o14 . action, BACKDATED to the 4th, before the day of destruction

[watchher]

[ Giles wakes with a jolt outside the hospital, and is immediately lost in panic-- he's suffocating, blood in his mouth and nose and eyes and ears. He scrubs frantically at his face, coughing and spitting red in the snow, utterly disoriented.

It's several minutes before he's wiped the blood from his eyes, gotten his feet under him and become relatively convinced that they'll stay that way. Once the man's taken stock of his location, he begins the slow walk for home. Trails of red, now smudged and drying, run from his eyes, mouth, and nose, leaving his shirt drenched -- it's a striking sight, and not a pleasant one.

Regardless of who he runs into on the way, he'll eventually insist on making it home to 724 Anderson. He doesn't stay long; Giles is very pale when he emerges from the house, and ends up sitting out on the curb to collect himself, still looking a bit dazed. ]

Comments

[eyesofaserpent]

[Crowley is walking toward Giles's house in his wanderings. He's a bit surprised to see Giles sitting on the curb, let alone in the state he's in. Crowley saunters up and sits next to Giles, hands in his pockets. His sunglasses are off and his nose has fallen off. All of his skin is dead black and he certainly doesn't smell like a bouquet of roses. But he's here.]

You're a mess, mate.

[watchher]

[ Reflexively, Giles flinches at the smell, and immediately looks guilty. Dead bodies have him a bit twitchy right now. ]

Not... not worse off than you are, I don't think.

[ He frowns, expression faintly troubled, because this doesn't seem right. Still, his voice strengthens as he goes. ]

I'm not hurt at all, actually.

[eyesofaserpent]

[He frowns a bit.]

What happened, Rupert?

[watchher]

I died.

[ He reaches up to run a hand over his face, expression faintly wry. ]

I, I know I've had a number of close calls before, but I've never... it was decidedly unpleasant, we shall leave it at that. And it left a bit of a mess.

[ There are rather a lot of bloody corpses in his house right now, his own included. ]

[eyesofaserpent]

[He frowns. Then he gets up.]

Come on, mate. Let's grab a couple bottles of something distilled and aged and a straw.

[watchher]

[ Head dipping slightly, he gives a small nearly-silent sigh. ]

I should deal with the bodies first.

[eyesofaserpent]

[He pauses. Bodies? Bollocks.]

Hopefully they'll be gone by the time we're liquored up enough to deal with them emotionally.

[watchher]

I don't expect they will be. They ought to vanish upon revival, but I am right here, and also... ah... in there.

[eyesofaserpent]

.... I still say alcohol will help the matter.

[cullionfish]

[A few moments later, Giles will find himself joined by a rather disheveled Empress, her skin miraculously sporting some nice sized gouges and bruises that haven't quite healed over yet. Her hair appears to be hiding most of the damage that Signless and the others combined had managed on her, but perhaps most notably, her expression is oddly free of any condescension or anger -- in fact, its almost completely blank.

Until she spots Giles, that is.]

Darling, what on earth are you doing down there?

[watchher]

[ Giles startles at the sound of her voice, and stands quickly, turning to face her as he does-- but any anger, wariness or outright fear drops away the moment her expression registers.

He stares. ]

What?

[cullionfish]

[She moves over toward Giles without any real change in her expression except for the appearance of mild concern. Carefully, her claws lift to wipe a bit of blood off his face.]

Hunny, you're a mess. Why don't you come inside and wash up? I'll even bake a fresh pie for when you're through!

[watchher]

[ He's too stunned to jerk away in time, and twitches sharply when those talons brush his face, but by then it's clear she's not going to gouge his eyes out. He just kind of... stands awkwardly, still staring. But something in his expression is beginning to shift, the wonder of the situation slowly dawning on him. ]

I... I may, um, do that. Yes. Right.

[cullionfish]

Wonderful! [She claps her hands together and tries to usher him inside.] Will apple do, darling?

[watchher]

[ He goes willingly, more due to shock than anything. Said faintly, somewhat lightheaded: ]

Yes, apple... apple would be lovely.

[ A beat, and then, testing the waters: ]

I'd quite like to see the living room cleaned up, too.

Near 724 Anderson

[wrench_and_ruffles]

[Kaylee approaches, concern written rather blatantly all over her face]

Giles? You really don't look so good...

[watchher]

[ He looks to her and smiles weakly, but the amount of blood on his face keeps it from being very reassuring. ]

I... it... well, I'm not entirely certain what it looks like, but it certainly isn't as bad as that. I'm quite all right.

[wrench_and_ruffles]

It looks... pretty bad.

[SHe doesn't sound convinced]

[watchher]

W-well, it was. Not any more. I do believe I'm in perfect health-- healed.

[ 'Reset' might be a better term. The upside of dying. ]

[wrench_and_ruffles]

I mostly fix machines, not people... but that`s an awful lotta blood.

[watchher]

I had a, a rather unfortunate run-in with... truth be told, I don't know what they turned him into.

[ Head tilted a little, eyes averted, he looks more than faintly uncomfortable and very, very tired. ]

It doesn't hurt. The blood is just... lingering.

[wrench_and_ruffles]

That's no good at all... you should be in bed.