Closed Complete Measurements (Xuphim)

[Rosela]

Timestamp: 75th of Fall, 512AV It was a fairly mild day for so late in fall, and Rosela sat at the front desk of her shop, doodling slowly as she watched dead leaves skitter in and out of the corners of her display window. The men’s fashions were, as always, selling quicker than the women’s, and she was doodling up a few more designs to make that week. There was a formal, lean pantsuit in one corner, a flowing artisan’s tunic in another, and a striking warrior’s set dominating the middle. It was her current doodle, with a large fur cloak over riveted panels of leather with a bit of fringe and a fancy buckle. She was trying to find more inspiration for men, and this was turning out to be one of her more interesting pieces for the men's line. Erasing a line of fur, she redrew it smaller, trying to de-fluff. Big scary men wanted to be intimidating, not floofy. Lunch was a simple sandwich, and brought in a teenage Akalak looking for trousers, and a very pregnant Konti looking for a few shirts to fit her burgeoning stomach. Rosela didn’t have any maternity wear on the shelf, but quickly grabbed a few cotton shirts and added widening wedges of fabric in the seams. Sandwich gone, Rosela was back at the front desk, adding a final pair of buttons to the warrior design. A pair of lean young men paused outside her display window and she watched them in her peripheral. She’d learned that making eye contact just caused awkwardness and didn’t seem to increase the percentage of people who came in. They passed as soon as they came, not coming in, and she put down her doodle in a huff. Like most days, if she didn’t do something with herself, she’d just end up getting mad at every person who dared pass by without stopping in. She’d just gotten a new shipment of fur in, and she brought a few pieces out front with her, along with some sewing supplies. She may as well work on the grand warrior's piece while she was inspired, even if it had to sit in the back until she had a set of similarly styled pieces to display it with. Brushing the fur back away from where the collar would be, she put in a line of stay stitching to keep the fabric from buckling in the future. Two hands spread the pelt out in her lap, while another pair parted the fur, and the final pair weaved the needle in and out, careful not to catch the fur and create a matt. Tying it off at the end, she snipped the thread with her teeth, and held the design paper up again with a hand, wondering where to go next.

[Xalet]

It had been a few days after the attack, and Xuphim still felt mostly like crap. Many seasons had passed since he forced his body to such an extent, and the marks of his mistakes were still clearly visible on the various extremities of his massive frame. The visions of that cluster still floated through his mind here and there, but he didn't have nightmares or lose any of his rather trademarked arrogance over it. Asses had been kicked, and all was right with the world. All was NOT right with his gambeson, however, which had done the brunt work of making sure his body wasn't returned to his Patron in pieces by his fellow Knights. Without a gambeson to alleviate the burden of armor on his skin, Xuphim was essentially unable to wear his armor. A normal man would have simply gotten an extra used gambeson from the storeroom the Knights kept at their Station near by Riverfall. For Xuphim however...they didn't have one in his size. "Buncha narrow necked stick figures they are. What a load of shyke, nothing in my size. What kind of planning is that?" It wasn't simply the Akalak's height that made getting equipment for him difficult, it was the additional size and definition he had gained through his work outs. His chest and shoulders were simply too wide, and even the largest size looked like something a toddler growing out of his infant clothes would have been wearing. Stepping into the quaint, cottage like shop at the instruction of the rest of his Wing, he suddenly noticed the employee. How could he forget, the sultry six armed girl from the waterpark, "Told you I'd be seein' you around. Just been busy is all." Busy was right. Even with the deep violet hue of his skin, the simple uniform of his well worn and quite faded white tunic and the black breeches he wore revealed enough cuts, bruises, and bandages for it to look like he had been on the receiving end of a Sunberth gang-initiation. His bottom lip was still split, but healing nicely, while a massive bruise from the lowest part of his left neck leading down into his shoulder could be seen, disappearing into the fabric of his top. There wasn't a knuckle on his hands that didn't have a mishmash of cuts in various stages of healing on them, and his right arm appeared to have the deepest welt on it. Two semicircle lines that had created a giant bruise, as if something's jaws had put a massive pressure on his arm. "Still lookin' hot though. Guess you're who I go to about this..." he rather unceremoniously dropped his gambeson down on the desk, attempting to steer clear of any items she had placed upon it. A gambeson was a Knights last level of defense against injury. A thickly woven cotton shirt that came down to the knees, it consisted of at least two layers of cotton with a layer batting in the middle. The purpose was to keep armor from chaffing the skin, and most importantly to keep impacts that bore down on the armor from crushing the skin and bone beneath. An impact absorbed was its functional purpose in combat, and this one looked like a Glassbeak had gotten a hold of it. The left arm was separating from the shoulder, most of the buttons had been pulled free from the fabric that held them, lacerations into the fabric had caused the batting to start to protrude in various places, and finally...were those teethmarks?! It looked like something had actually been gnawing on the right shoulder and right arm. "The guys say it looks like crap and needs to be retired. Problem is those pencil framed mothersuckers ain't got nothing in my size. Well, if I had to deal with anyone about this, I'm glad it's you."

