Chapter Text
Dark fog surrounded them everywhere, the ghosts around them blocking any access to light. In the distance he could see Graves shooting at ghosts.
“Behind you” Twisted Fate wants to say but the fog holds him in one place and seems to muffle his voice. Ghost creep behind Graves.
“Behind you” He speaks louder, but Graves still doesn't notice him. He tries to break free from the invisible hands of the fog, but it doesn't help.
Graves behind you. Now he screams when he sees the ghost getting closer to his partner.
Graves
Graves!
The ghost is already ready to attack Graves from behind. The ghost's claws rise.
MALCOLM!
T.F wakes up with his eyes wide open. His breathing is ragged and cold sweat has formed on his forehead.
It was just a dream.
He lies there for a moment, trying to make sense of the nightmare he has experienced. Slowly his breathing returns to normal. He blinks as the sun rays from the window touch his face.
It's morning.
T.F groaned quietly and tried to roll over to the other side of the bed, but something or someone was blocking him. His eyes lazily wandered to the cause of his extra weight on his chest. A little girl lies on him and sleeps. T.F frowns slightly, but then he remembers the situation from yesterday. Right, yesterday he saved a child from the guards who were hunting her. T.F tries to get up but then he feel a squeezing pain in his arms and decides to lie down some more. Yesterday's teleportation was quite tiring for his arms.
He knew it would end like this. T.F usually avoided teleporting with someone and one of these reasons was that the person who has to teleport with him begins to weigh five or even ten times more than they own body weight. Which could have resulted in the aching arms he now feels.
T.F sighed softly. Annie is still sleeping on his chest. As gently as he can, he picks up the child and puts her on the mattress so that she won't wake up when he gets out of bed despite his muscles' protests.
Twisted Fate stretches his stiff arms, he's pretty sure this pain will last at least the rest of the day. He looks around the room, yesterday he didn't have the energy to even take off his coat and shoes, let alone see in what condition the room they were given was in. T.F goes to the window and opens the curtains to let in more sunlight.
He was lucky yesterday to find a tavern on the way. It was closed and the innkeeper was quite unhappy that someone was waking him up at such an hour, but when he saw him with a little girl in his arms. He decided to let them in and thanks to a small payment of coins T.F managed to get a room.
He stretches his arms a few more times and yawns. Yesterday evening was quite rough and today day will probably be even more rough. He looked at himself in the mirror at the end of the room and he frowned at his reflection.
He looks sloppy for his standards. His hair is sticking out in different directions, his face looks tired and his white shirt has a few burnt holes in the middle.
"I'll have to buy a new shirt" He thinks and watches from the corner of his eye as Annie slowly wakes up. Yesterday, T.F managed to teleport with Annie quite a distance from the town that the mentioned girl burned down. It will be at least a day before information about the burned town appears here.
T.F sighed quietly as he took a hairbrush out of his bag and started brushing his hair. He'll have to wash them soon. Annie makes a noise and sits down on the bed.
“Morning” T.F says quietly as he puts the hairbrush back in his bag. Annie just looks at him with her big blue eyes and doesn't say anything.
"I'm going to get a bowl of water, I'll be right back" He tells her and leaves the room.
"So what your plan now Tobias?" Graves' voice echoes in his head as he grabs the jug of water, the bowl and towel that were lying peacefully in the bathroom. “You saved her, now you can leave her” T.F decides to ignore it. He returns to the room and when he opens the door he sees Annie using his hairbrush. But she immediately stops when she sees that he's back.
T.F doesn't say anything and puts the bowl on the table and pours some water into the bowl. Unfortunately, this place doesn't have the luxury like soap, so T.F. takes out his red card and lifts the bowl with one hand. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Annie watching him.
T.F plays with the card in his hand a bit and suddenly a small flame comes out of it. For a moment, the card heats the bowl and when T.F.'s fingers feel that the bowl has already warmed up, he puts it back on the table. But before he starts washing his face, he looks at Annie, who was still holding his hairbrush.
"Go ahead, I don't mind" He says and Annie brushes her hair again. T.F went back to washing his face. The warm water felt good for his skin and after a few minutes he wipes his face with a towel. At the same moment, Annie puts his hairbrush in his bag. T.F pours water from the bowl out the window and pours fresh water from the jug into it. He heats the bowl again and puts it on the table.
