|
 |
There was a note left in the secret tunnel only Domino, and Bea's (other) minions, knew about. Because the next time Dom drops by, the confluence of storm drains that was Beatrice's home and HQ is empty. Only a few Snickers wrappers and a squashed Coke can in the corner give any evidence of Bea's residence here.
The note lays it all out though. It reads:
Hey Lucky, sorry I missed you, but I wanted you to know where we're setting up shop. I'm still warming up to your 'brothers' so keep this one under your hat for now.
It's signed with an elaborate letter 'B', and an address is at the bottom. Across town, we find that address to be an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city. It must have been some kind of manufacturing facility, made obsolete by more automated machines, leaving this building to dream of busier days. The memory of men with hardhats and lunch pails haunts the high moldering rafters.
Inside, Bea's army has made quick work of the preparations. There's an area set up as a workshop with heavy tools and industrial supplies in neatly stacked crates. Another cleared-away section has a heavy bag and the accouterments of a 1960's athletic gym, neatly organized, but a definitely lacking in the lighter weights.
In the corner that must have once been space for the manager's office and his staff, is now Bea's apartment. Inside, the front really is still a little office workspace with maps of the city and various buildings unrolled and held open with randomly selected paperweights.
Further back is a door that opens on a proper bedroom, and another leading to an honest-to-god, flushing toilet bathroom. They don't have electricity, but they do have hot and cold running water. In fact, even in the early afternoon, in the November gloom, it's fairly dark in here and no one has bothered to light any candles. Nevertheless, dog-sized ants bustle about busily, while Herc and Ms. Green are sparring over in the athletic corner. Beatrice can be seen in the manager's office, through the window, pouring over the blueprints she has there.
*
Being able to consider herself a mutant is still proving to be a challenge at times for Domino. Seeing the note addressing her as 'Lucky' earns a roll of her eyes, regardless if no one is left within the tunnels to see it. Still, a sign of relocation is better than a sign of a struggle. The note is lightly tapped upon a few times by the barrel of a pistol, the albino making the motion appear thoughtful before she takes the note then turns around to leave the same way she had arrived from.
Setting foot inside of the repurposed warehouse brings a thin smirk to her face. This..right here, this is the sort of place the Brotherhood could have used. Perhaps they still could, for that matter. It also reminds her of the Pinestaff location she had 'set up' on her own over the last few weeks. The signs of development are everywhere. Their little family of misfits continues to grow.
The ants cause her to suppress a shudder. Even if they aren't bothering her any, insects are both creepy and fascinating. Having them super-sized to the point of feeling like you're standing in the herd of armored and mutated sheep is a little unnerving! What was just a 'bug' before has become something alien and terrible.
Yet still every bit as fascinating.
The manager's office offers a bit of breathing space away from the bustling hive. Dom lightly raps the back of a hand against the doorframe then goes to let herself in a second later. She's not real big on waiting for permission.
"You don't fuck around." That is to say, 'you've really done a lot in a little time, this place looks great!'
*
"No I do not," Beatrice says with a grin, lighting up when she sees who's at the door. Through the window the women can see that Herc and Ms. Green have stopped sparring to peer across the warehouse at Domino's arrival. Then Ms. Green takes advantage of his distraction and sucker punches Herc in the kidney (?). He drops into a sit with a heavy clattering thud on the concrete, but he's laughing as Green skitters back in a ready stance. Those crazy kids.
"I was worried you wouldn't find the note, but I should have known better," Bea says. "Welcome to the new digs," she says, turning in place to indicate all the details of the place. Even in here, in the office, she's wearing a warm clothes, a black shirt with a gray pea coat, and wooly green army pants, with a combat boots. It seems like there must be a furnace on somewhere, but it's still only about 60 degrees inside the office.
Smiling, Bea moves to give Domino a welcoming hug, but she's awkward for so many reasons, not the least of which is she hasn't really properly hugged anyone since she was eight. It's a boney experience, and she's tall, and then it goes on a second too long. She could use some practice at this.
