Support Conversations: Part II

Ed and Delilah(B level):

When the battle against The Fox and his soldiers ended, Delilah and her party rested upon a clearing that was free from beasts or travelers. The party leader was taking a swig of water from her flask when Ed wandered up to her.

"Hey, Delilah," he asked with a grin, "wanna look at the clouds with me?"

"I don't know, Ed. I'm exhausted, and it doesn't help that everyone's staring at me as if I've grown a second head," she replied.

"Aww, c'mon, it doesn't take that much effort! I even found a little hill up a ways that we can sit on and stare into the sky!" He grabbed her wrist and dragged her along. Despite having protested initially, Delilah was used to Ed's antics. Maybe some cloud watching would be good for her.

They sat upon a small green hill that rose up out of the ground. From the hilltop, they could both see the bright sky through the fog and keep an eye on the group. Delilah laid back on the grass and closed her eyes. She relished in this feeling of peace that Ed exuded. It was like being wrapped in a warm blanket.

"Ed, are you hugging me right now?" she asked, her eyes still shut.

"Maybe," he replied happily, like a little child.

"I don't like to be touched, y'know, so try not to be so clingy, okay?"

"Sir, yes SIR!"

"That's more like it. Now, what do the clouds look like?"

Ed put his finger to his chin and thought for a moment. "Well," he said with a very serious voice, "there's a cloud that looks like a pair of swordsmen in action, and I think I can see a pretty rabbit. Ooh, and I see a demon devouring a sheep. Do you think that's an omen?"

"Maybe," Delilah replied. "Is the rabbit bleeding?"

"…No."

"Then I think it is fine."

Ed continued to list off what the clouds looked like that day, and Delilah stayed by his side the whole time. At one point, she fell into slumber and curled up against Ed, which made the large boy blush. Rather than run away like he would do if May or another girl got this close to him, he wrapped a protective arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.

"This was fun," he said to himself. "We should do it again sometime."

Eddward and Nazz (B level):

After defeating the hordes of undead men in the Konohal Swamps, Nazz had begun to avoid Eddward; she felt uneasy and more than a little scared around him. It was because she had seen how destructive he was capable of being. She knew that she could not avoid him altogether. Sooner or later, they would talk about it.

"We have to," the archer whispered aloud, "before something like that were to happen again."

"If what would happen again?" asked Eddward. He had snuck up behind Nazz to get her attention, since she had been keeping her distance from him.

Nazz spun around to face him. "E-Eddward!" she squeaked, her voice becoming very high. "What're you doing here?!"

"I wanted to see if you were all right. And I wanted to know if you would help me with my physical training."

"I-I'm fine! I've just…I've just had some things on my mind. But first, let's get to our training!" This would give them the perfect opportunity to talk with each other, when all the others would leave them alone and they could just talk.

The two of them walked to a gigantic tree that was almost as wide as a cottage and easily five times as tall. Its bark was an aged brown, and the leaves were a vibrant green.

"We're going to climb THAT?!" asked Eddward as he began to remove his Shaman's Cloak.

"Yep," Nazz replied. "I think we'll climb up to the middle of the tree, then rest and keep going."

"Oh, this will take all day," Eddward moaned.

"It will if you don't get going!" Nazz giggled. "Now get to climbing!"

As Eddward attempted to climb the tree, digging his fingers into the bark in an attempt to get a grip on the old tree, Nazz could not help the smile that spread across her face. THIS was the friendly shaman who had befriended her, and that was all that mattered. He may have his secrets, but that was fine with Nazz.

"This is just fine," she whispered as she began climbing up after Eddward, who was making good progress.

Eddy and Delilah (B Level):

After protecting the travelers from harm, Eddy had tried to seek a reward from the people, but Delilah smacked him across the head. "What was that for?!" he cried, but she did not answer him.

"Are ya mad at me, love?" the short thief asked.

"Didn't I tell you to stop calling me that?" Delilah growled as she stomped away to the leader of the travelers. She really did not want to deal with Eddy and his stupidity at this time, not after revealing her identity to half of her party.

The rival thief did not let up. "C'mon, Lavender, tell me what's wrong."

""Lavender"? Is that the best you can come up with?"

"I see I don't get points for trying," Eddy sighed.

"Not really."

"Will you just tell me what's wrong?!"

Delilah spun around after sending the travelers on their way. "Look, you want to know why I'm angry? It's because I'm the princess of Konohal!"

