6

"Your eyes… the eyes of a wolf who lost everything."

Third POV:

Walking all night until the sun rose wasn't something Ahri was particularly fond of. However, her mind was in a rather hectic state after the whole mess with Noxian strays last night. From encountering the Kinkou Order to that little girl that hugged her.

Grey stayed silent most of the way, only asking a few questions about the territory they were in. Right now, they were walking through an open field that was covered in wheat and small rivers of water from the mountains that were in the distance, having walked out of the woods a while ago.

The sky was already turning blue, and the only sound that was heard was their footsteps, the running water, and the chipping of the birds which were starting to wake up.

Honestly, this would be rather peaceful for Ahri if it wasn't for her silent traveling companion. Of course, she was used to traveling in silence, but having someone besides her was making it kind of awkward.

"How long until we reach the next town?" the Undead Swordsman asked suddenly. She was actually thankful that he started speaking.

Looking over the map, Ahri pinpointed where they were and replied, "Not that long. A couple of hours, at most."

However, Ahri's stomach suddenly growled in hunger, causing her to blush in embarrassment. "Perhaps we should stop to get food," Grey suggested as he came to a halt.

Ahri, however, kept walking and moved past him. "If we stop now, it'll take us longer to get to the village. Let's just keep going, and I'll buy something when we get there," she said, not wanting to waste time or appear as a setback for their traveling. The town they were going to reach was a rather big one, so she would undoubtedly find food there.

"So, does that mean you have the money to buy something?" at that question, Ahri came to a complete stop as she noticeably flinched.

Looking at the hidden pockets in her skirt, the only things she found were her gemstones and a couple of gold coins. Barely enough to get her a bottle of water and some bread. Ahri refused to accept that as a meal, and even refused more to trade her gemstones for food.

Maybe she should have taken some money from the Noxian camp. She doubted any of the soldiers there would need it, being dead and all. But, her mind was too preoccupied at that time. She didn't have her cloak anymore, so using her magic without getting noticed won't be easy.

Truthfully, Undead didn't need food, but they can still eat, just like when it comes to sleeping. Grey simply didn't want to resort to stealing just because his traveling companion was being stubborn.

With a reluctant sigh, Ahri turned to Grey. "Alright, I guess we can settle for a short break," she gave in before raising an eyebrow. "So, what will we be eating?"

"These rivers are long and come from the mountains," Grey said motioning to the rivers near the road they were walking. "Their water is also very clean, so we should be able to find some fish in them."

Looking at the river, Ahri saw that they were definitely big enough for someone to find fish in them. Plus, fish was one of her favorite food. So, she shrugged her shoulders and walked towards the river.

The Abyss Watcher followed her and they both stood at the edge, near the water. "Do you have something that can help fish?" he asked.

Ahri gave him a deadpan look. Since this was his idea, she thought that he was the one with the means to get their food. But, she was apparently hoping for too much.

Grey raised an eyebrow as he saw Ahri hand him the map. He took it from her and was about to ask her what was her plan when she suddenly jump-dived into the water, causing a large splash.

The Undead Swordsman realized that she gave him the map to keep it safe from getting wet. He simply looked at where her silhouette was in the water, wondering when she'll come out.

After a few moments, Grey started thinking that he would have to pull her out before she drowns, but she then came out of the water before going to the edge and pulling herself out.

Inside Ahri's mouth was a large fish that she was holding between her teeth. She hadn't hunted like this since her days with the ice foxes. She felt rather nostalgic to hunt like this again after so many years.

Ahri pulled the fish from her mouth and held it by the tail. She saw Grey looking at her and smirked. "Like what you see?" she asked, taking a pose to show off how her wet clothes clung to her glistening body.

The Abyss Watcher simply turned back to the river and pulled out his sword. Holding it in a reverse grip, he reeled back his hand and kept looking at the water. After a few seconds, he threw his sword like a harpoon.

