A Hallowed Night Among The Roses

Dressed in her usual Valkyrie costume and wearing black bike shorts underneath the skirt because the wind was blowing irregularly, Leona walked into Rose Garden for this year's festival. Her toy sword was in the scabbard on her left hip and her toy shield was slung across her back. Leona was doubtful that she had any right to wear the Valkyrie costume after her recent loss to Medeia, but she wore it anyway because it was the only complete costume she had and wearing it gave her a slight boost in confidence, something she badly needed after being repeatedly humiliated by the Warlord in wherever it was she had been taken to after surrendering in Hargeon Town.

Leona walked into the city entrance and spotted a sea of costumes. Doctors, knights wearing actual plate armor, "shipgirls" from some anime series Leona had never seen before, anime characters from other franchises, werewolves that were disturbingly realistic, even a mummy that sort of reminded her of her companion Mortemer except for the key differences of being tall, lanky, and possessing bright yellow eyes that undoubtedly had to be from contacts... Leona saw all of those costumes and she was just at the entrance. There was likely an even wider variety deeper in the city.

Speaking of the entrance, Leona looked to her left at a black sandwich board sign being held by a fake skeleton wearing a black top hat and read the activities that this festival offered. She spotted Coffin Up Candy among them and recalled doing that activity with Masha at last year's Halloween event, but all the rest were new to her. She could choose from a Graveyard Tour, the Roller Coaster of Emotions, a Costume Contest, and more. When she reached the end of the list she spotted Bobbing With Apples and recalled how that activity went the last time she had tried it.

Years ago Leona had been at another festival with Ruvel and Samira when that activity came up. She leaned over a metal trough of water to try and grab an apple with her teeth but accidentally leaned too far in and put her face under the water by falling into it. She had gotten stuck in a position in which she could not lower her arms to push herself out and for several terrifying seconds she struggled to get free... she had come dangerously close to drowning, but she managed to save herself in time to avoid that fate. That incident was almost as humiliating as what Medeia had done to her.

After reading the sign Leona looked to her right and saw more costumed people milling about the city, which was decorated with orange and black banners, fake cobwebs strung between buildings, animatronic black cats sitting on fences and glaring at people with glowing eyes, and more decorations appropriate to the event. While she stood near the entrance she folded her arms over her chest and thought about her longtime friend Samira.

In a rare instance of Leona showing any sort of initiative when it came to social activities she had contacted Samira using her iLac and asked if the latter wanted to attend the All Hallows festival in Rose Garden since there very little chance Leona would voluntarily go to Hargeon Town for awhile, not after what had happened there. Now the blonde was waiting for her friend to show up so that they could participate in the festival. Leona felt the wind pick up and she felt a bit cold as it blew across her bare arms and moved the long braid of the costume wig about.

The Wizard Saint wanted to attend the festival with Samira and not just because they were longtime friends. Leona really needed to talk to the teal-haired mage about what Medeia had done to her and other important things she had not told her friend, but that conversation would not take place here nor would it happen over the iLac. Leona wanted to invite Samira to Lion's Island so that they could discuss everything face-to-face in private.

Leona's Costume:

[Post Word Count: 682]
[Leona's Word Count: 682/2,000]

What a rarity of circumstance! The autumn season was settling in upon Fiore and with it came the expected Halloween festival. Oh, no. That was not the rarity though. What had surprised the Goddess of Ishgar was that her long-time friend Leona had been the one to initiate the invitation. That... well never happened. After how their last festival get-together had turned into a serious talk thanks to herself she had thought her fellow Wizard Saint would avoid her altogether during the times of fun and laughter. It was heartwarming to know that her mistake had not been as unforgivable as she had thought.

Quite elated, Samira had canceled any and all plans she had set just so she could see her friend again. Although, it wasn't as if she had much going on in the first place. Out of all the powerful and esteemed mages the country counted on she likely had the least amount on the to-do list. It was a little sad but well, that's just how it was when the rest were leaders in their guilds and factions. Even the normal prestige mages probably had a job or two to get done. Samira was currently lagging in the realm of sheer uneventful mage boredom. As much as she was patient and liked peaceful downtime apparently even she had limits that she was beginning to find out about. The passage of time that brought about another festival as a distraction was one thing to be grateful for indeed.

Deciding to take on a different approach to her costumes, Samira dressed herself in something a bit more... scary? The demonic look with blood stains wasn't exactly something she was known for, not even as a costume. Perhaps her subconscious was making that the point. It'd help her blend in and be slightly unrecognizable without the use of magic. That and it was truthfully a bit of fun dressing herself that way. If she had the courage to ignite old memories further she would have dyed her hair white just to impersonate someone from the past. Perhaps next year. For now, she was quite happy with her look.

The quick trip to Rose Garden had been made. A good choice of location that Samira approved of. It was, after all, one of her favorite locations for such events. Much like Magnolia they really knew how to organize a good festival. The decorations were stunning and judging by what she could hear from those around her people were happy with the attractions. That was good, but also expected. Her spirit avatars were then released to do as they pleased, so long as they did not cause too much trouble. Now she could be free to peacefully hang out with her friend without their mental interruptions.

