Terra walked through the mansion, nosing about for someone to talk to. She was feeling a bit bored, frankly, but was feeling too lazy to get off the territory and actually cause some trouble to solve the problem. She'd keep herself to domestic affairs this time. Especially since word about the festival. Loners and pack members alike buzzed with excitement, an event that had never happened before in the land. Terra was glad to know that she wouldn't be the only one experiencing something for the first time for once. All the luperci seemed so much more educated than her.
She stuck her nose into the room where she'd discovered Strel before, only to find the dauphin missing. Sighing in disappointment she turned to leave before a bright flash of color seized her attention. Curious as always Terra walked over. It was a beautiful piece of cloth laid out, lines drawn to be cut. A bright red, swirls of flowers covered it. Enchanted by it's appearance Terra picked it up, wrapping it around her shoulders. She flounced around the room, pretending to be Fox from Coyote's tale, always ready to help a friend with a clever trick, and often fighting with Coyote as well.
The cloth was going to be for a light blouse, even though the color and pattern so keenly resonated with him. It was too feminine, even with him and his particular peculiarities. He had chalked it up with light marks for the cutting and laid it out in his upstairs room, where he had been working on it. It had been easy with the light from the window in his "closet" and the table there. He had spread the piece over he and his lover's bed of furs and blankets over an old mattress. Finding his scissors missing, presumably where they were supposed to have been. Strel took the time to leave his room - albeit in a huff of irritation- and gather some of his possessions. Normally, he would have worked in his studio, but the warmth of the room and the beautiful mural adorning his walls spoke more to him than his studio with peeling wallpaper of old.
Returning, he heard the movement and assumed that Noss had returned from whatever adventure he was currently on; probably exploring the trade market. He had expressed the desire for a new weapon and perhaps gifts for his sister and her children. Naturally, that meant scouting it out for the Dauphin and tailor. Perhaps, if there was something interesting, the second in command would make an appearance himself. Likely he would, for such things were of great interest to him.
To his confusion, the man did not smell his mate, but another member. Brow's furrowed, he turned into his doorway and stared as Terra twirled about in his uncut fabric. Cocking his head, and looking slightly bemused, the man cleared his throat loudly with a sly grin on his lips. "Someone seems to have wandered into my private rooms and is now twirling about in fabric."
A sound came from behind, and Terra promptly dropped to the ground, burrowing under the fabric. To be caught doing something so childish was embarrassing. She kept herself covered as she edged over to where the bed was, realizing that not only had she done something so ridiculous, she'd trespassed on the beta's rooms. Worse, it was the beta himself who had discovered her! Under cover of the fabric Terra shifted into lupine before cautiously sticking her nose out, looking at Srel.
He didn't seem angry, but Terra was still embarrassed. She was full grown, shouldn't be doing such childish things waltzing around like that. Deciding to pretend it hadn't happened Terra slunk out of the fabric to the other side. Hi. Didn't see you there. Her words were casual enough, if it weren't for the fact that her tucked tail and twitchy ears betrayed her embarrassment. Looking around the room Terra pretended to notice everything for the first time. Oops, wrong room. Got to go. She made a beeline for the door, hoping that Strel would move out of the way or she'd be forced to stop.
Strel gave a light chuckle as the younger woman panicked at the sound of his voice. Fully amused, the Dauphin leaned against the doorway with arms crossed over his chest. The woman collapsed to the ground in an orchestrated movement and cowered underneath the marked up fabric. Chuckling, the redhead watched the Baroness adjust to the situation and regain some of the composure she had lost. Granted, she had lost a good amount of composure with her little movement, and Strel continued to be amused by her. He could forgive her trespassing as it seemed that nothing had been taken without his say so and that she had only done it to amuse herself. Totally understandable, though the strangely thief like mischievousness was worrisome.
Laughing slightly, Strel watched her slink out of the cloth and pretend to have simply stumbled upon the room like a bumpkin. Shaking his head, the redhead blocked the way with a leg against the other side of the door and a hand high above that. "Now, now, none of that, Terra," he said seriously, though the glimmer of amusement failed to leave his eyes and the edge of his voice. He grinned at her, tapping on the doorway. Giving her a look that meant 'stay put', Strel walked into the room and bent over to pick up the discarded cloth. Gently dusting it off to try and maintain the chalk marks, the Dauphin held it up. "It's a nice color, isn't it?" he asked, draping it over his arm.
