[PP|F4]<<Feeding the Enemy>>

[Shay 0]

After dealing with the burning forest left in the wake of the White Tiger, Chase and Shay made their way back to her shop. She was glad that all of that shit was over and decided that maybe they weren't ready to jump back into the fray just yet. Maybe another day or two of relaxation, and then they could get back into it. She would need to get ahold of more accuracy buffs if she wanted to succeed in Aincrad. Missing her attacks as many times as she did was unacceptable as a damage player.

"I'm going to relax in the hot springs. If you wanna join me, feel free. There are towels in the closet there." She says walking over to the closet and taking towel for herself. She would take a moment in another room and wrap a towel around her body, then make her way into the hot springs just outside her house.

Spoiler

Name: Shay
Level: 23
HP: 460/460
EN: 46/46

Stats:
Damage: 9
Evasion: 3
Accuracy: 1
BLD: 12
REC: 2
LD: 3

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: (Katana)Murasame α: BLD 2; DMG 1
Armor: Leather Overcoat: EVA 3
Misc: Deep Red Tie: Recovery 2; ACC 1

Skills:
Curved Sword [Rank 1]
Katana [Rank 5]

Extra Skills:

Mods:

Battle Ready Inventory:
Teleportation Crystal*1
Spyglass*3
Ice Cream Mochi*1 < Using
Familiar Song*1 < Using
Pheromones*1 < Using

Housing Buffs:

Guild Hall Buffs:
Lucrative: Reduce LD needed for Salvage by 5 (10+ for Alchemist crystals, 6+ for everything else). +2 EXP per craft. Rank 9 crafters receive +1 crafting attempt per day. Rank 10 crafters receive +2 crafting attempts per day.
Col Deposit: +5% bonus col from last-hit monster kills and +10% bonus col from treasure chests.

Scents of the Wild:

Wedding Ring:

 

[ChaseR 0]

The boy's health had made a full recovery, and that was for the best. As they returned into the floor, he could still feel almost as if he was surrounded by flames all this time. Blizz seemed to be fairing just fine, which got him worried that he might have a hidden status of sorts. Just in case he was misreading his own health bar, he slowly opened up his menu and took a vanity potion he had bought during another quest in that very same floor, said to have 'healing properties'. He chugged it right on down, letting out a deep sigh of relief as he began to feel better already.

When the two were inside of the shop, he gave her a nod and went to the closet to pick his own blanket up shortly after. He wrapped it around his own body once he took the rest of his clothes off, feeling rather odd but ignoring it. Once he was ready, he let Blizz inside of the shop to rest for a moment and proceeded to follow right behind the girl, frowning a bit. "N-Never used a hot spring before...", he mumbled under his own breath, with furrowed eyebrows as the two were about to talk about that matter of all things, too.

Spoiler

Name: ChaseR
Level: 27
HP: 540/540
EN: 54/54

Stats:
Damage: 14
Mitigation: 5
Evasion: 3
Accuracy: 2
REC:2

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: <<Gust Raiser>> (T2/Perfect/2HSS): DMG II, ACC I
Armor: <<Wind Dweller>> (T2/Perfect/Light Armor): EVA I, REC II
Misc: <<Chained Bracelet>> (T2/Perfect/Trinket): EVA II, ACC I

Skills:
Two-Handed Straight Sword [Rank 5]
Light Armor [Rank 1]
Battle Healing [Rank 1]

Extra Skills:
Familiar Mastery: Fighter
Survival

Mods:
2HSS Finesse [R3]

Battle Ready Inventory:
Starter Healing Potions(heal 50HP)*3
T1 Mochi (LD +3)*1
T1 Rare Health Potions (heal 40HP)*2
Spyglass (2/3)*1
Requires Extended Weight Limit 1
Requires Extended Weight Limit 2
Requires Extended Weight Limit 3
Obtained via Item Stash (Housing)
Obtained via Dimensional Backpack

Housing Buffs:

Guild Hall Buffs:

Scents of the Wild:

Wedding Ring:

 

[Shay 0]

The rogue stepped carefully into the water just near the porch of her home. Once she had gotten used to the heat, she allowed the feeling of the hot springs to let her slip into the water. Her back rested against the stone at the edge of the water. She let out a soothing groan as the muscles tensed in her form seemed to release.

"Man, this is the first time I've used the water here in awhile." She admits, resting her head back against the ground and closing her eyes, waiting for Chase to come out as well. It was about now that she remembered the conversation that they had just before beginning the fight with the Byakko. There was a quiet silence between the two of them for a few minutes. She wondered if he would start the conversation, but after some time, she decided to say something. "So... Boyfriend and girlfriend, hunh?" Smooth.

