chicago ♔ but close my eyes for a while | and force from the world a patient smile

[shootfirst]

♬ Evil - Interpol

WHO || Spike, Francesca, Archer, Myri, Finnick, Elena, Buffy, Des, Gar, Mark, Kat, Rafael, Isabella, Jaka, Burt, Violet, Luthir, Val'drin, ??[Closed]
WHAT || The Knights prepare for the trial of Rafael Giovanni and face a few revelations along the way
WHERE || Various locations, Chicago
WHEN || July 17th - November 21st  [Back AND Forward dated]
HOW || Actionspam, don't sweat tag order!!


The trial of Rafael Giovanni looms on the horizon, as summer gives way to fall, the chill in the air creating a definite atmosphere of foreboding as the date grows closer. It's not merely Rafael's freedom on the line after all - but also Des', thanks to the deal he struck with Iscariot. While Francesca and Val'drin work to uncover the secret of the mysterious hourglass artifact, lawyer Jaka Teken'Duis uses his ... unique legal powers to work towards a "Temporary Insanity" case for Rafael. The Knights, unhappy about the potential ramifications of such a plea, continue to seek any evidence they can to show Rafael was actually innocent, and place conspiracy charges back on Chad Becksworth and his ilk for what transpired. Not everything they learn, however, is what they were hoping to find...

Others wage more personal battles, as the coming autumn signals the encroaching winter, and Luthir and Violet's time draws shorter to find a way to stop her nightmares, lest they kill her. Elena plays a dangerous game, working to uncover more of her nature by training her doppelganger powers - with the enemy.

This log covers any work and non-work related shenanigans the Knights have while staying in Chicago, immediately following the three mission logs and continuing for four months. This will be the Knight's last time in Chicago before the trial: after which they plan to return to the castle to fully Knight Violet and Dawn and decide where to head next.

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. Please wait to post social threads here until we reach a certain point in the top group thread. I will alert you all when you are free to post.

Comments

[witchwoman]

[A small laugh escapes her.]

Yes, well... you know how much I love that espresso. [Strange how those words no longer feel foreign. She's learned a great deal about this place, about life in general. But she didn't know how to handle this. There's a silence that hangs between them while Myri tries to come up with something to say, but she can only think of one topic.]

Does it upset you? [She says it quiet as she can, because no matter how she tries to push the thoughts out of her mind.] That I'm not like you? [She doesn't see Buffy's way as bad, exactly. She's just very aware of what she could or couldn't do in a situation like the one Mark was put in.]

Do you think I don't belong here?

[slay]

[ buffy makes a sort of grimace, realizing that she's been dragged into this conversation that she'd been working so hard to avoid. she doesn't want to get into it. she doesn't want to feel like her friends hate her for doing what she believes is right, but it occurs to her that myri must be feeling the same way right now. so she softens. ]

I think Kat was right. I think we need people like you who aren't afraid to feel what they're feeling and put their loved ones first, and I think we need people like me who are willing to put their feelings aside to remember our mission. If it were just one, I don't think we could make it through this.

[witchwoman]

[She worries at her lip as Buffy talks, trying to reconcile the previous speech with this one. It's not that she doesn't believe Buffy, it's just hard to forget what was said.]

I'm still not certain. [She says quietly, admitting it for the first time out loud.]

[slay]

I think what you really want to ask me is if I've changed my mind. And, the answer's no. [ she's biting her tongue to keep from going further, from launching back into it. the argument's over, but she feels like the dissonance it's created between them never will be. buffy can acknowledge kat's point without changing her belief that everyone needs to know when it's time to put their personal feelings aside - that's why she's the one on that side of the scale. ]

[witchwoman]

That's not... Buffy I agree with you. Every word. I couldn't ask you to change your mind, because you're right.

I stood with Mark to support him, but I was ready go back to the castle if it meant you'd be safer.

[slay]

I'm not really sure which part of you being ready to abandon this mission [ read: leave me alone ] is supposed to vibe as you thinking I'm right.

[witchwoman]

[She shakes her head, trying to collect her thoughts.]

What Mark did... I would have done it. And it would have been her blood on my hands. It could have been anyone on that stage. And that terrifies me. Do you think it will take anyone long at all to notice that I'm the weak link? If that doppelgänger has read our minds, they likely know more about us than we want to admit.

[slay]

Myri, whether you like it or not, every single one of us is putting our lives on the line - every day. Your urge to protect everyone on that stage? That's healthy. We should want to keep each other safe.

But, I have never seen you blow a mission because you couldn't stand one of us being in danger. You've been living with these guys threatening your loved ones for over a year, and you've been doing the mission anyway. I'm not saying we shouldn't do what we can to save each other, but we need to have faith in one another.

If Mark had trusted us, we could have saved his family and Jade. And if you trust us, if you trust your family, then you should know that we always find a way. We can all handle ourselves, and when we can't, we help each other. But not a single one of us wants that help to come at the cost of protecting someone innocent.

