Taliyah started walking downhill calmly, looking as if she was a teenage girl that had lived her whole life in Noxus. Or at least that's what she thought. In reality she was jumping around like an excited bunny and nearly ran down the hill. The two guards noticed her and muttered something about "the damned tourists" and that they "don't belong here". As Taliyah aproached the guards, one of them took her to the side.

"Hello, little girl. What do you want in Noxus? This is not a place for weaklings like you." The guard said. Taliyah unwillingly started to think back at her painful memories and nearly started to cry again. The guard noticed and said:

"Did I hit a wound spot? I'm not really sorry, youngn'. In Noxus, only the strong survive. Unless you tell me now what you want in here, I'm not gonna let you in."

"I.. I want a place to stay for the night" Taliyah said. Her voice sounded rusty, as if she didn't use it in months. She realized that that was excactly the case and continued on: "I'm not planning to stay here for long".

"Hmm, alright, enter. Just keep in mind what I said and don't say that you weren't warned when you get into trouble." The guard said and walked back to the gates. He let her pass through and just as she walked inside, a wall of noise and odors hit her. Noxus was loud. Very loud. You could hear the neighbors arguing because of a cat, a shop owner was shouting at a couple of kids who, apparently, had stolen some bread and you could hear several kids crying, without anybody really caring for them. Where are their mothers? Taliyah thought as she painfully watched one of the kids getting beaten by a dozen of drunk-looking men.

Just as Taliyah wanted to intervene, she realized that she really couldn't take on these men on her own, even in a good state. While thinking, her stomach made a loud GRRRRRRT sound that was so loud that everyone in ten kilometers must have heard it. In fact, a few people turned around and stared at her with weird looks on their faces. She blushed deeply and made sure to get out of there quickly.

As she walked away, her stomach made another grrt sound, but this time less noisy. She realized that she was far away from what she called a "good state", so she went off and started to search for a place to eat.

After walking around Noxus a bit, she felt that she had to change her question. There were several places to eat. The question was: where can I eat without probably getting harassed by drunk men? As she walked further around in Noxus, she found a tavern which wasn't full with shouting people. So she entered.

The tavern wasn't crowded enough to be full, but it had quite a few people inside. Even though most of the visitors were men, Taliyah could see a woman here and there. She stood in the entrance for a while to soak up all the smells and feelings flying in the air. The tavern had quite the positive atmosphere unlike any part of Noxus she had visited already. No fights, no arguments, and, the most important thing, there were places to sit where you probably wouldn't get bothered.

As she took a few steps inside, she stopped again. He had never been in a tavern and she was quite unsure of what to do now. Suddently, the barkeeper shouted: "Choose your place to sit, a waiter will come soon". After saying that, he returned to washing glasses while conversing with a man who was clearly overweight. Taliyah chose a small table in the corner which was meant for two and sat down. Soon enough, a small girl who wasn't more than 2-4 years older than herself came and asked her what she wanted to eat. Dazzled, she asked for the first best thing the girl listed and continued waiting.

After a while, Taliyah saw the waiter-girl again and realized that she probably was the barkeeper's daughter. She came with a plate with some meat and salad. She walked to the table, placed down the food and asked something that Taliyah didn't quite catch because she was fully concentrated on the food. Taliyah grumbled a yes to the girl, hoping that the answer would satisfy her and started eating the salad. Apparently, a yes was enough, and the girl went back to the kitchen. After a while, she came back with a meal on her own and sat to the table with Taliyah. Probably the girl had asked if she may sit and eat with her.

"So, your name is..?"

"Taliyah"

"Alright, Taliyah. Why are you so sad?"

Taliyah straightened herself and said: "I'm not."

The girl chuckled and replied: "You are."

"I'm not."

"You are."

..

..

"Is it that obvious?"

Now the girl started laughing: "I'm surprised nobody pointed that out before". But after a while, the happiness on her face vanished and she added:"No, actually, I'm not. Nobody cares about other people in this city."

After a while of silence, Taliyah asked: "But why?"

The girl sighed and put down her silverware: "Noxus is a city with one rule: only the strong survive. If you aren't strong, you'll end up like the beggars in the dark alleys. And since the drive for being strong and powerful is the only emotion that noxian people should have, showing compassion or just caring about other people is also taken as a sign for weakness."

"You can't even care for, let's say, your family?"

"Now that's kinda different. I think helping your family is alright, as long as he or she is not entirely dependant on it and as long as you keep it silent."

Both girls said nothing for a while and concentrated on eating. After a few moments, to break the awkward silence, Taliyah asked the girl for her name.

"Oh, didn't I introduce myself? I'm so sorry! My name is Elvira and I'm the daugther of the owner here." Elvira said and pointed to a vague direction of the bar.

"My story is not very interesting though. I was born on a farm on the outskirts of Noxus. My family moved to Noxus when I was four. From then on, I live here with my parents and two brothers and help in this bar. What about you?"

"Um, I'm from a tribe in the shuriman desert. That's it. Basically."

Elvira clearly didn't believe her. But she didn't dig deeper. They continued eating. Just as Taliyah finished, shouting voices rose from the bar. The owner and the fat man started arguing. Taliyah turned and asked Elvira: "Why are they arguing?"

"I think the other man doesn't have enough money to pay for the sheer countless beers he had and now my father has to get him to wash dishes or something"

"Money? What's that?" Taliyah asked.

Elvira's face grew pale white.