12855/Maybe Possibly Could Ya

Maybe Possibly Could Ya
Date of Scene:	17 March 2021
Location:	The Bronze, Sunnydale
Synopsis:	Everyone has secrets. The only thing that gets confirmed is Willow scryes the location of Faith's target!
Cast of Characters:	Faith Lehane, Phobos, Willow Rosenberg

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Faith Lehane has posed:
Now that Faith is back in town, she has taken up to doing what a Slayer should do. She may not be /the/ Slayer who is the front of the line in their family tree, so to speak. But she is a Slayer, thanks to circumstances ending up with two active at the same time. Yet, it was what she was and thus, she fell into the role. She just did her best to do patrols opposite of Buffy, to avoid run ins. Not that she had a problem with Buffy but Buffy seemed to have a problem with her.

May have to do with Faith's personality? Nah, that couldn't be it.

Part of her routine was a stop in the Bronze for a drink. Sometimes before patrol. Sometimes after. Hell, sometimes during if she wanted a beer.

Today it was before and she was cozied up to the bar with a bottle in hand, sipping as she watched the dance floor with lazy interest.

Phobos has posed:
    One of the reasons the young man known as Alexander Aaron had chosen to travel out of the city to Sunnydale was that within the confines of the city... well it was more likely he'd meet someone he knew. Or someone who knew him. Sure there were the usual haunts where SHIELD agents would break bread and share a drink, but sometimes being around the other agents felt like... being constantly on.
    Here though, nobody really knew him. He was just the kind of cute blond guy that liked to drink Mexican beer. Sure he had met some interesting characters here, and sure some of them knew more about him than he was entirely comfortable with. But overall.
    The Bronze wasn't so bad.
    Which is why this night he darkened the doorway. Winter still preyed upon the city of late, the chill dipping into the teens so he was wearing his large black Wintery coat, a black sweater, and some blue jeans with some white sneakers. Not too much to draw attention. Though sometimes he still managed to do so.
    Like calling out a particular name, "Hey, Faith." She'd hear his voice as he approached and settled onto a bar seat nearby. "How's it?"

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Willow was breaking out so to speak. She had finished the final midterm (because, d'uh, she wanted to pass) and had a whole week before anything was due next. Again, because she was here, all alone, so there was nobody to tell her to be careful with alcohol, she was having another one of the Long Island Iced Tea - only she was taking it slower than last time.

Just to be careful.

She sat at the bar, kicking her legs behind the countertop. Kick. Kick. Kick. Booooooring.

Faith Lehane has posed:
Hearing her name called, Faith turned to look that direction. "Al! Didn't expect to see you here. What's up?"

And in that movement she caught sight of the person she had been hoping to catch for over a week now. Just everytime she saw her, they didn't get a chance to get to the important stuff without Buffy showing up. She might need to work fast this time, before that happens!

"C'mon, Al. Willow's here." Because that is all the explanation needed!

She headed over to the Scooby. "Heya, Willow. Been hoping to see you!"

Phobos has posed:
    "Hm?" Alexander says even as he's getting his bottle handed to him and that slice of lime given to him. He's holding them in his hands even as he's turning around and his eyeline follows after Faith's gesture before he catches sight of Willow. "Oh hey!"
    And with that he pushes away from the bar and follows in the wake of Hurricane Lehane, his footsteps carrying him along as he turns his shoulders to slip through the crowd. It doesn't take long for him to pull up beside her. "Hey Willow."
    The Olympian youth turns one of the chairs around nearby to Willow and offers it to Faith like a gentleman before he does the same for one for himself and drops into it. Only then does he get the chance to squeeze the lime into his beer.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"Hey!" Willow was, surprisingly, pleased to see Faith. And then.. she became a bit more cautious. "You're not going to tell Buffy, are you? Oh hi, Alex."

Weirdly he didn't rank up there on telling on her.

"Buffy," she explains, "Seems to think I have to behave some way. Like, I know I am a grownup, yet when I am somewhere else, others than work or school I get this feeling that I've somehow disappointed her."

Faith Lehane has posed:
As the seats are pulled up, Faith sprawls into hers in a completely relaxed posture. Which is a lie cause her Slayer Sense was causing a horrible ache that she could do without. It hadn't been there earlier in the night but now? It was all over the place. She was keeping an eye on her surroundings while trying not to look like she was, seeking out what monster might be setting it off.

