[Leona, foolishly, thought the documents wouldn’t garner that much interest. Not from a man who didn’t seem to be particularly interested in magic himself. That was his first mistake. Second mistake was not stopping Azul fast enough from blurting out certain information that others didn’t need to know. He knew the octopus can blab, but he revealed more than he thought he would. For a guy who likes to keep his cards close to his chest, he said something unnecessary.
And to Leona’s credit, he had also been…avoiding a certain archer since that time on the turtle. Dealing with a pollen drunk Khalid hadn’t been something he was expecting to do. All the touching and the clinginess threw him off enough to want to keep some distance for a while. At least he’s been distracted. Taking his usual naps. Either at home or at the Hideaway. Doing something.
But…of course. Khalid would stop by when the lion isn’t expecting it.
He scents him first. It makes his lips tilts downwards, eyes narrowing. What is he doing here?
Leona breathes through his nose as he walks up to his front door.]
[ Honestly, the first mistake everyone makes is not taking Khalid as seriously as he should be. They are fooled by his casual demeanor. Innocently looking over a document or just giving a "passing glance" can be much, much more than that. Just because he's not a magic user himself doesn't mean he doesn't actually understand magical theory or advanced magic skills only 6 people can learn Excalibur and 4 are at least some of the most powerful magic units in game. It's just at the time, he hadn't known what he'd been looking at.
Right now he doesn't budge. Just keeps his reclined, casual position against the wall. ]
How else can we meet up if you've taken to avoiding me? Seriously, how is my poor little heart supposed to go on?
[ Khalid pushes himself up from his resting spot. Stretches by putting his arms above his head and huffing. ]
I got tired of waiting. [ Facts. He really has gotten tired of waiting around for Leona to get over whatever spooked him. Because something had. ] It didn't sit right with me.
[ In other words, he hadn't liked it. Something about Leona avoiding him ( and it's very obvious ) just left a bad taste in Khalid's mouth. They hadn't even done that after the really awkward feelings sharing incident so he has no clue what might have made the lion scarce. Other than the obvious work Leona's up to.
So he pases Leona and heads into the house, patting the guy on the shoulder as he goes. ]
Besides! I need a break from being groomed by an overly excited lizard anyway.
Are you really shocked? I meant it when I said we were friends, if nothing else.
[ He gives Leona a look as he stands in the main room. Head tilted to the side. Khalid isn't smiling as he says it, more. Serious. Because he had meant it. It hadn't been said in jest or something to be taken lightly. ]
[ What really brings him here? There's no way that Leona doesn't know... Not with how quick witted he is. ]
What I said wasn't a lie, Leona. [ Not using the nicknames here. ] The pool of people I genuinely like isn't very big so yes. I get concerned when I don't see them for a while.
[ So yeah. Part of him is here because he likes Leona and wants to see how he is doing. ]
That's the entire truth. I'm just here to see how you are doing.
[ There's just... Several steps in that process. ]
Using the shellphone is different from seeing someone in person. Even then you leave me on read some of the time.
[ A smile does start to show on his features. A small one. Appreciative of the fact that Leona is starting to... Well relax isn't the word for it. At least he doesn't look cranky. ]
Sure, I do have questions, but I like puzzles and secrets. Something like what your schoolmate mentioned though just causes some red flags. Between what he said and what I saw on your desk, I just want to know that things are all right.
[ He sighs and rubs the back of his neck. Maybe... Context is needed? Just a little. ]
I might be overthinking it, Leona. Usually you wouldn't need to measure your magic output and be mindful of consequences if it was just exhaustion. Crest holders aren't any different in some cases. We can overuse our abilities as well. For me, that might just make me pass out. For others, they'll... [ Claude pinches the area between his nose. ] We call them Demonic Beasts. They lose all their humanity and there's no way to bring them back.
[ So yeah. Consider him... Concerned because it hits a little close to home? ]
[Leona listens and that…hits a little too close to home. Except that it’s not caused by corruption from cursed relics. Demonic beasts. It isn’t too far from Phantoms or Direbeasts.]
I’m fine. It’s just a precaution.
[Maybe. He’s taken a look at his pen. There’s…more black than he’d like.
He seems to turn something over in his mind before he exhales.]
[ Yeah see... He's not so sure about that, Leona. Claude isn't sure that the other is actually fine. He's seen the lion really use magic without much of a care about how much he's using. That makes Khalid really uneasy.
