2019-06-14 - Français Entre Nous

The fish restaurant, of course, was very accommodating when Genevieve called to place an order to be picked up. Fish and chips for two, plus hush puppies. She found the place easily, paid and took off for home. She had dropped the address to Eli before she had left, directing him to wait for her in the rear.

She walks down the street with her bounty, walking around the building to see if her guest had arrived or if she had beat them there. She squints up at the sun, pushing a pair of sunglasses higher up on her nose as she leans against the building.

He might have had time to return to his own home and - what, change? Freshen up? It seems presumptuous to assume this was anything aside from a friendly meeting and he didn't want to play it up like he believed otherwise. So he came straight here, still dressed as he was at the coffee shop where they'd met not long before. Even coming directly here he hadn't been waiting long when Genevieve comes into view and he walks over to close the distance. With all other company gone, he slips entirely into french when he speaks. "I'm jealous of your accent." Is the first thing he says, a small smile on his lips while he pauses and allows her to lead the way into the building. "Do you have a preference in language? I don't get the chance to speak French as much as I'd like."

Genevieve is pleased with his greeting, an impish grin forming on her lips as he starts to speak to her in French. "My Maman has a charming accent. Mine is very slight." She leads him into the building, walking through what is obviously a storefront, still composed mostly of boxes and empty cases. As they step into the second floor apartment, she sets the food down on a coffee table, gesturing toward the refrigerator as she walks toward it. "When I am at home, we speak French. I'm okay with speaking it here, between us." She opens the door, peeking around it at Eli. "Drink?" She asks, pulling out a beer for herself. "I have juice, water.. a few sodas." She glances from the options to the man. "How did you come to be fluent in French?"

Eli follows behind Genevieve, looking around the empty storefront without comment and then up into her apartment. "I'll have the same." Perhaps that would help take some of the edge off. He doesn't stumble over words or anything so obvious, but his body language is still stiff and uncertain. "I learned it mostly in high school. I have a knack for languages. It's not something I have a very good explanation for - they just make sense to me and I pick them up quickly with a bit of study. After school I did self study and have fluency in French and German and about there with Spanish. It's what I do now. Translation work - written for the most part." As requested, he keeps to French between the two of them. "You're opening up something down stairs?" He asks, moving to open the boxes that she'd gotten from the fish place, keeping himself busy.

Genevieve walks two beers over to the coffee table, opening each of them before she sets them down. She notices the tension in him, but doesn't comment, that would likely make it worse. Instead, she gets comfortable, sitting on the couch and pulling her feet up. "My Maman was wanting to move back to France, so she taught me the language in case it was when I was young enough to accompany them." She leans in, snagging a hush puppy to toss into her mouth. "I always wanted to learn more languages, but I didn't have a chance for it when I got into college. I studied horticulture and didn't really have the time to devote to a minor in foreign languages."

Her brows raise as he mentions his work. "Translation? Old texts or new things for customers who just don't want to learn? I'm going to imagine that your work is quite interesting." She picks up a plank of breaded fish, a little cup of ketchup and dips before she bites into it. Her eyes shift away from Eli to a window before she smirks. "I'm opening a cannabis dispensary." She admits quietly, her gaze shifting back to focus on the man sitting across from her. "I've a way with plants, and it will likely translate into something profitable for me here."

"Mostly new things. Novels. A lot of fiction. I've also done work for firms that need official documents in more than one language, or websites even. I prefer doing the novels though. It's a bit of an art form to make sure that the meaning that's in the text cleanly translates over to other languages. I enjoy it." Eli's tension seems to relax out of him a bit when they sit and begin eating, talking about familiar topics and more minutes passing without some kind of disaster. It's his turn to look surprised when Genevieve admits her intentions for the shop. "It's no doubt unfair of me to stereotype, but you didn't strike me as the type. Still, if you have a way with plants I can imagine it's a lot more likely to be profitable than selling dead nettle and gladiolus bulbs." He pauses a minute to take some bites of his own fish.

"Does your work offer you any travel?" Genevieve asks, dipping her fish again, taking another bite. "I would want to do the novels as well, you get to read a book while you work. That could be a dream of mine, honestly." She curls up, tucking her legs underneath her as she chews on her food. "I know I will be stereotyped, and I'll probably be judged for my choice of business, but.." She sighs, shrugging a shoulder before she leans in to snag the beer by it's neck. "There are opportunities out there, and I'm going to take mine. I enjoy plants, with this, I'll make some money out of my passion."

