Rise of the Ice Behemoth (Private, Leona Jarnefeldt)

It didn't take much more for the fight to end after that. Each spell alone was quite powerful. One right after the other in near unison even more so. Not even the Icebourne's thick armored skin was enough to withstand the damage, especially when the various weak points were struck to damage underneath that natural outer layer. Leona's spell was especially lethal, having gone and damaged its vulnerable fleshy insides. The result of their spells was the Behemoth's ultimate downfall. The creature roared painfully and stopped moving quickly after. Beams of icy cold mist and light sprout out from each point of attack. Seconds passed slowly, and then, the creature began to not only fall apart but also explode. Huge chunks and shards of ice and other various parts of the creatures shot out in all directions, the speed and size of the "projectiles" being just as deadly as any normal attack from the creature when it was whole.

Samira, naturally, was no longer standing on what could be called a solid surface. The light show accompanied by the growing magical pressure and just typical survival senses told her to get out of there immediately. The quickly moving cracks and breaks of armored skin all around her were yet another huge clue. A blue symbol of light and magic formed behind Samira right then, taking on the shape similar to wings and acting in a similar manner. The wings of light were not technically physically attached to her form. Instead, it appeared to be separated from her body yet followed her form as she directed its powers of flight. The symbol was one connected to her magic and soul and never would she fall while making use of the spell. As her footing on the creature was lost, Samira was now in the open air and directing the symbol of flight to take her backward and away from the behemoth's fracturing body. As the explosion was about to occur, a celestial portal opened directly behind her. The summoner disappeared into her opened portal to teleport herself away in the nick of time. Samira reappeared next to Kukulkan, who barely moved during the behemoth's demise and when the other end of the portal materialized into existence beside her.

Leona would not be left to fend for herself against an explosion of ice shards, raw magic, and teeth. After all, that was why Samira requested the aid of her summoned version of Athena's avatar. The spirit owl gained speed to act and took its place between Leona and the dying behemoth. Its magic spread just enough to protect the Wizard Saint, protecting her not only from the explosion but some of the now flying pieces that threatened to do much more harm than any bullet could ever do. It would not last forever though. Neither would Athena's shield, which the summon conjured and threw to cover an even wider area to also protect Leona's summons. The shield took its place high in the air and its magic instantly spread to create a transparent domed wall that stood between the exploding mess and her summoner's allies. It was up to Leona and her winged summons to get themselves to safety as quickly as possible.

(Word Count: 541
Samira Total: 14,253)

Once Leona had fired her Air Pressure spell down the throat of the beast it did not take long for Samira and her summons to spring into action. Leona watched as the Icebourne took hit after hit to its vulnerable places until it could take no more punishment and collapsed to the ground after one last bout of roaring in pain. The Wizard Saint of Courage was absolutely ecstatic that the beast had been defeated without a protracted struggle. She was also glad that it had been defeated before the town she and Samira were hired to protect came under attack.

"YEAH!" Leona shouted in victory, raising her right fist in triumph. She had managed to help defeat the Icebourne without making any more stupid mistakes that could have jeopardized the mission. She could not recall the last time she had felt this good. Leona looked at the defeated creature and watched it to make sure that it was absolutely positively dead before she celebrated any further. To her surprise the beast's corpse exploded, sending chunks of Icebourne and other deadly projectiles flying in all directions.

"What the Hell? Why is it exploding?!" Leona exclaimed in audible dismay. She had no idea if the sudden explosion was a natural thing for the giant beast to do when it died or if it could explode at will and had deliberately let itself be killed, banking on the post-death explosion to take out the Goddess of Humility and the Wizard Saint of Courage.

"We've gotta move, Leona!" Sky Champion Rafale urged his summoner as he hovered at her left. Leona quickly nodded. When Leona looked towards the exploding creature she saw that the weird bird from earlier had intervened on her behalf to protect her from the blast with a powerful shield spell.

"Let us leave at once, Leona!" Tempest Avian called out after flying in front of her to try and protect her in case the shield cast by the bird suddenly failed. Leona did not need to be told a third time.

"I'm on it!" Leona said. Leona telepathically ordered Winged Lion to turn backwards and fly as far away from the mess as he could. He wordlessly obeyed, turning around and zipping away from the explosion as quickly as he could with Tempest Avian and Sky Champion Rafale following close behind. Winged Lion took them one hundred meters away from the explosion before he turned around and hovered in place and Sky Champion Rafale and Tempest Avian took their places at Leona's side.

Leona looked around for Samira and hoped that the teal-haired mage had not been caught in the blast. The blonde eventually spotted Kukulkan and was tempted to fly over to the giant winged serpent to inquire about Samira, but after a moment of thinking Leona decided to wait out the fireworks before moving towards her friend. She just hoped that she was far enough away to avoid all the debris flying around as a result of the Icebourne's dramatic demise.

[Post Word Count: 504]
[Leona's Word Count: 12,458]

That was that. The explosion was seemingly the end of the creature. After that had transpired all that remained were pieces of it along the ice and snow, the natural sounds of the landscape, and swirls of raw magic particles that remained in the air. The Icebourne was no more.

"That's it?" To say that Kukulkan was very much not impressed was an understatement. That whole thing was disappointing and not just because Leona was still in one piece. Even Samira came out of that without so much as a tiny scratch. For some monstrous ancient beast capable of destroying cities it was lacking in providing adequate entertainment. This could have been done without the presence of Leona. Without Samira even. What a waste. Being locked up for so long must have weakened the creature significantly. That or it was sleepwalking and had yet to fully awaken its true potential.

"What did you want to happen?" Samira inquired, just barely hearing the winged serpent's words over the ringing in her ears from the explosion. "Did you really want the Icebourne to be so powerful that Leona and I would fail to stop and defeat it before all of Iceberg was destroyed?"


"Well, yes," Kukulkan answered honestly now that she thought about that outcome. She hated Iceberg and its climate. So what if it became the home of one lone unstoppable behemoth?
"Would anyone really miss this place if that happened?"

"You are terrible."

"No more than usual."

Kukulkan's words and attitude were no longer worth even a head shake as a response. Samira just accepted it and moved on, ignoring the wind summon for now. At a distance, she could see Leona, the summons under Leona's command, as well as Athena. They had all managed to escape the range of the blast in time. Ra and Susano ported themselves back to their own realm to escape the effects of the blast. Even though they couldn't die from it they still would much rather prefer to not be within range. It wasn't exactly a comfortable experience even for them.

Samira had to admit the mission went over much easier than she had anticipated, but it was just as well. She and Leona were powerful mages after all and it was best to be overly cautious than showing little of it at all. The outcome might have turned out quite differently if either had been on their own or if a different mage had been called to deal with the Icebourne. These facts were satisfactory enough for her.

It was at that moment of calm that the swirls of magic in the air changed. No longer was the collective seeming to gently blend in with the world's natural ethernano. It had a direction now. A destination. One that it began to rapidly soar towards for an unknown reason. Like a bolt of unleashed magic, the energy took off towards the city of Heitz. Samira couldn't feel that the magic was destructive by nature. It had lost that power already, but it was certainly odd all the same. It was worth investigating further. It didn't necessarily add to the mission in either case. Checking in on the town and the well-being of its residents had been part of the plan once she was sure the Icebourne was dealt with one way or another.

If Leona had not already taken it upon herself to head towards Heitz, Samira would fly over towards her, Kukulkan trailing behind. "This may not yet be over. I am going towards the town to investigate."

(Word Count: 596
Samira Total: 14,849)

After everything settled down Leona sat on the back of Winged Lion in silence as her summons stayed by her side in case something else happened. Leona was not sure what that "something else" was because it looked like the Icebourne had well and truly died, but she was not going to call it a job until everything was said and done. The Wizard Saint of Courage looked around her at her summons and noticed that they had not been harmed by the explosion, which was good. Sky Champion Rafale, Tempest Avian, and Winged Lion were all ready and waiting for Leona's next command.

Once she was sure that her summons were fine she took a deep breath and looked towards Samira in the distance.

Despite her earlier act of weapons-grade stupidity the fight against the Icebourne turned out a lot better than she had anticipated. She had anticipated a long and drawn-out struggle where both Samira and Leona were pushed to their limits and had to pull out all the stops to achieve a hard-won victory over the colossal beast. Instead the fight had been rather easy.

Leona sat in silence and listened to the sound of the wind howling around her mixed with the flapping of Winged Lion's mighty wings.

She was glad that the fight had been ended so decisively in favor of the two mages. Things could have gotten very ugly very fast if the Icebourne had managed to reach Heitz before Samira and Leona could stop it. Leona was glad that she was able to do something meaningful to help stop the beast despite her earlier mistake... while it was always great to work alongside Samira the blonde felt that sometimes she was just Samira's sidekick instead of being the teal-haired mage's equal.  

Then again, Leona was not nearly as smart as Samira was.

Samira was able to think through problems much more clearly than Leona and see solutions that the blonde would have missed because of her inability to slow down and think a problem through all the way.

Leona sighed softly. Seconds after sighing she spotted Samira flying towards her and roused herself from the post-battle introspection that she had been indulging in. Leona's attention was focused entirely on Samira and what the teal-haired mage had to say.

