Priss/Nyx/Sabre
Priss scribed elegant letters of farewell over the paper, ballpoint pen letting down the fine quality of her penmanship.
Nyx and Sabre, By the time you read this, I will have left these demesenes. I have never cared for long goodbyes, and you have not either, my sibs. So, I leave when there is none to see me, and only Drusilla to bid me farewell. She saw me leaving, last night she told me what she foreseen and I decided to fulfill her prophecy. I wilt meet you all at the tournament. Please give Dawn my sincerest apologies. I had to look through her belongings to find the infomation I needed. My thanks to the Kents can be found in this purse I wilt leave with this note. Make sure they recieve all of it, my less then honourable litter mates. My thanks to Dawn however, can not be covered by gifts of lucre. I have set seals of protection over her and Amanda, and am going to Sunnydale to do the same for her family and friends. After that, I know not where I will head. Perhaps to Los Angeles and Angelus, but William can rest assured that I wilt not breathe a word of either him or his princess. If Angelus asks, I will tell him that those two do yet walk the earth, but that is all I wilt say and only if he asks. Give my goodwishes and thanks to all who have lived in this house and sheltered me in my hour of need.
Priss.
Priss sighed and rubbed her head tiredly before placing the heavy leather pouch on top of the faintly lined paper. One last glance behind her and then she disappeared in a flare of white light, knowing her sibs could not track her this way.
~*~*~*~
"Priss!" Nyx called out as she and the others walked into the house after picking Dawn and the teens up from school. "Priss?" Sabre walked into the room from the kitchen looking grim. "What?" But Nyx already knew.
"She's gone. And she left this for ye." Sabre gave the brown bag to Mr Kent. "It is her thanks." Sabre handed the note over to Nyx, who was silently weeping. "Careful not to get your tears on it."
"Shut up, Sabby," Nyx snapped. "I may be sad but I'm not stupid." She quickly scanned the letter before shooting a savage grin at the shocked looking Dawn. "We better give your sis a heads up. Priss is going there."
Priss
A flare of brilliant white light erupted on the lawn of the Slayer's house. Priss had her head flung back and her body in the crucifix position as unfelt winds wafted her fine white hair about her face. It had rapidly regrown under her coaxing to its usual long length. Her head snapped up and she took one step down to the earth, banishing the light and feeling the earth hum with the power she'd drawn through it. She smiled gently as she wafted along the surface of the earth, reaching the door and raising one hand to knock and then it opened and she was greeted by a dark haired woman holding a stake. A Slayer, but not, she thought, Buffy Summers.
"Greetings and peace unto thee, Warrior of Light. I be Priss." Priss's smile grew wider. This woman reminded her of Nyx. "I mean no harm, indeed, I have come to perform for thee and thine a great service." Priss kept her eyes trained on the Slayer's face, knowing that the mismatched eyes usually caused some confusion among those she stared at so. "Prithee, Warrior. I mean no harmful intent to thee, or thy charges."
Faith
Faith cautiously lowered her stake and stepped away from the door, opening it slightly, allowing Priss to enter. Once she'd entered and Faith had closed the door, she pulled a knife out of her back pocket.
"Well, I don't think you're a vampire, and it's not that I don't trust you... well, it's partly that, but just answer me this, who the hell are you and why are you here?"
Priss
"Oh, now much do thee remind me of my sister. She will be wroth when she discovers my leaving. But that be half the fun! Put away thy weapon, Slayer. I mean thee no harm, but then thy nature wilt not let thee trust fully. I can sense it now..." Priss stepped closer, eyes half closed in concentration. "A dark thread run throughs thee. A life hast thee taken when thee should have protected. Forgiven, thou art. The Powers That Be can do for thee no less. Their beloved Warror of Light, art thou. Trust me in this, if thee trust me in no other thing. Believe me this." She lifted a hand to Faith's cheek and touched her gently. "Thou art loved and beloved, Slayer. Know this, and be thou comforted."
Faith
Faith flinched when she heard Priss mention what she'd done. She slowly put her knife aside, still feeling the warm spot on her face where she had been touched.
"Does Buffy know about you?" Faith spoke softly, feelig a new clamness run through her veins. "I'm not trying to be rude... it's just... well I haven't been here for awhile, and no one has given me heads up yet."
Priss
"She hast met my sister, Nyx. Nyx and Sabre be gaurdians of the Key, she who you call Dawn. They be staying with her for the nonce, protecting her with Nyx's magick and Sabre's blood. They all be well, they who thy sister Slayer sent away into hiding." Priss closed her eyes for a moment in pain, and swayed unsteadily on her feet. "The translocation hast taken more from me then I thought. Forgive me. I am not yet full recovered from my ordeal at the hands of some humans...they dressed in whites and military greens and they were most foul and obscene. I can still hear the screams, hear my own pain ringing through the glass halls. Please, forgive me my weakness." Priss put a hand against a wall, and bowed her head as she tried to control her breathing. Oh, but she should have waited until she was a little better. Her other hand massaged the base of her skull where Nyx had drawn the metal out of her head. It was most painful just there. "It will pass soon."
