Here I am with the next chapter. I have noooo idea if any of you are still reading who read the first one months ago. If you are then thank you. If not then welcome! I hope you like this chapter!
I feel a tad rusty but I think this chapter turned out ok haha.
Footsteps trudged through the darkness, ever so quiet, near silent to all but the most perceptive of listeners. Breathing was likewise near impossible to detect, kept close and even no matter what happened. It could not be heard. Silent.
It was still dark, and the walker blended into the darkness as if she belonged there, without a sound she was a shadow along the trees and nothing more. Sharp eyes pierced the darkness able to pick out every obstacle and useable path before her. Each step was calculated and planned, yet the whole movement was so fluid, evidence of a life in the shadows.
Katarina moved out of the forest and toward the edge, she glanced back to where she had left her target. The light from the fire just managing to flit through the trees now, the low light barely visible. Her face shifted into a grimace at the slight irritation with the stubbornness of Riven, yet… at the same time the grimace melted away to a smile. She did not think from the start that it would be easy. She had been expecting something like this, something, she just didn't quite know what. But something would not simply allow her to bring Riven back to Noxus so easily. As if she was simply a lost horse and only needed a guiding hand to point her way home. Nope. Katarina's smirk grew ever wider as she turned back to her path. Although she actually found herself looking forward to spending a few days with her old friend. It wasn't like old times… not yet… but even now this Riven could still make her smile. It was odd, Katarina had never met anyone who drew a genuine smile from her. It actually made her… feel warm…and happy. She wasn't used to it, and she found herself chasing that feeling whenever she could.
It was different then the satisfaction from a kill. Different then finally settling down after a day of work, different from talking to her father, to Swain… to anyone else. She was… different. Not that any of this would get in the way if she had to kill Riven. Katarina held her pride above all, she never missed her kill. Never… never again would she make that mistake. The smile dripped off her face as a hand instinctually raised up to her scar. Serving as a constant reminder when her emotions and her passions had led her astray from her duty…. No….never again. She had swore that day to never repeat that mistake. This was no different.
The trees up ahead started to give way and lesson as they lost their advancing battle on the countryside. The dim light of the moon began to illuminate the area, lighting up the path to the outside world. The assassin now glided out from the forest, silent as ever. Her sharp gaze flicked down the small hill to where two beasts awaited her. The two horses bearing no emblem or mark along them, no one looking at these twin beasts would know them for bearing Noxus personal. Rightly so, as these two simple beasts were bought from an unknowing village, a smile and a flirt from said assassin had easily secured her the two horses as well as a reduction in fee. This was the destination of why she had come back out of the hidden forest Riven had taken refuge in.
The small whinnies of the horses as they stood close to the forest's edge, the temperature in the air had dropped outside of the warmth of Riven's fire, as well as the open air of the countryside, water vapour could be seen as white mist rising from their frothing mouths. One dipped its head and pulled at a patch of grass. However these horses were not alone…
"Where is she?" An edged voice spoke, she knew it well. So often was cold and devoid of warmth, yet to her, a softness bloomed. She glanced up at a him. A young man roughly the same age as she sat atop one of the horses as it pawed at the ground. He was dressed in dark attire like her, but the style was vastly different. A dark blue cowl covered his head, which continued down his back into a bladed cape, the most distinguishing feature, leading onto dark blue cloth clothing and metal guards which covered his body. A fellow assassin. Or rather… the fellow assassin of Noxus. Talon. Katarina gracefully walked down toward him, down the small hill. She noticed Talon's brow lower when she didn't answer him right away.
"Still there." She spoke as she travelled toward her own horse, the beast paying her no mind as she drew close. Continuing to chew at the grass, the soft munching as it glanced around at their surroundings.
"Why?" He countered, to the point. His voice now rising as he began to grow suspicious. Katarina didn't even look at him as she started to un-strap her horse of her gear. "What are you doing?" He now questioned. Noticing what she was doing. Katarina's bags of gear fell to the floor, her horse now free of its burden shook itself, its mane whipping back and forth close to the assassin. She began to rummage through them and pull them open to check the contents.
"She isn't moving. So I am staying here until she does. She is such a stubborn mule…" She started as she continued to examine the bags without looking up at him.
