Chapter 36
Leon made his way to his bedchamber and cleared his sore throat several times. As he entered, he noticed another satchel next to his, but no one else was in the room. He sighed before removing his tunic and spinning the water wheel to fill the washbasin. When the bath was full, he slowly lowered himself into the steaming water. He dunked his head under and scrubbed his hair vigorously with his fingertips, removing the dirt and dead skin. He stayed underwater for as long as his breath would allow before coming back up and relaxing against the edge of the tub and he closing his eyes. He lost himself to his thoughts until he heard the soft patter of feet in the hallway. He opened his eyes just in time to see Athena walk through the curtain. She gave him a flirty smile as she passed by and set several pieces of armor and a two rapiers on the table. She lifted up the silver cuirass and held it up in front of her for Leon to see "This was given to me by my father...do you like it?"
"Yes…it look like it'll be quite useful in battle." Leon stated.
The cheetah set down the armor and unsheathed the two rapiers; both were in perfect condition and had black hilts. A red gem acted as the pommel for one blade, and a blue gem for the other. "And these were my mother's swords."
"Did she craft them herself?" Leon asked, genuinely curious.
"Yeah…it took five months to forge each of them." She replied before putting the blades back on the table and approaching the tub, "So…do you mind if I join you?" She asked as she ran her paw through the hot water.
"Uh…sure." Leon said, not wanting to hurt her feelings.
The cheetah nodded and began untying one of her shoulder straps. Leon covered his eyes and heard her giggle childishly. He waited until he heard the splash of her enter the tub before opening his eyes again. His eyes jumped slightly as he saw that she was sitting extremely close to him, and he blushed deeply. He was extremely thankful that the steamy water hid her from the neck down, "This feels nice." She stated.
"Uh…yeah." Leon said nervously.
The cheetah moved her hand to Leon's thigh, but she pulled back in surprise when she touched the slick leather, "Why are you wearing your armor…isn't it uncomfortable?"
"It's just in case someone comes into the room…can't be too careful." Leon stated.
Athena giggled again, "I guess that's the difference between you and I…I'm not afraid to show off my…assets." She stated before laying her head on Leon's shoulder.
"What do you think the council will do to us if they find out the truth?" Leon asked.
"I'm not sure…but I don't want to find out…so we should probably keep up appearances." The cheetah stated.
"You're right…at least while we're in Warfang." Leon didn't like the idea, though he couldn't say he fully hated it either…he'd at least have someone to talk to at all times.
It was then that Elektra walked in the room and her eyes jumped when she saw Leon and Athena in the washbasin, "Oh my…I hope I'm not interrupting anything."
"Not at all." Leon stated, thankful that there was now another person in the room.
"I'm in your debt, miss…" Athena began.
"I'm Elektra." The lightning dragoness stated as she lay on her cushion and used her mouth to wrap the sheet around herself.
"Thank you, Elektra…that was quick thinking on your part." While she was speaking she didn't once remove her head from Leon's shoulder.
"Think nothing of it." Elektra stated.
"Well…I'm about to prune up." Leon stated before removing himself from the tub, much to Athena's displeasure.
Leon began drying himself off with one of the linen towels, and Elektra noticed how Athena seemed to be mesmerized by him. A giggle escaped her maw and Leon turned to her, "What's so funny?"
"Nothing…I just had remembered a funny joke." Elektra lied.
Leon raised a skeptical brow at her, but said nothing. "Could you get me a towel too?" Athena asked.
"Yeah sure." Leon said before taking another towel off the rack and setting it by the cheetah.
"Thanks." She said.
"Don't mention it." Leon stated before walking over and lying on his own cushion and pulling the sheet over himself. He heard the cheetah remove herself from the water and pull the plug to drain the water.
"You sleep in your armor too?" The cheetah asked.
"Um…yeah." Leon said, "I don't have any sleep robes."
"Neither do I." Athena said seductively.
Leon found himself slightly disturbed, "Again, can't be too careful."
"I see." Athena stated, "Move over." Leon shifted over and felt the cheetah lay beside him and cover herself with the sheet. It wasn't as bad as he thought, until Athena wrapped her arm around him, laid her head on his, and began purring in his ear.
"Is that really necessary?" Elektra asked.
"Someone could walk in." Athena stated, "You can't be too careful, right?" She asked Leon.
"Um…right." Leon stated.
"And besides, I'm cold."
"Well try putting on some clothes." Leon thought in his mind, "Right…well, um…yeah sure." He said aloud. The cheetah giggled before closing her eyes and falling asleep, happy that she was with the one whom she had been obsessed with for so long. Leon, on the other hand, wasn't too thrilled to have a nude cheetah cuddling with him all night…although, for some odd reason, he found her soft fur somewhat comfortable. He ignored his thoughts and closed his eyes. The cheetah's soft snoozing reached his ears and he fell asleep quickly. Elektra tried her best not to laugh, before laying her head in her paws and falling asleep as well.
Twitch woke up early the next morning and slowly removed his wing from his mate. Zephyr groaned, but didn't wake up. The lightning dragon stretched and popped his vertebrae before heading out of the room. The other vanguards hadn't awoken yet, and Twitch walked on his pads to avoid waking them. It was then that he looked to the left to see Leon slowly sneaking out of his room with his tunic in hand. "What are you doing?" Twitch asked in a whisper.
Leon jumped slightly, but then relaxed when he saw that it was only him, "Nothing." Leon stated.
"…why are you shirtless?" The lightning dragon asked skeptically.
