deercountry | (no subject)

[Willow is mostly quiet on the walk back to the house with Faith. It feels awkward, and she finds herself unsure what to say. Coming back from death in Deerington had felt far more dangerous, but at least it was simple. She just called Ozpin, and he came immediately to get her and bring her back to safety, no questions about where she belonged, or what happened. She felt terrible, sick in a way that gave a whole new meaning to the phrase 'death warmed over' but at least it was not confusing.

Seeing mushrooms that aren't actually there doesn't help either, but she's been very pointedly ignoring those.

She feels unsure suddenly as she approaches the door and she hesitates, glancing to Faith. Does she knock? Does she just walk in and say 'Hey! I'm home!' and see if anyone comes running?

Death complicates a lot of things.

It takes her another couple seconds to make up her mind and decide to do both. She knocks, then opens the door and steps inside, calling out.]

Is anyone home?

[ He has pretended not to be worried about her. Ozpin knows better than most that the death timeline is not an immutable thing, not a clearly-delineated resurrection. He only slightly regrets frightening everyone with that one long absence. He cannot begrudge Willow lingering in the sea, if that is where she is; he cannot take it as indication that she will not come back to them.

Still: when he opens the library door and sees who is in the foyer, relief breaks across his face like the dawn. ]

Willow. It's good to see you.

[Word that Tara is in Trench is extremely welcome news. She is one of the people she has been watching for since arriving in Deerington, especially since Buffy ended up in the town after her death for a time as well. Even though she can't remember it, she can't imagine that's changed any in Trench.

The news that Tara is living with Faith is far less welcome, and far more confusing. Did something else happen that she doesn't know about that made Tara leave? Did she do something to upset her? Is it because of what happened at home? Does Tara know about her nearly destroying the world?

Willow is genuinely unsure whether or not she should reach out, or give her some space, but upon considering, she's not sure she entirely trusts Faith to let Tara know she's come back. The message comes through as a text - it gives them both a little more space in case the conversation goes badly for one reason or another.]

Hi. It's me. I just got home a little while ago. Are you busy? Can we talk?

[There's only so much time one can spend laying on their bed, or on the floor in a completely different form while their body lies asleep in the bed. For several nights, Willow just wanders the house, and that's enough to stave off boredom. She still doesn't remember how she died exactly, or anything else of Trench, but the idea of roaming outside makes her a little nervous. Maul may have promised he's turned over a new leaf, but she's not sure she trusts it just yet.

The first time she sets out into the night air, she doesn't leave the grounds of the mansion where the wards cast still offer protection from danger, but it still feels like a victory. From there, it only takes a couple more nights to work up the courage to begin to explore the city again. She lets her instincts guide her in the absence of her memory. She stays away from the forest for reasons she can't quite remember, but she does linger near spaces that feel familiar, and safe, such as near the homes of her friends.

As she finds her confidence with her exploration of the town, she grows more comfortable, and she goes from slinking around cautiously and sticking to the shadows to a lighter, springier step. It's easier too, to tell the difference between the hallucinations and reality in this form. The imaginary mushrooms don't smell like anything she's quite able to place, and she quickly realizes it's a dead give away for real or not real. Even with the recognition that they are not real, sometimes she finds a bit of enjoyment in pouncing on them, or smacking them with a paw and watching them explode into a shower of shimmering light, or a burst of colour she's not usually able to see as a wolf.

She can be found throughout the town, on the boardwalk, on the beach, or up on the cliffs overlooking the shore, although it's probably an odd sight to see her pouncing or batting at nothing. She will actively try to avoid contact with other Sleepers, unaware of who knows her in this form, and who doesn't. She will startle easily, and might bolt, or even get defensive if she feels cornered. If she recognizes you, she might be content enough to hang around as well, and she will help anyone who finds themselves in trouble.]

Edited 2022-03-07 01:15 (UTC)

[During the day, Willow can be found throughout the town. She spends a fair amount of her time at the Archives, trying to relearn what she's forgotten about Trench, and searching for a solution for both her memory loss, and the mushrooms she keeps seeing that aren't actually there.

In the Archives, she can be found perusing the stacks for books, or trying to brush imaginary fungi off the shelves so she can read the titles, or sitting at a table, trying to read the books she's found.

