Chapter 31

After I finished sewing the clothes for Cameron, not only has he bought me more clothes, but word spread. Not about what I’m doing for him, but that I’m a really good seamstress. So, for the past couple months, I've basically become the unofficial seamstress in the camp.

As I hand over the pants that I altered to have more pockets on legs, I bid the soldier farewell and stash the money in my trunk. It's nothing compared to my income from Wirra, but for the situation being what it is, I'm not complaining.

Anna bounces in holding the freshly washed sheets and blankets. “Morning my lady,” she sings.

“Morning Anna. Don’t tell me. Your inheritance has finally hit and you’re running off with your lover to start a new life in the countryside?”

“Well, actually—” Anna chuckles as she shows me the letter she received from back home. Her boyfriend of twelve years Just returned from his ten-year mandatory enlistment. “He promised that when he came back, he would propose.”

“Congratulations! Great on you guys for holding up that long.”

“Thanks. We’ve been sending letters back and forth, but those don’t compare to seeing someone face to face. In a couple weeks, Lady Echethier and her sister will be returning to the capital. So, I'll be able to see him then.”

Two weeks huh. If that’s all the time Kennedy has left here, then things really are looking up for me.

Anna continues to bounce around the tent cleaning and straightening things as I turn back to my money pouch. After removing ten silver coins from my earnings, I place the pouch back in the trunk and head out.

The mini market that's happening in the center of the camp is already crowded. It only consists of three vendors, but since this is the only place to buy stuff for anyone that isn’t getting care packages from home, it’s a fight for survival where only the strong will claim the last bar of soap.

For this trip though, I negotiated ahead of time for one of the vendors to bring me sewing supplies and fabric.

“Hello.” I greet Sarah who's in the process of selling a blanket to one of the newer soldiers.

“Ah. I was beginning to worry you wouldn't show up.” Sarahs voice sounds horse, like she just got over a cold. That or all the tobacco she smokes is finally catching up to her.

She goes to the back of her cart and comes back with a heavy crate. I already know the assortment of dark blue, black, and red fabric that lies inside.

Most clothing orders I get need additional fabric for me to make the alterations. Like the pockets from today. So, all the fabric I brought is military grade and for added benefit, waterproof. These higher-grade fabrics really are something. They have cooling and warming technology built into the fibers as well as being tear resistant. Thus, the price.

As I search the bottom of the crate, I locate the assortment of threads I asked for in addition to needles, a measuring tape, and the knife.

Clutching the handle in my hand, I enjoy the light weight feel of the steel. Most seamstresses prefer scissors, but I grew up learning how to use a knife, so it’s my default.

“It's perfect.” I hold out the ten silver coins to Sarah settling the remainder of the bill with her.

“Pleasure doing business with you miss. Next time you need something don't hesitate to ask. Even if it’s something like infinite cloth, I can get it.”

“Will do. Thanks Sarah.”

I don't tell her that I doubt I'll ever place an order for that cloth. I remember how expensive it was when I bought the material for my and Sai’s gown. Unless something drastically changes, this cloth will be all I need for a while.

Fabric secured, I head back to the tent to drop off the fabric and items I don’t need for now. Onda and the others are probably at the beach waiting for me already, so I pick up my pace.

Nocturne’s inside the tent, but we’ve always been on friendly terms, so I don’t bother tiptoeing around her. “Hello.”

“Hey,” Nocturne replies in a warm tone.

Crate in hand, I maneuver through the tent making sure not to knock into anything. Since the fabric is already folded neatly, I make quick work of transferring everything into my trunk. I’m separating the sewing supplies I’ll need for the rest of my orders today when Nocturn’s voice makes me jump.

“Dammit.”

I pear up from behind my trunk lid to see what has Nocturne so upset. The shirt she’s clutching has faint sparks of light blue electricity being produced from the tears on the fabric. From the way the fabric is trying but failing to mend back together, it’s got to be infinite cloth.

“Umm, are you alright?”

“No. I told Kennedy to hold back but of course, she didn't. And now this shirt is trashed.” Nocturne throws the shirt on the ground in frustration.

Only two things can damage infinite cloth. One, if somebody uses magic tech on it. The other is if someone is attacked by a mythic who uses their powers. I'm guessing the sparks of electricity I see were caused by Kennedy which is…terrifying.

“I could fix it. If you want.” My words are choppy and hesitant since deep inside, I feel like I should stay uninvolved in both Nocturne and Kennedy’s lives. But Nocturne has been nice to me and helped me out a few times, so I feel like I owe her.

Nocturne looks at me curiously as if trying to piece together what I said. “This? You can fix this?” She holds out the shirt.

“Nh. It won’t be too hard. Since the rips down the backside are clean, I just have to get rid of the lightning and stitch the fabric so it can mend properly.”

Nocturne looks at me doubtfully, but she does walk over and hand me the shirt. “If you can fix it, I’d really appreciate it.”

Now that I have a close-up view of the damage to the fabric, I’m honestly surprised Nocturne isn't hurt based on the condition of her shirt. Before heading down to the beach, I promise to finish the repairs and give her the shirt back tonight.

