The tailor shop was… actually pretty nice. Smelled of cloth and dye, but not unpleasantly. Various materials and patterns of cloth were on display, from basic undyed linen to fine screen-printed silk. It took a great deal of restraint not to touch everything.
“Touching the samples is fine, Xiang. Just don’t-”
*Fwumph*
“Shift and bury yourself in everything.”
Heh. Whoops.
A woman laughed behind the counter, and I could sense something… other… about her. She was a cultivator, but she also wasn’t any more human than I was.
“I appreciate the compliment little rabbit, but you should be more careful about spontaneously shifting like that.”
Mistress merely shook her head, and locked the front of the building up.
“Obviously, these two need your special touch, Mistress Fu. Clothes that will shift with them and wear well. I’d add them looking nice, but we both know it would be an insult to suggest you’d let anyone walk out of this shop looking less than their best.”
Mistress Fu laughed, and I tried to get a better gauge on her. Not human. Not even mammal. She felt like some kind of bird, but I couldn’t quite place…
“A crow?” Huh. Yeah, I think Kaoru was right. And by the bawdy laugh the tailor gave, apparently we had it.
“These two are entirely too clever for their own good. But then, most of us who make any real progress cultivating are. How are things up in the valley?”
“Quite well, especially with Xiang here to keep our more unruly students in line. She’s an absolute terror to our initiates.”
“Only the one! And he deserves it!”
Mistress Fu laughed, apparently something she did easily. It did have some notes of a crow’s bawdy tone, now that I knew what to listen for.
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“I’m glad to hear it. Things in Rivermill are blessedly quiet, especially since you took that idiot son of the lord off for training. My family’s glad for the break from his self-important drabble.”
“Huh. Li’s from here? My condolences. I’m working on breaking him right now. Well, I’ve got a substitute handling him right this minute, but they won’t be taking it too easy on him. He’s kind of hated around the monastery.”
Mistress Fu’s laughter only kept going. “I might have to fly over and watch sometime, maybe bomb him while he’s training. How hard are you working him?”
“To death,” Mistress Song replied, “and enjoying every moment of it.”
“Hey, I let him sleep!”
“For two hours. Honestly Xiang, if he doesn’t break through soon you really will kill him with that death march you call training.”
Mistress Fu shook her head. “Like master, like disciple. The fox over there is a bit more subtle, I don’t doubt.”
Kaoru pulled her hand back from a red silk, like she’d been caught stealing it. “I, well, uh… mostly, you see…”
Another crow laugh. “Don’t be so shocked, girl. It’s a compliment not to be compared to those two muscleheads. I’ve known Song since we were both Novices, and she’s always been the sort to beat a problem to death. Now come here and let me take your measurements. My husband’s the cobbler, he’ll see to your feet.”
So we settled in, and worked out designs and measures over the next couple of hours. A few days later, Kaoru had three sets of fitted robes in a fine yet durable linen for training, all in pale blues and rich greens that contrasted her light skin and vibrantly red hair. She also had a very tight dress in deep blue that hugged and emphasized her figure, with a slit up the leg that terminated just high enough to show off her preference for avoiding undergarments. This was emphasized with stockings that reached her upper thigh, and heeled ankle boots that emphasized the shape of her legs.
My own training robes were simpler, a particularly long upper coat Mistress Fu called a gi, with knit leggings that ended in comfortable knee boots. In all, very comfortable, flexible, and functional.
But that’s not what I was wearing. No, I had on my own pretty dress, which consisted of a light blouse, frilly skirt, and something Mistress Fu called a corset. Kind of stiff, but not overly tight or uncomfortable. And I’m sure the leather would break in over time. My boots were the same, as were the fingerless gloves I’d chosen, which went up almost to my elbows and afforded both comfort and protection using the hides of my dead brethren.
Yeah, all the leather was from rabbit pelts. And yes, I’m alright with this. I might not eat meat, but that’s biology more than some squeamish hangup about taking a life to sustain my own. Rabbits mulitply fast, our low survival rate is a key factor to maintaining ecological balance.
But now that Kaoru and I were dressed in clothes that would fit, and looking absolutely fine, Mistress Song called us forward, dressed in her own finery.
It was time for a night on the town.