(Untitled)
Who: Sam and Buffy
What: First meeting...that goes awry
Where: Sunnydale Cemetery
When: November 1/early evening
Rating: PG
( welcome to sunnydale )
What: First meeting...that goes awry
Where: Sunnydale Cemetery
When: November 1/early evening
Rating: PG
( welcome to sunnydale )
"Yeah, not by choice, but yeah," he nodded. "Family business and all. Which is why we're unfortunately going head to head right now. My dad, he, uh, packs us up all the time, moves to these supernatural hotspots to hunt down demons." He paused with a shrug. "Werewolves, succubi, whatever rears its head."
At that moment, his cell phone vibrated in the pocket of his jeans. With slow, non-threatening movements and the gun still aimed at the ground, he retrieved his phone, his gaze still glued to the blonde to watch her every move.
"Dean, yeah, hey," he said into the phone. "Yeah, I know we were supposed to meet back in five minutes. Yeah,I'm an idiot," he said with a roll of his eyes. "Look, I finished my sweep and headed towards the library. I'll catch you at home."
He hung up before Dean could protest, his full attention back on the girl. "My brother," he said as he placed the phone in his jacket pocket.
"Look, you can check her if you want to," he said, nodding towards the girl's lifeless body. "She has two punctures right near her jugular. Classic feeding position. You and I are hunting the same thing here. Quiz me if that makes you feel better."
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His phone rang suddenly, sending out a tinny ringtone into the dead of night, and Buffy watched as he tensed, taking it out of his pocket with slow, deliberate movements.
He certainly sounded like a hunter, she noticed, talking about finishing up his sweep and suddenly, she felt a little antsy.
Not because she had the shiny loaded weapon that could do major amounts of damage pointed at her, no. More the fact that he'd admitted that he was a hunter, that he was here for a reason. You didn't just hear of a place called Sunnydale and hotfoot it down on the next Greyhound. There was a reason, usually, why hunters stopped off through here and that reason? Was never good.
She didn't need to go near the girl to know what had killed her, not really. Buffy did anyway, sighing when she realized that she vaguely recognized her from the Bronze. That was the thing about a small town like Sunnydale - half the victims were usually people she knew.
She turned back to Sam, tucking her stake into the back of her jeans as she straightened. "Okay. I can be benefit of the doubt girl 'cause, y'know, you could have totally shot me already..."
His lips quirked at that and Buffy gave him a half-smile in return. "I'm Buffy. Buffy Summers. I'm a Slayer."
She expected some spark of recognition on that one. Maybe even a flicker but Sam looked like he was drawing a blank and Buffy sighed, not wanting to give the Giles version of the explanation. "Slayer, y'know... She who fights unspeakable evil while trying to juggle schoolwork and a social life?"
She sighed, "I could give you the whole speech but it's kind of long. And boring. So what unspeakable evil brings you to the Hellmouth, Sam?"
And if it was something to do with werewolves like Oz or vampires like Angel, how fast could she get him gone? Hunters weren't exactly reknowned for being the world's most rational people.
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He vaguely remembered hearing something about Slayers from his dad, mixed in with vampire lore, but he had never thought to ask more about it. But now, staring at this girl, he couldn't help but wonder if Slayers were always this young.
Sure now that she wouldn't stake him unannounced, he placed the safety back on his gun before slipping it into the back waistband of his jeans. "That unspeakable evil would be my dad," he joked with a dry laugh.
Buffy raised an eyebrow at him, and he quickly added, "Joke. Kinda." He shrugged. "Hunting's always been sort of my dad's thing. Me and my brother are just foot soldiers along for the ride. Word is this place is a pretty much a supernatural hotspot so here we are, just waiting for the next apocalypse, I guess."
He didn't know much about why they came to Sunnydale this time around. Before they had picked up and left town again, he had heard Bobby say something about a devil's gate as he had loitered in Bobby's shop, but before he could hear more, Bobby had sent him on an errand.
More than likely, whatever reason they were in Sunnydale had to do with his mom. In the end, it always came down to his mom and whatever demon had killed her. Her death was the shadow that seemed to follow them everywhere.
Sam took a step forward, retrieving his own stake that had been tossed during their confrontation. He slipped it in his pocket as he studied her for a moment. "So, are Slayers always this...." he trailed off as he tried to think of the right word.
Young. Pretty. Violent. Perky?
He let the question just linger there because he was having a hard time placing one title on this girl.
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Those were two aspects of her life that, if she had anything to do with it, would never EVER merge. Ever. Shopping, her Mom could deal with - slayage was a totally different ballgame.
"Did you just say you guys are hoping for an apocalypse?" Buffy blinked, almost sure she hadn't heard the guy right.
Who, in the right frame of mind, wished for an apocalypse? Sure, maybe, if you were evil... But by all accounts from Sam, he wasn't. He was a hunter - therefore, a fighter of said evil. And there was only so much of people getting off on the fight that Buffy could take in one week.
"Are Slayer's always this what?" Her eyebrow arched again, and Buffy honestly wasn't sure if she should be seriously offended at the way his lips quirked like that or kind of flattered. Maybe what he was thinking wasn't all bad?
"Sorry about kicking you," she offered, after deciding that maybe she was flattered, after all. "I'm not usually so 'hit-first-ask-questions-later-y'."
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Buffy seriously had a good amount of strength that he wasn't eager to encounter anytime soon. Hell, as of right now, he wasn't even going to let Dean know he'd just nearly been bested by a girl. He would never hear the end of it.
