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Angel recruits Cordelia to help with planning Faith Lehane's birthday party.
10/8/2016 9:00 PM
Hyperion Hotel San Francisco
The Hyperion Hotel[]
The lights are on, illuminating the area.
The California-Spanish building known as the Hyperion Hotel was built in the 20s. Through the cast iron gates from the sidewalk is a small front courtyard with a rectangular fountain and a mythological figure holding a bowl from which water flows. Greenery frames the walls and a large set of glass double doors open into a high ceilinged lobby. Dark red carpet descends the four steps to the lobby floor and climb the two sets of stairways that lead to the second floor. The green marble floors are accented with wavy red inserts, as are the walls have a complimentary red border running their length. A set of doors identical to those of the entrance lead to a small enclosed garden.
Cream-colored pillars line two sides of the room, holding up the second-floor balconies that look out onto the lobby and creating arches. Underneath one of them is a large plate glass window that looks into the hotel office - now used as the office and nerve center of Angel Investigations. Nearby, there's a wraparound counter with dark wood paneling and a top the same color as the floor. Behind it are filing cabinets and a pair of desks pushed together. A navy blue circular couch harkening back to a 50s design sits near the back of the lobby. A large wooden, glass-doored cabinet pushed up against the wall holds a large assortment of weapons.
Outside, it's fair and cool.
Angel is currently looking over a bunch of papers, looking vaguely confused and somewhat dismayed as to how to make all this work. How DOES one put together something like a birthday party anyway? Back in Sunnydale, Buffy's other friends took care of that, all he had to do was show up with a nice present. But now he's planning something for one who has less support.
Cordelia opens the door with a foot and closes it with the same foot, her arms full with bags and packages. She makes her way over to the office area and starts setting them carefully down on the desk and the floor. "I'm kinda-sorta freaking out here. I'm supposed to host a national show, *live*, in like two weeks and I'm still not *totally* sure what I'm going to wear for..." She looks back to Angel and the papers. "New case?"
Angel shakes his head. "That wouldn't confuse me half as much. Faith's birthday is this Sunday. I'm trying to figure out how to plan something that she'll enjoy, and make her feel special." This is much more perplexing then a 'a demon sucked out 3 brains yesterday.' At least, to Angel it is.
"*Oh*." Cordy pauses, then quickly divests herself of the rest of the baggage. She walks over to join Angel, looking down at the papers. "Do you...have a sort of...um. Theme? Like a motif? Does she need anything for her h...wait, she lives here, doesn't she?" Pausing to lift her head, she then looks back down at the sheets of paper and leafs carefully through them, letting the ones Angel's reading stay on top. "So...any ideas for gifts? I mean...we know she likes denim and, to a lesser extent, leather. And violence." She holds up a finger, then shakes her head. "But that's hard to really put into gift form."
Angel says, "She does like weapons and street clothes, it's true. But everyone who comes to the party is going to get her that kind of thing. I usually try to reach people. I'm not even sure when the last time Faith even had a birthday party was. Senior Year of Sunnydale, she didn't work for the Mayor yet, and we didn't know about it in time. So...I'm trying to come up with something special for her. And then there's decorations and cakes and all the rest of it."
Cordelia waves a hand lightly. "Don't worry about that. I can handle getting a cake and decorating. Might need a hand putting up some of the stuff, but that's where your big strong vampire muscles come in handy!" Smiling widely, she pats his nearest shoulder. "So...were you thinking about anything in particular? Like...a *genre* or something?"
Angel considers that. "Well, I know she likes to party. And she likes her alcohol. I wonder if we can get some enchanted beer that'll work normally for her." Normally, Slayer Constitution will shrug off beer like anything else. "Mostly, though, I want to celebrate who she is, appreciate who she is." Which is easy to say, and somewhat harder to put into practice.
"Hey, don't you know that dude in Beacon Hills?" Cordy starts to walk back to her bags, pulling out a blouse and holding it up to herself. "What does this make you think?" It's a pretty bold statement, but not inelegant. Rich shades of red, vertical stripes.
"Lance? If I had him cater, the beer would definitely work for her. Most of the pack will want to come too. She's done well by them, and they like her a lot." That helps on a couple of points. "Okay, yeah. You do the cake and decorations thing." And then she pulls out clothing, and, "...Well, if you're trying to look gorgeous, you're succeeding. Which means you should probably pick out all the clothing presents we give her."
Cordy clicks her tongue but looks very pleased. "You *might* be biased." She sets the blouse aside, casually half-folding it and patting it before drawing out another one. "But I'm pretty okay with that response. So...do you have her clothes sizes? Or were you thinking more like...some sort of practical jewelry or decor or something? I mean...she's definitely not what you'd call a 'girly girl', but she can do a pretty great lip and her mascara's on point."
Angel rattles off appropriate sizes, apparently from memory. "That should work. I happened to see it once." It's what comes of having Faith as his only partner for a few months. "I'll let you handle it from there." He just doesn't have the keen fashion sense to trust himself with picking out clothes. As for being biased, "Well, yeah. Friends always look more gorgeous then everyone else." Not exactly the most impartial judge, here!
A single nod, and Cordy's got them too. It's always been handy to have two people with excellent memories working as investigators. "I'll pick out some things for her. And keep the receipt." Her smile spreads, and it stays wide with Angel's addition to the topic. "Did you want me to just let you sign the card, or did you want to try to come up with something totally you?"
Angel thinks about that. "I should pick out something myself, as cards go. Something personal, that resonates. A lot of things can be handled by others, but some things are personal enough that I can't delegate it. Like cards and a personal gift."
