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“Look, I didn't ask you to follow me around out here. I can handle this job all by myself. So why don't you stop your complaining and go back to the guild already.” Gray turned around, crossed his arms and stared at you. “Well, what are you waiting for? Go on back. I already said I didn't need you.”

“I'm not going anywhere. I accepted that job way before you did. Just because you have the flier doesn't mean you can steal the request and the rewards from me.” With a snort, you pushed passed him and continued walking. “You're stuck with me. Actually, I seem to be stuck with you.”

“Hey, don't you dare walk away from me like that. We need to talk about this.” Gray chased after you until he was walking beside you. “Look, I haven't been on a job for a while, I could really use these funds. What if we split the money fifty-fifty. We'll get the job done faster if we work together, then we can start on a new one.”

“Wow, you came full circle in no time at all didn't you? You must be pretty darn desperate to change your mind so quickly. I actually feel kind of sorry for you.” You laughed to yourself. “I tell you what, we can split the money fifty-fifty if you manage to keep your clothes on. If you can't manage to do that, I get seventy-five percent and you get the other twenty-five percent.” Sure you would win this bet, you held your hand out to him and began to smirk. “Do we have a deal?”

Gray let out a loud snort. “Ha, you think I can't do that? You're on.” Taking your hand in his, he gave it a firm shake.

“Good. I look forward to watching you lose.” You nodded and picked up your pace, eager to get this mission started. “My little challenge can start as soon as you put your clothes back on.”

“W-what?” Gray looked down on his exposed body. “How does this crap even happen?” Quickly finding his clothes, Gray dressed and once again caught up to you. “You sure this is the right way? I thought we were headed west.”

“We are going west, but unless you feel like trudging through swampland, it's easier to make a small detour and go around.” Positive he didn't believe you, you handed gray the map so he could see for himself. “I don't think the detour should take is that much longer. Actually, it should make things faster, since we won't have the swamp to slow us down.”

After looking at the map for a few seconds, Gray realized you were right. This caused him to frown, just enough for you to notice. “I could just freeze the swamp so we could walk across, but then I'd be wasting magic. So I guess you're right.” He shrugged. “Anyway, should we talk about a game plan or do you just want to go in full force, smashing heads in? We've never worked together before, so I really don't know how you fight. On second thought, planning might be a bad idea, we should just go kill those monsters.”

“I'm glad you sorted that out with yourself.” You laughed. “Because all you were doing was confusing me.” Mumbling something under his breath, Gray continued to follow you. After about fifteen minutes of walking, the landscape changed from that of a grassland, to a humid, sticky swamp. “I guess it should be around here somewhere. We just have to find it.”

Before you'd even finished speaking, Gray started to complain. “Oh man, I hate places like this. They stink, and they make all my clothes stick to me.”

“That's a good thing. At least you know you aren't naked and haven't lost my bet yet.” Walking deeper and deeper into the marsh, you kept your eyes open for any sign of the monster, but saw none. “For a monster, this thing's pretty shy. I figured it would have attacked us by now.”

“Either shy, or it's stalking us. I bet it's just waiting for the right time to show up and eat us. We're probably delicious. Well, he won't be getting any Gray snacks today.” Gray shook his fist at the sky. “You hear that you big smelly monster? I'm off the menu.” As Gray taunted the unseen monster, there was a loud thud behind the two of you. It was strong enough to shake the ground all around you.

“Good job Gray, you found the monster. You probably ticked it off too.” Turning around to see what had caused the earth to tremble, you saw a huge, slimy, malformed toad like creature standing directly behind Gray. As its mouth opened wide, a terrible, septic smell emerged. It was so strong, it instantly made your stomach turn. “I'd turn around of I were you. It doesn't look very happy to see you.” You drew your weapon and rushed past Gray, running straight towards the monster.

“H-hey, wait a second, you're going to get yourself killed.” As Gray spun around to assist in the fight, the toad beast flung it's massive tongue from its mouth and wrapped it tightly around Gray's body. Before either of you realized what was happening, it pulled him into its mouth. “Dang it. Get me out of here.” You could tell he was trying his best to fight his way out of the toad. Unfortunately, the only thing he was doing was upsetting it further.

“I've got it, just stop making it angry.” You sliced and cut at the beast, trying your best to free Gray. It was strong, but extremely slow, which should have made it a breeze to defeat. The problem was, with Gray in its stomach, you couldn't exactly wound it as deeply as you needed to. If you cut too deep, you ran the risk of wounding not only the monster, but your comrade. Because of this, you struck the only place you could without running the risk of harming Gray, the monster’s throat. With one, swift strike, your blade ripped through its flesh, filling the air with the most horrible smell you'd ever encountered. With nothing to hold it in place, the head slowly slid off its body and plopped onto the ground. “Are you okay in there Gray?

