章 2: 1
"Thou art strong human... Surely thine kind is more than pure Dark."
Third POV:
In one of the villages of Ionia, a group of friends was celebrating their latest hunt. They were in the forest for the last few days, and just when they were about to give up when they stumbled upon a pack of wild deers. They didn't catch much, but it was good enough for a celebration.
The group consisted of five men, all wearing the same uniform of black leather over a blue shirt, black pants, black boots, and a bow with some arrows on their back.
They were walking the streets of the village, which was made of wooden houses, dirt roads, a few people on the streets selling stuff either on stands or on a small carpet on the ground, and lamps in the streets to light them at night, they were off since it was the afternoon. It wasn't a famous town, just a place for people who want to get away from society or hunt on the eastern side.
One of the hunters, a black-haired one that was walking at the back of the group, suddenly stopped as he heard a faint giggle that didn't belong to the group.
Being slightly drunk and a little busy laughing, the others didn't notice their friend stopping, so they continued their way.
The now lone hunter looked around before he spotted the source of the giggle. His eyes widen seeing a beautiful woman from beside one of the stands looking at him. Most of her body was covered by a hooded cloak, but he could still see her face and some strands of black hair. He can also swear he saw a pink glow from her eyes.
Her hand came out of the cloak and slowly motioned for him to follow her as she walked behind the stall. Being slightly drunk and wanting to get some action, the man ignored how suspicious this was and followed her.
The hunter walked beside the stand she was standing and found the woman standing in an alley between two houses. The woman looked at him and gave him a wink before she continued on forward. The man immediately followed her.
They alley lead to one of the edges of the town, apparently. One where the houses stop and the trees start appearing. The woman was there, looking at him, giving him a sultry smile before she walked into the trees.
Not giving up on the chase, the man followed her again. Not caring that she was leading him out of the village. The woman stopped in a small clearing that wasn't very far, just enough to keep away people.
She turned to the man and stood there waiting for him. The hunter didn't waste much time walking towards her, smirking at the thought of getting this beautiful woman.
The woman herself took out her hands from her cloak as the man reached her. She raised her hands and held his face. The hunter now can see a pair of golden eyes clearly.
The woman started leaning forward and so did the man expecting a kiss. However, the woman suddenly started inhaling, making blue, glowing air leave the man's lips and go into her own. After a few seconds, the woman stopped and the man fell on the ground, out cold.
The hunter opened his eyes a few moments later and got up to find himself still in the clearing, but alone. It was strange. He didn't remember what he was doing here, where he lived, or even if he was married.
But, he did remember that he was supposed to be drinking with a few friends, so the man dismissed his worries as an effect of alcohol. After standing up with some difficulty, the man turned towards the village and started walking to get back with his friends.
Once the man was gone, the cloaked woman came out from hiding behind one of the trees. She gave a tired, almost self-depressed sigh. She had done it again, taking the memories of another person.
However, she was thankful that, unlike the past, she didn't kill someone or torture them emotionally to do it. It was progress, but a very slow one.
She needed a way to stop, permanently. If she wants to live a peaceful life, not haunted by the idea that she is a monster, then she needed to find a way to live without the need for stealing memories.
The woman believes that she had finally found a way. The Institute of War. A place where the strongest Magicians and fighters gather around. She might be able to find a way to help her there. Who knows… maybe even find something on her origins.
She shook those thoughts out of her head. She knew that the higher her hopes, the greater the fall will be if she was disappointed. So, the only thing she can do is hope for the best, and prepare for the worst.
She went back to the village herself, but with a different road to not encounter the hunter or any of his friends. She got into the shopping district of the village, which had more people selling than the normal streets.
Walking between people and passing through shoppers, the woman decided to indulge herself in looking over the sites around her. There wasn't anything new, obviously, mainly because Ionia's stronghold on traditions, but she just wanted to pass the time.
She saw the wooden stands with all kinds of trinkets, jewelry, potions, and weapons. The people who were selling on a carpet pretty much sold the same stuff but on the ground.
The woman would always take a second to look at the ones that sell jewelry, mainly to see if she can find anything like her gemstones, but sadly, nothing. Also, each time she would see someone saying they were a fortune-teller, she would immediately walk away. It didn't end well for her the last time she dealt with fortune-tellers. In fact, she almost lost one of her tails after being drugged.
After walking amongst the people for a few minutes, she finally found what she was looking for. A carriage that was taking some food to the next town over, where she would start her traveling to the Institute.