The words from Willow catch her off guard and she looks at the woman in surprise. "Uh..." A glance to Alex to see if he has a clue since this came out of left field then back to Willow. "She probably just worries. Y'know? Friends do that. Care about if the other is safe. With her being...her..." She can't say the S-word in front of Alex. "She's kind of paranoid about stuff. I'm sure you haven't disappointed her or anything."

Phobos has posed:
    "She is nosey." Alexander says forthrightly and in that tone of voice that allows no counter-argument. But he does look up and looks back and forth as he quirks an eyebrow. "I mean, we're talking about Buffy, right?" Since he may have missed the first uttering of the name.
    Then he looks at Willow and tells her, "She tried to get me in trouble, by the bye. I think. Not sure, but I think she went looking for information about me. Made me have to spend some time smoothing things over." Not that that time had been entirely disagreeable. But still!
    Then his brow raises as he half-smiles, looking over at Faith, "Oh and hey. About that thing we were talking about. You were totally right."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Willow crinkles her nose up. "I don't know about that. She always has to check *everything*.." Le sigh. "I'm not going to tell her about my teacher. Well, nothing more. Not until I can prove to myself that I am powerful."

She takes a drink before focusing around the table.

Faith Lehane has posed:
Faith actually looks a little concerned. An oddity for the normally distanced woman. "You good, Willow?" No playful nicknames, no banter. Just an actual moment of worry. "We already know you're powerful." Wait, now she isn't sure what she should and shouldn't say in front of Alex. So she has to be careful here. "It's why I've been trying to catch you alone. I need help." Oh that was hard to say out loud. "With finding someone. I know you are good at that sort of thing and wanted to see if you'd give me a hand. But, y'know, Buffy doesn't need to know about it." Cause it was /her/ kill.

She does glance over to Alex since this is just light conversation. Nothing about witches and powers and killing monsters and needing a tracking spell to do it! "It did?" She didn't have to sound so surprised. "I mean of course it did! Glad to hear it. So you got it off your chest and feel better now?"

Phobos has posed:
    For a time the Olympian looks between the two. His eyes follow along with Faith's and when she says she's glad about her advice serving true he nods and holds up a hand as if to let that portion of the conversation drop for later. For now it's important to focus on Willow.
    A glance is given to Faith as Alexander quirks an eyebrow, but then he looks back to the Witch Woman and tells her. "She's not my favorite person right now either. But I think well..."
    Another glance is spared for Faith as if to see if she has some insight into the matter. Eventually he shifts his attention back to Willow and smiles a little. "It's obvious she cares about you. Maybe that can come across as a little condescending at times, but I'm sure it comes from a good place. Right?"

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Willow looks between Faith and Alex. Something is up. she thinks.

"I'm alright. Sometime.. you know?" Nope, nobody *did* know, at least not with those cryptic clues, they didn't. "You want to find someone? You know.. that way?" Luckily she had her laptop here.

A sigh is given. "I know. Just, sometimes it's like she wants to keep me the same way I was in high school. Meanwhile, she has a man, she is getting more.." And there she stops, and looks between the two of you. "She has a man. She's moving in with him. She's moving on."

She didn't take another drink.

Phobos has posed:
    At first Alexander looks at Willow with a haze to his expression, eyes distanced and brow furrowed. But then the young redhead continues and gives him a little further bit of insight and his brows rise.
    "Oh." He says at first, and then adds quickly, "Oh!" As he seems to perhaps imagine he understands finally.
    "Oh that can be hard." He offers again, operating under the cover of broad word choices. "It can be hard when life changes and you feel like it's not necessarily taking you with it." The young Olympian looks over at Faith and tilts his head slightly, some hint of sympathy shared before he looks back to Willow.
    "And, I don't know. I don't know Buffy very well, nor her boy. But I have the vibe that she might need you at some point in the future."

Faith Lehane has posed:
"She'll always need you," Faith adds as she wonders a bit about this predicament. "You're her best friend. Sometimes when people get in relationships, they forget about those friends and can sort of make you feel left behind."

Considering her longest non-romantic relationship was probably 18 months with her former Watcher, she really wasn't an expert here. Romantic was far, far shorter. Like weeks. If that much.

