(2022-09-30) Passion for Pumpkins

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Author:	Luridel
Summary:	Jenzelle Halveris visits Lady Cressidha Aspenwood in the Aspenwood townhouse in Stormwind to request something to wear that isn't her Scarlet Crusade robes or a potato sack. Cressidha takes the opportunity to show off.
Rating:	T for Teen

Jenzelle slinks quietly through the Park in Stormwind, keeping out of sight wherever she can. Upon reaching her target, the Aspenwood Townhouse, she knocks rapidly, as though in a hurry, looking around to make sure no one sees her.

The door is answered uncannily quickly by an older man in a butler's uniform. "Good afternoon. Would you be miss Halveris?"

Jenzelle startles, it was so sudden, and nods, looking behind her again to check. "Y-yes. Sir. That's me."

The butler gives her a polite little bow and holds the door open for her. When he straightens up, he has a kind smile. "The Lady Cressidha is expecting you. Please come in."

Opposite the door in the hall is a shoe rack, and currently lounging on top of several pairs of boots is a black and white cat.

She scurries inside, almost as if fleeing the outdoors, and relaxes only fractionally once inside. "Yes sir. Thank you sir." She observes the shoe rack and immediately peels off her shoes. She hesitates when she sees the cat. "Um…hello."

The butler shuts the door behind Jenzelle without letting it make a sound. "I believe Lady Cressidha is in the parlor, if you would care to follow me, please.

The cat goes, "Mrrrp."

Jenzelle smiles at the cat, but obediently follows the butler after placing her shoes in such a way as to not disturb the cat. As they walk, she tries not to stare at her surroundings, or try to guess the size of the place. Her expression says she is thoroughly intimidated.

This is a thoroughly intimidating house owned by a family who has a lot of money, and it clearly shows in the decor. The butler leads Jenzelle through a door to the right which opens into a larger parlor, with a couch closer to the entrance and a dining table further in. Seated at that table is Cressidha, equally intimidating in a very well-made red and purple robe.

Cressidha rises. "Miss Halveris?"

"Y-yes! Um. Yes. That's me. But I'm not Scarlet anymore! I was, but now I'm not, and I just want to make sure that's really clear, because I messed up earlier, and now…" Jenzelle stops talking. Abruptly. Her cheeks have gone red.

"Oh, dear. Please have a seat. Mr. Rhinehart, refreshments, if you would." Cressidha sits back down.

Rhinehart closes the door that Jenzelle entered through silently. He'll probably be back for another jump scare shortly.

Jenzelle sinks into a chair, staring at her hands in her lap, before deciding that's rude, and attempting to make eye contact with Cressidha. Or maybe that's rude. Now she doesn't know where to look.

Cressidha folds her hands together on the table in front of her. "I'm Cressidha. I'm glad you came to me, it's been a while since I've gotten to design someone's entire wardrobe." Cressidha sounds rather excited, even if her face is just doing this polite smile. It might be stuck that way.

"You're…glad?" Jenzelle blinks. "You're glad I'm here…?" Her eyes widen in surprise. "It's just, no one's usually happy to see…" She reaches for the empty air where her insignia once was.

"Oh, yes. It's rare that I get to do this part of my job. And you're with Cobalt Company, now, so there'll be no charge." Cressidha flicks a finger and levitates a thin sketchbook out of one of her bags.

Jenzelle lets out a small sigh of relief. "I went out like this, to Bruuk's, without even thinking. I think I caused some problems. I don't want to be seen like this anymore. Anything you can do would help me so much."

Cressidha looks her over. "Oh, dear. That's your old uniform?" Her voice sounds sympathetic.

She nods. "It is…and I was still wearing the insignia and everything, and…it had to be when an elf was there. Velrin I think her name was. I think I caused her some distress…"

On the far side of the room, a second door opens - not the door that Jenzelle entered from - absolutely silently. A little tea cart is wheeled into the room, making almost no noise at all on the hardwood floor.

"Velrin took issue with your dress?" Cressidha levitates a measuring tape out of her bag. It hovers in the air.

Jenzelle is completely oblivious to the tea cart. "She didn't…like that I was once one of them. The Crusade. It's understandable, given…the Crusade's general…outlook. Especially on non-human races." Jenzelle folds her hands together.

Rhinehart has begun to unobtrusively set the table for tea. There is tea, there are things that people put in tea like milk and sugar, there are some sort of little tea biscuits, and there is a little plate of sugar cookies.