"What?!" Talon cut her off, his voice raising too high for Katarina's liking. She ceased her perusing and now flicked her eyes up at him, a scowl at her lips. But Talon wasn't looking at her anymore, he was already off his horse, the movement causing a rustling and a thump as his boots hit the ground. He whirled around to her. The bladed cloak surprisingly quiet even with the metal blades sewn into it. "We can easily drag her back to the city. Or we can cut her down right now, either way she won't be staying in this forest." His voice was cold and sharp, Katarina normally elated in his bloodthirsty attitude, as an assassin herself, she reveled in it. However… something about this whole situation was… different. An odd protective urge ran through her, a panic that shot from her very heart as she had to stop herself from whipping off the ground with a look of anger. Katarina froze as she swallowed carefully, as if swallowing that bizarre urge.
"Patience." She cooed out. Like a mother to an over eager child. "Not everything can be solved with brute force…" She smirked up at him, ignoring her own heart as it oddly beat faster than she was used to. As if something had spooked her. "…sometimes manipulation and subtlety can be more useful strategies." She finished as she now likewise stood up from the ground and pulled her bags onto her back, swinging the straps over her shoulder and flicking her body to get the pack in just the right position. She turned toward the man at her side and placed her hands at her hips. But Talon didn't back down, he stood his ground and crossed his arms.
"The Exile is just one woman, she can't take two of us on. After all General Swain gave us orders to bring her back dead or alive." He argued back. Starting to grate on Katarina's nerves. As an assassin he was seen as equal to her, but that didn't make him the same rank as her… not since her father…
Katarina laughed.
Her coarse chortle appeared to aggravate the fellow assassin.
"My my… you are far too eager today. What? Has the cold gotten to you already?" She mocked him. Talon huffed out to her.
"I am not fond of this blasted temperature no. However… we have our orders…" Katarina was growing tired of this. She lowly growled out to him.
"What?! To drag her body back with us for that bastard?! You have seen that creature he has brought back from the dead have you not?!" Katarina practically shouted at him, barely managing to keep her voice down. Talon now looked away from her, his stance seemed to buckle somewhat, as the words of what she had said sunk in. The female assassin began to recollect herself, surprised that she had been forced to make him stand down. Stubborn fool. She was surrounded by stubborn fools. She turned as she now looked back up the hill and into the dark still forest, no sign of Riven's fire in the distance. She had intentionally camped far in so that no one would see the light and smoke.
"…besides… I doubt we could very well take a Crimson Elite without sacrifice." She grinned to him, a warmer look on her face then she had taken with him. Talon shrugged.
"The Exile was a Crimson Elite… not anymore… plus we are of the night. She would have no chance." He spoke, confidence lacing his voice.
"Oh really now?" Katarina chuckled. "Maybe you'll get your wish Talon. But for now…" Katarina wiped a stray hair out of her face. "Let's try it my way ok?" She smiled back at him, the fellow assassin of the Du Couteau family. Talon sighed out into the night, the white mist from his breath wafting up into the air. He sounded aggravated, but for now his impatience abated and instead turned and pulled himself back onto his horse. The beast snuffing harshly into the air through its nostrils and sidestepping in place as it now bore the added weight of its rider.
Talon held the reigns loosely as he looked back at the red head assassin.
"What do you want me to do?" He spoke to her. Katarina grinned up at him, looks like he was finally taking her lead. Good.
With the added burden of her pack on her back her steps were heavier, lacking in the same grace as before, even going so far as to say she sounded heavy. But Katarina was used to bearing very little, only what was necessary for the kill and infiltration. Long forays into the wilderness was not quite… her style… and with this new pack she felt a little bit… off. However she still held herself as if the extra weight was nothing to her, her gait over the forest floor remained unchanged to the untrained eye. However she no longer glided like the silent assassin she was, tiny thuds marked her footsteps and small rustles as she moved along undergrowth. Normally Katarina would never accept this from herself, berating herself and pushing herself ever onward.
