So a new update, to be honest I wasn't sure if I was going to do an update or if I was going to just move one, but since people liked it I decided to continue and even have ideas for future chapters. Some of Riven's past is just me taking liberties with her lore and skins, but I hope it doesn't bug too many people.
It was just before dawn in the training room at the Institute of War. Riven swung the practice sword at the training dummies head, leg, and then stomach as one of her forms told her to. Everything that Riven was doing felt odd to her. The practice sword that the league let her borrow was very different from the broken sword she wielded like it was a part of her arm. And though she had used her forms in battle dozens of times since she left Noxus, she couldn't remember the last time she practiced them instead of using them on instinct. Still, as odd as it felt, it also felt right to her.
She had woken up in a cold sweat; her dreams were plagued with nightmares of the Ionian war. Men and women on both sides with their flesh rotting from the poisons of the Noxian alchemist Singed clamored for her, begging her to save them. Riven had barely managed to survive the poison herself by luck, apparently she was part the three percent of humans that the potion simply didn't work on. So lucky that she managed to survive the purple poison clouds that blanketed the battlefield and turned it to hell on Valoran. Riven's past years on the run didn't let her remember the parts of her past that she enjoyed so she was left with only her nightmares. But that had changed as time passed, now Riven usually had nights dreamless sleep. It worried her though, she wondered if she only didn't have to worry about the nightmares because she had become so jaded that she could sleep through them.
This had been the first time since she arrived at the institute that she woke up from the nightmares, and she was almost forced to just deal with the dreams like before. But now that she found a place that she knew she was safe for the most part she had a way to work through the horrors. It surprised Riven how easily she fell back into her routine of training when she got nervous or scared, it was also surprising to her how much she missed it. 'You don't learn how skilled you are in the training hall. You prove your skills on the battlefield,' Riven's old drill instructor would roar to her when she spent an extra hour practicing more than the other recruits. Well Riven may not know which of them were right; she did see him go down with an ax to the head one battle, so she decided not to play the odds.
Besides, Riven had proven just how skilled she was in battle, unlike most of the Noxian army, Riven didn't enjoy fighting or especially killing, Ionia was the worst of that. But what also separated her from the rest of the soldiers that made up the army Riven was a natural at killing. She didn't make it an art form like Draven the Glorious Executioner or got off on it like Katarina, the Sinister Blade, Du Couteau. No, killing wasn't something that Riven enjoyed, at least that's what she told herself, but it was something she was good at. It was her differences from the assassins that made her beloved by the high command during the war, psychotic artists like Draven and Katarina helped boost morale, but even more valuable to them was Riven's efficiency on the field. Strong, efficient, and above all loyal to the cause, Riven had been one of Swain's greatest tools during the war. So much so that he actually felt a tinged of regret when he ordered Singed to do his work where he knew she fought. It passed quickly and until he saw her name on the AWOL lists he had never thought of her again, but still that one moment of regret was more than Swain had ever cared to show for another.
One of Riven's blows glanced off the dummy and Riven chastised herself, 'focus, don't think about the Before, that will get you killed. Think about the Now so you can survive until the Then,' she whispered something her first blademaster had said to her. It had been a mantra to her through the harshness of the army on and off the battlefield, the words had made her hard and cold, but they had also kept her alive.
The door of the training room creped open and a blonde head peeked in, "oh sorry," Lux said sheepishly. "Normally no one is in here this early and so I normally work out now. The noise in here surprised me actually that I had to investigate," she said rubbing the back of her head nervously.
Riven just looked at her like a deer in caught by a dragon, she didn't know why the Demacian made her so nervous, but she did. When the other girl didn't answer Lux just entered the room with as much confidence she could manage. "I hope you don't mind if I join you, normally the training room gets too crowded later in the day, not to mention all the leering guys," Lux said trying to joke. Sometimes the guys eyes strayed a bit too much and too often though and the young Demacian girl sometimes got uncomfortable. That was why she always went with her big brother or Galio, the glaring gargoyle often dissuaded the perverted glares, except from the imbalanced like Orianna or Mundo.
"I understand, the privacy was one of the reasons why I always chose to come at this time," Riven said hoping the other girl would take the hint. But Lux just remained in the doorway smiling so Riven relented, "sure, it's not like I own this room anyway."
