 |
|---|
|
| Players |
|
|
Factions |
|
|
Music |
|
|
Willow's researching the Necronomicon. Eva took a day off from school. Eva wants to put a leash on her boyfriend. Angel points out the catch...
1/20/2017 1:00 PM
Hyperion Hotel San Francisco
The Hyperion Hotel[]
The lights are on, illuminating the area.
The California-Spanish building known as the Hyperion Hotel was built in the 20s. Through the cast iron gates from the sidewalk is a small front courtyard with a rectangular fountain and a mythological figure holding a bowl from which water flows. Greenery frames the walls and a large set of glass double doors open into a high ceilinged lobby. Dark red carpet descends the four steps to the lobby floor and climb the two sets of stairways that lead to the second floor. The green marble floors are accented with wavy red inserts, as are the walls have a complimentary red border running their length. A set of doors identical to those of the entrance lead to a small enclosed garden.
Cream-colored pillars line two sides of the room, holding up the second-floor balconies that look out onto the lobby and creating arches. Underneath one of them is a large plate glass window that looks into the hotel office - now used as the office and nerve center of Angel Investigations. Nearby, there's a wraparound counter with dark wood paneling and a top the same color as the floor. Behind it are filing cabinets and a pair of desks pushed together. A navy blue circular couch harkening back to a 50s design sits near the back of the lobby. A large wooden, glass-doored cabinet pushed up against the wall holds a large assortment of weapons.
Outside, it's cloudy, cold, and damp.
It's just not going to happen today. Angel is not going to meet his brooding quota. The national association of Eternal Brooders can reprimand him later. He's /engaged!/ This is exactly the sort of true happiness that Curse was supposed to prevent. Well, screw you, Romani tribe! He's happy and however unnatural it is for him to be this happy, it's just..true! But for all that he feels on cloud 9, there IS still an evil book of evil out there, and reports have come in there was a battle last night while he was busy upgrading his girlfriend to fiancee.
Willow Rosenberg sits in the lobby, tapping away at her laptop keyboard. She appears deep in thought, focused. She also is wearing the same outfit she was last night at the party, so it's a good guess that she hasn't slept yet.
Eva should be in school. She really should. But the kids were being extra annoying and it was Friday, so her mom let her skip. It's not skipping if your parents let you, right? Or something. As she walks into the hotel, she has her white jacket on over a pink t-shirt and a pair of jeans. Peeking around to see who is about, she sings out "Guess who's visiting because her parents rock~"
"Found anything yet, Willow?" And he IS surprised to see Eva...but knowing Slayers are fairly immune to disease unless they go out of their way to inject themselves with highly concentrated viruses..."Eva? Is something up at school?"
Willow shakes her head to Angel's question, not taking her eyes off the screen. "I found some news articles about drug addicts attacking people and places that might be actually demon activity. If what that man said is true, the demon activity does lead from where he was to here." She raises a hand, her fingers gently undulating, and a coffee mug floats by Angel from the office.
Eva blushes slightly at Angel's question. "Well. I didn't want to say anything last night, but the kids are being kind of jerks. Not all of them, but enough that school hasn't been fun lately. They figured out I was 'the minor' involved in Faith's manhunt which was all over the news. People wondered where I went, but after the trial it was pretty much obvious. Even though my band mates are cool, they're starting to get crap from some of the other kids." She's frowning by the end of her story. "Anyways, Mom and Dad said I could take Friday off. We're not sure what's gonna happen with my classes anyways, I missed so much time. They're working something out with the school so I don't repeat a grade." Wrinkling her nose, she adds "Probably summer school." As Willow works her magic, both on the computer and on the mug, she grins. "That is so cool."
"Ash was rude, but I don't think he was wrong about the demons being a problem." He catches the floating coffee mug, apparently used to coffee mugs just floating around in his general direction. Having Willow around enabled one to take a lot of things in stride. "Right. Those things come from the book, so fighting off one attack isn't going to stop them from anything but killing people on one specific day. We need to cut off the source."
