Meeting Morgan Spruance

Job Details:

Job Sign-Up: Page 1, Post Number 14

-Capital Crocus, Leonidas' apartment, 9:26 A.M.-

Lying on his couch which doubled as his bed, Leonidas woke up to find that the television was still on and the show had changed from a mecha anime to an anime about street racing that was playing obnoxiously loud electronic music as a cherry red sports car drifted through a curve. The scar-faced mage looked to his left and saw that his Silver Falchion was still propped against his coffee table. Since he could not go back to sleep it was time to get up and look for a job.

Leonidas sat up on the couch and faced the television, not even paying attention to the anime that was on the screen. It was just background noise. He looked at the white plastic plate sitting in the middle of the coffee table and found a half-eaten peanut butter and jelly sandwich sitting there with a large chunk of it missing. He remembered that he had taken a bite of it around midnight before putting it aside to watch television for a bit and realized that he had not eaten it completely. He rectified that mistake by grabbing it with his left hand and beginning to eat the rest of the sandwich then and there.

Mmmm... half-day old peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

It was a meal that nothing else could compare to.

Leonidas had just finished the cold sandwich when he heard knocking on his door. He wiped the crumbs off of his white t-shirt and olive green cargo pants and walked over to the door, then opened it to find Samantha Halsey standing there. Leonidas looked to her left and saw another girl standing beside Samantha, a short-haired brunette with blue eyes.

"Hey Leonidas! This is my friend Morgan Spruance!" Samantha enthusiastically greeted Leonidas. Morgan waved at Leonidas, who waved back. He was not expecting company this early in the morning, but he was in a good enough mood to be friendly.

"Hi Leonidas! I'm Morgan! While walking here Samantha told me a lot about you and told me that you're Leona's older brother!" Morgan greeted him.

"You heard right, Morgan. Leona's my younger sister." Leonidas acknowledged the connection to his more famous sibling. Morgan smiled brightly.

"You probably get this a lot, but I can see the resemblance. The green eyes and the blond hair are two giveaways." Morgan commented on the two physical traits that the Jarnefeldt siblings shared.

"I do get that a lot, but it's still true." Leonidas commented without bitterness. While the Jarnefeldt siblings were considerably different in terms of temperament and appearance, they shared green eyes and blond hair. That was something the brother and sister had in common.

"My friend Morgan needs help with something, Leonidas. She needs someone to make sure that she gets to Magnolia Town safely. She's worried about bandits on the road and since she's not a mage or a fighter she'll need protection from them." Samantha explained why the two young women were at his door so early in the morning. Leonidas did not take long to decide whether to help them or not.

"I'm willing to help. I just need to get my sword and my backpack." Leonidas told Samantha and Morgan. He was always up for travel. He just needed to get his gear first and he would be ready to go when Morgan was.

"Great!" Samantha exclaimed. Leonidas turned to go back inside and shut his door when Samantha called out to him and he stopped. He turned to face the blonde.

"Mind if we come inside your apartment for a few minutes?" Samantha asked Leonidas. Samantha and Morgan looked at him while awaiting his decision.

"Sure." Leonidas answered and opened the door wide to let his guests in. Once they were inside he shut the door behind them.

Morgan Spruance:

[Post Word Count: 642]
[Total Word Count: 642/11,000]

-Inside Leonidas' apartment-

Leonidas had not been expecting Samantha and Morgan to enter his home, but he was not going to turn them down. He was going to be a good host even though he had little to offer them in terms of food, drink, or comfortable seating arrangements. He looked at Samantha and Morgan, who were examining his apartment with what looked like a critical eye. Their eyes went over the furnishings, the window curtain, and everything about the scar-faced mage's living space.

"This place's kinda small." Samantha said aloud. Morgan nodded in agreement.

"It's a small place for the brother of a Wizard Saint to live in." Morgan chimed in. Leonidas was a little annoyed by that assessment because he got the impression that they were expecting him to be finanically supported by his sister, but he kept his mouth shut because he did not want to alienate them, especially Samantha.

"It's not what I was expecting, but it's fairly clean and the furniture's not too badly beaten up. That's pretty good" Samantha added. Leonidas took another hit to his pride when he heard that remark. He had arrived in Fiore months ago and had not yet earned enough money for a bigger place to live, so he was doing the best he could on a tight budget.

"We'd better quit critiquing his house and talk to him about our trip to Magnolia Town." Morgan suggested to the other blonde while looking at their host. Leonidas was frowning a little, but he was not angry at them... yet. Despite the scar on his face he was not someone who was quick to anger.

"Oh, right! Good idea!" Samantha exclaimed. She made eye contact with Leonidas.

"Like I said earlier, Morgan's not a mage and she doesn't own any weapons, so she's going to need protection from bandits while on the road to Magnolia Town. We're not expecting any bandits to attack you on the road during the day, but when it's night it's a different story." Samantha quickly changed the subject from a critique of Leonidas' house to the details of the job. Leonidas' irritation quickly disappeared as he listened to what he was being told. He was not afraid to get his hands dirty. He was also not afraid of the dark.

"Are there any areas we need to be careful in while we travel?" Leonidas asked Samantha. The blonde shrugged her shoulders.

"I can't tell you anything specific because there's no predicting when or where bandits strike. You two will just have to be careful while you travel." Samantha informed Leonidas. The scar-faced mage was not deterred by that lack of information. He had grown up in Desierto, so he was used to unexpected bandit attacks.

"OK." Leonidas said in response. He walked over to the coffee table and grabbed his Silver Falchion, then put it into its scabbard. He attached the scabbard to his left hip and then found the television remote. He took it into his right hand and pointed it at the television, then turned off the device before setting the remote down on the bottom right corner of the coffee table. Leonidas would need to go to the room that would have been his bedroom if he had a bed to get his backpack.

"I'm going to get my backpack. Once I have it I'll be ready to go." Leonidas told Samantha and Morgan before walking towards the back of his house to grab the last piece of gear he needed for the trip.

-In Leonidas' bedroom-

Leonidas walked into the empty bedroom he was using as a storage place for his weapons and clothing. It was a small bedroom with no window to the outside world and it could stand to be cleaned up a little more because of the cobwebs hanging from the corners of the ceiling, but that could wait. He had more important things to do than housekeeping.

Leonidas walked over to his closet and opened the door. Inside was his meager wardrobe hanging on plastic hangers on the rack and his backpack on the top shelf. He reached up and grabbed the backpack with his left hand, then reached for his olive green jacket with his right hand. He was probably going to need it when nighttime came.

