On the third day of Christmas...
...my true love gave to me three sweet treats (to boost my dental bill), two changed directions, and one protective shield.
Fandom: The Binding of Isaac
Rating: PG
Word Count: 238
Summary: What started out as a treat would soon run his world.
Sometimes the universe (the overlord? The cruel and wicked god that oversaw this dimension?) was kind to Isaac and he would find the Doctor’s Mask. Then something wonderful would happen and the contents of all the pills in the world would be temporarily reshuffled to only have good outcomes.
With that mask on the pills changed from terrifying capsules with content akin to a Russian Roulette to glorious containers of strength and good fortune. It was easy to pop pill after pill, their contents so sweet on his tongue, when there were no negative repercussions. With each floor he grew stronger, ran faster, felt his health improve and his accuracy reach staggering levels. He mowed his way through each of the floors and left enemies battered in his wake, revenge and retribution for the many times previously he had suffered at their hands.
He tried to just remain in the final floor. To leave that final room locked as he set up house in one of the rooms - preferably the one with the fewest bodies - and live out his days there. Except...except...that never worked. Either his will would break as the withdrawal symptoms kicked in, or his hunger and thirst began to plague him or…
...or he would hold out until darkness took over and he slipped away into unconsciousness and death.
Only to awake once more in the Basement, searching once more for those pills.
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Rating: PG
Word Count: 299
Description: Silly Buffy and Angel fluff
Their legs swung back and forth, casting shadows onto the pavement below. The gentle tap tap of heels against the building beat rhythmically just out of time with each other.
“Do you even like ice-cream?”, Buffy asked, “Or can you even taste it?”
“When you’re turned you lose your soul, not your taste buds”, Angel almost sounded amused, and if Buffy weren’t mistaken there was a flicker of a smile across his face.
“Well you drink blood - I can’t see how that’s tast...eeew gross”, and Buffy wrinkled her nose.
“Blood ice lolly?”, Angel asked and Buffy nodded, “Can’t say I’ve ever been tempted”.
“It’s not like you need to eat though is it?”, Buffy asked, taking a quick moment to stop her ice cream dripping.
“No-one needs to eat ice-cream Buffy”, Angel pinched the top of his ice cream with his lips and took the top of it off.
“I don’t know - ice cream makes you happy and I can definitely think of a few people who could do with being a bit happier”, Buffy argued, pointing her ice cream at Angel as she gestured.
Angel just rolled his eyes and they both turned their attention back to watching the streets as they continued eating their ice-creams in silence. After another minute or two, Buffy spoke again,
“This is nice”
“We’re eating ice-cream at one in the morning waiting to see if a vampire biker gang are going to arrive in Sunnydale and start a massacre…”, Angel glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.
“To be fair that’s a pretty standard night for me...but I don’t normally get ice-cream”, Buffy began to eat the edge of the cone, “So I stand by my statement”.
“I must admit, I am quite partial to mint-choc chip…”
Fandom: Malory Towers/Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 2277
Summary: Hindsight is always 20/20 and some treats are not as sweet as they seem.
Alicia crumpled into the shade and watched as her mentor strode away to resume her teaching duties. Alicia waited until she was out of sight and then lay down on her back and covered her eyes with one arm, glad that she had a free period.
She had rather thought that Slayer abilities would have translated to endless stamina. Her stamina was better - of that there was no doubt - but the fact that she could still be bested by her teacher of all people must have been a rather poor reflection of her Slayer powers.
“She’s quite ruthless isn’t she?”, and Alicia squinted out from under her arm to see Rupert Giles stood nearby, one of his endless supplies of cigarettes between his lips. She still wasn’t quite sure who or what he was but Marie was definitely responsible for him somehow.
“One way to put it”, Alicia pushed herself up to a sitting position, “You don’t do a very good job of pretending to be the groundskeeper you know that?”. Rupert just grinned broadly and leant back against the tree as he smoked,
“I think you know bloody well that I’m not a groundskeeper”, he said and Alicia smirked.
“What are you then exactly? Miss Potts isn’t exactly the chatty type”, she shimmied herself backwards to lean against the tree. Rupert was silent for a while - no doubt trying to work out how much he should or shouldn’t say - and then finally answered,
“I’m meant to be a Watcher in training”, he took another smoke, “I was also meant to be dead and then meant to be kicked out of the Watcher’s Council though so you can figure how little faith I put into meant to be’s”.
