Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It’d been a wonderful day in Bambouch! Bonnie had (understandably) wanted some alone time with their sister, so that left everyone to wander about and do their own things. Mirabelle had had a lovely time talking to some of the other house maidens in the local house of change. One of them had taught her about this thing called surfing! She wasn’t very good at it yet, but it was still exciting! Even if being in the ocean was kind of scary? It was so big…

It wasn’t until the sun started to dip below the horizon that she realized how long she’d been out. Oh no oh no oh no! She had to get back to the others! What if she missed dinner?!

As she ran back, her worst fears were confirmed. She sprinted to Nile’s house only to see everyone cleaning up dishes…

“Nooooo! Were there, um, leftovers?” she said, righting her bow upon on her head and trying to brush the salt off of her and suddenly very aware of the fact that she was dripping on the floor.

“No…” Bonnie said. “I thought you went to a restaurant or something. I mean, I always make some extra …”

“Buuuut I ended up wrestling some other dudes on the beach and worked up a huge appetite,” Isabeau said, flexing one of his arms.

“He is very good at it,” Sif said, wiggling their eyebrows and putting a hand on Isa’s bicep.

Isabeau’s face darkened as he made a tea kettle sound. Huh, weird. Why would he get embarrassed about being good at wrestling? She could only assume it was a weird romance thing, but was wrestling romantic??? She hadn’t seen anyone propose via wrestling in her books (not that those were realistic), but…

Oh whatever. Boys will be boys.

“Well, that’s alright. I’ll figure something out, if that’s okay?” Mirabelle said. They had to have something lying around, right? If not, missing dinner wasn’t pleasant, but it wasn’t the worst thing that had happened to her. There might still be workarounds though! She could ask the neighbors or maybe the local house, maybe go fishing? She’d never fished in the ocean before, but it couldn’t be that different  from fishing in a river, right?

(If she wasn’t quite so deep in thought, maybe she would’ve caught some of the sneaky smirks shared between her friends).

“Actually, I think I heard someone say that one of the restaurants here should still be open,” Siffrin said.

“Oh yeah! Is that still a thing, Nille?” Bonnie said.

“Unless it closed today, should be,” Nille said. “Think about eight thirty is when they change the locks.”

Mirabelle looked at the clock. It was around eight now, so that still gave her time! But it was getting pretty dark…

“Perfect. I think I remember where it is,” Siffrin said. “I’ll take you! Maybe I’ll get some dessert too~”

… she had no idea how to say nicely that she would prefer anyone but Siffrin to do so right now. She loved him deeply, but he had the memory of a goldfish sometimes. It was kind of concerning, actually??? She looked to the others in a desperate, silent plea for help, but apparently the exact opposite message got through.

“Great idea. You have the best night vision of all of us, after all,” Odile said.

“Yeah! And he’s, like, really great at finding stuff!” Isabeau added.

“I trust him completely to remember what I said before dinner,” Bonnie said with a grin. “No more telling needed!”

“Can you tell me anyways?” Mirabelle squeaked. Oh Change, please help her. As usual, her deity did absolutely nothing of note as Siffrin led her out the door.

“So… are you sure you know where you’re going?” Mirabelle said.

“Absolutely! I always remember everything.” He held his head high as he led the way.

“… not that I’m doubting you, but I think. This is. The way I came from?” The buildings looked familiar, and while she was not typically the navigator, she was pretty sure the setting sun being on the opposite side of her meant she was just heading backwards.

“And?”

“Siffrin, that’s the way to the ocean!”

“Yeah,” Siffrin said, not even missing a step.

Maybe this could still make sense? “Is the, um, the restaurant on the pier then?”

“Nope.”

…

“Siffrin. Why are we going to the ocean.”

“Thought you might want your clothes.“

Oh. Right, she was still wearing swim clothes! In her haste, she’d forgotten. How sweet of Siffrin- wait. “Siffrin, I-I mean, that’s very nice, so thank you! But we don’t have time! I’ll pay extra I’m sure they’ll forgive me dripping a little!” She’d chosen a one-piece that covered her well enough and even had a pretty skirt-thing, so it’s not like she was being indecent! “Besides, my clothes are at the house… I didn’t get changed on the sand in front of everyone…”

“Oh. Should we go there instead?”

