Small Things Come in Big Packages [CLOSED]

Elliot's cluelessness about the actual 'condition' of his travel companion made for some interesting conversations since they had started off together. First off, he had a habit of walking around shirtless or even just in his underwear. If he stepped out of the shower, sometimes he didn't have the towel blocking himself. He started talking about his future with a woman, but notably kept any details about prior relationships out. He had habits of asking very personal questions that usually women wouldn't immediately answer. Things like "Are you into boobs or ass?" "Like them short or taller?" "Hot or sexy?" Guy talk... It was entertaining to watch the embarrassed reactions, but after a while, Elliot realized that "he" wasn't that type of man. Elliot stopped with the more personal questions and kept everything casual. Though, that unfortunately left conversation rather dull.

They were on their way through to Ardale, but it was going to take some time. The "Big Buy" was a sissy boy and Elliot was really ready to leave the guy behind. His behavior was just odd and reminded him of some sort of weak ass dude that hadn't even picked up a sword. "Only two more days..." Elliot muttered and nodded, "Yeah, we can stop off... But hey..." Elliot pointed forward when she saw the town coming into view. He could tell from there that something big had happened. Many people were building on burnt ground, while piles of rubble had been made before the rebuilding. "Hm... Something big must have happened here..." Elliot continued looking around as the two of them got closer. He kind of hoped that most people were okay, but with this kind of destruction he knew better. It was then that he noticed the people around were all wearing similar symbols of some sort.

Lillianna and Vaughn were enjoying small talk when a Knight came in. Lillianna planned to sit and wait for him, but he offered her to join him. She gave a soft nod and took the hand of a Knight who helped her out of the wagon. "Thank you." she said as she stepped down and continued with Vaughn. This view was strange on both ends. The most normal view was Elliot and Vaughn, but if you paid attention to Lillianna and Rosalie... Um... Lillianna watched the armored knight hide behind the shorter guy and placed her hand over her mouth and tried not to laugh. It didn't help that Vaughn was apparently a fan of the armor the girl was in. "Eh... Wait, aren't you... Yo, Big Guy... This is the guy we're looking for, right? Vaughn something or something... You're into armor? We were sent to ya... Can you remove the curse from this thing? He actually can't remove it; It's just... stuck on him."

"I believe that is..." Lillianna paused for a moment as she regained her composure and stopped laughing. She lightly cleared her throat and stepped forward beside Vaughn. "...more up my area of expertise." The moment Lillianna stepped forward, Elliot's jaw dropped and his eyes darted toward the large bust she had. "Holy Mother of Rydia..." he said a little too bluntly. Lillianna looked to him with a raised eyebrow and waved him off. "Sorry, but I'm more interested in your friend here." Lillianna said in a tone that struck a dagger through Elliot's heart. "Agh... Taller guys always get the hot chicks..." Elliot crossed his arms and looked to Vaughn. For a moment, he compared his and Vaughn's height. Elliot just smiled and gave a cocky "Ha!" when he realized he was taller. "Come, my dear... Let's see what we can do about that armor, alright?" Lillianna smiled, holding her hand out to the "Big Guy".

Lillianna is not used to asking for things. She sort of does what she wants and expects people to listen. She does this because she's not only the leader of a major guild, but because she's currently the best healer Arcadia has to offer. Not many people want to get on her bad side, so they often just step aside. She's used to being told yes. Of course, she's not aware of their reasons for just saying yes or stepping aside for her. She thinks they're just being nice. So, as she lead the "Big Guy" along, she went over to the Knight's tent. The tense was quite large, able to fit up to thirty people comfortably. It was also the only place tall enough to allow this armor through without bumping things around. "I'm sorry, but please step out of the tent. I need to use this it for some time." she said as she entered with the large suit of armor behind her, "I'd appreciate it if you all gave the two of us some privacy."

The Knights all nodded and cleared out. A few stared at the large suit of armor as they left, but they hurried along like Lillianna requested. "Alright my dear... Let's see if we ca-..." Lillianna turned to the entrance when Vaughn came in offering the notes. She took them and flipped through them quickly. With a smile, she nodded to Vaughn. "Thank you. This will be quite helpful." she said sweetly, but then turned Vaughn away. She placed her hands on the man's shoulder and sort of guided him out. "We'll need privacy for this, so make sure the other one doesn't get into any trouble while we're busy. Okay? Thank you!" Lillianna gently shoved him out the tent and closed the flap behind him, using a leather tie that was provided to 'lock' it. With a deep breath, Lillianna began mentally preparing herself while she was reading the notes. It was going to be difficult, but not too bad.

