Lir looked surprised when Leon pulled the warm blanket around him. His eyes softened and he gave him a sweet smile. "Thank you." He was very aware of how close Leon was to him and had the urge to lean over on his shoulder but restrained himself. He didn't want to do something Leon didn't want after all. He glanced over at him every now and then, fascinated by the way the light from the fire looked on his face.

Leon was staring into the fire, you'd think the man went blind or something seriously. But, his thoughts were more concerned with if this was awkward for Lir or what Lir thought. He didn't want to do anything Lir wouldn't like to do, but, his thoughts were also on how Lir looked. He may have looked like more of a guy than a girl, but, he could see why everyone called him the "Sleeping Beauty" Shaking the thought from his head yet still not moving, he closed his eyes a bit, those sleeping blossoms from earlier did touch his skin which made him tired, and the aroma itself was enough to knock out a whole kingdom in range. That's probably why the tower was so far away and there was no way to enter except to know how to get inside it. "Are you hungry?" Leon asked Lir, remembering he picked some fruit earlier on the way to the tower. Some apples and peaches and even some pears.

Until Leon had mentioned food, Lir hadn't really noticed how hungry he was. When he asked if he was hungry, Lir's stomach automatically gave out a low growl. He flushed slightly and gave Leon a rueful smile. "Now that you mention it, I am actually." As much as he hated to have to rely on someone else for the basic things he was going to have to have, like food, he knew he had no choice at the moment.

Unintentionally he moved just a bit closer to Leon, somehow comforted by his presence. One would think that after having been asleep all that time in the tower that Lir wouldn't be tired at all but that wasn't the case. However, hungry was proving to get the best of him as his stomach rumbled again.

"Here, I have a bag of fruit" Leon spoke looking for the bag, finding it, "Apples or peaches or pears?" he had a variety of fruits with him from the journey, Blazer ate half of the bag already without him knowing it until he checked the bag just then. Then again leon hadn't a clue his horse was a girl let alone pregnant with a foul.

All of the choices sounded really good to Lir but finally he pointed at a ripe peach. "That looks really good." He took it from Leon gently and bit into it. It was one of the best thing he had ever tasted. The taste exploded in his mouth and he closed his eyes in sheer pleasure. It had been so long since he had had anything remotely like what he was eating that he had almost forgotten how good this could be. The only bad thing was that peaches tended to be a bit messy since they were so juicy. A trail of juice ran down from the corner of his mouth, but for the moment he hadn't noticed.

Leon wanted to get it himself but that would be very awkward "Here, you have something on your chin. I am going to run off to get some more water, seems like Blaze is going to need it. Wait here with him" Leon smiled wrapping the blanket around him and giving the fruit bag to him walking off.

Lir's eyes widened at Leons words. He hadn't realized, or remembered, just how messy peaches were to eat. He reached up with his free hand to wipe off the stray juice and nodded to Leon. Lir felt a surge of warmth flow through him when Leon pulled the blanket close around him. Looking over towards the horse, he smiled softly. He watched at Leon disappeared into the shadows, a bit of uneasiness touching him for a moment. Who knew what was out there in the dark, just waiting for the right opportunity to strike.

Without another thought he unwrapped himself from the blanket and started towards the area Leon had gone. He might have been asleep for a very long time he still knew how to fight if it came down to it. He might be a little rusty at first but there was no helping that. He kept alert for any sounds of distress as he silently moved from the firelight into the darkness. Some things were never forgotten, such as how to move without making a sound. If Leon was in trouble, Lir didn't want to alert anyone of his presence until it was much too late.

Three men stepped into view circuling Lir as he entered a clearing uncertain to him and the men had the looks of killers on their face. Yet, they were smiling, there was no stopping the events to come next, or was there. "Hey, men, look at this pretty one, wonders where he belongs?" the captain spoke, he was the cleanest cut of each of them yet still ragidy looking. Leon was in a tree high above picking apples and peaches nearby knowing they'd last awhile.

