Celebrations

Open for Play
Brunnhold's college town, located inside the university grounds.

User avatar
Cecelia Driscoll
Posts: 41
Joined: Thu Nov 08, 2018 6:30 pm
Topics: 8
Race: Human
Character Sheet: Character Sheet
Plot Notes: Plot notes (Including thread history!)
Writer: Rachel/jadeowl
Writer Profile: Writer Profile
Post Templates: Post Templates
Contact:

Wed Feb 27, 2019 11:45 am

Juniper's Shop The Stacks, Brunnhold
on the 20th of Achtus Lunchtime
Cecelia was in a fabulous mood.

Today had been her first review and, much to her relief, the Director had told her that she would be hired on permanently. She had expected as much, but to hear it from the Director's mouth and have it confirmed was a huge load off her back. She was much more surprised when the Director had told her she would be getting a small raise starting the next week. It was enough that maybe she, Galiya, and Sednai would actually be able to buy fresh meat once a week.

But the real reason that she was over the moon was because the Director had both complimented her and given her the rest of the day off. Yes, the compliment was ended with "for a human", but it was the first compliment she had gotten from the man and she hadn't realized how much she had wanted to have her hard work recognized by the Director.

Galiya was at the babysitter's and, after a few moments' thought, Cecelia decided to leave her there and take a legitimate half-day off. She loved her daughter, but raising a baby was a full-time job on its own and, sometimes, she needed a break.

She had also gotten paid, so she stopped at her favorite baker and picked up 4 cherry vanilla cupcakes along with 4 adult-sized meat pies and one baby-sized one, grinning ear-to-ear as she left the store. It cost a bit more than she expected, but she knew that it wouldn't bite into her bills too much, especially with the raise she would be getting. And, really, it never hurt to treat yourself and your friends once in a while.

(If Cecelia was honest with herself, she couldn't remember the last time she had treated herself. All her extra money went towards paying ahead on the rent and making sure Galiya was well taken care of. )

It was a cold, rainy day, but Juniper had, of course, made sure that her clothing was warm enough that the weather barely touched her as she made her way to his store. She waved at the few people she saw, the work shoes that the Director had bought her handling the ice with ease.

When she finally turned into the alley that Jun's shop was in, she wasn't surprised when she saw the shop was closed. It was lunch time and Juniper always made sure he at least had a cup of coffee or tea for lunch. Usually, he was too absorbed in his work to eat, but Cecelia knew that the cupcake and still-warm hand pie would be enough to entice the man away from his pretty fabrics or sketches.

She made her way to the back of the store, knowing that Juniper never locked the back door during business hours. She knocked on the door as hard as she could and then entered the tailor's workroom. "It's your favorite secretary, Jun! I have good news!" she said, her voice bubbly with joy as she kissed the distracted tailor's cheek and handed him a cupcake and hand pie. "Not only is it your 2-month shop anniversary, but I got hired on permanently. And I got a raise!" she grinned at him as she sat at the edge of his work table. "Plus the gobshite that runs the paper actually complimented me on my work. I swear, I thought I was going to have a heart attack! How're you, darling? What are you working on?" she asked as she nibbled on her hand pie, looking at her friend's project.
Last edited by Cecelia Driscoll on Wed Apr 24, 2019 12:52 pm, edited 4 times in total.
User avatar
Juniper Feldspar
Posts: 86
Joined: Sun Nov 18, 2018 12:53 pm
Topics: 10
Race: Wick
Character Sheet: Character Sheet
Plot Notes: [url=http:/fullurl/]Plot Notes[/url]
Writer: Foxing
Post Templates: [url=http:/fullurl/]Post Templates[/url]
Contact:

Mon Mar 04, 2019 11:33 am

Image
Feldspar Tailoring| Noon
20th ACHTUS 2718 2718
He was lost in embroidery again- or rather, in beading. Soft black tulle cascaded over the wide surface of Juniper’s scarred and polished worktable, several flared pattern pieces delicately stitched together into one voluminous overskirt. The excess that threatened to spill over onto the neatly-swept floor had been carefully rolled and held in place with little green suede sandbags, and beneath the fine net of the tulle was pinned a carefully-executed scrolling floral design on waxed paper, that had been moved and re-pinned several times before, given the beautiful embellishment that preceded its current position.

