I return with another chapter! Reviews always appreciated. Special thanks to those who keep coming back!

The streets of Bandle City were alive with festivities and merrymaking.

Every yordle of Rudynip Valley gathered within the city square, much of the crowd spilling out into the roads and alleyways, all singing and dancing with an ale in hand and flowers in their hair. Small bands, wielding lutes, flutes, fiddles, drums, and tambourines, dotted every street corner. Some played soft, pleasant tunes while others played fast, exciting melodies, all of them traditional yordle compositions made just for grand occasions such as this. From the rooftops, Megling gunners stuffed their cannons to the brim with flowers before blasting them high into the sky, causing a steady rain of pedals to grace the crowds below.

Teemo and Kennen waded through the hordes of yordles, both carrying mugs of delicious honeymead ale.

"Where are we going?" Kennen called out, his voice barely piercing through the music coming from a nearby ensemble.

Teemo held Kennen by his wrist, guiding him to yordle knows where. He briefly looked over his shoulder, flashing Kennen a grin.

"There's some people I'd like you to meet!" Teemo called back.

"How do you expect to find anyone in all of this?" Kennen questioned, just barely missing the flailing arms of a yordle dancing blissfully to the music beside him.

Teemo didn't seem to hear him as they continued to maneuver through the throngs of yordles.

Kennen was slightly overwhelmed by all of the activity happening around him. It had been years since he last attended the Summer's End Festival, but he never remembered it being this…extravagant. He wondered if perhaps there was another cause for celebration that he didn't know about?

Kennen felt the pull on his wrist weaken as Teemo stopped, a small gathering of yordle children huddled around him.

"Captain Teemo!" One of them cried

"It's really him!" One screamed.

"Can we get an autograph?" Another yelled out.

"Pleaaassee?" They all said in unison.

Teemo gave a hearty chuckle and took a pen from his back pocket before falling down to one knee, signing whatever was thrust in front of him. Kennen watched with amusement as Teemo indulged the group of children.

"You know…" Teemo began, looking over his shoulder to flash a grin at Kennen, before looking back to the children. "That yordle over there?" He pointed to Kennen. "His autograph is one you should really be after. He's a legendary ninja from Ionia!" Teemo exclaimed, causing the children to go wide eyed and immediately bee-line straight for Kennen who turned red with embarrassment.

"No way, you're a ninja?!" One boy asked.

"What's it like in Ionia? Do they really eat food with sticks?" A little girl asked.

Kennen gave a bashful laugh and took the pen that Teemo was holding out to him before leaning down to sign his name with traditional Ionian characters on various trinkets and pieces of parchment, causing some of the children to gasp in awe.

Teemo gave a loud chuckle, before suddenly jumping as he felt a hand slap against his shoulder.

"Howdy Captain!" A cheery white-haired yordle yelled, giving the scout an excited smile.

"Tristana! I was just looking for you. Thought you'd be up on the rooftops?" He asked.

"Are you kidding? I wouldn't miss all the action down here." Tristana said a matter-of-factly, resting a hand on her hip.

Teemo chuckled before gesturing to Kennen. "There's someone I'd like you to meet!"

Tristana looked over to the yordle in question. The group of children had run off elsewhere, though he seemed to be busy holding a little girl's hand as she danced and twirled under his arm.

"Oh! Is that…him?" Tristana asked, giving Teemo a smirk and a wiggle of her brow.

Teemo quirked a brow at the way she said him. "Yes it's him-...what's that supposed to mean?" He asked with an odd tone.

Tristana rolled her eyes but kept a mischievous smile. "Oh, nothing."

Teemo rolled his shoulder and called out to Kennen. "Hey Ken, this is Tristana! A good friend of mine. Tristana, this is Kennen, as you know."

Kennen looked up to Tristan and extended his hand, reserving the other for the small yordle girl still using him as a dancing partner. "Any friend of Teemo is a friend of mine!" He called out.

Tristana shook the hand tightly, causing Kennen to shrink a little in pain. Wow, that's a strong grip, he thought.

Tristana eyed the flower behind his ear, then to the one tucked under the goggle strap on Teemo's helmet before giving them both an odd look.

Kennen went back to indulging the dancing girl still clinging to his hand while Teemo gave Tristana a confused look. "What?"

Tristana shook her head, her face suddenly turning serious. "I actually came to ask you a favor, Teems. Ziggs is in town for the festival and well…him and Rumble are at it again."

Teemo craned his head back and gave an exacerbated sigh at the news. "Of course they are. Can't you handle it Trist? You know Rumble has a bone to pick with me…for whatever reason." He muttered the last part.

Trinstana crossed her arms and shook her head. "Rumble has a bone to pick with everyone. I tried. You're an officer, so they'll probably listen to you if you tell them to knock it off."

Teemo gave her a flat look, but nodded. "Fine, fine. Where are they?"