*
Aah, the sucker punch. Domino's grinning at the display as well, looking back to Bea and motioning with her head toward where the other two are sparring. "She's on the right track."
The thought of her missing the note then leads to a dismissive wave of her hand. Then she opens up her biker jacket and lets it slide off of her arms, catching it behind her. Seems that she's alright with a slight chill in the air.
Then there's the one thing which can make an awkward hug even more awkward. Several things, in fact! Dom's not used to any real physical contact beyond what a closed fist can deliver, and Bea has wings. -Wings!- Not the soft pseudo-flexible feathery kind, either. They're more of a hard cellophane kind of wing, and they're -right friggin' there!- Add to this a lack of any sort of hug etiquette and it's just a bizarre situation all around.
"Nice choice of location," she quickly intervenes. Back to business! Business is good. She's starting to roll the jacket up in her arms, saying "Definite step up from the last spot" when something hard falls out of the mass of leather and clicks against the floor.
Something like a hardened blueberry.
A hardened blueberry with six legs.
"The hell?" she starts, pauses, then widens her eyes. "That was -in my coat?- While I was wearing it??" Blink. Glancing back to Bea, she asks "Is that one of yours?"
It looks..quite dead. Though someone a little more knowledgeable about bugs might suggest otherwise.
*
Bea clears her throat when The Awkwarding is over, and says, "Thanks, yeah, I like this a lot better. I never liked living underground before, so it's nice to make a move like this." She looks around, basically anywhere else when Domino's jacket is coming off, and she says, "Actually, I've always wanted to live at the top of a tall building. You know, but inside. I've only ever seen them from the roof."
She shrugs and smiles, and then she's cooing as if she's seen a puppy roll over for belly rubs. She squats down by the blue beetle and smiles at it. "Aww, hey little guy, what're you doing here?" she asks it, her tone rising a notch like she's talking to a baby.
She looks up at Domino and shakes her head, "Nope, not one of mine. I've only ever read about these in books." She coos down at it again again, nudging it with a finger, making it's legs twitch. Then she sets it upright and it turns slightly, peering about. "So," she asks it. "What's an adorable little Asbolus verrucosus like you doing in a place like this?" She glances up at Domino and muses, "They're usually in the desert, you know? Like Nevada. Places like that."
*
"It's kind of a drag," Domino admits as far as living underground goes. As if she has a lot of personal experience with the matter. It might seem like an odd thing, too. Though the matter is set aside as Bea starts nudging the beetle, and it -starts moving.-
"Oh good lord," she mutters with another shiver, this one not so well suppressed, rolls through her spine. "You actually know what that thing is?"
'Usually in the desert.'
Her face pales a little further. She swallows once, her mouth feeling more dry than a moment ago. "I was in Texas for a few days. Just got back into town early Friday." You know. During the time Kennedy was assassinated.
"That..Asbo Verro thing..must have hitched a ride home with me. In my jacket. Which I was wearing the last two days. A lot."
Why does her skin feel like it's crawling all of a sudden? With an irritated motion she quickly starts scratching along the length of her left arm, shirt sleeve and all.
"Are they harmful? Do they bite?" Voice dropping in volume, she says again "Fucking hell, it's really alive."
*
"Oh sure, I know a death beetle when I see one," Bea says, and then looks up for Dom's reaction. She gives it a beat and adds, "Death /feigning/ beetle. They fake it when they're scared. A lot of critters won't eat something that's been dead a while in the desert. No water left in it. Just a wasted effort." One finger tip strokes the blue shell.
As if she's making a formal introduction, she waves Domino over, inviting her to squat down as well. "Asbolus verrucosus, also known as the Blue Death Feigning Beetle, meet Domino. Domino, meet… Vera? Or whatever." She shrugs. "You should keep her. They don't bite or anything. They just need a little apple or carrot once in a while. Fruit with water and sugar in it, you know?"
