Grudge Match - Lux vs Talon (Incubus Dreams & Cal)

[Incubus Dreams]

Talon, The Blade's Shadow, had managed to infiltrate deeper into the kingdom of Demacia than he had ever managed to do before. Driven by the urge for a rematch after his most recent defeat in the Fields of Justice, the Noxian assassin had slipped passed the Demacian borders under the cover of night and now found himself perched atop a roof across the street from the home of Lux, The Lady of Luminosity, in the Demacian capital city.

Images of that humiliating defeat surged through his head as he sat, watching the home for any signs that the young Demacian noble might be home. Talon had always been regarded as a master of the blade and, prior to being defeated by the headmaster of the Noxian House Du Couteau. Even afterward, he had been counted among the three greatest blademasters in all of Valoran by many. To have been defeated by a little Demacian noble, all because of her older brother, Garen, coming to her rescue, was more than his pride could handle. He had come here, risked his neck by invading enemy territory, for one reason and one reason only; a one on one rematch with the young blonde-haired woman. Here, stalking her home like a predator in the night, he would certainly be able to get that chance.

All that he needed to make his move was a sign that his prey was in, or for her to come walking up the street as she returned to her luxurious home. As the Noxian waited, the wind bellowed in his heavy leather cloak, lined with triangular bladed caps. His eyes, a burnt reddish-brown in color, watched the door and the windows from beneath the azure hood that hid his features from the world. His eyes listened beyond the blue cloth; trying to pick up the sounds of approaching footsteps. It was growing late. She would soon make an appearance; this the master assassin was sure of.

 

[Cal]

As one of the youngest women to be tested by the College of Magic, Luxanna was a prodigy in her own right. She wielded a unique power of the light and arcane, and quickly became renowned for her bold and daring achievements. She was quick to react, nimble to move and hard to kill. Lux, however, was anything if not young. The early praise of hailing her as a prodigy had given her a cheeky, perhaps reckless nature. And it is this nature that found her eye to eye with Talon upon the Fields of Justice only hours prior.

The Demacian noble had been caught, and she knew that she would lose the fight. She had shielded herself, she’d tried to slow him, try to keep her distance from him, tried to trick him, tried to hide.. but it was to no avail. Had Garen not flanked Talon, using the element of surprise, Lux could have never dealt that final blow, thus proclaiming her victor and increasing her standing with her people even more. Normally, she drew the affection of the Damacian government, military and citizens alike, and defeating someone as notorious as Talon only increased her status.

She’d stood over him haughtily, her hands on her hips, a slow smile curled across her lips. It had been a petty thing to do and it only added to the humiliation, she thought as she ran a hand through her long blonde locks. It worried her. She wanted to use her gifts as an inspiration, not one to anger her opponents. And the anger she’d seen flash briefly in Talon’s eyes was enough to haunt her.

The lady of Luminosity let out a very unlady-like grunt as she shrugged off her spauldrons. She’d just said her goodbye’s to Garen after having be debriefed, and now walked leisurely into her chambers, shutting the door tightly behind her. Her wristsguards came next, and she rested her long, ivory staff in the corner with the rest of her assorted weapons. Her hands, soft, slender fingers, came up to remove the hairband that kept her hair in place. Long blonde locks tumbled down her shoulders as she moved to her window, to gaze over the Demacian city. Her bright blue eyes lingered, seemingly lost in thought, before she turned and started removing the clasps of her breastplate.

 

[Incubus Dreams]

When Lux approached her window overlooking the great capital city of Demacia, a wicked grin creeped across the Noxian assassin's lips. From his perch among the shadows, Lux would have never been able to see him though he was merely across the street from her great stonework home. Of course, he was several floors up from where her window sat which would have made detecting his presence all the harder in and of itself.

Finally, his prey had appeared, and it seemed as though she was preparing to turn in for the night. The fact that such a lovely young woman was undressing before him had not yet sunk into the male blademaster's mind. All he saw in those moments was The Lady of Luminosity; the woman whom had disgraced him upon the Fields of Justice. Where most men would have been overwhelmed with lust at the idea of having this young noblewoman strip for them, Talon felt only anger. His thoughts were of revenge; not of sex. Despite Luxanna's renown beauty, all Talon could imagine shoving into her at in that moment was the blade of a dagger.

