Sounds dangerous... I'm in!

bitter soulmate starters | still accepting

The sheer ridiculousness of the man’s words silenced Talon for a full minute, too many counter-arguments jumbling together on his tongue. Like cars in a traffic jam, everything he could say blocked itself from being said so that he simply stared at the other man with arched eyebrows and a scrunched up face.

He took a deep breath, trying to pick out just one of the many things he could say, and then let the words tumble out.

“I’m too good for you? Are you fucking kidding me? I’m an assassin! A Noxian assassin! I killed my only friend when I was a kid! I kill people for money and don’t feel anything about it! I—” Talon forced himself to take another breath before he started spilling actual secrets, fingers twitching at his sides with the desire to find a knife and slash at the red, insubstantial thread that glowed between them and only they could see. “-You’re fucking insane if you think that I’m too good for you and not the other way around.”

“You were unlucky. Growing up in this place. No mercy. No love. No parents. No one to show you what strength really is or what it means to be able to care. But you still love in your own way. You care about me.” Ezreal pointed out, his expression haunted and a tinged with sadness.

 Rakan almost crossed his fingers in hope Ezreal would get it. He looked like a smart boy, he HAD to get it. A wave of relief washed over his body as the other asked if he was implying the maewnpwca and Ezreal were related in some kind of way but yet he had to supress the urge to scream ‘my dude, you’re a bunny’ to the other’s face. Not everyone took that kind of thing well, even though he was pretty sure Ezreal would, he still didn’t think taking that risk was nice. For the first time ever. 

 “Yep.” A short nod and he brought one hand to his chin, scratching the underside of it lightly as he thought a easy way of explaining the matter at hand, he knew how confusing things could get.  “And, no, you wouldn’t notice, that’s the whole point of magic binding.” 

 Rakan frowned, a thoughtful expression on his face as he still searched for a practical way of saying what he meant. Once he found it, he turned around quickly, holding Ezreal’s shoulders. “Here, pay attention.”

 Raising a finger, he took a step back and plucked out one of his feathers. “Most of wild magic can’t really be seen, it can only be felt. It’s like the wind. You don’t really see it, you see the way things react to it and you feel it. It’s the same. When it’s free, you won’t really see it, but…” 

 Holding his feather up, it started glowing with a golden hue. “When you concentrate it somewhere, when you bind it to something, it glows.” 

 He finished, and then pointed to his own cheek, pushing a few feathers aside to display his markings. “Free,” he said with undeniable certainty, then pointed to Ezreal’s glowing cheek marks. “Bound.”  

Ezreal was hesitant to accept the idea if only because he didn’t like the thought that his parents had lied to him the vast majority of his life. Surely for his own good, but still an unpleasant experience to be had. He didn’t argue the idea either though, lips pursed into something like a pout as he listens to Rakan intently.

The use of his magic makes Ezreal’s marks, eyes and gauntlet respond in kind--as they always had to most magic--or so Ezreal had assumed. He definitely felt the pull of Rakan’s wild magic as he used it to display exactly what he was trying to explain and it certainly made ignoring the possibility all the more difficult. Ezreal didn’t dislike it, of course, aside from the lies it meant were told to him all his life, but it felt so strange to discover such an intimate thing about himself so late in his life.

“So...you’re saying it’s bound somehow and that’s why I don’t have any other visible traits relating to what I am.” Ezreal said, fingers brushing over his own face where he can feel the tingle of magic lingering in his skin as his core responds to Rakan’s.

“Mom said I’d always had these. Ever since I was little. My baby pictures all show them. And you have them too. They’re different in shape but placed similarly. I was told it was a sign of my magic. Guess that’s not a complete lie, then.” He ran a hand through his messy pale hair and looked at Rakan with blue eyes minutely clouded by conflict and confusion.

    The Zaunite settled back into the couch with a content sigh, smile resting stagnant against his lips as Ezreal replied to him. Well- in truth, there were a plethora of reasons why they two got along so well. They both had the same drive, the need to explore and to create, and at least to some extent, the will to create change in the world around them. Ekko would hope that the Piltoven knew all this, even if he didn’t repeat it aloud; he was tired, and though he loved his friend, it seemed that the words to express his gratefulness wouldn’t come forward the way he wanted.

          – “Well, I mean, I don’t usually talk to anyone about my dark shit either,           ‘cause all my other friends are like … ten. So, thanks for not being ten.           If you left, I would be like, a single dad with no friends, so thanks for           sticking ‘round.” –

    He hummed lowly in response to Ezreal’s exclamation about the COOL ROCKS. In all fairness, they did sound like they’d make for pretty good mood lighting, and Ekko would be damned if he didn’t find some of these cool crystals. He didn’t have any.

   “Our fort can be the best fort. Glowing rocks, lots of plush blankets or plants or whatever. Some good snacks to stow away. Stuff to work on or do while we’re in it. I’m sure it’ll be great.” Ezreal insisted, stretching slightly and letting out a fairly notable yawn. “And of course...not dying. It’ll be safe.

   The last bit, tacked on as if it wasn’t already clear.

              – “Well, how about neither of us put our heads in the way, the next time,           huh?” –

    His words were light, however tired they came out, and Ekko yawned, pulling the blankets they’d found up around his arms and burrowing down into them as best he could without moving too much. He was used to being here, so it wasn’t hard for him to get in a semi-comfortable position- and besides, if they were stuck of the night, he’d rather be toasty.

