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 Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2006 9:21 am
More laughter. "Yes, you'll be quite the queen! If you want - and, well, if Thorn or Marc doesn't mind paying - I could make you a costume that shows everybody that you're the queen."
Natalie smiled, still holding up the dress. Childhood dreams of grandeur? Cute, but... well... while being a princess had appealed to her, being a ruler hadn't. But maybe she was just odd?
"But Haki, first, do you want to try on this dress? And then we can talk about your own costume!"
Natalie's costume, still very much in pieces, was over on the other side of the room - a blob of different shades of blue and teal fabric, partially sewn, and a half-styled wig nearby.
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Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2006 9:39 am
Haki nodded. Used to getting in and out of clothing and having to stand forever. (she understood the benefits of delayed and prolonged gratification, over the instant kind now.) Slipping out of the long pink skirt and top with a fluidity that alarmed Thorn (where had she learnt that? TV?) she smiled, raising her arms.
"Yes please!" she crooned again, nodding her head. This was delightful! But she was answering yes to both of it. The dress, and the queen thing. SHe looked over then, at Thorn and he laughed.
"Don't give me Those Eyes." he said, stressing the words. "You know I'll buy it for you. Or Marc will." he smiled easily. "Send me to bill, I'll leave you with my office address, and they'll take care of it."
Haki smiled, and she smirked, just a little bit, hiding it behind a turn of her head as she watched Natalie.
For a moment, Thorn's eyes drifted arond the room and landed on the half finished piece. "Is that a costume...?" he asked. For the party, perhaps? Well, she was certainly well organized.
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Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2006 9:45 am
Natalie looked up from where she was putting the dress on Haki. It was way too big, obviously, but she pinched it in the back so it looked okay on the girl.
"Okay, that works. And yes, that's my masquerade costume. There's not much to it, yet, but I think it'll be pretty, when I finish." For the most part, only the basic dress was finished. The bottom hadn't been dyed, and the bodice hadn't been painted. She still had so much to do - the collar, the "sleeves," the sheer wraps. All of that.
She turned her attention back to Haki.
"Do you like hearts? I could put them on your dress - you could be the Queen of Hearts!" Her eyes sparkled with a slightly morbid humor - had Haki seen Alice in Wonderland? Would she order off with peoples' heads?
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Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2006 9:50 am
Haki raised her arms up so and shifted slightly, standing still, posing almost, in a position the dressmaker Marc took her to always made her stand in. She was almost good at this- she could last a minute or two before starting to fidget, before Marc had to start bribing her to stand still.
"Queen of harts?" she said, phrasing the words in her mouth and coming out with a wide eyed question. It seemed to end in a hiccup, uncertainty really as she tilted her head. What was that?
Was that the queen who ruled hearts? Heartland? It didn't sound very interesting. Or the queen who ruled the hearts of others? And everyone loved each other, right? And didn't hearts... following her mental connection, she brightened.
"Then everybody love Haki?" she asked, delighted at the thought that a simple costume could transform her into the queen that everyone was in love with. Well, that was a miracle!
Thorn smiled. He snickered as he listened to the exchange and as he stared at the costume. "What is it supposed to be?" he had no idea. Some kind of... no, he couldn't even merit a guess. He smiled. "Unless it's supposed to be a surprise?"
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Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2006 10:00 am
"I don't see how anybody could resist falling for you." Natalie smiled.
"You can put your arms down, you know, if you want. I'm not pinning it or anything, unless you want me to." No, she was marking small it should have been to fit her with her eyes, and a deft swipe with a fade-away marker.
"Hm. I'm not sure if I should tell," she said, glancing at Thorn. "After all, isn't the point of a masquerade to fool everybody? Then again, you already know what color I'll be." She laughed a little. "So you'll be able to pick me out of the crowd, no matter what.
"It's based off of a song I like - Ocean Gypsy. And that's all I'm saying."
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Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2006 10:13 am
At her words Haki preened under the attention. Well, she could definitely get used to this! And it was with this frame of mind that she focused on the woman, paying her a lot of attention as she put her arms back down.
Thorn nodded, making an interested noise in his throat. Ocean gypsy/ He had never heard of that, but maybe it wouldn't be hard to guess. Something to do with oceans, hmm? And women.
"Mysterious." he answered wryly, taking note of the material, the fall of what existed to remember this much. Surely the costume could not change radically? And a wig. He could remember the wig.
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Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2006 10:20 am
And possibly, he might notice (and remember) the glint of... metal shackles? nearby.
