Starring:
Summary: Ava comes to the Hyperion to tell Gunn that he needs to get his priorities straight. It doesn't go well at first, but Wesley saves the day!
Date It Happened: November 30, 2008
Priorities
Hyperion Hotel - Lobby
It's a new day at Hyperion and things are back to normal. Because, well, for Angel Investigations worms coming out of the sidewalk and eating people isn't all that out of the ordinary. Trying to venture forth from sitting underneath things and behind things and generally hiding mode, Fred is actually sitting properly in a chair for once. Of course that chair is strategically placed so that no one coming in immediately can see her and so that she's basically behind a filing cabinet, but it's progress! Of course, it probably helps that there's company and she's not just hiding alone.
"So then these two vamps come up on the side of me, right? And I can't even get to my stake. I'm like surrounded! One of 'em bust me in the back of the head, like BAM! And I'm hittin' the ground, gettin' mad as hell, right?" Gunn, could be embellishing a little bit. Maybe. "So what do I do? I sweep the one dude's leg and he goes down like BOOM! And then the other one's diving at me, but I roll out of the way!" Sure, he happens to be standing up, but that doesn't stop him from 'rolling' to show Fred his moves. It's just a more vertical roll… so it's like a spin. "I grab the stake and close my eyes and just chuck it! It musta' been luck or somethin', cuz it tagged him right in the chest and POOF! Dust, baby." And there's the big Charles Gunn grin that should be patented.
So there've been grumbles in Team Gunn, if only because the aforenamed is always Someplace Else these days, and people are starting to notice. Ava read the cards, and realized something has to be done. It's not hard to follow up as to where the Hyperion is, a simple moment's time spent googling gives her an address. And so the gypsy girl, with tools of her trade kept secure in her patchwork messenger bag, takes busses and does some walking and eventually finds herself in the courtyard of the former hotel.
Wesley made a stop on his way into work this morning. A stop that earned him a police escort along the way. The official black and white of the LAPD rolls up to the curb and Wesley is let out and let off with yet another warning. Approaching the entrance to the hotel via the courtyard, he has a slight limp courtesy one Warlock. Ava, being the only other person in the courtyard at the moment is easily noticed. "Hello? Can I help you?" he greets, as he hurries his steps a little to catch up to the woman.
Following Gunn's play by play, Fred pulls her legs up and rests her chin on them while she listens intently. It's an interesting story! Eyes following him closely, she gasps appropriately and so on when she needs to. "No!" And then, "Wow!" Because that's the end of the story when the vamps are now dust. "That sure sounds exciting. Back on Pylea they used to do a lot of fighting, too. Not really with the staking and the rolling. More of the stabbing and the hacking. Of course, it mostly ended with a celebration of chopping off some slaves heads and then feasting. There wasn't any of that after what you did, right?"
Gunn spins once more and leans back against the counter, just to make sure he's got a good vantage point at which to look at Fred. Because she's talking. And it's always polite to look at someone when they're trying to tell you something. Or ask questions. "Hell no. My crew? We ain't really have much back in those days. Ain't got much now. But the money I get from Wes? I spend like almost every dime on 'em." Yeah, he loves his Team Gunn, that's for damn sure. "You know what? You should come meet the gang. Y'know, when you're feelin' up to an adventure in The Badlands."
"Maybe." Ava puts on her best put-on-the-con-for-the-gaje smile, letting her hand drift absently to her messenger back. "I'm looking for Charles Gunn? Some associates of his work out of an office in this building as I understand it." She looks Wesley up and down, assessing - no, not that way, just trying to size him up. Despite his somewhat nebbish appearance, her conclusion is to treat with caution.
Wesley smiles at Ava as he adjusts the messenger bag he's carrying over his shoulder. "You're in the right place.. Miss?" Yes, getting a name before going inside might be a wise move. Who knows just what/who may be looking for Gunn. No sense inviting in potential trouble.. that's something they don't really have a problem with. If Ava's sizing him up, he's doing the same. Sort of. Giving her a studious look.
The idea of heading out to a place that regularly sees vampire action and shouldn't really appeal to Fred. But there are people that she doesn't know there and they're part of Gunn's life, who helped sae her life the other day. So why shouldn't she want to meet them. "Well, I was talking more about the chopping off of people's heads. The feasting part was actually pretty nice. Not that I ever got to feast. You know the saying feast or famine, well, for folks like us it was always famine." Not that she seems to have much of a problem with that at the moment. "Oh, I don't know. The Badlands sounds like a place where lots of bad things happen."
