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Dec 21, 2025

Perfect (OC Oneshot)

Characters: Medli Mistwalker, Rhell O'Hara, Idric Ba'lor

Relationship: Medli Mistwalker/Rhell O'Hara

Medli finds herself with a dilemma. Tonight, when the sun goes down, Longest Night will begin. It’s a great celebration across Libris, marked by festivals. While she normally holds great excitement about the holiday, this year she has a gift to buy and a painfully small amount of money to do so with.

A retelling of The Gift of the Magi

AO3 Link

Libris. The Great Book. It was known to some living upon its pages as ‘The World of Stories’ as it was the power of tales, legends, myths, and rumours that kept the world alive. Stories caused the rise and fall of gods. Stories allowed adventurers to overcome great odds and thwart those who threatened them time and time again.

Today, as with all days, there was a tale due to start. Perhaps not a tale as grand as those of adventure, of great beasts felled and treasures gained, but it was a story worth telling and listening to all the same.

It began on the southern coast of the Kingdom of Arragade upon a ship docked in the city of New, New Deepwater. It was a typical city for the Balor to find port in as it was a hub for adventurers and, as such, a great place for the merchant vessel to earn its keep.

And sat below the deck in her small bedroom was Medli. The young water genasi sat upon her bed twisting the sheet around in her fingers as she counted the coins she’d tipped out into her skirt. With the amount of time she had been sitting doing this count, anyone would think there was a massive number before her. The reality, however, was completely the opposite.

One gold, eight silver, and seven bronze coins. It was a ridiculously small amount of money to the point that she was desperately trying to convince herself that she had miscounted despite how the tiny number of coins made such a mistake nearly impossible.

Still, she counted over and over, each time leaving her with the same dreadfully small count. Each time leaving her with a mounting shame for just how little money she had saved up.

It wasn’t really something she typically cared about. She got taken care of on the ship, so it wasn’t as if she had any pressing concerns about a lack of money. That was a privilege she knew, and it was one she was beyond thankful for. Given how terrible she clearly was at saving, she dreaded to think what would happen without said support.

Maybe thinking like that was being a bit too negative about herself. It wasn’t as though Medli was completely incapable. She understood how to get by in less than stellar situations. Just because she was currently doing fine didn’t mean she was now unable to survive if things went wrong. She would get by if she needed to, she always did.

However, it was very hard to think positively when she felt like she was feeling the consequences of a string of bad decisions. Because money never really mattered, except for today when it really did.

Tonight was the beginning of Longest Night. The celebration that marked the anniversary of the restoration of magic after the great spell plague. Tonight, when the sun set, darkness would be cast over all of Libris, lasting across the whole next day and night until the sun would then rest again in two days’ time.

It was Medli’s favourite holiday. Ever since she was a kid, she’d loved the story behind it. It was a time for celebrations and festivals and, unfortunately for her startling lack of money, a time for gift giving.

So, money really was a pressing issue because there was a gift she really needed to buy.

“It’s not impossible, I guess,” She muttered in an attempt at reassurance as she kept twisting the bedsheets. There must surely be something she could find within the city that was within her price range. She had to try anyway.

Attempting to ignore the itching anxiety that was mounting within her, Medli shoved the coins back into the pouch she had tipped them from. She just had to try. She still had a full day, after all.

She nodded to herself as she pushed herself up from her bed. She tried to focus on one thing at a time to not allow herself to lose focus on her task for the day. Though, even the first of her little task list proved difficult, as her room was a complete mess. She was left digging around for the items she needed.

Her boots managed to be in completely different spots from each other. Her scarf was for some reason pressed beneath half a dozen books scattered upon her small desk. She thought it a miracle that her coat was actually where it ought to be, hanging from a hook on the back of her door.

As she quickly shoved on all the clothes necessary to roam through the cold streets, she caught a look at herself in the small mirror hanging on the wall. She paused as she looked at her reflection. She looked a panicked mess. That was also how she felt, but it wasn’t really the impression that she wanted to give.

She took a moment to smooth out her hair and adjust her coat so she didn’t look askew.

“You can do this, Medli,” She said to herself, one last affirmation before leaving her room.

The Balor, as always, had some activity throughout its decks. Far less there would be on a day where they were out at sea as its crew members weren’t confined to the vessel, but there was still enough wandering for it to feel alive. People that she stumbled past with squeaked apologies. Despite there being no resistance to her journey outside, she still managed to almost trip over her own feet a couple of times before she was finally on deck.

The cold air hit her immediately and she pulled her coat tighter to try and compensate. The sea air was familiar and calming to her mind which was a nice comfort at this point. It allowed her to properly concentrate, take a breath and keep her thoughts on the task at hand.

Though, despite how she thought her own focus was for once cemented, it was pulled by a voice from a figure sitting on the ship’s railing.

“Got plans, kid?” The tiefling asked, swinging half off his perch in a motion that despite all probability looked well practiced and graceful. His long coat helped with that, fluttering around him as if an extension of his own body. As did the wine glass that he held that managed to survive the movement with none of its contents spilt.

Medli smiled up at Idric.

“No,” She said without much thought, before quickly realising that wasn’t the most accurate answer. “I mean, yes! We’re going to the festival tonight, so like I have plans. But I don’t have plans before that… I just have like a thing I need to get done.”

Idric chuckled quietly to himself as he watched her second guess herself. Medli quite often did little rambles like this where she was attempting to explain something her own mind had made more complex than it really was. Very much used to this, he continued on with the conversation without missing a beat.

“I think that makes the answer yes,” He said with a tilted smile. He didn’t mind. Medli knew the city well enough that he didn’t need to worry about her getting herself lost. Given her track record, he perhaps should be, but he liked to hold some faith in his sister. “What still needs doing?”

