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“….rin.”
“..ffrin.”
“Siffrin!”
Siffrin slowly opened their eye and turned to face the entrance to his room, where a small but easily recognizable figure was standing with their arms crossed.
Bonnie looked at them with a hint of annoyance. “Took you long enough, ‘Frin! Me, ‘Nille and the others were waiting for you!”
Siffrin sat up in his bed as they stretched.
“You could’ve woken me up sooner, Bonbon.”
“Well…” Bonnie looked a little upset. “…you’re usually up by now, so we were a bit worried when you didn’t come downstairs a few minutes ago.”
“Heh.” Siffrin chuckled a little as he pried himself away from his blanket and moved himself to the edge of his bed. “Sorry, Bonnie. Guess I was extra comfy this time.”
Bonnie’s annoyance quickly turned into happiness as they uncrossed their arms. “Nah, it’s cool!”
Bonnie’s smile and eyes lit up instantly. “Come on! Me and ‘Nille are making breakfast!” They held out their hand, wanting to help their family member out of bed.
Siffrin smiled softly as they took Bonnie’s hand and stood up. “(Them and ‘Nille are making breakfast this time? Oh, this is gonna be good!)” Siffrin thought to themself. Bonnie began walking towards the stairs, excitedly motioning for him to come with them. Siffrin stretched one more time, and then followed their younger family member.
Siffrin whispered to themself as they followed Bonnie downstairs. “(Wake up, Siffrin, it’s the weekend, and you’ve got breakfast to eat!)”
—————————————————————
When Siffrin got downstairs, two things immediately caught their attention. Those being the sounds of his family’s voices, and the absolutely delicious scent of Bonnie and Pétronille’s cooking.
Siffrin closed their eyes, taking in the smell. “Stars, the food smells incredible!”
Mirabelle heard the comment and happily walked towards him and Bonnie. “Good morning, Siffrin!
I’m glad to see that you’re awake!”
The feelings buddies exchanged a short but sweet hug. In the year since everyone moved in together here in Bambouche, Siffrin had become much more comfortable with touch and physical affection in general. Siffrin somewhat rested his head on Mirabelle’s shoulder, still in the process of escaping sleep’s clutches as they spoke tiredly, but happily nonetheless. “Good morning to you too, Mira.”
As the hug ended, Pétronille turned her head to face them from the kitchen. “G’mMorning, Siff! You must’ve been tired last night because you almost never sleep this late.”
Siffrin quietly chuckled as Bonnie decided to chime in. “Yeah, they were, ‘Nille. I had to say their name three times before they finally woke up! I thought I was gonna have to scream at the top of my lungs!.”
Pétronille turned to Bonnie as they returned to the kitchen. “Thank you, Bonbon. It was nice of you to do that for us!”
“Yes, thank you for doing that, Boniface.” Another voice spoke from across the room.
Siffrin turned his head and saw Odile sitting at the table, reading a book she’d checked out from the nearby library as she waited for breakfast. She looked back at him and gave him a sly smile. “Good to see you up and moving, Siffrin. If you had slept any longer, I would have considered planning your funeral.”
Siffrin chuckled and teased back at her. “Aw, I’m hurt, ‘Dile.”
Odile’s expression became more kind and gentle as she walked up to him and ruffled their hair. “That aside, good morning, Siffrin. I hope that you slept well.”
Mirabelle, now sitting at the table, suddenly looked around with a bit of worry and a lot of confusion. “Wait… where’s Isabeau?”
Her question was almost instantly answered by a loud yawn and the creaking of a wooden staircase. Bonnie looked towards the stairs with annoyance. “Dang it, I knew I should’ve checked to see if Isa was still asleep!”
Isabeau walked down the stairs, stretching one of his arms out and rubbing his eyes with the other. “It’s alright, Bonnie. This one’s on me.”
Mirabelle couldn’t help but let out a small giggle. “I never thought I’d see the day where you woke up after Siffrin, Isa! Change, you must have been out like a light!”
Isabeau let out a chuckle of his own. “Heheh. You’re not wrong, Mira. I haven’t slept like that in years! I can definitely say I feel well rested, that’s for sure.”
Siffrin went over to Isabeau and quickly kissed him on the cheek, then gave him a cute smile. “Good morning, Isa!”
Isabeau, now slightly flustered, grinned as his cheeks became beet dark. “G-good morning to you t-too, Sif!”
The two of them had been dating for a few months, but Siffrin somehow managed to make each and every cheek kiss unexpected.
Pétronille rolled her eyes. “Alright, save the cute romance for later, you two. Besides, you should come to the table because-”
“-IT’S BREAKFAST TIME!” Bonnie excitedly finished their sister’s sentence.
Everyone smiled.
Odile closed her book, putting it on the nearby couch. “Oh, I’m going to enjoy this!”
Mirabelle’s eyes lit up. “Amazing! I can’t wait to try it!”
Isabeau composed himself from the cheek kiss and then pumped his fists. “Alright! Come on, Sif! Let’s eat!”
Siffrin smiled ear to ear as they took a deep breath. “I’m gonna love this!”
———
Each bite that Siffrin took was better than the last. The textures, the flavors, the smell, it was all so tasty. They had to keep themself from tearing into it like a wild animal.
As he swallowed a bite of the delicious food on his plate, Siffrin looked up at both Pétronille and Bonnie. “Stars above, this is amazing!”
Bonnie let out a tiny gasp as their eyes lit up. “Really?! I did that good, ‘Frin?”
Siffrin was in the middle of another bite when Bonnie asked them that, so they nodded their head up and down furiously.
Isabeau smiled as he took a bite of his breakfast. “It really is incredible, Bonnie! You and ‘Nille did such a good job! I can’t remember the last time I had pancakes that were this good!”
Bonnie grinned as they turned to Pétronille and extended their hand. “YES! WE DID A GOOD JOB, ‘NILLE!”
