My eyes snapped open as a very insistent knock sounded against my door. As I turned my head towards the door, a crinkling sound drew my attention. Lifting my head, I saw a piece of paper on the pillow, slightly crumpled from the weight of my head. I started to pick it up to read it, but another set of knocks, this time even more insistent, forced me to get up out of my bed. Lacing my pants, I called my blades over to me, expending more than a bit of energy. They flew through the air and latched themselves onto me, one at my right hip and the other poking out over my right shoulder. Whoever it is seems to be very impatient, I thought. Can you tell who it is, Vashirik? The Daemon was strangely silent. I knew he was still there, for otherwise the blades would not have responded to my call. But he wasn't speaking, for some reason.
Before I started dwelling on it, or even giving Vashirik a mental "slap", I reached the door. I unlocked it and opened it slightly. Unfortunately, the person on the other side was not content with a small space to speak through. As soon as I registered black hair, my door was blown open, and I crashed into the center of my room. I lifted my head and saw a medium-sized woman reloading a truly oversized crossbow, pulling a bolt almost as large as she was out of my door and pushing it back into the firing channel. I kicked into a backwards roll, putting some more distance between us. As I came back to my feet, I drew my blades, my feet set wide, ready to dodge aside at any moment. My attacker did not seem to fear my blades or even truly notice that I had regained my feet. She just finished reloading her large crossbow, slinging it onto her back.
"So, you are the one who willingly gave in to darkness," she finally spoke, her voice cold and calculating. She turned to stare at me, her eyes hidden by ruby glasses. It was then that I noticed a smaller crossbow strapped to her right arm. It was pointed straight at me, and I barely had time to move before it fired.
The small bolt whipped across the room in an instant, burying itself in my left shoulder rather than my heart where it had been aimed. The pain was minimal and the bolt hadn't destroyed any connective muscles, meaning that as soon as the bolt hit me, I was turning with it and dashing across the room. She didn't seem fazed by my sudden rush. I swept my blades from the opposite sides at head height, intent on removing her head. She tumbled away from me to the right, and as I turned to track her movements, another bolt slammed into the inside of my left thigh. This time it hit muscle, and my leg buckled underneath me.
Then I noticed a sensation seeping from the wound in my shoulder. It was a sickly burning, and it made all other pain seem trivial, even the pain of Changing. I tried to push it aside to address my leg, but it permeated every nerve of my shoulder, and swiftly traveled down my arm. My hand started convulsing, forcing me to drop my katana. Then Vashirik started screaming in mortal agony. It made my head hurt even more. FOCUS! I yelled at myself, lifting my eyes to see the woman loading another bolt in her wrist crossbow. Her mouth was set in a grim line as she carefully aimed it at me. I tried to move, but the burning was filling my leg as well, severely hampering my movements. The third bolt made its way into my right shoulder, and the burning started seeping down my right arm. I didn't even try to hold on to my other blade, letting it fall to the floor.
The woman then lifted her wrist up, and the crossbow folded itself closed. Then she reached over her left shoulder, pulling the large crossbow over and setting it. She took her time aiming at the center of my chest. I pushed myself up onto my knees, staring hard at her the whole time. Her finger moved to the trigger, and her voice came again. "You, Alexei Avan Balunor, gave yourself willingly to darkness 74 years, 4 months, and 7 days ago. For that, you are Condemned." Her finger pulled the trigger...
Suddenly, a spear flew through my window, shattering the glass. It slammed into the forward end of my attacker's crossbow, pushing it out of alignment. This caused the condemning bolt to slam into the wall to the left of my head. A lithe form sprang into my room through the shattered window, another spear appearing in their hand with a small explosion of leaves. My vision was a little blurry from whatever my attacker had tipped the bolts with, but I was still able to make out long dark brown hair pulled back into a ponytail, as well as leather clothes revealing a very tan and very female body. My attacker fled from the room, leaving her condemning bolt in my wall.
