Something Pretty

Writers: Avery, Mirren
Date Posted: 12th December 2015

Characters: Jaffra, Kapera
Description: The goldrider commissions a dress from the Weaver.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 2, day 26 of Turn 8

Kapera

Kapera had been at Dolphin Cove nearly eight months now, was it? And
still not all of her wear was climate appropriate, especially as it
was going from winter hot to summer hot. (Who was she kidding - they
were both very hot.) So far she'd gotten by on what she was able to
acquire from Weyr stocks, trading in some of her older clothing and
taking what fit from there. Minor alterations she could make herself
using the sewing skills a dragonrider had. But she wanted a few items
to actually _flatter_ her figure - such as something nice to wear when
she traveled outside of the Weyr, and for that custom-made would be
better.

To the Weavers it was, then. There must be someone with excellent design
skills.

The goldrider stepped into the room and looked around, wondering who
was free to help out.

For someone who didn't like to leave her workroom, Jaffra always made
it her business to know the goldriders, and anyone else important, on
sight. Mostly, she made her observations during meals. Even she had to
eat. So, when Kapera entered the workroom, she knew who she was.

"Good day goldrider," she said politely.

"Good day, Journeyman. May I have your name?" Kapera asked.

"I'm Jaffra." Others might assume the goldrider had heard of her, but
Jaffra made no such assumptions.

"Jaffra," Kapera repeated. It sounded familiar. "I'm hoping for some
custom design pieces, but I'm not entirely sure of what I want. I was
hoping to get a few designs and then something custom done from
scratch, rather than altering an existing dress. Is that the kind of
work you enjoy?"

"That's my preference," Jaffra replied. "It's the best way to have
exactly what you want, what suits you and what's in fashion. Did you
want to start with a dress? I can do your entire wardrobe if you
wish." Some day, someone might say yes to that suggestion.

"I'd like a dress to start, since my best formal ones are suited for a
different climate. But I'd love to hear your ideas for a broader
wardrobe." After all, Kapera liked clothes and displaying them.

Jaffra nodded. "Very well then. If you'd like to take a seat, I'll
show you through my design books for the very latest ones. That'll
give me some idea of your taste." She gestured toward a small table to
one side of the room.

Kapera followed Jaffra's indication and took a seat. She was excited
to see what the weaver had available. "What do you generally like
designing? Any preferences for formal wear, or more casual, or do you
like a variety?"

"I have a preference for making people look their best," Jaffra
replied. It wasn't her job to pick and choose how.

"I hope you'll make me look more like a Dolphin Cove rider," Kapera
said. There were styles she could wear well, but she hadn't liked all
the layers of Dragonsfall. She wondered what the weaver could make
happen. If she'd look very different.

"A well-dressed Dolphin Cove rider," Jaffra said, as if anything less
would be unthinkable. She brought a book down from a shelf to the side
of the table and placed it in front of Kapera.

"Sounds perfect to me," the goldrider said. Once the book was in front
of her, she took a look through, being very careful with it because
she was afraid it was fragile. She looked through until she saw a
dress she thought would flatter her height and figure, then indicated
it to Jaffra. "Would this work?"

Not that she'd show it, but Jaffra was pleasantly surprised. The dress
would be perfect. She nodded. "That would well. I have some nice
fabric for you to choose from for it."

"Sound good. And I'd like your aid choosing the right color. Sometimes
the ones you love don't flatter you as much," the goldrider admitted.

"Many people make that mistake," Jaffra said. Personally she didn't
understand it. Everyone suited a certain type of colours and should
stick with them. "If you'll come this way." She gestured toward the
fabric storeroom.

Kapera obediently got up and followed along. "So how long have you
been a Weaver and what do you like about it?"

"I was raised for it," Jaffra replied. "My father was one." Her voice
was even tighter than usual. "I like that I'm good at it."

"That's a good feeling," the goldrider said. She was really curious to
see how the color picking worked. Most of her prior dresses had been
alterations, not custom work.

Jaffra led her into another room and picked up a wooden board.
Attached to the board was several different colours of fabric, all in
pastel shades. She had one for Autumn shades, and winter and summer as
well. The first, she held up beside Kapera's face.

"Hmm."

The goldrider looked at the board with interest, wondering how this worked.

"You're winter," the weaver declared. "These shades match your colouring
the best." She held the board so Kapera could see it. "If you keep to
these shades, you won't go wrong." In theory anyway.

"So being winter tells me what colors I should wear?" the goldrider
asked, looking at the shades.

"Exactly." Jaffra held up two boards, one to either side of her face.
"See how this one -" she jerked her head to the right, "looks all right,
but the other makes me look washed out?" She lowered both. "All the
shades are in the same colour spectrum and each of those suit particular
hair, skin and eye colour."

"Ah, I see. The right one looks good on you. So which type does that
make you?"

"Summer." Which was ironic because she didn't consider herself either
warm or hot in personality. "So we need to select fabric for you which
fall into your shades."

"I was thinking something in the blue spectrum to celebrate being part
of this weyr now. So the blues on the board you held up are the ones
that'll work..." She studied them.

"Correct." Jaffra liked working with people who could grasp what to her
seemed like a basic concept. "That would be these-" she pointed, "those
and these. Do you like any of those?"

"The second one. Is there enough in stock to commission the dress I
wanted?" Thanks to working inventory reports, she knew sometimes certain
fabrics got used fast, while others lingered around awhile.

"I'll measure it." Guesswork wasn't Jaffra's way, she preferred
precision. She picked up the bolt, carried it to a table and used the
built in ruler to measure the length of the cloth.

"There will be enough, with some left over for a matching bag if you
wanted one."

"That would be a marvelous addition," Kapera said. The Weaver had
thought of her needs before she'd gotten there. She truly was good at
her job.

"Good. I'll see how much there is left after the dress, then we can
discuss the style of the bag. It won't be anything enormous and you'll
need to choose an interior fabric, but that can wait." And hopefully
wouldn't be bright pink. Some people had some unique ideas.

"I look forward to seeing what you can do," the goldrider said with a
smile. The more Jaffra talked, the more confident she was feeling about
this. "Marks at completion, or half now half then?"

"Half now please." Jaffra replied. "Dragonriders can be unpredictable
customers during a pass." Sometimes they ordered clothing and then died.
It was very inconvenient.

"Just tell me how much."

Jaffra nodded. She grabbed a sheet and writing tool and did some quick
calculations, outlining the cost of everything. She checked the total
before handing it over.

She could handle that. The goldrider reached into the bag she'd brought
and counted out half, then passed them over with the sheet.

In return Jaffra wrote a note to show how much Kapera had paid and
signed it. "This way if I'm not here you can prove you've paid half."
Although why she wouldn't be there was beyond her.

Kapera took the note. "Excellent. I look forward to seeing your finished
work. Thank you for working with me."

"You're welcome. I'm sure you'll find my work more than satisfactory."
That was her aim every time she did anything.

"I'm sure I will. Have a good evening, Jaffra," the goldrider said.

Last updated on the December 14th 2015

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

Something Pretty