Faith
"Ahh, I'm gonna take a not so large leap and guess you had an encounter with the Initiative. Been there and almost done that. Look, why don't you rest awhile, and I'll call Buffy, or Willow, or someone, and then we can go from there."
Faith smiled at Priss and motioned for her to sit down on the couch in the lounge room. She walked over to the phone, found Buffy's cell number on the pad next to it, dialed and got her voicemail.
"B, it's Faith, look, we may or may not have a situation here. Someone named Priss is here... the potentials are alright, I've got them training downstairs, Willow is with them, but I just thought I'd let ya know. Come home when you can."
Faith put down the phone and walked into the kitchen, opened the basement door and called down to Willow.
"Willow, someone named Priss is here, says she's Nyx's sister. Doesn't mean much to me, but hopefully you know what the hell is going on."
Priss
Priss curled up on the couch, breathing hard. Oh, it hurt so much. Willow, Willow was the witch. "Please..." Priss wet her lips as her slight whisper went unnoticed by the Slayer. "Please, can I have some water?" She closed her eyes again. It hadn't hurt so much for a day. Must have been the magick. "I hate this. I should not be exhausted after one spelled leap. Damn them. But then again, my mother has their souls now, so they are truly damned." Priss felt a vindictive smile spread across her face. "And my sibs made them burn. Ah, I should not hate so much or so bitterly." She pressed a hand to the back of her head again, starting to fade out of it as the pain increased. "It hurts..." Her voice was very quiet.
Faith and Willow
With her Slayer senses, hearing Priss's pained whisper was not a problem for Faith. She quickly poured a glass of water and headed back into the lounge room, Willow at her heels.
"Priss? I'm Willow, I've met Nyx... is there anything we can do for you?" Willow bent down close to Priss, reaching out to touch her hand.
"I'm going to try Buffy again." Faith headed for the phone, nearly jumping out of her skin when it started ringing.
"Hello... B... yeah... ok... see you soon." Faith put down the phone and turned to the other two girls in the room.
"She's on her way."
Willow and Faith
Willow studied Priss intently, trying to guess her thoughts.
"But Spike has had some trouble with his soul, he has a trigger... it's deactivated at the moment... I just... we had always left the chip in for safety reasons, although Buffy always trusted Spike, and no one knows why, but she has a good heart I guess and - "
Willow was cut short by Faith putting her hand on her arm.
"Red, chill. We'll work this out. We should call Angel and give him heads up later. I'll do that when B gets here. In the meantime, I guess we should just wait? I'm gonna go down and help the potentials train."
Faith turned and left the room briskly, leaving Willow staring disbelievingly out the window.
"What are we going to do?"
Priss
"Angel? Thou meanest Angelus truly?" Priss smiled widely and bounced slightly, clapping her hands. "Oh, too long since we last met, he and I. There is a Warrior for the Light, as he fights for his redemption. When was it? Oh, so long, so long. Twould be a hundred years at least. Still, he was slightly mad at the time but we did have some interesting talks...about morality and ethics, light and dark. Quite fascinating. He wast always a little biased, methinks. Where is he? Dost he live nearby? Oh, nay, I cannot talk to him of William. They both hurt too much." Priss stared at Willow with her old eyes in her young face. "William wast always Nyx's friend, as Drusilla and Sabre quite enjoyed each other's company. Angelus and I have an understanding, methinks thee could say. Ah, I babble on. Forgive me."
"Uh, Angel's living in LA at the moment...he runs a detective agency. Angel Investigations, they help the hopeless." Willow blinked as she tried to assimilate all the infomation.
"Then he is quite settled, and probably as content as he will allow himself to be." Priss nodded firmly, then rose to her feet, smoothing out her robes. "Being an Irish Catholic, he wilt never allow himself to be too comfortable with his soul. And then, you have here all the Potentials for the Slayer. May the day not come when they are called. Amanda is fine, and so is Dawn. They both miss the girls here very much. Despite Dawn claiming she wanted to murder them all in their sleep." Priss laughed lightly, and Willow hesitantly grinned. "Come, witch. No wonder Nyx is so enamoured of thee," Priss said under her breath as she walked unsteadily to where Faith had disappeared. "Ah. Greetings, young ones. How goest thy training? Well, I would hope." Priss leant on the banister, smiling.
Faith, Willow and Angel
Faith stopped mid punch and spun around to see Priss and Willow. She smiled slowly as she watched the potentials freeze in action and stare open mouthed at the girl standing above them.
"Potentials, meet Priss. She won't hurt you." Willow stepped down the stairs and stood in the middle of the basement, motioning for Priss to join her.