The little tailor was working in tiny, faceted jet beads and beetle wings that shimmered and shifted from blue to green in the light, matched with green glass bugle beads in delicate spiralling tendrils that crept their way up from the skirt hem. Three dark, polished wooden bowls held beads and beetle wings ready for sewing, their bases wide and heavy, finished with felt to stop them slipping or overturning mid-creation- more of his cousin Regis’ work.

Juniper’s needle flashed in the light, drawing gossamer-fine thread behind it as the design grew slowly but steadily. Every so often, Juniper laid it down, slipped down from his high stool where he perched, stockinged toes curled around the rungs, and walked the couple of steps to the cupboard by the door to the shop where his coffee steamed- he could hardly go without the stuff, but having it anywhere near his work was a recipe for disaster, as he’d discovered more than once.

The gown itself was nearly finished, and stood on a stand in the corner, shimmering jade silk taffeta, overlaid on sleeves and wrapped bosom with the same black tulle, a cinched girdle waist accentuating the delicately puffed short sleeves and encrusted with a matching beaded design to the one the tailor was currently working on. The bodice was indeed complete, the separate skirt lacking only the beaded overlay and waistband and currently pinned to the stand to avoid wrinkles while it waited.

~||~


Juniper started as his bubbly friend entered his field of vision and swooped in to kiss his cheek, not having even registered her knock on the door, so engrossed was he in his work. Dropping his needle, the wick swivelled on his stool to greet her, but suddenly his hands were full of baked goods and he actually squeaked in concern, toppling sideways but catching his footing just in time to stand up.

“CEE! How many times have I said, no food in my workroom! And get off my table, you’ll drop crumbs on the skirt…”


He looked around frantically, pie in one hand, cake in the other, nose screwed up and making small noises of distress as he tried to work out what the clocking hell to do with these well-meaning but ultimately unhelpful gifts. Eventually however, Cecelia’s words filtered through his single-minded brain and he stopped, blinking at her.

“Two months? Oh, I suppose it...Permanently?”


His face lit up, shining with joy for his friend. “And a raise? Oh, congratulations nanabo, I know how hard you work there. About clocking time that ersehat recognised that.”

He looked down at the food in his hands, squinting at it thoughtfully, and then up at the workroom window to check the angle of the sunlight.

“It’s… it’s not...noon already?”
His sigh was very nearly a wail. “And I haven’t opened the shop or anything…”

Just then, the scent of pie and cake finally hit his nose, and the distracted tailor’s stomach gave a loud rumble. One small distressed huff and he’d reached a conclusion.

“Come on up, then. I could probably use a break…”

Lodging the hand pie between his teeth, he snagged his coffee and nodded for his friend to follow, padding up the stairs to his little flat and nudging the top door open with a hip.

User avatar
Cecelia Driscoll
Posts: 41
Joined: Thu Nov 08, 2018 6:30 pm
Topics: 8
Race: Human
Character Sheet: Character Sheet
Plot Notes: Plot notes (Including thread history!)
Writer: Rachel/jadeowl
Writer Profile: Writer Profile
Post Templates: Post Templates
Contact:

Wed Apr 24, 2019 1:55 pm

Juniper's Shop The Stacks, Brunnhold
on the 20th of Achtus, 2718 Lunchtime
Cecelia grinned at Juniper's reaction. She knew that Juniper didn't like food or drink in the workroom, but she also knew that, if he hadn't noticed her knocking, he was too engrossed in his work to actually eat the food. It would just get put aside and forgotten about until the end of the day, if remembered then. She loved her friend dearly, but eating and drinking were things easily forgotten when he was obsessed with a project.

"Oh, that's gorgeous," Cecelia said, as she examined the dress, her cupcake and pie carefully kept out of the way to keep any stray crumbs from the dress. "Whoever commissioned it is going to be ecstatic."

She laughed at Juniper's comment about the time. "It is, indeed, noon. I suppose you've been working on that since before the sun came up, hmm?" the umber-skinned lady said as she followed the tailor up to his apartment. Once they were upstairs, she put her hand pie and cupcake on the table and moved over to the stove to start a fresh pot of coffee. She moved with the familiarity of someone who spent a lot of time in the apartment. She had helped Juniper renovate the shop and apartment, spending her spare time painting and sanding between looking for jobs and making sure that Juniper ate regularly. Sometimes she thought the man was a bit hopeless when it came to basic things like eating and drinking, especially when he got obsessed with a project.

