Rikku was in a much better mood tonight than she had been this afternoon, huzzah! And while wandering the hallway, she noticed Dawn's door was open. Score!
"Hey!" she called, popping her head in. "What'cha doin?"
"Deciding that I don't want to go to school in Montana," Dawn twisted in her chair to grin at Rikku. "What's up with the newest sixteen year old I know?"
Rikku giggled. "Where's Montana? Dean's making me a fake ID for Arizona! Do I look sixteen? Can you tell?" She pirouetted. "And oooooh, how was Scotland!?"
"Somewhere in the middle, but on this side of the mountains, and ooh, what for? Yes, I can totally tell," she nodded knowingly, then grinned, "and Scotland was way fun and remember how I told you Spike died? Well, he's not quite as dead as I thought he was. He's back!"
"There are mountains, I totally didn't know that! He said Arizona was a desert and that's where I'm from, 'cept it's not there any more. And he's making me one 'cause I don't have any, like, ID, 'cause I'm not a citizen and I can't say 'hey I'm from Spira' or they'll think I'm crazy and what am I supposed to tell Jude's parents when I meet them!? Because I can't just lie to them but they're so gonna know I'm weird, right?!" Rikku stopped for a breath, and then gasped.
"Dawn! No way! The ... the guy who ... your friend that ... he ..." Rikku clapped a hand over her mouth. "Dawn that is so freaking awesome!!!"
Dawn, incidentally, was about to get a tackleglomp of massive proportions.
"Isn't it?" Dawn hugged Rikku back as she was tackleglomped, laughing as they almost tipped over backwards in the chair. "Arizona is a desert, but I meant Montana, which has mountains. And the fake ID is a good idea, I think, not like I know anything about fake IDs, of course. Wait, you're meeting Jude's parents? And no, they won't necessarily know you're weird."
Rikku laughed and bounced up again. "Oh! Ooh! Sorry, sorry, sorry!" She waved her hands a little and squeed. "Dawn, that is so great and you saw him and he's not I mean that's so awesome! Is he okay and -- oh wow no WAY!"
After a little more bouncing and squeeing she managed to sit down and giggle and wave a bit and add, "Mountains are pretty but they're cold and I might meet Jude's parents after second term but I don't want to because they're all Formal and I'm so so so not? And they're gonna hate me, I know it, but he's going for a curb jam thing and he's teaching me how to board and it's gonna be so cool and whoa." She took a deep breath, and then burst into giggles again. "Holy crap, your friend's back!"
"Yes way!" Dawn gleed back, "and then he almost killed Sam, which was way less fun, but yes, he's very nearly almost alive, or less dead, or whatever we're calling it."
"Can you fake formal? And no, they're not gonna hate you, and what's a curb jam thing and that's so cool about learning to skateboard, and yes!" She stood up and did a little victory dance.
Rikku clapped her hands excitedly. "Wait, so is he okay or not, I mean, less dead isn't so good but then any less than DEAD dead is good, right?! And no, I don't think so! I get all flustered and I flail more when I'm nervous and they're gonna think I'm a crazy alien girl with weird eyes and it's gonna be awful and oh! A curb jam is where a lot of skateboarders get together and they do like tricks and show off against each other or something and Jude totally kicks butt at it and I'm getting better and I have my own board now how cool is that!?? He was teaching me tricks in the park today and it was so great and I was worried he was gonna be upset with the thing but he's not. Which is good. Because that's probably gonna happen a lot, you know!?"
Rikku took a very deep breath. "Wow. We've, like, had a huge week, here."
"Oh, didn't I tell you? He's still a vampire, but he's got a soul now, so he's okay, except for when he's angry or annoyed or bored. So, yeah, undead, but more alive than I thought he was. And ohmigod, he was back for almost a year, and working with Angel in Los Angeles and didn't even call. Dummy."
She finally took a breath. "It's not going to be awful. We'll come up with some random medical condition that means you have to wear sunglasses all the time, if it bothers you, or that they'll be too polite to ask about if it doesn't. And having your own board is awesome! Wait, upset with what thing?"
