"Could you repeat that again, Karthus," the coy voice of Elise asked, "I couldn't hear you."

"Achlys needs you aid," Karthus repeated, trying to contain his bitterness towards the woman as he spoke, "she may perish."

"Hmm, that is what I thought you had said, no apology for your rudeness in the cathedral."

Elise starred down at Karthus from her perch atop a crumbling old tower, the most recent ruin for her explorations. All along the length of the building, spiders crawled, searching every last shadow of the structure.

"Elise," he paused for a moment to draw forth a false, pleasant tone, "you shall have to forgive me for the way I behaved. I thought you intended to feed her to that accursed spider."

Elise smirked.

"I can see clear through to your disdain for me, Deathsinger, but I will accept your forced apology. Now, for the payment of my service,"

"Payment?" the lich questioned.

"Of course. She will require more than food, and I will bring it on my return trip from Noxus, but only if you swear to me one thing. I know she is hungry, Karthus, so you should accept my terms."

"I will consider accepting them after you state them."

"I do not think you will find them so unreasonable. I want you to stop interfering with my rituals with Lord Vilemaw."

"I have never once interfered with your actions within the cave, have I?"

Elise leapt from the tower, landing before the undead in one graceful move.

"Do not try to use half-truths against me," she hissed, "you may have never appeared yourself, but more than once have wraiths attacked my followers as we've moved through the Isles. I know they are yours. You will command your wraiths to vacate my territory."

A scowl, rigid and cold, form on the undead's face, but he did not lash out.

"I promise not to interfere with your deceit."

"A promise isn't good enough. I want you to swear it."

Karthus held out his staff.

"I swear on the Eternal Hunters. As long as you provide for Achlys, neither I nor my wraiths shall interfere with your ritual."

"Excellent," Elise said as her wicked smile returned to her face, "I will fetch her something now and will rejoin with you back in you cathedral."

Before Karthus could say any more, she moved with an inhuman swiftness into the woods. The clicking noise of chitinous legs moving rustled from the bushes as Elise skittered back to her own lair. Karthus scowled, displeased with the spider and himself. He despised her haughtiness to demand such terms from him, but there wasn't anything he could do about it. Achlys must live.

Karthus returned to his lair. The spirits of his cathedral whirled about the towers in a panicked frenzy as the sound of Achlys crying was carried on the hollow winds of the Isles. The lich went to the chamber he had cleared as her room where two of his strongest wraiths circled over her makeshift as guards. His knobby fingers cradled her as he picked her up. Her crying ceased for a moment as she looked into his glowing eyes before screaming anew.

"Hush, Achlys," the lich said as gently as he could, "Elise will bring you food. The Isles would not bring you to me only to have you starve."

His words did little to console the infant.

She continued to wail in hunger until Elise arrived carrying a small pouch. A single chuckle escaped her and echoed through the empty hall as she beheld Karthus upon his cathedra with the child hugged to his chest.

"What a view you make for, Karthus," she clucked.

"Feed her, Elise," Karthus demanded, having had enough of her chatter earlier that day.

"Your rude behavior will get her nothing," she chastised, "you can start with a small show of gratitude, a simple 'thank you.' You wouldn't want to set a poor example for her."

"You gave your word, Elise, and thanks is often showed after the favor is performed. Help her and then you will have my gratitude."

Elise ascended the steps to Kathus and held out her hands. To Kathus, her red tipped nails may as well have been the bloody fangs of a beast, but at last, he placed the infant in them. Elise rocked Achlys gently cooed to the child with her soothing, venomous, voice.

"There, there, this is better, isn't it? I know, you just wanted a woman's touch, warmer than anything that corpse could have given you."

Achlys began to settle down as she instinctively groped at Elise's breats.

"Ah-ah, little bug," Elise said as she produced a waterskin from her pouch, "this is what I have for you."

She held the waterskin up to Achlys, who began to suckle on it.

"That is not the milk of a cow, is it?" Karthus asked.

"No, she is too young for that," Elise answered, "just know that it will sustain her and will not harm her. There is more in the sack."

"But what is it?"

"What she needs to survive. I will not tell you where this came from, ever, so do not ask again. It will keep from starving and that should be good enough for you."

This response did nothing to alleviate Karthus's distrust. In response, all he did was grunt a quick, "I understand, thank you."

"There, now was that so difficult?" Elise asked as a smug smile perched on her lips.

And there it stayed until Achlys was satisfied with her meal and stretched out her little arms and yawned. Elise handed her back to Karthus.

"Remember to burp her after she eats. Pat her gently until she does," Elise instructed.

Kathus looked into the now sleepy eyes of Achlys. He held her close with her head leaning over his shoulder and began to pat and massage her back as Elise had told him. He felt her tiny body hiccup against him.

"Is that all," he asked.

"Not quite," Elise answered, "she isn't finished yet."

No sooner than she said these words than Achlys burped and, with a squelching noise, spat up on Karthus's back. Elise laughed.

"You knew this would happen," Karthus accused.

"Of course I did," Elise said through her chuckling, "she is living, and the living are oozing creatures, babies especially so."

"Elise, you help me clean this up."

"Oh no, Karthus, I only promised to gather what she would need to live. All the other parts are you responsibility."

The shadows on Kathus's face grew darker as irritation sculpted his features.

The pouch she brought fell from her form as she changed, and Karthus only saw the form of the spider for moment before she rappelled into the rafters and disappeared.