Valkyrie took a deep breath of fresh, frisk air. Sometimes, a good walk was all that could clear her full head, whisk away the fog of her muted thoughts.

It was several weeks after the murder of the girls in the parking lot. They were successfully chasing the remaining guests of Perock's event, finding out more details about how he had operated.

Valkyrie was ready and willing to keep going, to find out more, to scatter the organisation and its most powerful. Yet the end of the year was slowly nearing; a cold November had turned into an even colder December, and now, a week before the holidays, work was slowing down, and more often than not, Valkyrie's thoughts drifted to her family, rather than work; the decoration, cookies, punch, dinner cooked by mom... Not even the Mafia could keep her away from that.

Xena was running, chasing, and jumping around in the bushes between trees. Ahead and to the side, forest stretched out from the path, on the other side a wide meadow. Frost was gnawing at the evergreen trees, all the way from the moss in the ground to the needle tips.

Valkyrie stuck her gloved hands into the pockets of her jacket. It was polstered and warm, yet the cold reached her even though the thick fabric. It was not a magically enforced jacket, after all. She sighed and tried to shush the thought from her mind.

Instead, Valkyrie watched Xena as she finally made her exciting discovery in the bushes; an old sandal.

"Eesh, girl, no." Valkyrie waved. "Drop that."

Xena looked at her proudly; old, sweaty, slightly frozen sandal hanging from her snout.

"Yes, you did a good job. But that's gross. Drop it."

The dog moved down as if she were about to drop it but then just looked up at her again.

Valkyrie raised a warning finger. "Drop iiit."

Xena dropped it.

"That'a girl."

She came strolling closer with a wagging tail.

"When did you become so rebellious? It's Skulduggery's influence, isn't it?" Valkyrie asked her, as Xena made her way over. "He's a bad dog parent. I should have known. A guy entirely made of bones, how could I ever compete with that?"

Xena sneezed and Valkyrie chuckled at herself. She reached out for the dog that arrived with her and scratched her behind the ears.

Her phone rang. Valkyrie sighed, pulled it from her pocket, but then paused and raised a brow at her phone screen.

She took a breath and picked up. "Hello, Diamond."

"Hey, Valkyrie," her soft voice responded on the other side of the line. "Are you available?"

"That depends." She smirked and started walked on over the dirt path. "Are we talking time or...?"

Diamond snorted bemusedly. "How about both?"

"Yes, and yes." Valkyrie nodded.

She heard Diamond chuckle. "Alright, so I'm on my way to an appointment, and I was wondering if you'd like to tag along."

"An appointment where?" She asked.

"At a tailor shop." Diamond said, and made her falter. "Nuce noticed that you don't have armored clothing. That struck me as odd, to be honest."

Valkyrie tried to swallow quietly. "I lost mine a while ago."

"That's a shame." Diamond replied unfortunately. "In any case, I'll be in Dublin in an hour. Meet me there?"

Susanna Tailor was her name, and Valkyrie was about to crinkle her nose at the obvious choice before she remembered that Bespoke was not any more creative either.

They entered the small shop in the Westside of town. It was nestled in between a bookshop and a second hand clothing store, presenting itself as any other shop on the street run by mortals. The window front was decorated with handcrafted suits and evening dresses, the inside was mostly shelfs filled with fabric and golden lamps hanging from the ceiling.

When Diamond stepped in, Susanna smiled, and when Valkyrie stepped in behind her, the smile dropped and her eyes grew wide.

"My God." Susanna said.

"You can call me Valkyrie." She smiled.

A simper slid over her face before Susanna was in awe again. She was a slender woman, light brown hair tied up to a functional bun. Susanna was neither very pretty nor ugly, her features seemed mostly unremarkable. Yet the outfit she was wearing drew any attention away from what might or might not have been an attractive face. It was a silky, deep dark blue jumpsuit that folded over her decolté, and tied around the waist with a velvet piece of fabric.

"Valkyrie Cain." Susanna said and quickly walked out from behind her wooden counter to shake her hand. "What an honor to meet you. In my humble shop, no less."

"Nice to meet you too." Valkyrie said and let her shake her hand for too long.

"I know it's been a while but... I'm sorry for your loss." Susanna spoke on. "Elder Bespoke..."

Valkyrie did her best to maintain the smile.

"He was a great man, and a great craftsman. My biggest role model, as you might gather from the name..." she chuckled awkwardly, letting go off her hand to gesture at the storefront.

"He was a great friend, too." Valkyrie said politely.

"I can only imagine... Now." Susanna seemed to remember that she had a job. "What brings you two here? A fitting, I hope?"

She nodded. "That's the plan."

Susanna breathed out relievedly, "Oh, thank goodness."

They turned and looked at Diamond. She smiled at them. She had not moved or spoken since their arrival so that Valkyrie had, admittedly, almost forgotten she was there.

"Alright, well, Diamond, why don't you try the new blouse..." Susanna started whisking around in the shop, grabbing a top from a hanging rack and placing it into a changing cabin. "...while I get Valkyrie's measurements."

Diamond nodded and disappeared into the dressing room, while Susanna ushered Valkyrie onto a small podestral. She lifted her arms to the side so that the tailor could wrap a measuring tape around her waist.

"Is it true?" Susanna asked, meanwhile, "that he could tell people's exact sizes just with one look?"

"Who, Ghastly?" Valkyrie nodded, "yeah, that's true."

"Damn," she chuckled, "I think I might need a couple more centuries before I can retire this thing." Susanna waved the measuring tape through the air before wrapping it around Valkyrie's arm. "Anyway, do you have any ideas for what you would like?"

She shrugged but tried not to move too much. "Usually, I go for black. Pants, shirt, jacket, boots, something that I can move in, that doesn't move around on its own."

Susanna nodded along to her description. "I remember your combos very well. They were all very stylish and functional at the same time. However..." She hesitated uncomfortably.

Valkyrie raised an expectant brow. "However?"

She sighed. "However, they were made for a teenager. And you're not a teenager anymore."

She nodded. "True."

Susanna waved a hand at Diamond, who was just stepping out of the dressing room. She was wearing a beautiful silk blouse in a color between amber and moss. It had a v-neck that was decorated with a single, understated layer of flowy ruffle.

"I like to combine the job with the style. Like your partner, Detective Pleasant, he goes with the classic noir suit and hat. Diamond here, she works alot with clients with high profiles, so she too needs something protective that is... up to the standard."

"Also, I'm my own armor." Diamond added. "I can give up some protection for lighter fabrics." She shrugged positively.

"Exactly," Susanna nodded, "the lighter the fabric, the easier she can shift it. Now, your style..." She mustered Valkyrie's jeans and sweater. "I don't know...? What is it?"

Valkyrie shrugged with a guess. "Skintight and black?"

Susanna laughed. "How would you prefer something more personal, like... let's say..." She let the measuring tape hang, mustered Valkyrie, and tapped her lips thoughtfully. "Adult Detective Extraordinaire?"

Valkyie puckered her lips approvingly and let her arms hang. "Not bad."

Susanna nodded cheerfully. "Then, how about you give me a week or two?"

"And make her more than one option, please?" Diamond said, leaving the dressing room with the new blouse draped over her arm. "We don't want her to run out again."

She nodded on. "Of course."