Marie is discovered by friendly familiar faces that are willing to help when she finds herself and her daughter Lia lost in Runeterra's most renown Undercity. What cost will it take to keep her young daughter safe when danger begins to lurk around every corner?
Chapter 1:Welcome to the Lanes
"Lia, it's time to go!" Marie waved her baby girl over from the side of the jungle gym looking down at her phone to check the time again. Another day of a wonderful routine of parenthood, and another evening of going to the park and playing all those fun games she could remember doing when she was Lia's age, but alas, the day had come and went, and now it was time to set dinner up, put Lia to bed and start all over again. Marie was a very dedicated mother, and always tried to stay on top of things, especially with doctor appointments and occupational therapy for Lia the days could sometimes feel overwhelming, but she wouldn't have changed it for the world.
Lia looked at the sunset and then looked at her mother giggling as she kept right on going. Marie smirked out the corner of her mouth and put a hand on her hip, "I got to go home and make dinner, Lia. We can come back tomorrow if you want." She tried to negotiate hoping the little girl would maybe consider, but what can you do? When she wanted to play, she played. The park was only a few blocks away from home so walking there was never an issue. In fact it felt good to have a routine of getting out a bit.
"Okay, come on little lady." Lia gave a long small 'awe' sliding down the slide disappointed but doing so as she quietly ran to her mother's side. Marie took her hand in hers, and peacefully walked talking about her favorite movie, Trolls, and how to spell their names, and how they looked, what genre they were in. It was like that with all of their walks, but again, Marie didn't mind, it made Lia happy, and so it made her feel the same way.
Every walk home was always the same, never anything new to expect, except for maybe a speeding car or some traffic on the way back considering they lived close to a busy bridge, but...This time, it was different.
It was dead quiet, which Marie didn't seem to pick up on too much. It hadn't been the first time it'd been like this, but something sparked an uneasy feeling when the wind began to pick up with a deep low howl, and clouds seemed to roll in out of nowhere.
That's strange...It's August.
Marie waited to get to the other side of the street before giving a look around when suddenly a loud thunderous boom hit the skies. She nearly jumped two feet in the air, hearing Lia scream from the loud noise as well. She hated loud noises, it always made her upset. Marie instinctively brought her daughter close to her trying to gently calm her down while they continued home, but...Marie never made it there. She heard more thunder and lightning, and then nothing.
Darkness had enveloped her momentarily, but that few moments of black would change her life forever.
The next thing Marie remembered was seeing a white cloaked figure hovering above her. When she opened her eyes again, he was gone, but she was left in a place that was consumed by a brown and green colored atmosphere. It was too blurry to see, and hard to breath, but she could hear the sounds of people crowding around her.
The place was spinning, and she couldn't make out what was happening until someone began to shake her, "Hey, you alright there?" Marie's eyes fluttered open, only to have them fall close again.
"Where'd she fall from?" One person asked.
"I don't know, maybe from one of the rails or something?" Said another.
"That's a long fall."
Marie never fell...Did she?
No...No, she remembered blacking out but never falling. Confused and worried about Lia, she tried to come to her senses, calling out to her but seemed to hear nothing as she did. She attempted to turn over and sit up with someone slowly easing her up until she was leaning against a wall, "Easy there, miss." This time, Marie was able to open her eyes a little more, everything tilting back and forth almost as if she was inebriated, something she would come to find out wasn't the case.
She lifted her head up...
What she saw was something she would never expect to see in her wildest dreams. Everyone around her was dressed in almost steampunk like aesthetics, faces nearly painted and animated in something that looked awfully and impossibly familiar. A, 'I must be going crazy' kind of familiarity. It was no one she knew, but from the thick air, bright colorful lights and...was that fog she saw? She couldn't tell because she was too busy pushing the man away from her and waving her hands as if she was screaming trying to get him away.
