The bubble bath was quite a bit smaller than Cloud expected. Sure, it was big enough to fit Stela and Astra, but it wasn’t big enough for cloud. It had three feet of water, and most of that was displaced by the fuzzy wyvern. It had a rose-scented bath bomb and bubbles galore. As he moved around, the water sloshed and spilled on the tile flooring. Hopefully that floor was sealed, or had a grate, or something so that Rory didn’t need to pay for mold removal or leak repairs. Because, of course, Rory was keeping a very close eye on the bat now that he was inside again.
Rory insisted that the candles stay out, because there was no way that a fire would stay contained in a bath with Cloud, but he couldn’t convince the dragon that a bath bomb was a bad idea. Every time they used one at home…well, they would see. Right now Cloud was just focused on playing with his new fox-dragon friend. He tried to keep his body submerged beneath the bubbles and built a mountain of them on top. He placed some on top of Astra’s head, too–like a very puffy cloud crown. Clouds were cute, and lovely, and flexible, and great. That’s what Rory always said. Wearing and swimming through all those bath bubbles was almost as nice as soaring through real clouds. And he had a friend now that wouldn’t complain about water droplets!
Keeping his attention split wasn’t the best thing, but it’s what Rory had to do. The other part of him was focused on Stela’s instructions. He had purchased a new loom in quick order–not magnificent, but something to replace her old loom until she could purchase another. Unfortunately for him, it did not come out of the debt. Apparently it was an investment and he wouldn’t regret it in the future. You know, for all those dresses and carpets and scarves he planned on making. He tied the string from one side of the loom to the other and looked at Stela to see if he was doing it right.
Puffing at some of the bubbles as Astra and Cloud played, the short furred fox looked about the same aside from his long tail that’s balls of puff had become weighted down and looked more a borzoi with it’s long tail and hair just drooping down until his tail was dried and brushed back out. It was nice having company in the bath as well, left to their own devices as Stela was downstairs teaching Rory the ways of a tailor, if he liked it or not it seemed. He looked so distressed when they were taken off to go shopping for a new loom, but was compliant when his rider took his hand and was off with him.
“Hopefully the riders are having just as much fun as we are, these bubbles are so nice! And the pretty bath bomb! I think these are the ones with snacks inside the ball on the inside.” Watching the bubbling water, Stela did love to treat her dragon and often made him special bath bombs with treats inside. This was very much one of them as the small sparkles fluttered out of the bubbles.
“Very good, Rory, just like that. Be careful not to tangle the threads. You will regret your life and so will your fingers if you do that~” Though mostly watching as the other learned his way around the smaller loom, she did step in to help as he’d pause at times to stare at her. That all too familiar look she’d get from Astra when he was in need of assistance.
It was then Cloud noticed the forbidden–or, at least, what was normally forbidden. On the side of the bath, something dazzling glittered. It was a bath bomb, yes, but a special bath bomb. A glitter bath bomb. Cloud, don’t you dare, but it was far too late. The dragon nudged it into the water and just like that, everything was bedazzled. He didn’t care for the tiny treats that popped out of the bombs since they were fox-sized, but he loved the beautiful glitter that now seeped into his fur. He would be just as shiny as Astra! This was the best bath ever.
Rory groaned instinctively, then cut it short. “Sorry, it’s not that I hate the work, it’s that Cloud–you know what, nevermind.” He tried to tidy up his knotting technique, but he didn’t really see the difference when she herself worked. She was just faster, and the ties came out prettier. And her fingers hurt less. But hey, muscle memory or something. He had a year to get it down. “What are you using the fabric for? The method seems a little…bland for a magical item shop.”
Tying a few knots and making sure the seat was at a decent height for the both of them to use, looking over at his deep sigh before she took the glimmering head band from her wrist to tie her hair back up. The long curly hair tamed to some extent, but not fully as it still swayed and looked as if it would break the band any moment. Not that it would, Stela had a love to enchant things for fun with even slightly useful spells.
“Did he get into the bath bomb? Astra used to as well, light dragons want to look so pretty for their riders.” Smiling at him as she left a few more for Rory to do, she could hear the splashes upstairs from the pair and was glad they were having fun and not making a complete mess of the places that counted. Nothing a nice mopping couldn’t fix as the floor was tiled and had a drain for the more messy bath times.
“This fabric is going to become a dress shirt, when it’s completed anyways. Not everything that ends up magical starts as such. Enchantments and that added dash of magic make life so much easier, but my mannequins have better things to do. Admittedly, I usually have them thread the loom but it’s good practice for you instead.”
