13629/Lilith was a vampire..

Lilith was a vampire..
Date of Scene:	16 July 2021
Location:	Apple Park - Salem Center
Synopsis:	Willow meets Dracula and discusses many things, including her magic.
Cast of Characters:	Willow Rosenberg, Dracula

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Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Maybe he expected her to be rooting around her satchel weeks from now, and be curious what it was. Or maybe he expected her to find his 'calling card' in between her ritual paraphernalia and the sage she inevitably carried around with her.

Either way Willow found it.

Blacker than black it was a howling wolf on one side, and a bat, outstretched, on the other.

Because she didn't have a different place to try to call him, and she certainly would not welcome into her home (even if she didn't have roommates!), she decided on the nexg logical place: Where she had originally met him.

She sat on a swing, and pondered: Does she have to do something like use his name, or, invite him over, or what? She buffed the coin on the edge of her skirt, and flipped between 'wolf' and 'bat'. The bat was kind of expected, but the wolf had her perplexed.

Dracula has posed:
It was an interesting thing, that token of his. It looked like aught more than just a metal coin, only with no denominations at all marked on it, and no origin country either. It assuredly was a thing of magic. Magic had not only created it, but it was imbued with it to turn it into what it was.

As soon as she touched it, Vlad was aware of it, even though he was many miles away. His attention perked up instantly. His dark gaze lifted from the book that he was reading, and one of his eyebrows quirked up. "Well, well," he murmured softly to himself, and then set aside the book.

Dracula took a moment to focus on the token itself to deftly pluck the location from it. A smile curls at the corners of his lips, and he easily teleported himself to the park where he had met the redheaded woman. Shadows come first, in twisted and tangled tendrils, and when the shadows dissipate and drift away, Vlad is standing there. He is, once more, dressed in black, the only spot of colour being a crimson pocketsquare tucked into the pocket of his shirt. The cane is absent, at least for the moment. Quietly, he starts to step towards her. "I see you found the token," he says softly. His voice, much as when she had met him before, has a mild Romanian accent to it.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Sure, Willow knew it was magic, but without the time to study it that's all Willow was certain of. That and a tracking device. Or at least when the shadows formed around her Willow knew.

Really Willow should be frightened. (She wasn't.) But Willow was very curious at how *immediately* he came.

She smiled ever so slightly. "I thought as much. I presume you did not want Spike to find out? It's, well, it's yours." And with some reluctance Willow held her hand with the coin to him.

Dracula has posed:
The elder vampire quirks up one of his eyebrows as he watches her, and then he chuckles softly. "If, by being mine, you mean that it is of my creation, then you are most correct. My magic made the token," Vlad says softly, inclining his head towards her. "It is a curious thing that you are not frightened at all. Many people are," he comments, a thoughtful note behind the words.

"The token is yours, if you wish it. I would not have made sure that you had it, otherwise," he says softly, lifting his right hand to gesture slightly towards it. It rises up from her hand to hover in the air, and it lazily starts to spin upon its vertical axis. "Mm, well... sometimes it is better to give such things in a less flamboyant manner, would you not agree? He would not likely have been willing to allow you to keep it, had I given it to you more plainly," he muses. The token stops spinning, then turns and lowers back to her hand, to rest with the wolf side facing up.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Willow cocks her head to one side. "Why should I be afraid? You wanted to speak with me. What would be the point of killing me?" Of course they are worse things he could have done. Also against the point of speaking with her.

She rights her head.

"I guess we have an understated rule that, at least this time, we will not use our powers against one another. "

She watches the coin spinning in the air as he remarks about Spike. "Yeah, he wouldn't have let me come alone, if at all." As she thinks about *that*, she continues. "All my friends are protective of me. Too protective. I'm sure that they would be quite comfortable meeting you, though maybe they would not be such.. acquaintances? "

As she talks the coin makes it to her hands, where she closes it up, but not before she notes the wolf on it.

Dracula has posed:
A smile touches at the corners of his lips as he watches her, and he chuckles softly. "Did I wish to speak with you or did I wish to give you a means of speaking with me?" Vlad suggests, a touch of curiosity and amusement finding his voice. It could be either, really. "I have not come to kill you, or to feed from you. Unless you wish for me to do the latter, that is," he comments, studying her unblinkingly.

