Finding The Thrill Seeker

Job Details:

Job Sign-Up: Page 13, Post Number 309

-Lycan Woods, 11:37 P.M.-

Dressed in his usual outfit of open olive green jacket over white t-shirt and olive green cargo pants with black boots, Leonidas also carried his Silver Falchion. By his side was Sabrina, who was dressed in a pink hoodie over a pink t-shirt and blue jean short shorts with pink tennis shoes. The pair were on a mission to Lycan Woods to locate a young woman who was a serious adrenaline junkie. The young woman in question was named Regina Hampton, who was from Hargeon Town and had traveled to Lycan Woods to find a new challenge after finding that fighting bandits all across Fiore was no longer providing the thrill she was after. According to her sister Isabelle Regina would be hard to miss... Regina was a young woman slightly taller than average with long blonde hair who wore red and white and wielded a saber with a blade made of silver.

Armed with that information, Leonidas and Sabrina went to Lycan Woods to find the young woman before she got in over her head against the local lycanthropes. They stared down the forest path lined with large amounts of dense brush a short distance from the sides, then looked at each other.

"So we're here to rescue a young woman who's traveled here just to fight werewolves." Sabrina said to Leonidas as if she were having a hard time wrapping her mind around the job. Leonidas nodded.

"Yeah." He said laconically. It sounded like she shared the same fondness for a good fight that he possessed. While the lengths Regina went to to try and satisfy her craving for a challenge sounded more than a little stupid and probably were stupid, a small part of him could not blame her for seeking a fight that was actually exciting. Zombies and ghosts bored the scar-faced mage, who had not had a good fight of his own since fighting the Vikings in Bellum during the latest phase of the war between Bellum and Pergrande.

"I'm not sure if she's really brave or really stupid." Sabrina commented on the young woman they had been sent to find.

"I'm not sure, but at least she carried a silver weapon with her. If she's carrying a sword to fight werewolves she must know how to use it." Leonidas remarked and spoke in Regina's favor by stating that the young woman had at least carried a weapon that would be useful against the enemy she was going to fight. Suddenly he heard howling in the distance. Sabrina clutched her staff tightly and looked down the path.

"It sounds like the locals know we're here, Big Guy." The blonde informed him. Leonidas drew his Silver Falchion and held it in his right hand.

"It doesn't matter. We need to find Regina before it's too late." Leonidas calmly informed his companion that it did not matter if the werewolves who called this forest home knew that two more mages had entered the forest.

"I'm with you, Big Guy. Just keep in mind that I won't be able to deal with werewolves as easily as I can deal with zombies and ghosts." The pink-clad blonde warned Leonidas to not expect her Azure Cone ability to be an instant kill against the enemies here.

"That's fine with me, Sabrina. I'll be careful." The scar-faced mage assured her before walking forward. Sabrina hurried to join him, traveling at his left side as they began traveling deeper into the woods. Leonidas had never been here before and was a bit apprehensive against facing off against werewolves because he had never seen one before tonight. However, he was also excited about the possibility of facing an opponent capable of actually challenging him. He kept that to himself, though... he did not want Sabrina to think that he was a reckless thrill seeker like Regina.

The pair walked for twenty-eight meters until they spotted the underbrush a meter ahead and to the right rustling furiously.

"See that?" Sabrina asked as she pointed towards the patch of underbrush with her staff.

"I see it." Leonidas replied calmly, raising his Silver Falchion into a ready position. He took a deep and quiet breath, then slowly exhaled. He felt his grip on his sword tighten as the foliage began to shake harder and harder. Sooner or later a lycanthrope would leap from the underbrush and he would finally get to face an enemy a lot tougher than any zombie or ghost.

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Leonidas waited patiently for the enemy to spring from the underbrush and challenge him, but so far nothing had emerged. He was not going to rush in, though. Sooner or later the scent of two potential meals in the area was bound to lure out a werewolf for him to fight.

Leonidas waited silently with his Silver Falchion held ready for use. His patience was rewarded when the same patch of underbrush shook and out sprang a werewolf about his height but somewhat skinnier and with a look of hunger in its eyes. Perhaps it had not eaten in awhile.. or maybe it reveled in the thrill of the hunt.

It landed roughly eight feet away and Leonidas took a quiet breath to steady himself so that he did not blindly rush in. He made eye contact with the beast, then watched and waited.

It kept its dark brown eyes fixed on him and as he watched Leonidas could see its hind legs twitch. It gave off a low growl before sprinting forward with its arms outstretched and its jaws open ready to sink into the scar-faced mage's neck or shoulder the moments its strong hands could grab the blond man. Leonidas quickly stepped right and the werewolf darted by, but it almost immediately shifted its body weight and used its momentum in order to perform a U-turn and immediately line up another attack on the mage.

