Work Text:
“Land, ho!” the lookout called from the crow’s nest down to the crew of the Syren below. “Ionia, in sight!”
The deck burst into action, the crew scrambling to ready the ship for docking and unloading. As the crates were hauled up from below deck, and the sails were drawn back to start slowing their headway, one figure in particular stepped up to the front of the ship to look out at their destination - Captain Sarah Fortune.
“Keep it steady, boys!” she shouted, turning to address her crew. “Remember we’re not here lookin’ for trouble - we’re here to drop the cargo, get paid, and get out. Don’t wanna hear about anyone making a fuss while we’re unloading!”
“Aye, captain!” a few of the crewmembers sounded off, before quickly resuming their duties. Sarah, meanwhile, turned back to watch the approaching Ionian dock - though calling it a ‘dock’ was perhaps a disservice… it was more of a few planks of wood that were one strong wave away from floating out into the sea, next to a fishing village that had probably been around longer than Bilgewater had been on the map. “Wouldn’t be surprised if some of the villagers were around then, too.” Sarah snorted, never quite able to wrap her head around how some species were able to live for so long.
This trip had been relatively last minute, a quick delivery for some relief supplies for the survivors of the Noxian invasion - food, medicine, even some construction materials. Usually, Ionia didn’t import much, preferring to rely on their own resources, but apparently a lot of the roads were still under repairs, and they needed some supplies in the southern lands faster than they could be delivered by land - hence the outsourcing.
When the job had come across Sarah’s desk, she’d almost thrown it out - not that she didn’t enjoy a good deed every now and again, but the pay listed would barely be enough to get together a full crew… or so she’d thought, until her first mate Rafen reminded her that quite a few of her crew were originally from Ionia, and even more of them had no love for the Noxian empire. So, she’d taken a gamble and brought the job to them - making it very clear that the pay would be shit, and that they were all free to decline.
And to her surprise, almost the entire crew had volunteered (though some more begrudgingly than others). “Guess I shouldn’t be too surprised, though,” she mused, lip quirking into a half smile. “Knew I picked these guys for a good reason.”
Finally, as the Syren pulled up, Sarah confidently stepped off the bow of the ship and landed with a thud on the wooden dock. She took a moment to steady herself - not from dropping a few yards in heels, she did that all the time, but from the way the dock shifted uneasily in the water just from her own weight - before shaking her head and striding up to the small dockhouse on the shoreline. She pushed the door open to see a young man scrambling around and sorting through papers, who looked up at her with a nervous look in his eyes.
“Um, h- hello - I suppose you must be the captain of the…” he looked down at one of his papers. “The Syren?”
“That’d be me, aye,” Sarah replied, leaning against the door and crossing her arms. “Captain Fortune, bringing relief supplies.”
“Y- yes, we were told to expect you… sorry, I, uh… just have a couple things for you to sign…”
Sarah sighed, rolling her eyes. “Give it here,” she said, and the boy froze up for a moment, looking at her outstretched hand, before looking down and quickly rifling through a few papers. After a very long, very awkward, minute, he finally pulled out a couple and handed them over. “Thank you,” Sarah muttered, taking the papers and starting to scan them over, before reaching out her other hand. “And a quill?”
“Oh! Yes, sorry,” he said, practically jumping over his desk to reach for a half-chewed feather quill, before carefully handing it to Sarah.
She looked through the documents for a moment, making sure that everything was in order. “Not exactly ‘standard’ docking paperwork, but I guess they’re good enough,” she thought, before elegantly signing her name at the bottom of each. “So now that’s sorted, who do I need to talk to about the payment?” Sarah drawled, already getting bored of the obviously rookie dockmaster.
“Erm, I… I suppose Captain Xan might be able to help sort that out, though I’m… not sure where she went - she was here a moment ago.”
Sarah sighed. “Amateurs…” she mused, stopping herself just short of calling the Bilgewater dockmasters ‘professional’ by comparison. “I’ll go find her, then - save us all the trouble. Don’t touch my boat while I’m gone.” She glared at him, before heading back outside to address her crew. “Alright boys, start unloading - I’m off to go see about the payment. Rafen, you know what to do if there’s any trouble.” Sharing a nod with her first mate, Sarah turned and brushed past the dockmaster, making her way into the small village.
She had to ask for directions a few times - and luckily she’d been practicing her Ionian not too long ago, as most of the people in this village didn’t speak any other language - but she’d somehow found herself trekking outside through some nearby woods. “Who the hells,” she muttered, “does this ‘Captain Xan’ think she is? Disappearing right before their supplies are due in, to go… what, play in the woods?” Pushing aside a tree branch, and crouching under another, Sarah found herself regretting not wearing better shoes. “Wasn’t planning on traipsing through a damn jungle today… when I find her-”
She stopped at the sound of something… whistling through the air - something metal, and instinctively crouched down. Sarah recognized the sound of metal flying through the air, having been in her fair share of gunfights, but there was something different about this - this sounded like blades… only they weren’t stopping, and there were no sounds of impact or anything. Cautiously, she started making her way further towards it, and as she rounded some brush, found herself entering a clearing - only she wasn’t alone.
