Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Tara Maclay/Willow Rosenberg. #097, Uncomfortable.
Title: Spell Gone Wrong?
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Characters: Tara, Willow
Prompt: 097. Uncomfortable
Word Count: 1,152
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or any of its characters (sadly enough), they definitely belong to Joss Whedon.
Summary: Willow's excited about doing a new spell, but Tara is considerably less so...
Warnings: Femslash, or at least hints of it contained within. Set during Season Four, with multiple lines of dialogue taken from '
Author: Katherine Magnolia, a.k.a. desire-of-nymph, written for the 100moods challenge.
Tara set her backpack on her desk when she got back from class, relieved that she didn't have to spend another hour trying to be genuinely interested in something that she really wasn't. Normally she loved her Anthropology class, but as of late it was far too difficult to take notes actively. She always started to doodle, or her mind drifted to whatever she had done the night before with Willow. This time it had been a very simple spell that caused water to change color with the mood of whoever was touching it. A faint blush tinged her cheeks as she remembered the color it had last turned when Willow held it; a deep pink that both had pretended to ignore. But it still gave her a warm feeling to know that Willow truly did like her as more than a friend, even if neither young woman had been able to say it aloud yet.
She caught a red flashing light on her answering machine and hit the play button, expecting it to be exactly who it was. A smile tugged at her lips as she listened to Willow's voice. Wonder when she left that, Tara wondered just as a knock sounded on her door. She walked over and opened it, her smile widening.
"Howdy," Willow said.
Tara leaned against the door frame, her once rare half-smile coming easily to her lips. "I just got your message a minute ago. I was in class, but I was about to call you."
Willow returned the smile, green eyes sparkling. "I had so much fun the other night, those spells."
A flash of the deep pink water in Willow's hands, and the nearly red in her own, flashed through Tara's mind and she only just kept back an idiotic grin. "Yeah, that was nice."
Worry flashed in those pretty eyes. "I hope you don't think that I just come over for the spells and everything," Willow said quickly, reaching out to touch Tara's arm. " I mean, I really like just talking and hanging out with you and stuff."
"I know that," Tara said reassuringly. "But you want to do a spell."
"Yeah."
Tara couldn't help but giggle at the hopeful look on Willow's face.
"But only because it's really important," Willow insisted. "There's this-"
"No, you don't have to explain. I don't mind, really. I've been uh, thinking about that last spell we did... all day." That was a severe understatement.
"You have?" If anything, Willow seemed a little surprised, but not unpleasantly so.
"Mmhmm," Tara replied.
"Well this one should be really fun too. We conjure the goddess Thespia to help us locate demonic energy in the area."
Demonic energy?? Tara thought, her eyes going a little wild. But she did her best to cover up how uncomfortable speaking of demons made her. "The g-goddess Thespia. Are you sure we're ready for that?" Please say no, that you're just being ambitious again... I do not want to do that spell! She desperately hoped that her face wasn't showing the turmoil that had been kicked up inside of her stomach.
"You and me!" Willow said excitedly, laying her hands on Tara's shoulders. "This is beneath us." The look in her eyes caused Tara's breath to catch. How could she say no?
"Okay," Tara said, doing her best to keep her smile as bright as Willow's. As the red-head slid her hands down to grab Tara's and pull her back into the room, the blonde said very softly, "If you say so." But anyone who looked close enough would have seen the worry, or even fear, in her eyes.
------
Tara didn't say anything as Willow began to pull out materials for the spell, just watched silently and handed the other young woman whatever she needed when she asked for it. She had her arms crossed in front of her chest, practically radiating how uncomfortable she was. Yet Willow was so caught up in preparing for the spell that she didn't even catch it, something that only served to make Tara's unease with the whole situation grow.
"So, the square," Tara motioned to the twine arranged in a square with a different colored crystal at each point, "represents Sunnydale?"
Willow didn't look up from the powder she was grinding. "Right it's like a map. We both take different parts of the potion and when we do the incantation we both blow it onto the square at the exact same time."
