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Post by Connor Reilly on Jul 31, 2011 14:34:51 GMT -5
Angel said what happened next was up to Connor. Great. Angel went on to say he didn't want Connor fighting and getting hurt, but he said he'd support Connor in whatever decision he made. That was nice and all, but the problem was Connor didn't know what he was supposed to do. It seemed like no matter which way he went part of him would be unhappy.
"Thanks," Connor said.
What else was there to say? Now it was up to him to figure out whether or not he'd be helping Angel beat back the demons overtaking L.A.
He glanced up sharply when the door opened. All his muscles tensed and his senses were on high alert. A woman with long dark hair walked in and it took him a moment to recognize her. She was a ghost from another life that some version of himself had known.
She made what sounded like a joke as a greeting - Hey, look who's alive. He blinked in surprise. That was kind of a messed up joke, considering her watcher was dead and Gunn was in the hospital.
She doesn't know what happened yet, he realized.
He wondered what she was doing here and why she'd come.
Connor shrugged and didn't reply. He dropped his hands to his lap and looked at Angel. He wasn't sure what to say to Faith. |
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Post by Angel on Jul 31, 2011 14:55:34 GMT -5
Connor said "thanks," but Angel could see in his face he was conflicted. Angel frowned, not sure what else to do or say. Should he put a hand on his shoulder? That felt like an empty gesture, so Angel just sat there with his hands in his lap, feeling uneasy.
The sound of the door opening made Angel turn to look over at the entrance. He blinked in surprise when Faith walked in. He didn't know what to think. Had somebody called her? No. Who would have? Did she know what was happening? Had she had some kind of prophetic dream? Had Buffy had one, too?
"Faith," he said lamely.
He stood as she approached the couch, not sure whether to be relieved or apprehensive. She looked at Connor and commented on his clothing. Connor went quiet and looked at Angel, seeming just as surprised and confused as Angel was. Angel looked at Faith.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
He was unable to keep the surprise from his voice. |
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Post by Faith Lehane on Jul 31, 2011 19:18:10 GMT -5
Connor seemed to clam up when Faith commented on his wardrobe. Wad he seriously getting all offended over that? He didn't look offended. She looked at Angel, who seemed pretty surprised to see her. She couldn't blame him.
"Oh, you know. I was bored, felt like droppin' by to see what's up," she said. "Hey, quick question. What the hell happened to Wolfram and Hart?"
She looked from Angel to Connor for an answer. She decided not to mention Whistler just yet. She wanted to get the story from the source before she threw a wildcard into it.
"I mean, I know you had it out for them or whatever, but demolishing the building? That's not really your M.O."
She walked over to the circular couch and sat down, setting her bag down on the floor. It was a weird piece of furniture, and not very comfortable. She folded her arms across her chest and sat back, waiting for somebody to explain something. |
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Post by Connor Reilly on Jul 31, 2011 20:06:26 GMT -5
Connor watched the conversation between Angel and Faith. He felt a little uncomfortable around Faith. He knew her, he remembered a few encounters he'd had with her, but he also felt a little like he was meeting her for the first time. He felt a little nervous. The last rime he'd crossed paths with her she'd royally kicked his ass.
As she spoke, it became clear that she knew even less than he did. He also realized she was talking to both of them, not just Angel.
"So, I take it you stopped by the law firm before you came here," he said. "There was a whole thing with the Senior Partners and their little cult of followers."
Connor stood up and clapped Angel on the shoulder.
"I think I'll let you explain all that."
He walked back over to the desk and sat down in the swivel chair. He felt more comfortable over there. Besides, he wanted to go through the rest of the drawers to see if there was anything interesting left behind. |
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Post by Angel on Jul 31, 2011 20:35:14 GMT -5
As always, Faith was very blunt and to-the-point with her response.
Angel blinked, still a bit thrown by her presence alone, along with the abrupt question.
"Uh..."
Luckily, Connor piped up with a semi-answer, giving him time to collect himself. He vaguely mentioned the Senior Partners and their "followers" before patting Angel on the shoulder and walking over to the desk. Angel walked toward the center of the room so he could speak to both Faith and Connor without having to yell. He cleared his throat and addressed Faith for the moment.