"Back to work, come on guys!" Faith delivered her final punch to the dummy that Xander had made years ago and stretched her arms above her head.
"They're a little shy about meeting new people... it's all very scary for them." Willow looked at Priss, feeling the need to explain the shocked looks of the potentials. She opened her mouth to say more when the phone rang from upstairs and she rushed off to answer it. She appeared seconds later with the phone in her hand and Buffy behind her.
"Faith, it's Angel."
Faith moved forward to retrieve the phone, ignoring Buffy's look. Buffy stepped down the stairs and looked Priss up and down.
"So... you're Priss."
Priss
Priss sneezed and backed away. "Oh my goodness me. No, please, just let me catch my breath. Oh dear. Nyx did not say that the scent was that offputting." Priss retreated down the stairs away from Buffy, still sneezing spasmodically. "Oh my Eternal Mother. She did say that thee had died...twice. But, oh my word." Buffy was looking more then slightly pissed. "Please, forgive me, Slayer. Just...stay away for the nonce. Please?" Then her mind backed up. "Angelus? You have Angelus on that infernal contraption? Tell him that Priscilla says greetings. He may remember...or may not, seeing as he was still trying to adjust to his soul at that point in time. Dear, dear. Such a lovely boy, but so infernally guilt ridden and *Catholic*." Priss loaded the word with disgust. "Not that I have a thing against them, not like Nyx does, but they take everything so seriously. Greetings, ladies." Priss halted her babble and dipped a curtsey to the Potentials. They gaped.
"Um, hello?" Priss nearly squealed with delight as one of them answered her.
"Good even, and hail well met." Priss giggled suddenly, eyes flashing with impish delight. "Oh, but Nyx told me of thee well. No wonder she feels so strong about all of thee. Although the Slayer, the one with the gold hair, she did not like quite so much. But from what Dawn told me, the feeling was quite mutual. Ah, precious child that she is. Well, then. I had best get to work." Priss rubbed her hands over her face for a moment. "Maybe when my headache goes away. Damned humans. Putting that vile obscenity of a chip in my head, taking away mine own magick. Curses on the whole plagued lot of them!" Priss tossed her head back in a spray of white hair. "If I cannot forgive, then I had best forget."
"Well, you certainly don't sound like Nyx. She would have been on the whole dire vengeance trip about now." Willow said softly.
"She's already done that. With my other littermate, Sabre. They're looking after the Slayer in potentia and the Key. Goddess, but that child is like a light of magick." Priss shook her head hard. "Easy to see why my sister is so infatuated, my brother too for that matter. Rest easy, Slayer," Priss said warningly as Buffy took a step forward. "She is quite happy with this boy named Clark Kent, who is very normal. Except for his unsettling smell of lightening...but his parents are human and normal. William is taking quite good care of his little bit. Drusilla is loving her sparkly girl and her shiny girl, her babies as she calls them. Which is amusing in itself." Priss's shoulders shook with laughter.
Faith
Buffy's nostrils flared slightly when Faith returned down to the basement.
"Angel tells me that Wes found something in his books on our impending apocalypse. Could be useful, so he's sending it over for Giles to translate the parts Wes couldn't."
Buffy nodded stiffly and Faith rolled her eyes, pushed past Buffy and moved over to the punching bag.
"When are Dawnie and the others getting back, Buffy?" Willow turned to her best friend, a questioning look in her eyes.
"Whenever it's safe. Priss, would you like to stay awhile?" Buffy said through clenched teeth.
Priss
"I'll not stay for more then a day, most like, Slayer. I have my spells to set, to protect thee and thy charges, and then I wilt leave. It takes not even a cat's nose to tell thee dislike me and my sibs. Pity that." Priss looked away then looked up at Faith. "Have faith, Slayer. The First is what it be, but there is always hope. Ay, there is always that. And with these whom thee calls potentials, there is more then even that. There is certainty." Priss sat down abruptly and hid her head in her arms. "Goddess."
"Are you alright, Priss?" Willow called out worriedly.
"I thank thee for thy concern, Wicca. It does suit you well." Priss bent her head as if listening, and smiled. "I will tell her then. Ay. Of course, could thou think otherwise? No, I see." Priss carried on a conversation with the empty looking air. "She says to say she loves you, she does not blame thee for her death, and that she watches you." Priss stood up unsteadily and made her way to Willow, who was gaping at her.
"Her, who?"
"She says her name be Tara." Willow burst into tears. "Ah, shh, love." Priss enfolded the sobbing witch in her arms and rocked gently. "Do not weep for her. She is in a better place. Shh, Wicca. Ah, cry it out now, cry and let all the pain in thy heart out. Shh, shh. Oh, I should not have spoken, but she loves thee so. She wanted thee to know that she was still here at times. She loves thee, do not doubt it."