With a gesture, the beetle grows about an inch longer and then Bea stops herself, looking over at Domino. "Sorry, I get excited about this stuff. Want a closer look? She's totally safe."
*
"A -death beetle?-" Domino nearly jumps right out of her skin. The -stare- that she pins Bea with! With arms tightly wrapped about herself, she declares "..That's not funny."
It is with a healthy dose of hesitation that she inches closer, then crouches down. "It actually plays dead," she flatly asks. "I managed to pick up a random beetle..that plays dead." The matter is given some more thought before she mutters "That's oddly appropriate." It's a simple dietary requirement to meet, though.
With the beetle expanded, bigger but not super-sized yet, she glances over to Bea again. "So I've noticed." With the offer of a closer look she bites the edge of a lip and stares at the beetle. Two fingers pair together and cautiously reach forward, giving the side of its shell a quick and not entirely gentle -tap.-
Sure enough… A feigning death beetle.
"And here I thought I was being a spaz," she again mutters while looking at a bug now lying on its side. "That's ..actually kinda funny. In a whimsical sort of sense. I—" she stops herself, placing a palm to the side of her face then slowly shaking her head. "I've imported a fainting beetle. I've got nothing. Really. I don't even know."
*
Bea gives a short, delighted laugh and then clamps down on it. She doesn't want to taunt Domino, but that was funny. Reaching out, she picks up the beetle to put it upright, but it's still pretending to be dead. "I've heard all kinds of things can startle them, but I was always curious whether the reaction was proportional to its size, you know? Like, if it was bigger, fewer things would scare it.
With a gentle touch, the beetle grows to about twice its original size, and the little front legs begin to feel about. Looking over at Domino again, Bea smiles, "You gonna keep her? It's too noisy here. And you did sorta kidnap her. All you need is a fish tank and some sand."
*
"-Kidnap?-" Domino once more blurts out. "I didn't -kidnap- anything, she's a hitch-hiker! A stowaway! A..a -bug.-" A bug which is somehow only becoming more doofy-looking the bigger that it gets. It's like the village idiot of beetles!
For a moment she stays crouching there, mouth hanging slightly open with a purely speechless expression. After a time, she says "A fish tank. So it isn't like a cat you'd just toss onto the couch and call it a day?" Then, "Just..how big can you make something like this..? I'm living in the same place as Cain and Fred, I don't want them either stepping on it or mistaking it for lunch."
(Jeezus, Dom.)
It's also kinda blue in color. That might annoy Raven. This is all the reason she needs to consider hanging onto the critter. Dom looks kind of helpless, hands held up then dropping onto her knees. "Yeah..sure..okay. I'll keep the big spazzy fainting beetle. Why not. We've already been roomies while crossing state lines about a dozen times."
*
"Yeah I know, bugs are gross," Bea says, suddenly a little touch of sad in her voice, but she puts a lid on that right quick too. No need to open that can of worms. She's just getting used to having a friend.
She covers with a genuine grin, and says, "How /big/? Lady, that is literally my thing. Have you ever seen a Lincoln Continental? That convertible is almost 20 feet long! We can beat that easy… C'mon let's go outside. We're gonna need more room." The beetle is already growing, almost the size of a cat, as it skitters after Bea heading for the door.
Someone's gonna need to put a lid on that lady. This is going to be one monster beetle.
*
"And so are mutants. And demons. And aliens," Domino counters with that level tone of hers. "This is new territory for me. The difference is that I'm not running and screaming. I also didn't leave the apartment today thinking that I was going to be adopting a new pet. Work with me, here."
Have you ever seen… Dom sure seems to spend a lot of time staring at Bea! Maybe because she's still trying to figure out which eye she should be focusing upon? "I have a pretty good idea of what they look like, yeah…" she replies with a touch of caution.
