revivalproject | Fashionable and Fluent

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Fashionable and Fluent

WHO: Lark, Open
WHERE: NG-102 Fabric Markets, Clothing Repair Shop, Around
WHAT: Purchases, Working, and Offered Translation Services
WHEN: March
WARNINGS: None, Lark is just wholesome

I. To Garb A Nation

It seemed like it was only once a year where Lark might actually acquire a large amount of the materials she needs to make sure that people don't have to worry about clothes. So when she finds the markets, her heart full with joy. She moves to find things that breathe, and things that will be warm. She runs her fingers over the softness of one bolt and makes a delighted noise over the color of another.

Then she's quite happy when she catches sight of someone out of the corner of her eyes.

"Come here," she calls to the fellow He Rows. "I want to see how this color would look against your complexion."

II. Not The Oldest Business In History, But Close

There is much to be acquired to make life on Temba easier, as well as to help the Agrii. So really, it's no shock that Lark went to find work as soon as she could. It happens because of a simple thing she does out of a kindness. A young girl with skin like stone clad in something like a stiff skirt of lace, rumbling sadly because of a large tear that means it's half falling off. So Lark had gone to help.

And now here she was, smiling and humming to herself as she runs her needle quickly and nimbly through a beautifully embroidered shawl. The bits she can easily do with thread and needle are done that way first. But her magic is weaving into the things as well, repairing threads she can't replace, setting things right, and strengthening them. In exchange trinkets and baubles are piling up in a small container at her side. Where she'll turn these into supplies she doesn't know. Nor how. Trading things from the Temple she had understood. These things? Dear lord she was not prepared for it.

But seeing someone else there, it makes her smile. A half-familiar face.

"Good afternoon. If it is afternoon," she says warmly, hands still working on the garment she'd fixing. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to do me a favor."

III. Language Pulls Us Together

The Living Circle Temples were often places where people of many places, many different cultures came together. The quartet of children she had seen off into the world most recently had been a great example of that. A young noblewoman who was a world traveler, a young Trader girl, a street rat from a distant city, and of course a daughter of a merchant family. That was before you even considered the difference between Lark and her partner Rosethorn, or any of the children's various masters. And one thing Lark had seen many times over the years was that the way that languages, be they slang or entirely different tongues, interacted was interesting. Words that were useful, words that didn't change over family groups, words that were deemed worthy of slang...

Really, it was all so very intriguing. And perhaps that just made the communications datapoint that much mroe pleasing to Lark now, as she walked through the corridors of the ship. As she went her fingers worked at a sturdy looking twine, measuring and knotting as she walks. A map in string form.

When she comes to a stop it is because she catches sight of someone passingly familiar. Someone from the ships. Were they trying to talk to someone? How interesting. She turns to start making her way toward them.

IV. Wildcard
[OOC: Want to do something else with Lark? Reach out to me with a direct message, or on Plurk or Discord and we can talk about it. Or just throw something randomly at me (though in some ways III also works for that.]

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Browsing the markets has been pretty fun, but she's a little surprised when she's encouraged to test material color. But, hey, why not, sounds fun even if a possible disaster.

“Be prepared for it to look weird on me.” She replies with a half smile. She's pretty pale, so, there's enough that is too much of a contrast with her.

Lark offers a soft smile at Chrissy's suggestion that it would not be good. Lark was, after all, a specialist at this.

"My dear, I would not dare to put something unfetching on a beautiful young woman."

“It's more me being pale than any skill you'd not have,” Making clothing is basically a super skill and anyone who can do that is crazy talented by default, or so she considers. “But in that case, feel free to use me as material test subject number-however-many — but the fun pocket sized edition.” Look, she's 5'3'' and very skinny, so, she is very much in the category of 'pocket sized He Row' here.

It is not as if Chrissy is all that small. Her partner was smaller. Still, she is pleased to consider what might work.

"I think soft colors might well suit you. Or perhaps jewel tones. Here."

She reaches out to offer a bolt of something soft and blue.

It is very soft, and a nice shade of blue. “This could work. I say we try it, see what happens.” She nods. “I always thought it looked fun to make clothes or accessories, but never had the something for it.” The something being time, opportunity, et cetera. “So instead I will appreciate others' skill in it.”

