bela's} {come and knock on my door, we've been waiting for you ...
Cordelia: [and a second later they appear with a pop in the middle of Bela's very nicely furnished, very clean New York apartment. She keeps her hand in Xander's and looks back at him with a smirk] You good?
Xander: [there's a moment where he feels like his insides were left behind at the hotel, but after a deep breath inward, which he holds onto as he nods, he's exhaling slowly and nodding even more] Yeah. Yeah, I'm good. [he stands up straighter, trying to make himself seem more 'manly' giving her a thumbs up] Yep. All good.
Cordelia: Great. [then she turns back to the apartment] Bela? You around? We're friends of Castiel's. [she thinks it might just have a little more weight than saying they were friends of Ruby's, even if both were true]
Bela: [was attempting to sleep, up until she heard voices in her apartment. sleep hasn't been an easy thing as of late, so it didn't take much to wake her up, and as she makes her way down the stairs, she's incredibly wary of what's in front of her] Ruby said you were coming. Though she failed to mention who.
Xander: [glances around her apartment as they're waiting for this Bela girl to show up. He's already feeling like he's out of his element, but he can manage. He can 'deal' for however long this takes. Whether or not she can deal, that's going to be the question. When he sees her, he offers a warm smile and a wave of his hand.] Hi. Xander Harris. [he doesn't even do the James Bond name intro, Cordelia should be proud.]
Cordelia: [she is proud. possibly even a little surprised] And I'm Cordelia. Xander's the one who's actually going to be staying.
Bela: [looks them both over carefully, crossing her arms in front of her chest a little more] A pleasure, I'm sure. [it sounds a little flat, but at least she's trying to be polite]
Xander: [takes a breath, seeing that defensive gesture. He's seen it more than a hundred times on Dawn and even more on Buffy] I know it's not ideal, but I promise I'm going to try and be as not in the way as possible. I'm the just in case.
Bela: [has nothing to do with you, Xander. She just ... needs to do some adjusting] It's fine. Really.
Xander: [He understands that, but he is a complete stranger - and a male one at that, which isn't exactly the choice he's sure she wanted. It's one of those trust things.] Cordelia here can be here in an instant too, [glances to her, because he's hoping that's true because if there are girl-things to deal with he's going to fail.] just in case we need an angelic presence. [or someone else with boobs]
Bela: [nods a bit] I'm sure we can manage. [having as few people in her space as possible is the name of the game, male or otherwise]
Xander: Great. [an awkward glance to Cordelia, because... now what?]
Cordelia: [takes a breath before nodding] Great. Well, I'm gonna let you two settle in, and ... call me if you need me. [and she's gone before either of them can protest because she has important Apocalypse Things to do.]
Bela: [the breath that she was about to use to protest dies and she just sighs, before turning back to Xander. He didn't seem entirely ... terrible. It could be worse. She could be stuck with Dean babysitting her] There's a guest room upstairs, to the left. Can I get you anything?
Xander: [sets his bag down, because clearly he had to have brought something with him, but he shakes his head, because any urge he had to pee had gone away with the whole transporting in a second] I think I'm good. I'll go put my stuff in that room though. [gestures the way she mentioned] To the left?
Bela: [nods] There should be sheets on the bed, but if not, let me know and I'll find some.
Xander: Roger that. [and he heads up the stairs, moving to the left where he finds the guest room, which is probably a bit more upscale than the Hyperion. At the very least it wasn't going to be filled with rambunctious Slayerettes trying to figure out if they can slide down the bannister. He sets his things down, and glances to the sheets on the bed, but really he'll deal with how oddly he'll make the bed later. Instead, he'll return downstairs and try to track down Bela again.] Much quieter here than it was going to be at the Hyperion. I spent the last three days in a car with three teenage girls who have more energy than a sugar factory.
Bela: [a slight smile as she moves about the kitchen. She's making tea for herself -- it's calming, and right now she needs it] I think the most noise you'll have to worry about is the new baby down the hall, but the walls around here are pretty sound proof.
Xander: Baby down the hall, got it. [moves to lean against the counter opposite of where she's making tea. He's there, but not hovering] So... do you want to know anything about me?
Bela: [lets out a slow sigh before nodding] Sure.
Xander: I mean, we don't have to, but I figure I'm staying here, it might be easier if you knew at least a little bit about me.
Bela: It's fine. Tell me whatever you want.
