It was a shame it was closer to noon than midnight.  I imagined the effect would have been even more exaggerated in the darkness.

That would’ve been really cool.

The woman stepped away, pulling off one of her wet shoes.  She threw it at the bugs, and it rolled over a few.  A heartbeat later, it burst violently into flame.  It didn’t make a difference.

Nice try, at least.

The swarm that was armed with matches was already too spread out for one shoe and one small fire to slow them down at all. 

Gonna have to try a little harder.

The woman’s attempts to remove her other shoe made her fall over, and she suppressed a grunt of pain as she landed.

First time didn’t work, so you go through the trouble of trying the other one? Sounds like you don’t have a lot of options.

Soo… now I’m questioning whether or not we’re back to the Merchants, again. Is it just this woman right now? Did we perhaps skip Taylor dealing with the rest of the 24-person group?

She successfully kicked off her other shoe, and then began simultaneously fumbling with her belt while trying to crab-walk backwards away from the advancing sea of tiny flames.

Ahh, I see, she’s figured out that shoes are too small, so she’s taking off her other shoe so she can get access to her pants.

I’m not sure baring the skin of her legs while being attacked by bugs is a good idea, but using the larger pants makes a whole lot more sense than the other shoe.

It took me three tries.

On the third attempt, the beetle, supported by others and a crack in the pavement, successfully struck the match against the side of the box as the other bugs adjusted its position.  A small flame flared at the end.

Um. Wow.

What are you using this match for? Gonna set fire to the rain the Merchants? Or maybe we aren’t going back to the second group after all.

Other bugs leveraged matches out of the box the woman had dropped, gripping the matches in their mandibles, sometimes two or three bugs to one match.  Like a relay, they touched one match to another, passing on the flame from the beetle’s match to each of the others.

How fitting that I’d read about this on the starting day of the Olympics.

It wasn’t long before there were more than thirty beetles each with a lit match in its mandibles.  Some died from the heat their own matches generated, but most were able to stand it.

Damn, nice.

I could imagine the visual of it; kind of like a small sea of tiny flames like lighters at a concert.  Or maybe it was closer to a lynch mob, a crowd holding torches, radiating with an imminent threat of violence.

Hm, it does sound like we’re back to the Merchant fight – I don’t remember anyone dropping a box of matches when I read the first part four days ago, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. Or it might’ve happened offscreen while we were flashbacking.

Hoiwdla! Let’s get back to Taylor’s defense against the Merchants entering her territory!

Quietly, I set the serving tray down on one of the luggage trunks at one corner of the room, collected my own tea and went upstairs to the second floor.

And we’ve come full circle.

■

Aaand it’s time to deal with the second group, isn’t it?

Obediently, she went to do just that.

I put the kettle on, then got the sugar.  What did I have that would go well with tea?

Fried beetle?

I got out a box of graham cookies with chocolate on one side.  I poured out the tea into mugs and put a teabag in each.  I poured milk into a small measuring cup so Sierra could have milk with her tea if she wanted, and similarly doled out sugar into a small bowl and placed a spoon inside it.  Then I tore open the box of cookies and sorted them onto a plate.

Domestic, hospitable Skitter is pretty neat.

I put everything onto a tray and went to find the room where Sierra would be seated.

She was lying on the bunk bed, already fast asleep.

Aww. 🙂

It wouldn’t surprise me if she hasn’t had a good sleep over the last two days. Now she’s in a decent bed in the nice – if not fully-furnished – hive of someone who claims to want to protect her and seems genuine about it. I think Skitter’s reply to her comment about domesticity really did help her feel more comfortable about all of this.

Sleep well, Sierra.

“This is strangely domestic for a villain.”  I turned to look at her and she hurried to add, “I mean-”

And there it is. The V word.

(No, not vagina. Why would you think I meant vagina.)

Maybe that’ll help it sink in for Taylor why Sierra has been reacting the way she has.

Also, hey, villains gotta live somewhere too!

“It’s fine.  I’m not offended, I am a villain.  But I’m also a person under this mask.  Someone who prefers tea to coffee, who enjoys reading, who…”  I floundered.  “…likes sweet and savory foods but dislikes anything spicy or sour.  Point being, I’m someone who wants to make sure you get taken care of.  Especially if you’re among the people I’m protecting in the territory I’m claiming.  Go.  Find a bed.”

…I really like this reply.

Not gonna lie, I hope Sierra sticks around here after this Arc. I like her dynamic with Skitter.

“I’m making tea,” I spoke, as I came down the stairs.  “You want some?  Are you hungry?”

I really don’t think Sierra was expecting Skitter to be so hospitable.

“I’m not a tea drinker, and I haven’t had it in years, but that suddenly sounds like the best thing in the world.”

Hehe.

I suppose this tea ties back to the beginning again. I wonder if Skitter’s going to be like “Oh, I can sense some Merchants entering my territory. I’m gonna go sit upstairs and deal with it. Don’t come up, I wanna take my mask off so I can drink the tea.”

“I’m afraid I don’t have a kitchen table or chairs or even a living room for us to have the tea.  There’re beds in the other room, if you want something to sit on, and you can make yourself comfortable there.”

Better than nothing, I suppose.