backdated to June 5th

[pylades_drunk]

It's almost an obscenely beautiful day, Grantaire thinks, but then it wasn't a particularly miserable June when they'd put up the barricades, either. A little warm, and the middle of a cholera epidemic, but the weather hadn't been ugly.

This, though, is something else. Lilac scents the air; the weather might be described as perfect. Fruit ripens early on the branches of trees he wasn't even aware had ever borne fruit.

In the past, he'd celebrated the anniversary of their deaths with friends who had been there, drinking and vacillating between a hedonistic revelation of the shortness of life and a somber acknowledgement; in the more recent past, since he'd stopped drinking and some of them had disappeared, it'd been a smaller, sort of private reflection.

Today, he wanders in the park with a friend who knows what he's thinking of. They talk about other things, and they talk about their friends, and they let the specter of mortality wander into their conversation as it wants to, for there's no stopping it.

"Do you ever think about what happens if we disappear?" Eponine asks. Grantaire doesn't keep such close tabs on her that she feels smothered by it, but she's grown to enjoy that he texts to check in from time to time. When she was first here, she thought he might be using her as a stand-in for her brother. Now, it's just good to have someone who knows Paris, who has anything in common, on days like today.

"I try not to," Grantaire rejoins, picking a plum off a low branch. "I've only just started thinking in future tense. At any rate, that just calls up questions of the afterlife, and most of those possibilities are ridiculous or awful. Probably, nothing. We just --- stop. It'd be worse for the people here."

They ponder that for a moment. "Let's not do it, then," she says a little over-brightly, and holds up a hand. "Plum?"

"Certainly," he says, and throws her one.

Smirking, she steps back to catch it, right into the middle of the path.

Comments

[just Eponine please]

[negative_feedback]

Regan hasn't seen plants like this, with real fruit and stuff, in a long time. They had a garden at home, and it had crops and stuff in it, but trees would have taken too long to fruit out after being planted, so she hadn't had the chance to see that sort of stuff.

But here, this sudden turn of good weather is making for some stunning growth.

She doesn't have the camera she wants yet, but she has some camera-style attachments for her phone, so she's out, now, taking macros and other style photos of the foliage and fruit and sunlight.

When she turns her camera to try to get a landscape, she sees a pair of people walking, and one of them looks familiar enough to give her pause. They're not roommates, but she's seen her at the Home, she's sure of it. Hesitantly, a little shyly, perhaps, she offers a wave.

Re: [just Eponine please]

[daughterofawolf]

Eponine looks around when she steps right into the path, and smiles when she sees Regan wave. They haven't spoken much, but she knows a few things from conversing and from just liking to know things: she's deaf, and speaks in hand signs; she's a bit younger than Eponine and seems friendly; she's close with Richie, which makes her one of the few girls who is.

Eponine's taken it upon herself to keep her eyes open when Regan is teaching signs, and to ask around a bit about how to sign. There's even a show a bunch of the little ones watch in the common room on the weekend that has a bit of sign at the end. PUMA Squad, though she'd deny actively watching it to anyone who asked. It's not only interesting -- and she hates not knowing anything -- and opens up a way to speak to her, but it could be useful, speaking without words, the same way argot had been back at home (or in that case, speaking without meaning anything to other people).

She glances at Grantaire, who waves her off toward Regan with a smile, and waves back.

Carefully, and as slow as any non-native speaker, she signs, "How are you?"

[negative_feedback]

It's always a pleasant surprise to see Hearing people sign. She knows it's been something that people have been learning, especially since she came into the city. The show that Saoirse watches has some, and all of her friends at the Home have been learning how. It's one of the things she's liked the most about coming here. Everyone wants to learn.

When the girl greets her, Regan's smile brightens. "I'm good. How are you?"

[daughterofawolf]

"Good," she signs back, smiling both because she's pleased to understand and also to be asked. Then she makes a little well expression and rephrases, "Okay. Today is..."

She can't think of the word for strange or tough, so she pulls out her phone and turns toward Regan with it, then taps out It's a strange day... Does she want to just share this? What's the harm in it? If Regan's scared off by people being dead at home, there's a lot more to scare her about Eponine.

I know that I end up dying on this date at home. But it makes me glad to be here, too. My friend Grantaire -- she gestures to him -- was there too.

"So," she signs with a little smirk, "I think 'okay'."

[negative_feedback]

Regan nods. She can't imagine what it must be like, to know she's dead, back where home is. It has to be such a... final feeling. And this girl is handling the idea way better than Regan thinks she would.

