Title: Way of the Rose
Author: Berserker Nightwitch
Chapter Title: Many Meetings
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"It's not working!"
"Yeah... I can see that..."
"Why isn't it working?"
"Maybe 'cause you two can't agree on the color of that phone, much less link minds and share the same thought?"
Three girls were lounging around Willow Rosenberg's college dorm room. Willow and her cousin, Isabella Delcomyne, who always went by her middle name, Raven, were sitting on the floor in the middle of the room facing each other. Raven's god sister, Gypsi Moates, was sprawled across Willow's bed, reading a magazine half-heartedly.
Raven and Willow sat cross-legged on the floor, facing each other. Between them was a rose. A week or so earlier, Willow and her girlfriend had tried to perform a spell that would float a rose, and then remove each petal. The spell backfired, so Willow enlisted the help of her 'secret family'. She and Raven couldn't manage to lift the rose off the floor even an inch.
"That can't be it!"
"Hey Willow?" Gypsi called, looking up from her magazine.
"What?"
"Why do you think that having Raven help you will make it clearer? Wouldn't it make more sense to try again with Tara?"
"She's busy right now. Besides, this way I can spend time with you guys again."
"You know another way?" Raven broke in, grinning broadly. Gypsi rolled her eyes, and Willow just looked up at her. "Let the Scooby crew know we exist! I mean, I know that Harris knows about me, but that's just 'cause of that one baby picture with the two of us in it."
"I know I should tell, but I don't know how the group would react to introducing more people."
"Please, Wil. It's not like we can't be useful! Izzy here can help you and Tara with the magic, witchy stuff, and I know how to fight."
"But you don't like to."
"I'm sure I could make some exceptions." Willow laughed at her cousins' antics.
Raven was a mysterious beauty, with her pale complexion and unique style. She was medium height at 5'6" with pale skin, silver-white hair that reached her hips with a streak covering her left eye that was deep black. Her wide, expressive eyes were a pale green that completed the ghostly look. She could look at someone with those eyes and they would give in to her every whim. Raven was Willow's cousin by their mothers.
Gypsi Anne Moates was as opposite as she could be from Raven. Where the first girl's skin was milky white, Gypsi's was a golden tan that came from both natural genes and living in the outdoors. Her 5'4" frame was petite and less fragile than she looked. At age nineteen, her amber eyes already held a wisdom that many people twice her age could never hope for. Her wavy hair was a midnight black so dark that, when light hit it, it looked blue. She wore her hair in a high ponytail that reached her mid-back and curled at the tips. She was not related to the cousins by blood, but she lived with Raven and her family. Raven's parents were named Gypsi's godparents at the younger girl's birth.
Both girls had moved to Sunnydale twelve years earlier. They had grown up together, and their parents were best friends, so when one decided to move, the other did as well. When Raven was eight, she discovered that she was a witch. Her parents helped her as best they could, but the girl eventually began to act up. When Gypsi moved in with them, though, the two kept each other restrained. Raven acted up constantly, and Gypsi had withdrawn into herself. Neither girl had any great love for the monsters inhabiting their town, though, and they helped Willow when needed.
"I just... I don't know... Everyone who gets involved with the Scooby Gang ends up... changing. Oz was a werewolf. Xander used to be so... I guess innocent would be the wrong word...."
"Naïve?"
"That works. I was shy and never really left the school grounds. Now Xander has sworn off love and his ex-girlfriend, an ex-vengeance demon, is dating Giles. I'm a witch and dating another one. Buffy and Cordelia were both ditzes, and now they're both helping to save the world! I think Giles has always been a bit funky. Angel lost his soul, regained it, and then left to be a champion in L.A, and then he came back here when his soul was made permanent and he's dating Buffy again. Riley used to be Mr. Perfect Soldier boy, and now he's running from the government because of us. I don't want the two of you changing."
"Wil, I think we're already a little off. We live in the Hellmouth, and we fight the things that go bump in the night. Just because we're with the Scoobies won't change that. We've got our own issues. Think about it. Izzy here used to be a nice, normal, quiet girl. Now she goes to parties where leather is the totally 'in' thing!"
