bottle as I opened the door to the hotel room.

Confusion hit me as I looked around the empty hallway. I looked left, nothing. I looked right, once again nothing. ''Strange I could have sworn that someone was-''

''Hey you! Down here!'' Giggled a voice as I looked down I was met with a large, stitched-up red and gold wizard cap with two large, purple, furry ears going through them. ''Sorry if I woke you up with my knocking but I had to use my staff since well… My hands are full!'' The small female Yordle giggled as she motioned to the white box in her hands.

''Gods, I am so sorry!'' I quickly apologized while offering help with carrying anything for her, which made a purple faerie pop out from underneath her large hat, forcing me back. ''I'm not used to Yordles, my apologies.'' I said, making the Yordle giggle.

''Heehee our kind gets that a lot because you know… small and all heehee.'' She began giggling at her own joke before suddenly stopping and continuing the conversation. ''Say you're the new guy right?''

''Uhm, yeah, yeah of course.'' I said shaking my head, recovering from the confusion. ''My name is Oliver, pleased to meet you.'' I said with a weak smile before holding out a hand.

''Pix hold my staff for a moment!'' The Yordle told the fae as she threw her staff into the air, forcing the poor little fae to carry the weight of the staff as she shook my hand. ''Lulu's the name! Fluffiness's the game! Unless you don't like that game, we can always play another game! Pix knows a ton of games!'' She said motioning to the Fae who started violently shaking his head while carrying the Yordle's staff.

''Oh you little rascal give me that!'' Lulu said with a cheery voice as she took the staff with her free hand before handing the staff to me. ''Hold this for a moment.'' The purple Yordle said as she began to reach for the Fae. ''C'mon Pix we gotta show Oliver what we got!'' She said reaching for the Fae.

The scene went on for a while, I felt a bit awkward and didn't say anything to Lulu as she forced Pix to play with her, making the Fae glare at me.

''So… Eh… Lulu, what brought you to my room this early?'' I asked as she stopped hopping after the Fae and faced me again.

''OH RIGHT! Here!'' Lulu yelled as she handed me the white box in return for her staff. Now that I got a closer look at it turned out to be the antique box for The Rose with a letter on top of it. ''High Councilor Kolminye send me to deliver these to you!''

I inspected the antique box, carefully opening it, revealing the red cushion inside. ''*HISSSSS*'' The cruel voice hissed in my head at the sight of the box, knowing that if I put The Rose in he would become weaker.

I chuckled at the cruel voice, making Lulu giggle as well. ''What are we laughing at?'' She asked through the giggles, bringing me back down to earth and out of my moment.

''Oh sorry, just a little moment.'' I said while opening the letter before starting to read the fancy handwriting.

Oliver,

I never found the time to apologize for putting you through those painful memories and illusions without any real warning or explanation yesterday.

We didn't have much time as the Summoners of the League are becoming impatient, waiting for a new addition to the battlefield… A Judgement was the fastest but also the oldest way to prepare both you, my Summoners and designers for the upcoming weeks on the PBE as the Earth Summoners like to call it.

Usually, we do not perform Champion Judgements for obvious reasons, once more I apologize for that.

I know that you mistrust me and the Summoners of the League of Legends but please take this as an extra apology. I'm sure you would like it back, it's something a certain klutzy Summoner forgot to give you yesterday.

As for today, I want you to meet with Summoner Rose again. She has requested that you visit her in her studio. She needs your opinion of a few things before we send you onto the Rift for the first time to showcase your abilities.

The best of luck,

Vessaria Kolminye.

''Hmm, I suppose Kolminye isn't as bad as a person as I thought.'' I thought with a smile. As I read the letter I began to feel nauseous, I could feel the bad decisions from last night hit me as I turned around to leave Lulu in the doorway, making my way towards the bathroom.

Lulu skipped after me unnoticed before making her presence known. ''Tremendous!'' She yelled as she swung her staff, casting a spell, making me feel a lot better if not the best I've felt in a long time.

''Wha!? What did you do to me!? I feel better than when I take those pills!'' I cheered the Yordle on, making her giggle as she hid most of her face behind her large hat with the exception of her large emerald eyes, which were filled with joy.

''Pills? Oh, you mean those Pixie Pills! Those cure hangovers right? What do you think is in those things? Pixie dust of course!'' Lulu started laughing before snorting once, making her laugh even harder.