Lux smiled that huge beautiful smile of hers at Riven in response and the Exile didn't seem to mind her presence anymore, though her stomach seemed to flutter. "Much obliged," Lux said taking her spot on one of the mats. As a mage, Lux wasn't too concerned with building strength like some of the larger champions like her brother. It wasn't that she didn't know how to fight, she was a Crownguard of goodness sake, but she knew where her own strengths on the field lied, so instead she focused on building up her flexibility and agility. That way if she was cornered by a melee bruiser, she would be able to dodge and get far enough away that she could blast them to the void with her light magic. She would practice her flips and springs later, but for now she just stretched her muscles out in preparation.
Strangely though, the Demacian tactician felt a pair of eyes on her, every now and then she would look up to see if someone was spying on her. If it was Twitch going invisible to peek on her again she would blast him into next year. But the feeling stopped so Lux tried to ignore it and just focus on her exercises. She hinged at the hip and went up in down a few times before she felt the familiar feeling of eyes on her. She ducked her heads between her legs as stealthily as she could in hopes of seeing whoever was watching her. To her surprise, it was Riven's eyes that air groped her behind as she bent over. Lux knew she should be angry or even a bit upset, but to be honest, she was a bit relieved that Riven had apparently found her worthy of ogling.
The sorceress knew she was lovely, it wasn't arrogance, it was simply a fact that Lux had come to accept. Men, women, other, it didn't matter who they were, everyone's head turned when Lux walked by. But Lux hadn't really cared about it before; before now she had never felt flattered or happy that she was always seen as a piece of meat by anyone that looked at her. Now, though for some reason, with Riven though it had felt different. Maybe it had to do with the fact that when everyone else was crowding around her to the point of suffocation yesterday until she was forced to entertain them with a story, Riven had walked out in the middle. Or maybe it had to do with the fact that in addition to being someone new and strange, the Noxian was gorgeous. She wasn't beautiful in the Lux sort of way, dainty, girly, almost like a fairy princess. But Riven had the type of beauty that came with strength, life, and hardship, the type that Lux secretly craved. She was still pure, at least in the religious sense of the word, but that didn't mean she didn't have lusts and desires of her own. Whatever it was about Riven that had captured Lux's heart the Lady of Luminosity didn't know, but she also was one for finding out instead of wondering about.
Lux could see Riven checking her out with quick embarrassed glances; the Exile had the decency to look ashamed at her perverted glowers. But still, Lux didn't feel upset, she felt mischievous and flattered, but not at upset. So she decided to play around with the strange Noxian, she fell forward and rolled into a ball before springing up to a standing position. When she reached her feet she glanced behind her and saw that Riven was facing the dummy again concentrating. Part of Lux felt insulted seeing as Riven was visually groping her a moment ago, Lux knew shouldn't be that easy to ignore. But part of her was in awe of the scene before her, the Demacian lady had seen a lot of combat, not much on the actually field of battle, but on each of the Fields of Justice and the institute itself. There were those who waited because they didn't know what to do and there were those who waited because they wanted the best time to strike; separating the wannabes from the greats. Just by watching her, Lux knew that Riven was definitely the latter, even when she was facing an opponent of wood and metal the Noxian devoted all her focus on it as if they were the only things in the universe.
Then without any warning Riven moved. That was the only way to describe what she did, her movements weren't clumsy swings or strikes, they weren't the savage blows that thugs used in brawls, or hammering blows like her brother used to finish his opponents. No, Riven's movements were swift and flowing, one moment she would stab a weak point and the next she would slash a killing blow, each part leading to the next in a deadly dance. It was Lux's turn to watch breathlessly as she saw Riven do more than practice, she watched the Exile preform.
Riven knew that she was putting far more into her daily training session that she normally did. For the past few years doing, doing the forms every morning was the last remnant of the pedestal she put Noxus on. But she the way she did them had been automatic before today, cold and emotionless, without passion or heat in her movements, just repetitiveness that reminded her of what her home could have been. For some reason though, now her movements were like they were when she first learned them from her masters. 'Why, why did it matter now,' Riven asked herself through heavy breathing, 'I've been here and practiced in the League before, hell that's pretty all I've been able to do since I came here. What makes now different?'
While Riven was trying to understand why she was putting so much effort into a daily routine Lux couldn't take her eyes off of the goddess before her. The Lady of Luminosity had been in the presence and even talked to actual divine figures like Kayle and Nasus; yet here in this cramped room that smelled of old and new sweat, Riven seemed more majestic than anyone she had met in her travels or her time at the institute. The practice sword in the Exile's hand was a mass produced item of the league's creation, it was sharp and actually well made, but it was still crap compared to the creations of a blacksmith. Lux glared at the sword It seemed so small, so unworthy to be in such a gorgeous creature's hands. She knew it wasn't the sword's fault, but she couldn't help but be annoyed by it, the cheapness of the blade hurt the performance Riven was putting on. Not that Lux knew that Riven was showing off just for her.
