Sunnydale High was virtually deserted. Students streamed out of the school like there was no tomorrow as soon as classes dismissed, most to prepare for their nightly escapades at the Bronze. Some to go to their after-school jobs, and very few to do their homework and prepare for the next day.
At 4:30 in the afternoon, Willow could easily walk down the empty corridors, hearing each of her soft footfalls. Shoulders straight, arms full and eyes bright, she wandered in the general direction of her locker. She wasn't tired anymore, or particularly nervous, but every time she thought of 'the Seal' ... well, it worried her.
"I can't put my finger on it," she mused softly. "But something is just not right." Absently entering her combination, she swung the locker door open. The contents of her locker was orderly. She had purchased three of those plastic 'shelves' that fit into the lockers, giving her four neat rows for her books. And each row had one half days classes books and materials stored on it.
Depositing this afternoons set of books onto the second shelf down, Willow thoughtfully pulled the silver chain bearing the blue topaz off the otherwise barren coat hook. After meeting with Ms. Calendar, earlier in the afternoon, Willow had placed it in the locker for safekeeping. Now, resting it in the palm of her hand, she studied the rich blue stone, admiring it's clarity. Her mother had once owned a ring with a blue topaz in it. A sweet sixteen present from her mother, Willow's grandmother. It was to have been Willow's one day, but the stone had fallen out of the setting, and Mrs. Rosenberg had never replaced it.
Willow had attempted to return this pendant to it's rightful owner, Ms. Calendar, and thank the techno pagan for lending it to her. So, she had tucked it away into the front pocket of her burgundy jumper before leaving for the school. After her afternoon classes, and during her spare, Willow had gone in search of Ms. Calendar.
* * *
Ms. Calendar had been supervising a grade nine class when Willow poked her head into the doorway. Seeing that the lovely computer teacher was busy, and not wishing to interrupt, Willow was about to leave. But, Ms. Calendar had caught sight of her and, with a flick of her wrist, indicated for Willow to come in.
Quietly stepping into the room, and hovering near Ms. Calendar's desk, as unobtrusive as she could be, Willow fished the topaz out of her pocket. Ms. Calendar was working her way across the room, pausing to comment over a students shoulder. Finally, walking up to Willow, Ms. Calendar allowed the younger woman a cheerful smile.
"Willow!" She exclaimed, "The pendant must have worked, you look so much better!" For all Ms. Calendar's enthusiasm in finding that her research had proved useful, her voice never raised enough to move beyond the two of them.
Willow gave her trademark smile, head quirked to one side. "I must have looked really bad to get all this attention!" She laughed.
Ms. Calendar's smile widened. "Everyone's saying the same things, huh?" At Willow's nod, Samantha Calendar patted the girl's shoulder. "It's just their way of showing they care."
"I suppose so." Willow paused, extending out the hand holding the pendent. "Ms. Calendar? I wanted to return this to you, Xander said you lent it."
Ms. Calendar looked at the pendent for a long moment, not touching it. Raising her eyes to meet Willows, she shook her head softly. "No, Willow. It's been prepared for use, and I rather doubt that one night without the nightmares will disrupt them from happening." Her hand closed around Willow's, forcing Willow's fingers to curl up around the stone. "Just you keep that until we've fixed the Seal."
Willow must have shown her surprise, since the teacher ruefully smiled and nodded, twisting away briefly to scan her students. Giles, or Buffy, must have broken down an confessed their multitude of sins...like omitting Ms. Calendar from their last meeting. "Either that," she giggled silently, "Or they invented a really good story!"
Waiting until Ms. Calendar was able to return, Willow fidgeted, her slender fingers pulling lightly up and down the sides of the blue topaz. Mind wandering, as she caressed the stone, another pendent appeared in the recesses of her mind.
It was a golden...locket? Laying on top of a cold stone table, the locket glittered appealingly. Oval in shape, and thick...it seemed to have a mark on it resembling three petals of a flower that were interconnected and balanced. And the engraved mark seemed to glow, standing out brilliantly from the rest of the locket.
Abruptly, Willow lost the image as Ms. Calendar touched her arm. Peering down at the suddenly distant girl, the teacher had a look of concern on her face. "Willow? Are you..."
