Chapter Three: Talon's Scout
Varus kept himself near the ceiling as he glided down the Halls of Justice, keeping an eye out for the first Noxian he could find. The archer had a very deep hate for Noxians ever since they invaded his village in Ionia years ago. He knew that in Noxian culture, showing affection is a sign of weakness. Even though he would love to put an arrow through every single one of their heads, the Institute of War forbids it—so this is as close as he could get. Just the thought of seeing a Noxian head over heels for another made Varus chuckle darkly.
Suddenly, Varus saw a flash of violet down below. He heard the clink of blades and be immediately stopped. The archer hovered over the cloaked man and a wicked grin appeared on his face. Varus recognized the young man as Talon, an infamous assassin from Noxus. He watched as Talon hid in the shadow of a pillar, ducking down.
"What are you up to, creep?" Varus asked himself. Just then he noticed the Demacian scout and her eagle walk passed Talon's hiding spot.
"Alright, I'll let you go fly for a while." Quinn laughed as Valor pulled her short navy hair and the two of them turned into another hallway. Talon waited a few seconds before he moved again.
"Why is the assassin following Quinn and Valor?" Varus thought as he trailed behind them. "Surely, he wouldn't think of harming them?"
The archer watched the young woman and her partner enter the garden gate, leaving it open behind her. Talon followed after them and he scurried to take cover behind a tree. He kept his dark eyes on the girl as she let Valor take off into the sky. She waved a goodbye before she sat down on a wooden bench.
Varus carefully balanced himself on the gate and watched the assassin from afar—he knew that he was up to no good. Talon had a reputation for harassing the poor scout whenever he could whether it's in Rift matches or just around the Halls. Varus came to the conclusion that maybe Talon had a crush on her.
"Oh, this is going to be fun to watch." Varus smirked as he pulled an arrow from his quiver. "I've seen the scout in combat and she can do a number on this foolish kid." The archer aimed carefully at the assassin, slowly pulling back the string on his bow.
Talon slowly got to his feet and reached into his sleeve. The archer spotted a small note in his hand and he lowered his bow. Varus watched carefully as Talon opened the note, read it over, and then put it back in his sleeve.
"Maybe I should let this play out? It doesn't seem that his motives are violent." Varus thought aloud, leaning on the wall beside to him. The arrow in his hand disbursed into glitter before he could put it in his quiver. His fingers felt the pink dust between them as he moved his gaze to Talon.
The assassin seemed hesitant with what he was doing, taking a step from behind the tree and then back in its shadow. He pinched the bridge of his nose and mouthed a curse to himself. Varus smirked—he has never seen the man this flustered.
"At this rate, it will be midnight before Talon speaks to Quinn." The archer sighed.
When Varus started to become bored, Talon began to walk towards Quinn. His fists were clenched and he seemed very uncomfortable. He stood behind the scout as she read a book. Quinn noticed a shadow on the grass in front of her and she turned, surprised when she saw the assassin.
"What are you doing here?" She asked, closing her book. Her question was more hostile than she intended it to be. Talon reached into his sleeve and the scout instantly jumped from her seat and took a defensive stance. The assassin frowned as he pulled the note out.
He flicked it towards Quinn and turned to leave. Quinn picked up the note, opening it with a confused look. Suddenly her face blew up in a red hue and her eyes were daggers in the assassin's back.
"T-Talon!" She called after him and the tone of her voice made him pick up his pace to a sprint.
"Oh no you don't." Varus snickered as he shot an arrow aimed towards the assassin feet. It pinned his left foot to the dirt and Talon tripped. "Killing two birds with one stone. My arrow stopped him from escaping and its magic will take effect when he sees Quinn. How wonderful."
"What the hell was that?" He growled as he examined his boot. The arrow disappeared before he saw it. Talon heard the scout coming up from behind him and he could feel her anger like a burning fire.
"Talon!" She growled. "Do you mind telling what your problem is?!"
Talon sighed as he looked up at her, getting to his feet slowly. Varus watched carefully- he knew when the person he shot the arrow with sees another, they instantly fall head over heels. Talon, on the other hand, kept his cold glare glued on his face.
"What's wrong? You don't like my love letter?" The assassin smirked.
"Love letter?" Quinn scoffed a she reopened the small paper, "Your ugly. That's not a love letter! You didn't even use the right word!"