"What will happen is that your hair will pop, though not as well as it would with a bit more green in the color," she says, but she's happy with this choice anyway. Yes, she will buy this bolt.

"Did you never have the 'something' or never have the opportunity?"

Because there is a difference between experience, creativity, and chance.

It's the string, really, that catches Link's attention.

He doesn't know what she's doing, or what those knots mean. But he's seen Lark's skill and power in action before, and he knows she's doing something.

So he gives her a little wave, when she starts moving towards him. And then looks pointedly at her string, before looking back at Lark's question. The unspoken question is clear - what is she doing?

He arrives and Lark pauses, smiling as she looks at him. Of course she's already lifting the string to explain it. The young hero comes quickly in and out of her presence enough that she knows to assume the question.

"It is a map. I trust physical ones a bit more than ones on these devices I don't understand as well. Each knot is an intersection."

She holds the thread out for inspection. Each knot has little loops sticking off of them at angles, perhaps indicating other directions she could have gone.

"This way I can get back to the ships without issues. And if there is something I see that I am interested in or that others might find useful, I work in just a few fibers of something colorful. It helps me remember."

Link looks at the thread map. With all those loops, and colours, and complicated knots.

"...I like Purah Pad maps better," he says. Certainly they seem much easier to use.

"Each have their own way to remember things that are important," Lark says. "This is suited to me, given magic and affinity with threads."

And that makes sense to her. She tucks the thread map into her pouch.

"Have you been having an easy enough time with finding what you want here?"

Link thinks about this, and shrugs. He hadn't really had any specific goals in mind; he'd just been content to wander without aim, and head towards whatever happened to catch his fancy.

"Just exploring," he says, as an answer.

"I am doing the same," she says with warmth. "Thus the map. I work in threads of color to remind myself of things I wish to tell people I saw."

So that they will know where to find them.

"You found things?" Link says, now looking at the thread map with greater interest. If Lark has found anything that would be of interest to him...

"There is much here to find," she says with a smile before holding the weave of twine out again.

"Green for plants. Red for metals. Yellow for food. Brown for animals, as I saw a lovely hutch of rabbits. Many colors for many purposes."

ANd yes, upon closer inspection, there are many brightly colored fibers that appear and end suddenly in the twisting and knotting of the thread.

"Plants?" Link says, perking up with interest for a moment - until he remembers that he doesn't have the Agriculture datapoint anymore.

But...maybe he could buy some to take with them. So he can learn about them later, when he has the datapoint again.

"Indeed, see?"

She strokes a green fiber about three intersections and one turn back.

"This is the closest I saw. They had some lovely rose-like things."

Noctis had been doing his usual wandering. Having seen the captors (They reminded him of the Hiso aliens although memories came and went of that time) and he figured standing still wasn't going to get him any more answers than anyone else had.

As he wandered, his blue eyes took notes of things, but nothing captured his interest so he kept moving. At one point he stopped to catch his breath and that was when he heard Lark's familiar voice, talking about it being afternoon.

At her question though, he nodded with a smile. "You know you can count on me. What do you need help with?"

Edited 2024-03-05 00:39 (UTC)

"Always the mysterious helper," she says, mischief in her eyes. But she gestures to the basket beside her. "I was hoping I might ask for a bit of courier work. I have been doing what I can to help raise funds, and such these should be in the hands of those who can get parts we need."

And she has so much work to do that going back herself seems silly.

"Yup that's me." Noctis smiled with a nod. He'd run that title by Gladio because that had to be the best title he'd ever gotten from someone else..besides the tender endearments the Shield gave him.

After listening to what she said, the king nodded again and picked up the basket. Well at least it wasn't vegetables, right?

"What kind of parts am I looking for?"

"I am certain our captains and engineers might have lists," she says. This wasn't something she was going to be as helpful for. "I am not skilled in the repairs we need. But these-"

She takes in her mending with a glance.

"These I can do."

Lists were useful things, Ignis kept them constantly. Where he kept them was a mystery, in the same sense that he used that damn word..was it.. funambulist or something. That was at the Assassin's Festival.

But he nodded to Lark. "So I have to go talk to the captains and engineers. If that's the case, I'll go see what I can do."

