Theo's dad looks at him somewhat sadly, then asks, "Are you sure?"

He takes a step towards Theo.

Theo takes a step back, seemingly involuntarily.

"Mmh," he says somewhat urgently, then looks behind him at the door.

Turning back, he wipes at one of his eyes and says, "I'm fine."

...oh.

"You aren't fine, are you. Oh, Theo..." He takes a step towards him, as well.

"Nng," he doesn't-exactly-say, starting to look a bit more like a deer in the headlights.

He looks between them, then detaches his hand from Sadde's and bolts from the room.

"...should I go after him?"

Theo's dad was looking sadly at the door through which Theo had just left, but shakes his head in response to Sadde. "No. No, I think he just needs, um." He swallows. "A bit of time to himself, is all."

He shakes his head and walks into the kitchen.

"What things did you say, again? Crosses?"

Sadde follows. "The stuff I gave him was in his bag, but religious symbols in general, and garlic. Vampires can't get inside a house owned or inhabited by a human without an invitation, with a very broad definition of invitation. Um, sunlight turns them to dust, a stake to the heart turns them to dust, if you do stake one don't leave the stake there or it turns to dust with the vampire."

"Right, okay," he says, getting a pad of paper and a pen to jot that down. "And what about demons and people who do magic? Are there any obvious ways to stop them from doing things?"

"Only real way to stop someone who does magic is by doing more powerful magic. Various demons have various weaknesses, many of them are much stronger or faster or have better reflexes or senses or all of that than humans, vampires included, but there are too many of those for this margin to contain."

"So there's nothing obvious that will stop a large variety of them, like silver? That always seems to be a thing in books, and I don't know how much I should be looking to fiction for an idea about this stuff."

"Nothing that works on everything, no. Some stuff dies when decapitated—vampires do—other stuff grows a new head, or a new body, or both, or neither but doesn't die with that. And that's true of anything, for whatever destruction method you can find there's a demon that dies with it and another that shrugs it off."

"Okay, so I should have some sort of weapon at the ready and just hope they don't come to attack me."

He frowns confusedly. "Are they particularly common? Are most people just lucky not to be victim of one?"

"Vampires are the most common by far, and Sunnydale's a haven for them, and even then they're not that common here, so you mostly don't have to worry about them. I... chose to become a witch, because I figure becoming addicted to magic is still better than dying."

"Addicted?" he asks, a bit freaked out. "The magic is addictive? How addictive, does it get on you by just being near it, can you get addicted by being targeted?"

"Yes it's addictive, you can't get addicted to it by being near it or targeted by it, small doses are typically safe, it also varies from person to person. Just like literally every other drug."

"What sorts of withdrawal effects are there? Horrible depression? Actually having magical things happen against you?"

"Bit o' both."

He sighs and says, "I'm sorry, I just... magic. And demons."

And now that he spares a moment to think, he starts worrying about Theo again.

"Yes. And I didn't want to let you be eaten if I could help it, even if this is frustratingly suboptimal when it comes to trying to save everyone but."

"Thanks for that," he says with a bit of a smile.

"... Do you want a drink?"

"I should probably go home before it gets too much darker, actually, but thanks."

"Do vampires only come out at night, then?"

"I did mention sunlight turns them to dust."

"... Right. You did. Okay, well, I'll let Theo know you've gone then?"

"Yeah, thanks. And, um. Sorry. Guess I'll see him tomorrow, anyway. Bye."