[Willow nods as Tara assures her she's fine, without really believing it. There's been too much strange behaviour, and it's getting harder to ignore the more time goes on and the more often she seems to say or do something completely unexpected, like she's too far into her own head, or another world completely.]
Well... it's better. Mostly, anyway. Qrow and I are still trying to stay out of each other's way a little, but it's okay. It'll be fine.
[She shifts her focus again back to Tara in the wake of the question.]
Are you sure you're okay? I know everything's been... kind of crazy, especially since you just moved in not that long ago. I mean, this is crazy even by Trench standards.
Okay, maybe a little less so by Deerington standards, but this place really seemed kind of... calmer until now.
[More of a hope on her end, but she would hold fast to it. What Willow did was a hard choice, but it was something that she felt was necessary. And given that others had been uncomfortable, it was better to remove the source of it all.
She shifted a little, pulling her knees up to her chest. This was obviously something she couldn't just brush aside, even if she wanted to pretend the topic didn't exist.]
Yeah, it seems calmer lately and yeah, I'm fine. I'm a bit worried about what will come. It doesn't seem like the calm is going to last forever.
I don't really know the difference between Deerington and the Trench.
[Which might be a good topic. It would steer Willow away from anything else.]
[Things have been smoothed over with Oscar and Ozpin, which is also a relief, but not perhaps so surprising. She knows Ozpin, with all of his lifetimes of experience, is remarkably forgiving, and she's always known Oscar to be understanding as well as having a very good head on his shoulders.
The way she shifts and pulls her knees up sends the signal to Willow that no, Tara is, as she suspected, not okay. She shifts a little closer, but she decides to go along with the distraction for now.]
Well... Deerington was a dream instead of the real world. So there was all kinds of crazy reality warping stuff happening all the time. One morning we even woke up to the town going totally Old West. Complete with giant worms underground, and like, feral mountain men that wanted to eat people.
So kind of like Dune? [Showing her dorkiness again. Sometimes she wished for Xander, someone that helped her feel less weird.] But that's kind of like what's happening here? We were pulled into this sort of different place where they were harvesting organs. Isn't that no different than being in the Old West? It's not a different time, but we weren't in Trench then.
[She doesn't want to go through anything like that again.]
It's not the best introduction I've had to a place.
[The distraction has at least kept Willow from probing further. One of the last things she wanted was to go into details about what she feels (or rather what she doesn't) and the weird blips that had been happening. Willow was better off thinking that the worst thing that happened was just that strange occurrence with the Blood Zealots and wherever they were taken.]
I'd rather we have to deal with giant shrimp than be here.
Yeah, kind of. Just less drugs. Probably less Dune and more Tremors? It was kind of a time. That's how I got Radar - there were all these horses running loose, and if one decided they liked you, you kinda couldn't get rid of them.
[Willow smiles, she's genuinely fond of the horse, and he's saved her life more than once. She hadn't even really had much experience riding at that point - but he still went as carefully and gently as he could so she wouldn't fall.]
It was kind of different from the Sleeper Farm - that was us being dragged somewhere else...
[And Willow is right with Tara on that one, it was a horribly traumatic experience, and she hopes it never happens again. From what she's read, though, it looks like an annual threat in Trench, so they'll have to be more prepared next year.]
Deerington going Old West was more the town itself changing settings. Kind of like a play, or a movie?
[Her expression shifts to something quietly sympathetic as Tara says she would rather deal with giant shrimp than be here, and she lays a hand on her arm gently. She doesn't admit that she chose to come to this world rather than go home, nor does she admit that sometimes she thinks it would have been easier if she hadn't. What's done is done there, and she truly does love the little family she's found among the other Sleepers.]
This is a hard place to live sometimes. But this house is probably the safest place in the whole city.
[She wants to ask if Willow is sure that this isn't just a Hellmouth and they all get pulled in, but for some reason, she's not really able to voice it. Part of her maybe worried that the question would reveal other things that Tara wanted to keep to herself. Like the fact that she might be dead or this might be some punishment she's suffering.
It's better to just let that question lie, unless she finds someone else to ask.
