Outback Steakhouse, Friday Evening
Constance had wanted to meet Tara; Kennedy didn't see anything wrong with this, intrinsically, and hadn't hesitated about setting up a dinner reservation for the three of them. (At Outback, expressly because it wasn't all that fancy and would make Constance give her that look, she had a tried and true record of being a pain, and she wasn't about to stop now.) Just... no one was going to talk about what had happened last night. Because wow, massively awkward. She didn't pay any mind to any scrutinizing looks from her Watcher-- she was pretty much inured to them by now.
So if this was going to be slightly intimidating to anyone at all? It didn't occur to her.
Because come on. How could it be anything but cool?
Tara
Tara smoothed down her skirt for the 50th time, hoping she looked all right. She hadn't realized how nervous she would be over meeting Constance until right now, which was probably a foolish lack of foresight.
She held her hand out to take Kennedy's, then hesitated. "Can I touch you?" she asked. "Or would that be -- un-professional, or w-whatever?"
Kennedy
"She said she wanted to meet my girlfriend, not my, like, business associate," Kennedy pointed out; she had no such hesitation, and moved to lace her fingers through Tara's. "I'm banning professionality from tonight. Not allowed."
It was probably a good thing Kennedy's dad hadn't been able to make it, too, huh?
"Watch, she's already gonna be at the table waiting for us," she added.
Tara
A smile flickered over Tara's face as their hands intertwined.
"Darn," she said, trying to sound like she had a sense of humor about this. "Does that mean I shouldn't have brought the spreadsheet?"
She leaned further into the restaurant as she spoke, looking for ... well, for anyone who looked like a Constance.
Constance
The woman who raised her hand in a formal sort of greeting from one of the corner tables just happened to go by that name, yes. She was watching the two of them with an impassive expression, one eyebrow very slightly arched as if to say she'd been waiting for them a while.
Which wasn't entirely true, since she'd only arrived a few minutes earlier herself; she just knew better than to let her Potential think she could get away with everything easily.
Kennedy
"There's a spreadsheet?" Kennedy asked as they approached the table. "Hey, Constance. What's with the look? We are so on time."
Tara
"With lots of numbers," Tara said, under her breath, as they approached the table.
And then she froze for a moment. "Hello-it-is-very-nice-to-meet-you," she got out, like a robot, and then (for reasons she'd never be able to explain) bobbed a curtsy.
Constance
The faintest hint of something almost like a smile flickered across Constance's face, and she gestured to the empty chairs across from her.
"So you're the one I've gotten quite the earful about for the past almost year," she observed calmly. "Pleased to meet you, Tara, even though I see Kennedy, unsurprisingly, forgot to introduce us properly."
The trace of humor there was so very suppressed, only someone who knew her well would know she was teasing.
Tara
"It's" -- Tara swallowed to moisten her dry throat -- "Tara. Maclay. Ma'am. Don't -- don't be mad at Kennedy. She was going to!"
Was it really a surprise she missed the humor?
Kennedy
"Yeah, I just wanted to make you do it," Kennedy retorted easily, smirking at Constance as she pulled the chairs out for herself and Tara. "But point taken. Tara, this is Constance Aluko, my Watcher. Which you know already, but. And she's not actually mad at me."
Constance
"No, but I'm well on my way to being exasperated by your apparent tendency to think I'm incapable of it," Constance shot back smoothly. To Tara she added, "With any luck, Miss Maclay, you won't have to witness one of my lectures. Which I'm also sure you've heard about."
Tara
"Um. Mostly she tells me about the stuff you send to her phone," Tara said softly as she took a seat, relieved it seemed like no one was actually mad. "You're really thorough."
Constance
"Call it a prolonged exercise in teaching by example, as well as self-preservation," Constance said with a wry almost-smile. She glanced over her menu and set it neatly aside. "You must be familiar with her, shall we say, persistence by now."
This time, the look she gave Kennedy before glancing back toward Tara was unmistakably a fond one. "Impressive that you put up with it."
Kennedy
"Hey." Kennedy scooted her seat closer to Tara's and narrowed her eyes playfully across the table at Constance. "Right here, remember? And totally put-up-with-able, thanks."
Tara
Tara couldn't help but smile at the obvious affection. "Not at all," she said. "I, I like how she's persistent. It balances me out."
Constance
"I hope she's not being a bad influence," Constance said, half teasing and half serious. Then more seriously: "I have to say, when I learned you were a witch, I was... concerned. I've never been one to emphasize magical aspects in my training methods."