"Whoops." Talon snickered at the red-faced girl, obviously finding her annoyance amusing.
"This is strange." Varus tapped his finger on his chin as he watched the scout throw the paper at Talon, "I'm positive the assassin would have confessed his love or something of the sort but he is just standing there."
"Look you should be grateful a man is giving you attention on Valentine's Day. In fact, you should feel happy." Talon crossed his arms.
"Excuse you?" Quinn growled and grabbed a fistful of his collar. "I don't need a man's attention to feel happy. The only man I need in my life is Valor."
"Really?" Talon scoffed.
"Really."
"If you insist but I doubt that bird could do this." Talon grabbed Quinn's chin and pulled her closer, pressing his lips on hers. She banged on his shoulders and squirmed to get out of his grasp but he held on tight. Varus ran his fingers through his blond hair, confused with the two people below him.
"I still don't understand. The magic of my arrows completely changed Shen, Akali, and Lux but Talon…" The archer thought as he watched the scout shove Talon off of her. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand furiously.
"What is wrong with you?!" Quinn growled, taking a step back from the assassin. Talon stood there smirking at her.
"Maybe it has something to do with my suspicions of Talon already having feelings for the scout? Can someone not fall under the magic if they are already in love?" Varus pulled another arrow from his quiver and aimed towards the assassin's back, "In all the other cases, I shot everyone from behind. Maybe this will do it."
"Will you stop looking at me like that?" Quinn jumped back from the assassin when he stepped forward. He snatched her hand as she tried to shove him away again.
"What, you don't like all this attention I'm giving—" Talon's remark was cut off from the sharp pain in his back. His grip around the girl's wrist tightened enough for her to cry out. The assassin turned around to see what had struck him but all he saw was the garden gate. Talon's dark eyes darted around the garden but saw nothing and focus back on the scout in front of him. Varus sighed in relief as he successfully hid from Talon in the shadows of the gates. He peeked through the iron bars and watched with anticipation as the assassin stood facing each other.
"Are you… okay?" Quinn hesitantly asked. She felt a bit surprised when Talon answered her with a small nod.
"Yeah." He said lowly as he looked down at his hand clamped around the girl's thin wrist, letting go when he realized that he was holding on too tightly. "Uh, sorry."
"It's alright…" Quinn awkwardly replied back as she rubbed her hand. "Talon?"
"What is it?"
"Why did you… kiss me?"
"Are you really that dense?" Talon rolled his eyes, "Isn't it clear that I like you?"
"Oh… I just thought that you always teasing me and borderline harassing me meant that you didn't like me at all." Quinn glanced down at her feet, avoiding the assassin's eyes. She saw his note sticking out from under his boot and she took a deep breath. "So you don't really think that I'm ugly?"
"Of course not. I find you very irritating… but not ugly. In fact, you're the most beautiful Demacian I've ever seen." Quinn looked back up at him and smiled when she saw that he was blushing slightly.
"I would find your statement endearing but when my only other competition is stone-faced Shauna Vayne and the smug Fiora Laurent it seems a little dull."
"Alright, the most beautiful woman in all of Runeterra!" Talon growled as his face grew even redder.
"I don't know, with this luscious long hair of yours, you could give me a run for my money." Quinn teased as she reached into Talon's hood and stroked his dark brown hair.
"You irritate me so much." The assassin snarled.
"Then why are you still letting me touch you?"
"Shut up." Talon wrapped his arms around Quinn and kissed her roughly. Varus could hear them both giggling when the assassin let her go. He nodded as he finally realized what his powers could do.
"So my arrows make people fall in love but they have no effect on those who are already in love." Varus said as he looked down to his bow, pulling the sting back lightly. "Interesting information… Maybe there is someone else I could try my powers on? Possibly another Noxian?"
Varus's body froze as he heard footsteps rush behind him and he saw Riven sprinting down the hallway, not even noticing the winged archer. He sighed in relief when she turned the corner in a hurry. Varus looked back at the scout and assassin still in each other's arms.
"I suppose my work is done here… Riven was a Noxian…" The archer smiled mischievously as he followed the Exile.
Hello again, sorry for the wait but you know me and my Talon/Quinn chapters need extra attention c;
Thank you Cornonjacob for checking over for mistakes.