Twisted Wonderland Moments

Leona's Laugh (Mara/Leona)

Takes place after spelldrive in book 2. Leona needs to laugh more because he has a nice laugh

Savannclaw dorm, nighttime, Mara's bedroom

It was silent in the dorm. Now, with the tournament over, the students had all hit the bed to recover from the long day, especially with the events that happened, such as the overblot and not to mention the injuries that most of Savannclaw sustained. Now that it's all over, everyone was sleeping soundly and taking the chance to recover.

Well, except a certain cheetah beastwoman.

Mara kept turning and tossing in her bed. Her tail moved through the sheets restless, and her ears folded back. She turned to face the roof above her and glared at it fustartedly. 'Why can't I sleep? Come on!' She scolded herself, turning back onto her side.

Her hands gripped the blanket, wishing to tear it up to release the restlessness inside. Her eyes were closed tightly, trying to force some sleep, but they popped back open, wide with agitation.

"Ok. There is clearly something keeping me awake." She said to no one in particular. She turned her face up toward the ceiling as if someone was up there, waiting to hear her rants.

"Alright. Let's recap." Her hand went in front of her face to list off all that had happened today. "Ruggie causes a human stampede. Leona loses it and goes into overblot. Somehow, the prefect saves the day without magic. Crowely gives Leona a chance to play just so the players he sabotaged can get revenge..." she listed off all the many adventures that happened in one day with each finger coming up as the list grew.

But that's when a thought came to her head. The list she formed with her fingers had curled back in the inside of the palm as she remembered something odd happened when Crowely made that offer with Leona. "Leona..." she mumbled, going back into her memories to find what was keeping her up.

Flashback

"I understand how you might feel. However, I'm not sure whether or not Savannaclaw can be in the tournament." Crowely informed the rest of the students. With the recent overblot just now and Leona's signature spell, it wouldn't be surprising if the majority of the dorm couldn't partake in the spellldrive tournament.

"Especially you, Mr. Kingscholar. Can you even stand right now?" The headmage inquired in concern, glancing at him as he spoke. Mara glanced her eyes at Leona, a bit curious yet worried. Out of their dorm, he appeared the most physically drained, particularly from his overblot.

Leona stared back at the headmage with a nonchalant expression at first. The cheetah knew he could be persistent at times, but she knew her housewarden wasn't foolish and, compared to the dorm, wasn't exactly stubborn.

"Heh...hahahaha!"

'He laughed?!' Mara thought in her head alarmed. Her ears rose up from the sudden volume of his voice, and it surprised her even more when the corners of his mouth perked into a smile. Not a smirk. An actual, genuine smile. "Don't you underestimate me, Crowely." Leona responded, his voice speaking with confidence.

Flashback ended

"He's...never laughed like that before. He sounded so... happy." she said to no one in particular, letting her hand fall on her chest. For the past three years that she knew him, Mara couldn't recall hearing him laugh so genuinely.

It wasn't bitter nor broken like when he was at the peak of his overblot. It sounded like he still had some life in him. Some spark that she thought wasn't there. She suddenly felt her mouth form into a small smile, still hearing that unique laugh of his.

"Eh?!"

But that moment ended quickly when her golden eyes widened and her face started to turn red when she realized that she was thinking about that about someone that she wasn't too fond of.

"Oh, get it together, Mara! This is Leona! The guy that you can't stand and nearly got you killed! Argh!" She scolded herself and pulled the blanket even tighter. "Me liking something about him, eh? Maybe it's a magic spell that's keeping me awake." She suggested in an attempt to find any other reason for her restless mind rather than accept these new, strange feelings that were forming tonight.