Time is on my side...{broodie/asura/open!}

[Anya]

Well, Eliza had a point there - demons could be pretty nasty when they wanted to be, but these days? They were far from the worst things running around the world - or even New York City, for that matter. "You don't by any chance know Hazama, do you? 'Cause that guy makes demons look cuddly." she said with a dark sort of chuckle - not that she really wanted to talk about Hazama, of all people, but it was the first thought that had popped into her head...and so naturally, it'd just sort of slipped out.

She was slightly taken aback to hear that Asura was a soul eater - a disgusting habit, in Anya's personal opinion - even more disgusting than blood-sucking vampires. If it was true, though (and Eliza seemed fairly confident that it was) that certainly explained the predatory look in the kishin's eyes. Anya grimaced slightly and refocused on Eliza's words. "Oh...well, thank you! I think." Yeah, she was pretty sure 'decent for a demon' was a compliment, at least...though there were actually probably even some demons out there who did a lot more good for the world than she did (Anya'd only very recently decided she wanted to redeem herself, after all). "Neutral ground. Probably a good idea. I'd much rather be here with you than facing off against that demon in the park. Thanks, by the way, for um - getting us out of there." she added with a nod. It'd been clear that Eliza hadn't liked Asura any more than she had - and Anya knew that the teen could have just as easily stayed and fought as walked away.

With newfound interest, the vengeance demon listened as Eliza described the place to her. She looked around again, paying closer attention this time - and now that she really looked, it was easy to see that this place had history. It had that sort of charm. Anya turned back to Eliza, about to speak when a friendly looking elderly woman approached their table. The woman had a sort of warmth about her, and it was only natural to return her smile - and then she noticed the look Eliza was giving her. Right. These people were just...normal people. Anya didn't really go around making it well-known that she was a demon in the first place if she could help it, mainly because the word 'demon' tended to carry rather negative connotations. And she wasn't about to start now - so in response to Eliza, she gave the tiniest of nods.

In the mildly curious, thoughtful sort of way that she usually watched human interaction, Anya watched the woman greet Eliza - they evidently seemed to know each other. Admittedly, she was a little startled when the elderly woman turned to her, but she managed a startled but bright smile all the same. The only humans Anya had spent any extended length of time with were Buffy and her gang, after all...and none of them were exactly the 'fawning' type. " Hi. I'm Anya. You have a very nice establishment here - nothing like those noisy generic chains that seem to be taking over New York." the demon told her politely, before realizing that the woman was still waiting for her order. "Oh - just coffee will be fine for now. Thank you." Those pizzas Eliza had mentioned were tempting, but she'd just been finishing her lunch when Asura had approached her in the park, after all.

[echidna]

Eliza had nodded when Anya asked her of Hazama, whether she knew him or not - she had, and from the look Eliza briefly flashed her, it wasn't like this kind of meeting, not at all, but it seemed that the two could agree on their lack of desire to speak about the green-haired, troll-faced ghost-man, but as she took a sip of the coffee, she read Anya's face - Slade, she reflected, had taught her more of people than how to break them in half.

As Anya spoke with the nice old lady, she hungrily drank of her cup, savoring it like finest brew - it wasn't, it was anything but, but it was very strong and smelled of caffeine. Perfect coffee, in Eliza's opinion.

"Thank you Anya, Dear - It's a bit tight these days and I don't mind telling you..." she said, and filled Anya's cup "But we get by alright - though truth be told we sell more pizzas-" and with this, she looked at Eliza "-than we sell coffee these days. The usual, dear?" she asked Eliza, and the teen shook her head, but with a smile

"Just..." she hesitated a moment "A sandwitch this time I think... though I'd like some of your bread-and-butter pickles if you don't mind." she said with a girlish smile.

"Of course, honey - comin' right up!" and she wandered off, giving Anya one backward glance before bustling to get the order up.

"It wasn't a problem... Best part of that sort ran down his mother's leg, if you excuse the expression." she leaned forward. "I see a lot around here - this is my hometown, and..." she smiled humorlessly. "I like to get to know people. Anya, and I don't know you as well as I'd like to, see?" she sat back, and took another sip, though her eyes never left her.

[Anya]

Anya blinked, her smile widening slightly with almost sympathetic understanding as the kindly old woman spoke of how their business was. Though she herself had never worked in a restaurant before, experience managing Giles' magic shop - and recently opening her own - had taught her a lot about the ups and downs of running any sort of business. As the woman took note of Eliza's order and hurried away, Anya called after her with a cheery, "Good luck with your money!" Candid, unfiltered and a little oddly phrased - as were most things that came out of the vengeance demon's mouth - but at least she was being sincere! Not that she...really knew how to be anything else.

