(Untitled)

[the_woodpecker]

*Bernard and Tonks stroll out of the Staff Quarters, his arm around her shoulders. The pause at the Bar, picking up a shot glass, Sauza Gold, and a pint of Strongbow, and proceed to their usual table.*

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[faithful_slayer]

Faith tries not to stare at them from her booth. Fails. Gives in after a minute and drags herself over to them.

"Hey, Bernard. Tonks. You got a minute?"

[the_woodpecker]

*He raises an eyebrow*

Sure, Faith. Have a seat.

[faithful_slayer]

"Thanks." Faith drops into a chair. "So, did I mention that Slayers have prophetic visions?"

[clumsy_auror]

*Tonks looks apprehensively at Bernard, but answers Faith*

...No?

[the_woodpecker]

Um.

*He pours himself a shot*

No. You didn't.

[faithful_slayer]

"Oh. Well, we do. And I have been." Faith sighs. "Since Friday night I've had...god, I lost track. Dozens. Maybe a hundred or so, I don't know. All blood and death and 'You can't save everybody' and they're really quite creepy."

[the_woodpecker]

*Bernard pales a little, remembering his own dreams.*

What can we do to help?

[faithful_slayer]

"I don't know yet. This is just a heads-up." Faith sighs. "These dreams...usually mean that something's coming. And I'm getting the distinct impression that somebody's going to have to die to stop it."

[clumsy_auror]

*Tonks' eyebrows disappear into her hairline*

Any idea who?

[faithful_slayer]

Faith shrugs. "Not...really. Unless it's me. Which seems likely, all things considered. I mean, I'm a Slayer, it's kind of part of the deal...plus, three Slayers in the bar and I'm the only one getting the dreams. So, probably me. But I don't know for sure."

[the_woodpecker]

*Bernard looks worried*

What do slayers usually do in this sort of situation?

[faithful_slayer]

'Die' is the first response that springs to mind, but Faith isn't entirely tactless. Mostly, but not entirely. "Well, last night I had Tim put a spell on me so I'd sleep through the night and have more of them in the hopes that I'd be able to get more information. I've been paying attention...it's weird, some of them are glimpses into the pasts of people in the bar, most of them are, but then there's the weird ones...last night I dreamed Meg Giry cut my throat open with my own knife, and yesterday afternoon I fell asleep and dreamed Buffy and I were on an island surrounded by a sea of blood, and when the tide went down B walked to the mainland, but instead of silt there were bodies. And I'm dreaming about people I've never seen before in my life, so I can't be sure if it's the past or the future...I don't know what's going on."

[the_woodpecker]

*He laughs nervously, suppressing the desire to ask her if she's dreamed about them.

How egotistical.*

How can we prepare? What should we do?

[faithful_slayer]

Oh yes. Terribly egotistical. What on earth were you thinking, Bernard?

"I don't know yet, really. Keep an eye on things, see if anything looks...odd. Things that don't usually happen...uhm, for example, a ten-year-old version of Val showed up earlier today, about two seconds after I woke up from dreaming about her. Stuff like that."

[clumsy_auror]

Bloody hell, Faith.

*Tonks leans over and squeezes her hand*

Anything else that you've dreamt? Just in case?

[faithful_slayer]

Faith is seized, suddenly, with a powerful desire to tell Tonks about that dream, to warn her, to make sure she never leaves the bar again. Past it may have been, but she'll never get it out of her brain, the image of Bernard crying like that, the look on the Angel's face...'

She squeezes back, mustering a slight smile. "I lost track, really. Warren talking to me after he got flayed alive stands out...and I dreamed about...about Bill Weasley. About what they did to him. I saw...it was..."

She glances down at the table, swallowing. "It wasn't pretty."