Barley did his best to hold as still as possible while his friend slept on him. His face was burning red at this point as he looks down at her, they have hugged each other many times and gotten very close to one another but never this close. This particular cuddle session was a long lasting one too...almost like the kind of snuggle young loving couples do.
Some more soft snoring could be heard from the imp, Barley carefully strokes her head with his much larger hand. 'Whoa...her hair is so soft...' Barley thought to himself as he kept patting her, slowly and gently though so he doesn't wake her up. She seems to be enjoying the pats however as soft purring could be heard from her. Everything was so quiet and peaceful...usually sitting this still in such silence isn't much to the energetic elf's taste but this felt different, special even. He wanted this moment to last forever, keeping the person he adores most in his arms at all times. He began to ponder to himself, whether he should try to confess to her or not, if so how should he do it? It has to be something special, a grand gesture to show off his love for her. 'Hmm...simple flowers and talking won't do it...maybe if I can seek out another quest we can go on together alone...'
Suddenly, a light noise could be heard from his tiny imp friend, he looked down to see she had woken up. "Ah! Finally awake, Sleeping Beauty?" He asked with a big smile as he looked down at her.
Izzy yawns softly as she gazed up at the elf, her face was a little bit red as she recalls what had happened earlier and why she is resting on top of her best friend. "Mmmm..." she mumbled softly, she rubbed her eyes before looking at Barley again. Her hair is almost always a wild mess but this time it was far messier than usual.
Barley gently placed a hand onto hers, the difference in size was very noticeable. "So...do you feel any better after that lil nap on my gut?" He asked, blushing a bit as he said the words.
The imp's face seems to be getting redder, she nodded her head slightly as she rubbed her eyes again, it seems like she was struggling to wake up. "Mmm...y-yeah...a good ol nap DOES always help me out after I have a straight up emotional breakdown or freakout." She said with a light mumble, the warmth and softness of Barley's body was also a great way to help calm her down. The soft pats she gained from him and the sound of his heart beating, the feeling of his chest and stomach expanding as he took each breath helped put Izzy into a state of absolute bliss.
The elf smiles a bit more as he held onto the small creature's hand. "Well I'm glad I could be like a pillow and help you out!" He said with a light chuckle, he was trying his hardest not to appear flustered. "So...art thou ready to head back inside? That is- only if you feel up for it, no pressure, no pressure at all!"
Much to Barley's surprise, the shy girl actually gladly accepted the offer. "Y-Yeah I think I'm good to head back inside." She said with a weak smile as she stood up, her hands cuffed together nervously. "B-But...just...stay by my side this time...ok? D-Don't leave me again."
The elf was still sitting down as he stared at his adorable friend in awe, her eyes were sparkling, her lips quivered so slightly. Barley could feel his whole face burn up from the mere sight of her! He quickly had to turn his head away from her, fearing that he just may melt if he looks at her much longer. "Pssh! But of course, Iz! You really think I'm gonna run off again?" He said with a laugh, looking away from this girl he found so amazingly beautiful.
The imp smiles and let out a gentle sigh. "Ok, good. Cause if you ever abandon me again I will tear your limbs apart." She said sternly, pointing a finger at her much larger companion.
The elf couldn't help but giggle as he heard the threat, she was always the type that was quick to go from being sweet to violent within the blink of an eye. It was one of the many traits he found endearing about her. "Fret not, Milady! You have my word." He said in a loud and booming voice.
The two made their way back inside the building where the grand event was being held, as they entered however, they caught glimpse of a familiar man who seemed to be looking out for them. It was the cyclops that Izzy had bumped into! The poor imp, feeling absolutely humiliated, hid behind Barley in hopes he wouldn't notice her. The elf couldn't help but smile as he gently pats his cosplaying partner. "Don't fret, my dear maiden, if anyone dares to put you in harms way I shall cut them down in an instant." He said softly, almost like a whisper, his gentle voice was soothing.
Suddenly, the cyclops caught a glimpse of the shy girl behind her incredibly tall bodyguard. He slowly came over, doing his very best to smile sincerely at the two. "Oh, there you are." He said awkwardly, his eye darted to the ground, it was more than clear that he was a little bit flustered.
An audible gulp could be heard from the imp and Barley held her close to his side. "What brings you to us, fellow adventurer?" He asked, he appeared friendly but he was on high alert to make sure his little princess remains safe. There have been a few people in the past who would either make fun or attack her for ever having a public mental breakdown and after learning that truth, Barley swore to make sure it never happens again.
The stranger in front of them however, seemed quite friendly, he held onto what looked like to be a pair of tickets. "Well...I just wanted to apologise about what happened earlier, I just won something and I was looking for my boyfriend and kinda...wasn't paying attention where I was going." He said shyly, smiling so slightly as he glanced towards the imp again. He seemed quite friendly and his apology seemed sincere enough to ensure he won't be doing anything to hurt Izzy on purpose.
