Beth listened to the sound of the crowd around her, trying to ignore the feeling of the hard metal bench on her tailbone. Being a slayer basically meant that she had a metabolism that was on crack, leaving little behind to provide a cushion between her spine and whatever it sat on. Currently, that was a hard metal bench that was also probably pretty dirty.
Until today, she hadn't even known where the school's stadium was (right off the 520, apparently—so that's what that oddly shaped concrete monstrosity was). Now she knew where it was and how much it hurt to sit on its benches for two straight hours. God, if only she'd been smart like that old couple next to her and gotten some of those chairs to put over it.
"So explain to me again what's going on," she asked as she watched a vaguely human-shaped spec run their way across the field, followed by a mass of other vaguely human-shaped specs.
"I'm not quite sure," Daniel replied, frowning slightly. "I have devoted very little of my time to understanding the game of football and I have only begun to read up on it yesterday afternoon. I think that one is the quarterback. I heard he is very important."
"So he's the one with the ball?" she asked, pointing at the man who had just been tackled. She winced slightly when they had done so, being very familiar with how easily human bodies could be broken. No wonder they wore so much padding; this game was vicious. Earlier, one of the opposing team's player had rushed one player in a similar manner she had done to a demon only last week. In fact, he was more successful than she had been (maybe she ought to play football and learn a few things; God only knew she was built for it).
"No," he replied, though he sounded uncertain. He looked down at the phone in his hand (Football for Dummies, probably). "That's the running back. Or wait, no, maybe—"
"It's a possibility," she cut in, hoping to save him. He was beginning to look stressed. "Got it. Why do they call it football anyway?" she asked. "There's very little foot involved. Now, actual football—like FIFA—involves foot. It's all foot. With head sometimes."
"Oh, I actually know this one," he piped up, sounding excited. "Actually—"
"Got some snacks," Nadja interrupted, sitting herself on the other side of Daniel, completely oblivious that he had just been about to spout off another fun football fact for the evening (the whole car ride had been full of them; it seemed while he couldn't get the rules of the sport down, he sure had quite the arsenal of quirky little things about the sports mechanics and design).
"Next time, I'm going," Beth told her, taking the offered pretzel (she'd never seen one this big. It was amazing!). "This seat hurts my arse."
"I told you to bring a jacket," Nadja scolded, taking a large sip of her soda before offering it to Daniel. "Want some?"
His eyes widened and he shook his head vigorously.
"I thought you said that because I might get cold," Beth told her with an eye roll. "I thought it was like a mum thing."
"Well, it does get cold," she responded, pulling her own jacket tighter around her. "And you can deal. Look, we're already nearing the end of the third quarter."
"Remind me again: does it matter if we win?" Beth asked.
"No, but it's preferable," Nadja told her. "Homecoming is just a game."
"That's like every other game then," she stated.
"No, it's different," Nadja argued. "There's a dance."
"But the game is no different than any other."
"I believe the significance of the game is given by the title," Daniel suggested to her. "It is simply more important than any other game because it is."
"Well, that's dumb," she muttered, licking the salt and fake butter off her fingers.
"It's about the experience," Nadja chided. "And there's the Homecoming dance tomorrow. We're going to that."
"I know, I said we would, didn't I?" she groaned. "I bought the dress and everything and my mum is just about over the moon with the whole thing."
"What are you wearing?" Daniel asked. "My mother suggested corsages and she wants to make sure they match."
"I'm going in white," Nadja told him.
"Black," Beth answered. "We're monochromatic. I can't wear black for my Prom dress. My mum said so. I think she's leaning towards a princess dress, but I think I can talk my way into an empire waistline."
"Ooh, look at you learning dress lingo," Nadja teased. "Bet you thought you'd never see that day."
She rolled her eyes. "I've accompanied my mum to the shops often enough as a child to know a few things about clothes. Like, I know how to tell a knock-off from the real thing. It's all about the stitching."
"I'm sure that'll come in handy if you ever move beyond Hot Topic," Nadja snorted.
"Hey! I do not shop there!"
Something must have happened on the field as the crowd stood up and let out roaring cheers. "I think something just happened," Daniel stated rather dumbly, looking around at all the people.
"What? What?" Beth asked, standing up to look at the field. "Nadja?"
She shrugged. "Heck if I know. I don't watch football. My family's more into hockey."
Beth huffed, slumping back down into her seat. "Then why did you want to come to this game?"
"Like I said, experience," Nadja reminded her. "We'll have this memory forever."
"Unless Alzheimer's runs in one of our families," Daniel commented. "I should be safe."
"Good for you," Beth told him, a humorous smile of her face.
"You know, Zack used to want to be a footballer," Nadja started.
"Really?" Beth asked, trying to picture stick-thin Zack standing beside one of the larger men (a "wide receiver," according to Daniel) dressed in a jersey.
