pas de deux :: CLOSED

[onlydancing]

When; December 16th
Rating; G
Characters; Lilith (onlydancing) & Justine Leblanc (longestfall)
Summary; Mother meets daughter. Daughter meets mother. The old love story on repeat.
Log;

[Snow has begun to fall. It falls on her face ever so softly. Ever so coldly. Like a mother's embrace, the only way she has ever known it to feel. Lilith has left Jean-Paul to his alcohol - that particular sound of rattling bottles is not unfamiliar to her, but who is she to judge her beloved brother? - and ventured out on her own, clad in clothes more appropriate for the season. Bearing no marks of her previous profession, nor of the charity of the church. She is her own woman here. Everything... is between herself and God.

Sitting down on a bench near the fountain, she listens to the sound of splashing water, having gradually slowed down over the past couple of days due to the freezing temperatures. There is tranquility here. A sense of peace... like in Paradise. Jimmy was right when he said, it might be another chance.

A place in between Heaven and Hell, allowing her to live again.]

Comments

[onlydancing]

[That voice. Lilith freezes, like the water is slowly freezing - at the sound of it. That voice, it can't be! It's Mother's voice, she's certain of it. She would recognise that voice amongst a thousand others. She would know if, if so even God took away her hearing, too.]

Mother?

[She turns her head in the general direction of the voice. The sound of her name. With the uncertainty of movement that has become hers now, she stands up. Moves one step forward, then another - hand stretched out before her, blindly. In search. In search for...]

[longestfall]

[It's a natural response, for Lilith to approach her. Justine has called for her herself and if nothing else, if little else, Lilith has tried before. To be obedient. Nevertheless, she can't quite help herself - she steps back a bit as Lilith comes closer, looking at her out-stretched hand as if the girl's pointing an invisible weapon at her. A prop, perhaps. A fitting metaphor.]

Yes. Yes, I... [She pauses again, doesn't quite know how to begin. Or more importantly, how to -end- it. This odd plaza in Paris, whatever it may be called, is not the place for their usual... scenes. Theatrics. No, not at all.] No one has told me of your return. To Paris.

[onlydancing]

[Her return to... Then, Mother doesn't remember... Their final moment together, when everything fell into place. She doesn't know. This place may have taken her before she could even experience it. Lilith hesitates. Falters. Comes to a halt. She knows enough now, to understand. How things work here. And how they don't work. Smiling softly, she buries her hands in the folds of her skirt which is made from a material like no other she has felt before coming here and asks Mother the question that needs answering, before she must reveal to her that they are in Paris no more.]

Mother... What -- what is the last thing you remember?

[longestfall]

[The question surprises her. It seems so utterly random that she's on the verge of countering with a new one. A terrible, senseless one, such as 'where did you go' or worse, 'why did you come back'. But one look behind her at the massive buildings, the strangeness of it all, and she simply says:]

I have just spoken to Jean-Paul. About his newest travesty.

[It doesn't occur to her to soften her words. Lilith has been gone for many years, yes, but things have only changed for the worse in her absence. And Justine has never been delicate with her children.]

[onlydancing]

[Before, then... Before Lilith lay dying and before she could forgive... everything... All of that, before all of that. Moving forward once more, two steps this time, Lilith reaches out with both hands - seeking something to hold on to, almost desperately. Oh, could it just be Mother, but anything at all would do now. She needs to balance herself, she who could once balance on points, when she delivers the truth to her beloved Mother who never loved her. To the moment when she drew her last breath and was gone.]

This... This place, it isn't Paris, Mother. The people who live here... call it the City. Just that.

[longestfall]

[It's wrong, yes, the way she steps back once more, away from Lilith's searching hands. Her daughter's blindness disgusts her. Perhaps, if the circumstances had been different... if it had been an honest accident... Taking a deep breath, she steels herself and stops. Crosses the distance, finally, and takes hold of Lilith's hands. They're so cold, she nearly lets go again.]

Lilith. You're speaking in riddles.

[Considering how cold she is, the girl may very well be running a fever. Or something even worse. Sweet Mother, where is the Duke when she needs him?]

[onlydancing]

[The moment comes. Finally, finally - when Mother takes her hands and holds them in her grip. She knows how she must feel, cold to the touch. An unnatural creature, both alive and dead at once, but the City has made it so and if it makes this experience possible, to once again feel the touch of her mother's hands... Then, Lilith shall be gladder for it, yes. Yes, she shall. She must.]

People from different times and places... have been chosen to come here. And every other day, there's... a curse. A curse that may change your very personality or your memories... or turn you into a child again. [Lilith's voice turns into a mere whisper.] How mustn't it sound to your ears, Mother, but please... please believe me!

[longestfall]

[It takes all her self-control, not to rip her hands away as Lilith starts raving about curses. Witchcraft. Un-godly things. Befitting her name, perhaps, though speaking such words here, out loud where people might hear... Where they may shame the mother for her child's graceless behaviour... Lowering her voice, she pulls Lilith closer, gripping her by the elbows, her slim fingers digging into Lilith's sleeves.]

Don't talk. Why are you so cold? Oh, why are you so helpless!

[She reaches out and begins buttoning up the coat. Like she would have for both her children, ages and ages back, if there hadn't been someone else to do it for her.]

[onlydancing]

[She lets her mother do what mothers should do for their children, but what her own only did when she could not in any way be excused. Accepts the action with the gratitude that comes with starvation. She has been a lost child for so long, now she has been found. Even if Mother never looked for her... She found her, even so. As she did back home. On Lilith's call, she was met with a response as she is now in equal measure. Thus, she simply stands, all but limp in Mother's grip.]

Back in Paris... I died, Mother... I thought I would stand before God... but instead I came here.