Medli shifted between her feet, hesitating to actually answer due to how embarrassing she found the situation. But Idric wasn’t going to make fun of her… Or at least, he wasn’t going to make her feel bad.

“I need to buy a gift… for Rhell,” She said, continuing to shift her weight. If Idric was judging her, it didn’t show on his face. However, she was very much judging herself. She knew this was something that she should’ve already done.

Idric slipped down his position, landing with a light thump on the deck. He smiled at Medli, sensing and hoping to quell her nerves.

“Quite a quest there, but I’m sure that you’ll—”

“Medli! You about?!” Idric was cut through by a call that caused the girl to freeze. That was in no way her normal reaction to hearing her girlfriend’s voice. However, today was anything but normal.

Had the genasi been alone, she may well have remained completely frozen. Thankfully, though, Idric was with her. The tiefling nudged her shoulder, jolting her back into motion just in time to not look obviously panicked as the tanned human woman came dashing up the gangplank.

“Rhell!” Medli exclaimed, a smile breaking onto her face despite her nerves as her girlfriend’s smiling face came into view. She dashed over. Well, she tried. Despite the short distance, she managed to trip over her own feet.

For a moment, she was on a beeline straight towards the hard wood of the deck. Then her shoulders were caught and she was pulled back onto her feet by two warm hands. As she was, she found herself now face to face with Rhell’s smile. “Hi! I, err, I didn’t think I was going to see you until tonight.”

Medli spoke with a smile. Despite how she had a pressing need for time without Rhell today, she still wasn’t any less happy about seeing her. However, it certainly hadn’t been the plan for them to meet up this morning. In fact, if she remembered right, Rhell was meant to be working.

“Oh, Roh needed something picked up from the docks. A new shipment came in this morning. So since I was stopping by anyway,” Rhell’s smile could be heard in her voice.

It was very much like her to stop by, however briefly, just to see Medli. To see if she needed any help. Had today been a market day for them, she would’ve immediately leapt to helping them set up.

The little meetings always left Medli with a fluttering in her chest. Because Rhell cared enough to think about her, to come and see her without prompting. And… And Medli hadn’t even gotten her a gift… “I mean, it’s Longest Night. I want to spend as much of it with you as possible.”

“Well, it’s not really Longest Night until, well, tonight. You know, when the sun goes down. So, we can still be together for the whole night, if you want,” Medli said. “So, like, it’s completely fine that you’ve got to work.”

“Are you sure, because I could try to get through everything quickly and meet you earlier,” It was a genuine offer, given by Rhell as she began a movement that playfully rocked Medli from side to side. Or at least, it was currently a genuine offer.

Rhell never could resist being helpful. So even if she did happen to finish the tasks that she was meant to be doing earlier than expected, she’d almost certainly find herself busy helping someone else.

Honestly, it was something that Medli admired about her. It was nice to meet someone who just genuinely liked helping people. Even if it sometimes made her late to meet up.

Even if it had been something that annoyed her, today was the last day she needed Rhell to finish work early.

“I’m really sure. I’ll meet you at the festival, at sunset,” Medli said with a bright smile, leaning into the movement that was leaving her with this giddiness. She didn’t even need to hide her nerves as she was scared that she would have to. She just couldn’t be nervous when she was with Rhell.

Even if she was hiding the reason why she didn’t mind not seeing Rhell until tonight, her smile was genuine. Wasn’t that all that really mattered?

“Well, if you insist,” Rhell said, then pulled Medli closer, planting a quick kiss on her. “I’ll see you tonight.”

With those words, Rhell was gone as fast as she had appeared, disappearing down the docks towards whatever cargo she was picking up.

Medli watched her go, that horrid pit of nervousness regrowing within her rapidly as she watched her girlfriend disappear into the distance. Their first Longest Night together. Tonight should be special. If anything had ever needed to be perfect, it was tonight. That was the least Rhell deserved. That was how she could show just how much she loved her.

Yet, she hadn’t even done the most basic thing expected for the holiday. How could tonight be perfect without the perfect gift? How could she get the perfect gift with one gold, eight silver, and seven copper?

Before she could be overwhelmed by the task that she had set for herself, a hand ruffled her hair. She looked up, finding Idric smiling at her.

“You’re going to do great, kid. Don’t overthink it.”

Medli could only hope that he was right.

❄ ❄ ❄

The streets of New, New Deepwater were as bustling as ever with shoppers, merchants, and adventurers for whom saving the world couldn’t wait for the holiday. With the ice on the streets and the push of the crowd, Medli found it hard to keep her balance as she roamed through the streets with her eyes fixed on the bright shop windows.

Every shop held a different display, a lot of which featured basic magic meant to draw the eyes of curious passersby. Normally any one of them could easily pull Medli’s attention, leave her staring for minutes to figure out what had been done to create the trick.

However, today she had a mission so she couldn’t let herself be distracted by her own fascinations. She needed to find something for Rhell. As such, her eyes were flickering to each new window, attempting to find anything that was good enough for Rhell.

Medli knew that she’d always had a problem with perfection. Well, maybe not always, but definitely since she was a little kid and the consequences for demonstrating anything less had begun to be made clear. Though she was away from that now, the itching feeling of any of her actions not being good enough were hard to shake no matter how hard she tried.

Finding a gift for Rhell was no exception for this. So many items caught her eyes that she was sure that Rhell would like, but ‘like’ wasn’t good enough. She needed something that Rhell would absolutely love. The perfect gift for the perfect night.

Because, well, Medli just couldn’t imagine giving her girlfriend anything less. Maybe it was just that same itching need to not disappoint that remained drilled into her, but she did truly think it was something more than that.

Rhell was so special. She treated Medli in a way that very few people ever had.

