venice/chicago ♔ i need a summer like a winter in my heart

[romanticidal]

♬ Winter In My Heart - VAST

WHO || Rafael Giovanni, Buffy, Myri, Dumage, Kat, Gar [closed]
WHAT || The Knights regroup and then go their separate ways
WHERE || Knight's hotel room in Venice > Flight to Chicago
WHEN || July 7th
HOW || Actionspam

And back to the hotel go the ladies, ready to say their goodbyes, with Myri & Buffy heading to Chicago to reunite Rafael with Jade, and Kat & Gar meeting the rest of the team back at the castle to try to convince Wynn to let them remain on their mission...

[ooc; see subthreads!]

Comments

[slay]

What did you think happened to Jade? I mean, when I first saw her photo, I thought maybe you'd just gotten separated coming through the Veil. But if you were born here ... [ she shakes her head, brow furrowing. ] I guess I just -- I want to understand. What your manager meant by "dead."

[romanticidal]

[ ♬ Remember When It Rained - Josh Groban

oh, there goes the smile. :(

his eyes dart back to the window and he seems a zillion miles away as he considers his response. finally, he looks back down at the seat in front of him. ]

Isabella did not believe she would ever return. Could ever return, from where she had gone. [ there's clear hesitancy to say much more ] In that way, she was as good as dead.

[slay]

Where she had gone. [ buffy says it slowly, shaking her head. ] I don't understand. Where'd she go?

[romanticidal]

[ he glances over at her, as if trying to decide something, and then just says: ] Out of this world.

[slay]

Out of this ... [ buffy shakes her head again, still not understanding, lips pursing as she tries to work through it. ] You don't mean ... back to the Shadow World, do you?

[romanticidal]

[ he glances at her again, and then says, almost apologetically ] No.

[slay]

Then, where ... ? [ she stops, her lips pursing into a line and she holds her hands up in placating surrender. ] I'm sorry. I know, it's a touchy subject, I just -- Jade's connected to something that we're trying really hard to find. The more we know about her, the more we might be able to understand about how it involves her.

[romanticidal]

[ he looks back at her sharply ] Connected to what?

[slay]

Oh! It's um ... [ she stops short again, straightening up. she battles with herself for a moment over it, then reluctantly admits; ] I'm not ... not really sure I should say. [ a pause. okay, maybe not mentioning the talisman, but the jade -- since it apparently is her -- should be safe regardless, right? ] The Eternal Jade. Now, I don't know a lot about it, but apparently it's ... something to do with your ex-honey, insane kinds of magical, and a lot of anti-Shadowkind types are interested in it.

[romanticidal]

Where did you get this information?

[slay]

... I think the better question is why are you so interested? Did you already know about this? [ her expression sharpens, because this is exactly the reason she was debating even saying that much. ] The deal was we help you find Jade, and you be info-guy. Not the other way around.

[romanticidal]

I am interested because I care about her, and what she might have found herself in the middle of. [ he sounds rather irritated by buffy's implications, as well ] And I still do not know who you are working for.

You call yourself... Knights, no?

[slay]

I -- Well. Yeah. Yeah, we're knights. [ or, in her and myri's case -- no, wait, just her case. myri's a knight in all but name now -- squires. squire singular. she feels woefully underprepared suddenly, without the safety net of gar and kat around. ] Had the ... fancy armor, and the ceremony, and everything.

[romanticidal]

Knights who fight for Shadowkind.

So you are...?

[slay]

Still Buffy. But, from ... another world, yeah. [ she gives a nod. ] And not actually from New Orleans. I ... got to this world in California. And ... aside from that? [ she shakes her head. ]

I remember ... energy. Coming through. A-And, that's it. [ she slows her speech, glancing down at her hands fidgeting in her lap. ] I haven't really talked about it. At first I thought maybe it'd come back, but ... it's been months. [ she looks back up at him, a grim smile in place. ]

So, Shadowkind. Yeah. Not just Shadowkind, I mean, we sort of fight for everyone. Peace, I guess, between Shadowkind and humans.

[romanticidal]

A noble goal. To some people's eyes, one that will never be achieved, but I like to imagine it is not so...

[ he watches her for a moment ] Hiro is the same, you know. He arrived from the Shadow World several years ago, with no idea who he was.

[slay]

Do you know if he could ... ? I mean, all the fancy kung-fu. You, and Isabella, and Hiro, you all handled yourselves pretty well. Wicked well, actually. Did you guys train him, or could he already do it? [ it's a cautious sort of prying, seeking out some kind of solidarity. ]

[romanticidal]

He already knew how, though he had to train himself to remember. He does not know why he learned the skills, or what he used them for in the other world. [ his life is the bourne identity ]

[slay]

[ omg soulbonding to hiro bourne twins. ]

Me too. I mean, I -- [ she takes a breath. ] I can do things that I ... shouldn't be able to do. Remember how I told you about someone getting hurt during job-training? [ she nods. ] Knight-training, but ... You get the gist.

[romanticidal]

[ he seems to mull something over a moment, then says: ] I meant to ask you ...

Why you came back. You could have made it safely to the cellar.

[slay]

Those guys came to your house looking for you. Not us. You were the ones in danger. I wasn't gonna just ... hide in some cellar while you were in danger. [ she looks sheepish as she admits; ] Not that you needed the help.

[romanticidal]

[ the tiniest little smile at the last bit ] Ah yes, well... it is always good to have someone at your back.

I don't know what to say, beyond... grazie.

[slay]

Don't mention it. [ she smiles, settling back. ] Have you heard of the, um. The Brotherhood of Enlightenment? They're being funded by NOVA, the record company that's getting a hold of Shadowkind DNA. They're some anti-Shadowkind organization -- I figure if anybody knows more about them ...

[romanticidal]

[ he shakes his head ] I have not. But there are so many such organizations, everywhere in the world, that it is not surprising.

[slay]

Not all of them connected to Jade. [ she says it grimly. ] I just ... I don't get it. I mean, Jade turns out to be a person, we follow the breadcrumbs to NOVA, which sends us looking for Angelo who just happens to be at your show? [ she deflates, cheeks puffing out. ] I don't like thinking the bad guys understand this running in circles thing better than we do.