12955/So.. you know that antique dealer

So.. you know that antique dealer
Date of Scene:	03 April 2021
Location:	The Magic Box, Sunnydale
Synopsis:	There is talk of Hellequin and Henri Fontainbleu. And a promise extracted not to hurt him.
Cast of Characters:	Rupert Giles, Willow Rosenberg, Phobos, Buffy Summers, Thomas Raith

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Rupert Giles has posed:
Outside, late afternoon sunshine slants over Sunnydale. There are only a few whispy clouds high in the sky, and a light breeze. It's warm enough that Giles, being from England, is quite happy to be /inside/. Where it's nice and shady and cool and, most of all, climate controlled. The air conditioners aren't on yet. It's a bit too early for that, but the ceiling fans overhead are on, nicely stirring a breeze within the store and keeping the temperature at a comfortable level.

And Giles is.. well. He's doing what a Giles does. He's reading a book. Probably doing some research. Maybe. No. Wait. He can't possibly be doing research. That's a paperback he's reading! On the cover appears to be black bird of some sort. He seems to be pretty engrossed in the book, sitting behind the counter. He isn't even paying any attention at all to the mug of tea sitting beside his elbow that has, from the lack of steam above it, grown quite cold.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Willow was.. concerned. In fact she was wondering whether, or not, to bring information to him. And ultimately the Scoobies. Still, she found herself in the Magic Box this afternoon, instead of back home studying.

Of course, Giles was reading a book! Far be it from her to interrupt his studying, so she carefully took his tea and warmed it. It was the least she could do! (And she didn't have to decide yet!)

Rupert Giles has posed:
Rupert Giles doesn't do much more to acknowledge Willow's pressence than mumble.. something. Whatever it was, is unintelligable. Just a mumble. It may have been meant to be a welcome to the store, but... it's hard to tell!

Giles doesn't actually look up from the book until Willow comew back with his tea. He looks around for a moment, then back to Willow. "Willow," he says, and lays down the book, still open, with the pages against the countertop. "When did you get here? I quite missed your arrival."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"Really? You mumbled at me. I thought, maybe, it was 'warm up my tea'." Yes, Willow was teasing. "I figured, you could be trusted to listen to my story with hot tea, instead of bitter cold." She peeks at the book. "Is it good?"

Rupert Giles has posed:
Rupert Giles picks the book up again, slides a bookmark between the pages. "I don't even remember mumbling at you. What story?" Thus safely bookmarked, Giles offers the book to Willow. The cover is shades of blue, tans, and pink. And, not a bird, but a gryphon on the cover. Holding some sort of crystal. And a title of black outlined in purple: The Black Gryphon.

"It is good. I am worried for the mage, though. Urtho. These sorts of things never end well. So. Story. Spill it." He reaches for the newly heated tea and takes in a careful sip of the hot liquid. Hot tea might be the one thing that cures all ills, afterall.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Willow pulls up a stool and sits down. "How can you spend so much time on fiction?" She can't figure it. Non fiction, yes! Fiction.. why??

She proceeds to nod. "What did you say about Henri Fontainebleau?" note: he had never mentioned his name.

Rupert Giles has posed:
Rupert Giles shrugs. "Why not? I don't read them often as it is. I don't want to spend all my time researching. Sometimes, it's nice to take a break." He lowers the tea mug to the countertop and leans back in the chair, crossing his legs at the knee. He steeples his hands together and rests them on his upper knee.

At the question, Rupert Giles stops, and turns his blue eyes to look at Willow. "I never told you his name," he says. "I believe I said you should be careful and probably avoid him. From what I observed in his shop, he hates witches."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"I really don't know about that." Willow scrunched her forehead up. Fiction!?! How would she fit in all the necessary books for her studies at University, let alone the things she needed for the Scoobies? How?

Her forehead remains scrunched up. So, it wasn't hard to surmise that she had learned about the antique dealer. Not at all. "Well, I looked up the name that was on the card?" Would it be enough? Maybe? After all Nick *did* have a name on the card.

Rupert Giles has posed:
Well, to be fair, Giles has a lot more time on his hands. No University studies, no job in the Library. Just the Magic Box and the Scoobies. That does leave him with some free time. "It's not for everyone," he says. Which, lets face it, is the truth.

Giles doesn't say anything for a long moment, simply keeping his blue eyes on Willow. After perhaps a good fifteen seconds, "Uh huh." Clearly, he's not believing that it was just a name on a card. Then, "Why do you ask?"

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
*sigh*

"I know who Hellequin is." Willow didn't not intend to blurt it, but she did. "But nothing makes sense. He's not as much of a fanatic as we thought. He couldn't kill Kurt. And I make him angry because he wants to kill me, but something keeps him holding back."

