Closed Do the Clothes Really Make the Drykas? (Rosela)

[Vanator]

The astute Drykas did not fail to notice the discomfort that caused the Eypharian clothier to falter at his question. Indeed, Rosela did have a tale to tell, though the utterly professional manner that she now assumed assured Vanator he would not be regaled with that story at the moment. Instead, the Eyktolian provided a polite and acceptable explanation for her relocation to Riverfall, and both let the matter pass with just a moment of uneasy silence.

Vantor held still as the woman's arms worked to mark the pants for alteration, even as she measured his inseam. Rosela graciously moved the conversation on by turning the grasslander's question upon himself, which he answered as he watched the seamstress work.

"I have only been here since the beginning of Fall, when I went to work at the Sanctuary. Before that I was....in the Sea of Grass." Details of where he was were left vague, though the fact that he too had a tale he wished to keep to himself made him chuckle ironically to himself.

Her pinning complete, Vanator's eyes followed Rosela to her desk as she rambled off his measurements and ensured him of the thoroughness of the measurements.

"Mr….?”

Van hesitated, his gaze narrowing a bit in confusion. Oh, surname. Other places used them as a formal address. "Denusk, Vanator Denusk."

Once instructed to return to his own pants, the Drykas stepped off of the box and entered the dressing room again, this time ensuring to close the door behind him. A short moment later and he emerged in his own pants, the others draped over his arm. Van made his way back to the desk to deliver the garment for alteration.

"Would you suggest some appropriate shirts?" Vanator's gaze surveyed the shop and the variety of options available.

[Rosela]

”The Sea of Grass…” Rosela repeated absently, straightening a corner on the measurements sheet. ”I traveled through there to get to Riverfall. I didn’t think many people could live out there. It seemed very…” She paused to search for a diplomatic way to say it. ”…Well, dangerous? Grass bears, night lions, yukmen – there was a big invasion of them in the fall; were you here for that?” The experience had rattled her for a couple days, but after a while, like many things, it was out of sight and out of mind. Without looking at him, she almost missed the hesitation when she asked for his name, but immediately dismissed it as having misheard. Why in Mizahar would he give her a fake name? ”Van-a-tor…Den-usk.” She repeated it as she copied the name down in Arumenic lettering. She’d decided on it soon after she started keeping measurement records, as an extra layer of privacy. With a discreet peek back, Rosela made sure he had closed the door behind him this time, and pulled out a sewing kit from under her desk, a smaller version of her master kit in the back. It contained pins, needles, and a few spools of plain colored thread – all she needed to do a quick hem. She was already looking out over the men’s section, picking out possible selections, when he reemerged and deposited the pants on her desk. Absolutely,” she replied brightly, and strolled out into the aisles. Her first selection was a dark blue, long sleeved wood shirt, with subtle black embroidery vertically from the V-neck down the front. A pair of black buttons on the cuffs were the only other adornment. ”You might like this one? Wool, so it’s definitely nice and warm, and the dark color will hide dirt fairly well…” She trailed off delicately, already looking for the next shirt she saw. ”Aha, and this one.” Draping the dark blue shirt over a shelf, she pulled the new one out of a pile of similar styles and unfolded it to display. It was a dark bottle green wool, with buttoned up sleeves as well as a buttoned front. Around the inside of the collar and down the front, around the buttons, it was hemmed in a complementary dark blue. ”This one’s wool too, so another warm one. This color will really bring out your eyes and complexion.” Picking up the other shirt in another pair of hands, and held them side by side. ”What do you think?”

[Vanator]

As Vanator exited the dressing room, he studied the clothier while her attention was fixed on the selection of shirts. Rosela was attractive, beautiful even, as much or more so than any of the women he had seen in Riverfall, and possessed a fullness of curve and grace of movement rare among the humans and Konti living among the Akalaks. The Drykas made his way to meet her, following her down the aisle.

The first shirt was a style he was not accustomed too, finer quality as well, but the color combination and cut of the garment appealed to him. It was time for a new style anyway, he was no longer simply Drykas, he was Riverian. The green shirt was appealing as well, the particular shade one of his favorites. A lopsided grin adorned his face as Rosela commented on how the shirt complimented his features. With a nod, Vanator approved.