She knew about it from the memories of the hunter that she just took. Normally, she would rather travel alone on foot, but that would be a waste of energy and time. Plus, her legs felt tired from walking towards this village.
The carriage was made of wood, like most things built in Ionia, and in all honesty, it looked like a giant box without a backside. It had two wooden wheels on each side, the back was covered by a curtain made of rags to make sure that the sun doesn't ruin what's inside, and the front was tied to two horses. The rider of the carriage was a middle-aged man with slightly dark skin, showing that he works in the sun a lot. He had a wide straw-hat, so no one can tell if he had hair, but he did have a beard. For clothes, he wore a black shirt with black pants tied to his waist with a robe, working as a belt.
"Excuse me," the woman spoke softly as she walked up to him while he was sitting at the rider's seat. The man turned his attention to the woman ended up staring at her beauty. She rolled her eyes at the reaction that she seems to get a lot. "Are you going to the next town over?" she asked.
"Yes, I am," he replied. He was slightly curious about how she found out, but he was too busy staring at her.
Her eyes glowed a light blue color, something that the carriage rider didn't notice. "Would you mind giving me a ride with you?" she asked.
The man didn't know, but he suddenly felt too happy to decline her. So, with a big smile, he answered, "Sure. Hope on, just don't touch the food please."
The woman nodded, glad that her magic worked. She used it to make the man extremely happy for no reason. When people are happy, it's hard for them to decline small favors.
She walked to the back of the carriage and entered after pushing away the rag that covered it. She found that the carriage had a few milk tanks, a few boxes of eggs, and some sacks of flour.
She got on and sighed as she was covered from the heat of the sun. She found a small crate to sit on and wait for the ride to begin.
The woman decided to take off her cloak, seeing that no one can see her inside the carriage. After taking it off, her full form was revealed.
She was a beautiful woman with long, black hair that was tied to a braid at the end. She was wearing a red kimono with white outlines and detached sleeves. Her skirt reached just above her knees and she had a blue gemstone tied to each side of her waist.
However, there were a few features that would draw anyone's attention. Her golden eyes had slitted pupils. She had whisker marks on her cheeks. On her head was a pair of fox ears, and she had nine, furry, whitetails coming out of an opening on the lower back of her kimono.
She folded her cloak beside her for when she needs it again. She sighed as she rested her back against the wooden side of the carriage.
"Excuse me," the woman's ears twitch as she heard someone speak the rider. She couldn't see who they were since she was inside the carriage, but she can tell it's a man. Since the front wasn't covered unlike the back, she was able to see that the rider looked slightly taken back by who was talking to him. "Are you going to the next village?"
The rider returned to reality from being taken back by the new person and nodded. "Sure, do you need something?"
"Do you mind giving me a ride?" the person asked, and the woman tensed slightly.
The rider nodded again, much to the woman's annoyance. "Sure, I already have someone tagging along, so one more can't hurt," She started hearing footsteps going around the carriage, probably headed to the back to get on.
She started mentally scolding herself for her mistake. She forgot to turn off the magic that was effecting the rider, which means that he wouldn't refuse other people. The woman wanted to be alone right now, and she definitely didn't want a man at her company.
The rags of the carriage were moved as someone got on. The woman was prepared to see anything, from a normal villager to some wannabe hero… this, however, was one thing she did NOT expect.
The first thing she noticed was the pointy metal hat that the person was wearing. His face was covered by the neck of his shirt, and his eyes were covered by a small mask connected to the hat. In fact, the only thing visible from his head was a few strands of white hair.
The woman saw his dark clothes and couldn't recognize any of his equipment. The shoulder armor, the leather straps on the right hand, the rather large but slim Greatsword, and that odd, brutal dagger on his waist.
The Abyss Watcher got on the carriage and took a glance at her. The woman, while she managed to see a pair of blue eyes behind the mask, was getting herself ready to receive some cheesy pick-up line from him in an attempt to Wow her.
However, much to her surprise, he took his eyes off her and went to a free spot beside a few flower sacks before sitting down while resting his hand on his raised knee.
Truthfully, she was quite surprised and couldn't help but stare at him. Most people she met, especially the men, would end up staring at her beauty, or at least looking at her ears and tails with curiosity.
But this person did neither. He just acknowledged that she was here, and sat down completely ignoring her presence. He either thought really highly of himself, or he was just trying to mind his own business. For some reason, she suspected it was the latter.
