Who here knows how to build a pool table? I wouldn't normally ask but -- hey, my usual go-to guys won't do. Xander's newly gone and the other's...well. Lately, the other's been a little less woodshop and way more calculus.

[ and so -- in a whirlwind of words and calculated insouciance -- buffy's voice brashes its way onto the journals. xander's gone; anya's here; jack's...different. too different to help her on this count. but she has to behave as though none of it bothers her, for if she invites sorrow it'll never stop pouring into her bones.

shiki's gone, too. and the slayer makes a mental note about soon finding some kind of replacement tailor. thinking about it so callously is what keeps her from crying. ]

I already have designs done up. It's for the bar, so you can see it as civic duty, if you wanna.

[ speaking of the bar, buffy will be at good spirits that evening. grab her attention between beers or else catch her on patrol once her shift is done. ]