"Akali! This is not the Kinkou way!" Kennen scolded.
Orion winced, rubbing his stomach as she backed away with a guilty expression. She reluctantly placed the warm plate on his lap and then sucked in air as if trying to show restraint.
"My name is Akali Jhomen Tethi! Now who are you?"
"Jhomen Tethi? Mayyam's daughter?" Orion asked absent-mindedly as he stared hungrily at the food.
'Ramen!'
His gaze returned to Akali, who suddenly fell silent, biting her bottom lip and clutching a kunai pendant with a painful, bitter expression.
"In name only..."
"That's, uh..." Orion tried to stay focused, swallowing saliva and feeling hunger twist his stomach in knots before giving up. "This ramen smells delicious."
Akali blinked with an empty stare. Orion picked up the chopsticks and began digging in, slurping loudly until, a few slurps later, he finally noticed the silence.
"Sorry, I'm starving. Literally," Orion mumbled with noodles hanging out of his mouth, raising his arm to show his anorexia.
Orion slurped again. "Thanks for the food!"
Kennen sighed, shaking his head with mock exasperation, while Akali stifled a giggle despite the irritation flickering across her face. The two exchanged a glance before breaking into quiet laughter together at Orion.
'I shouldn't ignore Akali's trouble but... you know what? No. I'm hungry! It can wait at least a few minutes! Knowing my luck, something will stop me from eating later!'
Orion grumbled internally while continuing to devour the meal. Each bite dulled the ache in his body, the lingering fatigue melting into a quiet, exhausted satisfaction.
Once halfway through his food, Orion covered his mouth to burp and mumbled between chews, "I'm Orion. I'll be helping out for the time being."
"What help can an outsider provide?"
Akali's expression shifted from childish joy as she watched him eating to one of hostility, as if she had caught herself doing something she wasn't supposed to.
"You should leave! Strangers only cause problems!"
"Take back those giggles then," Orion said, pointing at her with his chopsticks.
"I-I already did! Shut up!" Akali stammered, her face flushing with embarrassment. She shot an irritated glance at Kennen, whose renewed giggles fueled her frustration.
"I don't believe you," Orion teased, unable to help himself as he dug back into the food. Akali scowled and protested, her fists clenched at her sides.
"What can this useless kid help us with?!" Akali snapped at Kennen. "I bet he doesn't know how to dispel spirits let alone how to fight one!"
'Well, she's not wrong.'
Kennen shrugged, clearly amused by the spectacle. "You're absolutely, one-hundred percent correct Akali. Nothing right now!"
"Hah! Useless! Useless! Weak! Worthless!" Akali taunted, her voice loud and exaggerated, each word emphasized as she stepped closer until her face was just inches from Orion's.
Her glare burned a hole through him, expecting a reaction.
Slurp.
Orion continued munching on his food with an indifferent expression.
'What's up with her? Is she just being a normal kid or has someone been telling her these things?'
"Akali!" Kennen scolded sharply.
"Akali!"
An angry voice echoed from the door, far colder and sharper, causing Akali's body to stiffen instantly as if struck by a bolt of lightning.
A teenage girl, possibly closer to Orion's age and dressed similarly to Akali, appeared at the entrance. Dark hair in a ponytail, amber eyes, and a furious expression.
What caught Orion's attention, however, was her missing right leg. The injury looked old, yet not old enough for her to have fully learned how to live with it. Her balance was unsteady, breathing labored, as she clearly struggled to race here.
Orion set down his almost-finished food, worried that another conflict would break out near him.
"Faey..." Akali squeaked, her hand clutching her kunai pendant again as if it were her shield and comfort.
"Mayyam tasked me with delivering the food!"
Faey's sharp glare lingered on her as she snapped, restrained anger in her voice.
"You stole my task and I hear you taunting and disrespecting our guest from across the temple!"
Akali took a wider stance, raising her voice defensively.
"But he's an outsider! What if he—"
"The Kinkou way teaches compassion and discipline, not hostility. Go! Reflect on your actions," Faey scolded.
