At the Winter's Claw—
After stepping out of the hut, Sejuani breathed into her palms. Beneath the white mist, the warmth struck her hands and condensed into moisture. When she pressed her hands together and rubbed them, her palms prickled.
The mist had already frozen into tiny grains of ice, and the friction made them scrape against her skin.
The weather had grown even colder.
Winter had finally come to the Freljord. One heavy snowfall the night before had turned the land into a world of white. Mountains, trees, valleys—everything had been buried beneath snow, and the drifts had piled so high that both humans and beasts found it hard to move through them.
And yet, interestingly enough, Sejuani had slept unusually well last night.
She had not lain awake the way she usually did when winter arrived, troubled and unable to rest.
She had slept comfortably. In fact, she had even wanted to stay in bed a little longer that morning.
The reason was simple.
She no longer had to worry that people in the Winter's Claw would die this winter.
The storehouses were already packed with food, so full that Sejuani had even ordered the tribe's soldiers to build additional huts just to hold the overflow.
As she was thinking that, a scent suddenly drifted to her. She looked up, saw what was ahead, and the corner of her mouth lifted slightly before she lowered her head and shook it.
The man standing ahead was speaking.
"The weather's perfect today. After a heavy snowfall, it's the ideal time for open-air hot pot!"
Half a lamb leg had been set out on a cloth, along with all kinds of vegetables and fruit frozen solid as stone. And Logan, that outsider, was standing there in a pink apron, gathered in a circle with the Winter's Claw's core members.
On his left was his girlfriend, that slightly crazy girl named Jinx. On his right sat a dark-skinned Zaunite boy with white hair.
Ashe was sitting beside Jinx, with Hildhur next to her, and Donna at Hildhur's side.
What surprised Sejuani most was that even Udyr had joined in on the fun.
"Get over here!"
The moment she saw Sejuani come out, the blue-haired girl sitting in the circle jumped up and waved at her energetically.
A bright smile filled her face. Dressed like some adorable little cub, she looked almost ridiculously cute.
Sejuani found Jinx difficult to describe.
After thinking it over, the only conclusion she could come to was that the Freljord could never raise someone like Jinx.
Naive and carefree, open and adorable, hot-tempered yet bold enough to own everything she did—Sejuani had to admit that she didn't dislike a girl like that.
She walked over. Looking at the group seated around the huge pot, Sejuani glanced toward Ashe in the crowd and saw her swallowing as she stared at the broth.
That was no surprise.
The first time Sejuani had eaten something called hot pot, she had nearly drooled too.
The Freljord simply didn't have that many seasonings. How could its people possibly have seen things like clear broth bases, sweet-and-sour broth, or spicy broth?
Zaunite food was such a complete mismatch for the Freljord that calling it overwhelming wasn't an exaggeration at all.
"Move over."
Sejuani walked up to Hildhur and spoke.
Hildhur gave her a speechless look, then shifted aside. Sejuani immediately took the seat next to Ashe.
The moment she sat down, Ashe leaned closer and whispered, "Logan gave all this food to your people?"
Sejuani let out a quiet "Mm," picked up the chopsticks already set in front of her, and while waiting for the broth to heat properly, she said, "What, jealous?"
Ashe fell silent.
Of course she was jealous. How could she not be?
The Avarosans really were much wealthier than the Winter's Claw, but vegetables were something that didn't even show up at Avarosan festivals.
How many times a year did Ashe get to eat vegetables?
Fruit, yes, she had that often enough. But leafy vegetables? She'd hardly had them more than a handful of times.
And now the Winter's Claw could eat vegetables whenever they wanted.
At that thought, Ashe couldn't help glancing toward Logan.
Logan had overheard the exchange between Ashe and Sejuani. Smiling, he looked at Ashe and said, "Don't worry. When the time comes, I'll have people bring in live sheep and pigs. Don't the Avarosans already keep livestock? You can decide for yourselves whether you want to slaughter them right away or raise them."
"As for vegetables, you can try growing them too. We'll have to study the environment first, but with our technology, once things are improved, you should be able to cultivate them."
Ashe's eyes lit up at once. She nodded vigorously and said, "Thank you so much, Logan. Whatever you need the Avarosans to do, just say the word."
"When the time comes, I won't be shy about asking," Logan replied with a nod. Then he said, "Alright, everyone, you can start putting the meat in!"
