It took them only a few minutes to reach an unmarked shop on the edge of the village. The shades were drawn and it was impossible for her to see inside. "Is this really it…?" It looked so unassuming. Granted, the building was a fair bit taller than any of the others nearby. It rose six stories while the others only reached up to three at most. Shops and their owners living above it, she assumed. This sort of primitive society tended to not have a lot of mobility and people leaving home from her understanding.
"Yes, I am. I've never been here before myself but my parents have pointed out how to identify a Name Holder's residence. Let's go in." Somehow, Blake seemed nervous. Her tone was a little strained and her ears were erect and twitching. Was the Name Holder a bad person? If not, why was Blake so nervous? Either way, it didn't instill much confidence in Weiss. This entire world was offputting and made so little sense…and this was one of the most nonsensical yet.
The bell clanged and they entered the shop, both girls covering their noses and mouths. Weiss pulled her shirt up over her lower face, coughing and spluttering. Smoke and cloying scents filled the shop like a screaming kettle. She'd seen candles burning before in the president's study, but the scents had never been this bad! Why was this place like a balloon ready to burst?! Her eyes were burning so badly she was ready to cry!
It at least didn't take long for a withered old man and woman to come down the stairs. The woman pushed her glasses up and looked at Blake. "Young Belladonna, what are you doing here? And who is your friend?" Friend? Weiss didn't have friends. They were a lie made up by people as a way to get close to them so they could be manipulated. Nobody had friends.
"Oh Name Holders… This is the changeling that joined my family yesterday. We—" Blake fell into a heavy coughing fit behind her shirt, tears streaming down her face. The woman waved her hand and most of the smoke and scents faded, leaving only the lingering scents of flowers in the room. Weiss lowered her shirt as did Blake. "Thank you."
"It's no trouble. Now proceed."
"We need her soul name sealed to her. I've only let her given name be known to a wolf from a unicorn forest." Blake put her hand over her heart and bowed.
The old woman looked at Weiss, eyes narrowed. "A human arriving so late in Koiria? I haven't heard of such a thing in millennia. BUt yes, we can take care of that, young Belladonna. Does she understand the gravity of the soul name?"
"Yes, I believe she does. I impressed the importance of it on her." Blake smiled and Weiss shifted a bit. She definitely understood the importance of the soul name—at least as best anybody with lack of context could. She wasn't about to give anybody access to her soul but there wasn't anything she could do about it. It was this or she allowed anybody to access it since she didn't want to keep being called by her last name. It was so dehumanising…
"If you'll come with me, dearie." The old woman motioned to Weiss. She hesitated and looked at Blake who nodded.
"It'll be fine. Name Holders are bound to to a strict code of non-violence. You won't be harmed," Blake assured. She doubted that. People could be horrible. Her own mother never paid attention to her and the president beat her almost on the daily. Whiltely was nothing but a conniving piece of trash that tried to get her in trouble whenever possible. She hated him so much…
Regardless, she nodded and reluctantly followed the woman into a windowless room. Sheets covered the walls, hiding all affects on them. Only a single lit candle on a small table in the center of the room lighted it. This place was more than a little unnerving… The dim light hurt her eyes though not as badly as the smoke had. "Please, sit." The woman pulled a chair out form the table and she sat down.
The woman flitted around until she pulled out a book from behind the sheets. She dipped a fountain pen in ink. "Please, read this then speak aloud the name you want sealed to your soul and sign it to the paper." Wait, that was it? Basically signing a contract? That wasn't as scary as she'd made it out to be. This was far more lowkey than she'd been afraid of.
She read the short contract, seeing nothing too out of the ordinary. It wasn't a full transaction; it mainly recognised the Name Holder wouldn't reveal the name to anybody. She was free to change the name at any point for free at one time. Anything more would cost. All in all, not a huge contract that wasn't too scary to sign.
Taking a breath, she nodded. "Diana." She'd leafed through page after page of the name book and nothing had stood out to her as much as that one. It had a relationship to divinity through its root, but that wasn't why she chose it. It was simply the name that appealed to her most.
The woman held her hand up and Weiss felt a tugging on her aura. It felt like a small piece of her soul was ripped out, making her shudder. She could feel it. A part had been taken. There was no doubt about it.