"That sounds wise," she says, nodding at him. "They might be best placed to make sale of these things. And then we can see about our repairs. And as a thanks..."

She selects a nice, heavy silver necklace with some blue stone set into a pendant on it.

"For you. For whatever you might wish of it."

He nodded, figuring if that's where Lark was sending him, he'd better start there. Besides he wasn't even too sure what the hell e was looking for. Thankfully he had a list at least.

The mention of a thanks had him look up and he took the offered necklace. He stared at it a moment and then looked at the mage.

"Are you sure?" It looked precious, so the king had to ask.

"Of course," Lark says. "It was the thanks I received from a being made of gold and silver and jewels. Or perhaps just wearing an abundance of them. It should let you buy something nice, should it not?"

Perhaps a gift for someone he cared for, or things just for himself.

Noct continued to stare at it. Obviously he was no merchant and always turned his things into the people that sold things like weapons and armor. But this would definitely come in handy.

"Ya, it'll definitely help."

His gaze looked at Lark and he nodded. "I really appreciate that."

"I am glad that you do. You deserve something nice. Perhaps to buy something for whatever gentleman got you that..."

She looks pointedly at the ring. Yes, she's noticed it. She's learned that it's a bond of marriage as well.

Noctis smiled self consciously at the observation.. "Well his birthday is coming up, so that would definitely be a thing that I could use it for."

He never said anything, but knew when it was. And this would come in handy since he always tried to save everything for the day to make it as special as possible. Gladio deserved that.

Was it? Lark smiles, a look of conspiratorial pleasure on her lips as she gesture to the basket.

"Take a second piece. Make sure you treat him well."

"You're kidding me." Noctis replied, shaking his head.

"I mean, you've already been pretty generous already."

"I'll continue to get more," she says with a smile. "And it is important to show our love and devotion to those we love while we have them."

And they should never doubt being loved.

The king sighed and let out a breath. "Well it could come in handy with the wedding..whenever that is."

He looked at Lark and shook his head. This lady definitely had some wisdom. "Agreed. I'm just..not sure how to properly say thank you."

Wedding, huh? She smiles.

"I would be glad to make clothing for it, if you should tell me what they should be like."

Or anything else. There is something wonderful about such connections being forged.

Again Lark surprised him and he wasn't sure he should ask, considering she'd already done so much. "Well..it'd have to be black, so I'm sure that'd be hard to come by, as honoured as I'd be to wear something you'd make."

There, that should settle it, right?

Black? Lark looks briefly shocked by that. But in her culture the shade was for grieving, not celebration. She should not judge others though.

"I will find black cloth then."

"I'd be in your debt, more so than I am already."

Noctis emphasized his point by holding up the gifts she'd given him.

"You are in no way in my debt, my dear. We are companions upon the path that we walk."

And nothing else matters.

Noctis had a thought and laughed. Originally he was going to get around to asking Tommy, but hell he'd ask him too.

"Speaking of walking, don't suppose you'd want to walk an old man down an aisle when the time comes?"

An old man? Lark chuckles.

"I should thank you not to call yourself old, as that might make me feel ancient myself."

For all that she had aged well, Lark herself was older than Noctis. And she felt no shame in that.

"I would be honored, if it is truly me you would wish such a thing of."

Noctis laughed at her comment about being old. Well, there was a whole thing about being dead but he sure didn't want to focus on that right now.

He then heard her answer and nodded. "Ya, I wouldn't have asked if I didn't mean it." The king might be a lot of things, but insincere wasn't one of them.

"Then I shall carry out the honor to the best of my ability," she promises very seriously. "You deserve no less. But you shall have to tell me of this custom in more depth."

He smiled at Lark's words. This would be fun and he'd need people to hold onto he was sure of it. But the smile faded a little. "You don't have such things at weddings where you're from?"

"We do not have ones that involve what you have implied. So it is clearly a different sort of ritual for us."

And thus her confusion.

"Oh."

Well that gave him a think. "What does a marriage ceremony look like in your world?"

Hell, he could stand to learn here.

"It truly depends upon which gods one follows. But it's usually a simpler handfasting before the divines."

And she had visited more than a few.

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Fashionable and Fluent

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