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It's nice to be able to sleep in after breaking numerous laws then taking a quick dive into the Atlantic in the middle of January. The smaller safehouse has warmed up quite nicely, almost becoming more of an incubator with all of the blankets and towels lying around the place. Strewn about within (and under) the mess of fabric lurk at least five people, though they aren't entirely alone.
From the kitchenette comes the scent of freshly brewed coffee.
From where Lynette had crashed for the night, something else is stirring. It almost feels like a cat had decided to climb up onto the warm nest of blankets, picking its way across the form sleeping within.
Except that cats don't tend to make dry scratching noises as they walk.
Also cats don't have six legs.
*
Lynette had become a sluggish thing after the cold has seeped down into her very soul. Warmer, now, she remains hunkered down in her blankets, and it looks as though only some of her curls proved she was there at all. She didn't join the conversation between Domino and Beatrice, she had been dead to the world for who knows how long.
The pressure on her form does cause the snake-eyed girl to glance toward its source. Her brows furrow, vision blurry, and then the 'bug' comes into view. "De hell are you…" She mutters behind muffling fabric before eyeing the door of the room, sniffing the coffee, and back again. "T'ink y'got a'bug probl'm."
*
The beetle in question parks right atop of Lynette and seems to peer down at the girl, its antennae alternatingly bobbing up and down as if mimicking a blind man with a cane. 'Hi!'
Then there's a distant sigh from the kitchenette, soon revealing an albino who is now completely decked out in layers with a baggy pair of grey sweats finishing the ensemble. There's a coffee cup in either hand and a small piece of a carrot wedged between two fingers. When she steps back into the main room she's giving the bug The Look. "Spaz…"
Domino takes a seat on a nearby table and sets two steaming cups aside to reach out for the beetle, setting it onto the floor nearby. "She's a desert native. Winter hasn't been agreeing with her so much. Bumping up the temperature in here must have brought her out of hiding."
The piece of carrot is lightly tossed aside, sending 'Spaz' on her way. Then her attention focuses on Lynette, reaching for one of the mugs. Then she holds the mug hostage. Coffee after questioning. "Tell me one thing. What in the Hell did you do to Beatrice back on the bridge?"
*
Lynette just stares at the bug, watching its feelers flick about and 'tap' her now and then. Making a soft 'mmm' sound, she watches after the bug once it skitters away. "I c'n 'mpathize wit 'r." The baby mambo explains before sitting up, shifting in her seat, and eyeing the coffee. Reaching out, just her hands, she grips the mug and cradles it securely, sucking in its warmth through her palms, as the rest of her remains wrapped up in a lumpy bundle.
At the question, she eyes Domino and doesn't answer at first. "Don' know. Was t'inkin'…I try s'm magic. Lil healin' ritual…honestly? Was suckin' out poison de best way 'know how. S'like…leeches, back in d'old days? Takin' de toxic blood out."
*
It's hard to say no to the sight of a chilled Lynette. Dom was going to keep the coffee away until her question had been answered but when Lyn reaches out for the mug it's offered over without a fight. If Lyn's feeling half as crummy as Neena is (and she looks at least twice as bad) then she can sympathize.
"That's also the practice for pulling venom out of the veins after getting a snake bite," she thinks aloud with a slow nod. "There's more to you than I'm aware of, Cajun. You did alright back there, but hearing you say words like 'magic' and 'ritual' just puts my guard right through the roof."
Off to the side comes the gentle sounds of mandibles working away on a piece of carrot.
"Now it sounds like you're part of Bea's clan. Movin' on up in the world," she says with a thin smirk. "There's worse places to be."
*
"Y'seen me lately?" The girl muses, finally pulling her head up from under the blankets enough to show a smirk. I jus'…well, jus' tryiin' t'help. Coulda been dumb, dough. Glad it worked, least a lil'bit." She doesn't drink the coffee, perhaps it's not to her liking. Even so, she clings to it for as long as it radiates heat.
"T'anks, dough. N'don' worry 'bout dat none. M'more magic den I t'ink mut'nt. But, m'both." She explains helplessly, giving a lethargic shrugging of her bumpy, bundled shoulders. "Clan? Don' know 'bout dat. She wit us, right? De Brothahood? We all de same clan, den."
*
It's easy enough to spot a non-coffee drinker. "Knew I shoulda gone with the hot chocolate bribe," Domino quitely remarks while reaching for the second mug of strong black stuff. Lynette's question is answered next, "Really haven't. Seems a lot has happened in the course of a month. And you..are still one big mystery," she declares while pointing at the bundled up Cajun from around her mug.
"Bea's with the Brotherhood," Dom confirms with another light nod. "But there's more family than Raven's clan. Bea's allied. You and I, we're more than just 'brothers in arms' with her. I guess in her case you could say we're part of the hive," she thinks with a subtle frown. "Preferred customers. VIP's." Similarly rolling her shoulders while looking ever so slightly lost, she adds "Royalty. I doubt that Raven connects with anyone else quite like that."
*
"Hmm?" The girl questions, looking down at her mug and chuckling. "Non', I like it. Jus'…wit lots 'f cream 'n sugah." Beaming, she still doesn't move from her fort-o-blankets. In truth, she looks like a floofy haired, poorly wrapped burrito. Listening, she nods to the much, much, paler of the pair, and lowers her slitted pupils toward her mug. "M'flattered den. I don' know 'bout dat, neitha. Raven, I mean. She…c'nnected. 'ven wit dat man, Charles Xavier. M'…dat's lil c'nfusin' t'me."
