AB/BtVS FF: Nightmares in Waking Life 71/?
TITLE: Nightmares in Waking Life
AUTHOR: 38gnihsurc
RATING: en.sea.xvii, overall
PAIRINGS: All the pairings from the previous two stories---and some new ones, too
SPOILERS: Up until Micah for AB; the whole TV series for the Buffyverse; Alive at Last and Living Underground.
WARNINGS: A little bit of fur... bdsm... the usuals for Anita's crazy, crazy world.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own anyone---except for any original characters that I whip up to do my bidding ;)
NOTE: This story is a sequel to Living Underground.
Previous chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9-11, 12, 13, 14-5, 16-7, 18-9, 20-1, 22, 23, 24-5, 26-7, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32-3, 34-7, 38, 39-40, 41, 42, 43-44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51A, 51B, 52, 53, 54, 55-6, 57, 58A, 58B, 59, 60, 61, 62-63, 64, 65, 66-7, 68-9, 70
PART SEVENTY-ONE
Faith watched from her armchair as Damian drank slowly and steadily from Kennedy's wrist. The slayer seemed calmer---but Faith knew that it could be an illusion. She wasn't sure what to think when Patrick told her about what had happened outside the apartment; she had to get Willow to confirm it all later, to really believe it. But, on the first day Kennedy came to the Circus, when Faith called the back door and found out Kennedy had already gone through the door and was given directions to the room she shared with Damian nearly half an hour earlier, Faith's gut had gone into overdrive. She didn't know where else Kennedy would go except to see Willow, and when she found the slayer disrespecting everyone in the room---Asher, Willow, and Jean-Claude---she'd gotten angry.
She knew it had cost Damian something to go to Jean-Claude and ask for help. It might've been worse if he'd had to go to Anita, but she knew Damian was prouder since Anita started giving him power instead of accidentally taking his strength away, and it had been difficult for him to go to the Master of the City.
He'd been a freaking viking, for crying out loud. He fought epic battles she'd seen in picture books when she'd been in school. He fought in wars that legends could've been based on.
To ask for help because he didn't think he could protect his girlfriend and unborn baby as completely as he'd like... well, Faith understood that it was a blow to his warrior-manliness.
So, she got angry because she didn't want the brat screw to things up for everyone.
Something about her was different. Maybe it was being on her own for so long---because Faith knew Kennedy always preferred long, isolated assignments in the jungle or forest or some other barely-populated piece of land---and that had screwed her up somehow. Loneliness certainly hadn't done Faith many favours when she was growing up. No one had done Faith many favours when she was growing up, but that was her old tune and she'd been humming a different song since deciding St. Louis was her home. She wondered if Kennedy was just a late bloomer---getting bitter because she couldn't have all the toys that she'd been given when she was a spoiled little princess on the Upper East Side (or wherever she actually came from).
But, the more Faith watched her over the next couple of weeks, the more she sensed it was something else. Her slayer instincts had been in overdrive since she headed into the second half of her pregnancy; she wasn't a brainiac, but she could tell when something wasn't five-by-five.
Damian's way-too-bright eyes turned towards her. She smiled and rubbed her abdomen. His eyes seemed to both darken and intensify in colour as his gaze followed her hands. She wasn't his human servant---didn't know if she ever could and wasn't sure she ever wanted to be---but she didn't need to be in order to read his thoughts.
He pulled his mouth from Kennedy's wrist and licked his lips as discretely as he could. "Thank you, Kennedy," he said in a low, quiet voice. "I doubt this is your favourite part of your job, but we do appreciate your donations."
"Giles told me you guys need strength," she said in reply. "What's stronger than slayer blood?"
"Not much," Damian conceded. He looked away from her, to Faith, for a moment; she wondered if he could tell what was wrong with her but didn't ask.
Faith decided to smile at him. She decided to pretend Kennedy was the same slayer she'd known in Sunnydale and when working with the new-and-improved Council in its earliest stages---for the time being.
"How're the patrols going?" she asked.
"Mostly violence free," Kennedy admitted. She took the handkerchief Damian offered her and pressed it to the wound on her wrist. "A couple of nights ago, some university students got a little too drunk and decided to try to get into some of the clubs we've been looking out for. Between the bouncers and my little team, we cleared them out okay."
"Good... good. Any hellmouth-y stuff?"
"Nah, not really. But, one of the others told me about a scaly demon with yellow slime lurking around one of the hot spots."
"Did they---"
"Consider it slayed."
Faith sighed. "Good... good. Alright, so what's on the schedule tonight?"
"I'm off. Gonna head back to the apartment and check in with Robin, I guess."
"Cool."
"I'd ask if you want to come with me, but I guess you don't want to."
Faith shrugged. "Robin and I already talked it all out enough," she told the other slayer. "I don't need to go through that again. It's exhausting and I spend a lot of my time already exhausted," she said as she rubbed her belly. She felt a brief flutter when the baby moved; she closed her eyes to savour the sensation. When she looked at Kennedy again, she said, "He's a nice guy, but he has issues like we all do, and I finally shed most of mine, so I'm not looking to help him with his. He can be a friend, but he can't keep looking at me like I'm gonna give birth to Satan's spawn."
Kennedy smiled. "Damian's not that bad," she teased.
Damian chuckled. "It's always been this way for women who carry our children," he explained when the laughter died away. "I never thought I'd be experiencing it, but here we are."
Faith grinned at him. "Here I am," she corrected him. "You're not the one carrying a bowling ball under her shirt."
"I would if I could."
"I doubt it," Faith said after a snort. He stood up and walked over to her, sitting on the footstool in front of her chair and putting her feet in his lap. "Okay," she murmured, feeling more agreeable as he massaged her sock-clad toes. "Here we are... we. I said we---"
"Shhh."
Faith looked at him through her lashes. "Do you have to work tonight?" she asked.
He shook his head. "No, I'm free."
"How'd you score that?"
"Jean-Claude asked me to trade shifts with someone else," he replied. "I think he wants to move me to another business, but he hasn't decided where to put me yet."
Faith frowned. "As a dancer, or...?"
"I've been training more with those on security. He even came to watch me sword-fight with Truth last week," he told her. "I don't want to jinx it... but if Anita keeps up her end of the bargain and keeps feeding more often, then maybe I could be useful in security."
Faith smiled and touched his shoulder. She tried to grasp it, but she could barely move enough to let her fingers brush her shoulders so she settled for that contact. "That'd be awesome, if it's what you want," she murmured.
"It's less safe, but there are times at Danse Macabre when the girls that beg to dance with us seem more dangerous," he teased. "They're ferocious. Like you."
"Exactly, so you better be careful who you let get too close," Faith commented.
"I'll take my chances with you," he decided. He leaned up, inched closer, and kissed her lips. "Definitely with you."
"Sweet talker."
"So?"
Faith laughed quietly. There had been times when Robin was flirty and romantic, and those moments had never been easy to absorb. Damian had never tried to be very romantic at first; they'd been like porcupines, courting and mating very carefully, until they were sure that they were hooked. Then, it creeped into their routines so slowly that she barely noticed it until she was flirting back. He hadn't weakened her; she would've said he sanded down her hard, rough edges, but she thought that was a little too poetic for her tastes.
"God, you two... knock it off or you'll give me a toothache," Kennedy complained.
Damian scoffed and kissed Faith again before pulling away and easing her feet down on the floor. "I'm going to get a shower. Kennedy, I can drive you, if you want to wait?"
"Yeah, maybe. You don't mind?"
"No. I won't be too much longer," he said as he stood.
"Cool," Kennedy chirped.
Damian went into the bathroom and closed the door behind him. Kennedy leaned back on the pillows on the bed. Faith grunted, stood up, and went to the mini-fridge and grabbed two bottles of juice---one for each slayer.
"Thanks," the younger woman said when she took the bottle.
"Gotta keep your blood sugar up," Faith reminded her. She eased herself back into the armchair and opened her bottle. "So, everything's good?"
"More or less."
Faith nodded. She wished she could've asked Willow how to weasel information out of Kennedy without seeming obvious. Interrogations were always violent when she did them and she didn't think Kennedy would go for that.
Someone knocked at the door.
"Yeah?" Faith called out.
Dawn poked her head in. She looked straight at her, and Faith guessed she didn't notice Kennedy because of the way Dawn's smile never faltered.
"What's up?" Faith asked.
"It's girls night out tonight because Jason's doing the wolf-y thing. I was wondering if I could borrow something from your pre-baby collection?" Dawn asked. She blushed and added: "I want to make him lose it a little when he sees me on his way out."
Faith laughed a little on the inside. She wondered what Buffy would say if she found out that Dawn was borrowing her clothes. With a nod, she motioned to her closet (after she moved in, Damian had another one installed for her because they both had too many clothes to share one) and said, "Help yourself. It's all on the left side or in the boxes on the shelf."
"Thanks," Dawn murmured as she hurried into the room.
Faith watched her hurry past Kennedy and she didn't think the college student noticed that they weren't alone. She waited until Dawn was flicking through some of her favourite shirts and then asked, "Where are you going tonight?"
"A club on campus. A friend's band is playing."
Faith frowned. "Cool... but you're gonna be careful, right?"
Dawn turned to look at her. "My guard detail's already been brieffff---" her eyes had flicked to the other side of the room and she finally noticed Kennedy lounging on the bed "---ffffed. Oh. Hi, Kennedy."
"Hi, Dawn. Date night, huh?"
Dawn nodded. "Sort of."
Kennedy sighed. "Why are you pissed at me?"
"I'm not," Dawn replied.
Faith wasn't completely sure, but she thought Dawn was lying a little. She might've been a little angry, but she was a lot of other things---like scared. Faith didn't understand why she was scared of the other slayer, but she wasn't going to announce her fear to the room. If Dawn was going to try to hide it, Faith was going to try to ignore it.
"Oh, c'mon..."
Dawn sighed. "I'm not all that thrilled about how you've been treating Willow," she said, "But, I'm also not completely okay with slayers in town."
"We're not all bad."
"The rogue ones nearly killed Willow and her friends," Dawn reminded them. "And Xander---"
"Look, I'm not part of his and Andrew's little fan club, so don't lump me in with them," Kennedy protested. "I'm not the bad guy here."
Dawn looked over her shoulder as she idly looked through more of her shirts. "Then, why give Willow such a hard time?"
