12792/Hunting Things...after Dancing

Hunting Things...after Dancing
Date of Scene:	05 March 2021
Location:	The Bronze, Sunnydale
Synopsis:	Alexander visits the Bronze and meets some of the Scoobies.
Cast of Characters:	Phobos, Willow Rosenberg, Faith Lehane, Buffy Summers

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Phobos has posed:
    The three twenty-somethings showed up a bit after nine. They wandered into the Bronze on a small gale of laughter and joviality, good cheer which was only partially out of place in the Bronze at this time of night. Usually there's a little more somber atmosphere, depending on the music of course. Which right now had... The Cure on. So yes, somber.
    Yet the three of them wandered to the bar and they stayed there for a few hours, all sort of sitting at the end so all three of them had easy access to chat with each other. One was a somewhat larger man, a little chunky around the middle, maybe twenty-five and jovial as he joked around. He seemed to enjoy teasing the others of his group. Only a few moments of exposure to them would make anyone privy to the guy's last name as the others called him by it constantly. Kelso, of course, laughed with the both of them though his eyes... his eyes would stray to O'Hara who sat on the other side of the blond one.
    O'hara though, she seemed to rise to the occasion whenever she was given grief, lashing back at Kelso with wry cracks and occasionally a flicked peanut or some intimation of violence. Though for her, well her eyes would in turn stray to... the middle youth.
    Who they all called Aaron apparently. Kelso, O'Hara, and Aaron, out on the town spending some time drinking at the corner of the bar. A classic story of old, a love triangle of sorts though one which either they ignored, or legitimately didn't know of.
    Yet people who watched the group as they drank their beers and joked, they could tell from afar. And that trio stayed at the end of the bar until...
    "Alright, Aaron. We're outta here, you ok getting back on your own?"
    The blond bar-goer in the middle nodded his head a few times, "Sure thing, Kels. You guys be safe."
    "Ok, seeya..." And off they went.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Willow was finding herself going out more than usual. Blame it on Gretel! Really! Of course this time she will be by herself (she thinks!) and decided she was going to splurge on an actual drink: a long island iced tea.

She picked out of the drink menu (a menu that had been stolen from a restaurant, by the way).

She looks around, listening to the music.

Faith Lehane has posed:
That's when she arrives. Breezing in like she owned the place, an aura of confidence about her. Faith was a force of nature in a lot of ways. She didn't really worry about a lot of the things most people did. There were no classes to deal with or a job to take up her time. She hunted monsters. And she really liked her work.

She was dressed in black leather pants which matched her heavy boots. A black tank top that was form fitting and tended to ride up a little, showing off her midriff from time to time. She had a light leather jacket in black over this. Her hair was down, a dark mass that fell below her shoulders. Make up really understated except the dark red lipstick with a gloss over it that drew attention.

She could feel it immediately. That sense of...something in the bar. Her Slayer warning signal. No way to know what. She'd just have to keep a watch out. But for now, she had nervous energy. Often a problem before she went hunting. She headed for the bar to get a drink and that sense got stronger. A glance around, and nothing stood out to her. To her left was a hot blonde guy. To the left of him was, "Willow! Didn't expect to see you here!"

Her gaze went back to the tall drink of yumminess in front of her. "And hello to you too." A hint of a purr to the words.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Okaay, so old habits are hard to break. And she's really graduated from highschool hangouts a while now. But Yknow, there's nothing quite like nostalgia, and this bar wasn't just for the under 18 crowd. All the same, Buffy was searching for her often-errant-klepto-sister, and this was a popular hangout so it was worth checking out..

Of course it's nice to reminisce , listen to familiar music, heck, maybe even grab one of her favourite drinks while she's at it. So as she strides in after a relatively quiet patrol night, Buffy yawns and stretches as she peers around before heading for the bar. Dressed in light pink jeans, a black sweater and black leather jacket, she blends in fairly well even after all these years, ordering a white sangria before peering around, looking for a place to sit.

