9125/Catching Up...

Catching Up...
Date of Scene:	09 September 2019
Location:	The Magic Box, Sunnydale
Synopsis:	Giles and Willow catchup on drama and happenings in the world.
Cast of Characters:	Rupert Giles, Willow Rosenberg

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Rupert Giles has posed:
    Magic around the world has been haywire, and those with the proper senses can tell. It turns out that something from somewhere else is siphoning the magic power and harnessing it for...something. Nobody knows what. Or why. Or how. Giles loves a good mystery, of course.

    It's warm enough in Sunnydale that the door to the shop is propped open, and the windows are open to try and let better air flow come through. It's hot! Giles wanders about the store, sliding books back into place on shelves and just doing what he tends to do. He's dressed in his usual style of slacks and wingtips, though it is far too warm for a tweed coat or a sweatervest, so he wears a button-up and suspenders, with the sleeves rolled to his elbows. He adjusts his glasses as he peers down at a book and then climbs the ladder the shelve it.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Willow likely would be more aware of the siphoning if she weren't fully wrapped up in her own little mystery to solve. Of course that didn't mean she hadn't noticed - it just meant she'd not devoted any full amount of thought to the fact, or yet stumbled upon how wrong the whole thing was.

Not that it mattered, sooner or later she'd be brought up to snuff. What mattered now is she was supposed to be checking in with Giles as he was back in town. And she needed more sage. Willow almost always needed more sage.

The open door gets a smile, and she peeks in, calling out, "Hey!"

Rupert Giles has posed:
He turns about on the ladder. "Ah! Ms. Rosenberg. Doing well, I hope?" His crisply accented voice is warm and welcoming. He tucks the last book under his arm and climbs back down the stairs. "My replacement wasn't too much of...a trouble, was he?" Giles knows who has been standing in for him, and the man has mixed feelings on the man. Perhaps Constantine reminds him a bit too much of himself at one point in his life.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Willow's features blossom into a smile. "You're really back. And no, John has been nice. He's taken me on as an apprentice. Something about keeping me from temptation."

Willow wanders into the shop. "I mean, at first I wasn't sure he was actually a real magician. But then we got helping the Justice League with finding Superm-- I can tell you about that right? I mean, you're a Watcher so it's okay, right?" Because woah, if not, oops? "Anyway, he's actually really good. Even if he smells like a subway."

Rupert Giles has posed:
He furrows his brow a bit. "An apprentice. To him. Hrm." He drops it for the moment, though clearly looks a hint dubious in a way only Giles can really manage. He adjusts his glasses and looks down at the last book he has to put away. "You can tell me anything, Ms. Rosenberg. I had a visit from an Avenger just the other day, in fact. A very...well, a very nice young woman."

He turns and finds the slot he needs, sliding the book into place.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"Avengers aren't the same thing as spilling Justice League secrets," Willow points out rightly. "But I guess a Watcher can know. We had to help rescue Superman. He was kidnapped to Apokolips. I helped open the portal. And then I used force lightning on one of the bad guys, only it didn't do what Xander said." She wrinkles her nose at that. "I guess that's okay. But really I would have done it anyway to help. I mean, I'm a lot easier to stop than Superman, and they were trying to turn him into an old god. The Enchantress was not happy at all. I'm not sure she's done with everything, but at least we got him back."

As an afterthought, she adds, "I think John only did it because she tried to tempt me to join her.." Willow still wasn't entirely sure why Enchantress would be interested in her, but she did have to admit it was a little flattering. "So why did the Avenger lady visit?"

Rupert Giles has posed:
"I suppose that is true," he responds in regards to the Avengers. He is facing away when she explains all of what occured in space, and he slowly turns back towards her. "Oh dear. Well, I am very happy that you are safe! Sounds like a dreadful experience and place. I'm proud of you, though. Excellent work." Giles steps away from the bookshelf and makes his way into the back room, expecting her to follow. The door is open to the main room, either way. He spends a moment filling a kettle, clearly for a cup of tea. "It was in regards to study in weather manipulation and its possible connection to the situation with the ley lines. Wanda, she said her name was."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"It was a bit scary?" Willow has to admit. "But I liked it. I mean, usually it's Buffy who gets to be the one everyone needs. They needed us instead." There's a satisfied smile goes with that. "I got asked to be a member."