Mirabelle’s eye twitched a little. “Siffrin! Restaurant!”

“Hehe, okay, okay.”

Hopefully that would be the end of it.

———

That was not the end of it. She loved Siffrin, she did. A lot of the time on their quest, his tendency to pick up random objects and inspect everything was useful! Vital even! And while a slight problem at times outside of questing, it was still endearing. But did he have to do that now? Sure, they hadn’t had any real sense of urgency in months, and she doubts he kept on his toes and rushed through every loop (she hopes he didn’t, that sounded exhausting ), but she hadn’t realized you needed practice in it! Because why else would he be! So! SLOW!

“Hey look, this rock looks like a seashell!”

“Siffrin, that IS a seashell!” There were a million seashells! They were near the seashore!

“Oh. That makes sense!”

She was going to get… what did Odile call it? An ulcer. She was going to get an ulcer.

It didn’t help that people kept staring. One might think Mirabelle would be used to it by now, but this seemed more than usual??? The feeling of being watched put chills down her spine. The occasional whispering didn’t help either, but it was hard to hear over the occasional chatter.

Siffrin took a right and then stopped, turning to her, “Do you think anyone sells seashells?”

“Um, no? We’re by the seashore!”

“I think Odile could.”

“Even she can’t sell seashells by the she- um, sea sore- shore- SIFFRIN THIS IS NOT WHAT WE NEED TO BE DOING RIGHT NOW!”

Siffrin laughed and looked up at who knows what. “Oh, huh. It’s almost dark! We should get going.”

“Yes. Yes we should. Thank you, Siffrin.”

He decided to leisurely walk to wherever they were trying to go up until they got close enough to see someone by the door with her keys.

“NOOOOOOO!” Mirabelle moaned, running over. “Are you closed?! Were we too late? Oh please oh please tell me you have a few leftovers! I’ll pay extra!”

The person—a heavyset sort with skin a few shades lighter than Bonnie’s—gave her a sympathetic smile. “Sorry sweetie. No leftovers, I’m afraid.”

Her stomach chose then to grumble and she sunk dramatically to her knees.

The person locked eyes with Siffrin, both grinning, and chuckled, “We’re only just opening, a little early to have any leftovers!”

What.

Siffrin burst into laughter beside her. “ Your face!”

WHAT?!

“Siffrin! Did you know?! Did you do this on purpose?!”

“Mm hmm~!”

“ Stars , you got her good, didn’tcha?” The woman said.

“SIFFRIN YOU- YOU…” she took a deep breath and LET IT ALL LOOSE, “YOU CRAB !”

“GAAAAAASP! BELLE SAID CRAB?!?!”

Mirabelle’s head snapped around. There, around the street corner, was…

“Bonnie?!”

“CRAB! GUYS! SHE SAW ME!”

“Aaaaand you just gave away everyone else,” Odile said as she also stepped out from the shadows. “A pretty good tailing session, I would say, but try not to be a sellout.”

“Oops,” Bonnie said.

“MADAME YOU’RE HERE TOO?!” Mirabelle said.

Siffrin was leaning against the wall he was laughing so hard. And the mystery person didn’t look much better.

“In my defense, I intended to see this supposed ‘Night Market’ with my own eyes,” Odile said. “Any amusement I got from watching you and Siffrin was simply an added bonus.”

Mirabelle stared into her soul, but Madame’s poker face remained as good as ever. “You knew.”

“Yes,” Odile said. “And I’m not going to be the only one to go down with this ship. Bonnie’s already sold us out. Show yourselves.”

Nille, Isabeau, and two strangers stepped from the shadows.

Mirabelle’s eye twitched. “HOW?! WHY?! WHY ARE YOU HERE AND HOW DID WE PICK UP MORE PEOPLE?!”

Nille held her hands up defensively, “I wasn’t letting Bonnie go out at night alone.”

“I wanted to feel included,” Isabeau said (and honestly that was so adorably earnest she couldn’t even be mad at him for it).

“Also, people saw us following you and called the defenders,” Bonnie said.

“Hi. That’s us!” One of the apparent defenders said. “So… you do actually know these people and are not passing charges on a group of stalkers?”

The other had become a few shades lighter. “Dude. I’m pretty sure these are the saviors.”

“What?!”