Leonidas set the backpack onto the floor and used both hands to take the jacket off of the hanger before putting the empty hanger back on the rack. He shut the closet door and slung the jacket across his left shoulder, then picked up the backpack in his right hand and headed back for his living room. He would talk to the pair of young women because he had good reason to believe that Morgan needed to go to her place and get her gear together before she and Leonidas set out for Magnolia Town.

[Post Word Count: 816]
[Total Word Count: 1,458/11,000]

-Outside Capital Crocus, two hours and seventeen minutes later-

True to his prediction Morgan needed to go by her house and gather her gear for the trip ahead. The short-haired brunette had packed some extra clothes, some food, some water, and a lacrima-powered lantern in case they had to travel at night; all of it was packed inside a pink hiking backpack with a metal travel frame. Leonidas had brought some food, some water, and a flashlight in his simpler backpack, but he was not anticipating traveling at night. He still prepared for the possibility because walking to anywhere in Fiore took some time.

Samantha had walked to the city outskirts with them before turning back, leaving Leonidas and Morgan to begin their trip to Magnolia Town. It was going to take awhile for them to get to their destination, so they had better get going now. Morgan looked at Leonidas.

"Well Leonidas, ready to get going?" The brunette asked the scar-faced mage. Leonidas made eye contact with her.

"I'm ready, Morgan." Leonidas replied calmly. With that the pair took their first step on the path to Magnolia Town. There was a long road ahead of them, but there was plenty of daylight, so the chances of bandit attack should be slim... at least in theory.

-On the road to Era, thirty-three minutes later-

The pair had been going for slightly over half an hour when Morgan finally spoke to Leonidas again. The scar-faced mage had been walking in silence because it was customary for him to do so. He also liked to remain silent so that it would be easier to detect bandits or other unwanted company trying to slip up on him.

"Are you OK, Leonidas? Do you need to stop for a break?" Morgan asked him a couple of questions as they continued down the path.

"I'm fine, Morgan. And I don't need to stop for a break." Leonidas assured the short-haired brunette that he was in good shape and did not need to stop to rest. He was used to traveling long distances on foot, so he could walk for quite some time with needing to stop. Morgan, on the other hand, did not seem to share that ability.

"I'm fine too, Leonidas. I just thought that I'd ask." Morgan said to him before the conversation abruptly ended and both of them faced forward. Silence prevailed for a few moments before Morgan turned to face Leonidas and spoke to him again.

"Thanks for agreeing to escort me to Magnolia Town, Leonidas." Morgan thanked the scar-faced mage for his help.

"It's no problem." Leonidas said to her without hesitation. Morgan's eyes told him that she was not convinced by his words.

"This job's probably a lot more boring than what you normally do. I'm a city girl and I've never been to anywhere exciting. I've lived in Capital Crocus all of my life and I'm not a mage or a fighter, so I don't have much excitement in my life." Morgan started off. Leonidas remained quiet both to let her talk uninterrupted and to more easily listen out for anything that might mean danger.

"I've traveled to Magnolia Town and to Hargeon Town before, but they're tame compared to the places you go. Samantha told me that you've been to Silent Cemetery a few times." Morgan continued.

"Yes, I've been to Silent Cemetery a few times before." Leonidas confirmed what their mutual friend had told her. Morgan seemed surprised to hear that from him.

"I couldn't go there even with a small army of people like you traveling with me, Leonidas. I don't like horror movies and that place sounds like it'd give me the creeps. I mean, it's a cemetery and it's full of tombstones and I'm sure that not all of the occupants stay in their graves." Morgan told him what she imagined Silent Cemetery to be like.

"It's true, Morgan. All the times I've been to Silent Cemetery there were zombies everywhere. They were shambling about almost everywhere I went and they often traveled in groups." Leonidas confirmed what she believed about Silent Cemetery. Morgan was not happy to hear that at all.

"You're a lot braver than I am, Leonidas." Morgan said to him.

"You wouldn't want to go there without a weapon or magic. Believe me on that. Zombies might be really dumb, but they seldom travel alone, so there's a lot of them to deal with. They're also really persistent. Once they see you they'll follow you relentlessly." Leonidas warned the short-haired brunette that even for someone like him Silent Cemetery was dangerous. After that statement the conversation ended and the pair looked forward to focus on the road ahead of them. So far they had not encountered any bandits, but they still had a long way to travel and there was no predicting what waited down the path.

[Post Word Count: 818]
[Total Word Count: 2,276/11,000]

-On the road to Peace Village, five hours and eleven minutes later-

Leonidas and Morgan had passed through Era about forty minutes ago and now they were on the way to Peace Village. The pair was making good time and they had not encountered any bandits yet... not that Leonidas was complaining. He was always up for a fight and he was sure that he would eventually run into a bandit who wanted to rob them. All he had to do was wait and he would get his chance.

"It's been really smooth traveling... not that I mind. I expected to see a lot more people on the path than we've seen." Morgan commented on their travels to Leonidas.

"I thought there would be more people too, but we must have picked a good time to travel because so far we've only seen thirteen people at most." Leonidas replied and cited the number of other travelers they had spotted ever since leaving Capital Crocus.

"I guess so. But something feels off. Like this shouldn't be going so easy for us." Morgan mused that their trip was going a bit too smoothly. Leonidas wondered what she meant by that. To him it sounded like she wanted to run into bandits so that she could get some excitement.

"What do you mean by that, Morgan?" Leonidas asked the short-haired brunette as they continued to walk towards Peace Village. She turned to face him before she spoke.

"I expected to see more travelers than we've been seeing, Leonidas. We've seen less than twenty and it's still daylight, so it's not like they're stopping to spend the night in the nearest city or town." Morgan explained why she felt the way she did. Leonidas did not feel too much concern over a lack of people on the road because he saw it more as a blessing than something to be worried about. Fewer people on the road meant easier traveling, which was never a bad thing as far as the scar-faced mage was concerned.

"Do you think that our timing's the reason why we're making such good progress or do you suspect something else?" Leonidas asked Morgan. Morgan shrugged her shoulders in response.

"I don't know, Leonidas. I don't know how to put it in words, but something just feels... off. It feels kinda weird." Morgan offered a vague explanation for her feelings. Leonidas wanted to ask for a more detailed explanation, but he decided to keep quiet and take what he was given.

"All right then. If that's how you feel, then that's how you feel." Leonidas commented. He was not going to get a more detailed explanation from her and he was not going to drag this conversation out in the hopes of getting one. He broke eye contact with her and looked straight ahead as they walked down the road.

"Yeeeah... how I feel is really hard to put into words. Maybe I'm just feeling jittery over nothing." Morgan continued without prompting from Leonidas. Leonidas made eye contact with her again.

