The Glitch 2.0
folder
-Buffy the Vampire Slayer › FemmeSlash - Female/Female
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
17
Views:
22,985
Reviews:
71
Recommended:
1
Currently Reading:
1
Category:
-Buffy the Vampire Slayer › FemmeSlash - Female/Female
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
17
Views:
22,985
Reviews:
71
Recommended:
1
Currently Reading:
1
Disclaimer:
I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or any of its affiliated sources, characters, or concepts. In addition, I don’t own the concept of true love or romance, nor do I experience either with enough frequency. As such, I derive no
9
The arguments had become something akin to nightly entertainment for the residents of 1630 Revello Dr. Nataunia had begun coming over only on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for her training with Willow, though none of them really knew where she went on the other two nights, but when she did come, the lesson typically ended after Buffy had come in and asked where Taunie wanted to put her things. That generally spiraled into Nataunia’s insistence that her things were staying where they already were, and they were fine where they already were, so Buffy needed to stop asking about it. Initially, Dawn had eagerly joined in, insisting on Nataunia’s moving in, happy to even share her room if necessary. After the first several arguments, however, the teen had taken to simply watching on in amazement with Faith and Willow.
“I wonder if she realizes that if she pushed less, Taunie’d probably be here already.” Willow asked in an aside as the pair went toe-to-toe, glaring. It was almost worth it to see Taunie actually growl, and it sound like a real animal doing it, in response to Buffy’s stubbornness. Faith snorted, and Dawn giggled. “I mean, Faith, if it were you, it would have already come to blows a couple of times.”
“Thanks, Red.” Faith grumbled, frowning.
“What I mean is when you to scuffle.” Willow corrected, sighing. Faith simply pouted. “It’s not like she can with Taunie…”
“Yeah… but T’s only got two more days at the motel, I asked her, and she ain’t figured out anywhere else yet.” Faith shrugged. “She just doesn’t want Buffy to think she won.”
“You can’t just live on your own! And you can’t keep living at the motel!” Buffy snapped back.
“I’ve taken care of myself damn long enough to live on my own, and the motel is cheap!” Taunie growled at her, and Willow could almost swear that she saw the faint signs of the girl’s wings and claws starting to energy-manifest again.
“You’re moving in tomorrow!” Buffy insisted, setting her foot down, literally, as if in demonstration.
“You are neither my mother nor my mentor.” Taunie retorted, growling, and spun, stomping away. “Go stake a vampire!”
“I’ll go talk to her.” Faith opted, eyeing Willow as a silent message to talk to the blonde. The witch nodded, sighing, and Faith jogged outside to catch up with the girl before she sped off on the damn bike again. “T! Taunie! Wait up!”
“Hey Faith. Sorry.” Taunie grumbled, still sitting on the bike and running a shaky hand through her hair before she let out a frustrated breath. “I… I’m not used to this. I’ve never blown up at someone like I do with her.”
“I think it’s another thing ya got in common with me, Twinkie. B can get under my skin like no other… but we usually end up wrasslin’ it out.” Faith chuckled, and sighed. “It’s just cause she cares about ya, ya know. She doesn’t want ya stuck all alone out there, none of us do.”
“I know… I know.” Nataunia sighed out heavily, then smiled wryly. “It’s… no one’s ever cared like that, before. I think I might fight against her so much for this because… well… I like knowing that she does it because she cares. It’s new… I told you it’s new.”
“Fuckin’ stupid reason to keep arguing if ya ask me, Taunie-girl.” Faith growled, mock-punching her playfully. “Come-on.”
“I think… I think I’m just scared. Faith, what if… what if it doesn’t work out? What if I let you guys drag me in here… and it’s like it was before, when I… what if I move in and none of us can stand it?” Nataunia cut herself off, not wanting to say anything about her old life, and looking sadly up at Faith. “Who’s to say it’ll work out?”