          – “Your head better be fine, Ez, I dunno how you’ll say such dumb things           all the time if it doesn’t work right.” –

    He grinned in teasing, however it faded slowly along with his friend’s next question; the last thing he wanted to think about, now, was how close they’d both come to dying, that night, but there it was. He frowned just slightly, eyes cast downward momentarily, distant as he recalled a memory. A grimace graced his lips before he looked back upwards and answered. He didn’t want to- however he also refused to lie to Ezreal.

          – “Uh … like .. twelve- fifteen times? No- I, Ez, I don’t know anymore, it gets           hard to tell. I don’t really keep track unless I have to.” –

    A messy response, though at least half-true. Ekko was exhausted. He didn’t even remember what had occurred during half of his rewinds, and the ones he could remember- well, he didn’t want to. He rubbed his eyes with one hand, the other resting against the site where the blade had been lodged in his stomach, absently.

          – “Not that many times.” –

 “Yeah it’d be preferable if neither of us got popped in the head again.” Ezreal agreed, chuckling softly. It was a terrible experience for both of them, after all and he certainly didn’t want to push Ekko more than he needed to.

  “I’m sure I can still manage some good quips, even with a busted head.” Ezreal insisted, a smirk on his lips. He was as exhausted as he’d ever been, but he wasn’t willing to sleep until he got an answer to the question he really wanted to hear. Ekko had to have rewound for sure, but the issue was, how many times did he rewind that he made such a clumsy error and wound up so wounded in the first place? 

  Ezreal didn’t like thinking of the fact that they must have done extremely poorly to start with. That they were way outmatched and out of their league in something that should have been a relatively simple mission.

   “Not that many? Ekko, that’s a lot. Like...way too many. That’s a lot of energy to use. No wonder you got so tired you couldn’t fight properly anymore. Okay, how bout this. Next time we do something really stupid like this, you tell me when it goes south the first time and we can just back off and reassess the whole thing instead of you pretty much fighting it on your own, yeah?”

   Ezreal’s tone lent to the fact he was definitely upset a bit with Ekko for being so stubborn when he could have just told Ezreal from the start and prevented as much struggle as they went through.Not that it held it entirely against him, but he didn’t like that Ekko couldn’t be honest with him or stop to think before acting.

It was usual for others to be more relaxed and feel compelled to tell things to the charmer, but he wouldn’t break this moment for the shorter male. If things were as Rakan thought they would turn out to be, there was another possible explanation for that and it would fit perfectly the profile he was building. 

He offered Ezreal a gentle arm rub as he kept holding the boy close, guiding him through the woods to a not very commonly used path; the grass was squished and disrupted at some points, but not a lot of travellers used it - they would rather avoid the ‘trickster fae’. 

“Your ma, huh? You said you took all your magic from her too, right?” Interesting. Very interesting and one step closer to validating Rakan’s whole theory, but it would be a lot nicer to just let Ezreal figure things out on his own. He had no idea how the boy would take the information if he just spilled it. 

“Yeah, I noticed! Like a little ice cube, it’s nice.” He complimented, flinching a little as he mentioned almost dying. Dying wasn’t cool. “Right so, you know the maenpwca are from the Freljord and you couldn’t find them, but there are more things I’ve learnt about them. 

Rakan used his free hand to gesture and add more drama to his story as he spoke. “Y’know, back then, when the wild magic was still big and running through most places, the maewnpwca were everywhere. EVERYWHERE, I say! And not on the sense of they lived everywhere, no, they always went back to the Freljordian lands, BUT!” 

He stopped for a moment to glance at Ezreal. “They could go anywhere, anytime as long as wild magic existed. They could just - poof - vanish from Freljord and show up here.” 

Ezreal didn’t seem to mind the closeness with Rakan. There’s was something about him that drew Ezreal to him, a familiar sensation. The magic, perhaps. Ezreal had always been instinctively pulled to magic he came across and his core always responded to the presence of it. Rakan bore a magic much like his own, though different in some ways and it was hard to resist that pull.

He trailed along beside Rakan with ease, clearly having a familiarity with trekking through heavily forested areas, though he didn’t know this particular one too well. What had brought him into it was Rakan’s presence, the song of his magic calling to Ezreal’s own and imploring him to find it. Now that he had found it, Ezreal had the suspicion that he was going to discover a lot more than he had bargained for. There was something in Rakan’s body language and words that made it seem like he was hiding something or had something more to say.

“Yeah, I take after her a lot. Never did meet my grandparents on her side though.” He murmured almost curiously, lips forming into something like a pout while his brows knitted together closely. He was really trying to piece together all the things Rakan said with all the things he knew. A distinct feeling that he was missing something or something was being presented to him, nagged at the back of his mind.

Ezreal came to a halt when Rakan did, his explanation drawing the young man in more and more. He looked up at the blonde eyes narrowing slightly and expression becoming thoughtful. Rakan’s words implied a similarity to the magic Ezreal himself bore. Ezreal had discovered that if he had the amount of mana for it, he could teleport to places he had been before. Though with how untrained he was in his natural way, it usually resulted in him passing out for an extended period.

“Are you implying that this is related to me?” Ezreal said hesitantly. It would mean a lot of things had never been told to him, that his parents had hidden so much, but he couldn’t imagine this to be the case. Surely not.

“I mean...I would have noticed by now, right? How would that be hidden?” Ezreal asked, clearly in disbelief. It was a hard concept to grasp and it made him wonder about a lot of things...assuming it was true of course. He had no way of knowing if it was.