Jenzelle finally catches sight of Rhinehart and squeaks, covering her mouth immediately afterwards, her expression apologetic. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't see you come in…"

Rhinehart gives her a tiny bow. "Pay me no mind, miss, unless you have any requests."

"R-requests? Oh, no, I could never!" She looks shocked that he would even suggest she ask anything of him.

Cressidha flips her notebook open. "May I take your measurements, very quickly, just to get that out of the way?"

Jenzelle, thoroughly flustered, almost dives out of her chair. "Yes! Yes, um, where do I stand?"

"Oh, there is fine. Rhinehart, that will be all." Cressidha waves a hand and gets to her feet, tiny pencil in one hand and notebook in the other. The measuring tape floats on its own.

Rhinehart bows and exits the room. There's no sound when he closes the door.

Jenzelle watches the measuring tape in awe. "I didn't know they could do that. If Rae saw it, she'd swear it was haunted."

Cressidha chuckles. "Oh, no, I'm directing it." She flicks a finger and the tape floats over on its own, beginning to take measurements. "Rae was on my squad for a little while. Hold your arms out to the sides for me for a moment? Like the letter T." Cressidha holds her own arms out to demonstrate just in case.

Jenzelle holds out her arms as she is told. "You know Rae, then? I asked Ben, and he said she's been alright. I'm so glad she's found a place here." She smiles a little, mostly to herself.

Cressidha writes down measurements as the measuring tape does its job. "I do. It took her some time to get accustomed to my magic."

Jenzelle nods. "She got that from…well…our Commander wasn't real trusting of magic, and then…when Rae came to us with…her corpse…and she said a mage had done it…" Jenzelle whispers a small prayer. Keep it together, Jenzelle.

Cressidha nods. "I see. This doesn't make you uncomfortable, does it?" Cressidha catches the measuring tape out of the air and wiggles it. "You can put your arms down now." She takes a seat again.

"You wouldn't…happen to know where she is now, do you? I heard she was at the Battle for Light's Hope, but her brother lost track of her there." She lowers her arms as she is told. "Oh, no, magic isn't a problem for me."

Cressidha shakes her head. "I haven't seen her in a little while, no. I'm afraid not. How do you take your tea?"

Jenzelle ponders the question. Then decides to be honest. "Um is there…a correct way to take tea?"

Cressidha smiles. "Simply according to your preference. If you prefer it to be sweeter, you can add sugar or honey. Or milk, for a lighter flavor."

Jenzelle's shoulders slump in relief. "Oh, good. I've never been in a place like this—um, really it's a wonderful home—I just thought there might be rules I didn't know."

Cressidha's voice softens a little. "I won't hold it against you if you break any, don't worry. Now, what are you looking for in your new wardrobe?"

"Anything." Jenzelle says this quickly and with certainty. "Anything that's not this. I thought about cutting holes in a potato sack…"

"Oh, dear. What colors do you like?"

"Favorite colors?" Jenzelle brightens. "I like orange, like a pumpkin, brown, like the soil they grow in, and green like their stems." She blushes. "My family used to grow pumpkins…"

Cressidha snaps her fingers. "Well, let me make you something very quickly so you can get out of that uniform and don't have to wear a potato sack." Cressidha abandons her tea entirely and begins to just take things out of her bag. Scissors. Spools of thread. Bolts of fabric. Beads, buttons, clasps.

Jenzelle watches her remove the supplies from her bag. "Do you…carry that stuff around?"

"I carry a lot of things around." Cressidha moves over to the far wall, followed by a parade of levitating objects. It's possible she's showing off.

It's working, because Jenzelle wears an awed expression, seeing everything floating around. "You must be very talented, floating so many things at once, and then…moving them like that. Did it take a lot of practice?"

Cressidha begins, without actually touching any of her tools, to just make a dress. It is a ridiculous montage of objects hovering in the air, several different sets of needles and thread going at once. She is absolutely showing off.

"It did, yes. I spent many years in training as a battlemage, and I had a lot of free time with which to refine the precision of my magic." Scissors go snip snip. Fabric is being cut from a brown bolt of cloth and a deep olive green bolt of cloth.

"But it looks like it was worth all the effort. I think it's really cool that you can use magic like that, and also make clothes." She smiles, watching the show.