But, even when she was exasperated with him, she knew that the man's passion was paying off. The quality of her uniforms had been immediately noticed and, while most of the gollies at work had been unwilling to go to a wick for clothing so far, Journalist Vinter hadn't had the same hesitation. Even if the gollies weren't going to Juniper yet for clothes, the other humans who did the grunt work at the office had asked her where she got her uniform. She didn't know if they had come to Juniper for clothes to wear outside of work, but at least a couple of the newsboys had convinced the Director to order new uniforms from Juniper once theirs had worn out.

The Director was big into uniforms for his human employees. The gollies were able to wear whatever they wanted, within reason. But it was as if he thought that the humans who worked for him weren't capable of dressing themselves appropriately for work. Admittedly, Cecelia did appreciate the fact that she didn't have to worry about wearing out her day-to-day clothing and that the Director had paid for everyone's uniforms with the understanding that they were company property and would be returned if they moved on to a job elsewhere . But it still annoyed her that the Director thought so little of her and her human coworkers.

Once the coffee was done, she poured herself a cup and moved to the table. She put her cup down and snatched Juniper's, quickly moving back to the stove and topping off the cup. She moved over and handed Juniper back his cup, then sat down. "I'll want to commission a winter dress for Lia, I think. Nothing fancy, of course, but we can't use her old summer dress for much longer. The Farmer's Almanac is predicting a harsh winter. And Sednai could use a new work shirt. You can get her measurements from one of her shirts, right? I'd like to surprise her. She's been so clocking kind since she took me and Lia in and I have enough clothes right now."

Cecelia's eager discussion had a pointed purpose. Of course, she really did want to discuss clothing with him, but she knew that if she didn't distract him from the piece he was working on well enough, he'd itch to get back to the dress. She wanted him to enjoy the food rather than inhale it so he could get back to the dress.
User avatar
Juniper Feldspar
Posts: 86
Joined: Sun Nov 18, 2018 12:53 pm
Topics: 10
Race: Wick
Character Sheet: Character Sheet
Plot Notes: [url=http:/fullurl/]Plot Notes[/url]
Writer: Foxing
Post Templates: [url=http:/fullurl/]Post Templates[/url]
Contact:

Tue May 28, 2019 1:58 pm

Feldspar Tailoring
☙ 20th of Achtus, 2718; Noon ❧
“Well, it’s so close to completion…” [/color]

Once safely upstairs, Juniper set his coffee on the dresser and reached down a couple of plates for himself and his friend, laying them on the embroidered tablecloth that graced his little round table. Coasters for the coffee-cups followed, and he sat with a sigh, rolling shoulders that the hardworking tailor hadn’t even realised were stiff. There was an audible crunch, and he winced, reaching under his waistcoat to dig fingertips into the offending tense spot.

The ginger wick watched his human friend with fondness as she bustled around the kitchen area of the little flat like she’d done so many times before. He honestly didn’t know what he would do without her now…

...be terribly lonely, that’s what you would do. And probably be stuck with a horror of a shop…

“I still don’t know how you do that so quickly without even a chat to speed things up,” the man commented as she stole away his cup to be topped up.

“Orders are coming in, what with party season closing in fast- that gown downstairs is the first of several- but I can always fit in work for you, dearling, you know that. And Lia’s at that stage where she’s growing like a weed- I swear, every time I see that girl she’s an inch taller! If you want I can turn her summer dress into a pinafore too, I can see that coming in handy with how inquisitive she is, you won’t want to be washing a winter dress every couple of days…”

He thought for a moment, turning over fabrics in his mind.

“I’ve got a sweet floral brushed cotton that should wash very well, we’ll see how the colour looks on her..." He nodded at the mention of Cecelia's housemate and friend. "Of course. As long as it’s a shirt that fits her properly, that’s no problem. Maybe with some pin-tucks for a little practical decoration?”

Elbows on the table, he lifted the fresh coffee to his lips, considering.

