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Post by Angel on Aug 19, 2010 13:58:12 GMT 9.5
He wasn't prepared for the kick to the stomach and thus he was thrown back a couple of feet. He had been right, she had seen him killing her. Regaining his composure he listened to her screaming at him about the Boxer Rebellion and why he had tried to kill her. This was exactly what he didn't want to happen. The guilt he had for doing what he had done to her all those years ago was drowning him.
He ignored the poke to his chest. Trying to keep his guilt and the rising temper that the demon deep within him was sending to the surface he sighed. His hand gently taking her index finger and lowering her arm to her side. "Calm down." He hadn't forgotten the others, but addressing Rain was more important at the moment.
"I was younger then, in the prime of my evil days as Angelus before I was endowed with a soul. I just happened to have found you, you were young, pretty, and so inviting. I killed you, brutally and without mercy." He knew this would enrage her, she would probably attempt something along the lines of hurting him but he pressed on, "Wait... Just listen. I was an evil vampire for a little over a century and then I messed with the wrong people and was given back my soul. Since then I have tried to atone for what I did back then. I am on the side of good. I know that doesn't erase what I did to you back then, or the pain that you are feeling now." He stood there his feet positioned in a more fight-ready stance, but didn't move. He waited for her reaction.
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Post by Rain McKnight on Aug 19, 2010 14:09:26 GMT 9.5
Rain listened to his explanation with a raised eyebrow. He babbled on about how he had been evil then apparently got cursed with a soul so now he ws all good and loved ponies and rainbows...ok zoning out bad. She refocused just in time to hear him apologize for the 'pain' she must be feeling. That got a reaction out of her. "Pain? What pain? I'm not in pain. I'm just a little irritated that you recognized me and didn't say anything. I have amnesia, meaning I have no idea who I am! All I know is that I'm in Sunnydale, my name is Rain McKnight, I'm Irish and apparently I was alive during the Boxer Rebellion." Rain gave him an imploring look, hoping against hope that maybe he might know more about her. |
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Post by Angel on Aug 19, 2010 14:21:31 GMT 9.5
"I didn't know who you were at first. Only after I heard your name did things begin to click. And even now I don't know much than what you told me yourself. I also didn't want to remind you of something that isn't particularly pleasant. Although, if I had known you have amnesia and had more of a chance to speak to you I would have told you."
This was just another reminder of why he shouldn't have comeback. In LA atoning was easier, usually he didn't have to see an old victim of his face to face. He could save an innocents life and disappear into the night, plain and simple. Or, well not all the time, but still fighting the good fight was less about his past and more about the present there.
"Now, if you don't mind I'd like to speak with Willow."
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Post by Dawn Summers on Aug 20, 2010 9:10:05 GMT 9.5
Blinking, Dawn narrowed her eyes at Willow and crossed her arms over her chest angrily listening to everything that was going on. Looking at Rain, she bit her lip and walked over to her putting an arm around her shoulder and looking hatefully at Angel "I suggest you back off...it's bad enough what you did as Angelus that I know of...now I hear this..."
Shaking her head, she tried to pull Rain away "Come on, Rain, let's go talk..."
Looking at at Angel, Willow sighed and crossed her arms over her chest, looking Angel up and down "Is it true what she said Angel? What she just said? Is that right? Buffy's not going to like it and knowing Dawn...she's going to tell her big sister." Looking back to Angel from looking over at Dawn, she sighed and tilted her head "Dawn...please...take Rain inside...Angel and I have to talk..."
Nodding, Dawn sighed and took Rain by the hand and tried to lead her inside. "Um...come on in Rain...we can sit down and talk..."
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Post by Angel on Aug 20, 2010 9:51:01 GMT 9.5
"Back off?" He was mad, but it didn't appear on his features, "I hurt Buffy, you hate me, I get it." He had done nothing to retaliate against Rain, and wouldn't. She was confused about who she was and maybe another time when Dawn wasn't around he could recap what happened. The gory details were better left for Rain's ears only.
When Willow spoke to him he turned, "It's true." He said calmly, "I was a killer. I'm not anymore, I don't know what you want me to say." He knew this was going to get out to everyone with Dawn in ear shot.
Finally with Dawn attempting to take Rain inside he took a few steps closer to Willow. "I know I shouldn't be here..." He struggled for the words, "I screwed up. I walked away to give her space and a life because it is what she deserves. Yet here I am a few years later ready to mess it all up." He sighed, "I don't know what I'm doing Willow."
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Post by Willow Rosenburg on Aug 21, 2010 9:00:45 GMT 9.5
Sighing and seeing Dawn walk up the steps to the porch with Rain, Willow crossed her arms over her chest and looked at Angel as he said that he knew he shouldn't be here. Shaking her head, she held up a hand "Ok, enough of the poor me card playing Angel."
