Left to her own devices, Olivia tried to get in touch with the Witchdoctor Qing. After waiting several hours, she found he was still unavailable and tried an alternate approach, Natasha. So, the Skeek went to the Gypsy camp. Problem was, Natasha wasn't there. But! She was up at Pike's Castle using the ritual chamber for some spell. So … off Olivia went to the castle. Thankfully Igor was occupied at the time and it was Dr Pike herself that let Olivia in. She led the Skeek down to the ritual chamber. Inside Natasha sits quietly and leans against one of the walls. Her eyes are closed and she's breathing slowly.

Ritual Room
The room inside is dark, mainly because it's been painted black. Slightly fluorescent symbols cover the walls, ceiling and floor, along with a pentagram inscribed in a magic circle, with even more strange symbols within it. Bowls and jars full of colorful powders line the side of one wall, and tall candle holders stand at each corner.

Making sure that she doesn't disturb anything that Natasha might have brought with her, Olivia quietly approaches the Khatta. Coming to a stop near her, she waits for a few seconds before announcing her presence by coughing lightly.

One of Natasha's eyes flicks open and focuses on Olivia. Slowly, she leans forward and her other eye opens. "You are not a person I expected to see here, Miss Weaver," Natasha says, sounding a bit tired. "Is something wrong?"

Olivia sits down next to her friend with a rueful smile, so that Natasha won't have to stand up if she's really exhausted. "As usual, I come for your advice," she says. "I just got back from a rather, uh, disturbing little trip underneath the Weaver's compound and wondered what you'd make of it."

"Mmm," Natasha says as she blinks a few times, trying to wake herself back up. "Please forgive me, I just cast an extensive and complicated ritual. It was very taxing and I still feel a bit … tired." She draws in a deep breath, then lets it out slowly. "Okay, now, tell me what you uncovered and I'll see if I can make anything of it," she says.

Olivia looks at the older woman with worried eyes. "If you like, I could always tell you about this later when you've had a chance to rest?"

"No, I'll be fine. Please, I am not so old to be ready for retirement just yet or an early bedtime," the Khatta chides, then reaches over and prods the Skeek with a claw tip. With an amused smile, she sits back again and curls her fingers, adding, "Besides, it is unwise to taunt a mage. I could turn you into a toad. Well, overlay of a toad, I suppose. I guess that threat is no good with you anymore, you already know the secret of that."

Olivia eeps a little a being poked, then smiles. "I was just responding to the fact that you'd completed a tiring ritual, not that you were too old for such things," she says. Although one of her eyebrows does quirk as she adds, "But I suppose the rituals do seem to get longer as the years go by… " It's clear that the Skeek is joking, but she looks ready to spring away at a moment's notice, nonetheless.

"Few would take such liberty of speech with me, Miss Weaver. You have been under some bad influences," Natasha chides, though her tone is certainly light and joking. "Now, will you tell me your story? Or … must I craft a spirit replica of you and send it to woo Igor to get you to tell me?"

Olivia shakes her head emphatically! "No need for all that!" she exclaims in mock-seriousness. "Igor can stay wherever he is. Anyway, my recent adventure… Had I told you that Zahnrad discovered a network of underground tunnels running all through Stonebarrow?"

"You mentioned it in passing," Natasha says with a nod, "When I had checked on that noise caused by the ghost Korv."

Olivia taps herself on the forehead. "Ah yes, that's right!" she says. "Well, Zahn, Amy, Gunther and I went exploring through the tunnels that wind underneath the Weaver's. There was a trap door leading to them right beneath my room! And the very first thing we found was… um, I'm not exactly sure how to describe this, but… it was almost like a shrine, but to me. With a lot of old things of mine in it, including this doll I used to have as a child."

"That is … unusual," Natasha observes as her brow furrows a bit, "Not to mention dangerous. Items linked to you often can have power over you." She waves her hand a bit, adding, "But that isn't important. I have never felt anything cast upon you and I do keep watch now and then."

"Well, I took the doll back, at least," Olivia says slowly, considering what Natasha has just told her. "The other things are still there, though. In any case, we eventually came to a part of the tunnel that had a type of 'ladder' cut into the wall. Just beneath it was a little wooden box that looked like it had been burned somewhat. Inside there wasn't anything – except for this." The Skeek pulls the fibers she found there out of her pocket and holds them up. "I had them analyzed by one of the journeyman Weavers. This is from a burial shroud. Celestine - the journeyman – recognized them by taste. Said the embalming fluid used was Isolde's, or something like that."