Kennedy shrugged. "I'm not doing it on purpose," she said in an evasive tone. "I just... haven't figured her out yet. I know I keep going about it wrong, but I want a second chance with her. She won't look at me with the vampires rolling her or the pack brainwashing her."
Dawn turned back to Faith's clothes, shaking her head silently. Faith, on the other hand, burst out in a little laugh.
"What?"
"How can you be such an idiot for someone who apparently prepared for slayerhood all her childhood?" Faith asked. She'd hoped it wouldn't come out sounding too rude, but it had. Kennedy was glaring at her and she couldn't keep the laughter out of her voice. "Besides that, do you really think Dawn and I would be here if Willow was being controlled somehow?"
"I don't know."
"God, Kennedy, let it go. Willow's happy. She's really, honest-to-God, over-the-fucking-moon happy."
"Well, when old friends aren't kidnapping her and trying to kill her," Dawn muttered under her breath.
Faith snorted. Then, she decided to remind Kennedy about how vampire marks worked. "Look, she's a human servant. She's got built-in defences against a lot of the controlling stuff vamps do. Asher especially can't mindfuck her. He can use his power on her, but he can't screw her brain so she does something she doesn't want to do. Lesser vamps, and a lot of big bads, too, can't roll her mind because he makes her stronger. Plus, she's a witch who has super strong mental shields and she knows how to use 'em," Faith said, looking at the other slayer. "She doesn't do anything she doesn't want to do---unless it's something that's for the good of the whole lot of us."
"Well, if she were mine, that wouldn't be an issue," Kennedy argued. "We could go wherever we want and do whatever we want."
The pregnant slayer sighed. She felt like she was getting too old to be dealing with the younger lot. She also wondered what on earth the watchers were teaching them.
"And she'd be free of the pack, to boot," Kennedy added.
"They can't brainwash her, Brat," Faith insisted. "It's not part of their power. They're together because they want to be---and because it's safer. Besides, she's their queen. She doesn't get pushed around much."
Kennedy shrugged. "She's just... different. She's barely like my Willow."
"Maybe you should take a hint, then," Dawn commented.
"Those men changed her into something she's not," Kennedy protested. "How can you guys just accept that?"
Dawn turned, two shirts in hand. "How about because she's happier than she's been since she left you guys behind?" she demanded. "How can you be so selfish to want to screw with that?"
"Kidlet's got a point," Faith murmured in agreement. She looked at the other slayer. "This is has been bothering you since you got here. Why don't you just... let it go?"
"She used to be mine."
"She's not anymore," Faith returned. "Let it go. Move on."
"To a vampire or wereanimal of my very own?" Kennedy asked in a derisive voice. "Like you guys did?"
Faith shrugged. "Or how about just to a place where you can be happy? When this gig's over, settle down somewhere you like and learn to be happy."
"She makes me happy."
"Made."
Kennedy sighed.
Dawn turned to Faith, holding up a denim jacket with leather trim. "Can I borrow this?" she asked.
"There's a dark brown leather bomber jacket at the end of the line. That'll look better on you---and it'll look hotter. Wear your suede pants and the boots there---" she pointed at the bottom of the closet "---if they'll fit." She thought about what she should wear underneath the jacket and then spoke again. "There are a few tube tops that don't look too slutty in the first box. They should just be sitting on top."
"Thanks, Faith."
"No problem. Just bring it all back sometime after I give birth to Fang Junior."
Dawn smiled. "Damian's really not letting you name the baby that, is he?"
"It has a ring to it, don't you think?" Damian said as he emerged from the bathroom. His hair was wet and he was wearing a robe. He grinned at Faith. "It's either Fang or Slayer. What do you like better?"
"You pick," Faith murmured. She grinned to let him know she was teasing. "Either way, the maternity nurses will flip out."
"If it's a girl, maybe Bloody Mary," Damian said as he went to his closet to find something to wear. Faith said a secret prayer in the hope that he'd choose something made out of leather; she loved him in leather pants, but he had a couple of shirts and jackets in the same material that did wonders to his upper body. "Nightmare? Or is that too weird?" He pulled out a pair of faded blue jeans that Faith knew had rips in their legs. She held her breath as he held them up and studied them; she exhaled when he put them back and continued to rummage. "Devil Doll? Pommette de sang? Now that I think about it, there are too many choices."
"Apparently," Faith mused.
Dawn pulled the right box down off of the closet shelf and found the tops Faith had mentioned. She picked the green one. Faith probably would've picked the red one, unless she was thinking about trying to match Damian. He wore a lot of green and purple when he was working---but those colours only worked well with his complexion when they were picked properly. She knew from hearing him complain that it was hard to find things to match both his hair and his eyes. Jean-Claude's tailor helped when it was possible; Damian still had the fashion wizard's booklet of fabric swatches in colours that suited him tucked in a drawer and he took it out every time he went shopping for clothes.
Dawn seemed to approve of the green top and then she rummaged in her bag for the pants Faith mentioned. Lucky she brought them, the slayer thought.
"Why are you getting ready here instead of at your place?" Faith asked.
"I was volunteering at Micah's office, just answering the phone and stuff," Dawn replied. "He drove me here after. He said he had something to discuss with Jean-Claude. My guard turns into a vampire tonight, so we figured since they change over here, too, it'd just be easier. And then, y'know, the upside of this is I get to see Jason before he leaves with the pack."
"Fair enough," Faith agreed. "You wanna leave your stuff here?"
"Yeah, sure," Dawn said. "I hoped I could either leave it here or with Willow."
Damian turned to look at the young woman. "I think she's with the pack tonight, too," he said. "Asher started work early today."
"Oh. Okay. Cool. So, Faith, I'll just tuck it by your chair and get it whenever I come back."
"Not staying the night?" she asked.
Dawn shook her head. "Nope. Two vamps in the bed with Willow---because Anita'll probably go back to her place with the cats after everything, which means Jean-Claude will stay with Asher---is two too many for me."
"Got it. Why not bunk in Jason's room though? If he's with the wolves all night..."
"Something about privacy. And control of his wolf. And me accepting him and the pack. And not trying to accept any of it until I'm ready," Dawn replied, sounding a little annoyed. "Usually it's frustrating. Sometimes it's sweet. This time, it's just... whatever. I wouldn't want to intrude, anyway. My place is closer to the bar so I'll just cab back with my watchdog."
Faith nodded. "Maybe he wants to be sure he's ready, too," she suggested, thinking about the mermaid that was still hanging around under the pretence of guarding Sampson the siren. "It's nothing to worry about. I think it's good that he wants to know you're both set to jump off that bridge together."
"Is that what you and Damian did?" Dawn demanded.
Damian smothered a chuckle---barely. Faith felt her cheeks heat up as she tried to glare at him.
"See, it's because I'm just human. He thinks I'm weak. Damian didn't worry about hurting you, Asher didn't worry about hurting Willow, and by the time Richard figured out what he wanted, he didn't have to worry about hurting Willow, either, because Asher gave her the vampire mark things."
"Technically, Asher didn't have to, since they did the whole thing backwards," Faith reminded her.
Dawn grunted. "It's not fair."
Damian looked at her. "It's better this way," he said quietly. "I've been around long enough to see what they can do if they're careless or inconsiderate, and I know Jason well enough to know his past wasn't easy. He was infected in a moment of terrifying cruelty and I think it left a mark on him somewhere no one'll ever see. He would never want to put you through that, even by accident."
"Yeah, but---"
"You know about Raina?"
Dawn frowned. "Yes, Jason told me."
"You can understand why he's being careful?"
"He wasn't careful before."
"He never cared about the women in his past as much as he cares about you," Damian decided. He paused and said, "He'd probably try to kill me for saying this much. But, I think you need to hear it from someone else so it doesn't sound like an excuse."
Dawn sighed. "I know... I know. I just... want things to move along."
"They will in their own time," the vampire assured her.
Faith smiled a little. She didn't know why, but she liked watching Damian and Dawn interact. They didn't very often, but when they did, Damian always took the time to talk to her---to explain things, to answer her questions, to ask questions of his own. She asked him why he was so nice to the girl once before because it confused her; Dawn wasn't her blood relative and she wasn't related to Willow, either, and she wasn't a lycanthrope or human servant, so Faith didn't understand why he made the effort to get to know her. Damian had replied to her questions with a shrug and said that Dawn was important to Faith so she would be important to him; he'd later added that she made him feel like a much older brother and he felt compelled in a non-magical way to take care of her. If Faith had been the swooning type, she probably would've swooned then. Instead, she just tugged him close for a kiss and crawled into his lap to reward him. They both enjoyed that response, she thought.
"I hope you're right," Dawn mumbled.
"Let me give you a tip," Damian advised. "Enjoy tonight. Enjoy each moment with the guy you love."
"Because they might be my last?"
"I wasn't going to say anything so grim, but I do want you to be happy. You both deserve it and you seem to be a good fit," he replied. "Sometimes I forget you're so young, but maybe you've just had to grow up too fast?" He reached out and touched her shoulder. "Let him help you forget about harder times, okay?"
"He does already," Dawn murmured. "Thanks. I'll try to keep that stuff in mind."
"Good."
"Do me a favour?"
He nodded. "What is it?"
"If your baby's a girl, please don't name her 'Devil Doll.'"
Damian laughed. He surprised both Dawn and Faith by leaning in and hugging the girl as laughs shook his body.
"Deal," he agreed. He pulled back and kissed the top of her head. "Go take the bathroom to change," he suggested. "I'll use the screen in the corner," he added, motioning towards the standing and folding screen he'd bought at an antique sale almost a year ago.
"Thanks, Damian," she said before scurrying off with her bag and Faith's clothes.
When Damian looked at her, Faith smiled. He smiled back at her and took his clothes---grey leather pants, white button-up shirt, and a black tank top---with him to the corner behind the screen. She approved of his outfit and couldn't wait to see him in it.
"You really love him," Kennedy said in a quiet voice.
Faith nodded. "Yeah," she replied.
"I think you guys are all nuts."
"We probably are," Faith agreed, "but we're happy."
"Why?"
"There doesn't seem to be an answer that'd make you happy, Kennedy," Faith commented. "What can I say that you want to hear?"
Kennedy sighed. "Tell me you let them vamp you," she replied. "Tell me you're addicted to being bitten. Tell me something so I understand. Buffy and Angel or Buffy and Spike... I got. They have souls. They helped you guys when they weren't soulless and killing everyone. But, this... I don't understand how I---" she broke off and frowned.