Strel blocked her way, bringing Terra to a halt. Pleadingly she looked at him. Terra hadn't realized it was his room, just knew that she'd found him there before. Granted, she hadn't been looking for anything beyond something to do, and she'd definitely found that. If she had known it was his den though, Terra would never have entered. She'd have gone into the fabric room and torn apart the cloths in there for fun. Terra still thought that was the proper use of fabric, something to tug and tear with delight, a battle between oneself and the cloth.
The dauphin gave her a clear look telling her to stay put. He seemed fairly amused, which was good for Terra. That meant she probably wouldn't be hung outside by the skin of her neck. She'd seen someone tossed out that way before, and didn't think it looked too comfortable. Deciding to err on the side of caution Terra adopted a fairly submissive pose, tail slightly tucked, though her ears remained upright as he spoke. She watched him dust off the cloth and drape it on his arm. Yes. Very pretty. Looks like fox. Hopefully he wouldn't ask what she'd been doing. Terra could lie, but being convincing was another problem entirely.
Smiling serenely at the trickster woman, Strel noted her position. She was playing the subservient card, and doing it well. He was one for courtier behavior, with the bowing and the scraping and the dramatics of a true court .Hard to find nowadays but still something the man truly enjoyed. At least Terra understood what she had done, though she probably did not understand that trespassing in his rooms was an offense he truly could punish her for. There was no rule against it other than the stigma of getting caught at it. Theft was taken with a light hand here though the Dauphin would not approve a bit of the theft of his own possessions. The slap on the wrist he would give might have been harder than if it was on someone of a lower rank. Putting up warning signs wouldn't help stop it, either. He himself was unable to read and never bothered to learn to.
"Like a fox, you say?" he asked, looking at the fabric as though musing about her words. "A red one, yes. I think if I had any red fox pelts it would make a good liner, don't you think?" It was all rhetorical of course, since the tailor rarely sought the opinions of other people regarding his work. Then his eye saw a fault in the fabric that could not have been there before; it had been pulled against something and became uneven with the rest of the fabric. Laying it on the bed with a sigh, Strel looked plainly at the woman waiting for him. "So what were you doing in here?" he asked plainly, amusement still twinkling in his eyes though the intensity of it had gone down a tad. It was more disappointment that the cloth had been damaged though he had not yet checked if it had interfered with the patterns.
Strel seemed interested in her words, studying the cloth with new interest. He mentioned adding fox fur to line it, words that made no sense to Terra. She had no idea how it could be added, or how it could make a line on the fabric. As far as Terra was concerned clothes came from cloth through some mysterious process that probably involved lots of shredding, feasting, and late nights. At least she thought so. A good meal was always important, and Terra found shredding cloth to be loads of fun.
Still, he was being nice. Eagerly she nodded her head before he frowned slightly, laying the cloth down gently. That was not a good sign. Even worse, he turned and asked what she'd been doing. Her ears twitched as she looked down, embarrassed again. I was...um...it fell on me, and I was trying to get out. Obviously that hadn't been the case, with her twirling and bouncing around, obviously holding the cloth on. Hopefully Strel would accept it as part of her ignorance about cloth though, and not push it. If it did, she'd have to tell the truth, not something she'd look forward to.
Strel suddenly gave a short barking laugh, almost as though he had more laughter hidden away and had accidentally managed to let out a solitary one. This woman was certainly an amusing one, especially if she thought that what she said made any sense or that it would persuade him of the truth of what had happened. The cloth had fallen on her, so she said. That was so illogical that a rather broad grin appeared on the lighthearted Dauphin's face. It was simply funny that that was the best that Terra could do at a moment's notice. There had to be some other clever way to change the situation.
"Let me get this right, it fell on you and you wanted to get out of it?" He began, smoothing out the cloth on the bed and then starting to slowly pace to the wall. Strel lightly touched the mural and smiled at the memory of painting it with Mati. Lavender eyes glanced at the woman again as his fingers slipped off the shiny wall. "The cloth, inanimate and without a brain or the ability to move, fell on you from where it was laying?" Pursing his lips, the redhead tapped his chin lightly. "And you were twirling to get out of it, is that right?"
Strel laughed at her words, a sharp short bark. Ears flattened against her head. If she was going to be laughed at either way Terra might as well have told the truth. The way she'd spun it made her sound like a complete fool, tripping all over the place and unable to deal with even a simple scrap of fabric. That wasn't the case, but Terra hadn't been able to come up with something better on such short notice to explain things. Inexperienced with cloth and what people could actually do with it Terra was limited to what she could come up with: the truth, having it fall on her, or playing with it before tearing it to shreds. The last one seemed the one most likely to get her into the most trouble, and the truth was too childish for Terra to want the beta to hear, so having it fall on her was the way she went.