Xander: [nods] Alright. I lived in Sunnydale California from the time I was born until it was a giant crater. My best friends are in no particular order; an angel, a wiccan, and a Slayer. They are also all female. I've been engaged to be married, to an ex-vengeance demon who was turned into a mortal. She was very... forthright. Things didn't work out, mostly it was my fault. Parents spent most of their time fighting with each other or yelling in my general direction that I swore I'd never be like them. Been the cog [he makes a gesture with his hand to symbolize one small piece as his other hand twists around it] in the stopping of the world ending a few times. But then again, who can't say that in the sort of company we keep, right? [tries a smile] I love Fruit-Roll-Ups and I spend possibly too much money on eBay.
Bela: Sunnydale. There was a Hellmouth there, yeah?
Xander: [nods] Yeah, it was the cause of the aforementioned crater.
Bela: [nods] I did business with someone in Sunnydale once. [give her a minute to actually rake through and remember what it was, but the name of the town rings a bell]
Xander: [lifts an eyebrow in curiosity] Yeah? It was probably a bigger town than most people realized.
Bela: It was a long time ago. [closes her eyes as she thinks, sorting back through] An urn of Osiris. I think.
Xander: [he was never big on names of things, but that? That particular item? He knows that one] Osiris? To an Anya Jenkins?
Bela: I'd have to look. As I said, it was a long time ago, but I remember the item.
Xander: Used to raise the dead. [he says it pretty point blank]
Bela: Yes. I'm aware of what it does. It's my business to. [it's a little snappish] Some details from before I died are clearer than others.
Xander: [shakes it off] Sorry, I didn't mean... it was used to raise a friend of mine. It wasn't exactly a well-thought out execution for the actual raising part.
Bela: [nods as the kettle whistles and she goes to pour her tea] Most things that way usually aren't. Death is a dangerous thing to dabble with. [she isn't saying that so much to be rude as to just ... state a fact]
Xander: [nods, stuck in his own thoughts for a bit, but he'll return to the conversation] Anya died. She was the one I was engaged to. Though the wedding not going through, that was my bad. But she was in the final battle, the one that made the crater.
Bela: [glances back over as she places the castle back on the stove and nods] I'm sorry.
Xander: [takes a breath, giving her a smile] It was a long time ago. She died protecting the people she cared about, I've made my peace with it.
Bela: [nods again, finger trailing against the edge of the cup] Not an easy thing to do.
Xander: [shrugs] We've lost a lot of people over the years. They were all important, all our friends; it doesn't get easier, but the purpose isn't as muddled anymore.
Bela: I was never really one to play my role. It didn't always work out well for me.
Xander: [glances to her] Sometimes the struggle is more important in the end. That proof of determination or life... or just stubbornness.
Bela: My struggle wasn't exactly the stuff of legend. It just ... was. [that was the frustrating part. she didn't change anything. She thought she could be the girl to get out of a demon deal, but in the end, all the time she had wasted had been for nothing. ten years, from fourteen to twenty-four, and what she had gotten out of it? a terrible death, alone, with no one left to blame but herself, and then a terrible afterlife to go with it]
Xander: No one said it had to be of legend. Just enough for you.
Bela: [goes quiet for a moment, then shrugs. it was what it was]
Xander: Sorry, I didn't mean to kill the conversation like that.
Bela: It's fine. [a beat] I take it the angel that's here is the friend you were referring to?
Xander: [smiles] The one that died? No. That was out of my hands, but the Slayer, Buffy, she's the one that we used the Urn on. [a beat] That was what you were talking about, right?
Bela: No. Cordelia. Was that the angel you were referring to earlier?
Xander: Oh. Yeah, she's one of my best friends. I went to High School with her. We dated briefly too.
Bela: [nods as she sips her tea] I didn't know people could go from human to angel.
Xander: [smirks] She's not usually one to follow the rules. I'm pretty sure the Powers that Be owed her one for everything she did.
Bela: Ah. Another one of those hero types.
Xander: One of the best. [smiles, there's a bit of pride there]
Bela: [nods] Good for them.
Xander: [shifts the way he's leaning so that he can cross his foot over the other] What about you? The whole hunter thing, I take it that's not your thing?
Bela: No. My line of work was a little more ... self-serving.
Xander: Like the Urn thing, right?
Bela: [nods] I found them, stole them, and sold them off to the highest bidder.
Xander: Sounds... lucrative.
Bela: [waves a hand around] It has it's benefits.
Xander: I noticed, I haven't seen a place this nice since I watched that Cameron Diaz movie where she swaps houses with Kate Winslet.
Bela: If nothing else, I did know how to live in style.
Xander: [smirks] Well, you are kind of alive again. You can use the present tense once more.
Bela: [a bit of a laugh] I suppose I can.
Xander: [smiles at the laugh] You could refer to yourself in the third person, but that does get a bit weird after a while.
Bela: I was never really one for that much pretense.
Xander: Good to know.
