Elphaba Thropp was a lioness. This was the latest conclusion reached by Galinda, who once again, found herself caught up admiring her friend. A rather heated debate began between the green girl and Avaric. Something about animals probably, she wasn't really paying attention.
This new observation came from the way Elphaba would throw herself with a raging passion into her cause, as eyebrows drew down and a fire lit within her eyes, and hand gestures became larger, a true academic she was. Galinda thought there was nothing better than watching the enigma that was Elphaba thrive with the vitality that only a debate could bring about.
Aside from the increasing volume of the debate, the grounds of Shiz were quiet. Most students had left the campus in search of merriment, however, the Charmed Circle had located their usual spot underneath a large tree, shading themselves from the warming summer sun.
Galinda leant back against the trunk with bare feet outstretched as Boq admired her petite feet. Nessa sat opposite, sturdy in her own unnatural way, her lack of arms doing nothing to hinder the solid way she sat. Crope and Tibbet had grown bored with the debate and had begun to throw the remains of a shredded sandwich at one another, much to the distaste of Nessarose.
From the way Elphaba's shoulders were tensing and the way her finger was wagging in Avaric's face, Galinda could tell that the debate was won. Elphaba was driving her final point home, concluding her argument and such.
Thoroughly cornered and without the moral support of his doting Pfannee and Shenshen, he fell back onto a panicked response which consisted of a rather rude remark concerning the peculiar hue of Elphaba's skin.
"Steady on, lad" shouted Boq from across the blanket, fearing for both himself and Avaric, who admitted his defeat with a grunt and outstretched hand, briefly squeezed by Elphaba.
She took pride of place next to an adoring Galinda against the cool bark of the tree.
"I don't know how you do it" she murmured into Elphaba's ear who looked down, a genuine smile on her face, which turned into a smirk directed at a wounded Avaric.
Galinda quietly laced their fingers together, a shy smile gracing her face as the antics of Crope and Tibbett became louder and more boisterous, and lettuce flew over their heads, occasional pieces landing in Galinda's hair which Elphaba was quick to remove. She really was lovely. The merriment even managed to lift Avaric's mood, further increased by the arrival of Shenshen who he whisked away, one muscular arm thrown over her shoulder.
Later on, Crope and Tibbett's re-enactment of the Ozian Ballet was cut short by the return of Nanny, much to the relief, and slight disappointment of the circle. The girls had promised to behave whilst she gallivanted with the other amas, buying wool and such. She had come to collect Nessa, and maybe Elphaba and Galinda, depending on whether Elphaba was feeling compliant. As per, she was not.
The two remained under the tree with Boq and the flirtatious behaviour of Crope and Tibbett, which soon turned upon one another, and the two scurried away, almost urgently with rushed goodbyes and undisguised looks of love between one another. Then there were three.
"I should quite like to go for a walk" announced the blonde as she wiggled her exposed toes, the level of inactivity causing her lower limbs to lose sensation. At this Boq was already on his feet, one arm proffered for her to take, which she accepted.
He drew in a deep breath as they began to walk through the trees of Shiz, mentally rehearsing a pre-prepared speech for Galinda. Unfortunately, being close to the girl had caused all intelligent thought to flee from his head.
"I've had a lot of fun today, Miss Galinda. You look radiant, by the way, I forgot to mention when I first saw you". He was looking at the floor now, prattling with a scarlet blush creeping along his cheeks. Galinda used this as an excuse to share a secretive smile with Elphaba who was rolling her eyes at his antics.
"Oh do spare us Boq, you're babbling. Perhaps you should try poetry to woo Miss Galinda, since it worked so well last time" she finished with a quick cackle at herself whilst Boq glared and Galinda attempted to hold back her smile. A quick ruffle of his hair told Boq that it was all in good nature and even he had to smile at himself.
The three continued their walk through the grounds as the sun began to decline behind the grassy hills of the distant Gillikin. They stopped for a while, sitting back down watching the sun sink, leaning up on arms outstretched behind themselves.