Once the woman was out of earshot, she turned her attention back to Eliza. She thought she was beginning to understand; there were quite a few...not-so-normal beings wandering around New York these days, and it seemed that Eliza liked to keep tabs on them. Anya couldn't really blame her. It was a smart thing to do; kept any of the...trouble-makers around here from blindsiding you. If vengeance demons hadn't been so independent by nature (and if she hadn't been attempting to keep her life as relatively normal as it could possibly be), Anya might have tried to do the same thing. "Oh," was the first word out of her mouth as she considered Eliza's words, her expression turning...well, not wary, exactly. Just thoughtful.

"Okay..! I can't promise I'm very good at getting to know people. Usually doesn't turn out so well." And that could be summed up to a couple of different reasons, really. The main one being her tendency to be rather...blunt. It still struck Anya was strange, how humans asked you questions that were straightforward enough - and yet they seemed to expect carefully formulated, polite answers instead of direct, honest ones. No, small talk really wasn't her thing - but that wasn't really what this situation was anyway. If there was something Eliza wanted to know, within reason, Anya couldn't see any reason not to tell her. They'd been civil enough thus far, after all.

"But I could try to - to answer any questions you might have, I suppose." The blonde gave a simple shrug. "..If you'd be willing to answer a few of mine as well?" Wasn't that how this whole thing generally worked, after all? Anya was...pretty sure, at least. Not that she really intended to ask Eliza anything to nosy (she struck the demon as being a rather secretive person), but there was something different about her that...Anya still couldn't quite put her finger on. And as per usual, it hadn't taken her long at all to become curious.

[echidna]

Eliza gave Anya a quiet stare as she relaxed. She looked a bit sleepless, this young woman, there were little bags under her eyes and she was... very pale, not to put too fine a point on it. But there was a fire in her - that was clear enough. Her eyes watched Anya a moment or two, before, she nodded. She had hesitated though - what would Slade have said? Well, bugger that, did he think she was a robot?

"Yeah... Yeah that'd be fine, I'll tell you what I can... one for one if you like" She leaned forward again, and thumbed her cup gently. "I was hoping you could tell me about that... Hazama character. I mean... I *think* I met him once, see - He was after a friend of mine for some research she did once. Green hair... dresses sharp... reminiscent of a snake? Not in looks... so much as a general... snakeocity quality to him? Is that who we're talking about?" she asked, looking quite curious, and paying her close attention.

[Anya]

One for one? That sounded fair enough. Anya nodded brightly in response, her expression still radiating curiosity. When Eliza mentioned Hazama, however, her mood shifted almost immediately. Anya really wasn't a hateful person - hate was a waste of energy, and provoked a darker side of her that she really would have rather pretended didn't exist. Her feelings for Hazama, however, were just about as close to loathing as the vengeance demon got. Her smile disappeared as she leaned back in her chair, training her eyes on the table's surface as she considered Eliza's question. "Sounds like him." she stated after a moment, an uncharacteristic hint of bitterness edging her tone. After all, she didn't know of very many other green-haired, snake-like men roaming New York who were evidently interested in collecting research of various sorts.

...Now what more to say? She hadn't had much luck thus far convincing anyone that this man was actually a threat - but perhaps now was a chance to do so. Clearing her throat lightly, she met Eliza's gaze again. "If he's after your friend, I'd keep a close eye on her - he's not one to play nice. He...I don't really know much about him. But he asked me a few questions once. Knew all sorts of things about me that he shouldn't have, too." Anya clenched her jaw slightly at the thought. Hazama had known about her demonic past - his intention seemed to have been to provoke that side of her again. And the frightening thing was, for a moment there it had very nearly worked. She shook her head as if to chase the memory away from her mind. "But I know that he's very powerful. And his endgame...well, it doesn't look good for any of us. As in, you know. He wants everyone dead." Not that she hadn't heard that one before; she'd lost track of how many psychopaths had fed her that line. But Hazama...well, Hazama actually seemed to have the means to carry out his threat.

After having said her piece, Anya fell into an uncomfortably silence. This whole thing really was new to her. Sure, there'd been plenty of dangerous people in Sunnydale, but she'd never felt as alone in dealing with them as she did now. She'd always had Buffy, Xander, Willow...and now? Now, truth be told, she really wasn't too sure what to do. Hopelessness flashed through her expression for the briefest of moments, but the blonde was quick to shake it off. No use thinking like that right now. Attempting to refocus on her former curiosity, she tilted her head slightly at Eliza. "So, um, can I ask you something now?" she inquired, a slight smile returning. "You were pretty brave, the way you talked to that demon back there. Like you weren't afraid of him at all. It almost made me think...well, I mean..." Anya paused, trying to figure out how to best word her question. True to form, she ultimately opted to just speak what was on her mind, no filter involved. "A lot of the people I've met around here, they have these...abilities. Like, they're not just regular people. Are you one of them?"

