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How Leon hated that mutant-chicken. That ‘mutant-chicken’, in fact, had a name. After glancing at the name tag on its collar, Leon learned that its actual name was ‘Candycane’, yet he couldn’t be bothered to remember the ridiculous name either. 

While it had tagged along near the end of the group due to Leon’s trouble with staying upright on the bird, the very sight of its fellow Chocobos sent Candycane into a frenzy. Its rider was already having trouble staying on as it gently paced along, but when it decided to follow the other Chocobos, things got out of hand. Leon was inches off from falling off the bird as he held onto its neck, his left leg slipping towards the ground every second. 

Eventually, however, Leon gave in to his fate and hung off the animal draped across its back like a piece of luggage. As it came to a halt, he slipped sideways off of the bird like a lifeless body and remained facedown on the ground for several long moments. Dragging himself up off the dirt, Leon stood up, legs shaking, and dusted himself off. While the others were parting with their mounts, some more lovingly than others, Leon looked Candycane in the eye. 

“I don’t like you.” 

Still mildly miffed at the bird, Leon trudged at the back of the group, unconcerned at the laborious dirt road ahead of them. Hearing Riley address him, Leon smiled and replied, “Vincent-san is right, I’m afraid. Giving you all a boost would drain me too fast. Even with Jasper-san’s healing thingy, it wouldn’t last long.” 

The white staff dug into the rocks, helping him heave himself up and soon he was ahead of the rest by a few feet. As of right now, his only concern was his clothes. They weren’t too bad in his opinion and though he wouldn’t care if they burned to a crisp, he did feel the need to be clothed at this moment, and dressed well. His strange attire didn’t scream ‘mage’ to him, nor did it say ‘haute couture’. Stuck somewhere in between, it nagged Leon more than he thought was healthy. However, he ignored it, and instead inspected his reflection in the airy blue orb perched on the top of his staff while waiting for the others to catch up. His crown complemented his eyes well, he had to admit, and he adjusted the shiny object before smoothing his hair down. 

He’d heard Ace fire a question in his and Hakuren’s direction, and he waited for the girl to finish speaking to the dark-haired boy before he answered. “I dunno, how about we shove one of us inside it – [i]not[/i] me, thank you very much, these clothes don’t go well with dragon saliva – and tickle it from the inside out?” He was only half-serious as he suggested his outlandish solution, a small smile playing on his lips. “Or of course, we could put on a show. Are they capable of registering human speech?” 

The climb soon turned more tiring than anything, and Leon found himself clinging to his staff for dear life. “I’m going to die.” He’d come to that logical conclusion in the first three minutes of intense climbing, and the idea of simply flying everyone up to the top of the mountain seemed ever more appealing. Logically, he would be dead before they reached the summit, but imagining it couldn’t hurt. The idea of holding onto the woman’s whip and having her drag him up the rest of the way didn’t sound too appealing; who knew where that whip had been. Truth be told, he didn’t feel as tired as he let himself show but climbing a mountain wasn’t on the top of his to-do list. “Why couldn’t the dragons live in a lagoon something? It’d reduce the risk of us falling down the mountain or being incinerated.”