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Tweak says, "Vanille, go fish!"

buffy; i'm like a superhero or something! (superherolike) wrote in dunwichgame,
@ 2024-02-28 19:06:00

Entry tags:

!log/thread/narrative, buffyverse: spike, ∙ plot: 013 rock lobster, ◌ inactive: buffy summers (2)

Reunion!

characters. Buffy Summers & Spike

time. Right after her arrival. | location. Near Pickman.

rating. PG-13 | status. In progress!

She's new in town, and it might get worse.

"This sucks," Buffy griped under her breath. Her ankle was swollen and burned from whatever had dragged her back into the crumbling Hellmouth. She had been so close to that final leap onto the bus before it the wind got sucked right out of her. The gash on her head was still dripping blood, too, she realised as she dragged her forearm over it with a wince.

It had happened so quickly. One minute, she was on her way back down to Hell and the next she was on the sidewalk of some town with... giant lobsters running around? She had pushed herself up to a seated position against the wall of an alley, her presence overlooked by the meandering lobstrocity. That was ideal since she didn't want to put any pressure on her ankle just yet. It wouldn't take long to shake off, but if she could avoid exacerbating it, all the better.

Looking up, she noted it was nightfall and not just dark from the awnings of the building beside her — Pickman, though that much she didn't know. With her bad leg kicked out in front of her, Buffy leaned forward to begin massaging the injury gently and huffed in frustration with her circumstances. Between the vanishing act, the temperature jump (she was definitely grateful to have at least a long-sleeved shirt on to barely combat the temperature), and the oversized lobsters, her head was on the verge of a migraine.

Glancing to her side, she noticed the scythe beside her and breathed a sigh of relief. At least she wasn't completely at the mercy of wherever she had ended up. Everything still sucked though.

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bloodislove
2024-03-03 08:08 am UTC (link)

"Weird barrier around the town. Not too big a deal usually, unless you try to run through it. Don't. Or, bring along a mate with a rope who can pull you back in if you do," he snorted, only catching his own mistake in setting a challenge at the last minute.

His smile, sad and gentle as he'd been assessing, eased with more authentic humor at her responses all the same. Offering his arm, he snorted at the quote and walked them forward at a gentle gait when she was ready, minding and matching her steps as she got her footing back. Still, it worked out well enough, and the Tavern could wait.

"If you ever became a Scream Queen you'd look a lot worse than this," he chuckled. "Proper terror would be your thing, not Hollywood's primped version. But some warm water and a few ice pack's'll remind you that better. Even have a first aid kit knocking around if you need stitches."

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superherolike
2024-03-03 03:37 pm UTC (link)

"A weird barrier around town... Got it." The list of things to keep in mind grew. She wasn't going to make much of an effort to remember any of it either, that was what her Scoobies had been for. Even if they hadn't been terribly reliable lately. Maybe being here in Dunwich was a blessing in disguise.

With a tiny smile given in return, she linked her arm with his. Although she was exhausted, her wounds were feeling better already. The bleeding on her forehead seemed to have stopped due to her healing factor and the pressure from his handkerchief. She tugged it down and waited to see if any new blood spilled and gave a quick sigh of relief when that didn't happen.

The stab wound in her waist was another matter. Anyone else might have been crippled by it, but she was the Chosen One... One of many now. Chosen, nonetheless.

"You think?" She lapsed into their old banter, a more relaxed smile supplanting the sadder one they'd shared. "So, like. On a scale of Laurie Strode to Carrie, you're thinking... Sissy Spacek Buffy? Might even scare a few demons walking around town like that."

As for the rest, she nodded in agreement. Her greater injury would need those stitches, she suspected. The warm water and ice would suffice for the rest. "Thanks... for um. This. 'Cause it's kinda a lot, huh? The everything about this?"

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bloodislove
2024-03-03 10:54 pm UTC (link)

"Don't worry. There's a lot to process, but mostly it's just weird around here. You'll be fine, just don't touching anything glowing or get touched by anything drooling," Spike chuckled at her reception. He was also cheered by her bloody head steming, though he could tell from her cadence that she was far from healed.

He just grinned back at her with his Devil-may-care face, before she spoke. He hummed softly to himself as he led her down the clean corridor, stopping at a room and taking out his key.

"It's a lot. Was for all of us at one point or another. But we'll get you set, and your wounds treated, and then we'll move forward from there. Same old routine," he said, trying to seem reassuring.

The apartment was small and sparcely decorated, with a heavy bit of ripped canvas from last year's Lobsterfest was secure over the window. Spike's unmade bed and the empty liquor bottles next to his armchair made him sigh inwardly. "If I'd though I'd be hosting, I would've... well. At least thrown this rubbish in the closet," he snorted to himself, before leading Buffy carefully to the bathroom and to take a seat on the wall of the tub. Starting the warm water he reahed out for one of the clean towels, offering it. "I'll go get the kit. And I have a clean shirt you can borrow, if you like. Then I'll go hunt down the desk attendent. You'll be cozy in your own apartment in no time."

He was trying to be reassuring without overbearing, the last few memories of her in his own world always tainting their first interactions. The Buffy from before had known about him, helped him with the chip and reclaiming his soul, and it seems he'd lucked out with this one accepting his aid for what it was. He'd always wondered exactly what it had been that changed the Slayer's mind, but after the mental breaks he'd already been through he preferred to enjoy it and not press for more information.

Still, his last question came with a grin and playful head tilt. "How's that sound, Savior of the World? Enough of a celebration for tonight? I'll come up with a bigger party idea later, but after you're on your feet proper."

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