Author's Note: Another fluffy little short. This doesn't take place at any specific time aside from the fact that the party's all together on the journey.
Eye of the Beholder
After traveling for most of the day, the group had found themselves at the surprisingly convenient caravan of the King of Adventure inn. Its proprietors had been napping in the midafternoon sun but the travelers decided to make themselves comfortable anyway and take some well-earned relaxation.
Yuri simply sat and basked in the warm air for a time before turning his attention to Estelle, who had been bent over and busily working on something. "Watcha doing over there?" He asked curiously.
"Oh!" She looked up and smiled brightly, excited about something. "I wanted to try drawing a picture."
"That sounds interesting."
"Hey! Let me see!"
"Somethin' sexy?"
Before Estelle knew what was happening, the members of the party were all clustered around her vying for a peek at her artwork. She was a little embarrassed at all the attention and blushed lightly, holding up the piece of paper.
Everyone was quiet for a few seconds until Judith spoke up first. "That's very impressive. You really captured his dangerous side."
"Do you think so?" Estelle asked shyly. "I was trying to portray his cute and cuddly side..."
"Cute and cuddly? A boar?"
The princess' expression faltered as she tried to protest. "What? No, it's--"
"Are you blind?" Rita butted in. "It's obviously a death mantis."
"No way! I thought it was an eggbear!" Karol exclaimed in surprise.
Several more seconds of silence passed before Raven added his opinion. "Well, I thought it was Yeager myself, but..." The older man couldn't help but falter at the would-be artist's crestfallen expression. It was obvious they had all been way off base.
Yuri was the one who stepped forward then and studied the picture. He grinned at his friend reassuringly. "Don't worry, Estelle. It's great. Why don't you go show it to him? I bet he'd like it."
Estelle immediately brightened up, the words washing away the disappointment she had felt from everybody else's comments. "Do you really think so?"
"Of course. Go for it!" He gave her a thumbs up. She nodded happily and leapt up to dash after Repede, who started retreating as soon as she approached.
Karol watched in mild surprise for a few moments before questioning his friend, "how'd you know, Yuri? I couldn't tell what it was at all, just...a dark blob." He received no answer and glanced up at the man's face, which sported a look that was both sheepish and confused. "Yuri? What's wrong? You got it right, didn't you?"
"Huh? Oh, right. Sure. It's nothing...I'm just surprised that Repede doesn't wanna see it." Yuri waved the kid off, then scratched his head. I could've sworn it was Ba'ul.