"You don't understand how to win Willow from Richard and Asher," Faith said, after she guessed what Kennedy was going to say. "And hasn't everyone been telling you it's not gonna happen---or that it's not about winning?"
"She shouldn't have to be tied up in vampire marks and werewolf rules," Kennedy protested. "She deserves better."
Damian stepped away from the screen's protection as he shrugged into his shirt. "And you think you're the one to provide the life you think she deserves?" he inquired in a cool tone.
"What if I do?"
"If you do," he said slowly and carefully, not looking at her as he hung his robe and went to the dresser to look in his jewelry box for something, "then I think you need to consider whether or not you're in love with her or an idyllic image of her you've whipped up in your head."
"I'm not a lovesick idiot."
"Then stop behaving like one," Damian advised in that same calm voice. "You're here to help, not cause more problems."
"You didn't know her before---"
"No, but I met her before she became Asher's human servant," he interrupted. "I wanted to hate her for my mistress, but it was difficult. The state she was in... it was pathetic. She was weak, despite the power in her---sick almost. She was afraid to trust people and desperate to trust people at the same time. She was lonely and lost. She's none of those things anymore."
Kennedy frowned. "Damian..."
"You're here to help," he repeated. "I appreciate the meals and the show of strength you and the other slayers provide. But, I think, in matters concerning Willow, you may not be thinking clearly or playing with a full deck of cards." He turned and looked at her as he put on his watch. "Something else is going on with you. You're a warrior, and I respect your strength. But beyond that respect, I like you enough to not want to see you get hurt."
The younger slayer nodded and looked away. Faith looked at her lover and shrugged; he shrugged back. She knew he was right; something else was going on with her, but she wasn't telling anyone. Faith wondered if Dawn knew anything---or if Willow did. Neither woman was saying anything, though, so Faith was going to have to wait until they were alone to try to get them to fill her in.
The knock at the door surprised them. Dawn heard it and called out: "If that's Jason, make him wait in his room, okay?"
Damian chuckled a little and shook his head. He went to the door and opened it to reveal Micah standing there with both Merle and Noah. Faith craned her neck to study them; they all looked pretty cranky about something.
"Micah," the vampire said quietly. "It's time?"
"Yeah, Damian," he said. "Can we come in?"
He nodded and stepped very carefully to the hinge-side of the doorframe. He opened the door wider as he did so and the three men came into the room almost all at once so there was no empty space into the hall. He closed the door a moment later and stood in front of it.
When Faith saw them angling towards Kennedy, she quickly realised they were there for the other slayer. She didn't understand why, but she had a feeling someone was about to spell it out for her so she could understand everything she'd been unable to figure out for herself. She rose from the chair as quickly as she could and went to the bathroom door. She kept it closed but put her hand on the knob in case she needed to duck inside. She didn't want to hide but Damian had made it clear to her that if anything violent happened around her in the nine months she was carrying their child, her primary goal was to hide and her secondary goal was to call for help.
"What's up?" Kennedy asked.
"I think you know," Micah replied calmly.
"I hoped I could keep it a secret the whole time," she confessed, without a trace of apology in her voice.
"You don't understand your power and you definitely don't understand mine," he said.
Kennedy snorted.
Micah smiled the sad smile Faith saw him give off in public in front of strangers and when Anita did something on a whole new level of fucked-up that he couldn't defend but had to defend at the same time.
"How long ago were you infected?" he asked.
"A few years," she replied. "Long enough to get it under control."
"But, it's not under control," Merle said before Micah could. "I bet you don't remember what happens on the full moon, that's how out of control you still are. You've been picking fights with everyone you think you're above and you're being careless. Disrespecting the Master of the City's just dumb, girl. Lupa's not a spot she had to fight for, but she's pretty much on top, and she could have your hide for the way you've spoken to her," he said. "We've got a treaty with the wolves. Besides that, you came into a city and basically declared yourself rogue to the Nimir-Raj and Nimir-Ra. People have died making that kind of mistake."
Faith didn't gasp, but she did feel her eyes widen. If she hadn't been on edge, she might've banged her head on the door a few times. She couldn't believe she missed it! Kennedy was a shapeshifter!
The next minute was one of those 'duh' moments, where all the puzzle pieces fit together perfectly. Faith shook her head slightly and tried to stay focused.
"You and your beast have been at odds for a while, I bet," Micah said. "You keep shoving her down, thinking you're making her obey, right? Well, it's not working. She's leaking all over you. You're quicker to anger, quicker to violence, and you didn't notice the change."
"I'm fine," Kennedy growled. "I'm a slayer. I'm tougher than you think."
"I bet," Micah agreed. "But, you don't know our ways or your culture... you don't know what you've been missing out on."
"I don't need a pack! I've seen how they work and I don't want any part of it!"
Micah shrugged. "Maybe you haven't seen how a healthy pard works," he said. "Or a healthy pack. I don't know. Maybe you're just living off of assumptions you put together when you were training to be a slayer. I don't know what's in your head. But, we can help you."
He took a step towards her. She drew her legs underneath herself as she sat up. She hissed; he stopped moving.
"I don't want your help."
"Is this aversion to pard life why you keep trying to convince Willow to go back to your old life?" he asked. "The only other person you think might get you because she knew you before you were infected and now she's carrying lycanthropy, too?"
Faith wasn't sure how many points Micah had gotten right, but she only sort of agreed with the last one he made.
"Or, do you just think she's going to be your mate?" Noah asked, speaking for the first time since entering the room. "Submissive to you, since you think you outrank her along with everyone else, and just something you can scent-mark until your beast believes she's yours?"
Kennedy frowned. "You're wrong."
Faith didn't think he was.
"Probably not," Micah commented. "Look, you've got control of shifting and hiding who you really are... I think that's great. But, you've still got a lot to learn, Kennedy. Let us take you back to the house and we can show you what you need to know... you can come with us for the full moon tonight."
She shook her head.
"It's no use, the nice cop routine," Merle muttered.
Micah nodded in agreement before speaking again. "Do you know our laws about challenges, Kennedy?"
"Fight to the death?"
He smirked. "Only if it's to take the place of the leader," he replied. "Other than that, it's usually in human form and whoever shifts into any other form loses. Sometimes, other rules are decided on before the fight, like using claws or shifting into man-leopard form for the fight---but then shifting to full-on leopard would mean losing."
"You want to fight me?"
"I think it's a bad idea to give someone a second chance with the threat of violence," he said. "But, I'm not an idiot and you've been off the charts dumb lately."
"Don't---"
"Don't lie or make excuses," Micah interrupted her. "It makes you smell weak."
Kennedy roared; Faith was impressed by the sound that erupted from the slayer's mouth.
She was even more impressed by the silent calm that Micah projected. She had never considered him deficient but she never fully appreciated how strong he really was. Kennedy was just about to pitch a fit and that showed how out of control she was close to becoming. Micah, on the other hand, was calm and cool, and that showed how in control of his power he was.
When Micah released his inner power and let it seek out the challenger to his territory, Faith almost considered ducking into the bathroom with Dawn. She didn't like the way the power crawled over her skin---but then, she wasn't a lycanthrope so she wasn't used to their kind of other-worldly energy.
Kennedy screamed.
Dawn opened the door a crack and asked what was going on, but Faith frowned and shut the door on her. Her curiosity kept her on the other side of the door. She looked at Damian and saw he was watching the scene with a sort of dispassionate eye that she expected from one of the bouncer-types they depended on for home security.
"I'm king here, Kennedy," Micah reminded her. He pulled his power back and whatever she'd been struggling against dissipated; she collapsed onto her hands and knees and breathed deeply. "Not you," he finished, growling.
"You can't break me," she snarled.
"I don't want to break you," he said. "I want to help you."
His power sought her out again, but it was softer than before. Faith didn't know what it felt like to Kennedy, but she guessed it must've felt sinfully good because the younger slayer dropped her head down and started to tremble.
"Anita and I do our best to protect our cats," Micah explained to the brunette on the bed. "When we're at our best, it can feel like this, like we've got you and we're never letting go. We stand up for those of us who need help. We're there in good and bad times. We're just a big family that turns furry at least once a month. We can be a big family for you, too, if you'd just open up to us."
He inched closer to her so that his knees almost touched the bed. Faith watched him touch her and she knew the power was touching her more, too, because Kennedy rocked forward to press the top of her head to his side. He stroked her back as she softened her body language; the pregnant slayer was starting to believe that he'd gotten through to her in a way no one else could have.
But, then, she saw Kennedy start to tense.
It was such a slow change that Faith almost didn't notice it. She was out of shape and practice---that was her excuse, she told herself, for not picking up on it more quickly.
Micah didn't miss it. Neither did Noah.
Noah stepped behind Micah and then went wide, while the wereleopard king grabbed Kennedy by the back of her neck. He pulled her away just as her jaws snapped shut with a rather loud sound and he flung her onto the floor to his other side, so she landed on her stomach in front of Merle.
She tried to recover, but Merle dropped on top of her. He settled onto her back, pulled her hands behind her, and refused to budge an inch. As trained and as strong as Kennedy was, Faith didn't think she could take a beating from three male lycanthropes. She wanted to, though; Faith didn't understand it.
"Maybe she doesn't understand?" Faith asked quietly. "I mean, she's been having some kind of unlike-you-guys opinions on stuff..."
"I know," Micah agreed, acknowledging her presence with a quick look to her standing by the bathroom door. "But, it's like trying to explain colour to a blind person."
"Or trying to deprogram a cult member," Merle grunted.
Faith sighed. "Kennedy, can't you just chill out and listen to them?"
"I've listened to them before."
"I don't think you've listened to this 'them' before, or if you have, you didn't hear what they said," Faith commented. "Give 'em a chance. This attitude you've got isn't very healthy."
Kennedy struggled. She almost unseated Merle once but only because she pretended to relax and rest; the next time she tried that lie on him, he knew better and he didn't give her an inch of breathing space.
"Kennedy, did you try to get along with a pard before?" Micah asked quietly, with a touch of his dominant power in the air to push her into answering the question.
"The one who infected me brought me to his group," she replied.
He sighed and nodded. "They freaked you out? Did something that wasn't okay?"
"None of this is okay," Kennedy growled.
Micah sighed again. He looked at Merle. "What do you want to do? Full dark's in a couple of hours," he said in a low voice. "We're going to the lupanar tonight."
