REPOST : On A Pale Horse - Buffyverse/Valdemar crossover - Faith
Title: On A Pale Horse
Rating: PG-13
Setting: Post season 7 for the Buffyverse.
Word count: 630
Disclaimer: Faith belongs to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. The Companions and Heralds of Valdemar belong to Mercedes Lackey.
Summary: Valdemar’s latest Herald is looking like she’s going to be a handful.
Author's Notes: Dedicated to empressvesica, whose birthday ficlet started all this. This part was originally a response to the 20 Minutes With Faith challenge.
Faith fell from the portal in the sky, hit several of the pine trees below her, and bounced off a few branches before landing on the ground.
Still somewhat exhausted from the previous fight, and having had the air knocked out of her, Faith decided that she wasn’t going to swear after all, but was in fact just going to lie here for a moment and gaze up at the sky. Such a nice blue sky, with lovely fluffy white clouds. She stayed there for a moment, until a pale white horse stuck its head into her view and gazed down at her.
“Yo,” said Faith in a tone of slight disappointment with the universe, “You’re blocking my view of the clouds. Kindly shift your horse’s ass to the side.” Faith could have sworn the horse blinked at that, but what the hey, it moved.
“You’re going to be a tough one, aren’t you?” came a voice from beside her. Fine - looked like she wasn’t even going get a break wherever here was (damn random portals). Faith closed her eyes for a moment then flipped her body up and off in the ground in one easy sweep.
Looking around, she noticed three things: no sign of civilization anywhere around her (just lots and lots and lots of trees), the white horse standing to one side looking at her, and nobody else at all. “Hmmph” she said, and shifted to a more balanced stance. “Whoever just spoke to me, better come on out now or you’re gonna be in so much trouble, you’ll wish your parents had never been born!”
“I’m right here,” came the voice again. Faith turned her gaze towards the horse. No, no one there. Maybe behind the horse? “And besides, I’m Grove-born - I don’t get to have parents.”
Faith stopped dead in her tracks. The horse’s mouth had opened and shut in just the right intervals for that comment. No way! No freaking way! Nah - this had to be come kind of joke on B’s part. Somehow. Some way. She fixed her eyes on the horse, and spoke carefully “Did you just speak?”
“Finally!” the horse said, rolling its eyes, and tossing its head back. “My name is Nalora, and I Choose you.”
Obviously she’d hit her head on the way down. Fine, deal with it and move on. “Whatever, N. So which way to the local big city, bright lights? And why am I asking you this?”
The horse stood stock still, as if in complete surprise. “I Choose you. You’ve been Chosen,” Nalora repeated.
“Yeah, yeah,” Faith said absentmindedly, looking around for wherever the horse had come from. Surely that would logically be the way out? “Heard it all before, N. Into each generation, one girl is born. Blah, blah, vampires, blah, blah, Slayers, blah. Been there, done that, got stabbed through the T-Shirt.”
Nalora practically sprinted around the clearing and placed herself in front of Faith. “I’m your Companion. You’re a Herald of Valdemar now.”
“Nooo..” said Faith patiently as if talking to a 5 year old, and then vaulted one-handed over Nalora’s back, to continue on down the path. “I’m a Vampire Slayer. I slaya the vampira, comprehenda?”
Nalora shook herself, turned round and went trotting after Faith. “Faith? Have you even heard about Valdemar before? Or Companions?”
“Don’t know, don’t care, I want a bath, and I’m not talking to a figment of my imagination any more,” came the unhelpful response.
Nalora cast one eye up at the sky above, muttered “Why me?” and trotted after the newest Herald. This was going to be the toughest job of persuading someone to go to the Collegium yet, she thought. And how they were ever going to get her into Herald Whites, gods only knew.
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Rating: PG-13
Setting: Post season 7 for the Buffyverse.
Word count: 630
Disclaimer: Faith belongs to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. The Companions and Heralds of Valdemar belong to Mercedes Lackey.
Summary: Valdemar’s latest Herald is looking like she’s going to be a handful.
Author's Notes: Dedicated to empressvesica, whose birthday ficlet started all this. This part was originally a response to the 20 Minutes With Faith challenge.
Faith fell from the portal in the sky, hit several of the pine trees below her, and bounced off a few branches before landing on the ground.
Still somewhat exhausted from the previous fight, and having had the air knocked out of her, Faith decided that she wasn’t going to swear after all, but was in fact just going to lie here for a moment and gaze up at the sky. Such a nice blue sky, with lovely fluffy white clouds. She stayed there for a moment, until a pale white horse stuck its head into her view and gazed down at her.
“Yo,” said Faith in a tone of slight disappointment with the universe, “You’re blocking my view of the clouds. Kindly shift your horse’s ass to the side.” Faith could have sworn the horse blinked at that, but what the hey, it moved.
“You’re going to be a tough one, aren’t you?” came a voice from beside her. Fine - looked like she wasn’t even going get a break wherever here was (damn random portals). Faith closed her eyes for a moment then flipped her body up and off in the ground in one easy sweep.
Looking around, she noticed three things: no sign of civilization anywhere around her (just lots and lots and lots of trees), the white horse standing to one side looking at her, and nobody else at all. “Hmmph” she said, and shifted to a more balanced stance. “Whoever just spoke to me, better come on out now or you’re gonna be in so much trouble, you’ll wish your parents had never been born!”
“I’m right here,” came the voice again. Faith turned her gaze towards the horse. No, no one there. Maybe behind the horse? “And besides, I’m Grove-born - I don’t get to have parents.”
Faith stopped dead in her tracks. The horse’s mouth had opened and shut in just the right intervals for that comment. No way! No freaking way! Nah - this had to be come kind of joke on B’s part. Somehow. Some way. She fixed her eyes on the horse, and spoke carefully “Did you just speak?”
“Finally!” the horse said, rolling its eyes, and tossing its head back. “My name is Nalora, and I Choose you.”
Obviously she’d hit her head on the way down. Fine, deal with it and move on. “Whatever, N. So which way to the local big city, bright lights? And why am I asking you this?”
The horse stood stock still, as if in complete surprise. “I Choose you. You’ve been Chosen,” Nalora repeated.
“Yeah, yeah,” Faith said absentmindedly, looking around for wherever the horse had come from. Surely that would logically be the way out? “Heard it all before, N. Into each generation, one girl is born. Blah, blah, vampires, blah, blah, Slayers, blah. Been there, done that, got stabbed through the T-Shirt.”
Nalora practically sprinted around the clearing and placed herself in front of Faith. “I’m your Companion. You’re a Herald of Valdemar now.”
“Nooo..” said Faith patiently as if talking to a 5 year old, and then vaulted one-handed over Nalora’s back, to continue on down the path. “I’m a Vampire Slayer. I slaya the vampira, comprehenda?”
Nalora shook herself, turned round and went trotting after Faith. “Faith? Have you even heard about Valdemar before? Or Companions?”
“Don’t know, don’t care, I want a bath, and I’m not talking to a figment of my imagination any more,” came the unhelpful response.
Nalora cast one eye up at the sky above, muttered “Why me?” and trotted after the newest Herald. This was going to be the toughest job of persuading someone to go to the Collegium yet, she thought. And how they were ever going to get her into Herald Whites, gods only knew.
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