A Thief Goes Shopping

The very first thing that had happened after leaving the inn was that Solenia sent Ash and Tienne on an errand. Unsurprisingly, the Valkyries had not originally come to Mearn without a plan. Indeed, it was only Tienne’s run in with Ash’s gang that had prevented the Valkyries from following that plan. Ash had expected—hoped, even—that Solenia would have an idea of what to do next.

What Ash hadn’t expected was that the next step would be to go to a high-end shopping district in Mearn’s central ‘hill.’ Apparently, one of the Order’s original informants about the keystone worked there, and the two young girls were to meet them. Identifying information was scarce. All they knew was to find the owner of an alchemists’ shop called “Noctus Concoctions.”

Solenia, for her part, had departed to some other meeting, supposedly to investigate the strange men. As it turned out, their presence had been a complete surprise to the Valkyries, and their goals were yet unclear. All the elder Valkyrie had said was that she had some ideas, and would take care of it herself. She had insisted that splitting up was only about dividing work, but Ash suspected there was more to it than that.

Regardless, Ash didn’t have any better ideas, and Tienne was all too eager to follow her teacher’s instructions. All that was left for the two of them was to head to the shopping district and get to it.

Which turned out to be a problem, because both girls stood out like a fire at night. Tienne in her armor and cloak, and Ash because her clothes had not been new for years. The two immediately decided that Ash’s situation was the bigger problem, and needed to be fixed at once. And so it was, for the first time in her life, that Ashreida Solace went shopping. It was the greatest challenge she had ever faced.

Tienne dragged Ash into what was evidently the first suitable shop she could find, a hole-in-the-wall called “Stitches and Weaves.” The proprietor, an older human man who looked like he hadn’t worked a day in his life, was unsurprisingly skeptical when two young girls walked into his store. Ash assumed he, like all of the richer people she had ever encountered, automatically decided she was some sort of criminal which, to be fair, was correct. Before he could throw them out or call for the guards, Tienne presented him with enough money that he suddenly had never had any concerns with the situation whatsoever.

Now that they were valued customers rather than intruders, Ash was herded onto a small platform, whereupon the owner fussed over her with a string, various pieces of chalk, and an intensely critical eye. He was either measuring her or conducting some elaborate ritual to steal her soul; as far as Ash was concerned, either was just as likely. That done, the man left her to confer quietly with Tienne. There were multiple glances in her direction, but otherwise they studiously ignored Ash. Apparently, Ash did not get a say in whatever was about to happen to her. Without another word to anyone, the owner then vanished through a door into some back room.

Ash was left standing on the platform, too nervous to move—perhaps stepping off would complete the sinister ritual. Tienne seemed unbothered by the basic premise, merely tapping her foot in naked impatience. With no other options, Ash looked around the room. There were examples of the owner’s work along the walls; dresses and jackets and articles of clothing Ash didn’t have names for adorned stands, while rolls of fabric sat in neat rows on racks. The building itself was not left out of the pageantry, either. The walls were a fine, soft brown wood, with small but tasteful bird carvings at the corners.

It was more money than Ash had seen in her entire life. This was another world. It had to be. Ash had known that there were wealthier parts of the city. It would be impossible not to. But that was just an idea, just something that got said without any real meaning behind it. There was a ‘wealthier part of the city’ in the same way that there were cities on the other side of the world: true, but only academically. Now that she was confronted with it, it was flatly impossible. Ash simply refused to understand how this store—how this store being normal—could exist in the same city as her decaying hideout. Worst, though, was the fact that Ash had the sickening feeling that this store wasn’t even considered ‘fancy.’

Tienne, for her part, looked unimpressed, which offended Ash almost as much. Shouldn’t the normal reaction to such bounty be to run around the store in naked awe, to gape at each and every dress in naked awe, to imagine the power one must have to own any of it. Indeed, it was only Tienne’s presence in the store that prevented Ash from doing just that. Instead, the young Valkyrie was just bored, as if she couldn’t believe that she had to wait for some girl to get ‘normal’ clothes. No, Ash corrected herself, that was almost certainly exactly what Tienne was thinking.

Ash wasn’t sure if she wanted to laugh or just burn Stitches and Weaves to the ground. She could do that now, after all.

Thankfully for everyone, the proprietor chose that moment to return. He carried with him a pile of multi-colored cloth that must have been clothes. That much was expected. What Ash did not expect was for the man to walk up to her, and thrust the pile into her arms. Unprepared, all she could do was accept it. The man then wordlessly pointed to one corner of the store, where a curtain had been set up. Ash decided she was supposed to go there. She did so, but mostly just in case her “evil ritual” theory was correct after all. Once she was in place, the man threw the curtain closed, blocking Ash off from the rest of the store. No one had said a word of what she was supposed to do. It must have been obvious to the proprietor and Tienne. Ash looked at the pile of cloth in her hands. The only thing she could think of, ridiculous though it may be, was that she was expected to put these on.