"Whoa! Wait, vampires, like the ones Mel patrols for?! Is the soul-thing how you tell the good ones from the bad ones!?! And ... a year!? I hope you kicked his sorry butt for that!!! But I'm so glad for you that he's back but I hope he's back and bruised for not telling you and Dawn that is so great!!!"
Rikku was still bouncing but less so for the rest of it. "It's ... Jude said maybe they'll just think I wear weird contacts? But they're gonna think I'm a crazy girl who wears weird contacts and I have to lie about everything like where I'm from and what it's like and ... and they're gonna freak because I'm loud and I get like this and ... and it'll be okay. Right? I mean ... somehow? I mean, Bayla actually knew her grandparents so there's some future where they didn't, like, disown him, for seeing me? Right?"
"The, uh, OH! The thing, the thing with Valentine. Valenteen. But not because he's not a director. Uh, his world is all ... it's kinda going all explodey and he needs ... to stop it and doesn't know if he can and ... and I said
( ... )
"Just like those," Dawn nodded, "and the soul thing is an really, really rare, so if it's not a peroxide-blond who looks like he's missing a leather duster coat or someone who looks just like Seely?? Assume he's a bad one. And yes, he got punched a couple of times, what do you think I am, a marshmallow?"
"Okay, breathe. We'll study up on Arizona, and make sure you know the city you say you're from and give you a good cover story and yes, if Bayla knew her grandparents, they probably didn't disown him."
"Don't worry about it," she explained with a shrug, "happens all the time. And what kind of world saving do you need to do? Because I kinda have to do stuff this weekend, but it's Buffy's thing, y'know?"
"Okay, so, if I run into a vampire, unless he's Seelyish or a bleach blonde, I toast him? Mel was saying something about holy water. I'm used to that being for zombies, but I've got some handy."
She nodded again. "Okay. I'll - if Arizona's a desert, I can totally just - change things a little, right? Or maybe I just say it's Spira and it's far away and they'll think it's a country they've never heard of? I just ... I don't want to lie to them and ... and have to pretend I'm not an Al Bhed, like Yunie did, and I know it's not the same but I ... I hate it."
It took a few moments for her to shake her head and move to the next point. "Oh! The ... oh, wow, we should totally get people and I didn't even think of that, and ... it's something to do with the sky eating people!? And there's a girl named Will who thinks she can fix it but Valentine's not sure and, you know. Fandom again, off to save the world, see you Monday, and he hates it and ... I don't know." She considered. "Buffy, your sister? You said before she does the whole world-
( ... )
"Yup. Fire, holy water, wooden stakes to the heart and decapitation will all work. Just don't breathe the dust in, because some people are allergic."
"Actually, if you call Spira a province or segment of one of the African countries, you could probably still call yourself an Al Bhed," Dawn said, thoughtfully, "Nobody knows all the tribes, so you could be from a little one that hasn't been covered by National Geographic yet."
"...a girl named Will can fix the sky eating people?" She closed her eyes briefly. Please don't be Willow, please don't be Willow, please don't be Willow. "And Buffy started it, at least in my family."
"Fire too?" Rikku considered. "I have, like, fire gems, and I know a Fire spell but it's seriously weak. Better than nothing."
"Maybe I do that, then? They'd ... they'd think I was, uh. That'd explain why I'm not so good with some of the normal things, right? I mean, it's mostly true, just not, uh, not really." She slumped in her chair again. "They're gonna think I'm crazy, aren't they?!"
She chewed her lip. "I think so? She's a Guardian, but not like I am. And Yunie started it in mine. No, her dad did, I guess. Huh."
"Heck, just knowing that vampires exist puts you way ahead of most people." She considered, "Okay, maybe not in Fandom, but most other places. And yeah, that would explain that, plus we can teach you stuff, just like you're studying for a test, if you want. Of course they're not going to think you're crazy! Or maybe it'll be the good kind?"
"Guardian?" Okay, Willow here wouldn't know about that yet. She didn't think. "So, it's a tradition. Buffy's really the natural at it, though."
