“Is there anything you are looking for?” An old, somewhat nasally voice asked.

Looking deeper into the store, Ed saw a figure walk out from behind the counter. The man was incredibly short, less than half Ed’s height. He had slight avian features. His nose extended out into a long hook, mimicking a beak. His legs were thin, with three razor-sharp talons attached at the bottom as feet.

His upper limbs were somewhere between human arms and wings, with dark, almost pitch-black plumage layered along their length, leading to hands with freakishly long fingers.

He reminded Ed of a crow or a raven.

“I’m alright, thank you. Just browsing.” Ed said.

“You seem to be having trouble deciding, mind telling me what’s on your mind?” The old man said.

Why not. It’s not like I’ve got anything to lose by doing so. “I want to start learning an instrument, but I’m not even sure what to go for.”

“Do you have any experience with an instrument?” He asked, hoping to help Ed out to the best of his ability.

“I played the drums for a bit, but it never really called to me, ya know?”

“I understand.” The man stroked his chin in thought. “Keep looking around, I’ll try and think of something for you.”

“Thanks.” wandering around the store, he stepped up to the drums for a moment, but ultimately didn’t sit down. It’s too flashy. I want something that won’t blind someone if they look at it for too long. Probably in the wrong place for that though.

Walking around the room, he went up to the instruments one by one, and with the agreeance of the shopkeeper, touched them. For some of them, like the piano, or the guitar, he played a few notes. For the smaller ones, or the wind instruments, he simply held them in his hands to get an idea of what they felt like.

But throughout all of this, he still couldn’t find something that felt right for him. During this time, other customers came in and made purchases, but he had done nothing.

“Still no luck?” The shopkeeper asked.

“No, sorry for wasting your time.” Ed turned to leave but was stopped by the old man.

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“This kind of thing takes time. How about this, head to Wrath, someone there might be able to help you get what you need. They are the best craftsmen in all of Hell, surely, you’ll have better luck there.” He said.

“Thanks. That helps a lot.” Saying goodbye to the old man, Ed left the store. Heading back to where they were earlier, he noticed that Zara still wasn’t there, so he found himself a seat.

There’s so much I’ve gotta do. Life’s been keeping me so drained lately that I haven’t been able to do anything. Hopefully I’ll have some time to myself when I’m out of here. I don’t think there’s anything Buddie will stop me from doing, but just to be safe I should think them through first.

First off, I need to visit grandpa, it’s been far too long, and he needs to know that I’m okay.

Second, I need to figure out what’s changed. I feel different after what happened on that mission, but I haven’t figured out what yet. I can probably get that done when Zara’s vacation is over. Don’t want to take up her time with that.

Third, I need some hobbies. If I’m gonna keep doing what Buddie tells me, then I need something to distract myself so that my mind doesn’t break.

Finally, I need to talk to Urdhuri. About what I am. About fate. And about the company. The more information I have, the better my chances are at stopping them. I’ve learnt from my mistakes, I’ll put more thought into my traps. That way I’ll get rewarded instead of being punished.

At some point in time while Ed was organising his thoughts, Zara had walked out of the hairdresser and made her way back to the meetup spot. Noticing Ed sitting down a little bit away, she walked over to him, wondering how long it would take for him to notice her.

As it turned out, it was only when she stood right in front of him that he was finally pulled from his thoughts.

“How did everything gooo, wow.” Ed was stunned by just how different she looked.

Where previously her hair had fallen to just above the middle of her back, it was now trimmed to just below shoulder length, with slight wavy curls where before it had been completely straight. Her hair framed her face in the front, with side-swept bangs covering half her forehead. However, the most drastic change by far was that her hair was now a midnight black instead of the blonde it was before.

As she swung her hair around, Ed noticed that the underside of her hair had been dyed purple, giving her hair a faint shimmer whenever she moved.

“So, what do you think?” Zara asked.

“It looks great!” He pulled her into a hug, inadvertently smelling the wild berry shampoo they used. “What made you want to change?”

“I don't know, just felt like trying something new. Does it not suit me? Do you think I look better as a blonde?” She played with her hair, now feeling a little nervous.

“I promise you look great.” He gave her a light kiss on the forehead. “You don’t have to worry.”

Feeling relieved, she sat down on the bench, prompting Ed to join her.

“Where did you go earlier?” She asked.

“I found a store selling instruments and wanted to check it out.” He said, pointing to the store not too far away.

“Ooh cool! Did you get anything? I didn’t know you wanted to play an instrument?” She asked excitedly.

“Nah, there was nothing I was interested in there. And I just want to pick up a hobby. Music was just the first thing that came to mind.” He said.

“Well, why don’t we keep looking around, maybe you’ll find something interesting.” Zara grabbed his hand and pulled him off the chair.

That works for me.