The champion's new clothes [Red Diamond, Rosela please]

[Leo Varniak]

Timestamp: 72th day of Fall, 512 AV (can be changed to suit your preferences!) This man was in serious need of restyling. He knew it, everybody knew it and still it had taken him this long to make up his mind and seek professional help beyond the simplest, more utilitarian wares for sale at Zhongjie. He had never cared much for these things, after all, but the nature of his new occupation demanded a certain attention to public relations. While the cloth did not make the man, it mattered little if everyone else seemed to believe the opposite. He had bought his current garb from various stalls at the market, paying the minimum price. It did a good job of covering him, but that was all it did. Dressed in various shades of non-color, Leo Zaital was rather under-toned for a champion of the gods. He was wearing a grayish shirt and trousers that were grayish too but in a different tint of grayish that wasn't quite as grayish. He had gotten himself the most uninspired pair of boots in Riverfall, and his gloves were a brownish that brought out the worst in the grayish all around. His belt, which did not really suit his wiry and certainly not muscular build, was yet another tint of brownish that, much like the grayish, wasn't quite as brownish as the gloves or boots. It was as if Rhysol had just waltzed into Sylir's sacred sanctuary and started breaking all the fine china. But then again, most in this line of work would appreciate a good challenge. This man could definitely provide a tough one. He looked very much out of place, too, staring at the rolls of cloth and gaudy silks with the almost morbid curiosity of someone first witnessing a brain in a jar. He had this somber look to him, made awkward by the unfamiliar setting he now found himself in. Leo may have called many sins his own, but vanity was not one of them and the sight very nearly blinded him. It didn't help that the only person in a shop was a young Eypharian woman, a race he had barely ever seen in the flesh. The fact only added to the novelty and confusion of it all. "Um, hello," he said tentatively by way of greeting, distracted by all the mirrors, "I am in need of clothes." With that taken care of, he elaborated on his request. "Clothes that will let me meet with influential people without being escorted to the door before I have a chance to speak, that is." He even found it in himself to smile a little, which looked slightly out of place on his face. "Do you service men here?" He blinked and corrected his aim. "I mean, do you sell clothes for men too?" Because truth be told, it all looked so foreign to him that he was having some trouble telling the difference. It was quite odd, really, for a man who could have leveled Riverfall to find himself at a loss whenever his self-image was concerned.

[Rosela]

In, out. Loop to the other side. In, out again. Loop back to the front. In, out. Rosela had been stitching for days it seemed, the same baseball stitch over and over. She was working on a large fur cloak, one of many that would likely be the big sellers in the coming winter. It would be her first winter away from Eyktol, and even the autumn chill was enough to make her miserable. The shop was well-warmed, but the trek home made her teeth chatter, and the wind chill gave her cheeks an ugly, blotchy complexion. However, she seemed to be the sole resident in the entire city affected, as she was the only one shivering on her evening walks home, and the fur cloaks she’d diligently stitched together weren’t selling quite as quickly as she would have liked. In, out. Loop. In, out. There was a draft of cold air as the front door swung open, and she held up the panels of fur against it until the door closed again. A young human man, likely not much older than her, walked through the door, looking around uncomfortably. Shuffling the fur onto the desk, Rosela straightened her skirt as she stepped around it. ”Welcome to Red Diamond Fashions! I’m Rosela. What can I help you with today?” He didn’t need to tell her he was in need of clothes; Rosela immediately wondered if she could possibly trick him into something, anything, and discreetly burn the hideous rags he’d walked in with. The thin silver lining of this gray cloud was that compared to what he already had, the cheapest tunic in her entire store would be an enormous step up. His servicing comment made her pale briefly, and she covered her mouth for a polite laugh. A small terror ran through her as she wondered if he’d seen her during her quick visits to the Velvet Curtain recently. Her quest to master the art of seduction aside, the last thing she needed was it to interfere with her business. ”Ahem, yes, we do have men’s clothing. And I can assure you,” Two hands clasped politely in front of her, and another pair gestured to the men’s half of the store. ”Walk in wearing anything from my store, and you’ll have the right heads turning.” She patted a stack of trousers fondly. ”Now, were you looking for a single nice outfit, or a complete wardrobe makeover?” She couldn’t quite help her eyes bouncing down to the ugly gray shirt as she asked, but her smile stayed firmly in place.

