Despite her wishes, Lyla dragged Laura to a quieter spot in Magnolia. At least she had that going for her. Fewer people crowded the roads. The closer they neared their destination, the more deserted the area became. Sorren led the way to a niche of shops. The road had a shoemaker, painter, potter, florist, and on the corner, there was a blacksmith. They didn't sell almost any weapons or armor with a large wizard guild in town.
Sorren stopped at the tailor's. The clean windows showed a crisp image of bright and colorful clothes dressing on mannequins. Flowers of the same color palette hung from the ceiling framed the designs beautifully. The seams were skillfully sewn and each outfit had a unique taste to give each mannequin their personality.
Laura glanced at the sign above the front door and groaned. Lyla suggested they get new clothes after Nirvana ruined their old ones. She didn't mention the owner would be one of Sorren's relatives. The wooden sign read, "Colander's Designs," in an elegant font.
Sorren opened the glass door and a small bell jingled. Lyla entered first. Laura approached when Sorren walked in and closed the door behind him. She glared at him as she opened the door for herself.
The shop had one room with a cash register in the corner. The wall behind it had a doorway with a curtain covering the top half.
When no one responded to the bell, Sorren walked back and flicked it for it to jingle again.
"I'm coming!" A young man's voice called from the doorway. He walked through the curtain with his head still focussing on his open sketchbook in hand. Charcoal covered his hands black. Laura instead focused on his long brown hair. A red ribbon tied most of it back, but he had to brush some strands behind his ears.
He looked up, seeing Sorren, "Oh," then returning to his sketchbook. Laura and Lyla exchanged bemused looks.
Sorren cleared his throat. The man looked up a second time and noticed the women in the group.
"Oh!" He smiled, "You didn't say you would bring friends!"
"I thought Mom would have told you…" Sorren replied. So they were brothers.
Sorren's brother placed his sketchbook and pencil on an end table next to the doorway. Then he went to the shelf against the wall of the register and took a notebook and writing pencil.
"She did." He said, "Though she said you'd bring a friend with you."
"I did. I brought a friend and…" Sorren scowled at Laura, "her friend."
Laura sneered back at him.
Lyla, her back already turned to the other two, approached the man and introduced herself. She held out her hand and he shook it.
"I'm Tairal. Sorren's older brother."
"Only by two years."
"Sorry, who's the one with a stable income?"
Laura stifled a laugh, but she couldn't help but grin. Sorren didn't notice.
Tairal walked up to Laura and held out his hand. She tensed. The charcoal seemed too black. Even his fingernails were stained.
He recoiled his hand and apologized, "I should have cleaned my hands before. Sorry." He took a step away from her and flipped to an empty page in his notebook. "What will you ladies want? I can stitch up your old outfit or make something new," he said, "I could even add something extra to your current outfits. A few colors here and there wouldn't hurt."
"We'd like new outfits. Something warmer." Lyla said.
"Ah~ Of course! For the coming winter! Smart." He hurried to the curtain, "Allow me to collect some things. It shouldn't take long!" And disappeared behind it. It seemed he already had some ideas in mind?
The trio looked at each other. Sorren started to say something but shrugged and left before he said anything. He took Tairal's sketchbook before entering the back room.
Lyla ambled around the shop. A couple of children's mannequins caught Laura's attention and pulled her over. They were on the floor, unlike the adult mannequins. Their clothes were just as unique and beautiful.
Footsteps approached from behind her. She turned her head and saw Tairal standing right behind her.
"I hope it doesn't bother you if I stand here?"
Laura crossed her arms. "No." She said. Tairal took a step to the side and admired his creations with her.
"I encourage you to buy anything you like. I've never made the same outfit twice.."
She scanned each female mannequin. She frowned. Nothing felt suitable for a guild wizard's work.
"I guess I haven't made anything that suits you yet," Tairal said to either himself or Laura. It was unclear.
Laura kept quiet, trying to word what she wanted to say. Giggling from the backroom broke her thought. Lyla wasn't in the shop with them anymore. Tairal heard it too. He walked to the doorway and flipped the curtain up.
"Sorren!" He griped. Laura peeked into the room from behind and became overrun with walls full of paper. There were outfit sketches and patches of different colored cloth pinned to the wall. Some papers were painted and others were grayscale.
Tairal sighed. Sorren sat in a chair and had his feet on the wooden desk to the side. More ripped out papers covered the desk and spilled from the bottom drawer of a small storage box of art supplies. The organization didn't look like it made it to the back.
"Please," Tairal pinched the bridge of his nose, "come back to the front."
Sorren hopped up with a crooked smile as he bounced past Tairal. The man shook his head. He looked at the notebook in his hand.
"Measurements!" He clapped his hands together, "I hope you don't mind but I need to make sure your outfits will fit, of course."
Lyla went first. Laura watched. Tairal kept asking Lyla questions that thankfully weren't too personal. They were simple things like, "What's your profession?" and "What do you like to do in your free time?"
