[PRP] Rotten Luck (Goran + Ichta)

[Tsunake]

Goran had nothing but the filthy clothes on his back when he'd arrived at High Reaches, so to be given a sevendays set of clean clothes... Well, the big man had been humbled and grateful both. True, they were a little small on him, but he certainly wasn't going to complain. His studies were going well enough, though Goran wished he was progressing more quickly. Reading and writing seemed so easy, to others. It was little wonder that people thought him stupid, when he couldn't do something so basic...

His teacher, at least, had informed him that it was hardly his fault that he had never been taught. A lack of education had nothing to do with intelligence, and as long as Goran continued to focus hard on his studies, he would do well.

Things were going well. In fact, it could be even considered a good day! You know, up until the point that his new shirt had snagged on a sharp corner and promptly torn. Holding the bottom hem, Goran had it pulled out slightly to stare at the rip with such a disgruntled frown, as though trying to figure out how to salvage the situation.

He sure didn't know how to sew, much less have a needle and thread handy. Perhaps if he glared hard enough at the rip, it would fix itself....

demon_pachabel

-finger pistols-

 

[demon_pachabel]

The care of a baby dragon wasn't something that I chat had exactly been versed in when she'd been Searched and brought to the Weyr. While she certainly wasn't the only one that wasn't Weyrborne, there was still something about having to read up on it when one was constantly surrounded by them that was....a little strange.

But still, it made good reading material as she idly stitched during any meal, so she'd carefully stashed a needle and a length of thread in the book as a bookmark - solely because it seemed a pair of open hands with which to mend simple things were needed more often than not...and it was easier to carry that way than to have a sewing needle in one pocket.

Ichta had been heading down towards one of the open common areas when she'd spotted the large man whom she'd met not that long previously...he was just staring. Not at her, but at...his shirt? While she could be quiet when she wanted to be, there was certainly no silent creeping as she moved closer, pausing at Goran's side to peer down as well.

Then she slowly looked up at him. "I could fix that," she said quietly with a tilt of the head.

Tsunake

 

[Tsunake]

So focused on his inability to fix his current situation, the big man found himself jerking minutely with surprise when a small voice spoke up at his side. He dropped his gaze immediately, and found himself staring at the young woman he'd met only a few nights ago. The woman whose name he still didn't know, and hadn't really tried to find out.

She'd been counting fabric threads... He'd gone through the motions with her, but he couldn't say he'd been actually counting. Still, did that mean she could make clothes? It seemed reasonable, even though he'd hardly put two and two together at the time. The big man frowned down at her, weighing her words. Why would she bother to help him? Simply because it was something she was good at? That made enough sense to him, and after a moment, Goran shifted his weight.

He easily stripped his shirt off, exposing an extremely muscular chest littered with scars. Work in the mines would do that. He didn't seem to be even remotely shy about being bare-chested in front of her, holding his shirt out silently.

If she could fix it, it would save him a lot of trouble.

demon_pachabel

 

[demon_pachabel]

If there had been a Pernese equivalent of dial-up-noise, that would have been the sound in Ichta's head as the large man simply stripped in the hallway, now holding the shirt out to him. A fairly obvious amount of red tinged her face as she accepted the garment, focusing solely on it and Goran's face. Mostly the shirt at this point.

Hoo boy.

Shirt in hand, Ichta turned, looking for a relatively stable place to take up a seat, eventually finding it and planting herself there quietly. Setting the book she held down in her lap, she fished out her unintentional portable-sewing-kit-slash-bookmark. The rip itself was rather quick work, but after another quick glance up, then back down, some gear seemed to be turning in her head.

Mostly, that if she could try to not be an embarrassed child about his bare chest, she had noticed something and since she was here anyways.....

"Does this....wear a little tight for you?" she asked, mostly because it was easy to see the marks on his arms from the strain of the fabric against his skin. "I mean..." her voice shrank as she spoke, "This shirt has a little seam allowance and I could probably work this up to be a little less tight if you have the time....."

Tsunake

You have flustered my child.

 

[Tsunake]

It was hard to miss the color that suddenly suffused through her cheeks, and Goran found himself slowly becoming awkward in response. Was she... embarrassed? Why was she embarrassed? In the mines, modesty was never something that anyone could really afford. Was it the scars? His shoulders tensed, and he stiffly turned away from her, not sure what else to do.

He paused when she mentioned something about the shirt being tight, a brow twitching with surprise as he turned back to study her. He offered a curt, grudging nod. He wasn't going to be one to complain about clothing that had been given freely when he had none, but... if she thought she could fix it...

"I have time." He said brusquely, folding his arms as he studied her intently A strange young woman.. but then again, he was strange as well.

demon_pachabel

HAHAHA Goran is not used to this ok, now he is flustered because she is flustered.