“Here” T.F hands Annie a towel and gets up from the chair. The girl nods quietly and washes her face. While this is happening, T.F picks up his hat from the ground, which must have fallen off the bed when he got up. He gently brushes the dust off it and puts it on his head.
When he turns around, Annie is already pouring out water through the window and turns to him. She still doesn't say anything. T.F looks at her for a moment but doesn't say much. Instead, he takes his bag and opens the door. He stops there for a moment.
"Let's get some breakfast" He says and leaves, followed by Annie who is holding her teddy bear Tibbers. The sounds of their footsteps can be heard through the creaking stairs of the tavern. T.F looks up to see the state of this place. Two people are sitting in front of the bar, quite tired, as he noticed. There are several people lying on the floor who did not have the strength to return home. For a moment, a small laugh escapes his lips. This wasn't the first time he had seen such a sight and he already knows what awaits these poor people when the innkeeper wakes them up.
They walk carefully so they don't step on sleeping men. T.F. and Annie approach the counter where the innkeeper was already sitting. He smiles at them, probably because they're the only people here without a hangover. T.F looks at the written boards in front of him. He bites the inside of his cheek lightly. He usually doesn't eat breakfast, a habit that Graves tried to breaks from him. It's not that T.F doesn't like breakfast, he just never has an appetite in the morning.
“Would you like something specific?” He asks, but as he might expect, Annie remains silent. T.F sighs through his nose and he looks back at the boards. Children usually like sweet things, right?
"Two pancakes please" He says to the Innkeeper and he nods and goes to the kitchen. T.F goes to the farthest table where he doesn't have to worry about being watched without his knowledge. Annie sits in front of him and they wait. They both could feel the awkward silence forming around them.
“Since when did you become a nanny?” He can hear Graves laughter who would probably complained several times already if he was there. T.F tapped his fingers on the table. In his head, there is still that dream he experienced this morning. "Was it really just a nightmare, or was it something more"
Their breakfast quickly arrives and they start eating. The pancakes are a little too sweet for his taste. However, Annie eating them with a little smile on her face. So T.F thinks it was a good choice for their breakfast. As he takes another bite into his mouth, Annie finally speaks to him.
“Why did you save me?” She speaks quietly, and if T.F hadn't noticed her lips moving, he probably wouldn't have realized she said something. He swallows his bite and thinks for a moment.
“I just wanted to” He shrugs and continues eating. Annie doesn't seem satisfied with his answer.
"But there has to be more to it right, you wouldn't risk your life just for some unknown little girl" Annie is right, T.F thinks as he continues to eat his pancakes. It's not like him to play some hero and almost pay with his life for it. Unless that person is Graves, but that's a completely different situation.
"I don't like it when children get hurt." He answers honestly and wipes his mouth with a napkin. Annie decides to drop the topic and go back to eating, but T.F. can see that Annie still wants to know more.
"I know what it's like to be alone and be a mage" He replies to her quietly and Annie looks at him questioningly.
“What do you know about it?” She asks, but there is no venom or sadness in her voice. It sounded more like those typical questions kids ask like "why is the sky blue?". T.F looks around to see if anyone is listening. When he doesn't feel like his cards are giving him a sign that something might be wrong. He decide to speak.
“When I was your age, well maybe a little older. I traveled alone too” He says and sees Annie's eyes widen a little. T.F doesn't know if Annie suffered the same fate as him. She may as well have parents worried about her somewhere or a home to which she can return, but T.F prefers not to ask sensitive topics for now and judging by Annie's reactions, he probably won't have to ask them.
They don't say anything anymore. Annie continues to eat her breakfast and T.F sees more and more people coming to the tavern. Who knows, maybe he'll collect a good amount of gold this morning. Several men sit down at a round table, one of them must have noticed him because he is walking towards him.
"Hello good-looking" A man with short stature and a missing tooth spoke to him and gestured with his thumb to a round table with three men sitting on it.