Then Bea's getting up and walking out. It takes the albino another half second to realize that she's serious, and this might get to be a really big problem. Fast. "I didn'thold up!" she quickly calls out, jacket in one hand as the other darts out for Bea's arm. "We don't need that big! Likethat," she lamely adds while pointing to the cat-sized bug now running away from them. "-There.- That's good. Should give her a fighting chance against Big, Dumb, and Hungry. Just..damn, girl. I'm not trying to demolish this half of Manhattan with a fainting beetle, okay? Time and a place, and I -don't- have a place big enough to handle a behemoth."
Although the idea of saddling one up to ride off into battle does seem kind of amusing.
*
Beatrice, an adult woman, a monster, and a terrorist, is also sometimes the kid with a cool toy who doesn't know if someone wants to be her friend for herself, or for the toy. She smiles sheepishly at Domino when she realizes she doesn't need to show off, and places a friendly, long-fingered hand over Domino's hand on her arm.
"I- sorry. That makes sense. Who's the spaz now?" Bea says, grinning, as she turns back and stops the beetle at about two feet long. "Is that too big? I can shrink her if you need."
*
"How about half of that size?" Domino asks. "Something that's still ..portable. Just in case I have to grab and go in a hurry. No beetle left behind," she thinks aloud with a thin smirk.
"Oh, but that reminds me. Speaking of size and all," she trails off while searching around through her bundled up jacket.
Is that a massive bullet in your pocket, or—
Yeah. It's a massive bullet.
Dom holds up a single round of ammunition, something that easily dwarfs anything that would be issued to infantry. "Fifty caliber. Browning Machine Gun. They first swapped out the thirties with these bitches in twenty-eight, called M2's. I happen to have a spare lying around. If you work things out with Raven, it's got your name on it."
*
Beatrice nods and the blue bomber shrinks to the desired size. Stooping down, Bea gives the carapace a little tap. The beetle shivers, but doesn't immediately play dead. Beatrice 'hmms' softly, but is then distracted by the enormous ammunition revealed.
With hungry eyes, Beatrice reaches out to take the round long-ways between thumb and forefinger, holding it up in front of her eyes.
"Oohh, it's so pretty, don't you think?" The dull brass and copper casing probably isn't that 'pretty' to most people, but Bea seems most enthralled.
"Do you have any experience with these kinds of weapons, Domino? I know you're versed with firearms," Beatrice asks, lowering the bullet, and keenly interested in Domino's answer.
*
Now here is a reaction that Domino can appreciate. "It's goddamn beautiful, is what it is. Useful for taking out light armor, aircraft, infantry if you want to make a royal mess, and just about anything else on this godforsaken planet. Add in that she delivers around five hundred rounds per minute and you've got a real party-starter. Or stopper."
When asked about personal experience she gently rolls her shoulders. "Sure. Not as much as the more portable toys, but I know the M2 well enough. I can zero one, keep it running, and shoot the socks off of someone at around two thousand meters. Helluva lady, that Browning."
Truthfully, she's a little distracted as she speaks. While Bea is admiring the bullet the albino is watching the beetle. Silent consideration is battled within her mind while she automatically recites the ordnance info, then she suddenly reaches down and grabs the slightly more conveniently oversized beetle from the floor with the same motion one might use if they were about to plunge their hands into a pot of boiling water.
Next thing she's staring face to face with a giant blue bug, its antenna bouncing up and down in a comical fashion.
"I'd question my loss of sanity but that would imply that I had some to begin with," she mutters to the bug.
*
Beatrice rolls the round between her fingers for a moment, enjoying the texture and the weight of it, before setting it down on her blueprints, pointy end up. Her black bug eyes might not say much, but the rest of her face is so expressive, her pure delight is unmistakeable.
When Domino picks up the beetle though, Bea's smile is ear-to-ear. "See? She likes you! She didn't even pass out this time." Bea walks over to stand next to Domino, peering down at the bug's face as well.
"This big… I'm not sure, but it'll probably need to eat at least once a day. In the desert they eat maybe… once a week. But an apple, or some carrots, once a day, should be enough." She reaches out to indicate a part of the beetle's face, much softer than the rest of the shell. "If this gets pale or discolored, she's not getting enough to eat."
