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I\'ve been thinking. 

You know, I don\'t know why I was giving life advice to mythical beings all of a sudden.

By all accounts, I don\'t exactly fit the criteria for the mysterious wizened individual that\'d occasionally spout out something profound and enlightening just cause he could.

For one, I lack the \'wizened\' part of the moniker… don\'t see where the wisdom was investing into shady loans from even shadier companies. 

Secondly, I\'m just a guy in my twenties. With the exception of one, I really wasn\'t suited to be spouting out my two cents to individuals who have lived God knows how many times over that amount.

Yet strangely enough, what little I\'ve said was going a long way in making them feel better, or for a more recent example, making Sera, of all people, feel better. 

My words that always went unheeded by her, disregarded immediately by her, for once, she actually took into consideration.

For once, Sera actually listened. 

This is what you call progress, right?

Think I at least deserved an award for that very feat alone.

You made me leave Adalia alone back there, for the record," I told her once things finally settled to the usual standard affair. "So now you\'re following me back to go get her because you guys seem to like dissipating into thin air every time I take my eyes off you for more than a minute."

I got an annoyed look shot at me for that bit of cheek, but no scowl, not a growl even.

Guys, I think she likes me.

People were beginning to funnel out of the theater doors, still basking in the afterglow of an utterly memorable experience, their eyes glazed thickly with a sense of wonder and awe.

It took quite a significant amount of time for the crowds to thin out enough before we could squeeze ourselves through the one-way stream.

Which prompted me to wonder what kind of building doesn\'t have a dedicated entrance and exit? One fire hazard in such a crowded space, and you\'ll be explaining to the jury how you managed to inadvertently commit medieval genocide.

Anyway, structural compromises aside, once the last few strays trickled out towards the exit, the theatre hall was suddenly beset in a somewhat serene silence - not entirely deserted, however - onstage were a few stagehands disassembling props and parts, quite a number of staff members were going around doing their rounds, and they were even some by the sidelines that looked to be silently debating as to whether or not they should wake up that one slumbering vampire left slump over that one seat in the middle row.

Lucky for them, I went ahead and made that decision for them myself, shimmying towards her, then rousing her gently with slight light pokes at her left cheek.

"Psst, time to go," I whispered just as her eyebrows began to twitch. "Can\'t take up the entire building to yourself."

Suddenly, a voice… familiarly pompous, familiarly confident, familiarly bad. "Ah, was my performance really that dull that she couldn\'t force herself awake through it?"

I saw him in my mind first, then saw him with my eyes second. His graceful golden locks fluttering in the windless wind, his charming smile twinklier brighter than any sparkling gem. Spinning around behind me, it was all there… he was all there.

Leon spoke again. "Well, not like I can blame her. I also didn\'t think I played my best then. Don\'t tell anyone that though… they\'d probably just say I\'m faking being humble or something."

"Not to worry," I said, blinking and sighing dully at him. "Not like she saw any of it anyway. Secret\'s safe with me."

"Appreciate it." 

Stlll in his sorcerer robes with fake blood soaking through the middle, he essentially kinda looked like a dead man standing. A fact which I\'m sure Sera wouldn\'t take all that lightly… all things considered.

And indeed, I caught her staring a lot more intensely at him than any other thing prior, and unsurprisingly with eyes glowing that bright, Leon took notice of her too, and looked back at her with a gaze just as curious.

"Well, well," He said airily, putting on the same imposing voice he used for his onstage performance. "If it isn\'t Sera once more. My, how you\'ve grown. I always knew you\'d turned out beautiful one day. But I see you\'ve stayed ever the recluse, haven\'t you? Not just the cloak and the hood, but a mask too? Such a shame no would ever have the chance to truly appreciate it."

I\'d be careful wording what I say to her with that tone of voice, Leon. Especially when dressed in the way that you are… otherwise you might just find yourself getting skewered again… except you won\'t be needing any fake blood for that performance.

"Anyway," He dropped the voice, dropped the facade, and looked back at me. "I saw you in the audience, but I\'m surprised you didn\'t use the backstage pass you won in the bet. You\'d have had a better view, plus you can meet with the cast and crew too. We actually got some of the real motion-capture actors from the game to play some of the parts. Thought you would have liked that."

I nodded. "Yeah, that does sound interesting, alright."

"Right?" He chortled, tapping me once on the shoulder. "So why didn\'t you? Such a waste, honestly." 

That\'s when I grew tired of the small talk. "Did you come here just to tell me that? Because if it was, I\'m pretty sure you\'d just get your secretary to tell me that."

