Aeric paced back and forth as he waited for the vaunted customer to arrive, he snorted and looked over at the finished piece. It was worn by a mannequin of prodigious size, the clothing itself looked good. Fashionable, not too attention seeking. Yet Aeric couldn’t help but feel underwelmed, it just wasn’t quite what he wanted.

He inspected the yukatoga, as he had taken to calling it, which the system seemed to have taken as an actual name as the letters appeared before him.

{The Yukatoga

{Rare Quality

{This clothing was crafted by the up and coming tailor Aeric Redwool. It’s a piece intended for Varush of the Pack. It showcases classy tones with a splash of colour to draw the attention. Subtle yet well made embroidery decorates the left sleeve of the robe. The cloth is more sturdy and lightweight than one would expect from first glance

{Grants a minor dexterity boost and a minor noble aura. The Yukatoga features minor self-repair}

Xii watched him eye the piece and bumped his shoulder. “Don’t worry about it, it’s exactly as the man ordered and upto specifications. It’s something anyone could wear with pride, I know for a fact the man will wear it often.”

Aeric nodded but still let a breath of air sizzle past his lips, “Doesn’t change how I feel about it, but I’ve come to terms that this is what it is.”

The bustle from the storefront caused his head to snap up, “Time to face the hangman.”

Hurma gave him a kick in the butt, raising him off the floor. He flinched and turned around with a glare, “Stop moping and get your shit together. Honestly.”

She stomped off past him and went through the doorway, Xii looked over at him and smirked. “She’s right you know, man up. You know your hormones are affecting how you feel so push past it. It’ll be fine!”

Aeric rolled his shoulders and grimaced, they had a point but still. You can’t easily change how you feel, even if you know it doesn’t make sense. He walked through the door and eyed the gathering of gnolls, Varush was at the forefront as expected and his right hand woman stood beside him at coincidentally his right hand side. Behind the pair were two even larger gnolls and clad in well made leather armour. There was a telltale soft glow of magic in the embroidery on them letting Aeric know that both the clothing of Varush and his assistant and the armour of the guards were covered in enchantment and magic.

He stepped forward with a half hearted wave, Varush eyed him with a raised eyebrow and his lips parted showcasing a pleased smirk. “You don’t look all that pleased to see me Aeric, piece not finished yet?”

The eyes of everyone in the shop aligned on him and Aeric shrugged away his discomfort, “They’re done, the normal pieces finished as I expected. They’re good and I have no doubt they will fulfill your expectations. The custom piece is… decent.”

Both Varush and his luitenant raised an eyebrow. “Only decent huh, well let’s see what an artist feels so dissatisfied with.” Varush turned to Aliami who stood at the forefront frowning towards Aeric, “With your blessing of course my Lady, if we may?”

Aliami waved them forward, “Go right ahead, it’s what you’re here for.”

Varush stepped through the doorframe, not having to duck because it’s size had been based on Hurma and Aliami, both of which had towering physiques. His eyes darted through the shop before his gaze alighted on the mannequin wearing the Yukatoga. He stepped forward and stood still for a moment. His eyes darting around with the telltale movement of someone reading a system a message.

He raised an eyebrow and turned to Aeric, “It seems to me as this is the exact piece I had been hoping for. Rare quality, as I had hoped. Classy, but not too ostentatios. If you’ll allow me to try it on?”

Aeric shrugged, “It’s your clothing after all, let me know if there’s any trouble with how it fits.”

Varush threw off his clothing with barely a thought, standing in his underwear and showcasing his lithe musculature. Some of the girls eyed the sight appreciatevly but held their tongues as he put on the Yukatoga. The robe settled around his shoulder, the wide sleeve fluttering as his hand pushed through. The embroidery seeming to come alive at the movement, the slight wind accents adding the perception of movement as the robe rustled. He folded the robe as he had seen on the mannequin and tied the sash around his waist. He moved and twisted around testing the fit.

Varush looked up and smiled, “This sits very nicely, I’ve got full range of movement even if it doesn’t look like it should. Everything feels comfortable, it’s tight on the places where it needs to be so it doesn't slide, wider around the joints, but just a little bit. It fits like a dream.”

Aeric nodded, “The fit should be exact, if you change in size however in any manner you may have to come back to see it refitted. Although I have no idea what the self repair will mean for stretching, it might just adapt itself.”

Varush nodded, “The self repair function, did you plan to put that in?”

