Tantric

Part Two


Buffy was impressed at the way Faith instantly jumped on the defensive. Seeing her in fight mode was nothing new to the golden haired slayer. However, It was the ferocity with which the russet beauty drew an imaginary line protecting her that made Buffy watch in awe.

The dark slayer crouched low in her intensity, every muscle straining under goose-bump covered skin. This was when Buffy knew Faith was really afraid of the supposed menace standing before them both. Hot, furtive breathing confirmed Faith's fear as she momentarily allowed her body to acknowledge the searing pain pulsing through her arm from a savage, gaping wound on her hand.

There wasn't time to consider her own well being, this thing had threatened her love; and it was going to die for its trouble.

"Baby, stand down..." Buffy wrapped a comforting arm around the waist of her lover.

Faith's natural physical response to the situation began to calm as she heard Buffy's soothing voice close and intimate in her ear.

"No way I'm gonna let that...whatever it is; get a go at you B."

Buffy locked her fingers in the waistband of Faith's jeans and pulled her backward.

"You and I have literally been to Hell Faith, has there ever been a time when I lied to you?"

Faith gestured toward the hulk standing there, "Ok, so I won't kill you for now, but show some respect. This is my good side." Faith adjusted her tense body into a more relaxed posture, but her adversary knew she was still on alert.

The thing that most people would call horrible lowered his head in acknowledgement of the dark slayer's peaceable warning.

"And thus, the prophecy is fulfilled; for you stand before me in all your regal splendor. I bow in acquiescence." The thing sank to one knee and removed his eyes from their gaze.

"Uh...yeah...reverence us...we'll be right back." Buffy nervously pulled Faith off to the side.

"I'm not feelin' this B. My slayer antenna is telling me that I should smoke this bastard." She sighed heavily as the ache in her injured hand started to throb.

"You're hurt." Buffy tenderly lifted her hand into the moonlight for a closer look. "This is deep baby, you need stitches." Buffy affirmed with a concerned voice."

Faith pointed with her good arm, "News flash, Mr. Chivalry here is the one that ripped my friggin' hand open in the first place!"

"Yes, but he was only defending himself from a punch that you threw Faith." Buffy commented calmly.

"Tell ya what, how's about I just wander off into the forest and b to to death while you two chew the fat." Faith grimaced as she jerked her arm from Buffy's grip and starting walking towards the road where the Blazer sat waiting.

"Faith, wait...don't be that way." Buffy called out to her in a consoling tone.

"I've always been ready to bury you B, it comes with the territory. Nothing in the rule book says I have to stand by and watch your ass get waxed though, I'm out." Faith trudged through the heavy foliage, looking like she was feeling a creeping weariness in her bones.

"No Ma Lady, let her go. You both will understand my presence and the reasoning there of in short order." The creature spoke to Buffy in a baritone that seemed to vibrate as it left his lips.

"I can't let her go like this...you don't know what she...means...to me. Stay here, please. I'll be right back. If you have any honor in you, you will."

"Look upon me hence, and you will find me waiting; fair one." A stalwart arm pointed in the direction Faith had bounded off in, as if giving Buffy permission to depart.

As tired as she was, the brunette was moving at an accelerated pace. A pace that Buffy had to incorporate slayer speed to keep up with.

"Faith please, we need to talk about this." Buffy trailed behind her shouting.

'Why? You've got this shit under control and I've got a busted hand for my trouble, carry on boss." Faith gave Buffy a mock salute with her good arm.

"This...being... has information that we need to hear Faith. I want to convince him to talk to Giles."

"You don't know that that thing has in mind Buffy, his only intent could be to rip out your arrogant little throat. No one tells the "SLAYER" what to do though do they?" Her husky alto belied her concern.

Buffy finally gained on the determined Southie and kissed her...hard, Faith's hard exterior began to melt as her love for the Californian began to show through her anger.

"B...don't" Faith muttered.

"baby?" Buffy moaned before she pushed her tongue deeper into Faith's mouth.

"Don't wanna see you hurt." Faith whimpered through her growing desire for the woman she held possessively with only one arm.

Buffy held up Faith's injured hand, assessing the damage one last
time. The advanced healing they were both blessed with was already taking hold, and Buffy knew the urgency of the situation was past them.