"Were you not thinking of me whilst holding the token? That would seem to indicate that you wished to see me again," Dracula says, inclining his head slightly towards her. "I am not against a truce, of sorts. If you do not use your powers against me, then I will not use mine against you," he comments.

"Indeed, William would not have let you come alone. Not if he sussed out what the token does. He would not let you use it, I would expect," Vlad comments, his tone thoughtful. "Perhaps they would be comfortable meeting me or perhaps not. You do not seem to be possessed of any discomfort, in meeting me by yourself, hmm? Some of your friends might have a wish to see me dead, I suppose. I might have something of a reputation," he muses, a touch amused. "You are curious."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Very curious. He wasn't like anything she had been expecting. Well, with some exceptions. He was sauve - that much was for certain. Willow expected that. But something about him defied definition, and *that* had her wanting more. At another time she might have been more cautious, but this time?

"I think you meant it for me to talk to you, but as it happens, you wanted to speak with me as well." Very carefully she lay that out between them.

"You know that would be.." Willow thinks. She did dress up as a vampire. She even tried a glamour.. more that once. But did she really want to *be* a vampire? She still had all the magic that she knew, plus nobody would dare try to protect her - she be very powerful indeed. But a vampire?

Dracula has posed:
The elder vampire is centuries old. He was born and raised in a time that was different, when it was aristocracy that ruled. When revolts and rebellions were fought with with melee weapons rather than bullets. When a sense of honour mattered. And he, interestingly enough, has his own sense of honour that he follows, for those that he chooses to apply it to.

"Your words might be heard, were you to speak to the token. It is best to think of me first before you do speak to it, if you wish the words to be borne to mine ears," Vlad says, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "Perhaps I did wish to speak with you as well. William seemed to cut our initial conversation a touch on the short side of things," he comments.

Stepping closer to her, he lifts his right hand to very lightly bring his fingers to her jaw, if she allows him to, to lightly trace his fingers there for a brief moment. "If you choose to allow me to feed from you, then doing so will not turn you into a vampire, my dear," he comments, perhaps taking a guess at her thoughts. "You are welcome to ask of me any question," he offers. Perhaps he's feeling generous, although asking a question makes no guarantee of earning an answer.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
And for herself, though much younger, she still, at this moment, also stands behind her words. Perhaps this is one of the reasons that everyone feels they have to look out for her. After all, Willow has fallen in love with a demon. She's too good for herself.

(If they only knew..)

Dracula comes ever so close, and for one moment Willow's eyes flutter and shut. Just for a moment, and then they open once again. "To feed, and not be turned into a vampire?" Very slowly she shakes her head. "What is the point of that? No power? No beautiful and sexy body? Nobody is in fear of you?" Again, no.

Dracula has posed:
Lightly, his dark gaze flicks over the side of her neck, and then he lowers his hand to his side as he regards her. "If I wished it, I could turn you. It would not be a pleasant process. I would need to fully drain you of your blood and the turning process would take somewhere around three days or so. I am not inclined to create for myself a family, as of this particular moment. Not even with as pretty as you are," Vlad says, a smile touching at the corners of his lips. And he takes a moment, at this point, to look her over from head to toe and back again.

"Besides, your Slayer friend would likely be displeased if she were to have to hunt you down and stake you," Dracula says, a thoughtful tone to his voice. "It is interesting to me that you wish it for purposes of physical beauty, which you already possess, and to make people fear you," he comments, a hint of a smile touching his lips. "You have power and ability to protect yourself with." It's insufficient to protect against his power, but he's at least kind enough to not say that.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"And you have just proven my point." Willow sighs. "It's all about the slayer and co. It's never about me. It's all right, I didn't want to be a vampire, really. Just.." She shakes her head.

"I should warn you, that regardless of what I may have thought, Spike and Buffy aren't going to be pleased that you have spoken with me. It doesn't matter if you changed me or not."

She completely ignores his comment about her beauty of power. As far as she was concerned those are things that you say to give her a false boost.

Dracula has posed:
There's a soft tsk of sound that Dracula makes, and then he gives a small shake of his head. "It is, in fact, not about the Slayer at all. I would simply not wish for you to be hunted by a friend," he says in a soft tone. He chuckles softly, the sound a dark one, and then he gives a small shake of his head. "Becoming a vampire has very little to do with wanting it or not wanting it," he says, watching her.