''If you say so.'' I said with a large smile on my face.

''This one is even more insane that you are fool…''

''Well what are you waiting for? Chop-chop! Get dressed!'' Lulu suddenly said as she began pushing me into the hotel room before beginning to throw my clothes at me. ''Come on we're going to be late!''

''Late for what?'' I asked confused as I put on my black vest and body armor that goes over said vest.

''You'll see!'' Lulu said with a large smile. ''But if you don't see it, I'd recommend closing your eyes, unless you're Lee Sin, it doesn't matter to him! Heehee'' The Yordle giggled.

I shook off Lulu's strange behavior and fixed my clothes and armor before picking up my long feathered coat, making Lulu gasp in excitement as she hops onto the bed and began inspecting the feathers.

''Hmmm, not purple but it could be worse…'' The Yordle told her Fae companion that was sitting on her shoulder. ''You're right Pix! We can fix that!'' Lulu said as she began twirling her staff around.

''NO!'' I yelled, raising both hands as I was in the middle of fixing the hood of the coat. ''I mean… please don't, these feathers are the last thing I have that remind me of someone really special.'' I said, earning a sympathetic look from the Yordle.

''I'm sorry I just wanted to be a good support…'' Lulu said while walking towards the door of the hotel room. ''I know what will cheer you up! Follow me!''

''To where exactly? I'm not really familiar with the Institute…'' I asked as Lulu and Pix both began tugging at my cloak.

''To the mess hall! Time for breakfast!'' The Yordle said as she let go of me and began walking ahead. ''Come on slowpokes! It's this way!''

~ Institute of War, Mess hall

''It's over there! Through those large doors!'' Lulu said as she pointed her staff towards two large double doors.

I followed the orders I got from the Yordle, resulting in me walking into the doors which wouldn't open, leaving me confused and Lulu giggling.

''Hehehe, I completely forgot to tell you that the doors only open for champions, sorry.'' She laughed as she touched one of the doors with her staff. ''That should do the trick.''

I let out an annoyed grunt as I opened the doors, the Yordle mage sitting in my neck while holding onto my hood and a few strands of hair underneath to my discomfort as she tugged every now and then.

As we walked into the mess hall, I got a few weird glances from some of the Champions having breakfast, some whispering about how Lulu, ''Got another one to do it.'' Which left me a bit confused but I didn't mind, the Yordle seemed like a good person, a bit too happy peppy for me but still a good person.

I looked around the mess hall as most Champions stopped staring and continued eating their breakfast after a moment. A lot of tables were filled with Champions from their respective nations, some more famous than others.

The first thing that stood out was the table closest to the door where nine tails happily swirled next to a large green flaming skull clad in an old black robe, the strong smell of cinnamon hanging around the two. Sitting with them were what looked like an undead centaur, a green scaled Marai and a red haired woman who wore a rather 'revealing' outfit as all were chatting with one another.

A few tables away there was two Lhotlan Vastaya, both of them glaring at the nine tails that were still swirling around, sometimes wrapping around the specters form. One of them noticed me looking at them and shifted her glare towards me, making me look elsewhere.

On the other side of the mess hall was a table filled with Champions from Noxus, at least that was my guess as the Grand General of Noxus sat down and began talking to the two figures both of them wielding axes.

And almost right next to the table was a table filled with Champions from Demacia, one again a guess but the fact that Jarvan IV, the Demacian crown prince was sitting at the table with people mostly clad in blue, white and gold gave it away slightly.

I felt Lulu hop off my neck, pulling on my hair, forcing me towards the ground, making a Yordle in a purple shozoku at a nearby table laugh at me before he received a smack on the back of the head by a large man with purple glowing eyes and a dark blue armor before he gave me an awkward wave, his eyes never showing any emotion.

Some laughs came from another table near the ninja table, the woman sitting with the Yordle ninja and large man glared at the table with a red clad ninja, a mage with purple orbs floating around her and a young man with a living scythe (I swear I saw it blink!), making the young man stick up his middle fingers towards her. The mage and the ninja both letting out a sigh at the young man's behavior.

''Hey, no time for sightseeing! I gotta show you around!'' Lulu said twirling her staff in my face.

