Chapter 4 - Sweetpuff Tree, Magical Embroidery, and Merev (Part 2)

It was already evening when Jade returned home. He came back just in time for dinner, Aunt Myrtle still setting the table when he arrived.

"Welcome home!" The woman said as he walked in. "We're about to have dinner. Did you have fun on your date?"

Jade froze. "It wasn't a date! We only just met."

"Oh, really? That's not what Laurel told me."

He looked at his aunt, who was just as confused as him. "It wasn't a date? The way you phrased in your message made it seem like it..."

Now even more confused as he was sure that the message he sent was a perfectly normal one, Jade took out his phone only to realize that, in a moment of distraction, instead of writing "met a guy, he's showing me around, don't wait for me" like he thought he did, there was an extra word that slipped straight from his thoughts.

His message said "met a handsome guy".

In a mix of shame and frustration, Jade brought a hand to his face, cursing his distracted brain once more.

"I didn't mean to write that, you can ignore the 'handsome' part. Not like he wasn't handsome, of course, but I didn't mean it like that."

Aunt Laurel was a little disappointed to learn it was all a misunderstanding. "Aww, so it wasn't a date?"

"Well, maybe it's for the best," Aunt Myrtle said. "They only just met. Much too early for a date."

You were also excited about it… Jade thought, but didn't say anything. He was aware that he had been looking a bit gloomy ever since he quit school; his aunts would probably be overjoyed to hear that he found someone who made him happy. But, yes, way too early.

"So, who was this handsome man?" Aunt Laurel asked as he finally sat down with them.

"I'm sure you know him. His name is Merev."

"Ah, the Loomwrights' son! I see him around town regularly. I'm surprised, though. That boy is always on his own. You must have caught his eye."

"Ask him out on a date the next time you see him," Aunt Myrtle added.

Frankly, he didn't believe someone as plain and ordinary as him had any chance with someone as handsome and elegant as Merev. They were leagues apart, and it wasn't like he was also interested in men anyway. It was more likely that he was just friendly and saw an opportunity when he ran into someone new.
After showing him his family's shop, Merev took him to a large plaza in the center of town, with a fountain decorated with statues of fairies playing in the water. There were lots of other people walking around, and Merev told him all about the various festivities held there throughout the year. He even bought him some local snacks to eat as they walked around.
When they were done with their food, he took him to the harbor. This was a port town, after all, and the harbor was a sight to behold. Located in a bay with forested cliffs on each side, the scenery was worthy of a painting. Seagulls sang and flew around, although from the ground they looked no bigger than small white dots on the bright blue of the sky. The sea was beautiful too, with the water glistening under the sun and boats disappearing beyond the horizon.

Actually, the more I think about it, the more it sounds like a date... Jade realized; not to mention that Merev kept grabbing his hand each time he took him somewhere new or wanted to show him something. No, no, no, it can't be.

"Come to think of it, I forgot to ask, but... is it normal for people to have very long ears here?"

"Oh my, I forgot to tell you about this!"

"So it's normal?"

After meeting Merev, he kept noticing people around town with ears that didn't look human, and even a few other attributes.

His aunt chuckled. "Haha, yes, it's quite a common sight here. You see, when witches use magic regularly, it awakens some traits in them. It's said that we inherited them from our ancestors, the first witches to learn magic. Long or pointy ears are the most common of those traits."

"But none of us have long ears..."

"That's because the care of magic plants doesn't require the use of magic. We may be surrounded by magic, but we're not actually using spells ourselves. The Loomwrights, on the other hand..."

The Loomwrights wove enchantments into the fabric; the process required a constant stream of magic from the one doing it. This repeated and prolonged use caused their "magical traits" as his aunt called them to be more prominent.

"Even though you can't see them until they're awakened, those traits are also hereditary. The Loomwrights inherit very long ears because they use a lot of magic, so when one of their children starts using magic, their ears grow until they have the shape they inherited."

"What if they don't use magic as much as their parents?" Jade questioned; how could these traits be both hereditary and influenced by magic?

"In that case, if it continues over several generations, the inherited traits will slowly change to match the family's current magic usage. If you look at portraits of some of our distant ancestors, you'll notice they all have leaves growing in their hair along with the pointy ears. This is our inherited trait."

But, compared to their ancestors, the Vinesongs didn't need to use as much magic as they did since most spells they needed had since been replaced by magic items. And so, for a few generations now, those magical traits had not appeared in their family.

"So, hypothetically, if I could use magic, I'd get pointy ears and leaves on my head?"

"What do you mean, hypothetically? You can use magic!" His aunt retorted.

It took him a moment to process her words. "Wait, what?! It isn't, like, limited to certain people? A talent you have to be born with?"

"Of course not! Everyone can learn it. You can become a witch if you want to."

"Wait, wait, wait. I can become a witch? I thought witches were only women? I guess not..." He added, remembering his uncle.

"It's more of a profession," Myrtle chimed in. "Anyone can do it. Do you want to be a witch too?"

"I... This is a bit sudden."

He couldn't imagine himself being a witch – but he couldn't deny that studying magic plants was the most fun he'd had since he studied to become an engineer. But still... me, a witch?