League of Legends Series

Yasuo x Taliyah

With another hurled rock, the nomadic mage took out the last bandit, searching their corpses for anything of value. Despite the dangerous wastelands of the desert, merchants and travelers alike were kind, but wandering from her home, Taliyah found strangers to be more reserved, and even hostile at times. She found a pouch of coins tucked away in the bandit's cloak and pocketed the gold. She felt dirty, but the dead did not need anything of monetary value.

Searching another corpse, she weighed the bandit's dagger in her palm, and finding the balance adequate; she slipped the blade securely into her boot. The gold proved useful as she came across a small town and managed to snag the last room at the Inn. Taliyah had never been so far from home before, and while being surrounded by vegetation and ancient structures were fascinating, she missed the cozy atmosphere home provided. Then again, there would be no more home to return to if she did not find help.

Taliyah was immensely powerful, but even alone, she could not hope to face the dangers of Shurima. Plus, she was still young, and while she was stubborn and fiercely motivated, she did not want to be naive. Her inexperience would be her downfall, and she was acutely aware of her flaws. She still had much to learn as a stoneweaver.

Heading north upon hearing rumors of a powerful mage, Taliyah was determined to at least make her plea. However, she did not account for the rise in bandit activity, and the missing layers of fur on her person. She was used blistering heat, and the cold was enough to force a shiver to unravel across her flesh. Before long, a blizzard set upon the unsuspecting mage, and finding nothing but trees and snow-covered grass around her; she set off to find cover for the night.

In her haste to find shelter with limited vision as the snow picked up its pace, she tripped, landing face-first into the snow, a body at her feet. She scurried onto her knees, and quickly turned, dusting off the possible corpse. There was a small pool of blood when she rolled the man over and taking a deep breath, she tried not to panic. Her fingers immediately settled on the inside of his wrist, checking for a pulse, and when a faint thump met her digits, she relaxed.

For all her bad luck today, she smiled upon seeing a cave in the near distance. With a grateful nod to the cool cavern walls, she set the swordsman down and grimaced at the blizzard outside. She had nothing to start a fire with, and the vegetation was likely soggy as the blizzard had started a while back. She fought past the frosty temperature and removed the rags around his torso. The cut looked rather deep, and Taliyah set her satchel down, rummaging through her medical supplies.

She crushed up some leftover herbs and applied the ointment onto his wound, ensuring it would not get infected and hopefully stop the bleeding, but it seemed minimal for how bad the wound looked. Next, she gathered cloth from her bag and went about dressing his wound, glancing at the unconscious swordsman. His hair was long and wild, not to mention his stern expression even as he slept. He looked like a skilled swordsman, and Taliyah wondered what could have inflicted such a wound onto him. The bandits were many, but they weren't particularly smart or dangerous. Compared to the lurking shadows across the desert, these bandits were of no threat.

After making sure the man had been adequately mended, she draped him with the spare blanket she kept in her satchel. He needed the warmth more than her. With that out of the way, Taliyah rested his sword beside him and propped her satchel under his head. She was quick to retreat to the edge of the cave, staring at the storm, devastating the world outside.

When she awoke, Taliyah was pleased to see the blizzard had passed, leaving a gentle descent of snow in its wake. It looked beautiful from where she sat, a thick layer of snow covering every nook and cranny of the terrain. The desert had its charm, but it hardly compared to what lay outside. She waited for the stranger to wake up, and growing restless, she pressed her hand against his forehead, but his temperature was normal, if not a little cold.