Chapter Seven: The Date (Part 2)
"For some reason… I regret shoot Blair's lamp." Varus sighed as he looked at the two couples fighting below him. He shook his head when he saw his magic clouding Talon's dark eyes. A clock was ticking in the archer's ear next to him. He turned to read the time—eleven. "One hour… I suppose I could let this… get entertaining."
"Well are you going to say anything or just look stupid?!" Katarina shook Talon furiously by his collar only to have him just stare blankly at her. Her emerald eyes darted to Quinn, who had retreated behind a couple of tables. "What's the deal with you and my idiot brother?!"
"We, um…" Quinn's quickly looked over at Garen before clearing her throat. She got up from behind the tables and took a cautious step forward— if there is anything you should absolutely not do, it's piss off a Du Couteau sister. Glancing down at the blades strapped to the redhead's thigh, Quinn remembered the rumor why Draven had two parallel scars across his face. "We were just faking a kiss for free drinks.
Katarina shoved her brother into an empty chair before charging towards the scout. Quinn kept her ground, letting Katarina grab her quiver strap. She could feel the heat of the redhead's anger from her glare—it seared her very soul.
"I don't believe you." Katarina snarled, "Talon would never settle for… someone like you."
"Someone like me?" Quinn scoffed, "Do you mind elaborating on that?"
"Gladly." The redhead pushed the Demacian away. Katarina smirked at the younger woman as she glanced up and down her body, "Look at you— you're flat as a board and you have a haircut like a man. Talon likes women with a lot to grab, if you understand what I mean."
"Like Katarina." Talon mumbled slowly. The two Demacians looked at each other with a sick expression before going back to Katarina. The Du Couteau siblings may not be bound by blood but they were far closer than that, most considered them blood related.
"Yeah, like Kat—" The redhead glared back at her brother. She saw the drunken smirk on his face and her hair began to stand. Katarina walked over and punched Talon across the face, causing him to land on the cold floor, "Why are you so disgusting?"
"Katarina, I think that was a bit much." Garen spoke up, his words passing through the redhead's ears when she grabbed Talon by his hood.
"What has gotten into you today?" Katarina growled as she dropped him again. Talon rolled over to look at his sister, his dark eyes clouded with magic.
"I'm in love."
Everyone in the room stood silent as the assassin's words echoed in their minds.
"Oh boy." Varus chuckled darkly as he looked upon the mess he created. He glanced over his shoulder to the clock, "I wonder how hectic this could get in less than an hour."
"You're in love?" Katarina laughed as Talon got to his feet, "I hope you're not in love with that bird-talking Demacian over there."
"No." Talon shook his head. Varus glanced over at Quinn and saw her face fill with betrayal. He sighed and reached over his shoulder and counted his arrows.
"I suppose I should fix this. Quinn is a nice girl." The archer rolled his eyes while he pulled an arrow from his quiver.
"Then who?" Katarina asked in annoyance.
"You."
"You're a sick bastard." The redhead snarled, swiftly kicking her brother in his side.
"Hopefully, my theory is correct." Varus slowly pulled his bowstring back, aiming for the assassin on the floor as his sister kicked him repeatedly. The archer let go of the arrow and watched it fly towards Talon. Varus suddenly noticed someone stepping between the arrow and assassin.
"Katarina, control your temper!" Garen shouted as he blocked the redhead from her brother. The glittering arrow slipped itself through the Demacian's thick armor and disappeared instantly. The large man grunted at the sudden discomfort.
"Oh, no…" Varus sighed, realizing his mistake. "I thought if I hit Talon with another arrow my magic would just cancel itself out, but now the big oaf has gotten himself into this."
"Garen, are you alright?" Quinn asked, taking a slight step forward from behind Katarina.
"Yes, I suppose—"Garen froze at the sight of the scout. He dropped to his knee and grabbed the young girl's hands, "Quinn, thank you for having such a great concern for me…"
"Oh please." Varus shook his head.
"But as the Might of Demacia, I shall not falter at the nip of love." Garen slammed a fist onto his chest, "You are a true Demacian ally! I'm glad Demacian has you."
"Uh…" Quinn looked away from the man and tried to pull her hands back. Her golden eyes jumped away from Katarina's cold glare she had on her, "Could you let go?"
"Apologies, my lady. I suppose I got carried away at how soft they—"
"You jerk!" The redhead screamed, her face rivaling the color of her hair. Quinn gasped as she saw Katarina's fist launch itself across Garen's face. He fell over with a long groan.
