Labor Day BBQ Loglets, Pt. 2
Sep. 4th, 2023 09:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
xp_darcy posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
xp_logsIt's a great day to eat food and enjoy one of the last outdoor swims of the summer. Or eat from the various grills and tables. Maybe have try to scam the new guy out of a snack.
"This is a summer party at the side of a pool and no one is going swimming?" Rictor lamented, setting aside his now-empty plate. "You know it's a myth that you have to wait 30 minutes after eating before you can go in. ¡Ven!" He pulled off his shirt and set it on one of the loungers, then started on the drawstring knot of his cotton shorts. "Well?"
Match simply stared at Rictor for a moment, his own plate once again empty, though he'd been looking longingly towards the grill before the other boy had spoken. "Uhhhh, pass." He finally mumbled, before motioning at the glowing flesh at his neckline and above. "Pretty sure I'd make it boil or evaporate or both, and that's not fun for anyone."
"Or maybe just warm it up so everyone thinks someone peed," Liam suggested, his own plate still half full. "I'll swim after I've eaten," he agreed.
Shatterstar was staring at the black speedo that Rictor has under his shorts, plate forgotten in his hands. He was grateful that he was wearing a rash guard, sure he was blushing to his chest. Maybe he would be able to pass it off as a sunburn. "Uh. Yeah. Sure." He said eloquently. "What Liam said."
"You all live in a mansion and the only thing you can think of is eating more sausages." Rictor shrugged and sauntered backwards in the direction of the pool. "Join me when you want to have fun!"
Match turned to Liam, still trying to follow the mental gymnastics the boy had just done. "Dude, why did your brain immediately go to someone pissing in the pool? How often are you pissing in the pool?" Don't go in there, Rictor.
"I'm not!" Liam protested, tail swishing and ears flattening in displeasure, "But you've swum through warm spots! What else is it?" In his experience with community pools, there weren't a lot of causes.
Shatterstar put down his empty plate at the edge of the pool where he had been sitting and slid into the pool, standing at waist level on the slope. (He wasn't much of a swimmer.) "This is much warmer than city pools," he said as he tied his hair into a bun. "Maybe someone did pee in it." More likely, it was actually heated.
Rictor has swum halfway across the pool by the time someone deigned to join him, so he flipped direction and swam back. Shatterstar's suit was an unusual fashion with which he was unfamiliar, all covered up as it was.
"You two just get in!" he insisted. "We can play, uh, chicken? Match and me versus Shatterstar and Liam."
Match groaned loudly, dramatically, as he kicked off his kicks and shrugged off his jacket to set on the seat. Exhaling slowly, he did his best to lower his temperature output as much as he could. "Fine, but if this kid pees in the pool, I'm out."
"Screw you," Liam retorted, still on the side, though his plate was nearly empty now. "I'll get in in a minute. Or better yet..." He trailed off, staring at Shatterstar before he got up and launched himself onto his roommate's shoulders, perching there like a deranged gargoyle. But he wasn't wet!
Thankfully for Liam, Shatterstar was able to shift his balance, grabbing his roommate by the legs to steady him. He didn't fall at all. "Could have cracked your head open," Shatterstar scolded the younger boy but was smiling wide. "We're so going to win," he added quietly, hoping only Liam's feline ears would pick it up.
Rictor ducked down under water so Match could climb onto his shoulders. Even though the other boy was taller by an inch or two, he was surprisingly light, and Rictor hoped he could maintain his balance. Hands firmly clasping Match's thighs to hold him in place, Rictor grinned wickedly. "On three, pendejos. ¡Uno, dos, tres!"
"I want that."
It was definitely a voice, and that voice was definitely coming from directly behind him.
Sam turned around and tried to not let the surprise show on his face when he noticed the purple humanoid cat. A quick glance around showed that she was the only person who could have spoken to him. “Uh…… can you eat it? I mean - the ingredients aren’t gonna hurt ya right? I don’t wanna make ya sick.”
No denial. No negotiation. In fact, one might consider asking after her dietary limitations to be the opposite of a denial. Sharon had no idea who this man was, but she liked him already.
"All meat is safe for me," the cat declared, fixing Sam with her largest, most earnest gaze. "You are new? Food is my tribute. This is known."
“Uh yeah I ain’t been here before. But uh- I’m not concerned about the bacon, but more the vinegar and onions and lettuce part of it. So long as you’re sure it’s safe you’re welcome to some- I brought it to share.” Sam offered a small awkward smile. “I’m Sam, nice to meet you.”
