CLOSED ♔ don't know what the country's coming to

[behindcloseddoors]

♬ on an evening in roma - dean martin

WHO || Rafael, Des, Buffy, their best pal in the world
WHAT || An unexpected incident
WHERE || Rome
WHEN || June 7th, 2014
HOW || Actionspam. Single thread.

Who knows how long unconsciousness has them all swallowed in its grip. But when it finally allows them to resurface, they'd notice the smooth motion of a car indicating they're... still riding in a vehicle. A wis check of 14+ might recognize it's a different limo, however, and it doesn't take a wisdom check to recognize that they are all crammed together on the same side of the seat now. With... hands cuffed to the seat between their legs.

Across from them, a large figure sits grinning manically... wearing a familiar gray cassock. Oh hi. :)

A single glance out the window at the bustling city outside is enough to recognize that is sure as shit ain't London. And Anderson will be quick to clear that up for y'all, waving one hand at the view.

"Well, now. I hope you all enjoyed your rest. Let me be the first t'bid ye welcome... to Rome."

Comments

[nothingsodivine]

[There is something wrong with Des.

It's very clear from the way he goes as rigid as he possibly can in the position he's in, pulling the chain taut. Given the way they're crammed in, it's even clear to see he's actually shaking. There's absolutely no denying it. Des is absolutely 100% terrified.

And he absolutely cannot say a single word. He just runs his tongue along the bottom of his teeth, swallows hard, and stares right at Anderson like he's the devil, himself.]

[slay]

[ yeah, buffy is too fucking drugged out for this shit. she doesn’t even know it’s not the same limo, she’s just rolling around in discomfort and headache and she tries to raise her hands to her head as she comes to but tugs on—

handcuffs. she groans and drops her hands, opening her eyes with sudden, unhappy alertness to spot a face she wishes she didn’t recognize. is now a good time to scream? she wants to be the kind of girly girl who would scream. too bad she has too much pride for that. instead, she shoves her shoulder against rafael to try and wake him up while she takes note that des, on her other side, is already awake. she turns to look at him, successfully diverting her attention from anderson which … helps her blood pressure a little. ]

Des. Des, look at me. [ she stomps her foot on his to get his attention, teeth gritted. GET IT TOGETHER, MAN. ]

[romanticidal]

[ rafael groans at buffy's jab and shakes his head as he slowly raises it, blinking back the ... druggy haze. slowly. ] Buffy...? [ his voice is weak, but he finally seems to settle his gaze on anderson and then he just... blinks more, shaking his head harder as if this is a terrible vision that will be gone if he does that hard enough. ]

... It cannot... be.

[nothingsodivine]

[nope. nope. des is going to his cave. he's going to find his spirit animal. he ducks his head and mutters something incomprehensible that ends with a surly:] Goddammit.

[judaspriest]

[ tsk tsk tsk rude ] Shouldn't come as a surprise, t'hear the likes o' you take the Lord Our Father's name in vain. Although it wouldn't surprise me any should the words burn and choke in yer throat, either.

[slay]

[ buffy tries to wrestle free from her cuffs by ... a massive show of strength that isn't that massive. it's not very effective. (str 19). ]

Actually gonna pass on the sermon for this week, but thank you.

[ she’s trying really hard to keep it together. really hard. but here’s the thing: no one has leveled her so entirely like anderson did. it doesn’t matter how long it’s been, she’s still shaken (will 15). but she’s holding it together because des can’t and someone has to. ]

What do you want?!

[judaspriest]

Th' same thing we've always wanted. T'bring heathens and enemies o' the Church to the judgment they deserve.

[he affixes her with a sneer] You dinna think you could run forever, did ye?

in the garden;

[contingency]

[ the clerics of st. cuthbert are quiet, stern people who are only happy to provide them assistance, and let them get cleaned up. they heal everyone to full hit points, and when finished, tell them that their 'friend' waits for them in the small enclosed courtyard garden.

♬ el mariachi - brian setzer

the stranger has forsaken his friar costume for all black when des and buffy emerge out into the garden, and he turns to face them, allowing them their first real view of him. he's a handsome, fair-eyed man with shoulder length brown hair and a strong chin. there's a gentleness to his eyes, despite what they saw him do earlier, and a calmness to his demeanor as he surveys them. he does not appear to be armed anymore. ]

[nothingsodivine]

[HALLELUJAH DES DOESN'T SMELL LIKE A SEWER. He also doesn't look as hollow-eyed or full of despair as he did before, but there's still an anxiousness in his demeanor that destroys all that bravado and confidence he normally exudes.

It's been a terrible night.]

All right. Talk. [He pauses and then adds with a grimace.] Please.

[slay]

[ you know what’s great? not limping. still … buffy had this idea in her head that being healed might help her feel less strung out, but she was wrong. in a way, it’s worse. she feels fragile in a way that she’s not used to. she seems to take up as little space as humanly possible as she steps out into the gardens, hugging herself around her midsection and hunching her shoulders.

the gun is still tucked in the back of her pants, but at least she’s not waving it around anymore. maybe it would be appropriate to apologize for shoving it in their faces, but she’s not … that sorry. this guy is an agent of azrael—no wonder he wouldn’t own up to it with a gun in his face. ]

[romanticidal]

[ the stranger looks past them, however, to where rafael emerges into the courtyard.

he stops dead still behind buffy, staring for all intents and purposes as if he's looking at a ghost. the color drains from his face, and there's the strangest combination of dread, relief, familiarity, and guilt in his tone as he finds his voice finally to say: ]

... Vittorio?

