Sewing Up Storms (open)

[Lillian Tinkerbell]

Finally! She had some money. She’d been in this place a little over a week now, and all that time, she’d been living off her housemates’ food. She also had yet to change her clothes, having to continuously wash her little green pixie dress. That would all change today. Oh yes, it would. Of course, she couldn’t splurge out right, but she had at least a hundred to buy new clothes with. The rest of her payday money had gone into buying food and her savings. She was saving up to buy different furniture and decorations for her room, something that wasn’t so pristine and perfect looking. It might take her a while, but if she had to live here, she wanted to be comfortable.

Today was not a day for furniture shopping though. It was a day for clothes shopping. Tink had gone to the mall first thing in the morning after it had opened, of course. She was extremely grateful that she had the day off as she fully intended to make this a full shopping day. Unfortunately, that all changed when she entered the first store.

The store had caught her attention by its mannequins in the display window. One in particular who was wearing a green jacket that almost looked exactly like the one she had made herself when she went to visit her sister. It was a bit hot for jackets right now, but still she was curious enough to check out the store. Most of the clothes seemed to be for summer: shorts, skirts, and dresses that seemed to be awfully revealing even compared to what she was currently wearing. She was just about to leave when she spotted some long pants at the back. Okay, they weren’t exactly pants. The tag called them “skinny capris.” The pants or capris reminded her of the bottoms Fawn, Periwinkle, and Vidia most often wore. They certainly covered you up a lot better than those shorts did, that was for sure. She started pulling several sizes down and holding them up to her, seeing if they would fit. That was when she saw the price tag. Fifty dollars?! That was a ridiculous amount. She bet she could make ten pairs for less than that. A small smile crossed her lips at the thought. Wait, why couldn’t she make them herself? She’d made her own clothes before. Yeah okay, her old clothes had been made out of leaves and flower petals, but actually fabric couldn’t be that much harder. For a moment, Tink carefully studied the design and seams of the capris. Then she put them back and left the store without buying anything at all.

It took her a long time to find a fabric store, but when she did, she went a tad insane with her spending. In a very short while, she had bought three different colored denims: black, dark blue, and ashy gray. She’d also bought heaps of super soft cotton in different shades of green and even some black leather. In addition to this, she’d also had to buy several spools of thread, needles, scissors, and a measuring tape. By the time she checked out, she had spent $80. It would all be worth it though when she had several outfits instead of just a few.

For a little while, she walked around town looking for somewhere to start her project. She supposd she could go back home, but she was kinda getting tired of the place. She really wanted to be outside, feel the sun on her skin. Eventually, she had wandered out of the town proper and discovered that there was a large field. The field seemed like a good place to do her sewing. Lots of light, a gentle breeze, minimal distraction from other people. She nodded her head to herself as if congratulating herself on finding a good spot. She set down her supplies and started work. First, she would have to measure herself. Then, she’d have to cut out the designs. Then, she’d…. A small, excited smile curved the corners of her lips as her brain continued making its plans.

[Deleted]

Megs stood at the edge of the field watching the blonde woman and her bundle of fabric. Judging by her appearance this was the person he was looking for. The only question now was whether or not to approach her as planned as he was, well, slightly embarrassed by his current problem.

He had gone shopping today with the hopes of finding a suitable replacement for a particular garment from home. But alas the search had proven to be in vain. Store after store, aisle after aisle, he had not even come close to what he was looking for. He had left the last store in a huff and was doing a very good job of sulking his way down the sidewalk. So good in fact that when he passed by the fabric store a woman asked him what was wrong. When he explained his predicament, without going into too much detail mind you, she told him about a blonde woman who had just purchased items befitting a skilled seamstress. Perhaps that was the solution to this problem.

So here he was standing at the edge of the field and finally he mustered the courage to approach this person. Silly isn’t it? That a grown man, let alone a Superhero, had to muster the courage for such a thing. “Are you Lillian Tinkerbell? Someone from the fabric store said you appeared to be a skilled seamstress.” He reached into his coat pocket pulling out a folded piece of paper. A slight blush of embarrassment rose to his cheeks and he mentally reprimanded himself for it. Super geniuses don't blush! “If so I would like to put in a request for a garment.”

[Lillian Tinkerbell]

Tink was sitting there, happily sewing away, the sun on her back and a gentle breeze blowing around her. She never felt quite as happy as she did when she was making things or fixing things. Well, of course not! She was a tinker, and that's what tinkers did. It was as natural as breathing or flying, though flying wasn't exactly natural in this world. A slight frown creased her forehead as the thought came to her, but she quickly pushed it out again and returned, slightly less happy now, to her sewing.

