Common Areas

[hermitfish]

This was a nice change of pace chapter. I thought it allowed us to see a little into how Willow is handling the 'Tara didn't show' event...which, is naturally, not too well. Very difficult situation and she has no piece of a resolution. I mean she can't question past Tara because she wouldn't be able to say and she can't find current Tara to ask. I'm enjoying this quite a bit and looking forward to more.



~Cyd

---

All you need to start an asylum is an empty room and the right kind of people.

~Eugene Pallette in My Man Godfrey (1936)



Altered Shadows

[behindhereyes]

Watson



I can say with your explanation to me in replies and a thorough re-read I'm in sync again. This update wowser... I am honestly glad she vented and released so much toward Oz... might be my issue .



Great update



behindhereyes

Kim

"To the world, you may be one person; but to one person, you may be the world"

[Irishgrl3]

With Oz out of the picture, Willow should have no strings attached so to speak. It appears that Willow still hasn't recovered from "Tara no-show" and it must be hard (despite her trying to keep her letters light) to keep her disappointment from Tara in the past. This story is so intriguing and am looking forward to seeing how it will play out.

[JustSkipIt]

Wow, very intense and powerful stuff. It would seem that Willow's emotion at/for Tara leaks out on Oz. Not that this Oz doesn't deserve it... but perhaps he doesn't deserve all of it. But it's a testament to how much she is in pain over Tara. Wow. Can't wait for the next installment.



Glad you ordered the book. I also love Bellwether by her: both are laugh-out-loud funny (litterally). And Passage is amazing. Our library had all three of those (and it's a pretty small library since I don't live in the city).



BTW: re your update thread post. I don't think there are any rules against double, tripple, or even quad posting stories. Post as many as you like but please, keep updating this one

Sign the ACLU Refuse to Surrender Pledge

"The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” - Martin Luther King

[hidden watson]

Please assume the position. Replies, then Part 11.



Cameron - you're here! woo-hoo! Willow's a stronger, older person than the 18/19 year old who literally saw her boyfriend naked with another woman. The reaction is less extreme, but then she's had time to think about what she wants from Oz and to distinguish it from what she feels he is looking for. You know, when I wrote this part, it didn't really occur to me that Willow was channeling her anger at Tara into Oz, I just thought she was angry at something and generally feeling the unfairness of the situation. But mainly, she wasn't going to give Oz the satisfaction of being forgiven so he can move on, when she's stuck in some sort of unresolved limbo. Hope that made sense.



meretricious - *oh, Mary, let me help you bring the shovels in, and carry the rocksalt too, may be, er, we can use it to make a giant marine fishtank? * Timing-wise, you're right, we're skipping ahead into Jan/Feb 2005 already (so, I'm writing fics that's literally in the future, yay me). Will the time paradox get resolved? Eventually, but perhaps not sometime soon, I'm afraid .



pikescoob - yes, definitely. Why write Oz in just for him to disappear. He was always going to come back and want something from Willow. Willow is angry and frustrated at the Tara no-show, but she doesn't know who or what to be angry at, and that's not a good thing.



MissKittys Ball O Yarn - a big thank you for reading, and in one go, wow. Even I can say this is comparatively a heavy fic, so congratulations. Don't worry about being confused, I'll try to explain. But then again I'm probably the most confused one out there, cos I'm forever trying to tie everything and every timeline together and my brain goes into a twist more often than not.



bluemote - ooh, since we're in Scotland (a district of London, mind), I'll help myself to dram of The Macallan 18 years, with ice, please. And of course turkey has to be roasted with bacon, don't forget the sprouts and the parsnips and the Oxo gravy. Sigh. Happier times. Thanks for reading, and of course for the drink, cheers.



Viximon - oh yes, not sure if Willow knows she's already taken. May be. But how to get together to confirm the mutual taking? Hmmm. Interesting.



hermitfish - thanks. With the intensity of the non-meeting, we have to get back to reality and life goes on, so glad you picked up on the change of pace. I think Willow, out of the 2, is more frustrated and angry at Tara's no show, but she doesn't know who or what to direct her anger, so she's not in a good mood, to say the least.



behindhereyes - you're welcome, hope it's clearer now. Willow was a bit hard on Oz but he deserved nothing less.



