13042/Taming each other

Taming each other
Date of Scene:	16 April 2021
Location:	Coffee Shop, Mercutio's - Gotham
Synopsis:	Where Witch and WitchHunter try to find a common ground
Cast of Characters:	Hellequin, Willow Rosenberg

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Hellequin has posed:
By the middle of the afternoon, the Coffee Shop is rather quiet, most people being working at this time of day. There are presently two customers in line to order at the counter, the second one being Henri de Fontainebleau, aka as the Hellequin. He's wearing a pricy royal blue suit, white shirt and spotless black shoes.

Right now, while waiting for his turn to order, he is busy reading the local newspaper and doesn't give much attention to anything else. That is how he ends up being at the counter, his turn to order. Folding the newspaper and tucking it under his arm, he then looks up at the lady taking the orders. And... freezes.

"Oh." Yes, it is Willow Rosenburg, the witch, at the cashier. And one he knows he won't kill, as he already let the Slayer know. As he's coming to terms with this fact, Henri sighs and remains relaxed. He's here for a coffee, after all!

"Bonjour," he says. He might be some sort of godly executioner, it doesn't mean that he cannot be civilized! "It is indeed a small world, as they say. Not that I would agree with this notion. In any case, could you please prepare an expresso, allongé, for me? Oh, do you have croissants? Two would be nice, if they are made of real butter, of course."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Willow liked her job. Sure, in the long run she was hoping for an internship next year (at the latest!), but for now it was nice. The customers were nice, and when nobody else was around, and the chores were done she could study.

Normally she took an evening shift, but today Mr. Italo needed the extra hand while he and his wife paid attention to some appointments. They were so nice it really wasn't a chore to say yes.

Willow smiled and said hello, "Can I hel.. lp.. you."

Hellequin. Or should she say, Mr. Fontainebleau. And she was stuck.

"An espresso. And croissants." Sigh. She thought better of it. "We have chocolate and plain. The cheese are all gone." But she does get his drink! Thank the gods he didn't ask for cappuccino! Those she still had trouble with according to the old Italian men who frequented the coffee shop.

Hellequin has posed:
Henri is not exactly /smiling/ at Willow, but the fact that he isn't frowning says a lot already. Is he rolling his eyes momentarily as he replies.

"Croissants should never have anything added to them, as they are made perfect as they are. Plain. Plain with /real/ butter, something that I find increasingly rare... nowadays."

That said, he patiently waits, glancing around. The place is quite empty as it is, so maybe...

"And if you have time," he adds, looking a bit hesitant and even maybe slightly reluctant, "You could sit down with me and we could... hrm... chat?" What a strange offer he just made, to someone he tried to kill a few nights ago. But a lot of things happened since then, including some talks and a great reveal of part of his nature and purpose in afterlife.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Curious. Why was he *almost* smiling at her. Well, not frowning, which in her books was smiling.. almost.

"Mr. Italo would agree, but most of our customers like a little variety." And then cursed as she was to telling the truth (most of the time), "I like the chocolate." By that time she had drawn out the espresso, she set it on the counter, and started to get his croissant. "They usually don't carry many of them though, if that makes you feel better."

But to sit with him? She was glad of the few minutes to decide before having to have an answer. Eventually she had no reason to say 'no'. All her chores were done, and her classwork was over for the semester. Just exams. "I guess.. if you don't mind I'll still have to watch the counter if someone wanders in?"

Seeing as is was almost break time, she poured herself a cafe, and - what else - a chocolate croissant to join him. "Ok. Lead on, but near the door."

Hellequin has posed:
Croissants and coffee in hand, Henri nods, turning toward the door, finding a small table sitting in the sun, which is perfect. The snack is placed on the table and Henri - well manered even towards a witch - pulls Willow's chair. Well, manners have a limit and he doesn't wait for her to sit down to push her chair back under her! Instead, he sits down at his side of the table, closing his yes - praying? enjoying the sun on his nice features? Who knows.

"But of course," he says in reply to her comment about needing to watch the counter. He's then silent for a moment, watching as Willow joins him at the small table. "I thought you would appreciate knowing that, as I mentioned to mademoiselle Summers, there is no... hrm..." he says, matter of factly, glancing around and lowering his voice so the conversation remains between them, "No actual plans to separate your head from your body. Of course, changes in behaviour might dictate a reconsideration of said plans. I though you might like to know."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Willow followed him to the table, and was surprised at pulling out her chair. Of course he ruined it all by not finishing the job, so to speak, which made her giggle. Either way she was perfectly capable of taking her chair out and in.

