deadpoet | First Stanza - [Action & Voice]

[Action, Locked to Willow]
[A few moments before Spike arrived, he and Illyria had just escaped most of the main action and a great big bloody dragon come out of nowhere. He'd lost track of Angel and Gunn. Wesley was dead. So now it was just the two of them. Until Spike suddenly came to the surface of the river, cursing as he suddenly started burning and then swimming back underwater again until he could hide under the shade of the bridge. A bloody tiny bridge. And here he was with only a pair of white pants, now failing to hide much of anything, as he ended up STUCK in this tiny shadow. There was a book in the sunlight that was just out of reach. As the day passed on, it continued to get further away from him as the sun shifted the shadows further and further away.

What bollocks.

He decided he'd just wait until the first person came across the bridge and get their attention. That ought to do it.]

[Action/Voice, Open To All]

[Well, Willow took him 'home'. And he rather decided he liked it. Of course, a vamp can't make himself good and comfy without the proper accouterments. So after taking a nice long shower in House Seven, perusing the kitchen, and no doubt making his new housies terrible uncomfortable, he makes his way out as soon as it's evening. In his New Feather pants at first, because what else was there? But his first stop is the clothing store and he's soon back into slimming back. And then it's off to pick out a fancy weapon, get some blood at Good Spirits, find some smokes, recollect his lighter, and then snoop around town because he knows a certain old flame is around here. ~~Not you, Buffy.~~

Around midnight, he hits up the journal after finally recollecting it from beside the bridge.]

This is a nice little village you lot have here. Very cozy. Has a certain quality to it, you might say. Very Shyamalan-type setting. Too cheerful. Downright unsettling, if you ask me.

Anyway, who do I talk to for the big plan? I've done my sitting around already. Relaxing, sure. Not too fond of the wings. Too ironic for my taste. But I'm ready to go and find the wankers who locked us up in here and do something about it. Champion of the people, right here. Just point me in the right direction.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

If that's the case, why has no one succeeded, I wonder?

I don't bloody well know, do I? All I get is a general sense of hopelessness.

That would be why. [You answered his question, Spike. Thank you.]

So, self fulfilling prophecy, then.

More like a self-sustaining prison.

That's more of what I've been hearing. You ever made a break for it?

I've only been here since May.

Well, only here since May. Glad to know a few months of imprisonment qualifies as an only here.

There are people who've been on this planet for multiple lifetimes. As in, they lived a lifetime, died, and were reborn. A few months isn't that long here.

I've lived a couple of lifetimes myself. A couple of months still makes for a real pain in the ass.

...You're not Betan, are you?

[Just checking. Betans are long-lived. So are the Cetagandan haut. But Spike's picture on the journal does not make him look like a haut.]

Vampire, actually. I'm not any sort of Betan, not even Tibetan.

A vampire? ["Mutants" have replaced most monsters in Barrayaran fairy tales, but that doesn't mean everyone has forgotten what vampires are. Still, just because someone says he's a vampire doesn't mean he is one.] Care to explain?

What's there to explain? Creature of the night. Undead. No beating heart. Feasts on the innocent. The whole vampire gig.

I thought they were a myth.

[A beat.]

Although I admit this is Luceti.

[Pretty much playing along. Though if they can genetically engineer unicorns into existence back in the Nexus, why can't another world have vampires?]

I hear that a lot. Usually it's followed by, "this is Sunnydale" or "this is LA" or "this is Paris". Whatever it takes to slide into the reality of us being around.

People might be expecting something more monstrous of the name, as opposed to "Champion of the People."

Well, I don't do the preying on the innocent bit anymore. I went and got myself a soul. Now I fight the good fight for dolphins, peace, and lollipops.

You're sure about lollipops?

[A sigh.]

So how many lifetimes have you lived?

Well, that's subjective, innit? Depends on how long people live.

Or whether or not you're technically alive, yes.

That's subjective. But I feel alive enough. That's all I need.

Mm. Well, it's been a pleasure.

If you say so.

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