AGE AND TREACHERY (WORLD AT HER FINGERTIPS: JENNY'S REMIX)
Jenny saw the determined expression on her favorite student's face, and was not surprised at all to hear Willow say: “You’re Janna of the Kalderash. I won’t tell Buffy. But you’re going to teach me how to use magic like you do.”
Jenny nodded, as if Willow had been talking about the weather, and gave ground, giving Willow room to enter. Willow stepped into Jenny's apartment, looking around to see if anyone else was visiting, then turned back to her teacher and commented: “You don't look surprised. I thought you would be surprised. I mean, you were surprised to see me, but you weren't surprised at what I told you. I mean--”
“Breathe, Willow.” Jenny was quite familiar with Willowbabble from their time in class together, and later from their time in the Scoobies together. She gestured towards the living room sofa. “Sit down. Would you like some tea?”
Willow smiled and replied, “Thank you.” Jenny disappeared into the kitchen, and Willow could hear the sounds of tea being prepared as she called out, “But you weren't surprised!”
Jenny walked back into the room and sat down, commenting “I already had a pot starting to boil, so it shouldn't be long.” Willow frowned at the apparent deflection, and Jenny continued, “The fact that you know what you know, and that you brought up magic in the same breath implies that you've been doing a bit of snooping, probably recently.” She smirked and added, “Let me guess: ahannigan1974 from Denver?”
Willow's eyes widened: “How? I chose a username that had nothing to do with me!”
Jenny nodded, “Yes, and you did a far better job of that than I did. But you still needed to ask some questions to get the information you needed, and they were very pointed and clearly the product of a very intelligent user, even for the standards of that forum-and among the recent arrivals you stood out for that reason. Once you confronted me just now, it was obvious what had been going on.”
Willow nodded, and she launched into an explanation of why she had started looking and what she had found. Jenny didn't interrupt, letting Willow give a torrent of details about where and how she had found the chat rooms after an unexpected amount of difficulty, and what she had learned there. After about five minutes, the whistle of the teakettle came from the kitchen, and Jenny got up to get the tea, commenting as she walked away: “That was some involved investigative work, Willow-but it wouldn't have been enough to give you that information, or to suggest that magic was involved. Have you been digging into my private files?” Willow was silent, and Jenny didn't press, staying silent herself until she walked out with the tea tray. She poured cups for both of them from the same pot, then sat back as Willow added lemon and a bit of sugar to hers before drinking-Jenny had already taken a couple of sips from hers, and she noted that Willow relaxed a bit as she did so. She raised an eyebrow and said quietly, “You haven't answered my question, Willow.”
Willow looked down at the floor as she whispered, “I just had to know. I'd never had any trouble finding out something I needed to know about someone in Sunnydale before-I know the systems in this town like the back of my hand. Checking on Giles was easy-but when I tried to check on you. . .”
“You ran into a firewall that shouldn't have been there, and you concluded it was magic.” Jenny's tone was matter of fact, and Willow relaxed subliminally before Jenny added, “So you decided to break right through it and succeeded-sounds like you don't need magic to do what you do. Magic is serious business, Willow-it can be physically dangerous and even endanger your immortal soul.” She smiled wistfully at her favorite student and added, “You know who I am, and you've decided not to tell Buffy, which I appreciate-can't you just let this go? You're the best at what you do that I've ever met, and you're only getting better-isn't that enough?”
Willow looked over at Jenny and closed her eyes for a moment before sighing and shaking her head. “It isn't-not any more. Buffy keeps having to do more and more to stop Hellmouthy things from killing everyone, and I can't fight like her or Giles or even Xander. I need to do more, and magic will help me do what I do better, and give me new things I can do to help. I know it's dangerous and scary, and it might make bad things happen to me-but Buffy and the others are counting on me to be the best Willow I can be. . .and I think that means magic now.” She locked eyes with Jenny, and the teacher could see the pleading in those eyes and hear it in Willow's voice as she concluded, “I need to know this, Miss Calendar, and I know you're the best person to teach me. Please help me.”
Jenny frowned, and took another sip of her tea, and Willow followed suit as she waited for Jenny to answer. After a few moments, Jenny sighed and said simply, “Willow, if we're going to do this, you need to know why I'm here. You remember how Angel was cursed with a soul by the family of a gypsy girl murdered by Angelus?” Willow nodded, and Jenny continued, “My family-their vengeance. I was sent here to monitor Angel-to make sure he still suffered. I don't know all the details, but I've been here for a year now, and Angel is my friend. I'm conflicted, to say the least.”