She can be found elsewhere in the town as well, as she looks for familiar spaces and things that might help her jog her memory. She keeps a hand in her pocket, on the teleportation talisman Ford had given her when Maul first threatened her that will activate with a drop of blood to take her to the safety of his lab. Knowing she has an easy way out should trouble find her helps her feel a bit more comfortable while exploring the city.

As in her wolf form, she will startle more easily if approached unexpectedly, but she's also more likely to linger in more crowded spaces where if something goes wrong, at least there are people around who might be able to help.]

[Want something completely different? Let's do it!]

[It's a relief to see Ozpin as well, and to be back where she belongs. Trench has apparently brought with it a lot of change, and the last few days have been both confusing, and challenging. The mansion might not be exactly as she remembers it from Deerington, but it's still comfortingly familiar.

It still feels like home.

She smiles as she crosses the floor to join him.]

It's good to see you too. Sorry - I guess I'm probably a little later than expected.

[Faith awkwardly hangs back, leaning just outside the doorway with he arms crossed. She doesn't belong here. She's not even Willow's friend anymore, let alone a part of her little family unit. And now that Willow's back, Tara will probably be leaving too and Faith will be all on her own again.

She shifts slightly, trying not to be sad because sadness is a pathetic emotion and Faith is a stonecold bitch with no feelings.]

She was at uh... you know the guy with the black eyes who's real stingy with his name? Apparently he picked her up and took her to his place.

[Savage had been trying to make it to the Archives to pick up some new books, which was difficult given he wasn't always certain of his reading level. The Archives also so full of books in such a confusing order that, without Willow double-checking his picks, he often couldn't decide or more often than not, just didn't. He ended up picking books they had already been through together.

Grumbling to himself, he tucked a book under his arm as he left the Archive to make his way back home. He always hid his books under mattresses so his brother didn't have a reason to question why he had them.

Yet, as he walked towards a lamp post to take him across town again, he noted what looked like a hairy beast skulking in the shadow of an alley. He flared his nostrils to drink in the scent, but he was upwind and couldn't get a sense of the creature. He tucked his book into his belt and began to follow the creature - a wolf, wasn't it?

As a hunter, he needed to make certain that the creature was a blood crazed beast. He stalked into the alley, keeping his footfalls quiet as he moved to track the wolf in question.]

[Willow sniffs around the alley quietly. Supposedly, smells are strong triggers for memory, but it doesn't seem to be helping at all.

Frustrating.

She catches a whiff of Savage as he approaches the lamp post, and lifts her head briefly. It's harder to recognize even people she knows in this form, and without her memory, it she still finds herself adjusting to the changes in her vision.

She tries to just move off at first, moving deeper into the alley. She doesn't hear him following her at first - he's quiet, and clearly experienced in tracking. It's not until she catches his scent in the air, closer than what she feels he ought to be, that she realizes she's being followed, and she lets out a quiet growl of warning.]

Sadly, due to her whole being corrupted in March Luz had missed out on several things, including Willow's passing. That being the case, her recent encounter with Tara had reminded Luz she wanted to seek her out again, as now that things seemed to be calming down again. Luz had not forgotten that she wanted to touch base on her witchery and finding another witch had only deepened her want to get back to performing HER magic again.

Unfortunately, Luz's mistake was thinking that things had calmed down at all, or that HER magic included her Pale blood.

As she was walking out of Cassandra to maybe visit the newly created arcade for the third time this week, Luz spotted the familiar red hair and walked over to greet her.

"Heya, Willow! How've you been?"

[Tinya's still exploring the city as best as she can. she has her Legion flight ring in case things go poorly and realized that while her inborn powers may be malfunctioning, she has ice, fire, and lightning at her command. pretty cool, given that most Legionnaires only had one super-power.

but she's in the Archives, trying to research why her powers have gone haywire. she can still see the layers of dimensions, including the Phantom Zone. she should be fine, but she's not.

when she sees the other young woman dusting imaginary fungi off of the books, Tinya merely assumes that she's dusting them off. they reach for the same book at the same time, but Tinya acquieces and smiles]

You go ahead. After all, it's not like the books are going anywhere. Right?

[it's more of a real question than a hypothetical]

[ Ange may not be the first one to greet Willow back, but it's not too soon after Willow is brought back to the house that she finds that the other is back from the dead.

There's a bit less fussing in the entire death thing here, knowing that at least people are going to come back without all the nasty side effects that Deerington used to bring people - but Willow's death was still worrying and upsetting in its own way, and Ange is more than glad to see the other.

