Pon'cho Business

There weren't many people who were in the habit of persuading Minoth to do things. Either you asked him for his assistance or other form of participation, and he obliged, or he gave a curt shake of his head and said no thank you, not for me, I don't think, but don't be a stranger, I'm always happy to chip in.

And he was! It wasn't a lie. Minoth was a trooper, through and through. It was just that he had very particular sensibilities about who and how asked him, and to do what, and just exactly when...well. So maybe that wasn't a textbook trooper. But Minoth wasn't anywhere near a textbook writer, either.

Addam had learned this, and quite well, though he sometimes needed to be fixed with a sterner glare than most in order to be made to stand down. Jin knew it, and was glad of the company of someone else who could firmly but politely turn approachers away, as was Aegaeon.

Brighid, sometimes, was bemused by Minoth's strange patterns of engagement, but once Mythra had shown herself to be a little more than quite annoyed by it, the Jewel promptly shut her own trap. Hugo trusted Addam's judgement and choice of old friends (of course he did; he must!), and the boys raised their eyebrows but said little further to complain.

In summary, as ever and as we all might most fervently wish, everyone got along and left each other to their own devices, as each to their own and to the common good. Or, well...you might think so. But good lady Lora loves, oh how she loves, to defy expectations. And particular sensibilities. Oh, yes, lovely little Lora loves loves LOVES to pick at perpetual frowny-faced men (and women, sometimes, but mostly men) such as her guardian Jin and such as her guardian Jin's new paramour, Minoth.

(Did "paramour" merely mean that they stood in corners together and talked, and enjoyed each other's company to what, to them, was called excess? Very possible. Did Jin come by such a companion through a gloriously pesterful sequence of just some such fiddlesome meddling? Very possible. Very, very possible.)

So, on one fine afternoon that came about just the same as all the rest, when they were between city-dwellers' requests occurring in the morning and the evening, Lora turned to Haze, with a conspiratorial grin meant for her conspirator's eyes only, as well as for everyone else watching (there were two, and they were mutually inwardly groaning), and said in a stage whisper, "Hey! You know what I saw in the shopping ward the other day?"

"What, my lady?!" It was just about here that Minoth noticed just how normal a stage whisper was, adjacent to the red-haired duo's usual patterns of speech and associated relatively giddy manual idiosyncrasies.

But he didn't have too long to dwell on that train of thought, because Lora swiftly delivered the punch-line blow: "Ponchos!"

Right. Ponchos. Trouble. Because he owned one. Rather, he HAD owned one, and then he'd mentioned offhand to Addam that it had fallen to tatters, when the prince had asked him where his gallant garb had gotten to, and Lora had spent at least one evening making several stints of small, sly commentary about such a silly suit.

Now, Minoth liked Lora. Minoth liked Lora quite a lot. She had a wonderful, bold personality that very rarely grated - the personality of a perfect lead, in other words - and she was fairly mature all things considered. Mostly. Overall.

Sometimes, however, she was fairly immature. She asked Jin to do unpleasant things for her a little bit too often for either of their tastes (though Jin more secret internal battles about it, Minoth knew that much for sure) and she needled sometimes when she knew she shouldn't. She wouldn't eat her vegetables...ever. She sometimes, when she was very tired, pulled a charm all the way back out to strings when she'd made one mistake. Minoth, of all people, knew that there was a fine balance between fine workmanship and futile perfectionism, especially where handicrafts were concerned.

Still, Minoth liked Lora. He'd confidently call her one of his friends, and if the emperor of Mor Ardain saw fit to call him, an outcast walkabout from Indol who didn't even look like it, a bound brother, then they were all square.

Minoth thought about this supposed squareness, now. Did he owe Lora any favors that he was forgetting about? Did she perhaps owe him, and intend to go in on a game of doubling up for nothing to be said about it later on? Or was she just up to mischief?

Minoth looked at Jin. Jin looked at Minoth.

Yeah. Lady Lora was just up to mischief, and she intended to accomplish it by taking her knightly tour of goodwill duty around to the commercial district of the golden land Torna's finest city, so that she might arrange to buy (to have bought) for her good friend Minoth a poncho. Because he needed one, you see. Because he just couldn't get along without one. Because he really, truly, needed her help.

Two could play at that one (and four could be coerced). Minoth hung up his winningest half-smirk half-grin and rounded on heel. "Ponchos, is it? I might have to see some of those for myself."

Lora's turn was twice as fast even if it was half as heavy. "Really? You'll come?"

Was she genuinely surprised? "'S what I said. Come on, Lady Lora, show us to it!"

Jin shot Minoth another look, one that said, "Now you're up to something too, and even though I know the meaning of head over heels, I'm not ready to extend it to you just yet." Minoth sent a casual shrug back his way and let out the other half of his smile when he heard the lilac-gray clogs clicking on the cobbles behind Haze's petite mince.

When they arrived at the shop, they found it overseen by a new Nopon named Kofufu who'd ventured in from the Voltis Trade Guild at Dekudeku's request to try out some new styles, similar to the existing merchandise but slightly spun, on the shifting market; hats were old hat, and ponchos were new highest fashion, apparently. The querulous vendor sized them up from many paces away and was already brandishing conical wraps in two large and two small sizes at the group of four when they paused in front of hir racks.

"Friends looking for new duds? Kofufu's wares are not exactly that, meh..." Kofufu smiled, somewhat uncannily, at the coy inside-out judgement ze'd just made to promote the pop-up shop. For less intrepid adventurers into the shopping world, like as not, the strange quote would have made them turn away, but Lora just smiled in kind and nodded.

"We'd love to try on some ponchos! Oh, and do you have any more stock? For our friends - I'm sure they'll love some, too."

"Lady Lora..." Haze tugged at her sleeve. "We only have so much money." (The stage whisper was back, not that Kofufu's earshot was so easily escaped.) "Are you sure this is alright?"

Lora flashed Minoth something of a winner back. "What do you think, Minoth?"

Jin audibly groaned, which was rare when he wasn't actually being asked for his opinion directly.

Minoth fixed Haze with the eye contact of the moment, along with the ghost of an avuncular hand on her shoulder. If she was surprised, she didn't show it, instead joining Jin in calculating her exasperation. "Sounds good to me. We'll need, what, eleven in total? Maybe an extra one for Lady Origo, too. Oh, and Vez..."

What a fantastic idea! Lora turned back to Kofufu with the biggest grin of them all. "We'll take all the stock you've got, and help you replenish it as soon as we're ready to leave."

"LORA-!?"

Jin's eyes, usually so deep-set, were bulging. Minoth had to fight to keep back a laugh. The poncho helped, however, as its rough canvas slipped past his mouth and landed securely atop his chest. One hand went up to ascertain the fit status of his ponytail, the other reached to the rack of hats to secure one in a rancher style, then the whole cowboy assembly laid an arm behind Lora's back and dipped her to a solid half-right angle.

It was indeed a solid plan - despite the erstwhile horror of Lora's Blades, the entire shopping ward seemed to light up in joyful cheers. Omnom gave a happy wave of her chopsticks, and Gideon doffed his hat in recognition. Lora might have been blushing, or it might have been the difference in oxygen from head height to suddenly lower, but when she came back to her feet, she eagerly planted a kiss on Haze's cheek (and Jin reluctantly allowed himself to be given one, too, in a pleasant exchange between the four).

"See, Jin?" Lora pressed breathlessly. "Everyone's so happy!"

"Everyone is not the empty-pocketed Prince Addam," Jin returned, ever-even, but he gave Lora the smallest of smiles, to concede her point.