"Hey!" she called, popping her head in. "What'cha doin?"
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"Dawn! No way! The ... the guy who ... your friend that ... he ..." Rikku clapped a hand over her mouth. "Dawn that is so freaking awesome!!!"
Dawn, incidentally, was about to get a tackleglomp of massive proportions.
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After a little more bouncing and squeeing she managed to sit down and giggle and wave a bit and add, "Mountains are pretty but they're cold and I might meet Jude's parents after second term but I don't want to because they're all Formal and I'm so so so not? And they're gonna hate me, I know it, but he's going for a curb jam thing and he's teaching me how to board and it's gonna be so cool and whoa." She took a deep breath, and then burst into giggles again. "Holy crap, your friend's back!"
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"Can you fake formal? And no, they're not gonna hate you, and what's a curb jam thing and that's so cool about learning to skateboard, and yes!" She stood up and did a little victory dance.
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Rikku took a very deep breath. "Wow. We've, like, had a huge week, here."
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She finally took a breath. "It's not going to be awful. We'll come up with some random medical condition that means you have to wear sunglasses all the time, if it bothers you, or that they'll be too polite to ask about if it doesn't. And having your own board is awesome! Wait, upset with what thing?"
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Rikku was still bouncing but less so for the rest of it. "It's ... Jude said maybe they'll just think I wear weird contacts? But they're gonna think I'm a crazy girl who wears weird contacts and I have to lie about everything like where I'm from and what it's like and ... and they're gonna freak because I'm loud and I get like this and ... and it'll be okay. Right? I mean ... somehow? I mean, Bayla actually knew her grandparents so there's some future where they didn't, like, disown him, for seeing me? Right?"
"The, uh, OH! The thing, the thing with Valentine. Valenteen. But not because he's not a director. Uh, his world is all ... it's kinda going all explodey and he needs ... to stop it and doesn't know if he can and ... and I said ( ... )
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"Okay, breathe. We'll study up on Arizona, and make sure you know the city you say you're from and give you a good cover story and yes, if Bayla knew her grandparents, they probably didn't disown him."
"Don't worry about it," she explained with a shrug, "happens all the time. And what kind of world saving do you need to do? Because I kinda have to do stuff this weekend, but it's Buffy's thing, y'know?"
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She nodded again. "Okay. I'll - if Arizona's a desert, I can totally just - change things a little, right? Or maybe I just say it's Spira and it's far away and they'll think it's a country they've never heard of? I just ... I don't want to lie to them and ... and have to pretend I'm not an Al Bhed, like Yunie did, and I know it's not the same but I ... I hate it."
It took a few moments for her to shake her head and move to the next point. "Oh! The ... oh, wow, we should totally get people and I didn't even think of that, and ... it's something to do with the sky eating people!? And there's a girl named Will who thinks she can fix it but Valentine's not sure and, you know. Fandom again, off to save the world, see you Monday, and he hates it and ... I don't know." She considered. "Buffy, your sister? You said before she does the whole world- ( ... )
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"Actually, if you call Spira a province or segment of one of the African countries, you could probably still call yourself an Al Bhed," Dawn said, thoughtfully, "Nobody knows all the tribes, so you could be from a little one that hasn't been covered by National Geographic yet."
"...a girl named Will can fix the sky eating people?" She closed her eyes briefly. Please don't be Willow, please don't be Willow, please don't be Willow. "And Buffy started it, at least in my family."
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"Maybe I do that, then? They'd ... they'd think I was, uh. That'd explain why I'm not so good with some of the normal things, right? I mean, it's mostly true, just not, uh, not really." She slumped in her chair again. "They're gonna think I'm crazy, aren't they?!"
She chewed her lip. "I think so? She's a Guardian, but not like I am. And Yunie started it in mine. No, her dad did, I guess. Huh."
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"Guardian?" Okay, Willow here wouldn't know about that yet. She didn't think. "So, it's a tradition. Buffy's really the natural at it, though."
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