OPEN ♔ I WISH I COULD SAY IN JUST ONE SWEEP WHAT YOU ARE AND WHAT YOU MEAN TO ME

[socialgraces]

♬ Silent Shout - The Knife

WHO || Anyone and everyone! [OPEN]
WHAT || Francesca's birthday party
WHERE || One of the big parlor rooms on the castle's second floor.
WHEN || [Backdated] July 11, Evening
HOW || Actionspam

 

[Earlier in the week all DRAKENET devices received a message announcing Francesca's birthday party, courtesy of Sir Bancroft, to be held the evening of July 11. No RSVP needed. It's especially good timing now that many mission groups have returned to the castle, at least for the time being.

As the guests make their way in, it's clear the party's been well stocked with food and drink. There's plenty of room for mingling and some music in the background. Gifts are completely optional, but welcome. Come in and get comfortable.]

(OOC: Feel free to make your own threads/threadjack, etc.)

Comments

[bigbad]

Might mean you get a better drink, too. [He flashes a grin.] You don't have to.

[slay]

Oh, no, I'm coming. Now that the threat of getting saddled with the paint thinner you drink is out there, my options? Very limited.

[bigbad]

You don't trust me? [He gives her a sulky look for a moment, then gets over it and offers her his arm.]

[slay]

No. [ she gives the arm a suspicious look, opting not to take it and just turning to head towards the refreshments. ] I don't. [ it's not sugar-coated. it's painfully honest, but she owes him that much. ]

[bigbad]

...oh. [It's a little like a punch in the gut, though he supposes he should be glad she told him. It's hard to hear after they spent such a nice night talking on the phone with him reading poetry to her, and after seeing her and everything being nice...

But he's a vampire. And she can't forget it. Even if she's willing to encourage him to find ways that he's still good despite it.

He drops his arm and his gaze, heading towards the refreshment table. He doesn't trust himself to say anything, even if the silence is getting awkward. It hurts too much for him to try.]

[slay]

[ actually spike it has less to do with you being a vampire (though, yes, that is some of it) and more to do with the fact that you have a track record of LYING AND HIDING THINGS (LIKE BEING A VAMPIRE). you just don't do trustworthy well.

she doesn't seem to observe the awkward, just busying herself with getting a drink -- something fruity and boozy -- and resisting the urge to get another cookie bc she was already a huge fatass with finnick. ]

Have you said "hi" to the birthday girl yet?

[bigbad]

[THAT'S THE ONLY THING HE EVER LIED ABOUT OMG AND CONSIDERING HOW YOU REACTED HE STILL FEELS A LITTLE JUSTIFIED.

He tries to get over the awkward for her sake. The subject change helps a little. His drink, which can pretty accurately be described as "paint thinner," helps more.]

Yeah, of course. Nice seeing her again after all this time.

[slay]

She looks good. Especially for a girl who was dead earlier this year. [ she decides to snatch a cookie and breaks off a chunk of it for herself, handing off the rest to spike. whatever he'll eat it this is what boyfriends do. ]

[bigbad]

[Spike takes it without comment because he's pretty much accepted that Buffy's a crazy person that runs hot and cold and he'll just have to live with it until he snaps and demands an end to all the mixed signals. But hey. Cookie. He may as well. The confused look only lasts for a moment.]

One of those benefits to working with the Knights I suppose. Still hoping I don't have to cash it in any time soon. [Would it even work with a vampire?]

[slay]

Wouldn't that be a little redundant for you? [ she eyes him as she pops the cookie piece into her mouth, thoughtful. ]

[bigbad]

Just cause I've come back once doesn't mean I'm eager to repeat the experience. Vampires can die for good, right? [He takes a bite of the rest of the cookie, chewing it thoughtfully.] Besides, not like I remember dying the first time.

[slay]

Yeah. Yeah, they can. [ she blinks, looking down and turning her attention toward her drink. because she doesn't know that through dogged vampire research. she knows that because she dreams of fighting them. killing them. losing to them. watching them turn to dust before her. ]

[bigbad]

[He glances at her, tilting his head a bit, brow crinkling.] Have you, uh, met other vamps? [And killed them? He's pretty sure she could.]

[slay]

Not exactly. [ but other people had. other girls, whose fights she remembered. she took a deep breath, straightening her back and squaring her shoulders. ] So, you were at the meeting with Wynn, right? [ it's not even a discreet subject change. ] Finnick said we're not fired, but he wasn't big details guy.

[bigbad]

[She doesn't want to talk about it. She doesn't trust him. Fine then. He takes a bite out of her cookie, chewing it bitterly. But at least he can fill her in.] Uh, yeah. We can go back. He just thought it might get even more dangerous, so he wanted to see if we were all on board. [He leans in a little, lowering his voice.] And the Drakenet's bugged.

[slay]

[ buffy's jaw slackens and her eyes bug a little. she keeps her voice a harsh whisper while still managing pitchy disbelief. ] The Drakenet's -- ? How can the Drakenet be bugged? How do they even know we have a Drakenet? By who?

[bigbad]

[He shakes his head.] Questions to ask Kat or Wynn or someone who's better at all this than I am. But it's the people we're up against. That's how they knew who I was. And why I couldn't tell you before.

[slay]

Is that the "more dangerous" part, or is there yet more fun news to come?

[bigbad]

[He nods and takes a sip from his drink, then starts walking away from the refreshment table towards a slightly more secluded table.] There's more. About that chip we found in the Displacer Beast.

[slay]

[ okay, this is sketch as fuck. he's being all ... paranoid secrets guy when they're supposed to be at home base. it makes sense, of course. if the drakenet's bugged, the immediate assumption would be someone here doing it. but it's an ugly thought that buffy hates for crossing her mind. she follows him all the same, keeping her tone hushed, evening out her demeanor to appear more casual. ]

Did they find out what it was for?

[bigbad]

Mind control. [He looks grim.] Only works on beings of lesser intelligence as far as we know, but that's the big new danger. They could potentially control us with these things.

[slay]

Are you calling us beings of lesser intelligence or is this just one getting filed under the fear of robots suddenly getting advanced enough to take over the world? [ she's taking it more seriously than she's acting, of course, but quipping helps her deal while she files it away and sorts through her thoughts on it. the suggestion is a little -- okay, a lot -- bone-chilling. she already feels out of control of her own mind, she doesn't need it to be stolen from her. ]

[bigbad]

[The corner of his mouth tilts up, but the smirk doesn't reach his eyes.] The second one. Or... other things. [What if they already have one in him? What if his memory loss isn't from coming here but from someone sticking a chip in his head that shorted out his memory and gives him a migraine whenever he tries to attack anyone?

It feels very much like paranoia, or grasping at straws that there might be a way to fix his problem and get his memory back in one, but it's all he's got. No one's given him any better explanations.]

[slay]

Spike ... [ buffy looks suddenly serious. ] You don't think that -- [ for a minute it seems like she's on the same wavelength as him just because of how sudden it is. like she's going to validate his paranoia.

except she doesn't. sry. :( ]

What if they already have? The Drakenet being bugged, doesn't that sound like something you could only do if you had access to it? Like ... maybe mind-controlled someone who did into spying for you?

[bigbad]

I hope not. [Because then it could be him. What if migraines are the least of his problems? He really needs to get Martha or someone who's an actual doctor (no offence Sir Solace...actually yeah that's offence) to take a look inside his brain.] Security leak's been patched now. But if it happened once, it could happen again. [He wasn't supposed to even mention it because of not spreading panic and paranoia, but this is Buffy. She needs to know. She's part of the team.]