Abyss Watcher In The League V2 - 22 CH22

Third POV:

Ahri was sitting in the dining hall with Aki, Akali, Ezreal and Lux having dinner. But said Vastayan wasn’t very excited.

She had a bored expression on her face, she was resting her head on the palm of her hand while playing with her food.

“hey Ahri, why are you still in your skin?” Lux asked noticing that Ahri still didn’t change back.

“well, I wanted to surprise Grey with it” Ahri sighed “but he’s still not back”.

“the Kumungu jungle is far bigger than a Tomb” Ezreal said “you can’t expect him to find who’s he looking for in just a day”.

“not to mention the way back” Akali added.

Ahri sighed with her ears slightly dropping “I know”.

“good evening” someone greeted, they looked and saw that Zyra was the one who spoke.

The people who knew her were surprised to see her out of the garden since she barely leaves it at all.

“oh, hi Zyra” Ahri greeted and raised an eyebrow “what are you doing here?”.

Zyra sat down besides them while also setting down a tray of food, it was mostly meat.

“even I need food, and I thought of coming here as a little change” she replied taking a bite of chicken, she then looked at Ahri “I see you got a skin?”.

Ahri nodded “yeah, I got it today actually”.

“it’s not bad” she looked around “I also see that Grey isn’t around”.

“thanks” Ahri replied to the complement and looked down “and yeah, Grey is-“.

“in the Kumungu jungle, I know” the carnivore woman finished surprising the others.

“uhmm… How did you know?” Ahri asked.

“because I come from the Kumungu jungle” Zyra replied “most of my children are there and they’ve been feeling Grey’s presence for a while”.

“really?” Ahri questioned how plants can feel someone’s presence, but she put that thought in the back of her head for now “can you contact him?” she asked.

To her disappointment, Zyra shook her head “no, but I can tell you that he’s alright”.

Ahri sighed in relief. She then looked deep in thought “hey, do you think he misses me?”.

“I’m sure he does” Akali said “you’re a really good friend, why wouldn’t he miss you?”.

“yeah” Aki nodded “plus you’re really fun to be around, so I’m sure he misses you”.

“yeah, I guess you’re right” Ahri looked at the others with more confidence “I am a good, and I am fun to be around” she then smiled smugly putting a hand on her chest “in fact, I bet he’s bored out of his mind without me around”.

Grey POV:

Me and Nidalee were back inside her cave resting after the fight with Vordt. The wolf pup was also with us.

We were cooking some meat above the fire while me and Nidalee were laughing at one of my old adventures.

“and then what?” Nidalee asked chuckling.

“after I got in, I heard the door being closed and locked” I continued “I looked and saw it was the onion knight, it was really weird for a knight of Catarina to do, but then he took off the helmet and it turned out to be a guy I know with the name Patches” I started shaking my head “it took me an entire week of killing sludge and skeletons to get out of the Catacombs, when I did, I swore if I ever saw Patches again, I’ll throw him to the leaches in the Irithyll dungeon”.

We both started laughing. For some reason, whenever Patches is in a story it always sounds funny… Damn bastard never seems to go Hollow.

The meat was done, so we split it in half and we both took one. I took a piece of mine and gave it to the pup.

“here you go boy” I said giving him his meal. He barked and started digging in.

Me and Nidalee just looked at him while he ate “you know, he seems very fond of you” she said and looked at me “maybe you should keep him?”.

“that’s up to him I guess” I replied and then looked at the pup “do you want to stay with me?”.

The pup barked with a smile and Nidalee chuckled “I guess that’s a yes, so what we’ll you call him?”.

“I would call him Sif but that’s taken” I said remembering Artorias’s dear friend, I then noticed the color of the pup’s fur “how about Silver? Do you like that name?” the pup smiled again and I nodded “Silver it is”.

We continued eating for a while and when we were done, Nidalee spoke “hey Grey, how will we get the Institute? It must take days to get there by foot maybe weeks”.

“they have something called a transport station” I replied “it should get us to the Institute quickly, and I know the location of the closest two”.

She raised an eyebrow “really? Where?”.

“one is in Demacia, the other one is in Noxus” not a second after the name Noxus left my lips and I found Nidalee’s spear stuck in the wall near my head.

“I am not going to Noxus” she growled.

I just looked at the spear unaffected then back at her “alright, Demacia it is then”.

“that’s better” she nodded as I pulled out her spear and threw it back at her “I know a way to Demacia, but that’s for tomorrow”.

“alright” I said and then looked at the other side of the cave “well, at least when I come back I’ll have a souvenir” I motioned to Vordt’s mace that was left after the fight.

Any normal person would have had problems lifting it, but thanks to my training to carry Farron Great sword it wasn’t a problem.

“I still can’t believe we killed it” Nidalee’s said.

“‘him’ not ‘it’” I corrected “he is a person, or was until he gave himself to become an Outrider Knight”.

“I have a question” she said looking at me “you seemed to know him, but he didn’t know you, what was that about?”.