But he's following after Leona. Hoping for another explanation. ]
[ Khalid enters the study right behind Leona. Sort of. He leans against the door frame as Leona heads to the desk. The question is surprising, though he mouths "octopunk" as if trying to figure out what that nickname means. ]
It's just the immediate direction my mind went in, Leona. [ Still using names! ] You're talking about a device that is supposed to warn you if you're overusing magic. There wouldn't really be a need for that if there wasn't some detrimental effect. Given how the guy's enthusiasm in sharing all of the sudden shifted, my guess is that it's a big deal.
[ He just doesn't know how MUCH of a big deal or what, exactly, happens. ]
Knowing that and considering the passing glances at your work I've taken, I'm guessing magic stones play into that system. It's a system that might need to be replenished, like the crystals in the lamp posts and other sources of light we have here.
Same but not quite. The stones are…there in case the one I use suddenly breaks for whatever reason. Or get taken.
[But Leona isn’t getting to the matter of hand. Not yet. It seems like he’s trying to figure out how much he wants to reveal and how much to keep quiet.
An exhale.]
You’re not wrong though that the stones are to measure out magical output. But there are other factors that can come into play as well if Azul or I aren’t careful. Factors such as negative emotions.
[Leona finally takes out his pen, the orange magestone glistening in the light that combs through the windows in the room before he places it onto the table. There for Khalid to come closer and see if he wants. If he’s that worried.]
Do you recall when I told you about Phantoms back in my world?
Aaaaand why would one suddenly break for any reason? Surely if they measure magic then they aren't overly fragile.
[ Just saying! And no, it's not really getting to the matter at hand. Thankfully, Khalid doesn't have to press. Leona is talking once again. About him and Azul and being careful. Negative emotions...
But he's looking at the pen, at the stone. He doesn't know what he's looking for though. Yet the stone itself isn't sparkly clean. ]
They aren’t, but not anything is truly unbreakable. At some point, everything breaks.
[There are splotches of black in the stone itself. Nothing that covers it entirely, but enough to be noticed. To be concerned about if Khalid knew the truth. Which he will.]
Phantoms are mages who Overblotted; which means that they have overused their magic past the point of exhaustion, pushing past the threshold mages place on themselves. Blot itself can heal as long as a mage rests properly and stop using their magic so much, but combined with intense negative emotions, it can easily push that mage over the edge. The mage will start “bleeding” ink from their person until that ink consumes them entirely and turn them into something else.
[He pauses here, looking at his stone. At his notes.]
[ There's a nod. It's like as he had mentioned before with the cages. Not everything holds forever.
And now that Leona is providing more context, it's barely noticeable but the grip on that pen does tighten. Yeah, he's concerned. Now he understands Leona's silence and tenseness earlier. Khalid hadn't thought that what happens to people who overuse Crests or try to use relic weapons without a crest would necessarily happen elsewhere. Yet it feels so very, very similar.
Now Claude knows that Leona gets plenty of sleep. So the fact that there are still black dots here... ]
[Leona just presses his lips together. Gives Khalid a look.
He knows Khalid can put the pieces together. That Leona sleeps, but he doesn’t necessarily sleep. He’s always on guard, always tense despite his lethargic attitude. But it really boils down to one main fact: his emotional state.
He’s always known his emotional state hadn’t been the best. It’s what led to his overblot, after all. The way that he’d just give up halfway through of doing something when it seems like nothing was truly working out. The way he’d eventually find everything meaningless.]
[ That's not the voice of the carefree man that Leona's more accustomed to hearing. His voice has a very no-nonsense tone to it. The one that a general in the midst of issuing orders would give.
Considering it's also tied to my emotional state, it's not something that'll go away easily.
[Not unless Leona reaches that point of apathy he's been to before his overblot. Before he feels too intensely with his nerves all raw after being brutally attacked verbally like Lilia like that. He likes to think he's gotten better since then, but well, after a whole night of fighting Phantoms and preventing Idia from reducing the entire world into shadows, his blot levels are high again.
Also, it's not exactly an answer, but one at the same time.]
[ Well that certainly does shut Claude up for a moment. Not because Leona said anything that's really hurtful or a final say on the matter. More because his hand his covering his mouth. A sure sign that Khalid is starting to line pieces up and maybe come up with a plan. ]
So then we need to work on your emotional state.
