InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "I'll be here when you get back"

Nina Castel (esseule) wrote in bellumlogs,
@ 2010-06-21 00:32:00

Entry tags:

eponine, plot: omega, plot: tempus, scheherazade

Who: Nina and Sherri
What: Operation Damsel
Where: Around Paris
When: Morning, July 15, 1789 (Day 2)
Warnings: Updated as needed

After finding the fleur-de-lis charm, Nina and Sherri hadn't encountered much trouble as they wound through the streets, following Eponine's directions in order to find a safe church that allowed them to sleep inside. In the morning, she had woken up to an entirely different Paris. The citizens were a dangerous mixture of proud and exhilarated after their victory and in anticipation of a counterattack. Barricades had gone up in the streets and nearly everyone was armed. Peering out the door, Nina was directly confronted with a body that had been dead for several hours, judging by the way the blood had dried and turned dark. No older than she was, he looked like he had been stuck through with a bayonet.

Sighing, Nina dipped a finger in the holy water near the door and drew a cross on his bloated forehead. Turning back, she called to the other woman to see if she was awake yet. "Sherri?"

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withinastory
2010-06-21 02:51 pm UTC (link)

Sherri had slept fitfully, curled up on a pew with her head pillowed on her arm. When Nina called out her name, she'd already been half awake, not ready to actually finish the transition and acknowledge that she wasn't a small child again, taking a nap while her father practiced a sermon. It was a more pleasant fantasy than her initial thought on waking up, at least, a fear that she'd been caught leaving and dragged back into the church - the heavy layers of skirts had felt a little too much like the equally heavy skirt of her wedding dress, at first. Of course, even that would have been better than where they actually were.

"I'm up." Sherri struggled to make that true, swinging her feet down onto the floor and twisting at the waist to work some of the cricks out of her back. Stiff, but feeling a little more capable of movement, she pulled herself upright. A quick touch to her neck and pocket reassured her that both the necklace and knife were still there. They were strange comfort, but at the moment their presence made her feel much better.

Feeling as ready as she could ever be, she walked over to join Nina. Really, she didn't want to leave the safety of the church, but she knew if they were to have any hope of getting home they would have to. She didn't look past the other woman quite yet, not prepared to see the results of the chaos.

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	esseule 2010-06-21 05:18 pm UTC (link)
	Not turning to look at her, Nina kept her eyes firmly on the chaos of the streets. "We need food. And we should go back. See if anyone else was transported here too." It might be dangerous, but they hardly looked like soldiers or supporters of the monarchy with their stolen clothes and sweaty hair and faces from yesterday's heat. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

withinastory
2010-06-21 08:55 pm UTC (link)

Like Joss... Sherri immediately felt selfish for wanting to stay in safety when, for all she knew, her little sister could be in horrible danger. "You're right." At least she could understand what was going on around her, now. It wasn't all comforting, but she could be of more help than she had been the day before.

As for the outside... she'd have to see it sooner or later, so she peered over Nina's shoulder. She backed off quickly, swallowing against the bile rising in her throat. Though she had, of course, been to funerals before, she'd never seen death looking quite so real.

It took several deep breaths to regain even a semblance of composure, but she managed it. "Let's get moving, then."

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esseule
2010-06-21 11:53 pm UTC (link)

There were a couple false starts before Eponine actually figured out where they were and how to get back to where they had started out yesterday. Paris may not have changed too much in the decades between now and when the girl had been here, but it had changed a bit. They were largely ignored as non-threats, since women weren't exactly involved in politics, allowing them to more around unharmed as long as Nina kept taking the more hidden alleys of the city that Eponine knew of, the places where only the poor went anyway. She thought they had gotten within a few blocks of where the magic had dropped them, but her search for landmarks was interrupted by a girl's frightened shouts from further down the alley, somewhere in the shadows.

Without thinking, Nina drew her gun.

