When the Smoke Clears (Mylene)

[EPONINE THENARDIER]

It had taken longer than Eponine wanted and she had to lead her friends on more winding alleys than her original plan. It seemed everywhere they had turned, the police or the Guard were moving in to contain the panic. Eponine couldn't risk Marius and her friends being caught or worse, the police recognizing her and blaming her father's gang for inciting the riot. She supposed he had, but she had no desire to be arrested as an accomplice tonight. No doubt the Guard would like to pin the death of the gypsy woman on someone other than themselves. She quickly had to abandon her plan of meeting Mylene in the catacombs when after finding her third escape route blocked her only thought turned to getting as far away from the chaos as possible.

So motioning at her growing trail of students following her to keep as quiet as possible, Eponine led them through side streets and alleys, pressing them back against the wall as mounted patrols raced past. Just a couple more blocks and they would be safe, then they would have a clear shot to their meeting. She allowed herself a moment to check behind them, to be sure they weren't followed, before gripping Marius's hand again and darting out into the street. No one spoke of the blood that had been shed or of the ruined recruitment. A night of celebration had been utterly shattered, leaving only confusion and grief in its place.

Upon reaching the open street, she spied Mylene and breathed a sigh of relief at seeing her friend in one piece. After directing Marius and his friends down the street and watching them race off to their meeting she walked over to the barmaid, already missing the feel of Marius's hand in hers. Her skin tingled against the missing warmth and she curled her fingers into her palm, as if to savor the feeling. As she reached her friend, she quickly looked her over to check for cursory injuries. "Mylene? Good to see you made it alright. We got routed from the entrance and had to take the long way round."

[MYLÈNE LACOQUINE]

Mylène knew she should be moving swiftly now, out of the dangerzone and back to the café, where she knew she would be safe. It was what she always did, she was hardly ever standing still. But for a few moments after Courfeyrac had left, she just stood there in the streets and… did nothing. She watched him slowly merge with the darkness as he walked away in his determined, energetic stride, while her head tried to catch up with all those things she had not fully realized yet. Her lips still prickled slightly from his goodbye kiss and she refused the urge to bring her fingers up to them to ensure herself that this feeling was real. While they had still been in each other’s company, she had simply reacted, had not thought at all, had accepted everything as given, like she usually did. But now was a moment of respite, and it crashed down on her with full force, the impact of everything. The May Day, the dancing, the parade, their flight and the horros they had seen. And what had come afterwards.

It was too much, it nearly made her head explode as she tried to process it all at once and so her body went into a little lockdown. This was simply too much and too many different things to be packed into just a few short hours – roi d’enfer, it would suffice for a lifetime! Or… at least a week!
A part of Mylène’s senses still stayed alert, but not with her usual attentiveness that had enabled her to survive on the streets for so long. She would have been able to detect the heavy steps of a policeman or guard coming her way maybe, but the nimble, quick steps of an experienced gamine and the movements of her shadow were completely lost to her. And as such, she visibly jumped when she suddenly heard a voice behind her, a voice she did know well and trusted, but an unexpected voice all the same.

“Ponine! Louis’ rotten head, ye scared the livin’ daylight out o’ me!” she exclaimed in a hushed tone, feeling as if her heart had stopped for a moment. Then it started beating again in a frenzy as she eyed her friend from top to bottom, looking for any signs of distress and injury, but also instinctively searching for any signs in her face that would betray the answer to a very important question for Mylène right now: Courfeyrac couldn’t have been gone for more than a few seconds… had Ponine seen them parting with a kiss?! The sheer idea alone was enough to raise a hectic flush in her cheeks, which made her even less comfortable. Goodness, where was her pokerface when she needed it! And… did she still look as disshevelled as she felt? Her hair must be still a mess from Courf’s hands… Distraction… she needed a distraction! “So… ye made it…?! I’m glad te hear it! We’ve been waitin’ for ye, but I realized ye must’ve been swept away by the mob, t’wasn’t easy for us either. There was a man that fell into me, kicked my shin, an while I could stay upright, he fell, he was trampled on, oh it was ghastly!” All that came out of Mylène’s mouth in a neverending rush, only when she had to catch her breath she stopped. Her voice didn’t sound right somehow… too shrill, too anxious. Hopefully Ponine would blame it on the shock!

