"Of course I do! You've certainly got the tenacity. I'm certain you'll be fine."
The girls jumped back. "Oh, hello. Do you know who this carriage belongs to? Specifically, does it belong to Professor Tymnas?"
The other girl giggled at his name.
"I hope so. I've only gotten good at throwing things," Cormac said.
"It does," Marius said. "Is there something you need of him?"
"You'll be fine. I suppose we should wait here for Marius."
The girls giggled. "Yes! Can we see him? Where is he? I need help with my healing homework."
"Yeah and I need, um... Help with my botany assignment?"
"I can take you to him once I get something for him." Marius quickly went to his and Astien's room and got his coin bag. He then met up with the girls and lead them to the store where Cormac and Astien were waiting.
"Made some friends?" Cormac asked as he took down his hood.
"They wanted to speak with their professor," Marius said.
The girls were suddenly quiet when they saw Astien. "Ummm…"
"Rila, Alma, hello! What a surprise! What can I do for you?" Astien asked, smiling.
"Uuuummmm.... We just wanted to say hi. And stuff."
"Yeah. So hi."
"It's nice to see you too. Have you been studying? Keeping up with all your classes?" Both girls nodded. "Good. Oh, Rila, have you been having any trouble with your pediatric healing class? I'm happy to help again if you are."
The girl shook her head. "Well if that's all you girls needed, I'm afraid I need to be somewhere now. Cormac, Delas, come along."
Once Astien was gone the girls turned to each other. "He's pregnant! How's he pregnant?!"
"I saw him a few months ago, how's he so pregnant?!"
"Who got him pregnant?! I'd he getting married?! How can I be his wife if he's marrying someone else?!"
"Hey, I was going to be his wife! He likes me better!"
"No, I was gonna be his wife!"
"Whatever. At least he's still hot."
"I guess, but now I can't marry him!"
Cormac went off with Astien. "Looks like you're quite the lady's man back at your academy." He commented.
Marius chuckled lightly as he saw the girls squabbling with one another. "It'll be hard to become his wife considering that he's not into women."
Astien looked confused. "Ladies man? What are you talking about? I'm gay."
"That can't be true. I saw him eating lunch with professor Hattrick, and they looked like they were getting pretty close."
"Yeah, and this one one I saw him taking a moonlight walk with one of the residents. They were walking pretty close, if you know what I mean."
"And then that one time with Ms Marren, he let her drink out of his canteen! He indirectly kissed her!"
"Well those students of yours seemed quite enamored with you," Cormac said. "You know, once they got pass the shock."
"Well, I know first hand that he's not into women," Marius said with a chuckle. "Men can be friends with women, you know."
"What are you talking about, honestly. Rila and Alma are just very energetic girls. Ah! Here's the place." Astien led Cormac and Delas into the potions shop, run by an imp, and began looking for something to help Cormac.
"Wasn't he holding hands with that girl one time?"
"That one time Darvi went temporarily blind?"
"Yeah! You can't tell me he didn't enjoy it! He soooo liked it!"
"How would you know if he's gay anyway, buddy?"
Cormac just shrugged and began browsing the shelves.
"Do you really want to know?" Marius asked.
"Let's see. No, no, that's not it, wrong type of rash, ew... Here we go!" He pulled a tin off the shelves. "This should do it." He decided he also needed some more cream for his stretch marks, so Astien decided to browse the store a bit longer. Delas just sat in the corner. Apparently he had been looking for something that could change him into an elf.
"You know what? It doesn't matter if he's gay. I'm gonna marry him anyway."
"No, I'm gonna marry him!"
"He likes me better!"
"I'd make a way better wife!"
Cormac looked through the various herbs and ingredient the store had to offer.
Finding a few other things he decided was necessary, he went to the counter. Dela followed, looking disappointed. "The way Astien talked about all of the things this place had, I'd kind of expected something that could make me a full elf."
"He can't be gay."
"Yeah, he's way too nice."
"He's THE nicest professor."
"I really don't think there's a potion like that," Cormac said gently. "A very complicated spell, maybe, but I doubt a potion."
"Are you saying homosexuals aren't nice?" Marius asked in a jokingly gruff tone.
"I know. I'd just thought maybe I'd be lucky, I dunno."
"No, that's not it. It's just, if he is gay, then pretty much all of my dating prospects are ruined, so I can't afford for him to be gay."
"That's kind of extreme. I have at least a couple of back up boys."
"I can't help it! He's just so great!"
Marius smirked as Astien, Cormac and Delas left the shop. Marius wrapped an arm around Astien's waist and dipped him while he place a long kiss on the man's lips. Cormac sighed and slowly dragged his hand down his face. "Really, Marius? Here of all places?"
Delas chuckled. "Hee hee hee hee hee hee hee."
Astien's face went entirely red as Marius held the kiss, but he did nothing to fight it, in part because he liked it, and in part because his brain couldn't process what was going on.
"Gods! Let go of him, he didn't say he wanted to be kissed!"
"Pervert! You can't just kiss someone out of nowhere like that!"
Marius chuckled and eased Astien back onto his feet. "Foot rub once we get back to the inn, love?"
Cormac rolled his eyes and ran his hand through his hair. It was getting a bit shaggy, but he wasn't bothering to get it cut. He wanted his braid back.
"Marius, please! There are two children standing right there!" He turned to the girls. "I'm so sorry you saw that. Marius can be a bit much. He's rather... Enthusiastic, shall we say."
The girls looked crestfallen. "So it's true then?"
"Is what true?" Astien asked."
"Aaaah, no it's true! Nooooooo!"
Both of the girls ran off in tears. "Alma, Rila, what's wrong?!" Astien called.
"I told you they had the hots for you," Cormac teased.
"And I did tell them I'm having 'relations' with you," Marius chuckled. "They just wouldn't believe me."