“We need one more person to play and you look like someone who knows how to play cards. Do you want to join?” T.F. nods and stand up. Annie, who has finished eating her pancakes, also gets up from her chair and follows him. When they reached the table, T.F looked closely at the men. On the left side sat a large man with a large scar on his arm. In the middle there was a man with a missing eye and on the right there was a boy who had probably recently become a adult man. He could also observe that Annie watching them too.
T.F takes one of the nearby chairs and puts it next to his so that Annie can sit next to him. The other men don't comment on it, but he sees one of them give him a questioning look.
"Your daughter?" The youngest man asks and Annie gives him a menacing look.
“it's none of your business” She says as she hugs Tibbers closer to her chest. The man immediately got scared and dropped the topic. Meanwhile, the man who invited him to the game shuffles the cards and hands them all except Annie, who looks at the table with curious eyes.
T.F looked at his cards, he had a two of spades and a nine of hearts. Annie looked at them and tilted her head. The man with the scar is the first to give the coins. Everyone follows his example and puts coins on the table. Three cards were placed on the table. It was the Joker of Hearts. Queen of Hearts and Five of Clubs.
"I pass" Says the half-blind man and puts down his cards. T.F does the same, it will be better if he plays low for now. The guy with the missing tooth smiles and ups the ante. The guy with the scar on his arm also adds a few coins to the table. There was still the youngest one who looked like he was a little nervous.
T.F bites his mouth slightly to keep from laughing when the boy puts all his coins on the table. It's clear as day that he's trying to get the rest of the men to fold. However, no one buys it and even the man with the scar started laughing and as soon as the rest of the cards were revealed, the boy's face changed from nervous to disappointed.
“Sorry, boy, but this isn't a sandbox anymore. Next time be smarter” Says the half-blind man as the boy gets up from the chair and walks away. T.F can hear Annie laughing next to him. The man with the scar takes the winnings and the game starts again. This time it is the half-blind man who shuffles the cards and passes them to the others.
"How was the war?" Suddenly, a man with a missing tooth asks a half-blind man who hands coins to the table.
“What can I say, war is war. It never changes” He says disinterestedly as the man with a scar puts down his cards and cross his arms. T.F also puts coins on the table. In his hand he has the eight of clubs and the queen of diamonds.
"I've recently been thinking about joining the army." The short man continues and also gives coins to the table. Out of the corner of his eye, T.F can see the half-blind man wince at the man's words.
“I mean, all the glory and honor. Not to mention the blood-curdling stories. Ladies are really into it." He continues as three cards are revealed. It was the six of clubs, the five of diamonds and the three of hearts.
"In war, you will be lucky if you survive" The half-blind man says coldly and puts more coins on the table. But that didn't stop the man from continuing to chatter.
“Yes, but their pay is quite good, recently my sister's brother-in-law returned from the army. He had so many coins with him!” The man with a scar slams his fist on the table, making the guy finally shut up. T.F puts more coins on the table and smiles victoriously when the Queen of Hearts and the Eight of Spades appear on the table. T.F collects his winnings and the half-blind man gets up from his chair.
"Where are you going?" A man with a missing tooth asks. The other man just waves at him and leaves the tavern.
"I don't understand these people" He sighs and the man with scar glares at him. The man doesn't say anything as he shuffles the cards. Finally, The guy without a tooth looks curiously in his direction.
"What brings you here, silent?" He asks and T.F gives him a mysterious smile.
“I was just passing by” He shrugs as he get cards. This time he has three hearts and five diamonds. The guy is still staring at him.
"Hmm, your accent is kind of weird, so you definitely don't come from here" T.F wants to tell him to shut up but he still leaves his poker face on his face and looks to see what cards will be revealed this time. There are ten of hearts, two of spades and joker of hearts.
“'Cat got your tongue?” T.F can feel Annie glaring at the man, her teddy bear catching fire slightly. But before the man could say anything else. The man with the scar growls at him.
"You want another one to leave the game because of you" He says menacingly as he slides all his coins onto the table. However, the man doesn't seem all that scared by his threat.
“Oh come on, the guy just asks questions and they already want to hang him!” T.F wants to roll his eyes, but instead he puts all his coins on the table, which catches the men attention. The man looks at his cards for a moment and sighs.
