14426/There are two sides to a coin. First Side.

There are two sides to a coin. First Side.
Date of Scene:	05 June 2022
Location:	The Magic Box, Sunnydale
Synopsis:	The discovery of a strange coin leads Willow, Nick and Lucas to different place.
Cast of Characters:	Lucas Farmer, Willow Rosenberg, Phantasm (Drago)

---

Lucas Farmer has posed:
There are some periods of the week where business is at its lowest, like today, a Sunday afternoon. Most people would be at work at this time, or still in bed. But for the young Lucas, the day started with an errand to the city which he did, in the company of his faithful companion, meet husky Puppy.

While crossing the park near the old cemetery, Puppy had started acting weird, insisting on digging the ground, outside the sacred enclosure of the cemetery. This did not last long, and as soon as Lucas pushed Puppy aside from the freshly dug hole, he made a strange discovery.

Treasure in his pocket, the young man and his trusted dog started on their way back home. At some point, once again, Puppy started to pull on his leash, insisting they change direction. Since they had plenty of time, Lucas let the dog lead the way and soon, the dog stopped just in front of the Magic Box.

Studying the front of the shop for a moment, the young man finally decided to step in.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Sunday afternoon, and Willow was working. She kinda liked it, most of the time. Sundays were relaxing, and once she straightened out the store, she could relax and catch up on some reading.

Unless somebody came in.

She put on her happy face, as usual, but this time it was a true stranger! She met Lucas before. "Hey! You're the boy we helped out of the elevator shaft. And you kept the dog!" You would almost be correct when you talked about the puppy being the bigger news, than Lucas himself. "What are you doing /here/?"

Lucas Farmer has posed:
There is no mistaking, it's Willow, the lady who helped him and Puppy out from the elevator shaft. On recognizing her, Puppy starts in her direction, Lucas letting go of the leash on the door closes behind them.

"Hi ma'am," the young man says as he proceeds into the store, glancing here and there at all the strange things offered for sale. "Now I understand why Puppy wanted to come here, he must have picked your sent. He's a good dog, and a better friend."

Puppy is by Willow's feet, yapping and begging to be taken.

"This is a strange store," Lucas states, browsing the jars and spell-casting trinkets. "You work here?" he asks, surprise on his face.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
He said Ma'am.. eeewww!

Then she giggles. "Willow. I'm not old enough to be a ma'am. Besides, you're what.. 18? 19? I'm just 23. Barely twenty-three!"

Yes, she was young enough that ma'am vs miss was a big deal! (And she wasn't really wasn't quite comfortable being a miss either!)

She bends her body over to accept some doggie kisses. "Yes, I work here on the weekends, and sometime during the evening in the week. It's a mixture of New Age and Paganism." And for those who know, it also is a real magic store.

Lucas Farmer has posed:
The look on the young man's face shows that he might not be quite aware of what New Age or Paganism are. But Lucas read a lot in the last year, a lot of things that are absolutely of no use to him but that people insisted he learn about.

"Here, Puppy, that's enough, you'll be spoiled." Obediently, the dog returns by his master's side, sitting on its hind legs.

"This looks like a magic store," Lucas says, quite certain that it is, "A bit like in this book, Harry Potter thing. Not that I finished it, once I realized it was all pretend stuff." Pretend as in a novel, yes, young man.

He grins at the mention of ages. "I'm about nineteen, " he says, "Give or take one or two years." His official papers would say nineteen, so Lucas goes with it. "Hrm, Willow," alright, so no ma'am with Willow, "What do people buy here and for what? I mean, do they really do the sorcery tricks?" It's a feat in itself that Lucas learned what magic is, he's not yet quite certain of the difference between magic and sorcery.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Thank goodness she was still bending over, or he might have seen her grin, telling her that the Magic Box /looked/ like a real thing.. but magic wasn't real.

Willow would like to challenge that!

Good thing she has a good sense of humour.

"Oh, you mean the wands? They're not real. But you should see how many people buy them. It doesn't hurt. Most people can't use magic - the wands are really for show." As for his question, Willow gave him a long look, and then answered, "How much are you really asking?"