Irishgrl3 - hopefully the Oz issue is resolved, but is it? The Tara non-meeting is the biggest issue with her now, and somehow she needs to find a resolution. Not going to be easy.



Debra - more book recommendations, yum. And thanks for letting me know about double/triple etc posting. I've been on boards where you can only double post if it's a different line of conversation, they also enforce punctuation and no smilies rules. It's a very well run, beautifully articulate board where people really thought about what they wanted to say before posting, and that's kinda been my "training", hence not wanting to break any rules. Anyway, I'm glad you agree with the others, Willow's disappointment / frustration / anger at Tara's no-show spilling over her interaction with Oz is certainly a theme that I, honestly, didn't think would be as obvious. But readers here are so experienced and so perceptive, even more so than the writer! Thanks again.

------

quiet thoughts

[Washi]

I'm assuming the position, Yep, I'm waiting.

-------------------



"See? I've mastered this tact crap." Anya in Tears Of The Goddess by Lisa



The course of love doesn’t always run smooth, especially for the neurotic and accident-prone. ~ LadyB



.:Dark-bliss.net :. .:Blink.Flash.Sparkle.:. .:My blog:. .:Blood and Ink:. .:Washi's 70s Site:.

[hidden watson]

Title: Common Areas

Author: watson (hiddenwatson@yahoo.com)

Distribution: please email me first

Rating: PG-13 to R

Summary: Sunnydale, AU. Set during 2001/2 and 2004/5. Willow and Tara find each other through time.

Disclaimer: This story is inspired by and adapted from a Korean film called Il Mare. The story premise, of 2 people who connect across time, belongs to Lee Hyun-Seung, although I have deviated from the story somewhat. BtVS characters belong to Mutant Enemy, Fox, The WB, UPN and others. I own nothing. I am nothing.

Notes: We're skipping ahead of ourselves, timewise. I'd put this chapter around February, even early March 2005.





Part 11 - we've got to stop obsessing about this



While Willow told Tara the gory details about her talk with Oz, Tara did not feel comfortable telling Willow about her meeting with the young witch yet.



Some part of her was afraid that Willow would not approve of the contact. Afterall, they had agreed on that point, as well as the obvious ones like Willow was not allowed to tell Tara big world events, or winning lotto numbers or to have her pass anonymous notes to her younger self on test questions.



They had long given up trying to puzzle out why Miss Kitty did not stay with Tara, that was part of the big mystery of where Tara went between 'now' and moving out of the basement apartment and why she did not show up at their pre-arranged meeting. Willow was sorely tempted to intensify her research on Tara's whereabouts, since she was unsuccessful at her first pass. Both harbored fears that something bad had happened to Tara, or that she had met someone else in the meantime, but were reluctant to bring their trepidations into the open.



Eventually, after a week, Tara let Willow in on her little indulgence.

I've been staying later and later at the Espresso Pump every morning, so I can increase the chances of running into you. I try not to act too stalker-like, mostly it's been waves and nods whenever I do catch you. Nothing huge. Definitely not something you'd remember, I mean, you don't remember right? Otherwise it's bad, and doubly bad cos I'll have to stop.



I w-i-s-h I remember you (we have to be careful with the w-word, vengeance demons about) but I don't. Which is good from a do-not-disturb history point of view, but I'm kinda disappointed at myself, at what a doofus I was, how could I not have noticed you? I really was a clueless bumpkin then.



May be I should do something to catch the attention of the young Willow Rosenberg. What will it take I wonder? *smirk*.



Don't you dare! I mean, I want, but what will that do to the timeline. God how I hate that we have to forever be careful like this.



I know, sigh.



Tara, I've been thinking, and I'm not sure if I should bring it up, but, do you want to make another date to meet? I keep thinking may be you've just forgotten, or were unavoidably detained, or had to travel to Florence to receive an art award or something.



I don't think either of us can survive another disappointment like last time. May be survive is too dramatic, but for certain I don't think I can stand another round of suspense and then being let down by myself again. I think that there must have been a really good reason I didn't show up, something that in time we'll both come to understand. I know where you are, or will be from my perspective, if it was a simple matter of being out of town, surely I would have turned up at your doorstep already? It's been long enough. We've got to stop obsessing about this.



