The Tormented (Angel/OPEN)

[vi]

With a triumphant squeak of delight, Vi nabbed the Strike Anywhere matches off the spiderweb coated shelving and hugged them tight to her chest. It was one objective met, one thing to check off the list and push them further into things getting better. It was actually one of her rapid heartbeats before Giles spoke that the hair rose on Vi's arms; another into his sentence before she registered her breath fogging in the air around when Giles said the one thing she didn't want to hear. They had Company. And somehow she doubted this spectre was polite enough to show up with some kind of hospitality gift or even manners enough to not torture them despite their audacity at still being, you know, Alive. So it was with this thought that Vi spun about on her heels, dagger tight to her chest in a defensive position. Now that they were down here, the Slayer seemed to fall more into her element. This was ungodly terrifying; something not even the redhead was going to dare argue to the contrary. But she had her nerves in check and was using the adrenaline to the best of her needs, pupils widening to take in the surroundings, blood racing to her muscles in preparation of combat. With Giles in front, Vi took quick stock of exactly what was up before having to make one of the hardest decisions of her life.

"Consider me supersonic. Sans screwdriver and potential Wibbly-wobbly-ness." She quipped in a tight voice, the Whovian reference there most for her comfort. Slipping a match into her palm and the box proper into her sweatshirt, Vi bent down to strike it against the floor. Laying on her stomach, though careful of the matches, the young woman stretched to relight the pilot. Struggling to get into place, the first flame made it to singe her fingers before it was helpful; earning a soft yelp from Vi followed by a string of curses under her breath born usually only from the most colorful of bikers. Pulling out a second match, Vi angled herself differently and cried out in triumph when the pilot caught. And then gasped in terror at the contorted face of a young woman crammed tightly under the boiler reaching out to her.

As the sound of her broken and plucking vocal chords sounded discordant in the confines of the basement, all the while adding to her growing panic. Scrambling back onto her hands and knees, Vi tugged surprisingly gentle on Giles' pant leg as she pointed with the other hand clutching the dagger as she clamored onto her feet to find a more defensible position. All the while, the broken and bloody remnant of a young teenager creaked, snapped, groaned out from under the tight slip of a space. Legs and arms came out crookedly before her head, the latter turning at an impossible angle to look up at them dull eyed. Paper white skin held black bruise like shadows; pale lips parted to showcase a pure black mouth as the horrendous sound of a gurgling scream kept trying to force it's way out of her long dead mouth. And the constant dripping of something thicker than water, dark scarlet resounding against the floor in heavy cadenced rivulets. Once peeled out from her metallic prison, the young girl clamored forward, and Vi took up the defensive. As the ghost reached out, Vi flipped the dagger in her hands like a Marine before lashing out in classic CQC. The blade bit deep into dead flesh, and the horrific wail was a cacophony along the walls as the spectre's mouth stretched overwide to let it out. Slipping back and into shadows, the thing disappeared leaving only her caterwauling behind to fade into nothing.

"We need to go, come on." Vi ground out, before resetting the circuit box one more time violently. Giving it the closet thing she could to a hard reset, the lights flared on upstairs in brilliant if startling return. Offering Giles a reassuring grin, Vi turned and bolted up the stairs, two at a time before reaching the locked down with another muttered curse. Struggling with the knob, she threw her shoulder against it once before leaning over her shoulder to speak with the Englishman behind her. "Remind me to pay Buffy back for this." Stepping back two staris, Vi pulled her leg back before slamming her socked foot hard against the door. The sound of splintering wood echoed once, twice with an accompanying harder kick before giving way due to the awful angle. Pushing the wreckage aside, she hopped carefully around the sharpest bits before turning to offer Giles a hand.

"Let's get to Angel and find a way to evict these freeloading ghostly hippies, good and proper. 'Cause they're giving me a bad name."

Pass a Note: I am SO spry this took so long guys. I seriously failed the last few days. -.-
Next in Initiative: Angel and Giles (OPEN)
Listen Check: Ramalama (Bang Bang) by Roisin Murphy
Equipped Items: Outfit
Credit: Jax

[/i][/size][/center]

[angel]

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The second that the flame hit the air it seemed to wash over his entire face. Intending to light the candle the ghosts seemingly didn't like his plan. The looks in their eyes had told him this and yet he'd flicked the lighter anyways. Clearly they knew that the candle would protect him against their presence and knew that they couldn't let that happen. So they didn't. Instead they seemed to sort of just push the flames right back at him. It was as if they'd thrown gasoline at the flame or sprayed hairspray into it. Immediately he felt himself quite literally catch on fire as the hot flames melted his flesh.

The smell of his flesh burning forced him to curse out loudly, his own voice echoing against their shrieking. Immediately he went seemingly into flight. Not flying with wings exactly but he seemed to just glide through the air as he moved. In one swift movement he had dived across the room and out of the window in Buffy's room. As he fell through the air, the rain seemed to put out the flames that had begin to spread across his body. Having been on fire he hadn't exactly been paying attention to where he was tumbling. Just barely quick enough he forced himself into a roll, rolling across the grass outside. The rain was coming down so hard it had to be supernatural as it pelted against him. Perhaps hail as well? Last time he'd checked, they didn't have hail in the fall in Virginia very often. It was supernatural, that he knew.