She follows along and finds a perch to sit while watching Giles make tea, noting that John did the same thing, oddly enough: made tea. Though Willow suspected Giles was more a tea drinker all the time, and for John it was the exception. "You know, I can't picture you and John friends."

"Weather manipulation? And wait.. the ley lines? So that's really a thing, not just..." Willow flushes slightly. "I was thinking it had to do with the things I've been hunting down. Oh gosh, I feel silly now."

Rupert Giles has posed:
    "Mmmn," is all that Giles states in regards to being friends with John. "He's a complicated man." As is Giles, even if he doesn't talk about it, and doesn't seem it. He waves off her feeling silly and turns the kettle on. He leans back against the counter and turns to watch her.

"No, quite real. Something off-world is siphoning energy from the ley lines, and it is somehow effecting weather. So, I helped her with some old texts involving such. She is supposed to contact me again soon, I believe." There's almost a sort of boyish interest in the man's tone when he says that, but he is quick to hide it.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"Oh, I didn't mean it wasn't real. It's just these items we're looking for, they kind of are manipulating things.." Willow nods. That's the simplest explanation. And, as well, she's now thinking about the fact that the two things are unrelated.

"Wait. Isn't that very bad? I mean, we don't really know all the things that ley lines do, do we?" Other than power magic. "If they're stabilizing something" - or several somethings - "won't that cause upsets?"

Not to mention, how were people just casual about the whole matter, like they'd say 'oh, someone is going around and siphoning gas out of people's tanks - it's no biggie'. Willow was positively certain those in the magic community should be more distressed about the whole matter.

"Are we doing anything?" She was already thinking, should she tell John, and was there something she could scry for to help. His boyish look isn't missed, even if he covers it up quickly, the girl fast to say, "I mean if you don't think I'll be a bother.." Then it hits her. He wasn't hiding interest in the puzzle, but in the girl.

Willow blinks owlishly, and quietly mutters an embarrassed, "oh."

Rupert Giles has posed:
"It will and is causing upsets, yes. There are apparently a lot of folks looking into it. A few others have come to me for information on it, while I sadly have very little. I have been away, after all."

"I am certain a lot of people are doing things." The kettle whistles and he turns about. He turns it off and readies two cups. He makes two cups of tea before he approaches and holds on out to the redhead. "I am certain you would be a great help to these people who are looking into the situation. A true aid."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Willows face scrunches up as she considers things. "I guess? Though I don't actually know any of them." Which was nothing but true. It was all fine and well to be told you could be a help, when not a soul of them knew you existed, and likewise, you didn't know them either.

"I like my tea with milk, please. And some sugar. Not a whole lot. Just two spoons." A pause. "Please."

Rupert Giles has posed:
He nods softly and makes her tea properly. He only adds a hint of milk to his. No sugar. "I honestly don't know that many of them, either. Not yet, anyways. The world is much smaller then it was when I was comin up, and it's easier to know people and about them. Even in our community." Giles moves over and offers her the cup of tea, holding his own in his other hand.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Willow happily accepts her tea, and cups the delicate porcelain thing two handed so that the handle was facing away from her. "But you know them, right? You could introdcue me." Because this wasn't Buffy territory. If you wanted to meet Slayer sorts, Buffy was your girl. Magical sorts? Willow had John and Giles to lean on, and Willow was fairly certain, based on her experiences with the Justice League, that she might want to try the magical sorts Giles knew first.

Rupert Giles has posed:
"I can, yes," he offers after a momth. "But these are...well. Not all of these people are good ones. Not all are the sorts you want to deal with on a regular basis. Mad gods and ancient sorcerors. Walking acronyms. Seething chaos with skin. But..." He shrugs a bit, glancing down into his mug.

"I suppose you've dealt with plenty by now, hmm?"

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"Not so many as you might think," Willow says quietly, running thorugh a mental tally. "Mostly we've dealt with things that Buffy dealt with. Even when Sam was here." It wasn't that Willow was useless to the Scoobies, but that by the time they were dealing with the actual threat, magic wasn't the deciding factor of success. In truth, Willow hadn't dealt with a lot of the magical sorts..

"Mostly just the ones I met while we were helping the Justice League." A thoughtful frown. "Not all of them were nice. But I can't help if I don't know anyone, and John's friends.." Willow stopped short of pointing out he'd slept with all of them.

