"What a lovely little girl." Silvia said, smiling.
"Yeah she was really kind." I followed up. She was an extremely sweet girl and was definitely fun to be around - I hoped I'd see her again sometime soon.
"Reno," Glyffe said while pausing slightly, "When did you learn how to cast chantless?" He continued rubbing his chin.
Ah yes, that. "Well," I hesitated. "Honestly, I'm not really sure. It just sort of… happened naturally."
Silvia's eyes lit up. Glyffe's expression shifted until it became one of amusement. I knew that look anywhere.
"Oh, so you're telling me you managed to improve on the spot randomly?" I knew where he was going with this. "Are you sure it's not because you wanted to look cool for Magia?" He laughed. Yep - I had a feeling Glyffe was going to take it there.
Instead of her usual reprimanding of Glyffe, Silvia looked towards me with expectation, her meaning clear. Seriously you two…
"I uhm," I didn't know how to respond. "I wanted to make a good first impression on my first friend!" Phew, nice save Reno!
"Well you definitely impressed us Reno, you're improving at a frightening rate honestly." Silvia said. Truthfully, I had that encounter with Cindy to thank for that. She put me in a rough situation, but in turn, I managed to get something out of it—so it wasn't all bad.
"Next up should be, Bridges', right?" I asked pensively. I'd been keeping track better after forgetting our previous destination.
"Right. It's a fairly fashionable two story building, you can't miss it." Silvia said softly.
Before, we were going across from the fountain but Bridges' clothing store (or Bridges' for short) was on the same side as Clevio's bookstore so we weren't passing by the fountain this time. Since the central area was quite compact, I could see the building almost as soon as I left Clevio's bookstore - not that I had recognised it though.
"Do you remember how I told you there was someone I wanted you to meet Reno?" Silvia said. Oh, yeah, she did mention something like that didn't she.
"Yeah I remember. Zecko and Relentia, right?" I asked "You both said I need to treat them like my own Uncle and Aunt, right?" They exchanged glances.
"Yes we did say that but," Glyffe stopped, "But they're not the only people we'll introduce you to today okay? So just keep that in mind." Silvia picked up where Glyffe left off, finishing the rest of his sentence.
"Okay" I replied. I wondered if it was another relative - this time of Silvia's. On the off chance it wasn't though I didn't want to annoy Glyffe by making another relative joke. "Is that it there?" I asked pointing to a tall building.
The exterior was clean and the window display had dolls wearing clothes like back on earth. However, unlike on Earth, it looked like these dolls had been made with earth magic. In between the two floors was a sign saying 'Bridges' clothing store'. And below that was a hanging sign, which read 'Open'. On the floor of the storefront was a purple patch of Melodia.
"Yeah that's it." Glyffe confirmed. "Surely we don't have to knock again right?" I said jokingly. I didn't have the patience to go through what we did at Clevio's bookstore all over again.
"Ha - definitely not." Glyffe spoke up. "We can just walk in this time." Silvia said. And so - we did just that. First Glyffe stepped onto the Melodia patch - ensuring he made a loud enough ruckus before we came in. When we did, a little bell chime rang from above us.
"Welcome to Bridges' clothing store!" A nice sounding feminine voice echoed. Clearly she'd said that to every customer who walked in and yet she spoke with no hint of routine - like she was actually happy to see us.
I looked around at the fairly organised shop around us. Sunvine curtains adorned the windows, curling toward the wall as they followed the sun. Somehow, they'd managed to make them work aesthetically.
Just in front of the windows stood a row of dolls of all shapes and sizes. Some looked like children, others were adult-sized, and a few resembled animals like cats and dogs. Regardless of the model though, they were all dressed appropriately and quite fashionably. As expected of a clothing store.
As a customer approached the front they'd see more and more clothing racks with countless modern designs and unique styles. They were split up into four sections. Towards the front were the clothing for children - girls on the right and boys on the left. Then towards the back were the clothing for adults - women on the right and men on the left. It was all neatly organised in a strangely artistic way.
At the back of the store were two rooms - likely for trying on clothes - and a staircase to the second floor. Once you arrived at the till you'd see a beautiful mature lady with brown hair and black eyes. She was grinning cheerfully until she'd spotted our cohort, particularly the lady in the middle of our group - Silvia. Her eyes widened and her smile shifted from politeness to genuine happiness.
"Here it comes." Glyffe muttered under his breath. Here it comes? Here what comes?
