a gothita watched intently from a corner, the store’s watchful eye.[break][break]
”oh, stop staring, dear. it’s rude. why don’t you go organize the threads again, hm?”[break][break]
the psychic-type left around a corner, and velda’s smile returned to nikita like a wide string of polished pearls.[break][break]
”i’ve been wonderful, thank you.” never mind the impending meteor. not an ounce of negativity would poison such business as this—not unless they were problems she could solve with immaculate tailoring.[break][break]
”so, we’re looking for a wardrobe update? the note said there was something else, too. i’m so curious.”

[attr="class","ooc"]@nikita [break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-gothita"]

”oh, how fun. i absolutely adore designing costumes for pokémon contests. and audino? what a cutie!”[break][break]
she beamed down at its perfectly adorable pose, and ideas began to spring to life in her head. colors, shapes, textures, and more.[break][break]
”thank you for that, miss wells. my thoughts are… well, first off,” she leaned down, peering into the audino’s gaze, ”we must accentuate these beautiful eyes. just a touch of sapphire, somewhere. and i think too much white would steal the show, honestly. cream would be best. perhaps white pearls, or… little pom-poms…”[break][break]
she might’ve suggested lace, but nikita had an edge about her that didn’t scream lacey lady to velda. she designed custom garments.[break][break]
she raised again, turned, ”you don’t by chance have a mega stone for it, do you?”

[attr="class","ooc"]@nikita [break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-gothita"]

”well, i highly recommend it. they're fabulous, and you really can’t go wrong with a mega evolution in a contest, right? i could design you a custom accessory…” she stood again, reaching for swatches off a shelf. ”just say the word.”[break][break]
one outfit for each round. she smiled. ”perfect. i love three.”[break][break]
the dagger of her finger ring flipped over pages of vibrant hues, stopping somewhere in a family of green to ponder.[break][break]
”so walk me through the whole thing. what’s the story we're trying to tell here?”

[attr="class","ooc"]@nikita [break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-gothita"]

”fifteen years? congratulations on breaking back onto scene! how exciting.”[break][break]

about jewelry, she responded, “of course! we’ve got plenty of lookbooks. even some things here—although much of the jewelry collection is in kalos, and well, you know.” the barrier situation. they were all cut out from the rest of the world, at least for now. would it be forever? no one knew.[break][break]

while nikita thumbed through her pinterest, velda was clearly struck with inspiration. ”ah, galar. a wonderful idea!” it was a shame what had happened there, indeed. ”the sparkle of the tundra, the glow of glimwood tangle... we’ll capture the morning sunlight of the slumbering weald! i love it.”[break][break]

flipping to another family of swatches with a light hum, she asked, ”tell me more. what charms you the most about the region?”

[attr="class","ooc"]@nikita [break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-gothita"]

”what a beautiful memory,” she smiled. this was the good stuff. the meat of inspiration. human connection, the true beating heart of art. ”i’d love to draw more from that."[break][break]
she paused briefly, before continuing with her ideas aloud, ”a touch of lavender, then. flowers, for your family. perhaps i’ll do a basket weave on one of the garments.”[break][break]
by this time, several pages had been marked in her color book, which she set aside. like a touchy painter, she was too early in her process to make such grand reveals as her full palette. it would be finalized after much consideration over a glass of wine from the southern region of galar. perhaps she would even go out for a picnic. all part of the process.[break][break]
”do you trust me, nikita?”[break][break]
though she assumed so already. she was used to having free rein. it was what people paid for.

[attr="class","ooc"]@nikita [break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-gothita"]