"I do have dead nettle though, my gramma taught me how to make tea from the oddest things." She looks like she might be serious, except for that shit-eating grin. Is she kidding?

"It's a small enough town that you'll be judged no matter what you decide to do. If it's not this it will be another thing. I find it's best to ignore it and do what you want to do." Eli motions with his hand as though pushing through obstacles and knocking them aside. He takes up his own beer when his hand returns, taking a long pull from it and leaning back into his seat. "I don't travel. I likely could wrangle some if I wanted but ... " He shakes his head as though not entirely sure how to explain. "I don't feel comfortable when I'm too far away from here." He settles on.

"I'm not good at ignoring people when they're disgruntled, I may be good with the language.." Genevieve looks amused at his hand motion, her gaze settling on his face as she continues to speak. ".. I haven't quite mastered the arrogant French air that my mother was so good at. She could stare down her nose at you, make you feel an inch tall." She takes another bite of her fish, her blue eyes on Eli as he speaks. A slight frown forms on her lips, and she sets her food down, dusting off her hands. "A subtle tension, like something pulling at you when you get too far away from town? Like an irritant that you can't name, but you can usually feel?" Her eyes flash briefly, and she looks away from Eli, taking a deep breath. She tries to be nonchalant, drinking from her beer as she gazes at the window.

"You seem ... warm. That's a good way to be. I think we all feel small enough at times that we don't need others going out of their way to make it worse. I mean, I'm sure your mother is lovely - I just think you have the better of it." Eli says, wetting his lips and lifting his beer for another drink. It stops about half way to his mouth when Genevieve continues on about how it might feel when he's away from the city. Blue eyes stay focused on her and he doesn't say another for a few seconds, his beer resuming it's motion and coming to his lips. When it's back on the table he nods. "And an ... emptiness. Or a distance, at least. I feel out of place. Yes. I think what you describe is familiar. You said you'd been here before and now you're back." It seems like it's a statement, but the way he watches her makes those last words very much a question.

"Warm, that is a way that I have not been described. At least .. not exactly like that." Genevieve smiles, her head tilting down as Eli speaks, her cheeks pink. The quiet makes her look up again, and her gaze connects with his and holds. The moment breaks when he moves to take his drink, and she reaches for her own. "I came ten years ago, I was going to stay then, but .." She looks haunted for a few moments, fingers fidgeting with the elastic that is holding her braid in check. She pulls it free, and the braid unravels as she shrugs. ".. something frightened me, and I couldn't tell you what it was, but I couldn't stay here." She fidgets, her fingers peeling the beer label. "Have you ever felt that around here?"

Another too long silence after her final question, as though very carefully considering what he wants to say next. He fills that silence with a few more bites of his food and one more drink to strengthen his resolve. "Yes. I've had those experiences most of my life." He finally admits, but it's clearly not easy for him to do so - let alone to a near stranger. "Sometimes it is overwhelming. Other times it's just, difficult. After enough of it I'm not sure I know what it feels like without that constant pressure." He stares down at his beer label as though it's extremely interesting. "Still, the feeling when I'm not here isn't right either." He looks up and across the table, blue eyes bright while he regards her. "That's what brought you back here? Despite what happened before?"

Genevieve doesn't look at Eli again right away, her fingers breaking apart her piece of fish into smaller pieces. "Does it get any better?" She finally asks, sticking a piece of fish in her mouth, almost as if she's trying not to let a flood of questions escape. Her big blue eyes settle on Eli, listening to him speak of it more. "It's more scary to leave, and not come back, than it is to stay." She finishes her beer, frowning as her head bobs in a quick nod. "I felt like I was being drawn back here, and I could take as many detours as I wanted, but here is where I would end up." Her shoulders lift in a brief shrug before she sets her empty bottle on the table. "I tried to tell my parents about it, and they thought I was just making up stories, I think."

This gets a laugh from Eli, but it's humourless. "If only it were just stories. I think that would be a lot easier to swallow. We're not unique in this town by any means. It's worse for some than others, for certain." Eli closes his eyes a moment and shakes his head again. "Honestly, Genevieve, it's not something I talk about very often. I often keep to myself and go about my business. I've been doing that for a lot of years, trying to find answers to half formed questions by myself and mostly just coming up with more questions. I suppose I'm at a place where I really won't make any progress alone. I've just never been much of a people person." His smile toward her is a bit gentler this time. "Which I'm sure you've noticed. It's not that I dislike it, so much as being out of practice." He takes a last bite of his fish before shaking his head - "And no, it doesn't get better. Or, rather, it goes in cycles. Bad, less bad, bad."

