Seventeen Bells: [WRITTEN/ACTION]

[simplestgift]

On July the 4th, 1776, one Horatio Hornblower was born in Kent.  If you see him, bid him many happy returns.  He will most likely grump about it all day and act ungrateful, but don't allow it to discourage you.  He does appreciate it, he simply does not know it.

[For most of the day, Archie will be running around trying to furnish a bedroom in the house for a new housemate. He'll end up in the library, Good Spirits, the grocery store, then finally the Battle Dome, mostly staring in bewilderment at the controls before deciding this is too scary and leaving. At some point, he'll also take a walk in the woods, rain or no rain, in shirtsleeves and waistcoat but no coat. After a while, he'll get back on the journals.]

[Filtered away from Grell, 44%]

If you wanted to surprise someone dear to you, to cheer her up when she returned from being kidnapped, what would you do for her?

Comments

[herotypical]

[ it fell a little too tenderly on her ears. especially with... ]

Oh. Dog hair. I see. Big night, huh?

[simplestgift]

A friend arrived in Luceti. [Dog hair? He runs his fingers through his hair once just in case.] I introduced him to...er, something, really in jest, you see, and you weren't there to stop it...

[herotypical]

...Can you blame a girl for having prior engagements?

[ she shakes her head -- joking. ] William, huh? I met him. We talked. He's a character.

[simplestgift]

He had a few stories to tell that Horatio has neglected to mention, of course. The man put out an explosive shell, a bomb, with his hands when it landed on the deck of his sloop. Then he wouldn't tell anyone about it.

[Bad. Ass. If Archie's tone is anything to go by.]

[herotypical]

...Down, boy. Or do we need to start a fan club?

[ TEASING. ]

[simplestgift]

[Only slightly deflated:] He's extraordinary. Doesn't know it at all.

[herotypical]

Are you sure? 'Cause if you say it as often around him as you do around me...

[ one small scotch, coming up. ]

[simplestgift]

He never believes it. [OH SWEET NECTAR FROM OLYMPUS. He takes the glass and drinks.] Buffy, being hit by a cannonball turns a man into red slush. An explosive shell can destroy a ship, between the explosion and the fires it causes.

[herotypical]

...I get it. You just sit back and enjoy your drink.

[simplestgift]

[He sips, calming down.]

What do you think of William, then?

[herotypical]

He came out of the gate with a compliment. You can't fault a guy for that. He also told me I should tell you to just let me twist your ear 'cause I'm a pretty girl and it's a pretty girl's prerogative to...oh, I don't know. I lost the plot somewhere along the line.

[simplestgift]

Yes, that sounds a bit like him. He's somewhat...traditional, when it comes to women.

[Nah, Archie's not gonna elaborate on that.]

[herotypical]

Traditional. Do you realize how...funny that kinda thing sounds coming from you?

[simplestgift]

He's traditional for my time, Buffy. If you think I'm old-fashioned, you'll have a lovely time learning about him.

[herotypical]

...He's not going to try and burn me at the stake for wearing jeans, is he?

[simplestgift]

Oh, he isn't hopeless. I daresay he'll learn a thing or two from women like you. Just pop him one if he ever offends you. But don't damage him too much, Horatio and I need him to carry things for at least two more weeks.

[herotypical]

...Oh, so instead he can try and burn me at the stake for being a Slayer. It wouldn't be the first time.

[ SHE IS STILL JOKING. ]

[simplestgift]

Don't be silly, Buffy. The navy doesn't practice burning at the stake--it would set the ship afire. No, we hang Slayers from the yardarm along with everybody else.

[herotypical]

...Points for originality. I've never been tried-to-be-killed in quite that way before.

[simplestgift]

Well, we don't have a gallows on a ship, so we use what we have available. A gallows would take up space.

Though I did know a Frenchman who carried around his own guillotine.

[herotypical]

...Yikes. Like -- how? I mean, I can't imagine it was pocket-sized.

[simplestgift]

I should say he had his men cart it about for him. It was his personal baggage. [The last two words in a French accent.]

[herotypical]

[ a laugh. very entertaining, troll-lieutenant. ]

Classy.

[simplestgift]

Yes. Very. [He ponders whether or not to tell her the Frenchman used it to slaughter half the people in his village. Talking with Buffy is a lot like talking with another military type, sometimes. He concludes that depressing Buffy is not the objective and takes another drink.]

Damned French.

[herotypical]

And their verbs. Those things are brutal to conjugate.

[ she pours herself a soda. and then she launches into part of her new let's be more fair and honest with archie regime: ] Someone from my home showed up too, by the way.