"I am Sharon. Charmed." She gave her tail the sort of deceptively winsome flick she used while calculating maximum potential for exploitation. She had a feline's sense of people, and she could detect a personality that was naturally kind and considerate. Around Sharon this was a fatal weakness.
"Appreciate your concern for my health," she continued, eyes still on his plate. "This is proper. Correct, certain vegetables do not agree. Recovering from various vitamin deficiencies also. Very fragile. Perhaps you could--"
A roll bounced off her head. "Are you scamming him for food?" Liam called, stalking over, ears and tail still wet from the pool, but his hair mostly dry and holding two cookies. "Go get your own and let him eat! He's a guest."
Sharon turned to hiss. All four of her feet had briefly left the ground when she'd been hit by what turned out to be a weaponized pastry. She felt she had a certain image to uphold in the presence of newcomers, and levitating three feet in the air with your tail bristling like a pipe cleaner was the sort of thing a reputation didn't come back from.
"You have disrupted my experiment," she complained as she grabbed the roll and chucked it back. "Was this close to convincing him to prepare Special Bacon."
"....well.....I don't have more bacon to fry but I can help you find things at the table you can eat?" Sam offered, and then turned to the other young cat person. "She was fine- I brought a dish to share, she wasn't tryin' ta steal off my plate."
Shoving a cookie in his mouth, he caught the roll. "He's. A. Guest," Liam repeated slowly once he'd swallowed the cookie, like Sharon hadn't understood him perfectly. "She's perfectly capable of going to get her own plate and her own food. Even if it does taste better when stolen."
Sharon gave Liam an offended lash of her tail. "Kitten has betrayed me. But traitors always pay the price." Body low to the ground, Sharon slunk off. Her voice floated after her:
"When they least expect it."
Liam's tail practically vibrated with excitement. "I look forward to it!" he yelled after her. "Oh, I'm Liam. That's Sharon. If she didn't already say that."
"Sam, nice to meet you." Sam said, fighting back a laugh and then awkwardly trying to scootch things over on the communal food table to make room for the bowl he brought. "Good luck with your revenge fight- pro-tip from an oldest sibling with a whole mess of little sisters? Take something small that she uses everyday and hide it."
As an only child, Liam took that advice very seriously. Now to figure out what to take...."Good to know. I'm an only child." He waved, heading off and shoving the second cookie in his mouth.
"I'm good, Terry, really," Shatterstar said, trying to dodge her as he passed the tables of food.
"Here, it's just a small thin'!" Terry said, leaving her post at the serving tables to follow Shatterstar. "A snack, really. Saveable, even! Y'can eat it later, if you're hungry. It's edamame, I promise, nothin' horribly unhealthy."
"It's grilled," Shatterstar said accusingly, holding his plate above his head- and much above Terry's. "I already ate. If I'm hungry later, I'll eat later."
Mouth dropping open indignantly, Terry said, "It is not grilled!" She didn't bother humming herself up to the height needed to put the edamame on the boy's plate. "And have y'reapplied your sunscreen?" She pulled the SPF 50 she'd used for herself out of a pocket on her coverup.
"Yes I have," he assured her honestly. Shatterstar did not mess around when it came to sun safety. That was something the two redheads could agree on. Sunburns were the worst.
"Y'got behind your ears? And the tops of 'em?"
"...Give me that."
Being tall was fun. It was her go-to power move. Sharon enjoyed the look on people's faces as she slowly rose on her hind legs while maintaining soundless, unblinking eye contact Being a six-foot tall purple cat tended to make an impression on people
And this man was short. She had over half a foot on him. Ostensibly the posture was so she could get a better look at whatever was going on in his mouth, which she had noticed when she'd seen him taking a bite of the grill food, but in actuality it just pleased her to be a menace. Gathering data was merely a bonus.
Now balanced at her full height, Sharon stared at Artie with huge yellow eyes and waited for a reaction.
He blinked back at her. "Can I help you?" The text floated in the air contained in an actual speech bubble.
Artie had heard about her, and her fascination with visible mutants and he was determined to stay on his best behaviour but really.
Sharon's ear flicked at the text, but she was determined to press her advantage. Still silent, she opened her mouth and extended a tongue the size of a pie-server.