Aeric shook his head, “Courtesy of my newest finished piece, I leveled up after finishing your order. The skill applied itself to the piece retroactively. It’s a usefull skill to have on your clothing, although I have tested it out and you may need some small amount of material if material has been lost.”

Varush nodded, “Great for most traveling clothing, not so much for a showpiece like this which will be worn on only a few occasions.”

Aeric hummed in agreement, “I was unsure of the embroidery but I was told pack centered embroidery was traditional amongst gnolls and would be well recieved.”

The luitenant nodded, eying the piece critically. “It’s a nice addition, very detailed upon closer inspection.” She stepped around Varush and eyed the clothing from the top till the bottom. “What gave you the idea to turn it into a robe with only a single sleeve, it’s oddly pleasant on the eye and does come with the feeling of class and stoicism.”

“It’s derived from clothing back home, I changed it up a bit so it should be nice and cool to wear for anyone with their own layer of fur such as yourselves. It just fit when I thought of it so I went with it.”

The luitenant hummed. “And Shara, does it have your seal of approval?” Varush asked with a knowing smirk.

The female gnoll nodded and turned to Aeric, “It’s fits the perameters of the order we made, I see no reason for you to be unsatisfied with this piece.”

Varush laughed, “That’s because your not an artist Shara. This is a good piece of clothing but it misses that little something that makes it great. That however is not something that can be forced. In fact this piece may end up being worth even more for when the young man has built up his fan base and collectors will be looking for his earlier pieces. This is what I would call a transition piece, one of the earlier creations. Not the first piece that showed the spark of true artistic intent, but the follow up piece that failed to deliver what the creator truly wanted. Such a piece will truly gain in worth!”

Shara raised an eyebrow and hummed thoughtfully, she turned to Aeric then back to varush and shrugged. “I don’t know about all that but I do know you well enough that there won’t be even the slightest chance you’ll sell the piece even if it does raise above the expected market price.”

Varush winked, “You know me so well dear!” He turned to Aeric and patted him on the shoulder, “No need to feel down about it my boy, it may not have the spark and while I would have gladly been the owner of such a piece, this has its own merit. As merchant I pride myself on the fact that I can get profit from anything. With this piece? Won’t even be a problem, it will earn itself without my input.”

Aeric snorted, “Well as long as the customer is happy what right do I have to mope.”

Varush laughed and slapped his shoulder, “Atta boy, that’s the positive mindset we want to see!”

He turned to Aliami and threw her a pouch with a grin, “The agreed upon amount, always a pleasure to do business with you ladies! Owh and gent.” He added as an afterthought with a wink towards Aeric. “You’ll probably see me around a few more times but for now we must away!”

Aeric rolled his eyes and looked at the others, “Do people actually say that in real life? We must away?”

Treeka rolled her shoulders and waved the gnolls goodbye, “Varush does, but then again he has the same flair for useless drama as you.”

Aeric put a hand on his heart in feigned hurt, “I’ll have you know that the drama has it’s uses! It lets me find my true kindred, the souls of theater. Those with a true appreciation for comedy and the representation of scenes in perfectly scripted frames!”

Treeka raised an eyebrow and put a hand on her hip as she cocked it, “I’m pretty sure you totally bullshitted half of that and that there were more than a few mistakes if I asked an actual theater person about all of that.”

Aeric blinked his eyes owlishly, “I have no clue what you’re talking about, I speak the truth and nothing but the truth as god is my witness.”

Treeka clicked her beak, “Which god?”

Aeric shrugged, “Roll the dice and pick one?”

She snorted and eyed the store, “Watch over the store for me a bit? I have some orders to deliver and after that it’s my lunch break.” She pointed a taloned finger at Aliami as she left the store, “The boss has her own appointments so that means one of you crafter people needs to watch the store.”

Aeric blinked, “Why not ask Yi to do it? She’s got the attractive saleswoman look down pat.”

Treeka snorted, “Anytime Yi watches the store the customers spend more time trying to get in her pants than they do trying and buying clothing!”

Aeric sideyed her, “You’re telling me you don’t have that problem?”

Treeka grinned and winked at him, “I have skills to make sure they buy something if they do focus too much on getting in my pants. I mean that literally, I have a skill that urges people to buy something if they want my attention. It’s kind of funny really.”

Aeric blinked, “I… didn’t know skills could be that manipulative.” He frowned and folded his arms.

Treeka shrugged, “Merchants and politicians and the like have a ton of those skills, there are some rules around those however. Special judges who you can go to if a you believe a skill has been used on you or has abused you in a manner. Anyways! I’ve got stuff to do, watch the store! Tata!”

