Chapter 4 - Sweetpuff Tree, Magical Embroidery, and Merev (Part 1)

"I'm going to town for a delivery today," Aunt Laurel said at lunch. "Do you want to come with me?"

Although it had been almost a week since Jade arrived, he had yet to actually set foot in town. Aunt Laurel lived on the outskirts, in the more forested area; their closest neighbors being on the other side of a lake somewhere in the forest, in a swampier area. He had yet to reach that lake and catch a glimpse of these mysterious neighbors, so he actually had no idea how far away they were.
It took a thirty-minute walk to reach town, and the forest had been rather interesting lately, so he hadn't really had any reason to check out the town previously. Even if he was only going to live here temporarily, he would still be staying for a while, so it wasn't a bad idea to have a look.

Once lunch was over, the table cleaned, and the dishes washed, he helped his aunt carry crates of aromatic herbs to her car. He had a hard time believing they were magic at first, and after asking a few questions, it turned out they were actually a cross between regular herbs and magic ones. That's a thing?!
They had the power to balance the taste of a dish, making it sweeter if too much salt was added or vice-versa. There was a large demand for these herbs, however it wasn't like people would think of going to the florist to buy herbs meant for cooking, so instead they were sold at the local grocery store, where they were a huge success.
They were easy to grow, with their garden producing enough for the whole town every month – another advantage of hybridization with magic herbs! – so his aunt made regular trips to the grocery store to refill their shelves. Some crates were filled with the processed, dried leaves, but others had the fresh plants, as it wasn't uncommon for people who consumed a lot of it to keep a pot or two and grow it themselves.

The herbs' aromatic scent filled the car until Jade barely noticed it anymore with how much it permeated the air. It was a rather pleasant smell too, and slightly familiar. A scent he knew from before he came here.
 He realized that it wasn't his aunt who had been using it in their food, but his mom. She does forget the salt quite often...

They parked in front of the grocery store, where he waited for his aunt after helping her carry the crates again. Not wanting to get in her way, he stayed outside, letting his eyes wander around the town he was seeing for the first time.

The breeze carried a sweet smell; intrigued, he attempted to follow it and found a large tree with a dark trunk and pale pink leaves. Slowly, he approached it, led by curiosity. Those leaves seemed incredibly soft, making the whole tree resemble a dandelion. The sweet scent came from those soft-looking leaves, reminding him of candies. Marshmallows, he thought, gazing at the tree.

"Smells sweet, doesn't it?"

Startled, Jade turned around to be met by a tall, handsome man, beautiful long black hair framing his face, smiling softly at him. His blue tunic had beautiful, delicate golden embroidery on the collar and cuffs, much like the scarf the trader showed him.

"Haven't seen you around before. You're new here?"

Before he could reply, he caught sight of a certain detail. Hm? Wait, am I seeing things...? Captivated by the man's good looks, he almost missed his... unusually long ears. For a moment, he was speechless, completely forgetting to answer. Is this normal here? Is this another thing auntie forgot to tell me about??
He didn't want to sound rude or ignorant, so he decided it was probably better not to mention it at all. If it wasn't normal, it would definitely be rude to point it out anyway.

"Ah, um, yes," he mumbled, finally remembering that the man had asked him a question. "I just got here a week ago."

"Just visiting?"

"No, I'm probably gonna be staying a while."

The man hummed. "I see. Well, nice to meet you!" He said, extending a hand. "I'm Merev, from the Loomwrights."

Wait, really? Then that embroidery...

"Ahh, yes, I made it myself!"

"... Did I say that out loud?"

Merev couldn't hold back a chuckle. "I'm glad our family is so famous."

Embarrassed that he let his thoughts slip, Jade looked away. "I saw some of your family's embroidery yesterday, it left a deep impression on me. Is that one enchanted?"

The young man shook his head. "This one is just for decoration. Not every piece of clothing needs to be enchanted, that would be a bit overkill. Usually, we enchant clothes that have a specific purpose; an apron that never stains, a fancy dress that boosts confidence, a sleeping mask that keeps nightmares away... that sort of thing."

Jade listened with great interest, as if a door to an entirely new world had just been opened to him. He really needed to check out the Loomwrights' shop, now.

"But enough about me! You haven't told me your name yet," Merev reminded him.

"Oh, I'm Jade. Jade Vinesong," he added, figuring that family names were important here.

A look of recognition flashed on Merev's face. "Vinesong, huh. No wonder."

"What do you mean?"

He turned to the tree with soft pink leaves. Ah, of course.

"What's this tree?" Jade asked, hoping he'd know.