Donna was the first to pick up the thinly sliced lamb in front of her. She placed it on her spoon and began swishing it through the broth.
Ashe copied Donna's movements, though not very successfully. After hesitating for a moment, Sejuani reached out and took Ashe's hand.
"I'll do it. Just watch. Tell me what you want to eat."
"…"
"Oh." Ashe nodded. Watching Sejuani cook meat for her, a faint smile appeared on her face.
Logan also returned to Jinx's side and started putting more meat into the pot.
Hot pot in the middle of a snowy day carried the same sort of feeling as lying under a blanket in an air-conditioned room in summer, or taking a nap in bed on a rainy day.
There was a kind of happiness in it that was hard to put into words.
As he added more meat, Logan said with a grin, "Alright, whoever grabs it first gets it."
The Freljord's weather worked like a natural freezer, so there was no need to worry about meat going bad. The large slices hit the boiling broth and changed color almost immediately.
Just as Logan was about to reach in with his chopsticks to snatch some, voices suddenly rose from behind them.
"Ah!"
"You're having hot pot!"
Everyone turned.
There were three newcomers.
The one who had spoken was Raelna, and she was staring at the group around Logan with delight written all over her face.
Beside her stood a woman with a red mark across her face, and next to that woman was someone with sweet features but a cold aura that warned others not to come close.
Her white hair was pinned up behind her head, and she wore a white dress. Looking closely, one could see that her feet weren't touching the ground at all—she was floating in the air.
The moment Sejuani and Ashe saw Raelna, they instinctively looked toward the marked woman.
But only for a moment.
Soon, both of them shifted their eyes to the sweet-faced woman with the icy aura instead.
Logan's voice sounded at their side.
"Uh… your timing really is incredible."
"Lissandra, want something to eat?" Logan asked as he stood up.
He had expected Lissandra might come in person, but…
he really had not expected her to show up looking like this.
And Sejuani and Ashe felt like they were losing their minds.
What?
That woman was Lissandra?
The Lissandra who ruled the Frostguard, whose presence could be traced back thousands of years, the same Lissandra sung of by bards alongside Anivia, Ornn, and Volibear?
"…"
Lissandra answered Logan with silence.
Then, after a moment, she nodded.
From beginning to end, she never spared so much as a glance for Sejuani or Ashe.
"Give me some sauce."
Raelna's voice broke the heavy silence.
With practiced ease, she filled a small bowl with sesame sauce and handed it to Lissandra, whispering, "My lady, you dip the meat in this. That's the best way to eat it."
"If it tastes too salty or too thick, add a little broth to thin it out."
"You really do know quite a lot, Raelna," Lissandra said as she sat down beside Logan.
And after she sat down, no one spoke anymore except Logan, Jinx, Raelna, and Lissandra herself.
Sejuani narrowed her eyes, picked up the bowl in front of her, and took a deep drink of the alcohol inside. As she wiped her mouth, a trace of challenge entered her eyes when she looked at Lissandra.
But that challenge quickly turned into frustration and helplessness.
Because Lissandra truly never looked at her even once.
She simply did not care about Sejuani.
Or Ashe.
"Why do you keep staring at me?"
Suddenly, the woman with the red mark on her face, seated beside Lissandra, spoke.
She looked at Jinx with a frown.
Fura had noticed the girl's gaze from the moment they arrived, but because the girl was with one of Lady Lissandra's guests, Fura had restrained herself.
But now…
the girl was still staring?
Of course Fura knew how obvious the mark on her face was. She knew perfectly well how noticeable it was.
Centuries ago, when she had just been born, she had nearly died because of that mark. A priest in her tribe had declared it an ill omen, the sign of a demon child, and she had been thrown into the snow the day she was born.
If the people from Orphan Village had not found and taken her in, she would never have lived to see today.
And while growing up, that mark had brought Fura all kinds of trouble.
To be honest, she hated it.
She knew it made her look strange.
But that didn't mean this girl had any right to stare at her without stopping.
Thinking that, Fura finally couldn't hold it back any longer.
She looked directly at the blue-haired girl, her eyes full of challenge.
Beside her, Lissandra paused for a moment, then quietly closed her eyes as if she had heard nothing at all.
Logan, meanwhile, felt awkward.
