When Erynn found herself - Post 2 (Update)
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Author name – CopperAndGold
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Rating - NC-17 (Strong)
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Disclaimer - This is an adult fic. There will be some angst, smut, bad language, difficult subject matters (They will be noted prior to posting) The characters' developments were taken from season 5 - A bit after the episode: Family. Anything that is canon and prior to this episode is fair game. Oh, there's also a small reference to a funny exchange in season 6 between Anya and Tara that I just couldn't stop from using. Even with all this, there's comedy too! Everything after Family becomes A/U.
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Feedback - Please, I love your words.
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Summary - Willow and Tara make a new friend. She's... interesting.
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Notes - This update contains hints to darker subject matter. No details, but we're hinting at... things.
She loved when this happened. Usually, Tara was the first to wake up. On mornings like these, when Willow was awake before her girlfriend – she luxuriated in the warmth in her heart whenever she could watch her lover sleep.
The redhead reached out and gently brushed aside a fallen strand of golden hair from her girlfriend’s lips. She loved those lips. They spoke truth, wisdom, love. They tasted of tenderness and passion. In slumber, they were gently parted – her lover’s even breath making wisps of hair dance in the morning light.
Willow had had a long night. Her brain kept her awake with all kinds of unpleasantness. But, it had all calmed down once she thought about who Tara was. Her girlfriend – her strong, loving girlfriend – was
nothing if not compassionate. Tara was fiercely compassionate; she naturally defended and supported those who she felt needed it.
And she loves me. Amazing.“I feel green eyes on me,” Tara’s eyes fluttered open and Willow fell into blue, “Stalker.” The groggy blonde poked her tongue out teasingly. She grinned up at her girlfriend, the hand that was laying on the redhead’s thigh started lazily caressing her through pajama bottoms.
Willow looked down at Tara from up on her perch, leaning on her elbow. With an adoring smile spread across her lips, she kept looking into the most beautiful eyes she’d ever seen. Feeling tongue-tied; words just couldn’t...
In the span of moments their gaze intensified – building love out of thin air. Promises exchanged, love declared over and over. Poets and artists would have to spend lifetimes trying to capture the intricacies of their exchange. Yet… It was all there between the two of them. It was simple - the most complex simplicity ever known to either of them. It just
was. Love, deep and true.
When Willow’s mind would think of the universe, the world, in a way that was too scientific - In a way that made life clean, austere and boringly efficient - she would think back on moments like these. Moments when nothing was quantifiable, yet held so much weight… so much mass.
There was too much she wanted to say. Her mouth attempted it, but the words shriveled and died on her tongue, inadequate. She reached out a hand to cup Tara’s cheek. With that one touch she hoped to convey at least a fraction of what she was feeling. If Tara knew a
fraction of how she loved her, then she could spend her whole life showing her the rest in installments. With interest.
The blonde leaned her cheek into Willow’s touch, her eyes flickered closed at the softness of it. “I used to listen to music with momma, growing up.” Tara said quietly, reaching her hand up to cover her girlfriend’s. “She had all kinds of music, you know. But, I had my favorites.”
Willow kept quiet, acutely attentive. Rare were the times her girlfriend talked about her childhood, or of her family life. It wasn’t that long ago her father and brother had come to take her back home. Until then, the redhead didn’t even know her lover had a brother.
That day, her sweet Tara learned of her family’s betrayal. Learned that, for all these years, she had painstakingly analyzed each and every one of her thoughts, her actions and feelings - fearing their evil source. Doubting herself constantly. As it turns out, that dark source never existed in the first place. It was a lie fabricated to control, a lie perpetuated by her male family members; her father, her brother. Willow often had to stop thinking about it when her thoughts inevitably turned toward other means of control she suspected had been used against her loving girlfriend.
“They write songs about this, moments like these.” Tara’s eyes opened slowly, “They used to make me sad because I’d never felt that. What they were singing about, you know?” Tara kissed Willow’s palm and continued, “I thought it wasn’t for me to experience that, that kind of love. So it made me sad. But the songs we so pretty… they were still my favorites.”
Their hands joined, fingers linked and dropped between them onto the sheets. Willow didn’t want to talk, she was worried she would mess this up. This was too… real, too valuable to meddle with.
“They don’t make me sad anymore, Willow.” Unblinking, Tara looked into her lover’s eyes, her gaze laden with emotion, “You gave me songs. When I hear them now, I feel you. I feel this. Us.”
Willow sensed everything in that moment in sharp detail. Every particle of dust in the air, every soft note of her lover’s voice, every minute shift in the covers from their combined breathing. Every part of her was alert and receptive. Open and completely vulnerable. Their eyes had not broken contact once, “I’m going to kiss you now.” She heard herself breathe out slowly.
Tara smiled, “I know,” She ran a finger along Willow’s bottom lip, her eyes tracing its path. “They write songs about that, too.” She looked up again, her eyes betraying her desire in shades of blue.
The redhead’s lips pursed to kiss the finger tickling them. Reaching up, she took Tara’s hand in hers and pressed it against her chest, over her heavily beating heart. They leaned into one another, both slowly savoring the tension. Breaths apart, eyes closed and then, their lips met.
They exhaled as one, having held their breath since leaning in. They stayed like this, unmoving for a heartbeat. As if a pebble had been cast into a pool of water, their senses rippled with the soft contact. Willow inhaled and slowly tipped her head to the side – her mouth opening to capture Tara’s lush bottom lip between her own.
They moved languorously tasting each other’s lips – hands caressing softly along arms, sides, hips and necks. Sweet sounds flittered through the air around them and, after a while, the thing they were slowly building between them took a life of its own.
Willow’s tongue ran the length of Tara’s bottom lip, while the blonde’s hand was at her girlfriend’s pajama top – fingers working half-mindedly with fiddly buttons. When the redhead pressed into the kiss, deepening it, Tara’s fingers curled into a fist around the soft material. Buttons forgotten, she pulled her lover closer, her tongue answering its mate’s call.
She felt the lithe frame of her girlfriend shift in a way her own body responded to by instinct. Tara rolled onto her back to receive the weight of Willow’s body against hers. Legs entwined then, she raised her hands into soft red hair. Her fingers sifted through it lightly, until she felt her girlfriend’s hips sway in the most sensual way. Her hold tightened on impulse, Tara pulled Willow’s mouth tighter to hers, her thighs tensing for a moment. She ran a naked calf along a soft pajama covered leg, her hips rocking up.
They broke the kiss then, foreheads pressed together and panting slightly. Their eyes opened, both amazed at the amount of power they were able to create so quickly between them. Neither wanted to stop – this, they knew, was only a brief pause to share in the sensation. They grinned at each other, Willow nudged their noses together.
Tara ran her hands down her girlfriend’s neck, to the first button of her pajama’s top. Her intent was clear. Willow sat up, straddling her girlfriend’s right leg. One button at a time, Tara uncovered her lover’s chest. When the last button was undone, her eyes found green again and she sat up. Her legs bent at the knees to support her movement, pressing her thigh into Willow’s growing need. She heard the redhead’s pleasured sigh and with both hands under the fabric of Willow’s top, Tara kissed her deeply while she pushed the material off of soft, freckled shoulders.
The redhead’s bottom lip was caught between her girlfriend’s teeth when she flicked her top off the bed. And then, Tara’s mouth was on her jawline, hands pressed against her lower back. Willow ran her fingers through golden hair, holding the blonde’s mouth to her. When Tara let her tongue trail circles and swirls along her neck, she tipped her head to the side - a tiny keening sound leaving her throat.
Each and every response had only one effect, it stoked the fire that was building between them hotter by the heartbeat. The blonde’s mouth never left her skin, trailing wet kisses along her chest. When Tara’s mouth closed around her nipple, Willow arched back and leaned into her girlfriend’s hands. Her mouth fell open, her breath caught in her throat.
Tara tugged on Willow’s back and bent her knees slightly. She fell back down to the bed, bringing her girlfriend with her. Her mouth still latched onto her rosy nipple, she ran her tongue in circles around the hardened peek while sucking on it.
The redhead’s hands were framing her lover’s head, straddling her thigh. The blonde’s hands at her lower back pressed down as she tensed her leg, encouraging small hips to move. Willow rolled her hips and Tara’s hands gripped her waist, her tongue flicking against the nipple between her teeth.
Willow reached down between them to grip the hem of Tara’s nightgown. Pulling it up, she rocked her hips all the while. The sounds they made were building along with them, each wordless sigh and groan expertly pulled out of them.
Tara’s fingers once again tangled into bright, red hair as she let go of her girlfriend’s nipple, allowing the redhead to lower her mouth to newly exposed skin. Her hips rocked in tandem with Willow’s, their thighs pressed into dampening fabric.
Willow followed with her mouth along the path cleared by pulling the nightgown higher and higher, up her girlfriend’s body. When she finally uncovered Tara’s beautiful breasts, she had to restrain herself. She absolutely
loved Tara’s breasts. They were perfect, full, firm and soft at the same time, pink areolas and nipples that darkened when her girlfriend was aroused. They fascinated the redhead; she could lose herself in Tara’s cleavage and never come back.
As she was about to reach one of these tantalizing swells, Tara sat up slightly and quickly pulled the nightgown off her body before laying back against the pillows. Willow started by running her tongue on the sensitive underside of Tara’s left breast. The redhead was multitasking, her left arm was supporting her weight. Her right was busy pleasuring her girlfriend’s left breast with agile, greedy fingers. Her mouth was pleasuring the other, all while she rocked her hips along with Tara’s rhythm.
Tara loved feeling Willow move against her, holding her small hips while they swayed and rolled. It always served to make the blonde’s arousal rise. She trailed her fingers along the elastic at the top of her girlfriend’s pajama bottoms. She bit her lip trying to steady herself – Willow’s mouth was, as always, magic. She had nipped and teased her whole breast, before sucking her nipple into her mouth and latching on for dear life. Willow’s tongue, Tara thought, was the
best surprise she’d ever had.
The blonde’s hands slipped under and gripped naked hips. A groan was ripped from her throat, “Willow,” She ran her hands down the swell of her girlfriend’s ass, feeling it tighten and roll against her, “I love you… so much.” She squeezed the soft flesh, pulling Willow into her.
The nipple popped out of Willow’s mouth, “So much,” She titled her head up and kissed her girlfriend thoroughly. Knowing Tara wanted her pants off, she raised herself a bit up on her knees. As expected, she felt the blonde’s hands push the material down her hips.
Willow brought both her legs in between Tara’s widening ones. Panting out of the kiss, she brought her mouth to her girlfriend’s neck instead. She felt long, toned legs encircle her own – The blonde wrapping herself around her.
Reaching down as much as she could, Tara tried to push the superfluous material further down her lover’s legs to no avail. “Off… off…” Her feet came down onto the mattress, her pelvis pressing up impatiently.
The redhead made short work of her pajama pants and returned kneeling between her girlfriend’s legs. She ran her hands under Tara’s thighs and pulled her legs up onto her shoulders. Raising herself up onto her knees, she was able to pull the blonde’s underwear down her hips. Once she lowered herself back down again, she pulled the fabric off and returned long legs to the bed. Laying between them, she covered Tara’s body with her own, kissed her deeply and started moving against her lover.
Tara widened her knees as much as she could, her hips rolling up to meet Willow’s downwards movements. She gripped her girlfriend’s ass again, pulling her closer, she needed more contact. Her girlfriend understood and widened her knees to push against her fully.
It was the most intimate of kisses; the most exquisite of touches.
“Oh God, Tara,” She pressed her forehead against her girlfriend’s, “You feel so good.” Willow’s skin was covered in goosebumps.
Tara nodded, panting, “Kiss me,” She pleaded. Tipping her head back, she was instantly met with her girlfriend’s lips. Their bodies started moving together again, a sheen of sweat developing over their skin, breaths sharp and shallow.
They knew that, as nerve-meltingly wonderful as this contact was, they were reaching a plateau. Willow thought she could easily spend a whole day doing this, but they didn’t have a whole day.
Well, I could reschedule with Buffy… and Tara could stay home…Tara made the decision for them. She ran and hand down Willow’s stomach to the top of soft curls. At the contact, the redhead pulled her hips back in invitation. The blonde guided her girlfriend’s left leg over her right, and slipped her hand between wet, needy skin and her thigh. Her other hand gripped a small hip and started a rocking motion.
Willow rose up unto her knees, Tara’s thigh and hand tight against her – fingers gliding along her engorged, wet skin with every movement. “Oh, baby,”
Tara was transfixed, “You are
so beautiful,” Her lover looked… radiant. Glowing with pleasure and passion. Her red hair was surrounded by a halo of red-tinted sunlight. Her eyes were heavily lidded, lips parted and kiss-swollen. A blush ran down from her cheeks all the way to her chest. Tara really wanted to sit up and take a taut nipple into her mouth – but the vision before her was too compelling to look away. “So beautiful,”
She decided on a compromise. The blonde let go of Willow’s hip and brought her hand to her right breast. It fit perfectly into her palm; she loved how the taut nipple felt rolling against her sensitive skin. Squeezing the small swell, she brought her fingers inward and tightened them around an engorged nipple. With each rock of her lover’s hips, she applied pressure around the captive nub and released. This was something she’d discovered early on; Willow
really enjoyed synchronized sensations on different parts of her body.