Their first meeting had actually been quite a number of years ago. It was back when Medli had still been attending the hell disguised as a school that had been Mistwalker College.

Despite how the amount of students that had liked Medli could be counted on one hand with a couple of fingers missing, she had, during her education there, been a cheerleader. This wasn’t due to her own want to be one, though Medli had enjoyed the acrobatics part of the activity. Rather, it had been a requirement of her bard training. Who better to be a cheerleader than someone who’s cheering literally made people magically better at whatever they were doing?

Looking back, Medli realised this was probably some form of cheating, but attempting to rig their sports games was far from the worst thing done at Mistwalker. Besides, it hadn’t really felt like cheating. What it felt like was the entire sports team expecting an easy win and turning on her when they didn’t.

The day Medli had met Rhell had been such an example of this. It had been a lacrosse game as Mistwalker had lost badly. She’d tried her best, but bardic magic had its limits. She couldn’t improve lacklustre players to the point of beating those with actual talent.

Of course, she couldn’t have said that. It would’ve just made them angrier and they were already pissed off enough. Rather Medli had been focused on attempting to find an escape route, with zero success. She’d been grabbed and hoisted into the air by the team captain who had already been ranting about all the punishments she was planning to dish out to the smaller girl.

Medli, very much unable to escape by herself, had done pretty much the only thing she possibly could. She’d struggled and quietly asked for help. She hadn’t really expected any to come. Her fellow students were never going to come to her aid, and the teachers were no better. She had basically been asking the gods to intervene.

And somehow, divine intervention had come in the form of Rhell.

She had been the star player of the other team. The talent that Medli’s magic had been no match for. She had stridden over with a flat expression that normally would’ve scared Medli, but the water genasi had been in enough trouble already that she’d barely even noticed the other girl’s approach until she had spoken.

“Hey! Good game!” She’d said a tad too loudly. Not quite a yell, but a volume that couldn’t easily be ignored.

The Mistwalker captain had whipped around with a murderous look in her eyes only to be greeted by Rhell offering a hand to shake. For a moment, Medli had remained suspended as the captain had stared down the opposition. However, in the end, one thing drilled constantly into all of them won out: Maintain Mistwalker’s reputation.

That meant a great many things in a great many circumstances. But in regard to sports games, it meant acting like good sports, so they looked like any other school.

Medli had been dropped to the floor as the captain had gone to shake Rhell’s hand. That tiny intervention by itself would’ve probably been enough of a distraction to allow Medli her escape, but Rhell certainly hadn’t been finished in her aid.

The moment the Mistwalker captain had taken her hand, the tanned girl had pulled her forward and slammed her head bodily into the other’s noise. Quickly the entire Mistwalker team had descended upon Rhell.

It had been a blur to Medli as she had scrambled away to a point where she’d be safe. A little hidden point that had hidden her before. All she really knew from the noise was that the fight hadn’t lasted very long, maybe a minute at most until the teachers had run over to intervene. She’d gathered everything else from the aftermath.

In that short amount of time, Rhell had been reduced to a bloody and bruised mess. Of course she had, she’d had the entire Mistwalker team attacking her. However, she had gotten a few good licks in. A good number of the girls had gained nasty bruises and wouldn’t be playing for a little while, but they had been the lucky ones. The captain had had her ear ripped off and ended up with a large scar running across the entire side of her head.

The team’s anger had been thoroughly retargeted and unleashed upon Rhell, sparing Medli from it. As the beaten victor had been dragged out of the room by her own teacher, she had caught Medli’s eyes as she had stared out of her hiding hole and given her the widest smile.

It had been one of those moments that Medli used to remind herself that there was good in the world. There were people out there willing to help her, even at great expense to themselves.

Still, she hadn’t exactly thought she’d ever meet Rhell again. She hadn’t even known her name, so she’d thought she’d just forever hold the memory of that lacrosse girl who saved from a beating by taking it herself. However, as seemed to happen with far more regularity to Medli than it did to any other person, she’d had another chance encounter with Rhell just a little less than a year ago.

Medli had recognised her instantly. Though Rhell had gained scared, quite a lot of them actually. She had recognised the girl who had been her saviour that day.

They had properly introduced themselves in the streets of a city so far away from the cobbled hell of Mistwalker. Finally, Medli had been able to properly meet and thank Rhell O’Hara.

A lot had happened in the years between their two meetings. Medli had escaped Mistwalker, finding a new home on the Balor with people who actually cared about her. People who weren’t trying to shape her whatever they wanted. Though she was still dealing with nightmares and an overabundance of kidnapping attempts, she was in a far better place than she had been back when they had had their original meeting.

Rhell, in the intervening years, had died and been revived by an anthropomancy cult. Now she was seemingly unkillable and had visions of the future whenever she was harmed.

Medli had thought this seemed quite a big deal, a bigger deal than any of the stuff that had happened to her. Rhell had disagreed and, seeing that it was her undeath, she had been inclined to let her opinion stand. She was attending university on a sports scholarship so being a zombie clearly hadn’t slowed her down.

But since that re-meeting, they’d kept in contact, kept seeing each other with as much regularity as Medli’s travels and Rhell’s classes allowed. And within this year of growing closeness, they had made things official. They were girlfriends. Just thinking about that made Medli’s heart flutter but right now it caused her a certain sinking feeling.

Now dating wasn’t entirely new to Medli. She was inexperienced yes, but she’d had crushes and gone on dates and done all the basics. However, she’d never done anything long term. Rhell, alongside all the other ways she was special to Medli, was also her first real long-term girlfriend. She was so scared of messing this up.

Rhell had done so much for her. Even beyond that first meeting, Rhell had always shown up to help her. She had been kind and thoughtful. She listened to Medli ramble on about magic or music or even just things that confused her.

