fingers tap on the bar top, the faerie's head tilting to the side as she watches one dorothy gale spin one too many times. boredom has no true cure, not for someone like faye ━━ it is only dormant, waiting to come back when her latest entertainment loses it's novelty. pudding & pie helps little but it is better than being surrounded by nothing and no one. and who knows? perhaps the opportunity to amuse herself ( and perhaps make someone else's day less than ideal ) will come on a silver platter.
and it did.
hazel eyes focus on the fable, narrowed in both wander and annoyance. faye could not give less of a damn about the dead witch ━━ they barely give a damn about people whose name they do not forget on a daily basis ━━ but there is something dense about such a celebration, not because dorothy is only a few steps away from dancing on the witch's grave, no ━━ who is to say being a witch is why... whoever her name is, is dead?
faye smirks, though it does not quite reach her eyes. "ding dong the witch is dead, yeah?" a scoff, a sip on her drink. furrowed eyebrows paint themselves on faye's expression ━━ a part to play, a reaction that is planned more than genuine. "ever think that maybe there is a possibility it wasn't because she's a witch? you could be the next victim for all we know. and i don't know about you but i like being alive."
" I DON'T KNOW WHAT EVERYONE IS SO FUSSY ABOUT , " dorothy voiced , but the words were spoken between shallow and bitter breaths , having just teetered off the stage from a particularly grim performance ( the town's happenings had left little room for pallet - soothing whimsy , but perhaps her audience could have done without her celebratory merriment about the witch's fate ) . taking the scarlet fingertip of a stain glove between her teeth , dorothy tugged the costume piece off her tawny limb before discarding it behind her on the bar top .
" ─── anyone in their right state of mind would be relieved . feel , , , safer . " it were almost as if dorothy were self soothing ( as she was one to talk about what defined a right state of mind ) , shifting her bite to show her opposing glove the same attentions she had gifted the first . then , swirling on the stool so she was facing bar side , dorothy collected her thick , loose hair and pulled it over her shoulder , beginning to anxiously thread it into a loose plait , only to run her fingers through it and start over .
over . and over . and over again .
her eyes find the occupant of the seat next to her , eyes like that of a sleepy pup's as painted lashes framed droopy lids . she was so tired , their features blurring , a yawn burning her throat that she didn't let surface .
" i think we should give whoever did it a proper thanking . "
a 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫 for 𝘋𝘖𝘙𝘖𝘛𝘏𝘠 𝘎𝘈𝘓𝘌 set at 𝐩𝐮𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 & 𝐩𝐢𝐞 the eve the news broke of the murder . ( @detr1tus , @gravemist , @lcgendaries , @einchants , @daydreambeliiever , @unyearning / @unforsworn )
⸻ king roberon cole welcomes faye darlowe to fabletown—or, as they were once known, tinkerbell from peter pan. before the magic mirror, they come glamoured in the mirage of sitting at the edge of a rooftop, legs swinging, cigarette smoke curling like a spell ⸻ watching the windows of strangers who dream of neverland / walking home through the fog with bare shoulders and blood on her wrists ⸻unbothered & humming lullabies / keeping old ribbons and rusted thimbles in a cracked music box, each one a souvenir from a night she doesn’t remember starting, but always ends alone / pouring sugar into tea she doesn’t drink, stirring it with the same silver pin she once drove through a boy’s heart; they said he’d never grow up ⸻ she made sure of it. the tale from which they hail exalted their independence and boldness, but decried their possessiveness and vengefulness in equal measure. no matter; this time, they shall write their own. in accordance with the fabletown compact, they are granted amnesty for any and all transgressions, even that which is little known: she gave wendy a ribbon, said it was enchanted. every time wendy wore it, she forgot a little more of who she was. wendy thought they were friends. tink thought they were entwined.
their spine feels winnie before her eyes could even register the figure in their periphery. faye does not know what it is ━━ what makes her look right in the direction that winnie is coming from but, truth is, hazel eyes meet the other before faye could even think about ignoring them. mirth and mischief ( a pair so very familiar with all of tink's life ) take over faye's expression in equal measure, metal can meeting their lips for a small sip once more. "oh, please, tell me how you really feel." a tease, a jest ━━ something that had been so familiar between them back home.
faye leans back, one hand holding them up and another holding the beer can. index finger taps rhythmically as their eyes taken in winnie once again ━━ from the top of their head to their toes and the smile on her lips does not falter ( whether it's a warm smile, a playful one or something else ━━ something akin to a predator towards their prey ). "and what is your drink of choice, winnie?" now, a smirk. mischief clear in her eyes as she speaks next. "i'm a bartender, i can whip you something up if you want to break into the trip trap."