Much like Faith, she gets the strange feeling, an almost familiar presence at that and she shivers, eyes narrowed as she peers around, noticing Faith first, sitting not far from her. Oh. Great. Her. But when she calls out the red head, Buffy smiles and waves to her BFF. "Hey Wils!" only then does she notice the blonde young man, watching him thoughtfully for a moment as she waits for her drink.

Phobos has posed:
    Likely the dark-haired Slayer had passed Kelso and O'Hara as they had made their way out, and though it was clear Kelso had a thing for the teammate in his squad, well. Faith had that Faith thing going on, so his eyes trailed after her. But then he jogged to catch back up with the other striding agent.
    It did leave Alexander Aaron, Agent of SHIELD, settled there at the end of the bar. When the red-headed young woman arrived he lifted a smile and his drink in her direction in an offering of greeting. He had been about to turn back to his drink when the vampy anti-vamp offers her greeting to him and to be fair... he can't help but laugh a little. Not a rude or mean thing, more warm and open as he meets that vibe and returns it partially with at least a casual...
    "Hey there." Not quite a purr, but definitely a smile and some warmth in those pale hazel eyes. Which drift to Buffy as she wanders over and his smile transforms to a more casual thing, eyebrows lifting in greeting before he takes a sip of his pale beer.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Willow did not own clothes like Faith. Not in the least. The closest she got was her long and flowy skirt a la the 60's, and a similar top. Really, she needed more up to date clothes, and especially for the bar.

Right now she was trapped! After all, Willow? Drinking a long island iced tea?? *gasp!*

"Oh.." She smiles, sort of in a around about way. "Hey Faith. Fancy meeting you here!"

And *boom* there's Buffy. There was no way out of this now! "Buffy! Care to join us?"

Faith Lehane has posed:
"It's your lucky night," Faith tells the tall blond as he finds himself surrounded. "If you hadn't noticed." She looks to Willow then to Buffy then to Alex again. "All three flavors and all around you." Brunette, red head and blonde. "Good news is they're both goody two shows so you win the jackpot." She winks boldly but then focuses on the two ladies.

"B! Didn't expect to see you or Willow. Was just wanting to get my mojo in the flow before tonight." No details about what that is but they know her well enough to likely know it means hunting something. The question is what. Maybe she just means in general on a patrol.

"Everyone introduce yourselves to my friend here...hey, what's your name anyway?" she asks Alexander with a non-apologetic grin.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers sighs and rolls her eyes at Faith, "Ohh, I'm not sticking around for long. Just came back from a patr----Err...Pet. Roll. Walking the pet. Got a new dog. Crazy little critter. Actually I was looking for Dawn, have you seen her around here lately? I swear she's always causing trouble for me.."

Not unlike Faith.But she's trying hard to turn over a new leaf with her frienemy sooo..

"Friend of yours huh?" she nods to Phobos, smiling warmly but still a bit wary. Hmm. That aura. What's with him. "Nice to meet you.. I'm Buffy.And you are..?" she chuckles at Faith, "What, made a new 'friend' and don't even know his name?" Not that that's anything new. He's a guy, easy on the eyes. She won't take that thought and Faith further than that though.

Willow is given a warmer smile. "How've you been Wil? Fancy bumping into you at our old highschool hangout. Just like old times, all we're missing now is Xander.."

Phobos has posed:
    That tall drink of water at the bar has his back to it now, giving his full attention to the cadre of young women even as it seems that Faith seems to be much more front and center as she winks at him. Another half-grin lights his features, though before he answers her he shoots a gaze past her toward Willow and Buffy, the slight tilt of his eyebrow asking the silent question...
    'Is she always like this?' No actual words needed to express that sentiment.
    Only then, however, he meets her gaze and tells her, "Alex." And with that he waves a hand to the others in way of introduction. Shifting to talking to Buffy as he elaborates, "Alexander Aaron. I live in the city,"
    There's a gesture over his shoulder as he motions with a thumb in the general direction of New York, since of course that's the city he means.
    "Was just hanging out here a bit with some friends, but it's nice to meet you guys."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"I'm Willow. You know, like the tree?" Lame, Willow. Lame. There is something about.. who..? She shakes her head. Maybe Gretel was here earlier.

