The Seamstress

Part of Crescent Harvest.

[hesitant-tailor]

Just Like a Cat | Candace & Allen

[paragon-of-perfection-blog]

"That’s a bit better." At least she was malleable. She had the potential to be a wonderful project. "The first step to being cute," he saw her eyes drifting to the side and he snapped his fingers to draw her attention back. "is to have your eyes on me. Being cute is all about presentation. Your clothes, the way you act. You have a shy girl vibe going on, which some will find cute, but you’re too meek." He sighed as if it was a serious matter and adjusted his glasses.

"But with my help, you’ll be cute in no time. I’m a man who works miracles, after all. The first step will be working on your mannerisms. So do try to keep your eyes on me."

[hesitant-tailor]

Her eyes flickered back to Allen after he snapped his fingers. Startled, she kept her view steady and closely listened to him. 

She always knew that she was too timid. Candace always figured that she would live her life just as she was now: quietly; in the background. To her, it would take a miracle to change her, even just a little bit, no matter how much she wanted to fix herself. 

It was still hard to believe that he could possibly change her, but she knew that she wouldn’t get anywhere at all if she didn’t try. “O…Okay,” was all she could stutter, extremely uneasy to be holding her gaze, especially with someone as confident as Allen.

[hesitant-tailor]

April 15th, 2014

When I went shopping earlier I discovered (and bought) some cookies that had a strawberry cream filling in them... They were really tasty, in my opinion, so I hope that Luna and Shelly like them!

Also, Selena came into the shop recently… I feel a bit relieved that she and Luna weren't there at the same time. I wouldn't know how to stop them if they were to fight. Perhaps if they knew more about each other, they’d get along better... still, I'm not so sure.

Er, back to the point, she asked me to fix a top of hers to make it fit better on her. It’s a bit nerve-racking, having only so much time to do something, even if it’s an easy fix. I'm fairly sure that things will turn out alright... I hope that things will turn out alright.

[hesitant-tailor]

Magical Monday

[phanerozoicflora]

By the Seashore || Candace & Flora

[phanerozoicflora]

"Yes, I am," Flora replied in a straightforward tone, "I’ve been working in this town’s site for quite some time now. " She had just came from work, yet would have had no problem talking about it more, it was one of the topics that came easily to her. But if teaching classes had taught her anything, it was when to hold off.

"Oh, I’ve been to Castanet before," she said, wondering where she worked there; she hadn’t seen her before.. she was right, it was a fair amount busier in Castanet than here. Her mention of the town’s flora caught Flora’s attention; she had entirely forgot to introduce herself! "Uh, that reminds me, I’m Flora Anderson," she said, holding out her hand.

"By the way, do you want any help searching?"

[hesitant-tailor]

"I'm Candace... It's nice to meet you." she replied with a soft grip on Flora's hand. It was a little surprising how easy it was to talk to her. It wasn't a bad thing at all, though. Candace felt ecstatic to have met someone so friendly. Most of the people that she's talked to lately were... scary, to say. Intimidating would be a better word.

"Um, sure, if you'd like to search with me, I think that'd be really great..." She nodded with an excited smile and placed the shell she was holding back by her shoes before approaching the shore again. It should be fun, looking for shells with someone. Candace bent over the waves and dipped her hands in the cool water to search again.

[hesitant-tailor]

Just Like a Cat | Candace & Allen

[paragon-of-perfection-blog]

"I don’t make ladies pay. What do you think I am, a cave man?"

He watched her eyes lower to the table and sighed. “The first thing you need to know is to look at someone when you’re talking to them. It’s only polite.”

[hesitant-tailor]

A cave man...? "N-No, of course not... It's just that... Um," maybe she should just leave it be. Upsetting him is the last thing Candace wants to do, "nevermind..."

She sulked a bit, "I'm sorry," she stuttered, forcing herself to make eye contact with Allen, but occasionally glancing to the side, biting her lip nervously. She forgot to take into consideration how she was behaving in his eyes, which was most likely burdensome. 

[island--princess-deactivated201]

Beautiful Girls // Candace and Selena

[island--princess-deactivated201]

"It was a gift," Selena said plainly when Candace asked her about it. "I wouldn’t be able to tell you where it was made. I got it a few weeks ago so it hadn’t been that long." Hopefully that was enough information. The dancer hated having to talk more than she had to but knowing this woman, she wouldn’t be able to get the words out to ask what she needed.

The whole situation was rather frustrating. On one hand she had Candace who probably couldn’t stutter out her own name properly and on the other was Luna. The old woman was about the only person she could stand in this shop, even with the idle chit-chat. At least Candace was bearable. 

"You look concerned about something," Selena pointed out, shapely red eyebrows coming together in a frown. "Can you fix this or not?" Wasn’t working with clothing her job? She wasn’t going to put up with second-rate competence. As much as she hated to admit it, the sisters were excellent at what they did, but she knew first-hand that if nerves get the best of you it didn’t matter the amount of talent that you had… and everything seemed to get the best of Candace.  