Finding Leona was next on the list but it wasn't hard at all. The blonde was standing near the entrance wearing the Viking costume Samira would always recognize immediately. The summoner had a smile on her face as she approached her friend, obviously the one of the two who was in much higher spirits. There was no way for her to know all the mental anguish Leona was suffering from or what she had gone through in recent times. To Samira, Leona looked physically well, and adding the festival get-together as her idea must have meant the wind mage was doing just fine in life. She had no reason to think otherwise.

"Hello, Leona," Samira greeted warmly, lifting a hand to gently wave as she approached her costumed friend. "Or rather, I suppose it is more correct to say Happy Halloween!" A small giggle followed the summoner's words, her happiness to be there showing clearly with no effort from her to hide it.

(Word Count: 628)

Leona was beginning to wonder if Samira was all right. She hoped that the teal-haired mage had not decided to ignore the invitation because of what had happened at the last festival. The blonde recalled the guilt she felt at stating Samira should have gotten involved in the war between Bellum and Pergrande from the get-go instead of sitting on the sidelines until someone brought up her non-participation. She could not blame the Goddess Of Humility for deciding not to attend after being told something like that.

Leona stood in silence as she thought about her words on that day. Maybe Samira did not fight right away because she was just not drawn to the action like Leona was. Or maybe she was waiting until she was physically and mentally ready to commit to fighting, which was a very good reason to wait because getting involved in a war was a commitment that was not to be taken lightly.

The Wizard Saint tried to shove the growing guilt out of her mind, but it was just not happening. Saying things that had not been thought all the way through was nothing new to Leona, but saying that her friend should have fought in the war from the start made her feel even worse. If Samira entered the fight because of the Wizard Saint's words and got hurt or worse it would all be Leona's fault. If the worst happened that calamity would go right up there with the Ishgar Symposium and what she had done in Hargeon Town in terms of the level of guilt Leona would feel. Thinking about those two events got the Wizard Saint to thinking about what she had been told by Medeia concerning guilt over mistakes.

It did not matter what Medeia said... Leona could not let guilt like that go at the drop of a hat.

During their time together Leona got the impression that Medeia had no sense of guilt over anything. Therefore her "advice" to Leona advising the blonde to let go of the guilt stemming from her numerous mistakes was suspect, especially when it was delivered while the Wizard Saint was tied up and had no choice but to listen to it. There was likely a self-serving motive behind that pearl of wisdom and the Warlord had squandered a lot of potential goodwill gained from giving good advice when she had repeatedly humiliated Leona throughout their time together, so the blonde would take anything her enemy said with a shaker of salt.

When Leona heard Samira's voice she turned to face her old friend and visibly recoiled when she saw the latter. It looked like the Goddess Of Humility had been in a brawl with a bear or a large group of bandits. Her outfit had taken obvious damage in some places and bloodstains marked several places on her body, including a prominent one on her face. And her eyes... Leona shuddered because they were so different from how they usually looked.

They made Samira look like she was furious enough to try to rip Leona apart with her bare hands.

"Samira, w-what happened to you? Are you OK?" Leona asked with genuine concern.

[Post Word Count: 534]
[Leona's Word Count: 1,216/2,000]

Huh, what an odd reaction. Instead of Leona being her usual self upon greeting she immediately recoiled and went into the mode of concern. Whatever for Samira couldn't guess. Samira tilted her head in clear confusion to the question asked of her. "I am as okay as I can be," she replied while still trying to understand why that question had even been asked in the first place.

The realization, or rather an assumption, hit her. Was it the way she looked? It was certainly different and would have been the first thing to cross her mind on a typical day. It was Halloween though. It was expected to be dressed as something different. In costume. She'd consider Leona had forgotten that fact if they were not standing in the middle of a festival where nearly everyone was in costume as well and if not also for the fact Leona herself was also costumed.

"Oh," Samira looked down at her costume. "Is it the costume?" The summoner asked, playing along with the conclusion she had made. Surely that couldn't have been it. It was so silly given the scenery around them. Samira almost felt dumb for having to make that her guess as to Leona's meaning. "I admit it is a bit much. A bit... messy and creative." Samira picked at some of the fake blood splotches on the outfit. Some of it was still damp even. "However, I cannot say that a good job was not done in its creation. It has been surprisingly effective in causing quite the reaction from even friends." Samira was teasing Leona, in her usual friendly manner of course. The confusion from before had been completely replaced by her playful smile and attitude. "I will be sure to have my spirits help with a less disturbing look for next year. I think for this year though I may have a good chance of winning the costume contest."