You have the uncanny ability to always say the right thing. You're right, of course. We'll just have to move on and see how it goes. Let's talk about a more pleasant topic, how is the Miss Kitty painting going?



Really well, she's a great model, she's got these really breath-taking poses. Have you tried lying on the floor and watching her while she walks toward you? She's such a tigress.



Oh, I just got a letter (heh, I receive other letters in the mailbox you know, normal letters) from the Arts Institute of Houston. I've been accepted for short course for young artists starting out in their career. It's 2 weeks starting just after Easter, supplies, food and accommodation paid for, I just have to come up with traveling funds and spending money. It's good isn't it? But that means I'll be out of touch for nearly 3 weeks, because I'm taking the bus and it's a day and a half. Do you mind?



Mind? Yes I'll miss you, that's a given. But it's a great opportunity! And think about all the news you'll have for me when you come back.



You weren't this enthusiastic when Oz left. I saw younger you yesterday and you still looked listless, like you've been crying again. I was on the other side of the street and on my way home so I didn't think it was appropriate to interrupt.



You're not Oz. I trust you.

*****



I'm not sure how much I trust myself, Willow thought to herself. Since her storming out session with Oz, she had run into him a couple of times. Unavoidable, since they moved in similar circles, and Sunnydale was not that big a town. They were able to maintain civility toward each other, she had Buffy with her and the slayer was the one to give Oz her coldest, meanest stares.



More disconcertingly, once or twice she caught herself thinking about her ex-boyfriend. And not in an I-want-to-throw-silver-tipped-daggers-at-him sort of way, rather, it was a combination of affection, pity and a little nostalgia.



She was feeling ambivalent about this, on one hand she wanted to remain on some sort of friendly terms with Oz, on the other she was still very angry at him and did not want to let go of the anger just yet. But because she knew Tara was busy preparing for the course, she kept the confusion to herself and allowed the turmoil to stealthily fester.



She knew he was staying with Devon, so she was only mildly surprised to spot a new poster at the Bronze promoting a one-night-only special Dingoes reunion concert next Saturday. The gang wanted to be sensitive and did not push her, but in the end she was the one who raised the topic and suggested that they made it a night out.



"If we are to start trying to be friends, what better occasion than a Dingoes concert? Familiar surroundings, familiar faces. It'll be like old times, only we're not together. I'm just another face in the crowd, no baggage. And after so long, I genuine like their music, it's part of my childhood," she told Xander as they headed toward the Magic Shop & Gym to help Buffy and Anya close up.



"Yeah, it's hard to think about being a teenager without a trip back to the Bronze and a Dingoes gig," Xander agreed.



"Xand?" she started, after a few steps.



"Hm?"



"How were you and Cordelia, after, you know?" she asked.



"You mean after we broke up, after she went to LA or after she became a higher being?" he countered. At her dirty look, he grinned and continued, "She got poor all of a sudden and then I paid for her prom dress. We talked a little when she was in LA but it was a 'how are you' tagged onto the end of a conversation about some demon or other. I guess we kinda grew apart."



"Do you think, do you classify her as a friend?"



"Not totally a friend, but not an unfriend either. Plus, Anya gets funny about Cordy, especially after the visions thing, I guess it's demon jealousy or something like that."



"I don't want Oz and I to become complete strangers. But that's kinda hard the way I told him to f— off, he only wanted to talk to me."



"Do you want to talk to him?" he asked again.



"I dunno, I suppose I'll have to, at some point, but I want to give it some time."



"At least make an effort before he leaves, ok? Otherwise I know you'll regret it."



"What, did he say anything to you? About me? And, leaving?"



"Yeah, we hung out a little, he asked me to help them with the set," Xander said. "As for leaving, you know he's only back to sort out some stuff, he'll go back to New York and this time I think it's for good. He's got, well, you know ..."



She looked a little wistful. At a basic level, she knew Oz was probably leaving his home town for good, to establish a new life with, with — her. She should wish him, them, good luck in the rest of his, their, lives. A tiny voice on her at her left ear was saying some strange things though, "if only", "it could have been you", "all the things you should have done, to fight for what's yours."



She shook away the devil on her shoulder. She wished Tara was around, she could do with some major pouring out of heart right now.



