Around the Cabins, Sunday Afternoon

[wesleynotponcy.livejournal.com]

Today Wesley felt like being outside. He didn't much mind where exactly, which was why he ended up wandering around the campgrounds, weaving between cabins in search of something to do. It had been a little while since he'd managed to get himself up and about, but today was the day and he was eager to make good use of it. The weather was nice and there was social interaction to be had.

Antsy? Him? Not at all.

[[oooopen!]]

Comments

[wesleynotponcy.livejournal.com]

It was a valid criticism.

"I understand," he said in agreement, nodding. "I myself was accustomed to certain, ah, oddities before coming here, so the culture shock was... minimal, but I do understand how it can be jarring when coming from a more normal environment."

[annieadderall.livejournal.com]

"Oh? What kind of oddities?" she asked, instantly perked up. Shhh, now that she was more used to all the different backgrounds of Fandom students, she found them fascinating.

[wesleynotponcy.livejournal.com]

Huh. Someone who was curious. That was new.

"Well," he said, always interested in talking about his background, "I went to a, ah, a very particular school most of my life. I was trained to function in an advisory capacity to a Slayer, or essentially a young woman whose role it is to fight vampires and demons."

And he was going to go ahead and hope that didn't scare Annie off. Or, you know, ruin her. It happened.

[annieadderall.livejournal.com]

Vampires she knew about, though she wasn't someone who was going to seek them out or anything. Demons were new. And mostly she stuck on, "Slayer? That's the scariest job title I've ever heard."

[wesleynotponcy.livejournal.com]

Wesley smiled. "I suppose it is, at that," he conceded. "My title was a bit more passive. Watcher. The contrast between the names is overwhelming, I know."

Maybe sarcasm could reduce the fear?

[annieadderall.livejournal.com]

"That sounds like you watch her kill things," she said. "Which... is one way to make a living?"

[wesleynotponcy.livejournal.com]

He grinned again, conceding the point. "Well, not anymore, unfortunately. Though I've found that a year at Fandom has been just as enjoyable as sixteen years at the Watchers' Academy" -- yes, Watcher education started at birth -- "so perhaps it's not all that unfortunate."

[annieadderall.livejournal.com]

"Wait, so you don't get to watch things anymore?" she checked. "Why not?"

It didn't even occur to her that that might be personal or something. She just went ahead and asked.

[wesleynotponcy.livejournal.com]

Well, it wasn't really a sore spot anymore. It had been a while ago, but as of now, he was pretty much used to it.

"I was fired," he admitted. "Last year."

Still, it wasn't a very forthcoming answer. Sorry, Annie. That was just sort of how he was.

[annieadderall.livejournal.com]

"Eek. Sorry," she said, and then went right into Turning Lemons Into Lemonade mode. "But you know what, this is probably a good time for that, too. Because you still have your whole life ahead of you and can still do a ton of things and you won't even be behind your peers there!"

[wesleynotponcy.livejournal.com]

Wow. She certainly was -- optimistic, wasn't she? And... peppy?

"That's always been my reasoning," he said, half-smiling a bit to show her that he really wasn't bothered by it anymore. "But thank you."

"And, ah, what's it like where you're from?"

[annieadderall.livejournal.com]

"Completely boring in comparison," she said. Granted, that would change when she went to college. "No vampires, no demons, no one with any magic powers... In fact I kind of can't tell anyone back home any details about this place or I'm pretty sure they're going to think I've gone crazy."

You know, again.

[wesleynotponcy.livejournal.com]

"Ah."

Yeah. That was... unfortunate.

"Well, at least you can enjoy Fandom while you're here!" he suggested, attempting that optimism thing that she'd tried on him. "And it certainly is, ah... edifying."

[annieadderall.livejournal.com]

The optimism just came naturally to her. It sort of was her superpower. "Exactly! This is just an experience that I'm going to have that no one else back home will. I'm in my home state in the entirely wrong century. Who else can say that?" Besides Stan and Butters. "And sure, some things are weirder than others, but that's just going to teach me to be more tolerant, and maybe a thing or two about adversity."

[wesleynotponcy.livejournal.com]

Wow.

That was a super power. Clearly, this was a girl who would have no problem turning this experience into a bullet point on her resume.

"I have to say, I admire your worldview," Wesley said with a smile. "I've never known anyone else to be so, ah, upbeat."

[annieadderall.livejournal.com]

"Thanks," she smiled. "I just figure, you can dwell on the bad things, or you can turn it into a positive." Which she'd actually gotten really good at in the last few months.

[wesleynotponcy.livejournal.com]

"I suppose that's true," Wesley said thoughtfully. "Huh."

That was... kind of a stumper.