With her finger near the beast's mouth, it begins reaching forward to see if the finger is food, and Bea lets it chomp on her finger a little bit. The flat mouth ridges don't seem very dangerous. She chuckles and withdraws it to go and root through the little icebox she has set up. "Here we go. End of season carrots aren't much to look at, but give her this," Bea says, handing Domino a crooked, wimpy-looking orange carrot.
*
If Domino had a hand free she might have dropped her forehead into it. The bug didn't pass out -this time.- "Lucky me," she says with a thin smirk, still directed at the beetle as one might speak to a puppy. "An apple a day, that's easy enough. Oh, god, please tell me it's possible to house-break something like this."
Suddenly the conversation has shifted from hard-mounted machine guns to the care and feeding of a giant insect. Normal truly has no place left in this world! It's an awkward shift for her, trying to figure out how to hold onto the bug with just one arm. Just like a beetle might hang onto a twig, 'Spaz' hangs onto her forearm. Not too heavy, not too unwieldy. Big enough to be awesome.
Then she's feeding it a carrot, as if it was nothing more than a rabbit. "This feels so incredibly weird, but dammitall if the novelty of it doesn't make it worth the price of admission."
For someone who frequently has difficulty diffrentiating reality from chemical-induced delusions this might seem like a poor choice of pet. Or..maybe it's just the sort of strange that she requires.
"If you eat holes in my clothes I'm turning your shell into a salad bowl," she promises in a goofier tone of voice.
*
Bea grins and can't suppress a chuckle. "Well, you're in luck with the house-breaking," she says. "Beetles, most bugs actually, don't pee. And the, uh, solids, are pretty much dehydrated. So, you know, piles of dirt are about the worst you can expect. Maybe every few days. Actually wouldn't be bad for planting. I'm sure you've been wanting to start a garden," Bea adds with a smirk.
Bea leans her butt back against her desk, watching her friend feed an enormous beetle. After a long moment, she finally says, "So… I have some big plans coming up. And I'm not sure how it'll all play out, but I could use someone…" Bea glances out the office window into the warehouse, where Herc currently has Green in a playful headlock. "A little more independently minded."
*
"Dirt, huh," Domino thinks aloud then lightly shrugs once more. "Could be worse." Dirt doesn't stink up the place, either! And it won't require running outside at two in the morning in the middle of January! Surprisingly, she's starting to warm up to the idea of being a bug owner.
When the subject changes again she turns some to better regard Bea, once more awkwardly shuffling the bug around until it's hanging off of half of a bicep and half of her sternum. "Ack..wait..! Um. ..Yeah," she sighs then lightly drums fingertips across the back of its hardened shell.
"Independent isn't a problem, and you're in luck. The Brotherhood's a nice safety net and all but I work best solo. You're looking at New York's newest mercenary." Who is looking awkward as hell and entirely out of place wrestling with the six-limbed armored blueberry in her arms. "And you already know about my weird-ass mutant thingus. So, what needs doing?"
*
Beatrice watches the beetle gymnastics, using Domino as a jungle gym, and smiles warmly. To her, these creatures /are/ like warm and fuzzy puppies. It's also not a problem for her to coo over them, whilst also planning mayhem and destruction.
"What I need is a ranger. A spotter. Someone who can keep an eye on things from afar, and update me on the changing circumstances. Herc and Green are great on the battlefield, but they aren't so adept at reading a situation, or even knowing what humans are likely to do, if you know what I mean? They also keep breaking walkie-talkies and that's just annoying." Bea chuckles and shakes her head, indicating a cardboard box in the corner full of broken electronics.
*
Once Spaz decides that Domino's head is an enticing place to crawl up to she announces "Alright, time out" and sets the bug back onto the floor. She-Beetle doesn't seem to mind and is soon enough exploring one of the walls, and the fact that she can hang onto the side of it despite the increase in her size.
