"Was she conscious when it happened?"
A hesitation. "No eyewitnesses."
"I don't understand – she was alone out there?"
"No," a voice rushed to ensure. "Definitely not. But no one was watching at the time."
A third voice interrupted the conversation. "Don't worry about it. Just don't say anything about it – it's not like the knowledge would benefit anyone."
"Ah, she's awake."
The first speaker swore.
Someone laughed. "Seriously? Chill out. She's drugged. No way in heaven – or hell – she'll remember this."
Quinn could hear pandemonium in the hallway before she even realized she was awake. A hand belonging to a terrified young woman in white robes opened the door and quickly pulled back, disappearing. Valor entered, waddling in on two feet because of the narrow entryway.
Penguin. If Quinn had been a little more capable, she would have spoken the word aloud.
Once inside the room, he spread his wings and flew onto her bed, nearly knocking a lamp off the bedside table. Feeling Valor's weight on her chest, she finally realized she was awake. Their eyes met for a moment and Quinn felt relief – exhaustion, but relief. They were alive, and that was what mattered, no?
Valor dropped his head down and rubbed it against her cheek.
"Yeah," she croaked. "Yeah, good morning."
He cocked his head, giving her a telling stare.
"Evening," she said with a little despair. "Good evening."
Satisfied, Valor moved aside and snuggled against her like a cat. She refrained from reminding him he was a majestic Demacian eagle and not an adorable little animal who could cuddle without worrying about their image.
Quinn set about examining her surroundings. The bed was too soft, the room was too small, the sounds too muffled, the lighting too artificial, the walls too bare, and, most telling, a clean, antiseptic smell wafted through the room. A hospital, without any doubt.
"I remember getting my ass whooped," she said.
A beak pressed into her for confirmation.
"And there was – what's her name-"
"Luxanna Crownguard, at your service." Through the door which Valor hadn't closed, Luxanna entered, giving a quick salute.
"Ah." Quinn gave Valor a pleading eye, hoping he would scare Luxanna off by acting like a feral animal. She'd been chocked full of too many drugs to manage a normal conversation with a superior from the army. Conversations were hard enough as it were, the formality and other niceties just made it not worthwhile.
Thankfully, Valor raised himself from his resting position and took flight. His massive form looked much more intimidating inside a hospital room as compared to kilometers distant in the sky. Problem solved, Quinn dropped her head back onto the pillow, sinking into the soft down much more than she had anticipated. The gasp of surprise or shriek of terror never came, and Quinn reluctantly popped an eye open.
"Oh no," she muttered to herself.
Luxanna had stepped forward and Valor had found a roost on her left shoulder. She was small enough that she had to tilt her head away to make room for him, but she had a goofy, lopsided grin as she watched Quinn, clearly not the least bit surprised or afraid of her new accessory. In fact, the pair standing in front of her looked relatively comfortable, as if it weren't a new thing.
"I – I've been out for awhile, I take it?" Quinn said.
Both Luxanna and Valor nodded simultaneously. The eagle's large size and Luxanna's small size made for an almost comical sight. Instead of laughing, however much the drugs made it seem like a good idea, Quinn found herself struggling to contain her anger. It was betrayal, but it wasn't. Quinn might have thought of it as betrayal, but if Valor didn't – and looking at him confirmed he didn't – then the fact was that it wasn't. It meant something, Quinn knew, but she wasn't entirely sure what. Never in their two plus years of being together had she ever seen Valor perch on someone else's shoulder.
Quinn pushed the thoughts away, knowing there would be time for them later. Instead, she spend a few seconds moving into a sitting position and coming up with something appropriate to say to her superior.
"Ma'am. To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"
Luxanna stepped forward, casually shaking her shoulder to send Valor back to the bed. "Do I need a reason to visit my saviour? And please, call me Lux."
"You do me much honor, but I only played only a minor role in your battle against the great specter." It sounded good to Quinn's ears. Maybe she was finally getting the hang of it?