"I wasn't doing…whatever you think I was doing." Leon stated.
"So…how's your new mate?"
"She's not my mate…and she sleeps without clothes." Leon stated. Twitch chuckled slightly, "It's not funny."
"Why didn't you just tell her to sleep with Elektra?"
"Because…I don't want to hurt her feelings."
"Why are you so worried about hurting someone's feelings?"
Leon hesitated for a moment, "Because, ever since that fight with Sierra…I promised myself I would never hurt a friend's feelings again."
"Are you sure you don't actually...like her?"
"My heart will always belong to Sierra…if that wasn't the case…then maybe I could see myself with her…she is incredibly…friendly."
"What about the whole…interspecies thing?"
Leon thought for a moment, "Between you and me…I never really cared about that…personally, I could deal with any female, as long as they can't crush me…or have bad hygiene."
It was then that they heard a soft groan coming from Leon's bedchamber, "Leon?" A soft female voice said.
"Oh god…what should I do?" Leon asked
"Go down to the dining hall…I'll hold her off." Twitch stated
"Thanks…it's nice to have a friend like you." Leon stated before speed walking toward the stairs and almost falling as he put his tunic back on.
Twitch watched him go before a voice caught his attention, "Um…excuse me," The lightning dragon looked back up and his cheeks turned red as he looked up at Athena, only covering herself with a sheet, "Twitch…right?"
"Um…yeah, that's me."
"Have you seen Leon around anywhere?"
"Yeah, he…just passed…he always gets up early to train."
"Well, why didn't he invite me?"
"He said…" Twitch thought for a moment, "He said that there was no way he could wake someone up when they slept like such an angel."
"Aw…he's so sweet." The cheetah said. "Well, thanks for telling me." She said. She then leaned down and gave the dragon a quick peck on the forehead before disappearing back into the bedchamber.
"Lucky bastard." Twitch mumbled under his breath before returning to his room.
It wasn't long before the other dragons woke from their slumber, and began exiting their bedchambers. They greeted each other before Elektra and Athena exited their bedchamber. "Good morning." Cynder said.
"Morning." Elektra and Athena said simultaneously.
"Where's my father?" Cynder asked.
"Father?" Athena asked.
"Oh, you didn't know?" Elektra asked, "Leon is Cynder's father."
"Wait…you mean he-"
"No." Cynder said, knowing what the cheetah was about to ask, "You've got a lot to catch up on."
"Let's go get something to eat and we'll explain on the way." Spyro stated. Athena nodded before following Elektra and the vanguards down the hallway.
Leon sat in the dining hall and lost himself to his thoughts…he knew that Sin was still somewhere in his mind, and the fact that he didn't show up after last night to poke fun at Leon's situation unnerved him greatly. His mind then drifted to the coming battle…had he made the right decision…would it have been better to just run? He snapped out of his trance when he felt someone tap him on his shoulder, and he looked up to see Icarus, "So…how was last night?"
"I suppose it could have been worse." Leon stated as the ice dragon took a seat.
"I…believe I neglected to mention her sleep habits."
"Too late now." Leon stated, "Wait…how do you know?"
"Um…well…I…uh…" Icarus stammered.
Leon let out a laugh, "Wait…you and her…I didn't think you were like that."
"I was curious." Icarus said before quickly changing the subject, "by the way, the choir is singing a song today to build a little confidence."
"That sounds like a good idea, my race would have done the same thing." Leon stated.
"Fantastic…Magma would also like to use one of the songs from your people."
"I see…when are we going on?"
"Right after the council speaks to the city…after lunch today."
"I'll be there."
"Splendid." Icarus stated before rising to his feet, "Now, I'll leave you to your new…partner." He said, pointing a talon at the door and then walking off.
Leon saw the vanguards, Elektra, and Athena enter the dining hall and head his way. Spyro had filled Athena in on their adventure so far, but he left out as much about Leon as he could, since he felt that Leon would tell her about himself if he wanted too, "So…how did the training go?" Athena asked.
Leon raised his brow at her before Twitch hit him with his tail under the table, "Ouch!" Leon said. Athena had a concerned look on her face and Leon looked at Twitch before realizing what the situation was, "I…rolled my ankle the wrong way and it's starting to get sore." Leon lied.
"Aw," Athena said as she put her hand on Leon's cheek, "I'm sorry, babe."
"It's…not your fault." Leon said, "Great, now she's giving me a pet name." He said sarcastically in his mind.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" Athena asked, seductively.
Leon didn't have to think too hard about what the cheetah wanted, "It's not your fault…babe." Leon said, hesitantly.
"There you go." Athena said as she removed her paw and placed it on his thigh. The moles began serving breakfast and the vanguards began eating the meats and berries. Athena barely took her eyes off Leon, and the human could feel her eyes drilling into his head along with the disgusted eyes of several of the citizens that sat at the tables around them.
"What do you guys wanna do now?" Zephyr asked after their plates were empty.
"How about a little sparring?" Fang suggested.
The vanguards nodded in agreement before rising from the table and heading towards the door. When they stepped outside, Elektra turned to the vanguards, "Well, I'm off to the healer's den…don't injure each other too much."
"No promises." Flare stated. Elektra bowed before heading towards the healer's den. As the vanguards headed towards the sparring grounds Athena slowly reached to the side and gripped Leon's hand. Leon gave her a skeptical look, but she only smiled and gave him a loving look. Leon immediately faced forward again and tried to keep his face from turning red.