Your Secret Is Safe

A cool front of wind blew over of land. The sun was on the path of descending, the sky a mixture of yellows, pinks, and blues. Few clouds hung above, only appearing wispy and a light lavender, a slight contrast against the multicolored background. If one were to squint while looking up, they could see the faint twinkling of a small handful white stars along the dark patches of the sky. A beautiful sight like this was a juxtaposition to the city below, a city who runs on power and control.

Most of the citizens inside the city walls of Noxus were heading back into the somewhat comfort of their homes. No normal person would dare to walk outside during the nighttime hours in the city. Those who did usually were accompanied with a chaperone or a guard, but that only seemed to increased the uneasiness they all felt. There were many tales of guards doing unspeakable things to the ones they were trying to protect, a way to showcase their power and dominance in an empire built by bloodshed and violence. With that coupled in with the imposing structure of the Immortal Bastion at the heart of the capital, the streets of Noxus were almost always empty at dark.

This was a perfect advantage for an infamous killer like Talon Du Couteau.

While the assassin would usually hide in the shadows as he patrolled the streets, his face obscured by his cloak, the less potential witnesses was always best for him. Ever since he began his service for the Du Couteau family, Talon always had a deep sated fear of a double agent spotting him, and reporting back to their respective kingdom that they've found the notorious assassin who murdered one of their men. While the fear was irrational—Talon knew this himself— he always kept his hood on and cautiously walked in the dark alleys of Noxus, eyes scanning for anyone he deemed untrustworthy. Which was mostly everyone. If the coast was clear, he would go in, repeating the same process for every shady pathway.

Tonight was not a mission night for Talon. Not the usual mission of hunting down chosen targets and eliminating them, that is. He was to report to the Grand General of Noxus, Jericho Swain.

Talon very rarely spoke with the General, he only met Swain during the infrequent diplomatic meetings he and his 'adoptive sister' Katarina attended. Even then, Talon never made eye contact with him, and only spoke to Swain at least twice. So it came as a shock when Katarina gave him a beautifully written letter by Swain, a letter requesting a personal one-on-one meeting between him and Talon. Why would Swain want to speak with him, Talon didn't know. He didn't question the strange offer, and he left the Du Couteau mansion to seek the Grand General.

The letter had written directions to Swain's main home at the Immortal Bastion, but Talon ignored it. The assassin knew the way. Even though the letter was useless to him now, he held onto it for his journey, as proof.

  The assassin took a turn right, the faint glow of the street lanterns illuminating his cloaked body an orange hue. He looked upwards, his gaze meeting a sight of two towers connected by a thin bridge. He huffed, and continued his stride, his bladed ribbons of his cloak scraping against the stone pavements. Talon was so close to the Immortal Bastion, he could feel the dreadful aura the fortress emitted.

High up on the balcony of the east side tower, a six eyed raven was cawing at her owner. She perched on the stone railing, croaking at him loudly. The man with silver hair looked down at the corvid, then gave her a pet with his glowing red hand.

  "Settle down, Beatrice." Swain muttered.

  The raven nodded, before flying up and perching on his left shoulder. Beatrice nestled her beak on Swain's cheekbone, her eyes closed.

  Swain gave a little chuckle, before turning back. With the raven still gripping on his shoulder, he walked back in his office, clawed fingers scratching under Beatrice's beak.