[ChaseR 0]

Chase took a bit more time before he even tried to step into the hot spring. His overall experiences with swimming and pools were few and far between, with most being that the water was too cold. Then again, it took a minute or so before his cluttering brain figured out that it was called a 'hot spring' for a reason. He dipped his toe in the water, hissing from how hot the water was until he too, got used to it. He eventually fully entered it, practically covering his body in full with the towel due to the previous conversation they'd had before too.

"A-Ah, r-right. Something like that.", he stammered over his own words, taking a deep breath and coughing to clear his throat. "I-I didn't ever talk with the intent to hit on you, at first... I just wanted to get by and all, and Yuki had uh... b-brought it up and all.", the bluehead explained once more, burying his head in his hands for a moment before he tried to swallow up his embarrassment again and lift it, looking over at Shay with a rather... more feminine face, overall. "I've never been in a relationship before...", he, or rather she, shyly admitted, scratching the back of her neck. Apparently he'd made a slight mistake with the vanity potions, and ended up mixing the two he'd gotten from the sixth floor. As a result, he drank the temporary genderswapping one rather than the one which allegedly should have relaxed his body a bit from all the strain.

His hair appeared to be longer, but the rest of his body wasn't visible any under the towel. Needless to say, that was still surely Chase alright.

[Shay 0]

Shay was quiet while he spoke, not only soaking in the heat of the springs, but also the the words that he spoke. Her head laid against the stone behind her head and stared far into the sky. With a sigh, she shrugged and shifted a little in her position to get more comfortable. "I don't know the first thing about being in a relationship to be honest." The girl admitted as openly as she could. "I didn't think I could ever like someone like that, but I'm not quite sure how I'm supposed to be feeling about it. I'm not mad, nor do I really want to deny it, but I can't say that I don't enjoy being around you. The game is definitely more pleasant when I'm hanging out with you."

Shay had yet to see or hear the difference that was taking place on Chase, still staring up into the sky. 

[ChaseR 0]

Chase simply nodded, resting her head on her knees. She silently lifted her head again to open her menu, taking her earrings off and trying to play with them in her hands in order to relax. "You still... see this as a game too, huh?", she replied somewhat thoughtfully, shortly realising that her nails appeared longer, as did her fingers. The skin was more delicate too, and... then it struck Chase. "Y-You're fucking joking... S-Shit!", she practically screeched, placing the Silver Earrings by the hot spring and moving a hand to her throat. "S-So it wasn't just exhaustion..! W-Wa-"

Before she could even finish her thoughts, she looked down to notice the difference on her own. Quickly wrapping the towel around her body, the bluenette looked at Shay with a dark red blush. "I-I swear to fuck this is an accident. I-I was in the sixth and got two vanity potions and then I mixed them and-", she nervously stammered over her words again and again, making little sense with how fast she was going.

[Chase transfers Silver Earring (T1/Perfect/Trinket; LD III) to Shay.]

Edited August 6, 2020 by ChaseR

[Shay 0]

Shay raised her head as Chase over reacted to something. Her eyes trained on the bluehaired girl who looked way too much like Chase to not be him. Her expression dropped the moment she saw he suddenly had a curvier frame and a bust that nearly matched her own size. As much as she thought this was supposed to be a joke, his reaction was too pure to be a joke.

"What the-..." Was about all she could say to the current situation. She hardly knew how to deal with a male Chase, and now he was dealing with a female one? That had to be way too many hormones. She adjusted her position to sit up as he explained a potion that he had bought. Shay simply shrugged. "Well, if you drank a potion, it was either a permanent effect, or it will wear off and you'll change back soon. How long is the duration? You can check in your menu."

Spoiler

Accepts LD III item and adds it to active inventory.

 

[ChaseR 0]

The bluehead's eyes practically teared up out of embarrassment as she got up and grabbed Shay by the shoulders, her lips trembling. "I-I know it's temporary and won't even last that long but I didn't expect it to-!", she just stopped with a groan, sitting next to her and burying her face in her knees once more. "J-Just never mind it... It'll go away in like... Half an hour or something... It was just a sample from the sixth...", she stopped with another loud groan, scratching her head and looking to the side at Shay.

"It's only physical, right? I won't feel any difference or something, right?". Although not quite the solution she expected, this was one way to stop her from freaking out over being a couple with Shay, for sure. Then again, that conversation had to happen when it had to happen, so it'd be better to be off with it sooner rather than later. Coughing to clear her throat, Chase decided to try seriously speaking up on the matter. "S-So anyways... What's a couple even supposed to be, just... Together, right?", she sounded rather embarrassed to be asking such an obvious question, furrowing her eyebrows and frowning in confusion.

