Manners. Makith. Man.
Noxus. It was a place where the weak perished while the strong flourished. Not the most pleasant place to call home, but there were somehow people who actually enjoyed their time here and were actually proud to be a part of it for some reason or other. But let us not terry over the minor details. Our focus is upon a run down bar in one of the many slums that littered the darkened city during the dead of night. Within it was pretty much empty save for a couple of men sitting at a booth with a drink in front of each of them. One of them was a rather young man, barely a year into adulthood looking like an adolescent teenager with his arms crossed dressed in worn out clothes fit for a vandal. The other man on the other hand (hue hue) was much older and wore the garb of a distinguished man of wealth and held himself as such. Leaning on the table near the older man was a wooden cane with a hook handle at the end. Suddenly the younger man slammed his palms down in frustration while leaning forward.
"Damn it old man, what did you bring me here for?!" he growled, not bothering to hide his discontent.
The old man in question didn't seem at all fazed by his younger counter-part's outburst and continued to enjoy his drink. This caused the younger man's eyebrow to twitch.
"Don't ignore me you freakin' fossil!"
At this the officer sighed before calmly placing his drink down and meeting the other man's gaze with the same amount of calm.
"You're quite a rude one aren't you?" he said, "Especially given the fact that you're addressing the person who kept you from rotting in the dungeons."
"Tch, I had it under control," growled the younger man defiantly.
"Did you really?" asked the older man with a brow raised, "Because from where I was standing you seemed to have had your face pressed to the floor under the foot of one of the guards that were chasing you although I must say I am thoroughly impressed with how long you were able to lead them on."
"I don't need you to patronize me."
"And I wasn't, I was simply stating my opinion."
"Well if your damn opinion is all that you're gonna say then I'm done here."
The younger man made to get up.
"I brought you here because I am curious as to why a strapping young man of your caliber of skill is wasting it all on petty theft and vandalism."
The younger man stopped short before fixing a venomous glare at the older man.
"The hell do you care for? I'm doing what any kid would do to survive on the streets."
The older man nodded at this.
"I see, and you seem to have come out on top for a while now… that is until the guards caught up to you."
"Go to hell you-."
Suddenly the doors to the bar slammed open and a group of armed thugs stormed inside. When they spotted the younger man they immediately stomped over.
"Finally found ye you freakin' rat!" one of them jeered.
"Ya ow dah boss a lot arm and a leg for dat comment you made toward em," growled another.
Suddenly the older man cleared his throat causing him to be the center of attention.
"Gentlemen, please, while it seems you have a bone to pick with my young friend here and I'm sure it's well founded," he stated while sparing an exasperated glance at his younger compatriot who simply scoffed in annoyance, "I had a rather rough day so would you be so kind as to leave us so I can enjoy this lovely pint of Noxian ale."
The old man finished with a pleasant smile that did not seem to impress the group of thugs one bit. The leader leaned forward with a threatening look on his face.
"If ya don' wanna knife in ya gullet I sugges ya shove off old man," he growled.
The old man being addressed let out a sigh of disappointment before collecting his cane and standing up from the booth.
"Excuse me then," he said calmly.
The thugs made way for him as he strode towards the door seemingly to make his exit.
"Go back ta yer high payin' life ya boneless pig," sneered one of the thugs before the group turned their attention back to the younger man.
This comment however caused the older man to stop short before a small grin appeared on his face.
"Manners," he said suddenly taking one of the locks on the door and securing it.
The sound caused the thugs to turn towards the older man again.
"Makith."
Another click as another lock fell into place. The younger stared at the older man's back like he was crazy.
"Man."
The final lock clicked into place as the group of thugs slowly started to walk towards the older man who still had his back turned.
"Do you know what that means?" asked the older man suddenly.
The thugs stopped short and looked at each other before shrugging. The older man saw this through the reflection of the sign next to the door.
"Then allow me to teach you a lesson."
Suddenly the man dropped the hook of his cane over a glass on a nearby table and flung it behind him with almost superhuman precision causing the said glass to slam right into the forehead of the thug leader and shatter. The man comically fell flat onto his back with his eyes crossed in a daze. His fellow men could only stare in shock, the younger man holding the same expression as well. The older man meanwhile walked towards the group with slow and meaningful steps as the group spun to look back at their opponent.
"Are we going to stand around all day?" asked the older man before he stopped just before the group, "Or are we going to fight?"
One of the thugs growled before shoving to the front with his fist reared back. The older man simply leaned his head to the side causing the fist to careen past thus causing the thug's body to fly forward due to momentum. The older man took the opportunity to slam the man in the back of his head with his elbow causing the thug to tumble forward before slamming unceremoniously into the door. The older man then spun while ducking down in order to avoid another punch aimed at him before, in one fluid motion, flipping the assailant over his head and onto the floor behind him. Another thug ran at him with his dagger brandished, but it did little to dissuade the older man as he disarmed the man with ease before slamming the thug with his cane with several precise strikes causing the man to crumple onto the floor in pain. By this time the leader had come to and gotten up holding his head only to see his underlings being completely and utterly annihilated by the old geezer before him.
"Let's see you try this on for size," the thug leader muttered before brandishing a handgun of Piltovian design and aiming it at the older man.
The man pulled the trigger and a loud crack rang out sending a bullet careening into the doors to the exit. The thug leader stared in shock. It was as if the older man had disappeared!
THUNK!
THUD!
The older man looked down at the fallen thug leader from his position behind the man for a moment before turning back to the table where he saw the younger man staring at him with a mixed look of awe and respect. The older man gave little heed as he simply sat himself back down, picked up his drink and slowly downed it savoring every gulp until the glass was empty before he gently set it down.
"Apologies," said the older man, "I needed to let off some steam after today's events, daddy issues."
The younger man could only stare in shock at how calm the other man was especially after witnessing him win a fight where he was outnumbered by an exponential amount.
"W-Who are you?!" asked the younger man currently unable to say anything else.
The older man studied his younger counter part for a moment before answering.
"Marcus Du Couteau and since I have stated my name it is only proper for you to say yours."
The younger man gulped before lowering his head in a respectful manner.
"Talon."
Marcus let a smile creep on his face.
"Well then 'Talon' how would you like to learn under me as my apprentice of sorts?"
Talon stared at the man before him. This is a man that of power and had the skills to back it up… it was something that he respected greatly.
"I would be honored to."
"Excellent! I think the first order of business is to introduce you to my daughters as you will inevitably become acquainted with you," he said before cheerfully adding, "although I do advise you to not try anything funny with them, not because what I would do but rather what they would do."
It was then that Talon started to wonder just what exactly he had gotten himself into.
FIN