Cosette | Les Misérables (thedreamwastrue) wrote in madisonvalley, @ 2020-03-07 21:32:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | !completed gdoc, !log, ~2020 march, ~~link (greentunic), ~~~cosette fauchelevent (thedreamwastrue |
WHO: Link and Cosette Fauchelevent
WHAT: Having Coffee
WHERE: The Attic
WHEN: Today
WARNINGS: Nah
STATUS: Closed/Completed Gdoc
Cosette’s schooling was going quite well. She couldn’t believe she was almost through her first year, but the truth was she only had a few months left! She was already registering for her next semester classes and was learning more and more everyday. If only Marius and Papa were here, her happiness would have been complete. At least she was lucky enough to have friends, though, even if she couldn’t have the two people she wanted most.
One of those friends was Link. She knew he’d lost some people last month, so she’d been keeping a rather close eye on him and making sure he was okay. She loved spending time with him and hearing about his world, which was so much different than hers. She liked to think that they were close friends, and she’d never had a close friend who was a man back home. That was another way that this world was different from everything that she knew.
She’d texted him earlier today and invited him to meet her for coffee at the Attic, which was kind of like Starbucks but smaller, local, and less crowded. She’d arrived early and was going through her anatomy text book as she waited for him to arrive.
***
So far, living with Legolas has been good. Link just couldn't live in the Freelancer house, not after everyone had left. While Link was a shy person who kept to himself, it was just far too empty and quiet, even for him. He was grateful that Legolas was willing to let him stay with him. For how long, he had no idea. He was eighteen now and didn't need a guardian anymore, but he also couldn't imagine finding his own place to stay right now.
He was also focusing on school, about to graduate this summer. He was also looking for a job, though not having much luck with that so far. Oh well, maybe he'd find something soon. For now, after receiving a text from Cosette, he was going to not worry about that and just enjoy a cup of coffee with his friend.
He made his way to the Attic, a bit glad she chose that instead of the often overcrowded Starbucks. He entered, spotting her right away and making his way over. "Hello," he greeted her warmly. "Doing some studying?" he asked, nodding towards her textbook.
***
“Yes,” she smiled, while closing her book. “We have an exam in a few weeks and there are so many bones and muscles to memorize! Who knew that the body had so many parts.” It really amazed her, but it made her feel smart that she was learning them all, and how they worked. Maybe she really was smart. She was starting to feel that maybe she was.
“But I can take a break from that because what I really wanted was to see you.” She put a hand on his arm, gently. “How are you doing? I know it was hard when everyone left. Has Legolas been nice to you?”
She didn’t know the elf well, but he seemed the type who would take good care of a ward.
***
"I know. I mean, I'm not studying anatomy but even just from what I've seen in the textbooks in science class, it's a lot to memorize." Link didn't think he could remember all the bones and muscles, even if he tried. He kind of admired anyone who could, including Cosette.
He didn't mind if she wanted to keep studying. He knew school was important to her. But he was also grateful that she cared enough to ask how he was. "It's been an adjustment. It was weird at first, not seeing them." He even missed Church, even though he was more AI than anything else.
"But living with Legolas has been good. He's been wonderful, which I'm grateful for." He wouldn't have asked to live with him if he didn't think he'd get along. "Aside from that, things have been going great so far. I have been having trouble looking for a job, however, but I'm hoping to find something soon."
***
“What sort of job are you looking for?” Cosette knew that here in Madison Valley there were lots of jobs to find, and the only people to fill them were stuck inside the dome so pay was pretty good too. Not that she was supposed to be thinking of that as a woman. Or, at least she wasn’t supposed to think of money back home. But she wasn’t back home anymore. “Maybe I could put a good word in for you somewhere?” She didn’t have a lot of friends, but she did have some and she was more than willing to help if she could.
“I’m glad you’re happy living with him. I didn’t lose anyone when everyone went home, but if I’d lost my guardian I would have been so...lost.” She smiled softly. She didn’t want to go on much more about how sad their loss was, because he was probably healing from it and she didn’t want him to fall back into that despair.