My rescuer calmly strolled to my door, closing it and locking it. Then she turned and walked towards me. The burning had weakened me so much that I couldn't lift my head when her leather-clad feet stopped in front of me. The woman crouched down, putting her hand beneath my chin and pulling my head up. Her cat-like green eyes roved over my body before she pushed me back against the wall. I lacked the strength to move, or even speak.
"This might hurt," she spoke, a sultry tone carrying a slight purr. "Actually, it is going to hurt. A lot. Little Miss Shauna Vayne likes to barb her bolts sometimes. And if your weakness is any indication, she also used her Silver bolts. It's a rare metal that is very toxic to anything touched with darkness. As I suspect you are, if my information is correct. Alexei, is it?" While she was talking, she placed a hand around each bolt and swiftly pulled them out of me. Each time she did, I couldn't suppress a loud howl of agony. When all three bolts had been removed she bodily picked my limp form up and carried me to my bed. She's strong, I thought as she swept the glass off my bed with one arm, the other keeping me aloft. She gently lowered me onto the covers, then reached into a pouch on her hip.
She withdrew a few bandages and a small jar of a green liquid. Unrolling the bandages, she continued speaking. "You are lucky I was stalking by when I was. Even though I lost a very promising rabbit, I think this catch should suffice for now. What do you think, Alexei?" She looked down at me, then smiled a predatory smile and returned to dabbling a bit of the green liquid over the stretched bandages. I must have lost consciousness, for the next thing I felt was a very cold feeling spreading through my arms and my leg. Snapping my eyes open, I looked down to see the green-tinted bandages covering the wounds from Vayne's bolts. I shifted my gaze back to my rescuer, who still stood over me, although now she was leaning on a spear.
"The Jana'tu liquid will neutralize the Silver in your body. By this time tomorrow, you will be able to take your revenge. Know, however, that within the week, I will seek repayment for saving your life. And now, I must bid you goodbye. That rabbit's trail is getting cold." With that, she leaped onto my windowsill, raising her nose to the wind and sniffing.
Just as she was about to drop from my window, I found the strength to speak. "Wh-Who are you?" She stopped and turned back to me. She smiled again, and the sunlight glinted off of sharp, elongated teeth. "I am known as Nidalee, the Bestial Huntress. But do not worry, you will get to know me very well soon." She turned back outside and dropped from the sill. I didn't hear a sound after she left.
I tried sitting up, but failed miserably, slumping back to the bed. Vashirik? Are you there? Why aren't I healing? I couldn't hear anything from Vashirik besides whimpering. VASHIRIK! I "yelled" at him. I'm sorry, Vessel, his voice was extremely weak. I could barely keep from dying myself. How did she get a hold of True Silver? It's more rare than the metal used to forge my blade. It tears at my very essence. So the reason I'm not healing is cause you don't have the energy to do so? Yes, Vessel. I couldn't begin to try and wrest control from you, much less renew every Silver-tainted cell in our body. I'm going to retreat now. And try to keep myself together. I am sorry. I felt his presence fade from my mind.
I heard more pounding on my door, and I couldn't move to respond. Please, don't let it be someone else who wants to kill me for no reason, I pleaded. As the pounding continued, I tried to gather the strength to yell, but all that came out was a strangled shout. The pounding ceased, and I mentally braced myself for another bolt to crash through my door, signaling my end.
Instead, it was an explosion that disintegrated my wooden door. From the look of it, it was a Lumen spell, a Light Bomb, meaning whoever was about to walk through was a light mage. Which also means they are predisposed to hate anything Dark. Aka, me. I resigned myself to death.
"Ummm, sorry about that," a shy voice carried through the dissipating smoke. "I didn't mean to make it that powerful."
Another voice answered her, coughs suffusing the response. "By the Gods, Lux! You almost took me out too! Watch it next time, eh?"
"Let's see if he's still alive." Came yet another voice, tinged with a heavy Piltover accent. A tall silhouette formed in my vision, flanked by a slightly shorter form with what appeared to be a top hat making her seem taller, and a shorter body clutching a long wand. As the smoke fully cleared, I recognized Vi by her pink hair and ridiculously large gauntlets, and I also recognized Lux, the girl who had kissed me a few days before. The third one was unknown to me, long brown hair falling unconfined down her back and in front of her shoulders, a short purple dress and matching top hat fitting along the contours of her body. I noticed an array of lenses on the hat, and I wondered what they were for, until I noticed the long rifle slung over her shoulder.