The Khatta reaches over and gently lifts the fibers from Olivia's hand. She peers at them this way and that. "Curious as well. How large was this box? Surely it wasn't a coffin?" Natasha asks.

Olivia looks a little unsure. "It didn't have the shape of a coffin and it was really small," she says. "However… since there might have been a body in it at some time due to the shroud fibers I found, if it had been a coffin, it would have been a child's coffin. And that's pretty disturbing, too."

"And this was found near the Weaver's compound?" Natasha asks, "Have any children died there?" She continues to turn the fibers over as she examines them. "Hmm. I wonder."

"Actually, no. Zahn was able to open a trapdoor at the top of the ladder we found in the wall," Olivia explains. "When we all came out, I recognized the place. I used to play there as a child. My father even built me a treehouse in that little bit of woods."

Natasha's brow arches and she looks up from the fibers. "And have any children died near your home, then?" the Khatta asks next.

Olivia nods, silent for a few moments. Then she answers quietly, "My twin sister. She was stillborn." She looks the Khatta in the eye briefly before muttering, "That's what I find so disturbing about all of this. What if someone – or something – has my sister's remains?"

"Come closer," Natasha says and pats the spot in front of her. "I wish to try something."

"All right," Olivia agrees, moving to the place Natasha indicated. She looks rather curious about what the mage is going to do, however.

Natasha's hands roll lightly as she starts chanting in that sing-song way of hers. After about a minute, Olivia starts feeling an odd tingle all over her body. It's not unpleasant … more like having a light wind tickle through fur.

Olivia blinks a little at the sensation but tries to remain still, so she won't interrupt what Natasha is doing.

The sensation is short lived, at least. The Khatta's attention returns to the fibers in her hand. The chanting resumes, only this time it's slightly different as certain words are replaced in whatever it is she is speaking. That too is short lived as Natasha grows quiet and sits back. "Do you want to know?" she finally asks Olivia.

Olivia visibly braces herself. "Yes," she replies.

"The fibers have been in contact with someone similar to you. The echo that remains on them is faint, but it resonates similar to the presence you leave in the flow of magic that surrounds us," Natasha says as she offers the fibers back. "Take from that what you will."

Olivia puts the threads back into one of her pockets. "Then perhaps it's true – my sister's remains have been exhumed. Or worse." She shudders. "And there's only one way to know for sure if they're gone."

"With that faint resonance, it might be possible to track down where it went," Natasha comments as she glances towards one of the far walls. "Every living, and even some dead, creatures leave a signature as they move throughout the world. It is noticeable by those who practice the spirit arts. And those who are spirit, would you not agree?" she asks, though it seems as if she's not asking Olivia. Instead, she's asking the far wall. There's a faint outline of a door there done in colorful chalk.

"Well, it did allow me to find you, Mage Natasha," responds a voice – apparently coming from the air. It's one Olivia recognizes from her visit to Valicross' spirit-prison, too: Buffy.

Olivia starts and looks around the ritual room, trying to locate the owner of the voice but finding nothing. "Buffy, is that you?" she asks, feeling a little silly to be talking into nothingness.

"You are in no danger from me here, vampire," Natasha notes calmly, "So appear if you wish. What is it that you wish of me? I assume you desire something if you have sought me out."

"I just wanted to check on you," the spirit says, although she still doesn't appear. "You were spread out all over the place, and I've begun to take more of an interest in what goes on around here of late. Forgive me for not joining you, though. You'd have to join me, I'm afraid."

"My actions here were allowed by Isolde and were of no threat to anyone here," Natasha notes as she rubs the bridge of her muzzle lightly for a moment. "So, you are inviting us to spirit-walk to you, then?"

"Yes, if that's what Mage Qing did to get people into that Necromancer's prison thingy," Buffy notes. "I'm pretty sure I have the door set up correctly. I've been… experimenting."

"Qing triggered the gateway that Valicross had set up. A complex spell, to be certain. But, it has the advantage of not requiring as much exertion from me to bridge the void, as it were," Natasha says and now looks to Olivia. "Do you wish to go, Olivia?" she asks.

Olivia looks a little uncertain again, as if afraid to find out what Buffy's spirit-world experiment might look like. However, she nods bravely and says, "If you think I'd be of some use to you there, then yes."

"She cannot harm us there, as we will be bridged in spirit only. So, do not worry," Natasha notes to the Skeek. "Just give me a bit of time to complete the bridge," she adds as she now gets up and pulls some chalk from her pocket. She draws an intricate circle around herself and Olivia, then settles herself down in the center. There she begins to chant softly.

