thepicketfencecliche | canon au } { of sculptures and new noses

Peter: [sipping on his coffee, watching the time]

Buffy: [is bustling around, taking orders when she spots him and smirks, making her way closer] Everything to your liking?

Peter: [looks up at her and gives her a smile, leaning back in his seat] Oh yes, perfect. Though I could use a refill on my coffee.

Buffy: One refill coming up. Caff or no caff?

Peter: Caff, of course. What is this decaf you speak of?

Buffy: I don't know. There's some weird people who insist it gives them the jitters.

Peter: Then they should learn to drink tea.

Buffy: [she shrugs] One caffeinated refill, coming up.

Peter: Oh, and if there are any of those little chocolate croissants? [grins]

Buffy: I will see what I can find.

Peter: Thank you.

Buffy: [and with that she will disappear, and when she returns, she will have a croissant in one hand and a pot of coffee in the other] One croissant, as promised.

Peter: You are much better than the previous waitress. [grins]

Buffy: That is what I strive for.

Peter: I may just have to give you a good tip for great service.

Buffy: You generosity is appreciated.

Peter: Well, I don't want to take up too much of your time.

Buffy: I have about ten minutes left of my shift. After that, you're free to take up all the time you like.

Peter: Well, school gets out in... [looks at his watch] an hour. So I can take up fifty minutes of it.

Buffy: We will just have to make the most of it.

Peter: You should probably give me the check then so no one steals the table from under you.

Buffy: One check, coming up.

Peter: [smiles and watches her go, enjoying the view as he sips his coffee]

Buffy: [and she'll return with the check, and go take care of a couple other tables before her shift ends, and eventually she'll make her way back to the table in her street clothes - which are not all that different from her work clothes, she's mostly just sans apron now.] Your fifty minutes of Buffy time starts now.

Peter: [chuckles, offering her part of the croissant] Well, what do you feel like doing?

Buffy: [takes it from him, considering for a moment] We could go for a walk? I'm a big walker.

Peter: [thinks, picking up his coffee and easily finishing it] I think I can handle a walk.

Buffy: Walk it is. I'm still kind of learning my way around, so maybe you can show me some interesting places?

Peter: Sure. It would be my pleasure. [and since the coffee is done and the check is paid, he stands up, grabbing his leather jacket and sliding it back on] You don't look like the museum type, so I think I know the perfect first stop.

Buffy: You would be right in that assumption. I do, however, have a small appreciation for galleries. [her mom used to run one, so it's a belated, nostalgic appreciation for art, but at least it exists]

Peter: [he makes a small noise in thought] Was it more paintings on the wall, or sculptures?

Buffy: A little of both. My mom used to run a gallery back in Sunnydale and they had paintings and sculptures as well as cultural stuff. It was actually pretty eclectic. Though considering some of the artifacts occasionally rose the dead or unleashed Incan youth sucking mummies on the town it was hard to really love it.

Peter: [nods, then looks across the street] Okay then, change of plans. Come with me. [and he's going to cross the street and there is going to be a tiny artist studio/shop that deals with metal sculptures and wooden carvings.]

Buffy: [dutifully follows his lead, peering in the window for a moment before following him inside]

Peter: Michael, you inside?

Michael: [a 20 something sticks his head out, his face similar enough to read that he's a Hale] Peter? Aren't you supposed to be stalking Derek right about now?

Peter: Funny. I brought you a potential fan. [turns to Buffy] Buffy, this is my cousin, Michael Hale. Michael, this is Buffy.

Buffy: [gives a wave] Hi. I'm new in town and Peter's giving me the tour.

Michael: [chuckles and holds out his hand] I'm aware of who you are, Ms. Summers. Talia keeps us in the loop when there are hunters in town, even if we're just the human side of the family. It's a pleasure to meet the Slayer in person.

Buffy: [human? That's ... very interesting and not expected. But she doesn't comment on that and just keeps on moving forward] Pleasure's all mine. Though good to know that my first impression was not marred by Dawn's accidental head trauma to her only son.

Michael: [laughs] Trust me, Derek's so headstrong that I'm pretty sure it was the locker who took the damage.

