Chapter 120: Clothing

The morning was quiet.

Anaria sat outside the shelter with her leg propped on a small stool. The salve had been applied, and the pain was quiet. She could not walk far or stand for long, but she could sit, and she could still work with her hands, she looked around the settlement and saw that they have already started the construction work with the help fos her mates and this made her happy then she suddenly remembered...

She called on the system.

"Is there something I can do? Something small. Something that does not require walking, I feel bad sitting around, watching other people doing my task for me."

The system chimed.

[Minor Task Available.]

She waited patiently..

[Task: Make clothes for the children.]

[Objective: Provide warm clothing for the settlement’s children.]

[Reward: 100 spirit fangs, 1× Skill Enhancement Token.]

Anaria nodded and smiled "That’s simple and I can work with that" then her smiley face turned into a puzzled look "Wait, how can I start making clothes when I don’t even know their sizes"

The system chimmed again

[Host, can ask the woman for help]

She nodded and then called for the village women and asked then for the clothe size that the children wear. At first they were confused and didn’t know what she means by clothe size then ananria quickly understood what’s happening and calming explained what she meant.

One of them whom was a bunny beastwoman spoke first "We don’t really have a clothe size for the Cubs, we measure them with our eyes"

Another beast woman agreed to this and this made ananria helpless.

"How am I supposed to measure them then" She asked the woman standing before her.

One of them told her that they can help with that, at first ananria didn’t want to but she can’t help but accept their offer cause she can’t just measure with her eyes

The women left later one and came back with their own sewing materials.

Mira came first. She was loud. Her voice carried across the settlement. Sena came next. She was quiet. Her belly was round. She was pregnant. Lira came last. She was older. Her fur was grey. She did not speak. She just sat down.

They brought their materials.

Anaria looked at them. Her eyes widened.

The needles were not needles. They were thin sticks. Sharpened at one end. The thread was not thread. It was thin strips of tree bark, twisted together. The cloth was rough. Uneven. Patched together from old pieces.

Anaria stared.

"What is this?"

Mira looked at her. She seemed confused by the question.

"This is what we have. It is what we always use."

Sena nodded. She held up one of the sticks.

"We make it work."

Anaria picked up one of the sticks. She turned it in her fingers. She had never seen anything like this. She had grown up with proper needles. Proper thread. Proper cloth. This was something else entirely.

"How do you sew with this?"

Mira showed her. She took the stick. She took the tree thread. She pushed the stick through the cloth. She pulled the thread through. It was slow. It was clumsy. But it worked.

Anaria watched. She was shocked.

She called on the system quietly.

"Are these the only materials available?"

[Negative. Basic sewing materials can be provided.]

"Then provide them."

[Confirmed. Basic sewing kit unlocked. Cost: 20 spirit fangs.]

She grimaced. But she paid it.

A small bundle appeared behind a bush near the shelter. No one saw. She waited until the women went to fetch more cloth. Then she stood. She limped to the bush. She picked up the bundle. She carried it back to her seat.

The women returned.

They stopped and stared.

Mira spoke first. Her voice was loud "What is that?"

On the ground in front of Anaria were proper needles. Thin. Metal. Sharp. Proper thread. Strong. Thin. A measuring tape. Cloth. Soft. Clean. New.

Anaria looked at them.

"This is what we will use now."

Sena looked at her. Her voice was quiet.

"Where did you get these?"

"I have my ways."

Lira picked up a needle. She turned it in her fingers. She looked at Anaria. Her eyes were wide.

"This is better than anything we have ever seen."

Anaria smiled.

"Then let us use it."

The women sat down. They were hesitant at first. They did not know how to hold the needles. They did not know how to use the thread. Anaria showed them.

One woman pricked her finger.

She dropped the needle. She stared at the small drop of blood.

"This thing is evil. It is a blood sucker."

Anaria laughed. She could not help it.

"It is not evil. It is just sharp. You have to hold it like this."

She showed her. The woman tried again. She did not prick herself this time.

Anaria picked up the measuring tape.

"This is for measuring. So the clothes fit properly."

The women looked at it. They did not understand.

Then a small bear cub ran past. His mother was chasing him. The cub was small. Maybe three years old. He was curious. He saw the tape in Anaria’s hand. He reached for it.

Anaria wrapped it around his arm to show the women how it worked.

The mother screamed.

She ran faster. She grabbed her cub. She pulled him away.

"Get away from my child! She has wrapped a snake around him!"

The commotion attracted the men. Kenai came running. Kai came running. Rylan came last. They saw Anaria holding the tape. They saw the mother clutching her cub. They saw the women trying to explain.

Kenai spoke first.

"What is happening?"

Anaria held up the tape.

"It is just a measuring tape. I was showing them how to use it."

The mother did not believe her. She held her cub tighter.

"It moved! It curled around his arm!"

Anaria sighed. She stood. Slowly. She held up the tape. She wrapped it around her own arm. She showed them. It did not bite. It did not hurt. It just measured.

The mother stared at her.

"It is a snake."

"No. It is cloth. See?"

Anaria held it out. The mother did not take it. But she looked.

Kenai spoke.

"It is not a snake. It is a tool. She used it to measure."

The mother looked at Anaria. Then at the tape. Then at her cub. The cub was laughing. He was not hurt. He was not scared.

The mother finally let go.

"Fine. But keep it away from my child."

Anaria nodded.

"I will."

The men returned to their work. The women sat back down. They were still cautious of the tape. But they trusted Anaria.

She smiled at them.

"Now let me show you how it really works."

She picked up the tape. She walked to the little bear girl who had been measured. She knelt beside her.

"May I?"

The girl nodded.

Anaria measured her. Carefully. She wrote down the numbers. Then she looked at the women.

"Now we make a dress for her."