Update!!!!
Here We GO!!
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“Whose?” the blonde wiccan asked again, more firmly, her jaw set in a defiant line.
“I can’t…” Ghaena started to protest.
“You will”, Buffy said coldly, once again grabbing the priestess by the throat. “Or I swear to God I will beat you to the point where you wish you could die.”
The brunette let out a long sigh. “The raven”, she began, “is Morgan.”
“I thought you said it wasn’t”, Tara countered.
“I did”, Ghaena tried to clarify, “It isn’t Morrigan. It’s Morgan.”
“What?” Buffy asked again… “First you say it isn’t Morrigan, than you say it is.”
“Not Morrigan”, Ghaena replied, frustrated.
“Then who?” Buffy questioned, tightening her grip.
“Morgan.” Ghaena answered again.
“But you just said it wasn’t, Morrigan?” Tara cried in exasperation.
“I didn’t say Morrigan! I said Morgan!” Ghaena yelled with vexation.
“You keep saying the same name!” Buffy shouted, slamming the priestess against the tree at her back.
“Oof”, she grunted. “Don’t ye speak English? I’m not saying ‘Morrigan’! I’m saying ‘Morgan’!”
“It sounds the same to me!” Buffy spit out, giving the woman another sharp shake.
Suddenly a thought occurred to Tara and she stepped in between the two. “Stop!” she bellowed. Tara didn’t usually bellow. In fact she never bellowed. So the fact that she had bellowed did not go unnoticed by the quarrelling women. They both went instantly silent, taking in the blonde with shared looks of shock and apprehension. “Buffy, take your hand off her neck”, Tara now softly instructed. The slayer suddenly realized she still had Ghaena in a vice-grip.
“Oh”, she said sheepishly, letting go, “sorry.”
“It’s quite alright”, Ghaena replied, rubbing her neck gingerly, and adjusting her green robes, which she had worn to keep out the chill of the California night.
“Ghaena you’re Irish, right?” Tara stated more than questioned.
“Aye…” Ghaena answered, her eyes narrowing slightly in confusion.
“And you’ve got a thick Irish accent, right?” Tara further illuminated.
“Aye, but I…Oh!” the priestess exclaimed, suddenly realizing what the wiccan was getting at. “Would either of you have a pen?” she inquired.
“Inside”, Tara stated.
“After you, then”, Ghaena gestured.
“No you don’t”, Buffy motioned, stepping in front of the brunette once again. “Tara will get the pen and you and I will wait here…patiently.”
Ghaena only shrugged in submission. Tara looked back and forth between the two of them, hesitating to leave for fear they might be at each other’s throats in a manner of seconds.
“Okay…” she said, heading for the door, “Just a… don’t fight.”
“She started it”, Ghaena grumbled.
“Did not”, the slayer objected.
“Did so”, the priestess countered.
“I did n—“
“Hey!” Tara bit out, cutting her off. “No fighting. I’ll be right back.” She paused again, watching them even more closely as she turned and hurried inside. Ghaena’s eyes narrowed again, as did the slayer’s. They regarded each other like cats about to pounce. Or toddlers who had stolen each other’s toys only to realize they wanted their own back but were too stubborn to trade.
Tara shook her head tiredly as she spared one last glance in their direction as she disappeared inside. She quickly ran into the kitchen and grabbed a pen and paper, turning to go back into the hall she let out a small shriek, startled by Willow’s presence standing in her way.
“Augh!” Tara cried out.
“Augh!” Willow echoed.
The two women recoiled, battle-ready, only to realize who it was in front of them.
“Jeez, Will, you scared me”, the blonde gasped.
“I could say the same thing about you”, Willow replied, no longer sleepy as she had been just moments before. “What’s going on? Why is Emily in our bed and you aren’t?”
“Buffy’s out front”, Tara explained, “With Ghaena.”
“Ghaena?” Willow asked with a squeak. “What’s she doing here? Is she trying to take Emily?”
“No, I don’t think so”, her lover answered, “We’re just trying to settle a misunderstanding.”
Willow nodded, “I’ll be right out, let me just grab my jacket. You should have one too.”
“Will, stay with the kids”, Tara gently implored, “Emily’s already been scared once tonight. She doesn’t need to wake up in bed alone.”
“What scared her?” Willow asked, concern filling her voice.
“The raven”, Tara clarified, “it was here… spying on her in her bedroom.”
“Is she okay?”
“Just scared. I told her she could sleep with us.”
“I’d better get back then”, Willow smiled sadly. “Be careful.”
“I will be”, Tara assured her. “Besides, Buffy is with me.”
“Okay”, the redhead replied, practically whispering now. She leaned in and gave her wife a soft kiss on the lips. “I won’t be able to sleep until you get back.”
“I promise not to be long.” Tara reached down and took Willow’s hand, squeezing it once before heading back out the front door. Willow watched her go, and then yawned softly, returning to bed.
The wiccan arrived back on the front lawn to find Buffy and Ghaena having what appeared to be a civil conversation.
“So what you’re saying”, Ghaena surmised, “is that Ben was Glory and Glory was Ben.”
“Exactly”, Buffy answered, looking quite proud of herself, like a cat that got the canary.
“Fascinating”, commented the priestess. “This isn’t the same thing.” She stated plainly after a moment’s thought.
“Argh”, the slayer growled, throwing her hands up in frustration.
“Here’s a pen and paper”, said Tara, handing the objects to Ghaena.
“Thank ye”, the brunette said, then turned to Buffy, “Can I borrow yer shoulder a minute?”
Buffy eyed the woman warily. “Fine”, she said after a pause, “But try anything stupid and…”
“I know, I know, ye’ll beat me till I wished I could die…”, Ghaena recited lamely. “Now turn around.”
The slayer let out a low grunt of disapproval and did as told. Ghaena quickly placed the paper on the petite girl’s shoulder and scrawled a short message, handing it to Tara.
“Morrigan”, Tara read aloud, “Priestess of Avalon, aspect of Badb, warrior goddess = NOT EVIL. Often confused with Morgan le Fay, Vivienne’s sister, who conspired to and ultimately succeeded in bringing about the death of King Arthur and the destruction of Avalon = EVIL.”
“Do ye understand now?”
“So they’re not the same person?” asked Buffy.
“No.” Ghaena answered.
“No they aren’t or no they are?” the slayer inquired, seeking further clarification.
“No they aren’t”, the priestess replied, humoring her.
Tara let this sink in a moment. “So… wait… then who did Willow and I bind to a tree?”
Ghaena let out a long sigh. “I don’t know”, she exhaled, “That’s something I’ll have to investigate. Where exactly is this tree?”
“The woods near UC Sunnydale”, Tara responded.
“We’ll go there tomorrow, then”, the brunette decided.
“Can’t”, the wiccan put down. “Will and I have a meeting at the school, for Emily.”
“Is she okay?” asked the slayer, concerned.
“Great”, Tara reassured her, “We’re talking about having her skip a grade.”
“Wow, really?” Buffy inquired, her voice tinged with pride.
“Alright”, Ghaena interrupted, “You have your meeting, and Buffy and I will go.”
“I don’t know where it is”, Buffy awkwardly replied.
“Okay”, the priestess groused. “The day after tomorrow then.”
“Fine”, Tara agreed, “I can get Anya to babysit.”
******
TBC...
"Promise me you'll never be linear." "On my trout."
Edited by: DarkWiccan at: 7/9/02 11:01:19 pm