(Word Count: 323
Samira Total: 951
Thread Total: 2167)

Leona had said something stupid... again. Samira was used to it by now, which was a good thing because the blonde had an uncanny habit of saying dumb things at the worst time. Leona listened to Samira talk and learned that the teal-haired mage's look was just a costume, not anything like an alternate mode of power Samira was going to use to take revenge on the blonde for what had been said at the last festival. The Wizard Saint of Courage looked at the ground and felt awful because she might have offended her friend, who had spared no expense to make the costume look memorable and had succeeded.

Samira was moving on and trying new things while Leona was stuck in the past and trying to cling to something that was comfortable.

That seemed to be how things usually went.

Leona hated herself for making Samira have to apologize to her for scaring her, the Wizard Saint of Courage. The blonde could barely stand herself for being such a coward. It was like she was back wherever Medeia had taken her after their battle and she was trying to get out of her predicament with as much dignity as she could save. Samira was probably rethinking her friendship with Leona and wondering where the nearest exit was... Leona could not blame the teal-haired mage for wanting to go do something with someone who had a working brain and did not jump at scary-looking costumes. Deciding to try and save the situation, Leona made eye contact with her friend.

"Your costume's amazing, Samira." Leona started her effort to climb out of the hole she had just drilled for herself by overreacting to a costume.

"You put a lot of work into it and it shows. If it wasn't for your voice I'd think you were someone completely different." Leona complimented the costume and decided to stop there before she laid it on too thick. The blonde was not sure if Samira would buy her compliments or see right though them and ask why Leona had acted the way she did. Samira was much smarter than she was, so there was a good chance she could see straight through Leona's act without even trying.

[Post Word Count: 374]
[Leona's Word Count: 1,590/2,000]
[Total Word Count: 2,541]

"Well, not so much me. This look was created mainly through the efforts of a few of my summon companions who were bored of me wearing costumes that were more of a less-than-scary variety. I thank you for the compliments though. I will be sure to pass the words on." Samira thought for a moment, reconsidering that idea. As ecstatic as they would be to receive a compliment for their work it could backfire greatly with Samira as the one to suffer for it. She couldn't very well have that. "Or perhaps reword it a bit to ensure their ideas for next year do not originate from inflated egos."

Samira had decided to continue forward, acting as if nothing odd had just occurred. That wasn't exactly anything new for her to do. In the past, she had done the same thing so Leona did not have to feel embarrassed or stupid for long. Not that she needed to feel that way at all, but Leona did seem to be the sort to have things get to her. The wind mage did not need Samira lingering on the detail of... well whatever that was. The summoner still honestly had no idea what made Leona seemingly frightened. Her costume wasn't that scary and it was not apparent that Leona had been acting that way on purpose in the spirit of Halloween. But, if Leona was not going to say anything about it then Samira was happy to let it go. There was fun to be had. The only question left on her mind was settling the matter of what they would do first.

"Now, what should we do first?" Samira asked, clapping her hands together just before giving herself a spin to look around the place. There were many signs that she could see, although many were even further than she could read. They'd have to get further inside the festival grounds before those could be seen clearly. They were likely rides or something. Probably some kind of fright tours too like in previous festivals. "I know there is a costume contest somewhere, but we can try to find that later. We should try something a little closer...." Aha! She spotted something that caught her eye. Something she had never seen before at one of the many festivals she attended in the past. Potion brewing. "I see some sort of potion brewing activity," Samira stated while pointing in the direction of the large lit-up cauldron sign further ahead from where they stood.

"Would you like to give that a try?" She asked, turning to stare at Leona once more but with a new gleam in her eyes. "We could always bob for applies instead. I know how talented you are at it. I certainly would love to see you play that again one day if not today!"

(Word Count: 475
Samira Total: 1426
Thread Total: 3016)

Leona had dodged a big bullet when Samira chose to accept the compliments and let things lie instead of pushing the matter. Once again the blonde had woken up and chosen stupidity and once again her friend had spared her the humiliation of the consequences of that stupidity. After what had happened to her at Medeia's hands the blonde was not wanting to feel any more humiliation right away.

Deciding to just let things go instead of trying to overexplain why she had reacted with apprehension and digging herself even deeper, Leona focused instead on the activities that the festival offered. Samira offered several options and not all of them were appealing. Leona was up for Brewing Up Trouble and the Costume Contest, but she was not so keen on Bobbing For Apples. Not that her face showed that... she had received a crash course in the art of the poker face while forced to spend time with Medeia and the blonde was putting those lessons to use.

Taking the initiative again instead of just following someone else's lead, Leona chose an activity.

"I'd like to do Brewing Up Trouble first, Samira." Leona told her friend her decision. It was the closest activity and it was also one that really interested the blonde. After that she was not sure whether she wanted to do the Costume Contest second or go ahead and do Bobbing For Apples and be done with it.

Leona and that activity were not on good terms because the last time she had tried it she had almost drowned in a humiliating fashion. However, she was willing to try again if Samira wanted to do the activity. Speaking of Samira, the teal-haired mage no longer had the look of "I'm going to rip your arm off and beat you with it!" but instead looked cheerful. That was good news for Leona.