"Like Samantha said earlier, I'm not a mage and I can't fight, so if we do run into trouble I'm virtually useless." Morgan gave a bit more information that possibly explained her concern about their situation.

"I feel bad that if something happens you're the one who's gonna have to save the day." Morgan added. Leonidas did not have an immediate response to her words, so he stayed silent for a bit and hoped that he would not alienate Morgan with his silence. As he walked her eyes stayed fixed on him... it was obvious that she was waiting for an answer. He had to think of something appropriate to say and think fast.

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"It's all right, Morgan. The whole point of me coming along was to look after you." Leonidas said to her after spending some time thinking about what he was going to say. It might sound like he was being sarcastic, but he meant what he had said. The whole point of accompanying Morgan was to be there to help her if she was the target of a bandit attack or suffered an injury.

"I'm glad you're here with me, Leonidas. I'm not sure what's on the road ahead, but I'm glad that I have someone with me." Morgan replied, apparently satisfied with the scar-faced mage's answer. Leonidas did not question whether his answer was satisfactory or not and accepted her response at face value. He looked away from her and back towards the path, which was wide open as far as the eye could see. No one else was on the road but the two of them.

Leonidas continued to walk with his eyes on the road as Morgan turned her head to look towards the road. The trip so far had been a long but uneventful stroll towards their destination with the only real problem being the travel time. As far as he knew they were not on a time limit, but time was a problem in the sense that it would take awhile to get to Magnolia Town on foot. Maybe Leonidas should look into getting motorized transport of some sort so that he and any companions did not have to walk everywhere.

-On the road to Magnolia Town, five hours and fifteen minutes later-

Leonidas and Morgan had passed through Peace Village roughly an hour ago and were still on the road to Magnolia Town. There was still some daylight left, but they did not want to dawdle on the road if they could help it. Samantha had warned Leonidas that once night came bandits were more likely to come out of hiding and prowl the roads. He kept that in mind as the pair continued to move towards their destination.

"Hey Leonidas, did you bring a light with you?" Morgan asked him. Leonidas looked at her for a moment.

"Do you mean a light as in a flashlight?" Leonidas asked in return.

"Yeah, that kind of light. A flashlight, a lantern, any kind of light source." Morgan elaborated. Now that he knew what she was talking about he could finally give an answer.

"I've got a flashlight in my backpack." Leonidas answered. Morgan looked at him and smiled.

"I've got both a flashlight and a Lacrima lantern in my backpack." Morgan chimed in with what she could bring to the table. Between the two of them they should have enough artificial light to cut through the dark when the sun set. He doubted that they would be on the road that long, but having a portable light source was seldom a bad idea.

"Just in case we need them, that is." Morgan quickly added.

"We've been making good time ever since we left Capital Crocus, so I don't think we'll have to use them." Leonidas said optimistically. They had been moving at a good pace for two people traveling on foot. Morgan was doing a very good job of keeping pace with him despite her confessing to being a city girl earlier. Maybe she was a very fit city girl... she certainly did not look like a couch potato.

"I don't think we'll need them either, but you never know." Morgan replied. After that the conversation stopped and the pair looked forward to focus on the road. They still had plenty of road left to travel and were not sure how long they had before nightfall came.

-Magnolia Town, four hours later-

"We finally made it to Magnolia Town, Leonidas!" Morgan exclaimed in happiness as the pair walked into the town with minutes to spare before sundown. Leonidas was glad to make it to the town before they got caught out on the road at night. He was not afraid of the dark, but nighttime made it easier for bandits to move about with less risk of detection until it was too late.

"Yeah." Leonidas said laconically. The scar-faced mage looked at Morgan.

"What will we do about a place to stay for the night? Do you know of any good hotels here?" Leonidas asked the short-haired brunette. Morgan simply smiled.

"I can do better than a hotel. I've got a friend who lives here, Leonidas. We can stay at her place!" Morgan replied with confidence.

"All right then. We'll head for her place whenever you're ready, Morgan." Leonidas signaled his willingness to go to her friend's house whenever she was ready to do so. He was glad that she knew somewhere they could stay for the night. The prospect of free lodging was especially appealing to the scar-faced mage.

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-Magnolia Town, forty-five minutes later-

It took a bit of a walk through Magnolia Town before the pair reached Morgan's friend's house, but once they finally reached it both of them were relieved that their journey was over. Now all they had to do was get the attention of the hostess. That would be Morgan's job. Speaking of Morgan, she was reaching out for the white wooden door with her right hand balled into a fist and her knuckles facing out and ready to knock on the door.

"You should handle all the talking, Morgan." Leonidas suggested to the short-haired brunette. It went without saying that Morgan's friend would respond much better to Morgan herself than some random blond guy she had never met before, but Leonidas wanted to put an end to any thoughts of him doing the talking. Morgan seemed to agree because she reached for the door and knocked on it three times, then turned to face him.

"Don't worry, Leonidas. I'll handle the talking." Morgan assured him. Before she could turn around the door opened and in the doorway stood a brown-haired young woman with waist-length hair wearing a gray turtleneck sweater and black knee-length skirt with no shoes. The two brunettes made eye contact, then squealed at a volume that could break glass. They embraced each other as Leonidas looked on.

"Oh hey Morgan! It's been almost four months since we've last met! How's it going?" The other brunette asked Morgan. The two released each other from the embrace and made eye contact again.

"It's been great, Cassidy. I've been looking to go on a cruise to Crescent Island soon but I don't quite have the money to book a trip yet." Morgan told her friend. Cassidy's face continued to show happiness.

"You're still saving up, huh? Me too. I want to go to Crescent Island some day!" Cassidy revealed that she and Morgan shared the same goal. The two brunettes then began to chatter rapidly, growing faster with every passing second while Leonidas looked on. On the outside he appeared unperturbed by being left out, but on the inside he was utterly lost. He could not even understand what was being said anymore.

The scar-faced blond watched the two young women continued to talk until Cassidy eventually turned her attention to him. She looked at him for a moment, then turned to face Morgan.

"Hey Morgan, did you find a boyfriend since we last met?" Cassidy asked her friend. Morgan smiled and shook her head.

"No Cass, I didn't get a boyfriend. He's Leonidas Jarnefeldt and he's a friend of my friend Samantha Halsey. I needed someone to walk with me to Magnolia Town to protect me from any bandits that might pop up and Samantha recommended him because he's helped her mage friend Janine." Morgan explained how Leonidas came to be here. Cassidy looked at him again, then turned and smiled back at her.

"You should probably date him. He seems like a really nice guy. And he doesn't look half-bad." The long-haired brunette counseled her friend. Morgan smiled again.

