Tea and Costumes

Posted on Thu Apr 2nd, 2026 @ 15:34 by Alastair Temple & Rebecca McMillen

Chapter: Gobsmacked
Location: Art Classroom
Timeline: Pre- road trip
1608 words - 3.2 OF Standard Post Measure

Purpose carried Alastair down the hall, towards the haunt of someone he'd come to consider a friend. Well, long strides in heavy leather boots carried him, but purpose motivated him. The purpose being related to the large bag he was carrying. Once at the art classroom - hoping he'd find her there - he peered around the corner. "Rebecca? You here?"

On the teacher's desk there stood a miniature easel, upon which was a miniature canvas. Bearing paint for a miniature painting, being produced by the hand of a miniature teacher. "Hmmm? Oh hey Al! Hold on." she called up, before hopping down from her desk to her chair, then from the chair to out of sight behind the desk. She then returned to the normal scale and proportion of ordinary folks, and approached from around from behind her desk. "What's up?" thin tail sway...

"Hey 'Becca," he smiled and offered a wave. Patiently waiting for her to become baseline human size again as he sauntered inside, still holding that bag. "I had a request of you, a commission of sorts. It's - ... completely outside of your wheelhouse, but of all the people in this castle, I think you're the only one who can actually pull it off," he mused, tapping the bag.

"Ooo, a vague and hidden favor?" she teased, "Okay, I'm curious, what's in the bag?" she inquired. It was completely out of her wheelhouse, he said. Which was intriguing in and of itself. Whatever could he need to ask her?

"Not a favor, a commission. It is for a commercial project, and thus I will pay you for your time," Al mused. Seeing her focus on the bag he moved to sit on one of the student desks in her classroom, placing the bag in his lap and resting his hands on it. "As for what it is - it is for my Temple of Zhao project that I'm running, with Miss Zhao," Although it was common knowledge by now that the two were in a relationship, it still felt kind of weird to refer to Li as Liana to other teachers, especially in public spaces like this.

"I've come up with some lore for the project, where the two of us are old victorian era musicians who died and were buried, then rose from our graves to make music again. To this end I've purchased era appropriate costumes; a victorian era suit for me and a victorian era dress for Miss Zhao," Now opening the large bag and producing said costumes from it. They were packed in their own transparent plastic, but it was easy to tell at a glance that these weren't just halloween costumes, they were actual quality products. "I would like to hire you to distress them. Make them ragged and torn, paint them to look old and dirty, dusty and slightly decaying. Like we've been buried in them for a century. We're musician zombies, we need costumes to make us look the part."

Rebecca cupped her chin, looking the two outfits up and down. There was a stray thought that ran through her head of how SHE would look in such elegance. She quickly dismissed it, realizing that plenty of dolls had wedding attire, and she could just as easily slip into whatever they wore. "Hmmm... I could ask Fourteen and the others nibble on them a bit, but the best way to get that Fresh From The Grave look.... is to bury them." she offered. "Call me old fashioned, but I like that authentic look and feel. Now, you don't need to dig the full six feet, but yeah just dig a pair of holes, lay them out, bury them and come back in a week or two?" Rebecca then put on a macabre stance, like telling a horror story, "Then, exhume the bride and groom from their earthen tomb and command them, in the name of rock and roll, to sing for the living!" she giggled.

Al smiled, caught up a little in Rebecca's enthusiasm. "I like the idea of the costumes getting nibbled on, but I'm not sure just burying them for two weeks is going to give the right results. They'll get dirty, sure, but not like a century old dirty. So I was hoping your command of color composition might help here. You are the most artistic person in the castle."

She beamed at the compliment. "Hmmmm, I suppose a tea soak might also age the garments, we'd have to dry them out without the use of anything that would, well, clean up the age'ification we're doing. Though, I'm sure Fourteen would love a chance to nibble on fabric without getting scolded." she smirked, and turned to look over at the large squeaky rat on one of the student desks. "Isn't that right?" she asked, casual, and the squeak squeak from the rat said everything.

"Oh yeah, he likes that part."

Al chuckled, then laughed at the interaction, it was all just so adorable. He gave the rat a small wave, before reaching into the bag again and pulling out a smaller bag. Bagception! "I was hoping you had some ideas, yes. I also brought some pieces of the same fabric the costumes are made from so you can experiment a bit before 'ruining' - " he said, making airquotes " - the costumes themselves. Nail down a method and an aesthetic, so to say." He had never heard of 'tea soak' before but had seen tea stains on fabric and that aesthetic worked for him.

Rebecca nodded, "Samples will certainly help. Wouldn't do well to try an idea on the whole outfit and it didn't work." she smirked, "Imagine that. Sorry about your look, hope you like tie-dye." she smiled, but shook her head, "No no I think this could work out nicely." she paused, "So just the laundry then?" she asked, amused.

"Just the laundry, then. Though that is an interesting term to describe the exact opposite of what the concept of laundry is supposed to do," he rubbed his chin, looking thoughtful. Oh - there's no rush. It'll be weeks, if not months, before we can really start doing promo art. Most likely involve Liana and me dressed and made up like zombies looking somber in the forest. All for the aesthetic, of course."

"Well it was us the word wrongly or do the Alice in Wonderland but of just sticking Un- in front of it. I don't think Un-Laundry really works in this case either. And yes, i recognize the irony in me, of all people, making an Alive in Wonderland reference." Rebecca couldn't help but giggle.

"I appreciate a challenge, I'll keep you posted on the progress. Any particular colors or tints you want focused or avoided?"

"Hmm," Al furrowed his brows, seeming to contemplate. "Well, it's going to be worn on a stage and has to be visible, from a distance. So not too subtle and dark so it disappears in shadows," even though the outfits were mostly black. "Some dark red accents maybe? To resemble dried blood? Not sure why that would be on funeral clothes but hey, it's a theme and I'm sticking to it. And whatever goes good with that - you know a lot more about color theory than I do."

Rebecca gave a nod, "I mean, you make a good point but I can respect artistic flair. Alright, I'll see what I can do. You can just leave them there." she turned to the large rat on the desk, "And no premature nibbling."

Ever seen a rat look disappointed? You have now.

"Is there anything I can bring for your friends some time? Like a treat or a snack? I thought about bringing some cat treats but figured I'd run it by you first since you know best what they like and what's safe for them," Al offered.

She smiled, heading over slightly to give Fourteen a gentle scritch behind his ears, which elicited a sound from the rat that sounded like a gentle grinding sound.

"As much as I enjoy the irony of giving rats cat food, the best treat to get them that isn't long term problematic would be peas." The mousey blonde corrected, "Rats are delicate. Their tummies are good for scratches but too much protein or fat can get them really sick."

"Thanks for asking. He'd say thanks too, but he doesn't speak Bird." She said with a smile.

'Delicate' hadn't been the first word Al would've chosen to describe rats, having had to do things back in his youth that he elected not to volunteer to Rebecca and Fourteen. "Peas, huh. I can do that, shouldn't be too hard." Beat. "I'll be gone for a few days, heading on a trip to Germany with Liana," dropping the 'Miss Zhao' for now, "Should be back by next week tuesday."

"Ooo, well drive safe out there. I remember how you drive, so she *should* be alright." Rebecca teased with a smirk. "It'll be good for you two to get out, away from the drama and media of Avalon. I'd say I'll hold down the fort while you're away but, let's be honest, I... Me I can handle. No promises on the others."

"Mm. The fort will be fine. It was here long before our arrival and will be here long after our passing and if it remembers us at all, it will be as transient ghosts in the night," Alastair mused. "... Which would make a great title for our second album," he added, rubbing his chin and looking thoughtful.