Tristana pointed toward the east wing of city square. "Just follow the sound of yelling. Can't miss it."

Teemo groaned and offered his mug to her. "Keep Kennen entertained, won't you?"

Tristana took the mug and gave a sip before giving him her signature smile. "You got it, Captain."

With that, Teemo trotted off toward the east side of city square, a miffed expression on his face.

Tristana turned back to Kennen and leaned down to the little girl doing some pretty impressive twirls under his arm. He seemed to be enjoying the attention as he swung his hips and tapped his foot to the music.

"Do you mind if I borrow him for a bit?" Tristana asked the little girl sweetly, who looked up at her and briefly hugged his hand, giving her a pouty face.

Tristana's smile only grew at the reluctant girl. "Please? I have to talk to him about important Megling Commando stuff." She gave the girl a wink.

The little girl gasped, nodded quickly, and let go of his hand. She looked up to Kennen and gave him a spastic wave. "Bye-bye Mr. Ninja man!" She called out before running off to rejoin her friends.

Kennen returned the wave, a goofy smile on his face. Suddenly, he felt his hands grabbed by Tristana's, who pulled him into a dance circle that had formed nearby.

Kennen, who was certainly nimble, did not know the first thing about dancing and opted to just swing his hips and arms, hoping for the best. "Where's Teemo?" He called out to his new dance partner, who seemed to be a lot more graceful in her movements.

"Went to go break up a dispute. He'll be back." Tristana gave a fancy spin before locking Kennen's elbow with hers and skipping around, causing Kennen to nearly trip just trying to keep up.

"So you're with the Kinkou, huh? I've been to Ionia once. It's super pretty." Tristana called out over the music.

"Yeah, it's something else-…Wait, how did you know? We just met!" Kennen called back.

Tristana chuckled before suddenly switching arms and skipping in the other direction. "Everyone knows the Kinkou was in Bandle City. That sort of news gets around fast. Besides, Teemo has been talking about you none stop for like a month."

Kennen blinked. "Really?"

Tristana nodded. "Oh yeah, he wouldn't shut up about you! I don't think I've ever seen him so excited before."

"Huh." Kennen gave a thoughtful hum before suddenly yelping out in surprise as Tristana reeled him in with a twirl and traded him off to another yordle, a complete stranger, who happily twirled him around and traded him off to someone else.

Being tossed around the dance circle was starting to get a little disorienting, and as the melody of the music picked up, he could only watch helplessly as he fumbled ungracefully from one yordle to the next, leaving Tristana in a laughing fit.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Rumble howled in pain as his ears were tugged by Ziggs who had managed to pin him to the ground.

"MY BOMBS ARE NOT MEDIOCRE!" Ziggs screamed, tugging harder.

Rumble growled and gave the yordle on top of him a firm elbow to the gut, causing Ziggs to roll off to the side. "They are when you sell them to GREEDY PILTIES for a comfy spot in their STUPID academy! It's not even yordle-tech anymore!" He cried before charging toward Ziggs, kicking up a cloud of dust in the process

"You're just jealous- OOF!" Ziggs was cut short as Rumble tackled him to the ground and began pressing his face into the dirt.

"JEALOUS?! HA! At least I still have my integrity intact! I didn't bend my knee to that goofy afro pseudo-scientist!" Rumble growled, rubbing Zigg's face deeper into the dirt.

A curious crowd began to form around the brawling yordles, many of the faces looking on unimpressed and unsurprised as they were likely all too familiar with the explosive behavior of the two yordles before them.

Teemo pushed his way through the gathering and nearly fumbled as he reached the inner circle. He eyed Rumble and Ziggs with a disconcerting look before slowly approaching the two.

"Alright boys…I think you've had your fun. Let's break it up, now." He said, resting a hand on Rumble's shoulder.

Rumble shrugged away from the hand and glared up at Teemo. "Take a hike Captain Buzzkill, this is between me and him…" He said before smothering Zigg's face into the dirt once more.

Ziggs gave a cough and turned his head to look up to Teemo, flashing the scout a wide, slightly bloodied grin. "Say, Teems, be a pal and pull this urchin off of me, won't you?"

Rumble responded in kind by attempting to land a sucker punch on Ziggs' side.

Ziggs gave a pained grunt before managing to slide himself from under Rumble and subsequently landing a firm punch across his face, causing the azure-furred yordle to fly back to the ground, cradling a now bloody nose.

Teemo massaged his temple and gave a heavy breath, trying to keep his composure. Even before Ziggs had moved to Piltover, these two clowns would always find a reason to fight each other over something as mundane as a missing bolt. Now with Rumble on his own personal anti-Piltover campaign, a visit from Ziggs was bound to end in some sort of domestic chaos. But despite their apparent rivalry, they claimed to be the very best of friends, which baffled Teemo. He could think of very few yordles who were as dysfunctional and unhinged as Ziggs and Rumble…save for maybe the dark mage Veigar…or that cousin of his up north.