Upstairs, Astra watched Cloud become slimmery, laughing at him while emerging from the bubbles with a tower of his own on his head, his puffy fur flat against his head but still looked so lovely. Astra did know they were up there to get clean though, and wanted to get out to eventually be brushed and dried to lay on the bed and be the pretty boy he was.
“Let’s finish getting clean, the blow drier will feel so nice and then we can get brushed so nicely! That and we don’t want the water to get too cold now.” Astra didn’t care if it was cold, but a warm bath always felt better after a long day. Clicking his claws on the tubs edge, the dragon realized he may need to get them trimmed as well, all a part of the after bath time. Just peeking out the door he could see the brushes, towels, and other supplies just floating and waiting for them. His wet tail wagging in the water at the thought alone.
“He did,” Rory replied with a tone of despondence. “He loves bubbles, and that’s fine and well, but…glitter. He’s going to shimmer for a month, and then I’ll get some on me too. Have you ever had glitter stuck in your eye? It leaves cuts.” He shiverred, remembering too many occassions than he preferred where that happened. “I’m sure he’ll look very pretty but…” he held in a sigh. He didn’t want to seem completely disappointed in his day…even though he very much was. He tried to focus on his work now that he knew the worst had happened. That would be the worst that could happen, right? He didn’t want to speculate, lest Cloud tune in and find some ‘good ideas.’
He was quite ‘honored’ that he had taken the free labor of the mannequins to help his payment. Surely there was a better job to do? But that wasn’t his choice, and if he complained aloud, he imagined the replacement task would be worse. “So, how do you enchant things after? I’ve never seen Shéar magic up close…or any magic, really. Not counting Cloud’s little illusions.” And probably Cloud’s little luck manipulation schemes. Things always seemed to go bad for Rory–but good for Cloud–wherever they went.
Cloud felt Rory take his attention away and grinned. Now he could really have fun! “Get out so soon? But the glitter just fell in. We have to get it all the way into our fur. If you don’t see glitter close to your skin, then you’re not clean!” the wyvern insisted. He sloshed the water around. “We could make a whirlpool! Pretend the bath bomb is a boat, and let’s sink it.” He would love a good brushing, hopefully from Rory so he could make the Rider look just as beautiful and shimmery as they were now. But first, playtime wasn’t over!
“Why don’t you use the pet and skin safe glitter as I go? It is meant to be on skin and doesn’t hurt any more than getting water in your eye…” Maristela was left confused on why this wasn’t an option he thought of, or if just mass produced glitter and sparkles didn’t… work the same as her produced ones. “Why not teach him to use his illusion magic so he can always sparkle? Astra does that to charm passing people into coming into the shop, no glitter or sparkles involved.” Only trying to offer help to the poor other doing busy work she’d usually leave to her enchanted mannequins, she was just a bit better at controlling her dragon as well. “He does seem like a little terror so maybe that wouldn’t satisfy his need…”
All the same, she was pleased to feel the nice feeling of the pair above. Astra was full of excitement and happiness as he played with Cloud, loving to take baths and get his guests clean before flopping onto the soft bed to get dried off by the enchanted materials above. He was a very good host, feeling that slight feeling of concern but was called back by Rory’s questions in the end.
“It depends what it is, I must admit. How deeply i want it weaved into the clothes as well and what the enchantment is. The one I will be putting on this is going to just be a charm, so whomever is wearing this shirt seems more attractive. Which you usually want as a weaker charm, anything else may upset the balance between natural desire and the effect. For say, a luck one I’d weave it into the fabric as it’s made.” With everything set up though, they were ready to start weaving, so patting the seat he waited for Rory to sit before moving on.
“That sounds a little messy, fun, but if we make too much of a mess then Stela will be mad. You might even be made to stay outside, and that’s no fun at all! Not as nice as the soft bed and blankets.” He did think about it though, sinking into the water as he thought. “We can stay in until the water gets cold, but if you get sick then I waaaaaarned you~” Though Astra had doubts that Stela would let them stay in that much.
Rory wondered why Maristela was better acquainted with a luxury product than him. He would need to alert his servants to this new product, although… “That doesn’t solve the problem of it being everywhere. Everywhere. My bed would look like I invited a guest unbefitting of the home.”
I bet they would be nice though.
Please don’t get ideas about that sort of thing. I have to look at them. Rory felt bad about anyone who needed a charm to look attractive, but now he knew he was doing a public service. Was this the sort of thing his brother was after…? No, it wouldn’t suit him, either. Rory sat when prompted, hoping he would have the skills to make this at least look like a shirt.
