lilahmorganwrh:

“Whether or not we do have a major role for him is irrelevant  You know just as well as I do that Angelus is untamed and does what he wants when he wants.” she half sneered. “I was planning on approaching him after this.” she said. “I just wanted the inside scoop before I did. You know me…always trying to be one step ahead of everyone else.” she grinned sarcastically, picking up he napkin to fiddle with it. 

“I don’t know if I’d say your steps have connected.” Remaining unnerved, both of them. It was like picking at straws, and it must have been as obvious to LIlah as it was to Wesley that neither of them were as central in the scheme of things as they’d wished to be. Remarkably, it was an easy thing to disguise.

“I’m sure he’ll be utterly chuffed to see you.” I mean, he killed you, didn’t he? Not that Lilah was one to hold an unnecessary grudge, especially if it afflicted with business. She was right on one account, Angelus doesn’t negotiate or compromise, and a vampire rarely receives a chance to drain the same victim twice. Nostalgia always has its novelties, even to the least ceremonial of beasts.

He bit his lip a little at these thoughts, drawing them away from the surface. “I hope you know that whatever you gain from this, it will be non-sequential in the end.”

lilahmorganwrh:

“Only if he stays a good little obedient dog. If he become a danger to us, we might have to re-ensoul him, or kill him, depending on what the senior partners tell us to do. Although right now he’s playing nice.” she answered, smirking as usual.

Someone came over to their table and tried to ask them what they wanted, but Lilah waved them away before a word even escaped their mouth. “And how did Angel know I was back?” she asked, tilting her head to the side.

Wesley took a moment to suppress a scoff as Lilah explained their intentions for Angelus.

“I’d have thought you lot would have reached beyond that by now. This is the apocalypse. And whether or not it’s your designated end, he’s sure to play a major role in it.”

He traced his finger around the edge of a fabric napkin that laid in front of him.  After a moment, he glared back up at Lilah, once again avoiding eye contact. “The thought hadn’t occurred to me at the time. I was busy ensuring my safety. But I would assume someone from Wolfram & Hart has contacted him. If you’re not ready to take the direct approach, perhaps someone else is.”

lilahmorganwrh:

“Well I figured this little meeting should be done sober…at least for now.” she answered, smirking at his skeptical tone. She usually liked to pick bars, but seeing as how there were so few decent ones in Sunnydale and she didn’t know what this meeting was for, she decided being sober would be the best bet. 

“Now what did you want to talk about?” she asked. “I”m sure it’s about your little soulless, lost puppy, or am I wrong?” She’d heard about Angelus returning. Who hadn’t? Sure it had only been a few days, but news traveld fast when you lived over the hellmouth and worked in an ‘evil’ law firm.

Wesley took in a deep breath, silent as he could manage before continuing. It had been awhile since they’d been… together. The distance between them was inevitable, but if either of them were to bring that up, it wouldn’t end well - it wouldn’t get along well in the first place. It was the best decision, to ignore it as long as they could possibly,

“I wouldn’t have known you were back if it wasn’t for him, but I can’t say I’m looking for that kind of help.” He smirked darkly in her direction. “Isn’t this the best situation for you at the moment? Angel out of the way is to your advantage.”

lilahmorganwrh:

Wes. That’s who she was suppose to be meeting. Last time she’d been around, not counting when Wolfram and Hart made her come back to offer the gang their office, they’d been lovers. And he wanted to meet? She wasn’t too sure what to think but wasn’t panning on letting that show, or at least not now. She’s put on her game face, the one she worked so diligently to plaster on. 

She stepped in to the Expresso Pump and took a seat at one of the tall, two-seater table, not ordering anything yet. She sat there for a few minutes, checking her watch a few times, as she waited for Wes. To be honest, Lilah was nervous. She’d died, he’s died. He’d decapitated her. She came back. He came back. and now there was yet another apocalypse, which her side of the team was headlining as usual. 

A minute later she saw him walk in, and met his eyes. He looked good and almost the same. Maybe a little more depressed than the last time she’d seen him, but hey, death come with a price.

In short, meeting in a coffee shop was about the healthiest thing Wesley could imagine either of them doing, at the moment. Lilah had always fancied bars more than anyone could admit, and it was almost difficult to imagine her anywhere else.

The interior was bright, a stark contrast to her dark suit and even darker aura. He could only guess it appeared the same for him.  She looked - complacent, in the most troubling of ways. As he moved closer, though, it became more clear how tense she was, how tense he had become as well. Neither of them had bothered too terribly putting on any facade, of course some attempt was obviously made on both parts.