"I get that a lot." Gunn states, knowing full well about how bad the Badlands really are. He grew up there, after all. He pushes off the counter and slides over to where Fred is, leaning up against the wall closest to her and just offers a smile. "Besides. You'd be with me. You know I wouldn't let anything happen to you." Which just may be the truth, considering the way he took on that giant worm.
Ava looks like a typical young woman of a certain twenty-something range, dressed comfortably - maybe even cheaply, one could argue, her clothes clearly the best of what could be made from the rack at Goodwill. Just slightly better than street rat. She meets Wesley's gaze head on and with old eyes. "Ava." she says simply, then turns and heads for the door. If it's not locked, she'll make her way in.
"It's a pleasure Ava.." Wesley stands rooted to the spot, watching the woman, then shakes his head. The hotel is their place of business, a second home, so it's no surprise for someone to just march on in.. still.. Pulling himself together, he soldiers on behind the woman, trying to work out the sore spot on his leg. "Wesley Wyndham-Price, I am a work associate and friend of Charles Gunn," he offers, even if Ava turned and headed for the door. Showing no interest in further introductions.
Cordelia has reconnected.
"Well, I think it's the name. I mean, you know how Iceland isn't really full of ice, but everyone has to think that because of it's name? Well, I guess that's what the Badlands sounds like. Though I doubt the capital of the Badlands doesn't have a name that's as hard to pronounce as Reykjavik. Not that the Badlands has a capital or anything. But if it did!" There's no pause of breath until she finishes that little speech but, when she does, she smiles. "I know that, Charles. We were just talkin' about a name." When the door opens, she stiffens, as if fighting off the urge to duck and cover. She manages to stand her ground, though, and meet whoever the entree is full on. Though maybe with a scared look on her face as opposed to a smile. Not exactly the best customer service there is.
Ava flashes a smile over her shoulder. "Just Ava." Once inside, she takes in the expanse of the lobby, the people standing in various places, and focuses on the man she was looking for in the first place. "Gunn." she says placidly. "You're beginning to have a problem. I've read the cards, and if you don't put your finger on it now, it'll get out of hand."
"Right." Gunn doesn't really seem to be able to respond to Fred's speech. He didn't even know Iceland had a capital. He does, however, turn to check out the door as it opens… and Fred's face goes to that scared and worried look. Blinking immediately at who it is, Gunn stands up straighter and puts on a worried face of his own. "Ava? What's wro—" And the worry fades to something more of a rolling of his eyes. Here we go. "… You're here because of somethin' you saw in your cards?" Yeah, this is definitely anti-climactic. Oy, these people and their visions and cards!
Wesley frowns as he limps in behind Ava and makes his way for the lobby counter. "Morning everyone." His eyebrows lift slightly as he gives a quizzical expression from Charles to Ava. "Oh good, you do know her. Precog? Seer?" The last two words are obviously pointed at Ava.
Know her? Seeing things in cards? This sounds like something that's more for Cordelia with her visions and like it's serious Angel Investigation stuff. Especially when there's something about having a problem. "I…I better go upstairs and see if Cordelia's done mournin' over her shoes from the other day. Let ya'll talk about your cards and stuff." This is serious stuff that she won't really have much input on. Slipping off her chair, she does her best to greet Ava warmly. "It was nice seein' you again. I hope you managed to get all that goo off your clothes."
Once again, Wesley finds himself addressed by Ava, a single word: "Drabarne." She looks back at Gunn, and at his eye-rolling, her own brows lift. "Alright, Gunn." she says entirely too sweetly. "If you want to disrespect what I bring to the table and refuse to take advantage of the information I can bring you, then I guess you don't really need me, or anything else that comes along with me." Including her magic. Including her boyfriend. "I'm so sorry to have disrupted your day." she tells the collective, her voice like honey. "Enjoy the rest of it." And with that, she turns with every intention to walk out. She's not going to stick around for some gajo (black, white, they're all the same) to disrespect her and make light of her power.
Gunn is rolling his eyes. Again. "Seriously? Drama Queen?" Gunn is going to have to look into getting some senses of humor for people around these parts. He looks off towards Fred and gives her a little wave, before footsteps draw him after the Ava. "What's goin' on? Everybody okay?" He's just going to forget about the fact that she's flipping out over something he didn't even say. Or something.