He'd heard that this Sharon could talk. Apparently she didn't want to. Artie contemplated a more aggressive response - she was trying to look over him - but settled for "What do you want, Sharon?"
He wasn't even flinching, and Sharon was exerting maximum Loom. Grudgingly, the cat relented.
"I can see tongue?" she asked.
"No." The response floated in the air between them. "I have better things to do if you're just here to stare."
Sharon flattened her ears, annoyed. This was a new development.
"All others have shown me when asked," the ailuromorph insisted.
"That's nice of them. I'm not here for show and tell." Artie shook his head and waved Sharon away. "Scram." The words were accompanied by flashes of light at the corner of her eyes, sized to be difficult for others to see.
The pulse of unexpected lights could trigger only one reflex in a brave and competent apex predator like Sharon, and that was freak the fuck out. In a single, confused moment the purple cat fell over, corkscrewed her tail to prevent landing on her own spine, and shot into the nearest bush.
Artie felt a little mean but the hilarity of her response outweighed any guilt he might have.
Alani had been happy to lounge most of the afternoon, picking off the food table between skimming the assigned chapters of her book. "A perfect calm before the storm," she flashed Darcy a grin as she sat back down, assorted fruits on her plate to pick off as she idly watched people. "Enjoying the day, Darce?"
"Mm, it's been nice. Matt's still half-distracted with his new Lego set, but we were able to drag him down for some sunshine. Do classes start for you this week, or did they do that partial introductory thing last week?" Darcy tipped her giant sunhat back just enough to peer at Alani over her sunglasses. "Did you write an adequate amount of sleep into your overpacked schedule? It's a necessity, even if it ends up being a combination of naps and REM cycles."
"Ahhh, I think I remember seeing something about that on the journals." Amusement curled her lips back up before the school points had her shift into business mode. "Fall semester started last week and then this week I'll start working with Dr. Drumm for the rest of the, well, hopefully until I graduate. Sleep is important to brain operation, as we're taught early on. But I am jealous of our teleporters for being able to just poof out of the city and into bed. Don't think they'd go for picking me up just because I don't wanna ride the bus back." She snorted a laugh. Okay, maybe she could swing it, but it'd be rude to their time.
"Darcy. Alani."
It was Sharon. The great purple cat had appeared behind the two women, and was gazing up at them with huge yellow eyes.
"I require comfort." The statement was piteous. Sharon's whiskers quivered. "Have been traumatized."
"Aww, sweetheart, come here." Alani had scooted on her lounger to allow Sharon room to join her, setting her plate on the floor as she did. The book, well, that should be somewhere safter, but she'd just hope and pray nothing happened to that. "What's got you all traumatized, love?"
Sharon jumped onto the lounger to curl against Alani's legs in an aggrieved ball. She rammed her head against the older woman's knee, the picture of wounded innocence seeking succor. "Asked the small, quiet one about his mutation. Was chased away. Even asked nicely," she lied, flagrantly.
'Small, quiet one?' Darcy mouthed it to herself, hand automatically reaching out to rub Sharon's head. She glanced around the pool, eyes flitting over most people with the barest thought - too tall, too loud - and settling longer on a few of the most likely candidates. Artie looked annoyed. "Some people don't care to answer questions about their mutations." She paused for a minute, then added, "And some cats are very blunt about their questions, compared to human norms." It was matter of fact, not judgemental. "How were you chased off?"
"Was shown terrifying visions," Sharon insisted as she leaned into Darcy's hand. It had technically been a vision, and for all Artie knew flashing lights could have been terrifying. Maybe she was especially photosensitive. Certainly they had startled her, and that was crime enough.
"Aw, honey." Alani cooed at Sharon, gently caressing her flank as she explained the experience. Her own math had stopped in attempting to find out who Sharon had been talking about to instead offer comfort. "I'm sorry that happened. But Darcy is right. Some people you just need to be a little more sensitive with how you ask."
"Do I need to talk to him about it, or is comfort sufficient?" Darcy smelled bullshit, but it was possible she'd just gotten to someone in a particularly bad mood. And Artie did make projections. And well. Nobody was screaming, so she could ask discreetly later and satisfy her own curiosity.
"Comfort is sufficient." It was beginning to dawn on Sharon that it was perhaps not in her best interest to have someone interrogate the source of her alleged trauma. She had to remember that just because Alani and Darcy were soft touches this did not also mean they were also gullible. To throw them off the scent she added, virtuously, "Is a personal matter. I shall resolve. Just unused to in-person conflict. Must first gather my thoughts."
