Author's note: Yeaah, so I apologise for being two weeks late (and for being so bad at responding to the reviews for the first chapter). Just finished exams for the year and then had a roadtrip with friends. I've hardly had time for anything. But on the bright side I've officially completed my university degree and now have holidays :D, so I'm happy. I should also be able to update more consistently now too. Anyway, I hope you enjoy. Thanks for being patient (not like you had much choice :P).
Warning: graphic language.
Her whole world was frozen. The sounds around her came through in a muffled haze as her eyes remained locked on the grinning face before her. Slowly, his words sunk in. This was the man that had ambushed them. The man who'd tried to kill her. The one who had murdered her father.
His smirk grew, "Ah, now you remember me."
The yordle was jolted from her stunned state just in time to dodge his forward sword-thrust, catching the next swing with her hammer.
The Noxian taunted her as he continued his assault. "I remember you: you're the only one who got away. The only mission I ever failed."
He jumped out of her reach, before pulling something small and shiny from his pocket. Poppy's purple eyes widened at the familiar, golden locket dangling from his fingers.
"It's why I kept this. I know, not much of a souvenir, is it? After all, it was really your father who did all the work. Ironic isn't it: you were saved by your daddy's prowess, but in protecting his child he paid the ultimate price."
Somewhere in the back of the yordle's mind, she knew he was taunting her. But, as anger consumed the girl, she found she didn't care. With a roar of rage, she lunged at the Noxian; her hammer swinging so hard and fast the man could do nothing but dodge.
Despite the strenuous effort he was exerting to remain out of harm, the warrior's grin didn't leave his face. That is, until the hammer hit him square in the chest.
His armour saved his chest from being crushed (but he would most definitely have bruised ribs if the pain and the crumpling sound the chest plate made were any indication) but he was still flung several feet back from the force of the blow. The man's motion was rapidly stopped by a nearby tree trunk, his sword clattering out of his hand from the impact.
Dazed, he looked up to see the infuriated yordle rapidly approach. She raised her hammer back in preparation for her next blow, only to have her legs kicked out from under her by the assassin's quick reflexes.
As the blue girl went down, the Noxian rolled to his feet, kicking the hammer out of her grasp as she reached for it.
Looming above her, he smirked and prepared to strike.
"Andreas!" His expression turned sour as the man's gaze shifted over to Kade, just in time to see his second in command dodge a furious swipe from the half-dragon. Eyes scanning the battlefield, he noted that while three of the eight Demacian soldiers remained, their numbers had also dwindled down to half and that many of those left were making a break for the forest. "We need to retreat!" Kade finished.
"Fine," the Noxian snarled. Looking down at the yordle picking herself up, he spoke gruffly. "Looks like you survive this time." With that he turned and retreated after his men.
Poppy knelt, retrieving her hammer with a deceptive calm. Across the clearing, Shyvana growled restlessly while Galio tended to the remaining soldiers.
Once they were sure the assassins were truly gone, the plump form of Lady Spiritmight burst from the carriage before crowding the young yordle. "Are you alright?" The woman gushed as she checked the blue girl for injuries, "You were so brave protecting us back there against that Noxian scum. You never lost your resolve, even in the face of such cowardly tactics. I cannot believe he would flaunt the murder of your father like that; and to taunt you with your own necklace – it was truly despicable."
Poppy could feel the presence of eyes on her, but she refused to meet any of them as she pulled her packs from her pony and secured them on her back.
Turning back to the Spiritmight couple, the seventeen-year-old spoke evenly, "You should be safe now Lord Spiritmight; I doubt they will try another stunt like that. And if they should, Shyvana and Galio will be more than enough protection. But I'm afraid I cannot continue on with you."
Glancing around, Poppy met Shyvana's piercing stare; the half-dragon's eyes reflecting a respect and pain that only those who have known true loss can understand, before she nodded her head.
"But," the Demacian lady broke the moment in confusion, "what about the ball you're expected to be at in Bandle City? As the Demacian ambassador, I'm sure you will be anticipated."
The yordle's resolve remained firm, "This is more important. Besides, I know that there are others representing Demacia, so I doubt anyone will miss me. But right now, I really must be going. I wish you both a safe journey."
With one final nod to the company, the teen started her new journey west.
After a while of steady travel, the yordle sighed. Without turning around, she finally addressed the presence behind her, "You do know Jandelle is the other way right?"
"I know," the deep voice replied simply.
Poppy stopped, turning to confront the looming giant shadowing her. "Then why are you here?"
Galio regarded her sombrely, "Are you sure this is wise?"