The Setting of the sun also brought with it the chill of the evening, accompanied by the threat of insects, which Galinda was not prepared to deal with. Being a true gentleman, Boq offered his coat for Galinda and proceeded to walk them home. Naturally, Elphaba couldn't resist a quick poke about Boq's ability to defend two fair maidens in distress. The boy really did have a bit of a hero complex, though, he was still a little bit in love with Galinda, and Elphaba supposed that love was the type of thing to make you into a hero, if anything else.
After ensuring the two reached the doors of Crage hall in one piece, Boq reclaimed his jacket and kissed their hands, lingering slightly on Galinda's, Elphaba noticed, although she had snatched her hand away much too quickly for him to even attempt to kiss it out of politeness. He then continued on his way, a slight skip in his step.
"He is much too much" was Elphaba's first Comment after Boq had disappeared from earshot.
"Oh, but he is a little gentleman, and a little bit sweet" replied Galinda. Little was certainly the operative word here, though Elphie wouldn't comment any further, she simply unlocked their door, holding it open for Galinda to walk through.
She didn't realise Nanny would be on the other side, foot tapping in impatience "Its half an hour past curfew and Nanny was worried sick, imagine if you were hurt, old Nanny wouldn't be able to help you, oh old Nanny's rules are there for a reason young lady. I should tell your father, but nanny has more important things to worry about" with her rant over, she bustled back into Nessa's room, leaving the two girls staring bewilderedly at the door.
It was whilst applying her moisturiser during her nightly routine that Galinda came to a realisation, once again, she was watching Elphaba through the mirror. The green girl was pulling a brush through her hair, grunting in annoyance each time the brush caught on a piece of lettuce that she had failed to notice during the day. She realised how much of her time was spent just observing Elphie, and the strange comparisons that she seemed to make between Elphaba and various animals.
During the day, Elphaba was a force to be reckoned with, a harsh exterior had evolved to protect her from the injustices that she faced, however, when her attention turned onto the blonde (which was rather frequently, she noted with a smile) the exterior seemed to melt away, and a genuine care for Galinda became apparent, along side a fierce protectiveness.
It was the times that Elphaba would hold her gaze, or the faint smile reserved for only her when out and about, or, occasionally, if she felt like it, Elphaba would sit behind her and play with her hair. For Galinda, these were the moments of bliss that she prayed would happen more often than they actually did. Galinda knew for a long time that both girls held an unspoken feeling for each other, yet neither willing to define with words what it was. It was much too strong to be acknowledged at the moment, so it was swept away. An internal secret. Of course, everyone else noticed, it just wasn't discussed, for the sake of embarrassment, and for Boq's poor heart.
Elphaba glanced up from her battle with the brush to notice Galinda's eyes in her direction, the far away glaze suggesting that she was very much deep in thought. As she stood up from the bed, Galinda seemed to snap out of her daze and continue to smooth cream over her face. The taller slowly approached and crouched next to the vanity.
"Have you left me for a more interesting world, darling?" at this Galinda managed a very forced giggle, failing to hide her blush. Elphaba's affectionate pet names often did that to her, reduced her to a giggling mess, and her close proximity was not helping the situation.
"Oh no, I assure you that the sight of you picking leaves from your hair was more than interesting." There, she'd managed to divert the conversation to more light hearted topic, they could always fall back on their playful exchanges when their thoughts ran away with them.
Elphaba frowned at Galinda's sudden change in behaviour, but did not comment, instead choosing to stand up to her full height and give one of those smiles that made Galinda melt.
"Right, well, I'm going to finish some notes now" She threw an arm around Galinda and gave her a slight squeeze. They hugged often, but Galinda sitting down didn't help to reduce the awkwardness of the embrace. It still meant a lot to Galinda who quickly finished her nightly preparations, tilted her head in response, and crawled into bed. She lay on her side watching Elphaba's frantic hand scribble notes into her textbook until sleep could not longer be resisted.