The moment they locked eyes, he held on just long enough to remain consistent, before breaking the contact and sitting opposite her. 

“Coffeehouse, Lilah?” He spoke skeptically, thinking it best to open the conversation delicately.

I must apologize profusely for my absence. I’m sure the semester is coming to an end for many of us (only to be replaced by a summer one, gah). Either way, I’ll try to be on as much as possible in May, considering summer will be even busier! (Classes - including field biology requiring long camping trips - summer stock, Chicago…) I’ve barely had free time, and that I have had has been away from a computer or otherwise. I haven’t had the highest motivation to come on either.

Darla Paras:

Jade and Alex - I’ll have replies to you by next week. They’re both introductions of her characters into the RP, so just a bit important.

Tony Para:

Jade - See above for the reply to Priya - we can always make the entirety short if we’re both terribly busy.

I’m glad to see that the roleplay is still moving forward with all the madness and hiatus; hopefully, things will lighten up for us all! 

girl-with-the-visions:

Cordelia nodded solemnly at Wesley’s words, while it was unlikely that he would manage to keep all of his motives and plans hidden from them, Cordy wasn’t willing to take that risk when it was her friends’ lives at stake. Whatever it took to ensure their safety, Cordelia would do. She swallowed, facing Angelus was a nightmare of hers for many years. Ever since their first encounter here in Sunnydale, a little over a decade ago, Cordelia had harbored an understanding of how dangerous Angelus was. With the additional firsthand experience granted to her via her time as a higher being, as well as Jasmine’s schemes, that apprehension had only grown. Now here was the nightmare, in the flesh, looking her in the face. It still felt so unreal to her. That whole week…it could’t have been Angelus. Angel, Angelus had kissed her, he’d cleaned up the plates from the night before…Cordelia’s skin crawled whenever she thought of the past week. Couple with the near crippling guilt she was experiencing, it was a wonder that she was managing to have this conversation with Wesley. But, that was the way they always had to do things. Pick themselves up, dust themselves off, deal with the problem at hand. Cordy was just taking it one minute at a time, waiting for her chance to redeem herself and fix her mistake. She could only hope that she’d be able to succeed before any irreversible consequences occurred.

“Of course, Wes,” She answered, “We will lay low, gather information and see what is the best course of action to take,” Cordy suggested. It would make her feel better to know that Wesley wouldn’t be venturing from the base on his own again. She needed her friends to be safe and sound out of Angelus’s reach. Everyone close to Angel would be a prime target for his soulless counterpart. Cordy wasn’t concerned for herself so much as she was for the rest of her family. Wesley…Fred…even Illyria…and Spike…they all had ties to Angel (in Spike’s case also Angelus) that could endanger them. Cordelia was additionally concerned since Drusilla was running around Sunnydale. The two vampires would inevitably link up, doubling their destructive tendencies. Cordy didn’t mention it, but with those two in cahoots the timeframe for their ventures would be considerably less. However, if Wesley felt they had more time to plan and research, that was more time for Cordelia to act without worrying her friends. They would likely try to stop her if they knew of even the inklings that had begun to sprout in her mind.

It was easy to notice how disheartened Cordelia felt, even though her bravery and determination shone through like never before. There is usually an easy distinction between ally and enemy, and even in Angelus, it was an easy lie to accept. That didn’t stop anyone from looking at him an unthinkingly seeing Angel there. They had done that an entire week before this fiasco, and even their current awareness couldn’t cloud their periphery. None of them could afford to go through a stage of denial, but the best they could do was hide it, and pretend acceptance until they could really believe it. IF Wesley knew Cordelia as well as he thought he did, this would be going through her mind as well. The doubt that Angelus could excel so far as to trick them, and the knowledge that it was too easy for him to do so. it was enough to disarm anyone, and Cordelia shouldn’t have been so easy to hide it.