He hears Eva's explanation, and is suddenly very glad Faith isn't around to hear that part. She looked peaceful last night. He doesn't want to disrupt that. "Faith was exonerated. And pardoned. It should die down soon." Hopefully it does before Faith gets wind of how Eva's being treated.
Catching the coffee cup in her raised hand, Willow takes a sip from it without her eyes leaving her computer screen. She's not trying to ignore the others, but this book has gotten under her skin. "With a few notable exceptions, demons are always a problem," she responds. "If those demons that were fought last night really were the Deadites that that man mentioned, then the book is somewhere in this city. Considering it is Sumerian, there are not a lot of people that can read it. I'm checking ancient language appreciation forums as well, see if anyone is bragging. Oh! I've got a new book that is so awesome! It turns humans into demons and makes problems for everyone!"
Eva shrugs a shoulder and sighs. "It's not that big a deal. Kids are stupid and ignorant. I think half of them are jealous, honestly. I got to 'skip school' for a while and a few of them think the trial was 'cool' and that I really didn't deserve to be part of it. I don't really understand it myself, but I'm not letting it get to me. Plus today was just going to be busy work, I didn't have tests or anything."
Turning to Willow, Eva smiles and says "I know you're probably really busy, but I need a favor. A magical favor. I want to cast a spell on a ring that lets me find whoever is wearing it whenever I want. But I don't want him to know its on there. Is that something that can be done?" She pulls a small ring with musical notes out of her satchel. "And if you can think of any other useful stuff to slap on there, I wouldn't say no," she adds with a grin. "It's for my boyfriend. My vampire boyfriend. My mischievous vampire boyfriend."
Most of the time..."Good idea. Villains love to gloat. It's an ego thing." Angel is VERY thankful Angelus spent so much time gloating. It saved Buffy's life once, even if he found himself in Acathla's Hell a few minutes later... "If there's anything about occult lore or whatever, you might check those too. The Watchers might be tracking the book too, see if their site knows anything." Angel has only the vaguest idea of how computers work, so he just throws things out there and lets Willow take of it. And then he thinks of one more thing, "Also, we need to know how to get rid of the book if we do find it. You'll want to call the Grand Coven for that. They've got considerable experience." Willow probably has the number for Rowanwood already.
Angel halfsmiles at the thought of Eva putting a leash on Mikhail like that. "Mikhail's a witch himself, it'll take some doing to prevent his senses from noticing a magic ring..." On the other side..."If they give you any more grief, remind them you weren't just skipping school, you lost access to your house and your parents too."
Willow actually looks up from her laptop when Eva asks her about a magical favor. She smiles up at Eva. "So, you want me to low jack a ring for your pet vampire?" she teases. She looks over the ring, turning it from side to side. "Well, there are a few spells you could use. Most of them won't be noticed unless you tell him it's there. That's the nifty thing about magic. You don't notice it unless you know about it." Willow glances over at Angel, realizing what she said might not be exactly ethical. "Or when it goes horribly wrong. So it's not really a nifty thing at all. But we could at least put a tracker on there. Heck, I might even be able to make an app that goes with the tracker spell." Willow is one of the few witches out there that can combine magic with electronics and she takes advantage of that fact.
Willow nods, grinning over to Angel as he gives her some ideas of where to spread her search. "I'll go give Rowanwood a call right after I talk to the Watchers. I should probably call them. Those stuffy British types really seem to hate e-mail. And don`t get me started on trying to talk to them with texts." Willow shuts her laptop and lays it on the couch beside her, rising to her feet. "Mind if I use the office for a bit?"
Eva shrugs at Angel and says "I doubt they'll care. All they see is what they want to see. Besides, I'm sure most of those brats would be happy to spend a 'vacation' away from their parents and their house." Waving a hand in the air, she adds "It's just foolishness. You're right, it'll pass. Give it some time and all." As Willow takes the ring and considers spells to put on it, Eva grins. "It's not an awful thing to do, right? I mean... what if he's in trouble?"
