Troy and Lancer walked through the aisles, careful not to knock over any displays or shelves.
The last thing they needed was to literally have to pay for any of this stuff. It was cool and all, but expensive. A couple of people were playing Majick and didn’t look up when the two overly-muscled myths walked past. One was a very thin shaggy-haired human and the other was a stocky dwarf with a short beard.
It delighted Troy to no end to no longer be considered human. His massive, powerful body had a few issues (like squeezing into any non-custom car or a room like the one they were about to walk into), but…like, so what? Everyone had problems, his were just more fun.
The booth they’d gotten was the largest-more like a conference room. It could easily accommodate a family of twelve, which was a good thing, because himself, Lancer, Greg and a familiar looking Great Dane each took up two spots. Dustin was trying to do the same, but his slimmer more athletic build couldn't quite compete with the broad shoulders of the other men.
Mark sat at the end of the table and look flustered.
The source of his frustration was a short, chunky human with black hair and a greasy complexion, who was clearly teasing him. Actually, now that Troy had the chance to really take in the scene, most of the players at the table seemed annoyed with the chubby man.
Pizzas had arrived and everyone had a plate and soda. There was a large dice tower on the table next to a map. Dice were everywhere and everyone had miniatures. A large back sat on the floor next to the chubby man. He’d clearly enjoyed a pizza or two, as he was the only one who had started eating.
“Hey! You guys finally made it!” Mark got up from his seat, clearly relieved to not have to speak to Drew, and shook Lancer’s hand. “You’re Troy’s new boyfriend?”
Lancer nodded.
“I can see why he chose you…” Mark grinned and nudged Lancer’s abs conspiratorially.
“Fucking furfags…” The fat guy at the end of the table muttered under his breath.
Troy glared at the fat guy, who was shooting them furtive glances. He wanted to strangle the tall elf, but he wasn’t all that pleased with whoever his chunky friend was with either. Mark might mock furries, but the fat guy was strangely aggressive. Everyone at the table appeared to be doing their best to ignore him. Troy guessed he made snide remarks like that all the time, then.
“Oh, uh…” Mark smiled apologetically. “That’s Drew. He’s a veteran player. Don’t mind him, he can get abrasive.”
“If he makes people uncomfortable, why is he playing with you?” Lancer whispered.
“Store policy says you can’t turn down a player unless the max amount of players are already in the group. 6 players and one DM, so unless someone else comes along…” Mark shrugged. “Really sorry. Anyways, let’s introduce ourselves!”
Lancer cleared his throat. “Right. I’m Lance…just Lance.”
“Troy.” The rhino-man introduced himself.
"I'm Mark," Mark pointed to himself, then went around the table from left of him to right. "The big bad wolf dog is Dusty. The half-orc is Greg. And the Great Dane is Jeremiah. The human is Drew." Then pointed to Lancer and Troy, "This is Lance and Troy."
Jeremiah stood up to shake Lancer's hand then looked up at Troy.
"Sorry bout the other day. Halbrook can be a bit of an ass sometimes. Lucky for you, we didn't find anything wrong." Jeremiah paused. "Not that there was anything wrong. Just--" he stopped himself before putting his foot in his mouth. "Never mind," then sat back down next to Greg.
"Right..." Troy nodded and then took his seat next to Dustin, who gave him a couple of friendly punches to the arm. His tail was wagging like there was no tomorrow.
"He's handsome," Dustin complemented as he reached stood and reached his arm across Troy to give Lancer a proper greeting. Troy glared as he got an arm full of brown and black fur in the face. But Dustin was quick to change the subject back to the game. "So! How do we start?"
Mark pulled out a half dozen pieces of paper with all sorts of marking on them.
"These," he held them up then handed two pieces of paper to Lancer, Troy and Dustin, "are your character sheets. Don't lose them." He then pulled out two more and handed them to Greg. "I took the liberty of writing them all out so you don't have to. Just a simpler way to start the game instead of spending two hours describing each stat, background, racial traits, etc. Now we can just get started with the game and then you guys will have an idea of how the game is supposed to run and what each trait will mean. Also, I didn't want any of you misinterpreting anything and giving yourself a 25 AC with +10 to your initiative. It's more fun when you can actually follow the rules."
Mark continued to explain a quick rundown of all the rules and what would be expected from them as players. He really did have a surprising amount of confidence as he spoke.
Troy wasn't sure if it was because he was finally an elf, or if this was just a more natural environment for him. Either way, Mark quickly ran through what each of the of the stats meant, to ask for rolls and not just roll for them, what each of the dice were used for and a general idea of what to expect. Also, to understand that roleplaying would be a bit awkward at first but just try to roll with it as everyone was expected to be friends. And besides Greg and Mark and Drew, it was everyone's first time so don't be harsh.
“Don’t worry, if they fuck up I’ll let ‘em know.” Drew smirked.
“I’d rather you not.” Mark smiled back, trying to be pleasant.
“I’m not going to Command you to allow me.” Drew said.
Mark blinked rapidly. “Fine, do what you want.”
“I will.” Drew murmured.
“So,” Troy took one of his vegetarian pizzas. “When do we start?”
“When you finish eating.” Mark smiled. “Okay guys, dig in!”
They chowed down, eating and drinking, and everyone kinda relaxed, the tension easing out of the room.
Drew, of course, made his snide comments that everyone ignored. When Troy praised the dice tower, Drew preened, like a kid who came to school and showed off a cool present. When he complimented Drew’s dice, he got a smug look. Troy realized as he interacted with him that he was more like…a child, actually.
“So, have you noticed how weird shit is?” Drew leaned in conspiratorially. “Like, Mark is an Elf and you two are furries.”
Troy blinked.
How in the hell did Drew notice? Was he a Book owner? Tory struggled to come up with a response that kept things neutral.
“I was in the park,” Troy glanced around, as though checking to see if anyone noticed. “And, suddenly I started growing. I used to work with Mark, and now, apparently, I’m some brutish construction guy who looks like a rhino.”
“Wait, so you know you aren’t supposed to be…” Drew gestured. “That?”
Troy nodded solemnly. “Everyone keeps acting like I’ve always been this way. I started checking online, and there’s a few other people who remember what they were before.”
“Why furries?” Drew muttered to himself. “I don’t get it. Who’d wanna be a freak? Cause you know someone’s out there making his world a weird fetish fantasy.”
“Oh gosh, yeah, disgusting!” Troy turned his head to hide a smirk.
Other conversations were happening around them. The other guys looked relieved that Troy was the one who had drawn Drew’s attentions. Mark was eating a slice of pepperoni and going over his notes for the session. Jeremiah and Dustin were talking animatedly about his job as a police officer. Adam was texting, and Lancer was studying the Player’s handbook intently.
He decided to turn Drew into something. His bloated, leering visage was grating on him something fierce. Troy didn’t want to punish him, he wanted to make him less abrasive. Something cute and thinner, maybe.
“You and Lancer have always been, uh, together. Before the change, I mean.” Drew was saying.
“Hmmph? Oh, yeah.”
“I mean, you seem kinda normal.”
“Yeah, I mean, I’m not super gay or anything.” Troy had to work hard to stifle a laugh.
He might have been offended once upon a time, but he realized he was just socially reclusive and child-like. Once you figured out how Drew functioned, it was clear that he didn’t.
“Oh, good.” Drew looked relieved.
Mark rolled his eyes.
Troy decided to have some fun with Drew. Everyone else looked busy eating, so why not fuck with him a bit? He’d decided on the animal he wanted Drew to become and solidified the changes he wanted made in his mind.
He pointed his finger at Drew under the table and softly whispered. “Half.”