“You mean besides being covered in whatever this thing has been eating and being half digested? Sure, I'm just great, never better.” He tried shaking the slime from his hands and arms, but with the rest of him covered as well, it didn't do any good. “Thanks for saving my hide. That thing took me by surprise is all, I could have blasted it from the inside with my ice magic.” He crossed his arms. “I just didn't want to hit you is all.”

“I'm sure you could have.” You nodded in agreement, even though you knew he was lying. “I'm curious though, did it not cross your mind that it would be equally difficult for me to attack without hurting you?”

Your question caused a spacey look to pass over his face. The thought had obviously not crossed his mind, and now that you'd pointed it out, he was left feeling more than just a little bit sheepish. “You know what, I was in that thing's stinking, smelly gut. I really wasn't thinking about anything other than getting out. Now let's get out of here, I smell horrible and I think I got some of that crap in my mouth.” Gray was already making his way back to the guild, leaving behind him a slimy trail of stench. “Man, I've never wanted to take a shower more than I do right now. By the way, just because I got eaten doesn't mean you can keep all that money for yourself. You still owe me fifty percent, whether I actually helped you out or not.”

Trying not to laugh at him, you slowly shook your head from side to side. “No, no I don't. You're getting twenty-five percent and not a penny more.”

“What do you mean by that?.” Suddenly aware of what must have happened, Gray's eyes widened, then he slowly looked down at his bare chest. Obviously agitated, he let out a loud, guttural groan. “Shoot, when did I do that? I was sure I still had my clothes on.”

“You've been half naked since before we even got into the marsh.” Not even trying to hide your amusement, you laughed. “I don't know how anyone can walk around all day without noticing they're naked. Especially with all the weird looks you were getting.”

“I don't know either. But I did take your bet. So I guess, this is fair.” He pouted a bit, hoping it would make you change your mind.

“You guess it's fair?” Raising a brow at him, you tried to figure out if he was actually being serious or not. He hadn't helped you in the slightest, so he really had no reason or room to complain about anything. “Come on Gray, all you did was follow me around all day and get eaten by a frog monster. I'd take twenty-five percent for doing nothing at all any day.”

Somewhat offended by what you'd said, Gray narrowed his eyes and pointed an angry finger at you. “Watch it you. You keep on talking trash about me like that and I won't be there when you get eaten by a nasty, stinky frog monster.”

Once again, you started to laugh. Even so, you agreed with him completely. “Well, duh. If you were there, then you'd be the one getting eaten not me.”

Gray glared at you and said something that instantly ended your playful squabbling. “One more word and I'll hug you.”

Description
“Look, I didn't ask you to follow me around out here. I can handle this job all by myself. So why don't you stop your complaining and go back to the guild already.” Gray turned around, crossed his arms and stared at you. “Well, what are you waiting for? Go on back. I already said I didn't need you.”

“I'm not going anywhere. I accepted that job way before you did. Just because you have the flier doesn't mean you can steal the request and the rewards from me.” With a snort, you pushed passed him and continued walking. “You're stuck with me. Actually, I seem to be stuck with you.”

“Hey, don't you dare walk away from me like that. We need to talk about this.” Gray chased after you until he was walking beside you. “Look, I haven't been on a job for a while, I could really use these funds. What if we split the money fifty-fifty. We'll get the job done faster if we work together, then we can start on a new one.”

“Wow, you came full circle in no time at all didn't you? You must be pretty darn desperate to change your mind so quickly. I actually feel kind of sorry for you.” You laughed to yourself. “I tell you what, we can split the money fifty-fifty if you manage to keep your clothes on. If you can't manage to do that, I get seventy-five percent and you get the other twenty-five percent.” Sure you would win this bet, you held your hand out to him and began to smirk. “Do we have a deal?”

Gray let out a loud snort. “Ha, you think I can't do that? You're on.” Taking your hand in his, he gave it a firm shake.

“Good. I look forward to watching you lose.” You nodded and picked up your pace, eager to get this mission started. “My little challenge can start as soon as you put your clothes back on.”

“W-what?” Gray looked down on his exposed body. “How does this crap even happen?” Quickly finding his clothes, Gray dressed and once again caught up to you. “You sure this is the right way? I thought we were headed west.”

“We are going west, but unless you feel like trudging through swampland, it's easier to make a small detour and go around.” Positive he didn't believe you, you handed gray the map so he could see for himself. “I don't think the detour should take is that much longer. Actually, it should make things faster, since we won't have the swamp to slow us down.”

After looking at the map for a few seconds, Gray realized you were right. This caused him to frown, just enough for you to notice. “I could just freeze the swamp so we could walk across, but then I'd be wasting magic. So I guess you're right.” He shrugged. “Anyway, should we talk about a game plan or do you just want to go in full force, smashing heads in? We've never worked together before, so I really don't know how you fight. On second thought, planning might be a bad idea, we should just go kill those monsters.”

