The dragon trainers – Chapter 1: Reunion

“10 years have passed since we left… I found a partner that shared the same interests in dragons as much as I had. I used to live in Bandle with the other yordles. One day, I snatched a dragon egg and broke its resident from the newborn confinements. Ever since then, me and Riggles were inseparable. One day, I even met Lulu and we shared the same thoughts on dragons, having one of her own. So without thinking it further, as the Bandle gunner I was, I charged in with my friend to a whole new world of adventures around Runeterra. Problem is, while we spent time saving people and bringing justice our own way towards humans and other beings, time by time I started getting home sick, missing my friends, my co-workers… So I thought it would be a good time to take a break.”

“My name is Tristana, and this will be a story about friendship, adventure, teamwork… But most importantly… This is the story about dragons!”

Scenario: Road to Bandle.

: "So… Are you nervous? Think they’ll recognize you yet?”

: "Hopefully… Been a while since I was in the military of Bandle, don’t even know if my credentials still work there…”

: “If anything, you can always talk to Teemo, I’m sure he’d be happy to help a friend, right?”

: “Let’s hope he still remembers me, I’ve changed a lot since last we met… Wonder if he has changed as well?”

: “How was Teemo back then?”

: “Well, he was too proud of his task as a Captain that he became too overprotective. He always thought that he had the job to make sure none of the yordles ever had to die for the people. I always pitied him… Having such a harsh job, I bet he felt nothing but stress as he felt the weight of the world upon him. I always told him that he didn’t have to pull all of that bravado himself, but he said it’s what made him feel better.” She sighs

: “So you think he’ll be around in some bad shape?”

: “Let’s hope not… He’s a great yordle… He doesn’t deserve such a fate.”

: “Well, if it helps, maybe he’ll be happy to see you.”

: “How so?”

: “You know, with how much you changed body wise and such, you’re no longer that young adult that just craved excitement around every corner. You’ve matured, as have I.”

: “Are you implying he’d be happy to see me from my looks?” She didn’t like the accusation a bit.

: “Don’t you want him to?” She smiles at her.

: Stares at her partner for a while in silence before blushing a bit. “A compliment would be appreciated, but don’t want him to notice me for looks alone.” She plays with her hair a bit, feeling a bit out of place with the talk.

Scenario: Bandle City Gate.

: “Home sweet home… It’s almost as I remember, wonder how much has changed?”

: “Let’s see if we can find Teemo and the others… What would be the best way to find him?”

: “At the mothership, Bandle Scout’s HQ, we can just ask at the desk…”

Scenario: Mothership entrance.

Receptionist: “Hello, may I… Wait, aren’t you Tristana? The famous Megling gunner?”

: “Guess my title still stuck, eh?” She says, slightly embarrassed but smiling.

Receptionist: “Hard to forget brave soldiers who lived in Bandle. How can I help you?”

: “Well, wanted to talk to Captain Teemo, if he’s available…”

Receptionist: “Make that Colonel Teemo… He has moved up in the world for quite a while since you last left.”

: “Colonel? Impressive!” Pause “Right?” Turns to Tristana, no idea if it’s a good thing.

: “Didn’t expect that…”

Receptionist: “Well, sadly. The colonel is busy with a few interviews and what such. If you want me to schedule an appointment… But it will take a while… Maybe a few days, a bit over a week…”

: “Just tell him I need to talk to him and to meet him at our hang out place. He’ll know what I mean and will probably schedule an appointment with me himself.”

Receptionist: “Will try, can’t make any promises.” Starts dialing a number, hoping that he’d answer. “Hello, Colonel? There’s someone here to see you…” Pauses “No, it’s not another press conference and it’s not another agency…”

Both Tristana and Lulu exchanged a look of confusion.

Receptionist: “Sir, it’s Tristana… The former Lieutenant of the Bandle Gunners, she…” Long pause. “She asked me to tell you to meet her at your hang out place, whatever it means…” Another pause. “I see…” Pause. “Understood then, I’ll tell her.” She hangs up with a smile. “He just asked me to cancel his next appointment just to see you, give him five minutes and he’ll meet you both.”

: Smiles “Alright, thanks again.”

Receptionist: “My pleasure.”

Scenario: Local Bandle Bar.

: “You look nervous, what’s wrong?”

: “You told me about how I matured over the years, so I wonder if Teemo matured as well… I hope I don’t look childish in front of him or the other way around.”

: “It’s been 10 years, Tristana, I’m sure he…”

: Noticed her partner’s silence. “What’s wrong?”

