~ One Magical Mishap ~ [Video,Open to both Courts.]

[justwillow]

Huh. This is kind of neat- little magic and it acts like a-

[Focus Rosenberg. You're stranded in a mystical realm with imps and faeries and all sorts of bad things could be happening back at the castle-- because who decided that would work? Having a bunch of slayers in a house didn't work out too well, So the logical conclusion was putting them in a giant castle with lots of weapons! Brilliant Idea.]

Uh, Hey! I'm looking for a girl named Buffy- Or any of the slayers. Buffy- She's about yay-big [She gesters to about her height.] Blonde, superhuman strength with killer fashion sense and a penchant for puns? I really hope she's here. Or uh-. A sarcastic British guy named Rupert Giles? Or Xander? He's a guy with an eyepatch. Kind of dorky but in an adorable way- Sorry Xander. [she mutters to herself] I'd even settle for Spike.

[She takes a few deep breaths. This was getting a bit too panicky. Calm down, calm down.]

Sorry for all the word vomit- I'm Willow. Willow Rosenberg. I guess I'm the newest contestant on this island.
Does anyone know anything about the energy here? It's kind of... abnormal.

Comments

[herotypical]

[ -- okay. deep breath. there's no reason to take this out on will. but after two months of almost exclusively spike's company, she's starting to feel the little ways in which the soulless bloodsucker has let her get out of touch with that more careful and compassionate side. ]

I'll...I'll meet you ought by the Daonna ring. I predict this'll go a hell of a lot better after a lengthy hug and maybe a few firm pinches.

Actiony goodness!

[justwillow]

Buffy hug sounds good. Very good.

[She hurries to the fairy ring.


~~Moments later~~

Willow materialises in the teleportation ring and steps out brushing off her skirt. That felt weird. Very weird. But kind of neat that they exist.]

Buffy?

[She calls out looking for her BFF. This place really was the middle of nowhere.]

[herotypical]

[ her outline resolves itself from amidst the foggy outskirts. buffy summers: hard-faced and patchwork. although the dark-wash denim might be thoroughly modern, there is an unfortunate medieval flair to the cream linen shirt buttoned tight below a raw-looking leather coat. civilization has left some parts of buffy behind, and she copes as elegantly as she can. her hair falls in two tight braids. shock-and-horror, she isn't wearing make-up. not by choice -- the station didn't have anything on hand that matched her skin-tone. she'd rather go bare than go bright orange.

there is a slight flush in her cheeks, as if she's raced to meet willow here. maybe even stepped her game up to a lively sprint. but now she walks -- tall riding boots crunching on the detritus found on the ground. and she pulls her best friend into a wordless hug. sounds and voices can wait. first? her aching heart needs satisfaction. she hasn't seen willow in months. ]

[justwillow]

[Welcome to Willow's thoughts, a montage.

Yay! Buffy's here. Woah, Buffy looks cool in boots- I like the shirt oh- hey- hug. Hug is good- Oh- Hug is tight. Hug- Hug definitely hurting. There's lung issues- breathing- hard to breathe.

She croaks-]

Buffy- breathing- issue-

[herotypical]

Sorry--! [ not sorry. buffy chirps her kinda-apology and releases the other woman. loosens her grip, but doesn't let go. her hands still settle on willow's arms and she stands barely a foot from her friend. she wants to smile and cry and curse and stomp all at once.

she settles for a grimace. ] It's a compliment. Honest. Most flattering rib-crushing you'll ever get.

[ something does look a little different. a little off. but buffy blames time and the starlight. ]

[justwillow]

It's the only rib crushing I'll ever welcome with open arms.

[God that hug made her feel better. Even though she knows that they're in no-mans land when it comes to safety again.]

It sucks you're here, but I'm super glad we're not alone in this. [She hugs Buffy again. Placing a hand on her back.]

Two- well. Two point five scoobies reporting for duty.

[herotypical]

[ this time, the hug is softer. gentler. when buffy squeezes willow against her, it's more to envelop than to crush. she feels the familiar red hair against her cheek and wonders how she survived without someone a little more...friendly. ]

Spike... [ she says the name because she fears his very involvement in this has been conjured to the conversation. ] Spike ranges from a point-zero to a point-five depending on the freaking day. He -- [ and now she could voice a partial concern that might lead them gainfully into the other conversation that had to happen. ] Fair warning, Will? He's a little...out of step.

[justwillow]

As in, insane in the basement? Or a little off?

[She's concerned. Dangerous Spike is not something they need.]

[herotypical]

As in...a few movies short of a trilogy.

[ she steps back. buffy crosses her arms over her chest -- and nervous habit makes her rub furiously at her upper arms. granted, the evening is a little chilly. she starts to walk, inviting willow to join her with a jerk of her head. ]

Something's screwy with time, here. Spike still thinks -- Will, he still thought I was dead.

[ the word is strained on her tongue. not dramatically so but just enough to make it seem like she wasn't comfortable with the notion. ] When as far as I know he's the one who -- Willow. Please tell me you remember what we did at the High School. The big battle. The First.

