notfaking_it | [Ellen]

After spending most of the day at the dance studio, Lily had returned to the Compound to shower, change and eat before she found herself standing on the boardwalk, her gaze drifting from the Hub, back to the Compound and then down the path in the direction of the Winchester. It wasn't often she felt at a loss for what to do, her time most often filled with dancing or socializing, which was exactly how Lily liked it. Although there were plenty of people she thought she could visit that evening, she found herself turning toward the Hub instead.

As much as she adored the people she'd met and the friends she made, there was nothing saying she couldn't make more. Sometimes a conversation with a stranger was exactly what she craved. There was something to be said for learning new things about a person, slowly unwrapping each layer. She wasn't arrogant enough to think she'd ever fully unwrapped a single person she knew, there was always another layer, another side to a person, but tonight she wanted a stranger. Someone she'd never met before.

A few minutes later, a drink in hand, Lily turned her back against the bar and leaned against it, surveying the people who were there. Many of them were faces she recognized, even if she didn't know them personally or well, but there were a few new faces. After her months on the island, she'd gotten fairly good at picking those out who were relatively new and when one woman in particular came in, Lily gave her a smile. If she wanted to talk, the smile was likely enough of an invitation, but if she wanted to be alone, it hopefully wasn't too pushy either.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Swan costume. Ellen's mind is already racing, trying to put the pieces together from Lily's description alone. There's only one show she can think of, one that would demand a costume like that, and she might be wrong, but it never hurts to guess. Chances are she's right, and if she isn't, she's not going to dwell over messing up such a trivial thing.

"Swan Lake?" she ventures, raising both eyebrows, visibly impressed. "That's amazing. You must be good - beyond good, even."

Lily grinned, partly in acknowledgement that Ellen was right about the show and partly because she was good, although she hadn't been dancing a main role. "Well, I'm not going to argue with you," she said, spinning the glass between her hands. "But I wasn't dancing the lead. I was a lowly swan servant."

But she hadn't really had a problem with that. In the end, Nina had been absolutely gorgeous. Lily had never seen a performance like hers and she only wished Nina herself had stuck around long enough to experience it. "I was the lead's alternate, but she was lovely."

"But being the alternate, that means you have to learn her part as well as your own, doesn't it?" Ellen deduces, hoping she hasn't missed the mark too much where this is concerned. She did a play or two in college, though. Ballet seems as though it would have a similar failsafe in place.

"When you think about it, that's twice the work," she adds, still looking impressed.

"But you have to remember that we have nothing else to do," Lily pointed out in return. It was a lot of work, but so was being a lawyer or a doctor or, hell, working in the service industry. It was just a different kind of work and she knew she was lucky that she loved what she did for a career, that not everyone got to do that.

"I bet you put in longer hours at your job than I ever did at mine," she said with a grin. "Lawyers have to work hard."

"True," she adds, nodding slowly in thought. To Lily, dancing is a profession as well as a passion, but it doesn't involve the same kind of working hours that her own job demanded - not only that, but it carries its own series of demands on time, life, or anything else.

"Longer hours, but it paid off in the long run. If I wasn't earning overtime, I always felt a little bit at a loss."

"And now here we are, where all the money in the world can't help us," Lily said and although she was smiling faintly, it was still strange for her to think about. Dancing with prestigious companies paid well and while she wouldn't have ever called herself wealthy, she'd certainly made enough money to live comfortably. And it wasn't that the island was uncomfortable, but it was a different sort of life.

Nothing cost a thing, which she loved.

"Don't get me wrong, I like it," she said. "I have a fabulous custom made dress just because I offered a prize of my own for casino night. I can get behind the system we have here, but it's just... not the same, is it?"

[Ellen]

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