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

[doubletake]

You are a lifesaver.

[Coffee, ftw. You know the way to her heart, Buffy.

She heads over to the machine, pouring herself a mug, and drinks it like it's the necter of the gods.]

A run and time for coffee after. Feels almost normal.

[slay]

It almost does.

[ Her agreement comes with a smile, though it's all rather reserved. Perhaps because of the hour, but more likely because they're standing in the wake of a hurricane. ]

You know, I didn't get the chance to tell you before. What you did back there, while we were at the ceremony? That was amazing. There's no way we could have gotten in if not for you. [ It may seem like it goes without saying—they're all important pieces to the puzzle of fighting this—but when it comes to powers like they've got, it's too easy to view it as a curse. It warrants the mention. ]

[doubletake]

[That makes her grin, even though she's looking down into her cup briefly before she looks back up at Buffy.]

I'm sure you guys would have figured out a way. It just probably would have involved more tying people up, sleeping gas and potential black eyes. But thanks. I'm just glad that part went a little better than the last time I tried.

[slay]

Fair. [ Said in the tone of someone relenting rather than aggressively agreeing. ] But I'm way in favor of non-gassy approaches. Much stealthier. It's— I just hadn't realized how much you'd learned. [ She shrugs her surprise, appearing every bit as awed as she's declaring herself. ]

[doubletake]

I guess you could say I was...very motivated. [Also stuck in hotel rooms for long periods of time with nothing to do but practice.] I'm not sure how much you'd like some of the other things I had to learn, though I guess they came in handy last night too.

[slay]

I'm not sure I'm in a position to throw stones about what you've had to do.

[ She did brutally murder two people last night so like. Yolo. Her tone is serious, and she focuses on trying to catch Elena's gaze so she can see how seriously she takes that nonjudgmental position. ]

We all do things we aren't proud of, that other people might not see eye-to-eye with us on. For a long time, I thought for sure that made me a monster. Now, I'm beginning to realize ... maybe it's the most human thing about us.

[doubletake]

I don't think I'm a monster, Buffy. Not anymore. You don't need to worry about that.

[She's Elena fucking Gilbert, and anyone who doesn't like it can go elsewhere, basically. It took a lot of time and a lot of pain for her to accept that, but she's done much worse things than steal people's faces.

And they still took her back anyway.]

Let's just hope that they'll go easy on us if some traffic cameras caught me doing a little grand theft auto after we shook our tails last night. We were trying not to get shot at again, after all.

[...I have no idea what they did with that car. Something smart hopefully???]

[slay]

If we can get the Black Scourge off a murder charge after he was recorded shooting someone, I think we can get you out of a little car theft.

[ Her nose crinkles. Making light of these things is, after all, the best way to cope, and the trial's far enough off that it doesn't feel like it's weighing them down that much anymore. Still. She can't bring herself to say Jade's name, to be that callous about the death itself. ]

[doubletake]

[She'll leave out the likely hundreds of other car thefts under her belt. A new one every day that she was missing.

She didn't look like herself any of those days, though. They won't trace them to her.]

At least they wouldn't have footage of Rafael breaking into it, right? I don't think he could use another scandal.

[slay]

[ ahahahahaha
hahhah

hahah
a

ahaha

ha.

That awkward moment when you walked in this morning from Burt literally strategically planning his new media frenzy and are still praying he doesn't twist it into a scandal with your name on it. Buffy chokes on her coffee, licks her lips for a moment, and sets the mug aside. ]

Yeah, you're probably right. [ Oh boy. She nods along. ]

[doubletake]

[Uh, it would take a fucking idiot not to notice that, okay. Gonna say that wisdom 14 is high enough. lol]

Alright. Spill.

[slay]

Narrowly avoided spill, actually, but thanks for noticing.

[ She quips with a smile, glancing over at the mug like Elena was literally talking about the fact that she just choked and died on a sip. ~Deflection.~ ]

[doubletake]

Uh huh.

[So deadpan. She doesn't believe that at all. :|]

And that's my cue to start packing.

[She takes a long sip out of her mug, nearly emptying it, before she sets it in the sink.]

I'll see you in a little while.