“That why you’re here then? You did something stupid, nearly got killed, the Council were all for throwing you out and Miss Potts took pity on you”, and Alicia grinned as Rupert’s eyebrows shot up and he nearly choked on his cigarette smoke,
“Too bloody clever for your own good aren’t you”, he scuffed the cigarette out on the sole of his boot and then dropped it into an empty flower pot at his feet.
“So I’ve been told”
“So you about ready to do some proper hunting?”, Rupert asked, “I know Marie had you raid that vamp nest with her a few nights ago but I’m thinking you should be hitting some of the others that are cropping up”
“Miss Potts hasn’t said anything…”
“So you always do what you’re told then? That’s a bit of a disappointment”, and Rupert looked as if he were about to leave so Alicia spoke quickly,
“What did you have in mind?”. Rupert grinned at her and Alicia held his gaze, hoping she came across as defiant rather than over-eager.
“You up for meeting me out here about twelve tonight? We’ll go hunting together and Marie’ll be none the wiser”, Rupert asked.
“Twelve it is”.
-
Alicia pulled her coat tighter around herself as she hurried out to the field, trying to keep to the shadows as much as possible. She wasn’t yet at the stage where Marie expected her to go out hunting unaccompanied, and Alicia was all but certain that going out hunting with Rupert was not on the agenda at all.
Still, Alicia reasoned, she had behaved so much recently that her classmates and the other teachers were starting to suspect something were wrong with her. It was about time she broke some of the rules again. She spotted the outline of Rupert, submerged within the shadows, just ahead of her and she smiled to herself and closed in on him.
“See now I was worried you’d chicken out”, Rupert grinned as he finished rolling a cigarette and tucked it behind his ear.
“I don’t chicken out”, Alicia shot back, holding his gaze. Rupert took a single step closer - almost like he was testing her defiance - and then his lips tugged into a lop-sided smirk.
“No, can’t imagine you do Miss Johns”, and then he brushed past her. Alicia stood for a moment to gather her thoughts before turning and striding after Rupert, hoping her hadn’t noticed her moment of foolishness.
“You know the old bunker just out past the river?”, Rupert asked as he zipped his coat up, “There’s some vampires set up there, the pack’s growing quicker than I’d like but Marie doesn’t think you’re ready”, Rupert sounded so casual as he threw out the statement, he couldn’t possibly have known how it sounded to Alicia. At least, that was what she told herself as the familiar hum of frustration and some other, more complex emotions that she wasn’t ready to identify made itself known in her chest.
“She worries too much”, Alicia said, “Probably why she took you in as well, soft spot for waifs and strays”. Rupert made a noise rather like a snort - partway between disbelief and amusement.
“Perhaps”, he pointed towards a path, directing their route, “I think most Watchers are just over-cautious. She’s better than most though, I’ll grant you. Rumour has it you girls call her ‘Potty’ behind her back?”, Rupert was grinning again and Alicia gladly filled him in on the details,
“It’s not just behind her back either…”.
-
Darrell blinked into the darkness, uncertain what had woken her. Seconds ticked by and her eyelids grew heavy, but just before she was about to turn over and try to go back to sleep she heard a noise. A giggle. She pushed herself up onto her elbows and rubbed her eyes. There was a hushed whisper - or rather an attempt at a hushed whisper that had failed quite spectacularly.
Darrell swung herself out from under her covers, folded down half-way given how prone she was to overheating in the night, and padded over to the open window. She grinned and shook her head as she spotted the second formers tip-toeing over towards the swimming pool like a line of giddy little ants. It was probably their first midnight feast, no doubt the height of their mischief so far. Darrell spotted her sister near the front of the line, arms clutched around a bag that looked like it was desperately close to spilling it’s edible contents all over the path.
Darrell turned to go back to bed when she spotted Alicia’s empty bed. Perhaps it had been Alicia getting up to go to the bathroom that had woken her and the second formers had just been a coincidence. She returned and sat on the edge of her bed, part of her wanting to share her amusement over the second formers with Alicia. Minutes ticked by and Alicia didn’t return.
Darrell wondered briefly if Alicia were outside, ready to cause trouble for the second formers as some kind of delayed revenge for all the trouble her cousin, June, had caused them the last time they had risked having a midnight feast. Darrell’s chest burned with the tell-tale sign of her temper making itself known as she remembered that unpleasant series of events and she shook the memory away. She silently got off of her bed and slipped on her shoes and took her coat from the peg, zipping it up once she had stepped out of the door.
