Thea found herself awake just before dawn. She knew she had dreamed something amusing, but it was lost to her as soon as she'd stirred. It seemed that once sleep had done away with most of her exhaustion, the restless anxiety of the night before pried her eyes open. One attempt at closing her eyes again proved that nothing would stop the swarm of thoughts in her mind.

One would think I’d already drunk a cup of very strong tea this morning. She sighed and sat up in bed, pulling her nightgown a bit more over her shoulder. At least she wasn’t still groggy. Today will be a very busy day, she thought as she peeked over at Luin, who was still sleeping soundly.

Deciding that it was best to quietly get herself ready before waking Luin up at the last possible moment, Thea did just that. Taking her clothing to the washroom, she washed and began to dress. The cream-colored blouse she chose didn’t quite match with the dark gray wool skirt, but quickly grabbing a belt that had a bit of both colors solved the issue.

Her well-worn corset fit over her combinations snuggly, and her back already felt a bit better for the support. One needed it when carrying books all the time. The slowest part of dressing were all the buttons on the corset cover, but once that was done, the blouse, petticoat, skirt, and belt went on quite quickly. She patted just a bit of color to her eyelids and lips and rebraided her lavender-gray hair, fastening it with a few pins to keep it wound on her head, and she was done.

She shuffled her slippers back on and softly tip-toed downstairs. Once in the kitchen, she took note of the need to fix that chair again before assessing the state of her pantry.

Oh, dear. There’s really not much. Thea pressed her lips together as she admonished herself. She really had been eating out more lately, especially for breakfast. Catching a quick muffin or two, or a hot roll with honey, was just too tempting when she passed the baker’s shop twice a day to and from work. It didn’t help that the baker’s daughter was a frequent visitor of the library and would often sneak an extra item in for her. That’s how she’d gotten the extra muffin Luin had eaten the day before.

“Thea?” Luin’s voice came tentatively from the stairs.

Thea rushed out of the kitchen towards the voice. It startled her since she still wasn’t used to hearing another voice in her apartments. “I’m here. Just getting ready.” It was then that she saw Luin still in the same, plain, knee-length tunic gown. How should we get him ready too?

As she was pondering this, Luin descended the rest of the stairs. “Are you cooking again?” he asked, looking up at her.

Thea smiled to cover her chagrin. “Uh, well, about that…we will probably pick up something from the bakery on the way to the library.” She pursed her lips as she looked Luin over once more. “But we need to deal with your clothing and hair first. The coachman from last night took you for a homeless child, and regardless of whether that is true or not, we won’t want others thinking that of you from here on out.”

As Luin picked at his tunic gown, re-examining his clothing, Thea’s eyes lit up as she got an idea. She swung open the door to the under-stairs closet. A few dustmotes swirled in the air as she glanced through the closet’s contents. There was that broken chair. She grabbed it and plopped it down in the hallway. It tilted as the broken leg wouldn’t hold it up straight.

Thea continued perusing through the clothes hanging above a few storage boxes. She had some older coats that she hadn’t worn in a few years. They still fit but were a bit out of style, so she kept them just in case. She thought she might be able to tailor them a bit to wear them again, but never got enough time away from her job at the library–or her reading–to really concentrate on her meager sewing skills.

Ah, here we are! She pulled out a thin, wool coat. It was a light charcoal gray with blue pinstripes. It was thin enough to not be overly warm, and the length looked about right for what she was thinking. The coat came down to mid thigh on her, but it would cover Luin quite well. It might still make him look like a girl, but it wasn’t uncommon for little boys to wear skirts too, though theirs were less frilly. The plainness of the coat would work well in that regard.

“I think this coat will help us out at least until we can get you a few sets of clothes sometime today.” Thea came out of the closet with the coat draped over one arm. With her other hand she tapped her chin with a finger as she thought.

Her fellow librarian that shared all shifts but two days a week with her would be there today. If she did a bit of pleading, she was sure Ginaveve would let her take some time to get Luin some clothes–maybe trade a bit of a favor if she had to. She nodded as she decided on her course of action.

“Let’s go upstairs and get you washed up. I’ll show you where the washcloths and the basin are. You can wear this coat until we get you some more clothes today.” She smiled as Luin fell into step behind her like a little duckling.

So cute! Gineveve will surely think so too.