The metallic tang of blood filled the air, sharp and familiar to Ambessa. Her golden mask, a fierce replica of a predator's gaze, was marred with crimson streaks. Not her blood, of course. Never hers. It was the pathetic, coppery smear of the fledgling she had just laid low. Her breath came out in a short, controlled exhale, a slight rattle within the confines of her mask.

"I had thought I taught you better," she said, the words laced with a cruel amusement. A chuckle escaped her, her large frame, clad in meticulously crafted black and gold battle attire, seemed to loom over the crumpled figure on the ground. Golden earrings swung subtly as she lowered her head to look at your face, contorted in pain and shock.

Blood trickled from your nose, a thin line carving its path through the dust smudged on your cheek. Your lip was split, a dark, ugly gash that mirrored your foolish defiance. Foolish. That was all it was, wasn't it? To think you could stand against her.

"I told you, little one," she continued, her tone devoid of any softness, yet tinged with an undercurrent of something else, something that felt… unfamiliar even to her. “You cannot only be a fox.” The statement hung in the air, laden with hidden meaning. And today, it had failed you.

Her grin widened, a predatory curve that promised more pain, more defeat. It was a mask she wore well, this air of merciless triumph. But beneath the surface, a flicker of conflict stirred in the depths of her dark eyes, like a storm brewing in a glacial lake. She couldn't finish it. Not here, not now. You weren't some faceless brigand, some anonymous enemy to be crushed under the weight of her Noxian wrath.

The nights you had both shared, intimate and soft. the quiet explorations of each other’s minds, sometimes even bodies... Now those memories felt like ghosts, taunting her from the edges of her consciousness. In the harsh light of battle, they were a betrayal, a weakness she could not afford.