He poked into her explanation too, pointing out the obvious flaws. It was bad enough for Terra to know them, but the lie was so thread bare even the dauphin could spot it. She watched him walk over to the wall, touching the painting. When you put it that way, of course it sounds foolish. I'm not around fabric a lot though, remember? She watched him examine the bright colors on the wall, and her tail wagged hopefully. Perhaps she could change the subject before things got much worse. It's a nice color thing. You do the same thing with cloth, right? Make it all colorful, and turn it into clothes. She hoped by targeting his interests Terra would get him off that line of thought.
The man watched her briefly, then shrugged. "I was, perhaps, just as silly around clothes when I was in Toronto, though it seems like such a long time ago." Because it was. He had been in this pack for almost three years now, and he could hardly believe such a thing. Three years ago he had been in Toronto and enjoying the life to be found there, even with the gangs wars and the rampant drug usage. He had gotten his first set of clothes there and learned to make his own from a seamstress who specialized in tailoring and ran her own shop for trade. For the brief time there as her apprentice, he worked on fixing small things people would bring in for repairs. Once he made his own set of clothes, he was ready to go up to a different level of skill, though the problem with Vincent sent him away from Toronto.
Chuckling, the Dauphin nodded slightly. "Sort of. I don't usually dye anything, just use older cloth. I have a few bolts of cloth, too. But it's always easier to make modifications to existing clothes." Gesturing to his legs, he continued, "Like pants. I didn't make these, so I just fixed them to fit my legs and tail." Dresses were probably the simplest thing to make, as they followed little form other than the torso of the wearer. Pants were hardest of them all, fitting against strangely curving legs as well as accommodating for a tail. Raising a brow, the man absently played with the bangle on his wrist. "Why do you ask?"
He bought it. Strel finally bought her story, and didn't laugh at all. He just shared that he'd been silly around clothes himself when he'd lived in a different pack. Terra relaxed, tail wagging happily. It was a little difficult to imagine the dauphin belonging anywhere else, as he was pack and pack always stuck together. Terra had come from somewhere different herself though, so it was acceptable. He must have been here a really long time to rise to such a high rank though. Terra herself had been steadily rising through the ranks, something that made her proud and nervous at the same time. The coywolf wasn't built for leadership, more of a trickster and free spirit than anything else. She'd happily tell others what to do, she just wasn't responsible in what she said. Or did, for that matter.
Her hook worked too, turning his attention away from the disaster Terra had created, and moving onto something that Strel truly enjoyed. Her tail wagged happily as Strel spoke, her mind reaching to grasp what she was saying. He didn't kill the cloth, that was sure, but Terra wasn't too sure how one would go about doing that anyways. Maybe he considered it dead when it was shredded? He indicated to the cloth on his lower body, giving it a name. Pants. So that's what those things were. The gypsy had worn pants. The pants had been fixed specifically for Strel, an interesting feat for Terra. He turned the question on her though, and Terra did some quick thinking. I don't see why canines wear them, and since you have the most to do with it, I thought you could explain. Good one. And fairly honest too. She really didn't know why, and Strel was the best person to explain.
"Why do we wear them?" he mused, repeating the other woman's words with a bit of surprise. That was a question no one really had bothered asking him. Most understood or chose to let him have his fancy. But to be asked why he did what he did, he was having trouble figuring out an answer. He had started at some point making clothes himself and loved the distraction of the sewing. If not a distraction, it could still his mind and give him time to think properly with clarity. But why did he choose to wear the clothes he made? Well, he would be a hypocrite, wouldn't he? If he did not wear his own clothes, why would anyone want them made? He was his own walking advertisement for his skills since he had no other method of doing such things.
However, all these musings were not the answer the young woman would like to hear, so the man stood in silence as he blankly looked at Terra. Why did he wear clothes? There was no need for it, but he simply had ever since he had left his pack years ago. His pelt was more than adequate for the weather here and the clothes provided little to no shelter from the elements. Refocusing his gaze on Terra, the redheaded man shrugged elegantly. "Don't know. Because I can, I suppose." With a casual flick, Strel removed a floating tangle of dust from his shirt, crossing his arms over his chest. "Honestly, I simply do now. Used to be out of rebellion but now I'm not rebelling against anyone."