"Neither of them would approve of the fact that I talk to anyone that they know. That is their problem, it is not mine. I will speak with whomever I wish, whenever I wish," Vlad says, inclining his head slightly towards her. "It matters not what I do or what I say. To some, I am near to being the epitome of evil," he comments, lifting his right hand to make a slight gesture. "Tell me, my dear... what do you do with your power?" he asks.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"Well, enough people are afraid enough they don't go out their way to make them angry." Willow looks at him. "You're pretty full of yourself, aren't you?"

And then she smiles, very slowly.

"A bit before now, Buffy used to check my girl and boyfriend. That was.. well, I didn't appreciate it." Albeit,Willow hasn't had the best luck with love. What with a demon amongst the crew.. "She isn't any better you know. This time I haven't told her about the current flavour."

But he makes her think. *What* does she do with her magic?

"Me? Mostly provide protection, really. They really do all the slaying. I did some things with the Justice League though." Though the more time passed, it really didn't seem so important. In fact, it is starting to fade in her memory, until she wasn't sure she had even done those things. Willow? Gave passage to Apokolips?

Dracula has posed:
A smile turns at the corners of his lips as he looks to her, and he inclines his head slightly towards her. "Perhaps I am," he says with a touch of amusement. He lifts his right hand to lightly finger his goatee a bit. "Do you think I should not be or that I do not have a reason to be?" Dracula asks, raising an eyebrow slightly. He's lived a handful of centuries, and he has one or two things that he can do.

"It sounds rather like she attempts to be protective of you. As though to ensure that you have chosen well in your potential mate," Vlad comments, a thoughtful tone to his voice. "Tell me... do you worry over what a background check might turn up about your current flavour or do you simply want her to back off and not know? At some point, he will end up meeting her, you realize. Or she will find out another way," he says, studying her in unblinking fashion. "Would you rather it not be on your own terms?"

"Show me one of your spells," Dracula suggests, lifting a hand to make a slight gesture. Inviting her to do so.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"You just don't see it, do you? I had some concerns about her present mate, but I trusted her enough that I let her find out herself if he was a good mate. I *trusted her* to make her decisions. I don't feel the same from anyone. Do you know, she's with a White court vampire? Of course I was nervous. I didn't want her staying with him. But I trusted her to make up her mind herself. I don't feel the same is afforded to me."

As for him meeting her friends..

"We've not come nearly far enough to meet each other's friends. Though I did meet his sister. She's nice."

She smiles to herself, thinking about the very first time she had met him - also the first time she had met her as well. She almost did not catch the request.

"Pardon? Oh! Uhm.. okay? Like what?"

Dracula has posed:
One of his eyebrows delicately arches as he gazes at Willow in a steadfast manner. "The last time I was human, my dear, a background check consisted of the parents of a boy having a chat with the parents of a girl and deciding that yes, the two ought maybe go for a walk together," Vlad comments, his mild and amused. It was a different era, the fourteen hundreds. "I have seen the White Court vampire. I have not directly met him," he says, lifting one of his shoulders in a bit of a shrug.

"Mm. That seems promising, at least. To have met his sister," he muses, his tone thoughtful. "Relationships between vampires and humans are often challenging at best. Humans are food," he says, giving a small shake of his head.

Vlad tilts his head to one side as he watches her, and he gives a soft grunt. "Anything, Witchling. I wish to see what you are capable of. Show me something that you can do with your magic."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
What could she do? There is the trouble.

A glamour he would see right through it. Her protections really needed something to protect against. Scrying was so mundane that people, lay people, pretended to do it with varying degrees of success. Her biggest spells.. well they were very specific. She wouldn't able to show him the kraken - she'd sent him back!

Which gave her less to choose from. Unless she she showed him her electromancy.. force lighting.

She began to hold the charges in her hands. (She's become quite proficient recently.) And when she decided upon several targets, she began to let go. Rounds after round until each and every one of them were hit.. leaving only him. "Shall I?" Her hands were still glowing.

Dracula has posed:
The elder vampire suspects that she could do a great many things. The power that she has is not unknown to him, for he can sense it. He seemed patient as he watched her, waiting whilst she considered her options for what to do for him. In addition to seeming patient, he also seems entirely calm and at ease. And so, he waits patiently for her to make her decision.

