GtRO - Valentine's Day Dressup!

As winter reached its final month, the atmosphere across the Rune-Midgarts Kingdom shifted. Gone were the holiday decorations; in their places, hearts, flowers, and ribbons were put up for display. The festive Comodo was no exception. Though the beach town was busy with tourists all year, there seemed to be a heightened sense of anticipation as Valentine’s Day drew ever closer. Even some of the locals were affected, especially after it became known that two recruiting guilds- Morning Glory and Rocket Punch Generation- were planning to host a Valentine’s Day Meet-and-Greet party in their very own town. One individual, on the other hand, didn’t quite appreciate the overcrowding that the festivities caused.

As a Scholar garbed in a green robe managed to squeeze her way through the crowd, she caught a glimpse of what seemed to be a medium-sized shop. Immediately, Shion changed course and slipped inside. To her relief, the shop was empty of customers, save for a diminutive figure nearby that had only casted a cursory glance when she entered. At long last, she had found respite from the suffocating mass of tourists and drunkards. She paused to straighten her long, mussed-up hair, casting her gaze over at the interior as she did so. Judging by the various articles of clothing that lined the aisle, she could safely assume that she was in a boutique of some sort. Just several feet away from her, a colorful sign displaying the words “Valentine’s Day Special!” caught her eyes.

A thought struck her suddenly. Within seconds, she had pulled out a magenta pink letter and was rereading it. It was an invitation to the very party that was being held in Comodo in a few day’s time, sent to her shortly after she had signed up for Morning Glory. Though the letter didn’t specify that a Valentine’s Day attire was strictly mandatory, she gave the closest clothing and price tags a quick examination. I suppose it couldn’t hurt to make a favorable impression, and clothing today is of good quality material, as well as unusually affordable.

But where to begin? Clothes shopping wasn’t exactly something she was accustomed to; her Scholar uniform was more than sufficient for most occasions. As Shion brushed past the other customer, her gaze passed over all the outfits for women on display, only to heave a sigh at how revealing most of them were. Her gaze continued until it landed on clothes that were far more modest. True, they were categorized as “Men’s Attire”, but she strode off towards them without hesitation anyway. Out of the corner of her eyes, she spotted the other shopper begin to head in the same direction as well. The other stopped short, apparently having noticed as well.

“Ah! Um…” Quickly, the other customer took a step back to move out of Shion’s way before dipping into a shallow bow while murmuring an apology.

“No, it’s fine,” Shion replied, studying the figure in front of her. At first glance, based on the black and white male High Wizard uniform with silver accents, she had almost mistaken the other to be a boy, but the soft voice was distinctly feminine. Perhaps she is in a similar predicament to mine.

“To be honest, I am uncertain of what to purchase. Are you perchance attending the Valentine’s Day party as well?”

“Oh!” The High Wizard seemed a little taken aback by Shion’s guess, but was nevertheless quick to answer. “Um, yes. It’s my first time attending such an event, and I wasn’t sure what would be suitable for the occasion. I’ve heard that white, red, and pink tend to be popular color choices for Valentine’s Day, but beyond that, I’m not sure what else to look out for.”

Well, that was a start, Shion supposed. Would a red recolor of the scholar uniform work then? Well, seeing as how she was already at a boutique, she might as well experiment on expanding her wardrobe options. As she scanned the aisle of clothing for inspiration, one particular outfit caught her attention. Immediately, she went to retrieve it. “Oh look, it appears they have accounted for those unfamiliar with Valentine’s clothes shopping.” As she picked it up for examination, she smiled in satisfaction. “Excellent! It’s even a full-bodysuit.”

She held out the outfit- a black full bodysuit with a red, ragged cloak- as the High Wizard peered around her for a look. “Oh, that does look nice… but it has as much black as it does red.” The younger girl paused as she glanced down the outfit. “And the ends of the cloak seem rather worn… Would that be appropriate attire for a party?” The other spellcaster’s concerns gave Shion a pause.

“You raise valid concerns,” Shion admitted. “Looking as if you’ve just returned from a dungeon run would be most uncouth.” A perplexed frown crossed her features as another thought occurred to her. “Although... why would they market this as a Valentine’s outfit? Is this...Is this what they call ‘fashion’?”

“I… suppose? I did hear something about how flowers- especially red roses- and hearts are also popular patterns for Valentine’s Day.” The High Wizard scratched her cheek nervously, giving Shion an uncertain look before speaking more rapidly. “Um… I-If  it isn’t too much trouble for you, would you like to, erm, work together? I-I just thought that it seems we happen to be facing the same predicament, and we have similar clothing preferences, so… two heads would be better than one, as they say?”

“Indeed, it is as you say. Let us join forces to solve the mystery that is called ‘fashion’.” As the other girl’s face broke out in a relieved smile, Shion fiddled with a strand of her hair in embarrassment. “In truth, I’m grateful you asked. I was feeling rather lost when I entered the store. My uniform is enchanted to grow as I do, so I haven’t had to purchase any clothing in the past two decades…”

“You have a spell for that?” For the first time, the High Wizard seemed genuinely interested, if the way her eyes lit up was any indication. “That sounds useful! Could you perhaps teach it to me?”

“Why, gladly.” Shion, too, began to view her fellow spellcaster with new interest. It seemed as if the two had similar interests on top of fashion preferences. “The enchantment also covers rips and tears, so it’s immensely useful and cost-effective. We should trade spells!”

