"Two silvers." The ticket master looked down at Orion with a wry smile, his expression hinting, "I know you don't have it."

  "Fuck." Orion thought, his face holding a lost expression as he stared back. He hadn't thought about this, standing in a crowd filled with disdain. Some of them went as far as to cover their noses, btant disgust, hoping this street rat would disappear.

  k k, k, k.

  Small, slender hands reached past him to pce four silvers oicket ter. A young, feminine voice, brimming with an intolerance, resonated behind Orion, "Charging two silvers for entry? That's eous, even by Piltover standards."

  Orion turned, startled as he reized the appearance of the young dy. Her royal blue tailored coat draped over a pristine white tunic, straight blue hair, and sapphire eyes that burned with incredulity. Her posture represehat of nobility, stiff and authoritative. Caitlyn Kiramman.

  The ticket master stiffened, bowing slightly while pg a hand to his chest. His reply, though formal, was only slightly apologetic, "My apologies, dy Kiramman. We are simply upholding standards. Maintaining t Mei's Menagerie- lustrous as it is- is quite costly."

  "Are you sure it's that," she questions doubtfully, gng at Orion's garb briefly, "And n to keep certain people away?"

  "No Ma'am! Apologies, ma'am," His toightened, waving an arm toward the door, "Please, e right in!"

  "Your presence is two silver," She remarked dryly. Her no-nonsense gaze shifted, but excitement in her voice betrayed her tone. "e o's check out the animal!"

  Orion barely had the ce to process the situatio alone speak, as she walked passed and he was forced to quickly step up after her. The ticket master, who remained bowed, gave a sneer of disgust with sidelong goward Orion as he passed.

  ------------------------------------------

  Orion's eyes lit up after entering, uo resist his own risiement and curiosity to see some of the exotic wild-life of his favorite world. It was a nice trast pared to the bleakness of the Uy. Hints of yearning prickled his sciousness, a quiet longing for what he wished he had over his current experience.

  Caitlyn, paused several steps ahead, handing him an exhibit map and visituide. Her eyes sparkled openly, betraying her excitement and curiosity iuatioe the refined posture she tried to maintain.

  "Did you make you're way here because of the new animal?" She asked, her tone bright and curious, as if they were already friends.

  "I didn't know there was one," Orion admitted holy, earning a curious tilt from her head.

  "So you came all the way from the uy... without knowing?" she asked, her voice carrying disbelief. She shook her head, stating with self-reasoning, "Well I suppose ing from there, the menagerie is a sight in-and-of itself."

  Orion chuckled bitterly, "Yeah, you could say that. So what's this new animal?"

  Caitlyn's face lit up, and some of the rigidity melted away. "I don't know! But they say it's from Ionia! Apparently it took months of time and resources to capture one!"

  Orion's curiosity peaked, but he couldn't help teasing, "Excited enough to risk trouble?"

  Her quick wit remairue even at a young age as she quipped back, "Says the Uy boy roaming Piltover. I helped you, remember?"

  Orion raised his hands in submission, her eic gestures undisturbed, "Well, e on then."

  "Right", Orion thought. "She's not Vi."

  ------------------------------------------

  The yout was simple: a circur pathway surrounded a rge oval botanical garden. Along the e, creature habitats offered many glimpses into the wonders of Ruerra, even from the entra the very back, two textured gss doors led into a separate small botanical garden, plimented by grand half-oval ceilings that fhe entryway. The menagerie's most exotic creatures were on dispy there, orag a rge crowd.

  Orion paced alongside Caitlyn, who gave sideration and slowed, allowing Orion read and observe what he had never seen before. Together, they traveled the exterior, exging ents about the creatures: Poros from Freljord, scarabs from Shurima, hounds of Noxus. All the way to the first grand dispy, featuring a rather unusual and haunting exhibit.

  The Moon Howler monkeys, native to the Shadow Isles, were red-eyed and bck furred, and with noal behaviors. They were pced in a dense, more sound-proof habitat behind sound-proof gss. Despite the efforts to satisfy the creatures, they failed to find pea this isoted, shadowy habitat. Passersby would occasionally hear a scream from the inside, rendering the dispy unattractive to say the least.

  Caitlyn herself couldn't resist a sarcastient, "What a grand dispy. Dark shadows and horrifying screams. Really inspiring." Shaking her head, she adds on, "I feel sorry for them."

  Paused, Orion tilts his head up from the pque. "Yeah... Rare doesn't always mean useful or valuable." He paused again, sidering his words, "Though I suppose that depends on whose talking."

  While Orion couldn't see it, he felt a stare b into the back of his head as he straightened up. Clearing his throat lightly, he tries to defley questions with forced enthusiasm. "Let's check out the other one!"

  Quiing his pace briefly, he came to an abrupt halt at the rear of the crowd, freezing up. Above the enclosure, meshed vents dotted the ceiling, minimally sized feeding slots secured by locks, but the interior was luxuriously decorated. At the ter, lying fortably o jungle leaves and rich wooden beams, rested a magnifit creature. Its glistening white fur faded into a vibrant green at the base of its tail, with a simir hue lining its eyes and ears, shifting and moving with a will of its own.

  Orio a mystical energy radiating from the enclosure, perhaps reized because of his growing e to magic. He didn't o guess much either with a little kid's excited voice reaffirming his thoughts, "Why is the spirit fox sleeping?"

  Deg to test its sensitivity to magic, Orion eled for a split sed, not enough to create a visual cue. Instantly, radiant rainbow waves rippled across the creature's fur and its eyes snapped open, log onto him through the gss. The fox cooed softly, remaining motionless, yet still drawing the awe and adoration from the crowd.

  "This will be a problem," he muttered to himself. His ent earned a sharp, questioning side gnce from Caitlyn, who was silently .