Another time, Talon might’ve  been annoyed with himself for failing to live up to his side of the deal by doing half the teleporting. Now he was definitely in icy Ezreal’s debt! At the the moment, however, Talon had no energy to spare worrying about life debts or failures to perform. His entire body was wracked with shivers, lips tinted faintly blue from the cold that was eating into his bones. When icy Ezreal suddenly warmed up, Talon didn’t think twice of trying to cuddle up closer to him. He bit down on the tips of his gloves and pulled them off, shoving his cold hands under Ezreal’s top. He would’ve tried breathing on them or stuck them in his mouth instead but it felt as if his teeth were icicles. The only heat here was radiating off Ezreal and Talon grabbed for it as greedily as if he were still a child hiding from winter. Talon’s fingers felt like bones that had been left in the freezer overlong, brittle and cold all the way through. “I’m not sure,” Talon said, watching as his breath failed to fog when he spoke. Shit. How cold was he? How far had his core temperature dropped? He closed his lips again, trying to pull them back over his teeth. Ezreal was smaller than him but Talon cuddled up to him shamelessly and tried to press his face against the other’s throat. His usual dislike of physical contact took a distant second place to his dislike of dying. The question of how icy Ezreal had become so icy was stashed away as something that Talon could question later when his tongue no longer felt like a slab of frozen teeth against the icicles of his teeth. Right now, his only concern was stealing as much warmth from Ezreal as possible. Even the trumpeting of the yeti outside didn’t distract Talon from his quest to soak up as much heat as possible. The herd thundered past, shaking the walls of the cave and making stalactites break off and stab into the ground. Rocks rumbled, the structural integrity of the cave giving way as rocks tumbled down in a mini-avalanche that blocked the mouth of the cave entirely.

Ezreal kept the flow of his magic strong, forcing it to warm his core and by extension, warm Talon. The last thing he wanted was to be the cause of someone freezing to death in the frozen tundra that was Freljord’s untamed wilds.He felt bad for having dumped them in the snow to begin with, but it hadn’t been purposeful. Talon must have already been out here for quite awhile to be so cold to begin with and that worried the explorer even more.

Many people came to Freljord unprepared and if one dug beneath the everlasting snows deep enough, the evidence was there. Ezreal could count on one hand the number of times he had stumbled across a frozen corpse accidentally on his first and near-deadly trek to the place himself. He didn’t like how high that number was, though admittedly, he had been there for over a month at the time.

Though the closeness felt weird to the explorer--especially with the desperation he felt in Talon’s instinctive movements to get as close to him as possible--he understood why and he wrapped his arms around the assassin. Pulling Talon in closer, Ezreal tried to force more heat out of himself. In a sense, it was vaguely unpleasant to do so but Talon’s life mattered far more to Ezreal than a brief discomfort that would instantly leave once he stopped channeling his magic to this specific purpose.

While Ezreal put a fair portion of focus into ensuring Talon wouldn’t become another human popsicle in the snows, his ears and senses were keen on the group of Yeti and where their movements were. He held his breath as the sounds drew closer and closer, vibrating the ground and causing some structural damage to the cave they had fallen into. That was worrying in and of itself, especially when the entrance collapsed inwards, leaving them trapped.

But, on the bright side, they weren’t going to be yeti food. Although arguably, being eaten quickly was a bit better of a death than slowly freezing and starving to death in a cave where no one would ever find their bodies.

“Well, they didn’t find us...but now we’re stuck in here. I could maybe teleport us out through the rocks but if it stretches too far outwards, I won’t make the jump. And then we might just reappear in the pile of rocks. Not a pleasant thought.” Ezreal said, tangling his legs with Talon’s and trying his damnedest to keep the man warm.

    The Zaunite leaned carefully over his companion’s head as he rested himself against his knee- it was a pretty common picture, really. The two got comfortable together in whatever way they could manage- Ekko didn’t mind it in the least. It was useful, relaxed, and easy. But now, it wasn’t as calm as he’d like it to be. Sighing as his stomach lurched from all its stress through the night, he closed his eyes for a second before dripping some alcohol onto a cloth and pressing it against the still-oozing head wound Ezreal had sustained.

          – “Sorry.” –

    He murmured quickly, for he knew it would sting- however it was necessary, and he continued, a focused frown present on his face. He ignored the comment. Not the worse he’d had, maybe, but still pretty bad. Ekko couldn’t help but maintain the mindset that if he’d known more about the situation before they’d gone in, he could’ve prevented this.

    Fingers moving rather slowly, but surely, Ekko pressed gauze against his head gently to calm the bleeding, then lifted his head with a careful touch to wrap a bandage around the other side of his head and secure it. Ugly, but good enough for the night. He did his best not to jostle the other’s head and cause him an ache.

   The explorer put forth an effort to be as absolutely still as possible, so as not to wind up with alcohol in any other place it shouldn’t be--like his eyes. Not that he really thought Ekko was clumsy enough to miss to that high of a degree, but they were both tired and wounded, so he didn’t want to take any chances.

     “It’s okay...” Ezreal replied, though his breath had come short and with a soft hiss as the cloth was pressed and dabbed around the wound to cleanse it. He remained completely silent and unmoving as Ekko went about pressing gauze to the wound and bandaging it. All his movements so careful and precise even after all he had gone through that night. It was admirable, really.

