848/Doom and Cookies

Doom and Cookies
Date of Scene:	08 June 2017
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Mercy Thompson, Insect Queen (OMara)

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Mercy Thompson has posed:
It's mid-afternoon here at Mercy's Garage and Mercy and Violet have just returned from a rather complicated lunch. It was one part business and two parts 'dear gawd, what is going on around here'.

Magical critters attacking everything and everyone.

The two women are just stepping through that third door, within the garage port, that leads directly into Mercy's living room. The living room itself is quite normal with couch, chair, coffee table, nicknacks and one tail-less cat. The calico manx cat is settled upon the over-stuffed chair, a small brindled ball of fluff. At the noise of people arriving Medea the cat will raise her head upwards, her golden eyes focused upon the door.

"Have a seat." Is heard from Mercy, as the mechanic leads Violet inside the living area. "What do you like to drink? I've coffee, tea, soda -" Water too, of course, but that doesn't really need to be said. "- And if you're really hungry I can put together some sandwiches and cookies?" They did miss lunch, after all, "It'll just take five minutes."

From the living room Violet can see a doorway that leads into Mercy's small kitchen, while on the opposite of the room a hallway can be seen, where several doors sit closed. Likely bathroom and bedrooms.

Insect Queen (OMara) has posed:
A still shaken Violet follows Mercy into the living room. She rubs her elbow and looks around, but her tesnsion is released when she sees the manx.

"Kitty!" she exclaims with a newfound smile, extends her arms towards the feline and runs towards her.

She freezes in her tracks at a short distance, and looks over her shoulder at Mercy, not saying a word, but displaying the interantionally standardized facial expression for 'Requesting permission to snuggle,' with a slow progression through the 'Please?' and 'Pretty please' stages, to end on a pretty solid 'Pretty please with sugar on top?'

Without her expression changing (important messages /have/ to be delivered), she replies to the questions addressed to her.

"Whatever you're drinking, I'll have as well. Cookies would be great." Her stomach growls. "...and a sandwich would be perfect." is what she says, and, hopefully, conext should be enough to establish that the "Requesting permission to snuggle with sugar on top" part of the message delivered from her expression is actually referred to the cat.

I mean, snuggling a sugar-covered sandwich? Seriously?

Mercy Thompson has posed:
The exclamation of 'kitty' earns a quick warning from Mercy, "Careful! She can be a bit aggressive."

Translation; she bites and claws. A lot.

And while that permission is given by Mercy, that doesn't quite mean Medea gives Violet permission to pet her. In fact, when the woman gets close enough to the manx cat, Medea will offer a baleful little look. Her ears flick backward as well, signaling her displeasure at having someone run towards her.

"Let me grab some snacks." That's for Violet, then for Medea, "Be good." Is all Mercy will say to the cat, before she steps into her kitchen. It will take several minutes for the dark-haired woman to prepare a tray, but eventually Mercy will return with a tray holding cookies, a few sandwiches, as well as two cups filled with coffee. Sugar, milk, cream and napkins also sit upon the tray. When Mercy returns to the living area her gaze will immediately turn towards Medea and Violet; to see how the two are getting along. Hopefully no bloodshed.

Insect Queen (OMara) has posed:
Violet O'Mara lies disemboweled in a puddle of-

No, actually, she doesn't. She has turned towards Medea as soon as permission was granrted, and frozen in place at the baleful look. She stood perfectly still and whispering 'Nice kitty... nice kitty...' approaching at any sign of the cat relenting, and standing still at every expression of the contrary.

Violet's goal was to sit down next to the cat and pet her. Shootign for cat lying on lap, if possible at all, but that was already known to be a hard goal to achieve.

Where Violet stands, or sits, right now, of course, depends on how much approval Medea has given her in the meantime.

Mercy Thompson has posed:
Slight approval.

She'll allow the woman to sit next to her, but there's no snuggling. There isn't even one pet yet. Just the look of a distrustful cat.