"You'll forgive me if I say that you seemed a little lost." Genevieve gets to her feet, moving across the apartment to get herself another beer. She brings a second for Eli as well, but leaves it unopened in front of him. She drops back into her seat, pulling her feet back up on the couch. "When I spoke French, you perked up a little bit, and that is why I asked if you wanted to get dinner." She runs her fingers through her hair, trying to tame it. "I met a native of Gray Harbor, one who relocated to Savannah, and she taught me about some of the quirks of the town." She takes a drink of her beer, smirking. "I didn't believe it, but now I'm starting to. I've only been here a few days, and I've .. felt things." She drags her thumb against the neck of the bottle. "You seem fine to me, and like I said, you speak French beautifully. It's nice to be able to just speak French and not feel like I'm being rude to everyone around me."

"Well, thank you for the assist. And for the invitation. Usually the result of my awkwardness is that people just keep a respectable distance. I don't blame them and I don't usually mind. Still, it's nice to get out." Whether it's just the passing of time or the first beer settling, he does seem more at ease. He takes the second bottle and twists off the top, setting the cap down on the table. "You can see it, right? Everyone at the coffee shop today I could see it in varying degrees. Andi and you more than the others. And she was suffering from more than just missing some sleep. We've all been there, but there isn't much of a solution. Well, not one that I've found, at least." He offers a grim expression across the table toward Genevieve and lifts his beer for a deep pull. "I'm not likely raising your hopes of enjoying your time here. I can be more negative than necessary sometimes. It's not all so terrible or we would leave, right?"

"I'm lonely too. New in town, not a lot of people who understand me. You, at least, speak the language." Genevieve grimaces for a moment, her fingers picking at this beer label as well. "I ..catch something out of the corner of my eye every so often, and for a long time I attributed it to a trick of the light." She looks tense now, her shoulders stiff. "Then I realized that sometimes I could.." Her eyes flit to Eli, her mouth hanging open as she realizes she's about to unburden herself to a stranger. She clams up a bit, taking another drink from her beer. "I know very little." She says, putting emphasis on the last two words, the look on her face profoundly guilty. "This.. this is a nice place, and there are clouds, that's all. It might put a shadow on things, but the shadows are sometimes banished by the sun?" She shrugs, and realizes that she's fidgeting and shredding the label on the bottle, so she sets it aside. Her gaze settles back on Eli, and she watches him carefully, as if she's trying to see what he just mentioned.

"I don't think you'll be lonely long. You'll find plenty who understand you I'm sure - though maybe not in French." Eli's eyes narrow again and he watches her when she tries to explain herself, nodding his head ever so slightly. "We all know very little." He says after a pause and another sip of his drink. "Or maybe someone knows more, but I haven't met them yet. Or talked to them about this. When you know that you're different it's our instinct to keep those cards close to our chest, because the world doesn't treat different very kindly. But, you're right. The darkness is only part of what we have to content with. Other things are worth being here for." He lifts his beer for another drink.

What is it that you realized you could do, Genevieve? The calm steady thought delivers itself into his companions mind without any twitch of indication from the man drinking his beer.

"I've been lonely all of my life, Eli. I cultivate my loneliness because it keeps me from having to be understood, if that makes sense." Genevieve glances up to watch Eli's eyes narrow and she settles her gaze there for a moment before she takes a drink of her beer. "It's easier to keep things like that quiet, outside of this town, talk like that could get you put away, or worse, depending on who you give your vulnerability to."

She hears him, but his lips are wrapped around the beer as he drinks from it, and all she does for the moment is stare. It's clear by how she reacts that she's heard him, and it wouldn't be difficult to hide or pretend otherwise. Instead she gazes down at her beer, brow furrowed. Emotions are like a beacon sometimes. Some people are brighter than others. She sniffs softly, glancing back toward the window, her breathing shallow.