The thing is, when she opened her mouth again there was no noise, no scream. There was nothing. That scared her even more and she pushed her back against the wall, "Hey whoa, whoa! Easy, easy! Chill out you crazy broad!" As she did a circle around the crowd she realized they all looked like that, and some of them weren't human either. She had seen these characters before in a world she could only describe in one word.
...Arcane?
Marie had just found herself smack dab in the belly of the Underground, Zaun. She wanted to believe she was in a dream, but it sure as hell didn't feel like one. She was awake, and becoming very alert, and scared and panicking when she couldn't see her daughter anywhere.
She panted hard, every breath more frenzied and loud all while she was in a crowded place by strangers gawking at her as if she was out of her mind.
But suddenly, a voice bellowed across the entire crowd surrounding her, and like Moses with the Red Sea,the people began to part for them, "Oi now, what's all this hullabaloo?!" Marie froze, nearly halting her breath all together when she saw who it was. A large and muscular middle-aged man with grey eyes, dark hair, and a neatly trimmed greying beard stepped forward. He wore blue trousers, leather boots, a brown leather jacket over a white undershirt, and a leather pauldron on his upper right arm.
When Marie realized who it was, she gasped and nearly lost her breath. This wasn't just any ordinary man...It was Vander, 'The Hound of the Underground'!
The woman's heart felt as though it had skipped a beat, but also believing she might've been going insane now that she thought about it. Maybe she was suffering from a mental break, or someone slipped her something, but after the thought came to her it quickly left. Okay, maybe that was too dramatic.
Now, Vander was hunching down in front of her as two of the people next to him began to make room and explain the huge fall she took, but no one knew anything else. After hearing them out Vander studied the poor frightened woman's watery eyes when his brows suddenly raised at the sight of the blood running along the right side of her head and down her face, "You're pretty banged up there, love. Come on, let's get you off the street." He put out his hand and smiled at her warmly as he waited patiently for her to take it. She flinched at the touch, poking his hand as if it weren't real. But it was! It was very real. The reaction to his hand made the man chuckle before he gripped her and carefully raised her up, "Easy now."
Marie was still dizzy and limping but she was able to make her way towards the well known bar in all of the Undercity, still looking around for her daughter amongst the sea of eyes. Some of them were curious and others suspicious. It all made sense once she froze and she saw how close she had landed to the main headquarters of Zaun's community, The Last Drop.
When she saw this, her stomach twisted and churned in such a way that made her stare up at its big illuminating sign and swallow hard, paling at the sight of it, How the hell did I get here?! I don't understand! Vander gently led her inside passing by a bunch of other people who seemed to have heard the commotion and wanted to take a look at the new girl, "Out of the way fellas!" He called out, getting the crowd to move aside so they could pass.
Marie started to blush with so many eyes upon her, it made her feel as if she was in a circus, and not by choice. She was more relieved when Vander had seated her at the bar and handed her a clean towel for her head, "Here you go, just sit tight. I'll be right back. Ey, Huck! Can you keep an eye on this one? Make sure nobody harasses with the miss." She knew who Huck was. One of Vander's other bartenders and negotiators for dealings around the bar. Huck nodded and waved at Marie after he had dropped off some pints at a table. She returned it with a shy smile, but still felt that dread and paranoia settling in.
Lia. Was all she could think of.
When Vander had returned she gazed up to see a small kit in one hand, filled with medical supplies and a bottle of Vodka in the other, or at least what resembled it.
Her eyes widened at the sight of the needle and thread, but when Vander noticed this he chuckled and shrugged, "Just a precaution, no need to worry." Marie was relieved to hear that, and attempted to say so, only again to find herself muted.
Surprised she held her throat and tried to clear it but alas nothing worked, "Can't talk, eh? Is that a new thing?" She nodded frantically, and Vander frowned, but kept calm through the whole ordeal, "Alright, well first things first, let's stop the bleeding, yeah?" Hesitant, and unable to hide the blush reddening her face once more, Marie leaned forward so he could begin the process.