Darrell took the back stairs down to make sure she wasn’t spotted, and was about to make her way in a circuit around Malory Towers when two figures down on the field caught her eye. Her first thought was that it was Alicia and Betty, out with some sort of trouble in mind, but the more she watched the less convinced she was. She tried her best to stick to the shadows as she moved closer, realising that the two people were slowly making their way towards the swimming pool. Wild thoughts began to race through Darrell’s mind and she chastised herself for her over-active imagination. Then the clouds overhead shifted and she was absolutely certain that the two people - these two men - were absolutely not Alicia and Betty.
Darrell was too close now to attempt to go back, they would see her in an instant and no doubt chase her down. Darrell glanced back at the door; she was quick but she didn’t know if she was quick enough. She held her breath as one of the men appeared to turn and face straight in her direction, only able to breathe again when he looked away. She lowered herself to a crouch and felt around the ground for a stone or something to throw, cursing herself for her foolishness even thinking of approaching two unknown people at night rather than seeking out a teacher.
She dismissed two stones as being too big before she located one that fit into the palm of her hand. The two figures were walking directly towards the swimming pool now, and Darrell acted. She took aim at the sports shed at the edge of the field and threw the stone as hard as she could. The thud of it connecting with the wooden structure was startling in the quiet of the night and it had the intended effect. The two people stopped and turned around, then snuck back towards the sound.
Darrell was contemplating her next step when a sound further out in the field distracted her. Her eyes readjusted and she could make out people running, maybe four or five...
The body that landed a few metres from her sent her falling backwards into the overgrown bushes and plants. Someone followed the body, moving silently to slam their fist into the other person’s chest. Darrell could only stare in horror as the body seemed to silently explode and disappear in front of her.
She couldn’t keep track of the events as a second person - perhaps one of the two men she had been watching - charged in and traded blows with the someone in front of Darrell. All the while the people running in from the field came closer and closer. The moon disappeared back behind the cloud and Darrell could only just make out the movements as they drifted further away from her.
There was a strange sound, like a strangled gasp, and another of the people vanished. Darrell was imagining things, that was the only possible explanation. She was asleep and she needed to wake herself up somehow. The sound of fighting drifted in from her left and she glanced at the new arrivals for just a moment before wondering about the second formers. She turned to push the foliage aside and peer at the entrance of the swimming pool, relieved to see the door swinging open and second formers running quite frantically back along the path up to school, their illicit treat so quickly ruined.
When she turned her attention back to the events in front of her she found quiet and so she risked getting back to her feet and edging a little closer. Three people remained standing, with no indication of where the others had gone.
“How could you have been so foolish?”, the voice was so familiar, even in it’s hushed tones, “You could have gotten all those girls killed and for what? A thrill? A moment of excitement?”
“I didn’t know they were planning anything for tonight”, that was Alicia’s voice - of that Darrell was certain - and it made her head ache to try and work out why Alicia was out here fighting with…
“It’s my fault Marie…”
“I will deal with you later, I have no doubt of your involvement in this but Alicia knows better, she isn’t a child”, and Darrell felt she could have been knocked other with a light breeze when she realised that the voice she recognised belonged to Miss Potts.
“You’re speaking to me like one”, that was Alicia again, flippant and annoyed.
“Tonight you acted like one, chasing after a moment of excitement like it was some kind of prize and endangering the very people you are charged with protecting”, Miss Potts sounded angrier than Darrell had ever heard, “You are a Slayer, and you”, she pointed at the other person that Darrell didn’t recognise, “are to be a Watcher, you should both know better. Now I think the girls have ran back inside. I shall have to come up with some kind of cover for this, and I will see you both in the morning”. With that Miss Potts strode right in front of where Darrell was stood, and then paused,
“I don’t know why you are out of bed Darrell, and right now I do not care to ask for an explanation”, Miss Potts kept her voice low and steady, “but I do know you saw far more tonight than you were ever meant to. You will accompany Alicia when she comes to see me tomorrow.” With that her teacher continued in her path back to the school and Darrell was left, feeling rather like her head was spinning, trying to piece together exactly what had happened.
“Are you alright?”, Alicia sounded quite subdued and unlike herself, and when Darrell looked at her she decided that the nasty cut across Alicia’s forehead combined with the scolding from Miss Potts likely explained most of that, “You’ve probably got a few questions…”
“I...just a few…”, Darrell stumbled over her words, “like what’s a slayer, where did those men go, why are you sneaking around at night with Miss Potts and what the hell just happened?”. Darrell’s curse must have amused Alicia because a smile tugged at the corner of her lips and she inclined her head towards the school.
