14789/Meeting the new Slayer/Watcher

Meeting the new Slayer/Watcher
Date of Scene:	12 March 2023
Location:	The Magic Box, Sunnydale
Synopsis:	Faith catches up with the new? old? Watcher
Cast of Characters:	Faith Lehane, Constantine, Harry Dresden

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Faith Lehane has posed:
Faith Lehane had been a rogue for far too long, but with Giles once again back in England or wherever the hell he was, it seems she is technically supposed to report to the stand in Watcher, one John Constantine. Of course she has heard things, of how he's a grump, and an alcoholic, and a fearsome wizard..Where the heck does the watchers council get these weirdos from anyway? Really Faith would normally just skip this meeting but she is equal parts curious and amused..

And maybe, just maybe she will gain access to better Slayer resources and become a full member of the exclusive Scooby club if she gets this silly meeting over with. So she arrives at the Magic Box which seems to be a popular meeting spot for all things Scooby related, and oh, she brought a bottle of scotch too, maybe get him to relax a bit as she steps in. She has no special key to get in after hours so ha# to come when the store is open, waiting in the basement training room which thankfully she is occasionally allowed into. And there she waits impatiently, not exactly early herself. Whatever.

Constantine has posed:
Wait, did an actual COUNCIL of stuffy old scholarly farts decide John Constantine was Officially Sanctioned Watcher material, now? A man to entrust with the fate of the world, and the guidance of living, sometimes similarly surly, weapons? Sometimes a fellow guest stars for an old... acquaintance and the extracurriculars stick. It's purely of benefit to ol' Rip and Tear of course-- /John/ doesn't benefit from ready access to or the trust of specialists in monster murder, not one bit!

Not for the first time, Constantine allows himself a short syllable of immature mirth at the shop's unfortunate name, butts out his cigarette in the receptacle by the door, and slips inside, his worn brown longcoat trailing leisurely. It's a relatively unintrusive little jaunt to browse his way to the lower quarters and slip on down when no one is even watching the door-- if utterly unnecessary.

Likely only slightly later than Faith, the unkempt warlock saunters down the steps and throws his arms wide with a broad, performative smile. As if experiencing a grand, pleasing revelation. "The Spare, and a bloody proper swap at that. People been saying we're past due this little meet 'n greet." Weapons... boxing equipment... sparring mats... Constantine hunts around for a /chair/ and flips it around to face Faith, halfway falling into the seat with a bit of a pronounced huff. "Keeping the lost and the damned purged and pruned?" All appearances to the contrary, perhaps, Constantine -does- actually give a fuck about that; and even SOME people involved in it.

Faith Lehane has posed:
Faith Lehane is sitting on one of the side benches, dressed in a red tank top and black leggings, ready for a training session if need be. But can this new Watcher actually fight, or is he just another geeky nerdy Wesley-Giles wannabe Watcher? Well either way, she's already taking a swipe of that scotch, already aware that Constantine is familiar with both Buffy and Willow, but the term 'spare' does not sit well with her.

"The hell you calling a spare? Far as I'm concerned, I'm the better slayer and you're the spare watcher." she smirks at him as he arrives, giving him the once over, "So you're the spare watcher huh. I kinda expected someone a bit more impressive. Sooo what's your deal, you get up on the wrong side of the bed or something?"

She smirks wryly, deliberately pressing his buttons, testing his limits. No one ever accused Faith of being a nice girl Afterall..

Constantine has posed:
Actually fight? Well, these things are all relative to the nature of the fight, and the tools and tricks at hand, aren't they? Is John Constantine a destined hand to hand slaying machine with unnatural, primal reflexes and the ability to hurl a stake through a solar plexus at twenty paces? ... if he is, the Hellblazer does a good job hiding it. John moves like the lithely muscled and wiry roaming wizard that he is-- or at least appears to be. Might be a mistake to assume he can't throw a decent punch in a pinch, though; but that's a hurdle even Giles clears.

