open § everything i'm not made me everything i am

[designerebel]

[ OPTION ONE ]

Ask and you shall receive. It's been months ago that Cinna has requested an area to work in. The hotel has given him a space on the first floor near the cafe. Supplies have been gathered and the space redone to accommodate Cinna and his craft. That's right, there's officially a clothier's shop in the hotel. Cinna is indeed in his element.

Upon first entry to the shop it looks very unassuming and casual. There's the mixed aroma of freshly brewed tea and coffee as well as some pastries brought over from the cafe. The front half of the shop holds everyday clothes that seem to be the norm of what most of the people in the hotel wear, things like tees and sweaters and jeans and shorts. In the middle of the shop there's a round dark mahogany table with three high-backed plush armchairs around it. The armchairs are cushioned black with golden embellishments. Toward the back is where Cinna's influence shows through more prominently; clothing, both everyday and formal with unique and futuristic flares and touches. It's Couture at its finest. There are tall, large mirrors in the back as well as dressing rooms.

It should also be noted that as he has befriended both Milady and Aramis, there is attire befitting both men and women from their time period in Paris. Beautiful gowns and carefully stitched shirtsleeves and doublets. Cinna is always accommodating and will take special orders all day every day.

Outside of the space is a bracket with a swinging sign placard bearing the shop's name in an elegant golden script: Design by Cinna.

Cinna can almost always be found at the mahogany table in the center of the shop, sitting in one of the chairs with material draped over his lap and needle and thread in hand. He'll welcome anyone to his new shop. Please feel free to stop by!


[ OPTION TWO ]

Oftentimes Cinna can be found in the conservatory, sitting among the plant life and sketching new designs. It's peaceful in there. He'll greet and chit chat with most anyone who happens upon him.

However, one day he opens a door that he thinks goes to his hotel room but finds himself in the outdoors instead. The environment is boisterous and loud, crowds walking through fairways and strange music in the air. The sky is blue overhead, with the occasional cloud here and there. There are shops and tents and big contraptions with some kind of transport on them that has people screaming as they zip over rails.

Cinna, coming from Panem, has never seen anything like it. A man comes by and offers him a stick with a ball of pink cotton on top of it. What is it? He sees someone else with something similar eating the cotton. So he pinches some off and puts it in his mouth. The sugary sweetness surprisingly melts in his mouth.

Certainly, a place such as this can't be anything bad, right? Cinna is off to explore the amusement park.

Comments

Re: Option One

[designerebel]

She may not have seen him, but Cinna sees her. He's a master of noticing things unnoticed though. Such is the life of a double agent. Of course Cinna remembers Chiana. He isn't one to bombard a person the second they enter a shop though. So for awhile he lets her walk around while he continues his work at the table in the center of the room. You can learn a lot about a person by watching what they gravitate toward if given the opportunity to do so.

Once she seems to linger toward the back of the shop for a time, Cinna stands and sets his things on the table and on his seat. He walks over to her, a small, soft smile playing on his lips. "Hello. Chiana, right? It's good to see you again."

[nebaritralk]

Chiana had just been about to stuff a top down her corset when she hears footsteps, and she turns around a little sharply - but then again, she tends to move sharply as a rule. Her head's cocked to the side, and she laughs at Cinna, her usual shrill little laugh. "You've come a long way from asking about fabric in the library."

[designerebel]

While Cinna would hope that people wouldn't steal from him, he isn't naive enough to think that it won't ever happen. On top of that, he's a gracious enough person to help out of someone is truly in need and has nothing to pay. While the thought that he might have caught her doing something questionable is in the back of his mind, for the most part he thinks he might have simply snuck up on her.

"My apologies, I didn't mean to startle you." He says with a contrite nod.

"Yes, well... patience and hard work pay off, especially when you're passionate about something." He looks around the shop once more, taking in the newness of it. He's most pleased about it. And it is his passion. "I'm thankful to have it. It helps to keep my hands busy. I trust you've been well?"

[nebaritralk]

"Well, I'm still stuck here," Chiana answers, with a sharp grin that isn't really about amusement or joy. "But I like your designs!" She holds up the top in her hands as an example.

[designerebel]

"It's good to make the best of the situation, whatever it may be, stuck or not." Hence the new shop. Cinna needs work. He needs to keep busy. He needs to do more than just exist in a space. This gives him a purpose beyond just existing and he'd really needed that more than he'd realized. It might not be so noble as rebellion against a dictator, but making someone feel their best self through fashion is a good purpose as well.

Even if Cinna could go home, he isn't sure he would want to go there and stay. Although, he knows that that isn't the same for everyone. Not everyone's home is so deplorable.

