Amuse Me.

Amuse me.

Milli had promised him Tia would be back from the forget soon. That was nearly an hour ago. She felt bad about Markus sitting there, alone with her in the shop. Especially since she’d spent most of the time hip-deep in an order of bola rifles that needed to be finished by morning. Hence why she hadn’t just sent for Tia immediately. The woman’s work was part of a constant order that helped keep Milli in business.

But she’d put together all the rifles she had parts for right now. So she went over and sat down beside him with a little flop. “I think my cat’s a murderer,” she said conversationally.

"What…?" Markus peered at her as if she’d said something odd.

Milli just nodded. “I think Widget’s killing people. He stalks them when they come into the shop, gets a feel for them. Then when they come back for their orders, he follows them out. I’ve stopped trying to keep him inside anymore,” she explained, “Just too much trouble. But then he comes back later, licking his claws. And I never see them again. Well, most of them.” She nodded with certainty. “So he’s a murderer.”

The laugh was slow to build, rising from deep within his belly and tumbling past his lips like an avalanche. “I think you’ve been drinking your lubricant, Milli. I can almost guarantee you the cat is not out killing people.”

Milli smiled, pleased that she’d been able to win a laugh from the man. She shrugged. “Well if you say so. But if you start finding bodies with little teeth and claw marks all over them…” With a wide grin, she said, “Go get Tia. She’s done all she can for tonight. You two need some time together.”

She was pushing him out the door before he could do more than sputter. As she turned back to her work, a pair of yellow-green eyes peered out from under the guncase. Widget flexed his claws. Perhaps a meal for another day.

Cool steampunkish cameo ring Tia found!

She wanted to beat something. Throw things. Make a mess, a horrible, wretched mess. Show the world what she felt like on the inside. What her heart looked like.

One of the little clockwork owls was in her hand. She didn't remember picking it up. But already she was squeezing it, fingers tightening around the delicate metal and bending it. If she smashed it in her palm, she'd throw it at the wall. If she threw it at the wall, others would join it. And if she threw them all, smashed the glass, wrecked the shelves, broke her shop...

Then what happened?

She'd lose everything. Everything.

Slowly, her fingers loosened around the owl. Breathing heavily through her nose, she set it on the worktable. There was blood there. Blood on the floor. There might even be blood on the chair in the corner where Ordran had set that useless corpse. She had to take fucking care of things. If she didn't, no one would.

She set out the 'closed for the day' sign beside the door, found a bucket and some rags -- rags she'd gotten to help with Cia NO don't think like that -- filled the bucket with rainwater from outside, and started cleaning.

Milli spent the morning on her knees, scrubbing blood from wood, emptying the bucket when it got too bloody. Not thinking. Not feeling. Desperately wishing she was being held tight by strong arms that could make this all better.

And when it was done, she made her way home and collapsed on the bed in a sort of half-sleep, staring at the door. Hoping it would open. Not knowing who she hoped would be on the other side.

There's something for everyone at Clockworks & Mechanicals Unlimited! Come by and see our line of custom altered weapons. Anything you can dream up, we can make it happen!

Sweet And Sour Baby on Picsity on We Heart It. http://weheartit.com/entry/63264641/via/picsity

Enamour me.

(In the beforetimes…)

Cia had brought her flowers. It was a gift people gave someone special. And so it was only fair…

Milli worked one night and put it together. It wasn’t sappy or sentimental. She wasn’t good at making things like that. Even the clockwork toys in her shop at least moved or played tinkling music. She was practical. So when she next found Cia skulking about her shop, she dragged her inside.

"I, um, made something. I thought you might like it. I mean, someone like you," she said quickly, knowing how Cia hated gifts. "So if you could try it on?"

Cia gave her a speculative look. “Why? Does it explode?”

Milli laughed. “No, silly, of course not. It’s just…useful.” Milli kept her eye on Cia the whole time she was digging the box out from under the counter, just in case Cia tried to bolt. It was always a possibility. Always seemed Cia’s go-to course of action.

She placed the little box on the table and opened it. Inside was a long strip of black leather, matte black metal cinches attached to the sides. “It holds knives,” Milli explained. “The clamps keep the knives attached, but if you press this button at the edge,” she gestured to it, “it will unlock and you can pull the knife. So it’s always on you, but safe from being pulled by someone else.”

Cia grunted, “So what do you want me to do with it?”

"Try it on. Please?" Milli asked with a smile that was perhaps a touch too bright.

Reluctantly, Cia nodded. She let Milli wind the leather around her waist and cinch it tight. She didn’t notice as Milli made a small, deep mark in the edge of the excess leather pulled through the buckle.

Cia placed one of her knives in the closest cinch. She was surprised at how quickly and easily it stayed. “What’s keeping it in there?”

"Magnets," Milli grinned. "I figured having magnets close at hand wouldn’t hurt and would keep the guns or knives closer. Do you like it?"

"Am I…supposed to?" she asked, arching a brow.

Milli’s face fell. “Oh, well no. You don’t have to. I just wanted to try it on someone,” she said, continuing her parade of excuses.

Cia’s hand caught hers. “I didn’t say I didn’t like it,” Cia clarified. “Just wondering if it’s for me.”

"Of course it is," Milli said, then backtracked. "I mean, it’s for someone like you. For the shop.” She quickly worked at the leather and metal of the buckle. Pulled it off and went immediately to look at the cut she’d made. “Oh no, it’s marred,” she said with exaggerated surprise. She showed Cia the mark. “Nobody will buy it from me like this.”

Cia frowned. “Sure they will, it’s only a little mark and it doesn’t hurt the design at all.”

Milli just kept shaking her head. “I can’t sell it. Maybe I could give it to someone?” She eyed Cia sidelong.

"I was not born yesterday, Milli," Cia grumbled, snatching the belt back and putting it on.

"I know," Milli said, leaning close and kissing her on the cheek. "But I didn’t want to fight about giving something to someone who’s special to me." Happily, she began puttering about the shop, leaving Cia staring after her with a spreading blush on her cheeks.