Encourage him.

You reach a hand to grasp Graham's gauntlet-clad hand and give it a squeeze. He looks to you and though you can't see his expression behind his helmet, you give him a bright smile.

Immediately Graham steps up to the arguing ladies. You grin and follow after him, tail wagging excitedly and your hands on the straps of your backpack.

"Is there a problem here?" Graham asked.

The snow elf turns to look at Graham...'s chest. She cranes her neck up, red eyes widening at his staggering height, but she shakes her head and catches herself. She looks maybe 5'2" or so. Taller than you, but still over a foot shorter than Graham.

"Yeah! This cheat sold my partner this scarf, telling her it was a magic item! But I can tell it's not! How dare you do that to my partner!" The snow elf barks, much to the batfolk woman's annoyance.

"Are you both with the Adventurer's Guild?" Graham asks.

The snow elf raises her head proudly. "Yup yup! Name's Aria, and this is my partner, Kiran!" She gestures at the dragonewt, who clasps her hands together and respectfully bows. She looks to be taller than her partner at 5'8", but Graham still dwarfs her.

"I see. How much did you pay for the scarf?" Graham asks, turning to Kiran.

The dragonewt gazes down, a downtrodden look on her face. "Ten gold coins..."

Graham reaches into his waist satchel, retrieving his wallet and removing twelve gold coins from the bag. He holds them out for Kiran. "Here you are."

"What? No, I couldn't!" she protests.

"I would like to buy the scarf from you. It would make a lovely gift for my own partner."

Kiran is clearly conflicted, but Aria buts in between them. "Sold!"

She hands the scarf to the armored man, who pours the coins into her outstretched palm with his other hand. Turning around, Graham holds the scarf out for you. "Here you are, Kohaku."

You jump. "For me, Master?"

"Of course. It is a gift. I know you hate wearing clothes, but would this be acceptable? I think it would look lovely on you," he explains, his voice firm and neutral.

Your face flushes and you just nod. Graham reaches forward and wraps the scarf around your neck. For such a massive man and powerful warrior, you're surprised with how gentle he is... His motions carry confidence, but he's being so careful it's like he's afraid he'll break you. It's so different from Sleezenose's rough treatment of you... When Graham stands up, you reach for the scarf now hanging from your neck. Your tail wags back and forth happily, a smile and warm blush to your face. You look up at Graham, uncharacteristically shy for once. "Thank you, Master..."

"Think nothing of it, Kohaku."

"Oi!"

You and Graham both turn to look at the two lady adventurers as they stand there. The batfolk merchant is quietly slinking away now that she's not being scrutinized, but more important is Aria the snow elf standing with her hands on her hips, flat chest thrust forward and a curious look on her face. Behind her, Kiran awkwardly looks away.

"That your ****?" Aria asks, pointing.

"Yes! I'm Master's ****!" you speak up before Graham can answer. You stand in front of him, arms outstretched defensively. "He just rescued me from a shady merchant and now I'm his partner! If you gotta problem with that, you take it up with me!" Despite knowing that these two adventurers are likely far stronger than you, you can't help but feel an exciting thrill at the idea of standing up to them.

Aria looks up at Graham's helmet. "Is that true?"

Graham merely nods. "I never planned to buy one... But I saw the vile rogue who was selling her. I could not stand idly by and let her suffer."

"Shit! You should join the Adventurer's Guild! Great equipment, cool under pressure, and you rescued a mistreated ****. Look, Kiran here," she thrusts a thumb at the dragonewt behind her, who awkwardly fidgets behind her partner, "feels bad about you spending so much just to keep me from making a scene. Ya got a place to stay tonight?"

Graham shakes his head. You're about to speak up and tell Aria that Graham is already a member of the Adventurer's Guild, but a gauntlet-clad hand patting your head silences you.

"Our room at the inn fits four! We're heading out in the morning after breakfast. Wanna at least accompany us to Fertile Valley? We're on our way to slay a monster they requested of us. The cave is on the way, you can wait outside while we take care of it and then we'll part ways after we turn in the job. I'm a ranger, Kiran here is a monk. Sound good?"

You look up at Graham, wondering if he should go with them. You want to meet new people and experience exciting things, but Graham doesn't seem all that sociable... Should you convince him, or let him do what's within his comfort zone?