"I'm halfway tempted to ask him for a date, but I think Samantha's got a crush on him. She always talks about how muscular he is and how she wants to be in his arms." Morgan revealed something that was news to Leonidas. He was attracted to Samantha but had not made a move because he was still establishing himself in Capital Crocus and did not have enough money to take her on a really good date. He was also saving money for a new place to live so that if Samantha dropped by again she would not be disappointed in his home.

A brief silence ensued before Cassidy spoke to her friend again.

"So, what brings you two here?" Cassidy asked Morgan.

"I came by here to ask a favor. Leonidas and I need a place to stay for the night. Would you be willing to help us?" Morgan asked the long-haired brunette. The latter looked at Morgan, then at Leonidas. Finally she looked back at her friend.

"Certainly. Come on in, guys!" Cassidy bade them and stepped back into the house. Morgan entered first followed by Leonidas. Once both of them were in the house the door was shut behind them and locked.

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-Inside Cassidy's house-

Morgan and Leonidas stepped into the foyer of a one-story home that was of medium size. It was not especially upscale, but it was no cardboard box either. In front of them was a living room with a brown leather sofa in the center, beige carpet for flooring that had signs of suffering a few spills from dark liquid that could have been coffee or soda, a well-used wooden coffee table in front of the sofa that had taken a lot of bumps and scratches, and artwork hanging on the walls of the foyer and the living room. The artwork had a maritime theme and one of the most prominent pieces was a picture of a lighthouse at night projecting a cone of light towards the open ocean hanging on the living room wall right above the flatscreen television sitting on a wooden stand.

"Welcome to my place, guys! It's been awhile since I've had any company, but make yourselves at home!" Cassidy bade them. Leonidas saw Morgan take off her shoes and place them on a black rubber mat positioned against the wall and to the right side of the entrance. Leonidas followed suit and took off his boots, placing them next to Morgan's shoes on the mat. The size difference between the two types of footwear was obvious.

"What do you guys want to drink?" Cassidy asked them from a mini-kitchen that was positioned just behind the living room and separated by an open window that faced the living room.

"I'd like a can of Strawberry Slam soda, please." Morgan requested of their hostess. The long-haired brunette turned her attention to Leonidas.

"I'd like some coffee, please. I don't care what blend it is." Leonidas made his request.

"All right then. I'll have your drinks shortly." Cassidy said before disappearing into the mini-kitchen to get their drinks. Leonidas stood in silence as Morgan looked towards the mini-kitchen. Leonidas wondered if he had made a mistake in requesting coffee instead of a soda because coffee would take a bit of time to prepare. Maybe he was pushing the limits of the hospitality that Cassidy was offering them.

"So you like coffee, huh?" Morgan asked him. The feeling that he had made a mistake intensified as he made eye contact with her.

"Yes, I like coffee. A lot. Perhaps too much for my own good. I'll drink it before I'll drink any other beverage besides water." Leonidas replied. Morgan smiled at him.

"Me, I like soda way too much for my own good. I'll drink at least one can a day, if not three. I'll drink it any chance I get." Morgan confessed her own tendency to overindulge in caffeine in the form of soda. Leonidas did not say anything. He supposed that there were worse things for someone to get addicted to. Besides, his own coffee habit left him no room to cast the first stone.

"Here you are! Strawberry Slam for you and coffee for you!" Cassidy said as she walked into the living room. She handed each person their respective drink and Morgan and Leonidas sat down on the sofa in front of the coffee table. They began drinking their beverages... Morgan did so without hesitation while Leonidas had to take careful sips of the coffee because it was still hot.

"How's the coffee, Leonidas?" Cassidy asked the scar-faced mage what he thought of his drink. Leonidas thought over his words carefully. The coffee was far from the strongest he had ever had and leaned on the bitter side of the taste scale, but it was strong enough to satisfy his need for caffeine.

"I like it, Cassidy. It's strong enough without being too strong to drink." Leonidas gave an honest appraisal of his beverage. He liked strong coffee and while the blend he was drinking was not as strong as he was used to it was strong enough for him. The bitter taste did not bother Leonidas all that much and he deliberately did not mention it because he was a guest in someone else's house and did not want to criticize coffee that was provided to him free of charge.

"I'm glad to hear that, Leonidas." Cassidy replied with a smile. He was not sure if she really bought his appraisal or not, but he decided to leave well enough alone and let the subject drop. Cassidy walked over to Morgan and stopped in front of the coffee table, then looked at her.

"Is there anything on television that you wanna watch?" Cassidy asked her friend.

[Post Word Count: 764]
[Total Word Count: 5,202/11,000]

-The next day, Magnolia Town, 8:15 A.M.-

Leonidas had slept on Cassidy's couch while Morgan slept in the guest bedroom. He had no problem with that arrangement. He had slept on his own couch many times and had slept on the floor of his home village many times before, so less-than-ideal sleeping arrangements were not new to him.

When morning came he and Morgan had gotten a shower and gotten dressed before leaving to go see Morgan's friend Rosa, the real reason Morgan had traveled all the way to Magnolia Town. She and Rosa were going to go shopping and Leonidas was going to tag along. The scar-faced mage had not spent much time with women outside of his family and this was a new experience for him.

Now they were standing outside the white door of a two-story townhouse in the fancy side of Magnolia Town. The townhouse looked as fancy as anything in Capital Crocus and was well-maintained. He did not have much time to admire the architecture because Morgan walked towards the door and knocked on it three times. Within seconds the door opened and a young woman with waist-length blonde hair, a lavender t-shirt, and short black skirt emerged.

"Oh hey Morgan! You're late for our shopping trip!" The young woman greeted Morgan. The short-haired brunette squealed and walked over to the blonde and gave her a big hug while Leonidas watched. He was going to let Morgan do the talking like she had done with Cassidy yesterday.

"Sorry about that, Rosa. We didn't get here until nightfall and we stopped at the house of another friend of mine." Morgan explained why she had not made it yesterday. Rosa looked away from her friend and towards Leonidas. She looked him in the eyes and did not seem repelled by his facial scar. In fact she seemed kind of attracted to him.

"Who's the guy you're with?" Rosa asked Morgan.

"He's Leonidas. Leonidas Jarnefeldt." Morgan replied before Leonidas could give the other blonde his name. Rosa seemed impressed and looked him over. Leonidas was not sure if she was impressed because of his physique or was impressed because of his last name. She looked him over again before turning to face Morgan.

"He's a real find, Morgan. If you don't get with him maybe I will. I like a man who has muscles." Rosa voiced her approval of Leonidas' physique. Morgan's face turned beet red.

"I-I'm not a-a-attracted to him!" Morgan sputtered. Rosa seemed to think differently and gave a knowing smile. Leonidas was not sure what to make of this situation and did his best to keep a straight face.