[Rosela]

When she had seen the large violet frame approaching her door out of the corner of her eye, Rosela had initially dismissed it as yet another stony-faced Akalak from the academy up the road. She’d gotten a few of them, usually looking for a new pair of plain trousers, or a new shirt to replace one that some miscreant had thrown pudding on. However, who should walk in instead, but her good, good, friend, Xuphim. While she’d walked away from the battle unscathed, he had obviously…not. Frankly, he looked terrible. She did have to hand it to him, if she had gotten that banged up in the fight, she’d be crying and bedridden for weeks. ”Well hello there, stranger. Took you long enough to find me.” She gave him a sultry half-smile and leaned forward on the fur she’d been working on, putting her chin in one hand. ”Why thank you. As stunning as you are yourself, I have to say, you are looking a little worse for wear.” A twitch ran under her eye at the heap of cotton he’d dropped on the one clear corner of her desk. ”I suppose the same can be said for your…ahem.” Glossing over the fact that she didn’t know what it was actually called, two hands laid her fur panels aside, and the other four hands pinched the shoulders and arms of the thing and lifted it. Her shop was no armor supplier, in spite of her latest inspiration, so it was the first such item she’d actually held. She actually did know what it was – she’d seen it during her research on Riverfall fashion earlier in the season. It was the thing that went under armor, so it didn’t chafe. ”If this was under your armor, I’d hate to see what the armor itself looks like. I hope the military was nice enough to at least replace that?” She made the observation particularly to point out that she knew what it was that she was holding, even if she didn’t know the name. Ignorance wasn’t cute when a sale was on the line, and as much as she wanted to hop up on the desk and continue where they’d left off in that waterpark, business was business and that would have to wait. ”Well sweetie, I’d be happy to replace it, but I’m afraid I’d have to start from scratch.” Biting her lip, she cast a discerning eye over her men’s section, seeing only a single, long shirt she could use as a starting point. Her two free hands lifted the bottom half of the cotton mess delicately, feeling where the stitches were. ”Cotton, some batting, and a good amount of stitching to be done in between…1 silver miza, and you’ve got yourself a deal.” She looked up at him questioningly, trying to keep her gaze on his face, instead of wandering over him and wondering where else he was bruised.

[Xalet]

Worse for wear? The violet skinned Knight had to chortle at that, "Heh, you should see the other guy." 'Guys' was probably more appropriate. Going to battle on that day, it was almost as if Xuphim woke up in the morning and made sure to splash on an extra dose of Yukman enticing cologne. All over he could feel the result of the fight, and honestly he felt like absolute shyke. It was the years of body building that made him so desensitized to his muscles aching. With all those seasons of bodily pain under his belt, these types of injuries didn't feel at all dissimilar to simply having a bad case of the flu. Everything hurt, even things he wasn't even certain should, but he could still manage to get to his feet and keep working for the Order. The damage to his armor, now that was something regrettable. Nothing that couldn't be fixed, but the creatures sure did a number on the shine he had worked up through several weeks of polishing. "The armor was custom. The whole damn set. Ain't too bad off though, mostly just the chainmail got torn up. Nothing a few days working in the cold forge can't fix. Want to get the stuff replaced with that Isurian work, it's just a pain in the ass finding an Isur to make it. Sons of bitches broke my shield too. It was a good shield..." he said with a labored sigh, jaw clenching slightly. Was Xuphim...lamenting the loss of his shield? The attachments men could have to inanimate objects was certainly a strange thing, especially something as transient as a shield, which had the very purpose of breaking so Xuphim's bones didn't have to. Listening to her offer, Xuphim placed both beaten hands atop her counter and learned over, putting himself a bit closer to the Eypharian that had caught his eye sometime back, "You got it, I knew I could count on you. I'll even buy you dinner." he decided. He had to make up for the time lost since their last meeting, after all. "Sarge has me on light duty for a few more days, so I'm open, and a guy can only stand the mess hall so many nights in a row. Sides, I can't pass up the chance to get cozy with a fiery hot entrepreneur."

[Rosela]

