new orleans ♔ sing like it's going to be your last day

[romanticidal]

♬ Happy Birthday Song - Andrew Bird

WHO || Thomas, Jack, Gar, Kat, Dumage, Mark, Myri, Buffy, Finnick, Spike, Rafael, Des, Elena [Closed]
WHAT || Various downtime shenanigans
WHERE || Various locations, New Orleans
WHEN || Sunday Nov 18th, night through Mon, November 26th, 2012 [Backdated]
HOW || Actionspam, don't sweat tag order! Feel free to threadjack everywhere too :)

[ The last mission was something of a mixed bag: while Thomas' team successfully infiltrated the underground levels, discovering the truth about Chad & company's diabolical experiments grafting human DNA into Shadowkind in an attempt to make their human mind control technology work on Shadow, the team searching for the relics ran afoul of Iscariot agent, Alexander Anderson. The deadly regenerator was there to kill Rafael, but Jack held him off long enough for the others to escape. Meanwhile, Finnick and Myri learned some interesting information about the state of affairs at NOVA Records...

This log covers any work and non-work related shenanigans the Knights have while staying in New Orleans, immediately following the last log and extending over the next week. This will be the Knight's last week in New Orleans before they return to the castle for the holidays / do some other filler things so we can catch up to the rest of the world chronologically. (except for characters who have IC reasons not to).

Make your own threads, don't fuss about tag order, feel free to threadjack multiple people into one thread for hang-outs, ask me if you want a certain scene with an NPC, etc. forever whatever. There will be a few group scenes, which I'll alert everyone to on Plurk. They may not all be posted immediately, so keep an eye on this post for new threads as time goes by. ]

Comments

[slay]

Curious about what?

[ yep. buffy's that annoying girl who only caught the tail end of the conversation and now wants the entirety of it repeated for her benefit. she's dropping onto the arm of the couch beside where jack's sitting, leaning over him to look at the papers. ]

[rationalizes]

[ does gar look disappointed for just the tiniest moment? with buffy's 19 spot, she sure does. but then it's gone, with a smile and a blush ] We were discussing some theories of mine from university. Concerning the nature of magic and how it might be affected through other non-magical means.

With science, that is. I've purported that magic is an energy field the same as any other, that perhaps we simply haven't discovered the appropriate way to measure and identify it. But if we could, it could be manipulated over time. It's um, the basis of my theory on the creation of a gate into the Shadow World.

[slay]

A gate into the - [ she doesn't seem deterred by gar's disappointment, simply because she's distracted by the topic at hand which is ... startling, to say the least. ] You mean ... Like, so that we could go home? I-If we wanted.

[rationalizes]

Entirely theoretically, at this point, but yes. That's the idea. With the way that magic operates in what people have come to call 'tides', it seems to hold true that these fields are stronger and weaker at certain times, and that the magic goes somewhere or becomes dormant in some way. I don't believe for a second that magic doesn't operate under rules, the same as anything else might. Just because we don't understand them, doesn't mean we should dismiss them as impossible.

[ she notices buffy's expression and gives her a sympathetic smile ] I wouldn't count on my theories going very far at this juncture, however. Without my ... missing link of a sort, I can only go so far. I'd need to find something magical that actually possesses the capability to broach the Veil.

[slay]

Well - Well, yeah, but if anybody's gonna find your key, it'd be the knights, right? [ she looks between gar and jack, searching for confirmation. ] I mean magical artifact, that's totally our thing. It could even be this talisman. [ it's not optimism for her. she likes it here. she has a feeling she much prefers it here to what her dreams tell her that her life used to be like. ]

Have you talked to some of the magicky types back at the castle? I mean, Kat and Myri can only get you so far, but I bet they've got plenty of knights in England who know all about magical limits and tides who could help out.

[dragonsclaw]

I imagine that's likely why Wynn placed her on this mission. [ he gives her a little smile and nod ] In case the Talisman were the key. It was Sir Gar's research that drew his attention to her in the first place: I remember him speaking to me about it before he even went to attempt to recruit her to our ranks. [ gar looks down at her lap, fiddling with her hands and trying to fight off another flush. ] I imagine that between our scientists and mages, if anyone can unlock the secrets of arcane physics, we have her in our presence. [ her eyes are huge when she looks up at him, but he's already standing, looking to buffy ] I'm glad you came out. I wished to speak with you, if you had a moment.

[slay]

[ the glowing review of gar gets a broad smile working up on buffy's face, and instead of watching jack talk, she watches gar's face light up. it's encouraging.

but then jack's standing and addressing her, and she looks up at him, eyes wide and smile softening into something quirkier. ] I've got two. [ she gets to her feet then, too. ]

[dragonsclaw]

Perhaps we might step outside? [ he gestures to the balcony, before glancing back to gar ] I'd love to continue this, if you can pardon the interruption.