      “Better mine than yours.” Ezreal retorts quickly with a lopsided grin. “My head’s been through worse, I’m sure it’ll be fine.” He waved it off lazily and chuckled. his expression turned a bit more serious shortly thereafter though, a furrow of brows and a purse of lips into a fine line that took the shape out of them.

    He shifted himself to squeeze the Piltoven’s shoulder lightly in reassurance before letting his wrist rest across the joint there. Not the most comfortable position, but he’d bear it; Ezreal was definitely comfy, and he was the one who needed it more. A glance down towards his leg- they’d been so lucky that he wasn’t injured any worse. Ekko wasn’t a first-aid expert, and even though he seemed to hurt himself enough, he’d never be used to patching up anyone else’s wounds. For whatever reason, it seemed an activity that he’d rather keep confined to his own body. Having others depend so heavily on him was just more stressful than it needed to be.

    Not that he wouldn’t do it- he would. In a heartbeat, for anyone.

          – “‘O course I think you’re great. you have like, awesome hair. You mess           up a lot when you do dumb stuff, so I get to laugh at you. Oh, and you           give pretty good hugs. AND people think you’re even more annoying           than I am, which is a benefit sometimes.” –

    Ekko grinned and pat the blonde’s shoulder lightly to indicate his lighthearted teasing. Honestly, most of the above were true; however Ezreal was far from as annoying as Ekko was.

    His teasing fell into a rut of pause as he listened to his friend’s next words, an honest ear opening to solicit a mild grimace. They’d both had issues, then, especially as kids- well, Ekko was still a kid, and that fact made this conversation all the stranger.

          – “Nobody ever knows how to react to kids, Ez. That’s not your fault.           That’s the world. Everyone’s still growing an’ it’s complicated. But you           know who you are now, and that’s what’s important.” –

    He settled his back against the couch, settling his shoulder blades into the fabric comfortably and yawning quietly. It was getting late, but he was all-willing to stay up as late as the other wanted. The conversation was pleasant, if anything. It was nice to finally be able to share without worrying about the reaction he’d get.

          – “Good. Nobody’s dying. We have a fort to build, so it at least has to wait           until after that.” –

    He opened one eye, iris glittering in a suppressed excitement.

“Glad you think so. Well, I’d hope you would. Clearly there is a reason we make such good friends. And it obviously has something to do with how cool I am.” A soft laugh once more, punctuated with a flash of teeth in a bright grin, though still not to the level it would be, were he not tired. On one hand, Ezreal felt very vulnerable, revealing all of these details, all of these small facts about himself to his friend--all things he never told anyone, not even his parents. On the other, it was as though he was shedding heavy burdens from his heart, a deep relief for the boy who carried his loneliness and suffering in silence.

“You know, I dunno what I’d do without you, Ekko. I’m glad we’re friends, even if we got off to a pretty rocky start initially. I’ve not really shared any of this stuff with anyone before, so count yourself lucky you get to hear my sad sob stories from my childhood.” The words were all playful and light, though the emotional weight they carried was unmistakable despite the facade Ezreal tried to put into them.

“Well, I do! You’re not as deep into the woods as you might think you are, I just like to roam around a lot more than I should.” He admitted with a guilty laugh. Rakan’s love for chocolate went beyond and it had gotten him in some trouble before, but he always managed to talk himself out of it. 

As for what to answer the other male, Rakan was not entirely sure of what he should say. “Oh no, that is only an extremely specific ability that I have heard in my dad’s stories about our vastaya brothers of the freljordian lands”? Ezreal did not even seem to know much about the vastaya, how would he react to a stranger telling him he was not only one, but that from a tribe so reclused one could rarely even hear about them anymore. 

He jumped backwards a little as Ezreal disappeared, his ears twitching as he heard the characteristic sound of the blinking right behind him. Rakan turned, but the boy was already gone, so he turned again. It… Impressed him. It did! He could remember his dad trying to teach him how to blink, he passed out as soon as he had done it. 

With a hum, he approached the other, sliding an arm over his shoulders. “Say, have you ever heard of the ‘maenpwca’?” 

Ezreal stood as he was, waiting to see what Rakan would say. He definitely seemed impressed and surprised, judging by the expression on his face. Ezreal couldn’t help the smile that found its way onto his lips--it was always kind of fun to surprise people with his talents. Though now, he had the distinct feeling he was missing something and this vastaya knew exactly what that was.

He allowed himself to lean into the arm around his shoulder, the action almost instinctive--an odd thing, given he wasn’t too keen on contact with those he wasn’t well acquainted with, but Rakan was kind and there was something that drew the explorer to him. 

“That sounds....really familiar, actually. Like I’ve heard it somewhere, but only a few times. My mom, I think? She used to talk about them. She and dad were always really infatuated with Vastaya, though I was never really sure why that was. I don’t know a whole lot about the different tribes. Just little things I’ve heard over the years.” he paused briefly, recalling his travel to Freljord.

“I went to Freljord about a year or so ago. A bit less. I recalled her mention of the tribe and I was curious to see if I could find them. I’d always wanted to meet a vastaya with how much mom and dad always talked highly of them. It wasn’t my only reason for being there. It uh...it didn’t end well. Dunno if you noticed, but my skin is cold and my hair used to be blonde, not white. I don’t completely remember what happened. I became hypothermic and....” Another pause. Ezreal seemed to either be struggling with the fact he was telling this story, given how deeply it affected him, or was trying to recall the details.

