Brand
Suddenly, the skies opened and something that was burning plummted from the sky.
It hit the ground in front of the mansion, flames radiating outwards for a moment.
The crack in the firmament sealed over like nothing had happened.
The...thing...rolled over onto it's back, and then stood up. It started to laugh.
"Whoo! Take that, Ashtoreth!" The thing, which the audience, if there had been an audience watching could now see a 15 year old boy capering around in a crazy dance. "YEAH! Oh, this is FANTASTIC!" He whooped.
Faith
Faith felt something strange go through her, and felt herself be drawn to going outside. So she stood up and went outside to see a young boy, dancing around.
"Brand?"
Brand
"OH YEAH!"
Brand spun to a halt and grinned at the Slayer.
"'Lo, Faith! How's tricks, slicks and slaying?"
Faith
Faith grinned back.
"Not bad, getting married, by the way."
She paused.
"What are you doing here? Come inside."
Brand
"What am I doing here? What am I doing?" Brand bounced, then spun around again.
"Oh, I'm hyped. I'm freeeeee! WHOO! Free as da birds in da sky, Faith! Well, mostly."
He grinned at her and flicked his hair out of his face.
"Congrats. Do I need to give him, the hurt her and I'll make sure you never reach heaven talk?"
Faith
Faith grinned again and moved to hug him tightly.
"No, but thanks anyway, kid."
She led him into the mansion.
"Anyway, welcome to Mutant high... and Earth..."
Octavian
"Trees, Faith, trees! Sky!"
Brand was waaaaaaaay hyper.
"People! WHOO!"
He laughed in delight and spun around again.
"Ok, what is he on and how do I get some?" Octavian drawled, lifting an eyebrow.
Dawn
DAwn walked out to see a very hyper teenage boy. She suddenly felt drawn to him.
"I---I know you."
Octavian
"Eeeeek! Faith, save me!" Brand clung to the dark haired Slayer.
Octavian chuckled.
"Another fan, Dawn."
"Faith! Not saving here! I did not manage to fool Ba'al into letting me go to go to hell! Again! Saving me now!"
Faith
Faith put her arms around Brand and raised an eyebrow at Dawn.
"I suggest you go elsewhere..."
Faith looked down at the quivering 15 year old.
"It's ok, Brand, ok..."
Dawn
"Who are you? You feel like family. Do I know you?" she asked Brand. She looked at Octavian.
"Do I know him?"
Octavian
"No! Really not cool, and running away now!" Brand insisted.
Octavian looked at Faith, and raised an eyebrow slightly.
Faith
Faith held on tightly to Brand.
"He's not your family," she said to Dawn, then started to walk away. "Come on, we'll get you a room."
Brand
"Goooood Slayer," Brand said thankfully.
"So..house. Nice house. Nicer then Ashtoreth's temple or the globe-y tihng she put me in."
He looked around.
Faith
"I don't know what rooms we have free... but there is a spare bed in my room. That is, if you can handle staying in my room for a bit."
Faith led him down the corridor to her room.
Dawn
"Is it glamours then?" Dawn wondered. She wondered if Januzs could explain it, she decided to go up to her room and meditate for a while.
Octavian
Octavian shook his head slightly and raised his eyes heavenward.
"Stupid girl. Obviously, if someone doesn't like her, it's a glamour..."
Still shaking his head, Octavian headed to a practice of his and Vortigern's lines for the musical.
Brand looked at Faith, grinned, then hugged her hard.
"You SAVED me! I love you! Sure, sounds cool."
Faith
Faith grinned.
"Hey, it's my job, keeping your ass safe, remember?"
She opened the door and pointed to the spare bed.
"Do you want food or anything?"
Brand
"FOOD!"
Brand jumped on the bed and bounced, grinning at Faith.
"Do you know how cool it is having a body? No, I don't think you do. It's FANTASTIC!"
Faith
Faith chuckled.
"Well, seeing as I've always had a body... I can't say I know what it's like to not have one."
She wrinkled her nose.
"That didn't make sense. Come on, let's go get you some food."
Brand
"Cool!"
Brand bounced up and hugged Faith again, laughing for the sheer joy of it.
"This is...oh, it's so good! I'm NEVER going back!"
Faith
Faith laughed and hugged Brand back.
"Good, I'm not letting you go, little one."
She led him out to the caf.
Demetria and Octavian
"Not so little," Brand said, pouting slightly.
"Faith!" Demetria waved from a table. "How are you doing?"
"And that's the boy who confused precious Dawn ever so much," Octavian said.
"Oh! Then we simply must make him welcome," Demetria said with a laugh.
"Anyone who manages to disconcert Dawn in anyway has our blessing," Octavian said drolly.
Faith
Faith smiled and led Brand over to the table.
"Hey all, this is Brand."
She looked at him and ruffled his hair affectionately.
"And little."
Demetria
Brand moved his head from under her hand and pouted slightly.
"I'm not."
Demetria giggled.
"Hello, Brand. My name is Demetria, and this is my twin brother Octavian."
"Pleased to meet you," Brand said politely.
Faith
Faith grinned.
"Anyway, sit down, Brand, and I'll get you something to eat."
She looked at Octavian and Demetria.
"Make sure he doesn't cause trouble... and don't let him talk you into anything."
Demetria and Octavian
"If I can resist my brother, I'm sure I can resist him," Demetria said dryly.
"Come, sit down, Brand."
"Promise we won't corrupt him. Well, not yet." Octavian smiled mischeiviously.
Brand laughed as he sat down next to Demetria.