: “I keep hearing all of these girls gossiping about us at the next table…”

: “Well, I was a famous lieutenant and you were banned once from here, so guess they find us odd here?”

: “Dunno, they’re giggling…”

: “Then they’re just trying to bother us…” Taps finger on table. “What’s taking him so long?”

: Looks in a direction, then suddenly stares surprised. “Here he comes…”

: Looks where Lulu looks, getting a similar expression.

Teemo: Enters the area looking for the girls, instead of his usual outfit, he wears some cargo shorts, a military shirt with his buttons unopened, revealing some extra fur on his chest that he didn’t have before, some military boots, no hat, his supposed pink fur collar was now grey and his eyes were fully open, revealing to be blue. After finding the girls, he waves with a smile before slowly walking up to them.

: “Wow, he sure has changed… He looks…”

: “Different…” Tried to finish her sentence.

: “Hot…” She puts her hands on her mouth, realizing what she just said.

: Looks at Tristana, a smile slowly creeping on her face.

: “Not a word, not a damn word! I swear that I’ll… HELLO!” She says, turning to Teemo suddenly with a blush and a smile.

: “10 years, eh? Feels like just yesterday you left us…” He smiles, but looks confused for a moment. “Where are your dragons?”

: “We left them around the forest to hunt for their own lunch.”

: “We didn’t want them causing a ruckus in the city. Yeah…”

: “Well, I’m happy that you girls came back, it’s been dull around these parts…” He takes a seat with the girls. “So, adventures? I’m sure you had a good share, no?”

: “Well, we traveled around Valoran about three times or so, either helping local towns or eating at many places where humans reside. We avoided Shurima for most reasons and we only stuck near Freljord borders.”

: “We also avoided Noxus for good reason.”

: Just nods “Yeah, I understand why. You girls had the right call, saved any princesses out there...?” He joked.

: “No, none of that sort, but I do believe there could be a few for saving, if you’re interested.” She smiled, teasing, showing that with age, she grew some sense of humor that was more mature.

: Rolled her eyes and tried to change the subject. “Anyways, what about you? Heard you became a colonel, that’s… That’s something, you stopped being the same old captain, uh?”

: Just sighs. “Yeah, but this new title brings me an insane amount of responsibilities… Because colonels are meant to be in charge of squad positioning, which is something I never did as a captain before, ironic as it sounds… And not to mention that people are always on my case about my next move, worried about the men in my command, doesn’t help that I became the front page of some magazines and such, so they’re using me as a model as well… It’s exhausting to deal with so many people…” After clearing that out of him, he gave a deep sigh.

Both Tristana and Lulu exchanged glares once, worried about him.

: “But… At least there’s something good out of it?” She asks, hoping for a proper answer.

: “Well, better paychecks, not having to go on missions ever again… I’m almost living a luxury if I refused to move out to anywhere nicer. For personal reasons.” He says non-chalanty.

: “Well… What about Bandle? Any changes? Not that I would know off… You know…”

: “Yeah, ever since I heard that you were banned from Bandle, took me a while but managed to convince people to let you back in, as long as you don’t use your magic at all. And to stay away from schools.”

: “Yeah, I won’t be doing that again… Boy, I had some livid imagination back then…” She says, rubbing the back of her head.

: “Well, since we’re together… Wait, there’s still Rumble. Have you… And him…?” She starts, hoping that during 10 years, they made up peace with each other, knowing well about their fight over Tristana’s heart and that it caused them to hate each other.

: “Well, if you must know… We have been hanging out sometimes since 3 years ago… Drinking together and such. At first it got awkward, only reason we started was because since you left, Rumble and I had no reason anymore to fight each other. Guess Rumble saw something in me and decided to change… I don’t question him, but I am curious after all these years.” He says, feeling awkward for such info.

: Felt like screaming almost. “That’s great! I wanted you both to be happy for once… Because seriously, I know you both have eyes on me, but it’s not worth to nearly kill each other over it.” She says, trying to sound defensive of their make up.

: “Well, we try not to talk about you… We won’t have a choice today… If you want, we can go see him.”

: “Is he still living near the junkyard?”

: “Yeah, but he has changed a bit, he started to be less selfish and try to make inventions for the good of the yordles, not himself. So he either invents something that helps others, or he just repairs stuff for a fee. People started to like him better since he turned that way. He actually felt happy for once.”

: “And uh… What about… You know… Tristy?” She said, trying not to cringe at the fact that the robot was obviously named after her.

: “He stopped working on her… Ever since we stopped arguing about you, he feels that the mech brings nothing but bad memories… And he really doesn’t want his only friend to disappear from his life over them…” He looked seriously at Tristana.