Right before she moved on to her last form, Riven turned around to confront Lux on her voyeurism. "Is there something that I can help you with," she asked the smaller girl who was still on the mat with a hint of irritation in her voice.
"No, I'm good," Lux replied casually while looking at Riven like she was a jar of cream and Lux was a cat.
"Then what are you doing," Riven demanded letting her calm mask slip a bit. She was nervous, when people stared at her for as long as Lux was it was normally because they recognized her and wanted the bounty on her head. But the way her body reacted to Lux's gaze was different from all the others. Riven had only felt this way about one of other person and that was a lifetime ago.
"Just staring at a pretty girl," Lux replied. Both girls were shocked at Lux's boldness, but luckily for the Demacian royal she had spent years wearing hundreds of different masks for the court. She was able to keep a look of confidence and flirtation even though she was a swarm of nerves herself.
Riven on the other hand was not used to compliments of any kind save for those on her skills as a fighter, though those were far and few between. Noxian drill sergeants were instructed to not give compliments out that much, even to the best, as such things would encourage an inefficient attitude on the warfront. Lux's boldness had even managed to get the Exile dropped her sword in surprise; something she hadn't done since she hit puberty. "You shouldn't tease Miss Crownguard," Riven scolded trying to show an air of uncaring.
Lux was busy doing something similar, but decided to go a different way, "it's true that I'm a bit of a joker and I love to tease, but the joke was only to embarrass you, not about your actual beauty. That is real and in abundance, that I can assure you," she said attempting to mimic the smoky tone she heard Sarah Fortune use when she flirted with the men of the league.
Riven turned around suddenly so she wouldn't look at the pretty Demacian before her, her heart was starting to beat faster in way so different from the adrenaline in battle. "Nothing about me is beautiful; I appreciate the compliment if that is what you are trying to do. But I would ask you to stop trying to butter me up, I already know the truth of how ugly I am." Riven knew that she was nothing like this creature; she was beautiful in ways Riven could never even describe; while Riven on the other hand wasn't.
"Really, you think you're ugly?" Lux asked knowing that this would be a good route to take to get the Exile into her game. Yet something frustrated her even though she didn't let it show, it made her mad when anyone insulted themselves due to low self-esteem. How could Riven not see how beautiful she was when that was all Lux could see, "than forgive me if I doubt your intelligence. I can only see the aesthetically pleasing things about you from your face to the curve of your behind," Lux flirted, nervous that she might be taking it too far.
"Oh what do you know about me Demacian," Riven said finally losing her cool, somehow the pleasure in her stomach she got when Lux complimented her only amplified her anger. "Nothing! So stop trying to make a fool of me and go play your games elsewhere," she snapped.
For a moment Lux was taken aback, but managed to keep that cool smile on her face, "really, you think I don't know anything about you?" Lux flexibly rolled backwards and sprung to her feet only to close her eyes and prove to the other girl just how wrong she was. "Riven of Noxus, AKA Riven the Exile. Born in the small Noxian of Gallen to an unknown mother and father, she was given to be raised by one of the temples as was the case with orphans at the time. However, you proved early on in your life you differentiated yourself from the other children by proving yourself a fighting prodigy. So around the age of eight you were brought to an academy where your raw talent was hammered into talent and skill for the next five years. After that you were given permission to join the army and go through the recruitment process, a little young at thirteen, but you were given the opportunity due to your skills. During this time you flourished and your strength and skills made you the model fighter, but your dedication and conviction made you the perfect soldier. The Noxian military heads saw a way to use you to increase moral and made you their poster child, during which you became a member of the Crimson Elites, Noxus' most famous and, as the name would suggest, elite fighting force. It was a long and hard process, but true to Noxian ideals you had managed to drag yourself up from the gutter and into the ranks of the Noxian elite, not just as a fighter, but practically a lady. Then came Ionia," Lux said and for the first time since she started listing Riven's history emotion crept into her voice.
