Solo Redesign

[Rosela]

Timestamp: 89th of Winter, 512AV Rosela lay in bed for a moment, staring at the sunrise through the dingy window. It was starting to warm up in the last few days, and she was enormously grateful. Her first winter in Riverfall had dragged on far too long, and she was ready for a warm sun again. What was on her mind at the moment though, was a conversation she’d had over a season ago – with Leo. She’d adjusted her winter lineup accordingly, but spring was nearly upon her and she needed to prepare the new line. The women’s line would be easy, as always, but her newfound knowledge of what would really sell in Riverfall made the men’s side much more interesting than it used to be. Sighing, she heaved herself out of the creaking bed and stretched all six arms above her head. Wool would be out; cottons and linens in. She’d sold her supply of fur cloaks, but the sweaters would have to either go into storage or be broken down into vests or…well, that was it. Nobody did sweaters in the spring. Maybe she’d keep a few on hand for cold day emergency shoppers. She wished she could just reuse what was leftover from the fall line, but the colors simply would not do. Sighing deeply, she pulled herself from her plotting and cut out some bread for her breakfast. She paused and looked at it for a moment before taking a slow, thoughtful bite. She’d gotten so used to this life that she was no longer instinctually balking at the destitution of her daily activities. The realization bothered her, and she mowed through the rest of the bread quickly. This state of life was temporary, and in no way could she be comfortable with it. The shadows under the table and behind the chairs watched her quietly, as they always did, much kinder than the shadows in her shop. ”I’ll be rid of this life soon enough,” she said to them, eyeing them sideways, expecting some manner of disagreement. There was a noise of interest, but no reaction either way. More likely they didn’t care. ”Will you still be here when I trade this place in for a mansion?” “We are everywhere." Their response was matter of fact, as though she were pitiful for having to ask.

[Rosela]

The walk to the shop was brisk and damp, puddles and mud everywhere to avoid. She made it to her front door with her boots mostly clean, tapping them on the pavestone outside the door to dislodge any mud. Her patrons might not care about dragging mud in, but she avoided it if she could. The morning went by slowly, broken by a few customers. She reorganized the shelves into two categories: things that would stay, and things that would go to the back. The winter line was becoming less popular anyway, with the warming weather, so her stock was already low. She needed more men’s trousers, and women’s dresses. Scurrying to the back between customers, she opened the “Autumn” box, and flipped through the folds, her extra hands trying to keep everything straight as she dug. Just as she heard the front door swing open, she grabbed a few dresses and trotted back to the front. The young, human man was squared away with two pairs of trousers, and she returned to the pile of dresses on the desk. She picked up the first, a dark affair with black, silver, and white splotches over the fabric, in a long, slinky dress. Very dark, very autumn. Biting a fingernail as she held it up, she imagined it with flounces and ruffles. Her other two hands grabbed a pencil and paper, redrawing the dress sloppily, but getting the idea across. As her four top hands turned the dress this way and that, she added flounces and ruffles to the ends, intended to be perfect black cotton. In her minds eye, it made the white and silver really pop, but was still to drab. She needed…purple. A lovely, deep purple. Laying down the dress, she put her full focus on the design. She drew a string around the waist of the dress, adding a large purple flower at the tie. As a bit of extra fun, she added an underlayer of matching deep purple ruffles to the edges of the dress. Now that looked like spring. “It’s ugly.” There was a small, derisive voice from the shadow under her desk, and Rosela snorted irritably. ”You just don’t like it because it’s not all black.” “I didn’t say that. It’s just ugly.” In the few days since she’d gained the ability to talk to the shadows, she’d learned they either had terrible taste in fashion, or just enjoyed criticizing her. She’d suspected it was entirely the latter, until they made a single somewhat-favorable remark on an all black cocktail dress she’d done as a custom job. It had pleased her inordinately, but she wasn’t about to go all black to please a bunch of shadows that would probably find something else to criticize. Pinning the design to the dress, she folded it up and picked up the next. This one didn’t need much redesign, as the bright patterned linen would do well in spring. Tearing off a small piece of the previous design paper, she made a note to remove the sleeves and lower the collar, and pinned it on as she laid it on top of the dark dress. There was another noise of derision from under the desk, but she ignored it.