"It's a Sweetpuff Tree," Merev informed him. "Although, the kids usually call it a marshmallow tree. This pink fluff is actually the tree's flowers, and you can make candies with them. It's a local specialty."

"So they're flowers, not leaves? Then I'm guessing the sweet scent attracts animals that will spread its seeds..."

"You're probably right about that, but this is all I know about this tree. This is your first time here, right?"

Jade nodded. Although he hadn't been interested in the town before, now he was curious to see more – especially the Loomwrights' shop and what other magic plants grew around here.

"Want me to show you around?" Merev offered with a smile.

"You don't mind? I wouldn't want to bother you."

"It's fine, I don't have work today," he reassured him, then took his hand. "Come, I'll show you some interesting places!"

Having a handsome man suddenly hold his hand, Jade's brain short-circuited for a second and, well, he couldn't possibly refuse Merev's offer now that he was already dragging him around town. Of course, he did send a message to his aunt, informing her that there was no need to wait for him and he'd go home on his own.

The first place Merev took him to was his family's shop, which happened to be nearby. Jade was overjoyed. He had really been looking forward to seeing it ever since his uncle showed him that scarf and told him about their craft. The place looked just as magical as he'd imagined.
No, actually, the reality was even better than his imagination. Embroidered fabrics hung above them, racks of enchanted cloaks, shelves with adorable stuffed animals and neatly folded clothes. Every article inside the shop was finely embroidered, the details so intricate he could spend hours looking at them.
The fabrics themselves were beautiful and rich in color, and he could tell at a glance that they were of the highest quality, even the smallest pieces. Even Jade, who didn't know the first thing about any of this, could tell – and one look at the price tag confirmed it. Well, I definitely can't afford any of that.

Merev let out a laugh. "You don't have to buy anything, you know!"

Dammit, my thoughts slipped out again. Why does this keep happening today? Maybe it was because he kept getting distracted by his new acquaintance, but it seemed like his thoughts didn't want to stay in his mind today.

"Although, if you do want something, just know that we accept trading as well."

"Not like I have anything to trade either..."

"I thought a Vinesong would have some plants to trade?"

"I've only just started my collection. I do have a Torchbloom, but..."

Merev nodded. "That's a rare flower, if I'm not mistaken. I get why you wouldn't want to give it away. Well, even if you don't get anything from our shop, lots of people come just to have a look. They say our shop is a work of art."

Jade thought it was an understatement. The place was even more interesting than he thought.

Merev let him look to his heart's content, so he took his time browsing, asking about the enchantments mentioned on the tags. It was still a bit unreal that most of the things in the shop were enchanted since he wasn't seeing it in action just yet, but every time he noticed Merev's ears, he remembered that this wasn't fantasy.
The tags on the stuffed animals mentioned enchantments for soothing pain, keeping nightmares away, or inducing sleep; all very useful for children. The cloaks were enchanted to remain dry no matter how heavy the rain poured, or reduce one's presence.

"Is this like... invisibility?" Jade asked, intrigued.

"Nothing quite as powerful. The way it works is that everyone looking at the wearer will find their gaze shifting away, so that the wearer doesn't attract too much attention. I guess lots of people use these when they have to speak in public too."

"Actually, that sounds more useful than invisibility."

Jade continued looking around the shop for a while. He was terribly curious about every single enchantment he saw, but feared that he'd bore Merev if he kept asking questions, so he kept his mouth shut and simply appreciated the delicate craftsmanship – and the candies Merev brought out for him to try.

They talked a little while Jade spent what felt like forever examining every little detail of the embroideries, although Jade only briefly mentioned what led to him living here. He also didn't say that he only just discovered the existence of magic – that would be too embarrassing to admit in front of someone who had been a witch for their entire life, in a witch town.

"So you're collecting magic plants now?"

"Mhm. Don't know what I'll do with them though. I'll admit that when I saw how little information there was on the Whisperleaf, I had the urge to fill that page myself. But I was a little overconfident..."

Merev laughed. "The Whisperleaf is incredibly rare! Not exactly suitable for a beginner."

"I understand that now..." He reluctantly admitted. "Have you ever seen one?"

The man shook his head. "I'd say most witches never run into it their whole life. But, a Torchbloom is a nice one for someone just starting out. It's not something that can be acquired so easily."

"I guess I got really lucky for this one. I happened to run into my uncle who had one."

"In that case, I'll let you know if I ever run into a Whisperleaf. Or any other plants you might be interested in."

"I'd love that!" Jade replied with a little more enthusiasm than he would have liked.