Chapter Text
The gentle chime of a bell echoed in the quiet room, and Valere paused just inside the doorway, taking in the small shop in delight. The room almost seemed cramped, lined and packed with shelves and tables bursting with oddities and carvings. There were sun catchers and wind chimes dangling from the ceiling, the light reflecting and refracting off of various bits of polished metals, glass, and crystals. In the back, she could see a shelf lined with a variety of dolls and soft stuffed creatures.
“What’d I tell ya? Best lil’ shop ’n Brisk, sure ta have somethin’ in it for one o’ your boys!” Yolande crowed, wrapping an arm around Valere and guiding her deeper into the shop. Seraï and Teaks followed behind, glancing curiously around.
They were in Brisk for the anniversary of saving both worlds, and they’d all had inadvertently started a tradition of giving small gifts to each other when they met up to celebrate the win. The gifts were never really anything too big, just little items that could be useful, or small trinkets and other knickknacks. Things that reminded them of each other.
They had a few more days before they officially had their party at the Humble Boast, and Valere still found herself at a loss this year on what to get either Garl or Zale. But this place looked very promising.
“Huh. Don’t remember seeing this place before, Yolande,” Serai poked one of the wind chimes gently, a pretty tinkling echoing in the small space. Serai’s eyes crinkled up at it, in what Teaks had dubbed the happy squint, and Valere made a point to come back later without the group. Judging on the look the both Teaks and Yolande were also giving the small assassin, the Solstice Warrior had a feeling that Seraï was about to get many pretty sun catchers and wind chimes in the future.
There was an arched doorway behind the counter, a pretty, woven curtain screening the next room from view. Valere could hear people talking as she wandered through the shop. She found herself admiring a variety of cute statuettes; animals with more human characteristics, set in a variety of clothes or armor. Two in particular caught her eye, a small cat and wolf set that were displayed back to back. The wood was carved and painted meticulously, the cat a pretty orange tabby, and the wolf a very pretty gray-blue. The two were brandishing their weapons, the cat holding a sword aloft, while the wolf brandished a staff. The features of the cat was particularly appealing, a delicately carved, fanged grin on the creature’s face. The wolf looked calm, head tilted to the side as if it were appraising some danger.
“Oh, these ‘ve been popular around here!” Yolande had followed her to the display, picking up the wolf figure. “Your savin’ ov Brisk, and word ov your savin’ Lucent spreadin’, inspired loads ov craftsmen ta make things like this. Most don’t do the two ov you justice, runnin' off ov rumors and all. Never saw any like these tho…the animals are cute, eh?”
“These…are us?” Valere took a closer look at the two, wondering why the crafter had decided on animal forms. She felt a bit humbled at the idea that she or Zale were immortalized in statue form, apparently in many Brisk residents’ homes.
“Yep! People want a bit ov somethin’ ta inspire them, and y’all were pretty damn impressive when ya helped save all those people.”
Valere glanced over the other figures, and these two were the only ones that seemed to be made as a pair. Only one other caught her eye, a bear figurine brandishing a shield, and when she rearranged the three together, it looked as if the bear was guarding the two “Solstice Warriors.” She wondered if the creator intended for them to fit like this.
The three figures were absolutely impractical. And they were perfect.
Valere carefully picked up the figures, giving a wide smile at Yolande as the woman laughed.
“Which one ov your boys is getting these?”
“I was thinking Garl. He’ll absolutely love them.”
“Now that leaves your partner?”
“Yes.”
A whisper of cloth shifted and a heavily pregnant woman stepped into the shop from behind the hanging screen. She smiled at them as she settled in a stool at the counter, tucking a loose strand of brown hair back behind her ear.
“Ah, welcome! Forgive me, I was dealing with a little problem in the back…”
The shopkeep shot a glare back over her shoulder at a muffled shout in the back room, sounding as if someone was protesting her emphasis on “little,” before shaking her head and righting her smile on her face. Her hazel eyes glanced at them all, and her smile twisted a bit when she saw the figures in Valere’s hands. Valere blinked and the woman was all smiles again.
“Are you interested in these, miss?”
“Ah, yes,” Valere carefully placed the three statuettes down on the counter, and smiled at the brunette. “They’re a gift for a friend.”
Teaks crept up beside her, and giggled at the figures, hugging a rather oblong, white and grey plush animal. Valere couldn’t figure out what the animal was supposed to be, other than egg shaped, though the long, floppy ears might have been for a rabbit.
“For Garl? He’ll love those!”
“That can’t be for anyone, is it, Teaks? I thought you said you were done?”
“Oh, I am, he’s just so cute I think I’ll get him for myself!”
