A Light in the Dark ~ Ezreal x Kai'Sa ~ League of Legends

Chapter 1 - An Unpaid Debt

"I am Ezreal, the prodigal explorer," he announced, flicking his golden hair to the side.

Half of Kai'Sa saw this rag-tag explorer, with holes in his clothes and dirt in his hair and thought how pitiful he looked. He had cowered instinctively when she blasted the voidlings away from him earlier, and she could sense that he was no warrior. However, the other half of her saw his fluffy hair, his wry smile and his boyish charm and couldn't help but smile a little.

But, as soon as the smile touched her lips, she felt it.

The itch.

Every inch of her flesh crawled and skittered like a thousand razor-sharp needles dancing on her body. She felt the hunger brewing within her like a ravenous wolf howling at the night sky.

"Time to hunt..." Kai'Sa said to herself, almost inaudibly. Ezreal's smile faltered slightly and he tilted his head a little.

"Sorry? I didn't quite catch that," he said, noticing how her body had tensed up. He thought he'd seen about every reaction possible to his introduction over the years. He'd seen people laugh at him, ask him to leave the building and once even burst into tears. He hadn't tried crashing a funeral since then. However, in all his years, no one had ever mumbled something and stared into the distance as if they were having a traumatic flashback.

"Oh, nothing, I just remembered something is all," Kai'Sa replied dismissively. She noticed that her right hand was awkwardly holding her left arm across her body as though it didn't know where else to go. She placed it back at her side, slightly confused.

"Alright, no problem!" Ezreal said, laughing it off and turning away, "man, I haven't had a fight like that in a while," he said, poking a voidling husk with his finger, "I was nearly a goner back there." Ezreal stopped for a moment and turned back towards Kai'Sa, a smile lying peacefully upon his lips. She noticed it was different to the cheeky grin she'd seen him wear earlier. No, this smile was genuine and warm and incredibly endearing. "Thanks," he said simply, "I owe you my life." Kai'Sa's face bloomed rose red and she turned to the side, avoiding his gaze.

"Oh, really it's no problem," she said quickly, her voice losing the control and authority it usually wielded so definitively.

"No, really, I'm serious. If you hadn't swooped in when you did, I'd be bug food right about now," he said, stepping forward and taking her hand, "really, I owe you one." Once again, Kai'Sa saw that smile on his face and she couldn't help but smile a little herself. For just a moment, they enjoyed the peace.

"However, I've never been known to leave a debt unpaid," Ezreal announced, pointing proudly into the air, "so, what would you have of me, m' lady?" He bowed his head, lowering his hand with a flourish in a crude mockery of Demacian etiquette. Kai'Sa was silent for a moment before bursting into laughter as though she'd never heard a joke in her life. Ezreal was a little surprised at first but her laughter was contagious and it wasn't long before the two of them were laughing together. Once their jubilations had subsided, Kai'Sa smiled at Ezreal, an unfamiliar thought forming in her mind.

"Well, Ezreal, perhaps you could repay me by accompanying me for a while," she said, her cheeks brightening, just a little. Ezreal smiled at her in turn, the same warmth emanating from him as before.

"I'd like that," he replied, his smile broadening as he saw a hint of glee twinkling in her eyes.