CHAPTER FOUR ♔ does it run in your blood to betray the ones you love

[coldheritage]

♬ The Truth - Nonpoint

WHO || Failboat, Rafael, Isabella, Nadia  [Closed]
WHAT || After an exciting Grammy night, the Knights meet up with Nadia to hear what she has to say
WHERE || Staples Center, LA -->  Warehouse
WHEN || Feb 8th, 2015  [back dated]
HOW || Actionspam

[  The Knights' mission to stop the signal and prevent Draken's cult from spreading whatever subliminal message  was lurking beneath Keijen Blade's performance was a success.  It didn't come without its bumps in the road, however:  Alexander Anderson showed up, and the Knights ran afoul of the Mind Master.    Buffy nearly died fighting Anderson, but in the end, he was defeated, beheaded, and hopefully put to death forever.   Finnick, though, found himself thrust into a mental illusion that convinced him he might still be in the Hunger Games, and left him uncertain about whether any of his life here was real.  

Another surprise came in the form of an announcement by Nadia Reichenov, an artist working with Crombe and company, that she was changing her band name and taking things in a 'new direction'.   This direction was perhaps revealed when after her performance, she approached the Knights in Rafael's dressing room - and handed them the necklace that connects her to the Nightmare God Malaak'a, saying she was willing to tell them everything.  ]

Comments

[slay]

No. It's not. [ Her gaze drops, a little guilty for leaving her. It comes through in what she opts to mention next. ] Fred, Rose, and Alainn are all staying up with her.

[romanticidal]

[ he watches her carefully for a moment, and the elevator dings open on the ground floor before he says: ] If you need to stay with her, Buffy... I will understand.

[slay]

Honestly, I ... I don't think I can.

[ It takes her a moment to process that the doors are open because thinking on that got her caught up in her own head, which is bogged down by all her disappointment in herself. ]

There's nothing I can do for her. [ She moves out the door then, decisive. She hates this. Hates how powerless Keijen and the Mind Master and Nadia's abilities can make her feel. This isn't something she can protect her friends from, there's nothing for her to slay. ]

[romanticidal]

[ he steps out behind her, falling into place at her side as they move down the hall towards the lobby ] In Italia, when I was growing up, when I came to learn that there were men and women who could destroy lives with the flick of a signature in a room miles away, signatures born out of rootless hatred, lashing out with no fear of consequence, I felt just this way. [ his voice is quiet, reflective, but pained ] Perhaps that is why I was so willing to make the choices I came to make. To believe that there must be an answer to stopping such people that was as simple as flicking a switch.

As black and white as pulling a trigger.

[slay]

[ Buffy grimaces slightly at the phrasing. It's never been simple, for her, to pull the proverbial trigger. That's where things get messy. In fact, that very disparity in world view is what kept her from reaching out to him after Andres. So she tries to get back away form murder and focus on what's really grinding her teeth. ]

It's just … I'm the Slayer. Fighting demons, bad guys—that's what I do. I can do that. Point me at the problem, and I can level it. No question. [ As she speaks, she shifts the tupperware to one arm and gesticulates in clean, cutting gestures with her other hand. She might not like the consequences, she might feel guilty about what she did, but she can do it—for her friends. The job gets done. ]

But this … [ She sighs heavily. ] You know, Iscariot was the only time I've lost my abilities, but psions are the only ones who can make me feel powerless. I can't protect them from this.

[romanticidal]

I never thought I would find myself wishing for the days when magic would bleed from this world again, and yet...

[slay]

Tell me about it. Or at least a way to turn the bad guys' off.

[ She doesn't, granted. Wish that. She'd never want Myri or Kat to lose something that they hold so close. But it's hard not to feel a little bitter when it's also responsible for Finnick turning catatonic. She stops at the concierge desk, stacking the tupperware on the counter. ]

We just want to get a room for one night.

[romanticidal]

[ if the concierge recognizes rafael, he doesn't say anything, even when rafael turns over his nova credit card to put the room on.

"A single bed?" he does ask, not looking up from where he types. ]

[slay]

[ It never even occurs to Buffy to be awkward about it or think about the implications therein. In fact, she doesn't even glance back at Rafael to check what he'd prefer. She's just clueless and earnest. ]

Yeah, just the one's fine. [ And she smiles genially. ]

[romanticidal]

[ if rafael thinks anything of it, he doesn't say anything, reaching for the key cards as they're slid across the counter ] ... Grazie. [ he hands one to buffy, and then heads down the hall ]

[slay]

[ She takes the key and realizes that she has

no pockets or purse to put it in because she's still in her formal dress and her phone/purse are upstairs in the Failboat suite. Which also makes her realize she didn't bother to grab clothes to change into, but that's okay. Formal dresses are super comfortable to sleep in obviously.

So she just tucks it in her bra, grabs the food, and heads off with him to track down the room. She's quiet for a moment, as if searching for a way to pick the conversation back up, or deciding if she should. Instead, she opts for catch-up. ]

I met somebody else who remembered me. Pre-Veil. There was this hunter bar in Chicago.

[romanticidal]

[ he hesitates for a moment, although he shoots her a surprised look. there seems to be something he's weighing saying though, and he finally gets it out ] Burt... mentioned that you were seen at the airport there with someone. Was he--?

[slay]

[ Somehow, Buffy's all over the jealousy department. Maybe because she relates to that fear on a personal level. She picks up on the implication after a brief blink (wis 19). ]

Was he— [ She's going to hang Burt with his necktie. For now, she laughs. ] No. [ The smile lingers because there's something vaguely entertaining yet about the implicit jealousy there. ] Big no. [ It's extra hilarious given that Sam was picking up his parallel universe self's antichrist girlfriend while they were there, as she now knows. ] That was Sam. He's a friend. [ A beat later, squinting at him, she adds, ] … Did you really think … ?

