The heavy sound of the pouring rain awakened Quinn. Painfully slowly, she opened her eyes. Everything around her was dark. Her head still ached, but the worst was her side. It stung her like nothing had ever before, the wound was burning. She hissed.
She slowly acknowledged her surroundings: she was lying on some gathered leaves inside a small cavity of rock. Here, the rain couldn't touch her. Quinn was still slightly wet, but safe from the terrible weather. Quinn noticed her winged coat was gone, as well as her armor. But something heavy was lying on her legs. She lifted up with difficulty, and recognised the assassin's cloak.
The heaviness was mostly caused by the blades attached to it. When she tossed it aside, she felt suddenly terribly cold. The warmth the cloak gave her was incredible, and Quinn quickly laid it back on her legs.
She also noticed her wound had been summarily cleaned, the man had ripped a hole in her undershirt to access to it. Quinn blushed. He had had the decency to leave most of her clothes on. Her armor and helmet were on the side of the cave. And at the entry of the cave sat Talon.
He was holding his knees, and looked at the rain. Quinn could only see his dark long hair. It was the first time she saw him uncloaked. Noticing she had awakened, Talon turned around and looked at her. He had cold amber eyes, and features as sharp as a bird of prey.
Quinn winced when she tried to lift herself up. Talon didn't move at all and kept staring at her. Suddenly, remembering the events before her fall, Quinn felt very ashamed.
"Thank you for saving me. And... Sorry for that arrow." she tried with a tired voice.
Talon smirked.
"It's fine. I know that urge too."
Quinn had a small laugh at his relaxed tone, and immediately regretted that. Her side ached again, pulling at her skin.
"Don't move too much. It's not closed yet." murmured Talon. "When the storm is over, I'll find some herbs to help you heal."
A loud and distant rumble of thunder echoed through the cave walls.
"Why... Are you helping me?" Quinn said.
Talon didn't answer. He turned to face the outside of the cave again. He absently watched the rain fall. His fingers played with his blade. It was the sharpest blade Quinn had ever seen, and it still had the same glimmer that had caught her eye at first. She waited for him to say something, but no word came out of his mouth.
Quinn didn't see Talon gritting his teeth and clenching his jaw.
"Why were you following me?" he said with a sudden cold tone.
Quinn blushed.
"It's none of your business! I was serving my king." she agressively answered.
"Oh, come on." snickered Talon. "Don't play little soldier with me. We're lost. Here, no more Noxian, or Demacian. Just me, and you, Quinn."
Quinn shivered at the way he had pronounced her name. Talon stood up and observed the sky. It was still dark, and getting even darker from the coming night.
"I came here by my own will. Not on the order of Noxus." admitted Talon. "I am looking for my father."
He sat next to Quinn, and gently tore the fabric of her pants, like he did with her shirt. It was also stained with the blood of untended wounds. Quinn was red again, and felt uneasy at having that kind of contact with a man. Talon took a clean cloth and slowly removed the blood and the mud from her skin.
"I... Had an order. Spying on you, and maybe killing you." blew Quinn.
Talon laughed again.
"Seems like you failed."
Of course Talon didn't know, but those words got deep to Quinn. It hurt her, clawed at her heart. She resisted the urge to cry, and her eyes began to be red and wet.
"I'm so sorry..." she whispered to herself.
Quinn felt guilty of her act. Talon saved her, and she tried to kill him. A Noxian was showing some honor, and this was how she was thanking him. Talon didn't say anything for a while while cleaning the wounds on her thigh. Quinn could feel his fingers were precise and gentle, he was doing his best not to hurt her more.
"I could have killed you." he suddenly said. "So easily."
"Why did you help me?" Quinn asked again, holding her tears back. "You should just have left me for dead."
Talon paused in his mending. For the first time, he had a real, soft smile. His amber eyes plunged into Quinn's.
"I saw you. And you looked just like me."
The woman didn't expect such a confession. She watched Talon's expert fingers tending to her wound. If he put the same delicacy in murdering people with his blades, no wonder he was reputated the best assassin of Noxus. Quinn wanted to scream at him, that they were nothing alike. She wanted to show how honorable she was, loyal to her king and homeland. But deep inside, Quinn knew it wasn't true. She longed for something else.
She wondered if Talon could understand. Maybe they were somewhat alike. There was a reason why Talon saw himself in her eyes.
Suddenly aware of having said a lot, Talon's face closed again to Quinn. He became cold like before. He isolated himself in a corner of the cave, and laid down. It was getting dark. Quinn hoped she would be able to get some sleep. The pain of her wound was hard to bear, but her heart was aching even more.