Looking up into the bedroom window he'd smashed through, it was now open to the outside elements. Buffy was surely going to kill him for that. They weren't speaking at the moment but surely she'd make an exception this time. Through the rain and hail it seemed to hard to see, even with night vision. He had been trying to see if the figures were still up inside the blonde's room. It looked clear but he couldn't be sure in this weather. While still looking up into Buffy's window, he turned and headed towards the back door of the house that led into a small mud room by the entrance to the basement and the kitchen. Clearly he should have been looking in front of him, which he soon realized as he smacked right dab into something.

Stumbling backwards, his eyes widened as he realized what he'd smacked into. One of the ghosts. But how on earth could someone smack into a non corporeal ghost? The ghosts appeared to be slightly more corporeal than he had originally assumed. This didn't mean anything good for them, that was a definite positive. One of the ghosts stood in front of him while the others were currently missing in action. Realizing he'd left Violet and Giles alone with four angry slayer ghosts, he attempted to move past the ghost and into the house. The ghost didn't seem to like his plan. As he tried to dodge past her, she slashed out at him, creating a tear in his cheek. Looking at the hand that had hit him, he realized it was more demonic looking than anything he'd ever seen before. It was common for a ghost to take on demonic features if they'd been killed by a demon, but Angel looked nothing like this. The young girl's hands could only be compared to large talons.

Feeling his flesh rip, he pushed at the form only to find out that she was now corporeal again. "I see, only when it's good for you?"

he said angrily at her, moving past her again. Another rip at the flesh on his back, tearing through his shirt. Continuing on nonetheless, he saw the lights come on inside the house. Approaching the back door he found it to be locked. Breaking the knob off of the door itself, he pushed through and shut it behind him. Peeking out the window in the mudroom, he noticed that she was now gone. That probably wasn't good. Entering the hallway he stepped over the door that had been broken down. Spotting Violet and Giles down the hallway, he headed towards them. "We need to take care of...them. Soon. They're getting more volatile by the second"

[/color] he told them, his face and back live proof.[/blockquote][/color]- - - - - - - - - - - -
Tag: Giles, Vi
Word Count: 751
Outfit: Click here for Angel's outfit.
Notes: Holy crap guys. I am so sorry! This got posted over and I just seen it. It's getting intense though! Hopefully you all still have the muse for it, since I totally slacked on the post. Muh bads![/center]

[rupertgiles]

The puffs of vapor that spiraled in the air and the shivers along his arms was a constant reminder to Giles that though he could not see what was haunting them, it was certainly there. Sometimes he would swear that he caught a wisp of hair or a piece of fluttering cloth in his peripheral vision, but when he turned his gaze towards it, the watcher was only rewarded with empty space. Giles knew that there was more than one spirit attacking them, and he hoped to God that the angry undead were not taking out the sleeping Potentials in the rooms above. It was hard to tell if the random bursts of screaming were a victim or an assaulter. He vaguely caught the murmurings of the young Slayer, knowing it to be a reference to something but not able to place it in the moment. The hiss of the struck match was something that both caused tension to go from the watcher’s shoulders and anticipation to rise within him. He was still keeping vigilant watch, now filled with more urgency and haste, but when Violet gave her small cry of pain, Giles turned to the young woman, ready to assist. But she said nothing and Giles merely resumed his guard over her, salt box at the ready. Should she need something, the watcher was sure Violet would inform him.

And she did, as a small tug on his trousers brought him and the Maglite’s light back, shining on the boiler, blood all the while tearing through the watcher’s veins as instinct attempted to warn him. The primitive part of his brain dedicated to survival pushed at him, begged him to run and not die, but Giles stood his ground as a jumbled mess of pasty limbs slithered from under the metal. In his boyhood, Giles had seen rats contort their body to squeeze under doorframes. This was far more unnatural and unnerving, and with the girl’s head lolling towards them last, the choked scream bleeding into the howl of the storm outside, the watcher prepared the only weapon he had. But mixed in with the fear was a bit of pity from Giles. Though the specter was a hideous sight, in the back of the Englishman’s mind was that she was once human. How had she become this way? Did she truly intend to harm them or was there a message the spirits were attempting to send them? The violent change in weather and the amount of blood meant that the message wasn’t one of wanting to move on, but ghosts only existed where there was a reason for them to. But instinct won out over logic, as Violet pressed forward to attack. And frankly, for all of his wonderings, Giles could feel his heart rate begin to settle in the absence of the dead girl.

Once assured that the spirit was gone and the lights flickered on, Giles broke from Violet’s side, though she beckoned him to come with her. ”Wait,” he called back to the red-headed Slayer, though not needing her to follow him. At the far wall of the basement, Giles arrived at a metal door, which he hurriedly put a combination into and opened with a clunk. It was only moments before he was back at Violet’s side, just in time for her to fail at the knob and kick open the door. He accepted the Slayer’s hand just to hop over the jagged remains of the door, and then the two of them were off down the hallway, Giles nodding to her statement and replying, ”I have a plan—”

Though before the watcher completed it, Angel appeared and rejoined them, sans candle and with a good deal of wounds—burn marks across his front and heavy cuts along his back. Giles would have probably shown more surprise or emotion save for the fact that he knew Angel would heal from his grievous injuries. The lack of a candle made this a bit harder and longer, but Giles had thought of this and already had his contingency plan. He showed what he had taken from the basement armory, three slender vials of holy water, which he held out two for the others to take, ”I’ll perform the exorcism rites from a secure location while you cleanse the house. A few drops in each room should ban the spirits from the house once the chant is done.”

