“Oh, neat! That seems pretty useful? - Also, wow, he really does need new clothes.”

"Doesn't he!" The half-stifled giggle bursts out of her like air escaping a balloon. "It's terrible, I feel terrible about it, but - I at least convinced him that he did need them. I think if he hadn't talked to me he would have carried on exactly as he was and just been mystified that anyone would notice his clothing when there are mals about - and, and he argues so you feel so silly for disagreeing even when he's just wrong -"

She collects herself. "I'm sorry, I - yes, my affinity is fairly useful."

"Wow! ...I can see that, I guess, he seems - very himself." Shannon giggles as well. "Anyway, where are you from?" 

"Um, Yorkshire, it's... nice. I love the embroidery on your clothes, is it your work? I always cramp when I have to stitch that close."

"My mother did it! I'm not nearly that good at embroidery - or warding spells. Her affinity isn't clothes specifically, but she's really good at fiddly mana-efficient wards and things." 

"Oh, of course - she must have such a steady hand. - my affinity runs a bit strangely, it's clothes but moreover it's hats. I can do clothes, and do them quite well, but when I make a hat it really shines through. In case you ever wanted a hat."

"Huh! That's so specific. ...Well, do you think I'd look good in a hat? I don't think I've ever worn a proper hat like yours, just tuques in winter. Yours looks nice, though! What sort of enchantments can you put on them?" 

"... Sorry to interrupt, but did I hear the words 'clothing artificer'?"

"I think that anyone can look good in a hat if they have a good milliner. I think I'd put you in... hmmm... I wouldn't want to give you a cloche like mine, it wouldn't suit you nearly as well... a beret would look good but it might give the wrong idea... ooh, I could see you with a pillbox, actually? It'd have to be once your hair grew back out, it'd want pinning, but - oh, right, the enchantments. Mine enhances my working memory and gives me a slight but general mental edge, but really there's a lot of things you can do with a good hat. It could do reflexes, or concentration, or even just mana storage. There's few kinds of hat that can't take some crystal ornamentation."

To Roberta: "Yes! Yes, you did."

"Oooh! ...The working memory one is really tempting but it'd be smarter for me to get reflexes, I'm rubbish at combat and I could really use the edge." 

"The only thing is that the really good effects are expensive, even within affinity - it's not so hard to make cloth repel blades, but a hat that helps your reflexes would be a project if it was going to be any good. When Masozi asked about a hat like mine I said I'd want to charge him for materials, mana and labor, and none of them is cheap."

"That's fair enough! Hmm. My affinity's for healing - I've already got some decent healing-potion recipes and I'm hoping to pick up more soon. I could trade you some of those later on, maybe, once I've got some to spare?" 

"Well, if you couldn't tell, I'm the one who showed up stark naked because of the weight limit. As things stand now, this - " she gestures at her outfit - the pants fit alright, but the shirt is a little small and the sleeves have been torn off - "is all I've got for the next four years. And I don't think I'm done growing. I haven't really got much to trade right now besides my talent for wrecking things that go bump in the night, but we should talk. Especially if you can do shoes." (Her current shoes are what used to be the sleeves of her shirt)

Shannon: "Oh, some really good healing potions would be lovely - I'm trying to get a base of utility supplies under me for my sisters. What's the best you can make?"

Roberta: "...I hadn't actually put that together. Nonmagical clothing is not difficult for me, and neither is resizing; as I mentioned, I promised Masozi an outfit for helping with this expedition, and next time I need a supply run, I'm willing to ask you for an escort first. If you wanted something that a mal would chip a tooth on, we'd want to talk once you had more capital."

"Um, right now I don't have anything that'll fix serious injuries, but I can make one that prevents wounds getting infected and generally helps you heal faster, and one that cures colds if you drink it right away when you first get sniffles, and a mouthwash that's better than brushing your teeth even if you only use it once a week. Oh, and one that treats morning sickness - and induction nausea, I was totally fine - but I guess that's less useful now that we're already here." 

"Even a minor healing potion is better than nothing. But - we might want to wait on the hat until you have something more substantial, unless you felt comfortable brewing me enough doses that my sisters could take them any time they stepped on a nail. You know?"

"Yeah. I definitely don't have enough extras now for that." Because she gave almost all of it to Raleigh. "It doesn't take long to brew, but ingredients might be the problem in here, I'll have to find out how bad alchemy supply runs are. And I really am hoping the school will give me some more powerful healing potions - those are all just the ones I could invent on my own." 

"I'm sure having the school's recipes can only help. And - necessity is the mother of invention."

Shavri bobs her head. "And I bet you'll learn better hat enchantments too! So maybe I'd even benefit from waiting longer." 

"I would be delighted to trade escort duty for some more mundane clothing, schedule permitting. El has priority on that for the rest of the year, if I'd known I'd run into a clothing artificer on day one I would've just worn a blanket instead of trading for clothes right away."

"...I've met El. We're possibly having a study group. If I notify her of our shared debts we might be able to coordinate another run at her earliest convenience." Depending on how much she wants Bobbie she might even be able to give El some particularly nice clothes to replace the ones she appropriated and consolidate the debt, but everything's one step at a time. "Thank you for telling me."

"...How many people are in your study group?"

"Um -" Counting. El Elizabeth Alyona Luna - can Luna be counted on to show up she seemed incredibly spacy - "Me, El and three others, one of whom seemed possibly flaky. The sharing languages are Latin and Welsh, plus we'll be doing some Latin tutoring to shore up a few weak spots."

"Oh, OK. That's, uh, probably fine? I'd just be careful not to be alone with El if I were you."

"She doesn't really feel like a maleficer," Sophie says, half realizing it herself. "She feels - distressing, I won't deny it. But you felt Masozi. That was different."