Aeric rolled his eyed and waved back at her as she left the store, he looked around. Their store was honestly quite large, reminded him of some of the larger clothing stores back home. Various sections sorted by men and women and then in smaller sections by species. Children’s sections, clothing for different climates, for work and adventuring. The variation was vast and the store reflected that. Knowing that they were perhaps the premier seller of clothing for the city meant there were always a handfull of customers looking around.

He knew that people often came to Treeka to ask her opinion on fashion whenever they hesitated on what to buy. If they did decide to ask him about the various clothing and what would fit them best he would be unsure of how to dress a few races. He had seen them wear various clothing out on the street but the why eluded him. There was always something of an evolution of tradition that could be seen through clothing and it would be akward if he recommended something that turned out to be utterly inappropriate.

On the other hand, it would do him good to interact with customers more and learn about said tradition and tastes so he wouldn’t have to stumble his way through future customers. Doing specific research for each customer wasn’t exactly efficient, he looked around at the people wandering the store. Keeping an eye out for anyone that seemed hesitant or looked like they needed a hand, he had worked in various sales positions as a part-timer while he went to highschool and college. Perhaps those rusty old skills would help him now, he tapped his skin when he saw two young women arguing about something in front of rack of dresses. He rolled his shoulders and decided to step into the fray.

The pair weren’t in much of a personal argument as he had automatically assumed they were discussing which colour of dress would fit the best for a night out dancing. Aeric briefly eyed the two, one of them was a human with brown hair and lovely dark brown eyes to match. She was short, barely reaching five foot five. Her companion was a tad taller with very fine and short fur, her eyes were catlike and her ears looked elven except for the little tufts at the end. Both of them were wearing summer piece dresses, the human was wearing a dark green with violet accents. The furred one was wearing a yellow one that matched her eyes with a floral embroidery.

Aeric put on his sales smile and approached, “I saw the pair of you arguing and thought I might be of some assistance.”

He kept his smile on his face as the girls gave him a quick once over, he himself was wearing simple pants of a dark brown with a white shirt that left a little breathing room around his neck. Nothing too fashionable or eye-catching.

The brunette tilted her head, “No offense, but how would you help? I don’t really know you.”

Aeric blinked. Right he didn’t have a uniform or anything and Treeka was the famous face of the shop. “The name’s Aeric, I work here. Usually I’m in the back actually making the clothes, but Treeka is out doing deliveries and she pulled me up front to watch the store.”

The brunette’s eyes widened before her lips pulled into a grin, “I’ve heard about you, the first male stray Aliami brought in. The one who made a wonderfull wedding dress for a girl he hadn’t ever met before. I’ve heard good things!”

Aeric smiled and bowed, spreading his arms theatrically, “The one and only, at your service.”

The cat like one grinned and eyed his clothing, “One who crafts clothes but doesn’t put as much stock into wearing them himself hhhmmm?” The hum came out as a purr, setting the hair on the back of his neck on end.

Aeric shrugged, “Honestly, it’s been on my to-do list to make some clothing for myself. Mostly been focused on getting acclimated to the city.”

The brunette shoulder bumped the cat-like one, “Well you want to help us out? Settle an argument? We’re going to this dance thing tonight, while our current dresses are… fine. We do want to attract attention of the more eligible dancers. If you catch my drift.”

Aeric grinned, “Something sexy, but not so sexy it makes you seem unclassy or easy?”

The brunette smirked, “Exactly.”

He eyed the pair for a moment, the brunette was curvy for her size, the cat however was decidedly not. A halter dress would draw a decent amount of attention and frame the girl’s assets while still being good enough to be classy, his eyes roamed the dresses and he found something similar. It was red and suited the girl’s skin and undertone well, he pulled it off the rack and gave it to her.

“Give this a try for me, I have an idea.”

The brunette raised her eyebrow but grabbed the dress and entered the changing room. Clothing rustled and hit the floor and Aeric stood outside with the girls friend as he tapped his chin in thought. “Don’t do this often?” The catlike girl asked as she glanced at him.

Aeric shrugged, “I prefer making custom pieces for someone, picking out something from readily made clothing feels… subpar.”

The girl laughed, “Well you can always add some last minute touches to the clothing if you feel like it. Not like we’d reject the extra care.”

Aeric smiled at her and looked around the store, checking to make sure none of the other customers were ready to buy anything yet. The brunette stepped out in the halter like dress and Aeric frowned, the shoulders were covered and hem was a bit too poofy to accentuate her hips. The dress showed no cleavage because the area was coveredl. A little cleavage was something any man enjoyed, he could make a few quick changes. Wouldn’t take more than five minutes tops.