Rupert Giles has posed:
"Well, I would be happy to try and reach out for you. Just be careful. You're a smart girl, though. I trust you to be such." He smiles softly and adjusts his glasses before he brings his tea to his lips for a small sip. "Anything else happening around here while I have been gone?," he asks curiously.

He brushes his hand down over his shirt, adjusting his suspenders.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"They know you better than they know me," Willow says with a shy smile. After all, she might have proven her chops, but ultimately she'd been a high school girl working with a bunch of high school kids. Hardly a pedigree to walk up to the wizardly world and proclaim yourself an equal. But now that she'd been out in the wider world and participating, Willow was feeling her oats and wanting to expand her horizons.

She could ask John, but if Giles was willing... Heck, she could ask both!

"Mm, Spike has been hanging around. He and Buffy were sort of maybe liking each other. I don't know now. She seems interested in Brian. Oz' band has a tour, so he's off. We didn't really hit if off too well when he got back."

She sounds sad about that. And it was less they hadn't hit it off then they had different priorities right now. She wanted to take things slowly and continue to blossom in her newfound confidence and skills, and he wanted to pick right back up from where they'd left off in high school.

"Oh, and I've been hunting down these ritual items for a friend of Sam. Sam Winchester - you probably don't know him? He's a Hunter. He says his friend is an angel, and the book we're looking for was lost and thought destroyed."

It had been a process tracking the ritual items down one by one.

"Oh, and the Superman thing."

If there was anything else, Willow hadn't been informed. Unless Giles was interested in how she was doing in school.

Rupert Giles has posed:
Giles purses his lip slightly when he hears about Spike, and the man nods a little bit. "Ah, the trials of the young," he says softly to himself, bringing his tea back to his lips. The man makes his way over to one of the weapon displays and begins resorting them, as they appears to be rather out of order.

"I have heard of the Winchesters. I believe I crossed paths with their father some years ago. Briefly." His tone is hard to read on that fact, and he finishes sorting the weapons before he turns back.

"Quite a bit has happened. I have not had a chance to see Buffy since returning. Hopefully it will not be long."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"She's been busy," Willow beams. "But everyone will be happy to see you're back."

Most especially John who would no longer be responsible for the entire lot of them, though he'd already assured Willow he'd remain her mentor. She'd been afraid she'd be relegated back to figuring things out rather more or less without another practitioner.

"Wait - I can still learn from John, right? I mean, even if you're back." Because toes had been stepped on for less, and Willow didn't want to be that girl.

Rupert Giles has posed:
The man blinks at that. He is about to give one answer, but he can hear the tone in her voice and can see the look in her eyes. He nods, after a moment, turning back to reassemble the next rack of weaponry.

"Of course you can stay learning under John. As long as he isn't being..." Inappropriate? John-like? "...UNpleasant, and you feel you are learning well under him, you have every right to continue doing so."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"Oh, you too! It's just.." How could she explain it? She wanted more. All of it. All the insights. It was like school - she couldn't just pin down one thing she wanted, she wanted to study everything she could. "He's not like that with me," she assures. "And he lets me use the library at the House of Mystery. I think the House likes me? It keeps showing me books I'm looking for when I need them."

Rupert Giles has posed:
"I..." He nods, after a moment. "...Good." He takes another sip of his tea and turns back, making his way over to the table. "Has Xander been around? Anya? ...Any of the others? I know everyone has been quite busy with the whole...'being a young adult' business."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
@r"Everyone's been.. busy?" Willow has to admit that sheepishly. It wasn't like she got back to Sunnydale as often as she'd have liked. She'd been busy with school and other business. It had eaten up more of her time than she'd expected, and to be honest, in some ways she was glad. She liked who she was becoming outside of the small town girl she'd been.

Okay, she was still pretty small town girl, but she still was enjoying spreading her wings.

Rupert Giles has posed:
Giles is about to respond to that when he hears a customer in the main room. He sets his tea down and smiles softly at Willow. "Duty calls." He nods to her and passes by, making his way back out into the main room.

"Good afternoon! We have a lovely special on dreamcatchers, made on the local reservation. Can't keep them on the shelves. Also, we have a new selection of fairy tales..."