If you got this far and saw all the mistakes I saw afterwards... I'm sorry. I made sure to check this one twice before I post.

Leon woke with a familiar voice shouting a spell word that seemed oddly familiar as well. He rose to one knee to look around, disoriented and blurry eyed. He could barely see the form before him, though he some how knew he knew it well. "Huh... Who..?"

"I... I am an Earthmate, Leon." The form said, pulling the memories he had gotten to experience through his foxes to the forefront of his mind. Before he could speak she continued, still blurry to his eyes. "Leon... Can you tell Venti what happened here? And tell her... Thank you... for being my friend. It was fun..."

Leon's eyes widen as he heard the female's voice, his eyes regaining their clarity to stare at the teary emerald eyes he had only experienced in dreams till now. His eyes narrowed and he started to reach for her, his eyes on her teary eyed smile as she waved goodbye. "You..."

His eyes blinked as he appeared in the the main room of the tower that had held him for so long. His eyes looked down to the ground as the sphere she had tossed beside him suddenly vanished and the area filled with runes. Leon looked around him slowly before calling forth his escape spell, appearing in the Selphia Town Square to the sounds of cheers and a roaring voice talking. He moved quickly to the room as people began scattering to their daily lives, leaving him and a much older Venti standing before him. She looked at him and smiled only slightly before looking behind him expectantly. "Where...?"

"Leon Karnak had merge with the Forest of Beginnings Venti. She sacrificed herself to save me... and I assume you." Leon answered the half formed question, his eyes staring into hers. He hoped Venti had not be so cruel as to send that frail looking female to him as dangerous as it was, though so much time had passed he wasn't sure. The man watched as the hopeful look that was in Venti's eyes fade to be replaced by anger and inwardly he let out a sigh of relief. Living a life beside the Earthmate that had to free him through his dreams had made him more than a little attached to the feisty green eyed woman. Thinking that Venti had in anyway endangered her had made a slow simmer of anger boil inside his mind. Looking to the Native dragon he chuckled as she began ranting about how inconsiderate the little fool was. As Venti was about to leave he cleared his throat and smile. "Oh yeah... She told me to tell you thank you for being her friend. And that it was fun."

With that he went outside for some air, knowing as he heard the beating of Venti's large wings, that the Earthmate would be saved. His head lowered, his fan of peacock feathers rising to tap his shoulder. "That little fool. I hadn't even had a chance to meet her face to face and she risks her life for me... I will have to make sure I remind her at some point how foolish that was."

As Leon stood there a woman walked forward and smiled, the look bright and cheery for a afternoon covered in clouds. He raised an eyebrow as she waved, her happiness seeming a bit... naive even though he could easily place her as an adult of the community. "Hi there! I'm Lin Fa. You must be one of Terra's rescues."

"Terra... So the vixen has a name..." he thought to himself as he nodded once. "If you refer to the green eyed girl who woke me then yes I suppose I am. I am Leon."

Lin Fa chuckled and patted his arm, the act surprising to him as her following words, "Well that must mean you don't have a place to stay. You can stay with me and my daughter Xiao Pai. I have the inn in town and I think I have a spare room you can use,"

Speechless, Leon followed the woman as she chattered away about the inn, shocked at how open she was. As they passed various members of the town each greeted him and was introduced to him by Lin Fa. Soon he was set in a room and had a minor grasp on the people in town, including the Earthmate. He chuckled to himself as he thought of the story of how she arrived into town, and all her exploits so far. He found her interesting to say the least, yet he was unnerved by how jealous he felt when males, including the other male Guardian Dylas, spoke of the tiny woman with such familiarity and warmth. Restlessly he walked back to the castle, walking straight into the "Dragon room" set up for Venti. He smiled a bit as he thought of how so many worshiped a dragon he knew growing up. The reverence many used when speaking of a childhood friend made him laugh inwardly, thinking Venti as the poor little girl turned princess. As he thought this he watched as Venti began lowering herself into the room, the peeks of a body on her neck telling him that the little Earthmate had been saved.

Relief swamped him but, as always, he hid it away, choosing instead to tease his friend and telling her that he was happy enough to see her alive still, then turned to the small female that saved him. His foxes ran forth in exuberant excitement, chuffing and jumping on her for attention. She knelt and petted them, the first warm happy smile he had seen on her face since the pair had began watching over her for him crossing her lips. The shock it sent through his body had him uncomfortable, almost on edge as he began speaking to her. "I should thank you too, Earthmate. Will you tell me your name?"

"Oh... I'm Terra." She answered, her smile friendly and warm. He smiled back at her, his smile speaking volumes of mischief as he thought of how much he actually knew of her but had not even learned her name until today. "All right then. I shall remember it. My apologies for troubling you. But... Thank you for keeping your promise."

"Don't thank me. My contribution here is insignificant. You should thank the other Guardians instead." She said, a small laugh entering her words as she smiled brightly at him. Once again he was at a loss from the feelings that came up as he saw her bright smile, no longer tinged by sadness. He steeled himself not to reach out and touch her, instead turning away with a smile on his lips. "I shall then. Now... I do not know how long I have been asleep but I feel weak. I think I shall rest for a bit."

Both the Native Dragon and the small Earthmate nodded before Leon turned and walked out, giving a small signal to the foxes as soon as he was out of the room to follow Terra. Though he was now in town and awake he could not just show up when ever she needed him as he wished to. Instead he would send his foxes and allow them to share the memories with him until he could be just a bit closer to her. That thought chilled him as he thought of the past and his promise. He sighed heavily and shook his head as he headed to the room at the inn, angered by his past and his promises. He tossed his fan on the bed as he walked into his room, his eyes staring vacantly out the window.

