La Muta
Understudy
Parlare Non Male
Posts: 70
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Post by La Muta on Dec 21, 2008 21:06:38 GMT -5
Colombina was livid. She hadn't told anyone (obviously), but she had seen the horrid prison to which Riffael Dureau was taken, had witnessed the theft of a ring and a fiancée, and had been unable to be hired into the Deloncre home as a maid because she was known to be a former employee of the Marquise de Balleroy. The inspector had allowed her to pay visit to the poor prisoner, who had begged her to relay a message to Formorian for him by any means possible and to check that she was safe. Colombina had failed, and she had no idea how to help her dear friend now. She had searched for Liana, to ask her to apply as an employee, but then could not find her. Now she paced back and forth in the chapel, limping, for her feet were not in wonderful shape.
She had seen a great deal. She had overheard snippets of conversation, and though her French was not perfect, she was sure that Deloncre had said something threatening to Mori. What to do, what to do? She had always mourned the inability to speak and to sing. Now, she mourned her inability to cry for help, to testify to Riffael's innocence, anything. She had helped in purchasing the ring, for goodness' sake! The inspector (who she had followed for the last day or so, to his infinite annoyance) had gone to the jeweller, and the frightened man had said that the ring was sold to the old liar! Was there no hope? No assistance? She prayed, then, for the deliverance of an angel of justice.
(Lol!)
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Post by cosette on Dec 22, 2008 11:30:29 GMT -5
"La Muta! La Muta!?" A small voice called, rapidly escalating as the figure approached the church. Cosette was talking to (but actually bothering) a group of ballet members, when one got so frustrated with her poor English and French they suggested she get a tutor. After listening in on a group of men working the backstage at the opera, she discovered there was a woman who knew how to speak many languages well! She was called "La Muta"... but perhaps she heard their conversation wrong? Regardless, La Muta had to be around somewhere. It may just take a while to find her.
After running around most of Paris, she decided to check the church last before calling it quits. Opening one of the church doors, Cosette peeked in. Her blond hair had small traces of snow, as did her coat. Shaking the snow off like a puppy she took in the figure of another woman. The lady looked worried and very fatigued. On closer inspection, her feet also looked terrible as well. As a curious (though not necessarily helpful or good) samaritan, she approached the worried girl.
"You okay, Mademoiselle? Need help? ... Or new shoes?"
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La Muta
Understudy
Parlare Non Male
Posts: 70
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Post by La Muta on Dec 23, 2008 1:49:15 GMT -5
La Muta could swear she heard a voice calling her name, and stared up with wide-eyes into the stone ceiling of the chapel as if it held some divine answer. Staring, staring... no. Just stone. No celestial body, no divine voice, echoed down at her, and her shoulders slumped suddenly with the weight of her aloneness.
"You okay, Mademoiselle? Need help? ... Or new shoes?"
Colombina leapt and ran, clambering, into the candelabra, which teetered dangerously before steadying in an upright position. La Muta was not so upright, sitting flat on her butt staring up at the rather vacant-looking blonde that had so suddenly appeared. So strange! She had prayed for an angel from God to save her friends, prayed for help, and here was this strange woman offering it quite randomly. It must be a sign.
She could not answer the question verbally, of course, but she could gesture. Somehow, she felt that this would not be easy. Nodding her head vigorously, she pulled from a little pouch at her side some white chalk she used for marking cutting lines on cloth. She began to draw on the rough ground, brushing away dirt and debris. A rough sketch of Mori's face began to appear, and then her torso, on which was drawn her heart. She drew tears onto Formorian's face and an arrow through her heart, then the hand of a man, which led up into the scowling face of Gerard Deloncre. The whole processes took several moments, but when she was done, she leaned back on her heels and clasped her dirty, chalky hands together in a gesture of appeal, hoping for understanding and assistance.
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Post by cosette on Dec 23, 2008 20:59:43 GMT -5
Cosette watched the woman fall flat on her bottom, and quirked her head in confusion. An unknown female was looking upon her as if she was the hero from a prophecy. But why had she fallen? It must have been her feet, of course! They looked painful. Taking off her own snow-worn shoes, she eagerly offered them to the stranger. "Warm and nice, you take!" She insisted.
Suddenly the pale girl nodded very quickly; so she did need help! Listening eagerly, she waited for an explanation... but none came. Instead, the blond saw the the woman take out some white chalk and start drawing. Her expression changed from confusion, to complete loss. What was she drawing? It took a while longer, but thankfully after listening in to almost everyone she could find talking in the opera, she could identify the faces and see the situation.
"De-lon-cre take Fo-mori-an against will. She is sad, heart broken." She tried to describe the situation as she saw it, pronouncing each name wrong. On the bright side, she got the gist of it. Now understanding the weight of the situation, worry bubbled up in her chest. That was terrible! "She not loving him, he is evil frowny man."
Looking back at La Muta in shock, she stuttered out something incoherently foreign before catching her breath. Yet she had forgotten it was probably the talk of the town since it occured at the most recent ball, which she didn't attend. "How do you know? You are psychic? Goddess? What I do to help, aside from new shoes?"
