[entranceway] ic inbox

[nascensibility]

Hello, this is Evie. If I haven't picked up, it means I'm probably deep into research and may require digging out.
Please leave a message, and I'll get back to you as soon as I possibly can.

Comments

voice;

[onsilksheets]

[Events in Wonderland had always impacted upon one trying to have a social life, so Bela is delighted to hear that her friend was free sooner than expected.]

Yes, I am available this afternoon. How does 3 o'clock sound to you?

voice;

[nascensibility]

Perfect.

[Bela can probably hear her beaming.]

I'll set up something in my sitting room. See you then?

voice;

[onsilksheets]

Yes, I will see you then.

[And she can hear it. Which is sweet.]

I'm looking forward to it.

action;

[nascensibility]

[Evelyn has set up a tea service, 'with all the fixings,' as her husband would call them, in the little parlour she has just inside her door, adjacent to her room. The separation of spaces helps her to keep things organised, which is necessary for someone who tosses about as much paperwork as she does.

When Bela arrives the door should be unlocked - as it usually is when Evelyn is present in the room - and the tea steeping on the table while Evie tidies a stack of books on her desk.]

forever~

[onsilksheets]

[Occasions like these made her incredibly glad to have a friend like Evelyn. As someone who never had much in the way of friends growing up and indeed as an adult, Bela counted herself lucky. Evelyn was among the bright spots of Wonderland and she made a note to say that out loud at least once despite not being very sentimental most of the time.

She gets to the room on the dot at 3pm, checking the door to see if it was open first. If not, Bela would knock. It doesn't take her long to realise its free for her to go in and Bela does, catching sight of her friend near a desk.]

Hello, Evelyn. [A smile as she closes the door behind her, stepping further into the room afterwards. Bela looks around, inspecting everything.]

Good to see you again. This is a nice setup.

owo

[nascensibility]

It's good to see you, too!

[Evelyn turns to greet her properly, with a lady's embrace and an affectionate kiss on the cheek. She gestures to the table that Bela might make herself comfortable; she may have gone overboard on the set-up, but it's so rare she gets to put together a proper tea that Evelyn couldn't help herself.]

How have you been, hm? Hopefully well, given recent events.

[Pouring them both a cuppa, Evie nudges the sugar and milk across the tray toward her friend. It is probably more than marginally obvious that she appears a little brighter than usual.]

[onsilksheets]

[She's touched that Evelyn would go out of her way to put together such a lovely looking spread and if it made her friend happy then Bela wasn't going to discourage it. Part of her doesn't want to spoil it because of how lovely it was.]

I have been great, all things considered. Wonderland isn't without its troubles and I have learned to accept and adapt to it as much as one can. Of course, it helps to have a good support system here.

[Picking up the jug of milk she pours it into her cup and adds a little sugar, stirring her tea with the teaspoon. Once Bela is happy she sets both the jug and spoon to one side, lifting up her cup.]

What about you? You look quite cheerful about something. Did I miss anything?

[She'd even go as far to say that Evelyn has a kind of glow about her.]

[nascensibility]

[Similarly, Evelyn has spent a lot of time adapting to Wonderland's curious ways, forced to rapidly evolve in a way that would have Charles Darwin rolling in his grave. As a girl at twenty-one - as much as she would have argued at the time that she was, in fact, a woman, an older Evelyn knows better - she suffered from an unfortunate naïveté that led to a lost life and a relationship that, while looked at through a fond lens now, was somewhat unfair at the time.

Losing Mark Meltzer was crippling, almost as crippling as waking up on the beach in Wonderland, damp and alone. Far be it from Evelyn to admit that she loathes being alone, but she is a social animal and interpersonal connexions are of great importance to her.]

Erm.

[Evelyn did not quite expect Bela to be able to catch her mood so quickly, but here we are.]

I may have...met someone,

[she offers gingerly, squeezing lemon into her tea. If one were to get technical, she met said someone back in February or March and has since then built up a profound rapport resulting in physical relations, but semantics.]