Valere smiled at Teaks’ gushing praise for the toy, thinking that next year she’d come here again for more gifts. And the blobby thing was cute, pressed as it was against Teaks’ freckled face. She caught Seraï’s smirk over Teaks shoulder, and felt a blush creep across her cheeks.
“A-anyway, how much for these—?”
The woman smiled at her, as Valere fought to keep her blush down, hoping that she wasn’t too obvious. Teaks thankfully had not noticed, distracted as she was on squishing the egg-bunny. The shopkeeper hummed, carefully checking the figures.
“Well, these two are one of a kind, made by my father. He only was planning on the one set, and honestly, I’m surprised they’re out here…”
“Oh, if they’re not for sale—”
The shopkeep shook her head at Valere’s exclamation, giving her a reassuring smile.
“No, no! If they weren’t for sale, he wouldn’t put them out here. I’d place these at—”
“Don’t listen to her, she’s gonna overcharge you!”
The shopkeep yelped as a loud, golden blur dashed out from behind the curtain, slamming into the counter. Valere yelped as well, hands reaching out to steady the figures as they rattled across the surface, managing to snag the bear and cat before they tipped. Teaks also had reached out, her hand catching hold of the wolf statuette. Valere breathed a sigh of relief, giving the pink haired woman a grateful smile.
Except, Teaks looked frozen in place, eyes wide and mouth dropped open in shock. Seraï and Yolande also seemed to be in a similar state, staring wild eyed at the newcomer that was currently in a shouting match with the shopkeeper.
“Jeong! I told you to work in the back!”
“No, you had Fotis tie me up in the back!”
“I did not! And if he did, you must have done something to deserve it, you little imp!”
“He did. Yu’mi, Da’s gonna be back soon, do you want your break now?”
The curtain rustled again as another person entered the storefront, and Teaks made a strangled noise. Valere turned to see what her friends were staring at, and felt her heart nearly stop in shock.
It was Zale.
Except it wasn’t.
Because there were two.
And they were much shorter than Zale, only coming up to Valere’s chin.
One was scowling at the shopkeeper, the other smirking at the back of his double’s head. The shouty one’s short cropped, ashy blond hair was mussed and dusty, his sharp blue eyes narrowed and angry, and a piece of rope dangled off of one wrist, the ends were frayed as if having been sawn through with something. The calmer one had longer, dark blond hair pulled back into a short tail, his own blue eyes squinting and pleased as he grinned; he leaned against the frame of the door. That one finally glanced past his double, and blinked at how they were all staring at them.
“Are…all of you…okay?”
Without his voice raised like his double, Calm sounded just like Zale when he was confused. Shouty and the shopkeeper broke off in their argument to stare over at Calm, and on seeing Calm’s confusion, finally turned to the would-be customers. Shouty also hesitated at how they were all staring at them, and the shopkeeper hesitantly waved a hand in front of Valere’s face.
“Umm…are you alright—?”
“Zale—Zales?” Valere croaked out, now clutching at the counter as she leaned forward to see the boys better.
The two boys and the shopkeeper went rigid, eyes snapping to Valere.
“How—how do you know—that name?” the shopkeeper’s voice sounded as tight as Valere’s had been, hazel eyes seemingly dazed.
“What?” That was Seraï, her voice modulating and wavering in an odd pitch as Yolande started to grin. The assassin’s first mate had grabbed hold of Seraï’s arm, rocking her captain back and forth with increasing excitement.
“They’re clones! Mini, off-brand Zales!” Valere could barely hear the excited whispering Yolande was hissing at Seraï, but the strangled choke was clear as day as the assassin reacted to the idea.
“Yu’mi, calm down, it might not be anything—” Calm was trying to get the shopkeep to sit back down, eyes raking over the group uncertainly.
“No! You know that’s not a common name here! It’s not even a common name back at that village!” the brunette yelled, shaking the boy off. She jabbed a finger at Valere, and the Solstice Warrior took an involuntary step back. “You! How do you know that name?!”
“Zale—Zale’s my…partner.”
“Partner.” Yu’mi hissed out a breath, eyes narrowing further. Shouty’s head snapped to the brunette, before he grabbed hold of the woman’s other arm as she swayed in place. Both he and Calm managed to get the woman to sit back down, both giving each other worried looks.
“Y-yes…we’re—” Valere gulped uncertainly at the glare the woman was giving her, uncertain if she should continue if the woman was getting this upset.
“You’re married, that kind of partner?” Calm interjected, his eyes seemed to be pleading as he stared at them all.