The implication that she might still be concerned was, however delicate, fairly clear.
Tara
Tara bit her lip. "Kennedy doesn't do magic with me," she said cautiously. Now would be a bad time to bring up that one time when she had, especially since she'd been backed into it. "I w-wouldn't try and make her use magic. Or use magic on her. Ever."
Kennedy
"Oh god, Constance," Kennedy jumped in, for once wearing a slightly bemused expression. "You make it sound all after-school special or something."
Constance
Constance had watched Tara carefully throughout the explanation, waiting what seemed like a calculated several seconds before nodding. She held up a hand to forestall any further objections on Kennedy's part and leaned forward to address Tara again.
"Yes, Kennedy was very emphatic about that last Christmas." She also knew her charge well enough to know how little inclination Kennedy had toward using magic herself, but that wasn't the point here. "Of course, she also wouldn't stop talking about you, so you'll understand if I wanted a second opinion."
Kennedy
Kennedy shook her head indulgently. "Still sitting right here, you guys."
Tara
Tara looked confused for a moment before she finally realized Constance seemed to expect her to say something. "A second opinion?" she repeated. "Like ... your opinion?"
And now Tara had to wonder what that opinion was.
Kennedy
Kennedy leaned over to nudge her shoulder lightly. "Allow me to translate from semi-cryptic Watcher. She thinks I'm way too biased when it comes to you, and wouldn't tell her anything that might make her disapprove. So she's totally trying to make up her own mind."
Oh, good, Kennedy. That won't make her feel put on the spot or anything.
Tara
"Oh!" Tara blinked, grateful for the translation, and turned her attention back to Constance. "I'm ... very responsible? I've been doing magic since forever. M-my mom is a Wiccan, and she taught me, and now I'm almost as strong as she is. I don't -- go around doing stuff for fun."
A slight pause. "Usually. And I help a lot with the Magic group on campus."
Constance
"The Magic Reserves, yes, I've heard about that too-- I've always tried to discourage Kennedy from the idea that she might need to rely on that sort of help, but I suppose she's rather set on the idea now." Overall Tara's answer seemed to mollify Constance somewhat, at least for the moment; she leaned back in her chair and took a sip of water.
Although.
"Usually?"
Kennedy
Kennedy let out a tiny groan. "Oh, god, Constance, seriously?"
Tara
Tara stuttered for a few moments before she got anything coherent out.
When she finally did, she looked half ashamed and half defiant.
"Sometimes I practice floating things when I d-d-don't really have to," she admitted. "... is that a problem?"
Kennedy
"No, it's not a problem!" Kennedy almost never got outright confrontational with her Watcher, but now she was close to it.
"Hey, dial down on the inquisition," she protested. "You heard her."
Constance
Constance actually seemed surprised by Kennedy's reaction, and she stared at her Potential for several beats before looking back at Tara.
"At the risk of being mistaken for an echo, no, it's not a problem." For what might be the first time, a genuinely warm smile crossed Constance's face, edged with humor. "Had you said something less innocuous than 'floating things,' it might have been."
Tara
"Oh," Tara said. "But -- I didn't, so it's okay?"
She was hopeful.
Constance
"I think," Constance replied, "given that Kennedy hasn't asked me any thoroughly insane questions about spells, it might be just that. Forgive me for the interrogation, but I'd never heard her talk about any girl-- and believe me, I lost track a long time ago-- the way she talks about you, and all things considered..."
She let a touch of mischief surface in her voice, and it would have been easy to see exactly how she'd managed to put up with her charge for so long.
"You'll understand, I had to wonder."
Tara
"I get it," Tara said, puffing up with pride a little. "Kennedy's really ... special. I wouldn't want to do anything that would put her at risk. Or me."
Kennedy
Kennedy grinned and stretched her arm along the back of Tara's chair, almost as if she was daring Constance to comment.
Constance, it seemed, wasn't taking the bait.
"I kinda feel like this is where someone makes a comment about not giving my ego any more help," Kennedy noted. In a quieter voice, she added, "See? Told you she'd like you."
Tara
"She does?" Tara asked in a very low voice, back straightening. She didn't mind being liked.
Then she realized Constance was probably listening. "I ... like her too?"
Constance
Constance had just been watching them for the last several moments, but she chuckled softly, now.
"After all the complaining about me that I'm sure you've heard, that's good to know. And even though I doubt you--" this with a pointed, if amused, glance at Kennedy-- "were looking for my approval, you have it."
