Angel glanced up, a little surprised. He almost never heard of anyone doing this as a generational thing. That tended to be limited to those in the Watcher's Council for...some reason. Angel had never deeply explored their inner workings; he knew Wesley and Giles, of course, but in general he chose not to have any ties with them. They were good people with good intentions, but there was a lot they didn't seem to understand, either. After what'd happened with Faith, especially, he'd stopped trusting them much.

Brian obviously didn't fit the profile, though; Angel didn't even consider the possibility. He was clearly American, for one.

He paused, considering. "I know. Though to be honest, I've never seen salt used in place of a proper binding powder."

But if he thought about it, it wasn't completely irrational. Throwing salt over your shoulder was a common enough superstition, misconception though it was.

It still rang as a bit bizarre.