Gathering: Summer Party

[concierge]

Outside of the Nexus Hotel, waiters and hotel staff had begun to set up the umbrellas and the tables in the middle of the day. Soon, it became clear that something was happening in the shadow of the Nexus. White tablecloths were draped on the tables and drinks and food were brought out with the help of several waiters and servers, staffing tables with hot and cold foods beside bartending stations. Summery drinks in bright, neon colors are laid out one by one and soon, the afternoon light casts a radiant look on the scene.

Music plays faintly in the background and a note at the front desk invites all the Nexus guests to head outside and join in on the summer party, which promises to continue going as long as there are people to stay and continue keeping the warm atmosphere rolling.

On the lawn, social games had been set out -- lawn bowling, croquet, and tables were set up with chairs for anyone who didn't quite have the will or the spirit to get into such games. Soon, a small number of people had begun to mill around, but as with all parties, there's always room for more.

Comments

[malachai]

Nick nodded and filed away the information, making a note to find out the guy's name and description at least, in case he ran across him.

"There are two others here. One, Adrian, seems harmless enough from what I've heard. Bella's met him and said he's pretty benign, or at least as benign as vampires get, and he's got a human girlfriend and she's as straight arrow as they come. The other one. Eric."

He said the name like he was spitting out some thing foul.

"Eric is a different story."

[whattingawhat]

Buffy would give the information fairly easily. She trusted Angel not to cause any trouble and him becoming Angelus again wasn't an issue anymore so she wasn't worried about Nick hurting Angel.

She nodded, taking in the information and filing it away. She hadn't met Adrian, but he did sound fairly harmless as far as vampires went. He wasn't a danger in any case. Her eyebrow arched at the way Nick said that name.

"I love a good story."

[malachai]

Nick gave himself a moment, collected his thoughts, and decided to take the moral high road. "Okay. I might be a little biased, and he's not hurting her, so she says, and she's agreed."

He paused and ran a hand through his hair. "He's feeding on a friend of mine and she's...she's the epitome of innocent, wet behind the ears, completely clueless about deceptions or the way humans can lie to someone's face. And...and I'm doing a shit job of explaining this."

[whattingawhat]

Buffy took a sharp breath, holding it for a moment when Nick revealed what his friend was doing. Her brow furrowed as she tried to put aside her personal opinions on what was going on and apply her experiences in a helpful way.

"Okay." She let that breath out in a sigh. "I understand why you're worried. I would be too, but if she's agreed...I think you just have to keep an eye on both of them. Is she an adult?"

Because whether those things mattered in Nick's world or not, she didn't know, but they mattered in hers.

[malachai]

"That's a matter up for debate," Nick sighed with another run of his hands through his hair. "It's kind of complicated. Physically, she's about nineteen, maybe twenty. Her body is anyway. Wanderer's...she's an alien. So she doesn't see things the same way a human would. As I understand it, she's only been human for about a year, maybe a little more now."

[whattingawhat]

Buffy's expression gets obviously thoughtful and she takes a deep breath. "But she's able to make her own decisions and she knows the risks, that sort of thing?"

Because Buffy might not agree with it, but she also has a scar on her neck that's old and faint, but still obviously a vampire bite from a vampire that she willingly fed (goaded him into it even). She understands why someone would make that decision.

[malachai]

Nick looked about as sheepish as any overprotective demon could look. "Yeah, so she's told me about a dozen times since she dropped her little bombshell on me. Doesn't stop me from wanting to keep an eye on her, and Eric. I figured another pair of eyes wouldn't hurt anything."

[whattingawhat]

That sheepishness was noted and filed away. She nodded. "Got it and I get it. The whole protective thing. If it were my sister, I'd probably stake first and ask questions later. My eyes are your eyes."

Pause because...

"Except in a non creepy way."

[malachai]

"A good thing, because I think your eyes would look terrible on me," Nick shot back. "Borrowed eyes or not, I appreciate the extra set."

[whattingawhat]

Buffy snorted at that, glad he'd taken the imagery and run with it. "You're welcome. I'll let you know if I see anything and if you find out anything more, pass it along."