*****

------

quiet thoughts

[MissKittys Ball O Yarn]

yay an update! woo hoo! This update was wonderful, but it's gotten me more worried about why Tara hasn't shown up at Willow's all this time. I mean, the older her (if she's still alive ) would've come if she were able....right? So that means either A: she is trapped beneath something heavy...

B: She got stuck in another country and she um...lost her passport and can't get out?....

C: she is desperately trying to find willow but the red-head is in a separate parallel universe (with no Idea that she is actually communicating to Tara through more than a time warp, but also some mystical cone-like thingy disguised as a mail-box, and is bridging the gap between actual dimensions.) all her own and in her reality there is no Tara.

or D: maybe... Tara has a broken leg... and no car to get to Willows house... and no friends to take her over there.... so, until her leg gets better she's stuck on the couch watching T.V and eating Tuna from a can. (my brain has gone all mushy again.....)





xoxo

Emms

I can wax philisophically on a variety of different subjects...that doesn't,however, mean that I have anything constructive to add to the conversation.

--- Me

Edited by: MissKittys Ball O Yarn at: 1/18/05 8:43 am

[Viximon]

Waaa that update was so short.



Like always the letters they share are so cute, talking of anything and everything, and their feelings for each other every time more evident.



Tara absence make me worry though.



Wonderful like always continue soon. You're great

[hermitfish]

Okay...I'm a little unsettled. Not about your writing style or the update itself, because that was wonderful. I'm getting a little worried about where Willow is emotionally. Like maybe she's about to do something very rash. Or have a breakdown. Or something.



Earlier in the story I pondered about what would happen if one of them tried to use magick to move through time (assuming they could, were strong enough, etc.). It made my head hurt a bit and I didn't think it flowed with what was going on so I filed it aside. I still don't think it fits but I'm left wondering about Willow and what prolonged effects the situation will have on her. Tara, at the very least, can see younger Willow and has some ability for interaction...even if is potentially dangerous, confusing, difficult, .



Okay...I think I've rambled on too long so I'll shut it for now. You continue to impress me with this story. Thanks for sharing it with us.



~Cyd

---

All you need to start an asylum is an empty room and the right kind of people.

~Eugene Pallette in My Man Godfrey (1936)



Altered Shadows

[bullko]

Hi watson - I read your Coffee short story and noticed you have another fic, so here i am. Wow! it's so different from the short story, this fic is so intriguing and subtle, the way the the relationship builds slowly and the letters between Willow and Tara are so sweet. i get confused by the timetravel but I'm still enjoying the story. please update soon!!!

Edited by: bullko at: 1/19/05 6:56 am

[behindhereyes]

Watson



The way in which they really want the contact with one another, yet having to be so careful not to cause major shifts.. amazingly hard balancing act ! The need for one another's companionship is so obvious it hurts.



As always well done!



behindhereyes

Kim

"To the world, you may be one person; but to one person, you may be the world"

[Rhiannon9891]

Hi Watson,

I missed an update...all caught up now. Willow pondering "what ifs" about Oz ??? She so needs Tara. Where has Tara been ??? Why did she miss the meeting? Maybe she stayed in Houston ?? Oh, I just don't know. More please.



Rhiannon

She is like a cat in the dark

And then she is the darkness

[pikescoob]

I think Willow needs to have another talk with Oz. Spewing anger at someone isn't the best way to achieve closure...maybe a civil conversation could put these feelings to rest. Sucks Tara will be out of contact for 3 weeks, but it's a good opportunity. I've wondered on more than one occasion about the possibility of their unexplanable communication coming to an end...why is it possible to begin with? Could it end at anytime? Anyway, that's kinda OT from the update, hehe.



**Michelle

"these wounds won't seem to heal,

this pain is just too real,

there's just too much that time cannot erase"--Evanescence (My Immortal)

[Irishgrl3]

Loved the title of this chapter. It fits on both accounts, first with Tara not showing up and now with Willow's thought about Oz. I guess she really is going to need some closure (other than just anger) to be able to move on from him. It's a bummer that Willow won't be able to hear from Tara for 3 weeks. Hopefully it's a quick and uneventful 3 weeks. Can't wait for more.

