slayers_desire | trying to make the pieces fit ((Buffyverse plot))

"So you think that perhaps by being creative... by painting a picture, or writing a book or song, or casting a new spell... would be enough to get the Mother's attention?" Wes wonders if it could be that simple.

They... among the little group of fighters remaining... have been fighting hard not to give up hope. But it is a tough battle.

There are those in this room that would never show their bitter feelings to their new friends. But there is one that will. Connor, Angel's son. "So... short-stuff thinks all April has to do is paint a pretty picture and things will be better? Come on... this is moronic."

"Connor..." Wes looks over at the younger man.

"April is an artist," Clark says, nodding as he considers the idea, ignoring Connor's dismissal of it. "The act of creation has always been one of her strongest talents."

She's not surprised. Connor isn't exactly crazy about her. Probably because the first time they met she basically told him to stop acting like a tool.

"'Sokay, Wesley." She turns to the kid, though he's bigger than her, stronger than her, and full of the snark. "Connor, we're dealing with the fact that creativity isn't happening. So the reasonable thing would be to break the feedback loop. If we're solving a problem we need to look at what is abnormal, what's lacking, and try to fix what we can." The way Victor sees it, it's like reverse-engineering something, like fixing the potholes in the road before you repave it. It's just good sense. Maybe. She hopes.

"Plus, like Ed said, April's basically an astral antenna. She's got a lot going for her in the superpower department."

Uh oh. Someone's used a certain adjective beginning with the letter 'S' to describe Ed. That never ends well.

The moment Conner calls Ed 'Short-stuff', a mental fuse somewhere in Ed's brain blows, and though he manages to keep himself from actually lunging at Connor, he immediately (and almost reflexively) retorts, "WHO'RE YOU CALLING A RUNT SO TINY HE'D BE MISTAKEN FOR A GRAIN OF SAND?!"

Having vented, he's able to use Clark and Victor's defense of his proposal as an opportunity and a means to get a hold of his inner Napoleon and beat it down with a club, turning his back to the group and sitting cross-legged in front of the table he'd previously been perched atop. It takes him a minute or two of fuming and growling something to himself in a sub-vocal mutter, but he manages it. Once he thinks he's got it under control, he turns to face them all again, somewhat red in the face. When he speaks again, it sounds as though he's over-compensating for what's left of the rage he's just beat down, his voice just a bit too flat and toned-down.

"Actually," he says, trying to avoid clenching his teeth too hard, "I was thinking we'd do all three. Create a work of art, write a song, and perform a spell. I was also thinking that all of us should try to Create something, not just April—I think that'd make our call to the Mother... louder, I guess."

Connor laughed when Ed called him short. He was taller than Ed at 5-foot 8-inches, and had not reached his 20s yet. There was a moment that he was going to challenge Ed... but Wes pushed him back against the wall.

April tensed for a moment at the venting by Ed. But she was glad that it passed quickly... and didn't turn into anything else.

"Break the feedback... by creating together." April thought for a moment. "There is a spell that might fit too. It is basically a portal spell, one uses it by drawing a door on the wall, and the casting of the spell is very musical in the casting. We could do it together."

"And you think that would literally open a door to the Mother?" Spike nodded, it sounded very appropriate.

"Would that be possible?" Clark wonders. "If spells don't work here anymore... unless the act of creating the door is enough to do it just this once. Like a spark jump-starting a dead battery. It's not enough to recharge it, but enough to get it going again."

Victor was sure that Connor was calling her short-stuff, so Ed's response surprises her so much she actually twitches in her seat, sending a book slipping with a muffled bang to the ground. She bends and picks it up again, slowly, using that time to sooth her nerves, and she is so pink she feels like a baby shower balloon.

She was going to say just what Clark says, so when he does she just nods emphatically.

Edited 2013-01-03 15:30 (UTC)

Ed blinks at April's suggestion, then replies, "You know what... that actually works better than what I was gonna suggest..." He quiets for a moment, then looks over at April and asks, "If we do that... is there a way I might be able to use my abilities to contribute something? I'm glad I've been able to help you guys brainstorm a solution, but... I feel like I'm not really helping unless I can find a way to use my craft to make a difference here." There's that feeling of being out-of-place again, like he hasn't really made that much of a difference yet. But if he can transmute something to help them... then he'd actually be useful.

"The spell is only the beginning Ed. I am sure all of our abilities will be needed." April replied.

She thought about Clark's point for a while. "I don't know. But we still have to try... right?"