"Also known as 'The Bronze'! Besides, you're not exactly normal anymore, either, Gyp."
"Yeah, I know. I'm just saying, it wouldn't hurt anything if we met and joined up with the Scoobies. We could be of more help, and you wouldn't have to lie about where you get all of your information," Gypsi said to Willow.
"I know... And I hate doing that, and about lying about the two of you... But I don't want you guys to get hurt."
"We won't. Don't worry about it so much. Besides, if things get too much, Raven can always witch us out of their memories!"
"Hey Willow! Are you in there? Could you open the door please?" Buffy called from the other side of the dorm door. Willow's eyes widened comically as she remembered the Scooby meeting scheduled for that afternoon. In her and Buffy's dorm room.
"S-Sure Buffy.... Just a minute...."
"Well, this certainly makes things more interesting!" Raven laughed.
"Yeah. I doubt the three of us are going to be able to be perfectly still and quiet in a closet for over two hours!"
"Three of you?"
"Rat would kinda give it away."
Willow looked at the white ball of fluff that was sleeping on Buffy's bed. Rat was Raven's pure white cat. His eyes were a luminescent green, and he was always making noise when he was awake.
"Then I guess you guys are going to meet the Scoobies..." Willow walked over to the door and pulled it open, letting in Buffy (who was carrying a large trunk of... something), Angel, who was also carrying something large, Riley, and Xander. The latter two were in the middle of some kind of argument.
"I'm telling you, it's better that way!"
"Says who?"
"Me!"
"And where did you hear that Black-Eyed Peas taste good when they're mixed with Strawberry jelly?"
"Um... I don't think you really want to know that, Riley."
"Why not?"
"Um... guys? There are other people here."
"Huh? Oh! Uh... Who are you?"
"Uh... Buffy, Angel, Riley, Xander, this is my cousin Raven Delcomyne and her god sister Gypsi Moates. They kinda help me with some of the spells I do."
"What do you mean, Willow?" Riley asked.
"Um, Raven's a witch, like me, and she helps me practice some of the spells I do."
"What are you?" Buffy asked Gypsi, who had moved to stand in a corner of the room. Her amber eyes were open wide with nerves and fear. She hated being forced into large groups of people. She may have wanted to meet the gang, but one at a time would have suited her better. Raven saw what was happening and growled low in her throat.
The pale girl pushed between her sister and the Slayer. "She's a human girl, and my sister. Is there a problem with that?"
"She's not just a human, and I thought Willow said you two are god sisters!"
"She's human enough, and she's lived with me for the past twelve years. That's long enough to call her a real sister."
"Would all of you please stop fighting!" Willow screamed. Everyone in the room turned to look at her in shock. "Buffy, you're my best friend, but I can't allow you to hurt or scare my cousins. They've both had it rough in their lives, and they don't need anything added to that. Raven, you know that Buffy is the Slayer, and as such she can sense what else Gypsi is. Besides, if it comes to it, Gypsi can defend herself. Gypsi, they aren't going to attack you. Try to be a little sociable? You are the ones who wanted to actually meet them."
"What's this? A fight between the Scoobies?" a mocking, British voice called out from around the corner. Spike walked into the room, followed by Tara, Giles, and Anya. Over the past few months, Spike had been growing his hair out, and by that point it was just brushing against his shoulders. He continued to dye it, and he left the gel out, so it curled. Anya was dating Giles, and her hair had grown to her mid-back. Giles and Tara hadn't changed much since the group had been formed.
"No Spike, this is Willow hiding the fact that she's related to another witch and a demon."
"They both look pretty normal to me," Giles spoke up.
"But we're not, are we? The Slayer can allow demons when they're neutered or they sleep with her, but if all that's stopping them from going on a rampage is a soul, the desire to help people, and the memory of her family, then she needs to be killed, right?" Raven demanded of the petite blonde standing in front of her. Her hair began to take on a silvery tinge, and her eyes became completely green. There was no white or pupil in her eyes. Lightning cracked around her, and her hair began to stand on end.
