Yasuo dragged along, still tired, but still alert as ever, the stranger in front of him and the always-present threat of attackers keeping him on his toes. Dawn was arriving, and with it, the rising sun illuminated a crescent of morning light, barely peeking over the hills, painting the Valoran desert sky a fresh blue, the horizon on the mountains still tinted with smooth orange hues. This part of the day was easily his favorite, as early morning sunrises had a tranquil peace unmatched by anything he knew; it brought upon a unique kind of solace that he grew to love, to depend upon for serenity. It was the most beautiful and picturesque scene imaginable, and he relished in every moment of it.
"It's so strange how war and sadness can exist in such a beautiful world," he mused, staring towards the horizon.
"Hm?" Quinn looked at Yasuo, then the glowing sky. "Oh, yeah, I think about that a lot too. We take for granted the world we were given, that's why."
Yasuo nodded, completely agreeing with her. He didn't know such pure minds existed outside of Ionia. Demacia, Noxus, and even the Freljord have been so engrossed with warmongering that he couldn't believe anyone from those nations couldn't be corrupted through belligerent propaganda and violence. She didn't seem like she stayed in the homeland much though, either. That must account for some of it, he figured.
The eagle let out a piercing screech, surprising Yasuo and even Quinn. She raised her glove to allow Valor to take flight from atop it, a flurry of loose feathers floating to the ground as the bird soared into the early morning air. He hovered for a bit, looking around, and with a loud squawk, zoomed past the hill in front of the two and landed on it. As Quinn and Yasuo followed him, they peeked over the hill and noticed a small village a quarter of a mile off, which must have been a Noxian outpost.
There were a number of dark houses emitting an ominous atmosphere, but seemingly not armed or militaristic in fashion, but knowing Noxus, he would be damned if there weren't any soldiers occupying the houses. Being so far off from the main city, there was no way Noxus would leave any bit of their land undefended. But even so... it seemed eerily empty.
"See anyone up there?" Quinn asked as the bird perched back upon her shoulder. No response, which probably meant a no. Yasuo wondered how anyone could communicate with animals, no matter how intelligent they may be. It didn't really seem possible. "I'm going to check inside to see if there's any intel or anyone hiding out. Coming?"
"Nothing else to do," he shrugged. She nodded, breaking into a low trot as she made towards the outpost. Yasuo followed in close trail, keeping an eye on his peripheral for assassins, whether they be coming for him or Quinn. The sun had started to peek over the mountains, the more recognizable morning daylight overcoming the dawn. The sand underneath them began to glow. He began to feel a warmth from the sun as they approached the outpost.
The houses were dark and intimidating, made of black stone and nondescript windows and metal to accentuate it. They seemed occupied, as even looking through the windows at a distance, they could see various furnishings and bookshelves. Dust clouds swept through the outpost, uplifted rocks and heavy sand clashing into the metal that rang a sharp clang in his ear.
But other than that, it was absolutely dead silence. He was quickly reminded of the quiet night at the village as war raged on just outside the borders, and his temptations getting the best of him, ultimately causing his accidental betrayal and the biggest whirlwind of his life. It was incredible how a single action can shape your future in unimaginably catastrophic ways. He sighed, the sound but a whisper in the raging desert air.
Quinn furtively halted her run into a crouch as she reached what was the highest building in the small village, seemingly the hub of interaction in whatever purpose the outpost served. It was a taunting house with a small castle-like pillar attached to the side, dark as the night and uninviting as death. The lights weren't lit inside, and scattered paperwork was littered all over a desk alongside manila folders. It had to be something that Quinn was looking for.
She signaled him to stay close as she approached the door cautiously, expertly and swiftly picking the lock with a strip of metal she had fashioned for the job in her pocket. Twisting the knob and sneaking inside, she looked around the corners as Valor darted upstairs, his wings barely making a flutter. They seemed used to this, Yasuo observed. Even so, the air in the room was very tense. The walls were painted a night black with the only light source in the room being the blistering sun outside, and an eerie candle near the paperwork, which seemed deceptively inviting.
Without a noise, Valor swept back down, reportedly finding nothing of interest in the cellar room above them. Quinn nodded, giving the room a final sweep before attending to the paperwork. She flipped through all of the intel rather quickly. Must be a fast reader.
