Chapter Text
“So, ladies, what do you think about these two dresses?” Furina asked her current visitors, Clorinde and Navia.
The two ladies in question glanced over each dress that was held up. The first, was a white dress with black trim. It had elegant floral patterns etched into the fabric adding a sense of depth to the garment. The other dress was a more plain yellow dress, more unassuming, and better suited for a more casual outing, while still retaining an air of dignity. Both were fine choices, truth be told.
“To be honest, I’m usually a fan of more subtle dresses when it comes to formal events, although, I don’t usually attend many to have a strong opinion on the matter,” Clorinde answered. “Though, truth be told, I prefer darker colors. Still, I think the white dress would look quite lovely,” she suggested.
Furina nodded, turning her gaze to Navia, who had her hand on her chin, deep in thought.
“Since this is a date,” she began, causing Furina to blush, eyes widening, “I think that the yellow dress would be more fun and inviting. Bright and cheerful. I would choose that one to liven up the mood,” offering her opinion, counter to what Clorinde had suggested, causing a deadlock.
Furina sighed, “This won’t do at all. We’re at an impasse here. This is special, and I need to be sure to have everything be perfect, down to the last detail! I have a reputation to maintain, after all!”
Navia and Clorinde exchanged a playful smirk with each other, causing Furina to fidget anxiously in anticipation for their assault.
“Well, you are right, Miss Furina,” Clorinde mused, “A date with the mysterious traveler from another world and the current talk of Fontaine would indeed be described as ‘special’,” she teased, causing Furina to huff in annoyance.
“Clorinde, really!-” Furina had started to admonish her, when Navia cut in.
“Ah, ah, ah! She’s right, you know! It’s a shame that it wasn’t me who was asked. I would have loved to spend a romantic night with my dearest partner,” Navia said wistfully, causing Furina to frown and narrow her eyes slightly.
It was well known to many in Fontaine that Navia, President of the Spina di Rosula, was quite enamored with Aether, the so called “Traveler” in question. They could be seen on and off on occasion going about either business or pleasure, and they got along quite well indeed. Some speculated that the two were seeing each other, however, that was quashed, at least for the present company in Furina’s home, when it was Furina, not Navia, that was asked out by Aether on a date.
The two girls had had a bit of a rivalry as of late, although it did not turn personal, or insulting between the two. To their credit, they had managed to keep things cordial between each other, even going so far as to talk about potential tactics that they could use against the Traveler to win him over.
Indeed, Aether had won over their affections in a most deviously natural way, his charisma being uncanny and yet smooth and natural all of the same. Really, it was his fault that they were smitten with him in the first place. He had to go and endear himself to each of them like the sly fox that he was, savagely assaulting their pure, maiden’s hearts.
Navia had received a great deal of tangible and emotional support from Aether during her time of greatest need. Aether had been there for her on many occasions, first, to discover the truth behind her father, Callas’ death, bringing the true culprit behind the serial disappearances case to light. It was so important to Navia, and she was truly grateful…but Aether didn’t stop there. He persisted in his attack to ensnare Navia’s affections, by being with her when she had lost both Melus and Silver, her dearly departed subordinates that were akin to family for her. Finally, he had defended her and stood by her side when an old associate of the Spina returned from the Fortress of Meropide and aimed to double cross not only her, but Poisson as well. He had gone above and beyond, in a great measure, of what could reasonably be expected of him. In truth, she had fallen hard for him.
However, there was a problem with this: Furina had been at the receiving end of Aether’s deviously romantic machinations as well.
For Furina’s part, her encounters with Aether were more mixed at the start, it wasn’t nearly as cordial, friendly, or natural as it was with Navia, something that Furina had lamented about. At first, she was playful toward the Traveler, not knowing what sort of part that they’d play in the Great Prophecy. She had kept her distance, and had observed the Traveler. Surely enough, with the passage of time, the Traveler proved themselves to be resourceful and diligent. They had defended Lyney and Lynette against Furina’s own accusations. True, Furina was utterly humiliated by this, but, it had shown that Aether was a man of principle, someone who had a strong sense of justice, defending members of the Fatui because it was the right thing to do. She secretly loved and adored that sense of righteousness.
Secondly, the Traveler and stayed by her side of their own accord, when the Knave, that despicably evil woman, had forced herself into Furina’s life after assaulting her in the night. She was utterly terrified and filled with dread, and so, when Aether showed up he was like a knight in shining armor, why, similar to the Lochknights that attended to Egeria, the first Hydro Archon. The sense of relief that she felt with his presence was nourishing and placating to say the least.