"A damn it all in" And he puts all his coins at the table. The atmosphere seems to be getting heavier as the cards are revealed on the table. The Queen of Hearts and the Seven of Spades appear on the table. T.F smiles victoriously as he shows on the table that he has the Ace of Hearts and the King of Hearts.
"No no NO!" The short man shouts as he loudly stands up from his chair. But T.F. doesn't worry too much about that when he takes his winnings in his bag.
"I demand a rematch!" He shouts but T.F just shrugs as he and Annie get up from the chair. The short man obviously didn't take this well, but the man with a scar quickly grabs his hand.
“It's your fault we lost!” He shouts, but T.F. doesn't want to stay any longer to watch this scene and he and Annie leave the tavern.
As soon as they left the tavern, T.F could feel the summer wind on his skin. He adjusted his hat to hide his eyes from the sun's rays. The sun was already shining upwards in the sky, illuminating the nearby buildings. He walked slowly, occasionally tossing the bag with the coins he had won. With a smile on his face, he counted in his head how much money he had earned now.
"You cheated," Annie said suddenly as they walked away from the tavern. T.F turns his head towards her and shrugs.
"What can I say, I've never lost in a fair game, but I've never played that one either" Annie tilted her head slightly as if she was thinking about something.
"How did you do that. I was watching you all the time. When did you change cards?” T.F smiled at her and put his finger to his lips.
"It's a Secret" Annie let out a loud groan and jumped several times, holding T.F.'s coat sleeve.
“Come on, I promise I won't tell anyone!” The girl begs and T.F. doesn't have the heart to refuse her.
“You promise?” T.F asks with amusement as he stop for a moment to let Annie stop tugging at his coat.
"By Mr. Tibbers!" T.F laughs lightly as Annie shows a teddy bear in front of his face. He crouches in front of her. For a moment their eyes met. He gently touches her ear. Annie looks at him suspiciously but before she could say anything. T.F pulls a card from her ear. It was the ace of clubs. Annie's eyes widened as T.F handed her the card.
"Only a fool plays the hand he's dealt." He tells her and gets up. Annie still holds the card in her hand and smiles at him.
"Cheater"
"Cheater's just a fancy word for winner" He replies to her as he looked around the town. In the distance he can see a building that could be a clothing store. Annie jumps slightly to keep up with him.
“What are you going to do with that much money?”She asks as T.F hide the bag of coins into his pocket.
"Well, I will probably buy a new shirt and we'll see about the rest." He replies as they slowly approach the shop. T.F. can see that the building had an unusual appearance for Noxus architecture and looked more like a building one would see in Piltower. Clothes shop straight from Piltover Lady lucky is kind to him today. Annie, meanwhile, looked down.
"I'm sorry"
"It's okey I know you didn't want to do this" He says as they slowly approach the store. They pass a fountain on the road. Another question appeared in Annie's mind.
"Mr. Fate what you usually do for living?" T.F takes a moment to think about this question and a small laugh escaped his lips.
“Well, it's hard to say, you could say that my job is to find an item and then give that item to the person who wanted it. He gets this thing and I get money for it” He replies.
"So it's like a game?"
"And one of the best games, where you can get whatever you want"
“How so?”
“A lot of people want things that they either can't afford or don't want to pay for. I'm helping them get these things." He says and in his head he can hear Graves yelling at him not to tell that kid that they're thieves because it might bite him in the ass. Annie looks at him questioningly
"So you're stealing." She says as if she had just solved a puzzle.
“You could say that” He replies as he adjusts his hat once again.
"Isn't stealing a bad thing?"
"Only if you get caught" He laughs as they finally enter the store.
The moment he opened the door, they could hear the bell attached to the frame. Annie couldn't resist showing her impression when she saw how big this store is. T.F also took a moment to understand why such a boutique was located in a small town in Noxus. There were mannequins with clothes around them. Many hangers and paintings showing the beauty of Piltover.
Next to the entrance door there was a desk with a shopkeeper sitting on it. As soon as the woman saw them, she smiled. T.F greeted her with a nod of his hat and wandered further into the store.
As he could expect, the Piltover clothes were quite expensive, but it didn't matter to T.F. He likes to buy high-cost clothes. His hand reached for one of the white shirts. It was made of soft material and its trim was sewn with gold thread. The buttons fit quite nicely too.
