599/Magic in a Box

Magic in a Box
Date of Scene:	25 May 2017
Location:	Sunnydale, Bludhaven
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Buffy Summers, Willow Rosenberg

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Buffy Summers has posed:
Giles may not be in Sunnydale right now, but he had been for the past three years and in that time he'd stamped it into Buffy's head that she needed to train, train, train, train. And it'd worked, it'd built a routine within the Slayer and she'd stuck to it now out of habbit because if she veered away from it now... she felt 'wrong'.

This is where she was tonight, in the training room of the back of the Magic Box. Kicks, punches and karate chops being delivered to the training dummies while the voice of Giles echoed in her head... Because... Giles had literally left Tapes of his voice for her to play to run her through her routines, he was THAT weird.

An old fashioned radio sits on the window sill in here, playing Giles's voice to some classical music in the background something he no doubt thought was appropriate for the session.

Buffy was wearing a white hoodie with the hood up, some black exercises pants and some nice new running shoes. Twirling a kick she slammed the reinforced training dummuy hard and then paused a moment to go get a drink of water from her sports bottle.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Sitting in the training room while Buffy trains, Willow is trying to be supportive while Giles is away. But there is also research to be done. Always research on one thing or another. At least right now, it's for her own amusement. New spells and incantations to add to her repetoire.

She pauses in her work to watch Buffy workout, her eyes filled with wonder at the skill of the Slayer. She knows that she would never be able to do anything nearly as impressive unless a lot of magic was involved.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy took her drink of water and then reached up to pull her white hood down off of her head and let it lay there behind her neck. She ran a hand through her steamy blonde hair and then turned around to look at her friend. She watched Willow toil away with her witchcraft knowing that she would never be able to do anything nearly as impressive unless a lot of magic were involved.

"I think Spike is stalking me." She said then to Willow with a exhale as she walked to where the redhead was seated and she dropped down onto the floor in front of her, sprawling her legs out on the soft exercise mat. "He's leaving cigarettes outside my window. And I think I saw him at the mall this afternoon, hiding behind a cotton candy machine... with a blanket over his head..."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Willow closes the book in her lap as Buffy comes over and sits down with her. "Spike was never really what one would call mentally stable, Buffy. Now that he can't kill you, all that energy that has been focussed on you has no where to go. Vampires always obsess over the Slayer. Only, really, Spike is barely a vampire anymore."

Willow looks thoughtful, frowning softly. "It's almost enough to make you feel sorry for him. But, not really. Because that would be weird."

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy listened to her friend's words while she heard Giles talking about Slayer-lore on the radio behind her... as well as telling her to keep up her pace and that she was doing a good job... while in reality, Buffy was pulling a box of gumdrops out of her hoodie that she'd gotten at the movie theater last night and was popping one into her mouth and then offering some to Willow with a jiggle of the little cardboard box.

"I honestly thought he'd dust himself by now." Buffy replied to Will. "But apparently he's as stubborn as he is obsessed with hair products." She exhaled heavily then. "That ghost the other night in the graveyard, that was a first, huh? Haven't had a lot of ghosts to deal with around here. Especially ones that don't want us all dead." She was still thinking about him primarily because he mentioned Angel. "Do you think Angel sent him here to spy on us? Should we go to Angel's place and tell him to stop sending his cronies at us!?" She grinned then at her friend.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Willow slips her fingers into the box to grab herself a gumdrop, smiling when she gets a yellow one. In truth, green is her favourite flavor, but the green ones look too much like little frogs. *shudder* She pops the gumdrop in her mouth, sucking on it slowly as she thinks on the matter.

"He's been around for a hundred years. Fought and killed two other Slayers. To be honest, I'm not surprised that the chip hasn't made himself just off himself. As much of a pain in the a... backside as he may be, he has to have some talent." She then leans back against the wall and thinks about the ghost. "That *was* weird. I've tried doing some research on ghosts, but I've found nothing about a friendly helpful instance of one. And I don't think it's Angel's style to spy on you, Buffy. I just think maybe he gets worried sometimes and ... just wants to keep an eye on you. Not spying. Eyeing."

Buffy Summers has posed:
"Well then thats two vampires I have eyeing me." Buffy said in a downtrodden tone of voice as she looked down at her hoodie and was picking specks of dirt off of it that had flown onto her while she was beating the splinters out of that training dummy.

Buffy exhaled then and gave up on that fruitless endeavor. She looked up and over at Willow. "So what about you?" She asked her with a chipper tone returned to her voice and a smile on her lips. "You were collecting grave moss that night? What was that for?" She asked, hoping to sound intrigued in the Witch's world. "Anything I can help with? Are you... conjuring up a spell to bring Elvis back to life?" She asked with a big grin. "Cause if so, I can think of a ton of celebrities I'd rather have back than Elvis. Not that there's anything wrong with him, just... ya know... I got priorities."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"Well, it would make sense though. Both of them don't kill people, for different reasons. But they both still have the passion and drive of a vampire to go after the Slayer. It's sorta built into the Vampire DNA. But... if they don't want, or can't, kill you, where does that passion go?" The redhead pauses then and contemplates what she just said. "I think I've been reading ahead in my psych 101 books too much."

Talking about witchy stuff always makes Willow bubbly and excited and this time is no different. She smiles brightly and leans in to speak in a conspiratorial tone even though no one else is in the room. "I've been working on a spell that, well, if it works right, could act like a temporary chip thing on any vampire. You just throw this dust on them and bam! They can't hurt people till the next night. I figure it would make things super easy for you if the vampires can't attack you back when you're trying to dust them."

