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“Oh, Silver!” Lilia called out cheerfully as he was about to leave the Diasomnia lounge. Silver, sitting on the couch, looked up from his book. “What is it, Father?” he asked.
“I’m going shopping today. Can you tell the others that I’ll be back in a few hours?” Lilia said. “I need to get some groceries for the dorm…and find a new outfit for the Light Music Club’s concert this week.”
Silver stood up. “But, Father…you already have plenty of clothes for your club,” he pointed out. “Why do you need a new outfit?”
“Well…I recall you telling me that some of those pieces were a bit garish,” Lilia explained.
“You brought home a bunch of animal costumes,” Silver replied, eyes narrowing. “And you settled on an owl costume for the last concert…”
“It was a killer costume, though!” Lilia chuckled, his eyes sparkling with mischief. “I even added some ribbons and jewelry to make it pop! But this time, I’m in the mood for something different. Something that’ll really show off my cuteness and mystique.”
He enthusiastically grabbed Silver’s hand. “Oh, I know! Why don’t you join me, Silver? I could use some extra help.”
“But, Father,” Silver tried to protest. “Are you sure? I don’t know anything about fashion…”
“Come on, it’ll be fun!” Lilia insisted. “We can make a day of it! I’ll even make mushroom risotto for you this week~”
Silver lightly winced at this. “Thank you, but you don’t have to do that…”
“Oh, hush! It’s nothing!” The fae pulled the silver-haired boy along. “Now, let’s go! Off to Foothill Town!”
*
Lilia skipped happily down the road into town, humming as Silver followed behind him. “Where should we start?” Lilia mused, tapping his chin. “Groceries or clothes shopping?”
“Do you have anything on your grocery list that needs to be refrigerated?” Silver asked.
Lilia pulled a wrinkly piece of paper from his pocket. He scanned it quickly. “Nope, nothing that needs chilling!” He stuffed the list back in his pocket with a grin. “Then it’s settled! Clothes shopping it is! Now, where to go…”
Lilia’s eyes darted around, searching for the perfect shop. He spotted one with large windows showcasing mannequins dressed in dark clothing and leather accessories. His crimson eyes sparkled.
“Ooh, that store looks interesting!” Lilia exclaimed, practically bouncing on his toes. “Let’s go try on some outfits!”
Silver was surprised. “Together? Are you sure about this?”
“Absolutely!” Lilia beamed. “Now, come on!” The bat fae grabbed Silver’s hand and pulled him into the store filled with punk and goth-style clothing, excitement radiating from him.
Once inside, Lilia perused through each section of the store, picking several articles of clothing for him and Silver to try on. Silver was unsure about it at first; these particular clothes weren’t really his style. In fact, he didn’t even have a particular style in regards to clothing; to him, it didn’t matter as long as it was durable and easy to move in.
After he’d finished picking out several items, Lilia handed some of the clothes and a few accessories to Silver. “These are the items that are your size,” he said. “Now, the dressing rooms should be…over there!” His crimson eyes fell on a row of red curtains in the back.
The two of them headed over to the dressing rooms. “I’ll be right here when you’re ready,” Lilia said, slipping into the dressing room. “I can’t wait to see how you rock those clothes!”
Once Lilia disappeared behind the curtain, Silver stared at the punk-goth outfits piled in his arms. He moved into the adjacent dressing room. Setting down the eclectic mix of clothing, he scanned the items: pink plaid pants with a matching tie, gray cargo pants, a white sleeveless button-up, a leather vest adorned with buckles, a T-shirt featuring a faded pink and blue design with a sword graphic, an electric blue crop top flaunting music notes and a crown, a fishnet top, and a color-changing letterman jacket decorated with crown and dragon patches. Accessories included a leather choker, studded black boots, and a headband decorated with dark pink roses.
Silver examined each piece closely. Which combinations would work? He lifted the cargo pants and plaid tie, holding them against himself in the mirror. “No…that probably won’t work,” he muttered, setting the tie down and reaching for the blue shirt and fishnet top instead.
After some deliberation, he tried on his chosen outfit: the blue crop top and fishnet with the cargo pants that hung a little too low on his hips. He added the vest and choker, unsure of the overall look. After adjusting his pants, he headed to Lilia’s dressing room and called out, “Can I come in?”
“Absolutely!” Lilia's voice rang from behind the curtain. He pulled the boy inside, then stepped back a bit to admire Silver’s ensemble. “Wow! You look amazing!”
“Do you think so?” Silver asked , his brow furrowed. “I’m not sure this really suits me…”
“Trust me, it looks great on you!” Lilia replied, twirling playfully. “Now, what do you think of my outfit?”