“Maybe you could come to school with me? There’s so much to learn. I’m sure you could find something that you like.”
***
"I'm not sure, but I'm definitely not going to work at the arcade or any place with videogames." Even though he'd been here for over a year now, Link still found it strange that he was a character in a videogame. He didn't even know those existed until he found out. It was probably best he avoided that as much as possible. "My guardian works at the axe throwing range, maybe I can work there. Or maybe with animals, like at the animal shelter or the stables."
That might be a good idea, though thinking about the stables made him think of horses and made him miss Epona. He wondered if the Dome might gift her to him, but he doubted it.
"It's been tough, that's for sure. It wouldn't have been so bad if it was just one or two, but losing them all at once? It was difficult, for sure. I think I'm okay now, or at least, I feel like I will be." Loss definitely took awhile to get over and even then, sometimes no one ever really was completely over it.
"I was thinking about checking out some college courses after I graduate. I'm not sure what exactly, but like you said, maybe I'll find something."
***
“I didn’t know at first what I wanted to do either. But when I found out that women here could be doctors and nurses...well...I was very excited. It seemed like something I had to do since back home I wasn’t allowed to do it at all. I couldn’t even go to University back home.”
There was never a question. Her job was to get married. That was all she was supposed to do. Find a good man and get married. And she’d done that, and she loved Marius very much. But there was more that she could do with her life. Here she could be more than just a wife and a mother. There was nothing wrong with being a wife and a mother but it fascinated her that she could be more as well.
“I can help you, if you like,” she said softly. “I mean, I went through the process myself and while it’s quite complicated, I think I understand what I did.” She smiled softly. “But if you don’t want to go to school, that’s okay too. I just want you to be happy.”
***
"We didn't have school back home either. All I knew was to be the hero and save the land and not much else." Not that Link minded saving everyone. He'd do it all over again if it meant keeping everyone safe, including Cosette. But he never really thought of what else he could do. He knew he should do something, though. He doubted he needed to go on an adventure anytime soon.
"If it's not any trouble, I'd love some help. This is all new to me, but maybe you can give me advice and help. As for wanting to go or not, guess we'll see. I won't know until I try it, right?" Maybe it was for him, maybe not. At least he'd give it a shot.
***
“It’s not any trouble at all! In fact, maybe next semester we could even take a class together and I can show you how it all works. I would be so happy to help you!”
Cosette loved feeling useful, especially with her friends. There had been so long back home she’d depended on everyone else that it was nice to give back a little.
***
"That sounds like a good idea," Link smiled. "And I never really did the school thing, so any help would be amazing."
And he trusted Cosette to help him out. Not just because she was already taking classes and knew what to expect, but he trusted her with other things as well. The fact that he admitted to feeling lonely after losing his roommates was something he didn't normally do. Not really. But he felt like she wouldn't judge him or anything for being upset.
***
Cosette considered Link to be one of her best friends. She was glad that he’d told her he was lonely after his friends had left, and she’d hoped that she had given him just a little bit of comfort from her friendship. She knew that she couldn’t really fix things, but at least she could let him know that he wasn’t alone. And she didn’t judge. How could she? There was so little she knew about this world though she was learning more every day and every moment she was learning that something she believed was actually wrong.
“That’s it, then! We’ll find a class that isn’t too hard that we can take together, and we’ll see how you like it!”
***
Link thought the same of Cosette and he was quite glad he met her. He was still rather shy and didn't make many friends, but he was certainly glad to call her one.
"Sounds like a plan!" he grinned. He wasn't sure what class they should take yet, but they could always figure it out later. "I'm gonna get another hot chocolate. You want anything while I'm up there?"
***
“No, I’m good,” she said. “These are delicious but a girl does need to watch her figure!” She grinned at him, knowing that she still held some old fashioned ideas, and probably always would. It didn’t matter, though. She was creating a life here, and Link was part of that life and she was glad to have him with her.