The redhead’s hips bucked, “Ohh, Tara,” She felt Tara’s other fingers move against her. Wetly searching, reaching – asking. She fell forward, covering the blonde’s body with her own again. Her hips rocking in a sensual wave along her girlfriend’s thigh and hand. “Yes. Please,”
Tara reached for Willow’s lower back before curling her slick fingers inward. She pressed on her back at the same moment she entered her girlfriend. “Ohh, God,” She felt the redhead’s eager mouth against her neck moan. Tara shivered and turned her head, nuzzling red hair, “I love you,”
Willow ran her right hand down between Tara’s breasts, not wanting to get distracted. Her hand continued its journey along the blonde’s lower abdomen. When she reached the soft curls of her lover’s sex, she felt the fingers inside her flex and press in deeper. “Wil-low,” Her name rolled out of her lover’s mouth in a needy groan.
Her hips rocked forward against the movement of the fingers inside her while her own fingers reached her girlfriend’s wet need. They were quickly coated with her lover’s arousal. She rubbed them against Tara’s clit in tight circles and rocked her hips, gliding herself along her girlfriend’s fingers.
The blonde’s hips rolled, “Ohh,” They’re combined moans could wake up the dead, but neither were conscious of anything but each other. “Ohh God, yes,” She could hear Willow’s breath against her ear, shallow and hot – she was making little desperate sounds that made Tara crazy.
“Baby!” Willow gasped against Tara’s ear, “Close, baby… So close,” She closed her mouth around the sensitive skin below the blonde’s ear, her teeth grazing the surface. Her fingers pressed tighter against her girlfriend’s sex, gliding lower into the dip of her lover’s landscape.
Tara gripped her girlfriend’s tight bottom and pressed harder against her hidden depths. She widened her legs, wanting Willow inside her. Her hips rocked forward as she felt her lover’s fingers enter her fully, her palm slick and flat against her engorged clit. “Ohh, sweet heavens,”
The bed rocked along with them, the headboard drumming passion out in Morse code against the wall.
She felt it then, the tell-tale signs of Willow’s impending orgasm. Her hips were coiled tight, her movements sharper and less coordinated. Her lover’s womanhood was clamped tightly around her. Tara felt it all. “That’s it, Will… that’s it, baby,” Holding onto her girlfriend’s ass, she felt each thrust of her small hips, “God, I love the way you move,”
Willow took a deep breath and held it. Her whole body was tightly wound, right on a knife’s edge, “Tah-rah,” She moaned in her lover’s ear. She shuddered and let go in a long, keening cry. The redhead’s hips jerked and twitched through her climax, the fingers inside her stilled as she rocked back and forth slowly along them. She worked through each moment of pleasure, kissing along her girlfriend’s neck. Pleasure-filled murmurs unconsciously exhaled against warm, soft skin.
Tara’s hips were still moving against Willow’s hand in slow circular movements. Her free hand running up and down the redhead’s back, feeling each twitch of flexing muscles as her girlfriend came down. “So beautiful,”
Willow knew Tara had been focused on her. As powerful as her orgasm had just been, she found herself – not uncommonly, mind – just as aroused as when they’d started. The way her girlfriend felt against her, the movements of her hips, the wet arousal coating her fingers…
Crawling down slowly, Willow took one of her girlfriend’s nipples into her mouth. She shifted her fingers inside her lover, curled them upward and started thrusting slowly into Tara. Her tongue and teeth payed short attention to the captured flesh, though. As Tara let out a deep moan, she carried on down her lover’s body. Leaving a wet trail in the wake of her tongue.
Tara’s fingers were tangled in her lover’s hair, the air hitting her wet skin leaving a cool trail down her body. She shivered when she felt Willow’s wonderful mouth on the inside of her hip, “Will,” Her hips flared up, “I want your mouth so bad,”
“Mmmm” Willow was nuzzling her girlfriend’s sex, building anticipation in herself just as much as in her lover. She withdrew from inside Tara and slid her slick hand up – framing her girlfriend’s clit between wet fingers.
Running her tongue flat against the backs of her fingers, the redhead licked up and over the captured clit once. She grinned devilishly at the resulting jerk of her girlfriend’s body. Redoubling her efforts, she licked against it a little faster, this time with a bit more pressure. The fingers in her hair tightened. Tara groaned, “You’re driving me insane,”
Tara
really tried not to move too much. It was
really difficult. Willow was a natural at this.
Willow smirked, “Am I doing something wrong?” Her fingers tightened around Tara’s clit. She lowered her mouth around it, closed her lips against it and sucked gently.
“Ohh,” Tara’s hips pressed up against Willow’s mouth, “No, nothing wrong!” She gnawed on her lip trying to reign in her body’s reactions. “Right, everything is s-so right. Ohh
God!” The flicker of her lover’s tongue against her clit made her legs shake.
Willow slipped her fingers down the length of Tara’s wet sex and sucked her clit deeper into her mouth. Her fingers teased the blonde’s entrance following the same movements her tongue was making against the bundle of nerves. “Mmmrrph”
Tara couldn’t keep her voice down. She was beyond caring, beyond anything but the feel of her lover’s mouth against her. Of her fingers teasing her, “Will-Ohh!
God, you’re good at that,”
The redhead let go of her girlfriend’s clit and pressed her tongue flat against wet flesh. Dipping her head, she licked the length of Tara’s sex to where her fingers were still teasing. Her fingers went up as her tongue went down. “Mmmph” Willow pressed into her girlfriend with her tongue, tasting her fully. She wiggled it happily at Tara’s entrance. Her fingers hard at work rubbing circles into the needy bundle of nerves.
Tara had to let go of her girlfriend’s hair. She was worried she would hurt her; she could barely control her body’s movements anymore. As it was, she was grinding herself onto Willow’s mouth, “Ohhh, Will,”
After having thoroughly licked her lover’s entrance, the redhead switched again between fingers and tongue – this time, as she sucked Tara’s clit into her mouth, she thrust two fingers inside her as well. The blonde cried out, her hips rocking back and forth. Willow’s tongue played with the bundle between her lips, reveling in how wet her lover was. “Mmmm-Mmpph!”
“YesssAh
Goddess… yes… yes…” Tara’s vocabulary was seriously lacking. Her voice rose with every thrust and every lick. She was quickly approaching the cliff’s edge. Her heels dug into the mattress, her fists clenched at the bed covers.
And then, Willow did that
thing with her tongue. It was like a twirl and a flip – Tara had no idea, but it always made her crazy. She rolled her hips, grinding herself onto Willow’s mouth – her sex clamped down around her lover’s fingers and, as she felt her girlfriend’s fingers press against her walls, and Willow’s tongue brush against her clit in a deliciously rough swirl - she tipped over the edge in a loud, explosive and unintelligible scream.
Willow wrapped her arms around Tara’s thighs, holding onto her hips. Her tongue slipped back down, and tasted her lover’s climax as she wound down slowly. “I love you,” She kissed Tara’s sex over and over until she saw her girlfriend extend her arms. She crawled up into them.
The room fell quiet as they held each other, hands caressing naked skin tenderly. The sun rose higher into the sky making a shaft of light widen across the bed. Morning had officially started. They could hear muffled sounds of students getting ready for their day. Birds called from outside, life was happening around them, but they just basked in the love they’d shared – not wanting the feeling to end.
Willow’s soft voice broke the silence, “Can we stay like this forever?” She planted a kiss on her girlfriend’s shoulder.
The blonde giggled, “Well, if there’s a world full of shrimp, there might be one where p-people are constantly in the afterglow of lovemaking.” She kissed the crown of red hair below her mouth. “I should ask Anya.”
As soon as she said it, Tara knew it was a mistake. But, she couldn’t suck the words back in. She heard a grumble from below, making her chest rattle slightly. The blonde sighed deeply; the mood had shifted and she was the cause of it.
Way to go, Maclay.“Baby?” Willow’s voice broke through, tentative and uncertain. “Can I ask you something?” She was running tiny circles around her lover’s navel with her fingers.
Tara ran fingers through her girlfriend’s hair, “Anything, you know that.”
There was a heavy pause in which the blonde figured Willow was trying to find the right words. She heard her lover take a deep breath, “I just don’t understand. Your friendship… with
Anya.” The name came through her lips tasting of vinegar.
The blonde shifted to her side, bringing them face to face. “You don’t like her, I guess it’s hard to understand why I would.” She was stalling, she knew. Tara just didn’t know how to… explain.
Willow huffed, “I understand why I don’t understand.” Her brow furrowed.
I guess stalling doesn’t really work here. Tara took a deep breath and looked into her lover’s eyes. She saw no anger, jealousy or anything like that. Just plain curiosity. “I think… because of the way I met Anya and the fact you warned me about her, I guess I was prepared?” She shook her head, annoyed at not being able to express herself clearly. Knowing it fell way short of something more complicated.
Willow grimaced and raised an eyebrow, as if to say ‘that’s it?’ “You’re prepared for a gyno’s exam, doesn’t make you like it.”
Tara rolled her eyes, “It’s – I guess I admire parts of her and she makes me laugh a lot. She’s also sensitive… and I think people don’t give her a fair shake because she speaks her mind.”
The redhead frowned, “By people you mean me, don’t you?”
“You’re allowed to not like someone, sweetie.” The blonde looked up to the ceiling for a moment, mulling over her thoughts, “I first got to talk with Anya when we were stuck in Mr. Giles’ bathroom. Before then, she was just there and we hadn’t talked or really met.”
Willow fell silent, wondering where this was going.
“Until that day, I’d watched her – how she interacted with people, you know? Yes, she said things people didn’t like to hear, but she was honest. Yes, she said things in a tactless way… but that kinda made me giggle inside. I saw how sensitive she was, how vulnerable. She had the strength to speak her mind, but at the same time felt h-hurt when people told her she shouldn’t.” She looked back to her girlfriend. Her confused girlfriend.
“We became friends in that bathroom. It was uncomfortable in there, you guys were fighting outside – we were both trying to escape. We didn’t know each other at all… after saying something about the bathroom tiles, we fell silent. If there ever was a picture for awkward silences that would’ve been it.”
A grin grew on her face, “Anya rescued us though. Well, you did, really. We’d just heard you ‘coming out’ through the door. I must’ve been blushing like crazy. She was looking at me with a thoughtful expression, nodding her head.” Shaking her head she continued, “I wanted to crawl out of my skin. I had no idea what she was going to say, how she was going to say it… I couldn’t leave.”
Willow was intrigued, “What did she say?”
Tara looked into her girlfriend’s eyes, “Don’t get mad?” After receiving a nod she said, “She asked me if we were playing around with s-sex magic. That it could be dangerous and, that you might be confused. But, she thought I was a good choice in spell partners.” She kept a close watch on her girlfriend, making sure she wouldn’t blow a fuse.
She continued when Willow kept quiet, “I got defensive a bit - told her we weren’t, you know, playing. A-and, that we weren’t using sex magic. I told her that you weren’t confused anymore and that we were happy. She seemed to take it at face value, which I ap-appreciated. I didn’t want to be questioned about it all… we’d just gotten through the whole Oz thing. But then she started up on her experiences with lesbians throughout the millennia.” She giggled, remembering the whimsical way in which Anya had talked about it.
“I think it was the first time I realized that, to be Anya’s friend, you just have to be… real. Like, confident in who you are and not be apologetic about it, just be you. If you thought, for one second, she was judging
you? You missed the point. If you try to read between Anya’s lines, you miss the point. The first thing she did was to be concerned about you, Will. The way she said it wasn’t diplomatic, it wasn’t sugar coated to s-spare my feelings. But, that’s when I knew we were going to be friends and that she was a difficult gift.”
Willow’s face was priceless, it was as if it was trying to convey conflicting emotions. “Huh? Difficult gift?”
Tara smiled, “Yeah, momma taught me that, in life, I’d meet all kinds of people. People I’d just as soon cast aside because they would make me feel b-bad in some way. That, some of those people would become difficult gifts if I let them. They would, through caring about them, show me parts of myself I’d rather not be. With their difficult friendship, I could change into who I wanted to be – to grow. The best gift really, one that makes you love yourself for who you are. Anya does that for me, Will. Since knowing her… being her friend, I’m better at being
me. Does that make sense?”
She could see in Willow’s eyes thoughts flying around that big brain of hers. Tara reached up and tucked a strand of red hair behind her lover’s ear.
She finally piped up, “So, she’s that important to you? Why does she just piss me off?” Willow was feeling two things clearly: She was humbled by her girlfriend’s wisdom and she was feeling somewhat shallow.