Pétronille chuckled and gave Bonnie a high five. “We sure did, Bonbon!”
On the other side of the table, Mirabelle and Odile were chatting as they ate. Mirabelle glanced over at the couch for a moment as she swallowed the last bite of her breakfast. “So, Odile, I saw that you finished reading Celestial Mountain. How was the ending?”
Odile looked towards Mirabelle as she washed down her food with some tea that she had made. “It… was actually really good! Madilyn made up with that other part of herself, and they managed to reach the mountain’s summit together. Quite honestly, it might be one of the best books I’ve read recently! I heard that it has a sequel, so I may see if I can check that out next.”
Pétronille looked towards Odile with a bit of a frown. “Sorry, Odile, but I think that the library only has the first book…” Her face suddenly lit up as she remembered something. “…wait! The shopping district in the nearby town should have a book store! The library may not have the sequel, but they might have it!”
Siffrin was confused for a moment, but he quickly remembered that that was what they’d all planned for this weekend. Mirabelle looked at him, now slightly perplexed. “Siffrin, did you forget about that already? We just planned this all out yesterday!”
Siffrin, now a bit ashamed of themself, let out an embarrassed laugh. “Sorry, Mira. I was so busy scarfing down breakfast that I guess it just slipped my mind.”
Bonnie paused for a second before letting out a proud giggle. If that wasn’t a testament to how good their cooking was, then they didn’t know what was!
Siffrin thought back to when everyone had decided to turn this into a tradition. It was a year ago, about two months after they’d all saved Vaugarde and ended the time loops. They had all decided to set the whole “being a family” thing in stone by moving in together in Bambouche early that week. Then, they went to see a play that weekend. It was one of the best experiences they all had together. After getting back to the house that night, Bonnie had been the one to bring up the idea of making doing stuff on the weekends into a tradition, and they all loved the idea so much that they went through with it! And thus, the tradition, which Bonnie called “Weekend Hangouts” was born.
Odile let out a pleased sigh as she finished the last of her tea. “Well, speaking of that, is everyone finished with breakfast?”
Everyone replied with some variation of yes. Siffrin, having been snapped out of his trip down memory lane, grinned and gave a thumbs up. “Yep!”
Mirabelle stood up and pushed in her chair with a smile. “In that case, I think we should all get ready for our day out!”
“YEAH! SHOPPING TIME!” Bonnie raised their fists in the air in excitement.
“Alright! I’ll be back down in a few minutes!” Isabeau went upstairs to his room to get changed.
Siffrin just giggled out of joy as he went upstairs to change as well.
They’d been wanting a nice outfit that they could go out in, and had heard that the shopping district that everyone was going to had some really nice options.
—————————————————————
It had taken them about fifteen minutes, but they were all here! Everyone, with the exception of Bonnie and Pétronille, was left stunned at the variety of shops that the district had to offer.
Isabeau’s jaw dropped as he looked around. “Change, this is both amazing and terrifying!”
Mirabelle was also in shock. She had to take a moment to breathe and collect her thoughts. “Not even the shopping districts that we all passed through in some other parts of Vaugarde were as varied as this! Change, this is incredible!”
Bonnie smiled pridefully, having been here plenty of times in the past. “Yeah! All of those places were boring. But here? You can find a lot of stuff here!”
Siffrin was completely and utterly speechless. This was a lot for them to take in, and Odile almost immediately noticed that. “Siffrin? Are you okay? You look… noticeably stressed out.”
Siffrin nearly jumped out of their skin when Odile said that. They had been so fixated on the district in front of them, that the world around them had nearly disappeared. “I- this- this is all just a lot to take in. I can’t remember ever seeing anything like this!”
Pétronille, noticing that half of her family was overwhelmed by everything that they were seeing, immediately had an idea. “Hey! Why don’t Bonnie and I show you all around?”
Bonnie smiled and extended a hand out to Siffrin. “Yeah! Me and ‘Nille can show you all around! That way, this won’t be so scary!”
Siffrin took a deep breath and smiled as they took Bonnie’s hand. “I would like that.”
———
As they were shown around the district, Siffrin, Mirabelle, Isabeau and even Odile couldn’t help but to be in awe of the variety of shops on display. Siffrin marveled at the clothes shop, which appeared to have stuff that looked almost Ka Buen! Mirabelle almost immediately noticed an art supply shop, which excited her, seeing how she’d taken up art as a hobby over the last year. Isabeau’s interest was piqued by a game store. He’d been wanting to get some new games for him and the rest of the family to play, since all they had were some card games and checkers. The book store almost immediately caught Odile’s attention.
Once they all stopped to rest at a bench, Isabeau wondered what the plan was. “So, where are we going first? Personally, I want to check out that game store. We really need more than just some card games.”
Siffrin immediately knew what their plan was. “I was wanting to check out the clothes shop. Some of the stuff there looked… really pretty.” Siffrin blushed a little as they finished their sentence.
Everyone knew what Odile was here for. She didn’t have to say anything for everyone to know where she wanted to go.
Pétronille looked over at a small supply store. “I’ve been needing to get a new pan. I think our current one has just about run its course.”
That just left Bonnie. Odile turned to them. “What about you, Boniface? Do you have anything in mind?”
Bonnie shook their head. “No. I just went with you all because I know you wouldn’t let me stay home alone.”
Mirabelle looked concerned for a moment, hearing that everyone, herself included, wanted to go to different places at the same time. That quickly turned to a smile when she then got an idea. “Since we all want to go somewhere different, why don’t we all split up into two groups?”
Siffrin nodded his head. “That could work!”
Everyone else gave a sign of approval.
Mirabelle looked around as she formed the teams. “Okay, since the art, clothes and game shops are all close to each other, Siffrin, Isabeau and I will group up! Odile can group up with Pétronille, and Bonnie…”
Mirabelle stopped, realizing that she should let them choose. “Who do you want to go with, Bonbon?”