[Shay 0]

From what she could tell with his- uh, her? Her - with her reaction, it was affecting more than just her physique. It was surely affecting her hormones to the point of being over worried. Shay kind of just kept quiet for most of this. If it was temporary, there was no real reason to freak out, and even if it was a permanent effect, they could always go get a similar potion to reverse the effect. 

"You're asking someone who hardly knows how to talk to her own parents without offending them." Shay mentions, wondering if she should just kind of feign ignorance and lie to make it seem less awkward. To be honest, seeing her partner with breasts was about as awkward as it could get. Though, in her mind, all she could really think at this point was just how much the body changing potion really changed. Did she still have...? No, stop there.

She also couldn't get the idea of teasing him, so she did. "You know, if you need some skirts, we look about the same size." She snickered a little.

[ChaseR 0]

Chase noticed just how quiet Shay was being, and it made her worry somewhat. Then again, her silence was broken by a tease, only getting her to retaliate with an even more flustered expression. "Wh-What the he- I'm not crossdressing!", she quickly turned out her proposal, looking at her intently afterwards and gulping dryly as the thought stayed at the very front of her mind, basically stopping her from anything else. "N-No, I'm not wearing female clothing!", blue shook her head once more, taking a step back and squinting her eyes at Shay.

And then a low whisper to herself followed. "I-If I'm female, it's not crossdressing though...". Complete silence followed afterwards, and with a guilty look on her flustered face, the lass sat back down next to Shay, bringing her legs up close to her chest and hugging them. "... In what world did you ever expect this is how you spend time with your boyfriend after getting in a relationship..?", she rhetorically asked, with her eyebrows cocked up. This universe was creating far, far more questions than anybody could answer to confuse him.

[Shay 0]

Shay sighed and pat the other girl on the shoulder. She sat up fully and crossed her legs, adjusting her position so she was looking directly at the blue-haired girl that was once Chase. "I don't care what you look like." The girl said plainly. "What matters is who you are, and I think I like who you are." Shay offered him a quiet smile, trying to take his mind off the whole genderbend thing.

That was about when a small mob jumped out of the bushes near them. Shay shot up and summoned her sword to kill it, but it didn't actually attack either of them. It just sat on the edge of the hot springs and looked up at the two girls intrigued. Shay loosened her stance slightly and observed the little mob herself. "Hunh, it's not dangerous." She said walking over to the mob and leaning down to it. "Hey there little guy."

---

Familiar Found | LD: 10+6=16

[ChaseR 0]

Chase could hear her heart beating slower and slower, starting to calm down. Then again, there was something exciting and foreign about the touch of Shay's hand on her bare shoulder, but... she wasn't quite sure. Before she got enough time to open her mouth, a monster showed up from the bushes, and a small one at that. His mind instantly went to the encounter with Blizz, except this time she didn't go looking for it. It had gone looking for them.

"Are you... gonna make it a familiar?", she asked, standing up herself and holding firmly onto the towel so it didn't drop- it was already heavier from the water, for god's sake. "It's not too much bigger than Blizz is... I got Blizz on this floor, too.", he noted, seeing how the both of them appeared to have an affinity towards the cold, and especially the ice elementals they would probably soon have in common. Seeing how she was trying to ease the familiar, it was easy to understand her plans for this unexpected encounter.

[Shay 0]

Shay looked over the blue feline-like animal and tried to assess what type of animal it really was? It kind of looked more like a dog, but gave an elegant feeling off like cat. She tried to reach down and give the little thing a pet on the head, but it breathed some sort of ice on her hand. She recoiled and shoved her hand into the hot springs. "Shit! Okay, sorry! You didn't have to do that, jeez!"

The rogue sighed and took a seat back into the water readjusting the tightness of her own towel as she did so. She was wearing a bathing suit underneath, but it helped her keep warm in the cold weather. "If it wants to be my partner it can, but it looks like it's a little stingy about it right now, so we'll give it some time. Anyway, as I was saying - You wouldn't be crossdressing, you're a girl now. Wearing a skirt wouldn't be crossdressing." She continued to tease, still snickering.

---

Taming failed | Attempt 1/4

[ChaseR 0]

The blue's blush was beginning to leave before the rouge opened her mouth again, hissing at her and deciding she'd give teasing her own weak attempt. "F-Fuck off! Y-You wouldn't dare give me a skirt anyways!", she practically barked at her soulmate, before turning her attention back to the familiar. "Try offering it food or something, a-and quit thinking about me in a skirt!", she shook her head once more, shying away just ever so slightly to regain her composure.

Honestly, especially now of all times, Shay knew exactly how to get behind Chase and play him- or her like a fiddle. "I-It was just an accident...", the girl repeated under her breath, looking down at her own chest before back up and focusing on the encounter. There was a wild monster that needed taming, and thinking about anything else inappropriate wouldn't do him or Shay any good. "Just befriend it already!"