[Post Word Count: 314]
[Leona's Word Count: 1,904/2,000]
[Total Word Count: 3,330]

Rolling for Coffin Up Candy.

The member 'Leona Jarnefeldt' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

---

'Normal Dice' :

Leona stood around a few minutes trying to decide whether or not to do Brewing Up Trouble first but ultimately decided to try an activity called "Coffin Up Candy" instead. The blonde followed signs pointing the way and eventually arrived at a small booth manned by a green-eyed young woman with waist-length black hair dressed as a fairy tale princess wearing a conservative pink dress and matching high heels. On her head was a silver tiara that gleamed in the light.

She greeted Leona and laid out the rules of the game before producing three small coffins from under the counter and setting them on top of it. The small coffins opened with a snap of her fingers to reveal that two of them had small grinning plastic skeletons inside of them. The third was empty until she placed a piece of strawberry candy in a pink wrapper inside of it. Leona made a mental note of the coffin containing candy and watched all three close before automatically shuffling around thanks to the princess' magic: they shuffled around for roughly two minutes before stopping. When they finally stopped the princess bade Leona to choose the coffin she believed to contain the piece of candy.

Leona pointed towards the coffin on the right and the event staff member opened it with her right hand to reveal the piece of strawberry candy sitting within. The princess smiled and gave Leona a small pink plastic bag containing more of the candy along with a light blue paper object called a "Spirit Ticket." The Wizard Saint took both items into her right hand and thanked the princess for hosting the game. The princess smiled and waved at Leona, bidding the blonde goodbye as another festival attendee sidled up to the booth to try their luck at the game. With her prizes in hand the Wizard Saint walked off to find another activity to do.

[Post Word Count: 320]
[Leona's Word Count: 2,224/2,000]
[Total Word Count: 3,650]

Leona has earned one Spirit Ticket from completing Coffin Up Candy. She now has one of four Spirit Tickets required for event completion.

After winning at Coffin Up Candy Leona moved further into the city and eventually came across another activity called "Brewing Up Trouble." In front of her was a cauldron manned by a young woman with pale blue eyes who was four inches taller than Leona. She had waist-length blonde hair roughly the color of Leona's own and was dressed as the sexy version of a witch. The sleeveless outfit was black and had a rather short skirt combined with knee-high black boots and a black cape plus a pointy black hat.

"Hi Sweetie!" The young witch greeted Leona with a smile.

"Hi there." Leona returned the greeting.

"You're such an adorable Valkyrie!" The witch complimented Leona, causing the Wizard Saint to blush before she realized what she was doing.

Leona listened to the person lay out how the activity worked and looked towards the ingredients station, where quite a few ingredients were waiting to be chosen and mixed into a potion. The Wizard Saint walked over to it and carefully selected a test tube of a pink liquid and a test tube of gold liquid, then took them to the cauldron. She poured the pink liquid in first followed by the gold one, causing the liquid inside the cauldron to glow a soft, shimmering pink that then alternated with a soft golden glow that suggested divine power: the colors alternated every five seconds.

The Wizard Saint received a plastic beaker and dipped it into the vessel, drawing it out once it was full. She drank from it until it was empty and felt a sweet cotton candy taste on her tongue followed by a metallic taste that was not copper but was definitely in the metal family. She felt a tingling sensation in her scalp followed by a strong tingling sensation in her back and heard a gasp from the young witch.

"You were an adorable Valkyrie, but now you're a beautiful angel!" The other blonde exclaimed, her face flushed pink and her eyes showing an expression of attraction.

"I don't know if you're a regular angel or a warrior angel, but either way you're so beautiful that I could kiss you!" Leona was told that her new look was an attractive one. The other blonde walked over to Leona and embraced her, kissing her on the lips in a manner reminiscent of Medeia. Leona blushed as the embrace was ended. Once it was over she took off her winged helmet and felt her hair flow out of it and flow down her back; the newly lengthened hair ultimately ended at her waist. She also looked behind her and saw pure white wings stretched outward on both sides.

"Your hair's so pretty when it's long. And it's so shiny." Came another admiring comment. The Wizard Saint was growing uncomfortable with the flattery and wanted to move on, but she was in for one last comment.

"And your wings are so gorgeous. They're pure white and they go perfectly with your hair." Came the last comment. The blushing witch handed Leona another Spirit Ticket and giggled before she leaned in for another kiss on the lips, catching the Wizard Saint by surprise. The other blonde stepped back and giggled again before waving goodbye to Leona as the latter walked away with longer hair, white wings that she could fold up with a thought, and a flustered expression on her face. At least she had gotten another Spirit Ticket for her trouble.

[Post Word Count: 580]
[Leona's Word Count: 2,804/2,000]
[Total Word Count: 4,230]

Leona has earned a Spirit Ticket from completing Brewing Up Trouble. She now has two of the four Spirit Tickets required for event completion.

