He-llo, I really don't know what to say here in this Author's Note right now. It's really weird, too, because I can legit ramble on for hours in these, but I have to stop myself so I don't end up as one of those authors whose A/Ns are longer than the actual chapter. But can I just say it is REALLY fun to write in the present tense? I've always been more of a past-tense writer, so taking a break from my usual style and taking on something fresh is a bit difficult, but I love it.

Please keep in mind this is my first actual romance-centric fic, so I may not be getting everything right. If you think I can do anything better, don't be afraid to let me know in the comments down below! Every bit of advice is appreciated and does help me, even if you think it wouldn't.

Moment 2
Acted Like an Idiot in Guild Wars

Taranys knew there was going to be a problem when, after a couple of days, his crush did not weaken. At all.

He's pretty sure it all came to a head sometime during the first Guild Wars of the day. The Summoner was in a rather prestigious guild, and worked hard to keep up their reputation among their guild-mates. Taranys is placed in his usual team today; fighting alongside Amelia and Perna.

Taranys turns to Amelia, "Do you know who we're going up against this time?"

"…Uhhh, I think the Summoner said something about a Seara?" The Unicorn chews on the inside of her mouth as she stumbles across her words, currently in her human form.

To say his relationship with Amelia was awkward would be an understatement. Taranys met Amelia about a week after he was first summoned, when he ended up in the Infirmary for rather grievous injuries. Amelia nursed him back to health, and asked him out on a date once he was about to be discharged.

…There really was no way to let her know gently that, no, it wasn't her specifically. It was just that she (and every other girl) wasn't his type.

Perna coos somewhere behind the two, curled up in a loose ball with his wings spread out on the ground. His feathers are a mix of red and orange and yellow, as if to give the illusion of a bright flame. The Phoenix is half-asleep, patiently waiting for their entrance into the Guild Battle. The Summoner calls for the three and they get up, Amelia looking over her schedule.

"New guy's coming in after us," Amelia remarks. "He, Chloe and Katarina'll be cleaning up the second round."

Taranys's heart misses a beat at the very mention of Baleygr. "Oh?"

"Yeah. There they are now," Amelia points and sighs wistfully at the sight of the handsome blonde, Taranys tempted to do the same as he looks over at him. Now Baleygr is clutching a spear – as golden as his hair – that shines in the early morning light. He's sitting on the ground, smiling and laughing at some joke that the wind Valkryie next to him barked out.

God, Taranys wishes he could make Baleygr smile like that.

Baleygr meets eye contact with him and smiles, calling out, "Hey, Taranys! You're up today?"

"Yeah, I'm in Round One with Amelia and Perna," He smiles back as he responds to Baleygr.

Baleygr chuckles, "Well, I got shafted into Round Two. You think the Summoner will ever pair us up sometime?"

Taranys blushes and bites the inside of his mouth at the thought of being so close to him as he struggles to come up with a response.

"Hey! Eyes up front!" Amelia cries out, waving her arms around.

Taranys gasps, breaking his gaze away from Baleygr and instead turning to look over his enemies. Three girls are on the opposing side: Seara, Giana and Fran. The two Oracles seem calm, almost smug, while Fran yawns wide and stretches her gangly arms; reaching over her head and then extending her legs out. Together, they make quite an intimidating team.

Round One!

Fran goes first; casting Fairy's Blessing and sharpening the weapons of all her allies. At the same time, an Immunity blessing is brought over everywhere like a good-luck charm. Ah, well. There goes the hope of being able to stun anyone on the team. Amelia's reverted back to her original form; a blue Unicorn with white wings and an intimidating horn on her forehead.

"Seara, dearest, what do you say we finish these guys up before tea time?" Giana hums.

Seara smiles and claps her hands. "Oh, that sounds delightful! Clean up that Druid over there, and I'll take care of the rest!"

Giana flicks her fan, before abruptly planting a bomb on Taranys, laughing as she does.

Wait, what?

Additional Turn!

Time seems to slow around Giana now. Her dark hair has tinges of purple in them, and she flips it over her shoulder as she casts Critical Error. Tick, tick, tick. A blast of energy emits from her body, rushing in a wave at Taranys's team. Taranys instinctively grits his teeth and stiffens up as the pain hits him and spreads through his body. Perna's lying on the ground now, temporarily stunned and unable to move.

"Come on, come on, come on…!" Amelia hisses, planting both feet firmly onto the ground.