Faith Lehane has posed:
"B, I'll let you in on something." She leans over toward the other Slayer in a conspiratorially way but speaks loud enough to be sure Willow and Alex hear her. "You don't always have to know their names." Another of those wicked grins and she's back leaning by Alex as her beer arrives. Nothing fancy. Just a beer in the bottle. She takes a long draw off it then continues.

"Alex. Nice to meetcha Al." She looks toward the dance floor for a moment then back to Alexander. Dancing or 'dancing'...either worked off that nervous edge after all. She grinned to herself at that thought.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers arches a slight brow at Alex. "...Irons, huh.That's an unusual name. Come to think of it..." he vaguely reminds her of someone..No...Maybe she's thinking too hard.It's been a long night. "Nevermind. I'm just tired I guess.Sooo, this your first time at the Bronze? Dont think I've seen you around here before.." and it's a small town.She can't help it though, she's curious.

Faith is given a smirk at the name thing, "Boy, I'll bet that happens to you a lot, doesn't it." a glance is given to the dance floor as they play an upbeat song, but Buff is a little tired tonight. Just one drink, a quick look around for Dawn and she'll be on her way. She can see that Faith is eager and interested in this guy though. She smiles, giving her a playful nudge and smile, "Hey, why dont you and Alex hit the dance floor? That's a great song."

She smiles reassuringly. at Willow's comment. "Well I dunno, but I think Willow trees are awesome."

Phobos has posed:
    The blond youth opposite them isn't /entirely/ dense, so he does realize that he's perhaps the butt of the joke here in some ways, especially with Faith's whisper-not-whisper. Yet he's a good sport, smirking as he shakes his head, he chooses to not comment on that at least, and instead reaches beyond Faith to Willow and offer his hand, "It's nice to meet you, Willow." Just a casual thing, though done with a glance a Faith as if to let her know that she is momentarily and conversationally in the doghouse.
    Yet as she may seem damned with a casual comment in one moment, she's absolved with his smile, "Nice to meet you." And then to Buffy, "It's Aaron, not so much Irons. Though that does sound like a cool last name, maybe that'll be my stage name."
    Then at the prospect of dancing he shakes his head, "Nah, I go out there dancing and she'll be all dumbstruck with how awesome I dance and then I'll be stuck with her." His lip twists as he looks back at Faith, countering her casual joust with one of his own.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Did she just say what Willow thought she heard her say??

"If you don't know what they are called, how can you.." And it hits her. "Oh."

Willow took a big swig of her drink - probably too big, too fast. But, mmm, it was tasty!

Faith Lehane has posed:
"I don't want to dance with him. Well not out there," Faith points out to the suggestion from Buffy. "And to answer your question, haven't seen Dawn. Need to catch up with her." Probably the last thing Buffy wants to see happen.

She looks at Alex. "Now if you wanted to do some dancing in private, I have a room just up the block and we can go take care of scratching some itches."

Then Willow asks her question and it gets Faith chuckling softly. "Just get religion while in the moment. Oh God, Oh God!" She does a good job of feigning that particular moment. "Then they think they are doing a great job and you don't have to worry about saying a wrong name."

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers smirks at Alex, "Ohh I dunno, she might just surpri---" and then there she goes. So much for getting to,know the guy. She just goes right for the jugular, so to speak. "Good grief Faith, you just met the guy!" to Alex she says, part conspiratorially, part in warning, "Careful with her, she's a real..Maneater.." no really. Not a literal demon but...

After that, Buffy just gives Willow a knowing look then takes a loooong sip of her sangria. "No offence, but you're hardly a good role model for my little sis.."

