Loud bird screeching was the first thing to assault Kasef's ears in the morning, followed by the yells of one of the three father's yelling for Reyna to shut her bird up. He opened his eyes to find a large black bird he had never seen before perched on the backrest of the couch he had been sleeping on, loudly screeching and cawing like there was no tomorrow. He was now very tempted to smack it just to shut it up, but thankfully Reyna emerges into the living room with a small bag in her hand.

"Hey don't be rude to our guest!" She scolds as the bird goes silent and hops off the couch to fly into her shoulder. "Birdie, that's not very nice, let Kasef get his sleep."

"Thank you." The human mutters in relief. "I think my ears are going to be ringing for the next ten minutes."

"I don't know what is the matter with him, but he hardly ever does this sort of thing." Reyna assures him as she pulls what looks like a small orange nut from her bag and hands it to the bird, who eagerly plucks it from her hand with one foot and begins to nibble on it. "He mostly screams at Ikaros for no reason, I'm still trying to figure out why."

Kasef gives a muffled response that was lost into his pillow, earning a small laugh from Reyna before she returns the bird to a perch hanging near the couch.

"I'll go get the medical kit, I need to check on your wounds."

"M'kay."

She returns a few minutes later with a large box and seats herself on the floor to take Kasef's bandaged hand and examines the wound carefully.

"Alright, so far your wound seems to be healing well. Can you flex your hand for me?”

Kasef does as he’s told, flinching a bit at the pain. “It hurts a bit.” He admits quietly.

"It'll go away after a while, and it's normal to still feel pain." Reyna assures him as she grabs a roll of bandages from the box. "If it's still hurting, I'll make you some tea to soothe the pain, just let me know. And how is your eye feeling right now? And your head?"

"It hurts sometimes, the eye I mean. And as for my head, it's not hurting at all."

"Well that's good at least, and it's good to see you're feeling a bit better."

"And no odd dreams tonight either, just some blissfully quiet dreams."

This earns him a smile from Reyna before she reaches up and ruffles the front of his hair.

"I just noticed how cute you look with that bed head and sleepy smile on your face." She says with a small laugh before shutting the medical kit and getting up. "I'll go put this away and get us something to eat before we head out, you're getting some new clothes today."

Did she really call me "cute" just now? Kasef wonders as Reyna hurries out back in the direction of her room. Wait why is my face feeling warm over hearing that from her?

He hears Birdie squawking at him from above and staring at him with those beady eyes. Creepy bird...

"Good morning!" Kasef hears Cici call and sits up in time to see them stroll into the living room already dressed and with a smile on their face before they broke into a fit of giggles.

"What now?" Kasef asks and they point at him.

"You look like a baby crow with your bed head sticking up like that." They giggled. "It looks so cute, has Reyna seen it yet?"

"Yes and she said I looked cute with it."

"Did she now?"

"Yes?" What was with that little secretive smile on their face? Before he could even ask, Reyna returns fully dressed and running a brush through her hair while humming to herself.

"Cici do we have any porridge left to cook? And some fresh fruit to add to it?" She asks before heading to the couch and hands Kasef the brush. "Fix your hair." 

"Yes we do, also don't tell him that after you said his bed head looked cute." Cici says as Kasef sits up from the couch.

"Mags does not like tangled hair, she will attack it with her own brushes if he doesn't fix it here at home." Reyna points out before taking the brush from Kasef. "And it's still going to look messy even if we brush it, but at least it won't be tangled."

"I'll do it myself." Kasef insists as he takes the brush back. "You just go do what you need to do."

Reyna looks to Cici, who just shrugs before nodding. "Alright, just clean the hairs out when you are done. Your hair may have been washed yesterday, but it's still nasty to leave in a brush."

The moment the two headed into the kitchen, Kasef proceeded to carefully run the brush through his hair. Last night Reyna had tried to comb and brush out all the tangles from his hair while her family had been preparing for dinner after vigorously scrubbing it clean of dirt, and while painful he was glad it at least had gotten combed out. At least today he didn't have to worry about too many tangles as yesterday, and he took care to try and brush back his bangs that Reyna wouldn't stop laughing over how similar they looked to a feathered plumage of some bird he never heard of, until it was flattened well. Once he was done, he headed towards the kitchen to find Reyna and Cici happily chatting and pouring things into a pot that was smelling delicious. The two elves caught sight of him and immediately went quiet.

"Sorry, was I not supposed to be in here?" He asked and Cici blinked in surprise.