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withinastory
2010-06-22 12:00 am UTC (link)

The fact that Nina had a gun really shouldn't have come as a surprise, considering the fact that she had handed a knife to Sherri without seeming to worry about the loss of a weapon for herself. Still, Sherri jumped when Nina drew it, and then fumbled for the knife in her pocket, just in case. Of course, her first concern upon hearing a girl's scream was... but no, the voice wasn't right, the pitch just a little off.

It seemed Nina was going to help, though, and Sherri was all for that. She didn't think she'd be of much assistance, at least in that part, but she gripped the knife (more like she would to cut a steak than she should to stab a man, but she didn't know that) and stuck close, anyway.

She'd been following Nina's lead a lot since arriving in Paris. She really hoped that she'd be able to make it up to her, later.

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esseule
2010-06-22 03:24 am UTC (link)

Since arriving in Paris and assessing the situation as well as she could (basically making the determination that it was a dangerous one), Nina had settled into something like a state of mind that had a default of high alert. She caught Sherri's jump though and swore out loud in Spanish for a couple seconds even as she began to move towards the shouts, cursing herself for giving this away. If they ever got out of this, she was going to have to make sure Sherri wouldn't say a thing to anyone. If they couldn't come to an agreement on that, she would have to be taken care of and Nina didn't particularly like leaving a trail of bodies wherever she went, particularly in her own time.

Down the alley she spotted the girl, cornered between two rather tall, broad shouldered men, both of whom looked to be in their mid-twenties and who (Nina guessed) worked construction or did another type of intensive manual labor from the way they were built. Their cockades were tied haphazardly and the one closest to them had a basket turned over at his feet and was holding a few bottles of wine. He looked extraordinarily pleased with himself and was looking on as his companion pinned the wrists of the girl (who couldn't have been older than 14) to the side of the building with one of his huge hands. Apparently growing tired of her screams for help, he drew an arm back and struck her hard across the face.

"Ta gueule, putain," he snarled in a voice that made Nina's blood run cold for a moment as he reached for the girl's skirt. She fired a shot without hesitation, driving the bullet straight into the back of the second man's head.

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withinastory
2010-06-22 03:46 am UTC (link)

Sherri's cheeks burned at the cursing, the foreign language translated very clearly in her head. Should she have tried to pretend like people pulled guns around her every day? It was pretty obvious, at least in her opinion, that her life wasn't that exciting, she doubted anyone would believe that.

The sight of the teenager drove that thought right out of Sherri's head. When the crack of the shot came, she only felt relief; later, seeing someone die would seem horrible, but for the moment she could only worry about the girl's safety. If she wasn't afraid she'd get in the way of Nina's next shot, she'd have rushed to her immediately. She started moving closer, anyway, trying her best to stay out of range as she did so.

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esseule
2010-06-22 04:12 am UTC (link)

Nina wasn't at all fazed that she had just shot someone, letting Sherri go to the girl as she turned to deal with the second man, who appeared to be in shock. For a few seconds he gaped at her, then lunged sloppily. She didn't bother with the gun, preferring to save her remaining shots for a situation that might require it more. Instead she pulled her weight back and then smashed her foot into his kneecap, bringing him to the ground. She used the butt of the gun to knock him out swiftly and seemed satisfied enough with that.

The cockade, demanded Eponine, which was really a good idea when Nina brought herself back from the fight enough to think about it. She undid them from both men and held both hands out to Sherri silently, giving her the choice. The girl, she stood back from, not wanting to possibly frighten her any more.

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withinastory
2010-06-22 04:26 am UTC (link)

Though Sherri wasn't quite sure what to do with it, she grabbed one randomly out of Nina's hand with a mumbled "thanks" before turning to the girl. She spoke slowly in French, not sure exactly how much her pendant would translate. "We won't hurt you. We want to help." Trying to look as reassuring as possible, she held a hand out to her. The girl still looked terrified, but she was at least calming down.

Sherri glanced over at Nina, then and asked in English, "What is this, by the way? And what should I do with it?" She'd seen how the men wore them, but that voice in the back of her head was demanding that she needed to understand everything. In this case, she agreed.

