deercountry | o4 . january catchall

[She shoots Willow a look halfway between confused and irritated. This entire situation goes against pretty much everything her Watcher taught her, and the very miniscule amount that Giles ever bothered to teach her too. But fine, she's new here, she can understand that.

She crosses her arms and shakes her head. She'll have words with Willow later. They can do their weird passive aggressive dance to their hearts content.]

[ The implication that his body would turn to dust, as though he's nothing more than a Grimm, does not help Ozpin's mood. These are the responses of frightened children, thinking they know best from what little they've learned. It will do no one any good to argue with them ad nauseam. He steps forward, telegraphing straight-spined indifference and not a speck of threat, to pass them for the door. ]

Yes, I would hate for anyone to do something they regret. [ He can be forgiven the tone, surely, under the circumstances. ] We'll discuss this later, Willow.

[ He pulls the front door open, and turns in the doorway, to fix Faith with an expression that does not even attempt to be a smile. ]

Welcome to Trench.

[ And he goes. ]

[Ozpin leaves and Willow stares after him silently for a few moments. She can't help but recall a conversation that happened what feels like an eternity ago about how keeping secrets can put them all in danger.

Even under the compulsion of honesty, he still tried to lie to them time and time again, even when the truth was obvious.

There isn't time to process, or even be upset about the weight of all the implications of the confrontation, and what's potentially to come. There's too much to be done, and if she can throw her focus into looking for a way to set things right again, then she can ignore certain painful truths. All she can do is try to hold onto the excuse that this is all the influence of the vampirism that's seized hold of him, and not simply Ozpin being Ozpin. That has to be it.

She does not want Faith to see her upset.

Willow takes a deep breath and tries to bring her focus to the task at hand. She grabs her Omni and taps out a quick message to Tara.

Are you home? Can you come downstairs please? Something bad happened.

She turns her attention back to Faith and lets out a sigh.]

It's not usually like this, I swear.

[Faith watches Ozpin leave with a tightness to her jaw.]

No vampires in Trench, huh. [She raises an eyebrow at Willow.] How long's he been like that, anyway?

[Which could refer to him being a vampire or him being smarmy and dismissive, both are equally problematic in her mind. Faith is still on edge, like she's still expecting more of them to burst out and drag her into the basement or something.

Which is stupid, considering she's the hunter, not the prey.]

Okay, okay, no vampires like at home in Trench. Or at least, I thought there wasn't.

[Willow sighs. Clearly, she's made a mistake in thinking that the absence of reports on the network of Sleepers needing to be staked, and reports of people being found completely drained of blood, with bite marks on their neck meant that there weren't any vampires here.]

He started acting a little weird about a month or so ago. It's been on my radar, but I wasn't expecting this.

You know, you did just kinda dump him onto the rest of Trench. Like, I get it, protect the pack and all, but it wasn't super responsible.

[If she'd encountered him out there, she probably would have gone straight for the kill, not knowing or caring if he had a soul. That's just the way it is. It's hardly like she's been pulling her punches when she kicks around the regular monsters here.]

Not saying it was the wrong choice, though. He's your friend and all. What do you need me to do?

['Something bad happened'. Much like in Sunnydale, that could be a very general statement where something bad always seemed to happen here. More and more, she's come to the conclusion that the Trench is really just Sunnydale sucked into the Hellmouth, but until she can manage to prove that, she's not going to raise the alarm.

That thought process isn't helped when Tara comes down the stairs and see a very familiar energy source. She'd never really seen Faith's face, so much as how her aura and energy read stuffed into Buffy's body. It's a bit of a shock, more so that she has to actually question whether this is who Faith really is or if she's just in another body again?

First assumption is this is the bad thing, right?

Tara tugged at her gloves, opening her palm and grabbing a dagger to spill her blood, ready to cast magic.]

Stand back, Will.

[Faith is right, of course. Willow just didn't consider it in the moment - she was more worried about their immediate circle, especially Ange and Shannon that Ozpin had been caught staring at.

