The Doctor's Visit

-Lion's Island, outside the villa, 12:47 P.M.-

Dressed in a black tube top under an open olive green jacket and wearing olive green cargo pants and brown boots with her aviator sunglasses perched on her head, Leona stood outside of the villa with Dr. Reid, who was dressed for a vacation in an outfit consisting of a pink tank top and white skirt with brown sandals. She also had a pink suitcase clutched in her right hand. The Albatross had been flown into the Nanotech Aircraft Hangar positioned 100 meters away to the west of the villa and the doors were shut, so it would be safe if a rainstorm came up. While the weather was bright and sunny now, the Wizard Saint knew from previous stays that the weather could change at any time.

"You're so generous for allowing me to stay here while I test the Atlas, Leona. With all the flat terrain to walk on and a safe place to store the Atlas this island will be perfect. Not to mention the beach... it's simply beautiful." Dr. Reid thanked the Wizard Saint for honoring the promise that had been made weeks, if not months, ago. In the cargo hold of the Albatross was the mechanized suit plus the equipment the doctor needed to make repairs and modifications in the field.

"I do my best to keep my word, Doctor." Leona replied. She then motioned towards the waiting villa with her right hand.

"Would you like to go to your room?" Leona asked her guest.

"Yes, please!" The other blonde answered enthusiastically. The Wizard Saint took the lead and unlocked the front door, then opened it for her guest to enter. Dr. Reid hurried through and Leona shut it behind her, then locked it.

-Inside the villa, the kitchen, 12:55 P.M.-

While Dr. Reid unpacked her suitcase in her room upstairs Leona stood at the counter drinking from a cup of coffee that she had made about three minutes ago. While she partook of her favorite beverage her mind wandered to the subject of the Obsidian Tower, her private tower that housed a robot manufacturing facility, a private hangar for aircraft, and more. The tall structure was impossible to hide and it was only a matter of time before Dr. Reid would notice it and begin asking questions. Leona would likely tell the truth about it and its facilities because they might need the Robot Manufacturing Facility to repair the Atlas should it suffer a malfunction during testing, but practical reasons were not the only ones motivating her to be truthful with her guest if questions came up.

Despite their differences in the past the Wizard Saint also considered the doctor something of a friend and wanted to keep her friendship.

Leona took another sip of coffee as she waited for Dr. Reid to finish unpacking and come downstairs to announce whether she wanted to test the repaired and improved Atlas or spend the day on the beach.

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-The western half of Lion's Island, the beach, 2:53 P.M.-

Dressed in a light blue tube top under an open white jacket and pleated white skirt with white sandals, Leona wore her aviator sunglasses as she walked to the beach. She had not been terribly surprised when her guest chose to visit the beach instead of test the Atlas Project, but the green-eyed blonde did not mind. Dr. Reid had enjoyed being there on her last visit to Lion's Island and it was only natural that she would want to go back to it. The doctor had chosen a good time to make the trip to the island because today the weather had turned out to be perfect... the sun was out, the sky was cloudless, and a gentle breeze blew across the island.

Leona arrived at the beach and sand crunched beneath her feet as she homed in on the large pink beach umbrella that belonged to her guest. In addition to the Atlas and some computer equipment Dr. Reid had also brought with her a beach umbrella, beach chair, and fold-out wooden table... she had set up shop approximately seventy-seven meters away on the west side of the beach. Finding her would be a cakewalk because of how much the pink stood out against the tan sand and the blue ocean, but Leona was not in any hurry to reach the doctor's side.

Leona moved at a leisurely stroll and eventually got to Dr. Reid, who was sitting in her chair and looking out at the water a lot like the Wizard Saint tended to do. The other blonde was wearing a modest pink bikini and brown sandals and on her head was perched a pair of sunglasses with black lenses and amber frame. Dr. Reid must have sensed that she was no longer alone because she turned her head to the right and looked up, then faced her hostess.

"Hey Leona! This is a really good day to be here!" The other blonde greeted her hostess and commented on the pleasant weather. Leona did not respond right away and let the wind finish kicking up a cloud of sand in front of them before she spoke. When it blew safely past them the Wizard Saint finally opened her mouth.

"The weather here tends to be pretty nice, but every now and then there's a rainstorm." Leona offered a small contribution to the conversation.

"I hope there isn't one for the next few days because we'll need sunny days to test the Atlas. My computer equipment's not able to handle moisture from the rain and it's expensive, so I don't want it to get caught out in the open if the weather changes." Dr. Reid revealed that there was more to the talk about the weather than just making conversation. Upon hearing that Leona already had a solution in mind.

"You can use my Nanotech Aircraft Hangar as a shelter for your equipment, Doctor. You can work out of it during the testing." Leona proposed. The doctor's expression brightened when she heard the offer.

"That's a good idea, Leona. Your hangar will be able to house everything I need with plenty of room to spare and it'll protect my equipment in case it rains all of a sudden." The doctor readily accepted Leona's proposal to use the hangar as a base when it came time to begin the work that had brought her to the island to begin with. The other blonde used her right hand to motion towards where Leona was currently standing.

"Do you have a beach chair of your own? If you do, why don't you go get it and sit with me?" Dr. Reid extended an invitation to her hostess to join her. Since she had nothing better to do Leona would accept.

"I'll have to go get my beach chair first. I'll be back in a few minutes, Doctor." Leona replied. With that she turned around and began the walk back to her villa to go get her own chair so that she did not have to stand up the whole time they were together.

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-The beach, 3:27 P.M.-

Leona had applied sunscreen to her exposed skin before returning to Dr. Reid carrying her blue beach chair and blue beach umbrella. Both of them had been set up and she was now sitting a short distance to the right of her guest, who was now wearing her sunglasses thanks to the sun getting brighter during the time it took Leona to walk to the villa, gather her belongings, and return to the beach. Leona had donned her own sunglasses and was sitting while looking at the endless blue water in front of her and waiting for the other blonde to say something.

"How did you come to get this island?" Dr. Reid asked Leona out of the blue.

"A friend of mine gave it to me. A guy by the name of Ruvel." Leona replied without hesitation. She could not remember his last name, but she clearly remembered meeting him during the same festival in which she had met Samira Nassar. The Wizard Saint felt a flash of regret for not recalling his last name... maybe it would come to her later.

"Do you bring many people here?" Dr. Reid asked another question.

"No. You're one of the very few outsiders who's ever been here." Leona answered in a to-the-point manner. The other blonde turned her head to face Leona and the mage turned to face her guest.

"I keep this island secret from the world because I have powerful enemies. I don't want them to find this place." The green-eyed blonde informed the doctor why the former did not entertain guests on her private island. Technically the first outside visitor was Mister Burke, whose robotic construction crew had built the Obsidian Tower. That would make Dr. Reid the second person who ever visited Lion's Island, a privilege neither Samira nor Masha had enjoyed.

"Oh." The doctor replied before going silent. An awkward silence took over as both blondes tried to find a way to continue the conversation. Roughly a minute later the doctor got up from her chair and turned it away from the ocean to face Leona and the Wizard Saint turned her chair to face the doctor's. Once that was done the silence returned, but only briefly.

"If that's the case, why did you agree to bring me here? Aren't you concerned that your enemies will find me and learn about this place?" Dr. Reid posed two questions to her hostess.