Salt still in hand, Giles went to the kitchen, the smell of blood growing thicker in the air as he moved closer. Fortunately, the lines of salt that were still along the window sills and door were intact and the watcher spread one last line across the entrance way to the hallway. The last thing he needed was one of the spirits attempting to interrupt the rites… which is what they would be trying if they had any say. Once the last line was finished, Giles turned back into the center of the kitchen and was about to begin the Catholic prayers, but all that came out of his mouth was a strained yell as a red hot pain bloomed in his stomach. He pulled away to feel talons rip out of his side and saw that he had trapped one of the dead-eyed girls in the salt circle with him. Scrambling back, he fumbled for the last of the grains in the salt box as the bloodied ghost shambled towards him, and, with no reservations this time, he cast the salt into her face, causing her shadowy form to convulse with a shriek and then fade into the darkness. And after snatching the same tea towel to press against his wound, Giles positioned himself at the center and started the rites, his voice barely audible, ”In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. Most glorious Prince of the Heavenly Armies, Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in our battle against principalities and powers, against the rulers of this world of darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places…”

+++

TAGS: Violet, Angel
WORD COUNT: 968 without prayer, 1021 with.
NOTES: DIY home exorcism.

[vi]

The world had become a cacophony of suck. Hail, not just hail but thunder hail. A combination that meant that Locusts were officially on the Five Day Forecast, and that was something Violet Fitzpatrick was not having… Stubborn ran a scarlet swath through her soul, and the fact that these bitchy boos had to make with hurting her friends was enough to set her already tensed jaw to pop in aggravation. At Giles' words, Vi nodded and gave his hand a comforting squeeze before turning to see her vampire shaped friend come in resembling most toaster pastries. Pale yet golden brown, with extra colored bits (in his case grass and glass) decorating his front. Really, Vi? Really…. Angel the Pop Tart? You need a life…

And thankfully, the internal chastising was enough for her to make sure never to speak her breakfast themed observations to herself. "You good, Angel?" Her voice was concerned but focused, needing the smallest hint of 'I'm Good' to know the big guy was still in the game. Nabbing the vials, she remarked before giving Giles the A-Okay nod. "Let's Move. You get Basement and Main Floor. I've got Attic and Second." Carefully passing a vial to Angel she took to the stairs two at a time at full Slayer clip. Long legs and desperation had the redhead moving at a focused blur, eyes narrowing as she hit the landing.

Vi wasn't expecting the blood. Thick and cold, saturating the carpet to the point of having Vi temporarily lose her balance. With a curse, Vi fell hard. And the choked back growl of pain sang through her chest as the little glass vial shattered beneath her hand and the corner of the topmost stair. Large shards and tiny splinters bit deep into the meat of her palm, and Vi in her pain slammed her elbow into the wall to distract from the white hot burst behind her eyes and scorching up her arm. Climbing back onto her feet, and now coated in blood both spectral and her own, Vi could not stop the predatory snarl.

"These dead girls are worse than New York cockroaches…" Springing to her feet, Vi furiously stormed through the halls with the vial in her bleeding hand, thumb over the top. Pushing the doors open with her good hand, she shook her bad to let a few drops sprinkle into each archway, making sure to hit her room last. "Who needs a young priest and an old priest when you have a trio from the Isles?" Sliding into her room, Vi quickly dug through her stuff to pull out the incense she mentioned earlier. With a flick of her wrist, Holy Water struck the center of her room and she spun about on her heel to see what was waiting for her in the hall. Vi glared at the pair of girls bleeding from the neck and eyes, flanking her only way out, brows pulling tight and patience hitting the boiling point. "What's a little eyeblood between me and my way out? Move it, chickies." When their heads tilted and they slammed her door shut on her, plunging the room into darkness Vi charged forward with an angry scream boiling within her. Pounding her hand on the door, Vi finally snapped.

Taking a step back, Trick raised her foot before slamming it hard against the door to splinter it into the halls like the basement door downstairs. "That's. It." Her voice was dangerously low, sounding more like her Dad than she ever thought she could.Trading the harmless incense (albeit inherently exorcising in nature) for the aggression of the dagger Giles passed her, Vi lashed out at the ghosts in a wide arc. Not caring that she caught one of the girls in the face and the other in the chest. Their flesh seemed to split open black and smoked upon touching the air, their eyes glowing inhumane.

Pushing through the pair of them, Vi finished her task upstairs before heading to the stairs. As she was about to run down them, the pair she injured came up behind her, moving as if one out of every six frames of their movement was simply missing. Focusing their energy, they pushed hard; sending Vi up and over the railing to land hard at the bottom with a cry ringing from her lungs.

Pass a Note: I am a suckhead for taking so long to post, sorry mah loves! ^^;;
Next in Initiative: Angel and Giles (OPEN)
Listen Check: The Freshmen by Verve Pipe
Equipped Items: Outfit
Credit: Jax

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[angel]

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The irony of this situation was hilarious and yet completely demented. Angel fully understood that the slayers were angry. They'd all been so young and had been destined for a life of protecting the world that had only just begun. One stupid decision by Angel and Angelus had been let loose on them. Buffy had left them to seemingly die, only escaping with his little sister Katheryn and not even warning the girls inside the house. They had suffered a rather slow and excruciating death. Even after their death they had been moved and fussed with, dressing them in Buffy's clothes and giving them stakes to set up an entire scene for the blonde slayer. It was rather sick and honestly, he knew he deserved this. However it just sucked that they didn't realize he had a soul again. Or perhaps they didn't care but either way, it was slightly ironic. They waited until he had his soul to attack and terrorize him. How poetic.

