taxonomites | 001 [Holo]

There's a loud thump and a pained groan as Dawn does a bellyflop-- without the whole 'into water' part, which is both better and so very much worse-- onto the platform. Groaning again, she rolls onto her back then slowly sits up, stretching her neck and rubbing at her face.

"Did I mention that 'hey, sure I'll help with baby Slayer training today' is not secret code for 'time to try to break Dawn'? I may not be able to squish you with my huge giant-y feet anymore, but that doesn't mean it's open season. Seriously, you didn't have to hit me that--"

She breaks off mid complaint as she actually looks around, taking in her surroundings and realizes that wherever she is, it's not Scotland. And unless one of the baby slayers hit her hard enough she passed out and this is all a wacky coma dream, things are seriously wrong.

"--Hard. What's going on?"

She pushes up off the ground, wincing as her knees sting a little thanks to the whole 'scraped from crashing into the ground' angle. Grabbing the weird fake Blackberry thing is priority number one, then heading down the stairs and out the door.

...The door which promptly disappears behind her. Dawn's eyes get wider, and she presses a hand against the space where a door should be. "Oh, this cannot be good. Buffy? Oh, my God, I'm so dead. Buffy's gonna kill me if I got kidnapped again. I just got all normal Dawn-sized and not half horse or creepy doll-like. I can't be kidnapped." She runs a hand through her hair, trying to calm down. "It's okay. There is obviously a perfectly logical reason for this. A reason which is just... eluding me for a second. I just need to calm down. No freaking for Dawn Summers, for I'm an adult-type responsible person with coping skills that help in these situations."

She rolls her eyes. "And I'm talking to myself. Which is not at all a sign of freak out-ness. Nope." Looking around again, moving past freaked to 'let's work this out'. "Can anyone hear me? Willow? Xander? Even Andrew. Andrew would be okay right now. In fact, I would be really glad to see Andrew, which usually doesn't happen until I need an ANTM marathon buddy or some funnel cake, but... yeah, I'd be happy to see Andrew right now."

Dawn bites her lip and looks down, swallowing hard. Tiny Watcher is officially a little more worried than she would like to be. "...Anybody?"

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"You're here." Dawn grins at the same time she sniffles, then wipes at her cheeks with the back of her hand.

"I'm sorry, I just--" She shakes her head vehemently. Maybe at some point she'll talk about it; sitting with Tara, keeping the vigil. For now, it's just easier-- safer-- to let herself be happy.

"I'll be here. I promise."

Having her suspicions confirmed made Tara hustle that much more; this was yet another loved one who came from a reality in which Tara had died. And, eerily, the realities in which she was supposed to be dead seemed to outnumber the ones in which she was alive; in fact, there seemed to be only one of those.

Luckily for them both, Taxon wasn't a vast place. Or maybe it was just that Tara never seemed to be too far from the Sanctuary, unless she was at the Summers' house.

Arriving in what seemed like record time, Tara pocketed her tablet, not knowing what to say at the moment.

She moved toward Dawn quickly, her arms out to enfold the younger girl in a hug.

"Dawnie..."

"Tara." It's half a sob, and Dawn clings to her, holding as tight as she can. She's taller than Tara now, and her grip tightens for a moment with renewed anger at Warren. Her Tara never got to be shorter than her, because she was... but. There's this Tara, and she smells the same and feels the same and it's not like Keys should complain about people who aren't what you expect.

"I missed you, so much." She's crying openly now, trying to push a cold bedroom floor and a quiet body out of her mind in favor of this Tara. Alive and well and hugging Dawn. "But you're here, now."

She repeats it quietly, "You're here."

Edited 2009-06-26 06:08 (UTC)

Tara almost winces when Dawn repeats the words in disbelief; not because she isn't ridiculously happy to see her (because she is), but because she's worried about what Dawn saw. She can read Dawn's emotions very well, and she seems...scarred by something. Tara can only wonder...had Dawn seen her body? No one had really talked about it here, and she had never wanted to ask, either.

Dawn will talk about it in her own time, if she chooses to; in the meantime, Tara continues hugging her tightly.

"I'm here, Dawn," she assures, pressing a gentle hand to the back of Dawn's head, stroking her hair lightly.

She's grown so much, is so much older than the Dawn in her reality.

"I missed you." Dawn pulls away a little, wiping at her eyes with a back of her hand and trying to stop sniffling. "Sorry, this is kind of... you know how you have one thing you would do anything for, but it's like the one thing you'll never get so instead you think up how it would go and what people will say and how you feel and sometimes you set it to music in your head?"

Moving closer, she hugs Tara again, then pulls away and smiles shakily. "This is kind of that moment. Dorky and cheesy, but... I just missed you, Tara."

001 [Holo]

[holo]

[location: sanctuary]

[location: sanctuary]

[location: sanctuary]

[location: sanctuary]