14627/Prom night

Prom night
Date of Scene:	04 December 2022
Location:	Abandoned Warehouse, West Side, Burnley
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Faith Lehane, Thomas Raith

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Faith Lehane has posed:
Finally, prom night is here..Well..Fancy ball night at any rate. It took some convincing, but Faith eventually agreed albeit begrudgingly to don the prissy pink princess gown, linking arms with Thomas as she strolls through the grand wooden double doors of the elaborate hotel ballroom. It takes her a moment to catch her breath as they step inside, having never seen much less experienced such elaborate luxuries before.

A string quartet band plays in the corner, people dancing around a Center dance floor with a buffet table at the front and dinner tables encircling the room. It's the elaborate costumes that really take her breath away, and the dancing, so elegant, so refined.

"Well Geez, I totally feel out of place now.." she shivers a bit as a sudden chill rushes through the room. "Gotta say, I've never been invited to such an..Upscale party. What the hell, I've never felt so out of place before.." she grimaces, "This is way too surreal..I need a drink.."

Thomas Raith has posed:
Thomas Raith meanwhile looks right at home, as always. You'd think for someone who wears suits almost every day that the white tux would look normal on him, yet he somehow makes it look even better then normal. He chuckles a bit, "It'll liven up shortly i'm sure." He says with a chuckle. "It's prom. It's about letting loose at the end of your school life." He smirks and notes that there are seperate punch bowls, one depicting various kinds of tropical fruit... and the other depicting those same fruits run through with wooden steaks. "And someone has already spiked the punch." He says amused.

Faith Lehane has posed:
Faith Lehane laughs, shaking her head as she leads him over towards the buffet table, snagging a spiked punch drink, downing it quickly before reaching for another within a matter of seconds, "So what, who the hell cares? Gotta be drunk to navigate this jungle..And do t even think of doing some of that romantic dance shit with me because I'm not into that garbage.."

For all her resistance at being here, Faith is already reaching for handfuls of snacks, hungrily stuffing her face, probably having never tasted anything so luxurious or expensive before. "Soo we should like, split up. Scout the area for anything out of place. I guess a crowded venue could be the perfect place to attack..Or maybe pick people off one by one.."

Thomas Raith has posed:
Thomas Raith makes a face at the idea of splitting up but nods, "You're the Slayer, I asked you along because I trust your instincts." He says honestly and checks his watch. "We meet back here in fifteen minutes. Call if we run into trouble. Remember Mads is White Court, he won't come at you directly, and he won't engage in anything he precieves to be a fair fight.

Faith Lehane has posed:
Faith Lehane rolls her eyes at him and smirks, nodding, "Damn straight I'm the slayer, and this way we'll cover more ground and I can be out of this dress Sooner rather than later. Alright then.." and she's already reaching for a third last minute drink, chugging it down in record speed..Seems she can hold her liquor better than certain other slayers.

'Alright then.." she slams the glass down on the table with more enthusiasm than she intended, "Meet at the buffet table in fifteen. Gotcha. I'll take the east side, you take the west side. No getting side tracked by pretty girls either, Mm?" she winks and grins wickedly at him before flipping her hair and setting off in said direction.

Thomas Raith has posed:
Thomas Raith smirks a bit, "Getting you out of that dress as soon as possible sounds like a wonderful idea." He says with a wicked smirk and nods, "Right right, no mid party snacking, I promise." He says teasingly, "Though you know the reputation of girl's at prom." He adds with a wink, stepping away and moving in a direction counter to Faith..

Faith Lehane has posed:
Faith Lehane flashes him a wicked smirk and nod, "The sooner we get this dealt with.." but she is soon swallowed up by the bustling crowds as the string quartet picks up the beat, now playing an upbeat waltz to the throng of dancers. Faith peers intently at passersby, gracefully sidestepping any errant feet more out of slayer instinct than any actual training on such a refined dance floor. She is hardly Buffy Afterall.

Still she keeps her slayers senses peeled for anything out of the ordinary, peering around for any quiet little corridors or side rooms that a shady character may have slipped off into..

Thomas Raith has posed:
~Get away from me!~ The voice comes suddenly and from just outside the hotel ballroom it seems. No one else seems to take notice, but likely only Faith's enhanced hearing allowed her to register it. But it 's a voice that she would recognize. A voice of a friend. An impossible voice... the voice of someone long dead.

Faith Lehane has posed:
Faith Lehane peers around, starting to wonder if anything exciting is gonna happen...When her enhanced sense pick up that familiar voice and her eyes widen, frozen on the spot.."Diana..? No..No it can't be..! Dark eyes widen in disbelief and fear..."What the hell is this?" but..She's in danger..And Faith can't let her die a second time!

She snarls, letting out a war cry as she shoves her way through the crowded dance floor, trying to reach her Watcher, the first and only person who truly believed in her. "Leave her alone!" she snarls, pulling out her stake as she rushes towards the double doors, shoving them open and searching around for the source of that familiar voice..