After Samira had delivered her message the Goddess Of Humility made a beeline for Heitz without further delay. Leona watched Snide Serpent fly behind Samira and felt alternating waves of humiliation and anger wash over her. The blonde was humiliated by her earlier mistake and angry at herself for messing up so badly that the winged serpent had to bail her out of the mess Leona had gotten herself into. There was nothing that could be done about it now.

Leona telepathically ordered Winged Lion to turn towards Heitz. The summon did as instructed and after a quick turn Leona was now facing in the direction Samira was heading. Leona jabbed the index finger of her right hand towards her colleague to point the direction they were to go in... not that they needed her to do that.

"All right everyone, we're following her!" Leona told her summons what they were about to do. Winged Lion gave a mighty flap of his wings and Leona began to move forward as Sky Champion Rafale and Tempest Avian flew at her left and right side respectively. As she flew in the direction of her partner Leona wondered what had happened to spur Samira into action so suddenly.

[Post Word Count: 590]
[Leona's Word Count: 13,048]

The Icebourne was gone, at least as far as they knew, but the mission wasn't quite over just yet. Not when there was something else that needed an answer before Samira felt comfortable enough to leave the rest with the natives of the land. She just wished that the mystery in question was not heading right for the city. There were no personal grudges that she had with the Iceberg people, but the same could not necessarily be said the same for them. Someone from there had asked for help, yes, but she was still a mage and so was Leona. Wizard Saints even so their support of Fiore and its allies was obvious. After the battle between Bellum and Pergrande, and their supporters, at the border of those two nations, the entirety of Ishgar was getting tense and it was no secret that Iceberg was a close ally of Pergrande. Their history intertwined them in a bond that would not so easily be broken by outsiders. Minimizing reasons for unpleasantry needed to be done to not escalate things further.

Samira used her magic further to command the celestial wings to fly side by side with her summon. Team Leona she could feel was following behind her so she was not concerned about them. "Kukulkan, I think it is best if you do not follow the entire way."

That suggestion amused the winged feathered serpent. She could already guess why and without being so upset about it. It was flattering, and most importantly, she had zero desire to enter that city for small chit-chat anyway. Those people were idiots and they sickened her for many reasons and not just because they foolishly fired their cannons at the Icebourne and nearly injured the mages they had asked for help in dealing with their little Ice Behemoth problem. Why didn't they just ask for Pergrande's aid or their own warriors? Such weak hypocrites. "Let me guess, you don't want me to eat them."

"You have never eaten a single human while under my control." In truth, Samira suspected that Kukulkan had never eaten anyone in her entire existence. She did seem the type to talk more than act in all cases unless she was angry and lost control of herself. Even in her time of getting into the most trouble, she was never criminalized for eating someone. Just destroying. Still, even without acting Kukulkan's way with words were most troubling in most cases. "It is the threat to do so that worries me. Not many would find humor in it and would likely believe your false intent. Given that these people were already under attack by the Icebourne I would rather them not have concerns about the winged serpent with… a strong personality."

"Who said it was false? And 'a strong personality'? Really? I feel insulted."

A voice entered Samira's mind then. She was always hit with the mental voices of her summons so that itself did not surprise her. Who it was though surprised her a great deal. It was very much unexpected and was mildly annoying considering he had done nothing to help prior. It would have been better if he had not said anything at all and stayed out of it just to lessen the amount of irritation.

'I suggest you don't go any further. You'll find more trouble in that location than anything. Best to ignore it and move on. The Icebourne has been dealt with and so your mission, as you mortals like to call this sort of thing, is over.'

Samira slowed down her pace of flight, Kukulkan doing the same but irritably looking towards her summoner for the sudden change of speed. It wasn't until Samira started speaking her half of the conversation out loud that she understood. The serpent stayed silent, listening off an on but having no true care for the conversation. "What do you mean? There are remnants of the Icebourne's essence headed there."

'Yes, and you can sense that it is harmless. It is only rejoining the piece that had been taken from the cage of the Icebourne.'

"Piece?"

'A totem is a better word. It was found some time ago and taken to that place only to act as a beacon for the day the Icebourne rose again. They made themselves targets without realizing it. Mounted it in the center of their city. For what reason I don't know. They probably believe it to be a treasure of an ancestor they think defeated the creature originally. It's not, of course. The right to that claim is dragonkind but you know how history and lore get changed throughout time.'

"So the removal of this totem is what allowed the Icebourne to revive and free itself?"

'Perhaps. I have to look into this subject more. I have... concerns.'

"About?"

'This may be the first of many to revive. I vaguely recall an ancient text mentioning this. In a prophecy lost to time. The desecration of the Icebourne's cage might have just merely been a coincidence of poor timing.'

"Should it be destroyed then? Is there a chance the Icebourne could be revived again even in its current state?"

'You ask as if I am all-knowing. I am not even in this case. The wisest choice, as you said, would be to destroy it, yes. Under normal circumstances. I am sure you haven't forgotten that war is likely approaching the lands of this continent after what happened between those other two nations. You might have been asked for help with the Icebourne but that was all that was asked of you. Destroying something of value, however incorrect they are, might just eliminate any appreciation they may have had for your success. I doubt you could convince them either. I have found the inhabitants here to be extremely stubborn. This task requires a bit more finesse from a neutral party if it is to be done. Unless you want to give this nation ammunition to come after yours. I wouldn't normally care since minor skirmishes between nations is common, but Pergrande and Bellum have broken the wall. I haven't seen this much tension since the two calamities.'

“I suppose I can understand that. Are you volunteering for this operation of 'finesse'?”

'Hmmmmm… I will take care of what is left after some time has passed. Weeks maybe. Perhaps months. That should be enough time for any connection that could be thought of to not come to mind. Just remember what I said about this possibly not being the only one of its kind to resurface. If I am right then the next one will make its appearance sooner rather than later. Do be careful going forward. The world is only going to get more dangerous.'

Samira came to a complete stop then. Thoughts ran wild in her head. She hated the thought of just leaving but some things said did make sense. The fewer interactions and connections she had with Iceberg was better overall. These politics were getting uncomfortably complicated for someone that had chosen to remain neutral after the border clashes incident. She despised herself for taking sides during that event. The minor ties she had with Pergrande were cut that day. She didn't want anymore.

A decision had then been made after some quick thinking. She began to descend, possibly confusing Leona but she would just explain later. Once she reached the ground Samira said two words. Both of them being the names of two specific spirit avatars. "Chronos. Isis."

As their names were called the two spirit avatars answered. The first appeared through a gateway of gold and bronze particles that swirled like the sand of an hourglass and combined with the vague images of a clockface and gears. As the gateway faded the avatar from it remained. The second portal was one of warmth and shared the colorful hues of a sunset. Feathers swirled as the portal appeared and as they faded the avatar from it was left.

"I want you two to go to the city and help with repairing their structures and healing those that may have been injured during the Icebourne's attack. Do this at a distance if possible and quickly. If there are any interactions with the people of Heitz remember that you are acting in my place and to behave yourselves."

"You have nothing to worry about, Samira." Chronos said with a small bow of his head. "You have finally chosen a use for me that does not involve turning me into a staff and hitting someone with it. I can now be appreciated for my actual ability." Yes, he was still salty about that one incident where that happened. Well, maybe it was two times. Three? Who was counting? "I will leave the healing to Isis. I can work on reversing the damage to the city itself."

"Do not worry about us. You should get somewhere warm. Even Ra's power has its limits and your dear friend has no magical protection from this cold. The adrenaline from battle will fade and stop being enough to keep her warm." The caring spirit was deeply concerned for the well-being of the two mages and in her words emphasized that, to her, they were more important to her. She would do the task given to her of course but her thoughts would be on them until she felt that they were safe from Iceberg's cold.

Samira nodded in agreement. If not for herself then definitely for Leona. "This is true. I will." The two spirit avatars were off after that, both of them using their magics to take to the air and head for the city. She watched them for a minute to make sure nothing happened to them. Satisfied that they would reach the city and do their part Samira could move on to what was next; the plan to leave Iceberg.

She turned around then, noting that Leona had indeed followed her even if it was likely very confusing. "Someone else will be taking care of that light," Samira informed her. "Two of my avatar summons will also be taking care of the damages and any injured. Our task with the Icebourne is completed so we can leave here now." There was just one problem and it hit Samira like a truck when she realized it. They had no quick escape. Janus was on vacation so he couldn't be summoned to make a portal and he had cut off his connection so she couldn't make use of his powers for herself either. Her own teleportation powers also weren't strong enough that she could leave entire countries and pop up in the middle of Fiore.

"Do-" Samira started to say but stopped herself in embarrassment at having to even ask. The answer was kind of obvious but she had to ask just to be certain. "You do not have a way to teleport us out, do you?" Samira hoped Leona had a trick hidden away up until now. Kukulkan was not going to be happy if they had to fly all the way to Fiore. Maybe she even had another way but she couldn't think of one at that moment.

(Word Count: 1875
Samira Total: 16,724)

Riding on the back of Winged Lion, Leona followed her fellow Wizard Saint closely and was looking at the area around her as she flew. She was still riding the adrenaline rush that came from helping defeat the Icebourne and was feeling good. Even though Samira had done the bulk of the work, helping destroying the Icebourne had gone a long way towards making up for her stupid mistake earlier and had managed to save the village before it got stomped into rubble. Leona's elation began to subside when it sounded like Samira and the winged serpent were talking.

