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The moment stretched, amplifying John’s awkwardness. The dwarf unhooked his arms and dropped to the floor, roaring with laughter.

“Whatcha doin’ here? Didn’t expect to see a familiar face this side of the portal,” the dwarf said.

Robin laughed, scratching his head as a slight blush crept across his face. “I could say the same for you. Here, let me introduce you to my friends,” he said, gesturing to the group who’d gathered. “Everyone, this is Cole, Cole, this is everyone.”

Individual introductions followed, ending with John stepping forward to shake Cole’s hand, noting the strength of the dwarf’s grip.

“It’s nice to meet you all. I’m Cole, I’m, uh,” he paused, glancing at Robin before clearing his throat, “a friend of Robins.”

A fire spread across the dwarf's chest, filling the air with the faint scent of singed hair. Robin rolled his eyes and stared down at Cole incredulously.

“Really, dude? You just jumped into my arms and made out with me and you’re gonna say ‘friend’? It’s a bit late to play it off,” Robin chided, seeming unfazed by the flames that licked at the dwarf’s body.

John quickly removed a water bottle from his inventory and splashed the dwarf. Cole’s mohawk dropped limply, dripping, he looked at John with confusion, causing Robin to burst out laughing.

“Gotta say, deserved,” Robin commented, slapping Cole on the shoulder. “Okay, so this guy is an on-off fuck buddy, who happens to have a worse case of Pinocchio syndrome, instead of his nose growing, he sets on fire. His flames don’t hurt him so you don't need to worry.”

Vi laughed to herself and muttered, “Liar, Liar, pants on fire.” Which set Alison and Ellie off giggling.

John chuckled at the quip but levelled his gaze at Robin. “Uh, so you’re bi?” he asked, still shocked by the revelation since it had never come up in their entire friendship.

Raising an eyebrow and locking eyes with John, Robin smirked. “Dude, I’m gay. You’ve really not noticed? I’ve never outright said it but there have been plenty of times I’d have thought it was obvious. Like why did you think I’d choose male partners in every game I have the option to romance?” he asked.

“And I play a woman in every game I have the option. That doesn’t mean I’m a woman or have body dysmorphia. Plus, you have Alleon, are you actually not dating her?” John asked.

Robin hummed, placing a hand on Cole’s shoulder to draw his attention. “Mind giving us a little privacy? Might be a little personal.”

Cole nodded and chuckled. “Yeah, I won’t argue with that. I came for business with the dragon lasses anyway. How about once you’re done, I show you around and we can catch up a little?” he asked, giving Robin a wink.

Robin smiled and playfully pushed him in the direction of Skye and Terra. Once the three of them had put a little distance between the two groups, Robin turned back to John.

“I guess I never broadcasted that I was gay, and my personality isn’t based on my sexuality.” he started, getting down onto the sand and sitting with his legs stretched. “I just assumed the things I did and said would be a good indicator.”

The group joined Robin on the sand and he continued, “As for Alleon, they’re a concubus, and they prefer to stay in their succubus form in public. At home or when we’re out together, they shift into their incubus form. Their male form is more of an expression of intimacy that they’re not comfortable showing the majority of the time.”

Ellie shuffled closer to Robin. “Huh, that’s pretty interesting. So how does that work in your relationship, with her being in her female form a lot of the time?” she asked.

A fond smile spread across Robin’s face as he looked at Ellie. “Believe it or not, our relationship started with a blind date. We connected almost immediately, but even though I liked her, I just couldn’t get into it when we got into the bedroom. When she changed for the first time though…” Robin fanned his face and sighed dramatically.

“The way I treat them in each form is definitely different but I’m still physically affectionate when she’s a succubus, it’s just more like a sibling or close friend,” Robin explained.

John listened attentively, his thoughts drifting to their online hangouts with the guys. John couldn’t recall any strong indication that Robin might be gay, other than his choice of partners in games and that he was quieter when the topic of girls came up, though even then he’d occasionally agree or make small comments.

As he was lost in thought, Ellie sidled up beside him, gently nudging him to get his attention. “Whacha thinkin’ about?” she asked playfully. “Worried you might have another guy try and hit on you?”

Robin roared with laughter. “Don’t worry. I’m not gonna try stealing him. I’m sorry to say, but you’re not exactly my type. I’m more into guys who spend time in the gym. Plus, you’re a little more… academically inclined than the guys I usually go for,” he teased.

“Hey! I heard that, ya cheeky bastard! Who are you calling dumb?” Cole yelled playfully from his conversation nearby.

“Ah, calm down, I’m not saying you’re dumb. But you’re not exactly scholarly either,” Robin retorted with a wink. Cole huffed and shook his head, smiling as he turned back to the drakelings.