“It’s okay, I’m a Storm dragon,” Cloud insisted. “See? Look what I can do.” He demonstrated a bit of magic and froze the top of the water…the the bottom…then the whole thing. The edge of the bathtub started cracking a bit. It was fine, since Astra had already moved out of the bathtub and was sitting around being soggy and drying. “Now we can skate.” Except, there was one issue. He had forgotten to get out of the tub. It wasn’t fine at all. He tried to wiggle his toes, to no avail. He whined and his ears drooped. He looked at Astra with huge puppy dog eyes, as if the little fox dragon could help.
“That is true, but everyone needs just a little sparkle in their life.” More amused then anything Stela herself also didn’t need that sort of thing her life, but Astra adored it so and would often find nice glittery things to bathe, loving ot make the bedding and cloth ‘pretty’ as he’d say while rubbing all over it with his nice smelling fur scales. It left the fabrics smelling lovely, with that glitter adding a small sparkle of life to the more bland fabrics. No one was none the wiser as to why her lovely clothes just seemed that little bit more lovely.
“All the same, let’s work on this, I’m sure even if this is your first time you’ll do fine…” Or she hoped so. It wasn’t expensive materials they were working with, but she did hate it to go to waste.
Watching as the water started freezing, the drastic temperature change had the fox dragon fleeing. Still covered in some soap but he was fine with that as he watched the other dragon become just frozen in the tub and then realize his mistake as soon as it was done. It was cold outside the tub, but not as cold as sitting in the block of ice.
“Well, that is cool! But now you’re stuck…” Hopping up to paw at the nice, he licked Cloud’s face with small kisses as he let the enchanted items come finish off the bath requirements. RInsing him off, before moving onto drying him as Cloud could only watch the dragon look so comfy as his fur puffed up and then was brushed so gently. “Should I go get Rory? Stela may be mad and make you stand outside though…” He wasn’t sure if that was a good option even if he suggested it.
Rory did his best to pass the stick with the string through again and again, making some semblance of a cloth. It was a little loose on the edges, and now that he looked at it, had a bit more shine than he would normally expect from a cloth. Was it already enchanted with something? Perhaps the string was magical. The thought that the entire shop was infested with tiny glitter fragments never crossed his mind. A feeling of distress interrupted his finishing touches. He tentatively peered through Cloud’s eyes again to see the icy predicament he landed himself in. If that ice cracked the base of the tub…well, he would owe a bit more. Can you move ice?
I don’t know.
Try.
It’s not working.
There were two options: add to his debt, or pretend he knew nothing. He went with the latter and stroked the fabric in front of him. “Is it time to start sewing yet?”
The dragon was left wiggling in the ice until he remembered that cold stuff was actually quite comfortable, and he now had a nice ice bath to chill in for a while. He wagged the small bit of tail that was left stuck out of the tub. “Stela can’t make me stand outside if she can’t get me out of the ice. And I can’t get me out of the ice. We’ll be fine. Think you can slide a bar of soap past me? I bet not!” Cloud made a toothy grin and assumed the goalie role. He would snap up anything that tried to go past him.
“Not perfect…” Stela mused, watching as Rory passed the stick back and forth, her golden eyes watching as his feet moved in a simple manner to just make the very basic cloth. For a beginner though, he was doing well and she would praise him for that. “But still decent. I just need to show you the professional but delicate touch of a lady~” She teased, leaning over to press herself closer to him as she took over for a moment. Her movements faster but the same if more tight. That came from practice, but she handed the reins back to Rory as she looked around.
“Once there is enough cloth, or we use all the string, we cut or tie it off and go from there. Today is just a more tedious job. Can’t have you go and stab your fingers on the first day with a needle. Soon though, if you get tired i can take over as you make a cup of tea or something.”
Her dragon’s only nervous feelings left her looking up at the ceiling, wondering what had the two of them gotten into that left Astra feeling nervous. He was a sweet boy who did try to behave and grew antsy if someone was going wrong, and that alone left all sorts of questions in her mind.
“Do you think the two dragons are doing well upstairs?”
Humming as he thought over the options, Astra did suppose that Stela couldn’t move the bigger dragon if he was frozen. But he knew Cloud would still get in trouble. Maybe something for another time though, as Astra grabbed one of the plastic bath bombs and tried to roll it past Cloud, getting it knocked back and he hopped around with his calendar quadruped body and gently tapped it back for a simple game for the two of them. What would became of Cloud could wait, and Astra figured it wasn’t something he could help or control as the block of ice seemed solid.