Almost there's a look of relief upon Mercy's features when she sees everyone is whole and healthy. The tray will be set upon the coffee table, in easy reach of where Violet sits and her own seat, which is now on the couch. A grin will be given to Violet, as the coyote says, "Well, you're making headway. Usually it takes hours to get that close to her." For strangers she means. "You take first. I hope you like chocolate chip cookies? It's all I had on hand. I've been terrible with baking lately."

Insect Queen (OMara) has posed:
Violet O'Mara's eyes light up while she bites her lower lip. "I /love/ chocolate! That's my favourite food! Perfect for washing the aftertaste of returning in human form!"

She takes one cookie, and starts chomping on it. Pure bliss.

After the appropriate amount of crunching and swallowing, still mostly eyeing the cat, she glances towards Mercy. "I've always wanted pets."

She lifts her hand from her knee, as if for attempting to pet Medea once more, but thinks better of it and retracts her hand. "No room for them, for now, but who knows, maybe in the future..."

"Your turn now, I suppose?"

Mercy Thompson has posed:
"If you ever get a chance to get a pet, do it." Mercy says with a grin, even for all the trouble Medea causes her at times. Let's not even talk about vet visits. Those are terrible times. Terrible.

Mercy will take a cup of coffee, laced with sugar and milk, as she considers the other woman.

As for Medea, it's good Violet retracted that hand. Claws might have met it.

As for her turn, Mercy will consider the other woman for a moment. "I suppose you could call me a shifter. I can turn myself into a coyote. A skinwalker, if you've ever heard that term before. Unlike real werewolves -" Because yes, those are real, "- I don't have a half form. Just me or the coyote."

And this is where she'll pause as she waits to see if Violet has any questions.

Medea will settle into a catloaf, one ear turned towards Mercy's voice and the other turned towards Violet. That ear-twitch holds quite the disdain.

Insect Queen (OMara) has posed:
Violet O'Mara freezes. Looks up at Mercy. "You... what? You..."

She blinks. And shakes her head slightly, in disbelief. "I'm sorry? You... /what/?"

She stares. She squints intensely, mouth agape, frozen in a loop of attempting to say something and failing to. Her expression makes it obvious that her brain is straining in the attempt of processing that information, but failing.

"...I know I'm the last person who should say this, but..." After a little hesitation, she concludes, "...I'm having trouble to believe it. You? A real... skinwalker? They... They're real?"

Mercy Thompson has posed:
Mercy's expression crinkles with amusement at Violet's reaction. She isn't the first to stare disbelieving at Mercy. Laughing lightly, the coyote will nod, "Yes, we're real. Well, the few that exist." And really, Mercy only knows of herself, the others she's heard about are gone and dust now. Or, so she thinks. "And really, Violet, you turn into Queen Bee and you're shocked I can turn into a coyote? That's funny." Lightly teases Mercy, even as she leans over to finally take a cookie.

"Unlike your powers -" There's hesitancy there from Mercy, as she considers how really to describe Violet's own shifting, "- mine are magic based, versus mutant or technological based. It's why I was able to sense the craziness right before it happened. Someone released a spell and I felt it."

And then, dryly, she adds, "By the way, werewolves are real too."

Insect Queen (OMara) has posed:
Violet O'Mara raises both eyebrow at the mention that werecoyotes are real. "Oh. Well, uh, I... I suppose that's one more thing to be worried about?" She doesn't sound like she's being sarcastic. She's actually concerned at that. At least a little.

She frowns slightly, with her mouth open, while looking for how to start the next sentence, but then she goes, "...I mean, skinwalkers are a legend that dates back /centuries/! I... well..."

She reaches into her sweater, and pulls out her previously hidden scarab pendant. "This does it. All I know when I'm human is that it turns me into a different species. Brain and all."

She lets the cord holding to the (still worn) iredescent pendant form an angle around her finger, and dangle from there, swinging ever so slightly, and after observing it for a few seconds, "I don't know if it's technological, magical, or-"

She looks up. "Wait, you can sense magic? Can you tell me if this one is magic?" She asks, clasping the cord and standing up abruptly, facing Mercy.