Phobos has posed:
    Sunnydale, and to be fair Bludhaven proper itself is an interesting city. So strange to imagine such a storied place dwelled only half an hour away from Manhattan and close enough that at times the stories between those cities are shared. If not the same commuter rails.
    Which did make the travel out there a touch hit or miss. The red line did travel to he edge of Sunnydale, but getting further within took some wandering, some traveling, and usually a good bit of time. Usually the Bronze was far enough. It served, was interesting, and the people he met there were as well. Though something drew him further off the beaten path.
    Could be that group of curious people he followed or a time on a lark, though that turned out to be just a group of cosplayers. Could be that he did enjoy used book stores now and again. But there was also a curious pull in his particular direction which led him...
    Here.
    It was perhaps well past business hours, at least so he imagined. But Alexander considered he best way to begin was the honest way. And so he rapped his knuckles upon the door's glass.

Rupert Giles has posed:
Sigh, indeed. Giles doesn't. He simply sits there. Waiting. Hands folded over his knee. It's that way he has that seems to be the trick to getting the truth out of tricksy highschool students with overdue books. He sits up a little straighter when she says she knows how Hellequin is. "You know who Hellequin is," he says, repeating the comment. "What is it you think keeps holding him back?"

It really can be interesting getting to the Magic Box if one does not own a car. Or chooses not to drive it at the time. At present, it is later afternoon, getting toward evening, and the Magic Box does happen to be open for business. Thus it is with some surprise that Giles looks over to the person rapping on the door. He rises to his feet and steps from behind the counter and over to the door. He pushes it open and glances to the open sign. "It's open," he says. "You are welcome to enter."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"Yes," Willow repeats. "I do." Really Giles should be equipped to wander on Willow conversation to get the answer by himself. But *why* didn't she just tell him?

Willow knew why. Even though she didn't like him, someone needed to protect him from.. well.. the Scoobies for example.

Phobos has posed:
    "Oh. Hi." Alexander is there in the doorway, standing eye to eye with Giles though the way the youth stands there with a slight slouch he seems a smidge shorter. Then he's looking at the OPEN sign so prominent and his eyebrows lift, he points. "Oh hey, that. Makes sense."
    Then he's looking back to the British man and his smile remains there casual and easily-given. "Sorry. About that. I've not been in a book store before. Or. You know, one like this. Big ones, sure. And one really tiny one. But..."
    That thought peters out as he realizes that the audience he's speaking to likely does not care for quite that much insight into his thought process nor his experience. Instead he says, "This may sound strange, but I'm looking for Ms. Rosenberg?" Though as he says this he is indeed stepping inside. "I had a sort of vibe thing going on." As if that made all sorts of sense.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers had had an interesting encounter with Hellequin the previous night, and she needed to touch base with Giles. So she'd headed down to the Magic Box to talk to him and hopefully Willow too. As she heads for the door, she sees a familiar face on the steps and smiles, "Hey Alex, wassup?" then of course the door opens and she nods to Giles. "Hey Giles! Is Wil here?"

Thomas Raith has posed:
Thomas Raith for his part had no motive for coming into the Magic Box today except that he was enjoying the early Summer day on a companionable walk with his girlfriend, and this is where she wanted to go. So he follows Buffy into the Magic box, nodding to Alex first and then Giles, offering the older man an easy smile and asking casually "How were the sandwiches?"

Rupert Giles has posed:
Perhaps Giles has already wandered on to follow Willow's thought pattern to get the answer for himself. But perhaps he wants her to say it out loud. He glances back to Willow. "What is it?" he prompts. Only then does he turn back to the door and the latest arrival. There's a warm smile, though it's not a huge one it seems genuine enough. "It does, given it's.. Hm. I don't /think/ it's Sunday, yet." He looks thoughtful and turns from the door to walk to the counter. And behind it, to the calendar hanging on the wall there. "No. No, not Sunday. Saturday. Yes. We're open."

With a quiet chuckle, he looks to Alexander again. "Well, this isn't a book store," he points out. "It has books, but it is an occult shop."

As a certain name is mentioned, one brow is raised. He turns and nods to the redhead the name belongs to. "A vibe.. thing..?" He sounds more curious than anything else. He nods to Buffy as, first he sees her, and second she asks about Willow too. "She is, yes."

Thomas Raith, on the other hand... he gets a brief glower. Then a sigh. And then Giles shakes his head. "The sandwiches were wonderful," he admits. Clearly, he can't hold complete dissatisfaction with the situation, when those sandwiches had been so very divine. Yum!

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Saved by the Alex bell! Or something like. "Hey! I'm here. What did you mean by vibe.. oooh.. oh." Willow bit on her lower lip. Then Buffy, and Thomas completed the circle.. or the group. She began to think she was screwed.