while staying indoors could be seen as the logical option considering the news, winnie was beyond antsy. being cooped up indoors had always felt some sort of suffocating ever since she could remember. a quick walk wouldn't hurt them right ? why would a murderer care for her anyway. and the idea that the fable herself were guilty was laughable. the only person she killed was still alive and well. so she trudged along to an undetermined location, letting her mind wander to whatever escapist fantasy settled the nerves in her body. that was, until they spotted her. reality snapping sharply back into focus.
why winnie's feet took her in the direction of the other blonde she'd never know. maybe it was an old habit, instinct, or their arguable penchant for punishment. whatever the case may be, now they found themself standing with arms crossed firmly, right in front of faye. " anyone who would accuse you of such a thing would be out of their mind. " words leaving a little more charged that originally intended. something that happened on occasion whilst in the other's company. " plus, not my drink of choice anyway. "
time: almost four o'clock. location: the trip trap, the crooked mile. status: for @thievesandwitches, @faeritells + 1 open spot(s).
huffing and puffing, tink cleans the bartop over and over and over again. there are a couple of patrons scattered on the floor of trip trap and the blonde swings a cloth over her shoulder before she calls out to them. "last call!" faye could count with their fingers the amount of minutes she wants to stay at the goddamn gala, later on. it is a waste of time, a signing of something that does not guarantee mundanes won't find them ━━ and when they do, faye is going to be the first to call it a day and disappear into someplace no one will think to look. they are a lot of things but they're not the sacrificial lamb.
the would be fairy turns her back to the door and starts organising everything behind the counter top and it's then that they hear the door open and close. "for fuck's sake," faye swears under her breath, eyes rolling as they turn to face the reason for her mood shift. "it's almost closing time." hands on her hips, faye shifts her weight onto her left leg. "you better not be here to slowly nurse a glass of shitty whiskey."
impatient bartender leaves their place of work before they are roped into doing the final steps of closing up, night plans already sent down the drain. faye would be lying if they said they are looking forward to this empty headed meeting of all of fabletown ━━ a gala to make them all forget that their little safe haven might not be as safe after all. if nothing else, tink is looking forward to whatever drama other fables might cook up ( and it might make up for the lack of good entertainment ).
familiar figure catches the fairy's eyes and, for half a beat, faye considers merely walking past and ignoring the other's existence. and then, he speaks. "the celebration hasn't even started and you're already speaking like you're on your third glass of wine, debbie downer." as if faye has any qualms with the thoughts lancelot is sharing ━━ it's not like he's the only one.
"if any mundanes came tomorrow, i think we'd be alright. i'm not above kicking someone in the crotch. and i found a cute butterfly knife i'm just dying to use." morality is far too expensive these days. if mundanes came looking for a fight, who could blame the fables for rising to the occasion? "what would you do?"
mise en scenè ⸺ the crooked mile, at the juncture between the open arms hotel and the lucky pawn, an hour before sunset.
in a few hours, fables from each parcel of their sequestered town will march their inexorable way to the woodland in the opaque night, beneath the cool balm of stars. the sun will slope beneath the horizon—the world aflame, then put out as if drowned—and the shoulders of the sky will falter, will capitulate to the black sails of darkness. the day’s light, extinguished in but a short breath, a short-lived exhalation of time.
natural occurrences still startle lancelot, but he supposes it is to be expected, even excused: after all, he was only recently roused from an interminable stupor. hanging from a tree for the better part of four centuries will do that to you, king cole had said. the symbol of death marks him still; no signet of valiance or virtue or the life he paraded and prided himself in when camelot still stood tall and unfallen. no fate could be so final and so essentially pathetic. nothing, not even the glory of a name, could absolutely survive death.
this world, this mundane world, had prevailed and thrived long before the fables arrived. it will continue to do so long after they are gone. one way or another, he thinks. how long before their magic is depleted? before the cardinal bond between birthplace and creation is severed completely? until no one who has entered the heart of their collective tale can remember it, can pass it on?
for now, he waits, a sombre sentry hemmed in between the open arms and the lucky pawn. the fleet of footsteps draws neither his eye nor his ear, but he inclines his head nonetheless. “for how long do you think we’ll remain hidden? another decade? another century? tomorrow, perhaps, we’ll wake to the mundane authority storming our homes.”