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Aethos frowned at Lin. "You already have several bags, and from what I can tell, all of your things fit into them," he told her flatly as they left the shop. "What use would you possibly have for another bag?"

Earendil shook his head. "It's not about the need or necessity," he told the prince calmly. "It's about taking pleasure in something. Life is nothing without something that we can take pleasure in. To simply survive ... it's like living underwater and breathing through a reed. Pointless."

"Would you get Miyuki a custom bag?" Earendil asked Lin curiously as they strolled along. "With a design of her own choosing?"

He thought it was a good idea: and he was certain Miyuki would like it too.

"And there's no rush," Earendil reminded Lin. "We're going to be here for quite a while, I'm sure Miyuki will grow at some point while we're here, and she won't even need a bag, really, until we start traveling again."

By that time Miyuki would be more than capable of choosing and appreciating a design for her bag, and she would have a stronger personality to reflect.

Earendil chuckled. "Like you, on our first journey?" he teased her. "Until then you had never been in any world for very long."

Six years in one world - that had more than doubled her age.

"There's the jewelry shop," he added with a grin, pointing. "We should stop there next."

Aethos blinked at Earendil. "What use would you have for jewelry?"

"Isn't it a bit of a waste, though, to get something solely for the sake of looking at it?" Aethos pressed.

Earendil shook his head. "It's what makes people unique, Aethos-sola. It allows people to express themselves without saying anything. For example, Lin has an affinity for butterflies. She has a butterfly bag and butterfly jewelry. And she likes blue, a very peaceful and calm colour. And to people around her, that tells them a little bit about her. As for me, I don't wear much extras ... but that's not because I don't like it, it's just because if I were going to wear any sort of jewelry, I would want it to be something meaningful, like Lin and her butterflies. Something that says something about me, or that is from someone I care deeply about, an item that might represent an important moment of my life. Which is the other reason for jewelry and other such things: gifts. It's a way to show someone that you care for them."

"I know that wouldn't mean anything to you," Earendil told Aethos, "but in our land, that is a great honour. It is a difficult mountain to climb, and when a child is able to climb it him- or herself, that is when they are deemed worth of receiving training to enter into our Home Guard - the equivalent of your Wing Riders, I would imagine."

Aethos nodded slowly. "But when you have no one to give anything to ... why bother with even looking?" he asked, changing the subject slightly. He didn't care about expressing himself - the people knew who he was and what he was like, they didn't need anything extra.

Aethos wasn't quite convinced, but he supposed that he might as well give it a try. After all, it wasn't like he had anything better to do - and he had promised that he would accompany them for the afternoon.

Still, it was beyond him how Earendil, a prince in his own land, could find all of this enjoyable. There were more important things that had to be taken care of, there always were: why was this waste of time so important to the foreign prince?

"If you say so," he shrugged, following them into the jewelry shop.