The mark on Fura's face covered a large area—nearly a quarter of her face—and at first glance, it did look a little shocking. But because Fura herself was attractive, the second look gave it an odd kind of beauty.
It had not affected the texture of her skin. It wasn't wrinkled like a burn scar. It was simply a mark, almost as if someone had painted it there.
"Jin—" Logan started, intending to stop Jinx. Staring at someone like that really wasn't polite.
But in the very next second, Jinx spoke.
"There's a sunset on your face."
"?"
The moment Jinx said it, Fura froze.
"It's really pretty. Did you paint it yourself, or is it a birthmark?" Jinx asked seriously.
Fura looked into Jinx's eyes, and after a moment, stammered, "It's a… a birthmark."
"That's so cool! Even Vi's tattoos don't look half as good as that!" Jinx said immediately, excitement lighting up her voice.
"Jinx!" Logan called out. Grabbing Jinx's hand, he said seriously, "Eat while you're eating. Talk less."
"I didn't even say anything wrong…" Jinx muttered in annoyance. "That mark on her face really does look like a sunset. Don't you all think it looks beautiful?"
She hadn't said anything bad!
As for Fura, she just kept looking at Jinx, thinking.
Beautiful?
This birthmark of hers…
beautiful?
In all her hundreds of years, this was the first time Fura had ever heard someone describe it that way. She stared at Jinx for a moment, then asked in a serious voice, "What's your name?"
"Jinx. Didn't Logan just say my name? Weren't you listening?" Jinx looked at Fura suspiciously.
But Fura shook her head and said, "I want to hear you say it yourself."
Lissandra sipped slowly at a cup of warmed milk and said nothing.
After they had eaten for a while, and after Logan had cut Jinx off from talking more, the atmosphere sank back into dead silence.
Seeing that, Logan simply set down his chopsticks.
"Alright, that's enough eating. Everyone, come on. Time to talk business."
Sejuani was the first to set down her bowl and turn toward Lissandra.
Lissandra slowly lowered her bowl, then gave a light wave of her hand.
In the next instant, Logan, Sejuani, and Ashe all felt the light around them darken.
And when brightness returned to their vision, they were already somewhere else.
"What did you do?" Sejuani shot to her feet and glared at Lissandra.
At the moment, Lissandra was seated on a long crystal bench. Hearing the question, she said, "Nothing more than creating a place better suited for conversation."
"Relax. You're still in the Winter's Claw. As for the others, I've simply separated them from us," Lissandra said softly.
"Alright, alright, calm down. She doesn't mean any harm," Logan said from the side.
"If she doesn't count as having bad intentions, then who in the Freljord does?" Sejuani snorted disdainfully. Then she added, "Logan, I don't know how you managed to pull this off and actually get her to come out here, but let me tell you something—you're playing with fire."
Ashe wanted to say something, but in the end, she only remained silent and looked at Lissandra.
Lissandra noticed her gaze. Her pale eyes turned toward Ashe, and the corners of her lips lifted slightly as she said, "You call yourself Avarosa reborn, but are you really?"
Ashe drew a deep breath, about to answer, but Sejuani stepped in front of her and confronted Lissandra first.
"She can wield the sacred ice bow. If she isn't Avarosa reborn, then are you?" Sejuani said coldly.
At the side, Logan felt a headache coming on.
Should he step in?
It felt like he probably shouldn't, considering this was a conversation between the Three Sisters.
But if he didn't step in, Sejuani and Ashe were obviously hostile toward Lissandra.
In response to Sejuani's words, Lissandra merely smiled faintly.
"Over the years, there have been no fewer than fifty people who called themselves Avarosa reborn or Serylda reborn. Not one of them lived to see the present day."
"And you think the two of you can?"
"Why did you say 'you two'?"
"Because aren't you Serylda?" Lissandra asked.
Sejuani answered, "To hell with Serylda. I'm me. I'm Sejuani."
"…"
Lissandra suddenly fell silent.
But a moment later, only Logan heard her murmur under her breath.
"That temper… exactly like my second sister."
"Alright, everyone!"
"Sejuani, calm down. Don't forget what you promised me," Logan finally stepped in.
"And Ashe, don't be nervous. It's fine."
"Lissandra, you didn't come here just to provoke Sejuani and Ashe, did you?"
All three sisters turned to look at Logan.
A moment later, Sejuani backed down.
"Fine. Let's talk."
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