“I’m glad you’re okay, and I think it’s evident that we’re all pretty shaken from this.” He held onto her hand once again as her face began to waver.”But if we give him enough time, his wits will be about him again. Not to mention that Drusilla is also here, I don’t think I have to say why that’s a bad thing…” If they were to focus too much of their time on protection, as much as they needed it, they would be lacking in offensive and that would only leave them guarded bugs in a grass of thorns - defensive but useless and stuck in one place. “We’re all in danger here - for once I’m thankful that he’s more likely to target those of us he knows. That leaves many people off the radar.” It wasn’t exactly bright silver lining, but Angelus only knew a small fraction of those at the base, and his tactics usually involved Angel’s knowledge of others, most of which accompanied the people he was close with. It was a dangerous lead, but a gap when it came to strangers.

girl-with-the-visions:

Cordelia shuddered at the thought of Angelus opening up more the more physical aspects of torture upon Wes. The ex-Watcher may be strong, and a lot more accustomed to pain since his ‘rogue demon hunter’ days, but that didn’t mean it would be anything close to pleasant, merely endurable.

She looked into Wesley’s eyes after he released her, searching his face for all the guarded thoughts that she may be able to see hidden in his expression. This run in with Angelus obviously shook him up, but Cordy wasn’t able to tell what Wesley was most afraid of. Did he fear for himself? Fred?….maybe even her? Cordelia shoved that thought aside, Wesley shouldn’t fear for her, whatever consequences occurred in regards to Cordy…she understood it was just karma; comeuppance for her error.

Cordelia didn’t mention her blind hope that she would be Angelus’ obsession. If he wanted her…she may be able to work that in her favor to allow the rest of the recruits on base remain free of the vampire’s torments. “We’ll figure out what he wants, and how to use that against him. He’s going to slip up, Angelus may be devious and terrible, but he’s been cooped up for years. He isn’t going to be cautious during his first moments of freedom.” Cordy hardened her gaze, it was time to face the reality. Angel was gone. That much she had always known…but, staking Angelus…it had such a finality to it. There would be no ‘maybe’ there would be no hope. He’d be really gone. The thought made Cordelia’s bones ache with sadness, but her resolve didn’t waver. It had always been clear what actions she must take if it ever came down to it.

Wesley blinked as he saw Cordelia shudder away from the conversation. It was obvious she should be worried about her own safety, considering Angel’s relationship with Cordelia. The most terrifying thing about Angelus was his knowledge of Angel’s life – just as open as his own. He knew what would make him tick, the inner workings of the operations at the base, at this point, much of the information they had gathered. Angelus plan wouldn’t be on a large scale, at least from an outside view. He manipulated, threatened; if he was interested enough, if not, it was an easy death. He had played Cordelia, as well as everyone else,for the fool an entire week before revealing himself. He was even more confident of his place in the mix. They should all have been worried about themselves, besides each other. They could build defense, but the fact of the matter was that anyone could be hiding something. As much as they should have trusted each other, so many strangers allied together in one place – anything was possible and they couldn’t look it over. If one would speak to another the wrong way, give away the wrong information, it could be their own demise.

“Don’t get me wrong Cordy, we can’t underestimate any of this. He’s bound to make a mistake, but we must act as if he won’t. “ Only based on their brief meeting, it was plain what Angelus wanted, He knew that if he could trip them up or kill them off one by one, he could topple it all over like a row of dominoes, outside forces barely needed. Cordelia was a big part of that plan. Angelus knew when they met that he would confide in Cordelia, he set them up in such a way that it would be playing into his plan to do so, but ultimately dangerous for him not to. Of course he had to warn Cordelia, everyone eventually, not that the warning brought about any kind of new threat. Even those who weren’t aware of who Angelus was would know from the calamity of the night before that he was indeed a serious enemy. “I know we’re all prepared to take whatever precautions necessary in such a situation, but it would be nice to think we won’t have to, at least for awhile.” He sighed.”I’m sure it’s going to be some time before many of us will be able to come face to face with this.” It would be redundant to say he was worried about them all, Angelus wasn’t the only baleful individual they would be dealing with and if they kept popping up one after another like this, it would be arduous to focus their power and vanquish one at a time, as convenient as it would be. He wouldn’t let it cross his mind for more than a moment that he might target Cordelia in particular, especially as Angelus had spoken of her,. No one would allow that, she certainly wouldn’t allow it herself. 

ensouledvampire:

Angelus remained silent, contempt with Wesley’s answer. He knew he was lying, however, that wasn’t the point. Angelus wasn’t concerned in discerning the truth from the lies; it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure it out. He just wanted to make Wesley think about where he and SHIELD really stood.”Wouldn’t say no one,” he cocked his head to the side as he almost sung the words out. He could hear other vampires roaming the streets in the far distance, but nothing more than the average meat heads preying on petty victims. An owl hooted from a nearby tree - how corny was that timing? But Angelus knew better. Loki, Glorificus and Dru were out there somewhere while those at Wolfram & Hart were still working in full force. He hated the lot of them besides Drusilla, however, he couldn’t dismiss that they all had a common goal.