Phobos has posed:
    As Buffy enters, Alexander's eyebrows climb again. "Ah." He says succinctly now that he's pointing at her and her boy in turn. "Bee and Tee." He offers in way of greeting, then his lip twists up at the mention of Willow as apparently the fates decide that /now/ is the time for people to come looking for Ms. Rosenberg.
    "I am in the right place it seems." He gives a nod, the restuffs his hands into his pockets for just an instant before fetching them out as he faces Giles and says, "Apologies, my name is Alexander. Alexander Aaron." He offers his hand to the older man, smiling with that same disarming ease.
    And should the introduction be completed it's only then that he looks to Willow. "So hey, how did the. Thing go and all? Are they ok. Or less than okay?" Which seeing the two of them in the same place with their similar speech patterns, one might almost imagine they were related in some manner.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers blinks slowly at words like ' Vibes' and 'Sandwiches' and...'The thing'. "Okaaay sooo I apparently missed stuff, lots of stuff. " she lets herself in. "Annnd now you're starting to sound like Faith." she smirks at Alex. "Hows it going? Been a while.."

She then nods to Thomas as he joins her. "I know I know, it's just a little detour. I need to give everyone an update on Hellequin. Wont be long!" plus, looks like he hasn't met Alex til now.

Thomas Raith has posed:
Thomas Raith smiles and nods to Giles calmly. The two men got off on the wrong foot, and considering how highly Buffy has always spoke of the man, he'd like to rectify that. "If you'd let me show you where i got them, I'll take you there. The man who runs the place also brews his own beer. It's about as close to bottled Angel's tears as you're likely to taste." He offers the man, hoping he accepts said olive branch." To Buffy, all he does is give their grasped hand a gentle squeeze... Empty Night, he feels like he's meeting the parents.

Rupert Giles has posed:
Or not saved by the Alex bell. Because him coming in? Doesn't save the redhead from Giles, not one little bit. "Willow," he says, voice quiet but in that flat tone that says he knows she's trying to deflect. "What is it?" There's the question again.

Alexander's offered hand an introduction gets the same from Giles. "Giles. Rupert Giles." His handshake is firm without being overpowering, and his hand is withdrawn as quickly as it had been offered. Giles looks from the young man to Willow, his other brow climbing to join the first. "Thing? Is who okay?"

His blue eyes slant toward Thomas, and it's obvious he wants to glower, but equally obvious that he just.. can't. The sandwiches were too good. "I'm not sure I want to know what Angel's tears taste like, but I won't say no to going and having another of those divine sandwiches." So.. that's not a no. That's good, right? It would appear that the olive branch has been accepted!

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers smiles and nods to Thomas, who goes to park the car further down the road, since the parking lot's a bit full at the moment. She looks back to Willow, also a bit concerned."Hmm, so what's going on? Got some more info on..That Hellclown guy?" she has no issue speaking freely in front of Alex for some reason. What, another potential Scooby?

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
There is no use in hiding the truth."Remember you said that Mr. Fontainebleau hated witches?" He didn't say his name. "When Buffy here told me to watch out, Nick said he had met that man at St. Margaret's Church. Which didn't give too much pause, until I was at the church.. and I saw a man turn into Hellequin." Willow paused. "And he tried to kill Kurt, but he couldn't."

To the point Hellequin accosted him to ask Kurt *why* - almost pained as he asked him.

Rupert Giles has posed:
Rupert Giles leans his hip against the countertop and listens to what is said. "Right. So....?" Perhaps Giles has already followed Willow's line of thinking. Perhaps he just wants her to say it aloud. "Why couldn't he kill Kurt?" He doesn't ask who Kurt is. They'd already been over that one. Perhaps he hadn't actually put it together. It's hard to tell with Giles, sometimes. He looks up toward the ceiling and the fans spinning there as his mind turns.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers arches a curious brow, trying to remember the name. "Kurt..?Like, Kurt Wagner you mean? Nightcrawler? Blue fuzzy?" yeah, she may have met him briefly when she visited Xavier's. "Sooo how come he couldn't harm him, he ported too quickly? Orrr is it about this whole divine protection? He's supposed to be very religious, right?"

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"Kurt looks like a blue devil. And he was praying. Hellequin tried but couldn't get a swipe from you and me." In others words, point blank. Willow looks around the both of you. "Hellequin couldn't believe Kurt's deep devotion could save him."

