13 We are not amused [Location: Madelyne's House] [Visual]

[genequeen]

"All right. What the fuck is going on around here?"

Madelyne is angry and there are pools of tears gathering at the corners of her eyes but it doesn't appear as though she's given into them. She's wearing a leather jacket that is too large for her, having it zipped up, even though she's still inside her house.

"There are cl ... duplicates of people wandering about and someone is taunting me with details from home... from my past." She pulls in a long breath through her nose, trying not to sniffle, "Why would the Hamsters be doing this? It isn't ... usually... like this, is it..."

Yeah. Someone is grasping at straws a little bit right now but she doesn't want to be the target of the newest round of hijinks.

Comments

[visual > all]

[trojanhorst]

Horst Cabal has just woken up. This should probably be a deterrent. Most people don't roll out of bed and answer their messages right away, before they've had the chance to clear their heads.

He's also never met Madelyne Pryor before. Oh, sure, he's asked around a bit about Taxon's other citizens, poked through some of the messages they sent over public broadcast during the snowstorm, and he's come up with a general idea of who's who -- but he and the lady have never actually been introduced. This should probably also be a deterrent.

But if Horst Cabal has one weakness -- other than sunlight, stakes to the heart, holy ground, and threats to his brother -- then it's a damsel in distress. Right now, Madelyne Pryor certainly seems to be in a great deal of distress.

"Please, madam," he urges soothingly, "try to relax. I'm sorry someone's tormenting you -- perhaps our doubles possess our memories as well, and yours knows where to twist the knife. But it's only your own shadow that haunts you.

"If I might make a recommendation -- I find that pleasant company is the best cure for a bad case of oneself, at times. Is there a friend who can come and stay with you?"

[visual > all]

[genequeen]

"I...."

Madelyne pauses and gives a weak smile, "There are a few people, potentially, yes." Pressing her lips together she pulls a breath in through her nose, trying to calm down a little more.

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[bub_snikt]

"That sounds like Sinister's callin' cards," Logan responds, ominously.

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[genequeen]

The suggestion causes Maddy to pause for a bit, thinking about it.

"This feels different," she says carefully, "He manipulates for a desired outcome. This feels... This feels malicious."

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[bub_snikt]

"Ain't ever thought Sinister was missin' a mean streak."

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[genequeen]

"He isn't but crude crowns and scepters delivered by others isn't his style," she says, the tension still holding tightly to her shoulders.

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[bub_snikt]

"Maybe he's got his old crew with him. S'ym?"

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[genequeen]

Madelyne looks at Logan and almost doesn't respond. She doesn't want to go through this again, "The demons were just opportunists, making offers to ... well... me. They didn't really work together."

Though, he has a point. This does seem a bit more like something they would do than Sinister. Still, they mostly came to her in dreams.

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[bub_snikt]

"Who'd they have deliver the stuff? Your 'duplicate'?"

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[genequeen]

"The crown just appeared and the scepter was delivered by a very nervous Extra. He said someone threatened to set him on fire if he didn't deliver it," the redhead says, starting to sound a little more calm about the whole thing. She's still obviously rattled, at least to Logan, but she's starting to pull herself together.

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[bub_snikt]

Logan wants to ask what he smelled like, but that's never a question that matters to anyone but him.

"Just a crown and scepter? What makes ya sure that's got anythin' to do with the past? Could just be a creepy admirer here..."

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[genequeen]

"The notes that came with them," Madelyne says softly. She doesn't like the idea that she might just be overreacting to this. Then again, when doesn't she overreact? It's sort of what she does.

"Should a queen not have her crown?"

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[bub_snikt]

He can certainly see why she's twitchy - any reference to the Goblin Queen unnerves her, and while 'queen' might indeed just be someone trying to impress her - the threat of fire puts it square in that dark old realm.

"They both said that?"

Visual

[genequeen]

"With kind regards to her Goblyn Majesty!"

Madelyne gives Logan a small smile at that. She's hoping someone is just tweaking her strings instead of planning something bigger.

[video]

[aintnoconvict]

"Breathe, Maddy." Hey, it seems like decent advice at the moment. But really Glitch looks concerned, maybe for the first time since this whole nonsense began.

"Want me to go to you? Or you can come here, if that's better." He's at home, still, taking advantage of the house's natural breezeways. A brief pause and lift of eyebrows. "Either way, whatever you need..."

[video]

[genequeen]

At the recommendation, she pulls a breath in through her nose and lets it out slowly, "I... I should go there. I shouldn't be here," by myself might be determinable to Glitch through her body language.

"I... This just... Gah!"

[video]

[aintnoconvict]

He just about picks up on it, almost, and nods along.

"The door'll be open, doll. Should I put the kettle on or pop a cork?"

Sherlock(?) had said to keep an eye on her, this would certainly serve that purpose.

[video]

[genequeen]

"Kettle."

I want a drink, I would love to be tipsy and care free.

"I'll be over soon," she says and in fact, she's over relatively quickly. It took her longer to decide if she should bring the items with her than it did to travel to Glitch's place. In the end, she shows up at his doorstep with the crown in her hands.

[aintnoconvict]

Glitch dashes from the kitchen at the back of the house to greet her at the front door, half a smile fading as he sees...

"What is that?" he asks, more curious than anxious, then shakes his head and gestures her inside. The sitting room's cluttered with mismatched furniture, assorted books, and rainbow shards scattered by a crystal hanging in one of the windows. "Water'll be boiling soon."

[genequeen]

Madelyne hands it over to him, "That was deposited in my kitchen with a note." She couldn't be happier to give it to someone else. It helps to reassure that this is actually happening and it also means that she isn't holding it anymore.

[aintnoconvict]

He takes the crown and turns it over in his hands, frowning.

"That's...different." Glitch holds it up to better study the craftsmanship, such as it is. "Is it significant? What did the note say?"

[genequeen]

"It is a reference to things I'd like to leave in the past. The note with the crows said 'Should a queen not have her crown?'," Madelyne says with a faint tinge of red on her cheeks.

"The other, that came with the scepter said 'With kind regards to her Goblyn Majesty!'"

[aintnoconvict]

Glitch shakes his head and is about to ask what it all means, but then the teapot's whistle sounds from the kitchen. "Come on."

The what doesn't matter: something deeply upsetting, clearly. He leads the way from the sitting room through his office/home laboratory and on into the kitchen at the rear of the house. He fetches the red kettle from the stove and pours water into two waiting mugs. Chamomile with apple, a little sweet and a lot soothing.

"Can you think of anyone who'd...do this? Know about it and use it against you?"

[genequeen]

"At home, sure, there are plenty of people who might use it against me. Here, though, I can't think of anyone other than the Hamsters who would know enough to try..." Madelyne accepts the mug and inhales the scent, not yet taking a drink.

[aintnoconvict]

Glitch purses his lips and nods, then steps over to open the screen door to the small deck. There's a table and chairs, steps leading up to a small balcony and others leading down into the back garden. The plum tree is blossoming, the elm is leafing out, and the vegetable patch is half weeded. A wind chime made of seashells jangles softly in the breeze.

Here have a big ol' dollop of nerve-calmnig serenity, Mads. He settles at the table with his tea and gestures for her to join him.

"It's not at all beyond their whole...thing they do," he says with a sigh. "Their pranks can get really cruel, not that I need to tell you that."