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy seemed a bit confused by the Vampire Psychology spiel spoken to her and she just shook her head. "Maybe you're right." She said. "I mean, you're always right, so you have to be, right?" She asked then with a grin and uncapped her bottle of water for another drink.

"Anti-fighty Vamps?" She asked then, setting to the bottle down again on the mat. "Seems like it takes some of the fun out of it, but I guess if you figure that out then it'd be pretty darn super." She grinned at Willow for a moment, but the grin faded. "Wait, what would happen if the anti-fighty dust landed on me?" She asked then, a look of total uncertainty showing on her face then.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Willow has to laugh at Buffy's conclusion. "If I was always right, then that would mean I was never wrong. And that 740 on my writing SAT proves that that is not the case." Yep, she is not going to forget her 'abysmal' score on her SATS. Ever.

Buffy brings up a very good point, one that she had not yet considered about the Anti-Fighty dust. "I don't actually know. Oh, that could be very, very bad.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy waved a hand at the SAT stuff. "Those tests are archaic and mean absolutely nothing. They only exist to appease politicians and make them feel like America's education system isn't completely trash." Buffy had scored higher than Willow, and she'd been keeping that information hidden/locked away/safeguarded.... she didn't want to see the Witch have a meltdown!

A grin was given then to Will. "Yes, please... do not punch neuter me in a fight. Okay?" She teased the Witch. "I'm all for your incantations and magic missile spells... but I truly do not want to turn into a pacificist whilst in the middle of a good old fashioned butt stomping."

Buffy pulled another gumdrop out of the box, it was a green one. She held it up and exhaled. "These are the worst." She quietly said and tossed it over her shoulder where it rolled across the floor.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Willow's eyes go wide at the smack talk about the SATS. "No! They mean everything! Colleges base almost all of their acceptance criteria on the SATS."

"No, there will be no neutering of Buffy. Of punches or other things. Because when college starts, there are going to be all sorts of cute college guys and you can get back on the dating horse." She nods her head eagerly, trying to help Buffy forget the whole Angell thing.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy perked up when Willow mentioned cute college guys. "Now you're talking my language, Smart Girl." She said at her friend with a big smile. "So, which school are we going to anyway? Please tell me its far away from Sunnydale. I want to be as far..." She sighed then and shook her head. "Giles will never let me go anywhere but here. And... I'm pretty sure that mom won't be up for amy college education that is further than this town either."

A heavy sigh and Buffy fell back onto the mat with a loud HUFF. "I'm cursed." She said, staring up at the ceiling of Giles' Dojo. "I've been cursed since I was born... and its only going to keep being cursey for the rest of my existence."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Willow watches as her best friend realizes that she can't really leave the Hellmouth for her schooling. It sucks, but at least she didn't have to be the one to point out the fact. She flops down on the floor to lay down beside her friend, on her stomach and leaning on her elbows.

"Well, how is this for something to make your curse feel a little less curse-y. I've sent in my paperwork for Sunnydale University. I'm staying here with you."

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy stared at the ceiling up to the point where Willow said that. It made her turn her head over to look at the redhead. "What?" She said. "Really?" She asked. "Willow... thats... amazingly awesome and kind... and also... super duper guilty trippy!"

Buffy set up onto her own elbows then turned onto her side to look at the other. "You could go anywhere... I mean, screw the SATS, you could still get in anywhere... Why would you slum it here in Lameydale? I mean, thats for people like... Xander and me, not smart people like you." She was concerned that Willow would make a severe mistake, all just in the name of helping her with the Slayer-stuff.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Willow smiles from ear to ear at Buffy's reaction. "I thought about it. A lot. And you know, I could go anywhere. But here, this is where the Hellmouth is. And I think I've helped you out a lot over the years. It feels good, knowing I've made a difference. So, I want to stay and to help you. Because, this is important. More important then anyone will ever really realize. We're saving the world! And sure, no one knows. But we know, Buffy."

"And besides, I will excel no matter where I go to school."

Buffy Summers has posed:
"Excel?" Buffy repeated then after hearing this from her friend. "Please... You're gonna be running the dump after the first semester." She gave Willow a big grin and went to hug her friend. "This means a lot to me." She told the redhead. "You do help... you all do. I don't know what I'd do without you guys, Xander and all..." And she really didn't know how she'd cope with this Slayer-life without this close-knit group of friends she had now.

"I'm going to make sure that we're roomies, okay?" She said then, trying not to tear up to know that Willow would be with her at college. Something she was terrified of, the thought of terrorizing a college like she had so many highschools already.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"Oooh! College roomies! That sounds fun. It will be like a sleep over every night! And we can have a hanky system for the doorknob! For, you know, when you don't want to be disturbed. Because, yeah, cute college guys." She giggles then and is all smiles. Making Buffy happy is *nice*.

"Besides! I finally got Giles to get this place the way I like it. I don't want to have to figure out which magic shops are real and which are just fancy candle shops all over again."

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy listened to this as Willow laid it out there and it made her grin and shove her hands together with glee. "Oooh! I love fancy candle shops!" She said in a super eager voice before flashing Willow a grin, she was just teasing her friend a little. Buffy would go to stand up then and offer Will a hand to help her up.

"Come on, lets go see what the others are doing." She said then, wiggling her fingers enticingly.