When the blonde Demacian girl turned her back to the window as she began to fiddle with the buckles of her breastplate, Talon slid from the shadows of the roof and began to descend the building. He was careful to remain hidden, lest Lux turn around, as he started to position himself to make his move. He would wait, of course, until the blonde young woman had fully dis-armored herself. Why should he strike now when Lux was taking the time and the effort to make herself more vulnerable? What fool struck when he knew that the enemy was ready for him?

Well, perhaps Lux was not 'ready for him'. How could she be? Certainly, she had no clue that she was being watched and stalked. Still, she was armored and that would soon change. There was no need to be impatient.

When Talon had reached the lip of the first outcropping on his way down the side of the building, he quickly tucked himself back into the shadows and looked toward the window; both to make sure that he had not been seen and to note what Luxanna was doing now. Keeping her in his sights would be vital to his operations here; both for offense and defense. If his eyes remained on her, then he could strike when she was most vulnerable and he could ensure that she did not get the drop on him first. Being the first to strike here would be key, lest Lux call for help from her brother or the house guards.

 

[Cal]

“I never think about losing.”

The words she’d said to Talon before defeating him still rung clear in her head. As if she’d planned it all. As if it had been part of her trickery. It hadn’t, and it made a very foreign chill run down her spine. She swallowed the sense of bitterness as she unclasped her breastplate and laid it out on her lavish armchair. The servants would come the next morning and make sure it would be shined to perfection. Underneath her breastplate was a simple dark blue body suit that wasn’t very flattering nor stylish, but proved to be thick enough to ward off simple hand-to-hand combat attacks, should it ever come to that.

The plated boots and skirt were next to follow, placed neatly upon that very same chair. She was meticulous, something uncharacteristically mature for her age. Her armor discarded, she stretched her arms high above her head for a moment, straining the muscles to a near painful point. With a grimace, her hand came down to her side, knowing fully well that the bruises she must be developing would be bright purple and blue by now. Strangely enough, Lux did not feel comfortable. Her body ached, the smell of stale sweat reached her nostrils and she scowled in distaste. Her feet instantly carried her into the adjacent bathroom, and she disappeared from sight. Vision wards were not necessary in the house of the prestigious Crownguards. Simply put, no one dared to. It was not a necessity. Call it recklessness, call it stupidity. Garen told her that if anyone tried to infiltrate their home, they’d meet a swift death. It wasn’t on the forefront of her mind, when she turned the handle of the shower.

The shower she took was scalding, quick and left her feeling more out of breath and uncomfortable than when she had entered. Something irked her. Made her wary. At least she was clean, she mused to herself. When Lux emerged from her bathing chambers, she was wearing her family’s colors with pride. Her long slender legs were adorned with dark blue silk and a golden motive, her upper body covered in a similarly colored sleeping blouse. She was just finishing buttoning the top button when she walked back into her room, fully intent to forget about her deluded win of trickery and sleep the bitter feeling away.

 

[Incubus Dreams]

When Lux disappeared from the view of the window, the Noxian assassin swore silently. Had she seen him? Had she retreated to rearm herself and take to the offensive? Talon did not think this was the case, but his muscles tensed as they prepared to dash from his hiding place in the shadows all the same. While Luxanna was smart, she was not very wise. If she had seen him, Talon was confident that she would have struck out at him then and there. Though the young woman was skilled at magic, strategy was a whole other game that the brash little blonde had not mastered.

As the moments drug on, stretching into short minutes that felt like hours to the hidden intruder, Talon's muscles relaxed. He had returned to his stone-still vigil over the Demacian household while he watched for signs of Lux to reappear. When finally she did, Talon's caution turned to confidence. He could tell now why she had vanished from his sight. Her newly donned night clothes and the obvious dampness of her blonde locks told the observant stalker all that he needed to know. He had not been discovered; his prey had merely retreated to the showers as she readied herself for bed.

This was perfect. Talon could wait until Lux had fallen asleep to make his move. She would truly be helpless against him then and he would have his revenge for that humiliating defeat that he had been dealt. Talon was nothing, if not patient, so he would wait there in the shadows. He watched Lux's window closely, keeping a vigil as he waited for her to retreat to her bed; giving her ample time to drift off into a deep sleep.

 

[Cal]

As always, Lux would grab the golden inlined brush from her nightstand and take it to her hair with vigor. The thick wet manes were beaten into submission, as she rhythmically brushed her hair back. She’d continue this painstakingly boring ritual for several minutes until she was satisfied. Only then would she stop, place the brush on her nightstand again and slip into the bed underneath the covers. Sleep would not come easily though, Lux would soon discover. She’d shift and turn and curl and move, but comfort would not come to her.