Bonnie thought hard, but they just couldn’t choose who to go with. This was their family for Change’s sake! They wanted to spend time with everyone!
Odile, noticing the stressed look on Bonnie’s face, came up with her own plan. “How about this, Boniface? If you come with Pétronille and I, I’ll get you whatever you want.?”
Bonnie’s face lit up. “Deal!”
Isabeau laughed. “It was that easy, huh?”
Bonnie looked at him sternly. “If you want me to go with you, then you’ll have to do better than Odile.”
Odile teased Isabeau. “That’s one point for me, Isabeau.”
Mirabelle smiled as she then explained the next part of the plan. “Okay, that settles that! In that case, let’s all meet up here when we’re done, okay?”
Everyone nodded in agreement. As the two groups walked towards their destinations, Siffrin turned to the group of Odile, Pétronille, and Bonnie. “See you back here, you three!”
—————————————————————
Mirabelle perused the art supplies, trying to find everything that she had gone there for. So far, she’d gotten everything she needed. New pencils, more erasers, and even a pretty in-depth book on drawing tips and tricks. But she was still missing one crucial thing. “Have either of you been able to find a sketchbook?”
Mirabelle had searched the shelves top to bottom trying to find a new sketchbook for her art, but she’d had no luck. Thus, Isabeau and Siffrin had offered to help Mirabelle in her search.
Isabeau shook his head, looking a bit saddened. “No luck yet, Mira. But, we’re still looking!”
“Still, thank you, Isabeau!” Mirabelle gave him a soft smile. She then turned to Siffrin. “What about you, Siffrin? Any luck?”
Siffrin, who appeared to be lost in thought , turned to her. “I don’t think there are any left… unless…”
They went over to the shelves where the pencils and ink were stored and looked around for a minute. “Hah! I had a feeling it would be here!”
Siffrin held out a brand new sketchbook. “Here you go, Mira!”
Mirabelle’s eyes lit up as she took the sketchbook. “Eee! Thank you, Siffrin!”
Isabeau looked confused. “Why was there a sketchbook here?”
Siffrin shrugged. He’d seen a few instances of this kind of stuff during the family’s journey in Vaugarde; people deciding that they didn’t want to buy something they’d picked up, and then putting it on a random shelf for whatever reason.
The three brushed it off as they went to pay for everything.
—————————————————————
Pétronille looked at the various woks and pans that the supply store had to offer. She felt stuck. Very, very stuck.
Odile looked at her with concern. “Is everything okay, Pétronille? You look anxious.”
Pétronille turned to Odile as she anxiously rubbed the back of her head. “I am, but I feel like it’s over nothing.”
Odile looked back and forth between Pétronille and the utensils that hung on the shelves in front of them. “You can’t decide which one you want, can you?”
Pétronille blushed in embarrassment. “Y-yeah. They all look so nice, and I want something that I think everyone would like!”
Odile thought for a moment, and then had an idea. “Boniface!”
Bonnie, who was busy looking at other cooking utensils in amazement, heard their family member and rushed over to her. “What do you need, ‘Dile?”
Odile pointed to Pétronille, who was a bit confused at first, but it almost instantly clicked for her. “I’m having trouble deciding which one to get. Do you want to choose, Bonbon?”
Bonnie thought for a second. Their face soured a bit as they turned to Odile. “Will this count as the “anything” I can get?”
Odile shook her head. “Since you’re helping your sister choose this, I won’t count it as that.”
Bonnie’s face immediately lit back up, and they immediately got to work. They scanned each wok and pan from top to bottom. Bonnie’s eyes sparkled as they pointed at a specific frying pan. “That one!”
Pétronille was once again confused. “Bonbon? If you don’t mind me asking, why this one?”
Bonnie then explained why they chose that specific wok. “It looked like that pan I used while I was traveling with everyone last year!”
Odile looked closely at the pan, and then back at Bonnie. “Are you sure that you want this one, Boniface?”
Bonnie looked at her with what could’ve been their most serious face ever. “Yes.”
Pétronille smiled and ruffled Bonnie’s hair with one hand, holding her new pan with the other. “I think it’s a great choice, Bonbon!”
Bonnie smiled and giggled.
—————————————————————
Isabeau looked over the various games that the store had with a groan. The problem wasn’t that they looked uninteresting. In fact, it was the opposite! “Gah! Every game looks so interesting! I don’t know what to choose!”
Mirabelle, seeing her family member’s struggle, immediately went into action, searching the shelves from top to bottom. She was about to fall into the same predicament as Isabeau, until she came across a particular table top game. “Change, they have this?!”
Isabeau turned around, wondering what Mirabelle’s strangely happy confusion was all about. “What did you find, Mira?”
Mirabelle spun around to face Isabeau. Her eyes were lit up with happiness as she held the table top game out in front of her. “I never thought I’d see it again, but it’s here! They have Monsters & Mansions!”
Isabeau’s eyes widened in happiness. “Monsters & Mansions?! Change, it’s been years since I played that and-”
Isabeau stopped as he processed the fact that Mirabelle was also a fan of his all time favorite game. His eyes now beamed with excitement. “Mira, you’re also an M&M fan?!”
Mirabelle grinned with excitement. “Yes! I remember being a part of a club centered around it when I was younger. Me and some other housemaidens would go to the library every weekend and spend almost an entire day just playing through our campaigns!”
Her expression soured a little. “But, eventually, we stopped playing. I guess we all just drifted apart.”
Isabeau gave her a soft smile. ”Well, we could probably convince the rest of the family to play a campaign with us.”
Mirabelle’s smile returned. “That sounds like an awesome idea. I think Siffrin would love it!”
