Faith watched as the students who had opted to take her class filed into the gym. She was standing at one end, in front of a whole heap of chairs, which she'd probably disregard later to teach them new fighting techniques.
She looked at the roof for a second, scratching her wrist absently.
A table of weapons and books was next to her.
Friday
Friday entered into the classroom with a few of her friends.
"Hi Faith," she waved, as she took a seat.
Faith
"Hey," Faith replied.
She perched on the table, moving aside a few weapons so she could sit.
"Go patrolling last night?"
Friday
Friday shook her head.
"No, they won't let me patrol seven nights a week. Such disapointment."
Not to mention a change from someone who did not believe in vampires or magic or anything else of that ilk unil a couple of years ago.
Faith
Faith nodded and watched as the last of the girls entered.
"K, I think we can get started."
She stood up and brushed her hair back.
"For those of you not in the know, I'm Faith. Giles asked me to come along and do the whole imparting wisdom thing, so here I am."
She paused.
"Don't know if any of you have heard of me, you may have. I'm the fabled bad Slayer, who took up with the wrong side of the force. Killed humans. Went to jail. Close friends with a vampire."
Friday
There was murmering throughout the class room. Kella leaned over and tapped Friday on the shoulder.
"How come you never told me you guys were friends?" she asked.
"You never asked," Friday grinned.
Faith
"First off, I guess I should teach you the number one rule."
Faith picked up a stake and rolled it in her hands as she talked.
"Don't die. It might sound obvious enough, but you all need to be reminded every once in awhile. Friday, when you're slaying, what are you thinking about?"
Friday
Friday blinked, a little taken aback by the question.
"Umm, what's the best way to dust this guy?"
She really had to stop and think what it was that she thought about.
Faith
Faith nodded and pointed at another girl.
"What are you thinking about when you're slaying?"
Salena
"Not damaging my hands," Salena replied, nervously.
As a musician and concert violinist, she was very protective of her hands.
Faith
Faith looked at the girl for a long moment.
"You should know you won't damage them."
She flipped the stake up in the air, then caught it again.
"When you're fighting a vampire you should only know one thing. That you're going to win, and they're going to lose. Sure, they're strong, but guess what? You're stronger. Even if you don't feel it yet. You are."
Salena and Tiffany
Salena nodded slowly, chewing her bottom lip.
Tiffany, at the back off the classroom (and the only student in the school for whom Faith's class was mandantory), rolls her eyes and went back to inspecting her nails.
Faith
"I'll give it to you straight, we have one disadvantage," Faith said, perching on the edge of the table again.
"We have to reach for our weapons... vamps, they always have theirs at the ready. But that doesn't mean we're done for, there are ways around that. Stakes up your sleeves on retractable thingys. Wesley, in LA, he has a few of those. Very handy. And of course, you can just keep fighting until you can pull out the stake and bam, no muss no fuss."
She paused.
"Sure, you're going to get into a sticky situation here or there, I won't lie to you. There will be times when you honest to God, think you're done for. When you stop thinking you're going to win. But you know what? Ignore it. We were made stronger. The very first Watchers who chained the very first Slayer to that stake and made her fight the demons... she was stronger than anything you know. And that's inside of you. The core strength."
Gaia
"Umm... why did the watchers chain her?" Gaia asked after holing up her hand.
The twelve-year-old never did understand that point. Wouldn't chaining the slayer hinder her?
Faith
"So she couldn't run," Faith said, giving a shrug.
"At least, that's what I think would be the reason. Or maybe she was originally intended to be a sacrfice. I'm not too clear on Slayer history, but I'm sure Giles can give you a long winded explanation if you ask."
Gaia, Tiffany and Katie
Gaia blanched. There was a reason why she never asked Giles.
In the back, Tiffany snickered. Katie, who was sitting nearby, leant over and poked her.
Faith
"Look, I've never been great at just telling people what's the what, so why don't you guys ask me questions and we'll take it as we go?"
Faith looked around the room.
Kella
Kella (who was not nicknamed Killer Kella for nothing), raised her hand.
"Weapon of choice?" she inquired.
Faith
"My knife," Faith said, lifting up the Jackal.
"But I do like the broadsword. Crossbows aren't really my thing, mainly because you have to reload too often."
Carlee and Kella
"Any good tricks for fighting vampires?" asked Carlee.
"Or any other demons for that matter?" added Kella.
Faith
"Be unpredictable," Faith said, thinking for a moment.
"Be unconventional. Study different fighting techniques. I've travelled all around the world and studied and mastered different styles. And believe me, it makes a difference."
Friday
"What if your only technique is running away like a little girl?" asked Darcy, with a pointed look in Tiffany's direction.
"Oh, I can answer that one," Friday giggled. "Turn her into a boy."
Faith
"Then you're in the wrong line of work. But remember, something chose you. So no matter how prissy stuck up bitch you are on the outside, there was something inside of you that was born to kill. Born to get dirty, born to enjoy the slaying."
Faith shrugged.
"I won't lie to you guys, you're gonna get dirty. You're going to get covered in blood and guts and adust and all sorts of gross things. But after awhile, it stops bothering you and just becomes a normal night's work. And, if you have a hot guy at home who is willing to bathe you, all the better."
Tiffany and Armelle
There was some giggling throughout the classroom. Tiffany didn't join in, feeling the need to glower at everyone. Besides, there were no hot guys here. Except maybe that Ryder guy, and he was just plain weird.
"So the whole, feeling hungry and horny thing after slaying is normal?" Armelle asked, looking relieved.
It wasn't really something they tended to talk about here. At least, not directly.
Faith
"Definitely," Faith said emphatically. "All my previous and current lovers have actually quite enjoyed that aspect of the slaying."
