the sign said satisfaction guaranteed

candlewax & polaroids on the hardwood floor

Flora’s brows jump, skepticism written plain across her face. "Oh, since he was able to do that, hmm?" she drawls, voice dripping with doubt as she shoots her brother a look, brows raised.

Mateo’s dreamy picture of magical wardrobes coaxes a laugh from her, the sound bright enough to spill against the quiet trickling of the fountain. "How often do you think one of us would’ve opened the door to find a one-night stand hiding in there? Talk about traumatising." She’s still laughing as she nods along, curls bouncing. "But yes, as soon as I’m done with this task from Ludo, I’ll absolutely going to go see Safrin about it....Right?" She wrinkles her nose, suddenly unsure, glancing at him for confirmation. "Would she even be the one for that sort of thing?"

Her gaze lifts, following the soft gleam of water in the ornate fountain as the quiet settles back in, and she hums her agreement to his last words. Digging into her pocket, she pulls out a little vial filled with sand and seawater from Torchline. With a small shrug—because honestly, if the fountain’s supposed to have magical properties a pinch of Torchline inside it shouldn’t hurt—she unstoppers it and tips the contents in, watching the grains swirl and vanish in the crystal flow.

Mateo

"Alright," Mateo concedes as he continues with his impromptu gardening at the shrine, "since I went to Frey and completed a quest to gift him a magical glass acorn to help his social anxiety. I thought you would have been pleased either way, since he would be sticking around in Torchline - probably - and Isla is happier than she has been in a long time. I think, anyway." He doesn't actually speak much with his namesake, but he's delighted that they both seem to be doing well.

Chuckling as well at Flora's suggestion of the potential things and people they might find in their magical wardrobes, he can only flash a grin across the fountain at her. "You say traumatising - I call it an opportunity." Because of course he would. "We will have to make sure the wardrobes are not in either of our main bedrooms. Or if we do use them to come and visit, we may see more than we bargained for."

Brushing off his pants and stepping back around to stand with Flora as she gifts the gift of Torchline to the fountain, Mateo tucks his hands in his coat pockets and shrugs his shoulders a bit. "I do not see why not. I imagine we may just need to paint some constellations on our respective wardrobes, and ensure we dedicate it to Safrin. That is what she likes, is it not?"

I'm a scholar and a gentleman
And I don't usually fall when I try to stand

candlewax & polaroids on the hardwood floor

Flora nods slowly, as if Mateo’s clarification had been exactly what she’d expected all along. "Mhm. Thought so," she says sagely, though the effect lasts only a moment before she shrugs, curls bouncing. "Since I don’t need him as a bartender anymore, I wouldn’t notice one way or the other. But sure—, I mean obviously I’m happy Isla’s happy." She'd trade both the aviator and the Remedy in an instant if it meant Mateo would stay, though.

His remark about seeing more than they bargained for earns a dramatic wrinkle of her nose before she bursts into cackling laughter. "Oh gods, can you imagine? I’d open the wardrobe with a bottle of wine and some cheese and crackers, only to find you in the middle of an orgy." She wipes at her eyes with her sleeve, still giggling. "We could add a doorbell or something. But yeah, another room might be safest."

Bending to the fountain, she lets the Torchline water slip free, then plunges her hand in to swirl it around, cool and clear against her fingers. Over her shoulder she hums, half distracted, at his musings about constellations and Safrin. "Stars on wardrobes for sure."

At her sharp whistle, Spice dips low out of the bright sky, clutching a delicate piece of coral. The little dragon sets it proudly atop the fountain where the falling water splashes over it, brightening the carved stone with a flicker of ocean colour. Flora steps back, hands settling on her hips, one brow rising as she turns to her brother. "Well? Think the spirits will be happy?"

Mateo

"So you should be. Happiness is the important thing, sorellina, or at least, that is what I am beginning to learn." Which unfortunately is exactly why he's moving back to the place he loves, but it's also why he has no intention of becoming a recluse up there again. Having rediscovered his family ties, he'll be capitalising on them for the foreseeable future.

Speaking of which, Flora's laughter is contagious, and soon enough they are both cackling at the top of a dragon-infested mountain, Mateo nudging his sister gently with his shoulder. "What is the magical equivalent of putting a sock on the door handle?" he wonders, grinning hard enough to dimple his cheeks, and he's already brainstorming a few ways in his head for discussion on the flight back down.

"I think they ought to be very pleased," he concludes. "You delivered some of Torchline, we cleaned the place up, and we injected some much needed laughter here." Taking one hand out of his pocket to sling his arm around Flora's shoulders, Mateo starts to hurry them back the way they came. "Now come on," he says through chattering teeth, "before we freeze into some fetching new shrine decorations ourselves."

~FIN

I'm a scholar and a gentleman
And I don't usually fall when I try to stand