Willow frowned, and asked, “Maybe I can help? Angel is my friend too, but it sounds like we're going to have to figure out a plan that everyone can live with.”
Jenny sighed again and said simply, “I can't accept your help with this-I've already told you more than I should have, and I wouldn't have if. . .if I hadn't already decided that I can't allow you to know about my true identity. I just wanted you to know why I was doing this, before I made sure you couldn't tell anyone.”
Willow's eyes widened, and she glanced at the cup in front of her, then over at Jenny's cup before blurting out: “But you poured yours from the same teapot! You couldn't have poisoned--!”
Jenny smiled sadly, and replied, “But I could have tampered with the cup, or with the lemon or sugar, since I added neither to mine. However, the solution is simpler in this case-I took the antidote while I was in the kitchen.” Willow's eyes widened in outrage, and Jenny shrugged and added, “Age and treachery beats youth and skill every time, Willow.”
Willow glared at Jenny, but she could feel that her heart wasn't really in it. She felt relaxed, and not inclined to scream, or flee, or do any of the other things that someone who had just been told they had been poisoned would probably do. She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them before asking quietly, “So how long do I have to live?”
Jenny smiled, and it was warm and genuine. “A very long time, or at least I hope so, Willow. The tea I prepared has several properties-it can suppress or alter memories, or it can plant suggestions. In this case. . .” Jenny paused, then said quietly, “Willow-I want you to forget everything you have learned about my true identity, the firewall protecting my school records, and my mission here in Sunnydale-and to feel a subtle but absolute aversion to looking into those matters in the future.” Willow's expression went blank, and a flash of regret passed over Jenny's face before she added, “You came here tonight because you want to learn more about what technopagans do so that you can use it to help Buffy and the others. I said yes.”
Willow blinked, and her eyes widened in joy as she cried, “Oh thank you Miss Calendar-thank you!” She stood up and ran over to give Jenny an uninhibited hug, and-after a moment of internal hesitation and a fair amount of remorse-Jenny returned the hug with interest.
*
Remixer's Note: A few themes in this one, of course, and none that need much elaboration to anyone who watched BtVS from the beginning.
As always, comments are welcomed and desired.
Jenny nodded, as if Willow had been talking about the weather, and gave ground, giving Willow room to enter. Willow stepped into Jenny's apartment, looking around to see if anyone else was visiting, then turned back to her teacher and commented: “You don't look surprised. I thought you would be surprised. I mean, you were surprised to see me, but you weren't surprised at what I told you. I mean--”
“Breathe, Willow.” Jenny was quite familiar with Willowbabble from their time in class together, and later from their time in the Scoobies together. She gestured towards the living room sofa. “Sit down. Would you like some tea?”
Willow smiled and replied, “Thank you.” Jenny disappeared into the kitchen, and Willow could hear the sounds of tea being prepared as she called out, “But you weren't surprised!”
Jenny walked back into the room and sat down, commenting “I already had a pot starting to boil, so it shouldn't be long.” Willow frowned at the apparent deflection, and Jenny continued, “The fact that you know what you know, and that you brought up magic in the same breath implies that you've been doing a bit of snooping, probably recently.” She smirked and added, “Let me guess: ahannigan1974 from Denver?”
Willow's eyes widened: “How? I chose a username that had nothing to do with me!”
Jenny nodded, “Yes, and you did a far better job of that than I did. But you still needed to ask some questions to get the information you needed, and they were very pointed and clearly the product of a very intelligent user, even for the standards of that forum-and among the recent arrivals you stood out for that reason. Once you confronted me just now, it was obvious what had been going on.”
Willow nodded, and she launched into an explanation of why she had started looking and what she had found. Jenny didn't interrupt, letting Willow give a torrent of details about where and how she had found the chat rooms after an unexpected amount of difficulty, and what she had learned there. After about five minutes, the whistle of the teakettle came from the kitchen, and Jenny got up to get the tea, commenting as she walked away: “That was some involved investigative work, Willow-but it wouldn't have been enough to give you that information, or to suggest that magic was involved. Have you been digging into my private files?” Willow was silent, and Jenny didn't press, staying silent herself until she walked out with the tea tray. She poured cups for both of them from the same pot, then sat back as Willow added lemon and a bit of sugar to hers before drinking-Jenny had already taken a couple of sips from hers, and she noted that Willow relaxed a bit as she did so. She raised an eyebrow and said quietly, “You haven't answered my question, Willow.”
