Liliana Vess Defiant Necromancer

Look, Liliana had gone to the Infinite Consortium yesterday to make sure Dean wasn't doing anything stupid. That was plenty of work for the week and she felt no guilt about deciding not to go in today. Not that she would have felt guilty even if she hadn't, mind. Guilt and Liliana were only nodding acquaintances at the best (worst?) of times.

Besides, this weekend had been very...much...considering that she hadn't had any guests. Did Iris and Aranea count as guests for Ignis? Likely not, but still their presence was. Something. And that something wasn't something that Liliana had quite figured out yet. She wasn't sure if Ignis had. She wasn't sure if it would even end up mattering in the end. Either way, the events of the weekend had left her feeling...unsettled. Too many things hitting too close to home all at once. And while Liliana had several ways of dealing with feelings like this, there was only one that she wanted to indulge in today.

Yesterday's shortened sleep meant it was far earlier than she would normally awaken, even on days she would be going into the store, but rather than continue to stay abed, she got up, stole Ignis' bathrobe because she could, and padded downstairs on bare feet to find her paramour. Even just sitting together was...soothing to her.

Shut up.

[for the aforementioned gentleman, pls!]

Liliana was lounging on her divan, the bare feet dangling over the edge, the shoes carelessly allowed to drop to the floor, watching Josu cheerfully disembowel a catnip mouse. She was in a delightful mood after the party, that kind of dreamy tired where she knew nothing would feel better than climbing between her cool sheets and finally falling into a deep and dreamless sleep. In a moment she would do just that, but her chambers were up so many stairs and Josu had meowed so piteously for her attention, that a brief stop to relax on her way to bed proper seemed the best idea. Her steward had brought her a thin blanket and a cup of tea - delicious and made to her exacting specifications, if, as always, lessened by the lack of Gavony honey, the sweetest flavor her tongue had ever tasted - and withdrawn, leaving her with her lazy swirl of thoughts and the antics of her cat.

"What a mighty hunter you are, Josu," she said, voice thick with sleep and amusement both. "Would you like to have a party here, darling?"

( Liliana only has the worst guests, hand to god )

The sound of shattering porcelain penetrated her nightmare, and Liliana sat up with a gasp, clutching the thin blanket she'd been curled beneath to her chest. She looked frantically around the room. No man; no birds. No footprints or fallen feathers. She was alone.

Alone with the frantic hammering of her heart, and the metallic taste of fear in her mouth. She pushed the blanket aside, sliding her feet to the floor, and rose, starting toward the fire. A cup of tea would take the taste away. It was hard enough to fall asleep on these hot Fandom nights; the proper blend of herbs and florals could only ease the way . . .

Something crunched under her foot. She stopped, looking down at the remains of her favorite teacup, then bent, touching her fingertips to the liquid splashed all around them.

It was still warm, the same temperature of the blood slowly starting to leak from her feet from the shards of shattered porcelain.

As she looked up toward the open window where the sun was rising and staining the heavens with pinks and golds, she almost thought she could hear him laughing.

[Everything under the cut is NFB for dream-nanigans. Much of it copy, pasted, and origami'd from "Homecoming," by Seanan McGuire. Open should someone feel like visiting the creepy abandoned mansion, I guess?]