Beneath The Surface

Act 40 - I hope this gift may one day help realise your dream.

Normal text
Thinking
Onomatopoeia

Astaroth's POV
As weeks passed by, the impending war drew nearer. Ever since the Gray bastard incident, all forms of diplomacy between Noxus and Piltover broke down. The thin threads of good will snapped and both sides descended into a cold standstill. Like any 'honourable' invader, Noxus directly announced the day they would launch their attack on Ionia. As a result, things got busier. Kali has mostly become a training freak, frequently dragging Kaisa to spar with her during every combat lesson. It's rare to see that doofus this serious and committed for once. But that's not the important point. The most questionable part was that it's somehow understood that the rest were also joining in the war??? She didn't know when this became an established fact. Just that it's dumb as fuck and she needed to stop this madness ASAP. However, her opinion didn't seem to matter in this collective decision.

When Astaroth tried to change their minds, Ahri stubbornly insisted, "I won't let you go alone with some irresponsible kid."

Kali immediately sat up straight and waved about her arms exaggeratedly, "This is not fun and games. It's war. Where people die. Where blades and arrows are flying everywhere."

"And I'm saying I know. But if you two are going, then I'm going too," Kaisa countered.

Meanwhile, Evelynn lazily reclined against the headboard, leisurely pointing out, "Besides, you know I live and breathe graveyards. It's my happy place."

"... T-Then what about the other students??? You're not gonna throw them aside for two people, right???" Kali sputtered, staring intently at Kaisa, waiting for her to pull out of this crazy heist.

The room was silent.

Only for a moment though since a guilt-ridden squeak soon came out, "I... I can just call a leave of absence. This is closely related to the city's future so I don't think Ms Mel will mind."

She paused before adding, "Anyway, you two are more important to me."

Thump. Thump.

Admittedly, her resolve did waver for a bit. Just a bit. Not enough to impair her rationality and shove the little rabbit out to the chopping block. Astaroth initially thought that the rogue would remain firm and continue arguing for the greater good but she should have known this stupid kid can't be counted on. Her flimsy wishy-washy attitude easily crumbled under a few mushy words.

She got emotional and suddenly gave Kaisa a bear hug out of nowhere, "From now on, you're not Miss Hero anymore. I'll call you Miss Rabbit instead."

... ???

Astaroth still wasn't convinced to let a bunch of unrelated people take unnecessary risks. And for the sake of some blasted city, no less. It doesn't make any sense! But judging from their firm expressions, whatever she said didn't matter at all. The entire deal was already signed with their souls on the line apparently. Looking on the bright side, Ahri had already recovered nicely over the span of a few days, able to maintain her human form now. So she could at least take care of herself. This gave Astaroth the minimal assurance that Ahri wouldn't instantly be skewered in the battlefield. She wasn't completely insane to send a helpless baby fox to war.

With regards to the big showdown, Mel wanted to send reinforcements but Astaroth turned down her offer. Those untrained and frankly speaking, physically unfit enforcers would only be deadweight since she now has to take care of insignificant rats too. She didn't want her attention to be diverted away from her people. She would not take extra baggage whose sole purpose was to get in her way and introduce more unpredictable variables into her plan. Instead, Astaroth requested for more stun bombs and grenades. They'd serve a better purpose than those incompetent humans. Of course, Astaroth didn't forget her promise to give Kali new blades. She intended to visit Ornn before travelling to Ionia. And to also get a new Quicksilver sash for Ahri. She won't take another risk like last time.