|
|
Post by Jacky on Jan 4, 2009 13:58:38 GMT
Anouk ran the whole way, totally out of breath eventually when she came to the sandy path that lead to the river. She paused for a second, then started running again, not minding the fact that her shoes were getting sandy and muddy as she did. Not careful where she was going, she tripped over a stone.. and stumbled right into the woman who walked slowly in front of her. When she looked up to see who it was, her eyes widened with surprise. "Maman!!"
|
|
|
|
Post by Jacksblackpearl on Jan 4, 2009 16:36:52 GMT
A small scream escaped from Viannes lips when something barged into her and she turned around when she heard the familiar voice. "Anouk!" she said, both in a surprised and slightly strict tone. Her daughter was running around like a maniac, not watching where she was going and.. she was in a place she should not be at all.
"Where is your bag? Why are you not in school? What is it exactly you are doing here, young lady?" She insisted on her daughter spilling the beans, though she already knew the answer. Her daughter was just like her, curious and rebellious. She probably went to the river to get out of school and perhaps to also look for a familiar person ? ?
|
|
|
|
Post by Jacky on Jan 4, 2009 16:48:27 GMT
Anouk wasn't easily sidetracked though, and she looked up to her mother with a look of wide-eyed innocence. "Why are *you* here, maman?" She cleverly replied all the questions with one of her own. The returned question immediately implied answers for both of them, though. Anouk knew they both heard the stories. The rumours about the riverpeople. "Let's go, maman, please, let's go see!" She begged her mother.
Not far from there, only one bend down the road and just out of sight, Roux and Zezette came to a stop as two men approached them. Both of the men were dressed in smart suits, which stood strongly in contrast with the wardrobe of the gypsies. They looked important, which was probably just what they intended to. One of them was the town's mayor, the other the headmaster of Anouk's school. 'Important' men. To folk who bothered about that sort of thing.
"Roux.." Zezette took Roux's arm, half stepping behind him as the two came over.
"Excuse me!" One of the men spoke up, as they came to a stop just in front of them. "This," He gestured towards the riverbanks, "...is private property. You can't stay here, I'm afraid. There are people living along here." He indicated the riverside houses along the avenue.
Roux seemed unimprssed, as he gave the men a calm look, then glanced in the direction of the indicated houses. Most of them.. if not all of them.. were deserted. They had long fallen into disrepair from damp and neglect. Nobody lived there.
Roux shrugged, and glanced back to the two.. "There are also people living there," He said, indicating the boats. "Don't worry. We're not staying long." His tone was final.
|
|
|
|
Post by Jacksblackpearl on Jan 4, 2009 17:22:12 GMT
Vianne's eyes widened and she blushed slightly when her daughter persisted on them going to the river side to find out if it were familiar boats, and familiar people. She hated it sometimes that her daughter knew what was on her mind jst as well as she knew what kept her daughter busy. Roux had changed both their lives in a small way, but in such a way that they were both reminded of him daily. Only Anouk dare to speak of it more often than Vianne. She hardly ever spoke his name and only thought of him when she was alone. Right now that was about to change though, she could not pretend that they hadn't both come to the same place to hopefully see him. ".. Once you have a plan you really stick with it don't you?" She said, sighing a bit as she watched her daughter bounce up and down, still begging. "fine.. fine.. we will see if this is Roux's group, only for a minute, and this afternoon you are going back to school" She tried to sound strictly but knew she hardly could.
|
|
|
|
Post by Jacky on Jan 4, 2009 17:40:04 GMT
Anouk's eyes lit up with that promise, finding it good enough. "Okay! Okay! Let's go maman!" She was more excited about this than she had been about anything in a long time. She took her mothers hand (another thing she rarely did these days), and tried to pull her along.
The men frowned at the two people in front of them. The one who hadn't spoken yet, now started too. "Perhaps a bigger village.. A town like Agen, maybe.."
"Listen," Roux's foreign accent was thicker now, as he was secretly growing impatient of these men. "We came from there. I've got a problem with my engine. I've been trailing oil for miles downriver. I've got to fix it before I can move on. We need to make repairs and collect supplies. We can't do that in the middle of the countryside." His tone was firm and definite.