Phobos has posed:
    "Nah it's... okay." Alexander lifts his chin in Buffy's direction, a hand gesturing slightly as if to stay her from interfering. Yet again there's that look, though a little more incredulous as it's given to Buffy and Willow .
    Then he looks at Faith and his smile slips a little more wicked, a subtle flicker of amusement entering that pale-eyed gaze as he peers at Faith. For a moment there's a look of curiousity, interest, the way he draws his lower lip between his teeth and just lets his gaze sweep over her as if she was some poor limping gazelle and he was the lion casually strolling after.
    But then in the next instant he lifts his chin, as if about to say something. His brow knits together slightly, a hint of confusion, and then a small laugh slips from between his lips. "I umm,"
    He glances again at Willow and Buffy, then back to Faith as he says. "Yeah, s'weird. I don't... think so."
    Then with a growing conviction he says, "But, nah. Thanks, I mean you seem like an awesome gal. But."
    And then the hammer falls as he says, "But I'm good." And there. Rejection.
    Then the attempt at recovery, "I mean you and your friends seem awesome..." There assuredly that'll salve any wounded ego.
    He takes a sip of his beer.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Willow really doesn't get the gist of it. "I'm Jewish. We don't have talks with God. We talk to Yahweh. And with Wiccan we worship the goddess.." And then she grins a bit. "Mind you, I find girls just as attractive as boys."

Did she just made a joke? A poor one, but a joke nonetheless?

Maybe she *does* get it.

Faith Lehane has posed:
Now that was unexpected. Faith isn't used to a no. Most men are more than up for a romp in the hay. Yet this god of a man, at least in looks, just told her no.

Faith plays it cool. "Your loss. I could've rocked your world," she says with a shrug and another smile as though it's nothing. Any damage will be hidden away in a little dark hole somewhere inside.

Never let them see you weak. Ever.

She finishes off her beer in a long swig, multiple swallows. Then slams the empty back on the bar. At Buffy's comment about Dawn, she grins. "Maybe she wants a different influence. Ever think about that, B? Maybe she's tired of corn flakes and would like a mai tai." That doesn't even make sense except maybe in her own brain.

Then Willow makes her admission and that does get Faith's attention. "Oh really? That's good to know. If I ever decide to swing the other way, we may have to talk."

She heads for the dance floor then suddenly something occurs to her. That moment of I-get-it written on her face as she looks at Alex. "Oh I get it now! Too bad. Pretty ones always do seem to bat for the other team."

Then she is gone, heading to the dance floor and going with her original option for working off steam.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers peers at Faith, shaking her head slowly. "You never learn, never grow, never change, do you." no wonder they never really got along. They're Soo different and yet in some ways they are frighteningly similar. Like their knack for stubbornness, their inborn lust for battle. And maybe deep down, for all her flaws, Faith can be...Protective, heroic even, at times. But in social situations, particularly involving males, Faith will always be Faith.

"Dawn is young and impressionable. And the last thing she needs is someone to teach her to become another juvenile delinquent." she smirks a bit as the brunette slams that glass down a bit too strongly, just shaking her head and smiling as she glances back at Alex. "You're a smart guy. Good to know. Still haven't figured out why you seem so familiar but.."

Willow is given another nod and smile, "Speaking of, how are things with you and Austin?"

Phobos has posed:
    Alexander's voice lifts as Faith starts to make her retreat, and to his credit he's trying to mollify her even as she's telling Buffy how to be a better sister.
    "No, hey. Normally I would totally..." Those pale eyes, that gentle smile, if it weren't for that brief wicked look the blond youth might almost seem angelic in a way. Yet it's not in time for she's already heading out to the dance floor on her way into the crowd when she calls back with her own realization as to what must be the reason as to why he refrained from running off with her. Which has his features shifting toward a sort of sardonic smirk as he points at her with a finger gun and pulls the trigger, as if she got him with that parting jab.
    A moment later he's turning back to the other two, eyes flitting between Willow and Buffy, then back again. "Your friend is a character."
    Which is being charitable.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Willow watched Faith just *disappear* onto the dance floor, and turned her head towards Buffy and Alex. She thinks she's figured out something about about Slayers, and in particular Faith, out.