Silver took a good look at Lilia’s ensemble. The bat fae wore an oversized green jacket decorated with dragon and bat patches, a black crop top with magenta accents, black shorts, mismatched striped stockings, a choker, and boots with small bat wings on the sides. “It’s…interesting,” Silver answered.
“I know, right?” Lilia said. “It brings out my fierce charm rather well…but I should try on the other outfits to make sure.”
The old fae spent the next hour cycling through each outfit he’d found, happily showing each and every one of them to Silver. The boy was rather confused by some of Lilia’s choices:
A tank top, striped arm warmers, and a pair of baggy jeans with holes in them, showing off fishnet stockings.
A ruffled top with a green ribbon bow, a corset, tight black shorts, and yet another pair of mismatched stockings.
An oversized sweater with a dripping pattern, a studded choker, pink plaid pants, and fingerless gloves…among others.
In the end, Lilia ended up buying almost every single item he’d picked, along with some of the clothes he’d chosen for Silver. As the two of them left the store, carrying a few bags each, Lilia was beaming with excitement.
“That was a lot of fun!” said the fae as he strolled down the street with a wide smile on his face. “Now, off to the market!”
*
The grocery market in Foothill Town was bustling with life at this time of day. Lilia liked going to the market; the shelves were packed with lots of colorful fruits and vegetables, as well as dozens of goods imported from every corner of the world. Be it spices from the Scalding Sands, pasta from Ultramarine City, or bright ruby berries from the Shaftlands, there was no shortage of wares.
“Let’s see…I’ll need to stock up on some things for the pantry,” Lilia muttered to himself as he scanned the aisles. “And I’ll need ingredients for tonight’s dinner, too. After all, I did promise I’d make my sweet boy risotto!”
The fae immediately darted towards the produce aisle, intending to find some suitable mushrooms. Silver quickly followed after him. He had to keep an eye on him while he was picking ingredients, after all.
Lilia observed the large selection of mushrooms in front of him. “Let’s see…what seems like the more nutritious choice?” He picked up a package of white mushrooms and a package of baby bella mushrooms. “The white ones are packed with vitamins and minerals. So are the brown ones, but they have a much richer flavor…” Then he picked up a large mushroom with a thick stalk that had a bunch of tinier mushrooms growing out of it. “This Matango mushroom…Jade told me it has a nice texture and a smooth, buttery flavor…” After thinking for a moment, he threw all three varieties of mushrooms in his basket. “Oh, what the heck. I’ll just get all three!” The bat fae eagerly ran off to the next aisle.
“Father, wait!” Silver called out. Knowing things would soon get out of hand, he ran after Lilia. Someone had to keep him from getting distracted and buying any strange ingredients, after all.
“I’ll need some rice, too…” Lilia said as he strolled down the aisles. “And also some white wine…or would a red wine work better? It’d give it a different flavor, but it also has more antioxidants…hmm?”
Lilia’s sights soon landed on several dark jugs on the shelf. “No way… could it be?”
“It is!” His crimson eyes sparkled as he picked up one of the jugs. “They carry Briar Valley berry juice here, too? And at such a great price!” He grinned. “I must grab a jug! No, make that two. I’ll get one of the non-alcoholic ones, too.”
Of course, Lilia had tried suggesting some unusual ingredients for the risotto he was planning to make, but Silver vetoed most of them. He also had to talk him out of buying red wine instead of white wine, despite Lilia’s insistence that red wine was “healthier.”
Lilia pouted, but he couldn’t stay upset. His mood brightened when Silver dropped a bag of old-fashioned licorice candy into the basket. “I was just running out of those candies!” He reached up and gave Silver a soft pat on the head. “You’re such a thoughtful boy.”
After they paid for the groceries, Lilia’s face sported a wide grin. “How about we grab something to drink before heading back? We can hit the stand by the port.”
Silver nodded. “Sounds good.”
*
“I’ll have an iced cappuccino with strawberry syrup,” Lilia said to the shopkeeper at the small coffee stand by the port. Silver added, “Just a coffee for me. With milk, please.”
The shopkeeper nodded and got to work preparing their drinks. Once they were ready, they grabbed their cups and headed back down the road toward Night Raven College.
“Today was so much fun!” Lilia exclaimed, taking a sip of his vibrant, blood-red drink. “We got lots of cool new clothes, and I have everything I need for dinner tonight!”
Silver was a bit concerned by this. “You know…I could help you with dinner if you’d like—”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that! We’ve had a busy day. You should take it easy when we get back,” Lilia replied, wrapping his arm around Silver’s affectionately. He gave a loving gaze to the boy. “I really enjoyed having your company today. Thank you, Silver.”
Silver smiled back at the fae, his expression warm. “And thank you for inviting me out, Father.”