"It's probably hard for her to let go of what you were through school in some ways and she may want to have you stay the same since everything else is different? I dunno. I'm stupid about all this. Not having friends is a lot easier."

And that summed up Faith in a nutshell. The reason she was always on the fringe, the outsider in the group. "And yeah, I have some info on the guy. But figure you can do your magic--" She quickly adds. "Google-fu and help me out here." She pulls a piece of material out of her pocket and passes it over to Willow cause--that's normal, right?

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Willow cocked her head to one side and then shook it. This all would be better if they were all truthful. Really.

(She ignored the fact that she was entering into a relationship nobody knew anything about, including her.)

She lifted out her laptop, and booted in up. She might not have to be connected to the net, but she still has to boot it up! "Let's see.." And she was off on her own little thing..

Phobos has posed:
    Leaning forward, Alexander takes a sip of his beer and then sets it down with a resonant glassy clink upon the tabletop. He shifts in his chair a little bit to perhaps get an angle to see what Willow might be up to, eyebrows climbing with curiousity.
    "Is this, you know like..." And it's his turn now to use vague terms not sure if /Faith/ is in on the secret. Really if only these people would level and be honest with each other. Alas. "Your technical magic, and know how?"
    Yeees, her technical magic and know how. Coupled with her /can do/ spirit!
    Then he shoots a glance at Faith, perhaps realizing something might be troubling her now and again. His head cocks to the side and he asks of her, "Are you doing okay?" Since perhaps her Slayer Instinct might be giving her a smidge bit more grief with him so close and an unknown factor.

Faith Lehane has posed:
So much talking around things and not saying anything. Just a few hints and implications. Yet no details.

"As B would say, I'm peachy with a side of keen," Faith responded with a cocky grin. She gave a half shrug. "Once I get this guy tracked down I'll be great. Although I am cramping something awful. You know how that goes, right?" Usually that is enough to make a man run for the hills in conversation. She figures it'll get him the same way. "Wouldn't happen to have a Midol?"

She glances over as Willow starts working. "I don't know what you might dig up. He's into some...bad shit."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"Bad poo-poo. Got it." And Willow adds another window to 'scry' in.

Phobos has posed:
    "So you know the... thing, that Willow is up to. It's like sort of special and a bit secret-like?" Alexander asks Faith outright as he motions towards Willow's efforts with the laptop and what she seems to be tending to. Then he leans over and asks the magic-user quietly, "She knows, right? You guys are into that whole thing together?"
    Which at this point might well let the cat out of the bag, but what with Buffy stating his secret so open and blatantly, he's at least trying not to have a repeat of that instant with him being the offending party.
    Though there is a moment where he blinks and asks, "She just said poo-poo?"

Faith Lehane has posed:
Faith laughs. She can't help it. "Yes, she said poo-poo. She doesn't like to swear. Doesn't seem to be offended when those of us around her do it but she prefers to keep her mouth sweet and innocent. Well, not sure how sweet and innocent in other ways, cause we don't talk about that."

"I know Willow has some ...advanced skills. Can make a computer do things that I can't even dream of." Still not saying it but saying it in a way that if someone is in the know, she knows they know and she just wants to be sure Willow is okay with the knowing before she openly admits she knows.

That was a lot of knows.

"Willow, he know about your skills?" Another one!

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Willow stops and looks up to the heavens. "Blessed be. Somebody has let the mouse out of the bag. Yes, she knows. I am magical. I'm doing magic right now."

*bliiinks*

"And what is wrong about saying poo-poo?"

Phobos has posed:
    "Ohhh," And then he looks at Faith and points casually, "But you don't know about me and my thing?" Which means... he's one up on Faith. "Hah."
    And then he turns back, leaning over and watching Willow go through the needed movements to weave her magic and work her powers plying the information superhighway through the medium of her laptop.
    And all the while he totally doesn't tell Faith his thing. The jerk. He does say, "Oh, nothing. I suppose. Just, you know. You rarely hear it."

Faith Lehane has posed:
"It's cute. We're jaded so your choice of terms comes across as adorable. Probably because we're crude." Faith shrugs unapologetically. She was what she was, after all. Which wasn't the nicest of people and she certainly had a mouth like a sailor. One on shore leave with a twelve pack of beer in him visiting a biker bar and losing at pool.