''Sure let me just… look for someone.'' I said a bit distracted as I caught sight of a pair of white wings sitting at a table with a large jackal, a large bird man, a woman armed with a large boomerang and a man with crystals floating around his shoulders, the man pointing towards me and Lulu as Kayle turned around, got up and walked over.

''Lulu, I see you brought Oliver over, how nice of you.'' She said, her helmet blocking her expression. ''I'll take it from here, the High Counselor's orders.''

''I'll just show him one more thing before I'm off to eat!'' Lulu said tugging at my coat. ''Come on, slowpoke I need to show you this!'' She said before turning back to Kayle. ''Don't worry, just this one thing and he's all yours.'' She said, winking at the confused angel.

Lulu stopped in front of a strange Hextech machine, motioning me to use it. ''Uhm… How am I supposed to use this and what is it anyway? It looks weird…''

''I'm just going to pretend that I didn't hear that just now.'' Lulu said with a smile.

''And why is that?'' I asked, raising my brow.

''Because weird is the best silly! Wait no! Purple, purple is the best! Check this out!'' Lulu smiled as she asked the machine for 'The usual purple combo.' ''Whatever that means…''

As the Yordle gave the command, the machine began to buzz and steam a bit, releasing a lovely aroma into the air. Lulu quickly held a plate underneath the machine as three large purple pancakes fell onto the plate before being topped with whipped cream, a (You guessed it.) purple jam and sprinkles.

''So you just tell the machine what you want and it'll make it for you! Pretty handy isn't it?'' Lulu asked as she resisted the urge to dig in.

''That looks like a diabetic nightmare waiting to happen.'' I said pointing at the plate filled with the sugary breakfast on it. ''Cool.'' I added after a moment, making the Yordle smile.

''It really is!'' She said before walking off towards a table filled with more Yordles. ''Anyway, Kayle seems to be waiting for you! Good luck on your first day! I'm already looking forward to seeing you on the Rift Oli!'' She said as both she and the Fae waved goodbye.

''Don't tell me all of them are this insane…''

''Oliver! Over here!'' Kayle said waving me over towards the table she and been sitting, the man with the crystals and the jackal doing the same.

''Finally a chance to meet you.'' The jackal said, his deep voice echoing a couple of times as he extended his large, bandage covered arm towards me. ''Nasus, pleased to meet you Master Thief. Kayle has told me things about you.'' He said chuckling.

''Nice to meet you.'' I told the large jackal before looking at Kayle with an annoyed face.

''What? What did I do now?'' She asked shrugging.

''So you told even more people about me joining the League before I'm even a champion? I mean you told Ahri and Thresh and now a giant dog?'' I asked Kayle as Nasus let out a sigh.

''I am a jackal, please refrain yourself from calling me dog, it's already bad enough that the Summoners revere to me as 'Doggie'. The Dark Child, I can endure, but full grown adults… That is just too much...'' Nasus complained as the rest of the table laughed and chuckled.

I took a seat next to Kayle, another hand was extended towards me, this time it was the man with the crystals floating close to him. ''Taric, it is an honor to meet someone as skilled as you are.'' He said giving me a firm handshake.

''Nice to meet you, I like the whole crystal thing you got going on.'' I said as Taric let out a loud gasp.

''I'll have you know that these are gems and not crystals.'' Taric said jokingly as most of the group let out a sigh with the exception of Nasus, who ignored the comment.

''He's pretty sensitive on that subject.'' Kayle whispered as I nodded and apologized to Taric for not recognizing the difference between his 'outrageous' gems and regular crystals, making him chuckle.

''Apologies accepted new friend, I'll make sure to keep you safe on the Rift when we have a chance to fight alongside each other.'' Taric said with a bright smile as he took a sip of his juice.

''My name is Azir, you may know me as The Emperor of the Sands or you may have heard of my revival and journey to return Shurima to its former glory.'' The armored bird said as he extended his hand.

''Who hasn't? It's an honor to meet you, your highness.'' I said bowing my head slightly. ''You did a fine job announcing your return three years ago.''

''That was me only scratching the surface, but it will have to do, for now, I am still adjusting to the change in culture, Sivir here is a descendant of mine, we are lucky to have met.'' Azir explained as he motioned towards the woman sitting next to him, completely ignoring the conversation and cleaning her weapon.

''Speak for yourself old man, I was doing just fine by myself.'' Sivir said with an annoyed tone in her voice while polishing the boomerang.