However… this was not the time for that. Her target up ahead knew she was coming, and once again she didn't bother with hiding her presence. She wanted… needed Riven to be comfortable around her. Just like old times. She had to once again reside in that small circle of trust she once belonged to, it was a little bizarre being back on the outside of that said circle. Especially regarding the laughter they shared so easily, Katarina had accidentally slipped back to her old self around the exile. It had reminded her of old times, unlike others Riven truly could be counted as her friend. Riven was unlike the others… she didn't see a person looking to befriend her because of her status, or her rank, or to keep an eye on her, or to look for a weakness. No… at first she had thought that, at first she had mistrusted her, spied for a hidden motive, a true reason as to why Riven was being simply so…. Nice. It befuddled her, it confused her… she didn't understand. Growing up in a world of lies and darkness, of kill or be killed attitude. Yet Riven… seemed to come from a different world. It was a world of strength yes… some would argue it was indeed the same world. But the difference was… in the people. Riven believed in forging bonds, in trusting the men at her side. In strength as a whole, in the strength of trust of each other, as a unit. To lead and conquer, to prove their strength over their enemies… but as a combined force. Whereas she… believed in being alone. Only when you were alone… could no one hurt you.
Yet these thoughts made Katarina grimace and cringe…
That was the old Riven… this Riven… was not the same.
She saw the way Riven looked at her, her eyes… showed the mistrust. That had actually… hurt. She couldn't believe it had done. But yet… it did. The assassin who still believed others would stab her in the back… yet with Riven... Riven was perhaps… her hidden weakness. She relaxed her guard, allowed the white haired girl to be so close to her heart…. Katarina knew that Riven didn't quite understand the privileged position she had acquired. To be trusted… Katarina could turn her back to her and know she wouldn't be vulnerable. That… was not something she knew around anyone else… not even Talon. With him there was always that worry, that niggling notion that he would simply abandon her to her fate if something went badly, that no matter how close she was, she just didn't see… the same warmth in his eyes.
But something… something had clearly happened to make this Riven abandon her county… abandon her old ways… abandon… her.
She just couldn't figure out what it was. Riven had to tell her… to make her understand. She knew of rumours and stories, hearsay and downright blasphemy. But she couldn't count any of it as the truth. She had to hear it from Riven herself. Maybe then… she would understand.
Up ahead the light from the fire started to grow bright and filter through the gaps in the trees. Katarina stepped closer to the light, closer to the campsite and closer to… the person she no longer knew…
With one last rustle she pushed a branch out of the way to step into the small clearing. Her eyes quickly adjusted to the light of the snapping fire, the bright colours creating a beacon in the otherwise bland darkness around her. Beside the fire was the ever cloaked figure of her target. Katarina's gaze snapped to her form, Riven was no longer watching the fire as she had left her. Her head was firmly turned and staring right at her. But the stare Riven was giving her… Katarina had to force back a flinch. Her eyes were so… cold. No, that wasn't right. Not cold… simply… empty. Devoid of warmth for her. Katarina still wasn't used to that, not after seeing the friendship in the gaze of her friend for so long. Seeing her features so… vacant toward her was… unsettling.
However Katarina once again wore the mantle of the actor, pretending it did not bother her. That nothing bothered her.
"I'm back!" The assassin cried out, almost forcing a cheery voice, simply to pierce the heavy air placing such a pressure on the pair of them. With those two words the heaviness lifted… somewhat. With her voice echoing around the empty clearing Riven turned back to the fire without a word. Katarina's smile faded back to an unsettled look, yet making sure Riven would never see that look. She had to play a role. A role she hoped she would not need for long, she surprised herself by how much she wanted the old Riven back, Katarina felt such an ache in her body. It felt strained and stiff, the acting only tensing up those usual muscles that cried to relax around her old friend. Yet her body and mind warred on this matter. She could not relax around her… not yet. She prayed it was just a matter of time. As the assassin was used to being on guard, used to being alone, used to watching her back, yet… this seemed different.
Like an intruder in your own home. It was somewhere you should feel at your safest. But right now… at this moment. It felt horrible.
"Did you get everything you needed?" The almost monotone and unfeeling voice of the exile spoke to her, Katarina's head flicked to hers. But Riven had not moved and instead was now placing a new branch of firewood onto the fire. The spark stuttering and popping at the fresh kindling as it devoured the dead wood. Katarina forced a small smile to her lips, it was fake and hurt her cheeks even as she placed the old mask on her features. She stepped to the opposite side of the fire and began to pull off her heavy backpack. The leather clad assassin blew out a gust of air from her lips, blowing away a straggling strand of crimson hair.
