Freljord was an unforgiving place. Especially during the winter time on the tundra where one not only had to worry about the weather but also about the little things like rogue yetis, bandits, wildlife and even rumors of Void. However, Tekun wasn’t worried about any of these things just yet as he set up an encampment and got a fire started. Somehow the roaring flame managed to keep itself fueled despite the chill that would cause most to catch their death. His destination was a specific peak among those of Ironspike.
A place he had made a safe haven of sorts long ago. Some place that he kept to himself, far away from the eyes of most. However, he hit a snag upon the way there and was forced to set up an encampment. It was frustrating but by all means workable. He would just need to continue tomorrow. In order to reduce any risk, he set up his resting place at the mouth of a shallow cave.
As the fire burned, Tekun began to make a stew with what he had brought with him. Meat, vegetables and a yam flavored broth all crafted by his own hands.
The warrior had dressed somewhat accordingly to the weather, but still it was a wonder how the Freljordian (or any of them) managed to resist such cold with flesh exposed.
The cold hardly fazed Akali as she made her way through the night. The Ironspike Mountains were open to the moon, and the sheet of white snow that almost permanently decorated the ground helped keep the entire area lit up. For one accustomed to the shadows it was as bright as day as the moonlight reflected off of that snow. Akali had no trouble identifying the footprints in the snow, nor the signs of a camp up ahead in the rocks. The smell of the cooking stew was the final giveaway.
The shadows were her veil, a true ninja as she made her way through the rocky outcrops. As she got closer the firelight that spilled out of the cave deepened the darkness that she used as cover. A smirk spread over her face as she dropped down in the entrance and peered inside, no longer looking to embrace the cover of darkness and revealing herself to the man. He wasn't affiliated with those she was tracking. "The funny thing about caves is they tend to focus your light outward, making it more obvious where you are."
“Sometimes that’s exactly what someone wants. To be found.” Tekun retorted as he looked towards the familiar voice. Where did he know it from? The green of her outfit was the first thing he noticed before the attire itself. Akali of the Kinkou. Interesting, more interesting was the fact that everyone seemed to disregard how cold it was in the north.
“It sometimes makes those who want to find me make their move. Also, it’s pretty sodding cold out and caves tend to make it easier to warm up.” He let out a light laugh. “…So tell me. What are you doing here? If you’d meant me harm, I’m fairly certain there would be a Kama sticking out of the back end of my head. It might not kill me, but you would succeed in making me rather cross.”
Last Edit: Jan 2, 2013 0:51:48 GMT -5 by Tekun Valos
His comments made her smirk again, the expression dancing across her lips wand conflicting with any attempts at a serious expression she made. It gave her features a somewhat confused appearance, as they were caught between two different choices. She finally allowed the smirk so spread across her face and followed it up with a helpless shrug of her shoulder, emphasized for theatrics.
"I can't say that isn't true. I can't really share why I'm up here, but I can tell you it doesn't involve you. I just happened to be passing by, noticed a pack of wolves slowly approaching your position, so I thought I'd do you the favor of scaring them off. And give you a warning. They'll be back, if I know the tenacity of a hungry wolf at all," she explained as she stepped into the cave, letting the light play off of her green shozoku.
“…Wolves huh.” Tekun nodded. “…Well. At least I’m not adding ninjas to my list of potential dangers in Freljord.” Tekun wasn’t at all worried; in fact, he nearly snickered at the idea of being attacked by wolves in the middle of the night. If anything he could use the pelts. “I’m not adding ninjas right?” Tekun asked with a smile on his face as he repeated for emphasis. He gestured to an open place by the fire.
“The gesture is appreciated.” Even though he knew it wasn’t needed. “So in return, why don’t you take a seat and help yourself to some stew.” Tekun would have offered regardless. “If not well, that’s your prerogative. I’m sure whoever is getting a Kama to the head deserves it.” He wasn’t actually sure of that though but could assume it couldn’t he? Tekun tended to the food. It was a semi-known fact that The Immortal Soldier was one of the best damn cooks this side of Runeterra. He supposed everyone needed a hobby that didn’t involve bloodshed.
Akali stared at the Immortal Soldier for a long moment, her smirk slowly fading from her face as he spoke of adding ninja to his list of threats. A serious expression crossed her features. "I told you I couldn't discuss my mission," she commented dryly, before letting that smirk return to her lips. A joke, perhaps, though it was hard to tell with the Kinkou. She took the few steps to cross the cave, her feet making virtually no noise as she did. Force of habit more than anything.
"Not everyone deserves their fate when it comes to maintaining the balance. I've met more than enough people who simply assumed the Kinkou Order was a force of good. We're a force of balance, and that sometimes requires some unsatisfactory duties. That is why we work from the shadow, why we are trained in stealth and in combat," Akali explained as she sat down beside the fire, pulling her kama from their sheaths on the small of her back and laying them down beside her.
No noise or imprints as she walked across the snow, she was trackless as she grew closer to the flames. If his joke had been understood he would never had known, but he had a feeling it was safe to assume she got the message. That smirk that returned indicated no foul had been done. He left the pot unattended for a moment as dug for two bowls in his supplies. Always come prepared, and always expect company. Hostile or Friendly.
“Right.” It wasn’t sarcastic. “…I forget that. My mistake” He winced for a moment as if some unseen force that only Tekun could see had struck him. It left no mark but Tekun had certainly felt that familiar sting. A memory surfacing, drug to the surface.
