Chapter Text
With a rip, Vi and Cassandra both stopped their efforts in trying to squeeze her into the hunting jacket. A quick glance upwards revealed a completely befuddled expression on Cassandra's face where her eyes go slightly wide, head minutely shaking in disbelief, lips opening and closing in stunned silence, and oh wow so Caitlyn got that look from her mother. Vi ducked her head back down and stayed still fearing more movement would ruin the jacket even further.
Quickly, Cassandra shuffled behind Vi to assess the damage and huffed. "Huh. The dart stitching actually popped."
Vi hastily shrugged the jacket off and looked at the back of the jacket, spotting a stray thread poking out from one of the neatly sewn line. "Oh no. I didn't ruin Tobias' jacket did I?"
Cassandra simply waved it off, "It's nothing to worry about. Can be easily fixed by the tailor." The older woman now stood appraisingly in front of Vi with a hand on her chin.
"I suppose we will have to get one made for you at a later date. I've now noticed just how much… wider you are."
"So I guess I'll just wear my usual jacket?"
At that, Cassandra's face went stern. "Absolutely not. Your jacket doesn't have the necessary safety features. We're not stepping a foot into the woods without proper gear."
"…Okay," Vi wasn't going to argue with the only person who has an actual firearms instructor license amongst the four of them. Not to mention she had a big, shiny rifle strapped to her back and accidentally being at the end of it once was enough for Vi.
They were then staring at a conundrum. Vi couldn't go hunting without the jacket and judging from the sound of a shot echoing in the distance, Caitlyn and Tobias seemed to have gained the lead in their small hunting competition. Vi spotted Cassandra's right eye twitch slightly at the sound. No doubt she is also where Caitlyn got her competitive streak.
The older woman retrieved a knife from one of her pants pockets and start cutting away more of the stitches on the jacket. Darts that probably made it look flattering on Tobias were soon gone and gave Vi more wiggle room to actually button at least the lower half of the jacket.
"Nothing we can do about the buttons at the top, I guess. Do you feel warm enough?" Cassandra straightened out the collars of the jacket and brushed away at the shoulders, which were barely contained within the jacket, before stepping away to look at the fit. Vi didn't understand why but she couldn't help but to feel awkward, her cheeks reddening slightly at the attention.
"I think I'll be fine. I usually run pretty hot anyway."
Cassandra hummed for a moment before taking off her scarf and quickly fixing it around Vi's neck. "I'm sure you are but wear this as well just to be safe," then she riffled through the small closet on the side to fetch another scarf for herself.
Vi stood a little stunned at the gesture. The scarf felt warm to her touch.
In quick movements, Cassandra checked her reflection in the nearby mirror before promptly exiting The Cabin, "Come along, Violet. We have a competition to win."
That seemed to snap Vi out of her stupor and she hurriedly follow Cassandra's footsteps in the snow. The old hunting rifle hanging on her shoulder may still felt foreign to her touch but its weight was strangely comforting in the winter cold.