In which Caserion's things are shamelessly stolen.
"Uhh, are ya sure dis is a good-"
Zami was cut off as a scratchy hempen tunic was thrown at his face. He reached up, trying desperately to grasp at the coarse fabric, but he still wasn't very used to having so many fingers. It made him feel like an octopus or something. After a moment of struggling, he managed to wedge his hand into the tunic and lower it. He only had a moment to scowl over at Jazax before a matching pair of leather trousers blocked his view.
"Ugh, Jaz…" He grumbled, quickly moving to repeat the previous gesture.
"Quit complain' already and just get dressed," Jazax said as he continued to dig through Caserion's closet, "...less you'd rather run around lookin' like you got stuck in hand-me-downs."
His face finally free and clear, Zami glanced down at his own worn clothes curiously. The changes to his body shape made his pants much too long, his shirt far too tight, and his ankle cuffs rather bizarre. He hoped the damage wouldn't be permanent. Jazax didn't have such a concern, being that he'd apparently removed his priest robes before drinking the potion. Nice of him to give me a warning, Zami thought to himself as he began to strip.
"Jeez, this guy dresses so lame…" Jazax frowned, picking up a pair of shorts curiously, "And why is everything so dang scratchy?"
"I dunno, mon, I kinda like dem," Zami said with a shrug before stepping into the scratchy leather pants, "Kinda reminds me of what Mi'ten wears."
"Betcha wish those were her pants you were gettin' into, huh?" Jazax quipped with a perked eyebrow.
Zami shot a glare over across the room, which Jazax quickly deflected by turning his attention back to the closet. A beat passed in silence as Zami quickly turned his attention to pulling the scratchy tunic over his head, glad it could hide his blush for a moment.
"...Betcha never expected to be gettin' in her dad's pants instead," Jazax added with a snicker.
Zami pulled his head through the collar of the tunic and, before even pulling the shirt down over his stomach, reached over to grab a nearby book on alchemy. He tossed it in the direction of Jazax's head, equally surprised as the goblin when it actually met its mark. Jazax leaned back to look over at him with another cocky perked eyebrow, even as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Just put some pants on, mon," Zami grumbled, glancing aside and trying not to let the teasing get the better of him.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm goin'..." Jazax said as he finally settled on a robe-probably the only one in the closet that was made out of cotton instead of coarse linen.
As Jazax began to dress himself, Zami leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms. But as he waited, he suddenly got an idea how to turn the tables back.
"So, uh, by the way, Jaz..." Zami cleared his throat, looking away nonchalantly and trying not to crack a smile.
"Huh? What now?" Jazax turned towards him, the robe still over his head.
"Have ya, uh, spoken to Syrise at all?" He asked coolly, trying not to laugh when he saw his friend flinch.
"Uhh…. not… exactly," Jazax said with a little nervous laugh, "I've, uh, been kinda busy…"
"Yeah, busy, huh?" Zami perked an eyebrow, "Too busy for da woman ya love?"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Jazax said as he pulled the robe's collar down past his head, "Who said anythin' about lo… err, that, huh? Huh?"
"Well what would ya call it den?" Zami asked with a shrug.
Jazax sighed, shrugging a bit right back. He was quiet for a minute before turning to Zami, who was smoothing down his scratchy tunic.
"She smells nice," He said abruptly, causing Zami to look up at him with a perked eyebrow.
"Huh?"
"Syrise," Jazax said, looking down, "She smells nice, y'know?"
"Uhh…?"
"Y'know that smoky kinda smell that sticks with you after you stand next to a fire? She's kinda like that. But also, kinda like bubble bath. And nitroglycerin. Oh, and those drinks with the fancy little umbrellas."
Zami looked over at his friend with a quizzical expression.
"Dat just… sounds like all da stuff you like."
"Yeah," Jazax nodded, adding nothing further.
Zami said nothing further either, just pondering on that for a minute. He supposed, in his own way, that may as well be Jazax's confession of love. He knew the goblin couldn't be speaking literally-after all, he knew full well that Syrise always smelled of sweaty leather. But even he could see that it meant a little bit more, him saying that she essentially reminded him of everything he liked. Except money, of course. He was a goblin, after all, and nothing could ever replace cold, hard cash.
As the two of them finished dressing, Jazax cautiously set a pair of Caserion's leather boots in front of him, clearly wary of Zami's reaction. But Zami was too distracted by his thoughts, that he didn't even realize he was silently going along with it until he picked up the second boot, the first already worn. His now-oversized eyebrows shot up upon realizing that, for the first time in his entire life, he was wearing a shoe. He peered down at his elvish leg like it was about to sprout tentacles or something, and Jazax snickered quietly from beside him.
"Don't worry, they're harmless," He said with a grin, to which Zami just felt at the boot curiously.
"It feels weird…" Zami mumbled.
"Eh, you'll get used to it," Jazax said with a shrug, standing up, "Trust me, I didn't even wear shoes until I was twelve years old or so."
Zami looked up with a perked eyebrow and Jazax shrugged again.
"Nobody felt like givin' me any," He said nonchalantly, "Anyway, hurry it up a little, huh? We should probably get outta here before those two come back. I doubt Mythene's cranky dad would give us two seconds to explain anything before he's rippin' our throats out."
Zami nodded, looking down and watching as his foot disappeared into the leather boot. Once he'd pulled it all the way on, he stood up and took a tentative step forward. The sensation was an odd one, to be sure. It was like walking around on a pair of books or something. Still, walking with shoes on was easier to adjust to than his squished new body had been.
"Dis is crazy…" Zami mumbled, taking a moment to reflect his situation.
"Huh? What is?"
"I mean… I'm an elf now!"
"Uh huh…"
"In Darnassus!"
"Right…"
"Wearin' shoes!"
"Havin' a bit of culture shock, huh?" Jazax grinned, patting Zami on the arm, "Well, don't worry. This is all temporary, remember?"
Zami nodded, quietly feeling a little relief that everything-well, most everything-would be back to normal soon enough.
"And speakin' of temporary, time is money!" Jazax said as he crossed his arms, "So let's get goin' already!"