There was the truth, and The Truth. And then there was the usual 'haha, give me a wand and some candles, and a quartz and be done with it'.

Lucas Farmer has posed:
The young man seems to be thinking about it for a moment, his eyes now browsing the collection of books on the shelves. After a moment, he looks back at Willow.

"I never met a magician, I mean, a real one, or a witch. I only know of them from books." He pauses, then adds, "Where I was raised, there was no magic. I don't know if such things are real or not." Which is the truth. "I knew a guy," there's something heavy as he mentions /guy/, "Who had a rabbit's foot keychain, saying it would bring him luck." Beat. "He ended up crushed under a cement wall." Thanks to the X-Men. "I guess in a way, it depends how you believe in such things."

As he speaks, he reaches for the pocket of his fade jeans, retrieving a small object. "Like see, this? Puppy found it. It could be a luck charm, or a curse. Or just nothing."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"You mean you never knew they were. They're more rare the mutants, and for most part they seem to be normal, and can't get along with normal society. There are a few who show up with mutancy, like Wanda Maximoff."

She was out there, so she was okay to talk about her.

"Those? It's hard to say what they are - mutant, or magician. Or both. Most consider themselves mutants though."

Willow was walking on the edge of telling him about her. But he interrupted her with his coin. "May I?" When he gave her it, she looked it all over. "It is a coin." D'uh. "Very old. It reminds me.. I think I have a few in the back just like it."

Why would they keep it in the back, away from the regular customers?

Lucas Farmer has posed:
As it is often the case, the young man listens, takes mental notes, and limits the number of questions he asks, especially when it comes to people. The mention of mutants still visibly makes the young man uneasy - which is normal if you had been targeted for being one. Living in a school just for them, run by them, didn't quite yet heal all the stigma he can feel about the word mutant. Gifted sounds so much better.

"I didn't have time to clean it," Lucas says, raising an eyebrow. "It would be quite a coincidence if you had something like it. It looks like silver, but I'm not expert."

As he speaks, Lucas gently rubs the surface of the medal, removing as much dirt as he can. There is a strange symbol on it, on both sides, head to tail, which looks like entwined leaves. The medal is handed to Willow, "There, you can have it to check against your collection?"

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"It's okay, some people don't get along with mutants." Willow realizes he is uncomfortable - either because he /is/ one, and simply he doesn't like them. "But I do think I may have a pair to this one."

She turns it over, and over again, and thinks.

"I'll go get it!." The coin was put back into his palm. "One moment!"

Lucas Farmer has posed:
While Willow vanishes into the back store, Lucas gently scratches Puppy behind the ears, the dog being such a good boy.

As he waits, a more interested look is given to the different books. Some even have a symbol on them reminiscent of the one on the medal, although not exactly the same. Glancing around, Lucas seems to hesitate for a moment, then takes one of the large books and places it on the table. At this point, the young man isn't sure if the books are offered for purchase, or if they are some sort of reference materiel.

Pulling a chair, Lucas sits at the table, and opens the large book. It doesn't take long for him to realize that this is no novel, no siree!

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Well.. the usual customer wouldn't like the book Lucas picked out. It's too much history, and not too much magic. Really, the books that they would like were likely to buy were on the endcaps, and the front display. Sure, the books were all there, but only the few noticed the ones like Lucas had pulled out.

And Giles always encouraged the magical crowd to take their time. In fact, some books weren't even for sale - though those books were upstairs.

Lucas wasn't hurried, even though Willow had come back out of the back room with the coin that she was thinking of.

Lucas Farmer has posed:
Indeed, it's a history book. Although if you asked Lucas, he'd swear it was all another pretend book, a novel they call it. It mentioned a country far away, he's seen the name before, so at least this part was real. As for the rest! Celtics, druids, a lot of forest and the use of plants. That is as far as Lucas read until Willow returned.

The young man stops reading when Willow returns.

"It would be such luck if you'd find the same," Lucas says, offering a light smile of hope. You see, even if you don't believe in magic, it is something that the young mutant finds himself intrigued about. It makes for a change from the daily boring life.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Oh.. how she wanted to show him that you didn't need a coin to make magic! You could, but it was necessary.