"We don't have to go into Ionia," Lux said knowing it was a hard time for Riven. "After you left the military and Noxus in your own self-inflicted exile, you began to wander which led you to the League. See I know your history," Lux bragged. "I also know you dream of returning Noxus to its former glory, you are tiring of only being allowed to train and want to be able to fight soon, and that you have no knowledge or interest in the fine arts," Lux finished and took a huge breath of air to recover from her retelling of all she knew about Riven.
Dumbstruck, all Riven could do was ask, "How?"
"Well you walked out during my story," Lux said referring to the last part of her fact finding story.
"No," Riven shouted, "how do you know all that about me?"
"Oh I just read the reports on you; the League has access to all non-restricted data from each kingdom as a sign of good faith. I also asked the other champions who have been around here, some knew you back in Noxus. Oh and a bit from the way you carry yourself, it's amazing how much you can learn about a person from their body language," Lux said unashamed.
"Why did you learn about me then, why do you care," Riven asked narrowing her eyes in suspicion.
"Well you fascinate me," Lux said. "We get new champions to the league all the time, but I don't know why, but after I saw you I couldn't get you off my mind. Trust me, it's just as annoying for me not being able to explain why I act like I do when you're on my mind for as it is for you, but I do. Probably something akin to love at first sight," Lux said as an afterthought.
If Riven had been expecting an answer at all, never in a thousand years would it of been that, "what," as all she asked questioningly.
"Don't worry Riven," Lux assured her moving closer to the other girl but stopped far enough away that she wouldn't spook the girl. Holding up her hands to show her cards were on the table, "this isn't a proposition or anything, you know unless you want it to be," she fluttered her eyelashes in an exaggerated parody of flirting. Even one as stoic as Riven laughed a little at the Demacian's actions, "well how about that I got you to laugh. Maybe it wasn't a big one, but a win's a win," Lux said almost goofily confident. But her face resumed its gentle nonjudgmental state, "It's a little crush that I have on you, maybe it will go away tomorrow or never, but I won't ever act on it if it makes you uncomfortable."
"Y-you're just trying to mess with my mind," Riven accused with her face flushed and backing up from the strange girl. Her years of harsh training and even harsher exile had conditioned her to thinking she was nothing but a weapon. Beauty and love were dreams of those without a path like hers, Riven couldn't consider the idea that she was pretty and someone was attracted to her, the very idea was so alien that it scared her.
"I'm not going to deny that was messing with your head a bit, but that doesn't mean that my feelings aren't real," Lux insisted pleadingly. She wanted so much to close the distance between them and embrace the Exile, to show her that her feelings were real. But she knew it was better to not frighten the other woman so Lux kept her distance.
"You should stop," Riven insisted, but it her words seemed weak and dull compared to last thing she had said. The fire of conviction was starting to die and her walls were starting to crumble before this girl's passive assault.
"Do I annoy you Riven," Lux asked, "is it because I have feelings for you, or is it because I'm a Demacian?"
"No, that's not it," Riven said breathily
"Is it because I'm a girl," Lux asked inching closer slowly.
"No," Riven denied again trying to look everywhere other than Lux.
"Is it because I'm ugly," Lux said sounding melancholy for a moment.
"Of course not, you're beautiful," Riven replied closing the gap. She was the most surprised when she had moved to comfort the sad girl.
"Oh I'm so glad you think that Riven," Lux up around bubbly and hugged Riven who just stood there shocked about what had just happened. "I'm happy we're friends," she said resting her head in the area of Riven's chest just above her bosom.
"What is going on," Riven demanded, more to anyone instead of to Lux, this girl seemed a master of dragging her into unknown situations that tested the limits of her comfort.
Ignoring the question Lux piped up, "I'm feeling a bit peckish, so how about we get some breakfast, it will still be a while before anyone wakes up. Come on, it's just breakfast between friends, that's all. I promise," she saluted for emphasis.
Riven was about to refuse but then Lux jutted her bottom lip out and made her eyes grow big, 'that is hardly fair,' Riven said to herself. Still, it wouldn't be so bad. It had been more than a year since Riven had shared a meal with another person that wasn't an assassin trying to sneak up on her during dinner cooked by campfire. Against her better judgment Riven relented, "fine," she said with a sigh.
"Great," Lux said giving her a smile. It wasn't that same huge smile that she gave everyone when pretending to be bubbly, it was a real one. So beautiful that Riven was awestruck, blushing she let Lux drag her by the arm out the door of the training room. It was only by instinct only she grabbed her sword, otherwise she would of left her partner behind. What was this girl doing to her?