[Leo Varniak]

The seamstress looked very happy to see him, but strangely enough the same heights of emotional delight failed to tickle Leo's gnosis. Not that he minded that, actually. In fact, he would have been shocked to perceive genuine fondness radiating from a perfect stranger dressed in very functional but less than magnificent... rags. He had read things about Eypharians, and there were some who insisted they had evolved their many arms so that they could plant six daggers in as many backs at the same time, but their taste for beautiful things was universally considered superior. Hopefully she could make a presentable man out of him. Leo nodded quietly as she patted the trousers, silently wondering which pair of arms she ate her meals with. Superficial logic suggested it should be the uppermost, but there were arguments for the others, as well. Her mouth was a bottleneck limiting how many she could employ effectively to feed herself. Her question caught him by surprise. He didn't have a wardrobe, let alone one to change. He even lacked the wooden object that meant physically what she had mentioned metaphorically. "Well, that depends, I suppose," he frowned. He elaborated on the answer. "What I need is something that won't look out of place anywhere. It should be as... universal as possible. It shouldn't draw amused looks no matter if I wear it in Syliras or Wind Reach. If this isn't possible with a single outfit, then I can purchase more, provided I can afford them." He was very blunt about the money. She could probably tell he did not swim in gold by the very clothes he was wearing. "Also, they should be fit for storage through long journeys. If you can meet these requirements then I wouldn't mind buying more from you." He was suddenly reminded of something, and his face lit with another idea. "If you could fireproof them somehow, then I'd be willing to pay you a bonus." Leo said, having no idea whatsoever whether she would find the request hard to accommodate. These Eypharians were very very crafty, after all.

[Rosela]

Putting a finger to her lip, Rosela hummed thoughtfully. ”Well,” she started slowly. ”One thing at a time. We’re looking for universal fashion, does well in storage, and, ahem, fireproof.” A hand absently ran through her hair at that last one. How exactly did one fireproof clothing? Ideas started swimming immediately, but she beat them down. One thing at a time. ”Universal fashion, that probably won’t be too hard. So long as you stick to the classics, what works here will work most anywhere. Men’s fashion really doesn’t change like women’s does. Like you can look at a woman and just tell that she got her outfit off the clearance rack from a line put out five years ago?” Her tone suggested she’d personally seen such an atrocity. She belatedly realized it may be a bit insensitive to someone as fashion-backwards as her new customer. ”It’s a lot harder to do that with men, so long as they take care of what they’re wearing. Which brings us to storage.” She clasped two of her hands, two other picking up the top pair of black wool trousers to hold emphatically in front of her. ”I’d seriously go with wool. I know cotton’s cheaper, but it wears out a lot quicker. You might want to get just one cotton outfit if you’re headed for the desert. You’ll bake in wool if you’re heading to Eyktol. And I’d definitely stay away from silks if you’re going to be traveling. Sweat is a total pain to get out of silk, and it wrinkles really easily. If we can figure out what fabric we want to go with, we can figure out the fashion from there. The fireproofing…” She trailed off, biting her lip. She wanted those extra mizas, but didn’t know if she could do it. There had to be someone in all of Riverfall who knew how to fireproof clothing? ”It’ll cost extra, but I’ll need a day to figure out how much.” It’d be quite the market to get into, if fireproofing turned out to be profitable. There had to be a market for fireproof clothing to go under fireproof armor?