*
It's a funny and borderline adorable sight, too. The slitted pupils take away from the overall image slightly but normal things are for normal people.
Mention of cream and sugar prompts a sidelong motion of Neena's head toward the counter. Both can be had, though neither lady is all that inclined to get up and retrieve them. Not at first. It's only after Lynette mentions Charles that a proverbial fire is lit beneath Dom's keester. "Tell me more about Xavier," she inquires. "What all do you know about him?"
With the question in the air she relents, setting her mug on the table then going back to retrieve the sacred sweeteners.
*
"Y'know…I don' know much 'bout'm. S'nice 'nough, but…dey s'mt'ind dere. Holdin' 'm back?" Head up, she watches after Domino as she crosses into the kitchen. "B'fore I got snatched up by dat…Kravinoff fuck, I shared 's face wit 'r. But, when doin' so, I got a vision fr'm 'r. She was wit dat man, Xavier. Dey were yellin'. Arguin'. Den she left. Lat'r, I seen 'r goin' back t'dat place, leadin' a chil' t'de school."
*
Trying to keep up with everything Lyn is saying proves to be a challenge for a couple of reasons. Neena opts for silence while her brain processes the somewhat cryptic information while quietly returning with the desired brew amenities.
"From Raven, huh," she quietly repeats. "Can't say I'd ever want to take a look around in her head."
She reclaims her seat on the low table right as Spaz shuffles on over, causing a hand to absently reach down and toy with those endlessly bobbing antennae. Something about a school, as well… Possibly that one place she had been on the grounds of a time or three?
"'Kravinoff?' You've been having some interesting times there, Lyn. I'm a little behind on current events."
*
"Didn' do it 'cause I wanna." She promise Domino, and reaches out for that cream and sugar. Finally, her brew turns pale tan, and after blowing across its top, she sips and sighs. "S'good. T'anks." Glancing down at the bug, she, too, offers a hand out, a show of scales patterned on the top her hand now on display as it peeks out from under her layers of blankets.
"Use t'go t'dat school, too. S'hopeful. I give it dat, but…t'ings change, non?" Holding her mug as before, she sips again, idly, and eyes the pale woman across from her. "Wouldn' call'm int'restin', neitha, jus'…dey ova. M'movin' on."
*
"Fair point," Dom replies around the top edge of her mug then nods once to the thanks.
Spaz's attention soon shifts to the curious scaled hand, mandibles ever so gently 'picking' at one of Lyn's fingers.
"She doesn't bite. Not unless your fingers are orange, anyway," Neena idly teases. "When the peaceful solution fails, sure. I may have been around there before. In fact..I may have already spoken to this Xavier fella once before. In a fashion. Sometimes I wonder just how many of us mutants are in this godforsaken city."
That said she passes a lingering look at Lynette, thoughtful in that calculating sort of way. "From a school to the armpit of Mutant Town in the company of 'terrorists.' Whatever it was that ultimately got you here, you're in a good place."
*
Lynette allows the bug to feel about however it likes. She nods now and then, acknowledging, listening to Domino when she speaks. At the stare, she glances up, settling her own gaze toward the pale woman with a dot patch around her eye.
"I kill people, Domino. I kill'm 'fore dey kill me. I ran, f'years, n'dey still came 'n found me. Now, dey none left." Taking a breath, she sits up, even if she stiffens her jawline, she can't help a sniffle or fat tear resting on her lower lashes. "M'tired 'f runnin', n'hidin'. Playin' pr'tend b'hind dos pretty walls at dat school. Words ain't workin'. So, y'find what does."
*
When Domino's attention gets focused on something there's often very little which will push it away. Somehow Lynette manages to find one of those things. Right between Lyn explaining that she kills people and she had ran for years Dom's attention jumps away from the girl and out across the room just as swiftly as if someone had slapped her across the face. Where there had been no indication of emotion before, now there's a confused and complicated mess being stirred up behind those pale eyes.
"Yeah," she agrees in a voice which has gone considerably distant. "Gotta find out who you really are."
Still avoiding eye contact she stands up and steps away, quickly increasing the amount of distance between the two.
Spaz doesn't seem to care, pivoting around then almost tossing her chitinous body sideways against Lynette's hand.
*
The girl looks down at her coffee, giving another sniffle as a tear blinks away, some rolling down her cheeks, as the others drip off her nose and into her drink. Setting it aside, she inhales, deeply, and exhales the same way. Hand out, she caresses at the odd, little (big) bug, and allows it to rest and crawl wherever it likes.
Something was different. Something had changed in the girl from the first time they met in Jean's apartment to now. Something had broken. "M'tired." She then admits gently.
*
There could have been a moment for some actual compassion here. It probably would have been the right move to make. Certainly the most thoughtful option Domino could have taken. Instead she chose to walk away and, literally, turn away to keep Lynette off to one side. It's much easier to avoid eye contact when she can't see the other girl within her periphery.
Her mug is held low at her side, the other hand hooked around her middle to hang onto the opposite elbow. Guarded. Though her feet are more situated for balance, as though preparing to defend against a physical blow.
"Get some rest," the albino quietly replies in a tone which, while soft, seems more like it's making an order than a suggestion.
"You're safe here."
*
Lynette stands, making sure the bug is safely on solid ground before moving. "Non," she murmurs, before turning back toward the bedroom she had been using to rest in. "We ain't safe no where, chere. Not f'long, 'nyway."