A small ball of light blue danced above the woman's hand. "I apologise for scaring you, but it's simply how this is done. We need a negligible amount of the soul to bind the name with the proper spells. You won't miss this." Not miss a piece of her soul! She could feel the small hole even with as inexperienced as she was! Would she get used to it in time? It felt wrong… She knew what losing aura felt like, but this was entirely different! It felt like having a limb hacked off!
She had no choice but to ignore it, though. Oh… Fountain pen and she was a lefty… She sighed and awkwardly wrote her new 'full' name down: Weiss Diana Schnee.
The woman infused the bit of her soul into the paper then closed the book. Wouldn't the ink smudge, though…? "All done, dearing. You're free to go." Weiss nodded and headed back out to Blake. At least it hadn't taken too long… Only a couple of minutes.
"How about we go get some dinner, Wesis? We skipped out on lunch so I'm starved." Blake smiled.
"That…does sound nice." She was pretty famished herself. The fruit had definitely helped tide her over but it was no replacement for an actual meal. She would probably need a double or triple portion depending on how much she was served.
Blake led them to another shop with a big, outdoor patio where a chimney seemed to almost hum merrily. The general sense about the places was jovial. People laughed while they ate and, overall, seemed to be enjoying themselves. Even the building itself gave off the aura of happiness. How could a place like this exist? How could people be so happy while eating? She was used to stilted laughter from the upper class at bad jokes and legitimate after people talked about how they squeezed their employees for everything they were worth.
They entered and the hostess' eyes fixed on Weiss. "Good evening. How can I help you tonight?"
"Table for two and only two." The hostess' eyebrows raised but she nodded. Had Blake broken some culturally taboo? She said meals were important to the Lider… Had she done something to violate that?
Regardless, they were seated swiftly and Weiss found a list of food in her hands. What…? What was this? Her brows furrowed. Why were they letting her choose what she wanted to eat? This was madness. How could somebody choose what they wanted without the meal imploding? "Blake, what's this? I-I don't understand…" She hated to admitting to it but she needed help. Choice had no place in Schnee manor.
"Have you never been to a restaurant before?" Blake glanced over top of her list at her. Weiss shifted uncomfortably and shook he rhead. Restaurants were for the poor as far as she knew. She had only been to family dinners or banquets. The closest she got to choice was the after parties where servants carried around hour d'oeuvres to help stave off the last bits of hunger post meal. She'd never been allowed this sort of choice before.
"Well, what sort of dishes are you used to? That might help narrow down your choices."
"Well…" Weiss went on to list exactly what Blake requested. The fae's face screwed up a bit, though Weiss couldn't guess why. Lobster, seafood, beef, and more… She ate a little bit of everything, though she couldn't say there was much in terms of flavor. Atlassian food was very bland and even she knew it. Sometimes they'd have dishes from other kingdoms and they always blew her away. The flavors, textures, and food tended to be more appealing than the bland sameness of Atlassian food.
"Did you pay attention to breakfast this morning?"
Weiss shook her head. "Not really…" She'd spent more of her time watching and observing the fae there. BLake had told her to pay attention to observing, so that was exactly what she'd done. She was trying to learn. She didn't want to offend or upset anybody. Plus, if she were to stay here for the rest of her life, that would be important…at least, assuming she could trust Blake's words. She still felt sure they were going to sell her off to the highest bidder. It was what the president had done and completely quashed Winter's plan to send her to Beacon. "And did I say something wrong…?"
Blake's ears pricked and she shook her head. "No, you didn't. Fae don't really eat meat is all. I've never had it once in my life. We have fruits that substitute for it. Even carnivores in unicorn forests eat them so they don't have to hunt. As far as the body can tell, there's no difference between the fruit and animal matter." Weiss suppressed a sigh. More magical nonsense that conflicted with how science functioned. She really didn't like any of this. But she supposed that it was less environmentally destructive… With Remnant's limited land capacity, that would likely be welcome should the fae ever make themselves known.
"What about eggs and other dairy products? And I though the dragons mentioned hunting rights? Why are you allowed to take animals if you don't eat them?" That didn't make sense to her personally. Why negotiate hunting rights if they didn't make use of them? This really was a mess…
"Oh, that's mainly for falconry. A lot of nobles hunt with birds of prey like Valerie. An eagle will take large game like roe deer and sometimes foxes or even wolves. We need to know what sorts of prey raptors can take so we can respect the other races.