She shouldn't have sent him out there alone.

No one else knows about Ozpin except for Faith, and she's fully expecting breaking the news is going to bring about a thousand questions, and right now, time feels like it's of the essence.]

Can you -

[She's interrupted by Tara's sudden appearance, and her second mistake hits her. She did actually warn Tara Faith was in Trench, even though she had every intention of it. So she quickly steps forward to interrupt and hold up her hands before Tara swipe the dagger across her palm.]

No, no, it's okay! Faith's not the problem. It's Ozpin. Tara, he's a vampire.

[Faith raises her hands in surrender with a grimace. That's Willow's girlfriend, who recognizes her, and is brandishing a knife at her to... cut her own hand?

Magic is fuckin' weird.]

Reformed. Or reforming, whichever.

[She shifts somewhat awkwardly.]

...Nice to finally meet you? Properly, I mean. [She'd offer her hand for a handshake but she's a little unsure how big of a grudge she's dealing with here.]

[Tara draws back, for a moment worried that Willow was about to touch her hand in an effort to stop her. There is a lot of sudden information hitting her all at once. Faith, Ozpin, vampire, etc. It feels like her mind just stalls somewhere between fight and...well, any activity.

She's kind of stuck on the whole "Faith isn't the threat." Being introduced to the subject of Faith, it was that she was a threat. The threat. Now she's here and Willow's just...spending time with her? Using her as backup? What exactly should she make of this?]

I- ['Reformed'.] How do you reform from stealing someone's body?

[Give her a second. She's still at the "angry, protective" stage.]

Oz is a vampire?

It's - it's kind of a long story. She just got here, and she says she's trying to do better - that she wants to help.

[Oh. Huh. That's not actually that long of a story. Willow glances back at Faith. They saw it in Ozpin too, it's near impossible to lie to Palebloods right now, thanks to the current effects of the moon.]

And I believe her.

[She looks back to Tara with a small, apologetic smile.]

I'll explain better later, I promise. But yeah - Oz is a vampire, that's why he's been acting so off lately.

[She's halfway toward bristling, and saying any number of defences. Angel's guilty of worse? Aren't you buddies with Spike now? How do you reform from anything?

And then Willow's saying that she believes her and Faith's... surprised. To say the least. It's a nice feeling, kinda, if a bit confusing.]

...Angel gave me a chance.

I can't take back what I've done, I can just do better in the future. I'm not asking for forgiveness from anyone. Least of all Buffy. But that's not what's important right now.

You've been living with a vampire, apparently, Willow just kicked him out.

[She never really knew Angel, so the use of his name didn't elicit much of a response from Tara. The last time he came around, everyone seemed to think he was evil. It...wasn't the best endorsement for someone still incredibly wary of evil activity.

Tara shot Willow a look, clearly not happy and likely to express that more vocally later. She pocketed her knife and pulled on her glove again, crossing her arms in front of her chest. The blatant sign of "I don't like this."]

I don't understand. [An understatement for her.] Are vampires like the vampires in Sunnydale? Magic is different here, does that mean vampires are too?

[All Willow can do is muster an apologetic look. She didn't mean for things to unfold this way, it just sort of... happened.

Magic is very different in Trench than it is from home, and she has to acknowledge it might be the same for vampirism, in spite of her suspicions.]

I don't know. They might be. We have to find out, and find a way to make things right again. All I know for sure right now is that Ozpin hasn't been himself. He's been feeding on Sleepers, and staring at Ange and Shannon to the point where they're nervous of him, and his intentions.

[She sighs.]

It's Ozpin. He wouldn't intentionally hurt anyone, but I'm worried he's going to a really dark place really fast. We need to make sure everyone's safe, and find a way to help him.

[Faith similarly crosses her arms, less unsure and more slightly defensive and aloof. She doesn't care. The complete and total distrust doesn't sting even a little because of course she should expect nothing less.

Totally.

God, she's pathetic.]

