Love Through Touch

Disclaimer: Yeah I own 'em. If you believe that I've got a three headed dog that speaks fluent Spanish to sell ya.

Rated:R for Willowy and Tara Goodness.

Archive: Please.

Love Through Touch
by: Nyka
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"Don't" A jab to the throat.
"Ever" A kick to the stomach.
"Mess with" A jump kick to the groin.
"My friends" Buffy flipped the Vamp over her shoulder and dropped to her knees.

She staked him before he could regroup and attack.

"What's going on. I thought today was Halloween" Willow grumbled as she pulled herself up off the ground.

"It is. But why are so many Vamps out" Tara took the offered helping hand Willow reached down.

"Yeah that's the third one staked tonight" Willow complained as she turned to the Slayer.

"Maybe he wanted to be a filler in a Happy Wiccan sandwich" Buffy teased.

Tara blushed and Willow turned away slightly so as not to show her shit eating grin.

"It's weird. One or two Vamps out on Halloween I can understand. but three wearing the same necklace, in the same graveyard?" Willow complained.

"Necklace? What necklace? I didn't see any necklaces" Buffy said looking confused.

"This necklace" Willow bent and picked up the thin chain that had fallen to the ground when Buffy dusted the undead man.

"Oh that necklace" Buffy fingered the small charm on the thin silver chain "they all had 'em?"

"Yeah" Willow removed two more chains from one of the many pockets of her costume "They all wore them"

"But they aren't all the same" Buffy said after studying the charms closely "This one only has one bar, the other two have three"

"Well maybe they fell off" Willow said studying them as well.

"No sign of breakage. Maybe it's a note of rank or something?" Tara shrugged a strap back onto her shoulder.

"Vamps with rank? This is a job for Giles, the mighty book man" Buffy said.

Both Wiccans nodded their agreement.
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"I am scary" Anya yelled.

"Anya, your dressed as a giant rabbit. It's not at all frightening" Giles said polishing his already spotless gls.
s.

"Bunnies are the most terrifying things on earth" Anya argued passionately.

"If you were dressed as a bunny and jumping out behind people yelling 'boo' on one of the other 364 days of the year you would be, quite frightening" Giles said helpfully.

"You scare me Anya" Dawn said sweetly from the small corner of the Magick Box she'd hunched herself into.

"See atleast someone has the good sense to be afraid" Anya said pointing at Dawn.

"You frighten me at times as well Anya" Giles said off-handedly. He dropped the sixth text onto the table.

"Where are Buffy, Willow and Tara" Dawn asked for the third time in as many minutes.

"I'm sure they're on their way" Giles said before going in search of yet another text.

"Maybe they got attacked by Vamps and are fighting for their very lives right at this moment!" Anya said dramatically.

Dawn sucked in a gasp.

"Anya do shut up" Giles said politely as he dropped a seventh text on the table "I'm sure they're fine"

The bell on the door rang as the three woman in question entered.

"Oh yay, just in time for research" Buffy said with no excitement in her voice at all.

"Ahh, well yes" Giles said and went tnd mnd more text on charms.

"Tara. Wow" Anya stuttered "I see someone else decided to dress up like a frightening bunny"

"Actually she's a Playboy Bunny. I'm a hobo and Buffy's a biker chick" Willow said helpfully as she leered at her scantily clad girl friend. "And stop staring Anya you're about to start drooling"

"So that's what you hide under all those baggy clothes" Anya stared harder at Tara's surprisingly lush figure.

"Tara, half naked." Xander said from the door of the basement "Tara......sexy......Me.......Xander"

"Oh god" Willow groaned "Stop staring at my girl Xander"

"Here" Buffy pulled off her fake leather jacket and wrapped it around the blushing Wiccans shoulders "Better?"

"Much" growled Willow before Tara could even think to answer.
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"I can't believe we didn't find anything" Willow grouched the next afternoon as they rested in the Quad between classes.

"All those books. We went through like 50 books and nothing" Buffy crossed her arms and leaned back in the chair "A fat load of nothing"

"Actually it was 48 books and two demons Codex" Tara clarafied.

"You'd think out of all that stwe'we'd find a Vampire sect that wore that charm" Buffy whined.

"Vampires?" A voice came from behind them.

All three young women turned to face the newcomer. She stood the same height as Buffy. She had dark hair, and eyes denoting her Indian heritage, with delicate features that made the expressive face quite lovely.

"Yeah you know the Masquerade, I love those books" Willow smiled and tried to convince the woman through sheer will that they weren't as insane as they seemed.