Olivia merely sits still again, looking on with interest as the mage chants.

It only takes a few minutes for the circle around them to flare to life and pulsate. A minute past that and the door drawn on the wall also starts to pulsate in time. All around them the remainder of the room fades away; the dark walls growing even darker. The chalk door seems to become more substantial, taking on the appearance of a real door. Natasha then snaps her fingers loudly and everything around them seems to stop. "There, the gateway is open into her world. Shall we see what the vampire wishes of us?" she asks as she stands.

Olivia nods and rises, as well. "Of course," she says. "I'll just follow your lead."

Natasha stands and brushes off her legs. The Khatta goes to the doorway and opens it as if it were a real door. Motioning for Olivia to follow, Natasha steps through.

Vineyards
Rows of vines holding giant, dark grapes spread out for acres across low, gently sloping hills. At the base of the wide, shallow valley runs a river, which bisects a large village in the distance. The sun shines down from a clear sky, making the manicured lawn around the small gazebo shine a vibrant green, while the latticework of the gazebo itself shows the fine details and filigreeing common to Sylvania.

The cat and mouse find themselves sitting at a small tea table inside the gazebo. Children of various races run about and play on the grass outside, while their hostess – a black Lapi doe in a wedding dress – pours them some tea from an ornate porcelain tea service.

"Thank you," Natasha says as she accepts the teacup and sniffs it lightly. In this place, the feline looks markedly younger; perhaps only in her mid-twenties or so. "For a vampire, you have excellent manners."

Olivia peers at the children chasing one another on the lawn and smiles in sudden recognition. "Are these the spirits of the children we saved from within Valicross' staff?" she asks gently.

"I hope you don't mind the noise," Buffy says, looking to the children. "I made this all for them, you see. It's from my own childhood – well, except for the weather." She holds one hand to the side of her mouth as if to prevent eavesdropping, saying, "It was never really this sunny." She also nods and smiles to Olivia's question.

"Oh good," Olivia breathes as she settles back in her chair. "I'm glad you came up with such a nice place for them after all they'd been through."

"If I'd known such spirit-worlds were possible earlier, I certainly wouldn't have spent all of my time in the chalk catacombs," Buffy notes. "But, live and learn! So to speak."

"I do not mind at all," Natasha says as she looks to the children that run. "Even in my dreams I sometimes remember my homeland, the people, and the beauty of it. I am sure it isn't as beautiful as my dreams wish to make it, either." She sets the cup back on the table as she looks over the doe. "They are pockets of controlled magic in the greater flow of it. Places shaped by the will of the caster. They are not so much worlds as simply a place of controlled memory, I suppose. But it's usually easier to explain it as a 'world' and leave it at that," she tries to explain.

"Ah, thank you for explaining it better," Buffy says. "For you see, memory is why I wanted to see you. You are experienced with divining the past, yes?"

"All spirit mages are in a sense. Most places that are haunted are so because of a great injustice that happened there which left an imprint of that as a memory on the magic," Natasha says, then shakes her head a bit. "Forgive me, here I am lecturing as if you were students. The short answer is yes, we can probe into the latent memories left in the magic of a place or spirit."

"Oh wonderful!" Buffy says, clapping her hands together. "Because I'd really like to know what happened to me after I was brought down into the catacombs. I don't remember well, because I was dying from having drunk the blood of a vampire. I was hoping it would let me understand a bit more about what I am."

Natasha's fingers curl tighter around the teacup she holds. "You wish to … restore the echo of your passing and view the mark it left upon the magic of the catacombs?" she asks slowly, her blue-green eyes now searching into Buffy's red eyes. "Some things are best left forgotten; sometimes that is a mercy. Please, believe this from one who knows and wishes she were spared some memories," the Khatta says, the hardened tone she once used to address the Lapi faltering.

The Lapi frowns briefly, and sets her own teacup down. "Does that mean you won't help?" she asks. "It's been seventy years now. I'd really like to know what makes me so different from other spirits or vampires. I'm not sure that I really am a vampire, even, since I only had half of the curse."

For her part, the Skeek merely looks confused. "Half a curse?" she echoes. "I think you may have to explain some things to me, Buffy. I still don't really know much about you and of course, the Chalks aren't willing to talk about you, either."

"Oh, well… hmm," Buffy says, tapping her chin and tilting her head to the side, so that her ears flop to the left. "As I understood it, the Undead Vampire Curse can either be applied complete, by a necromancer – and I know that that works – or by being bitten by a vampire and then drinking that vampire's blood." Leaning forward now, as if speaking in confidence, the dark Lapi says, "I only drank the blood, but was never bitten."

