shatterverse | (no subject)

"Cassandra," she replies after a moment's hesitation.

"Nice place, ain't it."

A nod to the richly decorated walls, lined with bookshelves and scattered bells. Whoever lived here originally seems to really have liked their bells. A lot.

Not that 'Cassandra' is paying those bells any attention; no, that's pretty much a transparent ploy to get the conversation going.

Really, really transparent. Transparent enough for even Angelo to see through it.

Again, not that it stops him from looking over at the bells or anything.

"Si. Good food." He glances at her with a small smirk before adding, "Better company."

It sounds like a flirt unless you're a strange little being that tastes emotions and can tell that it's more of a test than anything.

...okay, he sounds like he's flirting. He looks like he's flirting. But he's more suspicious than anything by taste.

Best not to let on she knows that, of course.

"You have no idea," 'Cassandra' returns smoothly with a wide grin, leaning forward and narrowly avoiding another wardrobe malfunction with that sweater.

His eyes narrow, flirtation giving way to a little more suspicion.

And maybe, just maybe, a thought to the girl he'd spent the night with.

Okay, the afternoon.

Part of the afternoon.

An hour.

Still.

"...might have an idea."

"Oh?"

Raised eyebrows.

He's thinking-- well, of her.

That's oddly sweet.

A hand drifts to her bracelets. Should she--?

Perhaps not just yet.

He shrugs in return, but Angelo's eyes are tracking the movement of her hand. It was too idle, too careful to have been anything but deliberate.

It doesn't occur to him that Isabel was wearing the same bracelets because he'd had much more to focus on than her wrists.

"Un poco."

Hah.

Caught on a little, has he?

Inanna's not going to reveal herself just yet, then. She lets the hand slip away.

"Congratulations," she says instead, lightly.

And with a bit of a grin, "Care to show me how much?"

Yes, she's being a little too forward, even for her. Perhaps she's growing careless.

Careless enough for Angelo to start wondering just how real Isabel was, or even 46, her innocence aside. He frowns and puts his hands to the armrests of the chair to push himself to his feet. "Nah, s'all right. Maybe later, eh?"

...dammit.

To hell with this.

"No," says not-Cassandra, sighing and flicking open her second bracelet. "C'mon, I'm just playin'."

A moment to remember the face, and it's not-Isabel who looks out at him, grinning apologetically.

"I'm not used to seeing the same guy twice in a row. Sorry."

A few seconds to make her point and Inanna goes back to the blonde. Suits the clothes better. Click goes the bracelet as it shuts.

...wut?

A beat passes and Angelo's reaction is, perhaps, surprising.

Since he's laughing.

"You bitch. What'd you think I was gonna do f'you told me?"

"...the hell?"

You confuse Inanna! She tastes the flow, trying to figure out what the hell's going on in his head.

"I have no idea. I didn't exactly plan on letting anybody know I can shapeshift," she admits wryly.

Angelo shakes his head at her, still grinning. "A'ight, fine, whatever. But f'those of us that don't got a choice about hidin' our powers, not really a big deal when other people end up havin' 'em."

"Y'say that," she counters, "but don't tell me you didn't just go through a list of every girl you've met here and try to pick out which ones were me. Guys, too, if you're sharp."

Wry smile.

"For the record, I've only ever met you as Isabel before. And when I'm not pretending to be half the women on the damn planet, I go by Inanna."

The name is a gift. Nobody else knows it save for Iris and rather a lot of people Inanna would rather forget. But new world, new rules. She's fond of Angelo.

"Didn't, actually." Angelo grins and comes over to slump back into the armchair. "I'll believe I only met you as Isabel 'cause Izz and Cassandra're th'only girls that've hit on me in years. So I'm guessin' Inanna has some kind of brain damage that makes her think I'm pretty hot an' I'm kinda likin' that."

He shrugs, still grinning at her. "Hell, that's one'a the least creepy powers I've ever seen."

Besides, it makes him feel worlds better to know Cassandra is Isabel is Inanna.

"It ain't brain damage; you are hot."

Inanna grins brightly.

"To me, anyways, and that's what counts."

"I'm not arguing." He is, however, reaching over to take hold of her wrist and urge her closer. 'Closer' as in 'in his lap.' He could, if he wanted to, admit and even show her that he can do a bit of shapeshifting himself.

But his shapeshifting isn't sexy so Angelo is currently thinking 'no' on that one.

"Hey, can you look like Jessica Alba? That'd be hot."

When he thinks at all, anyway.

"Sorry," she admits. "Only works to people I've met or at least passed in the street. This face is pretty close, though, if you ignore the hair."

Lap? Inanna likes lap! Yay lap. She's betting he won't mind if she snuggles in and makes herself comfortable.

Hell. No.

"Damn," Angelo sighs, looking not even slightly put out by this, likely because of hot girl in lap. He grins and slides his hands over her hips, settling back into the chair. "Guess I'll just hafta stick with you."

He's very depressed by this. No, really. He'll prove it with making out.

He might not be getting that particular point across, but it's close enough.

Mmm, making out.

In lap.

Life is good.

See how good life is, Angelo?

(Hint: very.)

Life in a Kansas farmhouse is far superior to life in a special private school in Massachusetts.

Grey hands slide around to the backside of her jeans.

Far, far, far superior.

Life in a Kansas farmhouse is, Inanna feels, appreciably superior to life as the alternate personality of a drummer in Cork, too.

Yep.

Definitely has its upsides.

Eventually, makeouts slow. Not that either of them have a problem with having sex in public places, it's just enjoyable enough right now to be touching someone else.

Lots of touching. Angelo's enjoying that part.

"A'ight, so tell me this," he's saying after a while, leaning back and grinning while his runs his hands over her thighs, "what are you? Besides a shapeshifter, I mean - you a mutant, some kinda experiment thing like 46, what?"

Definitely lots of touching, yeah.

"Monstrum," she says, shrugging. "Won't mean anything to you if you're not from my world."

And since he asked what else besides--

"But basically it means the person this face belonged to first," and she flicks open a bracelet to demonstrate her original face, "died - y'don't need to know the details there, trust me - and came back after with a bunch of superpowers and an alternate personality, namely me. Her name's Iris. We get along pretty well. She's asleep, or I'd introduce you."

C'mon, we've been doing so well, don't freak out.

Also, don't freak out when you inevitably ask what the rest of this 'bunch' of superpowers are, exactly.

Other than looking a little weirded out at the prospect of another girl being inside the one currently in his lap, Angelo doesn't look overly concerned. Inanna's the shapeshifter, the alternate personality. So far as he knows, it's only Iris with the 'bunch of superpowers.'

So he smirks a little and takes hold of her wrist to lift her bracelets up for inspection. "So you always gotta wear these?"

"Yeah. This one's for the shapeshifting; the other one's for--"

Ehh. She'll deal with that later. Inanna shakes her head.

"Anyways, if I leave 'em off for too long it's bad news. The powers go all out of control. Not a good scene, trust me."