"Alright," the carriage rider said as he whipped the robe, making the horses start walking, pulling the carriage making it shake a little. "This is going to be a bumpy ride, so I hope you don't mind."
The Abyss Watcher didn't pay him any mind. After dying an uncountable number of times in all ways possible, your idea of 'pain' and 'uncomfortable' becomes rather dull.
He was walking through the forest for almost two days since he left that farm. Thanks to the map he acquired from the farmer, he managed to reach this village before sunrise.
After realizing that he couldn't find a Bonfire, he decided to look for something else that ease his travels. So, he started asking around the shops for a way.
The Abyss Watcher managed to find out about this carriage after a few shop owners had told him that it is delivering a few of their products to the next town over and that the person driving it might let him on.
While the rider did allow him to get on, the Undead Swordsman couldn't help but think it was too easy, but he just shrugged it off thinking that something good happened to him to lift his mood.
When he got on and saw a beautiful woman sitting inside, the first thing that popped into his head was why she had fox ears and tails. But, he would be lying if he said he hasn't seen weirder things, so he just sat down to rest from walking all night.
Meanwhile, the woman couldn't stop herself from staring at the man with curiosity. It was always in her nature to be curious about new things, which is why she used to spy on humans before she became what she is now.
She looked over the memories that she collected over the years, trying to recognize his armor, or at least where it's from, but she couldn't find anything, much to her surprise.
His dark clothes suggested Noxus, but his armor design couldn't be further than that if he tried. The shoulder and left arm armor suggested Demacia, but the dark colors threw that possibility out of the window.
The way he was covering his face with the neck of his shirt sort of reminded her of the Kinkou Order or the Order of Shadows, but she should have recognized it easily then. His equipment didn't look like it was made for frozen terrains or desert land, so Shurima and Freljord were out. His equipment also looked old, so Piltover was out of the question.
She also took notice of his rather large Great-sword. It didn't have a sheath, obviously for its large size, and was strapped to his back by what she can guess is leather.
One of the things that she also took notice of, as much as it made her sound like a creep, was his scent. It was a scent that she knew from her days of being a fox. It was the scent of a wolf. For a second, she honestly suspected that he was a wolf Vastaya.
The woman tried to look at his eyes from behind his small mask. She noticed that they were closed, but you have to really look to notice.
He might have seemed relaxed and wide opened, but she knew better. She knew that he was ready to pounce at any sign of trouble. A part of her was a little scared of making any sudden movements to provoke him.
Her train of thought was interrupted by the carriage rider speaking. "Well, this is refreshing. I don't have many people travel with me. Mind telling why you're traveling?" he asked hoping to pass some time.
"Personal reasons," Both the woman and the Abyss Watcher replied at the same time, making them look at each other for a second.
The rider realized from their blunt answer that they weren't in the mood to talk. "Well, this ride should take a while, so you might want to get comfortable."
The woman sighed as she adjusted herself on the crate while bringing her tails around her to make them more comfortable. She returned to looking at the Undead Swordsman, but he was in the same state as before.
The woman always prided herself with the ability to read everyone's emotions and tell how they feel. But, she couldn't feel anything from this person. No emotions, no desires, nothing. It was like sitting with a statue, which honestly scared her.
Seeing that her normal abilities wouldn't help her now, she decided to use the old fashioned way, which is talking. "It seems we're traveling buddies, now," she stated, referring to how the rider said that they would take a while before reaching their destination.
The Abyss Watcher just took a glance at her and replied, "So it would seem."
"I'm Ahri," the woman introduced herself, wanting to know this man's name if nothing else. She thought that by giving her name, he would say his. "May I get your name?"
Thinking that it would be rude not to answer her since she gave him her name, he answered. "Grey, Grey Ashnex," he said before they fell into silence, listening to the hooves of the horses and rattling of the wooden wheels.
The woman made a mental note to remember that name. For his unique equipment and interesting behavior, at least.
She didn't know why, but she couldn't help but feel there is a LOT more to this person. However, she decided not to dwell on it, since after this ride, she might not even see him again.
Neither the woman nor the Abyss Watcher knew what awaits them at the Institute. However, they did know that nothing would be the same anymore.
(A/N: Thank you for reading this.
I hope you enjoy the story so far. I know this chapter is mostly narrative, but the action is going to start in the next chapter.
I also hope I'm not rushing things on how Ahri and Grey met. If you think there is a way to help that out, please let me know.
Again, thank you for reading this. Please comment, review, and give me your thoughts on my story.)
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