At the offense, the Laughing Magician doesn't miss a beat, "That's the way the Universe spun shit out, innit?" If Constantine is understanding the history and rules of Celestial Slayer Spawning at least. "Would want the insurance to be at least /as/ good, eh?" It makes sense to him! "But yea, that's fair. Really, I'm more like the hardware store foam you spray in the better tire to get a few more bloody meters down the road, yeh?" The self-deprication rings whimsical, rather than depressively detrimental. Straight-faced, the humour does spark in the Hellblazer's eyes unbidden.

"If you clean up nice every day, luv-- people stop bein' astonished how accomplished you are at it." John raises a hand and brushes his windblown blonde mop back, and to the left; it flops right back about where it had chaotically tousled in the first place. "So, about that Cosmic Balance and Avenging Guardian shit..."

Faith Lehane has posed:
Faith Lehane groans, hopping from the bench, stretching her arms as she eyeballs the so-called 'Laughing Magician' or whatever, there are a lot of stories out there. Big shot like Constantine and Harry Dresden are hardly invisible Afterall. There are too many stories out there of their accomplishments. Some true, some not so much.

"Heh, so what's your deal, you ever done this before? Heard you sought out B first but then a bunch of 'stuff' happened.." she makes air quotes with her fingers, not entirely up to date on the comings and goings of whatever happens in the Scoobies.

She pauses as he talks of 'Cosmic Balance' and 'Avenging Guardian shit', pausing in confusion. "Say what now?

Constantine has posed:
John scoffs lightly, and puts on his best Raul Julia, which isn't very good. "For me, it was Tuesday." Is it still boasting if one is just speaking actual reality? See: The pair's previous exchange for more fodder for that scale. "Bunch of shit's always happening, eh? Lucky times, we got our finger on the pulse and a step up on that pile. Rest of the time..." Constantine gives a halfhearted, one-shouldered shrug, and gestures broadly towards the pacing Slayer.

"You bring that Scotch to share, or what? And yea-- that's what you're into, yeh? Killing what needs killed or fuckin' re-killed, protecting who needs protecting, guarding the veil from the Army of Darkness and all that bloody mess." It's maybe not usually put quite like that, admittedly. "Bit behind the times with the rest, granted. Been... out of town a while." Wrong turn, bad portal, time dilation; it's all a long, boring story, of course.

Faith Lehane has posed:
Faith Lehane shrugs, maybe this Watcher's style is more along her own lines of thought. She smirks and nods, handing him the bottle, "Sure, May as well, why the hell not? At least you know how to loosen up more than that stuff Giles or Wes."she laughs,"Wow, they just threw you into the deep end didn't they?"

His comment is met with a nod and another wry smirk, "Yeah, something like that. Chosen one imbued with supernatural powers to combat the supernatural blah blah..I hear there's even a slayer manual or some shut probably around here somewhere.. "

Well actually she hasn't explored the basement much but was once invited so.."Oh yeah I guess some weird stuff came up recently, not sure how to deal with it or if it's even a thing.."

Constantine has posed:
"That deep end can subtitle a lot of memoirs, luv." John observes as he intercepts the offered booze, far from too classy to drink right from the bottle as well; and so he does. "You keep swimmin', or you bloody well sink." Everything else is the Churn. It's a roundabout way of noting the pot might be calling the kettle black, here... and the Hellblazer is hardly unique in the weight of his trials. The content, though, is a little outside the norm.

"Best a manual for /your/ life is gonna give you is insight into how to kill shit the authors knew how to kill, and a window on what they figured for your life and purpose and all that guess or prophecy bullshit." There's certainly value in old tomes; but it's best synergized with a willful impulse towards improvisation.

"The crux of the issue..." Constantine posits, pausing to tip back the liquor once more, satisfaction expressed in a hearty exhalation. "... is the practical adaptation to, deduction of, and engagement with the goddamn weird shit." Which is a sentence that /almost/ sounds a little more scholarly. He's not wrong, though. "So let's hear it, eh?"