Faith
Willow's tears rolled down her cheeks, tears she had not dared to let herself cry for months, and as Priss held her, she finally felt release within herself. As though her tears were almost washing away her pain.
Buffy glared angrily at Priss for making Willow cry, and started over to say something, but Faith shot her a warning look and roundhouse kicked the punching bag so hard, it fell off the attachment on the ceiling. Buffy seemed to get the message and she stayed in the one spot, but still glared at Priss.
Willow pulled away from Priss after awhile and gave a tiny smile through her tears. "I'm sorry, I don't know what just happened. I'm just going to go upstairs and wash my face." She ran up the stairs quickly, not looking behind her.
Faith retrieved the punching bag from the ground and hooked it back on the ceiling. "So, we patrolling or what?"
Priss
"Rest easy, Slayer. I'd not hurt her for the world and all its magick. My Nyx quite admires the Wicca, and if not for my sister, I still would not hurt her. Sometimes, to heal one must lance the wound and let it drain." Priss was feeling rather irritated at the Slayer. "Nyx told me thee did think quite in the shades of black and white. Why, therefore thee slept with Angelus, I wilt never understand." Turning her back on Buffy, Priss looked at Faith. "We do go hunting then? It hast been long since I ran in a hunt with a Slayer. It was such utter delight...she was so fast, and then, she slowed. Lost. And I rather violently avenged her death. Do not be fooled, Slayer, by my young appearance." Priss swung back to face Buffy, and stalked towards her. "I have lived longer then thee ever will, and mine eyes have seen what would drive thee mad. Blood have I shed, and flames have I danced through. Lives have I saved, on the Light I dwell. My sister and brother may be of the Middle Path, but I at least have ascended."
"Ascended? To what?" Buffy sneered, but almsot not quite backing down.
"Ascended to a higher path. I walk the road least travelled, alongside Angelus, and now William. Redemption and deliverance. Your Watcher wilt more like heard of me then my sibs. I be the Weary Traveller. I walk and fight for the Powers That Be. As do you, as do these kittens, as does she." Priss nodded at Faith, then backflipped to land neatly at Faith's side in flurry of white robes. "No matter her past, if thee can forgive Angelus for his century and more of slaughter, thee can forgive her the one slip." Priss placed a hand on Faith's arm and stared up at Buffy.
"You weren't here! You don't know what happened."
"I do not need to. I see her heart, and it is pained with sorrow. She is stronger in her spirit then thee would think." Priss felt the hair on her neck bristle in protectiveness. This one, she could maybe save. This one, she could perhaps heal. "Mayhap, I will stay for her. Mayhap, I wilt continue to annoy thee, Slayer and upset thee most mightily. I think that twould please me to make thee fume." Priss smiled sweetly at Buffy. "Shall we hunt? The hunt be fun, if shared with true companions." She turned to Faith, and put on an innocent expression, widening her eyes.
Faith and Willow
Faith smiled. "Come on then, let's mount up. I've been itchin to kill some bad guys for awhile now."
Willow let out a giggle. "The time we spent with Angel just wasn't enough, was it?"
"Hell no. A slayer's gotta have more than that, ya know."
Buffy coughed loudly and all eyes turned to see a furious look etched across her features. "What about the potentials? I don't think they're ready to go out again."
"B, think about it, they're coming out with two full slayers, one mega powerful witch and Priss. Come on, look at her, she's pretty spry and she knows how to hunt, PLUS these guys are slayers in waiting... meaning they're alright, they can look after themselves. Plus who's gonna mess with me and you, girlfriend?" Faith reasoned, her eyes glinting in victory, knowing Buffy couldn't argue against her this time.
"Fine, let's go." Buffy sighed in resignation and grabbed a stake from the weapons chest.
Priss
"Usually, I rely on my natural weapons, but methinks a stake be more in order." Priss flipped a stake into her hand. "Tonight, I feel more like running and hunting, rather then using magick." She also grabbed a dagger from the table and slit down the sides of her robes. "That be better, for fighting." She slid the dagger into the sleeve of her robe, frowned, and then took another stake. "I'll not trust my memory of archery this night. A bow needs a steady hand and skill, and seeing as how I've not let fly with an arrow for over a hundred years, I think I wilt be content with a stake. It's just so timeless, somehow." Priss resisted the urge to start purring.
"Well, as long as you don't eat mice like Nyx did, I think we'll be fine," Buffy sighed. Priss looked at Buffy, and started to laugh.
"Oh, she didn't, did she? She did, I can see by thy eyes. Maverick is she well named as. Nay, Slayer, I prefer my meat cooked and on a plate then live and wriggling. That was always Nyx and Sabre's preference, not mine." Priss shook her head and giggled. "She must have been quite annoyed at thee. She usually keeps her hunting private. Now, do we go?"