Impatiently, the two men exchanged looks. "I don't think you'll find what you're looking for here."
Roux shrugged, and slipped his arm around Zezette's waist so that she would come along. "Well, everyone is entitled to their own opinion." Without more discussion, he and Zezette moved past the two towards the bend in the road.
|
|
|
|
Post by Jacksblackpearl on Jan 4, 2009 18:04:07 GMT
"slow down, careful" Vianne tried to calm her daughter down, she seemed so hyper that it threw her off guard a little. She had not seen Anouk this excited in a long while, not since they had moved places, also it was from that moment on that Anouk barely even held her mothers hand anymore. Vianne had blamed it on her daughter growing up and not wanting to be a momma's-child anymore but deep down inside she knew there was a better reason than that. Moving, yet again, was hard on Anouk and it effected her more deeply than it did Vianne.
When they reached the river they scurried over to the boats, it seemed quiet. Vianne half expected Roux there, playing his guitar but since there was noone like that she felt her joy reduce again. Perhaps this was not his group?
She looked closer and came nearer to the boats, predicting she was one of the few townspeople who had actually came up close to the boats. When she saw someone coming out of a hut who noticed her Vianne felt like a child who just got caught with her hand in a cooky jar. "Oh.. hello.. we eh.." She stopped speaking and observed the guy, he looked somewhat familiar..
|
|
|
|
Post by Jacky on Jan 4, 2009 18:10:20 GMT
The man who faced Vianne now looked wary. He didn't recognize her.. eventhough he had been with the group in Lansquenet. So he assumed she was just a nosy townsperson. "How can I help you?" He asked, his gaze going over to Anouk for a second. Another person showed up on the boat, a girl with bleach blonde hair, who stood back a little.. watching.
Anouk remained silent, squeezing her mothers hand.
Meanwhile, Roux and Zezette reached the town. They ignored the stares and irritated looks.
|
|
|
|
Post by Jacksblackpearl on Jan 5, 2009 8:17:02 GMT
"ehm, sorry I just.. I thought I recognized you" she answered, squinting her eyes a bit as she looked at the man. She quickly adjusted herself "I wanted to welcome you and..how are you doing?" She tried to ease the guy up by being polite, in the meanwhile she squeezed Anouk's hand back "I'm Vianne.. and this is Anouk" she stammered a little, not sure how to bring Roux up..
|
|
|
|
Post by Jacky on Jan 5, 2009 10:31:26 GMT
The man still looked a little wary.. but after casting another glance at Anouk, he eased up a little. "Alright.." He said hesitantly, not used to people giving them welcomes. "Thanks. I'm Ahmed." Next, he gave a short nod towards the girl with the bleached hair, "That's Blan--"
The girl had listened along, though, and now stepped forward quickly so she was at Ahmed's side, where she interupted him. "We really have to do some work,. I'm sorry, it was nice meeting you, Vianne." She said shortly.
Blanche had not been with the gypsies in Lansquenet. But she, unlike Ahemed, immediately recognized the two names. Vianne. Anouk.
Roux had told her about them before. But in these desperate times, they couldn't risk ghosts from the past. All Blanche could think was that it would ruin it, this thin line they were balacing on. Anouk and Vianne, a whisper of the past, seemed dangerous to her.
They couldn't blend with town's people. Not now.
|
|
|
|
Post by Jacksblackpearl on Jan 5, 2009 19:52:40 GMT
Vianne smiled momentarily at Ahmed, he seemed like a nice guy and willing to talk, but the woman with him was less of that nature. "Oh..right, I'm sorry to bother all you of you" she said slowly, but then looked down at her daughter who still looked very hyper and nervous to find out whether he was here or not.
"" It's just that..we've met a few people like yourselves a while ago, back in Lansquenet.." she tried to see whether there was any familiarity on their faces when she spoke the name of their previous home town. "Anyway, we met a nice man there, his name is Roux. And I was wondering if he belongs to your group ?"
|
|