Faith blinked. She couldn't remember Willow ever mentioning that the wereleopards joined the werewolves on full moons. But, then, she couldn't remember ever asking much about the monthly gatherings. She thought about it and figured Richard wouldn't invite them there without a good reason. Anita could be that good reason, since she was the queen of the cats and the punisher of the wolves---at least, that's what she thought Willow told her once when they talked about the petite, tough-as-nails animator.
"You want to bring her up there, with all those people around? Jesus, she'll want to fight them all."
Damian finally broke his silence. "It might help her to see the pack and pard function."
"You think?" Micah asked.
He shrugged. "Maybe... but then, I'm not really sure she should stay, either."
Micah frowned. "If we call Mr. Giles and make arrangements to send her out, he's going to want to know why. He sent her because she knew Willow. I don't want to out her if she doesn't want them to know."
"She's dangerous," Damian reminded him. "She'll kill to protect herself from what she thinks will weaken her until a dominant eventually kills her in turn. Someone needs to know."
"I know."
"What did Jean-Claude say?" the vampire asked.
"He said he wasn't told a leopard was in the group. He also said to do what Anita and I think is best and that he'd handle the political crap with the Watchers' Council if it goes bad."
Damian nodded. "And Anita?"
"She wanted to shoot Kennedy a few times with lead bullets, like she did with Elizabeth. I managed to talk her down from that but if anything else happens, I might not be able to. She's had enough of being screwed with," Micah admitted. He smiled a bit. "You know how Anita gets when she feels betrayed."
The vampire nodded. He drummed his fingers against the door. "I'd suggest calling her and Richard before making your next move. The wolves are hosting tonight, right?"
"Yeah," the wereleopard king replied. "Anita's got Bolverk business tonight, so Richard extended the invite to all of us." He looked at Merle. "You okay there for a few minutes?"
Merle nodded. "Move Noah up here with me and make your calls."
Micah backed up; Noah stepped froward.
Faith watched Micah go to the land line on the bedside table and then she ducked into the bathroom. She exhaled and leaned against the closed door. When she looked for Dawn, she found the other woman sitting on the countertop, swinging her suede-dressed legs gently into the cabinets. She was dressed and coiffed, but Faith figured she'd be late because she didn't see a quick way past the group by the door that wouldn't risk Kennedy's escape.
"So, it's true," Dawn said quietly.
"Yeah. You knew?"
"Willow confirmed it with Micah when Kennedy showed up at our door," the younger woman admitted. "He asked her not to say anything until he could take it to Anita."
"Good plan."
Dawn nodded. She frowned. "Is that why Kennedy's been so weird lately?"
Faith shrugged. She was hardly the go-to-expert on lycanthrope behaviour.
"I think she's scared... pissed off... and not sure what she wants," Faith said in a quiet voice as she moved away from the door. "Like, she's been on her own too long. She's got her own set of leopard-y rules and she thinks she's better than a pard when she's on her own. She's messed up in her head. I know---I've been like that, too. Only counting on myself and my own code of conduct with catchy subtitles like 'want, take, have,' while hurting people that offered to help me. I get that part of it." She sighed. "The disrespect thing, too, I guess. No one could tell me they were better than me when I was losing my marbles. But, she has no idea how lucky she is that no one's killed her yet. She's been dissin' everyone around her and it's a fucking miracle it hasn't escalated."
Dawn fumbled around for a lipgloss. "Willow said that she insulted her, but wants to take her away at the same time."
"Kennedy wants Willow for a mate. I get that. The beast is lonely and Red's the last one deep in Kennedy's heart, as far as I know."
"So, her wires are all crossed between human and leopard and she thinks the wereanimal groups are big bads?"
"Sorta?" Faith replied, shrugging. "I get some of it. I don't get the rest of it."
"If she could just understand that Micah's one of the good guys," Dawn whispered.
"I know, Kidlet."
"What's she gonna do when she sees Willow and Richard?"
"Probably challenge him---intentionally or not. He doesn't kill easy, so hopefully he'll knock some sense into her."
"She'd challenge him? He's Ulfric!" Dawn whispered, eyes wide as she thought about it. "What good would that do?"
"Get Willow away from one of her lovers. That's it---if she won. But, she won't. Skill and strength are one thing, but size and control are something else. And Kennedy isn't thinking about the different groups. She's just treating everyone like they're all weak."
Dawn frowned. "God, this could go bad."
"Ya think?" Faith muttered.
"Can I help?"
Faith shook her head. "You and me are off-duty on this one. Shifter business does not mean pregnant slayer and research girl business."
Dawn sighed and nodded. "I know... I just... she wasn't a close friend, but---"
"Yeah, I know," she murmured in agreement.
Kennedy screamed threats at all of them, Damian included. Faith cursed and poked her head out into the other room in time to see Micah taking a set of handcuffs from Noah. She didn't think that was the best way to convince Kennedy to trust the men, but then, she knew from talking to Willow that a lot of their business was managed in a very dominant-submissive way. Maybe the bondage gear would help her, in a weird way. She thought a spell would be more effective. None of them knew how to cast spells, though, so that probably wasn't an option.
A sedative might've helped, if Kennedy's metabolism wouldn't burn it off right away.
She was pretty sure Kennedy'd be able to break out of the cuffs...
...and then she thought she recognised them.
"Are those Xander's?" Faith blurted out before she could stop herself.
Micah looked up at her and smiled his saddest smile. "No," he replied. "But, I remember what the ones cut off Willow looked like... Edward had some in one of his bags. Guess he figured if he was helping Anita, he might get a chance to use them."
"Oh."
"They're a little different, but the principle's the same," he explained to her. "He told me he's used them," he added, giving off a little shudder, "and they work fine."
"Damn."
Micah nodded, looking at her without the lying smile on his face. "Yeah," he agreed. "I'm glad he helps keep Anita alive, but sometimes I think we're helping him do his job better when he leaves us again. It's fine when he's after people like Gabriel and Raina, but it won't be when if me or mine is on the business end of his gun."
He dropped down low and put the cuffs on the wrists Merle was holding. Noah had already grabbed another set and put them on Kennedy's ankles.
Kennedy cursed at them some more. Merle grimaced and then grabbed a bandana out of his pants' pocket and used it to make a gag to try to silence her.
"Not pretty, but it'll help until she chews through it," he said. He looked at Micah. "You sure about this?"
"Richard said to bring her. Willow agreed. Anita, too."
"And if she goes after someone like Nathaniel or Cherry or---"
"Then, she learns that's a very bad thing to do," Micah said in a low and dangerous voice, cutting the older man off. "But, if we don't try, I'll regret it."
"Yeah."
The wereleopard king looked at Faith. "Sorry to barge in here and take over," he apologised.
"You'll take care of her?"
He nodded.
"Then, we're five-by five."
"Same here," Damian agreed. "But, be careful for yourself, too."
"Thanks," Micah replied.
He patted Damian's arm and then the vampire opened the door. Merle lifted off of Kennedy's body and Micah helped him carry her out of the room. Noah picked up the stuff they had dropped on the floor and followed them out of the room without another word.
"I hope they can help her," Damian said as the two women left the safety of the bathroom.
"Me, too," Faith agreed.
She went to Damian and touched his hand with hers. He tangled their fingers together and kissed her knuckles. When she looked at him, she felt a little of her tension melting away.
"My out-mood's been kind of ruined," Dawn mumbled.
"You could always hang out with me and eat pizza," Faith offered.
Dawn smiled a bit. "Yeah?" Her phone beeped and she looked at the display. Her smile faded. "Damn."
"What's wrong?" Damian asked.
"The girls I'm going out with... well, we don't hang out at night a lot. One of them said she never sees me on campus the night of a full moon. I just stay in. I figure it's a good way not to get accidentally clawed or eaten by someone who didn't know they're a shapeshifter. Staying in saved a lot of problems in Sunnydale. But, she's trying to make a point." She raised her phone. "She's trying really hard to make her point."
Faith nodded. She could understand the political movements---no matter how illegal they were---made it difficult to be a student. Dawn didn't make it easy for herself, either. She hung out at the Lunatic Café, she defended people who were being bullied because they seemed different, and she volunteered at the Furry Coalition's office (although Faith suspected they should start calling it the Fanged and Furry Coalition soon because the vampires had been joining in on the togetherness a lot, too). But, Dawn wasn't in a good mood to go out and Faith knew from experience that a mood like that could lead to bad, bad decisions.
"So, go out for an hour or so. Then call me if it sucks and I'll meet you back at your place. We'll order pizza or something and flake out on the sofa."
"Is that okay?" she asked.
"I can get a cab, or Damian can take me if he's not busy," she said, after shooting him a quick glance and seeing him nod.
Dawn smiled more. "Alright. That sounds like a plan I can work with."
"Good, now, go tease Jason a little and get out of here," Faith insisted.
"Have fun," Damian added.
"Thanks, guys," Dawn murmured. She hugged Faith and then bounced up onto her toes to kiss Damian's cheek. After grabbing her coat and smaller purse, she was heading down the hall.
Faith looked at her lover and smiled. "So, we probably have an hour to ourselves," she whispered.
"At least."
"Any ideas on how we can spend our time?" she asked.
Damian pulled her into his body and kissed her lips. She sighed as her pulse skipped a beat. He was a good kisser; she wondered if he'd always been that way, but never had the balls to ask him. He was sensitive about a lot of subjects in his past and she learned early on in their relationship that pushing him past his comfort zone was never a good idea. She didn't like being pushed past hers, either, so they agreed to be patient with each other on some topics.
"That's one way," he whispered.
"Don't rev me up if you can't promise to finish it," she whispered back.
Damian grinned down at her. She saw his eyes light up with an idea. Then, his grin stretched. "I have an idea," he said, taking her by the hand and out of their room. "I think you'll like it, too."
"If it involves screwing, then, yeah, I'm in."
He chuckled. "Later," he promised. "For now, we train."
"Train? Damian, I'm huge and getting huger by the minute. I can't---"
He turned her into one of the rooms she knew he used for sword-fighting with the vampire brothers, Wicked and Truth. She saw a few fake, wooden swords lined up on a rack by the door, and she smiled. "You'll have to dummy up or something. I'm slow and unbalanced."
"That's alright," he assured her. "Let's just do something together."
"Okay," she agreed.
Just plain old sex would've been fine with her, but it was things like that---adding a little unexpected swordplay to their night---which made Faith feel as if she were falling in love with him over and over again.
