Ashe needed air. Not the wax scented, smoky oxygen that filled her rooms or the carpeted smells of the palace. No, she longed for the outdoors and with her arm and hand healed, nothing would stop her from escaping the confines of what she saw now to be a never ending mountain of ink smudged scrolls and the continuous need to replace candles. She took her chance when Tryndamere was away, doing whatever it is he does. She needed to get back into motion. Now that the League had officially put all matches on an indefinite hold, Ashe found her fingers were beginning to itch for a chance to use her bow once more.
The sun was beginning to set, the ice walls of Rakelstake boasting its impressive shadow across the modest homes within the frozen city. Ashe had wrapped herself in her usual cloak, her hood covering the top of her head against the biting chill as she told the guards she would be simply going for a walk. She showed them the bow and quiver strapped to her back and around her chest, just to reassure them that she would be safe. Though she was not normally so irresponsible, she wisely kept the fact that she was incredibly out of practice. Ashe simply wanted time to herself.
Her trek to the forests on the outskirts was made with little difficulty, but Ashe was already beginning to feel the effects of the fresh air on her body. She inhaled the fresh air, feeling the spots of ice against her clothes and thinking nothing of it. She stood with her hands clutched to her breast, a small, rare smile gracing her features. Despite all that had transpired, Freljord truly was beautiful.
Post by The Darkin Blade on Aug 15, 2013 23:31:53 GMT -5
Aatrox had finished his business with the Winter's Claw, for now, and it was now time to check up on the other half of his plan. Namely, the Avarosan. They would certainly be more stubborn than the warlike tribe of Sejuani, but he knew that with a push in the right direction, they would crumble to the temptation of war.
Gliding over the tundra of the Freljord, he eventually alighted on the ground, landing among the outskirts of Rakelstake in a forest. Now, it was time to plan. What was a way to get the Avarosan enraged at the Winter's Claw? For the Winter's Claw, it was a personal insult...for the honor-bound people of Avarosa...maybe he should strike a bit closer to home.
He was just formulating a plan to attack the queen when he heard the sound of walking feet not too far away. He became alert, his wings preparing to take off at a moment's notice. But, when the footsteps continued out of sight...he decided to investigate.
Striding silently through the forest, he was surprised at what he discovered. It was the queen of the Avarosa herself, Ashe. He smiled to himself. It was almost too perfect...he had to hit close to home, and the heart of the nation simply walked out, blissfully unprotected.
He embedded his sword in the snow; he wouldn't need her dead for now. The Avarosa wouldn't declare war out of vengeance; they would declare war as a last-ditch effort to recapture their stolen gem. Even as it made a noise, he ignored it. Stealth was the least of his problems.
With a few quick steps, he began coming up to the Frost Archer from behind her, his arms outstretched to grab her. It was almost too easy. "Ah, hello, my queen!" He then made a wild lunge for her, aiming to pin her to the ground.
There were only a couple of pauses during her walk, always noting the time and the distance in which she was creating between her and the city. Ashe knew that the rangers would send scouts every so often, despite her wishes and in all honesty, that fact put her at ease. But not everything was as it seemed - she could sense a disturbance in the snowfall and in the whispering trees in which she skirted the edges of. Ashe knew better than to venture into the woods alone at this time and in her condition, despite her capabilities.
Ashe knew she was not alone the very second the beat of wings hit the air. At first she simply brushed it off for an eagle scouting for its last meal of the night before it became too dark to see. However, when the crunch of snow resounded, the vibrations sending a creeping chill up her spine, the Archer knew something was wrong. When the rustles came closer and louder, she quickly drew her bow. Drops of ice began to shimmer on the tips of her fingers and she warily turned towards the source.
A dark, blood red body and gleaming eyes met her and Ashe almost bit her tongue in shock. His arms and claws were thrust forward, almost as if to strangle her but the Archer was having none of it. She took a step back just as the greeting flew forth. He was too close for an arrow to fly and so she did the only thing she could think of. Grasping the solid curve of her weapon, she swung it at the charging demon in an attempt to smack him right across the face. She hoped that should her blow connect, the icy surface of her bow would give her enough time to create some distance.