[slay]

[ oh my god ramona flowers how many exes do you have.

buffy turns to look at rafael at the sound of his voice, brow furrowing. well, that explains how he knew to bring two guns. instinctively, she moves back a step to where rafael stopped, reaching to give his hand a comforting, grounding squeeze. her face turns back towards friar tuck—or, rather, vittorio. ]

So, I take it you two go way back. Swell.

1/2

[contingency]

[ vittorio is just sharing ~meaningful eye contact~ with our frozen italian boy over there. he himself has a much less prominent accent, and it's clear he's just... better versed at speaking english, but still italian. ]

You might say that, yes. [ there's a cautiousness to his words, a double layer of meaning to that caution that's... indecipherable to anyone else, at least. ] It is... good to see you, my friend.

THE ROAD TO VENICE }

[nothingsodivine]

[Des rolled a fucking 30 for his drive check, so it's another sexy as balls escape to freedom for the intrepid threesome who still hasn't had sex with each other yet. Tensions are still high, given they're not truly safe until they're free of Rome, but Des keeps true to his promise to Vittorio and doesn't stop for anything.

Even though he's starving.

Unfortunately, there's only so much Italian pop music on the radio and quiet contemplation (and idk if you can play the license plate game with the way Des is driving, but that's also an option) one can take. Eventually, someone is bound to break the silence.

But not Des. Quelle surprise.]

[slay]

[ buffy wound up in the backseat because everyone knows it’s probably a bad idea to leave rafael moodily stewing in his own devices after what just happened. so instead, buffy has her legs crossed up on the seat, drumming her fingers on her ankles. she definitely wasn’t joking about that beef jerky so this is a real let-down. ]

Not that I don’t love a good awkward silence, but we’ve got four hours left still, and I was under the impression that the torture part of the evening was over. [ seriously. it’s horrible. we don’t have to talk about it guys but we hAVE TO TALK. ]

[romanticidal]

[ rafael has been dutifully studying the scenery flying by, oblivious to even how sexy this sports car is. ]

Scusa, carina. I have... much on my mind.

[nothingsodivine]

Yeah, your dead buddy coming back from the grave and deciding to save your ass'll do that to you.

[aside from driving it sexily, des seems to be less than enthused about the car too. trauma rama.]

[slay]

Remind me to send him a fruit basket for that one. [ she looks at the empty seat beside her like awww too bad he couldn’t come. she turns in the backseat to put her feet up and stretch across it LOOK IT’S CRAMPED IN THE BACK OF A SPORTS CAR and she is mistreating the leather. ] Think they make “welcome back to life” greeting cards? [ it’s frustrating. most of the tension is because there’s really nothing they can do now. no one wants to have it out in the car on the highway, and buffy’s too emotionally exhausted at this point anyway. rafael can’t get closure on his jade-related dwelling until they reach venice, so he’s going to be brooding endlessly on what vittorio said. it’s a pain. the best thing she can do is try to keep them talking, at least. ]

[romanticidal]

He was more than just my friend. [ he stares out the window in further frustration, oblivious to how homo that sounds ] We were as brothers, he says, and this is true, but in more than just what we fought for.

He and I grew up together. I have known him for, oh... over thirty years.

cassa di risparmio di venezia;

[romanticidal]

[ the bank is about to open by the time they finish the six hour drive to venice and stop for italian pancakes. look at that timing. it's a quite large bank that vittorio has directed them to, and rafael stares out at it with a dark expression on his face. this is gonna be fun for the whole family, i'm sure. ]

This is it.

[nothingsodivine]

[Des peers at it over Rafael's shoulder for a second before leaning back, making no move to get out of the car.]

You two go on ahead. There's nothing in there that's gonna mean anything to me.

[slay]

Iscariot wants to drag you off and brainwash you into their cult and you think the best plan is for you to be left alone?

[ seriously, what? ]

At least hang out in the lobby or something.

[ this car has two doors, she can't get out until one of you finds your balls. ]

[romanticidal]

[ raf turns around to stare at des like he cannot even IMAGINE HIM NOT WANTING TO KNOW??!!!!! ] You mean to stay behind?

[nothingsodivine]

I'm not the one who got cheated on, Fluffy. [But look at him... get out of the car. As soon as he steps out and lays the seat down for Buffy to climb out, he leans back in.] But if it will keep Blondie from worrying about me getting yanked off the street, I'll... tag along, I guess.

[He looks like he'd rather do anything but, but Buffy raises a valid point and he did come all this way. Letting them out of his sight now seems like a bad idea. He just... has other things on his mind than Jade's ex-lover.]

[slay]

[ thank god it was so cramped in there and pancakes was not enough freedom. she crawls out a little too eagerly. it's hard out there for the only person present who has no investment in jade's vagina ok. ]

Allegedly. [ she rubs her shoulders, looking between them, then clarifies. ] Allegedly cheated on. We have evidence to review.