The sun had about three fingers left before it fell. Reiss had already spent a day on preparation. Not for the wedding. Or even removing the stardust clinging to his body like a horny dolphin. No, the stardust stayed because he had more important business to prepare for. Once, it had been a type of magic. Now, it was part of every day he lived.

Tightening an iron bolt on a cartwheel so it wouldn't fly off. It was a convenient shingle falling on a purse thief's head as he tried to flee. An anonymous note sent to the local Watch informing them of a drug ring operating out of the graveyard. A flower in the hair of a young woman who stood at the edge of the roof, along with a few choice words.

Reiss spent a long, long time running around and trying to fix every little problem throughout his lives. Somewhere along the way, it became hollow to him.

Stopping a group of bandits from attacking a caravan somehow turned into a coup three months later. Preventing the public beating of a young boy from his father ended with Reiss finding the boy floating in the sewers the next day. Killing that man in his next life caused the boy to become an adventurer and die to a cave bear a year later.

Preventing that girl from jumping and giving her hope would ultimately lead to her living and dying alone.

It crushed Reiss. Every. Single. Time.

Knowing that all his effort to save lives and prevent grief would somehow turn out worse or with an equal outcome... One day he just stopped saving people.

He allowed that cart to lose its wheel, crashing into that boy and crippling his legs. He watched the thief get away and slowly morph into the infamous Lady Killer of the Southern Province. He sat by while a smuggling group distributed narcotics to the local populace. He let Yerali jumped off that roof, only to survive the fall and be crippled for years.

What was a death caused by narcotics compared to that of one caused by spreading wildfire, or an insurgents blade? What changed it all? Why should he care how people died.

"It is not how they die; it is how they lived."

Nell's words.

On a particularly sour iteration where Reiss was nothing but bitter, Nell comforted him. She explained that what he did was good and convinced him to continue, to try new things, and not to give up.

So, before Reiss made his way to the wedding, he ran back to find Yerali sitting on the edge of the roof, smiling while touching the white lily in her auburn hair.

"Yerali?"

"You? Ah... um, thank you. Again. For the flower."

Reiss smiled warmly.

"You're welcome. I came back to ask if you are free tonight."

Yerali blushed.

"Of course. It's not like I had planned anything for after I..."

She trailed off. Reiss responded quickly before she became lost in her thoughts.

"If you are, would you mind accompanying me to a wedding?"

"A wedding?"

"Yes, I have to deliver flowers to the bride."

"Oh. I suppose so... I mean, yes. I will go with you."

Reiss offered Yerali a hand, helping her stand.

"Now, what's the best way down?"

"You came up the stairs, didn't you?"

Reiss smiled wryly.

"I have a better idea."

"What do you- AH!"

Reiss scooped up Yerali in his arms and proceeded to the edge of the building. Looking across, he saw another three-story residence ten feet away, separated by a narrow alleyway below.

"This way is faster."

Reiss was grinning from ear to ear while Yerali fought to be let down. With a small cry of shock from Yerali, Reiss jumped. She clutched on tight as they went airborne as Reiss smiled. With a soft ting, he landed on the opposite roof's tiles.

"There, see how fast that was."

"Did you... Did we? Did you just–"

"Yup! Here we go again!"

Yerali shook her head, but there was no helping it. She screamed.

Reiss bounded from roof to roof, the distance sometimes growing or sometimes shortening. Reiss handled the twenty-foot gaps with feline grace. Before long, Yerali's outcries of fear turned to laughter and gleeful cheer. It was over too soon. With a final leap, Reiss leaped off a two-story abode and down into a sidestreet below.

"Alright, here we are. The cathedral is a few blocks up."

"Why didn't we go the entire way?"

Yerali eyes shone like she wanted to do it all over again. Reiss chuckled good-naturedly.

"Because it is a wedding. I don't want to crash it when I have a delivery."

"Oh."

She looked dejected. Reiss postured.

"Plus, the cathedral is in a plaza. You know, no buildings to jump to?"

Yerali hit Reiss' shoulder.

