Yuumi

Yuumi turned yet another corner through the labyrinthine back alleys wounding through the dense woods of Ionia. She had been exploring the mystic city, navigating through bustling streets and serene gardens from perched atop her trusly companion, the Book of Threshholds.

However, deeper within the ruins, there was no one around. A tower of barrels and crates burst from a collapse building nearby, impeding the path. Yuumi’s tiny, furry form sat up, eyebrows furrowed in determination as she addressed her companion, “Woah-kay, Book. Maybe this isn’t the way either?”

The Book of Threshholds gave a soft shimmer as its pages flipped through diagrams and symbols, runes of Ionia – as if it were pondering a solution. Yuumi’s blue eyes shimmer with anticipation, before her tail gave an impatient twitch. “What do you think? Should we find another way?”

This detour could yet prove dangerous, or perhaps just unexpected..

The familiar chime of “VICTORY!” echoed from the Nexus and throughout Summoner’s rift, a sound that always made Yuumi’s whiskers twitch with satisfaction. She punctuated the match with an exaggerated stretch of her small, lavender body, showing off her golden tail as her body rolls.

Throughout the match she acted as an agent of chaos, playfully zipping between champions across the Rift – occasionally, innocently... “accidentally”, intercepting a teammate’s skillshot with her Book, or misplacing a shield just as her partner was about to land the killing blow. She would feign innocence, swaying and flicking her tail up, and occasionally flashing an “unintentional” eyeful to ally and opponent alike. She’d pretend not to see the frustrated grunts over the sound of the crowd.

As the champions gathered for post-game, she floated casually on her Book, her light blue eyes wide and blinking innocently. The Book flipped to an illustration of a meadow with fluffy clouds as if completely oblivious to Yuumi’s antics.

Yuumi felt the approach of the one she’d tormented the most throughout the game, meeting their look with a gaze of open, almost childlike curiousity to feign ignorance of her prior provocations. “Oh hello there!” she purred sweetly, her tone utterly devoid of any malice or mischief from the past twenty minutes. “Wasn’t that fun? We won! See, Book?” There was no indication of acknowledgement she’d been a tail-flashing menace.

Dust devils danced as the Shuriman sun beat down relentlessly over the golden sand. Yuumi was floating on Book, head drooped, vibrant lavender fur dirtied by the dusty wind. Her vibrant, mischievous eyes were instead shadowed over with a familiar aching.

It had been a long day. And a long week, and many seasons of opening portals into new worlds hopeful only to be met with silence. Her memories of Norra were supposed to be comfort her and give Yuumi purpose, but now they only served to prick at her. The gentle stroke of her hand behind the ears, the quiet hours spent reading together with Book nestled in between… it was like a weight in Yuumi’s chest.

She let one paw dangle from Book’s edge, trailing it idly through the powdery sand stretching out to the horizon. Of course, she could portal, yes. She could, with enough thought, open Book’s pages to a jungle, a bustling city, a moonlit everglade. But what was the point? Each new place was somewhere without Norra. Each new face wasjust another stranger. The thrill of discovery soured into the soul-crushing routine of searching, never finding.

A sigh escaped her. Book, ever the companion attuned to her moods, fanned its pages gently. It was very much a silent invitation, a suggestion to open a portal and try again. But Yuumi just stared out at the unrelenting, expansive, impossible Shuriman desert, and a hot tear fell down the dust on her cheek.

“It’s just… so much, Book. So much sand, we can’t– how can we search it all?” she whispered in a thin, reedy voice that barely registered above the rustling winds. Yuumi suppressed a shudder as she wrapped her golden-tipped tail around her petite body, as if to squeeze the sad out. “She’s not here either. She’s never here.”

• Sadness/lonely searching for master x2, Freljord/snow mountain, wholesome

• Perilous/scary, lost in Zaun sewers, action/saviour

Amidst the ancient, mystic city of Ionia, Yuumi, the magical feline, found herself caught in a curious adventure. With her tiny, lavender form perched atop the floating Book of Thresholds, she had ventured into the bustling streets and serene gardens of the city. But her insatiable curiosity had led her astray, and now she found herself lost in the labyrinthine back alleys that wound through the dense woods of this enchanted place.

Yuumi had been exploring the enchanting back alleys of Ionia, following the whimsical trail of her own curiosity. However, as she turned yet another corner, she found herself facing an unexpected obstacle—a pile of old crates and barrels had burst from the walls of a collapsed building.

Her tiny, furry brows furrowed in determination as she addressed her floating book companion, "Woah-kay.. maybe this isn't the way..."

The Book of Thresholds shimmered softly, its pages flipping to reveal intricate diagrams and symbols as if pondering a solution. Yuumi's eyes sparkled with anticipation, waiting for the book's mystical guidance.

She glanced at the pile of crates and barrels, her tail twitching with impatience. "Well, what do you think, Book? Should we find another way?"