AUTHOR: 38gnihsurc
RATING: en.sea.xvii, overall
PAIRINGS: All the pairings from the previous two stories---and some new ones, too
SPOILERS: Up until Micah for AB; the whole TV series for the Buffyverse; Alive at Last and Living Underground.
WARNINGS: A little bit of fur... bdsm... the usuals for Anita's crazy, crazy world.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own anyone---except for any original characters that I whip up to do my bidding ;)
NOTE: This story is a sequel to Living Underground.
Previous chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9-11, 12, 13, 14-5, 16-7, 18-9, 20-1, 22, 23, 24-5, 26-7, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32-3, 34-7, 38, 39-40, 41, 42, 43-44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51A, 51B, 52, 53, 54, 55-6, 57, 58A, 58B, 59, 60, 61, 62-63, 64, 65, 66-7, 68-9, 70
PART SEVENTY-ONE
Faith watched from her armchair as Damian drank slowly and steadily from Kennedy's wrist. The slayer seemed calmer---but Faith knew that it could be an illusion. She wasn't sure what to think when Patrick told her about what had happened outside the apartment; she had to get Willow to confirm it all later, to really believe it. But, on the first day Kennedy came to the Circus, when Faith called the back door and found out Kennedy had already gone through the door and was given directions to the room she shared with Damian nearly half an hour earlier, Faith's gut had gone into overdrive. She didn't know where else Kennedy would go except to see Willow, and when she found the slayer disrespecting everyone in the room---Asher, Willow, and Jean-Claude---she'd gotten angry.
She knew it had cost Damian something to go to Jean-Claude and ask for help. It might've been worse if he'd had to go to Anita, but she knew Damian was prouder since Anita started giving him power instead of accidentally taking his strength away, and it had been difficult for him to go to the Master of the City.
He'd been a freaking viking, for crying out loud. He fought epic battles she'd seen in picture books when she'd been in school. He fought in wars that legends could've been based on.
To ask for help because he didn't think he could protect his girlfriend and unborn baby as completely as he'd like... well, Faith understood that it was a blow to his warrior-manliness.
So, she got angry because she didn't want the brat screw to things up for everyone.
Something about her was different. Maybe it was being on her own for so long---because Faith knew Kennedy always preferred long, isolated assignments in the jungle or forest or some other barely-populated piece of land---and that had screwed her up somehow. Loneliness certainly hadn't done Faith many favours when she was growing up. No one had done Faith many favours when she was growing up, but that was her old tune and she'd been humming a different song since deciding St. Louis was her home. She wondered if Kennedy was just a late bloomer---getting bitter because she couldn't have all the toys that she'd been given when she was a spoiled little princess on the Upper East Side (or wherever she actually came from).
But, the more Faith watched her over the next couple of weeks, the more she sensed it was something else. Her slayer instincts had been in overdrive since she headed into the second half of her pregnancy; she wasn't a brainiac, but she could tell when something wasn't five-by-five.
Damian's way-too-bright eyes turned towards her. She smiled and rubbed her abdomen. His eyes seemed to both darken and intensify in colour as his gaze followed her hands. She wasn't his human servant---didn't know if she ever could and wasn't sure she ever wanted to be---but she didn't need to be in order to read his thoughts.
He pulled his mouth from Kennedy's wrist and licked his lips as discretely as he could. "Thank you, Kennedy," he said in a low, quiet voice. "I doubt this is your favourite part of your job, but we do appreciate your donations."
"Giles told me you guys need strength," she said in reply. "What's stronger than slayer blood?"
"Not much," Damian conceded. He looked away from her, to Faith, for a moment; she wondered if he could tell what was wrong with her but didn't ask.
Faith decided to smile at him. She decided to pretend Kennedy was the same slayer she'd known in Sunnydale and when working with the new-and-improved Council in its earliest stages---for the time being.
"How're the patrols going?" she asked.
"Mostly violence free," Kennedy admitted. She took the handkerchief Damian offered her and pressed it to the wound on her wrist. "A couple of nights ago, some university students got a little too drunk and decided to try to get into some of the clubs we've been looking out for. Between the bouncers and my little team, we cleared them out okay."
"Good... good. Any hellmouth-y stuff?"
"Nah, not really. But, one of the others told me about a scaly demon with yellow slime lurking around one of the hot spots."
"Did they---"
"Consider it slayed."
Faith sighed. "Good... good. Alright, so what's on the schedule tonight?"
"I'm off. Gonna head back to the apartment and check in with Robin, I guess."
"Cool."
"I'd ask if you want to come with me, but I guess you don't want to."
Faith shrugged. "Robin and I already talked it all out enough," she told the other slayer. "I don't need to go through that again. It's exhausting and I spend a lot of my time already exhausted," she said as she rubbed her belly. She felt a brief flutter when the baby moved; she closed her eyes to savour the sensation. When she looked at Kennedy again, she said, "He's a nice guy, but he has issues like we all do, and I finally shed most of mine, so I'm not looking to help him with his. He can be a friend, but he can't keep looking at me like I'm gonna give birth to Satan's spawn."
Kennedy smiled. "Damian's not that bad," she teased.
Damian chuckled. "It's always been this way for women who carry our children," he explained when the laughter died away. "I never thought I'd be experiencing it, but here we are."
Faith grinned at him. "Here I am," she corrected him. "You're not the one carrying a bowling ball under her shirt."
"I would if I could."
"I doubt it," Faith said after a snort. He stood up and walked over to her, sitting on the footstool in front of her chair and putting her feet in his lap. "Okay," she murmured, feeling more agreeable as he massaged her sock-clad toes. "Here we are... we. I said we---"
"Shhh."
Faith looked at him through her lashes. "Do you have to work tonight?" she asked.
He shook his head. "No, I'm free."
"How'd you score that?"
"Jean-Claude asked me to trade shifts with someone else," he replied. "I think he wants to move me to another business, but he hasn't decided where to put me yet."
Faith frowned. "As a dancer, or...?"
"I've been training more with those on security. He even came to watch me sword-fight with Truth last week," he told her. "I don't want to jinx it... but if Anita keeps up her end of the bargain and keeps feeding more often, then maybe I could be useful in security."
Faith smiled and touched his shoulder. She tried to grasp it, but she could barely move enough to let her fingers brush her shoulders so she settled for that contact. "That'd be awesome, if it's what you want," she murmured.
"It's less safe, but there are times at Danse Macabre when the girls that beg to dance with us seem more dangerous," he teased. "They're ferocious. Like you."
"Exactly, so you better be careful who you let get too close," Faith commented.
"I'll take my chances with you," he decided. He leaned up, inched closer, and kissed her lips. "Definitely with you."
"Sweet talker."
"So?"
Faith laughed quietly. There had been times when Robin was flirty and romantic, and those moments had never been easy to absorb. Damian had never tried to be very romantic at first; they'd been like porcupines, courting and mating very carefully, until they were sure that they were hooked. Then, it creeped into their routines so slowly that she barely noticed it until she was flirting back. He hadn't weakened her; she would've said he sanded down her hard, rough edges, but she thought that was a little too poetic for her tastes.
"God, you two... knock it off or you'll give me a toothache," Kennedy complained.
Damian scoffed and kissed Faith again before pulling away and easing her feet down on the floor. "I'm going to get a shower. Kennedy, I can drive you, if you want to wait?"
"Yeah, maybe. You don't mind?"
"No. I won't be too much longer," he said as he stood.
"Cool," Kennedy chirped.
Damian went into the bathroom and closed the door behind him. Kennedy leaned back on the pillows on the bed. Faith grunted, stood up, and went to the mini-fridge and grabbed two bottles of juice---one for each slayer.
"Thanks," the younger woman said when she took the bottle.
"Gotta keep your blood sugar up," Faith reminded her. She eased herself back into the armchair and opened her bottle. "So, everything's good?"
"More or less."
Faith nodded. She wished she could've asked Willow how to weasel information out of Kennedy without seeming obvious. Interrogations were always violent when she did them and she didn't think Kennedy would go for that.
Someone knocked at the door.
"Yeah?" Faith called out.
Dawn poked her head in. She looked straight at her, and Faith guessed she didn't notice Kennedy because of the way Dawn's smile never faltered.
"What's up?" Faith asked.
"It's girls night out tonight because Jason's doing the wolf-y thing. I was wondering if I could borrow something from your pre-baby collection?" Dawn asked. She blushed and added: "I want to make him lose it a little when he sees me on his way out."
Faith laughed a little on the inside. She wondered what Buffy would say if she found out that Dawn was borrowing her clothes. With a nod, she motioned to her closet (after she moved in, Damian had another one installed for her because they both had too many clothes to share one) and said, "Help yourself. It's all on the left side or in the boxes on the shelf."
"Thanks," Dawn murmured as she hurried into the room.
Faith watched her hurry past Kennedy and she didn't think the college student noticed that they weren't alone. She waited until Dawn was flicking through some of her favourite shirts and then asked, "Where are you going tonight?"
"A club on campus. A friend's band is playing."
Faith frowned. "Cool... but you're gonna be careful, right?"
Dawn turned to look at her. "My guard detail's already been brieffff---" her eyes had flicked to the other side of the room and she finally noticed Kennedy lounging on the bed "---ffffed. Oh. Hi, Kennedy."
"Hi, Dawn. Date night, huh?"
Dawn nodded. "Sort of."
Kennedy sighed. "Why are you pissed at me?"
"I'm not," Dawn replied.
Faith wasn't completely sure, but she thought Dawn was lying a little. She might've been a little angry, but she was a lot of other things---like scared. Faith didn't understand why she was scared of the other slayer, but she wasn't going to announce her fear to the room. If Dawn was going to try to hide it, Faith was going to try to ignore it.
"Oh, c'mon..."
Dawn sighed. "I'm not all that thrilled about how you've been treating Willow," she said, "But, I'm also not completely okay with slayers in town."
"We're not all bad."
"The rogue ones nearly killed Willow and her friends," Dawn reminded them. "And Xander---"
"Look, I'm not part of his and Andrew's little fan club, so don't lump me in with them," Kennedy protested. "I'm not the bad guy here."
Dawn looked over her shoulder as she idly looked through more of her shirts. "Then, why give Willow such a hard time?"