"I mean I AM attracted to him because he's a handsome man, but I'm not attracted attracted to him!" Morgan attempted to explain her previous statement. Rosa continued to smile while Leonidas kept a straight face. The short-haired brunette's face was still bright red and she was obviously struggling for words to describe how she felt about Leonidas.

"Why's that, Morgan? I thought you had a thing for muscular men. There's one standing not too far from you. He's yours if you want him." Rosa replied with a mischievous grin. The blonde was clearly having fun teasing Morgan about the latter's reluctance to claim Leonidas for her boyfriend. The scar-faced mage continued to watch the proceedings unfold with what was best described as morbid curiosity.

"You see, my friend Samantha likes him too. I don't want to take him from her." Morgan explained. Leonidas recalled hearing the short-haired brunette say that she was attracted to him. He also heard Morgan tell about how their mutual friend Samantha liked him. The part about Morgan holding off on asking him for a date because she did not want to take him from Samantha was news to him.

"Oh, OK. You and Samantha go pretty far back, so I can understand why you're not eager to ask him on a date." Rosa replied. She looked at Leonidas with an expression of approval one last time, then focused on Morgan again.

"Let's go into my house. We can talk about the details of our shopping trip." Rosa suggested to her friend.

"That's what I've been waiting to hear!" Morgan readily agreed. It was obvious that she was looking for a way to change the subject without saying words to that effect, but neither Rosa nor Leonidas commented on that. Rosa wordlessly stepped back and Morgan went into the townhouse followed by Leonidas. Once the two travelers were inside the door was shut behind them.

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-Inside Rosa's townhouse-

The two travelers entered the townhouse and stood in the living room, which was a bit on the small side. There was a single gray cloth couch positioned in front of a glass coffee table and a television dominating the right wall of the living room. The carpet was beige, but it had evidence of stains from dirty footwear and spilled drinks. There were a few framed photographs hanging on the walls, including a photograph of Rosa and Morgan standing outside the former's townhouse... it must have been taken not too long ago.

"Welcome to my townhouse. It's been awhile since I've had visitors, but you two are welcome here." Rosa welcomed the pair into her home. Morgan and Leonidas immediately took their footwear off and put it on a mat positioned just to the left of the entrance door and Leonidas removed his sword belt. He would not need a weapon for the shopping trip.

"Thanks, Rosa. I've been looking forward to this shopping trip for awhile!" Morgan told their hostess. Leonidas remained silent. He had no opinion of the trip the trio were about to embark on.

"Me too, Morgan. I think there are a few sales going on today, so I hope that you brought your purse." Rosa remarked. Leonidas had a feeling that he was going to be carrying a lot of shopping bags back to Rosa's townhouse once the shopping trip was finished. He did not mind, though. He needed to learn to associate with women outside of his family if he wanted to continue living in Fiore because they seemed drawn to him.

"We'll get going as soon as you're ready, Rosa!" Morgan said with enthusiasm. She took off her backpack and held onto it as if awaiting permission from Rosa to put it down.

"You guys can put your backpacks on my couch. It won't hurt anything." Rosa gave the pair permission to set their belongings onto her couch. The pair obliged, walking over to the couch and gently set down their backpacks and Leonidas set down his sword belt. Now that Morgan and Leonidas had put their belongings somewhere safe Rosa looked at Morgan.

"Where did you want to start shopping first, Morgan?" Rosa asked her friend. The short-haired shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't have anywhere special I want to start off at. How about you?" Morgan answered before turning the question back on her friend.

"I want to start out at the Earthland Eagle outlet, if you don't mind." Rosa answered. Leonidas remembered that name from his shopping trip with Samantha less than a month ago. That idea must have been a good one because Morgan's face lit up.

"Me too! Great idea!" Morgan voiced her approval for the idea. Leonidas remained silent. He had no problem with accompanying them to the Earthland Eagle outlet.

"Let's go!" Rosa urged Morgan and Leonidas to stop standing around and start the trip right away. Rosa led them out of her townhouse with Morgan following close behind and Leonidas bringing up the rear. Once he was outside Rosa closed the door behind them and locked it before guiding the trio to their destination.

-Inside the Earthland Eagle outlet store, thirty-four minutes later-

Leonidas had expected the walk to the store to take a lot longer than it did, but he had underestimated the speed at which his companions could move. Rosa and Morgan walked so fast that he had expected them to break into a run at any moment. Since he was not as fast as they were he had had to struggle to keep up, but he somehow managed to keep pace with the two young women.

Now the trio were standing in the store, which was lightly populated. Leonidas counted ten other shoppers in here, all of them young women. He was the only male in here, but that would not deter him. Leonidas looked around the store and saw that the racks of shirts were on the left wall and the racks of pants and skirts were on the right wall.

"So, where do you want to start first?" Rosa asked Morgan.

"I was kinda hoping that I could find some new pants to buy. Maybe some new blue jeans or some capris." Morgan answered. Leonidas remained silent as Rosa and Morgan set out for the racks of pants on the right side of the store. He was going to look for a place in which to stand or sit and get out of the way of the other shoppers.

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-Outside the Earthland Eagle outlet, forty-one minutes later-

"Earthland Eagle has so much good clothing!" Rosa said to Morgan as the pair exited the Earthland Eagle outlet store. Leonidas followed behind them and was carrying bags just like he thought he would, but he was only carrying four bags. Two belonged to Rosa and were carried in his left hand while the other two belonged to Morgan and were carried in his right hand.

"Tell me about it, Rosa. I got three pairs of blue jeans, one pair of khaki capri pants, and a couple of t-shirts. I woulda gotten more but I really need to save my money." Morgan replied. Leonidas was nowhere as entertained by the visit to the store as they were, but he kept quiet. Some of the shoppers took a glance at him and hurried away towards other parts of the store where they could not see him. He knew that his facial scar could be intimidating, but he did not know that he was that intimidating.

"Where do we go now?" Morgan asked her friend. Rosa did not take very long to come up with a response.

"We need to go to The Fashionable Lady outlet!" Rosa answered. Morgan was on board with that idea because she smiled widely.

"Lead the way!" Morgan replied with considerable enthusiasm. Again the blonde and the brunette trotted off in the direction of the store and again Leonidas had to get a move on if he did not want to be left behind. Leonidas followed behind the pair the best he could and weaved his way through the foot traffic, doing his best not to accidentally bump into anyone as he followed Rosa and Morgan.