After her transformation into a long-haired blonde with wings Leona walked around the festival area drawing the glances of male and female alike. She had wound the fake braided hair under the helmet and put the winged helmet on top of her head... it was a comfortable and convenient way to carry the prop and she did not even know the braid was there. Leona had learned that her new wings did not grant her flight: they were only cosmetic. She did not mind because she did not have to fight any Warlords for the fate of the city.

Leona walked away from a crowded area and into a less traveled one with a few side alleys. The Wizard Saint looked down the alleys for any hoodlums taking advantage of the large amount of people in town for the festival to set up ambushes, but she did not see any. Leona had looked right when she should have looked left because she was oblivious to the looming threat until she heard screaming coming from behind her. The Wizard Saint turned to face the source and go to the rescue when she came face-to-face with a yawning chasm that soon enveloped her.

When the blonde saw anything other than darkness again it was an open desert with the sun beating down on her... it looked like she was back in Desierto. A sandstorm came up and obscured Leona's vision, but she could barely make out a humanoid shape walking towards her. Since she did not have any weapons to fight with Leona raised her right hand and prepared a Wind Blast spell only to be met with laughter and a familiar voice.

"Put your hand down, Lion Cub. You won't dare attack me." The voice ordered. Moments later the sandstorm cleared up and Leona stood face-to-face with the source. It was a younger version of herself dressed in her blue, white, and gold outfit and wielding a sword and shield. A confident look was on her face while a look of shock was on the original's face.

"Oh, don't look shocked. You should know exactly who I am." Younger Leona mocked the older one's expression of surprise. Older Leona sighed. It was like Medeia had pulled the magazine trick all over again.

"I know who you are." Older Leona stated flatly. The other one flashed a sinister smile.

"Don't try and be stoic. It doesn't suit you at all." The other Leona told the original. Older Leona frowned and her younger self mocked the expression with an exact copy of her frown.

"Oh, is poor Little Kitty upset by my mean words? Is she gonna make a frowny face at me since she can't fight anyone to save her life?" Younger Leona mocked the original and started comparing her to a common housecat. Older Leona watched the other throw her sword and shield into the air, then snapped the fingers of her right hand to make them disappear. Once that was done she faced Leona.

"I don't even need weapons to defeat you. I can take you on with my bare hands!" Younger Leona boastfully declared, making a show of forming fists with her hands. The original clenched her right hand into a fist and a gust of wind kicked up some sand that buffeted the two blondes. Each blonde stared down the other waiting for their twin to make the move that would start the fight.

Younger Leona:

[Post Word Count: 576]
[Leona's Word Count: 3,380/2,000]
[Total Word Count: 4,806]

Original Leona warily eyed her younger self and waited for the fight to begin. The younger version of the Wizard Saint watched the original with a smile fixed on her face. Leona raised her right hand and her copy followed suit, her eyes fixed on her older self.

The other one cast a Wind Blast spell, which was one of several spells Leona liked to use at the start of a battle. Leona was knocked back but not down and was sent back several meters, recovering from the spell and wasting no time in preparing a counterattack. The original crouched down and used her Sonic Slash spell, rocketing towards her enemy using a "flash step" and lashing out at her midsection with a hand coated in a sharp blade of wind when she got within range. To her surprise Leona hit her copy, cutting into the latter's outfit and exposing part of her midsection in addition to drawing blood.

"So you have some guts after all, Little Cub. Not bad." Younger Leona complimented her older self for being willing to attack her before moving a hand over her exposed midsection. Her right hand scooped up a bit of the blood flowing from the wound and the smile never left her face.

"Why can't I keep an outfit intact for at least one fight? Is that too much to ask?" The copy asked the original what might have been a rhetorical question in a tone of mild annoyance. Moments later the copy leaped straight up into the air and descended diagonally with her right leg in a jump kick aimed at Leona, using the original's own Meteor Jump Kick technique against her. The original ducked and rolled forward, avoiding both the forceful kick and the cloud of sand that was kicked up from the miss. From behind the fading cover of the sand cloud Original Leona heard laughter and saw a figure stand up straight.

"Nice dodge, Little Cub. You move quicker than you think." Younger Leona gave a backhanded compliment to the original.

"You might be wondering how I knew that technique. If I let you try to figure the mystery out it'd take forever, so I'll just tell you. I know everything you do. Every spell, every technique... and even every secret." Younger Leona revealed to the original, saying the last part with a particular pleasure. That last part hit the original like a freight train. Her eyes widened.

If her copy knew all of her secrets, did that mean she knew about her meeting with...?

"Don't look so shocked, Little Cub. I know every secret of yours. Every. Secret. I even know about your meeting with that Warlord." The copy stated. Original Leona's face began to turn red as she recalled what had happened between them wherever it was she had been taken. Younger Leona saw the original's embarrassment and began laughing again.

"You met the Warlord of Lust, am I right?" The latter asked rhetorically. Original Leona looked at her copy and could not muster a response. Her younger self laughed.