"Well, you know I - my team and I - have been operating out of Wolfram and Hart. The whole time, we've been trying to find away to bring the Senior Partners down from the inside. I found a way to do that by infiltrating The Circle of the Black Thorn - the guys that have been doing the dirty work for the Senior Partners."
Angel began to pace slowly in a small area of the floor as he spoke.
"I'm not sure how up to date you are on things, but long story short, we all got together and killed the members of the Circle. It was a hard fight, and... well, you can see the building didn't take it very well."
He paused and stopped pacing in front of Faith, running a hand through his hair. He didn't want to have to tell her about Wesley. He would be the third watcher she'd lost. Granted, that one in the middle had been a little less than sane from what he'd heard, but still. When Angel spoke his voice was low, almost a whisper.
"Faith, when was the last time you heard from Wesley?"
Wesley had kept in contact with Faith, the last Angel knew, but he and Wesley hadn't had the closest relationship in the past several months. He wasn't sure how close Wesley had been with Faith recently.
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Post by Faith Lehane on Jul 31, 2011 21:03:55 GMT -5
Angel floundered for a few seconds when Faith asked what had happened. Connor replied instead, saying something had happened with the Senior Partners and some group. Faith gave him a questioning look. What the hell was he talking about?
"Uh... okay?"
Connor left the explanations to Angel and Faith watched him walk over behind the desk and sit down. Angel took a second before he started talking. Faith started feeling a little antsy. Some of the things he said rang a bell, but it was nice to get it in a neat little package.
Faith shook her head and chuckled.
"Yeah, no kidding," she said.
Saying the building hadn't taken the abuse very well was like saying vampires didn't take sunlight very well. And she'd only seen the place for a few seconds passing by. She couldn't imagine what had happened to cause that kind of damage.
Angel stopped pacing and looked at her, asking very quietly when she'd last heard from Wesley. The small smirk lingering on her lips faltered then and she felt a lump form in her throat. Had something happened to Wesley?
Despite what she was feeling, Faith swallowed her panic for the moment, again telling herself not to get worked up until she had a solid reason to. She shrugged.
"I've been traveling, so I don't always get to drop him a line. I think I called to check in maybe a month ago. I tried callin' before I flew my ass all the way out here, but I didn't get an answer from anybody. I guess now I know why."
She looked at Angel, studying his face, looking for some clue there. Really, she didn't need one. Her gut was giving her all the intuitive evidence she needed.
"Why?" she asked. "What's going on?" |
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Post by Connor Reilly on Jul 31, 2011 21:29:16 GMT -5
Connor sat in the desk chair for a few moments, watching and listening as Angel started to explain things to Faith. He didn't mention that the whole reason he'd had to throw in with Wolfram & Hart in the first place was to give Connor a better life. He wondered if Faith's memories had been altered the way everyone else's had. Did she remember ever forgetting him? Maybe he'd get a chance to ask her, but now wasn't the time.
Connor leaned his elbow on top of the desk and planted his chin in his hand. He pulled open one of the drawers as discreetly as he could, wanting to poke around. When Angel paused in his conversation Connor had a drawer half open and he stopped. He looked from Angel to Faith, but neither of them were paying attention to him. He had to listen very closely to hear what Angel said to her. He couldn't really hear it too well, but he heard him mention Wesley.
Oh, this is gonna be bad, he realized suddenly.
If no one had contacted him to tell him Wesley had died and he lived so close, he was willing to bet no one had called Faith either. And she was a lot closer to Wesley than he had ever been. Suddenly, Connor didn't want to be there. He fought the urge to slink into some other part of the hotel and climb out a window.
No. You were just bitching at Angel for telling you to go home, he reminded himself. You wanted in, you're in. Suck it up.
He honestly wasn't sure which part of him those thoughts were coming from. Was that good or bad?
Faith's voice sounded casual and nonchalant when she replied, but Connor had seen a flicker of something in her facial expression: worry, maybe fear - though he had a hard time picturing Faith being afraid of anything. She said she'd been traveling, and the last time she'd spoken to Wesley had been about a month ago.
Connor slunk deeper into the chair, leaning back and feeling the seat tilt backward. He wanted to be invisible, if at all possible. |
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Post by Angel on Jul 31, 2011 22:22:07 GMT -5
Angel saw a bit of dread in Faith's expression when he mentioned Wesley. She recovered quickly and told Angel she hadn't talked to Wesley in about a month. He wasn't sure how to take that. He supposed what he was about to tell her wouldn't be any better or worse based on when she'd spoken to him last. It stung just the same, either way.