[ He sighs and rubs the back of his neck. ]
Which would be much easier for you to address if you'd be honest with yourself. Even I know the healing process can't really start until you let go of things that are holding you back.
[Don't call him out here. He already knows that. The problem is actually letting go and possibly confronting everything that's been plaguing him since he was a young cub.
His lips twist a bit. Not quite a frown. But...confused.]
Why do you care?
[And don't say it's because they're friends. This level of concern is new for the lion and coming from Khalid, of all people? It throws him off. It's part of the reason why he's kept his distance from him before.]
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And to Leona’s credit, he had also been…avoiding a certain archer since that time on the turtle. Dealing with a pollen drunk Khalid hadn’t been something he was expecting to do. All the touching and the clinginess threw him off enough to want to keep some distance for a while. At least he’s been distracted. Taking his usual naps. Either at home or at the Hideaway. Doing something.
But…of course. Khalid would stop by when the lion isn’t expecting it.
He scents him first. It makes his lips tilts downwards, eyes narrowing. What is he doing here?
Leona breathes through his nose as he walks up to his front door.]
Wasn’t expecting company today.
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only 6 people can learn Excalibur and 4 are at least some of the most powerful magic units in game. It's just at the time, he hadn't known what he'd been looking at.Right now he doesn't budge. Just keeps his reclined, casual position against the wall. ]
How else can we meet up if you've taken to avoiding me? Seriously, how is my poor little heart supposed to go on?
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It doesn’t seem to have stopped you now.
[He stops at the door and eyes the older man. With a sigh, he opens it.]
Come in.
[If this conversation goes where he thinks it’ll go, he’d rather not have it outside.]
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I got tired of waiting. [ Facts. He really has gotten tired of waiting around for Leona to get over whatever spooked him. Because something had. ] It didn't sit right with me.
[ In other words, he hadn't liked it. Something about Leona avoiding him ( and it's very obvious ) just left a bad taste in Khalid's mouth. They hadn't even done that after the really awkward feelings sharing incident so he has no clue what might have made the lion scarce. Other than the obvious work Leona's up to.
So he pases Leona and heads into the house, patting the guy on the shoulder as he goes. ]
Besides! I need a break from being groomed by an overly excited lizard anyway.
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[Interesting. Not like people come looking for Leona unless it’s for some kind of business. He won’t likely admit what spooked him either.
He scoffs.]
No wonder you stink.
[entering the house, he closes the door behind him.]
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[ He gives Leona a look as he stands in the main room. Head tilted to the side. Khalid isn't smiling as he says it, more. Serious. Because he had meant it. It hadn't been said in jest or something to be taken lightly. ]
But I'll tell Azita you think she stinks.
[ Wink ]
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What really brings you by, Khalid?
[Aside from getting tired of him avoiding you. He tilts his head to the side.]
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What I said wasn't a lie, Leona. [ Not using the nicknames here. ] The pool of people I genuinely like isn't very big so yes. I get concerned when I don't see them for a while.
[ So yeah. Part of him is here because he likes Leona and wants to see how he is doing. ]
That's the entire truth. I'm just here to see how you are doing.
[ There's just... Several steps in that process. ]
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He exhales softly.]
Hasn’t stopped you from blowing up my phone.
[But there’s any real bite to it.]
Here I thought you came because you had questions.
[About the pens. The stones. He’s seen the messages, after all. Azul is too much of a blabbermouth.]
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[ A smile does start to show on his features. A small one. Appreciative of the fact that Leona is starting to... Well relax isn't the word for it. At least he doesn't look cranky. ]
Sure, I do have questions, but I like puzzles and secrets. Something like what your schoolmate mentioned though just causes some red flags. Between what he said and what I saw on your desk, I just want to know that things are all right.
[ He sighs and rubs the back of his neck. Maybe... Context is needed? Just a little. ]
I might be overthinking it, Leona. Usually you wouldn't need to measure your magic output and be mindful of consequences if it was just exhaustion. Crest holders aren't any different in some cases. We can overuse our abilities as well. For me, that might just make me pass out. For others, they'll... [ Claude pinches the area between his nose. ] We call them Demonic Beasts. They lose all their humanity and there's no way to bring them back.
[ So yeah. Consider him... Concerned because it hits a little close to home? ]
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I’m fine. It’s just a precaution.