"Yeah, but only because of the letterman, I think," Nadja explained. "See, you're supposed to give it to a girl if you have one, so I think he romanticized the whole thing. I should also mention he was eleven when he thought this."
"Did he ever go to any games?" Beth inquired. She tried not to think about who Zack would have given a letterman jacket to, but her brain had different ideas, going through all the possible options (she remembered a lot of pretty upperclassmen from her freshman year).
"I think one of his friends played on the team, but I don't know if he ever went," Nadja answered. "He wasn't much for school spirit either."
"Judging from the amount of empty seats here, I'd say that goes for most of the school," she commented, looking around. "Looks like mostly parents and friends."
"Well, this isn't a small southern town," Nadja snorted. "We have actual football."
"Then why aren't we there?" she cried. She barely liked American football as it was, but they weren't even at the more legitimate levels?
"Sure, as soon as you want to shell out big money to see the Seahawks," Nadja retorted. "You can't beat St. Jules' Vikings tickets for three dollars with your student ID. Tell me when the Seahawks offer that."
"My father likes the Seahawks," Daniel added, almost thoughtfully.
If he was going to say anything more, Beth didn't know, as the entire football game was interrupted by a tremor that rocked the stadium. It was short-lived and the bleachers only shuddered a little, but it was enough to stop the players down on the field and for the crowd to murmur in confusion. It was just as short-lived as the tremor though, as the game started back up again soon enough
"Was that an earthquake?" Beth asked.
"Yeah," Nadja answered, completely nonplussed. "We get those sometimes. It's a west coast thing."
"I've been here for three years and that's never happened before," Beth replied, pouting.
"Not that you can feel," Nadja told her. "We're not on the San Andres fault after all."
"Besides, earthquakes can be very dangerous," Daniel added. "They can cause internal damage to buildings and if they happen out in the ocean, they can cause tsunamis."
"But that was kind of cool," Beth said. "Everything was shaking. It was my first earthquake."
"Do you want to have firsts for natural disasters?" Nadja questioned, turning her attention back to the players on the field. "Now, watch the game."
"But I don't know what's going on," she complained. "You don't even know what's going on."
"I'm enjoying the experience," Nadja reminded her in an exasperated tone. "Experience" was becoming her buzzword of the day and Beth had a strong feeling she was going to be hearing it a lot over the course of the year, at least every time she questioned why they were engaging in certain activities. She huffed before watching the game again; at least she knew which players she was supposed to cheer for.
-.-
Nadja dropped Beth off at her house after the game that evening, reminding her (yet again) that the Homecoming dance was tomorrow and she better be prepared to go when Nadja swung by to pick her up at seven. Like Beth could ever forget. If it wasn't Nadja reminding her, it was her mother, who equal parts didn't want the dress to go to waste and wanted her daughter to be a "normal teenage girl" for a change. She'd long since given up trying to refute that argument as she figured it was easier letting her mother project than trying to correct her.
She turned her key in the lock, swinging open the front door and stepping into the foyer. "Hey, did you guys feel that earthquake—" She stopped short, seeing Willow and another woman, who she barely remembered as being Nadja's aunt and Willow's girlfriend Esme, in the dining room, table littered with books and papers. "Uh, hi," she greeted.
"Oh, you're back," Willow noted, only glancing up from her laptop for a moment. "How was the game?"
"Well, we won, which was good," Beth told her, walking over to the table. She looked over the scattered readings, trying to decipher what the big project was. It was all in Latin though, so she gave up and sat down. Besides, it was probably a witchy project, since if it was slayer related, she'd likely have heard about it. Also, that meant she should probably move seating locations before her dad came in and got all fussy about the magic thing again.
"Good good," Willow murmured in a manner that made her think she wasn't actually listening.
"So, what's up with the book work?" she asked, sliding one of the heavy tombs toward her. Magic and its Physical Effects. Huh. Well, that didn't explain much.
"Oh, that one's useless," Willow claimed, waving her hand at the book. "It meant physical as in on a person, not just physical manifestation as a whole."
"Alright," Beth said, putting the book down.
"It's the earthquake," Esme told her.
"Yeah, but don't those happen here?" she asked. "It's like a west coast thing, right?"
"Yes, normally it is, except there was a huge spike in magical activity right before it occurred," Esme explained. "And I do mean right before. Less than a second's difference between the two start times."
"So the earthquake was caused by a spell or something?" Beth guessed and she nodded.
"Not to mention the quake originated within city limits and was very contained," Willow added. "We felt the edges of it, actually. It must have been stronger at its point of origin."
"So where is that then?" Beth inquired.
Esme and Willow exchanged looks before shrugging. "Seismographs can't pinpoint the exact location, only the general area and right now we're still trying to track the mojo," Willow told her.
