Thread: Two Belles of the Ball on a Stage Too Small - ( Erebus & Crescent )

The setting in which Lily might have achieved her big break was, in reality, not very large. There was the staging which was mediocre when one was actually standing there, looking out towards the audience. The lighting was only mildly impressive when a multitude of choices for colors and effects, despite the fact that many a successful play had employed only a single spotlight to succeed. Even wandering down the narrow hall past extras and co-stars, she found herself further uninspired by the place, going so far as to contemplate a million and one reasons to move her ass back to ol' Staffordshire. Then again, regardless of what she came up with, that would never happen. For all the dingy apartments she'd had to stay in, returning home was, in her opinion, comparable to death or worse. With a sigh, the brunette rubbed a hand over her face, her fingers slipping past her left temple as if to erase an imaginary stain before lingering against the corner of her mouth. The place was small, but there were a lot of places a fuming, sulking child could run and hide away. Even asking the other members of the play, cast and crew alike would have given her little result. From her time here, she'd always kept mostly to herself when possible, refusing to ascribe to the suck-up stereotype people held her up against. That left her with mainly a professional but unfriendly environment where everybody expected her to refuse drinks on a Friday night. There was no point in asking when the answer was always the same. Nobody could, or would, tell her where Jean ran off to, going so far as to avoid her gaze when she approached them. Fortunately Lily was too far removed to really care or be affected by cold shoulders, though her failure to find her co-star was pushing quite a few of her buttons. Whatever drama was going on in the inner machinations of this company, even she didn't know which one of them were least liked. Delilah Rivers was a no name hailing from a foreign, barely reputable city with even less of a personal reputation and repertoire to boast. Many whispered that Dave had only picked her out of the ragtag bunch because he, like many others, had a not-so-secret fetish for accented she-devils. The worst part was that she couldn't deny such rumors with confidence. After five or so minutes of searching, Lily was on the verge of giving up her little quest. She made her way back to the room she was allocated to, a nameless door located just around the corner of make-up. Shrugging her jacket off, the leggy brunette near collapsed on her dangerously rickety chair, swiveling it around to glance at her reflection. The mirror had fingerprint stains on it along with unidentified splotches near the tight corners, but at the very least it didn't distort her appearance like many others did. Using her thumb, she wiped away a slight smudge of black eyeliner at the base of her eyelid before cleaning the residue with a fresh Kleenex. She really could have just gone home, call in sick or unwell and further ponder but there was nothing left to think about. She was going to take this part even if it meant sharing. She certainly wasn't new to dealing with unfriendly coworkers, given that she attracted them like flies to honey but that didn't mean she enjoyed the task. A knock on her door returned her to reality. Lily glanced at the intruder in the mirror, spotting the mousy features of one of the few beauticians, Mia. With the large turtleneck and even larger eye-wear, it was shocking to think that the woman could transform dull and grey to sparkles and spice. Hey Delilah, was her cheery greeting as she poked just her head and neck around the door. Some of the guys said you were looking for Jean, which was a surprise. Lily tilted her head back, her ponytail dangling down the back of the chair but found that the furniture was far too old to even try and look at the beautician from that position. Another sigh flew from her lips before she removed her posterior from the seat and stood. There was a conflict of interest earlier, the brunette explained, Jean didn't look like she was in the best of shape. Have you seen her? Mia pursed her lips. I promise I won't antagonize. Lily rolled her eyes. She knew that Mia would eventually let loose the other woman's whereabouts, but it was not an unknown tactic for many of the cast members to encourage friendship and rainbows at least where she was concerned. There was a second of silence where Lily almost added something more before Mia grinned. She was carrying her bag, heading to the alley. Either she killed someone and is making a break for it or... well, I dunno. She's out back. A mere thank you removed Mia from her door, but now that Lily knew where Jean was, she found that her motivation was severely lacking. Still she felt like she owed it to herself to go through with it, a little bit like pulling teeth with rusty pliers. Leaving her coat at the table, she retreated from her sanctuary and headed towards the fire exit. As promised, the telling, slumping figure of Jean could be seen just before her with the door held ajar by a custom doorstop. Even from the slight distance, Lily could tell that her company was far from wanted. She almost turned around, but now that she'd been spotted and her intentions made clear, she felt like that would be akin to accepting defeat. She tightened her jaw and continued forward, like a marching soldier on a mission. She stopped just shy of the outside world, leaning her bare shoulder against the cold frame of the doorway. Yes, very busy, I see that. Lily replied absently, scratching at an old scar on her wrist but doing nothing in terms of waving away the smell of smoke assaulting her senses. She wasn't a big smoker but she did indulge in those sticks of addiction from time to time. Make no mistake, I'm not here for you. She eyed the temperamental woman with a look that spoke of nothing but disapproval. I'm here for an explanation regarding your words. Even talking to Jean was tiring. She turned slightly so that part of her shoulder blade was supported by the frame. How is this, in any way, my fault?