Chapter 5

This building she had brought him too was on the edge of the city walls. Like it was trying to be inconspicuous, but failed terribly in Talon's opinion. Demacia's flags wafted on flagpoles all around it, and on the balcony more people dressed in the same uniform as Monarri. Armed with crossbows too.

She brought him through the foyer, where he expected to be ambushed. However, these rangers barely even glanced at him beyond the look of someone observing an oddity. His ripped up hoodie, muddy jeans and bare bloodied foot must've been quite the contrast to their usual perfect city.

Talon was brought to a small room that had two chairs and a table. Prison was Talon's first thought.

"Talon, I'd like you to sit in this room and wait. I need to speak to someone about your note. Just sit tight and behave yourself, understand?"

He barely registered what she said to him. He was so, so tired now. The adrenaline that'd kept him going had finally begun to run out. Talon hadn't eaten, drank or slept in two days. Unless being concussed counted. Monarri noticed, placing a hand on his back and gently leading him to the chair.

"Sit and rest. I'll ask someone to bring you some water, something to eat too. You look like you could use it…"

Talon just nodded slowly, barely taking in what she was saying. When somebody did come by after twenty minutes with water and food, they found the boy curled up in the corner of the room, in a deep dreamless sleep.

xxx

"Well? Did you manage to decipher anything?"

"A lot of the writing was destroyed by water. But something is very clear, this boy has earned the ire of some very powerful Noxians. I quote "Bring this 'Talon''s head back in a bag when you succeed in dispatching him. However, if you should fail and the boy himself does not kill you, do not bother returning to the guild. General Du Couteau has made his feelings on these humiliations very clear.'"

"Who is that?"

"One of the most powerful and influential Noxian assassin guilds. If that kid has brought them here, we have a massive problem on our hands. You need to take him back to the border."

"To throw him back to the wolves?"

"By keeping him we are beckoning the wolves in!"

There's a pause, both parties exhaling through their nose.

"...How many know? How many know he's been hunted by this guild?"

"Myself, my husband…and these two idiots guards who did not even believe him anyway."

"Good. Let them think that. These are your options if you are so adamant to defend this boy: You will take him in and never mention this guild again. Noxus has ears everywhere, they don't need to know we've got one of their brood hiding in our walls."

"Tarian would never agree to that. I'm not able to take a foster case on!"

"Then you petition the foster care system to take him. You'll not be able to hide he's Noxian for long, be up front about it but tell them he's just an orphan refugee. If a placement isn't found in a week, he's being returned to the Noxian border and we do not speak of this again."

xxx

"Too dangerous. What if he attacks another child? Or worse, kill one?"

"He's what, eight now? Once they get older that's when Noxians become very, very dangerous. No, sorry. Too risky."

It came as a punch in the gut when both foster care services outright rejected her petition to register Talon.

He'd been kept at the Ranger's base for the last two days as she worked tirelessly. While safe, it was obvious the boy wasn't taking to containment well. He refused to let anyone come near him whether it was to treat his eye, other wounds, or even trying to clean him up. The only one who Talon allowed near him…was Monarri herself.

Monarri entered the small room where Talon was being kept, carrying a bowl of water and a clean cloth. Talon was curled up in a corner as usual, glaring at anyone who so much as glanced his way. The other rangers had given up trying to approach him, leaving Monarri to handle the boy alone. They often complained about how badly he smelled too. But her main concern was battling that stubborn infection in his eye.

She knelt down beside him, and as usual, Talon growled deeply and went to shield his face. "You need to stop rubbing your eye, Talon," she said firmly, dipping the cloth into the water. "It's just going to make it worse," she continued, "If you keep this up, you might lose your sight in that eye."

Talon just gave a look, one of reluctant acceptance of his situation. He was having what she had begun dubbing as 'Don't talk to me' days, where the boy just wouldn't speak at all. She had learned to read his moods quite well over the last two days.

"Alright, I understand," she murmured, more to herself than to him. "Just hold still for me." She reached out, and to her relief, he didn't flinch away this time. Carefully, she began to clean his eye, the cloth moving gently over the inflamed area. The amount of gunk that constantly built up in the area had begun to lessen, it seemed, but she knew if he was in a less stressful area, actually resting properly, it would heal far faster.

"Okay, all done," she said with a small smile. "Try not to rub it, alright? It'll heal faster if you leave it alone." She placed the cloth back into the bowl and set it aside.

Talon gave a barely perceptible nod, his good eye flickering briefly to hers before looking away again. Monarri sighed softly, wishing she could do more to ease his suffering. But she knew that building trust would take time with a boy who'd been dragged up on the streets.

"Would you like something to eat?" she then asked, standing up. "You must be hungry, they told me you haven't eaten today."

Talon didn't respond, but his eyes shifted towards the door for a moment, then back to the floor. Monarri took that as a sign that he was in fact hungry. Her fellow rangers had offered, but the lack of dialogue prompted them to just shrug him off as being difficult again.