"Stop that. You are teasing me."

"Oh, how could you tell?"

A smug smile was repaid with another hit to the shoulder. After the moment passed, Reiss led Yerali down the streets, where things became normal. Mostly.

=

Yerali was reliving the experience of a lifetime, wondering how it all happened. She had been on the roof and...

Her thoughts turned.

Was he feeling pity for her? Was saving her life not enough? Did he feel so sorry for her that he dragged her all the way to a wedding? Then it hit her.

A wedding!

She wasn't wearing anything nice, just her normal everyday clothes. She hadn't been planning on doing anything today...

There it was again, back to that same thought.

"Why the long face?"

Yerali was caught between glaring menacingly and drooping depressively.

"We are going to a wedding. I am not even wearing a dress. I wouldn't be welcome."

Reiss tutted.

"It is the bride's job to wear the best dress and outperform everyone. It is her day, after all. Do you want to outperform her?"

"What? No. I just don't want to show up like this."

Yerali thrust her hands down in the direction of her... everything.

"I look like a worn-out [Seamstress], which I am, to be fair. And look at my company. Has no one told you how pretty you are? You look like the stars sharted all over you. "

Yerali was startled when Reiss burst into laughter. Yerali flushed and became irritable.

"What? Am I wrong? You look like the Nine dressed you for dinner, and you are ready to ascend at any moment."

The laughter petered out, but not before Reiss became misty-eyed. When he was done, he actually had the audacity to thank Yerali.

"I appreciate your honesty. The stars might have exploded all over me; it is true. But I have a perfectly good reason for that."

"Which is?"

"That doesn't matter. What does matter is that I can make it look like they sprinkled all over you."

Yerali's face scrunched up before she understood his meaning. Then she visibly brightened.

"Really? Can you do your hair like yours, big sis?"

Yerali had the pleasure of watching a scowl form on Reiss' face. It was over quickly, as Yerali didn't have a good poker face and failed to hide her mirth.

"You. That's not funny. I've had enough people today thinking I am a woman. I don't care for the propositions either. If you want it so badly, you can have the stardust. [Ornamentation]."

Before Yerali could even jump in surprise, Reiss moved. It all happened in an instant for her. Her brain malfunctioned as she now saw a Reiss who did not sparkle. His features appeared more normal, his hair slightly less vibrant but no less magical.

"What happened?"

Reiss' wry grin could have warded off an ambush as he pulled out a hand mirror from seemingly nowhere. Yerali's jaw hinged open as she peered at her own reflection. Her hair was a clean, untangled autumn brown. One thin ribbon of hair tickled her cheek. The rest was braided or combed towards the back of her head. None of it moved out of place as she tilted her chin every-which-way.

"Here."

Reiss pulled out a second mirror somehow and positioned it behind Yerali so she could see the back of her hair. She let out a low breath.

Her formerly dirty, tangled hair was perfectly healthy and vibrant. It flowed down her neck, waving like a river. It barely touched her skin as it seemed to float away shyly. The waterfall braid wrapped around her head, forming a circlet that tied together around a white lily. It sat like a crown jewel and cornerstone holding everything together. Stars seemed to shine and peek out from the natural shadows in her hair, twinkling.

Yerali was stunned silent. Her gob bobbed as she processed what had changed. Even her skin look revitalized, and the bags under her eyes from long hours of knitting disappeared.

"How?"

She breathed.

Reiss, who was still holding the second mirror, shrugged slightly. As if it wasn't special.

"I have a skill."

Yerali was entirely unsatisfied with that answer.

"What are you, a [Hair Dresser]?"

"Not at all. I told you, I am a [Florist]."

"I've never seen a [Florist] jump buildings."

"I've never seen a [Hair Dresser] do it either."

"But how? How high-level are you?"

She was entirely indignant and wanted a clear answer, but Reiss only smiled. Yerali thought it was a shame it didn't reach his eyes this time. She liked the way his eyes shone when talking, even when he was teasing her.

"A man has to have some secrets. More mystery that way. Oh, look we're here."