"Yeah… I have it all. I let the horse go. I doubt I'll be needing it." She spoke as she dropped the bag with a light thud. She caught movement in the corner of her eyes, she glanced toward the swordswoman. Who was shutting her mouth just as Katarina turned…. As if she had been about to say something but then changed her mind. Katarina stared at her for a few seconds… but Riven didn't make another move. With a swift flick of her hand she moved hair that had fallen in front of her eyes back behind her ear and moved back to her pack. "You are a lot quieter then I remember…" Katarina remarked, half to herself. Once again that gained nothing in response.
The silence was thick in the air once more, she didn't like it, she found herself scanning topics to try and break the tension. To try and get Riven to open up… about…anything. As her body opened her pack and pulled out the wrapped bedroll her mind whirred and flitted through images and subjects, eager to garner some sort of response from her silent companion. She had shut down and raised walls around her, keeping Katarina away, keeping her out. There must be something…
But Katarina was struggling to think of anything they could talk about... she swallowed dryly as once upon a time conversation between them came as easily as breathing. But right now... Katarina sneaked a glance once more at the ever silent Riven. The exile stared wordlessly at the fire. How many nights had she done this? How many nights had it been with just her and her thoughts? Katarina unconsciously bit her lip at the uncomfortable thought, she didn't feel welcome in her midst. Not wholly unwelcome... more... ignored. Nothing but background, a figure that was simply part of the scenery.
The assassin tried to force a relaxed pose as she distracted her own body by laying out the bedroll close to the warm fire, dropping her butt almost unceremoniously down upon it and pulling out a knife and examining the point. Tto anyone else checking for imperfections and dullness, to her simply performing a familiar ritual in this unease. The sharp edge reflecting the light from the crackling fire.
"So..." She started, without a plan of attack, without a topic in mind, just to try and break the silence once more. "... is it always just you wondering around?" Katarina cringed as soon as she spoke that. She meant to try and strike up a conversation, relating to how she had been doing alone. Yet she knew her own words had come out in an almost mocking tone, but her words had no effect on the statue before her. Katarina didn't try and retract her statement, however the words seemed to disappear into thin air around the unmoving figure, as if her presence sucked away any and all attempts to engage the woman and vanish into an invisible pit.
The silence stretched on as Katarina stayed sat where she was. The uncomfortable blanket of silence stretched on. The assassin felt so out of place and off, her usual air of confidence took a knock. She felt thrown, she mulled over her own thoughts as the pop and crackle of the fire was the only sound in the otherwise quiet forest. This was not quite her forte, she did not normally try and engage targets like this... normally she let her knives do the talking. Though she was quite sure her knives wouldn't be a very good conversationalist right now. Katarina opened her mouth to try again, trying to think of one last try to engage the silent swordswoman. "What are you going-" She started. However Riven suddenly cut her off.
"I'm tired..." Was all she said before she shifted, standing up from her sitting position and moving toward her bedroll. The Du Couteau assassin raised an eyebrow in confusion, the words of annoyance at being cut off about to spill from her lips, but she snapped her mouth shut. Instinct telling her that would not be the best thing to do right now. Without another word or another glance in her direction Riven settled down in her bedroll and appeared to fall asleep almost immediately. Her back was turned to the assassin, Katarina frowned. The action seemed so simple, yet to turn your back on the trained killer was downright stupid to most, Katarina shook her head. Perhaps it was showing that Riven truly did not acknowledge her presence at this time... a lump of indignity settled in her throat, yet... at the same time it could very well be a sign that Riven trusted the assassin to not simply kill her in the night. Did she even care anymore?
No... there was just too many questions and no answers, maybe she was just looking into this too much. She should just head to sleep too. Start off the next day. See what she was like tomorrow, maybe she would be cheerier? Katarina smirked to herself, nah, possibly not, she thought with a sigh. This... might take longer then she thought. She couldn't stop her eyes from peering out over the fire to the prone sleeping form of the swordswoman. The Exile of Noxus. How easily she could slip over there and...
"Goodnight." Katarina spoke out, her voice interrupting the drone of endless stillness that coalesced around them. She watched the figure opposite her shift slightly, Riven heard her. She didn't expect a response. Katarina wasn't usually one for saying such a trivial thing as a goodnight, but she was looking for any excuse at the moment to engage with the exile.
