rogueinladysclothing | Low points in high places [Tagging Verity]

Verity leaves her arm where it is, neither moving away or pulling Amelia close again. It's up to her where things end up.

"Yes. You probably do owe him an apology. But you also need to be responsible. Is it responsible to do something you know is likely to hurt him and cause him trouble? Is it kind? No. That would be selfish. So write him a letter. Apologize, and tell him you're taking some time to work on yourself. He'll understand that."

It's all her fault that this is happening - so why is Verity being so nice to her? Why is she letting Amelia pull herself close again and bury her face into Verity's shoulder? It doesn't make sense. None of it does. Not yet, at least. Years of self taught, terrible habits will need to be stripped away before any of this gets better.

"You're right." Her voice is small, afraid. "I can do that." She knew this would be hard, but she had no idea how much doing the right thing would hurt. Being an adult has been hard for the last ten years. Finally growing up is even harder.

"I suppose I should... not go to the Samhain ball, then," she says after a few minutes. Her temple rests gently against Verity's shoulder as she wipes at her eyes. "I don't want to risk saying or doing anything that could upset him. Or you. Or... anyone, really." She was only planning on going to keep up appearances anyway, so it's not like she's losing anything by deciding not to go now.

Edited 2015-10-25 20:35 (UTC)

Amelia gets wrapped up in a hug again when she moves closer like that. Verity doesn't think she's very good at this whole 'being comforting' thing, but she can operate on the principle of the Golden Rule. So hugs it is, and quiet, and as much patience as she can muster.

"Remember, this isn't permanent," she offers as consolation. "And things will be much better in the end for having done the hard work up front." Amelia's a practical soul. She should appreciate that. "This pain is temporary. It won't last forever. And just think how impressed Nathan will be when you get home, and are all grown up and ready to be with him. That'll be nice, right?"

Ah, the ball. That's a tricky subject and she's really not sure what the right answer is. "Hmm. Let's put a pin in that. We can wait and see how you're feeling the day of. If you want to come put in an appearance, that's okay. If you're not ready to deal with people, that's okay too. There'll be other parties."

Amelia's even worse at the whole 'being comforted' thing. She's mastered the art of silent tears and telling lies so bold that no one would believe otherwise. And of pissing people off so much they leave her alone, none of which are good options. Still, Verity hugs are warm and very much appreciated, even if Amelia has no idea how to give her a hug back from this position.

"He might laugh at me," she says a bit dejectedly. "He laughed at me when I kissed him on the cheek before he left." She frowns at the memory. "I don't think it was at me so much as the idea of me being anything other than a mentor or someone who looked after him because of some obligation to his father. But I can't be sure. If... If I ever see him again, though, I'd like to know who I am, to know what I truly feel, what I truly want." It'll be a long road to get there, but she definitely wants to try for it. Anything for a chance at the vision she saw of a possible future back home.

"We?" She looks up at Verity with a raised eyebrow. There's a spark of her playful self under that eyebrow. Yes, she heard the rest of that, but this "we" thing is really hanging her up. She wonders what it could possibly mean for what's been happening here today.

It's okay. She'll learn. For now, she can enjoy getting hugged.

"I don't think so. I don't think he'll laugh in a mean way. Maybe he was laughing because he was happy? People do that sometimes." And it's a nicer way to think about it. "Knowing yourself is the first step to truly letting someone in to share your life. When you see him again, you'll be able to talk to him, and I have a feeling you two will work everything out."

Oh, that's what she wants to get hung up on, is it? Verity can't help but smirk. "Well, you know, you're going to need help and someone to talk to, so it looks like you're stuck with me."

"I'd like it if things worked out." There's some color in her cheeks again when she admits that. Guess that means she has at least some idea of what she wants if she ever gets back home.

"Are you going to help me with my hair and be my dance partner as well?" Amelia's got a smirk for you in return, Verity. "I suppose I should see to getting a new dress made, then. Can't go to a ball dressed in armor and covered in easily seen weapons. My father would would never stand for such a thing." The thought gives her a reason to laugh again. Only a little, and very softly, but it's something. After days of being as low as she could possibly get, it's nice to want to smile and laugh.

Yeah, she never hid that as well as she thought.

"If you'd like." It's good to hear her laughing again. That's a good sign. "But there'll be plenty of people for you to dance with. I might not be dancing much." If Amelia really thinks that was the lowest she could possibly get, she's terribly naive.

"So, a new dress... what color are you thinking?"

She wasn't trying to be mean or to tease too hard. If they're trying to rebuild their friendship, she's not going to push too hard too fast. "I'm not sure many of them will want to dance with me, though." She frowns slightly. "Why so little dancing for you?"