Faith Lehane has posed:
Faith Lehane rolls her eyes, "Well, ain't you just full of big smart sounding words.." she smirks, running her fingers through her hair, "I mean I know how to do my job although it's bullshit that I ain't gettin' paid for this. So I guess only thing I need you for is to do all the fun reading and research stuff..I mean bet you can't even throw a decent punch ca; you? Not like I can learn much from an old guy like you.."

Shes got quite the mouth on her doesn't she? But there was something she needed to bring up and she nods, "Oh right, a lot of incidents of people losing specific memories keep popping up round Sunnydale..Dunno if it's just coincidence or something else but probably something that needs looking into, reading boring books or whatever. Not really my deal though, I just hit things."

Constantine has posed:
"Awww, you reckon I sound smart?" Constantine faux-swoons, abundantly sarcastically. "You need to learn to fight better; and yea, that's probably a constant in the hammer / nail business huh? -- I can set that up. But outside a few ill-advised enchantments, not bloody likely I'm your most productive dance partner, there. How much you can learn, well..." The Laughing Magician smirks, tips the bottle back, and then passes it back over to Faith.

"... That all depends if you've got brains to back up the blood lust, I'd figure." Not that Constantine is, by any stretch of the imagination, an advocate of pacifism. Unless it can save him an ass kicking. "Suss any pattern to the memories bein' lost or the people it's hitting? I'll see if I can augur anything out of it, but context is only gonna help."

Faith Lehane has posed:
Faith Lehane rolls her eyes, "Hah! As if, I think you THINK you're smart, not necessarily ARE. Just cuz you use big words? Screw that." she grabs the bottle back, taking another swig of it before passing it back to Con. "Excuse me? I know a helluva lot more about fighting than you do, and you sure as hell don't wanna out that to the test I assure you.."

As for patterns, Faith just shrugs, "Dunno, specific memories of specific people, all in Sunnydale, not history of physical trauma or other to any of the victims, just sudden memory loss. Oh and I guess Buffy was affected too, but only specific memories of specific people.."

She then spies the other magician, smirks and waves to him. "Yo Harry, wassup?"

Constantine has posed:
"Which words were too big, specifically?" John inquires with an arch of one blonde brow, before he appends, "There's plenty that helps a monster hunter out besides just the fighting, s'what I'm saying." Constantine clarifies, then drinks. "Like I said, I'm the last cocksucker to teach you better martial arts." Any metaphorical tenser's transformations notwithstanding!

"But I guess it's a good thing after all I'm overdue lookin' in on both of you." If the other Slayer's memories are being targeted, it could easily be a symptom of a wider, darker plot... or as simple as some knocks on the head and MAGNETS, or something. The or something is huge in mysticism.

"Dresden." John greets, though it's not immediately apparent if he knows the sorceror, or just knows OF him. The Scotch is offered over, though. "Are you stealing memories in Sunnydale?" Constantine manages an impressive amount of intensity and suspicion, considering it's somewhat ridiculous.

Harry Dresden has posed:
He nods towards Faith's greeting and replies,"Hello Faith. How are you? Any chance I might be able to find Buffy around? I am curious if she has forgotten me as well. I want to see if there is a chance she remembers be just from the mystical sense."

He turns his attention towards Constantine and returns the neutral greeting,"Constantine. It's been a while." He snorts softly and shakes his head,"Sadly no. I wish I could take credit so we wouldn't have to take care figuring it out." Again from his pocket comes a muffled sound and he thumps the pocket, knuckles striking something solid,"Be quite before I put you in the sale items." he growls at the pocket.

Faith Lehane has posed:
Faith Lehane rolls her eyes at Con, waving a dismissive hand at him, "Seriously, get a grip of yourself, and Harry had some missing memories of his own." To Harry's question Faith just shrugs, "Dunno, haven't seen Buffy in a while but Spike is always sniffing around her. Find her and you'll probably find B too." she glances at her watch again and sighs, "Well it's been fun but I gotta dash." again, what's with that lately, anyway?