16134/Dark Willow: Circling the Drain

Dark Willow: Circling the Drain
Date of Scene:	21 March 2024
Location:	The Magic Box, Sunnydale
Synopsis:	Phobos gives a gentle talking to Willow. Will she accept it?
Cast of Characters:	Phobos, Willow Rosenberg

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Phobos has posed:
    Twelve steps from curb to door. A sliight smirk lights the features of the young Olympian as he walks across that small distance, twelve footsteps leading from the parking spot near. An idle thought wandering through his mind as he walks across the way, hands in the pockets of his black jacket and his head tilted to the side in reflection. An auspicious number in a way, though also cultural connotations considering the popular use of the term.
    It was while thinking about who came up with the idea of the 'twelve-step' program that the door to the Magic Box jangled, the bell signaling the arrival of a customer slash visitor. Through the archway and past the door strolls the mystical being become SHIELD agent. His shoulder nudging the door open and then one hand lightly catching the door behind him in case it should slam. It doesn't.
    Into the room proper he strolls, voice lifting as he murmurs, "Hello?"

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Willow was.. bored. Which was a new thing for her.

Ever since she started to visit Rack, she had begun to be full of ennui. Most of the time, lately, all she could do is think of the ways she could be back in Rack's 'office' doing 'treatment'.

She wasn't even interested in the new books about magic in the early 1500 hundreds. And she most definitely was not interested in her books for school. Books she was supposed to have read and begun to write her Master's Thesis if she wanted to graduate this semester.

Enter Phobos.

She cast a glance at him, and shrugged. As if to say, 'enh, hello'. Or, 'yay, another person who I will have to wait on'. And went back to studying her nails.

Phobos has posed:
    A warmth lit the young man's eyes as he espied the redhead, his lip twisting up as he strolled forward into the room. "Wilsiax, Leader of the Tree People." He greets her in his own inimitable way, perhaps not in a way that the reference is terribly obvious, obscure as it is. But it makes sense to him and that is what matters. To him at least.
    He crossed the room with a casual gait, head tilting slightly. Those pale hazel eyes drifted over her as he advanced and then paused. "I come bearing questions and..." He digs a hand into one pocket and finds... nothing.
    Then by the time he reaches the counter near he's dug his other hand into the other pocket. He produces...
    "And Reese's Peanut Butter Cup popcorn?" He sets the half-eaten bag on the counter. Clearly offering to share.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"If I were the leader of the tree people I wouldn't work!" She almost giggles. Which was odd. Both things. The Reeses Peanut Butter popcorn earns him a point. "Oooo! Did you know that I tried peanut butter and chocolate cookies this last time? I don't have them. I gave them to the people at the Watchtower."

Of course, she remembers - belatedly - to offer him some.

"Buffy isn't here." Obviously. "I can tell her you dropped by?"

Phobos has posed:
    "Labor dispute in the land of trees." Alexander offers in casual rejoinder as he opens the popcorn bag and pulls out a small nugget puff of chocolate and peanut butter yumminess. He pops it in his mouth and chews a bit, looking at her sidelong. Leaning against the counter as if he had not a care in the world, the Olympic deity smiles with a casual aplomb. "I wasn't looking for Buffy. Though I did see her..."
    He lifts his head and his eyes distance in momentary reflection before he looks back. "A week and some ago. Doing her vampire thing." A hand lifts slightly to waggle a little as if he can't find the words entirely. "Though I imagine you can help me. If you are so inclined and of the mood."
    He glances toward the door, as if through it some other slayer might be summoned, then back. "I dropped off the sword in the stone thing a bit ago. Any word on that?"

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"Oh. That. Yeah we put some wards on it. Harry and I did it. Faith watched." Willow shrugs. As if warding one of the more powerful Slayer weapons was something that she did daily.

"You might not be able to see it?" That was part of the ward. Only certain people were aware of it now.

Phobos has posed:
    "Ah," Alexander's eyebrows rose a little and there's a moment of consideration as his gaze met hers. His brow furrows and for a momentm his thoughts drift from his actual task. He had did as he was bidden by the watch officer of SHIELD, acquired a status 'update' such as it was. But now...
    "Are you alright, Willow. You seem a little off your normal feed." His head cocks the other way slowly, like a quizzical canine as he considers her. "We see each other only every now and again, that it feels like I only get snippets. And this snippet is different than the others..."
    Another beat before he says, "This feels... discordant from the whole."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"Spring fever?"