She'd caught him by surprise, that much was clear. That very fact surprised Terra, as she'd thought he would have been asked such a thing before. Then again, many of the canines here wore clothes. Maybe those that didn't just didn't think it worth commenting on. She hoped she hadn't touched on a part of luperci culture she was supposed to just understand. Despite being born one Terra understood those that weren't luperci better, having lived a feral life until she came to this pack.
Terra's lips curled into a smirk at the sight of the blank look on his face. It was difficult not to laugh at the sight, but she didn't want to disrespect him. Instead she waited patiently until he answered. So it was just a habit. Terra cocked her head curiously as she looked at the outfit. Can I wear some? Terra didn't have any clothes of her own, but his words made her rather curious to try it. Something simple of course. Terra had worn a cloak for the magic show they were practicing, but it was rather large, and didn't feel right to Terra. Perhaps he would have something that would fit her.
Her question made him grin lightly, and he nodded. "Sure, I've got plenty to try on." With a wave, the Dauphin led her to the slightly ajar door to the side. Pulling it open with a loud creak, he led her inside with a flourishing bow of a boutique owner. Inside was a treasure trove of completed, unfinished, and clearly salvaged clothing. Here was the man's private store room for all his sewing. Bolts of cloth were against the other wall and small boxes of unused beads and accessories were on the small table. A pair of chairs stood by the table which was sometimes used as a meal table for the two mated men. There was a worn wool rug on the floor, with pulled threads and a slightly musky scent. Strel had used the rug as a bed for his mate's niece and nephews, with the addition of fur and cloth of course, during the war.
Most of the clothes were female, naturally, though the other side of the shelves immediately next to the door were male. "Now the question is..," he began, fumbling through a few makeshift hangers and scavenged hooks, and pulling out a handful of clothes, "what kind of things you would like to try on?" There was not quite as much as the Dauphin thought, so perhaps the man had imagined all his clothes. Or maybe they had been taken to trade by Noss. "Dresses? Shirts? Perhaps pants?" The man showed an example of each as he named them, clanking the hangers together. The noise echoed in the room lightly. "There's a mirror on that edge of the shelves," he added, gesturing over his shoulder. The mirror was from a fitting room, and it was cracked. Thankfully, the grim and dust on it had been easy to remove and the crack still let them see the full image.
With the mood now safely changed Terra grinned up at Strel, tail wagging. She shifted into optime form, peering around into the massive closet. There was more cloth and clothes in there than Terra had imagined possible. Yes, Strel had on almost a completely different outfit every time she saw him, but this was something on a whole new level. She couldn't stop gaping as he gestured at it. Taking a deep breath she stopped forward. Terra would never turn away from something like this. Determined to make the most of it Terra watched the dauphin step forward, pulling off different kinds of clothes.
A little overwhelmed Terra shook her head at the pants. Those looked really uncomfortable. A shirt or dress maybe. Yes, a shirt and a dress. That would work. Terra walked over to the clothes, and padded through them until she pulled out a bright green shirt and dark yellow and purple dress. Holding them u Terra smiled. I'll try these two on. She had no idea how though. Fumbling Terra tried to get into the shirt. At last she hung it like a cloak around her neck, the sleeves tied back, before taking the dress and slipping it over the body. Terra looked in the mirror and laughed. She looked ridiculous! Maybe this isn't for me. Smiling Terra pulled the dress and shirt off again.
The woman scorned his choices, though he was no bit offended. He had been simply demonstrating the types of clothes. Silently, he returned them to their places and watched Terra. She seemed terribly awestruck by his "modest closet". He smirked slightly as her eyes sparkled at all the clothing he had. She truly had never seen such a thing, had she? Bu the prided himself on being different, new, and strange. Once upon a time, he was sure humans had closets like this. They certainly had stores full of racks of clothes and other things. How far from the imagination could it possibly be?
Laughing, the Dauphin covered his mouth as Terra fumbled her way through trying on a shirt and dress. It was definitely an entertaining sight to see, this woman try to wear things he knew so naturally as his own skin. As she laughed in the mirror's reflection, she pulled off the clothes. Strel came to her rescue, grabbing the clothes from her as she removed them. "I think just one piece at a time, Terra, would be better," he said with a glimmer of amusement, a chuckle resonating from his throat. "Just pull on the dress," he offered, folding up the dress so that only the neck and arm holes were discernible. "Put your hands through." She clearly knew how to put the dress on but he was set on baby sitting her through this.