COLD! Very cold! The shock of suddenly being in the snow startled the ability to string sentences together from Talon, who yelped in shock and tried to instinctively curl up away from the snow that surrounded them. That meant, of course, that he was curling into Ezreal – who also felt cold. Why this. Why him. Why had he managed to find a cold-blooded Ezreal when the Ezreal who was his friend was so warm and good to cuddle?

Not that the relative cuddliness of different Ezreals would matter if they were trampled to death by yeti – or eaten. Or trampled to death and then eaten. If their blood and flesh mixed in with the snow, would it be the equivalent of ice cream to the yeti? Talon knew that there was such a thing as blood pudding, made of blood and … whatever else went into pudding. He wasn’t sure what that was. Sawdust? Probably sawdust. Or maybe those were only puddings in the Underground–

Why was he thinking about puddings? Was he going into shock so fast from the cold? He automatically clung more tightly to Ezreal, only to realize that – shockingly! – Ezreal was still cold.

“We n-need to get - get somewhere –w-w-warm,” he managed to say between chattering teeth. “Else I’ll fr-freeze. Be-before the yeti kill us.”

His breath hung in the air, making little foggy clouds and Talon shivered as he tucked his hands over his face instead of holding onto Ezreal. Sunshine Ezreal was far warmer than icy Ezreal!

Nice though this Ezreal seemed, he really, really missed sunshine Ezreal right about now.

Ezreal became aware of Talon’s plight quickly. While he himself would not succumb to the extreme cold of the blizzard around them, Talon was far more susceptible and the explorer bit his lip as he quickly assessed the situation and the best way to handle it. It would be a bit of a struggle to escape the snow but the caves were only four to five more shifts north of them. It wouldn’t do any good for Talon to become hypothermic--in much the same way Ezreal had on his last trek to Freljhord all those months ago when he had become burdened with this new change in form.

“Just hang on, I’ll get you out of this.” he said, breathing in deeply and reaching into his core to feel the power flowing beneath. He had more than enough but he would surely be exhausted at some point later on for his risk. Ensuring Talon didn’t wind up another frozen corpse in the snows was worth this risk and he quickly grabbed the assassin, drew him in close and Shifted them upwards and forwards. It put them on their feet, leaving them in snow at near waist height. Walking was nigh impossible at this point without struggle.

Another shift. Ezreal felt dizzied a bit this time and they stumbled upon their reemergance into the snow and he heaved briefly, sucking in cold air with heavy breaths. He cursed softly and gave himself about ten seconds to rest and build up another rush of magic.He hears the yetis drawing nearer, and is spurred to take that third shift. Two left if he could manage it. With Talon being so effected by the bitter cold, he didn’t want to risk the assassin hurting himself more by draining his energy. He’d need all he could get.

Fourth shift. Another stumble into the snow and a breathy curse. He struggled them back to their feet and assessed the distance. One more. Perhaps one and half. He had misjudged a bit. No problem, he could do this. 

Another blur of white gold and they found themselves in snow slightly less deep. About mid thigh instead of waist. They were reaching the caves. Rather than waiting, he pushed forward again and they collapsed onto the shallow snow covored rock floor of one of the many caves carved into the rock faces of Freljord’s snowy, mountainous environment.

Ezreal remained still, laying there. Breaths heavy as he pulled on his magic and called upon it to warm his body by allowing it to channel through him. It was the only time in which his body would warm and he pressed close to Talon without hesitation, snuggling into him to offer the warmth and allow Talon a chance to recover. His ears were perked, listening intently to the trumpets of the yetis outside, waiting to see if they would pass or discover them.

The sparkles that came with Ezreal’s magic made Talon blink hard a few times. He wasn’t going to risk letting go of Ezreal to rub his eyes, not when it’d mean just smearing snow over them anyway, but the glitter was so familiar. It was the same way that Ezreal used to glitter when he’d jumped from one place to another, or shot one of those bolts of light. It was how he’d sparkled when– Now was not the time for nostalgia or missing his friend. Now was the time to get the fuck away to safety before they got eaten! “Tell me if I take us in the wrong direction,” he half-shouted over the wail of the blizzard as he took both of them through the snow again. His short-distance teleportation wasn’t meant to be used in such rapid succession and Talon knew he’d have to pay for it later - but at least then he’d have the guarantee that there would be a later. With the entire world buried in white snow, Talon could only guess at what direction to teleport based off where Ezreal was facing. He kept his arms tightly around Ezreal and blinked forwards in what he hoped was the right direction. Now the yeti were close enough that he could hear one of them trumpeting. It was a grunting, snort of a sound that carried towards them on the wind and made Talon’s bone cold. ‘Eat anything they can catch’ repeated in his head, Ezreal’s voice unnervingly cheery.

Ezreal swallowed thickly with the odd sensation that came with Talon’s version of a teleport. It wasn’t like his own, but it still carried arcane power within it-different and somewhat less potent than his own. He wondered then what it would cost the assassin to continue doing this, if he was as well versed in this magic as Ezreal hoped he was. There were limits to all mages, though and eventually they would both exhaust themselves or suffer later for their overuse of the power allotted to them.

But being tired later was far better than being eaten now.

“You’re doing fine!” Ezreal reassured as he picked up the next movement, shifting them forward. With their bodies touching, he was far more aware of the magic in Talon’s core and he could feel it vaguely as his own reacted to its presence like greeting a similar but very different friend. It wasn’t as much raw energy as he possessed but they should be able to reach the caves some distance away before the yetis caught up.