[little miss 666]

okay okay, so my laptop gets taken away from me for a week and i miss TWO AWESOME UPDATES?! thaaat sucks! But oh! oh! dude! these were both so gooood! i really liked the beginning of the first one, how you explained christmas and the angel crew and stuff. You've got such a great way of wording you're sentences, whoot! go you! lol



Okay okay, a lil dissapointed coz there wasn't any NC17 smut but! I guess i can live without it until the actual plot gets out of the way



And yes! Unfortunately, Tara messed with the timeline i'm afraid i have no choice but to book her in to the Miss Bell Chamber of Smutty Goodness for appropriate punishment. It's for her own good.... honest



Do i really need 2 tell you to keep up with the updates? I think we both know that if you didn't i'd have a heart attack and cry no pressure ofcourse! lol



oh! oh! PS: Dude, u just haaaad to introduce Oz didn't you?! Can't he get crushed to death by an insane stag or something? I mean, it's possible yes? yes??





- Bell!

The shape of you

Is etched inside

My bruised and somewhat sculptured mind

[JustSkipIt]

Well, yes I thought I was behind and I was. This update is wonderful. I love the way you are writing their correspondence as if it is a conversation. Very nicely done. Quite...



Glad that Willow is wanting to stay friends with Oz but wondering why that's important? Yay for Tara finding a grant. Very cool even if it means the time away.



I've been thinking about something: we're all feeling so angstful about Tara being in apparent danger. What we're not really thinking about is that they are both in danger. It's as likely that Willow will be killed tomorrow (in her time) as it is that Tara will be. Either is at the mercy of fate or the Gods or whatever you believe. Just as we all are. They could hook up in 2005 and both go down in a fiery plane crash (I know, not the usual use of that phrase here). Or they could set another date and Willow could have any of those things happen. There's no certainty...



Hmmm.. just bummered myself out.



Everyone: Please click and use the link at the end of this post. The President has an obligation to uphold the Constitution of the United States. Let's hold him to that.

Contact your Senators to support the Constitution

"The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” - Martin Luther King

[wimpy0729]

Okay, I'm caught up again. Sorry for the delay.



There's so much going on, I'm trying not to get dizzy. I'm still wondering where Tara is, but I loved her thoughts of trying to do something to get the younger Willow's attention without causing any rifts.



I just wanna say, I understand Willow's anger at Oz totally, and also at her wanting to not let their last words be hurtful ones. He is a part of her past, and one's past is part of what makes us what we are today. So she can't just throw all those memories and feelings away. Hopefully she can come up with the right solution, and then she can move on.



Can't wait to see what happens next!



Wimpy





"There was plenty of magic." ~ Tara

[hidden watson]

Time for another round. It's on me folks. And, an update too.



Washi - you should have seen me, I was aching all over with laughing! Nearly couldn't post properly, that was SO FUNNY !



Viximon - in terms of wordcount, it's similar to other chapters, but I read it again, and it does seem to not have so much content. Glad you liked their interaction, I try to make their correspondence more like conversation to help with the flow. Tara's absence will be explained, eventually (but you know that already, right?).



MissKittys Ball O Yarn - I like your scenario C, with the added complication of another dimension. Sound like the beginnings of another story potential, hmmmm. Thanks for reading!



hermitfish - you mention Willow's emotional state, basically I see her being completely torn, desperate to use any means to find out what's happened to Tara, yet wanting to keep to their agreement of minimum tempering. So against her character to sit back and not know what's going on, to have so little control. Doing something rash? Luckily, in this fic, her magic level is still latent, she's done Angel's soul spell, she's done the "my will be done" spell in Something Blue, and obviously she's helped with bringing Buffy back and defeating the First. But I haven't thought about how, I see her as powerful but not been contaminated by the power hunger cos she's still learning. Thanks for reading, and thanks to you for sharing your stories.



bullko - wow! I got first post (er, I just realized your first post was on Coffee Moods, but it's still one of mine, so it counts, yes?). Just hang on, don't think too much about the actual science part . Thanks for reading.



behindhereyes - I'm so glad their mutual ache for each other comes through. They need the other so badly. I'll bring them together, I promise.