The lycanthrope successfully completed the maneuver and wasted no time in springing at Leonidas again. Again he stepped to the right and the beast rushed by, but this time the mage moved in while it was turning around to face him and swung forcefully downward with the Silver Falchion, aiming for its head. The blade found its mark in the beast's skull; the blade buried itself in the skull and the werewolf loosed a howl that lasted for a few seconds before its arms went limp while its body remained upright. The moment Leonidas withdrew his sword the beast collapsed and lay on the ground in a crumpled heap.

"Congratulations, Big Guy. You just killed your first werewolf." Sabrina commented on the results of the fight. Leonidas quietly bent down and wiped the blade off on the body of the werewolf he had just dispatched with a skull-splitting blow. He then faced the path ahead of him and motioned towards it with the Silver Falchion.

"Thanks, Sabrina. I'd better not let it go to my head, though. There's plenty more where he came from and they probably won't be as easy to kill as this one was." Leonidas informed Sabrina that while the victory was welcome he should not expect all fights against the residents of the woods to go that easily. The other blonde suddenly pointed at something with her staff.

"There's another one heading RIGHT FOR US!" Sabrina warned Leonidas. The scar-faced mage faced the incoming enemy, which was roughly ten meters away and closing fast thanks to running on all fours. He raised his left hand and prepared a Compressed Air Bolt, then aimed carefully before firing the spell. To his surprise the enemy evaded it with a sudden jump to the right and kept running without missing a step. Leonidas did not have time to prepare another distance spell before the second enemy was upon him.

The werewolf leaped at Leonidas with the intent to land on the latter and pin him to the ground before ripping his throat out with its teeth, but the blond man anticipated that move and did a quick step to the left that took him out of the landing zone. As he quickly backed away to get some distance he saw the leaping enemy land and heard the heavy THUD that marked the end of its unsuccessful leaping attack. Next came a low growl as the werewolf turned and made eye contact with its intended prey. Leonidas was not daunted and remained calm as he sized up the enemy, which was a werewolf that was burlier than the first.

It suddenly rushed at him on two legs and reached out with its arms to seize its prey by the shoulders. Leonidas ducked forward and under the arms, then quickly spun around and faced the back of the beast while it recovered from its grab attempt. He quickly moved closer and raised his Silver Falchion in both hands, then brought the sword down on the target's head in a forceful chop as it turned to face him. Again the blade struck the target and buried itself deep in the skull.

The stricken werewolf emitted a piercing howl before crumpling to the ground and lying on its right side with Leonidas' weapon still lodged in its head. Leonidas sighed and moved to the front of the dead enemy, then planted his right foot on its shoulder and grabbed the grip of the sword with both hands before pulling sharply upwards. It took a few seconds of sustained pulling because the blade did not want to come out of its home without a fight, but Leonidas soon freed it and wiped it off on the beast's body.

"That's your second werewolf tonight, Big Guy." Sabrina updated his kill count. Leonidas took a quiet breath and faced the path he had intended to resume following before the second fight.

"I'd like to get going before any more of the locals show up." Leonidas told his partner. She hurried to his left side and faced him before speaking.

"Good idea!" She said in agreement. The pair walked by the two dead werewolves and resumed their search for Regina Hampton without further delay.

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-Down the path, 12:07 A.M.-

Leonidas and Sabrina had proceeded deeper into Lycan Woods without encountering any more werewolves, but they were still no closer to finding Regina. They had not found any clues to indicate that she had headed in the direction they were going, but they soon found clues that the locals had been busy. Ahead of them were a few large bloodstains like someone or something had bled profusely on the spot and one of them even had drag marks leading away from the stain and to the left. The drag marks led towards the underbrush, which were also stained with blood, suggesting that a body had been hauled away for later consumption. Sabrina was quick to notice that grim detail and point it out.

"Look, Big Guy. It looks like someone or something met an unpleasant end." Sabrina opined, pointing towards it with her wand. Leonidas followed it and saw the evidence of lycanthrope activity. His facial expression turned grim.

"I hope that we're not too late to save Regina." Leonidas remarked as his gaze lingered on the bloodstained underbrush.

"I wouldn't give up hope just yet, Big Guy. If this Regina chick's come prepared with a silver weapon we might still have some time." Sabrina tried to assure the scar-faced mage that all was not yet lost. Shortly after that loud growling was heard and a werewolf leapt out from the underbrush and landed straight ahead of Leonidas. He noticed that was a tall, muscular specimen and that its muzzle and claws were coated with blood, suggesting that it had been responsible for the bloodstains dotting the path. Its brown eyes made contact with his green eyes and it growled again.

