"For the last time, Rabb, I'm not interested in men," Shai admonished. She followed that with an exasperated sigh that gave every indication she knew more begging would follow. "You're sweet, really, and I think you're a great friend, but that's all you're ever going to be to me." She had her arms crossed now, which did nothing but accentuate her ample bust. Her long black hair was tied back in a messy ponytail. Apparently, she had been cleaning when Rabb had come calling. She did not sound as pleased as he had hoped she would have been.
"But Shai," Rabb began, before she cut him off with a raised hand. He shut his mouth, pouting.
"I appreciate the gesture, I do," Shai said, motioning to the abundance of flowers and candies that were arrayed outside of the door to her apartment. "But Rabb, get it through your head. I'm a lesbian."
"So, what I'm hearing is I'm perfect except for the whole having a dick problem, yeah?" Rabb rallied, standing a bit straighter. At his full height he was still shorter than Shai, but he wasn't about to let something like a handful of millimeters stand between him and true love. He ran a hand through his short brown hair and tried on what he thought was his most winning smile. "If I can fix that, you'll go out with me?"
"Yeah, Rabb, that's exactly it," Shai said, rolling her eyes. "It's your dick." She looked over her shoulder and back into her apartment. "Look, Rabb, I've got to get back to cleaning. My mother is coming into town tomorrow, and I don't want to hear anything about anything."
Rabb gave her a quick thumbs up. "No problem, Shai."
And with that he went bounding off down the hallway. He slid down the handrail of the staircase that led to the ground floor of the inn Shai called home. Somewhere behind him he thought he heard Shai shout something about "these damn flowers" but he was too focused on his newest mission: becoming the woman of Shai's dreams.
Outside the Merry Hart Inn, Rabb nearly ran bodily into his friend Mala. As it was, he skidded to a halt, dust rising from under his boots and billowing into the air around them. Both succumbed to a coughing fit that turned into a laughing fit that turned into comfortable silence. Mala looked up at Rabb, smiling despite the cloud of dirt, and placed a hand on his upper arm.
"How'd she like the flowers and stuff? Did it work?"
Rabb sighed, looking defeated. "Not as such, but it did give me an avenue to a different kind of success." He grinned down at Mala, a mischievous twinkle in his hazel eyes.
"What is it? What did she say?" Mala asked, excited for her friend.
"Basically, the problem is all this meat I'm packing around," Rabb said, laughing.
Mala cocked her head to the side, confused, her short blonde hair framing her face. "Meat? What meat, Rabb?"
Rabb patted his crotch, winking. "If I get rid of this bad boy, Shai said she'd go out with me no problem."
"Get rid of...Rabb? No! You can't be serious!" Mala sounded horrified at the prospect.
"What? Oh, no, I'm not gonna, like, chop it off or nothin'," Rabb said, trying to reassure her. "I was thinking maybe we find a wizard, get them to turn me into a lady!"
"Rabb," Mala said, sounding completely uncertain of the plan, "I'm not sure that's such a promising idea. Wizards aren't usually known to help the little folk like us. They're more for the, y'know, right hands of the high and mighty." She pointed up and past the hill out of town, atop which sat the local castle. "The duke? Sure, he's got a wizard for all kinds of stuff, but us normals?" Mala shook her head. "It just isn't done."
"We'll just see about that, won't we?" Rabb said, grinning at Mala. "I'm sure once he hears all about my plight, I'll be sporting some killer tits in no time!"
Mala shook her head, but bit her tongue all the same, following behind Rabb as he took off at a light jog toward the castle on the hill. He was as good to look at from the back as he was from the front, she thought, admiring the way his ass filled out his trousers. If only he could know how much she loved him, how much she wanted him, how many nights she lay awake just thinking about him, maybe he wouldn't be so eager to go off and get blown up by an annoyed mage. As it was, she kept it all to herself, and did her best to keep Rabb's pace up the steep incline.
###
"I just don't get it," Rabb sighed, taking a swig from his flagon of ale. They had returned to the town proper, tails between their legs, and had taken to drinking at the tavern in the Merry Hart. "I thought wizards were all about helping knights errant on quests."
"Well Rabb, you're not that much of a knight, are you?" Mala pointed out, resting a soft hand atop his own. "And look, they didn't beat you that badly, right?"
"I know, I know," Rabb said, draining the rest of his drink in a series of large gulps. He belched loudly, setting his flagon down on the table between them and sighed again. "I just don't know what I'm going to do, Mala. This plan was perfect."
Mala looked unsure of that but didn't say anything to the contrary. "Well, what about the old witchwoman? The one in the woods outside of town? Maybe she might know some way to, I don't know, fix your problem?"
Rabb perked up at this, a thoughtful look playing across his face. "The witch. Of course. Why didn't I think of that?"
"I'm sure you would have, Rabb," Mala said, encouragingly. "You've just got a lot on your mind right now. I know how focused you can get when you think you've got the answer to some problem or other."
"I wonder, though. Witches are more, what, potion-y than wizards are. I was hoping to get a zap from a wand more than drinking mashed up newt eyes for a fortnight or whatever," Rabb said, looking unsure.
"I'm sure it isn't as bad as all that," Mala said, flagging down a passing waitress. "Another two ales, please." She turned back to Rabb. "We just need to fill you with a little more courage and you'll be good to go!"
Rabb smiled at her and patted the hand that was still resting on his own. "You're such a good friend, Mala."