It was clear she was restraining herself, her grip tightening on her crutches, knuckles whitening from the pressure.
Giving Orion one last defiant look, Akali's gaze dropped. She muttered emotionally, "Yes Faey..."
Without lifting her gaze to meet Faey's disapproving glare, Akali sulked past her outside.
Kennen, concerned, called out, "Wait!" and darted after her.
"The things youth can get away with," Faey commented with a rueful smile as she slowly made her way in, sweat beading her forehead. "Even when they ruin your life."
Her gaze, heavy with resentment, dropped to her missing leg as she struggled into a sitting position. Orion watched sympathetically at first until it finally clicked, and his eyes widened in shock.
'She lost her leg because of Akali?!'
Orion blinked with surprise before swallowing, a deep frown forming as he looked down at his own scars that tickled bitterly.
"Yeah... I know the feeling. I'm in this state because of—" Orion paused when he almost said Jinx before continuing more softly, "—because I was trying to protect kids I knew."
Faey glanced at his wounds before looking at her own again, her expression tightening.
"Were they safe when you left?"
"...I don't know."
'I don't know what the Ascended are doing. Did they escape the Enforcer chase Topside? I don't know if Silco got his way again. I don't know anything. It could've all been for nothing.'
'Was it worth it? All because I wanted to be around familiar faces...'
Orion slowly finished his food as the internal conflict that had briefly disappeared in the serenity of his environment crept back into his mind through her simple question.
'Maybe it would be better to never return...'
But leaving meant abandoning the faces that now haunted him the most. Flashes of the gang crying, his dead parents, and the constant suffering of those struggling to survive.
Orion paused again as another realization dawned on him.
'Since when did I care so much about this world?'
"Was it worth it?"
Faey's voice cut through his thoughts, her own pain evident as if she'd heard his unspoken turmoil and shared the weight of the question.
His expression tightened and the bowl in his hands suddenly felt heavier. Peaceful surroundings, clean air, calmness, all these luxuries he previously took for granted and tempted him to say that none of his previous pain had been worth it.
Who wouldn't stay in these lush green lands instead of returning to the Undercity?
But it wasn't home. It wasn't his home.
"In a weird way... yes," Orion answered quietly, drawing Faey's gaze. "I didn't endure pointlessly; I was trying to protect everyone. The reward never matched the pain but I endured it anyway."
Faey stared at him for a long moment, her hands resting on her lap, contemplating his words before whispering, "It is a shame you were born a foreigner. You would have fit in well here."
"Hah! No way." Orion snorted and chuckled. Faey looked a little taken aback but Orion continued, gesturing at her leg. "How did that happen?"
"I was protecting our people," Faey began. Her posture remained stiff, her tone measured, the kind of composure taught under the Kinkou discipline.
But perhaps because they shared a similar pain, her restraint cracked.
"Everything was going well. I would've kept everyone safe... but then she showed up."
"Akali?"
She nodded and Orion could see the bitter resentment returning as her fists clenched on her lap.
"I can never become a Kinkou warrior," she said, her lips trembling. "Not even an acolyte..."
Tears gathered in her amber eyes, her voice wavering with emotion despite her struggle to hold it in.
"My dream is shattered."
Orion's chest tightened. He could feel the weight of her loss. A familiar, suffocating kind of grief. He looked at her missing limb, the strain in her shoulders, and couldn't help but sympathize. If he'd been a moment too early or too late during his own battles, he might have ended up just like her, or worse.
'Is my healing magic anywhere close to Soraka's? Or hell, even Viktor's augmented body?'
The thought caused excitement to bubble up within him.
'Excitement?' Orion shook his head, quelling it, or at least forcing it down to a simmer. He didn't know if it would work and he couldn't test anything without Shen around.
'Best not say anything yet. I don't want to bring her hopes up with empty words.'
Still...
"Don't give up hope, Faey," Orion said at last, smiling faintly as he nudged her shoulder. "There may be a way in the future. It just hasn't been found."
Faey blinked, silent for a moment, and her gaze softened. Then, quietly, almost to herself, she whispered.
"That's what Akali used to believe too."