"Oh no, it's fine. We're just taken a bit by surprise, you look a lot different with your bangs brushed back.” Reyna says with a small laugh.

“I could...fix that if it’s bad looking.” Kasef suggests.

“Oh no, you look fine!” Cici assures him quickly. “Just go sit down, we’re almost done making breakfast. Hope you like some Xadian strawberries in porridge.”

“I have no clue what those taste like but I’m sure they’re delicious.”

After a few minutes of waiting at the table the two elves emerged from the kitchen with Reyna carrying three steaming wooden bowls and Cici holding a small bowl filled to the top with some strange purple looking fruits and some spoons before they set them out on the table and placed them down.

“Okay just to be clear, you don’t hate fruits, right?” Reyna asks as she and Cici seat themselves on either side of Kasef with their bowls. “Because last night you hardly ate anything except rice and looked ready to puke when you put a vegetable in your mouth.”

Kasef cringes at the memory, recalling too well the hurt look on Cici’s face when he spat out the weird blue vegetable and flew into a coughing fit before chugging down his entire cup of juice. He apologized profusely afterwards, very confused to why he had such a reaction to eating something he never tasted before.

“I can assure you, I don’t think I do.” He says with a shake of his head. “I still don’t get why I spat it out, the second I put it in my mouth I had the urge to puke, and I’m sure Cici did not cook it badly.”

“Well maybe I over seasoned it?” The smaller elf suggests. “Sometimes I get carried away with seasoning stuff, or sometimes it’s Reyna who gets carried away with seasoning things and it either comes out too sweet or too spicy.”

“Oh come on! I spilled a cup of spices one time into the soup that ended up so spicy even Zolar couldn’t stomach it and you all can’t trust me in the kitchen!” Reyna says and pouts. “It was an accident I swear, plus that soup tasted so bland I was surprised we were even able to taste the spice at all!”

“Tell that to Ikaros.” Cici giggles before pushing the bowl of fruit to the human. “Here, try one. If you don’t like the taste you don’t have to mix it into the porridge."

Kasef picks one out of the bowl and bit into it. His mouth was instantly filled with an unusually sweet flavor, much like the berry juice Ibis had served them last night. Now this was certainly not something he was going to cough up.

“You really should see the cute face you’re making.” Reyna laughs and Kasef looks at her in confusion. “You looked like one of the birds we have when she gets scratched in her favorite spot.”

“He is making the same face as Peach.” Cici says nodding in agreement. “And that’s the face she makes when she eats her favorite foods too.”

“What is with you two and comparing me to a bird?” The human asks and the two elves laugh. “I’m serious! Is it a Skywing thing or something?”

“Well would you want me to compare you to a baby wolf bat eating fruit for the first time when you started eating?” Reyna teases and Kasef makes a pout. “Oh stop pouting and eat your breakfast, we have to meet with Mags later today.”

🍃🍃🍃

“Now Mags will have no qualms about tailoring clothing for humans, she's actually quite open about her dislike for the deeply rooted hate some elves have for them." Reyna says as she and Cici led Kasef towards a large hut where the village tailor apparently lived. "Says a lot of us are probably descended from a few humans back when Xadia used to be one land and when we were at peace."

"I think she mentioned once that her great-grandmother was a human." Cici adds. "We sent a message to her earlier this morning and she was more than eager to do it. Now please be polite and keep any rude comments in your head."

“What’s she even like anyways?” Kasef asks as he tried adjusting the collar of Zolar’s shirt. “I mean she sounds a lot nicer than some of the other elves in your village, considering what you said about her liking humans.”

Earlier on their way over to the tailor Kasef was met with a small group of annoyed and upset elves who didn’t seem too happy that he was still in the village, one even chucked what he assumed was some rotten or overly ripe fruit that Reyna managed to grab before fling it back at whoever threw it and started to yell at them for being disrespectful. And she probably would have gotten into a fight if he and Cici hadn’t grabbed her to drag her away.

“Ask her for her opinions on humans, she’ll say they’re an interesting race and a curious but funny bunch.” Cici says as they reached the door and knocked on it. “Oh Mags! We’re here!”

“Come on, come in little birds!” A muffled voice from the other side called. “It’s been too long since either of you visited your grandmother!”

“Grandmother?” Kasef asks as Cici opened the door for them to step inside.

“She’s not our grandmother, but she acts like one to us.” Reyna explains as they entered and shut the door behind them. “Everyone who doesn’t think she’s the crazy village lady sees her as a grandmother figure of sorts. And she’s quite harmless as well.”