"Alright, cutiecat." Her fingers kept up the light, repetitive scritches along Sharon's chin. "But I will if you need it. I've played mediator before."
"I get that, but look at you, being so mature about your conflicts. I have to imagine you were great at conflicts from your Catseye username days." Alani had not stopped petting the girl gently, praise entirely honest as she approved of the girl's planned actions.
Sharon started to let her guard down again. "I am growing as a person," she agreed, basking in the attention.
Darcy laughed lightly, happy to give the large purple cat affection. Her free hand wrapped around her phone discreetly, mentally sending a text to Artie. 'Sharon says you traumatized her. What happened to cause that?'
Artie glanced at his phone and shook his head. 'She asked weird invasive questions about my mutations, I said I didn't want to discuss that and she persisted, so I told her to go away.’
He followed up with projected text from across the pool, angled so that Sharon couldn't see it but the other two could. "FYI, she's full of shit and not innocent here."
Darcy's fingers paused for a second as she read both her texts and the projected text, then resumed their scritching. 'I'm not mad, it smelled a bit like bullshit. I mean, I def believe you would've told her to fuck off, but not that you'd do it if she was being polite.'
Sharon, who was noticing a certain change in the texture of the air, twisted to follow Darcy's gaze. She saw the text and froze.
The cat looked from the words, to Artie, to Darcy, to the words again. You could almost see the mental calculus taking place.
Sharon bolted the chair so quickly her coat nearly left friction burns on Alani's hands and disappeared into the nearest clump of foliage.
Alani, who had been entirely oblivious to non-verbal conversation, looked at Darcy in confusion, blinking owlishly for a moment before she motioned at the direction that the cat had disappeared in. "What was that all about?"
Darcy leaned over with a grin, sharing the earlier texts with Artie. "Someone getting caught being naughty, that's all."
Darcy made her way carefully through the small groups of people, plate balanced carefully in her hands as she moved towards the lounger Doug was sprawled on. "I have food," she said cheerfully, setting the plate down on the side table before giving his thigh an affectionate pat and slipping into his lap. "And you can even have a bite of my kosher dog because I love you." She pulled her hat off, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek as she balanced the hat on the corner of the lounger.
"I'm not saying Hebrew National hot dogs are the best part of trips to Costco as a kid, but they are absolutely way up the list," Doug informed her as they settled into a comfortable cuddle. "That and getting samples." Combining the two, he took the offered bite of hot dog, leaning in to touch her nose with his after. "I restocked drinks while you were doing that." He waved a hand at the cup holders on the lounger.
"Best." Darcy took her own bite, making sure Doug had easy access to the plate. "Samples are delightful, but then I feel bad if it's good but I don't buy it. So I'm picky about grabbing them. How's the Lego marathon coming along? Enjoying your inner child?"
Doug showed Darcy the back of his hand, which currently featured the characteristic raised bumps of Lego. "I'm not the only one enjoying them," he said with a grin.
"I'm glad." She relaxed in his hold, tipping her head back. "Thought I was going to have to confiscate them for a few hours to get all of you down here long enough to eat, though," Darcy teased gently. "Hopefully they'll expand the offerings, maybe make some of the more famous kits a little more accessible. Bigger pieces, the braille bumps. All of that."
"Well, I do like big...pieces," Doug murmured as he draped an arm around her shoulder. "Just sayin, if they ever convert the Death Star kit, you probably won't see me, Matt, or Clint for like at least a couple days."
"Swerving where you start the innuendo today, hm?" Darcy held up a bite of potato salad. "Oh, I've already got plans if that happens. Lock the three of you and Foggy in a suite with ready to heat food, set timers, convince Inez she wants a weekend getaway. Not too different from this weekend, minus helping for a bit between cooking and playing sous chef for folks."
Doug took the bite and shrugged with the other shoulder. "Gotta keep things fresh, or I'd talk in nothing but memes, full 'Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra' style." Thankfully, he hadn't gotten too far down a powers rabbit hole like that lately.
Darcy took a bite, fingers brushing over her phone and eyes brightening for a moment as she looked up the reference. "I was sure you were gonna make a comment about the hot dogs, but it's fun when you surprise me."
Watching Darcy's face brighten like that was one of Doug's favorite things to see. "I'll make sure to keep on doing that, then."