Dawn
Dawn looked up. "She did that for me? Protected me like that? I barely know her. I can't believe how generous, kind, trusting, and loving your family is." Dawn had to sit down quickly, as did Amanda.
Faith
Faith practically pushed everyone out of the house in her anticipation to start hunting again, and groaned when Buffy turned back to lock the door.
"Restless?" Willow raised her eyebrows in amusement as she look over at Faith.
"Maybe just a little, I really want to get back out there." Faith walked ahead to catch up to Priss, flashing Willow a smile as she passed.
"Hey girlfriend, I'm getting a bit antsy. Feel up for some running?" Faith grinned mischieveously at Priss.
Priss
"Can thee catch me, thou art welcome! Come, Warrior, let us hunt the night out, as our prey dost run from us in fear. Can thee not sense them? The scent of blood spilled on the air..." Priss turned slowly in a circle, nostrils flared and then cried out in excitement. "Vampyre! Come, Slayer! It hunts! The demon dost howl, and we be called to the reckoning of its night." She set off, making her run seem like a dance as she flowed over the surface of the earth at speed, white hair streaming out behind her.
Faith
Faith paused for a second before charging after Priss, running easily over the distance, her feet barely skimming the ground. She stopped short, sensing something to her left and ran off into that direction, seeing Priss still ahead of her by two metres. She quickly sped up and caught up to Priss, her hands reaching into her back pocket for her stake.
"What do you say, I'm dying for a fight. Shall we?" Faith whispered in excitement, feeling her hands start to tingle in anticipation. She wanted the vampire to appear, she wanted to fight it, she wanted to kill it, she wanted to win.
Priss
"Ay, there be more then one. Five, I dost scent. That be naught for such as we," Priss murmured back, gleedul smile spreading over her face. It had been too long since she had run with a Slayer. Priss stepped away from Faith, and screamed loudly as if in fear. The vampires broke cover, and she flipped the stakes into her hand. "Come, blood drinkers, the Weary Traveller stands for thee!" They were game faced and snarling as she suddenly ran towards one, stake slipping easily into its heart and turning it into an explosion of dust. Turning quickly, dagger glinting in her hand, she hamstrung another and it fell forward with a shriek. "Come, Slayer! These be fledges and weak indeed!"
Faith
Faith was almost squealing in delight as she stood in the middle of two vampires, both drooling at her. She grinned and punched the one on her left before ducking and staking the one on her right.
"You're lucky day, love, you get to fight with a slayer." She watched the vampires eyes widen, and she kicked his legs out from under him, before pulling him up and bending his arm back before she heard a sickening crack. Faith looked over at Priss, who was fighting well and she was almost amazed at the skill and strength of this tiny looking girl. She returned her gaze back to the vampire, swaggering in front of her when she heard her name being screamed by no doubtedly, Buffy.
"Ha, luckier still, B needs help, so I'm just gonna kill ya." Faith staked the vampire and turned to Priss, who was still battling.
"Priss, we gotta motor, B's in trouble." Faith jerked her head in the direction from which she heard the scream.
Priss
Priss sighed, and stopped playing. "Be aflame." The remaining vampires burst into flames, and screamed for a moment befire the fire reached their hearts and they exploded. "She be not quite the Warrior thee be, methinks. Oldest Slayer perhaps, but she dost not understand the darkness she walks through." Priss shook her head disapprovingly. "Ah, well. We best be going to her aid then." Priss started to run towards the scream.
Faith
Faith nodded in appreciation. "Whoa, cool flame thingo."
She scampered after Priss, thinking there was probably nothing, Buffy just wanted everyone's attention. Once she'd reached the clearing she saw Willow struggling for breath.
"What happened here?" Faith asked.
"Uber vamp. Willow managed to keep it away with a spell, but it ran off as soon as I called for you." Buffy put her hands on her hips.
"You've fought one before and won, though, so this shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"Thing is, I don't know how many there are. Look, it's best if we stick together tonight."
"Yeah, Red, you alright? And Priss, are you ok with staying together tonight?" Faith adjusted her jacket and nodded at Priss.
Priss and Willow
"I be fine with that. I wilt not leave until my sealed protection lies over those my Nyx cares for. And thee, Slayer. I am sure she would love to meet thee, thou art precisely her ideal of a good warrior and friend." Priss made sure Faith felt included, there were threads here she did not quite understand, but the dark Slayer did not fit with these others.
"Oh yeah, what was it Dawn said? She said she'd like to lock Faith and Nyx in a padded room and see who came out with the fewest bruises," Buffy recounted snidely. Priss raised an eyebrow at her.