Thanks to its size, the Farron Great-sword didn't completely sink. Its handle and crossguard still above water level. Grey knelt down, grabbed the handle of his sword, and pulled it out of water.

Ahri's eyes widen slightly as she saw three fishes, all the same size as the one she caught, impaled on Grey's sword as he pulled it out. The Undead Swordsman looked at her, and the Nine-Tailed Vastayan can swear she saw a glint of smugness in his eyes through that tiny mask.

"Show off," Ahri grumbled. She turned her back to her traveling companion and immediately rattled her tails to get the water out of their fur. She may have done it specifically to get some of it on Grey.

However, much to her disappointment, Grey didn't even seem to flinch as he simply walked by her. "We should find a place to eat," he suggested.

Ahri couldn't help but feel like he's trying to make her look like a child. She would admit that she acts childish sometimes, despite her age. But, the Abyss Watcher just made it feel so… insulting.

They found a place on the side of the road where there was a large rock. Grey gathered some wood, wheat, and sticks to cook the fish, while Ahri lit the wood on fire. The Undead Swordsman let the fish cook on sticks near the fire while he and Ahri sat down.

The Nine-Tailed Vastayan created three, small floating, blue flames that started circling her body, helping her dry off after the short swim. She could use the fire they were cooking with, but this is far more useful.

Grey simply glanced at what she was doing before looking back at the fire. A part of Ahri felt insulted that he simply dismissed her in her current state, which is enough to charm most men without her magic. It's almost as if she wasn't good enough.

She knew that wasn't the case. She might not know him well, but Ahri can tell that the Abyss Watcher wasn't the type to make insults like that. Instead, he was the type that simply didn't care.

The Fox Vastayan felt very odd being around someone like that. It's as if the world can burn around him, and the Undead Swordsman would just set back and let the fires consume him.

"We need to speak about a problem," Ahri's thoughts came to a halt after hearing Grey's voice, causing her to look at him while he simply kept looking at the fire. "From what I've seen on the map, we will have to cross the ocean at one point. I highly we'd find someone who is willing to take us with them freely. So, we'll need to find a way to acquire some form of transportation."

"Don't worry about that," Ahri dismissed his worries while shaking her head. "I'll be able to find us something," she doubted it would be hard to charm a sailor into letting them take a ride.

Grey looked at her from the fire. "By using your magic?"

Ahri immediately moved one of her flames to her arm and attempted to intimidate the Abyss Watcher with it while glaring at him. "How did you know about that?" she asked. He could have heard about her abilities from the stories about her, but she knew that he had no knowledge of Ionia whatsoever, let alone her.

"I didn't," the Undead Swordsman replied, uncaring by her attempt at intimidation.

The Nine-Tailed Vastayan tensed. She couldn't believe she fell for such a trick. Basically, he didn't know anything about her magic and was just suspicious, but she just confirmed that she has it.

Grey had noticed something wrong when meeting the carriage rider. He was too happy, even if it was a successful day. Plus, his eyes looked off, like Ahri's eyes but glowing blue slightly.

Also, while they were fighting the Noxians, Grey noticed that some of them were acting odd. Some of the Noxians that attacked Ahri suddenly stopped moving when they made eye contact with her, some of them even dropped their weapons.

"When did you figure it out?" Ahri questioned with a sigh, seeing no point in denying or stalling.

"During the fight with the Noxians," Grey replied. He could at least respect that she didn't deny anything. "Your magic, does it have something to do with controlling minds?" he didn't believe it was impossible, after seeing how the miracles of the Deacons of the Deep can affect someone's mind, which is why only the Pontiff did business with them.

Ahri simply extinguished the flames in her hand before just looking back at the fire. Truthfully, she didn't feel comfortable talking about her magic with anyone. It wasn't that she was self-conscience, it was simply because she didn't feel like anyone would trust her if they knew what it was. It was basically mind control, to some extent… not even he knew about her magic's true nature.