"WATCH OUT!" Sabrina shouted a warning. Leonidas stood his ground and prepared a Storm Hammer technique to hit the werewolf as it charged towards him with its left arm drawn back and its claws extended. When his arm glowed silver and the target was close enough to reach out Leonidas drew his left arm back and threw a forceful straight punch aimed at the enemy's face. His timing was impeccable because he used the Storm Hammer technique just as it stopped and started to swing its left arm at him. Leonidas' punch connected with the beast's face and he heard an ear-piercing yelp of pain before blood began to flow freely from its nose.

The werewolf's swipe hit nothing but air as Leonidas ducked under it and the claws passed over his head. He stood up and cut the beast across the chest with a diagonal left-to-right slash of his Silver Falchion. The werewolf yelped in pain again and bared its teeth. It then reached out for Leonidas' shoulders with two muscular hands, but he saw that move coming and sidestepped it by going right, then quickly moved in and attacked it with a two-handed downward chop with his sword just as it turned to face him.

Leonidas' sword found its mark in its skull and the werewolf's head began to bleed before it crumpled to the ground and lay motionless. He pulled out the Silver Falchion with a sharp tug and looked down the path to see if any other werewolves had heard the commotion and decided to investigate, but so far he was not seeing any. The path was clear, but he did not trust the underbrush on either side of it.

"Way to go, Big Guy! You handled that one like a pro!" Sabrina complimented him. Leonidas bent down and wiped the blood off of his sword on his latest kill before answering her.

"That one was actually a bit of a challenge." Leonidas commented casually, unable to hide his search for a challenging fight any longer. He was finding the local lycanthropes to be a good challenge for him because they did not go down in one hit to a vital area like zombies did. They were also able to go toe-to-toe with him in melee combat, a fact which gave the scar-faced mage even more of an adrenaline rush.

"Don't tell me that you're like that Regina chick!" Sabrina cried out in dismay. Leonidas turned to face her.

"I'm not going to lie to you, Sabrina. I like a good fight and by that I mean a fight that's a good challenge as well as one that's for a good cause." Leonidas laid bare the truth. He was a fighter and had been one ever since he was old enough to wield a sword and magic. Leonidas knew what he was and did not shrink from that truth. His companion's facial expression was one that questioned her job partner's sanity.

"If I'm not careful you and Regina are gonna end up dating and do things like fight werewolves for fun!" She gave another expression of dismay.

"Relax, Sabrina. I'm not going to date Regina and I'm not going to start fighting werewolves for fun. I'm no mindless berserker who throws himself recklessly into a fight with no plan. If I were one I likely would have tried to punch the last werewolf to death instead of using a technique and a silver sword." Leonidas assured Sabrina that despite the adrenaline rush he got from fighting the residents of Lycan Woods he was still in control of himself. The pink-clad blonde did not look entirely convinced, but she soon shrugged her shoulders and chose to move on.

"OK, Big Guy. If you say so." She said to him with a lingering hint of doubt. Leonidas pointed down the path with the index finger of his left hand.

"Let's keep going, Sabrina." The scar-faced mage instructed before walking around the dead werewolf and starting down the middle of the path. Sabrina hurried to his left side and followed him closely, making sure to stay clear of the underbrush in case more enemies were hiding inside of it and waiting for a meal to walk by.

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-Lycan Woods, 1:13 A.M.-

"Man, just how far into the woods did this Regina chick go?" Sabrina asked Leonidas as she walked with her arms folded for warmth. The wind was picking up and the other blonde was suffering because of her choice to wear short shorts instead of blue jeans or other forms of pants. Leonidas was unaffected because he made the effort to wear clothing that enabled him to withstand cooler temperatures.

"Good question." Leonidas answered laconically. He had not encountered any werewolves since slightly over an hour ago, but he was sure that would change soon. Maybe they were waiting for him and Sabrina to move too deep into the woods to easily escape before they made an ambush.

After that brief exchange the pair continued to walk until they spotted a dead werewolf lying on its back in the middle of the road. It was a burly specimen that was as tall as Leonidas and had a few facial scars on the left side of its face; they had presumably come from fights with past victims or fellow werewolves. Leonidas approached it carefully while Sabrina hung back a short distance to keep an eye on the underbrush. The scar-faced mage stopped two arm lengths away from the werewolf corpse and looked down at it to try and learn what had caused its death.