Centuries ago he had made a promise to marry a friend should she not cry any more. Even as a Dragon Priest he could have married her, and probably should have. But he hadn't. He thought the promise a small thing between friends, nothing to be taken seriously. And yet the day he was chosen to be Guardian he had seen her face. Tears swimming in her eyes, pain and loss filling Maria's depths, and then he had known that she hadn't thought the same as he had. She had believed it to the depths of her soul. And he had taken it away from her by becoming a Guardian, by leaving to save the country. He had been selfish and yet... and yet .. He smiled as he thought of the small woman who was probably napping or working her fields once again. Her bright smile and glinting emerald eyes. "I won't marry, Maria... But is it so selfish to wish to steal even a few moments with her? I will keep my promise to you... I won't marry another. I just wish to be by her side... even for a while... until she can't stand that I can't give my all to her. Hmph... sounds more like I am still being selfish doesn't it? I wish to be with her knowing that one day she would have to choose between me and another... and my jealousy …. no... I may get jealous but I will allow her happiness … I have to."

With that thought he turned away from his window, his fists clenching at his thoughts. Closing his eyes he reached for his fan and placed it on the bedside table. His body fell back on the bed with a soft thump and he closed his eyes with a heavy sigh. "No use thinking like that. After all, no one says she will want me anyways..."

Eyes fluttering open Terra let out a soft yawn, her arms stretching out to touch a soft furry body on her bed. She chuckled as she sat up to look at the fox that had obviously slept past the time for it to leave, the small creature yawning and looking up to her with a blinking glazed look. She laughed a bit and petted the creature's head, her head shaking as her eyes glinted with merriment. "If you wait I will carry you back to Leon before I go to work on the fields."

At the mention of Leon's name the vulpine's head lifted and it started looking around, it's expression seeming to be begging forgiveness for something. She laughed as she opened her closet and pulled out her blue dress. "He's not here. And after you and the other greeted me yesterday I think it's kind of obvious that you two are his foxes. You two are adorable though so I don't mind him sending you guys. It ….. it helps me, ya know?"

She felt a bit silly for talking to the animal as she dressed but as she looked to the furry ball on her bed that was watching her intently she got the feeling that it understood her. She brushed out her hair, pulling it into her typical pigtails, the motions helping her to calm her nerves a bit. She was planning on visiting Leon already but something about the tall male with fox ears made her somewhat nervous. She felt exposed when he watched her, almost like he knew about her crying when alone and such. She brushed the feeling away when he stared into her eyes as she introduced herself but still found it a bit disconcerting that he made her feel both safe and yet hunted all at once. She lifted the still sleepy animal into her arms, smiling gently at the sound of disappointment at being moved the fox made before heading out the back door. Cutting through her main field, she came out into the airway part of town. She nodded and greeted Both Lin Fa and Porco, the latter standing right out side her fields, before heading into the inn. Her footsteps slowed as she reached the stairs and she took a soft shuddery breath before walking up the stairs. As she turned around the banister she spotted Leon moving in the room to the left and smiled, unsure why seeing him still in town made her feel almost giddy. She walked up to Leon and smiled brightly, hiding her nervousness about being around him. "Good morning Leon. I think I found one of your fuzzy friends."

Leon turned to her, his bright blues eyes staring into hers before he glanced down at the silver fox curled against her chest. "Good morning …... Looks like you did find him. His mate came back this morning without him. I suppose he was too comfortable to want to move. I wonder why."

A blush crept up her cheeks as Leon looked into her eyes, a small smile playing across his lips as he lowered his voice for the last remark. She extended her arms to hand him the furry fox to him, the animal making a small noise that made Leon chuckle. Her took the fox and placed it on the bed next to the other one, which was already curled next to his pillow asleep. The pair curled around one another and sighed before nodding off again, leaving Leon's attention squarely on Terra. Her arms went behind her, her hands clasping, as she licked her lips nervously. "So ….looks like you had little issue finding a place to stay..."

Leon's gaze stayed on her face as she spoke, the urge to touch her, to calm her, strong within him. He knew that he made her nervous, though she was making a good attempt at hiding it. He nodded slowly, his own tongue slipping out to slowly lick across his lips. He moved closer, catching her scent as he inhaled as he moved within arm's reach of the woman that had haunted his dreams when he slept through the night. "Yes, Lin Fa and Xiao Pai have made sure I feel at home as well. It still feels as though a dream I may wake from suddenly. Though to wake from a dream with you would be a crime I am sure."

"Wha..?!" Terra replied, her eyes going wide even as her voice squeaked in surprise. He watched as a rosy blush climbed her pale cheeks, his head lowering so that his mouth was near her ear. "How cute you are when you turn such a rosy red. I do believe I will have the most fun messing with you."

The nearness of her head near him allowed him to take in her scent easily, the mix of some flower and the earth intoxicating to him. He forced himself to stand straight, enjoying the shy nervousness that had filled her face. "Hmmm... seems she is just as affected by me as I am her... I am surprised... She seems so innocent. Has she had no man show her how much she affects him by getting as close as I have?"

The thought of a man other than himself getting so close to Terra caused a strange sensation of anger and jealousy to slam into Leon, his skill at hiding his true thoughts finally a boon as he hid the reaction from the Earthmate. In front of him Terra shifted and bit her lip, nerves showing on her expressive face. "I...I should get going... I gotta work the fields and do my morning rounds. I will see you later Leon."

With that the girl practically ran out the door, glancing to him as she rounded the banister for the stairs. He bow to his waist as she looked to him, a smile playing on his lips as he watched her face get redder before she ran down the stairs. He looked to the foxes on his bed and chuckled softly. "I always knew you two were troublemakers."