"Dost thou not think thy childish ways may bring thee into danger? Learn to leave emotion behind when thee fights, otherwise it wilt drag thee down. Thy quest be true, but thee can put it into danger with naught but one slip of thy tongue. Thy friends are what keep thee alive, they make thee keep on living. Lose them, and thee loses thy reason to live. Truly, thou art a most tiresome child at times Slayer. I wonder that thy Watcher hast not made thee grow up." Buffy reddened with anger under Priss's calm tongue lashing. The blonde Slayer clenched her fist around her stake. "I would not advise that course of action, miss. Unless thee wants thy knuckles rapped quite severely."
"Whoa, calm down, everyone." Willow jumped in to spread the proverbial oil. "Buffy, stop. If she's as old as Nyx, then you are a child to her. She's lived thousands of years. Priss, please. Just try to get along?"
"I am not the one with a grievance to air, Wicca. That be thy Slayer. Methinks she would rather fight my sister, but I be here and ready. I do not wish to fight her, but if that be all she can understand, I will." Priss turned her back on the Slayer and walked off. "I be going hunting. I wilt not stay with someone who radiates such distrust. But I wilt watch. I wilt gaurd thy backs. Thou shalt not see me, but I wilt be there. And it be not for thee, it be for the Warrior and the Sunrise. Thou I wouldst leave happily if the Powers That Be did not wish thy continued existence. " Priss cloaked herself in darkness and hovered on the outskirts of the group.
"Oh, dear," Willow said softly. "That did not go well, at all."
"Wills, can you find her?" Priss hastily drew in her magick, making herself invisible to even the most tuned magick seekers. This witch be strong. Buffy tapped her fingers against her arm, one hand still holding a stake.
Faith
Faith felt warm inside after hearing Priss defend her. It was not a new feeling, Angel had made her feel like her life was worth living, but it was nice to feel it again. She caught Buffy staring daggers at her and she took a deep breath, determined not to start a fight, not that she could avoid it in this case.
"Don't be so pleased with yourself, Faith, just because you had Priss here to protect you from me." Buffy smirked.
"Give me a break, B, I could've kicked your ass so many times already, yet I didn't. So why don't you listen to Priss, and get over yourself. You have no right to judge me, sure I did some bad things, but I've also done a lot to redeem that... I'm not saying that I'm perfect now, but god! I'm trying, don't you see that?" Faith fell silent quickly, angry that she had let Buffy trick her into an argument.
"Some bad things? You killed two people, I think that givesme every right to judge you!"
Willow gasped, suddenly picturing Warren in her head, and finding herself becoming angry at Buffy. She jumped to Faith's defence. "And what about me? I killed someone in cold blood, no different to Faith, what, do you judge me now? Coz I wigged and tried to end the world. Buffy, give her a break for once."
Buffy seethed silently, unable to say anything, too hurt by Willow's defence of Faith, and moved ahead quickly, leaving the rest of them to catch up.
Faith smiled at Willow. "Thanks." They walked side by side, a new bond now formed between them. Faith stopped suddenly, straining her eyes and ears for the movement she thought she'd seen.
"Priss, do you hear?"
Priss
"Ay, I hear thee, Slayer." Priss knew her materilazation out of the darkness would startle Faith, so was prepared for the hastily raised stake. Priss merely dodged, then put a hand on Faith's. "What Angelus saw in her, methinks I wilt never understand." Priss shook her head. "Dost it make thee feel better in thyself knowing that thou art not the only one to slip and fall? My thanks, Wicca. I did hear the chaos thee caused in their pain. Ending the world to be stopped by love? I felt that, ripples through the earth."
"You felt that? Nyx didn't mention it." Willow's eyes were wide.
"Nyx dost not pay as much attention as I to the magick. And ending the world? Thee hast heard of Atlantis, surely? That was Nyx's fault. She threw the biggest tantrum I have ever seen. Methinks there is not much either one of thee could do to top that." Priss laughed and tossed her head. "Now, *that* was some repair job. Mother made her clean it up. All though, that ne'er did remake the land and its peoples."
Faith
Faith silently thanked Priss, hoping she would be heard. Something inside of her wouldn't let her say it out loud. She heard a rustle of a branch, and called for Buffy, before diving into the bush to come face to face with 3 uber vamps.
"Oh holy... what the hell are you? Priss! Buffy!" Faith cried, charging in, not sparing the time to look back and see if Priss and Buffy were actually coming, but all the while, praying they were. She launched into attack mode straight away, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Priss and Buffy.
"They don't dust from stakes, you have to cut their heads off!" Buffy cried out, struggling to pull her knife out.
Faith looked around helplessly, not finding her knife, but fighting as best as she could, hoping she'd find something else to use. After all, a slayer was resourceful, but that could only go so far. She silently prayed that Priss had another knife.