"Yeah." Cordy leans back against the front desk. "There's always like...carve your own stake kit? New whittling knife? Something. Oh!" She waves a hand energetically. "Knife sharpener! A really good one! I mean...that's a thing, right? Good knife sharpener or like one of those...whetstone things."
Angel ponders and ponders and...yes, Faith's a warrior, and yes, she likes her fun and parties. But somewhere inside of her is a girl who never got to be one. "...I got it. I'll find one of those build a teddy bear stores. Dress it in leather and denim." That reaches inside, and tells her she's so much more then a warrior.
"That's *such* a good idea! Or you might find one in the Castro." Cordy notes, and there's just the smallest pause afterwards, to think about this. Does she really want Angel wandering the Castro to try and find a leather and denim teddy bear?
The overwhelming answer that comes to her, of course, is yes.
Angel does have that spiffy new daylight immunity to do such wandering in. In truth, though, he'll probably have to have it customized to specifications, which means he'll have to build it. Besides, wandering around looking for something appropriate? Spending the time to do that for Faith? She's worth it. "I'll look."
Cordy turns with a nod, unpacking the last of that bag and holding it up, looking it over. Seems like she got mainly blouses there, and all very pleasing to the eye, even if they are fairly pragmatic in their purpose. "We'll pull this thing together. We're the best duo since...uh. Something. Shields and Yarnell."
"Yeah. We'll make it all work. It'll be a decent sized guest list. She'll probably be surprised to see just how many people are willing to gather to celebrate her. Her life, what she's done." That's one of the better feelings he has about this.
That makes Cordelia hesitate, and she opens her mouth and then shuts it again. She raises a finger, turning back and wiggling the finger lightly. "...let's concentrate on what she's been working on in the last year or two," she gently amends.
Angel has to concede that. "Well. Yeah." Angel is well aware of Faith's mistakes, but seeing a person who's made them enter the light again, well, that's the mission. Faith's technically one of the best success stories around. Even if she didn't start that way.
Cordy gives a little nod, the smile returning to her face as she packs the bag back up again. She breaks into the next package and flips along the things she bought, tugging out a little box and holding it out in Angel's direction. "Here! Just a little something-something." It's a very plain box, but it's minimalist elegance. Inside is much the same: a thin black cord with a simple, perfect circle in a white metal hanging off as a pendant.
"It's a necklace," she explains. "Palladium. I thought maybe it would be like...a halo? Or something?" There's a little chuckle, and she turns back to her shopping haul. "I didn't want to get silver or gold since, y'know. Maintenance. Or impractical. You and gold and that would get worn once and then end up a fine metallic vapor."
Given the kinds of things Angel tends to do all day, yeah, the metal needs to be tough. VERY tough. Heavy duty, even. Well, he might wear it under his shirt. "Under my shirt, maybe. I don't want a demon or something to grab it during a fight." Because that's the first thing that comes to mind. "But it's really thoughtful. Thank you."
Cordelia smiles a little more and shakes her head. "I just thought it...suited you. I mean, now that I can actually *afford* to go out sometimes and buy amazing clothes, it's nice to get some things that make me think of friends." She crouches to pick up another of the bags and then stands up to set it on the desktop. "Nothing makes happy even happier than spreading the joy."
"Thanks. Just have to make sure bad guys don't use it on me." Because a ring necklace DOES make a convenient thing to grab someone by. Of course, there's someone else who might grab him by a ring necklace, and that he was okay with. "Did you buy stuff for everyone else too?"
"Just you," Cordy answers. "Nothing really jumped out at me for anyone else. I just went to a couple of shops in one part of town today. But I have a few ideas for when I go back to Japantown. So how's life as a fairy-friend treating you?"
"They haven't actually asked anything of me. But the sword came in handy when I fought those Golems on the 4th. I was expecting to see more Vampires and...that's another thing. There's this kid called Carson. He fights like a Slayer. A more magically inclined vampire thought he was a Slayer. But that's impossible, because that's a strictly female calling for thousands of years." And that...is a mystery. "I'm going to have to consult Giles soon."
"Golems. Ugh. So done with golems." Cordelia shakes her head and places another of the packages from the floor onto the desk. The rest makes her stop in her rummaging. She raises an eyebrow, curious. Interested. And then she goes back to rifling through the bag. "Right, and y'know...the Girl Scouts let boys join now. You knew that, right? Things change." She pulls out one of the garments and lets it unfurl, holding up a sort of "Bohemian" chic skirt. "Like it? It's a little light, but it's enough until it gets *really* chilly, and then I can wear...leggings or something."
Angel knew that only because someone else said the same thing. "...That's what someone else said when I questioned it. Magic is usually a little more resistant to change then a human organization though." On the skirt, "It'll look great on you." Of course, most anything would at that!
Cordy laughs as she rolls the skirt carefully up, nodding. "Right? It's *super* comfy too. I can't wait to wear it. Though not on my host gig." She stuffs it back in the bag. "Anyway, whoever said that was probably right. I mean...you remember I was a cheerleader, right?" She looks back up, pausing in her search. "And a lot of people -- like, a *lot* -- just think that's cute girls in short skirts, right? But it's *not*."
Letting the bag go, she steps over towards Angel again. "Actually the whole thing started out as a *guy* thing. And there are still *lots* of guy cheerleaders. But it's something we've just bought over the years because of a more popular image. Besides...this would be like...having only *one* cheerleader for years, ever, in the history of ever."