taxonomites | XIII [Accidental Visual | Location: Castle Summers] Come Undone

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XIII [Accidental Visual | Location: Castle Summers] Come Undone

Wesley slowly awakes with the faintly disconcerting taste of cigarette ash in his mouth, but he doesn't rouse immediately because there's a lovely warm naked body pressed next to his and he's presuming that he's coming out of a particularly nice dream. He snuggles closer for a moment, indulging himself until he realises that the woman he's holding feels very very real in his arms. And the scent of her is distinctly...

"Buffy?"

Wesley's eyelids flicker open and he freezes, seeing the blonde hair and distinct features of the Slayer. He hastily releases her and scoots backwards, to climb out of the bed. This isn't his bed. This isn't his room. How did he--?

Looking down he realizes that he is in fact sans clothes. Without a bloody stitch on. Overcome with embarrassment and confusion he lunges forward to grab the end of the bed sheet to try and get it free to cover himself with. Which has the unfortunate side effect of revealing more of his sleeping companion.

It's at this point when Wesley also realises that his body doesn't feel or look like his own (from what he can see of it). He certainly doesn't normally have abs rippling quite so distinctly down his torso. Instinctively he turns to check himself in the mirror and to his dismay, there is absolutely no reflection.

"Oh my god, no!" He exclaims with mortification and horror.

[ooc: Meant to happen pretty much simultaneously with Spike's post, for maximum WTF LOLZ]

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Wesley's too out of sorts to notice immediately and since it's Drusilla addressing him, he glares a little.

"I hardly planned to wake up this way."

"Well duh. You think I planned to wake up this way, too?"

She sighs, then gestures at herself. "Look at me. I'm a monster!"

Drusilla would never say 'Duh' in a millennia, so he peers more closely at the tablet. His first instinct is to call her...

"Cordelia?"

Cue her rolling of her eyes. "Again with the 'duh', Wes." A beat. "Boy, this stuff is really confusing. I mean, never in a million years did I think I'd ever become a vampire. And not just a vampire, mind you. I never really wanted to be Miss Loony Bin 2001, ever!"

"At least your hair isn't of a toxic shade. And I have this distinct urge to brush my teeth repeatedly to try and get the taste of cigarettes out of my mouth. It's disgusting."

What's even more so is the feeling that he's in need of something to eat. Because he knows what that means. Ugh, the mere thought of drinking blood again is too awful to entertain.

"Well at least you have a soul," she counters. Which... is something she realized she doesn't have, not in this body. "And you don't have a stinking chip that flares up every time you..." Okay, deep breaths - not that she needs them, which is hey, revelation of the century! - "...want to play ping pong with Drusilla."

Please don't hurt please don't hurt please don't hurt...

"You're having aggressive thoughts? Perhaps you might not want to attack Drusilla since she will be in your body, I presume. You might damage it before you get it back and by the sounds of it, it would be rather painful for the both of you."

He can't help but reach up to touch his/Spike's hair again. Ugh the gel has set to a rather hard consistency. Not having a reflection is not exactly fun either.

"Have you...fed yet?"

"Yeah. Which was how I was reminded that Drusilla has a chip in her head. And let me tell you, the feeling of hot lava being poured in my head? Not exactly a feeling I missed."

Cordelia looks away, then massages her temple. It still hurts, but not as much as it did before. Kinda like vision hangovers. Again, not something she missed.

Then Wesley asks if she's fed, and she shakes her head. "No. I don't want to."

"Somehow I doubt that she's responsible for this. I should think it's another demonstration by our erstwhile captors of their power over our lives, and our very consciousness."

His expression turns a little more grim, at the thought that this glitch might drag on longer than some of the others. Having to inhabit Spike's vampire body for an extended period of time is not something he wants to contemplate.

"It might be prudent to hatch something rather than succumb to the urge to...use an extra."

"I know, I know. Or... I knew after I realized that it didn't just happen to me and Drusilla." It was instinct, pure and simple, to blame the vampire for the body-switching event. Except it might have been giving her too much credit as the brains behind something as big and confusing as this.

