734/Aftermath: The Lesser of Two Evils

Aftermath: The Lesser of Two Evils
Date of Scene:	02 June 2017
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Mercy Thompson, Insect Queen (OMara)

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Mercy Thompson has posed:
It has to feel like a very long day for both Mercy and Violet. While the day started out normal enough, it soon went into the weird and then terrifying. Thankfully, the spell that caused the creatures to appear is no longer active and the two woman can finally make their escape.

The trip back to Mercy's garage was pretty short and straight-forward, with very little talking on Mercy's part. It's only when she reaches the front door of garage that the tension held within her shoulders eases slightly. "Well, glad nothing /else/ cropped up." Murmurs the dark-haired woman as she pulls her keys free of a pocket - then with a jangle of metal against metal, the front door is open.

Mercy will hold the door for the other woman to enter first, before following behind her. The front office looks pretty plain and white, but at least it's clean and smells good. Once the front door is closed, Mercy will slide a look towards her companion. "Welcome to my Garage."

Insect Queen (OMara) has posed:
Insect Queen takes a few slow, deliberate steps around the place and looks around. She studies the place with semi-narrowed eyes, sniffs around, then, abruptly, shrinks down to a three-inches-tall version of herself, and starts flying all around the place, buzzing arund in a slow and deliberate pattern, somewhat halfway between a bee and a wasp.

When she does, she lands on the floor again, growing at the same time, and finally shrugs slightly and turns to Mercy. "It could use a few actual cobwebs, but it is an acceptable... I think the human word is... 'workplace'? The words are there from my previous life as a human..." she sbegins, "...but the concepts tied to it no longer make any sense. So, this place is kind of like a cobweb where you attract your prey, and instead of sucking fluids out of them, you use social dynamics to control them into feeding you, and the feeding ritual is some extremely convoluted business which entails green pieces of paper at some point?" she asks Mercy, still frowning in concentration.

Mercy Thompson has posed:
With the Insect Queen still being the Insect Queen, Mercy allows the sign to stay at 'Be Back in Fifteen'-

- Especially when the rather tall, insect-like woman shrinks down to that smaller size. As she buzzes around Mercy will simply watch, allowing the woman to inspect the front office. After all, what else can Mercy do? Swat her like a common bug? Hardly.

It's only when the Insect Queen returns to her normal size and speaks that Mercy's eyebrows will begin to knit towards each other. "Human word?" She echoes, expression turning slightly puzzled, even as she offers a shallow nod, "Yes, workplace is likely the word you're looking for." And while a question is there, ready to be asked the Insect Queen's next words cause that question to die before it's spoken.

"Uhm." Begins Mercy, as she tries not to stare too hard at the other woman. "I don't think I'd describe it exactly like that, but I guess you could say yes, it's a ritual that allows us to be paid for our work." Head canting to the side, Mercy will continue with, "Your personality is different in this form ..." A definite unspoken question there, but the coyote is struggling with how to actually word it and not sound rude. Or get stung. That'd be bad.

Insect Queen (OMara) has posed:
"Paid... yes..." trails off the Insect Queen, distractedly, having developed a sudden interest in a faraway corner of the shop. "That's the thing with the green sheets, right?"

The Insect Queen beams proudly at the last spoken question. "It is." She confirms. "A proper adult form personality. I've outgrown the annoying, childish, obsessive personality of a larva my human self had. As befits undergoing Metamorphosis."

She turns to Mercy and frowns. Then her brow relaxes again, and she smirks.

"Ooooh, now I understand why you are confused. I think I will have to explain it to you." She does sound a bit condescending when she says that

"You humans have something similar. You start off as grubs, which you call 'children', then undergo a period where hormonal activity spikes, and finally develop into adults. It is kind of similar to what we do, except you are all weird about it and do not liqify when you hit puberty."

"In short, if you were to meet a human when she's five, and then when she's fifty, you'd notice a change in personality as well."

Her chest puffs, and she cannot contain her grin. "I underwent the metamorphosis phase of my new species. I'm now not only a Hive Adult, but a Hive Adult expected to become the leader of her race, so I am acting as one. That explains your change in behaviour." She raises her chin and looks down at Mercy. "And if you are expecting me to apologize for how dumb I am when I am human, forget it. A queen never apologizes for anything."