“I'm glad you sorted that out with yourself.” You laughed. “Because all you were doing was confusing me.” Mumbling something under his breath, Gray continued to follow you. After about fifteen minutes of walking, the landscape changed from that of a grassland, to a humid, sticky swamp. “I guess it should be around here somewhere. We just have to find it.”

Before you'd even finished speaking, Gray started to complain. “Oh man, I hate places like this. They stink, and they make all my clothes stick to me.”

“That's a good thing. At least you know you aren't naked and haven't lost my bet yet.” Walking deeper and deeper into the marsh, you kept your eyes open for any sign of the monster, but saw none. “For a monster, this thing's pretty shy. I figured it would have attacked us by now.”

“Either shy, or it's stalking us. I bet it's just waiting for the right time to show up and eat us. We're probably delicious. Well, he won't be getting any Gray snacks today.” Gray shook his fist at the sky. “You hear that you big smelly monster? I'm off the menu.” As Gray taunted the unseen monster, there was a loud thud behind the two of you. It was strong enough to shake the ground all around you.

“Good job Gray, you found the monster. You probably ticked it off too.” Turning around to see what had caused the earth to tremble, you saw a huge, slimy, malformed toad like creature standing directly behind Gray. As its mouth opened wide, a terrible, septic smell emerged. It was so strong, it instantly made your stomach turn. “I'd turn around of I were you. It doesn't look very happy to see you.” You drew your weapon and rushed past Gray, running straight towards the monster.

“H-hey, wait a second, you're going to get yourself killed.” As Gray spun around to assist in the fight, the toad beast flung it's massive tongue from its mouth and wrapped it tightly around Gray's body. Before either of you realized what was happening, it pulled him into its mouth. “Dang it. Get me out of here.” You could tell he was trying his best to fight his way out of the toad. Unfortunately, the only thing he was doing was upsetting it further.

“I've got it, just stop making it angry.” You sliced and cut at the beast, trying your best to free Gray. It was strong, but extremely slow, which should have made it a breeze to defeat. The problem was, with Gray in its stomach, you couldn't exactly wound it as deeply as you needed to. If you cut too deep, you ran the risk of wounding not only the monster, but your comrade. Because of this, you struck the only place you could without running the risk of harming Gray, the monster’s throat. With one, swift strike, your blade ripped through its flesh, filling the air with the most horrible smell you'd ever encountered. With nothing to hold it in place, the head slowly slid off its body and plopped onto the ground. “Are you okay in there Gray?

“You mean besides being covered in whatever this thing has been eating and being half digested? Sure, I'm just great, never better.” He tried shaking the slime from his hands and arms, but with the rest of him covered as well, it didn't do any good. “Thanks for saving my hide. That thing took me by surprise is all, I could have blasted it from the inside with my ice magic.” He crossed his arms. “I just didn't want to hit you is all.”

“I'm sure you could have.” You nodded in agreement, even though you knew he was lying. “I'm curious though, did it not cross your mind that it would be equally difficult for me to attack without hurting you?”

Your question caused a spacey look to pass over his face. The thought had obviously not crossed his mind, and now that you'd pointed it out, he was left feeling more than just a little bit sheepish. “You know what, I was in that thing's stinking, smelly gut. I really wasn't thinking about anything other than getting out. Now let's get out of here, I smell horrible and I think I got some of that crap in my mouth.” Gray was already making his way back to the guild, leaving behind him a slimy trail of stench. “Man, I've never wanted to take a shower more than I do right now. By the way, just because I got eaten doesn't mean you can keep all that money for yourself. You still owe me fifty percent, whether I actually helped you out or not.”

Trying not to laugh at him, you slowly shook your head from side to side. “No, no I don't. You're getting twenty-five percent and not a penny more.”

“What do you mean by that?.” Suddenly aware of what must have happened, Gray's eyes widened, then he slowly looked down at his bare chest. Obviously agitated, he let out a loud, guttural groan. “Shoot, when did I do that? I was sure I still had my clothes on.”

“You've been half naked since before we even got into the marsh.” Not even trying to hide your amusement, you laughed. “I don't know how anyone can walk around all day without noticing they're naked. Especially with all the weird looks you were getting.”

“I don't know either. But I did take your bet. So I guess, this is fair.” He pouted a bit, hoping it would make you change your mind.

“You guess it's fair?” Raising a brow at him, you tried to figure out if he was actually being serious or not. He hadn't helped you in the slightest, so he really had no reason or room to complain about anything. “Come on Gray, all you did was follow me around all day and get eaten by a frog monster. I'd take twenty-five percent for doing nothing at all any day.”

Somewhat offended by what you'd said, Gray narrowed his eyes and pointed an angry finger at you. “Watch it you. You keep on talking trash about me like that and I won't be there when you get eaten by a nasty, stinky frog monster.”

Once again, you started to laugh. Even so, you agreed with him completely. “Well, duh. If you were there, then you'd be the one getting eaten not me.”

Gray glared at you and said something that instantly ended your playful squabbling. “One more word and I'll hug you.”