Natalie was back to focusing on Haki as she watched the girl put her arms back down. "Do you like it? I made it for myself. I don't get many chances to wear it, though." And soon, with all luck, it'll be packed up and shipped out of my life. The thought was still sad, but she was coming to grips with it.
She didn't really need the money from it now, though. Now it was just a sentimental thing.
"You know," she said, after a moment, "I could put the song on. If you wanted me to. Or you could just wait and see." She winked over at Thorn.
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Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2006 10:25 am
Thorn laughed. "I'll wait for the surprise." he answered wrly, nodding his head at the comment.
Haki in the meanwhile, smiled. "Natalie smaaart." she crooned, rewarding her new servant lady with praise. Because it was pretty, and it felt so soft! And it was skinny too. For some reason, her daddy was going through a phase where nothing was shorter than her knees, or lower than her collar bone.
She had no idea why, of course. But she had always thought he was a little bit strange, and so it didn't matter too much to her. Smiling, she nodded her head. "Dress pretty." she said.
"Dress is pretty, isn't it Haki?" Thorn said agreeably, and the child nodded.
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Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2006 10:28 am
Natalie laughed at the comment, smiling at the girl. Then she went back to making little marks on the dress - this was much easier and less annoying than taking traditional measurements.
"When you're a little bigger, I'll make you something similar, okay? Right now, it probably wouldn't fit that well." Well, that was true. You needed a waist and a chest to keep the thing on.
"But I'll make you one, and it'll be whatever color you want. Okay?"
She really did like the design. It was a pity, really. "I'd keep this one for you, but I'm planning on selling it. But I know how to make it, so I can always make another one."
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Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2006 10:33 am
Haki smiled, nodding her head at everything the woman was saying, and everything she wasn't. This was fun! She was glad she had come with Thorn today- and you know, the man was pretty smart, being nice to such a nice lady. Maybe she had a lot she could learn from him.
Hmm. That was a thought.
"Thank you Natalie." she responded on time.
Thorn laughed.
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Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2006 10:37 am
"You're very welcome, Haki," she beamed. "Now. Do you want to try something else on, or go and finish your rootbeer float while I work on designing you some dresses?"
She had all the 'measurements' she needed, after all, and that ice cream must have been mostly melted. Besides, the sooner these two were gone, the sooner she could tidy up and get back to work.
"Maybe I could get you two something to eat for lunch, too?"
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Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2006 10:43 am
Haki beamed. "Roobeear!" she said, mashing the words together in the delighted representation of true heaven. The drink by itself was too bitter for her, but with the creamy ice cream? It was good! "Mo' ice cream, Natalie?" she asked. Last time she had checked, she had almost been running out.
...
Alright. Reaching half counted as almost running out.
Thorn shook his head. "We'll be fine. We need to meet Marc for lunch." he paused. "Would you like to go with us?" he asked. "Marc might be too busy, and it's the least we can do."
Haki looked up though, curious. Thorn was always saying things like that, uninviting her daddy at the last minute.
Silly man. But she liked this woman too. So she went along, walking outside first to reach her drink.
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Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2006 10:51 am
Natalie made sure the girl stepped out of the dress first, and hurried along behind, handing her her shirt and skirt. "If you get dressed again, I'll most certainly get you more ice cream!"
Leaving the clothing with the girl, she skittered off to the kitchen, grabbing the ice cream and a spoon and coming back out. As she added another small scoop to the girl's drink, she looked up, biting her lower lip.
"I... I don't want to ruin any plans you have." But the offer was tempting... "But if you're sure it won't be a problem, I wouldn't mind going. I'll need to change, though - I sort of fell asleep working last night, haven't had a chance to change yet."
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Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2006 10:57 am
Thorn laughed. "It won't be a problem at all." he assured her, grinning as he said so. See? He was so good at acting polite. He nodded his head, deciding he would call Marc while she changed.
Haki in the meanwhile, continued to sit in her underwear as she mixed the ice cream a little bit more with the left over root bear, drinking and licking up the froth more than the ice cream or the root beer.
That was the best part, really.
"Take all the time you need." he assured her, and smiled. "Haki and I can keep each other company."
Haki looked up at her name, and blinked.
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Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2006 11:01 am
"All right. Just give me one moment, then." Smiling, she put the ice cream back in the freezer and disappeared back into her bed room.
A few minutes and a running sink later, Natalie emerged, tying back her hair, in the flirty black spaghetti-strap dress she'd worn that day in the garden with Dacian. The rebirth dress, as she'd taken to thinking of it. She slipped her feet into kitten-heel black sandels on the way over.
"There we go." She twirled, the skirt flaring up around her thighs. "Like it, Haki? I made this one, too."
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