"Well, how about here? These are clothes that go with your current selection." Rianta-chira asks about an out of view shop. Turning away from the hyper-active entertainer as he's overwhelmed by children from all over the town, I follow her. Catching up, I turn my head towards her and follow her view. A single, sudden movement sends me reeling back.

"This is a wedding dress shop!" I tell her, a cold sensation drilling shivers deep inside my body. Why has she brought me to a wedding dress shop!? How can I be from a different land and know what this is, but she does not...? Is she daring me to provoke her? Surely that must be it. There's no way she doesn't-

"Oh? This is how humans prepare for marriage? I felt it was just appropriate because of how the colours matched your current choice. See, look, pristine white shoes and stockings to match. Fishnets, floral patterns, lace, and garter belts. One-piece and two and more." she realises and I try to calm down as she seems to lose herself in the implication of this place. I guess she must be thinking of herself in something from here, herself and Nin-kischu going through the ceremony at the temple.

I need to be careful and avoid saying anything that can be seen as me trying to push her on the topic...

"I wonder how a human ceremony differs from something I might've handled back when I was an ivy-mother?" Rianta-chira asks herself, her tone longing for more than one thing.

"I cannot imagine it would be much different from how it is everywhere else. The gods and goddesses have been quite good at keeping us uniform, to an extent. So, you know, buy the dress you like and have your bond be made eternal in the temple of your choosing. Or... Well, do it straight in a place dedicated to Motrtha." I try to add, depending on my experiences travelling and how consistent some things have so peculiarly been. Only the divine could create such similarity across otherwise unique peoples.

"Wedding dress..." Rianta-chira mutters to herself, her head things flickering excitedly as a finger lingers on the glass. She tries to imitate the mannequin's pose but cannot really do so without feet. Minding the clothes myself, I use the glass to look at my reflection. I guess she's right that what they have on display in here does match what I am currently wearing.

But, the problem here is that I intend to return this outfit to Rianta-chira, not keep it...

Besides, it might be best if we move away from this shop. The more she thinks of Nin-kischu, the more I am going to end up thinking about him. In a way, I am regretting the fact I am doing my shopping with her. I feel like I cannot win.

She does not want me to think about him. At all! But all she does is talk about him or think about him. It all goes back to Nin-kischu. Nin. Nin. Nin!

If she keeps going at it, then Nin-kischu will simply stay in my head forever and ever. I will end up drawing her ire anyway! It's bad enough that looking at Nin-kischu makes me feel strange, even before he saved our lives. There's something so very strange about him that's making my gaze linger more than it normally does...

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I know for certain it's not the secret of his bandaged-up body, it's something else. Yet... What? It cannot be love or anything like that. I barely know him. Maybe it is some form of mystery about him? The unknown requires a lot of thought and ponderous time to truly figure out.

I really do not know.

"Einervaene?" Rianta-chira questions, her finger tapping against my head. It knocks me right out of my thoughts, and my eyes sprint around, regaining their focus. Calming down, I follow her attention towards where it is going.

"Y-Yes?" I almost cough out, but, thankfully, I manage a graceful recovery. Hopefully, she does not catch on to what I might've been thinking about. Maybe... Just maybe, she was also deep in thought.

I note her rising hand, "A shop over there also seems to sell legwear meant for humans. Is this what you were hoping to find?"

She uses her other hand to grab my closest one. Getting dragged after her, the aelenvari's hand quickly finds the glass with tapping glee. She's right. This is, in fact, what I am looking for. Well, the principle of it, anyway. It seems to be rather specific in what footwear it covers, or specialised, rather.

A lot of the items on display appear to be combinations of items rather than singular objects. The shop has shorter-heeled shoes not covering all that much with long socks, stockings and similar. Then, there are also boots which seem to be a mixture of many other things. Some are solid bottoms, others are long heels that I imagine would hug my leg all the way to the thigh.

My eyes linger on them...

I quite like this design, actually. The pair on display, even. It's quite pretty and there's a lot that can be put on it for further decoration. A blank canvas with so many straps and essential stitches to build mixtures around. They will not work with the outfit I currently have on, though.

Colours do not match, but maybe they will have such a pair? Only one way to find out, I suppose. So, I best get to it!

Yet, despite my wants, I'm not moving away from the glass to look inside. I'm still staring. The ones on display are black leather, perhaps, with a polished metal base that patterns out over the toes. There do not seem to be too many details on the shoes themselves, but I think I could work something in if I had the tools or materials. It's quite shiny, otherwise, a good sign that they're well polished and thus cared for.

"They even do stuff for aelenvari..." Rianta-chira mutters to herself, her tail barely appearing in my vision before she disappears into the shop. Looking back at the glass, a small smile forms on my face. I can see her through it. She's going over to a small section that I can just barely make out!

A pile of metal tubes fills the space. Next to them, dangling on racks, sock-like pieces that have been stuffed to show off the patterns and styles of make. The ends sparkle with their metallic caps. Rianta-chira quickly finds a pair she likes, and she moves the likely rose red pair about, testing them in all manner of ways.

Huffing at the sight, I finally get myself into the shop. With an alert hop, I get away from the entrance and its prickly doormat. The main carpet is not all that much better either, even with its carefully cleaned look. Thick, rough and coarse fuzz that needs to only be a little sharper to cut open my heels and soles. Thankfully, this shop is not so busy as to have lost all its soft spots. Bright and vibrant, they do a lot to match the goods on display.

Finding a stand, I reach out and try to touch one of the pairs.

"I think I have an idea what you are in here for, Sweetheart." a gentle, elderly voice says. Her quiet shuffling reaching my ears even as I flinch away from the shoes.