"They don't wear charms in the Masquerade. They can smell your rank in the blood" the young woman pointed out.

Willow and Tara exchanged glances, they thought they were the only ones who read the Masquerade.

The young woman turned to walk away.

"Hey" Buffy called as she righted herself in her chair. She waited til the woman faced her "How did you hear our conversation?"

"I have ears like a dog" the young woman said.

"How do you know so much about Vamps?" Buffy asked with honest interest.

"I live on a Hellmouth. I have to know about Vampires" the woman turned again and walked away.

"Have you guys ever seen her before?" Buffy asked the two astounded Wiccans.

"No. I'd of remembered her" Tara said staring after the other woman.

"So would I" Willow agreed also staring.

"That sexy huh?" Buffy teased.

Both Wiccans blushed.
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"And she knew about the HellMouth?" Giles asked for the third time.

" Yeah, she even knew about the Vampire books that Willow and Tara are addicted to" Buffy rolled her eyes.

"Hey those books could be real. You never know" Willow argued.

"Real? I doubt it. What are they about? Vampires who are pretending to be Humans who are pretending to be Vampires?" Giles said sarcastically.

"No. If you read them you'd know" Willow stuck out her tongue.

"Right like Vampires really have their own underground society" Giles rolled his eyes.

"Your just angry because we didn't find anything about the charms in your ever growing menagerie of useless books" Willow snapped at the Watcher. She had less and less patience for his sometimes biting remarks.

"Well, maybe we could do a 'spell' and find out what they're up to" Giles sneered at the young witch.

"Jealous because your texts failed you. I didn't even offer a spell" Willow yelled at the offending Watcher "M "My texts did not fail me, I just don't have the one that it's in" Giles said giving Willow an arch look.

"Did too fail you" Willow muttered.

"Did not" Giles muttered.

"Did too" Willow argued louder.

"Did not" Giles yelled.

"Hey do I have to seperate you two?" Buffy said pointing at them like they were stuborn children.

"Alas no" Giles said storming from the room "I won't be arguing with a child"

"He started it" Willow complained.

"I did not" Giles stomped back in the room.

"Did too" Willow argued.

Buffy slapped her hand against her own forehead "I don't have the strength for this"

"Did I come at a bad time?" A familiar voice said from the upper landing of the shop.

Buffy turned to face the newcomer "Hey it's you" she turned to Giles "That's her. The woman from the Quad. The Masquerade chick"

"Hello" Giles said politely "wel- um Welcome to the Magic Box" he held out a hand to shake.

The young woman backed away "Sorry, I'm not good with the ting\ing"

"Are you a demon? There's lots of demons who don't like to be touched" Anya said as she entered the main shop from a store room.

"I'm not a demon. Are you?" The stranger asked giving Anya a good looking over.

"I used to be" Anya sighed.

"Let me guess. You were a Glamourphite?" the woman smiled.

"Thank you but, no. But I'll give you two more guesses" Anya smiled sweetly. She liked this newcomer.

"Some type of Nymphete demon perhaps?" the woman tried giving Anya another once over.

"Again, thank you but no. You'll never guess it" Anya clapped in glee "One more" Anya waved a single finger for emphasis.

"A Vengance demon"

"You guessed it" Anya said sounding disappointed "How'd you guess?"

"You had to be one of the three. Those are they only demons that could possibly be as attractive as you" the stranger explained.

"Thank you. Your smarter than you look" Anya said sweetly.

"Thanks. I think" the woman frowned, she was almost sure she'd just been complimented. Almost.

"Well. You seem to know a bit about demons. But who are you?" Giles said as he cleaned his glasses for the fourth time since first speaking to the woman.

"I could ask you the same" the stranger challenged.

"I'm Rupert Giles" Giles said placing his glasses imperiously on his nose.

"Your a Watcher" the woman said reverently "The HellMouth has a Slayer... Good to know"

"What do you know about the Slayer?" Giles was suddenly aware that they knew nothing of this woman. He sent Buffy a gesture that put her on instant alert.

Buffy readied herself for attack on a moments notice.

"I know that the Slayer is a girl with an unfair destiny. She has to save the world from everything that goes 'bump in the night' so to speak" the stranger eyed Buffy as if she could sense something coming from that corner.

"Oh. You know alot for just being a regular girl" Giles advanced slightly.

The young woman backed up "I wouldn't say I'm your average everyday Jane. Neither are any of them" she gestured towards Willow, Tara, Buffy and Anya.