"Well this is interesting—it seems as if the Du Couteau woman is jealous." Varus said to himself as he watched Quinn try to hold back Katarina when she lunged for Garen. "I wonder if I should intervene." The archer asked while his eyes wandered over to Talon, who was starting to move after his sister's rampage. Varus chuckled, "Not yet."
Talon looked over at Katarina and Quinn struggling to hold her back from the Demacian sprawled on the floor. His eyes narrowed at the scout's hands wrapped around his sister's waist and he hurried to his feet. Talon easily separated the women by pulling Katarina's leather jacket and Quinn's hood.
"You're awake?" Both women asked, Katarina saying it more sarcastically than Quinn.
"Of course." Talon replied, his eyes shifting to the redhead. A wicked grin appeared on his face and he released the scout to wrap his arm around Katarina, "I want to spend every waking moment with this scarlet beauty."
"Scarlet beauty?" Quinn and Varus repeated in disbelief. Talon gave a single nod before turning his attention back to the redheaded woman in his arms, who looked as if she was going to stab him. She tilted her head away when he brushed a fiery lock from her eyes. The scout watched the man she loved holding another and her heart leaped into her chest as he leaned in closer to her face. He pulled face closer to his own, eyes slowly shutting.
With a sudden silver flash, Katarina held a blade up to Talon's neck before his lips reached hers.
"Get your disgusting mug away from me before I slice you." Talon's dark eyes glanced down to the long blade pressed to his throat and then back to his sister. Her crimson hair fell before them as he took his hand from behind her neck but didn't take a step back. "I mean it."
Quinn suddenly yanked Talon behind her and stepped between the siblings. Katarina lowered her blade as she stared back at the scout. Her emerald eyes narrowed at the girl while she placed her weapon back into its sheath.
"What are you doing, girl?" Katarina's stepped forward as if issuing a challenge.
"Protecting him." Quinn shot back. Talon glanced down at the woman standing before him, surprised at the tone of her voice.
"Why?" The redhead scoffed, "It's pretty obvious my brother doesn't like you—why stick around?"
"Well… I like him so that's all that matters!"
"Oh, really?" Katarina snickered, "Tell that to the giant idiot getting to his feet. Pretty sure he'd be happy to hear that." Quinn turned and saw an enraged Garen standing behind her and Talon, his face full of rage.
"Scoundrel! You shall not lay a filthy hand on this Demacian woman!" The Might of Demacia shouted before charging towards Talon. The assassin tried to step away but his cape of blades was caught by the fistful of the furious man.
"Let go of me!"
"Not until you tell me what you were planning on doing behind Quinn?! What disgusting thoughts was that Noxian mind thinking?!" Garen threw Talon to the floor, knocking the assassin out cold. The Might of Demacia grabbed a table and held it over his head, "Prepare for justice!"
"Garen, no!" Quinn commanded as she threw herself between the two men, covering Talon's body with her own.
"Time to intervene." Varus said as flew forward and pulled the table from the juggernaut's hands, unintentionally smacking him in the face as well. He slowly placed the table back on the floor as he lowered himself to his feet, dusting off his hands on his scarf.
"Who the hell is that?" The archer heard Katarina say. He turned and saw the four staring at him with wide eyes.
"It's Cupid!" Quinn laughed. "Just look at his wings and bow!"
"No it's me Var—I mean, yes it's me, Cupid." They don't recognize me. Maybe I can fix this mess before someone gets killed. Varus cleared his throat, "It seems like a few of my arrows missed their marks."
"You mean you're the one to blame for… that?!" Katarina shouted as she pointed at the scout still on top of her brother.
"Uh, not really. You see, earlier today I caught your brother stalking Quinn. I assumed he was up to something sinister, but it turns out he was actually planning on confessing his love to her. I shot an arrow before I knew that. Turns out that my magic won't affect those looking into the eyes of the person they love and will activate when see someone else, meaning Talon loves Quinn but saw you."
Katarina remained silent as she looked over to the scout and assassin again only with a softer expression.
"I thought that hitting him again with an arrow would cancel out my magic, but the idiot over here got himself shot." Varus growled, pointing to Garen.
"Can you fix this, Cupid?" Quinn asked.
"Yeah, I'd rather not have my little brother trying to kiss me. The Du Couteau already has a bad reputation with Cassiopeia's dating history."
"I suppose I can. Katarina, I'm going to need you to knock out—" Before Varus could finish, the redhead teleported behind Quinn, grabbing her shoulder between two fingers, and pressed hard. The scout suddenly fell over, fast asleep. "I was going to say knock out Garen, but this works too."
"So what is the plan, feathers?"
"Oh, my head." Garen groaned as he pressed his hands over his temples. Katarina and Varus looked over at him and then at the clock that struck midnight. A flash of glittering red flashed from the assassin and juggernaut. "Uh, what happened? I feel like I was hit by a boulder."
