VISIONARY

when your obsession becomes obsessed with you

Khada let out this bemused little chuckle, humming playfully as she titls her head. Drawing her eyes away from their tangling fingers and back to Hwei's face. Her expression softening without her even being aware of it. Hwei was a danger to be near. Not unlike a drug. Because they made her do things she wasn't used to, and often regretted.

Despite the initial high.

"Yes, it truly was surprising that you ran into me like this. I had expected our reunion to be a lot more..." Flashy? Spectacular? The true answer came from her lips without her purposefully bringing it up: "Special." Yes. Special. Rather than so sudden, so at random, in a scene not prepared by her.

Allowing herself to be held closer she tilts her head somewhat, averting her gaze from his. Feeling weak whenever he looks upon her, why was she feeling weak?

"Yes." She tried to remain indifferent in her words, the same she had been since the start of this conversation. But her mask was slipping, and her fingers held onto theirs a little more needily. "I had initially planned for something less, grand. Something more targeted, albeit with flair, seeing as the location was perfect for it."

"But it had been quite some time since I was among my peers in art, so I decided to lengthen my stay, to enjoy and flourish. My heart always yearns for art, especially the perspective of death within it. But after growing closer to you..."

She pouts, scoffs. Why was she being so forthcoming, so open. What was she hoping from this revelation? That Hwei would still stay with her? That Hwei would not condemn her? Since when does she care about the condemnation of others?! She was growing frustrated with her own actions.

"Well. I just wanted to crack your shell, as it were, hence the change in plans to the degree that it ended."

Her answer rolls across him like a freezing tidal wave. Stirring emotions that had sunk into the depths of his soul and washing across him, threatening to overpower. There was no celebration in Hwei's theory being correct, the hope of there being a chance he was wrong ripped away. Darkness diffuses and stains the eyes, revealing speckles of gold. Connecting the pieces together for the mystery, however, was now secondary to her explanation. There is a silent moment between them, as the artist's lips quiver while they try to understand her words. The reasoning for the destruction of everything he had ever known.

"For me?"

The words ring in his head like wind chimes on a summer breeze. So sweetly, they announce the brewing of a storm. The memories are broad strokes in his mind, more colour than detail. But the terror resurfaces swiftly. Not only with what they had seen after waking, but again when the sun had risen, after the destruction caused by both artists had occurred. A dark thought that had followed Hwei, from the night they first brought a paintbrush to canvas between the smoking ruins, coils through their mind again. Where worry and restraint had once reigned was now a weightlessness that only fuelled creative visions. But to accept this truth was to also accept something that broke their heart.

Allusion of Song Style 1 (2014) by Lu Hong

She hates him. But not in the way one might expect...

Jhin should've been prepared for Hwei. She should've kept an eye on him, should've prepared a grander scale if they reunited. Something calculated, something orchestrated. But no, it was accidental. A meeting of fate if you will... And not only that but holding his hand, the calm of the weather, their soft voice.

Even now, he could make emotions foreign to her well up.

Where to begin, indeed?

Their final night together. It brings forth a surge of emotions, the kind which she was still not used to. Closing her eyes and imagining everything between them. The paint, the words of affection, the passion. To call it a one-night stand would be an insult to the art that was made that evening.

She stops, just as they do. Breath held, head turning. Offering a subtle smile. "Not exactly. The village is not my home, just one close enough for me to visit. But yes, I returned home. But not for long."

Khada slowly approached Hwei. Taking his other hand into her own as she fixated on their hands. Hands that could create beauty! And hers that held similar strengths; but also the power to destroy. Stained in blood and paint in her psyche.

A worrysome thorn in his heart digs a little deeper, suggesting a correlation to the surprise of their meeting to a lack of care the artisan had for him... Already Hwei had seen how skilled she was at acting, pretending to know not of the destruction that has happened since last they spoke. Perhaps it went further... The roots around his chest the thorn was from constrict when the feeling was dwelled upon for too long, breath hitching in his throat.

"I am thankful that I found you here when I did, then. It may have been a while longer before I could catch you, while you were not too busy." A small stumble happens when Hwei hears their own words, the attempt to save it is made gingerly with gaze dropping. A gentle thumb caresses the new hand gifted to their grasp. It was taking everything the artist had to still the wave of questions at the ready from crashing out of their lips. Hwei had wanting to properly greet and refamiliarise themself with Khada. The longer it took to ask about the Golden Demon, the more every part of their being ached.

