[New York City is all around him, a mixture of loud noise and constant movement. He's standing in the middle of the sidewalk, holding a piece of paper and scanning the crowd
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[This is a dream, so Willow doesn't question anything. She's standing in the corner of the alley, her nose in a book, the title vague and unreadable at the moment. She looks up at him, visibly concerned.]
Damnit! [He spins around, turning to face her. Yo9u're kidding, right? Where is she? She has to be here, there's nowhere to go. [He's frustrated and tired and he was so, so close. She can't have just disappeared.]
[Willow's spent enough time saving people that it's her automatic response. She shuts the book and tucks it under her arm; it's thick, leather-bound, and musty.]
[He considers her offer, studying her for a moment. Why not? What does he have to lose at this point?] Sure, okay.
[He starts studying the alley more closely, trying ot see if there are any hidden doors or anything but he doubts he'll find anything. It looks like an average, every day alley and if Willow didn't even hear someone come down this way....]
I don't even know where to go next. It's more an admission meant for himself than to her but he says it aloud anyway, though he's not entirely sure why.]
Tell me what she looks like? [she suggests, taking a step away from the wall and peering around as he does. She's probably looking for different things, though: traces of demons, the sense that magic's been worked here... but there's none of that. Willow supposes at some point she has to run into regular, mundane problems, too. It just doesn't seem likely.]
We could try retracing her steps, too. We might run across something useful.
[When he speaks, there's a detatchment to it, like he's rehearsed this in his mind, or at least some of it] White, blue eyes, long, dark brown hair that was pulled back when I saw her. She was wearing jeans and a burgundy blouse from what I could see. She didn't have a bag or anything.
[He continues to feel around the walls, finding nothing and giving a frustrated sigh. This was impossible. She couldn't just vanish and he would have seen if she had doubled back.
We can but I doubt it's going to do any good. She's had enough time to put distance between us, so that we'd have trouble tracking her even if she wasn't good at losing a tail.
[Her eyes widen.] Oh, she's... not wanting to be found. Gotcha. [That's a whole different ball game, and Willow's suddenly not so sure about helping him, especially after the way he rattled off her description by rote.
Sure, he looks nice and respectable, but so did the Mayor. And then he turned into a gigantic demon snake thing. Those kinds of things make Willow cautious, but she's slowly trying to put the pieces of the story together.] Let's look anyway, [she says decisively, moving toward the entrance to the alley.] She's definitely not back here. And maybe you can tell me why you're looking for a girl in danger that doesn't want to be found.
No, it's not that. Look, it's complicated, really complicated. [He rakes his hands through his hair, frustration obvious.] Someone is using her to get to me and they're doing a really good job at it. It's not that she doesn't want to be found, so much as she thinks that if she is found, she's putting us in even more danger than what we're already in.
[That explanation deflates her.] Complicated, but... I understand. No wonder you're worried.
I really do want to help, there's just not a lot I can-- [She stops mid-sentence and blurts out,] But I think we're dreaming. There's been a lot of weirdness, and someone said dream, and now I'm stuck on the dream explanation.
[He stares at her skeptically but he doesn't completely dismiss the possibility. Things are...odd. The world seems different, things don't quite add up right.]
A dream. [He says the word carefully.] I guess it's a possibility. It would explain how she just vanished. But why am I dreaming about you? I mean,, I understand Kate. but I have no idea who you are.
[He laughs a little, shaking his head.] You do know that the whole dream theory in general sounds a little unbelievable, right? I mean I'm not saying I don't believe you, just that considering the foundation is a little suspect, it doesn't seem like a few out there theoriest are going to be that bad.
[He considers for a moment before nodding and gesturing for her to begin.] Go for it. I'm kind of curious to see what my mind things is decent proof, to be honest.
[She takes a moment to decide what she'll do, and ends up with 'grand gesture' as maybe the best. It's short, sweet, and undeniable.]
Not to go all Aladdin on you, but take my hand and I'll show you. [She holds it out to be taken. Willow's gotten a good enough hold on the dream scape by now that suddenly changing locations is not a challenge for her; she's nearing teleportation in real life through magic, and this is infinitely easier. She's not confident enough to do it without physical contact just yet, though, and who knows what consequences there would be here. Better safe than sorry is an important motto.]
[He takes her hands, his eyebrows raised.] This should be interesting. [It's not said unkindly, more musing than anything else. Whatever she's going to do, it's going to be a sight to see, he's sure. It would have to be to prove that he's actually dreaming. Or that's what he thinks anyway.]
I'm sorry, she's not here. You just missed her.
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Is she in danger? [This is the first thing she thinks of, even while asleep.]
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But where could she have gone? He knows he saw her come down this way.
He takes a deep breath, hands raking through his hair in frustration]
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Do you want me to help you look for her?
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[He starts studying the alley more closely, trying ot see if there are any hidden doors or anything but he doubts he'll find anything. It looks like an average, every day alley and if Willow didn't even hear someone come down this way....]
I don't even know where to go next. It's more an admission meant for himself than to her but he says it aloud anyway, though he's not entirely sure why.]
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We could try retracing her steps, too. We might run across something useful.
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[He continues to feel around the walls, finding nothing and giving a frustrated sigh. This was impossible. She couldn't just vanish and he would have seen if she had doubled back.
We can but I doubt it's going to do any good. She's had enough time to put distance between us, so that we'd have trouble tracking her even if she wasn't good at losing a tail.
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Sure, he looks nice and respectable, but so did the Mayor. And then he turned into a gigantic demon snake thing. Those kinds of things make Willow cautious, but she's slowly trying to put the pieces of the story together.] Let's look anyway, [she says decisively, moving toward the entrance to the alley.] She's definitely not back here. And maybe you can tell me why you're looking for a girl in danger that doesn't want to be found.
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[He smiles bitterly] See? Complicated.
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I really do want to help, there's just not a lot I can-- [She stops mid-sentence and blurts out,] But I think we're dreaming. There's been a lot of weirdness, and someone said dream, and now I'm stuck on the dream explanation.
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A dream. [He says the word carefully.] I guess it's a possibility. It would explain how she just vanished. But why am I dreaming about you? I mean,, I understand Kate. but I have no idea who you are.
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I can show you some things that would prove it's a dream, I think, but it won't answer the 'why' or 'how'.
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[He considers for a moment before nodding and gesturing for her to begin.] Go for it. I'm kind of curious to see what my mind things is decent proof, to be honest.
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Not to go all Aladdin on you, but take my hand and I'll show you. [She holds it out to be taken. Willow's gotten a good enough hold on the dream scape by now that suddenly changing locations is not a challenge for her; she's nearing teleportation in real life through magic, and this is infinitely easier. She's not confident enough to do it without physical contact just yet, though, and who knows what consequences there would be here. Better safe than sorry is an important motto.]
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