At that moment she began hoping that the Snide Serpent would keep the word of her mistake secret from Samira. Leona hated owing the giant flying serpent anything, but right now the Snide Serpent had the Wizard Saint of Courage over a barrel. It had helped her get back onto the back of the Icebourne after the blonde thought that the winged serpent was on a collision course with the giant beast and she was about to be crushed beneath the flying snake's coils... not that it would have lost much sleep if it had managed to kill her.

Being crushed to death by a giant winged serpent that was supposed to be "friendly" would have been an ironic way for Leona to go.

Leona frowned and did her best to cope with the cold and her irritation at owing the Snide Serpent a debt of gratitude as she flew along with Samira. The blonde was surpised when Samira suddenly began to descend and she looked down at the teal-haired mage. She telepathically ordered Winged Lion to descend as well and she held on as the flying lion did as instructed. It did a wide, banking turn to the right that took it over the teal-haired mage and it flew straight for at least twenty meters before making another wide, banking turn to the left. It then began to carefully descend and Leona felt the wind begin to eat its way through her face covering, but when Winged Lion landed a short distance behind Samira the cold began to subside to more tolerable levels.

Leona dismounted the summon and left it standing in place, then walked over to Samira, who had brought out two summons Leona had never seen before; one of them was male and the other was female. They did not hang around to chat with the blonde: they darted off somewhere, most likely on orders from Samira. The blonde did not question it and left them to their business while she turned her attention to the Goddess Of Humility, who began to speak to her.

Leona learned the mission of the two beings she had seen earlier and heard her companion talk about a "light" that was going to be dealt with. Leona blinked when she heard about the light because she did not recall seeing one while following the teal-haired mage to their current location. Her white balaclava hid the most visible signs of her confusion, but Samira might be able to spot it in Leona's eyes. After that Samira asked Leona if the latter had any way of getting them both out of the area via teleportation.

Leona could only shake her head.

"No Samira, I don't have a way to teleport us. The best transport I have is Winged Lion." Leona said to her companion with obvious regret on her voice. Her feeling of uselessness began to reassert itself as she looked at the ground. As usual she would have to lean on Samira to come up with a solution to their problems. The blonde took a quiet breath of cold air and soaked in regret and self-loathing.

Samira had invited her on this job as a courtesy, not because she really needed Leona's help with the Icebourne.

If they had not been friends for so long Samira would probably have not even bothered to call upon the blonde for help. Leona would not blame anyone if they did not want her "help" with anything lately. She tended to make spectacularly stupid mistakes at the worst possible time and other people tended to pay the price whenever she messed up.

[Post Word Count: 706]
[Leona's Word Count: 13,754]

Leona might have been confused about the situation and that was something Samira had already expected. Any confusion her mage colleague looked to have had she assumed to be her fault due to the change in plans. Leona had lucked out. Samira would apologize later for causing it, of course not knowing that Leona was confused by something else entirely. For now though, getting Leona and herself out of that cold and out of Iceberg was the priority.

"I see," Samira replied. Disappointment wasn't something she felt upon hearing that fact. She had already suspected that Leona's travel abilities were limited, or else she would have used it beforehand. Although, there was still always that small chance there was a hidden ability or magical item Leona had never revealed. One could expect such secrets from the leader of Silver Wolf, after all. Accounting for that was not just something she considered wise to do, but it was also done out of respect for her friend's status and knowledge about things that she herself didn't even know. Unfortunately, quick travel was just not one of those things so Samira had to get creative with her own magical versions either being sub-optimal or not available.

"I think I have something we could use. I myself have yet to make use of it but the avatar spirits of my magic have had... misadventures with it in their own realm from what I have been told. Even then it is untested in this sort of climate so it could be mildly dangerous. The journey will also not be instantaneous like my normal portals with Janus' power." Samira stopped herself from going further in her explanations upon realizing a little detail. It sounded like an unsafe way to travel and kind of bad. The only thing she didn't mention was the slight chance of the contraption exploding. She didn't think it would but... well... she was not known for her knowledge of technology. The only thing known is that her spirits hadn't damaged it beyond repair yet so the thing was very durable and sturdy to some extent even if it didn't look it. "Oh, I am sorry, Leona. Everything I am saying is negative. Do not worry. I assure you that we will reach home and above all else, you will be warm."

With that said it was time to reveal the amazing get-out of Iceberg plan. One that didn't involve the slow cold process of riding their summons through the frigid air for hours and likely through the night. Samira walked past Leona to a large open spot of land. Mentally and magically, Samira connected to the celestial vault that contained everything of hers and her spirit avatars. Her mind rummaged through the contents that she knew were in there, focusing on the one thing that she wanted to conjure from the depths of the large vault. It was found. Her normally small portals for the more common items would not do that time. A larger one needed to be opened. It required more thought, more focus, and magical strength to do so. Thankfully Samira had more than plenty of that even after dealing with the Icebourne.

The hands of the Goddess of Ishgar began to glow as pale blue celestial particles forced their way into existence and swirled around them. Reaching out, Samira's hands were at first close together and then they began to separate as if she were pulling apart something that wasn't there. In actuality, she was creating a portal between the world of Earthland and the celestial vault by tearing open the barrier. One could ask why she didn't do that so Leona and herself could have a vacation in the world of her spirit avatars and use the portals there to eventually get home. The answer was simple. Besides caring enough about Leona to not subject her to such torture there was also the fact that it was extremely difficult to do so without the aid of Janus. The celestial vault was easy in comparison and unfortunately, there wasn't much of a way home through the vault itself.

The small tear of the realm barrier sparked with celestial energy and then began to expand, forming the shape of a circle. Samira took a step back as something large began to roll out of it. That something was an odd vehicle that was a fused combination of smaller vehicles. A steam locomotive, a boat, various cars, and even a plane. Although the flight function from the plane was barely acceptable in practice from what she had been told. The monstrosity even had a name from its inventors. SPATE, or rather Steam Powered All Travel Engine. Samira couldn't even remember where she had obtained such a thing. All that could be remembered was that she had it and for once it was doing more than taking up space or serving as a plaything for mischievous avatar spirits.

"Well it appears to still be in usable condition." Samira said, pleased at that fact. That method of transportation might just work after all. Operating it was a non-issue as well. Her summons could take care of that since they already had experience doing so. As much as she didn't want to put too much trust in their driving abilities she couldn't be too picky right then. She just had to hope that they didn't make the ride... too bumpy. Yes, bumpy. Definitely not a chance of incoming driving disasters that may or may not lead to life-threatening scenarios.

"So," Samira turned around to face Leona and raised her hands as if presenting the SPATE. "What do you think?"

"I think you've lost it." Kukulkan replied, knowing full well the question was not for her to answer. The winged serpent flew around the vehicle once before landing on its top and stretching herself out. If anything she had at least proven its ability to hold her weight well enough, though that wasn't exactly her intent. "Riding this thing on snow and ice? Don't be fooled, little Saint. It's a death trap."

"Your opinion is appreciated, Kuku." Samira told her serpent summon, her tone indicating nothing but truth and void of all sarcasm. There wasn't even a roll of the eyes. It would have been deserved but it was best not to poke too much at the already irritable spirit. Keywords being "too much." "I thank you for looking out for Leona's safety by expressing your concern." The summoner smiled as she heard the serpent scoff as if disgusted by the idea and also surprised that it had been mentioned. "Now then, what is your opinion, Leona? I am certain we will be mostly fine during the journey."

(Word Count: 1124
Samira Total: 17,848)

Leona listened to Samira's words, then watched as the teal-haired mage put on a fancy light show and eventually produced an object that was touted to be the solution to their transportation problem. When everything was said and done Leona beheld an object called "SPATE" and wondered who created it. Its appearance was something that defied her ability to explain in an articulate fashion, but the best she could do was "some engineers got bored and mashed a bunch of totally different items together to see if it could be done." She was not sure what to make of it. It looked like it could either work very well or be a disaster waiting to happen.

The blonde's confidence was not helped by what Samira said next. The appraisal was not what she wanted to hear. It made the SPATE sound like a temperamental device that worked only when it wanted to but otherwise had reliability issues like key internal components malfunctioning or other parts flying off whenever it was in motion. Leona did not mean to sound like an ingrate, but Samira's appraisal was not exactly inspiring confidence.

That lack of confidence was shared by the winged serpent, who chimed in with its opinion. Once Samira asked Leona what she thought about the SPATE the blonde had to think long and hard about what she was going to say next so that her words were not colored by her opinion of the SPATE. If she said the wrong thing Samira might just leave her there, leaving the blonde Wizard Saint to make her own way back to Fiore. While Leona could do it, she would prefer to get out of the cold and get back to Fiore as soon as possible.

Leona knew that the winged serpent was not speaking up out of altruism. It was speaking up because it might be in danger if something went wrong with the SPATE. She doubted that it would be very sad if the worst happened and Leona died in an accident caused by a malfunction of some kind. It would probably welcome the blonde's demise as a way out of having to put up with her and her stupidity.

