[ $ 1 ]

[strangelyliteral]

[Action]

[Waking up unceremoniously in Luceti with no idea of where she is and what she is doing there is of course a disorienting experience. Anya finds herself out on the beach, lying prone on the sand. It could be Sunnydale, except the area she's been deposited in doesn't have much surrounding it besides sand and blue skies.

Her back hurts, and by the time she sits herself up and reaches back there...] Wings? Is this a joke?

[Some more time passes with her half-ranting to herself, trying to get oriented and squinting at the placement of the sun. She almost misses the fact that the journal is there completely, save when she finally starts to walk and nearly trips over the thing, half buried in the sand.]

[Accidental voice]

- Ow! I have sand in places that I don't want to think about, there's no sign of anyone - what is this, a book? I don't even get a pair of shoes, or even suntan lotion, I just get a lousy book? [She turns the journal over in her hands, pages rustling, her image still not visible, though there's the sound of the ocean's waves in the background.] ... my name is on this book. This just entered a new level of creepy.

Comments

[herotypical]

I can't lie to you on this count. I'm still struggling with the whole...purpose problem. I thought I know, but...I'm working on it.

[strangelyliteral]

I thought if anyone would have had one, it would be you. [Not said too unkindly, but that had been the crux of most of Buffy's speeches before the plan.]

[Action]

[niceguypose]

Ah... In a way. But most of the time, people are well enough here that I instead appreciate the lack of a need to carry out my job. And of course, I can still train myself to my heart's content!

voice

[weaponry]

No, because ninja are only working when they receive missions. It's a job, like a florist or a baker or something.

[herotypical]

[ she cradles her emptied cup -- feeling chagrin enter through the tips of her ears and flood down to her toes. ] That was my mode of thinking for about the...oh, the first year. This guy who used to be here kept telling that there were no no-win scenarios. And I believed it. [ ... ] For what it's worth, I still think there's a way out. We just haven't found it yet.

[strangelyliteral]

[She drains her glass of water and hands it back to Buffy.]

But for now we're just... stuck here in wingy limbo with no money, no Xander, and the threats of ... experimentation or attacks from... cultists?

voice

[strangelyliteral]

I guess there's not much of that to go around here then. Doesn't it suck?

[Action]

[strangelyliteral]

So you're not... bored? What the heck is wrong with you people?

[Action]

[niceguypose]

Wrong? But training is one of my favorite forms of entertainment! I am sure that once you see the village, you will find some way to occupy your own time!

[Action]

[strangelyliteral]

You're all just so - content! It's not normal!

[herotypical]

Plus a war. Plus occasional kidnappings. Plus the previously mentioned fun and frequent time discrepancies. You will adapt. I mean...

[ if anyone can... ]

Even the most stubborn do. In some way or another. Eventually.

[strangelyliteral]

Adapting's one of those things I'm used to. [It doesn't mean she likes having to do it.

Sigh.

Jumping into this was probably better than worrying over what was left behind there. Even if it still felt much too jarring for her to make sense of.]

Step one to adapting here is to ... what, then, find a place, or something? And I guess that's free too?

[Well, they had to get to the village first ...]

voice

[weaponry]

I enjoy days off since, at home, I don't get them often. I'm usually training from around four in the morning to six thirty at night, with lunch breaks and dinner breaks in between. Of course, we train five days a week unless we're going on a mission, but Gai-sensei encourages us to train everyday. [ go train erryday. ]

[herotypical]

Totally gratis. There are apartments. And some houses. Everything's fairly standard issue, at first. It takes a while to...I don't know. Make things your own.

voice

[strangelyliteral]

... That's a lot of training. [Although technically, the Slayers-in-training had a pretty hefty schedule too.] And you do this for free?

[strangelyliteral]

It's too weird. I can't believe there's even some kind of guidebook about it.

[Action]

[niceguypose]

Ah... You should take time to get to know us better before passing such judgement! But I suppose we adapt to a different view of "normal" in this world.

[Action]

[strangelyliteral]

... Right, okay. [Then again, back home doesn't exactly offer any comfort either. She's not eager to go running back into a fight. But she'll worry about that later.] I'll just see what happens.

[herotypical]

Well -- some people have been around here long enough to write about...having been here long enough. [ a soft sound, as if considering whether she should continue. ] But you can trust what Raine writes. I'll vouch for her. Any day.

[ one doesn't need to be entirely reacquainted with a friend to vouch for them, right? ]

[Action]

[niceguypose]

Very well! Let me know if you need any directions towards the village, or perhaps if you need to be carried anywhere!

[Action]

[strangelyliteral]

There's [a ... friend? No. Anya didn't have those.] a person coming to pick me up, but thanks. You've been, uh, very informative.

[strangelyliteral]

... I haven't read it yet. But now I will.

[With the guide being Buffy-approved she could feel more comfortable with perusing it. Now she was just feeling antsy to get moving.] Let's go to the village now.

voice

[weaponry]

No...? Missions pay and reimburse ninja in return for their service to a community. It's not uncommon for successful ninjas to have enough money to rival any and all politicians.

[herotypical]

Hmm? [ she glances back, as if caught in a mini-daydream. it takes a moment to process anya's request. ] Oh, sure. If you're up to it. You might even find a few of your things. But don't hold your breath on that one. Some of us don't see a lick of home for months.

[ she pushes off the wall and leaves the glasses in the sink, collecting anya's without thinking. ]

[strangelyliteral]

Don't have much anyway.

[And she doesn't like the idea of looking for it in free shops, either. It feels like shoplifting, even if it... isn't.]

Not really up to it. I just want to feel like I'm doing something instead of waiting around to be shoved back into that battle.