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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mk7-GRWq7wA Or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5C92qy7mX8
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Buffy's birthday is always dramatic, and always life changing. But just this once, that change goes in a good direction. Unless you're down the street.
1/19/2017 7:00 PM
Hyperion Hotel San Francisco
The Hyperion Hotel[]
The lights are on, illuminating the area.
The California-Spanish building known as the Hyperion Hotel was built in the 20s. Through the cast iron gates from the sidewalk is a small front courtyard with a rectangular fountain and a mythological figure holding a bowl from which water flows. Greenery frames the walls and a large set of glass double doors open into a high ceilinged lobby. Dark red carpet descends the four steps to the lobby floor and climb the two sets of stairways that lead to the second floor. The green marble floors are accented with wavy red inserts, as are the walls have a complimentary red border running their length. A set of doors identical to those of the entrance lead to a small enclosed garden.
Cream-colored pillars line two sides of the room, holding up the second-floor balconies that look out onto the lobby and creating arches. Underneath one of them is a large plate glass window that looks into the hotel office - now used as the office and nerve center of Angel Investigations. Nearby, there's a wraparound counter with dark wood paneling and a top the same color as the floor. Behind it are filing cabinets and a pair of desks pushed together. A navy blue circular couch harkening back to a 50s design sits near the back of the lobby. A large wooden, glass-doored cabinet pushed up against the wall holds a large assortment of weapons.
Outside, it's snowing heavily.
It's the big day. Angel found himself somewhere between happy and nervous. On the one hand, he'd get to spend the whole day celebrating the love of his life. On the other hand, history told him her birthday tends to have apocalypses, betrayal, magical accidents, and other assorted evils. He could only hope the wards on Hyperion would ward at least some of it off...
Nonetheless, Hyperion is once more decorated for a party. This time, he's got Buffy's favorite flavor of peanut butter fudge ice cream and a beautifully decorated cake. And of course there's going to be a pile of presents too...
Buffy Summers had gone out earlier, despite the weather, and returned with several shopping bags. It's not her birthday every day, after all, and this one with Angel after years without.. she's determined to enjoy it. Blonde hair had been trimmed while she was out, so when she comes out of her room and down the steps.. well. Blonde hair is bright in smooth waves, over her shoulders. The dress is something one would more expect of Faith, with the bright red color and v-neckline. The bandage dress fits closely to the skin, soft and satiny and flattering. Legs are glad in golden strappy heels, making the wee slayer at least a little taller. There's even been makeup applied, red lips, finger nails, and a golden shimmer around her eyes. Eyes that are currently looking for Angel.
And once again, Dawn has made the trip from Beacon Hills. (The train connecting San Francisco and Beacon Hills had really been coming in handy lately.) She is taking a peek at the pile of presents, making sure everything is in order, but looks up as Buffy enters. She gives a cheerful grin to her sister, waving, "You look awesome, Buffy! Happy birthday!"
Now that Faith's trial is over with and she's officially out of hiding, Eva can attend things like birthday parties for her friends. And so today finds her in a teal evening dress, something that hugs her form just enough and has lots of lace designs on it. Her hair is worn down tonight and she's accented the outfit with a white corded belt and heels to match.
Eva is currently fiddling with the music that's setting the mood for the evening. She's selected a playlist of light rock, soft rock, alt rock... you get the idea. Because classical and pop are really not what she thinks of when Buffy comes to mind and instrumentals are a little too boring for The Slayer's birthday party. It's not too loud, she's kept the volume down so it's really just in the background.
As Eva turns away from it, satisfied for now, she spots Buffy coming down the stairs. "Oh, you look great," she says with a smile. "I like what you did with your hair," she adds.
And Angel's there. The last two times he was there for her birthday...well, the first time, he turned evil. Bad times. At least the Grand Coven superglued and stapled his soul in there but good to make sure that'd never happen again. The second time, he got her a book of poems...and Giles got her some muscle relaxants that took her Slayer powers away. Well, it's GOING to turn out better this time, damnit! Particularly when he sees her look absolutely stunning coming down the stairs.
And...Angel's just going to meet her as she comes down the stairs. Well, let's at least START her birthday on a good note. So gives Buffy a lingering kiss, and, afterwards, "Happy Birthday, Buffy. I love you."
Buffy Summers can't help the smile, and the way it makes hazel eyes almost seem a golden shade, as she sees her sister. "You made it. I was worried with the weather." She will hug her sister close a moment, eyes closed as she lets the hug linger. She'll look over at Eva, taking in that teal dress. "I can't take too much credit. I just amped it up after the salon. That's a great dress." Buffy may not wear a lot of dresses, it doesn't mean she doesn't like them. And yes, alt rock is appropriate.