The blonde Wizard Saint looked at the winged serpent, which had already landed on top of the contraption and was reclining on it like a cat would recline on the back of a chair or couch. Leona wondered how the SPATE could handle the weight of a giant winged serpent without being flattened, but she did not dare ask that question out loud. If it took offense to such a question it could fly off its perch and bite her with its enormous jaws if it wanted to kill her quickly. If it wanted to kill her more slowly it could conveniently let slip the secret it had gained during the fight with the Icebourne and let Samira's disapproval kill the blonde from the inside out.

"I think it'll work." Leona said in her best neutral tone of voice in an effort to not offend Samira. It was not like she had a whole lot of choice in the matter. She did not have another way out for them, so unless she fancied taking the long and slow way back home she would have to take her chances with the SPATE.

It was not like Leona had much to lose. She would be able to get out of here much faster than she would by flying out on Winged Lion. She would also get to demonstrate her courage by riding it. And if the worst happened there would be an opening in the Wizard Saints for someone who was a lot smarter and more competent than Leona.

"I'm ready to go whenever you are, Samira." Leona said to the teal-haired mage. Leona was going to ride the SPATE and hope that everything turned out OK. She had made a verbal commitment with the winged serpent as a witness, so there was no backing out now.

[Post Word Count: 674]
[Leona's Word Count: 14,428]

"Splendid! I am glad you agree," Samira clapped her hands together joyfully. There really wasn't another plan in the works besides using another sort of trinket item in the vault. The potential results from that were even more disastrous than the worst visions of using the SPATE. It was better if she pretended that one just didn't exist entirely, and with Leona's agreement it was made easier to do so. Still, she kind of wished that she had access to the airships she once rode on in the past. Those were long gone but their effectiveness and convenience would never truly be forgotten. 'I really should get one for times like this,' Samira thought, allowing herself a moment to think while spinning around to approach the SPATE vehicle.

"And who is going to run it? Your collection of celestial avatars? I wouldn't trust the others to even run this thing." Kukulkan, having heard Samira's thoughts, said mockingly. As a spirit that saw herself as above someone like Leona, who was a Wizard Saint, it was of course expected that she'd think little of most of her fellow spirits in the summoning collective. Surprise overtook the larger winged serpent then. A fact that just occurred to her and almost sent her scaled body shivering in horror. Samira couldn't run that thing. Leona sure as damn well couldn't. Kukulkan wasn't going to even if she knew how the abomination of a contraption worked. "You're not expecting the others to run this, are you?"

"Who else?" Samira asked, feigning confusion as to why that question was even asked. She knew there might have been a risk or two with certain spirits operating the SPATE but she trusted them. They saw protecting Samira as their most valued purpose in life. None of them would let her down and if something were to happen by accident they would be the first ones to correct it and see that no harm came to her. That same level of protection would also have been passed to Leona due to the level of friendship between the two mages. Anything that happened to the Wizard Saint of Courage on their watch would significantly hurt their pride, and prideful spirits most of them were. "They have had experience getting it to work and know how to operate it."

"I don't know whether to leave to avoid experiencing this tragedy but this train wreck also would entertain me." Kukulkan was in a bind. She hissed in thought. As selfish as her words were her true concern was on Samira and... ugh... Leona. Letting anything happen to either of them would be disastrous. Samira was obvious. As much as she regarded Leona's existence as something that equated to that of an annoying fly Samira still saw value in her. Friendship sure was sickening, and Samira's insistence on holding on to those kinds of bonds even more so.

"Your choice," Samira replied to the serpent without even looking her way. Instead, the Goddess of Ishgar was looking for a way up. Was she really supposed to fly up to the doorway that she could see? She could, of course. Her spell and celestial wings were still active. That was a ridiculous way to design a vehicle though. "Ah, there it is." Her verdant gaze spotted a ladder that had been latched to the side and slid inside itself when not in use. "Kuku, could you please unlatch the ladder for us?" Her spell deactivated as she asked as she no longer saw any reason to keep using her magic. The celestial wings dissolved into celestial particles that then disappeared.

"Oh, sure. Unlocking ladders is surely what my creators had in mind when I slid my way into existence," the winged serpent replied sarcastically. Her tail slid down and flicked the latch, causing the ladder to loosen and its bottom half stabbing into the mixture of ice and snow on the ground. Once that was done, the serpent's body began to decrease in size and morph completely. In the serpent's place now stood a woman whose eyes were just as judgemental and criticizing as the serpent's. It was Kukulkan all right. In a smaller humanoid form for convenience. The form wasn't one liked using much but in many cases it was necessary. For some reason, people took issue with a giant four-winged serpent on their lawns. Nor were there very many buildings or vehicles that could handle her size and she didn't particularly want to stay on the outside. The SPATE was an ugly and dangerous piece of tech that was not trustworthy but it was a sure way to get warm for the moment.

The now humanoid Kukulkan jumped off the top of the SPATE and onto its flat and easily walkable exterior. As she approached the ladder, she leaned forward and outstretched her hand to help Samira up the ladder. Not that the tealette needed it. She was strong enough to climb a simple ladder. There was just a feeling that made her compelled to do so. A feeling that she didn't mind because she could passive aggressively jab Leona once more. Once Samira was up, Kukulkan stared down at Leona and then proceeded to walk away. She didn't care if Leona was going to use the ladder or not. The fact that she didn't even offer any help should have been enough of a clue that Kukulkan forgot her on purpose. Everything in her told her to break the weak piece of metal so the blonde would fall or be unable to use it entirely, but she was a wind mage. What would that accomplish? Nothing. The little lion could just fly up there or catch herself mid-fall. How absolutely infuriating.

Samira wasn't going to forget her though. Admittedly she didn't even take notice of Kukulkan leaving Leona there on purpose. The blonde was very strong so it seemed only natural that the serpent would not think help was required from her. The summoner was different in that regard. Help might not have been required but, in her experience, it was mostly appreciated. The moment Kukulkan walked off Samira took her place and stood at the ladder's edge, offering her hand for Leona to grab onto so she could be pulled up. If Leona had taken another approach to get on board then Samira would instead wait for her before continuing on.

Another creature was on board. Waiting for its moment. Silently. Until Leona was there. Once she was said creature burst through the doorway that led to the interior of the SPATE. Like bowling pins both Samira and Kukulkan were knocked over so this determined ball of energy could meet its mark. "LEONA! HI!" That said creature was none other than Serqet. The oddest of the spirit collective that the rest say had some issues upon creation. That was the only explanation they had for her outrageous and childlike personality.

The scorpion woman would attempt to wrap her arms around the blonde in a tight hug and remain there forever. Did the two know each other? Honestly, Serqet couldn't remember if she had ever met Leona officially or not. If she had an autograph as proof she had already lost it somewhere. But she and Samira were good friends. As one of Samira's summons that instantly meant that she was part of the friend group too and was entitled to embrace the Wizard Saint as a greeting. If only that same logic worked on Kukulkan but it was probably best for everyone that the serpent would not ever attempt embracing Leona.

(Word Count: 1271
Samira Total: 19,119)

Leona looked towards the SPATE and wondered what possessed her to agree to travel on it, but there was no going back. Leona had verbally agreed to riding it and Samira had expressed pleasure with the blonde's decision, so the former was going for the ride. As usual Kukulkan had something snide to say; Kukulkan's remark was a pointed inquiry concerning how the Goddess of Humility was going to come up with a crew to get the SPATE going and keep it going during the journey. Samira's answer surprised Leona because she did not expect Samira's spirits to know how to operate the SPATE.

Kukulkan gave a sarcastic response to the teal-haired mage's assertion and Samira was not fazed by it in the slightest. Leona let it pass without comment and watched Samira board the transport using a ladder that had been lowered by Kukulkan, who had underwent a dramatic transformation from giant winged serpent to a graceful human female. Leona wasted no time in dispelling Winged Lion and climbing the ladder herself so that she would be on board when the SPATE got underway. She did not want to be clinging to the ladder when it finally got moving.

The newly transformed serpent helped Samira up at the end of the ladder but did not bother extending the same courtesy to the blonde. Leona frowned at that deliberate snub but kept quiet as she continued the climb.The blonde was keeping a tally of how many times Kukulkan did something to piss her off so that when the day of reckoning came Leona knew exactly how many times to hit the snide serpent in the face with spells, her fists, or both. However, there was no guarantee that Leona would stop with the number of times Kukulkan made her angry.

The grilled cheese sandwiches of Meshi found out the hard way what happened when Leona went from "angry" to "utterly pissed off."

If Kukulkan kept on acting the way it did towards Leona it too would learn a lesson the hard way.

Leona put aside her angry thoughts and kept climbing. She was expecting Kukulkan to wait around just for a chance to kick Leona in the face and knock her off the ladder when Samira was not looking, but to her surprise that did not happen. Instead Samira herself was waiting for the blonde with a hand held out waiting to be taken. Leona gladly took the hand not because she needed the help but because she was grateful that Samira thought about her enough to offer help to begin with.

"Thanks for the help, Samira." Leona thanked her friend for the help up the ladder. She was about to ask where passengers were seated so that she could be seated when they got underway when something unexpected happened. Out of nowhere Samira and Kukulkan were forcibly displaced by someone she had never seen before and Leona found herself in the stranger's embrace.

Leona's left arm was pinned to her side as she tried to make sense of what was going on. One moment she was talking to Samira and the next this odd woman who looked like a fusion of a human woman and a scorpion was embracing her like they were long-lost friends. The blonde felt a mix of confusion and embarrassment that was mixed with the fear that the scorpion tail would end up jabbing her and injecting her with a poison she could not even begin to imagine the effects of.

