History was full of so many fascinating things, but Sorey was beginning to realize that he was underdressed for the occasion.
While Sorey and Mikleo were often able to explore the ruins near their Elysian home, it felt somewhat off to embark on an adventure to investigate the past dressed so…modernly. Oh, the addition of a cape to Sorey's adventuring outfit was inspired to be sure – he'd picked out the fabric himself, and threaded needles for Natalie for her to sew with, and oversaw the process so it was historically accurate. The moment Sorey tied it on, he felt ready to take on the deepest mysteries the world had to throw at him.
(Mikleo said he liked it because it was easier for him to grab on it and yank Sorey back when he leaned over ledges too far. These comments lead to a cape-yanking fight that found Sorey and Mikleo rolling down the grassy hills near the ruins, laughing and tangled hopelessly in said cloaks.)
And yet, as he grew in years, seven-year-old Sorey realized something grim that six-year-old Sorey did not: the adventure cape was not enough to make him a true archaeologist. He confessed his fears to Mikleo by the light of the lantern in their home as they cuddled up for bed – and Mikleo nodded, and spent the rest of the night awake with him to pore over their collection of books to revamp Sorey's look. The night wore on, and Sorey yawned and rested his chin on Mikleo's shoulder. Mikleo's cheeks were so chubby and soft-looking. Sorey leaned in and kissed one to confirm. Yes indeed, very soft. Mikleo giggled and returned the favor, and Sorey's heart went all soft and fluttery too. Tomorrow night, they'd revamp Mikleo's look too. If he wanted.
(Mikleo already looked pretty, though.)
As the morning sun broke over the horizon, they too had reached a breakthrough: a lot of the cool-looking sketches of ancient frescos in their books had people wearing earrings in them. Ergo: Sorey needed his ears pierced.
The shopping list seemed simple: something sharp, and a whole bunch of towels. The process seemed equally simple, so Sorey and Mikleo endeavored to undertake it on their own. (The adults, they decided, didn't have to know until later, when they saw how adventurer-ly Sorey looked.) Sorey produced a needle that had been previously used to sew his cloak, and Mikleo procured the bath towels for Sorey to sit on.
Mikleo inspected the needle, furrowing his eyebrows the way he did when he was worried about something. He carefully poked the needle with his finger and frowned.
"I'm gonna use my artes on your ears," Mikleo declared. "I'll numb them with an ice spell and it'll hurt less."
Sorey nodded eagerly, barely able to sit still in his excitement. Mikleo's fingers grasped his ears, and he squeezed his eyes shut in concentration. His tongue was poking a little out of his mouth. Sorey wanted to poke it with his finger, but was distracted from the thought at the feeling of a gentle chill overcoming his ears. Sorey reached up and pinched them hard to test.
"It worked! Let's do it, Mikleo!"
Mikleo carefully draped a towel around Sorey's shoulders, like he did when he practiced trimming Sorey's hair. He picked up the needle, drew a deep breath, and went to work.
The good news was that Mikleo worked fast. The bad news was that Sorey still felt the needle, and yelped loud on both pricks. The worse news was that there was apparently a lot of blood in your ears, and when Gramps came in to see what Sorey had been yelling about, he only saw the messy part with Mikleo panicking and in tears at the blood gushing down Sorey's neck, and didn't seem to get that they'd stayed up all night planning this and were really good with prepping beforehand.
So, due to this misunderstanding on Gramps' part, they both got grounded from adventuring for a whole week.
Gramps just didn't understand fashion.