To add further salt to the wound, someone else had come from inside the restaurant—a cook, presumably—and was surveying them all with a raised eyebrow and a chuckle. “Oh, they got you good .”

“I think Sif’s dying,” Isabeau said jokingly.

Their rogue was on the ground absolutely wheezing, laughing so hard sound had stopped coming out.

“Death by laughter…” Odile said. “A new one, I take it?”

Siffrin made a hand gesture Mirabelle did not recognize at Odile, but did not stop.

Mira stared down at him. “Siffrin. You are my friend, and I love you. That’s why I’m giving you a three second head start to run.” She drew her rapier. “Three…”

That was apparently enough to make Siffrin hop up and start running, though he was still laughing so much he might as well have been drunk.

“Two…”

Almost immediately, he managed to trip on a rock and do an impressive cartwheel only to then hit a wall and scramble back up.

“One~!”

“DISTRACTION!!!” Bonnie shouted, tackling her.

“Oh! Bonnie! You wanted gotten too?” Mira said, smiling sweetly (knowing good and well she would never hurt them, or Sif for that matter, all in good fun!).

“CRAB!” Bonnie jumped off like she was a hot pan. “SCATTER! SHE CAN’T CATCH EVERYONE!!!”

The next few minutes were spent in the world’s most disorganized game of chase with the poor, baffled defenders trying to explain to passers by that it was just the saviors pranking each other which did somehow less than nothing to dissuade anyone from watching.

But eventually Mirabelle had to concede, leaning against the wall to catch her breath and, “Pfffff, hahahaha!”

“You laughed, so I’m off the hook~!” Siffrin said.

Mirabelle rolled her eyes, but was smiling. “Yes, yes. Okay, I’ll admit it, that was funny.” She stood up and brushed the dirt off the swim wear the best she could. “A little mean, but funny.”

The group congregated and laughed together. Siffrin in particular was absolutely beaming (it felt nice to see, more than worth it, even).

“Sorry,” Siffrin said, “But what can I say? I’m a professional little stinker!” They snickered. “Besides, it’s tradition to mess with unwary tourists!”

“Especially Vaugaurdians,” the person from before—the one who’d been at the door—said. “We take it better than most.”

“Mm hmm! And tip well too,” Siffrin said. “I used to wait around the docks and do the same trick to people coming off the boats. Mom ‘officially’ told me to stop, buuuuut she’d sneak me some extra snacks when I lured them to the shop.”

Odile scribbled something down in her notebook, and Isabeau’s eyebrows went up…

But Mirabelle could only gasp. “Siffrin lore?! And! Using your mischief? For profit?! For shame!”

“What. I, um, you know I’m not getting paid for this, right Mira? I only just met… hmm. Sorry, pronouns?” They said to the person.

… what? Hmm. Well, it wasn’t the first time Siffrin forgot what he was talking about as they said it, though still concerning…

“I’m not picky, but eh, been leaning towards she/her lately,” the woman said. “Name’s Vivian, but Viv’s fine. Now then, weren’t you hungry, sugar? Let’s get you something nice and fresh. And hey, your friends can come too if they’d like! Honestly, that was enough of a laugh that I think you’ve earned yourself a discount. Oh, and being the saviors and all too.” She chuckled and waved them inside.

Siffrin was the first in.

Chapter Text

Odile had no intention of staying for a second dinner, but figured she’d at least see the place. She had, admittedly, expected something fancier, but then again, maybe that was asking a lot from Bambouche; it was a fishing port town, not much to see. The walls were coated in chipped white paint, stained around a fireplace that presumably got more use in the winter than now. Anchors, nautical steering wheels, fishing lures, and taxidermied fish decorated the place along with a handful of change god statues and, cutely enough, what looked like children’s drawings.

“Look! I made this one when I was tiny,” Boniface said, pointing to a handprint on one part of the wall.

“And where is it…“ Petronille looked around the wooden booths until, “Still there!” Carved into the wall was her and Boniface’s names.

“Still there!” Boniface cheered. They then squinted at the spot. “Wow. Our handwriting was really bad.”

“Didn’t help that we had to carve it.”

Odile was tempted to say that maybe they shouldn’t brag about that, but they weren’t exactly the only ones who’d done so. People had left their marks all over the place. Tables, walls, pictures, handprints, even chairs had signs of those who’d decided to etch their presence in on way or another.

