Summer 2012: Adriana

[puppygirl]

Adriana: "Okay, and just send me an e-mail or call up if you need any more hats! I do special designs too!" Adriana waved after her lattest customer as the woman left with a model of her "Pie-cock" series. She still didn't get why the woman had constantly giggled when she had described the series, but at least she bought one of the more expensive ones.

Darren: Darren leaned back in his chair and put his scruffy, combat-booted feet up on the table as he thumbed through a catalogue, "Some of these designs are pretty funky, there's a homage to the 'Japanese octopus lesbians' in here and everything!"

Jay: Jay sat, staring moodily into space, wings half-curled around him. The...hat...was in a hand. "Dat's nice." He muttered at Darren, shooting the guy a glare. "Why'm Ah here again?"

Selene: Selene barely overheard what the others were talking about, neither did she pay much attention to what happened around her. She was way too occupied holding a staring contest with one of Adriana's creations. The hat actually hat big, weird eyes. Something Darren said did actually catch her attention. "Octopus lesbians," she repeated, looking up.

Adriana: "Well, it is THE international hat convention, what did you think?" She smiled brightly at Darren from under her giant pirate hat.

Darren: "Because you look good in a penguin hat, and I'm not going to suffer alone," he added under his breath.

Darren: "Yes, octopus lesbians," he glanced around to make sure no one was looking at them before holding up his palm to Selene and projecting the image onto his skin for her to see, "gotta love free wi-fi."

Selene: "I like hats," Selene remarked, while poking the staring hat in one of its eyeballs. "I've come to believe I should wear them more often." She turned around to look at the other students. "Are you sure you don't want to give my roadkill-hat design a chance, Adriana?"

Adriana: "Hmmmm..." She looked at the octopus lesbians and made a quick doodle in her notebook. This would be a nice hat later on. "Roadkill rots, Sel."

Selene: Selene leaned over and took a peek at the projection on Darren's skin. After a moment, she put on a slight frown. "Say, would any of you like me less if I admitted that I find this strangely appealing," she asked.

Jay: Jay muttered something in creole, offending hat in his hands. "Y' got Sel and Adriana here, you did not need t' drag d' most eye-hurtin' member of d' school into a public place." He stared down a woman who was staring at him. Keep walkin'.

Adriana: "Makes me hungry."

Darren: "Actually i'd be concerned if you didn't, babe," Darren chuckled, adjusting his own elder god headpiece.

Adriana: Adriana poked Jay. "If you wore my hat people would look at you because of the hat instead of the wings. I made it especially for you." She poked again.

Jay: Jay pulled a face. "And d' blue. You're askin' a blue guy to wear a silly hat, in order t' take attention away from d' wings and skin?"

Adriana: "Yes."

Selene: Selene flopped down in Darren's lap, pulling her lemon hat a little further into her face. "I offered to get the spray paint for you," Selene told Jay and put an arm around Darren's shoulder.

Darren: "Never know dude, might work," Darren chuckled, looking around, "you're causing Adriana's stall to get a lot of interest anyways."

Darren: He put his arms around Selene's waist and nuzzled her hair, "Awww, not getting tired already, babe?"

Jay: Jay's wings fluffed a little, swearing in creole again. "Sprayin' me bright green wouldn' help, Sel." He muttered semi-diplomatically. He was sure he'd seen more spray cans then were strictly nessecary in Darren's art bag...

Adriana: "Yes! We are themed after all." She pointed at the banner over her little stand. "Queen_Bee's Mutagenic Hats!" it claimed.

Jay: Jay dissolved into yet more New Orleans swearing.

Darren: "I'm suprised you haven't got a load of butterflies or killer bees flying around to draw in more interest," Darren chuckled again at Jay.

Jay: "Quit laughin' at me!"

Selene: "Mutagenic?" Selene frowned. "They cause scalp cancer?" She patted Darren's hat. "Don't worry. I'm doing fine. Perhaps I'm simply enjoying your company. Yes, I know it's an outrageous idea."

Darren: "You know, if your company name is Queen Bee I could always shift my true form, apparently it's kinda bee-like."

Adriana: "Well, I might have some beetles flying around in close proximity and dissipate pheromones to make people more open-minded to buying my hats..." She made the shifty-eyes.

Selene: "Which brings us to the next logical question and its inevitable answer: No, I'm not going to wear a bee-costume," Selene remarked.

Selene: "Not outside the bedroom, anyway," she added, a little quieter.

Jay: Jay looked down into the staring eyes of the penguin hat. "...Why've Ah got a penguin hat anyway?"
Adriana: "Because it's the best bird there is."