Mercy Thompson has posed:
It really takes an effort to cause Mercy to fall silent in surprised, or shocked, speechlessness, but Insect Queen has. Not for that first part, no, Mercy understands what she's saying about green sheets. Money. That's definitely understood. It's that second part, no, really that third part - where the other woman explains (explains!) the birds and the bees to the coyote.

Mercy's mouth opens and a hand rises upward, intending to interrupt, but the interruption never takes place as the much taller insectoid woman continues to talk and Mercy can't quite get a word in edgewise.

Finally, when the explanation is completed, and the Insect Queen offers her own story of metamorphosis, will Mercy have a chance to say something. Anything. Those brown eyes of hers will stare at the Insect Queen for a silent moment, as Mercy gathers her scattered thoughts into some semblance of order. "Huh." Begins the woman again, her fingers pinching the bridge of her nose, "One, I know all about the birds and the bees, thanks -", wry humor might be heard within her voice there, "- two, children here don't evolve quite like that." Yes, evolve is a good word for it there, "Their personality mature, versus alter so drastically .. You know, never mind. Let's just say it's slightly different and leave it at that."

With those words of hers, Mercy will finally look back at Insect Queen. "So, you're an adult form of your people, but you're here .. On Earth. Part of Violet? How does that work?" And nothing, absolutely nothing, is said never apologizing. Mercy isn't going to touch that one right now.

Insect Queen (OMara) has posed:
Insect Queen groans in exasperation. "I /am/ Violet!" The word 'Violet' is said with a snarl and a wince, as if it tasted rotten in her mouth.

"By The Hive, do I hate that name. It's so undignified."

She straightens up and continues, "There is not much to understand. I am a far, far improved version of your friend. A powerful, grown-up version, as I was explaining earlier. I just acquired Hive thought patterns and ancestral knowledge, and got rid of nonsensical human attributes that do not befit a Queen of the Hive."

Humility, it seems, is one of those.

A shadow falls over the queen's face. "But my childish human self refuses to grow up. She clings to her idiotic poppycock, and does not embrace the change for the better."

Mercy Thompson has posed:
Both of Mercy's hands will raise upward slightly, a signal she's backing off slightly. "Alright, I hear you. No need to get ruffled feathers." States the coyote carefully, even as she keeps a close eye upon Insect Queen. She doesn't expect the other woman to attack, but let's face it assuming never helps anyone in any situation.

Typically.

"I guess my next question is how'd you acquire this new form?" A thoughtful look is given to the other woman, as Mercy asks her next question, "And how do you chose which version of yourself to be at any given time?" There's only the slightest of hesitancies when the coyote says 'version'.

And really, what she'd have liked to say was 'when will Violet return', but she doesn't. Again the whole don't want to be 'strung' by the larger woman.

Insect Queen (OMara) has posed:
Insect Queen turns to Mercy. Her face is dour, and a slight twitch reveals that Mercy has hit some exposed nerve.

The insectoid gives the mechanic a long, deep gaze.

"I do not wish to discuss this any further."

"Besides... that is a lot of questions for someone who hasn't yet explained how she seemed to know a lot about what was going on in the cafe, last time."

She turns to Mercy, and squints at her. Not in a /menacing/ way, but in a rather suspicious way.

"I would be interested in-"

The Insect Queen clenches at her chest, and falls to her knees. Her eyes fill with fury and terror, and she shivers. "Not... now!" she growls.

Looks like Mercy is going to have at least part of her question answered very soon...

Mercy Thompson has posed:
A crooked grin will lift a corner of Mercy's mouth upward when the Insect Queen returns her own questions back upon her. She'll offer a single-shouldered shrug, as she says, "I do. You answer first, then I'll g-"

That word falls short of being said completely when the other woman reacts as if in pain. Looking concerned Mercy will start to move towards the other woman. "Hey, you okay?" Those are automatically said, but she doesn't quite find the nerve to touch the other woman.

Instead, the coyote will hover a handspan away from the Insect Queen, her own eyes filled with worry.

Insect Queen (OMara) has posed:
Insect Queen screams, "I want to stay like this! I /hate/ being human!" She turns to Mercy. "You'll see me as a human soon enough! ASK ME! I'll confirm it!" she growls.

The rage flares in her eyes, still wide open, and, after a moment where she seems lost in some sort of thought, her body starts to twist and reform.

