daylightfadings research party for two
Dawn was sipping a cooling coffee and made a face as the bitter liquid flowed down her throat, "Ugh, Buffy's coffee sucks, why do they let her make it?" She looked over at Anna and sighed then looked back down at the huge book in her lap. "Research used to be fun, xander would like bring donuts and stuff and we'd figure everything out and then yay!" She sighed, "But now everyones on edge and acting weird."
Anna laid on the bed on her stomach, propping herself up on one elbow, fist planted against her face as she stared blankly at the page of the book. A yawn escaped her and she looked over at Dawn. "Maybe because there's no Starbucks?" She giggled, rolling over and pushing herself up to a sitting position and pulling the book into her lap. "Yeah, the tension level is pretty high around here lately. But, look at it this way, at least the newest drama has pulled the focus away from us for awhile. Well, except for Lis and her glaring. That's worse than jail I think."
Dawn laughed a little then sobered quickly, Jail had been bad and scary; even for someone who'd been bleed near dry by a hell goddess. "Yeah, Maybe they'll like put Cordelia in a pound or something, she's really not helping anybody; it's like she's taking it upon herself to make things worse. I still think she's evil." Dawn sighed, it was easier to bitch about Cordy than to think about how messed up her entire family was right now. She flipped idly through the pages, scanning them for important information, she'd gotten pretty good at this over the past few years; she just wasn't sure what she was looking for exactly.
Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, Anna's serious look matched Dawn's and she nodded. "And the fact that she's letting Faith sleep in her room? It only lends to your evil theory." Her eyes grew wide. "What if there's a plot? What if they've teamed up and are going to go on a killing spree?" She closed her eyes, swallowing hard as she tried to calm herself down. "Sorry." She rolled her eyes and looked back down at her book.
Dawn smiled sympathetically at Anna but then shrugged, "Faith's not that bad; there's something I'm not sure I even want to know about going on with her and Buffy, but she did get us out of Jail and you totally missed Buffy punching her for no good reason." Dawn sighed and looked down to re-read more of the paragraph she'd been skimming. She stopped, looked again, turned the page back and re-read something she hadn't really gotten the first time. "I'm just glad I have you, cause otherwise I'd totally be insane by now." Dawn's brow furrowed and she looked closer at what she was reading.
"I wish I could've seen it!" Anna laughed, flipping the page, her eyes scanning the words as she propped her chin on her hand. A smile crossed her face at Dawn's comment and she looked up at her friend. "My sentiments exactly. Don't get me wrong, I love Lis and Ria, but sometimes they just don't get me." She shrugged. "And talk about overprotective. I won't even get started the--did you find something?" Closing her book but marking her page with her finger, she slid off her bed and carried it over to Dawn's and crawled up beside her so she could see what the girl was looking at.
Dawn nodded absently but not meaning to be all absent, she was trying to get what she was reading straight in her head, it didn't really make sense at first so she'd re-read it at least three times already. When she got to one part she felt that inner scooby alarm go off like crazy. "Oh my god, this is so not good." She read it all over one more time just to make sure she wasn't being an idiot and reading it wrong.
Anna let her eyes scan over the page Dawn was so focused on and she wrinkled her brow in confusion, still not quite understanding. "What? What does it mean?" She looked up at the other girl, her face full of concern.
Dawn looked up at Anna, "Have you seen anything weird lately like a shadow looking thing out of the corner of your eye?" Anna gave her an even more confused look and she sighed and shook her head, "I did, but I shrugged it off because I've been so tense, but if I'm reading this right, it could be a Wraith. According to this, all souls are suppose to drink from the river Lethe when they die, so they can like move on and stuff," She took a deep breath and looked up at Anna then back to the book. "But some souls are so volatile that they don't drink the water and remember everything from their life, a wraith's life isn't something pretty to remember, so remembering life would fuel the rage and need for destruction. It sounds so much like what I saw." She pales visably as she keeps reading, "the only time she can be seen is during the Festival of All Souls, after that she can't be harmed for till the next. That wouldn't be good, she has to drink from the Lethe, so she forgets and has no reason to stay on earth. This is bad Anna, we have to tell Buffy or Faith or I don't know someone ..." She looks up and frowns, an evil ghosty type thing around to cause all kinds of trouble for a year? Very bad.
"So, this Wraith needs to drink from the River Lethe." Anna read the words again on the page, trying to understand it combined with Dawn's own explanation. "But wait, that's....." Her brow furrowed and she looked at Dawn with wide eyes. "...in the Underworld or something isn't it? Or am I remembering my teachings wrong?" She paused, closing her eyes as she thought hard. Opening them she nodded. "Yeah, that's where it is." She reached over, taking the book and reading herself. "Oh God....there's one part you missed...."
Dawn's eyes widened, she missed a bad part? How had she missed badness? She was good at seeing badness, "What? Anna What did I miss?" She was getting ansty now, things could always get worse, she knew that by now.
Taking a deep breath, Anna looked at Dawn sadly. "Only one person can go do this. She is the only one who can gain access to the Underworld. The only one strong enough." Finding the passage in the book that explained what she was referring to, Anna pointed to it and turned it so it could be read. "Willow. She's the only one with that kind of power."