A thoughtful look appears on her face. "I'm unsure. Usually I pick out a fabric that calls to me and then let the tailor go wild. Perhaps I need to give them a little more guidance for something like this though?" The tip of a finger rests against her lips in thought. "Maybe something in blue? No... green? Something with gold detailing, I think, but I'm not sure past that."

Verity didn't think she was being mean. She's always been reserved, and recent events haven't exactly improved her demeanor. But that question does seem rather ill-considered. "Because I'm in mourning. And I'm not sure there's many people who'll want to dance with me, either. Or who will know how. It's an undervalued skill these days."

(Little do the ladies know there'll be a Groot in attendance, and they'll have plenty of tree to dance with.)

"Teal? It's in-between green and blue, and looks good with gold. I've never had anything custom-made for me. Maybe I'll come watch you and see how it's done?" Assuming she'd be welcome.

"Right." Damnit, Amelia. You were doing so well, too. "Well, if no one wants to dance with you, for whatever reason, and you find yourself wanting a dance, I'll make myself available. Hell, I'll even lead if that's what you'd like." She hopes this light teasing doesn't go over too poorly, because she's giving Verity a small wink, too. She may not know all the dances that she'll see at the ball, but that just means she's got a goal for it.

(A dancing tree? Amelia's not going to be sure about that one until someone tells her he's super friendly.)

"You've never had anything made for you?" Her eyes widen slightly at that. "You should come with me when I go. You'd be surprised what a creative tailor can do when given the smallest directions. Who knows, maybe we could get something for you? It wouldn't need to be a dress for the ball, but perhaps something comfortable for every day wear. There's nothing quite like a comfortable every day dress made of a nice silk or cotton." Someone's speaking from experience. She doesn't get the luxury of wearing pants every day, so Verity can be damn sure Amelia's getting something that moves well and is comfortable if she's being required to wear a dress.

She can take the teasing. She's even smiling a little. "You'd better, I don't know how to lead. A shockingly sexist oversight on my part." It won't all be complicated modern dances. Waltzing's pretty simple. "Thank you."

(The fact Verity will be running over to give Groot a hug might be a clue.)

"No, like I told you, that's not something people do where I'm from. It does sound like fun. We'll see what I make of the process when I see you going through it." Or until she finds that oh-so-perfect fabric and just has to have it. She can be impulsive when the mood strikes. "I don't usually wear dresses, but... what the heck. People seem to appreciate them."

Waltzing she can do. She'll sit up a bit and give Verity a proper hug - or as proper a hug as she can manage while they sit beneath the tree. "Any time, Verity." And she means it.

(Yeah, that'll do it!)

"It's not that bad, really. I'll even go through getting my full measurements taken to prove it." That part gets a wink. If Verity has no idea what's coming, she won't get the joke, which is totally fine. "Dresses are a nice change of pace from time to time, though I admit pants are the break in every day wear for me these days. It's why I haven't gotten a dress made yet since coming here. But... this seems like a good time to add one or two back to my wardrobe."

She carefully pull away from Verity then stands. After wiping off her pants a bit, she offers a hand to Verity. "Are you busy now? If not... care to do a little shopping with me?"

All hugs are proper hugs so long as there's no unwelcome groping. Verity's not picky about these things.

No, she has no idea what she's in for. Amelia will no doubt be as amused by this as Verity was when the tables were turned. Fair's fair. "They say variety is the spice of life. You'll have to help me with some of the terms. No, I'm not busy. Thanks."

She'll accept the hand up, climbing to her feet with the hiss of someone who hasn't been careful lately. Running until she's numb sounded like a good idea... until she stopped. "You have someplace in mind?"

Amelia's not going to judge for it. She's been there - maybe not to Verity's extreme, but the general understanding is there. They can walk at whatever nice, leisurely pace that Verity sets today. No rushing necessary.

"I have a tailor I've used in the past when I had a need for new shirts and pants that we can start with. If he doesn't think he can do what I'm looking for, we can move on from there. It's not too far, luckily."

There's a moment of hesitation when they begin walking where Amelia thinks about walking around New York City and how comfortable it was being side by side with Verity. She remembers being scared about everything that was going on until she was holding Verity's hand. Cautiously, she holds out a hand to the other woman with a small smile.

Edited 2015-10-26 05:53 (UTC)

"It's a place to start. Did he make what you're wearing today?" She's not up to rushing, but she can keep up a decent pace. The insane running was long enough ago that she's recovering. "I don't mind a walk, so long as we're not running."

She glances down at the offered hand, and a moment later takes it. Who's comforting who this time? Maybe it doesn't matter. "Should we go out for pizza afterward? I think that's our tradition."

There's a grateful sigh of relief when Verity takes her hand. She had half expected to be shot down, but getting confirmation that things are on the mend is nice.