"He's hurt!" Lux yelled, dropping her wand and running over to my bed. She stopped when she realized I was awake, a deep blush covering her face.
"Oh, come on, Shiny. It's not like he's fully naked. Lighten up, will ya?" Vi stooped by my head and looked into my eyes. "Hey, Cupcake, he's conscious. Looks like someone else patched him up, though. What happened here?"
"Someone tried to kill him, obviously," The purple-clad woman stated sarcastically. "And I will place my bet that it was Shauna Vayne who tried it. And stop calling me 'Cupcake' Vi."
"Why should I?" She responded. "And how do you know it was Vayne?"
The woman sighed. "If you had taken the time to even case the room before rushing over to the half-naked man that was obviously stable, you would have noticed the rather large crossbow bolt sticking out of the wall."
Vi looked away from me. "Oh," she simply stated. "Well, that eliminates every other suspect, so let's go take her down!" She stood back up and started punching one fist into the other.
"You know we can't do that, Vi. The League will have to sort this out . All we can do is make sure Vayne doesn't come back to try and finish the job. Now patrol the outside hallway, and that is an order." Surprisingly, Vi dropped her hands and started walking out the door.
"You know, sometimes I really hate that you're my boss, Cupcake." Vi called from the hallway.
"I swear, she calls me that one more time and I will put a bullet in her head. Reckless little battering ram," The woman, who I only knew as "Cupcake" walked over to the bed and looked down at me. "Well, let's get this started shall we? Do you know who I am?"
Mustering all the strength I could, I smiled and responded, "As far as I know, your name is Cupcake. Forgive me if I don't call you anything else."
Her response was a loud groan and she raised her hand to cover her face. "She's rubbing off on everyone, that little wrecking-ball. Anyways, my name is Caitlyn. I'm the Sheriff of Piltover. Do you know who attacked you?"
"I was told her name was Shauna Vayne, and that she likes tipping her crossbow bolts with True Silver. Hence the fact that I can't move." I noticed Lux at the foot of my bed, examining the windowsill.
Suddenly, she spoke up. "Cait, there was someone else here. I make out another set of tracks, leather boots by the look of it. And very well hidden, meaning a hunter. And there's only one leather-clad hunter in the League: Nidalee. From the looks of it, she saved Alexei and then left."
Caitlyn looked at her with a small amount of shock, shock that was mirrored on my face. Weakly, I asked her, "Ummm, how do you know all that?" "Yes, how do you know that?" Caitlyn asked as well.
Lux turned to both of us, her eyes to the floor. "Well, I was trained by the Demacian military since I was little. I kinda notice things. Like how the bandages were covered with an extraction of the Jana'tu plant, found only in the Kumungu Jungle. It neutralizes poisons in the right doses. It can also stop someone's heart in an instant if a large dose is administered." Had I been sitting upright, my jaw would have hit the floor.
"You are very interesting, little one," Caitlyn said. Turning back to me, her smoky purple eyes bored into mine. "You are going to talk to the Judicators of the Tribunal as soon as you are fit to walk. Until then, we three will guard you against any attack. Do you accept our aid?"
I tried my hardest to be coherent as I responded. "The offer is appreciated, but I have no way to repay you. After a while I will be able to defend myself. Please, I do not wish to be an inconvenience."
Caitlyn laughed. "Oh, posh. Don't worry about repaying anything. Vi was actually dragging me here to meet you when we heard the fighting. It took a while to find your room, and we picked up Lux on the way." She leaned a little closer to whisper. "I think she was trying to find your room before the fighting started. I do believe she is smitten with you." I stammered, unable to form any words. Caitlyn pulled back, a smile on her face and a glint in her eyes.