-Inside The Fashionable Lady outlet store, seventeen minutes later-

Leonidas stepped into the outlet store, which was populated by quite a few shoppers. Again all of them were young women; so were the employees behind the counters. Everywhere Leonidas looked he saw glass display counters with bottles of perfume on display inside of them near the middle of the store and racks with tubes of lipstick and lip gloss near the back of the store. The floors were white marble tile and they were immaculately clean... they were so clean that Leonidas could see his reflection in the tiles.

Leonidas looked around for Rosa and Morgan and spotted them near the back of the store looking at the lipstick. The store had twenty-five other shoppers and they were moving about in unpredictable patterns, so he would have to be careful as he went to the back to meet up with Rosa and Morgan. Leonidas waited for his moment and began to walk carefully towards the lipstick.

Leonidas made it to the back without incident, probably because his appearance frightened some of the other shoppers into giving him a clear path. That was not his intent, but it could not be helped. He walked over to Rosa and Morgan, who were browsing at tubes of lipstick and comparing them. As he approached the pair he heard the beginnings of an exchange.

"Which color do you think your boyfriend will like?" Rosa asked Morgan. Morgan blushed and made eye contact with the blonde.

"He's NOT my boyfriend!" Morgan shot back. Leonidas stopped where he was and listened to what was being said. His guess was that Rosa still thought he was Morgan's boyfriend.

"I know you picked out clothes in Earthland Eagle based on what you thought he'd like." Rosa teased her friend.

"T-that's not true and you know it!" Morgan tried to deny that allegation. Leonidas did not know whether there was any truth to Rosa's remark or not. Maybe Morgan really had a crush on him. Maybe Rosa was just trying to get a rise out of the short-haired brunette for laughs.

"It's OK, sweetie. I know you've got a crush on him. It's written all over your face. And for the record, I'd say you need red lipstick. You can't go wrong with red." Rosa finished the conversation. At this point Morgan's face was beet-red. Whether it was from anger or embarrassment was unknown, but Leonidas chose that moment to make his presence known.

"Did I interrupt something?" Leonidas asked them. Rosa turned to him with a wide smile and Morgan looked like she would rather be somewhere else right now.

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"You've got great timing, Leonidas. Morgan and I were just talking about you." Rosa said, keeping the same wide smile with which she had greeted him. Morgan's face was so red that it looked like she was about to spontaneously combust on the spot.

"I heard some of it." Leonidas let the two young women know that he had heard some of their conversation. Rosa continued to smile as Morgan took two steps back.

"Y-you heard the part about the clothes I bought. A-and the l-lipstick too?" Morgan asked him.

"Every word." He answered. Morgan's eyes met the floor as Rosa laughed.

"Why don't you just tell him, Morgan? It's obvious that you like him. The sooner you tell him the better it'll be for you." Rosa encouraged her friend to tell him already instead of dragging out telling Leonidas how she felt. Morgan shook her head.

"L-like I said earlier, it's not that easy." Morgan countered, her eyes never leaving the floor. Her friend stopped smiling and turned serious.

"Is it because you think you'll be stealing him from your friend Samantha if you tell him that you like him?" Rosa inquired with no hint of mischief on her voice. Morgan hesitated to answer, but it was clear that she wanted to say something.

"Yes." Morgan answered. Rosa put an arm around Morgan's waist, who did not resist the gesture.

"Look, maybe I shouldn't have said anything about you liking Leonidas. It's obvious that you do, but that's not the point. We'll talk about it later somewhere private, just you and me." Rosa offered to stop the conversation here and now. Morgan made eye contact with her friend.

"We'll talk about it later. Just you and me." Morgan agreed. Leonidas said nothing as the two young women put an end to the conversation. He knew better than to say anything at this point. It was obvious that there was truth to Rosa's words, but he was not going to say anything. Morgan held up the tube of lipstick between the thumb and index finger of her right hand.

"I will get this lipstick, though. I think red would look good on me." Morgan conceded that her friend had a point.

"All right then." Rosa said with a measure of satisfaction and left it at that.

-Outside The Fashionable Lady outlet store, thirty-three minutes later-

When the trio finally exited the store the tense mood from earlier seemed to have lifted. Rosa exited the store without buying anything while Morgan only bought the single tube of red lipstick. Whether that was because it was all she wanted, because she needed to save money, or because Leonidas had heard that she liked him was something he did not know and was not going to ask about.

"Is there anywhere else you'd like to go, Morgan?" Rosa asked her friend. Morgan started to shake her head but then stopped and reconsidered.

"I think I want to go to the movie theater instead. Is that a problem, Rosa?" Morgan replied with the name of their next destination and asked if her friend would object. Rosa shook her head.

"Not at all, Morgan. I bet I know what movie you want to see." The blonde answered. Morgan made eye contact with her friend as if rising to meet a challenge. The short-haired brunette waited for her friend to give her the title of the movie that she wanted to see.

"The Write Stuff?" Rosa asked.

"Yes!" Morgan exclaimed. Leonidas had never heard of that movie, but he had a suspicion that he was about to go to a movie aimed at women. If he was invited, that was. They might leave him at Rosa's townhouse or leave him to his own devices in Magnolia Town while they watched the movie.

"Let's go back to my place and drop off our shopping bags. We've still got a bit of time before we have to go get tickets, so we can go home, drop off the shopping bags, and plan from there." Rosa offered. Morgan readily agreed with a thumbs-up.

"All right then. We'll go back to my place and go from there." Rosa said. She and Morgan turned around almost in unison and began making their way back to her townhouse. Leonidas followed with their shopping bags. They were moving at a quick pace and threatening to leave him behind, so he had to hustle to keep up with them. At least he was not loaded down with shopping bags like he had anticipated he would be.

[Post Word Count: 762]
[Total Word Count: 8,220/11,000]

-Rosa's Townhouse, forty-three minutes later-

Once the trio had returned to Rosa's townhouse after the shopping trip Leonidas had handed each young woman their bags and they had went to the second floor of the townhouse to drop them off while he stood in the living room. He was still not sure what part he would have to play in the trip to the movie theater. Maybe he would be the one to get the two snacks or refills on their drinks while they watched the movie. There was the possibility that they might not want him there because they wanted to discuss the matter from earlier.

Leonidas heard Rosa and Morgan walking downstairs and saw Rosa arrive at the end of the stairs just ahead of Morgan. Rosa stepped a few steps forward to permit Morgan to pass, then faced Leonidas and began speaking to him.

"Hey Leonidas, we're going to the movie theater in a few minutes! Would you like to go with us?" Rosa asked him. Leonidas knew that they were going to see a movie named The Write Stuff and it might be aimed towards young women. He was not sure if he wanted to go on this trip or not.