The Khatta's eyes move from Buffy and to her teacup. "Whatever happened, I am certain it was not … pleasant. I suffered under the hand of a Necromancer who sought his own immortality as a lich," she says quieter now. "The pain of what he did to me still echos in my dreams two decades later. The mercy of not remembering … well, that I envy." There she draws in a long breath, her eyes going distant for a moment. "But," she finally adds, "If it is what you wish, you have a right to it. I will try to open your old memories to you … but again I ask you to reconsider."

Olivia appears fascinated by what Buffy has said. "Interesting," she murmurs. "Well, you might not like what you find if you dredge up those memories, as Natasha has said, but I can understand why you'd want to know. Yours is a pretty unusual situation."

"Pain and suffering hold no fear for me," Buffy says. "I've already been through Hell. I just want to know why I woke up from it." she adds in a whisper. "I mean, my existence may not be much, but I don't think it will hurt me more to know why it is what it is."

"Send the children to a safe place," Natasha says quietly as she looks towards them, "If your memory awakens, the area around us will shift to match it. We will see what once was and what happened." She draws in another breath, adding, "And I believe you believe that, Buffy," she says, one of the few, if not the first time, she's ever used her name, "But until you are facing it, you can never know how it will affect you."

"Ah, you don't need to be in the actual place where it happened then?" Buffy asks. "I know the walls remember it. I was… Well, my senses were going. And I wanted to die, too. I mean, my heart was broken. One of the reasons I haven't been able to remember it myself was that I was pretty much turned inwards at the time."

"The actual place would be easier," Natasha agrees, "If we can get there."

"Oh, Olivia knows how to get to me," the Lapi notes, her eyes flaring bright red for a second. "But you have to bring a Chalk family member with you. That's a rule of sorts for me. If you're with a Chalk, then I won't see you as an invader."

Natasha looks thoughtful for a moment. "You are putting a lot of trust in me, Buffy," she says, "I'm certain you realize that if I decided to seek you out, even if you saw me as an invader … I'm likely capable of dealing with you with a bit of finality." She takes a drink from the teacup, then asks, "So … why do you trust me? Why do I seem … safe to you?"

Olivia shrinks back a little as Buffy's eyes go bright, but she answers as bravely as she can, "Ah, uh, yes. I remember the time we disturbed you. Sorry about that, by the way! So… I could ask Parsley to take me into the tunnels again? She might even still be here in the castle, visiting Clover."

"Well," Buffy says, and then smiles and shrugs. "I don't mean any offense, Mage Natasha… but I really don't think you could deal with me. Not in the chalk."

"Parsley or Miranda would be the best choices, yes," the Lapi spirit tells Olivia. "They already know about me, after all."

"You might be surprised and you should be more careful about protecting yourself," Natasha notes, then takes another drink from her cup. "You are sustained by magic, most notably spirit magic. A properly prepared ritual could wipe the tunnels free of all traces of it for a time. Any experienced mage knows the ritual. And to make things more dangerous, an experienced necromancer could control you, should they choose to try." The feline sighs softly, then shakes her head again. "But, no I would not try to harm you. I am just … well. Warning you to be careful, I suppose."

"I wouldn't mind knowing how to defend against a necromancer," Buffy admits. "I don't have any problems learning new things. Which, according to Mage Qing, is something a spirit shouldn't be able to do, really."

"I could teach you how to detect the sorts of spells I mentioned," Natasha says, "Which I'm surprised I am even saying to you, but … you do not seem a monster. And in truth, Liliana has spoken well of you. So … do you wish us to come to you first thing on the 'morrow?"

"If you're rested, sure," Buffy says, clutching her hands together in a show of glee. "Oh, and you can bring Mage Qing along too if you like. He seemed nice, and he can play with the children."

"If he's free," Natasha says, "It is often difficult to locate him, as he is usually busy working with Morgan."

"I worry about that boy," Buffy says with a sigh. "He seems so easily flustered."

Olivia grins a little at this. "You'd be flustered, too, if you spent as many nights with Liliana as he has!"

"Easily distracted. I would most worry that he might fall to the darker arts, given time," Natasha notes as she finally finishes off her tea and sets the cup upon the table.

Buffy waves a hand. "Oh, Liliana is just a little sweetheart, really. She gets just as flustered as Morgan does."

"She's also missing," Natasha comments.