She grinned.
"Tell me that if you don't get in a good slaying, after a while, you just start itching for some vamp to show up so you can give him a good uh!" She grunted the last word, with a suggestive glint in her eye.
Gwyn
There was some giggling throughout the classroom. Gwyn looked down at her desk. That part of being a slayer had rather disturbed her after growing up in the Order. She tended to focus more on the 'hungry' side after a patrol. Then she lifted her hand tentatively.
"Do you think it's possible - given our predestined career - to settle down and have a family?" she asked.
Faith
"Absolutely," Faith said.
"It didn't work for me, but I'm not that kind of person. But Buffy managed family life and slaying life. Of course, you're going to need to tell your partner about the slaying, because let's face it, there are going to be times when your two worlds cross. You can't keep them separate, no matter how hard you try. But in some instances, family and friends are going to make you stronger. It will vary from person to person, but I think you can make it work, if you really want it to."
She looked at Friday for a second.
"You're going to have casualties along the way, you know. I'd say, a little less than half of you, might not survive. I'm not being horrible, I'm just telling it like it is. You will be lucky to make it until you're 25. You're going to make decisions that will ultimately get people killed. But you do it anyway."
Friday
Friday chewed her bottom lip.
"Whatever happened to the number one rule 'Don't Die'?" asked Lazer, with a smirk.
Faith
"Hey, follow that rule as often as you can, but I'm just saying, death happens. Being a Slayer is like wearing a permanent bad guy beacon. Things will always come after you, and you know what? Nine out of ten times, you'll beat it no worries... it's that tenth time you have to look out for. You let go of your game for just one second and that's it."
Faith shrugged, eyeing Friday's reaction.
"Just as long as you know you've done your best, that's all that matters. Even if you had to run away, to fight again later, when you're stronger, when you have reinforcements. Because at the end of the day, you don't have to answer to Giles, to Willow, to your eventual Watcher. You only have to answer to yourself. And that's probably what's gonna get ya. If someone gets killed on your watch, that's when the guilt sets in."
She picked up a knife and balanced the blade on her fingertip.
"But learn from it. I'm not saying forget it happened, take it and know where you went wrong. Then you won't make the same mistake again."
Friday
Friday figured someone must have filled Faith in on the whole Lilly thing, because she was sure Lilly's name was only mentioned in passing the night they met up with her. Why else would Faith be looking at her so pointedly while she was saying this? She looked down at the desk and refused to make eye contact with Faith. She was right, but it still stung.
"Have you lost many people on your watch?" asked Carlee
Faith
"A few," Faith admitted.
"I understand that it's hard to lead people in battle... it really is. You have to make choices that you know are going to cost you lives. But you do it anyway."
She flipped the knife in her hands then put it down on the table.
"How are you guys at fighting? If I held a sparring class, would you guys be interested?"
Tiffany
There was a general response "yeah, great idea" and "we're great fighters" and the like.
In the back, Tiffany rolled her eyes and sighed. She supposed they'd make her attend that class too.
Faith
Faith nodded and sat back on the table.
"Do you guys have a patrolling routine? Or do all of you go out each night in groups? Because I want to go with all of your groups at least once."
She looked at Friday.
"Day, I want to train with you a lot."
Friday
Friday nodded.
"We get put into patrols varying from 2 to 5, three to four nights a week. Well, every night is patrolled, it just varies which nights we do individually. Some patrols are stable - they're always with the same people. Others vary. Like myself, they keep moving me around to different patrols all the time."
Faith
"Ok, I want to patrol with you at least two nights a week, and one of those nights, I want it to just be you and me."
Faith nodded in satisfaction.
Friday
"Sounds good to me," Friday replied.
Some murmering occured in the classroom in response to this exchange.
"Will you patrol with any of us too?" asked Armelle.
Faith
Faith nodded.
"I'm going to start off in groups with you guys. Friday has the experience of slaying a little more before she came to this school, and I want to see just where she's at... alone, so she can't get help from you guys if she might need it."
She paused.
"And I'll be holding one on one training sessions if anyone is really interested. I guess I'll show you different weapons, techniques and if any of you have more questions that you don't want to ask in front of everyone, that would be the time to ask them."
Faith eyed the girls for a second, wondering how they'd take her next announcement. Sure, he was a good vampire now, but a vampire nonetheless.
"And Angel might drop by to train with us."
The classroom
There were murmers throughout the classroom.
"Isn't he a vampire?"
"He has a soul now, I think."
"Does anyone else see the irony in a vampire being named 'Angel'?"
Faith
"Actually it's Angelus, but that's only when he's evil. It's what the Master named him, because he has the face of an angel to draw you in. Plus, Liam is a really girly name for a bad ass vampire, when you think about it," Faith mused.
"Training with him won't be essential. I understand that a few of you might have reservations about it."
Tiffany
"Uhh, maybe that's because he's a vampire and we're vampire slayers," someone up the back muttered.
" 'Lovelace' is a girlier name," someone else giggled.
"That's not a real name."
"Yeah it is. It's an old english one. It's in the name book!"
Then, Tiffany thought of a vital question:
"Excuse me, Faith is it? What do you use in your hair to get that icky vampire dust out? Your hair is so gorgeous!"
Faith
"Believe it or not, I was iffy with the Angel sitch at first, but you learn that there are blurry lines. I'm a blurry line, if any of you know anything about me."
Faith eyed the girl at the back and made a face.
"Herbal Essences," she deadpanned. "Anyway, I think I'll wrap up this class. If any of you want further training or anything, let me know. And I'll schedule another class same time next week, but we'll do training, rather than talking."
Friday
Chatting away, the girls started gathering their things and moving out.
Friday waved as she departed.
"Later Faith," she said.