[EPONINE THENARDIER]

Eponine jumped as Mylene rounded on her, quietly startled. She looked frazzled, her hair messy and her face flushed. Had the escape from the parade, the panic and chaos, been that much? Eponine had never known Mylene to be this shaken by a run from the authorities, but then this was different. Someone had been killed, simply by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It could have been any one of them, Eponine, Cosette, Marius and his friends. A little change in positioning and it would be them laying in a pool of their own blood on the street while the crowd surge around them. That though alone was enough to shake anyone to their core. Eponine hadn't let the thought into her mind during their escape, she had been much too focused on getting to safety. But now, her adrenaline was beginning to wear off in the quiet of the street with her friend.

"Are you alright? We couldn't make it to the entrance. I had to take the long way 'round. And I had Marius, Combeferre, and Feuilly in tow. So you can imagine it was slow going." Eponine took another step towards her friend, slipping her arm around her shoulders in an effort to get her to calm. Mylene's words were coming so fast Eponine was surprised the girl could get a breath, let alone keep up with what she was saying. Eponine was sure the gypsy lady had not been the only casualty of the panic, but she hadn't stuck around to find out. Hearing Mylene's anxious account of the man who had tripped her up getting trampled, she grit her teeth. Did her father even know what he had done? Did he care? How many people wouldn't be going home tonight because of his bull-headed actions? She knew she couldn't have stopped the whole of Patron-Minette, but still felt a pang of guilt at the blood her kin had had a hand in shedding. Yet again. Another life to throw on the pile she had already accumulated in her short life.

Once she had processed what Mylene had said though, Eponine looked around. "We? Have you got a mouse in your pocket I don't know about, Mylene?" She knew that the last time she had seen Mylene at the parade, Courfeyrac had been trying to pull her back from the confrontation, but now he was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps he had already left, hurrying on to their meeting. Mylene would not have left him in the chaos anymore than Eponine would have left her friends. Which meant Eponine had one last friend to see to safety before going home herself. "Come on. Let's get you back to the cafe. Streets won't be too safe tonight."

[MYLÈNE LACOQUINE]

Eponine’s obvious concern made Mylène’s guts churn with guilt even more. Up until this moment she had not really thought about this, she had been confident to keep what had happened a secret, but the realization how close she had come to unwittingly reveal it to Eponine of all people had thrown her out of balance – a balance she desperately needed to regain, or else it really WOULD happen! Maybe Ponine would not even seem so openly appalled if she knew, but Myléne feared she might be hurt inside. After all, Mylène just had gotten what Ponine always craved from a different man and what a bad friend she would be to forget that and practically throw it into her face! Though… she knew it was different. What Eponine wanted was love from Marius, innocent love in a way, as innocent as a girl like her friend still could be. It was not comparable at all with what just had happened between her and Courfeyrac. But, would she understand it? In some ways, they really were different, even though they could be as close as sisters in other things.

She tried to get a smile on her face and gave a little sound halfway between a snort and a laugh, as she imagined the scenery Eponine just needed to outline. “And you’re here already?! I’d have expected you in an hour, had I known of yer company. Ye’d have to skip a route as far as Fountainbleau te not have ‘em be heard when they try to be subtle an’ sneak.” Eponine’s arm around her was comforting and was calming her a little indeed. There were no questions coming… she might just have been lucky, and her friend had not seen anything! Alright, Coquine, you still have this…! She could put on a show, she would simply try and forget the details of the last hour for now, and then everything would be alright. Bless Ponine, that girl had a heart of gold indeed! Mylène did not like to rely on others for comfort, she usually never even admitted she needed it, joked it away, and remained strong on her own. But she felt raw now in more than just one way. It would need some time to slip on the jester mask completely again.

Her countenance was slipping again though when Eponine caught her on the ‘we’ she had let slip. Calm now… you got this!. “Um… I mean me and Courf”, she explained with a nonchalant shrug. „We ... um... he was the one standing closest so I took him away. We got to Rue Cochin, but because I had twisted my ankle we couldn’t get down the stairs. So we… um.. waited until the road was clear again, waited for you as well, but... well, we soon realized you might take a different route.” In all honesty, as ashamed as she was to admit it, Eponine’s fate had soon be pushed into a far corner of her mind. They hadn’t even considered what might happen if their friends appeared after all and found them there… Roi d’Enfer, even to imagine their faces, if they had walked in on…! Mylène hastily stopped this track of thoughts as she could feel an embarrassed flush slowly rising up in her cheeks.