"Currently my father and some of my brothers are working on it," Esme told her, "and they hope to provide us with a location by tomorrow morning."
"So, you up to checking it out tomorrow night?" Willow asked.
Beth nodded excitedly. "Of course! Except, well, the Homecoming dance is tomorrow and Nadja will tear right into me if I back out now."
Esme chuckled. "She's definitely a force when she wants to be. Strange, considering when most people meet her, they think she's soft-spoken."
Beth snorted. "That is the last word in this language I would ever use to describe her."
"We can always go after the dance then," Willow told her, frowning. "Although, whoever caused it might move by then."
"It's already too late for that I imagine," Esme decided. "Something tells me that they've already left after the quake. If they're at all familiar with the residents, they know that something like that is going to get attention and get it fast. We'll probably just scout out the area and see what we can get from a probable hasty departure.
"But right now, we're at least trying to hone in on what sort of spell could cause something like that," Esme finished, turning to another stack of papers. "Your library is very thorough."
"We're not finding much though," Willow sighed. "If anything, any large spike in magic can cause a tremor, especially if the spell includes multiple sources—casters."
"Did you call Andrew?" Beth asked. "He's back with the Council so he's got access to more sources, not to mention the coven there."
"We did and he said he'd get back to us," Willow told her.
"You don't think he'll be coming back with another Powerpoint, do you?" Beth asked and Willow gave her an apologetic look. Great, another lecture she was going to have to sit through.
-.-
Esme's family eventually got a read on the spell's point of origin, leading them to one of the larger parks in the Bellevue area. Buffy and Willow had been waiting outside Beth's school following the dance to drive over and check out the location.
"Change of clothes are in the back," Willow told her when Beth got into the car. "Didn't think you'd want to ruin your dress."
"What? This thing?" Beth asked, ruffling the skirt. "It's never getting used again so who cares about what happens to it?"
"You can always donate it," Buffy told her with a sigh. "Now change. You shouldn't be hiking around in a dress and heels anyway."
"Well, who's idea was it to wear the heels?" Beth muttered under her breath as she climbed into the backseat and proceeded to change. They arrived at the park a few minutes later, finding a parking spot right next to the trail entrance. It was past eleven though, so the place was likely deserted, although a few vampires might be hanging around. For that reason, Buffy had brought enough stakes for all of them, hoping to make quick work of any trouble they might come upon.
Armed with flashlights, stakes, and the paper Willow was reading off of for a chant to lead them toward the location of the spell casting, they entered into the quiet park. Willow led the way as Beth and Buffy kept an eye out for any trouble. So far, they'd yet to run into any.
"Okay stop," Willow called out, coming to such an abrupt halt, Beth nearly ran into her. "This is the location."
"This?" Buffy repeated, shining her flashlight around the area. It wasn't even a clearing really, just a small opening surrounded by trees and brush, just a few yards off from the trail.
"This doesn't seem like a safe location to practice magic," Beth noted with a frown. "It's only a short distance from the trail. Anyone passing would have heard them or seen them." While the park was empty now, the earthquake had only occurred shortly before sunset, when it was still light out. Chances were joggers had still been out when the spell happened.
Willow took note of such and frowned. This definitely wouldn't be a place she would cast a spell. It really was too open. And considering the magnitude of the magical spike, it surely wasn't big enough for the number of sorcerers needed. "We should check the area anyway," she decided with a firm nod. "Just in case."
Beth looked at her mother, who only shrugged and began to comb the area. Beth figured she might as well do the same and began kicking at the grass as she shined her flashlight down at the ground, hoping to reveal something. A rock would have been nice, really.
Ten minutes in and they'd spread out enough they covered a ten-foot radius from the place where they'd started, leaving Beth back on the trail and without a clue.
"Maybe they did something wrong," she suggested. "Nadja's family isn't infallible."
"Or maybe there's an underground cave," Buffy said, throwing in her own two cents. "That would explain why we didn't find anything."
"No, it was above ground and the right place," Willow told them. "I could feel it. There was a sort of static-y feeling to the air. It was stale too, like the spell had been cast a while ago."
"Well, whoever or whatever did it is also very good at clean-up," Beth noted. "Looks like someone finally took those park ranger signs very seriously. Good on them."
"Did you and Esme at least narrow down the cause of the tremor?" Buffy asked and Willow shook her head.
"No, without any extra hints here, we've still got a list of possible spells that could have caused it," Willow replied. "We just know it must have been something big."
"Well, it's not raining fire so I guess we're good," Beth said.
"Do you think maybe someone raised something?" Buffy questioned, ignoring her daughter. "Like a hell-beast?"
"Maybe," Willow sighed, rubbing her temples. "Without any further clues, it could be that or someone trying to end a drought."
"This is Seattle. We're not in a drought," Buffy noted and Willow only shook her head.
