12540/Scene of the Crime!

Scene of the Crime!
Date of Scene:	08 December 2020
Location:	The Blue Lady, Fort Joseph
Synopsis:	The scoobies investigate the scene of the robbery at the Magic Box. Buffy and Thomas have a heart to heart.
Cast of Characters:	Buffy Summers, Angel, Thomas Raith

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Buffy Summers has posed:
Last night had been pretty hectic, stepping into the store after hearing a sound, and encountering broken glass, upturned tables, and missing items.

Mary would have to have a stern talking to, and after her repeated slacking off, possibly a firing was in order. Buffy was glad she wasn't the one to have to do it..

But right now they have bigger problems. It's still a bit early in the morning, early enough that it's dark outside and the store wont be opening for another hour. Buffy is busy sweeping up broken glass and picking up items that had dropped on the floor, inspecting each of them with a slight frown as she tries to figure out what went missing.

Angel has posed:
"Rough night Buffy?" Angel appears, as if out of no where, leaning against the far wall near the door frame. With a glance inside, Angel ensures that they are alone, at least for now, before adding, "Need any help cleaning up?" He doesn't move to help, but the offer was there.

"Looks like a hurricane went through here." Angel is wearing is trademark black overcoat, his black boots, pants, belt, and collared shirt. What he usually wore when he was out getting to the buttom of something or other.

Thomas Raith has posed:
It's about that moment that Thomas comes back up stairs from the gym. He apparently had only just availed himself of the shower and was wearing a sleeveless white (surprise, surprise) t-shirt and marital arts pants as he towel dried his long black hair. "I don't know what you guys put in that green potion, but I'm pretty sure it turned that shirt into petrified wood." he comments wryly, flipping his hair back out of his face like the cover of a romance novel hero. Then blinking, "Oh i didn't realize we had guests. Angel." he says in a nod to the other man.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers sighs, pausing in her sweeping to glance over at the shady corner where Angel stands oh-so casually. Of course he probably heard of the break and enter. And of course he manages to sneak in without her even noticing.

"Seriously Angel, one of these days, you're gonna give me a heartattack." she shrugs and smirks, shoving a garbage bag at him. "Sure, if you wanna help me scoop up all this rubble. Mostly broken glass, potions, a few broken artefacts...Sheesh. I can't believe I put my trust in that girl. She didn't lock up, didn't even set any magic wards."

As Thomas comes up the stairs she smiles faintly over at him, stepping towards him to kiss him briefly on the lips in their usual greeting. "Hey..I guess you two have already met.." Albeit briefly perhaps, quite a while ago. "Well, I haven't done a full inventory yet, looks like a lot of potions were knocked over, some artefacts." she frowns though, peering at a large space on the wall. "huh.."

Angel has posed:
"Thomas." Angel acknowledges Raith with a small nod. Crossing his arms, he continues to lean against the wall then looks back to Buffy. Without saying anything yet, he watches as she cleans up, wondering what could have caused this damage. Heartattack...

"Well, I am drop "dead" gorgeous." Was that a joke? That was a joke. "Enough to give anyone a heart attack I suppose." Moving quietly, Angel leaves his perch, and grabs a few broken items, tossing a few things into the garbage.

Thomas Raith has posed:
Thomas Raith kisses Buffy back, soft and sweet, though he does put a little bit of his Hunger in it too. Just enough to give it a little extra kick. He smiles a bit and nods. "Back when I was first trying to figure out the best way to approach Harry, or even if I should, I hired a few other PI's to write me up a dossier on him. Angel's was probably the most informative." He explains shaking his head slightly, He casually reaches over to right an 800 lbs. display case and begin corting through the crystals that were not powdered by it's fall. Buffy's "huh," however grabs his attention. "Notice something babe?" He may spend allot of his time here but he definitely does not have sight memory of the place's contents.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers blinks slowly, feeling that faint wave of pleasure wash over her. She starts to wrap her arms around his waist, then thinks the better of it - hey, they have a guest, it would be rude! - and lets go, but still hovers near him for a moment or two.

She does nod in agreement, and smiles. "Yeah, Angel's the best. Which means you're the best person to figure out who did this..Do you think you could pick up any traces of unusual scents that wafted in here in the past seven hours?" She's not sure just how strong his sense of smell is, but it's worth a try.

When Thomas picks up that giant case like it weighs nothing, she just smirks, shaking her head and muttering, "Show-off." At least not all the crystals, most of them, were not destroyed, and maybe only a handful of potions were stolen. There is still quite the mess on the floor though.

"Hmm..." She peers at the case, noting the empty space. "Something about half a metre wide, slightly longer...Oh darn, I think it was that sacred shield thingy..this could be bad.."

Angel has posed:
Angel ignores the kiss. After all, they were far removed from when they were together, and so, it only hurt a tiny bit. None, if you could tell by his expressionless face. "That's right, Thomas and I have met, and thank you for the compliment. I try to be thorough. Prevents people getting hurt that as best I can."

Angel looks at the place where Buffy and Thomas were looking at, and squints. "Hmmm. The last time I was here it was something like a shield if I remember correctly? If it fit in that case. It is gone now, which isn't a good thing." Angel regards Buffy thoughtfully for a moment, and closes his eyes.

Sniff. Sniff. Without making a sound, Angel walks around, and tries to sense who...or what it could be..."Cats? Feline demons maybe? There are several different types, but I'd say bi pedal felines. Probably two."

Thomas Raith has posed:
Thomas Raith makes a face considering, "I mean that could be worse right? I mean statistically speaking I'd rather have a magic shield loose out there in the world then a magic sword for instance?" Spoken like someone who truely does not work with magical artifacts all that much. At Angel's descriptor Thomas adds, "Maybe that crazy cat lady grave robber we had to deal with a few months back?"