The shorter girl nodded eagerly. Then, as if remembering something, she paused and glanced sheepishly around the store. “Erm… That sounds lovely, but… perhaps we should leave it for whenever you have time after we finish here, of course.”

“Ah, yes,” Shion cleared her throat, realizing just how nearly they had gone off-track. “Back to the matter at hand. You take the left side, I take the right? We meet back here with our findings in… would one hour suffice?”

“Oh, yes! That sounds sufficient! Thank you!” The other girl saluted Shion smartly before pivoting on one foot to head to her assigned section. Shion, too, focused on browsing her side of the boutique, occasionally picking up an article of clothing for closer scrutiny, then replacing them when they failed to meet her criteria. Despite the various styles the store on had on display, none suited her liking; aside from the rather revealing ones, there were also some that seemed simply too ostentatious, sometimes even flamboyant. By the time the hour was up, Shion was despondent to realize that she only had two articles of clothing to show for her work. Her guilt worsened as she spotted a pile of clothes heading her way, the High Wizard from before barely visible behind them.

“My deepest apologies.” Shion hung her head even as she arranged her own selections on the nearest flat surface. “Even given one hour, the only suitable piece of clothing I could find in your size was this.” The girl glanced over, then smiled kindly as she shook her head vehemently. The smile soon faded as the movement nearly made the stack of clothes topple over, and Shion hurried forward to assist with the unloading. “I-I must confess. If you would like to check for yourself, there was one section that held clothing your size aplenty. However... they were all so horribly garish, I could not bring myself to stay there any longer.”

“No need to apologize. I had encountered some difficulties as well.” With a nod of thanks, the High Wizard glanced back at her own selections, her smile becoming sheepish. “Although… I think the difficulties I had faced were opposite of yours. I, erm, may have grabbed too many that I thought might suit us.”

Shion would have found the coincidental contrast almost amusing, if not for a realization that had struck her then and there. Perhaps alone, she was too particular whereas this High Wizard was too undiscriminating. But if they were to work together… “I… see.” The Scholar’s eyes took on a look of renewed determination. “Very well. Let us make a second attempt to narrow down our options.”

Though her companion seemed a little doubtful, the two were quick to agree upon limiting their selections further. The store soon filled with their comments and critiques as they sort through the clothes carefully. Occasionally, one of them would pull an article out at the other’s recommendation and set it aside. Another hour trickled past, but at long last, Shion and the other girl saw each other off to the dressing rooms with an arrangement that the older woman thought would be acceptable for the party.

Once she was done changing, Shion gave her own reflection a final lookover. She had kept her own outfit on the simple side: a long, red robe over a matching white pair of high-neck,long-sleeved blouse and pants, completed with a red pair of dress shoes. In keeping in with the Valentine’s Day theme, she had at least ensured that the robe had a rose pattern that decorated the front and the hems. Perhaps it was nearly as frivolous as some people might prefer, but she was satisfied enough with her appearance. The trending “fashion” might popularize hearts and whatnot for the holidays, but she personally found the roses far less objectionable.

Shion emerged from her stall, glancing at the one her fellow shopper had entered earlier. The door was still closed, and she could hear slight scuffles from inside; presumably, the other girl was having a little trouble with her own outfit. Still, she didn’t have to wait long before she heard the door unlock and the High Wizard stumbled out, her face red. Gone was the modest High Wizard outfit; in its place was a white décolletage dress with red frills at the hem and a rose-embroidered mesh at the top to keep it from being too revealing. Thigh-high stockings that matched the mesh designs and rose-decorated red pumps took care of her footwear, and instead of her original flower hairband, she now had a similar, albeit rose-themed version of it.

Shion regarded the fidgeting girl for a moment, then nodded as if satisfied. Despite her own inexperience with fashion, she felt the result of their little experimentation was a success. After all, they had selected clothings with colors of Valentine’s Day, and they managed to even squeeze in roses into their final choices. Surely they would be presentable enough. “I believe we’ve made our decisions, though I would appreciate a second opinion from you.” The Scholar paused, studying the other girl a little while longer when the latter remained nervous. Was she perhaps uncomfortable? “Ah, is your outfit not to your liking? Do you not like dresses?”

“Oh! N-No, it’s fine!” The High Wizard turned a little redder even as she fiddled with her sleeves. “It’s… It’s lovely. I don’t usually wear dresses, but I’ve… been growing more accustomed to them ever since I started working at my current job. I’m just wondering what, erm, some people would think if they see me like this.” She glanced down for a moment, then shyly peeked up at Shion. “Erm… You look wonderful, by the way. You almost have a regal look. It’s as if your outfit was made specifically for you.”

“Oh?” ‘Regal’? That certainly was quite a surprising compliment. Nevertheless, Shion was quite pleased to note that the other girl seemed to have also found her fashion sense satisfactory. “Why, thank you. I suppose this means we can move onto the final step of making our purchases, then?”
“Of course!” The High Wizard bobbed her head eagerly. “And afterwards, perhaps we can exchange spells over tea? I know of a useful liquid-repellent spell that I use on my own clothes.”

“I would like that,” Shion smiled. Having an intellectual discussion with a like-minded soul certainly would be a nice way to conclude the day. “From one Mage to another.”

“From one Mage to another.”