The Simplest Answer, Buffyverse, Rated: G, for malinaldarose
Title: The Simplest Answer
Author: larah33
Rating: G
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Characters: Dawn, Tara, Willow
Word Count: 1,315
Recipient: malinaldarose
Prompt: "Replenish the world with quiet wonder, not sorceries." Charles de Lint
Author Notes: Set sometime between seasons four and six. Much gratitude goes to amilyn for her quick beta reads. You are a life saver.
Dawn scanned the gathered items, mentally crossing them off the checklist of required ingredients. Worm's blood, vervane, Hecate's Tears, lock of hair, bird's claw, and red candles. Everything lay neatly on the red velvet cloth that she had also managed to sneak out of The Magic Box. The knowledge that Anya would throw a fit when the former demon discovered the stock was missing was off-set by the belief that casting the spell was necessary.
"I guess I'm as ready as can be," Dawn muttered to herself, steeling herself for the task at hand.
Dropping to her knees, she pushed back the throw rug on the floor at the foot of her bed, exposing the hardwood flooring beneath. Dipping the bird's claw into the worm's blood, Dawn carefully drew a pentagram on the dark wood. She had heard Willow talking about the benefits of clean lines often enough to ensure her entire focus was placed on keeping her hand from trembling and blurring the lines. Once the pentagram was complete, Dawn sat back on her heels, breathing deeply to quiet the tremors in her body; calming the remnants of adrenaline in her blood stream.
"Calm down, Dawnie. You haven't even started spell casting," she sighed.
For the next step in the preparations, Dawn placed a red votive candle at each of the pentagram's points, lighting each one carefully. Next, she placed the lock of hair on a small pile of the vervane in the centre of the symbol, being sure to avoid the fire. Picking up the jar of Hecate's Tears with one hand, she pulled a paper out of her pocket with the other. Knowing that Latin was going to be impossible for her to get right, she'd opted for writing out the spell in English. It'd worked for the Charmed Ones, right?
Unfolding the paper, Dawn took a deep breath before speaking.
"I beseech all powers
Hear my plea
With this sacrifice
Set her free."
At the end of each line, Dawn shook some of the liquid into the pentagram. With one last flick of her wrist, she emptied the jar across the whole arrangement. Before she knew what was happening, some of the Tears landed in one of the votives, causing a huge flare-up of flame. The flame grew to encompass the entire pentagram.
Yelping loudly, Dawn scrambled backwards to avoid the fire. This hadn't been part of the plan. Struggling to her feet, she looked around desperately for something to extinguish the conflagration before it escaped the confines of the pentagram. Unfortunately, most of what she had nearby was flammable. And the fire was between her and the bedroom door. When the smoke detector went off, she lunged for a window, hoping to get out as quickly as possible. She had one leg over the windowsill when her door was flung open and Willow and Tara pushed their way into the room.
"Dawn?" Tara called out, waving a hand in front of her face to dissipate the smoke. "Are you in here?"
Willow waved her hands towards the fire, shouting, "Unda ut quench incendia."
Dawn watched a shower of water rain down upon the flames, extinguishing them quickly. She breathed a huge sigh of relief. The sound drew the attention of the two witches.
"Dawn, are you okay?" Tara asked, at the same time Willow said, "Dawn, what were you doing?"
For a brief moment, Dawn considered completing her jump out the window. A broken leg might be preferable to the lecture she knew she was in for. She pulled her leg back over the sill and stood to face her friends.
"Thank god you're okay," Tara said, before pulling Dawn into a hug. Dawn struggled not to pull back in embarrassment.
"I thought you guys were at the movies." Dawn sounded petulant, even to herself.
"We got halfway to the theatre before I realised I'd forgotten my sweater," Tara blushed.
"And it's a very good thing she did," Willow said, brows creasing in a frown. "Dawnie, what were you thinking?"
"It was just a little spell," Dawn murmured, her eyes downcast.
"Really? Your first spell?" Tara smiled proudly before catching Willow's eye and wiping the smile off her face. She looked away and down, moving slightly to stand behind Willow. And then she smiled at Dawn again, when she knew the stronger witch couldn't see her.
"Why?" Willow remained serious.
Dawn sighed, deciding it would be easier to just come clean. Lifting her head, she explained.
"There's a girl at school, Susan Meyers." Dawn looked down at her hands, scrapping at some dried blood under her nails. "She gets teased a lot by the other kids. I just wanted to help her, so I thought I'd whip up a spell to … help her." Dawn shifted her weight from foot to foot, feeling a sudden urge to run and hide.
"Aw, that's so sweet," Tara grinned again. "Isn't that sweet Willow?"
"Yes, very sweet. And also very dangerous. Didn't you know that Hecate's Tears are flammable?" Willow would not be deterred from her lecture, apparently. "Where did you get all this anyhow?"