"To be honest, I thought about the question of security a lot over the past several months, but I decided to bring you anyway. I promised you that I'd help you with the Atlas Project and I wasn't about to go back on my word. I also think you're safe because not too many people have seen me with you, so they'd be less likely to figure out that we're friends." Leona answered the questions truthfully. She had considered the possibility of Odhran, Medeia, or the demon-worshiping cultists finding Dr. Reid and "convincing" the doctor to divulge the location of her island, but Leona had decided to bring the doctor anyway because of the promise she had made. Besides, Dr. Reid did not know the exact coordinates of where she was, so even if they managed to find her and interrogate her all the Wizard Saint's enemies would learn was that Lion's Island existed, not where it was on a map.

"I know that we hit a rough patch in our relationship some time ago, but I'm glad that we're still friends. I'm thankful you trust me enough to bring me to your private island." Dr. Reid remarked, alluding to the time their friendship had entered a decline because Leona believed that the doctor had refused to teach her robotics in order to keep the Wizard Saint from becoming a competitor. Leona briefly remembered that incident and put the memory aside just as quickly. Sometimes it was best to let bygones be bygones.

"Speaking of your island... what's that black tower in the distance?" Dr. Reid asked and pointed towards the Obsidian Tower with her right index finger.

"It's my personal tower, Doctor. It was built for me not too long ago." Leona answered without hesitation.

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"It looks kinda forbidding, like something a Dark mage would live in." The doctor commented on the appearance of Leona's tower. There was a kernel of truth to that remark. The Obsidian Tower loomed over the eastern half of the island and its jet black exterior was not the most inviting color it could have come in: those two details made the structure look like it was an obsidian sentinel daring visitors to approach it.

"That's true, but I don't mind too much because it's useful to me." Leona agreed that her guest had a point but stated that the structure's color was of little concern to her because of its utility.

"If you don't mind me asking, how do you use it?" Dr. Reid asked.

"It's a second living space for me. It's got rooms for me and my guests plus it's got its very own hangar so that I don't have to rely on the Nanotech Aircraft Hangar if I don't want to." Leona listed just two of the Obsidian Tower's numerous amenities. Dr. Reid's facial expression changed from curiosity to surprise.

"You have two places to call your own?" She asked. Leona nodded.

"I can choose between my room in the villa or my room in the tower. The villa's fully furnished, but the tower isn't." Leona informed the other blonde of the state of the Obsidian Tower's guest rooms. Dr. Reid looked at the tower for a few moments before looking back at her hostess.

"I can see why it isn't yet. I bet you have a lot of rooms to put furniture in." The doctor mused.

"I do, Doctor. The guest floor doesn't have any furniture in any of the rooms." Leona confirmed. The other blonde smiled.

"I don't need a room in your tower, Leona. The guest room in the villa is more than enough for me. I've got plenty of space, a large and comfortable bed to sleep on, and a large bathroom all to myself." Dr. Reid declared that her current guest room was more than sufficient for her needs.

"I'm glad to hear that, Doctor. You're the first visitor to ever stay in one of the guest rooms, so I don't know what needs to be fixed and what needs to be left as is." Leona replied. The doctor continued to smile at her hostess as she spoke again.

"I'm more than satisfied with everything about my room. The bed, the bathroom, everything about it's simply wonderful!" The blue-eyed blonde expressed her approval of the suite she was staying in. She then swept her left arm towards the water's edge, calling Leona's attention to it.

"I know this doesn't have anything to do with lodging, but this beach view can't be beat. The sand's so white and the water's so clear... I've never seen anything like it in my life." She gave Lion's Island a compliment on the quality of its beach. Leona silently agreed with her guest's claim, so she did not say anything in response. Sensing that she might have been rambling for too long, the doctor decided to change the subject before her hostess got bored.

"I know that you didn't bring me here to lounge on the beach all day every day, Leona. We'll get to work tomorrow afternoon... if that's all right with you." The blue-eyed blonde stated her intent to quit hanging out on the beach and do what she had come here to do. The Wizard Saint maintained eye contact as she replied.

"We're going to be working on your project, so you call the shots." Leona deferred to her guest.

"All right then, Leona. We'll start tomorrow. Today I'm gonna be lazy and stay on the beach until the sun goes down." Dr. Reid declared her plans for her first day on Lion's Island.

"I don't have any problem with that." Leona casually replied. Once she said that an amiable silence settled over the two blondes as a gentle breeze kicked up a small sand cloud that brushed against the legs of their beach chairs before drifting down the sandy expanse to the east. It appeared that they had run out of things to talk about for the time being, so the Wizard Saint would not break the silence unless she had something important to say.

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-The next day, 10:17 A.M., inside the Nanotech Aircraft Hangar-

Dressed in an olive green tube top and the same pleated white skirt from yesterday with black bike shorts on underneath it plus white tennis shoes, Leona stood inside the Nanotech Aircraft Hangar and in front of the Albatross' open cargo bay. Dr. Reid was inside the aircraft and bringing out a bright red toolbox containing everything she needed to do repairs to the Atlas in case it decided to malfunction during the latest round of testing. Today was the day that the doctor's revamped project would be tested.

"Hey Leona!" Dr. Reid called out as she strode down the ramp with the handle of the toolbox clutched in her right hand. She was dressed in a modest pink bikini top, khaki short shorts over the bikini bottom, and oil-stained brown work boots. It seemed that the doctor had relaxed her usual dress code just like Leona tended to do when on Lion's Island.

"What is it?" Leona asked her guest.

"I've got the tools I need, but I need some help getting the rest of my equipment out of the cargo bay. Can you help me?" The other blonde asked for help gathering what she needed for the testing to begin.

"Sure." Leona replied calmly and strode up the ramp as the doctor came down to set down the toolbox before going back to help her hostess.

-Inside the Nanotech Aircraft Hangar, 11:35 A.M.-

"Well, that's the last of what I need. We've gotten the computer equipment, a portable Lacrima generator to power the computer equipment, the table for the monitor, keyboard, and mousepad, the headsets for communication, and the tools to repair the Atlas if we have to." Dr. Reid informed Leona that she had everything necessary. Leona helped her guest set up the table a short distance away from the open double doors, then went back and helped her move the portable generator into position. Next came the computer equipment... the two blondes took it out of the protective black cases it came in and carefully set it up on the table. Last came the headsets, which were set just to the right of the monitor.

"Now we need the star of the show. Leona, since this is your island you do the honors and bring the Atlas down." Dr. Reid commanded.

"Certainly." Leona replied and walked up the ramp into the cargo bay.

-Inside the Albatross, the cargo bay, 11:36 A.M.-

Leona stood at the top of the ramp and quickly located the Atlas, which was sitting in the approximate center of the cargo bay and secured by thick canvas straps firmly holding the suit to the floor. She walked over to it, carefully undid all of the straps, and moved them off to the left before climbing onto the top of the suit, turning to face the bay entrance, and carefully sitting down at the controls. Leona carefully placed her feet on the pedals and put her left hand on the grip controlling the left arm before initiating the start-up sequence with her right hand. Recalling the sequence from the last time she had done it, Leona quickly located and pressed the power button, making the doctor's work come to life.

