and the words repeat, breathing histories into stories untold

[todoright]

It had been exactly a month since he had arrived on the island, and Angel wasn’t feeling any more relaxed. This was supposed to be a vacation - albeit one that he hadn’t chosen for himself. Sun, surf, sand - an idyllic tropical island. The kind that he’d only dreamed about visiting in the daylight

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[morethentheend]

A fork, a piece of electrical wiring, two pieces of tape, a compass needle, and a very large magnet had only one thing in common - they were in Violet Baudelaire's hands as she walked through the jungle. She wasn't actually watching where she was going - and had narrowly avoided walking into a tree on more than one occasion - but she was tinkering.

It always did put her in a mood. She stopped only when she had to, crouching as she braced the fork between her foot and the ground so she could pull the wire tight - and then, she happened to look up.

And stare.

It was, to be honest, one of the first times that Violet had ever completely disregarded what she was doing to just stare. She didn't stand up, and her mouth was open in a small 'o'. She hadn't realised this was where Angel did... that. Really, she didn't know anyone did anything here, although she couldn't pull her gaze away enough to actually see if there was anyone else around. She was holding her breath and didn't even realise it, feeling like the smallest movement on her

[todoright]

There was this thing that humans had sometimes - the instinct that came with knowing that they were being watched. It didn't happen all the time, but Angel felt it now as a slight nagging feeling in the back of his mind, and he abruptly stopped himself in mid-movement in order to glance in the direction his instincts told him to. Violet. Truth be told, he was worried about her. She was one of the few people on this island that genuinely needed help, although it wasn't in the form of demon hunting and physical rescuing that he was so good at. She needed help in the part of the job that he was...not so proficient at, to put it kindly.

But she needed help and was probably too stubborn to tell anyone else and he wasn't going to abandon her. Not after he'd made a promise.

"Violet." Angel's gaze is curious, glancing at her face first and then to the thing in her hands as he lets his arms down, wiping some sweat off of his forehead. "What is that?"

[morethentheend]

"It's-" She opened and closed her mouth several times as she stood abruptly, her eyes wide. "I wasn't- I mean, I haven't been here long, it- It's not like I was watching- I mean it was really- you're really- but-"

She swallowed hard, her voice lowering. "I'm going to stop talking now, and just answer your question."

She took a deep breath, looking up at him - not the fact that he didn't have a shirt on, and she hadn't just been staring at him for what - minutes? "It's a modified compass. Sort of. I'm working on it. What were you doing?"

[todoright]

This sort of awkwardness was exactly why he'd chosen a secluded area of the forest because his hut was too cramped compared to the spaciousness of his old mansion or the basement level of the Angel Investigations office. That had just recently been blown up by those nice people at Wolfram and Hart. His shirt, a simple white t-shirt was hanging on a tree branch a few paces away - the space which he then crossed in two strides, quickly slipping the cotton fabric on

[unbound_vala]

I wore William in a sling, carrying him on my hip. It was something all the women of my own people had done, as well as the women of Ver Isca. It was something I hadn't been able to picture myself doing while I was pregnant, but now that he was nine months old, it was second nature. I had no trouble carrying him with me anywhere, regardless of what I was doing. Those who didn't know might assume he wasn't even mine, considering how blonde he was and just how much like Spike he looked. But he was mine and I rarely let him out of my sight.

I carried a large, pliant basket that was half full of fruit when I saw the man. It was hypnotic watching the way he moved. William squealed and bounced and slapped one chubby hand against my chest.

There was simply no way to be stealthy with a baby on the hip.

"Hello," I said. "We didn't mean to interrupt you."

[todoright]

Angel liked children, or at least he liked the few of them that he managed to see at night - which didn't come to very many in total. But he liked them because they were innocent. Completely and utterly pure, incapable of any corrupt human behavior. Not only that, but they were a blank canvas, with no indication of who they would become in the future

[unbound_vala]

That was disconcerting. Before even the polite formalities of greeting, this man had announced the father of William. It told me right away that he must know Spike very well to pick out his baby when we had never met.

I was tempted to lie. To say he was Daniel's. After all, Daniel was the one who had stayed through it all. But a lie would do no good in this situation, that much was obvious.

"William, yes. And I'm Vala," I said. "Do you know Spike, then?"

[todoright]

"You could say we have a history." Angel says non-commitally, saying nothing that might hint to about a century or more of history. Or the fact that the last time they'd met, Spike had him tortured with hot pokers. But apparently things were different now. Him - and Buffy - and the fact that he had a soul and that they were apparently partners.

It boggled the mind.

"Is he...taking good care of him?" it could be a sensitive question, but it was probably one he had to ask.