"This, my friend Giles, brought back from Scotland. He said that long ago the Celts believed that they could use it in magic. But we never figured it out. Usually they used these coins to identify each other." Willow grins.

Lucas Farmer has posed:
Lucas stops reading the book as Willow returns. By now, Puppy has retreated under the large table, a secure spot for a nap.

"To identify each other?" the young man repeats, thinking for a moment. "Do you mean that they were supposed to be a pair, two similar coins?"

As he speaks, Lucas rolls the coin between his fingers, examining the strange symbol on both sides. "I have seen symbols looking like it in the book." Yes, the large old book he was reading. "I really think it's made of silver. I wonder, well, if it's a pair, if the other one would be near where Puppy found this one?"

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"Not exactly." Willow shows him the paragraph where it is contained. "It's theorized that the pair can be to people, who have similar coins. But no one has tried."

Probably because they have tried it with two magic users|!

"See, the tiny edges on the coins. They are meant to fit, I guess." Surely he would try, to no avail. But dang nabbit she wanted to know!! "Can I suggest something to you? I got a friend who would be interested to see these coins. I can text him, quickly, and get him over here. I think you have met him. You know, in the elevator shaft."

Lucas Farmer has posed:
Lucas does look closer and there, he can see the edges and groves along the coin. He nods at Willow, "Sure, yes. I'm in no hurry." He pauses, tilting his head, thinking about the man that came down the elevator shaft. "Oh yes, he kind of does nice tricks." Yes, a trick or something else the young man doesn't know about.

Since they'll wait for a bit, Lucas glances under the table, to make sure Puppy is behaving. And the dog is sound asleep. All's fine.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Without a pause, she quickly text Nick:

Willow>> Hey can you come over to the Magic Box? It may not work but you are the only magic person I know. Something about some Celtic coins that are supposed to be magic under the right circumstances.

Willow>> Pleeeeeeeeeese?

Willow>> *bot bot* ;) ;) ;) O:)

And then she waited.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Willow gets a text message back.

Unregistered>> New Phone. Who Dis?

...

Unregistered>> I'm kidding. Be right over.

Lucas Farmer has posed:
While they wait, Lucas returns to the reading of the old book. It's definitely about some druids and guys in the Celtic culture. The young man does read, but the many drawings get most of his attention. Those are woodcut printings, very detailed, and illustrating some of the Celtic rituals. Well, as imagined by the dessinator!

At some point, Lucas starts to wonder about a detail. "So how old do you think it is?" he asks Willow, as she might know or have seen something about it while she went to check in the backstore.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
For one minute Willow was perplexed. All she could imagine was somebody was the new owner of Nick's phone number. "Oooh.."

Then she caught the rest. "Phew. I was afraid. I mean I said the M-word!" Magic, not mutant. Though that would be just as bad as magic! "He's coming." She put her phone back into her satchel. "I'm not quite certain, but I think the histories say it was around the turn of the thirteenth century."

She flipped over a couple of pages. "There were few made, and the person who made them.. he died. It doesn't say how or when. See?" There were two lines about him. That's it.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Although Nick lives in another city, the wait for him is not that long. He ends up coming in through the back. "Hey Willow." Nick greets nonchalantly, "Sorry for the wait Traffic was a -"

He pauses as Lucas comes into view. "-mess." He cracks a small smile, nodding to the young mutant. "Hi again."

Lucas Farmer has posed:
Lucas was just checking the name mentioned in the book when Nick arrived. "Is there..." But his sentence is cut short with the new arrival. Looking up, Lucas smiles, "Hi there." So this was the friend Willow called. As always, the young man doesn't question the fact that Nick arrived quite quickly. He's been raised to not ask questions, and it's a habit hard to get rid of.

The most remarkable reaction comes from under the table, where a previously sleeping ball of fur gets on its paws and runs to Nick, yapping and doing the puppy dance as he recognizes the man. Puppy wants to give puppy licks.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Willow laughs. "Oh yeah, I forgot to tell, he's brought his dog." Then she blushes.