Eva pulls a small black bag out of a pocket. "Mik wanted me to give you guys these, but last night seemed like the wrong time," she admits with a goofy grin. Handing the bag to Angel, he will find two very simple rings inside. "It's up to you if you want to use them or not, but Mik used some of his basic magic to enchant them. I'm not 100% on how they work, but apparently it lets two people sense each other's presence. Like... if for some reason you stop feeling that subtle tug in the back of your head then something is wrong." Shrugging, she says "Like I said, I didn't really ask too much. And we have no idea of the range. I thought it would be /very/ inappropriate to test them first, 'cause then they'd be secondhand rings or something. Literally."
Angel smiles at the present. "First...haven't you felt it? The better trained you get, the more you notice the way different vampires register on your senses. Vampires of different breeds will feel different to you. And your feelings for the vampire in question will also alter things. For all that I'm very good, I've never been able to sneak up on her. She feels a vampire's coming, and moreover knows it's me specifically, even if she can't see me. Eventually, you'll be able to pick him...or even me...out of a crowd of vampires. Blindfolded."
More on the other side. "Are you sure you want Willow to make that ring? She can, and she will, and she'll be glad of the opportunity to practice her spells. But trust, once lost, isn't an easy thing to get back. You might not want to give him such a ring unless you're comfortable with the idea of not being someone he trusts."
Eva thinks about what Angel warns her about the ring. "Maybe I'll tell him about it. Cause you're right that I don't want him to stop trusting me. But, I also think it would be useful to know where he is. Maybe if he knows I can find him, it will encourage him to behave better." She sighs, then runs her fingers through her hair. "Or maybe not. I guess I should think about it more. GPS on Mikhail would come in handy, but not if it means he's going to get mad at me."
"Sometimes, spells have unexpected consequences that have nothing to do with magic. Be careful, especially when your heart's involved. I don't know if he'll behave better if you give him the ring. He's a witch himself, he could put a spell on you to determine how far away you are at any given moment. Then it's like a kid in school who sits with his hands folded when the teacher's watching him, but when she's not..." There's all sorts of ways that can go wrong...or defeat the purpose.
Eva nods thoughtfully. "I guess you're right. I shouldn't do that. Ugh. It's just so frustrating sometimes. But I suppose if I want him to trust me, I have to trust him. Maybe I won't have Willow enchant the ring after all." She pauses before adding "At least not with that. He gave me a pendant with a defensive spell. While I am sure he doesn't need that kind of thing from me, I'd like to make that ring special somehow."
"It is. And that's normal. Even we get frustrated with each other." We being him and Buffy. "And it's okay. Because ultimately I trust that she's doing what's right, even if I don't understand it right away. I don't need to. With a woman like that, I just step back and let her shine. Why she does things usually becomes apparent soon enough."
Eva just nods along with what Angel is saying. "You have a point. I'm still figuring this relationship stuff out. But, I suppose, using magic to keep track of my boyfriend is not something I would normally be able to do. So I shouldn't try to cheat for such a selfish reason." She actually pouts a little. "I suppose I should get the ring back and just give it to him again."
Angel considers that. "Or maybe get a new one. The one you gave him the first time has memories of a promise not kept. With something new, you can make a new promise. Something that reflects the way you feel now...and your better understanding of him and how he feels."
Eva sits down in a chair to think this over. "That's a good idea, Angel. You're so right. I need to give him something new. Hmm." She taps her chin thoughtfully. "I'll come up with something, I guess. Shouldn't be too hard. Maybe on another shopping trip I'll find something appropriate." She looks over at the office thoughtfully. "So what the heck do I do with the ring I have?"
Angel ponders that. "Ask him. There are some things only he can tell you about the way he feels about things, and that ring in particular. Even if it's a broken promise, there's still ways to build with it."
Eva nods at Angel's suggestion of asking Mikhail. "Okay. I'll see what he wants to do with it. Who knows, maybe he'll want to keep it for something. But. I think I'll leave it unenchanted... I hate to disappoint Willow, but you bring up a good point or two." Standing up, she checks her satchel and pulls her phone out. "Hmm. School's out by now, I should probably go hang with my band mates. They've been very neglected." Reaching out to give Angel a one-armed half-hug, she smiles and says "Thanks for the advice."