The two quickly got off of each other and hastily looked around to make sure no one else was looking. For good measure, the two leaned away from each other as if they were trying not to be associated with one another.
Usso blinked.
"I'm sorry, I didn't realize you two were a couple."
"We're not."
"What?"
Diddy held up a finger. "And for the record, you can call me 'Dale' and him 'Ben'. We're two traveling friends who look a lot like some prince and some adventurer on some planet we've never been to... right?"
Usso blinked again. "Huh?"
Junior face palmed. "Don't use our real names in public, alright?"
Usso tilted his head. "Why? Mawashi's a really tolerant planet, I doubt they--"
"It's, uh... it's not Mawashi we're worried about, Usso," Diddy said. "Let's just leave it that. When we're not around people, sure, call us by our real names. But in places like-"
The kong spun his finger in the air.
"This, we're Dale and Ben, got it?"
Usso erred for awhile, but then nodded. "Right, gotcha."
"Great!" Junior said through nervously clenched teeth. "That's just great. Okay. We're so not going to regret this one bit. Nope. Not even starting to regret it right now."
"Keep it cool, 'Ben'," Diddy said, as he looked to the two dinosaurs. "Sorry, enough about us. Who are you two?"
The two boys heard Mrs. Swimmers name and gladly shook her hand.
"And yes, I'd love tea!" Diddy said, his tail waggling. Junior eyed the raptor. "Okay, so now you..."
His eyes turned to Usso. "And then more of you... Ussop, right?"
-----
"Very well," Graham said with a nod as he continued to apply his strange herbs. "I'm sorry I have to meet you under such circumstances, Lord Stripetail. My name is Joshua-- I saw a bit of the creature these two were fighting. You said it was a demon, correct? I certainly wouldn't doubt it if it was."
He took out a strange looking syringe with a tiny faded label on it that read 'Stimpack' and injected it into the area just above the part of the brown-coated man's arm. "By the grace of god, these two happened to be in the area, and wounded the thing before I entered in. Maybe it's also by the grace of god you've also come. I never like to think any life is beyond saving, but I doubted I could have steadied their wounds if you hadn't come."