She pressed a kiss to his cheek and gave his hand a squeeze as they focused on finishing the plate of food.
"This is a summer party at the side of a pool and no one is going swimming?" Rictor lamented, setting aside his now-empty plate. "You know it's a myth that you have to wait 30 minutes after eating before you can go in. ¡Ven!" He pulled off his shirt and set it on one of the loungers, then started on the drawstring knot of his cotton shorts. "Well?"
Match simply stared at Rictor for a moment, his own plate once again empty, though he'd been looking longingly towards the grill before the other boy had spoken. "Uhhhh, pass." He finally mumbled, before motioning at the glowing flesh at his neckline and above. "Pretty sure I'd make it boil or evaporate or both, and that's not fun for anyone."
"Or maybe just warm it up so everyone thinks someone peed," Liam suggested, his own plate still half full. "I'll swim after I've eaten," he agreed.
Shatterstar was staring at the black speedo that Rictor has under his shorts, plate forgotten in his hands. He was grateful that he was wearing a rash guard, sure he was blushing to his chest. Maybe he would be able to pass it off as a sunburn. "Uh. Yeah. Sure." He said eloquently. "What Liam said."
"You all live in a mansion and the only thing you can think of is eating more sausages." Rictor shrugged and sauntered backwards in the direction of the pool. "Join me when you want to have fun!"
Match turned to Liam, still trying to follow the mental gymnastics the boy had just done. "Dude, why did your brain immediately go to someone pissing in the pool? How often are you pissing in the pool?" Don't go in there, Rictor.
"I'm not!" Liam protested, tail swishing and ears flattening in displeasure, "But you've swum through warm spots! What else is it?" In his experience with community pools, there weren't a lot of causes.
Shatterstar put down his empty plate at the edge of the pool where he had been sitting and slid into the pool, standing at waist level on the slope. (He wasn't much of a swimmer.) "This is much warmer than city pools," he said as he tied his hair into a bun. "Maybe someone did pee in it." More likely, it was actually heated.
Rictor has swum halfway across the pool by the time someone deigned to join him, so he flipped direction and swam back. Shatterstar's suit was an unusual fashion with which he was unfamiliar, all covered up as it was.
"You two just get in!" he insisted. "We can play, uh, chicken? Match and me versus Shatterstar and Liam."
Match groaned loudly, dramatically, as he kicked off his kicks and shrugged off his jacket to set on the seat. Exhaling slowly, he did his best to lower his temperature output as much as he could. "Fine, but if this kid pees in the pool, I'm out."
"Screw you," Liam retorted, still on the side, though his plate was nearly empty now. "I'll get in in a minute. Or better yet..." He trailed off, staring at Shatterstar before he got up and launched himself onto his roommate's shoulders, perching there like a deranged gargoyle. But he wasn't wet!
Thankfully for Liam, Shatterstar was able to shift his balance, grabbing his roommate by the legs to steady him. He didn't fall at all. "Could have cracked your head open," Shatterstar scolded the younger boy but was smiling wide. "We're so going to win," he added quietly, hoping only Liam's feline ears would pick it up.
Rictor ducked down under water so Match could climb onto his shoulders. Even though the other boy was taller by an inch or two, he was surprisingly light, and Rictor hoped he could maintain his balance. Hands firmly clasping Match's thighs to hold him in place, Rictor grinned wickedly. "On three, pendejos. ¡Uno, dos, tres!"
"I want that."
It was definitely a voice, and that voice was definitely coming from directly behind him.
Sam turned around and tried to not let the surprise show on his face when he noticed the purple humanoid cat. A quick glance around showed that she was the only person who could have spoken to him. “Uh…… can you eat it? I mean - the ingredients aren’t gonna hurt ya right? I don’t wanna make ya sick.”
No denial. No negotiation. In fact, one might consider asking after her dietary limitations to be the opposite of a denial. Sharon had no idea who this man was, but she liked him already.
"All meat is safe for me," the cat declared, fixing Sam with her largest, most earnest gaze. "You are new? Food is my tribute. This is known."
“Uh yeah I ain’t been here before. But uh- I’m not concerned about the bacon, but more the vinegar and onions and lettuce part of it. So long as you’re sure it’s safe you’re welcome to some- I brought it to share.” Sam offered a small awkward smile. “I’m Sam, nice to meet you.”