She leaned across the table again and said to Tara, playfully conspiratorial, "Not in the least since I suspect she's far more likely to listen to you than to me."
Tara
"Sometimes," Tara confided, leaning toward Constance in return. "I can't be responsible for everything she does, right?"
Kennedy
"Hey," Kennedy cut in, pretending to look scandalized at both of them. (Even though really. Who would want to be responsible for everything she did?) "Am I gonna have to worry about you teaming up on me now?"
Tara
"I don't know," Tara said. She seemed to have recovered her sense of humor. "I mean, if Constance asks, would you really want me to say no?"
Kennedy
Kennedy's jaw dropped in only partly feigned surprise as she exclaimed, "Hey, whose side are you on here? But," she went on, holding up her free hand, "I feel pretty vindicated about being sure you guys would get along."
Tara
"Well," Tara said, "we both care about you, baby. So ... it kind of makes sense, right?"
She was looking at Constance as she said that, as if she wasn't totally certain she'd gotten it right.
Constance
"On the contrary, it makes perfect sense," Constance spoke up, "and no, don't argue, Kennedy, you know it does. You can, however, rest assured that I have no intention of abusing that option."
She paused deliberately, then gave them a knowing smile.
"Considering it when necessary, however..."
Tara
Guilt shifted across Tara's face, though there was still some amusement behind it. "I'd only let you call it in if it was absolutely necessary," she promised. "... like, if she wouldn't listen to me."
Kennedy
"I listen to you. I so listen to you," Kennedy interjected as much for Constance's benefit as for Tara's, even though it wasn't entirely accurate. "But come on, like either of you would know what to do with me if I wasn't at least a pain in the ass sometimes."
She leaned back in her chair, all breezy self-assuredness. "You love me that way and you know it."
Tara
Tara couldn't hide her smile. "I want to argue with her," she mused, "but I kind of can't. Constance?"
Constance
Trying to suppress a smile of her own Constance tapped a finger against her lips, but finally gave in and almost grinned. (Well. It was a repressed sort of grin, but relatively speaking...)
"Sometimes," she told Tara, "there are times when making a strategic retreat is the smarter choice. Now, for example."
Kennedy
Kennedy looked from Constance to Tara, then back at Constance.
And pumped one fist demonstratively.
"Score. That means I win," she announced, reaching for the menu. "And as the winner of whatever match this was? I so declare we eat now."
[[nfi, but ooc okay, why not? preplayed with myself and the always awesome life_inshadow.]]
So if this was going to be slightly intimidating to anyone at all? It didn't occur to her.
Because come on. How could it be anything but cool?
Tara
Tara smoothed down her skirt for the 50th time, hoping she looked all right. She hadn't realized how nervous she would be over meeting Constance until right now, which was probably a foolish lack of foresight.
She held her hand out to take Kennedy's, then hesitated. "Can I touch you?" she asked. "Or would that be -- un-professional, or w-whatever?"
Kennedy
"She said she wanted to meet my girlfriend, not my, like, business associate," Kennedy pointed out; she had no such hesitation, and moved to lace her fingers through Tara's. "I'm banning professionality from tonight. Not allowed."
It was probably a good thing Kennedy's dad hadn't been able to make it, too, huh?
"Watch, she's already gonna be at the table waiting for us," she added.
Tara
A smile flickered over Tara's face as their hands intertwined.
"Darn," she said, trying to sound like she had a sense of humor about this. "Does that mean I shouldn't have brought the spreadsheet?"
She leaned further into the restaurant as she spoke, looking for ... well, for anyone who looked like a Constance.
Constance
The woman who raised her hand in a formal sort of greeting from one of the corner tables just happened to go by that name, yes. She was watching the two of them with an impassive expression, one eyebrow very slightly arched as if to say she'd been waiting for them a while.
Which wasn't entirely true, since she'd only arrived a few minutes earlier herself; she just knew better than to let her Potential think she could get away with everything easily.
Kennedy
"There's a spreadsheet?" Kennedy asked as they approached the table. "Hey, Constance. What's with the look? We are so on time."
Tara
"With lots of numbers," Tara said, under her breath, as they approached the table.
And then she froze for a moment. "Hello-it-is-very-nice-to-meet-you," she got out, like a robot, and then (for reasons she'd never be able to explain) bobbed a curtsy.
Constance
The faintest hint of something almost like a smile flickered across Constance's face, and she gestured to the empty chairs across from her.