Hours passed them by and Lillianna was using chalk to write up magic circles, concentrate her arcana, and keep the incantation that the notes provided going. The incantation to actually break the curse was secretly encoded through the notes and was pretty hard to crack, but luckily she cracked it. She informed Rosalie that the moment the curse is broken, the armor is going to collapse around her to be prepared for a lot of weight. A total of twelve hours passed and morning was on it's way. The sun was rising in the sky and a final flash of Arcana lit up the tent. The armor fell, it's weight restored as the curse was lifted and Lillianna finally stopped her ritual. She crawled quickly over and pulled the helmet off. "As beautiful as I thought you'd be..." she said in a motherly tone as she helped Rosalie out of the rest of the armor, "My dear... I believe your friend is unaware you're a woman."

Lillianna helped the girl sit up and brushed her hair from her face. "I think it'll be a good idea to get you into the bath..." Lillianna explained and helped Rosalie stand up. She wasn't sure how the armor would have effected her muscles since the curse kind of kept the armor holding up. Lillianna was just being extra careful. "We'll get you cleaned up for your first actual introduction, okay?" Lillianna said and began leading Rosalie out of the back of the tent and toward the forest, "Come. Let's go." Conveniently and totally not put there for story purposes at all, there was a lovely hot spring located a little into the forest. Lillianna's plans were to wash clothes and let them dry while the girls bathed.

The shyness of the young girl Lillianna was now with could not be called anything less than adorable. Lillianna could tell that the one in that large suit of armor wasn't exactly the rough and tough type because she had been hiding behind someone that was technically shorter than her. It was just cute to reveal the mystery within. Now this little lady was even cuter. She kept hiding herself, as if Lillianna was a guy. It is possible to assume Lillianna was a lesbian or at least bisexual, but she wasn't. At least the conversation wasn't dull; it was actually quite sweet. Lillianna enjoyed meeting people that were fans of her work as long as they didn't try and gawk at her. "Yes, that's me." Lillianna replied kindly as she slid down into and relaxed in the warm water. She tilted her head at Rosalie and smiled, "Not saying much? It's always nice to meet those who enjoy my work, so thank you for that."

"Supportive and healing magic is my specialty. I've tried to expand my abilities beyond just making someone faster or stronger..." Lillianna said, looking at her hands as if remembering things about her magic, "I've even delved into poison removal, fire and cold resistance, and even sense enhancers... But I'd rather not talk about me, honestly... Hun, what exactly got you trapped inside that armor?" Lillianna began washing herself as well. Twelve hours of non-stop spell casting was difficult. She was tired and had sweat through the process as well. She wasn't that shy about her body in front of another woman though. She didn't try to hide herself, but she also didn't try to keep this young girl from doing so. She understood that some people just didn't feel comfortable doing that. "Oh... Wow, how rude of me. What is your name, if I may ask?" Lillianna realized and smiled as she asked.

"You know... If you had just told him your name, you likely wouldn't have to deal with what is coming next..." It was like Lillianna just knew what happened between them. Either that, or she greatly understood the male locker room scenario. Lillianna had actually stepped into the male locker rooms at her guild hall many times. It was on purpose and supposed to embarrass everyone in there. They always think twice before destroying half of a town, not completing a job, or even taking the valuable item for themselves now, so she really regrets nothing. This isn't to say she wasn't impressed or felt bad for certain male members. Some people just weren't packing enough heat. Anyways, the bath ended and the two felt refreshed. Lillianna at least felt fresher; she was still tired as hell. The two snuck back into the tent and came out of the other end to reunite with those that were waiting.

"Now do you understand why we needed some privacy?" Lillianna added after Rosalie answered. Seeing Rosalie apologize so quickly, as if she was scared of everyone, Lillianna just chuckled. "Hun, you don't have to be shy... No one here is going to hurt you and if they tried, I'll castrate them." Lillianna spoke that a little louder to make sure certain people did hear. A few knights had gathered around and were muttering about Rosalie being the one in the armor, so Lillianna immediately revealed her protective motherly instincts. And it was just then that Lillianna noticed that someone was staring at her. Well, no. It was just in her direction. Lillianna turned her head to Elliot and sucked in her lips to prevent herself from laughing. The look on Elliot's face was priceless. He was deep red, frozen still, and wide eyed. "What the hell happened between you two?" Lillianna asked Rosalie curiously.

"YOU'RE A GIRL!?" Elliot finally spat out and rushed forward, staring shocked at Rosalie, "YOU COULDN'T HAVE TOLD ME THAT!?" The man flailed his arms and then grabbed his hair. "Agh! I would have been so much nicer and I wouldn't ha-..." Elliot froze. Things were coming back to his mind. The questions he asked her were so personal. He would never had just asked those to a girl. The way he talked to her; he always called her 'Big Guy' and never even asked her name because it didn't really matter. It would have mattered if he knew she was not a guy! He would have been so much more gentlemanly and he wouldn't have walked out nake-... He walked out naked. He walked out naked. He walked out naked. He walked out naked. Holy shit! He walked out naked! "I... am... so... sorry..." Elliot just fell backwards and blacked out. Yes, this man just fainted and Lillianna just laughed so hard.