The first thing he saw was that its left arm had been severed at the elbow with a single slash from an edged weapon and the missing limb was lying mere inches to its left. The second thing he saw was a single puncture wound to the heart, which had obviously been the fatal blow because of the amount of blood staining its chest. Judging from the wounds and the fact that the person he was looking for was carrying a sword, he soon reached a conclusion.

Regina had traveled this way.

"Hey Big Guy, what happened to it?" Sabrina asked from a safe distance.

"I'm thinking that Regina fought it and won. It's got a puncture wound to the torso where its heart is." Leonidas reported back to his partner. He then looked around for signs that another werewolf was coming to avenge its fallen friend, but the underbrush around him remained undisturbed and he did not hear howling or any other noises. Leonidas stole another glance at the dead lycanthrope to make sure that it was really dead before turning to look at Sabrina.

"It's really dead, Sabrina. It's safe to walk past it." Leonidas informed the other blonde that the werewolf was not going to get up and attack either of them. Sabrina walked towards him but looked a little nervous. She walked past the dead beast, then stopped and looked at its body.

"That Regina chick's pretty brave. I wouldn't want to face one of these guys in hand-to-hand combat." The pink-clad blonde commented.

"It's definitely not for everyone." Leonidas remarked dryly. As accustomed to close combat as he was the scar-faced mage did not find fighting lycanthropes to be easy. They were fast and tough and were not to be underestimated even though he was carrying a silver weapon. The greatest threat they posed was that there was a good chance that if one was in front of him there were more somewhere in the vicinity, meaning that each fight was on a timer that ticked down to more enemies arriving. While he had won solo fights against the beasts out of folklore, he did not want to fight more than one at a time if he could help it.

"We'd better keep moving, Sabrina." Leonidas suggested.

"OK, Big Guy. Lead the way." She said. The scar-faced mage faced forward and began to walk while Sabrina followed to his left.

-Lycan Woods, 1:55 A.M.-

The two mages had walked deeper into the woods and as they had walked they noticed more and more dead beasts dotting the path they were on. That was a sign that they might be on the right path, so they continued to follow it while keeping an eye out for any living werewolves. They did not have too long to wait because a section of underbrush close to a fork in the path rustled and out of it burst a pair of werewolves that were obviously out for blood because they glared at Leonidas and Sabrina with looks of murderous intent.

The scar-faced mage tightened his grip on his Silver Falchion while Sabrina got behind him.

"Be ready to fight, Sabrina. I'll try and protect you, but these guys are fast and one of them might manage to get past me." Leonidas warned Sabrina that despite his best efforts he might not be able to fend off both lycanthropes at once. He did not have time to say anything else because the beasts charged directly at him before he could give any more advice to his companion.

"Here they come!" Leonidas warned Sabrina.

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Sabrina quickly got behind Leonidas as he aimed the palm of his left hand at one of the werewolves and prepared a Cyclone Tunnel spell. When it was ready he fired a visible cone of air at the two beasts and since they were moving too fast to dodge it both of them were caught in the Cyclone Tunnel and took a hit, but that spell alone was not enough to stop them for good. The werewolves soon recovered and sprinted straight for the scar-faced mage.

Leonidas channeled silver magic into his left arm until it was glowing silver, then waited until the one on the right closed in. He then thrust his left palm at its face and connected with its snout using his Cyclone Palm technique, making its head snap backwards and making it howl in pain. Its fellow tried to attack Leonidas from the left, but the mage stepped to the right just fast enough to avoid having the left side of his face raked with claws. Sabrina immediately moved back down the path to give Leonidas room to fight and he made good use of that space by attacking the werewolf that had not been hit with Cyclone Palm.

He slashed at its head with his Silver Falchion, cutting its nose and making it take a step back as its muscular hands gripped its bleeding snout. The other werewolf attacked Leonidas by trying to seize him by his shoulders and pull him in for a bite, but he jumped back and it grabbed nothing but air. The scar-faced mage landed on his feet and took a big step forward, then slashed at its chest. A large gash from its right shoulder to its left hip was opened and the werewolf gripped its chest with its left hand, then growled at him with eyes that burned with a desire to reduce the mage to a mangled mess on the path.

Leonidas did not give it the chance to make its wish a reality because he slashed at its left hand with his Silver Falchion, severing it at the wrist and making the beast back away clutching a bleeding stump. The other one took advantage of the distraction to make a pouncing attack aimed at the scar-faced mage, but he spun around just in time to dive to the right and avoid being landed on by a few hundred pounds of angry lycanthrope. He quickly climbed back to his feet and saw the werewolf running towards him, but he noticed that it was not running quite as fast as it had when the battle first started due to the effect of his Cyclone Palm technique, which had lowered the enemy's Movement Speed enough for the scar-faced mage to be faster than it. Thanks to that induced slowness Leonidas stood a better chance of winning a two-on-one fight.