Suddenly she was brought back to that same place a year prior. The Demacian military had just recruited Lux and was training her to participate in cover operations. The thrill of it was incredible, it made her feel alive. No longer in the shadow of Garen, she finally found something that she excelled at and that people praised her for. It was true, Lux was renowned for her stealth and her downright daring attitude. She remembered her last great feat, a precarious and delicate mission that took her deep in the chambers of the Noxian High Command. Upon returning home, Garen had spoken to her for the first time in what seemed years.

When he showered his adoration on her and his respect, Lux had felt she was finally on the road to something great. The tricks she used to play on others, making people believe they had seen things that did not actually exist, were history. Gone was the rebellious cheeky youth, when the League had drafted her. She had never felt happier, until tonight, her victory still bitter in her mouth. She had been naive to think that an ill-won victory would bring her peace of mind. And perhaps, just maybe, it was Lux’s youthful stupidity that her thoughts strayed to Talon once more. He was the enemy. He was Noxus. He deserved every single bit of what he deserved. Didn’t he?

It was with these thoughts and ideas that she fell into a deep and fitful sleep. Dreams would plague her, make her squirm, make her restless.

 

[Incubus Dreams]

When Lux disappeared from the window again, the Noxian assassin's body tensed once more. Gone, however, were the thoughts that he had been discovered. No, the tensing was merely a reaction trained into him by a life of fighting and killing. It was instinct and it had kept him alive from the time that he was just a boy. He did not fight it; did not force himself to relax. In time, that would come naturally as he waited.

Talon remained there in the shadows, motionless for what seemed like hours. Patience was the one virtue that the blademaster was not lacking and in this situation, he had used it quite liberally. He wanted to be sure that his prey was asleep when he made his move so that she could not cry out for help or fight back. True; this was not a fair rematch but that mattered little to Talon. All that mattered was settling the score and he cared not how he did it. All that mattered was making Lux pay for her cheap victory in the most degrading, humiliating, and painful way imaginable. To be attacked and beaten to within an inch of her life in her own home would certainly do the trick no matter her conscious state. Such an attack would not only shame Lux, but all of Demacia; proof that even their grandest city was not safe from Noxus' finest blades.

After some time, Talon carefully, slowly, and silently made his way to the streets below before he began to ascend the very building where Lux lived. The elegant design of the stone buildings made climbing them easy. Outcroppings created by windows and the natural surfaces of the stones were plentiful and in minutes, the assassin was just outside the window where he had seen the young blonde woman.

Inside, sleeping upon her bed, Talon set sights upon his prey once more. The bright light of the full moon provided him vision enough to see that the noblewoman was in her bed, but not enough to make out any details from this distance. The assassin would need to gain access to the room if he was to get close enough to make out anything more than her silhouette from across the darkened room.

Though he could not tell if Luxanna was even truly asleep, Talon retrieved a small metal pick from his pocket and began to work against the window's sole defense. If the young lady inside was awake, Talon would surely need to retreat, but the assassin was more than confident that he had given the young woman ample time to drift off into her own subconscious thoughts. The thought that he was only minutes from his revenge drove the Noxian blademaster forward; strengthening his already steely resolve and emboldening his hardened nerves.

After several moment, the window's lock popped free and Talon slowly pushed it open. After a half night's waiting, he had made it. His patience had paid off and Talon was carefully climbing into the sleeping chambers of his prey. She was helpless against him now; a child before a hungry lion ready to kill. The only thing that could save her is if Talon slipped up; a rarity for the master assassin that wasn't likely to happen twice in the same day.

 

[Cal]

Luxanna’s room was as grand and lavish as it could be. The grand master bed was the most prominent of features, although by no means the only one. The bed stood tall and intimidating with four thick wooden pillars at every corner. They were solid and massive in every sense of the word, able to withstand earthquake and enemy assault alike. It was an exaggerated style, one that fitted the Crownguards well. The mattress was tall, tall enough so that if Lux would sit at the edge, her feet would not reach the ground. Then again, Lux was not a very tall individual, even for her fellow female standards.

There was a grandfather desk next to the broad window, with various pieces of scrolls scattered carelessly across it. The Crownguards were a proud family, and Lux had been raised with the impression that their house was impenetrable. And so those scrolls held important information, strategic information, sensitive information. Raids that would take her deep into the chambers of the Noxian High Command once more. A strange thing, considering her accomplishments in the League, and therefore a tactical one. No one would suspect a champion would go back to reconnaissance and surveillance missions. But Lux’s powers and abilities grew with every passing day, and her tricks were required. Her Lord Father had commanded it.