"I am Sharon. Charmed." She gave her tail the sort of deceptively winsome flick she used while calculating maximum potential for exploitation. She had a feline's sense of people, and she could detect a personality that was naturally kind and considerate. Around Sharon this was a fatal weakness.
"Appreciate your concern for my health," she continued, eyes still on his plate. "This is proper. Correct, certain vegetables do not agree. Recovering from various vitamin deficiencies also. Very fragile. Perhaps you could--"
A roll bounced off her head. "Are you scamming him for food?" Liam called, stalking over, ears and tail still wet from the pool, but his hair mostly dry and holding two cookies. "Go get your own and let him eat! He's a guest."
Sharon turned to hiss. All four of her feet had briefly left the ground when she'd been hit by what turned out to be a weaponized pastry. She felt she had a certain image to uphold in the presence of newcomers, and levitating three feet in the air with your tail bristling like a pipe cleaner was the sort of thing a reputation didn't come back from.
"You have disrupted my experiment," she complained as she grabbed the roll and chucked it back. "Was this close to convincing him to prepare Special Bacon."
"....well.....I don't have more bacon to fry but I can help you find things at the table you can eat?" Sam offered, and then turned to the other young cat person. "She was fine- I brought a dish to share, she wasn't tryin' ta steal off my plate."
Shoving a cookie in his mouth, he caught the roll. "He's. A. Guest," Liam repeated slowly once he'd swallowed the cookie, like Sharon hadn't understood him perfectly. "She's perfectly capable of going to get her own plate and her own food. Even if it does taste better when stolen."
Sharon gave Liam an offended lash of her tail. "Kitten has betrayed me. But traitors always pay the price." Body low to the ground, Sharon slunk off. Her voice floated after her:
"When they least expect it."
Liam's tail practically vibrated with excitement. "I look forward to it!" he yelled after her. "Oh, I'm Liam. That's Sharon. If she didn't already say that."
"Sam, nice to meet you." Sam said, fighting back a laugh and then awkwardly trying to scootch things over on the communal food table to make room for the bowl he brought. "Good luck with your revenge fight- pro-tip from an oldest sibling with a whole mess of little sisters? Take something small that she uses everyday and hide it."
As an only child, Liam took that advice very seriously. Now to figure out what to take...."Good to know. I'm an only child." He waved, heading off and shoving the second cookie in his mouth.
"I'm good, Terry, really," Shatterstar said, trying to dodge her as he passed the tables of food.
"Here, it's just a small thin'!" Terry said, leaving her post at the serving tables to follow Shatterstar. "A snack, really. Saveable, even! Y'can eat it later, if you're hungry. It's edamame, I promise, nothin' horribly unhealthy."
"It's grilled," Shatterstar said accusingly, holding his plate above his head- and much above Terry's. "I already ate. If I'm hungry later, I'll eat later."
Mouth dropping open indignantly, Terry said, "It is not grilled!" She didn't bother humming herself up to the height needed to put the edamame on the boy's plate. "And have y'reapplied your sunscreen?" She pulled the SPF 50 she'd used for herself out of a pocket on her coverup.
"Yes I have," he assured her honestly. Shatterstar did not mess around when it came to sun safety. That was something the two redheads could agree on. Sunburns were the worst.
"Y'got behind your ears? And the tops of 'em?"
"...Give me that."
Being tall was fun. It was her go-to power move. Sharon enjoyed the look on people's faces as she slowly rose on her hind legs while maintaining soundless, unblinking eye contact Being a six-foot tall purple cat tended to make an impression on people
And this man was short. She had over half a foot on him. Ostensibly the posture was so she could get a better look at whatever was going on in his mouth, which she had noticed when she'd seen him taking a bite of the grill food, but in actuality it just pleased her to be a menace. Gathering data was merely a bonus.
Now balanced at her full height, Sharon stared at Artie with huge yellow eyes and waited for a reaction.
He blinked back at her. "Can I help you?" The text floated in the air contained in an actual speech bubble.
Artie had heard about her, and her fascination with visible mutants and he was determined to stay on his best behaviour but really.
Sharon's ear flicked at the text, but she was determined to press her advantage. Still silent, she opened her mouth and extended a tongue the size of a pie-server.
He'd heard that this Sharon could talk. Apparently she didn't want to. Artie contemplated a more aggressive response - she was trying to look over him - but settled for "What do you want, Sharon?"