[slay]

Okaaaaay, but I better be wrong about that sinking feeling that I'm in trouble. [ it's said warily, but she turns and heads out onto the balcony all the same while jack and gar draw their smart hero conversation to a close. ]

[dragonsclaw]

[ he lags behind a bit and then slides out, closing the door behind him and joining her at the rail ]

Rather the opposite, actually. I wanted to talk, first of all, about what happened with Anderson. How you were feeling.

[slay]

Oh.

[ the beat taken there is telling. she's not thrilled. in fact, she's a little terrified. everything she's come up on so far, she's been able to handle with relative ease. no, she didn't love getting shot and injured and nearly killed, but nothing had so completely wiped the floor with her before. ever, that she could remember. she was used to being stronger than, well, anything in a given room.

anderson was humbling. he'd pulled the rug out from under her. ]

All healed up.

[ she says it with a chipper smile. it wasn't entirely true - she had a few days to go before she was back in tippy top shape, but she was managing. the worst of it was over. another beat. that alone wasn't going to fly, she knew. so she relented a little. ]

I mean, I didn't love running into the guy. He really puts the 'fear' in 'fear of God.' But ... You know. I'm okay.

[chessing]

Perhaps he gives you a good sense of what I tried to explain about the demon hunters we're aware of and their level of... fanaticism.

[ there's a beat and then he says, looking out at the view: ] No matter how it might have felt, your actions were incredibly brave, attacking him head on. And tempered with wisdom, when you recognized it to be a fight you were not currently equipped for.

The precise balance needed to be a proper member of the Dragon's Hide.

[slay]

[ there was a grim nod of agreement at his accusation of fanaticism. she was suddenly grateful that she hadn't been picked up by them when she'd come into this world. still. it was a lot to think about, and she seemed to grow distantly caught up in those thoughts. anderson, rafael had said, was probably scientifically engineered to fight demons. was she the same? was that where her strength came from?

then jack said dragon's hide and she raised her eyebrows, seeming to snap back into the conversation. she stared at him for a blank moment, then realized she had to ask sooner or later; ] ... Which one is that again? [ someone never studied the pamphlet to remember what all the wing names associated to. someone get dis bitch a handbook. ]

[chessing]

[ there's a fleeting look of mild surprise, but he quickly and tactfully wipes it away... ]

Our warrior sect. The section which I was a part of, once.

They'd be lucky to have you as a member.

[slay]

Oh! Right. I ... knew that. Obviously. [ sheepish smile. it fades quickly and she goes on to explain. ]

I hadn't really thought about it. I mean, you being dragon's claw guy and all, I probably should look more into which 'sect' I'll be in when I'm promotion gal. Guess that one makes the most sense, though. Lots of hitting, very little undercover. [ she gives a decisive nod that says she's signing on for that plan. and then ... it seems to occur to her. ]

... Wait. Are you - Is this me being a member? Is - Am I promotion gal?

[chessing]

I would have used the word 'woman', but the Americanism will suffice, yes.

[slay]

[ between the boost that the word woman invariably gives, and the fact that he really really means that, pride swells in buffy's expression in the form of a slow-building smile that reaches her eyes. they prickle, growing glossy, and she decides it's as good a time as any to hurl herself forward and throw her arms around jack's neck, pulling him into a hug that he'd better deal with one way or another. ]

[dragonsclaw]

[ he doesn't seem to see it coming at all, and looks totally thrown off as he's drawn into the hug. but then he relaxes and returns it with polite warmth, before drawing back and squeezing her arms. ]

I'll take that as your acceptance?

[slay]

No way. I was only in it until you saw how good you had it. Now, it's sayonara and hello greener pastures. [ buffy rolls her eyes, socking him lightly in the arm. ] Of course it's acceptance.

[chessing]

I'm entirely relieved. [ /gentle sarcasm ] It's been an honor to be your Knight, and I'll remain at your service even after you've been made official.

And I still intend to take you to meet Hellsing, if you're bent on that course.

[slay]

If they're half as crazy as Iscariot, you won't hear a peep of protest outta me. I'm sure Anderson's a hit at parties, buuut considering what a great start we got off to, I'm not ruling out fighting our way outta any meeting with Hellsing.

[dragonsclaw]

As entertaining as the thought may be, I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with them either.

[slay]

Not picking, but if we happen to stumble into one, guess who has two thumbs and won't be surprised? [ her pointer fingers both shoot back towards her in an emphatic gesture. ]

[dragonsclaw]

They're somewhat better on that front than Iscariot. [ somewhat. ] You could say we're grudging allies.

[slay]

See, you say that like it's s'posed to be reassuring, but it's the 'grudging' part I'm worried about.