Esmeralda dances to the rhythm of the tambourine (changewillcome) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2016-09-01 09:44:00 |
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Kitty knew dreams could be a pain in the behind. It didn’t matter if it involved aliens or 15th century bigots, it all wound up affecting one in the real world, and Kitty didn’t think there was any shame is letting it. She’d been told time and again she wasn’t the person she was in her dreams, and while she wasn’t, she’d always felt like that had dismissed her concerns. She didn’t want to dismiss Esmeralda’s concerns, anyway.
She walked into the Court of Miracles and found herself a table, unsure of Esmeralda was free yet or not.
Esmeralda was used to things being thrown at her, having to duck and avoid. Things may not be as bad as they were in the dreams for her people, but it wasn’t like it was overtly good either. There had been two years of far more active moving around and the destruction of camps. Warnings on the metro. People being suspicious. It was life. Was she annoyed? In a way. She had danced through it though, then gone down to her room for a bit.
People were strange. And she was a bit confused by a joke she’d been told, even though Grantaire had managed to explain it to her. English was also strange.
But Kitty had decided to stop by and as it wasn’t terribly busy that day, which admittedly was why she was able to go between the tavern itself and then the basement to the living area as opposed to needing to be playing server or helping Gringoire behind the bar. Making her way back up to the tavern, Esmeralda scanned the area to see how things were. Still slow, so for now she was talking to Clopin near the door to the stairway before noticing Kitty. Finishing up the conversation, she made her way over to the table Kitty had chosen.
“Hey!” Kitty perked up, grinning at her. “I didn’t know what you liked so I started with water. Probably a good idea anyway, depending.” She got up to pull out Esmeralda’s seat, which in hindsight was weird but then as smart as Kitty was there were social cues she was just Bad at. “Work good?”
“Hey. And it’s fine. Gringoire knows my drink.” It wasn’t like they had outside help. So any of the servers would know what she would want to drink. “But yes, water is always a good start.” Not that Esmeralda saw herself drinking too much as she did have one more ‘set’ dance on the actual stage. “It is, yes.” Which was definitely one less thing to worry about. Given the whole purpose of this place, moving here, was to have something permanent. Which meant that they were desperate to find a way to solidify their lodgings and the Court. But slowly things were getting more in line. Even as old habits died hard and Clopin would always do his best to protect the ‘family’.
“Oh, duh.” Kitty laughed, sitting back down. “You know I didn’t think to ask? I probably should have but I’m more used to, uh, buying drinks for people at places they don’t work.” She’d wondered if there was anything she could do to help them out. Either through a donation or volunteering, or something. Kitty had a big heart and actively looked for ways to help people. “Get anyone coming in here and trying to start trouble?”
“Really, it’s fine. Like I said, water is a good start and they all know what I would want as it is.” She was vaguely amused as it really wasn’t that big a deal. The beauty of the tavern was that they had the high tables on the outside of the tavern that had the individual chairs, while further in and towards the stage were the ones with benches along a wooden seeming table. All part of the atmosphere. And allowed for late night towards closing when things were slower and those who worked would dance together. “No, nothing that cannot be handled.”
She nodded. “With your dreams and everything I didn’t think you’d want to have to deal with similar crap when you’re wide awake. So I’m glad. Been a slow month at my job for once, too.”
“Well I am not the only one who is here, we all have our part to play.” And there was always the lookout. Just in case they once again needed to move. But so far, nothing untoward had happened, no need to involve law enforcement. People getting loud? It happened, but they all handled it or those Clopin had for playing ‘bouncer’ or the like. What mattered was that there was nothing major. “I appreciate the concern though.”
“I probably come off a little too concerned sometimes,” Kitty murmured. “Anyway! Drinks. And if you want to talk about your dreams I can listen. If not we can talk about other things. I just like hanging around with you.”
“A bit.” Yes, Esmeralda heard the comment and also was the type to actually respond. She didn’t think too much on the matter, just that it was a bit unnecessary, otherwise? Well. People sometimes were the types to be more concerned than others. Nothing wrong with that. “Drinks it is.” Catching the eye of Madellaine, the other woman came over in order to take the drink orders. Or more, well, Kitty’s as she knew what Esmeralda would be wanting. After she left to place them, Esmeralda shrugged. “I don’t know that there’s much to tell about them.” Well, there was the Pheobus aspect but that was something different and the whole….in hiding thing.
“Is it difficult to wake up and adjust to the modern world? I mean, going back from the 15th century to the 21st. It has to be a bit of...whiplash.” Which could be an understatement. Even going from relatively modern times with super heroics to regular normal times was an emotional whiplash that required a few minutes staring into the mirror for Kitty.
