thanks for the memories ! {halfrek/open}

[Anya]

News of a local woman's death had spread quickly throughout town - and only in Sunnydale would such news be taken so...casually. In a way, Anya could understand. It wasn't exactly like the hellmouth was a safe place; even if most of the civilians were somehow unaware of the supernatural danger and chalked these deaths up to silly things like gang violence and animal attacks. She shook her head. Humans could be so blind sometimes. That was what this most recent death had been labeled as; an animal attack. Apparently something had torn a woman apart in the safety of her own home, and the authorities had been oblivious enough to blame the family dog - which had been the only other being present in the locked house when they arrived on the scene, apart from the woman's seven year-old son (who seemed suspiciously nonchalant about the whole thing, in Anya's opinion).

When she'd managed to sneak in and question the boy herself, however, he would tell her nothing - apart from the fact that his dog was innocent, and pleading her to take it away to avoid the possibility of it being put down in retribution for the woman it had supposedly "killed". From her seat on one of the many benches in Sunnydale Park, Anya observed the canine attentively. The huge german shepherd, who almost looked large and powerful enough to be wolf-like...was currently rolling around in the grass, his tongue lolling out of his mouth, his massive paws waving in the air, and his big bushy tail thumping joyfully against the ground. Yeah. Clearly this animal was a real bloodthirsty killer.

Actually, the real culprit of the attack could have been a number of things. Not a werewolf - it was day time, and not even the full moon - but Sunnydale was home to a myriad of other beasts capable of pulling this off. Normally Anya would have just let Buffy handle it. ...But...something about this didn't sit right with her. If she had to pinpoint what, she'd say maybe it had something to do with the disconcertingly calm boy who'd been left behind after his mother's murder. It almost felt like this hadn't been a random chance attack by a mindless monster. There was a strange familiarity in this case, and though she couldn't quite put her finger on it yet...she'd felt the inexplicable need to investigate it on her own.

Except that she wasn't doing very much investigating at the moment. All she'd accomplished so far was getting herself stuck with an over-sized but thankfully friendly canine (that she had no idea what she was going to do with in the long run, for that matter), and she was left feeling rather...dissatisfied.

Well. At least the dog was happy. But dogs were always happy. Anya glanced down at him as he sprung to his paws, snatched up a tennis ball he seemed to favor, and trotted over to her before dropping the ball on the ground and nudging it toward her feet. Anya...could only stare at it. Him. Colby - as his collar read. "What?" she asked 'Colby' blankly, looking from him down to the ball again. The dog continued to stare at her intently, letting out an impatient whine as he backed up a pace or two. The vengeance demon blinked, before finally realizing what she was supposed to do. "Oh! Right." Tentatively, she leaned down and picked the ball up, then tossed it some ways across the field. Sure enough, Colby rocketed off after it, springing up into the air and catching the ball in his mouth.

...Show off. Still, she couldn't help but smile a bit - only to freeze a moment later, her posture becoming tense. Was that...? Yes, undoubtedly, that was another demonic presence she sensed somewhere nearby. Of course, it would've been hypocritical of her to jump to conclusions and automatically assume that this was a bad thing...but let's face it, more often than not....

Ugh. This was going to be a long day.

[halfrek]

It was good to be back. Hallie spent three days getting reacquainted with life in Sunnydale before she granted her first wish. She was off to a pretty good start if she did say so herself. Her first client was Robby, the little boy who was now motherless. That was all thanks to Hallie, but of course she wasn't so cruel as to take a mother away from her child for no good reason. Not a normal mother, at least. But she thought she was pretty justified in this case. After all what kind of mother kept her son locked up in his room in the basement for most of his life? Robby was neglected and deprived of the life a child should have. It didnt help that he was also afraid of the dark. Every night he would cry and scream to be let out of his room, being afraid of the monsters he thought were in his closet. His mother never listened, but Halfrek did. Last night she appeared to the boy and told him that he was permitted to make one wish. She could have tricked him, but Robby was a young boy who had not yet let go of his belief in all things magical and become cynical. Hallie thought he didn't need to be tricked if she was very clearly giving him the chance to get what he wanted.

Robby wished that the monsters that tormented his dreams would come and eat his mother up. Hallie had done nothing but give him what he wanted, and now he was free. D'Hoffryn was pleased with her first wish granting since she came back to Sunnydale (she still refused to think of it as since she came back from the dead). He had praised her, and then he told her to take the rest of the day off. She was more than happy to oblige. After all, she still had more exploring of Sunnydale to do. She was curious to see whether or not it was all the same since its resurrection. So far it seemed like it was. But what could have caused it to return in its original state, just like it was never destroyed? D'Hoffryn must know something, but he isn't telling......... Hallie thought this to herself, unable to keep impatience from stirring inside her. Being kept in the dark was not something that she enjoyed. Maybe if she poked around Sunnydale long enough she could find the answers she was looking for.