: Looked worried. “Are you saying that…?”

: Nods sadly. “He had a depression, a few months before we made up… Even though we hated each other’s guts, I’d rather stick by his side than to walk away… I may have felt obligated, maybe to show how much I’d give for Tristana, who knows… Just felt… Right to do…”

: Went quiet, didn’t know what to say. “Can I see Rumble? I think it’s time he saw me.”

: Nodded and got up. “He should be at home. Let’s hope he’s not asleep, lately he’s been having too much work. Have to remind him to rest once in a while when not busy.”

Scenario: Junkyard.

: Knocks at the door. “Yo, Rumble, it’s me! Open up!”

At first, there was silence.

: Knocks again. “Wake up! I know you’re there awake!”

: “Yeah, hold your freaking horses, I’m coming!” He shows up, unlocking the door for about half a minute before opening, about to say something before going silent.

: Smiled softly. “Long time no see, uh Rumble?”

: Didn’t say a word, but he did walk up to Tristana to hug her personally.

: Felt awkward with the hug, looking at Teemo.

: Felt neutral about it, if anything, he thought that Rumble deserved it.

: “I missed you so much, Tristana… Come on in! Sorry for the mess…” He let go and took the trio into his house, showing to be a mess of devices and appliances around. “Been working on so many requests at the same time, some need a spare part, so I order them when I can’t find it and work on something else in the time I wait for it and so on…”

: “Teemo told me you started helping Bandle. That’s really noble of you.” She said with a honest smile.

: “Teemo, did you…” He started.

: “Yeah, she know.” He interrupted him.

: “Good, didn’t want to be the awkward one to explain it.”

: “So… Things have changed a lot, uh Trist?”

: Nods. “For the better from what I’ve seen… I was honestly worried before I entered the gates…”

: “Almost forgot, how was your 10 years out there?”

: Smiled proudly. “Great years of my life! Had nothing but fun with the dragons! And before you ask, we let them roam outside in the forest. Didn’t want to cause a ruckus.”

: “Good call, you have me for a ruckus.” He said, jokingly.

: “Welp, I have to get back on duty… Too much to...” He hears his phone ringing. “Great… Give me a moment to answer this.” He leaves the room to answer it, he was still within view of the others.

: “He’s been by the hairs about his job… Not sure if he told you…”

: “He has… Uh… Can I ask you something? Just between us three?”

: “Shoot.”

: “What made you change your mind and accept Teemo? He says that it was like you just saw something in him that changed you…”

: Felt hesitant to answer the question.

: “We won’t judge either of you for whatever you say. We promise.”

: Sighs and looks at Teemo. Once he seemed not looking at them, he turns back to the girls. “Teemo has considered giving up on everything, just because the job is getting to him… Too much stress, no free time, even been having a hard time meeting up with him and I can’t blame him… My younger self would think he’s being selfish in putting his job before me, but… I can’t hide it… He’s just been too stressed for his tastes… I felt sorry for him… So I stuck around in hopes that he’d change too over the times.”

: Smiles, almost in tears. “That’s really kind of you, Rumble.”

: Chuckles “What about you girls? Changed at all?”

: “Not much…”

: “If you don’t count both of us acting and looking more mature for the eye candy of certain males.”

: “LULU!” She blushes, angry.

: Blushes a bit, examining Tristana. He had to agree with Lulu, Tristana seemed to have developed rather nicely… He wondered if Teemo noticed…

: Let her tongue out in a teasing manner. “Relax, I’m kidding!”

: Facepalms, frustrated. “I swear, the past two years, you’ve been acting a bit of a high hormonal teenager…”

: “Reminds me of a certain rocket jumping gal who acted the same…” She says, giving a sneaky smile.

: Looks at Lulu in disbelief.

: Came back from answering the phone. “Welp, guess he finally called…”

& Tristana: Looked at Teemo curious.

: “You mean after being locked up for a couple of years in his lab, he finally rang? Some nerve. What did he want?”

: “Apparently he caught news of the girls arriving and wants us together at his lab. That means you too, Rumble.”

: “Wait… Who are we talking about?”

: “Heimerdinger… He’s been in town for a few years, asked me to reserve a lab for him at the mothership, saying that his newest studies required him to not be disturbed and that any requests he made are not to be questioned. Been following his instructions for now.”

: “Something I don’t sympathize with… Who knows what he could be up to.”

: “Wonder what he could need us for?”

: “Only one way to find out. Shall we?”

: “Yeah, if he kept things in secret, then it must be important. Best we don’t keep him waiting.”