Kennedy shrugged. "I'm not doing it on purpose," she said in an evasive tone. "I just... haven't figured her out yet. I know I keep going about it wrong, but I want a second chance with her. She won't look at me with the vampires rolling her or the pack brainwashing her."
Dawn turned back to Faith's clothes, shaking her head silently. Faith, on the other hand, burst out in a little laugh.
"What?"
"How can you be such an idiot for someone who apparently prepared for slayerhood all her childhood?" Faith asked. She'd hoped it wouldn't come out sounding too rude, but it had. Kennedy was glaring at her and she couldn't keep the laughter out of her voice. "Besides that, do you really think Dawn and I would be here if Willow was being controlled somehow?"
"I don't know."
"God, Kennedy, let it go. Willow's happy. She's really, honest-to-God, over-the-fucking-moon happy."
"Well, when old friends aren't kidnapping her and trying to kill her," Dawn muttered under her breath.
Faith snorted. Then, she decided to remind Kennedy about how vampire marks worked. "Look, she's a human servant. She's got built-in defences against a lot of the controlling stuff vamps do. Asher especially can't mindfuck her. He can use his power on her, but he can't screw her brain so she does something she doesn't want to do. Lesser vamps, and a lot of big bads, too, can't roll her mind because he makes her stronger. Plus, she's a witch who has super strong mental shields and she knows how to use 'em," Faith said, looking at the other slayer. "She doesn't do anything she doesn't want to do---unless it's something that's for the good of the whole lot of us."
"Well, if she were mine, that wouldn't be an issue," Kennedy argued. "We could go wherever we want and do whatever we want."
The pregnant slayer sighed. She felt like she was getting too old to be dealing with the younger lot. She also wondered what on earth the watchers were teaching them.
"And she'd be free of the pack, to boot," Kennedy added.
"They can't brainwash her, Brat," Faith insisted. "It's not part of their power. They're together because they want to be---and because it's safer. Besides, she's their queen. She doesn't get pushed around much."
Kennedy shrugged. "She's just... different. She's barely like my Willow."
"Maybe you should take a hint, then," Dawn commented.
"Those men changed her into something she's not," Kennedy protested. "How can you guys just accept that?"
Dawn turned, two shirts in hand. "How about because she's happier than she's been since she left you guys behind?" she demanded. "How can you be so selfish to want to screw with that?"
"Kidlet's got a point," Faith murmured in agreement. She looked at the other slayer. "This is has been bothering you since you got here. Why don't you just... let it go?"
"She used to be mine."
"She's not anymore," Faith returned. "Let it go. Move on."
"To a vampire or wereanimal of my very own?" Kennedy asked in a derisive voice. "Like you guys did?"
Faith shrugged. "Or how about just to a place where you can be happy? When this gig's over, settle down somewhere you like and learn to be happy."
"She makes me happy."
"Made."
Kennedy sighed.
Dawn turned to Faith, holding up a denim jacket with leather trim. "Can I borrow this?" she asked.
"There's a dark brown leather bomber jacket at the end of the line. That'll look better on you---and it'll look hotter. Wear your suede pants and the boots there---" she pointed at the bottom of the closet "---if they'll fit." She thought about what she should wear underneath the jacket and then spoke again. "There are a few tube tops that don't look too slutty in the first box. They should just be sitting on top."
"Thanks, Faith."
"No problem. Just bring it all back sometime after I give birth to Fang Junior."
Dawn smiled. "Damian's really not letting you name the baby that, is he?"
"It has a ring to it, don't you think?" Damian said as he emerged from the bathroom. His hair was wet and he was wearing a robe. He grinned at Faith. "It's either Fang or Slayer. What do you like better?"
"You pick," Faith murmured. She grinned to let him know she was teasing. "Either way, the maternity nurses will flip out."
"If it's a girl, maybe Bloody Mary," Damian said as he went to his closet to find something to wear. Faith said a secret prayer in the hope that he'd choose something made out of leather; she loved him in leather pants, but he had a couple of shirts and jackets in the same material that did wonders to his upper body. "Nightmare? Or is that too weird?" He pulled out a pair of faded blue jeans that Faith knew had rips in their legs. She held her breath as he held them up and studied them; she exhaled when he put them back and continued to rummage. "Devil Doll? Pommette de sang? Now that I think about it, there are too many choices."
"Apparently," Faith mused.
Dawn pulled the right box down off of the closet shelf and found the tops Faith had mentioned. She picked the green one. Faith probably would've picked the red one, unless she was thinking about trying to match Damian. He wore a lot of green and purple when he was working---but those colours only worked well with his complexion when they were picked properly. She knew from hearing him complain that it was hard to find things to match both his hair and his eyes. Jean-Claude's tailor helped when it was possible; Damian still had the fashion wizard's booklet of fabric swatches in colours that suited him tucked in a drawer and he took it out every time he went shopping for clothes.
Dawn seemed to approve of the green top and then she rummaged in her bag for the pants Faith mentioned. Lucky she brought them, the slayer thought.
"Why are you getting ready here instead of at your place?" Faith asked.
"I was volunteering at Micah's office, just answering the phone and stuff," Dawn replied. "He drove me here after. He said he had something to discuss with Jean-Claude. My guard turns into a vampire tonight, so we figured since they change over here, too, it'd just be easier. And then, y'know, the upside of this is I get to see Jason before he leaves with the pack."
"Fair enough," Faith agreed. "You wanna leave your stuff here?"
"Yeah, sure," Dawn said. "I hoped I could either leave it here or with Willow."
Damian turned to look at the young woman. "I think she's with the pack tonight, too," he said. "Asher started work early today."
"Oh. Okay. Cool. So, Faith, I'll just tuck it by your chair and get it whenever I come back."
"Not staying the night?" she asked.
Dawn shook her head. "Nope. Two vamps in the bed with Willow---because Anita'll probably go back to her place with the cats after everything, which means Jean-Claude will stay with Asher---is two too many for me."
"Got it. Why not bunk in Jason's room though? If he's with the wolves all night..."
"Something about privacy. And control of his wolf. And me accepting him and the pack. And not trying to accept any of it until I'm ready," Dawn replied, sounding a little annoyed. "Usually it's frustrating. Sometimes it's sweet. This time, it's just... whatever. I wouldn't want to intrude, anyway. My place is closer to the bar so I'll just cab back with my watchdog."
Faith nodded. "Maybe he wants to be sure he's ready, too," she suggested, thinking about the mermaid that was still hanging around under the pretence of guarding Sampson the siren. "It's nothing to worry about. I think it's good that he wants to know you're both set to jump off that bridge together."
"Is that what you and Damian did?" Dawn demanded.
Damian smothered a chuckle---barely. Faith felt her cheeks heat up as she tried to glare at him.
"See, it's because I'm just human. He thinks I'm weak. Damian didn't worry about hurting you, Asher didn't worry about hurting Willow, and by the time Richard figured out what he wanted, he didn't have to worry about hurting Willow, either, because Asher gave her the vampire mark things."
"Technically, Asher didn't have to, since they did the whole thing backwards," Faith reminded her.
Dawn grunted. "It's not fair."
Damian looked at her. "It's better this way," he said quietly. "I've been around long enough to see what they can do if they're careless or inconsiderate, and I know Jason well enough to know his past wasn't easy. He was infected in a moment of terrifying cruelty and I think it left a mark on him somewhere no one'll ever see. He would never want to put you through that, even by accident."
"Yeah, but---"
"You know about Raina?"
Dawn frowned. "Yes, Jason told me."
"You can understand why he's being careful?"
"He wasn't careful before."
"He never cared about the women in his past as much as he cares about you," Damian decided. He paused and said, "He'd probably try to kill me for saying this much. But, I think you need to hear it from someone else so it doesn't sound like an excuse."
Dawn sighed. "I know... I know. I just... want things to move along."
"They will in their own time," the vampire assured her.
Faith smiled a little. She didn't know why, but she liked watching Damian and Dawn interact. They didn't very often, but when they did, Damian always took the time to talk to her---to explain things, to answer her questions, to ask questions of his own. She asked him why he was so nice to the girl once before because it confused her; Dawn wasn't her blood relative and she wasn't related to Willow, either, and she wasn't a lycanthrope or human servant, so Faith didn't understand why he made the effort to get to know her. Damian had replied to her questions with a shrug and said that Dawn was important to Faith so she would be important to him; he'd later added that she made him feel like a much older brother and he felt compelled in a non-magical way to take care of her. If Faith had been the swooning type, she probably would've swooned then. Instead, she just tugged him close for a kiss and crawled into his lap to reward him. They both enjoyed that response, she thought.
"I hope you're right," Dawn mumbled.
"Let me give you a tip," Damian advised. "Enjoy tonight. Enjoy each moment with the guy you love."
"Because they might be my last?"
"I wasn't going to say anything so grim, but I do want you to be happy. You both deserve it and you seem to be a good fit," he replied. "Sometimes I forget you're so young, but maybe you've just had to grow up too fast?" He reached out and touched her shoulder. "Let him help you forget about harder times, okay?"
"He does already," Dawn murmured. "Thanks. I'll try to keep that stuff in mind."
"Good."
"Do me a favour?"
He nodded. "What is it?"
"If your baby's a girl, please don't name her 'Devil Doll.'"
Damian laughed. He surprised both Dawn and Faith by leaning in and hugging the girl as laughs shook his body.
"Deal," he agreed. He pulled back and kissed the top of her head. "Go take the bathroom to change," he suggested. "I'll use the screen in the corner," he added, motioning towards the standing and folding screen he'd bought at an antique sale almost a year ago.
"Thanks, Damian," she said before scurrying off with her bag and Faith's clothes.
When Damian looked at her, Faith smiled. He smiled back at her and took his clothes---grey leather pants, white button-up shirt, and a black tank top---with him to the corner behind the screen. She approved of his outfit and couldn't wait to see him in it.
"You really love him," Kennedy said in a quiet voice.
Faith nodded. "Yeah," she replied.
"I think you guys are all nuts."
"We probably are," Faith agreed, "but we're happy."
"Why?"
"There doesn't seem to be an answer that'd make you happy, Kennedy," Faith commented. "What can I say that you want to hear?"
Kennedy sighed. "Tell me you let them vamp you," she replied. "Tell me you're addicted to being bitten. Tell me something so I understand. Buffy and Angel or Buffy and Spike... I got. They have souls. They helped you guys when they weren't soulless and killing everyone. But, this... I don't understand how I---" she broke off and frowned.