And then Angel is there, and she'll take and give with that kiss. "Well thank you, gorgeous." She'll murmur back up at him those eyes aglow again. "I love you too." That's whispered, to try and not gross out the teen aged guests.
Dawn hugs Buffy back, holding on for a moment as well. "Hey, it takes more than weather to stop me." She grins, and steps back a bit to let Buffy greet Angel, turning to grin to Eva at the choice of music, "Cool music."
Eva smiles brilliantly at Buffy's compliment. "Oh, thank you so much. It's nice to be able to wear dresses again. Nice to be able to buy them, too. I never realized how going without my AMEX could hurt so very, very much." She's polite and mature enough not to react to Buffy and Angel's expression of affection, because... well that would just be rude. And she knows what that feels like now, sort of.
As Dawn compliments the music, Eva grins at the other Slayer. "Thank you! I try. It helps that my playlist is absolutely enormous. You wouldn't believe how long it takes to categorize those songs into groups, though. Like a freaking day. Seriously."
San Francisco, city of love. Ash had been here before, snuck out of his parents house and gone with his friends to see Bob Seger live. It was the first time he'd ever done that, and it was there he'd acquired a taste for road trips. In a way, he had Seger to think for his little cabin vacation a few years later. Though, it was less freezing and frigid last time he was here, he was shocked that he actually needed to put the tire chains on this far out west. To the cagey, constantly paranoid Ash, it was a sign that unnatural things were at work here.
In a loud barge, the front door to the Hyperion would swing open, and in would step the older man, 'muscular'(ahem) frame hidden beneath a thick leather jacket, his cheeks rosy red from the unexpected arctic chill outside.
"Jesus, it's so cold out there I just turned part Eskimo!"
There it was easier to get a better look at the man. His nondescript, blue collar clothing, his wooden right hand, his very impressive chin. Looking around at the sea of attractive people, Ash clears his throat.
"Excuse me, I'm looking for 'Angel', anyone know where I might find her? Some sort of private eye, dick for hire?"
"Excuse me," comes a voice from behind Ash. "And that's Angel." Stepping around him, Faith points to the dark-clad and definitely not female individual over with the blonde. Unfortunately, it might well be mistaken for pointing at Buffy. She's got a wrapped package in one hand and looks...oh, SO much more relaxed than, well. Honestly than since she joined AI.
It would seem that everyone is entering the hotel at the same time. Because hot on the heels of the older man and the sultry brunette enters a redhead. She puts down a plain brown paper shopping bag at her side, and reaches up to her coat to ruffle off the cold off of it. "For the record, it actually *IS* colder then a witch's.... you know." She smiles brightly to those in the room, her eyes resting on the birthday girl. "So, cake?"
A business call? Now? Angel must've forgotten to take the open for business sign down or something. Then again...when he turns to approach the door, he sees he DID take it down. So this might be something very urgent...with an extremely apologetic look to his beloved birthday girl, he turns and heads for the man at the door. "Yes, I'm Angel. This is Angel Investigations..." Although the hotel lobby is obviously set up for a birthday party with banners like 'Happy Birthday Buffy' and such. "What can we do for you?"
Buffy keeps gazing up at Angel a moment, just that love and all floating to the surface of her expression. She's sort of not paying much attention to her sister or Eva at the moment, but they'll forgive her. She'll steal another long, heated kiss filled with promises for later with Angel, leaning into him with one golden heel clad foot coming up in the 'pop'. Fingers are just about to slide into his hair when there's someone looking for Angel. And with that turn of her head, that man may very well mistake that point for the little blonde in the sexy red dress. Look, Faith! It's not a neutral color!
A smile pops up. "Will! Totally cake." She pretends to be serious a moment, though she's walking to keep pace with Angel. No ruining her birthday party, mister man.
Dawn blinks as she turns to look up to the new arrival, curious, and starts to follow after Buffy and Angel towards him. But then, two more familiar faces follow him in. Grinning cheerfully, she waves, "Hi Willow! Hi Faith!"
Eva looks over as a man enters and she hears him ask for Angel. She tilts her head to the side, but shrugs, and doesn't ask questions. Instead, she waves to Faith and then Willow before heading over to stand next to Willow. "Hey," she says cheerfully to her. "I'm going to forget, so just remind me, that after the party I need to pick your brain about something. Kind of important. I mean, to me." She smiles at Willow, leaving her with that cryptic message, before she walks towards Faith and lingers nearby, so she can overhear what's going on with the newcomer.