Rumble climbed back up to his feet and wiped the blood away from his nose before spitting in Zigg's general direction. The two stared at each other for a long moment before Rumble suddenly fell backwards with a groan, knocked out cold.

"Just great." Teemo muttered, giving Ziggs a shaming glare. Onlookers murmured quietly, some even gasping at what they saw.

Ziggs caught the Scout's scrutiny and merely gave a shrug. "Eh…he'll be alright. Big mouth had too much to drink, is all. Maybe I did too, ahehe." The brown-furred yordle walked over to the smaller blue yordle and scooped him up with both arms. "I'll uh…take him back to his workshop." Ziggs gave his signature eerie grin before disappearing into the crowd. "Tell Tristana he…fell or something." Ziggs called out.

"I have half a mind to detain you two! -…" Teemo deadpanned slightly before giving another sigh as it became evident that Ziggs was too far away to even hear him. "Okay folks, show's over! Get back to your festivities! Nothing to see here!" He yelled out, waving his arms dismissively to the gathering, which slowly began to dissipate.

The scout rested his hands on his hips and looked around. His ears perked as he noticed a pretzel stand nearby.

Kennen sat across from Tristana at one of the many tables set up around the square, enjoying a mug of ale as they spoke, a pleasant refreshment after that embarrassing attempt at dancing. Kennen felt a little awkward talking to someone who he knew so little about, but who apparently knew quite a bit about him.

"So you knew Teemo from...?" Kennen began to question.

"Cadet Training." She finished. "I can't even count all of the missions we've completely together. He's a good yordle to have at your side when things get hairy." Tristana said, taking a sip from her mug. "It's hard to tell just by looking at him…but he's a good soldier. Maybe too good, sometimes…" She muttered.

Kennen quirked a brow. "How do you mean?"

Tristana shrugged. "He gets…weirdly serious during missions, even if it's a no-brainer patrol shift. The guy just takes his job seriously I guess." She paused for a moment. "Not that I don't, too! But…Teemo takes it to another level."

Kennen nodded slowly. That was understandable. Kennen took his job within the Kinkou very seriously as well.

He thought back to the Teemo he knew when they were children. His father was a Scout of the Mothership, as well as his father before him, and his father before him, and so on. He had no doubts that Teemo grew up with quite a lot of pressure to carry on his family's legacy.

Now that he thought about it, Teemo didn't exactly have a cushiony childhood. His mother had passed during an outbreak of violet fever one winter when he was still just a child, leaving his father alone to care for him. Kennen remembered Teemo's father to be a kind, albeit stern yordle. He wondered if he was still serving in the Bandle City Special Forces?

He was pulled from his thoughts as he saw Tristana speaking to him. "Er- sorry, what'd you say?" Kennen called out.

Tristana giggled. "Am I that boring?"

Kennen's face flushed red. "No, no! Sorry! I spaced out for a second there. I…do that sometimes."

Tristana gave him a wink. "Don't sweat it. I was just asking if you liked being back in Bandle City?"

Kennen blinked. "Of course I do!" He gave an uneasy laugh. "I…well, to make a long story short, I almost resigned from the Kinkou just to stay here." He rubbed the back of his head, still feeling a bit of conflict lingering on the subject.

Tristana nodded. "Teemo told me about your parents. Really sorry." She said in a sincere tone.

Kennen furrowed his brows. Even in the midst of all the celebration around him, thinking about his late kin left a bitter taste in his mouth. "Thanks." He said simply.

Tristana frowned a bit, worried that she may have overstepped some sort of boundary. She cleared her throat and decided to change the subject. "Are you excited for tonight?" She asked, the jovial tone returning to her voice.

Kennen tilted his head. "Tonight? Oh-…right! The performers from Piltover! What's so special about them, anyway?"

Tristana shook her head. "Honestly? I'm not really sure. But apparently all of their instruments were made with state of the art hextechnology. I've heard when they perform, it conjures up a big lightshow!"

Kennen's ears perked. "That sounds sort of like Sona!"

Tristana gave him a questioning look.

"You know…Sona!" Kennen repeated.

Her confused look lingered and she shook her head.

"She's this musician from Ionia, but she lives in Demacia. Her music is beautiful! She uses this magical string instrument thing- I'm not doing a really good job of explaining it. But its great!" He said with excitement.

Tristana smiled. "I've always wanted to go back to Ionia…It was so peaceful there." She said with a dreamy sigh.

"Well if you ever want to see a real show, go see Sona! She plays at the Placidium once a year." Kennen said.

"I'll have to keep that in mind. Thanks for the tip, Ken." Tristana said with a smile.