Clark nods. "Of course. It's the best lead we have so far. If it doesn't work, we haven't lost anything. We'll just know that this wasn't it. If it does..."

"If it even opens a sliver of a door... we're in business," she finishes for him, searching in her backpack. Among the first-aid kits, the extra changes of clothes, the alcohol swabs, the test tubes full of plant matter that seems to quiver in the light (don't ask), stones so full of color it's like peering into a kaleidoscope, and her five extra PINpoints (you can never be too careful), she has a small set of acrylic paints, and a smaller set of watercolor pencils, four different sizes of brushes, and a babyfood jar to wash them out in. Yes, she carries all that and more with her everywhere.

Ed smiles, closing his eyes for a moment. Then he reaches up and grabs his journal and a second can of Coke from the table. While he checks one of the many flags and slips of paper marking certain entries in the little book and opens it up to a page about two-thirds of the way into the journal, he remarks, "If it opens up a sliver of a door, then we pry the thing open the rest of the way." Which probably says quite a lot about his mindset right there: if at first you don't succeed, barrel right on ahead until you do. "What's our next step?"

April bends down to pick up the set of acrylic paints and watercolour pencils. "This will be perfect."

"I am thinking that as I cast the spell, maybe Ed can trasmute the wood to give us an extra push at create the wood?"

Clark smiles as he sees the endless items Victor has in her bag. She was definitely a boy scout in a former life. "Is there a way I can help, or should we just keep an eye out for any... outside interest?"

"And I have my notebook and a pen, I could draw." As for Clark... that's a harder question. Victor's always considered what Clark does to be an art, though she knows that might be stretching the bounds of normal definition. She chews a little at her lower lip. "Some sort of protection... I think would be really good to have."

Ed's smiles broadens and becomes a bit more self-satisfied, and he snaps his journal shut and rises to his feet, tucking it back into his coat. "You want me to actually make the door, huh? That I can definitely do."

Then, he gets another idea, and he asks April, "Hey... how important is symbolism to magic in this reality? Because... I was thinking I might incorporate a Mercurial Cross into the surface of the door when I transmute it." The Mercurial Cross, which is printed on the back of Ed's coat in black, has personal significance to him, but it's also an Alchemical symbol... of rebirth. And what they're doing, at least in Ed's mind, will hopefully result in the rebirth of the Seed of Wonder, and of hope and creativity.

"I was thinking that we both could draw the door, Victor. Against that wall..." April pointed to the south wall of the room.

"Then we cast the spell... Ed transmute the wall into an actual door. And symbolism is very important..."

"Clark can ensure no one comes up from behind."

"I can handle that," Clark says, full of self-assurance. The list of people who have been able to sneak up on him unnoticed is a very, very short list.

She takes her cane and uses the top of the table to help her stand. "Absolutely! Just tell me what to do; my hands are your hands."

"As are mine," Ed agrees with a smile, raising his hands so that he's ready to clap them together and initiate the transmutation at any moment.

Wes set down his scotch glass. "I will get the spell."

Lorne smiles as the girls start to paint on the wall, and cocks his head with interest at whatever Ed is doing. He has never seen anything like it.

He raises his head suddenly... "This will light up the world... Clark be ready. Connor... Spike you also take point."

April works with Victor to create a very real door on the wall. "I already feel inspired."

"That sounds... either very good, or very bad," Clark says, but attunes all his senses to the world around them. Superhearing will alert him to any new sounds, and he's constantly looking around them, with and without x-ray vision, to spot any soundless approaches.

She has paint in her hair because of her terrible habit of painting with her fingers to get more direct lines (and then running her hand through her hair, forgetting), her cane is leaning against the wall away from the painting, and she's feeling pretty ecstatic herself. Something about art... it's an energy giver.

Wait until Lorne sees the actual transmutation... Ed's still holding himself ready, waiting for the ladies to finish painting the door. He usually considers Alchemy to be more science than anything else, but right at the moment... he's seeing much more of the artistic side of it, and the kind of beauty his craft might be able to create. It feels pretty damned good to think of it like that, somehow.

There is a crash from above them... Connor swears softly. "Our hideout is compromised now."

"Doesn't matter kid. This is more important." Spike vamps out, ready. "You going to try for the take out Kent?" He remembers how his son-in-law feels about killing.

Wes returns to the room, spell in hand, and starts chanting as the girls finish their painting. April gives a nod to Ed to start transmuting as soon as he is available. Lorne is on his feet now, weaving slightly, as in a trance to all the energy around him.

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YES! Short Rant time, mwahahaha!

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