He saw it lunge for him with its muscular hands reaching out for his neck and dodged it with a quick sidestep to the right, then spun around to face it as it recovered from the missed lunge. Leonidas closed in and stabbed at its heart as it spun to face him and scored a lethal hit when the silver blade punched through and hit the target. The werewolf collapsed to the ground and lay motionless. Leonidas quickly toed the beast onto its back and retrieved his sword but the blond did not have time to celebrate because the other enemy moved in to attack.

It slashed at Leonidas' right arm with its remaining hand and he dodged it with a timely sidestep, then took a big step forward and chopped at its left shoulder with his sword. He cut it down the shoulder near where the arm met the body and the beast howled in pain. Leonidas quickly brought his sword back around and aimed a horizontal right-to-left slash at its neck, cutting through it and decapitating the werewolf with a single stroke. The headless werewolf crumpled to the ground and began to bleed out.

"You had me on the edge of my seat, Big Guy!" Sabrina told Leonidas. The scar-faced mage wiped the blood off of his Silver Falchion on the back of his latest kill.

"I admit that it was a tough fight, but I can't keep fighting zombies forever. I need to take on tougher enemies if I want to get stronger." Leonidas told his partner. The pink-clad blonde crossed her arms over her chest.

"That's true, but fighting two werewolves at once might be overdoing it just a little." Sabrina snarked at him. He ignored the verbal jab and looked further down the path. Sabrina walked over to his left side and stopped to look at what he was looking at. Both of them saw what looked like a human figure... it was hard to tell if the figure was standing in place or walking towards them, but their attention was drawn to it nonetheless.

"Hey Big Guy, do you think that's Regina?" Sabrina asked him.

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"I think it might be, Sabrina. We're deep in Lycan Woods and she's one of the very few people who'd willingly be this far in the area." Leonidas answered by citing the facts at his disposal. He was not entirely certain that the individual who was approaching them was Regina Hampton, but there was a very good chance that it was. As they approached he detected a magic signature and it was one that was a couple of steps above the level of a novice, suggesting that the individual was not incredibly powerful but had been on a few adventures and was starting to get the hang of their magic.

Leonidas and Sabrina waited until the person drew closer and when they finally got to where they could be seen clearly they were not looking at a werewolf but a female mage who was wearing an unusual outfit that had red and white as prominent colors. They had long blonde hair with a blue ribbon in it and carried a scabbard with a sword in it. The young woman was as tall as Sabrina and had striking red eyes.

"Oh? Who might you two be?" She asked the blond mages while placing a hand on the grip of her sword.

"I'm Leonidas Jarnefeldt. Your sister Isabelle sent us to find you." Leonidas introduced himself and stated his reason for being out here.

"If you must know my name, I'm Sabrina. I'm Big Guy's friend." Sabrina introduced herself with a tone that made it clear that she saw the red-clad young woman as a rival for Leonidas' affection. The third blonde took her hand away from the grip of her sword and smiled.

"I'm Regina Hampton. I'm an adventurer of sorts who came out here for a challenge. In the past I'd go fight zombies, but they just don't challenge me anymore, so I came out here in search of a more thrilling fight." The young woman introduced herself. She made eye contact with Leonidas.

"Jarnefeldt? As in Leona Jarnefeldt, the Wizard Saint of Courage?" Regina asked. A look of mild annoyance flashed across the scar-faced mage's face before he answered the question.

"Yes, that Jarnefeldt. I'm her older brother." Leonidas answered as calmly as he could. He resented being in his younger sister's shadow and was trying to set himself apart from her, but it seemed that he had a long ways to go before he could accomplish that goal. Regina did not seem to take offense to his annoyance and continued to smile.

"Forgive me for bringing up such a sensitive subject, but I can see the resemblance between you and her." Regina added.

"I get that a lot." Leonidas answered dryly but truthfully. The third blonde looked at his face.

"I think you're a handsome man, Leonidas. If I didn't already have a boyfriend you'd be a very good candidate. I have a thing for tall, muscular men and you fit the bill." She said flirtatiously, an action which caused Sabrina to clamp down onto Leonidas' right arm.

"Back off, Lady! He doesn't belong to you!" Sabrina declared in obvious jealousy. Regina made eye contact with her and chuckled.

"Is that so? And who are you to determine something like that, Sabrina? Has Leonidas declared his love for you?" The red-clad blonde asked the pink-clad one a trio of questions, each one more pointed than the last. Sabrina's face reddened and her facial expression changed from annoyed to meek.

