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The song of glass and star magic clinked and chimed as shards of crystal circled and spun in the air, illuminating the otherwise unlit room with the warm pinks and oranges of dawn.Titia giggled and churred in delight, her chubby hands making tiny fists as she reached out to try grasp at the feylights drifting slowly through the air, from where she was cradled in her mother's arms."It's pretty isn't it, baby," Qualia crooned to her infant daughter, who waved her arms at the gleaming crystals, the feylight casting her hair a deep rose that made her heart ache with lost memory.Clouds rumbled distantly and a steady, gentle night rain began to patter against the window, closing around the tiny family like a curtain as mother hummed forgotten melody to her child.
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She peered into the clear, sluggish waters of the river, perched on a rock as she eyed the shiny specks clinging to the rock just below the waterline. A raucous cackle and whoop pulled her attention away from the faint glimmer, as her companion dive-bombed into the water. The resulting splash was more than large enough to send summer-warmed droplets raining down on her. Maristella blinked, yelp of surprise passing her lips as the water hit, and pushed her now dampened hair from her face before shifting to face her best friend. The words she'd been preparing to shout dried up, her mouth suddenly dry. Kenna was grinning mischievously as she wadded to the shallows, denim shorts dark with water and her drenched shirt clinging tightly to her breasts, bra showing through the fabric. 'Stella swallowed. Words caught in her throat, and failing her.
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Qualia examined the small garment in her hands, fingers testing the feel of the thick, plush fabric. The stall was selling costumes for the upcoming Festival of Last Harvest, all of them of fine quality and handmade by the elderly stall owner and his wife.It was a costume, perfectly sized for a baby, and one of a fair number for sale. The white fluffy onesie was clearly of a moogle, with its distinctive red pompom between cute little ears and small, padded, purple wings attached to the back.There for others for sale as well, such a brown robe that she could see a thick, green, dolphin-like tail affixed to the main layer from within, which Qualia easily identified as a tonberry.There were tiny chocobos and cactuars, even a small tuxedo cat costume with an equally small crown. It all made her smile.The Last Harvest she'd taken part of last year had felt... strange. Familiar, but not, at the same time. Qualia was fairly sure she wasn't from Duscae or Cleigne, even if her accent was too muddled to pin down a location for, but this? Costumes? It was familiar; nostalgic even.It felt right to splurge on something special like this for Titia, and the loose fit meant that she wouldn't outgrow it as quickly as most of her other clothes.Even without the justifications, and that Titia would be able to fit it for the rest of the season, and at least some of winter, Qualia knew that she'd be buying the cute little moogle costume.