Slowly, Izzy came out from behind Barley, a glimmer of hope could be seen in her eyes. 'Wait...so does this mean he doesn't hate me for what happened?' She thought to herself, meeting people like this for her was very unusual. Usually if she bumps into someone and reacts in such a way she gets stared at like a circus freak but there have been a small amount of people who have actually apologised to her and helped her calm down in the most gentle manner.
"Ah! Funny story, Izzy here was actually looking for me too!" Barley said with a chuckle, his face suddenly turns a bit pink once he realised the stranger said he was searching for his lover and that he had just said Izzy was doing the same, it was as if he was referring himself as Izzy's boyfriend. "Oh! But we're not dating or anything! Just a couple of questing buds going on yet another adventure!" He quickly blurted his statement out of nowhere, no one had even mentioned anything about them being a couple.
The caring stranger blinked for a moment, it was a bit out of nowhere to hear him yell that out. "Oh, I take it that people often mistake you as a couple?" He said with a chuckle, Barley's face went even redder and now Izzy was blushing at this point too.
"Uh- well, not really! Like, no one SAYS anything to us but uh-" The elf began to stumble over his words, he glanced down at his major crush for a moment before looking back up at the cyclops. "We might be around the same age and hang out a lot but that's what it's like for MOST adventurers, y'know? She's like my little sidekick." A sense of relief came to him at last after saying Izzy was his sidekick. He felt like he completely saved it! That is until Izzy interfered.
"Whoa, who said I was the sidekick? Just cause I'm short as fuck doesn't automatically make me the lesser one!" Izzy said with a pout.
Poor Barley, he was absolutely flustered as he looked down at his feisty friend. "Whoa whoa! You're wrong there, Iz! You're not the LESSER one! I'm just the smarter one, the one with more experience with adventures! That's all." The elf glanced at the cyclops again, a nervous smile was plastered on his face.
"Hey, ya do know you're talking to the girl who grew up in a country with gigantic monsters and beasts she managed to befriend right? Remember the story about Frank? The large beast I had raised as a pup when I was 12? You grew up in a suburban area so I would say I have more experience with that kinda stuff."
Barley gasped dramatically, he abruptly shook his head next as he continued his argument. "Nay! That is where you're wrong, little imp! I've been on plenty more quests than you ever had in Quests of Yore, I've actually taken the time to study about dungeons too! So clearly I'M the one with more experience AND knowledge than you about the art of adventuring." And with that, the elf huffed as if that was the end of their little argument, he looked back at the cyclops again as his small friend grumbles beside him. "Sorry about that, man. She can get a lil...riled up at times am I right?" The elf laughed softly as he lightly nudged his elbow against the stranger. "But I'm sure that's just common knowledge you've obtained by now cause of earlier, huh?"
The cyclops nodded a bit and chuckles, a soft whimper came from the imp as the two seemed to be joking about her frisky nature, she didn't like to be mocked, even if it was in an oddly friendly sort of way. "Oh, by the way, I have won four tickets to go to Pure Palace Kingdom." The stranger announced as he held up the tickets. "I am planning on going with my boyfriend but I'm not sure what to do with these two other tickets and...after what happened earlier I thought maybe I would hand them over to you to help cheer the two of you up...and just to make up for what happened, I feel really bad for startling you."
The elf gasped as the young man handed him a pair of tickets. "Whoa! As in, THE Pure Palace?! Like, the world famous holiday resort?! Home to many rides, many historical sights and events and- and all the junk food you can possibly eat?!" The elf seemed to be losing his breath as he held the two given away tickets. "THAT Pure Palace?!"
The cyclops nodded, he was unable to hold back a smile after seeing his reaction. "Yep! Can't believe I've won them myself." He said as he lightly scratched the back of his head, the elf smiled ear to ear as he thanked the stranger.
"Hey thanks so much! I haven't been able to check that place out since I was a lil kid! Heck, Izzy has never even been there! Right, Izzy?" Barley asked as he looked down at the tiny imp who wore a face of utter confusion.
"I have absolutely no idea what we're talking about." She said bluntly, this came as a shock to the man she had bumped into.
"Really? It's a really big thing, are you sure it doesn't ring a bell?" He asked, he seemed puzzled yet polite at the same time.
Barley simply just smiled as he gladly shared some of Izzy's origin story with him, being from a different land that was shut away for so long has left behind plenty of mysteries for Izzy and her natives. "Well, Izzy here is an imp who came from one of the many and totally radical formerly blocked off islands." He said, he appeared rather smug as he felt like he was showing off how unique his friend is.