[romanticidal]

[ his poor will save can't stop the tiniest little smile of relief from breaking across his features for half a second before he reins it in. ] I meant... was he the one who ... recognized you?

[slay]

[ She presses her lips between her teeth, biting back on her smile and feeling like woW MAYBE I REALLY DID MISREAD THAT but she doesn't think so (nat 20 sense motive). ]

No. No, we were there to answer some questions he had about his brother and the angels, but ... It turned out, the hunter bar we went looking for is run by someone who used to know me. His name's Robin. It was ... [ The squinty, thoughtful look is hard to read as she settles on a word. ] Enlightening.

[romanticidal]

[ they find their room and he goes to pull out the card from its little pocket, focusing way too hard on that as if he's trying too hard to ask this naturally. S-SO CASUAL. ] And how did... Robin know you? In the world you came from.

[slay]

We, uh.

[ She seems to notice this is a hilarious turn of events given his earlier jealousy, but she's not going to lie ok. ]

He said that we used to date.

[ How's fitting that card key into the slot working out for you with that bomb dropped, Raf? ]

[romanticidal]

[ uh he has fucking magic hands ok, but that just means that he

swipes the card through with one sudden violent snap of the wrist, almost too fast, the light turning green with a soft beep. ] You did. [ his voice is hilariously even as he says that, turning his head slowly to look at her with searching eyes ]

[slay]

That's what he says.

[ Nonchalance colors her tone. She's doing a passable job of pretending that she isn't 100% keyed into Mr. Turned Up to 11 over here losing all sense of chill. Considering he was engaged until like an hour ago tho she doesn't even feel bad about taking her time with the explanation. ]

But I don't remember anything before the Veil short of ugly dreams and some weird, gut feelings. For all I know, he could just be the weird fixated neighbor guy and saw this as his big chance. [ She doesn't sound at all concerned that it's the case, though. ] But I doubt it. I got the sense I could trust him; his mom was like me. A Slayer. It was nice, talking to someone who actually knew the first thing about what I can do, where I come from.

[romanticidal]

I am... glad you could find that. [ he holds the door for her, maybe so that she can't see his face, and the slight moroseness to his little smile, while he follows her inside ] You should have someone who understands - who can help you find answers to the many questions you have had.

[slay]

[ She smiles, breezing over any drawbacks of his expression as she steps inside, immediately kicking off her high heels into the closet. A heavy sigh follows, wholly relieved. She takes a moment to just bask in not being in fucking high heels for a change. Then she carries on the conversation, setting the food atop the mini fridge. ]

Yeah, I mean, I spent so long when I first came here with—with no idea who I was, or where I came from, or how I could do what I do. But now there's Faith, and Robin, and … [ She looks over at him in the doorway. Her expression softens, realizing that playful jealousy has turned to something more somber, and she steps closer to him, raising her hands to settle on his upper arms. ] It's not like that.

[romanticidal]

[ ahahahahaha he rolled

a 2

so his eyebrows draw up towards each other, pained hope in his eyes for a moment as she changes tone and steps close to him. for a second, he's just so transparent, and he studies her face intently as he finds himself saying: ] It is not? [ HIS PATHETIC HOPE, LET ME SHOW IT TO YOU ]

[slay]

No.

[ One hand lifts to touch the side of his face, gentle but steady. Her head tilts as she examines his expression, weighing her words before she explains. ]

Robin can only tell me about my history. Who I was, when he knew me. The person that I am here is different, and I'm the only person who gets to decide who that is. [ She draws a steadying breath, steeling herself to make a vulnerable admission all her own to ease the difficulty with which he seems bare himself before her. ]

Rafael, I was with Robin and Sam in Chicago when I found out that Des couldn't reach you. [ Laughter comes, a light, airy sound that seems alleviated of all the darkness that she'd been carrying while she worried over him these past months. ] When he first told me, everything was worst case scenario—doppelgängers and domination. I'm sure Sam thought I was out of my mind, but he was still ready to fly back to London with me that day to regroup with Des and find a way to get to you.

They're my friends. And they mean the world to me, but not like you do.

[romanticidal]

[ at her touch, he slides one hand to rest at her hip slowly, as if to steady her there, his eyes locked on hers, emotions racing through them. when he speaks, his voice drops lower, his other hand lifting as he brushes a knuckle to her cheek with extreme care, her words bringing a slight smile to his lips, even as he apologizes. ] I am sorry, carina, to have ever made you worry so.

[slay]

[ ♬ cosmic love - florence + the machine ]

Don't be.

[ Her smile drops slightly, but she remains soft and insistent. ]

Rafael, if I had listened to my gut, if I had ignored what I was seeing and listened to what my heart was telling me, then maybe— [ She could have stopped what happened to him, or prevented Nadia from ever having the opening. Drawing her hand back, she turns away, guilt welling up (will save c-c-crit fail). Her head hangs. ]

I wasn't ready. After we took Andres, I couldn't face what I'd done; I was afraid that when I talked to you about it, it would all come out wrong, or — or you wouldn't understand, or I'd say the wrong thing and we … [ She draws her hand to her chest like she's trying to pull at the ache there. ] I killed people, Rafael. Butchered them— they were in pieces. And it almost killed me. I didn't want you to see that. And instead … [ Instead, it afforded the bad guys the chance to hurt him. A self-fulfilling prophecy of distance splitting them apart because she feared her own darkness might. ]