Obviously, Rhell wasn’t the only person who helped or listened to her. But, as with so many things, Medli found it incredibly hard to articulate just how much Rhell meant to her. She got herself twisted in knots with her own brain that just kept frustrating her.

So that’s why she needed to find a perfect gift. Everything she couldn’t put into words, she’d put into this present. She could show Rhell how much she meant to her. She could repay her for everything she’d done for her.

The gift just needed to be perfect. Surely, Medli could pull that off.

❄ ❄ ❄

As with a great many stories, there are some details required for the rest of this tale to make sense. Details that, if not established, will greatly diminish the impact of the events being told.

It is a general fact about people that they have treasures. Whether literal or metaphorical, big or small, it is simply a part of being alive to have something that one holds dearly.

This fact held just as true for the people of Libris. From the most ancient dragon to the youngest child, so long as they held thoughts, the people had their treasures. Though not everyone could claim to own jewels or magical artifacts, they still all had their treasures.

Medli and Rhell were no exception to this. Each girl possessed a thing that they held as a treasure. And understanding those treasures is key to understanding this story.

Medli could admit that she wasn’t the best at most things. She could claim a lot of theoretical knowledge of magic, but as much as she loved it, she didn’t have the intelligence or performance abilities to use most of what she knew.

She was no help in a fight. Though she knew some healing magic and had some non-magical medical knowledge, it was rare that she was the best healer in a group.

She was clumsy. She had a tendency to lie when confronting situations that she landed herself in.

However, there was one thing that she held undeniable pride in. One thing that no matter how she compared it to anyone else’s, she didn’t feel second best. That thing was her hair.

Flowing the full length of her back, Medli possessed beautiful waves of brilliant blue hair. Beyond anything else, Medli treasured her hair.

She spent time each day maintaining it. No matter how busy she had been, even in the clutches of an enemy or in the depths of a dungeon, she made time to take care of her hair.

She knew that it probably seemed vain, but she didn’t really care. Her hair was beyond a beauty thing for her. It was a point of freedom that she was finally allowed. Back at Mistwalker, she had been forced to keep it short. Now she was finally free of those halls, she could finally have her hair as long as she wanted it.

She loved it more than anything. Each moment that she spent maintaining it. Each time she saw herself in the mirror she couldn’t help but smile at the flowing waves. Her hair was beautiful, and it was hers.

Rhell, similarly, wasn’t a person most would be jealous of.

She was covered in scars both from fights she had launched herself into and from accidents she found herself in. Though physically imposing, she wasn’t the best fighter, hence the ever-growing number of scars.

Though she always tried to be helpful to those around her, half the time that got people annoyed at her for making assumptions.

Perhaps some might’ve been jealous of her apparent immortality. However, the fact that she had been gifted it to act as a repeated human sacrifice, her guts read for divine insight, caused even the most desperate for eternal life to note wish for a swap of fates.

There was, however, one thing that Rhell possessed that undeniably drew jealousy and that was her skills at lacrosse.

To call her talented was completely underselling her actual skills. She was the star player on any team she was on, her skills shining beyond all her peers. She was skilled enough to have been granted a full scholarship to a prestigious university just based on her sporting ability.

She never felt more alive than when she was playing. When all her energy and focus channelled into the sport, it was a feeling like no other.

And, of course, being a sports star meant she had equipment. Stellar equipment that had been gifted to her during her high school days. She kept it all well maintained, making it look as new as she possibly could.

Just as she treasured her talent, she treasured the equipment that allowed her to play the sport she loved. Just as she was always brought joy from playing, seeing her equipment sat ready and waiting in the corner of her room always brought a smile to her face as she looked forward to the next time she could use it.

❄ ❄ ❄

With those facts established, the story can continue.

Back in the present, Medli continued to roam through the streets of New, New Deepwater now deep in her search for the perfect gift that was somehow within her price range. The further she walked, the closer the hour grew to sunset and the more anxiety gnawed at her.

Still, she wouldn’t allow herself to give up. She was bound to find something if she just kept looking. Something had to come up sooner or later, right? She wasn’t going to let her nerves get the better of her.

So she continued, eyes still fixed on the window displays hoping that something she saw would be the right fit. As the rows of items almost seemed to blur into blobs, she allowed her fingers to lace themselves into her scarf to attempt to stop her thoughts from racing.

She didn’t need to panic. Just because time was steadily ticking away and she didn’t seem any closer to her goal didn’t mean she should spiral. Sure, it was disgraceful that she had waited until today to try and find a gift. And she knew Rhell had most certainly gotten her a gift beyond perfect so if she didn’t find something it’d only be all the more shameful. But if she let herself get lost in those thoughts then she’d have even less of a chance than she already did of finding something.

So she forced herself to just keep walking, pretending that her heart wasn’t losing hope with each item that wasn’t right. There had to be something that was good enough for Rhell.

Somewhere among the massive amounts of shops, there would surely be the gift that she was looking for. The perfect gift that would show Rhell how much she—

Medli stopped so suddenly that she nearly caused those walking behind her to crash right into her. They did manage to just about avoid that, walking around the girl muttering curses, but she didn’t at all pay attention to them. Her entire focus was locked upon an item in the latest window display her eyes had landed on.

This was it. The exact thing she had been looking for. She rushed over to the window, just about avoiding crashing into anyone in the short dash.

The shop was one selling sports equipment. The kind of place that Medli would never really go into by herself, but it was the kind of shop that she had visited with Rhell. Though it wasn’t just the memories of exploring similar shops as Rhell talked about the pros and cons of all the different equipment that had attracted her attention.

On display in the window was lacrosse equipment. Not just any equipment. The exact equipment that Medli had seen Rhell pick up in a store like this before and lament about being unable to buy. Of course, her girlfriend wasn’t in need of a whole new set of equipment, but she did need one thing.