Except it was usually seen with crazy bits of energy. And quite often spending. Or having parties.

Willow had none of the usual symptoms. She was distracted. Irritable. And, for her, downright rude. For her.

"What, am I not allowed to have a bad day? Do I have to be sunny and chipper all the time so that you can feel good about yourself, and to heck with what I am feeling?"

For Willow heck was a verbotin word. Like h-e-double l- hockey sticks. And darn it! The fact that she said it without apologizing was.. well, something was wrong. Very wrong.

Phobos has posed:
    Alexander's gaze remains on her and despite her cruel words hurled his way, the Olympian wattches and regards, the corner of his mouth turning up slightly. "Oh no, you are allowed. I mean, I kind of like the growliness of it." He lifts a hand slightly as if indicating her current hint of a snarl-like expression.
    He takes another small piece of popcorn, then lightly tilts the bag a little on its side so several more puffs tumble out of it. He picks one of the choicer pieces and pops it in his mouth. "More I remark on the state to know perhaps its origin rather than to seek to alter it."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"Oh." Willow smiles a sly smile. "You do? IIt's about time, you know? I mean, everybody treats me as a little sister, patting me on the back, while they go off doing big people stuff. It's annoying to say the least. I'm tired of it!"

You can almost hear the stomp of her heels as she complains.

Phobos has posed:
    "I suppose," Alexander looks at her, head tilting the other way slowly, "Though it's true, us tall people are inherently superior." His lip twitches, something about that comment regarding 'big people' amusing him more than it should. Perhaps connected to another petite redhead in his life.
    "But we all have that... I dunno, sharpness in our heads, that grumpy voice. A lot of times it feels good to let it out." He chews the inside of his cheek as he takes another piece of popcorn and chews on it. Then for the true litmus test of Willow's ethical and moral status.
    "Do you have anything I could drink? This stuff is super dry."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"Huh. Oh.. uhm.."

For a moment, Willow was herself, looking over to the kettle and the vast amount of tea that Giles' had. Sure there was instant coffee. And a small fridge that may or may not have some cold drinks. "I guess? Usually I pop over to the bakery to get fresh coffee. It's only instant here. I guess we could buy a coffee maker.."

Phobos has posed:
    "Some water would be good, no need to go to any trouble." Alexander smiles a littttle as he sees her ease a little into that oldish rhythm, being a good host. So she's not _that_ far gone. Perhaps she's just in a bad mood. Yet he waits, closing that bag of popcorn and using the handy-dandy resealable clasp.
    Yet his thoughts continue to wander down the path of what they had been discussing, his eyes lowering a little in introspection before he offers, "I sometimes get in a bad mood, though I usually avoid people when it hits. Since it can be all... unpleasant."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Willow fills a cup for him, waiting for the water to chill a bit.

"It doesn't matter sometimes. It's like.. Well, Thomas, for example. I could say anything to him and ultimately his brain would parse that as what he believes I would say. He thinks that his brother is crazy for dating me. That I'm too good. That I'm that naive. That going out with me is similar to taking out a small child for the afternoon. Fun, but, thank goodness you can send them home at the end of the day."

Okay. That last? Was more her than Thomas. The meaning was the same. But the actual content was her own.

Filling up the glass, she turns around. "I mean, I have real power! You'd never know it. So why bother being nice? It doesn't get you anything. Here's your water. I made sure it was cold."

Phobos has posed:
    Accepting the water, Alexander is quiet for a time as he listens to her. He takes a sip and looks at her over the lip of the container, looks down... looks back up again. He nods a little, then takes another swallow.
    After a few of those lingering moments his eyebrows rise as he clears his throat slightly. "I think... I get what you mean, in a way." The God of Fear lifts a hand to rub thoughtfully at the back of his neck, then tilts his head a touch askance toward Willow.
    "My whole... thing..." He says so eloquently, gesturing to the side, "It comes with its own weirdness. Like I suppose anyone with a good chunk of power goes through this, right? I'm me, I'm all... whatever. Why do I have to tolerate all the... annoyances. Why play along with the rest of the world, right?"

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"You're a boy." As if that explains everything.