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esseule
2010-06-22 04:39 am UTC (link)

Nina listened to Eponine for a few moments before relaying the information across to Sherri. "They're cockades. She says they're symbols of the revolution. It will help us to not get shot. Normally they would go on caps, but we don't have any. See if you can find a way to tie or pin it onto your clothes." As she spoke English, the girl was looking uncertainly and uncomprehendingly between the two older women. Eventually, without meeting either of their eyes, she muttered merci and then vous vous appellez comment?

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withinastory
2010-06-22 04:57 am UTC (link)

Sherri fumbled around with the cockade a moment before managing to tie it into her tangled hair, then she reached out to pat the girl's arm soothingly. She almost told the girl her name, but she paused before actually speaking. Should they use fake names? She didn't think there would be a point in it, but maybe Nina would think differently. "C'est bien," she reassured her.

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esseule
2010-06-22 05:28 am UTC (link)

Nina paused a moment. Giving a fake name was second nature, but in a foreign setting such as this, names could be indicative of their foreign birth and she wanted to blend in as much as possible. "Éponine Thénardier," she told the girl after a moment. That would be easy enough to remember to respond to. "Et toi?" As she waited for the respond, she used her spare knife to cut off a scrap of one of her skirts and tied the cockade into her hair with it as well, deciding that it was as visible a place as any and probably more than most.

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withinastory
2010-06-22 05:45 am UTC (link)

The girl glanced up at Sherri very quickly, then back downward, still silent. Sherri thought quickly, trying to come up with a reasonable alternative to her own name. Well, rather obvious, but... "Cherie. Je suis sa soeur." Hopefully Nina wouldn't mind. They at least looked enough alike to possibly be mistaken for sisters. Well. They were both dark-haired, at least. Anyway, it seemed the most likely reason for them to be traveling around together. She glanced up at Nina nervously, wishing she'd thought to ask what story they'd use before they had to use one.

It was good enough for the girl. Voice still barely soft enough to be heard, she said, "Marie." She started gathering up the contents of her basket, and then asked if they had food.

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esseule
2010-06-22 05:56 am UTC (link)

Nina accepted Sherri's story without reacting, playing along as well as she could. Shaking her head to the query about food as Marie continued collecting her things, she sat the unconscious man against the building and rolled the body rather unceremoniously to the side of the alley as well. She hesitated a moment by the corpse, muttered a prayer in Spanish for God to have mercy on his soul, and then stood and rejoined the other two. We can get you home safe, she offered.

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	withinastory 2010-06-22 06:00 am UTC (link)
	When Marie hesitated, Sherri smiled and offered a quick "Please?" The girl agreed, and Sherri waited for her to begin leading the way before dropping back beside Nina. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	esseule 2010-06-22 06:11 am UTC (link)
	Nina was rather impressed at how well Sherri had handled the shooting and was beginning to hope that no drastic measures would have to be taken in order to ensure that none of this got back to Luther. Marie led them to a a nice store not far from where they had begun that sold wine. Outside the door, she only hesitated another moment before inviting them inside. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	withinastory 2010-06-22 06:17 am UTC (link)
	Sherri accepted after only a moment's hesitation, remembering that one of Nina's goals for the day had been food and... well, she was getting a little hungry herself. And Marie had mentioned food. Maybe these things would all link themselves together, somehow. When Marie expressed her gratitude once more, she seemed to be considering something. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

esseule
2010-06-22 06:24 am UTC (link)

Marie gave both women a glass of water and a little soup off the stove and then disappeared for a few minutes. When she returned, she asked a little shyly if they would like to take shelter with her and her family until the streets calmed down.

Nina considered it. Paris was dirty and dangerous right now. These people had food (although very little actual bread) and shelter. They didn't have any idea how long they would be stuck here for. She glanced at Sherri, wanting her opinion before she responded.

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	withinastory 2010-06-22 06:37 am UTC (link)
	Sherri considered it for all of a second before nodding at Nina. There was food, and she thought they were pretty close to where they'd started from, so they could get out to look around fairly easily. Most of all, it was better than sleeping on the streets. "Merci, Marie." (Reply to this) (Parent)