[Maybe. He’s taken a look at his pen. There’s…more black than he’d like.
He seems to turn something over in his mind before he exhales.]
Just…follow me.
[He starts making his way to the study.]
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But he's following after Leona. Hoping for another explanation. ]
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[Entering the study, he makes way over to the desk.]
I assume enough given you’ve told me about Demonic Beasts, but what else?
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It's just the immediate direction my mind went in, Leona. [ Still using names! ] You're talking about a device that is supposed to warn you if you're overusing magic. There wouldn't really be a need for that if there wasn't some detrimental effect. Given how the guy's enthusiasm in sharing all of the sudden shifted, my guess is that it's a big deal.
[ He just doesn't know how MUCH of a big deal or what, exactly, happens. ]
Knowing that and considering the passing glances at your work I've taken, I'm guessing magic stones play into that system. It's a system that might need to be replenished, like the crystals in the lamp posts and other sources of light we have here.
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[But Leona isn’t getting to the matter of hand. Not yet. It seems like he’s trying to figure out how much he wants to reveal and how much to keep quiet.
An exhale.]
You’re not wrong though that the stones are to measure out magical output. But there are other factors that can come into play as well if Azul or I aren’t careful. Factors such as negative emotions.
[Leona finally takes out his pen, the orange magestone glistening in the light that combs through the windows in the room before he places it onto the table. There for Khalid to come closer and see if he wants. If he’s that worried.]
Do you recall when I told you about Phantoms back in my world?
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[ Just saying! And no, it's not really getting to the matter at hand. Thankfully, Khalid doesn't have to press. Leona is talking once again. About him and Azul and being careful. Negative emotions...
But he's looking at the pen, at the stone. He doesn't know what he's looking for though. Yet the stone itself isn't sparkly clean. ]
I remember.
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[There are splotches of black in the stone itself. Nothing that covers it entirely, but enough to be noticed. To be concerned about if Khalid knew the truth. Which he will.]
Phantoms are mages who Overblotted; which means that they have overused their magic past the point of exhaustion, pushing past the threshold mages place on themselves. Blot itself can heal as long as a mage rests properly and stop using their magic so much, but combined with intense negative emotions, it can easily push that mage over the edge. The mage will start “bleeding” ink from their person until that ink consumes them entirely and turn them into something else.
[He pauses here, looking at his stone. At his notes.]
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And now that Leona is providing more context, it's barely noticeable but the grip on that pen does tighten. Yeah, he's concerned. Now he understands Leona's silence and tenseness earlier. Khalid hadn't thought that what happens to people who overuse Crests or try to use relic weapons without a crest would necessarily happen elsewhere. Yet it feels so very, very similar.
Now Claude knows that Leona gets plenty of sleep. So the fact that there are still black dots here... ]
So why haven't you stopped then?
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He knows Khalid can put the pieces together. That Leona sleeps, but he doesn’t necessarily sleep. He’s always on guard, always tense despite his lethargic attitude. But it really boils down to one main fact: his emotional state.
He’s always known his emotional state hadn’t been the best. It’s what led to his overblot, after all. The way that he’d just give up halfway through of doing something when it seems like nothing was truly working out. The way he’d eventually find everything meaningless.]
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[ That's not the voice of the carefree man that Leona's more accustomed to hearing. His voice has a very no-nonsense tone to it. The one that a general in the midst of issuing orders would give.
He is very serious about this. ]
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[His ears flicks at that tone. It makes his lips twist into a frown.]
What?
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[ What is it going to take to make these little black spots go away? And why are you still using magic in this state? ]
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[Not unless Leona reaches that point of apathy he's been to before his overblot. Before he feels too intensely with his nerves all raw after being brutally attacked verbally like Lilia like that. He likes to think he's gotten better since then, but well, after a whole night of fighting Phantoms and preventing Idia from reducing the entire world into shadows, his blot levels are high again.
Also, it's not exactly an answer, but one at the same time.]
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So then we need to work on your emotional state.
[ He sighs and rubs the back of his neck. ]
Which would be much easier for you to address if you'd be honest with yourself. Even I know the healing process can't really start until you let go of things that are holding you back.
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His lips twist a bit. Not quite a frown. But...confused.]
Why do you care?
[And don't say it's because they're friends. This level of concern is new for the lion and coming from Khalid, of all people? It throws him off. It's part of the reason why he's kept his distance from him before.]
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