July Catch-All

[frogfear]

Who: Willow Rosenberg (frogfear)
What: Closed Starters for July
When: July
Where: Trench (Various)

Content Warnings: Death, Violence, Blood, Corruption, Slushies. Will update as needed

Comments

1 - Cottage Retreat (Closed to Faith and Luna)

[frogfear]

[It's quiet in the darkness of the cottage that used to belong to John Constantine. It's been abandoned for the past few months since he and Herc left Trench to return to the ocean, but in spite of the layer of dust, it's still a comfortable, familiar space.

That is not why she told Faith to bring her here to this place where there are still likely books, and magical artifacts left behind that she can pull power from. John and Herc left so quickly, she has no doubt there's still a lot left behind, and it's going to take some time to heal fully and gather her strength.

The knife slid easily between her ribs, and pierced her lung. It robbed her of her revenge against the little monster that killed Oscar, her ability to breathe freely, and nearly her life as well. Medical and mystical generally don't mix well in her experience, and between being out of practice, and the sheer amount of energy expended since killing the pirates, it's all she can do to keep herself alive. Trench is not the ideal place to draw power from to try to promote healing.]

Faith... Faith...

[It's breathed out, wet and congested sounding, and she can feel the blood rising in the back of her throat.]

Get help - someone who can do a healing spell. Luna, or someone. Use the lamps.

[She is not going to die here, not to the knife of some little eleven year old kid who got a lucky shot in. There's too much to be done.

Maybe Luna will even want to join them.]

[slayerskiss]

[Faith steps forward, her posture gentle. She'd nearly felt her heart burst when she realized what had happened, that while she was too busy playing at revenge with that whimpering little creep, Willow nearly died.

Paul - memories that aren't hers supply her helpfully, she was at his birthday, she kissed a girl with golden eyes she was at his birthday.

Dull yellow eyes stare down at Willow as she speaks, concern beneath them, tender and caring and fearful. There's so much rage within her, burning like a furnace inside her soul.]

I'll... yeah, I'll get her. [She'd just finished dressing the bandage to stop the bleeding too, but there's not much she can do about the damage to her internal organs except pray. If it were her, she'd regenerate.

A healing spell... right, yes, she can do that. The Emperor - God - John - her fucking father fixed her up after the Leviathan. Luna can do the same? Good to know.] Let me lay you down first, alright? You need to rest.

To Luna

[slayerskiss]

[When Faith arrives at Luna and Peter's home, she has her hands stuffed in her pockets and a sense of urgency to her. Normally, she'd be a bit embarrassed about calling out to someone she doesn't really know all that well, but well, need's must.

It's with no particular subtlety that she yells out on Luna's front lawn.]

Luna!

Get out here, Willow needs help! [She could also knock, but that's just not her style, even in this state of emotional turmoil and panic.]

2 - A Walk In The Park (Closed to Faith, Maul, and Savage)

[frogfear]

[There's enough time lost to recovering from her injuries that Willow is growing restless. She's still furious with Chara, but there's little she can do about that at the moment, but it's fine. She can bide her time on that one.

In the meantime, her focus has shifted to a familiar feeling of helplessness back in a cold February morning in the driving snow. She remembers now. She remembers the terror she felt when she realized he was far too close for her to escape. She remembers she tried to rip and tear at him with sharp canines, and only managing to grab his clothes before his hands found her neck.

She's going to make sure Maul experiences that same sense of fear and impending doom he caused in her. And far more if she can manage it.

The locator spell comes back to her easily. It's a bit like riding a bike once she gets started, and between the cottage and the Ritual Gig, it's not like she doesn't have access to plenty of supplies.

The park. He's at the park. It's not even far.

She calls out a 'let's go' to Faith, and heads for the door without further explanation. She doesn't want to risk him leaving, and then having to go track him down like she had to do to Warren. It was inconvenient to say the least, and only served to drive her rage.

It's only early in the evening when they get to the park, still light, but only just, and the thunderclouds looming make it seem darker than it ought to be.

Willow spots the the pair sparring in the grass, and it should hardly come as a shock that Savage is here as well, even though some small part of her wishes he wasn't. Whatever. It's fine.

She raises a hand towards the pair and a murmured spell sends a blast of energy through the air to knock the pair apart from each other. She doesn't look much like herself, with her hair and eyes both black instead of red and green, and there's none of her usual gentleness in her expression, cold and determined as she looks to Savage.]