Glad enough to actually smile a little when she spots Willow around the house. ]

.. it's so good to see you back, you know.

[This was definitely a beast he determined as he quietly stalked after the furry creature, and it was one he had dealt with before. They weren't often in the city, but this one wasn't attacking anything so far. From what he knew about them, they were shy pack hunters who could and would bring down large game.

This one seemed alone, and he didn't smell, see or hear any other wolves. When a growl was sounded at him as he was detected, he simply growled right back. In a contest of strength and hunting, Savage knew he was better prepared. Perhaps he and his brother would eat well tonight....

Except, he sniffed the air to be certain this was a lone wolf and drew up short from pursuing a potential meal. The wolf smelled oddly familiar, though it took him a moment to discern why that would be. Then he decided this wolf smelled similar to Willow.

When he had the beast in his sights, he eased into a crouch to be more on eye level. It didn't look like Willow, but the similarities in scent were clearer now that he was focused on it. He pointed a finger at the wolf.]

If you ate Willow, her friends will tear your legs off.

[The answering growl encourages her to increase her pace as she retreats from Savage, and she growls again as she glances back at him, deeper, and this time she shows a flash of sharp fangs to try to warn him off. She does not want a fight, she simply wants to be left alone.

Navigating the alleyways is a far more difficult job without her previous memory of Trench, and she hasn't had much time to re-familiarize herself with the city yet, and she blunders right into a dead end.

"I learned you can turn into a wolf. So I waited until you went out one night, followed you until I had tracked you down, and broke your neck."

She can practically hear Maul's dispassionate explanation of how he killed her ringing in her ears as she turns to face Savage. She can feel her heart pounding in her chest. She does not want to die again.

Savage crouches, and mushrooms, in bright red that she shouldn't be able to perceive in this form, explode out of his face as her anxiety spikes. If not for the hallucination, she might realize it was Savage, and not his brother she was facing down. Maul said he had changed, that he planned to turn over a new leaf. No more killing Sleepers. He didn't even mean to kill her.

She knew she shouldn't have believed him.

The wolf lifts her lips and snarls, showing off her teeth, and she lunges towards him, snapping her jaws at the air with a sharp click in one last warning to back down as he points at her and issues his own warning that she only half hears.

No one is tearing off her legs tonight.]

[The details of Willow's death was not something that he had asked much in the way of details, not with the kid crying outside of the house, and it wasn't of interest enough to him to inquire with his brother. He might scent Willow on the wolf, but he didn't think she was the wolf either. It didn't particularly occur to him as she hadn't shown him that magic trick in the past.

He remained crouched at the wolf, now cornered and far more dangerous, but he did draw his hand away when teeth snapped at him. He growled back, still confident that he was in control of the situation. It was just a wolf, and he had tangled with his share of wild animals before.

Slowly, he rose up again to his feet, still blocking the way out. This wolf still smelled like Willow, but there was no blood on the fur or signs of hunting. It just looked like a shy wolf.]

You smell familiar...

[She stays tense and ready to spring, and snarls a second time as he growls at her again. She might not want to fight, but she isn't about to show any signs of being intimidated either. At least he withdraws his hand.

Her eyes lock on his as he rises to his feet. His movement may be slow, but he's still preventing her from leaving, and now he's towering above her, and that feels like even more of a threat.

She allows him only a brief moment to move aside to let her pass, and when he doesn't, she leaps for him, prepared to knock him over and close her jaws around whatever she can grab onto.]

[Savage held his ground, trying to figure out the source of the scent that clung to this beast's fur. He didn't have enough close encounters with wolves aside from the undead ones that he and Airy had fought and then seeing or hearing one when he was out hunting or tracking.

As the wolf lunged at him, he twisted aside to avoid the teeth. Yet, he didn't jerk had hand away enough, and he felt the close of teeth on his hand and wrist. He hissed in aggravation, and he clenched his fist as he whipped his clamped hand to try to dislodge the wolf.

His right hand went for his saberstaff, drawing it and lighting one end with full intention of cutting the wolf down if she didn't scamper away quickly enough.]

[She makes contact with his hand and wrist, and bites down hard, sinking her teeth into his flesh as she shakes her head. She may not have wanted to start this fight, but she isn't going to back down easily either.