Never thought I’d feel bad for not liking Anya, of all people.Tara answered easily, “Each and every person in my life right now is
that important to me. I didn’t know it for a while there, but when Buffy said we were family? It all kind of made wonderful sense.” She took a deep breath, “And, as far as you not liking Anya… I have theories, but they’re just that. I think you’re the only one who can really know. You just have to want to and be prepared to meet parts of yourself you’d rather not. Hence the difficult part.” She winked and smiled.
Willow kissed her girlfriend softly, “You know, I love you more and more every day, Tara Maclay.” She scooped her up into her arms and rolled them over so Tara was laying partly over her, cradled in her embrace. “But, if I start talking in graphic details about our sex life in public, it’ll be your fault.”
***
Buffy was annoyed. He
knew this was planned and, yet he was giving her
those eyes. “Riley, I told you about today a week ago. Will and I need some bonding time.” She pulled on her pants, looking around for her bra.
Riley was sitting in his chair, wearing his sweatpants and a glum expression. They’d woken up about an hour ago and, looking down at his girlfriend, his chest had grown tight. He missed her, but it was like he missed parts of her he still hadn’t even met. “I know you did. I just thought… I don’t know Buffy, I just want to see you… more.”
The slayer pulled her shirt over her head, “We see each other all the time. School, slaying, and you know… like last night.” She said, smiling. “Which, by the way, was wonderful.”
He didn’t want to be
that guy. The needy guy who smothered his girlfriend. Riley wished he could just be content, happy with what he had. He had a lot to be happy for, really. “It was. And, yeah we see each other a lot. You’re right, let’s drop it.” What he wanted to say would have fallen into the needy category.
He wanted to ask when
his bonding time would be.
He
really didn’t want to be that guy. Riley knew he was, though… and he hated it.
***
She looked outside her window at the students milling around, enjoying their Saturday morning. Erynn had been dreading this. Thoughts of anxiety attacks, flashbacks and all kinds of bad stuff had kept her awake most of the night. It had been so long since she’d faced the world without her pendant, she was worried. There were so many people out there.
Glancing at the clock, she noticed time was flying by. She really needed to get those ingredients. She also needed to find help, somehow. The longer she was procrastinating, the worse things would get.
Exhaling a long breath, she walked over to her desk and picked up her pendant, the ingredients list, the spell details, and her fedora. She didn’t feel like messing with her hair, she’d brushed it. That was plenty. Stuffing the necessary items into her bag, she pulled the hat over her head and grabbed her keys.
Here goes nothing.She gingerly opened her door and peeked outside, her feet firmly on the room’s side of the threshold. A girl walked passed her and Erynn closed her eyes.
Worry, fear, longing, love, loneliness… She opened her eyes again as the girl rounded a corner. She felt herself shifting back and shook her head.
This is going to suck.***
Buffy looked at the clock over the counter again. Willow was late. Going on thirty minutes late, to be exact. She sipped her mocha, tapping her fingernails against the table’s surface.
Come on, Will. I had to deal with sad face for this.As she was weighing her cup, trying to determine how much was still left, she saw red hair from the corner of her eye.
Willow rushed into the coffee shop, completely flustered. She quickly made her way towards her friend, “I am
so sorry. I got delayed by my stupid neighbor.” Glancing at Buffy’s drink, she motioned toward herself, “Just gonna go get myself one of those, be back in a jiffy.”
The slayer watched the redhead quickly turn around and walk toward the counter, “Ok, then.” She sipped at her mocha, made a face before swishing the drink around the cup a bit. She took another sip, nodded her approval and set the cup back down. She looked up when she heard the scrape of a chair being pulled from under her table.
Willow flopped down, sipping her mocha, “Mmm”. She sighed loudly and leaned back in the chair, puffing out her cheeks.
With a grin on her face, Buffy piped up, “So, what did your neighbor want?” She loved frazzled Willow.
“Oh! Um…” The redhead blushed, fiddling with her cup, “Nothing really, just a noise complaint. He had a lot to say.” She looked down at the table, avoiding her friend’s gaze.
The slayer laughed, “Noise complaint, huh?”
Hmm decisions, decisions. Do I make her squirm? “I guess some of those spells you guys do must be pretty intense.” Buffy was good at playing dumb.
Willow grinned into her cup, “Yeah, intense. I need to switch my room around.” She took a mouthful, and finally looked up to see the slayer’s eyebrows high up on her forehead with an evil grin on her face.
Oh, jeez. Here we go…Buffy took a drink of her mocha and grimaced before putting it back on the table. She pushed it away from herself, “Let me guess, your bed is against his wall.” She giggled at the deepening blush on her friend’s face, “First rule of dorm life, your bed goes against the outside facing wall.”
“The desk too, apparently.” The redhead grumbled under her breath subconsciously.
The slayer leaned back in her chair, hands up with her palms out towards her friend, “Did I hear
desk!? Willow Rosenberg… why I never!” She feigned a shocked expression.
“Buffy…” Willow shifted in her chair uncomfortably.
Damn Slayer hearing!Her friend shook her head and chuckled, “I’m just teasing, Will. I can’t say I’m not surprised, though. You two are so quiet and stuff. I was picturing a Lilith fair thing: roses and candles, soft music in the genre of Enya or Sarah Mclachlan… you know, the girly stuff.”
Willow raised an eyebrow, “Ok, first off… you were ‘picturing’ my sex life? You have something you want to tell me?” A grin tugged at the corner of her mouth.
Buffy sputtered, “No, not like that! You know, just… since you came out I’ve been thinking about… stuff. I guess I’ve been trying to understand the whole thing.” She shook her head, “I see what you did there, Rosenberg. You’re not off the hook.” She said, pointing at her friend.
The redhead sighed, “I wasn’t aware I was
on a hook. What is it, Buff?” She sipped her mocha and looked around. There weren’t that many people at the Espresso Pump this morning. This suited Willow just fine.
The small blonde took a deep breath. She’d been curious for a while now, wondering about things and worrying about her best friend, too. Buffy just didn’t know how to bring it up. This was the perfect opportunity, really.
But, as fun as a squirming Willow could be, she didn’t want to make her uncomfortable for real. “You know I’m not big on the whole sexual orientation thing. I mean, I get it… Gay, lesbian, bi… it makes sense.” She looked at her friend before continuing, “I just don’t know… I guess I don’t know where you fit in there.”
Willow was confused, “I’m with a woman, Bu…”
Buffy cut her off, “I know, I know. But, you were with Oz too. And, you seemed happy with him before the whole… Veruca thing.” She scratched her head, “I don’t know, I guess I don’t understand why you say you’re gay and not bi?”
“Oh.” The redhead was a bit stunned. She’d jumped all these hoops herself in the last year or so. Now she felt a bit guilty about not letting her best friends in on the whole process. It
had been confusing. “Well, yeah I was happy with him I guess.” She frowned, trying to think how she could explain.
Her friend cut in again, “I don’t want to make things uncomfortable or complicated, Will. I just want to know… I guess I want to know how you
knew.” Buffy looked at her beseechingly.
Willow sighed, “How about you go get another mocha while I organize my thoughts?”
Buffy nodded, pointing at her discarded drink, “Yeah, that one’s dead. I’ll be right back.” She stood up to make her way to the counter.
Well if I’d have known this is how it would go, I’d have been prepared. Thought Willow ruefully.
How did I know? How do I explain that without it getting all… sexy?The slayer came back with a fresh mocha and sat back down across from her friend, “Ok, hit me.”
Willow let out a deep breath, “I guess I’ll start with Oz.” She looked at Buffy who nodded for her to continue, “You’re right, I
was happy with him. As happy as I thought I could be. I mean, he was a great guy, you know? Considerate, loving, understanding, wise… he was a lot of good things. And he loved
me. Because he loved me, I loved him back I guess. I felt lucky. He was the first person who’d shown an interest in me like that.” She leaned back in her chair, mulling her thoughts over.
“I was happy, yes. But, I couldn’t help but feel like something was missing. I noticed you with Angel, and then Riley and saw how you couldn’t stay away from each other. I didn’t feel that… passion, I guess. It was comfortable, but not… complete?” She shook her head, “You know, I never looked at Oz, or any other guy for that matter, thinking ‘I want to jump his bones’. It was never that intense… it was more about comfort or something. The Fluke with Xander was about the thrill of getting away with it, sad to say.” She grimaced.
Buffy tentatively asked, “So, you weren’t… I mean, satisfied? With Oz?” She winced, knowing full well if she were on the receiving end of that question, she’d be squirming a hole into her chair.
Willow shook her head, seemingly undaunted by the question, “No, I wasn’t. It’s weird because, at the time? I figured that’s just the way it was supposed to be. I thought I was looking for something that didn’t really exist. Like I had my hopes up, or something.” She pulled at her sweater, “Then I met Tara. We were voiceless, she entwined her fingers with mine – we moved a soda machine together. And, there it was… what I was missing. I couldn’t let go of her hand; I didn’t want to. Everything in me woke up all at once. It scared me and I freaked a bit for a while… but I couldn’t stay away. And, when we finally… you know, slept together, it felt like the most natural thing ever. I’d never felt like that. It was more than just physical.” She shrugged and looked down at the table, blushing.
Silence fell between them, each lost in their own thoughts for a moment.
Buffy broke the silence, “You told me you guys met when the Gentlemen came to town. But, we didn’t meet Tara for a long time after that.” She fiddled with her cup, “Were you scared of us?”
Willow laughed unexpectedly, “I was scared of
everything. Everything outside of Tara was up in the air, and I just wanted to stay in that simple place with her. I didn’t want to share her… I didn’t want to have to explain her. Defend myself…” She shook her head self-deprecatingly, “It was selfish of me, really. It made Tara feel bad, like she was something I was embarrassed about.”
The slayer reached for her friend’s hand, squeezing it gently, “I’m sure it wasn’t easy, Will. Tara must’ve understood that.”
The redhead nodded, “Yeah, she did. She’d been through the whole coming out thing, she knew it wasn’t easy.” She let out a deep breath, “So, that’s how I knew I was gay-gay. I started looking at women differently after that… kinda clarified everything.”
Buffy was still curious, “So, you had no idea before then? I mean, you didn’t meet girls and, I don’t know, get crushes?” She drank the last gulp of her mocha.
Willow thought for a minute before answering, “Life is weird like that, I guess. You only understand something so far as what information you have at hand, you know? In high school, I assumed I was straight – read: ‘normal’. I would look at girls and think they were pretty, they smelled good or they seemed soft… I don’t know, I guess I thought it didn’t mean anything. I was just being observant or something.” She chuckled, “Even when I had steamy dreams. Looking back though, I realize they weren’t just friendly feelings.”
Buffy’s thoughts took a sharp left turn, “Huh.” She frowned and stared at a fascinating muffin crumb that was sitting on the table in front of her.
The redhead caught the change in the slayer, “Ok, what?” She asked, wondering what could make her friend’s mood switch so fast.
The blonde shook her head, “Oh, nothing - Just thinkin’.” She said quickly, flicking the crumb off the table with her finger. She played with her empty cup avoiding eye contact.
Willow knew better, “This bonding thing goes both ways, Summers. I did my spill, now it’s your turn. You have something face.” She scowled.
Buffy rolled her eyes, “It’s egotistical and stupid. I’m not sure I want to know, anyway.” Her eyes fell to the table again.
Her friend’s brow furrowed deeply, “Buffy, what is it? You can ask me anything.”
The slayer looked up into concerned green eyes, “I mean… in high school, did you crush on me?” She shook her head quickly, “Don’t answer that. It’s stupid.” She felt her face grow hot.
Willow stared at her friend intently for a moment, “I
can answer that, you know. It’s up to you if you want me to, though.” She thought for a second before adding, “Whether I do or not, it won’t change anything between us Buff. I can promise that much.”
Buffy looked up again and took a deep breath, “Ok, yeah… I wanna know. I don’t know
why, but I do.” She stilled herself.
Don’t freak. Don’t freak.There was an evil part of Willow’s psyche that just wanted to play with her friend like a cat with a mouse. Make her squirm and blush…
But, the considerate part of her brain was much bigger. “You were beautiful, strong, loyal, brave, friendly, and considerate. You were inspiring
and the best friend I’d ever had, Xander included. I crushed hard, Buffy.” She smiled, shaking her head. “I had
no clue, but yeah. If you don’t pay attention to something though, soon enough it changes on you. Our friendship grew, my crushy feelings receded and then one day you were my best friend. Buffy Summers: Vampire Slayer.” She paused before adding, “You know, I’m glad I didn’t know I was gay back then. It would’ve sucked, really… a lot.”
Buffy was surprised. She thought she might find out Willow had a thing for her in high school, but it didn’t bother her the way she expected it would. It all made a lot of sense really, and it didn’t feel like her friend was different with her in any way because of it. “Wow, well I’m flattered,” She smiled genuinely, “And, yeah, I get that you being out back then would’ve been rough. I’m glad things happened the way they did though, our friendship is something I don’t ever want to lose.” She took her friend’s hand in hers and squeezed it gently. Affection reflecting off her deep hazel gaze, “I can’t imagine my life without you in it, Will.”
