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

[unmarred]

"Not in sufficient detail to recreate it, unless you happen to know a half-dozen geniuses we can consult with."

[cross_and_bow]

"Fresh out of unoccupied engineers. Try MIT."

[thisvorlunatic]

"Will do," Miles says cheerfully. "So how've you been while we were away? How's your sister?"

[cross_and_bow]

"My what?"

[thisvorlunatic]

"...I could've sworn I remembered you mentioning one," he says. "This soul thing must've thrown me off a lot worse than I thought."

[cross_and_bow]

"Nope, only child. I'm fine though."

[thisvorlunatic]

"Good, good."

[cross_and_bow]

"So are you going to go to MIT or what, what's next for you?"

[thisvorlunatic]

"May we read every book in your library to get a good sense of the parameters of this new world? Longest-term I want a way home. Long-term I'm going to MIT - or wherever - to dispense engineering knowledge at some point. Medium-term I'm keeping you alive. I still don't want to give up my only nerve disruptor but I'm much less terrified by the prospect now. And short-term I'm recovering from the intense barrage of traumatic experiences that has been my life since I became a vampire."

[cross_and_bow]

"Library is Giles's prerogative but I don't see him objecting much. I don't come across that many things that die to nerve disruptors and only that, it's just that the rock dudes were historically handled with, like, magic sand that isn't around any more."

[thisvorlunatic]

"Well, we got through that all right. I'm sure we can handle whatever comes next now that I'm on my game again."

[cross_and_bow]

"You assigning yourself attaché-to-the-Slayer?"

[thisvorlunatic]

"Well, I'm not sure what you mean by that, exactly."

[cross_and_bow]

"I dunno, just the word 'we', what kinda working relationship are you envisioning here?"

[thisvorlunatic]

"I like what I've seen of your priorities and I would be personally offended on a very deep level if you died, which I understand is a major concern in your line of work. I would like to cooperate with you in making sure that doesn't happen and also the world doesn't end and so forth. Details to be determined."

[cross_and_bow]

"Okay, cool. I'll tell Giles, he's often my source of hey-go-kill-thing-it's-trying-to-end-the-world. You might have to get a phone."

[thisvorlunatic]

"That's among the miscellaneous short-to-medium-term details I plan to take care of during or after my recovery."

[cross_and_bow]

"Do you have that covered, or do you need, like, help of some kind."

[thisvorlunatic]

He shrugs. "Help would be appreciated. I don't currently have any idea how I'm going to accomplish things like finding a phone and a place to live and a change of clothes and so forth; I just don't expect them to be prohibitively difficult when I get around to tackling them. If it would be comparatively easy for you to get me a phone, please do, it'll be one less thing to worry about and we'll have a solid line of communication sooner."

[cross_and_bow]

"Next time I meet a Standard Issue Vampire I will see if they have a cellphone I can yoink before I stake them?"

[thisvorlunatic]

"Sure."

[unmarred]

"Your dreams of amassing an army of reformed vampires are wildly impractical," says Mark, gazing out the window.

[cross_and_bow]

"...Pardon?"

[unmarred]

"When Miles said, 'Sure', he meant, 'Your approach to the problem of vampires is acceptable for now but someday I will figure out how to convince them to adopt a more prosocial attitude and we won't have to kill them anymore'. It's honestly not that far out of the realm of possibility, but it seems pretty intractable at first glance and our energies would be better spent elsewhere."

[cross_and_bow]

"I mean, how would you even do that?"