The Atlas smoothly stood upright and Leona placed her right hand on the grip that controlled the right arm before gently pressing down on the foot pedals, making the suit walk forward at a slow and controlled pace. The Silver Wolf mage calmly watched the cargo bay roof approach and ducked down into the suit, passing under it with only inches to spare. Once she was clear of the roof she continued down into the hangar.

-Inside the Nanotech Aircraft Hangar, 11:39 A.M.-

After striding down the ramp and into the open space of the hangar Leona came to a stop and looked down at the Atlas' designer. Dr. Reid walked over with a headset in her left hand, then began climbing up the front of the suit to pass it to Leona. Moments later the green-eyed blonde was looking the doctor in the face.

"Here Leona, take this. You're gonna need it to communicate with me once we get going." She said before holding out the device with her left hand.

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Leona took the headset the doctor offered her and powered it on, then put it on her head and carefully adjusted the volume. Dr. Reid quickly climbed down from the front of the Atlas and walked over to the table, where another headset was waiting. She quickly powered it on and placed it on her head, then walked outside of the Nanotech Aircraft Hangar and stood in front of the open right door.

"Hey Leona, can you hear me?" She asked the Silver Wolf mage. Her voice came in over the headset with perfect clarity thanks to the quality of the headset.

"I can hear you loud and clear, Doctor." Leona replied in the affirmative. She saw the other blonde give a thumbs-up before motioning with her left hand for the mage to come forward, so Leona gently put her feet on the pedals and the Atlas began to move forward. Leona kept walking until she was instructed to stop... she passed through the open doorway of the hangar and went past the doctor, who was watching the suit's every motion as it passed by. Leona continued to keep the Atlas in motion and glanced down at the instrument panel, particularly the energy gauge.

"How's the energy gauge looking?" The doctor asked. Leona took another look down, turned her right hand sideways, and put over the instrument panel so that the shadow blocked out at least some of the sunlight shining down on her and the panel. She looked and saw that the gauge corresponding to energy was green and at the highest level possible.

"It's green and at the top, Doctor." Leona informed the scientist.

"How's the temperature, Leona?" Came the next question. With Leona's feet on the pedals the Atlas moved forward without a hitch, allowing her to focus fully on looking at the temperature. She noticed that the bar was low, something which prompted her to ask Dr. Reid if that was good or bad.

"The bar for temperature is in the middle, Doctor. Is that where it's supposed to be?" Leona asked calmly. She was not going to be alarmed unless the Atlas' inventor gave her cause to worry, so after making her inquiry the mage went silent to listen for the response. All she heard for the next few seconds was the sound of the Atlas' heavy metal feet on the ground.

"Yes, Leona. We want the temperature to be right where it is now. If it gets too high the suit will overheat and possibly even explode. If it gets too low it'll freeze up, possibly literally." The doctor explained what could happen if the Atlas' temperature went to either extreme. The mage stayed quiet for a few moments to ponder the ramifications of what she had just been told before a new command was given to her.

"OK, stop and turn around to face me." Came the order. Leona took her left foot off of the pedal, then moved the handles of both arms to the right. The Atlas began to turn to the right and the maneuver went smoothly... Leona was facing the doctor after twenty seconds.

"Good. Now move the arms for me." Leona was instructed. The Silver Wolf mage moved the left arm handle first to the left as far as it could go, then up so that the arm was lifted into the air. Both movements went off without a hitch. She repeated both steps with the right arm and they were done without any problems.

"Good. Now here comes a real test for the Atlas. Use the dash function whenever you're ready." Dr. Reid told Leona what she was going to do next. Leona silently gripped both arm handles and took a moment to prepare for what came next. The moment she slammed both feet down on the foot pedals she would be suddenly propelled forward at great speed, a situation that would test her ability to endure nearly as much as it would test the Atlas' systems.

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Remembering what had happened the last time she had engaged the Atlas' dash function, Leona took one last quiet breath before bracing herself in the seat and slamming both feet down on the pedals. The moment she did the suit rocketed forward for fifty meters, but preparing beforehand made sure that she would stay firmly seated. However, the stop at the end of the dash was a lot rougher than she had anticipated because the Atlas jolted to a halt and nearly sent her head slamming into the area just above the instrument panel. She had also come close to dashing right through the open hangar doors and possibly slamming into the cargo bay of the Albatross, but thankfully the Atlas had been far enough away before the dash that it had stopped just short of the hangar.

"Leona! I saw what happened! Are you OK?" Dr. Reid asked over the headset.

"I'm fine, Doctor. It was just a rough stop. That's all." Leona reported.

"It sounds like the acceleration compensator needs some tuning." Came a calm and immediate assessment of the problem as described by the Silver Wolf mage. Leona kept the sarcastic remarks to herself and sat still while waiting for further instructions, which did not take very long to be given.

"Check the energy and temperature gauges for me, please." Dr. Reid requested. Leona looked down at the instrument panel and saw that the energy gauge was still full and the temperature was well within safe operating parameters. The mage kept an eye on them as she reported her findings.

"The Atlas' energy is full and the temperature is still safe." Leona reported.

"Good. The power generator has finally been fixed and the cooling system's doing its job perfectly." The other blonde reported with satisfaction.

"Now walk into the hangar and power down the Atlas. I'm gonna need to fix that acceleration compensator before we do any more testing and that'll take an hour or two." Dr. Reid told the mage what to do next. Leona wordlessly obeyed and walked into the hangar, then took her feet off of the pedals and pressed the power button. The Atlas powered down and gently lowered itself into something that approximated a sitting position, enabling Leona to climb out of the seat and stand up before leaping down from it and landing on the hangar floor with both feet.

"Good work, Leona. I apologize for the rough ending to the dash, but by the time you test it again you won't have to worry about that particular problem again." The doctor assured Leona. The mage turned off her headset, took it off, and gently set it on the left side of the table with the computer equipment on it.

"All right then. I'll let you handle it without me standing over your shoulder. I'll be inside my villa if you need me." Leona replied before walking away as Dr. Reid opened a toolbox and started fishing out what she needed to repair the latest part to malfunction on the Atlas.

-Inside the villa, the kitchen, 12:33 P.M.-

Upon entering the villa Leona had retreated to her room and taken off the bike shorts and tennis shoes before putting her skirt back on and going to the kitchen to get some coffee. Leona had made a pot of coffee and poured a cup before going back to "her" place at the kitchen table and sitting down. She stared at the kitchen clock on her stove as she lifted the cup and took a drink of her beverage while recalling what she had been told earlier. According to the doctor it would take at least an hour to fix the problem, if not two. Time was something the Silver Wolf mage had plenty of, so that was not an issue.

Leona took another sip of coffee and took a quiet breath. So far the Atlas had not suffered any serious problems other than the acceleration compensator, which was good news for both the creator and the test pilot. Dr. Reid had once said that she had invested a lot of time and Jewels into making the Atlas a reality... perhaps today would be the day that the doctor finally solved all of the problems with the Atlas Project.

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-Inside the villa, the kitchen, 1:55 P.M.-

Leona had prepared her fourth cup of coffee for the day and was drinking from it when she heard the front door open. She lowered it just as Dr. Reid walked into the kitchen with a wrench in her right hand and a blackened box about the size of a fist with little flecks of untarnished metal showing in her left. The long-haired blonde had a frazzled look on her face and her hair was a complete mess. It was sticking out and there were a few streaks of a dark substance that appeared to be oil or grease in it.