“Err…no, they’re not…” Teaks shuffled from foot to foot, and gave Valere a confused and sympathetic look as the Warrior faltered under the shopkeeper’s anger.
“Then what do you mean?” There was a wavering crack in the snapped question, Yu’mi’s mouth quivering for a second before tightening in a frown once more. Seraï shoved her way to the counter, shaking her first mate off and pushing both Valere and Teaks behind her. She gave the shopkeeper a glare of her own, red eyes narrowed and angry.
“She means that they’re Solstice Warriors, and Zale is her partner. What’s your problem?”
The two boys stiffened, and the brunette’s glare twisted before the woman’s lips wobbled away from the angry line. Yu’mi burst into tears, burying her face into her hands as the two boys hovered anxiously over her.
“Yu’mi! Don’t cry!”
“Please don’t cry!”
Seraï hesitated, but held her ground, crossing her arms and tipping her head to the side as she watched the meltdown. Valere groaned, giving the assassin a glare of her own as she watched the…mini-Zales comfort the shopkeeper. Seraï just shrugged one of her shoulders at her, unrepentant over the entire situation.
“Seraï.”
“She was attacking you for no reason. I won’t apologize for that.”
“Zale—h-he’s…he’s here?” Yu’mi sniffled as she wiped at her eyes, looking up at the group, eyes scanning over the rest of the shop. Valere tried to give the woman a smile.
“Er, at the Humble Boast, but yes, he’s here.”
That brought on another wave of tears, the boys now joining in and hugging the woman. The four women all helplessly stared at the rapidly degenerating situation, barely registering the gentle chime of the bell on the shop’s door. This was not how Valere expected this day to go…
“What is going on here? Yu’mi? Boys?”
Valere whirled at the deep voice, finding Teaks spinning with her, Seraï only twisting to the side to see who’d come into the store. Yolande gave a quiet, but ecstatic, whoop as the door shut with a quiet tinkle behind an older man. And Valere froze again, staring.
Now there was an older Zale, standing in the doorway to the shop, eyes wide as he took in the weeping boys and woman. He looked about the same height as her partner, and his golden blond hair was as mussed as the worst that Zale’s could get into. It made everything even more uncanny.
There was another blur of gold as one of the boys ran from behind the counter and wove deftly between the tables. Shouty ran heavily into the newcomer, causing them both to stagger back into the door.
“Da! Da! They know Zale! He’s here!”
“Wh-what? Say—say that again, Jeong?” The man gaped down at the crying boy in his arms, before his head rose to stare at the four women.
“Th-they k-kn-ow z-Zale, Da!” Yu’mi sobbed, hugging Calm close to her. The man continued to stare at her, and Valere couldn’t help but fidget under his blue gaze, rubbing her hands against her pants. Teaks reached over and gently grabbed hold of her hand, squeezing Valere’s sweaty palm in comfort. She shot a wobbly smile at the pink haired woman, before facing the man again.
“Ah—yes…I’m…I’m Valere,” Valere gave a weak wave, “Zale is my partner. These are my friends, Teaks, Seraï, and Yolande.”
The silence dragged on, only broken intermittently by Yu’mi’s crying. Valere bit her lip, uncertain on how to break the tension…and Seraï sighed and thumped her hand once on the counter, everyone jumping and staring at the short brunette.
“Uh…sorry,” The assassin managed to look uncomfortable at gaining everyone’s attention, but squared her shoulders as she took control of the situation. “Look, I know this — Zale thing — is apparently very shocking, but is there a better place we could be having this conversation…?”
That seemed to jumpstart the man, and he nodded as he turned and locked the door. He then gently and carefully steered his son through the store, before pausing before Valere. He stared at her, head tilted to the side as he took her in; the man’s eyes softened, and he gave her a weak smile and a pat on the shoulder.
“Valere, was it?”
“Yes!” Valere couldn’t help but jump slightly, back straightening as if she stood before Moraine for one of his tests. Teaks smiled weakly at her sudden snap to attention, giving the Warrior’s arm a pat as she gently stroked her hand with a thumb.
“My name is Haris. How about we all go into the back? There’s seating and a small kitchenette,” the man’s smile grew as Valere visibly tried to relax before him. “We can all have some tea and you can tell me about my son.”
Son. Oh. Of course.
It was the only thing that made the not-Zales make sense.
But…what were the odds? She’d never heard of anyone finding their birth family before.
She’d never considered…never gave it any thought…that there were families outside of Mooncradle for them. Valere closed her eyes and drew in a shaky breath in as the shock from everything started to wear off. Teaks gave her a gentle tug, and they all filed behind the man as he led them into the back room.
How was she going to explain this to Zale?