“Me.” Faith, oddly enough, lifted her head confidently and folded her arms, surprising the girl. “I’m’a make it work. Come on, ya ain’t got a lot more time at the motel. Couple days. Wills and I got some money together, we’ll grab a cot or mattress or something from a surplus store… stick ya down in the basement with me. You’ll have your space from the Summers girls, and I’m pretty sure you’re tiny enough to make it through the little window thingy that’s down there, if you’re desperate to get out.”
Nataunia smiled wryly at her, wanting to laugh at the last part. “She’s going to gloat when I bring my stuff over, isn’t she?”
“Nah… we’ll tell her I convinced ya, and then I get to gloat.” Faith bragged, laughing. “Besides, you’re gettin’ more tired from your lessons with Red, and it’ll be easier to just pass out after if you’ve got a bed in the basement like me. Ya already said your bike hadda near stall on ya twice when you were riding back.” Nataunia saw the confused expression on Faith’s face, and knew the Slayer still didn’t quite understand the situation with the bike. “Weird little thingamajigger.”
Even turned off, the bike sputtered at her in response. “Sidhe doesn’t appreciate you calling her weird, or a thingamajigger.” Nataunia offered, knowing that Faith still hadn’t figured out that ‘Sidhe’ wasn’t ‘she’, and thus an actual name. Faith frowned. “Fine. I’ll bring my stuff over… but I’m not getting in a car with Buffy. I want to live to see myself living here.” Faith’s frown turned into a laugh, and Nataunia turned the bike around to head back to the motel for the last time. “See you tomorrow.”
~
They hadn’t gone out to the Bronze the previous night, mostly due to the Buffy-Taunie argument of the evening, and the blonde hadn’t been present all that morning while Faith helped Taunie to haul her things downstairs. Willow had told her, then, that after a good meal, she thought they were ready to attempt to fully push out the girl’s wings. They’d concentrated on that, after she’d quickly gotten down the basics of magic itself. Willow wanted to work on what the girl had, essentially, been sent to work on, and needed to know how much power the girl displayed both in and out of full manifestation. She had a feeling that knowing that would effect how much she could teach the girl of real magic, because it would tell how much she could really do.
“Okay… you’ve got on the backless shirt we got…” Willow nodded to the shirt that she’d made the girl change into, “and we’ve got somewhere here for you to crash out on if it exhausts you too much… let’s go through a warm-up.”
Dawn was out with some friends, and Buffy hadn’t been around through most of the day, helping at the Magic Box supposedly for some spare cash, so other than Faith lingering downstairs a bit, they wouldn’t be interrupted. Willow had wisely drawn the blinds, just in case, and it left them with little to use as an excuse to not try. Nataunia, nervous, nodded, and held up both hands. With concentration, she manifested the energy on one, then switched it to the other hand, then back, and then both. From there she moved to her wings, and then her tail, and then let go of the tail, then the wings, and finally her claws again. Willow had helped her to Ground and Center fully enough to have enough control that she could do those things easily enough, and they’d gotten to where she could manifest the energy for her claws only, or her wings and tail as well. She’d nearly pushed through for a full manifestation once, but it had started to hurt as the claws began to form, and Willow had pulled her back.
“Okay… warm up done. You ready? All that’s left is to try.” Willow smiled at her, almost as nervous as Taunie was, and the girl nodded.
“Yeah… Faith said earlier that if we get past this, I can start training in the fighting stuff to be able to defend myself if I go help with patrols.” Taunie admitted, making Willow twist her mouth in frustration. The witch hadn’t agreed to that, but Nataunia had said when she first showed up that she wanted to help. She supposed that with the presence of wings and claws, the girl would be able to hold her own without the full use of magic.