[Leo Varniak]

He was going to have to take a lot of this on pure faith, Leo considered as the Eypharian woman went through a discussion of men and women's differences in clothing and fashion. He certainly wouldn't be able to tell if a dress had been bought five years ago by just looking at it, unless it was worn out or something. Still, she sounded competent enough to be trusted on this. He nodded as she listed his requirements and added nothing. She'd summarized them just fine, and he had no wish to make a bigger fool of himself than he already was by just standing there. "The classics sound good," he agreed in principle, feeling that the farther he stayed from extravagance, the better. "I agree with your choice of fabric. I think we can go with one cotton and maybe three woolen outfits. I am just going to trust you on the cut and colors, Miss." Leo was really easy as far as customers went. He didn't have the discerning ability to make much of a critical statement in fashion. Even though he had training as a painter, the intricacies of the humanoid figure still escaped him. He cleared his throat, too. "And the fireproofing, while not essential, would be nice to have. I'm not expecting to be able to walk into a blazing fire and come out crisp clean and ready for a gala dinner. Just... I'd rather not have to throw my new clothes away because of a spark at the wrong time." The way he said it, he made it seem like a normal occurrence. He had no idea if his request had been a common one, but there could be a market for that, all things considered. It had been remarkably easy so far. "Do you need to take my measurements now or would you rather wait until tomorrow?"

[Rosela]

As he seemed to consider her options, Rosela’s mind was still working on the fireproofing problem. The fabric store might have some custom fireproof fabric they made for the warriors? Maybe that creepy place by Zhongjie, what was it called? Cavern Creations? They had some sort of philtering…thing there, maybe they had some treatment she could give the fabric. It was a moment before she registered exactly how much clothing he’d just agreed to buy. The surprise just made it to her expression before she covered it with a polite smile. This was bound to be her biggest sale yet! If she could just hang onto him. She found herself more determined to figure out the fireproofing aspect. ”Excellent choice, and please, call me Rosela. We’ll make sure you’re prepared for anything.” She winked conspiratorially, meaning he’d be prepared for any social event. ”What is it you do, by the way? A blacksmith then? The kind of sparks you’ll be running into might narrow down what kind of fireproofing we need.” She didn’t even know that the fireproofing she had in mind would be possible, let alone that there’d be multiple kinds, but in all honesty, she was curious. He didn’t seem like a blacksmith – truth be told, he was far too skinny for the job – however, she supposed anything was possible. ”Let’s figure out what styles you like, and get your measurements today. That way, all that's left is the fireproofing tomorrow. The classic look is pretty narrow, but I want to make sure you actually like it. Let’s start with the shirts.” Despite having already stated he’d trust her opinion, if there was any way she could lock him into a sale before he left, she was going to take it. Leading him over to the back corner of the men’s shirts, she picked up one she’d already had in mind. It was a long, bronze-ish brown shirt, with brass buttons in a double row down the front. On a shorter man, it might have been a tunic, but as it was, it just came over his hips. Around the waist, there was a belt pinned in place. ”You’re going to look best in the dark, earthy tones, and some brass accents wouldn’t go amiss. Maybe some black, but not too much of it…” Two arms folded the brown short over another arm, and two other arms were already picking up another shirt, this one also dark brown, with a black hood attached inside a short collar, with the front edges of the black fabric sewn into a double line down the front. ”Oh, and this one too. What do you think?” Two sets of hands held up both shirts for his inspection.

[Leo Varniak]