"I guess 'okay' covers it," she agrees. "That's crazy, though. How are you so calm?"

[daughterofawolf]

Eponine furrows her brow, because Regan signs rather faster than she's quite up to herself, but she's learning that if she doesn't focus on every word and instead tries to get the gist it's better. She understands crazy and how and calm, and from there's it's not much trouble to figure out what she's being asked, along with Regan's concerned, perplexed expression.

"Sorry," she says about her staring, "I only know a little sign language." She emphasizes little, making a face. She thinks for a minute. There's no nice way to put this.

"Home was bad," she signs, trying to figure out how to put it into words she knows. Her grammar's shoddy, but she thinks she's getting it across. "I knew I could die, all the time. But I ...saved a friend." She hand spells saved. "It's good that it meant something."

"And," she adds, "it's been more than a year knowing."

[negative_feedback]

That's different, Regan supposes. It's still crazy to her, and having a year to process something does make it a little easier, she knows. She doesn't know when she could ever talk about Beau again, but thinking about him doesn't hurt the way it used to.

"And now you're here," she points out. And definitely not dead, she wants to add, but doesn't because it seems... rude.

[runtowardsomething]

Studying in the park is probably a little counterproductive. There's too much that's going on out here, too many ways to get distracted, as if the weather alone couldn't accomplish that. It's just too nice out to stay indoors, though, and Beverly has a feeling she'd have even more trouble if she tried to do so. Sitting at a picnic table, she has her history notes laid out in front of her, as well as a study guide from her teacher for next week's exam, and is blasting music over the headphones plugged into her phone, an attempt both to keep herself motivated and to tune everything else out.

When she sees Eponine coming down the path, though, she pulls the headphones off, leaving them over her neck, and grins, lifting one arm to wave her over. "Hey!" she calls. "Wanna come keep me company?"

[daughterofawolf]

[OOC: I'm the worst I totally missed this notif!]

Grantaire's gotten sidelined by a friend as well, and it's a nice way to part, Eponine thinks, a sign that neither of them are defined by who they were as much as who they are. Still, she gives him a little French cheek-kiss goodbye before she heads over with a smile.

"Always," she says to Bev, and slides into the picnic table, still thoughtful but glad for a distraction. "I can't believe you can study on a day like this. You're a better student than I am." That's an understatement. "What are you reading?"

[runtowardsomething]

"So far it's only trying to study," Beverly says with a laugh. Having a friend with her will probably only make that more difficult instead of less, but it's early yet, and she won't be too fucked if she doesn't get anything done today. It's too hard to have any sort of single-minded focus when it's gorgeous out and the school year is just about done, when there are so many things she could be doing instead of this.

"And it's all my history notes. There's so much to try to remember, it's stupid."She cracks a smile, though, as she looks over at Eponine. "At least exams'll be over soon and then we can all relax for a while."

[ no worries! it happens <3]

[daughterofawolf]

"Well, you've found the best bad influence to come get started on the relaxation," Eponine declares. "I could use a friend to talk to today, anyway," she admits, leaning her head onto Bev's shoulder without asking, because when you have someone you can do that with, you should.

"What sort of history is it?" she asks. "If it's the right year, I might know some of it." Granted, she doubts she's in any sort of history that makes the books, but sometimes in her classes she ends up knowing strangely specific facts. (Or disputing them, which is worse, because she knows she's right and her teachers are sure she's not.)

[runtowardsomething]

"Can I cite you as a source if you do?" Beverly asks, teasing, without missing a beat, smiling at the thought of it. Of all her classes, she thinks the history one might be her least favorite, convoluted and sometimes contradictory and nothing that will serve her remotely well after she graduates. If having a friend from the past will help with even some of it, though, then she's willing to make the most of it, if only because Eponine has offered. "It's mostly the annoying Darrow shit, but I think some of the rest might cover stuff you'd know."

Leaning into Eponine a little in turn when she rests her head on her shoulder, she adds, "What's up? If you want to talk about it." She won't press if Eponine doesn't, but she figures she should put the offer out there. Studying seems far less important than being there for a friend, as far as she's concerned.

[daughterofawolf]

Eponine smiles at the idea too: it distracts her from the strange not-quite-melancholy of the day. "I think the teachers who know me would have a few words for you, but you can try," she snorts. She hates the Darrow parts too: they make no sense. She'd almost rather this place have no history at all or a long, complicated one than this strange bits of both.