“Come on, it’s a long story”.
Fandom: The Binding of Isaac
Rating: PG
Word Count: 238
Summary: What started out as a treat would soon run his world.
Sometimes the universe (the overlord? The cruel and wicked god that oversaw this dimension?) was kind to Isaac and he would find the Doctor’s Mask. Then something wonderful would happen and the contents of all the pills in the world would be temporarily reshuffled to only have good outcomes.
With that mask on the pills changed from terrifying capsules with content akin to a Russian Roulette to glorious containers of strength and good fortune. It was easy to pop pill after pill, their contents so sweet on his tongue, when there were no negative repercussions. With each floor he grew stronger, ran faster, felt his health improve and his accuracy reach staggering levels. He mowed his way through each of the floors and left enemies battered in his wake, revenge and retribution for the many times previously he had suffered at their hands.
He tried to just remain in the final floor. To leave that final room locked as he set up house in one of the rooms - preferably the one with the fewest bodies - and live out his days there. Except...except...that never worked. Either his will would break as the withdrawal symptoms kicked in, or his hunger and thirst began to plague him or…
...or he would hold out until darkness took over and he slipped away into unconsciousness and death.
Only to awake once more in the Basement, searching once more for those pills.
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Rating: PG
Word Count: 299
Description: Silly Buffy and Angel fluff
Their legs swung back and forth, casting shadows onto the pavement below. The gentle tap tap of heels against the building beat rhythmically just out of time with each other.
“Do you even like ice-cream?”, Buffy asked, “Or can you even taste it?”
“When you’re turned you lose your soul, not your taste buds”, Angel almost sounded amused, and if Buffy weren’t mistaken there was a flicker of a smile across his face.
“Well you drink blood - I can’t see how that’s tast...eeew gross”, and Buffy wrinkled her nose.
“Blood ice lolly?”, Angel asked and Buffy nodded, “Can’t say I’ve ever been tempted”.
“It’s not like you need to eat though is it?”, Buffy asked, taking a quick moment to stop her ice cream dripping.
“No-one needs to eat ice-cream Buffy”, Angel pinched the top of his ice cream with his lips and took the top of it off.
“I don’t know - ice cream makes you happy and I can definitely think of a few people who could do with being a bit happier”, Buffy argued, pointing her ice cream at Angel as she gestured.
Angel just rolled his eyes and they both turned their attention back to watching the streets as they continued eating their ice-creams in silence. After another minute or two, Buffy spoke again,
“This is nice”
“We’re eating ice-cream at one in the morning waiting to see if a vampire biker gang are going to arrive in Sunnydale and start a massacre…”, Angel glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.
“To be fair that’s a pretty standard night for me...but I don’t normally get ice-cream”, Buffy began to eat the edge of the cone, “So I stand by my statement”.
“I must admit, I am quite partial to mint-choc chip…”
Fandom: Malory Towers/Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 2277
Summary: Hindsight is always 20/20 and some treats are not as sweet as they seem.
Alicia crumpled into the shade and watched as her mentor strode away to resume her teaching duties. Alicia waited until she was out of sight and then lay down on her back and covered her eyes with one arm, glad that she had a free period.
She had rather thought that Slayer abilities would have translated to endless stamina. Her stamina was better - of that there was no doubt - but the fact that she could still be bested by her teacher of all people must have been a rather poor reflection of her Slayer powers.
“She’s quite ruthless isn’t she?”, and Alicia squinted out from under her arm to see Rupert Giles stood nearby, one of his endless supplies of cigarettes between his lips. She still wasn’t quite sure who or what he was but Marie was definitely responsible for him somehow.
“One way to put it”, Alicia pushed herself up to a sitting position, “You don’t do a very good job of pretending to be the groundskeeper you know that?”. Rupert just grinned broadly and leant back against the tree as he smoked,
“I think you know bloody well that I’m not a groundskeeper”, he said and Alicia smirked.
“What are you then exactly? Miss Potts isn’t exactly the chatty type”, she shimmied herself backwards to lean against the tree. Rupert was silent for a while - no doubt trying to work out how much he should or shouldn’t say - and then finally answered,
“I’m meant to be a Watcher in training”, he took another smoke, “I was also meant to be dead and then meant to be kicked out of the Watcher’s Council though so you can figure how little faith I put into meant to be’s”.