It's not you we're here for. You run.

[opress]

[Savage was getting used to the blood bond layered on top of his Force bond with his brother. He appreciated knowing what his brother was feeling at any given moment, and it only increased their silent time together as body language, the Force and now a blood bond was such clear communication that it was almost pointless to talk days on end.

They were out in the nearby park for their routine sparring session with one another. He was investing more time to learning the other Lightsaber forms under Maul's guidance, though at this point, he had put the saberstaff away for some good old fashioned wrestling. Unaware that they were being hunted - people tended to leave them alone based on reputation alone.

He turned his head when he spotted Willow and an associate show up on the scene, at first thinking little of her appearance. He didn't even drop his fighting stance, expecting she would pass by until it seemed that her direction was right to them. Something was wrong.

The Force was emitted from her was off, waves of dark energy reaching his senses, and the disturbance in the Force was enough to bring him up to standing. The next clue was her black hair and eyes, noticed just before she blasted them both with magic. He caught himself from tumbling too far, keeping to his feet from years of practice being thrown around.

He snorted like a bull when she made it clear he wasn't the target. Affronted feelings passed to his brother as he moved closer to stand close to his elder brother.]

I'm exactly where I need to be, so maybe you should move along. My brother is off-limits.

3 - Slushies and Death (Closed to Faith, Sayo, and Ruby)

[frogfear]

[The slushie stand doesn't feel like it's all that far from the park, and who isn't a little hot and thirsty after a good double murder? Willow is still a little irritated that Faith ended the game early by taking out Maul, but really, it's fine. She would have preferred it had been her hand instead, but it's not lost on her that Faith had wanted him dead months ago too, and in the end, the job is done, and that's all that matters.

There's still blood splattered on her pale face that she doesn't seem to notice as she approaches the stand. She glances to Faith, and grins widely. If she's aware of her alarming appearance - the black hair, black eyes, and black veins that stretch across her skin, she makes no comment about it.]

We'll take two, please.

[slayerskiss]

[Faith would be lying if she said she felt entirely comfortable with how it had gone, but some part of her is curious about what exactly she expected. Her own revenge against Wesley was hideous. Far worse than what Willow did.

Willow was angry at first, but the fact that she grins so widely at Faith (and even with the black hair, the black veins, the black eyes and the blood on both of their hands, Faith can't help but notice how pretty she looks when she smiles at her like that) sets her heart at ease. She doesn't want Willow to think she's getting cold feet. She's not.

She hasn't asked who they're killing next yet. But there's an idea that forms as she makes an observation and looks to Ruby.]

Ange not here today?

[commediadellarte]

[When it came down to it, the Rokkenjima Witch Legend Serial Murders came down to one trick, a single factor that ensured that the killings went off without a hitch. Not the illusory locked rooms, not the mystery of Shannon or Kanon, but something far simpler.

Sayo, simply put, is stealthy. It took a special talent to conceal her presence and erase all signs of life from her body so thoroughly that even one of her beloveds looking at her up close wouldn't notice that the red blood spilt across her chest was merely cheap paint. (Developing this talent, of course, was due to fear of the madam's anger and basic social anxiety converging toward a fervent desire to stay hidden in plain sight on most days.) And now with the magic of "zero" on her side, Sayo can fall out of the story of Trench entirely, becoming a background extra beneath the notice of any who try to gaze upon her.

Which is why it's a simple matter to stride up to Willow and Faith as they walk away from the slushy parlor, and, with a single stroke of her knife, cut out one of Willow's pages.

She stands behind Willow now, a single piece of parchment between her fingers fluttering in the hot summer wind before fading to take its place in Sayo's library... and putting Willow's magic out of her reach. Unfortunately, as a character who has taken action in this scene, it's significantly more difficult for Sayo to fade into the background once more and leave talking down Willow to someone with more talent for this kind of thing.

Turning to Willow, Sayo sighs, a weary expression on her face.] Now then. Hopefully that should make you more amenable to civil conversation.

What in the Waking World are you thinking, Willow?

4- Here's Johnny (Closed to Faith and Johnny)

[frogfear]

[Savage and Maul are dead, and any regret she feels about Savage is pushed aside. He always thought she was weak, anyway. He had said as much himself. Had he not encouraged her to fight in the past? Encouraged her to use magic for something other than a cautious defense, afraid to go further in case she did lose control like this. Control shouldn't be mistaken for weakness. It's a mistake she doesn't think he'll ever make again. It doesn't matter much now anyway. It's better this way.

