Adventure Forward : Feel-good Fantasies

Songwriting

Not long ago, Shallare had brought them back to the Sky Emporium, where Cyalm was patiently waiting for them.
"I take it you had your fun?"
They stretched and let out a relaxed sigh, which the Point snickered at.
"Well, that's all I need to know."

"So, I'm able to open this up now, right?"
They said, approaching the door with Shallare's symbol, waiting for him to follow suit.

"Indeed, go ahead and try it out."

Tailor drew closer, and the door glowed before opening up and allowing them access to a walkway that reached to another part of the building.

"Whoa.."
Cyalm took their hand and walked forward until they reached the other side.
The interior of the room they entered was predominantly a faded blue, supporting a small archway with a sign above it reading 'Small Studio'.
On the other end of the room, there was a portal with ice spikes surrounding it, labeled 'Frozen Wasteland'.

He looked up at the Tailor and smiled.
"This is one of my favorite rooms in the entire emporium! And it's not just because I'm the one who built it."

But what caught their eye was the fact that Shallare was in the middle of the room on a raised platform that had a bridge connected to the archway, probably admiring the decorations.

The raised platform however, was built on water. But it was no issue, they could always jump over to it.
"Before you go ahead to Small Studio, do take note that Signol is quite shy, so don't be too loud in there, okay?"

"You got it, Cyalm."
They jumped on the platform, slightly startling Shallare which they chuckled at.

"Tailor! Hey there, how are you, after relaxing for who knows how long on my ship?"

The pair laughed a while and talked for a bit, before they proceeded to the entrance of the Studio.
It really was small, but it was large enough that they could enter.

Compared to their entry on the S.S. Venture, it was less whimsical and magical and more like they were walking through a long corridor to reach another room.
When they finally did reach the studio and opened the door, their ears were filled with a soothing melody.

They knocked twice to hopefully gain the attention of Signol, to no response.
Sighing, they closed the door carefully and started exploring the place.

It really lived up to its name, it was quite compact compared to the cruise they were previously on, but the cold temperature made up for it.

They took note of a locked room in the studio, taking a mental note of where it was for the future.
Now, the Tailor's already found two threads, yet there was still no sign of Signol.

Going back to where they started, they found a figure slumped against the back of a chair, muttering to themselves.
"Hey, are you Signol?"

The sounds stopped before they turned their head to look at the Tailor.

Their symbol was quite unnerving, and their gradient, a dark gray fading into red at the bottom, looked out of place with the studio's color scheme.

"Uhm.. Yeah, my name's Signol, I own Small Studio.. I'm guessing you're the new Tailor?"

They nodded, awkwardly standing and staring at them.

This went on for quite a while.
And after a few minutes, the awkwardness set in.

"So are you gonna move- or anything-"

"Uh- I was looking for you since I needed your symbol, you know-"

"Oh." They paused, and looked down to the pen and paper they were holding. "Uh- do you like- want to start now or I could wait, if that's what you want.."

They had trailed off, but thankfully the Tailor responded before anything could get more awkward.

"You can stay here and do your own thing for a while, I'll still be getting those threads around the studio."

Signol only nodded before going back to writing.

It took them a while, but they managed to find all the threads (with the loose ones) in the studio and returned to them, and unsurprisingly they were lost in writing, curled up in an unnatural position.

They looked at him for a few minutes, noticing the way he held his pen and how his lips were pursed, trying to think of new ideas for what he could write down.

A knock on the wall made their presence known, and he turned his head once again, symbol flickering before assessing them.

He stood from his chair and adjusted his blazer, and only now did they notice he was taller than them. Guess he's smaller when hunched over in a chair.
"I apologize for not introducing myself properly earlier, but as you know now, I'm Signol," He smiled warmly. "Owner of Small Studio. I'm guessing you want my symbol, yeah?"

"Yes sir, I do."

"I'll spare you all the details then, let's get this show on the road."

With a simple clap, they were suddenly transported to another section of the studio.

Due to the size of the area, they assumed that the challenge course would be a cake walk.
They were right for a while, but once they reached the door that was previously locked, a long hallway filled with traps and floating music notes.

It was time consuming, taking them almost half an hour to get through as they were being cautious with the many music notes coming out all at once. Better safe than sorry.

Occasionally, the songwriter would call out encouraging words to them while they went through the course, bringing a smile to their face.

When they did manage to reach the end of the course, they were met with a proud Signol in front of the symbol they're supposed to collect.

"I was sure to upgrade my course for this, yet you prevailed! The symbol's all yours, Tailor."

As they reached for it, a familiar heat coursed through them again before vanishing.

Silence washed over the two, and Signol's expression fell slightly.
"Are you okay, Tailor?"

They looked up at him, and nodded. That was all he needed to be reassured.
"Well then, I'll teleport you back to the Sky Emporium now, yeah? If you need me again, you know where to find me, okay?"

A small chuckle fell past their lips.
"Got it, Signol."