''That's not what I recall-'' Azir said, narrowing his eyes at her before being interrupted by a voice message playing inside the mess hall.

''The Institute of War will open its doors shortly, will all Champions please prepare for being summoned onto the Rift?'' As the message ended, a few Champions stood up and disposed of their plates before leaving the mess hall.

''Crap, I didn't get breakfast…'' I said, snapping my fingers as I realized that I probably didn't get another chance today.

''Oliver, you're not available for summoning yet…'' Kayle said. ''Today, they'll probably want to see your abilities and talk over some things about your release skin.'' Kayle explained while stretching her wings.

''Hmmm, well the letter said something about meeting with a Summoner in her studio…'' I said scratching my chin. ''I suppose you don't know where that is?'' I said eyeing the angel.

''You're lucky we still have a few minutes.'' Kayle said, getting up from her seat and motioning for me to follow her. ''This way.''

~ Institute of War

Kayle and I walked through the halls of the Institute, or at least she did, I just blindly followed her through the empty hallways.

''So… How have you been doing, the past few weeks...'' I started awkwardly. ''I mean you know what I've been up to, but I never got a chance to listen to you.''

''Oliver, now is not the time…'' Kayle said looking at her phone, silently cursing. ''If I have to guess, we won't have much time to catch up during the upcoming weeks either, new champions always have a busy time during their first weeks.'' She explained while stopping at some sort of bridge which connected two parts of the Institute.

Kayle looked down for a moment, I followed her gaze as I looked on in amazement, the beauty of the Institute leaving me breathless. A large glass roof let a lot of light in, shining down on the white tiles of the entrance. Close to the entrance was a large water fountain, spraying water up into the air, the water and the light creating a small rainbow around the fountain.

Summoners seemed to take their spots at the respective information kiosks and shops as another unlocked the doors to the large building.

''Oliver we need to go down one floor, but waiting for an elevator is going to take too long, I need you to improvise.'' Kayle said as she jumped over the ledge of the bride and slowly glided down. ''Come on I'll catch you!'' She yelled from the ground floor, holding her hands up.

''First days are the worst...'' I thought as I vaulted over the ledge, opening a tear to fall through.

''Oliver?'' Kayle asked confused as she looked around the entrance.

''Catch me!'' I yelled as I fell on the floor in front of the angel with a loud thud and a groan. ''Oof, you said you'd catch me…'' I said getting back up with the help of Kayle before dusting myself off.

''If you would have jumped I would have!'' She argued. ''What are you grinning at?! You could have broken something!'' She said angrily.

''Kayle please calm down, I don't expect to break anything falling from that height.'' I said while enjoying the fact that she was worried about me.

''You jumped down a two story tall ledge!'' She nearly yelled through the lobby, earning a few glances from confused Summoners.

''Well if that happened I would have asked you to carry me to the infirmary.'' I said wiggling my eyebrows at her. ''Or maybe you could have healed me back in your quarters.'' I said earning an annoyed sigh from the angel.

*Beep, beep* *Beep, beep* *Beep, beep* An alarm went off from where Kayle was standing, making her reach into her armor and pull out her phone again. ''Where does she hide that thing?''

''I… have to go for now Oliver, the Institute officially opened, I'll be summoned any minute now.'' Kayle said with a sigh as she showed me her phone which displayed a timer going down rapidly.

''Care to explain to me what that those numbers mean?'' I said as I noticed blue rings forming around Kayle. ''Kayle what's going on?''

''Don't worry Oliver, it's a recall spell. I'm being summoned for a game and since I'm not present, my summoner uses his magic to get me there.'' She explained.

''But where am I supposed to go from here on!? I have no clue where to go!'' I said raising my hands as a blue light began to pull Kayle away from me. ''What if I get lost?''

Kayle pointed at a receptionist sitting at a desk near the entrance before she was teleported away, leaving me to wander the halls of the Institute alone. ''Well at least she pointed me in the right direction…'' I muttered as I walked towards the receptionist.

''How can I be of service today?'' A chubby Summoner asked as she put away her phone and faced me with an annoyed face.

''Uhm… I'm being expected by a Summoner in her studio but I have no idea where to go…'' I said rubbing the back of my neck awkwardly. ''Kayle thought you might be able to help me, hehe.''

''Ugh…'' The Summoner groaned as she began typing on the keyboard in front of her. Suddenly her eyes went wide as she read something on her computer screen. ''You're the new Champion?'' She asked with a hint of excitement.