She tried to sit still and attempted not to move, staring back into his very attractive, soft grey eyes that seemed to stare back with curiosity. His gaze along with his touch caused a warmth to spread throughout her chest and stomach, and her cheeks to flush a shade of rosy pink.
When she realized what the sensation was she felt a great urge to look away, that was until he said, "You got a name?" She looked at him with a slanted mouth and a face that stated the obvious, "Right...can't speak. Um, here, pen and paper." He grabbed a pen and pad from behind him on the table and placed it in front of her. She eyes shifted to him and then to the pad and began to write regardless of him trying to patch her up, writing her name in perfect calligraphy, along with a few other things. She then handed off the paper to him with eagerness, "That's some lovely penmanship." He complimented before looking down at what she wrote.
'My name is Marie. I had my daughter with me before I got here and now she's missing. She's a five year old with dark hair and hazel eyes.'
'Have you seen her?'
His brows went from risen to furrowed, his eyes full of empathy and worry, "You have a daughter? N-No, I didn't see any tyke out there with you. If you want I can have a group go check out the area for you." Marie nodded, almost ready to go out there herself as she stood up to make her way to the door, but Vander stopped her just before she could, "Where do you think you're going? You're bleeding all over the place. You might have a concussion and you're thinking of going out there? Do you even know where you are?" She turned and nodded, wide eye and pointing to the door, "I know, I know. Tell you what, I'll get a search party goin', alright? Just...Come, sit, please." She knew Vander's good nature was a genuine one, and she did know that he was a trustworthy person. Some would disagree, but guess you can't have friends without a few enemies. Such is the way of life.
She pursed her lips together gazing back into those grey eyes of his again, the candle light illuminating them. They were honest, and ambitious, and with a small sad sigh Marie dipped her head and nodded, regaining her composure, so she could stay calm for Lia.
She couldn't be far. She remembered holding onto her, but at some point she couldn't recall when she had let her go. Vander smiled at her, relieved she was listening to his advice, and sat her down once more putting a big warm hand on her shoulder for comfort, "Thank you. Don't worry, we'll find her, I promise." With that he walked around the bar and pushed something under the bar.
Marie realized who he was calling, and with her eyes lighting up with wonder, she smiled in anticipation, "Kids, I got a job for ya!" He wore a proud smirk on his face as they both waited for whoever he had called, and just as Marie predicted, Violet, Powder, Mylo, and Claggor all came running up and out of their downstairs home to approach the bar, seeming excited, more so probably because they were getting a new job to prove themselves to their adoptive dad, "Hey! So what's the job?"
"This isn't like the other jobs Vi, this job will be a little different this time."
"Different how?" Mylo asked shrugging as he shifted his feet and crossed his arms only to have Vander eye them down with that 'Dad' kind of face. It made Marie smile a bit, "This woman's daughter went missing. I need you all to check around for the girl if you can. Ask anyone if they've seen anything, including Little Man, you know how he hears things around town."
"Me too?" Powder's hopeful little voice chirped from beside her sister. Marie's smile widened at her gleeful, hopeful expression. Even Vander smiled and nodded confirming her question, "Yes!"
"What's the girl's name?" Vi asked. Marie wrote it down and showed it to Vander, "Lia."
"Alright, sure we're up for it." She replied enthusiastically.
"Really?" Mylo whined with his back deflating of all enthusiasm, which earned him a hard elbow to the side by Violet who only smiled, "If anyone took this kid, we're going to find out who." She said shifting a momentary glare at her brother.
"That's my girl. Now go on, we'll be out to join you in a few." The kids all went on their way without a fuss and quickly made their direction to the door.
"Let's go, let's go!" Cheered Powder skipping her way around some empty tables.
"Ugh, great we get to play babysitter..."
"It's not like that. She's five, you know how sick and twisted some of these creeps around here can be. Now come on, we need to hurry!" Violet definitely made for a good leader. A great one actually Marie thought, or at least she would of that she was certain.
"Alright, alright." They could hear Mylo grumbling the whole way out of the bar.
