Magic Box, Thursday, 2/4

[life_inshadow]

The shop was clean and Tara felt like she'd proved a point with her magic during Reserves yesterday, so she felt totally justified in having a relatively lazy workday today. Once she'd taken care of the usual business -- restocking a shelf here, polishing a smudge off an orb there -- she settled behind the counter in her hoodie from Modeling class, reading what even she would admit was a pretty bad (but entertaining) fantasy novel.

The Magic Box was open.

[OOC: OCD is even lazier than Tara.]

Comments

[brat_inslayage]

Tara could have as lazy a workday as she wanted to-- Kennedy thought she'd rocked yesterday, which was what one of the two extra-large caramel lattes she was carrying when she came in after her workout was meant to imply.

...if her entrance wasn't quite as energetic as usual, she'd pushed herself a little too hard in the salle.

"Is this quiet time?" she asked, sidling up to the counter.

[life_inshadow]

"It's reading time," Tara said, with a smile as she set the book aside. "The heroine's braving a dragon camp to find out if they can help her village in an upcoming battle. It's .... incredibly relevant reading."

Hey, there might be helpful dragons someday!

[brat_inslayage]

"For someone who kicked some gummi dinosaur ass yesterday, yeah, kinda is." Kennedy might be way too proud of Tara right now. Did the big grin as she held one of the coffee cups out give that away? "You deserved a reward for being awesome."

[life_inshadow]

Tar'as grin got huger. "Awww, thanks, honey. And -- I didn't feel like I was wearing myself out? It was -- I totally understood why people get hooked on the rush of magic, y'know?"

"I'd like invasions a lot better if they all tasted like candy," she said, mostly kidding.

[brat_inslayage]

Kennedy's brow furrowed briefly, but any concerning implications about the rush of magic were a little beyond her still-shaky grasp on the subject. She figured it was something like adrenaline for her.

"You were amazing," she said instead, leaning against the counter. She had not been paying attention to anyone else at all, no. "The gremlins were fun, but totally failed the taste test."

[life_inshadow]

Tara laughed, clearly pleased by the compliment. "I don't think you were supposed to eat the gremlins."

[brat_inslayage]

"No. They were kinda splattery, though." Kennedy made a face; that taste was not exactly easy to forget. "So, Bobby was a penguin again. I ran into him last night, and then he wasn't one any more, and that was something I could have lived without. How'd class go?"

Ooh, look, conversational pinball.

[life_inshadow]

"I made this hoodie," Tara said, twirling a little, and then -- "Wait, so you saw Bobby naked? Bobby Drake?"

Weird.

[brat_inslayage]

"Cute," Kennedy said, laughing at the twirling, then quickly amended, "You are, I mean. In that."

"And yeah," she added, her face twisting in semi-horrified recollection. "At least Jean was there to--" She waved a hand to indicate telekinesis. "Potted plant to the rescue."

[life_inshadow]

Tara made a face, then laughed when she realized what Kennedy must have meant. "Okay, for a second I thought you meant she threw it at his head or something," she confessed. "Not so much, huh?"

[brat_inslayage]

"Really not so much." Kennedy turned her coffee cup around on the counter a couple of times and shook her head, hard. Sadly her memory was not that much like an Etch-n-Sketch, and that wasn't going to erase the mental image. But she'd tried. "But I have video, so this is totally payback for him making fun of me for the hedgehog thing."

[life_inshadow]

"You can take turns calling each other adorable until the end of time," Tara suggested helpfully, and then took a rather gigantic drag of her coffee. "Okay. This is ... really, really good. How'd you know I needed caffeine?"

[brat_inslayage]

"He doesn't get to call me adorable," Kennedy protested. "Would you believe me if I said it was my mad girlfriend skills, or do I have to admit it was a lucky guess? 'cause who doesn't need caffeine?"

[trigons_child]

Raven knew Tara worked at the Magic Box on Thursdays from listening to the radio, so after visiting Anakin she ventured into town. She was still too nervous to walk through Fandom, however, so she teleported right outside the shop so she as not to startle Tara, peeked through the window to make sure Sam's father was not there, then entered the store. "Hello, Tara," she greeted the other girl.

[life_inshadow]

"Hey, Raven," Tara greeted. She rarely listened to radio, but she had noticed the girl wasn't at reserves the day before. "Anything I can help you with?"

[trigons_child]

"I hope so," Raven said, drawing closer to the counter. She was glad that Sam's father wasn't there, because his status as a demon hunter made her nervous, and she was already on edge enough today. "I wish to find something that will prevent vampires from entering my room." Or 'Dite's shop. Or anywhere she spent large amounts of time, really.

[life_inshadow]

Tara gave Raven a distinct double-take at that particular request.

"Sure?" she said uncertainly. "I m-mean, I can sell you the supplies, and you probably have enough raw power to do the spell yourself if you don't want me to. But that's, um. That's not exactly a thing people ask for every day."

[trigons_child]

Raven rubbed at the side of her neck. "I was bitten Monday night," she said quietly. "I do not wish for it to happen again. I am afraid he might return to finish what he started, so I want to do whatever I can to remain safe."

[life_inshadow]

"Oh," Tara exclaimed, hands going fluttery. "That's horrible. But -- are you feeling all right now?"

As she talked, she was stepping toward a display of jewelry to look for a cross necklace for Raven.

[trigons_child]

"Joan found me," Raven said, nodding, "and she and Jen brought me to the clinic. I do not know who was there, but she was able to heal me. I am all right now." Physically, at least; her paranoia about Max coming back was probably evident by the way she wanted to ward her room.

[life_inshadow]

"I wouldn't be," Tara said bluntly, and passed Raven a necklace that seemed like it would fit with the girl's style. "Here, put this on. It won't keep them away forever, or anything, but most of them are repelled by crosses."

She was pretty evidently freaked out by the story and trying not to show it.

[trigons_child]

"Even if I am not a follower of that faith?" Raven asked, accepting the cross. She turned it over in her hand, liking the look of it, then slipped it around her neck.

She could tell Tara was upset and wanted to give her some assurance. "I have told Professor Skywalker who it was who assaulted me," she said. "He will deal with it, I am certain."

[life_inshadow]

"Yeah, it doesn't matter what you believe," Tara said, as she selected a simpler gold cross for herself. "It just -- works."

Well, it did in the Buffyverse.

She raised an eyebrow. "I've heard he has a scary temper." Not that she objected to a scary temper in this particular situation.

[trigons_child]

"He is very protective of his students," Raven said, as close to agreeing as she would get. She didn't feel so bad anymore about being somewhat pleased when Anakin had punched Max on her behalf. She fingered the cross lightly, getting used to the feel of wearing it. "It was Professor Maximus who attacked me," she said. "And the radio last night said that Professor Chevalier is a vampire as well. I am worried how many there are on the island now."

[life_inshadow]

"I didn't know about any," Tara confessed. "But I'm, uh. I don't go looking for them."

She started moving about the shop to gather supplies. "How many places would you want to ward?"