The room was covered  from wall to floor with piles of colorful fabrics, in a corner there were some chairs also covered in fabrics, what looks like a patchwork quilt covering one of the walls and an empty stool stood in the middle, probably for whoever was going to be fitted. Kasef really couldn’t see anyone else was in the room, at least until the quilt was moved and a female elf emerged from behind it. She had a sort of pale purple - grey skin and long flowing silver hair with a pair of small purple horns sticking out from near the front of her head and several black markings on her face and around her neck and chest. The elf gave them a warm smile and spread her arms out.

"It's been too long since either of you have visited me!" The elf said as she move forward to hug Reyna and Cici. "Really, you two ought to visit your poor and lonely grandmother more often!"

"Hello Mags." Reyna laughs as they were released from the hug. "How have you been? Business good as usual?"

"As usual, as usual." The elf, Mags, says beaming proudly before frowning. "Really Reyna, what have I told you about wearing that red shirt, it clashes horribly with your skin and eyes!"

"Criticizing me this early into the visit, huh?" Reyna mutters as the elderly elf tutted. "Oh come on my shirt is fine and-"

"Mags, we came to have you fit Kasef for new clothes, not Reyna." Cici says, taking Kasef's hand and tugged him forward. "We can't have him walking around in Zolar's clothes."

Mags' eyes widened in surprise "Oh! That's the human Ibis mentioned in his letter!"

"He needs some new shirts and pants, preferably something for the warmer season that's coming." Reyna states as the elder elf walks right up to Kasef and proceeds to poke his arms and lift them to examine him.

“Such a skinny little thing, no wonder he’s drowning in your father’s clothes!” She tutted. “Why didn’t Ibis or Ikaros lend him something? They’re smaller than Zolar!”

“Because he’s too tall, and the shirt makes him look skinny.” Reyna laughs. “It took me several belts to keep the pants on his hips.”

"Unfortunately." Kasef agrees, lifting his shirt up to reveal the multiple belts holding his pants up. "If you can, maybe help?"

"Dearie, I can sew and resize anything! Hand me an old dress and I'll resize and design it to be a new frock for a toddler!" Mags' exclaims as she stepped away from him. "Hmm...take your shift off."

"What?!"

"I'm not looking!" Cici squeaked, quickly turning towards the walls. "You too Reyna!"

"I've already seen him shirtless, I cleaned him up when I first found him." Reyna scoffs and rolled her eyes. "You know I'm used to this sort of thing, I'm a healer."

"And you'll always have to be used to it." Mags agrees with a chuckle and turns to Kasef. "Unless you'd feel a bit more comfortable with her not looking."

"I...I would prefer anyone not looking." Kasef admits quietly. "Please?"

"Hey why don't we leave and we'll come back later?" Reyna suggests, placing a hand over Cici's eyes and pushed them to the doors. "We'll be back in...maybe three hours?"

"Plenty of time to get him fitted, and maybe by the time you two come back I'll have two nice shirts and a pair of pants fitted for him to take home." Mags says with a nod and points to the door. "Now as much as I love it when you two visit me, I'd prefer if you leave me in peace and let me do my work."

"We'll see you two then in a few hours." Reyna says as she opens the door and nudged Cici out. "And be nice, he's a sensitive soul."

"You sure we should leave him alone with Mags?" Cici asks once their sister shut the door behind her. "Ibis told us never to leave him alone."

"He'll be fine, Mags won't even hurt him." Reyna assures them. "In the meantime we should probably see the cobbler about getting him fitted for some boots, can't have him tripping in Zolar's boots forever. And we should make sure it's one who at least is tolerable towards humans."

🍃🍃🍃

"I haven't made clothes for a human in... centuries!" Mags laughs as Reyna and Cici enter the workshop. "Last one was for a man I was planning to marry before the elves threw him and the other humans out of Xadia. Such a shame I never saw him again, he was such a kind and good-natured fellow with a smile as warm as the sun in the spring. We could have had a lovely set of children, little tailors sewing their own clothes like their mother and father." 

“I take it that you enjoyed making him clothes?" Reyna asks and the elf laughed.

"Absolutely! Oh I hadn't had this much fun since my youth with my dear Bernard, though this human you brought isn't quite as handsome as my fiance and kept asking to have his shirt on when I finished measuring."