All the while thoughts were spinning. What was Aatrox doing here, in Freljord? Better yet, why was he attacking her? He was a mystery to most of Freljord, his presence and background only made known very recently and with an apparent connection to Tryndamere who refused to speak of the Darkin. But now was not the time to lose herself in confusion - even Ashe was wise enough to know that she could not meet him head on, and she considered herself lucky that his blade was nowhere to be seen.
Post by The Darkin Blade on Aug 16, 2013 2:12:47 GMT -5
Aatrox was directly hit by her bow, eliciting a snarl. He felt the frost creep across his body, slowing his movements, but he was still plenty fast. "Gah! Give me that!" he reached out to grab the bow and throw it to the ground, out of Ashe's reach. If that succeeded, he would then pin her down and knock her out with a blow from his hand. If it failed, though, he would attempt to pin her down anyways.
Post by The Barbarian King on Aug 16, 2013 7:37:07 GMT -5
As the Queen did say, Tryndamere was out and about from the castle grounds... again, although this time it was not for some foolish notion of intoxicated and unknowingly trapped diplomacy. This time, it was for a rather sweet reason, as the Babarian King had been rather neglectful as his role of not only a leader of the Avarosan, but as a husband as well.
Tryndamere was out in the woods much earlier, getting up well before the sun had risen to greet the snow-laden lands. He was donned in his favorite armor, his sword by his side, and a bag of something hooked to the side of his belt; the iconic sword of the King was sheathed to his back, in easy arm's reach if he needed it.
He was out in the frozen wilds to find a gift for Ashe, his Queen and wife. He was out today looking for an elusive creature for her, one of the many fuzzy and adorable creatures most commonly found at the howling abyss: a poro. Surely if anything could pull him from the depths of royal couchdome, the fail-proof plan of a cute offering was practically invincible... right?
Anyways, onto the hunt for a poro. Tryndamere didn't have to venture too far from Rakelstake; the icy city was still within decent view where he found what he had come for. He found a litter of young poros, and Tryndamere had a rather blunt, but simple way of determining which poro he wanted to take home with him. He approached them first, and those that ran away from his sight were not to be chosen. There were three who remained. Tryndamere reached over to the bag on his hip, pulling out one of the infamous poro snacks, placing a single piece of the animal-food onto the ground.
The three hopped forward, each looking at the snack itself, and then each other. Then the poros begun to fight amongst each other for who would claim the small snack, and the poro which ultimately won was, to Tryndamere's surprise, the smallest of the three. Its defining feature was its horns, which of compared to the helm of the Barbarian King, the two were a rather close likeness.
Tryndamere noticed this, smiling slightly at the poro's likeness to himself. He put another snack in his hand, and moved his hand down without removing the snack from his palm. The brown toes of the poro hesitated at first, but slowly begun to move forward to the snack, eventually hopping into the Barbarian King's massive hand. After consuming the poro snack whole, it licked its fur with its iconically massive pink tongue.
The Barbarian King was pleased with this little poro, thinking it would make a good pet for Ashe. He placed the poro onto his shoulder, occasionally handing the poro another biscuit when it begun to lick Tryndamere's thick and muscular neck. He returned to Rakelstake, walking up the long staircase to the main doors of the castle itself. Now... to show it to Ashe, and to hope she would like his gift...
He assumed she would be working in her small side-room, which is where he walked towards first, but she wasn't there.
"Odd..." The Barbarian King said to himself.
I wonder where she is... Maybe Tekun knows. He thought.
Although he didn't know it, the poro had scampered upon his helmet somehow, and was now gleefully riding on top of the Barbarian King's head. Completely unaware of how silly he looked right now, Tryndamere walked to Tekun's quarters, rather aloof to his new pet's relocation.
Just a little before Aatrox leaps at his newfound fortune, the Barbarian King was knocking on Tekun's door, not knowing of his Queen's plight, or even the stray thought of his mortal adversary's involvement.