"N-n-no. He hasn't." She meekly replied. Regina remained amused as she continued to look at Sabrina. The pink-clad blonde soon recovered from her embarrassment and asked a question of her own.

"What's with the outfit, Lady?" Sabrina asked Regina in a tone that was not confrontational.

"It's a costume from an anime series I'm a big fan of. It's about warships from a great war personified as young women. My family also has an affinity for the color red." Regina explained the reason behind her choice of attire. Sabrina blinked. Leonidas remained silent and let the two young women talk without his input.

"Why wear a costume with a cloak? Aren't you afraid that someone might grab it or it might get caught on something at a bad time?" Sabrina asked.

"I wear it for three reasons, the first of which I've already explained. The second reason is because it makes me stand out and as a daughter from a family of wealthy mages I want to stand apart from the ordinary mage. The third reason is because the cloak makes fights more challenging... it makes me stay on my toes." Regina gave additional reasons for wearing what she did.

"That sounds like a good way to get into trouble." Sabrina remarked dryly. The third blonde's good cheer did not fade in the face of such a remark.

"Maybe. Maybe not. But having that element of risk always present makes fights more interesting for me." Regina defended her choice of clothing. She then looked Leonidas in the eyes.

"I've had my fill of excitement for one night and I'm sure that Isabelle must be worried about me. Would you be so kind as to take me back to Hargeon Town, Leonidas?" Regina asked the scar-faced mage.

"Certainly, Regina." Leonidas calmly replied.

Regina Hampton:

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Moments after offering to take Regina back to her home in Hargeon Town the trio of blond mages heard howling not too far from them and stayed where they were. Regina drew her saber and Leonidas clutched the grip of his Silver Falchion. It seemed like the residents of Lycan Woods were not going to let them leave without one last fight.

"They're close by, Leonidas." Regina commented with anticipation. More howling sounded from close by. In fact the howling was so close that Leonidas thought he could see the underbrush behind Regina rustle with movement.

"They're a lot closer than you'd think. Look behind you." Leonidas remarked dryly and warned the red-clad blonde before pointing his left index finger towards the area in question. He saw a gray hand with long fingers reach out of the underbrush and pull it aside to reveal a werewolf that was seven feet tall and every bit as muscular as him stepping out to confront the trio. Regina took a step back while Leonidas stepped forward to be at her side.

"That's a pretty big werewolf, guys. Be careful!" Sabrina told Leonidas and Regina. Leonidas took another look at it and noticed that its muscular chest and face had numerous scars, including a trio of parallel scars over its left eye and a long, jagged scar stretching from its left shoulder down to its right hip... he had reason to suspect that it was a very strong lycanthrope who had been in a lot of fights. He did not know for certain and he did not care: all he knew was that it had to be defeated before the trio could leave.

The lycanthrope did not waste time with howling or another form of preamble and sprinted straight for Leonidas. The scar-faced mage stood his ground and waited until the last second to sidestep, but he did not anticipate the bulky beast stopping suddenly and lashing out with the claws on its left hand as he stepped to the right. The claws raked Leonidas' left arm, cutting through the fabric of his jacket and drawing blood.

"BIG GUY!" Sabrina shouted as Regina stepped forward with a thrust of her saber to distract it from Leonidas, whose arm was bleeding freely. The tall werewolf dodged the thrust at its heart with a grace that was unexpected for its size and muscle mass and turned its attention to Regina. The red-clad blonde slashed at it with her saber and landed a horizontal left-to-right cut across its chest, but the beast did not seem bothered by it and lashed out with a one-two combo of an open-handed slash using the its left hand followed by one with its right hand. She avoided the counterattack with a backflip and landed on her feet, then tried for a lunge with her saber aimed at its heart.

The werewolf jumped back and landed on its feet, then lunged at her with its hands grasping for her shoulders. Regina performed a one-handed cartwheel to the left and avoided the grapple attempt and when it stopped Leonidas stepped in, slashing at its face with his Silver Falchion. The swing missed and the beast turned its attention back to him; its brown eyes made eye contact with its target and maintained it before it suddenly rushed at Leonidas with its jaws open and aimed for his face.

The scar-faced mage stepped to the right and maneuvered behind it as quickly as he could, then raised his sword above his head in a two-handed grip. A moment later he swung downward with all of his might, aiming for its head and hoping that he could lodge the blade in its skull for a kill. The werewolf turned around to see the silver blade descending and sidestepped it, then once Leonidas' attack had missed took a step forward and lashed out with its left hand aimed at his head. Leonidas stepped back and avoided the claws, but the timing was so close that he felt the wind of the passing hand on his face.