Leo thought it a little strange that his order should be cause for the surprise he saw painted on her face for a moment. He gave a slightly quizzical expression, but said nothing of it. Maybe the shop wasn't doing so well? Or it may have opened only recently. There seemed to be quite a bit of competition around the Zhongjie warrens and even he wasn't quite sure why he had chosen this place over any other. Regardless, he had no problem trusting even a relatively unproven stylist. She was certainly going to receive quite a bit of publicity from this particular order. Of course, whether it would be good publicity remained to be seen. At worst, she might be remembered as the seamstress of the World Destroyer's champion. Was she the kind to not care what people said about her, as long as they were talking about her? "Well met, Rosela," he bowed his head ever so slightly as it befitted a greeting to the fairer sex, "I am Leo Zaital," he introduced himself in response to her inquiry, and struggled a bit with naming his profession. "I'm a priest," he said after a second or two, "although not the boring kind." Did she wink to everyone who just happened to order four outfits from her? It felt a little naive as an attempt to put a customer at ease. "As for the sparks, it's mostly magic I'm talking about. I could show you exactly the type of sparks I have in mind, but I'm afraid your shop is just about the last place where you'd want a demonstration." He eyed the piles of fabric with a slight smirk on his face. "Rest assured, though... they are close relatives to the fireplace variety." There was something about Rosela's exaggerated aim-to-please countenance that he found strangely amusing in the way one had fun watching a roadside puppet show. It did have some of the desired effect of putting him more at ease in this unfamiliar setting, even if not in the intended way. He nodded along as her many arms rummaged through various shirts. He found that he liked both her selections. "Yes, I think these colors would suit me best. I agree on the black, too. I carry enough bad news on my own without having to look like a crow, but a little of it won't hurt." So she was planning to go for darker, but not colorless, tones. "I like them both. I think you have the style down, Rosela. Maybe the third could be slightly more..." 'Intimidating' was the word that came to him first, but not quite the one he sought. "... ceremonial? For really official business, you see. Slightly brighter, with a fuller tone of red... a bit more flowing... Am I changing my mind too fast for you?" He pondered. These clothes looked fine to him and there was no reason not to push the Eypharian's skill to the limit with this order. It may cost him but it would be money well spent.

[Rosela]

”Lovely to meet you, Leo.” Rosela hummed thoughtfully at his profession. “I have to say, I think you’re the first priest I’ve ever had in here. A priest who works with fire though? You must be with Ivak?” She wasn’t particularly pious to any of the gods herself, and it was often a tossup as to whether she’ll remember the correct god on the spot. She’d learned the pantheon as a child – like everyone, she assumed – but the more obscure gods and goddesses had faded in her memory over the years. Ivak however, always stuck out in her mind, even though he was already well known from the Valterrian. She’d found the whole story madly romantic as a child, and even as an adult, after she’d seen what the cataclysm had done to the world, there was still something very passionate about the whole affair. The proud, beautiful queen stoned to death for loving a god before a man, and her lover tearing apart the world in revenge. It almost made one despair of finding sufficient mortal men. In any case, a mortal man was her business now, and things seemed to be going swimmingly. She felt like she was really making a good impression, and hoped the young man wouldn’t pass through Riverfall before patronizing her again. ”Oh, ahem, thank you for that.” Two hands rubbed together in an unconscious display of anxiety at the thought of her precious shop going up in flames. ”I’d love to see it sometime, but you’re right safety first. Maybe we could step outside to test the fireproofing tomorrow?” Between the waterfall and the damp autumn, it seemed a much better testing grounds. ”Ceremonial…” She repeated quietly, putting a hand to her chin and looking around. ”No, no, the more input the better. I may have something in mind… Aha!” Moving quickly into the next row, she pulled a dark crimson shirt out of a pile of like-styled shirts of different colors. The fabric had a slight shimmer to it, similar to velvet but more subtle. The sleeves were loose, bunching up under a cuff at the wrist. The shirt overall was fairly long, extending to over the hips, with a braided leather belt at the middle and a black cord loosely lacing up the collar. ”This might be what you’re looking for.” She held it up for display with three hands. ”It’s cotton-based velveteen, which is similar to velvet, but less, well, fuzzy. It’s great at giving the effect of wealth, without being too sumptuous. Velvet and velveteen aren’t for everyone though, so I do have this same style in the back in cotton.”