Willow looked down at the floor as she whispered, “I just had to know. I'd never had any trouble finding out something I needed to know about someone in Sunnydale before-I know the systems in this town like the back of my hand. Checking on Giles was easy-but when I tried to check on you. . .”
“You ran into a firewall that shouldn't have been there, and you concluded it was magic.” Jenny's tone was matter of fact, and Willow relaxed subliminally before Jenny added, “So you decided to break right through it and succeeded-sounds like you don't need magic to do what you do. Magic is serious business, Willow-it can be physically dangerous and even endanger your immortal soul.” She smiled wistfully at her favorite student and added, “You know who I am, and you've decided not to tell Buffy, which I appreciate-can't you just let this go? You're the best at what you do that I've ever met, and you're only getting better-isn't that enough?”
Willow looked over at Jenny and closed her eyes for a moment before sighing and shaking her head. “It isn't-not any more. Buffy keeps having to do more and more to stop Hellmouthy things from killing everyone, and I can't fight like her or Giles or even Xander. I need to do more, and magic will help me do what I do better, and give me new things I can do to help. I know it's dangerous and scary, and it might make bad things happen to me-but Buffy and the others are counting on me to be the best Willow I can be. . .and I think that means magic now.” She locked eyes with Jenny, and the teacher could see the pleading in those eyes and hear it in Willow's voice as she concluded, “I need to know this, Miss Calendar, and I know you're the best person to teach me. Please help me.”
Jenny frowned, and took another sip of her tea, and Willow followed suit as she waited for Jenny to answer. After a few moments, Jenny sighed and said simply, “Willow, if we're going to do this, you need to know why I'm here. You remember how Angel was cursed with a soul by the family of a gypsy girl murdered by Angelus?” Willow nodded, and Jenny continued, “My family-their vengeance. I was sent here to monitor Angel-to make sure he still suffered. I don't know all the details, but I've been here for a year now, and Angel is my friend. I'm conflicted, to say the least.”
Willow frowned, and asked, “Maybe I can help? Angel is my friend too, but it sounds like we're going to have to figure out a plan that everyone can live with.”
Jenny sighed again and said simply, “I can't accept your help with this-I've already told you more than I should have, and I wouldn't have if. . .if I hadn't already decided that I can't allow you to know about my true identity. I just wanted you to know why I was doing this, before I made sure you couldn't tell anyone.”
Willow's eyes widened, and she glanced at the cup in front of her, then over at Jenny's cup before blurting out: “But you poured yours from the same teapot! You couldn't have poisoned--!”
Jenny smiled sadly, and replied, “But I could have tampered with the cup, or with the lemon or sugar, since I added neither to mine. However, the solution is simpler in this case-I took the antidote while I was in the kitchen.” Willow's eyes widened in outrage, and Jenny shrugged and added, “Age and treachery beats youth and skill every time, Willow.”
Willow glared at Jenny, but she could feel that her heart wasn't really in it. She felt relaxed, and not inclined to scream, or flee, or do any of the other things that someone who had just been told they had been poisoned would probably do. She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them before asking quietly, “So how long do I have to live?”
Jenny smiled, and it was warm and genuine. “A very long time, or at least I hope so, Willow. The tea I prepared has several properties-it can suppress or alter memories, or it can plant suggestions. In this case. . .” Jenny paused, then said quietly, “Willow-I want you to forget everything you have learned about my true identity, the firewall protecting my school records, and my mission here in Sunnydale-and to feel a subtle but absolute aversion to looking into those matters in the future.” Willow's expression went blank, and a flash of regret passed over Jenny's face before she added, “You came here tonight because you want to learn more about what technopagans do so that you can use it to help Buffy and the others. I said yes.”
Willow blinked, and her eyes widened in joy as she cried, “Oh thank you Miss Calendar-thank you!” She stood up and ran over to give Jenny an uninhibited hug, and-after a moment of internal hesitation and a fair amount of remorse-Jenny returned the hug with interest.
*
Remixer's Note: A few themes in this one, of course, and none that need much elaboration to anyone who watched BtVS from the beginning.
As always, comments are welcomed and desired.