Additionally, Aether had stayed by Fontaine’s side, and, although she was thrashed once more by the skill of the Traveler in court (something that she’d have to remember incase she ever needed their services in the future), she had learned that it was part of a plan to try to avert the disaster of the Great Prophecy. Aether had gone with Neuvillette to face off against the great beast that had apparently been the cause of the Primordial Sea acting up. He stayed. He didn’t have to. Fontaine wasn’t his home… yet … and he had no ties nor reason to step in, and yet he did. Fontaine, a land that Furina loved and defended as best as she could. Aether had found it in his heart to lend his aid, selflessly. The sheer magnitude of relief that Furina felt, being liberated from her burden, was something that she could scarcely begin to put into words.
Finally, Aether had gotten her out of the rut that she had found herself in of self loathing and apathy. He had (though she was very annoyed and distraught at first, she might add) pushed her in a direction that she needed to go in, to begin healing. She found a new lease on life, and a new purpose in directing, rather than acting.
She had fallen hard for him, just as Navia had, but to be honest, she felt something deeper. For 500 years she had devoted herself to Fontaine, and to be blunt…she felt like she was owed some happiness, so if she needed to be a little aggressive in the pursuit of said happiness, then so be it.
Furina grunted in irritation, bringing the attention back to her, “Ugh! At this rate I’ll never choose the perfect outfit! This is my one shot and I can’t afford any missteps or mistakes! I may never get such a perfect chance again and there’s so much else that needs to be done!”
Navia frowned, “Well, you could always ask Chiori to put together something for you. You have how long before your date with Aether again, Furina?” Navia asked.
Furina’s expression brightened a bit by Navia’s suggestion, “Two weeks, on Saturday in the evening. Yes, that might work! That might just be enough time for Chiori to make a dress for me! It’s a bit short notice, but I think that I can convince her!” Furina smiled a devious smile and pumped her fist in a show of confidence, no doubt, a residual effect from her acting career, causing both Navia and Clorinde to roll their eyes.
Navia coughed, “Ahem. My dear demoiselle, remember that I’m agreeing to table our little rivalry for now out of respect for you, so I’d appreciate if you weren’t so enthusiastic, given that I’m trying to genuinely help you out here.”
Furina was shook out of her little celebration, and nodded, “Yes, I understand, and I do appreciate it. I must admit that I am a bit surprised that you are being so cooperative though, Navia,” Furina remarked, with a hint of curiosity.
Navia smirked, causing Furina a bit of caution, “Well, it is indeed civility for now, however, I just think that like in chess, if you allow your opponent the first move, they do get an advantage, but they also make the first mistake. Realistically speaking, if you managed to royally screw up, I could learn from it, and avoid it in the future,” she shrugged.
Furina’s fists clenched and she bared her teeth in irritation, “So that’s how it is!”
Clorinde raised her arms to pacify the situation, “Ladies, remember decorum…”
Navia crossed her arms and turned her gaze away, “There were several times of which I could have struck first, but, I decided to let nature take its course. I do not intend to do any sort of foul play whatsoever, and in truth, I have been quite generous. I’m just stating the obvious, is all,” she pointed out.
Furina cleared her throat and eased up her pose, relaxing and calming herself, “Very well. I shall take your charity with great zeal and capitalize upon it, Navia my dear. I intend to win, and so I will take the advice and make my way over to Chioriya Boutique, I bid you two adieu for now!” Furina announced, putting the dresses away and departing.
After she left, Navia stood up, dragging Clorinde to her feet, “Come on Clorinde, we have work to do!”
Clorinde arched an eyebrow, “For what? Where are we going?”
Navia held out her arms enthusiastically, “Why, to prepare for the counterattack once Furina fails to capture my Aether’s affections, of course!”
Clorinde sighed, putting one of her palms to her forehead, “You two are absurd,” she accused.
Navia wagged her finger, “No, no, Clorinde! We’re in love!”
“Same thing!”
Furina walked through the door to Chioriya Boutique, the ringing of a small bell signaling her entrance to the shop. Chiori was busy making some alterations to a garment, and upon hearing the bell, briefly glanced behind her, noticing a new guest and hopefully, potential customer. She gave a brief nod to Furina.
“Hey there, I’m finishing up some work on this outfit. I should be done pretty soon, so why don’t you either take a seat on one of the chairs over there, or, if you want, you can browse my designs if you need some inspiration,” she suggested.
Chiori was straight to the point and didn’t mince words nor make small talk. Furina could appreciate that, to a point, even if that did earn her a reputation in Fontaine for not necessarily following the “script of Fontainian society.” Truth be told, it was actually a good thing in this moment, as Furina was still attempting to calm her nerves for what she was about to do: have a custom designed outfit for her date with Aether.