Kind of. Loki was bent on revenge and that never ended well. He was fighting for the wrong reason. If he wanted to avenge his brother, then Loki should have narrowed down his target victims to a select few, not the entire world. It was tacky and over dramatic. Angelus had been there once himself but he learned from his mistakes unlike others.

Wesley, like the rest of them on the base, had the potential to be a strong force. However, it didn’t seem like much to break them apart at the core. A little chaos here, a stolen child there, and they were already in a frenzy. Only twenty-four hours had passed, it wasn’t much, but when time wasn’t on your side, it meant the world. And here there were, all wasting it doing God knows what. 

“As fun as it’s been to chat with ya,” he feigned a yawn, “breakfast is calling and I have a date with a blonde Slayer.” The sun had been down for a while now, but Angelus had only begun his prowl when he ran into Wes. Angelus paused to give him time to create some empty threat about not permitting his activities and then continued, “let Cordelia down easily, but tell her I say  ’hello.’ Brunette’s were never my thing, but we already knew that didn’t we?”

He paused, “I guess we all had our fair share of her, haven’t we?” He  laughed, “no one ever changes.” He turned around putting his back towards Wesley. Angelus was sure that Wes wasn’t going to pull something stupid and he departed into the heart of Sunnyhell with a smile still across his face. 

Wesley wasn’t about to assume that Angel really thought so lightly of the bases security. He knew it would be nearly impossible to gain entrance, and even harder to entirely bring them down. They had been taken by surprise by the events of that week, but they had been shocked into realization enough to build up caution and narrow their trust. They wouldn’t be tricked so easily again, and Angelus knew it well.

It seemed so early in the day, much more like morning than night. They had stayed in that position long enough for the moon to creep into the sky entirely and cast a complete black shadow onto the land. The wind had halted from a chilling gust to a calm breeze, it shook the branches of trees around him causing a melancholy rustle. The first encounter had been through, and it was likely to be the first of many, no matter how wildly he tried to stay isolated as everyone else.

Relieved that Angelus had finally grown tired of ranting, Wesley watched him walk in the direction he himself had come from until he was he far enough away. He stood listening to the silence, barely interrupted by the activity of nature for a minute, regretting his decision to come out at last. It had only excited Angelus and given him a sense of just how vulnerable they really were. They would be no need to really warn anyone about this, it was expected, common and had no point. He would simply push the experience to the back of his mind - Angelus had thought touching close to his insecurities would affect his perception, but even if it did, Wesley wouldn’t let anyone, least likely Angelus, realize that. He took a deep breath into the pure night air and loosened his frame, finally well enough to think straight from a clearer, more familiar perspective. He picked up the stake from it’s place before opening the gate and walking back in the same direction.

/Close

ensouledvampire:

Angelus’ eyebrow lifted quizzically. “You dropped your stake, of course you weren’t gonna. It’s running that I’d expect from you.” And who didn’t like to work up an appetite before a meal? But he needed Wes fully functional so he could scramble off to the others. It was tempting to go after him while he was alone on the streets, but he had a different approach. If Wesley was mutilated, then Cordelia may be too distracted by her grief to realize that his fun hadn’t even begun to start yet. And he didn’t want to take the focus off of her; she was a warrior princess after all and deserved the best show he could give her. So, he needed Wes in one piece, fully capable of blabbing. Because if Wes came back without a scratch, it would keep Cordelia on her toes and waiting. As exciting as the actual plan was, Angelus found the anticipation much more exhilarating. It was like riding a roller coaster - the drop wasn’t the problem, it was always the rise up. The mind was a tricky thing. It liked to assume the worst when given a small inkling of doubt. 

Despite Wes’ attempt for a calm composure, Angelus could still smell fear radiate off of him; it was sweet and dark, almost like burnt sugar. It was equally intoxicating as the metallic smell of a fresh massacre, something else he planned on soon enough. He paced back and forth across from Wes, neither drawing closer nor farther away. Angelus glanced up to look at him now and then, focusing more on the cold, concrete below his feet. 