"So, where do we start?" Claggor's question was muffled out by the sounds of the music and chatter combine, and just like that the kids were gone. Once again Vander and Marie were left alone to gaze back at one another, "I trust those kids with my life. If anybody can find your girl, it's them." His voice was so reassuring, and with what hope she had for finding Lia, Marie nodded softly and hissed when he accidentally touched a tender spot he was attempting to bandage up on her temple, "Sorry, almost done." He muttered under his breath continuing down her upper body when he suddenly spotted cuts and scrapes around her arms and neck and took care of those as well.
Even though he was silent during this, if Marie could've read his mind it would be that he wondered where she could've come from. It was seen by his expression and the way he checked out her clothes and mannerisms that it was apparent she didn't belong there, "So, I noticed your attire is a bit unusual for the Undercity. Ain't no one around here ever dresses like that." The woman looked at herself, seeing she was wearing a white, now dirty, tank top with a pair of wide leg overall jump suit and a pair of shoes. She had to agree, compared to the fashion here, Marie stuck out like a sore thumb, but what could she do? She didn't know anything about their customs, nor did she have the money to buy anything there.
Vander leaned in and put the paper and pen in front of Marie and tapped on it with his finger, "So, where are you really from?" The dark haired brunette cocked a brow at the man, but immediately caved when she didn't forget who she was dealing with. This man was already reading her like a book, from cover to cover and even though she had nothing to hide, she felt unnerved by his unmoving gaze. He's actually kind of hot when he stares like that...What the hell am I thinking?! It is not the time for that!
Regardless of it though she began to write her thoughts and pushed the pad over to him, 'You wouldn't believe me if I told you.'
He chuckled and sat down on one of the bar stools next to her, "Try me, I've heard a lot of crazy stories in my time." She made a face, unsure if she should, so instead she just wrote down, 'It's hard to explain.'
"Suit yourself, love." The nickname caused Marie to blush, clearing her throat as she began to take a gander around the bar, particularly noticing a few people looking in her direction from their friends or drinking. Seemed as if the whole bar couldn't stop getting their peek of the newcomer.
Marie knew she didn't belong, she felt out of place and it hit heavy on her shoulders as she watched Vander light up his pipe and walk over to his helper around the bar, he muttered something that Marie was too far away to catch, but from what she did observed was Vander pointing to the outside and then to her which caused Marie to straighten up and stiffen like a board with her veins running cold.
The shorter man with the receding hair line adjusted his glasses and let a smile tug at his face replying to whatever Vander had said and nudged him before the Hound gave him a strange expression and shook his head. "Well don't take anything out of context!" He shouted over the noise of the bar to get his helper to laugh before walking alongside him to the front of the bar to prepare a few pints for some of the customers. He gave a nervous wave at Marie, and she waved back with pursed lips.
As much as she was a mess about her daughter and the place she resided in, Marie found a small hint of herself being over the moon about the whole thing, She was in Arcane? Arcane! It was a scary and yet extravagant thing, but yet how she got there was still a mystery.
Who was the unknown man?
Was he a mage or something?
How could this be exactly?
What happened to her before she got there?
Unfortunately, the excitement was immediately overshadowed by fear, and an understanding of the dangers of this entire world. It really wasn't a place for a five year old little girl like Lia. The thought of a stranger taking her was too much for Marie to bear, so much so that she was beginning to tap her foot on the middle bar of the stool and look to the door anxiously every couple of seconds.
Vander being the empath that he was shifted his eyes between her and the door and then rolled his eyes as he slumped to his feet, "Don't worry your head over it just yet. The kids will find her, you can bet on it. They're very clever, and smarter than you think. But...If it makes you feel better we can take a look around as well and see what we find." Marie nodded with a spring out of her seat and with paper and pen in hand without a second thought, "After you." He extended his hand out and followed close behind her when they departed the bar.
They checked the first place she fell from, looking under the rubble all around the area to find something of theirs, but depending on how long she had been out for the place might've already been picked by scavengers, "Nothing." Vander sounded just as disappointed as she felt, but he wasn't given up just yet. He looked up above and scanned around for anything amiss, damage that could've been made by impact.