Olivia was about to say something to Buffy's comment, but does a grand double-take at this. "She's what? Since when?"

"Haven't seen her for a day and she missed a dance practice," Natasha says, "Which is a bit unusual. But, she has also been known to get occupied with other things from time to time. If a few days pass and she hasn't been seen, then it is time to worry."

"Well, she hasn't been with me," Buffy says. "And if she were, I wouldn't let her disappear. Not after the last time."

"You'll tell me when it's time to worry, right?" the Skeek asks Natasha, looking quite worried already. "Because I'd want to help find her if it gets to that point."

"Oh? And what happened last time?" Natasha asks the Lapi, brow arching a bit. To Olivia, she says, "Of course I would. She probably found someone cute and has been following them, is all."

"I got distracted, and Clover and Miranda vanished," Buffy says. Then she smiles, and notes, "But they came back! Although Clover wasn't in very good shape when they found her."

"Mmm. I had thought you meant something happened between yourself and Liliana recently," Natasha notes with a small shrug.

"When was she last seen?" Buffy asks. "I don't know much about what goes on aboveground."

Olivia nods absently at Natasha's explanation, then says merely, "Well, once we get back into the real world, I can see if Parsley is still with Clover and ask her to escort you into the tunnels. I'm going to have other things to do, I think."

"She went off with one of those otters. Emmett, I believe," Natasha answers. "Beyond that I haven't heard. It's often best to not know everything she gets up to. Or everyone she gets intimate with." That last sentence earns Buffy an appraising look.

"Oh, I overheard a bit of that," Buffy notes, resting her elbows on the table and looking at Olivia. "What are you gonna do now?"

"And… Miss Natasha… " the Lapi asides at Natasha's comment, "I'll have you know that I'm still a virgin."

"Mm," is all Natasha says to that.

Olivia appears taken aback. "Uh, you did?" she asks, uncomfortable. "Hmm, well, I need to find out if my sister's remains have been taken. So that means I'll have to ask my father where her ashes were interred. That's… not going to be an easy conversation."

"Oooo," Buffy says in sympathy. "I never found my own remains. And I've only seen the otters through Clover's memories."

Olivia nods. "It's not like I can ask my mother," she says as evenly as she can. "All she'd do would be to scream at me and throw me out of the house for even mentioning such a thing."

"Why would you wish to find your own remains?" Natasha asks. And after tapping her claws lightly on the table, she notes to Olivia, "As I offered once before, I could speak to you mother on the matter of how she treats you."

"She sounds crazy!" Buffy says.

Olivia lets her gaze drift out towards the playing spirit-children before replying, "I thank you for the offer, Natasha, but I don't think it would do any good. All of the members of my family have spoken to her about this and none of them have made a difference. What more could be done?"

To Natasha, the Lapi asks, "Well, if you thought you were dead, wouldn't you want to see the body to make sure?"

Natasha looks thoughtfully at Buffy. "Hm, I wonder," she murmurs. "You said seventy years, correct?"

"Well, give or take a few," Buffy notes.

Natasha extends her hand to Buffy. "Take my hand, please," she requests.

The Lapi reaches out, then pauses. "Wait… by 'take' you just mean hold, right?"

"Of course," Natasha answers, allowing herself a moment of a wry smile.

Casting a glance first to Olivia, Buffy reaches out to put her hand in Natasha's.

"I don't bite," Natasha notes when Buffy looks to Olivia. Taking the vampire's hand, her eyes close and she starts to chant softly.

"What's she doing?" Buffy asks Olivia out of the side of her mouth.

"Honestly, I'm not sure," Olivia whispers back. "But she's right about the not-biting thing. Does that make you feel any better?"

Several minutes pass, then Natasha releases the vampire's hand and opens her eyes. "I have no idea where your remains are, sorry," she says, "But I have a few theories. I am not certain I should take your time with them, though."

Ears canted in curiosity, Buffy just nods. "I've waited a long time – another day or so isn't bad."

"Just be prepared for one possibility; you may not have ever died," Natasha comments quietly, then looks out to the children again.

"Hmmmm," Buffy says, rubbing at her hand.

"Well, that's something I didn't expect!" the Skeek mutters to herself, considering Buffy with curiosity again.

"You should be prepared for the unexpected as well, Olivia," Buffy comments.

One of Olivia's eyebrows threatens to vanish into her hairline. "And that means… ?"

"It is mere speculation, but it may account for the lack off remains. Still, I should not speculate further without any real evidence to the matter," Natasha murmurs.