''News travels fast I suppose…'' I said, tapping my fingers on the receptionist's desk.

''I'm so sorry, why didn't you say so?'' She said as she began apologizing a few more times. ''Uhm, the studio you're looking for is down that hallway and it should be the first door on your right. Skin studio number one.'' The woman said, pointing towards the long hallway in the distance.

I thanked the receptionist and quickly headed towards the right room. I followed the instructions, given by the receptionist and just like she said, there was a room with a large, golden one on it.

I hesitantly knocked on the door a few times, not getting a response. ''Hello? Rose? Are you in there?'' I asked knocking again.

''Come in, the door should be unlocked…'' I heard Rose her weak voice say.

I walked into the room, which smelled horrible, making me cringe in disgust. ''Oh gods, what is that awful smell?'' I said, my eyes darting around the room, searching for the Summoner.

''That would be dedication, my dear Oliver.'' Rose said as a stack of colorful clothes began to stand up on its own. ''I've been up all night, working on your release skin, plus I've been working on some extra things.'' The stack of clothes began to move and remove layers of itself.

''People keep telling me about this release skin stuff, mind explaining it to me?'' I asked as Rose revealed herself from underneath the stack of clothes, fixing her glasses and her auburn hair, tying it into a pony tail. ''And what are you doing underneath all those clothes?''

''Well… You see… Uhm, a few hours ago after finishing up I accidentally knocked over a stack of Star Guardian skins and they felt so good that I fell asleep underneath them… Hehe… he.'' The clumsy Summoner laughed awkwardly as she pushed the clothes aside.

''So you didn't have time for a drink but you did have time to work all night? Rude.'' I joked as the Summoner opened a large closet hidden in the wall, peaking my interests as I took a quick peek inside.

''Kolminye tasked me with designing your release skin, it's so hard! Of course, I didn't have time to get drunk with you!'' Rose defended herself as she pulled out an outfit, protected with a plastic bag. ''As for your other question, skins are basically an alternate version of yourself that Summoners can use while using you on Summoner's Rift.'' The petite woman explained as she pulled the outfit out of the bag and put it on display.

''Oh right… I'm a product to be sold for profit now…'' I said a bit annoyed as I looked at the outfit that the Summoner had prepared for me. ''So what is this supposed to be?''

''I went for an alternate take on the High Noon skins, most of the High Noon skins have a brown color pallet where yours will have a bit more of a gray look to it.'' Rose explained as she opened another hidden closet, pulling out a metallic box before opening it. ''This is the design for The Rose I went for.'' She said as she pulled out a silver revolver with a golden rose engraved into the barrel.

''Rose… It's beautiful…'' I said as I inspected the weapon. ''It looks like-''

''The original Rose right? I thought you'd like it, that's why I took inspiration from your memories.'' Rose said with a smile. ''Well try on the outfit and tell me if I did a good job!'' She said excitedly.

I looked at the outfit with a skeptical look. ''C'mon Oliver, Rose worked really hard on this…'' I told myself as I picked up the whole attire before taking it into a dressing room.

''Rose?''

''Yeah?''

''Why doesn't this have a hood or a ballistic vest?'' I asked as I walked out of the dressing room, buttoning up the regular brown vest that went over a white buttoned up shirt with a red scarf.

The outfit created by the Summoner didn't look half bad. The outfit consisted of a pair of brown cowboy boots and brown pants with a bit of a dusty look to them. My body was covered with a white buttoned up shirt, a red scarf around my neck and brown vest going over it. And to still be rocking the long coat style the outfit was finished with a gray coat which was about as long as my usual coat.

''Well… Cowboys don't usually wear hoods or ballistic vests. As for your hood problem, I can fix that!'' Rose said as she pulled out a gray cowboy hat with white feather which matched the long coat that came with my outfit.

''I suppose it could be worse…'' I said taking the hat from the Summoner and putting it on. ''So how do I look?'' I said twirling around in front of the Summoner.

''Like a real gunslinger! I hope the other Summoners will like it as much as I do!'' Rose said happily before handing me a belt with bullets in it. ''Here! As a finishing touch.'' She said as I fixed the belt with the alternate version of The Rose in its decorated holster.

''You really have an eye for detail, Rose.'' I complimented as I inspected the holster which was decorated had special charms and feathers from different birds.