Bela: [nods] But I'm afraid there isn't much more to me than ... this.
Xander: [makes a face] That's nonsense. I'm sure there are plenty of things about you. [thinks] Last movie you saw?
Bela: [and there's a bit of a blank look. something as frivolous as a movie wasn't really something that stuck around in her memory, let alone something she actually had time for] I never really had the time.
Xander: Well, see? I did not know that. We should probably fix that too.
Bela: Oh really?
Xander: [smirks] Really. Unless you had other plans for your first night with a highly entertaining houseguest?
Bela: [a small bit of a smirk as she shakes her head] No. I can't say I did.
Xander: Then we should do the movie thing. [smiles at her]
Bela: Okay.
Xander: So, we should move from the kitchen to wherever the TV is.
Bela: [nods] There's a den. This way. [and she moves around the counter to lead the way]
Xander: [follows and does not watch her ass while she walks, he's a gentleman]
Bela: [the den is small compared to the rest of the rooms in the apartment, and it may have been more than a little obvious that she didn't spend a lot of time there, but it was still very clean. just like the rest of the apartment]
Xander: Okay. I'm looking for a remote that I can conquer. [glances around the place]
Bela: [nods to the top of the TV] Over there.
Xander: [claps his hands and makes a beeline to the remote, glancing at the buttons and making a thoughtful hmmm sound as he moves to sit on the couch] Okay. Aaaand. On. [he presses the power button and behold, there was light from the TV] Excellent. [tries to find the 'TV guide' channel to see what's on] Any requests?
Bela: [shakes her head as she sits a cushion down from him -- personal space is her friend right now] Whatever you'd like to watch is fine.
Xander: [glances to her, not planning on invading her space in the slightest] Got it. [he flips the channels around until he finds something... with Robert Downey Jr. After a few minutes he realizes it's Iron Man] Excellent. This one is good.
Bela: [head tips as she watches] Superhero film?
Xander: Yeah. Iron Man. He's usually an alcoholic, which is why the film is good. The comics he's a drunk and usually they'd just clean that part out. They kept it though, so it's a lot better than that Wolverine movie.
Bela: I didn't really follow very many comics.
Xander: Oh, I didn't think you did. I'm just an aficionado. [he means nerd]
Bela: [a small smile] I gathered.
Xander: Plus, he'd be nowhere without Pepper Potts. She's the woman behind the man.
Bela: His assitant, yeah?
Xander: Yes. Played by the lovely Gwenyth Paltrow.
Bela: [nods] And who's the other one? The military man.
Xander: That's Rhodes. He'll change actors in the second movie.
Bela: I always found that terribly annoying.
Xander: Yeah, recasting never makes sense if you're trying to develop a character that requires you to trust them.
Bela: [nods and sips her tea again]
Xander: [watches the movie, making random comments every once in a while, varying them between humorous and informative]
Bela: [responds to most of them and gets a bit more comfortable, but she doesn't quite give up that buffer between them yet. She's still getting used to things, and as much as she didn't want people around, she'll admit that it's nice having someone to talk to]
Xander: [and the movie ends and he shifts on the couch to face her a bit more] See? That wasn't so bad was it?
Bela: [her eyes look down shyly and she shakes her head] I didn't say I didn't enjoy it. I just said that I hadn't watched many.
Xander: [smiles] Are you hungry? Do you want to eat or should we see what's on next?
Bela: There's food in the fridge. I can go make something if you are.
Xander: [contemplates] I could eat. [then a beat] But I don't want you to cook if you're not hungry.
Bela: [shakes her head] It's fine. You're the guest.
Xander: [nods] Well, let me help at least.
Bela: Alright.
Xander: [and he goes to help her cook]
Bela: [ .... maybe it's not so bad having company. MAYBE]
Xander: [hey, he's good at dealing with a) stressful situations b) girls who like having pretty things and c) post-Hell situations]
Bela: [yes. that much is true. and he hasn't held a gun in her face once]
Xander: [he's not big with guns. One almost killed his friend and it also killed Tara.]
Bela: [she likes her guns. but she only uses them for self-protection. mostly]
Xander: [he'd argue that right now he's there for her protection, but they've just met and he isn't always that convincing]
Bela: [they have just met, and she would just argue that she can take care of herself]
Xander: [he's got no doubt of that, but he is there for a reason]
Bela: [he is. but it's more protection from herself.]
Xander: [was not aware of that... but he'll take it all in stride]
Bela: [well, her inner demons are worse than the outer ones right now. not that she'd actually admit that to anyone]
Xander: [well, either way, he's not going to leave until someone tells him that he should]
Bela: [another thing she'll never admit it, but she appreciates that too]