Characters of a Minor Sort (jesschars) wrote in btvsal, @ 2010-08-17 21:16:00 |
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Current location: | The Hyperion, then a Cemetery |
Current mood: | calm |
Entry tags: | gabriel burgess, kayla barnes, place: la |
Cemetery Date
Who: Gabriel and Kayla
Where: The Hyperion
When: August 15, Evening
Since her last couple of patrols had been something of a mess with her literally pummeling vampires into dust, Gabriel had insisted that, the next couple of times that she go, he go with her. He noticed that she seemed to listen to him and pull back when necessary, so he wanted to make sure that she stayed on track when out killing vampires and not getting distracted. Distraction could lead to getting hurt. While her first set of injuries was not her fault, if she was attacked from behind while hitting a vampire too much, they would be, and he didn't want that to happen. Right now he waited for her to arrive, sitting on a sofa in the lobby of the old hotel.
Kayla arrived a few minutes later, dressed in practical sweats and a black hoodie. She smiled faintly at the sight of Gabriel and stuffed her hands into her pockets. "Are you sure you wanna do this?"
He nodded. Unlike the suits he tended to prefer, tonight he was dressed in a pair of jeans and a white button up shirt rolled up to the elbows. "I'm very sure that I want to do this," he said to her.
He... looked good in casual clothes, didn't he? Kayla blinked and shook her head at that thought. "I know you've got more going for you that the other Watchers," Although she personally thought Ms. Delallo had more balls than most, "But I'm worried that you'll get hurt," she admitted.
He nodded. "My...ah...abilities lend more toward the knowledge aspect than the martial one, but I am well trained." He had actually went to the Watcher's Academy, unlike the more recent crop of 'Watchers.' Yes, he was a little snooty about that, thank you. However, he had always favored treating Slayers humanely and with respect. It was why Mr. Giles had contacted him to come to LA, after all.
"Okay," she nodded, honestly a little surprised that she was so worried for his well being. Thinking on it, he'd probably had far more training than she did. "Shall we go?"
"Yes, let's," he said to her. He reached down and grabbed the sword that he had picked out for himself. He was actually quite good with it, and it was a decent equalizer when you didn't have super strength.
She still wasn't comfortable with swords, so instead opted for her steak. She smiled faintly and led the way, her hands at her sides. She knew that she should be on high alert, but... There was something about his presence that she always found... Soothing.
He walked outside. "Do you want to take a car or just walk?" he asked. "People do tend to stare when you walk around with a sword, though, although much less in LA than in other places."
That small observation made her smile, since she'd noticed that as well when girls took weapons to train at the shack. "A car would probably be better".
"We could at least be a little more inconspicuous if we traveled by car, anyway," Gabriel said, heading for his own small car. He had only recently gotten his driver's license in America, and was just renting a car for now.
"I always pictured you driving a VW beatle, honestly," Kayla said with a small smirk, before hopping into the rental.
He smiled. "I may get one," he told her. "I'm just renting this until I find a car within my price range." Being a Watcher wasn't exactly a good paying job.
"Preachin' to the choir, baby," Kayla chuckled. Since her... Living situation had changed, money was a little tight lately.
"Hopefully one day our 'night jobs' will start to pay a little better," he said dryly as he got inside the car after storing his sword.
"Hopefully one day we won't have to do this," Kayla replied. Feeling flush, she rolled down her window, liking the feel of the cool air against her skin.
He glanced toward her. "Is that something you would like, to not have to do this anymore?"
"I like helping people," she murmured, "but I wonder if this has just... Made me into a terrible person. I'm sorry. I'm not sure I'm explaining it well." She looked away.
He focused his eyes back on the road. "I wouldn't want you to do something that you don't want, but I don't think it has been making you a bad person. Stress and trauma can affect you in ways one can't imagine."
She nodded slowly. She blinked, trying to banish the tears from her eyes. "This... This is all I have right now, though" she shrugged, "Isn't that funny?" Except it really wasn't.