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers shakes her head slowly as she finishes sweeping up broken glass, adding it to the garbage bag that Angel had started. "Well, let's see if I can find information on that shield. I will say one thing outright though, a shield is traditionally designed to protect and seal..which means.."

She frowns at the implications, but doesn't want to draw any definite conclusions just yet. As she heads back to the front desk, Buffy fills up a second garbage bag and ties it before pulling out a binder from behind the counter and starts flicking through it.

"shields..Shields..Hmm..." As Angel deduces the scent, her frown deepens. "Okaay, so we're dealing with..Potential feline demons?" she glances at Thomas. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Only one feline I know off the top of my head, y'know, hit my head pretty bad, tossed me in into an empty grave.." she shivers at the memory.

Angel has posed:
"Maybe Thomas. Sounds like that matches what I am getting from the area. Good that it was just you and Buffy walking around so far, or I might have missed it. The scents are pretty...pungeunt and distinct." Hearing Buffy's reaction, Angel turns back to her.

"Well, the shield could be one of protection, but if it is a magical artifact, it could also have sealed something away from this dimension. Shielding us against whatever it is out there...or it is a shield that protects the wielder from something big time. Like a major demon or worse."

"Okay, Buffy, I'll head back to the Hotel, and see what i can find as well. Let me know what you find, and we can share notes later." A nod. "Nice seeing you again Thomas. Buffy." With that, Angel heads out the door, in a rush.

Thomas Raith has posed:
Thomas Raith nods as Angel leaves taking the small broom and dustpan before sweeping up some of the ruined crystal. "So should I be jelious of /this/ one? He asks in a slightly teasing voice.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers nods to Angel as he heads out. "See you later.." She watches him a moment longer before he's gone and sighs a bit, continuing to thumb through the pages of the binder.

"Hmm? Angel you mean?" she shrugs. "Why would you be jealous? I mean...I mentionned him before, didn't I" wait, did she? It's not like they really got to know each other, did they? "Well.." Buffy licks her lip.

"I know I've mentionned the guy before at least..That's..Angel, the vampire with a soul. The only other guy I ever loved. Only he had a curse put on him, so if he ever achieved perfect happiness, even for a moment, he'd.." she draws a deep breath, looking away from him. This is an awkward subject for her, but probably necessary.

Thomas Raith has posed:
Thomas Raith ahhs slightly and nods, "Gotcha. One of those ill fated things." He considers for just a moment then adds "Of course, I've known couples who were married for fifty years and spent the entire time making each other miserable." He says amused. He tilts his head slightly and sighs, "Before you the closest I ever to a true love was this girl named Justine.." He shrugs slightly and dumps the pan into a garbage can.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers smiles faintly, a briefly distant look in her eyes as she recalls her short, bittersweet time with Angel. "Just so you know, we've both moved on. I consider Angel a close friend but I know it could never work between us. Besides, I found someone else that I love more.."

Of course he has some surprises of his own, and she arches a curious brow at him. "Oh..? soo, whatever became of this..Justine? I mean, I guess I expected you probably dated lots of girls in your life, but, you've never mentionned that one before."

She pauses from turning pages, her full attention on him now, a slight frown marring her features.

Thomas Raith has posed:
"Vampires." That one word is all he says on the matter, but it is filled with all that needs to be said. Pain. Longing. Hurt. Anger. He shakes his head slightly and lets it out slowly. "But she's gone now. We never really got a chance to get started. Soon after, I sold my shares in Silverlight Entertainment and moved to Bludhaven to open the Blue Lady.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers blinks slowly at the realization, shaking her head in disbelief. She skirts around the table, moving to rest a hand on his shoulder. "Oh no...I had no idea. I'm so sorry...I mean.." she laughs a bit at the sad irony, "Here I was, feeling bad for myself because I turned the guy I once loved into a monster, and he killed a teacher of mine and did all this stuff, but what happened to you..."

Buffy frowns as she realizes something else. "I guess it must really bother you, to see me on good terms with not just one, but two vampires..Even if Spike kinda skipped town because of me. Geez, I can't believe what an idiot I am.."

Thomas Raith has posed:
Thomas Raith smiles shaking his head slightly. "It was my fault. I couldn't protect her. Politics wouldn't let me go to war for her. In the end it was decided keeping peace between the Courts was more important then the life and well being of my... consort." he spits out the last word with enough venom that it's clear it didn't originate with him. He shakes his head slightly. "But I don't blame Angel or Spike for either of those things. I promise you that. Harry made the vampire responsible pay, maybe not directly, but his vengeance was good enough for me."

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers blinks slowly, eyes widening in realization of what he's saying. "Geez, that's..That's terrible, that's just totally unfair! It's because you're white court and they're redcourt right? dammit..If only I knew..Maybe I could have stopped it."

She frowns, pulling him in for a tight hug. "And this isn't your fault, dammit! If you made a move, probably more lives would have been lost! You were just trying to do what's right. Don't blame yourself.."

Thomas Raith has posed:
Thomas Raith holds her for a moment, "And if things had been different... I wouldn't have you." He says simply. He tilts her head up and leans down giving her a slow, soft kiss and sighing. "I've got an idea. They are doing Light up night in the city. I know there is allot of work still to do here, but why don't we go and get a little christmas spirit, and worry about this tomorrow."

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers smiles softly and nods, "You got that right, you sure hit the jackpot there..I guess we both did!" not the slightest bit of hesitation is heard in her voice as she leans in to him, pressing her lips lovingly against his. And takes her time to enjoy the feel of his against hers.

"Mm, I like the sound of that! It's about time we enjoyed ourselves nad took a break from all this hard work." she chuckles and nods, interlacing her fingers with his as she tugs him towards the exit..They'll worry about their mysterious thief another day.