“This is a very good choice, Sir!” The shopkeeper who approached him replied, T.F smiled politely at her. The mentioned woman was wearing a long blue-white dress and have a brown hair braided in a bun.
“I have a very good eye for pretty things” He replies to her. The woman blushes and places her hand on her cheek as if trying to hide her blush. T.F didn't care though as he continued checking the condition of the shirt in his hands.
"If I may ask, what is a Piltover boutique doing on the middle of some Noxus town?" He asked suddenly as the woman was still standing next to him.
“Oh my husband decided it would be a good business if we opened our boutique here. You may be surprised, but many travelers pass through this town” She replies proudly. However, T.F could see her fake smile as she said it. He wanted to ask something else, but then he noticed Annie in the distance, looking at some dresses. T.F walked up to her.
“Anything catch your eye?” He asks her as Annie quickly turned to him. T.F looked at the dress she was looking at. It was a pretty purple dress with white-purple leg warmers.
"You can have it. If you want" He says as he hands her the dress. Annie takes it in her small hands and looks at it for a moment and then at T.F. As if she doesn't know how to react.
"This dress is one of the new fashions for young girls" The woman replied happily as she approached them.
“Lots of girls your age wear them in Piltover, it will fit you perfectly!” The woman continued. Annie still stares at the dress handed to her.
“Can I try it on?” She asks shyly and the woman nods.
"Yes of course! The changing rooms are over there, I'll take you there." Everyone went to a separate room where the changing rooms were mentioned. As soon as they got there, Annie quickly disappeared behind the curtains. Wasting no time, T.F also went to the other changing room and hid behind the curtains. This woman is constantly watching him and T.F can feel it even through the curtains, but not wanting to worry too much about it, he quickly changes into his new shirt.
“This shirt looks very nice on you Sir!” The woman said in admiration as soon as he came out of the changing room. T.F ignored her, not wanting to start a new conversation. There was something wrong with this woman but he couldn't put his finger on it. After a while, Annie came out with a new dress on.
"So, do you feel good in it?" T.F asks as Annie twirls her dress a little. She nodded and smiled.
"It's perfect" She replies and T.F smiles at her. The woman coughed slightly as if she wanted to draw all the attention to herself.
"Is there anything else you would like to see?" She asked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Seems like that woman is trying to hit on him or even use him for something, but he's not interested in any of that.
“I don't think so. I have everything that I came for ” He replies simply and he and Annie go to the desk where he can pay for the clothes. T.F couldn't shake off the feeling that something was off and was eager to exit the store soon as possible.
Once they were at the desk, T.F. threw a few coins on the table. He's not sure if he didn't give too little, but now he doesn't care much, there's something wrong with this place and he prefers to leave. However, before he and Annie could leave, a woman suddenly grabs his hand.
"I'm sorry it's so sudden," She begins, her voice sounding more seductive now.
"But you see, my husband is away for a while and I'm quite lonely and-" Before she could finish, T.F frees himself from her hand and looks at her in big disgust, suddenly realizing who he's dealing with.
"I'm sorry, but I have my partner back and I'm very happy with him, you demon" He says coldly to her and the woman's eyes glow yellow for a moment.
"What have you done this time?" He continues as he slowly pulls a card from his sleeve and covers Annie, who seems confused about what is happening. The woman laughs.
“It's better not to interfere with businesses that isn't yours if you want to avoid trouble. After all, this job is just temporary.” She says and looks at Annie and then back at him.
"You should consider yourself fortunate that there are plenty of other handsome men in this town. I'll let you off the hook this time, but be warned, next time you won't be so lucky" T.F wants to remind her who won their fight last time, but not wanting to start bloodshed, he takes Annie's hand and they leave the store.
T.F walks quickly, wanting to get away from this town soon as possible. Today, of all the days they could meet again, this had to be this one. He knew he should check his cards when he entered this store, his subconscious told him so, but of course, he had to ignore them this time. A common mistake that he should have been unlearned a long time ago. His breathing becomes faster and faster. He and Eveelyn have quite a complicated history that T.F doesn't really like to talk about. Even Graves doesn't fully know his history with this demon and he would prefer it to stay that way.
"Mr. Fate?" Annie said, struggling to keep up. T.F suddenly wakes from his trance and releases her hand.
