every_blossom_blooming | (no subject)

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Nina stood outside A Stitch In Time for a moment, considering and hugging a folder to her chest. Then she pushed the door open, glancing back at the bell as she passed through. It wasn't the first shop she'd walked into that had one, but she rather liked the sound of that one.

She hesitated just inside the door. She'd never quite done anything like this before, not for herself, and she wasn't entirely sure how to go about it other than by what she could guess from past clients or Kaz Brekker.

And she didn't often ask Kaz Brekker for advice on anything. But at least he had given her the name of his tailor.

The day saw her in a dress to suit the weather, though she had started carrying around a shawl with her at all times, just in case.

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The shop didn't have a back room, so when the bell over the door rang, Krem was sitting at one of the drafting tables mid-shop, in the midst of hand-stitching sleeves on a blouse. He did not glance up initially, though he was aware of the young woman--or rather, he was aware of her in the way he was often aware of mages, a sort of curious sense that Tevinters especially were keenly aware of because you had to be, as a soporati.

Besides, most people that he didn't know on sight tended to want to browse the example clothing, the colorful bats of fabric, and the small accessory items he made in batches for rack sale before they spoke to him, so he tended to give them a moment.

When he'd reached a good place to pause in his work, he set the whole blouse aside, and approached the young woman with a soft, friendly smile.

Well, at least he was handsome. That alone was worth the trip. Nina offered a smile, as warm and pleasant as she could make it. First impressions were so important, after all. She held out her hand.

"Kaz Brekker recommended you. And while normally I would take his recommendation for anything with an entire tub of salt, he does always dress very well. And that hasn't changed at all since he's been here... I'd even say it's gotten better."

Well, maybe that wasn't the best introduction but there she was. She stifled a blush.

"I'm Nina, and I'm hoping you can help me."

She was awful forward. Krem laughed around his smile and shook her hand. He rather liked Kaz, as strange as he was, and he'd come to like Inej in the few times that he'd met her, but neither of them were particularly demonstrative people. He'd heard about Nina, a little bit, from both of them. And he was more than happy that she'd heard about him.

"Pleased to meet you. Call me Krem. Come over to the table, we'll talk about what your plans are?"

A little smirk tugged her mouth and she squeezed Krem's hand before letting go.

"I want to warn you right now that I'm still working on my income, but I thought I could show you some things and if you're comfortable with payments, I can do that."

Nina followed Krem to his table and set down the folder she had. She opened it to reveal some sketches - her own, mostly. "This place has so many things I couldn't have even dreamed of having in Ketterdam, but... there are things from home I miss."

She opened the folder and the first image was a red kefta: a real one, not like the silk nonsense she'd had to wear at the White Rose. She'd written down fabric thoughts, made sure the red color was as close as she could find and the black details were clear.

"I have no reason to wear something like this in Darrow, I suppose... and maybe it isn't the same as the one I would have gotten at the Little Palace but-- but I think I would feel better to even have it in my closet."

Krem looked over the sketches as Nina spoke, letting her say what she wanted to. She didn't say what the outfit was exactly, but it reminded him a little bit of the things some of the Magisters wore, with its flowing sleeves and intricate embroidery.

He considered her choices in fabrics and colors as well. The colors, at least, were easiest to work with. Presumably, as well, he could dye something to suit.

"Sometimes, it's not about the reason. It's about having something that feels a bit like home." Krem nodded a bit at that. "Let's look at the fabrics, shall we. Is it two piece then--a coat over a dress? Or just one piece?"

"It's traditionally one piece that can be worn over other things if a Grisha is so inclined. I have another sketch of the winter version. I'd eventually like both... but maybe the winter one is a little more important if the weather turns."

She lightly touched Krem's arm before he got up and flipped to another page, showing a long, dress-like coat with even more longer sleeves that were open to the elbow. "These were typically wool."

Krem paused at her touch and let her show him, attentive as he ought to be--and if he was maybe a little more attentive because she had a good face, well he was sure that she knew she could probably get away with a lot of things.

"Let's look over my stock, and see if we can't find something that's a bit close to what you're looking for."

"You're the expert." Nina let her hand slide away and followed Krem when he left the desk. "This is all over my head," she confessed. "I just know what I want, and I also know that fitting things to someone like me takes a little extra effort."

The pre-made clothes here were good, most of the time. Sometimes she wondered what shape of person they had been designed for, because sometimes she found things in her size that didn't fit all of her the way she thought they ought.

These were two pieces she wasn't going to leave to chance. Maybe she'd never find herself back in the Second Army, but she missed her kefta and she longed for something to wear in winter that reminded her of home.

"Oh, that's giving me an awful lot of liberty and credit I might not deserve, Miss Nina. I'm the craftsman, certainly, but I don't think anyone is the expert."

He said nothing about someone like her. He'd tailored to far more strangely shaped people than she was. Her curves were, in fact, quite a welcome change in some ways. He could admire all the straight, broad plains he wanted. Sometimes, you wanted to look at a bit different topography.

He brought her over to the wall of fabric, feeling along it until he found the heavier wool blends. "These will be the ones better for the exterior. And--we definitely do have it in that red."

"I'm sure you have some expertise or another," she quips as she follows him to the wall of fabric. She reaches to touch the wool on offer, letting her fingers drift until she finds something that feels familiar.

"Something like this," she says, deciding on the vivid red she remembered. Like fresh blood.

Krem let her feel over the fabrics. It was an important part, especially for someone working from memory, or from an imagined piece. He pulled the bolt from the wall with ease, and set it aside, and then moved along to the black fabrics.