[thirdboxcar]

At first Walt thinks it's a great idea when he sees the guy from behind; he's heard a Marine from his team talk about Tai Chi, and it doesn't sound too bad. Said Marine even tried to teach him some things, but there's only so much you can do without knowing if tomorrow you might be Oscar Mike.

He approaches the guy carefully, but when he gets a glimpse on his face, Walt's jaw almost drops open and he exclaims, rather loudly, "Holy shit!"

[todoright]

Vampire senses or not, there's a definite shift in the atmosphere of the forest when it's punctuated by a loud cursing that makes Angel turn around abruptly, senses all too trained to hear loud voices as cries for help. Part of the job, he supposes.

But now he stands awkwardly, head tilted slightly and a look of utter confusion on his face. "Something wrong?"

[thirdboxcar]

Walt clears his throat, feeling embarrassed for his reaction. "I'm sorry, I just... you're Angel!" He exclaims, excitement seeping into his voice. "It was fucking awesome meeting Buffy, but now you're here, too?"

If Walt isn't careful, he's going to develop a crush on this guy or do something else equally embarrassing, and God, he's glad none of the guys of his platoon are around right now.

[todoright]

Last week, the man's excitement might have confused him - but now he knows exactly where it's coming from. He must have seen the telelvision shows that Sookie had told him about, and now the objective was to figure out if they were from the same world. Doing so would prove his theory either way - that the shows were based on him, or that he was written specifically for them.

The second one made his stomach clench with anger that came with the idea that someone had put him through the past two centuries for entertainment.

"...Do vampires exist where you come from?" he takes deep, shallow breaths, hiding all emotion in his default expression that many have called 'inscrutable'.

[knowthyexits]

It's an exercise calmer than she could ever stand herself. She knows that it's got worth, but nothing that she's ever benefited from. Standing nearby with her arms crossed, she leans against a tree and knows that she's wandered off the path and should leave him be, but a part of her wonders what caused the need for peace and respite. "I never saw the pros of that," she calls, interrupting and sending at least one tropical bird skittering from a perch.

[todoright]

He knows she's there. If she looks closely, she might be able to spot the slight turn of his head tilted towards her or the shift in his movements. If she did notice, it would probably be an interesting conversation indeed, and he waits until she calls out to fully turn towards her, ignoring the malestrom of flapping wings around him.

"Of Tai Chi? It's good because it's slow. It means you have to hold the positions longer, which strengthens the muscles more." Angel shrugs, knowing that most people would consider other martial arts to be more viable exercises - and they were right to an extent.

Angel practiced them when he needed to forget about the things on his mind. He did this when he needed to remember.

[knowthyexits]

"Slow isn't really my pace," Sarah admits with a wry smirk on her lips. Slow means you get caught and captured. Slow means you get killed. "Besides, there are other ways to test your endurance, but they aren't so painless." And they're also things she's not too keen to speak about. "Should I go? I'm interrupting your muscle-strengthening."

[todoright]

"Everything has to slow down sometime." he gets the distinct feeling that there's an underlying message beneath their words, but he's not quite sure what it is. Angel might not be someone who guards his secrets, per say, but he doesn't go advertising them and neither, it appears, does this woman. "It's fine. I was just finishing up anyways. So what do you see the pros in?"

[fears_nothing]

Niko liked the forests of the island. After assessing the perimeter and learning the buildings and the faces of the residents, Niko had worked on learning the places he could retreat to in solitude, those places he could reflect and find his zen again. Cal tried his zen on the best of days, after all, and having an escape was necessary to sound mind and body.

But, as the island was fairly populated for its size, Niko was not surprised to find someone else seeking out the serenity of the forest for reflection and clarity. He nodded at the other man in the midst of his Tai Chi forms and Niko started his own, unconsciously mimicking the other man.

"Buddhist?"

[todoright]

The man's movements were practiced and impressive. This wasn't just someone following his movements. This was someone who knew what he was doing. These small observations were ones that he could make even without vampire senses, and it comforted him to some small extent to know that he still had the ability, honed after centuries.

"Not really. Liked the ideas, but I'm not really one for religion." Angel says in the middle of transitions between forms. "Are you?"

[fears_nothing]

"Yes," Niko said, flashing half a smile before moving into a new position. "I find it helps immensely to have a sense of balance and focus in my every day life. Controls the chaos."

[todoright]

He sees how that could be comforting, but Angel also knows too much to subscribe to the human religions of the world. Perhaps the Powers That Be were encompassed within these belief systems, but he doubted it. And after all, it wasn't as though he could just walk into a church.

But ordinary people didn't have this much chaos in their lives. Above all else, they found appeal within the stable and the routine. If there was none to be found in an area, they'd move.

Yet Angel knows by now that the island's inhabitants are all anything but ordinary. Consider his curiosity piqued.

"Is there a lot of that going around? Chaos, I mean."