Not...

It seemed that Giles had been in the middle of saying something, when Angel had interrupted. He hadn't noticed the Watcher speaking. Giles would probably think he'd done it on purpose. He couldn't let him think he was being disrespectful. If there was one purpose he needed on his side right now, it was Giles. Both of them seemed to notice his injuries, and his lack of candles. He hadn't been able to hold onto them what with jumping out of a window and all. "I'm good"

he said with a nod, shrugging off his injuries as if they were nothing. To a human they would have landed said person in the hospital. While they'd hurt initially he could already feel his skin repairing itself below the outer level. Soon enough they would be gone, with no evidence of them ever having been there. One of the few perks of being a vampire.

Nodding to acknowledge Giles plan, he took the vial from Vi. Giving her a small look of not only encouragement, but it was apologetic as well. While none of them knew it yet Angel had caused all of this. He was the reason all of the ghosts were here doing this to them. He was the cause of it all, the source. They were here for him. He didn't know Vi very well but for some reason felt as if he could trust her. Allowing his eyes to linger on hers for a moment, he then followed in her stride and quickly began moving throughout the main level of the house. Dropping a few trickles here and there, it didn't take long to cover the main floor. In the distance he thought he heard a scream but when he shot down the hell, Giles had already begun the ritual.

Knowing he didn't have much time, he spun on his heel and burst down the stairs. Leaping over the pile of wreckage that had once been the door, he moved down the stairs quickly. Dropping a few drops of holy water in the main area of the basement, he moved to do his and Katheryn's room. Once this was done he was pretty satisfied that the basement was completely holy watered-up. Returning to the bottom of the landing, he decided to do a few more drops at the bottom of the stairs. This hadn't been a good idea at all. It had only been for good measure but clearly, that hadn't been necessary.

Two of the slayers appeared directly in front of him. With no way out, he did the only thing he could think of. Without knowing if it would work or not, he tossed the rest of the holy water out at them. One of the girls raised her hand and somehow managed to shatter the bottle in his hand. With a yell, the bottle shattered and the holy water burned his hands furiously singing all of his flesh. As he stood there smoking, his eyes flashed in anger as he looked back up to them. "What do you want from me?"

[/color] he asked in outrage, not currently caring if Giles could here them from above. In an eery and completely inhuman voice, one of the girls responded. "We want you, Angelus..." she spoke, true evil in her voice. His eyes widened. "I'm not him --- that wasn't me"[/color] he told, desperately hoping they'd understand. Above him he heard Violet scream out and in a quick flash, he ran through the two girls and they just seemingly dissipated into thin air. Jumping over the wreckage again, he bounded out into the main floor again he moved to where he'd heard the slayer call out. As he made his way to her, he found something that quite literally made him stop cold in his tracks.

She was on the ground, apparently having fallen.

And she wasn't moving.[/blockquote][/color]- - - - - - - - - - - -
Tag: Giles, Vi
Word Count: 860
Outfit: Click here for Angel's outfit.
Notes: Eventually they should realize what happened to the girls, and realize that Angel had lost his soul for a brief time. Giles will flip. Hopefully Vi will be on his side at least? Lol.[/center]

[rupertgiles]

With the plan in motion, it should have been an open and close case from there. The words of prayer spilled from the watcher’s mouth, still fierce whispers as he knew that both Violet and Angel were in danger the longer he dallied. The wound on his stomach appeared to be slowing but still stung and hindered his movement. Fortunately, no more of the specters seemed to be able to attack him, as surely they would have done so if given the opportunity. Instead, he was left with what he could hear and smell. The coppery scent of blood was thick in the air still, so much so that Giles feared for what Angel was going through. And as for what he could hear, it was mostly screams, hoarse cries and the thud of his allies’ feet as they tore through the house sprinkling holy water about. But the diligent watcher continued the rites, mostly ignoring Angel as the vampire paused a moment outside of the kitchen’s entrance. The prayer was long and they probably had only a little time before the ghosts became even more violent. Lines of memorized text continued to come as quick as the lightning outside, “O Lord, hear my prayer. And let my cry come unto Thee. May the Lord be with thee. And with thy spirit…”

Soon afterwards, another sound forced Giles to pause for just a moment in the incantation, since a male voice, decisively Angel, was yelling. It was almost hard to make out with the hail pelting against the windows and the rattling of the entire house, but Angel seemed as if he was arguing with something. The spirits. But what was more of interest to Giles was what the vampire said. ‘I’m not him.’ Though Giles wanted to add and analyze that piece of information with the other pieces he had picked up, another scream echoed through the house. Recognizing it as Violet, the watcher resumed the rites, speaking the holy words at a breakneck speed. However, a struggle between common sense and paternal instinct sparked in him, and Giles knew that if his inaction meant another Slayer was harmed or worse… he could honestly say he would never forgive himself. After all, Angel sounded as if he was being obstructed by the ghosts. It would be a necessary risk, but the prayer was nearly over and if all the holy water had been distributed correctly, in a few moments the ghosts would be banished from the Boarding House.