Onda is already at the beach; however, I don't spot the twins. “Hey Onda, where are the other two?”

“Oh. They made a stop at the medical tent real quick.”

My eyebrow twitches, but I hold my tongue. If they still don't want to talk about it there's not much I can do to help them. Of course, even if they do tell me there's not much I can do.

Sitting down on one of the rocks, I grab Nocturne's shirt from the bag and examine it. My fingertips skate over the electricity as I envision pulling it out of the fibers. Each time that I'm shocked I involuntarily flinch, but it’s just instinct. The shocks don't actually hurt. After a few minutes, I manage to pull out the last of the lingering sparks.

“Whoa. How'd you do that?” Onda asks.

I shrug as I pull out a needle from my sewing kit. After years of practice, I learned that the trick with infinite cloth is to not use other materials to mend it. You need to focus on getting the original fibers to reconnect. So, strand by strand, I use the needle to guide the torn fabric back together. It's tedious work but satisfying.

“That’s not something you see every day.” Koa’s voice behind my back causes me to jump and inadvertently drop the needle.

“Agghh! When did you two get here.”

My eyes scan the ground beneath my feet as I hope beyond all hope that I can find the needle hidden in the gravel sandy ground.

“A while ago. It was about the time when you finished getting the electricity out of the clothes.” Koa bends down and miraculously grabs the needle I just dropped. “Which by the way, really cool.”

Taking the needle from him, I give him a small smile. The voice was right. I really work on my spatial awareness because I didn’t notice them at all.

“Infinite cloth needs very precise work to fix, but it’s not impossible. You just need to take the time to learn how to do it.”

“No. Unless you have a specific skill, the fabric doesn’t even react. I could probably spend a lifetime learning to sew and never be able to do what you did with that shirt.”

Tilting my head I gaze up at Koa not understanding what he means. “What specific skill?”

“It's generally people with healing powers, or people with extreme healing abilities that are able to do that. People with those skills are able to put themselves or others back together with insane precision which translates when they mend difficult fabric like that one.”

I make an, I see, reaction before I go back to focusing on the shirt. I guess my healing skills are more useful than I thought.

“But how did you get the lightning out?” Onda asks.

“I just pulled it out.” The silence around me makes me stop working to look up. “What?”

“Nothing.” Onda holds up his hands after hearing the tone I use.

I’m not intentionally being snippy with them. It’s just that I want to finish repairing this shirt, not answer all their questions.

“You're really not normal you know that.” I ignore Coa basically calling me weird. Just because I'm good at sewing doesn't make me weird.

Onda stays seated next to me as I mend Nocturne’s shirt while Koa and Coa as usual are sparring. Perhaps it's because Koa is the older brother, but he always has an edge over Coa. I asked Onda once why he doesn't practice with them and he said that he doesn't like fighting. Fair enough.

The easy peace the four of us have is something I appreciate now that I don’t have my family. I'm going to miss them when we eventually get our squadrons assigned.

Nocturne appeared genuinely shocked when I gave her the shirt back. And when she paid me two gold coins for it, I too, was shocked. Eyes wide, mouth hanging open, the whole thing.

Since then, I’ve been calculating all the possibilities. If I could expand my business to include repairs on infinite cloth, wouldn’t that solve all my problems? My days would definitely get busier but just think of the opportunities that amount of money can buy me.

‘You’re either delusional or you’re blatantly ignoring your real issue. Do you realize that you should be focusing on finding a way to live longer, not making more money.’

Oh, I forgot.

“Hey!” Kennedy calls me as she marches inside the tent making my heart pound.

“Good morning, Kennedy. Do you need something for me?”

“Yeah. Nocturne told me that you fixed her shirt yesterday. Here.” Kennedy shoves a body suit into my hand made out of infinite cloth. “I want you to make it look cool.”

“Cool?”

“Yeah. Like more dimensional with lightning and shapes and things.”

“Things?”

“Nh. Finish it tonight.”

I don't want to say no to Kennedy, but I'm also not dumb enough to promise the impossible. “I need three days.”

“Why?”

“Since you want me to embroider the whole outfit, it'll take a while. But I promise it will look, umm, cool afterwards.”

Begrudgingly Kennedy relents giving me two days. Not great, but this also wasn’t a negotiation from her point of view. It was an order.

Now that my stress level has climbed to new heights, I make my way to the beach with the rest of my clothing orders and Kennedy's impossible task.

When Onda and the twins ask me what's wrong, I tell them about my interaction with Kennedy. When they inquire what she meant by a cool design, I tell them what I thought in my head at the time but didn’t dare say.

“I don’t know. Cool, is subjective. But she just kept saying it and now all I have to rely on is the Divinities guidance and my will to live. This is so stupid. I’m going to die because of a shirt.”

Both Koa and Onda offer me words of encouragement. Coa, however, pats my back and looks at me as if my execution date has already been set. Nh. If I die, he’s the one I’m haunting first.