Reflections of Light

Holiday Hell

"What the hell?" Luci screeched, walking out of the bathroom in a hair towel and bathrobe, only to find Alysha rummaging through her luggage.

"Do you have a map?" Alysha asked in an absolutely non-plused manner, not looking up from her task. "Everything has really changed since my time, and I wanna know how much before I go galavanting off to explore it all."

"... And why do you think I would have a map?" Luci demanded, holding the top of her robe closed up to her throat.

Her immediate thought was to react to the threat, to chase this being out of her home, temporary as it was; except for a couple of factors- most notably Luci was unarmed and only half-dressed- but also, as strange as this woman was, it did not appear as if she was actually acting a threat.

A thief, maybe, and a nuisance definitely; but she'd barely seemed to change her reaction when Luci came upon her- neither in defence, surprise or even greeting.

It was curious.

Or maybe the woman was just that cocky.

" 'Cause you look like a person who'd travel.
Also, I think Emilia's going to try to kill me if I take anything else of hers- forgot how werewolves were-Maddie's owns so few possessions her room's practically a prison cell, and I currently can't go to Nyx's house for it because there's an intruder inpinging on my territory there. Which I hate. "

She pursed her lips in disapproval, drumming her fingers rhythmically on the side of the suitcase in thought.

Luci cleared her throat. "Well, I would very much like to finish getting dressed."

"Fiiiine..." Alysha said, peeling herself away from the suitcase to cross the room to look at a set of shelves.
Seeing she was not leaving, Luci started digging out the necessary clothing items to take into the bathroom to dress in there.

"What's Norway like nowadays?"

"What?" Luci replied with an expression of confusion.

"Well," Alysha continued to explain. "I liked Norway. Liked it better than Egypt.
Now, that was an impressive place, but definitely far to hot. Their ability to invent was awestriking though.
The Norsemen were wonderful people though. Well, both societies were strong visionaries, actually."

Heading to the bathroom, Luci paused in the doorway. "Norsemen... Do you mean the Vikings?"

Alysha nodded enthusiastically, dropping down to sit Luci's bed with a small bounce against the mattress.
"Yeah! Although that was ages after I was in Egypt.
Spent some time in Rome between them, then over to Britain. I like human civilisations, there's so much variety. You never get bored."

"Don't go anywhere." Luci decided, holding out one finger as if to halt her. "I'm just getting dressed, and I'll be back out."

"You don't tell me what to do." Alysha said, not with any more argument than that of a child establishing that whilst they may be doing what you ask, it's absolutely because they choose to.

However, when she came back out, Alysha was no longer on the bed; instead now she was going through the bedside drawers.

"Hey, get away!" Luci barked, rushing over to smack her hands and shoe her away. "That's not yours! You're worse than a frigging scavenger, you are!"

Alysha blinked. "I am a scavenger."

"What... Well you can't scavenge my lipstick!"

"But yours is so much better!" Alysha whined, as Luci pryed the makeup tube from Alysha's grasp that had been snuck out of the drawer.

"Spoilsport." Alysha sulked, as Luci won and tossed the object back into the drawer, slamming it shut. "You weren't gonna miss it."

"Yes, I would!"

"But it's purple. It's so pretty!" She flopped down dramatically on the bed, kicking her legs like a sulky child, before propping herself up on her elbows, wearing a confused expression.

"What's..." She reached into the bedding behind her, flipping over as she rummaged for something in the bed clothes.

"Where are you... I gotcha!" She pounced like a cat, giggling as she pulled her prey out from it's hiding place; suddenly leaping back as the green snake leapt at her from under the duvet, Alysha catching it mid-leap around the middle centimeters away from her face.

"Hey, you!" She chuckled, seeming absolutely unaffected by the writhing snake in her grasp trying to bite her. "Oohh. Mean. Don't bite, or I'll bite you, and my teeth are bigger." She snapped her teeth playfully, then rolled up into giggles.

"Alysha, put that down." Luci said sternly, a controlled element to her voice.

Alysha pulled a mock-offended face. "Huh! It's not a that, it's a she. Aren't you, Queenie?" She lifted a finger to run it down the serpents back, ignoring the reptiles angry hissing and thrashing.

Luci seemed stunned for a fraction of a second, then schooled her face into a harsh expression. "You are either very brave, or very stupid."

Alysha shrugged. "What I am, is gloating.
Aww, poor Queenie. Bet you regret all the times you were upity to me now. Maybe you should have come to find me, I might have been willing to get you out of this..." She made a circular motion, gesturing to all of the creature.
"Although, I'd rather be stuck in a mirror than as a snake. At least I still had my limbs."

"Will you STOP antagonising her!" Luci shrieked. "Just take your Klepto-ass and get out of my goddamn room!"

"Ooh, touchy." Alysha snipped, as Luci took hold of her arm and practically dragged her towards the door. "I'm actually being friendly."

"Goodbye!" Luci said, slamming the door in her face. Then her eyes went wide with realisation and she spun around to rip it open again. "WAIT!"

But Alysha was already gone.

Meandering lazily through the mirror realm, Alysha slid the serpent in her hands from one palm to the other. "So, Maven, wanna go sightseeing?"

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