Post by Tekun Valos on Aug 17, 2013 20:55:15 GMT -5
The Immortal Soldier was quick to answer his door. He hadn't expected anyone, never mind the King. He had already been on the way out to head into the City when he heard the knock.
He opened the door, the first thing he saw was the poro. His eyes were wide with surprise as the thing laid on his helmet, tongue hanging loosely out of its mouth. Then his eyes fell upon the Barbarian King himself.
"Is that standard uniform now or a new fashion trend?" Tekun smirked.knowing full well that Tryndamere wasn't always observant. It seemed he didn't know he had another passenger. "What did you need from me?"
Last Edit: Aug 17, 2013 21:01:49 GMT -5 by Tekun Valos
Post by The Barbarian King on Aug 17, 2013 21:44:49 GMT -5
((Question: why is he called "The Immortal Soldier"?))
Tryndamere gave him a puzzled look.
"What do you mea- oh, the poro!"
One of the Kings gruff hands rose up to greet the little creature, which hopped into his hand. He moved his hand so he could see the poro for himself, in all its fuzzy glory.
"I didn't feel him move onto my helmet. This little guy is going to be a gift for the queen, whom I'm trying to find."
Tryndamere put the poro back onto his shoulder for the time being.
((Just as a side note, putting your stuff in the same thread is kind of silly since it's not in the same location. /: ))
Ashe could not help but feel a tad triumphant at the pained snarl, but the feeling was quickly lost as Aatrox continued forward as if unaffected by her attack. But she knew that from his reaction, he had felt a bite colder than Freljord's winters. When he began to reach for her bow, possibly in an attempt to remove it from her grip, she almost seemed to smile. The Archer knew that unless you were of Avarosan blood, the weapon was not likely to treat you well.
She allowed his claws to come into contact with the icy edge but she did not let go. Instead, she locked eyes with the Darkin. "You'll have to do better than that," she said, her voice soft yet firm as the bow began to glimmer. The frost began to weep, trickling onto Aatrox's hand before rapidly crystallising into burning ice. Either the pain would force the creature to let go, or it would continue to travel through his body.
Post by The Darkin Blade on Aug 18, 2013 19:12:33 GMT -5
Aatrox hissed in pain, keeping hold just long enough to grab it out of her hands and throw it away before letting go, but his hand was simply numbed. "Cursed...ice magic..." He still had full control over his other hand, though, with which he reached with to try and grab Ashe on the throat. He then sneered at her, putting pressure to try and make her go unconscious. "You're almost more trouble than you're worth, your majesty."
Ashe did not have time to savor her small victory, for the hand that grasped her bow was immediately whipped away - along with her weapon. It fell to the snow, noiseless and glimmering but she was given no time to duck and retrieve it. Feeling quite foolish, she should have guessed that a creature so invested in war would not, or could not, be stopped by simple frostbite. Still, the Archer considered this ordeal a challenge to her senses.
The second those blackened, sharpened tips lashed forward, Ashe quickly stepped herself back. She felt the cold wind bite her throat as the claws swished past, but in doing so, they also brushed past her shoulder. The Voidspawn's acid had left a tender, white scar hidden by her cloak and she could not help but wince as her arm trembled at the contact. "You are not worth much of this trouble either." She responded warily.
Post by The Darkin Blade on Aug 21, 2013 1:55:09 GMT -5
Aatrox snarled. He noted how her body trembled when his hand brushed her shoulder, though, and his snarl quickly became a grin. "Well, your royalness, it was nice chatting with you." His arm pulled back, grabbing the wounded shoulder on its retreat. "But now you're going to have to come with me." On contact with her shoulder, he would clench it tightly, making sure she would go nowhere.
Post by Tekun Valos on Aug 21, 2013 1:55:36 GMT -5
"Your guess is as good as mine Tryndamere." Tekun gave a visible shrug as his hand extended to the poro and pet it. "...I'm not sure Ashe would want the duty of taking care of one of these cute guys. She already has a lot on her plate." He paused.