It's a lot though, to hear about Deerington and all Willow went through. How much time passed for her and...well, it seemed like she was content where she was. She had a home here, friends and animals. Did she even think about home or was that all done for her?
More things she didn't want to ask.]
Why this house? Because it's warded?
So...you're not worried about what's going to happen next?
[The house is not generally kept warded. Ozpin doesn't even lock the doors unless someone goes behind him and does it when he's not looking. Neither of these facts will do anything at all to reassure Tara of their safety here.]
It's more to do with the people here. Ozpin, Qrow, and Ruby are all professional monster hunters in their world. Ozpin had a whole school dedicated to teaching people how to fight. He's saved my life more than once. Ruby's gotten me out of some tight spots too - same for Qrow. Me and Ange have seen a lot together too, and I don't think she'd ever back down if it meant helping someone she cared about. And Oscar... Oscar's very sweet, and very sensible, and very brave. You'd never know he's only just about sixteen.
[There's no mistaking the fondness in her tone for all of them. She still thinks about Sunnydale from time to time - there are still moments when she would love nothing more than to see any of her friends from there again. It doesn't feel so much like home anymore, though. Too much has changed, and the connections she's formed here are too strong.]
It's the people here who make this house safe. Do I worry about what's going to happen next? I don't know. Sometimes, I guess. But whatever happens, we'll get through it, and we'll get through it together.
It seems like you found a new family here. [There's a small sense of regret. It makes her death feel a bit more real, though it's not Willow's fault. Time passed without her, life went on. People went to different realms and maybe set down roots.] I think they feel the same about you.
[She's the outsider again, just like she was in the beginning. There was no doubt they would make exceptions and welcome her, but it's hard to be put back in that situation again. And given everything she's gone through and has to deal with, she isn't sure she's got the ability to process this all now.]
[There's the same fondness in her tone. Deerington from Sunnydale had been a difficult transition - she had arrived to find Buffy alive and well after sacrificing herself to save the world, and it solidified the idea that her death had meant being trapped in some kind of hell dimension. Giles had been here as well, and it didn't seem so terrible with at least a few of their number from home. Then Giles had been sent home the first time she visited his house, and she moved in with Buffy. Within weeks, Buffy was gone as well, and Willow was alone.
It had been miserable. She had never lived alone before, and she quickly learned she didn't care for it. The house was too big, too quiet, and too empty. She much prefers to be part of a busy household.]
I'm pretty sure they all realize how great you are too.
[Tara nodded, but unsure. It wasn't as if they'd have any reason not to like her, but at the moment, it feels like they accept her more for Willow's sake. Add in her general weirdness, it probably doesn't help them get a real sense of who she is.
Living alone is something she can manage, having done it a lot more than living with someone. It was only when she met Willow that it changed. With all her confusion, out of sorts feeling, being alone wouldn't be a bad thing. But she couldn't leave Willow and didn't feel comfortable being apart from her.
Of course they do. It's not like they never heard about you before you came to town.
[They all accepted her readily enough, and while it took a little time for her to open up, she doesn't think there's a person in this house that she hasn't talked about Tara to.
It's hardly a surprise that Tara is left feeling like the outsider again, given the advantage Willow has had in getting to know her housemates over the last year, but she's more than willing to help facilitate acceptance any way that she can and pull Tara into the life that she's found here.]
You just have to give them a chance to get to know you a little more.
[Her attempt at being funny, but her heart wasn't entirely in it. Connecting to someone in a new world, those that already knew Willow, and doing it all when she felt absolutely nothing, it seemed like an impossible task. If she had to force herself in Sunnydale, it was going to be a sheer struggle here.
She does her best to mask her uncertainty.]
I'll give them a chance.
[It's just whether they'll give her a chance and not think too much of her being weird.]
Um, do you guys ever have long study sessions like Sunnydale?
[Willow gives a wistful smile. She remembers the conversation with Ozpin when she first told him about Tara's arrival in Trench - she had been overjoyed to see Tara alive and safe and seemingly well again, but it was impossible not to acknowledge that it was also a complex situation given everything that had happened after Tara's death.
She is still determined to help find a way forward together.]
Yeah. I spend a lot of time reading in the library with Ozpin. You can always come too - whenever you want. And Oscar loves reading too - after... everything, he offered to help too next time we need a study buddy.
