"You got that fire goin' yet?"

"We might need more wood, Kled."

The next day was a busy one for Nero, as he decided to step up to the responsibility of taking care of the camp while Kled was healing. The other yordle watched as Nero moved from one part to the next, moving things around and putting a small stack of medical supplies near Kled in case of emergencies.

Kled occasionally offered to help, but each offer was refused. The former commander supposed that it was nice to not to do much, but it mostly just made him feel incapable. Like a dead weight. He'd been trying to mitigate it by asking Nero questions on how he was handling his self-imposed job.

"You gonna go out an' get some?" Kled said, glancing towards the dead fire pit.

"It seems as though I must." It was a reluctant set of words.

"Take Skaarl. She makes it easier t'get around."

Nero's eyebrows raised at Kled's remark.

"You're...not going to ask to come with me?"

"Why'd I do something like that...?" Kled leaned forward, smirking. "Unless ya want me t'come along. Don't think I can in this condition."

Nero pursed his lips and gave a tiny glare. Those were his words Kled was using. For the entirety of the day, Nero denied Kled any action at all because of the injury on his back. Kled was getting him back for that one sentence at a time.

"Can't Skaarl carry you? I'll walk," Nero said, Skaarl raising her head up with a confused, dopey smile.

"Might fall off and rip the wound open more."

"Do I need to tie you down to her?"

"It'll give me burns if you do it that tight."

Nero was fuming, but refused to show it in his expression. He wasn't going to give Kled the satisfaction of knowing he's actually twisting Nero's emotions. For Nero, it was confusing. On one hand, he agreed with the yordle. On the other, Nero felt like he was just hearing an echo of his own words used against him. Despite Nero hiding his irritation, Kled seemed to understand Nero was bothered.

'What a troublesome man...' Nero thought.

"Then should I hold you myself?" He folded his arms. "You won't fall off."

Kled seemed to think on that for a moment before snickering and holding out his arms. Nero gave a deadpan look.

"No."

It was followed by the old yordle's cackling.

"Skaarl?" Nero asked.

The drakalops seemed to understand, dragging a long tongue across Kled's face. The cackling stopped, and Kled glared back at Nero, disgusted in the saliva all over him. Nero pet Skaarl on the head, snickering.

Later...

Kled had actually been brought along with Nero and Skaarl, Nero deciding that it would be safer as a group regardless. Half of what Nero offered had been done; he was holding Kled, as the older yordle was sandwiched between Skaarl and Nero, who kept a grip onto him from behind. Knowing he didn't need to keep an eye on what's in front anymore, Kled found himself in a rare state of deep thought. Not many times did he need to consider anything, but he found himself winding back to that conversation Nero and he had yesterday.

"Someone who hates Noxians...cares about a Noxian. Ain't that a sweet piece-a irony for ya?"

Kled hadn't thought about it much until now, but...there was something off about Nero.

"Say...uh...Cous," Kled called.

"Hm?" Nero responded, turning his head slightly.

"If you hate Noxians so much...why stick around here? We know those soldiers are lookin' for ya."

Nero put a hand to his chin. He actually didn't have an answer for that. So that got Kled thinking: Was he just staying here on a whim? The thought brought up only more questions to ask. And odd feelings that made his gut twist like a rag being wrung out of water. Did he even like it here? Was he going to leave anytime soon?

"Well, we survived last time didn't we?" Nero said, "And...I have no answer for your question. Admittedly, the land is harsh, dusty, and feels empty. This is not what I would imagine paradise to be like."

The bad feeling in his gut only got worse. Kled lowered his head and closed his eyes.

"But...well, I haven't laughed in a while. You and Skaarl make this place feel not as dead as it is. I'm enjoying myself with you and she." He looked up towards the blue skies. "The stars at night are wonderful. It makes it feel just like Ionia. The nights where I would refuse to sleep and wait for the sunrise to finally rest are brought to the front of my mind every night here."

"...Do you want to leave?" Kled glanced behind himself at Nero.

"Leave?" Nero said, "But where would I go? I am not keen on finding myself behind bars or used as a weapon. I love freedom. I can have that out here. You've given me that. I can go anywhere here so long as I have you and Skaarl."

Kled couldn't help but smile at that. Oddly enough, that was a huge weight off of his shoulders. It surprised himself, even. Well, now that he knew Nero wasn't leaving anytime soon...

"Guess we got ourselves a third, Skaarl."

Skaarl chirped in agreement.

"I wasn't already? Ouch." Nero joked. "You wound me, Double Admiral."

"Name's Kled. Call me Kled."

"Okay."

"Say it."

"What?"

"Say my name."

"Kled."

"And what'll ya call me from now on?"

"Kled."

"And ten years from now?"

"KLED!" Nero shouted, shaking his head. "What a troublesome one."

Kled snickered and turned to face the path ahead.

"And what are you going to call me?"

