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The antique shop was tucked away into an almost hidden alcove of the town, hidden behind a tailor shop and a small cafe. Odile had spent the previous day searching the town, and thus today had acquired Siffrin's company for another of their secret quests.
It was the first that they had gotten to do since he'd been out of the loops. There had been a lot of avoiding towns in the immediate aftermath, trying to refrain from too familiar surroundings so that he wouldn't find himself panicking at some reminder that he didn't realize the weight of. Now, months and months later, he found himself easing back into the flow of things. So of course one of the first things that he did was join Odile on their usual excursions.
Out of everything that he had missed while he was avoiding towns and trying to heal and looking for ways to fit this new version of himself back into the group dynamics, he thought that this might have been one of the things that he missed most. There was something a little magical about searching through the old shops, finding strange and interesting relics of a culture that he still only barely understood. It was made even better by having Odile with him, someone to commiserate with over the oddities of Vaugardian culture and also to help untangle the bits that they already understood.
They often ended up on opposite sides, slowly circling each other as they perused different shelves and quietly commented upon their findings. It was nice. The stores were usually small enough that they'd often brush against each other as they passed from one side to the other and their whispered commentary could be easily heard by each other, while still not being loud enough for the store owner to hear. It was, in a way, intimate. The kind of easy intimacy that he didn't really have with anyone else. Casual, personal, warm.
Siffrin hoped that this would be one of the things that never changed between them.
They started with the bookshelves, trading comments on the condition of the books more than the content within. Then they spread out to the china, the knick knacks, lingering around the beautiful delicate things that they couldn't afford to keep while traveling as they were.
"Something like this, I think," Odile said, gesturing to a beautiful glass ornament of a flower that he was fairly sure only grew Vauguarde. "It reminds me of Mirabelle. It would be a good reminder of this journey, I think, if I could keep it."
"Where would you put it?" Siffrin questioned, moving closer so that he could get a better look at the trinket. "If you could keep it."
Odile hums briefly as she contemplates it. "I think it would look good on a mantle over a fireplace," she answered after a moment. "Beside similar trinkets I'd have to remind me of the rest of you."
Siffrin smiled at the image it brought to mind. He tried to picture what they would look like, all the pretty trinkets of his friends lined up in a row. "Think that should be our next quest?" he asked. "Looking for something to fit all of them?"
He knew that it wasn't practical to carry potentially delicate baubles like this around, but the idea of searching for them made him smile anyway. These trips were more about the fun of the search and sharing company than it was about actually buying anything anyway.
"Yes," Odile agreed with a nod. "I think that's a worthy quest." Her lips spread into a wry smile. "Might as well decorate an imaginary house with unbought trinkets."
Siffrin's smile widened. "You might say that the idea brings a lot of Trink-quality."
Odile rolled her eyes, but he still heard the small huff of a laugh that she tried to suppress. "That was awful."
"Still made you laugh," he said proudly. As much as he loved the big laughs that he was able to pull from Isabeau, there was something special about being able to make Odile give him that reluctantly amused smile of hers. She was a more difficult target, so he had to put in a lot more effort if he wanted his puns to land.
Not that he wouldn't still make a bad pun if he thought it would pull a reaction from her. Siffrin wasn't too picky about how he made her smile, as long as he did.
"Yes, well, let's not ruin the moment with anymore, shall we?"
Siffrin laughed. "Alright, alright," he agreed easily. Best to save them for when they'd have the best effect, after all.
They moved on to looking at different parts of the small shop. Corners crammed with pottery, dangling ornamentation hanging from the ceiling, and odd things hanging on the walls. Siffrin moved toward the back where the shelves were more crowded and less carefully arranged.
He paused at a part of the shelf that was overflowing with jewelry. Bracelets made with large wooden beads, old rings that could stand to be a bit more polished, and broaches meant to be pinned to the front of a cloak. He spent a bit of time picking through the pile of jewelry before he came across something surprising. "Oh!"