“Of course it’s still there! We aren’t giving up your seats,” Vivian said. They were broad-shouldered and heavyset, hands calloused and laugh lines starting to make grooves on their face. But what caught Odile’s eye most was the hair. It wasn’t quite as bright as Siffrin’s, and the roots were a bit darker, but it wasn’t the most common hair color.

“You two know each other?” Siffrin said.

“It’s Bambouch. Everyone knows everyone, but yeah. Waitress job still going well, or do I need to bust some heads?” Vivian said.

Petronille nodded. “I’m doing alright. I think most of them got the picture after Francine.”

“Ugh, yeah. Glad that creep’s out.” They looked to the rest of the group. “Heh, but where are my manners? We’ve got guests! Welcome to the Midnight Shack. I’m Vivian. She, he, they, whatever suits your fancy. Table for six?”

“Five at most. Most of us already had dinner and I was considering touring the rest of this ‘Night Market,’ as you call it,” Odile said.

“Yeeeeeah, I was the only one who missed it,” Mirabelle said. “And, um, sorry I’m still a little damp.”

Vivian snorted. “Sugar, our main clients these days are sailors who reached shore later than they wanted to. This is nothing.” She looked over to Odile. “Well, hope you have a nice look around then. It used to be a lot bigger, but…”

There was a bit of a silence. Mirabelle and Isabeau looked like they were waiting for the rest of that sentence, Boniface and Petronille just nodded knowingly, and she herself had a pretty good idea why business had dropped. And Siffrin…

It was hard to read the look on his face, eyes downcast and mouth nestled into the high collar of his cloak. “… it’s nice that some of it still exists though. It’s not all gone. Not yet.”

“Not yet,” Vivian agreed. “For better or worse.”

Siffrin nodded.

This felt personal, almost intrusive . Siffrin wasn’t exactly asking them to leave though, and she could understand wanting to share a bit of culture, even from one he couldn’t remember. Still, she had no desire to eat here or otherwise linger.

“Well, smaller or not, any suggestions for particular sights?” Odile said.

“Depends,” Vivian said. “I mean, the general store is nothing fancy, it’s just convenient enough that they stay afloat. The boulangerie is…“ she looked off to the side. “She’s weird, kinda shy, but sweet once she warms up to you. You’re a researcher though, right? She’s really, really into Sadnesses. Enough to freak people out sometimes.”

“Why???” Mirabelle said.

“You can ask her, but you might end up roped into a long chat about it.” Vivian chuckled. “Relatedly, for a small convenience fee, I’ll run over and buy a few things for you if you’re in the mood for dessert.”

They continued, “There’s a bar not too far out—not sure if it technically counts since most bars are open late—the trading post has a night shift, and to save the best for last, the curio shop! My bonded, Bianca, runs it, so you can trust that I’m totally not biased.”

That earned a few snorts and giggles from the crowd, but…

“OH OH OH! Bianca’s the witch!” Boniface said. “She’s cool. And magic! I heard she can tell the future!!! But Nille doesn’t let me go.” They gave their sister the side-eye.

“People can’t tell the future, Bonnie,” Petronille said, taking off their hat to muss up their hair. “She just acts weird to scam people.”

“… hey. Stop that.” Vivian said. “She…” they looked to the side, shifting uncomfortably. “It’s not seeing the future, necessarily? I don’t have much an eye for it myself, but it’s more like listening? Or seeing. Ugh, she explains it better than me, it’s-“

“———!” Siffrin said.

“… can we have a translation?” Isabeau asked.

Siffrin hummed, tapping his fingers against a table and staring at the ceiling as he thought. “Sorry, I don’t know if there’s a direct translation? It’s not divination since you aren’t actually  seeing the future, but more like…” He squinted, the nodded to himself. “Listening to the universe. Since it knows things before most things, to a lot of people it looks the same, but it’s not! It’s not set in stone! It’s things happening now and future plans and wishes and little nudges and… and…” his fingers scratched at the table, eye screwing up.

“Drawing conclusions from what is, asking advice, that kind of stuff,” Vivian said.

