Infinite Consortium, Monday

[deathsmajesty]

Liliana was dealing with the most frustrating of indignities today. At some point Friday, she must have wandered into a spawning point of mosquitoes or something because she had a number of bites from the miserable little things. Normally, biting insects didn't bother her; her preternatural chill didn't register her as a potential food source for them, but apparently nobody had passed that fact along to the bugs on the island. They had decided she was delicious - which, obviously, but she would have been happier if they hadn't made that discovery - and she was wondering if she was down a pint or two of blood with the number of bites she's found.

None of which put her in a particularly good temper, no. Which was why she was ignoring today's shipment in favor of glaring in the general direction of the park and working on a spell specifically designed to kill mosquitoes. In droves. Possibly enough to unbalance the entire ecosystem.

Good.

[Inspired by my weekend, yes]

Comments

[totalwildcard]

Harley blinked. "Mosquitoes?" she repeated, with an earnest sort of doubt in her voice, her head tilting off to the side. "Honey, I know you ain't from around here, an' maybe all the flora and fauna where you're from is all kinds of different - but I'm pretty sure those were lizards?"

[deathsmajesty]

"Oh, no, the lizards were no problem," Liliana said, waving that off. "They were easily killed and even more easily raised again. But the mosquitos were actually obnoxious."

[totalwildcard]

Harley made a lightbulb noise. Meaning, she said, "Ohhh." And then nodded, more times than necessary. "Right! Well, that sucks? I mean, literally. But also figuratively!"

[deathsmajesty]

"It does!" she agreed with a huff. "Normally I don't register to them and they don't bother me, but 'normal' doesn't appear to apply to anything on this island."

[totalwildcard]

"I dunno," Harley replied with an easy shrug. "Depends what you think normal is, don't it? Maybe that is normal for here."

And maybe the gal with ROTTEN tattooed on her jaw wasn't the best judge of that either way.

[deathsmajesty]

"Oh yes, darling. This island goes out of its way to be confounding," Liliana said. "In that we can agree."

[totalwildcard]

"Enh, I don't get confounded."

True, or very selective memory? You be the judge. (But it was absolutely the latter.)

Either way, she grinned.

"I do the confoundin'."

[deathsmajesty]

"Oh, of that I have no doubt," Liliana said with a laugh. "How have you been, Harley? Did you have fun on Friday, too?"

[totalwildcard]

Harley's forthcoming answer was pretty clear from how her eyes lit up, but also:

"I rode a lizard! All over town!"

Mostly in the direction it had wanted to go, but that still counted!

[deathsmajesty]

"Oooh! Did you and Steve get into a lizard race?" Liliana asked.

[totalwildcard]

"... Who's Steve?"

That would be a no!

[deathsmajesty]

"Steve Rogers," Liliana said. "Married to Tony, throws the parties with the chandeliers in the tower in town...?"

She'd seen you at those parties, Harley.

"Blond, muscular, exudes a kind of earnest, good guy aura."

[totalwildcard]

Harley considered that description for a beat, only to scrunch up her face like something smelled rank.

"Oh, one of the boring goody two shoes?" she asked, like something tasted off, too. "Nope, didn't see him, don't care to!"

At least until the next party! She didn't remember most people at those for very long afterwards, let's be real.

[deathsmajesty]

"Not as much as his demeanor would have you believe," Liliana said thoughtfully, considering his answers in class last week. "Though I'm certain he'd absolutely get all judgey over a few little war crimes."

Sigh.