Jay: "Actually, dat'd be a cockatiel." Jay said under his breath in his best grumpy five-year-old voice.

Darren: "Naaah it's Adriana who's the queen bee-" he blushed slightly at that, and tickled her, "you terrible, filthy woman," he whispered in her ear.

Adriana: "Fear me!" She posed, accidentally shoving a finger into the face of a person. "Uhm...see anything you like?" She got handed fifty bucks and the person left with a 27 dollar poodle cap.

Darren: "... Damn, thos bugs are good!"

Selene: "If you keep up with the charming compliments I'm going to steal her for you," Selene replied, flashing Darren a grin.

Jay: Jay put his chin in his hands, stretching his wings a little - which bought over a small crowd to oggle - and then buy. "Ah am not likin' bein' used as a marketin' gimmick." He grumbled. "Y'all owe me drinks and smokes for dis."

Selene: "Or at least a commission for a free hat," Selene tossed in.

Adriana: "How about..." She rumoured under the table and pulled out a can. "Beetlejuice?" She held out the can which had a dancing beetle on it.

Darren: "Nooo, I'm happy with the lady I've got in my life right now," Darren smiled, then glanced over at Jay, "If it makes you feel better I'll shift, okay dude?"

Jay: Jay eyed up the can suspiciously, before looking at Darren. "Y'all are gettin' enough stares in dat hat. Though Ah suppose Adriana wouldn't mind a matchin' pair of brightly coloured budgies." He smirked, before eyeing up the can again. "...What's in it?"

Adriana: "It's a trade secret." She gave him her brightest smile. "I thought of expanding."

Jay: "It ain't literally beetlejuice, is it?"

Selene: "Knowing her, probably something made of insects," Selene guessed, eying the can. "Or made of something that insects regurgitate." She tilted her head. "Which means I'm feeling somewhat tempted to try it, in case Birdboy here turns out to be too much of a chicken."

Darren: Another person came over and Darren quickly leaned over to serve them while Adriana was talking to Jay, "Anything you fancy sir, apart from the lovely ladies?"

Adriana: "Nooo, silly. I would never get the okay to sell it then."

Jay: Jay took the can gingerly. "Well, Ah'm already blue. Cain't really do anythin' more odd to me. What's d' flavour?"

Adriana: "Honey-ginger-lemonish."

Selene: That made Selene perk up. "Do you... have another can, by any chance?"

Darren: The guy ended up buying a ... well ... the label said 'albino tadpole hat', he parted with $19 and put it on his head, wandering off with a snicker.

Adriana: She rumoured around under the table and got another can out only to hold it out to Selene. "I plan on putting it out during the afternoon when people are tired and thirsty."

Selene: "Thank you," Selene said and took the can from Adriana. She opened it, cautiously sniffing the contents before taking a slow sip. "This tastes intriguing. I like it." She took another sip. "Yes, I really do."

Darren: Darren handed the money over to Adriana, "Give us a sip, babe."

Jay: Jay watched Selene carefully to make sure nothing was going to happen to her, before opening his own. He tried a bit, then blinked. "Dis is...actually pretty nice, Adriana."

Adriana: She took the money and put it into the box that worked as a till for her. Yes, it was open, but no, she wasn't concerned about anybody reaching in and stealing the money. After all, it was crawling with maggots, beetles, and ants.

Adriana: "It's the royal jelly!" It was really nice that her friends liked it, so she was happy. Also, that meant it would probably sell well.

Selene: "Us?" Selene arched an eyebrow. "Feeling royal again?" She gave him a look, but eventually put on a smirk and took another sip of the strange, but interesting drink. Instead of swallowing, though, she pressed her lips to Darren's.

Darren: Darren frowned, then looked faintly horrified, "No, I meant as in-" he was cut off by her lips closing over his own, "Mmm?"

Jay: Jay looked away at the dirty, dirty hetero, taking another drink before sitting back and spreading his wings out carefully. "Dis has got to be d' easiest job Ah've ever done."

Adriana: "Well, if you're bored..." She reached under the table again and pulled out a replica of her actual banner, but with an arrow pointing downwards on it. "Mind flying circles over our stand while holding this?"

Darren: Darren utalised his mutation to say, "Hey, this does taste nice," without actually taking his lips from Selene's.

Selene: "Pleased now," Selene asked, licking a drop off Darren's lips before sitting back. "We should ask Adriana to get more for us. Maybe stock the pantry with it."