''Thank you! heehee.'' The Summoner giggled as she handed me my regular clothes. ''Here change back and leave the rest to me, another Summoner is waiting on you, he's going to go over your abilities, so we can create a teaser for the public.''

''And where can I find this person?'' I asked as I walked back into the changing room, already taking off the coat and shoes.

''Don't worry he's already here.'' A man called out from the other side of the room.

As I walked back into the studio with the outfit neatly folded, I walked in on Rose smooching the mystery man who was wearing a special white Summoner robe. ''Oh… Do I need to come back another time? I mean I can do that if you two would like.'' I said, making the petite Summoner blush heavily before she covered her face with her hood.

''So you're the guy that stole my wife's free night out with me?'' The man said as Rose let go of his waist. ''Man, I already have a hard time getting around this place and now my own wife barely has time for me.'' The man said as he motioned to his cane, making me feel bad for him.

''Tea! Don't guilt trip Oliver!'' Rose said as she kicked the man against what I assumed was his good leg. ''He doesn't deserve this!'' She began scolding her husband.

''Auch! Dammit Rose that really hurts!'' Tea said as he rubbed his leg.

''That's why I do it.'' She said sticking out her tongue playfully.

''Ok, well I think I'll just go for now, you two seriously need to get together or something, just make sure that this outfit doesn't get dirty.'' I said turning around, making both Summoners shout at me to ''Wait up!''

''You're not going anywhere until we've gone over your abilities, after that we'll ask permission from Kolminye to summon you into a game with a couple of friends.'' Tea said as he pulled Rose closer to his person, holding her close as she nuzzled his robe a bit.

''Well alright then, show me the way Summoner.'' I said, giving him and his wife a bow, making Rose giggle and him chuckle.

''Here, catch.'' Rose said as she threw me a blue crystal.

''What is this?'' I asked as I caught the crystal, instantly regretting catching it as I was bound to where I was standing. ''WHAT IS GOING ON!?''

''Calm down Oliver, it's a summoning crystal, it'll teleport you to the Summoner's Rift.'' Tea explained as I tried to escape the blue circles that started to form around me. ''I read that you had a Judgement? You'll be fine, you'll just hear us in your head.'' Tea continued explaining as he summoned a blue orb from out of nowhere.

''You better not leave me stranded on some weird battleground!'' I yelled as I was teleported out of the room.

~ Summoner's Rift, Practice tool

As I was transported by the crystal, all I could see was white, no other colors, no other people, no sounds, no nothing. It was pure silence and peace for a few seconds. ''I can get used to this…''

Before I could realize what was happening, I caught a glimpse of the Summoner's Rift, a square arena connected by three paths coming from both sides. The scenery around the Rift caught my attention, the beautiful rivers and forests beneath the Rift looked so much better than the battle arena that was coming closer and closer. ''Wait, closer? AM I FALLING!? WHAT'S GOING ON!?''

''Calm down Oliver, you're almost at the Rift, I promise the landing won't hurt.'' Tea's voice rang through my head.

''You better be right because that floor is coming awfully close!'' I yelled as a blue light shot down onto the summoning platform, making the Yordle shopkeeper look up in excitement.

''Is that how you introduce yourself to everyone Summoner Tea?'' I asked as I took a look around the area I had dropped into. ''You throw them into the middle of nowhere?''

''Well in my defense, Rose threw you the summoning crystal before I could even introduce myself.'' Tea's voice could be heard all over the Rift. ''And I'd gladly give you a hand right now, but Summoners aren't allowed on the Rift during a live game.''

''But I've seen Summoners on the Rift before, I'm sure!'' I said, taking a look behind me where water fell from a large knight-like statue holding up a huge gemstone.

''Those are open Rifts'' Rose said as she started to explain the situation. ''An open Rift is when an arena is shut down and all the neutral monsters are turned to non-aggressive so anyone can enter! It's a great place for dates!''

''Or proposals.'' Tea added as I heard the couple kissing again, making me sigh.

''Okay I get it you two, what am I supposed to do here?'' I asked as I felt some strange force telling me to move to the lane to the right. ''What's going on?''

''Don't worry, I'm just moving you towards the bot lane, where you will probably spend most of your time on the Rift.'' Tea explained as I walked pass a large knight statue, this one looking a bit different from the big one back at the base.