[Rosela]

Over lunch, she was forced to close the shop temporarily, after discovering that her cotton and linen supply had gotten terribly low. She had planned on doing up a whole line of men’s linen trousers, and she was bound and determined not to fall behind. The streets were slightly more crowded than expected, but the sun seemed to be chasing the puddles away. While sidestepping a stubborn mud pond, there was a swipe against her thigh as a child pushed past and her other foot swung dangerously towards the pond. A firm grip caught on her top left arm and she gasped as she was able to twist away from the mud, landing on firm stone. Her thanks caught in her throat as she looked up in shock into the satisfied face of Morlevik, who had an embarrassed Akalak boy in a firm grip by the shoulder. “Now what do you say to this nice woman you almost pushed into the mud?” Morlevik addressed the terrified youth, who looked close to tears. “I’m s-sorry. I-I, uh…” While Rosela inwardly balked at letting him off with a simple apology – she could have ruined her pants in that mud! – she smiled down at him then up at Morlevik. ”Apology accepted, and thank you.” The boy was let go without another word, and he took off running, though he contorted clearly to avoid touching anyone else until he disappeared. Morlevik also let go of her arm, smiling down at her. “Are you okay?” ”Much better now, thank you.” The night she met him at the white crane seemed so long ago, though it was only a season. It seemed silly that she’d been concerned for her safety at the time. ”Out for lunch?” “Just came back from a lunch meeting, I’m afraid. Yourself?” ”On the way to the fabric shop, actually. I own a clothing store-” “Yes, Red Diamond Fashions, I've heard. You’ve turned quite a few heads in Riverfall. I do keep meaning to stop by.” Turned quite a few heads… The phrase ran around in Rosela head like a glorious mantra, and she found herself infinitely more attracted to him and his finely tailored suit. She could make a suit just as fine, she knew it. ”Oh, I do wish you would.” She slipped one hand into his and squeezed, watching his reaction bloom on his face. Despite how their last meeting had ended, Rosela knew he was a man of finer tastes, and it wouldn’t take much to light that fire. “It would be my pleasure to employ such a fine seamstress.” He lifted her hand and gently kissed it. Rosela kept her eyes on his a moment longer than necessary, and gave him a secretive, heated smile. ”I certainly look forward to it. I don’t suppose you’d care to accompany me to the second tier?” His smile was earnestly disappointed, and he looked around at the crowd parting around them. “My dear, I should have no greater wish to do so, but I’m afraid I am late for another meeting.” ”Late? I won’t keep you then. Thanks again for saving me from the mud.” She put two other hands around his and squeezed once before letting them slide away. He curled his fingers as their hands parted, as though reluctant to let go. “Until next time.” As Rosela walked away, she was sure to swish her hips a little more, and saw him watching her go in the reflection of a window.

[Rosela]

The transaction at the fabric store was quicker than usual, and the proprietor was now a familiar face and more than happy to see her. The bolts were heavy, but she declined his offer to carry them back, already hatching another plan. The man was portly and bespectacled, not her usual fare. She did her best to hide her discomfort until she was out of the shop and at least a short way up the street, before she started to make it clear it was a bit too heavy for her. Pausing to adjust her grip, she forced herself not to look around at who was watching her. She wished she could ask one of the corner shadows if there were any good men taking notice, but she’d look crazy with so many people around, and the shadows would probably just laugh at her anyway. “Don’t you know it’s against the law for pretty women to carry heavy packages?” A deep voice interrupted her thoughts, and who should appear to her right, already sweeping the wrapped bolts out of her arms, but Taskel. ”Taskel! Thank you!” Leaning up on tiptoe, she gave him a quick peck on the cheek and he seemed to swell under her regard. “My pleasure. Where to?” ”My shop, this way.” Placing her hand on his bicep, which he apparently flexed for her, she indicated ahead, up the street. “Of course, I should have guessed. Been staying busy?” ”Oh yes, a little too busy sometimes. Putting together my spring line at the moment.” She patted the packages fondly. “That offer for a model is still open, if you ever need it…” She laughed, and petted his arms, letting her fingers move over the dip in his muscles. ”I’ll keep that in mind. I saw you on duty, you know? At the Council Meeting.” “You were there? Crazy stuff, huh? Female Akalaks… Who’d’ve seen that coming?” In mock insult, Rosela sighed and stuck out her bottom lip. ”I guess with them around, nobody needs any foreign women…” “Aww, you know you’re still the prettiest in town.” Holding the packages awkwardly, he leaned over and gave her a slightly sloppy kiss on the cheek. She tilted her head to let him with a satisfied smile, resisting the urge to wipe off the excess spit. ”You flatterer. What am I going to do with you?” Predictably, he looked over and waggled his eyebrows at her. “I can think of quite a few things…” ”I’m sure you can. But in the meantime, we’re here.” Opening up the door, she led him to the back desk, where he set the packages down gently. Putting a hand on her hip, she smiled up at him. ”Thank you so, so much. I’m not sure how I could’ve made it back without you.” “No problem, no problem.” He started to lean in, and Rosela realized he was going for a kiss. Thinking quick, she leaned forward too, jumping up to throw her arms around his neck and shoulders in an enthusiastic hug. She felt his moment of hesitation after his kiss was thwarted, but wrapped his arms around her middle lifting her clear off the floor. She squealed laughter and decided to ignore the good snuggle he was getting with her bosom. When he set her back down, she gave his arm a friendly squeeze. ”Thanks again.” “Just don’t let me catch you hauling heavy things like that again, ma’am.” He nodded and gave her a mock warning, giving in to smile widely before he turned and was gone from her shop. The shadow behind the door barked a laugh that Rosela also ignored as she shut the door behind him.