"The acceleration compensator's shot. There's no fixing it." Dr. Reid tersely stated the problem. Leona sat the cup of coffee down on the table and made eye contact with her guest.

"Do you have another one back home we can go get?" Leona asked. Dr. Reid shook her head.

"No. Not yet, anyway." She answered. The Wizard Saint wondered what they would do now that the testing of the Atlas had come to a standstill... again. Silence filled the space for a brief moment before the doctor spoke again.

"I didn't think to bring the materials with me, so I'll have to go home to make a replacement. It'll take a day or two." She informed her hostess how long it would take to create a new acceleration compensator. Leona stood up from the table, surprising the doctor with her action.

"I can take you to Motor City now if you'd like." Leona offered. Dr. Reid shook her head.

"I'd rather wait until tomorrow to go... if it's all right with you." She made her wish known.

"Sure, we can wait." Leona replied before sitting back down and picking up her cup of coffee.

"I'm gonna go put these back in the hangar and go take a shower. Once that's done I'd like to talk to you." Dr. Reid said next. Leona did not like the sound of the second sentence, but she kept her mouth shut and heard the doctor out. When the other blonde was finished speaking Leona gave her response.

"Sure." Leona replied casually and laconically. Dr. Reid gave a slight smile and turned her back on her hostess.

"All right then. I'll be back as soon as I can!" She said before leaving the villa. When the front door shut Leona began drinking her coffee as she thought over her guest's request to talk to her. It sounded innocent enough, but after her time with Medeia the Wizard Saint did not have any desire to talk to anyone about anything other than topics pertaining to work.

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-Lion's Island, the beach, 3:03 P.M.-

Once the doctor had gotten a shower and changed into another modest pink bikini top and a clean pair of blue jean short shorts she found Leona in front of the Nanotech Aircraft Hangar, where she was walking back and forth outside of the structure. After that the two walked to the beach and started walking east at a leisurely pace... Dr. Reid walked to Leona's left. They had no destination in mind, but she remembered that Dr. Reid had mentioned wanting to talk to her before the latter had went to take a shower. Leona faced forward as she walked and waited for her guest to start the conversation.

"Hey Leona, I noticed something about you a while back. Whenever we meet you never really talk about yourself." Dr. Reid started the conversation.

"I just don't see any need to talk about myself." Leona answered in a calm and plain voice.

"You're the Wizard Saint of Courage, Leona. You've been to places and see things I can only imagine. You've probably been on so many adventures that you don't even remember them all." The other blonde said the last two sentences with a trace of envy. Leona blinked. She did not understand what her guest wanted out of her, but she would play ball, if only to keep the mood pleasant.

"You're right about that, Doctor. I've been a mage for so long that I don't remember all of my exploits because I've honestly lost count of them." Leona conceded that the doctor had a point there. She had fought skeletons, zombies, ghosts, demon-worshiping cultists, actual demons, an aspiring Warlord, and many, many more enemies. Leona had also been to Silent Cemetery, Haunted Castle, Sombras Manor, Lycan Woods, Serene Cliff, Abandoned Cabin, Silent Glaciers, Mysterious Canyon, Forgotten Deserts, The Neutral Grounds, and many more places across Fiore.

Seeing that she was starting to make a tiny bit of progress towards her goal because her hostess was thinking in silence, the blue-eyed blonde continued the conversation.

"You lead a life that most people only dream of. I don't understand why you don't talk about yourself more." Dr. Reid said to Leona.

"I just don't want to." Leona answered plainly.

"Why not?" The other blonde pressed the issue.

"Because when I'm around you I'm much more interested in what you do." The Wizard Saint replied bluntly. The doctor looked stunned to hear that and turned to face forward again. After that brief exchange the pair walked in silence that was only broken by the crunching of their feet upon the sand until three minutes later the other blonde revived the conversation.

"I remember you telling me something like that long ago. Those weren't your exact words, but you said something to that effect." The doctor started off.

"Yeah." Leona laconically confirmed what had been said before continuing.

"You're smarter and a lot more educated than me, Doctor. I went to a school in my home village and have what might pass for a high school education, but I'm nothing compared to you. You've come up with complicated things like the Atlas and brought them to life. I can't do anything like that." Leona confessed her intellectual shortcomings. She had learned to take care of the paperwork necessary to keep Silver Wolf running without guild staff members holding her hand every step of the way, but it had taken years of on-the-job training and quite a few mistakes before she got a handle on it. That was one of the few intellectual feats Leona had to her name.

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"So you went to a school in your village for your education?" Dr. Reid asked.

"Yeah. My mother was the teacher." Leona parted with a bit more information about her past despite not wanting to talk about it.

"Did you do well in your classes?" Came the next question.

"No, Doctor. I had a hard time paying attention because I was always wondering what was beyond the village. I barely made it through school and as a result my education isn't the best." Leona replied candidly. She had not been a star student and she was not afraid to let the doctor know that. The green-eyed blonde knew that she needed to learn what her mother was teaching her and the other children of the village so that they could read, write, and do arithmetic, but Leona could barely pay attention and learn anything.

"Was there any class you had any interest in?" The doctor continued to pursue the subject of the Wizard Saint's education.

"Not at all." Leona answered truthfully. School had been about as exciting for her as counting the grains of sand in Desierto and no amount of knowing that she had to focus on learning could change that. The same had applied to when she tried reading GED test study guides in multiple subjects so that she could prepare for the test and take it one day. Reading just one study guide had been an ordeal and after completing the "study session" she had not touched another one since.

"It takes a lot of education to go into robotics. You have to study multiple fields and become proficient in all of them, but we've discussed that before. I'll stop now before I seem like I'm rubbing it in." Dr. Reid reminded Leona of the educational requirements that the latter lacked. The Wizard Saint let the remark pass without comment and kept walking while looking at the other blonde. Dr. Reid looked towards the Silver Wolf mage and made eye contact before speaking.

"You might not be book smart, but you seem to be able to learn new things on the fly. That takes a certain type of intelligence not everyone has." She opined. That statement caught Leona's attention and held it.

"You handled the Atlas without much difficulty once you got used to the controls. You can also fly your Albatross with a fair amount of skill. The second part's pretty impressive for someone who isn't a certified pilot with hundreds of flight hours." Dr. Reid cited two skills Leona had demonstrated to support her statement.

"You made the Atlas simple to use and I trained on a flight simulator made by the Albatross' designer to develop enough skill to fly it manually with any degree of competence. It wasn't like I mastered new technology the instant I laid hands on it." Leona downplayed the praise by citing how she was able to accomplish what she did. The doctor frowned for a moment before sighing and showing an expression of concern.

"I wish you'd just accept praise without downplaying it, Leona. I know that you're a Wizard Saint and you're trying to stay humble, but you can take pride in your accomplishments. I think being able to manually fly the Albatross without benefit of going through a formal flight school is something to be proud of." Dr. Reid tried to get her hostess to accept the compliments without immediately shooting them down. Leona entertained the idea, if only to keep her guest happy.

"I suppose you're right, Doctor. I'm not very good when it comes to learning from books or classes. I learn best by actually doing something." The Wizard Saint conceded that her guest might have made a good point about the Silver Wolf mage's learning style.

"There's no shame in that. Learning on the fly sounds like it'd be an asset for an adventurer like you." The doctor assured Leona that how she learned was not anything to be ashamed of. For once the Silver Wolf mage did not minimize what was being said. Instead she went with it.

