It had started off as harmless curiosity... or, perhaps if you were being honest with yourself you'd have called it boredom. Boredom of Piltover, of daily life being a repetition of routines you'd grown to abhor-- attend academy, socialize, appease, begrudgingly mingle at one of your parents' ostentatious cocktail parties... it was all so drab, and despite who you were you craved something more. You'd heard stories. For years before the fateful day, you'd been told about the chaos of Zaun, the filthy underbelly of Piltover. The under city.

All of it... the rumors, the curiosity, the boredom, the unknown, they were all combining factors that led you to sneaking out of your family home and seeking out an entrance to Zaun.

But now? Now you'd do anything to take it back. Now, you ran from a group of particularly terrifying Zaunites that had sniffed out your prestige, your heart in your throat as you heard them call out a string of colorful threats that sent sparks of fear through your blood. Everything was dirty-- disgusting alleyways filled with trash and sludge and piss, and every building you passed was teeming with the kind of patrons you knew would never help you. No, you made your bed, and had a feeling that soon you'd be laying in it. Bleeding in it.

You turned a corner, hoping the sharp pivot into a narrow path would shake your pursuers... and that's when you found yourself staring at a brick wall. No exits, no miracle portal back to your comfy bed at the academy in Piltover... but a wall. A dead end.

All you could do was back yourself against it and try not to cry as you held your breath, eyes wide and watching the only exit of the alleyway, waiting for the inevitable-- the Zaunites would turn the corner, see you, andthat would be it. But that moment never came. Instead, you heard the sounds of grunting and banging... before someone unfamiliar emerged into view. Not any of the pursuers... but a woman. You stayed silent as she stepped forward.

"...You're far from home, huh, Cupcake?"