mystic falls | you're an island and my ship has run aground

[chalky]

Willow changes her grip on the steering wheel. She can feel the energy. Big mojo has gone down. And it isn't the first time. What she knows is that months back, before the summer even started something happened. The balance was upset. Something that happened shouldn't have happened and ever since, the spirits have been restless. Her network of witches kept her informed. It's hard not to monitor something like that when she can feel the shifts in energy in her bones.

Everything connects.

Outside of the crackle of energy, Willow is trying very hard not to ask Buffy about what might not even be a relationship. Slayers talk. The big hoop-la lately is whether or not Buffy and Riley are really Buffy and Riley. They might just be Buffy - and - Riley. Separate entities brought back into each other's orbits. Should Buffy want to talk about it, Willow is there.

"Welcome to Mystic Falls," Willow says, reading the sign they pass. "The sign is friendly," she says, glancing to Buffy. It doesn't give away anything. To the outside world, Mystic Falls is a small town in Virginia with a passionate historical society. Their website rivals other small towns. But, there's an underbelly. A big, honkin underbelly of vampire activity. There's a powerful witch somewhere in this town and she did something big.

"The town is big on celebrations. Very into its history. They have founding families and everything." Sunnydale had never been this into itself. No, Sunnydale did not have school or town spirit.

She glances over at Buffy again as they drive into what looks like the town square.

"Where to?" She slows down, taking note of the restaurant, the bench, the small shops. It's a very quaint small town. Truth be told, she doesn't exactly know where to start. She knows that the sun won't set for hours so they should be good on vampires. She pulls up to the curb so they can get their bearings. Putting the car into park, she gives their surroundings another look.

Comments

[chalky]

Willow does, wondering how exactly vampires can be different.

"Don't tell me we have an uberv-" She stops herself mid-sentence as she spots a family waiting to be seated. "-mensch situation." She doubts Buffy would even get the reference but she counts on her to know what she means. "Permanent bumpy ugliness should be easy to see..."

[kiss_evilgoodbye]

She shakes her head, making her way closer to the hostess. "I don't think that's what this is. I think it's something different."

[chalky]

"Two please," Willow says brightly to the young girl, before turning back to Buffy. And before she can reply, she turns her attention to the hostess again. "Could we sit in Anna's section?" She smiles and finally turns back to Buffy. "Well, there's only one way to find out what this is." How different it is.

[kiss_evilgoodbye]

"Anna's at the bar today. Just head on in and have a seat."

"Thank you," Buffy nodded, before making her way to the bar. "All we have to do is listen to the infodump."

[chalky]

"I think we can manage that," she says with a smile, before tilting her head towards Buffy. "We can eat while we get the infodump, right?" She wasn't kidding about that salad Buffy. It's only a few short strides before they make it to the bar.

"Anna!" She slides onto a stool.

[hitchhiking]

Anna turns at the sound of her name and spots Buffy and Willow sitting at the bar. She flashes them a smile, before making her way over.

"Hey guys. You made good time."

[chalky]

"Buffy's good at giving directions," she says, giving Buffy all the credit! Whether or not she deserves it remains to be seen. "Could we have menus?" She looks at Buffy. What? She really is a little bit hungry.

[hitchhiking]

"Comin' up." She reaches for the two menus from behind the bar, and handing them over. "You guys want anything to drink."

"Ooh, can I get something fruity?"

"Sure. What about you, Willow?"

[chalky]

"Fruity, yes!" She says, looking back at Anna. "They all sound so good. Surprise us?" And then she's turning the pages of the menu. Salads. Salads. There! Not... the biggest selection. Pretty much the mundane choices. But, nothing is wrong with that!

"She's looking great," she says, leaning into Buffy. "The Virginia sun," she adds. Go figure.

[hitchhiking]

"She does. Seems like this place is agreeing with you."

"Or maybe it's just the fact that I've been able to keep busy." She drops her voice as she moves in closer, placing the newly mixed drinks on the bar in front of them. "Vampires seem to be pretty common around here. And more to the point, so are hybrids."

[chalky]

Willow takes hers in hand, sipping it. Sorry, Buffy, this is business. Business doesn't toast beforehand. She listens close. Willow frowns, wondering how common Anna's "common" means.

"Vampire-palooza?" The second word surprises her. "Hybrids? Hybrid whats?"

[hitchhiking]

"Vampire-palooza," she confirms. "And they're vampire-werewolf hybrids. Really hard to kill. You either have to take off their head, or I've seen some bodies with their hearts removed."

[chalky]

At this, she'll widen her eyes and look over to Buffy. Because, they weren't prepared with super-human vampire-werewolves. All Willow can think is what Xander would say. Someone slept with the wrong someone... Or, a line of someones. Except, vampires and babies.

"So... that means, werewolves. Were turned into vampires? Is... that possible?" Give her a second while she talks to herself. "Obviously, it's possible. They're here..."

[hitchhiking]

She shakes her head. "I don't know the specifics. And I don't know who to shake down for them. All I know is that they were tied to this guy, Klaus Mikaelson -- and he and his family are just gone."

[chalky]

"Poof gone or left, gone?" she takes another sip. Kudos, Anna, you are a mixologist Willow appreciates.

[hitchhiking]

"Left gone. Something happened a few days ago, and they left town like a bat out of hell. The only ones left are the mother, Esther, and the oldest son, Finn."

[chalky]

"Something that may have had to do with the surge of magical energy?" She glances at Buffy again. "Has anyone turned up dead?"

[hitchhiking]

Anna sucks in a breath, thinking for a moment before shaking her head. "Not by vampires. There's been these ... weird murders. I think someone was just arrested for them."

[chalky]

"A-ha!" A little louder then she'd wanted. But, she leans in again. "Magic that powerful, energy that... crazy, it doesn't come without consequences. It could be ritualistic."

[hitchhiking]

She frowns for a moment, before shaking her head. "I don't think so. One guy was stabbed with a stake like he was a vampire. The other was stabbed with an actual knife. The MO's were different, there was no sign of magic ... whatever."

[chalky]

"... Coincidence?" she asks, frowning. She thought she was on a roll. "So, something big went down - and this family up and left town. And now there's a killer on the loose. Talk about a fun puzzle. Buffy, what do you think?"

[kiss_evilgoodbye]

"I think that just because it doesn't look like a vampire doesn't mean it's not vampire adjacent." Nothing in Buffy's live ever isn't. "I'll check it out. Who's the medical examiner?"

" ... One of the victims? But there's another doctor filling in. Meredith Fell?"

"I'll track her down, make with the friendly. Maybe we can find out something we don't already know."

[chalky]

"Especially, since this is vampire town," Willow chimes in. Willow makes mental notes of everything.

"But, could the Mikaelsons have been a family of vampires? Have we seen that before?" And were they more Anne Rice, Louis-Lestat or... literal family? Because in history, most vampires killed their families. "You track her down and I'll track down where the spell took place. The residual energy is still potent. I can feel it now."

Oh, an their food is arriving. Delicious!

[kiss_evilgoodbye]

"Sounds like a plan. Or at least the start of one. Once we know more, we'll be able to figure out how to handle it."

[chalky]

"But, we agree that something is hinky in the state of Denmark," Willow makes sure to say. She should've ordered dressing on the side, but, too late now. She's just hungry at this point.

[kiss_evilgoodbye]

"Definitely hinky. Definitely worth looking into."

[chalky]

"Then a plan we have," she says, smiling, before digging in.