"This is a delicate item so I don’t want you screwing up." Selena let out a frustrated sigh which caused a lock of hair dangling over her face to fly up. She didn’t need it by tonight urgent, but she hated waiting and she wanted to make sure there was no dilly-dally on her order. “A couple of hours is fine. Will the rush interfere with your work? I suppose I could pull some strings if you need more time.” 

[hesitant-tailor]

Candace's eyebrows furrowed, keeping her eyes on the garment. Selena was such a beautiful and bold woman that it intimidated Candace greatly. "Ah, no, I... I can fix this..." Though she still messes up every now and then, she can easily fix things. It had been years since she had screwed something up so terribly that she had to ask her grandmother for help. Still, she's always worried that she will do a job that's less than satisfactory... especially with a customer such as Selena. 

"I don't think that the rush will interfere..." She shook her head lightly. It made her feel more relaxed after hearing that Selena could give her more time, but she still felt tense, nervous about messing up though she hadn't even started yet. She didn't know what would happen if she were to screw this up. "Um, I should be finished in time." It helped that it was a slow day at work, so she didn't have any other jobs to do at the moment. "If it's okay, I promise to do my best to, um, make this top more comfortable for you," she mumbled, cautiously picking up the garment and draping it over an arm. 

[island--princess-deactivated201]

Beautiful Girls // Candace and Selena

Selena stood in front of the tailor’s, taking deep breaths. Hopefully this wouldn’t be as much as a pain as she anticipated, but if it was, she was going to be prepared for it. Her body as calm as possible, Selena opened the door and stepped in with a flourish of red hair and bell chimes going off over her head to announce her arrival. Immediately violet eyes scanned the room. 

"Oh, thank goodness!" she exclaimed quite loudly when she realized the only person other than herself was that blue, mousy woman. She sauntered in, letting the door close behind her with a loud rattle. 

"I was not in the mood to deal with that brat of yours,” she told Candace as she approached the counter. Selena had just returned from Echo not a few days ago, and she had enough of tacky, pink-haired girls with attitude problems to last her twelve lifetimes. “Anyway, I need you to mend this.” The dancer carefully laid out a sheer, sparkly purple top that had long sleeves and a darker purple silk to shape the breasts. 

"There’s something off about the shoulders; I can’t move as freely when I dance. It feels like it’s about to rip whenever I put my arms over my head." Selena leaned onto the counter with her elbow, eyelids coming down in a bored manner. "How long is a fix like that going to take? This piece is vital to one of my performances so I need it done as soon as possible." 

[hesitant-tailor]

Candace slowly looked up to the entrance as soon as the bells chimed, “Wel-” she cut herself short when she heard the exotic woman’s cry of relief that Luna wasn’t at the shop.

It offended Candace a bit, hearing Selena call her younger sister a brat. While she gets bossy at times, she’s still a good person, and she means well. Candace debated saying something to stand up for her little sister, but decided that she didn’t want to cause any trouble with Selena by saying anything. Besides, Candace probably wouldn’t have gotten the words out in the first place.

She directed her attention to the sparkling garment laid out for her and began to examine it. If it had actually ripped then she could just mend it. “Umm… If there’s something off about the shoulders, then it might be a manufacturing error…” She carefully lifted the top by the shoulders, “… Ah, or, um, was this specially made?” 

Thinking, Candace gently placed it back on the counter and concentrated on the garment. Her uncertainty started to become more evident, “If you don’t mind me asking… h-how long would I have until your performance? If you still have a bit, I could, um, try to improve the fitting in the shoulders, but it could take me a couple hours.”

[hesitant-tailor]

Just Like a Cat | Candace & Allen

[paragon-of-perfection-blog]

Well, not as confident sounding as he liked. Candace was a very meek girl and usually he liked that. The quieter someone was the better it was for him because he didn’t have to listen to them.

"I actually love herb soup. I wonder if it’s as good as Clement’s. I suppose I’ll have to try some to find out." He snapped the menu shut and smiled at the waitress. "A herb soup and water for us both please."

"If you want anything else, let me know." His eyes turned back to hers. Allen rarely let a lady pay when he was out with them, regardless if it was a date or not.

[hesitant-tailor]

Candace nodded timidly at the waitress, handing her the menu with her head tilted down before mumbling an almost incoherent thank you as she paced off. She was pretty glad to know that she recommended the right thing, though it wasn't really a recommendation.

She then turned to Allen, a bit confused. Why would she let him know if she wanted anything else? “—Oh.” He probably means… “Um, no, it’s okay…” Her eyes glued to the table, “I-I will let you know if you’d like, but I brought money with me today…” He shouldn’t be spending his money on her. Rather, she should be paying him for helping her out.