"Go ahead! Kill us! End the Moates line. Kill the last of her family. Kill me. But when you do, think of how your mother would feel if someone told her that a girl who is supposed to protect the good side killed her baby girl!"
"That's enough, Izzy." The soft voice had a calming effect on the whole room. Raven's hair returned to it's normal color and lay flat against her head again. Her eyes returned to their normal look as well.
"What? That's it? All of that witch power, and one little girl says stop and you have to obey? What's wron- " The bleached vampire's tirade was cut off as his vocal cords were rendered unusable.
"Yes, though I do think I can make an exception when it concerns a loudmouth like you."
"You did that?" Buffy asked, sounding almost as though she was in awe.
"Yes... why?"
"I've never seen someone shut him up that quickly. Can you mess up his coat, too?"
"I take it you're willing to accept us now?"
"Anyone who will do that to Spike and not attack us is fine by me."
Meanwhile, Gypsi was watching Spike with interest. His brash attitude amused her, and his body certainly wasn't hard to look at. Her eyes roamed over his body appreciatively until she felt a shock course through her. She drew in a sharp breath and put a hand to her head. Raven was immediately at her side.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah... It was only a little one this time."
"What was it?"
"It was a man with bleached blond hair, a rash attitude, and a quick, harsh tongue." She glared over at Spike. "He also had sharp teeth and a wrinkled forehead."
"Yeah... Didn't Willow tell you that Spike and Angel are vampires?"
"No. Gypsi fell asleep before we had that conversation."
"Why?"
"Um...."
"I don't do vampires well."
"Why not?"
"Because a vampire made me an orphan."
"Oh... I'm so sorry."
"It was twelve years ago. The same I started getting headaches."
"What happened?" Riley asked sympathetically. He felt bad for the two girls. If what Willow said was true, then neither of them had had great childhoods.
"I'd really rather not talk about it... if that's okay?"
"Sure. I won't make you talk about something if it bothers you."
Spike rolled his eyes at the others in the room. Riley was too Boy Scout for his own good, and it was obvious that, though she was pleased she didn't have to talk about it, the dark-haired girl was not impressed with his attitude. The vampire would have spoken about it, but that pale girl hadn't lifted the no-speaking spell from him yet.
The bleached menace looked the girls over again now that he had gotten over seeing them for the first time. Now that he thought about it, their scents were always clinging to the redheaded witch. The white witch was slightly taller than the other girl, and she seemed more suited to the Army lapdog than the Slayer had been. She was mostly loud and active, and Spike wondered if she and Willow really were cousins, or if one had been adopted.
The darker girl he could get used to seeing regularly. She was fairly quiet, but she could talk when she wanted to. He also liked the fact that she had been checking him out earlier. Of course, then she had to go and have an aversion to vampires. Just his luck. That didn't mean he wanted her though! Because he didn't. He was in no way attracted to the dark girl. She was just... different. There was something special about her. Aside from the fact that a vampire had murdered her father, yet she didn't make a habit of killing vampires. If she did, he and Angel would be dead... or deader. She just happened to be pretty. And kind. And caring. And easy to look at. And she was pulsing with power. Okay, so maybe there was a little attraction... but not too much!
Unknowingly, Riley was echoing the vampire's thoughts, only his were directed at the pale beauty in front of him.
"So... you're a witch, huh?" Riley asked the pale girl. Raven looked at him, an eyebrow raised in question.
"What of it?"
"Are you as powerful as Willow or Tara?"
"No," Willow answered, "she's stronger than both of us combined."
"Wow... the Initiative could really use your- Uhnnn..." Riley dropped to the ground in the middle of his sentence, clutching his stomach. After he ran out of the room, Spike smirked up at the pale witch.
Gypsi was the one to answer the group's unspoken question. "Really bad stomach cramps followed by an attack of mutant diarrhea." The others cringed, and even Spike and Angel made faces of disgust. "Hey, we've heard the stories of what happened when Buffy tried to join the Initiative. Why would a witch want to?"
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A/N: Okay, what did you think? I wrote this chapter before I wrote the outline, so if it's kinda sketchy, that's why. Please review and tell me what you think. I promise it will get better as I go.