She shakes her head. The armor makes it difficult to sit in her tree (yes, it's hers now, shut up), so she's taken to wearing clothes she got for the heist when her intention is to sit there for a few hours. "These are still clothes from..." It's hard to finish that sentence, but she'll make a gesture to Verity with her free hand to emphasize her point. "I suspect these clothes won't last as long as I'd like, though, and I'll have to replace them again at some point. I admit, I've grown rather fond of these... jeans, was it? They're very comfortable, and they move surprisingly well with me."

The mention of pizza gets an excited face from Amelia. She'd forgotten all about it. "That sounds lovely. Can we try a new kind of pizza this time? One with new ingredients?" Apparently her stress levels have gone down if she's speaking so excitedly about food.

Verity has never been a grudge-holder. How could she be friends with someone like Loki if she couldn't let things go? She could give Elsa lessons, both on letting things go and how to survive locking yourself and your powers away from the world.

She gets the idea and is grateful they don't have to say it out loud. "Ah. Jeans are pretty durable. I didn't pick things that would last for years because I wasn't sure you'd want to keep wearing them. And fashions change so quickly, trendy clothes have a limited lifespan to force people to update their wardrobes. It's pretty sneaky if you think about it."

Everybody loves a good pair of jeans. Verity feels a small vindication about that. She knows the massive change in wardrobe was hard for Amelia--as hard as it'd be for Verity to start wearing corsets. But it's nice to know it wasn't all found wanting.

Amelia's expression gets a soft laugh and the request gets a nod. "Absolutely. In fact, we can get two little ones, so you can try twice as many things."

Amelia did a pretty terrible thing, though, so she was certain she wouldn't be forgiven for that. Some sins can't be so easily forgiven.

"That would be one way to get people to consistently buy more clothing," she agrees. It's a tactic she understands, even if she doesn't like it. She finds it a little sad that Verity's world had such a world, but she also suspects many others hold similar ideas.

"They come in multiple sizes?" Her eyes go wide at the thought. "That's amazing! I can hardly wait."

That happiness and excitement persists as they step into the tailor's shop. The space might seem rather large to Verity, being several hundred square feet for a single room with only a small changing area set up near the back and a desk with a few chairs set up around it in the front, but it works out perfectly. One wall is covered from back to front in fabric and the other, in the space between the desk and the changing area, is covered with even more. Organized drawers up front contain dozens of varieties of trims, lace, and buttons. It seems the place is set up perfectly to handle any kind of order. The proprietor gives Amelia a nod as he finishes helping another customer when she walks in and motions for her to take a look at the full wall of fabrics in the interim. Amelia gently pulls Verity to the wall and begins to explain what's what.

"Alex here has every kind of fabric you could ever want. Near the back are all the basics, things that usually go into linings or sturdier clothes: linens, canvas, and muslin of all variety of colors. There's also some heavy brocade fabrics in there, but they're not very good for anything you want to move with you. Moving along the wall toward the front you have the cottons and what he tells me are called cotton blends. These come in even more colors and some are even patterned. After that come the silks, which tend to be my favorite if I'm getting something for a special occasion. The colors are largely varied and the fabric has a lovely feel. And behind us, on the other wall, are all of the fabrics I'm told are 'synthetics' - satin, velvet, fleece, polyester, and spandex. I'm afraid I don't know much about those, but they have the brightest colors and largest number of patterns." She turns and motions in particular to a section on the wall of where several bolts of fleece are covered in multiple cat patterns.

"For every day wear, I tend to stick with cottons or linens. But because this is a special occasion, I think I'd like to do something in silk." She smiles and begins looking through the fabrics in the silk section, which are arranged in an almost rainbow like fashion. "I believe you said teal would be a good color for what I'm looking for, right? Is this the color you were speaking of?" With her free hand, Amelia points to a small group of fabrics that are different shades of teal. The color isn't unfamiliar, but the name is. In her world, it's all simply different shades of blue or green.

"Oh yes. Pizza's a common food at casual parties, so, people order different sizes depending on how many people are being fed. Or how determined you are to show off at eating a whole pizza yourself." Anyone can eat a whole pizza if they're dedicated.

The shop is like a wonderland to Verity. So many beautiful colors and soft things to touch. She listens to Amelia's explanations while examining the displays. "Synthetics are made from inorganic materials. They don't come from plants or animals." She's not that interested in those.

The silks are an obvious draw to her, so she's nearby when Amelia asks about the colors. She'd been fingering a dusty violet brushed silk. "Yes, that's teal. The brighter one next to it is turquoise. It's named after a gemstone. Do you like them?"

Her fingers find their way to the turquoise fabric and she's suddenly pulling it out without a second thought. "It's beautiful. Light, and perfectly hued between blue and green."