A few moments passed, without a response. Katarina had to hold back a sigh, this woman before her felt like a stranger, this was not the Riven she knew. Not just an exile, she seemed... broken. Not weak, certainly not, far from it. But... broken. She recalled how she looked when she first examined her, she appeared scruffy and bedraggled, thinner then she remembered and without quite as much muscle mass that the great 'Riven' had been famous for. But most of all, she noticed the thick black lines under her eyes, she seemed so... tired. Maybe that was the reason for her silence, like a beast past its prime. But Katarina didn't believe that for a second, she didn't have fools and weaklings for friends, she saw past the tiredness, the weakness, the silence, inside... deep inside, was a fire. It was smaller than she remembered, but it was still there. She just... had to reach it. Katarina recalled the duels she and Riven had shared, the matches they had together! It brought a smile back to her lips. Their styles were so opposite each other yet their fights were something else entirely. A soldier versus an assassin, brute force and drills against style and quick movements, a huge hulking Noxus sword set upon by lithe daggers and knives. Occasionally they drew spectators to their duels, but most of the time they fought in private, often with a smile on their faces, sometimes not. But whatever happened they always sought to challenge the other and best them. Such blows had often left scars and marks, bruises and scrapes. Katarina often was the one who bore the bruises, with Riven the scrapes.
The assassin pulled the edge of her leather pants down a few inches, to see a scar that marred her skin. Evidence of a past duel against the mighty swordswoman, the power in that frame was impressive and almost beyond belief. But it was there, and Katarina knew it better than most. This particular scar was a result of that massive claymore of a sword smashing into her, she had blocked most of the damage with her own twin daggers. But that particular time she wished she had dodged, as trying to simply block an attack with such power behind it had been borderline stupid, it had been instinct and if she was honest before she realised quite how much power was behind those swings of hers. The sword had slowed but not stopped, and had ended up digging right into her hip, through her leather and skin, the blood welling up and rushing down her leg. Back then she had refused to cry out, refused to show weakness. But that didn't mean to say it didn't hurt like hell! She held that pain in her memory, using that to learn and drill into her stubborn mind that Riven was truly stronger then she looked, and just like she would dodge the axe blow of Darius if he swung at her, she needed to dodge the impressive strike from the formidable warrior before her.
She let the leather snap back in place, letting the memories fall from her mind. Her small smile fell with it. A dark thought suddenly flitted across her mind. Why was she so bothered by this? Why was she trying so hard to reach this girl? She normally never bothered or cared. So why?
If anything Katarina had to guess she felt it was her own pride at stake. Yes that sounded right. She had placed trust and respect in this fellow Noxian and for Riven to appear as she was now... well... that was a tarnish to Katarina. She needed to get Riven back off the despicable floor she now crawled on.
Yeah.. that was what she was doing this for.
Although... she admitted to herself, she did miss the exile at times. It was odd, to have someone so close to you one day and then have them vanish the next, a part of her life simply... disappeared. There was no return home or coming back, there was just... nothing.
Katarina scoffed at herself, shaking her head of such useless thoughts. She never normally thought this much, even when on her own. Trying to keep her mind blank she tended to the fire, throwing another dry branch upon it to keep it alive. The flames swallowed up the wood as she stared.
Now she let out a small sigh, pretty sure that Riven was now indeed asleep, she never did get a response, Katarina started to feel the edge of weariness now. Good, she could do with trying to sleep. Not that she was quite looking forward to spending the night out here, but something ridiculous as sleeping outside would not drive her away.
Suddenly she shifted and neared her bedroll, The small rustling sounded so loud in her ears as she moved, eager to just get into the thick material before her. She debated whether or not to take off her weapons, she had slept with them before... it was horrible and sharp when turning. No... deftly and with expert hands she unhooked all of her daggers and knives, placing them silently on the floor beside the bedroll. Close enough that should anything wake her she would be armed and ready immediately.
The assassin quickly lowered herself into the layers of cloth, eager for warmth on this cold night. Her mind starting to grow sluggish as sleep threatened ever closer, finally starting to switch off and allow rest to come after the long day of trekking and horseback riding, looking for the hidden swordswoman had been no easy feat. She had hid herself well, It wasn't unusual for targets to try and disappear into the wilds however, so with the combined tracking abilities of herself and Talon they had eventually found her.