Luxanna took a seat on the stool next to the bed. She turned to Quinn and leaned close, causing Quinn to squirm uncomfortably under the blankets. "Could you, maybe, I dunno, stuff it?"
"Excuse me?" The words escaped Quinn's lips before she could think.
"I am not my brother," Luxanna said. She sounded hurt, and Quinn instinctively looked away. "For heaven's sake, I'm younger than you! Could you please treat me like you would a friend – or, or at least an acquaintance?"
Quinn sighed, dragging a hand out from under the blankets to pet Valor. His feathers, while not the softest thing around, were comforting in their familiarity. "My apologies, Luxanna. I'm thoroughly exhausted and I do believe I am under the influence of a great many drugs, so perhaps we should continue this conversation at a later date?"
Luxanna, not looking at her, seemed to deflate. "Really?" she said. The question didn't seem to be in response to Quinn's suggestion, but Quinn didn't care.
"Yes ma'am."
Quietly, Luxanna rose from the stool. Without another word, she left the room, gently closing the door behind her. The humming of the air conditioning was the only sound Quinn could hear.
Valor pecked her.
She sighed.
The word 'friend' had put her in a bad mood.
Throwing off the bed's covers, she spent ten minutes stretching before a desire for sleep made her pull the sheets back over her body. There were a handful of scars on her in new places, but she hadn't examined them closely. That, too, was for another day.
Doctor Miranda had informed her she would be free to go the next day. Quinn would have left anyways, damned be the consequences, so the news didn't influence any of her plans. Her body was almost in peak condition, having recovered from her injuries and being only slightly out of practice from the constant sleep and lounging around. The first half of the day consistent of stretches, to make up for her lack of movement. She learned she was in a hospital in the Demacian capital, and that four days had passed since the specter's attack. Her mission to track a regiment of Noxian soldiers was now only possible if she blindly travelled through the eastern side of the continent and just so happened to run across their destructive path. The Demacian army was fully aware of her failure and probably had a new, more pertinent mission for her.
It was evening when a knock on the door broke her thoughts.
"Come in," she said. Valor wasn't around for moral support. He was out hunting and enjoying the fresh air. Quinn was a little jealous of her companion. Not to mention his knack for suddenly befriending people.
Luxanna entered the room holding a newspaper and smiling. Speak of the devil, Quinn thought to herself.
"Luxanna," Quinn said, bowing her head slightly and rolling her eyes when the mage couldn't see.
"Hi Quinn," Luxanna said, more cheerful than at the end of her last visit. Her words sounded oddly pleasant, which Quinn concluded was because she didn't hear her own name spoken aloud very often. "How are you doing?"
"Fine."
"Hmm. Good, good. The prince is at the League right now, so I'm passing on orders from Sir Berell." Luxanna brushed a lock of hair behind her ear, an action that Quinn had seen before, when they fought the specter together. "Oh, and I also wanted to talk about the Paz Disaster."
Quinn raised her eyebrows while experiencing a slight sinking feeling in her stomach at the ominous word. "Disaster?"
Unperturbed, Luxanna smiled. "Yeah, literally. Like the capital 'D' kind of disaster that goes into textbooks."
"I don't understand. It wasn't that bad, was it? What exactly happened?"
Luxanna seemed pleased at the question. "The enemy we fought, the specter, its name is Thresh."
"We – you – didn't kill it?"
"No," Luxanna said, with a mild laugh to accompany it. "We didn't."
"Okay," Quinn conceded. "I'm not going to interrupt anymore, fill me in."
"Gladly," Luxanna said, eyes roaming the bare hospital room. "Thresh was moving eastward at a pretty slow speed. That means it might have come from Noxus, but the implications of that are a little complex and there's no proof it was an intentionally summoned weapon. Anyways, we had plenty of warning from survivors of previous villages along his path, so the army sent out a regiment to kill him – it – him – I don't know."
Lux through her hands up in mock defeat at the pronoun dilemma. Quinn considered the specter for a moment. Human enough? The specter took a human shape, at least...
