Dear god, I finally did it!

I'm still not happy with it (It just feels like it could be better.), but I figured I've been keeping everyone waiting long enough.

If you see something you think I should change, feel free to comment or shoot a message my way, explaining the issue, and why you think it should be changed. I would really appreciate the constructive criticism! Non-criticism-related comments and messages are welcome, as well!

To be perfectly honest, I just love hearing from you dear readers!

CHAPTER 10: Whiplash

SUMMARY: The healers-in-training have lunch. Lux is suspicious of the events that took place in the summoning chamber. Garen is just fucking exhausted.

CHARACTERS: Healers (OCs), Luxanna Crownguard, Illis (OC), Garen, Jarvan IV (mentioned), Xin Zhao (mentioned), Alistar (mentioned), Poppy (mentioned)

WARNINGS: None (except this chapter is kinda long (and probably really boring)).

As was the usual, all of the medical interns met up in the mess hall for lunch. They had all had long mornings either treating one or two severe cases, or performing multiple routine checkups on regular patients, some not necessarily the nicest, nor the easiest to visit with.

One of the two young men present stretched, raising his hands above his head, clasping them together and pushing outward as he slowly lowered them down in front of him.

"Gods, I hope Chamira's been productive. Remember how last time we were this busy and he was just asleep in his chair when we got back?" Dayniq groaned.

"Haha, yeah! And remember how he only woke up when the temp splashed that bucket of water on him! Shit was hysterical!"

"Yeah, man! Oh gods, I'd forgotten about that!" raven Dayniq sighed. "Damn, what was that guy's name?"

"I don't know, but he was such a fucking shrimp!" Morin grinned as they both burst into raucous laughter.

"Alan," came another voice when their chuckles had begun to subside.

"Huh?"

"Wha-?"

Neither had noticed the two newcomers, making their numbers go from four to six.

"My name is Alan," repeated a spectacled man, his frame diminutive. "And I'm not a temp anymore. Chamira called me in today to help alleviate some of the workload, but I've been working the night shift for a month now."

"I bet you that's not all he's been working." Morin whispered loudly to Dayniq.

As the two healers burst into another round of laughter, the woman who had arrived with Alan groaned.

"You two are so immature." Maria hissed. "Korben, could you do something, please?" She asked desperately.

The middle-aged man grunted, taking another bite of his high stacked sandwich.

"Thanks, that really helps." Maria hissed, voice lined with venomous sarcasm.

Korben let out a heavy, annoyed sigh. "I was going to finish enjoying my sandwich before doing anything, but if you insist…"

In a single bite, his mouth engulfed the rest of his barely eaten sandwich. He stood, chair shrieking as it dragged along the polished tile floor, towering over everyone at the table.

"You fwo knufflehevs," he growled, snapping his younger co-workers out of their reverie. He swallowed down his rushedly chawed food. "Knock it off."

Dayniq and Morin suddenly found themselves lifted by their raven and blond locks before their faces became uncomfortably close at an alarmingly fast rate.

"OW!"

"Oh, shut up. You two can heal yourselves." Korben remarked, releasing them and sitting back down, moving on to his potato salad.

They rubbed their foreheads, large, red spots marking where they'd collided.

Lux stood in shock at the recent events. What in rune just happened?

She ignored the whispered murmurs of the other Champions present, which wasn't all that hard, considering they stopped as quickly as they started, leaving as if nothing had happened.

Evelynn's behaviour was odd, she felt, despite having never spoken to the other girl before. Add on top of that the strange behaviour of the guards?

Bloody bastards had seemed not to care when Evelynn began to attack Warwick, but the moment Jax and Annie had been warped in… The guards had nodded to one another before powering on their hextech snatchers-the wire loops going live with raw magic-and advancing on the girl; all as if Evelynn's detainment was planned.

Something very, very suspicious was going on.

"Oi, Chamira. You haven't changed one bit…" Illis sighed as he entered the small medical office, shaking his head at the absent shifter's organized chaos on the desk.