Ash might have had a train of thought, but it was derailed by the sudden appearance of of the black dressed beauty slipping in behind him. And then the redhead. In fact, looking around this room, Ash suddenly realized that he should have left Michigan a long time ago. That thought ended, however, when he was suddenly approached by the suddenly masculine Angel, and that was when the older(younger) man looked around and suddenly noticed the decorations. He looked from the signs and the streamers, to the blonde in the red dress, then back at the decorations. The word 'cake' ringing in his ears, when it suddenly dawned on him and recognition hit his face suddenly.
"Oh! Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize I was interrupting the party. Hey happy birthday, sport, you've earned it."
With a supportive punch to Angel's bicep, the Chosen One had a genuine, supportive smile on his face. He wanted to make a good impression on this 'Angel' guy on his birthday, after all. But when people were a bit more out of earshot, that's when Ash leaned in and spoke in muted tones, using his wooden hand for emphasis every so often.
"But listen, I gotta talk some serious business here, we might not wanna spook the plebs and get them worried. You got some sort of an office, or a quiet place where we can talk? I don't want to keep you from your party, but this is important."
Faith Lehane gives Ash an even look. "You won't spook anyone here, and this *is* a party." Which he's interrupting. Not that Faith is angry. "So, is this important and urgent or can it wait until we've had some cake?" If it's that urgent, well...but she's quite upset about being called a "pleb."
Willow is standing still, but there is an energy about her that makes it seem like she's bouncing. She opens her arms wide to welcome her bestie. "I almost didn't think I would make it! This weather! I almost wanted to try...." She glances over to the stranger and recalls that not *everybody* knows about the life that many in the room lead. "Uber! With the driving! And the people. And in no way magical." Her eyes dart about to see if the stranger bought it.
But then there is a Dawn. And it's an Eva. She greets them both and leans over to Eva. "My occipital lobe is yours for the picking," she offers. It would seem that the word 'pleb' also has Willow upset, her smile converting to a cute pout. "Hey! I'm not plebby! Not even a little."
Angel halfsmiles, "Actually, everyone here is quite used to anything you can say. Some of these ladies, like Faith, are actually part of my team. The rest are very competent. So go ahead and tell us what you need to say..." Hopefully before too much cake and ice cream gets interrupted...
Notably, Angel includes even the teen girls Dawn and Eva in the 'they all know what's going on.'
Buffy lifts her brows at the one calling her sport. "Yeah, I managed to live a whole year without being killed by something supernatural. Yay for the pleb?" She will lean in and hug her Willow. "Just don't make a mess with the brain picking, okay? No internal organ mess on my birthday."
Dawn Summers looks to Ash with a frown, as well, but the others beat her to complaining about the word. So she just nods in agreement with Willow, and says with crossed arms looking at Ash, "None of us are."
Looking around with his eyebrow raised, the blue-collar demon stomper was momentarily surprised at the incredible hearing everyone possessed. Maybe decades of using a chainsaw and boomstick as a weapon combo left the man a bit tone deaf. Or maybe all these years he'd been muttering when he meant to whisper. All the same, after the moment passed Ash was over it, and thus gave a shrug as he unzipped his jacket and stepped further and farther into the Hyperion. At least enough to walk down the stairs into the main grand opulent area.
"Hey suit yourself, this is your operation. But the reason I came all the way here from Michigan is because I need your help, tracking down a certain book. I've been seeing its handiwork in every town I visit, and I'm afraid it's not going to stop until we track it down, and destroy it."
As he speaks he's been looking at his own wooden hand, a fire and seriousness appearing in his eyes even as his voice lowers in tone. When he finally says what he says next, he snaps out of it and turns again to face Angel. It's clear, he's taking this seriously whatever it is.
"I need your help in finding the Naturom Demonto...the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis. The Sumerian Book of the Dead."
Faith Lehane glances...at the redhead. In the absence of watchers, Willow is the one most likely to recognize that specific book of the dead. As opposed to the several others. (And yes. Slayer hearing. Can't help it).
Willow gets chipper again when Buffy hugs her. She picks up the brown paper bag and lifts it up. "You are a very hard person to shop for. But, I think I found the perfect gift." She takes her friend by the hand and does a head tilt to the table. "Shall we let the big, tough *men* talk about super scary business that we mere girls would never understand? Oh! We could get even by eating all the cake before they are done talking! That would show them."
