The two women moved hurriedly down the rapidly darkening streets. The
smaller woman wore a heavy gray duffel coat, the other a long black knit.
Both wore hoods, hiding their hair colour and shading their eyes. They were
nearly invisible against the bleak backdrop of the darkened buildings.
There came a low snarl from behind a doorway. A man stepped out in front of the two -no, not a man. His grotesquely disfigured forehead and mouthful of sharp teeth were his defining features. He smiled and chuckled at his luck.
The smaller woman raised her hand distractedly and muttered under her breath.
"Personae"
The creature raised its eyebrows and deferred to the two female vampires whose way he was barring. As he blended back into the wall, the women rushed past, allowing the temporary glamour to dissolve.
Finally they reached their destination. Stepping in through the door of the shop, they removed their coats revealing blonde and red hair beneath the hoods. Willow and Tara stood in the entrance of the Magic Box, their faces visibly relaxing in the haven of light within the store.
Giles sighed audibly. "You both know that this is not the time to be walking about so late. It's simply not safe and I don't see how any of us could do much if the two of you were injured." His face softened a little. The little creases around his eyes seemed to pain him as he pulled his glasses off and wiped the back of his hand against his brow.
"I know. Sorry..it's just.well, sorry." Tara looked down. She felt safe with Willow around but she knew that there were some things that even the two of them would be hard pressed to deal with these days.
"Giles, it's okay. We're okay. We were just packing and lost track of time." Willow walked to the table and sat down facing Giles, Anya and Xander. Tara sat down beside her. There were two extra chairs which had been removed from the table and lined up behind the sales counter. The shelves of the store were nearly bare and there was evidence of newly vacated space. The dust on some of the higher shelves that still bore the imprints of heavy books, recently removed.
"Well, we're all here. We should drink something. I brought Bourbon. When everyone's upset, it's best to get very drunk as soon as possible." Anya pulled a bottle out of her purse. Xander looked at her somewhat strangely. Then he picked up the bottle and looked around for some glasses. Anya proceeded to extract a small package of disposable cups from said purse and the pouring began.
"While becoming intoxicated may seem terribly tempting, is this really the time for it? We must discuss what we're going to do next."
"Next?" Everyone looked at Willow. "Giles, there is no next. It's over. If we don't get out of here, everything with teeth is going to come after us and spread little Scooby bits all over Sunnydale." Her voice was hollow and her expression looked to be cracking a little around the edges. "It's over."
"Yes. Well." Everyone drank.
There came a low snarl from behind a doorway. A man stepped out in front of the two -no, not a man. His grotesquely disfigured forehead and mouthful of sharp teeth were his defining features. He smiled and chuckled at his luck.
The smaller woman raised her hand distractedly and muttered under her breath.
"Personae"
The creature raised its eyebrows and deferred to the two female vampires whose way he was barring. As he blended back into the wall, the women rushed past, allowing the temporary glamour to dissolve.
Finally they reached their destination. Stepping in through the door of the shop, they removed their coats revealing blonde and red hair beneath the hoods. Willow and Tara stood in the entrance of the Magic Box, their faces visibly relaxing in the haven of light within the store.
Giles sighed audibly. "You both know that this is not the time to be walking about so late. It's simply not safe and I don't see how any of us could do much if the two of you were injured." His face softened a little. The little creases around his eyes seemed to pain him as he pulled his glasses off and wiped the back of his hand against his brow.
"I know. Sorry..it's just.well, sorry." Tara looked down. She felt safe with Willow around but she knew that there were some things that even the two of them would be hard pressed to deal with these days.
"Giles, it's okay. We're okay. We were just packing and lost track of time." Willow walked to the table and sat down facing Giles, Anya and Xander. Tara sat down beside her. There were two extra chairs which had been removed from the table and lined up behind the sales counter. The shelves of the store were nearly bare and there was evidence of newly vacated space. The dust on some of the higher shelves that still bore the imprints of heavy books, recently removed.
"Well, we're all here. We should drink something. I brought Bourbon. When everyone's upset, it's best to get very drunk as soon as possible." Anya pulled a bottle out of her purse. Xander looked at her somewhat strangely. Then he picked up the bottle and looked around for some glasses. Anya proceeded to extract a small package of disposable cups from said purse and the pouring began.
"While becoming intoxicated may seem terribly tempting, is this really the time for it? We must discuss what we're going to do next."
"Next?" Everyone looked at Willow. "Giles, there is no next. It's over. If we don't get out of here, everything with teeth is going to come after us and spread little Scooby bits all over Sunnydale." Her voice was hollow and her expression looked to be cracking a little around the edges. "It's over."
"Yes. Well." Everyone drank.
