So, uh... It's been almost 2 years since I updated this story. I'm not sure why, but I suddenly got inspired to continue with it. Needless to say, I'm pretty rusty since I haven't written material like this for over a year. Anyway, I hope you like it. Please review; constructive criticism is always welcome. Thanks for reading.

Talon's body jolted once, as if hit by a chill. His eyelids shot open and his hands feverishly felt around himself. He was still in his bed, that much he could be certain about. He sighed deeply, and let his eyes lazily drift over to his bedroom's window. It was an ordinary window; the woodwork a dark, chestnut color. Disregarding the simplicity of the frame, it gave an excellent view of the sky. Talon saw the moon, so very close to full. He had no way of being certain, but he guessed the time to be around 2 AM. He used the back of his hand to wipe the ample sweat that had accumulated on his brow and forehead. Slowly, Talon sat up and rubbed the back of his head. This was becoming a common occurrence as of late for the assassin. It had been three days since his injury, since she… he shook his head violently, still distraught over what happened between him and his "sister". Ever since that day, Talon had woken up like this without fail. The intense cold feeling that struck him during slumber was a mystery to the Noxian. It almost felt as if a spirit were embracing him. Talon steadied his breathing, trying to reason with himself as to why this kept occurring. Nothing in particular came to mind. He fell backwards; arms spread, and stared at the ceiling above.

"Damn it." Talon sighed. He forced himself up and got out of his bed. He pulled his shirt over his head; it slightly stuck to his skin, damp with sweat. He flung the shirt to the ground, and dropped his boxers to the floor. He slid open the top drawer of the dresser that sat next to his bed, and pulled from it a new shirt and pair of boxers. After slipping on the fresh clothes, Talon began to dawn his attire that had been gifted to him by the General. Once he had dressed himself fully, Talon walked over to the door that leads out of his room. Slowly, he turned the knob, and pushed the door open. He slipped his thin frame out without much noise at all. He made sure to close the door with the same grace. The hallway was far darker than his room, but he had the manor mostly mapped out. He slid his hand along the wall, using it as a guide to the spiral staircase that lead to the ground level of the manor. He descended the stairs slowly, as to not lose his footing in the nearly pitch black surroundings. Once he had reached the floor, Talon hastily made his way towards the front doors. The assassin gave a quick look behind him before pushing the doors open and making his way outside.

A small breeze hit his skin as he took his first steps into the night. Talon stopped for a brief moment to gaze at the inner city. He sighed and briskly jogged over to the large plot of land that was used as a makeshift training ground for the assassins of the manor. The area was littered with every kind of training instrument imaginable; from dummies, to mounted and swinging targets. Talon made his way over to three dummies; torsos made to replicate the human anatomy, held up by sticks. Though dummies weren't exactly the spitting image of danger, the ones used at the manor were made entirely of magically imbued wood. Talon had made the folly of being overconfident during his first day of training. He had cockily thrown his shurikens, thinking nothing of the dummies, only to end up utterly embarrassed in front of the General when the blades ricocheted off the wooden frame. This night was different, he was entirely focused on the targets in front of him, whether sentient or not. The assassin took a deep breath and closed his eyes. The night air was silent, save for the nocturnal insects chirping. Talon's eyes slowly opened, and in an instant he grabbed three shurikens off his back and launched them towards the dummies. The razor sharp blades decapitated each wooden head in perfect sync; the blades whirling blades ceased movement for nary a second, and began flying back with the same momentum. This time the three weapons buried themselves into the backs of each dummy. Talon sighed again, and grinned slightly at his success, though he did realize it would be a bitch to work the shurikens out of the wooden dummies.

"Early morning, or late night?" A voiced questioned. Talon snapped his head to the right. It was the General, standing still with his arms crossed. There was no way for Talon to be sure of how long the man had been standing there, but from the looks of it, he was being observed.

"Not in the talking mood?" The General asked while slowly walking towards the dummies. He examined the damage, easily yanking one of the shurikens out, and feeling how deep the cut was. He tossed the blade to Talon's feet and rubbed his chin.

"I wonder if you'll be able to cut the torso in half next time." The General posed rhetorically. Talon realized that he had been standing silently the entire time, letting Marcus take the stage entirely.

"I, uh, couldn't sleep very well." Talon said quietly. The man nodded in response, and paused for a moment before replying.

"Not unusual for a boy your age, then again, I never raised a boy." The General shrugged and looked back at his protégé. Talon was unsure how to respond, so he merely grunted. Marcus sauntered over to Talon and placed a hand on his shoulder, his grip firm but not malicious.

"Are you feeling alright, boy?" asked the General. The question seemed genuine, and forced Talon to consider his options before making a statement.