Willow smiled, eyes shining, “Me too.” Her stomach took this moment to growl loudly, “Heh, I guess it’s food time. What do you think, how about some fish tacos?”
***
Tara reached behind her head and tightened her pony-tail, humming along with the music playing over the speakers. …
Then I spent so many nights Just thinking how you did me wrong, and I grew strong, and I learned how to get along… Her foot tapping the rhythm out on the carpeted floor.
She took the mail notice from between her teeth, looking at it again as if it would tell her what she received. …
Did you think I'd lay down and die? Oh no not I, I will survive. For as long as I know how to love, I know I'll stay alive…The line moved forward a bit, so she two-stepped ahead. Her blond head bobbing along with the tune, pony-tail swinging. Unbeknownst to Tara, she received smiles from most the people in line behind her. Only a couple of odd looks, but she was happily oblivious. She was just full of joyful feelings and she wouldn’t entertain anything that would change that.
Even this interminable lineup.
Her eyes peered at the clock on the wall again. She was supposed to be at the Magic Box thirty minutes from now… with lunch. Tara hated being late, but even that wouldn’t mess up her groove. …
And I spent oh so many nights just feeling sorry for myself. I used to cry, but now I hold my head up high. And you see me, somebody new... Another two-step forward.
***
Erynn grumbled internally. Why everything needed to be on the busiest street in this town confounded her. She zig-zagged her way through the Saturday hubbub of Sunnydale, fists clenched and jaw in a tight line.
À la claire fontaine, M'en allant promener. J'ai trouvé l'eau si belle, que je m'y suis baigné... The song went along in her mind, anchoring herself.
The Canadian tried to stay away from those around her, making her look more than a little paranoid. She glanced up from under her hat from time to time, gauging her direction and destination. She mainly navigated by shadows.
Il y a longtemps que je t'aime, Jamais je ne t'oublierai… Truth be told, so far things were going much better than she’d anticipated. No flashbacks to speak of, no overwhelming emotions that weren’t her own. Erynn just felt the normal queasiness from rapidly shifting, her connection to strangers automatically enhanced by the lack of her pendant.
Looking up, she was relieved to see the store she was looking for. The Magic Box stood proud just across the street. Making sure to look both ways, Erynn crossed quickly and dashed into the store.
The loud jingle of the bell above the door made her jump. She pressed her back against the closed door, taking a deep breath, eyes darting left and right.
“Welcome to the Magic Box,” Said a chipper voice from further into the shop, heels clacked loudly against the floor towards her, “Our goods and services of the magical variety will surely…“ When the voice stopped mid-sentence, Erynn looked up and squinted.
Isn’t that Anika something?Anya cocked her head and quirked an eyebrow at the new arrival, “I know you. You’re Tara’s friend. Are you feeling better than last night?”
That was nice right? Asking about someone’s wellbeing is a good thing.Erynn looked around and noticed the shop was empty save for themselves. She took her hat off and extended her hand, “Erynn. Sorry, I didn’t catch your name last night,” Her brow creased and suddenly said, “This must be a profitable business.”
Ok… suddenly I like money a lot.The shop keeper brightened, “Oh, yes! It’s all about location you see. Sunnydale is prime location for magic suppliers.” Shaking Erynn’s hand vigorously she continued, “Anya’s the name. Shop-keep’s the game! Please, come in and spend your money.” Her smile was wide across her face as she nodded and waved for the Canadian to follow her further into the store.
Eyes unblinking, Erynn stood still for a moment.
Money, sex, pretty things, love, confusion, passion… Shaking her head, she followed Anya into the store. She took in everything on the shelves and the books on display.
I guess this is the real deal. She walked along with the shop keeper, ending up at the counter.
Anya returned behind the counter where she’d been reading the back orders log. She looked at Erynn expectantly, “Is there anything I can help you with?”
Erynn reached into her bag and pulled out the ingredient’s list, “Ouais, um, yes… I think you can. I have a list here. I’d like to get whatever you have that is on here.” She pushed the list over the counter with a shaky hand and poked it with a finger.
The ex-vengeance demon happily took what seemed to be a lengthy list of items. She read through it carefully, “This shouldn’t be a problem, but…” She looked at Erynn with a stunned expression, “We have packages that would save you money. Depending on the purpose for the spell…” She quirked an eyebrow expectantly but, when Erynn remained silent, she huffed, “Is this for a talisman? A charm? A person? A dog?”
Taken aback by how much Anya seemed to know her stuff, Erynn stumbled over her words, “A- it’s a pendant. Cleansing spell, right?” She fiddled with the brim of her hat, “You wouldn’t happen to be a witch, would you?”
“It’s a cleansing spell, yes. A powerful one. Done wrong it might strip all mystical properties from your necklace.” Anya cocked her head, “You’re an empath? These ingredients… ”
They regarded each other curiously in silence for a moment before Erynn piped up, “So, these packages?” She pulled her fedora back onto her head. “I could get all these ingredients bundled together and save money?”
Anya nodded, content to let it go for now, “Yes. We have two different packages. One of which would be missing a few items from your list. Another that would have a couple items extra. Unnecessary for the spell you’ll be casting. Since the spell changes depending on the focus, the bundles were put together to satisfy all needs.” She was proud of these, having convinced Giles that they would make them money in the long run. So far, they already had. “Of course, we have the missing ingredients from the first bundle in stock as well.” She beamed.
She was not a haggler by any means. Erynn never did like money; found it quite stupid how a piece of paper could make or break you. Decide whether you’re fed or not. But, right here facing Anya – she wanted to pinch every penny she could, scratch a bargain out of every ingredient.
She took a deep breath, ignoring those urges. “If I take the one with too much in it, would the ingredients left-over be dangerous?” She hiked the strap of her bag further up her shoulder, “I just want to be safe.”
Anya shook her head, her brow creasing, “No. Who will cast this? You?” She asked, concern clearly written on her face.
Erynn shook her head, “Not me. That’s another thing I need. Help,” She rolled her eyes, “Again.” She scratched at the countertop with a fingernail, looking sheepish. “What I need is to know a witch.” Letting out a deep breath, she continued, “I’ll take the second package, please.” She smiled at Anya, liking her straightforwardness. For all her abruptness, she cared.
Oh, crap. What’s the socially acceptable thing to do? Do I tell her Tara’s a witch? That Willow’s a witch? Is that like, outing them? The ex-vengeance demon was uncomfortable.
I don’t want Tara mad at me.Oh! What would Tara do?Anya grinned suddenly, “I’m sure I can help you find someone. If you leave your phone number, I’ll make sure to contact you when I get a few names.”
Yeah! That works. She nodded once, decisively.
The Canadian was all smiles, “Wow, really?” She looked around the shop at the far wall, picking out a large, dark suede map of the universe. Different constellations depicted in thin, bright lines; it was a beautifully colored piece that had caught her eye. “That map on the wall there, if it’s for sale I’d like to buy it.” She pointed to the wall and winked at Anya.
The shop keeper frowned, “I’m not having sex with you.” She crossed her arms over her chest.
The nerve!Erynn’s eyes could have popped right out of her face, “Maudite Marde!” She backed away from the counter, hands up ahead of her in surrender. “I-I just wanted to thank you for being so helpful!” She could feel her face light up bright red.
This seemed enough to pacify Anya though, “Oh! Well, thank you. That’s an expensive piece!” She beamed.
Who winks at just anyone like that?The rest of the transaction went without problems once the Canadian regained her composure. Erynn paid for her purchases with her credit card, not having that much cash on hand. After giving her phone number, she made her way out, “Thanks again, Anya. You’ve been great.” She smiled genuinely at the pretty Shop-keep.
Anya waved, “You’re welcome! We appreciate your business.” She smiled to herself.
What a nice girl, and generous, too! Odd, she sounded French… Generous and French? The ex-vengeance demon shrugged.
If she’d learned anything in the last thousand years, it’s that she could always be surprised.
***
The box slipped from the hold she had around it with her arm when she tried to look at her watch. Tara fumbled ungracefully trying to catch it, her other hand incapacitated by a bag of Chinese food. The bag swayed dangerously to and fro. The box bounced off her fingers once, teetering in the air on its length. She quickly reached up and grabbed at the space ahead of her on impulse.
She caught the box. Tara smiled, pretty pleased with herself. Hurrying her step, the witch suddenly tripped on an uneven section of the sidewalk. She rolled her eyes when she regained her balance and continued on her way toward the Magic Box. Blowing a sharp breath up her brow, she tried to remove an annoying loose strand of hair dangling in front of her left eye.
I’m late, I’m late, I’m late… Anya would hate that reference.A few minutes later, she was at the door to the shop. Tara reached for it with her Chinese food laden hand. The bag made twisting the knob almost impossible, counteracting each rotation she made like a pendulum’s swing. The blonde tucked the box under her chin and used that hand instead. Once the door was open, she pushed against it with her bum while she retrieved the box again with her now free hand.
The bell announced her arrival as she pushed the door closed behind her with a booted foot. Tara looked around making sure there weren’t any customers, “Anya, I’ve got Chinese!” She tried to make her voice carry, without actually… shouting.
“You’re late! I’m hungry.” Came the agitated sound of Anya’s voice, “You’re all red and out of breath,” She reached for the sign on the door, switching it to: ‘Sorry, We’re closed’. “Are you ok?” She asked while they made their way toward the research table.
Tara deposited her load on the tabletop and puffed out a breath, “I got a mail package notice. I had no idea the line would be that long,” She poked at the box on the table as she sat down, “I still have no clue what it is. It’s s-sent to me, the return address doesn’t ring a bell.” She shrugged and started unpacking their lunch.
Anya sat across from her friend, “What did you get?” She bounced in her seat, she was ravenous.
The witch stared blankly at the ex-vengeance demon for a beat.
I just told you… but she quickly caught on, “Oh, the food. Um…” She sifted through the neatly folded containers, “We have two wonton soups. I got you your general Tso’s chicken, water chestnut and broccoli for me, with enough steamed rice for a small village.” She grinned at her friend, “Sound good?”
Anya clapped excitedly, “Yay! I haven’t had Tso’s in so long!” She got up quickly to gather plates and utensils, bringing them to the table. “I’m not using those sticks. Forks and spoons are much more sensible.”
Tara’s eyes twinkled with mirth, she really enjoyed Anya’s enthusiasm for the mundane. “Thanks,” She said when she was offered a plate, a fork and a spoon. She decided to follow her friend’s lead and use the more commonly used utensils as well.
Being they were both quite hungry, they dug into their food in companionable silence for a while.
Once their soups were done, Anya broke the silence, “I meant to ask you last night, did you get anything delivered here?” She reached for the rice, scooping a helping onto her plate.
Tara’s brow furrowed, “Huh? No… why?” She dabbed at her mouth with her napkin before doing the same with the rice as Anya had.
Anya swallowed quickly, “Because we received a large package for you yesterday after-noon. A trunk. It’s odd, no return address.” She stabbed a piece of chicken and popped it into her mouth. Her cheek suddenly popped up, apparently having tucked her chicken away to speak, “It’s in the training room, I’ll show you when we’re done.”
“Huh,” Was all the blonde witch could say, “Ok.” She dumped some water chestnuts and broccoli onto her rice before opening a soya sauce packet with her teeth. “Now I’m curious.” Tara dribbled some of the sauce onto her meal, biting her lip in concentration.
The ex-vengeance demon finished chewing and said, “I have to admit, so am I.” She looked towards the other package Tara received, where it sat on the table. “What about that one? You’re not curious?”
Tara shrugged and finished her bite before answering, “Kinda, but I want to enjoy my meal first.” She smiled, “This is really good,” Her eyes widened and sparkled in delight.
Anya smiled back, “It really is, thank you for buying lunch!” She reached out for Tara’s upper arm and shook it awkwardly, although amiably.
The witch’s eyebrows shot up, a grin spread wide across her face at her friend’s exuberance, “My pleasure.” She giggled, “So, how’s the day been so far?”
“Oh, it’s been pretty quiet,” Anya dumped a second helping of Tso’s chicken onto her plate, “Although, that friend of yours came in and made a big purchase!” She beamed, “That was exciting.”
Tara quirked an eyebrow, “Friend of mine?” She looked quizzically at the shop keeper.
Anya nodded, “Yes. Erynn, right? The French girl?” She chased the last bit of her rice around her plate with her fork, ultimately failing at her attempt to pick it up, and quit. Anya eyed the taunting rice grains with disdain, “Rice is annoying. She’s very generous for a French person.”
The blonde absently said, “French Canadian,” She chewed a new bite carefully while mulling over her thoughts.
Erynn was here? Is she a witch? She eyed her friend over her plate. Taking a breath, she spoke up, “Anya, I’m curious about what Erynn was doing here.”