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La Muta
Understudy
Parlare Non Male
Posts: 70
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Post by La Muta on Jan 14, 2009 21:31:13 GMT -5
The strange girl was handing her shoes, and, uh... Colombina had no idea why. After she had finished, the girl seemed to stare, and then to begin to guess. Spot on! Although Colombina prided herself at being a good artist and a relatively talented mime, that quick of a guess at a complicated situation by an apparently uncomplicated mind was shocking. A good thing, though. There was hardly any time to be had. Taking the shoes anyway and slipping them with a sigh onto her bruised feet, she bent over the floor again to build on the drawing, at one point glancing between the girl and her sketch to complete it. Once finished she rocked back and fell onto her bottom, near to tears with hope.
She had created the outline of a big house around the portrait of Deloncre and Formorian, and then next to it, this blonde girl, in the outfit of a maid. To complete the message, a big, obvious arrow led from the girl to the house, specifically toward the occupants, with two little eyeballs above it.
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Post by cosette on Jan 15, 2009 20:24:20 GMT -5
Again, no answer. Cosette had to wonder why the peculiar stranger wasn't talking, but didn't look at it negatively. It was fun, yet she hadn't really understood why they were trying to communicate in such a strange way. The lady and man she knew were put into an outline of a house. A blonde girl was drawn in a maid's outfit, with some kind of arrow pointing toward the couple. And the blonde girl in the picture looked similar to how she looked! Coincidence?
"Person check in on those two while God watches?" She asked, scratching her head. The first drawing was fairly simple, yet this one seemed to pull a little harder on her brain-strings. "Girl look like me, yes. So... I become maid, enter house, and get eyeballs? Fo-mori-an can't leave because of bad man? Bad man not very big except ego, he fall quick if she try to attack like this."
Clumsily demonstrating some moves that were supposed to be aimed at the groin, she smiled foolishly. Cosette couldn't remember where she learned those moves, but she could probably teach them to the silent girl if she wanted! "I become maid, okay! I be good maid for new friend, yes!" She chirped, squeezing the poor dark-haired girl. "But first I need find 'La Muta'. She speak well, I want to learn from her!"
[/size]
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La Muta
Understudy
Parlare Non Male
Posts: 70
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Post by La Muta on Jan 21, 2009 2:52:21 GMT -5
Colombina was horrified. God watches? Well, yes, but... that wasn't exactly what she was aiming for. She was in the process of wrapping her arms around her knees in frustration when the girl came at her, moving in some strange disjointed way that was apparently supposed to be a mimed attack. La Muta quickly jumped up, stumbling backward lest she be accidentally maimed by the unlikely Godsend. At least the woman had agreed to become a maid and watch, and understood the danger (relatively), which was what Colombina had been hoping for.
Suddenly gripped by the blonde, Colombina's breath went out in a long whoooosh of both mild suffocation and shock. La Muta? Speak well? Teach? Someone had a sad sense of humour, directing this poor, misguided woman to a common mute who knew only elementary French for lessons in proper speech. Placing her pin-pricked hands on the girl's shoulders and pushing to dislodge herself enough to gesture, the index finger of her right hand slowly travelled to her own chest, where she indicated herself with wide eyes. Well, the girl did not know Italian, that was for sure, or the name might have been an obvious clue. Then again, she would not put it past this one to bypass a name like "Mute" and ask for lessons in speech anyway.
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Post by cosette on Jan 22, 2009 20:30:43 GMT -5
She watched the lady struggle with her thoughts, a look of absolute horror on her face. Cosette blinked in confusion. However, it wasn't the first time a person had that expression on in front of her. She just wondered why the girl was looking that way when she hadn't even done anything strange! But honestly, she had almost no clue what was truly occurring. In fact, she would have been completely convinced it was a game, had La Muta not drawn Formorian in such distress.
Feeling Colombina try to move them out of the hug which sealed their budding friendship (so she thought), she was about to make an attempt to embrace her even tighter. Yet it looked like she had something to say, figuratively. Cosette gazed blankly at the pointed finger for a long while until she finally understood. "You are La Muta?" She asked, her lips parted in shock. Even the blonde knew there was something wrong with that silent proclamation. Or at least she thought so for a second.
"Good, good! You teach me then," Cosette said with a smile. There were lights on, but clearly nobody was home. It was only right she reasoned. After all, she would be going on a secret mission later for the other girl. "Before I go on secret thing with sad lady and frowny man, you teach me all you know. You know lot, yes?"
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La Muta
Understudy
Parlare Non Male
Posts: 70
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Post by La Muta on Feb 18, 2009 18:36:44 GMT -5
Colombina's eyes were as round as saucers. Know lot? Know lot? Good God! She knew very little, and what she knew, she could hardly teach. She shook her head, shrugging, and touched her throat. She willed herself to speak, as she often did when she was on her own, and out came nothing but ragged air. Hopefully the girl would get the meaning, but La Muta felt she had a terrible charade ahead of her.
A horrible thought suddenly occurred to her. Before she did the "secret thing"? Did that mean all was hopeless? Colombina was cursing internally.
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