"So you're the one I've gotten quite the earful about for the past almost year," she observed calmly. "Pleased to meet you, Tara, even though I see Kennedy, unsurprisingly, forgot to introduce us properly."
The trace of humor there was so very suppressed, only someone who knew her well would know she was teasing.
Tara
"It's" -- Tara swallowed to moisten her dry throat -- "Tara. Maclay. Ma'am. Don't -- don't be mad at Kennedy. She was going to!"
Was it really a surprise she missed the humor?
Kennedy
"Yeah, I just wanted to make you do it," Kennedy retorted easily, smirking at Constance as she pulled the chairs out for herself and Tara. "But point taken. Tara, this is Constance Aluko, my Watcher. Which you know already, but. And she's not actually mad at me."
Constance
"No, but I'm well on my way to being exasperated by your apparent tendency to think I'm incapable of it," Constance shot back smoothly. To Tara she added, "With any luck, Miss Maclay, you won't have to witness one of my lectures. Which I'm also sure you've heard about."
Tara
"Um. Mostly she tells me about the stuff you send to her phone," Tara said softly as she took a seat, relieved it seemed like no one was actually mad. "You're really thorough."
Constance
"Call it a prolonged exercise in teaching by example, as well as self-preservation," Constance said with a wry almost-smile. She glanced over her menu and set it neatly aside. "You must be familiar with her, shall we say, persistence by now."
This time, the look she gave Kennedy before glancing back toward Tara was unmistakably a fond one. "Impressive that you put up with it."
Kennedy
"Hey." Kennedy scooted her seat closer to Tara's and narrowed her eyes playfully across the table at Constance. "Right here, remember? And totally put-up-with-able, thanks."
Tara
Tara couldn't help but smile at the obvious affection. "Not at all," she said. "I, I like how she's persistent. It balances me out."
Constance
"I hope she's not being a bad influence," Constance said, half teasing and half serious. Then more seriously: "I have to say, when I learned you were a witch, I was... concerned. I've never been one to emphasize magical aspects in my training methods."
The implication that she might still be concerned was, however delicate, fairly clear.
Tara
Tara bit her lip. "Kennedy doesn't do magic with me," she said cautiously. Now would be a bad time to bring up that one time when she had, especially since she'd been backed into it. "I w-wouldn't try and make her use magic. Or use magic on her. Ever."
Kennedy
"Oh god, Constance," Kennedy jumped in, for once wearing a slightly bemused expression. "You make it sound all after-school special or something."
Constance
Constance had watched Tara carefully throughout the explanation, waiting what seemed like a calculated several seconds before nodding. She held up a hand to forestall any further objections on Kennedy's part and leaned forward to address Tara again.
"Yes, Kennedy was very emphatic about that last Christmas." She also knew her charge well enough to know how little inclination Kennedy had toward using magic herself, but that wasn't the point here. "Of course, she also wouldn't stop talking about you, so you'll understand if I wanted a second opinion."
Kennedy
Kennedy shook her head indulgently. "Still sitting right here, you guys."
Tara
Tara looked confused for a moment before she finally realized Constance seemed to expect her to say something. "A second opinion?" she repeated. "Like ... your opinion?"
And now Tara had to wonder what that opinion was.
Kennedy
Kennedy leaned over to nudge her shoulder lightly. "Allow me to translate from semi-cryptic Watcher. She thinks I'm way too biased when it comes to you, and wouldn't tell her anything that might make her disapprove. So she's totally trying to make up her own mind."
Oh, good, Kennedy. That won't make her feel put on the spot or anything.
Tara
"Oh!" Tara blinked, grateful for the translation, and turned her attention back to Constance. "I'm ... very responsible? I've been doing magic since forever. M-my mom is a Wiccan, and she taught me, and now I'm almost as strong as she is. I don't -- go around doing stuff for fun."
A slight pause. "Usually. And I help a lot with the Magic group on campus."
Constance
"The Magic Reserves, yes, I've heard about that too-- I've always tried to discourage Kennedy from the idea that she might need to rely on that sort of help, but I suppose she's rather set on the idea now." Overall Tara's answer seemed to mollify Constance somewhat, at least for the moment; she leaned back in her chair and took a sip of water.
Although.
"Usually?"
Kennedy
Kennedy let out a tiny groan. "Oh, god, Constance, seriously?"
Tara
Tara stuttered for a few moments before she got anything coherent out.
When she finally did, she looked half ashamed and half defiant.