Perna's turn goes by and when (and only when) his turn ends he gets back up and into the air. His Violent runes don't activate, and there goes his chance of being able to turn the tables by himself. Alright, it looks like everything's up to Taranys now.

Oh, what could Taranys do at this point? He's already got a bomb spell about to blow at any moment, and for a moment he regrets having Violent runes on him instead of… well, literally anything else. Touch of Punishment is pretty much worthless at this point, because in order to stun, the enemy team needed to lose the Immunity, and fast.

Forest of Living is up and ready to use, but instead Taranys decides to go on the offense route and hits Seara with a Wild Blow. After all, what other choice did he have? With the Wild Blow, he recovers part of his stamina back, and though it's not enough to fully mitigate the damage Critical Error dealt, it should be enough to keep him going for the rest of the battle.

There, everything's going to be okay. Amelia would get her turn soon, and she'll be able to transform back into a human and cleanse off this bomb with a Purifying Wave –

Additional Turn!

The Violent runes in him activate. The air around Taranys seems to turn frigid as the one thing he hoped wouldn't happen comes true. Time starts to slow around him, but it's already too late. A bomb spell waits for no one and nothing, and detonates on Taranys's head. The damage is too strong, and he can't tough it out this time; not after Critical Error.

…

Druid's Secret Plan.

New life is breathed into Taranys, and he rises back up from the dead, taking on a more animalistic form. Claws dig into the Guild Conquest ground, and Taranys bears his newfound fangs at the three girls on the enemy team.

Amelia takes on her human form, engulfing herself in light before returning to the battleground. A passive magic within her activates and everyone's immune to the harmful spells their enemy can cast. Amelia throws a bolt of ice at Fran, freezing her to the ground, and just like that, it seems to signal for Perna to start going wild on the team.

He casts a Flame Nova, compressing raw energy of fire around Fran, before it explodes around her ears. With a piercing scream, Fran's thrown out of the battlegrounds, and not even those tiny fairy wings of hers can stop her descent out of the arena.

"Fran!" Giana screams, reaching out one hand at where the Fairy Queen used to be. She turns toward Perna and snarls, "You're going to pay for that!"

To the sidelines, Taranys hears a whoop and clapping; the husky tones of the voice were obviously Baleygr's.

Additional Turn!

Perna hits an Arcane Blast on Seara, stunning her as she yells and drops down to the ground.

Additional Turn!

It's time for another Flame Nova. Perna's caws bounce off the walls as he rises up and spreads his wings. The flames are burning, burning, burning, so bright – Giana has to shield her eyes as she's targeted this time. Giana's health drops, and now she's staggering on her feet; one more hit from pretty much anyone and she'll be down for the count.

Taranys snarls and dashes towards Giana. One claw sweeps up and slashes down at her, as hard as he can for a Wild Blow. There goes Giana now as she's hurled out of the room; looks like it's just up to Seara now. Taranys returns to his normal form of a Druid now, slamming his wooden staff to the ground to discharge the leftover energy across the ground.

Baleygr whistles sharply. Taranys turns around, and there he is, grinning and giving a thumbs-up at him.

He cups his hands over his mouth and cheers, "You're doing great, Taranys!"

And there Taranys goes, standing there and letting his ears and face burn.

Eventually, he remembers what his tongue is used for, and replies, "Oh- oh, uhm, thank you?"

Katarina's leaning next to Baleygr, polishing his sword as Chloe lays her staff down. All eyes are on him now, and surely he can finish off Seara and gain at least some of Baleygr's respect. If he can make it through this battle, he can sit back and witness Baleygr's own skills in the battlefield. That sounds nice.

"Save the conversations for later!" Amelia yells. "We've got things to do and Oracles to fight!"

Taranys snaps out of his daze just in time as Seara wakes up from her stunning spell. But, alas, life isn't going to be that easy for him. Violent runes inside of Seara activate, and there she begins to cackle maniacally. The fate of Taranys's destruction becomes a reality – a bomb and poison spell are planted upon him again.

It's okay, it's okay. Amelia can cleanse off the bomb this time, everything's fine –

Additional Turn!

Or not.

The Promised Time is here. A spell is cast upon the three of them; oh, how could Taranys have forgotten Seara's almost extraordinary ability to detonate bomb spells almost at will? As the bomb upon his head blows up and takes off the rest of his health, he couldn't help but think: well, there goes the opportunity to cheer Baleygr on.