Dawn stood impatiently tapping her fingertips against the hard surface of the work top as she watched her popcorn slowly rotating on the glass plate inside the microwave. The popping had slowed down somewhat and so she knew it would soon be ready. She grabbed her bowl as the timer wound down, watching the electronic read numbers flick closer and closer to zero. She grabbed the door and opened it before the microwave could even signal it had finished and pulled out the packet of popped kernels, quickly upending it into her bowl and chucking the empty packet in the bin as it burned her fingers.
"Hot, hot, hot." She muttered with a wince, sucking her fingertips as she made her way out of the kitchen and into the living room where the rest of the Scoobies were gathered around a game of Lord of the Rings Risk (at Xander's insistence). Empty pizza boxes were stacked to one side as bowls of corn chips, a box of doughnuts, and now popcorn took their place. The TV was on in the background, volume on low.
"You're on Buffy's team." Xander told her as she set the bowl down on the edge of the coffee table. The stacks of books that had previously swamped the surface had since been put away. Two days had passed since they had defeated the wendigo. The bust lips and cut fingers, the grazes and bruises were still healing. The police still hadn't spun their tale, merely informing the swarming journalists and news crews that a group of trespassers had stumbled across several bodies and that the investigation was ongoing.
"I need a nerd to help me." Buffy announced, leaning forwards to snag a handful of chips.
"Gee, thanks…" Dawn said sarcastically as she joined her sister at one end of the table.
"I really don't see why we can't just play Cluedo." Giles grumbled while surveying the board.
"It'll be fun!" Willow said excitedly, sat cross legged on the floor with Tara. "We can strategize against each other and, oh! Oh! It can be a training exercise!" She grinned up at the ex-Watcher, pleased with herself for finding a lesson in the game.
"I don't think the minions of Hell will be coming at us via board games." Giles told her.
"You never know." Kennedy replied, scrutinizing the tiny plastic army pieces. Cat opened her mouth to disagree with her, and promptly closed it again.
"Actually I wouldn't put it past them." She said fairly.
"Haven't you seen Harry Potter?" Dawn asked him. "Giant chess. You should teach us to play chess."
"Normal chess doesn't beat you up." Cat said before Giles could respond.
"Hey, look!" Willow pointed to the TV. Whatever program had been on before had finished and been replaced by the news. A grim reporter was being filmed in front of the warehouses they had fought the wendigo amongst. Buffy snatched up the TV remote and wound up the volume.
"…Police have come to the conclusion that the attacks were carried out by a pack of rabid coyotes that dragged their victims to these very warehouses."
The group stared in silence as the reporter continued, naming the victims and warning viewers to be cautious when out and about at night.
"Rabid…Coyotes…" Buffy repeated, dumbfounded.
"Where do they come up with these things?" Cat asked, caught somewhere between amusement and scorn.
"It's like crocs in sewers." Xander agreed.
"To be fair they can't say what it really is." Dawn said. "No one would believe them."
"…Paranormal investigation gone wrong." They grew quiet once more as their attention was drawn back to the TV. The news anchor stared sincerely into the camera as an image of a suitably daunting and overgrown property was brought up on screen. "Three teenagers were discovered dead after entering the allegedly haunted building. Cause is uncertain and police are investigating."
Cat glanced at Buffy, raising one eyebrow.
"Here we go again…"
The End!