"Sometimes I practice floating things when I d-d-don't really have to," she admitted. "... is that a problem?"
Kennedy
"No, it's not a problem!" Kennedy almost never got outright confrontational with her Watcher, but now she was close to it.
"Hey, dial down on the inquisition," she protested. "You heard her."
Constance
Constance actually seemed surprised by Kennedy's reaction, and she stared at her Potential for several beats before looking back at Tara.
"At the risk of being mistaken for an echo, no, it's not a problem." For what might be the first time, a genuinely warm smile crossed Constance's face, edged with humor. "Had you said something less innocuous than 'floating things,' it might have been."
Tara
"Oh," Tara said. "But -- I didn't, so it's okay?"
She was hopeful.
Constance
"I think," Constance replied, "given that Kennedy hasn't asked me any thoroughly insane questions about spells, it might be just that. Forgive me for the interrogation, but I'd never heard her talk about any girl-- and believe me, I lost track a long time ago-- the way she talks about you, and all things considered..."
She let a touch of mischief surface in her voice, and it would have been easy to see exactly how she'd managed to put up with her charge for so long.
"You'll understand, I had to wonder."
Tara
"I get it," Tara said, puffing up with pride a little. "Kennedy's really ... special. I wouldn't want to do anything that would put her at risk. Or me."
Kennedy
Kennedy grinned and stretched her arm along the back of Tara's chair, almost as if she was daring Constance to comment.
Constance, it seemed, wasn't taking the bait.
"I kinda feel like this is where someone makes a comment about not giving my ego any more help," Kennedy noted. In a quieter voice, she added, "See? Told you she'd like you."
Tara
"She does?" Tara asked in a very low voice, back straightening. She didn't mind being liked.
Then she realized Constance was probably listening. "I ... like her too?"
Constance
Constance had just been watching them for the last several moments, but she chuckled softly, now.
"After all the complaining about me that I'm sure you've heard, that's good to know. And even though I doubt you--" this with a pointed, if amused, glance at Kennedy-- "were looking for my approval, you have it."
She leaned across the table again and said to Tara, playfully conspiratorial, "Not in the least since I suspect she's far more likely to listen to you than to me."
Tara
"Sometimes," Tara confided, leaning toward Constance in return. "I can't be responsible for everything she does, right?"
Kennedy
"Hey," Kennedy cut in, pretending to look scandalized at both of them. (Even though really. Who would want to be responsible for everything she did?) "Am I gonna have to worry about you teaming up on me now?"
Tara
"I don't know," Tara said. She seemed to have recovered her sense of humor. "I mean, if Constance asks, would you really want me to say no?"
Kennedy
Kennedy's jaw dropped in only partly feigned surprise as she exclaimed, "Hey, whose side are you on here? But," she went on, holding up her free hand, "I feel pretty vindicated about being sure you guys would get along."
Tara
"Well," Tara said, "we both care about you, baby. So ... it kind of makes sense, right?"
She was looking at Constance as she said that, as if she wasn't totally certain she'd gotten it right.
Constance
"On the contrary, it makes perfect sense," Constance spoke up, "and no, don't argue, Kennedy, you know it does. You can, however, rest assured that I have no intention of abusing that option."
She paused deliberately, then gave them a knowing smile.
"Considering it when necessary, however..."
Tara
Guilt shifted across Tara's face, though there was still some amusement behind it. "I'd only let you call it in if it was absolutely necessary," she promised. "... like, if she wouldn't listen to me."
Kennedy
"I listen to you. I so listen to you," Kennedy interjected as much for Constance's benefit as for Tara's, even though it wasn't entirely accurate. "But come on, like either of you would know what to do with me if I wasn't at least a pain in the ass sometimes."
She leaned back in her chair, all breezy self-assuredness. "You love me that way and you know it."
Tara
Tara couldn't hide her smile. "I want to argue with her," she mused, "but I kind of can't. Constance?"
Constance
Trying to suppress a smile of her own Constance tapped a finger against her lips, but finally gave in and almost grinned. (Well. It was a repressed sort of grin, but relatively speaking...)
"Sometimes," she told Tara, "there are times when making a strategic retreat is the smarter choice. Now, for example."
Kennedy
Kennedy looked from Constance to Tara, then back at Constance.
And pumped one fist demonstratively.
"Score. That means I win," she announced, reaching for the menu. "And as the winner of whatever match this was? I so declare we eat now."
[[nfi, but ooc okay, why not? preplayed with myself and the always awesome life_inshadow.]]