006 ; [ video, open to action ]

[jondrette]

[So, it's April. Eponine has sobered up somewhat, gotten her wits about her, and realized she needed to actually go see Marius Pontmercy. And explain. And apologize for being a fool and asking him to kill her, for begging him to love her. It took what courage the girl had left for her to walk over to his suite, and when she knocked, the door swung inward revealing what she feared most. What he said he would not do.

An empty apartment.

You know how Eponine spent most of March on a bender?

She's... about to start it again.

When she finally appears in front of the camera this time, she has dark circles under her eyes, her skin sallow. She's nearly as skinny as she was when she first arrived, and there's a bottle of whiskey in her fist.

She speaks simply, without light in her eyes.]

Marius Pontmercy has gone home.

He has returned home where none of us shall be living, to perhaps June 7th, 1832. He will return to his beloved Cosette Fauchelevent. They shall be married.

[She takes a pull from the bottle.]

And he shall forget all about us.

About me.

[She closes the network connection.]

Comments

[solo_patria]

[This. This is when Enjolras knows that there is but one thing he can do just now, despite that it feels awkward to be around Eponine, and like he has done something wrong. His own sadness at losing Marius is lightened by the knowledge that Marius will be going home to his Cosette, in a way that feels...oddly fitting, but for Eponine, he knows very well how much it may hurt.

And, from the looks of her, Eponine has not eaten properly in days, something Enjolras understands the symptoms of only too well. Which is why, along the way to her suite, he is stopping, first at the bakery for bread,and then a market stall for cheese, until he's knocking, perhaps half an hour after seeing the post.]

Eponine? Might I come in?

[jondrette]

[Enjolras. She recognizes the voice. She has no desire to speak with him, and has been without contact from the man she once would have called brother for the better part of the last month. The last time she had seen him...

Still, she moves to open the door to him, her eyes on the floor, refusing to look into his. How can she? A man who has seen her on the floor, humiliated by her own intoxication. Her own heartache. She had seen the way he looked at her, at her revelation. At her desperation.]

As you see I am still alive.

I have made good on that promise.

[solo_patria]

You are at that. It IS a spot of good news, even at the worst of this.

[And he's sighing a bit as he steps inside, wishing there were something he might say to Eponine, some way to be of any help to her now. And well, she has seen his desperation too, so at the least, there is that much.]

Eponine...

I do not know what I might say to bring you any comfort. We've had...a bad run of it lately, and I am sorry for that. It is not the time now for me to distance myself from any who I care for, particularly as you might need me.

[jondrette]

[She stands, holding on to the door frame for more support. There is still no emotion visible on her face, her eyes all but dead.]

There is nothing you can say that will bring me comfort. One painful disappearance, followed by my own foolishness, and then another. You can say nothing, and you shall say nothing. Your words are useless.

[backinakidflash]

Uh - not to judge here, but… maybe booze isn't such a hot idea right now ?

[jondrette]

Of course it is not a hot idea.

My booze is lukewarm.

[backinakidflash]

... ugh. Seriously, Eponine? That sounds gross. You could chill it or something.

[jondrette]

I have no energy to chill it.
I shall drink it as it is.

[akito]

[ oh. oh. this sounds like love unrequited. something he knows all-to-well, though it also sounds like it might not have been so unrequited here. which is... something he has no experience with, but can only imagine how hard it must be to lose. ]

I'm sorry for your loss.

[ he knows they don't know each other (he doesn't know anyone here, really), and he doubts it will matter to her, but his apology was very sincere and emphatic regardless. he knows that if their situations were reversed, he would appreciate the gesture. ]

[jondrette]

[His assumptions are wrong. Marius never loved Eponine. Nor would he ever. He had told her as much. He'd killed her with his words, then he refused to use a knife to do the same.]

Merci.

[Words mean nothing to her. But it's what you're supposed to do, right?]

[wreckingbert]

I'm sorry.

[There's not much he can say, beyond that.]

Someone close to me is gone from this place too. It's hard.

[jondrette]

He is not the first I have lost.

My friends. The first I have ever had. My brother.

We came from the same world. But I shall never see them again.

[wreckingbert]

Why not?

[jondrette]

For all of us that came, with the exception of Marius, are dead.

action;

[starcharter]

[Chekov knew replying over the network wouldn't be enough. He still remembers where Eponine lives, so he departs once he has a few things in order. Chekov carries his bag of wonders-- painkillers, a few hangover remedies he learned from the kedan (and maybe some of his own experiences), food that won't upset the stomach.

Normally, he wouldn't pry so much. People's personal pain was, well, personal. But he can tell that Eponine needs someone right now. So he knocks on the door about an hour after Eponine's broadcast.]

Eponine? Are you there?

action;

[jondrette]

No. [She calls out. She's still sitting on the chair where she'd made her broadcast from. The door is unlocked, and he's welcome to enter.

Chekov, she remembers. Though the last time they had truly spoken was when he was a woman.]

But if it suits you, enter.

action;

[starcharter]

[Yeah, this is going to go well.

Apparently it does suit him, as he walks in and shuts the door behind him. Chekov makes his way over to her. She looks like a mess.]

I have medicine for a headache-- you will probably need it tomorrow. [Sympathetically:] I don't have medicine for heartache, though.

action;

[jondrette]

The only medicine for heartache is to drink.

[Her voice is hollow, and she doesn't even look at him.]

audio; 97% encrypted

[lostundercover]

I have an extra room if you want to stay for awhile. Comes with alcohol and food, but you'd only get one night of drinking until you can't remember who you are.

audio; 97% encrypted

[jondrette]

I should like that very much, m'sieur Costigan.

I should also like not to remember who I am.

audio; 97% encrypted

[lostundercover]

Come over tonight. We'll make sure you forget.

Tomorrow, you start sobering up and help me out. That work for you?

audio; 97% encrypted

[jondrette]

[She considers this.]

Yes. What sort of work?

[Video]

[fliesonfour]

Apologies, cherie. It is indeed a pity.

[And so it was, another gone from them.

But at least this one, all assumed, left to live.

Nonetheless, an important man, and another deep blow to his dear Bopssuet, likely.]

Indeed one must think that you are unforgettable, though.

[An attempt at comfort... though this was Marius they spoke of, and even he did not look entirely convinced by the prospect.]

Re: [Video]

[jondrette]

No. That is far from true.

[She drops her gaze]

When people return home, they say they forget everything. I was supposed up have been here once before. But I don't recall any of it.

[Video]

[fliesonfour]

...What?

[Joly meant to be of use here, but the distraction was too great.

Enjolras insisted that those who left were doomed! Well!]

People come, and go, and come back again, you mean to say?