"You don't understand how to win Willow from Richard and Asher," Faith said, after she guessed what Kennedy was going to say. "And hasn't everyone been telling you it's not gonna happen---or that it's not about winning?"
"She shouldn't have to be tied up in vampire marks and werewolf rules," Kennedy protested. "She deserves better."
Damian stepped away from the screen's protection as he shrugged into his shirt. "And you think you're the one to provide the life you think she deserves?" he inquired in a cool tone.
"What if I do?"
"If you do," he said slowly and carefully, not looking at her as he hung his robe and went to the dresser to look in his jewelry box for something, "then I think you need to consider whether or not you're in love with her or an idyllic image of her you've whipped up in your head."
"I'm not a lovesick idiot."
"Then stop behaving like one," Damian advised in that same calm voice. "You're here to help, not cause more problems."
"You didn't know her before---"
"No, but I met her before she became Asher's human servant," he interrupted. "I wanted to hate her for my mistress, but it was difficult. The state she was in... it was pathetic. She was weak, despite the power in her---sick almost. She was afraid to trust people and desperate to trust people at the same time. She was lonely and lost. She's none of those things anymore."
Kennedy frowned. "Damian..."
"You're here to help," he repeated. "I appreciate the meals and the show of strength you and the other slayers provide. But, I think, in matters concerning Willow, you may not be thinking clearly or playing with a full deck of cards." He turned and looked at her as he put on his watch. "Something else is going on with you. You're a warrior, and I respect your strength. But beyond that respect, I like you enough to not want to see you get hurt."
The younger slayer nodded and looked away. Faith looked at her lover and shrugged; he shrugged back. She knew he was right; something else was going on with her, but she wasn't telling anyone. Faith wondered if Dawn knew anything---or if Willow did. Neither woman was saying anything, though, so Faith was going to have to wait until they were alone to try to get them to fill her in.
The knock at the door surprised them. Dawn heard it and called out: "If that's Jason, make him wait in his room, okay?"
Damian chuckled a little and shook his head. He went to the door and opened it to reveal Micah standing there with both Merle and Noah. Faith craned her neck to study them; they all looked pretty cranky about something.
"Micah," the vampire said quietly. "It's time?"
"Yeah, Damian," he said. "Can we come in?"
He nodded and stepped very carefully to the hinge-side of the doorframe. He opened the door wider as he did so and the three men came into the room almost all at once so there was no empty space into the hall. He closed the door a moment later and stood in front of it.
When Faith saw them angling towards Kennedy, she quickly realised they were there for the other slayer. She didn't understand why, but she had a feeling someone was about to spell it out for her so she could understand everything she'd been unable to figure out for herself. She rose from the chair as quickly as she could and went to the bathroom door. She kept it closed but put her hand on the knob in case she needed to duck inside. She didn't want to hide but Damian had made it clear to her that if anything violent happened around her in the nine months she was carrying their child, her primary goal was to hide and her secondary goal was to call for help.
"What's up?" Kennedy asked.
"I think you know," Micah replied calmly.
"I hoped I could keep it a secret the whole time," she confessed, without a trace of apology in her voice.
"You don't understand your power and you definitely don't understand mine," he said.
Kennedy snorted.
Micah smiled the sad smile Faith saw him give off in public in front of strangers and when Anita did something on a whole new level of fucked-up that he couldn't defend but had to defend at the same time.
"How long ago were you infected?" he asked.
"A few years," she replied. "Long enough to get it under control."
"But, it's not under control," Merle said before Micah could. "I bet you don't remember what happens on the full moon, that's how out of control you still are. You've been picking fights with everyone you think you're above and you're being careless. Disrespecting the Master of the City's just dumb, girl. Lupa's not a spot she had to fight for, but she's pretty much on top, and she could have your hide for the way you've spoken to her," he said. "We've got a treaty with the wolves. Besides that, you came into a city and basically declared yourself rogue to the Nimir-Raj and Nimir-Ra. People have died making that kind of mistake."
Faith didn't gasp, but she did feel her eyes widen. If she hadn't been on edge, she might've banged her head on the door a few times. She couldn't believe she missed it! Kennedy was a shapeshifter!
The next minute was one of those 'duh' moments, where all the puzzle pieces fit together perfectly. Faith shook her head slightly and tried to stay focused.
"You and your beast have been at odds for a while, I bet," Micah said. "You keep shoving her down, thinking you're making her obey, right? Well, it's not working. She's leaking all over you. You're quicker to anger, quicker to violence, and you didn't notice the change."
"I'm fine," Kennedy growled. "I'm a slayer. I'm tougher than you think."
"I bet," Micah agreed. "But, you don't know our ways or your culture... you don't know what you've been missing out on."
"I don't need a pack! I've seen how they work and I don't want any part of it!"
Micah shrugged. "Maybe you haven't seen how a healthy pard works," he said. "Or a healthy pack. I don't know. Maybe you're just living off of assumptions you put together when you were training to be a slayer. I don't know what's in your head. But, we can help you."
He took a step towards her. She drew her legs underneath herself as she sat up. She hissed; he stopped moving.
"I don't want your help."
"Is this aversion to pard life why you keep trying to convince Willow to go back to your old life?" he asked. "The only other person you think might get you because she knew you before you were infected and now she's carrying lycanthropy, too?"
Faith wasn't sure how many points Micah had gotten right, but she only sort of agreed with the last one he made.
"Or, do you just think she's going to be your mate?" Noah asked, speaking for the first time since entering the room. "Submissive to you, since you think you outrank her along with everyone else, and just something you can scent-mark until your beast believes she's yours?"
Kennedy frowned. "You're wrong."
Faith didn't think he was.
"Probably not," Micah commented. "Look, you've got control of shifting and hiding who you really are... I think that's great. But, you've still got a lot to learn, Kennedy. Let us take you back to the house and we can show you what you need to know... you can come with us for the full moon tonight."
She shook her head.
"It's no use, the nice cop routine," Merle muttered.
Micah nodded in agreement before speaking again. "Do you know our laws about challenges, Kennedy?"
"Fight to the death?"
He smirked. "Only if it's to take the place of the leader," he replied. "Other than that, it's usually in human form and whoever shifts into any other form loses. Sometimes, other rules are decided on before the fight, like using claws or shifting into man-leopard form for the fight---but then shifting to full-on leopard would mean losing."
"You want to fight me?"
"I think it's a bad idea to give someone a second chance with the threat of violence," he said. "But, I'm not an idiot and you've been off the charts dumb lately."
"Don't---"
"Don't lie or make excuses," Micah interrupted her. "It makes you smell weak."
Kennedy roared; Faith was impressed by the sound that erupted from the slayer's mouth.
She was even more impressed by the silent calm that Micah projected. She had never considered him deficient but she never fully appreciated how strong he really was. Kennedy was just about to pitch a fit and that showed how out of control she was close to becoming. Micah, on the other hand, was calm and cool, and that showed how in control of his power he was.
When Micah released his inner power and let it seek out the challenger to his territory, Faith almost considered ducking into the bathroom with Dawn. She didn't like the way the power crawled over her skin---but then, she wasn't a lycanthrope so she wasn't used to their kind of other-worldly energy.
Kennedy screamed.
Dawn opened the door a crack and asked what was going on, but Faith frowned and shut the door on her. Her curiosity kept her on the other side of the door. She looked at Damian and saw he was watching the scene with a sort of dispassionate eye that she expected from one of the bouncer-types they depended on for home security.
"I'm king here, Kennedy," Micah reminded her. He pulled his power back and whatever she'd been struggling against dissipated; she collapsed onto her hands and knees and breathed deeply. "Not you," he finished, growling.
"You can't break me," she snarled.
"I don't want to break you," he said. "I want to help you."
His power sought her out again, but it was softer than before. Faith didn't know what it felt like to Kennedy, but she guessed it must've felt sinfully good because the younger slayer dropped her head down and started to tremble.
"Anita and I do our best to protect our cats," Micah explained to the brunette on the bed. "When we're at our best, it can feel like this, like we've got you and we're never letting go. We stand up for those of us who need help. We're there in good and bad times. We're just a big family that turns furry at least once a month. We can be a big family for you, too, if you'd just open up to us."
He inched closer to her so that his knees almost touched the bed. Faith watched him touch her and she knew the power was touching her more, too, because Kennedy rocked forward to press the top of her head to his side. He stroked her back as she softened her body language; the pregnant slayer was starting to believe that he'd gotten through to her in a way no one else could have.
But, then, she saw Kennedy start to tense.
It was such a slow change that Faith almost didn't notice it. She was out of shape and practice---that was her excuse, she told herself, for not picking up on it more quickly.
Micah didn't miss it. Neither did Noah.
Noah stepped behind Micah and then went wide, while the wereleopard king grabbed Kennedy by the back of her neck. He pulled her away just as her jaws snapped shut with a rather loud sound and he flung her onto the floor to his other side, so she landed on her stomach in front of Merle.
She tried to recover, but Merle dropped on top of her. He settled onto her back, pulled her hands behind her, and refused to budge an inch. As trained and as strong as Kennedy was, Faith didn't think she could take a beating from three male lycanthropes. She wanted to, though; Faith didn't understand it.
"Maybe she doesn't understand?" Faith asked quietly. "I mean, she's been having some kind of unlike-you-guys opinions on stuff..."
"I know," Micah agreed, acknowledging her presence with a quick look to her standing by the bathroom door. "But, it's like trying to explain colour to a blind person."
"Or trying to deprogram a cult member," Merle grunted.
Faith sighed. "Kennedy, can't you just chill out and listen to them?"
"I've listened to them before."
"I don't think you've listened to this 'them' before, or if you have, you didn't hear what they said," Faith commented. "Give 'em a chance. This attitude you've got isn't very healthy."
Kennedy struggled. She almost unseated Merle once but only because she pretended to relax and rest; the next time she tried that lie on him, he knew better and he didn't give her an inch of breathing space.
"Kennedy, did you try to get along with a pard before?" Micah asked quietly, with a touch of his dominant power in the air to push her into answering the question.
"The one who infected me brought me to his group," she replied.
He sighed and nodded. "They freaked you out? Did something that wasn't okay?"
"None of this is okay," Kennedy growled.
Micah sighed again. He looked at Merle. "What do you want to do? Full dark's in a couple of hours," he said in a low voice. "We're going to the lupanar tonight."