Isabeau’s eyes widened. “Speaking of Siffrin, we should probably hurry up! I think we’ve kept him waiting long enough!”
—————————————————————
Over at the book store, Odile was going through every shelf, examining each row from left to right in search of Celestial Mountain’s sequel.
She took a sharp breath, trying to keep herself from getting unnecessarily frustrated as she quietly talked to herself. “Where is it?! I’ve looked through almost every shelf here, and I’ve found everything but Celestial Mountain!”
She wasn’t lying. She’d gone through most of the store’s shelves, and she’d found everything from a story of a bug trying to kill an evil radiant goddess, to a tale of a child meeting a society of monsters beneath the Earth’s surface, to even a book about a heroic knight that wielded a crabbing shovel!
Odile sighed, her expression saddening. “Well, if it’s not here, then I should find Pétronille and Bonnie and-“
“Hey, ‘Dile! I think I found your book!” Odile’s quiet monologue was suddenly interrupted by the sound of Bonnie’s excited voice.
Odile’s ears perked up, and her head eagerly spun around to face Bonnie. “You found it?! Where?!”
Bonnie was surprised for a moment, but they quickly took her hand. “Come on! It’s near the back!”
When the two of them got to the back end of the store, Bonnie excitedly pointed at one of the shelves. “There! There! It's Cel-celes…”
Odile helped them out. “Celestial Mountain?”
Bonnie grinned. “Yeah! Ce-lest-i-al Mountain!”
Odile looked at the shelf that Bonnie had pointed to, and Celestial Mountain was there! Next to it was the sequel, and…
Odile let out a small gasp, her eyes now lit up like a light as she now wore a giddy smile on her face. “It’s a trilogy! I need to buy all three of these! I can’t believe it-”
Bonnie perked up, now bearing a smug smile. “You really want those books, don’t you ‘Dile?”
Odile froze. She didn’t realize how excited she’d gotten until Bonnie pointed it out to her. She hadn’t been this excited for something in decades!
Odile cleared her throat as she attempted to act nonchalant about her current predicament. “Yes, I do.”
Bonnie continued to smugly grin, and Odile, now slightly embarrassed, realized that they weren’t going to buy the act. She smiled softly and ruffled Bonnie’s hair in happiness. “Thank you for helping me find these, Boniface.”
Bonnie giggled as their hair continued to be ruffled by their family member. “Heehee, you’re welcome, ‘Dile!”
—————————————————————
Siffrin looked at the varied selection of outfits that the clothes store had to offer, and they sighed. “Some of them look bland, others are hard on the eyes, and some of them are just… too much for me.”
Siffrin was looking for something that they could go out in, and this place had plenty of those, but their issues with the outfits in question were making this hard for him.
Mirabelle gently clasped one of Siffrin’s hands, giving them a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, Siffrin. I’m sure there’s an outfit here that you’ll like! We just have to find it!”
Isabeau clasped their other hand, bearing a confident and hopeful smile of his own. “Yeah! And we won’t stop until we find it, Sif”
Siffrin blushed, seeing how their feelings buddy and their partner were holding both of their hands, but he shook it off and smiled confidently. “Ok then! Let’s get looking!”
One outfit that Siffrin tried on was a dark suit and tie. Isabeau loved it, and Mirabelle thought it looked great! Siffrin, however, hated how uncomfortable it was around their neck. Next was a long and light shaded dress. Isabeau blushed, thinking that it looked pretty. Mirabelle and Siffrin both decided that it was a bit too long, and Siffrin was personally bothered by how uncomfortable the texture felt against their skin. The last one was another suit, though this one was a much lighter shade. Siffrin, Isabeau and Mirabelle all agreed that this suit just didn’t look good.
Siffrin looked at Isabeau, now disappointed. “I thought there would be something here that looked appealing. You and Mira always pull off these outfits so well, and I thought I could too if I found something here.”
Isabeau looked back at them, also being disappointed. “Sorry, Sif. I also hoped there would be something here for you. I suppose there’s always next time… if there’s another clothes store like this near Bambouche.”
Mirabelle looked at Siffrin as well, with her now being disappointed in herself. “Change, I wish I’d brought one of my old dresses from Dormont with me when we all moved here. They were all your size, and they looked pretty too.”
As the three of them went to leave, Siffrin reassured the other two. “It’s alright, you two. This place might not have had what I was looking for, but-”
Siffrin stopped dead in their tracks as he saw something that immediately caught his eye.
Isabeau looked at them with confusion. “Sif? Is everything okay?”
Mirabelle looked in the direction that Siffrin was facing, curious as to what made them stop so suddenly. “Are you okay, Siffrin? What are you looking at-!!!”
Mirabelle’s eyes lit up in amazement at what she was looking at. “Oh. My. Change!!!”
What the three of them were staring at was a gorgeous dark shaded dress. It looked incredibly fluffy, and had a beautiful silver charm embedded in the fabric near the chest.
Siffrin’s eye beamed with pure happiness. They almost let out an excited squeal. “That dress! It looks so fluffy, it’s a gorgeous dark shade, and that charm in the center; stars, it’s shaped like a cat’s head! It’s perfect; I have to try it on!”
(Nova Note: I was referring to the shape of the charm here.)
Mirabelle was so entranced by the design of the dress that it took her a moment to notice that Siffrin had bolted towards it, with Isabeau following them. “Siffrin! Isabeau! Wait for me!”
———
When Siffrin came out of the changing room, Mirabelle and Isabeau were left feeling nothing short of amazed.
Mirabelle gave Siffrin an absolutely giddy grin. “Siffrin, that dress is incredible! You look AMAZING!!”
Isabeau, though admittedly not maintaining eye contact with Siffrin due to being flustered, still gave him a huge smile. “Y-Yeah! You look i-incredible, Sif! The dress really matches your style!”