Thomas Raith has posed:
Party goers give Faith weird looks and wide berths as she pulls out a stake and charges the door... but then it is Splattercon!!!, so thats part of the atmosphere. Hell the string quartet is dressed like Freddy, Jason, Michael, and Chucky. Outside the ballroom the halls are empty and cavernous. So when the next scream comes it seems to echo from everywhere and no where all at once... Then in the distance, an hand gripping a corner wall, nails broken and bleeding as it is forcefully pulled away..

Faith Lehane has posed:
Faith Lehane screeches to a halt, peering around in confusion. "Huh, what the helll..?" but wait, over there in the corner, she snarls, rushing towards the glimpse of a struggling hand, reaching out towards it, "Dayana...?!" she wastes no time, rushing around the wall, eager to see what she might find on the other side..

Thomas Raith has posed:
The body is... a mess. Chest ripped open. guts pulled out. Throat slashed wide open... And worst of all, she wasn't dead. At least not yet. Foamy bloody bubbles escaped her lips as eyes wide with shock look around with absolute terror and pain. and then a voice. Deep...gravelly, with an undertone of something animalistic speaks. "Hello Slayer. I brought you a present. It seems to have come out of it's wrapping though..

Faith Lehane has posed:
Faith Lehane rushes breathlessly after her Watcher, just like she did before, arriving a moment too late. Just like before. "Diana! No ono....Not again! Fuck, what the hell is this?!" her hands shake uncontrollably, kneeling before her watcher, ripping off a piece of her dress, trying to stop the bleeding, trying to stop the pain, tears flooding her eyes, "Hang in there..Don't go..Don't...!"

Shes sobbing uncontrollably again, transported back to her first traumatic experience as the young inexperienced slayer she was back then, truly shaken by the first person who cared about her and believed in her, her mind incoherent by this time, too confused, blinded by grief and guilt at being too scared, too weak to protect this woman..Her first true friend..

And then there's the voice and she glances around in disbelief..Is it..Kakistos? She wipes her tears away fiercely with shakey hands, grasp tightening on her stake as she climbs shakily to her feet, taking a deep breath. No, she won't run away this time, no way..

Thomas Raith has posed:
"What do you plan to do with that little stick Slayer?" the ancient vampire asks with a cruel laugh and backhands Faith with enough force to make her hit the ceiling and far wall at the same time. "You were never strong enough. You were never good enough. You couldn't save her then. You couldn't save her now. You aren't a Slayer. Your a poor lost little girl playing at being a monster. You have no idea what being a monster truely is." he says as he closes the distance, moving to kick her while she's down.

Faith Lehane has posed:
Faith Lehane is caught off-guard..still hesitant, but be.Irving in herself, in her strength. What she wasn't expecting, was being thrown around like a rag doll, hitting the wall like a tumble of bricks that bruised her up pretty bad, maybe even dislocated her shoulder, sending her tumbling to the ground in a crumpled heap.

"Th-The helll...?" she mutters, flinching in pain, struggling to climb shakily to her feet, "What the hell did you do to me..Freak..I'm, I'm the..The slayer..?" is he right? Is she just playing make believe? Was she really powerless all along? Was it all just a dream, the past two years?

Tears continue to streak down her cheeks, all that old familiar grief and fear and trauma crawling back into her head..It's just like before, only now she's even more powerless to stop it..Is this how it ends...?

Thomas Raith has posed:
The monster laughs coldly, "I've killed many Slayers in my time little girl. Do you think one lucky shot even compares you to them? Kishi Minomoto was a Slayer. Eliane de Shaunde was a Slayer." He moves closer, waiting for her to swing and then grabing her arm. Twisting it to near it's breaking point. "Esperanza de la Vega, Samantha Kane, Yuki Makimura, Buffy Summers. They all were Slayers." He then throws her by her trapped arm, letting her land face to face with her now dead...and somehow rotting Watcher. "You won't even be a foot note in history."

Faith Lehane has posed:
Faith Lehane shrieks in pain, grimacing and struggling against his superior strength. He starts ranting about lol these slayers and her eyes widen in disbelief, swallowing and shaking her head at the last name uttered. She snarls and attempts to spit in his face, one last act of defiance. "Tch. Bullshit. No way you took down Buffy too. And what the hell, there's no way you took away...My powers.."

Her eyes widen in sudden realization. Her powers are gone..Her watcher, who died years ago..Only just died some five minutes ago.."The hell you doing to my head..? You one of those fucking phobo phages?" in that case, is this all in her head?

She laughs, scrambling for her stake, clenching it tightly in her hand.

If she is reliving that nightmare from way back then..Then the next thing she did before she fled..Was this..She hurls the dagger at the demon's face, aiming for its eye, yelling a desperate war cry. "Fuck you, asshole!!"

