Bonding (Leona)

Once the kiss was over the flustered Leona waited for the awkward feeling to fade and for the conversation to resume. Instead the blonde got another surprise when Medeia lifted her into her arms with surprising ease. Leona was hoping that she would not end up on the bed, but as it turned out her hostess had no such intention. Medeia simply maneuvered until she could sit down where Leona had been sitting, then gently placed the latter squarely in her lap, causing the blonde to look down while blushing. Medeia increased the awkwardness by relocating her hands to positions around the Wizard Saint's waist and followed up by making head-to-head contact before using the blonde's head as a headrest... those gestures caused Leona to yelp in surprise.

Leona soon calmed down and listened to Medeia speak, hearing the Warlord's suggestion to learn to let go of her numerous regrets before they consumed her. A little while ago Leona would have dismissed the suggestion as nonsense, but she was tired of going around and around in circles and just wanted to have the conversation make some sense. Now that the big surprise concerning some of the information Leona had tried to protect had been sprung the blonde was not sure if the conversation was going to be normal or if she was being set up for another unpleasant surprise, but she was moved to comment anyway.

"It's going to take some time to move on from the Ishgar Syposium or today because a lot of good people died and they shouldn't be forgotten." Leona commented in a serious voice that was devoid of exhaustion without trying to drag the conversation back to her with remarks about how she had suffered. She remembered Medeia's trick involving the cat girl look and felt indignation upon remembering some of the words the "cat girl" said, but maybe the trick had a point. Maybe Medeia was trying to goad Leona into remembering that the people of Joya had suffered too and had suffered a lot worse than the Wizard Saint, who was still alive and still had a place to live. Or maybe the Warlord really was trying to get a rise out of the blonde by exploiting a low point in the latter's life... it was hard to tell and the feeling of Medeia's warmth on her body made it hard to think over all of the possibilities.

"But maybe I can move on from some of the other regrets I have, ones where people didn't die because of what I did or didn't do." Leona added in the same serious tone of voice. This was not going to be the beginning of a miraculous recovery that would restore to her the optimism of her younger self, but she might start to move on from lesser regrets like not getting to know certain people better or her reluctance or important ones like not committing to Masha until it was almost too late. Those were real regrets of Leona's, but no one had died because of them.

"They likely made their share of mistakes too, but unlike me they didn't let their mistakes define them. I'm sure they got up, learned from what they did wrong, and moved on instead of thinking about it every waking moment." Leona commented on the likelihood of the people she aspired to be like being all too human despite her best efforts to place them on a pedestal. As far as her place in the world went the Wizard Saint was not entirely convinced that the Gods and Goddesses of Ishgar considered her to be a peer. She would worry about that question later... much later.

Leona felt Medeia gently embrace her and felt her face turn red again as she tried not to squirm because the other young woman was making her feel a bit more comfortable than she should feel considering they had been fighting not too long ago. Despite the oddly comfortable feeling Leona was going through she heard what was said and was not sure if Medeia was actually done with the trickster persona or not, but the blonde did not have much choice but to keep going and see what happened. Besides, this was the most civil and understandable the conversation between Warlord and Wizard Saint had been so far, so Leona wanted to keep that mood going for as long as she could.

[Post Word Count: 742]
[Leona's Word Count: 14,078]
[Total Word Count: 26,618]

Leona found herself being confused by Medeia's embrace and her warmth almost as much as she had by the mind games. She had expected the Warlord to make one last attempt to break her mentally in a painful way such as using the coffin spell, but here they were in an embrace like they were best friends. Leona was not the one who had initiated this sort of contact, but the point remained... things were a lot friendlier than the blonde imagined they would be.

Choosing to move on from the Ishgar Symposium and the recent clash in Hargeon Town because they had been discussed to death, Leona decided to let things lie. Medeia was right in asserting that such moments could not be fully consigned to the past, but they did not have to occupy every waking moment of the blonde's life. Still, Leona did not feel that the dead should be brushed aside so easily. She was not going to build a memorial wall at Silver Wolf Guild Hall or learn all of their names, but the dead had hopes and dreams that were cut short by tragedy, tragedy that she could have prevented if she had been less stupid and more prepared.

When the topic of her peers was brought up the blonde's attention turned instantly to Medeia's claim that the fight with the Wizard Saint of Courage had been more of a challenge than a God of Ishgar. She could not conceal her surprise... she thought that a God of Ishgar would have pushed Medeia a lot harder than she had. There was definitely something that Leona was missing.