The slushies were good - cold, and refreshing in the miserable summer humidity, and it's tempting to cast a spell to try to tear open the clouds and force the rain to pour down on them for relief. She's pretty sure she could do it, too. Would it make one of the Pthumerians angry? She's not sure. Maybe. Does it matter? Probably not.

That's when she spots him.

Poor Johnny, minding his own business, not bothering anyone on the street. They've bickered a couple times, and she's can summon some minor annoyance at the way she's seen him treat others if she tries, but mostly, her reasoning is simple.

It's because he has the misfortune to be there.

She grins and pats Faith on the shoulder to get her attention before pointing at the figure heading down the road.]

Come on, this'll be fun.

[strikefirster]

[Johnny unfortunately was not a slushie man. He was more the type for a cold beer and that's what he was after to help him beat the heat. He hasn't been working out but the temperature this month has left his white t-shirt moist with sweat at the collar and armpits. It's not exactly the most attractive look, but he manages to work it.

He doesn't notice anything particularly off but he turns his head back and just happens to catch sight of Willow and Faith behind him. He didn't have any strong opinions on Willow but Faith was good people as far as he was concerned. He raises an arm up and gives a light wave.]

Hey, kid! You two off to grab a drink too?

5 - Alone Again, Naturally (Closed to Tara, Ford, etc)

[frogfear]

[Johnny is dead. Faith is somewhere in the wind, and Willow's alone again. It's not really a great feeling. It was good to have a Slayer on her side while it lasted - they made a good team, even if Faith was a bit of a killjoy sometimes.

This whole thing is a lot less fun without her around. Stupid Johnny Lawrence. It's all his fault. Probably, anyway.

Willow is headed back for the cottage to grab a little rest, and plan her next move. She still has her sights set on Chara, but there's a lot of work to do before she's willing to take a second try at that fight.

It would have helped to a whole lot have Faith with her. Well, maybe she'll come to her senses and come back.

Once she gets back to the cottage, she settles in on the sofa to rest. And to wait.]

[psychopepsquad]

[There was rumbling about something going on, whispers of darkness, as well as a feeling deep in her gut that left her unsettled. She sensed that Willow was in trouble, though there was more dread than fear in her heart. Still, she sought her ought, following the trail and rampage apparently left in her wake. It didn't take much to gather that something dark had happened. Was it corruption or something else? She couldn't say, even coming face to face with Willow, seeing this side of her she had never witnessed before.]

Will?

[It was the epitome of darkness, a level which even this world didn't match. It made her skin crawl. Even Willow's aura looked different. This was far from the woman she loved and knew. It had to be what she was told in the Abyss.

This was that darkness that pulled her in.]

What have you done?

[cryptograms]

[ Things have really gone to hell in some incredibly complex ways, haven't they? Ford's instinct, both by virtue of being Ford Pines and by consequence of the Reckoning's interference, is to go directly after Sasha and damn any further consequences. He almost does.

But then he catches wind of what's going on with Willow, what she's been up to, and he stops. Annihilating Sasha with a big laser is still high on his list of priorities, but tracking down his close friend is higher. The 'tracking down' stage is trickier than he would have liked, given that she's not in any of their normal meeting spots. While he's not unprepared for that fact, it does mean it takes him much, much longer that he would have liked - and when he does track her down, it's mostly by accident.

Fortunately, it's easy to recognize her. Unfortunately, that's because Ford has the extremely clear and distinct memory of Willow making an impassioned effort to kill him. To his credit as a friend (and his discredit as an adult that should make better decisions) that doesn't stop him from calling out once he sees her. ]

Willow!

[imaglyphwitch]

[Lu had been hearing rumors of a destructive witch moving about, and her first thought was that somehow, Luna had gotten corrupted again. It was surprising, if only because Luz didn't think corruption could happen so quickly with the same person, but she knew there couldn't be any holding back.

Luna, after all, had been out for blood, in her own detached way. She was still plenty powerful. So Luz armed herself with her staff and witches' wool cloak and went out to find the witch.

Who it was, however, was very, VERY unexpected, and so different that Luz was rendered speechless in shock. No way. Not her].

W-willow? What are you doing?!

