That's How the Story Goes

Chapter 2

Leon hummed to himself, earning lots of wary looks from those he passed by. It wasn't a rare sight to see him in a good mood but when he seemed extra excited there was normally a reason for it. Everyone gave him a rather respectful distance to ensure that they were not his intended target. Luckily for them, he already had a target in mind and Leon had spent most of the night too excited to sleep. Instead, he was wondering about the story he had begun to tell Frey.

She really seemed to be invested in it and it also seemed to perk her up a bit as she listened. Since he had finished the little bit of work he did around the Inn to help Xiao Pia and her mother, it was just a matter of finding out where the busy princess was at. Frey had so many things to do. It was rather impressive how she managed to get it all done in a day. One minute she could be in Blossom's store, the next she could be out in the Sechs Empire getting materials. You never knew where she would end up on any given day.

But that was part of the challenge.

The fox man wandered the town idly. Listening for rumors of where Frey had made off to for the day. Which turned out, she was off doing a lot of things today. Some said they saw her with Arthur working on official royal things, others spotted her heading out of town on another adventure. Eventually, the day had made its rotation into the early night with the sun beginning its descent behind the horizon. To say that Leon was a little put off by the turn of events was an understatement but he couldn't ask her to give up her entire day just to entertain him. So he continued to wander the town aimlessly. Hoping to catch a glimpse of his twin-tailed target.

Fortunately for Leon, the gods seemed to be smiling upon him. Because as he wandered towards the Dragon Lake, a certain mint haired princess was bustling about. She held a determined air about her as she went about cleaning up the shore to the lake. Ores were stacked nicely off to the side as well as piles of trash left behind by travelers. Her fishing pole sat on the shore next to a basket full of fish. A light layer of sweat made her skin gleam in the sun as she went about organizing the last of the debris into piles.

As Frey turned around to grab her fishing rod, she saw Leon as he made his way towards the lake. Her face morphed into a cheery grin while she waved to him. "Hiya, Leon! Lovely weather today isn't it?" she said.

"That it is. A wonderful day to do some fishing at the lake." Leon replied as his tail twitched behind him. The excitement he felt earlier returned anew.

"But... you didn't bring a fishing rod. Do you want to use mine?" She asked as she gestured to the one in question. One that was really well made by the looks of it.

The fox man smiled and shook his head as he replied. "No, I plan on doing a different kind of fishing today."

His words piqued her interest and he saw it sparkle in her eyes. "What kind of fishing?" Frey asked with the pure innocence of someone who doesn't have a lot of knowledge about the world they lived in. Oh, how he hoped she would never lose that look.

"They say that if you stand barefoot in the lake and say a certain phrase you'll be able to catch the king of the lake," Leon answered while taking his sandals off and he could immediately feel the distrust coming off the girl in waves. When he looked back up at her, a wary expression greeted him but she looked like she didn't want to completely discount his words.

"Okay... what is the phrase you have to say?"

Leon brought the fan up to his face to hide his smirk. "It's a big secret! I'll only tell you if you are serious about catching the kingfish," he responded while hiking up his pants so that he could begin walking out into the water.

"What? How do I prove to you I'm serious? You're the one not being serious." Frey stated. She crossed her arms and stared at Leon, who stood in about 6 inches of water.