The sound of their calls was a startling thing that made fear run like ice down the length of Ezreal’s spine. He sucked it up and took the chance to Shift again before Talon could take it up--then again. And once more. It was risky to do it so quickly in such succession but it wasn’t as if he hadn’t done it before. It was after all, one of his more relied on abilities.

He paused to breathe, the icy air filling his lungs but not bothering his form that could easily handle the extremes of such temperatures. In a way, he was glad for the corruption that prevented his body from succumbing, in another, he wished he was normal once more. The uncertainty of his future was a frightening weight upon his mind. He shook it off and focused more on the fact they needed to hide and Talon likely needed warmth to survive.

One more shift and they stumbled into a bank of snow that was far higher than the knee-high powder from before. Ezreal cursed and let them lay buried slightly within it for a moment longer.

    The Zaunite managed to get himself settled in the tiny nest that Ezreal had managed to build- the thought almost brought a bubble of laughter to his lips, had his head not been pounding, and he smiled faintly. A wince escaped him at a too-quick movement, though soon his back was settled against the wall, and he was cocooned appropriately in a woolen throw. He gestured for the other to sit down, looking up at him tiredly.

          – “Sit down before you fall down, Blondie.” –

    His eyes were touched with genuine concern after a brief pause, finally the light of his bat reflecting off the slick of drying blood which had attached itself to the Piltoven’s skin. Ekko thrust a hand unceremoniously into his hip pouch, pulling out a roll of gauze and some alcohol. He smiled cheesily at the other, patting his knee.

          – “For real, though, let me look at your head. If I seize in the middle of the           night and you’re too busy being concussed to help me, we’re gonna have           an issue.” –

He glanced at Ekko’s gesture then bit his lip and finally nodded. His concerns were definitely legitimate considering Ezreal himself wasn’t even completely sure how bad off he was. The man who had struck him had been undoubtedly augmented and had quite a bit of leverage for the hit. In fact, the blonde was pretty sure he might have lost awareness for a brief second afterward. Superhuman hit to the head was now something he could add to the list of injuries he had managed to acquire for himself. Along with what might become a new scar later on near his hairline close to his temple. He was lucky not to have been immediately killed by it.

An inch or two lower and he surely would have been gone.

He settled himself with his head on Ekko’s leg, wondering how he found himself in this situation so often.

    Ekko adjusted his positioning just slightly, fingers curling comfortably against the fabric covering his friend’s stomach. He yawned softly, settling himself back against the dumped-off couch; it wasn’t particularly comfortable, but damn, he was glad it was there. He looked down at Ezreal with eyes tired and understanding, and her interjected just briefly, words accompanied by an eye roll and a teasing smile.

          – “Okay, okay, but Ez, the thing is; you  a r e  too good for them.” –

    He grinned briefly and shook his head, white pieces of his hair falling in front of his forehead like a tumbling wave of freshly fallen snow. He unceremoniously jerked his head to the left, tossing the strands out of his face; he didn’t want to move, and carefully putting his ‘do back in place wouldn’t fix much, anyways. It’d always fall out again.

    The seriousness in the Piltoven’s voice brought Ekko’s smile back down into a somber expression, and he nodded, letting his free fingertips adjust the collar of his own shirt, listening. They really were more similar than either had initially realized- that was a good thing. He wished that Ezreal’s life, if anyone’s, had been kinder to him, too- but it seemed that the world longed to crush bright minds. Fortunately, the blonde’s ego was enormous enough to withstand the pressure. Or, so Ekko would hope.

          – “I don’t get why you didn’t have friends. You’re great. Seriously.” –

    A tired sigh accompanied his words, and Ekko rubbed at one of his eyes before letting his hand drop beside Ezreal’s head.

          – “But … yeah. I’m … really glad I have you. ‘Cause you’re the only friend           I have who isn’t ten, hell-bent on mass destruction, or dead. So, thanks           for not being … any o’ those.” –

    His attempt at humour seemed to fall just short of where he’d aimed, but he brushed it off with a shrug, offering a slight smile.

“You would think so, wouldn’t you.” he chuckled softly and offering a look that bore his trademark confidence--albeit slightly tarnished. The night’s events had worn him thin and he didn’t have much of his ego in that moment to spare. Not that it was irreparable, just that such confidence was hard to maintain when one was tired and had just experienced perhaps the most emotional discussion he had ever had with another human being as far back as he could remember.

His lack of friendships meant that he was often alone and reserved. Closed off from the world save for his adoration for all things around him and the desire to discover what most were too fearful or rooted to do. The unknown held a negative ring for those with a mentality born of fear but Ezreal had always been drawn to it and so he remained. 

Ezreal wasn't sure if he liked all the things he was beginning to realize about himself but at least he could share it with Ekko.

“You’re pretty great too, you know? I guess I wasn’t the best to be around. We didn’t get along very well at first either, remember? Most people mistake my confidence for being totally arrogant and uncaring if they don’t know me. Or they assume the complete opposite when they see me gushing over artifacts because I guess I’m more friendly seeming then but as a kid, I didn’t do that stuff yet so no one really saw that side of me.” He breathes a sigh and closes his eyes.

Ekko’s words carry an apparent pain tot hem that makes Ezreal’s heart drop slightly.

“I’ll make sure to keep it that way. Don’t plan on dyin’ anytime soon. But you better not die either.” A bit more seriousness injected into the tone. Of course, he knew that the words were meant to carry Ekko’s trademark sarcasm--another thing they shared--but it was a bit too real in the moment to fill that slot.