"Wait, you fought a God of Ishgar?" Leona inquired. She knew that it was a coin flip between Mura Kensho and Mythal Ragnos. The real question was which one of them the Warlord had clashed with and maybe her hostess would be willing to tell. Leona did not expect a play-by-play breakdown of the fight: she would be satisfied with hearing just the name.

"I'd definitely teach that woman some humility. And the value of being prepared." Leona replied to the third statement in a completely serious voice. Leona should have learned those lessons from the Ishgar Symposium, but she was feeling great after her clash with Odhran Aegisbane. She had been outnumbered by his retinue of helpers and was unable to use her full range of spells due to the fight taking place inside a village, but she had still managed to defeat him despite his clever choice of battleground and powerful retinue. Leona thought that she could score a win against Medeia despite being at a disadvantage, which was part of why she did not give up after the tentacle had been summoned.

As far as preparation went Leona had plenty of gear, including a ranged weapon. However, she had not fused with a summon before because she was saving that ability as a surprise, so taking to the sky using Tempest Avian's wings had been less than successful because she was not used to flying on her own and her fear of heights had kept her from her full potential until it was too late. Now the surprise had been ruined and Medeia would likely expect Leona to take to the air if it came to another aerial battle between them. The least Leona could do was learn to fly properly so that if she got into another aerial battle she was not hampered as much by her fear of heights.

"And I'd teach her to value her friends more. And to try harder to make new ones so that I can form a proper friendship circle. Believe it or not I do have friends, but that count is really low because of my actions, not anyone else's." Leona added in a serious voice. She had Masha and Samira as definite friends, Mercury Arsenault and Yuvon Mu-Myu as almost friends, and Aspen Azarov and Theo Silversong as acquaintances who could become almost friends. The Wizard Saint had taken most of them for granted and she was not sure if it was too late to try to befriend them. If she got out of here she might try harder to expand her social circle to more than just a handful of people she had known for years.

[Post Word Count: 722]
[Leona's Word Count: 14,800]
[Total Word Count: 27,862]

Leona listened with keen interest as Medeia told what had transpired between her and the God of Ishgar mentioned earlier, who turned out to be Mura Kensho. Leona knew his name but had met him only once or twice a few years back during the start of her career... she had forgotten the exact number of times. At any rate it could be counted on one hand.

"I know the name, but I haven't met Mura in person in a long time." Leona confessed. That was not anything that could come back to haunt her, so she did not need to keep that information out of her hostess' hands. The only peer she really knew was her close friend Samira Nassar... she had met Mura Kensho before, but Serilda Sinclair and Mythal Ragnos were total mysteries to her. She only knew them by name.

Leona had put a lot of focus on speed and power because she was not very good at prolonged battles. She had the physical endurance to last a while, but once her opponent had seen most of what she could do her effectiveness went down by quite a bit. That went double if she had to avoid property damage and harming innocent people. The Wizard Saint would have to rise to the challenge and find ways to either learn to go the distance or find ways to make the opening stages of a fight count so that she did not get dragged into a long struggle.

"And you're the strongest opponent I've ever faced. I mean it." Leona stated seriously, telling the truth. A bit of her grudging respect for Medeia was leaking through. That might be a murky middle ground between harmless talk and something that could endanger her, but she doubted that it could be any more harmful than evidence of Medeia being seated in Leona's lap and vice versa. Deep down inside Leona liked a good fight and Medeia had given her one of the best fights the blonde had had to date.

Leona calmly listened to Medeia talk about her role as an educator for the latter's guild and suggested that the blonde attempt to guide new members of Silver Wolf whenever they joined. Leona was not sure that that was a good idea. She was not a people person, so she did not have what it took to teach someone effectively without coming across as awkward or overbearing. She also believed in the values of Silver Wolf and did not want to infringe on anyone's liberty so that she could feel important. Leona might need to reevaluate her hands-off approach and start being a little more active, but she was not sure how to do that... maybe Guild Ace Mercury Arsenault had some ideas.

"I might have to try making a serious effort to teach some one some time. But only if they want my help, of course." Leona conceded that her hostess had another point. Medeia had an uncanny ability to make good points.