“I’d really like to meet her, you know. From everything you’ve said, she’s been such a good friend to you, even since before you knew me...which, come to think of it, hasn’t actually been that long. Do you do this with everyone?” he joked with a chuckle. “Make yourself indispensable, worm your way into people’s hearts until they forget you haven’t always been around?”

Setting the coffee down, he finally took a bite of the pie and let out a small involuntary moan as the savoury flavour filled his mouth.

“Oh...sweet Lady that is good…”


☙❧
User avatar
Cecelia Driscoll
Posts: 41
Joined: Thu Nov 08, 2018 6:30 pm
Topics: 8
Race: Human
Character Sheet: Character Sheet
Plot Notes: Plot notes (Including thread history!)
Writer: Rachel/jadeowl
Writer Profile: Writer Profile
Post Templates: Post Templates
Contact:

Wed Jun 19, 2019 1:48 pm

Feldspar Tailoring Brunnhold, Anaxas
on the 20th of Achtus, 2718 Noon
Cecelia gave a carefree shrug at Juniper's question. "I had a big family growing up. Me, my parents, mum's parents, one of dad's sister and her three children, all under one leaky ass roof. When you have that many people living together, you learn to hustle to ensure that everyone's taken care of, especially when you're the youngest and everyone else is working. Grandma was old and could only do so much, so I was helping her cook dinner and wash clothes and do other necessary chores almost as soon as I could hold a knife and wring out clothing."

"Even if it's just me and Sednai and Lia now, the hustle doesn’t go away," the mahogany-skinned laughed. "Aldwin always said that I was meant to have a huge family. I had other plans. I was planning on only one or two kids after Jasper."

Cecelia's eyes didn't darken at mention of her deceased husband and son like they used to do. She hadn't completely found her peace with their deaths but, as she built a life for herself in Brunnhold, she found that the wound had scabbed over and stopped hurting as much. Sure, sometimes she bumped it and the pain came back like they had just died yesterday, but those times were becoming fewer and farther between.

She hadn't talked to Juniper much about her time before Brunnhold, but it was more because she was focused on the now and helping his shop be as successful as he deserved. For whatever reason, the man had worked his way into her heart immediately, and she found herself deeply emotionally invested in his shop. Perhaps she just needed someone to push towards success, the way she had cheered on her cousins and, eventually, Aldwin. Sure, they all just had menial jobs, but even menial work could become pleasant when you were obviously making someone proud.

As much as she cared about Juniper, she had no illusions that he would ever romantically care for her. He couldn't hide his feelings in any way and his inclinations had been made perfectly clear that first day when he had met Journalist Vinter. But, after Seamus, she found that extremely comforting. She wasn't ready for romance and, if she was honest with herself, she wasn't sure she would ever want to be in a romantic relationship again. Sure, life as a single mother was difficult, but she found herself enjoying the life she had. She had a husband once and, while she wished their marriage had lasted longer, she didn't want to sully the good memories by trying to find a new husband. If the Circle wanted her to find a husband, she figured they would ensure it happened.

She brightened up at Juniper's suggestion. "Oh, a pinafore would be perfect. It'd be a good way to ensure her clothing lasts longer, and the babysitter would appreciate not having to worry about her making a mess and ruining her clothes. The girl's a sweetheart and always worries about little things like that."

Cecelia got a mischievous glint in her eyes when Juniper mentioned wanting to meet Sednai. He had been asking to meet her for a while, but Sednai and Cecelia's work schedules didn't always mesh well and both of them were usually too tired to go out after work. "Well, then, why bother sneaking one of her shirts to you when I can just surprise her with a visit to a friend's shop?" she said with a cheeky grin. "I'm sure you could arrange to be open for a special fitting, yes?"

She blushed at his comments after that. "Mm. Well, I prefer to think that the Circle arranges the things I need sometimes. I'm not very devout, but sometimes things just seem… too coincidental? When I think back to the day I met you, I can see how things could've gone so different if only one of a handful of tiny things had changed. But maybe I'm just moony," she said, giving half a shrug and biting into her pie. She moaned and then laughed as some of the gravy from her pie streaked down her chin. She put the pie down on one of the plates she had grabbed and wiped her chin off with a napkin. "Lady, I haven't had something this good in a long while. Sednai will be thrilled."
Post Reply Previous topicNext topic

Return to “The Stacks”

  • Information
  • Who is online

    Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 guests