"I first learned to fly the Albatross over the Forgotten Deserts. It was a rough flight, but I learned basic flight lessons that no class or textbook could have effectively taught me. You can hold the world's most detailed lecture on a subject, but unless I get hands-on experience I don't fully understand something." Leona gave one of the most prominent examples of how she had to learn by doing. When she heard that Dr. Reid seemed to be both impressed and more than a little concerned.

"That's not how I would go about learning to fly, but at least you learned a little from the flight session." She remarked diplomatically.

"Yeah. Watch your airspeed carefully and don't make any sharp movements on the control yoke." Leona replied calmly. The doctor's amusement showed on her face for a few seconds as the two blondes continued their casual stroll on the beach.

[Post Word Count: 836]
[Total Word Count: 6,612/7,000]

"Leona, I have something else to ask you, something personal. Do you have many friends?" Dr. Reid asked the Wizard Saint a tough question that was actually easy for the latter to answer.

"No." Leona answered laconically. The doctor looked disheartened to hear that, but Leona herself did not mind being alone. She had quite a few reasons for living that way, including one she had brought with her from Desierto.

"Are you trying to keep others safe from your enemies by not making friends?" The other blonde asked a perceptive question.

"Yes. I've made a lot of enemies and a few of them are really powerful. I don't want anyone to get hurt or kidnapped because they're connected to me." Leona confirmed why she preferred to live a lifestyle with few friends. Samira was more than powerful enough to protect herself, but other people she knew were not nearly as strong. Dr. Reid, Mr. Bank, Mister Burke, Eleanor Crouch, Dr. Ravenholm... all of them were vulnerable and if her enemies got wind of the connection they would probably go after them to spite the Wizard Saint.

"That's understandable, but at the same time that's really kind of sad." Dr. Reid opined.

"Maybe it is." Leona replied tersely. She did not get why Dr. Reid wanted to know so much about her all of a sudden. They had known each other for years and the other blonde had never asked any personal questions until today.

"I know that you want to protect people, but maybe you don't need to worry so much. Maybe you should try and find someone you can be friends with despite the risks." Dr. Reid suggested in a statement that was reminiscent of Medeia's "advice" to Leona during their time together. The green-eyed blonde frowned deeply at the memory and the doctor recoiled. Leona took a deep breath and calmed down enough to talk to her guest.

"I just don't think I'm ready to do that yet, Doctor." Leona said plainly, hoping to change the subject to something less personal.

"I didn't say that you had to do it now, Leona. I was simply suggesting that you try some day." Dr. Reid calmly clarified her statement. The tension could be felt in the air as an awkward silence settled over the two. They walked in tense silence for over three dozen steps before Dr. Reid broke it.

"I don't understand why you're so hesitant to try and interact with other people, Leona." The pink-clad blonde mused. The Wizard Saint frowned and picked up the gauntlet. The two blondes stopped walking and faced each other as the tension escalated.

"Because I don't want to, Doctor." Leona answered bluntly. Dr. Reid was momentarily taken aback by the tone Leona had taken with her, but she stood her ground and kept eye contact with her hostess.

"Why's that?" The latter asked plainly.

"I say dumb things at the wrong time and that probably makes people think I'm stupid. I try and think things through before I speak, but sometimes I still mess up anyway. I'm tired of looking like an idiot, so I just keep my mouth shut and stay away from other people unless I'm working for someone." Leona gave a candid answer because she was too frustrated to sugarcoat it. Dr. Reid's face showed surprise as the Wizard Saint paused for a moment. When she found what she thought were the right words she picked up where she left off and tried to dial down the frustration she was feeling so that the doctor did not feel like Leona was angry at her.

"On some level I want to get to know other people, but I don't know how to. I'm not educated enough to hold a conversation on anything that smart people like you would find interesting. I'm not knowledgeable about topics ordinary people know about like music or movies and I'm way behind on technology and fashion trends." Leona admitted that there was a desire to socialize but not the means to make it happen. Dr. Reid gave a light smile. Leona was not sure if it was a smile of sympathy or a smile of smugness now that the doctor knew there was at least one area where she was superior to the Wizard Saint, but the green-eyed blonde kept quiet to give her guest a chance to talk.

"Maybe we should go back to your villa to continue the conversation and have some coffee." Dr. Reid suggested in a friendly tone of voice.

"Good idea." Leona readily agreed to the suggestion.

[Post Word Count: 768]
[Total Word Count: 7,380/7,000]

-Inside the villa, the dining room, 3:43 P.M.-

Leona and Dr. Reid had returned to the villa roughly twenty-five minutes ago and when she got in the doctor had went to her room and put a pink t-shirt on over her bikini top. Sitting at opposite ends of the table, the two blondes faced each other with a cup of coffee in front of them. Each young woman was waiting for the other to speak but no one was talking. Deciding to break the stalemate so that the conversation could get going after a rather lengthy lull, Dr. Reid spoke first.

"Earlier you said that you didn't like to interact with people because sometimes you put your foot in your mouth without meaning to." Dr. Reid started off.

"Yes." Leona answered calmly.

"You also said that you don't know enough about topics ordinary people do. Subjects like music, movies, and other things related to pop culture." The doctor continued the summary of Leona's problems.

"Yes." Leona confirmed.

"Those are indeed problems, but those are problems that aren't impossible to solve, Leona. The only way you're going to solve them is to interact with other people." Dr. Reid laid out exactly how the Wizard Saint was going to improve her social skills.

"I figured as much." Leona commented somewhat dryly.

"I recall one last thing you mentioned earlier. If I remember correctly, you said that you don't make friends because you're concerned that your enemies will go after anyone you try to befriend." The other blonde brought up the biggest reason the Wizard Saint did not interact with others or go out of her way to make friends.

"That's right, Doctor." Leona replied in the affirmative. The blue-eyed blonde took a drink of coffee before making eye contact again. It looked like she wanted to ask something of her hostess but was hesitating to do so. After roughly a minute of internal debate Dr. Reid sat up straight and looked Leona in the eye as she spoke.

"Is there another reason you've haven't told me?" Dr. Reid inquired. Leona took a quiet breath and drank some coffee before setting the cup down. She then clenched her right hand in a fist.

"There's one reason I've kept hidden. I'll tell you, but you might not like what you're going to hear. It involves my childhood in Desierto and bandits and slavers." Leona stated that she was willing to talk about the reason she had kept hidden but warned that what would be said might make her guest uncomfortable.

"I want to hear it, Leona." Dr. Reid answered without hesitation.

"OK, but I'm not responsible for how you feel after learning the truth." Leona agreed to go ahead with the conversation but did not agree to accept responsibility for how the doctor might feel after hearing everything.

"When I was a child growing up in Central Desierto my home village was a frequent target of bandit and slaver raids. I don't recall exactly how often the raids happened, but whenever they happened I knew it. There would be sounds of screaming and fighting everywhere and I'd be rushed to where my parents thought I would be safe before they hurried to help defend the village." Leona started by telling the basic details. Dr. Reid looked slightly unsettled for a moment before regaining her composure. Leona took that as a cue to continue, so she did.

