Kragdon

PART 12: Dawn

It took her ten minutes to get to the magick box, but by the time she got there Buffy was going into full blown panic. Faith hadn't moved once since Buffy had picked her up and if it wasn't for the movement of her chest Buffy would have thought that Faith had up and died on her. Her heart constricted at the thought of Faith dying. Holding back tears Buffy burst through the front door of the magick box calling for Giles.

"Buffy?"

"Giles help."

"Who is that? what happened."

"It's Faith, I dont have time to explain, she's injured I think. I need your help"

"Here lets bring her to the back."

Moving to the back training room Buffy carefully placed Faith down on the cot that she sometimes used to rest on when she finished a difficult routine. Covering her naked body with a naked sheet, Buffy caressed one of Faith's cheeks feeling the tears that she was holding back earlier spring forth. Silently she asked 'why faith, why did you leave, I thought you loved me,' before she moved out of the way and let Giles check Faith for any serious injuries. Wiping the tears from her eyes Buffy helps clean off the dry blood from Faith's body. She could feel Giles eyes on her as he observed her and how each time she touched Faith it was with a lover's touch and not one of an enemies. She knew that he had questions, that when the scoobies arrived that they would also have the same. She just wasn't ready, to answer them, to answer her own, to answer Faith's when she came around.

"Buffy, might I have a word with you?" Giles asked already leaving the room.
Taking one last look at Faith, admiring how innocent her face looked and how her normal olive complection was more pronounced as well as most of her facial features, making her look more sensual and grown up, Buffy followed behind Giles to the main part of the store where he was waiting patiently for her.

As soon as Buffy exited the training room, Giles turned with a question on his lips. Fortunately for Buffy it was that moment that Anya and Xander walked in arguing like usual. Halting Giles from his barage of questions.

"...An, I didn't mean it like that..."

"..Yes. yes you did, just because you have a penis and that I..."

"Anya?!?" Xander said with a hand over her mouth, shooting both Buffy and Giles an apologetic smile.

As if just noticing them Anya perked up a bit removing Xander's hand from her mouth.

"Buffy will agree with me," she stated walking with determination down the stairs straight towards them.

Just as she reached them Willow and Tara walked in hand and hand, bright smiles on their faces.

"Hey guys" Willow said cheerily to everyone.

"W-whats going on" Tara supplied for willow, her smile dissapearing when she saw the expressions on everyone's faces. If Tara hadn't of hung around them for awhile, the faces that she saw would be almost comical. If it hadn't been for the grave expressions on Buffy's and Giles' faces she would have laughed. Instead she asked with a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach "what's wrong."

Hearing the seriousness in Tara's tone which was rarely there everyone turned to Buffy and Giles. All had a questioning look on their faces. It was then as silence decended on the group that they heard it.

Crash...

Looking up from the place on the floor that she had fixed her stare Buffy turned to the training room, running as quick as she could with everyone else on her heels following her. Fear gripping her Buffy walked over the to doubled over Faith who was shaking.

"Buffy?" Giles asked silently a few steps behind her read to move forward and protect his slayer if the occassion called for it. He paused though when she raised her hand letting him know that it was okay. That she could handle it.

"Faith" Buffy asked when she got close enough to the dark haired slayer slowly reaching out to touch her shoulder ignoring the collected gasps that she heard from the scoobs who were behind her. When she was about to touch her her hand froze in mid air. Shocked when she heard a deep resonating growl come from her sister slayer. The growl was so deep and long that an involuntary shiver ran down her spine, both from arousal and fear.

*****

Faith raised her head her eyes glowing a yellowish brown the sheet that was covering her body had slipped a little ways revealing her upper torso. She didn't really remember what had happened just that she was aware again and her mate was kneeling in front of her with an arm stretched out towards her, frozen in place. But there was something else, something strong and had the potential to do great wrongs or great goods. she also had an after taste of death and ash in her mouth.

She was confused for a minute, her growling became stronger when the memoried of what happened last night assulted her mind again. This time not stopping, she felt like her head was going to explode, it hurt so much. the power, the bloodlust that complete abandonment of everything she held dear to her, the extra boost that the hellmouth gave her. It all hit her a once strong and fast not quitting until it was stored away. The power of it knocking her out for a minute or two and when she came around again it was starring into the eyes of the most strikingly beautiful blue eyes she had ever saw, filled with compassion and understanding. There was no pity or worry, just pure and simple compassion. It was then looking deeper into this girl's eyes that she saw what she thought didn't exist. A sister soul.