Looking at him, she knew she had truly changed since the last time he saw her and she was serious when she said she was sick of the Poor Me game. "I'm sorry if that sounds cold...but...Dawn's right...you left..you left my best friend in the dust...how do you think that made her feel...along with us?"
Sighing and dropping her cold demeanor, she smiled and surprised herself by giving him a hug "Welcome back though...and don't say that you're going to mess it all up...just...just start your life over again." Tilting her head, she pulled back and studied him "But...maybe you should give Buffy a couple days before you tell her that you're back...let me do it..."
Looking back to Dawn and Rain, Willow sighed and shook her head "And Dawn...don't worry about her...she'll come around...eventually. You're not the only one she hates you know...she hates Riley too.." Shrugging, she looked back at him then motioned to the porch "You want to sit down and talk?"
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Post by Angel on Aug 21, 2010 10:52:44 GMT 9.5
He shoved his hands in his trench coat pockets, eyes studying the expression on Willow's face. He heard what she was saying, he was being a tortured soul again. Which didn't really make interacting with people easy. So, as she demanded it of him, he resolved and made a mental note to stop.
When the red head gave him a hug, he fidgeted slightly to pull his hands out from his coat pockets and embrace the girl. She had always been rooting for him despite his mistakes and he knew she was probably going to be the only one who welcomed him back without much backlash. "Thanks Willow." He said with a smile. The mentioning of telling Buffy however quickly dulled the smile back to a blank expression. "I want to speak with her. It's up to her whether I'm back for good or not. I need to talk to her face to face instead of her learning it from someone else, I owe her that."
"As for Dawn, I'm more concerned she is being sassy toward vampires than her actually hating me. If I had been any other demon or vampire in a confrontation with one of you all she could've gotten hurt." He said crossing his arms, "But she's loyal to Buffy. I respect that."
As Willow motioned towards the porch and asked him if he wanted to sit and talk he nodded. He then headed over to the porch and sat down on the steps to one side so that Willow could join him. Twiddling his fingers awkwardly he sighed, "So, how is she?"
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Post by Rain McKnight on Aug 21, 2010 15:39:19 GMT 9.5
Rain walked half-way up the side-walk leading to the Summers' house and stopped. Turning to face Dawn she immediately started firing off questions. "Who was that? Why do you hate him so much? What did he do to the Slayer? Why do you hate him so much? What's going on?" Rain stopped to catch her breath. Her head was reeling from all the memories now floating inside her head. Names and faces, long dead flashed before her eyes. Quickly she shoved all of the images into a dark corner of her mind so that she might focus on the here and now. [/center][/color] |
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Post by Dawn Summers on Aug 22, 2010 6:10:36 GMT 9.5
Blinking and listening to Rain, Dawn sighed and looked away "That was Angel...one of Buffy's ex-boyfriends who's a vampire. He was evil for a time there that I know of and the reason I hate him...well...he left Buffy in the dust to go to LA. What he did there I don't know." Narrowing her eyes she looked back at Angel and Willow then sighed in disgust "Can we just go inside now before I claw his eyes out? I don't really trust myself to be this close to him..."
Sighing and seeing Dawn talking Rain, Willow could almost feel the anger and hatred pouring out of the girl. Looking to Angel, Willow nodded hearing him then shrugged "Like I said...give Dawn time...she'll get over it...you gotta build her trust up in you...that's what Spike did..." Knowing Spike was a sore subject for Angel, Willow quickly switched to the Buffy subject "She's...good...back from the dead good...but good."
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Post by Angel on Aug 23, 2010 3:54:12 GMT 9.5
He didn't respond to what Willow said about building Dawn's trust back up. He nodded. Eyes downcast on the pavement. Getting Dawn to trust him was going to be hard, but he was going to try. He was sure she wasn't going to make it easy for him.
When she spoke about how Buffy was doing after coming back from the dead his brow furrowed, "Is she adapting?" He worried about her, more than he cared to admit, even though he had been the one to walk away.
He didn't want to pry about Buffy. So, he changed the subject. "How are you?" He asked, "Are you still a badass Wicca?" A smile appearing on his lips.
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Post by Willow Rosenburg on Aug 24, 2010 1:09:51 GMT 9.5
Sighing and looking at Angel, Willow shook her head "Now stop with the face...you know Dawn will be trusting you again in no time...all you gotta do is save her life once or twice like we do from time to time and you're definately in...and with that girl...she's in trouble about...oh, I'd say...once or twice a week..."
Hearing him ask about Buffy, Willow sighed then nodded "Yeah, she is...Giles was pretty steamed at me though...he was not happy and said that I abused the magicks...I thought I was doing the right thing though..."