"Sorry, I was lost in thought" He apologizes to her and stops, they are already outside the town and next to them there is a large river with several merchant ships passing by.
"Who was she?" Annie asks and T.F sighs.
"IT was a demon, it feeds on people and then kills them" He says to her as he tries to calm down his racing heart. Annie seems more curious than scared.
"What does it was doing there?" She says. T.F closes his eyes, taking a moment to gather his thoughts.
"This demon sometimes likes to disguise itself as people she has killed, it uses it as camouflage to prey on more people later" He says slowly, wanting to end this conversation.
"We're lucky that she preferred to keep her camouflage rather than start a fight, but it's better if we get out of this town as soon as possible." He says and suddenly sees Annie holding not only her teddy bear Tibbers but also a small pink backpack with a white rabbit's head in the middle.
“Did you... steal the backpack?” He says slowly, trying to change the subject. Annie smiles and lifts her new backpack higher so he can get a better look at it.
“Yes, it was in the toy box but that's not all I took!” She replies proudly as she pulls a black shirt out of her backpack.
"I thought you might like it" She replied as she handed him the shirt. T.F carefully took it and looked at it. It was a black shirt with gold buttons and two gold hearts with an eye sewn on the collar.
“Did you... steal this... for me?” He asked, a small hint of disbelief in his tone. He couldn't help feeling a little proud inside his heart. That Annie managed to steal two things without him noticing. Annie nodded happily with a big smile on her face.
"That demon was eyeing you the entire time, so she didn't even notice that I snatched something!" It's highly likely that Eveelyn was indifferent to Annie's actions, but T.F. didn't want to dampen her spirits. With a confident smile, he swiftly slipped the black shirt into his bag.
"Annie that's very kind of you. Thank you." He says to her and looks around at their surroundings. He notes that the city he needs to reach is quite far, and it will take him two days to get there if he travels by foot. However, if he can manage to find a boat, he could potentially reach his destination in just half a day.
"Where are we going now?" Annie asked as she tried to follow his gaze.
"I have some business in one town I need to get to" He replies as they start walking through the path again.
“Did you going to help someone get something they don't have?” Annie bowed her head as she put on her backpack.
"You could say that," Annie frowned slightly.
“So why don't we just teleport?” She asked him.
"It's not as easy as it seems" T.F says casually as they slowly approach the large puddle in front of them.
“How so?”
“How much do you know about magic Annie?” T.F looked at her, Annie looked down and thought for a moment before shrugging.
"You see, the magic of teleportation is not as simple as people thinks it is." He says thoughtfully as he tries to replay in his head an old memory of the person who taught him this magic. Oh was it really that long ago? T.F felt old for a moment.
“See that puddle up ahead?” He asked as he pointed to a large puddle that must have collected quite a lot of water. Annie nodded. T.F crouched down and picked up a small flat rock.
"Let's assume this rock is you" T.F shows a rock in front of her eyes and then points to a puddle again.
"Let's say you want to get to the other end" Annie looks at him very focused as if she's trying to remember every word he says now.
"This puddle is the link that ties us to this location." T.F gets up from the ground and throws. The rock bounces twice on the puddle and It land on the other end. Annie wants to do the same, but her stone immediately disappears under the water.
"You see, if we want to get through the puddle, we have to use some force and precision," Annie nods. T.F takes another small rock.
"But there's another way," he says, throwing a rock high so it lands next to the other rock without touching the water.
“But then-”
"We need to use more force" Annie finishes for him when she begins to understand what T.F. is trying to explain to her.
"Yes" He says proudly and takes the last rock.
"However, there is a terrible danger when it comes to teleportations," He says, his voice becoming serious.
"The link between point A and point B can be treacherous and it's better not to stay it there for too long or else..."
"You'll drown there" Annie finishes as she sees the rock disappear under the water. T.F nods.
"Teleporting to such a large area can be tiring and dangerous for me, especially if I have to teleport with someone" Annie nods her head.
"I hope you understand the magic of teleportation a little more now, I've never been a teacher so I don't know if what I said makes any sense to you" He says as they start walking again, avoiding the puddles.
“I think I understand, now. Thank you Mr. Fate.”
