eachdraidh | (second stake) video ✧ open to both courts

[ and so the slayer cracks open her locket once again. not, as some might anticipate, to comment aloud about the woeful state of animal welfare in these lands (as others already have. instead, she has a far more personal bone to pick. some domestic fat to chew. ]

Uhm. Pop quiz: where's the best place in the Drabwurld to raise a...teenager? [ she almost says 'kid', but corrects herself at the last moment. last thing she needs is yet another i'm not a kid argument with dawn. ] You know. Temporarily. Until we find a way outta this Ren-Faire disaster. Until then, I wanna know it all. Crime stats; outlet malls; hip-but-age-appropriate dance clubs. Preferably the kind where they definitely don't serve minors. [ each item is ticked off on her fingers. ]

O-oh! And schools. Please tell me there's at least one rinky-dink town that includes whatever counts as high school's wacky medieval cousin. [ because dawn summers is not dropping out by default. or so buffy vainly believes. she just hopes there are no hellmouths lurking about to interfere with math class. ] Knowledge is power, right?

[ funny. she never cared that much about the plight of kidnapped teenagers before now. but with the sudden arrival of the little sister, everything's changed. time to settle down and find herself a dependable chore chart, figure out a good curfew, and start disapproving of all of dawn's new friends. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[gently:]

You may not have many other options, as picky as you're being with all this.

[ picky is a hard word to hear when (to her) she's only asking for what is a basic right in her nation. her world. her life. ]

I'll eat my best pair of heels if there's not some kind of egghead academy with some real story-time level interior decorating.

I'm not saying there isn't. But it may be easier to find a place with everything else you want and arrange for some education there, rather than finding a school and hoping it's somewhere that fits the rest of your requirements.

[ ...oh.

the penny finally drops for buffy that this stranger -- with his advice -- had taken her shopping list of real-estate-wants perhaps more seriously than they had been intended. wry cultivated-in-the-90s humour does not always fly in these locket conversations. this has been a hard lesson to learn.

ah. well. no hard feelings. she smiles. ] I'll be sure to keep that in mind. How very astute of you to say so.

[hey man, if the school thing was the part that actually mattered then maybe you should have listed it first and saved the joking for afterwards.]

I'd offer up my own town, but after recent incidents, I wouldn't blame anyone for avoiding it right now.

[ sorry. summers women snark first and sort out the severed limbs later. ]

Sounds -- uh -- dire. Sure hope you don't depend on the tourism industry.

[ because so far you suck at it. ]

Thankfully, no.

[wow fuck off lady, you try running a city sometime.]

So what is your city known for, then? If not its sunny, safe, and secure resorts...then perhaps its -- pachinko machines? Its bumper tomato crops? Perhaps some kind of comically large representation of an otherwise mundane object? That's always popular.

Edited 2014-12-07 20:36 (UTC)

[an arched eyebrow. but he's not even gonna bother trying to make sense of your snark.]

Blood granite. The stone neutralizes magic. It's the reason why Redgate is normally considered a very secure place.

All magic?

[ suddenly, she is sharp. alert. the dozy distant disinterest disappears from her face. ]

[oh, now you take him seriously.]

For the most part. Those who know how to harness their shard's power can force through it, but even that seems very difficult and unpleasant.

[ alas, it still has very little to do with him. ]

-- And what's this city's name?

[ so she can avoid it at all costs. the slayer really doesn't wanna be dejuiced. never again. ]

Redgate. It's hard to miss.

[what with all the red and all.]

So...what happened?

[ just because she's planning to give it a wide berth doesn't mean she's not curious. and he as good as laid out a platter of promised deets when he alluded to recent happenings. buffy, caring very little for court drama or anything beyond small-time bounty claims, has been pretty ignorant about the larger goings-on. ]

You've heard of Reynard the Fox, I hope?

[he'd hate to think anyone hasn't, by this point. those still oblivious are far more likely to fall prey to him.]

I heard he as a stupid name. Does the word tautology not exist in this place?

[ she knows some rumblings. she knows he's bad news. ]

[your jokes would be a lot funnier if french was a thing where he came from. but it doesn't, so all you get is a not-so-subtle eye roll.]

He stole the bones of my predecessor's kin from Redgate's crypt and escaped with them. The city itself was unharmed, but the same can't be said for everyone who tried to stop him.

Edited (whoops) 2014-12-07 22:59 (UTC)

Collateral damage. Bummer. [ a brief pause. ] How many were hurt?

Enough.

[enough that you should lose the snark and take him seriously, at least.]

[ impossible; losing the snark is like amputating a limb. ]

So. At least one.

[ implying, perhaps, that one would be enough. or else that the very concept of enough is a ludicrous one. ]

More, if you aren't too picky about how directly that harm was caused.

[since. the whole incident was basically reynard finding loopholes in the whole "don't harm me or my companions" command placed on him.]

I'm prepared to count hang-nails amidst the fallen.

[ so. not picky at all. ]

Then one maiming, and several close calls with drowning, hypothermia, and death by sea serpent.

[no big deal.]

...Is your 'burb a sea-side town?

No.

[It'd be so much less ridiculous as a situation if it was.]

The Fox teleported us away from Redgate and dumped us into the ocean, presumably hoping the incident would kill us.

video;

herotypical - 2014-12-15 01:38 (UTC) - Expand

(second stake) video ✧ open to both courts

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