[echidna]

Eliza gave Anya a patient sort of studied gaze as her face went from a kind of good natured smile to... well. That was definitely a reaction. Her own expression remained neutral, however. noting the hint of bitterness in the young woman's voice as she responded. Interesting. The answer she got, the proper one, after Anya had collected her thoughts together and given her a structured response, were even more interesting. Eliza stared at the contents of her mug, nearly half out of the steaming black liquid. She nodded. A thing to consider, most definitely. Already, she was looking for him more emphatically, the swarm of the opal beetles moving with a purpose. Her eyes glazed a few moments during the uncomfortable silence.

In the ensuing pause, The waitress-owner returned, toting a sandwich and the coffee pot. With a big smile, she looked at the awkward moment between the two girls, opened her mouth to speak, and decided the better of it, leaving Eliza her sandwitch and refilling both their coffee mugs before wandering off without saying a word.

Eliza examined the offered food as Anya began to brighten up again, the mood picking up considerably as she did. Odd, that - something about the woman made her 'not happy' a whole lot worse than her happy - it was a funny sensation that the woman gave off. She'd never met a proper demon before - Slade was one thing, but he wasn't really a demon at all, just a... well, a Warlock. He had black powers, but he was still a mortal man. She picked up half of her Reuben, curse that woman for knowing her so well, and nommed a bite of it, listening to Anya intently.

She finished her bite of the sandwitch and nodded. "Yes, I am." she said simply, and broke off a piece of her sandwitch, offering it under their table for some reason. There was a sort of "snaksnak!" sound and her hand came up empty, brushing her hair out of her eyes.

What to ask her next? Anya had worded her question in a way that merited no further response from Eliza - why should she fill in the gap? She couldn't help herself... Slade's teachings had a way of working their way into the mind and sticking their like oil on the hands.

"So... what WAS that book, exactly, anyhow? I don't think I've ever seen it before and it looked... well, it looked special, to me." she asked, and offered Anya half of her sandwitch, nodding appreciatively as she bit her half again. Damn that woman could make a good reuben.

Eliza's mind raced ahead of the conversation. What if Anya asked her what her powers were? It wouldn't be wise to lie to her - in the long run, lies just poison things, but she shouldn't burden Anya with the... entire truth, either. Maybe she'd have to employ Slade's 'cryptic method' of question answering. Give a bit of information, but not... too much.

[Anya]

Anya arched an eyebrow. Well that had been cryptic. To be fair, Eliza had answered her question - and she had no room to complain that she hadn't elaborated, because Anya had never directly asked her to. Still, the vengeance demon wasn't quite sure how to contain her curiosity at this point...especially at the curious little incident that followed, when Eliza had made a subtle show of feeding part of her sandwich to...well, something under the table. So she wasn't just any human - she did have some sort of ability, and she also had some connection to...whatever it was that Anya had seen in the park...and whatever was lurking around Eliza's feet now. Just asking unfiltered questions as they popped into your head wasn't something that humans seemed to consider polite, and so Anya tried to refrain if only to maintain the reasonably friendly conversation they'd had so far.

While she thought on this, though, Eliza asked her another question in turn. Wh--oh, the book! Anya'd almost forgotten about it after anything else, despite the fact that she'd absent-mindedly carried it along with her up until this point. She glanced down at the seat beside her, where she'd placed it, and then back at the teenage girl across from her. "Special..." Anya pondered the word aloud briefly, then shrugged. "Well, it's different, at least. It's an old volume on demonology - thanks!" she added, accepting the sandwich half Eliza had offered her and taking a small bite. As she chewed, she considered how to further explain. "You kind of have to be fluent in Latin to get any use out of it, but...you could see it, if you want." was what she finally settled on.

That obviously begged another question - though one Eliza might or might not decide to ask. Why would a demon have to read about demonology? It wasn't exactly 'light reading' material either. And she wouldn't have even bothered with it if it hadn't been for the...trouble she'd been having lately. But Anya decided to worry about answering all of that if and when it came to it. For now, she was fairly eager to find out a little more about these abilities Eliza alluded to having. "So, um - what kind of stuff can you do?" the demoness inquired after a moment, setting her sandwich down on her napkin for a moment and taking another sip of her drink.