It had simply been an aside one time when she had been sitting in Rhell’s bedroom as her girlfriend had been putting away her equipment. She had mentioned, without much thought, that the mesh on her stick was damaged, had split or frayed. Medli had asked if it was fixable and Rhell had seemed… Well, she had said yes, but she’d almost muttered something about a replacement probably being the better idea at this point.

This was it, the perfect gift that she had been looking for. This was undeniably something she would love. It was the perfect gift to show Rhell how much she cared about her and how much she listened to her.

For everything that Rhell had done for her, this gift was the least that Medli could get for her. It would absolutely make this Longest Night the best one when Rhell saw her gift. Her smile would light up the darkness entirely and—

Medli’s thoughts stopped entirely when her eyes fell to the price. Sitting almost as an afterthought in the corner of the display was the handwritten price list of all the stock displayed within. And in plain black ink it was written how much just the lacrosse stick’s head cost: Twenty-one gold.

All of Medli’s excitement died in her upon seeing that number. That was… Well, it was a lot of money. Enough money that the water genasi found herself frozen just staring at the words as they properly soaked in.

Right up until this moment, Medli had held a real genuine belief that she might be able to afford whatever gift she found. That not only was she going to find the perfect gift, but it would also cost less than two gold. Now she couldn’t help but feel even stupider. There was optimism and then there was intentional denial of reality.

Allowing exhaustion to win out over frustration, she pressed her head against the glass. She wanted to cry, but she couldn't bring herself to as she knew this had been entirely caused by her own decision making.

It had been obvious since she’d realised just how little money she had saved this morning that she was setting off on a fools’ errand. Even though she’d tried to avoid thinking that way, the anxiety had been lingering the entire time in the back of her mind. This entire gift search had been her just attempting to deny facts.

Why was she even pretending? She couldn’t afford any sort of a gift for Rhell, let alone the gift that she deserved. Perfect gifts were bought by perfect people and Medli certainly wasn’t one of those.

She should just admit defeat. What was the point of staying out here? Even she couldn’t pretend there was one. At least if she went back to the ship she could find something in the stock that Rhell would like. That would be better than nothing.

At least she’d tried, right?

Wanting nothing more than to shrink down into nothingness as she knew there was little else to do except to give up, Medli kept staring at the price and just feeling worse about herself.

She could think of a thousand different ways that could earn the money if she’d given herself time. Though it was a high amount, it certainly wasn’t an impossible sum for her to earn if she had longer than a few hours. But she hadn’t. She hadn’t so what was even the point in attempting to think about all the what ifs other than upsetting herself?

Still, despite how she knew that all continuing to stare at the gift she was unable to purchase was doing was sending her worst thoughts into overdrive, she couldn’t drag her eyes away. It was perfect. It was the only thing she’d seen all day that she thought was truly something Rhell would love. How could she just walk away from it?

As she stared through the glass, wishing for any way to change the situation she had landed in, a few strands of brilliant blue hair fell in front of her eyes.

Without a second thought, Medli spun on her heel and began to dash through the streets. Her scarf, coat, and hair flared out behind her as she began to run with a set location in her mind for the first time today.

Her clumsiness threatened to get the better of her. The slightly icy streets weren’t doing her any favours as it seemed a miracle that she stayed on her feet. For once, though, she was focused enough to stop herself from tripping as she couldn’t let herself get slowed down.

The crowds of people in the street now felt like a wave she was fighting against. So many were glaring at the girl who seemed to have no concerns for anyone other than herself. That was partially true at the current moment. As she dodged and weaved past those in the streets alongside her, Medli genuinely just couldn’t spare a single second. The hour was already far too close to sunset for her liking. If she didn’t act fast, she’d run out of time. The most she could give was hurried apologies as she continued towards her mission’s end.

The shop she was headed towards was one she’d never normally go to, but she knew where the location was. She’d walked past it earlier in her search. She had a good memory for details, which was obvious in this moment as there was no hesitation in retracing her steps through the streets.

There was no slowdown in her pace until she actually crashed into the store that she held as her only hope. The warm air hit her. The bell above the fancy wooden door rang out, announcing her entrance as if it wouldn’t have been noticeable otherwise.

The owner of the wig store looked towards the girl who had just entered with pursed lips. It was a look she was quite used to. Right, next step, don’t get kicked out.

“Hi, sorry, didn’t mean to make such a big entrance,” She said between catching her breath. Though energy was still pulsing through her, now that she was still, all it was doing was pushing her heart to a rapid pace. It made her feel on edge, made her want to lose her hands in the fabric of her scarf or skirt to burn some of it or calm her nerves in any sort of way.

However, with how the owner was looking at her, she knew that acting nervous rather than straight to the point just increased the chance that he threw her out. She couldn’t let that happen.

She swallowed, attempted to push a smile onto her face, and willed her hands to be still. “Do you buy hair? I… I need money.”

It was taking all her concentration to not begin bouncing on her heels or twisting her scarf in her hands. Every second of standing awkward and still in the store’s entrance just piled on the want to do any of her usual stims to de-stress just the tiniest bit.

The owner’s flat expression was eating into her. Medli was struggling to keep any sort of smile on her.

Finally, he spoke.

“I buy hair,” He said, beckoning her over with a finger. Medli did so, quickly, still trying to step herself from looking clumsy or desperate. If she slipped up in that regard, he’d almost certainly pay her less.

However, as she took her position with her back to the man to let him examine her hair, it became an impossibility to keep her hands still. She stuffed them into her pockets, playing with the linings. It wasn’t enough stress relief. Feeling his hands in her hair, it was just wrong and horrid. She needed more of a release. And so, she began to ramble.