He took a breath and let it out. It didn't do anything for him, oxygen-wise, but the action was a little soothing, psychologically.
"Faith... I don't know how to say this," he said honestly. "It was a rough battle, and we all knew going in it was going to be risky."
What the hell was that? 'We all knew it was going to be risky?' What, was that a disclaimer? Just because Wesley had known what he was getting into, that didn't make it any less of a shame that he'd died.nAngel sat down on the couch beside Faith.
"I'm sorry, Faith," he said. "Wesley... He didn't make it."
A wave of guilt washed over him for the second time that night. He couldn't believe he hadn't even thought to tell Faith about Wesley. He'd been so wrapped up in his own head, he hadn't thought about much of anything other than what a mess he'd gotten everyone into. |
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Post by Faith Lehane on Jul 31, 2011 23:34:30 GMT -5
Faith didn't take her eyes off of Angel. She was aware that Connor was still in the room. He gave off a similar vibe a vampire did, so it would have been difficult for her to forget he was there. But, for the moment, she was focused on Angel.
Her stomach dropped and she felt her jaw muscles tighten. She knew what this was. This was the lead up to a hard blow. He was preparing her, or trying to.
Don't say it, she thought. Don't you dare say it.
It was a childish thought, like if he didn't say it, then it wouldn't be true.
Faith didn't say anything for what felt like a long time. In reality, it was only a few seconds. She wrapped her head around it pretty quickly. It was figuring out which feeling to react to first that was taking her a second. She was upset, hurt, angry, and probably a few other things she couldn't identify.
She heard herself chuckle slightly. This was a little like the punch line at the end of a bad joke.
"Damn. That sucks," she said.
She'd expected her voice to sound casual, but there was a shakiness to it that threw her a little. She looked down at the floor and shook her head, trying to will that shakiness out of her voice. She looked up at Angel.
"When did this all go down?" she asked. "How did it happen?"
Hearing about the details probably wasn't the best idea, but she wanted to know anyway. She might as well get it out of the way now. |
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Post by Connor Reilly on Aug 1, 2011 0:18:03 GMT -5
Connor stayed as still as he could, feeling extremely awkward. Thankfully, Angel and Faith weren't acknowledging him for the moment, which at least meant he didn't have to say anything. He could be a fly on the wall for a little bit.
Surprisingly, the way Angel broke the news about Wesley to Faith wasn't all that different from the way he'd broken it to Connor. He wondered if that meant anything. Connor was Angel's son while Faith was... what? His ally? Would she qualify as a friend? Oh, God, had she ever been a girlfriend?
Whatever. Didn't matter.
Connor was Angel's son, and Faith was... whatever she was. Both Connor and Faith were estranged from Angel in one way or another. Connor had known Wesley pretty well, but they hadn't exactly been close. Wesley had been Faith's watcher, but Connor wasn't sure how close they'd been. He knew that out of everyone in the group, Wesley seemed to be the one who trusted Faith the most. At least, to Connor that was how it had seemed at the time.
For some reason, Connor had expected Angel to be a little more sensitive about Wesley's death when he told Faith. The fact that he took the same approach he'd taken with Connor - sort of blunt and to the point - was interesting.
Faith's reaction wasn't what Connor expected. From what he knew about Faith, he'd expected her to be a little more volatile, to throw a punch or something. She seemed a little hurt, but she didn't yell, or punch a wall, or cry. She asked what had happened.
That had been his first question, too.
"Weird," he muttered.
His voice was quiet and he was sure Angel had probably heard it with his super hearing. He wheeled his chair a few feet back from the desk, as if he could blend into the wall or something. |
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Post by Angel on Aug 6, 2011 15:06:51 GMT -5
Angel braced himself for any reaction. He didn't know what Faith's response would be, but she had to be upset. Her reply was matter-of-fact, but he could tell by her voice and body language that she was holding back some strong emotions.
She asked when and how Wesley had died and he heard Connor mutter something, but he didn't call attention to it. A subtle, reflexive turn of his head was the only acknowledgment he gave to Connor. He sighed, having to recount the details of his friend's death for the second time that night.