Mercy Thompson has posed:
"Centuries, sure." Agrees Mercy, as she watches Violet struggle with the new ideas that've been introduced to her. There's a slight cant to the coyote's head now, as she considers if this is how Loki felt when he helpfully introduced her to the world of gods and goddesses. A thought to consider at a later time, for certain.

While Medea's attention is still on the two, it's mostly with her sense of hearing, as the cat's eyes close now. Human chatter doesn't interest her, not unless it involves 'good kitty' or 'treats'.

When the scarab pendant is revealed, Mercy will turn her gaze from Violet to the necklace. Brown eyes will narrow as Mercy stretches her senses outward, searching for any hint of magic. It's only a handful of seconds really as Mercy's gaze stays fastened upon the pendant, but then she'll shake her head. "No. Not that I can sense. That doesn't mean it isn't -" Begins the woman, as her gaze returns to Violet's face, "- some spells are so well-hidden I can't sense them, but my gut is telling me no. It's not magical."

"How did you find that pendant anyway?" Is the last question the coyote asks, as she considers the other woman.

Insect Queen (OMara) has posed:
"I was thrown at it."

"Museum gig. Was helping with this event, you know, robbers came and- well, confusion ensued, I was thrown at an Egyptian exibit, I shattered the case, it felt like being stabbed in the chest, and... and..."

She frowns.

"Things get fuzzy from there. First transformation. It's like a feverish nightmare. Lots of flashes that make no sense and make you shiver when you try to remember them."

"...long story short, I suddenly am human again, with a splitting headache, a lingering sense of dread, and three human-sized coccoons squishing my prone self."

She looks down at the iridescent scarab again. Dangle, dangle.

"I tried returning the amulet, but they wouldn't take it. They say it can't possibly be the original exhibit. That one was thousands of years old, drab, colorless, cracked. This one is, like, a disco harlequin playing palette frisbee on LSD during the Hindu Holi."

Mercy Thompson has posed:
"Cocoons? She can spin cocoons?" Says Mercy, her gaze turning towards surprise. "I know she can form weapons -" She saw that at the cafe, "- but cocoons?" That thought is seeming to cause Mercy's brain to short out a bit. "Sometimes I feel like I've seen it all and then something new appears -" The coyote says, her voice holding a note of very dry amusement to it.

Still, Mercy's gaze will now go between the pendant and Violet's face, as the other woman explains how she ended up with the pendant. "Hm." Says the coyote thoughtfully, as she considers that pendant again. "What happens if you don't use it?" She'll ask, as she turns her attention back to Violet's face. "It doesn't make you use it, correct? You choose to use it when you need to?"

"Or nothing bad happens if you don't use it, is probably a better way to ask that. Perhaps I can contact a friend for you to see if they can do a scan to see what's inside the pendant."

Insect Queen (OMara) has posed:
Violet O'Mara looks down. "Well, /I/ can. Technically. As said, the Insect Queen... is not a different person. It's still me, as a different species. I retain my memories across the experience."

She thinks for a moment. "Well, not /all/ of them. When I'm an insect, I have two brains. I lose some memories when I switch back to human. Mostly all the knowledge about my other species. That part I can't hold onto when I'm human. At most, I can remember /remembering/ that stuff, if it makes sense. Like, I remember our speech from a few minutes ago. Can't remember more than that, even though I /did/ know far more than that at the time."

"But I understand the confusion. I think it's probably /easier/, even if not accurate, to refer to insect-me as a different person."

Violet continues to reply to the question, "Well, no, I'm not forced or anything. if I don't use it, I stay human, that's pretty much it. I don't explode, or get eaten by bugs, or anything. But..."

She hesitates for a few seconds, looks down and away, then continues, "...as a human, I'm pretty much useless in a crisis. While as the Insect Queen..." She looks up at Mercy, and her pupils widen.

She looks down and away, again, and sighs. "Other-me got the gist right. If it didn't mess with my head so much, I'd spend my whole time like that."

She looks up and grins, but bitterly. "I think it's no secret that I turn into a bit of an ego-filled nutcase. That's exactly how I keep myself in check. I control when to change into the Insect Queen, but she /has/ to change back after some time. If I step too much out of line when I'm non-human, I know I'm never changing again."