“That why you’re here then? You did something stupid, nearly got killed, the Council were all for throwing you out and Miss Potts took pity on you”, and Alicia grinned as Rupert’s eyebrows shot up and he nearly choked on his cigarette smoke,
“Too bloody clever for your own good aren’t you”, he scuffed the cigarette out on the sole of his boot and then dropped it into an empty flower pot at his feet.
“So I’ve been told”
“So you about ready to do some proper hunting?”, Rupert asked, “I know Marie had you raid that vamp nest with her a few nights ago but I’m thinking you should be hitting some of the others that are cropping up”
“Miss Potts hasn’t said anything…”
“So you always do what you’re told then? That’s a bit of a disappointment”, and Rupert looked as if he were about to leave so Alicia spoke quickly,
“What did you have in mind?”. Rupert grinned at her and Alicia held his gaze, hoping she came across as defiant rather than over-eager.
“You up for meeting me out here about twelve tonight? We’ll go hunting together and Marie’ll be none the wiser”, Rupert asked.
“Twelve it is”.
-
Alicia pulled her coat tighter around herself as she hurried out to the field, trying to keep to the shadows as much as possible. She wasn’t yet at the stage where Marie expected her to go out hunting unaccompanied, and Alicia was all but certain that going out hunting with Rupert was not on the agenda at all.
Still, Alicia reasoned, she had behaved so much recently that her classmates and the other teachers were starting to suspect something were wrong with her. It was about time she broke some of the rules again. She spotted the outline of Rupert, submerged within the shadows, just ahead of her and she smiled to herself and closed in on him.
“See now I was worried you’d chicken out”, Rupert grinned as he finished rolling a cigarette and tucked it behind his ear.
“I don’t chicken out”, Alicia shot back, holding his gaze. Rupert took a single step closer - almost like he was testing her defiance - and then his lips tugged into a lop-sided smirk.
“No, can’t imagine you do Miss Johns”, and then he brushed past her. Alicia stood for a moment to gather her thoughts before turning and striding after Rupert, hoping her hadn’t noticed her moment of foolishness.
“You know the old bunker just out past the river?”, Rupert asked as he zipped his coat up, “There’s some vampires set up there, the pack’s growing quicker than I’d like but Marie doesn’t think you’re ready”, Rupert sounded so casual as he threw out the statement, he couldn’t possibly have known how it sounded to Alicia. At least, that was what she told herself as the familiar hum of frustration and some other, more complex emotions that she wasn’t ready to identify made itself known in her chest.
“She worries too much”, Alicia said, “Probably why she took you in as well, soft spot for waifs and strays”. Rupert made a noise rather like a snort - partway between disbelief and amusement.
“Perhaps”, he pointed towards a path, directing their route, “I think most Watchers are just over-cautious. She’s better than most though, I’ll grant you. Rumour has it you girls call her ‘Potty’ behind her back?”, Rupert was grinning again and Alicia gladly filled him in on the details,
“It’s not just behind her back either…”.
-
Darrell blinked into the darkness, uncertain what had woken her. Seconds ticked by and her eyelids grew heavy, but just before she was about to turn over and try to go back to sleep she heard a noise. A giggle. She pushed herself up onto her elbows and rubbed her eyes. There was a hushed whisper - or rather an attempt at a hushed whisper that had failed quite spectacularly.
Darrell swung herself out from under her covers, folded down half-way given how prone she was to overheating in the night, and padded over to the open window. She grinned and shook her head as she spotted the second formers tip-toeing over towards the swimming pool like a line of giddy little ants. It was probably their first midnight feast, no doubt the height of their mischief so far. Darrell spotted her sister near the front of the line, arms clutched around a bag that looked like it was desperately close to spilling it’s edible contents all over the path.
Darrell turned to go back to bed when she spotted Alicia’s empty bed. Perhaps it had been Alicia getting up to go to the bathroom that had woken her and the second formers had just been a coincidence. She returned and sat on the edge of her bed, part of her wanting to share her amusement over the second formers with Alicia. Minutes ticked by and Alicia didn’t return.
Darrell wondered briefly if Alicia were outside, ready to cause trouble for the second formers as some kind of delayed revenge for all the trouble her cousin, June, had caused them the last time they had risked having a midnight feast. Darrell’s chest burned with the tell-tale sign of her temper making itself known as she remembered that unpleasant series of events and she shook the memory away. She silently got off of her bed and slipped on her shoes and took her coat from the peg, zipping it up once she had stepped out of the door.