Rhiannon - So many questions. I'm pleased that what I wrote are making people think. Answers will be forthcoming, may be not in the next update, but soon. Thank you.



pikescoob - I don't think Willow will want to leave things with Oz with a shouting match, he's been part of her life for so long. And I've deliberately not gone into the reason and mechanics of the mailbox's existence. Why was it there in the first place? Can anyone use it, or was it just for W/T? I've thought about it, but finally decided that I want to concentrate on the story and not want to distract with science/magic/exposition. But thanks for pondering the questions anyway.



Irishgrl3 - Willow does need closure with Oz, just as she needs Tara's support. The 3 weeks away will be a real test of how they can "survive" being apart. Thanks for reading.



bell - oh my god, who took your laptop away? Bad, bad, bad. If I'm ever laptop-less for more than 24 hours I get very angst and cranky. Can you imagine I went on vacation with my gf for 2 weeks last year and had no access to any computer? I had to constantly remind myself that I'm supposed to be having a good time, and it was "together" time, and all that. Anyway, sorry, no smut yet . Noticed I said yet? Hmmm. I'll have to rescue Tara from Miss Bell's Chamber of Smutty Goodness cos, um, she has to go to Houston for an art course, is that okay Miss Bell??? But in the meantime perhaps you can have Willow, cos she's obsessing about Oz and needs to be served her reminder that she's only allowed to think of Mistress Tara .



Debra - I clicked on your link at the bottom, but I can't do much, since I don't live in the US. I feel sorry for you guys, another 4 years... You're so right, anything can happen to any of us, anytime. It just sneaks up on us unawares. Especially in a hellmouth environment. The last few updates (including the next one) are slow, but I am building up to the climax and there will be resolution.



wimpy - yes, that's what I wanted to show. Oz has been part of Willow's life for so long, whether in person or away in NY. It's only reasonable that she wants to at least leave things with him on a civilized level. With Tara, they're getting there.

------

quiet thoughts

Edited by: hidden watson at: 1/22/05 11:42 pm

[hidden watson]

Title: Common Areas

Author: watson (hiddenwatson@yahoo.com)

Distribution: please email me first

Rating: PG-13 to R

Summary: Sunnydale, AU. Set during 2001/2 and 2004/5. Willow and Tara find each other through time.

Disclaimer: This story is inspired by and adapted from a Korean film called Il Mare. The story premise, of 2 people who connect across time, belongs to Lee Hyun-Seung, although I have deviated from the story somewhat. BtVS characters belong to Mutant Enemy, Fox, The WB, UPN and others. I own nothing. I am nothing.

Notes: To paraphrase Willow: I think this part's mostly filler.

I'm writing about something I know nothing of -- painting; and a place I've never visited -- Houston. Any errors or inaccuracies are mine. As for timeline, we've definitely jumped ahead, it's around Easter now.





Part 12



Tara put aside the almost finished Miss Kitty painting and started work on smaller pieces that she planned to bring to Houston as part of the course requirements. She had a few others in her portfolio already but wanted to bring more recent work.



She did not have a lot of time, but had plenty of inspiration. Within 2 days she had a series of charcoal sketches, with her subject in different poses, some close-up, some with a wider perspective, some capturing the innate stillness while others seemed to be bursting with energy. She laid them out on the floor of her apartment and tried to appraise them with a critical eye.



The charcoal really don't do your red hair justice.



*****



At first she blanched at the 1 1/2 day bus ride, but realized it was her only choice. The train took just as long and was more or less the same price. Flying was of course the quickest but was almost $200 more expensive, so she decided to brave the buses. There was a lot she could do with $200.



She did research on the different schedules, aware that there were transfer stops between Sunnydale and Houston, and studied the different options carefully. Her aim was to find a schedule that did not involve transfers in the middle of the night, and that brought her to her destination at a reasonable hour, she had to find her way to the college once she arrived at Houston and did not want to be wandering the streets in the early hours of the morning. It was a Sunnydale habit.



She smiled at her thoroughness and planning. I'm becoming like Willow, who probably would have written a modeling program to find the optimum mode of transportation taking into account price, reliability, accident risk, travel time, number of interchanges, time of the interchange, number of layovers, departure and arrival times. She's so adorable, I have to tell her this when I get a chance.