"Him," Quinn said, making the decision.
"Him," Lux nodded in agreement. "Anyways, Garen wasn't around to lead the Dauntless so it was determined the best course of action was to send me and a large regiment to overpower Thresh. I was a few hours ahead, scouting, when I came across a massive group of people evacuating Paz."
"Paz?" Quinn said, once again breaking her promise not to interrupt.
"The village we fought in was named Paz."
"Oh." Was – past tense. Now it was a giant pile of ash and burnt wood.
"Anyways, they were moving too slowly. When I got to the village and saw Thresh, I knew I had to make a stand or risk him catching the elderly and the young who were trailing behind."
Quinn nodded. It was the expected result, given Luxanna was a Demacian.
"I might have underestimated him a little. Some say he's from a different dimension, some say he was summoned from the Shadow Isles, while others claim he's a monstrosity created by Noxus or Zaun. Whatever he is, he's strong."
Again, Quinn nodded.
And then, like in the previous visit, Luxanna dragged her chair closer, and leaned in. Quinn could see the faint remnants of bruises and cuts on her face, but Luxanna's attractiveness surprised her. Whereas her skin was darker from spending nearly every day outside, Luxanna's skin was pale, protected by her light magic aura, which she probably commanded subconsciously at all times. If not for the recent injuries sustained from Thresh, it would look like Luxanna had just returned from a photo shoot for the military's propaganda division. But Quinn was staring – a little too much, she realized as she diverted her attention to Valor. How bad was her own face? She hadn't even thought of getting a mirror to check.
Quinn could even smell the faint aroma of a fruity perfume on the girl. The only other females she'd ever been so close to were her mother and those she killed on missions. Neither made for good memories. Before Quinn could react, Luxanna took hold of her hand.
"You saved me. I don't care what you think, you saved me. Thank you."
Quinn shook her hand free, blushing at the unexpected contact and words. "You – your welcome."
Lux sat back up, casually resuming her recap. "The village is burned. The crops, all the farmland. Seventeen thousand acres of forest."
"The forest?" Quinn said, simultaneously remembering what she saw during the battle. The fire had spread to the trees along the farmland. It leaped farther and burned hotter than any other fire she'd seen before, and it was very possible they were lucky it ended as soon as it did. If it had jumped the main trade route connecting Demacia to Senta, the fire could have destroyed the entire southern area, which was heavily forested and much more vulnerable than the region around Paz.
Quinn knew it wasn't right, but the loss of forest bothered her more than the loss of the village.
"But no one died," Luxanna said. "No elderly or young from the village, not even any soldiers from the regiment."
"So – so we did defeat him?"
Luxanna hesitated. "In a way."
"What do you mean?"
"The chain connecting his lantern snapped. Valor flew off with it and Thresh, he – well, he lost the will to fight, I guess?"
Quinn looked at her doubtfully.
"Seriously," Luxanna insisted. "He sort of stopped moving and just watched as Valor flew higher into the sky. Eventually, the lantern's green light blinked out and Thresh sat down, waiting to be contained. I wasn't about to attack him, considering – well, considering your condition. Luckily, Fiora and Taric showed up. They were on their way back from the League and followed the trail of death and rumors. With their help, we kept Thresh contained and had you brought to the hospital."
"He's contained? Where?" Quinn said, hoping it was at least a kilometer underground with the weight of the earth keeping him from ever seeing the light of day again.
Wordlessly, Luxanna handed her the newspaper. 'Demacian Constant' was written in large letters at the top. Quinn read the date, confirming only four days had passed. Then, she turned her attention to the main article. A picture of Thresh, high resolution yet lacking the oppressively dark magical aura. Beneath it, the caption, 'Thresh: a specter of death, or something else entirely?'.
"For what it's worth, I think he's a specter of death," Luxanna said.
It wasn't worth much, and Quinn made a noncommittal hum before beginning to read the article. It only took her a moment to find the information she wanted. The Demacians had handed him over to Institute of War.
