Closed Unexpected Reunion

[Izuyanai]

Day 39 of Winter, 515 AV There were excited murmurs about the holiday festivals. Whenever Izuyanai went out to the markets to walk and stretch her legs, conversations between citizens came floating over the general racket. It wasn’t soon enough for it to be on everyone’s mind, but they were near enough that Izuyanai kept overhearing plans for the evening, wardrobe, partners, so on and so forth. It came to her attention that her current wardrobe was looking rather empty. True, the raven hadn’t had time to acquire many since her move from Wind Reach but she calculated that she would stick out like a sore thumb if she had nothing to wear to any formal events. Besides, she always thought that it was good to have at least something nice to wear even if it did not get much use. This was the thought process that found Izuyanai entering the Silk Palace. The clear chiming of the bell as she gently closed the door immediately brought two assistants to her side. As they smiled and directed her toward a seat, the raven noted how similar they appeared. Identical even. Her conclusion was that they were twins, maybe sisters, definitely related. One of the assistants slipped away to fetch a drink and came back with a cup of tea which she placed on the desk infant of her. Once the flurry of activity had settled down, the elegant woman sitting opposite Izuyanai smiled and said, “How may we help you today? Are you looking for something specific or may I suggest some of our prise materials.” With that, the two assistants appeared beside her with a collection of beautiful looking fabrics and furs. Izuyanai hadn’t even registered that they had left. Glancing slightly to the side, the raven could see another exit from the front room. Perhaps it was a work space or room for materials. It certainly felt as though the wares had been produced out of thin air. “I was hoping to have a dress made.” Izuyanai answered, wondering if her own smile was just as disarming as the negotiator facing her. Truth be told the raven wasn’t really sure exactly what she was looking for. After all, she wasn’t up to speed on the latest fashions and materials. Ah well, that was what the assistants were for. Hopefully she would be able to rely on their sense and expertise.

[Amelia]

The tinkling of the bell that hung over the entryway to the Silk Palace was one of Amelia’s least favourite sounds. It informed her that a customer had arrived and, if they wanted her services, Mae and Lae would soon call out her name, dragging the seamstress away from whatever she had previously been doing. In this instance, Amelia was sewing a pocket onto a man’s shirt. The material was plain blue linen, and so her stitches needed to be small and neat. After cutting out a square of material that would serve as the outer layer of the pocket, Amelia set sewing it onto the front of the shirt.

She used a milliners needle - the narrowest type of needle - as it would leave the smallest holes in the thin material. Selecting a thread that was as similar as possible to the colour of the shirt, Amelia snipped the end of the thread diagonally, to make the job of threading the needle easier. Finally, the sewing could begin.

Amelia used the blind stitch to attach the pocket to the shirt, as the thread would be (hopefully) invisible. She secured the thread between the pocket and shirt by first making a few small stitches. Once that was done, Amelia began to make her slow, careful progress along the edge of the pocket. Her needle came from under the shirt, through the folded hem within the pocket, and back into the shirt. Her head kept low, her eyes squinted. Amelia was a woman who was wholly dedicated to join the best she could do, and even in the simple task of sewing a pocket or button she found heaps of pride.

She had barely finished her sewing, and had not yet even admired her handiwork, when that petching bell tinkled. Amelia winced, and immediately began praying that whoever had entered the Palace merely wanted to buy silk.

Please don’t need a seamstress, please don’t need a seamstress…

“Amelia!”

“Your services are needed!”

The double act of Mae and Lae Tsang unnerved and irritated Amelia. Why would one person want to be followed around by their exact duplicate? Even the thought of seeing someone in the same skirt as her made Amelia’s skin crawl…

”Thank you. I’ll be there in a tick.” She murmured, her blue eyes trained onto the shirt she had just sewn on. The garment was now hung on a mannequin, and if Amelia thought so herself, that was one dashing pocket.

After a quick sip of her cold tea and mentally preparing herself for what she presumed would be another demanding customer, Amelia stepped into the main store. ”Does anyone need a seamstress?” She proffered, trying her best to sound enthusiastic but instead coming across as sarcastic. After clearing her throat, she rounded upon her employer, Shilo, who stood beside the woman who Amelia presumed would be her customer.