“So, you and Alleon are officially together? It feels like you’ve been vague. What’s your actual relationship with her, uh, him… them?” John fumbled, trying to be sensitive about the subject.

Robin held a hand up. “Relax, man. It’s not too complicated, just use whatever you’re comfortable with. I usually say ‘they’ but switch it up often,” he explained. He fell silent for a moment, rubbing his arm awkwardly. “And yeah… We might as well be engaged, kinda sorta, but not really? Marriage isn’t straightforward for them. It’s not like we can just fuck and suddenly be married, or even like a regular wedding… I know Alleon wants it, my parents approve, but it’s just… a lot”

“I really want to give them what they want. They were my first everything: first kiss, first date, I lost my virginity to them both girl and guy… He even talked about quitting the club for me…”

John crawled over and put a hand on Robin’s shoulder. “I’m sure they know how much you care. As long as you talk to them and tell them how you feel, I’m sure they’ll be willing to wait.”

Ellie chuckled. “Look at him, starts to build a harem and suddenly has all the advice.”

Robin sprung up from the floor, stretching and letting out a semi-**** yawn. “Well, we can either sit here and talk about my relationship issues, or I can go catch up with Cole while you finish whatever business those two have for you before we all meet up again.”

Before anyone could respond, Robin walked over to the dwarf, put his hand on his shoulder and said something too quiet for John to hear. Cole nodded and the two began walking away, the dwarf waving the group goodbye.

Skye and Terra rejoined John and the girls as they stood. “Before we continue, there are some things we should update you on,” Skye began, moving closer to John.

Terra wasted no time, briskly walking over to John and taking his hand in hers. “Yeah, a bunch of stuff has happened. You’ve probably noticed we can speak to you in your language now, all thanks to the faeries. Dewdrop said some of us have picked it up so quickly because of our transformation, though others have been struggling. Skye and I picked it up the fastest, only taking a few hours to get to a level where we could hold a conversation,” she explained.

Before the other drakeling could close in on John, his arm was hugged tightly to Alison’s chest. Syke looked a little disappointed and pouted but turned back to John nodding in agreement with Terra’s statement. “We’ve split into smaller groups too. Sheldon and Ysera, as you saw, spend their time on the shore. Corin, Luna, Odah, Ridley and Sindra are all pretty independent and they spend the majority of their time in the forest surrounding the Silverwood. Edwin and Valoo have become Lady Agni’s assistants. Everyone else sticks around the gate for the most part but all do their own thing.”

Terra jumped in again, “For the most part, we’re all still figuring out what we’re good at now that we’ve changed.”

Suddenly, a grunting, snorting, jabbering sound interrupted her. John jumped as a small slobbering kobold pushed through his legs. The creature stood in front of him, arms held out as if to stop him or present itself. It stood staring up at him with large blue eyes and drool dripping from its smiling puppy tooth-filled mouth.

“Ah, I guess I should reintroduce you. This is Itch. Believe it or not, he is a drakeling. He is unable to speak, he even has trouble with our native tongue, but he can understand what you say. He’s not very bright, but he does seem very happy. He likes to disappear but usually turns up when you call for him,” Skye explained.

“H-he’s cute,” Alison remarked, putting a hand on her knee as she bent over to lower herself.

Vi followed. “He is quite different from the kobolds though. He’s shorter, maybe like sixty-five centimetres now? But he looks more well-built, stockier. His head is wider and his jawline looks stronger. I think he’d probably be a tougher fight than he was before,” she noted.

John pulled a granola bar from his inventory and offered it to the little drakeling, who gently snatched it before gobbling it up. Itch rushed towards John, hugging his leg before scampering off.

“Well, there he goes again,” Skye muttered. “With that distraction and introduction done, let's get back to what we were discussing. As you might have noticed, we have some guests. I’ll let them introduce themselves, but all together there are three males and five females.”

“So, you have a preference for where we should start?” Terra asked, squeezing John’s hand a little to draw his attention.

John laughed awkwardly. “Uh, I’m not sure actually. What are the options again?” he asked.

“Of course,” Skye said, smiling at him reassuringly. “There are more drakelings you could get reacquainted with, though you will likely come across everyone eventually. Lady Agni is conscious; I’m sure you’d like to meet her and see how she is doing. Our guests are spread throughout the encampment but it would be advised to introduce yourself to them all. There are also some important decisions we’d like you to make for the camp itself, mostly where we should build things, what you think is important and what we should do next.”

“Oh, and the faeries probably want to see you, I know Queen Leilani has been hoping to see you,” Terra added. “And I’m sure you probably wanna explore a little on your own too, right?”

John felt a little overwhelmed and fell silent, trying to think what would be best.

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