"I'm alright, just got caught up in some thoughts!" Willow smiled. Reaching up, with her empty hand, she pulled her hair back over her shoulders. "Are you sure you don't want this back just yet?" She asked, indicating to the pendent.
Ms. Calendar emphatically shook her head, waving a finger beneath Willow's nose. "No! And you listen to me, young lady. That pendent is to be beside your bed each and every time you go to sleep! Understood!"
"Yes'm." Ducking her head down, Willow faked a quick bob. Ms. Calendar laughed.
Turning to leave, Willow paused, her hand resting on the doorframe. "Uh, Ms. Calendar?" Almost hesitant to ask this question, she froze.
One of the computer teachers dark eyebrows rose. "Yes, Willow?"
Strangely, as Willow looked at her, a memory from her nightmares stirred. Ms. Calendar was layered over with another image of Ms. Calendar, although, the second image gave the impression of lying down...not standing. Blood poured from a deep gash on her head, her eyes were closed. The image alone panicked Willow, but it was the *feelings* that went with it..despair, anxiety, and fear.
Eyes shooting really wide, the image separated from reality as Ms. Calendar suddenly moved forward. Her hands were reaching out to steady the suddenly weak-kneed Willow.
Willow closed her eyes for a second, screwing up her courage. "What will you have to do with the Seal? How will you know what to do?"
Ms. Calendar frowned. The child had nearly fainted just a moment ago, and now wanted to discuss the arcane workings of the Seal? Something else was happening here.
Thinking fast, Ms. Calendar slowly replied. "The Seal, in my mind should be much like a Ward. It's keeping negative energy and powers out, like a Ward would. So, I'm going at this on the basis of Wards, and Warding." Pausing, she gently squeezed Willow's arm. "Everything will be fine, Willow. Don't worry."
* * *
Shutting her locker door, Willow leaned her head against the cold metal. How could she not worry? Every time she turned around, a picture from her nightmares rose up to overlap her sight. Perhaps it was the aftereffects of sleep deprivation, or just bad indigestion, but it was unnerving just the same.
Pushing away from the locker, she headed for the main doors. Ms. Calendar had determined Willow's plans for this evening. Tonight's goal was: learn everything she could about Wards. Willow, unlike Buffy or even Xander, went into nothing blind anymore. That lesson had been well learned.
Sunnydale Public Library didn't have the occult resources that Giles did, but Willow felt the need to be secretive. If Giles knew she was looking up Wards and wardings, he'd probably want to know why. It would be difficult to put the impressions and sensations of the nightmares into words, but even more difficult to have them dismissed as just paranoia.
Stepping into the warm late afternoon air, Willow sat down on the step. Buffy and Xander were meeting her here. Idly and contentedly, she stared at the cloud formations overhead. In one she imagined a dragon, the other, a unicorn...and the last looked like Fluffy, her pet miniature poodle.
"Fluffy! Oh no!" Willow quickly looked at her watch. The library was only open to seven on week nights, but her parents wouldn't be home for another hour and a half! In the meantime, poor sweet Fluffy was locked up in the laundry room, probably going nuts!
The dog was used to being locked in during school hours, but Willow usually was home by 5pm, to let her out and take her around the block. Expecting that patient animal to wait another hour was unreasonably unfair. Willow sighed, "I guess I'll just have to let the library slide."
Xander suddenly plopped right down beside her. "Hey bud'o'buds! What's happening?" He smiled cheerfully, all was very well in Xander's world. "I was just at the gym, talking to Coach Walker." He smirked as he spoke.
Willow arched an eyebrow. "Oh? Taking up an interest in team sports?" At Xander's widening grin, Willow mentally listed the weeks gym schedule. Monday nights, the gym was closed. Tuesdays, and Thursdays were Cheerleading practice..... "Cheerleaders! You ogled and drooled over all the cheerleaders!"
Xander's eyes glazed over in memory. "I wouldn't say drooled. Contemplated their form, grace and beauty. Admired their skill, prowess and..."
"Lusted?" Willow offered helpfully.
"Do you have to take the dim view of everything?" Xander said with a lofty sniff.
