[003. Mirror Mirror]

[lydiascreams]

[Open Spam]

[Lydia is bored and that just won't do. If she's going to be at the barge, she'll need something fun to do. At least until she has a pet of her own to play with. And she can't wait until she gets her own inmate. Lately she's been playing with others, and she even has a couple of favorites but it's not the same thing.

Until then, though, it will have to do. She considers going to find one of those to pass the time, but she wants something a little more challenging today. Of course she won't pass the opportunity if one of them cross her path, but as she makes her way down the hallways she's looking for a few specific individuals: Blight, Chris or Arya and Nymeria.

With the power loss and everything that has been going on, it's been a few days since she's seen Scott around and she just can't go long without taunting him or he will think she's done playing.

Of course, if she can't find any of her body guards for back up, she might just have to go find Scott's little sidekick instead. That always sends her message across, too because she knows the Alpha will be able to smell her all over his Beta.]

(ooc: Lydia is completely affected! Here are some handy links: Profile, Plotting, Assumed CR.)

Comments

[spam]

[lydiascreams]

I might be able to help, if you want. I'd hate to see you even more bored.

[She offers in a sweet voice, doing her best to seem passive and like the decision is completely his. Her looks and size help her play that game, but tone and body language always make sure her message is being delivered as intended.]

Well, and some of fur I would just hate for a change in the balance of things.

[voluntaryapnea]

[Annnnd then she's moving closer to him and pressing her body against his and their lips are just barely a few inches apart and holy shit. Mirror Stiles and mirror Lydia are a thing, apparently? How is that even remotely possible? he wonders, hoping he doesn't look as completely shocked as he feels.

He probably looks completely shocked. Still, this is Lydia and he doesn't want to hurt her feelings. He rests one hand lightly at the small of her back and the other on her arm.]

I'm pretty sure the answer to that question is always yes. [And apparently every version of himself is in love with every version of Lydia, and he shouldn't be surprised by that, really.]

[lydiascreams]

[He's responding to her and he doesn't sound like he wants to push her away, or even like he's afraid of Scott finding them, but something is off and she doesn't like it.

So she pouts and brushes her nose against his.]

You don't sound very convincing, Stiles. [A pause.]

Why don't you show me?

[She smiles and without warning, pressed her lips hard against his, she can't leave him room to think or hesitate.]

[voluntaryapnea]

[He can't help the way his breath hitches when their noses touch. He has a hard time focusing on her words because she's so close and he knows that everything about this is wrong, but when she kisses him, his mind sort of goes blank, the way it always does when a girl kisses him. But even more so than usual because this is Lydia.

He lifts a hand up to her face as he kisses her back, kind of caught off guard by the forcefulness behind it on her part. Okay so apparently this Lydia is a little more aggressive than the one he knows. Or at least more than he knows about her. His back hits the door and he pulls back a little in order to breathe because that's becoming an issue.

Not that he's complaining because hey, he's just been kissed by Lydia.]

[lydiascreams]

[If she thought something weird was going on before, she is sure of it now. But it's something she can't put her finger on it at all. Because although Stiles is completely responsive and eager, he is different, gentler, uncertain. And she doesn't like it. Because it's throwing her.

But she's not one to miss an opportunity so when he stumbles back against the door, she drops a hand to the handle and as soon as he breaks the kiss, she opens it. A second later, she's pushing him back into his room with her body, a devious smile on her lips as she kicks the door closed behind her.

She has to figure out if Scott put him up to this and he seems sufficiently distracted for her to question him now.]

What's gotten into you? [Her tone is playful, like she's enjoying it. And to keep him distracted, she's pushing him back toward the bed.]

[Spam]

[mistconduct]

Way too fucking quiet. We're floating in dead space and there's no food. Most of us are probably going to starve, whee.


Not lately. Why?

[voluntaryapnea]

[He stumbles backwards, his knees hitting the edge of the bed and he sits down, not entirely of his own will. It's more or less involuntary drop onto the bed on his part. Kind of the way his heart is beating entirely too fast in his chest, like he's taken way too much Adderall.

He looks up at her as she asks him what's gotten into him. She seems playful, like this is all very normal. But there's something in her eyes that isn't quite matching her tone and he knows he needs to be careful here.]

