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The Watchers are being much more polite to Tamara nowadays. They've never precisely been rude to her, but they are very good at being quietly, politely and oh-so-Britishly unwelcoming. Irritating, but she can live with it if it means she can be a part of the Council. But now their normal tactics have scared off their precious Slayer, and Tamara's the one who convinced her not to bolt; Tamara is now their lead to the Slayer and as such, she's being treated like she's made of glass.
She finds that mildly irritating for a whole different set of reasons, but it's such an improvement over the alternative that she lets it be. She's very careful not to seem as though she's taking advantage of her new-found position. She demands nothing, and makes only a few careful, diffident suggestions. This will not last forever; no need to burn bridges.
And of course, whenever she receives an email from the Slayer, she responds promptly.
older_and_wiser
cross_and_bow
Should I drop by or would you rather not have your kid around somebody who routinely stabs things?
older_and_wiser
You're welcome over at your convenience. I consider you somewhat the supernatural equivalent of a constable; I have no concerns about introducing you to my son.
older_and_wiser
Tamara appears at the door. She would look much more imposing if she was not covered almost entirely with flour. "I'm terribly sorry for the mess," she apologizes. "I was getting dinner ready and I'm afraid Kevin got into the flour."
cross_and_bow
"Aw, that's okay. You are not going to give a Powerpoint presentations to a lot of dudes in suits, it's just me. So, hi, I'm the Slayer, my name's Bella, say something that is not grammatically an invitation to model good habits for the little one and I will come hang."
older_and_wiser
"Hello, Bella. Lovely to meet you in person finally," Tamara says with a smile. "Kitchen's this way." She leaves the door open for Bella and turns towards a door on the side of the room.
cross_and_bow
Bella steps inside and closes the door behind her. "D'you want help with dinner? I didn't realize I'd be showing up when you were busy. I'd have been here earlier but I had to come on foot, my sister took the car home. She is not so much for the cross-country hikes because she didn't get a bundle of superpowers."
older_and_wiser
"Dinner preparation is usually much less of a production. The flour thief has slowed in down," Tamara chuckles. "I appreciate the thought but I'm actually about done, except for the vacuuming my kitchen suddenly requires."
It's not a large house; by now they're in the kitchen, where they are greeted with a small, curly-haired cackling face on a creature almost entirely covered in flour. "It's snowing!" he announces. "I made it snow!"
"Kevin," Tamara sighs.
"...I knooooow. No snowing in the house," Kevin mumbles. "Hi super hero lady!"
It's not a large house; by now they're in the kitchen, where they are greeted with a small, curly-haired cackling face on a creature almost entirely covered in flour. "It's snowing!" he announces. "I made it snow!"
"Kevin," Tamara sighs.
"...I knooooow. No snowing in the house," Kevin mumbles. "Hi super hero lady!"
older_and_wiser
"Hi!" Kevin beams up at her. "So what do you do? Are you like one of the Incredibles? Oooh, I bet you're Violet!"
"She's not a movie superhero, sweetheart," Tamara says, looking like she's trying very hard not to laugh. "She's the Slayer. You remember I told you about her?"
"Oh," Kevin says sadly. "So you can't turn invisible?"
"She's not a movie superhero, sweetheart," Tamara says, looking like she's trying very hard not to laugh. "She's the Slayer. You remember I told you about her?"
"Oh," Kevin says sadly. "So you can't turn invisible?"
cross_and_bow
"It's on the list of things for my witch sister to learn to help me with, but I can't do it yet."
older_and_wiser
"That's okay. As long as she's good."
"I'm sure she is. Kevin sweetheart, go and play in your room for a while, please. Mommy needs to talk to the superhero, okay?" Tamara tells her son, with the suppressing-laughter face returning.
"Okay," he agrees. "Bye super hero lady!" And off he trots.
"So did you need advice on anything in particular, or is this a getting-to-know-you sort of visit?" Tamara inquires.
"I'm sure she is. Kevin sweetheart, go and play in your room for a while, please. Mommy needs to talk to the superhero, okay?" Tamara tells her son, with the suppressing-laughter face returning.
"Okay," he agrees. "Bye super hero lady!" And off he trots.
"So did you need advice on anything in particular, or is this a getting-to-know-you sort of visit?" Tamara inquires.
cross_and_bow
"Getting to know you sort of visit. Nothing's popped up that I'm aware of. I wonder if there isn't a better way to keep apprised of what might benefit from my awareness of it, though? Than just waiting for it to come to me? Not that I'd necessarily want to deploy a seeking algorithm on a regular basis until summer break."
older_and_wiser
"The Watchers aren't really any more systematic about it than that, sadly," Tamara says with a sigh. "There's something of a network, of course; I'd hear from other Watchers if something was happening in another city. But mostly, the trouble will just come to you. You do live on a Hellmouth, after all."
older_and_wiser
"...did you not know? There's a Hellmouth in Sunnydale. A portal to a demon dimension. A closed one, thankfully. They're known to attract all sorts of supernatural elements, good and bad. You being one of the former sort, I suspect."
older_and_wiser
"You knew about the Watcher's Council unaided, you have a witch for a sister? I was just giving you credit for discovering things, I suppose. I'm sorry to spring it on you, in any case."
cross_and_bow
"The library's full of books. I've found some things, but they probably don't have a lot of correlation with whatever you'd put on an introductory curriculum. You should swing by the school sometime and see what you recommend I put first. I think Soph has a process that works for her in the magic department, but I don't know when I look at a book if it contains demons I will need to know how to slay next week or obscure ones who only materialize in Antarctica until I've spent a while looking through it."