Grey POV:My morning... Was not a happy one. It"s only breakfast and I already had to stop Nidalee and Ahri from fighting twice.
We were sitting in the dining hall with Aki, Ezreal, Lux and Garen. The fact that I"m sitting between Ahri and Nidalee is the only reason they didn"t kill each other yet.
Silver was besides the table having his own breakfast. We managed to find him a bowl and some meat.
"soooo" Ezreal said through the awkward atmosphere "Grey, you said you had a story?".
"oh right, the mace" I said recalling the subject.
"yes it"s quite the story" Nidalee said and smirked at Ahri "of how me and Grey fought together".
Ahri was glaring daggers at the huntress and I think I saw her make an orb of deception between her tails ready to throw it.
"Ezreal, remember when we got attacked by that Outrider Knight?" I asked and the Explorer nodded "well, we got attacked by another one, but this one was special".
Everyone"s attention was focused on me immediately. I started explaining what happened.
How I met Nidalee. Finding Silver, which the girls awed at. Our encounter with Vordt.
But when I mentioned jumping over a cliff, it got me a slap on the head from Ahri "didn"t I tell to not take risks like that?".
"no you didn"t" I replied "and even if you did, do you think I would"ve listened?" that just earned me another slap.
I continued the story, but when I reached the part about Demacia, Garen wasn"t so happy "you broke into the royal castle!? Why didn"t you just ask?".
"we did" I replied "but then the guards said no and we got two guards fired because of it" I tried to remember their names "Tom and Phil I think?".
Suddenly, all of Garen"s anger was replaced with a smile "oh then all is excused".
Wow, apparently no one liked those two, I finished my story and stood up "where are you going?" Ahri asked.
"I"m going to see the garden" I replied "I haven"t seen Zyra in a while, plus I could use some fresh air" I looked at Silver "come on boy" he barked, ran towards me and climbed to my shoulder.
"that name sounds familiar" Nidalee said and looked at me "mind if I tag along?".
"not at all" I replied.
Ahri stood up "then I"m coming too" she looked at me "you don"t mind, do you?".
I shrugged "sure, now let"s-".
"deeeeaaaath~"
I stopped as I heard something, i looked around for the source of the sound but I didn"t see anything.
"Grey? Is something wrong?" Ahri asked.
I looked around for a second before answering "no, it"s nothing".
Ezreal also stood up "I"d like some fresh air too".
Something isn"t right here "are you saying that to use me as a distraction for Zyra while you study her children?".
Ezreal just looked at me for a second and then pointed at me with his finger "you can"t prove anything".
"that"s a yes" Lux chuckled while Ezreal glared at her.
I just shook my head with a smile "well, let"s just go".
Third POV:
Grey, Ahri, Ezreal and Nidalee walked out of the dining hall going to the garden. They got to the gates and entered.
But something was wrong, the garden was absolutely quiet. There were no sounds of birds or any life.
"this is strange" Grey said looking around "Zyra, are you here?".
A few seconds later and the Rise of Thorns appeared. She looked tense and was looking around her every now and then.
"h.e.l.lo Grey, good to see you again" she said.
The Abyss Watcher nodded "yes you too" he then motioned to Nidalee "this is the new champion Nidalee".
The Huntress and Carnivore woman looked at each other and both gained a deadpan look "oh, you" they both said.
Grey looked between them "do you two know each other?".
"we met in the jungle a few times" Nidalee said.
"we didn"t have any problems, but we didn"t exactly get along either" Zyra said.
Nidalee"s eye twitched remembering that Zyra tried to give her as a snack for her children.
Grey looked around the state of the garden and back at Zyra, she was still nervous.
"Zyra, is something wrong?" he asked.
"yeah, you look like you"ve seen a ghost" Ahri added. She was a master of emotions, she can tell what people feel and sometimes control that, but Zyra right now was terrified.
"I might as well have" Zyra mumbled and shook her head "sorry. It"s just that I had some... Unsettling guests".
Grey was concerned about her safety "are you alrigh-".
"Deeeeaaaath~".
Grey cut himself off when he heard the same voice as before, only this time it was more clear.
He looked at the source and saw it was coming from deep within the garden.
"Grey?" Nidalee asked since he suddenly went silent.
"something... Is calling" Grey said before he started running towards the source of the sound.
The others looked at each other before they started following him. The Abyss Watcher reached a deep part of the garden and found two figures there.
One of the figures was completely white, Covered in slight fur, wearing a black mask and holding an odd bow.
The other figure was circling the first one, it had the head of a wolf, a dark phantom body and was wearing a white mask.
Silver popped out of Grey"s shoulder, but when he saw the figures he immediately started whimpering.
The others caught up with him, Nidalee and Ahri didn"t recognize the two figures, but Ezreal did.