"Oh, she was quite a beauty. She was tall, had long, gorgeous dark hair, had beautiful eyes in an unforgettable color, and a large chest. When you put all of those traits together I can completely understand why you enjoyed being around her." Younger Leona put forth a hypothesis on why Original Leona had reacted so positively to Medeia holding her in her arms and hugging her from behind. Again the flustered original could not muster a response.

"I'm willing to say that you have a thing for tall, dark-haired women with large chests. You just won't admit it." The copy teased the original. Original Leona could only blush because the allegation had a kernel of truth to it. Medeia had a sinister beauty that was hard to deny. Sensing blood in the water, the verbal teasing continued without a foreseeable end.

"I know you wanted what she was offering to you. You loved her warm embrace and you would have done anything to stay in her arms and feel that warmth for just a little while longer. I don't know why you fought against it." The copy changed her tone from teasing to flirtatious. She disappeared for a moment in a burst of wind and the original looked all around for her enemy. A moment later Original Leona felt an embrace from behind as a pair of arms wrapped themselves around her waist.

"You wanted it, Leona. Stop pretending you didn't." Younger Leona whispered into her ear. The horrified Wizard Saint had to get away.

"NO!" Leona shouted and broke free of the copy's embrace, then spun to face her. Younger Leona had not put any real effort into restraining the original, so the point of the embrace must have been just to tease the original. If that was the case it had succeeded.

"Yes you did. If you really didn't want what was offered you would have fought harder to get away. You really enjoyed being in the Warlord's arms. Just admit it already." Another teasing remark directed at Leona was made. Again Leona's embarrassment took over and prevented her from defending herself against the charge.

[Post Word Count: 872]
[Leona's Word Count: 4,252/2,000]
[Total Word Count: 5,678]

"N-no, I didn't. It felt so awkward. I wanted to get away from her." Leona weakly defended herself from the charge of actually enjoying Medeia's attention. Her younger self was obviously not buying it.

"Oh, please. You didn't try very hard to get away from her. You also didn't try too hard to get her to stop embracing you either." Younger Leona shot back. At this point the Wizard Saint got more than a little angry. It was hard to tell if her face was red from blushing or from anger, but her face was red all the same.

"Enough already!" Original Leona shouted. A sinister grin flashed across Younger Leona's face.

"What happened, Little Cub? Why are you so angry all of a sudden?" She asked the original. Leona could not speak, so she was going to let her spells speak for her. Leona raised her right hand and prepared an Air Pressure spell to shut her younger self up, but before she could even prepare the spell her copy was already airborne and on the way down with a Meteor Jump Kick. Leona sprinted forward and dodged the kick before it could connect with her, then spun around and used a Storm Impact spell to try and knock her enemy down.

When Original Leona punched the ground and generated an expanding dome of wind she heard a scream from in front of her. She spotted her enemy through a fading dome of sand that she had kicked up with the spell and saw that her younger self was charging at her with her right fist drawn back. The original dodged the punch aimed at her face with a duck and almost immediately ducked under the Roundhouse Kick thrown at her face, then attempted to retaliate with a step forward followed by a Mach Straight technique.

Younger Leona ducked under the punch and swung back with a Mach Uppercut that Original Leona sidestepped. The Wizard Saint quickly followed up with a Tornado Kick that caught her enemy in the side of the head, causing her to scream and clutch the side of her head for a few moments while staggering back a few steps. Leona, not wanting to let her younger self recover, followed up with a Sonic Slash that caught her enemy in the midsection a second time.

Younger Leona gripped the new wound on her midsection and chuckled.

"If only you'd fought this hard against the Warlord... those people in Hargeon Town might still be alive." She threw a verbal barb at her older self. Leona reacted accordingly.

"What did you say?" The Wizard Saint asked pointedly.

"Get the earwax out of your ears, Little Cub. If you'd fought as hard against the Warlord as you have against me those people might still be alive!" Younger Leona repeated with emphasis on the second sentence. Original Leona did not have an immediate answer to that assertion.

"You were a coward, Little Cub. You were afraid to get hurt, so you kept flip-flopping between close range and long range instead of committing to one approach and that flexibility cost you a lot. You could have pushed the Warlord much harder than you actually did. You didn't try all that hard to win, probably because you go weak in the knees for a pretty face." The copy taunted that Leona had held back because she found Medeia attractive. Original Leona got even angrier because part of her copy's statement was true. She had used everything against Medeia but Silver Tempest and Razor Tornado, but she really did flip-flop instead of picking an approach and sticking with it.

"You're angrier at me than you ever were at the Warlord. That's pretty sad." Younger Leona made another observation.

"That's true." Older Leona replied. The copy reacted with surprise.

"I can't stand myself. If you know everything about me like you claim you do then you should already know that." Older Leona asserted. The copy was too surprised to speak.

"I've made so many mistakes, mistakes that got people killed. I thought the Ishgar Symposium would be an easy job and I didn't prepare with the right equipment and mindset. A lot of innocent people died on that day because of me." Older Leona continued.