"Yeah, I know what she can do. It's why I'm asking her to track this guy for me. I haven't been able to do it through my standard means." Following people and beating the hell out of them. "But it's my job and I don't want Buffy in it so was trying to ask when she wasn't around." Which could be a comment on Buffy trying to protect Willow. Since she has no idea he knows Buffy's secret too!

"Wait. Your secret? You have a secret?" Now Faith is paying full attention, especially since her slayer sense has been going crazy for a while. Come to think of it...

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
*Now* Willow has a drink. A *looooong* drink.

"Are you going to tell her, or..? Because I'm not getting much done around here as long as we're playing keep away with secrets."

Phobos has posed:
    Without even looking at Faith he tells her with a smile that he hides, though from her angle Willow might be able to see it. He says, "Oh my god, I have /such/ a huge secret. Super big secret. It's so crazy, you'll never believe it." And as he says that he takes a sip of beer, setting the bottle down with a little clink.
    He does, however, look sidelong at them both and shrugs a little. "Buffy knows my dad, so it was kind of hard to hide it from her. Apparently they fought together a few years ago." Which was, indeed, true.
    He then confesses, at least in part. "But I sort of come from a magical family. So my upbringing was kinda crazy." Which was also true.
    Then back to Willow he says, "There, I sorta told her. That work?"

Faith Lehane has posed:
"So you're a witch."

It's an automatic assumption. After all magic meant someone like Willow which meant he was a witch. Although there were other kinds but basically it boiled down to witches.

"But are you more Glenda or the green one that got her own musical? Can never remember her name, just she was from the west."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Again, Willow just shakes her head. "Would have been better if you didn't say 'I sorta told her'." She puts her eyes on what she was scrying. "That's about what she said."

Except she really didn't make it sound like it was a joke. Come to think about it.. She opened a new set of windows the check something *else* up.

Phobos has posed:
    "Well I did," Alexander says as he rubs the back of his neck thoughtfully, "I'm more a sort of anthropomorphic representation of a societal construct created by the psionic manifestation of a cultural zeitgeist." Which might serve to only muddle the matter.
    After he waits a moment or two for those words to hang there he says, "I can't really cast spells though. It's more like natural talent."
    There's a pause as he takes another sip of his beer, then he adds. "Oh and I have a magic sword. But that's not related." The blond youth's head bobs a bit but then his smile widens a little as he looks at Faith, enjoying /for once/ being the one with the secret and able to at least tease someone a little about it.

Faith Lehane has posed:
Faith can't help but giggling at Willow's unintentional joke. But then Alexander opens his mouth.

"Anthro..Psio...zeit..." There is a momentary pause as she fails to understand most of that. Words like 'by' and 'of' she got. 'Construct' was even a good one. 'Societal' wasn't too hard to figure out. But the rest?

"What the fuck did you say? I mean the magic sword part I get and I have to say I'm completely jealous of you having one and can you get me one?" Because hello! Magic Sword! She needed one of those in her line of work. It should be required for a Slayer to have a magic sword. Why didn't they? She'd have to ask Giles about that sometime.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"Coooool!" Willow's eyes widen. "So that's what you are. Neat." And that tucked away she minimized her latest set of windows and followed the one that screamed the loudest, so to speak. And once she was on the right path in was easy, red herring started to fall away until she had her 'man'. "There you go. See?"

Faith is shown the results.

Phobos has posed:
    Slouching into his seat, Alexander made a small face, nose crinkling as if he had smelled something bad. "It cost me a lot to get." He chews on the inside of his cheek as his gaze distances a little, but then he pushes through it with a small shrug as he leans over to the side to look at Willow's results.
    Whatever he may have said, he didn't seem inclined to elaborate or explain. It simply was.

Faith Lehane has posed:
She had her answer. It just didn't mean a lot to her. He was a construct of something or other weird. Not a witch. So did that make him a good construct or a bad construct.

"You never answered if you are Glenda or the green bitch."

Then Willow is turning the screen her way. She leans over, eager to get the information. A quick scan and read over the screen, noting the details and locking them into her memory.

Now she had an address. Time to go hunting. Course, it was smarter to wait until morning but she'd never been accused of being smart. Her smile had that sort of crazy feral edge to it. "Time for me to go hunting." She grabbed her beer to swig down the last of it.