"Hi... there." Leona croaked out as she looked for Samira to come to her aid once again. She was not feeling too compressed at the moment, but the tight hug was making it a bit hard for her to breathe. Maybe the teal-haired mage would come to her aid soon and save her from the undignified end of being hugged to death. Leona was sure that Kukulkan would enjoy the sight of the blonde in pain and would enjoy the sight of the blonde's dead body even more, so Leona was determined to deny the sarcastic shapeshifting serpent the pleasure of either of those sights, especially the second one.

She would need Samira's help to escape the stranger's embrace, though.

Speaking of Samira... where was she?

[Post Word Count: 712]
[Leona's Word Count: 15,140]

There was no time for Samira to truly react to Leona's gratitude. She smiled, of course, and nodded as she stood up straight after helping her friend up the ladder. Then came Serqet. A living bowling ball that made impact just as she turned around to lead the way inside the SPATE. Both Kukulkan and herself were on the floor in an instant. Full proof that no matter the power one held they were still no match for someone that valued hugs and could not successfully block the way to an unfortunate target.

Serqet didn't even seem to notice what she had done. When Leona said hi back to her she was even more excited and happy. Another tight squeeze was given to the poor unfortunate Wizard Saint she held. "Hello, hello! How are you? You feel cold! Don't worry! I'll help warm you right up!"

The crash caused very little pain for Samira, her natural magical healing and resistance absorbing and eliminating most of it. The shock of it was still rattling though and it was a bit of a nuisance. Having heard Serqet's voice, Samira was already sighing and restraining herself from showing the disappointment she had in the avatar spirit. She calmly stood up and began to fix her clothes and accessories. "We really do need to work on appropriate greetings, Serqet. Charging through others and squeezing someone to near suffocation is an example of what not to do."

Unlike Samira, who had a more calm reaction, Kukulkan was the opposite. The scorpion spirit didn't even get the chance to say that she had coffee ready inside. "Dammit, Serqet!" Her irritation was apparent. The humanoid form of the serpent was back on her feet quickly. The air around her began to be manipulated by her magic, swirling and condensing until she released it as a blast of iceberg's frigid air. The attack struck Serqet, forcing her to lose grip on Leona and move involuntarily until she crashed into the nearby railing. "Watch where you're going!" If she hadn't been angry she might have disagreed with Samira and encouraged Serqet to give Leona some additional tight squeezes. Alas her temper didn't allow her to stop and properly consider that form of torture until after she had already sent the scorpion flying.

"I believe you have a fan in Serqet." Samira told Leona calmly with no indication that she was bothered by what Kukulkan had done. While violence between the spirit avatars was frowned upon it wasn't damning. The varied interactions between them had been known and experienced for several years. Everything was fine as long as they were not outright trying to destroy each other, and an issue like that was very rare. "I apologize for her version of hello. She knows no boundaries."

"Understatement of the year." Kukulkan left them then. Her amusement had ended with the shift of entertainment. The wings of her humanoid form clung closer to the rest of her body so that she could fit through the doorway that led to the inside of their fabulously designed vehicle. Without another word she disappeared inside, ignoring the next spirit avatar that made his way out.

Agni walked out, whistling teasingly as Kukulkan walked past him. He kept his mouth shut though. Any remarks would probably send him flying and crashing into the nearest mountain. The words wouldn't be worth that pain. As a simple spirit that didn't take things too seriously, he preferred avoiding drama. Usually. As a two-headed being there could be some disagreement between his main personality and the more violent alternate but for the most part, he was pretty chill for a fire-aligned being. Whether his original acted and had the same issues was a mystery to him and others but that didn't matter. His personalities worked for him, and he really didn't want to try to be like the god he was formed from and named after.

The moment he saw Leona the current dominant head opened his mouth to say something. A greeting of course. A likely inappropriate and flirtatious greeting. That was his way. Unless he felt the chill of doom that threatened to permanently douse his flames.

"Do. Not." Samira told him before she heard even one syllable leave his mouth. Her calm kindly voice had lost several degrees in an instant. If there was one thing she didn't like it was pointless flirting and being hit on. She would not tolerate the avatar spirits trying that on her friends either. Her gaze didn't even have to be on the spirit to make him think twice about his next word.

"I wasn't going to say anything bad!" Agni said in an attempt to defend himself. It didn't matter that he technically was going to do what Samira despised but was that really a bad thing? It would have been a compliment! "She isn't even my type!" Not that that would have stopped him but it was still a defense. Sort of. "A- anyway I think we got this thing figured out again so we're about to start it up. We never moved it through ice and snow before though. The time we tried in Skadi's domain she got creative with her threats. Had to abandon that fun idea."

Despite Agni's words requiring a response between a glare and a bit of eye-rolling Samira resisted. Showing disapproval on a constant basis was tiring and she'd rather not risk that look upon her face becoming permanent. The summoner merely looked at him as he spoke and nodded after. "I see. Thank you." Her hand motioned over toward Serqet, who was still laying against the railing, partially unconscious and completely out of it. Or so could be concluded with her ramblings regarding winged bunnies and rainbows. "Please see to Serqet. Leona and I will be going inside to look around. I assume the seating for riders is easy to find?"

Agni shrugged his shoulders. "No one's gotten lost yet. Just avoid the room with the yellow door. Some weird unexplained sounds were coming through there that made me turn around real quick." Investigating weird sounds behind closed doors wasn't exactly in the job description. He wasn't a coward but why look for that kind of trouble when he didn't need to? Someone else could take care of it. Like Samira. Or judging by the eyebrow raising of the summoner... Maybe not Samira. "I'm sure it's nothing. Nothing to worry about. At all." With a whistle, the spirit avatar moved to the side and then forward to pass Samira. He gave Leona a passing wave and then it was on to dealing with Serqet. "And this is why you don't piss certain people off." In one swift motion, he picked the scorpion-tailed woman up and tossed her over his shoulder to carry her. "Blazing coals, have you always been this heavy? I'm going to be worn out before I can even get back to the boiler!"

Samira gave a glance toward the two spirits to make sure all was well there but otherwise ignored the ramblings of them both. Her full attention was now on Leona. "I think the distractions here are settled. Let's get inside and rest up a bit. I can only imagine how chilled you must be at this point." With that said, the summoner would lead the way inside the SPATE. Not so surprisingly due to its size, the vehicle was roomy. Most importantly though, it was already warm. The cold of the outside was but a mere memory. As long as they stayed inside, of course.

The main hallway quickly led to a few others. Some led to major parts of the vehicle, such as the boiler and the upper deck. Another led to the housing area that was big enough for a few people to settle in a small room of their own. Samira noticed the signs on the wall in passing and decided to take the route that led to another living area that had a small kitchen and seating. Nothing in that vehicle could really be categorized as very homey. Not unless someone was used to living inside metal walls and listening to loud whistling noises that reverberated throughout the vehicle constantly. It was comfortable enough though and would be quite suitable enough for their journey out of Iceberg.

(Word Count: 1396
Samira Total: 20,515)

Leona was not sure why she had greeted the scorpion woman the way she had. If she had to give a reason, it was to try and stay on the latter's good side because being hit with a stinger full of venom was not her idea of a good time. She was not sure if Samira could give her an antivenom in time to keep her on the right side of the dirt and she was not wanting to find out.

Thankfully Samira came to the rescue and kept Leona from being squeezed to death or stung by the stinger. The teal-haired mage had an impeccable sense of timing because Leona was not sure how long she could have held out before the lack of oxygen really got to her brain... not that most people would be able to tell the difference because of how dumb she was even without oxygen deprivation taking its toll. At least she was still alive.

"Thanks..." Leona croaked her thanks to Samira for saving her from a death by oxygen deprivation or death by poisoning. As usual Kukulkan had something snide to say and said it before moving on. Leona glared at the doorway the snide serpent lady had walked through for a few moments before turning to Samira.

By not even bothering to make an effort to help Leona get free of the scorpion woman Kukulkan had just earned another punch or spell to the face.

An orange-haired man Leona had never seen before emerged from the SPATE and after a brief conversation about several different things with Samira that Leona did not fully understand because of a combination of a lack of oxygen and her anger towards Kukulkan, but the point was that the SPATE was about to get underway in the near future. Once all of the commotion was over the teal-haired mage turned to the blonde and suggested that they get inside and prepare for the trip ahead of them.

"I'm ready to go inside whenever you are, Samira." Leona voiced her agreement with the idea. The blonde was tired of the cold and wanted to get out of it as soon as possible. She quickly followed her friend into the transport and left the cold behind her.

-Inside the SPATE-

After a brief tour of the SPATE and their arrival at the living area the inside of the transport could be best described as "austere." Leona was not expecting luxurious accommodations, but she was expecting something a little more substantial than what she saw. However, beggars could not be choosers and she certainly did not have much choice in this situation. Fortunately she was used to austere living conditions... growing up in the desert had gotten her accustomed to living with the bare minimum of amenities.

At least it was warm in here.

That might have sounded like a backhanded compliment, but right now that was worth diamonds to Leona. She was cold and she intensely disliked the cold and being cold. Growing up in the desert had prepared her for quite a bit of adversity, but it had not prepared her for the cold of Iceberg.