Peter: [snorts]

Buffy: [laughs a bit, before looking around the store] Is all of this your work?

Michael: It is. You can take the boy out of the forest, but can't really seem to take the forest out of the boy.

Peter: Michael was offered a teaching job in New York, even had a flat out there for what, a year, before you came crawling back home?

Buffy: [so jealous] I've never been to New York. Never really ... been off the west coast, actually. So I think any exploration, however short, is good exploration.

Michael: Well, New York is interesting, that's for sure. As I was telling Laura, you'd be amazed at the craziness that people living there just ignore like it's every day.

Buffy: Speaking from experience? People can sublimate a lot. Especially in a place where weird is every day. Sunnydale was a lot like that.

Michael: Yeah, Beacon Hills has its moments, but it's nowhere near as crazy as what I've heard Sunnydale was.

Buffy: We are a special case, that's for sure. But we were on an active Hellmouth. Here, the giant spooky power tree is mostly inactive - at least from what Giles can tell. [she ... means the nemeton.]

Michael: [and he's looking over at Peter because he's got no idea what Buffy is talking about]

Peter: You don't need to worry about it. Like she said, inactive.

Michael: [just nods] And then there are moments like this where I wish I had stayed in New York.

Buffy: [there's a beat] Yeah, from what I understand, New York's not much better. Vampires are everywhere. I'd avoid LA too. [another pause] And Cleveland.

Michael: I don't care how many subsidiaries Ohio offers artists to move out there, so not happening.

Buffy: Good. Because I'm pretty sure it kicked into high gear after I destroyed the Hellmouth here.

Peter: So - [because honestly, Hellmouths are not the reason they came here] - Buffy was telling me that her mother had a small eclectic gallery and I thought she would appreciate a peek into your studio.

Michael: ... Are you seriously trying to pick up a girl and using my studio as an excuse?

Peter: [just going to Hale glare at his cousin]

Buffy: And here I thought this was just a harmless little tour.

Michael: Nothing Peter does is harmless. You just have to be around him long enough to know that.

Peter: [shakes his head, amused and annoyed at the same time] I think you're being very presumptuous, Michael.

Michael: Am I? [smirks]

Buffy: You know, if he's trying to woo me, he's taking the entirely wrong approach. Everyone knows the way to my heart is through sharp implements of death.

Michael: [laughs] Yeah, no reason to be scared of you at all. [teasing, but there's a look at Peter asking him if he has a death wish] Come look at the back where the stuff I don't sell is hidden.

Buffy: [and she will just follow his lead, looking at the different sculptures as she goes]

Michael: [and then he will open up the work room, where there are blow torches, and chain saws and axes and different tools to work wood and metal that line an entire wall. There's a metal safety fence to lock them all safely behind, but it's wide open at the moment] And this is my working space...

Buffy: See? Implements of destruction. Now we're speaking my language.

Peter: [knowing smirk]

Michael: I'm not really a paintbrush kind of guy.

Buffy: Not everyone is. And I do appreciate someone who appreciates a good chainsaw.

Michael: Well, if you ever want lessons on wood art, I will be glad to show you.

Buffy: I may take you up on that one day. It may be very, very far in the future, but I will try to make some time.

Michael: [smirks at Peter. Is he stealing away your potential girl, yes, yes he is. You should know better]

Peter: [eye roll]

Buffy: [hey now, boys. Play nice.]

Peter: Well, we should probably get going. There's only... thirty minutes left of this adventure.

Michael: Of course. Buffy, it was great meeting you.

Buffy: [glances back with a smile and nods] Likewise. I really like your work.

Michael: Thank you. Come by anytime if you just want to look.

Peter: [is going to just... head to the door then] See you later, Michael.

Buffy: [nods and waves and then she follows him back out the door]

Peter: [well that backfired] Michael lives at the house.

Buffy: [not as much as he thinks. she appreciates the thought, and was mostly teasing him. she nods] Does a lot of your extended family live with you?

Peter: There are some cousins and their children who live locally but come out to the house often. It's a strong bloodline, so even if they stayed human, there's a chance that their children could become still, so we tend to stay close. I think Michael was the first to even leave California.

Buffy: There's nothing wrong with exploring a little when you have the chance.