”Oh! Hello.” She said, taken aback by the face of the client. It was the woman who she had seen in the library earlier in the season. ”I see you’ve managed to find your way around. How can I help?”

[Izuyanai]

Izuyanai had become engaged in small talk with the owner, who had introduced herself as Shilo, when a slightly irritated tone rang out in the store. “Does anyone need a seamstress?” The raven recalled the tone of voice from somewhere but could not quite place it until she turned her head toward the source. She had seen the young seamstress before. At the library. Name…name… Amelia, it should have been. Izuyanai smiled in recognition as Amelia greeted her with surprise. “Yes, I’ve managed to find my way about without accidentally walking off any peaks, thanks to your instructions,” she grinned. “As I said, I was looking to have a formal dress made. I was told that you’d be willing to discuss any specifics?” Shilo looked satisfied with the exchange and seemed to conclude that she had accomplished her role well. She nodded, smiled and walked back toward her desk, leaving her customer in the hands of a hopefully less hostile seamstress. Izuyanai followed Amelia as she led further into the store. They were making their way toward a side section from the main receiving room, presumably where all the fittings were done and where all the fabrics were kept. Out of the corner of her eye she could see the twins twirling around the desk clearing away the tea and refolding the expensive cloths. Izuyanai glanced at the blond who had her back turned and mused. In their previous encounter as well, Amelia had not been in the best of moods. At least at first. For Izuyanai who liked to keep up pleasant airs, it was refreshing to see a being who was more outspoken. Of course later, Amelia had intrigued the raven with information regarding history and culture. And what an interesting discovery she had made today. Amelia was employed as a seamstress at the Silk Palace. “I assumed you were a hairdresser, you know. Now it turns out that you are quite skilled in the art of beauty. Is there anything else I should be surprised by?” It was a truly genuine compliment, however, the raven had intended for it to have more than one simple layer. Various reactions seen in people were windows into their lives. How they chose to interpret comments were just as telling of their personality. Questions were hooks to invite more pieces of information. Izuyanai was interested to see what Amelia would pick up on and what she wouldn’t. After all, one could infer just as much information from things that did not come to be.

[Amelia]

“A formal dress?” Amelia repeated rather dumbly, but with a growing smile on her face. Of all aspects of her job, designing and sewing a formal dress was one of her all time favourites. Playing with different types of material and cuts, shaping a dress to fit and suit the body type of the woman who would wear it… It sparked inspiration and excitement from the blonde all at once. “Wonderful, please come this way.”

Once she had guided Izyyanai to the section of the Silk Palace dedicated to fittings and all things fashion design, Amelia gestured to a luxurious-looking chair. “Please, take a seat.” She proffered before sitting down on another chair identical in appearance. Beside Amelia’s chair was a small table filled with a pile of parchment weighed down with a single lump of charcoal and a feathered quill. The papers were picked up by the blonde and placed on her lap, and the quill was held delicately in her right hand.

She laughed airily at the woman’s comment. Amelia enjoyed surprising people, and it seemed quite often that others presumed she was nothing more than a little blonde woman who trotted around in pretty dresses, her head full of nothing but hot air. But little did they know her plans, her dreams. Yes, they revolved around fashion and beauty which, whilst not saving lives, at least improved the quality a life lived. “I am a seamstress by trade.” She explained patiently, shrugging her shoulders and keeping her voice low, lest her employer overhear that her passions extended far beyond sewing alone. “But I enjoy all aspects of beauty. Hair, cosmetology, perfume… Anything that makes the world prettier.”

Amelia mused on this statement briefly, wondering if her client would regard her passions as nothing but fanciful luxuries saved for the rich and snobby. But to Amelia, beauty was everywhere and was not limited by income or upbringing. If a society could afford time and money on beauty, it was a sign that their civilisation had reached the point of no longer being critical and based on survival alone. Making things beautiful was Amelia’s own twisted way of thanking the individuals who had made Lhavit what it was today.

“But, onto what you would like today. A formal dress, yes? May I ask what the dress is for?” She enquired, writing the words formal dress in pretty cursive along the top of her paper. “If you could share any information with me as to what your ideal dress would be, that would be wonderful. Price limits, material, design… Anything you can think of, and then we can work from there.”

