Buffy the Vampire Slayer

"What have we got?" Buffy asked as she and her friends took their seats in her living room.

"A board game." Xander answered putting the box down on the coffee table.

"Seriously?" Willow asked as she looked at the title on the box while taking the couch. She looked to her girlfriend Tara who just smiled a little and rolled her eyes as she sat beside her.

"It was one of the things Anya left behind before she split town when Adam made his presence known." Xander sat in one of the single chairs opposite the couch. "She thought it was.... i'unno... funny, I guess."

"Its better than more nightmares." Buffy pulled the top off the box, pulling the second chair closer to the coffee table. "We play the game and maybe we dont all die horribly in our dreams thanks to weird slayer stuff." She looked at her friends as she pulled items out of the box, "Unless we all want to turn in early and chance more happy fun time dreams."

"Nope! Gimmie the rules. Anh and I never played this game." Xander called out and waved a hand at Buffy.

Willow shivered at the idea of more slayer nightmares and looked at the game pieces, trying to find a mini that she wanted.

Tara hadnt had to handle the aftermath of the joining spell. She hadnt suffered thru the nightmare. But she was empathetic enough to know her friends had been stacking traumatic events these past few weeks and needed a break.

"Seems simple enough." Xander proceded to run down the rules for his friends.

"Thats it? How do you loose? How do you win?" Buffy asked.

"You don't. Its a team thing. Individually..." Willow picked up one of the female mini game pieces, a stereotypical fantasy female magic user with an overly phallic staff. The ridiculous beachball big bust on the female magician mini made her snort. "It's about taking the least amount of damage, right?"

Tara nodded her head grabbing the busty peasant with torch mini "Right."

"And we all win when the Witch hits zero." Xander picked up one of the armored hero male mini that had a whip reared back to use. "Not quite Indiana Jones, but you'll do."

"This awareness thing is weird tho, right? Like? What?" Buffy frowned.

"Thats for roleplaying. I think. If you wanted play as your character." Tara answered.

"But... one means nobody sees nothing but only one? Nine starts a whole new awareness, right? So shouldnt two thru eight be varying levels of not seeing the witches curses?" Buffy frowned.

"If it makes you feel better, Buff, thats the way we will play it. 1 to 8 unawareness. 9 to 11 people notice. 12 to 20 only the player has to care." Xander offered.

No one noticed the Witch statue in the center of the board grin, nor her wyes glow.

"Whatever. I dont know if I'm going to be doing any role playing. Maybe. If its funny." Buffy grabbed the female mini game piece that looked almost like a cheerleader with it's skimpy top, bared midriff, short skirt and jumping into the air pose. "Who goes first?"

"Roll for it orrrr, this being Tara's first big Scooby event, Tara goes first as the guest of honor." Xander held up the d6 die and set it in the center of the coffee table.

"Tara." Willow immediately voted.

"Tara." Xander said a second later.

Buffy laughed and bowed her head at Tara, "Tara."

Tara inclined her head, "Thanks." She reached down and picked up the d6, gave it a shake and dropped it on the coffee table. "Three."

"Okay. Take a card. Role the d6 again to see how bad the witch hits you. And then role the d20 to see yaddah yaddah." Xander pointed to the cards on the table.

Tara with one hand picked up one of the purple cards. She then with the other hand rolled the d6, grabbed the d20 and then rolled that as well.

"6." Xander anounced. "The Witch hit you hard. Annnd a 2 on the d20 so we are pretty unaware of whatever change you got Tara." Xander looked up at the big girl on the couch by Willow who was staring at her purple curse card.

"What did you get?" Buffy asked.

Tara fidgetted, turned the card over in her large hand a few times and with a blush she read it slowly, sounding it out. "Fffizzy- call: Duh- uhm- b Bruh - ute."

Willow, Buffy and Xander looked up at the six foot six, wide built, thickly muscled Tara and nodded their heads. Willow leaned into her girlfriend, looping her much smaller arms around Tara's massive bicep. Buffy just shrugged. Xander gave his best friend and her big girlfriend a smile. They made a cute couple, an odd but cute couple.

"My turn." Buffy leaned in and grabbed the d6.