Darrell took the back stairs down to make sure she wasn’t spotted, and was about to make her way in a circuit around Malory Towers when two figures down on the field caught her eye. Her first thought was that it was Alicia and Betty, out with some sort of trouble in mind, but the more she watched the less convinced she was. She tried her best to stick to the shadows as she moved closer, realising that the two people were slowly making their way towards the swimming pool. Wild thoughts began to race through Darrell’s mind and she chastised herself for her over-active imagination. Then the clouds overhead shifted and she was absolutely certain that the two people - these two men - were absolutely not Alicia and Betty.
Darrell was too close now to attempt to go back, they would see her in an instant and no doubt chase her down. Darrell glanced back at the door; she was quick but she didn’t know if she was quick enough. She held her breath as one of the men appeared to turn and face straight in her direction, only able to breathe again when he looked away. She lowered herself to a crouch and felt around the ground for a stone or something to throw, cursing herself for her foolishness even thinking of approaching two unknown people at night rather than seeking out a teacher.
She dismissed two stones as being too big before she located one that fit into the palm of her hand. The two figures were walking directly towards the swimming pool now, and Darrell acted. She took aim at the sports shed at the edge of the field and threw the stone as hard as she could. The thud of it connecting with the wooden structure was startling in the quiet of the night and it had the intended effect. The two people stopped and turned around, then snuck back towards the sound.
Darrell was contemplating her next step when a sound further out in the field distracted her. Her eyes readjusted and she could make out people running, maybe four or five...
The body that landed a few metres from her sent her falling backwards into the overgrown bushes and plants. Someone followed the body, moving silently to slam their fist into the other person’s chest. Darrell could only stare in horror as the body seemed to silently explode and disappear in front of her.
She couldn’t keep track of the events as a second person - perhaps one of the two men she had been watching - charged in and traded blows with the someone in front of Darrell. All the while the people running in from the field came closer and closer. The moon disappeared back behind the cloud and Darrell could only just make out the movements as they drifted further away from her.
There was a strange sound, like a strangled gasp, and another of the people vanished. Darrell was imagining things, that was the only possible explanation. She was asleep and she needed to wake herself up somehow. The sound of fighting drifted in from her left and she glanced at the new arrivals for just a moment before wondering about the second formers. She turned to push the foliage aside and peer at the entrance of the swimming pool, relieved to see the door swinging open and second formers running quite frantically back along the path up to school, their illicit treat so quickly ruined.
When she turned her attention back to the events in front of her she found quiet and so she risked getting back to her feet and edging a little closer. Three people remained standing, with no indication of where the others had gone.
“How could you have been so foolish?”, the voice was so familiar, even in it’s hushed tones, “You could have gotten all those girls killed and for what? A thrill? A moment of excitement?”
“I didn’t know they were planning anything for tonight”, that was Alicia’s voice - of that Darrell was certain - and it made her head ache to try and work out why Alicia was out here fighting with…
“It’s my fault Marie…”
“I will deal with you later, I have no doubt of your involvement in this but Alicia knows better, she isn’t a child”, and Darrell felt she could have been knocked other with a light breeze when she realised that the voice she recognised belonged to Miss Potts.
“You’re speaking to me like one”, that was Alicia again, flippant and annoyed.
“Tonight you acted like one, chasing after a moment of excitement like it was some kind of prize and endangering the very people you are charged with protecting”, Miss Potts sounded angrier than Darrell had ever heard, “You are a Slayer, and you”, she pointed at the other person that Darrell didn’t recognise, “are to be a Watcher, you should both know better. Now I think the girls have ran back inside. I shall have to come up with some kind of cover for this, and I will see you both in the morning”. With that Miss Potts strode right in front of where Darrell was stood, and then paused,
“I don’t know why you are out of bed Darrell, and right now I do not care to ask for an explanation”, Miss Potts kept her voice low and steady, “but I do know you saw far more tonight than you were ever meant to. You will accompany Alicia when she comes to see me tomorrow.” With that her teacher continued in her path back to the school and Darrell was left, feeling rather like her head was spinning, trying to piece together exactly what had happened.
“Are you alright?”, Alicia sounded quite subdued and unlike herself, and when Darrell looked at her she decided that the nasty cut across Alicia’s forehead combined with the scolding from Miss Potts likely explained most of that, “You’ve probably got a few questions…”
“I...just a few…”, Darrell stumbled over her words, “like what’s a slayer, where did those men go, why are you sneaking around at night with Miss Potts and what the hell just happened?”. Darrell’s curse must have amused Alicia because a smile tugged at the corner of her lips and she inclined her head towards the school.
“Come on, it’s a long story”.