"These are perfect, I need a new look. I like that they are warm and functional as well as...stylish." Vanator hadn't considered himself stylish...but it was never to late to start. "I will take them both." As the process of measurement and clothing selection had progressed, so had Vanator's intrigue surrounding the all-business Eypharian. Kavala had urged him to, in her words, 'get a social life'. The Drykas' social skills were rusty, virtually dismantled after a year in a Zith colony, though diplomacy had been employed to help ensure his survival. Vanator exercised both in a venture that the even proud Ankal saw as a long shot.

As they made ready to conclude their transactions, Vanator spoke casually. "I don't visit Riverfall often, but I would like to enjoy some of its social life, what would be some locations you suggest?"

[Rosela]

Vanator was silent as she presented the shirts, and Rosela was momentarily thankful for an easily pleased customer. When he decided he liked them, she broke into a wide grin. ”Wonderful! I’m so glad you like them. You’ll look very stylish, trust me. Now,” she paused to hand the shirts to him, folding them over one another. ”You go try those on, and I’ll get those trousers hemmed up in a chime.” As she moved with him to the back of the store, she looked over in surprise at his question, step almost faltering at the change in subject. She rarely went out herself, except to make eyes at all the lovely, burly Akalaks, and even that had been limited lately with keeping up with the business. ”The social life? Hm, pop in the dressing room and let me think about that for a moment…” All responses flew from her mind, as she tried to think of where she’d been in the past season. Suddenly, the time she’d spent in Riverfall seemed so short. ”Well, there’s the Blue Bull?” She called through the door as she pulled up the pair of pants on the table. ”It’s a bit rough, I guess, but everyone’s always been nice while I was there.” Threading up a pair of needles, she tried to remember where else she’d been. ”I went to the White Crane once, too. A lot more mellow, and they have music, but I wasn’t a huge fan.” The place held a particular sourness for her; despite having eventually fallen in with a nice group of men who bought her a lot of wine, she’d initially struck out by trying to pick up a gay man. Two hands held open the bottom cuffs of the pants, and another pair slipped the needles in and out in neat herringbone stitches, while the third pair helped with the needles. ”Knirin Gardens is nice too, but I wouldn’t really call it part of the social life.” That had been where she’d met Serrif for the first time, but she didn’t mention it. Her right hands, the dominant side, finished their hem first, and after knotting it off, she moved to take it over on the left side. Concentrating on the hem, she almost blurted out the Velvet Curtain, before she caught herself. There wasn’t a single reason in all of Mizahar that Vanator needed to know she’d been there. ”I think that’s it?” She called again, holding up the pants and double checking the inseam length with the measuring tape. ”I can’t really say I’ve been out much…”

[Vanator]

Vanator found it odd that Rosela ushered him to the changing room again. Surely it was not inappropriate for him to bare his chest in public. He often worked without a shirt, and it certainly was no shame to reveal the Windmark inked across his back. But Red Diamond Fashions, and its proprietor, possessed a sense of decorum that suggested a more civil demeanor was appropriate, and the man complied.

Stepping inside the dressing room, Vanator removed his cotton shirt and donned the blue one Rosela had picked out. It was a bit snug across his broad shoulders, but not restrictive. Maybe it would even accentuate his build, he mused, laughing at his own pride. The sleeves were a perfect length. Meanwhile, the Eypharian seamstress recited a number of places one may visit within Riverfall, some he had heard of, like the Blue Bull, others he was not familiar with, but he set the names to memory. Brushing the front of the garment, Vanator opened the door and stepped out, seeing Rosela hemming his pants.

"Well, what do you think, does it make me look fat?" He feigned a concerned look that was blatantly insincere. The joke seemed out of place, but Vanator could not help lightening the conversation, and would test the humor of the attractive shopkeeper.

"Thank you also, I will look into those establishments, though I find it surprising you don't go out much. I am sure there is no short supply of strapping young Akalaks that have asked you to accompany them out on the town." His smile was innocent.

