effie yaxley (euphemia) wrote in cultureic, @ 2016-09-12 11:58:00 |
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“I don’t even know what this is called,” Elsie said, wrinkling her nose at a particularly hideous plant hanging just above her shoulder. Herbology had never been Elsie’s strongest subject, so she had one more reason to be glad she had Effie there with her. Recovering from the sight of the plant, Elsie glanced at the other girl and grinned. “We could make this one strangle her.” “I didn’t know Squiggle had a twin!” Effie said cheerfully as she reached for one of the plant’s leaves. She gave it a sharp tug and it snapped off in her fingers, drawing a frown from her. She carelessly tossed the leave aside and wiped her fingers on a nearby shelf. “I don’t think Squiggle is strong enough to strangle her.” The frown on her face faded into thoughtfulness as Effie scanned the plants around them. “How do we feel about poisoning her?” she asked when she turned her attention back to Elsie. “Oooh, love a poisoning,” Elsie said, clasping her hands together in front of her. But her grin wavered a moment as she realised Effie probably wasn’t talking about murder. That was plan C. “What exactly did you have in mind?” “Nothing yet,” Effie said, smiling fondly at Elsie’s grin. She could probably guess why it’d wavered. “I’m just considering our options. I think something painful and debilitating could give her a moment to stop and really consider things from our point of view, though.” “You make a good point.” Looping her arm through Effie’s, Elsie guided her along to the next row of plants she couldn’t name. “Let’s do something that’ll keep her quiet a few days. She won’t be able to stop and think if she’s busy running her mouth.” Effie made a noise of acknowledgement as she studied the next row of plants. Nothing was jumping out at her, though, and when they came to the end of the row, she couldn’t help but sigh. She crouched a bit so she could rest her head on Elsie’s shoulder and said, “Maybe we should give her a bouquet of stinging nettle.” “Or roses that smell like a wet dog,” Elsie said with a giggle as she hugged Effie’s arm closer to her side. But they had several more rows to wander through and at least as many ideas for ruining Reagan’s day to go along with it. “They could give off poisonous fumes.” “What if she confuses that for her perfume?” Effie said, straightening as they turned down the next row. Elsie’s laugh rang through the nursery before she came to a stop in front of a cactus. “What about this one?” She glanced at Effie with a wide grin. “It looks just like her.” “Ooh, Winks, that’s perfect,” Effie said, squeezing Elsie’s arm. She reached out to test the sharpness of the cactus’s spines, pressing the very tip of one of her fingers to the sharp end. A dot of blood bloomed there when she drew her hand back, but she gave Elsie a sharp grin that rivalled the cactus. “I think we can work with this.” Her eyes following Effie’s hand, Elsie’s gaze lingered on the drop of blood for a beat before she met the other girl’s grin with a smile. “We can definitely work with this,” she agreed. “We can do damage with this.” “Poor Reagan,” Effie said, dripping with faux-sympathy for a moment before the prospect of a job nearly well done won out. “We’re brilliant!” She leaned in to drop a celebratory kiss on Elsie’s lips. And more for Elsie’s benefit than her own, she murmured low and close to her ear, “Maybe we’ll put both her eyes out and she’ll be blind because of us.” A hint of color rose in Elsie’s cheeks and she ducked her head to muffle a quiet giggle against Effie’s shoulder. Brushing her hand down Effie’s arm, she picked her head up to smirk at her. “Maybe we’ll drive her to an early retirement. And then they’ll make me weekend editor.” “Weekend Editor Flint does have a nice ring to it,” Effie said. She wondered briefly if she cared about being weekend editor herself and found she didn’t. So she smiled and with the fingers that weren’t even a bit bloody, she reached to brush Elsie’s hair behind her ear. “I’d even let you give me a few orders.” “Would you?” Elsie leaned in closer, her hand finding Effie’s without a thought to the blood on her finger. She tilted her head to give the appearance of consideration. But she didn’t need to think very hard to know the sort of orders she’d give. “So I could just tell you to kiss me and you’d do it on the spot?” “On the spot,” Effie echoed with a nod. “I can hardly wait to have that kind of power.” Elsie breathed a laugh. “I’ll try not to let it go to my head when I’ve made it.” “Hmm,” Effie hummed as she slowly leaned in and then lingered over Elsie’s lips as if she were going to kiss her. Before their lips could brush, though, she pulled back and smiled deviously at her. “There’s more where that came from if you let it go to your head.” “This plan better work,” Elsie said with a frown that was mostly put on. “I need that job like right now.” “You’ll get it,” Effie said, giving Elsie’s hand a squeeze. “We’re going to make Reagan squirm.” She snuck a look at the cactus they’d settled on and looked pleased with both of them. “Among other things.” A wicked grin spread over Elsie’s face as she considered the cactus again. “I’ve a few spells up my sleeve for you, ugly,” she said to it. And to Effie, “It’s no severed finger but I think it’ll do the trick.” Effie’s nose automatically wrinkled at ‘severed fingers’, but she recovered quickly. “Can you grab that?” she asked, her eyes catching on the cactus before scanning the plants around them again. “I want to get something pretty for me. Or maybe I’ll get something pretty for you.” “I already have you.” Elsie’s cheeks turned pink once she said it and she was grateful for the distraction of the cactus. “Well!” was all Effie said when her eyes snapped back to Elsie, looking even more pleased with her than the cactus. She dropped a kiss on one of Elsie’s pink cheeks. “If you want, we should buy that.” She gestured at the cactus. “And go back to yours to find the perfect spot for me in your flat. I need lots of shade and praise.” “I know just the spot,” Elsie replied, almost wishing they’d picked a fuller plant she could hide her grin behind. Old habits died hard. “I’ll keep you fed and watered as well.” |