WOVEN THREADS 2

Opal was not quite done with his efforts to give gifts to his friends. And while things were not always as aligned as he would have liked, he still did think about the connections he had with all the power of a woefully absent, but well meaning fox. Not to say that he was stupid, but he was a very happy-go-lucky sort and it bled into every interaction he had with others. His imagination knew no bounds when he had his heart set on something.

It hadn’t stopped him from knitting a preposterously long and brooding sweater for his “boss”. Well boss wasn’t the word he thought fit, especially because he didn’t even really know why Paprika kept him around. All that mattered was that Paprika liked the clothing that Opal made, and Opal liked to have all his essentials taken care of so he could continue to create without interruption.

That was to say, he did miss Corriedale a little bit. He had spent most of his life there and had a nice house with lots of clientele. Even if they weren’t the most grateful when it came time for the change of seasons. It was something he had long come to terms with in the fashion industry. It was rarely ever personal. But Opal liked personal. He craved it sometimes. And while the Spice Rack was a bit dysfunctional even on a good day, there was an intimacy in the way they interacted with each other.

They had learned about each other's boundaries and quirks. They were something like friends. At least as far as Opal was concerned. And sometimes, he thought about doing more for and with his friends. Things that he rarely had the time to explore, mostly because while he loved these bastards, they were very much a bunch of sticks in the mud. Some muddier than others, but still a bunch of pointy sticks in the mud.

But no, this time, Opal was going to make something for a friend of his he hadn’t seen in a while. Ever since the two of them had been separated in the forest around Elna Manor, Opal hadn’t seen or heard from Pepper. He imagined that she was worried sick about him in her own way. Probably planning a rescue mission, but he could understand why it was taking her so long. After all, the forest was difficult to navigate and there was a cowboy vampire wandering around and kidnapping people sometimes. It made perfect sense that she would have an issue with getting through all that.

Especially if no one would help her.

He had gathered his fabrics already. A fancy box with fancy ribbons, covered in glitter and very glitzy baubles. The box would undoubtedly be from him, and the garment inside would also undoubtedly be from him. He loved to make outfits and he thought Pepper would look very good in an adorable dress that matched her bowtie. But he thought that it wouldn’t be the best for the season, which was starting to get more and more chilled as time went on. A sweater was what he was going to make. Made of the finest threads he was allowed to purchase through the head of the house, Clover.

Once his supplies had come in, he set to work forging the most beautiful and soft sweater he could. Pepper seemed the type to like the oversized kinds of sweaters, as when he had been traveling with her before, he had noticed that she slept like a ball. A rabbit beast in a burrow in a mass of blankets that were much much bigger than her. It was kind of funny to see her in the fabric mass now that he was reflecting on it.

When he had finally finished the purple sweater, he wrote a lovingly rendered note by hand, even asking Clover to help him with some of the more fanciful lettering before sealing it all up and sending it out.

He hoped that she would like it, already knowing that she would. He took a lot of pride in his work, even when he was perceived to be a hostage.

---

When Pepper had received the package, it had been just as she was returning from an errand in Woolhope. She had gone to gather supplies for her next excursion out into the rest of the realm. Mainly to find someone who would help her in going to get the friend she had been unable to help in the forest. Opal was his name, and it had been a long time before she had been able to convince Piero that this was something that she had to do.

The package had been left in her room, and she opened it suspiciously, though that suspicion ebbed away when the unmistakable scent of Opal filled the room, along with a glittery shower from the box. She looked at the note before digging into the rest of the box. The note had been a reassuring one, though she could not read most of it, as the handwriting was a little too fancy for her abilities. It seemed that wherever Opal was, he was not being tortured, which was a positive sign. That wasn’t going to stop her from going to see for herself, but at least it was reassuring?

The outfit was cute too. A giant purple sweater that was as soft and warm as the finest blankets she had ever swathed herself in. When she climbed - as that was what she had to do to put it on - into it, she could barely bunch it up enough to keep her hands free, and it trailed behind her.

Gratefully, Pepper hopped into bed with all her strength and allowed herself to settle into the sweater nest that she now possessed. She loved it, though she had already made the decision to not take it with her on her next journey, lest it get ruined in another oddball adventure.

She was certain that she wouldn’t be able to write back, but she also knew that Opal would assume that she loved the gift. Which she did, with all the passion her hateful little heart could muster.