Mirabelle suddenly became a little concerned as she remembered what was ultimately going to be the deciding factor here. “Does it feel good on you? You don’t have to buy it if it doesn’t!”
Siffrin’s eye widened for a moment. He’d been so focused on how the dress looked that they hadn’t even thought about how it felt. “Well, it doesn’t go down to my feet, the fabric feels comfortable, it isn’t touching my neck, and the charm doesn’t bother me. Considering how it looks, too… I love it!!!”
Mirabelle let out a small but very happy squeak, and Isabeau quietly celebrated.
Mirabelle looked at both Siffrin and Isabeau, now holding the dress in her hands. “Okay! Let’s buy this and regroup with the others!”
Isabeau smiled in anticipation. “I can’t wait to see what they all got!”
Siffrin gave the two of them a nervous smile, their cheeks now slightly darkened from blushing. “I… hope they like the dress.”
Isabeau looked towards Siffrin with reassurance. “Trust me, Sif. They’re going to love it!”
Siffrin’s smile became happier and more confident as he, Isabeau and Mirabelle went to buy the dress. Siffrin didn’t really think that Odile, Bonnie and Pétronille would have a bad reaction to it, but they still appreciated the reassurance.
—————————————————————
Bonnie paced back and forth, deep in thought. Being told that they could get anything they wanted from within the shopping district meant that they had a lot of stuff to choose from.
Bonnie sighed, now looking upset. “I don’t know what I want. Nothing here looks cool. I want something cool!”
Pétronille turned to their little sibling, trying to reassure them. “It’s okay, Bonbon. I’m sure we’ll find something cool for you! How about a new game?”
Bonnie turned to their big sister, now looking a little annoyed. “We already have a lot of games at home, ‘Nille; and Isabeau said he was going to find a new one today, remember?”
Pétronille looked back at them and let out a very small chuckle, now somewhat disappointed with herself. “Oh, right. Sorry, Bonbon. I forgot about that.”
Bonnie gave her a hug. “Nah, it’s okay, ‘Nille.”
Odile piped up, giving Bonnie her own suggestions. “When we were in the book store, I saw some comics while I was looking for Celestial Mountain 2. Do you want to go back there and take a look at them, Boniface?”
Bonnie crossed their arms and looked away, now bearing another look of annoyance. “I already looked at all of them, ‘Dile. They only had those boring romance comics.”
Pétronille suddenly had another idea. “Wait! There’s a small toy store here! Do you want to look around there, Bonbon?”
Bonnie let out an annoyed sigh, now showing their frustration. “I don’t want a toy, ‘Nille. Those are for kids.”
Odile sighed, now beginning to show her exhaustion, which Bonnie immediately noticed, with their expression now saddening. “I’m sorry for taking so long, ‘Dile.”
Odile’s eyes suddenly widened. She did not want Bonnie thinking that they had upset her. “Oh- no- it’s okay, Boniface.”
Her expression then changed to a reassuring smile as she gently ruffled Bonnie’s hair. “Don’t worry too much about me. I told you that I would get you anything you wanted if you went with me, and I am going to make that happen, even if we have to search this district top to bottom.”
Odile knew that would be physically and mentally exhausting for her, but she was willing to endure the potential back pain and headaches that would plague her that night if it meant making Bonnie happy.
Bonnie smiled as they hugged Odile’s wrist. “Thanks, ‘Dile! I promise, this won’t take long! I will find something I want from here and-”
Something almost immediately caught Bonnie’s eyes. Something that made them audibly gasp as they ran up to it. “‘Dile, ‘Nille! Look at this! Look!”
Odile and Pétronille looked at what had piqued Bonnie’s interest. It was… a mirror?
Odile looked confused for a moment before the realization hit her. “They managed to make one of those here as well?!”
Pétronille raised an eyebrow at her, now looking confused. “I don’t understand. That’s… just a mirror.”
Bonnie whipped their head around to face their big sister as they joyously pointed at the mirror. “It isn’t just a mirror, ‘Nille! It can do something really cool! Isabeau told me about it! I just have to…”
Bonnie’s smile faded as they realized something. “Uhhh, I forgot what I have to do.”
Thankfully, Odile recognized what Bonnie was trying to do, and was more than willing to explain everything to Pétronille. “This, Pétronille, isn’t just a mirror. It’s a special mirror that has been crafted to take photos.”
Pétronille couldn’t help but be in awe. “How- no, when did all of you learn about this?!”
Odile gave her an explanation. “Well, when we were all leaving the House of Change to bring Boniface back to Bambouche, we passed by a room that housed one of these special mirrors. Isabeau recognized what it was, and told me how it was a crafted mirror that took pictures. We were going to take a photo of the five of us, but Siffrin was firmly against it due to… the loops. We decided against getting the photo after that.”
Bonnie’s eyes widened for a moment. They had forgotten about that. Despite that, they shyly looked up at Odile, tapping their fingers together. “Can you please show me how it works, ‘Dile?”
Odile looked back at them suspiciously. She had a feeling as to where this was going. “… Sure. If you want to use it, you just have to pull this switch and-”
Just as she was about to pull the switch, Odile noticed a sign next to the mirror. As she looked at it, she read it out so Bonnie and Pétronille could know what it said. “Please note that using this special mirror will cost- twenty silver coins?! Do we even still have that much?!”
Pétronille opened the bag of coins that they had brought with them. “We… actually have twenty coins left!”
Having heard that, Bonnie smiled from ear to ear. “I know what I want now!”
Pétronille looked at them with a knowing smile. “And what would that be, Bonbon?”
Bonnie’s smile somehow got even bigger as they exclaimed what they had decided they wanted. “I want a photo with everyone in it! Me and you, and ‘Dile, and Za, and ‘Belle, and-”
Their smile faded as they finished explaining who all that they wanted in the photo. “-and… and ‘Frin, too, please?”