Yasuo brought his voice to a whisper. "Anything?"
"Shh," she merely countered, tirelessly flipping through the papers. All she found were kill confirmations of a mercenary assassin - his targets included everyone, even troublesome Noxians. There were at least 50 kill confirmation files just on the last two months. She scanned the victims for mention of a Demacian official that was slain by a Noxian assassin, but she couldn't find him. This didn't seem to be her target. She laid down the paper where she found them, turning around to head out the door.
"Well?" he demanded, annoyed at her secrecy. Quinn raised an eyebrow.
"Whoever this guy is, he could have been it, but I couldn't find the specific target I'm looking for," she explained. She began to walk out the door, annoyed. "Figures there would be nothing left in this worthless-"
Valor cried out as the slashing of metal into flesh cut her off, as blood splattered on the floor right under where the ranger was about to fall.
Yasuo's heart jumped, his blood suddenly pumping with adrenaline. By instinct, he drew his sword with such quick elegance it cut the air around it. He took position, ready to fend off an expected attack. Valor tore through the air at an impossible speed, dodging another flung blade and slashing the attacker with his claws, dripping blood as he circled around to strike again as his screech echoed through the room.
Yasuo leapt from his stationary position towards where Valor had marked the attacker. He forced the assassin into the dim candlelight, yet still barely visible under his midnight purple robes, adorned with steel. He smiled, drawing a sword and rushing at Yasuo. Easily predicting his movement, Yasuo parried upwards and overpowered the assassin, causing him to recoil as he repositioned. Yasuo took the window of opportunity and aimed to thrust him through the chest, but he recovered much faster than expected.
The assassin stepped back with a flash of speed and launched four shurikens directly at Yasuo. He foresaw this, and leapt to the right to dodge it. Before he knew it, the assassin chuckled lightly and thrust his arm to the left, forcing the blades to his will, two razors slashing into Yasuo's arm as he cried out in pain. The blades must have been attached, as he pulled his arm back, withdrawing the shurikens. Brandishing his armblade, he took a leaping position and disappeared in a blink, appearing behind the wounded swordsman with the blade at his throat. He locked Yasuo in a chokehol and he brought a dagger to his neck. Hearing a quick flap of wings, Yasuo knew he had to act now or it may cost him his life.
He elbowed the assassin in the stomach, causing him to tumble back in recoil as Valor once more struck the man, this time on his neck, forcing a shrill cry. His blade grazed Yasuo's right leg as he fell, causing both of them to fall to the ground in agony. Yasuo caught his breath, picking up his fallen blade with his unwounded arm, recovering and barely walking with searing pains to the assassin to finish him off. But before he knew it, the assassin released a storm of blades into the air in a cloud of purple smoke, concealing the entire room. Yasuo desperately slashed to his right and behind him, fearing for another ambush attempt.
As the smoke cleared, the door was flung open, revealing a man hobbling away, already having cleared about a quarter mile, a trail of blood marking his footsteps. And near the doorway, a fallen ranger.
Valor squawked, rushing over to her, frantically screeching to Yasuo for help. Holding on to the tear in his leg, he crawled over to Quinn as the sunlight that now shone through the doorway gave good vision of their wounds. Before tending to himself, he decided to tend to the fallen. The knife was lodged a few inches left of her spine, and while he couldn't determine the length of the blade, he doubt it had compromised any organs and hoped it was a flesh wound. She observed her vital signs, and they were all positive except for the fact that she was out cold. He tore off a considerable scrap of the blue cloth on his shoulders, and fashioned it into a bandage. Valor watched on helplessly.
Yasuo slowly and carefully unlodged the knife from her back, throwing it to the side as he quickly patched up the tear with the cloth. The dagger's blade was only about 4 inches long, so he doubt any permanent damage would be done. She must have fainted from shock, if anything.
He tried speaking to the bird. "She'll be all right," he assured.
Crimson leaked through and stained the cloth as Yasuo slowly got up to look around for padding for his own wounds. He settled on using the rope around his waist as a tourniquet to appease the gash on his leg as he sat down at the table of paperwork, and waited for the Demacian to wake up. He felt that her bird would relentlessly hunt him down if he left, and he was in no condition to fight. So he just stay put for the first, well-deserved rest in a long time.
After all, he was done abandoning allies.