[Tailor level 31 reached, Tailor class evolved - Magical Tailor class received]

[Skill received - Tailor’s Telekinesis]

[Skill received - Protective Tailoring]

Aeric jerked awake and grinned, telekinesis? Now that was some properly supernatural stuff, he immediately hopped out of bed and focused on his underwear which came flying towards him. He grinned and stepped into it and pulled them up with his mind, marveling at how easy it was to control the clothing. “That’s something I can definitely get used to. Not sure what the other skill does though. Probably makes the clothing stronger or something?”

Aeric used his telekinesis to put on the rest of his suit and checked himself out in the mirror, he made some other garments float out of his closet and he let them hang around him. He made a full ensemble of clothes and let it mime a person and he tried to make it walk. Which turned out to require a lot more focus than simply making things float, he’d probably need to practice quite a bit to get to a level of proficiency. He could already see the various uses the telekinesis would have, he wondered if it was usable on just the cloth or on his tools as well. He shrugged to himself, he’d found out when it was time to get to work.

First order of the day however was the theatre show at noon, they’d received the tickets to the play from Reina last night. She’d sent a messenger and told them the very first showing of the dress would be the play at noon. Naturally, the group had decided they would be present for the play. Aeric had to admit he was pretty excited to see his dress in action. To be more accurate he was curious about the reactions people would have. Dropping jaws was the goal after all.

He stretched and went through a few yoga poses to keep himself somewhat limber. Once done he rolled his shoulders and headed towards the kitchen, the self-cleaning enchantments on his clothing removing any scent or trace of sweat. Which made morning exercise an interesting affair. Any clothing could be exercise clothing since they would clean themselves if properly enchanted. It was one of the various things that was truly amazing about this new world he found himself in. Cleaning was so much easier, self-cleaning on clothing, anti-dust enchantments in the house. Of course, there were things that still needed to be cleaned manually but chores were a lot less comprehensive than they had been back home.

He smiled as he near bounced down the hallway, smelling the scent of breakfast which meant his paramour was awake and busy already. He saw her standing before the burners and smiled as he took in her figure. He counted himself a lucky man to have such a gorgeous partner, he bounced up behind her and slung his arms around her waist and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Morning, beautiful.”

She turned and glanced back at him, grinning. “Morning to you too, going all-in on the loving boyfriend cliché I see.”

He smirked and put his head on her shoulder, “What can I say, you bring out all the cheese in me.”

She snorted but he noticed the smile on her face, he stayed behind her and tried to move with her. It was a little awkward but he didn’t really want to relinquish the physical contact, he bounced a little on his feet from left to right. She moved with him and before he knew it they were half dancing before the stove. “What’s with all the movement this morning?”

“I have this music style from home stuck in my head, it’s called electro swing and it’s…. Energetic. Makes me wanna bounce and dance and swing you around and make you twirl with me, with a flaring dress while slightly out of breath.”

She smiled as she bounced along with him, “So there is a style of dance that calls to you then, good to know. You might have to bring this electro swing into the world then.”

“I’ll be honest I have no idea how to go about doing that, it’s called electro-swing so I assume it used modern technology but I might be able to recreate the sound or the vibe of it? We’ll have to see. I’m sure it’ll be popular in the dance halls at least.”

“Because that is what we need, even more new stuff from you.” She said with a teasing smile as she tapped an ivory nail on his lips. “What I need is a kiss though, a proper one.”

He leaned forward and pressed his lips to her, deepening the kiss till he broke it off, leaving her slightly breathless. “As my lady wishes.”

She rolled her eyes, “You and I both know I’m no lady.”

Aeric smirked and put his hands on her hips, “Ah but that is where you are wrong, you’re my lady. I’m possessive like that.”

She chuckled and put her head on his chest, “Won’t deny that I enjoy a little jealousy, a little possessiveness. Means I’m just worth that much to you.”

“You know.” A voice said interrupting their moment, “One of these days I’ll be coming down to something other than lovey-doveyness.”