"Well… " Buffy begins, and then just shrugs. "Sorry, I'm not very good at the ominous warnings and such. Just seemed like the right thing to say!"

"Uh, okay," Olivia answers, giving the Lapi a very odd look. "I'll try to be prepared for… something?"

The Lapi nods and smiles. "Yes. That would be wise!"

"Is there anything more you wish of us … or was it you really just wanted some company?" Natasha now asks Buffy, her attention returning to the small gathering. "I apologize if my earlier work caused you any concern. It is no small effort to force someone to their limits and beyond; particularly when they spent their life suppressing it."

"Oh… that sounds kinda personal too," Buffy notes, in a tone that invites Natasha to spill the beans and gossip about it.

"It touched on the very heart of someone, yes. And if you wish more information than that, well. It is not for me to say," Natasha says with a small shrug and spreads her hands. "Only that this person has a lot of friends who care and were willing to take a risk to help get an answer."

"Mmm, I'm envious then," Buffy says.

"Of which?" Natasha has to ask.

"Having lots of friends who will go do great lengths to help you," the vampire notes.

"Have you no friends?" Natasha asks next. "Has no one ever tried to help you?"

"There was just my family," Buffy says. "Everyone else wanted to kill me."

"With that … I know how you feel," Natasha notes rather grimly. "But … you should know Liliana likes you. I haven't seen a reason, outside of what you are, to dislike you. And I may note here that what you are is questionable, as you do not meet any of the normal undead vampire expectations." She pauses a moment, then asks, "Outside of the wish to know what happened to you, is there anything else you would want? I do mean anything. With magic, many things are possible. So, perhaps something more could be done to make your situation happier."

"Perhaps when I know what my options really are, I will have such a wish," Buffy explains. "The offer is appreciated though."

"Consider it a gift from one outcast to another," Natasha notes with another small smile. "And you've already done much to improve your position, even if you do not realize it," she adds, then waves toward Olivia. "This one refused to let me push her away when I felt she was getting far too close to the truth about me."

Olivia smiles at Buffy and chips in, "Well, you've got nothing to fear from me, either. I mean, you took it upon yourself to help the spirits of all these children, so you can't be all that bad!" It also looks like the insides of her ears are turning pink at Natasha's words, but all she does is gaze fondly up at the older woman.

"Well, when Olivia first ventured into my territory, I threw dead rabbits at her," Buffy notes. "I suppose she's very persistent."

"She stood up to a seven foot tall, very protective, Jupani friend of mine," Natasha notes, "And faced down Valicross himself to try and save me. Even if something scares her, if she feels what she sis doing is right, she does not back down."

"Oh, we must have a lot in common then, Olivia!" Buffy says enthusiastically. "I'm sure you'd do anything for the one you love, right?"

It looks like Olivia doesn't know what to do with her hands all of a sudden – they go through her hair, then pluck at her overalls, then fold and re-fold in her lap. At last, she murmurs, "Thank you for the compliments… and if you're trying to embarrass me, it's working." When Buffy speaks again, she says, "I'd do just about anything for anyone I love, really. Why do you ask?"

"Well, that's how I got like this," Buffy says.

"And how Viktor ended up as he is today," Natasha notes with the start of a frown.

"Then you must have loved him very much, to make that kind of a sacrifice," is all Olivia can think of to say.

The Lapi's ears droop. "Well, he didn't want me to, actually," Buffy admits. "It's why I only had half of the vampire curse. He… refused to bite me. And then the torches and pitchforks cut our wedding short… "

"He wanted you to really live, then. He loved you," Natasha says, sounding as if she doesn't quite believe such is even possible.

"How could I live without him though?" Buffy asks.

Olivia reaches across the table to put both her hands on top of Buffy's. "You're right, torches and pitchforks don't make for a happy wedding," she says. "But before we all drown in self-pity, I think we need to focus on what we have to do. So I'll ask Parsley to escort Madame Natasha to you, and I'll ask my father to come into town so I can talk to him. That way, there won't be a chance of my mother overhearing us and getting upset."

"By reminding people of the man he was, not what he became," Natasha says, "All a person is, is the legacy that they leave behind." After a breath, she continues, "But … it is hard to continue on when those you loved were gone. I had to leave everyone I loved behind; then discovered what being tortured really means. Many days passed where I wished to just die and end it." She then waves her hand, adding, "But Olivia is right. There is little point to dwell on what was, but to focus more on what there is yet to do."

"That sounds good! I'll… clean up the chalk a bit… " Buffy notes.