"Thank you." Always with those manners. "But you weren't going to kill me. I don't know why, but you were angry with me. The only reason I could come up with was you couldn't." A pause. "I didn't have anything like Kurt did. I couldn't argue his fact and come up with his faith. But, I'm just a Jewish girl, who practices Wiccan. Nothing about that makes sense."

No, Willow, you're not helping one little bit.

Hellequin has posed:
No, Willow isn't helping her cause by mentioning wiccan. To Henri, wiccan is magic and magic is evil. Needless to say, evil must be eradicated. But not here and now, and Willow has been granted a... Even Henri is not sure what has been granted to Willow, other that she is not to be eradicated. The reason why is also a mystery to him. Like it or not, the witch is right when she says that he /could/ not kill her, despite is real intent at achieving just that. Something - or someone - held his arm back, just as in Kurt's case. But Henri is not about to conceede that he /could/ not.

This might explain why Henri take the time to drink some of his allongé, visibly enjoying its taste. "Very good coffee," he comments. Then he slowly proceeds to tears a piece of the croissant, testing its texture as well, and then eats it. No one could catch him /biting/ in a croissant, which might be considered a mortal sin in some restaurants.

"God has mysterious ways," he then states, "You should bless His name that you are allowed to live, for whatever reason." And no, he cannot say why she is still alive, although he might be starting to suspect why. "I was /not/ angry at you," he says, "I was merely doing what I am meant to do. Whatever reason you can come up with, is your own."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"You were angry." That much Willow was sure of. "And we call him 'Yahweh'. It means He Who Makes That Which Has Been Made. Well in some interpretation. And you have got the whole idea wrong about Wiccans."

Hellequin has posed:
"Was not," Henri replies, looking annoyed by her insistance that he was angry. Is he annoyed, really, by her insistance or by the fact that she is right? Another thing that he will never admit.

"Wiccan are those who /communicate/ - I think that is what they call it - with Nature. God, which you want to call Yahweh, created this Nature for us. So it is fine to respect Nature, which is in turn respecting His creation." He pauses, time to enjoy his coffee, before adding, "But communicating with Nature can often turn into trying to use it for ill intentions, to summon it to do bidings, and then it turns into magic, which God does not allow."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"First of all, Wiccan's believe in good. Our whole faith is based on 'Whatsoever you do, it will come back to you threefold. In other words we have you to be very careful. Usually we praise the mother and father, and we are careful to revere the planet earth." Willow tilts head at him. "You don't know how they do magic, do you?"

She really shouldn't but..

"Wiccan's try to make spells, which are simply good wishes given form. Like, say, protection. Putting it in a spell really only has no value, but when you do it, your focus on it, thus the good wishes have a place to go. Your good will has a place to go. It is not the same as magic. Trust me, or there would be lots."

Willow bites at her lower lip.

Hellequin has posed:
Henri seems gueninely interested by Willow's explanation. If it is as she says - of course, he will have to do some research - then wicca is merely a bunch of good sentiments rolled up into something. Back then, in his time, they did have something quite similar.

"If what you said is true," he replies, not sure if he should trust a witch, "Wicca do what priests do when blessing crucifixes and protective medals, like the ones the cruisaders wear." He sighs, correcting himself. "Used to wear. The difference is, that wicca are not priests invested by God, therefore, what they do is merely a good luck charm of some sort." So it seems that while the Hellequin might give some leeway to wicca, he also considers it quite ineffective, since it is not God invested. And it might be best that he sees it like, almost, child's play. "It looks quite close to magic nonetheless," he then states, although not looking so sure about it. Willow gave him something to think about.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Willow nods to his counter argument, and she nods slowly. She might believe there is more than one 'god' but she lets that pass. "Yes. Like that.

As for the rest.. "Trust me, it's not even close to big M magic." She sighs. "Which I also do." She ducks so she doesn't have to see his face.

Hellequin has posed:
The cup he was holding hits the table, good thing it was empty! Willow might be pushing it a bit too far. Slowly, Henri pushes his chair back, frowning, as he stands, "The Devil is a tempting foe, and by declaring to me, that you do magic, is him talking with your tongue and tempting me to...," he states, not finishing his sentence.

Leaning a bit forward, his hands on the table as he towers over Willow he adds, "But all is fair. You can tempt me, I will not falter, God is with me. Just remember..." he lowers his voice, "While I was trying to build bridges with you - God help me with that - the aforementioned plans might change anytime. As they say, /don't rub it in/. Just a friendly advice, in case I might have to turn less friendly."

And on that, he turns around and walks away.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Willow is confused. Tempt him? Why? Wouldn't she have been better to *not* be honest? And just what was she trying to tempt him with anyway? She she cleans up the dishes and returns to the cash register.