"So midnight is here finally." The archer said lowly. "Now that Valentine's is over, everything is going back to normal. Seeing as though Garen remembers nothing, Talon won't either." A sudden feeling of urgency rushed over him as he saw his hands turn back into its ghostly grey shade. "The curse!" Varus flew towards the door but he felt his feathers starting to fall out.
"Hey where is he—I guess he has to leave now that Valentine's Day is over." Katarina assumed as she stared at the swinging doors as they settled. She looked over at Garen, "You okay there buddy?"
"I suppose. What happened?"
"Cupid was getting his kicks shooting people and he accidently made you fall in love with Quinn and my idiot brother with me. Honestly, if that sick freak tries that shit again next year again, I will gut him."
"Do you think we should take them back to their rooms? Leaving them unconscious in a bar seems rather cruel, don't you think?"
"Sure, why not." Katarina rolled her eyes as she grabbed her brother's wrist and began to drag him towards the door. Garen chuckled before lifting the scout up gently and followed the redhead, "Hey, I've got a great idea."
Varus sprinted as far as he could from the tavern. He looked behind him and saw Garen and Katarina walking out of the bar with the unconscious scout and assassin. The archer sighed in relief when they turned into another hallway. Suddenly, Varus crashed into someone.
"Watch where you're going—can't you see me walking here?" Varus growled as he looked forward, surprised when he was greeted with pale eyes and silver hair.
"Actually, you were running." Diana shot back as she got to her feet. She looked down at the Ionian, "Why are you wearing a skirt?"
"It's not what you think."
"Whosever room you are sneaking out of, I won't judge on your type of roleplay. The Goddess of the Moon doesn't judge, so neither will I." Diana said, helping the man to his feet.
"Wait, why are you out so late?" Varus asked.
"I was out on the roof speaking to the Goddess. She told me someone was causing some trouble inside so I came to investigate and then you ran into me. I think she was just telling me to go rest." Diana picked her weapon off the carpet and made her way passed Varus, "Don't worry—I won't tell anyone your secret."
"What are you doing?" Garen asked as he watched Katarina jump behind Gragas' bar. Katarina snickered as she surveyed the numerous bottles of alcohol on the wall, her fingers tapping of every one.
"No one is here—why not take a few drinks… or a few bottles." The redhead smirked as she grabbed two large, square bottles of dark whiskey. She brought one up to the light and watched the bubbles float to the top.
"But that's stealing."
"Lighten up, man. The only reason all this crazy shit happened tonight is because we came to the bar to get free drinks— and with what happened with Talon, I could really use one." Katarina sighed as she hopped in the seat beside the large Demacian. She slid an empty glass in front of him and snapped open the bottle.
"Oh, I don't drink." Garen said before Katarina began pouring the whiskey into the glass. She raised a brow at him and filled the glass anyway.
"Just try it." Katarina rolled her eyes and then took a long chug of the liquor straight from the bottle. She hissed at the burning in her throat but she smiled, "Gragas has the good shit."
Garen looked down at the tiny glass filled with what he considered dirty water. His eyes narrowed slightly as he slowly reached for it. Katarina watched him from the corner of her eye with a smirk. She took another swig while Garen wrapped his massive fingers around the shot glass. He shut his eyes tightly and quickly brought the glass to his lips and dumped it into his mouth. The Might of Demacia shuddered at the horrible taste on his younger but forced himself to swallow.
"That's disgusting!" He cried, pushing the glass out of his sight. Garen looked over at Katarina when she began to laugh uncontrollably.
"Oh man… you're… a riot." The redhead managed to say between laughs. She took a deep breath to calm herself, "I'm starting to think you've never had a drink in your life."
"That was true until about a few seconds ago."
"Then why did you agree to coming with me for drinks if you've never had one?" Katarina popped her eyebrow up playfully at the Demacian. Garen pounded his chest and let out an obvious fake cough.
"I couldn't let a lady come alone to a bar alone, not with so many monsters roaming these—"
"Oh, bologna. I know the real reason why you came." The redhead smirked as she tipped the bottle to her lips. The Might of Demacia's eyes darted at her in shock.
"Y-You do?" His voice quivered slightly. He put his hand over his chest plate and felt the rapid beating of his heart.
"Yeah, you just wanted to get out of skirmishing with your faction members."
"Oh, uh, yes that's it." Garen said with a sigh of relief, "That isn't bad, right?"