“Fight a herd of yetis? In the snow?!” Talon repeated in disbelief. When Ezreal had grabbed his arm and started to pull, Talon had gone along with him because he trusted the other man to know what he was doing. At any rate, he certainly couldn’t be more lost than Talon was though he was moving faster. The powdery snow gave way under Talon’s every step, forcing him to practically goose step when they walked by raising his legs to his chest and then driving them down again. Ezreal’s words, however, were enough to make Talon give up on walking and just pull Ezreal closer, then blink in the direction they’d been moving.

“This is faster,” he said, squinting against the snowdrifts to try to see the yeti that Ezreal was talking about. “Tell me where we’re going – I can blink us there in short jumps.”

If only his teleporting took them further. It was going to take an exhausting number of blinks to get anywhere, given that Talon couldn’t even see anything except snow in every direction, but struggling through the snow was just as tiring – and it left a more obvious mark.

“How smart are the yetis? Do they eat meat?” Talon asked before mentally chiding himself. What else could they eat? There was nothing but snow! They had to be meat eaters by default.

He kept a firm hold on Ezreal, thinking of his dragonblade which was currently sheathed and tucked into his packed. As much as he loved keeping it strapped to his arm, it was just too cold to wear it openly. Even skysteel might suffer adverse effects when faced with prolonged exposure to the cold. He knew that normal metals became brittle and broke, so wasn’t willing to have his dragonblade suffer a similar fate.

However, if they were going to fight an entire herd of yetis (and what was wrong with his life that this was even a possibility?!), this might be a good time to pull it out of his packet and strap it back on. At the very least, he could try stabbing upwards while they trampled him to death.

“If you have any better ideas, by all means.” Ezreal replied--shockingly lighthearted given the situation faced. The explorer had come to realize facing things with a bit of humor tended to make the weight of them at least slightly more bearable. Perhaps Ekko was rubbing off a bit too much on him as well. Breath sucked in sharply when he was tugged in towards the assassin and they were suddenly several feet from where they were.The distance was short in general but definitely faster than trying to trudge through the deep snows. There was no time to try to forge snowshoes and using his magic for this, though potentially exhausting, was better than being eaten alive.

“Good idea. I have a teleport too, we can uh...leapfrog it? I’ll do one then you do one so we can try to spare exhausting too quickly. They’re about as intelligent as you expect animals to be and they will eat anything they can catch.” And with that pleasant note, Ezreal used their closeness and called upon his own arcane power to teleport them several feet once more. His was a bit less stealthy but in the blinding white of the blizzard around them, the golden hues didn’t stand out that much.

Ezreal wasn’t sure they would make it, even with the use of their magic combined but they had to try. It would be a bit troublesome to fight Yetis in their own territory and an environment which they excelled at traversing. They would go by smell, but smells didn’t last long with how heavy the snowfall was. If they were lucky, by the time they reached the shelter of the nearby caves, the scent would be broken off too much to follow.

    Inwardly, the time traveler appreciated that. It meant that he’d be able to sleep. He scowled slightly at the selfish thought, but couldn’t quite bring himself to care about it. He took the first step inside, brown eyes still scanning the room for any sign of life or activity.

    There was nothing. He let an audible sigh slip past his lips; really, thank God. They would’ve been dead if anyone even remotely aggressive had been stowed in the building, especially considering their current states. He kicked the door closed behind them and let himself relax just a fraction- his fingertips squeezed Ezreal’s shoulder affectionately before he carefully undid himself from their clasped position. He steadied himself against the Piltoven’s shoulder, still, but he just wanted to drop the Z-Drive off of his back, leave some of his weight on the floor, and find somewhere to sit down. The device fell to the ground with a clang, and the only reaction Ekko gave was a quiet ‘Oops,’ knowing that the invention was the least fragile thing on his body, right now.

    He rubbed his eyes with one hand and stepped back closer to Ezreal, feeling his head spin a little, not wanting his idiocy to let him fall over or hurt himself more. He caught his balance, perhaps a little quicker than he should’ve, and blinked fuzziness from his eyes, looking back up to speak.

          – “I know there’s some blankets and stuff in here somewhere. Kids sleep           here a lot. I can probably find you a teddy bear in case you get scared.” –

    The teasing would never quit, it seemed, and Ekko let a slight smile grace his lips once more, before letting his eyes search around the room, toeing his things into one pile on the floor, and gesturing to a messy stack of blankets and various objects by the West wall.

The explorer kept a keen eye on his companion, watching the way he moved once they were separated, prepared to help steady him if needed. Although he himself wasn’t feeling particularly strong. That hit to the head must have been much harder than he originally thought for how much it was affecting him. Perhaps it was the blood loss as the wound had never really ceased spilling blood down his face but surely it wasn’t that much, he reassured himself. Ezreal placed a hand almost absently onto Ekko’s back to steady him when the boy seemed to sway.

He was about to ask if Ekko was okay when the traveler spoke and his words ended with a teasing quip. He was definitely okay. Or at least alright enough to joke around. Ezreal chuckled and moved over to where all the items were, tugging free some blankets and going about setting up as comfortable of a pallet as he could make out of them while leaving one or two spares for them to use.It was a much more difficult task than it typically would have been with a dizzied head and the exhaustion that piled into his core.

At last, though, they had a place to rest.He gestured for Ekko to make himself comfortable first, unwilling to rest until he was sure the time traveler would make it through the night with no further complications.