"An extra what?" she asks, before the full meaning sinks in. "Oh no. No. I can't! And not just because I don't want to, but because, well... chip." Cordelia points at her head for emphasis.

She sighs. "If you're hungry, then you go hatch something. Spike said to try otter instead of pig's blood." But the mere thought of drinking blood is too... disgusting, right now. Ugh.

"I seem to recall they don't taste particularly good to a vampire anyway. Oh god, I can't even believe that I'm discussing the possibility of feeding on a living being with you. If it comes down to it, I'll resort to hatching something, of course, but it was bad enough the last time."

He gives her what he hopes is a reassuring smile, but it probably just looks like a smirk coming from Spike's face.

"We'll get through this, perhaps we ought to stick together, that way we can intervene with each other if our vampiric urges get a little too hard to ignore. A sort of AA group for reluctant vampires."

Yes, it sounds absurd, but if there's one person he trusts to pull him back by the scruff if he lapses, it's Cordelia.

"Well, Angel did say they taste like sawdust, though." She frowns a bit at that. Wouldn't it be great if she could actually see for herself? Firsthand experience of actually being a vampire. It might be nice to see how good her new body is - when it comes to speed, reflexes, strength...

A sinister smile appears on her face just then. "I bet they won't even struggle that much, Wesley. Or if they did, it won't matter. It might be fun to slash their throats out while they're screaming and--"

And nothing. The chip activates again, causing Cordelia to drop her tablet and scream in pain.

"Cordelia!" His expression is one of both concern and alarm. If her thoughts continue to be that violent, she'll suffer more agonising shocks. It's a cruel conditioning device, even if it does serve its purpose. "Where are you? I'll come to you!"

He's trying to ignore the fact that she'd just been talking in a very disturbing way and a part of him had responded with excitement, not horror.

She takes in a few breaths because that's how she dealt with her own pain, back when her visions still pack in a whole lot of punch. This pain is different, though. Paralyzing. While her visions can cause blinding hurt, the things Cordelia can see, smell, and sometimes even taste actually take most of her attention, which makes her focus on the pain less. This time, there was nothing else that would divert her attention - just the searing stab in her brain that makes her feel like it was on fire.

And it was enough to make her feel afraid of thinking thoughts that were bordering on murderous. Dear god, what was she saying earlier?

Cordelia reaches for her tablet again. "I'm... in some kind of forest." How she hates the tremor in her voice just then. "Hurry."

"I'll find you." Strangely he feels almost as if he can sense her. A tugging sensation at the back if his mind. Perhaps the sire's bond between Drusilla and Spike still exist...

He hurries to dress and is soon sprinting out of the door. It's only as he's running out on to the street that Wesley realises that everything is blurring past him faster than usual. Of course, vampiric speed. This, at least, is something he can use to his advantage. It's quite exhilarating, actually, after the weeks of being confined to a bed and the slow progress back to anything approaching good health.

Using the map function to find Drusilla's tracking signal and his newly enhanced senses, it doesn't take him long to locate Cordelia.

He rushes over to her, still moving faster than a normal human would.

She looks up, and senses Wesley approaching, mostly because a new smell tickled her senses just then. Cigarettes, which is normal since Spike is Sir Smokes-a-Lot. And blood. And... something sweet, almost girly smell that clung to his body like a shroud of perfume. Buffy's smell, Cordelia guesses.

She stands, and carefully deposits that doll she's been hugging to the side. There's something weird about moving in this body - like for some reason, it feels like she's learning to walk again. Which makes sense, since she is learning how to move in this new body. Not like it's everyday she wakes up to find that she's been moved to another body, right?

"I'm glad you're here," Cordelia says. "And that I'm not the only one who got turned into a vampire overnight."

"You're going to be all right." He attempts to steady her, putting a supportive arm around her waist. It's strange considering the fact that it's Drusilla's body he's holding, but since it must be equally strange for Cordelia be hugged by Spike, they're probably even on that score. "Try not to think violent thoughts. Think of rainbows, puppies, jalapeno cookies. Shopping...Prada shoes..."