"Maybe," she turns to Lucas. "I should have told you one little thing about me. I do magic. Not blessing and curses. I mean, I can. I mean I am a pagan." You know, worship Mother Nature; call out the moon; the usual. "I really can do magic."

She waits for him to laugh at her, or demand something that will prove it. Either/or.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
As the puppy comes running towards Nick, the musician glances down. "Puppy!" Nick greets, crouching down to give the approaching critter an easier target. The puppy is going to be spoiled with attention.

It's hard to believe Nick is the oldest one here.

Lucas Farmer has posed:
Lucas looks over at Puppy, as if to make sure he's behaving. So far, it's good for the dog to be used to meeting people. Like the young man told someone recently, he doesn't want his dog to be mean.

Then looking back at Willow, Lucas seemed perplexed and curious for a moment. It would never come to the young man's mind to laugh at someone. It is just something he never did.

"Oh. Pagan. I don't know what that means. So then, if you do magic, then it exists. What kind of magic do you do?" Yup, he's not argumentative or confrontational.

Looking back at Nick, Lucas wonders, "Do you do magic too?"

Happy with the reward he was given, and after licking Nick's hand and fingers for a moment, Putty trots back to the security of the table cover, ready to resume his nap.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"It's not that simple as 'what kind do I do'. It is how my brain works. Like I suck at potions, but I'm very good at force lightning. I guess I'm good at holding portals as well." She explains, "We had to travel across the universe, and I held the earth end."

Amongst other things.

She doesn't tell what reason Nick is really here for. Unless he speaks up, she shuts her mouth about his magic.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"Oh yes. I just came back from doing a magic act at the circus." Nick replies.

He's joking.

...Right?

Once Puppy has his fill and runs off, Nick moves back to a standing position. "...How do you think I got the lock off without breaking it?" Nick asks Lucas.

Lucas Farmer has posed:
The young man raises an eyebrow at Willow's explanation of what she can do. Amazing. "Across the universe. Wow." There's nothing sarcastic in Lucas' voice, he's quite sincere.

Talking of being sarcastic, it's quite visible on Lucas' face that he's unsure if Nick is being sarcastic. "I dunno, sir, how you did it. It could have been a gift, but magic is cool." He pauses, then finally adds after a moment, in a lower voice, "I don't do magic, I'm gifted." Nope, he's not saying the word mutant. "Telekinesis."

And as if to demonstrate it, the coin in his hand starts floating in the air, spinning around, before being slow directed towards Nick. "I've found this, and ma'... er, Willow thinks it might be magic."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"I can lift things, but only a short distance. and I'm better if they're smaller." Willow takes the spinning coin and stops it, in the air. "See." Then she lets it go towards Nick, under Lucas' power.

"The people who I work for are all mutants. I'm the only one who is not."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"Oh uh. Yeah, magic. I just made the lock briefly intangible and pulled it off." Nick explains, looking to the floating coin being spun in front of him. Tilting his head forward, he glances to the sides as they are displayed. "...I don't recognize it."

Nick redirects his attention to Willow, "Did you think this was dream related?"

Lucas Farmer has posed:
The coin remains in mid-air, slowly spinning. "It must be nice to do magic," Lucas comments, although the young man doesn't seem to regret his own gift.

Back to the matter, Lucas explains, "Puppy went to dig just outside the cemetery, and found it." And this about the extent of what he knows, aside from what Willow discovered about such kind of items. "Willow thinks it might be part of a pair, like soul-mates tokens."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
To Lucas' words, Willow confirms. "I think it takes two of us to do the effect. But I don't know. So far they haven't gotten to work. I thought if one of us took Lucas' coin, and the other one mine.."

Giles' coin. Ahem.

"We might be lucky to work it. I mean, up till now the odds are they didn't try it with magic users, and they got lost in the shuffle over the years."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"I don't see much difference between doing magic and having powers through other means." Nick comments to Lucas. "I think one of your teachers could have done the same thing with the lock."

Looking to the coin again, frowning. "Any idea to what the coins would do?"

Lucas Farmer has posed:
Nick is right, many of the teachers would have done something similar, maybe not in form, but surely with the same result.