Priss
Priss' eyes widened, and then she started to sing in a clear high voice. "Beloved, oh beloved, come to me, pulse of my heart..." She backed off, crooning the words and the ubervamps swivelled their heads and started after her. "Come, for the love of thy life is pining, come, for the pulse of thy heart is dying, pulse of my heart, do not leave me all alone..." Step, step, step, backwards, away from the Potentials, away from the others. "Come, pulse of my heart, my beloved, we be free under the starlight, come, as long as thee dost not leave me all alone, we be free..." Priss sang on as she enticed them away, then turned and ran. The ubervamps headed after her. "Osiris, Keeper of the Dead and of the Western Bank! Claim thee then, thy unruly children!" Priss spun in a haze of white light, that grew rapidly and an eerie wind began to keen. A pinprick of pure white light formed, and then widened, trapping the ubervamps within it.
"Bakhtaten." A resonating bass voice came from the light.
"Osiris." Priss curtseyed.
"I will take them."
"Give my mother my greetings."
"That I will. Give the Slayers my greetings. There is worse to come."
"Don't I know it. Take them then."
"The First is testing the boundaries. These were meant to have gone from the earth forever. They were not meant to return. Farewell, niece."
"Fare thee well, uncle." Priss curtseyed again, and the light vanished, taking the ubervamps with it. They screamed for one moment, before the sound was cut off. Priss swayed for an instant, then toppled to the ground in a dead faint, hitting the ground hard.
Faith
"PRISS!" Faith screamed, running to her side and moving her hair off her face. She was lying immobile. Faith carefully lifted her up easily, and returned to where the others were waiting.
"I think we should get her home. Or I'll take her if you need to patrol more, B."
Buffy grimaced. "No, we'll go home, I think we've had more than enough excitement. Do you need a hand?"
"No, I'm alright."
They travelled in complete silence, broken only by Priss' laboured breathing. Buffy unlocked the door to her house and hastily ushered everyone inside. Faith half ran to the couch and carefully lay Priss upon it. She turned to Willow.
"Is there anything you can do to help her?"
"She's used her energy up in magicks, I think. If she's still out by tomorrow night, I can try to channel her, but I'm... I'm not sure if I'm up to that."
"We'll use it as a last resort. I'll get her a glass of water, can someone get some blankets and pillows?" Faith went into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water and poured a glass for Priss and returned to the living room and joined the others.
Priss
Priss was back in the lab, white, white all around her. A pain in her head. People looming over her. White coats and shiny metal. She shot up screaming. "NAY! I will not! Get away, get away from ME! Hands, oh dear mother, hands and pain and metal and pain, pain in my head!" Priss keened high and long as she did not leave her nightmare on waking. "Ay, I will tell him for thee." Her eyes stared blindly at the room full of shocked people, her mind locked away. "Thy name and thy love will be known. I wilt find him for thee. I promise, my friend by shared pain. Thy name be Rayne, his name be Giles. Was he English? All the Watchers I have met be from Brittania. Thee be dead now, or near t' it. A pain in thy head and thy heart. Not thy fault. I know, I see. The pain unending." The words poured out of her rapidly. "The magick bound in us. The desolation. The desire punished by lightening. Chaos be lost in the white pain. All is white. Always white except where the blood maked a pattern on the wall. Do they not see?" Priss shook her head, and then woke up out of her trance brought on by her exhaustion. "I see now. I have woken. My memories restored, although," she closed her eyes for a moment, and then opened her eyes again, "I may wish later that they had not."
"Oh, goddess," Willow mumured, eyes round in her pale face. All the Potentials were frozen to their places as they had been by Priss's piercing scream. Buffy was gaping. "Giles? Rupert Giles?"
"Yes, that be the name." Priss nodded, then sank back onto the couch, curling up like a wounded animal. "So many screams...Ethan was too tired to escape. Too tired of fighting, too tired of living. They cut him off, snap!" Priss clicked her fingers. "What they did unto me, they did unto him first. He was expendable. Human, they knew human. What they did not know was me." Priss pushed her face into the soft fabric of the lounge, longing for the side of her mother. Not the same. Close, but not the same. Shivers wracked her body and she tried to tuck herself into a smaller ball.
Faith
Faith looked around at the shocked looks on the others faces before focusing on Priss. The way she had been writhing in pain, almost, while sleeping, reminded her of her own dreams. Faith extended her arm to Priss, gently uncurling her from her little ball. Once she had uncurled her, Faith slowly began to help her drink some water.
"Priss, it's Willow, do you need something?" Willow peered at Priss in concern, a frown forming on her face as she saw Priss' blank look. "Maybe I could try a soothing spell?"
Faith shook Priss gently. "Priss?"
Priss
Priss turned to the warm body beside her, blindly seeking comfort. She didn't want to see. Didn't want to hear. But she must. She sighed heavily, breathing in the scent of this gentle woman. So nice. Comforting. "I wilt be fine. Does thee not also have memories that haunt thee even by light of day?" Priss turned her face to Willow.
"I know." Willow and Priss shared a look.