With both hands free Dom lightly dusts herself off, not that it happens to be necessary. "That's it?" she asks, a little surprised while looking back up to the Bug Queen. "Hell, I could do that in my sleep. What can you tell me about the op? If the positioning's solid I could do more than spot, I could have cover-fire ready to roll."
It's equally surprising to discover that Bea kept all of the broken walkies in a box, which soon gathers Dom's interest as well. One is picked up at random, slowly turning it about by the end of the antenna. "Not your usual mission expense, these," she agrees with a smirk.
The broken device is dropped then she turns to lean against the wall with arms loosely folded in front of herself and a foot hooked back against the vertical surface. "Spotting range, environment profile, targets and hazards… I could bring anything from a thirty carbine to a fifty-five Boys. Small and quiet to 'sweet mother of God we're being bombed by the Germans' and anything in between. Or..y'know. Binoculars," she says with a dismissive motion. One which is quickly interrupted by a wall beetle trying to climb its way over her shoulder and down her torso.
*
Beatrice nods, and visibly backtracks a bit. "Well, yeah, I'm not good at organizing people as much. That's kind of what I meant. Sort of… an armed escort, spotter, oh! A sniper! Is that the word? I have an op over kind of by NYU." Beatrice moves things around on the desk so she can unroll some of the big maps there and reveals a map of Manhattan from Greenwich to the East Village with areas circled around the university.
"We'll be… making a pick up here," Bea says, pointing at one circled area with a long finger. It's labeled 'physics lab'.
"And then the follow up job a week later will be a high-rise gig. Are you comfortable on the outside of a building? I'll probably need to get you transport. The best spots aren't reachable from inside," Bea says.
"And I think you know I have some operating capital at this point. I have unlaundered cash, or hot diamonds, silver and gold. It's not much use to me either way since they don't really let me into cafes or bookstores," Bea says with a chuckle.
"So a fair price, in the currency you prefer. You'll be hip deep in the shit if everything goes according to plan. Neck deep if it goes to hell, but even on the outside, I think the plan is solid. I just can't tell you all of it." She shrugs apologetically.
*
When she finds the word 'sniper' on her own Domino dips her head in confirmation, though her head jumps right back up when the Bug Lady mentions it being by NYU. "No shit… Okay, so we're not looking at a low-profile op."
Then her eyes roll as she reaches out to 'catch' Spaz, now fully hanging off of the gal. "Time for a nap."
Spaz is relocated to the floor then she grabs one of the broken radios out of the box. Taking a few steps off to the side she casually tells Bea "Fire in the hole" then boldly throws the already busted device onto the floor with a *Crack!* Smaller pieces fly off of it in every direction, though it has served its purpose. Spaz is already overturned, spindly legs hanging in the air.
"I could get used to this," she remarks while tossing the larger chunk of radio back into the box. Then it's to the map she goes, nudging Spaz with the toe of a boot on the way to send the bug in a lazy spin upon the floor.
Making a pick up. At the physics lab. More equipment for this building? She doesn't ask yet, once more folding her arms as she follows Bea's outline of the job.
"Not a problem," she easily replies. It pays in cash, too! -Definitely- not a problem. In fact, the more crazy and outlandish the circumstances the better it'll be for her in the long haul. She's still new to the merc world which means she has to prove herself. People need a reason to look for her over some average Joe who operates at half of the cost.
"Guaranteed shit-immersion from a precarious vantage with largely undisclosed objectives," she simplifies then nods her head once. "Sign me up."
*
Bea chuckles at the method for 'nap time' but doesn't seem put out by the process. The spinning beetle gets a sad-smile, an 'aww', and then Bea spins him again, grinning like a devil.
"No, no this won't be low-profile. And in fact, as far as what you should bring? You'll want options I think. At some point I'll need you making big loud booms. When we're ready to leave. But up until then I'll probably need you to spotting with the binoculars, calling an exit, and maybe some quiet shots to keep people off our backs."