"When the fighting finally ended my parents would get me from my hiding place. They'd try to cover my eyes, but it didn't help because I saw the dead bodies of fellow villager and enemy alike lying on the sand. They certainly couldn't hide the screaming and crying people who lost family members. I'd see and hear them crying for hours after the raid." Leona told. The doctor's discomfort visibly grew but she remained silent. It seemed like she wanted to hear the entire story, so she would get what she wanted.

"When people were killed by bandits they were dead and that was that. But when slavers took captives it was even worse because we all knew they wouldn't be coming back even as a corpse. Sometimes I'd see entire tents empty after a raid... they had been occupied only hours before." The Wizard Saint grimly told about how slavers inspired a special kind of dread in her village because their victims were never seen again. Dr. Reid shifted in her seat and took a long drink from her cup before setting it down. She then spoke.

"That's a grim picture you're painting, but it's all starting to make sense. I'm starting to see why you don't interact with others very often." Dr. Reid commented on everything she had heard so far.

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[Total Word Count: 796/5,000]

"No one was safe from the slavers. Men, women, children... anyone was fair game. Their age didn't matter either." Leona continued to talk about the slavers who had terrorized her home village. If the doctor was perceptive she might be able to figure out where Leona was going. If not she would learn soon enough.

"Most slavers weren't discriminating about who they took, but some of them would make it a point to prioritize capturing young women." Leona touched on the tip of the iceberg. That seemed to be enough because the doctor's discomfort skyrocketed to the point she suddenly slammed her hands down on the tabletop, rattling the coffee mugs and sending a clear signal for her hostess to stop talking. It looked like she wanted to leave the room entirely but she stayed, if only out of obligation to hear the entire story.

"I don't want to hear any more about the slavers, please. I think I know where this is going. I don't want to hear any more about them." The doctor firmly requested.

"All right. We'll move on then." Leona calmly agreed to the request. She did not hold the doctor's discomfort or the tone she had used to call for a change in topic against the latter. Just thinking about the past made the Wizard Saint unhappy, which was why she did not like talking about it to begin with.

"The first clear memories I have of the bandits and slavers was around the time I was six or seven. I managed to make it to adolescence without being killed or captured, but that was because I started learning how to fight with both sword and magic around the time I was eight or nine, maybe even ten at the latest. My first bandit kill happened when I was twelve years old and defending the village's food supply from bandits." Leona divulged information that lightened the mood, but only a little. Now that the conversation had moved on from the subject of what slavers wanted young women for Dr. Reid began to calm down a little, but she still looked perturbed by everything she had heard so far. That was perfectly understandable.

"It sounds like you saw a lot of death and suffering at an early age." Dr. Reid made an observation that was a serious understatement.

"Yeah, I did. And when I kept seeing it for month after month, year after year with no end in sight I stopped trying to interact with people. I just gave up on the idea. There was no point in getting to know someone when sooner or later they'd die in a bandit raid or be carried away by slavers." Leona grimly added why she kept people at arm's length.

"That's really sad, Leona." Dr. Reid remarked with genuine sympathy.

"I didn't know that trying to keep from feeling loss again was why you acted the way you did. I'm so sorry that I made you think about all of that. It must have been really painful for you." The blue-eyed blonde apologized for making Leona relive her past.

"It's fine, Doctor. You deserved a straight answer to your question." Leona replied calmly. Despite that assurance the doctor looked at the Wizard Saint with an expression of guilt for almost a minute before doing or saying anything. Once she figured out what she wanted to say she finally spoke.

"Now I can see why you have such a hard time socializing, Leona." The pink-clad blonde began.

"I understand why you wouldn't want to get to know anyone after the childhood you had. It was undoubtedly rough and painful for you. It must have hurt seeing people you got to know die or disappear time and time again." Dr. Reid continued.

"Yeah." Leona replied laconically.

"You should still try and meet people, but you should take it slow, Leona. Don't charge out and try to power through your trauma by meeting multiple people at once. Just find one person that you feel like you want to get to know and go from there." Dr. Reid gently offered advice that took into consideration what Leona had went through. The green-eyed blonde sat in silence for half a minute before mustering a response. When she reacted she took a sip of coffee and set the cup down before finally speaking.

"I'll try and meet new people some day, but my responsibilities come first." Leona agreed to try and follow the advice she had been given but stated that her responsibilities as a Wizard Saint and Guild Mistress took priority over improving her social skills.

"That's all I can really ask for, Leona. All I can ask is that you try." Dr. Reid accepted the term Leona had set down. Silence settled over the room again, but it was not filled with tension. It was the kind of silence that came when two parties came to an agreement that both found satisfactory.

[Post Word Count: 830]
[Total Word Count: 1,626/5,000]

-The next day, Lion's Island, the beach, 5:48 P.M.-

Dressed in an open white jacket over a light blue tank top and white skirt, Leona was walking on the beach by herself. She had taken Dr. Reid, the Atlas Project, and all of the doctor's equipment back to Motor City around 6:30 A.M. and had returned to her private island around 1:00 P.M. She had landed the Albatross inside the hangar on the top floor of the Obsidian Tower and was going to take down the Nanotech Aircraft Hangar tomorrow. She planned to spend the rest of the day and the night here before returning to Silver Wolf Guild Hall and doing the paperwork that was undoubtedly waiting on her desk.

The sun was close to setting and Leona would have to return to either the villa or The Obsidian Tower, but she was not ready to call it a day just yet. The blonde was busy thinking about the advice Dr. Reid had given her, which was good advice. There was no shortcut to improving her social skills... Leona would just have to get out in the world and interact with other people with all the risks that involved. Fortunately for the blonde the doctor had been reasonable and suggested that she start off small by choosing one person she truly wanted to interact with and go from there. Leona already had one person in mind and that person was Order Cleric Athena.

During their last meeting at the mall in Capital Crocus the orange-haired mage had already expressed an interest in getting to know the Wizard Saint better: in fact she had even scheduled another casual social day with the latter. Since Leona was already on friendly terms with her Athena would be a good person to interact with. That would be an easy way for the blonde to both start working on her mediocre social skills and possibly make a friend. Leona was still hesitant to make friends because of her enemies, but Athena was a fairly powerful mage and thus had a decent chance of defending herself from whoever went after her.

The Wizard Saint looked up at the sky and noticed how cloudy it had become... the setting sun was completely covered by gray clouds, a sign which suggested that it might start raining soon. Seeing the writing on the wall, Leona quickly turned around and started walking briskly towards the Obsidian Tower. She hoped that she could get to the shelter of the tower before the rain began to fall.

-The Obsidian Tower, Leona's Living Room, 7:03 P.M.-

Leona had stepped through the door to the first floor of the tower just as the rain began to fall around 6:23 P.M. She took the elevator up to the fiftieth floor and made a beeline for her room to take a shower. She took a slow, leisurely shower and when it was finished dried off and changed into a gray tank top and olive green short shorts before walking into the living room and looking out of the window. The sky was dark and cloudy and the rain showed no signs of ending any time soon, but she could see part of the moon peeking out from behind the clouds.

As she looked out of the window Leona recalled the conversation with Dr. Reid concerning her social skills and why they were so lacking. The blonde had not been miraculously cured of her problems and she would have a long way to go before they were resolved once and for all, but at least now she could start moving in the right direction. She could start trying to interact with people in a meaningful way instead of just following social norms to avoid alienating the person she was talking to.