And that was when he finally dropped the real facade he was putting on, the friendly vibe permeating from his smile suddenly waning slightly. 

"Okay, you got me," He admitted, his smirk timid, skirting his fingers through his locks of hair. "What I want to talk about… well, I\'m sure you already got that figured out too."

Adalia moaned, shifting left in her slumber… her breathing in time with my own, leaving my lips heavy and weary. 

"You need to take a step back," I told him straight. "You barely even know her."

"Then allow me the chance to get to know her," He said at once. "I want to get to know her. She\'s… you know, she\'s…"

"Taken," I sternly firmly said.

"By whom? By you?" He contended, taking a step forward at me. "Sorry if I\'m just misunderstanding… but I\'m really not getting that feeling from you."

"Feel what you want. It doesn\'t change a thing."

"Yes," He nodded. "It doesn\'t."

This guy\'s persistent, stubborn - the duo combo that formed arrogance. Even when I tell him straight how things are, he doesn\'t listen… and I don\'t think even if I keep insisting he\'ll be changing his tune anytime soon.

Clearly, for all time, he always gets what he wants all the time, every time - no exceptions. 

Well then, Leon, there\'s a first time for everything.

"You realize even if you did manage to get some time with her, that still won\'t mean she\'d automatically feel how you\'re feeling."

His smile returned. "One step at a time."

"You won\'t even get that one step," I said, suddenly feeling a boldness stemming from someplace unknown. "I\'ll make sure it doesn\'t happen."

But clearly, I wasn\'t the only one feeling bold too.

"On the contrary," Leon raised a conniving brow, "I don\'t think you\'ll be having a say in that soon." 

That\'s when I furrowed mine. "What do you mean by that?"

"Oh, you don\'t know," He had to stifle a chuckle, which even if not intended, felt seriously demeaning. "My apologies, I thought you did."

"Know what?" I said, on the verge of losing all patience. 

"Hey, you\'re the one who said she was busy. I didn\'t think you didn\'t know what exactly she was busy with." 

"And you do?"

"Of course I do," He said lightly, almost mischievously. "Do you want me to tell you? Technically it\'s classified info, no one\'s supposed to know about it until it happens. But I don\'t mind telling you so long as you don\'t mind hearing it from me… which, uh, I think you clearly do." 

Yes, I minded. I\'m usually one for swallowing my pride when the situation calls for it, but in this case, my pride was swelling to the point where I couldn\'t even force it down my throat if I tried.

So no, that question ain\'t leaving these lips. 

"We gotta go," I said, turning my back towards him. "Things to do."

He shook his head. "I\'m sure you do."

Didn\'t even bother hiding his contempt this time. After a moment, Leon eventually left us well alone once more, marching away back onstage to do what he does or whatever… I didn\'t care.

All this time, Sera was exchanging glances back and forth, confusion gradually filling her gaze until it finally reached a breaking point with a little puzzled grunting noise slipping past her veil directed solely at me.

Doesn\'t take a wise man to know what grunt meant.

I prodded Adalia again, answering her as I did. "He\'s attracted to Ash. Wants her for himself. He basically told me he\'s gonna get her one way or another."

A short gasp briefly sounded, which kinda spoke more than any words ever could.

"Yeah, our Ash. The very same.*

Then, not a moment too soon, a raspy snarl came and took its place, and for once… it wasn\'t directed at me. Her growl, her scowl - to the stage, she raised them - to the flutter of golden blonde hair, to the twinkle of pearly-white teeth.

I\'m starting to get the hang of understanding her lingo… and just then, I could also almost hear her words as well as any other, and what she was saying I, for once, could wholeheartedly agree with.

"Leon bad."

Yes. Leon bad, indeed, Sera. Leon bad.

See, look at that, we were making progress after all.

Eventually, I managed to get Adalia up into a state of half-consciousness… which I\'m pretty sure was enough of a consciousness for the bare minimum of mobility.

But before I could put that theory to the test, something went a-buzzing, rumbling… a stimulating sensation in my thighs. 

Phone.

I nearly tore a hole in my outfit fumbling for that thick slab of metal and glass hiding somewhere in the fabric… had to also retry twice on my passcode from how fast my fingers were swiping on the screen.

Amanda sent a message. Only one. Just one.

"Oh, and by the way," Leon called out from the stage. "I know you don\'t want me to tell you, but I feel like I should at least give you a hint - "

I barely paid any regard to what he was saying, my undivided attention instead was kept to the bright white border of text in the middle of the display… yet inadvertently, I ended up listening to him anyway. 

For Amanda and him both were telling me the exact same thing, at the exact same time.

<<You should head for the town center now.>>