Willow has every intention on letting Angel deal with the man that seems to be even older then Giles, when he says the magic word. Book. Willow stops and looks over to the pair, her eyes wide with interest. "Sumerian even! Oooh! But the Necronomicon? I thought that book was supposed to be a myth?"
Indeed, slayer hearing. Gifts and things, man. Buffy will wind her way back down the stairs with that bag - with the immense will power to not look inside. But there is a look at her bestie at the mention of a book. Books being kinda Will's thing and all... and Will doesn't disappoint. Buffy will set the bag with the other presents before she'll turn to look at Angel and his.. new client?
Angel is well aware of who his specialists are, and, "Willow, here, is our magic specialist. She'd going to know more about the Necronomicon and how to deal with it then the rest of us." That said, "But I have heard of it before." His other self once wanted to get hold of it. The world should be very grateful that Angelus never got hold of the thing.
Dawn's momentary anger turns to curiosity, and she glances to Willow at her response to the book's title. "What is it? Book of the dead, that doesn't sound good. Is it like a spell book or something?" Then, it's back to Ash, "What's it doing to the towns that you were talking about?" Yes, asking so many questions at once kind of highlights her young age, but she's also taking it seriously, too, from her expression and tone of voice.
Eva blinks a bit at Ash as he talks about his mission. She doesn't know anything about that sort of thing, though, so she's content to stay quiet about it for the most part. She doesn't wander off, because then she would miss all the juicy info.
As the gang starts to talk, Ash instantly shakes his head, holding up that rosewood, finely crafted extremity that he was so proud of.
"Sweetheart why don't you go ask my hand how real the Necronomicon is, that is if you can track it down and find a way to trap it. I'm not talking any of that phony Miss Cleo 'magic' business, we're talking genuine evil. This book wakes things up that are probably sleeping off a buzz in Hell, and brings them over to our world. Those things possess people. And then those people try their damndest to kill you and tear everything in your life apart. Last time I dealt with it was in Tennessee, long before half of you kids were even born. But someone must have it, because I've been chased by Deadites every step of the way here, and that can't happen unless someone's been reading from the pages."
"What kind of deadites. Zombies? Wights? Something else?" Faith doesn't seem at all intimidated, although she does roll her eyes at the 'magic bullshit' line. At this rate somebody's going to have to show off.
Willow lets out a little chirp of excitement. With Angel having pointed to her, it means that she can at least for a little while give in to her geeky side. She waves a hand to Dawn, shaking her head as she starts heading to the front desk of the hotel. "Well, if it does really exist, then it's said to be damned. Necromantic spells that could open the Hellmouth, create Hellmouths, close Hellmouths. Bring about an army of darkness. It's really quite fascinating."
She pulls out her laptap from her satchel and opens it up, her fingers starting to fly. "I'll first look at our own list of books we have available," she says, talking as she types. "Between Giles and Wesley, we have a lot of books in Sumerian. Still, I don't think we will have it, considering that I would have known it wasn't a myth." Willow looks up and catches Faith's roll of the eyes. She grins to herself. She could show off, and it's certainly not above her to use her magic willy nilly, but BOOK!!
"Oh! Deadites! I've read about those. They're strong. Like vampire strong. But they can do things like levitate. Oh, and stakes in the heart don't work on them. Huh! I wonder if that means Dracula was a deadite. That would make total sense!!"
Buffy draws herself up, which still isn't very tall despite the heels. "How about you lose the misogyny and stop calling women sweetheart. Any woman in this room can kick major ass, sir, so maybe you should think about that before talking down to us. Some of us have been fighting evil demons, vampires, and more things than I care to remember for years now. If the book exists, Willow will do her best to find it. We've dealt with plenty of evil and kicked it ass, time and again." There's a glance at Willow in her laptop, shaking her head with an affectionate look. "But for now, who wants cake?"
Angel thinks for a minute, "The Watchers are definitely going to want to take a look at that book if we get hold of it. But if we get a chance to destroy it first, they'll have to live with their disappointment. Ash, do you know how to destroy the book? Something like that isn't something you can just toss on a bonfire. Not usually. Not without nasty consequences...."
Dawn stands a little straighter, giving a firm little nod to what Buffy says, "Right! And these deadites don't sound so bad. Not compared to proto-vampires or Outsiders. We've totally got this." Then, at the offer of cake, she changes gears immediately, "Oh, I do!"
Eva nods as Buffy mentions cake. "I'll take some, sure. Give me a piece for Willow, too. I'm sure she'll want it after she finishes doing her search," she says as she looks over to Willow typing away at the keyboard. Looking over at the gentleman, she offers "Just hearing the word 'deadite' makes them sound extremely unpleasant, either way."