"You kind of remind me of a friend of mine - she was human too, but she was like, freakishly strong and really fast and...kind of grumpy sometimes. Are you anything like that?" It was a...blunt way of wording the question, perhaps, but the only thing edging the blonde's voice at this point was earnest curiosity.

[echidna]

Eliza smiled as she bit again into that godly reuben - how she missed these! How had she ever lived life without knowing them before? I mean... my god - corned beef, sauerkraut between lightly fried slices and pickles? Good god... Who would have ever thought that they were as awesome as this? Certainly not her. She washed her food down with a gulp of coffee and nodded to Anya. But she didn't respond with a question, almost automatically.

"Yes, I want very much to see it - I know Latin well enough to pass..." she began and smiled brightly at her. "Maybe two eyes looking at it could help you see what you're looking for." neither was a question, and Anya ended up asking her two. That of course subtly changed the rules - upped the ante in a way, however subtle. Sure, the questions were linked, but they were two questions just the same.

She didn't look round as the waitress came up, but what she almost said was stifled before it even reached the opening mouth to say something stage. The platinum-haired youth simply took another bite of her sandwitch and chewed thoughtfully.

"Eliza honey, you should bring your friend around more often - you both need feeding up!" she said in grandmother tones and continued "You both do, so here - have some of my special devil's food cake, on the house. Some chocolate would do you both some good!" she chimed, then wandered off again to finish her cleaning.

Eliza gazed at the pair of slices the waitress had set down. Good grief... Feeding up was right, it looked like a queen of brownies had fat babies and covered them in chocolate. She half expected it to grow a cocoa plant on the spot. She gathered herself though.

"Well... I can use magic." she said in response to the first question "I... have some training, and I can get grumpy sometimes... so maybe, but I don't think I'm freakishly strong or fast..." she smiled sheepishly at Anya. All of it was true, no doubt about that! True, true true. Not all the truth, but it was truth for the second's response. It hadn't explained how she had felt bold enough to face down a demon-man, not really, but... well, that was another problem to sort out.

"Well... how about you - I know a little about what you can do, but the... fine detailed explanation would be nice?" she asked for her first question, and looked down. Her face broke into... well, it was a mother's smile, or maybe just a pet owner's grin. A very, very large beetle with a opalescent carapace moved into her lap and made a "snaksnak!" sound as it snapped its mandibles together. Quite unusually, eliza simply pet the creature along the ridge where its carapace broke to conceal wings, a line down the center of its back, and it seemed to shiver with enjoyment, gently wrapping those pincers around her forearm. She giggled, in stark contrast to the staredown with the demon earlier, and bribed the creature with a piece of her sandwitch again to let go. It did, shunning the meat for the kraut, pickles, and bread, eating with a soft "Snakkiesnakkiesnakkie..." sound.

She opted out of a second question - Anya probably hadn't meant to change the rules and she was in a really... really good mood!

[Anya]

Well, protective as she'd been of the book earlier (admittedly, Asura had been...throwing it around), Anya couldn't think of any particular reason why she shouldn't allow Eliza to see it. But even just looking at the old thing, one could easily tell it wasn't something you could just pick up from Barnes and Noble - so she paused a moment as the elderly woman waiting on them approached their table again. Not so caught off guard by the woman's kindly, maternal manner this time, the demoness just gave her a bright, steady smile - and couldn't help but giggle faintly as the women set down what was probably the most chocolate-y substance Anya had ever seen. Strange thing about humans - the more they aged, the more they liked to push more food at you, it seemed. Not that she minded - after all, not even a demon hated chocolate!

Thanking the woman as she walked away, she looked back to Eliza. "I like her!" she announced matter of factly, before turning her attention to the book once more. Lifting it from the chair, she placed it on the table and nudged it toward the other girl a bit - she'd be able to get a good look at the cover, or even pick it up if she wanted to. The old book certainly showed its age: thick, leatherbound with an old, worn dark green cover. Its pages were thin and yellowed with age, and if Eliza were to skim though them she'd find the book to be a demonic encyclopedia of sorts. Recorded sightings, gathered information on the various types...even several ritualistic spells scrawled through the pages. Anya simply blinked as if she'd just handed Eliza the most normal thing in the world, and allowed her to look if she so desired while the blonde took another thoughtful bite of the sandwich and considered the way in which Eliza had answered her question.

