[ voice/action ]

[slaying]

Willow's gone home.

[ the broadcast begins abruptly and buffy's voice is hard. not soft and vulnerable like when she had announced xander's disappearance. this is because she has had a full hour to herself in willow's now-empty room. she had gone in to set a batch of freshly laundered sheets on the witch's bed, all set out for when she came back

Comments

[action]

[bookworldly]

[Thursday is just backing her way out of the grocery store. She has one bag in each hand and the top ends of vegetables stick up out of the sides of her jacket and the back pockets of her jeans at odd angles. It's difficult to shop for one person. She'd just gotten used to shopping for two.

Now she's crossing the square on the way toward the first community housing building. The route that she takes is circuitous - she opts to skirt around the outer edge of the fountain. It is somewhere along this process that she sees Buffy - and in full 3D. Should she engage her? They didn't part on such bad terms the last time they spoke. Oh well, now she's been looking that way for a good for seconds. If Buffy catches her eye, she'll smile and wait for the blonde girl to choose either to walk on or flag her down.]

[action]

[slaying]

[ it's a few feet later and buffy finds some celery on the ground and she turns...mouth ajar for a moment. perhaps she should just let her go. forget about it. ]

Uh...excuse me? Ma'am? [ she crouches and scoops up the lost vegetable. ]

[bookworldly]

[Thursday turns. As soon as she sees the vegetable in Buffy's hand she checks her back pocket with a pat and shakes her head. Walking toward her, she say;]

Thanks. I guess I bought that on myself.

[slaying]

You know, you can get canvas ones at the shop. They do a better job -- [ she holds out the celery. wait, this is a voice she knows. ]

Thursday, right?

[Voice]

[crytearsofjoy]

[Willow. She thinks she remembers Buffy mentioning that name before. A close friend, Winry guesses. There isn't much she can say, other than:]

Do you want some company?

[Voice]

[slaying]

[ winry. cutting straight to the heart of the matter.

appreciatively, she answers: ] Company would be nice.

[Voice]

[crytearsofjoy]

Your place? Somewhere else? [Wherever you're comfortable, girl.]

[Voice]

[slaying]

Mine works. You...uhm, don't worry about the door. Just come in.

[ voice ]

[hippocraticly]

[ he catches the announcement at the medical center. damn it. ]

I'm sorry, Summers.

[ voice ]

[slaying]

I'm not ready to be the lady of the house.

[ the words are out way before she can think about them and their implication and the horribleness they might represent to the doctor. ]

[ voice ]

[hippocraticly]

[ a dwindling household shouldn't come as a great blow to the divorcee, but it does take him a while to formulate a reply. ]

Are you going to be all right until I get home?

[ voice ]

[slaying]

Winry's coming over. We'll...I'll be okay, Bones. [ a deep breath. ] Thanks, though. For the concern.

[Locked to Buffy - 75% unhackable]

[consultmybooks]

[...well, that's just...

Giles' reply comes late, because he has to take several minutes to get himself under control. But he still sounds more than a little upset when he replies - there's a definite edge to his voice, something like a note of frustration.

Because there is a certain frustration to it, a hopeless, helpless anger at being separated from his friends one by one that he isn't ready to deal with yet.

Especially not Willow and Xander. Not after they'd all just made amends.]

...thank you for letting us know.

[It seems like a safe enough thing to say.]

[Locked to Buffy - 75% unhackable]

[slaying]

It's the hat I really don't like to wear. Letting-Us-Know girl.

Re: [Locked to Buffy - 75% unhackable]

[consultmybooks]

Perfectly understandable. It...doesn't seem like a terribly nice hat.

[Locked to Buffy - 75% unhackable]

[slaying]

Doesn't go with these shoes.

[ a quiet, listless answer. ]

[voice]

[beaglenapper]

Willow?! [Scotty sounds stricken. He might have had a small "you give me brownies" crush on Willow. Maybe.]

[voice]

[slaying]

Back in Sunnydale. It's...the whole house'll miss her. I know.

[voice]

[beaglenapper]

Understood. Is there anything I can do, lass?

[voice]

[slaying]

I don't suppose you and your engineer mind have perfected some kind of excellent world-to-world portal yet, right?

[ a sigh. ] Be at supper, tonight. Bones and me are cooking. [ be afraid. be very afraid. ]