6 - The Final Fight (Closed to Faith and Ozpin)

[frogfear]

[It's become clear that she can no longer expect to be undisturbed at the cottage, so it's no longer a viable place for her to stay. For a moment, she thinks, perhaps she should have killed Ford as well. Except she didn't really want to. Ford had long been a source of support before now. He might still turn that way in time.

Tara might too, for that matter, especially left unconscious out under corrupting influence of the moon's orange glow. For far too long, she's felt at odds with her love, and recently has the situation begun to improve, only to completely unravel again. She would not complain to have them back on the right track again.

Unable to return to the cottage, Willow retreats to the top of the clocktower in Gaze. It doesn't seem like a bad spot to spend some time for now. She leans against the rail and looks over the city sprawled out beneath her as she considers her next move. She's had a problem with Never Mind since his boat trip prank last year. It wasn't funny, being trapped on a tiny canoe, floating down a river composed almost entirely of dead, decomposing bodies. He's even conveniently close by.

How hard would it be, she wonders, to take down the dean of the School of Mutter? Easier than Mariana, probably, but she suspects it would still be a hell of a fight.

It is tempting.]

[slayerskiss]

[Faith looks at Tara, left to corrupt in the moon. It's purposeful, the way she's been positioned, like she was put here on purpose. It's horrible. The idea that Willow's rotted this badly just in the day that she's left her. She picks up Tara immediately, sheltering her from the moon's glow with a feral growl. Her fangs are sharp in her mouth and she can feel her muscles primed for war, but she keeps focused.

She looks to Ozpin, something panicked to her gaze. The corruption's visible but it's not getting worse.]

I need to get her indoors. Keep Willow talking. Try reasoning with her. She's a lot more powerful now, but I think I can still sneak up on her.

[It's cold, the feeling inside of her. She remembers how Buffy had looked as she'd stepped inside Faith's apartment, with Faith dagger, dressed in Faith's leather. Is this how she always felt? This resolve in making a decision? A sacrifice?]

...This has to end tonight.

I Prayed My Mind Be Good To Me

[frogfear]

[It's dark, and quiet at the hazy edge of her awareness. No chaos, no sinking ships, or murdered pirates. No friends trying to convince her to see reason she refused, determined to wreak bloody revenge on everyone she thought had ever done her, or the people she cared about wrong, no matter how slight. No Reckoning, and no Corruption urging her on, and overriding all sense.

It's peaceful, for a time.

She dreams. For the first time in nearly a year, she dreams. She dreams of an ocean shore with black sand that stretches in every direction as far the eye can see, of a large full moon that hangs low in the sky and glows a deep orange through the dark clouds that half hide it from view.

A black and red cross fox trots along close by her side, and up ahead in the distance, she can see a wolf with a warm, red coat rooting around near and overturned lifeboat that seems to have appeared out of nowhere. The waves crash against the hull with a rumble that sounds more like distant thunder than water, and she pauses, as though afraid to get too close.

It sees her, and she freezes unsure whether to run, or stand her ground. The wolf drops its head low, and gives a small wag of the tail it has tucked against its back legs to show it means no harm. It pulls an object out from under the lifeboat, and carries it to Willow, dropping it a few feet away and quickly backing off to give her space.

A few short, cautious steps forward and she crouches. The back of the round, disc-like object is polished silver with an ornate pattern etched into the surface. She turns the object over in her palm, and glances at the wolf still keeping its distance, before looking back down. Her reflection stares back at her from the mirror, black hair flowing down over her shoulders, and black empty eyes, and she nearly tumbles backwards in shock and horror. No, no, no. She doesn't want this. She doesn't even feel the burn of corruption any more.

She runs a hand through her own hair and pulls it in front of her, so she can see it's still its usual shade of red in spite of the image that had been looking back up at her.

Suddenly, Willow wakes up.]

For Ozpin

[frogfear]

[The fox yawns as she stretches her paws out in front of her as she tries to shake off the remains of the disturbing dream. It's fine, it's fine, it's all fine.

Wait. No.

It's not fine. None of this is fine. None of this is even a little fine.

It takes her a moment to even begin to process it all. She remembers her soul being pinned to Puck, and sharing a form with the Omen instead of taking a separate one. It feels strange, but it makes sense. She let him do this to her to stop wolfwalking. A necromancer named John who was also seen as a god by some.

She let him convince her to kill a bunch of helpless pirates, and everything spiraled wildly out of her control so quickly.

It hadn't even taken much. Just a little nudge.