The cyclops gasped with amazement as he looked down at the girl, poor Izzy felt her cheeks turn to a darker shade of pink as she did her best to hide her face, she has always been the shy type. "You mean the nearby countries that were forbidden to enter because of the wild and savage beasts that remain there? That's incredible!" He said as he turned his full attention onto Izzy. "I never would have imagined those places would have people living like us! Everyone was so sure the beasts had wiped out any population there was back then!" He said, there was a war of magic between countries many years ago, a calamity that created a whole new species of giant savage monsters that crawled within the war zones, those countries had become overpopulated by the uncontrollable beasts and have been abandoned ever since, however there was similar life forms to the people within the realm Barley lives in and they had adapted to the changes and made their own cozy community that is safe from the monsters. However, these monsters have become more like wild animals as of this point, they're highly dangerous still but have become maintainable to what was once considered a deserted landscape.
"Hey, the beasts aren't that bad!" Izzy said defensively. "They're no different to how your old fashioned dragons were! They can actually be quite sweet if you give them the chance...well only if you have taken care of an injured pup and helped them grow into adulthood, then they will be friendly towards you...and when it isn't mating season...and when they're not hungry. Oh! But you should especially stay clear of the babies if their mother is around! They may be cute but they always have really good parents." Izzy said, she seems to have opened up to the stranger some more now that animals have become included in their conversation.
The elf couldn't help but smile at his tiny friend, the things she had just called cute where in fact some of the scariest, most terrifying and ugly beasts known throughout the entire world. Only someone like Izzy would be able to find them cute.
The cyclops nodded, his large eye seemed to be completely focused on her. "I've heard they have evolved over the years, I've heard they're still highly dangerous but not nearly as blood thirsty as the old days, which is so encouraging to hear!" He said, smiling gently at the imp. "Now I best be heading off, I don't want to keep my boyfriend waiting for too long. I hope you two enjoy your time at the Palace, especially you." The cyclops pointed a finger at Izzy, he wished her all the best as this was her very first experience to such a place. He waved at the two and then vanished into the crowd of people, leaving the two behind with their tickets.
"Whoa! How cool is that, Izzy?!" Barley said with an eager grin. "I bet you you're just gonna love this place we're gonna be checking out." He said, smiling as he held the tickets. The imp looks up at him, her brows knitted just that little bit as she stares at the dockets her friend held. "Something wrong, Iz? Look I mean it, you're gonna have lots of fun!" He said again, trying to ensure her everything will be alright.
However, Izzy just shook her head slightly as she glanced up at the elf, her blue eyes shimmered. "It's not that, it's just...there's only two tickets so that means you won't be able to take your family with us too." Izzy said with a small sigh, she was grateful for the gift and the kindness the stranger had shown them but at the same time she couldn't help but feel bad for it, especially since so many of Barley's loved ones would have to stay behind.
The realisation hit Barley like a bullet, these tickets were very hard to come by and he did feel bad about anyone having to miss out. "Oh...yeah that's right." He said, trying to think of any other ways he could somehow bring his family along, he could buy more tickets but there's no way he could afford any.
The elf seemed deep in thought but he was quickly snapped back into reality the moment he heard one single peep from Izzy's voice. He looked down at her, listening carefully to what she had to say. "Are you sure you wanna give me the other ticket and not someone else?" She asked, it was clear she was trying to seem like she didn't care but it was more than obvious that she did want to go, however she was always the type to get guilty far too easily and she often likes to be assured that everything is completely fine, she never wants to end up annoying someone after all.
Barley looked absolutely baffled as he shook his head. "No no! No way! Izzy, the guy gave them to US. Especially you, I mean you're the one he's trying to apologise to right? Besides! You're my favourite questing buddy! Other than Ian who's currently buried in some book for his exams. I don't think the guy would be too keen to take a break from studying knowing him." Barley said with a smile, he gently placed the ticket into the imp's hand.
She looked up at him again, her eyes glowed bright blue as she stares into Barley's hazel ones.
"So you'll be ok if it's just the two of us? I mean... I kinda feel bad bout the fam missing out."
Barley went completely silent for a moment...just the two of them...alone...together. His heart began to race at the thought, maybe this could be his grand gesture to confess his feelings for her after all! The silence was brief but enough to make Izzy worry before he finally spoke again. "Nah, don't worry about it! They'll get it! Besides, Ian has his studying, Mom is already constantly on a vacation by hanging out with the manticore...Hmmph...lucky. And Colt...ugh...there's no way I'm gonna be stuck with that buzzkill." Barley began to laugh a little, it was soft and gentle but real. The imp giggles a bit along his side, her giggle was more than enough to fill Barley's stomach up with even more butterflies.
"Well ok, BUT only if you're sure. Anyway, should we head home? We're gonna have to get ready and everything right?" Izzy asked as she pointed at the door from once they came.
The elf nodded as he followed his imp friend who lead them both to the exit, his heart was pondering as thoughts of all kinds went rushing through his head. "O-Oh! But of course, lady Izzy!" He said, stuttering so slightly as the words echoed through his head. 'Just the two of them...just the two of them...'