Odile now looked concerned as she slowly knelt down to Bonnie’s level, being careful to not hurt herself. “Boniface, that’s very, very sweet of you, and I’m sure that Mirabelle and Isabeau will be more than willing to be in the photo. But, considering what he went through with the time loops last year, Siffrin may not want to be included. Do you understand that, Boniface?”
Bonnie nervously gulped before giving Odile a bittersweet smile. “I- I understand, ‘Dile.”
Odile sighed and stood up, now speaking to both Bonnie and Pétronille. “Well then. We agreed to meet up with the others back at that bench, so let’s go there, and we’ll explain everything to them once they get there, too.”
Bonnie and Pétronille both nodded in agreement, and the three of them set off for the bench.
—————————————————————
Back at the bench, Siffrin, Mirabelle and Isabeau were all sitting down, admiring the things that they had each bought.
Mirabelle gleamed with joy at Isabeau. “I can’t wait to introduce everyone else to Monsters & Mansions! It’s going to be amazing having other people to play it with again!”
Isabeau smiled in turn. “I can’t wait either, Mira! It’s been years since I last played it. I wonder what class I’m going to be this time.”
Siffrin looked over at Mirabelle with curiosity, focusing on what she was holding in her hands. “Hey, Mira. How’s the sketchbook I found?”
Mirabelle turned to face Siffrin, still bearing a comfortingly happy smile. “Oh right! My new sketchbook; it’s perfect, Siffrin! It’s big enough for all the ideas I have right now, and the paper feels amazing! I even brought a pencil so I could test it, and the eraser didn’t smudge!”
Siffrin grinned. It made him feel happy seeing Mirabelle be this excited about something, especially something that he’d helped her get. “I’m glad that you like it, Mira. Hope it’ll serve your artistic needs.”
Mirabelle chuckled. “Oh, I’m sure it will, Siffrin.”
Isabeau beamed at Siffrin, seeing the shopping bag on their arm that held their dress in it. “That dress looked amazing on you, Sif! I can’t wait to see what the others think of it.”
Siffrin looked back at him somewhat smugly. “I think you’ve made it clear how much you like it, Isa.”
Isabeau blushed, his cheeks becoming beet dark for the second time that day. “W-well, true, b-but it just looks so… p-p-pretty on you, Sif!”
Siffrin was about to get flustered at that comment, until they heard the familiar voice of an energetic kid in the distance. “‘Nille! ‘Dile! I can see ‘Frin! He’s over there with Za and ‘Belle!”
Siffrin turned to see Bonnie excitedly running towards him, with Odile and Pétronille right behind them, albeit not charging towards him at full speed unlike Bonnie was.
Bonnie ran right up to Siffrin, stopping just before a painful collision could happen, and gave him a massive hug. Siffrin hugged them back, smiling as he did so. “Hey, Bonnie! How was your side of the shopping spree? Did you get anything cool?”
Bonnie paused for a moment. They didn’t anticipate having to explain what they wanted so soon. Thankfully, Pétronille instantly took notice of the stress beginning to form on her little sibling’s face. “Why don’t you three show us what you all got first?”
Bonnie recognized what their sister was doing, and smiled. “Y-yeah! I want to see what you got, especially you, ‘Frin! Your bag is the biggest one here!”
Siffrin grinned excitedly, placing their hand inside the bag and pulling out his new dress. “Well, since you’re so curious, I got this!”
Pétronille could only stare in stunned silence, taking in the dress’s majestic dark shades, as well as details such as the silver cat charm. Bonnie was just as awestruck, but managed to vocalize their amazement. “‘Frin. That dress- it- it’s so PRETTY!!”
Odile too was amazed, though she couldn’t help but feel a little jealous. “That dress does look beautiful, Siffrin. I have to admit, I am somewhat jealous of you for finding something that looks that good in your size.
Isabeau piped up, now with his hands in his bag. “If you think that Siffrin got something amazing, then just wait until you see what Mira and I have!”
Mirabelle interjected, clasping her hands together. “Hold on, Isabeau. I was wanting to see what Odile, Pétronille and Bonnie got.”
She noticed Bonnie’s expression immediately sour and panicked. “If-If that’s okay with you three! You all can wait if you want!”
Bonnie took a deep breath, managing to form a small smile. “Nah, it’s okay! But, can ‘Dile and ‘Nille go first? I want to save mine for last!”
Knowing what Bonnie was going to ask for, Odile played along. “Of course, Boniface. Besides, I think Mirabelle will be excited to see what I have.”
Everyone then spent the next few minutes showing off the things they’d all bought.
———
Mirabelle clasped her hands together as she looked at Odile with excitement. “We definitely need to do a book club meeting when we get home. I really want to know more about these ruins that Madilyn discovers in Book Two!”
Odile gave Mirabelle her usual half-smile, with her eyes signaling her anticipation as they sparkled with excitement and wonder. “I have to admit, I’m also curious to see what Madilyn will find. Especially after they were foreshadowed early on in Book One.”
Over with Siffrin, they smiled as Bonnie continued to stare in amazement at their new dress. “‘Frin, this dress is so pretty and cute and cool and- and-”
Siffrin couldn’t help but chuckle at Bonnie’s amazement. He always thought it was adorable. “Slow down, Bonnie. I appreciate the compliments, but if you keep going that fast, you might pass out.”
Bonnie stared back at him with a look of determination. “If I pass out while c-com-pli-ment-ing your dress, then I’m okay with that!”
Suddenly, Isabeau spoke, turning to face Bonnie as he realized something. “Wait, how come you haven’t shown us what you got, Bonbon?”
Bonnie froze up. They knew that they’d have had to tell everyone sooner or later, but they didn’t think that anyone would ask them about it.
