Faith had come back to do another class at the Slayer School before she went for more training with Angel.
She had brought another selection of weapons, more unusual this time, in order to help the younger girls get a real feel for how serious it can get.
Friday
Friday and a number of her classmates trooped into the classroom, chattering away excitedly at the prospect of a new class with Faith.
"Wow, look at all the weapons," Kella said.
"Cool," Friday replied, taking her seat.
Faith
Faith was perched on top of the table, rolling a stake between her hands as she waited for the whole class to file in.
Once she was satisfied that they were all there, she cleared her throat slightly and put the stake down, remaining on the table.
"Ok, so, I realise it's been a few months since my last class, but what can I say? I'm a free spirit and I can't be tied down in one place for too long."
She stood, leaning back against the table and folding her arms.
"Hmm, so last time, I taught you that rule one was not to die. Now, you learn rule two. Once you survive, what left is there to do but to step up your game?"
Tiffany and Kella
Up the back, Tiffany rolled her eyes.
"How do we do that?" asked Kella.
Faith
"You train, and you train hard. You study different fighting styles, improve your weaknesses. You could even hit the books and learn about different types of vampires and demons."
Faith paused, figuring they'd ask if there was more than one type of vampire.
"Typically, you'll get your run of the mill minions. Minions aren't as strong as their Masters. Masters will generally be a little older and will have more ambition, in terms of ending the world. Then there are older vamps than that still, one of the first vampires I came up against was one of the oldest."
She closed her eyes for a moment at the terrible memory.
"And then there are the Turok'han. The ones that came out of the Hellmouth in Sunnydale. Stakes don't kill them because their chests are too hard to penetrate. It's all about beheading those bad boys."
Friday
"What are the Turok'han like? I mean, is there anything else special about them other than their chests being too hard?" Friday asked.
"They're vampires too, right?" asked Salena.
Faith
Faith thought for a moment.
"They are... stronger than normal. They are stronger than an average Slayer. Buffy had her ass handed to her on a plate by them at first. They work in packs, and they're a lot smarter than usual vampires. More focused as well, although, uglier and a little crazier."
She leant against the desk again.
"They usually work in conjunction with the Bringers, but that's only to, you know, try and end the world."
Katrina and Lazer
"What are the Bringers?" asked Katrina.
"What is with all these guys wanting to end the world?" Lazer muttered loudly from up the back.
Faith
"I'd describe them as deranged monks," Faith said thoughtfully.
"But think of it, if no one wanted to end the world, and if no one was evil, we wouldn't have these powers. And I kinda like being strong. Of course, if I'd never had the strength, I wouldn't know what I was missing."
Friday
"I don't know, wouldn't taking over the world be more fun?"
"Nah, once you have the world you spend the rest of your life trying to keep it. And where's the fun in that?" Friday grinned.
Faith
"As someone who helped trying to end it, it's probably not worth it," Faith said, shrugging.
"But we've gotten off track, as this isn't relevant. Unless you decide to follow my path and become a rogue Slayer. But don't, because I like being an individual. And also, you spend a lot of your time fighting for your life. With people who used to be allies."
Friday
"Besides, once the world ends, you've got nothing left to do?" suggested one of the girls.
"What cool weapons do you have?" Friday asked.
Faith
"Ah," Faith said, stepped away from the table.
"Thus this class just got more interesting. And potentially deadly. But interestingly deadly, at least."
Friday
"It's a deadly business," Friday observed with meaning.
Lazer lifted her head to improve her view of the weapons.
Faith
"That it is."
Faith lifted one of the weapons up to show them.
"So, does anyone know what this is?"
Katrina
"A sword?" one of the girls suggested.
There was some mild giggling.
"A scimitar?" asked Katrina.
Faith
"Right."
Faith gestured to Katrina.
"You been trained with one?"
Katrina
Katrina shook her head.
"No," she replied. "I read about them in The Horse and His Boy - one of the Chronicles of Narnia. They looked like the description."
Faith
Faith basically outlined the weapons she had with her today, the Bec de Corbin, Claymore, Flambard, Katana and Caltrop.
"Ok, so, does anyone want to do some training on any of these weapons? I'm not staying for long this time, but I will be back in a month or so."
Friday
A number of the girls put up their hands, including Tiffany who had taken a curious liking to the two-handed claymore. Friday looked around, being perfectly happy with her sais, and was so surprised to see Tiffany's hand in the air, that she nearly fell back in her chair.
Faith
Faith took in the hands.
"Ok, well here, pass this around, put your name, what hours you have free, and what you're interested in, put that down. And I'll see how many sessions I can have before I leave next week."
Salena
The clipboard was passed around the class, some writing down their details, other only passing it on.
"Are you going to be patrolling with any of us while you're here?" asked Salena.
Faith
"A few groups, yeah," Faith said, brushing her hair back.
"I'll probably go Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday with you guys. So whoever is on those nights gets me."