Fic: The Ipswich Hunt - 1/9 - R - BtVS/Covenant
Title: The Ipswich Hunt
Author: humbuggirl
Fandom: BtVS/The Covenant
Pairing: Dawn/Reid
Rating: R (see warnings)
Prompt: 015. Question
Summary: Being one of The Sons of Ipswich isn’t just about being powerful - it’s about taking care of the Ipswich community.
Warnings: UST, language, violence, blood
Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I have no claim over anything official to do with either ‘The Covenant’ or ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’.
Author Notes: Multi-part piece. I’m hoping to write a sequel to this, and maybe turn it into a series. I’m also trying not to overcomplicate things with it since I’m writing a couple of stories at the moment that have four - five - six - plus, subplots and it’s been a bit exhausting. It’s also been a very long time since I wrote anything other than HP fic so I apologise if some Britisms sneak through. I’m English to begin with so I don’t always realise that they’re there. This is set shortly after the events of ‘The Covenant’ movie and, because I’m following canon, that makes Reid 17 and Dawn 20. Well, it does according to the character details that I managed to find. Note the UST warning.
1: Prompt - 015. Question
“Have you seen this?”
Eyes closed, head resting on the large wooden table, Reid Garwin frowned at the question and then jumped as a newspaper abruptly landed only inches from his nose. Jerking into a sitting position, he glared irritably at the dark haired boy who was standing beside the library table.
Tyler Simms appeared unrepentant. Instead, he simply slid into the chair opposite Reid’s and jabbed a finger at the folded newspaper while glancing between the other three Sons of Ipswich.
“There’s been another death,” he said, keeping his voice low out of deference for the other students in the Spenser Academy’s cavernous school library. In Reid’s opinion, the gesture was pointless since it was a Saturday morning and all but the most bookish students were still busy sleeping off Friday night’s exertions. Indeed, that was where Reid would have been as well if it had not been for Caleb’s insistence that they get a head start on a particularly lengthy trigonometry project they had been lumped with. Only Tyler, being a year younger than his friends, had escaped.
“’Second Local Teen Found Dead’,” Pogue read, pulling the newspaper towards him. Unfolding it, he continued, “The body of a second local teenager was discovered early on Friday morning near Pastor’s Bluff. Police believe the body to be that of Dana Braddock, 16, who was reported missing by her parents the previous Saturday after she failed to return from a friend’s house. The cause of death has yet to be confirmed, however a source within the police department has confirmed…”
“Confirmed that she had her throat ripped out and all the blood drained from her body,” Tyler finished almost excitedly.
“It says here that an animal had probably interfered with the body post-mortem,” Pogue said.
Tyler shook his head. He met Reid’s eyes briefly and then looked to the others. “It sounds like a vampire,” he said seriously, his voice barely above a whisper.
Reid laughed out loud, not bothering to stifle the sound. “Oh come on,” he said, ignoring the hard look that Tyler gave him. “No vampire has dared to come around here since old Orville Garwin beat the crap out of that pack back whenever.”
“That was over a hundred years ago,” Tyler argued. “That’s a long time - even to a vampire.”
“He flambéed them,” the blond pointed out, wriggling his fingers for emphasis. He pushed back on his chair, balancing it on two legs. “Hundred years ago or not, something like that acts as a warning.”
“I think Tyler might have a point,” Caleb said, taking the newspaper from Pogue. He looked down at it thoughtfully.
Reid shot him a disbelieving look. “You’re joking.”
Caleb shook his head. “Just because there hasn’t been a vampire in Ipswich for a while it doesn’t mean that it’s impossible.”
“I’m with Reid on this one,” Pogue said unexpectedly. Even Reid looked at him surprised, knowing that Pogue tended to side with Caleb. “Just because a couple of people die it doesn’t mean that there’s a preternatural cause behind it.”
“What about the blood?” Tyler pushed.
Pogue shrugged. “So they bled out.”
“There’s no mention of blood at the scene.”
“So the body was moved.”
The front two legs of Reid’s chair thumped loudly on the floor as he settled it back onto four legs. “And on that note, I’m leaving,” he said.
“Reid…” Caleb started.
“No,” he said, pushing away from the table. “We’re not working anymore and my bed is calling. Let me know when you’ve regained your sanity.”
Pulling his bag over his head, he stalked away from the table, ignoring Pogue and Caleb as they called after him. He headed towards the main door out of the library, but veered away at last minute and head into the tall stacks.
Pausing briefly, he dug out a small scrap of paper from his bag and began to search for the books he had written down before venturing out of the dorm that morning. Rule number seven in the Reid Garwin rulebook prohibited being seen to make an effort when effort was required, and thus his search had to remain covert. It was a guide that had so far helped him stay right at the top of the Spenser Academy’s cool list. To be seen getting extra books out of the library by another student - even by one of the other Sons - would require rapid thinking to avert a minor disaster.
