"Careful, Dawnie."
"I'm always careful," Dawn retorted to Willow. She reached to close the door of the hotel room and jostled the box she carried. "Mostly always."
"Don't drop that!" Willow reached out a steadying hand.
"I've got it, I've got it," Dawn shifted the box onto her hip. "See? No problem." She took a quick glance at the contents. "All your little glass jars are still little glass jars. I told you it would be all right," she said smugly.
"Sorry," Willow sighed. "It's just that this stuff is..."
"...All combusty, I know."
"I didn't mean to go all nervous Nelly on you. It's just that I want to make sure that nothing goes wrong with the spell. I don't exactly have a history of these things going according to plan."
"You don't have to remind me."
Buffy heard the girls talking and walked in from the adjoining room. "Did you get it all?"
"Yes!" Willow picked up a small jar with a label that looked almost brown with age. "We finally found the Dithumen ashes. They were in this cute little pharmacy behind the Super Wal-Mart. I don't think the guy really knew what they were." She sat the jar on the dresser. "He didn't really have anything else that we could use, not like the Magic box used to."
"What does it do?" Buffy asked. It just looked like normal ashes to her.
"It enhances the dream experience. According to what Giles read, it will make the dream lucid, so that you should have some control over it."
Dawn chimed in, "We were thinking that you could notice things that you've missed or even interact with the people in the dream and ask some questions."
"But we have to be careful with it," Willow qualified. "It's really strong and a bit unstable."
Buffy frowned and carefully lifted the jar, "Not to mention really, really old. Is there an expiration date on this stuff?" She wasn't comforted by Willow's avoidance of eye contact.
"Well, um, we think it will be okay. Any Dithumen ashes are going to be old anyway since they all died out about four thousand years ago."
"What else have you got in there?" Buffy peered into the box as Dawn set it down and began removing the contents. Buffy noted her sister's happy chattering and all-around sense of bounciness, and decided to tamp down her own personal qualms.
"Here's a bottle of mineral oil, and candles of course. There's always candles." Dawn placed the objects on the dresser. "And then we have ground newt's feet and pretty crystals." She beamed. "Willow says that as soon as Giles is done with the translation we'll be ready to go."
"Glad you're so happy about putting a hex on me." Buffy tried to settle the butterflies that were playing tag in her stomach.
"Oh, it's not really a hex." Willow rushed to reassure her, "More like a charm. It shouldn't hurt a bit."
"If you say so," Buffy replied dubiously.
***
Buffy tried to sit still and calm as she concentrated on thinking of anything that seemed innocuous. A blue sky and clouds were always good. Yes, puffy white clouds that made shapes like cats and elephants and sports cars. Not ominous gray clouds that looked like they were boiling in the sky, preparing to unleash their fury on the world below.
~ Stop it Buffy. Happy thoughts. ~
Trees. Trees were nice. Trees were pretty. Trees were also very helpful in the slaying of vampires with their wood and pointy hardness. Vampires were bad - or they were supposed to be bad. Somehow that line had become blurry. She scowled. No it hadn't. Vampires were still of the bad. Souled vampires were blurry.
"Stop frowning Buffy, you're giving off bad karma."
"Shut up Andrew."
Buffy tried to clear her mind again. She tried to block out the breathing of the people who sat surrounding her, but she could tell that they were all there looking at her. It was not a comfortable feeling. Again she tried to shut it out and think of something else. She tried not to think about the yucky sensation of the oil that Willow had smeared on her forehead.
Willow walked slowly around the group assembled on the floor. They sat with hands linked, surrounding Buffy. She held the book in front of her and squinted at the tiny scribbles that were Giles' translation of the obscure text.
"Let all present here bear witness to my petition. Let them hear my words and let us all agree."
She paused and picked up the jar of newt and sprinkled the powder lightly on the floor around the circle as she walked.
"Let the dreamer see, Let the mystery be known."
She stopped again and this time picked up the jar of ashes. She took a small pinch and threw it onto the fat candle that was placed in front of Buffy. The flame surged with a loud hiss and turned purple before extinguishing. A wisp of fragrant smoke floated to the ceiling.
"It's done!" Willow announced.
"That's it?" Xander questioned, "This kind of spell I can live with."
"How do you feel?" Dawn asked Buffy.
Buffy considered this. Head still intact, check. Feet still on the floor, check. Skin still peachy-colored, check. "I'm fine," she turned to Giles, "So now what?"
"So now you go to sleep," he told her.
"Check." Buffy yawned. Sleep, she could handle.