It was a pair of earrings, the only one in the pile. A thick lightless teardrop shape at the end of which was a darkless star. It was honestly lovely, and rare that he came across anything with stars on them. He also realized, after staring at them for a long moment and searching his mind for the memory that was struggling to surface, that they were bonding earrings.
"What have you got there?" Odile questioned, coming back to his side.
Siffrin turned to hold up the earrings so that she could see them. "It's a Vaugardian thing," he told her. "I don't remember if Mirabelle or Isabeau mentioned them before... bonding earrings."
"Ah yes," Odile nodded after a moment. So it must have been something that had come up since the time in the house, though maybe he hadn't been there for it. "Such a strange ritual, having to pierce one's ears just to show that you've partnered with someone."
"Yeah, you'd think they'd get in the way, right? Or like, caught in your hair if you wore it long," he said, contemplating the idea as he turned the earrings around and around in his hand.
"It does seem like it would be an inconvenience at best," Odile agreed.
Siffrin didn't think he wanted to have to pierce his ears, but also the earrings were too well made for him to want to put them back. He didn't have anything to remind him of his past other than his cloak, no memories or stories to fall back on, but he did have the stars. He had the Universe.
Odile tilted her head as she watched him. "What's on your mind, Siffrin?"
He sidestepped telling her his exact thoughts to bring up something a bit more related to the topic at hand. "What do they do in Ka Bue?" he asked. "To show that you have a partner?"
Odile tapped the side of her glasses where her gems hung. "It would be something similar to this. Matching gems, though how and where you wear them is up to the people involved. Some choose to have them pinned to their clothing or woven into a bracelet or necklace."
"I see," he said softly, mind whirling as he brought his gaze back to the earrings. "How do you think you would want to wear them?"
He looked up to Odile to see her raise an eyebrow, but she still answered him. "Seeing as my glasses are already occupied, I suppose pinning it to the front of my robe would be the least obtrusive."
"Yeah, the front of my cloak would probably be the same for me."
Odile placed a hand on her hip, giving him a wry smile. "Siffrin, do you have something you'd like to propose?"
He looked up at her with a bright smile of his own. "I don't know, do you have something you'd like to accept?" he asked.
The smile didn't fall from her face as she looked down at the earrings. "I don't think Vaugardians would be very appreciative of us breaking their customs," she said contemplatively.
"And it's not very likely that anyone would recognize such a Ka Buan ritual either," Siffrin added.
He wasn't suggesting anything. It would be kind of on the spot to bring up something like that if he was. He also wasn't... not suggesting it either. It was just a possibility being dangled out in the open, something that could be discussed later if needed or outright dismissed now if it wasn't viable.
Odile's expression was contemplative, directed first at him and then at the earrings themselves. "These are rather unique designs."
"They're stars," he told her. "You know, those darkless dots in the sky that come out at night."
"Ah, yes. And I suppose this design is particularly appealing to you?"
He nodded.
Odile's expression became a bit warmer as she reached out to ruffle his hair. "I think Isabeau and Mirabelle would be rather surprised if we sprung this on them out of nowhere."
Siffrin grinned. "But it would be kind of funny too, don't you think?"
She laughed. "That it would be."
Siffrin held the earrings a bit closer. "So we're agreed."
Siffrin really liked the smile Odile got when she was feeling particularly affectionate. He hoped to see it more often in the future. "We're agreed."
They spent a bit longer perusing the shelves together before Siffrin headed toward the front to buy the earrings. Even though he knew it would be a bit of hassle trying to keep it, he decided to buy the flower that reminded her of Mirabelle too. Maybe they wouldn't be able to hold onto it, but maybe they could look for something to keep it safe in while they traveled. It was just a possibility, right?
And if he smiled at the thought of being able to keep a small piece of his history and merge it with something of Odile's, that was alright because she smiled back at him just as warmly as before.