Dawn read over the passage and her eyes grew wide, "But Willow's ... I mean, she's got power issues and the underworld? Which hell demension is that exactly? There are hundreds!" She shook her head, this was too big for her and Anna, she was smart enough to know that. "This is so not going to make things better, ugh, we have to tell Buffy and Willow."
Anna laid on the bed on her stomach, propping herself up on one elbow, fist planted against her face as she stared blankly at the page of the book. A yawn escaped her and she looked over at Dawn. "Maybe because there's no Starbucks?" She giggled, rolling over and pushing herself up to a sitting position and pulling the book into her lap. "Yeah, the tension level is pretty high around here lately. But, look at it this way, at least the newest drama has pulled the focus away from us for awhile. Well, except for Lis and her glaring. That's worse than jail I think."
Dawn laughed a little then sobered quickly, Jail had been bad and scary; even for someone who'd been bleed near dry by a hell goddess. "Yeah, Maybe they'll like put Cordelia in a pound or something, she's really not helping anybody; it's like she's taking it upon herself to make things worse. I still think she's evil." Dawn sighed, it was easier to bitch about Cordy than to think about how messed up her entire family was right now. She flipped idly through the pages, scanning them for important information, she'd gotten pretty good at this over the past few years; she just wasn't sure what she was looking for exactly.
Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, Anna's serious look matched Dawn's and she nodded. "And the fact that she's letting Faith sleep in her room? It only lends to your evil theory." Her eyes grew wide. "What if there's a plot? What if they've teamed up and are going to go on a killing spree?" She closed her eyes, swallowing hard as she tried to calm herself down. "Sorry." She rolled her eyes and looked back down at her book.
Dawn smiled sympathetically at Anna but then shrugged, "Faith's not that bad; there's something I'm not sure I even want to know about going on with her and Buffy, but she did get us out of Jail and you totally missed Buffy punching her for no good reason." Dawn sighed and looked down to re-read more of the paragraph she'd been skimming. She stopped, looked again, turned the page back and re-read something she hadn't really gotten the first time. "I'm just glad I have you, cause otherwise I'd totally be insane by now." Dawn's brow furrowed and she looked closer at what she was reading.
"I wish I could've seen it!" Anna laughed, flipping the page, her eyes scanning the words as she propped her chin on her hand. A smile crossed her face at Dawn's comment and she looked up at her friend. "My sentiments exactly. Don't get me wrong, I love Lis and Ria, but sometimes they just don't get me." She shrugged. "And talk about overprotective. I won't even get started the--did you find something?" Closing her book but marking her page with her finger, she slid off her bed and carried it over to Dawn's and crawled up beside her so she could see what the girl was looking at.
Dawn nodded absently but not meaning to be all absent, she was trying to get what she was reading straight in her head, it didn't really make sense at first so she'd re-read it at least three times already. When she got to one part she felt that inner scooby alarm go off like crazy. "Oh my god, this is so not good." She read it all over one more time just to make sure she wasn't being an idiot and reading it wrong.
Anna let her eyes scan over the page Dawn was so focused on and she wrinkled her brow in confusion, still not quite understanding. "What? What does it mean?" She looked up at the other girl, her face full of concern.
Dawn looked up at Anna, "Have you seen anything weird lately like a shadow looking thing out of the corner of your eye?" Anna gave her an even more confused look and she sighed and shook her head, "I did, but I shrugged it off because I've been so tense, but if I'm reading this right, it could be a Wraith. According to this, all souls are suppose to drink from the river Lethe when they die, so they can like move on and stuff," She took a deep breath and looked up at Anna then back to the book. "But some souls are so volatile that they don't drink the water and remember everything from their life, a wraith's life isn't something pretty to remember, so remembering life would fuel the rage and need for destruction. It sounds so much like what I saw." She pales visably as she keeps reading, "the only time she can be seen is during the Festival of All Souls, after that she can't be harmed for till the next. That wouldn't be good, she has to drink from the Lethe, so she forgets and has no reason to stay on earth. This is bad Anna, we have to tell Buffy or Faith or I don't know someone ..." She looks up and frowns, an evil ghosty type thing around to cause all kinds of trouble for a year? Very bad.
"So, this Wraith needs to drink from the River Lethe." Anna read the words again on the page, trying to understand it combined with Dawn's own explanation. "But wait, that's....." Her brow furrowed and she looked at Dawn with wide eyes. "...in the Underworld or something isn't it? Or am I remembering my teachings wrong?" She paused, closing her eyes as she thought hard. Opening them she nodded. "Yeah, that's where it is." She reached over, taking the book and reading herself. "Oh God....there's one part you missed...."
Dawn's eyes widened, she missed a bad part? How had she missed badness? She was good at seeing badness, "What? Anna What did I miss?" She was getting ansty now, things could always get worse, she knew that by now.
Taking a deep breath, Anna looked at Dawn sadly. "Only one person can go do this. She is the only one who can gain access to the Underworld. The only one strong enough." Finding the passage in the book that explained what she was referring to, Anna pointed to it and turned it so it could be read. "Willow. She's the only one with that kind of power."
Dawn read over the passage and her eyes grew wide, "But Willow's ... I mean, she's got power issues and the underworld? Which hell demension is that exactly? There are hundreds!" She shook her head, this was too big for her and Anna, she was smart enough to know that. "This is so not going to make things better, ugh, we have to tell Buffy and Willow."