"We each went after a member of the Circle," he said. "Wesley's opponent was Cyvus Vail, a powerful sorcerer. He wasn't able to outmatch him."
He paused for a moment to let that sink in before he continued.
"Illyria - the Old One possessing Fred - she killed Vail herself and stayed with Wesley until he died. She said he went peacefully."
He hoped the fact that Wesley hadn't suffered would be a small comfort to Faith. Nothing made death easy to accept. It was always painful, but there were ways to ease the pain if only a little. |
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Post by Faith Lehane on Aug 6, 2011 15:20:12 GMT -5
Faith listened to Angel explain what had happened, focusing on what he was saying rather than what she was feeling. She nodded slowly as he talked about the Circle of the Black Thorn. She didn't know the details of their mission, but she'd heard of the Circle and the Senior Partners. She knew about Illyria. Wesley had filled her in on that whole deal. He'd seemed really broken up about it, too. She felt like it was appropriate for Illyria to be with him when he died.
She sighed and stood up, not wanting to sit still for the moment. The antsy feeling she'd had was worse now that she was upset.
"Okay, that tells me how. What about the when?" she asked.
She turned to look at Angel, wanting to get her facts straight. She appreciated Angel being vague about the details of Wesley's death - she didn't really need to know if he'd been stabbed, beaten, or something else. But, she wondered if she needed to worry about how vague Angel was being. Was there something he didn't want to tell her? |
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Post by Connor Reilly on Aug 6, 2011 15:47:58 GMT -5
Connor watched and listened as Angel explained things to Faith. He told her basically the same thing he'd told Connor. His delivery was a bit different, putting a more positive spin on how Wesley had died than he had with Connor. "He died too quickly for anything to be done" had become "He died peacefully."
Faith stood up and asked Angel again when everything had happened. It was strange that Angel hadn't answered that part of the question. Was he afraid Faith would be pissed off no one had told her sooner?
"Two nights ago," Connor said.
If Angel was trying to keep the whole truth from Faith, it would bite him in the ass later. Besides, she deserved to know the truth about what had happened. He pulled open one of the desk drawers and looked inside. There was an old Angel Investigations business card inside. He took it out and examined it. |
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Post by Angel on Aug 7, 2011 14:05:22 GMT -5
Faith seemed to take the news pretty well. She stood up when he finished explaining. Angel watched her, waiting for a reaction. She asked when it had happened. Angel hesitated for a moment. It seemed to him like the battle had happened an hour ago, but he knew that wasn't right. It had been at least yesterday, or the day before, or maybe the day before that. Angel rubbed the back of his neck nervously.
"Uh..."
He didn't know how to answer. Should he be vague and say "the other day?" Or, would that make it worse? The days had been running together since the battle, and he'd spent them holed up in what was left of Wolfram & Hart trying to figure out what to do.
Angel glanced over at Connor when he spoke, telling Faith - both of them, really - that it had been two days. Angel nodded in agreement. It made sense, now that Angel thought back to his earlier conversation with Connor.
He stood up and approached Faith.
"I'm sorry I didn't contact you sooner," he said.
It occurred to him as he said it that, without Wesley, he may not have known how to contact Faith even if he'd made the attempt. Still, he should have tried. |
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Post by Faith Lehane on Aug 7, 2011 15:27:46 GMT -5
Faith stared at Angel, waiting for him to reply. The question seemed to throw him a little. Faith wrinkled her eyebrows, wondering what the issue was. Faith looked over at Connor when he spoke up from his seat in the corner. Apparently this whole thing had gone down two nights ago.
Angel stood up and apologized for not contacting her sooner. Faith shrugged. She hadn't exactly kept in touch herself, and she was pretty sure Angel had his hands full at the moment.
"Whatever," she said. "Not like he'd be any less dead if you'd called me sooner."
Faith ran a hand through her hair and sighed. God, she could use a smoke. She hadn't thought to buy a pack of cigarettes when she landed. Faith folded her arms across her chest and looked from Angel to Connor.
"So, what now?" she asked. "We got a plan, or what?"
Faith decided she'd rather be pissed off than sad. She couldn't bring Wesley back to life, but she could kick some demon ass until she felt better. |
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