nyc ♔ all moonlight returned today

[romanticidal]

♬ shining star - jump5

WHO || Rafael, Isabella, Burt, Kat, Gar, Mark, Luthir, Buffy, Spike, Finnick, Violet, Elena, Archer, Des [closed]
WHAT || Burt invites everyone to celebrate their victory at the trial at the opening of his new nightclub in NYC
WHERE || New York City, NY
WHEN || Saturday, March 15th [forward dated]
HOW || Actionspam

It's over. After months of being sidelined by the trial of their friend Rafael, the Knights are finally free to return to England and see what headway the Dragon's Claws have made on discovering the location of the Talisman they seek.

But not everyone is so free to return. The consequence of getting Burt's assistance in disentangling Finnick from his contract and super-stardom was an ironclad agreement that allows Burt to sink his claws fully into Rafael's career. Considering that Burt knows their secret identity, non-disclosure agreement or not, the executive's renowned moral gray-itude doesn't exactly make it seem like a great plan to back out on the compromise.

They've at least been able to put off their goodbyes for a few days since the end of the trial, as Burt invited all of them to New York City for the opening of his brand new nightclub. Some of them flew out, while Archer and Des presumably drove their matching El Caminos cross-country in the days between. But now they've all met again in the Big Apple, for a celebration - and farewell of sorts.

Comments

[bigbad]

[Whatever Spike thought it was super sexy in School Hard he still thinks it's super sexy.] Des is a wanker. [Gonna agree to that pretty readily, all things considered. He's still pissed.] But so long as it's just dancing, she'll be fine. [Which isn't to say he won't keep an eye on her. Spike can do the mom thing too.]

[slay]

We've both seen what passed for dancing at the last club that had Jade's name attached to it. [ nightscape may not have been so overt, but she headlined it. ]

[bigbad]

I doubt he'll be biting her, at least. He smells all right. [As far as he can tell in the crowded club, at least.]

[slay]

Haven't we talked about the smelling people thing? I feel like we've talked about the creep factor involved in smelling people.

[bigbad]

People should try not being so smelly, then. [He gives her an amused look.] I'm a vampire, pet. Certain amount of creep factor is inevitable.

[divinehealer]

[ ♬ as the rush comes - motorcycle (dj tiesto remix)

while spike takes no notice, buffy would catch a glimpse of a static face among the bodies moving along one of the upper balconies. a familiar static face. he's staring down at buffy and spike, but when she catches his eye, his gaze drifts over the crowd, expression hard. ]

[slay]

[ ruh roh.

buffy's gaze rivets to a stop on gray when she scans the balcony. she stops moving, resting a hand on spike's arm to excuse herself. ]

Rain check. [ it's too loud to explain. or failboat is already up its own ass again. i'll let you decide. she pushes through the crowd to get to the stairs, hoping to catch him. ]

[bigbad]

[LOL YEAH SPIKE IS GONNA JUST KEEP DANCING WHILE BUFFY GOES OFF MYSTERIOUSLY. HE ISN'T THAT DRUNK.]

Buffy?

[He follows her, a frown starting to form. Something's wrong, and he's.... really not surprised.]

[divinehealer]

[ she's in luck, then, because when she reaches the top of the stairs, he's still standing in the same place, looking out across the crowd, although he turns his head to consider them with troubled eyes. ]

[slay]

Ever considered calling ahead for these ominous visits? [ she slows down as she approaches, never taking her eyes off of him. ] What do you want?

[bigbad]

[Spike does take his eyes off him as he approaches. Because he really, really needs to roll them.]

Oh, bloody hell. Not you again.

[divinehealer]

[ he looks back out over the sea of people, brows knit together. ]

I'm glad to see you all enjoying yourselves in the wake of your victory. [ there's no sarcasm to the sentence - it sounds pretty genuine, even if he seems grim. ] We just don't want you to close your eyes to the dangers around you, because one has passed.

[ he nods his head down the length of the walkway they're on. ] Do you see it?

[slay]

[ successful spot check the second!

buffy turns her head to follow gray's gaze, and her stomach turns at the sight. ]

You mean the creepy crawly reason to put the tequila shots on hold? Yeah. I see it. Believe me, eyes are wide open here. [ she turns back to gray. ] Honestly? Little more worried about the fact that you and your buddies keep popping up around human suffering. Demons, I can handle. I still don't know what you are.

[bigbad]

[I'm guessing with all the pointing, Spike's spot check of 24 is high enough. He makes a face, but he's with Buffy on this. Demons are a problem, but ultimately, one he can punch. The Grays seem more complicated.]

Besides something best kept as far away as possible.

[He can agree with Des on that, at least.]

[divinehealer]

You didn't doubt us before. [ he meets her gaze, that strange light behind his eyes resonating within her. ] Interesting that that should change so quickly.

[slay]

I didn't have the information that I do now. They say you're dangerous - you get your kicks from humans suffering.

[divinehealer]

"They". [ he repeats the word calmly, but with a strange weight. ] Hm.

[ he tilts his head, regarding her ] And is that what you believe, Buffy Summers?

[bigbad]

[Spike frowns, stepping in closer behind Buffy and touching her shoulder.] Don't forget manipulating people.

[slay]

I believe in what I see. [ she shrugs off spike's hand. ] And I've seen you try to help, and try to convince us not to find out who you really are.

[divinehealer]

It's ... unnecessary for you to know. You might not believe me, if I told you.

[slay]

You don't decide what I do or don't need to know. I do.

[divinehealer]

Actually, someone higher than both of us does.

[ he frowns again, not at anything buffy is saying, but as if there's something amiss in the very air of the place. ] But I think you may be right. Things have been set in motion, that cannot be reversed.

[ he raises one hand beside his head... and snaps his fingers. behind him, the demon vanishes in a flash of white light, as if something had enveloped it from the inside out. it unleashes a horrified final squeal before being snuffed out of existence. ] But I don't believe tonight is the evening for such a conversation.

I simply wished to give you a ... warning, of sorts. That your gift, your ability to see that which others cannot, is as of yet underdeveloped.

There's more to be seen, more dangers from beyond, perhaps even right under your noses. [ concern fills his gaze as he looks between them both. ] I simply wish you both to be cautious.

[bigbad]

Oh, there's a surprise. Us, in danger. [All the dying kind of tipped him off there. The demon incineration is cool, but Spike isn't as a rule impressed by magic.] How do we know you're telling the truth about anything? [Because his sense motive of 14 probably won't help much.]

[slay]

They haven't lied to us yet.

[ she'll give him that much credit. but that doesn't make her happier about it, judging by the scowl that remains on her face. ]

Maybe we could be more cautious if you told us what those dangers are. The whole cryptic guru thing is way outta style.

[divinehealer]

I understand it must be frustrating. But we've explained before. Our interference is guided by a system of balance. Telling you too much tips the balance too strongly in our favor, allowing our enemy to do the same.

I have faith in you, both of you, to come to an understanding of all this, without us holding your hand every step of the way. It would be an insult to you, to think otherwise.