When he seemed to have spotted something he smirked at her and nudged his head forward. She was on his heels as they jogged a few feet up a bunch of stairs and over ramps where metals, gears, and junk had been not just disturbed, but it seemed a few things had been added to the heap, "Take a look at that." Marie sighed and blew some of her hair out of her face before reaching down and began to search around. After a little bit of time she was able to find her small bag with all of her things still inside of it, except for her phone. Just a few feet away she found her summer towel she had been sitting on at the park. She then came upon her daughter's little strawberry bag and fumbled through it to find her tiny toys in them.
"Those are yours, I reckon?" Tears pricked at the corner of her eyes, but with gritted teeth she brought the strawberry to her chest, and held it tight. It was the only thing she had found so far, so she had to stay hopeful. With a deep, determined breath she steeled her nerves and turned back to Vander who had a mix of emotions on his face, "We're getting close. Let's head back to the bar, maybe the kids had better luck than we did." Marie nodded frowning at him as they both made their way back to the Last Drop.
At this rate, she was fearing the worst. Did she fall and hurt herself? Was she...No, she would push that thought far, far into the back of her mind because she needed to stay positive. She was hopeful, she had the best characters around to help her, which still hadn't sunk in yet.
When they had returned, Marie froze at the sight before her.
The kids were back, and they had a new addition to the bunch. Lia. Marie's eyes immediately filled with tears of absolute joy and relief.
"Well, would you look at that." Vander chuckled.
Marie nearly ran and leaped over the tables to get to her, and the moment Lia had laid eyes on her mother she gasped and ran to her, "Mama!" Marie fell to her knees in front of everyone and held Lia close as she cradled her in her arms, kissing her forehead and cheeks.
Marie wanted to tell her how worried she was for her, how she missed her, how overjoyed she was to know she was safe and unharmed, but all she could do was word them silently as she cried, not caring that the others were watching on, also with smiles of their own.
Once Marie had calmed herself she put the child down and wiped away her tears as she gestured a thank you to all of them, "Y-you're welcome." Violet and Claggor were both rubbing the back of their heads while Powder and Mylo looked pretty proud themselves.
"Where did you guys find her?"
"She was at Benzo's. Little Man was keeping her company with some of the gadgets he was making in the shop. Apparently she just strolled on in and made herself at home." Marie blushed bashfully as she mouthed I'm sorry.
"Don't worry about it. Little Man's really good with kids. I'm just glad we found her."
Thank you. Marie repeated, hugging her daughter.
"Mom, I'm hungry." The first thing the little girl said made her mother silently laugh, shaking her head. She remembered having a few fish crackers and granola bars, so she gave her the fish crackers and sat her down on a stool before suddenly staring off into space, watching as Lia ate the crackers in silence, fidgeting and wanting to get down again, "Active little tike, ain't she?" Marie smiled nodding but patted her heart.
At first, Vander didn't know what she was saying until he saw the love in her eyes, and that was all he needed to smirk and nod in understanding. "So, where are you two off now?" The question left Marie in pause before sadly looking at him with a shrug. She used the pen and paper to scribble down a few words and then turned it around so Vander could read it, "What do you mean you're stuck here?" When Marie bit her lip timidly, Vander began to see that something was definitely off about this woman and her child. Their clothes were especially a dead give away. "You said once you didn't belong here, by 'here' you mean the Underground, correct?"
Marie picked up her pen again, and wrote something down, not even minding that the kids were now leering over her shoulder to see what she was writing down. This time it took a little longer but once she was finished she gave it to Vander and waited for his reaction. It was exactly as she expected, and as he gawked between her and the paper he shook his head in disbelief and then sat in the stool next to her, putting one palm on the counter and the other on his knee, "Okay, I don't mean to come off brash, love, but you're going to have to start from the beginning because that doesn't make any sense."