Leona took off her white balaclava and polarized snow goggles and looked at Samira. The blonde could feel her face thawing as she looked at her friend and hostess.

"Thanks for having me on board." Leona thanked Samira for allowing her to be a passenger on the SPATE. Leona's gratitude was genuine. Thanks to Samira she was not going to have to brave the cold on the back of Winged Lion to get back to Fiore and she would not have to be cold as she traveled.

[Post Word Count: 616]
[Leona's Word Count: 15,756]

"Certainly. You did not think that I would leave you here to freeze while I made my getaway to warmer pastures, did you?" Samira asked Leona, though her teasing smile and kind tone were all that was needed to indicate that she wasn't asking a serious question. It was just a teasing remark. Surely Leona would never truly think she'd just leave her there. All the same, she valued the gratitude. She only wished that she had done more to deserve it. After all, it was because of her they were even there to begin with. Providing a way home should have been a mandatory expectation and all she had at that moment was a barely tested vehicle abomination. It was best to keep a positive mindset, she supposed.

"Please have a seat and get comfortable, Leona," Samira suggested to the blonde while motioning toward the provided seats. "We will be here for a while." There were simple chairs and small tables beside them but there was also a cushioned couch if one were to prefer that. An ordinary coffee table had been placed in front of that and was covered with a variety of magazines that the avatar spirits had snuck in. "I will make us something warm to drink."

True to her word, the Goddess of Ishgar guided herself toward the new destination; the connected kitchen. It was small but at least clean with basic amenities. There might have been a bigger one somewhere else with more storage and space for meals. Until she asked, found a map of the SPATE, or just happened to find it during a day of exploration that'd still be unknown to her. For now, the smaller one had exactly what she wanted. On the counters were basic kitchen appliances such as a coffee machine, electric tea kettle, and even a machine for hot chocolate and cappuccino. The basic stuff naturally. If Leona desired a beverage made by the greatest barista she'd be very out of luck.

Samira opened one cabinet, closed it, and then another. They were surprisingly well stocked with cups and boxes of mixes, including different types of flavored tea packets for brewing. The idea of hot tea made the summoner grimace in disgust. It wasn't as revolting as alcohol but it did have its place on the list of dislikes. That comparison did remind her that certain types of alcohol worked to warm the body up but she was not about to suggest or go looking for it. Hopefully, the idea wouldn't pop up in Leona's mind.

"It seems like we have a choice between coffee, hot tea, and hot chocolate," Samira called out so Leona could hear her. "Unless you prefer hot water then that is also an option, of course." Why anyone would want just plain hot water she wouldn't quite understand unless a mountain of honey was in it, but everyone had their preferences. Leona was no exception.

(Word Count: 492
Samira Total: 21007)

Leona was glad that Samira accepted her gratitude for what it was meant to be instead of taking it as sarcasm. The blonde Wizard Saint felt like she was not very much good without Samira by her side and right now was no exception. Without the teal-haired mage Leona might have had to brave the cold and fly all the way back home, a feat which was possible but something she would rather avoid doing if she could help it.

Leona looked at the seating options and chose one of the chairs accompanied by a small table as her place of choice. The furnishings were simple, but they would do just fine. Leona walked over to her chosen place and sat down, then faced Samira, who had stated that she was going to make them warm beverages. Leona had wanted to make her own drink because Samira had already done enough for her by helping her take down the Icebourne and letting her be a passenger on the SPATE, but the blonde decided to let Samira proceed without protest.

Leona heard the sounds of rummaging through cabinets over a period of time and wondered how many cabinets Samira would have to open to find what she was looking for. Either the cabinets were well-stocked or they were empty and Samira was having to go from cabinet to cabinet to find what she was after. Leona remained right where she was and continued to thaw out as her friend and hostess continued her quest to find a suitable warm beverage to prepare.

When Samira announced what was available Leona was quick to chime in with her choice. There was only one real choice she could make and that choice was coffee. Coffee reigned supreme as the blonde's drink of choice... the staff of the guild cafe of Silver Wolf Guild Hall could attest to that.

"I'd like coffee, please. I don't care what blend the coffee is." Leona announced and made it clear that she was not a snob. As long as it was coffee and it was fairly strong she would happily drink it like it was a gift from above. Coffee had been part of her life for as long as she could remember. She got started on the habit in her home village in Desierto, where her mother Sophia introduced her to the drink.

"Coffee's good enough for me, thanks." Leona politely turned down the option of plain hot water as a drink. She liked water that was either cold or at room temperature just fine, but hot water by itself was something she could do without. In her opinion it was a drink of last resort... alcohol was more appealing to her than hot water and she did not really like alcohol.

"What are you going to drink, Samira?" Leona asked her hostess. It was really none of her business, but she was asking out of curiosity since she did not readily recall Samira's drink of choice. Samira was free to either answer the question or ignore it if she was too busy looking for a beverage to answer it.

[Post Word Count: 524]
[Leona's Word Count: 16,280]

"Then coffee you shall have!" Yes. Coffee. Originally Samira had been delighted that the subject of alcohol had not come up and even grateful that Leona had made such a simple order. Plain coffee was easy to prepare. Until she started to look at the coffee boxes. Breakfast Blend, Black, Decaf, Classic Roast, Gourmet Supreme, types that were clearly foreign... the choices went on. If she had been part of a cartoon that would have been the moment a proverbial sweatdrop would appear at the side of her head.

She held two boxes in her hand, shifted her gaze between them, then stared at the rest in the cabinet. Which one was she supposed to make?! Leona had said she didn't care what blend but was she really just supposed to grab a random box and go with that? The choice was terrifyingly difficult for someone that had a way of overthinking. Samira had also never known there were so many varieties of roasts and blends. As someone that rarely drank coffee, which was usually the cheapest found at that, her knowledge of the subject was expectantly low. Was mixing blends a thing? It was at that moment she remembered why she stayed out of the kitchen. She was absolutely lost and she hadn't even begun to start the process of making it.

A choice had to be made! Indecisiveness was unacceptable when she had a friend freezing right in the next room. The Classic Roast had been chosen. Classic anything was generally pretty good so the estimated guess of the coffee version being a decent blend was the best one to make. Maybe. Why did she feel obligated to make anything that someone would consume? The regret was truly a form of torture but she was too deep now to back out. Leona was expecting that coffee and Iceberg would be in flames well before Samira went back into that room without a full cup to offer.

"Hmmm, I have not quite decided what I will drink," Samira answered Leona's question as she read the directions on the back of the coffee mix container. Something about water, adding grounds to a filter, sit back while it brews, and that was pretty much it. Easy. Now to hope she didn't somehow set the coffee machine on fire. "I do not mind coffee though I rarely drink it. Admittedly this is the first time I have ever attempted to prepare it myself. Usually, it is premade elsewhere or one of my avatar spirits is kind enough to give me a cup. I also dislike tea of any variety a great deal so that is out of the question. Perhaps I will try the hot chocolate. Depending on how this coffee-making attempt goes I suppose I could just drink that to prevent waste."

As Samira gave her answer she went on to make the coffee, following the directions to a T to decrease the chances of mistakes... and unintentional kitchen appliance explosions. Once the last stage of watching the brewing liquid fall into the coffee pot was in the works she let out a relieved sigh. It looked right and nothing was on fire. The shame of being a horrible culinary artist would not haunt her that day.

"Do you use creamer or sugar in your coffee? I can bring some out once the coffee is done brewing." Samira had already opened another cabinet prior to stating that and was glancing through the options. The very limited options. "I will say that it is a very basic creamer so I hope you were not wanting a more flavorful option. At least with the sugar you have the choice of low-calorie and regular packets." In a way what was available was embarrassingly more limited than she had hoped to offer her friend, but at least there was something to offer at all.

(Word Count: 650
Samira Total: 21,657)

Leona heard verbal confirmation of her request and did not reply to it. She was too busy thawing out from being in the cold for so long and keeping her embarrassment over her earlier stupidity at bay. Now that she was no longer in a life-or-death situation she found herself having time to think, something that she did not like because her thoughts inevitably drifted to her shortcomings.

She was thankful that Samira was here to help save the day because if the latter had not been here there was a good chance that the job could have ended in failure and a lot of lives lost. Thanks to Leona's stupidity Kukulkan now had the blonde at her mercy and had a weapon she could use against the Wizard Saint of Courage any time she chose.

Leona hated owing the snide serpent anything, but she owed Kulkulkan for not exposing her secret earlier.

One day Leona would get revenge on the snide serpent, but right now she would have to keep her mouth shut and bide her time.

Leona let the matter drop and focused on the present, which was what Samira was going to drink. The teal-haired mage did not have a fondness for coffee like the blonde and despised tea in any shape, form, or fashion. Neither of those options was on the table for Samira, who instead stated that she might choose hot chocolate. Leona did not comment on any of that, but she did comment on the choices that had been offered to her.

"I don't want any creamer, thanks. And no sugar either." Leona politely turned down both offers. She was not sure what kind of resources her hostess had to work with and she did not want to deplete them. Ordinary coffee would do just fine for Leona. She tended to like her coffee without added things, but every once in awhile she would add something to it like a bit of sugar. After what had happened earlier Leona did not feel that she deserved any of those luxuries, especially if said luxuries came at Samira's expense.