He wasn't even flinching, and Sharon was exerting maximum Loom. Grudgingly, the cat relented.
"I can see tongue?" she asked.
"No." The response floated in the air between them. "I have better things to do if you're just here to stare."
Sharon flattened her ears, annoyed. This was a new development.
"All others have shown me when asked," the ailuromorph insisted.
"That's nice of them. I'm not here for show and tell." Artie shook his head and waved Sharon away. "Scram." The words were accompanied by flashes of light at the corner of her eyes, sized to be difficult for others to see.
The pulse of unexpected lights could trigger only one reflex in a brave and competent apex predator like Sharon, and that was freak the fuck out. In a single, confused moment the purple cat fell over, corkscrewed her tail to prevent landing on her own spine, and shot into the nearest bush.
Artie felt a little mean but the hilarity of her response outweighed any guilt he might have.
Alani had been happy to lounge most of the afternoon, picking off the food table between skimming the assigned chapters of her book. "A perfect calm before the storm," she flashed Darcy a grin as she sat back down, assorted fruits on her plate to pick off as she idly watched people. "Enjoying the day, Darce?"
"Mm, it's been nice. Matt's still half-distracted with his new Lego set, but we were able to drag him down for some sunshine. Do classes start for you this week, or did they do that partial introductory thing last week?" Darcy tipped her giant sunhat back just enough to peer at Alani over her sunglasses. "Did you write an adequate amount of sleep into your overpacked schedule? It's a necessity, even if it ends up being a combination of naps and REM cycles."
"Ahhh, I think I remember seeing something about that on the journals." Amusement curled her lips back up before the school points had her shift into business mode. "Fall semester started last week and then this week I'll start working with Dr. Drumm for the rest of the, well, hopefully until I graduate. Sleep is important to brain operation, as we're taught early on. But I am jealous of our teleporters for being able to just poof out of the city and into bed. Don't think they'd go for picking me up just because I don't wanna ride the bus back." She snorted a laugh. Okay, maybe she could swing it, but it'd be rude to their time.
"Darcy. Alani."
It was Sharon. The great purple cat had appeared behind the two women, and was gazing up at them with huge yellow eyes.
"I require comfort." The statement was piteous. Sharon's whiskers quivered. "Have been traumatized."
"Aww, sweetheart, come here." Alani had scooted on her lounger to allow Sharon room to join her, setting her plate on the floor as she did. The book, well, that should be somewhere safter, but she'd just hope and pray nothing happened to that. "What's got you all traumatized, love?"
Sharon jumped onto the lounger to curl against Alani's legs in an aggrieved ball. She rammed her head against the older woman's knee, the picture of wounded innocence seeking succor. "Asked the small, quiet one about his mutation. Was chased away. Even asked nicely," she lied, flagrantly.
'Small, quiet one?' Darcy mouthed it to herself, hand automatically reaching out to rub Sharon's head. She glanced around the pool, eyes flitting over most people with the barest thought - too tall, too loud - and settling longer on a few of the most likely candidates. Artie looked annoyed. "Some people don't care to answer questions about their mutations." She paused for a minute, then added, "And some cats are very blunt about their questions, compared to human norms." It was matter of fact, not judgemental. "How were you chased off?"
"Was shown terrifying visions," Sharon insisted as she leaned into Darcy's hand. It had technically been a vision, and for all Artie knew flashing lights could have been terrifying. Maybe she was especially photosensitive. Certainly they had startled her, and that was crime enough.
"Aw, honey." Alani cooed at Sharon, gently caressing her flank as she explained the experience. Her own math had stopped in attempting to find out who Sharon had been talking about to instead offer comfort. "I'm sorry that happened. But Darcy is right. Some people you just need to be a little more sensitive with how you ask."
"Do I need to talk to him about it, or is comfort sufficient?" Darcy smelled bullshit, but it was possible she'd just gotten to someone in a particularly bad mood. And Artie did make projections. And well. Nobody was screaming, so she could ask discreetly later and satisfy her own curiosity.
"Comfort is sufficient." It was beginning to dawn on Sharon that it was perhaps not in her best interest to have someone interrogate the source of her alleged trauma. She had to remember that just because Alani and Darcy were soft touches this did not also mean they were also gullible. To throw them off the scent she added, virtuously, "Is a personal matter. I shall resolve. Just unused to in-person conflict. Must first gather my thoughts."