"As for dairy, we do eat it. Nothing can really replace eggs as emulsifiers and such. At least nothing that we've discovered yet. We mainly do goat cheese, butter, and milk, though. They're a little less environmentally unfriendly than cows. We do at least pasteurise the milk to avoid any nasties." They understood germ theory? Well, that was good… Hopefully they wouldn't have to worry about getting sick from food. Then again, could fae get sick off her or otherwise? That…was a very good question.
"All right. I do enjoy eggs, so…" Maybe there was something on this list with them?
"Egg-fried rice might be good for you then. Simple, hearty, and it'll be easy to get several extra portions for you." Blake smiled and Weiss nodded. She enjoyed eggs so it sounded like it'd be a good fit. Plus, she was absolutely starving. The fruit help tide her over but the ride back had really left her wanting for more. She hoped she wouldn't miss anymore meals like this.
A server walked up with a small pad of paper. "Well, good evening. Can I get you something to drink to start with?" The woman smiled warmly. Weiss looked at the list but quickly found herself lost. A list of a dozen words she didn't recognise for juices. Even wines and ales were listed for only a few copper coins.
"I'll have some queba juice and I think she'll have some water." Weiss shot Blake a grateful glance. All of this was so overwhelming. She'd stick with water for now until she familiarised himself with the native fruits. Hopefully she would be able to do that at some point.
"All right, then. You know what you want?" Blake placed the rest of the order and the woman's eyebrows shot up at the amount of food she ordered. Weiss looked down, face slightly flushed. She knew she needed it especially after getting so little food the past day and a half. "Would you like the eggs fried and on top or scrambled in?" The woman looked at them.
"Um…" Her mind scrambled for an answer. Even this felt like too much. She wasn't even sure of the difference! She wanted to curl up and die. This was so embarrassing! She was normally so composed and together! "Fried on top?" She was shooting in the dark here. She really didn't know. What was even the difference? This was one of the worst experiences of her life!
"All right, darlin'. I'll go get you some drinks then." She walked away.
Weiss' head dropped onto the table with a sigh. How could food be so frustrating? She missed the lack of choice. It was so much easier to not think… She didn't want to look like such a fool in front of others. And until she could adapt to the manners and culture here, she would keep floundering. It was only day two here and she already looked like a blathering idiot.
She sat bolt upright a moment later, wincing. Had she seriously just done that? In public?! Her father would have had her head if he'd seen that! She was nothing but a failure. She always reflected badly on the family. How could she overcome this? She was always so less than perfect… She would never live up to Winter's example… She would always be an embarrassment no matter what she did… ANd she'd transfer that to the Belladonnas too… She would never be perfect.
How could anybody want her? Perfection was all that mattered. She was still a bad wife by Atlassian standards and only her heritage made her attractive to prospective mates. It was only money and heritage that made her—
"So what other foods do you like, Weiss?" Blake's sudden question made her look up.
"Huh?" Where had that come from? She didn't understand. "Um, fish, I guess. I haven't eaten a fish I don't like yet." Seriously, what was going through Blake's mind? She couldn't wrap her own around what would have brought this up.
"How do you like it cooked?" She leaned forward a bit, closer to Weiss.
"We usually have it grilled or broiled when we do have it. It's pretty rare though… We usually have tuna, swordfish, or other deep-ocean fish." Of course, it was all expensive stuff. The president and other members of the upper class wouldn't have anything less. She wasn't sure of the lien value but it couldn't be cheap. She knew that much since they wouldn't settle for anything less than the best. But still, why bother with this train of thought…?
Blake continued the gentle questioning train, probing about the fruit she'd had earlier. She'd really enjoyed the entire experience. She ate mostly fresh as far as she was aware, but she'd never eaten straight off the vine or tree like that. She wouldn't mind going back and spending a whole day there. Exploring the unicorn forest sounded interesting. Plus, the air was comfortable there, unlike the hot, sticky forest that had taken up the majority of the ride.
"Maybe tomorrow after lunch we could do a spread of juices and jams to figure out what your favorite is. It'll help familiarise you with some of the fruits here in Koiria. I'm not sure when we'll get to go out to eat again, but it'll help you know what you like and what you don't." Blake took a sip from the purplish juice in her cup. Weiss tilted her head. That might work…S he had really enjoyed the time in unicorn forest and tasting the natural bounty. Exploring the native fruits of this world wouldn't be a bad idea.
