>>5909016"Stay."
Izzy's head whips back to you, her expression suddenly quite concerned. In truth, you've never seen this expression on her face, but you think it might be... Guilt? She has never apologized to you for springing upon you the scheme which robbed you of your physical consistency and made you into a pseudo-eladrin—never even evinced any understanding that she had anything to apologize for, as a matter of fact—but it seems that your refusal to trust her with your secrets has shaken her. Perhaps, finally, understanding is dawning?
(Perhaps, if you're being totally honest with yourself, part of the blame lies with you for never actually talking to her about it, and letting her continue thinking everything was fine between the two of you for over a year...)
“Please,” you add, and then: “<Summon Elemental>.”
Both the girls look over with some startlement as a denizen of the Elemental Plane of Earth materializes from thin air with a pop. It is a vague facsimile of a man—by its proportions, maybe more an ape, or an orc, actually—but without finer features such as eyes or mouth. It grinds and groans as earth and stone scrape against one another, and assumes a position as if of absolute submission, on clumpy, lumpy hands and rocky knees. Costelal claps her hands togetehr giddily.
“Like, perfect! A seat! See, Izzy? Now we can all eat lunch together!”
“Y-yeah,” Izirina mumbles, her partly-false confidence flagging slightly.
She flips other cloak behind her and daintily takes her seat across from you and from Costella. Her sparkling eyes flit to you periodically, though she avoids directly meeting your eyes as she unwraps and nibbles upon her shepherd's pie, grazing at the crust first as if afraid to really dig into the meat and vegetables of the thing. Costella, oblivious to the tension, noshes down on her own savory pastry almost immediately, and with gusto.
“Ever since we got transformed, I just get so HUNGRY, you know what I mean?” Costella says, after swallowing and brushing away the crumbs from her lips. “It’s like I have all this extra energy all the time, but it’s still got to, like come from somewhere. Must be a change to, like, my metabolism or whatever!”
You nod along with her, and, unwrapping yours, take a testing bite. You feel the juices fill your mouth, the medley of spices and the texture and taste of the meat—lamb, you think—mingle with the grain and greens. You practically swoon. Gods, you missed meat...
But like Izzy, you can’t put this off forever. Doubly so because it was your idea.