[hesitant-tailor]

"Uh, hi, this is for you, happy harmony day," Flora said as she noticed Candace walking by, holding out some flowers that, as she just noticed now, were the same shade as the girl. She wished she had been able to find some sort of fossilized shell for her, but flowers were nice too.

Candace stared wide-eyed at the flowers. They were beautiful... She wasn't sure what to say. "Oh, um, thank you... thank you so much." She carefully took the flowers with a smile, "I'm... I'm really sorry, I wasn't prepared for such a thing... I don't have anything for you at the moment." She sighed, feeling a bit guilty. She had gotten flowers for Shelly and Luna, but no one else. "Um, but these are so nice... I'm really happy."One day she'll definitely make it up to Flora.

[hesitant-tailor]

Have you ever been on a date? If so, what was the worst one you've ever been on?

"I... don't know if it could be considered a date, but one time I, uh, went to a festival with someone... He made me wear this one outfit that was really uncomfortable and I couldn't walk in the shoes I wore," her face was red in embarrassment just from talking about the incident. "He... spent the entire festival teaching me how to walk in heels, in front of everyone. He even put on my shoes and showed me how to walk in them... I remember him saying that he walked better in heels than me, and he was a man..."

[hesitant-tailor]

Wildplay Weekend

[hesitant-tailor]

Would you rather eat grapes for the rest of your life or cook for the homeless?

She tilted her head, confused. Eat grapes? “Um, it depends… I would definitely cook for the homeless every once in awhile, but not constantly. The same applies to eating grapes… I don’t mind them, but I think it’d get tiring… having to eat them all the time.”

She shrugged, “I’d go with cooking for the homeless… I’d like to help those who are less fortunate. And it’d make me feel better about myself…”

[hesitant-tailor]

Would you rather be red with passion or green with envy?

"Well, being green with envy is never a good thing… I’ve felt envious of others before, but I dislike the feeling… so much. I’d rather be, um, r-red with passion, I suppose…"

[hesitant-tailor]

Would you rather be stuck sewing nonstop for a month and then never sew again, or only be able to sew once a month?

"Oh, um, I… I think that I’d rather sew once a month. At least then I could continue to sew.

If I were to be forced to sew for an entire month without stopping, I’d end up tired of sewing for awhile, but then I’d begin to miss it… Sewing just once a month isn’t much, but it would make the experience more special each time I get to do it… I think.”

[hesitant-tailor]

Would you rather be a firefighter or a professor?

"Um… I’d rather be a professor. I feel a little bad for saying this, but I wouldn’t want to constantly put my life on the line for others… It’s too scary. I wouldn’t be a good firefighter, anyways… I’m not strong enough."

[hesitant-tailor]

Just Like a Cat | Candace & Allen

[paragon-of-perfection-blog]

He watched her sit, making note of everything, and came to the conclusion that this would probably all be fixed with more confidence. Perhaps he could give her some.

He slid into the seat across from her, nodding to the waitress when she handed them their menus. 

"Hm, I simply can’t decide." His eyes skimmed the laminated menu before resting on Candace. "What would you suggest?" 

[hesitant-tailor]

This time, as Allen spoke, she noticeably glanced up at him, then back down to the menu, actually reading it this time. "Um... I... haven't tried many of their selections, but their soups and stews are pretty good, in my opinion..." 

She stared at the menu, unsure of what else to suggest. "I, uh, will probably have the herb soup," she mumbled, not wanting to sound childish by stating that the soup is all she ever gets. 

That, and strawberry shortcake, which would probably make her seem even more childish...

[phanerozoicflora]

By the Seashore || Candace & Flora

[phanerozoicflora]

Flora watched as the girl looked at the snail shell. She was surprised to hear she had never seen it before; she honestly hadn’t thought that Forget-Me-Not would have such a unique diversity, even to travelers. Or maybe it was just a rare shell on its own.

She was caught a little off guard when the woman spoke again, her eyes focusing on Flora, seeming more confident than before. “Uh, yeah, I do, I live at the archaeological site by the waterfall.” She smiled at the girl’s praise for the valley. “I think so too, it’s kind of what draws people here.”

"Where are you from?" she asked in return. "A city of some kind?" Most people who appreciated the peaceful atmosphere that much were city dwellers, here for a break and a chance to relax.

[hesitant-tailor]

"Oh... are you an archaeologist...?" Her eyes brightened very slightly listening to the woman. That must be an exciting career, researching and discovering this and that... Candace wished that she was smart and motivated enough to do such a job. And, she lives by a waterfall? How beautiful... Candace had yet to see the waterfall, but she heard it was gorgeous.

"I'm... from Harmonica Town, Castanet," she answered with a slight shrug, her eyes wandering to the ocean, "It's not exactly a city, and there's plenty of flora, but it's, um... busy enough to want to take a vacation every now and then, I suppose..."