"But how does it work?" There was an edge of desperation to Tara's question. Maybe it didn't work like she thought it did, maybe it would only locate a certain demon. Or even just a single breed.
"Well that's the cool part. When the potion mixes and Thespia is called it creates this mist over the parts where the demons are. I-It even makes different colors for different breeds."
Tara swallowed hard and nodded her head. "Wow," she managed to say, proud of how her voice didn't squeak even a little.
"You ready?" Unable to get any words past the suddenly huge lump in her throat, Tara simply nodded and extended her hands. Willow flashed her a smile that, instead of giving Tara that usual warm feeling, made her feel slightly sick. The other young woman really wanted this spell to work... "Let's do it," Willow said, her smile gone.
Taking a deep breath, Tara closed her eyes and began the incantation, "Thespia, we walk in shadow, walk in blindness. You are the protector of the night."
"Thespia, goddess, ruler of all darkness, we implore you, open a window to the world of the underbeing," Willow intoned, drawing in a deep breath. Tara's eyes flew open and, even as she mimicked Willow by blowing her breath out, she dumped her handful of green powder underneath her bed. She'll never know, the blonde witch told herself, eyes closing again as Willow continued. "With your knowledge may we go in safety. With your grace may we speak of your benevolence."
When Tara opened her eyes she was relieved to find that the spell had not worked, there were no glowing spots anywhere within the square. But the look of disappointment and confusion on Willow's face was enough to make her shift uncomfortably. I'll never do that again, Tara promised herself. I'll just tell her if the subject ever comes up, not that it will.
"Hey, since that spell didn't work, do you want to try some more astrology?" Tara asked, reaching out to set her hand on top of Willow's. "It'll cheer you up."
Willow nodded. "Yeah, sure. I just don't get why it didn't work... we did everything right!"
"Maybe Thespia just doesn't want to help us out tonight."
"Haha, very funny Tara."
"i try." The light banter was almost enough to make her feel less uneasy about what she had just done. Almost.
Little Moody Table
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Characters: Tara, Willow
Prompt: 097. Uncomfortable
Word Count: 1,152
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or any of its characters (sadly enough), they definitely belong to Joss Whedon.
Summary: Willow's excited about doing a new spell, but Tara is considerably less so...
Warnings: Femslash, or at least hints of it contained within. Set during Season Four, with multiple lines of dialogue taken from '
Author: Katherine Magnolia, a.k.a. desire-of-nymph, written for the 100moods challenge.
Tara set her backpack on her desk when she got back from class, relieved that she didn't have to spend another hour trying to be genuinely interested in something that she really wasn't. Normally she loved her Anthropology class, but as of late it was far too difficult to take notes actively. She always started to doodle, or her mind drifted to whatever she had done the night before with Willow. This time it had been a very simple spell that caused water to change color with the mood of whoever was touching it. A faint blush tinged her cheeks as she remembered the color it had last turned when Willow held it; a deep pink that both had pretended to ignore. But it still gave her a warm feeling to know that Willow truly did like her as more than a friend, even if neither young woman had been able to say it aloud yet.
She caught a red flashing light on her answering machine and hit the play button, expecting it to be exactly who it was. A smile tugged at her lips as she listened to Willow's voice. Wonder when she left that, Tara wondered just as a knock sounded on her door. She walked over and opened it, her smile widening.
"Howdy," Willow said.
Tara leaned against the door frame, her once rare half-smile coming easily to her lips. "I just got your message a minute ago. I was in class, but I was about to call you."
Willow returned the smile, green eyes sparkling. "I had so much fun the other night, those spells."
A flash of the deep pink water in Willow's hands, and the nearly red in her own, flashed through Tara's mind and she only just kept back an idiotic grin. "Yeah, that was nice."
Worry flashed in those pretty eyes. "I hope you don't think that I just come over for the spells and everything," Willow said quickly, reaching out to touch Tara's arm. " I mean, I really like just talking and hanging out with you and stuff."
