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Elphaba isn't the wicked witch you're looking for (tothewesternsky) wrote in wariscoming,
@ 2012-06-22 20:42:00

Entry tags:

chloe sullivan, elphaba

Who: Elphie and Chloe
What: Elphie is brooding as only she can. So clearly reading and relating to a fictional character is the answer.
When: Around 6ish this evening
Where: A park in Lawrence
Warnings: Brooding. Everything else TBA?

It was getting tiring to be in her house all the time. She knew that both Elena and Anakin knew she was depressed and trying so hard to hide behind a smile and pretend she was fine. But Elphaba wasn't exactly one who talked about sorrows. She just kept it all inside and dealt with it the way she always had, which was basically just ignoring it during the day as much as she could, then at night she'd let it haunt her. Truthfully, Elphaba was just giving up. Losing Galinda was really the last straw to it all. She'd lost so much over the years, and she was at the point where her heart couldn't take anymore. So she would just take the safe road and heal herself as best as she could. At least the Seal had given Elena back, otherwise Elphaba would be so lost right now. No doubt she would've reverted into the cold, distant woman she had been when she'd first arrived in this world. That's not what Elphaba wanted for herself, which is where Elena's presence helped immensely. Yes she was quiet, more than she normally was, but she wasn't in danger of flying off the handle or closing herself off completely. Her heart was tired and broken and she didn't have the tools to put it back together. Though truthfully, no one here had the tools to fix her heart, so she would try and nurse it until it hurt less, if it ever did hurt less.

So in an attempt to get out from under scrutinizing gazes, and also perhaps just to let Anakin and Elena be alone together for a while, Elphaba took a book and went to a park. She found a secluded part where people rarely walked so she wouldn't have to worry so much if her charm spell to degreen herself wore off. Even though it was summer, she was still covered from neck to ankles. Granted she was actually wearing a skirt and top instead of a dress, but still covered as much skin as she possibly could so she could get away with the possibility of her spell wearing off. Settling on the bench, she opened her book and started reading. Her choice for the day was The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. It seemed interesting, and Elphaba just wanted a longer book that she could lose herself in. She'd arrived in the park in the early afternoon, and hadn't really realized how much time had passed. The charm spell had faded, letting her face and hands revert back to green. Though luckily people weren't around and with her hair down, it shielded her face as she read. She was firmly lost within the pages of the book, the rest of the world fading away. Even her own emotions faded away into the background as she inserted herself firmly into Morgaine's life. And as she read, she couldn't help but draw parallels between her life and the depiction of Morgaine's life in the book. Yet even so, she continued reading, wanting to see what would come next.

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watch_tower
2012-06-23 04:45 am UTC (link)

Chloe herself was lost in thoughts as she read some of the information she had gathered for Oliver on her phone. She was helping him finalize the contracts he needed to get Queen Industries up and running, even though she knew very little about how to run a muiltibillionaire business, she read enough papers and cases that she knew what made companies worth investing in, and with the ones Oliver was purchasing, she was sure he could have his own company making profit in no time.

The problem was, she wasn't exactly paying attention where she was going, so when she tripped over someone's foot and stumbled forward, she had no clue what had just happened. Luckily both her phone and her coffee remained in her hands. "oh God." She gasped. "I'm so sorry."

Chloe straightened herself and turned to look at the woman she had tripped on, once her heart wasn't racing as fast anymore.

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tothewesternsky
2012-06-23 05:19 am UTC (link)

Elphaba had barely registered someone tripping over her foot until she heard the voice. Looking up, she saw the woman straightening herself. Her first thought after pulling herself out of the world of the book was concern for the other woman. "Are you all right? I'm sorry, I didn't notice anyone else being around." She marked the page she was on and closed the book.

And that is precisely when she realized her spell had worn off. Her skin was green and her brown eyes flew wide in horror. She looked at the woman, wondering if she was one of the displaced that would understand not everyone here had normal skin colors. And if she wasn't, well, Elphaba wasn't so sure she could handle someone calling her a freak right now, or going on about asking if she was trying out for Wicked or something. Really, she didn't need that right now. But even though she usually had a quick tongue, she could not for the life of her come up with a reason as to why she was green. Well, at least her hands and face as far as the other woman would be able to tell. So for the meantime, she just opted for the deer-caught-in-headlights look until the other woman said something.

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watch_tower
2012-06-23 10:26 pm UTC (link)

"I'm--" Chloe paused when the woman looked up, her green skin was definitely startling but considering her best friend was an alien and she was a meteor freak, she had seen enough weird things to pull herself together just a second later. "I'm okay, I'm really sorry. I wasn't paying attention where I was going and I just tripped on you. Did I hurt you?"

