nyc --> london ♔ and as the vision fades | i'll say i was blinded by your eyes

[postergirl]

♬ It Happens All the Time - Depeche Mode

WHO || Failboat, Des, Rafael, Isabella, Burt, and more~ [closed]
WHAT || The Knights finally say their goodbyes and head back to the castle
WHERE || NYC hotel; flight to London; London, England
WHEN || March 16th
HOW || Actionspam or prose

What was supposed to be a night to unwind wound up with a confrontation between Failboat and Keijen Blade that didn't exactly go the way the team was hoping for. However, in the process, they at least managed to get Isabella back and extract Dumage from her long term undercover assignment.

The remainder of the night is spent back at the hotel, recuperating, in order to catch the flight back to London the next morning. This also means saying goodbye to those who will be going back to Chicago: Isabella, Burt, and Rafael.

Comments

Private Goodbyes

[romanticidal]

[ make threads here for any individual goodbye conversations to be had with isabella, rafael, or burt before going to the airport ]

it's about to get really brokeback. I mean Rafael.

[nothingsodivine]

[So in all that chaos, Des never did... get to tell Rafael (and Buffy) about the agreement he and Burt reached. NOW'S AS GOOD A TIME AS ANY.]

Just think, Fluffy- if you're a good boy, you could be partying it up in London, in a few months.

[romanticidal]

[ he glances across the room to see that burt has stepped out in the hall to talk on the phone. ] I very much doubt Burt will be so quick to dismiss our arrangement.

[ rafael & buffy | overnight ]

[slay]

[ yeah, sleep ain't happening.

she's exhausted, but she can't bring herself to get there. she just paces the suite's living room, watching the lights flicker out as more people filter out and find their way to their sleeping areas. it feels wrong to sleep when she knows the hours are ticking down until they all have to say goodbye - for god know how long.

she doesn't actively seek rafael out, though, because she hasn't forgotten the feeling of isabella's sword slashing out at her. not an experience she'll risk repeating by reaching out while the spaniard is present. so instead, she settles in to stiffly flip through magazines on the couch, eyes flickering in the direction of rafael's room. ]

[romanticidal]

[ well, on one such occasion of flickering, she'd see him actually... standing in his doorway. he looks momentarily surprised, but then smiles very slightly, moving towards the couch to speak in a low enough tone that he won't risk waking the others. ] I thought you might be awake.

for rafael, please

[graveflowers]

[ vi approaches the door quietly with no pomp or circumstance, lifting her hand to knock lightly. ] Hey Italia, you got a sec?

[romanticidal]

Many of them, even.

For Isabella

[bigbad]

[At some point, Spike seeks Isabella out. He approaches her, and without preamble asks:]

Is he really that bloody great?

[savemyself]

[ it's obvious that it's hard for her to not deny it, after years of doing exactly that. Her mouth tightens as she looks at him out of the corner of her eye and says with a tired bitterness: ] Is she?

ISABELLA

[nothingsodivine]

[Yeah, okay. Des can't leave without saying bye to his favorite co-conspirator. He already technically said bye to Burt. That conversation at Eternal Jade (NEVER CALLING IT THAT) was enough.]

So you can deflect bullets. Remind me never to bring my gun to a swordfight again.

[savemyself]

Rafael is an expert marksman. He made certain I understood ways to thwart men like him.

Leaving the Hotel | everyone

[savemyself]

[ after breakfast, everybody's packed and ready to go. burt's brought his limos to take everyone back to the airport, so he's waiting by the door with an impatient air, checking his phone from behind a pair of shades. rafael paces in front of the balcony window as isabella stands against a wall, arms folded, watching everyone schlep their stuff out of their respective rooms. ]

[nothingsodivine]

[Since Des just... came from his apartment, he shows up with a leather duffel bag that does not look big enough for a prolonged stay in Europe (but given his apartment, is anyone surprised???).

He also looks like he's in a spectacularly good mood. That's not... normal. Also he has two boxes of doughnuts and only half of one box is missing. That is some remarkable restraint he showed to bring you breakfast dessert, okay.]

[notaroundme]

[Elena, on the other hand, does not. Hangovers are a bitch.]

Oh my god are those doughnuts?

[Des, you are her hero.]

Flight Threads

[postergirl]

[ it's a seven hour flight back to london \o\ please drop all flight interaction threads here. ]

dumage debrief ♔ everyone

[postergirl]

[ since we're ALL HERE ON THIS PLANE TOGETHER, might as well talk to dumage about her experiences undercover with blade. ayup. she'll start the ball rolling, once everyone's settled in. ] Well. I can imagine you lot might have some questions, and perhaps someone would care to catch me up on how much bumbling about you've been doing.

[nothingsodivine]

Don't keep us suspense. [Des puts his feet up on the seat in front of him.] We're all dying to know what the big evil plan really is.

elena l open

[notaroundme]

[Elena spends the flight home either sleeping off her hangover, attempting to write in her journal, or reading a book that probably looks like it would be boring to most people.

Bother away if you'd like!]

[nothingsodivine]

[Hey, you know why Des chooses to drive any time he gets the opportunity. He does not have the patience for planes.

Whether it's just that or a product of his character development that leads him to flopping into the empty seat next to Elena, we just don't know, but he's here to ruin your hangover alone time.]

Might've went a little overboard on the tequila, Cupcake.

[Says Mr. FORTY SHOTS.]

[shootfirst]

[ from across the aisle, someone is handling their hangover unusually well. nature is cruel. ] You kinda look like you got hit by a truck.

Full of booze.

vi ( open )

[graveflowers]

[ vi can't sleep so she's just curled in her seat, listlessly watching the clouds out the tiny little window. for eight hours. yay. ]

des } ota

[nothingsodivine]

[Des is a restless flier, especially when the flights are long, and his mood has started to settle back to the usual gruff ambivalence he's known for. He's up and moving a lot and when he's not doing that, those little individual alcohol shots are getting a workout. Damn boy. If your liver didn't heal itself, you'd be in trouble.]

Spike } ota

[bigbad]

[Spike isn't feeling particularly social this flight. He's taken a seat in the back, shades closed so he doesn't become a fire hazard, and he's got a book of poetry and a flask of bourbon. He's got a lot to not think about.]

77 Kensington Gardens Square, Downtown London HQ ♔ single thread

[rationalizes]

[ after a long flight, the Knight finally touch down back in Jolly Ol' England, and given that they're a little low on stretch limos to rent at the airport, they take the Underground to Bayswater and make their way over to 77 Kensington Gardens Square (scroll to street view), the Knights' downtown headquarters, to requisition some vehicles to drive out to the castle. as they walk down the idyllic city street, gar looks like she's practically glowing. ]

We've been so busy that I haven't even had any time to realize just how much I have missed home.

[bigbad]

[This isn't exactly home for Spike. He's spent more time in Chicago and New Orleans and everywhere else than here. It feels more like vacation than a home coming.]

...suppose I should meet my squire now that we're back.

[That he... has had for like a month without meeting. Oops. A+ knight.]