He smiles when she says she likes her designs. The top she's holding is a ribbed corset like top, made of shimmering material and embellished with iridescent beading that changes colors depending on how the light hits it. He gestures to a dressing room. "Would you like to try it on? I could fit it to your frame so that it feels like a second skin."

[nebaritralk]

"Not sure I could afford it," Chiana says with a brief smile, and then laughs again, her usual odd little giggle. It's more punctuation than amusement.

She does love the top, though.

"Where'd you find the fabric?" She's been to a lot of places, but she's never seen and felt something quite like it.

[designerebel]

"Oh, I'm certain we could work something out." After all, most people have jobs in the hotel to maintain their lives here. Those hotel jobs pay, he's learned. Aside from that, Cinna is always happy to work with people, especially when an item of clothing seems to really belong to someone. It isn't always about money with Cinna.

The fabric is another story. "This particular fabric is from Panem, my home. But much of the fabric here is also hotel supplied as this is officially a hotel funded business. I've also traveled to Paris to get some of the fabric. It's amazing what you can find through some of the doors here."

He slips his fingertips over the fabric of the top. It shimmers in different hues with the change of light. "May I ask where you are employed in the hotel?" Perhaps she'd like to work here.

[nebaritralk]

Chiana grins again. "Nowhere. I do my thing on the other side of Doors, mostly." Her thing. She'd rather keep it vague, given how illegal some of her thing can be.

[designerebel]

It's easy for Cinna to see that she doesn't elaborate for a reason. He isn't really one for pressing matters that don't affect him personally. He usually needs a reason to delve deeper. There doesn't seem to be one here so he respects Chiana's privacy. If she ever decides to let him in on what her thing is, she'll do so of her own volition.

However, since she does have a source of income, he sets the offer of working here on the back-burner for now. He doesn't want to infringe on her time either. Income does, however, mean that there's a way to pay for clothing.

Cinna nods slowly. "I understand. Perhaps we could set up a payment schedule or work in trade. If you come across unique fabrics, perhaps I could trade some of my work for them."

[nebaritralk]

"How about - " Chiana hesitates, which isn't very like her, but it's not like she's held a decent job for more than two weeks in her life. "Would you need someone? Here?" She means in the shop, and not in his bed, for once; she thinks Nerri would like the thought of her leaving all that behind. And she finds that maybe she wouldn't mind it herself, either. But asking after something she's realised she really wants makes her feel self-conscious, and this time the shift of her hips from side to side is a sign of hesitation.

[designerebel]

His brows lift just a bit in surprise. But of course he quickly nods and offers Chiana a small, kind smile. "Of course. It will be nice to have company here. And I know you appreciate fashion as I do." In some ways they appreciate it in similar ways. In some ways they're very different if just by circumstance.

Cinna knows the power of fashion in the necessity of survival, in the vein of spurring on a revolution.

"I'll file the paper work and you will receive payment for working here. I'll be glad to have you on if you think you can handle my eccentricities."

[nebaritralk]

Chiana laughs again, because it's so odd, the thought of having a real job, proper work, nothing like what she's used to. There's something exhilarating about the thought. "What kind of eccentricities?" she asks after a beat, half flirting, half really wanting to know.

[designerebel]

"Well I'm afraid I'm somewhat of a perfectionist to begin with." Many artistic types are not. Cinna likes order, a byproduct of living in a world where so little was in his control. He learned to control what he could. "I like things to be neat and I like to only create the highest quality product."

He offers her another kind smile. "I suppose that's the worst of it. Do you think we can still work together?" He does hope so. It will be nice to have some company.

[nebaritralk]

Not exciting eccentricities. Not even very eccentric at all. Chiana sways on the spot, and tilts her head to the side. "Let's find out?"

[designerebel]

"I would like that very much." Cinna says. He remembers the ribbed corset he'd seen Chiana working on the first time they had met. "I've already had a glimpse of some of your talents, after all."

[nebaritralk]

Chiana laughs again, because that's not a line she usually hears about her sewing skills. "When do I start?"

[designerebel]

"How does tomorrow sound?" Because of course he wants to give her and himself some time to prepare. There's really no hurry.

[nebaritralk]

"I've always been a bigger fan of right now," Chiana answers with a small, nervous chuckle; she might be pushing her luck.

[designerebel]

"Well then." Cinna offers Chiana a soft smile and a slight nod. Cinna is usually a workhorse. He works while here and while he's off work. Keeping his hands busy helps him to keep his mind busy as well. Cinna doesn't do well being idle. He can appreciate that in Chiana as well.

He gestures to the shop. "You are free to man the shop then. And of course you're free to use any of the materials and supplies in the back room to design and create your own ideas."

[nebaritralk]

Chiana was about to ask how exactly you manned a shop - she could pretend pretty well, she was sure, but she figured he'd want more than pretend - but then she was distracted by his next words. "My - my own ideas?"