Magic Box, Wednesday

[exwatcher.livejournal.com]

The bunny damage to the store had been enough that Giles had decided to keep the shop closed to finish cleaning up.

This week's shipment from that particular supplier hadn't contained anything he hadn't actually ordered; Giles wasn't sure if that was because of his call last week complaining or the fact that Anya when she'd heard about the bunny eggs in his weekly phonecall to check on Sunnydale events had called as well and made the sort of threats only someone who'd been a vengeance demon for a thousand years could come up with. He rather suspected it was the latter.

Thanks to the day closed and the proper shipment, today when he opened the shop, Giles didn't really have anything pressing that needed to be done. So he was sitting behind the counter reading a book.

The Magic Box is open.

Comments

[needsaparrot]

Xander came bearing... no foodstuffs, actually. Just two large cups and a thoughtful frown. He carried all three up to the counter. "Hey."

[exwatcher.livejournal.com]

"Hello," Giles replied, cocking his head to the side as he regarded Xander. "You look... preoccupied."

[needsaparrot]

"Hmm. Maybe just occupied?" Xander slid one of the cups across the counter. "It's tea. The evil American kind from a bag, though."

[exwatcher.livejournal.com]

"One learns to make do," Giles said accepting the cup of tea. "What are you occupied with?"

[needsaparrot]

"Advanced decrepitude?" Xander suggested, as if he was still trying out the sound of it in his head.

[exwatcher.livejournal.com]

Giles raised an eyebrow at him. "At the ripe old age of twenty-something?"

[needsaparrot]

"Twenty-six." Xander took a sip of his drink, which wasn't tea. "And...okay, maybe the word Anakin used was 'mature,' but .... he was so. very. drunk." Unlike certain other people who'd been sitting next to the man at the time, of course.

[exwatcher.livejournal.com]

Large amounts of alcohol explained many unexplainable things, Giles had found over the years. "I don't think I'm met this Anakin yet," Giles said. "Friend of yours?"

[needsaparrot]

Xander nodded. "We graduated together. He did the same thing I did - spent more time away than passed here." He studied his cup. "Though he wins the bizarrostakes; he's twenty-five and his grown-up son's taking his ex-girlfriend to the Prom."

[exwatcher.livejournal.com]

"That should probably give me more of a headache than it does," Giles observed. Years living in Sunnydale seemed to have innoculated him to dealing with weirdness. He regarded Xander closely. "What about your Bridge? Who is he taking to the prom?"

[needsaparrot]

Xander looked up sharply in surprise. "Uh. I...have no idea." The your flew right past his ears without him noticing that he should object, so focused was he on disliking ... how much he disliked not having any idea.

[exwatcher.livejournal.com]

"Perhaps you should talk to him about it. The answer might be you."

[needsaparrot]

Xander frowned. "No, pretty sure it's not."

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

Willow came in when Xander wasn't there and slumped down in a big ol' beanbag like she was born to do so.

She had the attitude of one who could sit in a corner for hours, don't mind her really.

[exwatcher.livejournal.com]

It looked to be a day of depressed Sunnydalites descending on him. "Is something wrong?" he asked, trying to gauge if this was a silent funk or a 'need to talk' one.

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

"British people are very unfair," Willow said, by way of a reply.

[exwatcher.livejournal.com]

"I beg your pardon?"

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

"Oh, sure, now you do," Willow said. "I don't recall being asked when you were all dreaming up the concept of the monarchy."

[exwatcher.livejournal.com]

"You are aware that I didn't personally invent the royal family?"

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

"Some days I am not so sure."

[exwatcher.livejournal.com]

Giles shook his head. "What is this about, Willow?"

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

"Stupid laws," Willow said. "Stupid laws and stupid job requirements. Say what you will about America at least here it's illegal for your boss to pry into your private life. Unless you're a prostitute but that's a whole other issue."

[exwatcher.livejournal.com]

"Believe you me, the last thing I want to do is pry into anyone's private life," Giles said. "Not that that has seemed to stop anyone from deciding they need to share with me..."

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

"I'm not a prostitute," Willow assured him. "Though Becky did offer me a job one time."

[exwatcher.livejournal.com]

Giles blinked. "Is it any use asking how we got on to you not being a prostitute from the royal family?"

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

"I dunno," Willow replied. "It was your segue."

[exwatcher.livejournal.com]

"I'm fairly certain I would remember bringing up prostitutes."

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

"Well sure. Just like you created royalty."

[exwatcher.livejournal.com]

"Are you drunk?"

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

"Underage!" Willow protested. "Very, very much underage! Extremely, even!"

[exwatcher.livejournal.com]

"That doesn't actually seem to stop many people, especially here," Giles pointed out.

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

"Hi, I'm Willow, have we met?" she replied. "I follow rules in triplicate. You know I wouldn't do anything to mess up my college applications."

Not that this applied to rules about magic, of course...

[exwatcher.livejournal.com]

"I seem to recall being struck blind because of your ignoring certain rules," Giles mused, then frowned. "Though that might still be in your future. In which case, if you ever think that casting a will be done spell, don't."

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

Willow meeped, but hopefully quietly. "I! No! Never! Me? Pencils! I float pencils!"

[exwatcher.livejournal.com]

"In my reality, you've shown a rather distrubing disregard for magic restrictions and just bloody good sense." He eyed her. "It's something you need to think very hard about."

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

"I haven't done anything!" Willow replied. "Okay there was a couple of spells that didn't go right but those were so not my fault!"

[exwatcher.livejournal.com]

Giles cocked his head at her. "No?"

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

"It's not my fault Dean had some stupid magic amulet he didn't think he should tell anybody about," Willow replied.