Gloxinia slept calmly in his hammock near the window. Despite Estarossa wanting to wake the fairy himself, Zeldris decided to let Gloxinia sleep in. Yesterday had ups and downs, mainly downs. The second Zeldris' brew had gotten in his mouth, he realized he's stuck with Estarossa. Again... A reminder of having to take the good with the bad he supposed.
It had just reached dawn. The sun had creeped up to his shut eyelids. They shook twice before the light was suddenly ceased. The instant change had caused his eye to perk slightly open. A large wide open eye was all he saw outside the window. He immediately screamed, flying upwards in a flight response. BAM! Gloxinia hit his head on the wooden ceiling. He fell down onto the bed. "OH MY LORD, GLOXY! Are you okay?" He heard a familiar voice outside. The eye backed away to reveal a now panicked Drole. For the giant was wanting to see if his best friend was awake.
Several pounds up the stairs and the door bursted open. "What was that a girl screaming?!" Estarossa exclaimed. Gloxinia's screech was so high pitched, everyone below had heard it. "Guys, is Gloxy okay?" Drole called from outside. "NO! Gloxy is not okay!" Gloxinia suddenly exclaimed, practically jumping back onto his feet; "Drole, why were you watching me sleep?!". "I wasn't, I was seeing if you were awake!" Drole stammered nervously. An angry Gloxinia scares him. Elizabeth looked close at Gloxinia, checking for any damage. "Are you okay? That was quite a loud bump." She asked softly. Gloxinia knew otherwise but already had enough of today. "Yes." He sighed.
"Hey, I think he made a crack." Estarossa stated, looking above the bed. "WHAT?!" Zeldris and Gloxinia exclaimed. Everyone's head shot up, trying to find what Estarossa was looking at. "Hm..."; Melascula then lightly floated upwards, then eyeing a tiny little crack. "He's right...just a tiny little crack in the wood" She muttered. Zeldris sighed in relief. "Thank goodness it's just a small one..." He murmured. "Thank goodness?! My head did that, I'm gonna have a bump for weeks!" Gloxinia whined, his hands pointing at his head.
Estarossa bursted out laughing. "What's the big deal? Back seven years ago, you nearly broke your hand on a tiny plank.". "It was not tiny, it was medium sized!" Gloxinia argued; "Besides, the crack was probably due to the force to my body applied by my wings.". "Well shoot, I was going to make a joke about you being jumpy." Estarossa replied. Gloxinia gritted his teeth, ready to continue his beef but suddenly soothed a little by a soft touch to his hair. Elizabeth was feeling around for any damage. "If you'd like, Sir Gloxinia, I can get the first aid kit!" She said kindly. Gloxinia blushed slightly, lightly pouting. "It's not that bad."
"Uh, Gloxy? Are you blushing?" Drole asked from outside. "Drole, I'm gonna shut all the curtains!" Gloxinia then threatened. "Awww, don't do that! Then I can't see in there!" His friend pleaded. Zeldris then cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "Alright, everyone. Let's all calm down and go back downstairs." He stated before looking directly at his fairy comrade; "Besides, Gloxinia. Food's been waiting.". "Wait, Estarossa didn't touch it, did he?" Gloxinia promptly asked. Yesterday wasn't going to happen again. The man at question simply just smirked. "Not yet." Estarossa replied, putting his arms behind his head. That was enough for Gloxinia to immediately bolt downstairs. Silence filled the room in replacement.
"He's a bit strange." Elizabeth stated, tilting her head. The Fairy was quite odd in her eyes, at least compared to his comrades. "He...gets a little eccentric now and again..." Melascula stated, smiling awkwardly. She herself didn't know how to exactly describe Gloxinia. "Yeah, he never gets out too much but he as means well." Drole added. "You're one to talk, Drole." Estarossa stated, looking towards the giant at the window. Drole's eyebrow rose. "But I'm outside right now..."
The moment had passed and everyone was finishing up their food. That is, except for Drole. Out of kindness, Zeldris had prepared a hefty meal for the Giant to eat before getting to everyone else's. He knew that a mere snack for Drole is a full dinner for four. Speaking of which, he had finished everything and now was just kinda stuck looking around the outside world. Sitting near some trees, he the closed his eyes. The soft breeze blew across his face causing him to bear a soft smile...
He then suddenly heard the door creak open from nearby. He turned to see the Princess of Liones exiting the tavern, then turning to the giant. "Oh, hey, Eliza... Oh, I mean Lady Elizabeth." He said cheerfully. Elizabeth smiled sweetly. She found Drole quite pleasant, especially when he's trying his best. "Please, Sir Drole. You don't have to be formal with me, I won't be upset!" She reassured. Drole's eyebrows rose with surprise. "Really?" He asked. "Yeah!"
Drole sighed in relief. "Thank goodness, I get confused on if or when I'm supposed to call you Princess or Lady. I was just kinda following Gloxinia's lead." He admitted, causing Elizabeth to giggle. "I see. I heard the others mention you tend to follow him a lot. You must be good friends!" Elizabeth stated. "Oh yeah, he's my best friend!" Drole affirmed, smiling widely. "That sounds lovely!" Elizabeth exclaimed; "Although, it seems he's a bit impatient with you. I hope he doesn't treat too harshly.". "He doesn't really. He's impatient when I mess something up which tends to be a lot. He's more relaxed with me during more calm times." G I Drole explained.
Elizabeth sighed in relief. "That's a relief. However, you seem just a bit clumsy. Nothing too bad!" She said. "Well, maybe a little bad when you're as big as me!" The giant joked. "Oh, right..." Elizabeth murmured, smiling softly. She stepped away from the door, then standing near "I do wonder, what's it like being so tall?"