Dawn looked down at the sodden mess on her floor. The worm's blood had diluted, running together with the lock of Susan's hair that she'd managed to snag when she'd been sitting behind the other girl in home room, and the vervane. Even the paper with her home made spell was lying, soggy where it had fallen forgotten.
"Anya's going to kill me," Dawn sighed.
"No, she won't. We won't let her. Right, Willow?" Tara said.
"Let me see the spell," Willow held out her hand.
Dawn scooped it up and draped the dripping paper across Willow's palm, where Tara leaned over the redhead's shoulder to read along. Dawn watched expectantly, hoping against hope that her friends would be able to help her.
"Well?" she asked.
Willow and Tara looked at each other, and then at Dawn.
"It rhymes?" Tara offered.
"That's what I thought," Dawn sighed again.
"Wait," Willow said. "There is potential. It's just that it doesn't really specify anything."
"You have all the right ingredients," Tara added, nodding encouragement.
"I guess it was too much to ask that my first spell would work out," Dawn shrugged.
"Yeah, but I don't get it. Why did you need a spell in the first place?" Willow asked.
"I told you, I wanted to help Susan not be picked on."
Tara and Willow shared another look and smiled.
"There's an easier way to do that, sweetie," Tara said.
"You guys already made a potion?" Dawn smiled.
"No, honey," Willow corrected. "You could just be Susan's friend."
"What?" Dawn didn't get it.
"Did Buffy ever tell you that I used to be like Susan?" Willow asked. "When she first moved to Sunnydale, she decided not to join Cordelia and her group. She sat down next to me at lunch and totally changed my life."
"Just talk to her. Let her know she's not alone," Tara added, smiling at Willow. "You could end up with the most amazing best friend."
"But … that just seems so mundane," Dawn protested.
"Dawn, not everything needs to be about magic," Willow said.
Dawn knew the older girl was right. With all the crazy going on in the Summers household, the simple solution was probably the best solution. In fact, Buffy was always trying to get Dawn to lead a more normal life apart from all the vampires, demons, and other Hellspawn.
"Be her friend," Dawn repeated. She considered the not-so-wild idea and quickly found herself warming to it.
"Be her friend," Willow confirmed. "But clean up your room first."
Dawn felt herself deflate at the prospect.
"We'll help," Tara offered, placing a hand on her arm.
"Okay, thanks," Dawn brightened, straightening up again.
"Oh. And can we not tell Buffy about my little experiment?"
Author: larah33
Rating: G
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Characters: Dawn, Tara, Willow
Word Count: 1,315
Recipient: malinaldarose
Prompt: "Replenish the world with quiet wonder, not sorceries." Charles de Lint
Author Notes: Set sometime between seasons four and six. Much gratitude goes to amilyn for her quick beta reads. You are a life saver.
Dawn scanned the gathered items, mentally crossing them off the checklist of required ingredients. Worm's blood, vervane, Hecate's Tears, lock of hair, bird's claw, and red candles. Everything lay neatly on the red velvet cloth that she had also managed to sneak out of The Magic Box. The knowledge that Anya would throw a fit when the former demon discovered the stock was missing was off-set by the belief that casting the spell was necessary.
"I guess I'm as ready as can be," Dawn muttered to herself, steeling herself for the task at hand.
Dropping to her knees, she pushed back the throw rug on the floor at the foot of her bed, exposing the hardwood flooring beneath. Dipping the bird's claw into the worm's blood, Dawn carefully drew a pentagram on the dark wood. She had heard Willow talking about the benefits of clean lines often enough to ensure her entire focus was placed on keeping her hand from trembling and blurring the lines. Once the pentagram was complete, Dawn sat back on her heels, breathing deeply to quiet the tremors in her body; calming the remnants of adrenaline in her blood stream.
"Calm down, Dawnie. You haven't even started spell casting," she sighed.
For the next step in the preparations, Dawn placed a red votive candle at each of the pentagram's points, lighting each one carefully. Next, she placed the lock of hair on a small pile of the vervane in the centre of the symbol, being sure to avoid the fire. Picking up the jar of Hecate's Tears with one hand, she pulled a paper out of her pocket with the other. Knowing that Latin was going to be impossible for her to get right, she'd opted for writing out the spell in English. It'd worked for the Charmed Ones, right?
Unfolding the paper, Dawn took a deep breath before speaking.
"I beseech all powers
Hear my plea
With this sacrifice
Set her free."
At the end of each line, Dawn shook some of the liquid into the pentagram. With one last flick of her wrist, she emptied the jar across the whole arrangement. Before she knew what was happening, some of the Tears landed in one of the votives, causing a huge flare-up of flame. The flame grew to encompass the entire pentagram.