''The bot lane?'' I asked confused as the strange force stopped moving me.

Suddenly a strange dummy appeared as a little scouts hat dropped on top of its head, making me chuckle before it turned into the sheriff of Piltover herself. ''Whoa!'' I yelled as I drew The Rose and pointed it at her.

''Chill Oliver, it's just a target dummy with some visual changes, it can't fight back unless we want it to.'' Rose explained calmly. ''Now Oliver, judging by your memories and your Judgement, we created a list of abilities that we would love to see you perform.''

''And what if I can't?'' I asked confused. ''I mean you guys came up with my abilities, so how am I supposed to know them?''

''Trust me, you know how to perform them, but for now, we'll help you by projecting mental images into your head so you know what to do.'' Tea explained. ''Some of this may seem new to you, but deep down inside, you are able to do these things.''

''Let's start with your first ability (Q). Thief's Dance.'' Rose said as an image of me dashing forward and firing a special bolt towards the target dummy made its way into my mind.

''Looks easy enough.'' I said as I mimicked what I just saw, dashing forward in a twist like motion before firing a black and green bolt towards the Caitlyn dummy. ''How was that?'' I asked as I noticed a symbol forming underneath the dummy.

''Really nice personal twist to it Oli, please note that during the dash we added a special effect called a 'dodge' effect, this makes you invulnerable to any auto attacks that are fired during your short dash, making you able to trade very well against certain targets.'' Rose cheered before explaining the rest of the ability.

''We don't have much time for chit chat, moving on.'' Tea said, sounding a bit hurried. ''Next up is an ability (E) you've used before but with a little twist to it, we're skipping your second ability for now.'' Tea said as a red line formed in front of me.

An image of me opening a tear to absorb a bullet flying my way made itself into my mind as I heard a loud bang. Out of shock, I clawed open a tear in front of me, absorbing the fired bullet that came out of nowhere.

''Yesssss…'' I heard Hush (The cruel voice.) say as The Rose began to glow green and let out a black smoke.

''What the hell is going on?'' I asked Tea and Rose as the strange force forced me to fire The Rose into the Caitlyn dummy a few times, making the strange symbol return underneath the dummy, only this time a green rose became more and more clear with every hit.

''We've made a few changes to your tears. Instead of using it to jump all over the place, you'll use them to stop projectiles with an added bonus for your essence hungry weapon.'' Tea explained.

''We connected the absorbed projectiles from your Protective Tear with The Rose, feeding it the essence that was used to create the hostile projectile, empowering it with Sated Hunger for a few seconds.'' Rose added.

''So that's why he sounded so pleased…'' I said as I inspected The Rose. ''But what is that strange symbol underneath the dummy?'' I asked, pointing at the green rose.

''Something you'll need for your second (W) ability.'' Tea said as a new image found its way into my mind, this time I just grasped towards the targeted dummy, pulling essence out of it. ''We like to call it Mark of The Rose. Try it out on the dummy.''

''Uhm… Sure, this one seems a bit easy.'' I said grasping towards the dummy, making the symbol underneath the dummy disappear as a green smoke formed around the lowest part of the dummy. ''What did I just do?''

''It's like you did when you shot that officer.'' Tea said. ''You forced the corruption to leave the dummy. And we at the Institute added a little spice to it by adding a snare to the mix, it's our job to even out your kit after all.'' Tea continued explaining.

''Oh, by the way, Oliver. If you manage to hit the same target five times with your auto attacks and first ability, you'll mark them with a stack of hunger. If you trigger Hunger of The Rose (Passive) with your sixth attack the target will take a large chunk of true damage and trigger Sated Hunger for a few seconds.'' Rose explained, making my head spin with all the information I was being force fed.

''I was getting to that part dear…'' I heard Tea say as I heard some giggling coming from Rose.

''I thought we were on a tight schedule here…'' She told him in reply.

''Guys focus please…'' I said with a sigh. ''I really don't like being all alone on this deserted rock.''

''Don't worry Oli, we only have one more ability to go over.'' Rose said, making me exhale in relief. ''It's your ultimate ability, we decided on Thorn of Pure Corruption (R). You don't mind any of the names right?''

''All a bit edgy for my taste but I guess if I had to come up with it myself, we'd be sitting here until Snowdown, so we better just roll with it.'' I said as a new image clouded my mind.

