Sewing the Way Through

1879

It's getting colder day by day. Bastien and Conny were fighting over the unlit bonfire, something about which was a better way to light a fire. Bastien had a few sticks in his hands while Conny had stones; their fight would have been humorous enough if it was not for the shivering autumn winds that were catching up.

My white, thin as can be, cloth, was of no use to provide me any sense of warmth to my body - which was unfortunate for the most part. If it had not been Quin stealing woolen scarves for us, I would have met my fate from hypothermia. I was a bit upset that we had to be dishonest to survive, but instead of scolding Quin like I used to, I asked him where he got them from.

He said it was from 'The Mister and Mistress' store which was a little further from my temporary shelter in town. I should have been surprised that he had managed to steal from a high-end store, but, I was mesmerized by the floral designs on the cloth. The colors were beautiful - turquoise, amber, maroon and light green all splattered!

Bastien was salty that he received the pink one while Quinn and Conny had royal red and black respectively. Of course that resulted into another fight, but I thankfully interrupted before anything could escalate further.

It was quite an eventful day!

PS: My scarf was very fluffy and warm.

__________________________

Quin chuckled lightly at what his lover wrote. His heart fluttered at the fact that his love had adored the scarf he had stolen for him. He never knew Adi would actually hide the next clue in the clothing store he often stole from because the latter loved colors.

The chimes of a bell resonated within the store when Quin entered along with Wright. The place had been through a renovation since his sneaky visits here. The insides were coated in a light pastel pink shade while black lace decorations adorned the few edges and corners of different furniture and walls. Mannequins were neatly standing on platforms which wore beautiful and elegant attires. Wooden shelves held colorful stacks of neatly folded clothes, accessories were on display under the golden hues of fancy light bulbs above and shoes were primly kept on glass platforms.

Holding the urge to look at the place in awe, the two men walked to the register where a beautiful young woman stood, who was holding a few papers in her hand. Wright almost stopped functioning when he laid eyes on her - how could one not? The lady had beautiful wavy ginger locks, ash gray eyes and a tall stature - taller than every other woman the Colonel had seen in his life.

"Ah, good morning, good sirs! My name is Adeline, and I would be assisting you today. Is there anything I can help you with?" She asked as she put the papers away.

Wright held his tongue to avoid saying something he would regret. Quin, unfortunately, noticed his odd behavior and immediately smirked lightly. Any other day, Wright would have been over the moon when the brunet showed any other emotion which did not include a frown or a cold expression. However, this was not any other day, and the olive haired man could not help but silently grunt in response.

"Greetings Adeline, I am Quin and this fellow beside me is Wright, we both are soldiers of our army. We are in need of information immediately." Quin spoke for the lieutenant as he knew the feeling all too well.

"Oh, are we in any sort of trouble?"

"No. Your store is not directly involved in the case we are investigating. There is no need to worry."

Adeline sighed in relief. "I suppose that is quite relieving. So, what is the information you require?"

Quin fished out his notepad and pen from a pocket. "Did a man, roughly about five feet and eight inches, visit your store two years ago and handed a sheet of paper in hopes to be given it to someone?"

Adeline pursed her lips. "Well, there have been numerous such strange customers who do that? Could you be more descriptive, if it is no problem?"

"That man had also purchased a colorful woolen scarf."

The ginger tap her foot on the floor for a while before she looked at the two. "Oh yes! That man was certainly suspicious at first. He was clad in a thin white shirt that draped over him like a dress and pants that looked like they were about to slip down his waist. Poor guy seemed like he didn't eat anything for ages."

Quin tried not to react to what she said and noted it down. "Do you still have that paper by any chance?"

"Well, about that. The manager gave it away to someone else, who asked for it like you two did. I am not sure who but, I suppose you can ask her if you like."

"I see, thank you for your cooperation. Is your manager available today?"

"Yes, she is in her office right by the corner." Adeline gestured to a polished wooden door, not that far away.

The brunet placed his notepad and pen back and nodded. "I see, many thanks."

"No problem!"

Wright quietly followed Quin to the office. He was embarrassed at himself when he found himself not contributing anything to the conversation back there. It was agonizingly difficult for him to say anything; his experiences with pretty women have never been pleasant. It was no wonder he still was a lonely bachelor with a single bedroom apartment and an almost empty fridge.

Wright sighed in annoyance when the General shot him another smug look at him. What days have been bestowed upon him that his cold-hearted boss would tease him about his non-existent love life?

Quin knocked on the shiny ebony door twice before entering. The manager was sitting on a chair smoking on her figurado cigar while glancing at the sheets of paper which had different dresses drawn on them. She merely shot a look at the two soldiers and returned her gaze at the documents while gesturing them to the neatly aligned chairs in front of her workspace.

Wright and Quin quietly sat on their seats and watched the lady puff a smoke out of her lips.

"If this is about the lawsuit, I have previously mentioned in the letter-"

"Ma'am, we are not here to address the alleged issue going on in your store." Wright cut to the chase, mainly due to the shame he felt a few moments ago.

The lady looked at them for a second. "Then what legal business would the army men serve here?"

Quin crossed his arms. "We are here to inquire about a note sent by a 'poorly dressed' man about five feet and eight inches high, two years ago."

"Give me a name."

The brunet let out a shaky breath. There was a reason as to why he didn't speak his name so often. If he did, he would never stop whispering his name under the dull night skies as he caressed the empty sheets beside him. He would not stop from quietly looking for him when he finds his bed cold in the early mornings he is awake.

"Adi." And yet, he says that with the same loving and soft tone as he did with him.

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