[Leo Varniak]

A sharp one; at the very least knowledgeable on the gods. He may have underestimated her quite a bit. "Yes, I'm with Ivak," he said with a half-smile. "You don't find it unsettling? I can think of others who wouldn't let a priest of the World Destroyer inside their shops, let alone do business with them." Leo knew no lies. When asked a direct question, he would always give a direct answer. That Rosela spoke of Ivak without apparent prejudice spoke well of her - or her sense of business. Regardless of which one, he could now tell her a little more about his purpose in Riverfall, and how her clothes could help him with it. "I'd be glad to test the fireproofing with you," he nodded. "I wouldn't lose sleep over it, though. It is just an added benefit, after all, and certainly not a deal breaker. I do not plan on using heavy magic with my good clothes on. It's just that, sometimes, you don't get that choice." Ivak's gifts were not very friendly to most garments, this much was true. Still, even they needed to look the part while in public; someone in his position, ever a bearer of bad news, needed it even more. Leo watched the Eypharian dance amidst the rows of shirts on display until she produced a crimson one for his inspection. The word velveteen was a new one to him, but he trusted it was a good fabric. He studied it carefully even in his lack of expertise. He liked the color and was suddenly reminded of something. "Ah, this is the same kind of loose-fitting shirts Ivak himself likes so much." Truly, he'd always appeared to Leo wearing exactly that kind of garments, even if not as elaborate as the one Rosela was holding. Still, it settled the thing in the champion's mind. It was fluid and at the same time dignified because of the accessories: the belt and cord. Ivak was not formal as far as gods went; always approachable, very loose on protocol, restless and constantly on the move. By contrast, Leo was the more stoic of the two. The Eypharian seamstress had unwittingly gotten the style just right for him: a good compromise between the god and his champion. "I'll take this velveteen version, if you please." Yes, he liked it already. "I plan on wearing this at the next Council meeting here in Riverfall." He narrowed the coals that were his eyes and smiled at Rosela. "People will likely know it is a creation of yours. Depending on how things go at the Council, it could be very good publicity for you... or possibly bad. Are you prepared to take that kind of gamble with me, Rosela?" He asked the question with genuine curiosity, cutting right to the point as was his usual. OOC : I am so very sorry for neglecting you. I'll be a lot faster from now on.

[Rosela]

OOCNo worries! Don’t rush on my account ”World Destroyer? That’s…I suppose…an accurate name... But you seem nice enough?” Rosela’s voice, like her smile, was unsettled, but striving for ease through humor. Her knowledge of the pantheon was academic at best, and after that, there weren’t many priests in the Gilded social circles of Ahnatep. She knew logically that Ivak was the big bad guy, but it was so much more pleasant to think of the more romantic bits. After all, who was going to call her out on not hating him enough? ”Oh good. We’ll just…wait on the testing part then.” The fireproofing thing was now tinged with a note of anxiety, but she pushed onwards with the sale. World Destroyer priest or not, this was her customer, and he had mizas for her if she could just stay cool. With the conversation making such an awkward turn, Rosela was more than happy to have found a shirt he liked. She grinned widely and laid the shirt over her arm, on top of the other two. ”He certainly has good taste then. So we have our three shirts? Did you want to look for trousers today as well?” Compared to shirts, trousers were a cake walk, though always required a trip to the changing room and a few measurements if she couldn’t guess his size right. She’d just made a stack of men’s pants a few days ago, so it was pretty unlikely that she wouldn’t have his size and would have to hem a pair. ”The Council meeting? Oh wonderful, I’ll see you there. Were you going to present or just listen?” She’d intended to go herself, not so much to make a statement to the Council, but to scope out everyone rich and politically connected. After a season of picking up guys in bars and just around the city, she needed to up her game. Who knew, maybe she’d get lucky and find a guy who was buff, rich, and connected. And now with her clothes being worn by someone in the public eye, she already had a talking point. She was taken off guard by his warning and blinked in surprise. With the ‘news’ that Ivak wasn’t very well liked, she hadn’t even thought of it going poorly. World’s Destroyer… The words echoed in her head and there was a moment of hesitation. She could take all these shirts and put them back on the shelves. With Ivak so disliked, she might even earn a few points with some people for refusing him her services. But then again… Bracing herself, she straightened up and crossed the two pairs of arms not laden with clothing across her chest. ”Half the women at the Velvet Curtain wear my designs; did you know that? I don’t care one bit what you do in my fashions, but you will look fabulous while doing it.” It was a gamble of her own mentioning Velvet Curtain, but she suspected he wouldn't care if she dressed hookers or the Council themselves.