When the Explorer saw them he became as nervous, if not more than Zyra "oh, h-hi Kindred" he said with a nervous chuckle.
"THAT"S KINDRED!!!" both Nidalee and Ahri yelled recognizing the name as they immediately became frightened.
Grey looked at the others "what"s wrong?".
"Kindred is the manifestation of death. Lamb and Wolf" Zyra said.
"seeing them isn"t usually a good sign, but since they didn"t ask us about choosing between the arrow and the hunt we"re fine" Ezreal added and then swallowed a lump in his throat "mostly".
The Abyss Watcher looked back at Kindred as he heard who he a.s.sumed was Lamb speaking.
"it seems all still know us dear Wolf" she said in a soft feminine voice.
"indeed they do little Lamb" Wolf chuckled in a gruff male voice.
Grey reached for Silver and picked him up from his shoulder, he sat him on the ground before he started walking towards Kindred while the others looked at him in worry.
"are you what"s been calling me?" Grey asked as he got close to the two halfs of death.
"so you"re what we"ve been sensing lately" Wolf said as Lamb turned around standing on one leg "the man from another world".
"that would explain why we never felt something like him before. Doesn"t it dear Wolf?" Lamb said.
Wolf chuckled "indeed it does little Lamb".
"why did you call me here?" Grey asked.
"because you interest us" Wolf said.
"we represent death, yet we feel you are like us but different" Lamb said.
"that"s because I"m a Lord of Cinder" Grey said still unfazed "I"m supposed to keep the light of my world".
"he"s a what?" Ezreal, Nidalee and Zyra asked referring to Grey"s mantle as Lord.
"quiet! I"ll tell you later" Ahri whispered trying to listen to the conversation.
Lamb tilted her head "you... Are not entirely correct".
"what?" Grey asked confused.
"when you are around, we sense Life" "Death" "light" "and Dark" "all at the same time" Lamb and Wolf said respectively.
"you might be a being at the same level as Aurelion Sol" Lamb said.
Grey was more confused "I... I don"t understand".
Lamb tilted her head "hmmm... It seems that his powers are not fully awake yet" she then looked at her other half "should we help him with his powers of death dear Wolf?".
"I don"t know" Wolf replied, he sniffed a couple of times and grunted "he reeks of that gross undead smell".
"gross? I bathed this morning" Grey thought to himself.
"true, but it seems to be a curse, not magic" Lamb said.
"well, I suppose we can"t really blame him since it"s against his will" Wolf said and looked at Grey "but let me asked you this, Lord of Cinder, what do you think about Death?".
"that it"s part of nature, that life cannot exist without it" Grey answered.
Wolf chuckled "good answer".
"and what of those who return from Death?" Lamb asked.
"fools that are only asking for madness" Grey answered.
Wolf laughed slightly "this one gets how the world works. Very well, we"ll help you with the power of death" Wolf moved from besides Lamb and started circling Grey "if you seek the power of death, then simply spread it".
"see the life in the mortals, and know it"s yours to take" Lamb said.
"know that whether they live or die is your choice" Wolf said.
"that they can only choose how they die" Lamb said.
"that is all we"ll tell you, Lord of Cinder" Wolf added before he moved back besides Lamb and they both started walking away.
"wait! I still don"t understand!" Grey said as they walked away.
"you will soon" both Lamb and wolf said "until we meet again, Lord of Cinder" with that they left.
Grey stood there for a second before turning around and returning to the others.
"I swear those two are going to give me a heart attack one day" Ezreal said "which they"re supposed to anyway" he added remembering who they are "I just hope Wolf isn"t hungry then".
"he always is" Zyra said which made the Explorer shudder.
"Grey, what was that about?" Ahri asked.
"I don"t know" Grey said as he knelt down, picked up Silver and sat him on his shoulder.
"they were talking like you were all the same species or something" Nidalee said as she referred to the way Kindred acted.
The Abyss Watcher stood up "I honestly don"t know".
"well, I think we should get back" Ezreal said.
The others nodded and left with Zyra joining them. While walking through the hallway, Grey explained what a Lord of Cinder is.
"what!?!" Ezreal yelled absolutely surprised by such a position.
"what"s wrong?" Grey asked.
"what do you mean "what"s wrong"?" Nidalee asked "you have the fate of an entire world in your hands".
"my world, not this one. So it doesn"t mean much" The Abyss Watcher replied which made them look at him in shock.
"why didn"t you tell me this before?" the Huntress asked.
Ahri smirked "it seems you two aren"t so close after all" she said and Nidalee started glaring at her.
Grey was worried they were going to fight, but thankfully they reached the dining hall and found Aki, Garen and Lux sitting together in a table.