"That sounds like it might work," she agreed. "Although won't we eat lunch and be full beforehand?"
Blake shrugged. "At least for the Lider nobility, it tends to be a lighter meal. We usually eat around one, have a three thirty snack, then eat dinner around five thirty. Lunch is usually a half-hour affair with only close family." That made Blake blink. "Oh, right… You have yet to meet my parents. I was planning on that during lunch today, but we took so long in the forest." She shrugged. "Oh well, tomorrow then. As soon as we're done with dinner and town, I have to go to the meeting about seven thirty."
"What meeting?" Hopefully that wouldn't be asking too much.
"Oh my mother's a priestess to the goddess Faua. I want to follow in her footsteps eventually." Blake's tone dipped and her gaze dropped. Had Weiss said something wrong? Faua? Goddess? There could be female divinity? How did that work? Only males were supposed to be ordained and lead flocks. Weiss couldn't say she was hugely religious, but she still followed the teachings put out by Agat and His priests. She could only imagine what would happen if she didn't follow and what the president would do to her.
"I see… Would I be allowed to participate?" She was curious. She'd never seen any other religious service other than the Holy Father's. Seeing how people worshiped multiple gods would be quite the learning experience.
"Not until you're far more versed in fae manners. Sylphs are incredibly picky about how religious services are held. Speak in the wrong place and everyone will hate you. My mother has only allowed me to attend since I was thirteen…and that's still extremely young. It's like bringing an infant to any major function… Normally we aren't brought into religious services until we're about fifty…" Fifty…? That was old… Life was almost over by time a human was fifty. She really didn't understand how long these fae lived. If thirteen was considered an infant… "Are there any specific rites that override the age restriction?" That was an interesting question. She'd never been to a chapel herself as the Schnee family had their own private priest (like for most things). There were some rites she'd gone through growing up in the home's chapel. She was forced to sit through a service once a month for two hours. It was the worst. The priest was so boring and it was so hard to not fall asleep. She'd never been tempted to fall asleep to somebody's voice aside from his. It didn't help he was a decrepit old man that seemed like he'd crumble to dust any second he coughed.
"There are several but clergy usually make house calls. Yesterday my mother made a call to give a woman a blessing for finally getting pregnant." That made Weiss flinch a bit, but she nodded. Who would want to get pregnant? It was nine months of body horror from what she knew. She'd had only the most basic instruction on sex, but pregnancy… He'd had an entire unit on it. It was absolutely horrifying. She couldn't believe she'd have gone through that should she have been married to Gisbert.
"Why are you so strict on services?" She really was curious. Now that the initial fear was fading, there was a lot to learn. Two whole new cultures… It was so much but she wanted to learn what she could. She still felt sure the Belladonnas would sell her off to the highest bidder. No society could function without predetermined marriages. There was no way Blake was telling the truth on that.
"It's a time of communion with the gods. We don't want to impede on that time for anybody. To do so would invoke the ire of the community. Very young children have a tendency to ask a lot of questions from my understanding. And to interrupt anybody's time of reflection…" Blake stirred her drink with her straw, shaking her head. Weiss supposed that made some sort of sense. She hated being interrupted during her dust studies. Having the task interrupted was a horrible thing. SHe would never be able to get past it when she was so rudely pulled away from them. Having a young child there, screaming or asking questions, would definitely cause horrible disruptions.
"I see." She could at least to some degree. Granted, she'd never been around children before. She hadn't even known Whitley exist until after Winter had left. He was only two years younger too, so even if she had known him, she wouldn't remember his an an infant or toddler.
It was then the food came out. Weiss' was in a massive bowl the server struggled with for its size. Blake's portion was absolutely microscopic in comparison. She was glad they were in a secluded corner… She could only imagine the looks this would have gotten. It was definitely the largest portion she'd had in her life personally, but she'd seen how large Hunter portions could get.
For a bit, Weiss focused on her food, simply glad to get some decent nutrition into her system. The fried egg on top was a very nice addition to the rest of the flavors too. The yolk was a bit stick but not unwelcome. She would definitely enjoy eating this again if they ever returned.
"Looked like they gave you one of the Misum serving bowls," Blake mused.
"Huh?" Weiss blinked at that. Blake had previously said something about Misum serving themselves, but she didn't quite understand.