"What makes you say that?" Buffy asked letting her gaurd down.

"Well they" she pointed to the two Wiccans "Smell like powerful sex magick. And you smell wild. Feline, almost. He smelled like books, old books. And she" she pointed to Anya "Smells like money"

"You can smell us"? Willow said still blushing from the sex magick comment "So you have ears and a nose like a dog?"

"Technically" the woman said "So what your the Slayer?" she directed the question at Buffy.

"Yeah. But the quesiton is who are you?" Buffy asked. She darted forward trying to get ahold of the other woman, but was dodged at every turn. Each time she though she had her, the woman would slip away just seconds before Buffy could connect. Buffy gave up after a few moments of Cat and Mouse.

"Hopefully a friend" the woman said as if Buffy hadn't been chasing her mometns before.

"We usually know our friends names" Tara pointed out.

"Yeah. That would be a start wouldn't it. I'm Hyatt, Hyatt Al-Faqadi" she bowed slighty to the room at large.

"Al-Faqadi? Like the Assamite?" Willow asked as her eyes grew larger.

"Yes like the Assamite" Hyatt nodded in Willow's direction "I'm a direct descendent"

"So the Masquerade is real?" Giles asked.

"Most of it. The System of Government, sometimes even the names" Hyatt said slowly.

"Well I-" Giles cut himself off "Do come in and explain"

"I told you it was real" Willow smirked.

"Only some of it, but yes it's real" Hyatt walked slowly past Buffy testing her surrounding to to assure herself the Slayer would make no move to touch her.

Anya tried to remember everything she knew about the Assamite sects. Her jaw nearly hit the floor when she remembered something about the Al-Faqadi family "Fatima Al-Faqadi was a world renown Vampire assassin" Anya ran to get a text. She came back a few minutes later "Her family supposedly are all born with a sixth sense" Anya moved forward to touch Hyatt, but the young woman quickly moved out of reach "It's said to be conveyed through touch. The family is said the be reclusive"

"So that's why your all no touchy" Buffy said following Hyatt to the table where Willow and Tara sat.

"Yeah. My gift, my curse. I touch you and I know what you know, I feel what you feel" Hyatt rolled her eyes "A pain in my ass really"

"Could you clear something up for us" Tara asked shyly.

"Sure if I can" Hyatt smiled at the beautiful Wiccan.

"Fatima and the Dark Rose of Argon. Were they really lovers?" Tara nearly whispered.

"Yes they're lovers. But contrary to thoks oks Fatima never let Lucita leave after she murdered her sire. They've been 'together' for nearly 300 years" Hyatt imparted with a s.
.

"Ah romance" Tara joked "You kill a woman's sire and she loves you for eternity"

Hyatt made a sound in agreement "I thought you'd might like a little help with this charm problem you were having"

"What could you possibly know that could help us" Giles said pacing "My nearly inexhaustable library didn't do us much good"

"I have a book you don't have" Hyatt pointed out patiently.

"And what would that be" Giles said givng the woman a pointed look.

"I have the Diary of Nicodemus Mijelleo" Hyatt said pulling the leather bound book from the bag she carried on her shoulder.

"That book is supposedly lost" Giles said. He came close and carressed the aged text with amazement.

"Fatima took it when she killed bastard 900 years ago" Hyatt shrugged "It's been sitting in our Library. We also have the Demon Codex of Aklar Phantaman. As well as books of charms dating back to before your calendar was used"

"I do believe I'd love your library" Giles said opening the book slowly. He flipped slowly through the yellowing pages.

"Giles wait" Buffy stilled his hand "This is it, this is the charm"

"Oh shit" Hyatt said studying the charm Buffy pointed at "Thats the sect of Shadows"

"The Lasombra?" Willow asked hoping the get a look at the text as well.

"No older than even them. They're called the Vivione Kadesh. The First of the blood seakers. Old as time itself" Hyatt sighed.

"Why do I have the feeling that we're dead" Buffy muttered as she slouched in her chair.

"Because your observation is as keen as ever. These are the sleeping ones. The very parents of evil itself. They make Glory look like Demon Fashion Barbie" Tara said quietly.

"We're dead in the most horrible sense if they are allowed to awaken" Giles said cleaning her glasses.

"Well when do they awaken?" Buffy asked truly scared.

"According to this" Willow translated slowly. As she reached the end of the sentence she stiffened and met Hyatt's eyes over the table.

"Last night" Hyatt said slowly.
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