7 Days at a Piltover Hotel (HIATUS: Jan 2023)

Day 1: Talking

Ahri made me cry.

The potion she put in my drink was a powerful medicine from Ionia. Syndra once told me that Ionian parents gave it to their children when they were having trouble expressing their thoughts or sadness.

It wasn't supposed to make them cry though, so I physically forced Ahri to admit that she gave me ten times higher than the concentration recommended.

"Okay, Katarina, enough of strangling Ahri. We all know you're sad, so just cry all you want. Even if you deny it, no one here's going to believe you," Irelia said as she drank a normal glass of Ahri's drinks.

"Then why don't we start with yours first then, Irelia? Since you think it's so easy to talk about heartbreak," I hissed, releasing Ahri. I was grabbing her by the collar of her white chemise.

"Fine then, I'll tell you," Irelia said, gulping down the drink, then reached for another one. The night hadn't really started yet, but from Irelia's red cheek and openness, anyone could tell that the Blade Dancer was already extremely tipsy.

"Girl, did you spike her drink with the potion too?" I asked Ahri quietly while trying to not laugh at tipsy Irelia.

"Yeah, it's the same one as yours," she answered gleefully. No wonder Irelia was acting like that. She belonged in the same category as Ahri and me: heavyweight.

"Wait, so if Irelia's already going down, that means I will too? What type of potion is this? I can't even taste it, but the effects are that strong?" I exclaimed, watching Irelia giggle and roll onto the carpeted floor.

"You only had one sip and you're already crying, so you should know how strong it is," Ahri smiled slyly, "Sorry Kat, I guess the truth behind your little secret is coming out tonight." Shit. I came here half wanting to tell them, and half not wanting to, and now I don't even get to decide if I want to?

"So a few years ago, I bumped into Talon when I went to Noxus," Irelia sighed all of a sudden, then bursted into tears, "but then we broke up."

I didn't know how to react since Talon was my younger brother, but it looked like no one else in the room knew how to react to it either, so I felt a bit better.

"Can you elaborate a bit more?" Ahri asked softly, giving her another drink. Irelia was now sitting on the carpet, crying like a child. Nevertheless, Irelia took Ahri's offer and gulped it down.

"This was before we met at the Institute of War," she sniffed, "Back then, I was a teenager, and Karma ordered me to go to Noxus to negotiate with the Black Rose.

"I accepted the quest and embarked on my journey. I carried a tent and food with me, because the Black Rose didn't know I was going, so naturally I probably didn't have a place to stay.

"When I arrived at Noxus, locals helped me find the location of the Black Rose's headquarters, and I was grateful. But when the locals left and I took my first step into the organization's grounds, I was captured immediately. It was scary, being surrounded by twenty sword wielders.

"And, as you all probably expected, a young Talon came to my rescue. He scooped me up, carried me, and jumped over walls and walls until we arrived at his house, or something. Talon took me in for the next few days, and helped me set up meetings with Swain and others. That's how we met."

Irelia sighed, finishing her long speech, emptied her drink then grabbed another one. She swirled the liquid and looked at the ground quietly. No wonder I couldn't find Talon at home for an entire month; he was hiding an Ionian girl in his quarters at the Black Rose.

"I honestly didn't know you had a thing going with Talon," Akali exclaimed, "I thought your boy was someone else, like, an Ionian."

"Unfortunately my love life isn't as smooth as Shen and yours," Irelia sighed again and wiped her tears with the bottom of Ahri's chemise. The fox looked at her disgustedly, but didn't say a word. Ahri was probably shocked that the boy was Talon, too.