"I think he's a bit self-conscious over the scars, he was even uncomfortable over wearing just a vest in place of Zolar's big shirt." Cici points out as they head to one of the chairs and sat themselves down. "So, where is Kasef?"

"In the dressing room, waiting for me to call him out so you can see what I had made for him." Mags turns to the quilt hanging on the wall. "You can come out now, don't be shy."

"Are you sure?" They hear Kasef ask.

"Oh come on, I'm sure you don't look as bad as you think." Cici assures him. "What did she at least put you in?"

"A...I think it's a sleeveless tunic?"

"Then it can't be as bad as you think, at least step out so we can see for ourselves." Reyna says. "I promise we won't laugh if it looks weird on you."

"Why do I feel like you are."

"Oh for ancients sake, just come out!"

A few moments passed before Kasef finally emerged from behind the quilt, now sporting a dark green sleeveless tunic and a pair of dark brown pants that went past his knees. He looks to the elves a bit unsure and held his hands up.

"So...is it bad?" He asks and Cici shakes their head.

"You look fine, that's actually a lot better than Zolar's shirt hanging off you and the multiple belts holding your pants up, don't you agree Reyna?"

"Ah...yes?" The elf says and looks away. "It's better than what I expected."

"Excellent! Now I'll just have to make him a few more with the measurements I wrote down." Mags says with a smile. "See what I told you boy? These two like it, you look good enough to make Reyna even blush!"

"Mags!" Reyna helps, turning to the elder in horror, her cheeks now blooming pink.

“And you little missie." Mags walks over to one of the cloth piles and plucks something off of it before walking back to Reyna and shoves something into her arms and points to the quilt. "Go put that on, it'll look much better than that top of yours."

"Oh my gods Mags, I don't need any new shirts!" Reyna groans but the elderly elf gave her a stern look. "Okay fine! But only because you won't let us leave until I put it on."

"Hey where did your bandages go?" Cici asks Kasef. "The one covering your eye."

"Oh...Mags had me remove it." Kasef admits, gesturing to the dressing room. "It's somewhere in the old clothes I had to discard."

"You can get it back when Reyna comes out, though your eye seems to be doing fine that you don't need bandages to cover it." Mags says waving her hand dismissively. "I have a friend who's son makes shoes you can go to, he doesn't dislike humans so he won't turn you three away if you ask him to make Kasef some boots to fit him."

"There, happy now?" The three turned to see Reyna emerge from behind the quit with a sour expression and now wearing the shirt Mags had given her. "Can I take this off? It feels too fancy for my taste."

"It doesn't look that fancy." Cici points out. "But the blue does look nice on you."

"Blue isn't really my color, maybe a dark grey or a dark blue but not this pale shade of blue that almost looks like a shade darker than my skin." Reyna says with a scoff. "And this cloth here that is supposed to look like it's off the shoulders really doesn't seem to be a good idea because it might rip if I did the wing spell."

"I suppose I could fix that and change the cloth color." Mags agrees. "But the two straps holding it up should stay at least. Take it off, I'll see if I can fix it." 

"You know we only came here to get Kasef clothes, right?" Reyna says as she walks back to the dressing room.

"Kasef, you okay?" Cici asks, turning to the human. "You look flustered, you're not getting sick are you?"

"I'm fine! I'm fine!" Kasef assures them. "I'm just...just feeling a bit warm right now."

"It's not that warm in here, but I probably should open a window." Mags says as Reyna reemerges wearing the shirt she was previously wearing and holding the clothes Kasef had been wearing before and the shit she had been given. "You know I could alter the shirt Zolar lent your human companion, if he doesn't mind missing at least one shirt but I don't think I could do anything about the pants."

"We'll just ask him, if he says Kasef could keep them then we'll bring them back to be fixed another day." Reyna says as she hands Kasef his clothes and hands Mags the shirt. "Really Mags, you don't have to go through the trouble of making me anything."

"No I insist, and it's no trouble for me." Mags says as she takes the shirt back. "Come back by the end of the week, this shirt will be fixed by then so maybe you could wear it for a special occasion or that upcoming summer gathering of the clans."

"Oh I almost forgot that was coming!" Cici gasps. "Wait, what are we going to do with Kasef by then?"

"He won't be going because I'll be staying at home with him." Reyna responds. "Unless the clans plan on coming here to our village for the gathering instead of one of the more bigger villages, I'll stay here with him." 

"You sure about that? This gathering sounds like an important Skywing thing." Kasef says and Reyna shakes her head.

"It's not. Now, let's go and get you some boots before your feet get messed up."