When Eponine talked of getting her back to the cafè, Mylène nodded, but tried to joke: “An’ here I was thinking ye’d take another moonlight stroll wi’ me!” Gazing at her meaningfully, she tried to hint at their endeavour still in the planning: mapping out the escape routes for their little stealing scheme. But maybe that wasn’t such a good idea tonight. Guards would be everywhere, patrolling harder than usual, probably fearing another riot. It soon would come, that much was for sure now, and it made the stealing of gunpowder all the more urgent. But nothing would be won either if they got arrested.

[EPONINE THENARDIER]

Eponine laughed at Mylene's rather adept assessment of her company's ability to mover through the streets without being detected. Honestly it had taken her much longer than she would have liked to get past the police and guardsmen that seemed to be showing up in more and more places. And with more than just Marius in tow, she had doubled back, twisted around on paths, and generally kept a slow pace. It wouldn't have done for her to get Marius out of the riot, only to have one of his friends captured or worse. Just one person getting caught could undo all the Amis had worked towards. And little as she believed it would work, she couldn't bring that kind of violence and defeat down on their heads if she could help it. So like a mother duck and her ducklings, she had led the students out, praying that Mylene and Courfeyrac had found a safe passage as well. "It was difficult. I had to press the lot of them against walls and tell them more than once to be quiet. Like tromping horses they were." The horrors of the evening still seemed to hang around Mylene, her usually calm and teasing demeanor not quite what as strong as she was used to. She squeezed her friend's shoulder, a silent show of support. The two of them had seen more than their fair share of death through the years, but that didn't mean it had numbed them to the sight. Eponine was sure the violence of the day weighed on Mylene as heavily as it weighed on her.

Eponine breathed a sigh of relief when Mylene mentioned Courfeyrac. One more friend out of harm's way. She nodded to her friend, swallowing hard. "Sorry. Didn't mean to worry you. If we could have made it to you two... Just trust me when I say I would have much rather been in the catacombs with you and Courfeyrac than up here on the street." Now that the danger had mostly passed, Eponine finally let the tension that had been building up in her make itself known. The fear and the apprehension she had kept a sharp hold on all night began to flood her mind, making her shiver. She could have lost Mylene or any one of her friends tonight. She could have lost Marius. That thought alone was enough to shake her. But she hadn't, she had to remind herself. The relief at knowing her friends were safe far outweighed the guilt of the lose of the gypsy woman.

Shaking her head, she turned Mylene towards home. "Not tonight. Not on your ankle." She looked around them and made sure there were no bystanders listening. "And not with the Guard on the loose." She straightened up and lent her arm to Mylene should she need it for support. "I'll gladly plan our next evening walk with you if you'd like though."

[MYLÈNE LACOQUINE]

Was there a hysterical edge to her laughter as she reacted to Eponine’s claim she’d rather have been down with them in the catacombes? Maybe,… and it wasn’t a good thing. Get your act together, Mylie! she chided herself inwardly, but the thoughts still remained in her head, vivid pictures and things she’d just like to say to Ponine right now. But even an ‘oh no, you certainly wouldn’t have liked to be there’ would make her friend suspicious and alert to things she should not know. It didn’t sit well with her what kind of impression Ponine would get from her tonight, that she was being seen as a weakling, too affected by the horrors of the night just so she could mislead her from what was really the cause of her reeling mind. “Twas more peaceful at least…” she muttered, inwardly thinking: ‘but not less heated at all…’ “Jus’ saw him off te the meetin’ now, must have missed him by a hair’s breadth. ‘m glad ye took care of the other lads, Courf was jus’ the closest an’ then all went crazy.”

She didn’t have to apologize to her friend, she knew that well, since they both knew the rules of the streets. When it came down to life and death, you were not obliged to look out for anything but your own hide, and those who were too weak or slow got under the wheels of the authorities. Natural selection, you could call it – and yet there was something more to life than those basic rules. Mylène herself had only started to see those extras over the last two years, but Eponine’s behaviour showed that she knew them too. After all, she had not just cared about Marius, but had seen to others being safe as well. Even though Mylène knew Ponine did not really believe in the lads’ dreams of a revolution, she had no doubt her friend would fight with teeth and claws for those she considered friends. Leaning a little on the other girl for support, Mylène made her injured ankle free of all weight for a moment, feeling relief washing over her like the gentle kiss of spring rain.

