[open]

[knowsherway]

Characters: Éponine Thénardier and Open!.
Date: April 6.
Location: The Wood Sector.
Situation: Éponine arrives in Tu Vishan, and her first order of business is to wander around the Wood Sector, completely confused, but eventually, said confusion gives way to a bit of curiosity. She'll be bemused for the most part, but Thénardiers are a bit like cats in that they can land on their feet.
Warnings/Rating: PG-13 for possible references to past violence. I'll be starting with prose, but I'm flexible about formatting.



Sometimes, it was all too simple to tell when one was lying and when one was not. But try as she might, Éponine could not make out if these kedan, as they said they were called, were trying to make a fool of her with their strange tale. There could not really be a place between life, death, and dreaming, could there? Nor could there be a place that was neither heaven nor hell.

Éponine remembered the confusion she felt upon hearing this, confusion that was deepened by the fleeting memories of her own death. Or perhaps she had not died at all, even if that failed to explain the blood-stained state of the blouse and trousers that she wore.

Why were her clothes torn and in such a state? Why did she feel so turned about? There was a fight, a fight with guns and bullets and loud sounds. She could recall that much, even if all the rest was flashes and blurs and faces she couldn't quite make out.

Shaking her head, she tried to clear her thoughts. Something was happening, something strange,, and she meant to find out what that something was. But no sooner had she taken a step forward, she found her progress impeded by a person that she had failed to notice until that very moment.

"Oh! I am sorry, I did not see you."

Surely it was not too difficult a thing to understand Éponine's state of confusion and bewilderment in light of everything she had seen and been told.

Comments

[saisamour]

With landfall nearing came a growing determination in Marius to purchase an engagement ring for Cosette. Of course, there was still the matter of receiving the blessings of both their guardians, but he will surely deal with that later; landfall was close and he should first focus on that.

It had been difficult to get a job within Keeliai, but he did have some belongings he had no use of that he could exchange for money. Despite the odd behavior of the kedan towards him (almost hostile, now that he thought of it, though why that was so he could not say; perhaps he looked too untrustworthy, with his cheap, second-hand clothing?) he did manage to sell off most of his furniture, leaving in his possessions a table, one chair, the closet containing a few changes of clothes, the bed and mattress, and, of course, the box-like device that seemed essential for communication between fellow foreigners.

Heading home with what he estimated was enough juulan to purchase a modest engagement ring, thoughts of how to make the purchase without Cosette knowing now distracted him.

And that was how Marius, with his head in the clouds as usual, failed to pay any attention to his surroundings until the apology dragged him back to the present.

He was about to issue one of his own, but it died on his tongue the moment he recognized the girl before him. With the sudden jolt back to reality combined with the unexpected meeting, he could only utter in surprise, without thinking, "Eponine."

[polyhistor]

He never really considered himself an artist. Oh, he can draw, but the way he does it is entirely mathematical. He's not artistic. But he does enjoy it, in a cathartic sense of the word. It's something to do, something that can take his mind off the overwhelming helplessness of the situation he's in.

That they're all in, honestly.

He's sure that some people have come to prefer it here. That they, if given the chance, would choose to stay rather than to return to their own worlds, either because of the bonds they've made or maybe the fact that Keeliai is a clear improvement over their accustomed living conditions. But he'd leave in a heartbeat, if he could. After going almost his entire life without fitting in anywhere only to find a team he was part of--

Functioning without it is... difficult. Not impossible by any mans, but it's unpleasant enough that he fills most of his waking hours with whatever he can do to keep himself from thinking about it.

Thus, the sketching. He only has a few sheets of paper left, but something about the symmetry of this building has been bothering him for a while, so he's holding a hardcover book of poetry as a tablet and backing up away from a building as he commits its bold architectural lines to paper. Which is, consequently, what causes him to bump into the-- young girl?

He's about to tell her it's okay - it was his fault anyway, but the state of her clothes sets off more than just one warning bell. "Hey-- are you all right?" Given the tensions in the kedan community lately, it's entirely possible she was attacked, or is newly arrived. Either way, he's suddenly hyper aware of the gun on his hip.

[trainwrecked]

"Ma'am?"

Bucky's reactions, distracted as he may be these days, were pretty good. He caught and steadied the - young woman. And then he smiled down at her, calmly.

"You all right? New here?"

[chiot]

Gavroche isn't the one Eponine bumps in to--but he does see it. It's the wood sector he likes the most; even if the place is rotting, he can still balance on the trees and climb them like the buildings of Paris. Like his elephant.

He likes to look for things. Out of place things, different things. Mostly so he can swipe them, or at least investigates. What he finds catching his eye is not a thing, but a person.

He's got the same meat but from the same vendor he'd blown all of his Juulan on the first time he was here. The keelai had given him a lot more problems, even upped the price, but Gavroche could spare a few coins (and what an odd thing to think about!).

He whistles sharply, knowing he's going to catch the man's attention. It's the blood.

"Your bleedin', monsieur. You look like you came off the barricades."

[newblood]

As silly as it might sound, the collision is a relief. It pulls her out of her stupid, ridiculously melodramatic thoughts. Honestly, she needs to find something more productive to do (and something better to eat). All this sitting around, moping, and network stalking is getting old fast.

When Éponine stumbles into her, Caroline doesn't move an inch, remaining remarkably still. Her voice is similarly lofty, almost detached.

"Don't worry about it." She refocuses, and runs a hand through her hair. "Are you okay? You look more out of it than I feel."