"...Are you sure she's not in the Palace? Maybe she snuck out into the City?" Tekun didn't particularly find it odd, he was sure she'd done it before. He imagined that living in a castle like this could be suffocating at times.
"...Are you sure she didn't leave a note in the bedroom?"
Ashe made it no secret when Aatrox's vicious expression turned triumphant. She cursed loudly, inelegant and vulnerable as the red-bodied warrior gripped her injured arm ferociously. Though they had been mere acid burns, the tainted acid that had struck her seemed to leave some sort of residue - in short, it burned like she had just stuck that portion of her body in a raging fire. She gritted her teeth in response to his taunts, hissing her pain through tightly pressed lips. Despite it all, she would not give Aatrox the satisfaction of hearing her cry out.
"Let me go," she managed to grind out, her other hand coming up to grip the Darkin's thick wrist in a vain attempt to pry his claws off her shoulder. Ashe felt helpless and it killed her to know that she was so weak. This was what Sejuani had against her, and words would not help her now. The Archer dug her nails into Aatrox's thick skin; the flesh on her shoulder felt like it was being punctured. "Let me go," Ashe repeated, a little short of breath now as the acid seemed to pump its way to her heart. "Or you're going to regret this."
Post by The Barbarian King on Aug 21, 2013 5:46:33 GMT -5
In a blunt retort to Ashe taking care of the poro, Tryndamere simply stated,
"She won't have to; I'll take care of it. All she'll have to do is let it be cute at her."
The King chucked slightly.
"Don't worry; beneath her frozen exterior, she has a heart in there, somewhere. This little guy-" he says while scratching its head "-should bring that out a little more."
Tryndamere listened to his questions about the Queen's whereabouts, or if she had written any sort of note as to where she was.
"Well she's definitely not here. And no, there was no note."
His brow furrowed in thought, pondering Ashe's whereabouts, when a voice of one of the castle guards emerged from behind him.
"My King?"
The horned helm on his head turned, and soon his blue eyes were locked on the guard.
"Yes?"
The guard straightened his posture slightly as he delivered his message.
"My King, I have come to report that Queen Ashe has left Rakelstake; she has gone to practice her archery in the nearby woods. We have taken the liberty of keeping track of her location, sending a scout routinely for her safety."
Tryndamere's head turned again, looking at Tekun.
"And we have our answer!"
His eyes turned to the guard one last time.
"You may return to your post."
The guard bowed his head in respect, then turned to re-trace his footsteps, back into the cold winter day.
Tryndamere's head begun to itch under the weight of his helmet, which he pulled off for the time being, his nails happily moving back and forth across his scalp. The poro on his shoulder took this opportunity to hop into his helmet, the creatures beady little eyes looking through the helm's eye-holes.
"So, Tekun...." the King began, "...do you know of anyone amongst the Avarosan who would be willing to send the head of a Winter's Claw warrior in a barrel to be used for peace-talks over ale?"
The question was blunt and unexpected, but Tryndamere was counting on this; he wanted to see how Tekun would react.
Post by The Darkin Blade on Aug 21, 2013 16:29:48 GMT -5
Aatrox didn't stop. Ashe's clawing felt like not much more than an itch to him. "No, I will not let you go." He laughed deeply but quietly, staring Ashe directly in the eyes. "I usually prefer people putting up a bit more fight than this, but this errand is more important than the norm." He dragged her by the shoulder, his hand still digging into her, before walking over to his own sword and digging it out of the snow, where it spun on its axis once before awakening again.
"You see, my queen, before too long, the scouts will wonder where you went off to." He began walking deeper into the forest, covering his tracks the way he had observed the Winter's Claw doing so as he went. "They'll track down where you were to here. They'll find your bow, and they'll find these tracks." He shook her a bit. "I presume you can guess the rest. You are smart for a mortal. Even when you've guessed, though, you can't stop it. That wound in your shoulder...from the Void invasion, I presume?" He laughed wickedly. "Struggle and it shall hurt all the more. Come quietly." Aatrox was giving off a very persuasive aura at the moment, his eyes still locked with Ashe's.
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