“Wait here for a minute, I have an idea!” He stormed to the back to grab some scissors and needle and apropriate thread. The pair stared at each other, the brunette looking confused while the feline just shrugged her shoulders.

He came back with his materials and dragged the brunette into the changing room, he eyed her shoulders and took his scissors to them he quickly made cuts into them which made the girl eep as she stared at him with wide-eyed confusion. He took away the fabric around the shoulders, baring them. Pulled the fabric a bit tighter around her back so it held her breasts better. He checked them, feeling the edges for any excessive tightness. He didn’t even notice the girl freeze and turn as red as a tomato as his hands roamed across her bust.

He clicked his tongue and nodded, he sat down on his heels and looked at the hem. He stuck his head under the dress and looked at it from the inside, he saw what he considered an excessive layer of fabric which he removed. He tore out the seams and with a quick application from superhuman dexterity sewed everything back together. He ducked back out and pulled at the hem, feeling around the girls hips before nodding, much better. It nicely fit her frame now, he stepped back to admire his work. Only to then notice the girl’s wide eyed stare.

He froze, “Uuuuhhhhh, sorry? I uh, forgot you weren’t a mannequin and got a bit carried away.” The blood rushed to his face as he realised how handsy he had been, granted it wasn’t lusty or anything but it was definitely considered inappropriate.

The brunette cleared her throat, “You’re forgiven?” She said haltingly as she fidgeted with the dress. She looked over in the mirror and twirled a bit, “You did do miracle work on the dress though, this looks really nice.” She leaned forward a bit to take in her cleavage before she nodded with a smile.

“It’s not vulgar but it shows juuuust enough to tease.” She shook her head and stepped out of the changing room, to the wide-eyed stare of her friend. She twirled and curtsied before stepping before her friend with a raised eyebrow. “Thoughts?”

The feline grinned, fully baring her fangs. “That looks great, if you don’t get any guys with that, then I’m putting the full blame at your feet and not the clothing.”

The brunette rolled her eyes and glanced over at Aeric, who shifted a bit from foot to foot. “I don’t suppose I can make you come dancing with me as punishment?”

Aeric coughed, “I’m not much of a dancer I’m afraid.”

The feline raised a questioning eyebrow and turned to her friend. She just grinned at her and walked up to the rack. “Your turn! He has an interesting method of adapting the dress, it’s sure to get you in the right mood for tonight!”

Aeric flushed, the feline smirked at his reaction as her eyes flicked from her friend to the clearly embaressed Aeric. “Well with an endorsment like that how can a girl refuse, so master tailor. What dress would you recommend for a girl not as… filled out as her friend.”

Aeric eyed her figure in thought, losing his embarrassment as he went right back into work mode. She was indeed not as filled out as her friend but she had pretty decent musculature, her bust was much more modest but her behind more shapely. As tended to be the case with the more athletic types, he sat down on his heels and scuttled around eying her legs. The feline raised an eyebrow to the brunette who just grinned at her in turn.

He nodded to himself, a bodycon dress perhaps. Those were tightly fitted and while it wouldn’t draw much attention to the bustiness which was mostly absent it would defintly draw eyes to the more noticeable asset that the girl could flaunt. That would work, he grabbed a few dresses and held them up before him. He guesstimated her measurements and grabbed a dress before he pushed it on her. “This one, lets go!” He dragged her with him into the changing room and motioned for her to get changed.

The feline eyed him for a second before she smirked and slipped off her dress, giving him an eyefull of her fur covered body and a tail that he hadn’t previously noticed curled around her leg. Her legs were shapely as was her bottom as he had deduced, he nodded to himself as she put the dress on. It was a little loose around the bust but that was something he could fix with little effort, the waist could be pulled just a bit tighter and a bit of needlework would show off her rear.

He got to work, hands dipping inside the dress and pulling at things, lifting up the hem and holding it and working his needle through it. Meanwhile the girl was watching him with curiously raised eyebrows. Smirking to herself as he went to work, when he was done he stepped back and admired his work. The dress now clung to her body showing off all of her assets, but leaving just enough to imagination. A bit of creative needlework made her seem a bit more well endowed in the chest area and some colour play drew the eyes to the areas he wanted them. He nodded to himself, as he swept back the curtain to her watching friend, who had an amused grin on her face.

She chuckled when she saw her friends face, “Enjoyed the whole experience?”