"hi guys" Lux greeted and noticed their gloomy mood "what"s wrong?".
Grey shook his head "as one of my old friends would say, I"m in quite a pickle" he chuckled "but let"s not worry about that for now".
They all sat down and then Aki remembered something "oh right! Grey, your first skin is out".
The Abyss Watcher then remembered what skins are from Ahri "really? Can we see it?".
"yeah. Do you want to see it now or later?" the summoner asked.
"now actually" Grey replied.
"okay, stand still" Aki said and Grey nodded. He stood up from the table with Silver jumping from his shoulder, and Aki waved her hands.
Grey then appeared in his skin. He was wearing a trench coat, leather armor and a gas mask with green eyes. His sword was replaced by a long pipe and his usual knife was replaced by a butcher knife.
Ahri was disappointed that it didn"t match her skin, while Grey looked at himself.
"so? How does it look?" he asked with his voice m.u.f.fled by the gas mask.
"it"s not bad" Ezreal said with a shrug.
"you look like you came out from Zaun" Garen added.
"you"re half right" Aki said making everyone look at her "this skin was made by the Zaun summoners because Grey helped them in that match a few days ago".
"well, can you change me back?" the Abyss Watcher asked. Aki nodded and waved her hands returning Grey to normal "ah, that"s better" he said as he sat down with them.
Time skip: (brought to you by chibi Grey keeping chibi Ahri and chibi Nidalee away from each other).
It was now evening, Grey was still feeling a little down trying to understand what Kindred said.
It was obvious to the others that he was troubled, and that"s when Garen suggested something "why don"t we go for a few drinks".
The Abyss Watcher perked up "that"s not a bad idea" he said as he stood up while motioning for Silver who jumped on his shoulder "I haven"t had a drink since I got to Runeterra".
"well you"re in luck" Ezreal said standing up with the others "Because the owner of the bar here is Gragas, a champion, who is the best at making drinks" Ezreal added as they started walking outside the dining hall and through the hallway.
After a few minutes, they stopped at a pair of wooden doors. When they got in, they saw it was pretty decent looking.
There was a counter with bottles in shelves behind it. There was many wooden tables around with wooden chairs.
They picked a table and sat together in it. Not long after that, and a big overweight man walked up to them.
He was shirtless, had a few white tattoos, a bald head, and a red beard tied into a braid.
"so what will it be?" he asked pulling out a small note book.
"give us some ale" Grey said and everyone nodded in agreement. Silver then popped from the Abyss Watcher"s shoulder "oh, and some milk".
The man nodded and went to the counter. Ezreal spoke "that was Gragas. Trust me, you"ll love his drinks".
Gragas came back with a tray that had mugs on it. He sat the tray on the table and they all took a mug while Silver got the milk.
Ahri took a drink and coughed slightly feeling the burning in her throat "first time drinking?" Lux asked and the Vastayan nodded "well, Gragas sells pretty strong stuff, so don"t feel bad".
"I have to admit, this is pretty good" Nidalee said after taking a drink and looked at the Abyss Watcher "why don"t you try some?".
Grey looked at his mug, shrugged his shoulders and took a drink... Only to immediately spit it out.
Ahri put a hand on his back as he coughed while Gragas laughed "what"s wrong? Too strong for-".
"what is this? Orange juice?" Grey almost yelled as everyone looked at him surprised. He threw his mug away and looked at Gragas "I said give me ale, not a kids drink".
"so... You spat it out because it was weak?" Ezreal asked to make sure.
"yes" Grey nodded and then looked at the bar owner again "you know what? Just give me your strongest drink, I"ve had a long day" he said remembering the conflict between Ahri and Nidalee.
Gragas looked at him for a couple of seconds before he started laughing "I like you. I"ll be right back".
Gragas took his leave while everyone but Grey went back to drinking, even Ahri now that she"s used to the burning sensation.
After a few seconds, Gragas returned with a single mug and gave it to the Abyss Watcher.
Grey took a drink, looked at his mug then at Gragas "this is your strongest drink?" he asked and the bar owner nodded. Grey sat down his mug and gave a sigh of disappointment "this is just pathetic".
"wait, it"s still weak?!" Lux said surprised.
"this can"t be right" Gragas said scratching his head "this is from my personal stash".
"maybe it"s not the drink, maybe it"s Grey?" Ezreal pointed out.
"Maybe" Grey said with a shrug "I used to drink with giants, and their ale was at least five times stronger than this, not to mention they used entire barrels as mugs" he added which made everyone look at him in shook.
"you must have kidneys made of steel" Lux said and everyone chuckled.
Grey shrugged "well I know one thing for sure, and it"s that I"m not getting drunk any time soon" he said disappointed as he took another drink.
Time skip: (brought to you by chibi Grey drinking from a barrel with chibi tower giant).
