[His response-- all of it-- is encouraging.] No, it's okay. I know how it is to just want to run with your feelings, trust me. [She gives him a smile, maybe slight and a little melancholic, but heartfelt.] Tara would want me to be happy again, I know for sure, it's just... hard.

And we'd have a lot of things to work through, hypothetically, things I very much can't be ignoring. I start derailing perfectly normal conversations into crying jags when I ignore things, so, um. Slow is better.

Buffy almost got killed that night, actually, and Ethan's done a few other decidedly not harmless things, so I would advise strict avoidance, [she explains, shifting in place and not holding his interest against him. She knows keenly how it feels to want to meet powerful sorcerers.] On the other hand, if Giles ever shows up I'll have to introduce you. He's practically a living encyclopedia on all things occult.