She remembers. She remembers killing Savage (he was her friend - she didn't even want to kill him, really but he was in the way). She remembers torturing Maul, and getting angry with Faith for ending the game too early. She remembers Faith killing Sayo with her encouragement, her killing Johnny because... why did she kill him again? Right. He was there, mostly. He was there, and he had annoyed her a couple times. She remembers nearly killing Faith. Fighting Luna, fighting Tara, fighting Luz, fighting Ozpin. Wanting to take out her fury on Never Mind, and Chara, but she hadn't gotten the chance.

It's probably for the best. It's definitely for the best.

Willow remembers a kiss, and a rush of relief as she thought Faith had finally realized that she was right - that some people just deserved death. Then a searing pain, brief but unbearable in her chest, and the sensation of falling. Then nothing.

She wishes she didn't. It would be easier if she didn't. She didn't remember anything at all last time, and now she remembers every sight, every sound, every smell. It hits her that it's probably a good thing she's in this borrowed form that isn't really hers. If she was human, she thinks she would be sick.

She gets up and makes her way through the mansion to Ozpin's room. There's a lot of people she needs to apologize to, that she owes an explanation to, but she has to start somewhere, and after seeing this sort of magic back in the dream, she doesn't think he'll be too alarmed by the sight of her like this.

The voice that calls out sounds distorted, almost with an echo - like it's her and Puck speaking in unison, but strangely out of synch with each other.]

Ozpin? Ozpin, are you awake?

For Ange

[frogfear]

[It will pass, Willow thinks, this business of being stuck in her Omen's form. It will pass come morning when she wakes up properly, and then she'll have to go from being a fox to a squid to a human again.

She thinks she even remembers how to do it. Or at least she remembers their ship's captain, the necromancer, John, God, the party cleric coaxing her through it last time.

She's certainly not asking for his help again any time soon.

It doesn't come, though. Dawn breaks, and she doesn't wake up. She can't even get back to sleep to wake up. Maybe Omens don't sleep, or maybe sometimes Sleeper squids refuse to stir either because they're missing... well. Themselves. Their consciousness, or their soul. Or maybe it's in spite of it.

She was hoping to avoid anyone else seeing her like this - awkward conversations that were best had back in her normal body. There are so many people she needs to apologize to, even though the apologies will never feel like enough. It's a start, at least.

She holds off as long as she can stand it before going to find Ange, and spends most of her time in her room, trying to meditate, trying to sleep so she can wake up properly, pacing anxiously back and forth, trying to come up with another solution, but there doesn't seem to be anything else for it, and she can't even go to the Archives to read and see if she can find if anything like this has happened before.

She finally gives in and goes to find Ange. When she speaks up, it's still with the same strange half human, half Omen voice with the slightly out of synch echo.]

Ange? I - uh, I... look. I don't mean to freak you out or anything, but... I kind of need help...

Thought I Heard You Talking Softly (for Ozpin)

[frogfear]

[It feels like only moments and months ago all at the same time since the attack on the mansion Willow had called home for over a year. Faith, thankfully, came back fairly quickly, but there's no sign of Ozpin yet. She isn't surprised, nor is she particularly worried yet. It's barely been a week.

She still checks the beach regularly for him, and Oscar both. The last thing she wants is for someone to take advantage of either one of them when they first wash up on shore, and she certainly wouldn't put it past Chara to be there, waiting for one or both of her friends. Not that there's much she could do to stop them if they took that route.

The threaded cane is used as a cane these days, as opposed to being carried as a weapon. Reaper's wound is still painful, and stubbornly refusing to heal in spite of all efforts. There was a time she would have gone to John for help, but those days are long over now, even as a last ditch effort, she is still actively avoiding contact with him. Even when she changes at night, there's no relief as the damage follows her, but at least it's not so difficult to get around on three legs.

She has considered briefly asking for Tara for help as well, but that seems like a bad idea in the aftermath of their talk, and the decision that they ought to stay away from each other for now. She doesn't know what she would do if something happened to Tara because of her, and trying to figure out where to go from here is something she needs to do on her own.

The morning starts no differently from any other. The wolf curled on the floor by the bed glows gold and flows back into Willow's sleeping form like liquid poured from a glass as she wakes up, tangled in the sheets. She isn't even aware anything is amiss as she sits up and carefully moves to get out of bed to start her morning routine.]

