Elliot couldn’t help but feel a bit awkward, walking alongside an absolute unit of a human being. The man named Frederick wasn’t carrying his sister, she was sitting on his shoulder. His shoulder. Elliot shuddered. This new body of his was a little less than a foot taller than his old one, making him probably around six foot 9… This man towered over him by another good foot, and was wider than him by almost twice the amount.

He had his sister’s green eyes and youngish face, though, so he wasn’t too scary. Especially when Lidia was right next to him. The way she swung her legs whimsically, fully healed. She had taken from Frederick a staff that was almost as tall as her, with a giant green crystal orb on the top. It had been a bit unnerving seeing her utter under her breath, only for the wound to close up like plaster… but he wasn’t one to say anything, with his completely abnormal healing ability.

The big man didn’t seem too bothered with the situation, though. “Tell me everything, Lidia! After the smoke, we completely lost sight of you! All that was left was your staff, so everyone was worried! I almost had to fight the others to be the one to look after you!” He roared with laughter, grinning from ear to ear, and despite Lidia’s best efforts to hide it, she seemed to be happy as well.

“Goblins. Fully armored and four times smarter than normal… So about twice as smart as yourself, Frederick.” The big guy scoffed, turning to Elliot. “Is what she saying true, little hero? Fully armored goblins? You must have had quite the battle to protect my little sister, huh?” His voice was sarcastic but full of jovialness, seemingly expecting Elliot to call out his lying sister. Unfortunately, Lidia looked at him with sneaky eyes, nodding at him to follow along. “...Yes. They were quite the smart monsters. Almost human with their intelligence.”

Frederick smirked, “Does that mean my intelligence is merely half a normal human’s? Quite a thing to say, little hero.” Shit. “Ah, no… ” Goddamnit, he’d fallen right into that one, huh? A massive hand went to hit his back, and he’d almost dodged it until he saw the jovial look on the giant’s face. “Gahaha! I was only joking, hero! Lidia, We’ll give this Elliot fellow a proper welcoming! I’ll even sell my armor if I have to! We’re celebrating either way!” She smiled, hitting her brother on his head which he barely even noticed. …So that’s where that bad habit came from. “That armor isn’t yours to sell, idiot. Dad would be furious.”

“He would understand! I’m sure he’d even pay for the party had he known what had happened… Speaking of which… let’s keep this a secret, okay?” She laughed and nodded, and The two kept talking about what they’d gone through. Elliot took a good few steps back from the two, checking his bandages to see if they were still wrapped on correctly. The big guy hadn’t asked what was under them yet, which he was thankful for, but he hadn’t thought the brother she had mentioned could split trees apart. He couldn’t be blamed for being a bit nervous about his identity being covered, then.

It was a bit nice, though, to see the familial bond between two people. It almost made him wish his dad had been a little kinder and a little less of a war maniac. Almost. He shuddered at the thought of his dad trying to come up to him for a hug, pushing away the unneeded image from his mind. He needed to talk to them about something. “About the celebration… I might not be able to attend…” Frederick turned to him and surprise, and a look of sadness washed over Lidia’s expression.

She probably didn’t realize how guilty that made him feel, but it didn’t make him any less sure that she was doing it on purpose.

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“Little hero? I thought you said you were lost? Why not join us in the city, then we’ll surely have a great time!” Lidia nodded along even though she was fully aware of his situation. He cursed her. Silently, of course. “Elliott! We can take a single day to celebrate, no? Will you refuse my… my brother’s invitation?” She turned to her brother with a grin, and surprisingly, the smile went away from the big guy’s face.

“I’m not… He saved you, Lidia. If he doesn’t want to come then I will not force his hand.” Lidia pouted at the words, turning away from her brother despite quite literally being on his shoulder. The big guy was more hurt by this than Elliot hoped. “He must have his reasons… Do you not, little hero?” He asked, suddenly saddened.

Elliot fought the nervous grin appearing on his face. Oh, he really had a reason, just not one he could explain at the moment. Or ever. It was a good thing the bandages were covering his mouth, or else he’d look real suspicious about then. His heart was squeezed at the kind gesture the big man had done, though. To go against his sister's wishes, for a complete stranger… it took a big heart to do that.

He felt warm inside. That is, before then realizing what Lidia had tried to do. Who the hell tries strong-arming their savior? “Your sister… is quite the little demon, isn’t she?” He said, not realizing it had come out of his mouth. Frederick didn’t seem to mind, fortunately, though Lidia certainly looked like she had. “HAHAHA! You are quite bold, little hero! But I agree! She can be quite a… A handful, uh.” He saw her giving poor Frederick the nastiest stare, on the level of when she had first seen Elliot for the first time.

It… wasn’t pretty. “But… She is quite well-meaning! She’s smart as well, little hero… I don’t think the team could function properly without her! She cares for one much more than she lets on, too. When Sarah, our vanguard, had split up with her lover she had spent days in the poor girl’s house, worried sick about her- erk.” Ooh, that looked like it hurt. “Quite a big mouth on you… brother. Please refrain from telling him about Sadie.” She had jammed the staff into Frederick’s neck, holding it there as the poor man kept walking.

They opened their mouth to speak, but when Lidia’s eyes filled with venom, Frederick closed it again, merely nodding. If that wasn’t a red flag, Elliot didn’t know what was. “Good. So, are you coming with us, Elliot? We’d really appreciate it if you did… I’d be pretty sad if you didn’t.” She had said that last part with a tilt, making it sound a bit more as if he’d be the sad one if he didn’t accept. …The girl really changed personalities when she wasn’t in danger, huh?

“...Yes, I think I could take some time to join… for a bit.” She smiled, and strangely, Elliot smiled back. “Haha… maybe it would be bad to go without saying goodbye, huh? I’d be sad as well, at least, not meeting your friends.” He said those words with a strange, warm tilt. The voice that had usually been so cold suddenly changed fr just a moment, catching both him and Lidia off guard completely. The poor girl had seemed most affected, though. “Ah, yes… that would be bad… If you didn’t… meet, um.”

She turned away from him, and despite everything, Elliot couldn’t help but let out a laugh. Even he was a bit embarrassed, saying such a thing with such warmth. He felt the giant, warm hand of the giant named Frederick on his shoulder, and he turned up to look. The face was full of something that’d leave a mark on him for the rest of the day. Not spite, not anger, not even disappointment. All he saw in those eyes were pity.