Pausing some, Esmeralda considered the question. Was it hard? “It is in a way. I mean, many of the people who are here are also in the Court of Miracles in the dreams so that isn’t so strange even if they do not share the dreams…. Clopin figures I bought the outfits that showed up to use for when we are open, which works.” Shrugging, she paused as Madellaine returned with the drinks. “But it doesn’t last long.”
The drink tasted good and loosened Kitty’s muscles. She grinned over her glass at Esmeralda. “That’s good. Not everyone is as good at separating between the two. I’m kind of bad at it some nights.” She settled back in her chair. “When you’re not working, what do you do for fun?” She’d managed to get her out to Disneyland, but there was still a lot she didn’t know. “You look like you enjoy your dancing, ever dance just for yourself?”
Taking a sip from her own drink, Esmeralda shrugged at the comment at how she was good at separating the two. It wasn’t always easy. But it was also her life. “I’m used to just shrugging things off as necessary.” She had to be. She saw things as they were, and then found a way to hope and believe the best could still come about. “I mostly just explore the area. Sometimes I find dance workshops. I like being able to see the city without commentary.” Commentary was good and learning the history. But there was something about being able to just explore and see for herself without someone telling her things as their personal history and bias could seep through. That, and you tended to find things you wouldn’t otherwise when you were alone.
“That makes sense. It’s really easy for someone to put their own spin on things. Just seeing it for yourself helps you form your own opinion of an area and the people in it.” She wished people would do that for mutants, and for other groups. But in any world there would always be those who shouted the loudest, and the loudest ones were the ones people heard. “That’s actually… a really cool thing to do. Find any place super interesting?”
“They can and be well meaning, but they still have their own spin.” It was life. While in Paris, Esmeralda would have her own opinion on places while someone else might think something else and her opinions would be based from her own experiences. What was maybe dangerous for her? Not so much for a typical tourist or Parisian. Or what was her own world, places she knew like the back of her hand (such an odd statement) would be seen as dangerous to others. She was used to ignoring those who shouted the loudest as they usually were shouting about her. It hurt, but all she could do was move on and and continue to believe that things would get better. “A few. Trinket shops. You have less side alleys to explore and find unique places. Less parks as well.”
“We all make our own spin.” Kitty frowned a little, taking another sip of her drink. “More parks would be nice. I’ve lived here for six years but I sometimes feel like I know Chicago, London or New York better. Is that weird? I’ve never lived in New York in this life, and I wasn’t in London nearly as long as I was in my dreams.” Chicago at least made sense. Kitty would never be able to get Chicago out of her blood.
“We do.” As Kitty discussed parks and where she had lived, Esmeralda had some more of her drink, listening before shrugging in response to the question. “I couldn’t say. My dreams take place in Paris. Admittedly 15th century Paris, but beyond the typical travelling and moving from place to place, it is quite similar to what I already know.”
“Some cities, even as they grow and change, always retain those older parts of themselves. Like they have souls of their own. Chicago and London are both old souls, and I’m pretty sure Paris is actually older than even London is.” Kitty smiled fondly. “In my dreams, London, all of England actually, is almost alive. There’s a magic to the land, and one of my dearest friends is empowered by the land and the people living there. Captain America might be the symbol of the American people, but Captain Britain is the soul of the British. I’m not sure where I’m going with that except I think France would be more like England than the US in this scenario.”
“They do. Part of it probably has to do with how much a city holds to its history and celebrates it.” That tended to help with the whole keeping the historical parts of a city alive. If it was a newer one, or people didn’t care as much, renovations and modernization happened, with no regard to the history and magic that could be found in small side alleys and just a rich past to draw upon. “Ah yes. Superhero types. But yes, France has a lot of pride in its history and keeps it alive.”
“The only French hero I now is actually French-Canadian, so that probably doesn’t count. “ Kitty grinned again. “There’s so many places I’d like to go. Even just back to London, see if some of those liminal places exist in this world.” She rubbed at her chin. “I went back to London for the olympics, with Xi’an and the kids when we’d first started dating. While I was there I found this little shop. They had… one of my dream costumes. I went back to the shop the next day, and it was gone. Like it had never been there to begin with.”
“No, it really doesn’t.” Not that it really bothered Esmeralda. Superheroes were nice, something to believe in when things got you down. But to her, it was the actions of the individual and while there were those who could do amazing things, it didn’t make others less amazing. Everyone was individual and they deserved to be treated as such. “I’m sure it’s possible they would.” Not that she really knew. “But that sounds odd about the costume thing.”
“It really was. At the time I was kind of excited. I hadn’t gotten to the worst parts of the dreams yet. And I’ve always liked the idea of helping people.” She waved her hand in a circle. “I’ve got… powers. And sometimes they can be a curse but there’s that whole ‘great power and responsibility’ thing. I’ve seen too many people misuse the power they have. If you help one person, you’ve made the world better.” And one didn’t need to have a spotlight shone on them, though some acknowledgement would be nice. People hated mutants until the mutants saved their lives, then went back to hating them right after.