Strel laughed alongside her, stepping up to rescue her from the tangles of cloth. She grinned at him happily, tail wagging. The clothes were taken from her, Strel explaining to put it on one at a time. That was strange for her to think about. Aren't you wearing more than one piece? Or is that advanced stuff? Clothes were strange, but it was fun trying them on, despite how goofy she'd looked. Obligingly Terra lifted her arms, letting the dress slip back over her. She looked back in the mirror, surprised.
Now that she was wearing it properly, instead of having the sleeves hanging at her side, Terra actually looked pretty good in the dress. Her green eyes stood out, though her red hair clashed a bit with the combination. The yellow looked more like a muted gold in this light, and Terra turned slightly to admire the full effect. No wonder canines wore clothes if it had this kind of effect on them. Terra stepped towards the mirror to look more closely, only to trip on the hem. Growling slightly she sat back up. It's hard to move in. Plaintively she looked at Strel, eyes begging for help.
"Yep. I also put them on right and in order," he added with a slight chuckle. He had not been allowed to make mistakes when he started wearing clothes; the company he kept was overly critical and they would not have adored his rustic antics for long. They had been fickle, fashion oriented people with a mind on what was next and never on what was going on. This was his lot in life, he supposed, to forever need more and more. But they had imparted that characteristic rather well and Strel was unwilling to part with it.
As the woman slipped into the dress, properly this time, the redhead clicked his tongue in approval. Sitting on her frame, as it was supposed to, the outfit looked rather nice, though the color was not for this woman's pelt tones. The size was a bit off too, but that was no surprise to the man. Terra tried to step closer to the mirror, so surprised by the vision of herself in such a thing that her feet caught on the dress's hem. He cringed slightly, almost afraid for the dress. "Careful. Longer ones take some getting used to. So let's pick a shorter one. You'd rather be able to move, right?" Strel eyed her again, taking full note of the colors in the outfit. "I think that color is not good for you at all." Hand tapping his chin, the Dauphin's gaze went into the dresses, picking out a color that may look alright with the woman's more russet coloring.
"Aha!" he said softly, pulling out a deep purple blackberry colored concoction. It was significantly shorter than the one the young lady picked out on her own, though the man knew she wouldn't mind. It was up to the knees, for Terra at least, and had a fairly wide hem. It was more flowing and free. "It's looser past the waist and it's a better color, I think." Anything that stayed away from her natural tones was good, though yellow was far too light against her.
Pouting on the ground Terra looked at the mirror again. She grinned before slipping the dress off, allowing her to move without looking like a complete fool. Terra scooped the dress off the ground and placed it on top of a bolt of cloth, out of the way. Terra was definitely good at taking them out from where they were, just not so much putting them back. Spinning around Terra's tail wagged as Strel passed her a shorter dress, this one a purple color. His words about the colors not working for Terra passed over her head, though she definitely admired the shorter design. Easier to move in was always a good thing.
Terra accepted it from his grasp, holding the dress up to her body for a moment before slipping it on. Looking down Terra watched the skirt rustle with her movement. Happily she stepped forward, feeling the slight rush of the fabric following after. She spun around, the skirt flowing out before stopping and looking in the mirror. There before her was a typical luperci. Confident, knowledgeable, fitting into the strange world Terra found herself in. She looked at the image for a long time, wondering if that was who she really wanted to be. It wasn't her though, with her spirited nature and taste for trouble. Turning her back on the mirror Terra grinned. Shirt now?
As Terra removed the first dress, Strel found himself standing waiting for her to put on the next. Blinking slightly, he moved to take the other dress. She had draped it on a bolt of cloth and it pooled in ripples down the side of the bolt. With a slight sigh, he slipped it back onto the hanger and clicked it back to the shelving. Smoothing the front down, the man dusted it off a bit and then turned back to the young woman. She had gotten into this dress without his assistance and the man gave her a little bit of applause and a happy smile. "Lovely, very lovely," he complimented, shaking his head in admiration both of the luck of having the dress and that Terra looked so nice.
At her question, the Dauphin shook his head. "No, I think you'd be uncomfortable." Shirts were more confining than a dress such as this, though Strel was well adjusted to them. He was quite happy in a shirt and vest, though the same could not be said of others. Terra was still new to clothing, ridiculous new, so Strel figured much more open clothes were better off. With any luck, she would actually take something from his closet. He could use the space. "I think a skirt is better. More open, more free, and more of a decoration than an outfit." Strel pulled out a skirt that was of a similar length to the purple dress and in a myrtle green and black plaid fabric. It was just as flowing as the second and stood out as much as the first.