This time, the scream, usually suppressed, can be heard, loud, piercing, rising in tone from the deep, powerful one of Insect Queen to the fainter, more high-pitched one of Violet.

When the change is over, all that is left is the kneeling form of violet, shivering, gasping for air. The rage in the Insect Queen's eyes has been replaced with sheer terror.

Mercy Thompson has posed:
Those words screamed so loud literally cause the coyote's ears to ring. It's enough to cause a wince to wash across Mercy's features, though she doesn't jump back, or jerk away.

While she could offer comforting words, she doesn't, or rather she can't. She's not quite sure what to say - 'I'm sorry you have to change?'. That's not quite the truth on the coyote's part, as Mercy doesn't necessarily trust the Insect Queen's explanation of how the two women reside within one another.

That thought is left aside for now, as Violet's shivering form finally reforms, kneeling upon the ground. The terror within the young woman's eyes is seen, as well as within her scent. Quickly now, Mercy will drop to a crouch as she says softly, calmly, "Hey, you're okay. You're safe." She continues with, though she has yet to reach for the girl. With wolves you calm first, before you reach, otherwise a person might end up missing a hand.

Insect Queen (OMara) has posed:
Violet O'Mara gasps a few times more, until her breath rate is, if not perfectly normal, at least in the 'slightly agitated' ballpark rather than downright terrified. Violet finally straightens her back, and takes the part of her arms just above her elbows in her hands, in a form of self-hug. She looks up at Mercy. "...I- I'm sorry," is the first thing she says, before she even moves to get up.

Her eyes dart down, unable to hold eye contact with Mercy.

"Sorry for having been a jerk. And for attacking you at the cafe. I didn't mean to- well, technically, I /did/ mean to, at the time. But I don't mean to... have... done it now!"

"...have done? Having done?" She wonders, finally managing to look up at Mercy again, now that the discussion has shifted from her horrible acts of attempted murder and humiliation to the safer subject of tricky verbal tenses.

Mercy Thompson has posed:
"You're okay." Says Mercy again, as the young woman finally masters the majority of her breathing and some of her terror. That terror is soon replaced by ... Guilt. "Hey now -" Begins Mercy, even as she reaches out with one hand for a gentle touch upon the other woman's arms. If she'll accept it. "- No need to say sorry. And really, you didn't attack me at the cafe, that was the spell." Then with a tilt of her head, the coyote will continue with, "And if she-you weren't there to help we'd likely not have made it out alive. Those creatures were pretty hungry -"

"- Kind of like how we're going to be since we didn't get to actually eat." Mercy's trying to interject a little bit of levity within this situation, "Come on, let's get you up. I can get us some tea or coffee, or even a platter of cookies if you need it."

Insect Queen (OMara) has posed:
Violet O'Mara does not object to physical contact, and at Mercy' last, lighter sentence, she lets out a little, short nervous laugh, and swallows. "Y-yeah, I... I am kind of hungry, now that you mention it."

She then looks down, and her lips tense. "...y-yeah. I... I..."

"I think I've probably made the right choice in the heat of the moment." Oddly enough, this seems to, if not comfort her completely, at least make her feel much better. "I... You-"

She stops, takes a deep breath, and allows herself a second or two to clear her mind. She even shakes her head, even though it's unclear whether that helps or not.

"You have to pick the lesser of two evils, sometimes." She looks up at Mercy with a bitter grin. "Glad I picked wisely."

Mercy Thompson has posed:
Mercy considers Violet for a long moment, before the coyote offers a nod of her head, "You made the right choices. Without you -". She really wants to say 'you both', but she bites that second word off, "- it would have been bad."

Then Mercy is leading the younger woman through that connecting door behind the front desk. A trip through the garage will lead them through a third door, where Mercy actually lives.

As the two walk, that bitterness will be scented and the coyote will turn a shrewd eye upon her. "Sometimes you do, yes." Mercy states in a tone of voice that possibly hints that she too has struggled with that thought. "But, is it really evil? I didn't see anything that was." Remarks the dark-haired woman - under the assumption that Vio is talking about her other half here. "Let's get something to eat first - a little sugar will help both of us here."

And then, just like that, Mercy leads Violet into her apartment, hopefully she's not allergic to cats.