Stitchery - (Open)

[Sophie]

((Yay, Sophie!))

Sophie's little shop was full of interesting things. Being the wealthy woman that she was, she could afford little things that brightened her shop. Seeing as it was always dark, she expressed the need to brighten up the town a little. The rug under her feet was dyed with indigo and scarlet, the desk that she was currently working at, was hand-carved and had beautiful adornments on the legs. The face was flat, so that she could work, but it was still beautiful. Stuffed away in the corner was a small nook, filled with silk and down pillows, which would be comfortable, if only it was a tad bigger.

There were cubbies that held patterns, shelves that held books, rather large paintings, yards and yards of beautiful cloth, and stands that she held her masterpieces on.

The shop was rather a mess today, as she had an order that was due on the spot, today, and Sophie had forgotten all about it. Which put her in a bit of a bind. Sewing and basting and trying to make the dress coat look as if she'd spent weeks on it, her hands flew over the cloth. It was made out of black wool, so it was rather scratchy, but lined with silk, so the inside was smooth and warm. It was beautiful. "A few finishing touches..." Sophie sewed on the silver buttons with the initials 'S.E.W.' on them. She thought that rather funny and chuckled a bit, and picked up the coat.

"Wonderful!"

She bit her lip in pride and admired her work. It'd fetch her a hefty price, and perhaps she'd buy a chandelier, and some candles, so she wouldn't have to light twenty-six of them to get decent lighting. It was a fire hazard, and Sophie couldn't risk a fire.

She carefully put the coat on a stand shaped like the bust of a man. "Lucky to whoever buys this one..." She said. She'd long since forgotten the name of the man who had ordered it, but that didn't matter. She walked over to her desk and picked up a few papers, tapped them together, and sat down. The emerald gown she was wearing made her look elegant. Her hair, however, completely drew from this fact.

"Hm."

Now that the work was done... Sophie was rather bored.

[Cassus]

Cassus Verdanteve walked tall and headstrong down the darkness of the Exodus Town Slums, carrying his lantern pole with him. And thank goodness that he was. There was not a damn thing to see here.

What was he doing, anyway? He didn't know. There was no Watch to sign up with, so what did it matter? He was just walking around looking for trouble, at this point. He inn he was staying at, The Battered Wife, that was one hell of a dump. Cassus was eager for the day he could figure out the exit to this damn place.

Then, he found a very nice window display. Window display? The hell? He stopped to see mannequins with nice coats and dresses, and looked up at a sign.

Sophie the Seamstress

Huh. Well, he did need his trenchcoat mended a little bit. He knocked on the door and opened it slightly.

"Hello?"

[Sophie]

The knock on her shop door startled Sophie quite a bit.

Of course, she was startled pretty often in this town, and seeing as many people came in her shop every day, she calmed down in an instant. Standing up and pushing her chair in, Sophie smiled at the man who had just entered. She smoothed her hair down and sighed.

"Hello, sir, what can I do for you today?" She said lightly, blowing the one strand of blonde hair from her face- or at least attempting to, in vain- and walking over to the counter.

Sophie could see that the man looked rather surprised. She couldn't blame him. There weren't many shops in the slums, let alone ones that could be called safe, so Sophie took pride. Of course, she had thought many times, she should move her shop out of the slums... but that would be so much of a hassle.

Smoothing out the small wrinkles in her dress, Sophie studied the man quite carefully, as if to make sure he wasn't a freak who would try to kill her. He seemed fine enough. She smiled again.

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[Cassus]

The lady in the shop, Cassus was guessing she was "Sophie", seemed nice enough. Nothing suspicious about her except that she ran a little sewing hovel in the the slums of a town that was in the middle of nowhere.

"Hello miss," Cassus replied to her, putting on his most charming smile. "I was wondering if you could stitch this up for me." He pointed to his shoulder, where the seam connecting the arm and the body of his leather trenchcoat was coming undone a little bit. "I've had this for a long time and I don't know if I'm ready to throw it out, yet."

He had another peculiar question though, looking outside at the sky. He had just arrived maybe six hours ago, and had lost track of time completely. Rubbing his chin, Cassus looked back to the woman.

"Also, do you know what time the sun rises?"

[Sophie]

"Oh, yes, of course," Sophie looked at the loose threads and the arm of the coat coming off a bit. "Is that... Leather?" Sophie smiled.

"Yes, it will only take a few moments. Wait here for a minute," Sophie strode over to her desk and picked up a silver needle, and a brown thread that she thought most matched the thread already adorning the coat. It was a pretty coat. She wondered who had made it, and, tapping her chin slightly, walked back to her counter. "So, sir, if you could," She set down the needle and spool and held out her arms for the trench coat.

