The Answers lie beyond

[Natsuko Mountbatton]

Natsuko usually got her dresses and kimonos from Japan, and the ancient seamstress who had made all of her dresses since she was a child. Howerver, since she had come to England, she had gained an appreciation for their style, and while she generally provided her own fabrics, as she found the British ones to be too drab and boring for her tastes. She had engaged more than one dress makers to make her something more English, but that had the colour and flair of her native homeland. Today she was simply placing an order, and buying a few extra pieces for her wardrobe like gloves and scarves. She was trying on a pair of soft leather gloves, admiring the sweep of her own long fingers in the soft material. The did look a little odd with her deep purple kimono and the tan leather, and she stood out more than a little against the other ladies in their very traditional English gowns.

She gave the gloves back to the attendant, indicating her intention to buy them, she was admiring the rest of the cabinet, when an scarf in the hands of a young girl in the shop attracted her attention. ’Excuse me miss, are you going to buy that?’


DRESS

  

[Demelza McGonagall]

Her brother's governess lurked somewhere nearby, but as long as Demelza knew she was around, she paid little attention to the woman generally, even less so when shopping. With the school year approaching, it seemed like she was determined to spend a fair chunk of her allotted money. She was almost excited to go back to school as she had been her first year if only to get away from her ever more annoying brothers. And this year, Topaz would not be coming with them as well. Now that she had been outed as a werewolf, she had been ostracized now from most civilized society and while she was horrified to be related to a werewolf now, she was quite pleased that it had happened to Topaz rather than RUby. Not that that mattered too much when she wasn't speaking to Ruby again.

Shopping was a good distraction from that though, and she turned the scarf over in her hands. The fabric felt nice in her hands. It would be thick enough to handle the chill of the stone castle on her return which would be a plus. Not only was it functional, but it looked nice as well, she thought as she eyed the pinkish white fabric. A voice caught her attention then, seemingly directed at her and she looked up, grey eyes flickering over the owner, recognizing her almost immediately. "Miss Mountbatton!" Dezzie proclaimed in a cheerful surprise, forgetting that she had not yet actually met the woman and she might have thought it odd that this strange girl knew her name when they had never met. "Oh dear, the scarf, well, yes, but I can always find another would you wish for this one!"

  

[Natsuko Mountbatton]

Natsuko was rather surprised to have been addressed by name for she was fairly certain she didn’t know the girl, she looked too young to be a debutante and she certainly hadn’t been in school with Natsuko. ’No, no, it is quiet alright’ she demurred about the scarf, it was nice but it wasn’t nice enough to take it from a young girl, not when there were others, and to illustrate the point she lifted another of the scarves, a blue and pink one.

’You seem to have me at a disadvantage’ Natsuko said with a smile, and a curtsey, ’You seem to know who I am but I’m afraid I don’t know you?’ Suki’s head quirked to one side and for a moment she wondered if perhaps this young lady might know Moriko, the younger sister who, until recently had not been part of her life.

  

[Demelza McGonagall]

She smiled sheepishly as the woman took another scarf, blue and pink and equally as pretty and she found herself scanning the displays to see if there was another like it that she could get simply to say she had the same scarf as the foreign woman did. Witch Weekly had always seemed to praise her style - even if it was a little off-kilter and she wouldn't dare mimic it to its full extent in fear of being ridiculed. 

At her next words, however, she flushed violently red in embarrassment. What had she been thinking to greet the women by her name? She had never met the woman or had any connection to her. The only thing she could drag out of a hat was that Natsuko had her cousins, the ones she wasn't talking to, over for tea once. "Oh, pardon me, miss. I recognized you from Witch Weekly. Sometimes they write about your different dress, all I've seen have been quite pretty. My name is Demelza McGonagall. A pleasure to meet you formally, miss."

  

[Natsuko Mountbatton]

Her debut had been covered at some length in WW, it had been rather different to most English debuts, having been co-ordinated to co-incide with the star festival, and all of the Japanese touches that had been included in the proceedings, including her own dance and musical performance, elements which were not expected at an English debut but were definitely elements of the Japanese as the aim was to show the accomplishments of the young lady to all assembled.