Lir stopped and looked at the men circling around him. They didn't look very threatening but he could see the glint of killing in their eyes. He stood watching them as they circled around him, looking as casual as he could. Really he was tensed and alert, ready for anything they might try. He stayed silent but when what looked to be the leader spoke he turned his head toward him and gave him a wickedly dangerous cold smile , anticipation dancing in his eyes.

Lir could already feel the adrenalin coursing through his body. This was exactly what he needed to get himself adjusted to the new world he found himself in. No matter when it was, some things never changed. He knew he was a little rusty from being asleep for so long but he was sure that would change after just a few minutes. He still felt as limber as he had before being put under the spell so long ago. He waited for them to make the first move, watching them carefully and assessing their strengths and weaknesses as they circled him like hungry sharks. He might be very attractive, but looks were misleading.

Leon was walking back when he heard some noises but no screaming and his mind instantly went to Lir. 'He must be in trouble' and took off running dropping the fruit. He saw Lir in the middle of thug looking guys and pulled out his sword attacking the men. But he wasn't the only one that had a sword as a blade slashed by his face, an inch away.

Lir grinned as the men started to attack him. He dodged their blows with grace and ease. "Come now, hit me already!," he called out as he sent a fist smashing into one of the thugs noses. He glanced over to where Leon had rushed into the fray and started to make his way over to him amongst the fighting. The thugs were good but he was better. He seemed to move effortlessly as he rained down blows on their heads and dodged the attacks that were aimed at him. He finally reached Leon's side and stood back to back with him as they continued to fight off their attackers.

After awhile the men stopped attacking as they were all out and Leon looked to Lir "How'd you learn to fight like that?" the guy had just woken up not so long ago and could still remember everything. It seemed to Leon that there was more to learn than what just met the eye.

By the time all the men were out on the ground, Lir was grinning like a mad man. Nothing like a good fight to get the blood pumping. He was pleased his skills seemed to all be still intact. That spell must have stopped the process that would have made his muscles lose their strength and deteriorate with the passing of time. He had hardly broken a sweat. What little there was Lir wiped away with the sleeve of his shirt.

Lir turned back to Leon as he heard his question. "Lots and lots of practice and a mentor that wasn't satisfied with anything less than the best. I grew up around the palace and instead of wasting my time with lounging about, I put to good use and started to learn all I could about everything. In fact I had toyed with the idea of becoming an assassin but decided on another path." He gave Leon a weighing look. "I could teach you if you like." He couldn't help but notice just how much more appealing Leon looked in the aftermath of the fight.

Looking down at the men who lay on the ground he gave out a short laugh. "I don't think they will be getting up anytime soon, but perhaps we should move to another location just to be on the safe side." Lir didn't think it would be a problem if they stayed at their current campsite but it was always better to be safe than sorry in most cases.

(ah I'm SOOOOOO sorry, my pc didn't post my post XP)

Leon was a bit tired but not out of breath, he came for the princess- I mean prince and he even witnissed that Lir had known how to fight. For some reason, that was just...it was nice. Leon nodded "Of course, come on and yes I might just take you up on that" talking about learning to fight better. They made it to the campsite and was able to get Blazer up and moving a couple more miles. The moon was shining and the stars were out.

(no worries lol)

It was a beautiful night and Lir enjoyed being able to enjoy it with Leon. Every now and then he would shoot little glances over in Leon's way just to look at him again. It wasn't anything he could put his finger on but it felt as if he had known Leon forever. He felt extremely comfortable in his presence and that was rare. Usually he had his guard up for a very long time around people until he got to know them quite well.

"You know, even though we had to move our campsite, I have to admit I'm enjoying traveling under the night sky." He shot Leon a warm smile before looking up at the stars again. "Well so far the stars look the same as they did before I took my unintended 'nap'." Lir recognized several of the constellations in the sky and pointed a few out to Leon.

Leon didn't know the constellations hardly at all, he knew a few basic ones but that was pretty much it. Leon smiled listening to him, usually Leon didn't get along with guys very well nor with girls too much unless they were more like tomboy girls. The wind started to get a bit chillier outside as it also seemed to have gotten stronger little by little. "Are you cold?" Leon asked Lir wondering more about him.

