mission ♔ chicago

[shootfirst]

WHO || Gar, Kat, Mark, Dumage, Martha, Myri, Buffy, Sven, Spike [closed]
WHAT || Settling into the mission HQ
WHERE || Knights' hotel/various locales in the city(?), Chicago, IL
WHEN || Friday Feb 24th through Sunday Feb 26th
HOW || Actionspam

Arrival in the city involved picking up any weapons or equipment that they had sent to meet them here and moving into their oh-so-fancy hotel rooms on the top floor. It consists of four adjoining rooms with a shared living room space and kitchenette. Each bedroom has two separate beds and roomies are:

Kat & Gar
Buffy & Myri
Martha & Dumage
Spike & Sven

Mark's agreed to sleep on the couch, since there aren't any spaces with five separate adjoining rooms available.

Gar's new job will begin on Monday, which gives the Knights the weekend to explore the city if they like, do research on the Hoffman Institute, scope out the Institute's campus, set up surveillance plans, or otherwise unwind before the real work starts. Feel free to start threads for anything, and use subject lines to denote which day it occurs on! Also don't be afraid to jack multiple people into threads, as now is a great time for some TEAM BUILDING 8) ... Try not to kill each other, in other words.]

Comments

[bigbad]

Probably. I don't know any, though.

And yeah, that's part of it. But it's a bit more complicated than that. [He holds out a hand, offering her his wrist.] Here. Feel my pulse. [Spoiler: there is none.]

[witchwoman]

[Her finger tips lightly brush his wrist, settling on the proper spot to apply a slight pressure. She waits and as a second or two passes, her eyes grow larger and her face loses the little bit of color it has. Her gaze flies to his face, searching for the answers.]

B-but... but how?

[bigbad]

[He pulls his wrist back, not looking at her.] Vampire. I'm not really alive. Just undead.

[witchwoman]

[She's very quiet for a few moments. Whatever a vampire is, it isn't anything that she's ever experienced. But just because something is new, doesn't mean it's worthy of being feared.]

I've found that it's not always so simple. My status as witchwoman caused villagers to run me out many times. Being something does not necessarily make you one thing or another. Life is far more complicated.

[bigbad]

[She's sweet to say so, and he looks over at her.] Vampires have something of a reputation for being monsters. No idea how true it is for the rest of them, but for me... [He didn't feel like a monster. But for all he knew, he'd killed and eaten countless humans before coming here. But maybe he hadn't. Maybe he'd been a bloody saint of a vampire. He had no way of knowing.] I don't want to hurt anyone.

[witchwoman]

Before I came here, a man named Moncriith created a reputation for me, claiming I was a demon disguised as a woman and that Amaranth was a demon as well, come to steal the souls of the village children and to tempt the men into my bed to fuel my dark magic.

[She reaches out and touches his hand for emphasis that she isn't afraid.] I don't think you're a monster.

[bigbad]

[He gives her a very genuinely moved smile. He's spent so much time worrying about how people would think he's a monster and shun him, like Buffy had, he hadn't considered people being okay with it. Besides Dumage, but she didn't seem like the sort to take anything out of stride.

Of course, Myri doesn't know everything about vampires. He hasn't told her that he is a demon, and unholy by nature, or that he drinks blood. He hasn't shown her his other face. But for now, he won't. He's got an actual friend, who knows what he is and accepts that.

It feels... nice.]

Thanks, pet. And I don't see how anyone in their right minds could mistake you for one. You're one of the least-demonic people I've met.

[witchwoman]

If a person is loud enough, someone will begin to believe them. And once you're believed..? Well, it only continues from there. The priest made it his personal goal to find me bound and burning.

No matter. Thankfully, the mist that brought us here has left him far behind. No sense dredging up the past.

[bigbad]

Guess there's one good thing about the forced relocation. Just wish I had a clue what I'm escaping. [If anything.]

[witchwoman]

Good or bad, we aren't able to do much about our current state. [Myri shrugs through a smile.] I, for one, am enjoying this new direction my life has taken.

I've never had so many friends.

[bigbad]

That must be a nice feeling. [Excuse his bitterness. It's mostly Buffy-based. Also Lan based. And Christos based. Actually, that's most of his 'fan club.' He has more friends than he gives himself credit for.]

[witchwoman]

[She frowns, only knowing about Buffy, so she assumes that's what he means.]

What happened, exactly? [She pauses] With Buffy.

[bigbad]

[Eh, she's mostly correct. He doesn't look over at her, though.] Apparently she's not fond of vampires. Or secrets.

[witchwoman]

People are rarely fond of secrets. They mistake not being told something as being lied to.

[bigbad]

Exactly what she did. [He rolls his eyes.] Like she isn't keeping secrets.

[witchwoman]

[That makes Myri stop and look at him a bit closer.]

Is she? Keeping secrets, that is.

[bigbad]

[He shrugs.] Must be. Haven't you seen how strong she is?

[witchwoman]

I think everyone saw. Which means it doesn't count as much of a secret.

[bigbad]

It also means she's not human either.

[witchwoman]

I still consider myself to be human, despite the fact that I can do things that others cannot.

[bigbad]

[He waves a hand dismissively.] Your abilities aren't a secret. And more than that, you're not biting my head off for keeping my own secrets.

[witchwoman]

[She presses her lips together, realizing that this is much more about this specific situation, rather than a conversation about what makes a person human.]

Give her time.

[bigbad]

[He glances away.] Doesn't really matter. I'm hardly looking to win any popularity contests. She can think what she'd like.

[witchwoman]

[Myri nods and looks away as well. After a moment, she gracefully stands from the couch.]

I think I should go check on Amaranth. Take care.

[bigbad]

[Spike nods, slumping back on the couch and turning up the volume.] You too, love.