"Goodnight..." Came the small voice of Riven behind her. Katarina's brain became wired as she swung around, but the figure hadn't moved. She still appeared to be asleep... Katarina's eyes fell to the floor... doubting whether she truly heard that. She narrowed her eyes in slight suspicion but mentally shrugged as she instead looked back to her bed and settled in for the night... the low hum of burning wood in her ears as she closed her eyes and sighed out...
The light chirping of birds rang out into the forest, filling the empty void from last night, no longer did the low snapping of fire light their little campsite, now the sun was high in the sky, illuminating the world below. Awakening the life that had lay dormant the night before. Riven busied herself with the morning ritual of packing up. She never stayed in the same place twice, lest she be found... suddenly her moving hands slowed to a stop. She inwardly frowned, she had been found anyway yesterday... no, she shook her head. Still she had to keep her guard up, at the moment Katarina was no threat. She had a 'message' to deliver, and for now, Riven was not a target for assassination. That would most likely change when Katarina gave up or realised that Riven would not return to Noxus... or whatever it was that she wanted from her. That was all she could think of anyway. It was what all the others wanted, for her to go somewhere with them. It was like she was being ordered around. Just like before..
Orders, orders, orders... she was always ordered about. But... she was a soldier, that would always be her life she guessed, even now. She still had orders barked at her, just right now... she was free to ignore them. That gave her a little smile, a few years ago... hell, a year ago. She never would have imagined herself saying that, she believed in the strength of Noxus, believed in her fellow Noxians and believed in her own vision of strength. She would follow any order that complied with her vision. Follow any order that came from Noxus, from High Command.
Now however... she listened to no one. She had no allies and no home, not right now. Her home land was corrupted and dark, weak. But there was no way she could just waltz in and clean it up, no matter how much she wished she could just do such a thing. She laughed mentally at herself, maybe if she challenged Swain himself and won. Yeah right... good idea Riven. That would work. She thought sarcastically. She actually smirked at such a stupid idea. Even if the stupid idea then turned from funny to a sinking feeling, a weight on her stomach. She hadn't thought about her home land, what to do... for a good while. She had been so intent on keeping away, keeping away from everything. But now, she can't even hide anymore.
The villagers had driven her out. And now her old friend Katarina had come for her, for good or ill had yet to be seen, so of course these thoughts and memories came unbidden.
Riven sighed. In her musings to herself she had packed up camp, sorted out her bag and put out the last embers of the fire. All the while her guest had not moved from her bedroll, Riven actually felt a tinge of confusion, how had the assassin not woken up yet? She knew Katarina was a light sleeper, she had to be. In her line of work...
There was no way Katarina had slept through her waking up and packing up the camp, now the swordswoman faltered. Should she try and wake her up? If she was actually asleep that is... or... she looked out into the forest, maybe she should just leave? Leave her old friend and lose her once again. Would that even work? Of course that comes back to the issue of if she is even awake...
Deciding on a different course of action, Riven moved around the remains of the campfire, the assassin's body was facing the other way, out toward the forest, so Riven stepped as quietly as her own body would allow. Which wasn't amazing... but she was sure she was quiet enough not to wake even the sleeping Katarina. Her boots bent the grass underfoot as she stepped around, the crisp morning made the grass sharp and cold underfoot, but it was warm enough that no frost hung from the greenery.
The cloaked Riven stepped around the apparent sleeping prone form of the fiery redhead. She angled her head just round so she would be able to see her face, just a peek... she wasn't quite sure what she hoped for. For her to actually be asleep? So she could try and vanish once more?
Riven struggled to see, Katarina's hair was hiding her face, the strands lay over her features just right. The exile strained her eyes to see without having to move around more, risking more noise. Suddenly a hand moved, Riven's heart leapt into her throat as she watched Katarina's hand move the crimson hair out of her face, to reveal a smiling and very alert face. Her bright jade eyes sparkled as she locked gazes with the swordswoman. Riven rolled her eyes as she had to fight back a groan. Of course she was awake... how could she even had thought she was not?
"Morning..." The assassin called out to her. Riven did not respond and instead stepped back away from her to pick up her bag. Slinging the heavy thing onto her shoulders, jostling it into place. Her back was now turned to her guest, but she swore she could hear a slight chuckling, a tinge of annoyance lanced through her but she ignored it. She wasn't in the mood to respond today, in fact she wasn't even sure why she did last night... she felt weird not to. Maybe it was to be polite? She hadn't had someone next to her while she slept for a very long time. It felt odd.