Moments later the blonde's face turned red as the Warlord's fingers went through her hair. Leona was still in that awkward stage between "Medeia being so close to me is awkward and I need to get away somehow" and "This doesn't feel so bad" and was still susceptible to showing how flustered she was by the seating arrangement and having her hair brushed. Instead of yelping and trying to move away she stayed still and quietly waited until she could think straight enough to speak.

"I don't think I'll ever be the life of the party, but I'll have to expand my horizons. Maybe actually go out more often." Leona said in a serious voice to acknowledge the point that had been made. Her social life was practically non-existent. The only people she regularly interacted with were Masha Dymonrel and Samira Nassar and most of the time they only met at festivals. Maybe Leona needed to do something other than go shopping for clothes that might appeal to Masha and go on jobs for Silver Wolf.

[Post Word Count: 680]
[Leona's Word Count: 15,480]
[Total Word Count: 28,991]

Leona was so confused by what was going on. The mood had remained calm and relaxed and there was no tension in the air, not even barely concealed tension. It did not help that being near Medeia made her feel warm in a way that made her feel ashamed. The Wizard Saint should not be so comfortable being in the arms of a Warlord, but the blonde felt a level of comfort that before today only Masha could give her. Leona was ashamed to think that way, but it was the unpleasant truth, one she would have to accept just like she had to accept that her sacrificing people to the tentacle for one last shot at Medeia was the wrong choice.

Leona kept her mouth shut about Mura Kensho, especially when the warning to refrain from bringing up his name in the presence of Medeia's maid was given. Leona had respect for the God Of Ishgar, but she kept that to herself. The mood had continued to remain a calm and relaxed one and it was in her interest to keep it going for as long as possible.

"I'm far from the most skilled mage alive, but I try to live up to my title the best I can. It's an honor I'm grateful to have been granted." Leona replied in a serious voice to show Medeia that she was not making fun of her enemy's words. It was easy to be brave when the power gap between her and her enemy was a wide one, but fighting an equal had been a different story altogether. Medeia was both much smarter and much more skilled with ranged magic than Leona, two advantages which went a long way towards Medeia's victory. Leona had never met an opponent who could think circles around her as well as outfight her.

Speaking of thinking, Medeia offered some words of advice on finding the right student and Leona listened patiently. The Warlord had a way with words and what the other mage was saying made a lot of sense.

"I'll find the right student eventually. I might be mistaken, but that doesn't sound like something you can rush. When they do arrive I'll do everything I can to teach them the right way so that they don't make some of the mistakes I've made." Leona replied, not going into the mistakes she was referring to because Medeia likely knew what they were and they had already been discussed to death. Leona was going to try and put them behind her, but not in the "running away from them" sense like she had done in the past. She was going to try and put them behind her in the "they happened, but they don't have to define me" sense that was a step in moving on.

When Leona felt a gentle pressure around her waist the blonde yelped and hopped straight up a short distance... her backside barely cleared Medeia's lap before she returned to where she had been sitting. When she returned she squirmed a little after the fact and her face was red.

"Yeah, d-definitely. M-maybe go to a movie theater or something." Leona answered in a voice that clearly indicated that she was flustered by what had just happened to her. She did not dare tell Medeia about her tendency to go to Capital Crocus Mall for clothes shopping. Telling her hostess that might lead to uncomfortable questions about what she was buying and Medeia did not need to know about Leona's growing collection of tube tops and crop tops.

[Post Word Count: 598]
[Leona's Word Count: 16,078]
[Total Word Count: 30,039]

"I definitely haven't met Mythal Ragnos. I can't remember if I've met Serilda Sinclair or not... I've been on the move so much that I really don't remember if I've met her." Leona stated about the Rune Knights who were her peers. It might have sounded dumb to say that she may or may not have met the white-haired mage, but the blonde had been on so many adventures over the years that sometimes she either got details mixed up or just forgot them altogether. Leona let that lie for the time being to address Medeia's next statement.

"I'm gonna have to wait awhile before I go looking for a possible apprentice. Unless someone approaches me first I'm not going to be in any big hurry." Leona reiterated her earlier point. It might have sounded like an excuse to drag her feet on making a real change, but it seemed like Medeia had her back on that one. If someone as smart as the Warlord suggested that taking things slow was a good idea, in this instance it might be a good idea to listen. Besides, Leona did not plan to teach someone in a cursory manner like her mother had done to her... if Leona was going to take an apprentice she was going to put her best effort into it.