"Well, probably a few things if you really wanted," she says, for she's had some, one in particular, things on her mind that she wouldn't mind Bev listening to. "But it's...well, it's the day I die, back home. I mean, the anniversary of it."

[runtowardsomething]

"Oh," Beverly says, her voice softening a little. It's hard to know quite what to say to something like that, mostly because she doesn't want to inadvertently make anything worse by making too much of it or taking it too lightly. What she knows she can do, though, is be here, wrapping an arm around Eponine. Even if she doesn't have the words for something like this, no one should have to deal with that knowledge alone.

"We can talk about any of those few things you want," she adds, one thing she doesn't need to second-guess at all. Whatever she can do, even if it's just providing an ear, she will. "Including that. That's gotta be... Honestly, I can't imagine."

[nextchance]

Walking Sprinkles in the park is always a bit of a gamble. The dog is so easily recognized, something Jyn finds amusing only when she doesn't have to deal with it herself. She can play it off or deny it easily enough, and has on a few occasions switched mid-word and called Sprinkles by a different name, but she still doesn't want to have it acknowledged that the famous dog belonging to a dead pop star lives with her and her husband. Neither of them does particularly well with a lot of attention, and they would probably get it.

It's worth the risk, though. Sprinkles could probably use a change of scenery from their yard, anyway, even if Jyn is eager to do some work in the garden. She's still not really sure how she picked up such a habit, but it's been nice to have the weather so well-suited for it after a long winter.

The dog realizes a friend is approaching before she does, yapping and tugging ahead on her leash a little. Jyn looks up and smiles, walking in Grantaire's direction. "Someone wanted to come say hello," she says, nodding down at Sprinkles. "Well, and me, too."

[pylades_drunk]

"Hello there," Grantaire says just as though Sprinkles has addressed him personally, and leans to ruffle the teeny dog's ears. He's fond of the infamous Yorkie, but between his rather large cat and Yona's Fred, Sprinkles almost seems like another species more than a dog. He gives Jyn a little smile. "Hello to you too, then."

Eponine, a little ways back, gives her a wave as well, brightening to see Jyn. She's talking to another friend, though, so it's a natural time to diverge. Grantaire thinks it's actually a rather good coincidence that they've stumbled into each other. Jyn can probably understand the strangeness of celebrating the several-years' anniversary of one's own death in a rebellion better than anyone.

Not that he's going to lead with that, per se. "How've you been?"

[nextchance]

"I've been alright," Jyn says with an easy shrug. It's true enough, as much as it ever is around here. She isn't sure she'll ever stop finding it strange, how simple things can be here, calm and still, but at least she doesn't try to fight it. Trusting it is another matter entirely, something she would probably be crazy to do when she knows it wouldn't last anyway, but she's learned to enjoy it while she has it. That has to count for something.

At a time like this, when the weather is so beautiful and she has the company of a friend, that's easily done, too. Taking a moment to return Eponine's wave and smile, the latter stays in place as she turns to Grantaire again. "Nothing outside of the usual, which I'll take as a good thing. And you?"

[pylades_drunk]

"It's true," he says, "unless a run of good weather can be viewed as unusual, around here. I didn't even know some of these trees were fruiting." He points at the plum tree he's just discovered. "Have you ever had a fresh plum?"

"It's an odd day," he admits. "The anniversary of the barricades, back home. Eponine's the only one left here who'd remember," he adds with a nod to her. She had been the first of them to die, though she was plucked from before that attack. Even Grantaire remembers that senseless death, before he got himself booted back to the Musain. "This year, it's just striking me as incredible how very different my life is." He smiles: it's somewhere between fond and wry. In a few months, he's going to be married. It makes the thought of those Paris streets both far away and a little painful with all those who will never see this.

[nextchance]

"Not this fresh," Jyn says with a shrug, eyeing the tree before she pushes up to the balls of her feet and picks a plum off the lowest branch. Some of the fruit here overlaps with ones she knows from various planets she's stayed on and some doesn't, just as there are fruits she had before that don't seem to exist here at all. Plums are one that exist in both places, but it's hard to beat getting one right from the tree like this. Usually, before, if she ate anything fresh, it was only because it was easier to steal from a market than anything more substantial would have been.

She bites into it as Grantaire continues, her expression thoughtful. She knows what that means, after all. It's hard to get the dates lined up, but she tends to get a little somber when the anniversary of her arrival here rolls around for the same reason. Being aware of having died is always a strange thing, but all the more so with reminders of when it happened. "Things really have changed, haven't they?" she replies, her voice low and understanding. "It's a lot to carry."