“Asking what is to try to predict what will be.” Odile pulled out one of her many books to scribble that down. “Fascinating…”

“… what are we talking about again?” Siffrin mumbled, nestling into the collar of their cloak. “Sorry. Heh, you know me. Sieve for a brain.”

Odile opened her mouth to answer, but Vivian beat her to it, “My bonded’s profession, ———. She’s really good at making predictions.”

“…” Petronille sighed and smiled. “Yeah, I guess so. Can’t really say she’s not after I went and asked her if Bonnie was okay.”

“Hehe. You got scammed~!” Boniface sing-songed, sticking their tongue out.

“Oh like you wouldn’t do the same,” she said back, pulling them into a side-hug.

Odile had no doubt that Boniface would, indeed, have done the same. Asking “witches” for the future wasn’t too different from asking trees for favors… Actually given that she was all but certain both had roots in the northern island, that might be more apt than she first intended.

“Hmmmm… maaaaybe. Maybe not,” Boniface said.

“You totally wished for her to be okay at the favor tree,” Isabeau said.

“Aaaaaaw. You do care,” Petronille said, scooping them into a chokehold to kiss their cheeks.

“HEY! NIIIIIIIIIILLE! WE’RE IN PUBLIC! STOPPIT!”

“I have to agree there,” Odile said.

“Hmmmm, nah.” Kiss kiss hug wrestle kiss.

“How sickeningly sweet, ugh.” Odile massaged the bridge of her nose. “Should we stop them?”

Vivian chuckled, “Eh, not the first time. I’ll allow it.”

“GUYS! HELP!” Boniface said, wriggling. They were absolutely grinning, cheeks puffed up in an attempt not to laugh.

“Sorry Bonbon, it’s basically the law that older siblings embarrass the younger ones,” Siffrin said.

“TRAITOR!”

Petronille kept up her aggressively affectionate assault until Boniface gave in and started laughing. Only then did she put them back on the ground, muss up their hair, and replace the hat that had been sent flying in the chaos.

“Alright, we should let the savior lady eat, yeah?” Petronille said.

“Mmmm, okay. BUT! Don’t get too filled up! We’re gonna go grab some sugar and I’m gonna make dessert!” Boniface said, arms in the air.

“We won’t!” Mirabelle chirped.

Siffrin looked to the side. “I… might be out late. If that’s okay?” They peeked over at Bonnie, then shook their head. “Then again, I can’t miss desserts from the Snack Leader!”

“Hehe! But, uh, it’s okay too Frin. I know you’re basically a cat. You gonna talk to the witch?”

Siffrin shuffled his feet, staring up at the ceiling, towards the sky , again.

“You can come with me if you’d like,” Odile said. “Just another look through curio stores, right? I do hope you brought your own money for any Knick knacks they might have.”

Siffrin opened and shut his mouth.

Apparently this was enough to get Isabeau’s attention as well. “Hey, you okay? Did, uh, a witch curse you once or something?”

Siffrin snorted and shook his head. “No, no. Sorry, just… Do you remember?” He scrunched up his nose. “Or close as I get! Heh. Flower for you-“ he huffed.

It was no surprise to Odile it might be overwhelming, but what to do about that was another question. He was a grown adult, she wasn’t going to forbid him from going. Maybe she could offer to go another night? Or take him? Urgh, escorting him like a child felt worse than just saying no.

“Hmm, well! She sounds pretty interesting! I want to meet her too!” Isabeau said. “Buuuuut I promised Bonnie I’d help carry groceries, and I was thinking of learning how to make some of their recipes! So I probably can’t tonight, but we’ll be in town a while. Maybe we can give Bonnie a break sometime and all come here instead sometime and meet her there?”

“I think that sounds like a perfect idea,” Vivian said. “Know she’s been wanting to meet you guys too, but knowing her, she’s trying to be over dramatic about it.”

Some of the tension fell from Siffrin’s shoulders. “Perfect!” He took one of Mirabelle’s hands. “But for now, can’t let Mira go hungry. Anyone else staying, or table for two?”

They looked at each other and agreed, “Table for two.”

Vivian led them to a little table while the rest of them headed out. As Odile was leaving, she could hear Mirabelle thank Siffrin for staying only to cut herself off with admonishing him for carving his own name into the table.

… the Night Market, diminished as it may be compared to the supposed glory days, might be more interesting than she anticipated, at least to one of them.