"So, it could be the utmost of the bad or the utmost of the good?" Beth asked and Willow nodded. "Yeah, that really doesn't narrow anything down."
"Maybe we're better off trying to find out if some powerful wizard came into town," Buffy suggested, already heading back toward the car. The trip was a bust anyway so she might as well give herself enough time to hunt down Spike and join him for some patrolling and demon butt-kicking. This park lacked a serious demon population anyway.
"I could go by the magic shop and see if the shopkeeper noticed anyone new and not fourteen," Willow decided.
"And I can now go home and relax," Beth said. "Dancing takes a lot out of you, you know."
-.-
Beth decided to take a shot and try out her new informant for size. Maea hadn't seemed surprised she was coming in to get some information about the tremor as it was likely she wasn't the only one asking around. And judging from the lowball price, she was beginning to suspect Maea didn't know a whole lot.
"Come on in," Maea greeted as she swung the door open. She didn't say anything, already moving further into her apartment. Beth stepped in, noting that it was a lot cleaner than the outside hall. It was barren though, only hosting a few essential pieces of furniture. It looked like a bachelor pad, if just a bit tidier.
"You don't really live here, do you?" she asked, taking a seat on the couch.
"I do," Maea stated shortly, pointing toward a door behind her. "That's the bedroom."
"Not a decorator then," she said.
"I find little interest in keeping trinkets," Maea replied. "Now, hand over the cash and I can tell you what you want."
She fished the wad of money out of her jacket pocket, tossing it on the table in front of her. "So, what have you heard about the magical earthquake exactly?"
"So you do know it's caused by magic," Maea said with a nod. "That's more than most of my clients. Currently, no one had come forth and claimed the spell and no new sorcerer has moved into town. So unless it's a travelling one, it's from someone already living here. Doubtful, seeing as the Kalders keep a careful eye over anyone in the magical community here. And they themselves don't seem like the type."
"It wasn't them," Beth told her. At Maea's suspicious look, she added, "I'm a friend of the family and they're just as confused by the whole thing as everyone else."
She nodded before continuing, "So besides originator, we have cause. While there are many spells that can cause a tremor like that, the magic spike had a very similar pattern to that of someone messing with a universal rift."
"A universal rift?" Beth repeated.
"Essentially a weak spot in the boundaries between universes," Maea explained. "It's the best point to send something—or someone—through." So maybe her mother hadn't been totally off when wondering about a hell-beast. "Of course, they would need a device to work as a conduit, since a person can't just open a rift because they feel like it. Not to mention the kind of power that would take. It's not easy to do, I will say, so it's odd that no one had come forth claiming they did it. Or, at least, tried to."
"So wait, it didn't open?" she asked.
"That would be the quake," Maea answered. "The spell backfired and that was the blowback. The rift didn't open enough so when it shut back up, it snapped back together quick enough to cause a tremor."
"So someone attempted to open a rift and failed," she stated, "and it would have to be a pretty powerful being."
"It's not as easy as TV will make it look," Maea told her.
"Well, does it leave any sort of marks? Signs that it occurred?"
"Depends on where you're opening to," Maea said. "Even if the spell fails, sometimes things can fall through—small things, sometimes things that can scar the area. Failed attempts to open a rift are usually deadly, leaving craters in their wake. This one must have been pretty small to just cause that little earthquake."
"So that's it," Beth stated. "That's all you know."
Maea shrugged. "I'm keeping an open ear to any new information, seeing as so many are asking me about it. I'll keep you updated on any new information when it comes along. And there is a sort of quid pro quo I'm looking for here. That means if you hear anything, I'd like you to pass it along."
"What, so you can go tell all the evil demons about what the slayers have learned?" she asked cynically.
Maea rolled her eyes in a dramatic fashion. "You know, I don't just help 'evil demons.' I have a whole list of clients who ask for my help. Right now, the ones most concerned with the quake are the more peaceful ones. They want to know if something has come in here to upset the balance and if that means they need to leave before things go south. So, yes, I do ask if you hear anything, tell me so I can help them out."
She stared at Maea for a moment, trying to figure out if she was lying. She wasn't getting anything off the stoic woman's face, but decided to take her word for it. Besides, there wasn't much a demon could do if they figured out the cause of it. If anything, the big dogs in the area would be keen on taking out a perceived threat, if this sorcerer was as powerful as the spell suggested.
"Alright," she agreed, "but don't expect much from me. We're making about as much headway as anyone else."
"You've still got more insight than most," Maea reminded her. "Having a connection with the Kalder family puts you in a better position, not to mention your all-knowing and all-seeing Watcher's Council. Don't tell me they don't know anything."
"We haven't heard anything back from them yet," Beth hedged, standing up to leave.
Maea smiled. "Give them a few days. They're usually a little behind, but they come in at the end."