Faith blinked. She couldn't remember Willow ever mentioning that the wereleopards joined the werewolves on full moons. But, then, she couldn't remember ever asking much about the monthly gatherings. She thought about it and figured Richard wouldn't invite them there without a good reason. Anita could be that good reason, since she was the queen of the cats and the punisher of the wolves---at least, that's what she thought Willow told her once when they talked about the petite, tough-as-nails animator.
"You want to bring her up there, with all those people around? Jesus, she'll want to fight them all."
Damian finally broke his silence. "It might help her to see the pack and pard function."
"You think?" Micah asked.
He shrugged. "Maybe... but then, I'm not really sure she should stay, either."
Micah frowned. "If we call Mr. Giles and make arrangements to send her out, he's going to want to know why. He sent her because she knew Willow. I don't want to out her if she doesn't want them to know."
"She's dangerous," Damian reminded him. "She'll kill to protect herself from what she thinks will weaken her until a dominant eventually kills her in turn. Someone needs to know."
"I know."
"What did Jean-Claude say?" the vampire asked.
"He said he wasn't told a leopard was in the group. He also said to do what Anita and I think is best and that he'd handle the political crap with the Watchers' Council if it goes bad."
Damian nodded. "And Anita?"
"She wanted to shoot Kennedy a few times with lead bullets, like she did with Elizabeth. I managed to talk her down from that but if anything else happens, I might not be able to. She's had enough of being screwed with," Micah admitted. He smiled a bit. "You know how Anita gets when she feels betrayed."
The vampire nodded. He drummed his fingers against the door. "I'd suggest calling her and Richard before making your next move. The wolves are hosting tonight, right?"
"Yeah," the wereleopard king replied. "Anita's got Bolverk business tonight, so Richard extended the invite to all of us." He looked at Merle. "You okay there for a few minutes?"
Merle nodded. "Move Noah up here with me and make your calls."
Micah backed up; Noah stepped froward.
Faith watched Micah go to the land line on the bedside table and then she ducked into the bathroom. She exhaled and leaned against the closed door. When she looked for Dawn, she found the other woman sitting on the countertop, swinging her suede-dressed legs gently into the cabinets. She was dressed and coiffed, but Faith figured she'd be late because she didn't see a quick way past the group by the door that wouldn't risk Kennedy's escape.
"So, it's true," Dawn said quietly.
"Yeah. You knew?"
"Willow confirmed it with Micah when Kennedy showed up at our door," the younger woman admitted. "He asked her not to say anything until he could take it to Anita."
"Good plan."
Dawn nodded. She frowned. "Is that why Kennedy's been so weird lately?"
Faith shrugged. She was hardly the go-to-expert on lycanthrope behaviour.
"I think she's scared... pissed off... and not sure what she wants," Faith said in a quiet voice as she moved away from the door. "Like, she's been on her own too long. She's got her own set of leopard-y rules and she thinks she's better than a pard when she's on her own. She's messed up in her head. I know---I've been like that, too. Only counting on myself and my own code of conduct with catchy subtitles like 'want, take, have,' while hurting people that offered to help me. I get that part of it." She sighed. "The disrespect thing, too, I guess. No one could tell me they were better than me when I was losing my marbles. But, she has no idea how lucky she is that no one's killed her yet. She's been dissin' everyone around her and it's a fucking miracle it hasn't escalated."
Dawn fumbled around for a lipgloss. "Willow said that she insulted her, but wants to take her away at the same time."
"Kennedy wants Willow for a mate. I get that. The beast is lonely and Red's the last one deep in Kennedy's heart, as far as I know."
"So, her wires are all crossed between human and leopard and she thinks the wereanimal groups are big bads?"
"Sorta?" Faith replied, shrugging. "I get some of it. I don't get the rest of it."
"If she could just understand that Micah's one of the good guys," Dawn whispered.
"I know, Kidlet."
"What's she gonna do when she sees Willow and Richard?"
"Probably challenge him---intentionally or not. He doesn't kill easy, so hopefully he'll knock some sense into her."
"She'd challenge him? He's Ulfric!" Dawn whispered, eyes wide as she thought about it. "What good would that do?"
"Get Willow away from one of her lovers. That's it---if she won. But, she won't. Skill and strength are one thing, but size and control are something else. And Kennedy isn't thinking about the different groups. She's just treating everyone like they're all weak."
Dawn frowned. "God, this could go bad."
"Ya think?" Faith muttered.
"Can I help?"
Faith shook her head. "You and me are off-duty on this one. Shifter business does not mean pregnant slayer and research girl business."
Dawn sighed and nodded. "I know... I just... she wasn't a close friend, but---"
"Yeah, I know," she murmured in agreement.
Kennedy screamed threats at all of them, Damian included. Faith cursed and poked her head out into the other room in time to see Micah taking a set of handcuffs from Noah. She didn't think that was the best way to convince Kennedy to trust the men, but then, she knew from talking to Willow that a lot of their business was managed in a very dominant-submissive way. Maybe the bondage gear would help her, in a weird way. She thought a spell would be more effective. None of them knew how to cast spells, though, so that probably wasn't an option.
A sedative might've helped, if Kennedy's metabolism wouldn't burn it off right away.
She was pretty sure Kennedy'd be able to break out of the cuffs...
...and then she thought she recognised them.
"Are those Xander's?" Faith blurted out before she could stop herself.
Micah looked up at her and smiled his saddest smile. "No," he replied. "But, I remember what the ones cut off Willow looked like... Edward had some in one of his bags. Guess he figured if he was helping Anita, he might get a chance to use them."
"Oh."
"They're a little different, but the principle's the same," he explained to her. "He told me he's used them," he added, giving off a little shudder, "and they work fine."
"Damn."
Micah nodded, looking at her without the lying smile on his face. "Yeah," he agreed. "I'm glad he helps keep Anita alive, but sometimes I think we're helping him do his job better when he leaves us again. It's fine when he's after people like Gabriel and Raina, but it won't be when if me or mine is on the business end of his gun."
He dropped down low and put the cuffs on the wrists Merle was holding. Noah had already grabbed another set and put them on Kennedy's ankles.
Kennedy cursed at them some more. Merle grimaced and then grabbed a bandana out of his pants' pocket and used it to make a gag to try to silence her.
"Not pretty, but it'll help until she chews through it," he said. He looked at Micah. "You sure about this?"
"Richard said to bring her. Willow agreed. Anita, too."
"And if she goes after someone like Nathaniel or Cherry or---"
"Then, she learns that's a very bad thing to do," Micah said in a low and dangerous voice, cutting the older man off. "But, if we don't try, I'll regret it."
"Yeah."
The wereleopard king looked at Faith. "Sorry to barge in here and take over," he apologised.
"You'll take care of her?"
He nodded.
"Then, we're five-by five."
"Same here," Damian agreed. "But, be careful for yourself, too."
"Thanks," Micah replied.
He patted Damian's arm and then the vampire opened the door. Merle lifted off of Kennedy's body and Micah helped him carry her out of the room. Noah picked up the stuff they had dropped on the floor and followed them out of the room without another word.
"I hope they can help her," Damian said as the two women left the safety of the bathroom.
"Me, too," Faith agreed.
She went to Damian and touched his hand with hers. He tangled their fingers together and kissed her knuckles. When she looked at him, she felt a little of her tension melting away.
"My out-mood's been kind of ruined," Dawn mumbled.
"You could always hang out with me and eat pizza," Faith offered.
Dawn smiled a bit. "Yeah?" Her phone beeped and she looked at the display. Her smile faded. "Damn."
"What's wrong?" Damian asked.
"The girls I'm going out with... well, we don't hang out at night a lot. One of them said she never sees me on campus the night of a full moon. I just stay in. I figure it's a good way not to get accidentally clawed or eaten by someone who didn't know they're a shapeshifter. Staying in saved a lot of problems in Sunnydale. But, she's trying to make a point." She raised her phone. "She's trying really hard to make her point."
Faith nodded. She could understand the political movements---no matter how illegal they were---made it difficult to be a student. Dawn didn't make it easy for herself, either. She hung out at the Lunatic Café, she defended people who were being bullied because they seemed different, and she volunteered at the Furry Coalition's office (although Faith suspected they should start calling it the Fanged and Furry Coalition soon because the vampires had been joining in on the togetherness a lot, too). But, Dawn wasn't in a good mood to go out and Faith knew from experience that a mood like that could lead to bad, bad decisions.
"So, go out for an hour or so. Then call me if it sucks and I'll meet you back at your place. We'll order pizza or something and flake out on the sofa."
"Is that okay?" she asked.
"I can get a cab, or Damian can take me if he's not busy," she said, after shooting him a quick glance and seeing him nod.
Dawn smiled more. "Alright. That sounds like a plan I can work with."
"Good, now, go tease Jason a little and get out of here," Faith insisted.
"Have fun," Damian added.
"Thanks, guys," Dawn murmured. She hugged Faith and then bounced up onto her toes to kiss Damian's cheek. After grabbing her coat and smaller purse, she was heading down the hall.
Faith looked at her lover and smiled. "So, we probably have an hour to ourselves," she whispered.
"At least."
"Any ideas on how we can spend our time?" she asked.
Damian pulled her into his body and kissed her lips. She sighed as her pulse skipped a beat. He was a good kisser; she wondered if he'd always been that way, but never had the balls to ask him. He was sensitive about a lot of subjects in his past and she learned early on in their relationship that pushing him past his comfort zone was never a good idea. She didn't like being pushed past hers, either, so they agreed to be patient with each other on some topics.
"That's one way," he whispered.
"Don't rev me up if you can't promise to finish it," she whispered back.
Damian grinned down at her. She saw his eyes light up with an idea. Then, his grin stretched. "I have an idea," he said, taking her by the hand and out of their room. "I think you'll like it, too."
"If it involves screwing, then, yeah, I'm in."
He chuckled. "Later," he promised. "For now, we train."
"Train? Damian, I'm huge and getting huger by the minute. I can't---"
He turned her into one of the rooms she knew he used for sword-fighting with the vampire brothers, Wicked and Truth. She saw a few fake, wooden swords lined up on a rack by the door, and she smiled. "You'll have to dummy up or something. I'm slow and unbalanced."
"That's alright," he assured her. "Let's just do something together."
"Okay," she agreed.
Just plain old sex would've been fine with her, but it was things like that---adding a little unexpected swordplay to their night---which made Faith feel as if she were falling in love with him over and over again.