Her meal was done, so she focused her attention on the conversation at hand while making tea. “Ah, Quebecoise then. Lovely place, Quebec. Very busy for me during its founding.” The ex-vengeance demon looked at her friend intently, “You two haven’t known each other for very long have you?”
Tara dabbed at the corners of her mouth with her napkin, “No, we just m-met really. She feels weird though, energetics wise.” Bringing the last bite of broccoli from her plate to her lips, she paused, “She shifts,” She said and finally took her favorite veggie into her mouth. Closing her eyes to savor it just because it was the last one she would have.
“Shifts? You mean… becomes someone else?” Anya was intrigued, she’d only known of two shifters in her lifetime. Both of whom she’d learned about through stories passed down over centuries.
Thus throwing the validity of her knowledge into murky waters.
A thought hit her and she cocked her head, perplexed, “Wait, isn’t she an empath?” She quirked an inquisitive eyebrow at Tara.
Tara replied with two raised eyebrows of her own and a shrug, “I have no idea,” She reached for the containers, closing those with food still in them and putting them back in the bag. “I think it’s more complicated than her just becoming s-someone else, though.” Peering into the bag, she made sure the chopsticks were still there and that there were still a few napkins left.
Anya busied herself with the empty containers and picking up the dirty cutlery and plates, “Well, she has an empath’s buffering pendant.” She shuffled the plates together, placing the utensils on top of the pile. “Pretty sure it overloaded last night. She bought the ingredients for a powerful cleansing spell to fix it.”
Tara bit her lip, playing with the handle to the plastic bag in front of her, “Huh, well things make a bit more sense. I mean, I still have no idea what’s going on, but pieces are coming together I guess.”
Something needled at her, “When Will and I brought her home last night, something weird happened.” She looked up at Anya who was sitting back down across from her after having settled two tea cups onto the table’s surface, “Thanks. She was all over the place before getting to her room, but as soon as she crossed the door she kind of exploded – her energy. When I think about it v-visually, it’s like a flower blossoming at super high s-speed, all these colors popping – like, she became all p-possible shifts at once or something.” She twisted the plastic handle between her fingers nervously, “It scared the crap out of me, to be honest.”
After a minute of silence, Anya wasn’t more the wiser, “I don’t know what that’s about. But, we could do some research if you think it’s worth it.” She smoothed over her skirt anxiously, “She asked for help, for the cleansing spell. She can’t do it herself. She needs a witch.”
“Oh.” Tara blanched a bit, “D-did you tell her about W-will and I?” She tried to steady her pulse, but she could still feel her skin crawling from the night before.
Anya shook her head, “No. I told her I’d try to find names for her. She left her number.” Her lips twitched up in a small smile, feeling like she’d done the right thing.
Tara nodded once, “Oh. Good.” She blinked a few times, wet her suddenly dry lips, “I’m going to talk to Willow about it, see what she thinks. Whatever hap-happens, I’m not doing anything without her.” Resigned, she took a deep breath and smiled at Anya, “Thanks Anya. You’re a good friend.”
Anya was moved and it felt… odd, but good. She looked at the clock, “Well, I still have half an hour!” She clapped, “You have two mystery packages, what do you say?” She said excitedly.
The witch quirked an eyebrow, “Mr. Giles gives you a full hour for lunch, now?” She asked, dubious.
The shop-keeper waved a hand through the air dismissively, “I’ve been asking for an hour lunch for what feels like forever. Giles is out of town, what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.” She rolled her eyes, “Besides, I make him money hand over fist anyway.”
Tara giggled, “Well, ok then,” She reached for the package she’d gotten earlier, “We can start with this one I guess.” She worked at the tape with her short nails for a minute but, smiled gratefully at her friend when a pair of scissors landed in front of her on the table.
Anya shrugged, “Maud, one of the lesbians I knew in the 1800’s, she was all about the short nails this, short nails that. I get it,” She patted Tara’s shoulder in solidarity, nodded and sat back down. “The only reason her lover didn’t end up with razorblades for fingertips was because she was a woman. I was very set in my ways, you know.” She finished while inspecting her perfectly manicured nails.
The blonde blushed, “Th-thanks,” Grinning despite herself, she made short work of opening the box with help from the sharp implement. She opened the flaps, “Eeep!” Jumped up and quickly closed the box again.
Her face now bright red with embarrassment. Memories flooding back.
The box flaps kept popping up, taunting the witch, “Um-” She slapped them down again as if swatting at a spider. Of course, they just popped right back up, “Ok, Anya?”
Anya was amused, intrigued, and not a little curious about… “What’s in the box!?” She asked loudly, craning her neck - desperately wanting to know.
Tara couldn’t help it, she burst out laughing. She covered her face with both hands but only laughed harder.
The ex-vengeance demon thought her friend had lost it, “Tara, what’s in the box?” She frowned.
“S-stop saying that!” She was crying, she seriously thought she might pee. The embarrassment the witch felt pushed her emotions to overdrive, sending her on an all-out giggle fest.
Noticing how Anya was getting upset though, she took a few breaths and tried to compose herself.
Tara consoled her now grouchy friend, “It’s a famous line in a movie. ‘What’s in the box!?’ If you haven’t seen ‘Seven’, we’ll watch it together. Great movie – right up your alley. Brad Pitt’s in it.” She smiled apologetically, rubbed her stomach and took another breath.
Anya nodded adamantly, “Yes, definitely! I love watching movies with you.” She beamed, then frowned, “So, uh…” She pointed at the box, “What’s that?”
Tara sat back down and sighed, “You remember that night we hung out and watched a rerun marathon of Hollywood Squares?”
Anya nodded, “We got quite inebriated. It was fun,” She grinned wistfully, “You’re a funny drunk. You get all sassy and giggle a lot.”
Tara thought about when she made it home that night and blushed, “Um, yeah. Well… you r-remember how we got to talking about stuff?” She quirked an eyebrow, willing her friend to catch on, “You got your laptop out… we did some um, sh-shopping?” She eyed the box, then back.
Her face, she was sure, was catching fire that very instant.
“Oh My God!” Realization struck Anya right between the eyes. She bounced up from her seat, “I want to see it!” She ran towards the box, but Tara snatched it up into her arms as if she was holding a football. If the witch knew where the end zone was, she’d have made a run for it.
“Oh, Tara! Please!?” Anya pouted and stomped a high-heeled foot.
The blonde gnawed at her lip, torn between two parts of herself. “You don’t tell
anyone. Not Xander, not
anyone. Promise me.” Tara held Anya’s eyes in her steely glare, willing her to understand she meant it.
Don’t fuck this up, Anya.Anya shook her head solemnly, “I wouldn’t jeopardize our friendship, I promise.” She looked at the box in her friend’s arms, “So, can I?” The ex-vengeance demon asked with trepidation, bouncing in place with barely contained excitement.
Tara winced, placed the box on the table and motioned for her friend to come closer. She didn’t want to actually take the items
out of said box. Once they were side by side, the ex-vengeance demon nudged the witch’s shoulder with her own, urging her to just open it.
She took a deep breath to steel herself and opened the box fully for the first time. Tara looked down, blue eyes wide in innocent shock, unblinking, and mouth agape.
Anya gasped, “Oh, wow…” She reached tentatively towards the cardboard container, but Tara promptly slapped her hand away. “Ow!”
“No t-t-tou-” Tara closed her eyes and sucked a quick breath in, “Touching! No touching.” She bent at the waist, moving her head towards the table’s surface. Looking sideways into the package, she tried to get another angle on the box’ contents. “Well, this is… n-new.” She grimaced slightly.
What was I thinking? She rolled her eyes and sighed out loud.
You know exactly what you were thinking. She stood back up straight, shaking her head.
Anya quirked an eyebrow at Tara, a self-satisfied look on her face, “I knew the timber would grow on you sooner or later.” She smirked.
The witch shot her a glare so cold, the shop keeper’s mouth shut closed with an audible snap.
***
The cool vanilla flavored indulgence was melting slowly in thick, white rivulets down her sugar cone. Willow ran her tongue all the way around its circumference, “No sense in trying, I will get you vanilla goodness.” She smacked her lips contentedly once the cone was clean again.
She was practically skipping home, having had a great day with her best friend. After mochas and some heart to heart, they’d gone for food then shopping and finished off with an ice-cream treat. She was carrying a bag which swung from her left hand. A new dress she thought her girlfriend would appreciate her wearing.
Not revealing, yet form fitting and soft to the touch. Just like my girl likes’em. She thought proudly. Even Buffy had said it accentuated her feminine curves.
Tee-hee, I have hips!Willow rounded the corner and spotted a familiar figure in the distance. She smiled, recognizing her girlfriend instantly even though she was a little more than a block away. Her step sped up excitedly, but she made sure to not spill her ice-cream. When she got close enough to make out what Tara was doing, she noticed she was talking with an elderly lady who was sat on the sidewalk wearing tattered clothing.
The redhead ducked into an alley and peered around the corner, knowing Tara would be embarrassed if she knew Willow had seen her. She licked her ice-cream happily and watched as her girlfriend handed the lady a plastic bag.
An adoring smile pulled at Willow’s mouth.
The blonde bent down and opened the bag for the lady to see its contents. She saw the woman’s old hands reach inside and pull out chop-sticks, giggling in delight. Tara glowed, she looked so happy Willow’s heart skipped a beat. She absentmindedly threw her ice-cream cone, half-eaten, into a trash can next to her.
Eyes fixed on her beautiful Tara.
The, she assumed, homeless lady had a couple of boxes opened in front of her now, happily eating what looked to be Chinese food. With warm smiles and a wave, Tara walked away towards home. Away from Willow’s position hiding in an alley. She quickly made to move forward, wiping her sticky hand on her cargo pants.
As she passed the lady she had been watching, they exchanged bright smiles and nods hello. Willow was slowly but surely catching up to Tara. When she rounded a corner and noticed her girlfriend had stopped to look in a shop’s window, she called out, “Tara!” Smiling and waving at the blonde excitedly.
Tara turned her head, having heard Willow’s voice. She fiddled with the Magic Box carry bag slung over her shoulder nervously. Nonetheless, she smiled and walked towards her girlfriend.
“Hey,” Said Tara, blushing slightly, “Fancy meeting you here.” She gave Willow’s mouth a soft kiss, “Mmm, vanilla lips.” The blonde beamed, eyes sparkling.
Willow blushed, “Hi, baby. Missed you today,” She reached out for her girlfriend’s hand, “Did you have a good time with Anya?” She asked, motioning forward questioningly. Tara nodded, so they set forth toward home together.
Tara entwined her fingers with her girlfriend’s, “Yeah, I did. We had Chinese for lunch and chit-chatted. There’s some stuff I want to talk with you about once we get to your room.” She squeezed the small hand in hers gently, her gaze falling to the sidewalk in thought.
The redhead nodded, “Ok, as soon as we get settled we can talk, if you want.” She smiled for a second, before remembering something, “Oh, right. My room. Um… Keith kinda ripped me a new one this morning.” She winced, looking sideways at her girl.
The blonde frowned, “How come?” She asked, tilting her head in concern. Willow’s neighbor wasn’t a friend or anything, but he seemed nice enough. If not a bit stuck up.
The bag Willow was holding flopped around in the air as she gesticulated while she talked, “He said we were being too loud. He heard… stuff. Banging and um… we apparently woke him up this morning. Anyway, I need to move my room around and once that’s done, no problemo.” She blushed and swung their clasped hands looking straight ahead.
Tara snickered, a little embarrassed but nonetheless finding it oddly humorous, “Ooops.” She said sarcastically, her eyes sparkling mischievously. “What we really need is soundproofing. I doubt moving the bed will change much.” She said, biting the inside of her lip to stop herself from grinning like an idiot.
The redhead gave her girlfriend a sideways glance, “Did you guys drink again?” She questioned, somewhat surprised by Tara’s reaction.
Tara knocked their shoulders together and feigned annoyance, “That happened
once!” She raised an eyebrow, “And, as I recall, you didn’t seem to mind taking advantage of me, drunk and vulnerable as I was.” She said, chin raised in the air righteously. Her demeanor completely betrayed by the gleam in her eye and the lop-sided grin she couldn’t help sporting.
Willow snorted, “Vulnerable? The way I remember it, you came home and pretty much attacked me. I was being all research-gal and suddenly, there’s a lioness in the room with me.” She squeezed the hand in hers gently, “Not complaining, mind you.” Her nose crinkled up, tongue peeked between her teeth as she bared them in a snarl that was nothing but cute on her impish face, “Rawr!”
The blonde fiddled with the strap leading up her chest. Finding it more than a little Ironic how they were finding themselves recalling the same night she and Anya had drunkenly ordered the contents of the fabric bag slung over her shoulder. Her face grew hot, “I remember,” She gulped, nothing seemed to keep the images, the
words, from flooding her brain. Her hand subconsciously covered the side of the bag protectively.
Oh, boy. I’m gonna go through with this, aren’t I?Willow was also recalling that night, quite content to mosey down the scenic route through memory lane. But, then her brow creased and a pout developed on her lips.