The lure of cake is strong, but BOOK is stronger. Willow plays research girl, tapping at her keyboard and working on her computer screen tan. "Well, it isn't in either of the libraries we have access to. So that's ... unfortunate." It would have been nice if finding the book was that easy.
Willow's head tilts to one side, her brow furrowing. "Couldn't we use Living Flame to destroy it? Like we did with the Glove of Myhnegon?" Even though she is talking, she doesn't seem all there, clearly still thinking about the book. She goes back to the laptop, spreading out her search.
Buffy stands up for herself and all the other women in the room, and seeing that, Ash respectfully relents, his hands up in surrender as he gives her ground. A show of respect.
"Sorry, doll, I didn't mean to demean you or the other gals in here, I'm sure you're very good at what you do. As for destroying the Necronomicon, I thought I did back in '82, when my old college friends were using my head for an Ash-pinata with a fire poker. I threw it in the fire, the Ash Williams Stomping Crew took a dirt nap in Hell, and the book burned up to a cinder. You can understand how I thought that might be it, until the evil released decided it wanted to go for round 2. Seeing as I saw it later that night good as new, I figure we need to add a little extra step to the dance to keep the sucker from coming back.."
Turning to Willow, the older man gave a warm smile, with his impeccably white(and unnaturally even) teeth, giving her a wink.
"Good try though, you get an A for effort."
He accented this with a ruffling of her hair from his left hand, trying to make sure to show encouragement to these younger people. He wanted to make a good impression, after all.
Faith Lehane tightens around the eyes, then abruptly goes to get some cake. Once Buffy's cut it anyway. "I'll help distribute cake." Because it will keep her from hitting Ash just to demonstrate...and then he ruffles Will's hair. Oh dear. This is...not going to go well."
Angel nodded at Willow's suggestion, but didn't look surprised to hear Ash say that won't work. "Not surprising. We'll need something bigger than a living flame. Probably won't even work to throw something like that in an active Volcano." Hmmmm. "We'll have the Watchers research how to deal with the book. Locking it away tends to make people a target for everyone who wants to use it..."
Buffy runs her tongue over her teeth, pink showing against the red lipstick. She'll step forward, past Angel, and into Ash's face. "Call one of us one more endearment, one more cutesy little nickname? And I will show you just how little any of us appreciate it." Buffy's short still, even in heels. But her voice has gone low, even.. and everyone in here but Ash has probably heard it before. It's her last warning tone of voice. Her hand will lift, and there is a finger poking towards Ash's chest. "We are not sweetheart. We are not doll. We are certainly not /gals/. Get with the current century, pal, before I kick you out of here, face first in the snow, and keep your wooden hand for a backscratcher."
Dawn rolls her eyes, as even in surrender Ash continues to say the absolute wrong thing. But, Buffy gets there first again, and once again she's nodding. Then, she adds, "You better listen to her."
As Eva has a slice of cake in each hand, she walks over to Willow and sets one down in front of her. "Something to nom on while you think. Food is good for the brain muscles to work, and stuff." As she hears Buffy talking to Ash in what is practically a growl, her eyes pop open in surprise. She had never heard /that/ tone from Buffy before. "Um..." She seems to be thinking of what to say at this point. "Yeah, Mister, no offense, but... you might want to be careful. I think you're this close," she says as she holds up her two fingers an inch apart from each other "...to finding out what happens when you piss The Slayer off." You can almost hear the capital 'T' and 'S' in that. "Not to mention, there are three other ones here... so... you're kind of driving the nails into your own coffin at this point." She smiles warmly at him after saying this, adding "Just trying to be helpful."
At this time, Ash was getting weird vibes from this chick, the same as a girl he'd met last year who claimed to see the future in dreams, could leap up to the roof of a first story house, could run as fast as a man on a bicycle, and ended up karate kicking every window of the Delta into a million pieces. It was then that Ash made a decision, then and there, not to date girls who regularly did PCP, it never ended well. Ash was a slow thinker, but a quick learner, and that didn't even make sense.
So again, he backed off, arms raised as he laughed nervously. Every so often his eyes suddenly glancing over at Willow and Angel. The glances were, quite clearly, a cry for help.
"Whoaaah, hey, listen I'm sorry, ok? I didn't mean to make you mad, my mouth it just says things sometimes, you know? It's cool, man, everything's groovy, everything's peachy keen. I just want to find this book before someone winds up running in here randomly, saying that they've been attacked by hordes of unliving monsters. We're all on the same side here, right? We all wanna make sure that doesn't happen?"
