Kled toppled off Skaarl for the third time within that hour. His boots were soaking wet, his fur was matted and bloody, and his head was aching with a pain terrible enough to make him want to quit. But the person in front of him spurred him on with each blow that was sent, and Kled found himself once again mounting the drakalops, who already looked ready to charge back into battle. He spat at the ground, tightened his hand into a fist, and took in a breath. Skaarl, not even needing a command, flew ahead once again.
Nero didn't look too different from Kled now. He had the same brutally-beaten look, and his eyes stung as blood dripped over them periodically. His legs were tired, and he felt like collapsing where he stood- anything to give himself a rest. Yet the voices in his head continued to scream at him, increasing in volume whenever his eyes began to shut. The anger they felt reflected in him, and it stayed with him. His face was still in a glare, however weak it had become now.
With another shout from the creatures he heard, he stiffened, standing firm on the ground once more, and sent a burst of water right for Skaarl. Kled once again fell off and hit the ground, grunting. Nero dropped to his knees and coughed, glancing up to see Kled trying the same thing again. Once again, the yordle and his mount were running for another torrent. However, this time, Kled was ready. He pressed a hand onto Skaarl's head, standing on her back. Right as the magic came, he vaulted off of her head and over it, rolling onto the ground, kicking off of it with his feet, and tackling Nero.
What once was a precise battle devolved into the two doing nothing but beating each other into the ground with their fists, determined to overpower the other person. Kled pressed the handle of his axe against Nero's neck as he had him pinned on the ground once more. Unable to force the yordle off, and unable to focus, Nero gave out, turning his head to the side and coughing.
"You done yet?" Kled's gaze practically burned into Nero's skull.
Nero didn't answer, still exhausted. He just laid there in the mud, the dust from the air covering the two of them. Skaarl trotted up alongside Kled, and the older yordle's face softened a bit. He didn't know why Nero had this much hatred in him. Sure, he understood that most Ionians had a vendetta against all of Noxus, but this was someone that Kled had come to know and respect, despite relying mostly on magic for strength.
"...Guess I am. You win." Nero strained those words.
"I ain't winnin' anything from this. Just makes us look more stupid than we are, is what." Kled got up off the ground.
"S-Stupid...?"
"Why are we even fighting? Why is Kled fighting Nero?"
"I...don't know."
The voices failed to make sense anymore.
"...I knows we wronged you and yer people," Kled said, "I won't say I haven't had my regrets. Occasional regrets,"
He pulled Nero so that the yordle could sit up. "Do ya really want to feel that? Maybe theys didn't happen often, but it's always the size over the numbers."
"I've already come far enough," Nero responded, "What do I have to regret?"
Kled said not another word and stared at the yordle in front of him, his blind eye half-closed in what wasn't irritation, but genuine sadness.
"I won't say you're angry at the wrong people, and I won't say to lay down what you feel is right, but...don't just let yourself be trapped by yer own hate. If I had continued on the warpath after losing the Ionian war on the idea that Ionians all made us look like idiots- and believe me, I am a huge idiot- a lot more people would be dead for no reason. What did I tell you about mindless bloodshed?"
Nero faced the ground. "That even though we're all murderers at the end of the day, you'd like to think you're better than someone that's completely mindless...That includes blind rage?"
"Yer gettin' it," Kled said, standing up and holding a hand out, "Yer angry, and I understand why...I can't change what's already happened. Can't say I would."
He tilted Nero's chin up to face him. "Then I wouldn't have met ya."
Nero's eyes stayed lidded, but they held understanding. Skaarl dips her head down towards Nero, resting it on his shoulder as the rest of her body sat on the ground. Kled pulled the three of them in for a group hug, his eyes closed, and his mouth in a frown. His mind was calmer than it had ever been, despite the fight, despite the pain, despite the way Nero looked disgusted with him before.
"...Do you hate me, Nero?"
"...No." Nero sighed. "I...I don't know what I feel right now. It started off as hatred, but...now I'm ashamed of myself. Ionians are supposed to be peaceful people. I am not meant to cause conflict where it isn't needed. And look what became of us two."
"Like I told ya, killing's easy."
"...I suppose mediating is where difficulty truly arises..."
"Yer right...Now that I think it, maybe that's why we lost."
Nero's ears twitched. "What...?"
"Maybe that's why us Noxian soldiers lost our last war with Ionia. Cuz we never took the difficult route. Everyone bends to magic nowadays, and we all began looking for shortcuts to strength through it."
Kled put a hand on one of Nero's shoulders. "But from what I've seen from ya, magic is...lots more than I thought. Hard to control, hard to understand, and even harder to use. Some of the mages I knew won't ever understand fully what magic can become. That's what you Ionians did. This magic-less yordle owes yeh some respect, right Skaarl?"
Skaarl chirped in agreement.
Nero couldn't believe what he had heard. His face was in complete disbelief, but he managed to speak.
"...Though you told me to not believe my anger was misguided, I believe it was. My hatred is what brought me to Noxus in the first place. I challenged a commander and was spared on account of my power. A day later, I challenged them again in the belief that I would be stronger than them despite my injury. Maybe it was my feeling of moral superiority at the time."
He grasped the pendant around his neck. "But...I now realize that I was no better for trying to end their lives. If other Noxians can be as clear and stable as you, why did I ever generalize all of them? I continued to look at the bleak areas of life, not letting light into it. And that ended when I met you. I could see. I haven't laughed in so long, it felt good to talk to someone on friendly terms, and I could make a fool of myself without worries of being judged..."
"You said during the night-"
"It felt like Ionia. And, that's when I knew Noxus had its own beauty. Laced with rough edges, sure, but...we have our own problems to solve."
Nero, in that instance, stiffened. Misty violet smoke pooled from his back, taking the shape of the creatures he had fought before. The sunlight was out in full-view now. Kled glanced up towards them, ready to fight once again, but was relieved to see their form dissipate. He saw Nero collapse, the strength the monsters gave him gone. Kled figured he could use a rest as well. Taking one of Skaarl's ears to pull her down to his level, he laid beside the blue-furred yordle. The three of them were once again grouped up.
'...I love you too, Kled.'