"You could scare everyone. They'd ignore you only once. But how about me? I used beautiful magic to complete the warding on the scythe, and everyone looked to Harry. Sometimes, of late, I shut my eyes and fill up the space, and then some. And there still reams of power deep within me waiting to be tapped.."

Willow sighs. "How do you do it?"

Phobos has posed:
    Alexander's lip twists up and when she declares him to be of the masculine gender his smile turns a little more toward the wry. He gives a nod and then says, "Well... this works for me, I don't know if it'll... translate."
    He takes another sip of the water then shifts a little to the side. "My family has that whole... well, they're notoriously jerks, right?" Alexander gestures with one hand, "They have oodles of power and what do they do with it? Selfish little things, ruin lives, be generally horrible. I figured a while ago I didn't want to go down that road. But..."
    His nose crinkles slightly, "I sometimes have those... vibes. Stupid mortals, how dare you! I am the God of Fear! Etcetera."
    His lip twitches again, "But I also realized, reflected on the things that I, you know, value. So I do things to... pursue the things that I value. If you fall down that hole like my family, the arrogance, the power madness. You can't go back really. So I suppose... find the things you value in life. The people. And do what you can to keep that part alive."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"The problem is.. I am already what you try to become. And.."

Willow sighs. "It's not that I wish to be all powerful - because I don't." So says she now. "It's just I want some recognition from people who know me. Everybody looks to Buffy for Slaying. And according to TYhomas, everyone turns to Harry for magic. He even said he would pat my ego later. It's now that I don't know people look to him, but to be confronted so blatantly hurt."

"I have power that nobody has seen me use." Except Rack. He encourages it. "Never mind. Why bother telling you."

Phobos has posed:
    Alexander scrunches up one eye as he tilts his head a little to the side, "Mmm, think you're missing the point." He chews his lower lip for a moment, those pale eyes distanced for a time. Then he looks back toward her, lifting his chin slightly. "You're not like struggling with monumental power issues, or the difficulty of being a godlike being or whatnot."
    He takes another piece of popcorn and pops it into his mouth, then chews. "Sounds like you're struggling with ego, wanting respect mainly. And if you truly have epic power then... that's not something that bothers you. Who cares what mortals think ultimately, right?"
    One hand uncurls as he gestures to the side, as if to emphasize his words, "If you've truly transcended or whatnot, then you wouldn't be worried about recognition. Sounds more like you're... trying to deal with just life foo. So along that line I can give you a piece of advice my dad gave me."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Godlike power? Maybe? Maybe not. What Rack had shown her was pretty close to godlike.

Still..

Willow *siiiiighed*. She didn't understand? Or he didn't. She wasn't about to explain. It was all jumbled up inside, threatening to burst forward.

Instead..

"Go ahead." Everyone else does. Why should he be so different?

Phobos has posed:
    "He told me," Alexander takes a deep breath, the other eye scrunching up now. "And mind that this is... paraphrased. He used a lot more swear words. But the gist was..."
    Alex spreads his hands, "For the truly exceptional, the idea of moraliy and ethics is... not as clear cut as it is for most. And to be one of them, you have to find your own way, your own path. To find what you value the most and work toward that. Which is a thing that... immortals, the powerful, they struggle with."
    He makes a face, "For a long time I had nothing, it's why I joined SHIELD, to give myself some... structure, even though I don't feel this... gnawing desire to do good. But pursuing this, adhering to these forms, it gave me a semblance of that structure and helped me eventually find something I valued that I've sort of shaped how I view right and wrong."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Willow was quiet for some time. When she spoke it was in a defeated voice, "I've lost my way. What I was isn't enough for me. Not really. Everyone but me has grown. Thank-you Phobos. I guess I have to think about it longer."

Phobos has posed:
    "Whatever you decide, we'll still be alright. Even if you decide to run off and become some sort of space child or whatever." Alex half-smiles a little, "I just care for me and mine, if something happens or goes down, please steer clear of them. That's all I care about really." And as he says that though it sounds like an oh so common phrase and turn of word, for him there is a good measure of sincerity.
    "Anyways." He pushes himself to his feet, "I'll go report back on the sharp stabby slayer thing." He stuffs his hands in his pockets, though only after tossing his bag of popcorn into a nearby waste bin.