Author notes:
Everything that is written on paper will only use an apostrophe instead of quotation marks and be italicized as so not to be confused with things said out loud. You'll understand shortly.
1173 words
Mariano had been preparing for an entire month, writing all his plans down, agonizing over the contents of his poem, deciding on the modifications he wanted to make to the ring he had bought for Isabela so it would suit Delores better. There were some things he needed help with, like actually modifying the ring, but he wanted to save those for last. He was nervous that if he pulled other people into this, Dolores would catch wind of it. he had been trying to figure out the best way to go about asking for help, he was worried that if he were to write everything down Dolores might hear the scratching of the pencils on the paper and catch on. he knew that he was probably being over cautious but after the mishap where Dolores thought he was cheating on her because of Camilo's shapeshifting antics, he was never quite sure how extensive her powers were. But after over a week stuck on the problem he finally decided to just use the paper and pen method.
The first thing he needed to do was figure out her ring size. He had almost just asked her one day but had realized at the last minute that he had no idea how to not be suspicious asking it, so after thinking for a while he came up with an idea that he thought was quite ingenious. Her brother, Camilo's shapeshifting had always been quite annoying, but for one it would actually be useful to him. if it was near perfect, enough to fool him on multiple occasions so he could just have Camilo shapeshift into Dolores and measure it that way.
So here he was standing in front of Camilo's door waiting for him to come out since he didn't want to knock and alert Dolores to his presence in Casita. Even though he was waiting for it he still jumped when Camilo exited his room.
"Ah, what ar..." Camilo said just as startled as Mariano before a hand clamped over his mouth.
Mariano held up a pre-written paper saying 'shh i dont want dolores to hear'.
Camilo rolled his eyes but didn't say anything when Mariano removed his hand. Mariano quickly wrote something else down 'could we talk in your room'.
Camilo held his hand out for the notebook and Mariano obliged, handing it and a second pencil over. 'she could still hear us in there it's not soundproof like her room.'
Mariano quickly took the notebook back and wrote his reply 'we can use the notebook thats why i broght it'
Camilo quickly glanced down at the notebook, giving a thumbs up and opening the door to his room. Mariano had been in Camilo's room when it was first created twelve years ago but his memory was hazy and it had changed over the years, so he barely recognized it. The room had expanded with Camilo, and there were big posters for plays with different people from town (or presumably Camilo shapeshifted into them) with titles like THE GREAT SPOOK!, UNTOLD SECRET!, THE GREAT DECEPTION!, and HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT!
As Mariano looked around for a place to sit two chairs appeared out of nowhere as if the room could shapeshift like its owner. He sat down in the closest one and turned to see Camilo dramatically flop into the other. Mariano wasn't quite sure how to begin the conversation but tried his best.
'how accurate are your shapeshifts'
Camilo gave him a strange look as he read the question but took the notebook to make his reply either way. Mariano tried not to be too impatient or rude as Camilo wrote his answer but it was a long process and he was anxious to finish the conversation before Dolores got back from the village. When Camilo was finished she practically snatched it out of his hands.
'as close as I can get them the more I see a person the better the impression. so like everyone in casita is probably spot on but unless I'm looking right at them I would probably mess up the average villager quite a bit.'
'perfect' Mariano wrote back, 'i need you to change into Dolores so i can get her ring size'
When Camilo read this a look of confusion spread across his face. Mariano was about to take the notebook back to explain what he meant but a look of understanding dawned on Camilo's face and then he just started laughing. Mariano smacked Camilo's shoulder in an effort to get him to shut-up. When Camilo looked up at him he gave him the sternest glare he could muster but it just sent the boy into another fit of giggles. Mariano sat there for a second until Camilo calmed down and wrote his reply.
'why don't you just ask her?'
'i want it to be a surprise, if i asked she might get suspiciou'
'well, I've never exactly measured her fingers' Camilo wrote down 'so my shapeshift would probably be a bit of' Mariano slumped down in disappointment but Camilo pulled the notebook back and started writing again. 'Mirabel might tho, she loves to craft and made all the girls in the family rings out of vines a month or two back, she might still have Dolores's measurements from then'
After seeing this Mariano jumped up and gestured toward the door with his thumb, Camilo nodded in recognition and they began heading to the nursery. Mariano wasn't quite sure why Mirabel had insisted that they not make her a personal room when rebuilding Casita, but they followed her instructions and just built the same layout as the old house. As he approached the door Mariano began flipping to the first page of the notebook when the door flew open and Mirabel came dancing out singing to herself. She waved to Camilo but stopped when she saw Mariano, he quickly held up the notebook for her to read, after a second she gestured them into her room. As they walked in, Mariano turned to a new page and began writing.
'i want to propose to dolores but i need her ring size camilo said you might have it'
As soon as Mirabel read the worlds she let out a yip of excitement but covered her mouth quickly. She nodded her head enthusiastically and turned to rifle through her nite stands. Mariano smiled and grabbed the notebook and pencil before turning to Camilo and writing.
'thank you'
When Camilo saw it he smiled and wrote, 'anything for Dolores'
He smiled and turned to the next page and wrote the same thing ready to show to Mirabel when she hopefully found the measurements.
Author note:
All the mistakes in Mariano's writing are intended like Mirabel said he is just a "big dumb hunk".