I'm not entirely sure. I'm not feeling quite myself today, I guess. [Which hey. That's the truth at least.]

[lydiascreams]

Yeah?

[Lydia straddles his lap without hesitation and looks down at him, studying him even though she keeps her expression passive. He's being honest, she can tell, but it's... weird. She needs to figure out why exactly he's not feeling like himself.

She lifts her hands to his shoulders and rests them behind his neck, cocking her head as a slight pout appears on her lips.]

Did Scott do something? Is he giving you a hard time?

[Spam]

[lydiascreams]

[Not if you create a system to control the food that is left, but she's gonna keep that to herself. For this particular conversation, she wants to keep it casual.]

I heard rumors, that he might have his eyes on you. You know, for pack.

[fearcutsdeeperthanswords]

[Arya wants to stick to the shadows. That's a little harder with a direwolf to keep near.

She knows she will be seen, and she knows she will be spoken to, so she exercises all the mummer skills that Izembaro taught her. When the flood hits and she is herself, she researches. She reads back on the network, finds every appearance of her own and remembers the last time she was here. When she's done, she covers Nymeria's muzzle in blood - but rather than have her attack another, she cuts her palm and smears it over the direwolf's jaws. She doesn't like it much, tossing her head and licking herself: they argue, in their silent way. The first time she climbs to Nymeria's back, she's thrown off. The second time, she holds on tight and refuses to budge.

That is how they walk down the hall, gray fur dark with blood, Arya sitting astride her pony-sized wolf. She looks, to anyone affected, as she always does.

She watches Lydia as they approach, judging. This isn't the girl who screamed, she thinks. It's hard to tell: she doesn't know Lydia well. But she knows how the other Arya feels about the other Lydia, so she makes herself smile a little.]

Hello.

[voluntaryapnea]

[And he's always kind of wondered what it would be like to have Lydia on his lap and then she's pouting and oh god. This is so many shades of wrong, he thinks even as he swallows heavily, winding his arms around her.

The mention of Scott throws him momentarily.]

No? No, he's not giving me a hard time at all.

[myresponsibility]

[It's only because of his reflexes that he manages a half step back in time to avoid bumping into her, and he does his best to frown again, looking at her with a serious, guarded expression that probably doesn't look too out of place.

Better start thinking up excuses for why he's acting different.]

Hi.

[It's grudging, frustrated, like he's more annoyed than anything else by the interruption.

That's right, right? That's what the other him would have been like if this happened to him?]

What do you want?

[Spam]

[mistconduct]

Are you fucking serious?!

[Chris' expression lights up with excitement; being someone with superpowers is all he's ever dreamed about]

Dude, for real?

Oh my god. You better not be bullshitting me.

[lydiascreams]

Good. He really shouldn't.

[She can feel that Stiles is being honest, but she can also feel he isn't really himself. Peter had worked with her really hard to teach her to hear and pick up on the slightest changes on people. She needs to keep digging and Scott is the most sensitive subject so she needs him to be more distracted.

So she leans over and brushes her nose against his cheek before pressing her lips to his jaw.]

Like I told you, I don't even have a pack here. Why would I want to take you away from him?

[She slides her fingers into his hair and smiles against his skin to make sure he can hear it in her voice. She wants him relaxed. Her lips are on his neck now.]

I just can't stay away from you. Regardless of your pack.

[voluntaryapnea]

[He knows other Scott is...not at all like the Scott he knows. He actually has a hard time trying to picture Scott as being anything other than...Scott. But obviously there's some animosity between Scott and other Lydia that he doesn't know or understand. It does kind of throw him when she kisses his jaw and then starts talking about her own pack. Which she doesn't have.

And...wait. What? That makes no sense.

He's so confused right now, but he needs to know as much as possible so he can figure out what the hell is going on and be as prepared as possible. The bad part is he feels more than a twinge of guilt because this feels an awful lot like using Lydia and that's...really not something he ever wants to do.]

Well, you don't have to worry about it. [He knows if the circumstances were reversed, he'd want her to get as much information out of him as possible and he swallows hard when she kisses his neck.]

I like him in a very different way than I like you. [His voice is light, because hell, he figures that other him at least has to have somewhat of a sense of humor, right?]

