a/n: this is the episode 6 chapter, but there will be a slight divergence from the canon episode. with that, enjoy!
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It had taken much more time than Talia would've liked, but she'd been able to cover her bruises from last night's encounter with an astronomical amount of carefully-applied makeup. Overnight, the marks on her neck had darkened, turning into glaring, ugly blotches of reddish-purple against her otherwise pale neck. But her attempts at concealment would suffice, or at least, so she hoped.
The puncture wounds on her wrist were already bandaged and covered by her sleeve; those were not the issue. The main problems were the little cuts scattered across her face, from when she had hit the floor and squirmed around helplessly. She had ended up rubbing against the wooden floorboards, the result being little thin lines across one side of her face.
They had seemingly scabbed over whilst she had endeavored to sleep — which, in all honesty, was a fruitless mission — meaning that covering them the way she had her bruises would be a lot harder; nearly impossibly so.
I could just say I fell down the stairs, she thought to herself. Shitty excuse, but it's the best one I got.
Her limbs ached as she descended the seemingly endless amount of stairs, ears pinned flat against her head. She made her way to the bar and sat down on a barstool, hoping that Husk would ignore the miniature cuts that she had been unable to hide.
"Hi, Husk," she greeted with a gentle smile, speaking softly so the pained rasp to her voice wasn't as evident. Glancing around the lobby, she noticed the lack of anyone else. "Hey, where is everyone?"
Husk narrowed his gaze, seeming to hesitate for a moment before replying. "Angel's at the studios," he started, a sentence which made Talia wince slightly, "Niffty—"
Niffty popped up out of a random potted plant nearby, waving enthusiastically to Talia. "Hi there!"
Talia jumped slightly, not expecting the sudden appearance. "Hi," she murmured with a tight-lipped smile, before glancing back to Husk.
Husk chuckled, wings twitching slightly. "And Charlie and Vaggie are headin' up to Heaven soon..."
Talia's eyes widened, the meeting which had been scheduled for months having completely slipped her mind. "Oh my gosh, really? Only a month until the extermination, then... I hope things go well for them..."
Husk let out a dismissive sigh. "Yeah, yeah. But anyways — the fuck happened to your face?"
Talia froze at the question, leaning back slightly as she swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. "I, uhh... I fell down the stairs," she lied, hoping her tone was convincing enough to be believable.
