Lulu the Lugubrious Voodoo Doll, now with free ball of cheeping dryer lint

[myironeyes]

[Open spam in the greenhouse.]

[It's a peculiar sight, even moreso than Marsh on his own. The man with spikes for eyes is carrying a very small, ugly, excitable cockatiel chick, carefully transferring her from one flowerbed to the next, letting her waddle intrepidly through the greenery, meticulously watching over her and snatching her gently away from any drop-offs or sinister-looking creeper vines while frowning in terse disapproval.]

[Private to Zane]

I'd like to teach you the fast way to kill an Inquisitor.

[It's neither an instruction nor a question; it's a preference. He knows Zane is struggling with his own relationship with violence right now. Zane could refuse, if he wants to.]

Just in case.


[Private to Barbara]

What is your opinion on mercy killing?


[Private to Erik]

How are you getting along with Kelsier?


[Private separately to Ned and Lua]

If you had to trust someone on this ship to kill you, who would it be?


[Private to Ryan Hardy]

I am your warden. I am still not a metaphor for anything.

We should meet.

Comments

[myironeyes]

I concede nothing.

[ 8| ]

[patheticvillain]

She looks so happy.

[He's visibly tickled by this, and actually looks his age for a minute; he squats until he's at eye level with her, toddling across the flower bed. He wrinkles his nose.]

You pick a name yet, or what?

[myironeyes]

[It actually makes Marsh smile too, just a tiny bit, because after his kneejerk how can you tell, okay, yes, she totally does.]

I think it's mostly just the flowers.

And no, not yet.

[patheticvillain]

[It's in the middle of reaching out to offer her his hand in case she'd like to bonk her head against it (or, alternately, ignore it) that Cassel happens to glance up and see that smile. He's shocked for a second, then grins back, fiercely pleased; he did a good thing, he helped Marsh smile.]

You could name her after one of them. Since she likes them, and you don't have them where you're from, do you?

[myironeyes]

[Marsh is still watching the bird, and doesn't notice.]

I might. There are so many to learn.

[patheticvillain]

I don't know all the flowers.

[But he does know most of them. As a closet romantic, one does what one must.]

There's roses and tulips and poppies, veronica, sage, aster . . . She doesn't look like a rose, though.

[myironeyes]

What...colors are they?

[Softly.]

What color is she?

[patheticvillain]

[No colors.]

[He doesn't show an iota of concern, just keeps watching her trundle along.]

She's white right now. The book said she's going to be mostly gray with some white later.

. . . Asters are white.

[myironeyes]

Aster sounds nice.

[patheticvillain]

It's a good name.

[He folds his arms on the corner of the flowerbed and rests his chin on them, watching her toddle around.]

When she gets bigger she'll probably hang out on your shoulder a lot. You'll be like a pirate.

[myironeyes]

Is that a common feature of pirates?

[So dubious, why would you even, that's weird.]

[patheticvillain]

Supposedly? I was only a pirate for a couple days, back during that breach. Mostly I just looked for mermaids.

[Do not ask further questions it was a weird time for all of us.]

[myironeyes]

What is a mermaid?

[patheticvillain]

It's like a person with a fish tail.

. . . They don't exist where I'm from. They did there.

[myironeyes]

That sounds...counterproductive.

[patheticvillain]

It's pretty weird. But when I was a pirate I really to catch one, so go figure.