revivescere

ah, I think I have to check my theme, because I have a short about page, but it’s probably hidden too well dsfhsdf

oh, and how wasshe to answer that?

Senna took a deepbreath, lowering her eyes in contemplation. it seemed to her that she knew thenature of the question, the meaning that Lucian tried to put behind it, but thewords were too powerful to only see it one way, and not a myriad of others. itall came down to a perspective, and so she needed time to think, time to decidehow would she react to that. maybe the silence wasn’t the smartest thing to do –seeing as how taking such a pause after what seemed to be a straight-forwardquestion would only raise more questions, but there had to be nomisunderstanding between her and Lucian.

‘ aren’t we all? ’she finally spoke with a small smile, then raised her eyes again, to meet his.it would be a lie to say she’s a happy woman now, to say she continues onliving without a hint of suffering. but to admit to him that there was still somuch for them (for her) to do wouldbe to approve of his neverending quest to lift her curse.

‘ you always haveto ask these kinds of questions, huh, ’ this time she chuckles more openly, moresincerely, and even though there’s still a hint of sadness behind it, shethinks she’s ready to speak her mind.

just as curious, and also slightly cautious, step back. she knows who’s in front of her, she has heard enough legends to understand. however, neither one, not the other seem to be trying to attack her.

Ivern knew someone was nearby. The oaks had warned him. But the birds felt no malicious intent from her, despite the weapon she carried, so Ivern had made no attempt to camouflage himself. When she spoke up, those suspicions were all but confirmed and Ivern smiled widely to greet the traveler.

‘Hi there! Did you say Shadow Isles? Can’t say we know anything about that, dear… Oh, wait, do you mean the Blessed Isles? Easy mistake to make, don’t worry! Beautiful place, that! The sassafras were always so happy there! nightblooms were a little dreary, but they’ve always been doomsayers. We really must return sometime… I wonder how the saplings are doing…’ Though not immediately obvious, it eventually became apparent that not all these comments were directed at the sentinel. Instead, Ivern was occasionally turning slightly to address what at first appeared to be a pile of rocks beside him.

Ivern turned back to the gunslinger, clearly addressing her directly now. ‘Anyway, you said you were lost? How fun! I do so envy those who can find themselves lost in nature. If I did not know were we are, I would invite you to join us, and we could be lost together!’

‘ no, I… ’ she was going to correct the other, to tell him that she was absolutely right with the name of the place she mentioned, but something was just preventing her from speaking up. if after all these years this one did not hear about the Ruination, about the Mist, maybe there was still a safe place in the world? a place where people could flee to in an attempt to outrun the storm of the wraiths? that was hope – something she craved for. and the happy-go-lucky attitude of the spirit actually brought a smile to sentinel’s lips. wow, she wasn’t sure she saw anyone else speak of anything else with such devotion.

‘ hm… it’s fine, maybe you could delay your trip to the Isles a bit more, ’ Senna finally continued, feeling her throat dry from that blatant lie. she didn’t outright say the Isles were perfectly fine, but it was implied, and she hated herself for that. no one should be deceived about the state the world is in. and yet…

As a self-proclaimed hero of Piltover, the well-built, handsome man would sometimes frequent all parts of Piltover in some sort of ‘patrol’ mission. Jayce had a deep desire to protect Piltover and help it advance. Although sometimes his philosophies were not for the best intentions of all Piltover citizens, he often meant well. 

An added benefit of patrolling the city was that he would sometimes encounter strangers that he hadn’t seen before. On many occasions, they’d ogle him, admire him, or compliment him, and of course Jayce would allow it as his ego needed to be fed! 

Sure enough, he had encountered a stranger on today’s patrol, the stranger even going so far as to reach out to him directly and ask him a question. He turned slowly to face the stranger, and upon seeing the face, an eyebrow rose.  This woman definitely wasn’t from Piltover, and yet… Hmm. Had he ever seen this person before? In photographs? In person? Considering Jayce’s own measures of security and knowledge of quite a few things, it wouldn’t surprise him that many faces were ‘vaguely familiar’ to him. He shrugged, not yet caring about such thoughts. They weren’t quite as important as helping this person with their question!

