Mechanical heart (Viktor x OC)

21

Elvira walked off the ship she had spent the last weeks on and slowly placed her foot onto Ionian dirt for the first time in many many years. She could feel the magic flow through her body and she felt much lighter than she had while in Piltover.

The harbor was filled with people who had just arrived with the ship, but also people who were just there to visit the fisher's market. There were stalls serving fresh fish from the sea, cooked dishes made with fish, fishing nets, and other gear. 

Elvira walked along the rows of stalls, taking in the familiar smell of saltwater and fish, mixed with the magical air of Ionia. The ship had taken her to the city of Weh'le, and she honestly didn't know where she was headed. She had sent a letter to her father telling him that she was heading for Weh'le, but she didn't expect him to be there to welcome her. He was too busy.

Elvira kept walking until she stumbled upon a young girl playing an Ionian string instrument while singing soft tunes. She looked to be the same age as Elvira was when she left Ionia, and she found herself enchanted by the music. 

"Elvira, we have to hurry, we're leaving," her father stressed as he grabbed her arm and pulled her behind a building as their camp was invaded by noxians. "What? Why? Where's Emai?" she asked confused and slowly getting more and more scared by the situation. "She's gone Elvira," her father was straightforward. He knew that she was more mature than other girls her age, and it saddened him. 

He never wanted for her to live this life or grow up in these surroundings, but she did, and she lost her childhood because of it. And now she was in her teens, and it was too late to get it back. "What?" Elvira asked, her lip trembling as she tried to hold back her sobs. There were sounds of steel clashing and people falling to their death. Elvira had learned to drown out the sound of death during her many days helping her mother heal the soldiers, but this was too much. Her mother was dead, and it hadn't fully sunk in yet. She didn't have time to let it sink in as her father dragged her away, hiding from the soldiers as they escaped. 

Their camp had been close to Weh'le, and it only took two days traveling on foot for them to reach the city. They took the first ship that was heading for Valoran, and then Ionia was gone.

Until now. She was looking at the ship she had been on moments ago, and seeing the young girl and hearing her play had brought back the memories she had pushed to the deepest levels of her mind. This was where she left Ionia, and it was where she had come back. It was all coming back to her, full circle. 

"Knew I would find you here," a voice spoke from behind her, causing Elvira to turn to see who had spoken to her. If it was her they had spoken to at all. She turned around to see a young adult with black hair tied in a high messy ponytail. She was wearing green clothing, and Elvira spotted a dragon tattoo coming from her back and crawling over her shoulders.

"Omg, Akali!" Elvira almost started crying right there as she pulled her childhood friend into a hug. "Long time no see," Akali smiled as she wrapped her hands around Elvira. 

"How have you been? How have Ionia been?" Elvira asked as they slowly walked through the street, making their way out of Weh'le and towards The Placidium of Navori, where Akali had told her that her father would be. "So I heard someone talk about what happened at the Placidium a few years back, did Noxus invade the Placidium?" Elvira asked as she took in her surroundings. 

There were houses built by the woodweavers on each side of the main street, with wooden stalls and tables displaying different goods outside the houses. People of all ages stood behind the stalls, the young ones selling homemade charms, jewelry, or wooden figures carved from softwood, while the older people sold spices, clothing, and crystals.