"Leave your shoes and socks at the door, dear." Max hardly had a choice when he walked into Zorana's Web. Where the floor was faintly visible outside of her doorway, it was not here. Layers and layers of fine silk were everywhere and stickier than superglue. Taking off his shoes and socks, it felt easier to walk on flesh, "So what do you think of my web? Sorry for the mess. I wasn't expecting to have visitors."
Wall to wall was covered with the substance above, but the way she covered her dresser and mirror was strangely cute. Max was reminded of intricate doilies. They were masterfully crafted to match the skeleton theme she was rocking with her tattoos. One shaped like a ribcage draped over the entire desk and one like hands over both sides of her mirror-dresser. The computer and tower that Ana had untouched with her webbing surprised him. Something that stood out to Maxwell was the three human-size silk-wrapped balls on the ground near her bed. Countless more bodybag-sized balls were stuck to the ceiling and walls. Her bed was king-sized and looked like it had not been touched in many weeks. Long posts on each of the four corners, with her silk being used as a canopy. Stone made a mental note to tease her on the princess vibe later. His eyes remain fixed on the three nonmoving silk balls on the ground, "It is very you...."
Zoey stepped into his line of vision with her first four spider legs folding inward. This brought her closer to his eye level, but she was still a head or two taller than him on her recluse perch. Her other four legs worked hard, scooting her trash underneath the bed. Zorana's eye never left Maxwell's, even as a drop of her tingling, pink venom fell on his bare skin. Kuro's excited chanting echoed in his head, 'Drink it! Drink it! Drink it!'
Max did no such thing, ignoring the weird sensation to make his favourite nonperson comfortable. She spoke in a manic tone, "Come on! Come on! Let me see your hand so I can understand how you can use your Black Flame."
He did so immediately. Ana became more aware of her leaking venom when she touched him and sucked on her lips while rubbing his palms. Her touch was soft, like a woman who cared for her skin with oils and lotions. A sensation that felt like pop rocks going off in his hands as dark embers sparked from their touch. She frowns while closing her eye, mumbling to herself, "Ah... Oh no... Interesting... Void be damned...."
This went on for a minute with a constant dripping of her marshberry-smelling poison over his skin. Craving for it, blaming the demon, Max took a lick of the toxin that dripped near his lips. Zorana's eyes jolted open at a realization. Returning her gaze with a sheepish smile, Zorana was more focused on her words than what she saw, "You have a very intriguing and powerful Flame. Your Black Flame is corrupted like it was forced upon you instead of being taught. Typically, people who use this Flame can emit explosions in one way or another. It seems your power lies in making explosions more destructive at the cost of not creating your own. Plus something else... Something unlike any other Black Flame user--"
There was something about her phrasing that made new knowledge dawn on him. Interrupting her despite the dagger eyes that he received, "That is why my Blundershot blast was insane or, honestly, any gun that I have been using lately! Wow, maybe I can turn this curse into something useful?"
The words hung there for a bit. When Stone realized his offensive comments, Zorana had already moved on, "That was what I was about to say... Anyways, how do you invoke it?"
"No idea." The lie was quick and rolled off more clearly than expected. Once Ana finished getting rid of her 'trash', she turned away from him, "That is common for novice Flame users. Black users typically rely on anger or dominance to invoke our Flame, but this is odd. Take this." Maxie was handed an object that looked like charcoal. It was that signature colour/shape and appeared to be compact powder. However, it bordered on scorching and solid in Max's touch, comforting yet flakey. It left no residue on his palms. Stone had already slipped it into his pocket when she explained its use, "It is a Black Invoke Stone. Squeeze it in your hands and recall when you use your Flame. Useless in the short term. Normally, invoking your Flame reliably takes a week of on-and-off practise." The sadness in her words added an extra layer of hopelessness to his situation.
"Oh... Thanks, regardless, Zora. How much do you want for it?" For a moment, she seemed surprised; it was fleeting like many of her emotions. It flushed away before being replaced with a relaxed, mischievous grin, "It did cost me an entire paycheck to get that invoking rock, but... I want you to do something for me."
Since Max discovered what he assumed were half-dead bodies, Zo's spider half stood up for the first time. The Huntress' towering form left him in her shadow. If it was not for Max viewing her as a friend, then the way she hovered over him might have scared him. Stone was about to ask what the favour was when a fat glob of pink, shimmering venom landed directly in his open mouth.
'Yes! Yes! Yes!'
Max hardly registered Zorana's gasp or even her face when his vision blurred. His body was stricken with minor spasms unrelated to the horrors plaguing his head. It took everything to prevent him from falling to his knees. The room and just underneath the surface of his skin felt like it was steadily getting hotter. There was no pain when Zorana decided to slam and stick him against the wall to shake him back to reality. Zorana's eyebrows were furrowed, with lips peeled back as straight as possible. An expecting look on her face once the twitching had stopped. For once, Max was glad that Kuro had spoken to the Non-Grata, "I'm okay, I am okay... it's just A LOT of your tasty venom went in my mouth. Took me a bit off guard."
Kuro did a good job mimicking him, but his word choice needed to be improved. Zorana did not notice/care; instead, her usual easygoing smile was broader, eyes half-lidded in a sultry manner, "Oh really? Tasty?"
There was no time for him to speak before her soft hands gripped his cheeks. Ana's webbing kept his back helplessly pinned to the wall. A nonhuman amount of strength in her fingers dug into his cheeks to force his mouth open. It should have hurt, but there was a strange, tingling numbness to Zorana's harsh touch. Unfurling from her mouth was what he had first thought was a leech due to its sheer length and glimmering blackness.
Once pink venom flowed from the Arachne's mouth and into Stone's like a miniature waterfall, Max recognized it finally as her tongue. The only liquid to compare her venom was carbonated, thick saliva with the watered-down taste of straw and marshberries. Warmth and an intoxicating buzzing overwhelm Maxie's once-sleepy being.
Zorana spoke after abruptly stopping, "Mister Stone, you are quite a remarkable human. That was enough venom to put a Tainted or Vulpes on their knees, yet here you stand or hang in your case...."