Marie nearly took offense to his reaction, but glared at him and took her time writing down what she could recollect. She didn't mention her world being a totally different one, or the fact that this world was a show and a game in hers, because she knew they would think she was crazy, so instead she just mentioned that she came from a very far away place, somewhere not on their map, and how on the way home from their local park she blacked out. All she could remember was the thunder, the clouds and a cloaked figure. She told Vander and the others that they have no home here, so at this point they were homeless. "That's awful...and odd, who would do something like that?" Vi scrunched her nose in confusion and disgust before looking over to her father figure.
"I don't know." Vander muttered smoothing out his beard as he stewed on everything that Marie had mentioned.
"There must be something we can do!" Powder chimed in optimistically while helping Lia down and holding her hand, giving her a gadget that made her concentrate on the toy more than anything. Marie thought it was the sweetest sight and beamed an adoring smile at the two.
That's when Vander pounded his hands on the table with an idea, startling Marie by accident, and caused Lia to scream at the loud noise. Every one seemed to look over to see what Lia was distraught about, not sure as to why she had reacted more harshly towards the sound.
Marie waved her hands to get the others attention and quickly wrote down that loud noises could trigger her to get upset, "Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." Vander rubbed the back of his neck embarrassed, but Marie merely waved her hand in a sweet gesture that seemed to mean that there was nothing to be sorry for and that eased him greatly.
Marie then opened her arms to Lia to see if she would need a hug, something that usually comforted her in moments like this, but instead the little girl was completely eased by Powder patting her back. Lia after that was more interested in her company, and it was the most wholesome thing Marie had seen all day. Not only that, Lia was making a new friend, something that she had struggled with very often.
Usually she enjoyed being alone and anytime someone like a playmate would come to approach her, Lia would immediately run to her mother. This however was definitely looking like a step in the right direction.
"Listen, Marie." Hearing her name made the woman turn to Vander with a hopeful smile, "I usually don't give out these kinds of hand outs to just anyone, so this is a special occasion due to circumstance." She nodded, brows furrowed as she sat there and listened intently.
Vander sat next to her with a pipe in hand and took a few puffs from it to get the ambers going, "Once you're all healed up, and if you help out around the bar, I'll let you and your daughter use the couches downstairs until you can get back on your feet. It's not much, but it's all I got to offer you." She gasped, eyes widening when she cocked a brow out of disbelief. No, he couldn't do such a thing, he didn't even know her!
She wished she could've spoken up to deny his offer, Marie knew that their home was packed enough already, and she could never impose herself like that, never, and not with a child to boot! She started to wave her hands every which way, almost in a frantic manner as she attempted to speak with no voice.
Vander just blinked at her befuddled before chuckling with amusement, "Heh, waving your hands about like that makes me assume you want to smack me for it." Marie's face turned bright red and she covered her eyes shaking her head, still with no voice to speak of, but he could tell she was feeling guilty for all of it.
He had to admit, she was kind of cute when she got all flustered like this, A humble woman he thought, "Ha ha! Relax, I was just getting your goat. Come on, Lia's fine, you're in good hands, have a drink. You look as though your nerves are about to eat you alive." She had to admit, ever since she got here she hadn't really taken in the place, instead she had been more worried about surviving and not trying to be a burden.
To Vander, she wasn't at all, in fact it was quite the opposite. He could only imagine what she was going through especially with a little one mixed up in all this. How could he turn her away when she didn't have anywhere to go? Not a penny to her name, lost, and a child that didn't understand the severity of what was happening and unto no fault of their own, it had to be rough indeed.
Not to mention, she was still recovering from her current injuries.
Some were saying that she'd fallen from Piltover, some said from one of the ramps, others from the sky itself. From her point of view, Vander must've assumed that maybe she had a concussion, and things were just a little fuzzy at this point in time, who knows.
Whatever the case, what Vander was really thinking, was with so many mysteries surrounding her, he was determined to find out what the answers to her puzzle could be.
As a person, who was she really?