“You’re right of course, it’s not the time for a serenade”, she replied with a grin. “This one here needs a day o’ rest, but then it’ll be as good as knew, ready to run an’ climb.” This was said with a meaningful glance and a nod, since she didn’t want her friend to think this little injury would endanger their important plans. Acting a little out of pride, she did not exactly lean on Eponine’s arm, but slipped her hand under her elbow so it would not look completely like she was needing her support. At least the risk of twisting was more or less banned with Courf’s cravat securely wrapped around it. The thought alone made a smile creep onto her face.
“Alright… which route should we snoop out next then? I think A is memorized even by me poor brain, time te switch te B maybe? We shed jus’ be careful not te run into Gavroche tha’ night… boy’s te nosy fer his own good.” Her tone was fond though, as she spoke of Eponine’s little brother. There must be something about Les Amis that drew gamins and gamines alike towards them like moths to a flame. Gavroche was always to be found around Courf, and they often were up to no good. Now Eponine had followed suit with Marius, and Mylène herself…? Well, she was on good terms with them all!

[EPONINE THENARDIER]

Eponine worked her arm around Mylene's, the corners of her mouth turning up at her friend's laugh. It wasn't like Mylene to be quite so jumpy, but then it wasn't everyday the Guard shot someone dead in the street before their eyes. Eponine was sure that if she hadn't had the boys to lead out of danger and now Mylene to see safely home, she'd be just as shaken. For now though, she had to focus, to keep a clear mind for both their sakes. She suppressed another shiver as she gripped her friend's arm. "It was a good thing he was there too, Mylene. I saw him pull you back from that fight. What were you thinking?" She knew there was little use in scolding her. If given half the chance, Eponine probably would have been right next to her, standing up to her father and his men. But she was too distracted, too focused on Marius and his new love to have been of any use. Who knew if it would have made any difference? "'Parnasse was there. Had his knife out too. I saw him just before the shot. He disappeared after that." She wasn't sure what had made her point that out to Mylene. Maybe it was to emphasize how much worse everything could have gone, that Mylene should thank her stars that Courfeyrac had been there to hold her back from attacking Eponine's father, even verbally. Montparnasse hardly made a distinction between men and women when it came to a job, and while Eponine couldn't believe he'd kill in the middle of a crowded street like that, he had ways of stalking his prey once he'd set eyes on it. Of course, his eyes had been set on her the whole time she had seen him.

Letting loose a laugh and a nod, Eponine glanced at Mylene, letting her know she understood that her injury was not so severe to hurt their own little plot. Eponine would have put a stop on the whole thing rather than risk Mylene's health, especially with her climbing to the roofs of Paris. She made a note to keep an eye on her in the coming days, just to be sure she wouldn't be unnecessarily pushing herself. If she had to lock her in her room to get her to rest, Eponine was not above that. "You finally got A down? Are you walking it in your sleep?" She smirked as they continued down the street, arm in arm. On the off chance the two of them got separated during the actual job, Eponine wanted to be sure Mylene could make it back on her own. Not that she didn't trust the girl's street smarts, she was just worried. Of the two of them, Mylene was risking more and Eponine would do anything to see that she made it out of this unscathed. "We can start on B as soon as your ankle is better. In the meantime, I'll try to find you a map. Surely one of the boys has one I can lift for a little bit."

Eponine couldn't help but roll her eyes at the mention of her brother. Yes, the boy had the annoying habit of showing up where you least expected him and shoving his nose in things better left alone. She had no intention of letting him in on their plan. Not fully anyway. "I'm not telling him anything until the day of. And even then, it'll be to be at the elephant that night, in case we need him." Of all the people in Paris that could hide them in they were chased, Eponine trusted Gavroche the most. She wouldn't tell him what they were up to or where they would be coming from. But if the Guard started chasing a couple girls, they wouldn't be looking for a young boy. At least she hoped that would be the case. But only if everything else went sour.