Fic: Aftermath
Author: Alex
Title: Aftermath
Fandom: Buffy
Disclaimer: The characters are not mine
Pairing: Giles/Books
Author's Note: This is a post-ep for 'Gingerbread' from Season 3. Giles and I share a love of books.
Gratitude: The gorgeous redhead wymsie, who consented to beta this on very short notice.
As Buffy and her friends filed out of the library, Giles looked around at the damage. They'd moved all the books back into the library, and Willow had started sorting them. The poor girl was heartbroken at the damage done, though, so he had sent her home with the rest of them.
First off the pile was "Seven Cryptical Books of Hsan" (Volumes 3 to 6). The cover of volume 6 was blackened, but otherwise it was undamaged. He set it aside to repair later; it would be a good task for Xander. Volume 5, though, was much worse and would need to be replaced. He already had a standing order at Yesteryeare Folios for Volume 7, hopefully they could locate a replacement for this one as well. He would send off the damaged book (for credit, of course), and perhaps Joseph could salvage some of it.
A look of glee passed over his face as he picked up the next book; "My Year with the Yetis" had also been badly damaged. He opened it to find that the entire "Author's Forward" had been ruined. Honestly, the man was a disgrace to the Council and to England; the book was so full of misinformation that he only kept it because the author had pressed it on him at a conference. He now consigned it to its rightful place in the rubbish bin.
Happily, Giles continued to sort through the books, saving what he could, putting several on the 'to be repaired' pile. So few people understood; a book had presence, it connected past, present, and future in a way that the ephemeral data on a computer couldn't. A necessary side-effect of that was a book's fragility; sometimes that fragility resulted in loss. He breathed deeply, inhaling the aroma of smoke and mildew, as well as the more esoteric binding materials (some of which he did not wish to speculate on their origins). He was the custodian of these books, a gardener of knowledge, if you will. There was no better task in life.
Alex
Title: Aftermath
Fandom: Buffy
Disclaimer: The characters are not mine
Pairing: Giles/Books
Author's Note: This is a post-ep for 'Gingerbread' from Season 3. Giles and I share a love of books.
Gratitude: The gorgeous redhead wymsie, who consented to beta this on very short notice.
As Buffy and her friends filed out of the library, Giles looked around at the damage. They'd moved all the books back into the library, and Willow had started sorting them. The poor girl was heartbroken at the damage done, though, so he had sent her home with the rest of them.
First off the pile was "Seven Cryptical Books of Hsan" (Volumes 3 to 6). The cover of volume 6 was blackened, but otherwise it was undamaged. He set it aside to repair later; it would be a good task for Xander. Volume 5, though, was much worse and would need to be replaced. He already had a standing order at Yesteryeare Folios for Volume 7, hopefully they could locate a replacement for this one as well. He would send off the damaged book (for credit, of course), and perhaps Joseph could salvage some of it.
A look of glee passed over his face as he picked up the next book; "My Year with the Yetis" had also been badly damaged. He opened it to find that the entire "Author's Forward" had been ruined. Honestly, the man was a disgrace to the Council and to England; the book was so full of misinformation that he only kept it because the author had pressed it on him at a conference. He now consigned it to its rightful place in the rubbish bin.
Happily, Giles continued to sort through the books, saving what he could, putting several on the 'to be repaired' pile. So few people understood; a book had presence, it connected past, present, and future in a way that the ephemeral data on a computer couldn't. A necessary side-effect of that was a book's fragility; sometimes that fragility resulted in loss. He breathed deeply, inhaling the aroma of smoke and mildew, as well as the more esoteric binding materials (some of which he did not wish to speculate on their origins). He was the custodian of these books, a gardener of knowledge, if you will. There was no better task in life.
Alex