“I, erm, I need money for a gift. It’s my first Longest Night with my girlfriend but the gift is like a tiny bit out of my budget. But she’s really great, so I know she’ll have gotten me a really nice gift so I want to—”

“I don’t care,” The man said flatly, quickly quieting Medli. Struggling to maintain composure with her thoughts now trapped inside her head, she shifted her hands from her pocket to the dangling bobbles on her scarf.

After a minute which Medli’s head dragged into hours, the man spoke again. “I’ll give you twenty gold for it all.”

Medli’s throat went dry. That was precisely the amount she needed. If she just agreed, she could get the present for Rhell and everything would be completely perfect.

But the reality of letting this man cut all her hair off left a horrid sticky feeling. It would be fine, right? Hair grew back and… And it’d be worth it to see Rhell happy.

She needed this money.

“Okay. Just make it fast.”

❄ ❄ ❄

Standing back on the ship a few hours later, Medli admittedly had a few regrets. She honestly felt lightheaded, though it was quite easy for her to write off that anxiety as a physical thing. She’d lost multiple feet of hair, gone from flowing waves that she could sit on by accident to just a few pitiful curls clinging to her skull. It didn’t seem overly strange for her head to feel light.

So, she was really trying to ignore the weird watery thoughts in her head. Instead, she was trying to focus on the fact that she had actually gotten the gift. The lacrosse head was in a nice little box ready to be gifted and Rhell would absolutely love it. Really, that should be her only focus.

However, it was increasingly hard to keep her thoughts on the gift when her own itching anxieties about her appearance were in no way quelled by the reactions of those on the ship.

Sure, she had known that she would need to come up with some excuse as to why she was missing all her hair. If she didn’t, everyone would know that she hadn’t had enough money to get the gift in the first place. Normally such excuses were simple for her to come up with, as easy to her as breathing. But, as much as she had tried on the walk back, nothing had come to her.

So, with no real excuse, and definitely no plan of telling the truth, she’d walked back onto the ship. There had been a tiny very naïve hope of no one saying anything. But, of course, the difference in her appearance and the fact that she couldn’t shift the slightly shell-shocked look from her eyes had obviously drawn not only Idric’s attention but his concern.

Currently, the tiefling had his hands on her shoulders as he stared down at her attempting to get any kind of explanation as to what had happened. Though, the explanation he was looking for was quite particular.

“Medli, just tell me who cut your hair off,” It was an ask that would’ve been reasonable if not for the edge to his tone. It was very obvious that he was planning on having more than just a chat with the person who did this.

Idric had always been protective. The first day they’d met, he’d hidden her from the teachers that she’d been avoiding, before being the first person she’d ever seen to stand up to her shitty excuse of a guardian. He’d gotten quite a bit more protective since she’d become a full-time resident of the Balor.

Medli understood. She’d nearly been murdered the night that she’d finally left the college and since had been kidnapped nearly a dozen times. That was enough to push the majority of people into weariness. However, Idric’s protectiveness was, well, violent.

Frankly, she wasn’t even sure that the truth of the matter would stop him from doing something drastic. So Medli was sticking to the same lie, hoping it would somehow convince him to not worry.

“The hairdresser. I just felt like getting it cut,” She was really trying to make the words believable. Normally, she was quite the talented liar, as much as she had been told that wasn’t something to brag about. That skill seemed to have left her today or maybe Idric just knew her too well for even the most convincing lie to pull his belief in this regard. And the one she was telling certainly wasn’t the most convincing.

He looked caught between concern and exasperation. He understood her lying about as much as he couldn’t. He understood because this was what she always did. Locked very deep in her mind was the idea that her getting hurt would get herself in trouble. So each and every time it happened, she’d lie that somehow it was an intentional action on her part.

But there was a certain frustration because he just wanted to help her. All he ever wanted to do was help her. So her lying in a way that stopped him from being able to do so was annoying even if he understood why.

Well, no bother. He could track down whoever did this without her actually telling him. He squeezed Medli’s shoulders, attempting to reassure her, before taking a step away and starting to stride across the deck.

“Myla! Get your knife. There’s a bastard we need to track down!” He called down below deck.

“No! No, don’t do that,” Medli tried to insist, stumbling across the ship herself to once more be beside him.

“It’s fine. You can go and enjoy the festival. We’ll track down the person who attacked you and meet you there later.”

“There’s no one to track down. I sold my hair!” The words spilled out.

This time it was Idric’s turn to freeze. The tiefling turned around slowly, genuinely hoping he had misheard those words. He had to have misheard because the alternative was so ridiculous that he couldn’t even fathom it being real.

However, all turning did was allow him to actually let him see Medli’s face which undeniably read that she was telling the truth.

He went to rub a hand across his face, but stopped before he actually did, instead clenching it into a fist and once more bringing his hand to his side.

“What do you mean you sold your hair?” He said. He was, more than anything else, confused.

He understood the concept, of course. People bought hair the same as they bought anything else from people. And it was an explanation that could make sense. However, that didn’t mean he in any way understood why his sister had done so.

Medli began to shift between her feet.

“I couldn’t afford Rhell’s present,” She said, looking down at the floor. She didn’t want to admit it because she did feel a certain level of shame for not having the money to afford a gift in the first place.

Idric, this time, did rub a hand over his face. It was taking everything in him to not sigh. He really didn’t want to. It was in no way the reaction that Medli needed. However, he found it hard to figure out what he should actually say.

He could tell her that he would’ve given her the money for a gift, but what would that do except make her feel worse? However, that meant he couldn’t say the primary thought he had in his head. Honestly, he didn’t much want to prod at her decision at all when it was visibly clear that her positivity had all been deception.

He did, however, need to say something. That was unfortunate as he found himself, for once, lost for words. He clicked his tongue, attempting to conjure up anything.

