tushanshu | video;

I was looking at my records for the store this morning, and I realized that it has now been six months since Favrielle nó Eglantine left.

[Alcuin sighs and pushes his hair out of his face, looking rather sad.]

It seems strange to miss her so much when we had never met before my arrival, but it is easier, I think, to have someone who understands where you come from and who shares your values and beliefs. If we had to be in exile, at least we were suffering together.

[A corner of his mouth twists briefly in a wry smile.]

Forgive me, I am not usually so cheerless. But it put me in mind of a poem, one of the most famous of the current day in my land. It was written by a woman who was exiled from Terre d'Ange, but who later returned and became the court poet.

[He clears his throat and recites from memory.]

Beneath the golden balm
Settling on the fields
Evening steals in calm
And farmers count their yields
The bee is in the lavender,
The honey fills the comb,
But here a rain falls never-ending
And I am far from home.

[His voice drops on the last line, becoming quiet and sad, and he hastily ends the broadcast.]

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Alcuin, mon ami, would you like some company?

I don't know.

[He rubs the back of his neck, making a face that is as close to grumpy as he ever gets.]

I cannot tell if this is the sort of melancholy that would be better with friends or if I would rather be alone.

Is is the sort that suffers from a lack of wine? I've plenty, if you'd like some.

Yes, perhaps it is. Wine couldn't hurt, anyway.

Red or white?

I'm not sure, which goes better with self-pity?

[He manages a bit of a laugh.]

Brandy.

[He smiles just a little]

Which I am fortunate enough to have as well.

That sounds nice.

I shall be there shortly, then.

Thank you, Jehan.

[He'll be ready to answer the door when he arrives.]

[Jehan is there shortly, knocking on the door. He has brandy and some kedan roses for Alucin to cheer him up]

[Alcuin answers and smiles at the roses, leaning in to kiss Jehan on the cheek.]

Thank you. You are always so kind.

I do not like to see my friends so depressed. Melancholy is good for the soul, but too much may make a man ill. May I come in?

Yes, do.

[He steps back to let him in.]

I'm glad everything is back to normal, at least.

Agreed.

[He looks a little green]

Did Courfeyrac truly...?

I believe he did.

[There's a touch of chagrin in Alcuin's tone. Even in Terre d'Ange, that was not usually done.]

But have a seat, I'll get some glasses.

I was hoping that part was simply a dream. I swooned shortly after.

[He shakes his head as he goes to sit]

He enjoyed that far too much.

There were some enjoyable things about it.

[He and Courfeyrac had a good time.]

I was happy to be returned to myself, though.

[....nope. Not asking]

It's simply unnatural, to find oneself in a body that is not theirs. It was very odd.

The sensation of looking in a mirror to see someone who could be your sister is very unsettling.

Indeed. Although I could not tell you had been affected, my dear.

I am not that girlish, Jehan.

[He sets the glasses down on his low living room table and makes a face at him.]

[He laughs a little and hands him the brandy]

No, but you are that lovely.

[Alcuin pours them each a measure and then takes a seat on the couch next to Jehan.]

Being comely does not make one a woman.

No, of course not. Forgive me, I did not mean to imply that at all.

You are forgiven, of course. [He kisses his cheek.]

Though I do still find it strange that people mistake me for a woman- it has happened at least four times here, though it never happened at home.

Most people, I've found, assume that a lovely face means you are a woman. I was often mistaken for a girl as a child because I was a particularly "pretty" child whose curls were far too perfect to belong to a young boy or some nonsense. Were it not for trousers, Enjolras could be mistaken for a young girl.

It sounds like a very different perception of beauty.

[He sighs and sips his brandy. That's exactly why he wants other d'Angelines around.]

Mm. I will admit that I shared the same perception when I arrived. I have changed that, however.

Have you?

[Alcuin nestles into the couch, watching Jehan.]

Indeed I have. Beauty can be found everywhere, which is an idea I have long held, but it is silly to apply my standards to people who are not from my world.

[Henry's response is conspicuous by its absence. This may be the first overt sign that all is not right with him.]

[Oh dear.]

That's a beautiful poem. Do you have any of her others memorized?

[Barry doesn't know enough about the first part of Alcuin's broadcast to feel comfortable commenting upon it so he leaves it alone for the time being.]

I miss her, too. Favrielle, I mean.

[And so many other people. It's people with him, not places, but... Goddammit.]

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