[Rosela]

Her little lunch break had taken longer than she’d intended, so she launched into the dresses with a passion. Taking the easier of the two first, she broke the stitches on the sleeves, snipping and pulling away spare threads. It would have to be a very small hem, and got one of her smallest needles for it. Using one pair of hands to hold the edges, she rolled the edge in and anchored the edges with a couple backstitches. Around the inside went slipstitches, in and out quickly, alternating quarter-inch stitches with tiny ones. Another pair of hands held small scissors, trimming off the excess fabric as she went. After one sleeve was done, she rolled her shoulders and started on the other. It went just as quickly, and she knotted and snipped the thread at the end. Snapping out the dress, she nodded minutely, already seeing more spring than fall. Next was the collar, and Rosela traced out the fall of it with her fingers. It got lower and lower until she reminded herself that it wasn’t summer yet, and she found a happy medium. It sloped to a point just low enough to hint at the cleavage, but the swoop of it was more to show off the collar bones. The excess fabric was snipped cleanly off, leaving a less ragged end for her to hem up. Once again she anchored the edges with backstitches, at the shoulder seams and at the low point of the front. This hem was slightly bigger than the shoulder ones, and she was more comfortable moving quickly with the extra room. Slip stitches moved in and out of the hem, all the way around the collar. It seemed too easy to finish it with that, and she held it out at full length. One hand, pulled up one hip of the dress into a bunch, letting the bottom hem fall in waves. Cute…but too summery. She’d keep the idea in the back of her mind for the summer fashions, but the dress was good as it was.

[Rosela]

In the midst of cleaning up the scraps, two customers came in, delaying her until the late afternoon before she could get to the other dress. She shuttled the unneeded bolts of fabric to the back in several trips, leaving only the black and purple bolts of cotton. The colorful dress went back as well, to be part of a grand unveiling of her spring line once the new year had passed. Laying the dark dress out on her clean desk, she measured and cut the two layers of ruffles for each section, one black and one purple. The ruffle pieces were large donut shapes, with a cut from the outside to the inside on one side. Various donut sizes were cut: for the bottom of the dress, for the collar, and for each of the cuffs. Discarding the scraps, she set into hemming each piece with a herringbone stitch to make it as invisible as possible. The fabric buckled into wide ruffles as she straightened the donut shapes, and she backstitched the necessary ones onto the bottom of the dress, layering the purple underneath. The cuffs and collar would need tighter ruffles, so for each donut of those, she put in a pair of basting stitches a quarter in from the top, then slipped the fabric down the thread to create tight ruffles throughout the top, which translated to more smaller ruffles at the end that would be visible. She secured each of these pieces to its necessary section of the dress. On the cuffs, first black then purple, then on the collar, first purple then black, as the ruffles there would be flipped outward to lay on top of the dress. A belt would be the finishing touch, adding interest to the middle of the dress. Leaning back in her chair, Rosela fumbled around in her odds and ends box, brushing through buttons, broaches, and various other bits. She pulled out a black cord, a fake purple flower, and two yellow/gold beads. Slipping the beads onto the cord, she knotted the ends and pulled it around the middle of the dress, holding it in place with two hands while she pinned on the flower. The dress was finished. It would look good on some energetic Konti striding down the street, or a long haired human woman. Maybe with some black boots. The sun had nearly set, and Rosela set about cleaning up her space. The shadows of the back room made a snide comment about the pair of new dresses on the rack, but she was too tired to be bothered. It had been a full day, and she was looking forward to maybe splurging a bit on dinner, or convincing some nice man to do it for her.

[Limey]

Skill and Lore Rewards Skills Lore Seduction 2 Wool, Cotton and Linen: Seasonal Material Sewing 3 Talking To The Shadows Observation 2 Alterations, Adjustments And Flourishes Fashion Design 2 The Critique Of Darkness Taskel: Convenient Gentleman Let Your Imagination Own Your Hands Additional Notes : Wonderful as usual, Rosela. You have a very easy, natural style and I LOVED the shadows beyond description. I liked how you made them seem at first creep and eldritch... and then in a few lines, as flawed and human as anything else. Important note, though: deduct a certain amount for the bolts of fabric, since I didn't see you do so, nor any prices for what you did buy. PM me when you've done so with a link, and next time, add a receipt or something. Great job, love. Nice to see someone planning ahead. Any questions or queries, please PM me.