Their next stop on the trip was something Liadan also insisted upon: “ I’m glad to be wearing clean clothes, but this is a potato sack. I would prefer not to wear a potato sack.”
The shop they stopped by had the same stone building block, with two extra floors and a round rooftop. Many other facilities had the same rundown, as a lot of local business owners lived and worked in the same building.
The FitforaBit shop had the same pattern, being run by a family of three large dogs, each from a different race, except that all of them were covered in glittering fish scales and had an extra pair of arms growing from the back. The moment they saw Goidel, all three started to wiggle their tails and be as courteous as possible.
-” Always a pleasure to welcome a Union member”, the trio exclaimed in unison, with a posh accent. Goidel anxiety spiked when the spotlight was put on him, and through pauses and voice-cracking stutters, he explained why they were there. In the meantime, Liadan and Ogda started browsing around for something to wear.
-” I didn’t think about this, but do I need to wear clothes?” asked a bewildered Ogda after just realising he was naked in the eyes of others. “ I shouldn’t, right? Since I can just change my shape at will…right?”
-” True”, replied jokingly Liadan. “ I also didn’t consider it, but I don’t see you as “naked”, somehow. Is there any rule regarding stuff like this?”, to which Goidel and the dogs pondered for a moment. One of the trio, a dalmatian, pointed out how they sometimes get customers like Ogda, ones who get a feeling of imposed shame “and every single time it’s elemental or floral types… or delusional ones who only have lots of body hair. I guess we’re all accustomed to nature being very naked, I guess.”
-” As my brother explained, my good (and former) customer, there are Firbolgs which are much closer to a primordial state with which we are accustomed. Water is everywhere, earth is all around us, so if I encounter a rock Firbolg, I wouldn’t question his lack of clothing at all.”
-” Of course”, quickly chimed in the third dog, “ but you can still use garments for self-expression. Maybe a pair of pantalones are not suited for you, but even a being like yourself would look more dashing with a gorra”, he tried to market the products, true to his profession.
Goidell tried to help the amnesiacs by adding more context: ” A lot of the Caer Sidi’s rules, social and administrative, are influenced by human society”, he explained, a bit dejected, before quickly resuming his summary. “ As the Captain explained, our world works on inspirations and how we integrate them…”
-” Integration? Right, since you’re much more malleable, I’m guessing that also applies to your world? ”, asked Liadan while checking some t-shirts with more than two sleeves.
-” Yes and no. It depends on a lot of factors. As Firbolgs grow, they can go through multiple transformations. I think the Captain shortened it to: we grow through inspirations, right? Well, to add to that, some just grow old like humans, others can change forms entirely, have different stages, etc. It’s also a matter of time, environment and what’s around that affects you. For example, most of the Union’s members grew up in the same small village, surrounded by the same hills filled with a special metal. And we used to mine it using special tools…”
-” The gauntlets?” Liadan asked, trying to guess some parts of his story.
-” Yap. Afterwards, as we grew up, we were kinda thrust into fights. Other Firbolgs, wild beasts…monsters like the one under the sand. So we adapted…the gauntlets integrated with us, and from there each branched out their growth from different inspirations. And so did the helmets, and parts of our armor. But we don’t just limit ourselves to this process”, he mentioned while pointing towards his breastplate,“ This was made from hides, then other, stronger materials. So over time, I kept on replacing it with newer, better ones. Without integrating them...It all depends, in the end.”
The world became even more chaotic than expected, but that wasn’t surprising at this point. This made Liadan wonder about Ogda, was he still in a growing process? But until he showed any signs of peculiarities, it all fell into speculation.
For now, though, they came with a purpose in mind, and after browsing for several tens of minutes, mostly because of how many clothes fitted tens of body types, Liadan decided to go with a simple combo of jeans, a shirt and a red sports jacket.
-” Works for now, but I might come back to check out other clothes another time. It’s surprisingly exhausting to find something nice that fits, but the challenge isn’t welcomed.”
Goidel, for a while ago, started to frantically check the door. His impatience for his replacement grew minute by minute, then immediately burst when Arim, covered in his crimson exoskeleton, politely knocked on the shop’s door. He greeted the shopkeepers with a laid-back smile, then respectfully shook Goidel’s hand.
-” Sorry to make you wait, I know you’re probably eager to get back to the library”, he added.
With the pleasantries out and done, he then took a glance at the two strangers. The first one was Ogda, who was measured from top to bottom with a stern look, followed by Liadan, who took the boy by surprise. While the girl knew another human would replace Goidel, she was still struck to see another of her kind.
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