Kennen perked at being called the nickname that no one but Teemo ever really used. He gave a single nod and took a sip from his mug, his nose twitching some as he realized the ale had gone flat.

Just then, two jumbo pretzels, layered with icing and butter landed on the table in front of them. Teemo stood by the table with a wide smile on his face.

Kennen and Tristana gave the sweetened knots of dough a delighted look before digging in.

"Thanks Teems." Kennen said between chewing.

"Mhm!" Tristana hummed. "How'd it go?" She asked, glancing up to the scout.

Teemo gave a 'huff' and seated himself beside Kennen. "Well, Ziggs knocked him on his ass and carried him off. Honestly, I don't understand those two. If they pull something like that in public again, I'm gonna have to arrest them."

Kennen blinked. "You can arrest people? That's pretty neat."

Teemo smirked and nodded at Kennen before looking back to Tristana. "What were they going on about, anyway?"

Tristana quirked a brow. "Are you really asking? It's the same old song and dance with those two. Ziggs is so oblivious and Rumble…well Rumble is just so transparent, he doesn't even know it. I wish he'd just drop the act and tell Ziggs how he really feels."

Teemo rolled his eyes. "I still don't think that is what's going on, Trist. He's obviously just on one of this anti-Piltover tantrums. They've been friends since they were young, Rumble probably just feels betrayed or something."

Tristana shrugged. "Oh sure…but you know something else is up."

Teemo tapped his fingers against the table and shook his head. "You know Rumble and Ziggs better than I do. I don't care what it's about, really…as long as they keep it off the streets."

Kennen just sat and listened to the two, unsure exactly who these two yordles were. "Friends of yours?"

Tristana and Teemo looked over. Tristana nodded and Teemo shrugged.

Teemo spoke up. "Ziggs works at the Yordle Academy in Piltover making hexplosives, as he likes to call them. They're exactly what they sound like."

Tristana followed. "Rumble is our resident curmudgeon. He's also a really talented mechanic."

Teemo continued. "He and Ziggs have been friends since they were kids. Like us." He smiled at Kennen. "But unlike us, they often get into stupid fights over petty things."

"Don't call it 'petty' around Rumble. He'll probably hit you." Tristana chimed.

Teemo rolled his eyes again. "He'd probably hit me regardless. Like I said, he has a bone to pick with me. I still can't believe he thought you and I were…together." Teemo stuck out his tongue, prompting Tristana to give him a playful punch on the shoulder.

"Right back at you, Captain." She said with a snicker.

Kennen blinked, still slightly confused.

Teemo caught his confusion and gave a dismissive wave. "It doesn't matter."

Kennen shrugged and took another bite from his pretzel.

Teemo glanced back to Tristana and noticed she wasn't wearing a flower. "No luck yet?" He asked, gesturing to the marigold fixed to his helmet.

"Nooope. Still waiting on my 'yordle in shining armor'…" She said, following an overdramatic sigh.

Teemo grinned. "Why not ask Rumble?..."

Tristana shrugged slightly. "Sure, if I felt like babysitting a bad-tempered grease monkey."

Teemo chuckled. "You know he likes you Trist."

Tristana began a retort, but Teemo was quick to interject. "And don't tell me what I think you're about to tell me!"

Tristana snickered. "I'm just saying, why else would they be fighting like that?" She gave a sigh and glanced back to Teemo, eyeing the flower hanging from his helmet. A sly smirk spread across her lips. "It's nice to see you found someone, at least, Teems." She said, flashing Kennen a wink.

Teemo remained silent and Kennen started to turn a little red. He still wasn't quite sure why Teemo had offered him the symbolic gesture in the first place. Or maybe he did…and was just deciding to actively ignore it for the time being. The skin under his fur flushed even more as he tried to push the thoughts away, and he couldn't help but let a quivering smile creep at the corner of his lips.

Tristana rose from her seat and took another bite from the pretzel before seeming to wave to someone in the chaos of the crowds around them. "I'm getting flagged down. I'll see you boys at the show tonight, right?"

Teemo and Kennen nodded in unison.

"Have fun you two! It was nice meeting you Kennen. Try to loosen up a bit. You're in Bandle City now." She gave the yordle one final wink before walking into the crowd, joining a small group of similarly dressed yordles, no doubt her fellow Megling gunners.

Kennen turned his head has he heard Teemo snickering.

"She's right you know." Teemo said.

He jumped to his feet and took Kennen by the hand. "You need to loosen up!" He pulled Kennen from his seat and steered him into the heart of the celebration. Before long, Kennen found himself with another mug of ale in his hand, an arm around his waist, his feet dancing feverishly to the music around him, and Teemo's ever-smiling face in his periphery.

Hope you enjoyed! I plan to keep the mood pretty light for the next few chapters. But that won't last forever!

The next chapter will be M-Rated, so just a heads up. I'll change the rating when I post it.