Hello all my dear readers, I hope you are all enjoying yourselves. If not, well, I am here with something a little different for you which (hopefully) can change that. If you are enjoying yourselves, maybe I can make it better, but now I am rambling, thus I digress.

Uni started up this week, and everything they tell you about it being great and there being lots of great people who share your interests, it's true! I actually am in a club which ENDORSES playing League, how amazing is that!

Anyway, this story came to me the other day out of the blue. I don't play Nidalee, and I hate writing with OCs, but I kind of got started and this story just grew on me. I obviously have a thing for young love, The Heartseekers is a testament to that, but this is something different.

I'm not intending this to be a massive story like Heartseekers or Sentimental, the chapters will be shorter and less story-driven, I just want this to be a sweet tale of young love. Expect cliches and really predictable sweet moments.

As always, RFF to let me know what you think, particularly if you want to see more of this pairing or OCs in the future!

All my love, BJ

Chapter 1 - Kumungu

Everything you've heard of the Kumungu is probably true. The way everything will go out of its way to end your life, from flowers whose fragrance will knock you to the floor as your insides burn, to beasts larger than Frejlordian ursine with teeth sharp enough to sever flesh, sinew and bone. These are the horror stories we tell our children at night, the nightmares that plague the warm and comfortable, curled up by the hearth in Demacia, Piltover or Noxus. They're the tales for the ignorant, those who only believe the stories of those cowardly enough to run before they have faced any real damage. For those who take that one step further, put their life in the hands of the jungle, something new is revealed. Amidst all this death and hostility, there is something one would never expect; beauty, primal and sublime. The flowers, though toxic, bloom in a thousand vibrant colours. The beasts, though vicious, form families, tenderness showing through their tough exterior. So yes, the Kumungu is deadly, but that is only half the story, the rest is one of an insurmountable love.

The story I tell you today however is not of someone born to the Kumungu, but instead of an outcast thrown into its depths. This story is of a Noxian, at least by birth. Something to understand about Noxus is that, for them, strength is everything. They pride themselves on their military prowess, and so it is an expectation that every able-bodied man agree to serve time during their life. If you are not able-bodied or refuse to serve, you may as well have declared your suicide. If the military didn't get their hands on you, poverty and starvation would. To choose not to serve is to choose not to be Noxian, and every citizen will treat you that way. You will never find a job, a family, a home, by-passers will look down on you like filth, as though your very existence is a plague. So, for a hunter growing up in a middle-class Noxian home, the expectations were certainly stacking up. At the age of thirteen, the age at which one can join the Noxian military, he began to realise the fate he would face if he remained in Noxus. In a true act of bravery, he fled, gathering up what few necessities he required before leaving his home, his family and Noxus far behind him.

He headed south, eyes on the safety of Mount Targon. However, upon arriving he was distraught to realise that Noxus still had influence, and by then he was being hunted. In desperation he fled further south still, and that is how he found himself at the entrance to the Kumungu. It was an imposing sight, trees larger than buildings and noises he could not recognise. Call it youthful ignorance or sheer bravery, but he entered the jungle. His training as a hunter had taught him to be light on his feet, and he was swiftly making his way into the jungle's depths. He wasn't entirely sure where he was heading, but after months of fleeing he was beyond caring. He ran for two days and nights without rest until, upon finding a small lake, drank his fill and fell into a long and comfortable sleep.

He awoke the next morning to the sensation of being watched, the hair on the back of his neck standing to attention as he subtly scoured the surrounding foliage. While he couldn't see anything, he knew better than to assume that meant he was alone, and so he continued his morning preparations on edge. He was hungry and desperately in need of some sustenance, although he was somewhat reluctant to attempt hunting in the Kumungu. Slinging his bow across his shoulder, he stepped back into the trees. Having taken the time to rest his senses were far more open to the little nuances he had missed the days before. He began to notice the shockingly beautiful flowers and the faint clicking of insects in the distance. He felt the sweat beading on his neck and calves, dripping down his skin to the moist, cold floor. He kept an eye out for prey as he walked, his stomach growling every now and again just as a reminder of how long it had been since his last proper meal. Just as he thought of giving up hope, he saw it, a solitary squirrel resting on the jungle floor. Instantly he drew his bow, crouching behind a nearby tree for cover as though the squirrel were going to notice him. He took a deep breath, then another, readying himself for the kill. In a swift motion, he moved around the tree and released his arrow.

The arrow flew true, but all it struck was dirt. The squirrel had run. Annoyed, he walked into the clearing, pulling his arrow from the ground. He was too angry to see the small trap to his side, or the squirrel caught in it, or the giant beast that had come to that very clearing looking for exactly what our hunter had wanted; food. It started as a low rumble but soon grew into a full-fledged roar as our hunter turned to meet the beast eye to eye. It was easily five times the size of the youth, with a single horn adorning its think skull. Its eyes were red and bloodshot, as though the creature were in a craze. The youth notched his arrow, though he knew it would do him no good. He looked behind him, contemplating the option of running, but he knew his small legs would never move him faster than the goliath in front of him. Resigning himself to a grim fate, he snarled at the beast, intimidation seeming as valid an option as any other. The beast was, unsurprisingly, unfazed and took a step forward. An arrow was fired, skimming off the tough hide of the beast as it growled in response. Another arrow was fired, again meeting its mark but to no effect. The youth took another step back, and felt the rough sensation of bark on his back as he realised he'd backed himself into a corner. In a desperate last effort, he yelled at the beast.

The sound that came out was not that of a youthful scream, but instead of a feral growl. The beast took a step back, reluctance evident on his face. There was another growl came from the surrounding bushes, causing the beast to stamp its legs in frustration, head bowed as though avoiding eye-contact with something. Then he saw it, a pair of bright, green eyes shining through the dark foliage to his right. He instinctively held his breath, praying this new creature would be friendlier than the one he was currently facing down. Then it moved, a blur leaping from the bushes and putting itself between the predator and his prey. The youth was stunned, to say the least, at the sight he beheld. The creature that was terrifying the beast was nothing more than a cougar, and a youthful one at that. The feline would have been no taller than the youth's knee, and aside from the low growling it was emitting, the creature seemed completely harmless. Now worried for the young creature's safety, the hunter drew his bow, readying another attack should he need it. However, by the time he had notched another arrow, the beast was gone, having retreated back into the surrounding jungle. The cougar was sitting, much like the dogs had done back in Noxus, staring up at the youth with a tilted expression and curious eyes. He reached out to pat the creature, which growled at him, causing him to retreat his hand. The two stayed there for some time, eying each other with mutual curiosity and wonder.

It was the cougar that moved first, flicking its tale once before pouncing off into the jungle. Still intrigued by the creature, the youth retrieved his arrows before following the creature off into the jungle, hoping that he could keep up with it.