Blades of Shadow

Gathering Clouds

The manor had been encased in an icy silence these past few weeks. It could be the upcoming war that had Noxus in a state of unrest. But more likely it was the feud between Katarina and her father.

As soon as she had heard word of the attack, Katarina impressed upon the General of her deep desire to fight. And he impressed on her his intense unwillingness to allow her to go. Matters were made even worse when she learned of Talon's participation in the war. As such, there was a heavy tension that lay heavily on the Du Couteau household.

Though Talon cared not for the pathetic fighting, he did care that it impacted his training and assignments. He was currently stalking through the dimly lit halls in search of something to occupy himself with. Waiting for prey was one thing, sitting in a plush mansion without a single activity to do. A frown creased his face as he made his way towards the yard for some knife throwing.

His steps echoed across the empty corridors. Filtered light shone through the windows, only being darkened by his shadow for a brief moment before it slid from its ray. The warm air outside greeted him as he thrust open the doors into the courtyard.

Soon enough, steel was flashing across the grounds, thudding into targets. Twisted and spun in midair, raining steel upon his enemies….well pretend enemies.

"Are they putting up enough of a fight for you?" A voice mocked.

Without turning his head from where he was prying a dagger out of a dummy, "Miss Katarina, what brings you out here?"

"Well," she smiles at him while sauntering over, "I noticed the commotion from my window. I figured you would be more fun than anything else I could scrounge up."

He raised an eyebrow from behind his hood, "That's not a word I would use to describe myself."

"Oh?" She questioned, brushing past him."And how would you describe yourself?"

"Simple." Talon replied, his gaze following her, "I wouldn't."

"I'm sure there's more to you than that." She bent down slowly, tugging on a stray dagger, her rear stretching her already tight leather pants.

Ignoring her attempt at distraction, he slid down by her and firmly yanked the weapon. It came free with the sound of snapping bark.

Brushing the loose wood off the metal, Talon stored if back on his belt. Straightening up, he turns to her and asks, "What are you searching for?"

A coy smile lit her face, "Just to get to know you better before you go off to fight a war all Noxus is involved in."

The not so subtle hint of her absence in said war did not go unnoticed by Talon. He stared intently at her face for several seconds; her emerald eyes encased by a scar had a determined and slightly angry look, "Why do you want to go to war?"

The question took her by surprise. Her face showed a look of bewilderment before focusing back in. She turned her gaze to the ground in contemplation. Snapping her eyes back up, she replied, "To destroy the enemies of Noxus. To fight for my city-state as all Noxians should."

"Is there no other way to serve Noxus?"

"I have been trained to kill," Katarina lifted her arms, palms facing up, "This is the best way I can serve."

His shadowed glare remained fixed on her eyes as he asked his final question, "Are you ready?"

Katarina actually paused. She took time to consider her answer carefully. When she spoke, her words were full of sincere honesty, "I have killed and I have endangered my life in the name of Noxus before. My entire life has been dedicated towards this. Yes, I'm ready."