fandomtownies | The Perk, Sunday Afternoon

There was a school trip this upcoming week, apparently; Pam had only learned of it when she found out Adrian wouldn't be coming in to work next week. She hadn't known just how much of this town was dedicated to that school until now, with the streets suddenly much quieter.

It suited her fine, honestly. She'd spent the past few weeks getting comfortable. A quiet island meant she had time to expand her horizons. Sometime into the afternoon, she walked to the Perk, her senses telling her of tiny things hatching under the stone, the breath of relief of a place that would be partially unburdened by the constant to and fro of human feet.

She sat at a table, her coffee in one hand, a phone in the other, and scrolled. Did you know more than three-quarters of the Chesapeake Bay's tidal waters were contaminated by chemicals to one extent or another? That there were chemical plants and industrial complexes along the Chesapeake Bay that dumped far more waste than they were allowed to? That the water was rife with PFAS and PCBs, and that nitrogen levels hadn't fallen in some time?

She had. But it was nice to get specifics.

[[ open ]]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Octavia gave a vague hum. Unreadable, but if anyone should be fine with that, in Octavia's opinion it should be the woman sitting across from her. She had her own poker face going on too, after all.

She watched the sip, and didn't immediately offer anything more.

Pam set the cup down. "I'm going to get another coffee," she said. "Do you want anything?"

Octavia looked down at the cup she'd taken about two sips from.

And then back up again. "A muffin."

Pam offered her a nod. She rose from her seat, and walked to the counter. Was this a bad idea?

(Most likely.)

But she ordered a muffin and a black coffee anyway.

Octavia wasn't sure she knew what a good idea was supposed to feel like right now.

She watched Pam. Finally took another sip from her cup. It hadn't gone completely cold yet. So, there was that.

Pam always struck a tall figure: she could easily be called imposing, even in her overalls and with her hair tied back. Fungal hyphae marked one cheek, where they hadn't been a few minutes ago.

One weaved around a finger. She glanced down, then switched her coffee to that hand. She picked up the muffin with the other one, and then returned to the table, setting it down in front of her new dark-haired acquaintance.

She took care not to brush against Octavia in any way-- she moved back to her seat after that.

"Why me?" Octavia asked, once Pam had seated herself again. "Aren't I the one who's actual poison?"

(Well, she didn't know. She could see the things growing on Pam - and she could feel a weird pang of envy over it - but she didn't know what they did.)

"As I said, I know what it's like to lose a part of yourself," Pam said. She picked up her coffee. "Maybe you make me sentimental."

"Maybe's a nice evasive maneuver," Octavia replied, followed by a tiny nod. "I should know."

She picked up the muffin.

"I'll also admit to being intrigued by whatever kind of curse could turn a woman into a botanical black widow overnight," Pam said, sipping her coffee. "Is it magical? Biological? Both?"

Edited 2024-10-23 09:36 (UTC)

"Probably both," Octavia replied mildly. She broke off a piece of the muffin, picking at it with her fingers. "They don't call it magic where it's from, but that doesn't mean much."

"I know an expert," Pam noted. "On the magic. I am an expert on the science."

"Even this science?"

Somehow Octavia sounded doubtful.

"I don't know what this science is. All you've told me is that you have a curse that kills plants, and you think it can't be lifted," Pam pointed out. "But my expertise lies in botanical chemistry. If you're doing something to the flora, I should be able to figure out what."

Octavia swallowed a petty, unhelpful remark right along with a bite of muffin.

"Well, what it looked like," she said instead, her voice mostly even, "was like my touch just sucked all life out of it."

"Did you feel anything when you did so?"

"Numb, but I think that was emotional," Octavia deadpanned, raspy.

She picked at the muffin some more, then shrugged.

"Other than that, nothing that I can remember. But I'd had a long day before that. I might just not remember."

You might need more data points, Octavia.

"That doesn't say much," Pam concluded. "I'd ask if I could draw some blood, but I doubt it's safe for me to touch you right now."

She sipped her coffee. "I have chlorophyll in my blood."

Sorry if the trauma was inconveniencing the research.

"So you're part plant?"

Octavia didn't seem surprised. One, there were the living things growing on the woman's skin. Two... She'd been on Fandom too long.

"Mine's just fucked up with radiation, I think."

There were better ways to handle trauma. Not that Pam was about to lecture anyone on that.

"More or less," she said. "But if it's touch that causes this, then the relevant agent is in your skin. Blood, skin cells... sweat."

Octavia shrugged. "Don't forget the magic part," she said, not unhelpfully as such, but... That dry tone just got in the way a lot.

She picked up her coffee again. Considered it.

"I don't know how these curses work," she offered, "but I've seen enough of them to know they're... all different from each other. And I wonder how much science can account for there."

"Well, you won't know unless you try," Pam noted. She settled back with her cup.

"I'm just telling you what few facts I know," Octavia muttered into her cup.

No, murmured. There was enough something... not softer as such, but. Something. A tone.

"And I'm offering a chance to find out more facts," Pam said. "Regardless of... anything else you want to do."

"But you can't draw my blood."

That was not Octavia refusing, obviously. Just reiterating what Pam had already said.

Re: NFB from here

joan_of_bark - 2024-10-23 18:32 (UTC) - Expand

okteiviakom - 2024-10-23 18:42 (UTC) - Expand

joan_of_bark - 2024-10-23 18:44 (UTC) - Expand

okteiviakom - 2024-10-23 18:47 (UTC) - Expand

joan_of_bark - 2024-10-23 18:48 (UTC) - Expand

okteiviakom - 2024-10-23 19:07 (UTC) - Expand