o5 . bone house mingle!

[necrolord]

Who: necrolord and CR!
What: Several teens move into the horrible necromancy mansion, and sometimes they bring their friends.
When: Early March.
Where: Bone House in Gaze.

Content Warnings: Skeletons, discussions of death and grief, violence where marked, vomit where marked. Note all the usual warnings of this character.

Comments

[slayerskiss]

[In contrast, the last time Faith laid eyes on Willow she happened to be dead. So when she just comes out the door of one of the guest rooms in this extremely shady man's house, she feels like she's about to jump out of her skin.

She does, in fact, jump. Visibly. The look in her eyes is something like shock and guilt and obviously, a flash of anger.]

Jesus, Will. Don't fuckin'...

You didn't think to tell us you came back to life? What are you doing here?

[frogfear]

[Faith visibly startles, and Willow steps back both to give them each a little more space and in part thanks to the flash of anger in her eyes. Her words give her pause, though.

Faith knows she was dead, so clearly, she is not a brand new arrival to the town, and that look in her eyes is... what? Was she actually upset that Willow was dead? That's new, and completely unexpected.]

The guy who lives here - The Captain, Cleric, Teacher - whatever you want to call him, I guess. He, uh, helped me when I came back. He brought me here to recover. It's not that I didn't want to tell everyone I was back, it was just...

[She shifts, clearly uncomfortable. Admitting to Faith in particular that she doesn't remember Trench, including some very key, very important points isn't easy at all. Although perhaps this is the best way to get help finding her way back home.]

I didn't know how to get in touch with anyone - and I, uh... kinda - I mean, I don't - I don't really remember where I'm supposed to be - like, where the house is...

[slayerskiss]

[Faith feels something tighten in her throat, and if Willow is surprised by the slightest flash of grief and guilt for allowing this to happen, she'll be shocked when they're at the forefront.

Of course. They're starting at square one, then. She stuffs her hands in her pockets, swallowing the bitter lump in her throat.]

...You don't remember anything about this place or anything that happened here, then?

I can - [She lets out a sigh.] I know where your place is. I can take you there.

[frogfear]

[Willow shakes her head and sighs. There's no sense in lying about it, and she's a terrible liar anyway.]

The last thing I remember was going out into the ocean to come here in the first place. I mean, I've heard I've been here for awhile, but...

[She shrugs a little. It's all a blank after that.]

It'll come back, I think? It happened sometimes to people in Deerington too, and I guess... De-squidding? [Unsquidding? What even is the right term here?] Side effects wear off after awhile too. Most of it's already worn off.

[She nods at the offer - as much as every instinct is screaming at her that trusting Faith is not a safe plan, it feels like her best chance to get back where she belongs, and she does miss her housemates.]

Yeah - if you know where I live, that'd be great. Thanks.

[slayerskiss]

Right. Well. [Should she tell her about Tara? Or should she give Tara some warning first and tell her to go over to the Clockhouse whenever she's ready? Faith isn't really that deceptive as a person, despite some... semi-successful attempts against Angel and Giles and the other Scoobies, she's mostly upfront.

But fuck if she doesn't want to deal with the whole 'hey, your girlfriend's here and moved in with me after you died' conversation. Because for entirely understandable reasons given her track record of intentionally seducing people's boyfriends, Willow probably wouldn't trust that.] I was coming to see Dr. Bones, but I guess it can wait. Uhh... probably better off asking Ange or Ruby what's been going on? I only just got here in January.

You need to pack your stuff or something? I dunno how long you've been here.

[frogfear]

Dr. Bones? Oh, our friend who doesn't like to tell people his name?

[Willow still can't help but think that's more than a little strange. He's told her they were friends, and he's been nothing but perfectly hospitable and helpful since he found her. She's starting to wonder if perhaps he just wants to see how many nicknames he can gather in Trench, and maybe that's why he doesn't want to give out his real name.

Maybe they should start keeping a list. At least Faith's is very fitting.]

I don't really have anything to pack - I've only been here a couple days, and kinda wasn't up for going too far for a bit, and I didn't come back with anything either.

[slayerskiss]

Goes by nicknames and titles, I get to pick the nickname.

[She smirks. She's right that it's weird. The Mayor preferred titles over his name, but his name wasn't like, a secret. It just didn't really describe him anymore.]

Well, then, uh... let's go, yeah? [She hugs her jacket closer around her torso, still somewhat guarded and... a bit hurt, despite herself. It's not Willow's fault. It's Maul's. But it doesn't change the fact that Faith hates feeling like she's just starting over. She starts heading back towards the door. She can go and vent some rage at the monsters at the Gate.] I can catch you up on the stuff I was there for so it doesn't become a nasty surprise?

[frogfear]

That sounds like a fair compromise.

[She smiles faintly. Faith seems... different from what she remembers from Sunnydale. Not entirely comfortable or familiar, but perhaps a little friendlier. Granted, Willow is unsure how much time has passed for her since the last time they had seen each other. Has it been the same nearly three years? Even if it hasn't, how much has changed in the couple months since her arrival in Trench?

Hopefully this short term memory loss problem resolves itself quickly. It's frustrating, and she's already tired of the confusion that comes with every interaction.

She takes a look around after Faith makes both offers - to show her the way home, and fill her in on the last little while, and nods. She can catch up with everyone here later, and let them know she's found her way safely home, and thank them for the hospitality.]

Yeah. That sounds like a good idea. Thanks, Faith. Lead the way.