-The next day, Silver Wolf Guild Hall, the Guildmaster's Office, 1:00 P.M.-

Leona had taken down the Nanotech Aircraft Hangar around 6:00 A.M. and started the flight back to Silver Wolf Guild Hall only ten minutes later. She had arrived at her destination around 10:00 A.M. and safely landed the Albatross three minutes later. When the landing procedures were complete and the Albatross was completely powered down Leona walked briskly into the guild hall and went to her room to change into an outfit that was appropriate for the office: she changed into a sleeveless blue turtleneck shirt and khaki capri pants with white tennis shoes before going to the office to begin work.

Roughly three hours in the office later Leona was still up to her neck in paperwork that never seemed to end. She had already taken care of eleven stacks that had been waiting on her but guild staff members brought in more every time she blinked or dared to look away from the desk. Right now Leona was facing another ten stacks that had been brought in and placed on the left side of her desk, but more were likely to arrive at any time, so she kept going to try and keep from getting overwhelmed by all of the work that was piling up.

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[Total Word Count: 2,480/5,000]

-Silver Wolf Guild Hall, Leona's Room, 3:06 A.M.-

Shuffling into her room and barely mustering enough strength to close the door behind her, Leona had spent yet another grueling marathon session in the office handling a flood of paperwork that seemed to go on all night. She had estimated that she had reviewed and completed roughly eighty stacks of papers by the time she had decided to leave the office to get some sleep before the next round of paperwork hit her desk. Leona walked over to her bed and took off her current outfit, then put on the gray tank top and blue jean short shorts she had worn to the guild hall before putting her office attire on the back of her desk chair and walking back to the bed. Once her clothes were changed she sat down on the piece of furniture and turned her feet to its head, then rolled over onto her side and faced the room door before closing her eyes. With any luck the Wizard Saint would get a few hours of uninterrupted sleep.

-Silver Wolf Guild Hall, the Guildmaster's Office, 5:25 A.M.-

Leona's hopes had been dashed when she had been awakened at 4:55 A.M. by a guild staff member who had informed her that there was more administrative work for her to do. The Wizard Saint had climbed out of bed, put on the "office outfit" of sleeveless turtleneck shirt and capri pants she had worn yesterday, then went to the office to fulfill her administrative responsibilities. She was seated at her desk and reviewing the thirteenth out of thirty-one stacks of papers in front of her while wondering where all of it came from. She supposed that a guild generated a lot of paperwork, possibly more than she could imagine.

The blonde finished reviewing the papers when she reached for the fourteenth stack. Her fingertips had barely touched it when the office door opened and in walked a young male guild staff member bearing an armload of papers. He gently set them down on the left side of the desk and quickly excused himself, leaving Leona to do her work in peace. Maybe that would be the last of it for now and she could finish what she had before anything new came in.

-Silver Wolf Guild Hall, Leona's Room, 2:26 A.M.-

Leona mindlessly shuffled into her room after another long day in the office and shut the door behind her. Today she had taken care of no less than sixty stacks of papers, perhaps seventy at most. She was glad that the day was over and she could sleep for awhile because right now she would need to drink an entire pot of coffee to stay awake enough to do anything more complicated than sitting in her office chair. Leona walked over to her bed and changed clothes back into the gray tank top and short shorts, then put her clothes onto the back of the office chair before going back to the bed and inelegantly flopping onto it instead of slowly sitting down like she usually did.

Leona rolled over onto her side and faced the room door before closing her eyes. Maybe when she woke up there would not be a lot to do at the office. Maybe she would have a chance to do something other than administrative work all day.

-Capital Crocus Mall, 2:07 P.M.-

Leona had gotten up at 6:00 A.M. and went to the office to take care of her responsibilities early. There had only been twenty stacks of papers requiring her attention today, so she had started going through them starting at 6:08 A.M. and was finished by 10:20 A.M. because she had taken extra time to make sure everything was right. After her work was done Leona retreated to her room and changed clothes for a trip to Capital Crocus Mall... she wanted to find something to wear to the office that was classier than a sleeveless turtleneck shirt and capri pants.

Wearing a green t-shirt, a pair of blue jeans with a bag of Jewels in her right pocket, and white tennis shoes, Leona was dressed casually and comfortably for a trip to the mall. She had decided to give the olive green jacket, black tank top, and olive green cargo pants a break for once and rummaged through her closet for something different, eventually coming up with her current look. While it was not the best-looking combination, but it was casual and it would not draw attention the way something less modest would.

[Post Word Count: 764]
[Total Word Count: 3,244/5,000]

-The second floor, outside The Modern Woman, 4:27 P.M.-

Shortly after arriving in the mall Leona had made a beeline to the second floor to visit The Modern Woman, a shop that sold both casual and business attire for women. When she finally entered the shop she was not disappointed by its offerings. It had been her lucky day because Leona had found four white long-sleeved button-up dress shirts that were her size along with a gray jacket and gray knee-length skirt and black jacket and black knee-length skirt. All four garments fit her perfectly, so she decided to make them the bases of her two new "office outfits" that she would be wearing to work in the Guildmaster's Office. Now all she needed was a pair of shoes to complete the look and she knew exactly where to find them.

Leona clutched her bag of clothing in her right hand as she walked for the stairwell that would take her to the third floor. There she would visit La Belle Epoque to look for dress shoes to go with the new outfits. It would not do for her to go to the trouble of dressing up only to be wearing tennis shoes or sandals with her professional-looking clothes.

-The third floor, outside La Belle Epoque, 5:57 P.M.-

Leona emerged from the upscale store with two pairs of black dress flats and a pair of black high heels in case she wanted to try the latter. She had had to wait awhile for help from the store staff and when she got it a couple members of the staff had been dismissive of the blonde because of her casual outfit, but she had finally found dress shoes that both fit comfortably and looked good on her. Having secured everything she needed for classy outfits to wear to the office and to greet prospective guild members in, Leona headed for the stairwell that would take her to the first floor. She needed to get back to the guild hall and take care of any paperwork that was waiting on her.

-Silver Wolf Guild Hall, 11:06 P.M.-

Still dressed in the same casual outfit she had worn to the mall, Leona was busy washing her new outfits so that she could wear them tomorrow. There had been thirteen stacks of paper waiting on her desk, but they could wait a while longer. She was more than a little tired from both waking up early and traveling to and from the mall. The moment her new clothes were finished washing and drying she would go to sleep and take care of her administrative responsibilities in the morning.

-Silver Wolf Guild Hall, the next day, the Guildmaster's Office, 8:03 A.M.-

Dressed in her new outfit of gray jacket buttoned over a white long-sleeved button-up dress shirt and knee-length gray skirt with black dress flats, Leona sat in the office and worked on a batch of forty stacks of paper that had accumulated since her last visit. She did not mind, though. Her new outfit made her look and feel like a proper Guild Mistress. Now that she was not wearing casual clothes to the office she felt like guild staff members and visitors might take her more seriously than they did when she wore sleeveless turtleneck shirts and capri pants.

Leona's work went smoothly until a young female guild staff member with ear-length red hair and green eyes entered the office with an armload of work for her to take care of. The moment the door opened Leona looked up and saw the other young woman staring at her. The Wizard Saint wondered if she had accidentally left the top buttons of her jacket and the shirt under it unbuttoned and looked down to check. They were both buttoned properly, so Leona looked back up and saw the young redhead recover enough to walk over to the desk and set down the papers on the left side of the desk before leaving the office.

