I Live to Serve - Chapter 6
Due to a lot of writer's block and a very busy schedule, this chapter is pretty short. The only reason I didn't include the next chapter in this one is because it may be... NSFW. What? I never said I was going to keep it clean through the whole story. That being said, this chapter is kind of important because it highlights to some degree both Nanani's tendency for anxiety and one of her talents that she'll make use of a lot in the future. Enough rambling. Enjoy the chapter!
It was back to the daily grind soon enough. As much as she had relished being treated like a true princess, Nanani knew it was fleeting. However, now she could return to work in style, each day afterward wearing a different outfit in which she continued her routine of dusting and sweeping. Much to her relief, however, Master had taken care of the bathrooms, leaving her free of the dilemma for another week.
Something was troubling her, though. Nothing serious, but she desperately desired to know in what ways she could be even more creative with her attire. A bit of mild pestering was in order, and she would vaguely drop a hint every now and then when Master was around, though it hardly got across the way she wished. She needed to be direct, and as difficult as that was for her, Master specified that such boldness was incredibly important. A few days passed before she managed to work up the necessary amount of courage.
"Oh, I do wish there was a way to add some lace to the hem of my skirt." She idly noted as she scrubbed away at a stubborn bit of food still stuck on the plate she was washing.
Master, while not even looking up from the magazine he was reading from his seat in the living, still responded with "I could take care of that for you."
"I know you could, Master. The thing is..." she trailed off momentarily, biting her tongue in determination whilst hopelessly continuing to work at the spot.
"Is what, Nanani?" came the inquiry from the adjacent room.
"The thing... is... " her focus wavered heavily as she rubbed even harder.
Though she couldn't see it, he had now taken his eyes off of his read, his attention entirely on what she would say next.
"Is.. that I would much rather-- oh!" cut off by her own actions, having tried so desperately to remove the spot with pure elbow grease, she ripped the plate right from her own paws, and it fell with a clatter into the sink below.
She was quick to remove it as quickly as possible, immediately inspecting it for chips or cracks. Thankfully, there were none, and she sighed with great relief at the revelation. Amidst the little commotion, she hadn't noticed Master now standing in the archway that separated the living room and kitchen, in a leaning position with his hands in both pockets.
"You have my attention." He let her know with his always reassuring warm smile, and after a nervous laugh, she continued.
"I wish I knew how to take care of such matters myself, is all."
"You want to learn how to sew?" Simplified as always.
"Yes, that would be delightful!" She clutched the plate to her chest in an effort to contain the excitement.
The possibilities once she started seemed endless! Master pondered exactly how to go about this for only a small moment.
"Once you've finished the dishes, meet me in the laundry room. I'll get you started on the basics."
She about leapt from the stool she was standing on, exclaiming "Yes, thank you so much Master!"
Without another word, he leaned off the wall, and left her to finish the task at hand, having motivated her to now work twice as fast and twice as hard.
Several minutes later, she had bounded into the aforementioned laundry room with such eagerness, she nearly ran headfirst into the collapsable table Master had set up, two folding chairs also positioned at it. He had already taken his seat in the one, twiddling away at something above. After making her way up onto her own seat, she realized his twiddling was actually with a needle and thread, much like she'd seen him do before when repairing his own clothes (never hers, as she was far too cautious with whatever she wore to allow anything to happen), bed sheets, or other various fabrics.
"Your timing's perfect. I was just about to set the thread." He explained, both hands at the ready to begin tying. "Watch my actions closely, Nanani."
She didn't need to be told twice, her eyes glued to his hands as he pushed the thread through the eye with no difficulty whatsoever.
"You may need to cut the end at an angle if you have trouble getting the end through yourself." He further instructed.
From there he wrapped it around his finger to create the loop, then held it steady as he pulled the thread through to tighten the knot. Fairly simple, but very exact and even a tad daunting for it, she thought.
"You only have to do that once per spool. When you're done with the needle, just wrap it up and stick the needle into the thread, and you won't have to tie it again."
This made plenty of sense, of course.
"Now if you could remove your skirt, we'll put that lace on."