"Prin-"

"Yeah, PRINCESS!" she screamed. "I've been trying to keep it a secret for the longest time, and now I've gone and told everyone. Oh Luap, what're they going to think of me?!"

Eddy stared blankly at her and then said, "Your cloak is burned, love. Here, let's get rid of it." He took Delilah's emerald cloak, which had been burned by mage fire, and fingered it in his hands. "How much do ya say that's worth, princess?"

"Um…probably, er, 5,000 gold, but-"

"Well, it's worth a lot less now. Any sentimental value?"

"No, none whatsoever."

"Good." Eddy drew his sword and tore through the cloak. The forest green cloak was ripped to shreds, left in strips along the forest floor.

"There," said Eddy as he put his sword away. "No need ta thank me! I'm just doing my job!"

Delilah gaped at him. "You…you just destroyed my cloak."

"'Course I did, princess! I just wanted ta let ya know that we're not going ta think any less of ya. But, if ya ask me, I don't see how you could get it any lower. Now c'mon," he grabbed her hand, "let's get something ta eat, princess."

After hearing him say those words, Delilah felt a little relieved. He was right: no one would care one way or the other if she was a princess or not.

"I don't suppose you could stop using that nickname, Eddy?" she asked.

"Sure. Which would you prefer: love, princess, Yer Majesty, or Yer Lovely Princess Majesty?"

"You know what? Stick with 'love'."

"Whatever ya say, love."

Ed and May (B Level):

When the battle in the fortress had concluded, the imprisoned villagers celebrated their freedom by holding a grand feast full of ample food, drink, and merriment. When May saw that Ed was singing a song to himself, she giggled and wandered over to his side, her own wine goblet in her hand.

"I'm a Podcheen, come to the Wadjeen," sang Ed, "I got money, and acres of land…" He trailed off into laughter, but May began to sing the same song. Ed looked over at her and smiled broadly as he started singing once more. "I'm looking for a honey, with a bit of money. Catch me if you can, me name is Dan, Sure I'm your man!"

The two young travelers laughed uproariously for what seemed forever. Ed's mind was gone, spirited away by the wine he drank, and May was no better off than he. When Ed tripped on a stick on the ground, he cried, "Oop!" and fell. He did not know that his hands would reach out and grab the closest thing to him, in this case, May's arm. They fell in a heap on the dirt floor of the fort, but their smiles returned to their faces once more a moment later. It did not occur to either of them how close they were to each other at that time.

"Ed?" asked May, "Do you remember the first time we met?"

"How could I forget?" he replied. "Me n' Eddward n' Eddy were travelling around, and we put on a puppet show for the children of your village. I was the tree."

"And you were a very handsome tree," May said. "But do you remember what happened after that, when you REALLY met me?"

"But of course!" laughed Ed. "You and Marie were bugging a fruit vendor, and I thought that he was being mean to you, so I started hitting him with all my might. Yes sir, I do remember."

May's eyes drooped and her lips turned upward. "And do you remember what you said to me then?" she purred.

"Um…"Ed has saved the day yet again!"?"

"No, silly!" she giggled. "You said, "Someday, turtledove, we'll get married! And you won't have to worry about mean ol' fruit vendors ever again!"

"Uh…" A furious blush broke out across Ed's face. He threw May off of his body and shouted, "Sorry, May, I have to…uh…not…be here. Farewell!"

May pushed herself off the ground and watched Ed as he ran away, occasionally falling flat on his face. "Was it something I said?" she asked herself.

Eddward and Eddy (B Level):

While watching over Rolf's livestock at night, Eddward and Eddy decided to strike up a conversation with each other.

"So, Ghost-Face," said Eddy, "how does magic work again?"

"Well, Eddy," replied Eddward, "the key is that you at least understand the words in the magical tomes. If you can grasp the summoning concept, it's a snap!"

"Yeah, yeah, you've told me all this before. What else does it take?"

"The one who intends to cast the spell must have a trace of magical energy in his body. That's the most important requirement."

"What?!" Eddy threw his hands up in frustration. "I give up understanding magic at all! It's too hard!"

"If you only applied yourself to the study," Eddward told him, "you might find it easier than you think!"

"Forget magic, Ghost-Face! You can keep it!"

Ed and Rolf (C Level):

Once the battle against the army of undead ended, Delilah's party travelled for a day or two to get away from the burning swamp and the sickening smell of ashy corpses. At last, they stopped on the outskirts of an abandoned village, not unlike the small town of Peach Creek.