Jay: Jay looked over to Darren and Selene and rolled his eyes. "Sure, saves bein' bored here." He muttered. Anything to get away from that. He had no issue with the fact he crushed on Darren but he had a girlfriend, it was just...he was...it was...well...

Darren: ((It's the royal jelly!))

Jay: He picked up the banner, spreading his wings to their full span and leaping into the air with one powerful downstroke, quickly gaining altitude. "Ah've got my phone if y'all need me!" So. Humiliatin'.

Adriana: "Fly, my pretty, fly!" Adriana cackled madly while waving at Jay lifting off.

Darren: Darren snorted, "Okay, how much money you made so far, Adriana?"

Selene: "He sure is a pretty fly for a blue guy," Selene muttered, then immediately made a face. Okay, that had even hurt her own brain.

Jay: Creole swearwords drifted down as Jay climbed higher, people point and yelling at him.

Adriana: She looked into her box and made a quick calculation. "Seven hundred maybe. This has turned into proift already." Darren got her brightest smile.

Selene: "Well, that's good to hear," Selene commented, drinking from her can again. "If something like this can turn that profitable, it makes me wonder if I should start my own business."

Darren: "Excellent, just more proof we're the dominate species hmmm?"

Adriana: "What do you want to sell?"

Jay: A veritable crowd, drawn by the circling mutant, descended upon the stall below. Jay figured it was kinda lucky that no one could actually hear his muttering.

Selene: "That's the tricky part," Selene admitted. "Then again, I could always sell stabbings." She paused, looking at the others. "Piercings, you know? And the jewelry for it."

Adriana: "Sounds kinky..."

Selene: "It can be," Selene admitting, looking over at Adriana with a smirk on her lips.

Adriana: "Stay away!" She playfully swated at Selene.

Darren: "Maybe you should make your own roadkill hat and sell that?"

Selene: "Oh, that's an interesting idea," Selene admitted, nodding thoughtfully. "Adriana could teach me how to make a hat. Besides, hats are not the only things that can be roadkill-inspired. How about a roadkill scarf, for example?"

Adriana: "Like...a badger with skidmarks on it?"

Darren: "Roadkill prom dress!" Darren suggested, "you could do a whole fashion line!"

Selene: "You know those fur boas wealthy women like to wear to fashionable events," Selene asked. "Made of weasel and foxes and whatnot. Wouldn't it much more exciting if their dress had been freshly killed? It would be both a fashion and a political statement." She nodded excitedly at Darren's suggestion. "Oh, that would be fantastic."

Darren: "What would you be politically stateing, fur is murder or something?" Darren asked, shifting her to another leg.

Adriana: "But if you kill animals for those things, isn't the stament more like 'It's okay to kill of you want to make a statement against killing?'"

Selene: "Something like that," Selene replied, frowning to herself. "Or... dead animals will start to smell after a night of dancing." She shrugged. "I didn't say it would have to be a reasonable statement."

Darren: Darren snickered, "And that is why everyone loves you, Selene."

Jay: There was a heavy, downward wind that kicked up dust and paper as Jay landed cleanly on his stool, panting a little and rolling a shoulder, wincing as it cracked. "Sorry...after d' flight d' other day my back'n shoulders're killin' me." He dropped the sign, spread out his wings and tucked them back in.

Adriana: "Awww, it's okay. You were plenty of help." She patted his head.

Selene: "I'm sure my boyfriend would love to give you a massage later," Selene offered, smirking at Jay. "He's pretty skilled at that."

Jay: Jay smiled at the patting, before giving Selene wide, gold eyes. "Uuuuh..."

Darren: Darren twitched, "No he wouldn't!" He said quickly.

Adriana: "The stand is closed for hot boy-on-boy action! We can make far more with THAT kind of show!"

Jay: "Yeah, no, dat's okay, Ah mean, Ah usually jus' have a hot shower an' a rest fer a few days an' Ah'm fine, it's just dat Ah ain't in shape an' Ah did a long flight and..." Oh god...Jay could feel the blush as he babbled, pulling a wing round in the pretense of checking through his wing as he blushed a deep purple.

Darren: Darren flushed bright red and looked faintly ill, "Oh shut up, crazy bug-hat lady," he flustered.

Adriana: "Oh well. But we SHOULD make a break anyway, my tummy is gettin grumbly."

Selene: "Not even if I promised to wear my Jill Valentine costume later," she asked Darren, trying to put on a coy expression. It still came off rather mischievous.

Jay: Jay bit his lip. "Um...y' know...Ah'm jus'...Ah'm gonna...gonna go for a smoke...or somethin'...uh...Ah'll be on d' roof..." For a long, long time... "Ah've got my cell, jus'...buzz me when y' want me back..." He stood up and shoved his hands in his pockets, giving a weak smile. "Catch y'all later, yeah?"