"Alright, cutiecat." Her fingers kept up the light, repetitive scritches along Sharon's chin. "But I will if you need it. I've played mediator before."
"I get that, but look at you, being so mature about your conflicts. I have to imagine you were great at conflicts from your Catseye username days." Alani had not stopped petting the girl gently, praise entirely honest as she approved of the girl's planned actions.
Sharon started to let her guard down again. "I am growing as a person," she agreed, basking in the attention.
Darcy laughed lightly, happy to give the large purple cat affection. Her free hand wrapped around her phone discreetly, mentally sending a text to Artie. 'Sharon says you traumatized her. What happened to cause that?'
Artie glanced at his phone and shook his head. 'She asked weird invasive questions about my mutations, I said I didn't want to discuss that and she persisted, so I told her to go away.’
He followed up with projected text from across the pool, angled so that Sharon couldn't see it but the other two could. "FYI, she's full of shit and not innocent here."
Darcy's fingers paused for a second as she read both her texts and the projected text, then resumed their scritching. 'I'm not mad, it smelled a bit like bullshit. I mean, I def believe you would've told her to fuck off, but not that you'd do it if she was being polite.'
Sharon, who was noticing a certain change in the texture of the air, twisted to follow Darcy's gaze. She saw the text and froze.
The cat looked from the words, to Artie, to Darcy, to the words again. You could almost see the mental calculus taking place.
Sharon bolted the chair so quickly her coat nearly left friction burns on Alani's hands and disappeared into the nearest clump of foliage.
Alani, who had been entirely oblivious to non-verbal conversation, looked at Darcy in confusion, blinking owlishly for a moment before she motioned at the direction that the cat had disappeared in. "What was that all about?"
Darcy leaned over with a grin, sharing the earlier texts with Artie. "Someone getting caught being naughty, that's all."
Darcy made her way carefully through the small groups of people, plate balanced carefully in her hands as she moved towards the lounger Doug was sprawled on. "I have food," she said cheerfully, setting the plate down on the side table before giving his thigh an affectionate pat and slipping into his lap. "And you can even have a bite of my kosher dog because I love you." She pulled her hat off, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek as she balanced the hat on the corner of the lounger.
"I'm not saying Hebrew National hot dogs are the best part of trips to Costco as a kid, but they are absolutely way up the list," Doug informed her as they settled into a comfortable cuddle. "That and getting samples." Combining the two, he took the offered bite of hot dog, leaning in to touch her nose with his after. "I restocked drinks while you were doing that." He waved a hand at the cup holders on the lounger.
"Best." Darcy took her own bite, making sure Doug had easy access to the plate. "Samples are delightful, but then I feel bad if it's good but I don't buy it. So I'm picky about grabbing them. How's the Lego marathon coming along? Enjoying your inner child?"
Doug showed Darcy the back of his hand, which currently featured the characteristic raised bumps of Lego. "I'm not the only one enjoying them," he said with a grin.
"I'm glad." She relaxed in his hold, tipping her head back. "Thought I was going to have to confiscate them for a few hours to get all of you down here long enough to eat, though," Darcy teased gently. "Hopefully they'll expand the offerings, maybe make some of the more famous kits a little more accessible. Bigger pieces, the braille bumps. All of that."
"Well, I do like big...pieces," Doug murmured as he draped an arm around her shoulder. "Just sayin, if they ever convert the Death Star kit, you probably won't see me, Matt, or Clint for like at least a couple days."
"Swerving where you start the innuendo today, hm?" Darcy held up a bite of potato salad. "Oh, I've already got plans if that happens. Lock the three of you and Foggy in a suite with ready to heat food, set timers, convince Inez she wants a weekend getaway. Not too different from this weekend, minus helping for a bit between cooking and playing sous chef for folks."
Doug took the bite and shrugged with the other shoulder. "Gotta keep things fresh, or I'd talk in nothing but memes, full 'Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra' style." Thankfully, he hadn't gotten too far down a powers rabbit hole like that lately.
Darcy took a bite, fingers brushing over her phone and eyes brightening for a moment as she looked up the reference. "I was sure you were gonna make a comment about the hot dogs, but it's fun when you surprise me."
Watching Darcy's face brighten like that was one of Doug's favorite things to see. "I'll make sure to keep on doing that, then."
She pressed a kiss to his cheek and gave his hand a squeeze as they focused on finishing the plate of food.