Aeric looked up and smiled at Treeka, “When that day comes you’re gonna wish it was back. Is it making you wanna get a boyfriend of your own?”

Treeka snorted, “Please, do you think getting a boyfriend is the problem? I’ll have you know I’m considered quite attractive among my species.”

Aeric laughed and put his hands up in surrender, “You’re attractive by our standards as well Treeka, you have gorgeous colouring, just wondering if you were thinking about getting a partner of your own.”

The avian frowned and tapped a talon to her beak, gaze flickering between the pair in front of her. “Nah, I still got years ahead of me. I’m not ready to settle down yet, that and the fact I haven’t found someone who makes me feel all head over heels.”

“Fair enough, looking forward to the play?”

Treeka brightened up, her beak opened and he could see that she was grinning, “Definitely, I can’t wait to see people’s reactions to your dress. It’s gonna be great.”

Aeric laughed, “I have to admit I was thinking the same thing just a little while ago. Have to admit I feel rather confident the dress is going to wow, the question remains just how much though. How much would you guys say the dress is worth?”

Treeka clicked her beak, “I think it’s gotta be worth near five hundred gold coins? I’m pretty sure Aliami will be using the dress to arrange to get a share of the theatre group. I think she was muttering to herself about their potential and how she thought you’d probably have ideas and references for plays that could be added to their repertoire and help them reach proper popularity and thus more than make-up for her losses.”

Xii shook her head, “It always surprises me just how much Aliami is willing to invest into things she thinks can make a worthwhile profit.”

“To be fair she seems to be making the right decisions, how much money does she actually have. Or do we have for that matter?”

Aeric shrugged, “Who knows, doesn’t really matter does it? We have enough to get the things we want and no doubt Aliami is making a lot of profit.”

Treeka sank down into a chair at the breakfast table, a talon tapping on the table. “Many people keep mentioning how much money she makes of us. I don’t think they understand how our whole thing works.”

Aeric turned to her and shrugged, “Not many people are willing to put as much trust into others as we are. Especially about their money, technically if Aliami ran off with our money we’d be utterly broke.”

Xii laughed, “Not for long, all of us are more than competent enough to recover from that even if she did decide to do that. Which she won't.”

“I agree, even if she was the kind of person who would be willing to do something like that. Which she most certainly isn’t. She’s also very sure that we are worth a lot more than the money she’s made off us so far. But just thinking about money, I’m not sure what I’d spend it on. I’m pretty happy with my living conditions and the only thing I’d actually spend money on is materials. Which again is covered under company expenses so… I guess money could be spent on going out and fun halls and the like. But how much does an average person really need?”

Treeka grinned, “Most people spend their money on nicer clothing, which we obviously already have covered. I guess that leaves buying a bigger house and expensive things to show off?”

Xii snorted, “I bet we could live in the palace if we asked, not the kind of place I’d wanna live though. Too big, and I don’t think I’d be comfortable having people serve me and wanting to clothe and bathe me and the like.”

“That does sound like proper upper-class things, the palace is indeed a huge building. But is it a home?”

Xii glanced at him fondly and pressed a kiss to his cheek, “My home is wherever you are, and this place has always made me feel at ease and comfortable.”

Aeric smiled up at her, “I agree, where do your twins live though.”

“They ain’t mine.” She snorted and shook her head, “But they have their own place, somewhere in the residential area. Off Kirftin street, you haven’t been there yet I think.”

“Plenty of places around I haven’t been yet, but I’m not in much of a rush.”

Treeka chirped and looked over at Aeric, “Which reminds me we might need to change up the weekend thing and move the girls who are going on the expedition to the front of the list. You still have to go with Yisirillia right?”

“Yup, although I completely forgot what she was supposed to show me.”

“Me and you both, we’ll find out when it’s her turn I guess. How much time do we have left before noon?”

Xii glanced over her shoulder as she flipped the frying pan which held several eggs. “We still have another three hours. Shop is closed today so people are probably sleeping in.”

Aeric looked around, “I’d have expected Lshrkr and Hurma to be awake already at least, they don’t sleep in often.”