A tall young woman with long, dark hair was out in the middle of the clearing, dancing in a way that reminded Sarah of some of the more sapient sea creatures she’d met before - elegant, graceful, moving with the current rather than against it. The girl’s movement wasn’t what caught Sarah’s eye, though - no, it was the array of razor-sharp blades moving around her as she danced that grabbed her attention. Each little twitch of her hand or kick of her legs sent the blades into a new motion, and for a moment Sarah found herself entranced… until she realized that train of thought was probably what got a lot of Noxians killed, and how this young girl had made it to the rank of ‘Captain’ in the first place.
“Uh… hello?” Sarah called out, and the speed at which the girl turned nearly had her ducking behind a tree, just in case the blades came flying at her.
“Oh, um… apologies,” the girl called back, taking a deep breath and pulling the blades back into some sort of crest behind her. “I, um… wasn’t expecting anyone to come out this far.”
“Some of the villagers saw you come out this way, gave me directions,” Sarah explained, stepping out into the clearing. “You’re Captain Xan, I take it?”
“I am,” the other woman said, though Sarah didn’t miss the way she stiffened up at the term ‘captain’. “Captain Xan Irelia. Is there something you need?”
“Captain Sarah Fortune, from Bilgewater. Just got in with the relief supplies, and was told you might be able to help sort out payment?”
“I see,” Irelia said, furrowing her brow. “Come with me, then. We’ll get you your money and on your way.”
“That eager to have us gone?” Sarah remarked, stepping aside to let Irelia walk past her.
Irelia huffed. “Ionia has had more than our fair share of outsiders recently.”
“Ouch,” Sarah replied, rolling her eyes behind Irelia’s back. “I’d never claim to be the most mannered person, but in my experience at least a ‘thank you’ wouldn’t go amiss.”
“Your supplies are appreciated, but Ionia was here long before Bilgewater, and will continue long after. We would’ve gotten along just fine.”
“You sure about that?” Sarah snapped, reaching out to grab Irelia’s hand (and only a little bit regretting it once she saw the blades flare out). “Because when I was making my way through that village, I saw no fewer than five severe burn victims - probably just getting by on painkillers right now, but without proper treatment they will have permanent damage. Not to mention the shoddy work on that thing you call a ‘dock’ - surprised it hasn’t collapsed into the sea by now. And that dockmaster - I imagine a kid like him only has the job because the former one isn’t around anymore?”
As she spoke, Sarah watched Irelia’s expression turn from anger to concern, and softened her tone. “I don’t mean to disrespect, hard as that may be to believe - but we really did want to come and help. Hell, the payment we agreed on just barely covers the hauling costs - most of the men I got on this job volunteered because they genuinely wanted to do something good for a change. Half of ‘em have Ionian blood in them in the first place.” Sarah smirked before continuing. “Trust me, darlin’ - the Empire ain’t so popular in Bilgewater either.”
Irelia’s lip quirked up a bit at that, and Sarah knew she’d won. “...I’m sorry,” she said, folding her blades back into their crest. “The war… took a lot from us. We’re just a bit wary of outsiders now, but I should not have insulted your hospitality.”
“Don’t beat yourself up over it,” Sarah said, noticing for the first time just how young Irelia seemed - she could barely be 20. “I’m sure you didn’t get to be Captain so fast without being a little cautious.”
Irelia laughed, but there was no humor in it. “A title forced onto me, though I will wear it if I must.” At Sarah’s raised eyebrow, Irelia took a deep breath before continuing. “I never intended to be a leader, or even a soldier. I simply fought, and others followed. If giving me a title inspires others to fight back against invaders, so be it.” Suddenly, she chuckled. “It’s funny, isn’t it? How terrible circumstances can drive people to become something they weren’t? I wasn’t always this… impolite. Had we met before the war, I might have welcomed you with open arms. For many Ionians, it’s the same. But the war… forced us all to do things we aren’t proud of. Even Karma, one of our spiritual leaders, was forced to take action during the war.”
“Oh yeah?” Sarah smirked. “What’d she do, say a prayer at the Noxians?”
“She did,” Irelia met her eye contact, returning the smirk. “And then blew up an entire Noxian warship with her magic.”
“...Oh.”
“The other elders were quite unhappy with her… I for one am glad she decided to do something at all - that news spreading through the resistance gave us all hope we didn’t know we needed.”
“You said you started fighting on your own?” Sarah asked. “You couldn’t have been older than what, 14?”