Isabeau’s excitement instantly turned to concern as he looked at them. “Bonbon? Is everything okay? If you weren’t able to find anything, then that’s perfectly fine! We can always come back here some other time and-”
Bonnie suddenly cut him off, having mustered up the courage to explain what they wanted. “I did find something I want, but I’m afraid you all won’t like it… mostly because of ‘Frin.”
Siffrin looked at them, now slightly concerned. “…What did you want to get, Bonnie?”
Bonnie felt their anxiety shoot up upon hearing that. Despite that, they took a deep breath and tried to explain everything. “S-so, I f-f-found this mirror, a-and- it- it can- um- it-”
Siffrin was now very worried, and more so about Bonnie potentially being close to an anxiety attack than he was about the thing they wanted. “Take it slow, Bonnie. Don’t rush yourself-”
Bonnie, now feeling a mixture of frustration and somewhat unreasonable stress, blurted everything out. “I FOUND A MIRROR THAT CAN TAKE PICTURES LIKE THE ONE IN THE HOUSE OF CHANGE AND I WANTED A PICTURE WITH YOU AND ‘NILLE AND-”
Bonnie slapped their hands over their mouth and went completely silent. Siffrin was taken aback.
Isabeau, who was also visibly concerned, let out a quiet sigh as his expression instantly softened. “Bonbon, that’s… really sweet of you!”
Mirabelle tilted her head as she too looked towards Bonnie. “Were you afraid that we’d say no to that?”
Bonnie’s face darkened in embarrassment. “ ‘Dile and ‘Nille agreed to be in it, but I was scared that I’d make you all mad because ‘Dile told me about how ‘Frin wouldn’t want to be in it because of that time loop stuff last year.”
Isabeau and Mirabelle looked at each other for a moment. Isabeau looked back at Bonnie for a moment as he and Mirabelle walked towards Siffrin. “Give us a just moment, Bonbon.”
Mirabelle looked at Siffrin nervously. “Siffrin, would you be okay with Isabeau and I being in the photo with the others? I don’t want to upset Bonnie, but if you’d rather us not be in it, then we’ll sit it out.”
Siffrin gave her a smile. “Yeah. You two can be in the photo. I’m not going to let the loops stop you from making Bonnie happy, Mira.”
Isabeau smiled at them as he and Mirabelle walked back towards Bonnie. “Thanks, Siffrin.”
As the two got back to Bonnie, Mirabelle smiled at them. “Isabeau and I would love to be in that photo, Bonnie!”
Bonnie’s face almost instantly lit up upon hearing that. Their eyes darted to Siffrin, who gave them a smile and a thumbs up. Bonnie’s already lit up face then turned into a gleeful smile. “Okay! Now that I have everyone that wants to be in the picture, let’s go! I’m tired of waiting!”
Everyone began to walk in the direction of the mirror. Everyone except Siffrin, who still sat at the bench.
But as his family began to walk away, Siffrin began to feel his anxiety creeping up on him. The type of anxiety that makes you reconsider a decision you’ve made; and Siffrin was doing just that.
Siffrin had promised themself that they were going to try to not let the loops hold them back from doing things like this, and yet, here he was, sitting at this blinding bench, intentionally staying behind while his family went off to take a big photo without him in it.
Siffrin could feel their mind swaying towards a different option. They didn’t know if they’d ever get the chance to do something like this again. Even if they did, he didn’t know how it would be until an opportunity like this arose again! It could be years for goodness sake!
Siffrin had made up their mind. He shouted as they ran up to their family. “WAIT! I-I’ve changed my mind! I want to be in the photo with you all!”
Everyone turned around to face him, with Bonnie being both the happiest and most surprised out of everyone. “Wait, really?! You wanna be in the picture with us, ‘Frin? You really want to?”
Siffrin looked at them shyly. “Y-yes. I- I really do want to be in the photo, Bonbon.”
Mirabelle walked up to Siffrin and clasped one of his hands. She gave him a look that seemed both surprised and concerned. “Siffrin, if you don’t mind me asking, are you sure about this?”
Siffrin closed their eyes and breathed. “I’m sure. I don’t know when we’ll get the chance to do something like this again. I- I don’t want to let what happened with the loops continue to hold me back from making memories- good memories -like this forever!”
Suddenly, Siffrin heard a small but noticeable chuckle, followed by a hand ruffling their fluffy hair. They looked up to see that it was Odile! “Im happy to hear that, Siffrin. I’m… also proud of you, for trying to move past the loops, even if you’re just taking small steps like this.”
Siffrin didn’t have time to thank Odile for that, as an ecstatic Bonnie ran up and wrapped their arms around him in a tight hug. “Thank you, ‘Frin!”
Siffrin, now with a sappy smile on his face, returned the hug. “You’re welcome, Bonnie.”
Pétronille smiled sappily as well. She was so proud of how much her little sibling had grown since the King crisis one year ago. Before then, Bonnie would always stick to Pétronille like glue, seeing anyone but her as a threat.
After a few seconds, the hug ended, and everyone continued walking to the mirror.
—————————————————————
As Siffrin walked throughout the northern area shopping district, they turned their head from left to right, trying to find where the mirror that Bonnie had found was. “You said it was around here, right Bonbon?”
Bonnie was also looking around. They had kind of forgotten where it was. “Yeah. It should be somewhere here, ‘Frin.”
Thankfully, Pétronille quickly spotted it. “Hey, Siffrin! It’s over there.”
Siffrin looked to his right and saw it. A massive mirror that was very similar to the one in the House of Change. He took a deep breath as memories of the loops briefly flashed in their mind.
Mirabelle, now nervous on Siffrin’s behalf, gently clasped one of his hands. “Are you okay, Siffrin?”
Siffrin took another deep breath, and gave Mirabelle a soft and genuine smile. “Y-yeah. I’m okay, Mira.”
Isabeau looked at them with a measure of concern. “Sif, you say that, but… you’re shaking. Are you sure you want to be in this photo?”
