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Alli finds the whole concept of Black Friday sale at the magic store deeply, hilariously absurd for reasons she hasn't bothered to pin down. Probably something about black cats? Whatever, she gets to snicker about it. So she puts off shopping for some of her more infrequently used (or expensive) supplies until Black Friday rolls around, and then she heads to the Magic Box.
Tragically, she seems to not be the only person with this idea. It's a stretch and then some to say the Magic Box is ever crowded, but anyone in Sunnydale who wants to try out some random fortune telling trick or learn crystal healing seems to be lolling around inside the store. And the one poor panicked employee who actually showed up today is completely overwhelmed. Alli growls, makes a note of their extended hours, and resolves to come back later.
A few hours later, she's back and digging through potions ingredients. It's a little after sunset but she's resolved not to stress about it too much; Bella scratched crosses all over this place eons ago, she's got the Swans on speed dial and there's a holy water gun in her purse. (Admittedly it's in a plastic bag, because one water leak all over her purse was quite enough thank you, but it's there!)
And really, you can't beat discounts like this. Why pay more for potion supplies than you have to? Witching is, as Alli is discovering, not the cheapest hobby she could have taken up.
witch_perfect
witch_perfect
"Well, shit, what will I do with my Wednesdays now," Alli laughs. "Yeeeeah, I'm good, thanks. Do you need someone to take care of the cultists for you...? I absolutely do not volunteer, but I know a couple people." If ever something sounded like Bella's job description, it would be evil kidnapper cultist magicians.
unmarred
"I managed that part myself, actually." He looks slightly embarrassed. "Their 'god' turned out to be a guy sitting on a throne wearing a kind of tragically overdone fur robe, and when I managed to hold my own against the ominously chanting people with knives for a few minutes, he called them off and invited me to be his divine consort. He wasn't the type to take no for an answer, unfortunately. I had to fight my way out, and, well, there are a few of them still alive but they're missing a god now."
witch_perfect
Are there strangely tiny male equivalents of the Slayer? Alli wonders. Maybe the rules are different in a few centuries. He doesn't look like he could take a whole cult. But hey, she's not going to test.
"Don't give me that face. You rescued yourself from crazy people. Be smug! Smug is the answer." She grins. "Tell me you kept the tragically overdone robe, at least."
"Don't give me that face. You rescued yourself from crazy people. Be smug! Smug is the answer." She grins. "Tell me you kept the tragically overdone robe, at least."
unmarred
"It was enormous on him and he was six feet tall. It would've made me look like an eight-year-old."
witch_perfect
Alli snorts. "Sounds worth it just for the pictures." She sizes him up. "How old are you, anyway? I was saying 'not high school' cause I didn't recognize you from school, but you and your fancy Time Traveler sticker are sort of a special case."
And then, after a couple of seconds, she adds, "Huh. Was that rude? Is it only rude to ask girls their age? No idea. Sorry if it was."
And then, after a couple of seconds, she adds, "Huh. Was that rude? Is it only rude to ask girls their age? No idea. Sorry if it was."
unmarred
"I don't know, I don't think it's rude but my opinion probably doesn't generalize. I'm eighteen," he says.
witch_perfect
"Well, hooray for not being annoying! I'm seventeen," Alli offers. "Fair's fair. And I don't think I'm required to care until I'm all Responsible Adult or something."
witch_perfect
"Well, huh. I guess we didn't. I'm Alli, I think I mentioned. Nice to meet you, belatedly."
witch_perfect
"No problem! I'm being kind of selfish anyway. I want more witch friends to gossip about magic with." She wiggles her fingers at him. "Just remember! You keep 'em, I curse you."
unmarred
"How terrifying," he says, not sounding especially terrified. "I'm not going to keep them. I'm going to read them and give them back."
witch_perfect
"Exactly! And then we can compare notes. Magic gossip," Alli cackles, looking very pleased with herself.
witch_perfect
"Want to learn to make a potion?" Alli offers. "I was going to make some more Pick Me Up soon anyway."
witch_perfect
"Well, duh. Magic is always fun and excitement," Alli informs him, eyes dancing. "Okay, hang on." She scarfs down the last couple french fries, then pokes the empty container triumphantly. "Success! Okay, now we can go."
Home isn't very far, but Alli remains carless, so walking it is. "Oh, my mom will be home," she mentions. "She probably won't give a shit, but in case she actually bestirs herself to notice something, want to claim you know me from school? It's a lot faster than the 'oh and by the way I'm a witch' speech."
Home isn't very far, but Alli remains carless, so walking it is. "Oh, my mom will be home," she mentions. "She probably won't give a shit, but in case she actually bestirs herself to notice something, want to claim you know me from school? It's a lot faster than the 'oh and by the way I'm a witch' speech."
unmarred
Mark shrugs. "No problem. Want to prime me with helpful details, or is she not likely to talk to me long enough to trip me up on something like what classes you're in?"
witch_perfect
"Hah, not a chance. And even if she did, bet you she asks about my classes from two years ago."
She turns them right at the corner, and she points down the street. "That one- see the blue house like two blocks down? That's me. Want to regale me with stories from the future while we walk? I'll exchange if you want, but. Excepting potions, my life is rather hilariously dull."
Well, and Slayers, but that's Bella's secret and knowing magic does not qualify as knowing vampires.
She turns them right at the corner, and she points down the street. "That one- see the blue house like two blocks down? That's me. Want to regale me with stories from the future while we walk? I'll exchange if you want, but. Excepting potions, my life is rather hilariously dull."
Well, and Slayers, but that's Bella's secret and knowing magic does not qualify as knowing vampires.
witch_perfect
"Meh, whatever floats your boat. Floats your spaceship? Pick a genre, any genre. Except trashy romances. Those I throw emo poetry and eyeliner at."
unmarred
"Well, I've got plenty of horror on tap, but I'll go for something more benign. How about: in a couple of centuries, if your world is on track to be mine - which it almost certainly isn't, I'd've noticed the magic - humanity is going to discover how to transit wormholes and start madly colonizing every half-habitable planet in sight, across a network of jump points that will come to be called the wormhole nexus."
witch_perfect
"Well, filtered for 'my terrible non-knowledge of physics', that sounds maybe probably really cool! Did you use them a lot?"