Peter: Our instincts are a little different. We're a pack, and even the humans get that ingrained into them when they're little and don't know what they will be.

Buffy: So no semesters abroad or anything like that?

Peter: Beyond a short vacation, not really.

Buffy: What if you're in a pack that likes to travel?

Peter: [chuckles] Then the entire pack would travel and we'd become gypsy wolves.

Buffy: [she ducks her head sheepishly] Would that be such a bad thing?

Peter: No, it wouldn't. But it's just not who we are. I'm sure there's a different pack out there like that, or many. But the Hales have been in California since America started the westward expansion. I don't think they're getting rid of us anytime soon.

Buffy: Good to know.

Peter: I don't come off as such, but I'm actually proud of our family and it's traditions.

Buffy: That's not a bad thing to be. My family wasn't much with the traditions aside from the occasional Christmas one. [and she hadn't really thought she'd live long enough to create some of her own. She still doesn't - her life experience has taught her that much]

Peter: Well, stick around long enough and you'll get pulled into some of them by my sister whether you want to or not. She's big on traditions, especially with the kids.

Buffy: I can't say I'd complain. [it might be nice to be part of a stronghold like that that isn't about death and destruction. The Slayers have traditions too, but Buffy intends to obliterate most of them.]

Peter: Well, Thanksgiving is coming. I'm sure Talia can put you to use in the kitchen.

Buffy: Oh, Thanksgiving we actually do have traditions for. You do not want me anywhere near the kitchen.

Peter: Why? I thought you'd be the one out there hunting the turkey down by hand with your sharp and pointy weapons. [smirks]

Buffy: [she laughs] No, but my sister has affectionately referred to me as the Thanksgiving Nazi.

Peter: [eyebrow up] Really?

Buffy: I cook dinner every year. You don't go in the kitchen unless you have a death wish.

Peter: [laughs] No, now you're sounding like my sister.

Buffy: Plus, my holidays don't usually happen peaceably. You're better off keeping me out.

Peter: [smiles a bit] And now I'm intrigued enough that I want to see this in person.

Buffy: It may involve bears. Well, actually, there was only one year where it involved bears. And tying Spike to a chair.

Peter: No, I may need to tell Talia I have to witness this for the safety of the town now.

Buffy: [laughs] Okay, then. If that's the holiday you wish to subject yourself to, then by all means.

Peter: I'm sure that she'll understand. Or at least let me show up late once I've ensured that you won't destroy the city.

Buffy: Solid plan.

Peter: [which will be an interesting conversation later with Talia. But for now, they are in front of a diner and Peter smirks] So, this is, in my opinion, the best restaurant in all of town. And I have high standards.

Buffy: [glances up and smirks] You know what? I'd believe it.

Peter: [he looks at his watch and sighs] Well, if you'd like, perhaps we could have lunch here on a day you're off. [he could take her to dinner tonight, his only distraction is really Derek. Pretty much his life most of the time.]

Buffy: [she's all for future plans. She's got some Slayers stuff she's been neglecting and should get on top of] Lunch would be great. I'm off ... [there's a beat as she goes over her schedule in her head] Well, I'm working the dinner shift tomorrow, so technically lunch would be free.

Peter: Meet me here then at noon? My treat.

Buffy: I'll be here.

Peter: Great. I'll see you tomorrow then.

Buffy: [nods] I'll see you tomorrow. [and with that she'll step back to begin her walk home so that he can head to the school to presumably get Cora?]

Peter: [Cora first, and then meeting Derek on the walk back]

Cora: [will then be sitting on a bench away from the other kids, legs kicking out in front of her while she waits. Her ears are still getting used to being wolf ears, so there's the occasional wince when the other kids shriek or yell too loudly]

Peter: [and he's going to see her from behind and smile, finding the wind and then going to stand upwind of her, but behind a tree to see if she can smell him]

Cora: [she can smell a lot of things. A lot of things she wishes she couldn't, actually. But the wind shifts just enough that she picks up on something ... familiar, and she looks up, confused for a moment]

Peter: [he'll make it easy on the baby wolf and shift to move around to tree to be in her line of sight. Baby steps, Peter]

Cora: [she spots him easily, flashing him a bright smile as she waves and reaches for her backpack]

Peter: [waves back, waiting for her as a few of the other kids wander off including two of the clumsiest boys he's ever seen heading for the police car] So how was school, Cora?