“I knew. No. Still know someone like that. He’s a summoner. He doesn’t talk about his horror stories. Then again, only an unsound mind enjoys speaking about them.”
Akali's eyes followed his actions, eyeing first the unattended pot and then his rummaging curiously. He produced two bowls, which was interesting given he was a lone traveler. Then again a lot of people traveled prepared, so Akali wrote that one off. She kept a smirk on her face even as her intent gaze took in everything, all of his actions. He was, after all, a stranger she had encountered at night in the frozen wastes of Freljord where few people wandered. She couldn't be blamed if she was a bit guarded.
"We all have our demons, things we'd rather not speak of to polite company or outside of the most intimate moments," she mused simply for a moment and then shrugged. "Sometimes it's just a matter of privacy that keeps them secret, of course, rather than an unsound mind," she added thoughtfully, as if drawing the comment out of somewhere in her own memory.
“Politeness or unease, either way it’s an unspoken thing.” Tekun retorted as he grabbed the ladle from the pot and began to stir. “…A little longer. It’s not quite done.” He sat the bowls near the fire lest they’d chill due to the cold ground.
“I of course know who you are, but I don’t believe I’ve given a formal introduction. I’m Tekun Valos. League Enforcer and a founder of the Preserver movement south of the barrier.” The last felt more like unneeded bragging but he felt it needed as it helped establish who he was. He wasn’t a champion, but he knew he could go toe to toe with many of them. Breaking eye contact he began to riffle through his supplies to add a few last minute touches to the stew; they were spices mostly.
“I came North to visit an old place I used to know of from days long past. It sounds ludicrous but if things are as they were it will be well worth the trip.”
Her sharp gaze was unwavering as he introduced himself. She had heard the names he was throwing around before, but then it was her job to be well informed on the world's goings-on. She needed to be able to react with true judgment if caught in the center, or report them accurately to the council otherwise. The names didn't mean much to her, however, as her dealings in Valoran were usually north of the Barrier where all the major political plays took place, where the superpowers of Demacia and Noxus lay.
"You'll forgive me if I hadn't heard your name before, Tekun Valos, but I know it now," she replied with courtesy, watching his flavor the stew. "You're talking to someone who was born and raised in Ionia. The idea of visiting the past is hardly something I'm unfamiliar with, and I think it's a nice thought that someone from the mainland can connect with the world and with history as you describe it."
“Forgiven, but there was never need for me to forgive you to begin with. I cannot expect everyone to know me on sight. And perhaps that is for the best.” Tekun nodded to himself. “And sometimes it’s worth revisiting the past. So long as we don’t live in it. Always move forward but sometimes you can afford to backtrack.” Tekun stirred the stew twice before stopping to look at it analytically. “It’s ready.”
With the ladle he drew two scoops and filled a bowl before repeating the process. He carefully grasped the bowl and passed it over to her over the flame that still licked at the pot which he had placed over them.
He didn’t need to give her obvious warning that the stew was hot, the steam that came off the surface of it was an indicator enough of that. But it did come with a tempting aroma that was best described as heavenly.
It may or may not have been for the best, if there were wolves in the area. The smell may attract them if they were desperate. But then again, there were now two instead of one in the encampment.
"Balance in all things, Tekun. That means a balance between the past and the future, the present being the result. Regardless, as long as you take the two into account your life should not be ruled by either," she commented flatly, a paraphrased version of some of the doctrine she had to study in Ionia while practicing under her mother. She may be renowned for her martial arts, but as with anything it needed to be balanced with just as much study in philosophy, expanding her mind as a muscle.
She reached out and accepted the bowl he offered her, taking a smell of the aromatic stew. Her hand grasped the side of the bowl gingerly, using the lip and the bottom to avoid the heat, as she let it sit for a little to cool off. Granted in a gave in the mountains of Freljord it didn't take it long to cool. Akali mightn't mind the cold, but that didn't mean it went unnoticed. The stew quickly cooled and without a word she took a spoonful and tasted it, eyes moved to the fire as she stared at the flames intently, almost lost in thought.
Tekun tried to gauge her reaction and judging from the look in her eye as she gazed at the stew intently. He didn’t want to disturb her so he let the thought sit for a moment before he pulled her back to reality. “Akali?” He questioned. He kept his own stew in his hands, untouched.
Her gaze remained transfixed on the flickering fire and the stew itself as she sat there, chewing the chunks of the first bite of her stew slowly. When she heard his voice she blinked, her eyes instantly coming into focus. She looked up at him with a moment of confusion before realizing she had just sort of zoned out, her cheeks immediately becoming a little bit more crimson in color with embarrassment. She turned her gaze aside once more, this time bashfully and not in thought.
"Sorry, I was just . . . thinking. Don't mind me," she murmured quietly, taking another spoonful of the stew. "Do you always travel with so many spices on hand? It seems a bit excessive," she asked, trying to divert attention away from the momentary lapse by not giving it any importance.
When she came around, she blushed. It was a surprise to him, he hadn’t expected her to actually become embarrassed over something so trivial. Tekun’s cooking did seem to have that type of effect on people. Rather than press the issue he gave her a straight answer.
“Yes. I can afford to carry them on my person. The ones I use most often are placed in the pocket of my cloak. Right between the emergency supplies and the semi -automatic hextech Luger I keep on my person.” He let out a more light hearted laugh. “Interdimensional magic. It’s a wonderful thing." He then paused, maybe something was off. She was awfully red and distracted. It certainly was not like the Kinkou he heard of.
"Are you sure you’re okay though?” He took a bite of his own stew finally.
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