Dropping into the unoccupied seat, he got to work on sorting everything, making the large desk neat and tidy.

"You're lucky I like you, pal," he sighed, setting aside the final stack of papers.

Gods, I could really use a nap, he thought to himself, pulling his hood over his avian head. He always tended toward an insomniac sleep cycle when his species' natural migration seasons began.

"Runes, I knew he'd be sleeping again."

Illis cracked open a heavy eye, letting out a lazy moo-roo-hoo-hoo? at the nearby voice.

"Uh, I don't think that's Chamira…" came a feminine voice, pointedly drawing out the I.

"Oh, great! Bastard feels the need to take the day off and put some stranger in charge while we're all busy busting our butts!" growled the male that had stirred Illis from slumber.

"Actually, my dear friend," Illis interjected, anger bubbling within him at such slanderous assumptions, "your supervisor is tending to a deathly ill patient, and I am filling in for them until they are able to come back."

At that moment, Korben approached behind Anisa and Dayniq.

"Ah, Illis!" he called in joyous greeting, raising a hand toward the avian. "Good to see you again! It's been awhile, hasn't it?"

Pushing back his cowl, Illis stepped out of the tiny reception office.

"It has!" Illis confirmed, holding his arms out at full span. He pulled the beefy man into a warm embrace.

"Though, if you're here," Korben said, releasing him, his expression solemn, "then that means Chamira has their hands quite full at the moment."

"Ah, yes," Illis crooned dejectedly. "They are currently treating a patient who has not been taking very good care of themselves, and their magic is likely eating away at them, craving to be free…"

The veteran shuddered at the thought. Those were the same circumstances that had introduced the war-hardened healer and the loyal avian in the first place.

Put simply, the patient had not made it.

Garen made his exhausted way to his quarters. There had been a long, grueling match between Demacia and Noxus that morning, Demacia barely pulling out victorious in the end.

Garen would have been back sooner had Jarvan not wanted to celebrate the small victory, the crown prince offering to buy several rounds at the tavern for everyone who'd fought. Only Jarvan and the minotaur had ended up drinking.

They had simply won a small tract of land. Garen would not celebrate until they were truly victorious; he would not celebrate until Noxus and its tyranny was quashed.

He'd told this to Zhao; he could not understand how the royal advisor would be okay with such premature celebration. The smaller man had agreed with him, but had said he was allowing it for the prince's sake. Garen had shaken his head, tired of his lifelong friend being babied and pampered. He had not shared this thought, though, as Jarvan had made his way over, drunkenly clapping him on his broad, armored back. Apparently, the minotaur, nearly five times as large as Garen, had sent Jarvan away from the bar. Garen had excused himself from the conversation to speak with the large beast (whom he'd discovered was named Alistar), and learned that he was a friend of Zhao's from his days as a gladiator in Noxus. The bovine humanoid had informed him that he had sent Jarvan away so that he would not get too drunk, as the prince had challenged the hulking beast to a game of shots, a challenge any human was likely to lose against him (The way Alistar had spoken suggested that he'd been challenged before, resulting in a man's death.). Garen had thanked him before speaking with the female Yordle that had fought so valiantly alongside him, wielding a warhammer several lengths taller than her.

When he had tried to commend her, she had simply dismissed it, stating that she was simply looking for someone.

Poppy hadn't expounded upon who she was looking for (or why, for that matter), and Garen hadn't asked.

Now it was early evening, and Garen was finally opening the door to his personal chambers. He headed to the large, complimentary sofa, and began removing his pauldrons when he spotted a note on the end table.

"Garen,

Some strange things happened to-day.

Find out what you can about the arrest of prospective Champion, Evelynn.

I highly doubt it was simply over attacking a fellow Champion.

Meet me in the gardens once you've found something out.

-Sincerely,

Star Beam"

He let out a long, heavy, groaning sigh. The armor was going to have to stay on for a little while longer.