"Lover, we both know I won't be. There's nothing I like better than coming home to you sweetness. Go sit in the Blazer, I'll be right there. She smiled at her lover with an acknowledgment of what they meant to one another.

Faith returned her smile pensively as she opened the door to the black on black Blazer and sat inside. Buffy liked the color, but Faith had insisted on having the windows tinted so no one could see inside.

'It will come in handy on those occasions when I want to fuck you silly outdoors.' She had whispered in Buffy's ear while the Salesman droned on with his sales pitch.

The shared memory ran through Buffy's mind as she walked back to uncertainty. Faith was her all consuming incentive to live. The pretentious, uncouth upstart that everyone thought negatively about had surfaced with a heart of gold and a constitution to match.

No one knew about her vulnerability, only Buffy. Only Buffy knew that Faith had a soul that not only begged to be loved, but also deserved it. The self-proclaimed hard ass actually had put a man through a plate-glass window when she saw him collar his eight-year old daughter for some unseen offense.

The light of admiration in that child's eyes that day would always be perpetuated in Buffy's. Faith had turned out to be a reluctant, humble hero who only wanted the best for the child. The so-called eternal wild child went to court and testified in defense of the small girl.

Two things happened that day, the child gained a new life through the devotion of her newly appointed foster parents who quickly adopted her, and Buffy fell hopelessly in love with a rebel.

Fortified with the warmth and promise of what she had waiting for her, Buffy walked with a confident stride back to a diluted scenario that she now controlled.

{We've all seen that strut, does anyone do it better than our slayer? ---Val takes a little poetic license and winks at the reader----}


"Look, we need to settle a few things right now. First of all, that young woman that just stormed off wants to kill you. Secondly, she is more than capable of doing so on her worst day. Thirdly, I will let her, if you blink the wrong way. Give me answers."

"You have only to ask my Radiance." He stood to his full height, which probably dwarfed Angel, she thought in passing.

"What's your name?" she raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

"For the sake of clarity you can call me Galga, it would be a challenge for you to interpret or pronounce my name in its native tongue."

"Fair enough...um...Galga. So, what species are you exactly? Don't think I've ever acr across anything or should I say 'anyone' quite like you."

"That would be fitting as my kind only surfaces once every fifty years in the most remote corners of the world, this is how we maintain peace and anonymity among my kind. I believe your reference books would classify me as a Gargoyle, but King Arthur called my kind friend."

"King Arthur at Camelot, Excalibur...all fairy tales." Buffy opinioned.

"On the contrary dear Madam, for the Slayer stands before me. Is not your very existence a thing of legend and myth?"

"So why now? What brings you to one of the most populated areas of the world?" Buffy crossed her arms and glared at the being.

"The Watcher's Council and the existence of the Slayer is known throughout all cognizant civilization. You and the fiery dark haired huntress are but current emissaries in a long line of warriors."

"I need to introduce you to my mentor, his name is..." she was cut off in mid sentence.

"Rupert Giles, of this I am most aware." He nodded in affirmation of her statement.

"And just how would you know his name?" she looked at him skeptically.

"Every one of your generations bears a "Slayer". In turn, my society bears a "Seer", not unlike your Willow."

The hair on the back of Buffy's neck stood at attention.

"Leave her out of this, do you understand? Whatever you know about her forget it. Any instructions you may have regarding her leave her ALONE."

"I can heed your words Mistress, but unfortunately others in my sanctum can not. It is foretold that the red-haired one will one day wield unbelievably powerful magic."

The slayer moved with lightning speed, placing a steel grip on his throat. "That maybe so Galga, but spread the word, she is not to be touched. Do you understand? Tell them I will follow them to the ends of the earth if she is ever harmed." She released his neck, only at that moment noticing that he had been lifted off the ground by the force of her resolve.

Galga clutched his throat nodding in appreciation of the small woman's immense strength.

"Please forgive me my insolence, but may I ask why you did not make such haste to defend your raven-haired counterpart?" He asked in a raspy tone.

"Because she won't have the same mercy, never has." Buffy smirked as she thought about her hot tempered lover."



TBC