"Thank thee, Faith. Thou helped me to remember that I wast not alone, and not *there* anymore." Priss closed her eyes and drew on the energy of the earth. She soon felt better as the energy flowed through her. "It wilt pass. It *always* passes. Though I cannot believe I wast stupid enough to allow myself to be caught. I did not even hear them...but then, many miles from the nearest town, in the middle of the desert, I wast not expecting company." Priss's tone turned business-like as she shook off her daze. "Tell me of them. This obscenitity wilt *not* go on. If twas here, yet also in New Mexico, it must be in more places. If thee wilt not help me hunt, then I *will* do it myself. All I ask is that thee tell me what thee knows. After all, thee bedded one of them, did thou not?" Priss stared challengingly at Buffy.
"That isn't any of your business," Buffy forced out from between clenched teeth.
"My business be the welfare of the earth, Slayer. Thou might protect humans, but I protect *all* who be in touch with the earth and her mumurings. *This* dost fall under my jurisdiction."
"How did you know, anyway?"
"The Initiative, I had heard whispers of, no more. William did tell me the rest...rather he told Nyx, and she told me. I may look like a cub, Slayer, but I be quite adept at connecting the dots. Dot, dot, dot. Buffy, rapid incidence of demons captured from the Hellmouth, a boy." Priss stuck the tip of her tongue out the corner of her mouth as if in concentration as she drew a triangle in the air. "Return from the Heavens, a hurting vampire without a soul, a severely childish mind set. Thee might desire to work on that." Priss smiled sweetly at the fuming Buffy.
"Ok, just because you're hurt and all, doesn't mean you can make fun of me."
"Sweetling, I speak from experience." Priss batted her eyelashes. "Angelus must have been feeling quite guilty to take up with thee. He has a thing about self-flagellation." Priss giggled and withdrew from Faith as Buffy's expression tightened. This be fun indeed. "Pauvre enfant. La petite chatte vous a-t-elle blessé? Va te faire foutre, tueur." Priss blew a kiss at Buffy. "Mordez-moi, fille."
Faith
Willow giggled out loud at what Priss said, and replied with "Maintenant, jouez gentil". Still giggling all the while, she felt again how fun it was to be around this woman.
Buffy fumed, looking over at Willow, silently screaming "TRAITOR" in her head. Instead, she turned to Priss and smiled fakely. "Look, we don't know much about the Initiative these days, Riley seems to be MIA and we don't really have any other contacts there. Spike was our best hope at getting back to finding them."
Faith enjoyed watching Buffy squirm, watching her having to remember her painful relationships with Angel, Riley and even Spike. For once she wasn't feeling pain, and people weren't trying to make her feel guilty, she was allowed to simply just exist. No thoughts at all, if she didn't want to. She patted Priss' arm. "I'm getting kinda tired, and it looks like some of the kids are too. Priss, if you want to stay, you can sleep here on the couch, or you can take my bed and I'll stay down here, I don't mind. I've had worse." Faith offered, yawning loudly.
Priss
"Thou hast not met me and my kind before, hast thee, Faith? I be in truth a cat. I will take my true form, and then a corner anywhere wilt suffice." Priss breathed in slowly and concentrated. Ah. She wriggled out of the heap of robes and then bounded over to the stairs. "Mrowr?" Priss shrugged fluidly, then jerked her head towards the top of the stairs. Sleep be good. One of the Potentials sighed wistfully, and Priss padded over to the girl and stropped against her legs, purring loudly. Hands ran along her backbone and Priss gave herself up to ecstatic bliss, before disentangling herself and walking over to Faith. "Mew?" Priss sat at Faith's feet and looked up in the acristocratic stare all cats utilise. Sleep be good. Let's go to bed. Priss concentrated on these thoughts very firmly. Willow choked back a laugh, and Priss shot her a dirty look. I did not mean thee, Wicca. And I prefer males. I be not on heat, and not in search of a mate. She be nice, that be all.
"That's alright, Priss." Willow covered her mouth with her hand. "Well, c'mon, let's get you guys settled down for the night." The Potentials grumbled but soon were busy with their preparations for bed.
Faith
Faith had watched in amazement when she saw Priss revert into becoming a cat, but now she just felt exhaustion coming on. It had been a long day. She put her hand on Willow's shoulder as though to say goodnight and shared a long look with Buffy, as though they were trying to work each other out. Faith eventually won and Buffy looked away, mumbling goodnight, as Faith reached don, petted Priss, lifted her up, and went to her room. She deposited Priss on the end of her bed and watched in fascination as the tiny cat gracefully made herself comfortable. Faith yawned, closed her door, realised she didn't actually own pyjamas, although luckily Willow had heard her silent panic in her head and knocked on the door.
"I come bearing gifts." Willow handed Faith some pyjamas and Faith thanked her, closed the door, got changed and hopped into bed.
"Night Priss." Faith petted her again, then lay back and went to sleep.