"I made mistakes in Hargeon Town that got people killed. I gambled innocent lives and I lost. I had no right to do that, but my pride got in the way of realizing that at that point I couldn't win against the Warlord. I thought I could pull off a miracle win at the last moment to somehow make the sacrifice "worth it", but I couldn't." Leona made another admission. Younger Leona was obviously surprised that her older self was being so candid because she did not speak at all.

"And I made mistakes that drove people away. I should have tried harder to connect to people, but I was too afraid. Afraid that they'd think I was stupid, afraid that they'd see the real me and not want anything to do with me, so I kept my distance. And now they're gone." Older Leona confessed to her younger self. The copy's eyes narrowed before she began speaking.

"You're such a coward, Little Cub! You deliberately threw away those innocent people in Hargeon Town because you were too scared to admit that you couldn't win! You deliberately threw away chances to get to know people who wanted to get to know you because you were scared to let them see how you really are! You deserve to be alone!" Younger Leona angrily asserted, jabbing with her right index finger as she made each point.

[Post Word Count: 946]
[Leona's Word Count: 5,198/2,000]
[Total Word Count: 6,624]

"Yes I do. I don't deserve any friends. And I don't deserve her either." Leona shot back, shocking her copy with her agreement.

"W-who are you talking about? Who's "she"? That redhead?!" Younger Leona asked. The original's eyes narrowed and she clenched her teeth. "That redhead" had a name and neither Leona had any right to say it.

Leona did not deserve Masha.

Masha deserved better than her.

Leona thought about how she had strung along Masha and felt her regrets flashing back. She probably could have been held in Masha's arms long ago if she had only been brave enough to commit earlier. Now it was probably too late.

If only she had not been such a coward.

Once Masha had been indirectly mentioned Leona's patience with the conversation abruptly vanished and she resolved to end it with a Silver Tempest spell. Since there was no one else around and no property to damage or destroy she could use it without consequences, which was a rare opportunity she was not going to let go to waste. Leona began to channel silver magic into her body and when the spell was ready she thrust her right hand with the palm up into the sky as the copy began to panic once it realized it had waited too long to try and stop her.

Once it was released the silver tornado could not be stopped. It slammed into Younger Leona and she screamed as she was knocked to the ground, but Leona could not see where her enemy was because of all the sand that had been kicked up. It rained down on her winged helmet, exposed hair, and shoulders as she watched and waited for Younger Leona to emerge from the sand and attack. However, when the sand cleared the other blonde was lying on her back and doing her best to sit up and face the Wizard Saint.

Younger Leona was breathing heavily and doing her best to sit up to face her attacker, but the original was not going to give her that luxury. Leona already hated herself and once Masha had been mentioned any restraint she had towards the copy had vanished. Younger Leona had badly underestimated how much Older Leona hated herself.

Older Leona silently raised her right hand, aimed it at her enemy, and prepared an Air Pressure spell to put an end to this pointless conversation. Just before it was ready the copy sat up and raised her right hand in a gesture of supplication. It seemed like she was wanting to stop hostilities to talk in a more civil manner.

"Wait! Don't do this!" Younger Leona started to plead.

Leona did not bother with a witty one-liner, an insult screamed at the top of her lungs, or any kind of verbal response to the plea. Instead she let her magic do the talking for her. Leona fired the Air Pressure spell and the silver horizontal column of air hit the copy squarely in the head. She screamed and fell back onto the sand, where she disappeared. Leona took a quiet breath as the anger that had built up began to dissipate. The scenery vanished and moments later Leona was back on the street of Rose Garden where she had been before being transported to the sandy arena.

Leona checked herself for any sand that might have taken the trip with her, but she could not find any sand on her body. The Wizard Saint checked her left hand and found herself in possession of a third Spirit Ticket. She was not sure how it had gotten there, but she was not going to complain. With her unexpected prize in hand Leona quietly walked away from the scene to go find something to do before she thought any more about what had just happened.

[Post Word Count: 640]
[Leona's Word Count: 5,838/2,000]
[Total Word Count: 7,264]

Leona has earned a Spirit Ticket from completing The Shadow Of Trauma. She now has three out of four Spirit Tickets required for event completion.

As Leona walked through Rose Garden after the encounter with her younger self she recalled some "advice" Medeia had tried to give her. It concerned what she would teach her younger self. The Wizard Saint should have passed along what she had told Medeia she would say, but she had taught her younger self another, more important lesson instead and that lesson was to be quiet.

Despite that triumph Leona was feeling nothing but self-loathing. Her younger self had been right. She deserved to be alone for what she had done in Hargeon Town and for not bothering to engage with people who could have been friends. She also did not deserve Masha because the blonde had strung her along for quite awhile before finally committing to the beautiful redhead. Leona's triumph had been hollow because by the time she had finally silenced her enemy the blows had already been struck.