“Okay, breathe, slow and deep, and refocus your Center and Ground.” Willow instructed, nodding as she felt the girl cooperate. “Now concentrate. Remember the push, and the twist, that you had the last time it almost worked…”
Willow’s voice seemed to trail off in her awareness as Nataunia closed her eyes and let all of the energy manifestation develop, its sparkling, crackling energy nearly popping audibly as it spread. She had to keep her eyes completely closed, not wanting any visual input to interrupt her concentration, afraid that it would cause something to go wrong. She had to force herself to flex her hands open, knowing that if she were successful the claws could tear through the flesh of her hands if they were still clenched when it happened. Her concentration drifted inward, away from the tingling feeling along her skin where the energy had formed, instead finding that Center, that was so closely connected to the truth of what her spirit’s form was, and pushing at that. Her breath nearly hitched, and she pushed harder. Then… it Hurt.
TBC
“I wonder if she realizes that if she pushed less, Taunie’d probably be here already.” Willow asked in an aside as the pair went toe-to-toe, glaring. It was almost worth it to see Taunie actually growl, and it sound like a real animal doing it, in response to Buffy’s stubbornness. Faith snorted, and Dawn giggled. “I mean, Faith, if it were you, it would have already come to blows a couple of times.”
“Thanks, Red.” Faith grumbled, frowning.
“What I mean is when you to scuffle.” Willow corrected, sighing. Faith simply pouted. “It’s not like she can with Taunie…”
“Yeah… but T’s only got two more days at the motel, I asked her, and she ain’t figured out anywhere else yet.” Faith shrugged. “She just doesn’t want Buffy to think she won.”
“You can’t just live on your own! And you can’t keep living at the motel!” Buffy snapped back.
“I’ve taken care of myself damn long enough to live on my own, and the motel is cheap!” Taunie growled at her, and Willow could almost swear that she saw the faint signs of the girl’s wings and claws starting to energy-manifest again.
“You’re moving in tomorrow!” Buffy insisted, setting her foot down, literally, as if in demonstration.
“You are neither my mother nor my mentor.” Taunie retorted, growling, and spun, stomping away. “Go stake a vampire!”
“I’ll go talk to her.” Faith opted, eyeing Willow as a silent message to talk to the blonde. The witch nodded, sighing, and Faith jogged outside to catch up with the girl before she sped off on the damn bike again. “T! Taunie! Wait up!”
“Hey Faith. Sorry.” Taunie grumbled, still sitting on the bike and running a shaky hand through her hair before she let out a frustrated breath. “I… I’m not used to this. I’ve never blown up at someone like I do with her.”
“I think it’s another thing ya got in common with me, Twinkie. B can get under my skin like no other… but we usually end up wrasslin’ it out.” Faith chuckled, and sighed. “It’s just cause she cares about ya, ya know. She doesn’t want ya stuck all alone out there, none of us do.”
“I know… I know.” Nataunia sighed out heavily, then smiled wryly. “It’s… no one’s ever cared like that, before. I think I might fight against her so much for this because… well… I like knowing that she does it because she cares. It’s new… I told you it’s new.”
“Fuckin’ stupid reason to keep arguing if ya ask me, Taunie-girl.” Faith growled, mock-punching her playfully. “Come-on.”
“I think… I think I’m just scared. Faith, what if… what if it doesn’t work out? What if I let you guys drag me in here… and it’s like it was before, when I… what if I move in and none of us can stand it?” Nataunia cut herself off, not wanting to say anything about her old life, and looking sadly up at Faith. “Who’s to say it’ll work out?”
“Me.” Faith, oddly enough, lifted her head confidently and folded her arms, surprising the girl. “I’m’a make it work. Come on, ya ain’t got a lot more time at the motel. Couple days. Wills and I got some money together, we’ll grab a cot or mattress or something from a surplus store… stick ya down in the basement with me. You’ll have your space from the Summers girls, and I’m pretty sure you’re tiny enough to make it through the little window thingy that’s down there, if you’re desperate to get out.”
Nataunia smiled wryly at her, wanting to laugh at the last part. “She’s going to gloat when I bring my stuff over, isn’t she?”