Rosela raised her eyebrows and wondered just how much a custom set of armor cost. Under those rippling biceps, was her favorite Akalak hiding a small fortune? Unless it was the more mundane explanation that the Knights paid for it. In any case, it’d be rude to ask, so she kept her curiosity to herself. ”Oo, Isurian?” She sighed dramatically. ”The jeweler up the road went there to study with them. I heard they didn’t actually let him in, but what he did learn up there is amazing.” She collapsed the gambeson to her chest, eyes distant for a moment. ”If their armor is as good as their jewelry, it must be pretty good. Maybe he knows of any Isurs around here?” It was a long shot, but possible. Xuphim seemed to be quite attached to his broken shield, so Rosela didn’t feel quite too bad about sighing over some jewelry. She silently wondered if it was such a good shield if he still ended up so beat up, but didn’t say so. ”Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll find another one.” She patted a consoling hand on his forearm. Two hands folded the gambeson over an arm and she stayed where she was as he leaned in, giving him a coy look through lidded eyes. ”How can a girl resist an offer like that? I’m sure you could use a nice, long break from all that hard work they put you through.” There was a ridiculous flutter of excitement to be called an entrepreneur, still not entirely used to the knowledge that she owned her own shop. It brought her out of cozy thoughts of post-dinner activities and back to the task at hand. ”Now, hop up on the box,” She jerked her head at the wide white box on the floor to her right. ”And let me get your measurements.” She could have technically just copied the measurements on the existing gambeson, but something so tattered wasn’t likely to be trusted. Besides, there was a small thrill in getting to wrap her measuring tape around those muscles. OOCThe jeweler I mention is a shop I submitted to the suggestion box, so he's not official yet.

[Xalet]

"They say it's the best..." Xuphim commented on the quality of Isurian armor, all that quality didn't come without a price, of course, "...costs a damn lot of coins though. Easier to stay dry in the falls than find someone that don't mind making the stuff though." In all of Xuphim's time, with all of the armor he had seen, the Akalak couldn't actually recall an instance of laying his eyes on pure Isurian steel armor. A few weapons came and went out of Syliras that were supposedly made from the stuff, but an entire set of armor set to the dimensions of someone Xuphim's size was probably going to take a good part of his life to find. "I'll see if I can get some information from the guy though, could be a better shot over here than in Syliras, never know." Getting ordered around by an old man with a heavily drooping mustache was one thing, but taking requests from a dark haired, blue eyed Eypharian? The big man was a-ok with that. "You got it beautiful." Taking a glance at the platform, Xuphim walked on over and tenatively brought a foot, heel to toe down upon it. Without hopefully too much creaking he pushed himself up and allowed his entire weight to grace the object. Living even for a short time in Riverfall taught him something unusual, living casually was just a little bit easier. Things were made for folks with large, tall frames. In Syliras he was lucky to find a chair that could bear his burden over time. "Yeah I like a break every now and then. Ain't all bad though. This whole planet seems bent on taking us all down, so you gotta figure out what you were meant to do early in life, you know? Every Akalak wants to be active, it's in the blood. Can't get rid of it, it's just there. The Knights do a good enough time of that, can't say I mind getting the chance to find other ways to be active, of course." given his elevated position, as well as the already sizable height he had from his frame, she could see the wry grin crossing ihs lips, "So where we measurin'? I don't think they went too specific on that other gambeson, I think some novice just tried to make it for a man and a half."

[Rosela]

Rosela gave the box a sideways look as Xuphim stepped up on it, and swore a dire curse on it if the thing broke. She’d had plenty of warriors in for various things, but few were of his size, and even fewer ended up on her measuring box. It seemed to hold however, and Rosela grabbed a paper and red pencil in two hands, and measuring tape in another pair. She tried to remember the biggest shoulder breadth she had in her measurement files and wondered if Xuphim would beat it. She snapped the measurement tape between her hands as she stepped in front of him. ”I guess it’s lucky for me they let you out to play, then. I’m afraid tailoring just doesn’t provide many opportunities for rigorous activity…” She trailed off suggestively, shrugging in mock helplessness. ”If you hadn’t come by, I’m sure I would have simply wasted away.” Sighing deeply, she reached up and slung the measuring tape around the base of his neck, letting her fingernails drag lightly across his skin as she pulled it snug. She doubted the neck was as much an erogenous zone here in Riverfall as in Eyktol, but with all that extra man in front of her, it was hard to keep her hands strictly professional. ”Just the essentials: neck, shoulders, arms, waist. All above the belt for now, so don’t get too excited.” Her eyes darted up to his, and a smile twitched at her lips. In her other pair of hands, she wrote ‘Xuphim’ across the top of the page in Arumenic, then his neck measurements underneath, also in her native script. Loosening the tape, she slipped it down over his shoulders. ”And I’m well aware that you’re the size of two men, but I confess to a certain satisfaction of finding that out for myself.” Glancing down to mark the measurements, she looked up at him with her head tilted, tongue slipping out to sweep over her bottom lip.

[Gossamer]

Character: Rosela
Experience: Fashion Design +1, Business +1, Sewing +1
Lore: Designing Menswear, Taking Bribes, Taking Akalak Measurements

Character: Xalet
Experience: Shopping +1, Haggling +1, Flirting +1, Socialization +1
Lore: Replaceing a Gambeson, Bribing to get shop work done fast,

Additional Note: I understand this is a leftover thread for someone who stopped playing. It would have been nice to see it play out. Otherwise, this is a perfect example of how someone should be running a shop! I gave you Sewing, Rosela, because taking measurements is part of sewing and so is planning on how to make your garment. And… I had to reach a little to give you some XP due to the shortness of the thread.