Legends of Runeterra

"Leen!"

Before she even opened her eyes, Nicole waved her hands and grabbed towards the place where she sensed Li En's presence, until she grabbed the corner of Li En's clothes, only then did she feel at ease.

“Neeko!!”

As the concerned voice rang out, Nicole felt a pair of slender hands pressing on her shoulders.

"Nai... Nidalee!"

"It's me, Nicole. Are you okay? I couldn't wake you up no matter how hard I shouted!"

"I..."

Nicole recalled the scene in her nightmare, and a look of pain involuntarily appeared on her little face.

"Nidalee, Neeko is fine. She just had a nightmare. Let her have a good rest first, okay?"

Li En gently stroked Neeko's little head and winked at her slightly. Nidalee immediately understood what Li En meant.

"Okay, then Nicole, you should have a good rest. I and..."

"Lee En, don't go!!"

Before Nidalee could finish her words, Neeko nervously threw herself into Li En's arms.

"Okay, don't worry about Nicole, I'll be here with you, okay?"

"Um..."

"..."

Looking at Neeko's current state, although Nidalee really wanted to ask Li En what happened, she finally suppressed the worries in her heart.

"Well, I will..."

"Nidalee, can you stay with me too?"

"Stay, Nidalee. Neeko needs you now, too."

"Okay, I understand, but wait a minute, I'll go get the quilt..."

"I have a blanket here, just spread it on the floor."

As Li En spoke, he took out a top-quality Shurima hand-woven carpet from his magic pocket.

"Hehe~! So easy to provoke! Now Neeko is not afraid of provoking me!"

Seeing Neeko's tongue-rolling habit reappear, Nidalee's worries were slightly relieved. She picked up the blanket that Li En had placed on the ground and spread it out.

"Come on, Neeko."

"Uh-huh!"

Neeko is in the middle, with Lee En and Nidalee on her left and right.

However, as the room grew quiet, Nicole's sparkling eyes remained open.

Having just escaped from that nightmare, Nicole had no desire to sleep at all.

"Leon... Nidalee..."

"Yeah, I'm here, Nicole."

"What's wrong, Nicole?"

"I...I can't sleep..."

"So... do you want to continue listening to my experiences during this period of time?"

"Yeah!"

"..."

Nidalee did not respond as directly and impatiently as Neeko, but in the dim room, her green eyes still looked at Li En.

"Okay, where were we talking about before?"

"It's about you, Li En, following the instructions of the prophet on Mount Targon to guide the star spirits of the sun and the moon!"

"Yes, it's here. I was heading towards..."

Li En's gentle and calm voice echoed in the room, and he recounted stories one after another that were worthy of becoming legends.

Gradually, immersed in the story, Nicole temporarily forgot the previous nightmare.

...

“Hoo~Hoo~Hoo~!”

The scattered light from outside the window fell into the room, slightly illuminating Nicole's peacefully sleeping face.

Gazing at Neeko's sleeping face, Nidalee's dark green eyes revealed a hint of tenderness.

She subconsciously stretched out her right hand, but stopped when her fingertips were about to touch Nicole's cheek.

It had been less than an hour since Neeko fell asleep, and Nidalee didn't want to wake her up again with her touch.

"Li En, last night Nicole..."

"Neeko had a nightmare about her people being attacked."

"Just a nightmare? Then why can't Neeko be woken up?!"

"This is related to Neeko's talent. She and her people can share soul feelings with each other, and the pain that caused her people's death was transmitted to her soul very clearly.

By the way, Nidalee, has Neeko ever mentioned the situation of her people before?"

"Yes, when I first found Neeko, I asked her this question for safety reasons, but she told me that she didn't remember."

"'Don't remember'?"

Li En repeated softly.

"Li En, I believe that Nicole would never lie to me, but why..."

“There are two possibilities. One is that in the case of extreme sadness, the memory is actively forgotten by the brain.

Second, Neeko's tribe used their last bit of power to completely seal Neeko's memories of the tribe's pain."

"So Li En, what do you think..."

“I think it’s a bit of both.”

"But... why did Neeko only recall this memory now? And she was in that state last night..."

Nidalee was halfway through her speech when she suddenly seemed to feel something. She looked down and her eyes met those of Neeko, who had opened her eyes at some point.

"..."

"Uh... sorry Neeko, did we wake you up?"

"No, Li En, I remember everything!"

"I remembered?"

“Well, it was Tiny and the others who sealed my memories of the tribe and used their last bit of strength to send me away from that disaster.

But now, I remember everything!"

Nicole said this while sniffing softly, trying hard to hold back the tears in her bright eyes.

"Neeko..."

Nidalee opened her arms and gently embraced the vastaya Misttail whom she had long accepted.

"Nidalee, I...I'm fine..."

Li En watched this scene quietly. Now that Nicole remembered everything about her tribe, she would most likely no longer feel at ease staying in the Palosa Jungle.

Sure enough, just as he expected, Neeko, leaning in Nidalee's arms, hesitated for a moment and then spoke slowly.

"Nidalee..."

"What's wrong, Nicole?"

As if she had noticed something, Nidalee let go of Neeko's force, and her green eyes stared at her quietly.

"I'm sorry Nidalee... I... I want to go back and save my people!"

"This... Could it be that your people..."

"Yes! Although I don't know what their situation is, I can vaguely feel that their souls still exist, in Ionia!"

"..."

Nidalee fell silent, staring at Neeko quietly.

"Don't worry, Nidalee. I have learned a lot of hunting skills from you. I am much stronger than before. I will never..."

"I understand Neeko."

Nidalee interrupted Neeko and put her hands on her shoulders.

"But you are also one of my people now, so... let me go with you!"

"Eh!? But... Nidalee, the other tribesmen..."

"Don't worry, Hannie, they are already grown cats and can take care of themselves.

As for you, how could I let you rescue your people alone? "

"No, no, Nidalee, you..."

"It's decided. Don't argue with me!"

"I say, have you two forgotten me?"