The power and love that she experianced in those eyes almost nearly literally brought her to tears. She had no idea who them belonged to but they reminded her so much of Clair when she was alive that she almost did start to cry. A single tear rolling down her eyes, Faith reached up to cup this girl's cheek and whispered so quiet that only she would hear and understand. "Frusta Natura, Com'us Tratia fo 's Grumnal." (Natures priestess, Claims the Queens Soul for the goddess.)

Tara who was the last to arrive at the door to the training room pushed her way through when she felt the presence of a Pantherian close by paused when she saw Buffy approach the half naked woman on the floor. Looking at the woman's aura she thought that she had seen it before. It was when she heard the name that Buffy uttered that she understood, this was the dark slayer, the one that switched bodies with Buffy last year. But there was something different about her, she was stronger, less damaged. It was at that moment that she knew what was different about the dark slayer, that she couldn't place her finger on. She was the Pantherian that she had been feeling. Tara was shocked at first then curious, as she had only met one of them in her lifetime and she was only a little girl then.

Tara could feel Willow tense as she started to move in front of her. Though Tara wanted to reassure willow that nothing would happen she couldn't, for some reason she felt drawn by the dark slayer as if something was about to happen that she was supposed to witness. Then it happened everything started to slow down and a blast of power shot out of Faith knocking Buffy and Mr. Giles back, throwing Faith five feet away from her initial spot on the floor and onto her back where she then started to convulse. It was then that she felt the after shock of that power blast pass through her and the others bringing Anya and the others to their knees as it passed through them knocking all of them but Tara herself out. The reason that Tara was still standing was because she had prepare herself for it brace her body for contact like a football player would when up against an opponent. When the shock passed Faith had stopped moving. Tara rushed over to her checking for a pulse and when she found one she tried to wake her up. She could feel the others coming around but she knew that they were fine and that the dark slayer needed her more. Putting her fingers on Faith's temples Tara prayed to the goddess feeling a jolt go through her and enter the dark slayer.

Opening her eyes Tara saw that Faith was coming around, she had saw it all when that jolt went through her and knew all that had happened from her childhood, her calling, everything, even the death of Riley and the reason she had come back to Sunnydale. She saw and she understood, she accepted and didn't judge her cause she knew all she had seen to be true and knew why she felt so drawn to Faith that instant. It was Faith who had voice it however. What felt like hours to them both was just a few seconds in reality. Tara blushed when she heard her love call her name and finally noticed Faith's nudity which made her blush even harder the color in her cheeks matching her Willow's hair.

Placing Faith's head off of her lap Tara backed off a bit, then stood and went to willow grabbing her in a kiss that was filled with love and passion, letting her lover know that everything was alright and that she had nothing to worry about. When she ended it she saw willow had a smirk on her face and her eyes were glazed over she was lost in her own world.

Turning around, Tara blushed and hid her face behind her hair when she noticed that every one was staring at her with their mouths open. Biting her lip she looked up through her hair, shooting a glare Faith's way when she saw that she was trying not to laugh. Tara was just thanking the goddess that Faith had covered up again.

Faith thought that it was the most hilarious thing that she every saw, inside she was saying 'Hee Hee way to go blondie, get down with your bad self'. But on the out side she was having trouble holding it in. She spied the sheet next to her naked body and sitting up wrapped it around her self, looking back up and at the still glazed look in Willow's eyes she felt another burst of giggles trying to get free so bad that her body was shaking, but she still held back. It was when she saw blondie glaring at her like she was going to kill her that she just couldn' t hold it back any more and brust out laughing, when she saw that every one was momentarily brought out of their mind farts and were now staring at her like she had two head she started to laugh even harder, harder than she had ever laughed before. It was just too funny for her that she just couldn't help it.

"Buffy?" Came a voice from the door.

That voice, however, shut Faith right up. Looking towards the door she saw the deciding reason that she had come back to this hell hold in the first place.

"Buff.. Faith?"

Dawn.