"Hm...Well, it's like...uh..." Drole stammered. "Having trouble?" Elizabeth asked, noticing his lack of a clear answer. "Yeah. It'd be a lot easier to describe if I knew what it was like being small. Back where I came from, Giants didn't at all live how humans did and honestly, I don't think any of them wanted to." Drole explained. "Oh, I see." Elizabeth replied; "Are all giants as big as you are?". "Maybe! Back then, my nickname was "The GIANT Giant"! I haven't seen one as tall as me but maybe there is!" Drole exclaimed.
"The GIANT Giant...Wow!" Elizabeth said amazed. Drole chuckled lightly, then looking back up at the sky. Elizabeth did the same. "It's a nice view out here. It's nice to be out and feel the sunshine." She said. Drole nodded; "Mhm!". Elizabeth walked over and sat near Drole. Not too close to where he couldn't see her but she felt calm near her new friend. A few moments of silence pass as the two relaxed. "Hey, Elizabeth?"
"Yes, Sir Drole?" Elizabeth replied. "You wanna get a clearer view of the horizon?" Drole cheerfully asked. "What do you mean?" The princess asked curiously. The giant then gently scooped her up into his top pair of arms. "Now just hold on tight, okay?" Drole stated as he placed her right on his head as he stood right up. Elizabeth was in too much shock to say anything but she quickly started feeling Drole's soft hair against her skin. "How do you like it up there?"
Elizabeth looked around, she was so high up. Almost as if she was sitting on top of a mountain. "Sir...Sir Drole, this is wonderful! I can see so far!" She exclaimed.
The rest inside the tavern heard the commotion from outside. Melascula and Estarossa were sitting near the window, watching the two. Zeldris finished cleaning up the last of the cups, now sat down on the counter. Gloxinia had stuffed all his food, laying his head down on the table. "Looks like they're having fun." Melascula stated, smiling softly. "I'm just glad she's able to enjoy herself, knowing her current situation." Estarossa added, looking towards his comrade. "You're right..." The Commandment of Faith replied, looking away with a sigh of regret. "Something wrong, Mela?"
"It's just that I told Elizabeth personally that I would fight for her and yet, during the battle with the holy knight, I wasn't really any help at all. I'm already not very durable in this form but if I had used my snake form, I just would've had bombs blown at me." Melascula stammered, running her fingers through her hair. She was beyond frustrated and Estarossa could see it. "If you ask me, you handled it the best you could. Besides, your arm was wounded." He replied. "I know and it's the problem." She complained, flying upwards with a small pout; "I've gotten rusty, being out of practice for so long.".
"Well, we all have in our own ways." Zeldris stated, joining the conversation as he then stepped up to the two. "I was actually wanting to ask you all about the serious downgrade." Gloxinia added, stretching his back as he stood up. His wings flapped lightly as he began his lecture. "So from what I was able to see, Captain's reaction time is much slower and more predictable. He could've easily laid waste to that woman if he was able to match her speed. Estarossa, you just waited too long to start knocking her back with Full Counter. You really should've just been at the forefront at the start. And you, Mela..." Gloxinia stopped for a moment. Melascula waited nervously for her turn at criticism, her eyes getting a little shiny but was mostly shifted Gloxinia's future choice of words was Estarossa putting his hand firmly on his dagger as he eyed the fairy. "Uh...Mela, you've gotten way too soft. You contemplate too much during a critical moment, leaving yourself open to be hit when exposed." Gloxinia finished. Melascula nodded slowly, knowing it was true. Estarossa however decided Gloxinia said at least nice enough for her, earning the fairy safety. Zeldris himself was confused, looking back and forth between the fairy and his brother. He didn't see what was actually going on but he decided to ignore it.
"Well then, it's decided." He then stated, catching everyone's attention; "We need to train.". Everyone agreed but one question. "How so, Captain?" Melascula asked. "There's one place I've heard of that has a yearly fighting festival take place around this time, a village in the upper east. It's called Vaizel." Zeldris explained; "Perfect for training.". "Vaizel, huh?" Gloxinia replied, pondering what the fighting festival would look like. "Wait, Brother? When did you of all people want to go out and participate in activities?" Estarossa asked, raising an eyebrow. "Hey! I'm not that stiff!" Zeldris replied, crossing his arms. Everyone looked towards their leader with various expressions. That remark, they knew it wasn't true but they weren't going to say it. Zeldris was going to anyway. "Fine, we haven't been making the usual quota in the lower populated areas. I was hoping I could make some sales while we're participating." He admitted.
"Oh..." Melascula murmured, giggling a little. "Makes sense, I suppose. Festivals are a usual time where people drink till they drop." Gloxinia continued. Estarossa shrugged, then standing up. "Vaizel it is then."
His hands laid on Gloxinia and Melascula's heads. "You think we should make bets?" He asked. The fairy noticed something. For some reason, his head wasn't at all hurting at all anymore. "That's odd..." He murmured, moving away from Estarossa's grasp. His head rubs against his head, a little confused. The bump was gone. "What do you mean?" Zeldris asked. "I guess I didn't hit that wood as hard as I thought. My head's not hurting anymore." Gloxinia stated. "See? I knew you were just overreacting." Estarossa huffed. "Come on, Estarossa. Leave him alone." Melascula pleaded softly; "Besides, it's a little impressive considering the crack in the wood." "Oh yeah..." Zeldris muttered. He forgot about everything that happened earlier. His beloved tavern would be in disarray no longer.
"Okay, so who's gonna fix that?".