Slayers can sniff out vampires. Sort of a sense that we've got. He's got enough in common with them that he triggered that at least. [She glances at Willow.] He kept lying about it, or trying to, even though he literally couldn't. But I don't know if that tracks for him or not.

Doesn't seem like he's lackin' a soul, though, at least not completely. Normally vampires don't just creep on girls, they kill 'em, so he's got that much going for his defence.

If two of our housemates are feeling uncomfortable, it's better to separate the temptation. It seems like a harsh measure, but we should be safe in this case before anything else.

[She glanced momentarily at Faith, acknowledging what she was saying. It was useful, given that Buffy wasn't here to offer the slayer perspective. As much as Faith made her angry and uneasy, she did have to admit it made her feel better for a Chosen One to help them.

Life without Buffy after death had been super difficult. It would be worse here.]

I don't know if lying is common, but I can see why he would. He's probably worried how we'll respond. And...if stories about corruption are true, it's probably playing a part. If corruption is part of it.

[She shook her head. Lack of a soul, she's seen that it's not always a problem.]

I don't know if a soul means that much in this case. Besides the Trench being different, not all vampires are terrible without a soul. I mean, Spike went out of his way to protect Dawn and stop Glory. Maybe Ozpin is good like that too?

Yeah. The last thing I want to see happen is for anyone to get hurt because it gets to be more than he can stand.

[She takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly before looking to Faith. She hates to ask, she normally wouldn't ask, especially since it's hard not to consider Faith a wild card, but she sees little choice at this point.]

Can you keep an eye on him when we're done here? Don't hurt him, just make sure nothing happens until we can get this figured out.

[She looks to Tara and raises her eyebrows.]

Well, Spike only turned around because he couldn't hurt people any more, and because he fell for Buffy. I don't think Ozpin's missing his soul, or anything, though - or, at least I hope not. Even if I could make the spell work, I have no idea if we'd even be able to get an Orb of Thesulah here. It could totally be a corruption thing, though.

Yeah, done. I was gonna do it anyway. I'll keep a lookout, make sure he doesn't hurt anyone. [No hurting him is a bit more complicated, but she's definitely not going to kill him. If he starts pouncing on people then that's a whole different story, but she's very much clear on the whole "no dusting thing."

She furrows her brow at the Spike comment. That's certainly news to her.] Yeah, didn't he turn up while I was around, kill a few people, kidnap you and threaten to kill you if... [She pauses, Willow's words catch up to her.] Wait. Spike fell for Buffy??

[Oh god. Is this because of the "riding you at a gallop until your legs buckled" speech? Did she seriously introduce more competition for herself in the form of loser vampires??]

Edited 2022-01-19 06:31 (UTC)

Umm...yeah. Buffy and Spike also had a thing. [Which is an understatement, but she's not sure how much about that she should share. It's not like it's a secret anymore, but how she felt about things and so on, that should be for Buffy to talk about.] It's all kind of complicated.

[Which is all the more clear now, since coming back from her death with the memories of her last moments. Just wanting to feel, she could see why Buffy would do anything to get that.]

Spike has done a lot of good since then. [And bad things. Very bad things. It's...so complicated and she doesn't have the bandwidth to really talk about it, especially with Faith.]

I mean, a lot of stuff happened since you were in Sunnydale. [And took Buffy's body. Never forget.] Buffy died and came back. Joyce died too.

[Murmured:] Died...died...died

Government chip stopped him from being able to feed on people.

[It's probably not so helpful, and also not so important in the moment, so she just shrugs.]

It's kind of a long story. I'll tell you about it sometime.

[And there it is, another glimpse of the sometimes unusual behaviour as though the needle on Tara's record player has suddenly gotten stuck. Willow gives Faith a concerned glance, and takes a step towards Tara.]

Tara? Are you okay?

[Her reaction to Tara's words are a bit of a process, first she's not sure how to react to the news that Buffy and Spike had a thing. It makes sense, he's certainly her type, more her type than that guy... nope, not thinking about that.