This time I was taking aim at the dummy for a few seconds, letting The Rose take in as much energy as it could hold, before unleashing it all towards the dummy with a loud screech. The image making me gulp as the recoil of the shot looked like it would rip my arm off.

''Come on Oliver, the clock is ticking. I have about seven Summoners waiting to start a special reveal match featuring you…'' Tea said a bit annoyed. ''Nothing bad can happen to you on the Rift… Well except for dying, that can happen, but you'll respawn! Nothing to worry about.'' The crippled Summoner said.

''Yeah that really helps soothe the mind…'' I said as I aimed The Rose towards the dummy, focusing on making it absorb as much energy as it could. I could clearly see a small vortex of dark green, pulling in energy before I let it all go, firing a black thorn-like projectile towards the dummy, a large green cloud coming from the barrel of The Rose plus a loud screech. ''Did I do it?''

''Wow…'' Both Summoners said as the smoke cleared, revealing a knocked over target dummy, the projectile still sticking out of its middle. ''We'll need to tone that down a little…'' Tea said after a moment.

''No time! We need to teleport Oliver into the custom match before it's too late!'' Rose yelled as I noticed the blue rings form around my feet again.

''Oh no…'' I told myself as I felt myself being pulled off the Rift.

''Rose don't!'' I heard Tea yell at his wife as the blue light swallowed me whole, taking me to a new place.

WOOOOOOO! Emerald here! Coming at you with a new chapter after way too long! It's been so freaking long since I had the chance to write An Angel's Thief because of what I already feared and discussed in the last AN, the lack of a laptop charger, but being the dumb-dumb I am I didn't give you guys a quick heads-up, only the Discord squad got that one, and with that one I mean my whining and grumpy moods as I couldn't charge my laptop and write…

Anyway, all that has happened and the lack of chargers gave me time to work out some stuff for both my Project fic and this one! I have some juicy stuff planned, muhahahaha! I hope that with this update I can get back into my schedule and upload a new chapter next week and maybe a new Project chapter by the end of the week, but no promises as I still have a job and an important internship to prepare.

I'll do my best to fix all the typo's that have been pointed out to me by Discord squad and what I found myself after this chapter goes live! That'll take some time since I also have some typo's I need to fix across all the chapters of the Project fic and this one!

Welp, I did it Lulu! You got what you wanted so badly, a Lulu cameo and a lot of other champions and references to champions! Can you spot them all? (Probably not because my writing game is so weak lol) Big sorry to onni in the Discord. No Lux this chapter, but next chapter is going to be her time to shine… I'm sorry that pun was uncalled for…

I worked out Oliver's kit one final time, trying to make it as original as possible by adding some more stuff and changing up some names of the abilities, which probably over tweaked his kit a bit and made him seem overpowered… Well, that's because I was aiming for that Riot Games classic ''New champ = Noob champ, OMG PLEASE NERF'' feel. (And trust me Oliver will be nerfed xd)

If you guys would like to know more details on his abilities, visuals and interactions/animations, please let me know so I can work it out into a loose one-shot. It will take some time but we only have one more month before I'm gonna take a hiatus in October to put all my effort into the Halloween specials for both my fics. September is going to be filled with updates if it's up to me!

Man all this talking about updates and fanfics really has me in the mood for some advertisement for my Discord server!

You know what? Just join us! At The Big Club! Enter the Discord channel by typing in: Discord dot gg /BWpaKr9

Just remember to be respectful towards others and don't be racist so we can all have a good time, k? It's seriously a blast in the server right now with all the peeps that just keep coming and coming! So what are you waiting for? Come join us! Tell your fanfic loving friends and let's have some fun together! No need for hesitation!

Now gather around my lovelies, you know what time it is. I do this every time when I end a chapter, it's time for me to share my love for all of you. (No homo, JK ALL OF THE HOMO, unless that makes you uncomfortable of course, I won't judge.)

Ok but seriously I appreciate all the love and support from you guys, every follow, favorite and review means the world to me and keeps me motivated to write and come up with more! YOU GUYS ARE TRULY THE BEST AND DON'T LET ANYONE TELL YOU DIFFERENTLY! Thank you so much for reading and sticking with me on this journey!

As always I hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it for you guys!

I hope to see you all in the next AN of any of the chapters of my stories!

Until next time,

Emerald out!