+ MILO ( @milo-pierce )
NIGHT, SATURDAY 17TH JULY. THE MANOR. Kitty prides herself on being able to sleep just about anywhere. Handy, really, given the number of locations she’s had to spend nights at over the past couple of months, her own bed beginning to feel severely neglected. And although the room smells of wood polish and lavender; although there’s a vacant mattress and an unnamed overnight bag that she’s ( so far ) managed to curb her curiosity towards and not look inside for clues as to who owns it; although being here makes her feel as though she’s waiting for something bad to happen rather than something good, she’s quick to make herself at home. Her belongings already strewn over her side of the room, today’s clothes abandoned on the floor with her Balenciaga sneakers, she dons a t-shirt and shorts and stands under the artificial glare of the en-suite bathroom light while brushing her teeth.
Nighttime air scented with jasmine and honeysuckle wafts occasionally through the open windows, catching drawn curtains which sway in response, the old manor not made for keeping out July’s heat. The door latch draws back and Kitty pauses, stepping into the room in time to watch a Pestilence Seraphim step over the threshold. There’s a momentary pause, tension sparking electric through her limbs. Dangerous meets dangerous. Dark lashes narrow. “I could kill you in your sleep, you know,” she says matter-of-factly around a mouthful of spearmint, because it feels right to be the one to fire the first warning shot. Plastic bristles return to her incisors only to hesitate and add, “It’s the easiest time to do it. You wouldn’t even have time to realise what was happening.” Satisfied, she turns and slinks back into the bathroom, spitting toothpaste into the sink. Perhaps it was foolish, but a part of her hopes Milo will retaliate if only to give herself an excuse to lash out and put her loathing of Pestilence’s ranks to good use.
