because i'm not who i used to be | March Catch-All

[slayerskiss]

Who: Faith and assorted others.
What: Faith reckons with having feelings once again, fights some monsters, does some dungeon crawling, makes some friends. Closed catch-all for march.
When: March
Where: All over march.

Content Warnings: TBA

Comments

[slayerskiss]

[She lets out a huff.]

You know, somehow I think if you try to put this on a pizza, you'll put the pineapple debate to shame.

But yeah, sure thing, boss.

[She hauls the monster over her shoulder walking inside the house. She still can't help but glance around in awe when entering this truly massive house.]

[necrolord]

[ The house is a lot. It's a crumbling old Victorian, shored up by bone and decorated in fading blacks. There are sparks of life here or there: a potted fern, some clutter in the living room. Abandoned tea mugs and notebooks which must be his.

He waves her to the study, which is only more of the same. It's sparse compared to the grandness of the house, but here the mugs and notebooks have multiplied. ]

Don't worry about the hardwood. [ As though she was. ] You can set it just there, on the ground... I've got a trick for managing the mess. No need to stick around for the disassembly, it's not pleasant by the standards of anyone who didn't grow up around bone.

[ He doesn't say it like a dismissal, though. If anything, he waves her towards the little sofa as he drops into a chair. ]

I'd love to hear about this one.

[slayerskiss]

[Looking down at the floor, she internally panics at that reassurance. Was she supposed to be mindful of the hardwood (whatever that is) this whole time?? But no, he says don't worry about it, so she relaxes.

She drops the dead banshee down on the ground, wiping the beast blood off of her leather gloves. Nasty. She'll probably need to do her nightly checkup for corruption soon.]

Eh, I can stomach a lot. [It's one of her childish brags, like the way she boasted to the Mayor (why do her thoughts always drift to him around this guy) about jumping off a waterfall that everyone else was too scared shitless to give a chance. But then again It's not pleasant to cut open a living person either, so it's not like she's wrong.]

It was haunting the graveyard in Darcmouth, screaming at the dead so hard they'd raise, either as ghosts or zombies or... you know, skeletons. Me and a friend of mine swung by to kill the bitch again. [It was a bit more of a trial than Faith is making it out to be, but she's not lying. It's pretty clear what her weapon was, based on the rifle holstered on her back.] Lots of deafening screams. Probably should have brought earmuffs.

[necrolord]

You brought me a monster that raises the dead. [ For a hanging beat it seems like he might find that offensive, somehow: then he cracks a smile. ] Custom-selected for me? I appreciate it.

[ The God of Necromancers makes a wholly unnecessary gesture, and the Beast blood on her gloves dries before her eyes. It flakes away, tarry and insubstantial, like dust to his floor. ]

Anything you can tell me about its undead? Ghost, zombies, skeletons— the last two are the same by most counts, but it's the ghosts that interest me.

[slayerskiss]

[If there's one thing Faith's mastered from a long life of horrors between horrors, of the mundane kind, and of the supernatural, it's hiding her fear.

So the only sign on her face that she looks worried about his reaction is a raised eyebrow in confusion, before she just looks slightly baffled but amused. The weight in her stomach doesn't lift but there's at least a small smile on her face.] Yeah, you're welcome. Late Christmas present, I guess.

The ghosts were a lot like the zombies and skeletons, just harder to hit, 'cuz instead of being from the flesh or bone it's just the spirit. Mixing blood magic with bullets worked wonders, though. Just had to shoot 'em and they'd fade to smoke.

[necrolord]

[ His lips twitch at late Christmas present; it's a funnier joke than she knows. ]

Sounds like you really took it in stride. I'm lucky to have an expert on hand.

[ He means it, is the thing: it's the same tone with which he'd complimented her kicking skeletons clean across the beach. ]

So, professional opinion, you think we'll find more of these still up and roaming? I'd be interested to see them work.

[slayerskiss]

[She smiles more genuinely, only a bit bashful. She's felt at multiple points like being a Slayer isn't as big a deal as it was in Sunnydale, or LA, or Boston. So the praise does make her feel proud.] Yeah, well. You hired the best, you get the best.

[She almost laughs at "professional opinion", even if it's not exactly wrong. It's always the Watchers who refer to themselves that way. Maybe because they actually get paid.]

Banshees? I doubt I drove the whole population into extinction by shooting one in the face, no. They don't seem super common but it didn't seem like the monster was some never before seen kind of thing for the locals either. I'm sure there'll be more screaming women in the sea.

I can try and bring you a live one next time, if you want. [She sees no ethical problems with this.]

[necrolord]

[ That's useful, because John's relationship with ethical problems has been funny for a couple thousand years now. Or longer.

Or always. ]

Could you? I'd love to get a sense of what necromancy means to them... how my work differs from the thing they do. Could teach me a bit about how Trench regards this sort of power.

[slayerskiss]

Yeah, sure. [She's not even sure it is necromancy, but Faith's not exactly confident in her magic nerd status.]

Seems like you're learning a lot about how Trench works. Any specific plans, or just general wizard curiosity?

[necrolord]

[ He cracks a sharper smile at wizard, as though she's told a joke. She has no way to know it's only ever said to his people as insult, or that no one dares say it to him. ]

Anything to give us a bit of a handle on the chaos. Figuring out the hows and whys is a good start.

[slayerskiss]

[He's full of weird reactions today. Unsure of what she said that was funny, Faith presses on.]

Well... if you need anything for that, you just gotta call me. Maybe there's some way to stop the specific effects.

Had to do a whole... confession to Ange last month. Sucked.