"I'm always careful," Dawn retorted to Willow. She reached to close the door of the hotel room and jostled the box she carried. "Mostly always."
"Don't drop that!" Willow reached out a steadying hand.
"I've got it, I've got it," Dawn shifted the box onto her hip. "See? No problem." She took a quick glance at the contents. "All your little glass jars are still little glass jars. I told you it would be all right," she said smugly.
"Sorry," Willow sighed. "It's just that this stuff is..."
"...All combusty, I know."
"I didn't mean to go all nervous Nelly on you. It's just that I want to make sure that nothing goes wrong with the spell. I don't exactly have a history of these things going according to plan."
"You don't have to remind me."
Buffy heard the girls talking and walked in from the adjoining room. "Did you get it all?"
"Yes!" Willow picked up a small jar with a label that looked almost brown with age. "We finally found the Dithumen ashes. They were in this cute little pharmacy behind the Super Wal-Mart. I don't think the guy really knew what they were." She sat the jar on the dresser. "He didn't really have anything else that we could use, not like the Magic box used to."
"What does it do?" Buffy asked. It just looked like normal ashes to her.
"It enhances the dream experience. According to what Giles read, it will make the dream lucid, so that you should have some control over it."
Dawn chimed in, "We were thinking that you could notice things that you've missed or even interact with the people in the dream and ask some questions."
"But we have to be careful with it," Willow qualified. "It's really strong and a bit unstable."
Buffy frowned and carefully lifted the jar, "Not to mention really, really old. Is there an expiration date on this stuff?" She wasn't comforted by Willow's avoidance of eye contact.
"Well, um, we think it will be okay. Any Dithumen ashes are going to be old anyway since they all died out about four thousand years ago."
"What else have you got in there?" Buffy peered into the box as Dawn set it down and began removing the contents. Buffy noted her sister's happy chattering and all-around sense of bounciness, and decided to tamp down her own personal qualms.
"Here's a bottle of mineral oil, and candles of course. There's always candles." Dawn placed the objects on the dresser. "And then we have ground newt's feet and pretty crystals." She beamed. "Willow says that as soon as Giles is done with the translation we'll be ready to go."
"Glad you're so happy about putting a hex on me." Buffy tried to settle the butterflies that were playing tag in her stomach.
"Oh, it's not really a hex." Willow rushed to reassure her, "More like a charm. It shouldn't hurt a bit."
"If you say so," Buffy replied dubiously.
***
Buffy tried to sit still and calm as she concentrated on thinking of anything that seemed innocuous. A blue sky and clouds were always good. Yes, puffy white clouds that made shapes like cats and elephants and sports cars. Not ominous gray clouds that looked like they were boiling in the sky, preparing to unleash their fury on the world below.
~ Stop it Buffy. Happy thoughts. ~
Trees. Trees were nice. Trees were pretty. Trees were also very helpful in the slaying of vampires with their wood and pointy hardness. Vampires were bad - or they were supposed to be bad. Somehow that line had become blurry. She scowled. No it hadn't. Vampires were still of the bad. Souled vampires were blurry.
"Stop frowning Buffy, you're giving off bad karma."
"Shut up Andrew."
Buffy tried to clear her mind again. She tried to block out the breathing of the people who sat surrounding her, but she could tell that they were all there looking at her. It was not a comfortable feeling. Again she tried to shut it out and think of something else. She tried not to think about the yucky sensation of the oil that Willow had smeared on her forehead.
Willow walked slowly around the group assembled on the floor. They sat with hands linked, surrounding Buffy. She held the book in front of her and squinted at the tiny scribbles that were Giles' translation of the obscure text.
"Let all present here bear witness to my petition. Let them hear my words and let us all agree."
She paused and picked up the jar of newt and sprinkled the powder lightly on the floor around the circle as she walked.
"Let the dreamer see, Let the mystery be known."
She stopped again and this time picked up the jar of ashes. She took a small pinch and threw it onto the fat candle that was placed in front of Buffy. The flame surged with a loud hiss and turned purple before extinguishing. A wisp of fragrant smoke floated to the ceiling.
"It's done!" Willow announced.
"That's it?" Xander questioned, "This kind of spell I can live with."
"How do you feel?" Dawn asked Buffy.
Buffy considered this. Head still intact, check. Feet still on the floor, check. Skin still peachy-colored, check. "I'm fine," she turned to Giles, "So now what?"
"So now you go to sleep," he told her.
"Check." Buffy yawned. Sleep, she could handle.