This post's authors have general content warnings that might apply to the current post.
View Flat HTML
View Metadata
Search Post
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
"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."
older_and_wiser
"I am certainly qualified as a book sorter," Tamara agrees, amused. "I'll put together a list for you to start with. Did you want help with combat training as well?"
cross_and_bow
"In theory yes, in practice how would you go about it? I'd sign up for martial arts if I thought it was necessarily safe for me to come to blows with an unenhanced human; am I wrong?"
older_and_wiser
"Just walking into a martial arts class unannounced? Probably dangerous. But carefully, with planning and an informed instructor, invaluable. Vampires are not the world's only dangers, merely its most numerous. Witches, or humans who are for whatever reason doing the bidding of various evils- there are many situations where you might need to know how to take down someone non-lethally. And you are, at present ill-equipped to do so safely. The Council has some exercises it suggests, or there's a local trainer I might suggest you ask."
cross_and_bow
"Yeah, Soph's list of things to find has 'enchant darts so they make people fall asleep' as a nonlethal option but she hasn't done it yet and aikido or whatever would be good too, sign me up."