Darren: "No, there'll be no man se-you have a Jill Valentine costume? Which game?" Darren asked, going slightly goggly eyed.

Adriana: "Okay, bye!" She waved at Jay and pulled on Selene's sleeve. "Come, I saw someone with a top-hat-shaped oven earlier."

Selene: "Maybe I'll let you see for yourself later," Selene told Darren, gave him a quick peck on the lips, then let herself get dragged off by Adriana. "Really? Whatever it must be that's cooked in there, it has to be delicious."

Jay: Jay waved back and trudged outside, wings slumping a little, curled around himself as he tried to ignore the stares. He knew it was mostly harmless teasing but...he really...didn't like it, not with Darren right there. He took off outside, wincing as it pulled at his sore back, pulling out a cig as he landed on the roof.

Darren: "Really?" Darren asked, then turned around as Jay flew off, "Jay you wanna-hey!" He looked about him, everyone else had gone, "Motherfucker! Just 'cos I don't eat food means I don't get a lunch break? Suck!"

Darren: He grumbled and pulled his had down lower over his head as he sat down to watch the shop.

[Svartfreja]

Adriana: Adriana was sneaking through the woods, peeking around from time to time as if to make sure that no one was following her. Which was exactly what this was supposed to be. She wasn't sure whether her latest project was okay with the faculty, but she also didn't intend to find out.

Tigra: Tigra's keen senses had picked up on Adriana's presence some time ago and she was now stalking the girl. For fun mind you, she had no intention of being seen... at least yet. She kept low to the ground and in the shadows beneath the trees. Her striped fur excellent camoflage.

Adriana: The girl kept on waltzing her way through the bushes, though there seemed to already be a fairly well-used path here. Again she looked around. Had there been a noise? She ducked deeper and hoped her black hat, hoodie and skirt did the trick of concealing her. Hopefully the white spider embroidered on the hat wouldn't give her away, it was kind of sparkling in the hot afternoon Sun.

Tigra: Tigra paused, and crouched in the shadows when the girl turned around, grinning a little. This was too much fun! No. Concentrate. Don't wanna get seen. She continued to follow.

Adriana: Having finally reached her destination, Adriana looked around one last time, crouched down...and vanished!

Tigra: Tigra blinked at the sudden disappearance of her quarry. That was different. She cautiously wound her way to the spot the girl had vanished from. Oooh a hole! She scrambled in.

Adriana: After a bit of pushing and shoving through a narrow tunnel, Adriana finally squeezed into a big and surprisingly well-lit cavern. The light came from miriads of fireflies and glow worms on the ceiling that had started to glow as soon as she had entered.

Adriana: They illuminated a wide space in which enormous walls consisting of honeycombs had been errected. Bees, wasps, and bumblebees were eagerly zipping around everywhere, busily doing their work.

Tigra: Tigra dug and pushed her way through the tunnel, falling out the other end and shaking her fur free of dirt. She looked around. "Oooooooh pretty....." Heaven.

Adriana: "What?!" She turned around and the busy humming instantly went flad. Billions of eyes were looking at the strange appearance that wasn't supposed to be here. "You!"

Tigra: Ooops.... "Hi!" She grinned, "I'm sorry, you were fun to stalk...." She scuffed the ground with a foot, her tail curling around her legs, "What is this place anyway? It looks fun..." she grinned again, her eyes huge as she stared around at all the glowy insects. "Bugs!"

Adriana: "Don't touch anything! God, look at you." She poked Tigra. "I bet your fur alone is against half a dozen health and safety regulations!" Though, it DOES feel nice...

Tigra: "Health and safety? We're in a.... cave? Full of bugs and you're worried about health and safety?" She blinked at the girl, "I lived out in the woods for two years. I'm as natural as they come."

Adriana: "Uhm...yeah...but..." She was interrupted by a small battalion of cockroaches bringing her a cup with some liquid in it. She picked it up, sniffed, and took a sip. "Mmmm..." Then she looked at Tigra again. "I'm sorry, but now that you have found my secret factory, I can't let you go..."

Tigra: Tigra blinked at her, "Um... what?"

Adriana: "...without trying my Beetlejuice!" She nearly shoved the cup into the other girl's face. "Try it! It's a fresh batch!"

Tigra: Tigra nearly fell over when the cup was thrust at her, "Uh..." she sniffed at it cautiously, before taking the cup and having a small sip. The crazy girl drank some. What harm could it do? She healed fast.

