Thread of Life III

[Yomila]

10th of Fall 520 AV

The Ethafael remained where she had been sitting, the mended dress with its fixed and secure buttons forgotten off to her left. Her steely focus was now on the two bits of anemic mauve fabric she had chosen from the supplies table, the bits held on either thigh. One had a flat button stitched to it. The button sat off-center, too far to the left, and it struck a nerve in Yomila. She felt an irrational bit of discomfort at the sight.

She knew there was nothing to be done about it now. She knew it didn't matter. These were just silly off cuts that had been generously donated to this place for people like her to practice on. Yet it irked her. The poor positioning, the glaring wrongness of it.

She forced her black eyes elsewhere. Forced her attention onto something more productive than worrying at something as ridiculous as an off-center button. Her gaze latched on to the spool of thread and needle she still had in her possession and she poured her focus into it. She tore at the leftover thread that remained attached to the needle and discarded it with a graceless flick of her fingers.

She was unsure how much new thread to measure out for her next project so she fidgeted. Her next task would into stitching the two pieces of fabric together - or so she believed that to be her next task. Her intentions coming here had been to learn to stitch: more specifically, to learn to stitch a wound. The Ethaefal speculated that act wouldn't be too unlike stitching the two pieces of fabric together, joining the two like one would an open wound to help it heal faster. So she pulled a length of thread free from the spool and watched it billow, the slight bit of circulated air within the room taking hold of the length and sending it out and away from her like a stray cobweb. She watched it, welcoming the distraction.

The Ethaefal reined the bit of thread back towards her just as Mama Marie, the proprieties of the Needy Needle, returned to her side. Her warm and welcoming countenance was unchanged. Her smile ever-present. She was a matronly sort, with the sort of voice and gentle ways that harkened the Ethaefal back to that fateful day on the Kabrin road. To her first meeting with a divine. With the Goddess Kihala. Yomila felt warmed and comforted just by being in her presence.

"Now we stitch the two together?" Yomila asked, the demand once more creeping back into her questioning words. She motioned with her free hand to the pieces of fabric in her possession to further clarify her intention.

Mama Marie nodded her assent. "Indeed. Later," she coaxed softly as she retook her spot beside the Ethaefal. "First, I want to show you three different ways to possibly do this stitching. Then I want you to chose what you think might be best," her smile was in her words, in her eyes, the crinkle of the crows feet at either side of them. She was encouragement personified. Patience. Care.

The Ethaefal considered this and looked between the older woman and the items in her possession. She had not considered there being more than one way to stitch something, but she supposed it made sense. Many skills had numerous ways of doing things, each having its own merits. She welcomed this opportunity, even if it was unexpected. But, then again, her entire visit had gone in a completely different direction than she had expected.

"I see you have thought ahead," the older woman said softly, nodding towards the needle in the Ethaefal's hand, now free of the thread previously attached to it.

"I figured this might require more thread than what was there," Yomila answered. It felt good knowing she had thought correctly. "Although," she admitted honestly, "I wasn't sure how much I would need for this." Her attention shifted fully to the proprietress, "I wonder if I shouldn't cut it from the spool at all."

Mama Marie regarded her thoughtfully, simply waiting and watching as the Ethaefal went through her thought process. Her entire demeanor was encouraging, coaxing more from the young looking creature before her.

Finally, she acquiesced, "That is one way to do it. Would you like to try it that way?"

Yomila considered her options. Her intense black gaze flickered between the needle and thread. They turned back to the older woman, "What would the downsides be of keeping it attached?"

"Some find it overwhelming. Find it gets tangled too easily and is not as easy to manage as one thread that's free to maneuver," said the proprietress.

The Ethaefal's brow narrowed in thought.

"The upsides?" she asked, gaze still set on the items in her hands.

"You don't run out of thread," answered Mama Marie.

Yomila had suspected as much. Her small mouth pulled tight as she considered this and then, without any further fanfare, she brought the end of the thread to her mouth, wet the end and then threaded it through the eye of the needle. It took two attempts before it pushed freely through.

Next came the knot that Mama Marie had previously show her, the thread being wound around the needle before she pulled it through, forming a tight, neat knot at the end of the needle. She rearranged the items in her lap so everything was in a better position and then turned her full attention back to the older woman, ready for instruction.

Mama Marie gently pulled the piece of fabric with the button stitched on it to one side, "You will only need one piece to practice on for now. Later you can fix both together." Waiting for the Ethaefal's attention once again, she continued, "The first stitch I want to show you is a cross-stitch."

Yomila had no noticed the needle and thread the older woman had brought along with her until Mama Marie shifted both into view, her deft fingers threading the needle through the fabric, She moved it in and out, leaving short, slanted stitches as she went. After she had made twenty stitches, she came back in the other direction, crossing each with opposite angled slanted stitches. The Ethaefal saw the made 'x's', which she assumed was the reason for the stitch being named what it was.

Mama Marie paused and motioned to the Ethaefal, "Now your turn. Try to keep each stitch the same length and not too long. Once you've made ten, I want you to turn the fabric around and come back in the other direction."

Yomila set to task, piercing the fabric with the needle. She pulled it through in an exaggerated fashion, feeling she needed to make sure enough thread was measured out to accommodate all the necessary stitches, Then she eyeballed the fabric, measuring out a short distance from when she had first threaded the needle through, and pushed it back through the fabric. She pulled the thread fully through until it drew tight, forming a small, slightly slanted stitched.

The Ethaefal eyed it irritably, noting it wasn't at much of an angle. She glanced to Mama Marie, "It needs to slant more?"

The older woman didn't need to reply. A nod was all that was needed.

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