There was definitely genuine concern in her voice and even though she was curious as to why the woman's skin was green, between the way she was dressed -- cover up head to tow, plus the long hair hanging as much over her face as possible -- was enough to let Chloe know that whatever the cause, the woman was uncomfortable with her looks and she didn't want to make her even more self-conscious.

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tothewesternsky
2012-06-24 01:24 pm UTC (link)

When Elphaba heard the pause, she was expecting the woman to either scream in horror or come out with the name-calling. But when she just carried on with what she had been about to say, the witch was a mixture of surprised and relieved. Mostly relieved as being in this place for a little over a year and a half had rendered her mostly used to people being accepting of her unnatural skin color. "No, you didn't hurt me, don't worry about that." She offered a little smile, glad the woman saw fit to just go with it. Which most likely meant she was displaced just as she was and used to such things.

"I completely lost track of the time. I didn't even realize my skin had gone back to its normal color." She looked at her hand for a moment, then back up at the woman. "I'm Elphaba. Kind of an odd way to meet, but there are worse ways." Hopefully Elphaba's assumption was correct. If it wasn't, then she would just sound like a crazy person who needed to be locked away somewhere. She really did wonder if she'd ever get used to the fact people just accepted her here. So far, she still felt awkward around new people, especially when they were seeing her with her green skin. She still expected people to call her the Wicked Witch, but aside from a couple times when she'd flown off the handle, she hadn't done anything to earn her that title. In fact, she'd done everything to earn her a title quite the opposite.

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watch_tower
2012-06-24 03:34 pm UTC (link)

"Chloe," she introduced herself, smiling softly and relaxing when her obvious pause and staring didn't seem to offend the other woman. She had seen plenty of weird things in her life, but this woman seemed completely normal other than her skin color. And the color being green, she couldn't help but wonder if it was somehow kryptonite related. Besides, her name sounded kinda familiar. "Nice meeting you, I try to avoid tripping on people as a rule, but I don't always succeed." She said, to lighten up the conversation a little.

But since the woman herself mentioned her skin and it's color, and Chloe was already extremely curious, she didn't feel like she had to hold back from asking anymore, "your skin color changes?" Maybe it was more like a chameleon condition, since they were at a park. That could be useful.

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tothewesternsky
2012-06-25 05:28 am UTC (link)

"It's nice to meet you as well, Chloe." Elphaba then chuckled a bit. "Well at least tripping over people is an excellent ice breaker? You know, as long as someone isn't hurt. It is quite the conversation starter." Humor, she could totally work the humor. And it helped her relax further, especially as she was being regarded as a human being and not as some freak of nature or something. She tucked some hair behind an ear, a further sign that showed she was relaxing.

At the question, Elphaba looked at her hand. "With a magic spell, I can make it normal colored, like yours. Green skin was not normal even in Oz, but I learned very early on in this world that people are far more resistant to such a skin color. A friend of mine wrote a charm spell that I can cast to make my skin turn a 'normal' color for a few hours. I just got so wrapped up in my book that I didn't even notice it had worn off, otherwise I would have recast it." She smiled a bit. "It's not nearly as cool as having skin that changes color at will, but it's close enough. And keeps people from calling me a freak or something. But I'm used to that, I got it enough at home."

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watch_tower
2012-06-25 11:39 pm UTC (link)

"True, it might not sound as amusing when the person you tripped on had a broken foot," she smiled, then sat down next to Elphaba, listening curiously as she explained her skin condition.

"Where I come from, any skin color can be an issue." Chloe said with a roll of her eyes, not at Elphaba, but at racism and then she stopped. Green skin, spells, Oz... her skin aside, she looked nothing like the Wicked Witch of the West and she seemed really nice. Besides, Chloe didn't see any flying monkeys around.

"Wait. You said Oz? Do you mean like... Wizard of Oz? Click your heels and say there's no place like home, Oz?" She frowned.

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tothewesternsky
2012-06-26 09:42 am UTC (link)

"And in such a case, it would be more of an issue of trying to get that person medical attention. And a thousand and one apologies for the incident." Elphaba didn't mind when Chloe sat down next to her. She set her book firmly in her lap and rested her arms over it, giving the other woman her full attention.

"There was some of that in Oz as well. Though everyone was completely against the green girl." Elphaba shrugged a shoulder a bit. She pretended to not care what everyone had said about her at home. But the truth was that she did care. It always hurt to hear the things people called her. And people didn't even have the decency to do it behind her back. No, it was always in front of her as though she wasn't even there. But it had been that way her entire life. Her father, no not her father. Frexspar, as she'd found out, wasn't her actual father. He had been so cold and cruel towards her her entire life, and things didn't fare better with other people. At least until she'd met Galinda.

