Tmestamp: 54th of Spring, 513AV
”Where’s my… Ugh, where’s my blue pencil!” Frayed to her last nerve, Rosela shuffled her various design papers around in frustration.
Letting her search furiously for a few moments, the shadows only spoke up when she nearly in tears. ”In your hair.”
She stopped immediately and felt the back of her head. True enough, her hair was held up with two pencils, and the memory of putting her blue and purple ones up there came back to her. ”…Thank you.”
The shadow didn’t deign to respond.
It was one of her few off days from the shop, but she was toiling away in the backroom, and had been well before Syna had risen. Sava Chivan’s designs were due in a few days time, and she was still finalizing her portfolio. Putting together an entire custom wardrobe was more difficult than she thought, and crumpled pages littered the floor of the workroom. Even a few in the ‘keep’ pile had wrinkles on them, after discarded designs had been later revisited and made worthy.
Page corners were sticking out from between of a pair of books stacked at the side of the desk, pressed there to remove their own wrinkles. It wasn’t fool-proof, but it allowed the pages to be workable again. She had no intention of submitting her working copies to Sava Chivan anyway; specially drawn copies would be made and given in a proper portfolio of work. The books currently pressing pages had a secondary purpose, to practice her drawing of the lithe Konti figure. In casual design, a generic female figure sufficed, as she didn’t need much more for her personal use. However, for Sava Chivan, professionalism needed to be at its peak.
The competition could be her big break, her designs worn where the entire population of Riverfall would see them. Her only trouble was the competition itself, and the various hacks that had entered next to her. They were all from the Zhongjie, none of them with the gumption to get a formal building. It was a small stroke of luck that it was only Sava who was getting the new wardrobe instead of her husband; with the high population of men in the city, there were many more men’s tailors. Her work still outshone any of them, of course, but more competition was still more risk.
As it was, she was finishing up some autumn designs, with lovely maroons and purples to offset the pale Konti skin. She started out with her usual generic figure, adding flowing lines around the waist for the long dress she already knew she wanted. Tiny puffs were added for bell shoulder sleeves, and more loose lines went in for the shirt. It was fairly plain thus far, and after shading in the various parts with pale maroon, she sharpened her dark purple pencil and added some doodles around the edges for some flowery embroidery. Two black crescents under the dress for slippers, and the look was complete. Holding the black pencil over the neck area, Rosela closed one eye and squinted, imagining it with a flowing black scarf. It would be too bold, she decided finally, and put the design in the ‘keep’ pile.
”Where’s my… Ugh, where’s my blue pencil!” Frayed to her last nerve, Rosela shuffled her various design papers around in frustration.
Letting her search furiously for a few moments, the shadows only spoke up when she nearly in tears. ”In your hair.”
She stopped immediately and felt the back of her head. True enough, her hair was held up with two pencils, and the memory of putting her blue and purple ones up there came back to her. ”…Thank you.”
The shadow didn’t deign to respond.
It was one of her few off days from the shop, but she was toiling away in the backroom, and had been well before Syna had risen. Sava Chivan’s designs were due in a few days time, and she was still finalizing her portfolio. Putting together an entire custom wardrobe was more difficult than she thought, and crumpled pages littered the floor of the workroom. Even a few in the ‘keep’ pile had wrinkles on them, after discarded designs had been later revisited and made worthy.
Page corners were sticking out from between of a pair of books stacked at the side of the desk, pressed there to remove their own wrinkles. It wasn’t fool-proof, but it allowed the pages to be workable again. She had no intention of submitting her working copies to Sava Chivan anyway; specially drawn copies would be made and given in a proper portfolio of work. The books currently pressing pages had a secondary purpose, to practice her drawing of the lithe Konti figure. In casual design, a generic female figure sufficed, as she didn’t need much more for her personal use. However, for Sava Chivan, professionalism needed to be at its peak.
The competition could be her big break, her designs worn where the entire population of Riverfall would see them. Her only trouble was the competition itself, and the various hacks that had entered next to her. They were all from the Zhongjie, none of them with the gumption to get a formal building. It was a small stroke of luck that it was only Sava who was getting the new wardrobe instead of her husband; with the high population of men in the city, there were many more men’s tailors. Her work still outshone any of them, of course, but more competition was still more risk.
As it was, she was finishing up some autumn designs, with lovely maroons and purples to offset the pale Konti skin. She started out with her usual generic figure, adding flowing lines around the waist for the long dress she already knew she wanted. Tiny puffs were added for bell shoulder sleeves, and more loose lines went in for the shirt. It was fairly plain thus far, and after shading in the various parts with pale maroon, she sharpened her dark purple pencil and added some doodles around the edges for some flowery embroidery. Two black crescents under the dress for slippers, and the look was complete. Holding the black pencil over the neck area, Rosela closed one eye and squinted, imagining it with a flowing black scarf. It would be too bold, she decided finally, and put the design in the ‘keep’ pile.