Beatrice indicates several terrain and height details she has made on the map while talking, tapping each with a hard, silvery fingernail. Then she turns around again to face Domino fully, and reaches into her cargo pants pocket to produce two Snickers bars. One is handed to Domino, and Bea peels open the other on for herself.
"As far as transport goes, how do you feel about wasps?" She pauses only briefly for a reaction, and forges ahead with a wry grin. "One can carry you and your equipment, no problem, but they work best in small groups of three or four, and they're good at following orders for some reason. They'll listen to you."
*
"Like a record player, that one," Dom says in regards to Spaz with a small grin.
Soon she's frowning in thought, bringing a hand up to catch her chin between thumb and finger. "If I'm going to be hanging on the side of a building then there's weight considerations. If you want long range pest control we're talking about a good-sized rifle. Having both at once will complicate matters, anything worth bringing the noise will have to sit back for your exit strategy. Give me a chance to relocate and all's golden."
Suddenly: Free chocolate. "I don't care what anyone else says, bribes make a difference," she say with a grin while reaching for the offered bar.
The next question lands (pun!) right when she's halfway taking a bite of Snickers, -staring- at Bea in a way which she's probably gotten rather accustomed to by now. "-Wathpth?-" she repeats with emphasis, working around a wad of chocolate and nougat. The remainder of her thoughts are set aside long enough to chew through the sugary wad. "You're going to give me -wasps-… To fly around with. Seriously?"
Well holy shit. How's this for a crazy and outlandish job! "Transportation and fighter escort, then," she thinks aloud. "Jeezus, Bea. I don't know if this is more 'killer' or 'bent.' To be clear, they are not going to sting me, drop me, bite off my head, or sacrifice me in the name of their hive..AND they're going to follow my command? Setting aside the matter of how they're going to understand a word I say to them..is this..oh who the fuck am I kidding, since when do I care about 'safe,'" she mutters to herself as her forehead drops down into her raised hand.
Her head rebounds, the raised hand turning and holding itself forward with palm open. "Screw it. Wasp Airlines. Let's be bent."
*
"Well, with a small unit at your command," Bea says, acknowledging Domino's need for options. "You should be able to arrange that however you like. Each lady is good for carrying up to… I don't know, maybe two hundred pounds? And I imagine you'll want a chance to train with them before the day."
Bea's shit-eating grin is unmistakeable. Sure, wasps are the best option here. Sure, they will provide the most number of options for Domino to do her thing. And of course, Bea knew the idea would catch Domino off guard. Because that's what friends are for.
Bea starts ticking off answers on her spiderleg-fingers, "One. Yes, enlarged wasps are fucking vicious warriors." Bea also doesn't cuss /that/ much, so the listener may take that for what it's worth. "To the point that I hardly ever use them. They don't understand 'sort of' or 'knock out' or 'go easy'. They are on or off. Yes or no. Do or die. Or, mostly, do AND die." Beatrice shrugs.
"Two. So far, my wasps have never stung, dropped or bitten anyone I forbade them from hurting. Three. For some reason they understand clearly spoken instructions in English. And I have no idea why that is," Bea says with a bemused grin.
"Shall we try a practice run?" Beatrice doesn't move from her lean against the desk, but she definitely gives the impression that she has wasps nearby and is one hundred percent serious.
*
"Two hundred pounds," Domino echoes. "That's ..more than enough." Though the matter of load capacity is also a bit lower on her list compared to some of her other points.
"Well of -course- they're vicious. They're wasps! I'm not -that- clueless about bugs. Just..make sure that my name is on the top of your 'preferred customer' list. I'm not looking forward to becoming their lunch."
Practice run..? "Practice. Here. Right now?" She hesitates, swallowing rather hard. "Sure..! Yeah. I'd just love to get hauled around by a giant fucking wasp today. That sounds like a -wonderful- idea."
She takes another large bite out of the Snickers then sets it on the desk. One more carrot is pulled out of storage and neatly balanced on top of Spaz's overturned belly.
"I'm gonna need some aviator goggles for this run."