ArchivedLogs:Skin Deep

Skin Deep
Thea and Rasputin have a lovely chat and nothing disgusting happens at all.
Dramatis Personae Thea, Rasputin
In Absentia	YYYY-MM-DD The previous statement is a lie.
Location <BOM> Compound Grounds - Ascension Island
<BOM> Compound Grounds - Ascension Island In some places reaching the main grounds of this island takes a precarious scramble up from the rocky-craggy short, in some places just a short hike away from the beach. Once an old homestead, most of the 28 acres of property are taken up with forest, a dark thick sprawl of greenery through which a small stream winds crookedly. Under its shady canopy, myriad buildings are tucked away, an eclectic mix of sheds and tiny sturdy log cabins that give the area a rustic feel. Centrally, a wide clearing has been cut out of the trees. A large sweep of lawn has had a metal swingset -- two swings to either side of a small trapeze bar -- set up to one side. The lawn leads up to a cabin bigger than the others, a squat one-story building. Long and low, its wide front porch and cheerfully-painted yellow and pink shutters lend the building a welcoming air. Thea has not been out of her cabin in two days, since her regular moulting process began. Her chitin is pink and sickly looking wherever visible, her hair is unwashed, and looks slightly damp, her antennae droop limply, and her skin is even paler than usual. The midday thunderstorm surely put her in an even worse mood, as the lightning always seems to mess with her. But the storm has passed as suddenly as it cropped up. The skies are clearing quickly, leaving just muddy paths between the cabins, and dripping eaves everywhere. Thea has finally emerged from her sanctum to sit in one of the chairs on her covered porch. Her pet pill bug, Sonic, is rolled up in the corner of the porch railings, probably asleep. Her constant companion, Hercules, the man-shaped beetle, stands by nervously. He's on the other side of the porch railing, standing in the mud, which squelches under his feet every time he shifts his weight. Thea sits back with a mug of tea clasped between both hands as if she's trying to warm up, even though the air is warming quickly with the passing of the storm. The paper tag dangles over the side and steam rises from the mug. Her flat, black eyes stare dully across the compound. Rain usually never agrees with Rasputin, but he has things to do today. Mainly roll around. The fluffy white cat crawls out of the cat door attached to hircabin, and nimbly leaps onto the porch rail, and then up to a nearby tree. As Rasputin does hir cat parkour over to a tree near Thea's porch, he stops, looking over at her moulting, before meowing. He quickly changes it near the end into a regular voice. "Hey, you're that bug lady, aren't you? I've been meaning to meet you! My name is Rasputin!". He purrs happily, swishing his tail through the damp leaves. "Don't be alarmed, I'm just a cat.". Thea twitches at the sudden meow, and then scowls briefly. She glances up in the cat's direction, but the well lit sky behind the trees seems to hurt her eyes, so she turns her eyes back down to her tea. Hercules jumps as well, focused as he was on Thea. He turns and briefly adopts a fighting pose until he sees. Thea waves a hand at the enormous creature. "Oh /relax/, will you?" she scolds. "Go find us some more rotted stumps or something. We still need more termites." Hercules looks back at the cat, then to Thea before nodding briefly. He seems a little hurt to be dismissed in this way. "Yes, Lady," he says in his basso profundo voice, before trundling off towards the woods. Thea speaks up without looking in Rasputin's direction. "Rasputin, huh? Yeah, Regan told me about you. I'm Thea." After confirmation that Thea /is/ the bug lady, Raasputin's eyes widen. Ze does not leap off the branch, instead, ze curls up on it as much as possible without falling off. "Is it..is it true you have some sort of plan for a mutant mecca? I'd just like to let you know that if you need any help with that, any at all, I'm here! I mean, I may be a cat..but I can also be a bird. Or a horse. Or uh, anything I can get my hands off, really. Animal possession and all that.". Rasputin rambles on, tail swishing back and forth. "Actually, I'm pretty reliable for all my brothers. Oh, and sisters, I guess, though it IS the Brotherhood. Kind of sexist, if you ask me.". Thea rolls her eyes at the Cheshire in the tree. "Yes," she says curtly. "Yeah, I think we /deserve/ our own space, after all the shit we've had to put up with." Thea sips from her tea and keeps her eyes pointed down. Thea idly scratches at her exposed forearm, and grimaces when she comes away with a saucer sized, translucent piece of chitin, leaving a shining, slimy patch of skin in its place. Her ear and antennae twitch involuntarily as she suppresses more noises from deep within. She flicks the flake of chitin off the porch and into the mud where is lays, glistening in the sun. She grits her teeth and says, "Yeah, actually, I can see where that would be helpful. Lots of people don't look twice at normal animals. My pets... tend to get noticed when they're in the open." Rasputin turns hir head away at the sight of chitin, making human gagging noises. "It's not all that fun for mutant cats, either. I'm still waiting for the day Animal Control nabs me." Ze sighs, flicking hir tail faster as Thea mentions the plus side of hir powers. "Well, it's not really that great when you don't have a choice. I don't have a body, anymore. It's..six feet under.". Rasputin leaps onto the ground, as if making a point. "Though, atleast I get much more civil freedoms. No longer have to be told how to dress or anything. That's a plus side..right?". Thea's eye twitches briefly, looking down at the exposed part of her arm. The mug in her hand shimmies briefly and she sets it down quickly, slopping some tea over the side, onto the metal side table she keeps by the chairs. She nods at Rasputin, and says, "Yeah, I can see how that would suck-" She cuts herself off, wincing a little bit, from nothing visible, but it sort of looks like something hurt her back. She sighs, and glances at the door into her cabin. "Hey, sorry, but I should really get back inside." At the word 'inside', Sonic unrolls suddenly and scurries for the door, waiting eagerly. Apparently he doesn't like it out here either. "Gotta... take care of something. Um, I'll see you, Rasputin." She gets gingerly to her feet. As hir kitty head nods up and down, Rasputin leaps off of the tree as Thea leaves. "See you.". Ze then heads off into the woods, before hijacking a bird and flying off. The fluffy cat now suddenly begins twitching, as it turns around and is confused on where it was. It proceeds to trot off into the woods, as Rasputin-bird flies towards the island.