Hallie walked through Sunnydale Park, off in her own little world. The Park was one of her favorite places to come whether she was on the job or off. It was beautiful and full of children she could always visit if she felt she needed to grant another wish. But for now she was just here to enjoy the scenery. On a bench down the path Hallie saw a blonde woman and her dog. It was weird but from a distance, this woman reminded her of someone. She suddenly thought of Anyanka and felt a little bit sad. D'Hoffryn had never told her what he'd done with her friend after he killed Hallie herself. Since Anyanka wasn't hanging around anymore, Hallie guessed that whatever he'd done to her could not in any way be good. It wasn't like that was the most important thing in the world, she had other things to worry about. But still, Anyanka was her oldest friend. It was only natural to miss her.

She almost passed the girl without really looking at her when the dog came running back with the ball it just caught in its mouth. Hallie stared at the dog, surprised to find that it was so familiar. A lot of dogs looked a like, but she was sure that she'd seen this one before, and recently. It was the dog owned by Robby's family. What is it doing in the park? She looked back at the blonde woman who seemed to be with the dog now and this time, was close enough to recognize her for real. Halfrek's confident expression broke and was replaced by one of pure shock. This girl reminded her of Anyanka because she WAS Anyanka. How, though? What were the odds of running into her in the middle of Sunnydale Park? Hallie was so stunned that she could barely even think straight, and the only word she could form was her old friend's name.

"Anyanka?"

[Anya]

Colby seemed to be content entertaining himself, settling down in the grass to chew happily on the tennis ball a little ways away, so Anya devoted her full attention to locating the vaguely ominous presence she'd detected. Her brown eyes narrowed slightly as she turned and swept her gaze across the park....unfortunately, as it turned out, she'd been looking the wrong way. Had she been doing a slightly more thorough job of taking in her surroundings, she might have noticed the brunette woman walking up behind her. Instead, however, she ended up starting a bit when the woman called her name. ...Well, not her name, exactly. At least not the name she'd used for some time now. Unfortunately when you took on a human name, it was a bit difficult persuading the rest of the demonic community to recognize it. Because it had to be a demon who was addressing her now - the dark presence, along with the obvious fact that no one else knew her by the name 'Anyanka', told her that much. And yet, that voice was distinctly familiar. Instead of trying to place it, however, she quickly turned to see who was addressing her for herself.

And...wait, Halfrek?! The realization struck her like an oncoming train, rendering her both speechless and completely immobile for a long moment. Was this...actually happening right now? Immediately upon laying eyes on the other vengeance demon, Anya was suddenly bombarded with memories she'd spent the longest time trying to shove out of her consciousness. D'Hoffryn snapping his fingers. Hallie appearing on cue, looking questioningly between them. Anya's own horrible realization of what was about to happen only seconds before it did - and Hallie going up in flames. She closed her eyes the same way she had on that occasion, unwilling to accept the sight in front of her. How could Hallie be here...?

....Wait. How could Hallie be here? She couldn't. Anya scolded the thought for even allowing the thought to cross her mind when The First had already used this trick to deceive her. Has already approached her in Halfrek's form once - and she'd almost believed it. She wouldn't be fooled twice...and the thought that The First was approaching her in this form again, to screw with her head no doubt, was enough to make Anya practically shake with anger. Slowly, she rose to her feet and looked her 'friend' levelly in the eye. She didn't immediately speak up, weighing her options instead. Fighting obviously wasn't going to do much good - in fact, if The First was manifesting itself only to her, punching at the air would make her look absolutely insane. Losing her temper and starting to yell would have a similar effect. So...that left...what?

Well. Lot's more glaring. Or politely asking it to leave, which she somehow figured wouldn't work out as nicely as she'd like it to. Simply walking away and hoping that The First somehow wouldn't follow was more than likely her best option, but...Anya wasn't exactly thinking rationally at the moment. The best she could do was manage a venomously worded, "Stay away from me. " as she took a pace back toward where Colby was still laying in the grass...though if she'd stopped to pay attention to him, she would have found the dog staring intently over at Halfrek. Not barking or snarling, just...staring. Unfortunately, her newfound canine companion was the last thing on her mind at the moment, and her glare remained focused on the brunette in front of her. "In fact - s-stay away from Sunnydale in general! We just got it back. You can't blow it up again." she added bluntly, as if she were really in a position to be ordering around The First Evil.