“But I think about it now, and I wonder if something was trying to push me into something I wasn’t ready for. Because that shop never existed, but I was there, I was in it, I walked in as Kitty Pryde and I walked out as Shadowcat. I’m not sure I’ve been the same since.”
She exhaled. “Sorry, this is getting heavy and we’re supposed to talk about you.”
Esmeralda certainly remembered the bit about Kitty have powers. She had done a brief example when they had been at Disneyland. She still wasn’t quite sure what to make of it but it wasn’t as if there was much that she could do. And it was all a matter of what Kitty actually did. It wasn’t like she asked for the powers.
“I recall. And any sort of power can lead people to misusing it.” It wasn’t just those types. But political or religious power as well.
As the older woman spoke, Esmeralda took another drink then shrugged.
“That does sound strange so I suppose it’s possible.” She didn’t know. “And it’s fine.”
“Have you seen anything weird, since you got here?” Kitty asked. “Besides like...the demons we fought in July.” The fact that August had been quiet was of some small relief to Kitty. A chance for everyone to catch their breath. But it was going on long enough that she wondered if it was too much to hope for an end to strange events.
Catching one’s breath was always a good thing. Admittedly, with the constant moving and surviving, it wasn’t as if Esmeralda weren’t used to being prepared to deal with anything at a moment’s notice. Everyone at the Court of Miracles was. They had to be. Though demons? That was certainly something far out of the normal state of things.
“No, nothing beyond the demons. And of course items that randomly show up from dreams. I’ve been able to explain the two outfits as purchases for working here,” And it wasn’t as if anyone saw the amulet with the map of Paris on it. A trinket. The edict? That was something else and not one she was planning on mentioning as she had a feeling Clopin would view it as a real world threat.
“Clothing good?” Some outfits could be, others not so much. “Though if it works for working here I think they’d probably be nice. But then you could make just about anything look good.” Kitty smiled over her drink.
“Well I’m wearing one of the outfits now, then I use the other a lot for when I am dancing. So while Clopin felt it was unnecessary expenses at the time, it was easier to explain it as that than the truth. Besides, I managed to ‘prove’ it was a worthwhile expense after all.” With a shrug, Esmeralda gave a faint smile, “Well thank you though you give me far too much credit on that.”
“At least you have occasion to wear them, and have a ready excuse,” Kitty replied. They really did look good on her. She kept a straight face as she added, “Come to think of it, I don’t think you could pull off spongebob squarepants. You have to have just the right face for that guy.”
“That I do.” It was something she was thankful for as it made it a bit easier to deal with the dreams and things that showed up. And she was always a fan of things which had multipurpose uses. Because really, what else would she do with outfits from the 15th century if it weren’t for the Court of Miracles?
The joke Kitty then made went right over her head though and all Esmeralda could do was blink some.
“Who?”
“Uh, a cartoon character. We’ve gotta work on your pop culture sometime.” Kitty pulled out her phone and googled up a picture to show her. “Not all that sexy.”
“Right…” Because Esmeralda totally had the free time or cultural awareness to know these things. She saw cartoon characters and the like in store windows, there was some knowledge of cartoons (French ones), but this? Then Kitty was pulling up a picture and she just shrugged. “Well it’s not like my aim is to be quote unquote sexy.”
“I wasn’t trying to say…” Kitty sighed, locking her phone as she slipped it back into her pocket. “Nevermind.” She had the feeling that she was repeatedly sticking her foot in her mouth and didn’t know what to do. Though Kitty sticking her foot in her mouth was nothing new. She was suddenly glad she’d resisted the urge to bring or send Esmeralda flowers or something.
And now Esmeralda was confused. All she knew was that it seemed that she had upset Kitty somehow, seemingly because she had made a simple comment that she did not have the aim of looking sexy based on…. She didn’t know. So she just quirked a brow. “Okay….” Well, if she didn’t know what to say, she was just going to finish her drink. “I should go get ready for the last dance. Thank you for stopping by though.” Even if it hadn’t gone how Kitty seemed to think it would have. Then again, Esmeralda rarely spoke about herself and really probably shouldn’t have posted about the edict in the first place. Oh well.
Kitty was more or less worried she’d upset Esmeralda. She knew, from what Esmeralda had said about her dreams and also just guessing based on her profession, that she probably got a lot of people drooling over her. She smiled, nodding. “It’s not a problem.”
Esmeralda was used to being seen as simply one thing, and that seeming to be what her worth was tied into. Which was why she just ignored it. Sometimes harder to do than others, but it was the way it was. Nor was it even bothering her in this conversation. She made a statement of fact. She was now confused by Kitty’s reaction but there wasn’t much to be done about that. Besides, she had to go change for the last dance of the night. So instead she just gave a slight smile and nodded before heading back below to change.