"Wow!" Ed exclaimed. "It's just like Peach Creek!"

"What is this Creek of Peaches you speak of, Long-Sword-No-Neck Ed Boy?" asked Rolf, clearly confused by Ed's statement.

"Oh, me and my friends used to live in a ghost town like this for some time. We fought some wolves, and then we had to go because it smelled bad." Ed lifted his sword high into the air and then drove it down into the ground. "I hereby declare this to be the town of New Peach Creek!"

Rolf chuckled. "Ho ho HO! Ed Boy, you do not realize that we are staying here but a night or two, yes?"

"Maybe. Say, Rolf, you want to fight some time?"

"Why do you ask this, Ed Boy?"

"You seem pretty strong, but Ed will surely wipe the floor with you!"

"Ha! The son of a shepherd likes your spirit, Ed Boy! Very well, we shall spare against each other in a fortnight!"

"Aw," moaned Ed, "I can't wait that long!"

Kevin and Nazz (C Level):

After the battle in the abandoned village, Delilah offered Kevin a spot upon the team, seeing a need for someone with a horse that could stay on the ground. Kevin accepted the invitation, needing a group to belong to, but more importantly, he wanted to get to know the blonde archer a little better. So, when the groups were assigned for night watch, Kevin volunteered to be on the first watch with Nazz.

That night, Kevin sat upon a rock, occasionally glancing over at Nazz, who was seated beneath an oak tree. She was radiant, the most beautiful girl he had ever laid eyes upon.

"So beautiful…" he mumbled.

"Did you say something, Kevin?" Nazz asked when she thought she heard a noise come from the young boy.

"Oh, uh, nope! Nothing at all!"

"Really? 'Cause I could have sworn you said something was beautiful."

"I was talking about…the moon! Yeah, the moon's lovely right now, eh?" Kevin was grasping for a way to cover up his slight reveal.

"Yes, it's a beautiful moon," said Nazz as she laid back against the tree. She started to shut her eyes and then she smiled and told Kevin, "I'm going to take a little nap. Wake me if there's danger, and keep your hands to yourself."

Nazz fell into a light slumber, while Kevin spent the entire night with a face full of red.

Jimmy and Sarah (C Level):

Once they were free of the disgusting swamps, Jimmy wandered over to Sarah and asked, "Sarah, are you sure we should be getting into skirmishes like this?"

"Of course, Jimmy," she replied. "If that Delilah lady is willing to let my idiot brother onto the team, how much of a team is this?"

"You do have a point. We're obviously the best and most powerful."

"What do you mean?"

"We're the most inexperienced. Therefore, once we gather enough experience and wisdom in battle, and when we are given the option of changing our class, we'll be incredibly powerful!" He lifted his staff high into the air and shouted, "I shall be Jimmy, the NOBLE BISHOP!" This evoked a chuckle from Sarah, who raised her own sword into the air. Before she said anything, however, she paused and put her finger to her chin, much liker her brother was known to do.

"What's the matter?" asked Jimmy.

"I don't know what class I want to be!" Sarah exclaimed as she put her sword away. "To Hell with this! I'll just be the most powerful woman on the planet, Jimmy! Now c'mon, we're running behind!"

"Coming, Sarah!"

Eddy and Lee (C Level):

Upon defeating the small group of enemies in the forest, Eddy found some time to rest under a pine tree. The thick fog surrounded him, and it carried an almost intoxicating smell that was pungent and full of pine. Even though the fog was extremely thick, Eddy had the eyes to make out who was coming up to him: Lee, the woman who lusted after him.

"Hiya, Eddy," she cooed as she strode up to him. She was not wearing her heavy armor like usual, but she was still wearing a light suit of armor that would protect from sneak attacks. "Whatcha up to?" she asked.

"Wondering when my profession went from con artist to soldier for hire," he mumbled as he shut his eyes.

Lee smirked. "If you're upset about the killing," she said, "just think of it this way: before, you were killing people's wallets. Now, it's actual people."

"Why does that not make me feel any better?"

"Beats me. My advice is sound and fool-proof."

"Of course. Say, you want to do something tonight that the Church would condemn?" Eddy propped himself up and stared at Lee lustfully.

"Only if you're up for it, little man."

As Lee sauntered away, Eddy kept his eyes fixated on Lee's voluptuous body. He was not about to sleep with her, no, but he did find her to be very attractive. At the very least, she was the most attractive from her sisters.

"Maybe someday, Lee," he whispered to himself, "but not today."