Laura answered these hesitantly when it came to her turn, but they got the job done with a bit of coaxing from Lyla. Tairal kept going to his notebook and scribbling something on the paper.
When they finished, Tairal stood up and bowed, thanking them.
"I'll get to work on your new clothes immediately." He said, "They should be done in about two days."
That seemed like an extremely short amount of time. He glanced between the looks on the girls' faces and explained, "It's been slow. Spring's usually my busiest time. Things will pick up soon though."
"He sleeps here too!" Sorren shouted from the front room. A vein twitched on Tairal's forehead. He breathed his visible frustration out before smiling and saying, "I'll see you two soon. It's been pleasant having you."
He took them to join Sorren. When Laura walked through the curtain, Tairal asked "I hope we can chat more, Laura. Do you like seafood?"
"Tairal, stop flirting! She's too rude to be your girlfriend." Sorren called back. Lyla chuckled. Laura clenched her fists.
Tairal walked them outside and waved goodbye. Sorren led the way and began a conversation for lunch.
"I want to go to the bakery!" Lyla exclaimed and rushed to the building. Laura followed closely behind.
They slowed when reaching the louder part of town. Lyla didn't use her shadow shift or teleport them. Laura would have preferred it even if her stomach would be upset with her for a while.
They entered the bakery and greeted the baker. Sorren found a table while Lyla ordered food. Laura saw a plate of pound cake in the display case next to the counter and suggested Lyla buy it. She did. Together they carried the small plates to the table and began stuffing their mouths. Sorren had some qualms about their meal.
"I'm all one for sweets," He said, "but seriously? Dessert for lunch"
Lyla retorted, "Shut up! It's our money we're spending!"
Sorren raised his hands in mock surrender. He leaned back in his chair and let them have their fill.
Laura enjoyed a red velvet cupcake with sprinkles. She planned to eat the tarts next.
"Her idea." Lyla pointed to Laura. Sorren and her began laughing. Laura glared at both of them while she straightened her back and wiped her mouth. Crumbs and icing covered the napkin.
"Assholes…" She murmured.
"You love us," Lyla teased.
"Only you, and that's debatable." Laura popped a tart into her mouth.
"Come on, don't lie."
"Don't worry." Sorren said, "The feeling is mutual." He glowered at Laura. She readily did the same in return.
They finished their sweets along with some arguing. Lyla convinced them it would be best to head home before things escalated. Sorren waved Lyla goodbye and the girls trekked to their house. It remained silent between them for the majority.
The silence was enjoyable. No wind blew across the field of grass. No strangers walked by them. Only the scuffing of their boots on a dirt road remained.
With peace, there was time to think. They had only returned from Nirvana some days ago. Makarov had a few words for Laura, but nothing too severe than what she had become accustomed to.
"I have a question." Laura began, waiting for Lyla to signal she was listening. "What were you and that bitch talking about?" It was easy to tell she wasn't referring to either of the Colanders, but the only other person she had spoken to -the council's dog- Lahar. Lyla had punched him and dragged him off before they arrested Jellal.
"Simple stuff." Lyla shrugged. "A warning or two. Those kinds of things."
Her heart raced as soon as Laura asked the question, telling her that her friend wasn't being completely truthful. For now, she wouldn't press any further.
They arrived at the front door of their secluded house. Lyla unlocked the door and hurried upstairs.
"Lyla." Laura said from ground level, "Shouldn't we…" Now how to word it, "We ran into Brain on Nirvana. You could get more energy from its magic, fought Cobra, and…"
"I regained my magical energy. And you're saying we should train?" Lyla corrected as she continued upstairs. Laura followed her and made note of the new word.
"Yeah. Our abilities."
Lyla took them to the attic. She pulled down the ladder and climbed up. Laura followed suit and took in the new area. They had never been in each other's room before. It was their safe place.
A closet rested against the wall near the entrance. Lyla took off her boots from her bed opposite of it. There were a few boxes that hid in the corner. On the wall hung a giant wire wheel that touched the floor and wooden rafters of the house. It had metal sheaths to hold knives in the circumference. There were clips on the wire to hold countless other blades.
"Nice." Laura complimented, "Started collecting after we were separated?"
Lyla nodded. She came over and spun the wheel. "It took a while to install. I had a bigger one back at the council."
She unsheathed a knife and began flipping and twirling it.
"I sold a few when I left. They weren't too important." The wheel slowed and she returned the knife. Lyla then took one closer to the center and examined it while saying, "This has some magical energy. I can use it for my absorption thingy."
Lyla lumbered to her bed and fell backward onto the mattress. She started playing with the reflection from the light bulb onto the blade.
"What'll I do?" Laura asked.
"What are you able to do?"
A word existed for it, but she didn't know it. It would be difficult to explain. "Basically," She said, "I can read minds."
Lyla snorted and started laughing. Laura let her, knowing how ridiculous it had sounded.