"I do so appreciate your kind words, Lukai! I wasn't always this eloquent. I had to work hard for it, in that I know the effort of hard labor. And I try to ease the burden of menial chores for others if I can help it!" Tahm tipped his hat as a sign of gratitude, offering a toothy smile. When the topic of effort came up, one of the things Tahm had to work very hard for was smiling. It wasn't something that came natural to the old swindler. Especially not with a mouth full of jagged teeth like his own. But he managed to control how his smile appeared. Gentle or threatening, the mastery of his mouth (and what came out of it) was a talent mastered. The King rubbed his hands together, nodding understandingly to Hwei's words. Sympathy expressed through a subtle shake of the head and arms outstretched in disbelief. "It's understandable that the revolting concept of currency is not on your mind. It shouldn't be on anyone's mind, but some don't have a choice! And deep down, you don't have one either... Beg pardon my words, Lukai. I don't mean to offend with such a pointed comment. But I know what's it like to be left without a penny." Ashamed he grabbed his hat and once more brought it to his bloated gut, head hung in defeat.

Ah... but there it was.

Hook.

Line.

Tahm's smile grew wicked, sharp.

Sinker....

A more hopeful smile settled on his face as he chucked the hat into the air and in a display of showmanship let it fall on the top of his head, hands tugging on his coat to add to the flair and bolster the confidence that was radiating off him. "And that is EXACTLY, why I am here!"

"I am here to help good folk like yourself without having to sink too deep in the treacherous and often murky waters that is business!"

Tahm Kench approached slowly, placing a single hand on Hwei's shoulder before turning around and waving the other across the distant horizon, trying to paint a picture; through words.

"As I mentioned before, I have been to many places! And you are right: I have many stories and experiences that I would love to share! But it's also thanks to these experiences that I have the information that I am about to share with you. There is one thing this world has a plethora of: beauty!" Tahm began his lecture, speaking with confidence that only someone certain of their case could muster.

"And people love beauty in all its shapes and forms. Now animals? Animals hold a beauty that people admire, and everyone enjoys the presence of such critters. Some through more nefarious means... But that is because they lack better options, they need stimulation and that is something an artist can provide!"

"Paintings and portraits of animals!" It sounded simple but Tahm Kench was filled with experience as he pulled Hwei close, shoulder to shoulder as he continued with his un-ending ramble of a pitch. Still waving his hand at the sky. "Imagine my boy, paintings of Dragons alongside Scaled Snappers! Yeti, Poros and Elnüks! Wolves, Birds, why even Monkeys!"

Tahm Kench finally released Hwei, waddling forward as he spread both hands out to the skies, voice filled with excitement. "People are desperate for visual stimulation my boy! And with such portraits nature is spared, but the people are sated. There is a market for portraits of animals yet it's untapped. And why? Because people look down on them... Even though they, just like us, are part of these wonderful lands..."

"That is a very noble goal--" Hwei's praise petered out as the landing hand engulfs his shoulder, and he tenses to hide the flinch that instinctively takes hold of him. Tahm was ready to begin his selling pitch, anyway, so Hwei listens intently and follows the hand moving through the air. Nodding along and envisioning the metaphorical pathway he was being guided down, all until it is spoken aloud, plain and clear. "Animals?" He echoes before being easily pulled closer, quickly learning how hard moving would be now stuck in the embrace. Arms squished in and toes struggling to keep to the floor as Tahm continues his pitch. But it is short-lived fight, deciding instead to hear out the logogenic businessman while simultaneously held there. He had heard of every beast listed - some far more exotic or rare in sightings than others - and the thought of getting to capture their likeness is... thrilling.

Finally let go, the artist stumbles with their footing for a moment with robe fluttering about before settling, releasing a breath they had not realised was held. With a few few more and a hand over their chest, Hwei watches the finale to Tahm's show while recovering, faintly nodding in agreement. Even with the major conflict with Noxus ending near a decade ago now, Ionia was still far from finding peace again. It's land and inhabitants were ogled and stolen away, pelt and branch at a time. A supported hand runs along Hwei's jawline in thought; If art could be substituted and spare the life of a living creature from a caged life or worse, that alone would be a victory.

"I think inspiring a new wave of appreciation for the fauna of our world is a wonderful idea, Tahm. From the surprisingly adorable to the most majestic of beasts who command respect." Nodding with his decision, Hwei adjust the hair falling in front of his face, only for it to cascade back into place. "Unless someone is well travelled, there's naught often a chance to see animals; not the ones who live across the sea, let alone ones that live somewhere unpaved, like a nearby mountaintop."

"I will admit, though, I have only started my travels recently, and not much of that time has gone into practicing even the local animals found in my home country. I had spent most of my life on a small island. So... I have many a life study of sea birds and catches from the ocean." A fainthearted chuckle joins his joke, but it does not help his smile grow beyond upturned lips for long.