 

[demon_pachabel]

"O-okay," Ichta easily turned the garment inside out, still focusing solely on it and not HELLO MUSCLES happening in front of her (would it really have been a scar issue with the one she wore prominently that couldn't be covered by clothing?), 'hmmmm'ing quietly under her breath as she judged the seams and using one of her needles, began to unthread one of the knots. Certainly, it would have taken less time if she simply cut all of the threads instead of meticulously undoing all of them....but the idea of Ichta carrying a knife with her to do something like that with was funny.

Unsurprisingly, after years of nitpicking clothing the way she did, she actually unthreaded a whole side of the shirt fairly quickly. Though not so quickly that they missed a few strange glances thrown their way as other members of the Weyr passed by.

Briefly, she looked up again, putting on her best brave face as she eyed the marks on his skin - er, the cloth ones, not the scars (though she did feel a ping of sadness on his behalf at seeing them) - before back down again. Carefully, she counted out from the marks left by the previous stitching, judging a distance from the edge of the fabric, then beginning to sew. Unlike taking it apart, sewing it back together took much longer, even when reusing the same thread that she'd just pulled from it.

Fortunately, Goran had stated he had time.

"Do all of your shirts...wear tight?" she asked, half looking up, then away, shrinking into her shoulders slightly.

Tsunake

She's so embarrassed by how BOLDLY HE CAN JUST STRIP IN PUBLIC.

 

[Tsunake]

His brows furrowed as he watched her deftly pull apart his shirt, wondering how she managed to do so quite so quickly. Experience, obviously. Looks like she knew how to do more than just count threads. Goran stayed where he was, but he couldn't help but study her movements, as though he would somehow pick up on a few tricks. Fat chance of that. Could she really make the shirt a little less tight just from eyeballing him? Apparently so. He was patient for something like this, adjusting his stance a little as leaned back against a nearby wall, allowing it to support his weight instead.

His eyes flicked back to her face when the question came, and he offered a reluctant nod. The shirts were tight, the pants too short. Still, he never even thought to complain. They were clean and given freely. The first real gift in his life, save for the chance the Searchrider had offered him.

"Would you fix them?" He asked, the words slow to come. It wasn't a request so much as a genuine question. He figured that had to be the reason she was asking, right? His brows furrowed again. "I have nothing to pay you."

She shouldn't have to do something like that for free.

demon_pachabel

IDK WHAT IS MODESTY???

 

[demon_pachabel]

She nodded slowly. "Of course. It's obviously easier to take a garment in, but I can definitely adjust outwards." Her head tilted when he mentioned payment and she shook her head. "It's fine. I consider this all part of my training, so really it helps me to do it." Ichta trailed off thoughtfully. "If you can help me get materials - there's a chance I'd need to add to a shirt or find more thread - I don't mind doing it."

And then Goran was offered a fairly bright smile from the young woman - it was the least nervous look she'd had on her face yet.

She held up the shirt she was working on to show him what she meant- "When this was made, the weaver left roughly an inch of seam sewed into it. It's easier to see here in the collar," she motioned to the fabric, sewn over to keep it from just haphazardly rubbing or hanging, "they hid their final stitching in it so it'd be hard to unravel your shirt, but it also means this garment can go up a decent amount. I'm keeping about a third of this fabric to recreate this, but that'll still be a good inch or so allowance. May still be snug, but the sleeves shouldn't leave those marks anymore," she pointed to the marks along his arms. "Some shirts won't have this much allowance, so that's where the potential materials would fall in."

Tsunake

IT IS A MYSTERY.

 

[Tsunake]

He supposed that made sense. Didn't have any fabric to make the shirt go out... but, then again, what would they do with the excess stuff if the shirt was taken in? His brows furrowed slowly, puzzling over it for a second. Then she mentioned training, and he found himself tilting his head slightly, staring as she smiled. "You're a ... Weavercrafter?" He said after a moment of straining his memory. He knew his education was lacking, and instinctively, his guts tightened. Was she going to mock him for his ignorance? It wouldn't be the first time.

His crossed arms dropped as he stepped a little closer when she had something to show him, blinking. An inch of seam... Stitching? To be fair, he had no idea what she was going on about, and eventually he gave her a helpless little shrug. "Oh." Goran said, looking entirely lost. "...Anything you do will be good. Promise." He grunted.

He meant it, too. His lips twitched, and he offered her the most awkward sort of smile. He wasn't used to doing this much.

demon_pachabel

 

[demon_pachabel]

She nodded in answer to his question. "Yes. Not so much in the making of clothing, but," Ichta looked down, continuing to sew almost mechanically from years of the repeated gesture, "something like this is easier than making a garb for a Gather or something like that. No fancy hidden seams or extra thick fabric." she couldn't tell if he even was interested in the details more than where she was going with the adjustment of the shirt.

