She had tossed the first cigarette butt to the street below and started a second when she heard the serpent underneath the gazebo...and by the way its jaws snapped, it happily chomped down on some sort of snack.

Shock turned around to see a familiar figure climb up. She narrowed her eyes.

"What do [i]you[/i] want?" she asked.

While her tone was overall snippy, there was an underlying hint that she didn't mind the company.

~~~

"Like I [i]don't[/i] know that?" Lock asked. "It's not like we have parents or uncles who can put her in her place."

He crossed his arms and leaned against a nearby coffin.

"Like it or not, Shock's the boss," Lock explained, "and she fought - in every concievable way - to get there. The band is pretty much the only time I [i]can[/i] tell her what to without a brawl. And I don't put her on lead just to keep her happy, Lillith. She really [i]does[/i] work at it."

He reached into his pocket for a cigarette pack and some matches. Lock lit one up and took a drag before he spoke again, careful to blow the smoke away from Lillith.

"Long story short, though, Shock sees Carmilla as a threat to her authority. And practice [i]is[/i] on our turf, in our home. I might have control of the band, but we [i]all[/i] have to be in agreement about who's welcome."

He took a thoughtful drag as he collected his thoughts.

"Look...I know the work you two do for the band, but Carmilla needs to fucking cool it about the lead position and her tutoring. Because if she [i]doesn't[/i] suck up to Shock, it's [i]going[/i] to lead to a fight, and I'm not going to bat for her if Shock decides she's no longer welcome. Hate to say it, but it's her ass or mine, and I don't live with Carmilla."