Maybe. [She wasn't sure. It wasn't as if she wasn't a full time student like before, but there was also less danger in the same way it was present in Sunnydale.] I'm sure I'll see them around here also and we'll have a chance to talk alone.
[Which might be important, if she was going to exist for them outside of Willow.]
Their world's a lot different from ours - Ange's too. And Glitch's is really different again.
[She's not sure how much detail she should go into. Perhaps it's best to let her housemates explain more about where they come from, should Tara choose to bring it up. She smiles, though.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2022-02-05 03:10 am (UTC)Well... it's better. Mostly, anyway. Qrow and I are still trying to stay out of each other's way a little, but it's okay. It'll be fine.
[She shifts her focus again back to Tara in the wake of the question.]
Are you sure you're okay? I know everything's been... kind of crazy, especially since you just moved in not that long ago. I mean, this is crazy even by Trench standards.
Okay, maybe a little less so by Deerington standards, but this place really seemed kind of... calmer until now.
no subject
Date: 2022-02-07 08:39 am (UTC)[More of a hope on her end, but she would hold fast to it. What Willow did was a hard choice, but it was something that she felt was necessary. And given that others had been uncomfortable, it was better to remove the source of it all.
She shifted a little, pulling her knees up to her chest. This was obviously something she couldn't just brush aside, even if she wanted to pretend the topic didn't exist.]
Yeah, it seems calmer lately and yeah, I'm fine. I'm a bit worried about what will come. It doesn't seem like the calm is going to last forever.
I don't really know the difference between Deerington and the Trench.
[Which might be a good topic. It would steer Willow away from anything else.]
no subject
Date: 2022-02-08 02:28 am (UTC)[Things have been smoothed over with Oscar and Ozpin, which is also a relief, but not perhaps so surprising. She knows Ozpin, with all of his lifetimes of experience, is remarkably forgiving, and she's always known Oscar to be understanding as well as having a very good head on his shoulders.
The way she shifts and pulls her knees up sends the signal to Willow that no, Tara is, as she suspected, not okay. She shifts a little closer, but she decides to go along with the distraction for now.]
Well... Deerington was a dream instead of the real world. So there was all kinds of crazy reality warping stuff happening all the time. One morning we even woke up to the town going totally Old West. Complete with giant worms underground, and like, feral mountain men that wanted to eat people.
no subject
Date: 2022-02-14 05:20 pm (UTC)[She doesn't want to go through anything like that again.]
It's not the best introduction I've had to a place.
[The distraction has at least kept Willow from probing further. One of the last things she wanted was to go into details about what she feels (or rather what she doesn't) and the weird blips that had been happening. Willow was better off thinking that the worst thing that happened was just that strange occurrence with the Blood Zealots and wherever they were taken.]
I'd rather we have to deal with giant shrimp than be here.
no subject
Date: 2022-02-15 12:50 am (UTC)[Willow smiles, she's genuinely fond of the horse, and he's saved her life more than once. She hadn't even really had much experience riding at that point - but he still went as carefully and gently as he could so she wouldn't fall.]
It was kind of different from the Sleeper Farm - that was us being dragged somewhere else...
[And Willow is right with Tara on that one, it was a horribly traumatic experience, and she hopes it never happens again. From what she's read, though, it looks like an annual threat in Trench, so they'll have to be more prepared next year.]
Deerington going Old West was more the town itself changing settings. Kind of like a play, or a movie?
[Her expression shifts to something quietly sympathetic as Tara says she would rather deal with giant shrimp than be here, and she lays a hand on her arm gently. She doesn't admit that she chose to come to this world rather than go home, nor does she admit that sometimes she thinks it would have been easier if she hadn't. What's done is done there, and she truly does love the little family she's found among the other Sleepers.]
This is a hard place to live sometimes. But this house is probably the safest place in the whole city.
no subject
Date: 2022-02-19 11:04 pm (UTC)It's better to just let that question lie, unless she finds someone else to ask.
It's a lot though, to hear about Deerington and all Willow went through. How much time passed for her and...well, it seemed like she was content where she was. She had a home here, friends and animals. Did she even think about home or was that all done for her?