"Cake," Faith says, firmly. "The bookish types will deal with it." She claims her own slice and starts to munch on it, although the look she gives Ash is still pretty cold. Buffy's dealing with him, though.
Willow grins her happy, quirky grin at being told she got an A. The over achiever in her loves that letter. But then there is the ruffling of her hair. Only a few people are allowed to do the hair ruffling and most of them are in this room. Her lips purse and she looks up from her laptop over to Buffy with the "See? I'm being good and not hurting him!" look. But Buffy comes to her rescue anyway. That's her bestie. She swells with pride, her grin returning. Willow looks triumphantly over to Ash. You can almost hear her thinking 'Neener Neener Neener."
"And for the record, Mr. I have more testosterone then sense, Living Flame is not regular fire. It's a spell. Cast on a fire. So it can consume magical artifacts." But if Angel doesn't think Living Flame would work either, she will bow to his superior years of dealing with the zany. And then the cake arrives. She will focus on the nomming on sweet cakey goodness. She will look more for the book later, when she's not being mad at this new person. But then he gets all nervous. Buffy does that to people and so Willow can't help but feel sorry for him. "No one wants that to happen. So how about we all just stop with the name calling and enjoy some cake and then we can go back to work!"
Angel nods at Willow. "Right, but the Necronomicon, actually getting rid of it means we'll probably have to call the Grand Coven in. It's going to need something very potent." Meanwhile, Angel turns to Ash. "...I appreciate you want to deal with a threat. The Necronomicon IS a big deal, and we're grateful you brought it to our attention." But that's about the end of his diplomacy. "But that's her best friend and my girlfriend you're insulting, so don't look to us for help if you try the last of her patience." Us being Willow and himself. Considering this is her birthday..."We will discuss it further on Sunday. For now...this is a birthday party you've interrupted." Angel pointedly gestures to the door...It'll take a few days for the Watchers and Grand Coven to get their heads together to deal with a book like that anyway. And he doesn't want Buffy further agitated on HER special day.
Buffy will watch him carefully. "I'm being serious. Every girl in this room could hold her own, against a lot of big bads. Now, if you want to stay, and be pleasant, and save talk of evil books until we can work on it more, you are more than welcome to stay for cake and ice cream." She's not totally mean... right?
The mention of cake seems to bring Dawn back to the party side of the conversation, and she grins again as she steps to get a piece of cake for herself as well. She makes no more comment to Ash, though, perhaps not quite as forgiving. Or maybe just seeing how it works out.
Eva shrugs as Ash begins to backpedal. "I don't understand adults sometimes." A pause. "Who am I kidding, I don't understand adults most of the time." And then she's digging into her own cake. "Mmmmm. So good," she says around a mouthful. Eva is a big cake fanatic, at every party. Every. Party. You would think all she did at parties was manage the music and partake of the cake. But no, she's social too! Sometimes.
"You know what, I don't even know why I came here. Thanks for nothing, but I gotta go do some work, and maybe see if I can cut ol' Reading Rainbow off at the pass before people are up to their butts in Kandarian Demons! Good fer nothin' lousy..."
Ash miserably grumbled on his way out the door, slamming it shut and stepping back into the winter wonderhell that San Fran had become. What a day to be the Chosen One!
Faith Lehane shakes her head a little. "He's clearly good or he wouldn't be that old, but...I'm still surprised he's alive." Because, well, he's apparently more interested in pissing off allies than working with anyone.
Willow eats at her cake, watching the stranger that brought mention of the book to her. Watching him go, her eyes dart to her laptop. She will definitely be looking into it some more. A book of ultimate power? Spells she doesn't know? Maybe she'll even find a clue to that feeling she gets when she is able to cast a really powerful spell and how to replicate it with more regularity then once every couple of years. She nods over to Faith. "It's a long time to be hunting demons."
Angel just shakes his head. "What Faith said. The Necronomicon is a big deal. He was right to look for help dealing with it." He turns to his beloved. "...There's always something ruining it. Buffy, do you want to go with cake or go to presents?" It wasn't a fight this time that ruined things, just someone's utter lack of respect.
Buffy snorts. "Good and annoying. I mean really. Do I look like I am dressed for demon book hunting?" There's plenty of sarcasm in that, as the tension drains from her small frame. She will pick up her own cake now, and joyfully eat a bite. She will look at Angel, with those hazel eyes wide, mouth full of cake. She'll at least swallow, first. "Do I have to choose?"