Apart from the various scrolls, there was a small music box that had belonged to her mother. As the window swung open, a draft would come in instantly and whisper against this music box, making a soft whistling noise. It was brief and dull, and it would by no means wake Lux up. She’d never been a light sleeper, and more than that, she was comfortable in her own house. She trusted her own house. Here, she was safe from harm. Her sleep had no reason not to be deep. And this is how she remained, curled up underneath the warm, thick blankets, only a slight mop of unruly hair poking out.

There were various other things of interest in her room. There was a large hearth that remained unlit, in the far right corner of the room. Next to it was the chair where she had donned her battlegear, and a small, low and above all else, convenient little table. Upon this table there was a book with a red spine and silver letterings, ‘A Great History of Demacia and Ionia’. It seemed as though Lux spent more time in her room than Garen did in his, a stark contrast to the comfort of her chambers and his barren one. No, Lux still valued the comfort of her room greatly, and perhaps childishly so. It would be a cruel jape to take that away from her.

Her sleeping form twisted and turned beneath the blankets, a groan forced from her lips, her brows caught in a frown. Dreams grabbed hold of her body as she feverishly thrashed about. After a while, her body stilled again, the only sound coming from her was her deep, rhythmic breathing. The only movement her form and the blankets raising and falling slowly. She had not heard Talon, nor had he broken any wards. There simply weren’t any.

 

[Incubus Dreams]

Once the wicked intruder had slipped through the open window and into the blonde woman's luxurious bedroom, the window was closed and sealed tightly. Though the whistling sound created by the breeze against Luxanna's nick-knacks was soft now, Talon was not stupid enough to believe that a quick gust of wind could not change that. The whistling was a threat to his operation here and so it was removed before it could grow.

With the window shut tightly behind him, Talon was now free to approach the sleeping form of his prey. He did so just as slowly and as carefully as he had scaled the building; more so, even. Outside, there was a moderate chance that one slip-up would wake the sleeping Demacian household. inside, however, it was all but guaranteed. He would not allow himself to make a second mistake today. He would not allow himself to be the cause of his failure after having come so far to seek his revenge. Luxanna was going to pay dearly for her boisterous and ill-earned victory and Garen would not save her this time.

"Sleep well little Luxanna. I hope that your dreams are riddled with nightmares of me," Talon whispered as he took those final steps toward her bed; testing the blonde woman's level of unconsciousness. "You are nothing more than a spoiled Demacian bitch; a burden carried on the backs of your kingdom's true soldiers. Without Garen, I would have turned you back into the little girl that you are today and I will prove that here and now."

When Talon found himself standing over Lux, he brought the punching blade that was secured tightly to his wrist to press firmly against the Demacian noble's cheek. He was careful not to cause pain and not to draw blood; just another test to check how deep into her dreams Luxanna was lost. If she slept through such an act, then Lux would surely not be woken easily. If she could sleep through both his verbal and his physical threats, then Talon would be free to carry them out. The young blonde woman would be little more than a little living doll for Talon to exact his vengeance out upon.

 

[Cal]

The cool soft blade against the skin of Luxanna’s cheek would not wake her, nor would the words of menace and hatred. While her mind was out cold, her body seemed to realize the threat which was suddenly presented to her. A frown suddenly graced her features, making her look as young as she really was. A small moan in annoyance rumbled from her throat and her body squirmed away from the cold touch at her cheek, turning to lay on her side, facing Talon. As she moved, the blankets tumbled slightly down her shoulders, coming to rest just at her elbow. It was obvious that her dreams caused her great distress, or perhaps she just felt the threat that was looming above her head.

She squirmed again, laying on her back once more, the blankets coming to rest at her stomach. The rich, dark blue night shirt with golden linings didn’t do much to compliment her figure, but it was comfortable. What the blouse did show was the smooth expanse of her throat and collar bone. The v-neck showed but a bit, a hint of pale skin. The rest of her body was covered in the fabric, barely outlining the soft curve of her breasts. Yes, Lux indeed resembled a living doll, breathing slightly, her chest rising and falling but otherwise seemingly dead to the world.

There was no doubt, though, that she’d awaken should Talon’s voice raise above a whisper, or should that blade penetrate any skin. Lux was a deep sleeper, but she wasn’t comatose. She would not be woken easily, that much was true, but the bladed assassin had to thread carefully.