“Meds, why… Why exactly did you feel you needed to get a gift that badly?” He asked as softly as he could. There were a thousand other questions he wanted to ask, but this one did at least cover his greatest confusion.

Medli began twisting her scarf between her fingers. That tangled knot of thoughts was plaguing her again.

“I just, I wanted this to be perfect, because Rhell always makes me feel so happy, so I wanted to find her the perfect gift. And! And I know she’ll have gotten me a really good gift ‘cause she’s got money. So when I saw the literally perfect gift, I knew I had to get that. But I couldn’t afford it and! And! And my hair looks really bad, doesn’t it?”

She had, in about half a minute, worked herself into a frenzy and to the point of prickling tears. The end of her scarf was a crumpled mess in her hands as she otherwise stood rigid.

Idric wrapped his arms around her and let her bury her head into his chest. He held her close, allowing her the space to cry, though she managed to hold back. He still had a great many questions about some of what she’d said in her little ramble, but now wasn’t the time for that. Instead, he just soothed her.

“It’ll be okay, kid. It’ll be okay.”

❄ ❄ ❄

Medli’s anxiety had only gotten worse by the time she was sitting at the festival awaiting Rhell’s arrival. Every regret she had about selling her hair had been increased three-fold by everyone’s reactions. There was only so much damage control Idric could do. Even with his pre-warnings, she’d still been able to feel their eyes on her reminding her that she looked terrible.

Or maybe that had been her paranoia getting the best of her. Maybe it was just the clawing memories of the bullies at Mistwalker making comments on the awful haircut forced upon her back then. She didn’t know and her thoughts didn’t care.

Being in public also wasn’t helping matters as she was sure that everyone was whispering about her. They weren’t. Obviously, they weren’t, but she couldn’t shift the sureness that they were. She wanted to shrink and disappear. Why had she done this?

What would Rhell even say when she saw her? If Idric thought she’d been attacked, would Rhell think the same thing? Then what happened when she found out she’d done this voluntarily? Would the gift even matter now she looked like this?

Medli could picture it so well. Rhell shows up and sees her and doesn’t even care about the gift. Because why would she care about the gift now that Medli had no hair? She looked so bad without it that Rhell would probably leave her on the spot.

No. No, she knew that was her being ridiculous. Rhell wasn’t mean. She wouldn’t break up with her for a bad haircut, but logical reasoning wasn’t winning out when her heart was pounding out of her chest.

Her anxieties were growing by the minute, flooding her with awful thoughts that it was incredibly hard to block out. No matter how hard she tried – and she really was trying hard – she couldn’t stop her thoughts from being consumed by the worst possible scenarios.

She’d thought she’d gotten better about not spiralling like this, but as it turned out she hadn’t. No, all it had taken was one bad decision for her to be flung back into her worst tendencies. It was taking all her strength to not claw at her arms, but her normal relief from burying her hands in the fabric of her skirt wasn’t coming.

She wished Idric would come back. He’d disappeared off to find drinks which she’d said was fine, but now she had been alone for a few minutes and desperately needed someone to tell her she was being ridiculous.

She tried to just breathe through the avalanche of self-loathing, but instead she heard voices coming through the crowd.

“What’s in the box? Is it something cool?! Can I see?”

“No. It’s a gift for…”

The second voice, not as loud, disappeared into the general noise of the crowd. But Medli heard enough to begin genuinely panicking because that was Rhell. Not her anxieties playing her voice saying cruel things in her head. Her girlfriend was actually here and if Medli had been spiralling before, now her mind was a cyclone.

She couldn’t let Rhell see her like this. It’d ruin everything. She needed to get out of here. At least get somewhere where she could hide and get her thoughts together. If she could just have a few more minutes to prepare then maybe she’d feel okay about this?

Yes. That’s what she needed to do. She just needed to hide until she remembered how to breathe like a normal person. Her brain liked that idea. It liked any idea that told her to not confront this situation right now. If she left and hid, everything would be so much easier.

However, the world didn’t actually obey what her floundering mind wanted. The moment Medli stood was not the moment she ran off into the crowd. Rather, she stood in a turn that left her staring directly at Rhell.

And Rhell was staring directly at her.

Rhell was frozen, staring at Medli with a look that was either shock or horror. Medli could barely hold her nerve as they stared at each other.

The two girls stood in absolute silence, neither knowing how to make the first move. Those who had been walking alongside Rhell also paused, though quickly Rhell’s dad acted, guiding his other daughter away. Though he was planning to keep an eye out in case this went wrong he knew the best thing he could do right now was give the two some privacy.

Even with their leaving, the two girls still just stood in silence, their locks locked on the other. Until, fearing her legs would give out if she didn’t say something, Medli finally spoke.

“Hi, Rhell,” She said, managing a shaky smile through her cracking voice. It was a lot of effort for her to be audible over the crowd, but she wanted to sound okay.

However, Rhell remained silent with that look on her face that made Medli want to squirm. “It’s still me. I just have less hair.”

She added, trying to sound like she was just joking around despite how her heart was pounding in her ears. Everything had to be fine and normal because the other option was…

Rhell still remained silent.

“Please say something,” Medli said, struggling to keep her voice steady as it seemed her worst anxieties were actually playing out. She needed to hear her girlfriend say something, anything, to reassure her that she hadn’t ruined everything. “Please say you don’t care.”

She begged, now genuinely sounding desperate. All she wanted was to have that reassurance.

“Your hair…” But Rhell sounded completely shell-shocked, offering Medli none of the comfort she desperately needed.

It brought a horrible sickness to her stomach. She needed to fix this. Somehow, she needed to make everything fine.

“It grows back really quickly, I swear,” She insisted, though that wasn’t precisely true. Her hair did grow quicker than average, but it always felt awfully, painfully slow. But pretending was always her default when she was stressed, so that was what she clung to now.