"I'm… fine." Talon weakly replied, whilst averting his eyes at the ground. The General shook his head and chuckled.

"Do you know how you can tell if a man is lying?" said the General. Talon only frowned slightly in response to what seemed like the thousandth question. "A man who is lying will never look you in the eye." The older man concluded. Talon frowned even more, but shifted his eyes to meet those of the man in front of him.

"So then," Marcus continued, "what's the matter?"

"I'm… adapting… slowly. But something doesn't feel right." Talon stopped, but the look he received seemingly urged him on to continue. "It's as if I'm trying to hold on to the past, but… being here… it only moves me further from who… from what I once was." Talon shot a glance at the ground again, expecting the response from the General to have a volatile nature to it. He slowly looked back up at the man, and was surprised to see him grinning.

"I guess this is my fault. But I hope you'll trust me when I say that I've seen what the slums do to people." The General said.

"But you're a killer as well!" Talon retorted, with a fire he didn't truly intend on letting out.

"We have both killed our fair share, yes. That is where the similarities end however. Talon… you must learn, there is a difference between killing for the sake of oneself, and killing to ensure the well-being of one's home. " Talon wanted to argue his case, but there was nothing he could say that put him in a power position. "I know it's hard to make such a drastic change to your lifestyle, but I trust that you will soon understand there are things worth fighting for besides yourself."

Talon didn't want to respond, no, he couldn't respond. He wasn't going to admit the General was right, but he couldn't bring himself to believe that what he had said was wrong either. Talon's train of thought was broken when he felt a hand on his head. The General ruffled the boy's hair and turned to walk back to the manor. Talon watched as the man began his way back inside his home. Marcus stopped after a few steps and turned his head towards Talon.

"Right now you're fighting a battle inside yourself." He paused. "I truly hope you emerge victorious." The General finished and continued walking away. Talon rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger before running his hand through his hair. He stood still as the wind blew against him, causing the loose fabric on his attire to move with the flow. The teen was once again surrounded by silence, with only his thoughts to occupy his mind. Eventually, he decided to return to his room.

Talon awoke in his room for a second time, except this time there were no chills; the serene moon replaced by the blazing sun. He sat up and stretched out his stiff muscles. Suddenly, the teen heard a light knock.

"Talon, are you awake?" A soft voice followed the knock. Talon cursed mentally, instantly recognizing the voice. He hopped out of bed and strode over to the door, opening it in one fluid motion. Blue eyes met with his. Talon couldn't help but feel slightly anxious when he looked into her eyes, as if he didn't have enough on his mind already. Cassiopeia took the open door as an invitation inside, as she walked past Talon and sat on the edge of his bed. The assassin sighed and shut the door behind her before taking a seat in a chair across from her. Neither spoke for a while, both teens seemingly trying to think of the right words for the other.

"So…" Cass lead, "how have you been feeling since… well, you know."

"I'm alright." He stood up, putting his previously injured leg forward. "The wound healed up pretty well."

"That's good." Cass murmured. Talon noticed the distinct lack of energy radiating off of her.

"How about you?" Talon posed, genuinely curious as to how she was feeling.

"I…" Cass stopped as quickly as she started. She put her left hand over her abdomen. Talon mentally slapped himself, as he knew where this was going. He also knew that he wasn't ready to tackle this yet.

"What do you think is worth fighting for?" Talon blurted out. It was the first thing that he could think of to hold off the impending train wreck for a bit longer.

"Huh?" Cass replied, clearly confused by the change of pace.

"You know, what do you think a person should want to protect?"

"Well… I guess… the people that you care about, right?" She answered with a hint of uncertainty. "Why do you ask?"

"It was just something that was bugging me, I guess." Talon responded. The room fell silent again, with neither party ready to fracture it. Although Talon had only meant it as a meager distraction from the elephant in the room, Cassiopeia's answer weighed on his mind. Should he abandon the past? Would change really shape his future? Would change even be possible? He didn't know the answers to any of his questions, nor did he intend on finding them any time soon. Talon looked up at Cass to see her twiddling with her thumbs.

"Is there a reason you came here?" Talon inquired, realizing too late that it sounded harsher than he had intended. "Uh… not that I mind." He added, potentially saving face. Cass shook her head, and smiled.

"I just wanted to see you." She spoke delicately, a small blush creeping onto her face. Talon had no time to respond as another knock caught his attention; this one significantly louder than the last.

"I'll get it!" Cass announced before Talon could react. The blonde strode to the door and opened it. Talon could just barely see the figure in the doorway.

"Oh, you're in here Cassie?" Katarina looked past her sister as she spoke, glaring directly at Talon. The scorn the emerald orbs gave off was unsettling, even for an assassin.

