Katarina woke tired eyes to a blurry face. As she focused on the figure, a square jawline came into view. Closed eyes stared back at her as the man slept peacefully beside her. Confusion drifted through her head as she tried to remember how she got here - both location wise and beside Garen.
The last day drifted into her mind slowly, coming in as a blur of a somewhat good time.
They'd gone hunting. In the end, it became a competition. When Katarina brought back her 24 rabbits, Garen brought 6 deer. Then it continued into much of the night. The smell of the uncooked forest animals still lingered in the air around them.
Katarina sat up. The sky was clear. Birds sang. There was too much peace to feel comfortable.
Katarina stared down at her hands in the long silence. Part of her missed the violence that surrounded Noxus. There was a constant sound of beggars asking for more things from her father in this time of day. She missed walking through the long hallways and rolling her eyes at a man who'd tell her her schedule for the day, then finding a way to loose him within the first hour. She missed finding her mischievous sister in the kitchen, teasing the chefs and telling them if they didn't make her food exactly how she liked it, she'd have to eat them.
Garen moved beside her, causing Katarina to get up quickly and flee the opening.
Her eyes searched the forest, the contentedness of it bringing her great panic.
A rabbit hopped by. It was obvious this forest was not a common hunting place - animals stayed too near and didn't make much effort to run upon being jumped at. Really, they just looked confused.
Katarina took a long walk through the forest, this time giving herself time to take everything in. In her head she marked good climbing routes for quick escape, good hunting grounds and hiding places, as well as a new location for fresh water.
She began to turn back, having been on a walk for a good hour or two. Then she stopped herself. Was it a good idea to return? She wasn't supposed to associate herself with him, yet she wanted to. Not only that, but it was unhealthy for her to stay by his side. She needed more than he could give her. Would she ever be satisfied by her competitive life against him? Would they ever come to a consensus in schedule, or plans, or unorganized synchronization?
As she stood in the spot, trying to think of a real solution, it was already too late. She felt Garen get closer and stop behind her, breathing shallowly. "Ha, so you found where I like to take my run. Pretty nice forest, huh?"
Katarina sighed, giving in. "Yeah, it's beautiful."
The word sounded weird coming from her mouth. Beautiful.
There was a long silence between the two as they stared into the peaceful forest that had claimed their lives.
"How long... are you... assigned here?" Katarina asked, trying to avoid that it was obvious - he was an exile, just like her. They just wanted to keep him nearby - they would be able to watch him as well as ask him back whenever they wanted, to fight on Demacia's side. Katarina began to think that maybe Demacians weren't so dumb after all.
"Two years." He reminded her.
Only two years... The thought floated through Katarina's mind. She'd be exiled for three years longer.
She responded with a "huh" instead of a real response. Her feet began to find their way back to the camp.
"Katarina?" Garen called, following close behind, "Why are you here?"
Katarina shook her head. "I'm here temporarily." She told him.
"In the forest?"
"No."
"How temporarily? What does Noxus want?"
Katarina stopped, taking the time to rub her arm in thought. What did Noxus want by sending her away? It began to hit her hard - she had to accept that they no longer wanted her. How easy was that going to be, really?
"I am a threat... to Noxus." She said, staring into the forest path ahead of her.
"How?" Garen asked, catching up. She could feel his presence very close by, nearly touching her skin. She took a deep breath.
"I was accused of a crime I did not commit." She said, looking the Demacian in his blue eyes. She couldn't help but think about how handsome he was, as well as how strong. It touched her very core to see those blue eyes look so attentively into her own. His skin was so much more tanned and his body so much more toned since she last saw him. What he wore only helped accentuate his every muscle and movement. The sadness and compassion that met her eyes was remarkable. Could anyone really feel that way? That amount of compassion that could be said just through the eyes - just through a look?
Garen stood in front of her, eyes staring into hers. There were obvious questions going through his mind as she watched his lip quiver with the words he was readying to say.
"What crime?" His voice finally asked, bringing Katarina's eyes to flit back to his own. Her heart beat hard against her chest as she thought of the words to say.
"Assisting as well as... an affair with a Demacian." She spoke, saying the words bringing an anvil off her chest. She breathed hard and fast as she looked at him, Garen Crownguard.
He looked confused, yet the care never left his eyes. "I think... I'll get started on breakfast." Katarina spoke quickly, swallowing her feelings.
She left Garen by himself, jumping herself through the trees and towards the camp again. Her dexterous feet found their way through the trees and along each branch.
Katarina's mind whirred with her thoughts of not only Noxus, but also Garen.
"Crap," she thought to herself.
She found herself holding onto a tree branch, suspended in the air. Somewhere along the way she'd tripped, finding herself... here.
Katarina sighed as she lifted herself up to the branch single-handedly. She sat back against the trunk of the tree, using the branch to sit on.
"It's... alright," She told herself, "Garen is an exile. An exile, like me. Not part of Demacia..." She reminded herself, hoping to take off the reality of her problem.
She was allowed the time to interact with whoever she wanted. The one thing she was told was that she couldn't be influential of military powers... She wouldn't be hurting anyone by staying. She wouldn't be hurting herself by just a few nights beside the Demacian warrior. He wasn't very bad, afterall. He made their time together fun, engaging, as well as interesting... And it wouldn't hurt her when he had to go... Two years, she'd have with him.
The assassin sat for hours in the tree, high above the camp and far above any of those innocent, wide-eyed animals. She watched as the sun moved to the middle of the sky and downward, ready to set before her.
She had a goal to admit something to herself while she was in the tree. Her lips moved to say it but would quiver out.
With a long, deep sigh, she finally let it out, letting the first tear since childhood come to blur her vision,
"I love Garen Crownguard," She told herself, "And not even my loyalty will change how I feel."