“Nah… we’ll tell her I convinced ya, and then I get to gloat.” Faith bragged, laughing. “Besides, you’re gettin’ more tired from your lessons with Red, and it’ll be easier to just pass out after if you’ve got a bed in the basement like me. Ya already said your bike hadda near stall on ya twice when you were riding back.” Nataunia saw the confused expression on Faith’s face, and knew the Slayer still didn’t quite understand the situation with the bike. “Weird little thingamajigger.”
Even turned off, the bike sputtered at her in response. “Sidhe doesn’t appreciate you calling her weird, or a thingamajigger.” Nataunia offered, knowing that Faith still hadn’t figured out that ‘Sidhe’ wasn’t ‘she’, and thus an actual name. Faith frowned. “Fine. I’ll bring my stuff over… but I’m not getting in a car with Buffy. I want to live to see myself living here.” Faith’s frown turned into a laugh, and Nataunia turned the bike around to head back to the motel for the last time. “See you tomorrow.”
~
They hadn’t gone out to the Bronze the previous night, mostly due to the Buffy-Taunie argument of the evening, and the blonde hadn’t been present all that morning while Faith helped Taunie to haul her things downstairs. Willow had told her, then, that after a good meal, she thought they were ready to attempt to fully push out the girl’s wings. They’d concentrated on that, after she’d quickly gotten down the basics of magic itself. Willow wanted to work on what the girl had, essentially, been sent to work on, and needed to know how much power the girl displayed both in and out of full manifestation. She had a feeling that knowing that would effect how much she could teach the girl of real magic, because it would tell how much she could really do.
“Okay… you’ve got on the backless shirt we got…” Willow nodded to the shirt that she’d made the girl change into, “and we’ve got somewhere here for you to crash out on if it exhausts you too much… let’s go through a warm-up.”
Dawn was out with some friends, and Buffy hadn’t been around through most of the day, helping at the Magic Box supposedly for some spare cash, so other than Faith lingering downstairs a bit, they wouldn’t be interrupted. Willow had wisely drawn the blinds, just in case, and it left them with little to use as an excuse to not try. Nataunia, nervous, nodded, and held up both hands. With concentration, she manifested the energy on one, then switched it to the other hand, then back, and then both. From there she moved to her wings, and then her tail, and then let go of the tail, then the wings, and finally her claws again. Willow had helped her to Ground and Center fully enough to have enough control that she could do those things easily enough, and they’d gotten to where she could manifest the energy for her claws only, or her wings and tail as well. She’d nearly pushed through for a full manifestation once, but it had started to hurt as the claws began to form, and Willow had pulled her back.
“Okay… warm up done. You ready? All that’s left is to try.” Willow smiled at her, almost as nervous as Taunie was, and the girl nodded.
“Yeah… Faith said earlier that if we get past this, I can start training in the fighting stuff to be able to defend myself if I go help with patrols.” Taunie admitted, making Willow twist her mouth in frustration. The witch hadn’t agreed to that, but Nataunia had said when she first showed up that she wanted to help. She supposed that with the presence of wings and claws, the girl would be able to hold her own without the full use of magic.
“Okay, breathe, slow and deep, and refocus your Center and Ground.” Willow instructed, nodding as she felt the girl cooperate. “Now concentrate. Remember the push, and the twist, that you had the last time it almost worked…”
Willow’s voice seemed to trail off in her awareness as Nataunia closed her eyes and let all of the energy manifestation develop, its sparkling, crackling energy nearly popping audibly as it spread. She had to keep her eyes completely closed, not wanting any visual input to interrupt her concentration, afraid that it would cause something to go wrong. She had to force herself to flex her hands open, knowing that if she were successful the claws could tear through the flesh of her hands if they were still clenched when it happened. Her concentration drifted inward, away from the tingling feeling along her skin where the energy had formed, instead finding that Center, that was so closely connected to the truth of what her spirit’s form was, and pushing at that. Her breath nearly hitched, and she pushed harder. Then… it Hurt.
TBC