[lydiascreams]

[Lydia notices the wolf first. It's hard not to. And she smiles.

Unlike most smiles, this one is as sincere as she allows herself, because Lydia actually cares about Arya. At first, she approached the little girl, or allowed her to approach her because she knew the wolf could come in handy, but she had grown on her. For some reason Arya looks up to her, it's almost like she wants to be like her and while Lydia wouldn't want that for her, she feels like she can protect her from everyone else in this place. She's not entirely sure when or why she started to care, but considering her family history and the little she knows about Arya's, she figures they can help each other. At least while they are there.

As she approaches, she runs her hand lightly over Nymeria's head and stops to stand right next to Arya.]

And who did you have Nymeria play with on your way here?

Another wolf, I hope?

[Spam]

[lydiascreams]

That's what I heard, you know people here... they talk.

[If that hadn't been the exact reaction she'd been looking for, she just might feel bad. As it is, she has a show to put on, so she purses her lips together hesitantly.]

You might want to be careful if you decide to go ahead with it though, Chris.

[Spam]

[mistconduct]

Yeah. Yeah, they talk. Holy shit, though. Holy shit, a werewolf? Fuck yes I'm going through with it! Why wouldn't I?

[lydiascreams]

[Yeah. He is different and even if Scott had put him up to this, why would he tell him to just be more hesitant and... less confident? As much of an idiot as McCall may be, there is nothing that resembles logic to this. Stiles is basically just sitting there, letting her do whatever she wants, he's not even trying anything. And while she he might have been like that back home, he hadn't been like this here.

She pulls her mouth away from him and grins brightly. Playfully. Time to push harder.]

Well, I would seriously hope so, Stiles. Is he still recruiting?

[She would never ask Stiles that normally, because he'd probably toss her on the bed and storm off. So she asks this in a very casual tone as she reaches for his shirt and pulls it up to get it off him.]

[voluntaryapnea]

[There's something in her eyes that's so different than the Lydia that he knows that he's actually disturbed. This isn't right, he thinks. And of course it isn't, because...everything is different. This isn't the kind of relationship he has with Lydia even if his other self apparently does, and really it kind of figures.

Either way, he can't let this charade continue any longer because it feels completely off and disorienting and he's been disoriented for way too long as it is. He draws in a breath and gently stills her hands as she tries to pull his shirt off.]

Look, I'm not...entirely sure what's going on, but I think something happened to me. I think -- I don't know, I hit my head or something. Maybe I have a concussion. I honestly have no idea what you're talking about. [He kind of does, and that's also more than a little disturbing. Scott had mentioned his other self was looking to build a pack.]

[Spam]

[lydiascreams]

I think you should, if anyone deserves the benefits that come with being a werewolf it's you, Chris.

But you know why Scott wants you, right?

[She only waits for a second because she doesn't expect him to actually know. Or be right.]

He wants betas, Chris. And you're so much better than a beta. You're alpha material. That's what worries me.

[Spam]

[mistconduct]

[Chris pauses, led along so blindly and easily by Lydia, nodding along with her when she answers]

But I mean...so what, right? So I pretend to be a beta, and then when he pisses me off I just go away and be an alpha. Big deal.

[Spam]

[lydiascreams]

Well, it's a little more complicated than that.

[She pauses and smiles softly at him.]

But if you want me to, I could help you get through the whole process.

[And then she will have a pack of her own.]

[lydiascreams]

[And there it is. If she had less control over herself, she'd have smirked. But luckily, Lydia just arches her eyebrows in surprise. She actually manages to feign hurt when he stops her. But she doesn't pull away from him. If his reactions from earlier are anything to go by, Stiles still finds her just as distracting, intoxicating and irresistible as usual. And those things always work in her favor.]

What do you mean a concussion, Stiles? Are you hurt? What do you think happened?

[She feigns her worry really well and instantly lifts a hand to his head, gently searching for a bump or any signs of injuries. She needs to figure out how to play this, but for now worried girlfriend sounds like the way to go.]

[Spam]

[mistconduct]

You would?

[Chris, while excited, has alarm bells sounding off]

Wait, hold up.

You hate Scott. What's in this for you?