A Gentle Heart|Skyheort | Talen'sul

[Kender Bard]

An elderly woman made her way into Dart's shop. She seemed to labor with her steps, leaning heavily on her cane and puffing with exertion. "Hallo!" she called out, glad to have a chance to stop moving for a moment as she stood and looked around.

[Darastrix]

"I'll be with you in just a moment!" Dart called out cheerfully as he added the last pin to the cuff of a sleeve. He turned to greet his guest, brushing his long bangs out of his face, and his eyes widened slightly.

"Oh, my dear, you look exhausted," the tailor said, crossing the floor to her. "Please, come and sit down for a bit. Would you care for something to drink?"

He offered his arm to the obviously tired woman, intending to guide her to a chair.

[Kender Bard]

The woman sighed softly again allowing herself to be led. She sank down and peace seemed to settle over her features. "Oh, thank you," she murmured, voice quivering with her age. "It does get so hard to walk around. No, no, I'm not thirsty my dear. I did come here to see if I could have a new shawl made." She pulled out the one she had with her out of a little handbag. It was definitely old, threads worn thin, full of holes, and frayed on the ends.

[Darastrix]

Dart smiled gently as she pulled the old shawl from her bag. "Of course, that should be no trouble at all. If your old shawl has some sort of sentimental value, I may be able to use part of it in a new one. Maybe make one of two layers of cloth and stitch the old one between them."

[Kender Bard]

The lady's eyes seem to shine at the idea. "That'd be wonderful! Simply wonderful! My husband gave that to me on our wedding day.." Her eyes take on a faraway look for a moment. "Er, how much will I be owing you?"

[Darastrix]

Dart considers briefly. A shawl is a very basic thing to put together and inexpensive to boot. What he suggested will double the fabric used, but still. And the Mind guesses from the brief look on her face that her husband is no longer with her.

"Well, since I'll be using the original shawl, I consider it an...alteration rather than a new item. So just tell me the colour you'd like, type of fabric, and whether you'd like any trim. I'd say 2 copper and the pleasure of your company while I work to be a fair price," he says with a warm smile. "And you can tell me about the man who gave you that shawl."

[Kender Bard]

The old woman smiled, a look of bliss as she clasped her hands to her heart. "My word, you are a blessing young man. I'd be happy to tell you about my Thon." She set the two copper down on a counter and sat down to tell Dart of a man named Thon; how they met, his bookish nature and her love of learning through experience, the antics that ensued as she dragged him all around Naruta and the memories they'd built together.

[Darastrix]

Dart listened with a smile as she spoke, wordlessly showing the woman her options for her to nod or shake her head to. He had a good eye for measurement, and a shawl was generally a one size item. Plus he had the worn original to work from.

He handled the old shawl with delicate hands, spreading it out on his work surface, and cut the new fabric to be just a bit wider so that he could easily stitch the old inside. Though his eyes seldom strayed from his work, the tailor listened with a smile, occasionally offering a bit of his own short life story in reply: people he'd met, the woman who shared a good deal of his life now, and the new babe they'd brought into the world.

Finally, the piece was finished, and he held it out to the old woman. "I hope you like it," he says.

[Kender Bard]

"I do indeed," the elder woman said softly, running her hands over the material and hugging it closely. "Thank you, young man." She clasped his right hand and smiled, eyes boring into his own, eyes that knew more than even one old woman's lifetime...

In a voice that was much clearer and stronger than before she said softly, "May you continue to brighten the lives of others, Darrtan."

Releasing his hand she turned and puttered off, smiling.

[Darastrix]

Dart felt his breath catch in his throat as the woman met his eyes and his own widened in surprise and some vague sense of recognition, though his smile barely wavered. He stood, almost rooted to the spot when she spoke and it wasn't until she was out the door that he gave himself a mental shake.

"Darrtan...when did I give her that name? Did I give her my name at all?" he murmured, then nearly smacked himself for not asking hers. She didn't seem to mind, though, he mused, looking down at the hand she had held, and his mouth dropped open in shock.

Dart blinked a few times and brought his hand closer to his face to examine his palm "I only have one...." But there it was, plain as day: a Mind sign. He ran his fingertips over the new sign, his mind trying to wrap around what just happened. The tailor stepped outside his shop, hoping to catch sight of the old woman, but not expecting to.

"Oh Forces," he breathed softly, leaning against the doorframe. He looked down at his palm again and felt that might not be too far from the mark. He'd certainly not been stressed enough or pushing with his element enough for a new sign to just manifest. "Efil?" Dart murmured the name of his favourite Force, holding his hand close to his heart.

He thought back to the old woman's tales of dragging her bookish Thon all over Naruta and laughed suddenly as his imagination supplied an image of Efil dragging Thuoth around instead. He looked down at his hand again, blue eyes sparkling. He couldn't wait to tell Kris about this.