"I don't mind drinking plain coffee, Samira. In fact that's how I drink it most of the time." Leona tried to assure Samira that she was OK with her coffee being plain because she had chosen to request it that way. That was how she had drank it back home in Desierto and that was how she tended to drink it in the present. She hoped that Samira would not take offense to her refusal to let anything be added to it no matter how meager those additions might be. She was concerned about the timing because her refusal had come on the heels of Samira stating that the options were sparse and her turning them down might come across as those meager offerings not being "good enough" for her.

Instead of taking the chance of sticking her foot in her mouth by saying something dumb in an effort to fix any possible hurt feelings Leona chose to be quiet and wait to see how Samira reacted to her words. Maybe the blonde was reading too much into the situation. Maybe her hostess would not take offense to what was being said and take the refusal as the blonde simply not wanting anything added to her coffee.

[Post Word Count: 560]
[Leona's Word Count: 16,840]

While the coffee machine took over the preparation of Leona's drink Samira sidestepped to the next small appliance. The hot chocolate machine was easier. It came with little pods that were put inside and with a touch of a button hot chocolate was created. As long as the water was added to the connected container in the back. Samira had nearly forgotten that step and it took the machine blinking a light that said add water for her to notice. True it was the cheap and lazy way to make hot chocolate but she didn't exactly have the ingredients to make it the true way. Or the knowledge and experience for that matter.

"Plain coffee then." Samira acknowledged Leona's preference and closed the cabinets as quietly and gently as possible so the sound wouldn't thunder across the room and deafen their ears. She wasn't at all offended by the declination. It didn't even register in her mind that it could be taken as offensive. It was what Leona wanted and she was happy to provide the drink without added flavorings. Still, Samira couldn't help but cringe at the thought of how that tasted. Thank goodness Leona had remained in the other room and could not see the disgusted expression that overtook her face. "That must be terribly bitter. I do not think I could get through a whole cup like you." The statement was meant to be a compliment. When it came to bitter drinks Leona was the stronger and most willing of the two.

Once the machines were done fixing the hot drinks Samira went to the next step. A couple of glass coffee mugs had already been pulled out of the cabinet by her earlier. She filled each one until the liquid was near the top and that was that. Done without incident. Samira would allow herself to be a little proud of her simple accomplishment.

Smiling and overall happy, Samira took hold of the mugs by their handles and exited the kitchen. "Here you go," she kindly told Leona as she handed the steaming mug to her. Although the mug looked traditional in shape there was a design on it that might have stood out. The solid grey mug had the Silver Wolf mark on it. Surely anyone could agree that it that the perfect mug to give to the Silver Wolf guild mistress.

Samira's mug was yellow with the Sabertooth mark. She had no idea which of the spirit avatars stocked the cabinets but she did find it entertaining that they opened a guild collection of coffee mugs. "I thought these mugs were a little cute," Samira explained in case the choice of the mug had been questioned in Leona's mind. She pulled over one of the chairs so she could sit at the same table as Leona. Although, even after she sat down she wouldn't mind if Leona preferred her own table and space. She'd need only say something. Until then though Samira made herself comfortable.

"Are you comfortable, Leona? I can request higher heating if you are still chilled." The coffee might help with whatever chills were left but they had been in the Iceberg cold for a while. That sort of down-to-the-bones chill was not generally easy to remedy without magic.

(Word Count: 549
Samira Total: 22,206)

To the blonde's relief her hostess had not been offended by her turning down the offer of additions to her coffee. Leona was worried that her timing had been bad and that bad timing would lead to her refusal sounding more like she was snubbing offerings that were not varied enough for her preference than a true desire for plain coffee. Now that she knew otherwise Leona was going to quietly let the matter drop in favor of talking about coffee itself.

"I had my first cup of coffee when I was around ten years old. One day my mother gave me a cup of it. Since it was early morning and there wasn't anything else in my home to drink I took a swig. I liked it and I've been drinking coffee ever since." Leona started explaining the origin of her coffee habit. It was not like Samira really needed to know or had even asked about how Leona had picked up her taste for the drink, but the blonde had told her anyway. Hopefully Samira would not be bored by that unsolicited information.

"For some reason I like plain coffee more than any other kind. It probably helps that I grew up with it. I grew up with it in a desert village that didn't have any of the fancy flavor options the coffee shops in Fiore have." Leona hypothesized why she could drink plain coffee and like it. Back in her home village it was a matter of necessity, but why she continued to drink it plain when she had access to a world of flavor options after moving to Fiore was something she did not fully understand herself. She decided to leave it at that so that she could avoid boring Samira to tears with a lot of details she did not ask for.

When Samira emerged from wherever it was she had been the teal-haired mage carried two mugs that were different colors. One of them was yellow and the other was gray. Leona received the gray one and carefully looked it over. She was visibly pleased by the fact that it bore the emblem of Silver Wolf.

Leona made eye contact with her hostess as the latter opted to sit next to Leona. The blonde had no problem with that. They were traveling in Samira's SPATE and as its owner she could sit wherever she wanted. Leona also liked Samira's company, which was another reason for her to let the teal-haired mage sit close by.

"The temperature's just fine, Samira. I'm doing better now that I'm out of the cold." Leona said before carefully raising the mug to her lips and taking a careful sip of the coffee.

Plain coffee... her favorite.

"This coffee helps too. It's got a good taste." Leona quickly added. She then took another sip from her cup. The blonde was thankful that Samira was a hostess generous enough to make a cup of coffee to her liking.

[Post Word Count: 498]
[Leona's Word Count: 17,338]

As Leona told her story about her first cup of coffee and how she came to enjoy it plain Samira listened quietly. The once expression of disgust had changed. Listening to the short explanation was enjoyable. It always was really. Long or short Samira was always happy to listen. It was all the better if she didn't have to ask or pry. She felt trusted and that was important to her.

"That does make sense," Samira replied at the end of it. She could understand the limited supply of fanciful coffee additions where Leona grew up. Plain coffee was all the wizard saint knew. By the time she left home, she had grown to love the plain bitter taste that many did not. They would prefer having a little bit of coffee with their cup of creamer and sugar.

"That sounds like a fond memory in my opinion. Not many, myself included, would remember their first cup of coffee." The story might have been vague in many details but there was enough there to keep Samira interested. Leona wasn't known to her as someone that gave too many details about anything so she was sure more was there. She wouldn't ask for a retelling though. What she heard had been enough. The start of her love for coffee was an important memory and Samira was honored to have learned that little bit about her without prompting.

"If I had to guess my first experience with coffee was probably a mild case of curiosity when I was younger." There wasn't much to tell in her own case. The memory of the first taste hadn't been important enough to store in her brain. She did envy Leona just a bit for that. The strained relationship between Leona and her mother was known to her but at least there was one with memories attached to something she enjoyed. Samira didn't have that. Not for coffee or for her mother.

"If only I could take credit for the coffee being a delight. The appliances get to take that one. I am glad that I could at least provide adequate heating and comfort." Granted the SPATE could technically take that credit as well. Agni and whoever else he had helping run the vehicle also had a great deal of credit to their names. Samira didn't really do anything but bring the vehicle out and press buttons on simple appliances.

Well, whoever or whatever got credit was no longer important. Leona was warm now and keeping her that way was all that mattered. At least until they reached Fiore. It was back to the cold for Leona once she went back to her guild's snow-covered home base.

A loud whistle could be heard throughout the halls of the SPATE. The lovely yet ear-piercing alarm that signaled the vehicle was getting started. It began to move shortly after. Slowly and with quite a few shakes that made Samira hold onto her hot chocolate mug for fear of it falling to the ground. As the speed picked up the ride became smoother. Eventually, the ride became less of a theme park attraction and more of a pleasant cruise. For now. Samira still intended to remain alert. Though it was her idea to ride it she wouldn't fully trust the SPATE until they safely reached their destination.

Samira took a sip from her mug and set it down. The hot liquid burned on its way down but it was comforting. Strange how that worked. Enough of thinking silly thoughts. There needed to be more conversation. Her eyes met Leona's as anyone deserving of respect in a conversation earned. "I thank you for lending your aid with the mission, Leona. It was a success with no casualties. Damage was also minimal considering what we were dealing with." Niceties aside there was more to be said. She did tell Leona earlier that she would explain and the time had come for that while they had the downtime. "I am afraid that I may have to ask for your assistance again. This may not be entirely over."

(Word Count: 685
Samira Total: 22,891)

Leona was not sure if the memory qualified as "fond", but she did not comment right away. It was one of the better memories she had of life in the desert. Otherwise she had plenty of memories that she would rather forget. Chief among them was her exile for defending herself from the chief's son when he had difficulty keeping his hands to himself and touched her repeatedly without permission.

"I don't know why I remember it, but I do. I guess life is strange like that." Leona said in response to the teal-haired mage's classification of the memory as a good one. The blonde did not want to rain on Samira's parade because the teal-haired mage was clearly in a good mood. Samira had also been very generous in allowing Leona to travel on the SPATE and giving her a good blend of coffee exactly how she liked it. The blonde was going to do what she could to keep the good mood going for as long as she could.

