(o19)(audio)(backdated to the 9th) ♐ hopeful hearts are moving targets

[slayerisms]

[ She told herself it'd never happen. She told herself that she'd prevent it and that even if she was destined to die back home and there was nothing they could do, she could stop it here. She could stop Gabriel. But she couldn't. She couldn't do anything. She was too distracted with Drusilla to even realize

Comments

private;

[uberwitch]

[Cue some serious horror right now] M-Murdered? But-but why?

private;

[slayerisms]

She had a vision of it. Before it happened, she knew it was coming. She knew he was going to kill her, and we still couldn't -- [ She takes a minute to swallow back that guilt. ] Maybe he knew she was onto him. I don't know. I don't -- But, I'm gonna find out.

private;

[uberwitch]

Be careful, Buffy. I mean, I know you can go all slayage on whoever did this but... still.

private;

[slayerisms]

No, I can't.

[illjustdieagain]

God's here? When the fuck did that happen?

[ the point of this post . <--------------------------> . nathan ]

[slayerisms]

What? [ A beat. ] No. I didn't mean -- Can we not do this right now?

[illjustdieagain]

Oh. Um, sorry about your friend.

But God? Really? That has to be rubbish. Where? I've never seen him.

[slayerisms]

He's not here, Nathan. I don't even know if He -- [ Huff. ] He's not here.

audio )

[perspectiveguy]

First Anya. Now Cordelia?

audio )

[slayerisms]

[ ... Oh hale no. It didn't occur to her that Anya could have been Gabriel too, but now ... she's just decided that it is. It makes sense, okay. And Buffy's had a quasi-tussle with him, it makes sense. He's a big guy, he might be able to take out Riley, especially with his fucking telekinesis. ]

Believe me when I say he's not getting away with it.

audio )

[perspectiveguy]

So, what did our group do to deserve all this horror? Is this, what, an attack on you? [ or, considering the two involved, it's him but that makes no sense...? but his eyes are showing his thought process ]

audio )

[slayerisms]

[ WOW, THANK YOU, XANDER. BUFFY NEEDED THAT GUILT. The sad part is that it's valid. She gave him plenty of grudge reason. ]

I don't -- I don't know. Maybe.

ACTION

[breakmychest]

[Spike doesn't bother replying via datapad. He just goes to find her.

When he sees her doing dishes, he walks over to the kitchen and hovers in the doorway.]

You okay?

[...it's a dumb question. Of course she isn't. But it's the default thing to ask even so.]

[slayerisms]

[ She stares down into the sink, refusing to look back at him. Of course. Of course it was Spike. A million things run through her mind -- things she wants to say. Things she would say if it weren't him. If it were someone she could trust, but who could she? Giles maybe. Jacen.

The fact was, she was trying to drag herself out of this pit of regret and self-loathing and it just wasn't working. They knew. She'd seen it coming, Buffy knew who it was, and it still happened. She still couldn't save her. This time she should have been able to, for every reason, she should have been able to. But she didn't. And all she could think was that maybe if she'd been there, maybe if she'd been a little less distracted by Dru ... ]

I'm fine. [ She sniffs, reaching up to rub the back of her hand across her nose and stack a plate into the drying rack. ]

[breakmychest]

[He doesn't believe her for a moment. He walks over and grabs a rag and the plate and starts drying it. He doesn't really do dishes often, but drying isn't very hard. And it's not like it matters much anyway. He's mostly using it as an excuse to stand near Buffy.]

It wasn't your fault, you know.

[slayerisms]

Don't remember saying that it was. [ She scrubs a glass clean and rinses it off, passing it over to him. He's not leaving, that's obvious, he can at least make himself useful. ]

[Video]

[tronja307020]

[He gives a small, sympathetic look, but there's an intensity in his look, too.]

I'm sorry. How did it happen? [He's still trying to track down the identity of the one who attacked him, especially after finding that there had been possibly more murders perpetrated by the same man.]

audio still on this end

[slayerisms]

Leia pretty much covered it. [ Her tone is bitter. Hopefully he won't blame her too much for not wanting to give the gory details to someone who's barely more than a stranger in the grand scheme of things. ]

[tronja307020]

[He gives a small sneer, gritting his teeth.]

That's what I was afraid of.

I was killed by the same man we think attacked Leia. I was gone when that event happened, only came back last week.

[slayerisms]

The Princess wasn't attacked, she just witnessed it. Saw the guy. Apparently, he's on a roll. If I were you, I'd lay low until he's caught. He might come looking for seconds.