Strangely enough, as Giles passed over the threshold and back into the hall, he was not met with any resistance, though the chill in the air was a reminder that the spirits were still near and simply waiting for a proper moment to strike. As he came upon the stairway, the watcher found Angel hovering over Violet’s form, the young Slayer lying motionless before him, and without a second thought, Giles rushed to rejoin them, still muttering as he knelt next to the girl, “From the snares of the devil, Deliver us, O Lord.”

And as if summoned, the five bloodied girls appeared around them, scattered in a semi-circle to cut off any route of escape. Breathy whispers escaped their cracked and black mouths, their vacant eyes locked directly on Angel for some reason. Giles couldn’t make out the words, but chances were that Angel could. They loomed forward, swaying like reeds in a breeze and flickering in and out of sight. Giles understood that he had to hurry and hoped that Angel would be able to hold them back long enough for him to finish the rites. It was a bit harder to do when one of his Slayers was in a slightly bloody heap on the floor, but the elder Englishman pushed forward,“That Thy Church may serve Thee in peace and liberty: We beseech Thee to hear us. That Thou may crush down all enemies of Thy Church--”

More sharp pain shot through Giles’ head as a clawed hand dragged across his temple and ear. He resisted the urge to scream and rather gritted his teeth again. Hopefully Angel was faring better against the other four, though between the pain and his blood flecking into his eyes, Giles couldn’t quite tell. Though the cold presence behind him moved closer, the whispers she was intoning becoming clearer. ”Give us Angelus…” The specter hissed into his ear, and moved her hand to pull a talon across his throat.

Fortunately, adrenaline kicked back in and the watcher’s instincts bade him to finish the prayer. “We beseech Thee to hear us.” And with those words, the spirits blinked out of existence. No fanfare. No screams. The blood became absent from the walls. Just as if they had never been there. Finally, Giles reached down and placed two digits across the Slayer’s artery. A pulse, though weak, met his fingers. She would probably be conscious in only a few hours, if not minutes. The watcher gave a sigh, feeling suddenly rather exhausted. But he wasn’t about to let his guard drop just yet. He rose and spoke, not even bothering to look at the vampire who he suspected caused this whole travesty, but obviously directing every frigid word to him, ”I’m going to return with the first aid kit. And when I do, you are going to explain why this happened. Or there will be consequences neither of us will be happy with.”

+++

TAGS: Violet, Angel
WORD COUNT: 910
NOTES: Hope it's okay that the extermination is complete. Also, Thread OTM!

[vi]

"Did we get it? Did we get it?" With a groan, Vi rolled over onto her back to blink up at Angel, nose wrinkling in pain as the world seemed to wind down from it's chaos. Coughing hard as the wind knocked out of her tried to return to her lungs, Vi groaned as she wriggled and squirmed up onto her haunches. Legs outstretched and oblivious to the bruised side of her face and split lip, Vi pouted at the sorry condition of her socks. They were one of her favorite pairs of thigh highs thanks to their super soft texture and nifty white striped goodness. Taking stock of the rest of her clothes she sighed softly while picking banister out of her hair. The hoodie could be washed, being shellacked in blood was not a new occurrence and she could just put in a call to Gemma about how to clean it once the room stopped being wibbly wobbly.

Turning to Angel, she paused for a second with wide eyes to blink past the vertigo. She had certainly bonked her head something fierce, and if she wasn't a Slayer the potential for lasting damage would be enough to drag her to a hospital. Instead, she'd settle for Giles' patch up and maybe the tea they tried to have before things went all Polter-gaga. Seeing his hand, Vi held up her own and gave the vampire a lopsided smile. "We match. We're Wound Buddies." Wrinkling her nose in silly delight, Vi thought against going to bed anytime soon. Her coconut had some serious limes in it, and if her brain was as shaken (not stirred) as she thought it was she needed to stay up for a lil bit. Rolling her shoulders, Vi snarled softly in pain before looking over at Giles' retreating form in confusion. Then back to Angel. Then back to Giles. Then at the wall for a heartbeat or six to keep the cresting wave of blech at bay.

"Okay. So I'm missing something. Probably a major something. And it's a something that has a certain someone all kinds of Grumbly Gus." Vi nodded towards where Giles disappeared before giving a sharp nod and putting on the patented Redhead Resolve Face. "But for what it's worth, I've got your back. You're my Wound Buddy and we just survived some serious Ringu bull together. So if you need me to diffuse the Watcher Man, I'm on it." It was very much her way to form loyalty with people after surviving a crucible together. And Angel had seemed to at least want to be her friend as opposed to some other individuals was a nice change. The fact that Angel was here, and Angel seemed to actually give two shakes of a sheepie bootie was awesome. And the fact that Giles not only genuinely cared about her but how he seemed to fall into tandem with her pretty easily had Vi feeling pretty damn spiffy, if she did say so herself. Bleeding, bruised, and Boo-infested was a significantly better than stuck in the background and forgotten.

So resigning herself to being the mediator in whatever thing was about to be tackled, Vi cautiously got onto her feet and dragged her aching self to the nearest bit of furniture before sagging into it bonelessly. She'd personally scrub the chair herself free of gore if it meant having a heart to heart not on the floor. As soon as Giles returned, Vi rolled her gaze up to the Watcher before giving him a soft smile. "Since it's Story Time I figured we might as well get comfortable. Who's going to go first? Oh, oooooh Pick Me! There's something everybody's not telling and we should get clean. And since I doubt it's about my addiction to Pocky, someone else should probably chime in anytime now."