"It's like I said: they gave you one of the Misum serving bowls. Misum meals are quite different from Lider ones. For Lider, meals are all about growing closer to those around you. With Misum, it can be a place to discuss business and other important things, but the Lider don't allow that. Sometimes Misum will visit so restaurants have to be prepared for that. And since Misum eat from communal dishes, they have those large serving bowls." Blake poked the bowl and Weiss nodded a little. Yeah, that did make sense. But couldn't the Misum adapt to Lider for one single meal? It'd be better for everyone. It wouldn't force the restaurant to completely change operating procedures. It didn't make sense to bow to one small group and inconvenience themselves.
"So I see." She felt bad for that too… It was a completely inconvenience to make them cook so much food. But skipping lunch and not getting from those two meals… She was absolutely famished. She really needed some major calories to replenish her systems.
"What are some of the other differences between the meal styles?"
"Well, meals are usually only a family affair. You only have guests over if you have business to discuss most of the time. It's not really a big social affair unless two families are joining together through marriage. So when we go to the Misum court this winter, it'll mostly be me, you, my parents, and my father's parents." Weiss nodded though she tilted her head a moment later.
"Where are your mother's parents?" That…felt odd. Had something happened to them? Granted, she'd never known her grandparents on either side. Nicholas has died before even Winter was born. She'd never had interaction with the Gelé family either. She knew they ran in the upper-class circles, but the president didn't seem to invite them to functions. She didn't know where they were in the grand scheme of things.
She saw Blake's ears droop over and immediately knew she'd tripped something.
Again.
That was all she was good for, wasn't she?
"They disowned my mother. They gave her some of the extra manors they owned so they didn't have to be around a filthy interracial romance and their bastard children." No wonder Blake was so obsessed with image. She still felt up set by how harsh she'd been, but when her own grandparents disowned her…it made sense. Blake was trying to prevent further scorn from the outside world.
Blake was a scandal for even existing.
And Weiss was a scandal for how she acted too. She was too hardheaded, too stubborn, too independent, too intelligent… She wasn't quiet, submissive, or obedient enough to mae a good wife. All she was good for was producing heirs. She was glad she wouldn't be forced to have children against her will.S he couldn't imagine what that would be like and she had narrowly escaped that fate.
But how would having such a late-arriving changeling reflect on them? From the reactions at breakfast, they weren't too positive. She would try her best to not look bad for the Belladonna family. At least her thoughts wouldn't cause them any further troubles. She looked down at the ring on her right finger, the beautiful sapphire shining back at her. How long would she need to keep it on? It did feel strange to wear jewelry all the time. She'd only been engaged a month ago, so the engagement rink had still felt strange to her… She was glad it was gone now though…
"Anyway, the last major difference with meals is the fact Misum eat with their hands, not any sort of implement." Weiss choked on her food.
"They what?!" she managed to get out between coughs. There was no way she had heard that correctly. No way in the world. No way would anybody do something so uncivilised.
"They eat with their hands. There are serving implements to get the food out, but they aren't used for eating, only serving." Blake spoke matter of factly and completely unfazed. Weiss wanted to faint. They… They ate with their hands… How could any developed society be so uncouth? And she'd have to do that too in due time. It was summer and, from the sound of it, they wouldn't be leaving until winter. That gave her plenty of time before she had to deal with…that. By the Holy Father, she couldn't believe she'd have to put up with that. At least they knew about germ theory and hopefully they took preventative measures against spreading disease.
"I-I see…" She felt sick. She'd only finished about half her meal but she felt ill. She didn't want to eat anything more lest she end up casting it all up from stress. "I don't think I'm going to finish…"
"That's all right. Normally us upper crusts aren't much for leftovers, but if you get hungry later in the evening, we can bring it back with us." Left…overs? What was that? Well, based on the compound and context… It was quite good so letting it go to waste wasn't a great option…
The server came back and they were left with a small box containing the rest of Weiss' food. Blake dropped it into a small bag on her hip and she smiled. "It has unlimited space in it. We can pick up you up some in the store." A bag with unlimited space? It sounded preposterous but she was learning better than to question magic. It made no sense but what could she do about it? It simply existed here and she'd have to get used to it sooner or later. It was best to start accepting it now…
They made their way to what appeared to be a small shop, but it was much bigger once they stopped inside. It shot off in several directions from the main area. "Well, good evening, Miss Belladonna. What brings you here tonight?"