Her younger self had brought up the warmth of Medeia's embrace, a subject which was a source of shame for Leona. The Warlord's embrace had been comforting and Leona was not proud to think that way, but it was an unpleasant truth. She desperately wanted to take that feeling back, but it was too late for that because Medeia had likely learned that a gentle embrace worked a lot better on Leona than threats. The blonde was upset with herself over a lot of things and she could not take any of her mistakes back, so she would just have to live with what she had done up to this point.

Trying to forget her shame for a little while, Leona quietly walked until she spotted a sign that pointed the way to an activity called Graveyard Tour and found the tour guide, a blue-eyed young woman with red hair done in a ponytail. She was dressed as an archaeologist in a khaki jacket over a black t-shirt and khaki cargo shorts with brown boots. She also had a glass lantern in her left hand. Since she was the first one to arrive for the next tour it had been requested that Leona wait for other festival attendees to arrive and she gladly obliged the tour guide.

When the tour finally got underway the Wizard Saint had been joined by a quartet of young women dressed as anime schoolgirls from a series called Fortunate Meteor, a pair of young men dressed as knights in full plate armor, a male and female couple who were dressed as vampires, a young woman dressed as a "sexy nurse." The motley group made their way to Rose Garden Cemetery, which was a clean and orderly place with grass that was obviously cared for, perhaps even trimmed by hand with scissors in certain places. The gravestones were all polished and cared for to an extent Leona had never seen before.

The cemetery was enclosed by a wrought-iron fence with no signs of rusting whatsoever and no vines crawling up the bars. Leona brought up the rear as the schoolgirls followed closely behind the tour guide and the knights followed after the guide, who in turn were followed by the rest of the group. The night sky was clear and cloudless and a full moon was in the sky. As a result the area was perfectly lit and Leona could see everything in the area... not that she needed the moonlight because of her natural night vision, but the silver light definitely helped.

The tour had moved past the entrance gates and the guide was telling the group about the history of the cemetery when moaning and shuffling noises came from nearby. The tour guide had dismissed it as a lone prankster hiding nearby trying to scare everyone with zombie noises, but as Leona and everyone else saw, the zombies were very much real and there were fourteen of them. They had emerged from the ground not too far from the tour guide and all of them were men in an old style of suit that had to be at least one hundred years old.

Leona wasted no time in summoning Tempest Avian as the rest of the tour group fled for their lives. The two young men dressed as knights were slower than the rest because they were not used to moving in their armor, but Leona was not going to let them die. She had faced zombies many times before and knew exactly how to defeat them.

No innocent people were going to die tonight.

The moment the young men clanked past her she ordered Tempest Avian to use Steel Flechettes on the large group of zombies to try and thin them out with lucky headshots and the summon obeyed, flapping his wings and firing a spread of projectiles at the incoming zombies. By some miracle all of the projectiles landed headshots because ten of the zombies fell to the ground with flechettes sticking out of their heads. The other four continued to shuffle towards the Wizard Saint, who was feeling confident about her chances.

She ordered Tempest Avian to use a Hurricane Shot on one of the zombies and watched as a sphere of green wind magic slammed into the head of a target, causing it to explode in a messy fashion. Leona followed up with a Wind Bullet spell aimed at the head of a second zombie and watched as its head disintegrated from the hit. A third zombie outpaced its fellow and lurched towards the Wizard Saint, who calmly prepared and fired an Air Pressure spell at its head.

Leona scored a direct hit and watched its head explode from being hit by the silver horizontal column of compressed air. There was only one zombie left and the Wizard Saint took a quiet breath as she prepared and fired an Air Burst spell at the head of the final enemy. Its head exploded from the cone of wind and its headless body fell to the ground... Leona had won a victory without causing damage to the cemetery or losing any innocent lives to stupidity on her part.

Leona dispelled Tempest Avian and flared the wings on her back out in triumph. She heard someone behind her call out and spotted the tour guide, who was clutching a Spirit Ticket that she gratefully handed to the Wizard Saint. Leona added it to her collection and decided to stay for the tour. Not only was she staying to make sure that the group did not come to harm in case more undead decided to appear, but she also stayed because her victory had given her the shot in the arm needed to gain a bit of mental clarity after encountering her younger self and she needed time to use that newfound clarity to think things over.

Once she had gotten the ticket Leona folded her wings back and let the tour guide lead the way, following close behind the archaeologist as the tour resumed. The other festival attendees seemed reassured by the Wizard Saint/Valkyrie's presence and eagerly rejoined the tour without any fear whatsoever. Leona took a quiet breath and felt a hint of satisfaction as she walked in the cemetery and glanced up at the full moon as she moved.

While she had not defeated Medeia and avenged her loss in Hargeon Town, small victories like this would go a ways towards rebuilding her confidence to the point she could meaningfully challenge the Warlord Of Lust.

[Post Word Count: 1,246]
[Leona's Word Count: 7,084/2,000]
[Total Word Count: 8,510]

Leona has completed the Graveyard Tour. She now has all four Spirit Tickets required for event completion.