Pass a Note: WHOO! Thread OTM! <3<3
Next in Initiative: Angel and Giles (OPEN)
Listen Check: Carry on Wayward Son by Kansas
Equipped Items: Outfit
Credit: Jax

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[angel]

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Rushing in to offer to aide to Violet, Angel was shocked to see how long of a fall it had truly been. While she wasn't moving he could see a small rise of her chest every once in awhile that let him know she was still breathing at least. Kneeling down beside her, he carefully turned her over so that she was on her back instead of laying face down. With her chest now facing the ceiling it opened her up to breathe better. Behind him he heard the quick pitter patter of Giles rushing in to join them, probably having heard Violet's cry echo throughout the entire home. Luckily it was only the three of them home, and no other potentials that could have possible been hurt. However he still felt guilty that both of them had been forced to endure this instead of simply him alone. It was his fault and he knew it, and surely they would as well.

Before he knew it, the five ghosts had enclosed around the three of them in a somewhat circle. Their eyes remained trained on the vampire as they began to hiss at him. At first he couldn't quite make out the words coming from them. It seemed to only be a combination of ghastly hisses and moans. However after a moment of locking eyes with them, he realized what they were saying. One of them was telling him to stand away from the girl, while the others were telling him that he was going to pay for what he'd done. In the background he saw one of them turn to Giles and slash across the side of his head with a sickening sound. Blood began to ooze out of him and the talon then attempted to head for his throat. Knowing the wound could be fatal to the watcher, Angel had attempted to rush forward in aide but was quickly stopped by the other four. They all surrounded him fully and began to slash at him from every angle. Just when he thought he couldn't take anymore, they disappeared...

Now with his outfit ruined, he first looked down to Violet who seemed to be waking up the best that she could. "We got it" he said softly, putting one of his hands behind her head in an attempt to help her vision steady for her. "I'll be okay in a little bit, but I wouldn't advise you conking out for awhile. More than likely you've got a concussion from that fall" he told her seriously. Quite frankly the wrinkle in her nose was adorable, though he couldn't help but notice how bloody and bruised she was. God, Giles was going to flip the hell out...

While the Watcher refused to make actual eye contact, Angel knew the words he spoke were directed to him. This is going to be fun... Vaguely he considered doing his famous disappearing act, but knew that'd only make things worse. Plus Angel was an honorable man, and he knew better than that. He knew he had to admit to his sins before he could atone for them, no matter how god awfully hard it would be. When he exited the room...Angel's eyes hit the floor. Hearing the young redhead's voice he looked back up to meet her eyes, his eyes seemingly perfectly calm. Inside he wasn't calm, but he was amazing at seeming as if he was. "I appreciate it Vi, but once you hear this...let's just say you might not want to have my back." With this his eyes went right back down to the floor. The older gash on his cheek was beginning to disappear, but the ones from only a few moments ago remained.

As she began to stand up, Angel rested one hand on her lower back and the other on one of her arms. Helping her to one of the chairs in the living room he waited until she was comfortably seated before he moved away. Leaning against the wall by the stairway, he waited for Giles to return so they could have this out. His eyes darted to Violet as she spoke, and then rested onto the Watcher's. Rubbing the back of his neck he wondered how to go about this. Not seemingly knowing of an easy way, he pushed forward anyways as his hand slammed down to his side. "A couple months ago...I lost my soul. Katheryn, Buffy, and I were simply sleeping together and it triggered the curse" he added, not wanting Giles to think they'd slept together, as they hadn't.

Pushing on further, his eyes darted to Violet with an apologetic look for what was to come. Resting back on the Watcher he continued. "Buffy escaped with Katheryn, and I...or rather Angelus..." he stopped, hating that he had to say this. Hating that it'd happened. Hating that they'd found out, that he couldn't make up for it. Again his eyes flashed to Violet apologetically, but didn't remain there for long. "There were five of the new slayers living in the house. He killed them..slaughtered them all, and dressed them into Buffy's clothing to leave a message for her. That's why they came here, that's why they wanted me." At first he'd been speaking slower but finally, he said screw it and laid it all out onto the table. Silently he braced himself for what was to come. The vampire's eyes dashed to his feet, and remained there...

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Tag: Giles, Vi
Word Count: 946
Outfit: Click here for Angel's outfit.
Notes: I'm scared....

[rupertgiles]

It was strange, but as Giles wandered through the halls, the house itself seemed relatively untouched by the spirits, leaving the only damage the cuts on their bodies and the broken basement door. Slipping into the nearest bathroom, Giles seethed at the sight of himself in the mirror. Blood was nearly everywhere, soaking through his makeshift tea towel bandage, matted in his hair, dotted across his forehead. He turned the tap on and let the water heat while searching for the first aid kit in the cupboards below. And once his prize had been seized, he grabbed a washcloth, cleaned and bandaged his own wounds and then made his way back, taking a detour into the slightly disheveled kitchen for some ice before easily following the other two to the living room.