: “Fine, let’s go.”

Scenario: Bandle city Labs, lab B07.

: Knocks on the door. “Heimer, we’re here as you asked. With Rumble, Trist and Lulu. Open up!”

: From inside. “Splendid! I’ll be there in just a brief moment!”

The door opens and Heimer shows up, he looks like he had a few burns on his face and arms.

: “Heimer? Are you alright!? You’re hurt!”

: “Minor inconveniences for my project. Pay no heed. Do come in.”

They all walk inside a living room. Rumble and Teemo share a look of confusion before entering.

: “Once again, I’d like to thank the captain for his understanding in my discretion towards my project. It’s best if we keep the military out of my projects.”

: “We have a different meaning of discretion tough. My superiors have been worried about whatever gimmick you’ve been cooking up in here. And with what you asked, it better not be something dangerous.”

: “Dangerous yes, but in the wrong hands. And trust me when I say that this WEAPON as you’re about to call it to accuse me of doing something wrong cannot be stolen or taken.”

: Acted a bit annoyed, but didn’t say much.

: “But enough about me for now, how have the girls been doing in their fine adventure?”

: “We’ve been doing alright, we explored a lot, not everything and things have been fine since. We decided to return to Bandle to meet up with old friends… And these two.” She points at both Teemo and Rumble, who just return her a serious look, wondering if she meant something more serious.

: Disregarded her mention of the two males. “And your dragons? I suppose you thought that it would be dangerous to have them inside Bandle?”

: “Yeah, it was for the best. We didn’t want trouble.”

: “Seems a bit unnecessary, if you ask for my opinion.” He presses a button on a remote on the living room table.

A hole on the wall opens and both Riggles and Pix fly in, landing in the place and running straight at their owners for some petting.

: “Pix! What are you doing here? Thought you were taking care of Riggles!”

: Laughs at being licked by Riggles. “Now now, I know you’re happy to see me but we have company, down boy!”

Riggles: Sat down obediently.

: “How did you even get them in here?”

: “You don’t know how many dragons are easily called by the smell of fish… And with the ladies having a unique smell their dragons can recognize, they put two plus two together and got here.”

: “Our dragons are so smart then.” She smiled, petting pix.

: “Alright, so you called us all here… Brought the girls who you had little idea they just arrived, somehow convinced their dragons to show up… What’s going on here Heimer? Why all this secrecy and delay… Just to invite us today of all days!?”

Silence hit the room. Rumble had a point, this is just too much of a coincidence.

: “Very well… I do owe you all an explanation, particularly to Teemo here.” He gets up, walking back and forth during his explanation. “You see… It’s been too long since I started working in the name of science, believing that there’s always something out there that needs to be explained… I’ve always been at the service of that belief. But…” He stops and looks down. “As time passed… I’m growing old… The same methods I use start to look repetitive and obsolete. And in a little midlife crisis, as people tend to call, I realized that I might not have done much, besides leaving my knowledge for future generations of yordles. Even wrote all the books needed for anything I know. Which I hope it will be of great use!” He says rather confidently, expecting some sympathy.

The four just stare at him, giving an awkward smile.

: “Y-yeah! I’m sure our children and such will appreciate your knowledge!” She says, giving them a quick glance as she was trying to make sure he didn’t suspect anything.

: “Splendid! Now… Since I already did as much as I feel was necessary… I wanted to somehow enjoy my days of life in this world. But as a man of science, I have no start to what could it be… Then I figured that I could work with living beings than machinery. Which led me to an idea… Please follow me…” He says, walking further into the lab, towards a locked door.

The other four yordles follow him slowly.

: “There’s a reason why I called all four of you today… I feel like this project I’m working on… Could benefit us all. And maybe give this old yordle something to be proud of accomplishment that’s not science related.” Turns towards Teemo and Rumble. “I hope I can trust you both with it as well, if you’re willing to learn and adapt to it.”

Both Teemo and Rumble exchange a look at each other, as if assuming that he might be setting them up to something alien before looking back at Heimer.

: “Fine… I could use something new in my life…” He says, somewhat bored.

: “You can count on us!” He says proudly as he was supposed to be.

: “Very well…” He slowly turns around and starts unlocking the metal door. First a code then a handprint scanner, before stepping back once to look at the door.

The metal door slowly opened, doing all sorts of noises that it was allowed to. The 5 yordles standing there looking at it. The four visitors all started getting their own ideas of what was behind that door. Once the door was open… Teemo, Rumble, Tristana and Lulu all stared… Shocked… What they saw… Was a unique experience…

TO BE CONTINUED.