[Shay 0]

Shay laughed a little from the reaction. Teasing Chase was actually pretty fun, especially when he was in a vulnerable state like this, but she wouldn't push too hard on him. She knew that he gets easily upset. "Alright fine." Shay says, pouting a little, as if she really did want to see what he would look like in a skirt. She focused on the familiar that was untamed in front of her. It stared at her quietly, just the same as she did to it. The connection was rightly palpable between the two.

With the swipe of her hand, Shay pulled up her menu and received a roll of bread from her inventory, setting the ball of grain on the stone in front of the being. After some hesitant inspection, the little familiar began to partake in the food. She quietly nibbled on the bread and mewled. "There we go."

---

Taming familiar success!

[ChaseR 0]

It was a relief to see that at least the familiar problem was taken care of. Hearing her almost disappointed though, Chase crossed her arms and let out a deep sigh. "Fine! If you're that eager, I-I guess I could...", she gave in, rubbing her arm rather awkwardly. She couldn't exactly say she wasn't that curious on what she'd look like in more feminine clothes either, as to be fair, her normal attire would probably look much too baggy or revealing, given her current physique.

"Anyways, the familiar uh... Dog? What will you name it?", she approached a bit closer, looking at it and slowly reaching her hand over in hopes that the new familiar would let her pet its head just as it let Shay feed it. "Hmph, told you it needed food... That always works, they'll eat anything they find...", the bluenette grumbled under her breath, trying to relax her body- for that at least, this whole hot springs area was working its magic.

[Shay 0]

Chase gave in to her demands, but really she was kidding. As much as she wanted to laugh at Chase by putting him in her own clothing, she didn't want to embarrass the shit out of him like that.

However.

She wasn't going to complain if she got the chance to see him as a girl in a skirt. An odd feeling to say the least, but that kind of made him even more attractive. "You don't have to if you don't want to. I really am kidding. Though, I'd say we're about the same size, maybe you're just a little taller so the skirt might feel a little shorter, but i still think it would look nice on you. Its actually amazing how good the potion makes you look for being completely aesthetic. Actually insanely attractive, I must say." She admits, and this time, she looks like she's saying it with confidence and full seriousness.

[ChaseR 0]

"I-It's fine, I'm a girl right now after all, I guess...", the woman fumbled on her words slightly, letting out a deep sigh. Even if she was just joking, she'd found a good enough excuse to ever push herself to try something like that out- given she probably wouldn't genderbend herself into a girl too many times in her lifespan, so she might as well. "I-Insanely attractive huh..? I didn't... know you also swung that way.", Chase muttered under her breath, having taken note of just how many girls seemed interested in one another over here in Aincrad.

Then again, Shay did mention that it wasn't about looks before, and it didn't matter. As long as they fought together, nothing was probably going to change at any given point in time. "Anyway, now that your familiar is there... Well, here... Should we head inside..? You have to get familiar with it somehow... I trained Blizz after getting him to make sure he could assist me in battle."

[Shay 0]

Shay stood up from her spot and offered to help Chase up from hers as well. "Like I said, appearance doesn't matter to me at all. Its all about the type of person you are and you've really grown on me in the short amount of time that we've known each other. If there was a single person in Aincrad that I would be interested in, it would definitely be you." She explained, stepping out of the water and walking into the shop to change into some relaxing clothes. She comes out of her changing room in a comfortable white dress with some extra clothes in her hands. Obviously stuff for Chase to try on.

"Here, chose whatever you like. I won't mind any of these that you put on, if they fit you correctly." One thing to note, Shay's normal attire was included in the multiple sets of clothing that she was offering Chase.

[ChaseR 0]

Chase took her hand, accepting her help to get up and slowly getting out of the water. With a deep sigh, she walked into the shop too, looking at the clothes in her hands. On one hand this felt highly unnatural, on the other something inside her was just urging her to change and try all of them on. Well, at least any that she'd find comfortable. Speaking of which, there were plenty of every day clothes that she could pick, and then there was the rogue's usual wear. In a complete "fuck it" moment, she picked out the casual attire Shay usually wore, moved to the changing room and put it on.

It surely felt odd to be this lightly dressed, especially in clothes that she was so familiar seeing but never wearing. "W-Woah, this is... Um... How does it look?", she asked, inspecting herself. The size seemed to be about right, with her bust being slightly smaller than Shay's- that or she hadn't figured out how to put it on properly. Whatever the case, she looked just like Shay did, in her black and red attire. 

Spoiler

Thread Rewards:
200 Col
3 SP for Shay (1 Quest, 1 Page, 1 Event)
2 SP for Chase (1 Page, 1 Event)

Shay unlocks Familiar!