Well, there was nothing for it, at least not unless Ash wanted this whole bizarre ordeal to be over. She did so slowly and carefully, just in case the clothes were a manifestation of the shopkeeper’s dark magic.

Perhaps a minute later, she had done it. Ash looked herself over, to the best of her ability, and was almost stunned from the sheer shock of what she saw.

The proprietor had first given her a shirt of a soft, red fabric that Ash could not hope to recognize, with a filigreed pattern of white thread down the front. Next came a pair of close-fitting pants of a simple grey hue, which in turn was held up by a belt that camouflaged itself against the rest of the ensemble. It was all very comfortable and attractive, certainly, but it was the look of it that was most shocking. It had been a long, long time since Ash had worn clothes that were not just new, but also that someone might reasonably consider fashionable. In that moment, still behind the curtain, it was the greatest luxury Ash had experienced in her life. All but overwhelmed by the sensation, she stepped out from behind the curtain proudly, to show herself off to the world.

“It will do. Thank you.” Tienne said, primarily to the proprietor. She handed him some coins—Ash had no idea what the value of anything in the store was—and promptly turned to leave.

Having just come crashing down to earth, Ash was left with no options other than to run after Tienne to avoid seeming too foolish. She caught up halfway out the door.

“Are these the sort of clothes a rich girl usually buys?” Ash asked. The question came out as a strange mixture of sarcasm, friendly humor, and genuine curiosity.

“Hardly. I assumed someone like you would be more comfortable in more mundane garb,” Tienne said, without either turning or stopping. “And do not call me ‘rich girl.’ You know nothing about me.”

Ash couldn’t argue with that, and so fell silent instead. Said silence lasted no more than twenty seconds.

“Thank you, by the way.”

“For what?” Tienne sounded legitimately puzzled.

“For the clothes, obviously.”

“Why? They are just the cheapest and most functional I could find on short notice. It is not anything to be grateful for,” Tienne said, waving a dismissive hand.

“I guess not to you, but in case you hadn’t noticed, I don’t exactly get many chances to go shopping,” Ash snapped back. “So yeah, I’m going to thank someone when they buy something like this for me.”

This time, it was Tienne’s turn to fail to respond. The two walked in silence for a little while longer, searching for the alchemist’s shop, until Ash could bear it no longer.

“So, what’s your deal, then?” she asked.

“I beg your pardon?”

“I mean, you just said I don’t know anything about you. So, tell me about yourself,” Ash said, trying to sound as genuinely interested as possible.

“I see no reason why I should do that,” Tienne responded. “Especially not to you.”

Ash blinked, taken aback by the other girl’s sudden venom.

“What’s that supposed to mean? What did I do to you?”

At this, Tienne finally halted, and spun around hard on Ash. Ash had to stumble to a stop to avoid running into her.

“It seems you have forgotten that, just this morning, your thugs tried to kidnap me and sell me for ransom!”

“Oh, that,” Ash said, chuckling nervously. “Well, I did apologize for that. And it was a misunderstanding, anyway.”

There was an eternity of painfully awkward quiet before either girl was willing to speak again. At least the surrounding crowd was paying them no mind. Finally, Ash loudly cleared her throat and worked up the courage to jump back in.

“At any rate, we’re working together now, so we may as well try to get along. You know, a little.”

“As I told Lady Solenia, I do not agree with that decision.”

“What, is the great and mighty Valkyrie too good to work with a common thief,” Ash asked. She could not stop her reflexive annoyance from pushing her further. “Afraid that my ‘criminal nature’ or whatever will rub off on you?”

“What I’m ‘afraid of’ is that you are not suited for this work and will get hurt because of it!” Tienne shouted.

She stepped up directly into Ash’s face, looming slightly over her. As those ice-blue eyes bored into Ash, she was suddenly struck by the fact that this girl, young though she may be, was trained for violence, and had few reservations about inflicting it. On the other hand, Ash had been raised largely on luck and desperation. She did what he needed to survive, certainly, but that was not the same thing as being prepared to encounter whatever dangers Tienne expected to on a daily basis. Ash swallowed, hard.

And yet, there was still her pride to consider, so Ash fought back regardless.

“Well, your teacher clearly disagrees. She seems to think that I can help back you up. She said something about you needing some practice with your magic?”

“Lady Solenia is prone to…flights of fancy. I will admit that my Wordcraft needs improvement, but I have trained and practice for years! You discovered that you can Cindercraft a few hours ago. The only thing you will be able to do is get in my way!”

Now Tienne was really angry, and Ash regretted her words immediately. She tried to think of some response that combined humility, contrition, and some backbone, but could come up with nothing. Instead, all she said was:

“You tell her that, then.”

For a brief moment, Ash thought she had gone too far, and Tienne would do something dramatic to her. The way the young Valkyrie ground her teeth and clenched her fists did not seem like a good sign. But in the end, Tienne managed to restrain herself from whatever she had been intending, and simply stormed away down the street.

Ash realized she couldn’t blame her.