“What I still don’t understand,” he stopped and looked straight at Wes, ensuring that he was also finally seeing eye to eye. “Is why you of all people are out here. The base is full of super heroes jacked up on steroids and they send you out.” He paused for a moment before continuing. “Or they’re all too afraid to come out of their rat hole and face the evil vampire and you,” he gestured, “are trying to play the hero. Because of course you wouldn’t have pulled the short straw. You have more pride than that and you’re still out to impress the girl.”

Angelus chuckled. “Playing hero and running around with a stake is different than actually being one,” he finally stated.

Wesley unlocked his arms from each other and fixed his posture from the slouch it led to.  He looked at Angelus lightly as he continued to speak, relaying the words off of his mind as much as he could. When their eyes locked together, he held on for a moment longer before cringing back and closing his eyes as Angelus went on.

Angelus was only pointing out the obvious once again, playing around with his knowledge to find a way towards his point. He was scarily accurate of why, most likely, no one had left the base that day - but it wasn’t only fear, it was grief and surprise. Families were being affected, everyone was too busy watching their own back to think about the outside world…. the fact that it had been proven how easily someone inside the base could be keeping dangerous secrets, plotting betrayal or abusing information was enough to doubt anyone. Wes was reminded of how skeptical he and so many other people had been about sharing necessary information, Angel had been just as foolish as him, and it was easy to see why they weren’t doing such things.

“You’ve never thought I might be worthy collateral? You really think they’d send their best agents out on unimportant missions.” He paused, then continued.”No, they need to save them for the real battle.” He couldn’t admit aloud, especially to Angelus that he, along with others, surely, held horribly disposable positions at the base. If some of them were to die, it wouldn’t have an effect on the greater detail, and Angelus knew that whether Wesley admitted it or not. “There’s no one out here to see me, I think you’re missing the point.” He returned Angelus’s eye contact. “I wouldn’t give myself that much credit.”

ensouledvampire:

Angelus’ face contorted with nausea as Wesley continued to remind him of Angel’s actions. It was sickening that they had to share a body and even worse that Angelus had to endure it all, always waiting to break free. Angel may be the one brooding constantly, but it was Angelus that had to sit there with the lug head counting the seconds that passed by. He knew all the good Angel had brought into the world, that is, if the small actions actually counted for anything. He didn’t need Wes to remind him. However, Angelus was also quite aware that the tally still largely favored him. Being generous, Angel had saved several hundred souls… yet he managed to destroy world peace (now that Angelus was proud of). On the other hand, Angelus practically wiped through countries with Darla. Those were the good days. Angelus infinity, Angel zip. 

When Wesley dropped the stake, Angelus could only wonder what he was up to now. Wes had something up his sleeve, but his empty threat barely registered to him. If Wes chanced the odds with him, one on one, then he was more of a moron than he thought. “Stepping it up a notch? That is a surprise. Impessive. Confidence goes a long ways,” he commented dully. The fact that he couldn’t keep eye contact for more than a split second told Angelus otherwise, though. “If you always had that, it would’ve gotten you quite far in life,” Angelus suggested and held back the rest of his remarks. Wes didn’t need a lecture on fathers or his days in Sunnydale at the moment. Those could wait. He was more interested in what Wes was thinking.

He eyed the stake on the ground and then back at Wes, as if challenging him to make the first move. 

Angelus was getting cocky, more than his usual attitude permitted; challenging. Wesley could only play along so far, but if he wasn’t careful, he knew how easily he could get hurt or even killed. He stayed in place even as Angelus switched his glance between him and the stake, as if dropping it had actually left him any more vulnerable than before. Everything Angelus said to him was an inadvertent challenge, but one Angelus was not expecting to follow through. As much as he would have liked to prove him wrong, it would have been foolish for Wesley to reciprocate the challenge. He could only distract Angelus while he could, if he was entertained enough, nothing would happen.

“And here I assumed living through an apocalypse was accomplishment enough.” He returned Angelus’s dull tone. Confidence doesn’t matter if you don’t have the skill to back up it, unfortunately, Angelus had both - but Wesley knew how to crack him as much as the opposite. Angelus had cringed and retorted when Wes had mentioned Angel, he hadn’t even the need to be specific. Angelus had been there for a century, dying from disgust and disappointment - and the only reason he endured was because he was immortal and trapped. He didn’t always have the control. This was all Wesley could think to assure himself of any safety, especially at Angelus’s challenge. Even if he couldn’t hold the facade, Angelus loved to humour people.

“Oh I’m not going to attack you, if that’s what you’re thinking.” His voice jumped abruptly. “I’m not as foolish as you might assume,