yeah that happens if you turn into a vampire

[cross_and_bow]

(prologue)

Bella slips into the school by a side door; she just saw a thing and she thinks she's seen it in a book before and thinks it's supposed to be mostly harmless but before she wakes Giles up over probably nothing or kills a likely neutral demon she wants to check.

And she pushes into the library.

Comments

[cross_and_bow]

"Do you maybe have a phone."

[burning_gold]

"No."

[cross_and_bow]

"Look, I don't kill vampires because I'm racist, I kill vampires because they eat people. You seem to be not eating people, good job, me knowing where you self-entomb will not affect matters."

[burning_gold]

"That's great for you, but like, you're the Slayer, I'm still not telling you where I live," says Zeke.

[cross_and_bow]

"Okay. So I will hope they don't urgently come in swarms, I guess."

[thisvorlunatic]

"Good luck," offers Miles.

[cross_and_bow]

"Thanks." She seems to be free of shards now. "Later." And off she goes.

[thisvorlunatic]

So they steal some cash from the mattress shop and also a mattress because why not, right, and maybe they get a little distracted testing mattresses, it's important to be thorough, but then they go back to Zeke's place and Miles rereads the chapter and Zeke gets bored and goes to the Bronze and doesn't hunt because he's full anyway but does kiss some cute people in alleys and then he goes home and distracts Miles some more and they sleep through the day and in the evening after the sun sets they're back at the butcher's shop.

[cross_and_bow]

Bella's there, pacing, looking pretty recovered from her glassy misadventure. "Nest," she says.

[thisvorlunatic]

"Talk tactics to me," says Miles.

[cross_and_bow]

"Followed one of 'em, under an orange grove a drive from here there's some holes in the ground. I didn't jump in because apparently all the ways known to kill the things involve stuff I can't get. I don't know how many there are but if you cover me I can kill whoever's controlling 'em."

[thisvorlunatic]

"I'm not totally sure I shouldn't just be running a solo infiltration and assassination, if all this person has on their side is lots of the big lumbering things that wipe the floor with you in a fair fight but go down to nerve disruptors," he says. "At least assuming that this person would themselves also go down to a nerve diruptor. I can cooperate you if that's what you think would be most effective, but it sounds... awkward."

[cross_and_bow]

"I don't know if it's a human, a demon, or what," she says. "No idea if it goes down to nerve disruptors or not. Almost certainly knows magic besides 'summon lumbering things'."

[thisvorlunatic]

"So you're the expert in local phenomena and I'm the expert in military operations and the only available weapon that works on lumbering statue people. That doesn't point to an obvious answer for who should be commanding this mission."

[cross_and_bow]

"Is this the sort of problem I solve by suggesting that you are a mercenary and I'm hiring you for your pick of the perp's loot or what?"

[thisvorlunatic]

"Normally my employer doesn't take field command. Normally I'm also a genius at field command. I'm still pretty good, I haven't lost every relevant skill, but there's definitely an edge I'm missing. I am interested in discovering how to maximize our combined effectiveness and I genuinely don't know whether that looks like me in command, you in command, or establishing no firm structure and hoping for the best." Pause. "Full disclosure, even when my social skills aren't broken I have a huge insubordination problem."

[cross_and_bow]

"I'm not unwilling in principle to send you down a hole alone," she says, "but if you die and your nerve disruptor's down there with you I have to jump in blind to get it to finish the job."

[thisvorlunatic]

"And does that sound better or worse than coming along and hiding behind me while I disintegrate untold numbers of screaming statues, then maybe or maybe not popping out to contribute to the murder of their creator?"

[cross_and_bow]

"...Is there some trick to hiding behind you that eludes me?"

[thisvorlunatic]

"And we can now tick 'short jokes' off the list," Miles sighs.

[cross_and_bow]

"Sorry, that was uncalled for. Anyway, I can hang back and be ready to pick the thing up if you drop. I don't feel a strong need to give orders, just information if I discern information, and I consider 'duck' valid advice from most sources, including from anybody who's shooting things on my behalf, will that do?"

[thisvorlunatic]

"Probably good enough to be going on with. God I miss my soul so much."

[cross_and_bow]

"Do you tolerate people who quip when they're adrenaliney better when you have a soul? Car's this way," she adds, waving him over.

[thisvorlunatic]

Thataway he goes.

"If I had a soul I would be navigating our interactions better in general, but also I wouldn't need to gradually and effortfully force myself to like you and since that project would not exist in the first place it wouldn't be getting set back every time you find and push another of my buttons."

[cross_and_bow]

"Do you have, like, a list, so I could avoid them better, or what?" She hops in the driver's seat.