The cat smirked and eyed Aeric, “It’s quite something I’ll give you that. We should totally take him dancing though. I wanna see what those hands can do when there’s less clothing involved.” She winked at him and ran a hand down his arm.

Aeric coughed, “I uuuuhhhh will go figure out what the dresses cost now!” He rushed off to the back and put his hands on the desk before smacking his forehead into it. The girls looked at him with questioning gazes.

Xii eyed his flush and cackled. “What did you do to make you so hot and bothered.”

Yisillia flushed but he noticed her eying him with curiousity. “I totally forgot propriety when doing some needlework on a pair of dresses for customers. I got all handsy and everything, how do I just forget they’re people when working on clothing?! It’s like a switch just turns off all lust and social skills, and boom! It’s full concentration working mode!”

Xii frowned, “Did you molest our customers? Are they angry?”

Aeric coughed and turned his eyes away, “I don’t think they minded that much, they uuuh. Invited me to come dancing.”

Xii snorted, “The handsome people can get away with that, although you’re obvious embarrassment probably gave them no small amount of amusement. Right let’s go back out, we need to fix this.”

Aeric coughed, “Right”

Xii walked out with him back to the storefront, before the counter stood the pair of girls, wearing their newly edited dresses and eying him with an amused look. Xii looked at them and immediatly relaxed. “Meera, Celina. Please stop teasing my little bro.”

The pair laughed and eyed Aeric with a smile, “It was fun though, I didn’t expect him to get all handsy. He was super professional about it though. Not a lustfull moment as he gave his eye some candy.” The brunette said as she leaned over and pushed her bust forward.

The cat cocked a hip and ran a hand over a leg, “We had fun, no need to worry bout rumors though Xii. Nothing bad happened and I honestly think you should sell this custom-changing dresses service. I’d have paid money for the experience, having a handsome guy get a little handsy is just bonus” She winked at Aeric who flushed again.

Xii rolled her eyes and glanced over at Aeric, “They’re Treeka’s friends. They come here pretty often. They also do enjoy playing with boys, you should be glad they didn’t get handsy in turn. Having sex is great and all but please don’t do it with customers in our shop. That’d be horrible for our reputation.”

Aeric grumbled and punched her shoulder, “You know damn well I wouldn’t.”

Xii grinned, “I know. Might not stop this pair though.” Her eyes swept over to the pair, the brunette put a hand on her heart and leaned back as if struck.

“Why Xii, are you feeling jelous. Is this your little toy boy?”

Xii smirked, “Alas, he’s managed to keep it in his pants all this time.”

Aeric rolled his eyes, “Now I know what Yi feels like when we do this, I’ll have you know I’m a person! Not some sex object!”

Xii snorted and the pair of girls giggled at his proclamation. The tension left his shoulders however, he really needed to get a handle on this workaholic mode though. Losing common sense like that? Not great, very much not great. The bell tied to the door chimed as two people entered. Aeric grinned as he recognized Grant, Maddick’s grandson. That would make the girl next to him his sister he assumed. Aeric waved at Grant who grinned when he saw him and waved back. He led his sister towards the counter where the pair of girls were eying the new addition.

The brunette’s eyes flicked to the girl next to Grant before Aeric noticed she immediatly dismissed her as competition. The felines eyes honed in on Grant and his well tailored clothing, she grinned. “Just as we are talking about some fine man-meat an extra savoury piece walks into our store.”

Aeric rolled his eyes, “Man meat? People seriously say that?”

The woman grinned and winked at him, “I’m leaning into this sexual objectification thing. But I do see before me two very fine men, and there is this nice dancing event tonight and we could totally use some partners. Any additional excitement in the night will be an added bonus?”

Grant blinked at her words and glanced over to Aeric, “How are you this good of a wingman, do you sell your services? You’d be rich within an hour.”

Aeric rolled his eyes, “They’re just teasing.”

The brunette leaned towards Aeric and put a hand on his arm, “Yet kind of serious, we would enjoy your company tonight. Why not give it a try, Treeka told me you don’t go out that much. You could do worse than two lovely ladies like us.”

Aeric rolled his shoulders, “I’ll think about it.”

Grant snorted, “I wont, when and where? I’ll drag this guy with me.”

The girls grinned and looked at each other, “Tonight at the Shoveling Chandelier, around sundown.” The brunette eyed Aeric, “Make sure pretty boy here wears something nice. I’m hoping the night will last.” She winked at the last word and the pair waved their goodbyes as they left the store.