First Stitch (Reignfinite)

It was exactly 8:00 in the morning. It was a nice day, perfect actually. Clear skies, a cool breeze, and the hustle and bustle of the city. Ivah Grace took a step back and surveyed the front of her shop through half-lidded eyes, looking bored as she took in the sight before her. Inside though, she felt like throwing up.

'Okay, everything looks alright so far. The women's display is gorgeous,' she reassured herself as she glanced at the display to her left, 'and so is the men's.' There were seven mannequins in total, three in the men's window display and four in the women's. Ivah glanced at the articles of clothing she placed on the mannequins and bit her cheek. She had chosen her best pieces for the display. A flowing ballroom gown the color of dark oak wood with golden accents on the sleeves and skirt, a cream strapless cocktail dress made out of the finest silk she had on hand, a black English cut suit with a matching navy blue tie she made hersel-- 'OH MY GOD, WHERE'S THE TIE?!' Ivah mentally screeched. She briskly entered the shop, her black pumps clacking against the wooden floor. Her green eyes darted around the shop. 'Aha!' she thought triumphantly as she spotted the missing piece on the counter.

Ivah affixed the tie on the fashion dummy and circled it, nodding in approval. She stepped back out of the shop and surveyed it again. 'Oh my gosh, did I fasten the signage on properly?' She thought and slowly lifted her head to look at the gold and bronze sign above the entrance. The Red Thread. There was also a smaller sign beneath it reading NOW OPEN. She stared at the signage, expecting it to fall off at any second. After a while, she sighed and ran her fingers through her curly brown hair.

"Okay, so the signage isn't going to fall off, the floors have been polished, I've double checked and triple checked my stocks of cloth, and the display looks perfect," she muttered to herself. She gave a small sigh. "Oh, something is bound to go horribly wrong," she mumbled to herself as she affixed another handwritten sign on the doorway. Help Wanted. She gave the sign one last look, and then she entered the shop, prepared herself for her first day of work. 'That is if I even get any customers today,' she thought wryly as her heels clacked against the floor.

Ivah sighed as she picked imaginary lint from her maroon pencil skirt. She was slouching in her seat, drumming her manicured nails against the counter top when she heard the bell ring. 'A customer!' Her eyes widened. She quickly straightened her back and brushed a stray lock of curly brown hair away from her face just in time. She looked curiously at the girl who entered her shop.

"Hello, I saw the sign outside and I was wondering if I could apply for said help?"

'Oh,' Ivah thought as she deflated a little, even though her outward appearance didn't show any indication of her slight disappointment. "I see," she said professionally and looked her over with half-lidded eyes. "Well, you have good fashion sense," she stated and then hummed thoughtfully. Ivah leaned on the counter on her elbows and stared at the girl's chocolate brown eyes with her own green orbs. "Tell me about yourself," she drawled, her head tilted sideways a bit.

In Ivah's opinion, the best way to choose an employee was to hear them talk about themselves, mostly because she often relied on her powers for these kinds of things. People who were too arrogant or selfish were no good. People who were dishonest and tried to lie straight to her face had no chance of working for her either. Thanks to her powers as an empath, she could easily get rid of these types. She idly wondered if the girl belonged to either category as Ivah waited for her to start talking.

Ivah listened closely, even though she looked disinterested (to be fair though, she always looks disinterested). 'A... siren?' she was a bit shocked but her expression remained the same, appearance not giving anything away. She gave Aria a slight nod as she took the resume from her. 'Well, she's honest at least,' she thought as she browsed the page which contained the usual save for an education background. She sounded friendly too.

Ivah hummed as she scanned the resume again. "There's nothing here saying you have any experience in sewing or designing clothes. Can I assume that you're alright with getting a clerical position?" she asked professionally.

'I could ask her to model some designs as well,' the brunette mused as she regarded Aria's height and pleasant features. 'She's certainly pretty enough,' she thought as she noted her prospective employee's long lashes and wavy blonde hair. 'Although,' her eyes glanced at Aria's arms and waist briefly, 'maybe for a more athletic line of clothing.'

"Oh, sure. Why not? Also, I'm good with my hands so it's cool if I also undergo a bit of training."

Ivah's lips twitched upward, feeling Aria's enthusiasm as if it was her own. It was one of the perks of being an empath. The more positive the feeling, the better you feel in response. However, she also felt the blonde's slight disappointment. Ivah wasn't exactly sure what Aria was disappointed about, but the feeling was so small compared to her enthusiasm, so the seamstress decided that it wasn't that big of a deal.

"So what shall I call you, ma'am?"

"You can call me Ivah," she gave the siren a friendly smile, but inside she was repeatedly hitting herself for forgetting to freaking introduce herself to a prospective employee. "Why don't we discuss this somewhere else?" she asked Aria as she walked around the counter 'Oh my gosh! That was so embarrassing. Ugh,' she thought, leading the siren to one of the couches occupying the store. "Please, sit." She gestured towards the couch and sat on another.

"Before you undergo training, I'll show you where everything is located. If you have time tomorrow, I could give you a brief tour of the shop," Ivah said, crossing her legs and placing her hands on her lap, trying to appear as professional as she could in order to make up for her earlier embarrassment (that's what she thought anyway). "I guess I could teach you a bit about the basics of dressmaking, but I'll mostly need you at the counter entertaining customers." She briefly explained Aria's duties as a clerk and as a shop helper. "Ah, I'll also show you how to take body measurements accurately," she added, briefly wondering if sirens used the metric or the imperial system of measurement.

"Now, before we move on to discussing your salary, do you have any questions you'd like to address?"

Ivah lips twitched upward when she felt the siren's excitement grow. 'At least I've got someone enthusiastic,' she mused, feeling some of Aria's excitement mix with her own, making her more eager to work with the blonde.

Ivah nodded, her face not changing but inside, she was still so in awe about the different creatures living on the island. 'That's... so cool!' she thought, envying Aria a little for not having to buy any skin product to keep her skin rejuvenated. All she had to do was soak in ocean water. "Well, you can have the Sundays off, maybe you could even have the Saturdays off when I get another helper, unless there's a big order coming up and I would need some help but," she paused, thinking about it a little. "But on the off chance that you don't get any Sundays off in time, I'll give you a two day break. Is that alright?" She asked, wanting to clarify before she made anything official.

Ivah was curious about one thing though. 'Do sirens really have sound magic?' she asked herself, staring at Aria subtly. 'I mean, she said she got famous through the music industry, right? So, what if she used her powers there? Isn't that technically cheating?' a tiny furrow appeared between her eyebrows and her lips parted slightly, the only outward indications that she was deep in thought.