But as Chloe mentioned the Wizard of Oz, Elphaba's jaw clenched. Oh she hated that movie. Loathed it. That wasn't her story. More the one Madame Morrible would have everyone believe. "Yes Oz, but not that. That movie was not my life. The musical Wicked is my life. I'm not the Wicked Witch of the West." Well...not anymore. She had her moments of flying off the handle and embracing that image, but right now, she wasn't. Elphaba was simply herself. "They didn't even have the decency to give me a name in the Wizard of Oz." And then she realized she was starting to go off on a tangent about that movie, and she managed to bite her tongue and stop herself there. After all, she'd only just met Chloe, she didn't want the scare her off by completely ripping apart a movie that seemed to be ingrained into the society here. Even though it made her blood positively boil within her veins.

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watch_tower
2012-06-27 03:09 am UTC (link)

Chloe couldn't help but wince when the woman's expression changed completely at the mention of the movie, "I'm sorry," she said, sincerely, "I'm sure it must have been incredibly hard on you, coming here and dealing with all the preconceptions people have of you because of it."

"I've heard about the musical, although I haven't seen it. It's really popular according to what I read, though?" She tried, arching her eyebrows. She was a little curious to read more about it now, she knew different versions of stories could have the characters change completely in it, "and if it's any consolation, I'm not a big fan of the Wizard of Oz movie either. I'm from Kansas, well the real Kansas, we have more than farms there." She paused, "in parts of it. But anyway, anywhere you go, people make jokes about Dorothy and Oz and flying monkeys, it gets old."

And then Chloe paused once more, "did you have an actual flying monkey in the musical? Because that'd be interesting."

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tothewesternsky
2012-06-27 10:21 am UTC (link)

Even after being here for just over a year and a half, Elphaba was still surprised at just how many people in this place didn't judge her based on the movie. Or if they did they never said as much. So when Chloe apologized, Elphaba couldn't help but be slightly bewildered by it. After all, what else could she do? There were some things that Elphaba would never fully adjust to, and this was one of them. Not after she'd spent twenty-five years of her life dealing with people that didn't apologize for judging her without knowing her. "It was, but most people don't seem to care. I mean, it's not like I've given them a reason to believe I'm a wicked witch."

It was really odd to hear that something about her life was popular, and she couldn't help but think of Galinda on the matter. After all, Galinda was the one that was popular. While the blonde witch had wanted people to believe she loved being popular, it was Elphaba that saw she just craved love and to be accepted. "It does seem to be popular. It's strange to think my life could be popular. I'll just credit that to Galinda." Even though she smiled a bit, there was a sad twinge in her dark eyes. After all, she was broken hearted that Galinda had been sent home. "I am sorry to hear that. People seem to like making those jokes. It gets old for me just hearing them in this place."

Elphaba couldn't help but smile a bit wider and nodded. "I did. I had more than one actually. I gave them their wings, completely on accident." She then glanced to the side for a moment. "...I sort of have two flying monkeys here. I sort of flew off the handle not long after arriving here when I discovered a zoo. I can't stand animals being kept in cages. I kept two monkeys, and again I gave them wings."

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watch_tower
2012-06-29 03:29 am UTC (link)

"Oh." Chloe's eyes widened at the thought that the flying monkeys were actually real. They were vicious in the movie, but Elphaba seemed really nice, so she didn't think she'd free the monkeys from a zoo so they could harm people, "that sounds amazing, I'd love to see them at some point." Because while she had seen plenty of weird things in her life, she hadn't see a lot of magic so witches and wizards still fascinated her. Besides, it was a much purer form of... unusual things than meteor infection as far as she knew.

She did notice the sadness at the mention of a Galinda, however, "is Galinda the same person as Glinda? The good witch?" She asked curiously, mostly because they were far from BFF in the movie, "you two actually get along?"

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tothewesternsky
2012-06-30 08:35 am UTC (link)

When Chloe said she wanted to see the monkeys, Elphaba couldn't help but smile at that. She did love her monkeys, even if they did cause mischief sometimes, but they generally heeded her. She always did have a way with animals that she'd never had with people. "I would be more than happy to introduce you. They are capuchin monkeys, I believe is their correct species. They are rather well behaved, allbeit they sometimes like playing tricks, but it is within their nature. You know, most of my life I felt more at ease with animals than I did people. Animals were never afraid of me. Some days they were the only life forms who bothered to come close to me."

"Yes, she is. Before she became Glinda the Good, she was known as Galinda Upland. She always insisted that there was a 'Ga' in her name." Elphaba couldn't help but chuckle a bit, remembering back to Doctor Dillamond's class and how he always mispronounced Galinda's name. "It was after school that she became Glinda the Good." And that was also when she was called the Wicked Witch. For standing up to an injustice. She was still bitter over that, but she didn't let herself go down that road. No, it would be better if she just focused on Galinda right now.

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