She decided to walk around and check out some of the designs, as she didn’t really have an idea of what she wanted. She had some vague concepts: for one, she wanted the outfit to be comfortable, as she didn’t know exactly what her date that Aether was planning would involve, so she wanted to be prepared for a variety of scenarios. Of course, she also wanted it to be stylish, with a modern flair to it. She didn’t want it to be a dress, if it could be avoided, as it would be too cumbersome, in her opinion. Besides, the place that Aether might take her would make her overdressed, depending on the kind of dress that she might wear. She wanted the outfit to be something that would exude a sense of “fun” and "spontaneity”, she assumed that the Traveler liked new experiences, given their adventurer’s lifestyle, so she wanted to match that energy and not appear stuffy or set in her ways.
After a few moments, true to her word, Chiori had finished and approached Furina.
Chiori crossed her arms, “So, welcome to Chioriya Boutique, Furina, how can I help you today?” she enquired.
Furina took a deep breath, and releasing it, she explained her purpose, and what she had in mind for her outfit.
Chiori furrowed her brows in thought, a hand on her chin for a few moments in thought, “I see. So you want something not too restrictive, modern, and highlighting a sense of fun, perhaps youthfulness, is that so?”
Furina nodded, “Yes, it’s for an important event that I have coming up.”
“Might I ask what specifically the kind of event is? It will help me in figuring out the details of your outfit, if I know precisely what you have in mind and what you need it for.”
Furina gulped, causing Chiori to arch an eyebrow. On one hand, if she withheld information, then she might not get the best outfit from Chiori, as she couldn’t use the full breadth of her abilities and imagination. On the other hand, it was sooo embarrassing! Telling her about her upcoming date with Aether, could she really do that? She remembered Navia’s words. She was stirred to action by them. It was do or die.
“Hehe, well, you see… I was recently approached by the Traveler and,” she began, causing a slight smirk to appear on the designer’s face, much to Furina’s annoyance and embarrassment. She continued, “He had asked me to accompany him two weeks from now, and I did not wish to be rude, so I accepted.”
Furina’s cheeks burned. She was totally blushing.
“I see, I see, so you have a hot date with the Traveler, do you, and you need a cute outfit to drive his male hormones wild with lust, is that it?”
Furina tensed up, in protest, “Well! You see, it’s just that-!”
Chiori interrupted her with a wave, “You don’t need to hide anything from me. I think that it’s cute.”
“You do? I mean! That’s beside the point!”
Chiori laughed, “Okay, okay, I think that I’ve teased you enough. I think that I have an idea of what I want to do. Let me take some measurements and we can discuss the details. You said your date is in two weeks, yeah?”
“Yes, quite so!” Furina beamed, forgetting herself for the moment.
Chiori took out some measuring tapes and a note pad to jot down Furina’s measurements as she took them, “I can definitely have it ready in time. The Traveler has done me a great service recently, one that was personal and could have dealt a pretty big blow to my reputation in the lead up to Fontaine’s Fashion Week. Though I don’t know the full details, it seems that you’ve also done Fontaine a good service, so I don’t mind doing a bit of a rush order this time.”
Chiori finished up with the measurements and settled the price of the outfit.
“Thank you, Chiori, I really appreciate it!”
Chiori shook her head, “Eh, don’t thank me just yet, I can design for you an amazing outfit, but the toughest work for you is just ahead. For what it’s worth, I hope that it works out and turns into something. You two are good people. Besides, it’s just smart for business, after all.”
Furina tilted her head slightly, “How so?” she asked.
Chiori grinned, “Well, if you two get hitched, obviously you’ll remember this day and get your wedding outfits tailored here, and then after, perhaps some children’s clothing down the line,” she teased.
Furina turned bright red as she hurriedly left, Chiori’s laughter following her out the door.
A few moments later, the door opened again, this time revealing a certain pink haired journalist had entered with an air of harmless mischief about her.
Chiori arched an eyebrow at her, “oh, hey Charlotte. What’s up?”
Charlotte cleared her throat, “Miss Chiori, hello there! I just happened to notice Lady Furina leaving your shop, and she seemed quite flustered. Now, I was wondering if you knew anything about that,” she asked.
Chiori tapped her chin in faux thought, “Well, maybe I do, or maybe I don’t, who can say, really?” she shrugged.
Charlotte nodded, understanding the situation, “Ah, I understand. Well, I just happen to have this bag of Mora, and I just didn’t know how to put it to good use. You know, some alchemists use mora as a catalyst, so perhaps it might be used to jog your memory,” she suggested, putting the bag up on the counter.
Chiori eyed the bag, “Ah, well what do you know? I seem to remember a few details just now.”
Charlotte grinned, “Is that so…do tell, if you please!”
END CHAPTER ONE