A quick glance at the emblem is enough for Jayce to recognize it. “Well, I’ll tell you it’s Piltovan in origin. I don’t think you’ll have much luck if you’re trying to get to where that emblem signifies though.” His words were a little more condescending than he meant, and so he swallows once and coughs. 

“I meant… Well, judging by how you handled that thief earlier, I’d say you can handle yourself quite well. Impressive, really. But what you’re going to need is a little more information before trodding off to the building that you’re trying to get to. It’s an academic shop. One of those ‘password’ type places. As in, even with force, they probably wouldn’t let you in.”

Jayce would have immediately turned away from her and wished her on her way, but something in him couldn’t quite do something so apathetic. Instead, he tries to decide for her. “If you had the great Jayce of Piltover with you, I’m fairly sure they’d let you in with me, and so long as you’re not here to destroy the place, I’d turn a blind eye and allow you to do as you please. Sound like a plan?”

‘ what? why would I… ’ after listening to man monologue so long-lastingly and pretentiously, Senna was ready to hide the emblem and go look for someone else. in fact, if he’d leave and go on about his day, she would have absolutely no problems finding out the solution to this little problem on her own. but, apparently, there was some sort of a catch with his offer, or he needed a safe entrance to the same place she was headed. or something else – because all of the options that came to her mind immediately were quite suspicious.

the sentinel gave the other a skeptical look, watching him from head to toe. yeah, clearly a typical piltovan, but also taking it up a few levels – and she wasn’t sure if it was a compliment or an insult. perhaps there was still hope if she could tear through the layers of high self-esteem and ego, because if anything, this city was built upon people who loved to work with mechanisms, and that meant they were most likely proven to be good companions. if they concentrate on the task at hand. Senna sighed.

‘ and you’re Jayce? ’ she said finally, after considering her options for a few seconds. if that story of the “great Jayce of Piltover” was a lie, she’d have nothing to lose, because she honestly didn’t care about the opinions of the bystanders. ‘ is this some sort of charity? you just see a person with a huge gun and suddenly decide that you are going to help them get into an academic shops? ’ she believed that her tone would convey exactly just how skeptical she was about this whole enterprise. then again, what were her options?

‘ aight, ’ Senna moved one of her dreadlocks from her face to behind her ear and put her hand on her waist, raised the corners of her lips. ‘ I don’t know what is it in that for you, but I’ll take that offer. and you don’t have to turn a blind eye to anything, if I wanted to trash this place, I wouldn’t approach anyone, ’ wasn’t that just obvious? maybe she should’ve stopped taking things so seriously all the time.

Senna was insightful enough to know Elise had no interest in a battle of wits meant simply to insults her feelings. But sometimes Elise couldn’t help herself when it came to prey.

“Oh trust me, dear, I’ve tried. He is not one for tea, unfortunately. Or food in general. He sates himself with toys like you. But I’m sure I could persuade him to come if you want to have a sit down with him, perhaps work out your differences.”

‘ you clearly haven’t tried hard enough, ’ with a roll of her eyes, Senna jerked her hand, slightly rising the relic gun, connected from her elbow. it wasn’t an open threat. yet. she was just showing her irritation with the noble noxian lady. Elise and her webs — literal and mental, she was truly a spider.

“He helped save a lot of souls that day,” Sarah murmured, eyeing the stranger for a long moment. There was a fondness in her voice when she was talking about Lucian. And pride. Sarah could recognize that easily enough.

She had said Lucian had succeeded at his goal, had freed the soul he was looking for …

But the sentinel was evasive, and it wasn’t Sarah’s business. “Don’t suppose there’s a shortcut to gettin’ one? Like becomin’ an honorary deputy or something along those lines?” she snickered. “I’ve got enough to do around Bilgewater that I ain’t lookin’ for another title just yet.”