Cora: [she shrugs. it was school] We set up an experiment in science to figure out why salt water evaporates to become rain but rain isn't salty. [... well, that's the gist of it, anyway]

Peter: Oh? And why is that?

Cora: My teacher says it's because salt doesn't evaporate, so she put out these dishes with water in them and one of them was salt water and one was fresh water, and she says that when they're both done evaporating that the salt will be left behind on the plate.

Peter: So was it left behind?

Cora: We don't know yet. We have to wait for all the water to be gone. She says we can check it tomorrow.

Peter: Okay. Well, you'll have to let me know what the results are.

Cora: I will. [and there a definite nod in the affirmative] What did you do today?

Peter: I introduced Buffy to Michael and showed her his workshop.

Cora: What'd she think?

Peter: She liked it. But I think she was more into the tools than the art.

Cora: Why?

Peter: Well, he does use blow torches and chain saws to make art. It's different.

Cora: Oh. [shrugs. She doesn't know why Buffy would be interested in those]

Peter: [just chuckles and rubs her shoulder before taking her backpack] So, do you want to see if you can find your brother when we get to the high school?

Cora: [glances up at him as she lets him take the bag] What do you mean?

Peter: Well, you know what your brother smells like now, right?

Cora: [nods, and then wrinkles her nose a bit because teenage boy.]

Peter: It's a strong smell, I know. But you're learning, so best to start with the stronger smells and can't really get stronger than after school Derek.

Cora: [makes a face but nods] Okay.

Derek: [will in the in gym playing basketball as he waits instead of outside because the kids are already gone]

Peter: [when they get there] Alright, where is he hiding?

Cora: [takes a deep breath and almost gags on the scent of hormones, sweat, body spray and make up. It's too much at first and she fights her way through the crowd to get past them, as though to try and find her brother's scent somewhere in the mix. Also, Peter never said she couldn't use logic, and since Derek is almost never without a basketball in his hand, she heads that way first]

Peter: [no, he didn't. That was usually a given, and he's glad to see her using it and follows her. He's already found him by scent and hearing so he just lets Cora lead]

Cora: [as she gets closer to the gym she can hear the thudding sound of the basketball and she takes off at a run to reach the doors. She pauses just for a moment to confirm that it's him before darting closer and reaching out to try and smack the ball from his hands. Unfortunately she hasn't mastered the idea of moving silently yet so he'll probably hear her coming]

Derek: [nope, totally heard you coming baby sis and he spins away at the last minute, smirking at you] Still too noisy, pup.

Cora: [swipes uselessly after the ball and groans] I wasn't that loud.

Derek: I could hear you all the way when you were in the hallway.

Cora: [scowl] Well, you smell gross. [yes, that is a nine year-old come back. shut up.]

Derek: I just had gym class. Of course I smell gross. But you know what smells worse?

Cora: [suddenly looks veeeeeeeery apprehensive] ... No?

Derek: My... gym bag! [and he tosses it at her from the floor next to him]

Cora: [YES SHE TOTALLY DID NOT NEED TO KNOW THAT she gags almost instantly, running back to get away from the stench] Derek that's gross!

Peter: [ laughing behind his hand]

Derek: [laughs and goes over to pick it up] Get used to the smell, kiddo. All boys smell like that in high school.

Cora: [is going to dash over to Peter and bury her face in his side, trying to get the smell out of her nose] It's not funny.

Peter: [ and he's going to sigh and rub Cora's back gently and tilt his head, looking at Derek] That wasn't nice, Derek.

Derek: [scowls] But you laughed too.

Peter: Just because it's funny doesn't mean that it's nice, or right. Apologize.

Derek: [sighs] Whatever. I'm sorry, can we go home now? I'm starving.

Cora: [is appeased by the apology] Yes, me too!

Peter: Okay, we can go home. [hands Cora back her bag and motions for the door]

Cora: [slides it over her shoulder and skips up ahead of the two men]