[clocktowers]

[ As so often happens, it's a glimpse in a mirror that gives the first indication: a flare of surprise, a secondhand feeling of disorientation and resettling. Like something shifting into place. Like something waking up, and stretching, and feeling out the bounds around its presence.

There is a second person in the body of Willow Rosenberg, a presence that fills the back of her mind with weight and awareness. It isn't uncomfortable, precisely— not for her, and not for him. He knows how not to fight it, and he knows exactly what has been done to them.

In Willow's mind, a familiar voice simply says: ]

Oh, dear.

Scared of What's Inside My Head (for Vyng)

[frogfear]

[Willow turns up at the farm in the days after the fire at the house. It had been a relief to return to discover the animals were unharmed, but still in need of relocation. There doesn't seem to be a better option for either the horse or cow than house them here where they have plenty of space to roam until she can figure out some alternative arrangements.

The horse is tacked up with his saddle and a halter with the lead line from the cow's halter tied to the pommel so neither feels inclined to wander off. With her leg wounded in the fight with Reaper, Willow is in no condition to ride, so she limps carefully along beside Radar, leaning into his shoulder for support, trying to avoid aggravating the injury.

It's been awhile since she's seen much of Vyng, thanks to the necromancer's attempts to cure her of wolfwalking, and the chaos that the first part of July had brought, but it is, perhaps, a good time for a conversation as well.

In the wake of all the harm she's wrought, and the revenge taken against her and the people she cares about in the aftermath, she feels the need to reach out to a friend that is unconnected to all of it. Maybe even someone who can help her puzzle out some of the revelations her brush with corruption had brought out.

She worries that Tara might be right her.

Willow knocks lightly on the door to the farmhouse upon arrival, and waits for Vyng to answer.]

Um. Hey. I, uh, kind of have a favour to ask? Well. Maybe more than one.

[spiritwalks]

[Vyng glances from Willow's leg, to the animals peacefully lingering behind her. But instead of bombarding her with questions about what happened, he gently says:]

Hey, Willow. What do you need?

Backdated to July 20th-ish (for Ford and Ozpin)

[frogfear]

[It takes Willow longer than usual to emerge from her room in the morning. Between the influence of her paleblood, and wolfwalking, she hasn't been much of an early riser since arriving in Trench, but Ozpin's unexpected arrival has, of course, caused further delay.

Telling Ford is a priority, for multiple reasons, including ripping the proverbial bandaid off what Ozpin has already indicated is going to be a particularly uncomfortable conversation. It seems better to get it out of the way as soon as possible. Still, it's impossible not to sound at least a little bit nervous when she speaks up.]

Hey, Ford? So. Something happened. We kind of should probably talk about it.

[cryptograms]

[ Ford has had a weird, distressing month and he's frankly not ready for it to get much weirder or more distressing.

He'll accept both from Willow, though. She just lost her home and is recovering from a gunshot wound in their formerly-haunted bedroom, but even without considering that he still trusts her to not make things weirder or more distressing without good reason. So when she approaches and speaks he looks up from his work (which is just a bit of journaling for now) with an mix of wariness and skepticism. ]

I hope it's not as bad as everything else that's happened this month.

[ Probably not, since she doesn't seem upset, but who the hell knows anymore? ]

Wolfwalking (For Ozpin)

[frogfear]

[It's been a bit of a strange day to say the least, but not an exceptionally difficult one, especially not in comparison to the rest of the month.

It could have been a lot worse, in spite of all the awkwardness and chaos. No one is dead or injured, which feels like a decent level to set the bar at, at least for this month, and tomorrow should signal even more of a return to normal with Ozpin's impending return from the ocean.

Still, by the time nighttime rolls around, Willow is tired enough to turn in early. So she crawls into bed, and pulls the covers up around her and murmurs a quiet goodnight to Ozpin before drifting off to sleep.

It happens as it has every night since Ange restored her, and as it did every night before she went to John to try to stop her from changing. The soft golden glow envelopes her human form and reforms separately as the typical red wolf she roams as while she sleeps. She doesn't go far these days, and instead just curls up beside the bed to relax.

As she settles in, she recognizes the familiar second presence in the back of her mind that she didn't expect to remain, and her head snaps back up.

Wait a second. Ozpin?

[clocktowers]

[ On the bed, Willow's body stirs. As the wolf watches, her own human body rolls over in the covers, blinks, and sits gingerly upright.

Ozpin holds out his borrowed hands to examine, frowning with a young woman's face, and murmurs: ]

Hm. I did wonder...