The skirt in question was a plaid red and black, and she wanted an additional line of black frills at the hem, more than anything to experiment. Upon answering his request, she felt a small shiver run up her spine. With how often she wore clothes, the Glaceon was beginning to understand what it felt like to be naked, however she played it off. While she had stepped off to remove her bottoms, Master had found a cupboard above which contained several boxes, most containing different rolls of fabrics and linens. Pulling the one he needed and setting it on the table beside all of the sewing equipment, his search for the desired lace in the equally as desired color had only just begun once she had passed off her clothing to him. In time, he had found what he was looking for, and took to instructing her on how to cut the perfect lengths and widths, using an awfully funny shaped pair of scissors to do so.
"...and with enough leeway, you won't even need to go rooting around for a tape measure. You can cut off the excess when you're done." Master finished this whilst lining everything up accordingly, and returning to his needle and thread, her eyes ever fixated on everything his hands did, absolutely sure she never missed a step. Once she had given a quick nod to affirm that she was on track, it was on to the final, and most important part. A little more instruction on the different common stitching patterns, and he began with the most basic.
"It's as simple as over... and under. Nothing more to it." Simple indeed, as she could hardly believe how easy this was.
"Master? May I take over from here?" She hadn't let him at it for more than thirty seconds, so anxious to try it herself.
Though silently, he obliged, having barely threaded more than a dozen centimeters. The first thing she noticed was how difficult it was to hold the needle. As versatile as her paws may be, something so small was hardly any easier. A few moments fiddling with it passed, and she was eventually able to situate it between two digits. Though it wasn't practical, it was the best she could manage, and a method she was sure to get used to over time. Carefully following the same exact rhythm of Master, she pushed the needle through, and clamped around the end of the needle to bring it all the way, sure to do so pad-first, in case she were to poke herself. Back through it went, just as easily too. Not too shabby. In fact, a few more passes, and Master thought she was better left to finish it herself, taking his leave while she continued with such hardened focus and determination.
Several minutes more passed, and she was a quarter of the way around, though beginning to discover a steadier and slightly quicker pace to what she was doing, even as unnatural as it felt. Whatever the case may have been, she only wanted to make this work. and as such, she never stopped until she had finished. Upon reaching said end, clipping the string to admire her handiwork, she noticed how... well she had done. Nothing looked out of place, and she had never subconsciously deviated from her path. It was great, as a matter of fact. She couldn't wait to show Master!
In a flash (relative to her usual pace, anyway), the Glaceon ran from the room, clutching her new-and-improved skirt.
"Master! Master! I did it! Come see!" She was far too excited to remember not to yell through the house, so eager to show her Master what she had accomplished.
However, as soon as she had entered the living room, the end table beside the fireplace caught her unaware, and the unfamiliar sound of fabric tearing caught the attention of both faces in the living room. A gasp of near terror, as her handiwork from earlier had been undone entirely, and then some, leaving a nice rip in the original product as well.
"No! It was perfect!" She exclaimed, removing it from the corner of the table it had snagged upon.
A few moments of inspection, only hoping it was somehow reparable, but alas, it was in vain, and she dropped to the floor, her fores covering her face as she began to cry. Having viewed the entire ordeal from the couch, Master now put down his read, and moved to comfort her. His fingers trailed up and down her back softly, the whole time saying nothing as her sobs withered away. It was then that he spoke.
"Now," he paused. "Is a perfect opportunity to get back in there, and try again."
No part of her wanted to quite then, but she knew she should. Practice makes perfect, as they say. A few more moments of silence, her face still buried in her own forepaws and she gave a nod.
"Atta girl. Come on, I'll help you start again."
Days passed further still, and autumn was nearing its close, with winter just around the corner. Though in Snowpoint, by early November the snow had already begun to fall. Being a Glaceon now, Nanani found this year far easier to manage. Though their walks diminished in frequency, little else changed. The only other noticeable difference was Master's tendency to disappear for hours at a time on a regular basis. Of course, she was certainly bothered by it at first, when she had the opportunity to ask, Master only waved her off, and at best told her "I'll explain everything later."
Since he had a habit of finding things for Nanani to do whenever she had finished her chores, she took the absences as opportunities to practice sewing by paw. A few weeks of practice and she had drastically improved her speed and efficiency, though not quite yet moving on to anything too complex.
December was on the horizon, however, and even though Christmas was on its way (and boy, was she excited for that), something else was on its way. Something much more unpleasant.