#faentine

                     ❝    WHO?    ❞

she holds a dress up, inspecting it at every seam, enjoying the feel of the cloth against her palms which hover against the most delicate parts of the silk with a light and gentle touch. as fantine speaks, she holds alice's full attention, as she delicately begins to fold the finished piece up, placing it neatly on the table between them. all the while she offers glances at fantine, increasingly sympathetic before veering a little jovial. “ i'd offer you some sort of comfort about all this, like i'm your friend, but i can't be very sure that i could guarantee i'm not pretend.  ”  she looks on at the girl with a widespread warmth to her smile, a sincerity in her quiet tone. it drops after a moment, just a brief one, as she becomes conscious of the idea: real or not? she tries to be subtle in her investigation, casually dipping her gaze to peer down at her hand, wiggling her fingers and watching at the movement disrupts the fabric of the dress she'd just set down. that feels like it ought to be a good sign, but she can't say for certain ... she returns her eyes to meet fantine's and considers, just fleetingly, asking if she meant that unreal-ness was a perquisite for companionship. my god, am i an 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛? a 𝑓𝑖𝑔𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡? a 𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑚 by some sweet-faced seamstress to pass the day by? am i here to be friendly? am i completely unrealized! how fantastical ... the horror slowly slips into folly and she brings her comforting smile back. “ but if i am, then, i suppose at least i was well-designed to the task.  ” 

the  moon  makes  for  a  cold  evening,    freshly  waxed  and  open  in  the  sky.    when  a  wind  picks  up,    it  tosses  with  it  a  chill  that  pierces  thick  clothes  and  thicker  skin.    the  time  is  disregarded  by  nightstalkers  stumbling  down  the  streets  and  cackling  through  the  film  of  inebriation,    and  that  alone  wouldn’t  keep  allison  awake  but  something  about  the  night,    this  night,    stirs  her  enough  to  fend  off  sleep.    she  does  not  look  tired  when  she  gets  the  door.    whatever  exhaustion  she  might  have  been  wearing  would  sooner  be  chased  off  by  concern  anyway.    ❝    fantine?    entrez,    s'il  vous  plaît,    ❞  she  mollifies,    reaching  a  hand  toward  the  other  but  not  yet  making  purchase.    ❝    of  course  it  is  fine,    just  as  soon  as  you  come  in.    i’ll  make  tea.    ❞

‘‘    i’ll  tell  you  something  that  i’ve  not  told  anyone  else  yet,  darling––    ’’        there’s  an  air  about  her,  somehow,  that  makes  it  sound  as  though  a  great  honour  is  being  bestowed  upon  poor  fantine,  as  though  the  spilling  of  miss  bowles’  secrets  is  a  rare  occasion  indeed,  and  not  something  likely  to  happen  whenever  she  has  a  spot  of  gin  in  her,  which  is  often.    a  puff  of  smoke  billows  skyward  as  she  pauses  for  dramatic  effect,  jittery  fingers  almost  beckoning  her  fellow  blonde  closer,  bottle  green  nail  polish  cutting  through  the  cloud  that  trails  from  her  lips.        ‘‘    the  man  i’m  seeing;  he’s  a  playwright,  you  know,  castilian!    well,  he’s  writing  a  part  for  me  in  his  next  play.    the  lead,  if  you  can  imagine!    ’’

❛❛     so i noticed,      ❜❜      snips the witch,   dark upper lip curling with a grimace as the wind blows past,   chilled air nipping the tip of their nose.    it crinkles right along with their lip in reply,   &   elphaba sniffs distastefully at the telltale scent of rain looming in the air.     they might find it pleasant if not so foreboding a sign for them.      instead,   they reach up to carefully adjust the brim of their hat until it well shields their body from the sky.       (     although,   elphaba thinks grimly,   the wind will no doubt knock it astray again soon.     )       ❛❛     that’s my cue to find shelter then.   &   you’d do best to do the same.     a night out in weather like the sort we’re in for could well be your last.     ❜❜

@faentine | canon dialogue starters.