"Alright Fred," Wesley looks a mite disappointed as the woman skitters off and upstairs. At least she's making improvements at being around people. When Ava utters that one word, his attention is firmly back on her. "Oh, I see, well that explains much then. It's a pleasure, Ava… No no! He meant no disrespect!" Wesley is moving quickly from out behind the counter to Gunn's side. Which he elbows in a stern, reprimanding manner. "How could you show dismissal for the power in the reading of cards? I apologize for him." Gunn's given another look of disapproval, even as he tries to appease Ava.
While he's at it, Gunn should get one of those book on how to respect your co-workers, because he kind of needs it. Badly. Ava halts to look to Wesley, somewhat mollified by his apology, even if Gunn's just digging himself a deeper hole. "Calling me a drama queen is not helping his case. This isn't the first time he's been dismissive, trust me. Once he makes an attitude adjustment, I'll be happy to tell him all about his Human Resources problem, but until then," and she addresses Gunn directly because far be it for her not to say it to his face, "You can go to Hell in a handbasket."
Gunn shan't go chasing after people, which is why he's pulling back on his feet to get to stopping. Pride won't make him continue to ask for help. "Wes. Let her go." And there's another dismissive wave of his hand, before he starts back towards the counter. Anger could be setting in, but the Gunn hasn't decided to discharge. Yet.
"You have no clue as to who or what she is do you? You've worked with us for how long?" Wesley stares at Gunn in amazement. "See what you've done? Go apologize to her!" Personally, the ex-Watcher is curious as to what brought the gypsy to the hotel to deliver the news in person. "Let her go? Are you mental?" Other times he might listen to his friend, but not at the moment. Pissing off this woman is bad news.. for Gunn anyway. Wes is another matter. So ignoring Gunn, he goes after Ava.
"Relax." she says to Wesley, giving him a sympathetic look. "I won't hex him. But he's made it clear how little he thinks of what I can do, and rather than take advantage of that, his pride demands he bite his nose to spite his face. He's got plenty of fighting men. Of course, how long he'll have them is part of what the problem is."
In the midst of looking at the counter at nothing in particular, Gunn hears the exchange between Wesley and Ava. Which is, inevitably, about his people and that's something he can't even let his pride stand in the way of. Which is why there's some shoving away from the counter and a quick two-step to draw him near his best friend and the woman he's been at odds with lately. "Somethin' wrong with my crew?" Immediately, Gunn's tone is worried and softening to something more of a foot-in-mouth type deal. "Listen. I'm sorry. I ain't mean to be all… me." Kind of like call himself a jerk, no? "But if somethin's gonna' happen to my crew, you gotta' tell me." Cue magic word? "Please."
Wesley glances over his shoulder briefly at Gunn before lowering his voice and giving Ava his attention. "That is good news then. Not hexing him. Undoing any of your spells might be tricky and take some time for me." He readjusts his glasses on his face before folding his arms across his chest, "Gunn is a dear friend of mine, but he wasn't raised or taught the same respect for magic as I was, being a Watcher. You say you have news, your cards foretold of something grim? Would this have anything to do with the disturbance in Hollywood the other day?" He takes a step back when Gunn rejoins the conversation, giving a nod of silent approval for the approach and attempt to smooth the ruffled feathers.
"I only saw the disturbance as it happened." Ava confesses regretfully, and then blinks. "A Watcher?" she echoes, like she knows what that is. "There's a Slayer here?" She sounds surprised, "Not that skinny girl who went up the stairs. She seems sweet, there's not a viscious bone in her body." Then to Gunn, "This is small. Right now, it's small. But if you don't address it, it's going to get very, very big, and in the end, there'll be some death and it won't be pretty. Your people are starting to question you. You spend so much time away from them, and even though technically they know where you're going and who you're with, it seems like you're pulling farther away. The consequences could be weeks or even months coming into fruition, so there's a chance for you to head this off at the pass." She looks sidelong at Wesley. "Seriously. The skinny girl? No way is she the Slayer. I'm pretty sure she's a blonde." She must not know about Buffy's death.
"What." Gunn is more reacting to what he's heard than anything else. This balancing act hasn't been going well, he knew that much. But he didn't know it was going to be headed for that kind of disaster. And he's already spinning to head for the door. "Wes? I need some time off. I gotta'… figure this out." He's not actually going to stick around for an answer. Because there is mending and patching up to be done. Or at least talking to the crew to be done. And it starts with Ava, since it takes him the short distance to the door to realize something. Spinning back around. "Ava. Thanks. You're pretty handy, after all." Gunn chances a smile to see if this latest (and hopefully last!) incident has blown over enough that he can expect her to stick around for giving the prideful misguided fool another chance.
