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Eirian was nervous. Probably more nervous than they had been in a long while. They had gotten used to being ignored or treated with caution depending on people's opinions. Even back when they were growing up Hallowed, Eirian hadn't cared about what others thought.

But the masquerade had provided an opportunity for Eirian to feel free of judgement and make a new friend. A friend who had offered herself up as a model to help Eirian with their dream to be a fashion designer. It was hard not to come in to this meeting with hope that Sally would keep her offer even after seeing Eirian without their mask.

When Sally walked into the cafe it was easy for Eirian to know who she was. Her small stature was unique and after meeting her Eirian had looked up the introduction of the Cherubs to be aware of what she might look like outside of the masquerade.

"Sally," Eirian said while standing to meet her after she turned away from the counter with her purchases. "Um, hi. Thanks for meeting me." Eirian tried their best to be casual and not allow their nerves to show. They had to put faith in the idea that Sally was kind enough to stay to at least talk.

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Eirian glanced down at the cinnamon roll Sally was holding. It was rather large especially in comparison to her hands. Moving in to action, Eirian moved to grab the plate with the pastry. "Here, let me grab that for you. It looks like you're struggling with it."

"Yeah, I got here a little early to, uh, prepare." Eirian nodded to indicate the table behind them which was covered in papers on one side. They smiled shyly before carefully pushing all the papers together so as to take up less room. The table was a booth big enough for two people per side, but Eirian indicated with a gesture of their hand that Sally was to sit on the side that had remained clear of papers. "So how are you today? It's gotten kind of chilly lately, huh?"

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"No, you're fine," Eirian said with a shake of their head. They placed the cinnamon roll on the table between them before sitting down. Now that their hands were free they were able to stack the papers more neatly. Most of the papers were filled with drawings of various things but some featured outfit designs drapped on faceless models. The styles were vast showing a lack of direction but lots of insperation. "I barely got a chance to collect all my designs. I really should have taken up my teacher's suggestion to seperate them from my art sketches." Eirian laughed shyly at themself.

"I grew up here so I'm sort of used to it. I do feel like it happened suddenly, though." They took a glance out the window to see passerbys bulded up against the cold. Eirian wrinkled their nose before turning back to Sally. "So, uh... I suppose we should get to discussing things."

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Eirian chuckled, nodding their head in agreement. "I suppose you have a point. Artist is kind of my backup plan if fashion doesn't work out for me." Eirian noticed Sally moving to look at the drawings. They hesitated for a second before passing the papers across the table. Eirian wasn't normally shy about their work but knowing Sally might potentially wear some made it feel different.

"I guess there's the first question that needs to be asked..." Eirian shifted in their seat, unsure how to go about this. Their mouth opened and shut a few times with nothing but sighs coming out. Finally, Eirian straightened their back, look Sally dead in the eye, and blurted out their story. "I don't want to put you in an uncomfortable situation whether you are now or might be after I tell you what I have to tell you.." Eirian leaned forward and lowered their voice to only be heard by Sally while the din of the cafe kept their words from making it past the booth. "Two years ago I was scratched by a cannibalistic Nightmare which caused me to become Infected with their disease. I've been cured but it's not as 100% as we all would like. It only gets bad if I miss more than one dose and there are safeguards to keep that from happening, but I still need to make sure you're okay with doing this now that you know the truth."

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Eirian sat back with a sigh of relief. They had been so afraid of telling Sally about their condition they almost didn't say anything. But their parents had made them promise not to keep anyone in the dark. It wouldn't be fair, all three had said. Eirian was so thankful Sally was okay with it, with them.

Eirian rested their chin in their hand before closing their eyes. They seemed to focus on breathing for a moment. When Eirian finally lowered their hands and looked at Sally, it was clear to see they were blinking back tears. "Thank you," Eirian said with a soft smile. "Your acceptance is all I need." Eirian removed their chin from their hand to rest it on top of Sally's. They gave it a quick squeeze then coughed to clear the mood.

"Right, the outfits." Eirian gently pulled their hands from Sally's and made to sort out the sketches they had made. "I've mostly been trying to think up outfits that fit with the races that will be wearing them." Eirian pointed out the very floral looking skirt on a fey to indicate what they meant. "That started thanks to watching a lot of fashion shows. I kind of want to step out of that, though, and I want to try being more... daring. I think that would work better for my portfolio. Would you be okay with that? It could be a lot of fun." Eirian smiled devilishly at Sally, a striking difference in attitude from just a moment ago.

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"If I was honest" Eirian started, "I don't really know where to start." They laughed lightly at themselves before sitting back against the booth. "I have all these ideas but not really sure which way is the best direction." Eirian gestured wildly as if to indicate all the thoughts coming from their head. They sighed and lowered their hands.

"I would still want to keep your feathers out. I'm sure they feel just as uncomfortable as my wings about being confined in ways they don't want." Eirian leaned across the table to better inspect Sally. "You have very nice features that would probably lend themselves to almost anything." They pursed their lips in thought for a moment. "Do you have any objections to any sort of style or material? An allergy you might know of or suspect? I don't want to make you uncomfortable"

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Eirian nodded with grim acceptance. "I'm sure you're right. For now, I'll just keep sketching. I'll let you know when I've finally got my focus."

As Sally started talking about her preferences, Eirian suddenly found themselves with concepts popping in their head. They grabbed a piece of paper that was mostly empty to quickly jot down what Sally said and make note of their ideas. This was the very reason why Eirian always kept pencils on their person. Eirian would still need to sit at their desk to give form to things, but their hand was already itching to start.

Eirian looked back up at Sally to focus back on the present. "Someone from Above? I would like to say yes but I should probably meet them first." Eirian looked shy, unlike their usual self. "I'll need to make sure they'll be okay with ... me. Plus let them know what will come with being a model for me."

"Speaking of which, are you okay with me taking your photo once I've got pieces for you to wear? I'll need to document the finished projects for my portfolio." Eirian smiled, hope in their eyes. They knew not everyone liked getting their pictures taken, but they hoped Sally wouldn't mind since she had volunteered to be their model.