Swallowing her own mouthful quickly, Dawn nods, grinning, "Yeah, you should do both. There's lots of presents here for you!" She's still grinning as she takes another bite of cake.
Eva watches the man leave as she finishes her current slice of cake. Walking over to the presents table, she stands in front of it and waves her hand over all of them. "Pick a box, any box. Win the grand prize and you might be taking home... a new car!" Then she bursts into giggles. "Sorry. I'm such a dork." As she walks over to get another slice of cake, she glances over at Willow and says "Party time now.. Research later," even as she gestures with two fingers at her eyes, then pointing them at at Willow.
Faith Lehane laughs. "Oh." She picks up a box from near her and puts it on the present table. Ash interrupted her, that's her excuse. "Party, yes. Just tell me how to kill them."
"Oh! Presents!" Willow already has her cake, so she's more then happy to go to the next part. She heads over to the table, doing a balancing act of the plate in one hand while she takes out a wrapped package from the brown paper bag. It's about the size of a loaf of bread, only flatter, wrapped in shiny, stripey paper with multi-colored stripes and matching multi-colored ribbon. "Wait! A new car? Someone got her a car?!" She looks down at her own present and gets that soft pout on her face.
Angel's voice takes a teasing tone, "I thought about it, but Joyce threatened to stake me. Twice." Never underestimate the powers of a mom. Meanwhile, Angel collects presents to bring to the birthday girl. "No. You don't have to choose. You can have it all." Okay, yes, he's spoiling her, but she deserves to be spoiled today!
Buffy Summers laughs, moving to give Willow a one armed hug. "No one got me a new car, Will." And because best friends need to be placated, she will Take Willow's present to be opened first.
Dawn steps forward, as well, to pick up one of the packages, placing it by her sister but, really, happy enough to let Willow go first. She's practically bouncing herself, grinning as she watches.
Eva smiles as Buffy moves on to presents. She's still eating her second slice of cake even as she smiles at Willow. "Sorry, I was just making a joke. I don't think anyone could fit a car into one of these boxes. Well, maybe, but it would take some pretty insane magic." She winks at Willow, adding "So unless you did it secretly and didn't tell us I think that's not the case." And so she looks on eagerly as the present opening process begins.
Faith Lehane steps back, finishing her cake. At least the weird guy left and the apocalypse doesn't seem to be completely imminent...as soon as the party's over and she has some clue how to kill the monsters, she'll be active.
Willow hugs Buffy with the arm that isn't holding the cake. Inside the brightly colored box is a weapon. After all, what do you get for the Slayer that has everything? Another mystical weapon that might come in handy. "It's a dagger!" says Willow, which should be obvious considering it's what is in the box. "It's supposedly the Kris Taming Sari. Um, the Beautiful Shield in Malaysian. The legend says that the one wielding is unbeatable. Or.... it could just be a replica. Because you would think a dagger like that would have cost a lot more. And now that I think about it, I'm thinking I was hoodwinked!"
Angel has a shockingly small box for his beloved. A...very small box. And yet, he's totally looking at her like she's the greatest thing in the universe. Cause she is! Well, to him anyway.
Buffy laughs with Willow as she lifts the dagger out of the box. "It's lovely, Willow. It will be amazing, replica or not. Thank you." She'll drop a kiss on red hair, before she'll carefully set the dagger back in the box and set it aside. She'll notice her bouncing sister and go for that present next, and Faith's after that. Only then will she turn and see Angel with that tiny box, and that look on his face. She'll be still a moment. That's a small box.
Dawn Summers grins, watching as Buffy opens the present. Inside is a charm bracelet. Probably hand assembled by Dawn, as she says excitedly, "Each charm is from some memory, something good. Like, one of the charms is three people hugging, for meeting Xander and Willow. Another is a badge, for when you were named class protector. There's all sorts of them."
As Eva watches Buffy opening her presents, her eyes light up. "Wow, that's a really neat knife. Good call, Willow." A Slayer had to have an arsenal, after all. The charm bracelet gets a nod from Eva. "That's really thoughtful, Dawn, great present for your sister." Clasping her hands together, she says "Oh, I love giving gifts. Sometimes, it can be really hard to figure out a good idea, but it's totally worth it." Eva looks over the assembled boxes and points to a large square-shaped box. "That one's mine," she says with a smile. "I hope you like it," she grins at Buffy.
Willow's pouts never last long. She has good friends to see to that. She sighs softly at her own gullibility but at least Buffy likes the dagger. It is kind of pretty in a curvy sort of way. She watches on with a smile as the other presents are opened. Her eyes follow Buffy's at Angel's small, little box. Her eyes go wide, little fists clapping silently together in excitement. Her eyes dart from the little box to Buffy to the little box, bouncing with anticipation.