Sitting down on one of the steps, she looked down at her hands as he brought up the Wicca and shrugged a little "I...I was taking a little break from it for a time there...until Giles took me to England to study with one of the Covens there...now, I only really use it when it has to be used."
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Post by Angel on Aug 29, 2010 8:56:44 GMT 9.5
He listened to Willow, he hadn't known that she had to be sent away for abusing the powers. He could understand why Giles would be weary of what she had done. Bringing back someone from the dead was something that was dangerous and could go seriously wrong. Luckily Willow had the advanced skill set required to pull it off without and repercussions on Buffy as a person.
"I'm glad that you are back," He said with a smile, "Sunnydale wouldn't be the same without you." He didn't press to find out what she had done besides bringing Buffy back, he knew that whatever it was probably wasn't a topic up for discussion. If she brought it up he would be a shoulder to lean on, but otherwise it was a no fly zone.
"So, am I still invited? Or... Was that revoked when I skipped town to give her a better life?" He asked idly. Eyes locking with the young witches.
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Post by Buffy Summers on Aug 29, 2010 13:10:31 GMT 9.5
(( Couldn't resist  )) Buffy finally emerged from the graveyard's gates, looking like she felt and obvious that she'd had a rough night fighting. Her body showed where she'd been thrown to the dirt and her face had the same dirt smudges than her clothes did. She swiped a loose bang from her forehead, feeling the dirt in her hair too. She grimaced, dying for a hot bath and a much needed rest she craved right at that moment. She walked towards her street, going through the nights events in her mind. There had been twice as many vampires as usual and for once in a long time, she'd wished Faith had been there to help. Since she was lost in her thoughts, she'd reached her suburb quicker than expected. Of course, she dreaded allowing Dawn and Willow to see her in this state but she figured they'd seen worse. She just hoped they didn't ask too many questions... she was too tired for that. Nearing her house, she spotted two figures seated on the porch steps. One was obviously Willow and thoughts of sneaking up to the bathroom was squashed. She sighed, mentally bracing herself for her reaction. However, she then took a better look at the other person and she stopped in her tracks, her heart stopping for a moment along with it. Buffy's face was frozen in shock as she stared, not able to move a muscle. The worst part was, she was in perfect view of them and she couldn't even go backwards, out of sight of her formal lover and the man who had practically destroyed her life when he'd lost his soul. |
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Post by Dawn Summers on Aug 30, 2010 6:08:51 GMT 9.5
Blinking Willow nodded then furrowed her eyebrows a little, seeming to look distant for a moment "I know what I did was wrong...but all we really knew was that Buffy was in a hell dimension...at least...we thought that was where she was." Shaking her head, she felt her fingertips dig into her arms then sighed "I thought that Giles was taking me to England to lock me up in some mystical doo-hickey of a prison for abusing the magicks...I didn't exactly expect him to go all Dumbledore on me and help me learn to get a better control on them."
Hearing him ask if he was still invited, Willow nodded "Oh...oh yeah, sure...I'm sure you are...at least I know I never took that away...so yeah come on..." Freezing and seeing Buffy coming up the walk, Willow furrowed her eyebrows and looked at Angel then leaned into him "Hold on a minute..." Stepping off the porch, Willow made her way to where Buffy was and shook her head "I'm not even going to ask about what happened...but yeah...that's Angel...Want me to tell him to leave or something?"
Sighing and seeing Willow walk up to the porch with Angel, Dawn rolled her eyes, squaring her shoulders and opened the door, ignoring Angel altogether "C'mon Rain...let's go..." Stopping there, she saw Buffy walking up the walk, then furrowed her eyebrows seeing all the dirt and grime on her sister's face and hair then shook her head not even wanting to ask. Looking at Angel, Dawn narrowed her eyes at him "You hurt her and so help me..." Not finishing, she looked at Rain and walked inside in disgust.
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Post by Angel on Aug 30, 2010 9:39:35 GMT 9.5
As they stood he watched the expression on Willow's face change. He knew without looking whom was standing a few feet away. Still he turned in her direction, the familiar feelings all flooding back at once hitting him like a brick wall. He took in the sight of her, she looked tired and a little banged up, but she was still as breath taking as ever.
"Hold on a minute." He barely heard Willow's words. He was in love with Buffy still and this awkward moment the two of them seeing one another once more had put everyone else in the world on the back burner. Dawn's reaction was lost to him, nothing and no one else mattered in that moment. He waited as Willow approached her and asked if she wanted her friend to get rid of him. He wouldn't be surprised if she did. If she burned him like that. He certainly deserved it showing up like this.
His eyes never left hers, his facial expression still as blank as ever but became somewhat softer and remorseful. He had hurt the one person that he truly loved and had thought the reasons for doing it were justifiable. Seeing her now, seeing her like this... He was convinced coming back had been a good idea even if it ended up that she didn't want him here.
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))