"We'll be good, Faith."
But the gleam in their blue eyes promised otherwise.
Faith
Faith looked at Brand.
"Need I mention Ashtoreth?"
She raised an eyebrow, and grabbed a snadwich and a bottle of orange juice and set it in front of Brand.
Demetria
Brand stuck his tongue out at her, then studied the food carefully.
He tried some gingerly, then commenced to wolf it down.
"So, Faith...while Brand devours that sandwich, where exactly does he come from and who is he?" Demetria asked.
Brand rolled his eyes and shrugged slightly, before returning his attention to the important things.
Faith
"Well..."
Faith sat down at the table.
"Where he's from exactly, I don't know. But he's... he's Dawn's opposite."
Demetria and Octavian
Demetria and Octavian looked at each other, then at Brand.
"How interesting," Demetria said.
"Quite."
"I open heaven," Brand explained.
"She opens hell. I've spent the last millenia or so of my existence *in* a hell dimension. She got the cushy home."
He pouted.
"Ashtoreth is no fun, you know?"
Faith
"Which is why we keep you safe here."
Faith rolled her eyes.
"Speaking of which, it was Dawn's birthday yesterday. Did you see B came back? Ugh."
She sighed.
"Once you die, you stay dead. That's my theory."
Vortigern and Octavian
"Far be it for the high and mighty Buffy Summers to accede to the rules that accompany normal people," Vortigern said dryly.
"Ooh, someone's still in a pissy mood," Octavian commented.
"Wouldn't you be?" Vortigern snapped. "Spike is still shaking. Bloody Dawn and her own bloody selfishness. She gave *no* consideration to how this could affect other people."
"So, my intial horror and revulsion of her, wasn't just because she could send me back to the place of my worst nightmares with a drop of blood?" Brand asked.
"Oh, there's the part where she's a self righteous moralistic bitch as well," Octavian nearly spat.
Faith
Faith grinned.
"So we're all in agreement? The Summers's equal badness?"
Demetria and Vortigern
"Yes, darrrrling." Demetria nodded firmly.
"I admit at the beginning, I was for Dawn. Since she saved my life and all. But she's behaved like an utter bitch since, and all she seems to bring me and Spike is trouble," Vortigern said bitterly.
Faith
"She's a Summers. All they bring anyone is trouble."
Faith rolled her eyes.
"Should've killed her when I had the chance."
Vortigern
"Can we kill her?" Brand asked in interest. "That would be cool."
"We want to, but we'd get into a lot of trouble," Vortigern explained.
"Other people don't see the nesscity behind Dawn's destruction like we do."
Faith
Faith chuckled and ruffled Brand's hair again.
"No killing. You're meant to be blending in, remember?"
Demetria and Spike
Brand sighed, and pouted at her.
"Looks almost like your pout, Tavvie," Demetria mumured.
"I wonder what it's like to die..." Brand mused suddenly. "I've never done it."
"Trust me, it hurts," Spike said as he came up behind Vortigern. He kissed the side of his lover's throat and wrapped his arms around the teen's waist and rested his head on his shoulder.
Faith
Faith's eyes were filled with warning.
"Brand... behave yourself. Don't do anything that will draw her down to you."
She shook her head.
"She will be infuriated when she finds you gone anyway."
Spike
Brand giggled and got a lighter out of his pocket.
He started flicking the flame on and off.
"I know."
"Who's this then?" Spike asked.
"I'm Brand. Also known as the Firefly key. Nice to make your acquantice."
Spike nodded slightly.
Faith
Faith grinned and took the lighter from Brand.
"Brand," she said in warning.
Brand
"My lighter! Mine! Pretty fire!" Brand whined slightly.
Faith
Faith handed it back.
"Be careful, ok?"
Spike
Brand chuckled and started flicking the flame on and off again.
"Don't worry, I'll keep it far from the vampire. And I'm *always* careful, Faith."
Spike edged away carefully.
Faith
"Somehow, I don't believe you," Faith said dryly.
She patted his head.
"You still hungry?"
Brand
"Yes!" Brand nodded eagerly.
"Food is good. Having a body is good! It's all good, all the time!"
Faith
Faith rolled her eyes good naturedly, and got up to get more food. She brought him back another juice and sandwich.
"Yes, it's all wonderful."
Demetria
"Compared to being a red floating ball of energy in a magic crystal glass-y globe-y thing, it's fantastic!"
Brand bounced in his seat, then settled to devouring the sandwich.
"This is really good..."
"Don't talk with your mouth full," Demetria reprimanded him gently.
Brand swallowed.
"'K."
Faith
"He's impossible."
Faith looked up.
"Why did I get the task of looking after a fifteen year old boy?"
Spike
"Think of it as your redemption," Spike said with a bit of a snarky grin.
Brand turned injured eyes on Faith.
"You don't want me?"
Faith
"Of course I do," Faith said, kissing his head. "I'm just thankful that my redemption wasn't looking after Dawn."
She shuddered.
"If that had been my task, I would've killed myself."
Brand
All the people who knew Dawn, chuckled.
Brand looked slightly confused, but grinned at Faith.
"And I'm just so much cuter then she is too."
Faith
Faith grinned.
"Yes you are. But you're not annoying. She is."
She poked him in the side.
"And you also open the gates to heaven, not to hell."
Octavian
"Yeah, just all around better."
Octavian laughed.
"I can see he's going to get along just *fine*."
Faith
Faith grinned.
"Well that's good, you've made friends, little one."
"Not little," Brand said stubbornly.
"Course not."