"You know you can call me Fate or T.F for short if you want." He says to her when in the distance he sees a docked merchant ship that will probably be leaving soon.
"Mr. Fate sounds alright" Replies Annie as they continue walking T.F shrugs slightly.
"If you feel comfortable with this, then it's fine." He says and shows the ship with his thumb.
“Do you want to play hide and seek with me on the ship?” He says jokingly and Annie nods with a smile on her face as they start running to the merchant ship.
Fortunately for them, none of the employees noticed their uninvited arrival. The workers were more busy storing the large wooden boxes while they hid at the bottom of the ship.
T.F has a finger to his lips as Annie covers her mouth with her hands, trying not to laugh as the last wooden crate is placed next to them. Only when they heard the door close. They allow themselves for a small chuckle.
“That was fun” Annie says and T.F nods.
“When we gets through that boy who almost left the box” She continues.
"I thought he would see us, but then his foot slipped" She was still talking happily and T.F took his cards out of his pocket and put them on the floor, continuing to listen to Annie.
"What are you doing?" Annie says suddenly as she sees him placing three cards face down in front of him.
"I'm checking where this ship is stopping, plus I'd like to know what my partner is doing now" He replies as he puts the rest of the cards in his pocket. Annie moved a little closer to him to see the cards.
"You have a partner?” There was a slight surprise in her voice.
"Yes, Malcolm Graves the luckiest dumb man I've ever met" He says happily as he looks at her.
“Why isn't he here with you now?” T.F sighs, a small laugh escaping his lips.
“Graves had to go to Piltover to get a new weapon while I wanted to take care of some things in Noxus. Not wanting to argue about where to go first, we separated for a moment and decided to play a little game " Annie's eyes lit up.
"Oh, what kind?" She asks, jumping slightly.
"Who will steal more before returning to Bilgewater" He says as he takes the first card.
"Bilgewater?"
"This is mine and Graves' home, or at least it's the closest thing we can call home" He says and looks at the card, apparently his luck has returned to him because the ship they are sailing on is about to stop exactly where he wants to be.
"Looks like we're lucky" He says, showing Annie the card.
“Our journey will take half a day. I hope it won't be a problem for you” Annie shakes her head as she tries to get more comfortable. T.F pulls out the next card in the middle and frowns.
"What is this?" Annie asked, noticing his reaction to the card he was holding. His fingers turn the card slightly as he tries to understand what he's looking at. The picture shows Grave for sure, but the clothes he is wearing. T.F doesn't believe his partner would willingly want to wear something like that. Too white and elegant for Graves. Moreover, he stood in a heroic pose in the middle with golden rays of sunlight around his head. Meanwhile, at the bottom of the card is a dark fog that T.F. believes he has seen somewhere before.
"What have you gotten into this time while I've been gone?" He speaks quietly. Annie still seems curious. Before T.F puts the card in his deck. He shows the mentioned card to her.
“This is Mr. Graves?” She asks as she touches the card with her finger, T.F nods.
"Yes, but he doesn't dress like that every day, in fact, he never dresses like that unless I have to force him to dress elegantly" Annie laughs at his last sentence but quickly covers her mouth, remembering that they have to be quiet. T.F hides the card and reveals the last one.
"Oh" He shows her the last card.
"There's a festival happening in the town we're heading to" He says, hiding the last card. Annie seems delighted upon hearing this news and starts playing with her teddy bear Tibbers, while T.F tilts his hat to cover his eyes and leans against the wooden wall.
For a moment he drifted between the world of consciousness and sleep as he listened to Annie playing with her teddy bear. He doesn't want to say it out loud, but this reminds him of his old home, where the children played at the bottom of the boat and the adults sat next to them, usually sleeping. T.F back then could never understand how adults could sense when one of the children wanted to sneak up between them.
He was close to falling asleep when he suddenly manages to hear Annie's quiet question.
“How did you learn magic?” T.F opens his eyes, slightly adjusting his hat.
“Well it's quite a long story.” Annie didn't seem to care as she placed Tibbers on her lap.
"It's okay, we have plenty of time anyway and Mr. Tibbers and I would love to hear the story" T.F sighed softly.
“Well, I guess I can tell you a little about it.”