"Xander. Can you consciously remember the last hour. In detail? Like from the moment the bell rang to now?"
He paused, his eyes darting away. "Uh." He paused for a long moment. "I was at the gym?"
"The practice started at quarter two. What did you do for the half hour before?"
He groped mentally again.
"See. You ogled."
"Who ogled what?" Buffy stepped down to stand two stairs below them. Angel's leather jacket was swung around her shoulders, and her bookbag was negligently held in her hands.
"Xander ogled the cheerleaders." Willow snitched cheerfully. Xander's head ducked down in shame.
"Again?!?!" Buffy stared at the boy reproachfully. "One of these days each and every one of those girls is going to boot you! And I'm not going to stop them!"
Xander gave them both the sad puppy-dog expression he had practiced so long. "Awww..come on! I'm just doing what any normal male 16 year old does."
"Ogling." The two girls said in unison, and then giggled. Buffy and Willow exchanged grins with one another and high-fived.
Xander's eyes narrowed shrewdly, "Hey! That's not fair! You're ganging up on me!" He raised his chin and assumed a tragic air. Standing up, he began to slowly walk away, shoulders slumped, and head hanging dejectedly. "That's alright, I understand..." He said with a tragic air.
Buffy and Willow nodded at one another once, before inhaling sharply and breaking into a song with a loudly rendered..."Nobody loves me...everybody hates me..think I'll go eat worms..."
Racing, the two caught up to their wounded comrade. Each taking a side of him, they both looped their arms into his. They kept right on singing.. "Big fat juicy ones....teeny eeny squirming ones...".
"Stop! Stop! AAARGH! My eardrums..I'm going deaf!" Xander howled, faking absolute agony. "Willow! You know better than to sing! Bird's fall out of the sky dead when you do that!"
"XANDER!"
"Hey, I'm not the one the church choir leader begged to 'just mouth the words'!" He said, as he extracted his arm from Buffy and waved a finger under Willow's nose.
Buffy laughed, "No way!"
"You promised never to mention that!" Willow protested with a gasp. She slugged him in the arm.
"I did?! When?"
"When we were seven." Willow patted his arm with her free hand. "You owe me, now! And it just so happens, I need a little favour." She smiled sweetly at him. "And if you do this for me, I'll not only forgive your indiscretion, but I'll write up a draft of your English assignment for you."
She knew she had his full attention by the way he stiffened. "Really?"
"Really."
"Ok. Whaddaya want?"
"I'm going to the public library." She paused seeing both Buffy and Xander's surprised faces. "For the microfiche and periodicals." She lied quickly. "But, Fluffy needs let out! Could you do that for me? Please?"
Xander paled suddenly, "Oh, uh..well, um." He looked at Buffy pleadingly. She had seen that dog attack him before, surely she'd spare him that torture again. "Maybe Buffy would be better to..."
Buffy smirked and spoke loudly, "No can do, my friend. I've got to meet Mom at the Gallery."
"Oh." Xander's voice reflected his dismay, clearly.
"Please Xander!" Willow pleaded, using the tone of voice that implied all that her friendship meant to him. It was pure emotional blackmail, she knew but... "If she doesn't get out, I'll feel so bad, and then I won't be able to sleep and..."
Xander gave in. "Alright! ALRIGHT! I'll do it." Was this how a prisoner felt before the firing squad?
Willow gave him a quick hug, before turning to Buffy. "Walk with you as far as the library?" Buffy nodded her agreement.
As they came to the intersection they would part at, Willow tapped Xander on the arm again. "Oh, and hey. I'm still missing 1 picture from that album. No clue about it's whereabouts, huh?"
Xander cast a frantic look between Willow, and then Buffy. "No!" he said, voice strangled. "But I'm sure it'll turn up!"
Willow smiled knowingly, "Oh, I'm sure it will too!" She paused before adding as she and Buffy moved away. "Oh, and after you let Fluffy out, can you give her a quick walk around the block?"
Xander's moan echoed.
The two girls smiled at one another. They waited for a moment, before Buffy spoke, loud enough for Xander to still hear. "Willow? What picture with me in a swimsuit was Xander talking about?"
End Part Four
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