Though he couldn’t manage to smile, considering the circumstances, he was immensely relieved to see Violet’s eyes open and to have her smile up at him. He wordlessly knelt at the arm of the chair, ignoring his tired bones complaining as he did so, and went to work patching up the Slayer’s hand. He had done this for so many years, and it was simply second nature to him by now. Giles didn’t even bother asking her permission and went right along with gingerly applying the rubbing alcohol, the gauze, the bandage, as instinctively as one tied their shoes. His task was also keeping him from interrupting her, though as soon as she was finished; the Englishman looked up to her and gave a split-second of a disapproving glance. ”Violet.” The watcher said her name as a soft chiding remark, the exact tone a parent uses on their children when they are interrupting something inappropriately, like trying to lighten the mood at a funeral. Her optimism was a boon, in most cases, but here, it was simply an obstacle, one that made this much more painful.

After leaving the ginger Slayer with the icepacks to place over any bruising areas, Giles looked over to the vampire, who had banished himself to the stairwell wall. Once they had managed to make eye contact, he said nothing and his face betrayed no feelings of anger or disdain. It was only upon hearing Angel admit that he had lost his soul that the watcher closed his eyes and gave a quiet sigh. It was at least a little reassuring that Angel was trying to set things straight now that he had more or less had been forced to. It was nice to know that he and Buffy had some self-control and this time it hadn’t been triggered by certain activities Giles didn’t fancy knowing too much about. But of course, his worse fear was soon brought to light. The murder of five slayers. And worse yet, that it had been kept from him. That Buffy had kept it from him.

At a certain level, he had given Buffy laissez-faire control over the Slayer Organization, confident that she could handle herself. But between her emotional breakdown because of her ending Kennedy’s life and now this, Giles was now at a loss. It had been set long ago that the Slayer would neither give up her personal life nor her responsibility to the world, but when she allowed her personal life to rule her at the expense of girl’s lives... that was not excusable. And not only this, but to keep it from her watcher, when he had hoped they had become equals rather than scolding father and the daughter left wringing her hands. It was heart breaking. It was hideous. But Giles remained perfectly emotionless.

Well aware that Angel was looking for a response, the watcher replied stoically, nearly too calm. The icy tone in his voice was all too present, though it was clear Giles was attempting to remain as even-tempered as possible. ”You must know I feel a great deal of responsibility for all of the Slayers under our watch. These are young women, most of whom have left everything behind to give their lives for the safety of the world. I think of many of them as my children. I don’t know if you’ve ever experienced anything similar, but you can probably imagine perfectly well why, if this were my home, you would not be welcome here right now.”There was a pause here, just a moment to let Giles collect himself and ensure he wasn’t becoming too impassioned. He couldn’t afford to be emotional about this, not now, ”But since that isn’t the case, I have no say in it. I trust that you and Buffy have taken measures to ensure this won’t happen again.” He let a slight edge back into his voice at the very tail end of the sentence to show that if they hadn’t done such a thing, Giles would make sure it never happened again. But despite this, he pushed himself back down into a calmer state and continued to regard the vampire, ”Do you have any larger wounds that you need assistance with?” After all, even if he felt frustration towards his Slayer and Angel, he felt it was still proper to offer.

+++

TAGS: Violet, Angel
WORD COUNT: 860
NOTES: So British, he can't even be mad without being proper.

[vi]

"Got it, no napping." Vi rolled her eyes over towards Angel, before turning them back to Giles as he sat down and began patching her up. It wasn't until he gave her the disapproving glance and chastisement that the redhead visibly balked, the picture of insulted. While she appreciated the patch job and the way they fell into step, he had no right to behave like that to her. He wasn't the man who helped conceive her and abandon her, and he sure as hell wasn't the Father she loved and adored, who genuinely raised her. Taught her the world, kept her safe and gave her the tools to succeed in her life, albeit with a biker's mentality. Nor did she and Giles have a mentor relationship; to be frank it was Spike and Faith and Buffy who helped train the girls, even Xander and Anya taking a class or two. Giles helped rarely, in fact he was mostly caught up in Buffy's life at the time and his irrational hatred of Spike to bother with any of the Potentials until they became Slayers.

And the fact that it was extremely disrespectful to chastise a twenty year old as if she was some idiot child boggled her mind. He had that relationship with Buffy, she was a surrogate daughter, and if there was anything the last year of her life had shown her, it was that everyone around her could quite honestly care less about involving themselves in her life or caring about her feelings. So the fact that he attempted to rebuff her in such a manner was not only ill-placed but insulting. "With all due respect, Mr. Giles, please do not do that again. Unless you grow six inches, earn a cut, and go by the name 'Clarence', I'd prefer you not try and father me. I've had quite the selection and I'm very happy with who holds that title."

Taking the icepack off of her jaw, Violet Fitzpatrick girded her loins and placed her flag clear for all to see. "Angel didn't do this. Angelus did. Childe of the Darling One. Grandchilder of the Master, Great-Grandchilder of Aurelius. Scourge of Europe, Cursed and all. And because of those actions, someone who is innocent is paying the price. Angel is a good man, and a good friend. He has saved all of us more times than we can count and he is constantly having to take the blame for the actions of the demon beneath his skin. And he is doing so with a gentile humility and genuine remorse that he by all rights, doesn't need to. If you want to talk strictly in a court of law, he wouldn't be held accountable by reason of Disease or Defect and he is certainly not an accomplice to this. If you want to talk mystically, it would be as if we were to hold the actions of the possessed against them and not the infernal beast within. And if you want to talk human decency, you need to be a bigoted fool to not realize that this isn't his fault.