"No.. no Slayers here. I'm.. no longer with the Council." Wesley refrains from saying he was sacked. It's not quite the bitter stab it was before, talking about that. But just to be a little to the point without going into too much detail. "You are correct about the blonde bit however. Or rather she was." As for the news about Gunn's gang and the division his loyalties are facing, he falls silent. It must be a difficult position to find himself in. "Of course Gunn. If we need you, we'll call. Otherwise, we can manage." It goes without saying that the people here will lend an ear should Charles need it.
Footsteps, this time coming down the stairs. Cordelia, since defunked and once more fabulously attired and coiffed, comes down the stairs. She catches just a bit of the conversation; the last of what Wesley's saying. There's a moment of blank look as she considers Ava, and then the light comes on; the girl with the good taste from the worm-killing. That puts a brighter, and more sociable expression on her face as she continues down the stairs.
"Was." Ava knows what that means. As if to comfort, "Another will rise. They always do." She nods to Gunn, and assures, "If you need to stay, it won't upset any kind of balance. It's good that you're willing to go." She prepares to exit herself, when Cordelia comes down the stairs. She takes in an eyeful, and sighs. "God. She has the best friggin' shoes." Because right now, the generous would call Ava's clothing vintage, while the cruel would say something more like Goodwill Chic.
"You da' man, Wes." Gunn is tossing a wave to Cordy and backing out of the door with a little more speed than should be used. Not that there's actually an emergency, but he needs some travel time to try and get his head on straight. Not even sure how he's going to address this. He already knows one thing and that's the fact that he's not going to be able to do both. And that sucks. A lot.
"Of course," Wesley says with the same assurance. He can recite the lore in a multitude of languages after all. "Hmm? Cordelia? Yes, she has exquisite taste. I'm sure. If I paid attention to fashion names and styles that is… Oh damn!" Because as Charles flees, there goes his backup into the sewers. His shoulders slump as he sighs. "I needed him to come with me to follow the trail of that worm… Oh Cordelia?" Since without Angel here, it'll either be Cordelia or Fred with him.
Cordy gives a wave to Gunn, as he heads doorwards, and then smiles a bit as she hears Wes' semi-compliment. "Well, that's always a good way to enter a room." Acknowledgements of her fabulousness are always a good way to start. "What's going on?" She looks from Ava to Gunn and finally to Wesley.
"Just making with the doom telling before making my exit." Ava offers Cordelia. "I'm Ava. I work with Gunn in the Badlands." She looks back to Gunn. "Stay." she says. "Your Wesley Wyndham-Price needs you tonight, and nothing's ruffling my feathers about what you do this evening. So you may as well help out. You've got some time." With that, Ava herself heads out.
"I think I found the hole leading to the giant worm's tunnel. /Someone/ who shall remain nameless put a stop to my exploration earlier, which is just as well. It shouldn't be explored alone. As for Gunn, he's having a bit of a dilemma thrown his way." Wesley's face flushes with faint color despite the innocence of Ava's words. "What she said." There's a faint sound of him clearing his throat as Ava walks out, "I'm slowly narrowing down the possibilities of just what that was. Beyond giant man eating worm."
Gunn catches Ava at the door and thus gets the message of what he should be doing. So confusing this whole trying to be a part of two groups. "I owe you a couple." is tossed towards Ava, before he rolls back inward and into the hotel. Just managing to catch the tail end of the beginning of Wesley's dilemma. "Then let's saddle up. You bring the tea, I'll bring the instruments of demonic destruction." Happy smile. Yay. Get to kill things.
Cordy listens, and she frowns just a little. "I'm a little surprised at the whole mess. Usually the PTB give me the heads-up before something like that happens. But I haven't seen anything about giant evil worms." It bothers her a little. "Did we look them up online yet?"
Ava oh's, over her shoulder at Cordy. "Don't feel bad. I didn't have my vision until it was happening." And with that, out the door she goes!
"I have, and there's a list on my desk of possible types. I've also notated some of my reference books to aid in narrowing it down further.. seeing as Gunn and I now have some exploring to do." Wesley glances over at Gunn, as if to make sure it's okay. "If you wouldn't mind Cordelia? Since you were there.. See if Fred can help by looking at illustrations and descriptions to find the match." Even as he gives instructions, he's putting together supplies for the trip into the sewers.
Gunn holds up a finger. "Hold that thought." And he disappears out the door for about two minutes. When he comes back in, he's carrying his trusty axe and off to help Wes pack for the sewer exploration of suicidal doom.