He stopped sharply as he rounded the corner into the first of the history aisles only to find that he was not the section’s only occupant, as he had thought. About halfway down, peering closely at the shelves, there was a girl standing with her arms full of books.
Not just any girl, Reid realised through his surprise, but a very hot girl.
He froze, admiring the silhouette of her figure in the bright winter sunlight shining in through the window at the other end of the aisle. The very male, somewhat predatory, part of his mind stirred with interest as he took in the length of her legs and her slender torso. By the time he had taken in the way her hair fell - long and dark, just how he liked it - he could feel his blood thrumming in his veins. She was also, he noticed, standing right in front of the section that he needed to be in.
Perfect.
Licking his lips, he approached slowly, pretending to study the shelves while casting surreptitious looks towards the willowy brunette as he did so. The closer he got, the prettier she seemed to become. Reid soon began to wonder why on earth he had never noticed her before. All thoughts of vampires and the other Covenant members rapidly faded from his mind as he got nearer.
She did appear to not noticed him until he was standing right next to her, and then it was only to glance briefly in his direction. Reid frowned slightly, and made a point of not moving. Silently, he willed her to look at him.
When she did so, it was with a slight blush in her cheeks. “Sorry, am I in the way?” she asked, shifting the books in her arms.
“No,” he said, shaking his head. Leaning past her, he quickly found the book he was looking for. “I just need this,” he said, plucking it off the shelf.
She smiled, and returned to looking at the shelf, apparently completely unaffected by his presence. Reid raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise.
“Reid Garwin,” he said, tilting his head to one side. “I don’t think we’ve met.”
“Dawn Summers,” she replied, finally looking at him instead of merely glancing. Her eyes were warm and gentle, he noted with pleasure.
“You’re new?” he asked.
She nodded, causing one side of her dark hair to fall forwards as she did so. Reaching up, she tucked it back behind her ear, and then exclaimed, “Oh! There it is. How come books always end up in the wrong place?”
Reid smiled in what he was sure was a charming fashion. “Don’t know. I guess people must try to hide them for later,” he said, watching as she strained to reach the volume that she had been looking for. The movement had a particularly interesting effect on her shirt, which rode up, exposing the small of her back in the process.
“Let me get that,” he offered after a moment, easily reaching up in order to grab the book.
The girl - Dawn - accepted it gratefully and added it to her dangerously large pile.
“Thanks,” she said, rebalancing the books with care. The shifted awkwardly as she did so, and she had to fight to keep hold of them.
Seeing an opening, Reid quickly said, “Are you sure you’re okay with those? I can carry some, if you want.”
She looked at him for a moment, contemplating his offer with more gravity that he had expected or thought necessary. Then she nodded, shifted the books in her arms once again, and said, “Take half. I can manage the rest.”
Reid reached over and did just that, grazing her arm in the process. “Where do you need to go now?”
“Just back to the counter,” she said while turning and making her way down the aisle. She glanced back once, just to check that he was actually following. Thankfully, she did not do it when he was busy casting a sneaky look at her ass and the way that her trousers fitted her. He was actually somewhat disappointed when they entered a wider aisle and he was able to move up to walk by her side.
“Thanks again,” she said as they reached the counter. It was deserted, and the door to the office was closed. Dawn dumped her pile of books on the glossy wooden top, and then pushed them aside so that Reid could put down the stack that he was carrying.
“No problem,” he replied, shooting her a brilliant smile. The expression faltered briefly as she moved towards the end of the counter, and the entrance to the area behind it. His eyebrows shot up as she stepped through without even hesitating. “Not that I’m particularly interested in rules, but they don’t much like it when you go behind there.”
Dawn expression became amused, the corner of her mouth curling up in a cute little half-smile. She dragged the books towards her. “I don’t think that’s going to be a problem,” she said lightly.
Reid leaned against the dark wood surface, tilting his head to one side as he studied her. “Oh?”
She nodded, and then bobbed down to reach under the counter. When she appeared again, she was holding a rectangular bronze coloured badge that she placed down on the countertop. Written on it in fine black lettering were the words ‘Dawn Summers, Assistant Librarian’.
Chapter Notes:
+ I'll admit to playing slightly fast and loose with the description of the library. I started writing this after only watching the film once and I had been more interested with what the book that Sarah is looking at in the scene rather than the setting.
+ While in the movie Tyler is seen in class with the other Sons, on pretty much every bio I've seen for him he's noted as being a year younger than the others. Thus, I opted to have him not be in the same trigonometry class as the others.