It keeps you from having to trust. From having to open yourself up. It keeps you from having to be afraid that someone has the tools in their hands to harm you, to make you hurt. And it does work. It's not easy, though, and it eats away at us in other ways. Especially here. I had a dream recently where I was trapped in a shallow pit. The ledge was just out of reach. All it would have taken was a hand to pull me out, but it never came. I was there for what felt like an eternity with nothing. Just myself and my safety. I screamed until my throat would make no sound... but no one came. Along with the thought comes the heavy wave of fear and helplessness that the dream had made him feel, shared with Genevieve before he quite realizes that he's doing it.

He blinks and settles down his beer, eyes fixed on her again.

For a moment Genevieve feels as if she's understood, and there is a moment of shining hope and acceptance. She almost smiles, and then the Dream is spoken of, and like a cloud gliding over the sun, her almost smile is gone. The fear and helplessness wash over her and she seems to curl in on herself, flinching and holding up her hands as if she could ward off his emotion or the description of his dream. It takes a bit of concentration, but she manages to slow her breathing, realize that there is still light. They're both safe. She gets to her feet, walking slowly toward Eli, her hand extended. Her accent seems a little deeper for a moment, her voice husky. "Maybe help wasn't there yet?" She says, the French sounding foreign on her tongue after the communication between their minds. She looks very unsure, but she doesn't flinch away or withdraw her hand.

Eli watches as the emotion crashes over Genevieve, his face darkening with guilt when he realizes what he has done - but he shifts in some surprise when she climbs from her seat and walks around to where he is sitting. When she extends her hand he just watches it, clearly uncertain, looking up at her face and listening to her words in the deep accent. For a moment it looks like he might argue with her, refuse to accept what she's saying and that the dream could possibly be different than it was. The struggle is clear in his expression, though he keeps himself in check and doesn't broadcast any more of what he's feeling toward Genevieve. Finally he lifts his own hand, feeling heavy and slow and accepts the hand that is stretched toward him. His hand is cool, but it's steady. "I was certain I'd stay there forever." He says, using his voice again. Quiet. "I'm sorry. I don't do that often. I didn't realize what I was doing until it was too late."

Her hand is warm in his, not steady, but the trembling is contained. "Forever is a very long time." She finally says, shaking her head when he makes his apologies. "No Eli, it's fine." Genevieve is still obviously reeling, but she's making an attempt to portray strength. "I haven't felt something like that before, I've felt the edges of it. Caught happiness, drifted past despair and brushed up against pure joy. You must be quite gifted, because that swallowed me." She looks as if she might want to sit, but doesn't want to spook Eli, so she just keeps hold of his hand while she speaks, taking the time to find the words she wants. "You know me here.. now." Her hand taps her temple, and a wan smile appears. "So you won't be alone anymore."

"I'm not sure gifted is the word I would use a lot of the time. I also don't have much basis for comparison. This isn't something I've shared all that often. I know others can do things I can't even attempt. I'd like to learn more about that. It's a hard topic to just bring up most of the time, however. Tonight - well, it seems like we both needed an outlet." Eli looks at how his hand still holds onto Genevieve's and he carefully unwinds his fingers, releasing her from that grip. "Thank you. I'm sure this wasn't what you were expecting when you offered to talk over dinner." He falls quiet a moment and reaches out his mind, not sending anything, but confirming that she is indeed there. "If you tell me to not reach out to you that way again, I won't. I'll pretend you're not always there. I understand not wanting some near stranger to push his thoughts at you any time."

"Gifts can be a curse." Genevieve watches Eli let go of her hand and she aims a brief smile at him before she goes back to her seat, settling down slowly. "I haven't shared it with anyone, I didn't know how people here would react, though I could see some people do shine." She exhales, pushing her hair back away from her face as she gazes away from him, frowning. "I expected that we'd speak more in French, and that I would perhaps make a token attempt at flirting." She laughs briefly and then glances back in Eli's direction. "I did not expect this. You keep your shine very buttoned up." She feels him, blinking slowly as she processes how he feels, her gaze flitting from his face to her own hands. "I don't know Eli, does it feel like we're going to be strangers? You feel like someone I should know." She tilts her head, looking slightly frightened for a moment. "Does that make sense?"