Leona knew that it had not been a faux pas like wearing a tube top or tank top that showed cleavage that had drawn the guild staff member's attention. It had been her new outfit and how different it made the Guild Mistress look. The blonde felt better about herself now that she was looking more professional than she had in the past and kept working to finish everything on her desk before nightfall.

[Post Word Count: 744]
[Total Word Count: 3,988/5,000]

-Leona's Room, 1:51 A.M.-

Leona had just completed another long but productive day at the office. She was more than a little tired from spending over twelve hours sitting at a desk with few breaks but she was feeling fairly good about herself. Her new outfit made her look like a professional and it made her feel like she actually belonged in the Guildmaster's Office. The guild staff had surprised reactions to seeing the Guild Mistress dressed appropriately for a change, but their reactions had all been the "good" kind of surprised and that made Leona feel even better about herself.

She shut her room door behind her and walked over to her bed, then gently removed her black dress flats and put them just under her bed. Next she unbuttoned her jacket and hung it on the back of her office chair. Next came the rest of the outfit and when she was finished Leona changed into a clean casual outfit of black tank top and olive green short shorts. She did not need to dress up to go to sleep, after all.

Leona carefully sat on the bed, then maneuvered herself onto her side and faced the room door. Tomorrow promised to bring still more paperwork to do, but she was OK with that. It was part of her job as Guild Mistress and over the years she had become competent enough to not need help from guild staff members to fulfill her administrative responsibilities, so the job was now only time-consuming rather than daunting as it had once been.

-The outskirts of Capital Crocus, 12:08 P.M.-

Dressed in a gray t-shirt, olive green cargo pants, and white tennis shoes, Leona had taken the Albatross to Capital Crocus in order to meet with Order Cleric Athena, who had requested a meeting via letter. Leona had landed the Albatross in her usual landing zone without incident and had reached the outskirts of the city, where a young woman with long orange hair and wearing a denim jacket and short denim skirt was waiting on her. The blonde approached the person she presumed to be Athena and when she was within arm's reach the orange-haired young woman turned around and showed that she truly was Athena.

"Hey Leona!" Athena greeted the blonde. She was wearing a denim jacket, a sleeveless orange top with spaghetti straps, a short denim skirt, and white sandals.

"Hi Athena." Leona calmly greeted the other mage.

"I'm glad that you could come out here and meet me, Leona. I wanted to talk to you about something, more specifically our social day." Athena told her why she wanted to meet with the Wizard Saint.

"I'm still up for it if you are." Leona replied that she was still willing to spend time with the Cleric if the latter wanted to.

"Oh, definitely! But I was going to ask if you'd mind going to the beach instead of the mall tomorrow. In particular I was thinking about going to Crescent Island." The orange-haired mage asked for a change of venue. Leona gave a small smile. This was her chance to put Dr. Reid's advice into practice in a way that was not forced.

"We could go there if you want, but I could do you one better." Leona stated confidently.

"How's that?" Athena asked with a curious look on her face.

"We can go to my private island. It has a beach and we won't have to share it with anyone." Leona offered to take the Cleric to the beach on Lion's Island.

"Really? You have a private island that has its own beach?" Athena asked with excitement.

"Really. And we won't have to stay in a hotel either." Leona confirmed what she said before adding that they would not need to pay for lodging.

"We can go there now if you'd like so that you can see it before you commit to staying there." Leona made another offer.

"Sure, but I need to buy a few bikinis first! Let's go to the mall! C'mon!" Athena cheerfully accepted the offer of a preview before mentioning the need to buy appropriate beach attire and running towards the city without waiting for Leona.

"Hey, wait for me!" Leona called out before sprinting after the orange-haired mage.

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[Total Word Count: 4,704/5,000]

-The outskirts of Capital Crocus, 1:52 P.M.-

Athena and Leona had visited Earthland Eagle and the orange-haired mage left the shop with a bag containing three modest two-piece orange bikinis and an orange one-piece bathing suit. Orange seemed to be Athena's color of choice, but Leona did not mind. The blonde was fond of blue, green, and gray herself. After the shopping trip was complete the pair left the mall and returned to the outskirts of Capital Crocus, where the Albatross was waiting for them in a clearing.

"We got to Earthland Eagle at just the right time, Leona! There were enough bikinis and bathing suits in my size for me to get exactly what I wanted!" Athena said in triumph. Leona walked on in silence until the two spotted the olive green aircraft waiting on them and the orange-haired mage noticed it. She was so surprised by the sight that she nearly dropped her bag.

"Is that... your personal aircraft?" Athena asked.

"It sure is. It's called the Albatross." Leona confirmed and gave the name of her transport. Athena looked it over in awed silence. Since her companion did not immediately respond to the blonde's last statement Leona took that as a chance to speak, which she did.

"If you'd like I can fly us to my island while there's still daylight and you can see it for yourself. It'll take roughly four hours to get there, though." Leona offered again and informed Athena of the time it would take to get there. The orange-haired mage seemed undeterred by the estimate and eagerly embraced the idea.

"Yeah! Let's go!" Athena exclaimed.

"All right then. Follow me and we'll get going." Leona requested. Athena did not need to be told again because she hurried to Leona's right side and followed the blonde to the cargo bay of the transport, which lowered when Leona got close to it. The pair boarded the Albatross and Leona went to the cockpit to initiate takeoff procedures before beginning a manual flight to their destination.

-Lion's Island, 20 meters away from the villa, 6:05 P.M.-

Leona had landed the Albatross 20 meters away from the villa and shut off the transport before heading to the cargo ramp with Athena following close behind. When the pair disembarked Leona noticed that the sun was rapidly setting but there was just enough daylight for them to see the villa clearly. Athena saw the two-story domicile and was so amazed that she actually dropped her shopping bag.

"That's your house?" Athena asked Leona.

"It's a villa, but yes. It's my home." Leona corrected the terminology before verifying that it did belong to her. The other mage looked awestruck and did not respond right away. She looked at the building for almost a full minute before turning back to Leona.

"And it's all yours? You don't share it with anyone else?" Athena asked two more questions.

"Yes, it's mine. I only share it with someone when I have guests." Leona answered.

"And I get to stay in it as your guest?" The other mage asked in a hopeful voice.

"Yes. Since the sun's about to set we won't get to see very much of the island, but I can show you around tomorrow." Leona calmly replied. Athena was so excited by the idea that she hugged Leona, causing the blonde to blush. When the Wizard Saint was released the other mage noticed the blonde's red face and giggled.

"You're so adorable when you're blushing, Leona!" Athena teased her hostess. Leona stood speechless and tried to recover from the embarrassment as her guest ran towards the villa door. She stopped at the front door and turned around, then waved at Leona.

"C'mon Leona! Get over here already!" Athena playfully urged her hostess to open the door so that they could go inside the villa. Leona wordlessly complied and walked to the front door, then unlocked it and flipped on the light switch that bathed the foyer in soft yellow light before letting her guest enter first. She saw a flash of orange hair go by as Athena hurried into the villa. Somewhat amused by Athena's enthusiasm, Leona shut the door behind them and locked it.

[Post Word Count: 704]
[Total Word Count: 5,408/5,000]