Closed Red is the New Black

[Amelia]

31st Summer

Amelia had always been a little jealous of redheads. There was something quite striking about red hair, from the burnt copper tones to the fiery red usually possessed by the Inarta. When compared to red hair, Amelia felt that her own golden locks were nowhere near as eye catching, rare or impressive. It was a rare thing indeed for the seamstress to feel envious of anyone, and she couldn’t help but feel that those with red hair had slighted her in some way, as if trying to upstage her.

And so, when Amelia saw a redheaded female walk towards her stall, she had to swallow down an initially little twist of envy in order to place a welcoming smile on her lips. At the same time, her green eyes roved up and down the woman’s face and body with an almost critical gaze. Her thought processes were mechanical and instinctive:

Good cheekbones. Should be emphasised to make the most of them.

Hair needs to be kept mostly down to soften that chin.

Faint lip pomade only, otherwise she’d be all mouth.

The thoughts tumbled through Amelia’s mind in the same way that a genius might complete an intricate mathematical calculation, quickly and unconsciously. By the time the redhead stood before her, Amelia had already planned an extensive make over and new wardrobe -- subject to change of course.

But first to entice this newcomer to the idea of changing styles, and of course for Amelia to learn more about her. Amelia, for all her vanity, firmly believed that fashion and beauty needed to reflect the individual wearing it. It wasn’t about concealing or hiding – unless of course one had an unearthly pimple! – but fashion was about making the world see you in your best way.

“Hello, my name’s Amelia Trisswell-Barker” She said, giving a little curtsy to the redhead. “Can I interest you in any style advice? A make over? All free, of course.” A well manicured hand swept over the table between them both, which was filled with small swaths of various material samples of a hundred different colours. “Perhaps an idea for an outfit for work? Or evening wear? A woman with your hair and complexion would look to die for in pastel blue or teal.”

[Ornea]

Ornea felt unexpectedly awkward when the young woman spoke to her. The Inarta hadn’t thought of it until she stood before the fashion adviser, but now she realized the elegant girl wasn’t just as well-groomed and well dressed as could be expected from a woman of her profession; she also possessed the glowing, flawless beauty of youth. She made Ornea think of an exquisite Lhavitian orchid, all pink and white and gold.

An orchid? And me? A very practical robust vegetable, like a mountain spinach plant?

The orchid and the spinach plant? Although this comparison wasn’t to her own favor, it spoke to Ornea’s humor and she relaxed and smiled a bit. Ivak. How would this end? But if she was going to embrace Lhavitian fashion she must take the step and stop postponing it. The opportunity had knocked now, and the Inarta knew herself well enough to understand that if she passed on this chance it might take long time before she got around to book a time for the makeover. It was best to go on now, when she had happened to stumble over this offer.

“Yes! ” she said decisively, the Wind Reach dialect evident in her hearty voice, but not as strong as it had been. After nearly two years in Lhavit she had adapted a bit to the Lhavitian soft-spoken style. Trying to fit in, she had practiced and tried to learn politeness, as an adult of over thirty years who had spent most of her life in a place where politeness wasn’t important. It wasn’t easy. She tried hard though. How she succeeded was in the eye of the beholder. A true Lhavitian would maybe find Ornea less uncut and rustic than the average brusque Inarta, but not by much to be honest.

Amelia Trisswell-Barker. The name! Having only one name, Ornea always struggled when it was time for presentations.

Ornea knew very well that there was no castes in Lhavit. Nonetheless she automatically thought of it. It was relatively easy for her to categorize Amelia. The fashion adviser had a table full of fabric in front of her and clothes of course included sewing. A crafter, who could also be seen as a kind of artisan. The conclusion was that Amelia was at the equivalent of Avora caste, just like Ornea herself.

The Inarta tried in vain to speak as softly as a Lhavitian when she introduced herself : “Ornea”.

“No working clothes ...” she begun. But she stopped herself there. “Why not. I’m working at Lucis and Lucis as metalsmith. The clothes I’m wearing right now can be best for the workshop, as it can be dirty there sometimes. But I’m not always at the foundry, shuffling coal and getting dusty. I actually think it could be good to have another set of working clothes. A set of better working clothes I could shift into when I visit other businesses in Lhavit on behalf of Lucis and Lucis. This could also be nice to wear when I’m sent to the Observatory for work reasons. It’s very clean and tidy and well organized there, you know. ”

...

[Amelia]

An Inarta! Of course Amelia was not surprised of the woman’s race, what with those fiery red locks, but the redhead’s accent betrayed more than her homeland. The fashion of the Inarta was bizarre in that their wardrobes were divided between two distinct styles; inside clothing and outside clothing. Whilst the idea made sense to Amelia – double the wardrobe, double the fun and whatnot – she knew relatively little about what exactly defined the two styles.