However, it was not just that falsity that was allowed to spill, but the entire embarrassing truth. “I… I couldn’t afford your gift. And I know that I should’ve brought it before today, but I… The only thing good enough for you was--! I couldn’t give you nothing!”

She was doing it again. The disjointed rambling that she couldn’t stop despite how she never felt that she was explaining things well. She just kept talking.

“It’s our first Longest Night together and… And I wanted it to be perfect because you deserve—”

“You’re so beautiful,” Rhell finally spoke up, getting Medli to stop her continuous speech. Medli looked up at Rhell and saw the most beautiful smile that banished all the anxiety that had previously been overwhelming her.

Unfrozen from her own shock, Rhell stepped towards Medli. She wrapped her arm around her, able to feel the rapid pace of her heart. She held her close and smiled. “I swear, Meds. There’s nothing you could ever do to your hair that would make you any less beautiful or make me love you any less.”

She assured as clearly as possible. She wanted no doubt left about those facts. No matter what Medli thought of herself, she saw the beautiful woman that she had fallen in love with. Her shock had in no way been because the haircut had changed that.

“I think if you look at this, you’ll understand why I looked like that,” She said, somewhat sheepishly producing a box from her pocket. Medli stared at it almost perplexed as it took her a few moments to remember that, yes, Rhell had of course gotten her a gift.

She shifted back to the table, sitting down as she slowly took the box from her girlfriend’s hand. Rhell took one of the other chairs, dragged it over to be next to Medli as she opened the little box.

The water genasi couldn’t believe what was inside, blinking a few times to reassure herself that she wasn’t seeing things.

She wasn’t.

“It’s the combs,” She said, unable to stop herself from smiling at the glittering accessories. She had seen them in a shop window display a few months ago. A pair of hair combs decorated with sparkling metal that had been shaped into a sun and moon.

Nearly everyday she had passed by that display and found herself fantasizing about them. But she’d always left them behind knowing that said fantasies had to remain just that. She could never afford them, so she had pushed on, telling herself that she’d probably lose them anyway.

But now they were in her hands. They were hers forever. She couldn’t help the smile spreading across her face.

“Every time you looked at them, your face just glowed,” Rhell said with her own smile as she saw that look now on her face again. This look of sheer joy that Medli deserved to feel all the time.

She’d walked past the store that sold them with Medli so many times. Even if they hadn’t had time to stop, her eyes would flicker over to the combs and this little smile would grow. What other gift could she have possibly gotten?

“They’re beautiful. I can’t believe--! Thank you so much, Rhell!” She struggled to fully express her thanks as all her thoughts were overwhelmed with excitement. “I can’t wait to—”

Then, with one of the combs in hand, she remembered. Reality came crashing down as she remembered she couldn’t wear the combs. She wasn’t going to be able to for a long time.

She shrank down into herself, feeling so ridiculous for what she’d done. A tiny sob escaped her, despite her attempt to stifle it.

Rhell wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close.

“Don’t cry,” She said, hating that a gift that this morning would’ve brought nothing but joy was causing such a reaction.

Medli blinked the tears out of her eyes, able to keep a smile on her face.

“They’re perfect,” She said with the smallest laugh at the situation she was in. It was the only possible way that she could describe the gift Rhell had given her. The combs were perfect, except for the fact that she’d made them unusable in her pursuit of Rhell’s—

“Oh, I nearly forgot!” Medli suddenly jolted. In almost one motion she had grabbed the box with Rhell’s present within and was pressing it into her hands. Just because she couldn’t use her gift for a while, didn’t mean she shouldn’t let Rhell have hers. “Your gift.”

“You don’t have to give me mine right now,” Rhell said softly.

“I want to!” Medli insisted with the biggest smile. She wanted to see Rhell react to the present. She knew that alone would be worth the stupid decision she’d made to get it.

Rhell was never one to turn down a request, especially one that Medli seemed so excited about. As she actually opened the box, Medli looked down at her knees, twiddling with her scarf. “I just saw it, and I knew that it had to be your gift. You always look at that equipment like it’s the best type in the world and that’s what you deserve. The best stuff in the world, I mean. It was worth all the hair, I—”

Medli looked up and stopped speaking because Rhell wasn’t smiling. Rhell was staring down at the box with that same shell-shocked look that she’d had upon seeing Medli. Once more, it caused her heart to leap into her throat.

“What’s wrong? Did I get the wrong one?” That would be just her luck, that she’d been so sure only to have brought the wrong thing.

“No, it’s the right thing, Meds. It’s great, it’s exactly the one I dreamed of having, it’s just…” Rhell almost wanted to laugh because it was so stupid. The irony was obvious, almost mocking. It would be so easy to laugh.

Instead, though, she looked at Medli with a smile on her lips. “To buy you the combs I…”

She did laugh. The smallest huff of a laugh as she looked to the dimming sky.

“I sold my lacrosse equipment.”

The words hung in the air for a moment, Medli processing precisely what she’d heard. Rhell had…

As soon as that thought was processed, she pulled Rhell into an embrace. She didn’t know if she should laugh or cry or do anything at all, but she knew that she wanted to hold her girlfriend close because clearly Rhell loved her. With a smile, Rhell also wrapped her arms around Medli.

The two could be called foolish. They had, after all, traded in their most treasured possessions for gifts. Gifts that seemed utterly foolish themselves now given that they certainly couldn’t be used by the person they had been bought for.

However, the two had gotten something far more valuable than gifts. Call it wisdom or foolishness, the two had proven that they were willing to sacrifice something so precious to them for the other. They had shown their love for the other and that was far more valuable than any gift could ever be.

#perfect (medli & rhell)#cat's oc #medli mistwalker #rhell o'hara #original writing #the libris collection

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