"And I'm not really hoping for an apocalypse. Honestly, I'd rather just get through my SATs and senior year without incident, but my dad is on this search for answers." He frowned, not even sure how to explain or how much he even wanted to explain. "It's a long story with my mom, but it ends the same with dad on this mission of his."
Honestly, he didn't want this life anymore. He was tired of being a nomad, tired of always being on the hunt. He wanted his own life, not his dad's.
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She almost felt sorry for him when he admitted that he'd rather have the quiet in his senior year. "You're in the wrong place here if you want quiet," she told him, forcing herself to stop from sounding really bitter now. "You weren't far off when you said this was like a hotspot for evil. It's more a dead-things party town..."
And not just dead, either, she thought, shaking her head.
"Your Mom's not around now, huh?" Yeah, she could figure out THAT look on his face all on her own.
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"She, uh, died when I was a baby," he admitted after a long moment of hesitation. "So dad packed us up and we've been moving ever since. The road, guns, knives, and exorcisms are a pretty standard way of life."
He paused with a quiet laugh, embarassed by his own emo moment. Usually they only happened within the safety of his own mind, not vocalized for complete strangers to hear.
He rubbed the back of his neck as he cleared his throat quietly, "And I sound like some whiny punk as my brother would say, so I will just shut up and say that, yeah, got the grand tour of Sunnydale High from Rodent Man himself."
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Was that better? Having normal for a little while and then being thrust into this life? "I'm sorry about your Mom," she offered, though it did occur to her that it was a little strange for his father to bring his kids in on this life, especially as young as Sam had been.
"Eww, a tour with Snyder? You being punished for something, Sam?" She grinned. She could think of nothing worse than being with her Principal for an extended period of time. God, no. It'd been bad enough being in a car with the guy when the towns older residents had gone crazy over the band candy.
It occurred to her suddenly that they were still standing in the cemetery and where Sam was more comfortable than most would have been, Buffy could hear her mother in the back of her head telling her that she was being a terrible hostess.
"Okay, I have the last half of my patrol to finish but then I'm free, mostly." Free if she ignored the SAT prep book propped open on her desk and the little Willow voice berating her for not studying. Again. "You want a proper Sunnydale tour from someone who actually likes this town, the majority of the time?" Her smile was easy, "It'd probably only take an hour. We don't have a whole lot of town to speak of."
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"Yeah, Snyder doesn't really seem like the type to like teenagers. Or anyone for that matter," he added after a thought. "But, yeah, a real tour would be kinda nice. I haven't really seen much outside of my apartment, school, and unfortunately, the cemetery. Just as long as we can swing by the library so my brother doesn't catch me in a lie."
He nodded towards the girl, a smal fown returning to his lips. He may have met a friendly person tonight, but it had been under horrible circumstances that still weren't settled. "I was gonna leave an anonymous tip with the cops once I was far enough away."
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She cast a baleful look at the dead girl, her shoulders slumping just a little. She officially hated this part. "Yeah, we can do that. It might be better that you do it... I don't think I'm so anonymous with the police any more."
He quirked an eyebrow at that and Buffy blinked, wondering what she'd said. "Oh. Not that I'm, y'know, little Ms. Criminal. It's just when you call a few of these in, they tend to start recognizing your voice, y'know?" And amateur dramatics had never been her thing.
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"Between the principal hating you and the cops knowing your voice, I'm starting to think you may end up being a bad influence on me?" he teased as they patrolled together.
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If Snyder happened to see who Sam had chosen to spend time with, the guy would go right down in her Principal's estimations. "You sure you want me to talk to you? I can maintain a safe distance, if you want..." she teased, smiling.
It felt weird, kinda. Patrolling with somebody. Sure, she'd patrolled with Angel but that had usually ended in kissage up against a crypt - probably not what someone'd had in mind for their final resting place.
Buffy focussed on Sam again, her nose wrinkling, "Y'know, it's kinda weird... All of this, I mean. Five minutes ago I was trying to get all stabby with my stake and now we're... Well, it's weird, that's all I'm saying," she grinned.
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Honestly, he never really made friends at most of his other schools. It just never felt worth the effort when he'd probably be three states away in a month, but this was his senior year. Senior Years were supposed to be all about memories and proms and having a good time, and really, he hadn't had any high hopes of really hanging out with anyone here. New kids usually weren't welcomed with open arms.
"I like that we've moved passed trying to stake me," he said with a nod. "And I definitely agree with the weirdness. Good weird, but I'm still not really used to this whole not using my cover story."
He tried to pull the focus off himself. "So you grew up here?"
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"I grew up in LA. We moved here a couple of years ago, once my parents got divorced so I know what it's like being the new kid in town." Okay, so she didn't have as much experience with it as Sam, but still.
"I got called just before I moved here," she told him, anticipating that as being one of his next questions. "I think there was a ceremony or something, only I missed it."
Yeah, that was a joke. She was still miffed that the whole Slayer Handbook thing hadn't panned out.
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Suddenly his life didn't seem so bad.
"Not a real democracy with Slayer lore, huh?" he asked. "That actually sucks worse than my situation, I think."
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And now she was defending it?
She shuddered slightly and shot a look at Sam. Maybe her own life didn't look so bad because she'd had normal, she'd had something before all of this.
"I have a Watcher. Employed by the Watcher's Council for general training and keeping me alive purposes. Of which he only failed once," said Buffy brightly, "He's more a Dad-figure than anything else..."
And general runner-to when things were really bad. And things needed explaining or researching. Giles was kind of the all-round member of the Scooby Gang. "There was supposed to be a Slayer Handbook but I didn't get a copy. Something about my not following orders."
Her smile may have been a little smug, right then.
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