This was awkward. For one, Elliot had actually fainted. Men don't faint. What the hell? It was just too much for the guy to handle. He had been spending so much time with someone while assuming they were a guy. This caused him to act a certain way and it was so embarrassing! He even dreamed about it. As he lay unconscious his mind flooded with images of pelvic thrusting suits of armor, embarrassing questions, nude men of all ages, and anything else that really felt like a over dramatic dream. When he finally awoke, his eyes snapped open and his body tensed. He had a bit of sweat on his forehead and had to regain his composure. Where was he? He blinked a few times and wiped his brow before he realized that there was a pretty girl staring down at him. "Ar-ar-are you o-okay?" It took him a few moments to even realize who that was and when he did he quickly sat up scoot away.

"Fine." he cleared his throat, "I'm fine." He turned half-way away from her, still collecting himself from this new found knowledge. He was so embarrassed and angry at himself. He'd never assume gender again, no matter the circumstances. She apologized, but he sort of ignored for a moment. He needed to reply correctly; she was a girl after all. "In that armor... you sounded like a man." he explained. His voice kept low, almost a whisper, but still not so airy as one would be. "You didn't think it strange that I..." his mind went back to him walking around nude after a shower and he froze. He calmed down with a half-annoyed sigh and turned back to her. "I walked around nude in front of you, called you Big Guy, and asked you questions that a man wouldn't normally ask a woman..." he said more bluntly and with some anger, "You're either extremely sheltered or stupid. Which one is it then?"

Elliot stared with narrowed eyes at Rosalie the entire time. He was annoyed and was showing it, but when she called herself stupid it changed. His eyes widened momentarily and he felt guilt pulling at his chest. He looked away, sighed, and looked back to her. "Don't apologize... It was an odd situation for the both of us..." he said and then turned away to mutter under his breath, "Even if I did get the raw end of the deal..." Elliot turned on his butt to fully face her, placing his arms on his knees as he slouched forward toward her. "And you're not stupid... You survived, didn't you?" Elliot asked, "Sorry for that. Shouldn't make a girl feel bad... I know that. So, well... I don't know... Ugh. This is just weird!" Elliot stood up and put his hands on his waist before turning away. "Well... I held up my end of the bargain, so I'm out." He walked toward the door and stepped out. At first, he went left, but when he realized he turned the wrong direction, he turned on his heel. "Yeah, exit is not that way..." he said and stepped away from the door. As he started walking off, he felt like something was off. There was something about leave in this manner that bothered him.

Elliot stopped when he felt some resistance on his shirt. He looked back to Rosalie and raised an eyebrow. "What is it?" he asked. She was so shy. Now that she wasn't stuck in a massive suit of intimidating armor, and disguised as a man, Elliot could admit that she was cute. She went on stumbling over her words. When she finished, Elliot turned toward her again. He leaned down and put himself at eye level. He moved close to her until their noses were practically touching. "You just want me for my body." Elliot spouted out. He was being a brat, a little playful as well, but it was mostly revenge. He knew she'd react with a major blush, squeak, or maybe even a fainting spell. Either way, it was going to be an entertaining reaction and he was going to feel a bit better about their situation. "Hahahaha." he laughed happily and stood up straight again. He rubbed the back of his head and placed his hands on his hips. "No really, why would you want me to join you?" he asked with a slightly raised eyebrow and a small smile, "You can just hire some guild person, you know... I'm not exactly the dungeon diving type. I'd probably just get in your way by setting off traps I didn't see... So why?"

Rosalie's reaction was exactly what he thought it would be. Of course, he didn't mean to make her fall. Her adorable exclamation on guilds was interesting. He learned something new about her. "Alright then." Elliot said, his voice more gentle than before. He stepped over to her and picked her up by wrapping an arm behind her back and taking her hand with his other. "I have nothing else on my plate, so I can help you out." he said as he stepped back to give her personal space, "Now that I know you're a woman, I'll have a different kind of respect that should have been shown from the beginning." Elliot stepped over to the door and motioned for her to follow. He went until the two of them were outside and looked around. "Desert Rose, huh?" he turned back to her with a smile, "It seems you have a goal. What do you think it will take to get them to accept you? Do you think collecting some ancient artifact would work? I assume that's the type of guild they are if a dungeon diver has them in her sights." Elliot gave her a moment to respond and then spoke up again, "First off, what was your name again? ... I'll call you Rose, or Rosie, or Ro. How about Rosa? A nickname that only I call you is needed."