"I was kinda curious about coffee since I saw my mother and older brother drink it a lot, but I never asked for any. I was surprised when my mother gave me some without me asking. She told me to drink it all whether I liked it or not. So I drank it and as it turned out I liked it enough to keep drinking it." Leona gave an abridged version of how she got her first cup of coffee. She did not want to bore her hostess with details that really did not matter like how her mother and older brother reacted to her liking coffee and what kind of cup the coffee was in when she had her first sip. Those kinds of things did not matter to Leona and they definitely would not matter to Samira.

Leona heard an odd-sounding whistle and wondered if that meant trouble. In a way it did... the transport got off to a rough and bumpy start that was so rough and bumpy that the blonde clung onto her coffee mug to try and reduce the chances of her getting a lap full of hot coffee. If that happened she would be warm all right... if she did not mind getting badly burned in the process. She did not want that to happen, so she clung tightly onto the mug until the SPATE stopped moving violently about and it was safe to hold the mug in one hand again.

Once she was certain that the ride would be smooth she took a sip of coffee, then another. After two sips she was satisfied for the moment, so she turned to face Samira, who had begun speaking to her about the job they had just completed. Samira had expressed her gratitude for Leona's help, something which puzzled the blonde since the former had done most of the heavy lifting. The teal-haired mage might be giving Leona too much credit, but she chose to accept the credit that was given without an argument.

"I'm glad that I could help." Leona said modestly. She did her best to sound modest because Samira and Kukulkan had done most of the real work while Leona had only played a supporting role in the mission to stop the Icebourne. Even then she was not sure she had done enough to actually help the Goddess of Humility, but she was not going to argue.

When Samira told Leona that her help might still be needed the blonde blinked and slowly lowered her mug of coffee, holding it in both hands again.

"What do you mean you might need my help again? And what makes you think that our work isn't finished?" Leona asked Samira. The impressive show the Icebourne put on before exploding made Leona think that the job was finished. However, if Samira had reason to suspect that there was still work to be done, then the blonde would hear what her friend had to say. Samira had never steered Leona wrong before and it was doubtful that she would do so now.

[Post Word Count: 686]
[Leona's Word Count: 18,024]

The next questions asked were reasonable and understandable. They had switched direction abruptly before she had a chance to give out the details. Now there was time. Maybe Samira was getting too far ahead. There was no telling when the next mythical behemoth would rise. She might not have even needed Leona's aid when the time came. Still, she wanted Leona to know what may occur so that she would be prepared in case she was the one that got wind of the next creature first.

"I said before that someone else would be taking care of the icebourne's remnants. That someone is an... acquaintance of mine. I will skip over the more boring details of who that is and how I came to know him." And the detail of how utterly useless he was in the actual battle even though Iceberg was his current home. "He is old enough to know of the Icebourne. At least more than either of us even with our resources. He warned that there are more out there though how many still live he is not sure of. It is also not a matter of if they will awaken like the Icebourne has but when. That is why I said our work as a whole is not completed. We will have more to fight as they rise. If you choose to aid in that, of course. I will not force you. I do ask that you let me know of any sightings or rumors of one awakening whenever you come across them, however."

Samira took another sip of her hot chocolate. The small action was for more than to sate her thirst and taste of the sweet liquid. It was done to allow that information to sink in and for Leona to formulate a response. More probably could have been explained and said, but the method of keeping it all short and concise was preferred. Unless more questions were asked, naturally, though there was a chance none would be, especially if Leona sat out next time.

She, of course, wouldn't hold it against Leona if she refused right then and there to help out when the next behemoth became active. Even if she agreed at that very moment there was still a chance she'd have to refuse when the time came anyway. They didn't exactly have a schedule to look at in order to better plan for it. Other things might come up for Leona that are more important, such as guild matters. Samira herself was always free from such duties. She could handle it herself if she must.

(Word Count: 435
Samira Total: 23,326)

"All right." Leona said laconically in response to Samira's response to her questions. Leona thought that she could get through the rest of the day without saying something stupid, but true to form the blonde managed to put her foot in her mouth with her questions. Samira had already answered the first of Leona's two questions... Leona must not have paid attention because she had missed that part. The blonde's face turned red from embarrassment and turned hot enough to finish thawing her face out.

She took a sip of coffee to buy herself a bit of time to think. Once it was finished she lowered her mug and made eye contact with her friend. There was really only one answer she could give to Samira's request.

"If any more of those Icebourne things decide to emerge from hibernation or what it is they do just call me and I'll do everything I can to help out." Leona told Samira. Having dealt with one Icebourne would make dealing with future ones a lot easier... at least in theory. Leona began to think and if Samira listened closely she could hear the sound of gears grinding together and that sound did not come from the SPATE... at least Leona hoped not, anyway.

"I can't help but to wonder about something, Samira. If any more Icebourne beasts emerge will they all be like the one we killed or is there a chance we'll be dealing with a new kind with something special about it like thicker skin or the ability to move faster?" Leona asked Samira another question. It was probably another dumb question, but the blonde had to ask. Her concern hinged on whether future Icebourne creatures were the same as the first or would possibly change in some way such as being smaller but faster, possessing thicker skin that was better able to withstand attacks, or some other difference that would make defeating it more difficult.

Leona was not sure what Samira would think of that question. The blonde was fairly sure that Samira had already considered that possibility and already knew what to do in case that possibility came to pass. It was up to the teal-haired mage whether she dignified Leona's question with a response or not.

"It doesn't matter if future ones have anything special about them or not... I was asking just in case. I'll help you deal with them no matter what they can do." Leona assured her friend that she was still willing to help deal with the creatures if and when they emerged.

[Post Word Count: 430]
[Leona's Word Count: 18,454]

Taking more sips from the yellow mug of cheap instant hot chocolate, Samira waited for Leona to finish speaking her thoughts. There was redness on Leona's face but the Goddess of Ishgar could be a bit dense at times. She didn't take it as an embarrassment. After all, what was there for Leona to be embarrassed about? Samira just had to conclude that it had to do with the heat. The heat within the SPATE. The heat from the coffee. Maybe both. Leona had not complained so either she was being nice to not voice it or it didn't bother her. As a Desierto native heat was something Leona could understandably be quite used to. She chose not to bring it up. If there really was an issue she hoped that Leona would have been comfortable enough to say something.

"Thank you, Leona," Samira replied appreciatively. "There are very few others I trust and work well with." Considering they had known each other for years and were an official team that should not have been such a surprise. It was the truth though and Samira would not shadow over its significance by not stating it.

"As for your question, it is hard to say. I have a theory that the next behemoths in line could possibly not even be Icebournes. If there were a great many of them I suspect there would be much more documented history as well as fragments from the long deceased ones. The next one could surprise us both by being something else entirely. I have a feeling in the time before dragons there were a great variety of these creatures. Which ones have survived and are merely hibernating we may not ever know until they awaken. Even worse, we may not know where until it happens. As was the case here in Iceberg with the Icebourne. There is supposedly an ancient text that would explain this series of events but I was not told where to look or if it even still exists. I may look into that further during this waiting period so we are better prepared. Unless the next one appears sooner than expected. I hope that if one should awaken it is not planning to use tomorrow as its reveal date. I do like a bit of a break in between these types of cases to better prepare." Though it was a little joke there was fact in it as well. Samira didn't want to go rushing in with nearly zero knowledge like that day. The next one could be stronger, faster, anything and everything that could put the Icebourne's abilities to shame.

(Word Count: 442
Samira Total: 23,768)

"That's no problem, Samira. I'm still going to work with you to take on any new behemoths no matter what they look like or what they do." Leona replied in response to everything that Samira had said after asking her hypothetical question about the hypothetical changes in the next behemoth to awaken. Leona had not considered that Icebournes were not the only behemoths out there, so her question might not have been worded very well, but the point remained. Leona wanted to know whether the next beasts the pair fought would be the same as the Icebourne or have differing abilities and appearances because she wanted to plan ahead for a big fight for once, if only a little. Oh well.

It did not matter if the next behemoth was a two-headed beast that had polka dots and could breathe fire. Samira and Leona could defeat it no matter what form it took. Between the two of them they had powerful magic and a lot of Summons they could call upon to aid them. With Samira being the brains of the duo and Leona providing the muscle there was not a whole lot that could stand up to the two of them working together.

Leona took another sip of her coffee to buy herself a bit of time to think of her next question or statement. She then took another sip because she really liked this blend of coffee. After the second sip came a third sip. After the third sip Leona finally spoke to her friend.

"Thanks for inviting me to help you. It means a lot to me." Leona thanked Samira for asking her to help against the Icebourne. Right now Leona did not think about her earlier stupidity during the fight against the Icebourne or any number of snide remarks Kukulkan had made before, during, and after the fight. Right now it was just Leona and Samira talking as friends.

Leona was glad that Samira had valued her enough to ask for her help even if the teal-haired mage did not necessarily need it. The blonde was glad to see that Samira wanted to be around her for activities other than festivals. Asking for help with the Icebourne likely meant that the Goddess Of Humility took Leona seriously and did not see her as a joke or a burden. The blonde took heart in that because Samira was one of her few friends and she wanted to be Samira's friend for as long as possible.

After expressing her gratitude Leona took another sip of coffee. She really liked this coffee. Maybe she needed to get some for a personal coffee supply back at Silver Wolf Guild Hall.

[Post Word Count: 450]
[Leona's Word Count: 18,904]