Rupert Giles has posed:
Rupert Giles raises a brow again. He hadn't heard that much about Kurt prior to this, so it's all interesting and news to him. He seems to be thinking about what has been said. "And yet, that deep devotion did save him, it sounds like. What do you think is behind it? An angel or some other divine being of heaven?" He reaches for his tea and sips some of the liquid within. It's still warm, but not as hot as it had been. Easier to drink that way.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers hmms, nodding in agreement to Giles and Willow. "Interesting. I also had a recent encounter with him where he seemed to suggest he had fought alongside Joan of Arc.He suggested she was a Slayer and that all slayers have a divine calling."r
She frowns in confusion, "But I thought we gained our powers from having a demon's heart...Giles, am I missing something?"

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"No. He gets his powers from Yahweh. And I know he tried to kill me.." And very nearly did. "..but something has changed. I said you can't kill me, and he glowered, but didn't argue." Willow frowns.

Rupert Giles has posed:
Rupert Giles nods to Buffy. "Yes. I do remember you saying that. He might be right, about Joan of Arc. And he might also be right about all Slayers having a divine calling. Just because your power comes from a demon's heart, doesn't mean the calling itself isn't divine. Perhaps it was intended that way." His eyes turn to Willow and he studies her for a moment. "When was this? That you said he couldn't kill you and he didn't argue?"

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers arches a brow at Willow, "Oh right, because you practice Jewish religion too right? So you have divine protection too, yeah? Okay, that's gotta be a relief. Think he's starting to realize that not all witches are automatically evil?"

To Giles, Buffy nods slowly. "Soo...Does that mean Slayers aren't inherently evil? I mean, that's good right? We are still good people, devoted to protecting innocents.."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"When I visited him in his store." Right at sundown, to boot. Willow wasn't terribly cautious, but had proof. After all, he didn't follow her once the sun went down to prove her wrong. "We argued about god. I'm not so good at it as Kurt is. I did tell him I was sorry for him. And even though I don't like him, I would stand up for him.. please don't make me have to do it."

She doesn't correct Buffy's wrong assumption about her.

Rupert Giles has posed:
Rupert Giles furrows his brow as he looks to Buffy. "Well, I would have thought that was obvious already," he says. "Of course Slayers aren't inherently evil. Most of you protect the innocent. That isn't evil in the slightest." He shakes his head. "Who said Slayers were inherently evil?"

Giles's blue eyes shift over to Willow. He nods about visiting the store, as though he'd expected as much. "Don't make you have to do what? Stand up for him? If he doesn't harm any innocent people, I have no issue with him."

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers shrugs, "Dunno, having a demon heart, with a sole purpose of killing, I dunno.." she frowns still, a bit assured, maybe not totally convinced. "But Wil, did you say you saw him in human form?"

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Willow scrunches her face up. "Don't make me defend him against you." The global you of the Scoobies. "Just because I don't like him, doesn't mean he's evil. He's.. well, he's trying." Trying to understand why the old notions of evil don't work today.

Rupert Giles has posed:
Rupert Giles shrugs. "Maybe. But think about what you're killing. Think about what you're protecting," he says. "That is not evil to me. That is divine." There's a blink, almost a confused look, and Giles turns his eyes to look at Willow. "If he does nothing to need reason for defense against us, I don't think you have anything to worry about. I am glad he's trying, though."

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers sighs and shakes her head, "Look, I don't wanna kill this guy if he's a good guy either. But the jury's still out on that. I mean if he's gonna go around killing innocent witches simply for being witches..."

She shrugs, "I mean, right now, seems he's at least willing to listen to reason, even if it means he's testing everyone he comes across. But the other night, he proved a formidable ally against a horde of vamps. I'd rather him be an ally than an enemy. Soo..The question is, how do we deal with him, just keep our guard up, try to learn more about him?"

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers sighs and shakes her head, "Look, I don't wanna kill this guy if he's a good guy either. But the jury's still out on that. I mean if he's gonna go around killing innocent witches simply for being witches..."

She shrugs, "I mean, right now, seems he's at least willing to listen to reason, even if it means he's testing everyone he comes across. But the other night, he proved a formidable ally against a horde of vamps. I'd rather him be an ally than an enemy. Soo..The question is, how do we deal with him, just keep our guard up, try to learn more about him?"

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
With that Willow planted her feet down, and reared her shoulders back, giving Buffy and Giles her sternest look. "No. I meant it. I helped you with Angel, and Spike. Nobody, and I do mean nobody, will hurt him from our crowd." And she looks like she means it, putting all her will in one spot.

Rupert Giles has posed:
Rupert Giles nods to what Buffy is saying. "He'd be better as an ally, I agree. The knowledge he possesses could be beneficial. Personally, I'd rather he was an ally than an enemy too." As Willow gets firm, Giles blinks and holds up his hands in surrender. "If he poses no threat, I won't hurt him." Giles doesn't usually do the hurting anyway, so that's a pretty easy promise to make!