Treeka looked up, “Lshrkr hasn’t slept at all, she’s not even home. She left for some hive-thing last night. Hasn’t come back yet.”

Aeric blinked and his gaze flicked down the hall to Lshrkr’s door, “Does that kind of thing happen often, should we be worried?”

“Nah.” Xii reassured him, “Lshrkr is fine, she doesn’t need nearly as much sleep as us. She probably had some ambassador thing to take care of, that or she was needed at the hive. She can kind of shift her mind around? Let another of her selves use her skills, it’s pretty weird. I saw her warrior levels and skills transfer to our Lshrkr once. Kind of unnerving, she’s pretty dangerous.”

“Like ‘she might be able to fight you’ dangerous?”

“Yup.”

“It’s always the quiet ones.”

Xii laughed, “I suppose it is. Everyone can hold their own in a fight here though.” She smirked at him. “I’m pretty sure you’re the weakest.”

Aeric shrugged, “Weakest fighter but best crafter, kind of balances itself out. Treeka is second weakest?” He turned to the Avian and raised a questioning eyebrow.

The avian folded her arms and glared at him, “I’ll have you know I’m solidly in the middle, Yi can beat me maybe and Lshrkr warrior mode is stronger than me for sure. But normal Lshrkr I can probably take and I can beat Hurma and Ali.”

“You could beat Ali?” Aeric questioned with a raised eyebrow.

Xii turned and grinned. “Treeka went through a ‘I wanna be a warrior’ phase. After that there were the ‘I wanna be a battle mage’ phase and the ‘I wanna be a sneaky ranger’ phase.”

Aeric blinked and turned to Treeka, “So you have a good variety of combat skills?”

Treeka shrugged, “A few, I think if I try a few more jobs and the like I could merge into a generalist class like you mentioned. I’ve been working on dancing and getting a class for it and a class for talking to people and gossiping. Kind of trying to focus in my mind on being able to do the things other classes do.”

“Is that how getting classes works?”

“Who knows, can’t hurt though. I have the feeling I'm on the edge of something and just need a bit more of a push.”

“Are there any tiers to classes? Rarities? Like with items.”

Xii slid an egg on his plate and did the same for Treeka, “Not that I’m aware of, classes can evolve and improve but I’ve never heard of a rarity attached. Swordmaster is better than warrior for instance. But they haven’t ever been given rarities as far as I know.”

“Well my class did that evolving thing, I’m a magic tailor. I reached level thirty as I expected.”

Treeka perked up from her meal and looked at him, “What did you get?”

“I got Tailor’s telekinesis, which as far as I can tell lets me control cloth and maybe some of the tools I use. The other is called Protective Tailoring, which I’m pretty sure will give my clothing some defensive properties. We’ll see when I make something I guess.”

“Interesting skills, I’m surprised you got two of them though. Both sound like the type that gets stronger the higher your level is.”

“Skills don’t remain at the same power level?”

Xii laughed and sat down next to him with her own plate of food, “Not even close, a Quick Slash from a level ten warrior might let him move thirty percent or faster than usual. Mine is nearly instantaneous, everything grows with power. Well not all skills, for instance, your magical mannequin skill won’t get stronger. Although it might evolve at a higher level, become something like living mannequins which would be like golems or something.”

“So I’d have mannequins or cloth golems at higher levels? That sounds really cool.”

“Yea they are fun skills but mostly golems tend to be combat-oriented so I’m not sure if you’ll get it with your dislike of violence. Although they might be more butler-like or something. I’m not that much of an expert on non-combat stuff.”

“I’m having a hard time imagining what high-level tailor skills will be like for me. You mentioned skills tend to fit the preference of whoever receives them? I’ve just been trying to make better clothing, that’s been my entire focus. Is that why so many of my skills are focused on increasing my skill and the quality of what I can make?”

Treeka nodded and pointed her fork at him, “You are very focused on singular pieces, someone else might be able to make things at a higher pace. Do the work of six tailors by themselves, someone with less access to materials might have something that can create a limited amount of materials per day.”