I thought back on when I met Vordt before answering “well… When I met him he was already insane, but more in control, and he certainly wasn’t a giant brute. Something must have happened to him” I wasn’t an idiot, it was obvious what actually happened “poor soul must have been corrupted by the Abyss” I mumbled.

“was he a friend of yours?” Nidalee asked.

“a little, yeah” I thought on my encounters with the Vile watchdog. I didn’t know Vordt well since he was already insane from Sulyvahn’s eyes.

In fact, if it wasn’t for my… Special connection to the Dancer, he would have killed me the first time we met, but he was still someone who did his duty to the end.

“so where do you come from Grey?” Nidalee asked gaining my attention “your clothes are a little dark to be Demacian, and your too honorable to be Noxian”.

“oh” I chuckled thinking on how to answer that “I actually don’t come from Runeterra itself” my answer made Nidalee look at me confused so I explained “you see, I come from another world. I accidentally ended up being sent here. I originally went to the Institute to find a way back home, but decided to stay here instead”.

“so… You’re really not from Runeterra?” she asked and I shook my head. Nidalee then gained a suspicious look “so does your world have jungles?”.

I tilted my head “why do you ask?”.

“I just thought it was weird how well you handled yourself in the jungle before we met” she said her look not changing.

“I don’t know what-“.

“you are a really bad lier, you know?” Nidalee said with a deadpan look “you can’t even look at someone when you’re lying”.

She’s smarter than I took her for. I chuckled before answering honestly “you got me, in truth, I’m a hunter”.

“I thought so” she smirked in victory.

“my foster father taught me most of what I know” I explained “when it came to hunting he was the best out there, no one was as good as he was, not in my world and not even on Runeterra”.

Nidalee rolled her eyes “aren’t you exaggerating?”.

I shook my head “no I’m not” I took a deep breath and looked at the fire remembering my father “what made my father so strong wasn’t just how strong he was as a hunter, but also his morals. His motto was, I don’t hunt for sport, I don’t hunt for joy, I don’t hunt for profit, I hunt to release my prey from the dreadful curse known as the Darksign”.

“what’s a Darksign?” Nidalee asked, she looked like she understood the beginning but not the final part.

I took a deep breath ready to explain what the curse is, hopefully she won’t have nightmares.

Third POV:

Grey told Nidalee of the Darksign and being an accursed undead. She was horrified to know such a thing existed.

“so, you’re undead?” she asked and the Abyss Watcher nodded. Nidalee looked down for a second before asking something she thought she would regret “how many times have you died?”.

Grey sighed “I honestly don’t know, I lost count a long time ago. But that’s where my father come in” he said changing the subject to what they were originally talking about “you see, there is a way to not come back. It’s for whoever killed you to take your soul, like this” Grey reached into his cape and pulled out a white flame that seemed to be more of a silhouette “this is Vordt’s soul”.

“wait, that’s his soul?” Nidalee said absolutely surprised.

“yes” Grey nodded “but it’s sovereignless, it doesn’t have a conscious, or a mind” he explained and Nidalee relaxed learning that “you see, my father would hunt the undead who went hollow and take their souls to make sure they don’t come back and no longer suffer. But don’t take his actions wrong, he wasn’t a psycho who hunted to get souls. You see, my father truly saw the hunt as a way out of the curse and only hunted those who went hollow or wanted to be set free. He never hunted anyone who was sane or human. The biggest proof that he didn’t hunt for souls, is that he would bury them”.

“he… Would bury souls?” Nidalee asked as Grey put Vordt’s soul away.

The Abyss Watcher nodded “yes, he would bury the souls he gained and put a rose above them to honor the memory of those who were lost to the curse. He would hunt, plant a rose, hunt and plant, again and again, before he knew it, my father had an entire garden full of roses, and even then he kept at it”.

Nidalee was amazed. from what she understood, Grey’s foster father was truly a selfless person who saw hunting as a duty and a purpose.

Grey then decided to change the subject “hey I have a question, you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to” Grey looked at Nidalee “why do you live in the jungle?”

Nidalee smiled sadly. The huntress hugged her knees and looked at the fire. Grey was about to apologize but Nidalee beat him to speaking.

“when I was a child, my parents wanted to travel through the Kumungu jungle to see it’s magical energy from the rune wars” her smile vanished “but… We didn’t prepare well. They barely lasted a week, I would have been gone too if it weren’t for a cougar tribe to take me in. I stayed with them after that, I learned how to survive and after a few years the magic of the jungle awoke something inside me”.

The huntress kept looking at the for while hugging her knees as she told the story.

Grey moved besides her and put a hang on her shoulder “it’s alright” Nidalee looked at him “I know losing family is hard, but you have to move forward, they wouldn’t have wanted to become depressed over it”.

Nidalee smiled with a pink shade dusting her cheeks “thanks”.

They saw Silver jump between them and stretch his legs with a yawn, he then circled himself before laing down.