Now she had a means to learn more about the fashion of the eagle-riders – and directly from the horse’s mouth as well!

“A metalsmith?” Amelia’s nose wrinkled at the mere thought of such physically enduring employment. Heat, sweat and dust were all deadly to one’s appearance. Make-up would slide, hair would frizz, clothes would become stained… she shuddered with horror.

This poor woman needs my help even more than I expected…

“May I see your hands?” Amelia requested hurriedly, before sweeping around the side of her table and clasping the woman’s hands in her own, regardless of whether the invitation was accepted or not. Her groomed brows knotted together as she investigated Ornea’s hands with an intense closeness and sincerity. It was just as Amelia had expected: dry skin, dirt under the nails, cuticles that were so out of control that the seamstress could only imagine the Falyndar jungle itself could rival them. “May I?”

It was another pointless request, as Amelia twisted from Ornea momentarily and produced a small pot of creamy white liquid. “One’s hands reflects one in a way nothing else quite can.” She said in that clipped, professional voice. Amelia’s stature was petite and demure, but her demeanour changed entirely when faced with an evil such as this, becoming as hardy and ruthless as any mercenary. She dipped a finger into the cream and slathered it onto the back of Ornea’s right hand, which she subsequently rubbed tenderly to ensure the cream spread evenly and thickly. “And so it’s absolutely crucial that we take care of them, as we do our general health.”

Whether or not Ornea would appreciate this gesture of charity – because ultimately, if this wasn’t charity, what was? – Amelia didn’t seem to care. Instead her attention was wholly fixated on moisturising and massaging Ornea’s hand, her fingers working with impressive speed as she kneaded and rubbed. Once the cream had all but disappeared, she collected thin wooden stick from the table and preceded to remove every inch of dirt from under Ornea’s fingernails.

“And a popular belief is that one’s hand just need to be clean, but no! The cuticles – that’s the skin that grows near your nail, see? – need to be tended to as well. See mine?” Amelia held her hand out for Ornea’s inspection. Indeed, her nails were clean and perfectly shaped, her nail tips like little crescent moons and her cuticles mirror images of them. They were, quite obviously, the hands of a woman who had never experienced manual labour in her life. “See how the cuticle is pushed back, and barely touches the nail itself? That’s what we want.”

With the same efficient movements, Amelia turned back to the table and retrieved a metallic object that looked somewhat like a pair of scissors, but smaller and angled at the ends. “Cuticle clippers. This might hurt at first.” She explained in a casual voice, before setting back to work on Ornea’s thumb. The clippers were placed at the base of the nail and the dry skin – the cuticle – squeezed, pulled, and yanked off. Amelia worked quickly and methodically, her hands a blur.

Finally, after approximately only five minutes of frenzied grooming, Amelia exhaled and gave a satisfied nod. “Doesn’t that feel better?” She said, her lips twisting into a relieved grin. “Don’t worry. That bit of blood will dry soon. No pain, no gain and all that. Now….” She returned back to her station behind the table, that same welcoming smile on her lips as if nothing had happened. “You say you’d like a new outfit for work, but not for all that gross sweaty stuff?”

A piece of charcoal was picked up, and Amelia fixed Ornea with another of her critical gazes. Hundreds of potential outfits for the redhead flashed through Amelia’s mind; dresses, tops, skirts, trousers, blouses, shirts, camisoles… There was too many possibilities, too many options.

“Tell me a little about yourself. What sort of thing you feel comfortable and confident in? When are you happiest? Any such information will help me design a suitable outfit for you.”

oocTo whoever grades this, if it would be possible to have a skill point in Weapon: Cuticle Cutters, I would love you forever

[Ornea]

Ornea had thought they were speaking about clothes, so it would be a lie to say the Inarta wasnt’t surprised when the stylist suddenly grabbed her hands and started to groom them. Being from Wind Reach she was used to people taking liberties though, so she let it slide and obliged. It just showed that she had been right and the other woman was similar to an avora, not some smarmy chiet. Amelia's resolute style made the Inarta trust her competence.

Her hands felt softer and looked better after the treatment. She figured this would be a pro when she visited the Observatory. They were scholars there, and pretty well groomed, come to think of it. Ornea made a mental note to buy some hand lotion and other things to keep her hands in better shape. Nobody had cared about her hands before, to be honest. In Wind Reach it didn’t hurt with visible signs of hard work, and it was the same at Lucis and Lucis. Or maybe not, as Edward had actually told her she needed to improve her style a bit ... this was actually why she was here at all. Edward Lucis opinions were always of high importance to his metalsmith.