Yelping loudly, Dawn scrambled backwards to avoid the fire. This hadn't been part of the plan. Struggling to her feet, she looked around desperately for something to extinguish the conflagration before it escaped the confines of the pentagram. Unfortunately, most of what she had nearby was flammable. And the fire was between her and the bedroom door. When the smoke detector went off, she lunged for a window, hoping to get out as quickly as possible. She had one leg over the windowsill when her door was flung open and Willow and Tara pushed their way into the room.
"Dawn?" Tara called out, waving a hand in front of her face to dissipate the smoke. "Are you in here?"
Willow waved her hands towards the fire, shouting, "Unda ut quench incendia."
Dawn watched a shower of water rain down upon the flames, extinguishing them quickly. She breathed a huge sigh of relief. The sound drew the attention of the two witches.
"Dawn, are you okay?" Tara asked, at the same time Willow said, "Dawn, what were you doing?"
For a brief moment, Dawn considered completing her jump out the window. A broken leg might be preferable to the lecture she knew she was in for. She pulled her leg back over the sill and stood to face her friends.
"Thank god you're okay," Tara said, before pulling Dawn into a hug. Dawn struggled not to pull back in embarrassment.
"I thought you guys were at the movies." Dawn sounded petulant, even to herself.
"We got halfway to the theatre before I realised I'd forgotten my sweater," Tara blushed.
"And it's a very good thing she did," Willow said, brows creasing in a frown. "Dawnie, what were you thinking?"
"It was just a little spell," Dawn murmured, her eyes downcast.
"Really? Your first spell?" Tara smiled proudly before catching Willow's eye and wiping the smile off her face. She looked away and down, moving slightly to stand behind Willow. And then she smiled at Dawn again, when she knew the stronger witch couldn't see her.
"Why?" Willow remained serious.
Dawn sighed, deciding it would be easier to just come clean. Lifting her head, she explained.
"There's a girl at school, Susan Meyers." Dawn looked down at her hands, scrapping at some dried blood under her nails. "She gets teased a lot by the other kids. I just wanted to help her, so I thought I'd whip up a spell to … help her." Dawn shifted her weight from foot to foot, feeling a sudden urge to run and hide.
"Aw, that's so sweet," Tara grinned again. "Isn't that sweet Willow?"
"Yes, very sweet. And also very dangerous. Didn't you know that Hecate's Tears are flammable?" Willow would not be deterred from her lecture, apparently. "Where did you get all this anyhow?"
Dawn looked down at the sodden mess on her floor. The worm's blood had diluted, running together with the lock of Susan's hair that she'd managed to snag when she'd been sitting behind the other girl in home room, and the vervane. Even the paper with her home made spell was lying, soggy where it had fallen forgotten.
"Anya's going to kill me," Dawn sighed.
"No, she won't. We won't let her. Right, Willow?" Tara said.
"Let me see the spell," Willow held out her hand.
Dawn scooped it up and draped the dripping paper across Willow's palm, where Tara leaned over the redhead's shoulder to read along. Dawn watched expectantly, hoping against hope that her friends would be able to help her.
"Well?" she asked.
Willow and Tara looked at each other, and then at Dawn.
"It rhymes?" Tara offered.
"That's what I thought," Dawn sighed again.
"Wait," Willow said. "There is potential. It's just that it doesn't really specify anything."
"You have all the right ingredients," Tara added, nodding encouragement.
"I guess it was too much to ask that my first spell would work out," Dawn shrugged.
"Yeah, but I don't get it. Why did you need a spell in the first place?" Willow asked.
"I told you, I wanted to help Susan not be picked on."
Tara and Willow shared another look and smiled.
"There's an easier way to do that, sweetie," Tara said.
"You guys already made a potion?" Dawn smiled.
"No, honey," Willow corrected. "You could just be Susan's friend."
"What?" Dawn didn't get it.
"Did Buffy ever tell you that I used to be like Susan?" Willow asked. "When she first moved to Sunnydale, she decided not to join Cordelia and her group. She sat down next to me at lunch and totally changed my life."
"Just talk to her. Let her know she's not alone," Tara added, smiling at Willow. "You could end up with the most amazing best friend."
"But … that just seems so mundane," Dawn protested.
"Dawn, not everything needs to be about magic," Willow said.
Dawn knew the older girl was right. With all the crazy going on in the Summers household, the simple solution was probably the best solution. In fact, Buffy was always trying to get Dawn to lead a more normal life apart from all the vampires, demons, and other Hellspawn.
"Be her friend," Dawn repeated. She considered the not-so-wild idea and quickly found herself warming to it.
"Be her friend," Willow confirmed. "But clean up your room first."
Dawn felt herself deflate at the prospect.
"We'll help," Tara offered, placing a hand on her arm.
"Okay, thanks," Dawn brightened, straightening up again.
"Oh. And can we not tell Buffy about my little experiment?"