[Rosela]

Rosela grinned as Vanator came out of the dressing room, snapping the pants and folding them. ”Fat? Why, I thoroughly resent the idea that anything on my shelves could make you look fat.” The sale was clearly coming to an end, which had brightened the afternoon considerably. Customers usually came and went, snapping up something off the shelf and going on their merry way. It made the day go by a little quicker when she got someone in she could really interact with. The thought in itself was novel; she’d never craved non-intimate personal interaction before, certainly craving no interaction at all before she’d come to Riverfall. She sighed dramatically at his fairly accurate description of her social life. ”Oh there’s plenty out there…too many, in fact. I simply don’t know what to do with them all, so I end up staying in.” Rolling her eyes in mock despair, she considered telling him the real reason she rarely went out anymore – that she was trying in increase her inventory in the evenings or, even more mundane, just went home to put her feet up and relax. Early in the season, it seemed like every night she was out doing something, but the business had severely cut down on all that. She had received a couple offers to do some after hours ‘fittings’ but had long since resolved to keep her men and her business firmly separate. It seemed in poor taste to follow the humor with the dull actuality, so she kept it to herself. The thought brought her mind to the present, and that Vanator wasn’t bad looking, just of the unfortunate human race that she didn’t normally go for. She immediately wondered how much he made, working at the Sanctuary. First things first, however, and she absently crossed her legs as she set the folded trousers on the edge of the desk. ”So you like everything then? Did you want to add anything else? Your total right now is…” She paused to do a quick mental tally. ”4 gold mizas and 5 silver mizas. You sure you don’t want to get a scarf? Big, frilly scarves are very popular right now…” The suggestion was completely in jest, and she openly held in her laugh.

[Vanator]

Vanator's could not discern whether his attempt at humor had been met with mock insult or true offence. Rosela was certainly unlike Drykas women, her intents and considerations closely guarded with measured words and subtle demeanor. Though Eypharians did possess a natural air of mystery, at least to the horseman, Rosela was more simply a woman from a different cut of fabric than the more course grasslander. Van would have to admit he had been testing the ground for mutual interest, a habit he found hard to break. But the brunette from Ahnatep showed no inclinations toward her customer, her friendliness remaining within the bounds of a business interaction. He probed no further in that direction, accepting defeat with only a minor dent in his pride.

The Denusk gave Rosela an honest smile, her jest regarding the number of Akalak suitors probably more true than her sarcasm admitted. Vanator pursued the matter no further, the conclusion of his visit to the shop now close at hand. The Drykas counted out the miza's he owed, wondering again if she was serious about the fuzzy scarf, or if she was mocking him. Gold-flecked brown eyes measured the shopkeeper's gaze for intent.

"No thank you...this will do. A fine scarf like that would earn the envy of my co-workers, but then I would have to select a whole new outfit to go with it!" Vanator retorted with a wry grin. "I appreciate your help today Rosela, I will look rather dashing this winter thanks to you."

With a smile and a nod, Vanator gathered his new garments and made his way back through the shop to the door. The veteran Drykas left the shop, his new Eypharian acquaintance still as puzzling as the moment he walked into her shop.

Purchases-Black wool trousers

-Long sleeved wool shirt, dark blue with black embroidery and black buttons on the cuffs

-Long sleeved wool shirt, dark bottle green, buttoned front, hemmed in dark blue

Total = 4gm, 5sm

[Limey]

Vanator: Skill and Lore Rewards Skills Lore Planning 1 Lore: Red Diamond Fashions Observation 3 Ephyrians: Shrewd But Seductive Rhetoric 3 Knowing What To Buy Socialization 2 Inquiring Of New Acquaintances Rosela: Polite And Pleasant Places To Go In Riverfall Dealing With A Woman's Rebuff Rosela: Skill and Lore Rewards Skills Lore Persuasion 2 Out Of Battle, Back To Business Observation 3 Finding A Customer's Needs Fashion Design 2 Learning Important News Sewing 1 Riverfall: Little Fashion Sense Socialization 2 Self-Control Around A Fine Specimen Vanator: Sculpted And Smart (If Lacking Fashion) Smart Recommendations Shared Lore: Sanctuary: Preparing For Quarantine Additional Notes : Not a bad little piece, guys. Innocent and casual, a shopkeeper and a customer interacting as one would expect. Hope more comes of it. Any questions or queries, please PM me.