Cressidha smiles proudly and continues to conduct as - in a matter of minutes - a dress takes shape out of the olive green fabric, and a long fashionable cardigan is made using the brown fabric. Cressidha takes an entire changing screen out of a bag that really should not be able to fit a changing screen and sets it up by the wall.

"If you'd care to try this on?" The dress and the cardigan drape themselves over the screen neatly, and the scissors and thread and measuring tape float back into the bag.

Jenzelle blinks at the sudden changing screen. She should not be surprised, but somehow still is. "O-of course!" She steps behind the screen.

Cressidha returns to her seat. She hasn't had any tea, but she picks up a sugar cookie and crams the entire thing into her mouth once Jenzelle is out of sight.

Jenzelle finishes changing and steps out from behind the screen. "It's so light and easy to move in! I can't believe you could put this together so quickly!"

Cressidha is furiously sketching in her sketchbook, but she looks up and smiles. "Oh, lovely."

Jenzelle smiles in return. "It's worlds better than anything I could have found on my own. I'm not sure I really…know what fashion is. But even I can tell that you're good at this sort of thing."

"Well!" Cressidha gestures her over. "You're welcome to enjoy your tea, I'm just going to draft up a couple options for you, and perhaps you can tell me which outfits suit your taste?"

"Oh, goodness. Okay." Jenzelle returns to the table and prepares a cup of tea. Plain, with nothing extra.

Cressidha doesn't touch her tea. She's drawing clothes now.

Jenzelle watches quietly, not wanting to interrupt her focus.

Cressidha just keeps going, and the longer she's at this, the more focused she seems. It is very possible that she's forgotten Jenzelle is in the room. There are all sorts of outfits being drawn right now.

Jenzelle sips her tea and ventures a glance around the room. It really is like another world.

It takes perhaps fifteen minutes before Cressidha runs out of room on the page. She looks up. "Oh! Yes, right, pardon me." She turns the sketchbook so that Jenzelle can see her options. Of which there are many.

Jenzelle stares at them, wide-eyed, and maybe a bit lost. "You must really enjoy this."

"It's what I've always wanted to do, ever since I was a child. Make clothes for people. But, well, when one comes into magic at a young age, one must train to ensure the safety of those around them, and that does tend to… become a career in time."

Jenzelle nods. "I see. Do you ever wish…you didn't have magic?"

Cressidha's expression goes distant. "I used to, when I was young. I haven't felt that way for some time now. But it took me… a very long time. Training."

"You made the best of it, then. Life's like that, isn't it? I was perfectly happy as a pumpkin farmer. Figured that's what I'd always do, like my parents. But now…" She smiles. "There are ways I can help people."

Cressidha nods. "You're a… priest? I'm guessing, from the uniform earlier?"

Jenzelle nods. "I was taught some in the Crusade, out of need, really. But truthfully, even before that, there was a priestess I always admired. She didn't live terribly far from me, and she was the sweetest woman you've ever met."

Cressidha smiles. "My brother Colson's a healer too. He's a paladin, though."

"Oh, yes, Lord Colson? He was there when I…during the interview. Lord Morningdew mentioned…he was also in Rae's squad?"

Cressidha nods. "Yes. He's one of the Lieutenants of Cobalt Company. If you ever need assistance with anything, he's a good person to speak to. We were both on Rae's squad along with Ben, who you may have also met in your interview? And a young man named Gausanders Spellbond. Sandy."

"Were you friends?" she asks hopefully. "I always hoped, after she left us, she would find people to become friends with."

"I… hope so? It was difficult to tell. I read her the newsletters." Cressidha fidgets with her pencil.

Jenzelle nods in understanding. "It was always hard, even for us, to get Rae to open up. She spent so much time trying to be just like Commander Mondragon. I don't really know…what she was like before Lordaeron."

Cressidha nods. "Ah, is there anything there that suits your taste?" She gestures to the notebook of sketches again.

Jenzelle returns her attention to the notebook. And once again looks completely lost. "They all look lovely."

Cressidha chuckles. "Well, I don't know what you need for your day to day work, but if the options were your uniform or a potato sack, I suppose I should make you a variety. Where have you been staying?"

"I was staying in Ironforge…in the inn. But…" Her shoulders seem a bit tense suddenly. "Here, now. Stormwind. In the inn. Brenthat is, Rae's brotheris helping me pay for it until I can find some work."

"Oh, dear. Are you afraid to go back to Ironforge, now? Because of whatever happened with Velrin, or something else?"

"Ah, well…Lord Morningdew…is there, and I'm trying to avoid him." She tries a smile, but can't quite pull it off this time.