’Oh’ she said recognising the name, ’a pleasure to meet you too Miss McGonagall’ she had spent some time since she had arrived getting to know the larger and more distinguished families, and was aware of the connection between Miss McGonagalls family, and the Ministers. Suki gave a curtsey and inclined her head in greeting. ’although to my dresses, I feel like I am at a further advantage because we clearly have the same taste, which is of course impeccable’ her tone joking in a friendly manner, because of course the two had admired the same scarf. ’am I correct in saying that Balthazar Urqaurt is your uncle?’

  

[Demelza McGonagall]

Her flush had faded slightly but returned to a lesser extent when the lady returned her greeting and seemed to mean it and had it been a term yet she would have easily been dubbed a 'fangirl' with her sheer excitement at meeting someone she normally only read about. Hurriedly, she mimicked the movement of the woman, attempting to curtsey back, though she wasn't too certain as to why someone with the status of Miss Mountbatton would curtsy to her!

"Oh yes, your taste truly is impeccable. You are so brave to wear such patterns and styles here. If I had moved to another country, I know I would have much preferred to blend in than stand out." Even if she had clearly been meaning her words as a playful joke, they were so true, more for Miss Mountbatton than herself. Her smile fell then when she mentioned her relation. "Yes, the Minister is my uncle. Himself and my mother were siblings." It wasn't that she had an issue with Natuko asking, normally she would have preened under the light, stretching the connection and its resources as far as she could. Today she was iffy, angered by the fact no one told her and unsure of how people would see here once they knew she was the werewolf's cousin.

  

[Natsuko Mountbatton]

Natsuko chuffed like a mother hen, ’a young lady as pretty as you should not blend in’ she said, it was a strange obsession for many of them, and the viciousness with which they chastised each other for wearing a colour other than block colours or English point work was shocking, and patterns such as the ones she favoured were non-existent, other than by those who sought to mimic the aesthetic by making an English dress in Japanese fabric which was rather boring altogether. She might have disliked Miss Eva Sleptova but she could at least acknowledge that the girl knew how to dress – it was part of the reason that WW had taken such an interest in them as a social paring. A fact which still annoyed her.

It was obvious almost immediately that the young lady was expecting some back lash based on Miss Urqarts new status as a werewolf. ’they are very pleasant young ladies, they visited my house before their fathers recent…’ she faltered, the news of Balthazar’s abandonment at the alter was a greater scandal in her opinion than his daughters infection. Perhaps because werewolfism wasn’t a big deal in Japan, certainly not as hysterical as here. ’the next time the girls come to for Chanoyu perhaps you will be able to join them’ she offered. She knew the family were having a difficult time, and when she had written to Topaz she had seemed genuinely pleased by the fact someone had reached out to her and was still inclined to offer her society under the circumstances. It couldn’t be easy for their cousin either she was sure, entire families were hunted from society for less.

  

[Demelza McGonagall]

She flushed again at Natsuko's compliment. Rarely was she ever called pretty even when she strove to accomplish such and now that she was, she would be like putty. Anything the woman told her she would do or believe. Still, she while she called the woman bold she found no issue with the stylistic choices of her society. Her frilly dresses, still she did suppose there was a niceness to the kimonos of the Japanese with their multiple patterns, colors, and layers there was far more room to express yourself much like the old fashioned robes and their embroidery.

She bit the inside of her lip as she started to speak of her cousins, her muscles tensed and she felt a prickle of annoyance though she was unsure of how to continue. She didn't really want to do anything with her cousins, even more so Topaz but she had no idea when she would ever re-extend the invitation. "Chanoyu?" She questioned, choosing the safe route.

  

[Natsuko Mountbatton]

’the tea ceremony’ she explained, ’sort of a little party, but where we celebrate how important spending time with others is’ she explained, she had had to explain it to the other girls as well. ’and how unique each interaction we have with others can be.’ she gave a carless toss of her wrist, running the scarf through her fingers as she did so. ’not that I need many excuses to show off Japanese traditions’ she gave a light laugh and held a hand to her throat.

Suki studied the other girls features with interest, she was a unique looking girl, her features were pretty but not in the common way, she had a broad face, but plump lips, and clear almond eyes, features which her own culture prized as highly desireable. ’might I ask miss Mc Gonagal’ she ventured, ’although it is most rude to ask another lady her age, but what age are you?’ she questioned, ’When shall I have to consider you social competition?’ she added with a smile, joking of course, but of course there were many others in society for whom it was an accurate description.