[halfrek]

Halfrek wasn't expecting the look Anyanka gave her. Actually a better term for it would have been "death glare". But she couldnt figure out what she had done to deserve such a look. The last she could remember she and Anyanka had been on pretty good terms. Before D'Hoffryn had killed Hallie thanks to her, that is. Why would Anyanka be mad about that though? If anything it should have been Hallie who was mad about that, if she still wasn't deliberately trying not to think about anything that happened back then. She stared back at Anyanka, but with a baffled expression as opposed to an angry one. Then her old friend finally spoke to her. Asking her to stay away from her. This was only cause for more confusion on Hallie's part, and she was starting to get offended. What right does SHE have to tell me to stay away, as if I'm a threat to HER? Hallie just couldn't understand it. And it still didn't explain what Anyanka was doing here and why D'Hoffryn had not told her that she was still around. However, if Anyanka was going to behave like they were suddenly enemies then Hallie saw no reason to linger here for longer than she needed to. She gave a prideful fluff of her hair as she decided how to respond.

"Well. If that's the way you want it.........."

Halfrek turned around with every intention of continuing on down the path. Truthfully it felt unpleasant to receive this kind of greeting from such an old friend. But Hallie was too proud to ask what it was all about. Then Anyanka said something else, about how she didn't want Sunnydale to get blown up again. This made Hallie stop right where she was and slowly turn back to the other demon. If she was confused in the first place, it was nothing compared to how she was feeling now. There was no way that Anyanka would actually think she had anything to do with Sunnydale's destruction. Everyone knew that was the work of the slayer to get rid of The First Evil. If Hallie actually knew anything about The First Evil and how it was capable of taking the form of the dead then she probably would have figured it all out by now. But since she was not privy to that information, for now she was just kinda confused as to what Anyanka was talking about.

"Anyanka, have you lost your mind? What in the name of D'Hoffryn would I gain from blowing up Sunnydale? It is after all a prime location for vengeance."

Hallie was beginning to become concerned for her friend's wellfare now. She stepped closer again and placed a hand on Anyanka's shoulder.

"Maybe sit down a minute sweetie. I think you need to clear your head."

[Anya]

She had to admit, The First was...good at this. 'Hallie's' haughty, mildly offended changes in expression were so convincing that Anya actually almost hesitated. The moment these doubts crossed her mind, however, she immediately forced them away. Between The First Evil, and D'Hoffryn, and Hazama - she was just...so...sick of being screwed with. This ended now. Fiercely holding the gaze of the thing that had took her friend's form, Anya opened her mouth to demand to be told exactly what it wanted of her - what it would take to get all of this to stop, and why it had even singled her out in the first place. And if it wouldn't answer any of her questions...well, she'd go straight to Buffy and see what she thought of all of this. Somehow, Anya doubted that what The First wanted right now was another immediate full-out war.

All of these thoughts raced through her mind, her course of action beginning to solidify - and that was when she felt a hand on her shoulder. 'Hallie's' hand on her shoulder, and a condescending suggestion that she sit down. Anya downright scowled, and hissed out, "Don't touch me--" ...And then, she realized exactly what she'd just said...and what had just happened. The First Evil could manifest as anyone who'd ever died - but it wasn't corporeal. So if The First Evil was standing in front of her right now, it couldn't be touching her. But that...that meant...

"Hallie....?" Anya choked out after a moment of stunned silence, staring at the other demoness with wide, disbelieving eyes. How could Hallie be alive? She'd watched D'Hoffryn kill her with her own....D'Hoffryn. The realization hit her immediately, and she wondered why it hadn't been the first thing to spring to mind after the whole 'First Evil' theory had been ruled out. As much as she didn't like to think about it, D'Hoffryn was the reason Anya herself was breathing right now - the demon god had enough power to resurrect the dead, and the task was even made easier when it was his own subjects he was resurrecting. The question was, though, why bring Hallie back when he'd been the one to kill her in the first place? And why now? It was all a bit suspicious for Anya's tastes, but...for just one moment, she didn't want to have to question this.

And suddenly she'd sprung forward and pulled the brunette into a spontaneous hug. "I thought you were the spirit of The First Evil trying to make me go crazy by pretending to be you and making me feel guilty! But...I mean, it's really you!" Rambling on at what was probably a near-unintelligible speed, for a moment Anya clung to her oldest friend as if she were afraid that she let go, Hallie'd disappear. Finally, though, she realized that it might be a good idea to allow the other demoness to breathe - and released her, taking a sheepish little step back. Right now, all thoughts of the little boy and his vanished mother had fled her mind - and the very plausible idea that Hallie was somehow connected to all of it was even further from her thoughts than that. Now, it was only a matter of figuring out what to say and how to say it. Since Hallie's death, Anya had often thought about what she'd say to the brunette if she had the chance to speak to her one last time - the apologies she'd make.

At that moment, though, all she could think to ask was, "H-how long have you been back? And did D'Hoffryn...?" She couldn't quite finish the question, still entirely too baffled by the events playing out to think clearly.