“Makes sense, I’ll admit I prefer my way over having a broad section of skills.”

Xii smirked, “It’s proven to be a good choice, making masterpieces before you reached level thirty? That’s nearly unheard of, when people see the dress at the play today? Word is going to spread like wildfire, I see a lot of custom orders in your near future.”

“Well I’m happy to make more clothing, although I have noticed that making something for women comes easier to me than making something for men. I suppose because it’s easier for me to see something as beautiful when a woman wears it? Maybe because I can imagine what would make her even more attractive. Enhancing the assets I like on a subconscious level. Whereas with men I know intellectually what women like to see but since I’m not attracted to those aspects myself it makes it harder for me to create something that fits men.”

Xii shrugged, “Does it matter? If you like making clothing for women more, then just make more clothing for women. Then whenever you do have a great idea for something a man might wear, you can just make that.”

Aeric opened his mouth and then closed it. “Well, I guess I could just do that… Honestly hadn’t considered it.”

Xii laughed and looked over at him, “Still hung up on some things from your previous world?”

Aeric smirked, “Yup, just some old hang-ups. I’d feel kinda weird back home about developing women's clothing. But yea the female form is beautiful, in more ways than I’d previously thought. But whenever I think of what would look good on a man my mind just keeps jumping back to a suit.”

Treeka grinned at him and eyed him up and down, “To be fair a fitted suit on a man looks delicious. There’s something about a form-fitted suit that just… It does things for me.”

Xii laughed and turned to Aeric, “It’s not just her, I think it does things for all women. Even Lshrkr was eying you appreciatively in your suit. Pretty sure she was wondering if she could apply suits to her own people.”

“I’m not sure how much a suit would fit a Hivian, but I’m not the type to stop people from experimenting and dressing however they like so, I’d say have at it!”

“What are we even going to do till the others wake up and we can go to the theatre?”

“Uuuhhh… You guys could help me test my new skills. I’m not really sure what to do with a free morning otherwise.”

Treeka stuffed the last of her breakfast in her mouth and shrugged. “Might as well, let’s clean up first though.”

He nodded and stood helping clean off the table and washing the dishes and the pans Xii used while she made some plates ready for the people who still had to wake up. Then she put the plates on a shelf to the left of the stove that had been charmed with stasis spells. There were little plates with names stuck at the front of the shelves denoting which plate was meant for who. Not everyone could eat the same things after all. After the table had been cleared and the kitchen cleaned they headed downstairs to the workshop. He moved to his table and idly flipped through the pages of his sketchbook.

He flipped to something and smiled, he stepped back and eyed the workbench and its various tools. He focused his mind and the blood rushed through his veins as the needle he was focused on lifting from the bench, he controlled a thread and guided it through the hole in the needle. He then moved the rest of the thread and started knitting and sewing. He focused on the material and after about fifteen minutes he breathed out a heavy sigh and dropped his creation. He swept the sweat from his brown and sank down into his chair, “This telekinesis thing costs quite a bit of energy. I’m out of breath from just fifteen minutes of focus.”

Xii picked up the grey creation from the table and eyed it skeptically, “What is this?”

“That, mi amour, is a beanie. You wear it on your head, to keep it warm in the winters. It was the easiest thing I could think of to make while trying out this telekinesis thing. What’s the stats say?”

She looked at it and her eyes widened a bit, she shrugged and tossed it towards him, “Have a look yourself.”

[Beanie]

[Magic Quality]

[A beanie made purely with a tailor’s telekinesis. It can protect the head from minor blows and can harden itself into something approaching well-treated leather. It has no further special qualities.]

[Minor self repair, Hardening, Protective Tailoring]

“Huh, that still tells me nothing.”

The others snorted and Xii placed herself on his lap, content to just sit there and wait for the others. Treeka had taken to lounging in Hurma’s oversized chair, using it as a couch. For once Aeric decided to spend the morning in idleness, just relaxing with his girlfriend and making casual conversation.