[justwillow]

I don't think I'd ever forget what I- what we did that day.

[She follows after Buffy curling her hair behind her ear. She keeps the stride thinking as she walked.]

Time being fluctuaty is pretty much in it's nature with interdimensional travel I guess. We've never been a victim of it- not really. Time's a dangerous thing to mess with and I hope whoevers doing it is--

[She sighed. It couldn't be avoided.]

Buffy, is the battle with the First the last thing you remember?

[herotypical]

Near enough.

[ she remembers the yawning maw of a wrecked sunnydale opening up at her feet. spike -- a burnt up memory. but her family and her friends (almost all) safe. she remembers smiling. and then here.

buffy is not the brainiac of any operation. but she's not brainless, either. her gut feeling makes her blurt: ] That's not the freshest memory for you is it? You've lived more. [ i've lived more. ]

[justwillow]

Oh yeah.

[She sighs. this was going to take a while.]

Well... uh. Huh. This is going to take a while. After Sunnydale we kind of all did a bit of soul searching. I went... away. [Don't make me explain Aluwyn now] Xander needed some time to grieve and well, you had an army of slayers to get in touch with. So...

[Willow sighed trying to figure out how to phrase this.]

A month or two after Xander came back to live with you guys in Scotland, our little Slayer Castle was attacked. We battled, we won and we're trying to find out what's going on.

[herotypical]

[ she stops. reaches out. gives willow's elbow an insistent fwap with the back of her fingers. ]

We live in Scotland? [ what the hell! ] In a castle?

[justwillow]

Oh yeah. Full Castle. Big castle.

[She takes this as a possible good sign.]

Scotland is nice. If not a little cold.

[herotypical]

Like -- [ she drawls ] -- with towers and ramparts and dungeons? And cute Scottish guys being all cute and Scottish?

[ she'll come back around to slayer army eventually. ]

[justwillow]

Not many Scottish guys. You remember having the house of slayers? Well the Castle is better, but still bad. We'd terrify the public.

[She chuckles.]

Yep. Towers and the lot. Although the dungeons are where we have the command centre and stuff.

[herotypical]

[ for a moment, she's unreadable.

softly: ] And here I was feeling like I was homeless. Nothing to speak of except a giant crater in the ground. But a castle. Full of Slayers?

[justwillow]

When we did it Buff? We did it. Every girl in all the world. Not just the ones we knew about.

[She sighs, and kicks a pebble.]

There are several teams around the world with Scotland being the homebase.

[herotypical]

Every girl.

[ she repeats the words with an air of wonder. surprise. vague shock. it's a game changer -- it's gotta be. and hours later she'll have a wicked freak-out session about how she's supposed to lead all those girls. but for now it is just unbelievably cool. ]

We're global? Fancy that. [ ... ] How is everyone? Dawn? How's Dawn?

[justwillow]

Dawn's okay. [Except for being a big giant]

She got into Berkley. She did really well.

[herotypical]

Berkley!

[ oh-so-briefly, she's stunned speechless. wordless. just wide green eyes and a little bit of a tremor to her breath. lightning bolt pride that sears so bright it hurts. it's been a brutal two months without her friends, but it's been outright torture being separated from dawnie. ][ but college! and doing well and -- wait. ] Did? What do you mean -- did. She did really well. Why isn't she still doing well? God, is she living off-campus? 'Cause I swear...

[ a flutter of big-sis-slayer takes wing. ]

[justwillow]

She is she is!

[She gestures for Buffy to slow down.]

I meant she did really well to get into the college. [She pats the Slayer's arm reassuringly.] As far I know from the time I'm from, we're all okay.

[herotypical]

[ we're all okay.

buffy wants to ask how long it's been. from crater to castle -- months? years? but she doesn't. it isn't what's most important right now. so she links her arm firmly in willow's and resumes walking. but her heart still beats like a frantic drum. and her words hold a slight quiver. ]

Thank God. Being here without her. Without you...I dunno. I feel like I'm starting to go native. I have a coin purse, Will. [ and on cue she shakes a little bag that has a few lonely coins hiding in its folds. ] No where takes plastic. There are no phones. No computers. No Starbucks. And no Scoobies, 'cept me and Spike. Which has been a barrel of awful.

[justwillow]

[She looks at the coin purse, a tiny drop of the gravity of the situation ready to break the dam of her resolve and unleash the flood of worry in her.

But she takes a calming breath, stealing back some of her courage.]

It's okay. I'm here now. We'll find a way out of this, a way to get through. We always do right?

[She offers the strongest smile she can.]

We'll make it.

[herotypical]

Or if we can't make it, we can at least fake it until we do.

[ a long slow sigh. ] Spike and me have fallen through the cracks. Kinda on purpose. Kinda because it just happened. That castle? The one you came from? That's just one side of this whole fairy war they have going on. I talked to some knight from the Seelie side and apparently it's all golden trim and polite invitations over in the other camp.

[ we got screwed. ]