The bravado in the smaller girl faded. "No. But it is something I have to do."
"Poppy," the giant's red eyes filled with compassion, "It is just a necklace. It isn't worth your life."
"If it was a possession of Durand's would you do any different in my situation?" she challenged him.
The gargoyle tilted his head. "Fair point," he conceded.
Nodding, the yordle resolutely started off again.
She sighed as the familiar heavy footsteps started up again behind her and she turned once more to face her friend. "You know Jandelle is still the other way right?"
A small smile tugged on the edges of the statue's serious face, "If it was a possession of Durand's would you really let me go alone?"
The girl matched his smile, "Fair point."
The countryside flicked by at a rapid pace thanks to the horses that they had stolen. But Andreas paid no attention to the moving greenery around their dwindled numbers.
The air around the assassins was thick with defeat and dissatisfaction. Of the eighteen men and women that had ambushed the group, only ten remained; the rest had been killed by the dragon, the stone golem and the yordle.
Their brooding leader narrowed his eyes. This was meant to have been an easy gig. His men could have easily have dealt with the soldiers and the nobles if it wasn't for the damned half-dragon – a half-dragon who wasn't supposed to be there. They shouldn't have known about the ambush. But they had.
Andreas pulled the gold necklace from his pocket, taking in the delicate details of the flower locket in contemplation. Then, there was the yordle; the reminder of his one failed mission had been there too. It couldn't be a coincidence.
His expression turned grimmer as he tucked the locket away again.
"Andreas, what's on your mind?" Kade queried.
"Someone's trying to set us up," he said succinctly.
That caused a stir amoungst the rest of the group, but the leader's expression never changed.
He hadn't survived this long by luck. Whoever was trying to off him would find he was a lot harder to kill than he looked.
The surrounding land of Noxus was very different from those found in Demacia. The land to the west was known for its snowy mountains, rolling green hills and lush pockets of forestry. But the land of Noxus was as harsh and unforgiving as its people, with dry, barren plains to the south and sharp, stony mountains in the north. During the day, the sun shone down in a relentless blaze, while at night, the air turned cold enough to chill the bone.
However, none of this could halt Poppy's relentless fixation on her mission. So far, they had tracked the mercenaries north-east, taking a wide detour around the Institute of War. Despite the roundabout route, it was becoming increasingly obvious where the assassins' destination truly was: the capital itself.
Currently, they were a couple of days out from the city of Noxus, carefully picking their way along the very edges of the Ironspike Mountains and trying to follow the sparse tracks left amoungst the rocky surroundings. Overhead, the noonday sun beat down upon them.
Galio glanced at his companion, noticing how her sensitive eyes were squinted against the glare in an attempt to better search the rock-strewn path for further evidence. Regardless, the young yordle continued on resolutely.
Expanding his vigilance to their surroundings, the stone gargoyle paused as he spotted the small figure atop a nearby outcropping.
"Poppy," the golem stopped the yordle girl. "I believe we have company."
The blue teen paused in her march, turning to where Galio's attention was focused. Poppy's hand strayed towards her hammer as she narrowed her eyes further, trying to better make out the figure before she paused in surprise. "It looks like a yordle."
"Hmm," Galio narrowed his red eyes. "Are you sure? He looks a little – strange to me."
The girl nodded; there was definitely something odd about this yordle's appearance. It was almost like a feeling – a shimmery charge – the blue girl couldn't quite put her finger on. Her eye sight was not as good as Galio's but she was still confident in her assessment; there was no mistaking the large, furry ears and short stature.
"Definitely a yordle," she repeated before once again jerking in surprise. "Who's riding some sort of lizard."
As she spoke, the strange figure pulled his poleaxe from its place and levelled it at the pair.
"Oi you two!" Poppy heard the white yordle holler. "Yeah you! I don't normally give out warnings and such, but considering you're kin and I ain't never seen you around here before, I'll give you one chance. My name is Kled, Forward Captain Admiral of the Calvary Brigade. This is Skaarl, immortal Drakalops and the pride of Noxus. And you're trespassing on my land! So I'll give you five seconds to get 'fore I come and gut you and hang ya up by your own intestines!"
"Well," Galio said mildly. "He seems like a pleasant fellow."
"Yeah," the blue yordle retorted sarcastically. "As pleasant as a cornered Dragon-shark. And crazy to boot. This place is no man's land. And honestly, I don't know who in their right mind would want to own it anyway."
"So what do we do?" the giant asked his companion.
The yordle stood her ground resolutely. "We keep going. I'm not turning back just because some ancient, wannabe soldier tells me to. You hear that you crazy dingbat!"
