Of Dresses and Dancers (Nissabella)

[Sosicly Magnolia]

22nd of Winter, 512AV Careful claws plucked at the thread, the young woman’s eyes squinted in the hope the thread would slide through the need properly and stop being a pest. Sosicly let out a silent puff of air and tuck her hair back, growing irate with the thread until two pale hands stripped the needle and thread from her. “Lick or twist the tip, Krovaly.” Elyna chastised as she handed it back, with good reason too, Sosicly was only stalling because weaving was her next task and she didn’t wish to do it. She wanted more practice with sewing as she obviously needed it. She was currently sitting with the weaving class but working on a dress Elyna had given her to finish up, the students sitting quietly as they worked, her words not brining the slightest distraction to the group. Pulling out Elynas’ work Sosicly redid it herself this time, succeeding in both embedding the pin in her finger and getting the thread through the hole. Only a small drop of blood welled in the tiny wound and she cleaned it on the edge of her dress before picking up one of the beads. They were tiny little gems she had cut a few days prior, thin holes peeking through with just enough width for the needle to slide through. Carefully as to not prick her finger again she counted out ten and strung them on the thread, holding the bottom to prevent the beads from falling off, then gently setting it to the side. Soscily plucked up the dress and tilted it this way and that for a moment, glancing at the pattern book in front of her. The dress was simple enough, donated by one of the students. Pretty as well and silvery in color and would favorably end up on one of the dancers. Sosicly enjoyed seeing projects she helped with on the dancers because then everyone could see her work even if they did not know it was hers. Reaching over to pull out her sewing kit from her knapsack and removing a piece of chalk from the kit. Looking at the pattern she was given Sosicly stretched out the dress and slowly began to draw the lines where the line of beads would go. It was a simple enough design with both the dress and beads, it was more just for a splash of color than any real design. And truth be told her Sosicly’s sewing designs needed work too. The Dress :

[Nissabella Rose]

A miasma of grumbling and discontented muttering surrounded Nissabella of the Rose Web as she made her way down the red strand road to the Weft and Warp. With one hand, she absentmindedly toweled off her forehead with a length of clean cotton, while squinting sullenly at a list written in a flamboyant, nigh-illegible scrawl in the other hand. Every now and then, she threw a glance back over her shoulder at the teardrop-shaped Cobweb, Kalinor's dance school, and glowered at the normally inoffensive and indeed much-beloved building. "'Oh, Bitta, can you take a message for me to Laudavyn of the Aconite Web asking him to have dinner with me? Ah, sweetheart, won't you stop by the Weft and Warp and pick up some fabrics I ordered?'" she mimicked under her breath in a shrill, indolent voice, prompting passerby to cast some odd looks her way. "'I'd get it myself, but I simply cannot be late for my daily soak in the Blue Grotto. Be a dear and fetch it for me, will you?'" Discontent warped Nissabella's animated features into a sulky frown. She hated being used like an errand girl for the older, more influential aerial dancers, even while she knew that she had no choice but to let them order her around. One wrong word in Kanasa Curare's ear, and Nissabella would remain as a mere chorus dancer for years because of her "disrespectful and uncooperative" behavior. Oh, how she looked forward to rising to star status herself and getting not only all the adoration and deference, but also the right to order other people around with impunity. Until then, though, she simply had to endure running others' errands, even after a long, tiring session of practicing and rehearsing. Grimacing slightly, she pushed through the heavy, rich curtains of silk and descended the narrow stairs in search of an assistant. Even the thought that she might run into Avarys Anthurium, the handsome co-owner and dancer who never failed to make her heart skip a beat, was tempered by the certainty that he would be in the company of his cousin Alessa, headmistress of the Weft and Warp. A low sigh escaped from the irritable young dancer. No, this was definitely not a visit to be prolonged any more than it absolutely had to be, unless she found something that truly piqued her interest somehow. Hearing soft voices from the well-lit room below, Nissabella hurried impatiently down the stairs. Her haste caused her to stumble as one sandaled foot missed a step and, with a jolt, Nissabella began tumbling headlong down the steep staircase. Reflexively, she leaned backward and flung her arms behind her body to slow her fall, and her claw-tipped fingers brushed the stairs behind her and sank in their minute hooks to stabilize her. It gave her just enough time to shake off her sandals and wedge her bare feet against the walls on either side of her, where they too sank their hooks and held her secure. Her plunge slowed and stopped, and Nissabella breathed a deep sigh of relief. In this awkward position, with her legs spread in a shallow split and her hands angled behind her head, she glanced down and met the eyes of the weaver who had been climbing the stairs to greet her. A wave of embarrassment smote her at being discovered looking clumsier and less graceful than any aerial dancer should. Quick, her mind thought frantically. Think of some way to make this look intentional! As the weaver watched in perplexity, Nissabella deliberately "walked" her feet up along the walls until her body was straight and her head above her hands in a supported, careful handstand. With her feet still adhering to the walls and partially holding up her weight, she then descended the stairs in as dainty a fashion as she could, using her hands instead of her feet. The weaver, who no doubt thought she was crazy or clowning around, mutely stood aside with a mingled look of amusement and puzzlement and let her pass as she climbed down toward him. Better to look eccentric than utterly ridiculous, Nissabella told herself as she came into view of the room full of weavers, still in her walking handstand. But now what? Pushing lightly with her palms and the balls of her feet, she performed a modest forward flip that left her upright, with her feet firmly planted on the floor. Feeling every eye focused on her, she patted her sides for the list she'd brought. With a groan, she realized she'd dropped it on the stairs far above, when she first started to tumble. Now feeling more, not less, awkward than ever, Nissabella hesitantly cleared her throat. "Hello," she said to no one in particular. "I'm here to pick up the fabrics for," and she named the high-ranking aerial dancer who had sent her here on this ridiculous, menial errand. "Would anyone, uh, would anyone mind showing me where they are?"

[Sosicly Magnolia]

No one looked up from their work save for Sosicly and Elyna who didn’t bat an eye at the young woman who had come in. Then again dancer’s and student dancer’s tended to be pretty devote, though she had no idea what the woman could possibly need to walk on her hands for, already Sosicly placed her chalk to the side, signifying she would take this customer. But she made no move to stand yet, waiting for woman to finish speaking. While she waited she did not bother to hide her assessing of the woman, she looked to be a bit taller than Sosicly herself, the woman’s long curls falling around her gracefully. A pang of jealously crept up threateningly but the obvious awkwardness of the other young woman squashed it. Sweeping herself up, she grabbed her notebook from her knapsack. A simple customer transaction shouldn’t require anything more than the pre-written words inside from previous customers. Walking over, she smiled and gestured to the one of the storage rooms and flicked through the pages already walking to the room without waiting for the other. Where was that page that had the greeting? Pushing past the curtain she looked at the piles of materials then back to her book. Upon finding the page she turned to the other woman holding out the book and pointed at one scribble of text then the next swiftly. I am Sosicly, I will be helping you. Are there only fabrics or dresses as well? Only to frown because she wasn’t sure if there was anything for the young woman herself to pick up. She could always have another student come in if she need more help. Assuming the woman had already read the text, she set the book down and turned to grab the fabrics. OOCI know I’m super late here! Life, laziness, lack of internet and vacation kind of swept away all of my time and my muse. Hopefully I won’t be so slow in the future and I hope you wish to continue this thread!