Leonidas saw the burly beast sprint towards him with its hands reaching for his throat and sidestepped it, then performed a spinning slash aimed at its right side as it passed by. The spinning slash was not as fast and elegant as the one his mother or sister could do, but it did the trick. His blade cut its right side and it growled in pain as it locked eyes with him. It growled again and leapt at Leonidas, its right hand raised in the air.

The scar-faced mage jumped back as the beast landed on its feet and watched it follow up the missed jump attack with a dash forward followed by a series of wild slashing attacks with its claws. Leonidas avoided the frenzied attack with a timely sidestep and attacked while its back was turned after the missed dash. He slashed at its back and hit it with a diagonal left-to-right slash that scarred its back and drew blood.

The werewolf spun around and snarled at Leonidas with its fangs exposed for the mage to see. Its eyes were full of murderous intent and it clearly wanted the scar-faced mage dead. Leonidas ignored the pain in his left arm and stood his ground as he waited for the large lycanthrope to attack again.

[Post Word Count: 896]
[Total Word Count: 6,136/7,000]

Leonidas and the werewolf stared at each other for a minute or two without anything happening: each combatant was waiting for the other to make a move, but neither of them did. The moment the impasse went into its third minute the stalemate was broken, but not in the way the scar-faced mage had expected it to be. He had anticipated his enemy making one last effort to turn him into a mangled mess on the ground or to take some sort of aggressive action like calling for backup from others of its kind, but the werewolf flared its nostrils and snorted before abruptly spinning around and running back into the underbrush, leaving Leonidas standing with a bleeding left arm and a torn jacket sleeve.

"Um... did it just run away?" Sabrina asked the other two blondes. Regina remained silent as Leonidas gave his opinion.

"I don't think it ran away. I think it's trying to lure us into an ambush." Leonidas opined on what had just happened. Once the scar-faced mage had finished speaking the red-clad blonde spoke up.

"Maybe." Regina chimed in with a hint of disappointment on her voice. Leonidas did not know if that disappointment was aimed at the werewolf for fleeing or at him for not chasing the lycanthrope, but he was not going to ask. She cleaned the blood clinging to her saber off on the nearby grass before putting it back into its scabbard. Leonidas followed suit and wiped the blade of his Silver Falchion off before putting it away.

"I'm kind of disappointed that the fight's over so soon, but it can't be helped. We should go to Hargeon Town before it comes back with some friends." She commented on the anticlimactic end to the fight before making a suggestion.

"OK." Leonidas agreed with that plan.

"Wait! You need to have that wound healed before we go anywhere, Big Guy!" Sabrina interjected. She then pointed her wand at Leonidas and he saw blue magic being channeled into it until it glowed and shimmered. She then fired a shimmering blue beam at him that healed him on contact... the wound inflicted by the werewolf's claws closed up within seconds, but the blood on his jacket sleeve and the dried blood on his skin remained.

"Sorry about the jacket, Big Guy. I can heal the wound, but I can't fix that." Sabrina apologized to him for being unable to patch up the jacket along with his arm.

"It's no big deal, Sabrina. My life's more important to me than my jacket." Leonidas stated that the condition of his jacket was not as big a concern as his physical well-being was. He was not particularly bothered by the state of the garment... that problem was a lot easier to fix than his wound would have been if it had gone untreated and gotten infected. Before he could say anything else the trio heard howling close by and Sabrina and Regina looked at him.

"We'd better get going NOW." Leonidas suggested the moment the howling ended. Sabrina and Regina agreed with that idea and the trio started down the path that would lead them out of Lycan Woods without further delay. With any luck they would be able to leave without having to fight any more of the local werewolves.

-Hargeon Town, 10:41 A.M.-

It had been a long walk back to Hargeon Town, but the trio had made it to their destination without incident. They had not had to fight any more werewolves on their way out of Lycan Woods and they had not had to fight any bandits on the road to Hargeon Town. The trio had walked through the town until they reached a large and lavish mansion located in the "nice" part of town. It was a two-story mansion that was all white and had gleaming windows with immaculate white curtains on the inside. The front door was made out of a luxurious dark wood and was fitted with a brass doorknob that gleamed in the light.

"Leonidas, Sabrina, thank you both for bringing me out of the woods safely. It would have been a lot tougher to get out of there without your help." Regina thanked the pair for their efforts. She looked towards the door to the mansion and started walking towards it. She walked for eleven steps before turning around and facing the pair one last time.

"I'll see you around, Leonidas." Regina told him before opening the mansion door and stepping inside. By the time the door shut Sabrina was glaring daggers at him and her arms were folded across her chest.

