In Love and War...

She looked silently, grimly, at the map. As usual, it didn’t look good. In fact, as per usual, it looked bad. She wasn’t the greatest of strategists. In fact, as ever, she was more of an action girl, instead of seeing patterns and plans. That she usually left up to the brains of the group. Nevertheless, in the two years they’d been fighting this, she’d picked up a few things. And from that, she really didn’t like what she saw.

The war shouldn’t have taken this long. It should have ended before it had even begun. If only the damned amulet had done what it was supposed to have done. Growling, she looked over the sickly red mist that blotted out the center of the map. The demons had taken another mile’s worth of land, luckily only in diameter this time. When they managed to take in radius, that was when she really started worrying. That was when she knew that the seal-spells were weakening. Buffy reached up and rubbed slightly at her neck, frowning at the map. They’d been at this war for too long. She’d been at this war for too long. The only consolation was that, somehow, having lasted this long also meant that the demons hadn’t been able to push completely up and out.

“Commander Summers?” Buffy looked up sharply, eyes narrowed on the younger girl, one of the junior Slayers, that stood there with a sheave of papers in her hands. She’d forgotten the girl was there. What was her name again? Lyra? No. Lyla? No… Lydia? Yes, that was it. Lydia. Lydia Norris. The papers were the most recent counts.

“It’s alright, Slayer Lydia. Just go ahead and leave them on that refreshment table. Report back to your unit.” Her voice sounded gruff and strained, even to her ears. Did it always sound like that now?

“If you don’t mind my saying so, ma’am?” Lydia had set the papers down, but was looking at her with a Slayer’s bravery. Impressive, since she’d heard rumors that, in a mood, she supposedly scared the Junior Slayers more than the demons did. She supposed that came with being the longest reigning Slayer in their ranks, and one of the commanders. “You need some rest. You look like hell, ma’am, and should try to get some sleep. Commander Le’hane said that Generals Finn and Harris weren’t to return until eleven-hundred tomorrow. The meeting shan’t happen before their return, you say… and as you’ve told many of us, a fresher mind and body is best, be it for strategy, enduring worry, or fighting. A warrior takes her rest when and where she can.”

“I have said that, haven’t I?” Buffy smiled wryly, shaking her head and turning her attention from the map again. Perhaps it, and the lists could wait. Faith did prefer to go over the lists of the lost Slayers with her anyway, and “Commander Le’hane” was busy with… something right now, she couldn’t remember what. “What position do you hold, Slayer?”

“You agreed to Commander Le’hane bumping me to Specialist Squad leader, Commander Summers, just last week.” Lydia stood straighter, at the attention stance that Slayers took. It was different than the human soldiers. They were army. They were nation. Slayers… Slayers had been granted automatic citizenship upon proof of powers, but were considered outside of any country. They were their own, at least according to the US government now. Norris was holding her fist to her solar plexus, feet shoulder width apart, with her left hand down at her hip. It was a stance that Buffy recognized, as Xander had come up with it, almost jokingly, at the start of this thing.

“We made a good choice.” Buffy told her, hiding a smile as the girl looked startled, but didn’t relax her stance. “The whereabouts of Faith?”

“Commander Le’hane is taking a walkabout of the scout and Slayer camps.” Lydia offered, moving to at-rest again when signaled. It wasn’t an army at-ease either, as with most things Slayer in this war. Though she deferred to Buffy, and even seemed to posture as if she knew who the dominant and leader was there, she was much more casual, and behaved as she would have as a pure civilian otherwise.

“Ah. Well, much as I may need the rest, I suppose that I’ll catch up to her. There were things to discuss.” Buffy, touched the rounded gemstone at the edge of the map table, which set up a half-visible dome around the map itself, magical and physical protection so that no one could tamper with it. No one had tried so far, but they couldn’t take the risk. As she passed Lydia, taking up the papers to fold them and stuff them into the waistband of the back of her pants on the way out, she nodded. “Faith hates it when you lot call her Commander Le’hane by the way. Especially since it’s a surname that was made up for her.”

“It’s a hard habit to break, Ma’am.” Lydia smiled charmingly, then preceded her down the halls, opening doors for her even though she was obviously capable of doing it herself. “But then again, I was an army brat before I was Called.”

“And likely called your father and mother sir and ma’am.” Buffy nodded, and did give a small, tired smile this time. “I’ll remember to call you up next time I feel like annoying her. Carry on, Slayer.”

Lydia looked like she wasn’t sure if she should take that as a joke, or be worried, but nevertheless, she moved on at a quicker pace to either finish her duties or return to her squad. Buffy shook her head and smiled. It had been forever since she’d done a walkabout in the camps. Did Faith really manage time to do this all the time? No wonder the troops and Slayers loved her.

TBC