She dragged her backpack in through the door of the dorm room which would be her home for the next 2 weeks, she was so tired from hours on the bus that she dropped the backpack as soon as she made enough room to step in and close the door.



Her nose wrinkled at the stale smell of the room, the furniture the wrong side of worn, and noted the broken mirror and cracked sink. She crossed over and opened the windows, hoping to alleviate some of the unlived-in smells, finding the cold air a welcome refreshment.



Despite the general ickiness of the furniture, she was literally falling asleep on her feet, so she quickly retrieved her toiletry kit, brushed her teeth, splashed water over her face, took off her shoes and jacket and was fast asleep on the bed within minutes.



*****



Course literature in one hand, her portfolio in the other and supplies in her backpack, she wandered around the campus looking for the right room. She squinted in the morning light, still feeling tired, but resolutely headed toward what appeared to be lecture buildings.



The class she was attending was called Life Drawing: The Cornerstone of Art. She pushed the door to the classroom carefully and was pleased to see there were only a few people there. She found a seat by the side, greeted the other occupants but without eye contact and watched while the room filled up.



This was the first time, apart from high school class, that she had been in a specialized art class. At first she was a little puzzled at the terminology when the instructor started talking about the course content, that it combined observational activities with creative elements. In the first week students were to learn through repetitive practice of rendering and painting the object. During the second week, students would learn aspects of lighting, composition, observation and imagination, with emphasis on "rhythm and movement".



As long as she had painted, which was longer than she had been practicing witchcraft, she never actively thought about the process of visualizing and painting, she just painted. Now was her chance to learn about the disciplined and systematic approach to painting.



She knew this was an excellent opportunity and should be taking advantage of the course to absorb knowledge, learn from others and may be even network a little.



She just wished she was not missing Willow so much.



She planned on writing to Willow throughout the next 2 weeks so when she returned to Sunnydale Willow could read an account of what she got up to while at Houston. What she did not expect was how often and how much she had written already, that she felt her hands reaching for her pen and notebook at all hours, and when she was not writing, she would be composing letters in her head.



She wrote for Willow, and drew for Willow. The sketches she did the week before, the drafts she produced during the classes, the quick gesture outlines versus the slow contour outlines, they were all of Willow. She knew it was an impossible situation, all too aware that she was the one who in 3 years' time, did not meet the appointment. That something must have happened to cause such an about turn in her feelings towards the other girl. But right now, a hint of a thought about Willow and she found herself hopelessly caught up in the Willowcentric universe she had created for herself.



The voice of the instructor snapped her back into her current universe.



"This exercise will loosen you hands and minds and help you create energy. Don't overthink, don't get bogged down with details, don't do anything except let the charcoal flow onto the paper. Use your stick, not just the tip, use the side, the whole width, ok? I'm going to give you 30 seconds to sketch our model here, get as many outlines as you can. 30 seconds only, everyone ready? Go!"



It was exhilarating, and oddly liberating, not to have to think about what she was drawing, she felt herself relax and pictured the model with stunning red hair and pale, freckled skin. When the instructor shouted "Stop!" she had 3 very rough sketches already, she was surprised how quickly she had worked.



"That one on the left, it's very good. There's a lot of dynamic movement in that pose that you can use as basis for more detailed work," the instructor commented as he reviewed Tara's sketch.



*****



The rest of the fortnight went by quicker than she expected, she had a whole stack of drawings, sketches, detailed portraits, even a few with Miss Kitty, that she was quite happy about. Especially most were of Willow, although there was a real life model in class, she could not get the redhead out of her mind. It was surprising how much she recalled of Willow's features even though she only saw her fleetingly, in the dark indoors of the Bronze and always briefly at the Espresso Pump.



Just a few quick glances, but you reached inside me so deep.



The instructor taught them more methods to build up their technical skills.



She had always painted by intuition, now that she was a bit more technical, she could see the improvement, how much tighter her drawings were, how much more energy they contained.



She could not wait to go home, to Miss Kitty, to Willow.



*****

------

quiet thoughts

[serendipitous]

Great update! I love how you aren't rushing with finding out why Tara never showed up and concentrating on the intermitent 3 years before the actual event. We have the opportunity to get a fuller understanding of what caused this "lack of meeting." Can't wait for the next update! Cheers

[Viximon]

hahahahaha. Poor Tara, can't take her minf out of Willow thoughts Why it be?