He shakes his fist to try to dislodge her, and she moves with him, holding on as though she's well aware she's just grabbed a tiger by the tail. She needs to be able to do enough damage to keep him from coming at her again, and she has few reservations about spilling his blood, given what he did to her.

The snap-hiss of the saberstaff igniting is all the warning she needs. She is familiar enough with lightsabers to know she doesn't have a defense against them, and she isn't sure she can outmaneuver him with his weapon. She releases his hand immediately, and turns and bolts into the night.]

[Willow grins as she lays her eyes on Ange. Her time spent recovering at the dilapidated house her friend from the beach had brought her to had been largely uneventful. It wasn't even so bad after she got used to the idea of skeletons shambling around, doing chores and helping out. But it wasn't home, and she is glad to be back on familiar ground, and surrounded by familiar faces.

Hopefully it will help jog her memory faster.]

Hey. Trust me, it's good to be back too.

[After being cornered in the alley, and biting Savage, Willow bolts through the streets of Trench for safety. She's still fairly certain it was Maul who attacked her, and she's fairly certain he will follow her. She doesn't track where she's headed until she's sure she can no longer smell him, and by that time, she's well away from Gaze, and she does not want to risk doubling back in case he's still hunting for her.

There is at least another place she knows she can go to for safety in the middle of the night, and it's not even that far away.

She breaks into a run again until she's at John's door, and she slams her paws against it before frantically clawing at the wood to try to summon him to the door to let her in.]

[He cursed under his breath as he half-flung, half-propelled the wolf to let go of his skin where pain ignited from the punctures of teeth. He could have used the Force to pull the wolf back to quickly kill the beast, but he knew that it was just going to run away. He had corned it and paid a price, all for a reckless curiosity to the scent that clung to that fur.

He shook his arm, looking at the multiple punctures on his hand and wrist. Green smoky blood wafted from the wounds freely, and he growled in pain. It would heal, but it would be mildly annoying until that happened. He shut his saberstaff down, setting it back to his belt.

Well, he still had his book. He supposed he was trying to read before sleeping. He trekked his way back to his house, washed the bite wound, lightly bandaged it and carried on with his life. The bite was swollen and achy, but he didn't find it that bothersome compared to some of the wounds that he had suffered from.

He went through the next day without issue and expected to fall asleep as usual. Once he was asleep, he had no idea that his wolf bite would result in him actually becoming one.

So it was a bit of a surprise when his body slept on, but he was suddenly awake and standing up on four paws. And covered in fur. And he had a tail. And all of his senses were enhanced. He tottered on paws around the house then nosed open a window to clamber out; he was bigger than what might be considered a normal wolf with dark fur with lighter striping.

He hopped the fence around the yard and went sniffing around the neighbourhood.

[ Black eyes has him on alert immediately. He picked her up and took her to his place does not help. For a moment, Ozpin's expression flickers to proper, startled concern. ]

The ship's captain— the man whose magic concerns skeletons? I've heard of him from Willow, yes. She has spent time with him before, but I've yet to have the pleasure of an introduction.

[ The eyes should not worry him as they do, and yet. ]

It's no trouble, Willow. [ His smile goes a bit more gently perplexed. ] Though you know you can always reach out to me by network. I am always glad to be of help.

Willow is thoroughly distracted by mushrooms blooming over a sign - what store is that even? It's frustrating, particularly since she knows they're not really there. It's fine, none of it really ringing any bells anyway, which is an entirely separate source of frustration.

She jumps when Luz greets her, and turns around. The girl looks a little familiar - Willow is pretty sure she was in Deerington too, but apparently they know each other, and she can't remember it. It's not... exactly a new experience, but she smiles sheepishly as she returns the greeting. "Oh, um, hi."

Oh, um, no. No, it's fine. It's all yours.

[Really, she was just trying to see what the title was. It's not a book she actually needs, so she's happy to let the other woman have it. Everything feels so brand new all over again, she's really not fussy over what books she grabs at this point, although her focus right now is on common symptoms post-reincarnation.]

That's not what I was looking for anyway.

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Closed to Clockhouse residents, and Faith

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For Tara

Wolfwalker OTA (Bites for Vyng and Savage, cw: mushroom hallucinations)

Archives and around Trench (OTA - cw for amnesia, mushroom hallucinations)

Wildcard!

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(HI, HALLUCINATING BUDDY]

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a tad later!

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Wolfwalking (Closed to John)

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