“Tell about myself and what I think I’d like ...” Ornea pondered this a bit, but not for long, as she wanted to be efficient and get thing done. “I moved to Lhavit nearly two years ago and I’ve been living here and working Lucis and Lucis, except for last fall, which I spent in Wind Reach. Most of my time goes into work and if I socialize I guess its’ mostly with Edward, the old gadgeteer who is my employer. The commissions to the firm has often been about making metal parts for repairs and maintenance of the water supply system and the pulleys and such, but I’m happy to say that there has been an increasing demand on other things ... "

What more? She thought about what she liked, because this was what Amelia had asked her. "I used to be interested in artwork, but there hasn't been much time and opportunity for it. When I first came to Lhavit my plan was to set up my own artisan business and work with metal and other materials to craft beautiful things, utility goods as well as home decorations, perhaps also jewelry. In my opinion even utility goods should be beautiful; a well-designed copper pitcher for example, can add style and beauty to a table for many years."

The Inarta had babbled on at the pace things came to her. She realized this was maybe not the kind of information the stylist needed. “But I digress. Anyways, as it turned out, one part of my work concerns the Observatory of Lhavit. The scholars and scientists there are customers of Lucis and Lucis and Edward (that’s my boss) also takes a personal interest in the equipment they use and how it can be developed and improved. For this reason it happens that he sends me over ... it has been a while, and the main projects for the Observatory has been stalling, but I’m sure it will start up again, sooner or later. So ... I think new working clothes of a new and more stylish kind should mainly be for my visits in the observatory. The other place I visit frequently is’ the blacksmith’s but it’s better to go there in my usual smithy working clothes, as it’s pretty dirty there too. But it can happen that I visit the monastery ... and other places ... that aren't workshops ... ”

To her own surprise she came to a conclusion. “For work, I don’t want to be overdressed. But I want one set of more elegant working clothes for when I visit places like the Observatory, and other scholar offices and... you know... that kind of places. These clothes could very well be suitable for light socialization as well as for work. And I guess I can use one more set of working clothes too, something in between the workshop outfit and the office wear, simple but nice.”

She looked around to see if she could find any examples to point out in the bypassing crowd, in order to give Amelia a concrete description of what she meant. In quick succession Ornea pointed out four examples; the first and second was what the Inarta referred to a Observatory Style (1 & 2) and the third and fourth she called “Simplistic” (3 & 4). Right now it felt like she might want all of them, but she would see what Amelia had to say.


“I think something like this may be what I’m looking for” she said. “Are these the kind of colors you meant? What do you think?”

OOC: Edit 2017-03-12. As I noticed Amelia has submitted the thread for review (which I'm totally alright with as the thread is old) I'm going to round off the end with a short epilogue for my PC in order to clarify IC that there s nothing to add to the ledger.

Epilogue
No decisions about new attire was taken this day, but Ornea felt she had been given ideas to think of. Perhaps she would get around to buy something new another day, but not right now. Work was beckoning! It wasn't the Inarta's way to waste unecessary politeness on people, so she saw no reason to thank the adviser for her efforts. She just bluntly told the well groomed young beauty she needed to be on her way, and then she left.

...

[Wymez]

Amelia

Skills

● Observation - 1XP
● Planning - 1XP
● Socialisation - 2XP
● Rhetoric - 2XP

● Investigation - 2XP
● Cosmetology - 1XP
● Massage - 1XP
● Weapon: Cuticle Clippers - 1XP

Lores
● Rhetoric: Using flattery to persuade a potential customer
● Ornea: Red headed Inarta
● Amelia: Envious of Ornea's hair colour
● Ornea: Metalsmith at Lucis and Lucis
● Ornea: Her poor hands!
● Cosmetology: Grooming a labourer's rough hands
● Massage: Basic hand massage
● Cosmetology: Nail and cuticle health
● Weapon (Cuticle Clippers): Swift and precise technique
● Investigation: Figuring out what a client needs
● Ornea: Moved to Lhavit two years ago
● Ornea: Works for Edward Lucis the gadgeteer
● Ornea: Artisan
● Ornea: Appreciates and understands the importance of beauty

Misc

Hey there! Just be mindful not to powerplay. I know this is just a fun little thread and you are keeping to Amelia's character but it's best to make sure the other character involved has the opportunity to confirm or evade any actions made. If you gained permission from the other player to take such liberties then definitely leave a wee note so we graders know

Ornea

Skills

● Socialisation - 2XP
● Observation- 1XP
● Planning - 1XP

● Storytelling - 1XP
● Organisation - 1XP
x

Lores
● Amelia Trisswell-Barker: Fashion adviser
● Amelia: Youthful Lhavitian beauty
● Amelia: Artisan - would be an Avora
● Linguistics: Struggling to adjust one's speech
● Cosmetology: The importance of hand and nail health
● Lotioned hands feel soft and look nice
● Lhavitian Culture: The importance of fashion and presentation

Comments

Thanks for the read! Do let me know if you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade and don't forget to delete/edit your request in the grading queue.