Pheonyx walked around the festival. He'd always loved going to these sorts of things back in his own world. Especially checking out the different clothes and accessories that were only sold during special events. 

He had tended to have expensive tastes, though more in volume than cost, which had never been a problem back when he lived with his family. But now he was realizing he would need to be more frugal with his spending than he was used to. It was an odd feeling to not indiscriminately buy anything that caught his eye. Instead he was having to genuinely consider how much he wanted each item since he had a limited amount of money.

Pheonyx had obviously considered getting some sort of job so as to have more money to spend as he liked. But what sort of job could he get when just changing his clothes also changed his appearance? If he didn't wear the exact same clothes every single time, he could risk not getting paid because his employer didn't believe he was the same person. And that's assuming he had any useful skills that would allow him to get a job in the first place. It wasn't like he had ever needed to work in the past.

As he was reminiscing in those thoughts, something quite unique caught his eye. It was a pendant, seemingly low value compared to the other pieces displayed on the stall. It looked old, more than second hand or even third hand… like it had been passed down so many hands that it could fall apart with one wrong motion. While the dingy state of the item did make it stand out amongst the clearly newer pieces, that wasn't the only reason it caught Pheonyx’s eye, though. The core jem was a still brilliant red ruby that didn't seem to have been as affected by time as the rest of the pendant.

As he looked closer, he saw a design he didn't ever expect in such a place. He would have never expected to find one of those in this world. It was as if fate for him to be the one to find it… There was an odd comfort in discovering the unexpected slice of home. No matter the cost, he wanted to have it.

“Excuse me. How much for this one?” 

***

Aariv found he quite enjoyed watching all the expressions that Mishal made. It was fascinating, truly. Even more than the festivities he had been talked into joining his betrothed for. Not that it really took much convincing. Riv enjoyed spending time with Mish every chance they got. And Mel had mentioned in passing that festivals were common dates where they came from. Riv had never been on a date before so this being his first time made it even more exciting.

There was so much going on and to see but his eyes just kept wandering back to Mish. The blonde kept asking him his opinion on things; what did he think about an item, did this food sound like something he'd like to try, was he enjoying the performers? It was all just so cute. And this ray of sunshine was all his.

Riv noticed that Mish had silently stopped to look at a vendor's display. His expression was deeply thoughtful yet light as he stared at the wares.

“What is going on in that caring mind of yours, My Love?”

Mishal looked over at his words and gave him a smile that reached his eyes before casually taking his hand. “Traditions… And you.” He took a half step closer to Riv and leaned against him slightly. “In my culture, it is common to give your partner a gift when asking them to marry you. In earlier times, it could have been practically anything… usually just a little token to show that they could provide for the other person in some way. In more recent times, it became popular for the gift to be an extravagant ring that they would wear and show off to others. It became a widespread sign to others that the person wearing a ring on a specific finger was already in a committed relationship… Some of the things you said that first day we met have been going around in my head for a while and I've been thinking maybe you could find some comfort if we did something similar. Even if no one else will understand the meaning behind it, we could get some sort of matching accessories to symbolize that we're a couple. Then if you ever feel insecure about our relationship, you can look at yours and be reminded what it represents. Becoming engaged might have been something unexpected and out of our control, but we chose to stay together regardless of how the relationship started. I choose you.”

If Mishal was any more thoughtful and caring, Riv would probably drown in all the love and joy he felt. Sharing one of his culture’s traditions for the sake of helping Aariv with his insecurities about their relationship? No one could ever deserve such a precious partner but he would gladly cherish him and do everything possible to be as close to who Mish deserved as a partner in return. He wanted to be all Mishal ever needed or desired so no other could ever even turn his beloved’s head.

“That sounds amazing, Mish. Did you have anything specific in mind?”

Riv felt him fidget slightly against him. “Well… you're a dryad so I was thinking maybe something made of wood to represent that. As long as that's not offensive or anything, of course.” Every time Riv thought he'd started getting a hold of his love for this person, Mish said or did something that just made those feelings grow even more.

“It isn't offensive at all, Love… If there's elements to represent me, though, then it makes sense that there should be ones that represent you as well. Don't you think so?”

“Sure, but I'm just a boring human. Not really anything special there that can be incorporated like what you are.”

“That's not true. You are my precious sunlight in this unfamiliar world. With that in mind… hmm… how about whatever we get should have gold in the design too?”

For a moment Mishal had an embarrassed but pleased silence to him that Riv was already about to recognize from anytime he gave a compliment or flirted and the other needed a bit of time to process it. “...Then,” his voice had the fakest pout to it. “I want something with a gem that is the same green as your eyes.”

Aariv gave a smile. “In that case, it only makes sense I also get one where I can be reminded of your own lovely eyes when I look at mine.” 

This soon became a back and forth as they looked at the wares of different vendors, each adding another thing that could remind them of the other. What they actually bought might have not met every condition, but the experience of picking something out together was almost as treasured as the actual final result.

***

Pheonyx had to admit, this was actually kind of nice. The festival was much more enjoyable with someone else accompanying him than when he was walking around by himself. He realized he'd been distancing himself from getting too close to anyone since being summoned since what was the point when just changing his outfit would make him unrecognizable to any potential friends.

 And yet, as if by fate, he'd run into this enchanting woman on several cases and twice even with the same appearance. Nyx couldn't deny that he also felt a sort of attraction to Miss Melantha. Nor was he oblivious enough to not notice all her flirting with him. It felt nice to feel wanted without the nagging doubts of if it was just because of his family or status.

“So… where do you work? If it's a shop, maybe I could stop by sometime while you're working.”

“Oh, well… I happen to sort of find myself between jobs right now. I'm new to the area.”

“Really? So am I… Maybe you should register with the adventurer's guild. I sorta made a promise to only do jobs in a group and I'd love to do some with you, if you're interested. We could, you know, meet up not just by chance once in a while.” Pheonyx hadn't even considered that before… Depending on what sort of identification the guild used, he could just make sure to wear the same outfit when picking up the rewards. There might even be jobs where changing his appearance could work in his favor. And it made sense that people would group up with others available for bigger jobs. He could maybe make friends with some of the adventurers that he teamed up with if he made sure to limit his ‘adventuring outfits’ to just a few specific ones… Or at least not isolated himself quite so much.

“... I'll think about it.”