xvii -- video -- locked from Republic officials;

[breakmychest]

[Spike looks his usual combination of grumpy and annoyed. Buffy's visible sitting somewhere in the background, though she doesn't initially seem to be paying that close attention. She's on babysitting him to make sure he doesn't kill everyone, but she'd probably notice if he tried to start right now. Not that he has any intention to.]All right,

Comments

[excessivehubris]

[The 'gameface' display was impressive. The rest about vampires and souls, a bit confusing but color him intrigued enough to open a datafeed and ask.]

A 'vampire'? Were you born that ability?

[slayerdom]

[ That gets a laugh out of her, because gdi Chuck she wishes it were that easy. ] Well, like he said. Good guy. Most vampires, they don't have souls. They're not evil by choice, they're evil because they don't have the ability to be anything else. Hence the slaying. But, Spike has one. He's done more saving of lives than eating lately. I mean, not that it was always -- [ She exchanges a look with him. ] But, lately.

[breakmychest]

Lately I'm all around exceptional. [He gives Buffy a shit-eating grin. Then he looks over at Xavier again.] Don't be giving her any ideas though, I like being unslayed. [He's joking, of course. Considering how fervently Buffy's defended him, he knows she hasn't got any intention or desire to kill him.]

[excessivehubris]

[Honestly Spike, he's not rolling his eyes at your claim of exceptional, he's managed to school himself out of any eye-rolling urges. He's lived with the egos of Alex Summers and Erik Lehnsherr in close quarters, he's about immune to egos.

He is chuckling however and giving Buffy an understanding look.]

I've got one rather like that myself. Not a vampire, mind but the whole ... [and here he just motions to Spike in a gesture that encompasses the idea of 'egotistical, prat pain in the ass, who drives you nuts yet you wouldn't trade him for the world.'] thing they have going on.

[All the way down to the appreciation of black.]

I would imagine most vampires appreciate not being slayed, though and I mean no offense here, I am curious how that works exactly?

I apologize for the assumption but between you two it does not appear to be a fair fight.

[breakmychest]

[Spike looks indignant at that.]

I'll have you know, I nearly killed her a few times. Don't know why everyone assumes it'd be so bloody unfair, I'm nearly as strong, and ten times as experienced.

[excessivehubris]

[And Charles looks surprised at that and then bemused.]

Actually I sort of thought it would be the other way ...[he makes an 'around' gesture with his hands, while at the same time realizing he's somehow managed to shove his foot in his mouth in that spectacular way only he can manage.]

[slayerdom]

[ She just remains quiet while Spike gets defensive, slowly raising a brow at him and letting an amused smirk wrap to her lips. Yeah. It quirks a bit before she turns to look at Charles again. ]

Destiny doesn't exactly throw a gal into the fray unprepared. Believe me. I can hold my own. Part of being all Chosen-y.

[breakmychest]

[...oh, that does sort of make sense, from a... not knowing about Buffy's superpowers point of view. So he just nods and pretends he didn't get... entirely defensive for the wrong reason, though he does meet Buffy's look with a sheepish grin of his own before turning back to Charles.]

She's tougher than she looks.

[excessivehubris]

[For a moment, he simply looks back and forth between them both as if trying to puzzle this out before he breaks into a warm smile and shakes his head.]

That's splendid. [He gushes a little -DORK- but remembers his social manners in time to quickly add.] Not the slaying and death and that part of things but the adaptions that allow for survival.

[Glancing at Spike, he gives the man an apologetic smile.] You, my dear chap, I'm still not so sure about. I'll have to work my brain around the idea of actual vampires, let alone vampires with souls.

[slayerdom]

That's me. I'm adapteriffic. And, hey, when it's evil things getting the stake, I'd generally call that part pretty splendiferous too. But, uh, morbidness aside, I think this is the part where I say "thanks."

[breakmychest]

Not sure if there's a thanks I should be adding here. [He shrugs.] I'm pretty good at adapting too. [...he doesn't really mean in the evolution sense.] It's kept me alive so far. Guess it works.

[excessivehubris]

[He's actually grateful that she was tactful in the face of his own blundering and gives Buffy a warm smile of unspoken thanks for that.]

You're welcome. [It didn't sound like an easy time for either of them, honestly but Charles at least had the sense to recognize that an open data feed wasn't the time of place to go blundering into that sort of back history.

Instead, he chuckled at Spike's comment and gave the man a sincere nod.]

Alive is a good outcome, though technically if you died in order to become what you are now... [Charles trailed off and then gave his head a shake.] Actually, don't answer that, my mind will get there eventually I'm sure.

[slayerdom]

Dead. Very dead. I mean, not so you'd notice dead, but ... heartbeat-free, kinda room temperature ... [ shrug. and then there's a slightly ick face as an afterthought because ... hah. oh. that's a nice reminder of ... her vampire groupie life. whatever, man, necrophilia's all the rage. she's just not addressing that and shaking her head instead. ] Alive's not really part of the equation.

[breakmychest]

[Whatever, Buffy, just accept your necrophilia. At least they've... got moving parts, which is more than most corpses can say. Then again, Buffy probably meets more walking, talking corpses than corpses that just... hang out and and stay still like a corpse ought to. Anyway.]

Fine, it's kept me healthily undead. Happy?