"And a perfect color for your skin tone and hair color, I might add." The proprietor, a man who couldn't possibly more than thirty, joins the ladies now that his last customer has taken their leave. He's a tall, thin man, standing a few inches over six feet, with an angular face and short black hair. The man is also impeccably dressed: perfectly tailored black dress slacks, a pastel blue button down shirt with three-quarter length sleeves and delicate embroidery on the cuffs and collar, and a black vest with blue and silver leaves that match those on his shirt embroidered around the buttons. When he realizes he doesn't recognize Amelia's companion, he turns to Verity and offers his hand to her. "Alexander Needleworthy. A pleasure to meet you."

The introduction gets a snort from Amelia. "Have you changed your name again? Last week it was Alexander Cutter."

The young man feigns being hurt at Amelia's words. "Are you saying a man can't change his name as often as he changes his clothes? I'm hurt. I thought you'd like this name more."

"It is more appropriate," she concedes. "But that doesn't make it better."

A pout plays at his lips. "Such a cruel thing to say to the man who makes your clothes. I might just adjust the bust of your next shirt so you can't get it on in retaliation."

Verity turns to the man who is suddenly behind them, giving him a faint smile. The banter is confusing her, mostly because it's Amelia doing it. But there are people who'd be confused to see Verity turn on the charm, too, so she won't make too much of it.

She shakes Alex's hand, and when she can interject, introduces herself. "Verity Willis. Amelia's teaching me about... all of this. I apologize in advance for not knowing what I'm doing here. And I agree, the turquoise would be perfect on Amelia."

Verity would be floored to see the way Amelia interacts with her customers back in her world. Still, she finds it easier to interact with people who are merely acquaintances rather than those she gets to know and has to interact with on a more personal basis.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Verity." He gives her hand a firm shake before turning his palm, with her hand still in his, and bows his head and shoulder slightly - A small sign of deference. After releasing her hand he turns to Amelia, smirking. "Didn't I tell you the other week that would be a nice color on you?"

"You were also suggesting it for an every day shirt. You know I prefer more neutral colors for every day wear." She rolls her eyes at him and holds out the bolt of fabric. "This is different."

He accepts the fabric with a raised eyebrow. "Oh? What's the occasion?"

Amelia looks over at Verity before turning back to Alex with a smile. "I need a dress for the Samhain ball."

The tailor looks down at the fabric in his hands then back up at Amelia with a grin. "I'm sure I can come up with something that suits your style." He then turns to Verity with a more neutral face. "Is it too forward of me to assume that you might be interested in something as well?"

It would probably shock her. She usually took the opposite approach, not bothering to be very kind to people who annoyed her if she didn't have to deal with them again. It didn't always work out in her favor, but such is life.

She bow is unusual for her, but she's trying to adapt to the different kinds of manners people have in the Nexus. It's strange but won't be remarked on--while they're in the shop. She might ask Amelia about it later.

"Uh... I do need a dress," she admits, "but it might not be very much fun for you since I'm in mourning." And judging by her outfit, she's not a fan of elaborate clothing. "Plain black probably isn't the most thrilling thing for you." She might not understand what's going on, but she knows not to bore an artist.

It's a little different when you're the one running the store, though. That's not to say Amelia didn't brush people off when she did less than legal things for them if they were rude or upsetting in some way, but the daily stream of people visiting her family's spice shops always got her best face.

"Not every dress needs to be made of the brightest of fabrics." Alex offers Verity a sympathetic smile. "Something simple, yet elegant, in black can be just as ravishing as something in, say, turquoise."

Amelia rolls her eyes at the comment but doesn't say anything as she continues looking through the wall of fabrics. There's a few patterned materials that have caught her eyes with the same base color as the first fabric she picked out, so she's taking a closer look at them.

"Everything I make presents its own unique challenge," he adds quickly, returning his full attention to Verity, "so let's see if we can't find something to begin yours. Tell me, what kind of fabrics do you like? Something soft? Sturdy? Something that moves easily or breathes well? Once I have a picture of what you like, we can look through every bolt of black fabric that will meet your requirements."

Accommodation is this man's specialty, and he's going to do everything possible to make Verity feel comfortable with the process. They'll take things nice and slow, and build her something beautiful together.

That's probably true. The need for that kind of act is a big part of why Verity refused to work in an office. She just couldn't do that all day.

Alex is being extraordinarily kind, and she appreciates that even though she knows it's part of his job. It's easier to get along with than the demanding artiste type of fashion designer. "Um. Soft would be nice, but it needs to be sturdy enough to handle having chao try and climb up it. Something that moves well, something I can dance in. Is... is that okay?"

She's a little overwhelmed right now.

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I like soft shimmers!