Sophie's arms dropped at his next question. "When the sun... rises?" She blinked and shifted her gaze. "You aren't from around here, are you?" She asked. She'd had the same question when she first arrived in this town. Pretty town it was, a little dirty, but it had the prettiest buildings. She smiled weakly and looked back at him. Changing the subject, she smiled cheerfully.

"Now how about that coat?"

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[Cassus]

Cassus took the jacket off and handed it to the woman, still a little confused at her response. Of course he wasn't from around here, but what was the big deal about the sun?

This Sophie woman was very diligent and careful, which relieved Cassus. The last thing he wanted was it being quite obvious that he'd had his jacket mended, as some bright yellow thread poked out from the seams.

"I'm not from around here, no. I just came in earlier today, when it was still dark. Are the nights here pretty long? I guess we are pretty close to the mountains, now that I think about it..."

The more he thought about it, the more it made sense, but the woman had still not answered his question. That was leading him to believe that there was something funny going on with the weather.

[Sophie]

Sophie, gratefully taking the coat, and turning the arm inside-out to inspect the damage, nodded and threaded her needle. Carefully, she started mending the arm back, a few times pushing a strand of her dusty black hair behind her ears.

"So... where exactly are you from?" She asked, not looking up from her work. She stopped for a moment to thing of a response to his question. "Yes. The nights are very long." She smirked a little and shook her head, beginning her work once more. Truth be told, Sophie didn't remember the last time she'd seen the sun. You probably wouldn't be able to tell from her cheeks, as they were red and looked sunburned, but in all actuality, the sun had never risen in her time here.

At first she was quite frightened, but she learned to live with it. Nothing exceptionally different went on except for some people were a little out of whack with their whole, internal clock, think. She sighed at the thought. According to her clock, it was somewhere near 12:00 P.M. "Hm.." She raised her eyebrow, and looked down at her work once more.

"Actually, I was rude," She looked up, raising her eyebrows. "I'm Sophie Walker, the owner of this little shop." She smiled.

"What is your name?" She grinned and looked back down at her work. The arm was almost completely mended, but Sophie had overlapped one of the seams, so quietly, she picked away at the thread until it came loose, and started sewing away.

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[Cassus]

Finding a chair that was void of any bolts or scraps of fabric, Cassus sat down and leaned back, enjoying the comfort it gave his back.

"My name is Cassus. I come from the central mainland, in a little town--" he stopped himself, the image of that town burning to nothing but smoldering ashes still firmly in his mind, "--well, it's just some little place. Not really worth mentioning."

He followed where Sophie's eyes had gone to the grandfather clock, and he was amazed and apalled to see that it was only noon.

It was noon, and the sky was pitch black outside.

"Have you wound your clock recently? I think it might be off a little," he said.

[Sophie]

"Well, it is very nice to meet you, Mister Cassus." Sophie smiled a little, still diligently working away on the seam. "We don't get a lot of visitors here, you know, so it's nice to see a new face." Tightening the seam, Sophie tied off the thread and put down her needle. "Where did I put those scissors...?"

Softly setting the coat on the counter, she opened the drawer on her desk and rummaged through the junk. "Oh, no, I just wound it toda-" Sophie stopped herself, and picked up the silver scissors from the small desk, and pushed the drawer shut. "Erm..." She sighed and walked back to the counter and cut the thread, turning the arm back out, and inspecting. The seam was nearly invisible, and she smiled at her work.

"Yes, yes, I should wind my clock." She said. "I'll make note to do that...I..." She set the coat down and sighed.

"Sir, you really have never been here, have you?" She asked. "Well..." She walked over to her clock. "I wound it today, it's perfectly functional, every little piece is working as it should, and it's noon." She furrowed her eyebrows. "It's noon." She crossed her arms and sighed. "This place is odd. It's like there's something covering the sky, not allowing light in. I haven't seen the sun in months." She laughed a little, still looking at the face of the clock.

"Mister Cassus, would you believe me if I told you it was actually noon, and it was still night?" She raised her eyebrow. "Not many people have, really... From the people I have seen, sir." She turned a little. "Strange place, this is..."

She shook her head and cleared her throat, walking back to the counter, and picking the coat up. "Good as new." She said, smiling.

[Cassus]

With a blank face, Cassus took his coat, good as new, from Sophie and slipped his arms in. He was in disbelief. He would not, could not believe that the sun didn't rise here. It just wasn't normal.

"So... this place, it never sees daylight?"

He shuddered, worried to think of what Chaos might scramble around freely. What a horrible place to run into. Then again... maybe this was an opportunity some gracious deity had given to him. Maybe this was a chance to redeem himself from running out on his past and letting it burn to the ground.