"Ah, well." Cressidha looks thoughtful. "Are the inns in Stormwind more expensive?" she asks like someone who has never had to worry about the cost of an inn room in her life.

Jenzelle nods. "A bit, yeah. But I didn't have much to begin with, after I left the Scarlet Crusade, so Bren's been a big help. Given everything that's been going on recently, though…it shouldn't be hard to find work as a healer."

Cressidha nods slowly. She looks thoughtful. "Well, I'll handle your wardrobe. And storage, of course, you'll want bags to put it in."

Jenzelle perks up. "Like that one you pulled the screen out of?"

Cressidha nods. "Yes, like that one. What color would you like it to be?"

"Orange!" Like a pumpkin, her expression says. "P-please." She remembers her manners at the last minute.

Cressidha grins. "Orange like a pumpkin," she says, and writes something in her notebook. "I'll have to dye the netherweave, so I can't get it to you immediately, but that can be done."

"Thank you so much, milady. I was always told I've got strange taste, but I figure it's because some folks can't understand the charm of pumpkins. You've got the small, round, cute ones, and the big tough ones, and…" She trails off, embarrassed.

"I made Colson a pumpkin bag once," Cressidha says, "and he still uses it." Cressidha picks up her tea, which has definitely gone cold now, and takes a sip.

"Does he? Lord Colson?" She leans forward eagerly in her seat. "Does he also appreciate pumpkins? I'll have to ask him about it when I see him again." She looks pleased.

Cressidha smiles. "He thought it was cute. He likes cute things, generally."

Jenzelle nods excitedly. "Yes! Pumpkins are cute. He does understand. It's good to know I'm not the only one."

Cressidha nods. "Pumpkins are cute," she agrees with complete sincerity. She reaches for her sketchbook again and flips to a new page.

Jenzelle's earlier tension is completely gone, after sharing her passion for pumpkins. She leans back in the chair, a bright smile on her face.

Cressidha smiles back. "We grew up on a farm too, when Stormwind was lost. The Varleys didn't grow pumpkins, but they did have livestock. We, ah, we were too little to be of much actual use, but they let us help with the easy chores sometimes."

"Aww, still, farms are fun. There's always lots to do, but it's so worth doing. I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss farm life." She reaches into her own bag and retrieves a [Firebloom]. She offers it to Cressidha. "Here."

Cressidha blinks and takes it carefully. "Oh! Thank you. Do I need to put this in water?"

"They grow in really dry places, so water might be a bit of a surprise for it."

"Oh, I see." Cressidha holds the flower like she's not sure what to do with it.

Jenzelle smiles, watching her. "A vase maybe? Just a dry one. I had a friend in Hearthglen who grew a lot of flowers. We used to write back and forth when I wasn't on patrol. Sometimes I'd stop by and see her when we were in the area. She was a firm believer that flowers could make everything better."

Cressidha nods. "I'll have Mr. Rhinehart fetch a vase, then. Thank you."

As if summoned, the door opens silently. Cressidha levitates the flower across the room. "Mr. Rhinehart, a vase, please."

"I tried offering a flower to Velrin, but…" She laughs nervously. "She wouldn't take it. I'm afraid I've already lost my chance to make friends with her."

This is apparently just an innate butler skill, showing up when you're needed. Rhinehart takes the flower. "Very good, madam." He bows and leaves the room.

Jenzelle blinks at the door. Butlers are magic.

"Velrin is…" Cressidha pauses, thinking. "I've seen her be very outspoken towards members of groups that she hates. Perhaps the new clothes will help a little?"

"I hope so!" Jenzelle pauses, considering something. "Do you maybe…know where to find her? I have something of hers, and I'm, um…a little nervous about returning it myself. I was wondering if you might know the best way to get something to her. I don't think I should mail it," she adds quickly.

"Oh, ah. Dolanaar, in Teldrassil. What do you have of hers? If you would prefer I return it on your behalf, I could…"

"If it isn't too much trouble, I…would rather you did. She…forgot it, at Bruuk's." Jenzelle reaches into her bag again and removes a dagger, carefully wrapped in cloth.

Cressidha moves her notebook to the side and reaches out for it. "No trouble at all. I'll see this makes its way back to her soon."

Jenzelle smiles with relief. "Thank you so much. I want to try again with her, but maybe…I should give it some time."

Cressidha nods. "That might be for the best."