"What's up, Kat?" Cass asked her sister, her tone audibly more upbeat than before. The redhead pushed past her sister and stood in front of Talon, her hands on her hips. Talon scanned the form in front of him. Katarina was taller, and fuller than her sister in most areas. She was extremely pretty, just like her sister, yet her beauty was different. Whereas Cassiopeia was warm and inviting; Katarina was beautiful in the same way that a poisonous plant is.

"My father wants to see you." Katarina stated coldly. She exited as soon as she passed the message along. Talon narrowed his eyes and cursed under his breath. Cass shut the door after Katarina had left, and turned around to face Talon again; she saw the annoyed expression plastered on his face.

"What's with her?" Talon asked, with a hint of disdain coating his words.

"That's just how she is." Cass spoke, "Kat doesn't get along with most people other than daddy and me." Talon grunted in response and let his head rest in his hand. He was not eager for what the General had in store for him. Reluctantly, Talon rose from his seat, and started for the door.

"You're going then?" Cass's voice questioned from behind him. Talon turned to face her.

"Well… yeah, your father doesn't like to be kept waiting from what I've gathered." Cass looked down at her feet when he spoke. Talon once again turned to exit the room, but was stopped by a hand grasping his wrist. Talon looked back at Cass, who was now looking directly at him. He saw the dejection in her eyes.

"What's wro-" Talon was cut off by the blonde latching onto his waist. She looked upwards at him, and the boy could see that she was on the verge of bursting. He placed his hand atop her head; trying anyway he could to reassure her. She tightened her lock around him, breaking the eye contact she previously held. Talon brought his hand down to her chin, pushing it up; forcing her to look at him. This time, Talon took initiative; pushing his lips lightly onto hers. Their second kiss was significantly shorter than the first, yet it had nearly the same impact. Cass took a few steps back, but kept her eyes fixated on the assassin in front of her. Though she appeared calm, Talon could see the tint of red decorating her usually pale cheeks. She cleared her throat.

"Just… please be careful this time." She spoke in a very subtle tone. Talon nodded and smirked slightly.

"Have faith in me, Cass. Failure has never been an option." Talon stated assuredly. Cass nodded in response and smiled at him. The blonde went ahead of Talon, quickly departing to another part of the massive building. Talon shook his head, remembering that the General was waiting for him. He swiftly made his way out of his room and down the winding halls to the older man's office. Talon stopped about 5 meters from his destination; inaudible yelling could be heard from the General's office. Talon slowly sleuthed closer to the door, trying to hear what was happening. Once he was directly outside of the office, the words became clear to him.

"DEMACIA?! WITH HIM?! WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?!"

"Please calm down, honey."

"DON'T GIVE ME THAT SHIT! YOU KNOW I OPERATE ALONE!"

"That's out of the question; this is a mission too dangerous for just one of you."

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU!" With that, the door to the office flew open as if hit with gale. Katarina stomped by Talon furiously, not even bothering to acknowledge his presence. Talon took a look behind him to see the redhead rounding the corner with the same fire as before. The assassin hesitantly approached the door frame; still knocking despite the fact that the door was already open. The General was sitting behind his desk, lighting a cigar. He beckoned the boy in with his hand; simultaneously exhaling a puff of smoke.

"Have a seat." The General motioned to the leather seat across from his desk. Talon obliged him, and waited for the older man to speak.

"As you may have heard, I'm sending Katarina and yourself to Demacia as per high commands orders." He put the cigar to his lips and inhaled again before continuing. "There's a statesman gaining a following from the public. He insists on war with Noxus, and many agree. Though there's no telling how their king feels regarding the matter, it would be safer to eliminate the threat altogether."

"Won't that just anger the Demacian people further?" Talon questioned.

"It certainly would. That's why we're not going to kill him." The General answered. Talon cocked his head sideways and narrowed his eyes at the man across from him.

"I'm not following you." Talon admitted.

"Don't fret. Katarina will explain it to you further." The General said. Talon chuckled in response.

"Forgive me for thinking that's highly unlikely."

"I know she seems cold, but when it comes to orders from high command, no one takes it as seriously as her." The older man assured Talon.

"I'll take your word for it then." The assassin replied.

"Good, you both depart first thing tomorrow morning. You're dismissed." With that, Marcus took his cigar and extinguished it in the glass ash tray on his desk. Talon stood up, wasting no time in making his exit.

Talon returned to his room, stripping off his armor, and leaving only his nightwear. Though it wasn't late in the day, Talon knew it would take all of his energy to endure the mission that awaited him. There were endless thoughts filling his mind, yet he tried his hardest to ignore all of them; knowing that he couldn't possibly begin to scratch the surface of what plagued his mental state. In the end, the young assassin decided to rest until the next morning; an expedition to Demacia with Katarina certainly warranted that.