"What exactly did she mean by that?" Sabrina requested an explanation. It was obvious that the pink-clad blonde thought that Regina wanted to steal Leonidas from her.

"Beats me. According to her she's already got a boyfriend, so I don't know what to tell you." Leonidas answered the best he could with what little knowledge of Regina he had. Several seconds passed before he spoke again.

"Let's get going back to Capital Crocus." Leonidas suggested to his companion and roommate.

"OK, Big Guy. We've done our job, so there's no point in hanging around." Sabrina agreed, her anger having vanished as suddenly as it had appeared. The pair turned and walked away from the mansion Regina lived in. Once they were on the outskirts of Hargeon Town Leonidas would ask Sabrina to teleport them to the outskirts of Capital Crocus so that they did not have to walk all the way home.

[Post Word Count: 926]
[Total Word Count: 7,062/7,000]

-Capital Crocus, 1:43 P.M.-

Leonidas and Sabrina had arrived on the outskirts of Capital Crocus roughly three hours ago thanks to Sabrina's ability to teleport them. From there they had walked to their apartment without incident and arrived at 12:36 P.M. The pink-clad blonde was sitting on the couch back in his apartment watching television because she did not feel like traveling any more after the trip to Lycan Woods they had just finished, but Leonidas was on his way to Capital Coffee to get a cup of coffee. He had left his damaged jacket at home along with his sword and was wearing his white t-shirt and olive green cargo pants with black boots. He felt exposed without a jacket to wear, but he would live.

As he walked Leonidas calmly examined at the arm that had been gashed by the werewolf and did not see any signs of scarring at all thanks to Sabrina's healing ability. He had washed off the dried blood when he had gotten home, so no one except Sabrina and Regina knew that he had ever been hurt. His roommate was an odd young woman who seemed to be obsessed with the idea that she was his girlfriend and that he was hers and hers alone, but despite that quirk she was an irreplaceable partner on his adventures.

"Hey Leonidas!" The young blonde woman warmly greeted him. She was wearing a baby blue t-shirt and knee-length white skirt with white sandals and carried a white purse slung on her left shoulder.

"How's it going?" Samantha asked the scar-faced mage.

"It's going all right, Samantha. I got back from Lycan Woods a few hours ago and I'm on the way to Capital Coffee." Leonidas told her. She looked surprised to hear that he had been to that dangerous place but soon shrugged it off.

"Did you have to rescue a damsel in distress from the big bad wolves?" She asked playfully.

"I had to rescue a young woman who went to Lycan Woods looking for excitement, but "rescue" might be too strong a word. She didn't need rescuing since she carried a silver saber and obviously knew how to use it. It was more like I needed to make sure she got home safely once she was done wandering around fighting werewolves." Leonidas answered. The blue-clad blonde put her hands on her hips.

"I think a date with my boyfriend's exciting enough. I don't need to put my life in danger to have fun." Samantha opined on Regina's recklessness.

"The young woman I rescued is a mage who's always looking for a good fight. She used to go to Silent Cemetery but got bored fighting the zombies there, so she was looking for a better opponent." Leonidas explained a little more about the person he had rescued. Samantha was not swayed by that explanation... if anything she seemed to dig in her heels.

"I don't get why she'd go that far in search of fun, but she knows what she's getting into. I just hope that the next time you have to go find her she doesn't get you killed." Samantha remarked sourly, a frown on her face the entire time she was making her displeasure known. She remained annoyed for a minute or two before that emotion faded and her face returned to the normal happy expression it usually had.

"Changing the subject... I wanted to tell you something about Morgan." The blonde told Leonidas. He recalled the brunette and how she wanted to date him but was afraid to because of possible conflict with her friend Samantha.

"I'm listening." The scar-faced mage bade his neighbor to tell him what it was she wanted to say. Her facial expression remained cheerful as she spoke.

"She's coming to Capital Crocus soon, Leonidas. Now that she has my blessing she wants to date you."" Samantha told him the news.

"Really? When?" Leonidas asked her, clearly surprised by the news that the brunette was coming to Capital Crocus just to go on a date with him.

"Morgan will be here within the next three days, if not sooner. She's really been looking forward to this." Samantha gave him an approximate time to the brunette's arrival. Leonidas hoped that was the case because he was going to have to do some serious talking to convince Sabrina not to tag along and ruin his chances with Morgan like she had done with his chances with Samantha. He might even have to make another bargain with his roommate and he did not know what she would demand in exchange for letting him go on the date.

[Post Word Count: 776]
[Total Word Count: 7,838/7,000]