"Oh, we have some odds and ends to pick up—mainly books." Blake smiled at the man who returned the gesture. How could anybody be so warm with a shopkeeper? Even her own personal tailors were distant with her. And she'd never set foot inside before this…
"You know where to go." The man tipped his hat and Blake walked into the store in one of the offshoots. Weiss followed silently until they came to a little corner.
"These are books from the human world might find helpful. We have a few hours until sunset so take a while to look around. I'll go find what we need."
"Okay." Weiss looked at the large selection of books and wasted no time diving in. She found a ton of books that looked interesting. She'd never been allowed such unfettered access to books before. Everything was restricted by the president to what she was learning at the time. And she could access books from any kingdom here, plus the fae books… She felt like she'd died and joined the Holy Father Himself.
§
"Hey, Weiss." Weiss blinked and looked up when she heard Blake's voice. The other girl held a basket in her hands, laden with a set of thick, leather-bound books and several bags. Had time really passed that quickly? She felt like it'd only been a flash. She had accrued quite the collection of books herself from her looking.
"It is about time to close?" It really hadn't felt that long. Reading always made time pass by quickly. Hours could feel like only a couple of minutes…
"Yeah. I got the changeling law books you asked for and found some bags I think you'll like. Looks like you found some stuff to keep you busy too." Blake smiled and she felt her cheeks heat. It was hard to let any books go. She wanted to take them all, but she couldn't She'd mostly narrowed it down to about twelve Atlassian books on the history of the nation and the SDC. Nothing too far removed from what she normally read.
"Huh, these might be interesting for you…" Blake looked at the Valian section and pointed a set of books. It looked like they were for Atlassian students entering Beacon. Books about religion, sexuality, and a few others. She touched one of them with the acronym GRSM in the title then nodded slowly. She put the entire set into her basket. "Yeah, I think the entire set will be good for you."
"Huh?" How did she know? It seemed like she was as unfamiliar with the set as Weiss was. How could she possibly know?
"Oh, a little spell the lets me absorb books instantly. It's pretty handy when I don't have time to read." That…felt completely wrong. Books should be read, not absorbed. But it did make sense in a setting like this. Still why did Blake think they'd be good for her? So many questions and not enough answers.
"By the way, I'll pay for everything tonight. It'll be easier for me to handle the haggling in one go than do it twice." Blake smiled and Weiss sighed internally. She had money now… Why couldn't she buy her own goods? She wanted to buy her own stuff, not be financially dependent on the Belladonnas… But it wasn't like she had much choice in the end. They were the ones taking care of her. Even if they had taken her away from all she'd known…
Which was still kidnapping by any definition.
Still, she could better reserve her judgment for when she knew the laws more. Hopefully they would be on her side. It definitely wasn't in Atlas. She'd seen the ways the laws were written to make most women little better than a rug or a fancy ring. They were property to the men in their lives and that was it. Especially for the upper-class women. She basically had a leash around her neck. She couldn't imagine the law being on the side of changelings in the slightest…
They got back to the front and blake entered the haggle with the shopkeeper. After a little while, they agreed on the price of three golds, six silvers, and seven coppers. Those law books didn't seem to be cheap. She was at least starting to understand gold was worth a lot. The meal had only been two silvers and three coppers for the amount they'd had. So anything with gold seemed to be quite expensive.
Outside the store, the sun was low on the horizon. Weiss frowned. "Do we have time to visit the watchmaker's?" She needed timekeeping devices. She didn't want to wait another day for them because it was driving her so insane. Blake seemed to imply sunset was closing time for this shop, so why would the watchmaker be any different?
"Well, if you don't mind it being abbreviated… Most shops close at nightfall. We have maybe twenty minutes before the shops close."
"I don't mind." How hard could choosing a watch be? It was a watch. All she needed it to do was tell her time and not much else.
Blake tipped all the books into one of the larger bags then showed Weiss how to how to operate it. It could flip between functioning as a normal bag or have its unlimited holding space. She also handed Weiss a small coin purse. "It works in the same way. You can divide your golds, silvers, and coppers like you do the two bag modes." She smiled warmly and Weiss nodded. That did make sense. It'd be much easier to grab coins if they weren't all jumbled together. SHe could sort through them when they got back to the house. "Anyway, let's go."