More things she didn't want to ask.]
Why this house? Because it's warded?
So...you're not worried about what's going to happen next?
no subject
Date: 2022-02-20 01:15 am (UTC)It's more to do with the people here. Ozpin, Qrow, and Ruby are all professional monster hunters in their world. Ozpin had a whole school dedicated to teaching people how to fight. He's saved my life more than once. Ruby's gotten me out of some tight spots too - same for Qrow. Me and Ange have seen a lot together too, and I don't think she'd ever back down if it meant helping someone she cared about. And Oscar... Oscar's very sweet, and very sensible, and very brave. You'd never know he's only just about sixteen.
[There's no mistaking the fondness in her tone for all of them. She still thinks about Sunnydale from time to time - there are still moments when she would love nothing more than to see any of her friends from there again. It doesn't feel so much like home anymore, though. Too much has changed, and the connections she's formed here are too strong.]
It's the people here who make this house safe. Do I worry about what's going to happen next? I don't know. Sometimes, I guess. But whatever happens, we'll get through it, and we'll get through it together.
no subject
Date: 2022-02-23 12:37 am (UTC)[She's the outsider again, just like she was in the beginning. There was no doubt they would make exceptions and welcome her, but it's hard to be put back in that situation again. And given everything she's gone through and has to deal with, she isn't sure she's got the ability to process this all now.]
Yeah. We'll get through it.
[Less committal in tone.]
no subject
Date: 2022-02-23 02:52 pm (UTC)[There's the same fondness in her tone. Deerington from Sunnydale had been a difficult transition - she had arrived to find Buffy alive and well after sacrificing herself to save the world, and it solidified the idea that her death had meant being trapped in some kind of hell dimension. Giles had been here as well, and it didn't seem so terrible with at least a few of their number from home. Then Giles had been sent home the first time she visited his house, and she moved in with Buffy. Within weeks, Buffy was gone as well, and Willow was alone.
It had been miserable. She had never lived alone before, and she quickly learned she didn't care for it. The house was too big, too quiet, and too empty. She much prefers to be part of a busy household.]
I'm pretty sure they all realize how great you are too.
no subject
Date: 2022-02-26 09:05 pm (UTC)Living alone is something she can manage, having done it a lot more than living with someone. It was only when she met Willow that it changed. With all her confusion, out of sorts feeling, being alone wouldn't be a bad thing. But she couldn't leave Willow and didn't feel comfortable being apart from her.
She might be numb, but she still loved Willow.]
I hope so.
no subject
Date: 2022-02-27 12:36 am (UTC)[They all accepted her readily enough, and while it took a little time for her to open up, she doesn't think there's a person in this house that she hasn't talked about Tara to.
It's hardly a surprise that Tara is left feeling like the outsider again, given the advantage Willow has had in getting to know her housemates over the last year, but she's more than willing to help facilitate acceptance any way that she can and pull Tara into the life that she's found here.]
You just have to give them a chance to get to know you a little more.
no subject
Date: 2022-03-05 10:40 pm (UTC)[Her attempt at being funny, but her heart wasn't entirely in it. Connecting to someone in a new world, those that already knew Willow, and doing it all when she felt absolutely nothing, it seemed like an impossible task. If she had to force herself in Sunnydale, it was going to be a sheer struggle here.
She does her best to mask her uncertainty.]
I'll give them a chance.
[It's just whether they'll give her a chance and not think too much of her being weird.]
Um, do you guys ever have long study sessions like Sunnydale?
no subject
Date: 2022-03-06 02:47 am (UTC)She is still determined to help find a way forward together.]
Yeah. I spend a lot of time reading in the library with Ozpin. You can always come too - whenever you want. And Oscar loves reading too - after... everything, he offered to help too next time we need a study buddy.
no subject
Date: 2022-03-11 01:15 am (UTC)[Which might be important, if she was going to exist for them outside of Willow.]
They do seem nice.
End tag here?
Date: 2022-03-11 09:32 pm (UTC)[She's not sure how much detail she should go into. Perhaps it's best to let her housemates explain more about where they come from, should Tara choose to bring it up. She smiles, though.]
They all are really nice. You'll see.