"It's your choice, Leonidas. I'll tell you up front that The Write Stuff is a chick flick. You'll probably be bored out of your mind before the middle of the movie." Morgan put the choice in his hands and warned him that if he went the movie was not aimed at young men. Leonidas stopped for a moment to consider his options... not that he had very many. He could either stay in a stranger's home or he could go with them to the movie theater and maybe be entertained for a few minutes.

"I'll go with you two... if you want me to go." Leonidas announced his choice. Rosa and Morgan were pleased to hear that he would be going with them.

"Great!" They said in unison. Leonidas had verbally committed to the movie in front of both of them. For better or worse he was going to have to sit through the movie with them.

-Inside the movie theater, the lobby, thirty-five minutes later-

The trio arrived with a little over thirty minutes to spare. Leonidas looked around the lobby of the movie theater and marveled at how clean it was. The carpet beneath his feet was a burgundy color with gold borders along the wall and there were velvet ropes marking where the lines were for the concession area. The walls were beige and had large movie posters in gold frames hanging on the left and right walls.

"Let's go get some drinks and popcorn!" Rosa said. Morgan voiced her agreement with the idea and Leonidas watched them weave through the velvet rope maze before he followed behind at a brisk walk. They were already at the counter and placing their orders by the time he got to them. He was wondering if he would be left out, but Morgan had him covered.

"Hey, what about Leonidas?" Morgan asked her friend. Rosa turned towards him.

"What would you to like to have?" The blonde asked Leonidas.

"Just a drink and popcorn, please. Speaking of the drink, what drink are you two having?" Leonidas made his request before inquiring about what beverage they were ordering. His drink of choice was coffee, but it was plain to see that the movie theater did not offer coffee as an option. Besides, coffee and popcorn would probably not be that good together. He would have to get something other than coffee for a change.

"Cherry Charge for me." Rosa answered.

"Same here." Morgan chimed in. If they liked this "Cherry Charge" drink it had to be good. Leonidas decided to go with that for the sake of convenience because they did not have long before the movie started.

"I'll go with Cherry Charge too." Leonidas announced. Rosa ordered a third one and paid for everything... a minute or two later the trio got their popcorn and drinks. The trio left the lobby and started heading down a long hallway that had several sets of double doors on each side of it... beside the doors were small gold plates with numbers printed in black.

"We're supposed to go to Theater 14." Rosa announced just as Leonidas began to figure out the significance of the plates. The blonde took the lead and the trio continued walking down the hallway until she stopped at one of the doors on the right side.

"And here we are, Morgan and Leonidas. Theater 14. I hope all the good seats aren't taken." Rosa told them that they had reached the right theater. She opened the door for Morgan and Leonidas with her right shoulder and held it open until they had passed through. Once they were through she finally stepped inside and let the door shut behind her.

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-Outside Theater 14, two hours and thirty-five minutes later-

After what seemed like an eternity the trio exited the theater and Leonidas was glad the movie was over. Morgan was right when she had called it a chick flick. It was a movie about a blonde and attractive twentysomething young woman enrolled in a college creative writing class who had fallen in love with a young attractive twentysomething young man who was looking for a high-powered corporate career and was taking creative writing just to fulfill an elective requirement.

It was full of sappy music, contrived romantic moments where the male love interest kissed the female protagonist, and it had the requisite happy ending where love triumphed over the myriad obstacles that had been placed between the female protagonist and the object of her affection. While The Write Stuff was not going to win points for originality, it was at least tolerable. Of greater interest than The Write Stuff was what was being said between Rosa and Morgan during the movie.

He did not hear the entire conversation due to the music, but he had heard snippets of how Morgan was going to talk to Samantha about a sensitive subject. Leonidas did not have solid proof, but considering what had happened in The Fashionable Lady outlet store earlier, he assumed that the sensitive subject was him. He might be wrong, though. He was not going to ask because what had been said was a matter between the two young women.

"It was a fairly good movie. It wasn't the most original romance movie, but it was entertaining enough that I got my money's worth." Rosa commented on the movie the trio had seen.

"I agree. It could have been better in some ways, but it's a chick flick. It's not meant to be fine art... it's a fantasy where you turn off your brain and roll with it." Morgan chimed in. Leonidas kept his mouth shut. He had been the only guy in the theater and had felt more than a little awkward the entire time. Morgan was right when she had asserted that the movie was not aimed at him.

"What did you think of the movie, Leonidas?" Morgan asked him. Leonidas did his best to keep a straight face while he hurried to think of a good answer to the question. He had been blindsided by it and had to come up with something believable.

"It was OK. Like you said before we went to the movie theater, it wasn't aimed at me, but it was entertaining. In places. And the male love interest was actually likable... he was near the top of his class but he wasn't smug about it and he didn't brag about coming from a wealthy family." Leonidas finally replied, doing his best to give a decent review of a movie he had not been really invested in. Morgan gave a small smile. He was not sure if that was good or bad, but he was about to find out.

"I know it wasn't your cup of tea, but I'm glad you went to it anyway." Morgan complimented him for enduring the movie. Leonidas could agree that it was not something he would willingly watch, but it was OK. He had went to The Write Stuff just to be with Morgan and Rosa.

"Me too." Rosa said. Leonidas was not sure how to react to that, so he let it pass without comment. Rosa looked towards the people streaming towards the exit and then turned back to Morgan and Leonidas.

"Let's go back to my place, guys. Unless there's anything else you want to do in town I'm ready to call it a day." Rosa said to the pair.

"I don't really have anything I want to do. I'm ready to call it a day too." Morgan said.

"Me neither." Leonidas chimed in. He was here for Morgan's sake, so if she was ready to go to Rosa's home so was he. Besides, he did not know Magnolia Town well enough to strike out on his own even if there was something he wanted to do.

"All right then. It's decided. We'll go back to my place for the day." Rosa announced. With that having been settled the blonde led the trio towards the exit, merging with another crowd of moviegoers who were about to leave the theater. Leonidas brought up the rear of the trio and followed his companions towards the exit.

-Rosa's Townhouse, forty-nine minutes later-

The trio had made it through Magnolia Town and were standing in the living room of Rosa's townhouse, where they had been for the past seven minutes. They had just discussed their plans for tomorrow, which were simple. Morgan and Leonidas were going to spend the night here and start on the road to Capital Crocus first thing in the morning.

As far as sleeping arrangements went Leonidas was going to sleep on the couch in the living room while Morgan got the guest bedroom. That was fine with him. He was used to sleeping on the couch in his living room, so he had no problem with the sleeping arrangement. Once the discussion was over Rosa and Morgan headed upstairs to do their thing while Leonidas remained in the living room and took a seat on the couch.