The topic of the pressure on the blonde's waist was brought up and Leona had to think a moment about what she was going to say because she was still flustered from it and it showed on her face.

"It's n-no big deal. I j-just didn't expect it, that's all." Leona replied with a bit of the flustered sound on her voice. That statement was true. She did not expect Medeia to do that and she would have reacted in the same way even if Masha had been the one to gently squeeze her waist. However, there would have been much less discomfort with the redhead because Masha was her girlfriend and Leona was comfortable around her.

Still, Medeia was sort of beautiful... in a sinister way.

Wait.

Why was she thinking like that?

Leona's face remained red because of that thought as she answered the question pertaining to how she was holding up while still being bound by the rope she had been bound with before being carried from Hargeon Town to here.

"The rope's making me just a little sore around the wrists and ankles." Leona said truthfully, deliberately omitting the fact that this was the first time someone had ever tied her up. She did not want to dig herself deeper than she already was because she was fairly certain Medeia would capitalize on any overt admission that she had never been tied up before. Leona was also dimly aware of the possibility that Medeia had already figured that out and was just playing another game with her. Or maybe she was overthinking things again... Leona tended to do that from time to time whenever she actually focused enough on a subject to give it serious thought.

[Post Word Count: 512]
[Leona's Word Count: 16,590]
[Total Word Count: 31,060]

When Leona had mentioned that she was uncomfortable around the wrists and ankles she had expected the statement to be shot down in a mocking manner or for Medeia to apply stronger restraints out of spite or a twisted sense of humor. Instead the Warlord seemed to take it seriously, which was a surprise for Leona. Before she could say or do anything else she was lifted up and out of the chair by Medeia, who walked over to a carpet and set the blonde down feet-first like she was setting up a tall lamp.

This was so humiliating.

Once the blonde was not going to fall to the ground Medeia began to move and soon stood in front of her. Medeia made eye contact right away, but Leona was looking at her feet. She soon looked up at the Warlord, if only to get a closer look at her enemy. Leona had never seen Medeia up close except for the brief time they faced each other after the Wizard Saint had handed her gear off to the Furies and surrendered to the Warlord to put a stop to the bloodshed in Hargeon Town before it got any worse.

Leona's eyes started at Medeia's legs and moved up her body until they stopped at the latter's chest for a moment. The blonde blushed and her eyes quickly moved on, moving up to give a more complete picture of Medeia. The Warlord was a few inches taller than Leona and the long, dark hair along with a striking eye color painted an image of sinister beauty that the blonde could not help but to notice, especially since Medeia was standing very close to her.

Leona finally made eye contact with her hostess and felt a sharp jolt of embarrassment. Medeia was going to draw the wrong impression from the blonde's wandering eyes and she was likely going to be humiliated in some way... again. Leona was desperately looking for any way to save herself from further embarrassment, so she quickly latched onto her hostess' offer. What was going to happen would be beneficial for Leona, but in exchange for that boon Medeia wanted an assurance that the blonde was not going to take the opportunity to attack, flee, or demonstrate poor judgment in other ways.

Leona blinked when she was asked for the assurance.

Did Medeia really think Leona was stupid enough to try anything at this point?

Or was Medeia concerned that she might not be able to easily handle Leona in close-range combat despite the latter not having any weapons and being badly beaten up from their earlier fight?

Leona chose to believe the latter but did not dare say it. Medeia had to have some level of concern if she had requested the blonde's word before proceeding any further. If the Warlord was confident she could handle Leona no matter what the latter did there would have been no need to extract a promise. That thought gave the Wizard Saint just enough confidence to stave off the embarrassment from earlier and give an answer to the question. Leona made eye contact before speaking.

"I won't try anything." Leona answered calmly. She was fairly certain that her newfound confidence would be ripped away from her soon enough, but for now she would take any boost that she could get. In a situation where her enemy held all the cards the Wizard Saint needed something to keep her going so that she could try to stay strong enough to get out of this mess with as much dignity as she could salvage. Considering everything that had happened up to this point that was going to be a tall order.