"Still quiet I see..." Katarina spoke out to her from behind. Her voice sounded like it was even and trying to maybe even mock her... yet... Riven swore she heard a slight edge of... annoyance? Possibly.
The assassin was relentless in her continual pokes to get her to talk. However this wasn't the first time this had happened, it was the first time that someone had slept at her campsite with her yes. But not the first time she had been followed about. Riven vaguely recalled the ambassadors and dignitaries from Demacia and Ionia, boring, bland and fake people. Weak minds and weak resolves. They gave up soon enough...
But that made Riven glance back at the assassin, Noxus was... different. Of course it was different. Did they send a dignitary? Well... not in the usual sense, as Noxus was a military state. Katarina was probably a dignitary in the grand scheme of things. She was...what... a general now? Or at least the head of her house... or something. Riven wasn't sure, she had heard of General Du Couteau's disappearance. Just like Grand General Boram Darkwill was apparently 'murdered' by Demacia...
Yeah...
Riven didn't quite know what to think of that, but to her, it was just more evidence of the underhanded tactics that Noxus now stood for. Not strength or honour. But betrayal and manipulation. Tch... the strategies of the weak and the weak minded. That was not her home land, thinking about that reinforced in her mind how she could never go back. Noxus was simply... not her home anymore. She wished she could redeem it somehow... but she had yet to redeem herself. Riven sighed out to herself now, she didn't really know what to do. But... for now she would do what she always did, press on. Take every day as it comes and worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.
"So... where are we going?" A lively voice spoke up, making Riven turn around. The voice was far too keen for Riven's liking. It made her feel even more tired. She pulled her cloak up to over and around her face, so only her eyes could be seen, masking her face and causing her own voice to sound muffled as she responded.
"I don't know." That made Katarina's smile drop a little. The assassin picked up her own packed bag and swung it onto her back. Riven now satisfied that Katarina was up and apparently not leaving her just yet... turned to the exit of the forest where her new travelling companion had appeared from yesterday. The cold morning air hurt her lungs as she breathed in, her fingers and toes prickled with slight pain from the chill, her too few layers no longer aiding her against this autumn cold, it was only going to get worse. Still... the forest's greenery spread out before her, the last ditch of effort against the coming winter. Many of the trees still bore their leaves, even if they were wonderful deep shades of orange and crimson. The last flowers still in bloom dotted around the roots, drops of colour nestled in the drab browns and dull green of the grass.
Riven started to drift back off into her own world, a world of just her, ready to walk once again. When something interrupted her...
"Are you not eating?" That brought her out of her little world, out of her reverie she so wanted to abandon herself back into. Her old friend had far too much energy right now, she wanted to simply walk and try to keep warm. Riven thought that silence would not answer this one.
"I'll eat later." She responded. Besides she had too few supplies right now, she had to stretch them until she could resupply. Whenever that would be...
"Catch." Came the one word reply. Riven turned round to face her in interest when she spotted an object hurtling toward her, she flinched and shot her hands out, letting the object fall into her waiting grip. She examined the small object in earnest. It was dried meat, a strip of jerky. Riven's eyes shot back up to the assassin, but she was no longer looking at her, she was starting to walk past her toward the direction Riven had been facing. "C'mon... It's freezing out here." She spoke back to her as she walked. Hmm... where did this friendly Katarina come from? She wasn't being quite nearly as mocking as she was last night. She seemed almost... subdued? No... Riven scanned her memories. This was the Katarina from her memories all right. The equal and friend she once had at her side, the assassin of Noxus had once had her back, and this all was an act to get her to believe that once again. She was sure of it. Still, the jerky was a nice addition to her morning.
"Thanks." Riven said as she bent down to pick up the cold handle of her broken sword, swinging it up to rest on her shoulder as she walked off after the assassin. Not quite realising as she fell into step behind her, that this was just like old times. With Katarina just ahead of her and leading, the ever faithful soldier following behind...
Alright then awesome :)
The next one will def not be as long a wait XD. I took a break from writing for a few months for personal reasons but I bloody missed it so I'm finally back lol.
Hope you all enjoyed!