The young blonde woman had actually been in the field for a few hours, studiously working on her task. By this time, she had measured herself, cut out her pattern in the fabric, and sewn up one whole leg. She had stopped for a while at this point to flex her fingers and take a short walk around to stretch her back. She was back at it now though. Okay, actually she was holding up her work and checking on the progress. She supposed it looked right. It certainly wasn't perfect. The stitches were a bit crooked there, and the back seemed to be a teensy bit longer than the front. Still, for a first attempt, they looked pretty good to her. Even so, she was glad she had decided to start with the gray fabric. She didn't like it nearly as much as the dark blue or black ones, so it made sense to work out all the kinks and whatnot on this one.

Tink had just started working on the next leg when she suddenly felt a strange sensation. It almost felt like she could feel someone watching her. She glanced up slowly, and sure enough there was someone standing on the edge of the field, watching her. At first, she watched back, keeping her head bent low so as not to be very obvious. Then she started to wonder why she was being watched. Did he want something? Was something wrong? Was there a problem with her being here? As time wore on, she started to become very frustrated with the watcher, and her face started to turn red like it usually did when she was annoyed. Nuts and bolts! She wasn't putting on a show here! If he wanted something, he should come over and tell her what it was, not just stand there and stare at her. Eventually, she decide to just try and ignore whoever it was. Maybe he would just go away.

Not too long after this, she heard the soft thud of footsteps approaching her. She glanced up from her sewing just in time to hear a voice speaking to her. The man asked if she was Lillian Tinkerbell, to which she nodded slowly, and then went on to explain he'd gotten her name from the fabric store. That was kinda odd. She couldn't remember telling the clerk her name. Oh well, it wasn't a big deal, but why had the fabric store referred her to the man? Her question was quickly answered as with a slight blush of his cheeks, the man admitted he was hoping she would make him something. Tink's own cheeks turned a soft rosy pink at the prospect of making something for this handsome man. It was a very alluring thought to make something of value to another person, and she found herself reaching for the paper the man held, assuming it was a design of what he wanted.

[Deleted]

It seems he had indeed found the person he was looking for. Now whether or not she was skilled enough to complete the task was yet to be seen. She reached for the paper and he pulled it back out of reach. “Hold on. First I must state this project is highly confidential. Top secret. For your eyes only. Because…” He did not want to say it was because someone may poke fun at his yearning for such a garment so perhaps just a little white lie would be alright. “Because its for a friend and I don’t want him to find out until its done.” Ah yes the old its not mine its for a friend tactic. Perfect. “Of course my friend just happens to be the same size as me so you can use my measurements.”

Finally he set the paper in her hand. The sketch turned out to be a pair of pajamas. A matching top and pants set. They were blue, spotted with various biohazard signs. A small stripe of lighter blue decorated the wrist, ankles, and down the front of the high collared shirt which fastened with buttons. A pair of slippers finished off the outfit. Fuzzy black bat slippers with little wings and red eyes. “Not sure what kind of fabric it was but they were very soft and comfortable. There was also a cape that I…I mean my friend, used as a robe. It tied around the neckline here.” He pointed to the neck area on the drawing then looked back up to Tinkerbell awaiting her response.

[Lillian Tinkerbell]

The young blonde woman blinked up at the strange man as he emphasized the project’s secrecy. She thought it was weird that he even had to tell her to keep it quiet. It really wasn’t like her to go around blabbing on what she was making. She usually liked to keep her projects to herself until they were finished. Still this man had roused her curiousity. What did he want her to make that needed to be kept so private? Sure, he said it was for a friend, but since he was a stranger, why would he even think she knew his friend? She started to think the whole “it’s for my friend” thing was just a ruse, especially considering the “friend” just happened to be the same size. So what was she making? She glanced at the man. He seemed to be dressed nicely, so maybe he wanted a nice, fancy suit. Slowly, she nodded, accepting the secrecy part of the deal and took the sheet of paper.

Instantly, Tinkerbell fell into silent laughter. She’d only just managed a glimpse of the sketch before she erupted in giggles. This? He wanted her to make him this? Boy had she been wrong! She wasn’t really laughing at him. They seemed like fine pajamas, very comfy. She was more laughing at herself. She’d been imagining a suit and had actually started trying to remember what kind of suit apporiate materials she’d seen at the store and trying to figure out what color would look best on him. This…had just surprised her.

Eventually, Tink calmed down enough to look at the sketch more critically. Well, she certainly didn’t remember a material like that at the store. That might prove a bit difficult, but the design was easy enough. She felt positive she could make it as long as she could find the material. And if she couldn’t? Well, she knew you could paint stuff on cloth, though she’d never tried it herself. When she was done analysing the sketch, she pulled her talking device out of her pocket and quickly typed a message before pressing the SAY button. “Well, the hard part will be finding the material. I don’t remember seeing it at the fabric store. Other than that, the design looks pretty simple. I’m sure I can make this for you once I find the material.”