"You...you'll always have me by your side, Kayla," he said to her. "I'm not sure if that's comforting or not, but it's true." He didn't want her to feel all alone in this.
"It is comforting," she told him before offering him a very tiny smile.
He gave a slight smile of his own as he pulled up to the graveyard. Hopefully a hunt would dampen some of the nervousness that he felt within.
She wound up the window and frowned thoughtfully before looking at him again. She wondered where his mind went just then, but didn't feel comfortable in asking. "So... how should we do this?"
He looked back toward her. "Well, what we do is walk around and make enough noise than any new vampire would come out and think he has a free meal, but instead find the end of your stake in his or her chest...or find my sword going through his or her neck."
"Lovely," she replied. She couldn't help it but laugh, though, since that was... an awfully straightforward way of putting it, wasn't it? She nodded agreeably, however, before hopping out of the car and waiting for him to do the same. "I've wanted to ask you something."
He got out of the car and was reaching into the backseat for his sword when he sat back up. "Sure. You can ask me anything," he said to her.
"How long have you been... a Watcher?" She asked, tilting her head to the side to look at him. She'd often wondered if it was something he was born into (a family thing), or something he actively sought for himself.
"I've been training to be a Watcher since I was in my mid-teens," Gabriel told her. "My parents found me trying to summon something very large and nasty to see if it would work. Once I found out what I was, I wanted to learn about all things occult related. That was my way of doing it, though. Not very well thought out." He chuckled lightly. "Luckily they happened to know a Watcher and pushed me in that direction."
"Luckily," she agreed with a small smile. She idly wondered where he would be otherwise, but let that thought go. He was here now, and that was all that mattered. She led the way into the cemetery, walking at a slow pace. "I'm glad you're here."
He had felt that, if his parents hadn't intervened and sent him to train with the Watchers, things could have ended very badly for him. "I am glad that I am here as well," he said as he started to follow her into the graveyard.
Wasn't that just... funny. Two alternating thoughts just popped onto her head. The first being that she'd rather that they DIDN'T run into trouble, so they could keep talking, while the other thought was that she hoped that they DID run into trouble, so she could see him fight. She really wasn't sure what to hope for more.
So far they weren't running into trouble. This may have been an empty cemetery for this night. A blessed event in more ways than one. No vampires, plus they could keep talking and actually getting to know one another.
"Okay, so... I'm going to veer the conversation in a different direction. Maybe something cheerful with puppies and rainbows," she joked, moving her mouth to the side thoughtfully. "What is it that you like to do in your spare time?" There. That was something that wasn't 'work related', wasn't it?
He actually chuckled at her mentioning rainbows. For some reason rainbows were funny to a guy who could turn into a shadow. Go figure. "I read a lot in my spare time, and do some archery." He smiled. "Probably boring stuff to you, though."
"I like to read," she told him. "Admittedly, I'm a more musically orientated person, though." Despite how she'd acted recently, she WAS a smart woman, and tended to pick up new songs easily. She hadn't done anything lately, of course, but... maybe once school picked up again.
He actually hadn't known that about her. "Do you play any instruments?" he asked her. "I enjoy music as well, although I am not inclined toward producing it."
"A few," she replied, being humble there. She actually knew more than a few. "I like the acoustic guitar. It's... soothing." Much like he was. "What music do you like?" She asked, before glancing up at him.
"Do you know any classical guitar?" Gabriel asked. "I actually enjoy that a lot." He actually enjoyed a fair amount of music. Within reason, though.
"I do, actually," she nodded. It was one of the first things she learned, surprisingly. "I could always play it for you, sometime."
"I'd like that very much, actually," he said to her with a soft smile. He just liked spending time with her, if he were honest. Even if it wasn't related to slayer stuff.
"Good. It's a date then," she chuckled before giving him one of her increasingly rare, genuine smiles.
He couldn't help but feel a little relief every time he saw her smile. It seemed so rare nowadays. "Yes, it's a date."