A distant part of Angel's mind notes Willow seems to have figured out exactly what a box that small has to hold. In truth, though, his eyes are captivated by Buffy and he really can't look anywhere else, as he holds that tiny little box out for her...
Buffy Summers blinks at the charm bracelet, putting it on. "Thank you, Dawnie." Her voice is a little thick, a little choked up, but Faith is reliable. Chocolate. There's a smile for the dark haired slayer. They may never be besties, but at least they understand each other. But then her eyes are for Angel, for a moment. She won't forget, Eva, she promises! She's aware of what small boxes can hold, and that charm bracelet shimmies as her hand shakes for just a second as she takes that box from him. She'll lean up for a kiss before she dares open it. Then.. well, there's a pause. She's staring at a claddagh much like he gave her once, ...but this one holds a bold blue stone for the heart. Hazel eyes lift to look at Angel wordlessly.
Dawn smiles happily, seeming pleased enough at Buffy's reaction, stepping back and sitting out again to start eating cake once more. She does watch the reveal, however, of Angel's gift, with interest. "Oh, that's beautiful."
Eva's eyes practically bug out of her head as she sees what Angel's gift is. "Gorgeous," she murmurs quietly. She walks over to take a seat and rests her elbow on her knee and her chin in her hand. At the moment, her eyes are going back and forth between Buffy and Angel just /watching/.
Willow remembers the old Claddagh, so she knows the significance of this one. She says nothing, just waits to watch Buffy and wishes she had someone to hug to bits.
Have we mentioned Angel is occasionally really old fashioned? Like 1753 old fashioned? Well, he is. Because now he drops to one knee in front of Buffy. Yes, he's apparently insisting on being Classical about this. Still holding the box with the ring out, having assumed the proper pose..."Buffy Summers. I have loved you from the moment I first saw you. We've fought together, suffered together...even separated because we thought we couldn't share our lives without risking others. But my soul has been bound, and Fae Magic allows me to give the life I've always wanted to give you. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"
The eyes that had softened with a haze at Dawn's bracelet, completely mist over now, forcing her to bite her lip to try and force back that moisture. Her throat hurts. There's a burn in it and a lump the size of a Cadillac. She looks at that ring, looks up at Angel's face. There's a dozen levels of thinking going on, as her heart and brain, like always, war against each other. The moment is heavy, stretching with her silence as she stares at Angel. She swallows several times, before she can even try to speak. "Get up, Angel." Is what comes out first. "Put that ring on my finger and kiss me."
Sometimes, Dawn's age shows. The real meaning of the ring didn't seem to occur to her at all. That is, at least, until Angel makes his proposal. Her eyes widen, and she looks between the two, not daring to say a thing until Buffy gives her reaction. When Buffy finally does answer, Dawn can't help but let out a cheer. Though, she adds, "Mom is so going to freak."
Eva breaks into a wide grin as Angel proposes. When Buffy accepts, her eyes water just a little bit. Such an exciting moment for the pair who have been through so much, probably literally to Hell and back if she's heard the stories correctly. "Yeah... I'm happy I could be here for this," she says softly. She hasn't got much else to say, though. This is their moment, after all. With a wry look at Willow, she whispers "I think he beat all of us in the gift department."
As the ensouled vampire gets down on one knee, Willow waits with bated breath for the answer. Upon hearing what Buffy says, which took far too long in Willow's opinion, the witchy woman is literally bouncing now, hopping over to Dawn to take her hands and have someone to bounce with. "Oh! We are going to have to have a shower! And a reception! And pictures! Oh, don't worry about the pictures, Angel. I'll whip up a glamour so they take an image of what you look like. And! And! Buffy!!" Willow then waves her hands in the air and balloons and confetti and streamers fall from the sky.
Angel stands, very solemnly, and takes the ring out of the box, and places it on Buffy's left ring finger...properly, of course, with the heart pointing inward. It is an ancient Irish Tradition after all. And then the kissing of Buffy starts, and probably won't stop for a while! Except when she needs air.
Buffy leans up, wrapping her arms around his neck and diving into that kiss. Yes, that one foot lifts again as she's kissing him, leaning into him. Behind his neck, fingers run over that ring, as if to make sure it is really there. She will eventually come up for air, turning to rest her back to his chest and tug his arm around her. "Willow Rosenberg. Instant Party." That quiet glow from earlier is nothing compared to the radiance of Buffy in this moment.