"Sophie, how's your taste for adventure?" Cassus suddenly asked, stretching his arms and adjusting the fit of his jacket. "I've got an idea."

[Sophie]

Sophie scratched her forehead. "I know it may come as a shock to you, but no, not even so much as a beam of light since I've been here." She sighed and pulled a chair covered with white fabric toward her. She sat down, and rested her head in her hands. "I'm sure it must have been normal at one point in it's existence, but it must have been way before my time." She blinked.

"'S not so bad, though. I guess..." She shrugged. There were a few creeps that roamed around, some... creepier than others. She shuddered, thinking of the creatures that lurked in the darkness. She would probably be considered one of those 'creatures,' but at least she had an inkling of being normal. She sighed.

At his next question, Sophie furrowed her eyebrows. "Hm... I did plenty traveling when I was younger..." She smiled. "So, Mister Cassus, what exactly is your idea?"

[Cassus]

Cassus straightened his posture and beamed a very charismatic smile.

"I propose that we start a watch of some kind. There doesn't appear to be a set up Watchman's Association around here, so I think we should start one. Even if it's unofficial."

He started to pace around in what available space that there was, his arms folded and his brow furrowed. There had to be a better way to explain this. A better way to go about this. This town had no authority! A change needed to happen!

"These streets need to be kept safe," he replied. "So that whatever creaures may be thriving off of this nightness don't hurt the few normal citizens that may be left. Such as the two of us! How does that idea strike you?"

[Sophie]

Sophie almost laughed.

"Me, sir? Normal?" Sophie tapped her chin slightly. "Whatever you say, Mister Cassus." She smiled, and shook her head. If turning into an animal at will was normal, she was set. But she thought that was hardly the case. Sighing, she scratched her forehead. "Listen, sir, there is absolutely nothing dangerous here." Lie. "It is probably one of the safest places to live." Another lie. "Besides, I'm hardly the person to ask to help you." Lies. They were all lies. She knew herself the town was filled with dangerous denizens, creatures of the night, things she'd rather not talk about. The streets were far from being kept safe now.

But, for once in her life, something interesting was happening. "And unofficial Watchman's Association. I see." She sighed a thoughtful sigh, and sat in her chair again. "There is just one problem..." Them.

They would surely take the opportunity to capture this strapping young man. He was a human. Unlike her and the rest of them. "Er... Never mind. So, how do your propose we set up this... Watchman's Association?" She looked at him, waiting for an answer. It was a very interesting idea, but if they were to be vigilantes and save the city, they would absolutely have to make some plans. She smirked at the thought.

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[Cassus]

At last! His finest skill would come into play! Cassus smiled eagerly and rubbed his hands together.

"Do you have some paper and a pencil? Or, some muslin that you're not using that I could write on? I've already got a few things mapped out!"

Yes, two people would be just enough to start things. His mind flashed back to him and the tiny blonde Marciela when they had just set up their first watch at Oldendram-Rocktheal. Such good times. The "as far as the ear can reach" tactic was pretty successful.

Aside from this flashback, Sophie's little words and mutterings worried him. He had this feeling that he didn't quite understand something, and that no one was going to let him in on the secret. He knew this place wasn't safe. He figured that out first hand just before he had walked into the little shop. Danger was everywhere. He knew that! He wasn't stupid!

I mean, he wasn't smart, either, but still. There was a slight brain beneath all of that brawn.

[Sophie]

Sophie responded to his eager smile with a chuckle, shaking her head slightly.

Sophie yawned and looked around. "I think so..." And sure enough, a piece of paper and a pencil was laying on the counter. She motioned towards it and walked around the counter to the side he was on, bringing the paper. "So, Mister Cassus, what's on your mind?" She crossed her arms and leaned on the counter so that she was looking at his face. He wasn't bad looking, in all truth. She smirked.

That aside, Sophie turned around and looked at his paper. He hadn't written anything as of yet, so Sophie hoisted herself on the counter, sitting and crossing her legs. "You never told me how you wound up in Nox." She raised her eyebrow, a sudden wave of curiosity came over her.

She had discovered the town completely on accident. When she was fifteen, right after she'd ran away from her mentors house, she'd joined a traveling fair, making dresses and ribbons and pants, and pretty much anything that she could with such abundant materials.

She had become quite wealthy in her travels, but one day, they were traveling to Forester Village, and something went terribly wrong. One of the caravans broke a wheel and they sent Sophie, two other men, and another woman for help. Sophie got separated and wandered for a while, and she ended up here. Desperate to get out, she couldn't find a way. So she settled down.

She sighed with the memory.

Shaking her head she looked at the man again. "Sorry. Lost in my thoughts."

She rather hoped this man could get out if he so wished. After all, he seemed very kind.

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