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[@TheHangedMan] | [@Datadogie] | [@J8cob][/center]

Leon remained silent whilst his guildmates debated whether or not Felix, the youngest of them, should attend the mission or not. It wasn’t as though he didn’t have an opinion on the matter, he himself did not feel great about putting a kid on the front lines. He just knew it wasn’t his place to voice such concerns. Especially since Felix, prideful as he was, really didn’t need to be lectured by a mage with not even half his level of skill and experience. To be outclassed by someone nearly half his age. How embarrassing.

Deciding he ought to change into something more appropriate, Leon began to slink away to his room when Holly and Marduk voiced their trust in Leon’s capabilities to protect the others. His stomach fluttered with both delight and trepidation.
[i][color=palegreen]They’re counting on me. Me.[/color][/i] It took everything to repress a childish giggle from escaping his lips. Instead he waved his hand back behind him as he ascended the stairs - keeping his back turned as to hide his stupid grin.
“[color=palegreen]Naturally. I’ll keep you all safe.[/color]” Leon clenched his fist to his allies, disappearing down the hall with a skip in his step.

---

Leon was wiping away a dead insect that had decided to kamikaze itself into his spectacles, visibly disgusted by the presence of bug guts. The trip to Era had his mind racing with so many uncertainties. The confidence he had shown to his guildmates back in the tavern was slowly fading as the sky began to turn black with thick plumes of smoke. His mind was plagued with doubts. What if he couldn’t keep it together and someone got hurt? Or worse. Despite having never seen a dragon before in his life, the history books described them as truly fierce beasts. Very few creatures boast such power as to spawn an entire group of mages dedicated to keeping them at bay.

As Era approached, Leon couldn’t help but freeze in horror at the sight of burning buildings and smoldering debris. It wasn’t long ago he called this place home. He could see some of the districts he’d frequent, now reduced to rubble and ash. If he had remained a student of Era, it could just as easily have been him fleeing for his life down there. He gulped. Bringing his palms up to firmly slap himself in the cheeks in an attempt to bring himself back to reality.
[color=palegreen][i]Come on man, get it together! You’re a Fenix… tear… m-[/i][/color] His attempts to rally himself up crumbled immediately at the sheer sight of the dragon itself. It was fear incarnate, a most horrifying beast that vastly exceeded anything Leon could have imagined reading a history book.

“[color=palegreen]We have to fight that thing?![/color]” Leon threw all composure to the wind, just as he saw Grasidia engaging in combat. Panic gripped him. She was going to get herself killed! Despite all her power, there was no way she was a match for that monster. As if on cue, Leon watched the mighty dragon’s tail swat the plant mage from the sky not too dissimilar to how Leon had been handling the bugs that flew into his face on the way here. That’s what they were to a dragon. Insects.

It suddenly became harder to breathe, the sounds of his guildmates becoming more and more distorted as the rapid beating of his heart thumped in his eardrums. He wasn’t ready for this. He couldn’t imagine he ever would be. Then suddenly, an intense gust of wind sent the leaf carriages tumbling over and Leon found himself hurtling towards the pavement - frozen in terror. He had accepted this would be how his life would come to an end, just as a thicket of vines enveloped him and halted his fall.

Leon watched as his friends jumped straight into the action without a moments’ hesitation. Clover readied himself with a strange certainty, Lilliana unleashed a barrage of Nullfire whilst Holly and Lavinia took to the skies to rain death from above. Through it all, Marduk’s voice helped pull Leon back into the moment. He heard him loud and clear. Provide healing to Grasidia. The words he and Holly had spoken to him back at the guild rang through his head. There was still so much he was afraid of, but for a brief moment he felt he had a purpose. A reason he was here with the other guild members.

“[color=palegreen]Y-yes Sir![/color]” Leon bumbled, finally breaking free of the vines with only a slight struggle. Falling to the ground, he landed with a clumsy roll into a kneel, scanning his surroundings until Grasidia came into view. She was injured. He could help.

Pushing off from the ground, Leon began to rush towards his ally with his codex at the ready.
“[color=palegreen]I need your help Lorelai![/color]” On cue, the familiar sphere of light leapt from the cover of his tome, darting forward towards Grasidia in the blink of an eye. The little light flew in front of the plant mage’s face before bursting into a much more serious looking Lorelai. The pixies wings began to flutter with the intensity of a hummingbird, and she darted around Grasidia in elliptical orbits while cascading a golden dust over her.

Lorelai had already begun healing Grasidia, but Leon knew she’d require more urgent care than what Lorelai could offer right now. After a few moments he arrived beside her, holding the codex in front of him.
“[color=palegreen]Please stay still while I patch you up.[/color]” Leon sounded a lot more assertive than his body language dictated, his fingers trembling and struggling to open up to the right page. Lorelai noticed his hesitation, stopping her embrace for a brief moment to flutter down to Leon’s fingers and gently clasp her hands around his thumb. He looked down at his friends and saw the reassurance in her eyes. As if she was telling him everything would be alright.

With a curt nod, Leon held his codex open in front of him while the pages magically turned to the desired spell.
“[color=palegreen]Physick[/color]” Leon uttered, a complex algorithm of various geometric shapes conjuring above the pages, boasting a resplendent green light. It was a bit hard for Leon to focus with everything going on, so his healing wouldn’t be as effective as if he was somewhere calmer. Nonetheless, the light poured over Grasidia from the tome whilst Lorelai resumed her own efforts to heal her injuries. Slowly but surely, the pain would start to ease itself as he channeled his curative magics.