That didn't sit well with the stranger, causing him to shriek as he jumped up and down in his saddle. "Nobody disrespects the Grand Major Lieutenant Kled. Don't say I didn't warn ya! Get em Skaarl!"
The irate yordle kicked the beast, causing the startled lizard to run – in the opposite direction.
"No! No! No!" the white-furred male pulled sharply on the creature's floppy ears, forcefully turning it around. "That way you stupid lizard! Now Chaaaaarge!"
The bemused pair watched this display in confused amusement, not ready for the speed at which the lizard creature was upon them.
Galio threw his wing up and over Poppy just in time, blocking the blood thirsty yordle's axe from skewering the girl. He hissed in pain as the creature's momentum took it up and over them, it's sharp claws digging into his stone wings.
As the pair turned, Galio broadened his stance, wings splaying wide as he roared. Predictably, the lizard balked, throwing its rider as it bolted away from the gargoyle.
The thrown yordle cursed as he found his feet. "Dammit Skaarl, you lily-livered coward! Just you watch, I'll take them both down by myself!" To prove his point, he threw himself at the nearby yordle girl with an enraged scream.
Unable to react in time, the furious older yordle collided with the blue girl, his overwhelming momentum causing the two of them to tumble down the small slope.
Poppy found her feet first, rising with an exasperated sigh. "I don't have time for this," she muttered as she caught the incoming pole-axe with her hammer. Finally face to face for the first time, the white yordle's face scrunched up in anger – and, surprisingly, recognition. "You!"
"What?" Poppy asked in confusion as she pulled the axe down sideways.
That seemed to enrage the older yordle even further as he attacked again with more ferocity. "You sneaky hammer wielding brat! You're the one that kept me from claiming my territory in the west. You think you can try and take more of my land from me. Well guess again! I'll skin ya hide and wear it as my new coat!"
The blue girl gave him an alarmed look, as she swung at his head, "What are you talking about? I've never met you before in my life. The only reason I'm even here is because I've been tracking a group of mercenaries back to Noxus."
He dodged the swing easily, "Nice try. But the only sneaky-sneaks I see around here are you two. Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab!" the crazy yordle hacked at her in a frenzy, only to be blocked once more by the girl's hammer. Pulling back, he spoke as if nothing had happened. "What'd you do with your giant hammer? I was hoping to take it for myself when I killed you."
"Giant hammer?" Poppy queried as she dodged to the side before swiping at him with her yordle-sized weapon.
The crazy, white yordle sighed as he sidestepped her attack. "Do I have to spell everything out to ya? Your giant hammer. Orlag or Oramoms or something."
The pigtailed yordle paused slightly, looking at him incredulously. Was he really that crazy? "The hammer of Orlon. Wait, you think I'm the hero of Demacia?"
She couldn't stay still long and she quickly dodged the furry of attacks suddenly thrown at her.
"Die! Die! Die! Die!" her attacker shrieked before continuing. "Hero of Demacia, the Protector, Keeper of Orlomogon's hammer, take your pick. They're all just as stupid as those namby-pamby westerners. Now the First Captain Admiral Sergeant Kled: that is a name."
As she continued to evade the frenzied yordle's attacks, the teen tried to talk sense into him. "But yordles don't live that long. The hero of Demacia was around at the founding of the nation. I'm only seventeen!"
The mangy yordle rolled his eyes. "And I'm a lily-livered Drakalops. I may be crazy but I ain't stupid. I know it's you Poppy."
The blue yordle stalled, mind going blank in shock as she tried to make sense of what the crazy, old yordle had just said. She never even saw the axe heading straight for her head.
Suddenly, the ground was pulled out from under her and Poppy felt herself ascending. Below her, the shrinking form of the scruffy, white yordle jumped furiously up and down, cussing at the top of his breath.
As her mind slowly shook off the recent shock, the blue yordle tried to piece together what had happened. Glancing away from the strange old man and above, the girl could make out familiar blue arms along with a rhythmic beating, surmising that Galio had intervened and was currently flying them away from the spontaneous fight.
"Thanks, Galio," she murmured gratefully, curiousity bringing her eyes back down to where the fierce, crazy yordle was only a speck.
The gargoyle smiled before gently placing his friend on his back.
Congrats to Ninjakirby7 for guessing correctly who the next yordle was going to be :).
Again, sorry about the wait, the next chapter should be up on time.
Also, since I don't really remember and considering how busy I've been - do any of you know if I put a notification up on my last story when I posted this one? I generally try to do it for anybody following a story but not me. Cheers :).