“13,” Irelia nodded. “I was off learning to dance at the Placidium when the Noxian Admiral Duqal invaded my village and… killed my family. These blades are what remains of my family crest, and it was with them that I slew Duqal.” Irelia closed her eyes and took a deep breath, collecting herself. “Noxus took a great deal from many Ionians, not just me, so I can only hope that my actions that day avenged more than just my own family.”
The two were quiet for a moment, and Irelia took the opportunity to turn and continue walking back to the village. “Come, let’s get you sorted out.”
Sarah silently followed, but after a minute spoke up. “You know, we’re a lot more alike than you think. We’re the powder monkeys.”
“Powder… monkeys?”
“We’re the sparks, the things that explode when there’s too much friction… we start the fire that spreads to everyone else following us.”
Irelia didn’t respond, but Sarah could tell she was listening. “I also had everyone I loved ripped away from me in a moment, and I also decided to do something about it.”
“And?” Irelia asked.
“And I might not have magical flying swords, but I do still have my own Admiral Duqal out there, and it’s only a matter of time before I get him.” Sarah laughed softly. “My men all say I’m crazy.”
Sarah watched Irelia shake her head, and could tell she was smiling too. “They don’t understand; not as we do.”
“No they don’t,” Sarah affirmed. “Of course I’m crazy - I’m aiming to overthrow the king of Bilgewater. Can’t be sane if you’re aiming for revolution. I’m not quite there yet, but… I will be.”
Irelia was silent for a moment, before looking over her shoulder at Sarah. “Then I wish you luck, Captain Fortune.”
“You can call me Sarah, gal,” she chuckled. “Unless you want me calling you ‘Captain Xan’ all day too?”
Irelia turned red at that. “No, no, that’s fine… Sarah. You may call me Irelia as well.”
Finally, they arrived back in the village, and Irelia turned to face Sarah. “I’ll go and collect your payment, and meet you back at your ship.” Sarah nodded, and watched Irelia walk away for a moment before turning to head back to her ship. As she got back to the dock, she watched as her crew offloaded the last of the crates, and walked up to stand beside Rafen.
“No trouble, I take it?” she asked, and Rafen turned to shake his head.
“None at all. Payment went well, I take it?” he replied, and Sarah raised an eyebrow at him.
“What makes you say that?”
“You’ve got this look about you,” he said, lip quirking into a half-smile. “Like you’re cooking up some master plan that I’ll only find out about when it’s too late.”
“Who, me?” Sarah replied, feigning shock. “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean, my dear first mate, who would stand by me through thick and thin.”
Rafen chuckled, shaking his head as he turned back to keep an eye on the men. “Just try and give me at least a few minutes heads up before something explodes.”
“No promises,” Sarah winked, before the sound of footsteps behind her drew her attention, and she turned to see Irelia walking over to them.
“Here you are, Captain,” Irelia said, handing over a sack of gold, which Sarah gladly accepted. “Along with my apologies, and my thanks - these supplies will surely help a great deal.”
“Don’t mention it, darlin’,” Sarah said, peeking into the bag to do a quick count. “I don’t suppose I could tempt you into joining up? Could always use another good fighter on the crew, and you’re sure better looking than most of these boys.”
“Ah…” Irelia chuckled, though Sarah didn’t miss the faint blush on her cheeks. “I’m afraid not - while I’d be lying if I said I never dreamed of sailing the seas, I can’t leave Ionia right now. Too many people are depending on me. Maybe someday, though, I’ll find you in Bilgewater, on the other side of your own revolution, and we can share a drink then.”
“Well, guess I’d better get busy then, shouldn’t I?” Sarah winked, handing the gold to Rafen. “Never been one to keep a lady waiting.”
Irelia laughed again, before straightening up and bowing. “Thank you again, Captain Fortune. May the Spirit of Ionia guide you in your travels.” Sarah nodded slowly, unsure if she should return the bow or not, but Irelia turned and walked away before she could say anything, so she figured that was good enough.
“‘Your own revolution,’ eh?” she heard Rafen say, and turned to glare at him. “Just going around sharing your plans with everybody now?”
“Shut up,” Sarah said, giving him a light slap on the shoulder. “We… had a moment. Bonded, or whatever. Girl talk. You wouldn’t get it.”
“Uh huh,” he replied, having finished his own count of the gold. “Well, ‘Captain Fortune’, guess it’s about time we got a move on. Weather’s still nice, we should be able to make good time back to Bilgewater.”
“Then let’s get going,” she said, glad to be changing the subject. Taking the gold back, she made her way back onto the ship to drop it off in her quarters, intending to distribute it out to the men later, while Rafen started barking orders to get the ship ready for departure. As she felt the ship start moving, Sarah took a moment to sit down in her chair, letting her eyes wander around her cabin… until they landed on a model ship she’d built a few years back, and she found her thoughts drifting back to one thing in particular Irelia had mentioned during their talk.
“‘Blew up an entire warship,’ huh? …Not a bad way to send a message.”