Marie blew air from her mouth with a comical face and nodded sitting up, "Well good, we'll find something for you to do around here, don't fret. You can start saving up some and then you can figure out the rest from there." It was a start for sure, Marie didn't have much of a choice and slowly, but surely, gave in as she scanned the scene.
...I can't believe I'm sitting in the Last Drop. This is insane. Her eyes followed the lights above, the bar's set, and then the back of her seeing the place completely packed with women and men alike laughing, chatting, others human, some of different species, some friendly faces, some not. It was a mixed bunch for sure.
The interior up close was something else. She saw piping above the bar itself, and a mechanical hand that seemed to work on its own to help with dispensing the drinks. The jukebox was on the other side of the room near a few booths where people would sit, and talk amongst themselves, a red and orange hues glowing from each of them, next to that, was the stairs that led above where Marie had a flash of recognition that the room upstairs, would soon be the office of a man she knew as The Eye of Zaun. She gulped at that, the realization of what was about to commence quickly made her uneasy, but since it hadn't seemed to have happened yet that was a good thing, right?
She shook her head fiercely, looking over to Lia to see Vi showing her how to box, but it was obvious she was just letting Lia 'beat her up', pretending to be 'defeated' to make the little one laugh. It was very sweet, all the kids seemed to treat Lia as if she had already belonged there...Except Mylo, which was understandable, being he didn't seem to be fond of kids younger than him. It was blatant by the way he treated Powder from time to time. Marie could only hope he'd open up eventually. There was no rush.
Marie smiled warmly, but continued to gaze around and look to the crowd of people. There were stools everywhere, some at tables and other Marie couldn't quite find where they went, but most of them were taken. She then looked at the pool table that was currently being used. It glowed with a red hue as well, the bottom shimmering blue underneath that cascade its colors all around the floor.
After getting a feel of the bar, Marie turned around, and saw the pint already in front of her. She took the tankard in her hands and examined the drink before looking back to Vander who had sat next to her with a long sigh, "Oi, what a day." It was Vander's turn to glance over and when he saw the woman titling her head at him worrisomely he just laughed it off, "I'm sorry, I wasn't meaning you. I'm sure it's been just as long and tiresome for you as well." She nodded silently before taking a drink. The beer had a frothy head and the texture was smooth, bubbly, and yet different. It was nothing like she had ever tasted, but it was still good in its own right.
Still, it felt that even though she was safe for now, she wasn't used to being in a rough place like this. Her home wasn't exactly ideal, but she was at least content and happy back in her universe.
Now she was in the Lanes. People smuggled, robbed, and beat the crap out of each other down here, scrapping for food and parts due to the way Piltover treats them, hence the need for the black markets.
She could've sworn she heard something about this place having black markets of sorts down here if you looked hard enough. The list went on and on, but underneath all that, she knew the community of the Undercity had people like Vander, who did their best to keep a union together for the better.
People like him were as close to finding a diamond in the ruff. It didn't start that way though, it took him a long time to get where he was, but he had always seemed to be the kind of guy to scratch your back as long as you scratched his.
Regardless, it was going to take more than just the Hound to help her out of this. Marie would have to toughen up if she was going to be here. She couldn't just cower in the corner the whole time, she would become a target, a very noticeable one.
Thinking about all of that was making her nervous, it made her sneak a look over her shoulder to find everyone doing their own thing, some quietly whispering to their friends and partners alike about this and that, others playing card games and pool, you know, the usual things people do in a bar. All the while Marie could only worry about one simple thing. What in the world had she gotten herself into? What was she supposed to do here?
She took one last look over to Lia and the kids, looked down at her drink and took a long gulp.
As Vander would say, Welcome to the Lanes.
I know, I know some people aren't into the whole 'Oh no I'm stuck in the world of the show I like!' But I have a plot twist in mind so please give it a chance ! I've had a bunch of ideas running through my head and I wanted to try them out, so we'll see how it goes. Hope you enjoyed it, and I will see you in the next one.