"The Restless Dead, and mind you the irony is not lost on me, cannot see in shades of gray. They see only their vengeance and it's makes them blind to true and honest facts. And the fact is Angel is not accountable for this. Nor, in example, is my brother accountable for when it's the Coke driving him and not himself. Maybe instead of placing blame where it doesn't belong, we could try and find a way to help Angel keep his soul through thick and thin, happy and sad instead of villainizing him for personal reasons? As far as I'm concerned, I'm going to help the addict get clean as opposed to kicking him when he's down and pushing him closer to the next fix. And if this would make me unwelcome in your figurative home, then perhaps you do share something with Blu Fitzpatrick after all…"

Her words weren't vicious, in fact they held that same constant calm tone that Vi had anytime she believed she was speaking prosaically. Giving Angel a look of solidarity, she pulled herself up, leaving the ice pack behind, focused on getting the vampire some blood so he could heal and keep herself from allowing the pair to see how raw she was emotionally. Resigning herself to put in a call to Westport once she headed up to bed to tell the parents that chose her how much she loved them, Vi slowly moved to the kitchen door with ice in her veins.

Pass a Note: Didn't want her out of the room yet without giving the opportunity for interaction still. So, she's achey!
Next in Initiative: Angel and Giles (OPEN)
Listen Check: This Life by Curtis Stigers & The Forest Rangers
Equipped Items: Outfit
Credit: Jax

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[angel]

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As he stood there waiting to be reprimanded by the English Watcher, he smelt Violet's blood in the air. At the moment he could even smell Giles despite him not currently being in the same room. All of the scents were enticing and though he tried his best to ignore them, he couldn't. The smell of it simply pounded through his entire body and he began to feel his saliva grow thicker. It was a bit of an embarrassing feeling though they surely couldn't tell just by looking at him, he felt ashamed of himself. Ashamed that he could hear their beating hearts, ashamed that he could hear the blood coursing through their bodies. Angelus had drank a lot of human blood while he'd been awakened and he couldn't help but find it hard to be on the wagon again. His eyes fell back onto his own feet, trying to push out the deafening sounds of their heartbeats.

Hearing the man scold Violet, his eyes flashed up for a moment before retreating. Normally he would have stuck up for her but he knew that she could handle herself. Besides he didn't want anything else for the Brit to chime in on him about. As the girl began to rant on to Giles about how he wasn't her father he couldn't help but be glad he didn't pipe in. Despite what some people might think about her, he now knew that she didn't need any protecting. As she chastiser him in return Angel couldn't help but allow a tiny smirk to pull at his cheeks. Surely no one would spot it as his face was still tiled down towards the floor, but it still was certainly there. He actually quite enjoyed someone putting the Watcher in his place for once.

Once the Brit turned to him, he could feel the eyes boring into his forehead. Even though he didn't necessarily want to he forced himself to make eye contact with the Watcher. Here we go... Bracing himself, he kept perfectly calm as the Watcher began to rant on to him. As Giles told him he wouldn't be welcome here if it was his house, he nodded. Nothing needed to be said in that moment. Honestly, he had already known that was true before this had even happened. Giles hadn't ever been a fan of his relationship with Buffy after the first time he'd lost his soul. Everyone knew it, including Angel. "What kind of measures do you purpose we take?" He asked, his eyes flashing anger but only for a moment. "I had no idea...Neither of us ever thought something as simple as that would trigger the curse. The only way to completely make sure it won't happen again is for me to leave."

"And as much as I know you'd like for me to leave, you're right. This isn't your house." His voice was stern in this, though not angry. He was simply telling the Watcher that he would not be bullied. He was not a child, despite what the Brit might think. This wasn't Giles' choice and Buffy would die if he were to leave her right now. While he might agree that it would be the best thing, he wouldn't hurt her again. The Watcher's icy tone didn't bother him either, not a bit. In fact...he would have rather heard the icy tone than an angry one. The Watcher was holding back his anger the best he could thankfully.

Looking down at his wounds he studied them for a moment before looking back up to Giles and shaking his head. "No. Nearly all healed" he said, his voice still stern. Even if he wasn't, Giles wasn't coming near him. He'd heard about him trying to kill Spike behind Buffy's back. As much as he would have loved for that to happen...Giles simply couldn't be trusted. When Vi piped in, he wished that she wouldn't have. It was only going to make things between her and Giles more tense than they should be. Despite this he couldn't help but feel a soft spot for the girl for trying. The way that she knew so much about him made him wonder if she'd studied him...which she probably had. She was honestly living with a legend, not that he liked to brag. He would have much rather been a nobody than being known for how sadistic he'd been. Nonetheless...he listened with aching eyes as she preached on.

The girl then walked into the kitchen. Standing up and away from the wall, Angel followed her and walked past the Watcher. He didn't avoid eye contact. Instead he directly bored his eyes into the Brit's as he walked past, giving him the "i'm the alpha' kind of look as he met Vi in the kitchen. As she began to open up the door of the fridge, he placed his hand on her arm to stop her. "Thank you" he said softly, letting her go and continue to pull blood out of the fridge. However when she turned to say something to him, he was gone. The back door of the house left open from where he'd gone out in a split second. It was safe to say he didn't plan on returning for another couple of days...

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Tag: Giles, Vi
Word Count: 916
Outfit: Click here for Angel's outfit.
Notes: Okay, I took Angel out. Nothing more really needed to be said to him/by him and this thread has been going on forever lol. If you guys want to post again, go for it! If not let me know and i'll end it <3.

[ADMIN BRITT]