Wanda was, admittedly, pretty distracted at the moment, and as such, couldn't really seem to make heads or tails out of Zell's immediate reaction. Hopefully the transformation wasn't suddenly deciding to take her eyesight along with her sense of stability, her old glasses were all the way back at her hut.
"Thanks," she called as she caught the towel out of the air and came out of the water, carefully wrapping it around her waist as she did, relieved that it was just Zell and there wouldn't have to be any awkward explanations. Not that there necessarily would have to be with anyone else, this could have happened to anyone on the island, but she did have something of a reputation. "So. One of those weekends, huh?"
"I don't -- where'd you get that, were you just carrying it around with you?" Wanda -- no, Walt, she supposed, the kid was right -- asked, eyes narrowing, a surprised grin spreading across her face. She doubted that was the case, since it looked remarkably unsquished.
Aragorn wasn't quite sure why the man would go swimming without any clothes on but feel uncomfortable coming out of the water like that. While he didn't think he'd ever be comfortable around women who were nude, being around men without clothing on wasn't anything to be embarrassed about. People here were from all different cultures though, so he would not judge.
"Of course," Aragorn said, moving over to where the towel was. Picking it up, he moved forward and held it out for the silver haired man.
Of course. Of course. Really, there was absolutely no reason to feel any manner of embarrassment, she'd spent half of her college years in gym locker rooms where being shy around the other guys wasn't a trait that long survived and anyway, Wanda was in no way accountable for her current situation. Nevertheless, a distinct feeling of mortification came over her in a rush as she took the towel from Aragorn and came up out of the water, wrapping it around her waist like it was her job. At least she'd never been the type to blush.
"Thanks," she muttered once she was safely out of the water. A part of her was expecting to change back once she dried off some, it would only make sense, but if that was the way this worked, it was taking its time about it. "Got myself into a bit of a predicament out there, glad you came along."
That made him wonder just how the man had ended up out there in such a situation. Either he had somehow lost his clothes while swimming, or he had not intended to be swimming when he had disrobed.
"Are you new to the island?" he asked. That would explain how he was suddenly in the water. Perhaps he had just seen the towel on the beach and had not placed it there?
"And forgive me, I am being rude. Here-"
Quickly, Aragorn pulled his own shirt off and offered it to the man. It was not the fashion that most people wore, but it was functional enough.
"My camp is not far from here, this should fit you well enough until you can get some clothes of your own."
And just like that, Wanda very nearly started believing in God, if only because there had to be someone up there laughing at her during all of this. She had a nice little opening and everything in which to explain, and then the shirt was coming off and the window of opportunity slammed shut pretty quickly since there was no amount of testosterone and general heterosexual male inclinations in the multiverse that could keep her from getting at least a teensy bit flustered at that. She was just too on edge.
Well, if the shirt fits. It beat digging through the clothes box in nothing but a towel, at any rate, and why did she not keep an extra outfit on hand for this sort of thing? The shirt fit quite well, as it turned out.
"Thanks again... guy. Guess that's two I owe you."
Even without necessarily understanding everything that people had to say about the island that morning, it only took a brief glance left and right for Zhuge to get some idea of what was happening to the island populace. Everywhere, people seemed suddenly capable of unimaginable feats, fire bursting from their fingertips, water arching gracefully above- there was even a sullen young man that seemed capable of turning almost any item into gelatin, an ability that Zhuge envied most of all. But with some experimentation, he'd been able to discover a gift of his own soon enough, merely by walking through the woods and finding bamboo stalks bending at his whim wherever he walked. Designs etched into the wood, intricate whorls and flowered patterns.
And at that point, he could only find it in him to thank whatever or whoever had granted him such a neat little trick, carefully seating himself down at various places on the island and bending the plants to his whim.
He'd only just managed to create a series of zhuqingting with a mere brush of
( ... )
"See, now that's handy," observed Wanda, actually quirking a small smile in spite of the unpleasant situation she found herself in. Not that she didn't love being a guy, not that she wouldn't make it permanent in a heartbeat if she could, but it was the constantly having it sprung on her and taken away again aspect that was really starting to tire her out. And at the moment, it was just downright inconvenient. "Thanks for the assist," she said once she was out and (barely) covered up, wondering just how she was going to make a proper reintroduction.
"No problem," Zhuge replied, still having fun trying out new turns of phrase, and doubly glad to meet a new person. No problem, in his language, was more often used as a way to express forgiveness. To insist that there was no problem to begin with, hardly something which needed to be addressed at all by the person who decided to apologize. But somehow, Zhuge liked it more in this context, where it was used to let others know that favors could be asked, that sometimes doing a favor was no more a burden than it actually was heartening, bolstering one with the knowledge that they could help out in turn.
Sticking one end of the bamboo stalk in the sand, Zhuge quirked an eyebrow at the man who approached. "Lose clothes out in the ocean?" he asked.
"It was a new bathing suit, too," Wanda confirmed, frowning slightly as she glanced back out toward the waves. It felt somehow wrong to be annoyed about such a thing in her current form -- not particularly masculine, at any rate -- but she couldn't help it. "It's... probably not wearable anymore, though."
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"Thanks," she called as she caught the towel out of the air and came out of the water, carefully wrapping it around her waist as she did, relieved that it was just Zell and there wouldn't have to be any awkward explanations. Not that there necessarily would have to be with anyone else, this could have happened to anyone on the island, but she did have something of a reputation. "So. One of those weekends, huh?"
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"Of course," Aragorn said, moving over to where the towel was. Picking it up, he moved forward and held it out for the silver haired man.
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"Thanks," she muttered once she was safely out of the water. A part of her was expecting to change back once she dried off some, it would only make sense, but if that was the way this worked, it was taking its time about it. "Got myself into a bit of a predicament out there, glad you came along."
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That made him wonder just how the man had ended up out there in such a situation. Either he had somehow lost his clothes while swimming, or he had not intended to be swimming when he had disrobed.
"Are you new to the island?" he asked. That would explain how he was suddenly in the water. Perhaps he had just seen the towel on the beach and had not placed it there?
"And forgive me, I am being rude. Here-"
Quickly, Aragorn pulled his own shirt off and offered it to the man. It was not the fashion that most people wore, but it was functional enough.
"My camp is not far from here, this should fit you well enough until you can get some clothes of your own."
Reply
Well, if the shirt fits. It beat digging through the clothes box in nothing but a towel, at any rate, and why did she not keep an extra outfit on hand for this sort of thing? The shirt fit quite well, as it turned out.
"Thanks again... guy. Guess that's two I owe you."
Oh, she was in trouble.
Reply
And at that point, he could only find it in him to thank whatever or whoever had granted him such a neat little trick, carefully seating himself down at various places on the island and bending the plants to his whim.
He'd only just managed to create a series of zhuqingting with a mere brush of ( ... )
Reply
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Sticking one end of the bamboo stalk in the sand, Zhuge quirked an eyebrow at the man who approached. "Lose clothes out in the ocean?" he asked.
Reply
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