i know it's everybody's sin. you got to lose to know how to win.

[tempered_scars]

[ooc: open to everyone for forever. I'm probably crazy for including all my characters but what the heck. Have at 'em. Gimme your tags. I want them. All of them. :D]

Wes Gannon is at a bar. Pick a bar, any bar, and he's there. The events of the past few weeks have finally caught up with him and boy needs to drink... and maybe shoot some pool while

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[neverdamseling]

Luckily for Jo, Buffy's wandering. Checking stuff out. Still adjusting, you see. And she's armed. But don't be alarmed, little Jo-puppy. She sees you all injured and just wants to help.

She meanders up to the dog, kneeling down and frowning a little. "What got you?" She remembers, somewhere in the back of her mind, Dean mentioning a friend of his that could turn into a dog because of the Rift, but for now she's just worried about the state of the poor thing.

[yourwonderings]

Don't worry, Buffy. Jo's only alarm right now resides in the fact she can't find her iron knife. It's the only thing she has left of her father, the only thing she has left of her world back home. She'll be damned if she doesn't find it.

She stops her snarling fit at the sound of the unfamiliar voice. Looking up, she sees it's a tiny blonde woman. Jo knows better than anyone not to underestimate those. It's really hard to communicate in dog form, and the narration must apologize.

At the question, Jo's head nudges to the side, motioning to the monster corpse a few feet away. More like what got the monster. Jo would be pretty proud of herself for defeating it in shifter form, were she not intent on finding that knife.

[neverdamseling]

Buffy's surprised at the intelligence of a dog, but she doesn't dismiss it. Her eyes turn to the crumpled beast's form, and she wrinkles her nose. "What about it?" she muses, mostly to herself. Dogs can't talk; that's silly. Even in Chicago.

... Right?

She steps closer, kneeling down and checking out the fallen foe. "Yeah, it's dead... Pretty sure. That what you're worried about?" Her gaze turns back to the dog. She realizes that she's talking... to a dog. For some reason, this still makes sense to her.

[yourwonderings]

Chicago is just that special sometimes, Buffy. Jo isn't very enthused about the whole idea herself, but she figures there has to be some way she can use the shifting to her advantage. First thing's first, however.

Jo uses Buffy checking out the other monster as a way to limp over to the shrubbery, hiding behind it. A whimper escapes because her arm hurts, even if it's nothing she can't handle. A shift is imminent, and Jo does not want to freak the girl out more than she probably will be, considering the dog is really a human being.

"Nah, not worried. I was just ripping the mutt a new one." When Buffy turns back around, she'll see a half-clothed Jo instead of the German Shepherd. "...Hey."

[neverdamseling]

She's a little too busy scouring the demon for something - even though she has no idea what - to notice the dog disappear behind the bushes. So, naturally, when she suddenly hears a female voice, she jumps and spins around with her weapon at the ready.

"Aah!" she yelps quietly, eyes widened. "You're -- where's the dog?" After a minute of surprise, her expression changes into one of realization, and her eyebrows shoot upward. "Oh. Oh! Hi," she smiles. "Um... So -" she's already moving to peel her jacket off, and hold it out. "Start with clothes, get to names later?"

[yourwonderings]

Jo is just going to be very relieved Buffy's taking this in stride after her moment of realization. The shapeshifting already puts a dent in Jo's pride, which she's got in spades.

"Sounds like a plan, thanks," Jo says gratefully. She takes the jacket with a slight smile sent Buffy's way, zipping it up quickly. She looks back down at herself, glancing up at Buffy. "Nice jacket."

She's not a fashionista by any stretch of the word, but she knows a nice jacket when she sees one. Clothes, now names. "I'm Jo."

[neverdamseling]

"Hey, no problem. Know what it's like to suffer from a case of slight nudity." She's reflecting on the one time that she was a rat, of course.

She grins, a little smug. "Isn't it though? Looks good on you, too."

Buffy lifts a hand with a sheepish wave. "Buffy." She pauses for a moment. "It's not a nickname."

[yourwonderings]

Jo would definitely sympathize with Buffy having been a rat. No one should be turned into an animal, for whatever reason, ever. She snorts, a hand running through her tangled hair. "I'm thinkin' a lot of people in this city have experienced somethin' that ain't quite normal."

Jo's plenty used to what's not normal. "Thanks, I'll make sure I return it to you squeaky clean."

She smooths her hair into a ponytail, turning back to Buffy. "You from around?"

[neverdamseling]

"I'm getting that, yeah," she smiles.

Buffy hasn't been normal since she was fifteen. She definitely gets the entire lack of normality. "Way appreciated."

She nods her head one way, then the other, face wrinkled and eyebrows raising a bit. "Been here for a week or so. Fell through the rift not too long ago. Pretty exciting place so far. Definitely seen scarier... but still. Pretty crazy."

[yourwonderings]

Another wanderer. Jo glances up, a little relieved it's someone on the same boat as her. There's that to consider as a positive, anyway. A lot of people here are aware of what's going on.

"It's been about a month for me," Jo admits. "And yeah, seen scarier crap myself but the whole not being able to go back thing? Uncool."

She's also not sure she believes it. Whether it's true or not Jo's not stopping till she finds a way.

[neverdamseling]

"Yeah, I was pulled away at the most inconvenient time. Ever," she sighs, rubbing her fingers over her forehead. Tired. Stressed about this.

"I'm guessing the Rift is what made you all like a puppy," she notes, "Since it catches you a little off-guard in the clothing department. This place..."

She pauses for a few moments, a bit awkward. She's not really sure why, just is. Buffy sighs, then quickly moves on. "So this thing just attacked you?"

[yourwonderings]

"Yeah, it's real special that way." Jo watches her with bridled curiosity. Something about the way Buffy looks strikes a chord with how Jo feels.

"Apparently one of its rift giving abilities is shapeshifting?" Jo shrugs, or tries to shrug it off--it's a bitch on her pride, is what it is. "It's a bitch to get a hang of, but I'm tryin'."

The pause gives Jo pause, but she runs with it. "A rift opened up and spit that thing out. I'm used to dealing with it, so it was fine. You okay there?"

[neverdamseling]

"Exciting."

"I haven't figured out what the Rift's done to me. At least, not all of it. I do know that I used to have an issue with guns and now I know a whole lot about them and have nothing against them. But, so far, that's about all I really know." Buffy offers a smile. "It could be a lot worse. You could shapeshift into something useless like a hedgehog. Or a rat." Buffy's been a rat. Yikes.

The Slayer shrugs, looking down at it. It doesn't look too scary. "That's nothing," she shrugs, "Just wondering if you're alright. I'm used to that kinda thing. And scarier, even," she adds with a light chuckle.