"The lining," he said, "and the accents, right? Black is a difficult color--or it can be. True black is almost impossible, at least without the help of magic. But we do what we can. Do you imagine those accents as embroidery? How do you want the lining to feel against your skin?"

"The accents were embroidered," she remembered. "The lining was like silk or satin, but I suppose I don't need anything that fine here. Especially if I have to pay for it," she sighed. She realized that probably sounded a little spoiled, but the Little Palace had given her so much.

She thought of the Fabrikators that could probably make the true black Krem was speaking of.

"Something that will breathe well enough is fine."

Krem smiled, because it was a precious consideration, he knew. He moved away from the silks in the arrays of black, and found the cottons. They weren't so luminous, but they would breathe, especially under the wool. And he had one in particular with a lovely silver rayon thread scattered into the weave of it.

He pulled that, slightly, from the shelf to show her.

"It isn't quite traditional," he hazarded, and then his smile became a bit of a smirk. "But sometimes, traditions are meant to be bent a little bit."

"I like it," she said with a smile. The cotton had sheen to it but it was still cotton, and would breathe well beneath the wool. The last think she wanted was to be soaked with sweat in her lovely winter coat.

"I know this is a job for you, but I do appreciate the time."

"Of course. It is my job, but this part of it is probably one of the most important. If I don't find out what you want, then you won't be happy with the results. And if you're willing to spend this sort of money on something--no matter how it's paid out--then it should be something you're happy with."

Krem pulled the bolt of cotton off the shelf and put it with the crimson wool. He would get the thread and notions after he'd gotten her measurements and sent her on her way.

For now, Krem smiled at Nina and ushered her toward his measuring platform. "I hope you don't mind. Figure we might as well cover all the important parts today. Do you plan on wearing boots with this, or would you prefer something that you could wear without as well?"

"I'd certainly wear boots with it, but I can't imagine they'd be high heeled ones very often. Let's plan for more or less flat footwear." And if her boots showed from beneath the coat she didn't think it'd bother her.

Nina stepped onto the measuring platform. It had been a while since she'd had anything properly tailored to her figure.

With that consideration, Krem settled into it. He measured along Nina's spine, from the nape of her neck to her ankles, and then again from her nape to the small of her back. From shoulder to fingertips, and to wrists. Around the arm at the shoulder and wrist, around the neck.

He smiled, briefly at her between each set of numbers and, before he began the more intimate set of measurements, he asked, "Are you comfortable? I can tell you how to take the next few measurements yourself if you prefer. Not everyone likes someone else so close."

Measuring Kaz, for instance, had been a special practice in speed.

"I don't mind," she assured.

She'd been fitted for keftas since she started training, with new measurements taken whenever she had a growth spurt. So Nina held her arms out so Krem had room to work to measure her bust, waist, and hips.

"Unlike Mister Brekker, I won't start growling if you take more than two seconds."

"It's less the growling, and more the horse-kicks, that I worry about," Krem quipped, but it was so bluntly deadpan that it might as well have been serious.

Nina spread her arms, and Krem worked professionally, or as professionally as one could when measuring the curves of an attractive, buxom young woman.

"I suppose he would kick, wouldn't he?" She rolled her eyes, a smirk quirking his mouth. "Well, I'm not nearly so rude, especially when you're being so professional."

She'd definitely dealt with tailors that tried to get a little feel, or just stared. Maybe she had kicked one or two of those. Or done a little worse with a flick of her fingers.

Krem would be the first to admit that there had been more than a few times that he had pushed the boundaries of professionality and familiarity. He tended to do it with people he was familiar with, or ones that he thought he could get away with it. He thought he might have been able to linger at Nina's waist or hips a moment or two longer than was truly necessary.

He wasn't going to.

He smiled as he stepped away from her, jotting down the last of her measurements, and considering her sketches. "Do you mind if I keep these until I get the drafting done? I should be able to get you in for a rough fitting by...the end of next week? And we can discuss the price of the piece then. I'll have the drafting done, and it will give me an idea on the actual cost."

"Oh, of course. You could keep them indefinitely, if you'd like. Though I might be a bit mean and say I'd rather you not use the design for anyone else... it's very special to me. To where I come from."

Nina wasn't sure what she'd do if she saw anyone wearing something that looked like a kefta. Get her hopes up, for one. Suffer disappointment, for another. And probably get a bit petty.

"I'd hate to accidentally recreate it because I have the sketch around," he said with a smile and a shake of his head. "Better to hand over all original ideas to their creator so their out of my hands once the drafting is done."

He grabbed his scheduling book and jotted a few notes, then looked up at Nina. "I'll see you next Friday, around four o'clock? I should have the drafting done, so we can do the first fitting. It won't be to color, but it ought to be to weight. You'll have an idea of how it feels, more or less."

"Perfect. Thank you, my dear. I can't wait to see the next step."

Nina smiled, pleased and excited and-- and just happy that she might ave something of her own that reminded her of home. "Do you need my contact information or anything?"

"Oh, yes, just on the back here," Krem said with a soft lift. He grabbed one of his business cards and flipped it over, where there were a few blank lines, specifically for this reason--either to receive his information, or a client's. He handed Nina a pen with a smile.

Nina carefully wrote her name and her phone number for him, her handwriting the precise hand of someone accustomed to sending reports that must be read.

"Excellent," she said as she stood up straight again, her green eyes bright with expectation. "I can't wait to see what we can make together, Cremisius."

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