Little earthquakes.

[neurotic_barbie]

The air sat still and gauzy over the beach, the movement of the waves a mere ripple; nothing more than a vague whisper in the background. The day seemed still and sluggish, the sun a yellow blossom tracing away the hours in a lazy arc across the sky

Comments

[fleurdescendres]

"Eezn't zis a lot of things for a picnic?" Fleur teased, walking up to the other blonde. She hadn't seen Dr Reid, the not-a-German, in weeks, but she'd liked her well enough the last time they had met. "You look comfortable."

[fleurdescendres]

"True," Fleur said. "Zat would probably be best. When you 'ave figured eet out, thought, I would be 'appy to 'elp."

[neurotic_barbie]

"Great!" Elliot beamed. "Merci, madame. Je serai éternellement - darn, what's the word for - reconnaissant?" She cringed.

[fleurdescendres]

Fleur laughed, then clapped a hand over her mouth. "Pardon, but I am not a madame at all. Mademoiselle eez ze right word. And I think the word you want eez aide. Mais ce n'est rien."

[neurotic_barbie]

Elliot frowned. "Now all I need to remember is how to say 'My French sucks,'" she said, but with a little half-smile.

[fleurdescendres]

"Sucks?" Fleur asked with a warm laugh. "Per'aps I could 'elp if I knew what zat meant."

[neurotic_barbie]

"C'est really, really bad," Elliot explained. "You know, most people are really surprised when I tell them I speak three languages. And I always say, just because I'm blonde doesn't mean I'm..." she trailed off with a vaguely puzzled look. "...What's that word? Oh, yeah. Stupid."

[fleurdescendres]

"I know just what you mean!" Fleur sighed emphatically. "I competed in a tournament zat accepted only ze th- four best of my age, represented my school, fough a dragon. I am good at what I do, I am bright. But people do not think I am smart! They notice only 'ow I look."

[neurotic_barbie]

Elliot shook her head sympathetically. "It's a hard life," she said. She might have been being sarcastic, but her mind caught up with the rest of Fleur's sentence and she quickly added, "Wait a second, you fought a dragon? An actual dragon? Not the metaphor for smoking marijuana kind, the actual scaly fire-breathing kind?"

Why did that sort of thing continue to surprise her, after everything?

[fleurdescendres]

Fleur nodded, obviously startled by Elliot's energetic response. "Yes, a dragon. Why?"

[neurotic_barbie]

"But they're not-" Real. Well, half the people on this island aren't real, anyway. "...You fought it? And you won? Woah. That's...awesome."

[fleurdescendres]

"They are real where I am from," Fleur said simply. Though few had said it, she was growing used to the idea that people just didn't believe her when she spoke of magic and dragons. "And yes, I won. But we all managed, and I did not do eet so well as ze ozzers." She shrugged, all nonchalant modesty. That was long in her past. "Thank you, though."

[neurotic_barbie]

Maybe Elliot's problem was that she did believe Fleur. It wasn't as hard to take in as it might have been when she'd first come to the island, though.

"So are you like...a wizard or something?"

[fleurdescendres]

"A witch," she agreed, nodding. "Yes. I went to school at Beauxbatons. 'Ave you 'eard of eet?" Fleur looked almost hopeful. She hadn't seen any other women from the wizarding world yet. It would be a relief to have female friends who knew what she was talking about again.

[neurotic_barbie]

Elliot shook her head. "Sorry. But - I'd love to hear about it!" Other worlds, especially ones where humanity wasn't enslaved and used as batteries, interested her quite a lot.

It was all like one big adventure again.

[fleurdescendres]

Fleur beamed. "Eet eez a boarding school in France. At eleven, when our powers are getting strong enough, we are sent zere to learn 'ow to use, control, and understand zem. Zere are school like zis in countries all over ze world - Durmstrang, 'Ogwarts, Salem. The dragon I battled, zat was a competition which brought togezzer ze three big schools. I represented Beauxbatons in three tasks. I did not win, but eet was an 'onor just to compete."