The weather was starting to grow colder as the night progressed and what had been a pleasant walk was slowly beginning to be uncomfortable. Goose bumps rose on Lir's arms as a gust of wind pressed up against them. He looked over towards Leon, faintly surprised. "I'm starting to get that way. Maybe we can find somewhere to rest for the remainder of the night that will protect us from the wind." A nice warm fire would be wonderful as well but that would have to wait until they found a place to sleep.

"Alright why don't we walk a bit further to see if we can find something?" Leon replied as Blaze stood up and stared moving without them. Leon waited for Lir to stand, he even held out his hand, it was a habit usually. After that they started walking for about two hours and they luckily found an old abandoned shack like house.

The windows and doors could be closed and possibly might be able to lock them. Leon went inside, there was a small fire place, a dusty old couch, a room with an old bed which was only a mattress, and even a dresser where the drawyers were impossible to open. There wasn't no bathroom nor was there a kitchen, it looked as if it was a last minute type of thing.

Walking back outside, he walked blaze over to a weeping willow tree very close by the house and allowed her/him to rest their with a big blanket to cover with as they slept. "This house will do, better than sleeping on the ground, I'm going to find some wood, stay in the house" and with that he was gone for about 10-15 minutes until he returned with enough wood for the night and possibly the morning.

oh noes it died

((Sorry about that, I've been really busy and haven't responded to any of my rp's here lately, soon as I'm able I'll send u a reply but I gotta go into work right now))

(okay thats cool, just making sure :) Take your time)

Lir hadn't just been twiddling his thumbs while Leon had went to find some wood. While he was gone Lir set to work trying to clean up the old house so that they would be able to be more comfortable. It was obvious that no one had been here in quite some time. Maybe not as long as he had been up in that blasted tower but long enough that everything had a thick coating of dust on it.

The dust was just starting to settle down when Leon got back with his armload of wood. Lir quickly took some of it from him and started over where the fire would be starting. His fingertips brushed Leon's for a moment when he had taken the wood and for a moment there had been something like an electric current that had passed between them. His breath had caught when it happened but he didn't mention it in case Leon hadn't felt anything. He would be very embarrassed if he brought it up only to find out Leon hadn't felt anything at all.

Squatting down, he sat on his heels as he arranged the firewood so that they could begin to light it. As nice as it had been today the nights were still a bit chilly and even though he had toyed with the idea of shared body warmth, he wasn't going to come on so stongly to someone who might not have the same inclinations that he did.

Leon allowed the other one to help, he wasn't in the mood to do everything on his own right now, and it sure did catch his attention when their hands met for a very short time. Once the wood was in place, a fire was started, "Are you cold at all?" Leon asked as he brought the small sack of food over to see if Lir had wanted any.

Leon was wondering why he felt something between Lir and himself whenever they were close. Leon had gotten back up after moving things around a bit. There was a couch inside but it was old and dusty. "The couch doesn't fold out, but, I think its clean enough for you to lay on it" Leon didn't care much for luxary, sometimes it was good but only sometimes.

Lir looked from where he was sitting on the floor. "No not at the moment but I'm sure we'll be glad of it in the middle of the night when the temperature has dropped." He accepted the food Leon had brought over gratefully and began eating slowly. He glanced over towards the couch. He was doubtful that it would be long enough for his lanky form but it would have to do. "Yes that's fine, are you going to take the mattress?" It was in the other room so he thought maybe they could drag it out here where the fire was.

Leon didn't even think of the mattress "No, it may be in good condition, but, its too soft for my taste. You can have it, I'm going to sleep on the floor." Leon spoke as he started setting up his sleeping bag against the wall, maybe they can sleep throughout the night without any trouble, now that would be a good sleep for anyone. Leon had used a bed before, nonetheless, Leon was always out on quests or traveling to see the world. It was his main hobby since he was young, well younger around the age of 8 and he still hadn't thought about stopping, nor settling down.