"It's a good thing, really," Luxanna said. "He's under the control of the high Summoners – he won't be able to go anywhere."
"Yeah."
"Thank you."
Quinn continued scanning the article. "For what?" Even when she wasn't on a mission, she rarely read the paper. Current events washed passed her without notice.
"For saving my life."
Quinn mentally pointed out she had already been thanked before, as she focused on the newspaper and began to read the article in detail. Eventually, Luxanna would get the hint. Quinn hoped.
-it wasn't to be, however, as Luxanna Crownguard, a renown mage, champion ofLeague of Legends, and Major in the Demacian army, arrived on scene.
Quinn was slightly amazed at how much she had learned in reading one sentence. She'd always known Luxanna was her superior, but the rankings of the army eluded her. Major was something major, wasn't it? What was Quinn again? Some kind of corporal? Stopping assassins was much too overrated. Either way, the article had another surprise. Somehow she had forgotten Luxanna was a member of the League of Legends. At such a young age, her accomplishments really were noteworthy. Quinn might have even been impressed, if Luxanna hadn't been a Crownguard. Children of the noble families were handed all the opportunities they could ever want.
The unnatural silence had grown a little too distracting. "Why aren't you at the League with your brother?"
Luxanna smiled – not that she hadn't been smiling before, but now it was more pure – a conniving innocence? "I'd like to say it's because I wanted to make sure you were alright."
Her words had been a little too hopeful. The conversation seemed staged, like Luxanna had prepared a script for her to follow. Quinn acquiesced. "But...?"
"But because we burned down a forest, a couple villages, and a bunch of farmland, we made some people very angry. I was sent out of public sight for awhile. At least until things cool down."
"Ah. Wait – a couple villages?"
"If you'd kept reading, you'd see the fire spread from the forest to more farmland and then some nearby villages. No one died, but someone needed to be blamed for all the property damage and burned crops."
"I see. Am I going to get assaulted if I visit the market for a new dagger and crossbow?"
Luxanna shook her head, leaning back on the stool. "No. If you read even further, you'd learn that the fires started well before you arrived to help."
Quinn tried to remember. Some houses had burned, but the forest hadn't caught on fire until well into their battle. "That's not true."
"Winners – uh," Luxanna frowned for a moment, "write history?"
Quinn gave a subtle shake of her head and roll of her eyes. "History is written by the victors."
"That's it!" Luxanna said with a snap of her fingers while nodding her head furiously. "Anyways, I kept you out of the story as much as possible. I thought you'd want that, since you're, y'know?" Luxanna hesitated in the silence. "I'm sorry, did I make a mistake? I swear it wasn't about fame for beating Thresh or anything!" Lux had her hands clasped together, as if begging Quinn. Speaking a little quicker, she leaned in. "It's just, you like to keep to yourself and you helped me and I really, really, really didn't want to see you take any blame for what happened and I couldn't – I couldn't mention your name without the Demacian Constant wanting to interview you and I didn't think you would like being interviewed and you-"
"Stop," Quinn said. The sudden silence left Quinn realizing she had just given an order to a superior. Maybe it was because Luxanna seemed to wear her emotions on her sleeve, but it was easy to forget Quinn was talking to a high ranking soldier. "I mean, please, slow down. I do appreciate you letting me keep a low profile. Thank you. And for – uh, for taking the blame over the fires." Quinn scowled slightly, which Luxanna did not seem to notice. "I owe you."
The young mage clapped her hands in delight. "You know what would be fun?"
Quinn remained silent.
"When you get out of the hospital, we should go out for supper! To celebrate our victory!"
Ah. Quinn had walked straight into that one.
A/N: This was a chapter I wrote awhile back (probably over a year ago) to practice dialogue. It feels weak, but I had no beta reader to tell me to delete it, so I went ahead with it. Next chapter is 6k words - just needs proofreading before publishing tomorrow.