"Yeah." Weiss followed Blake to another shop a few doors down. She blinked when she saw the vast array of clocks inside. There were displays with pocketwatches and display shelves with digital clocks on them. They came in all shapes and sizes and the displays came in all different colors of the rainbow. All the while, a faint 'tick tock' from the watches and several grandfather clocks standing in the corners of the shop.
A wrinkled old man sat behind one of the display cases. "Mister Alabaster!" Blake called and he looked up.
"Blake?" he creaked, then smiled. "Well, good evening! What can I do for you and…who is this?" He squinted and slid off the stool.
"Weiss Schnee. My family adopted her." That was a bit of a lie but she was clearly trying to avoid scandal. An adoption was apparently better than a late-arriving changeling. At least the old man wouldn't know it through reading her aura… And he couldn't read Blake either, she guessed. Nobody seemed to react to her thoughts negatively.
"Interesting… A changeling adoption?" He approached Weiss and got uncomfortably close, making her back up a few steps. Was that a rarity or something? Plus she'd clearly belonged to the Misum court too…What did that say? The family seemed to be on the fringes of Lider society from what she knew. Would it be okay for them to adopt a Misum changeling?
"We can play twenty questions later, Mister Alabaster. We need some timekeeping devices and there's not much time until nightfall," Blake said gently. The man continued to look at Weiss until he backed off and nodded.
"All right. You're right about that. So what exactly are you looking for? What features do you need? What types of clocks do you need?" He looked from Blake to Weiss and back again. Blake looked at Weiss.
"Um… Nothing too complicated… Basic timekeeping and nothing beyond that. I wouldn't know what else to have as features…" What more could a watch possibly have? A watch was a watch and nothing more.
"Bah! Uncultured this one. Only basic timekeeping? What about keeping track of your birth star or constellation? Or both of them? Or the sky—"
"Mister Alabaster, it's fine. We don't need anything too complicated." Blake's tone remained calm and the old man let out a noise. He was old but he was scary. He seemed to not like her. She was far from uncultured. She had been trained in many different arts over the years. She knew so many different types of needlepoint too… She wasn't uncultured.
"All right, all right. I got what you need." He hopped up behind the counter on his stool, then opened the display case. He waved Weiss over and motioned under the glass. The pocketwatches were quite beautiful. Lots of gold and silver with small encrusted jewels. There were some plain ones but most were clearly very high end. "These ones tell basic solar time and don't do much else. These are small potatoes compared to what I normally make. These will be about whatever aesthetics you want."
"We could also use one of the human clocks too," Blake put in. He nodded but didn't move.
Weiss bit her lip and looked over all the watches. They were all so beautiful… And she didn't have much time to choose.
She at least did settle on the silver ones. Her eyes wandered for a bit until she settled on one with wispy gold interlaced in a pattern that followed embedded emeralds. Thin lines of rose gold wrapped around the very outside of the watch, creating a beautiful border. "I like that one." Hopefully, she hadn't made a wrong choice. She hated being pressed for decisions of any kind. At least this one didn't have any ramifications for anything.
"That's a fine piece. Follower of Kohe?" Who…was Kohe? Probably another god she'd never heard of before.
"No. I…only think it's pretty." She smiled sheepishly and the man shrugged.
"Ah well, it's a fine piece regardless of your religious leanings. Now about the human clock…" He led her over to the display shelf and she chose one of the digital clocks. He handed her the pocketwatch and she put it into the pocket. (It was weird to have pockets in the first place.) She put the digital one in her bag.
"Does thirty gold and eight silvers sound fair? I don't really want to haggle right now." Blake's ears twitched and the man nodded.
"All right. A little low, but for a non-haggle, it's fair." Blake paid the man's fee and they left the shop. ALmost nobody remained on the streets as lamps lit up and the bottom lights of the shops turned off. The upper lights twinkled in the fading light while the stars started to dance in the darkening skies. She could hear the crickets starting to chirp and owls hooted. The day was winding down and the symphony of the night began its warmup for its daily performance. This really was quite peaceful.
"Hey, Blake, can I finish my dinner?" The book browsing had helped settle her and she could feel the hunger clawing its way back up. She was really feeling those missing meals again…
"Wait till we get back to the house; I don't have any silverware on me. We can go sit beneath the stars, okay?" Blake smiled and Weiss nodded. That was fine, even if her body didn't agree. She could eat with her hands, but that felt so wrong. She had a while before she had to deal with that. Plus, she hadn't washed her hands since that morning aside from with water. She really wanted soap to get all the muck and grime off from the long ride they'd had earlier.