"I know that," Tara said reassuringly. "But you want to do a spell."
"Yeah."
Tara couldn't help but giggle at the hopeful look on Willow's face.
"But only because it's really important," Willow insisted. "There's this-"
"No, you don't have to explain. I don't mind, really. I've been uh, thinking about that last spell we did... all day." That was a severe understatement.
"You have?" If anything, Willow seemed a little surprised, but not unpleasantly so.
"Mmhmm," Tara replied.
"Well this one should be really fun too. We conjure the goddess Thespia to help us locate demonic energy in the area."
Demonic energy?? Tara thought, her eyes going a little wild. But she did her best to cover up how uncomfortable speaking of demons made her. "The g-goddess Thespia. Are you sure we're ready for that?" Please say no, that you're just being ambitious again... I do not want to do that spell! She desperately hoped that her face wasn't showing the turmoil that had been kicked up inside of her stomach.
"You and me!" Willow said excitedly, laying her hands on Tara's shoulders. "This is beneath us." The look in her eyes caused Tara's breath to catch. How could she say no?
"Okay," Tara said, doing her best to keep her smile as bright as Willow's. As the red-head slid her hands down to grab Tara's and pull her back into the room, the blonde said very softly, "If you say so." But anyone who looked close enough would have seen the worry, or even fear, in her eyes.
------
Tara didn't say anything as Willow began to pull out materials for the spell, just watched silently and handed the other young woman whatever she needed when she asked for it. She had her arms crossed in front of her chest, practically radiating how uncomfortable she was. Yet Willow was so caught up in preparing for the spell that she didn't even catch it, something that only served to make Tara's unease with the whole situation grow.
"So, the square," Tara motioned to the twine arranged in a square with a different colored crystal at each point, "represents Sunnydale?"
Willow didn't look up from the powder she was grinding. "Right it's like a map. We both take different parts of the potion and when we do the incantation we both blow it onto the square at the exact same time."
"But how does it work?" There was an edge of desperation to Tara's question. Maybe it didn't work like she thought it did, maybe it would only locate a certain demon. Or even just a single breed.
"Well that's the cool part. When the potion mixes and Thespia is called it creates this mist over the parts where the demons are. I-It even makes different colors for different breeds."
Tara swallowed hard and nodded her head. "Wow," she managed to say, proud of how her voice didn't squeak even a little.
"You ready?" Unable to get any words past the suddenly huge lump in her throat, Tara simply nodded and extended her hands. Willow flashed her a smile that, instead of giving Tara that usual warm feeling, made her feel slightly sick. The other young woman really wanted this spell to work... "Let's do it," Willow said, her smile gone.
Taking a deep breath, Tara closed her eyes and began the incantation, "Thespia, we walk in shadow, walk in blindness. You are the protector of the night."
"Thespia, goddess, ruler of all darkness, we implore you, open a window to the world of the underbeing," Willow intoned, drawing in a deep breath. Tara's eyes flew open and, even as she mimicked Willow by blowing her breath out, she dumped her handful of green powder underneath her bed. She'll never know, the blonde witch told herself, eyes closing again as Willow continued. "With your knowledge may we go in safety. With your grace may we speak of your benevolence."
When Tara opened her eyes she was relieved to find that the spell had not worked, there were no glowing spots anywhere within the square. But the look of disappointment and confusion on Willow's face was enough to make her shift uncomfortably. I'll never do that again, Tara promised herself. I'll just tell her if the subject ever comes up, not that it will.
"Hey, since that spell didn't work, do you want to try some more astrology?" Tara asked, reaching out to set her hand on top of Willow's. "It'll cheer you up."
Willow nodded. "Yeah, sure. I just don't get why it didn't work... we did everything right!"
"Maybe Thespia just doesn't want to help us out tonight."
"Haha, very funny Tara."
"i try." The light banter was almost enough to make her feel less uneasy about what she had just done. Almost.
Little Moody Table