However, she also knew that not answering would make her even less trustworthy. "It's not mind control," she replied. Her magic was about emotions and illusions, sometimes even dream manipulation, but she never stripped people of their free will… at least she tried not to.

To her surprise, Grey simply nodded, saying, "I see," before looking back at the fire. She was expecting him to question her more, but she supposed it was a blessing that he didn't.

Truthfully, Grey just wanted to make sure she couldn't manipulate minds, mainly because he would have to keep an eye on her all the way to the Institute if that was the case. That would have been more annoying than tiring, and he wanted to avoid that.

They simply remained quiet as they waited for their food to finish cooking. Ahri honestly didn't know which was worse, being questioned or sitting here with someone who might as well be a statue from how passive he was about everything.

The fish was finished cooking and they split them in half, each of the traveling companions getting two fish. After eating the fish, Ahri yawned before laying her back on the rock they were sitting close to. "Do you need to sleep?" Grey asked.

The nine-tailed Vastaya shook her head. "No, give me a minute and I'll be ready," of course, she was lying. They spent yesterday traveling and then fighting, not to mention that they didn't get any sleep last night.

"We are not in a hurry, and the sun just rose, so if you want to take a quick nap that won't be a problem," the Abyss Watcher said. If his traveling companion was sleep-deprived, that would cause some problems. he preferred a long journey over a troublesome one.

Ahri can feel her eyelids getting heavier. "I don't really think we should waste time like this," she said before yawning again. "But… I guess a quick nap won't be so bad," she gave in, thinking that she deserved some sleep after last night.

the Nine-Tailed Vastaya moved her two of her tails between the rock and her head, using them as a pillow while covering her body with the rest, using them as a blanket. she closed her eyes, listening to the sound of running water from the rivers, which was quite calming, while the rock she was leaning on provided shade from the rising sun, which was behind her.

The Undead Swordsman simply watched as Ahri drifted into sleep. He can tell that she had trouble trusting people. However, he couldn't blame her remembering that those slavers that attacked her said that she was considered a monster from legends that stole the souls of her victims.

That was something that confused him. Where he was from, it would have been odd to see someone who doesn't use souls as currency. Maybe some nobles that preferred the shiny gold and silver coins, but they weren't many of them. However, it seemed that people here view it as a large crime, to the point where they dubbed Ahri as a monster.

From what Grey saw, Ahri herself seems to believe that, and that she holds a great deal of regret for her crimes, which was proven when she looked surprised when that little girl hugged her. She was obviously not expecting anyone to show her a kind gesture like that.

In all honesty, Grey thought that if there was a monster here, it would be him rather than Ahri. At least she still felt something about killing people, while it was as normal as breathing for him. He couldn't even remember the last time he felt anything when killing, be it regret, remorse, guilt, or hesitation.

…

Ahri's eyes slowly fluttered open as she woke up. She untangled her tails from around her and stretched with a yawn. "Are you finally awake?" Grey suddenly said, catching her attention.

The Abyss Watcher was seen sitting exactly where she last saw him. In fact, there were a few birds resting on his shoulders and metal hat, proving that he has not moved at all since she went to sleep.

"Did you just sit there and wait for me?" Ahri questioned, rather surprised. While it did sound creepy that he just sat there and watched her in her sleep, she had to admit that it was somewhat humorous to see the birds resting on him like that.

Grey simply stood up, causing the birds that were resting on him to get startled and fly away. "I have no knowledge of the land, and you were the one to lead us, so I would have been lost if I left without you," he explained.

At this point, Ahri supposed that she should start expecting more blunt answers from him. Basically, he was saying that he stayed because he needed her. It was true, but she didn't believe that he had to be so blunt about it.

She got up and saw that the sun was high in the air, implying it was noon. Which means that she was asleep for a few hours. "Did you get any sleep?" Ahri asked, not remembering her traveling companion close his eyes for more than a few seconds.

"No," was Grey's quick reply, making Ahri look at him questionably. He pulled out the map and handed it to the nine-tailed Vastaya before she voiced her concern. "We should get moving now that you're fed and rested."