They returned to the house and it took them a few minutes to get to the kitchen. Once they did, Weiss grabbed the needed silverware and then they settled on the lawn. Despite the manor, the skies were relatively dark save the unshattered moon. It was so strange to see a whole moon like this… She'd never imagined such a thing could be possible… The shattered moon was omnipresent on Remnant during the night. It was only ever not visible on the nights it rotated to show its non-shattered side.
She bit into the rice and blinked. "It's still warm…" And not in a disgusting way. It felt like it'd just been cooked and still tasted as delicious as at the restaurant. More magic, she supposed.
She heard Blake chuckle and looked over at her. "Yeah. Take-away boxes save the food at optimal temperature for when you go back to it while preserving it for a few days. Not as good as refrigeration, but it's nice for when you want to pick it back up." That really was nice. She was glad to have it so well preserved.
"Would you like to hear some of the constellation legends?" Weiss looked over at Blake, head tilted. Constellation legends? The stars told tales? How could that be? All she'd learned that constellations were imaginary pictures ancient people made up to pass time. They weren't anything important. How could it be so important to make up stories to go along with it?
Blake chuckled and pointed up, though Weiss' breath caught in her throat once she looked up. The sky was absolutely beautiful. More stars than she were visible danced and laughed in front of her. How stunning… She'd never seen the sky like this before. So few stars made it through the polluted skies of Atlas… Only the absolute brightest dared to shine and try to meet the eyes of those that looked up…
"Wow…" she breathed. How could anything be so amazing? She really was… She had no words for how stunning this was…
"Huh?" It was Blake's turn to be confused apparently.
"Oh, uh… On Remnant, it's hard to see the stars in the big cities. Atlas is a floating city, but the light pollution makes it hard to see all but the brightest stars. I've never seen so many in my life before. It's amazing." She really was blown away. Thankfully, the sticky heat didn't take away from the awe-inspiring sight. It was hard to believe this was the sight the fae got every night. Did the take it for granted? Did they appreciate it for what it was? She definitely appreciated it and hoped she'd never take it for granted. She was amazed by this.
"Oh wow… I can't imagine seeing only a handful of stars… We do use appliance from the human world like lamps, but it's all magic. Even our biggest cities are basically villages spread out in an interconnected way… I can't imagine having population centers large enough to pollute the skies." Blake pulled her knees to her chest but continued to look at Weiss. "Would you like to hear the legends?"
"I don't see why not." Weiss followed Blake's attention to the stars. The fae started to talk, completely enrapturing Weiss within a few sentences. She spoke of battles, betrayals, forbidden romance, and more. She was definitely quite the storyteller in Weiss' opinion…not that she'd met many storytellers. She'd never had an interest in fiction before. But she'd been absolutely enraptured by Blake's ability to draw her in. She could even picture it in her mind which felt so bizarre. How could one do that? It felt so wrong, like her mind had been invaded…
But as the moon moved higher in the sky, she found herself yawning. She was tired out by the long ride earlier. And she continued to have her emotions jerked around from one extreme to the other. It had been another very long day for her. And she wanted to head to bed.
"Oh drat, I forgot to call Auria. I can do that tomorrow. Do you want to stay with me again tonight, Weiss?" Blake's ears twitched and she thought. She wasn't sure how well she'd sleep or not. The warmth of another was always something that helped her fall asleep. And she had slept well once Blake had been with her.
"If I'm not imposing."
"I offered. It's no big deal. Let's go drop the silverware back off the kitchen and head to bed."
And they did just that, stopping by Weiss' room for night clothes. They both changed and curled up in Blake's bed.
However, she was surprised when saw Blake open one of her arms. Weiss hesitated. Should she move closer? She did enjoy the warmth of being so close to another. But it meant trust. Trust Blake wouldn't hurt her somehow. Trust that she had her best intents at heart.
Her desire for comfort made her cave and she snugged close, eyes shutting. Blake gently ran her hand through her hair, fingers massaging her scalp. "Sleep well, Weiss." She nodded and rested against Blake. The warmth slowly lulled her into the arms of nothingness, gentleness permeating her dreams.