Thomas Raith has posed:
But unlike last time, she does not gouge out the Vampire's eye, but rather he catches the stake mid flight, throwing it back at her with tremendious force. ""You are nothing he repeats. "Just a sad little girl. A pathetic GLURK..." Whatever it was the Vampire was about to say is cut off as a long ceramic blade suddonly is pointed out of it's mouth like an obscene white tongue. A moment later the creature disolves into smoke, not ash but smoke, as does the body of the dead watcher. Thomas Raith, eyes nearly white shakes his head. "If I live to be a thousand, I will never understand why they feel the need to talk so much."

Faith Lehane has posed:
Faith Lehane's eyes widen, frozen in fear and horror as she realizes her last ditch effort to save herself is about to fail..Is this how it ends then, in a pathetic struggle against an enemy long defeated? Was she wrong all along..? Perhaps this is the reality and all that came before was just a twisted fantasy from her desperate,twisted mind. She squeezes her eyes shut, still battered and broken, her dress a torn bloody mess as she waits for the inevitable..

And then he's there, cutting through the demon, but what's this? Smoke. Not a vampire? She laughs, exhausted, pale, collapsing to the ground, "Hehehe....Just a fucking illusion..,I fell for a fucking illusion.." she coughs a bit, shaking her head in disbelief, trying to make light of it..Even as those old wounds are reopened, along with it all the trauma and memories she had worked so hard to wipe from her mind..

"D-damn it..." she sighs.

Thomas Raith has posed:
Thomas Raith flicks his wrist and with a bit of slight of hand the glass knife vanishes back up his sleave. He walks over and reaches down to pull the slayer to her feet. His eyes concerned but not pitying. A warrior respecting that another warrior is downed but not out of the fight. "Are you okay?" He asks softly. "I can help, if you'll let me."

Faith Lehane has posed:
Faith Lehane shivers still, hugging her arms, wiping the tears fiercely from her face as he helps her to her feet. She seems to stumble a bit towards him, and ends up leaning into him a little, almost like..Like the closest Faith could ever come to hugging anyone. "Thomas.." she murmurs softly, shivering, squeezing her eyes shut and taking deep breaths! trying to calm herself..Somehow his presence seems to calm her more.

Thomas Raith has posed:
Thomas Raith once told Buffy that if 'eating' lust was like fine chocolate, eating fear was like burn coffee.He hates it with a passion. Hates the way it feels inside of him. Hates the way it makes his Hunger react. He's only done it a few times. but now he places his fingertips on the sides of her face. Unlike with him feeding on her lust, or how the Phobophage fed on her fear, Thomas simply draws the fear out of her. Pulling away the trauma the mind demon inflicted. Pulling it into his own psyche without replacing it. Dulling the edges of the trauma.

Faith Lehane has posed:
Faith Lehane blinks slowly, peering at him in confusion as he seems to do some weird demon mojo on her.,But this time it's not lust that grips her.l.But an odd sense of calm, which causes her to sigh softly in relief, wrapping her arms slowly around his neck as she peers back at him curiously. "What the hell are you doing to me..This isn't your usual demon mojo.." gradually her fear, her pain, her trauma is fading away, replaced by a warm sense of comfort - nit something she is used to..And it makes her cling to him a bit more tightly, not wanting that warm and homely feeling to fade, to leave her alone, cold, afraid..Vulnerable like she's been all her life..

Thomas Raith has posed:
Thomas Raith doesn't take it all. He likely couldn't stomach it, and he has no idea how Madrigal can, But he takes enough, shivering as the demon inside him feasts on the rare 'treat'. He takes a few deep calming breaths. Shivering a bit and just holding his lover..just holding his friend. "It's alright." He whispers softly. "I've got you... Now what do you say we go find that son of a bitch?"

Faith Lehane has posed:
Faith Lehane frowns a bit, squeezing her eyes shut, trying to shakes off the rest of that fear and nods slowly, a brief, tender look in her dark eyes as she watches him with the faintest of smiles..And then she reaches up to caress his cheek ever so softly, so briefly before letting go with a nod.

"Y-yeah..I'm okay now...Just wanna get that fucking bastard back for messing with my head.." she frowns, letting go of him rather reluctantly then, peering around at where her dying Watcher was, and the Phobophage, pretending to be Kakistos - bith gone. And she lets out a laugh. "Fucking bastards, getting into my head like that! I'm gonna tear you apart, limb from limb!" she snarls, slamming her fist into the nearby wall, leaving quite a big hole in it..And not feeling a thing.

"I guess my powers are back then..But Ilook like a murder victim.l" she wrinkles her nose at her partially torn and bloody dress and grabs the hem, tearing the rest off so that it's now a stylish and sexy mini dress. "So then..How do we stop this at its source, or do we have to track down all the other Phobophages and go through all bullshit again and again?" she looks mad at the mere idea.