"Silvia!" She cried out. The young lady flew over the counter safely and glided towards Silvia. She was a mature woman whose appearance rivalled even that of Silvia's. She held both of her hands out wide.
Chantless wind magic? She's seriously using wind magic for this? I couldn't help but think. Eventually, they collided.
"Waaah, Silvia I missed you so much!" The shop lady cried, her face a mix of crying and gladness.
Silvia smiled gratefully. "I missed you too Relly."
"Do you two really have to do that every time you see each other again?" Glyffe said, a hand covering his face. Relentia's face instantly turned hostile - protective even.
"Oh. So you're here too, cry-baby." Glyffe's face turned sour almost instantly. This lady really didn't pull her punches. "Fine since you're here I'll go call him—wait here." She flew back to the till where she levitated up the stairs.
"Uhm," I stuttered. "What just happened?"
"Hahaha—I was wondering the same thing when I first met Relentia!"
"Glyffe!"
He whistled innocently in response. "That's Silvia's best friend, Relentia Bridges." Right, I got that but…
"Is she really your age—she seems a bit, you know…" I started, but I didn't quite know how to finish the sentence with the way Silvia was looking at me. Glyffe was making an X signal from behind Silvia's back. He was signalling me to wait. "She seems uhm," I looked to Glyffe who was now signalling something I interpreted as "—energetic."
Glyffe breathed a sigh of relief - he wiped the sweat off his brow. Looked like that was the right choice. I thought he was trying to stop me from saying childish—which was what I was originally going to say.
"Hm, are you saying I'm not energetic, Reno?" Silvia pouted.
Ah. "That's not what I'm saying at all just that you're slightly less energetic than Relentia."
Silvia chuckled. "I'm just kidding, it is true, Relentia has always been extremely energetic and I don't think that'll ever stop. Not now." Silvia looked reminiscent.
A question I was struggling to suppress came bursting out. "Why is she flying everywhere?" I continued "surely that's unsafe—especially in a shop environment." I commented again.
Glyffe paused rubbing his chin. "You needn't worry about that Reno, when it comes to wind magic there's no one we know who's more capable." Glyffe said with a sigh.
"Why do you seem disappointed about that?" I commented.
Glyffe's eyes widened as Silvia glared at him "Uh, what do you mean, aha—" he laughed nervously.
Silvia harrumphed. "Glyffe's right. When it comes to wind magic, if Relentia says she's second then there wouldn't be anyone who'd dare to claim first. Her nickname at the academy was 'The Wind Spirit's Child'."
My eyes lit up—now that was cool.
"Zecko, we have visitors!" A voice cried from the staircase.
"I know, you've said. Ten times." A deep voice spoke from even higher on the staircase.
Glyffe?
I looked up at Glyffe but he hadn't said a thing. The cadence of his voice sounded exactly like Glyffe's but it wasn't quite the same. Down the stairs came a lady jumping, no, levitating up and down while holding onto the arm of a man.
The man had brown hair and hazel eyes. His physique filled out his white shirt and brown pants. Whether they planned it or not, he was the colour opposite of Glyffe.
Judging by facial features alone—like his nose and mouth—he could have passed for Glyffe's twin. Upon closer inspection, however, their overall appearance didn't quite resemble that of siblings. Anyone who didn't see Glyffe regularly could've easily mistaken the two.
"Visitors you said?" Zecko spoke. "Can you still consider them visitors? These are family, no?" He said as he came down the stairs - his hair still ruffled. He was clearly asleep just now.
Relentia paused, finally not floating up and down anymore before she began smiling jokingly. "You're right. Silvia is family." Zecko visibly twitched at her words. She hadn't said it, but the indirect jab at Glyffe was evident
"Ai ya." Zecko scratched his neck - the exact way Glyffe did. Are these two really not twins?
"It's been too long." Glyffe smiled. "Sure has." He replied. Relentia finally split off from Zecko's arm floating over to Silvia as Glyffe walked forwards.
Clasp! A clean handshake that told me they'd known each other for years.
"Hmm." Zecko paused after analysing the room. "You said we had two really important visitors Relentia?" Relentia turned confused, clearly wondering why he was asking that question. "Why yes I did—why do you ask?"
"Then who's this little guy?" His voice and his gestures were pointing towards a small boy with blonde hair who was stood right beside Silvia.
"Little guy..? Ah—Aaaahhh!" She screamed as floated backwards slightly. She bowed her head "I'm so sorry I didn't even notice." Zecko facepalmed and Silvia's eyebrow twitched in annoyance, while Glyffe laughed heartily.