[Post Word Count: 620]
[Leona's Word Count: 17,210]
[Total Word Count: 32,138]

If Leona was trying to save what was left of her dignity she was failing miserably. Medeia had obviously noticed where Leona's gaze had stopped during the blonde's examination of her hostess and now she had moved behind the Wizard Saint, something which made the latter uncomfortable. The blonde's discomfort skyrocketed when she was embraced from behind by Medeia, who then asked several questions in succession. The embarrassed blonde could hardly begin to answer them all, so she chose the two she could think straight enough to answer.

"N-no, there's n-nothing to tell, r-really. And I really don't want t-things to go any further." Leona awkwardly answered two of the questions that she had enough sense to answer coherently. It was obvious that she was seriously off-balance and Medeia could exploit that for the latter's own amusement if she chose. Aside from feeling off-balance Leona was also feeling disgusted with herself for looking at Medeia the way she had, but she kept that off of her face and voice only by the greatest of efforts. She was supposed to have eyes for only Masha, but something about Medeia drew the blonde's attention.

Maybe it was the fact that the mage who finally defeated her in battle was so beautiful.

Or maybe she was just really out of it from a combination of the battle and Medeia brushing her hair earlier.

Leona took a quiet breath when the rope binding her wrists and ankles finally let go. Her quiet breath was suddenly interrupted by the unpleasant sensation of Medeia's hands caressing her legs. In fact that quiet breath was expelled in a yelp and she jolted upright but through force of will did not actually jump... it was a good thing that her hands were free to help balance her or she might have fallen face-first onto the ground.

The embarrassed blonde then began to stretch very slowly to assure her hostess that a technique was not about to be used against the latter. None of Leona's techniques moved slowly, but she was fairly certain that Medeia was looking for any reason to tie up the blonde again. Leona continued to stretch her limbs slowly while trying to avoid embarrassing herself any further. Despite Medeia's attempt at a pep talk Leona's self-esteem was pretty low and was starting to sink.

Leona felt disgusted at herself for looking at Medeia like she welcomed the latter's advances and she felt humiliated for being touched by the Warlord and not doing anything to really discourage it other than words uttered while showing a blushing face. However, there was not a lot she could do about it right now because she was completely at Medeia's mercy. The blonde had seldom felt so helpless and despite her efforts to stay strong that feeling of helplessness was starting to slowly wear her down.

[Post Word Count: 476]
[Leona's Word Count: 17,686]
[Total Word Count: 33,124]

Leona was dimly aware that her hostess had taken a keen interest in her movements, but the blonde was too busy thinking about what was going to happen to her once she was finally free from this place. She had bent over and touched her toes to keep Medeia placated while trying to mentally distance herself from her current situation, if only for a few moments. She did not even bother to respond to her hostess' command because she was fairly certain that it was yet another way to humiliate the Wizard Saint by calling attention to her body.

She was not sure if she would be able to keep her titles as the Wizard Saint of Courage and Guild Mistress of Silver Wolf after sacrificing innocent lives for one last effort to win against Medeia only for that attempt to amount to nothing. Leona was also not sure if Silver Wolf would even welcome her back as an ordinary member after this debacle. She would not blame any of them if they wanted her gone.

Leona was also not sure if Hargeon Town would ever want her to travel there again. If they declared her persona non grata she could not blame them after what she had done. She recalled Medeia's words about healing and frowned deeply. There was no healing going on here, only humiliation. She was taking orders from a Warlord who was clearly enjoying every moment.

How the Hell was this exercise supposed to help her?

Leona did not need a Warlord's help to humiliate herself... Samira Nassar and her summon Kukulkan could testify to that.

Unlike what had happened with Joshua Hamlin Leona could not punch her way out of this situation. First, she had given her word to Medeia and going back on it could lead to a host of unpleasant consequences ranging from being put in stronger restraints to something very humiliating happening to her to even being killed on the spot. Second, she was not in good enough physical shape to fight Medeia again... Leona would need time to actually heal before she considered challenging the Warlord.

Leona frowned as she stood up straight, then stood in place for a moment. She was feeling disgusted with herself for allowing herself to be humiliated like this. She had started out the "visit" so strong and after an unknown amount of time was now an utter mess, which was likely exactly how Medeia liked her. Leona began to seriously doubt that healing was ever part of the Warlord's plan for her.

That statement was probably a big lie.