"I likely would have entirely misconstrued your token attempts at flirting and given the incorrect impression that I'm not interested in such advances." Eli warns with a small smile, wrapping his hand around his beer bottle again. "I've always been careful even here. Maybe too careful? I'm cautious by nature. In many ways my life is good. I have a job, enough money to live and eat and do as I like. Bumbling around town talking to people about powers I have has always seemed dangerous." He looks up at the same time that she glances toward him, meeting her eyes until they drop to her hands. "I don't think we're going to be strangers, Genevieve." He grits his teeth as though pushing through some unwelcome thoughts. "Let's see to it that we're not."

Genevieve blinks a few times, his very casual walkaround through his words making her laugh. "Well now that we know better, perhaps next time I'll have to give it a try. I haven't flirted in years though, so my technique might be antiquated and a little stilted." She rests her head on the back of the couch, gazing toward the windows as the sun starts to make it descent into the hills. "You are the only one that I've spoken to about these things, and despite your assurances that some people around here have similar issues.. I am not very sure that I want to be on their radar." She wrinkles her nose and sighs deeply, finishing off her beer so it can be set aside. "If you want to be strangers, Eli.." She begins, her gaze settling on him while he grits his teeth. ".. I just want someone to walk through the woods with. I won't bother you if you wish to be unbothered."

"Really, I want you to bother me. As much as you'd like to do so. It's just as soon as something that sounds good crosses my path I have the doubting thoughts creeping in to see if they can sabotage me." Eli pushes his hand up through his hair, catching some strands that had fallen forward and getting them back where they belong. "I must sound like an insecure mess, and I suppose I am. Sometimes I can shrug off the dark thoughts, but many times they're subtle enough that I don't notice them until too late." He twines his fingers together and sets them in his lap, looking over toward Genevieve on the couch and shifting the topic back toward the lighter side. "Antiquated and stilted filtering might be best for your target audience. I haven't really kept up with more recent trends. Isn't it all done by text message now?"

"I will, bother you that is, who else am I going to lounge around with and speak French?" Genevieve gets to her feet, starting to clean up the mess from dinner. "I'm not from around here, Eli.. so unfortunately I can't really reassure you because I'm an unknown element. We'll go walking in nature, and maybe we'll have dinner a few more times. You'll realize that I'm not trying to play you, and your odd quirks will either amuse or infuriate me. Isn't that how these things go?" She tosses the food containers, recycling the empty bottles. She stands at the end of the couch, her arms loosely folded over her chest. "I'll give the antiquated flirting a try, we'll see if you catch on, and yes... it's mostly done through text message these days. I have your number though, so I can give that a shot and see how wonderfully I fail at it as well. I can see it now, I try to send you a winky face, and accidentally send you the vomit emoji instead." She rolls her eyes, light laughter escaping her. "We're probably doomed."

"That would be a disaster indeed." Eli says, and he actually laughs - which is a few levels up from the few smiles he'd managed to offer throughout the rest of the day. He pushes up from his seat, though he's too late to really help with the cleanup. Instead he takes a brief look around her apartment and clears his throat. "I should let you have some of your evening to yourself and get myself home. If you want to walk tomorrow, let's walk. And if you need any help with things downstairs - well, I'm not skilled labour, but if you just need someone to help move things and clean I wouldn't mind. I'll send you a message in the morning."

"I'm glad you agreed to dinner." Genevieve responds softly, unfolding her arms from her chest, a slow smile curving her lips. "I would enjoy a walk, and if you want to help me unpack bongs and pipes, well.. it won't be boring." She laughs out loud and exhales out a sigh as the laughter tapers off. "I look forward to seeing how suave you are over text messages. Don't disappoint me now." She waggles a finger at him, moving like a good hostess to open the door and walk him down the steps. "I can't pay you for the assistance, but I'm good for lunch. I might desperately need pizza tomorrow."

"I'm not looking for pay. Just offering to help a friend." Eli replies, though the f-word feels a bit awkward on his lips. "Still, I won't turn down pizza if it's available." He pats the pocket where his phone is while he steps over the threshold of the door. "I'll need to switch over to my french keyboard to make sure the texting game is on point. I'm feeling the pressure." He smiles though. His entire manner has changed since when he'd first arrived a couple hours before. Still plenty of quirks, but at least it all seems to be coming more naturally. "Good night, Genevieve."

"Good night Eli." Genevieve says, holding open the door for him, laughing at his parting shot. "You should feel the pressure." She says, an eyebrow quirked slightly, her tongue stuck out in a teasing manner. "I'll get your French sharp and ready should you ever go overseas for something." She pulls the ring of keys from her pocket to lock the door behind him.