2: Prompt - 034. Encounter
Author: humbuggirl
Fandom: BtVS/The Covenant
Pairing: Dawn/Reid
Rating: R (see warnings)
Prompt: 015. Question
Summary: Being one of The Sons of Ipswich isn’t just about being powerful - it’s about taking care of the Ipswich community.
Warnings: UST, language, violence, blood
Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I have no claim over anything official to do with either ‘The Covenant’ or ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’.
Author Notes: Multi-part piece. I’m hoping to write a sequel to this, and maybe turn it into a series. I’m also trying not to overcomplicate things with it since I’m writing a couple of stories at the moment that have four - five - six - plus, subplots and it’s been a bit exhausting. It’s also been a very long time since I wrote anything other than HP fic so I apologise if some Britisms sneak through. I’m English to begin with so I don’t always realise that they’re there. This is set shortly after the events of ‘The Covenant’ movie and, because I’m following canon, that makes Reid 17 and Dawn 20. Well, it does according to the character details that I managed to find. Note the UST warning.
1: Prompt - 015. Question
“Have you seen this?”
Eyes closed, head resting on the large wooden table, Reid Garwin frowned at the question and then jumped as a newspaper abruptly landed only inches from his nose. Jerking into a sitting position, he glared irritably at the dark haired boy who was standing beside the library table.
Tyler Simms appeared unrepentant. Instead, he simply slid into the chair opposite Reid’s and jabbed a finger at the folded newspaper while glancing between the other three Sons of Ipswich.
“There’s been another death,” he said, keeping his voice low out of deference for the other students in the Spenser Academy’s cavernous school library. In Reid’s opinion, the gesture was pointless since it was a Saturday morning and all but the most bookish students were still busy sleeping off Friday night’s exertions. Indeed, that was where Reid would have been as well if it had not been for Caleb’s insistence that they get a head start on a particularly lengthy trigonometry project they had been lumped with. Only Tyler, being a year younger than his friends, had escaped.
“’Second Local Teen Found Dead’,” Pogue read, pulling the newspaper towards him. Unfolding it, he continued, “The body of a second local teenager was discovered early on Friday morning near Pastor’s Bluff. Police believe the body to be that of Dana Braddock, 16, who was reported missing by her parents the previous Saturday after she failed to return from a friend’s house. The cause of death has yet to be confirmed, however a source within the police department has confirmed…”
“Confirmed that she had her throat ripped out and all the blood drained from her body,” Tyler finished almost excitedly.
“It says here that an animal had probably interfered with the body post-mortem,” Pogue said.
Tyler shook his head. He met Reid’s eyes briefly and then looked to the others. “It sounds like a vampire,” he said seriously, his voice barely above a whisper.
Reid laughed out loud, not bothering to stifle the sound. “Oh come on,” he said, ignoring the hard look that Tyler gave him. “No vampire has dared to come around here since old Orville Garwin beat the crap out of that pack back whenever.”
“That was over a hundred years ago,” Tyler argued. “That’s a long time - even to a vampire.”
“He flambéed them,” the blond pointed out, wriggling his fingers for emphasis. He pushed back on his chair, balancing it on two legs. “Hundred years ago or not, something like that acts as a warning.”
“I think Tyler might have a point,” Caleb said, taking the newspaper from Pogue. He looked down at it thoughtfully.
Reid shot him a disbelieving look. “You’re joking.”
Caleb shook his head. “Just because there hasn’t been a vampire in Ipswich for a while it doesn’t mean that it’s impossible.”
“I’m with Reid on this one,” Pogue said unexpectedly. Even Reid looked at him surprised, knowing that Pogue tended to side with Caleb. “Just because a couple of people die it doesn’t mean that there’s a preternatural cause behind it.”
“What about the blood?” Tyler pushed.
Pogue shrugged. “So they bled out.”
“There’s no mention of blood at the scene.”
“So the body was moved.”
The front two legs of Reid’s chair thumped loudly on the floor as he settled it back onto four legs. “And on that note, I’m leaving,” he said.
“Reid…” Caleb started.
“No,” he said, pushing away from the table. “We’re not working anymore and my bed is calling. Let me know when you’ve regained your sanity.”
Pulling his bag over his head, he stalked away from the table, ignoring Pogue and Caleb as they called after him. He headed towards the main door out of the library, but veered away at last minute and head into the tall stacks.
Pausing briefly, he dug out a small scrap of paper from his bag and began to search for the books he had written down before venturing out of the dorm that morning. Rule number seven in the Reid Garwin rulebook prohibited being seen to make an effort when effort was required, and thus his search had to remain covert. It was a guide that had so far helped him stay right at the top of the Spenser Academy’s cool list. To be seen getting extra books out of the library by another student - even by one of the other Sons - would require rapid thinking to avert a minor disaster.