Kled shrugged. "You tell me,Nero."

It was Nero's turn to smile.

That Night...

"So, ya walk around in those rags all day?"

Kled and Nero had been trading questions about each other the moment the sun set. Proposed by Nero, he decided understanding his new...ally? would make living out in the plains a lot better. Kled agreed, but not before asking Skaarl her opinion. Skaarl seemed to agree, whatever that growl meant. Nero had no clue.

"Is it wrong to like the feeling of wind on fur?" Nero said, suddenly regretting his words.

It was certainly an odd way to explain it. While he drunk from a flask, Kled let that thought run around in his mind and got to laughing at how ridiculous it was.

"I don't have any other clothing, alright!?" The yordle huffed. "Who needs shirts anyways. As long as my lower half is covered, I'm fine."

The things Kled called rags were really just that. Nero remember finding them out in the wilderness of Ionia alongside other items that looked to be left by somebody else out there. Long forgotten, he assumed, considering there was nobody to be seen for miles, and the grass they were left in was high.

"Ya need armor. Nearly got yourself killed back out there." Kled gestured for Skaarl to come near, and he helped himself up, leaning on her side. "C'mere."

With Skaarl's help, he moved over to the tent, walking behind it. Nero raised an eyebrow and stood up, following behind with a sluggish walk. Kled really did have all he needed. Weapons, armor, but...never used?

"It's just been sitting here from the looks of it. Never worn down like your axe."

"Yer right about that, but I never needed these anyway. Figured I might as well take 'em since, y'know, this is my property."

The armor itself was too big for Nero, but parts could be dismantled. Kled figured the yordle didn't need a full suit anyway. He was a mage after all, right? Right.

"Say, I have a question for you now, Kled." Nero said as he fit some of the armor on him just to see what he could use.

"Yeah?"

"I know you think mages are trouble, but...exactly why? I know they most likely ruin the image of Noxus in your eyes, but there must be a deeper reason."

Kled lowered a shoulder piece and grimaced. "It's a shortcut to strength. And shortcuts to power don't mean nothing but pain for the rest of us."

That was his answer, but Kled seemed to understand Nero didn't catch the full meaning.

"...Do ya want to hear how I met Skaarl?"

Nero nodded. Kled looked over the armor he was wearing and nodded. "Suits ya. Back to the fire, then."

As they sat down, Kled began speaking, the entire while Skaarl resting her head on top of his. Kled had set his hat on his lap, staring into the flickering flame in the center of that tiny camp.

"When you're in so many wars, they all seem to blend together. Never did run from any of them fights. Never had to. You can't show weakness. But I'm guessin' you already understands that."

"Of course. I'm not the most passive person. I just know when to fold my cards."

"...To be honest, during the wars on Ionia, the place was peaceful in between battles. The only other thing that peaceful was..."

"Death?"

"Mhm...Ya looked nearly dead when I stumbled across ya. But as calm as could be...Death itself is one of the most peaceful things. Like yer floatin' away...watching the world fade out to darkness. I ain't afraid of it for that reason."

"I'm assuming you've had your own encounter with it?"

"Yep...Found myself bleeding on the ground as the army I had fell apart at the seams. You know, when things aren't lookin' up for ya, you have two things to consider. What'll happen then...and what went wrong before. Person that led our army was, for a lack of better words, hellbent on killing not one side, but all of us."

Kled took a deep breath. "I sound like a hypocrite. Killing's easy. And don't get me wrong, you can't live without shedding blood, but for the purpose of what? Enjoyment? It's sick."

Nero didn't think he'd hear Kled say something like that. It seems there's a strong part of Noxus that believes needless bloodshed stains Noxus as a whole.

"But doesn't one's method of bloodshed meld with the others?"

"If ya just look at the red of it, yeah. Some got lighter shades. Others got darker ones. We're all still murderers at the end of the day, but I'd like to believe I'm better than someone who's completely mindless."

And Nero couldn't disagree with that. "So how's Skaarl relevant?"

"Skaarl, Skaarl saved my life during that time. Ridiculous, ain't it? A dumb lizard bounding over a hill to save a yordle for some dumber reason. Dunno why she did it, but I decided to stick by her. Yep, me by her, not the other way around."

Skaarl chirped, still so close to Kled. It seemed logical enough. Why else would Kled stop to spend his time with a lizard? Sure, company was one thing, being so alone out here, but...Kled proved himself to be a lot less than an idiot.

"I thought-"

"Nope. I would've just overlooked her any other time..." Kled looked up towards the sky before shaking his head.

He needed to get rid of these thoughts. "...Enough of this! You want some mushroom juice?"

"Uhhhh..."

"It's safe! Wouldn't poison ya if I got nothing out of it."

"UHHHHH...?"

"Just drink it! Calms the nerves."

Nero assumed Skaarl would say it was safe.

And with that, Nero caught the flask and got to drinking.