Adriana: "Do you like it?" She gave her big puppy eyes, while in the background the various kinds of insects took up their work again.

Tigra: Honey was great. Lemon was... okay. Ginger. "Argh! Burns!" she dropped the cup and pawwed at her tongue. "Bleargh!" She grabbed a handful of the dirt off the floor and stuffed it in her mouth. Her eyes watering, she looked up at Adriana, "It's nice." She told her.

Adriana: Adriana blinked for a moment. "...yay!" She hugged Tigra, obviously believing rather her words than her actions. "You have earned yourself a tour through my factory!"

Tigra: "Factory?" she dusted herself off again, swallowing over the tingling sensation that remained on her tongue. "Bugs?" she looked hopeful.

Adriana: "Well, beetles. And cockroaches. A few rolly pollies, although they aren't exactly insects." She dragged her past the honeycomb-walls towards the back of the cavern. Here a living conveyor belt of beetles was moving tin cans with a flashy 'BEETLEJUICE!' print on it passed by under a big pot that was tilted regularly (also by beetles) and a light, yellow juice poured into them.

Adriana: "The only machine I had to get was for closing the cans." She pointed at the end of the conveyor belt, were some old, manually operated little machine was continuously pressing down on the cans to close them with a cap.

Tigra: "Wooooooow...." Tigra's eyes were huge as she watched the operation, "This is pretty cool!" She knelt down to watch the bugs close up, her tail swishing from side to side. She had to really fight the urge to go nuts and chase them. She wondered if the bugs knew this.

Adriana: The insects (and non-insects) made a big detour around the visitor but otherwise kept on with their work. "I'm wondering how to make fliers for promotional work, you know? There aren't exactly any insects that squeeze out ink...well, none that I could get my hands on, that is..." She put her index-finger on her chin and thought hard.

Tigra: "Get a person to do it?" She asked, leaning ever closer to the insects and sniffing curiously.

Adriana: "You're right!" She looked down. "Careful, those shoot stinking liquid when they're afraid."

Tigra: "Ew..." she wrinkled her nose and backed up a little, "Thanks for the warning...." She looked up again, "This is pretty impressive you know...."

Adriana: "I plan on selling the first batch to a small supermarket nearby." She folded her arms and tried to sound like a veteran CEO. "Getting to know the customers first, you know? And later on I'm getting shares...somehow..." She wasn't completely sure how that worked, yet. Maybe she needed to talk to Farouk about this, he should know about economics.

Tigra: Tigra grinned, "You're quite the entrepeneur huh?" She stood up, her attention caught by the glowy bugs again. Pretty....

Adriana: "Yes. My empire will be built on hats and juice!" She struck a pose. "Want to be my partner?" Bugs can't write fliers...

Tigra: "Shiny..." She moved over to the edge of the cavern, wanting to climb up to the glowy bugs.

Adriana: "You could write the fliers and be my booth-babe at conventions. I have got a stand at a comic convention next, I'm selling comic-themed hats there." She didn't even notice where Tigra was going, that caught up in her schemes she was.

Tigra: Tigra's tail flicked from side to side, as she stood watching the bugs on the wall. Moments later she made a leap for them.

Adriana: Adriana blinked and then looked up. "What are you doing?!" The fireflies and glow worms dispersed and fluttered through the room in chaos.

Tigra: Tigra chased after them, lost in the fun. All the glowies fleeing in different directions. She ran around and jumped into clouds of them, batting at them with her hands.

Adriana: "No! Watch out for the pots!" Tigra was jumping straight towards the pots filled with royal jelly!

Tigra: But the warning came too late. With a shout of surprise, Tigra landed in the sticky mass. "Ack! Help!" She tried to pull herself out. "It's all in my fuuuuuur!" She wailed.

Adriana: "Don't flail around! You will stick the beetles to yourself!"

Tigra: "But it's icky!" She whimpered a little, her ears drooping. She really did look quite pathetic. "Help me?" She gave Adriana the pleading gaze, her eyes huge and her lower lip quivering.

Adriana: "Awww, you big baby." She grabbed Tigra's hand and pulled her along. "Let's get you back to the mansion and clean you up then."

Tigra: Tigra sniffed, everything was sticking to her all the dirt off the floor. She'd never been this dirty in her life! How was she going to get all the sticky out?! "I'm sorry..." she said in a small voice as she was dragged along by Adriana, "I made a mess..."

Adriana: "The bugs will clean it up." She patted the girl's head...or tried to, after one pat her hand got stuck to the fur. "Erm...and you too."