Ahri took the map and gave the Abyss Watcher one last look. He didn't look tired, which meant that he is either used to not sleeping this long or he was simply good at hiding his exhaustion.

Either way, Ahri grabbed the map and took a look at where they were before going back to the road they were traveling. If he is exhausted and didn't show it, Ahri can use that as an excuse to scold him for his recklessness.

…

It had taken them nearly two hours to finally get to the village. Ahri felt somewhat self-conscious for walking in such a populated area without a cloak on her or having to sneak around. However, Grey's threatening presence seemed to ward off any unwanted looks.

"We need to find a way to acquire some payment," Grey suddenly said as they entered an alleyway.

"As I said, I can-"

"We cannot always rely on your magic, and I highly doubt that you can openly use it without causing problems," the Abyss Watcher cut Ahri's reply off, pointing out the flaws in her plan.

The Nine-Tailed Vastayan sighed, knowing that her traveling companion was right. Honestly, she was worried about the same problems, too. She thought that it would be better to take care of that now if they could.

Ahri suddenly stopped as something caught her eye. On one of the walls of the alleyway, there was an old poster that drew her attention. Walking towards it, Ahri pulled it off the wall and read through it.

"Look at this," she said handing the Abyss Watcher the paper.

Grey glanced at the paper before looking back at Ahri with what appears to be a deadpan look. "I can't read Ionian," he admitted.

While Ahri was annoyed that he only said that now, she also knew that she deserved some of the blame for knowing he doesn't know anything about Ionia and then expecting him to be able to read the language. it was a miracle that they can understand each other in the first place.

"It's an advertisement for something called 'the fighting pits'," Ahri explained after reading the paper. "I've heard about them. They're a perfect way for fighters to gain money," she said crossing her arms, going through the knowledge of the memories and rumors she heard.

"That does not sound like something Ionians would have?" Grey questioned, wondering if what Ahri told him about the land was true.

Ahri was actually impressed that he managed to notice something like this after such a short time on this land and only one source of information, which was herself. "It's not. They were made by Noxians. But, even after the war was over and the Institute placed their laws, such places still remained. They're mostly run by neutral Noxians and Ionians. Since it doesn't disturb the peace between the nations, it was ignored," she explained to him. "What if you entered for tonight and earned us some gold? you do know how to fight, right?" she asked teasingly.

"I hope that question was rhetorical. otherwise, I would start questioning your intelligence," Grey replied, wondering how she could as such a question after seeing him fight so much.

Ahri rolled her eyes. "Yes, it was. Let's just find them and earn money," she said before she turned to the exit of the alleyway and started walking again with Grey following close by.

while walking out of the alleyway, Grey bumped into a man. "Hey, watch it!" the man said before walking away.

"Can you be more careful?" Ahri requested, lightly glaring at her traveling companion.

The Abyss Watcher simply shrugged his shoulders, causing her to sigh. They continued walking until they reached the shady part of town. The houses in this part looked old, some broken, and fewer people were on the streets.

Ahri lead them towards a gate that seemed to lead into an underground tunnel. The gate was made of heavy metal and was had a slit near the top. Ahri knocked on the door and the slit opened, revealing a pair of eyes. "What do you want?" a gruff male voice asked.

"The fighting pits," Ahri replied, her voice taking a serious tone.

"To watch or fight?" the man behind the door asked.

"Fight," Ahri quickly replied.

The slit closed and, after hearing a few locks being removed, the heavy doors were opened. The man behind them was wearing a Noxian armor with a scar over his right eye. He was bald and had a sword on his waist. He was looking at Ahri with a skeptical look before he caught sight of Grey. "I guess he's the one doing the fighting?" he asked rhetorically. He obviously thought that Ahri was signing herself up to fight. "Alright, take the right hallway. It's the one for fighters. And then register with the guy waiting there," he said pointing behind him, where it was split into two ways.