I don’t wanna be quiet! She thought petulantly.
The redhead was contemplating the idea of soundproofing when her girlfriend’s voice cut through her internal process of design and placement. “So, um… Someone sent me something at the Magic Box.”
Tara desperately needed to change the subject, there were too many things going on at once. Each vying for priority, it wasn’t time for her libido to take over. She cocked her head, her eyes grew cloudy… Shaking herself out of it again, she blinked rapidly and spoke up before she could get lost in her thoughts, “I-it’s a trunk. There’s a letter but, I haven’t opened it yet. I left the trunk at the store, it was too big to deal with today.”
The couple walked up the steps and into their dorm building. Willow was about to ask about the trunk when they had to suddenly unlink hands violently. A group of students rushed passed them, sending Willow’s bag flying up and slapping her square on the chin.
The look of utter shock, indignation and offence painted across her lover’s face had Tara cover her mouth. With both hands. But, it did little to hide the rhythmic hopping of her shoulders, or the crinkles around her gleaming blue eyes as she somewhat silently – save for some choked, strangled sounds - dissolved into laughter.
Willow was stood stock still, cheeks tinged red and mouth working soundlessly for a few seconds, “Can you
believe that!?” She turned suddenly towards her girlfriend and took in her mirthful countenance, “Are you laughing at me?”
Anger melted off the redhead like chocolate left out under the high-noon sun, in the dead of summer. Her lips quirked up at Tara’s glow. She shook her head in wonderment.
I’d get bowled over by bulls in Spain to get to see her like this.“I’m s-sorry,” Tara had leaned back against the wall, “But that look on your face…” She wiped at her eyes, “A-and the
bag!” Her hand swung up into the air in a perfect arc towards her chin. Another round of laughter bubbled up her throat but, this time her joyful sniggers were joined by those of her girlfriend.
Willow reached out a hand for the blonde to take, “You know, you should work for a bomb squad or something.” She shook her head once again in astonishment.
Tara took the offered hand and wrapped herself around Willow’s arm, pulling their bodies tight together in a sideways hug. As they started walking, she turned her adoring, deep blue gaze towards her love, “You just like the uniforms.” She poked the redhead lightly in the ribs.
The redhead went on disbelievingly, “No, it’s true! In less than a
nanosecond, you effectively diffused a Willow-bomb.” She waved her bag in front of herself, “I was ready to wrath all over the place and you just…” Her thumb and forefinger came together in front of her eyes, miming the snuffing out of a flame, “Pfffthss!”
They walked up to Willow’s dorm room but, instead of reaching for her keys, the redhead leaned against the door and pulled her girlfriend to her, “You’re amazing, baby.” She kissed her tenderly before pressing their foreheads together, noses lightly nuzzling.
Tara closed her eyes and took a deep, calming breath. Her heart thundered in her chest. She was bubbling over, it seemed, with love, happiness and desire. Holding this woman against her… never in her wildest dreams would she have
allowed herself to even
contemplate ever feeling this way.
Yet, here I am.They both lost themselves in the moment until the sound of a male throat being cleared jostled them out of it, “Harhum,” Came the gruff voice of Willow’s neighbor, Keith, “Don’t get carried away or anything, I’m studying.” He pushed his glasses up his nose and pursed his lips derisively. His robe was tightly tied at the waist, fuzzy blue Captain America slippers peeked from the corner of the door.
Willow’s body tensed at the intrusion. She could feel the anger that had so expertly been swiped away, return full force. Though, when she tried to turn her head towards her annoying neighbor to give him a piece of her mind, a warm hand cupping her cheek stopped the movement. She inhaled sharply when she found herself captivated by the deep, stormy and desirous cerulean of her girlfriend’s eyes.
Tara’s honey-laced voice barely made it the distance between them, “Will,” She caressed the skin of Willow’s cheek with her thumb, “Open the door.” The command vibrated the air separating them in a low rumble, fingers of her other hand tracing the skin above the waistband of her girlfriend’s pants.
The redhead blinked once, then again. She spun around in the circle of her girlfriend’s arms and scrambled for her keys, swallowing a groan as she felt Tara press herself against her back and nuzzling the back of her neck. Warm fingers dug into her waist.
Keith didn’t appreciate being ignored. Not one bit, “You know, I got a single to get some peace and qui-“
Tara’s voice cut him off, “Keith?” She turned her head towards the irritant, holding him in a dominating glare, “Take a break from studying.” Hearing the jangle of keys, she pressed tighter against the warm body in front of her, “The cafeteria is open. You must be hungry,” She leaned closer to a small ear and breathed against it, “I know I am.”
“Uhmguh,” Willow was pressing against the wood of the door with one hand laid flat with its bag swinging lightly back and forth against the surface. Her other hand was desperately trying to twist the key she’d just about been able to slide into the lock. Her fingers slipped from it when she heard the way Tara was speaking. She rested her forehead against the cool wood and took a shaky breath before trying again.
The click of the lock and the sound of Keith’s door slamming came simultaneously.
The redhead twisted the knob, pushed the door open mainly with her body’s weight as they took synchronized steps into the room. The heat against her back cooled, she heard the door close and felt Tara stop her forward momentum.
Willow cleared her throat before turning around to find her girlfriend’s gaze fall much lower than her face. Letting her bag fall to the floor she wrung her fingers and said, “I think he’s serious you know. If he complains…” She was so
very turned on. But, part of her brain couldn’t stop worrying. She didn’t like getting in trouble.
Tara raked her eyes the length of Willow’s body, drinking her in until their eyes met. She saw the worry plainly expressed there and her ardor instantly calmed at the sight. She leaned back against the door, “I know.”
The blonde pulled the strap of the bag up over her head and let it fall to the floor next to the dresser. Her hands found their way behind her body, flat against the door. She leaned against them, subconsciously trying to hold back.
The redhead’s fingers kept twisting together anxiously, “Maybe we should unpack your room,” Trying to think on her feet and come up with a solution, her mind grasped at the first thing it thought of, “We don’t even know your neighbors, right?”
The semester hadn’t started very long ago. They had decided on separate rooms, both thinking they weren’t ready for the whole ‘moving in together’ milestone. They made it as far as unpacking Willow’s room, making sure to have Tara’s sleepover drawers and necessities fully stocked.
They hadn’t gotten around to the blonde’s room, yet. It seemed more a storage room than a bedroom at this point. The irony of this wasn’t lost on either witch, but neither spoke about it.
Tara’s mind was stuck on one idea. It had occurred to her while they were walking home. She’d quietly thought it through in the back of her mind, but wanted reassurance her girlfriend felt the same way.
Willow took her girlfriend’s silence as lack of enthusiasm for her idea. She flopped onto the bed and puffed out her cheeks, “I don’t want to have to be all quiet.” She pouted and twisted the fabric of the bedspread with her fingers.
“Why?” Tara asked, still leaning against the door. She brushed a fallen strand of hair behind her ear, crossing her legs at the ankles.
The redhead fidgeted and looked down, “Well, you know… I like hearing you and stuff.” She tucked her hair behind an ear, a blush appearing high on her cheeks. “A-and if I have to be quiet I’ll have to actively
think about it an-and that’ll just ruin the whole losing control thing!” She waved her hands around in the air exasperatedly.
“Why do you like hearing me?” She questioned, cocking her head. Tara was pushing, she knew. But, she really wanted to know they were on the same page.
Willow’s brow crinkled, “What are you trying to do, make me burst into flames?” She rolled onto her back and let out a deep frustrated sigh. “You know, I bet he never even had just the tiniest bit of sex.”
Pushing off from the door, Tara walked over to the bed and took a seat next to her girlfriend, “Just answer the question, Will.” Reaching for Willow’s hand, she entwined their fingers together.
She was hit with a shyness that surprised her in its intensity. Having to express in words the reasons why she would desperately miss hearing her lover while in the throes of passion, struck a nerve she didn’t even know existed. Willow cleared her throat, “Um…”
She started playing with the fingers laced with her own, “Different reasons.” Her eyes flickered up to Tara’s face once, then fell quickly back down to their clasped hands. “If you want to talk about technicalities, I get a lot of cues from the sounds you make. The tone of your voice, the volume. They all guide me, you know?” She chanced a glance and saw Tara nodding in agreement, “A-and if you want to talk feelings or energy, when I hear you enjoying what I’m doing… sometimes, just the words you say, it-it builds the intensity up. Like, I can feel it physically… like a shot of electricity up and down my spine.”
Tara laid down on the bed, keeping her girlfriend’s hand in hers. Laying on her side, they were face to face, “I feel the same way.” She kissed each finger grasping her own, “I have an idea that I think might work.” Frowning slightly, she waited a beat before continuing, “There’s a spell we could do. It would keep sound from leaving the room.”
Willow’s face lit up, “That’s a great idea!” She wiggled in place, “What do we need?” She asked, ready to get started.
“I’d have to check, I haven’t read it in a long time.” Tara tucked an errand strand of red hair behind a small ear, “It’s in my mother’s Book of Shadows.”
She tried to gauge how her girlfriend was feeling, but Willow was met with shaky yet determined stoicism. “Oh,” She wiggled her fingers, “Have you cast it before?”
“No,” The blonde spoke softly, “Momma did. I read it after she died.” She ran a finger down Willow’s nose, across her brow, down her cheek. Wanting to anchor herself in the moment and not slip away into past experiences, “She cast it on the basement so D-donny and I wouldn’t hear things.”
Acid roiled in Willow’s stomach, she felt the room tilt around them, “We don’t have to.” She shook her head against the pillow, “We’ll rearrange the room and we’ll be quiet, baby. Really, it’s no big deal.”
“It’s a big deal for me,” Tara tried to smooth out the deep worry in her girlfriend’s forehead with a gentle finger, “It means a lot to me, being able to be with you like that. Free, without holding back.” She tucked her head in her girlfriend’s shoulder, Willow rolled onto her back and wrapped her arms around the blonde. “Momma used the spell with fear and shame as reasons to cast. If we use it, it would be freedom and love driving it instead. In a way, it would be like freeing my m-mom. Cathartic, you know?”
Willow kissed the top of her girlfriend’s head. “I love you.” She squeezed her precious cargo, “When do you want to do it?” There was suddenly only one solution to the problem.
Tara shrugged, “As soon as we can,” She propped herself up on an elbow and quirked a mischievous eyebrow, “I don’t know about you, but I won’t be able to hold back for very long.” She dipped her head and rubbed their noses together, grinning.
The redhead leaned up and pressed her lips against the fullness of Tara’s mouth. She captured and re-captured both the top and bottom lip, over and over again slowly and sensuously. Her fingers trailed a feather-light line down the blonde’s throat. She pulled away slightly, both their breaths heavy, “I know what you mean.” She said, now trailing a finger the length of Tara’s bottom lip.
Her lip tingled where Willow’s finger traced the skin. The blonde tipped her head down just enough to seize the soft digit between her teeth. She closed her mouth around it and sucked it in slowly, pulling it in past her lips to the first knuckle. Her tongue tickled the soft pad of Willow’s index finger.
“I t-think this is the kind of thing we’re supposed to be avoiding right now,” The redhead said in an unsteady voice, her pupils dilated, “If you keep doing that, we’ll have an angry Keith banging on the door real soon.” Gently, she pulled her finger from Tara’s mouth and took a deep breath.
Tara grumbled petulantly, “You started it with the kissing,” She rested her head back onto Willow’s shoulder.
A few quiet moments passed, both content in their proximity. In the silence, Tara’s mind wandered back to her day’s previous events. “Erynn was at the Magic Box today. Anya says she has an empathic buffering pendant. She bought the ingredients for a powerful cleansing spell for it.” She tightened her hold around Willow’s waist, “I think that’s what happened last night, her pendant overloaded. Not sure what that m-means exactly, but I think we saw the result.”
“So, she’s an empath?” Willow’s voice came out half surprised, half disbelieving. “Is she a witch, too?” Her brow creased as she tried to figure the Canadian out.
Tara smoothed over the fabric of her girlfriend’s shirt that laid across her stomach, “Not a witch. Anya seems to think she’s an empath.”
The redhead ran a hand up and down her lover’s arm, “You don’t sound convinced.” She felt her girlfriend shrug.
“I don’t know,” Her fingers fiddled with the hem of Willow’s shirt, “I didn’t think empaths shifted.”
They fell silent then for a few moments. Each lost in their own thoughts until Tara broke the silence, “She needs help. For the spell I mean, she needs a witch. She doesn’t know about us being witches though, Anya didn’t tell her.”
More silence filled the room, this time it wasn’t a comfortable one.
The redhead twitched, “So, this pendant does what? Buffers the emotions she would feel from others if she’s an empath?”
“I think so.” Tara sighed, “My instinct is to help; I don’t think it’s dangerous. But, I don’t want to do it without you. I’m still kinda freaked about last night.” She reached behind her head and took the elastic out of her hair letting it fall loose across Willow’s chest.