    His friend’s first words brought a small smile to his lips, and he began to consider, himself. It was true- if he was somebody else, he wouldn’t have met any of his friends, Ezreal included. And now, he couldn’t possibly imagine being without them, not since they’d grown so close. He didn’t want to change that. But it was hard to say the same thing about some other aspects of his life. After all, as they’d discussed before, existing in Zaun wasn’t easy, and Ekko was forever conscious of the fact that he could lose everything in an instant.

    He pushed his self-absorbed thoughts out of the way to listen to his friend, though; after all, he was the one who’d asked the question. The admissions that fell from his mouth caught Ekko a little off guard, but in reality, he could relate to a lot of the things Ezreal was telling him. Maybe the other had just always seemed so self-confident, it was hard to see him feeling any other way. But, then again, maybe the time traveler shared the same coping mechanism as his friend. 

          – “I mean … I felt the same way, when I was younger … except here, nobody           really cared how well I did, not besides my parents. Actually, a lot of the           teachers and other kids were just pissed off because I finished all my           schoolwork faster than everybody else.” –

    He frowned slightly and laughed, though it wasn’t quite in the same good-humour that he usually displayed. Fairly; in this city, everyone wanted to be on top. And everybody hated the person who was. Apparently, that was passed even to children.

          – “I just started doing my own thing, inventing and stuff, you know? So I           wouldn’t really pay attention to what everyone else thought. But I … I don’t           know if I’d change anything. I like Zaun, and the culture, and everything in           it, but it’s so … chaotic, sometimes, and honestly most days I have no idea           what I’m doing, where I’m going, or … if I’m gonna get to go home that night.” –

    Ekko considered this for a moment. If Zaun were in better standings with the rest of the world, wasn’t as dangerous to grow up in- maybe it would be a little better. He decided that no, he wouldn’t change his life; he had a purpose, he had friends, where he was. But living here had instilled something irreparable in him, and he’d never entirely known what it was, or had been.

          – “Just … maybe I wouldn’t have to watch everyone I care about die all the           time if I lived somewhere else. If I was somebody else. Maybe I wouldn’t           have to worry so much. I don’t think I ever really got to be a kid.” –

    He frowned deeper as if this realization was something new to him, but his finishing phrase was distant and mumbled, as if he wanted to take the revelation back.

Pale brows knitted together as Ekko went on and painted a picture of sadness and struggle that Ezreal wished he could wash over with something brighter and more positive. Ekko seemed to be on the fast track to an early death with how he spread himself so thin for the sake of others as disadvantaged--or moreso--than himself.

“Yeah...people didn’t like me too much either. I was ‘teacher’s pet’ or teacher’s worst nightmare. Wasn’t good at sitting still once my work was done and I had nothing else to focus on. My classmates were frustrated at how easy I made it seem and thought I was stuck up or snobbish or ‘too good’ for them. Eventually, I was put grades ahead of my peers and at that point, I was no longer around people my own age. Meant I was forced to grow up a bit more to match the maturity of the people I was around since I was smart enough to match their skill.” he shrugged this off as if it didn’t trouble him.

“Didn’t have many friends, except nature.” A wistful sigh.

“You’re the first friend I’ve ever had around my age, you know. The only one who can keep up with me.” He blew bangs from his face and adjusted himself once more. “I wouldn’t change you for the world, but I wish your life had been kinder to you. I wish I didn’t have to wonder if you’d still be in one piece next I see you.” His voice is all too serious, betraying just how deep the thought went for him.

          – “I’ll probably fall on you later, when I do pass out. Look forward to it.” –

    He shook his head slightly and wrinkled his nose as the blonde pressed a fingertip against it- they’d never breached the wall of being affectionate with each other before, though Ekko couldn’t honestly say that he minded it. It was something that he always coveted in the back of his mind; there was few people he felt comfortable even hugging, even if he wanted to, and his parents were constantly so tired that he didn’t want to bother them or inhibit them sleeping. It was nice to have someone close by for once- and it being Ezreal, no matter how strange a choice, given how often they bickered, was something the time traveler rather enjoyed.

          – “Go to sleep, moron. Your leg isn’t going to heal if you don’t.” –

    Ekko let his fingertips rest against the worn fabric of the couch, one hand next to Ezreal’s head. The other, he let rest against his companion’s stomach- for he had nowhere else to put it, and he thought that he wouldn’t mind. He sighed out a short yawn, shaking his head to tousle his wild hair, and paused. A thoughtful expression crossed his face before he spoke again.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m goin’ to sleep.” he said with a soft chuckle. He did allow his eyes to close and let out a slow sigh as he got comfortable.Ekko’s hand was a gentle weight upon his stomach and it brought a tiny smile onto the prodigy’s lips.He opened one striking blue eye as Ekko presented this question, considering it quietly for several long moments before finding a response he felt suitable.

“Sometimes, I guess. I like being me, though.I mean sure, it would have been nice if my life had been...different, in some ways. But...I wouldn’t be me, then. I wouldn’t have met you...”

A pause and a purse of lips.

“Sometimes I wonder what it would have been like to be like...well...everyone else. Not to have people expect so much of me, to just have been a normal kid. Being smart and a ‘prodigy’ is good depending on how you look at it, but as a kid, people had higher expectations for me than anyone else. I was always scared of disappointing.” Now the blonde was clearly opening up a bit more than he wanted to, admitting things he rarely ever allowed himself to dwell on.