FIC Fragment

["C S Armitage" <soren_nyrond@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Since *other* people post fragments, and never do very much more with them (or so it seems) I thought I'd follow suit, with something that came to me walking down Gower Street today.

?????????????????????????????

"The Ring! The Ring! The Ring! Get it off! Get it off!"
Willow made the demand the instant Buffy came in the door.
She was scrunched up on her bed, face red, eyes anime-wide and pleading.
"Please ! Now !"

Buffy slipped the ring from her finger and Willow relaxed slightly.
"What is it? It was your idea we wear them -- help you keep in touch with me, and me with you."
"You were patrolling," Willow said.
"Yes." Buffy didn't see the point -- she patrolled almost every night, andif she was wearing the ring, the sister to the other one, that Willow had,Willow had only to use the power of their rings to know exactly where she was.
"You were slaying -- and you were with Riley!"
"Yes, but nothing happened. You know I promised you -- I'm here for you all the time: no Riley till we find somebody for you, and not even then if you need me. Riley's just a ... "
"That isn't the point -- you slayed, and you were with him, and ..."
"Oh." Buffy's brain suddenly clicked over the extra notch. "Oh. But nothing happened."
"But you wanted ... "
"For all of ten seconds -- you *felt* that !!??"

Then her brain took the next step.
"Then why didn't you take your ring off?"
Willow went red again and mumbled.
"Pardon?" Something caugfht Buffy's eye. "Your ring's way over there. How could you -- ?"
"I don't need it any more," Willow said, in a tiny voice. "I cast a spell -- only a little one, as an experiment. It was only supposed to last five minutes."
"You mean, even without the ring -- ?"
"So long as you're wearing yours," Willow admitted
"-- You can sense whatever I do *or* think?"
Willow nodded again.
"This raises some interesting issues," Buffy said.

Soren, Lurker, Nyrond, and Fragmenteer