She returned his awkward smile with one of her own before turning her attention away to focus on her actual task. Despite how practiced she was at it, the attention to detail (aka making sure the stitching was even and neat) still took some time. Probably longer than she'd initially made it sound like it would take, but once she was finished, she flipped the shirt back to it's original outside-out and held it up for him.

"Try this on and see if it's better."

Tsunake

 

[Tsunake]

For some reason, he wasn't expecting her to return his smile, and he dropped his gaze awkwardly. He owed her one. The thing was, Goran wasn't really sure how to repay.. her. Whoever she was. He could keep an eye out, he decided suddenly. Make certain that no one tried to take advantage of her or pick fun. He unconsciously squared his shoulders, satisfied with this thought for now. If it turned out that there wasn't much bullying in the Weyr, well. He'd think of something else, later.

Blinking as he was jolted out of his own mind, Goran obediently held out his hand to accept the shirt, tugging it over his head and settling it over his broad shoulders. His surprise was plain as he tugged at the fabric, appreciating how it no longer threatened to cut against his musculature.

"Better." He agreed slowly after a moment, unable to stop a genuine grin of delight from pulling at his lips though he tried hard to fight it. He didn't like to smile much, on account of his missing front tooth.

demon_pachabel

WHOOPS forgot to delete your post last time. /smacks forehead

 

[demon_pachabel]

Ichta rose, tucking her needle into the book she had with her and idly beginning to wrap any leftover thread around her fingers as she looked over the newly adjusted shirt with a slow nod. There was a looseness especially in the arms that made her certain he wouldn't accidentally rip the back of his shirt open if he tried to stretch his arms out in front of him now.

Though perhaps there were women in the Weyr who would have thought that sort of muscular feat was attractive. Muscles. Shoot. Ichta's face tinged with red as she cleared the thought from her mind. She was just happy that he seemed pleased with it, nodding.

The red flooded back as he smiled - despite the missing front tooth. It was a good look on him. At least she thought so, and for some reason she felt like it was better than any other payment she probably could have gotten from him for it. "I'm glad. I like to sew while I read so...I wouldn't mind doing any others you may need for you during my free time."

Tsunake

Whoops! XD It's fine. <3 I get to enjoy Tsu posts either way +___+ <3

 

[Tsunake]

Too late, he realized he must look like a sharding fool as he stood there grinning. Said grin vanished from his face as he tried to regain his composure, cursing himself for letting his guard down so easily. So she'd made him a shirt? So what? Anyone could have done that. But deep down, Goran knew that wasn't true--and knew that she could have kept quite while he eventually found thread and string and botched the repair horribly. Clearing his throat, Goran allowed his naturally stony expression return.

"If you'd like." He offered carefully. "...But I have no marks to pay you." He resisted the urge to shift awkwardly, instead growing even more stony and wall-like.

A thought occurred to him, sudden and savage, but Goran seized it before it could flutter away. Could she be playing with him? Taking pity on him? No, no, that was impossible. No one knew him here. He hadn't been here long enough to make much of an impression to anyone... had he?

People--and girls in particular--were very confusing.

demon_pachabel

u r 2 cute for meeeeeeeeeeee. :c <3

 

[demon_pachabel]

For the second time, Goran reminded Ichta that she wouldn't get anything from him for her kindnesses.

"You said that before," Ichta pointed out with a small frown, "but I...." she shrunk in a little bit and slowly looked down. "You can just say no instead of trying to dissuade me...it won't...hurt my feelings if you don't want my help." Her entire countenance wilted like a flower that was rather used to going unwatered.

"I offered to help because I want to and because you deserve better than an ill fitting shirt."

Tsunake

ur cuter ok(actually Ghouli is Cuter if we get technical)

 

[Tsunake]

Frustration bubbled underneath the surface, both at her and himself for making her recoil in such a way. "People.... don't help me." He said after a long pause, the words heavy with conflicting emotions. "People always want something. Even if it's just a laugh."

He studied her through narrowed eyes, though she was not the cause of his displeasure.

"No one helps for free." He repeated, the words falling to more of a sullen mumble. "M'not tryin' to dissuade you or hurt... your feelings." Though hurting her feelings might keep her away for good, Goran found that he didn't want that. She didn't deserve it, not for helping him simply because she could.

Taking a slow, awkward breath, he tried something else. "....Thank you."

demon_pachabel

WELL YOU AIN'T WRONG, Ghouli is pretty cute....r.