The tension went out of Julianna's shoulders, which slumped with a relief that was almost palpable. Good, the first hurdle had been leapt, the girl was amenable to working together. The concept of resolve was still distant, but every journey had to have a starting point.
"I was able to blow some of the cobwebs away and find what you inquired about," she told Valerie, acknowledging the blonde's apologetic smile with an incline of her head. "As I told you before, the Old Ones were pureblood demons. They once occupied this dimension, long before man walked the earth, and they warred among themselves constantly. The Council archives don't contain their whole history, but eventually they were exiled to an unknown location called the Deeper Well. They slumber there, existing in limbo where they can't cause any more damage. There's a guardian standing vigil and mystical wards in place to keep them from waking up and escaping."
Flexing her mental muscles was a different kind of relief, and the Watcher smiled a bit at the end of her recitation. Some of her appetite returned now that the most taxing thing had been agreed upon, and so she unwrapped her pastrami sandwich and took a careful bite after offering a sheepish smile of her own. She chewed carefully while Valerie talked, a frown causing her eyebrows to slowly draw together.
"I know that there are...entities...who try to tap into the essence of the Slayer," she said once she washed the bite down with some water. "When you intermingle demon powers with a human body, it can attract the attention of powerful forces. If this being spoke to you, behaved in a familiar manner, there's a strong likelihood that she was an agent of someone or something else. Not an underling, per se. Catalyst might be a better word for it."
She reached for her messenger bag, which she'd slung over the unoccupied chair, pulled out a small notepad and a ballpoint pen. There was the scratch of the pen on paper as she wrote, making her usual shorthand as she jotted down important details. She would have to consult her books when she got home tonight. There was something involved here, something more intricate than a simple visitation.
"You seem intact physically, but there are other ways to be hurt. Psychic injury can be just as debilitating as being struck with a fist or a weapon. If the body needs healing, you can go to hospital. If the mind gets damaged by a demonic entity, it requires a shaman or some other mystic to repair the injury."
The pastrami had gotten cold while they talked, but even room temperature food could be filling. Julianna emptied the first bottle of water, pulled a second one from her bag. "If you have other concerns, I wouldn't mind hearing about them as they arise. I know this isn't the traditional arrangement, but I'd like to be truly useful again. If I'm to rebuild my confidence, starting with you is a good point of origin."
It felt good - liberating - to be so open. There would never be another Allison, but that didn't mean she couldn't re-discover her purpose. Julianna wiped the corner of her mouth.
"Also? I'd like it if you'd call me Julianna. May I call you Valerie?"
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ninetydegrees
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on 2013-11-09 01:30 am (UTC)"I was able to blow some of the cobwebs away and find what you inquired about," she told Valerie, acknowledging the blonde's apologetic smile with an incline of her head. "As I told you before, the Old Ones were pureblood demons. They once occupied this dimension, long before man walked the earth, and they warred among themselves constantly. The Council archives don't contain their whole history, but eventually they were exiled to an unknown location called the Deeper Well. They slumber there, existing in limbo where they can't cause any more damage. There's a guardian standing vigil and mystical wards in place to keep them from waking up and escaping."
Flexing her mental muscles was a different kind of relief, and the Watcher smiled a bit at the end of her recitation. Some of her appetite returned now that the most taxing thing had been agreed upon, and so she unwrapped her pastrami sandwich and took a careful bite after offering a sheepish smile of her own. She chewed carefully while Valerie talked, a frown causing her eyebrows to slowly draw together.
"I know that there are...entities...who try to tap into the essence of the Slayer," she said once she washed the bite down with some water. "When you intermingle demon powers with a human body, it can attract the attention of powerful forces. If this being spoke to you, behaved in a familiar manner, there's a strong likelihood that she was an agent of someone or something else. Not an underling, per se. Catalyst might be a better word for it."
She reached for her messenger bag, which she'd slung over the unoccupied chair, pulled out a small notepad and a ballpoint pen. There was the scratch of the pen on paper as she wrote, making her usual shorthand as she jotted down important details. She would have to consult her books when she got home tonight. There was something involved here, something more intricate than a simple visitation.
"You seem intact physically, but there are other ways to be hurt. Psychic injury can be just as debilitating as being struck with a fist or a weapon. If the body needs healing, you can go to hospital. If the mind gets damaged by a demonic entity, it requires a shaman or some other mystic to repair the injury."
The pastrami had gotten cold while they talked, but even room temperature food could be filling. Julianna emptied the first bottle of water, pulled a second one from her bag. "If you have other concerns, I wouldn't mind hearing about them as they arise. I know this isn't the traditional arrangement, but I'd like to be truly useful again. If I'm to rebuild my confidence, starting with you is a good point of origin."
It felt good - liberating - to be so open. There would never be another Allison, but that didn't mean she couldn't re-discover her purpose. Julianna wiped the corner of her mouth.
"Also? I'd like it if you'd call me Julianna. May I call you Valerie?"