She returned to the kitchen after the promise of food, gathering together a collection of various vegetables to steam cook for Talon. After forty minutes, she returned, nudging the room door open. Immediately, Talon's head rose with interest as she approached. She placed a plate of green beans, mashed potatoes, and chicken on the table nearby.

Slowly, Talon edged closer to the table. He picked up a green bean with his fingers, ignoring the provided cutlery, eating ravenously as his eyes constantly darted back and forth to her, expecting her to come take it off him any second.

She made no sudden movements, keeping her hands in her lap and her expression calm. "You can use the cutlery, by the way," she suggested gently, nodding towards the fork and knife. Talon didn't respond, continuing to eat with his hands. She didn't press the issue; he'd probably never seen a fork in his life, thinking about it.

After finishing his meal, he got up, sated, and limped over to the collection of blankets on the mattress provided. Monarri watched him, her heart aching at the sight of his weariness and the obvious limp.

"Do you need anything else, Talon?" she asked softly, not expecting a verbal response but hoping for something at least. Talon just shook his head slightly and curled up on the mattress, pulling the blankets around him.

When she watched him grow still and breathe heavily, that was when Monarri left him for the evening. There were five days left to find Talon somewhere to live, and things were looking very bleak.

When the weekend beckoned, Talon's fate was now in her hands. Send him back to Noxus, where an entire group of assassins wanted to kill him, or … take him in herself. Tarian wouldn't entertain the idea when she mentioned it the first night. Now, with time running out, Monarri knew she had to make him see reason.

Talon had insisted he wanted to return to Noxus. That it was his home. But he was not grasping his reality, how could he? He was an eight year old boy. There was also the risk of him exchanging information he'd learned during his time here… Monnari has dismissed such accusations, but they were still there.

On Saturday night, she found herself pacing the living room, almost walking a track into the carpet. Rehearsing her argument over and over. When Tarian finally walked in, tired from a long day, she wasted no time.

"Tarian, no home got found," she began.

He sighed, sinking into his chair. "Because that kid is a danger. What about our children? He pulled a knife on our daughter and you're trying to invite him to live with us!"

"I know, but sending him back to Noxus is a death sentence. He's just a child, Tarian. He doesn't understand the danger he's in. He wouldn't survive if sent back."

"He's-...Love, they're a different breed over there. They've no paternal feelings, their children raise themselves and become our problem down the line when they invade us!"

"Then we are preventing that by taking him in!" Monarri countered, her voice rising slightly. She took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. "If we show him kindness and teach him our ways, he won't become that threat. He might've been dragged up in Noxus, but we can raise him Demacian…"

"...What if he hurts Quinn or Caleb-"

"He told me Quinn grabbed him and he got scared. This is someone who's all too used to being grabbed and having harm come to him. We can work with him…Please.*

Her husband pinched his brow. Clearly very, very conflicted. Before finally speaking again. "The children deserve a say in this…Quinn! Caleb!"

The twins had been eavesdropping from the stairs, thinking neither parent knew they were there. They entered quietly, their gazes wide and worried. "Yes, Dad?" both asked in tandem.

"You remember that boy we had here a few days ago?"
"The one I dropped a flowerpot on?" Caleb asked, to which their father nodded.

"Well… He's in a situation where he needs somewhere to live, your mother thinks it's a good idea he comes and lives with us, despite it all."

Quinn and Caleb exchanged a glance. Quinn bit her lip, then spoke up. "I saw he was homeless, he was really dirty and his eyes looked sad…"

Monarri nodded. "He is, Quinn. If he goes back to Noxus, he could be hurt or worse. He's just a child, like you both-"

Caleb however, had his own opinions. "He pulled a knife on Quinn! If I'd not heard the yelling what could've happened?!"

Monarri took a deep breath. "Caleb, he was scared. When people are scared, they sometimes do things they wouldn't normally do. Talon has been through a lot, and he needs our help. Two good influences would work wonders on helping Talon adapt…" She explained, looking from Quinn to Caleb. But her son still wasn't moved.

"H-He's dangerous, mum!" Caleb insisted, his voice trembling with distress.

She knelt down to Caleb's level, her eyes meeting his watering ones. "I know what happened was scary and it wasn't okay at all. But imagine if you were in Talon's place, scared and alone. Wouldn't you want someone to help you, to show you kindness?"

"I…I guess…" The young boy murmured, lowering his gaze. "...Promise he won't hurt Quinn or me?"
"I promise, and I'll make him promise too," She smiled, planting a kiss on his forehead.

Tarian had been quiet, arms folded as he kept to the side. After some long internal debate with himself, he spoke up. "Alright," he said finally, "The Noxian boy can stay. But the second our children feel unsafe, he's gone. No arguments."

It was a tense agreement, but it was settled they'd be taking in Talon tomorrow.