"Huh?" Willow drifts back to conversation. "Austin is good. I think. I'll have to invite him up again." She blushes. As for Alex, she stares at him awhile. "More than you will ever know."

Oh yes, she thinks she's got it.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers just laughs and shakes her head, but not unkindly, "Oh, dont take it personally. She'll hit on anything and anyone..Not that you're not a totally hot guy mind you." that last part is added quickly and unashamedly. She's not being creepy or hitting on him either, just truthful.

"As for 'friend', I'd say more like a...Work associate? At the most, a frienemy." another helpless shrug. "Oh I'm sure her heart's in the right place, she's just had a hard life.." but Buff isn't about to divulge more than that.

She notices Willow blush and smiles, always more gentle towards her. "Ooh, that sounds promising. That's a good thing right? I mean, the first date went well then?I mean, that *was* a date, right?"

Phobos has posed:
    "More than I'll ever know." Alexander repeats that phrase as he meets Willow's gaze, and for some reason his eyes distance past her, looking beyond and letting his thoughts wander even as the music continues to thump in its muted fury while out on the floor Faith continues to enjoy herself.
    Tilting his head he looks back and smiles, "See, now that sounds like a challenge. Sort of. All things come to pass given a long enough timeline."
    Which might be a curious thing for someone to say.
    Though it's when Buffy tries to cheer him up as it were and offers her editorial comment on hotness vis a vis totally having it. He grins a little but nods, accepting of this statement and perhaps not wishing to reiterate it. Instead he keys on something else. "Work associate? So you both work at the same place?" It's one thing to glance over and see Alexander casually chatting and being chipper, but it's another thing entire to have those curious eyes focused on one. Eerie assuredly, though likely no more eerie than some of the things Willow and Buffy have seen before.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
*That* sends Willow blushing even more. "Really it was our third date."

She drinks some more to get courage.. or just to hide her face for a moment.

"We all sort of move in the same circles." Willow explains. Though what someone like her has to do with someone like Buffy or Faith is anyone's guess.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers chuckles a bit, shaking her head. "Challenge, huh? Well all I can say is, 'good luck with that one!' she shrugs and smiles, "But you seem like a smart guy." as for her...Association with Faith, Buffy just shrugs, smiling knowingly. "Well, you could say that.."

To Wil, she arches a brow, "Ooh, third date huh? Sounds promising! I'm really happy for you, Wil!" Buffy nods in agreement to the circle thing. "Yeah...For better or for worse, I suppose." of course, that begs the question of what exactly they *do* do.

Phobos has posed:
    Alex's attention flits hither and thither between the two young women. When the bartender comes around he waves off the man's attention with a shake of his head and holding up his bottle a little as if to let him know he was still working on that pale beer he was drinking.
    "Oh," He says in response to Willow's explanation, though assuredly not taking anymore understanding from it. Then Buffy offers her next insight, not only is he hot, but he's also smart, which causes him to half-smile a little, "Ah, I have you both tricked then."
    That said he takes another swig of beer and sets the bottle down, reaching into his pocket to dig out his wallet as he starts to put some bills on the bar.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"Nobody says they've got you fooled when they aren't smart." Willow knows all about smart girls and the ways they pretend to be dumb. She's pretty certain it's about the same for guys.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers smirks, taking another sip, finishing her drink. "Ooh, I dunno who it is that's been tricked tonight. But either way, it was nice meeting you, Alex. I'm sure we'll cross paths again sometime. I hope you enjoy your stay in Bludhaven, it sure is an...Interesting place."

Willow is just given a knowing nod and smile, "You're probably the smartest person I know, Wil."