005//Dictated

[nothingtobelieve]

[Vicious is moving through the castle as he opens the journal. As such a good deal of the general commotion comes through as background noise as he walks]

It seems the castle has very low standards for parenting.

[But it must have some, since he's been left mercilessly alone.]


[This has been a bit of time in coming, but he had a few last things to do. It's hard to get the castle to cough up the sword parts you need when you're actively looking to stab someone with it, after all.]

You've gotten my attention. I hope you still want it.



[ooc: Feel free to run into him wandering around, as well.]

Comments

[dictated]

[thehistorian]

Very low standards, if it decided I was going to be a good bloody parent.

[dictated]

[nothingtobelieve]

Not enjoying the job?

[He might just be faintly amused.]

[dictated]

[thehistorian]

Not at all. Mine's relatively well behaved, all things considered, but it still shouldn't be here, shouldn't exist, and certainly shouldn't be parading around with an American accent and a near-encyclopedic knowledge of motorcycle models.

[dictated]

[nothingtobelieve]

My condolences. It should be over soon, from what I hear.

[thehistorian]

That's both reassuring and a bit unsettling. Do they just-- piff, as quickly as they appeared?

[nothingtobelieve]

I don't know. That seems the most likely scenario.

[thehistorian]

Well. So long as they stay safe, I suppose.

[nothingtobelieve]

Safety is never an assurance.

[thehistorian]

No, but I'd like to have an illusion of it.

[nothingtobelieve]

An illusion is all it's likely to be.

[thehistorian]

Then that's better than nothing.

Vicious

[gottaknockhard]

[Spike has been expecting to hear from him, in one way or another, since that thinly veiled challenge he made. The fact that Vicious sent a message that isn't in the form of Faye trussed up in his closet at least shows that he's being more direct than usual.

Or he knows more than he's letting on and couldn't pass up an opportunity to mock him.]

You know how jealous I get.

Spike

[nothingtobelieve]

I saw first hand. And here I thought you'd lost all your instincts.

Vicious

[gottaknockhard]

I guess you could call it a temporary relapse.

Spike

[nothingtobelieve]

Is there anything else of mine you'd like to take your anger out on? I'd be happy to accommodate.

Vicious

[gottaknockhard]

[It figures he'd enjoy the idea.]

If you give me a list, I could look into it.

Spike

[nothingtobelieve]

It won't be a long one. There isn't much you haven't already taken.

[Casual, like they're discussing the weather.]

Vicious

[gottaknockhard]

[There's the slightest pause. Nothing too telling.]

Funny how I still feel empty handed. [--like this direction doesn't even bother him.]

Spike

[nothingtobelieve]

You're not very good at holding onto things.

Vicious

[gottaknockhard]

... [For a second, Spike could swear that he knows -- but he's been careful this time around. To a point.]

I never did pick that up from you.

Spike

[nothingtobelieve]

Among many things.

[And for a second, it could almost be a friendly conversation between old friends. But of course, it's not.]

This has to end.

Vicious

[gottaknockhard]

[Sounds familiar. Still strange to hear it coming from Vicious.]

You'd think so.

Spike

[nothingtobelieve]

Do you want to die so badly?

Vicious

[gottaknockhard]

[He is dead. The both of them are, and so is she. Not really his favorite subject, but that isn't going to change anything.]

There's easier ways to do that.

Spike

[nothingtobelieve]

True.

[Which brings them to the heart of it, really.]

What do you want?

[Because Vicious has no intention of repeating the past. He has other things he'd vastly prefer doing over dying again.]