‘ ‘m afraid not, ’ Senna chuckled with a smile, ‘ I’d say there’s a shortage of relic guns for the sentinels themselves at this point. it’s a long process, and the relic stone is usually passed from master to student. ’ why was she telling that to this woman? no real reason. however, something in her words captured Senna’s attention.

‘ you sound like you play quite the crucial role in the way that sinking city stays afloat. you’re not just a bounty hunter, are you? ’ quite frankly, that was just a rhetorical question. the sentinel knew it was sort of pushing the boundaries they haven’t even established yet, so the other was free to ignore the question. 

The Navori camp was far from a secret place. Few people stumbled upon it, especially unannounced, so the men who guarded it were, understandably, spooked by the sudden appearance of the woman.

She spoke with the accent of a foreigner, Irelia noted, but not of a Noxian. That wasn’t to say her words rang true. She wouldn’t put it past Noxus to have mercenaries and assassins still prowling the land from beyond their own ranks. Keep Ionia divided, even in their defeat. If that was their plan, it felt like it was working.

Still, Irelia raised her hand and motioned for the two men bearing weapons to lower them. Her own blades still remained in the air, ready to be used, but they settled behind her back for now.

“There was a war, yes. Many years ago,” Irelia explained. “Ionia should be a land welcoming to strangers, but even now we have to remain guarded, even around our own. Where is it you are traveling, foreigner? Let me point you in the right direction.”

well, it was nice to know that the one taking place of a leader was smart and could assess the situation properly. Senna noted, that even though the woman commanded to lower weapons, her own remained by her side, which was also quite a smart thing to do. and now, after the conversation was started, Senna finally lowered her hands — still watching the others carefully — and took a step forward. 

‘ I need to get to Raikkon, ’ she said simply. a small settlement on the southern coast of Ionia, from where a boat would take her to Sudaro - a small island awfully close to the Mist, spreading from the Shadow Isles. undoubtedly, they knew about Mist here, in Ionia, Senna already saw one of the sentinels in the villages, so if Irelia would recognize her line of work it would save both of them the discomfort of time wasted on meaningless questions. still, if the blade dancer would wish to engage in an interview, Senna would have no choice, but to oblige. after all she did walk into a war camp.

‘ stop! ’

her voice, loud, commanding and accompanied by the screeches of the wraiths around her, echoed through the dark valley. she might’ve been absorbing the mist around her, but her gun was still on her back, and not a single movement would give off the idea of an intention to grab it – Senna was not going to fight this poor soul. she was a victim, just as many after her, but she was one of the first and to try to speak to her… well. the sentinel only hoped it would not go in vain.

‘ Kalista, ’ the Mist knew many things, many names were still whispered in the storm, and this one was stuck in the sentinel’s head for a long time. it was luck to finally meet the Lady of Vengeance, and it would be luck to actually make her come to her senses – in fact, the chance of success was incredibly low. she could still be saved, just like everyone else.

‘ so, nothing out of the ordinary? ’

Senna lowered herself a little to be closer to the old lady who was kind enough to answer her questions. most of ionians seemed to have that aura of peace to them, and that was so calming that the sentinel was almost feeling safe here. sadly, she knew it won’t last, and her journey was only beginning. no one was safe alone from the spawn of the Shadow Isles, not even people in the First Lands, and the trail she was following was only confirming this.

‘ alright, thank you for your time, ’ after hearing the other’s reply, Senna nodded and put her hands in a grateful gesture, then straightened her back and looked around. there was a village on one of the hills, and that was her final destination for once. the road, leading her down into the valley and then back up to the hills, even though wide and spacious, did not have many people walk it at this time of the day, but there were quite a few travelers. which meant her hunt for the information was far from over.