Éponine's Not-So-Abandoned Warehouse, Saturday Morning

[filleauloup]

Éponine, at eight years old, had been away from home a few times before and to tell the truth she didn't mind much; usually she only had to go with Magnon, pretend to be her daughter, and be quiet and well-behaved long enough to convince some judge or rich gentleman or other that she was properly taken care of. She wasn't usually sent off by herself. (Were she aware that Magnon paid her father a few francs for these loans, she'd wonder how much it was worth this time.)

She wasn't going to complain, though. She didn't at all mind being away from the noise and funny smells of the inn, or having to try and stop Gavroche's crying because Maman certainly didn't bother, and now that that strange man in the ugly yellow coat had taken Cosette away she definitely didn't mind not having to be home. It meant more for Azelma to deal with but, well, perhaps next time it would be Azelma's turn so it was all fair anyhow.

And there was a cat for her to play with, at least! Alouette had not expected her human to suddenly be tiny, and therefore had been at a disadvantage, which meant that now, well . . .

There was a nicely-dressed, clearly rather pampered little girl sitting on the front step outside the warehouse, singing to the basket on her lap, in which a rather disgruntled cat was dressed up in doll clothes and wrapped up in a blanket.

[OOC: I never thought I was going to get a chance to play around with an excerpt cut from the early drafts of the book. (Read it, though, it's hilarious.) Open, but SP until evening probably.]

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[14andseven]

"Well, knowing songs is my job," Roland said. "So, yeah, I've learned a few."

[filleauloup]

"Can I hear them all?"

No, she was not above giving him a wide-eyed, hopeful look.

[14andseven]

"Not in one day."

[filleauloup]

"Oh." That must be a lot of songs; Éponine chewed on her lower lip and frowned in concentration, then gave up on trying to guess when she got as far along as she'd managed to memorize the multiplication tables.

". . . how long would it take?"

[14andseven]

"Well, I can only actually sing for a couple hours before my voice gives out," Roland said. "But I've never actually calculated exactly how long all the songs I know takes."

[filleauloup]

Éponine laughed. "I'm not the only one who can't count that high, then! I like your songs, they aren't loud and jumbled-up. Sometimes Papa's customers sing after dinner, but it isn't nice like this."

[14andseven]

"Are they usually drunk when they sing?" Roland guessed.

[filleauloup]

Éponine hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "And they sometimes forget the words."

[14andseven]

"Yep." Roland wasn't even remotely surprised. "Drinking songs are a category all on their own."

[filleauloup]

Éponine looked up at him and frowned. "Do you know any songs like that?"

[14andseven]

"Of course," Roland said. "I've been drunk a time or two, you know."

[filleauloup]

"Oh, of course," Éponine said offhandedly, because wasn't everyone at some point? "Not me, though."

Give her a few years.

[14andseven]

"I should hope not," Roland said. "You should at least wait until you're an irresponsible teenager."

[filleauloup]

"You're supposed to make music, not tell me what to do," Éponine said with a frown, and oh, now the brattiness was coming out. "Besides, I never said I wanted to just yet."

[14andseven]

Roland snorted. "I'm an adult, kid. Telling you what to do is practically an unalienable right."

[filleauloup]

"Very well, then, if that's what you think." Éponine crossed her arms and sniffed, affecting a haughty air (or what she thought one should be, anyway). "I simply won't listen to you if I don't care to, that's all."

[14andseven]

Roland shrugged. "Yeah, that's pretty much your unalienable right."

Here's hoping he never became a parent.

[filleauloup]

There were worse parental examples. Say, for instance, two people who just happened to share Éponine's last name (and a long list of pseudonyms to boot).

"Then I think we have a deal," she decided.

[14andseven]

"Guess we do. Want to shake on it?"

[filleauloup]

Did that mean she'd have to stick to the deal? Probably, but since she thought it would work out well for her . . .

"All right," Éponine said, and held out a hand.

[14andseven]

Roland shook her hand with a fair amount of mock-pomp.

It was a little impressive how many of the skills he'd learned for interacting with Rebecca applied to interacting with kids. And hey, at least now he didn't have to worry about this kid propositioning him.

. . . Have patience with him. He's still getting used to this whole island.

[filleauloup]

"There, that's settled." Éponine paused to brush some nonexistent dust off her sleeve. "Now could you play another song?"

She hadn't yet caught on that this was a business yet, which might or might not be a good thing.

[14andseven]

"I suppose I could," Roland said. "Though this is my job, you see, so at some point I'm going to have to stop playing for you for free."

[filleauloup]

". . . you make money that way?"

Éponine might have looked less impressed if she hadn't assumed it was lucrative.

[14andseven]

"It's a living," Roland said. Which was possibly actually an exaggeration, yes. "Only job I want."