Quill armed and ready, Amelia awaited her client’s reply.

[Izuyanai]

Seating herself carefully in the expensive looking chair, Izuyanai listened to Amelia laugh pleasantly. The Kelvic nodded along agreeably to the explanation of her interests and mused on the phrase, "anything that makes the world prettier". When the raven was younger, clothing had been nothing more than a nuisance that tangled in her wings when she tried to shift without taking them off. She couldn't understand why the rest of society seemed so adamant on her keeping them on. That all changed when she started to run into more elegant fabrics and jewelry. While humans tended to lack the natural beauty and protection of furs and feathers, they certainly knew how to be creative. The shiny baubles they were capable of making drew her eyes and people could change appearances by simply shedding clothes. As they said, a bird doesn't change its feathers, but Izuyanai concluded that she had the best of both worlds. Ah, but now she was being asked what she wanted in the dress. Delicately placing a finger against her lips, Izuyanai took a moment to think. "Well, the dress is meant for the Midwinter Festival for a small gathering of acquaintances. I would like for it to be versatile enough not to look out of place in other occasions, though. As for a price limit, I don't have a strict one." She paused as if thinking back to her savings. "What can you do with 35kina? We can start there. I do have some preferences, but I'll leave the materials and most of the design up to your professional opinion. I was imagining an elegant flowing type of dress...though not too long. I want to be able to navigate without worrying about falling over myself. If you could put a few touches of blue somewhere, that would be very nice as well." The request seemed woefully inadequate and Izuyanai wondered if it was enough to go on. To be fair, she had never done anything like this before. She was here mainly due to the fact that she'd been invited to a small gathering that some of the students up at the Respite were planning. Those who lived too far from home or had no family seemed to have banded together for the occasion. Formal attire they had said, so formal attire it would be. She had originally planned to spend that night in her animal form, dropping by tables in Zintila Peak to observe and listen in on conversations. Perhaps get back to her room and study or pay respects to Akajia. A feast with family wasn't really an option anymore and another calm night had seemed like the logical option. However, this unexpected social opportunity was much different from her norm, and Izuynai figured it would make for good practice to attend. The familiar scratching of the quill continued as Izuyanai waited patiently for Amelia to catch up with her note taking. To fill the lull, the raven spoke conversationally, "Speaking of the Midwinter Festival, what are they like? I've never attended one in Lhavit before. How do you plan to celebrate?"

[Amelia]

Blue eyes widened with excitement as Izuyanai explained what event her desired garment would be for. The Midwinter festival! With girlish delight Amelia giggled and clapped her hands. If it hadn’t already been, their earlier meeting in the library was now completely wiped from her memory, replaced with the thrill of designing a new dress for such a special occasion.

Inspiration washed over the blonde, filling her mind with cutting edge designs that would catch the eye of any Lhavit citizen. Even with the price limit of thirty-given kina and the preference of shorter dress, there were too many options for Amelia to consider there and then. She scribbling down some notes, including the desired price estimate and other details that would not doubt help her design the garment. “No problem, not at all.” She murmured, only partially addressing Izuyanai as she scribbled and sketched away, her hand possessed with inspired enthusiasm.

Amelia glanced to her customer, head tilted as she envisioned what cut of dress would suit the woman. She was far from tall, and there was certainly something… sharp about the look in Izuyanai’s eyes. Amelia’s gaze dropped to the woman’s neck, following the train of the necklace that concluded with a pretty blue gem. Sapphire? Tanzanite? She couldn’t help analysing the stone itself, but Amelia pulled her eyes away to enquire, “do you plan on wearing that pendant? If so, I could design something with a similar colour and a neckline that draws the eye to the stone — if you wanted, of course.” Such a neckline would be somewhat plunging, but not too revealing of course. Amelia liked to think she could easily balance along that fine line between classy and modern styles.

The seamstress rose from her seat, her movements well rehearsed and smooth yet still buzzing with energy. Sweeping a moisturised hand towards one of the full-length mirrors to her left, Amelia suggested that Izuyanai stand before it, “on that box, please.” She said, tapping her foot to a small wooden stage. “I’ll take your measurements and perhaps bring some dresses that I think would suit you, and then we can go from there.”