Leona had no choice but to play along with the Warlord if she wanted to get out of here, so she continued to stretch. This time she moved her legs apart a bit before turning to the left and bending down to touch her toes. The blonde was so glad that she had worn bike shorts under her skirt before leaving the guild hall because that garment was preventing Medeia from seeing her underwear, which would have been yet another humiliation to throw onto the pile of humiliating things she had suffered so far. Leona was not sure how Medeia would take her silence, but she would deal with it if the latter cared to comment on it.

[Post Word Count: 552]
[Leona's Word Count: 18,238]
[Total Word Count: 34,140]

"What do you mean by other ties?" Leona asked with her hands on her hips. She knew that that meant she would be tied up again, but she was not really getting what Medeia meant. She folded her arms over her chest and if the Warlord listened closely she could hear gears turning as the blonde pondered the meaning of the second part of the message.

Other ties.

Other ties...

Leona was drawing a blank until she looked down at her chest and what was said began to dawn on her. A look of growing embarrassment was evident as she finally put two and two together. When she finally got the meaning her small attempt to assert a little control over her situation was shut down cold and her face burned red for yet another time... she had lost count of how many times her face had turned red from embarrassment, but it had to be quite a few.

"N-never mind. You don't have to do that. Really." Leona admitted defeat... again. She looked down and saw blood heading towards her. Since she had seen one of Medeia's blood spells in the form of the blood clones she was not alarmed by the sight so much as she was curious. She stood in place with her arms folded across her chest and watched what was going on.

When the Wizard Saint was surrounded by the blood she found it to be a bit of unintended but appropriate symbolism. She was accustomed to blood ever since she had made her first kill in combat at twelve years old and she had seen a lot of it since then. Leona did not need Medeia's order to remain calm and let the process happen without any resistance. In this case her hostess had been telling the truth because the blonde was healed of her wounds to a considerable extent, but not to the point of a full recovery.

Leona took that as a sign her hostess was concerned about a possible escape attempt by the Wizard Saint. Medeia likely needed to keep the blonde constantly humiliated and unable to think because if she did not Leona might get tired enough of her predicament to seriously consider fighting back despite the risks. In a way that was true, but the Wizard Saint was not going to risk it. She would take the loss today and fight Medeia at a later date. Right now Leona was focused on keeping the tiny spark of resistance that had just been rekindled alive so that the Warlord would never fully conquer her.

[Post Word Count: 434]
[Leona's Word Count: 18,672]
[Total Word Count: 34,996]

Leona dropped her arms to her sides and listened to what was said to her and did not respond right away. The blonde was still trying to stay focused on keeping what little self-confidence she had alive in a situation where she had next to no control over her fate. She was at Medeia's mercy and both of them knew it.

Medeia began the mind games with renewed enthusiasm and circled around and behind the blonde while speaking about ropes. The first place Medeia pointed out was Leona's chest and the blonde kept a straight face, but just barely. The Wizard Saint was tapping into the power of her self-hatred, which was immense. That resource was fueled by the outcome of the Ishgar Symposium, her recent loss to Medeia, and the humiliations she had suffered at the Warlord's hands.

Leona could have done more to avoid being humiliated than she had, but her naivety had betrayed her time and time again. Masha was her first girlfriend and the blonde was still not used to romantic relationships with the same sex, so she was still easily flustered whenever Medeia said or did something risqué. She was also trapped by the expectations of her mother, who had constantly told Leona to get married to a man and have children.

The Wizard Saint had wanted something for herself, something that had not been required of her by her duties as a Wizard Saint or Guild Mistress. She had wanted something she had chosen for herself and that something was Masha. After finally committing to the redhead she thought she was comfortable with that choice, but apparently she was still not if Medeia could exploit her naivety in the area of romance.

Leona hated herself for falling prey to the Warlord's mind games and hated herself even more for letting herself feel physical comfort by being in her enemy's arms. Willingly or not she had betrayed Masha. Leona took a quiet but ragged breath as she channeled her self-hatred to try and lessen the effects of Medeia's prodding on her tired and conflicted mind.

When the Warlord's hand hovered in front of her skirt without actually making contact Leona finally commented.

"Please don't hold your hand over there." Leona requested of her hostess while keeping her arms at her sides. The blonde had deduced that her chest and above her skirt had been picked as target areas because Medeia was likely trying to exploit the trauma inflicted on her by Joshua to elicit a strong negative reaction. She was not taking the bait and would not swing at Medeia because the blonde's self-hatred was giving her enough focus to avoid doing something stupid. Tapping into that vast resource might give her what she needed to keep herself strong enough to avoid totally giving in to her enemy's games.