One of his eyebrows quirks up just a touch as she brought the electromancy charges into being. He tilted his head faintly to one side as he watched her strike the targets that she chose. A smile tugged at the corners of his lips, and he inclined his head towards her at her question. "By all means," he says softly, his dark eyes showing a sparkle to them. He gives her permission to essentially use him as a target. How else to know the potency of her magic?

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Willow held her hands out but did not immediately reach out with her force lighting. Instead she began to collect the electricity, until each hand was incandescent with power.

Then, and only then, she began to cast.

But instead of striking him she did something else! She surrounded him with the force lighting, just beyond his 'aura'.

It was pretty much a prison. He would have to break out if he wanted to (probably with little destruction to his body, but probably his clothes). Eventually she wondered if she could make it mobile.. but not this time!

Mostly she was proud of what she had accomplished.

And then she let it go.

Dracula has posed:
The dark gaze of the vampire remains upon Willow as she lets the power gather within and around her hands. He is curious about the power that she's possessed of. One of his eyebrows quirks up then as she starts to cast, and there's a flicker of interest that reflects within his eyes.

Then, when her casting is complete, there is the lightning 'cage' of sorts which surrounds him. Lifting his left hand, he reached out towards it to very lightly touch his fingertips to it. An attempt to get a read on her power. He doesn't try to alter it or disassemble it. Perhaps he could, perhaps not, but if he can then he doesn't ruin the spell. It flickers up his fingers, tingling and sizzling some in that way lightning has, though his regeneration is swift to repair the damage.

"Most interesting," he says softly, a smile turning at the corners of his lips. "Tell me, what do you believe that you are capable of, with your magic?" he asks, curious.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
This was an easy question. Sorta.

"Myself, and one other, reached Apokolips, and were able to hold the portal between here and there, to allow a rescue party to save Superman." Willow is quiet.

Dracula has posed:
"This is a significant sort of accomplishment, as I understand it," Vlad says, a thoughtful tone to his voice. He shifts his weight slightly, his dark gaze resting steadfastly upon her. "What other spells do you have that you can use, besides the lightning that you have shown?" he asks, a flicker of curiosity to his voice.

He lifts his right hand and holds it out, and above his hand there manifests a small storm cloud which starts to rain and give off thunder and lightning. It lasts for a few long seconds, and then he lowers his hand and it dissipates. "I find myself to be curious as to what you can do in order to know what you might wish to learn to do," he comments.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"Sometimes.. I don't know. Occasionally it seems I can only do little things. Although, I've been working with a teacher recently. It's really brought my magic to a focus."

For example, Willow was only able to concoct a working potion - a glamour, but it worked!

"Then there seems to be crystalline focus that makes everything seem so clear, it's like breathing..I don't even have to memorize the spells, it seems to come up from my soul.."

Willow blushes.

Dracula has posed:
"Does it seem to be because of anything, when you are only able to do little things? Perhaps an emotion or a physical state or a time of day?" Vlad asks, a bit of curiosity to his voice. It might be a touch concerning that he seems to be attempting to unravel a thing or two about her. "When is your focus best and when does it wane?"

There is a flicker of curiosity to him when she mentionsn about not memorizing spells, and he gives a nod. "Sometimes spells just exist within us, waiting to be used. Waiting to be uncovered," he says in a thoughtful tone. Tendrils of shadows whisper through the air around them for a moment or two, and then they vanish, at his will. "There are a great many things that magic can do. What spells have simply come to you?" he asks.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
This she hasn't thought about much. *When* did it happen? Well, yes, when she didn't think so hard about her magic, but when was that?

Willow is on the edge of a breakthrough, when they were interrupted by some boys heading over to the exact same swings that Willow was on. By the time she had abandoned the swings, she noticed he was nowhere to be found..

Dracula has posed:
If nothing else, Vlad had made the developing witch think. And that's a thing that can be very useful. If one can figure such things out, then one can make certain determinations. A smile touches at the corners of his lips as he watches her give it consideration.

And then there is the sounds of the boys approaching, from somewhere behind him. Heading directly for them. He takes a moment to concentrate, and the token becomes a couple of degrees warmer as though a gentle reminder to her. And then he easily teleports away before the boys arrive, leaving Willow quite to her own devices. He's quite certain that she can handle herself -- after all, the Slayer is her friend.