[Post Word Count: 894]
[Total Word Count: 9.940/11,000]

-Capital Crocus, the next day, 7:09 P.M.-

As they had planned yesterday afternoon Morgan and Leonidas had spent the night at Rosa's townhouse and had left for Capital Crocus the next morning. Their trip had been a long one, but it had been uneventful. They had seen more people on the road on the return trip than they had on the way to Magnolia Town and none of them were bandits.

Now they were outside Morgan's house and were about to part ways. Morgan was going to unpack and go to sleep and Leonidas was going back to his place to crash on his couch and listen to the television. Or he might go to Capital Coffee and grab a double espresso... he had no solid plan and was winging it at this point.

"Thanks for going to Magnolia Town with me, Leonidas. I had fun." Morgan said to him with a smile.

"Me too, Morgan." Leonidas replied laconically. The trip to and from Magnolia Town was the longest he had been around a woman outside his family and he had liked it. He was doing things like going shopping at outlet stores and watching romance movies not because he was obligated to but because he wanted to.

"I'd better get going, Leonidas. I need to unpack my stuff and do some laundry. Maybe we'll meet again some time." Morgan said to him. It was plain to Leonidas that their time together was coming to an end, but that was OK. They were sure to meet again at some point.

"All right, Morgan. I'll see you later." Leonidas said to her. She waved goodbye to him and went inside her house, then shut the door. Leonidas turned around and began to walk towards his house, where he would crash for a few minutes before deciding whether to stay at home or venture out for a double espresso.

-Leonidas' Apartment, twenty-five minutes later-

It had been a fairly quick walk from Morgan's house to his own and now Leonidas was lying on his couch and staring at the ceiling. He was more than a little tired from the return trip and he was just wanting to be lazy and lay around for awhile. He had decided to postpone the trip to Capital Coffee for another day in favor of listening to the television, which had been turned to a car auction show that he had no interest in since the anime show that was on the anime channel right now was about tennis. The car auction show was just background noise.

He would look for another job tomorrow. Tomorrow he would look for something with more adventure and maybe some fighting. It had been awhile since he had had a good fight and the scar-faced mage was ready for a real adventure.

-The next afternoon, 3:06 P.M.-

Leonidas had been lazy all right. He had been so lazy that he had slept well into the afternoon and had only gotten up because he was too hungry to stay asleep. The scar-faced mage got up from the couch and straightened out his wrinkled clothing before making his way to his small kitchen to throw together a sandwich of some kind to eat for a late lunch.

He grabbed a loaf of bread out of his cabinet, gently used an underhand toss to throw it onto his wooden kitchen counter, and fished out a jar of peanut butter that was halfway empty. He then grabbed a spreading knife out of his kitchen drawer and made a sandwich. To finish the meal he cut it in half with the spreading knife to make two neat halves. Leonidas looked down at his counter and realized that he had forgotten to put down a napkin or something.

Oops.

Leonidas grabbed a paper towel from a roll he had stashed in his cabinet and set it down, then put his sandwich halves on top of the counter. It was a bit late for that, but he did not care. He used his right hand to sweep the bread crumbs into his cupped left hand, which was held just beneath the edge of the counter. Once they were all in his left hand he walked over to his trash can and dropped the crumbs in. The scar-faced mage was not a very good housekeeper, but since he was single it did not really matter if his apartment won any awards for cleanliness.

It was his apartment and he could clean it as he saw fit.

His mother was not hovering over him and nagging him about the crumbs on his kitchen counter, the fact that the television was almost always on, or the fact that he was still single. Leonidas was king of his tiny castle. One day he would have a larger castle when he moved into a larger apartment or bought his own house, but for now he was content with where he was.

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-Leonidas' Apartment, 6:27 P.M.-

It was a few hours later and Leonidas was a little more active, but he was not nearly as active as he should be. He had just finished doing laundry and was now staring at the television, which he had changed from the car auction show to the anime channel. On right now was an anime about Texas Hold'Em called , which was about as exciting as watching paint dry. Again it was just background noise.

Leonidas tried to watch the show but was getting bored fast. He decided that now might be a good time to go get the espresso that he had chosen not to get yesterday. The city's foot traffic was going to be thick, but it was nothing he could not handle. He had lived here several months and he was accustomed to having to deal with a lot of people to go anywhere.

Leonidas left the television on and straightened out his clothes again, then grabbed his olive green jacket to throw on over his white t-shirt, which had been hanging on the back of his couch. He put it on and made sure that his apartment keys were in his pocket before leaving his house. Once he knew that they were in his right cargo pocket Leonidas left home to go get some coffee.

-Capital Coffee, one hour and thirty-six minutes later-

Leonidas had not anticipated the foot traffic being as dense as it was. In a few places it was so thick that people were brushing up against him as he tried to pass by. Despite that unanticipated obstavle he had made it to Capital Coffee without incident and was now waiting in line to order. Ahead of him was only one person, a young blonde woman wearing a blue long-sleeved turtleneck and a knee-length black skirt. He listened as the young woman placed her order and then turned to the side to walk off to the side of the counter to wait for her beverage.

The young woman paused when she saw the scar-faced mage and turned to face Leonidas. Her face lit up as he recognized her. It was Samantha Halsey, who was obviously here for a coffee fix as well. She walked over to him and spoke to him.

"Hey Leonidas! I didn't expect to see you here this late!" She greeted him warmly. Leonidas did not expect to see her here, but he was still glad to see her.

"Hey Samantha. I got bored sitting at home and decided to go for a walk and get some coffee." Leonidas explained what had brought him here this late in the day. Samantha smiled.

"Great! Listen, I was gonna go to the mall and do some window shopping once I got my coffee. Would you like to come with me?" She asked him.

"Certainly." Leonidas answered. No matter how late it was he did not mind spending time with Samantha. Besides, he was a Guildless mage and was free to set his schedule however he wanted to set it.

"Great! We'll get going as soon as we get our drink orders! Speaking of which, I believe it's your turn!" Samantha told him. Realizing that she was right, Leonidas walked over to the counter and placed his order for a double espresso to go, then paid for his drink. He got the printed receipt and jammed it in his left side cargo pocket, then walked over to where Samantha was standing. As soon as they got their drinks they would pay a visit to Capital Crocus Mall and do some window shopping... or at least that was what Leonidas was told.

Maybe Samantha would see something that was so appealing she had to have it today. That was OK with him. She could go shopping until the mall closed for all he cared... he liked being around Samantha and being able to talk to her without his mother hounding him to date her. If what Morgan had said the other day about the young blonde woman liking him was really true and she was interested in being more than friends she would likely let him know. For now Leonidas was content to be friends with Samantha.

[Post Word Count: 708]
[Total Word Count: 11,476/11,000]