If there was one person in this world Leona hated more than Medeia it was herself.

[Post Word Count: 490]
[Leona's Word Count: 19,162]
[Total Word Count: 35,944]

Leona did not dignify Medeia's first question with a response because both of them already knew that answer. The blonde had been dumb enough to give that away to the Warlord and now the latter was likely going to exploit it if given half a chance. Leona should have known better than to hand her enemy that information, but her stupidity had won out and here they were.

After that Medeia started talking so much nonsense that Leona's focus almost got disrupted enough for her to risk laughing. The Warlord could be a world-class comedian when she put her mind to it.

What could Medeia possibly heal?

Medeia tried brushing Leona's hair with her fingers and the blonde did not flinch at all. The Warlord had played that card once too often for it to have much effect right now. Leona's self-hatred kept her from showing the same reaction that had drawn her enemy to start brushing her hair to begin with. The blonde certainly had plenty of self-hatred to fuel her resistance.

She listened to the "offer" that had been pitched to her and already knew what her answer was going to be. She had betrayed Masha enough by being so weak as to express comfort during Medeia's touching before. She was not going to cast the redhead aside for a fling with a bondage-obsessed mage who had delusions that Leona was just playing hard-to-get.

"I'd rather use words, thanks. And no restraints, please." Leona calmly replied to the new offer as she did not respond the sensation of a hand beginning to move in the vicinity of her waist. She was not going to voluntarily sleep with the Warlord or do whatever it was the other mage had planned for them. The blonde was disgusted with herself for feeling any comfort from Medeia and she was not going to let her hostess entrap her with more ropes, mind games, and threats based on an empty promise of healing that she could not deliver on.

Leona felt Medeia kiss her on the neck like they were already a couple and still did not lose her composure. Medeia was likely fishing for a way to get an extreme reaction out of Leona so that she could tie up the blonde again and do what she wanted anyway. The Wizard Saint kept her hands at her sides and kept her voice calm as she replied to the second question that had been put to her.

"I'm not going to abandon my girlfriend." Leona calmly replied. The blonde had already betrayed Masha to an extent and she could not undo that. She could not undo any of the mistakes she had made today. All she could do was try to limit the damage those mistakes did.

[Post Word Count: 464]
[Leona's Word Count: 19,626]
[Total Word Count: 36,810]

Leona took everything that was said to her in stride as Medeia began to talk to her. The blonde remained calm even as her hostess' hands made physical contact with her arms. She was not going to give her enemy the satisfaction of making her break her word nor was she going to give them the extra satisfaction of getting to tie her up because of an attempt to punch Medeia or deliver another physical rebuke.

That calm remained until Medeia began to lay out what would happen if things got to the point the ropes came out again. Once that point was reached further dialogue would fall on dear ears and the Warlord would proceed to have her way with the Wizard Saint. Leona suspected that soon she would have to make a choice and live with the consequences of it no matter how well or how badly that choice went for her. Leona listened as her hostess outlined how fortunate the blonde was to have the resources she possessed but did not make use of.

After being informed of her good fortune Leona's calm face slipped for a moment as her hands were gently maneuvered behind her back and were then crossed. She felt the gentle maneuvering of her arms and blushed a bit at how gentle Medeia was despite her earlier resolve. The blonde heard the question put to her and noticed the tone of voice her hostess used to ask the question. The time of decision had arrived.

Did she give in and hope Medeia would be merciful or did she stand her ground and endure whatever was about to happen to her?

Leona was not looking forward to being tied up again and was hoping to avoid things getting awkward while she was tied up. She had endured enough of that for one day, but the choice was out of her hands. The red-faced blonde took a quiet breath and tried to speak, but she was so flustered that no words would come out.

She took another quiet breath and opened her mouth to try and say something, anything, but she was so flustered that she could not talk at all. After two attempts she just gave up and looked ahead with a clearly embarrassed look on her face. Medeia's clever use of gently moving her hands behind her back paired with an ultimatum delivered in a gentle tone had managed to get through the armor of self-hatred Leona had tried to use to protect herself.

Leona had tried to be tough only to end up being betrayed by her body.

This was so awkward.

[Post Word Count: 440]
[Leona's Word Count: 20,066]
[Total Word Count: 37,653]