Siffrin then realized; they were shaking. They were shaking because they were admittedly nervous about this. But they still wanted to be here. The memories of the loops were not going to ruin this for them.
Siffrin took a deep breath and turned to Isabeau. “Yeah, I want to be in this, Isa. I want to make a good memory with everyone, including you.”
Isabeau couldn’t help but blush at that last part. “Th-thanks, Sif.”
Closer to the mirror, Pétronille paid the twenty coins needed to use it, albeit looking quite annoyed. “Can’t believe we had to pay twenty coins to use this.”
Odile chimed in. “It is rather… annoying, but these mirrors are new, and they take quite a bit of craft magic to make, Pétronille.”
Pétronille sighed. “Yeah, that’s true.”
Bonnie, who had walked over to the mirror, was trying to find the switch to no avail. “Come on! The switch was on the left side of the last mirror! This looks exactly like that one did, so where is the swi-”
Bonnie’s rant was interrupted as they heard the sound of Isabeau gripping something metallic. “Found it! The switch was on the right side, Bonbon.”
Bonnie’s face slightly scrunched as a brief feeling of embarrassment passed through them. “T-thanks, Za.”
Isabeau pulled the switch, and as they heard a clicking sound, everyone got into position. Isabeau turned back to everyone with a smile. “Alright, everyone! Say “Froma-”
Isabeau stopped as he noticed that Siffrin flinched at the word “fromage”. Quickly figuring out why that was, Isabeau quickly came up with another word. “Actually; everyone, say “Gâteau”!”
Hearing that, Siffrin was able to relax and get back into position. They shyly made a peace sign as Mirabelle followed Isabeau’s instruction and said the word. “Gâtea-”
She was interrupted as a bright light flashed from the mirror. Pétronille smiled, now excited. “Well, how did it turn out, Isabeau?”
Isabeau knelt down, picking up the photograph that had appeared on the floor after the flash of light. “Ehehehe… See for yourself, Pétro’!”
Pétronille gently took the photograph out of Isabeau’s hand, and was ecstatic. “Oh. My. Change! This photo looks AMAZING!!!”
Odile smiled as she looked at the photo. “I have to admit, it looks nice.”
Bonnie jumped in place, seemingly impatient. “Hey! I wanted to take this photo with you all, so I wanna see what it looks like!”
Mirabelle chuckled as she gave the photo to them. “Okay, okay! Here you go, Bonnie!”
Bonnie snatched the photo out of Mirabelle’s hands, putting it directly in front of their eyes. They stayed completely silent as they examined the photo.
Isabeau, who was beginning to feel a tad bit nervous, looked over at them. “S-So, what do you think of it, Bonbon? Is it good?”
Bonnie turned to face Isabeau, their stern face quickly morphing into an overjoyed grin. “I think… THAT IT’S AWESOME!! I LOVE IT SO MUCH!!! THIS IS THE BEST THING I’VE EVER GOTTEN!!!”
Bonnie gave Isabeau a quick hug before running directly to Siffrin, now holding the photo in front of them. “Hey, ‘Frin! What do you think?”
Siffrin gently took the photo out of Bonnie’s hands. He looked at it closely and carefully.
Siffrin grimaced as memories of the loops flashed through their mind, with the memory of the photo in the House of Change being especially prominent. But as they looked at it more, those awful memories began to fade away.
Siffrin began to think about how today had been, how they’d gotten to spend it with their family, and how this photo, at least for them, felt like a representation of the memories they made with everyone today. As Siffrin thought about that, their grimace vanished, and it was replaced with a warm smile as they turned to Bonnie. “It’s perfect. Thank you for this, Bonnie!”
Bonnie’s face lit up like a night light as they ran up to Siffrin, embracing him in a big hug. “You’re welcome, ‘Frin!!!”
Unfortunately, the soft and sweet moment was brought to a sudden end as the sound of someone’s stomach loudly growling was heard. Almost immediately taking notice, Pétronille held back a chuckle as she looked towards her little sibling. “Are you- uh… hungry, Bonbon?”
Bonnie looked back at her, now a little embarrassed. “…Yeah, I am.”
Hearing that, Odile gave them the obvious answer. “Now that you’ve mentioned that, it is getting close to lunch time.”
Isabeau thought for a moment. “Well, in that case, we should probably head home. I’m also getting a bit hungry.”
Odile looked around at everyone. “Are we all done here? Got everything we wanted? Paid for everything?”
Everyone then gave her gestures that signaled that they were all ready. Odile smiled. “Then I believe we should head home. I too am somewhat hungry.”
With that said, everyone began to walk away from the mirror, except for Siffrin.
Siffrin stood unmoving, still looking down at the photo. They felt… strange, holding one of these in their hands again, but in an oddly good way. It was different from the one in the House of Change. It felt comforting; as if the photo itself was telling Siffrin that they were free of the loops, and had been living with people that they considered a family for a year now, and they knew that. But it felt like the weight of that fact had only just now caught up to them in this moment, and it brought them a nearly indescribable level of happiness.
Mirabelle gently tapped their shoulder. “Is… everything okay, Siffrin? You’re crying a little.”
They were? Huh. Siffrin had gotten so caught up in their self reflecting that they didn’t even notice that. Siffrin wiped away the small tear and turned to Mirabelle. “Yeah, I’m alright, Mira.”
Mirabelle was going to ask them again just to be sure. But one look at them was reassuring enough. She’d gotten enough time to read Siffrin’s expressions to know that the smile on their face was genuine and warm.
Mirabelle smiled in return, pointing a thumb behind her shoulder. “We should catch up with everyone else. Bonnie said that they don’t want to wait too long to make lunch.”
Siffrin gave her a nod, and the two of them headed back towards their family as he put the photo in his pocket. He couldn’t wait to see what Bonnie and Pétronille would make for lunch today.