Automatically, the redhead’s fingers started massaging her girlfriend’s scalp. Having learned a long time ago how much the blonde appreciated the loving gesture once taking her hair down, it was now more a reflex than a thought out response. Tara’s pleasure-filled murmurs flittered to her ears, “Well, there’s a lot we still don’t know about her and everything. If we do decide to help, I think we should talk first.”
“Mmm,” Tara nuzzled into her girlfriend’s chest, her scalp tingling in relief, “I think that’s fair.”
***
The deep and melodic trill of Leonard Cohen’s voice filled the room, the only other sound that of pencil scratching against paper. Erynn was sat on her bed, surrounded with drawings and supplies.
She had made her way back home unscathed, other than a short run-in with a mother and child. The child felt strongly about his mother being a big meanie; life’s injustices rendered him furious. The mother on the other hand, was exasperated and wanted to run away.
Erynn, having almost physically bumped into the pair, had been thrown by the sudden set of emotions. Her energy shifted in ways that made her want to curl up with a pint of ice-cream and play with Hotwheels while sipping a margarita. She really wanted a onesie and a tall, dark handsome dude named Ramon or anything exotic sounding.
When she got home she took off her shoes and hat, and put on some music. She unloaded her art supplies onto the bed and started drawing. This was a couple of hours ago now, the only proof of time having passed at all being the myriad of sketches littering the bed and the floor.
She was lost to the world until the phone rang, violently dragging her back to reality.
Uncurling herself from the bed, she lowered the volume on her stereo before picking up. “Allo?”
Willow’s chipper voice answered, “Hey, Erynn! It’s Willow,”
Erynn pulled her desk chair out and sat down, “Hi, Willow. How are you?” She ran a hand through her hair and curled a leg under herself.
“I’m good! How are you, you know… after last night?” Her voice lowered, concerned.
The French-Canadian couldn’t help but smile at the worry obvious in Willow’s voice, “I’m much better, thanks. You guys were amazing.”
There was a slight pause over the line before the redhead answered softly, “I can’t help but feel like we could’ve done more.”
“I don’t see how that’s possible,” Erynn immediately placated, “I was in a bad way. I’m sorry if I scared you guys.” She twirled a feisty brown curl around her finger as she spoke.
There was a barely audible smack of lips over the line before Willow piped up, chipper as ever, “How do you feel about pizza?”
Erynn’s eyebrows shot up her forehead, “Pizza?” Her stomach took that moment to remind her she hadn’t eaten all day, “Who doesn’t like pizza?” She rubbed her tummy.
I should order myself one…“Sorry, Erynn. Hold on a sec.” The sound of Tara’s voice filtered through, although muffled. “… of course the box it was in… it took me… here… -adows.” She heard the sound of a kiss and that of the redhead saying her name.
“Ok, sorry about that,” Willow came back, loud and clear again, “Pizza. How about getting some, you me and Tara? We could have dinner together. Whaddya say?”
“Oh,” Erynn fidgeted in her seat, “I don’t know if this is such a great time…”
There was a pregnant pause in which the brunette was thinking up excuse after excuse, before Willow broke through her inner rhetoric, “Even if you’d be having dinner with a couple of witches?” She asked sweetly.
The French-Canadian stood up so fast, she sent the desk chair rolling back, standing on one leg like a flamingo, “You mean, you and Tara? Witches?” She pressed her free hand against her forehead in disbelief, letting her leg finally fall to the ground, “Tabarnak,”
“I don’t know what that last thing was but, Yep!” Willow chirped, “So, pizza at your place?”
“Please,” The word came out rushed and much more desperate sounding than Erynn had intended, “Um… I’m really hungry.” She tacked on lamely.
“Yeah,” The redhead said tentatively, “Erynn, the energy in your room… is it calm? Calmer than last night?”
“Much.” Was all the brunette could say, nodding frantically, “I-it was my pendant. It overloaded a-and the cleansing talisman in my room re-“
This seemed to have sealed it, Willow cut Erynn’s babble off like only a babbler can, “What do you like on your pizza? We guarantee door to door service!”
***
Tara shuffled her hands under the piping hot box, trying to relieve the prickling heat dancing across her palms. She was attempting to keep up with her girlfriend who was having the same issue with her own pizza box. Willow, it seemed, had decided speed-walking was the answer. “Will, you’re gonna trip and squish the pizza!”
“Oh, sure!” Came the breathless voice from ahead, “Worry about the pizza! Ouch,”
They quickly made their way up to Erynn’s building, Tara catching up to her girlfriend moments later to find her eyeing the entrance door with determined intensity. “Will?”
“The ground’s wet,” Willow voiced her dilemma, “You know if I hold this one handed, I’ll just drop it like a spaz.” She said, rolling her eyes self-deprecatingly.
The solution was obvious to Tara, “Put your box on my box.” She extended her arms, waiting for the redhead to add her load on top.
Red tinged Willow’s cheeks, a mischievous glint appearing in her eye, “Well, that’s mighty forward of you. I really like that too baby, but…” She waggled her eyebrows, “This is kind of a public place.”
Tara giggled, “You’re incorrigible,” She tipped her head towards Willow’s pizza and back, “Come on, this thing’s hot.”
The redhead wanted to keep going about boxes and their radiating heat but, truth be told, her hands felt like they were being pricked over and over again with hot needles. She slid her pizza over to her girlfriend’s arms and quickly opened the door for them.
They rounded the corner for the stairs, “Shouldn’t we, you know… have a plan?” Tara was uneasy. She didn’t know all that much about empaths or shifters. All she was certain of was, she didn’t want to be anywhere near that room if what she felt the night before was to happen again.
Willow stopped in the stairs, “You nervous, baby?” She shifted the box in her hands, “We’re just here to talk, get to know each other. Nothing major.”
Tara nodded, trying to take comfort in her girlfriend’s confidence, “Ok, let’s go,” She indicated the stairs with her chin and attempted a smile.
Reaching the second floor there was a slight fumble when a guy, who looked to Tara to be at least six and a half feet tall and built like a brickhouse, rounded the corner at the same time Willow came the opposite way.
Tara winced, her shoulders hiking up her neck as she mentally braced for Willow’s impact. It never came. Through squinted eyes, what she saw astounded her. He pirouetted, graceful as a swan – a kind of giggly squeak bubbled up his throat as he did so, avoiding a head-on collision with a startled redhead holding a large pizza box. “Whoa!” He said with excitement, “That was fun!”
The blonde stood, wide-eyed with a goofy grin on her face, “Top marks,” She giggled.
He bowed good-naturedly before waving at them and walking off.
“Well,” Willow said once her heart crawled back into her chest, “That was… so many things.”
They made it to Erynn’s room, neither of them making a move to knock on the door. Willow eyed her girlfriend, “Do you feel anything weird?”
Tara cocked her head, brow crinkled in concentration, “No. Nothing.”
The redhead shuffled her feet, “So… we knock, then?” She asked tentatively, wanting to make sure her girlfriend was still on board.
When the blonde reluctantly nodded her acquiescence, Willow pushed the box in her hands flush with the door so she could rap her knuckles against the wood. She gave it three small knocks and stepped back.
They heard a loud clatter and what they knew to be cussing by tone alone, the words meaningless to them, “Hold on, sorry!”
Willow and Tara exchanged looks, wondering what was going on. But, before they were able to let their imaginations take off, the door swung open.
Erynn stood in the doorway, disheveled. Her black buttoned up shirt was partly undone, half tucked in her jeans. Her red tank-top peeking through the shirt’s buttons. Red suspenders hung loose at her hips, black smudges marred her otherwise spotless face, dark jeans rolled up above naked feet, “Holy crap, that’s fast pizza!” She pulled the door all the way open, gesturing for them to enter. “I must say, best looking delivery I’ve ever had.”
Oh, great. Who’s the flirt?Willow’s eyebrows shot up her forehead, Tara blushed. Erynn cleared her throat and closed the door, “Well, make yourselves comfortable,” She eyed the bed which she hadn’t had a chance to finish clearing, “Let me just…” She rushed towards it, pushing her art supplies into their tote.
Tara had taken the opportunity to deposit her pizza box on their friend’s desk, she smoothed down her skirt and glanced at Willow. Her girlfriend seemed stunned, standing there holding her box, watching Erynn move around the room, frazzled. “Did we call at a bad time?” The blonde asked, noticing sketches and art supplies littering the room. She cocked her head, trying to make out the music playing over the stereo but the volume was too low.
Definite piano… Female voice… Hearing her girlfriend’s voice snapped the redhead out of her trance. Looking around the room, she noticed Tara’s pizza box and went to deposit hers as well.
With the bed cleared, the Canadian ran a hand through her hair, “No, no. I was drawing most of the day… it tends to get messy.” She shuffled her feet, “I wasn’t expecting you so soon. That’s some pizza service.” Walking to her closet, she pulled out three over-sized, fluffy throw-pillows and threw them on the floor, “Well, have a seat. How much do I owe you for the pizza?”
Tara bent over to unlace her boots, “Don’t worry about it,” She kicked one off and reached for the other, “We invited you.” She stood back up and smiled, reaching out for the pizzas.
Willow had already kicked off her shoes and chosen a pillow. She was comfortably sprawled across it, “This is great! So comfy.”
“Well, thank you for dinner,” Erynn said on her way to the mini-fridge, “What would you guys like to drink? I have water, Coke and apple juice.” She pointed at the door with her thumb, “There’s a vending machine right around the corner, too.”
Placing the boxes at the center of their semi-circle, Tara smoothed her skirt around her legs and gracefully sat into a pillow of her own, “Apple juice for me, please.” She wiggled in her seat, “This
is comfy.”
“Coke, please!” Chirped Willow, “We should get some of these, baby.” She said, patting the pillow beneath her.
Erynn handed off their drinks and kicked her over-sized ball of fluff with her naked foot a couple times, then flopped down in a heap, “These have been with me for over a year. Indispensable. Got them in British Columbia.”
The boxes were opened and the French-Canadian lit up, “Yay! They had green olives!?” She hopped in her pillow, making air puff out of it loudly.
Willow giggled, “Yeah, they did! Usually they use black olives. I’m a green olive gal myself, just never thought to ask.” Her tongue peeked out between her teeth in delight, “You bet I’ll be asking for them now!”
Tara hovered over the lid of the box with her piece, “Good thing I like them too,” she said, wiggling her socked toes against her girlfriend’s shin and grinning.
The atmosphere was light and companionable, they relaxed in each other’s company as they ate their pizza. Tara noticed how Erynn would discretely reach for her ankle which was sporting a beaded anklet. From time to time, the French-Canadian would run a finger through the beads and take deep breaths.
The blonde witch took note of this, but didn’t say a word.
Curiosity, wariness, impatience, confusion. Erynn closed her eyes and let out a deep breath, having taken in the changing emotions in the room. Standing up, she made her way to the closet, “So, I’m sure you have questions…” She pulled out a washcloth and walked to the small sink in the corner of the room. Wetting and wringing it, she handed the cloth over to Tara for her to clean her hands.
Sitting back into her pillow, she brushed the hair from her face, “I’m not really sure how to do this.”
The blonde handed the cloth to her girlfriend once she was done, “Well, we should tell you we know you need help.”
Erynn nodded, “I figured Anya would have told you.” Reaching above her, she grasped the pendant that was sitting on the desk, “This is my buffering pendant.” She handed it off to Willow, who immediately brought it up to her face to inspect closely. “It overloaded last night. It never happened before, not something I want to experience again.”
Tara decided to get something out in the open, “Erynn, are you an empath?”
The Canadian held Tara’s gaze for a moment before answering, “Yeah, I am.” When she noticed the blonde’s brow creasing, she felt confusion, “Among other things.” She tacked on.
Silence. Willow wondered how it could be so heavy, being it wasn’t an actual
thing. After what seemed to be hours, she heard Erynn continue, “I’m sorry. I’m being all vague, I know.”
“You’re an empath and an energy shifter.” Tara said in a flat tone, “Is there anything else?” She felt uncharacteristically cross, like she was being played with.
Erynn stood up suddenly, “Yes. And no, nothing else,” She walked to the far wall, looking at the ground. “You’re angry.” Her fingers fiddled with a button on her shirt nervously.
Willow felt like she was at a tennis match. Her eyes kept darting from her girlfriend to Erynn, at a complete loss as to what was happening. “Angry? She’s not angry, are you baby?” Her fingers could break off, she was twisting them so much.
The blonde rubbed her forehead, “Erynn, I’m sorry.” Tara hated feeling this off kilter. She felt betrayed in a way but had no idea why, “I think I need to understand better. I don’t get how an empath can also be a shifter… and not be, I don’t know-”
“Suicidal? Homicidal? Crazy? Self-destructive?” Erynn rattled off, “Manipulative? Oh, how about a complete slut…” Her sentence ended on half a breath. She all but threw herself onto the bed and sat at the center of it. Pulling at her toe self-consciously, she continued softly, “I also make a very good puppet if I don’t stay vigilant. I had to learn that one the hard way, too.”