"Ditching practice to drink? No way, Talon and I used to do that when we were younger." Katarina put her hands under her chin as she reminisced about the past. Half a smile appeared across her fair face, "I would grab the alcohol from my father's cabinet because, you know, I am a lot stealthier than my idiot brother—I can drink more than him as well."
"Speaking of Talon, do you think it was a good idea to leave him… where we did?"
"Oh sure, you remember what Cupid said—he won't recall anything that happened today."
"If he doesn't remember anything, couldn't that possible end horribly?"
"That's what I'm hoping for." Katarina snickered as she jumped over the bar again.
"You and your brother have a curious relationship…" Garen mumbled while he watched the redhead steal more bottles off of Gragas' shelf. He smiled when she hopped for a drink on the highest shelf but her fingers were just centimeters from it. The Might of Demacia walked behind the counter and easily picked he bottle off the wall. He held the heavy bottle to Katarina. She stared at it for a moment before taking it swiftly.
"Thanks, man." She grinned and walked over to the bar. "Since we've broken about a dozen Institute rules, why don't you and I go grab some leftovers in the lunchroom? They've got to have something good considering it was Valentine's Day a few hours ago." Katarina said as she pulled a paper and pen from one of the drawers. The redhead snickered quietly as she scribbled on the paper.
"Sure, I could wash this taste down with some chocolate."
"Alright, cool." Katarina said as she hopped back over the counter while Garen decided to take the long way around. She waited for him by the door and he held it open for her.
"What did you write on that paper?" Garen asked.
"Just a little note for the bar owner."
Dear Gragas,
Talon decided to take a few bottles from your shelf when I clearly told him it was wrong. So the next time you see him, ask for your gold.
Katarina
Talon groaned as he opened his eyes, rubbing his head as it pounded. He stared at the ceiling of his room from his bed. What the hell happened? Last thing I remember was—Talon shot up from the sheets. I tried to kiss Kat. What the—
Just then there was soft snore beside him. Please don't let that be Kat. If it is, we will have more rumors spreading about us than there was when Cassiopeia—Talon turned and saw Quinn fast asleep. He stared at her calm face, feeling his sudden panic disappear. The assassin laid his head back on the pillow behind him, not taking his eyes off Quinn.
I've never been this close to her, not like this. The only times I could count as close is when we are on Summoner's Rift and I had my blade on her neck. This feels different… and odd.
"Can you stop staring at me?" Quinn mumbled sleepily.
"How long have you been awake?"
"I woke up a few hours ago to let Valor in and then fell back asleep before you started fidgeting." The scout lazily pointed behind her. Talon's eyes darted up and saw that he was not in his own room but Quinn's. He then saw the large indigo eagle glaring at him from on top of a dresser. Valor let out a low, angry squawk as Talon stared back at him. "Don't worry, I told him not to attack you."
"You mean you're okay with letting me stay here? A deadly assassin?"
"You didn't seem so deadly when you were kissing me." Quinn smirked.
"Uh, about last night… what happened?" Talon asked, slightly concerned on how he ended up in Quinn's bed.
"Cupid missed some arrows but everything is fixed." The scout giggled, opening one eye to look at Talon, "Turns out you loved me so much, Cupid's magic had no effect on you and upon seeing Katarina the magic took hold. Kind of romantic, don't you think?"
"Uh, the part when I tried kissing my sister is not." Talon grimaced when Quinn laughed, "Hey wait… Wasn't that giant idiot under Cupid's magic too?"
"I think so… but I think I remember him arguing with Katarina when he got hit." Quinn gasped, "You don't think he—"
"I doubt it. Kat is too good for him."
"I'm too good for you and yet you love me." The scout teased, poking Talon in the arm. He caught her hand before she pulled away.
"Sure, whatever." The assassin rolled his eyes, "What time is it?"
"I don't know let me check." Quinn said, rolling out of the bed and walking over to her desk. Talon quickly turned away when he saw the scout in nothing but her underwear. He looked under the covers and saw that his bladed cloak and outfit were gone. The assassin then noticed a mess of clothes thrown on the woman's floor. Talon saw his cloak stuck to the wall with a long blade holding it up.
"Kat, I am going to cut off all your hair." He growled under his breath.
"It's only four in the morning—are you okay?" Quinn asked, glancing over at what Talon was glaring at. Her face flushed when she saw her armor on her floor and quickly hurried back under the covers.
"Don't get back in the sheets, idiot!"
"How else am I going to cover myself from you?!"
The End
Notes: Greetings! Sorry for the wait, this chapter was longer than I expected it to be... I also wanted to finish in February : ^) But thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed this final chapter of Hearseeker Tales! If any of you were wondering how Talon remembered the night before and Garen didn't even remember five seconds, he got hit in the head with a table.
See you next time!