✿6 [Accidental Voice / Action]

[redstringed]

[Voice]

*The journal starts picking up the sounds of a fight in progress, as if someone had dropped their journal accidentally.*  Noel, get back!

*Then, odd whooshes of air and the sound of metal striking metal - but they're interrupted by a crack of thunder. There's silence for a few moments, and then a second, louder clap of thunder, followed shortly by the sound of furniture breaking and another voice - some might recognize it as Noel Vermillion - shouting.*  Rachel! Ahh...

*Silence, interrupted only by the sound of metal footsteps. But then the first voice speaks again, though it seems slightly weaker.* You dare...?! Do... not turn your backs... on me...!

Baden Baden Lil--

*The speaker is suddenly cut off, and the journal is splattered by little crimson droplets, as though someone was writing in it. There's a thump and the sound of something - or someone - being dragged away, and then silence. The feed cuts out.*

[Action]

*Where are you? What are you doing? It doesn't matter, because there's a young girl dressed in a frilly gothic lolita dress teleporting near to you with a shower of roses. She looks rather beaten-up, and is clutching a bleeding wound at her stomach.

Needless to say, Rachel does not look happy. This wasn't where she wanted to end up.*

***

((OOC: So, Rachel tried to get some revenge on the Malnosso by attacking the droids coming to kidnap Noel. She failed spectacularly. So she's wounded, unable to focus on her teleportation, and she's taken a heavy blow to her pride. This won't end well.))

Comments

[consultmybooks]

Mostly that, actually. At this point, the strength of their mass denial is almost to be admired. That, and they could have the four of us locked us up as for insanity.

[redstringed]

If your legal system would lock a man up simply for bizarre beliefs, I can hardly believe every single citizen would not be shackled in a straitjacket.

[consultmybooks]

You'd be amazed.

The fact that those..."in charge", I suppose you might say...were actively conspiring to keep things a secret didn't help matters.

To be fair, Sunnydale's asylums are still very overcrowded. More so when a hellgoddess came to town and started feeding on people's sanity.

[redstringed]

For what reason were they continuing to cover up matters? Was it out of naive foolishness, or was there some benefit to them?

...my, that sounds quite troublesome.

[consultmybooks]

The benefit, at least at first, was that they were in the pay of the city Mayor. And the city Mayor was in the employ of several powerful demonic patrons that he allowed to have free reign of Sunnydale, in exchange for one day becoming a True Demon himself.

[redstringed]

Troublesome indeed.

Given that you have knowledge of this, I can only surmise he did not succeed.

[consultmybooks]

Did I ever tell you I used to be a school librarian?

[redstringed]

*She takes a long sip of the tea.* You did not. Was it by choice, or by circumstance?

[consultmybooks]

Bit of both. Buffy being a high school student, it was a decent enough cover and let me keep my books nearby.

This is relevant to the fate of the Mayor, you understand.

[redstringed]

Books do make for rather pleasant companions.

Oh? Now I am intrigued.

[consultmybooks]

The Mayor was due to, um, "Ascend" on the day of Buffy's high school graduation, and devour the entire graduating class in order to cement his power.

In a stunt that we'd never managed before and probably never will again, Buffy and the others successfully rallied the class to fight back. The vampires he brought with him were distracted, the Mayor was wounded, when Buffy got his attention and led him away, inside the school.

Inside the library, in fact. Which I had spent the last day packing with explosives. "No weapon forged" can kill a True Demon, but a hundred pounds of dynamite managed it handily.

...we got the books out first, you understand. I insisted.

[redstringed]

Naturally. It would have been quite the pity had you not. Though I would imagine the contents of one high school library are rather similar to the next.

Perhaps I ought to be impressed that you managed to coerce a measure of cohesion and responsibility out of human teenagers, of all things.

[consultmybooks]

Not this library. Most of what we were concerned with in this library were my books. And they're certainly not found normally in any school I've ever heard of.

And, yes, you should. I certainly was.

[redstringed]

So I see. How fortuitous that none of the students ever tried to borrow any of those tomes, then.

They are a lot of fools one and all, living in a false reality where they are the blazing centerpoint of the universe.

[consultmybooks]

[He winces, theatrically] For a vampire, you have a depressingly good grasp on the average human condition.

[redstringed]

An audience member who fails to comprehend the play on the stage is a very poor observer indeed.

And unlike the vampires you may be familiar with, I do not waste my life hunting and consuming.

[consultmybooks]

No, it seems you've don't. And I appreciate that, you understand.

...that's the second time you've done that, though. Referred to things, to life, to my life in particular, as a "show". [He seems curious more than anything]

[redstringed]

Oh my, have I? I hadn't realized. *Though, judging from the look on her face...*

It is merely force of habit. You must excuse me.

[consultmybooks]

You're excused, then. Everyone's allowed their strange habits.

[redstringed]

Indeed, I suppose we are, aren't we?

*...though she reaches up to hide her mouth, Rachel can't quite conceal a small yawn.*

[consultmybooks]

[Giles does not appear to notice]

So. What are you going to do now?

[redstringed]

My intent was to return to my domicile. ...I shall be perfectly fine with rest.

[consultmybooks]

Teleporting in your state seems like it would be...problematic.

[redstringed]

Nonsense. Whatever... *Another tiny yawn* ...pain there is, is fully manageable now.

[consultmybooks]

Of course. [He doesn't believe you for a second, Rachel.

He looks a teeny bit concerned for you, in fact.]

Well, no rush.