Willow’s brow was heavily creased, “Sorry,” She waved a hand in the air, “I’m a bit lost,”
Tara had thought about these possibilities. It didn’t make her feel any better knowing she was right to worry. She was torn between worrying for herself and her loved ones, and wanting to help Erynn. The blonde couldn’t imagine living like that. But, the Canadian could be very unstable. Dangerously so.
“Being an empath means I can feel other people’s emotions as if they were my own.” Erynn started explaining, “The shifting means I change energetically depending on who I’m around, whatever would attract them or part of them.” She raised her eyebrows at Willow, “I’m basically human play-doh in my natural state. Without focusing and the pendant, the line between my true self and… what others want me to be, blurs.”
Tara stood up, crossed her arms and started pacing uncomfortably, “But, even with the pendant you still shift, right? Am I wrong in thinking you don’t control it? That it’s automatic?”
“Not wrong.” Erynn grabbed one of her pillows, squeezing it to her chest, “Without the pendant it can get pretty intense, though. If I shift
and feel others’ emotions full force… I’ve lost myself in the past. It’s the finding yourself again that’s hard. Knowing what you’ve done…” She trailed off, not wanting to continue down that path.
“I’ve never heard of something like this before,” The redhead had been uncharacteristically quiet, gleaning as much information as she could from the conversation going on around her, “Is this common?”
The Canadian shook her head, “Not that I know of, but I don’t know much really. If it wasn’t for my great aunt, I don’t know where I’d be.” The pencil between her fingers jumped rhythmically as she continued, drumming a soft rat-tat-tat against the pillow in her arms, “All I know is that in my family there are empathic witches and empaths. If you go far back enough, there was one shifter in the mix. What I was told is that my dormant shifter gene got activated.”
“How?” Willow asked the simple question. But, for a long moment no answer came. Erynn was quiet, seemingly deciding whether or not to answer.
Willow and Tara exchanged questioning looks before the Canadian finally said, “Trauma.”
In the resulting silence, she continued, “I’m sorry, but I don’t really want to go into detail about that.” Erynn squirmed in her seat on the bed, “I really don’t like talking about it.”
“Of course,” Tara was quick to reassure, knowing all too well how trips down memory lane can be devastating, “You don’t have to, you’ve shared a lot already.” She smiled comfortingly. Casting a look towards her girlfriend was all she needed to do to decide on further actions, “We’ll help you with your pendant, Erynn.” A small freckled hand slipped into hers. Tara turned her head to ask Willow, “Tomorrow?”
At her girlfriend’s nod, Tara confirmed, “We’ll give you a call tomorrow, ok? I’m sure you’d like to have it as soon as possible.”
Erynn let go of a long, deep breath, “Thank you
so much,” Getting up from the bed, she had to clasp her hands together to keep from doing something she’d regret. “Um… I have classes on Monday, so I was getting pretty nervous.” She blushed, trying to reign in the feelings wafting off the witches.
Just holding hands? Whoa…Willow handed Tara her boots, “Do you have the spell on paper, or in email?” Bending over, she started to slip her own shoes on, “I’d like to give it a once over before doing anything.”
Tara was doing a very good job at hiding her discrete yet blatant ogling of her girlfriend’s butt as she bent over. The blush forming on her cheeks was her only giveaway.
I’ll give you a once over. She bit the inside of her lip.
“Both!” The brunette exclaimed a bit too loudly, “I mean, I printed it out from an email my aunt sent me. So, whichever you’d prefer.” She shifted awkwardly, her eyes darting towards Tara.
Stop it! If that’s all it takes, how do you get anything done!?“- edRed at gmail dot com,” Erynn jolted to attention, realizing she’d been lost in thought and missed what the redhead was saying, “Sorry. I should write that down.” At Willow’s nod of approval, she let out a nervous sigh before picking up a pencil and paper at random around the room.
Willow repeated her email address so Erynn could write it down. At this point, the Canadian was beet red from discomfort. She was turned on, no doubt about that. But, them not being
her emotions, it always came with a big side of guilt. Her shifting was getting to be a bit much, too.
She chanced a desperate look at Tara and their eyes met.
There was a short moment before recognition came over the blonde’s face, her eyebrows shot up her forehead, her blush darkening. She winced and mouthed ‘Sorry’. Erynn could only shrug and smile.
The redhead was oblivious to all of this, having been busy shuffling the boxes and waste from their meal.
“Well,” Tara cleared her throat and rubbed the back of her neck, “We should get going.”
Erynn smirked, “Uh huh, I’m really glad you guys… came today.” She opted for nonchalant body language, but winked at the blonde mischievously, “Thanks again. Really.”
***
He never went through the sewer access. Hated the soddin’ sewers, he was better than that. A drop of water fell from a pipe and extinguished Spike’s cigarette with a soft ‘tssst’.
“Bloody hell!” The soiled cigarette flew across the tunnel, finally plopping into a pool of murky water. It floated there, mocking the vampire. Reaching into his coat, he pulled out his pack only to realize it was empty. “RRraaah!” He roared at the ceiling, crumpling the meaningless cardboard in his fist. His body vibrating with rage, the empty box quickly met the same fate as the ruined cigarette.
Shaking off the anger, he shrugged sharply, hiking his coat back onto his shoulders. He closed his eyes and sniffed loudly, shaking his head once before continuing on his way.
He wouldn’t be doing this normally. Last time he went to Willy’s, Spike was left bruised and battered – on his back in the street. Sure, it was a fun ruckus. A bit of the ole’ rough and tumble, but his ego had been bruised nonetheless.
Lately though, he’d been preoccupied with a small, blonde firecracker. Just his luck he’d get a hard on for the Slayer. Centuries of hunting them down… it must be a Freudian thing, he was sure of it. Of course she rejected him off hand. Her dismissal aggravated an old wound though, serving only to solidify his obsession.
So, Spike desperately needed a distraction.
He’d heard of this job at poker night. A new bloke in town was recruiting, something about finding talent. His ears had perked up when money was mentioned, the sum offered being more than generous. The contact would be at Willy’s right now. Unfortunately, the sun hadn’t set yet which meant Spike had to resign himself to using the sewers.
Climbing up the rungs to his right, he ascended into the back room of Willy’s bar. A red, flashing light welcomed him from the top corner of the dark space. A few seconds later, the nervous face of the bartender peered into the room from between the beaded separator hanging in the doorframe.
“Spike!?” Willy squeaked nervously. He rung the towel he was holding in his hands and walked into the room, glancing over his shoulder, “What are you doing here? I don’t want no trouble.”
Spike raised his hands, “Easy, mate. I’m here on business,” He fingered the corner of a torn box sitting on a shelf next to him, “There’s a bloke here I need to see. Gurtrall demon.”
Willy shuffled his feet nervously, “He’s been here hours,” Scratching his head he added, “Ate me out of chicken wings.”
The vampire was surprised, “Since when do you have wings?” They sounded good right about now, dipped in some O’ neg. The only thing missing would be… “You should look into that blooming onion thing.” He pointed at Willy thoughtfully.
“I heard he was coming,” The bartender rushed his words, “I was prepared. Not someone you want to disappoint, apparently.” He dashed towards the door, glanced around the bar and came back. “Normally, I’d be over the moon with the amount of traffic he’s generating. But, he scares the crap out of me.”
Spike wasn’t expecting this level of anxiety. That made him both curious and cautious, “What do you know about him?”
Willy got agitated, “Look, I have a bar to tend…” When the vampire took a menacing step forward, words starting streaming out of his mouth, “Hired right hand of some big head owns a business dealing in ugly stuff. Just got here last week. Set up shop at the edge of town.” He gulped, “That’s all I know.” He slung his towel over his shoulder and pointed at the doorway behind him with his thumb, “Now, seriously, things can get ugly in there without service.”
Spike tipped his head dismissively, “Smoke machine stocked?” He asked, following the barkeep into the bar.
“Yeah, yeah…” Willy hurried behind the bar counter, “Help yourself,” He waved at a scaly, grey demon at the other end of the counter, quickly making his way over to take his order.
Spike leisurely made his way toward the cigarette dispenser, shooting furtive glances around the bar. It wasn’t difficult to pinpoint the Gurtrall he was here to meet among the other patrons. He took up two chairs. The vampire figured the demon was too big to fit in a booth. He towered over his companion sitting across from him. A nervous looking Wrorsht demon talking animatedly and waving his suction cupped extremities around.
The vampire bent down to grab the pack of cigarettes he’d just bought. He turned and noticed the Gurtrall shake his huge head at the Wrorsht, promptly ignoring him for the peanut basket on the table.
Spike followed the Wrorsht demon with his eyes, only stopping when the dejected looking fellow disappeared through the door behind him.
Well, guess I’m up.He sidled up to the vacant chair across from his contact and took a seat, “I hear the chicken wings are to die for,” He tried to remain nonchalant, but the sheer size of the Gurtrall was unnerving. Not to mention the dark red glow of his almond-shaped eyes.
“Vampire,” The demon said in a deep vibrating bellow, “Old for a half-breed.” Popping three peanuts into his maw, shells and all, he continued while chewing, “Are you influential in this town?”
The rumble of the Gurtrall made Spike’s eardrums tingle, “Spike’s the name,” He fingered a peanut shell on the table, diligently ignoring the half-breed comment, “I get things done. I have contacts and the like, been around a while.” Chancing his luck, he added, “What should I call you?”
The demon regarded Spike intently for a moment, “They call me Jurrot,” He closed his eyes and bared his teeth for a second, “You’re not liked here.” He said, popping more peanuts into his mouth before asking, “Why?”
Spike had noticed the looks, he wasn’t surprised by them of course. He did worry it would ruin his chances at some decent money, though, “I tend to get into trouble. Bad attitude, they say.”
Jurrot made a sound the vampire assumed was laughter, “Have friends left in this town?”
Spike shrugged, “As long as folks need something, I have friends.” He tapped his cigarette box before looking up, “Mind if I smoke?”
The Gurtrall waved a hand, “All incense to me,” When the vampire lit his cigarette he asked, “Need a magic user. Powerful, discrete. Know one?” He looked down at a paper pad laid next to him on the table while he waited for an answer.
“I know a few,” He said through a cloud of smoke, “Depending on how powerful you need. The discrete thing narrows your choices, though.” The vampire tapped his cigarette, letting the ash fall to the floor.
Jurrot rumbled, “Discrete is important,” He held Spike in his gaze, “Nasty repercussions if not.”
Spike tried to shrug it off, “So, your choices are limited. Don’t mean you don’t hav’em.” Nervously, he craned his neck back, looking around, “What’s in it for me, if I bring in this bloke?”
“Big piece of puzzle,” Jurrot said cryptically, “Do you deal in currency?” He twisted his head towards the counter.
Willy jumped at attention and quickly ran over. “Yes?”
“Best blood for Spike,” The demon said, “Ressgurt mucus, for me.” Glancing at the table he added, “More nuts.”
The barkeep nodded frantically, “Right away,” He said and scurried off.
The vampire bowed his thanks, “I’m highly motivated by money,” Lifting his leg over his knee, he extinguished his finished cigarette on the sole of his boot. “I’d need to know what to tell them the job would be, though.”
Jurrot hissed a rattling breath, “Getting ahead of yourself,” He stopped when Willy returned with the drinks and nuts. “There you go, anything else I’ll just be…” Pointing over his shoulder, the barkeep backed away slowly.
“Drink.” The demon continued, “This is first job. You know nothing, will know nothing.” Twisting the pink straw jutting from his blueish green drink, he awkwardly pulled in a mouthful, “You give card, that’s it. If your choice fails, both of you die.”
Spike shifted uncomfortably in his seat, but said nothing. Instead, he opted to gulp his blood.
“If you live, you get more jobs. Jobs are money. This one is a thousand moneys.” The chairs creaked beneath him as he moved around. “Bigger jobs, more moneys.”
Bloody hell, that’s more than I thought! Spike quickly slipped on his poker face, “Not bad,” Tapping his fingers on the tabletop he asked, “What does failing mean, exactly?”
“There is test.” Air ran through his straw making a loud slurping sound, “If they fail test, they become loose end. So do you.” Finished Jurrot, wiping his mouth.
“What test?” Spike didn’t want to be a loose anything.
Jurrot hissed again, “You give card. That’s it.”
Argh! Be bloody reasonable! “How am I supposed to know who’s the one for the job, then aye? If I don’t know anything!” Spike’s attitude problem was rearing its ugly head.
The demon leaned over the table and answered in a low rumble, “Make sure to choose best you know.” His body moved in a way resembling a shrug, “If you accept, that is risk.”
Spike shifted his shoulders and ran his index finger around the inside of his glass, wiping up the blood stuck to the slick surface.
What the hell? He thought, sticking his finger in his mouth. He sucked it dry and sniffed. “Right then, where’s this card?”
***