Chapter 2: Nicky reveals 'himself.'
NOTE: We ALL know what's gonna happen in this chapter. :P
Steve, Reed, Herby and Nicky returned to the town after a long amount of time fighting Goblins. Their clothes were very discheveled, with Herby's blue robe stained purple by the blood, Nicky's shirt having a garish red tone, and Reed's fighting clothes tinged with the nasty odour of bodily fluids. Steve was pretty much the only one that didn't get as much on him, and even that was stretching it. They were all tired, and went to the local inn.
The innkeeper was a kind, azure-haired girl, offering a very reasonable price so cheap it could be a bargain, giving the team a room for a mere 30 Gil. The team had made a sufficent amount of Gil fighting, so they gladly handed the cash to her.
They were pretty exhausted, and it was a long day, so the innkeeper bid them with a 'Pleasant Dreams!' and the team fell asleep.
However, not without washing out the blood off, and taking a nice bath. Before they fell asleep, I mean.
Reed had found a clean pond near the town in a forest. He felt refreshed soaking in the cool water. He yelled to his comrades to get over to the water.
"Hey, guys! Get over here! The water's great!" Reed cried with a smile. Herby was there in a matter of seconds, as he loved water. He had changed clothes, and was washing the robe off with small bits of the fluid, rubbing furiously at the stains. He got a fair bit of it off, and thought that it would have to do. He then proceeded to leap into the water, accompanied by Reed's splashing.
Steve and Nicky were just busy talking, and walking idly to the pond. Steve had started up the conversation, as he felt more comfortable without the other two to annoy him. Nicky was just busy, listening to Steve talk, and offering his comments.
"So, how's life as a Thief?" Steve inquired.
"Oh, I love it!" Said Nicky with a smile. "The rush from running around is great, but most of us Thieves are misunderstood. In fact, we rarely do steal." Nicky added.
Steve smiled at her remark. The two kept walking. However, Steve had noticed something. Those eyes, that look. They reminded him of someone he thought he knew.
She was a White Mage, Nicola. He would religiously study with her after their lessons were over. Herby would often dismiss that as an affair, and Steve thought it almost was, but he had told him he had his heart set on another top White Mage student, Cherry.
Steve, however, after some thinking, dismissed this as mere coincidence.
The two finally made it over to the wading pool, after talking some more. By then, Reed and Herby had finished their baths, had dry clothes, and were very pissed off at the long wait.
However, everyone refrained from killing.
The gang returned to the Inn again, after having to wait for Steve bathe himself and wash off the Goblin blood. Nicola had refused to take a bath, for some reason, and despite everyone else's chagrin at 'wasting time,' Steve was entirely cool with it. The group returned to the Inn, and fell asleep.
Several hours pass...
Steve and Reed had taken a catnap, rather than just doze off, like Herby did. The two had heard a ruffling sound, of a window opening, almost. A few noises of falling and running had occurred soon after. Reed and Steve slowly got up, but had accidentally stepped on the floor of their room too hard, and woke Herby up in a startle. Steve quickly flipped on the lights, illuminating the room quickly, and that hurt Herby's eyes. They looked around the room, and noticed that Nicky had disappeared, leaving no trace of his whereabouts. Their window was open, which was just what the team would expect if Nicky dropped out. The group leapt out of the window, each splitting in different routes. Risking their lives, as the dangerous enemies strike at night.
Steve went to move in a straight line of the forest, Reed taking the east and Herby going west. They ran around desperately trying to find their missing teammate.
Soon, Steve managed to hear some noises that sounded like splashing. He was worried about Nicky. What if he had gone off and drowned? He rushed towards the noise...
And he saw what appeared to be Nicky, washing himself in the water, with his now clean clothes neatly folded up. However, this version of Nicky appeared to have breasts, for some reason. Steve seemed surprised, but could not turn away. Now, he just knew that Nicky looked familiar.
Nicky was that Nicola!
(Author's note: See? You all totally expected that.)
The now-Nicola had finally noticed Steve looking, shocked, at her, and shielded herself from his gaze by covering herself up with her arms and shrieking.
The scream caught the attention of Herby and Reed, who ran over to the area of the noise.
After some dressing, and some embarassment, everyone was educated on the fact that Nicola was a female.
"Why didn't you want to tell us earlier, Nicola?" asked Steve.
"It's a long story." Nicola started.
"You see, I used to take classes as a White Mage. I somewhat liked that class, but it wasn't really what I wanted. I wanted to experience danger, and other stuff like that, you know?"
Herby looked taciturn, with his chin on his hand. "Go on."
Nicola continued. "I made many friends there, but I also wanted to experience something else, I was allowed to try another job, but it seemed that only Elven males could be theives. So, I disguised myself, and tried it out. It was very rewarding, but I lost the ability to cast White Magic."
Nicola put her head down in shame. "I'm really sorry, guys."
Everyone was quick to accept this, though. Herby noted "Sexist Elves."
Reed, however, had been quick to take everything in stride, saying, "Oh, that's okay. Steve knows enough White Magic to cover the entire party! Isn't that right, Steve?"
Steve was nervous at the question, though. "Uhm... sort of?"
Herby lightened the mood. "Of course ya do, Steve! You at least know Cure! Besides, what's the occasional Potion or Ether cost, anyway?"
Nicola was quick for the question. "They're actually fairly expensive."
Herby was silent, mouth agape. He then let out a loud "GYAAAAH!" in rage at the fact that it would be much harder to cure everyone.
Luckily, everyone was lucky enough to not encounter enemies either during or after the search, and were somewhat more educated on specific politics. They returned to the Inn, and finally prepared for what possibly be their longest and hardest battle yet.
Awesome! Chapter 2 is written! And we all knew what was gonna happen. Am-I-rite? Huh? Huh?
This story's starting great so far.