Mending Dresses (Open thread for female characters.)

[Dan]

Felisin Thane

She inverted the dress, and felt the stitch work without actually looking at the thing. Her fingertips slid across the material, feeling much of the details from the material. She knew well enough the feeling of damaged hems to feel her way to the damaged area. There was one spot she could probably add some threads to reinforce the hem, to prevent a future tear. But she did not care enough to actually do the work.

She finally found what her fingers had been seeking. She looked upon her task at hand, eyes squinting from the bright sun illuminating the clean white material. Her fingers nimbly threaded the needle to repair the damage to the hem line. She worked quickly, but effectively.

Sure beats scrubbing pots. she whispered for the twentieth time.

With that stitch work done, she neatly folded the dress. One of a dozen in need of needlework. This one at least had been an easy fix! She did not even want to think of the Accepted's dress that had needed a new sleeve stitched. She added it to the pile she had begun.

She grabbed the next from the basket, and found her seat. It was boring work, but sure beat scrubbing pots next to gossiping hens who thought that the Soldier from the morning's class was the most handsome man born since the Dragon was reborn.

Finding the damaged section, she sighed in relief. Simply another damaged hem. She turned the dress inside out, felt for the target with her fingertips, and debated what was worse.

Boredom, or needless gossiping.

[Leala]

Kaci had a very cunning plan. She was going to walk down the Tower corridors, carrying a sack that looked like she was going to deliver a package to an Aes Sedai, or an Asha'man. But, that wasn't what she was carrying. The hall she walked down was clear of anyone for now. She walked carefully, making sure not to seem spooked, if she did come across anyone. She smiled at a servant as she walked down the hall. She nodded to a fellow novice as she passed by. When she came to the intersection of the last hall, she casually checked both ends before turning right. She walked the rest of the way to her destination.

She knew a seamstress that didn't ask many questions, and found her hilarious, to boot.

She opened the door, and found a fellow novice sitting there, mending dresses. It wasn't her seamstress friend, but maybe she would help. She had seen this girl before, but she wasn't familiar with her enough to know her name. Closing the door, she approached the other young lady, and said, "I need your help."

Kaci took a seat in front of her, and unpacked her sack. Inside, there was a pure white novice dress with more than a few tears and rips. "I like to train in the Warders Yard in my free time," she explained. "But, I got carried away last time...and I left Illyria Sedai's office just this morning. Do you think you can save it?"

[Dan]

Felisin Thane

"You must be joking." Felisin replied coldly, as her gaze rested upon the torn garment. The skirt was stretched to the left, that she had no idea how to repair. Same with the left of the bodice. The tears on the hem, and the clean rip on the right of the skirt she could handle. She sighed, knowing the task was beyond her skill.

She stood from her seat, and carefully put her stitchwork to the side. The dress hung off the side of the chair, and the spool placed upon a small side table, along with other useful tools of the trade. She brushed her own dress, discreetly covering her left calf. She walked forward, and took the dress from her fellow Novice.

"Illyria Sedai will string you by your toes for this." She said, examining the garment. "There is no way i can repair the stretched fabric, for that you would need to speak to the seamstress, who would quickly send a message to the Mistress of Novices."

She lifted the dress by it's shoulders, and examined it's size. It was the exact same size as the dress she was currently working on, except this one had a slightly bigger bust. "You're lucky i am in a good mood." Felisin simply said, as she began folding. She then walked over to a nearby pile, and carefully placed it on the bottom of the stack. Let someone else take responsibility for it.

"If you have a few minutes, i can finish what i was working on, it should fit you, if not a bit snug on the bust." She said, giving the girl a chance. Getting in trouble was something all Novices dreaded. Illyria Sedai had a scary reputation, after all.

She sat back down, and ran her fingers through her dark hair, before continuing her work.

[Leala]

Kaci was relieved when the other novice agreed to help. She laughed at the notion of a dress that was "snug on the bust." "That shouldn't be a problem," she said, tugging on the loose fabric over her bust area on the dress that she was wearing. "My mother always warned me that this would happen if I trained too much, but that's the price I pay." She laughed again. She never really cared for anything feminine. She even almost left the Grey Tower when they told her would have to wear dresses. They reminded her, though, that if she didn't get her block broken and be able to control the One Power, she could be a danger to herself or others later on.

Life in the Grey Tower as a novice was such a different life than what she had previously experienced. She couldn't just go off and have a good romp when she wanted to. The boys were off-limits most of the time, and their free time never lined up, so when she could fight them, they were busy with other things. Either way, she still wanted to be a Blademaster, much more so than she wanted to be an Aes Sedai. She'd make it work somehow.

"Thanks for helping me," she said to the other girl. "My name's Kaci. What's yours?"

[Dan]

Felisin Thane

"Felisin." She replied. She brushed the woman from her mind, as she worked on the dress. The work was simple enough, there was no reason she could not sew a perfect stitch. She began smiling as she worked, she had to admit that it was sort of fun helping someone avoid seeing the Mistress of Novices.

"Felisin Thane." She said a minute later, breaking the odd silence. "Just try to not rip this one too badly, okay?" She asked, feeling she needed to at least try to convince the other woman to be careful. "Fixing stitchwork is one thing, but what you did to your other dress, well…"

She smirked, and shook her head, feeling amused about the situation. "Kaci, next time just steal the uniform from a trainee, alright?" She asked, soft laughter echoing within her husky voice. The image of the girl trying to explain that situation slowly sobered her laughter.

"Just, be careful, ok?" Felisin said, meeting the other woman's gaze. Her words surprised her, just a few minutes before she had hoped the girl would get caught. But now, she had to admit, she kind of liked the girl.

She finished the work, and gave the dress a thorough inspection. Once satisfied, she reached towards the other woman, and handed it to her.