She nearly jumps at the contact, not because she isn't used to cold hands touching her - hello, Angel - but because she felt it quite differently. Heightened senses, definitely something to adjust to.

"Easy for you to say," Cordelia murmurs, walking away from Wesley. "You're not the one with the chip. And--" She gulps, turning away from him. "And they come so easily to me. I--I don't know why." Right now she can smell the borrowed blood moving in Spike's body. It's potent, but maybe not as seducing as the blood flowing in a human's body... but proving this idea doesn't sound good. Nope, not at all.

His expression grows even more solemn.

"I hate to suggest it, but perhaps you're currently no longer in possession of your soul. It would explain the apparent lack of a conscience compared to myself. Still, while we may know technically what happens when a person is turned into a vampire, it's quite another to experience it first hand.

Perhaps the first order of business should be getting you some pig's or otter's blood."

"Kinda had that figured out already," she says dryly. So this is what being soulless feels like. Maybe it's a great, fantastic, fantabulous thing that Cordelia has something that prevents her from cutting a bloody swath all across Taxon. Despite the horror that that idea brings, she can't deny that it still has its appeal.

She looks horrified at the thought of getting blood for herself, but after having talked with Spike, Cordelia must admit that he made a whole lot of sense. She nods. "I... I guess we should do that. Have you had some already?"

"A mug. But I think I should drink some more. This...need, it's far stronger than I imagined it to be. It certainly puts things into perspective."

He takes her by the hand and starts to lead her out of the forest.

"The extra speed and stamina, however? Is definitely a positive."

Cordelia nods. "Spike did say we should probably keep ourselves full as much as we can, just so the urge to hunt will be considerably less." Not that she can hunt, but Wesley can, despite having a soul.

She brightens. "Really? I haven't tried it yet. I'm still trying to get used to this whole can-live-without-breathing, senses-on-full-alert vampire thing, though."

"I hate to admit it, but he's far more knowledgeable than we are as to how to manage this. How's Angel? Has he been affected by this as well?"

Wesley knows how important the souled vampire is to her. He looks down at her hand clasped in his and a smile comes to his expression, unbidden and spontaneous for once.

"Run with me and you'll see what I mean."

He starts to sprint, pulling her along with him until she accepts the challenge.

"Race you to the top of that building over there."

She shakes her head. "I... I don't know. I haven't talked to him yet." Cordelia wishes that Angel had been spared from this plague, because it would surely be weird talking to him in this body. 'Hey Angel, remember that one or two times I asked you to stake Drusilla? Well don't do it, because I'm her! Or, more specifically, I'm in her body!'

...yeah, not really looking forward to that conversation.

Cordelia squeezes his hand and grins, before letting go and running. And boy, did she run. It takes her less than two minutes to reach the top of the unoccupied building - and when she does, Cordelia laughs at the thrill that act brought. Yes, she's aware of just how Drusilla-like her laugh sounds, but right now? She doesn't care. She isn't even sure which of them won the race.

Cordela's laugh seems odd coming from Drusilla's mouth, but Wesley can't help but grin back. It's rather thrilling to be able to move as fast and climb and jump as quickly as they just did. Especially without becoming short of breath.

"Shall we call it a draw?"

He's glad that it's keeping Cordelia's mind off of the blood lust. At least for the moment.

"I have to say that it's a welcome relief to be without the migraines and fatigue." Did he just say that out loud? To cover his admission, Wesley moves to stand on the edge of the roof, looking down at the street below.

"It's rather intoxicating, isn't it? I can see why vampires feel like they can take anything on."

XIII [Accidental Visual | Location: Castle Summers] Come Undone

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[ location: enchanted forest ] argh I mean to stay up but feeling sleepy damn it.

[ location: enchanted forest ] no prob bb!

[ location: enchanted forest ] Still here for now <3

[ location: enchanted forest ] <3!

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