And no, Lucas has no idea what the coin could do, and obviously the question is mostly directed at Willow. After a moment, Lucas tries to bring the coin back to him. The young man frowns, and concentrates. Something is strange. Did he loose his gift?

Instead, the coin remains floating mid-air, and if someone looks closer, they might see that it's very lightly vibrating.

"I can't get it back to me," Lucas simply states, not overly alarmed, just intrigued.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"No, I haven't a clue. We could put it off until we have a better idea?"

*sigh*

Really? Willow should have thought of that first!

Except, something is wrong. The coin was spinning by itself, almost in the direct centre of them. Willow feels a thrum from her hand - the other coin. And as she looked down at it, she felt a tug. A real tug.

With barely any thought, Willow held the coin up and pushed it mentally towards Lucas' coin..

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"Yeah. I think putting this off might be a-"

Hearing Lucas's statement, Nick's glance moves back to the young mutant, and then to the coin. He tilts his head forward, seeing the shake.

He starts stepping back. Seeing the coin shift, to more or less run parallel to him with Willow as the center. He starts backing up, seeing similar behavior.

Whatever the coins are wanting to do, it seems intent on doing it no matter what.

"Well...Shit."

And then he sees the second coin. "Willow! Stop!"

Lucas Farmer has posed:
As the medallion draws on the magic and spiritual forces emanating from both Willow and Nick, it starts to vibrate faintly. And then the other coin is brought to join the first one, as they seem to be pulled towards each other, an irresistible force that nothing can stop.

As the energy is absorbed, the silvery coin emits a silver glow which quickly intensifies, filling the room with whirling silvery pulsating light. The reaction is almost instantaneous.

So much that before anyone could react, the whole room seems to silently explode with a blinding light.

In a moment, the world as they know it disappears before their eyes, and they feel like falling down the eye of a tornado as the few remaining features around swirl faster and faster.

Then there's nothing but the blinding silvery light. Time stands still. How long does it last? Hard to say.

At first, there is no sound to be heard, then a faint voice can be heard, as if in the distance. The words seem foreign. And they get closer.

//Foederatarum vitae//

Foederatarum VITAE!//

//FOEDERATARUM VITAE!!!//

After a while, the voice goes quiet, the blinding light slowly dims, and as the surroundings can be seen again, they aren't the interior of the Magic Box.

The new scenery is filled with light, but the normal sun light of a warm sunny summer day. The field around them is covered with neatly drawn furrows. A wooden fence serves as an enclosure for a couple of cows and pigs. In the distance stands a large one-story stone house with a thatched roof.

There is no one around. Given the position of the sun, it's probably about lunch time. In the distance, the rhythmic sound of a church bell can be heard.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Too late.

Regardless of the source, be it the magic of the vibrating coins or the human perception processing more of the visual input than it normally does, but time does seem to slow down for Nick. And though he wants to reach out to stop the coins from joining he is unable to as they just SHIFT AWAY. The blinding light prevents a further attempt leaving the musician to lift his arms up to protect his vision.

When the spectacle stops, Nick cautiously lowers his arms, glancing around to see the farm like scene. He has a sneaking suspicion this is NOT Diablo's farm.

"Oh Boy."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Oh great.

It was sorta like when they had travelling between planets. Except there wasn't a sensation of here to there. It was sorta like a spinning between here and here and here.. and here..

Willow swallowed hard when they came to a stop.

This? Wasn't what she had expected.

With a small voice, she declares, "Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."

Lucas Farmer has posed:
When everything stops swirling around and the blinding light dims to a non-existent point, Lucas blinks, looking around, wide-eyed. What just happened? This must be magic. Even he knows that. For the first time in public, the young man expresses his frustration.

"Fuck, I hate farms."

The mention of Toto reminds Lucas about Puppy. The small dog is not there to be seen. Calling his companion for a moment, the young mutant then shrugs. "If he was here, he'd come to me. He must still be under the table."

Yes, but how far is the table, the Magic Box and New York? Hard to tell.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Momentary shock out of the way, Nick looks over to Lucas as he brings up the lack of puppy. "...It's probably better he's back at the store." He looks to Willow, "Buffy still remembers how to care for dogs, doesn't she?"