[Open] If You Want to be Happy in a Million Ways

[tearmeanewone]

Date: Mid-December Onwards
What: Elizabeth comes back to town after being in hiding for a month, and spends her first Christmas outside of captivity

[A]

[Suitcase, rolling through a station, bundled up in a large coat and scarf? This seems like deja-vu all over again.]

[She'd done a dry-run of her return to London a few days previous, and thank goodness she hadn't had her suitcase on her then because a Fitzroy hunter had tailed her. But now that she's shaken off the scent, so to speak, she's ready to move back into her dorm proper. This time she walks like she knows where she's going, though her suitcase is still heavy with all of her books for study, and she still has to struggle to drag it up the stairs. Again.]


[B]

[In truth, she has a lot of work to catch up on at school, but she has the entirety of winter break to do that-- in addition to whatever Norrell is going to make her do. Laying low for a month, living tense day after tense day... that entitled her to a little bit of fun, didn't it?]

[She goes on walks in the evenings, after it's dark. Lights everywhere, Christmas decor, families going by, frenzied shoppers... She watches it all, enjoying the pulse of life that's flowing around her.]

[Her favorite thing so far is the windows at Harrods. Elizabeth has visited them a few times, smiling like a little girl at the fanciful displays, and admiring them for minutes at a time. Even if she's alone, she still finds little things to enjoy.]


[C]

[Ice skating. Elizabeth has never done it before, but she wants to try. She convinces her roommate to gather some of her friends, and five of them all go out to a little public rink under the London Eye. It's a beautiful night, but the rest of the group is a little more experienced than she is, and Elizabeth spends most of her time trying to figure it out on her own while the others circle around.]

[Well, what had she expected, honestly? She'd been gone for weeks, and they could all ice skate already while she's clinging to the wall.]


[D]

[Even though it's cold, Elizabeth still manages to get some time outside on her favorite bench in her favorite park. She has a book and a cup of hot chocolate to accompany her, and she seems very content to watch... pretty much nothing. It's too cold for there to be kids on the playground, she appears to be enjoying just... sitting there and taking in the cold air.]

[It starts to snow, so she closes her book and tucks it safely into her coat. Then she picks up her drink and just sips it, watching the snow drift by and smiling.]

Comments

[tearmeanewone]

Elizabeth DeWitt. [She smiles back at him.] Retired Unofficial Magical Medic of this park.

You're right though-- if there hadn't been someone kind there that day, I probably would have walked away from that encounter thinking the world was a darker place. Balance is good.

[knightscode]

Well, then it's nice to meet you properly Elizabeth.

[ And the same goes for Lily, of course, who is now alternating between nosing at Lancelot and nosing a her impatiently. Will they be playing? She wants to play! Why all this staying still? ]

Forgive me, but your accent is very distinctive. Has it never faded, or are you new to us?

[tearmeanewone]

It's nice to meet you properly too, Lancelot. [Aw, such nose from doge, Liz gives Lily another pat though she doesn't quite pick up on what Lily wants. More pets? Probably more pets...?] And you too, Lady Lily.

New. Definitely new. [She confirms with an awkward laugh.] I got here about three months ago-- I'm studying at Westchester, engineering exchange program.

[That's the party line, at least.]

Before here, little out-of-the-way village in Virginia.

[knightscode]

Ahhh. I've never been to the United States myself. South America, but never North.

[ He shrugs, ruffling at Lily as she noses him again and scratching behind her ears. ]

What kind of engineering? If you don't mind my asking.

[tearmeanewone]

I'm the reverse-- never been to South America, but I've heard all of the countries down there are beautiful and have more culture than America does. [Clearly Elizabeth is interested in other countries, she'd wanted to travel before all the trouble she'd landed in. She wanted to see steppe pyramids and children playing soccer in the streets...]

Mechanical Engineering. But, I confess, chemistry is still a love of mine. It's just harder to get into when you can manipulate it with words, you know...? [She offers an awkward smile. Healing magic-- chemistry sped up, electrons and protons rearranged...] I like to build locks in my spare time, not like I have much with lectures all night and classes all day but...

[knightscode]

[ Ah! He smiles at her as she talks, curious but a little wry despite himself. ]

I haven't much of a head for science, I admit, but... I can understand. I spent a long time knowing nothing about... well, all the parts of London most people don't see. It was a little strange to have it all come out so late in my life, everything I thought I understood suddenly... different. I think I'm still adjusting, truth be told.

[tearmeanewone]

You and me both, honestly. I suppose I realized what I was kind of late in life as well-- if you count twenty as late.

[She smiles and looks down at Lily's sweet smiling face and feels comfortable with Lancelot for a moment. First time in a long time she's felt comfortable around anybody.]

I was kept in isolation, where I came from. Plenty of books but none on magic, and I kept thinking it was odd that nobody in any of my stories talked about being able to set things on fire, or make frost on glass. I only realized when I escaped.

So I know the difficulty. [She finishes lamely, busying herself patting Lily again.]

[knightscode]

[ Isolation. Lancelot's face creases in an unhappy frown, dropping his eyes to Lily himself. She just wags her tail happily, glad of attention from both of them. They are friends, yes? This is good! Lily loves her friends! ]

Forgive me, then, if I have reminded you of something unpleasant. I am only glad you escaped it, to join us here. I hope London treats you better?