So...magic. There was a very broad scope of exactly what that could mean, Anya knew, but Eliza had also mentioned that she had training - and that apart from that, she just seemed...well, human. That sounded a lot like Willow, or Tara - or, well, any of the witches Anya knew, really. So maybe Eliza was a witch? That...actually made a good amount of sense. She nodded thoughtfully in response - Anya herself had trained as a witch once upon a time, but the whole...demon thing had come along and gotten in the way out that. For a brief moment, she wondered who might be training Eliza - but then shrugged it off, deciding she probably didn't know them. And now the teenage girl wanted to know about Anya's abilities - well, it wasn't something that Anya discussed too often if she could avoid it, but fair was fair now that Eliza had given her some idea of what she could do.

"Well, vengeance demons - we mainly grant wishes. For a price. ..Kind of. Not that we demand things in return for granting - it's just that all wishes come with a price." It didn't help that vengeance demons tended to make the whole 'careful what you wish for' thing even more extreme by purposefully manipulating whatever wish they happened to be granting. She winced slightly."Um. But I don't really do that anymore - I don't do much of the demon thing at all, if I can avoid it. I can do some other stuff too..teleporting, and...I can heal pretty quickly if I'm, y'know, stabbed through the heart with a sword or something." That was always inconvenient. Thinking for a moment on whether or not there was anything else she could say, Anya added, "I was trying to get the hang of telekinesis again back there in the park..." But that brushed the topic of her darker powers, which she'd sort of lost touch with since attempting the whole human thing. And Anya didn't really want to go there - so she stopped, albeit a bit abruptly.

Besides, she was kind of distracted...by the creature that seemed to have made its way onto Eliza's lap? Anya couldn't really...get a good look at it from here, but it was making sounds that...didn't really sound like any cat or dog she knew. Her curiosity increasing as Eliza fed the creature the rest of her sandwich, the vengeance demon tilted her head slightly to one side with quiet interest as she watched. Were those...pincers? "Um...what is...that?" she asked without even really thinking about it, and then blinked. Well - that worked for her next question, at least!

[echidna]

Eliza accepted the book, gently brushing its unusual cover with her pale fingers - there was a faint reaction in her skin, a sort of... tingle, and that told her a lot - it hadnt been a pleasant sensation she got in the park, but the momentary sensations, and little puffs of images in her mind told her this was the real deal - a book on demonology. She would need to be careful with this book, herself, but helping her new friend understand her own powers, that was a worthy pursuit. Besides... it would put her in prime real estate to watch over her, and make sure she wasn't going to... be problematic later on. A little time around Slade told her volumes about how he dealt with things that got out of hand. Thumbing it open, the magic in her recoiled as the scripts and images, the spells, sought for purchase in a mage's mind. Without changing her expression, she shut it quite quickly again, sealing the images away. She would need to ward her mind before she tried that again.

Eliza shared snippets of her sandwich as she listened to Anya explain herself, making eye contact periodically to make sure the demon knew she was paying attention still as she lavished the little beetle with attention, dodging the occasional playful 'snak!' as it tried to grab her fingers. So Anya was a Vengance demon, a wish-granter. That was interesting... certainly unusual, no doubt about that. Eliza's face remained sunny - Anya's powers certainly did sound unusual. It made her wonder, though, what exactly Anya did with them to keep them sharp, or if she used them at all... it was obvious she wanted to get her powers back, or at least some of them, but why? Little questions like this darted around her mind, fluttering to be answered, but she held judgement until Anya answered, and asked her next question. She did, however, note the abruptness of the end in her response. It didn't say much that she stopped... but it did say she didn't want to think about it. At least, that was what Eliza guessed.

Then Anya asked her next question. Eliza beamed at her and lifted her little friend up, setting it against her chest and stroking it, like it was a cat. It had eaten its fill, and being held by mommy was pleasant, so it didn't resist, just gently rubbed its mandibles against her neck and chittered very softly, its wings giving a little flick before pulling in tight against its abdomen.

"This is just a little friend of mine... I call them Opal Beetles - They're very sweet..." She held it up for inspection, and while the little white beetle didn't much like being away from mommy and shown to a stranger, it didn't squirm, just held onto Eliza's hands and tilted its head at Anya curiously, unsure what to make of her. Little rainbow patterns played on its smooth carapace.

"They've taken to New York pretty well" she said, holding the little creature against her chest again, where it latched on and clung like nothing happened. "I brought them here with me when I moved from New Jersey."

That left only her next question. She mulled it over as she pet the little beetle, trailing from its head to its abdomen with her pale-fleshed fingers, considering good and long before looking up again.

"So when you get some of your powers back... What will you do with them, Anya?" Eliza said, opting for the straightforward approach "I mean... Humans don't generally need to move things with their mind or teleport... even if they'd like to." she added.