He stopped sharply as he rounded the corner into the first of the history aisles only to find that he was not the section’s only occupant, as he had thought. About halfway down, peering closely at the shelves, there was a girl standing with her arms full of books.
Not just any girl, Reid realised through his surprise, but a very hot girl.
He froze, admiring the silhouette of her figure in the bright winter sunlight shining in through the window at the other end of the aisle. The very male, somewhat predatory, part of his mind stirred with interest as he took in the length of her legs and her slender torso. By the time he had taken in the way her hair fell - long and dark, just how he liked it - he could feel his blood thrumming in his veins. She was also, he noticed, standing right in front of the section that he needed to be in.
Perfect.
Licking his lips, he approached slowly, pretending to study the shelves while casting surreptitious looks towards the willowy brunette as he did so. The closer he got, the prettier she seemed to become. Reid soon began to wonder why on earth he had never noticed her before. All thoughts of vampires and the other Covenant members rapidly faded from his mind as he got nearer.
She did appear to not noticed him until he was standing right next to her, and then it was only to glance briefly in his direction. Reid frowned slightly, and made a point of not moving. Silently, he willed her to look at him.
When she did so, it was with a slight blush in her cheeks. “Sorry, am I in the way?” she asked, shifting the books in her arms.
“No,” he said, shaking his head. Leaning past her, he quickly found the book he was looking for. “I just need this,” he said, plucking it off the shelf.
She smiled, and returned to looking at the shelf, apparently completely unaffected by his presence. Reid raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise.
“Reid Garwin,” he said, tilting his head to one side. “I don’t think we’ve met.”
“Dawn Summers,” she replied, finally looking at him instead of merely glancing. Her eyes were warm and gentle, he noted with pleasure.
“You’re new?” he asked.
She nodded, causing one side of her dark hair to fall forwards as she did so. Reaching up, she tucked it back behind her ear, and then exclaimed, “Oh! There it is. How come books always end up in the wrong place?”
Reid smiled in what he was sure was a charming fashion. “Don’t know. I guess people must try to hide them for later,” he said, watching as she strained to reach the volume that she had been looking for. The movement had a particularly interesting effect on her shirt, which rode up, exposing the small of her back in the process.
“Let me get that,” he offered after a moment, easily reaching up in order to grab the book.
The girl - Dawn - accepted it gratefully and added it to her dangerously large pile.
“Thanks,” she said, rebalancing the books with care. The shifted awkwardly as she did so, and she had to fight to keep hold of them.
Seeing an opening, Reid quickly said, “Are you sure you’re okay with those? I can carry some, if you want.”
She looked at him for a moment, contemplating his offer with more gravity that he had expected or thought necessary. Then she nodded, shifted the books in her arms once again, and said, “Take half. I can manage the rest.”
Reid reached over and did just that, grazing her arm in the process. “Where do you need to go now?”
“Just back to the counter,” she said while turning and making her way down the aisle. She glanced back once, just to check that he was actually following. Thankfully, she did not do it when he was busy casting a sneaky look at her ass and the way that her trousers fitted her. He was actually somewhat disappointed when they entered a wider aisle and he was able to move up to walk by her side.
“Thanks again,” she said as they reached the counter. It was deserted, and the door to the office was closed. Dawn dumped her pile of books on the glossy wooden top, and then pushed them aside so that Reid could put down the stack that he was carrying.
“No problem,” he replied, shooting her a brilliant smile. The expression faltered briefly as she moved towards the end of the counter, and the entrance to the area behind it. His eyebrows shot up as she stepped through without even hesitating. “Not that I’m particularly interested in rules, but they don’t much like it when you go behind there.”
Dawn expression became amused, the corner of her mouth curling up in a cute little half-smile. She dragged the books towards her. “I don’t think that’s going to be a problem,” she said lightly.
Reid leaned against the dark wood surface, tilting his head to one side as he studied her. “Oh?”
She nodded, and then bobbed down to reach under the counter. When she appeared again, she was holding a rectangular bronze coloured badge that she placed down on the countertop. Written on it in fine black lettering were the words ‘Dawn Summers, Assistant Librarian’.
Chapter Notes:
+ I'll admit to playing slightly fast and loose with the description of the library. I started writing this after only watching the film once and I had been more interested with what the book that Sarah is looking at in the scene rather than the setting.
+ While in the movie Tyler is seen in class with the other Sons, on pretty much every bio I've seen for him he's noted as being a year younger than the others. Thus, I opted to have him not be in the same trigonometry class as the others.
2: Prompt - 034. Encounter