She turned to Lux. "I'm going on the roof to set up an overwatch position. Vi will patrol the hallway. You, I want you to stay in here and keep him company. If anyone should slip past Piltover's Finest, I want you to put a laser through their face, understood?" Lux nodded silently, another blush covering her face. "Good. Alexei, yes? Keep an eye on her. She likes disappearing into thin air. Well, tata for now." With that, she jumped out of my window. I heard a muffled bang and what sounded like a rope being wound.
I leaned my head back. So, that's what? 7 females that seem to like me? What did I do to deserve all the attention. Gods of all, I wish I was back on the road sometimes. I felt Lux sit down on the edge of the bed. "Ummm, Alexei?" she said shyly. "I found this by your bed. It doesn't look like you read it yet. Here." I struggled to raise my arms enough to take the crumpled note, but failed. "Here, I'll hold it for you to read. I promise not to read it myself." She unfolded the note and held it over my eyes.
Alexei, it read. Sorry for leaving without waking you, but I had a match early this morning. And you looked like you could use the sleep. Remember what I said. Exhaustion keeps the dreams away. And also, I think Lux would be a good match for you. Think on it. Riven.
"I'm done," I told Lux. I watched her as she folded the note back and placed it under my mattress. Is it just me, or is everyone trying to push me to Lux? I mean, she's cute but I don't know a thing about her. I decided to just go along with whatever happened. "Thank you, by the way. For helping me read the note. And for guarding me."
She turned away and muttered something indistinct, even to my ears. "Hmm?" I said. "It's nothing," she replied.
"Oh. Also... Thank you for the kiss." She stiffened, then looked at me sheepishly. "I didn't actually mean to do that. It was just that you were so close, and your eyes were so beautiful, and you look so handsome, and I'm babbling, I'm sorry." She covered her mouth with one hand.
I started laughing. "It's fine, Lux. To be honest, it was my first kiss." I heard her gasp. "You mean I took your first kiss? Oh my God, I'm so sorry!" I looked at her again. "Hey, like I said, it's fine. It was just unexpected."
"Well," she said quietly, "it was kinda my first kiss, too. As I said, I didn't really mean to." she looked at me, catching my eyes as yet another blush crawled up her cheeks. "Ummm. Is there any chance it could happen again? I mean, it doesn't have to be right now, but I was just wondering if you would mind it happening again. And I'm babbling again. Please, don't listen to me right now, I'm just-" I silenced her by grabbing her hand with my own, a small amount of pain accompanying my movement.
"Lux," I told her, staring into her eyes. "I would be honored to kiss you again. At your discretion, of course." Somehow, her cheeks got even redder, and she shuffled closer to me on the bed. Then she leaned over me, her face less than an inch from mine. I heard her breath catch as she hesitated. I gathered all the energy I could muster and lifted my head up, pressing my lips against hers. She gasped, then pressed her own lips against mine. She tastes sweet, like liquid light, I thought.
Her hands started moving up my bare chest. Suddenly she brushed the wound on my left shoulder. "GAH!" I yelled, the pain making me buck and my fangs shoot out. Lux fell back, both hands over her mouth.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to! Ummm, why are your teeth... longer?" I felt my fangs with my tongue, and closed my lips around them as I started retracting them. When they were gone, I responded. "It's cause I'm not really human anymore. If you haven't noticed by my ears and eyes. When I made the choice to take in Vashirik, the Daemon, it changed me. I got faster and stronger, I could see more, especially in the dark. I could understand things that I had never imagined before, languages and magic and physics. However, I also lost a bit of my humanity. Every night was filled with blood, memories from Vashirik. I couldn't stay in a single place for long, cause eventually I would slip up and let something out, be it my horns or my bone-spikes or even my teeth. Then I would be forced to flee or kill everyone. The second option was inevitable sometimes..." Lux was silent. I scared her, I thought. She won't want to be near me anymore. Suddenly, Lux leaned back over and started kissing me again. The sensation was unimaginable, and I let myself go.
Unfortunately, that was the moment that my body decided to go into stasis. Blackness covered my vision, and I fell into it...