She set about the next stage of her work: taking Izuyanai’s waist, bust, hip measurements along with the length of her arms, length and overall shoulder-to-floor height. She was thorough and precise, sometimes repeating herself to ensure her initial measurement was correct. To the Kelvic’s question about the festival, Amelia smiled to herself and tried her best to explain: “The Midwinter festival is one of the most exciting! It opens up the celebrations for the season to come. Most people gather around Zinnia Peak, where there’s a load of food and drink.” As she described the festival, Amelia felt her grin widen with growing excitement.

She had paid little attention to the true meaning of the festival, or indeed it’s symbolic nature. But, really, who cared about such meaningless drivel anyway? It’s a party!

[Izuyanai]

Izuyanai watched bemusedly as Amelia’s hand scribbled furiously across the parchment. The sound filled the space between them and the raven subtly leaned forward to peek at the lines forming after movements of the quill. The seamstress remained oblivious as she was no doubt distracted in envisioning the creation of a new garment. Only a few moments passed before Amelia glanced up, tilting her head to scrutinise the Kelvic in front of her. Izuyanai shifted under the gaze as she wasn’t used to being analysed. It was usually her doing all the scrutiny. The raven countered by curling her lip into an easy and innocent smile while trying to imagine the thoughts going through the other woman’s mind. Lhavit being the tame city that it was, it was no surprise that Amelia looked fairly defenceless. Especially with the point of view of animalistic instinct, the seamstress seemed relatively harmless. However, there was a sort of hardened determination in her eyes. That was what made a person more dangerous than anything else. Izuyanai didn’t mind, it made them more interesting as well. What the curious thing was how the look got there. Apparently no one escaped hardship in Mizahar, even in the city of stars. Having sunk into reverie made the next question posed by Amelia all the more surprising. “Do you plan on wearing that pendant?” The inquiry brought fresh memories to Izuyanai and caused her to hesitate for a moment. She brought her hand up to the gem as if confirming that it still rested around her neck. When next she replied, it was with a sadder smile. “Yes, I’ll be wearing it. It’s a favourite of mine, you see and I’d be grateful if you managed to incorporate it into your design.” Amelia’s concern over the pendant had to be either professional, considerate, or eerily knowing. Izuyanai concluded that it had to be mostly the first and a smattering of the second as the seamstress went about excitedly planning her customer’s order. She hadn’t been able to sense any magic anyways. Most likely, the attempt to keep her own loss locked away and private had made her overly paranoid. The raven followed with her gaze as Amelia glided over to the mirror and stood up in order to comply with the request to move in front of it. Izuyanai curiously watched her own movements against the polished surface of the full-length mirror. She hadn’t really seen her own human body reflected back at her in its entirety before. Other than the obvious difference in visual clarity, it reminded her of the frozen pools of water that she could sometimes see her image reflected in. As her interest was captivated by the mirror, Izuyanai didn’t mind as much as she would have as Amelia flitted around her with the measuring strip. She missed the grin on the seamstresses face as it was obscured, but could hear the same enthusiasm in her voice as she narrated about the festival. “Hmm, I wonder if that’s possible this year. Haven’t you heard that people are worried about winter stores running out? I overheard some clerks talking about it. Might be wise to hold off on excess this season. It does wonders for the figure at least.” It was true. Along with anticipation for the seasonal festival, there had been mutterings of worry scattered among the citizens. However, Izuyanai highly doubted that Lhavitians would listen to reason when it came to celebration. A good festival could improve morale against oncoming starvation or could just as well cause said lack of stores. Go out with a feast to remember or struggle through a season of starvation. Take your pick. Amelia seemed to be satisfied with all the measurements and swept away to retrieve said dresses. Izuyanai hopped off of the wooden base and leaned on one foot while waiting for her return. She vaguely wondered what Amelia had in mind. There was a sort of anticipation in what the final product might be based on, after all. When the seamstress reappeared, she was laden with an array of colourful cloths that fluttered in the wind currents generated by each of her movements. Hanging up the majority of her burden, Amelia picked out a select few before turning back to contemplate her customer.