[onsilksheets]

Oh?

[Bela leans forward in interest, a slow smile forming on her lips. It's the kind of conversation she was dying to have with Evelyn as soon as they had the chance and now it was happening.

She was genuinely pleased for her friend and it was always fun to talk about men- at least that's what Bela began to realise when she and Evelyn started to grow closer.]

That's fantastic news, Evelyn. [She sips from her tea.] Is it someone that I know?

[nascensibility]

If...you...happen to know anyone who works for the police back in their own world, and...usually comes off as frightfully unsociable, then yes?

[She knows better now, of course, some of the reasoning behind Will's behaviour - a great deal was learned when they got over their dignity long enough to stretch out across from each other in bed, simply enjoying the company, the intimacy.

Evelyn could not have predicted that he would kiss her in lieu of using his words that day in the library, but she isn't complaining.]

[onsilksheets]

[The description is more than enough for Bela to work out whom Evelyn was referring to, and she can't hold back the grin that spread over her face.]

Will Graham. [The grin turns sly.] Evelyn, you lucky girl. He's quite a dish and highly intelligent to boot. I hope everything is going well?

[And by 'everything' she means tumbles in the sheets and stolen kisses. Maybe even a steamy encounter in one of the tearooms- but that is probably just Bela's experience. The thought makes her pink a little, though she quickly recovers.]

Because if it isn't, I know where to find him. [A joke. Honestly.]

[nascensibility]

Everything is fine, thank you,

[she replies primly, because they are rather better than fine.

It is interesting how things developed from 'terribly awkward first meeting' to 'murder investigation,' 'midnight ogling' to 'outright flirting.' Looking back the attraction is much more obvious, she should have noticed before he kissed her, but loneliness can be difficult to self-diagnose. Evelyn had not realised how much she missed affection and closeness until Will offered it.

She takes Bela's idle threat in stride and entertains another sip of tea before offering vaguely specific details.]

Will is very...attentive.

[onsilksheets]

[ Bela hides her smile behind her teacup, finding it hard not to be amused by her friend's reaction. But in all honesty, she was glad that Evelyn had found someone and Will the same- there couldn't be two better people. ]

Then he's definitely a keeper. I won't ask for any more details. [ Since she probably wouldn't get any, curious as she was. ]

I really am glad for you. For both of you I should say. It's nice when you find some form of happiness in a place like Wonderland.

[ Before Bela allows herself to get even more sentimental she drinks some tea, waiting for Evelyn to continue on with the conversation as she saw fit. ]

[nascensibility]

...It is. Actually.

[She falls quiet for a moment, contemplative. Evelyn has a longer record than most, and has spent much of her duration in Wonderland lacking familiar faces from home.]

You know, I- I've been here for so long, I hadn't actually realised that I was lonely at all. A year is...a while.

[onsilksheets]

It is quite some time, yes.

[Bela agrees with a nod, drinking some more of her tea. Unlike Evelyn, she didn't miss anyone from home simply because she didn't have anyone. That was by choice. The situation was different in Wonderland, Bela had grown close to several people in her time here and she wouldn't know what to do without them.]

You probably weren't looking for something and it found you anyway. [She thinks about her own situation.] It's nice.

[nascensibility]

[Many Wonderland residents, having arrived with people from their own world - hated or not, friends or foes - really don'y understand how lucky they are. How good they have it. It's something, a tangible reminder of home.]

Do you...have anything similar?

[she asks slyly, turning the query around.]

[onsilksheets]

[Bela should have expected Evelyn to turn the tables on her. She hadn't really told anyone about anything like that and maybe it couldn't hurt to say something.]

I do. Although, there isn't really a label on it or anything. We enjoy each other's company and I've become...fond of him. But it's strange, you know? I've never been with someone for more than one night at a time. Never spent a lot of time in their company and got to know them. Allow them to get to know me a little better too.

[She smiles, clearly pleased.]

You probably know him. It's Jesse.