[witchwoman]

[As Buffy speaks, Myri's gaze drops to the ground. She's listening, but finds she can't look at the other girl. In a lot of ways, Myri is still so young, despite all she's seen, all she's done.]

I just... I don't want to let you down. [Not the team, not Wynn... Buffy. Through all of this, Buffy has kept her safe and Myri has returned that as best she could with her gifts. Beyond that, she's come to trust and love Buffy to a degree that she cannot begin to describe. Buffy was the first of the group that she came to feel like was her family. And that matters so much to Myri.]

[slay]

You won't. [ there's an immense measure of certainty in the slayer's voice as she says so, and she raises a hand to touch myri's cheek, nudging her a little to coax her into looking back up and meeting buffy's gaze. ]

[witchwoman]

[When her gaze does reach Buffy's tears are shining in Myri's eyes, threatening to fall.]

You can't know that. How could you possibly?

[slay]

Because a year and a half of working beside you every day, I know you. And I know that more than anybody on this team, you have faith in what we can do. That's what we need, Myri.

[witchwoman]

[And that's part of what she's worried about. Faith in the team, she has. Faith in the others? You betcha. But faith in herself is hard to come by. And when it becomes something that she can offer that they need? She feels like it's asking for failure.]

I'm afraid, Buffy... Of what might happen. Of what I'll do when it does. I believe we can accomplish what we were sent here to do, but the cost terrifies me.

[slay]

Good! It should. I know it terrifies the hell out of me. Use it, that's what's going to keep you fighting your hardest to protect the people at your left and your right. [ she raises her hands to rest on the sides of myri's face, giving her a studious look. ] Myri, all of that faith that you have in us? That's how much I believe in you. When it comes down to it, you'll know what the right decision is, and you'll make it.

[witchwoman]

[She can't stop a tear or two from slipping down to her cheeks. But it isn't fear that fills her expression, but relief. She's needed this, someone else to be strong. She learned it from Buffy, after all. But after putting on a brave face for some of the others, she's simply out of that energy.]

Thank you. [It's quiet, just a whisper before she takes a shaking breath in.] I need you so much. And I know I shouldn't, because I'm a Knight now. We both are. And I should be able to get through on my own, but... I still need you.

[slay]

There is nothing wrong with needing people that you love. [ she smooths one hand against her cheek, then steps forward to close the distance and pull the other woman in for a bracing hug. ]

[witchwoman]

[Myri clings to Buffy, letting herself cry a little longer as she does. All the isolation, the desperate lonely feeling that she's been battling since the fighting began, it goes away for the moment, and instead all she can feel is the love of the family she's built here. Myri buries her face into Buffy's shoulder and tries to hold onto the feeling, because she knows it will fade. Days of only seeing the good were gone. But this was good. And she could enjoy it while it lasted.]

[slay]

[ buffy doesn't budge, just keeps her hand smoothed against myri's hair and the other on her back, letting her cry as long as she needs to and steeling herself to be that support. she closes her eyes and tries to hold onto the comforting contact as long as she can, as well. ]

[witchwoman]

[Eventually, she has to pull back, because they can't just stand there on the sidewalk, hugging and crying forever. Her cheeks wet and her eyes red rimmed as she tries to pull it back together. She sniffs and wipes the remaining tears from her cheeks.]

Thank you. I don't know what I'd do without you, you know.

[slay]

Believe me, the feeling's mutual.

[ buffy gives myri's arm one last squeeze before taking a step back. ]

[witchwoman]

[Myri feels better in this moment than she has since the fighting began. It's no surprise to her that it's come from talking to Buffy. And perhaps that's why she hesitates. She could walk away, continue on and just ride out this pleasant feeling, acting as if nothing else is bothering her, but...]

Can I... talk to you about something? Something else? [Something that isn't about the team and the in-fighting. She looks around, realizing that they're still just sort of standing on the sidewalk.] Maybe we could find someplace... [private] quiet?

[slay]

... Yeah! Sure. I - I mean the hotel suite's kind of packed, but we could find somewhere. Is everything okay?

[witchwoman]

No one's... in danger or anything. I just... I don't know. [She starts walking because if she doesn't, she's just going to start talking and she really does want to at least find a place to sit down.]

[slay]

[ she glances around as they move, and she points out a bench tucked away in the nearby park. ]

There.

[witchwoman]

[Myri just nods in response and moves towards the bench, taking a seat on it and gripping the wood as she rests her palms at either side of her. Part of her isn't sure that she wants to talk about this again, for fear that it will simply make her feel even more isolated like it had when he had talked to Vi. But if she can't talk to Buffy, then she's in a great deal of trouble.]

It's... [She tucks a piece of hair behind her ear.] It's Finnick. He's been acting... [It's still difficult. Part of her hopes that she can trail off and Buffy will just know.. Which is exactly what her pleading look says.]