It"s been a couple of hours now. Aki left saying she has job to do in the morning.
Nidalee left saying bad things happen when she"s drunk. The huntress also took Silver with her.
Meanwhile, Grey made an important discovery... And it"s that Ahri and alcohol are a bad mix.
"EVERYONE!" said Vastayan just yelled with a blush on her cheeks "and I mean everyone (hic) wants a piece of this" she said pushing up her chest and moving her b.u.t.t in her chair "but they"re not getting it. (hic) because not a single one here is in my league" she then leaned towards Grey and started poking his cheek with a flirty smile "well, maybe you are cutie (hic) but you"ll have to ask nice enough".
Grey, still not effected by the drinks, just sighed with a bored expression. Lux, Ezreal and Garen weren"t drunk yet since they didn"t drink as much as Ahri.
"she doesn"t have a good tolerance, does she?" Lux chuckled feeling bad for Grey.
"hey Lux" Ahri said turning to the light mage "why don"t you and Ezreal (hic) just skip the bulls.h.i.t and start making out already".
"WHAT!?!" both blondes yelled with a blush.
"don"t you touch my sister Ezreal" Garen threatened glaring at the Explorer.
"Garen!" Lux yelled embarra.s.sed.
"don"t make me (hic) use my charm magic on you two" Ahri said pointing at them "because if I do (hic) you won"t be able to feel your legs tomorrow" she smirked and the two blondes blushed heavier.
"alright, I think you had enough" Grey said pulling Ahri"s mug away from her and standing up "let"s get you back to our room".
"I don"t think (hic) I"m able to walk straight right now" Ahri said and smirked "you"ll (hic) have to carry me".
Grey just rolled his eyes. He kelt down, put a hand over Ahri"s shoulder and his other hand at the back of her knees.
He then held her bridal style, and Ahri leand on his chest "my hero~ (hic)" she teased.
The Abyss Watcher ignored her drunk rambling and started walking out of the bar.
He walked through the hallway headed towards their room. While walking, he received a few looks of jealousy, but they went away by a simple glare.
Grey reached their room and managed to open the door. He walked inside with Ahri in his arms and headed to the bedroom.
He laid her on the bed and was about to walk away, but then a hand grabbed the back of his shirt.
"come here you~" Ahri said as she pulled Grey to the bed and straddled him "let"s have some real fun~" she said with a seductive smile.
Ahri leaned forward, but Grey grabbed her shoulders and pushed her back "Ahri, no".
"oh come on" Ahri said and smirked "you have a drunk girl willing to give herself to you, and you say no?".
The Abyss Watcher rolled his eyes "that"s the whole point Ahri, you"re drunk" he said as he pushed her off him "now just sleep it off and you"ll wake up tomorrow feeling better".
Of course, he was sugar coating it. He knew that she would wake up sober, but also with a big hang over.
He got off the bed and walked away a couple of steps when he heard Ahri speak "you think I"m ugly, don"t you?".
Grey stopped in his tracks. He turned around and looked at her while she was sitting on the bed "what?".
"admit it, you think I"m ugly" Ahri said as she started glaring at him "why wouldn"t you? How can you think someone like me is beautiful when you have a lot of normal human girls like Nidalee".
"normal human girls?" Grey asked confused.
"I"m a freak, okay?" Ahri almost yelled "even amongst the Vastaya I"m a freak. I have nine tails and two ears" she said pointing at said body parts "I wish I can just rip them off! Maybe then you"d think I"m beautiful".
"wait, so you think I"m turning you down because you have ears and tails?" the Abyss Watcher asked and Ahri nodded still looking at him. Grey shook his head "Ahri, I don"t care about that" he looked at her again "the reason I"m turning you down is because I care for you. If I"m going to be with you, I don"t want it to be a meaningless one night stand, and certainly not when you"re drunk".
"so, you don"t think I"m ugly?" she asked hope obvious in her voice.
"of course not" he replied "in fact, you"re one of the most beautiful sites I have ever seen, and I"ve lived for a hundred years of seeing a lot of things".
Ahri then gave him a warm smile "thank you Grey. I... Love..." she couldn"t complete her sentence as the alcohol took effect and she fell down on the bed softly snoring.
Grey just shook his head with a smile. He walked up to her and covered her with a blanket before turning around and leaving the room.
He sat on the couch and saw Silver sleeping in the table in front of him. The Abyss Watcher smiled before he started taking off his armor.
Once he was done, he laid down on the couch and looked at the ceiling. Grey couldn"t help but start to think about what Kindred said.
From the old legends, one being came to his mind when he thought of death... Nito, the first of the dead.
(A/N: thank you for reading this, I hope you enjoyed it, please comment in anyway you like and tell me how you like the story so far).