They both nodded and entered the went inside. Truthfully, they were surprised that they went in so easily. Either this place had incredible guards, or whoever was in charge was just that arrogant. From the lack of the former except the door guard, Grey thought it was the latter.

They both entered the right hallway and started walking deeper underground. The walls and ceiling were made of rocks with wooden pillars laid out across it to make sure it stays in place. There was a metal lantern on every few pillars, illuminating the hallway.

The reached a wooden table that was at the side of the hallway. at the end of the hallway was a metal door, not unlike the one they walked through a few seconds ago. There was an old-looking man wearing glasses and Ionian robes behind the table.

Seeing the pair walking closer, the man looked up from a few papers he was signing. "Are you here to register as fighters?" he asked.

Ahri motioned to Grey. "He is," she said, not wanting to get involved. It was not that Ahri didn't believe she would be able to win if she fought, but she knew that magic wasn't considered fair in places like these, and that was her way of fighting.

"Name?" the man asked, pulling a couple of papers from under the desk.

"Grey Ashnex," the Abyss Watcher answered.

The man wrote the name on the paper before looking at them again. "Alright, just pay the entrance fee, and you can get in," he said holding out his hand.

Ahri froze in her place. "Entrance fee?" she asked, not recalling hearing of something like that.

The man nodded. "That's right, new fighters have to pay a fee for their first time here," he explained.

Ahri groaned in annoyance. Just as she was about to use her magic on the man, a small sack of coins was dropped in his outstretched hand. "Will this be enough?" Grey asked.

The nine-tailed Vastaya looked at her traveling companions surprised while the man checked the sack. It was barely the size of his fist. He weighed it in his hand before nodding. "Barely, but it's still enough," he said before writing on the paper again and handing it to the two. "Here's your papers, after a few moments we'll be handing out turns for fighting. You can wait there," he said motioning to the door at the end of the hallway.

They both nodded and went through the door, which was unlocked. After getting inside, Ahri and Grey were greeted with the sight of a large locker room. The room was quite wide and had pillars as large as trees at the sides. There were a few benches and lockers, along with a pair of giant doors at the other side, most likely leading to where the fights will be.

The room was also filled with all kinds of warriors. Some wearing armor, some holding weapons, and some both. Most of them cast their eyes on the traveling companions when they got in. Ahri received a few lustful looks, while Grey some wary ones. Some kept looking as they walked towards one of the benches on the side of the room and got sat down beside each other.

"Where did you get that money?" Ahri asked, keeping a cautious eye on the people around.

"I took them from the man I bumped into," Grey replied, seemingly relaxed. he already expected this place to require some form of payment for entering, so he made sure to come prepared.

Ahri lightly glared at the Undead Swordsman. "If you were going to steal, then why are we here?" she asked, believing that stealing money would have been far less of troubling than coming here.

"I did not want to steal unless it was necessary. That was only to pay whatever they wanted for entering this place," The Abyss Watcher explained. Stealing would draw too much attention for his liking, and the village was already cautious of them as it is.

Ahri sighed, realizing that Grey thought this through more than she did. She was honestly grateful for that. She supposed that it would have been worse if they weren't prepared. Now, she just had to sit back and watch the Undead Swordsman fight. She was simply hoping that no problems would happen from now.

(A/N: Thank you for reading this.

First, as you can see, I'm making Grey have more interactions with Runeterra before reaching the Institute, and the traveling Arc will be longer this time.

Second, Grey and Ahri's relationship is going on a slower rate this time. But, I'm sure you can see it's growing.

Third, as you can probably guess, Sett is going to make an appearance in the next chapter. However, there won't be a fight between him and Grey, yet at least. There will be more characters appearing, but that's for later.

Lastly, about Grey figuring out about Ahri's magic. You have to admit, it would have been stupid for him not to notice something with how much experience in battle he has.

Again, thank you for reading this. Please comment, review, and give me your thoughts on my story.)