Grey chuckled “well, I guess it is about time we go to bed”.

Nidalee nodded, the huntress then gained a cat like smile and scooted closer to Grey “or… We could spend the night doing something else. You know, relieve some stress”.

Grey blushed slightly and scooted a little away from her “don’t take this the wrong way, but I’d like to spend tonight sleeping”.

“are you sure~?” Nidalee teased.

“yes” Grey nodded and laid down on his side of the cave near Silver.

Nidalee chuckled “alright” she said before laing down on her side and they both went to sleep.

Time skip: (brought to you by chibi Nidalee hiding in the bushes following chibi Grey who is walking around the jungle).

Nidalee was the first to wake up next morning, she stretched and found Grey and Silver still sleeping.

The huntress chuckled “and I thought his smell is the only thing he has in common with wolves” she said referring to Grey’s smell and he’s sleeping habit that Silver shares “alright you two, get up”.

Silver was the first to wake up and then Grey followed suit, the Abyss Watcher got up and stretched “morning, so are we leaving now?”.

Nidalee nodded as he stood up “yes, unless you want to reach Demacia after sunset”.

“alright” he said as he started putting on his equipment. He also grabbed Vordt’s mace and strapped it to his back.

Nidalee was impressed he could lift it while still carrying his great sword. Meanwhile, Silver jumped on Grey’s leg and started crawling on his body.

The pup got inside Grey’s cape and popped it’s head out of his right shoulder. Silver looked at Grey and barked happily.

Grey chuckled “whatever makes you happy buddy” he said as he and Nidalee exited the cave.

Nidalee started leading them through the jungle. She led them to a place where the trees end and there’s only grass left.

In the distance, they can see a city with large buildings made of gold and white stone.

Nidalee stopped and looked back at the jungle one last time. She took a deep breath, and looked at the Abyss Watcher “alright, let’s go”.

Grey nodded and they both started walking towards the city through the grass fields.

Time skip: (brought to you by chibi Grey and chibi cougar Nidalee taking a nap together).

Grey and Nidalee were traveling for half the day, they spent the time talking and getting to know each other.

Nidalee told Grey about the forest and the things that live there, while Grey told her about being an Abyss Watcher and what the Abyss is.

Like everyone, the huntress compared it to the Void, apparently one of it’s creatures go to the forest. But when Grey explained further she understood that the Abyss was worse.

it was already late afternoon when they reached the city and it won’t be long until sunset.

When they entered the city, they were greeted with the site of marble streets, golden decorations, giant statues and knights walking around.

The Abyss Watcher understood why Ezreal compared it to his home. It reminded him of being in Lothric.

“so what do we do now?” Nidalee asked walking the streets with Grey and ignoring the looks they got.

“I have an idea” Grey said as he walked up to a man that was standing besides the street “excuse me?”.

The man looked at Grey and became scared of his attire “y-yes?”.

“I’m looking for the house of Lightshield” Grey asked.

“oh, the royal family?” the man relaxed hearing Grey’s kind tone. He then pointed at the left road “head in that direction, and take the second turn to the right. It’s the big castle with golden gates, you can’t miss it”.

“thank you” Grey nodded and returned to Nidalee before they both followed the man’s directions.

“so what do you want with the royal family?” Nidalee asked hearing the conversation.

“I know the prince” Grey replied simply.

“and how?” Nidalee asked again, Grey didn’t exactly look that he would know royalty.

“he’s a champion in the Institute” Grey answered and Nidalee just shrugged.

They reached the castle the man spoke of. There were guards near the wall but only two near the gates.

When they got close, the guards near the gates pointed their spears at them “hold it! What is your business here?”.

“is Prince Jarvan home?” Grey asked not caring about the weapons that are being pointed at him “I wish to speak to him”.

“why? And where do you come from?” the second guard asked “I would say you’re Noxians” he then motioned to Grey’s hat “but I never saw a Noxian with a hat like that”.

Grey grumbled while Nidalee snickered, she had to agree that Grey’s hat wasn’t… Usual.

Grey took a glance at her and she looked away smirking before looking back at the guards “I’m his friend, and I want to see him”.

The first guard laughed “yeah right. You’re friends with the prince, and my girlfriend is Fiora Laurent” he said sarcastically. Then he glared at them “get out of here before we hurt you”.

“or you could leave and the lady can stay” the second guard said as he started walking towards Nidalee “I wouldn’t mind having fun with her”.

However, when the guard got close, Nidalee grabbed him by the collar, spun around and threw him at one of the walls.

The first guard and the ones near the wall stared wide eyed at what she did. Sliver dug himself into Grey’s cape to hide from the fight that is about to break down.

While Grey… Just sighed “well, it’s not like this is the first time I’ve broken into a castle” he then put his hand where the neck of his shirt is covering his chin “which reminds me, I wonder how prince Lothric is doing. Last I heard he was going to be crucified. I sure hope Lorian was able to do something about that”.

(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).