She's not going to think about this at all, actually. Especially once the topic changes, and it feels like her ears are buzzing because... those are two pieces of devestating news that hit in two distinctly different ways.

She was so fucking jealous of Buffy for having a mom that gave even the slightest shit about her. Buffy got friends, a watcher, a mom that complained about her roaming the streets at night rather than throwing her out on her ass in the thick of it whenever she wanted alone time with whatever junkie she'd lured into her bed. And now... huh. She'd done her absolute damndest to burn any bridges in any direction with the Summers family, but Joyce was one of the few people who ever bothered with her before Faith started killing people. It feels awful. She hates Angel for not even bothering to tell her. But not as much as she hates him from not telling her that Buffy...

That's why she felt like she'd lost a limb, isn't it? Of course it is. Or a weight, like seperating two magnets from eachother. That's why...

Where was I? In a cell, feeling sorry for myself? God, I really never will be anywhere near as good as you.

But she'll come back. Never any rest for the best or worst of them. Of course she'll come back, kicking and screaming. And deep down, Faith knows that just like her, she'll wish she never woke back up.] Right.

Guess I should've already... right. [She seems to rouse herself out of her own thoughts long enough to spot Willow's concern, and she tries to push this feeling of rage deep down to go unleash on anything anywhere else. She just raises a half-hearted eyebrow at Tara.]

Uh, yeah, you repeated yourself a bit there.

Edited 2022-01-22 09:30 (UTC)

What? Did I?

[Her face said that she hadn't heard herself. It was almost as if they started talking about how people wore shoes on their heads. She glanced between Willow and Faith, not following their concern.]

Um, I'm fine? A...are you okay?

[The stutter is not the best thing to return to, but much like her repetition, she doesn't seem to notice that old habit is back.]

S...so should we cast the anti vampire entry spell?

[It's difficult not to be concerned about the two of them. Faith is clearly trying to process the news of the deaths of both Buffy and Joyce, but at least they got Buffy back. She would have thought if Angel had been keeping her in the loop, she would have been told. It's fairly significant news, after all.

It's a conversation for another time.

She gives Tara a reassuring smile. The stutter makes more sense - it's a particularly stressful moment with all the upheaval, and Faith being here as well. That is far less concerning.]

We'll be okay. But yeah - the anti vampire entry spell is probably a great idea. Do you mind...? I still can't...

[She sighs. It's only been the past couple months she's really noticed how inconvenient it is not to be able to use her familiar spells from home, but especially in situations like this, she can't help but feel especially ineffective.]

[She doesn't register the question as being addressed to her. It seems more like a reflex, which annoys Faith a little. The ultra benevolent ones always do. She looks at Willow, still clearly stuck in her own head.

She wants to hit something. She wants to kill something. That always made her feel better.]

Want me to stick around and stand guard or go follow your friend? [She's tempted to make a joke about three being a crowd for this sort of thing, but for a number of reasons including her own discomfort, grief and rage, and the fact that it'd be kind of a dick thing to say in front of Tara considering everything, she decides against it.] Don't wanna get in the way of whatever you're doing.

[Or the things they clearly need to talk about behind her back.]

You wouldn't get in the way. [It was a fairly basic spell, one that that she had done enough times that she felt comfortable with what she was doing. What worried her was how it might backfire. The Trench was different than Sunnydale and Tara was still struggling to get a sense of the energy levels that she could draw from and channel her abilities.

What she was given was blood magic and something about that made her feel corrupted in her own right. Maybe it was being a Vile Blood, maybe it was because she never really used blood magic before coming here. Either way, it made things feel off for her.

Which death never helped either.]

I don't where Willow is. [A beat.] With this. Maybe it's a good idea to follow him and stake him. [Another beat] Out now. Or you could hang around? I can't say it's the most elaborate spell.

[Unless Faith wanted to see how it might backfire?]

Um...you can stay. I still don't know how my magic will respond here.

o4 . january catchall

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cw for suicidal ideation, mentions of parental neglect

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