You're closing path to the climax of the story, I can feel it. I hope the go back of the blonde was save.



Continue, I love this fic.



Ps: I'm sure MssKitty and Willow are missing Tara too

[russ]

If "this part's mostly filler," it's the kind of filler you put in a sandwich to make it tasty. On one level it's about Tara's art course, and how important her art is to her. On a deeper level it's about Tara's feelings for Willow, and how all pervasive those feelings have become.



Sooner or later she's going to realize how unlikely it is that she would willingly have missed that appointment. Then perhaps she'll want Willow to do the research and find out what happened.



While it's true, as Debra says, that everyone is in danger all the time, the fact is that if you know danger is coming you take steps to avoid it. What they know now is that in 2005, Willow is alive and well, but Tara has disappeared. I have my theory as to why, but will keep it to myself for now. Just to say that if Tara really disappeared, leaving no trace in 2002, where would she go?



At any rate we must be getting close; it's Spring of '02 now for Tara, and it's around the middle of that year that she disappeared.



Meanwhile let's see how Willow dealt with the absence. I suspect the missing was just as strong from her side.

Russ



When we love and give it everything we've got, no matter what the consequences, we are doing what we were put here to do -- Geneen Roth

[hermitfish]

Willow as the muse. Now that's great stuff. I think it's good to see Tara following her dreams yet still feeling Willow all around her (in that spiritual sense...not the physical...oh well). Got the warm tinglies from the update. Building us up towards the big moment…take your time – you craft every part so well that I become more fascinated with each instead of less. Some other time I'll try to be more constructive and less effusive....it’s just too early today.



~Cyd

---

All you need to start an asylum is an empty room and the right kind of people.

~Eugene Pallette in My Man Godfrey (1936)



Altered Shadows

[Willow18]

Liked the update even if it was "filler" as you call it. The drawing class reminds me of one I am taking right now. All of her drawings turning into Willow drawings regardless of the model... once you fall for Willow, you stay fallen. I like the pace of your story, not rushed. I'll be awaiting your next update.

[meretricious]

think i missed comment on chapter 11, but i like how both of these last 2 chaps show each girl making progress in areas of their lives that don't involve the other. of course other than writing, and fleeting glances they're pretty restricted in what they can do for each other at this point. good to see willow wanting to clean things up with oz, and tara making progress with her art, even if all of their thoughts do return to each other. gotta love the holidays for marking time, except that easter has about a six week window, so i'm saying late easter this time,yep, moving thru those three years.~mary

hey girl, get on the dance floor
rip it up girl
that's what it's there for~razorlight

[Grimlock72]

Nice to see both Willow and Tara doing something in their own time besides writing to each other Willlow of course needed to get some things settled, good to see that. Sooner or later she will want to research why Tara didn't show and/or how the mailbox-between-times got into existence.



Tara using Willow as her sketch model/muse was fun. Real-life model in front of her yet she still thinks of Willow, not that is dedication . The long bus-travel must suck though, I myself would have preferred train



It also helps that both updates didn't cause too much time-travel related headache



Grimmy

--
"You hurt Tara," Willow said too calmly. "The last one who tried that was a god. I made her regret it." -- Unexpected Consequences by Lisa of Nine

[behindhereyes]

Watson



I liked this update ! We got to follow Tara throughout her class, and were given insight into how she saw her own work... it's funny, Willow wasn't in this update... yet she was a constant. Tara is quite literally consumed with thoughts of Willow... and that's always a good thing



behindhereyes

Kim

"To the world, you may be one person; but to one person, you may be the world"

[lil fled]

I've started reading this story a while back, but just finished up to the most recent update. I was much confused with the time dimension warp thing... But I just have to stop trying to figure it out and I'll be fine Not as clever as all you kittens I think. I am really enjoying this fic though, you're doing great!! Will be waiting for updates

------------------------------------------------------------------

‘I like being in complete and utter control. I like to dominate!’

[Rhiannon9891]

Watson,

This was a wonderful update...seeing how engulfed Tara is with Willow.I imagine Willow is having much of the same feelings.

Please continue.



Rhiannon

She is like a cat in the dark

And then she is the darkness