It would be unfair to Leo to insinuate that feelings of inadequacy led him to choose that moment to send party offers to his three coworkers, but it wouldn't be wholly inaccurate. Having envisioned himself riding heroically to the rescue, perhaps even earning the affections of some unknown damsel, Leo imagined this must be how a mowed lawn felt.
All that effort only to be cut off at the knees, he thought, turning away from the emotional display between Phoebe and Angie to explore his notification and character sheet.
In truth, Angie looked about as comforting as any sitcom's comic relief as she awkwardly patted Phoebe on the head. Of course, if anyone asked, Angie would have admitted that, as she was home-schooled, most of her emotional responses were learned from sitcoms and soap operas.
Only Igor looked more awkward, but it was mostly just a state of being for the Assistant Manager. Once he'd realized Phoebe wasn't going to be going around hugging each of them in relief, he buried his hands in his sleeves and then his armpits as he crossed his arms, trying to make it seem that a hug would actually be super inconvenient and far from his mind.
This group wouldn't exactly be Leo's first choice for an adventuring party—rather, they were his first choice, but mostly due to a realization that the party, requiring four people, could be created then and there. Leo understood the principle of delayed gratification but never much saw the point. There wasn't a straight line he wouldn't follow.
Igor cleared his throat, feeling a sense of responsibility for his underlings, even if he was starting to suspect that his next check would be delayed. "Soo, this might sound weird, except Angie was talking about new skills, and I'm pretty sure she just killed a mob, but is anyone else getting weird screens popping up in their vision, like we're in a video game?
"Yeah, we all are," Leo said confidently, though he couldn't say how he knew.
"What?" Angie said, trying to blow her curly red hair away from her face without pulling free from Phoebe. It wasn't clear who she was responding to.
Phoebe sniffed and whipped her eyes, finally releasing the redhead, her mascara visibly smeared even on her dark skin. "I do, too. I have a character sheet, and I just got a party quest."
"Yeah, you all did. Feel free to accept any time."
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"I did—oh sweet, magic bag!" Angie said, opening and closing her hand on empty air. As she closed her hand, a burlap sack about the size of a grapefruit popped into existence, only to vanish back into nothing when she opened her hand back up. To Angie, it felt like some kind of crazy magic-eye illusion. Her eyes even tried to uncross despite never having crossed in the first place.
"How are you doing that?" Igor asked.
"Did you accept Leo's friend request?" Angie asked while seeing how fast she could summon and banish the bag of Shadows.
"It was a party request," Leo said defensively.
"Tomato Tamale," Angie replied. "I'm gonna stick my hand in it."
Igor opened his mouth to correct the newest hire on the idiom's correct phrasing, but Leo cut him off, "Hang on, that's dangerous!" He wasn't sure what a bag of Shadows was, but it couldn't be smart to test something clearly magical with her own limbs.
However, Angie was already elbow-deep in the bag by the time he spoke. "Huh, Tingly," she said, pulling her arm back out and inspecting it.
"It's bigger on the inside," Phoebe said, but even she wasn't sure if it was a question or a statement.
Leo sighed, "Would you other two accept the party request already? I have a quest."
"Me too; I'm gonna go see how many boxes of Eggos it'll hold," Angie said, wandering back down the frozen foods aisle.
Still, whether curious about the reward or Leo's quest, Phoebe and Igor joined Angie in accepting the quest.
[[x]Create Party(4/4): Bag of Shadows added as inventory]
[(optional)[_]Name your party →Reward: Party Reputation]