[Amelia]

Amelia moved with impressive speed and efficiency as she sorted through the eight or so dresses she had bought back for Izuyanai to look at. None of the garments were own designs, and after informing her client of this, Amelia hurriedly added: “But if you like the colour or cut of one dress, but want something else altered, please let me know. I can alter a dress until it’s unique to you and you alone.” Clearly the prospect of uniqueness was of great import to Amelia. And indeed, the seamstress took great pride in altering each and every one of her garment so it was in some way individual to her. “Fashion is all about expressing yourself,” She continued with deep reverence for the subject, “and as we’re all unique, our fashion needs to be as well.”

She gave a singular nod, as if to cement this opinion and turn into fact.

Her attention turned to the dresses. They were all some shade of either blue or purple, but there was a huge variety in the specific colour and design. No two dresses were alike. For each one, Amelia would pick the garment up by the hanger and hold it against herself, standing in the light so Izuyanai could see the colour, material and design to each dress. Every so often, she would narrate or describe the various pros and cons of the style. “You’re quite slim, so a shift dress would hide your figure and make you appear boxy.” She said on one occasion, disregarding a violet dress after holding it against herself for the briefest of ticks.

“Ah, now this is the one I had in mind!” she declared after showing the first five dresses with little enthusiasm. But now she hurried to the other side of the room, sliding the dress over and onto a wooden, leg-less mannequin who had made little effort to add to the discussion so far. This dress was dark blue, though the skirt - which would have reached to the mannequin’s knees if it had any - faded to pastel blue right the bottom. “See the sweetheart neckline?” She asked, tracing her index finger over the curvature of the top of the strapless dress, “if you wanted to really show off your pendant, I could deepen the neckline and add straps.” Her finger fell from the neckline and ended just above the middle of the model’s wooden breasts. “Straps would secure the dress so you don’t accidentally reveal yourself to the public, but a low neckline would really draw the eye to the necklace.”

Amelia fell silent, allowing her idea to hang around in the room as she awaited Izuyanai’s response. Perhaps the other woman who shy away from such a bold design, but Amelia was hopeful. There seemed to be something quietly confident about her, and the seamstress had no doubt that Izuyanai would be more that capable to pull off her designs. The best advertisement for a fashion designer and seamstress was, after all, others wearing their garments.

[Izuyanai]

Thoughtfully considering the colourful garments, Izuyanai listened to Amelia as she quickly ran through some of the dresses. They were all pretty things, but none of them struck her fancy. The seamstress seemed to have found what she had been so eager to showcase as she displayed a specific design. The raven placed a pondering finger against her lips as Amelia continued on to pose a suggestion. From what she gathered, the dress would be made more revealing in order to cater to their earlier discussion about the pendant. Izuyanai flicked her eyes to Amelia’s expression which seemed hopeful, almost worried that the idea would be rejected. Well, the seamstress needn’t worry. Modesty, after all, was not Izuyanai’s middle name. If it were up to the raven, she would walk around without any clothes. Except, the gawking stares of those around her came to be more and more annoying. Also, it was chilly in the winter. The Kelvic had also immediately liked the color of what Amelia had chosen. If only it were a little longer. Was that even a possible altercation? There shouldn’t be harm in mentioning it. “I quite like your idea.” Izuyanai spoke up with a small smile. “Can something be done to increase the skirt length? Other than that I’m happy with the dress and the altercations you plan to make.” It seemed as though the important dealings were finished and though she wasn’t knowledgable on dressmaking, the raven guessed it took some time. The best course of action was to rely on the excited young woman to do the rest of the work. “I suppose…I should drop by when you are finished? There was still a handful of days until the order was needed. Until then, the raven planned to lie low and let the artist do her work. OOCSorry it's short!

[Estrellir Konrath]

Izuyanai

Observation +2
Intelligence +2
Negotiation +1

Location: The Silk Palace
Amelia: Seamstress at Silk Palace
Lhavit: Midwinter Festival
Amelia: Determined

Amelia

Sewing +1
Interrogation +1
Fashion Design +2


Beauty has many aspects
Izuyanai, the customer
Formal dress for Izuyanai
Fashion: Deep neckline highlights necklace

Notes

Nice exchange, I liked how they got to know each other through small details like fashion accessories and taste in fashion. PM me with any questions or concerns!