"He's so cute! His hair looks so fluffy! Wait don't tell me this is!" She looked back up at Silvia then to Glyffe then to Silvia then to Glyffe. Then she floated to Glyffe looked him up and down and then back to me and looked me up and down. She was whizzing between us at unnatural speeds.
"How could this be—" she paused. "Honey, now there's four Glyffe's." She sighed, looking incredibly deflated, the wind blowing out of her by the second. Glyffe started laughing even harder.
Zecko's expression hardened. "I told you before. It's Glyffe that looks like me—not the other way around." "Sure sure." She waved him off. Silvia coughed loudly, "I'd say Reno takes more after me." She said with a hint of pride.
Relentia paused, "Now that I'm taking a closer look. The eyes." She floated back over, looking me deep in the eyes. "Those big blue eyes do remind me of you. Of when we first met."
"You said, four Glyffe's? Who is the fourth?" I spoke for the first time, my words garnering everyone's attention. My words made Relentia's eyes light up.
"I have just the idea!" The two ladies looked at each other in sync. I had a bad feeling about this. "Zecko!" Relentia said excitedly. "I'm already on it." He'd started to move as soon as he saw Relentia's reaction to my words.
So is no one going to answer my question?
I wondered. "Don't worry they won't be long." She said, her voice brimming with excitement. Her cheerfulness was making me slightly anxious.
Just what is this lady planning? As I waited I heard footsteps rushing down the stairs. "Wait—"
A tiny figure rushed down the stairs in a blur. He was slightly taller than me and his hair was brown too with brown eyes. His smile was totally his mothers and his liveliness too, but the rest of his features echoed those of his father's.
"Mom it's time to play outside right!" He shouted happily across the room. I looked up at Relentia, "Oh so this is what you meant."
She laughed in response. "Yup."
She turned towards the other child, "Come here, let me introduce you to Aunty Silvia's son, this is—" her voice cut out as she hesitated. Well this is awkward - she didn't know my name.
Her face went pale as her son got closer.
"Ahem, I think it's best if I introduce my son and you introduce yours." Silvia said - offering her a lifeline.
"W-well of course! I was just about to say that would be more fitting too!"
Zecko facepalmed from the bottom of the stairs where the boy had darted from. Those mannerisms - yeah, I can see the resemblance.
"This is my son, Reno Frostworth. He's just turned 6 very recently." So much attention… "Nice to meet you all!" I said as friendly as I could manage. The whole room clapped - I guess it's customary to clap here after a self-introduction.
"Frostworth? Not Proxia?" Relentia said. The air in the room stilled as Glyffe narrowed his eyes. Uh-oh. Silvia coughed, "Sorry I must've stuttered. This is my son, Reno Frostworth." Silvia said with a smile.
Relentia paused as if she was trying to process what just happened when Zecko nudged her. "Go on, introduce him." he smiled. Looked like Zecko could read the room better than Relentia, either that or he knew more about Glyffe's past than Relentia. Regardless, thanks to him we didn't dwell on that topic.
"This is my son, Jamie Bridges. He turned six a few months ago so he's a bit older than Reno." Glyffe's eyes stayed narrowed - I'd seen that look in his eyes - he made that face when he wanted to be petty.
It wasn't just me who had seen that look before though—both Zecko and Silvia looked at Glyffe. It was a small idiosyncrasy but we all caught it. Glyffe opened his mouth, but when he noticed their gazes he decided to not say anything. And that was probably for the best.
"Jamie, Reno, make sure to get along." Silvia said, breaking some of the invisible tension. I looked over at the kid in front of me—would it really be that easy to just get along?
"Okay!" The kid replied in high spirits walking up to me and then giving me a big hug - like Relentia had done earlier. I returned the hug.
"Aww they're so cute." The two ladies said as they watched us. "We've got the perfect friendship bonding activity for you both. Today you'll both be our fashion models!" Their eyes sparkled.
So that's why I had this bad feeling. From how co-ordinated they were, it was as if they'd planned this years ago—before we were even born.
"Not again." Jamie muttered. Being the son of clothing store owners must be tough work - he must've had to try on thousands of clothes already.
I looked up at Glyffe for assistance. We made eye contact and then he ignored me by continuing to talk to Zecko. To my right Jamie had done the same thing only to be brushed off by Zecko too. These two… well I guess there's no escaping this dress-up show then.
"Can I please play out, mom…" Jamie said in a last ditch attempt.
"No." Relentia smiled sweetly.
"What should we have them try on first?" Silvia asked.
First? Here we go.