By Dave.Mycock Instincts
Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy or any of the other characters. They belong to Joss Weadon.
Paring: Xander/Tara
Summary: Faith didn't turn evil in season three and helped defeat the mayor; she joins Xander on his road trip however neither returns in season 4 but decide to stay in L.A. whilst their Xander begins to undergo a change. His senses become acute and he becomes much stronger than ever before, he also begins to act more on his instincts than anything else. Back in Sunnydale Willow meets Tara and gets her involved in the slaying and soon they both fall in love with each other however she seems to be hiding something from her friends.
Buffy couldn't believe it; she had never expected to see either Xander or Faith again. They'd left Sunnydale two years ago and they'd heard nothing from them. Even Angel said he hadn't seen or heard from them. She noticed Riley was looking somewhat confused as to who the two at the door were; she decided to explain to him later. She took a few steps closer to them and then noticed that Xander's eyes were pinned on Tara and, when she looked to where Willow's girlfriend stood, she was surprised to see the same thing. She looked at Willow who was looking nervously between the two them not sure what was going on. Faith was smiling somewhat and Buffy knew she knew why they were staring at each other.
"Faith, what are you doing here?" Giles asked calmly.
"We need your help, G-man," Faith answered adopting Xander's nickname for the ex-watcher who frowned at her.
"With what?" Buffy asked.
"With Xander," she answered as she moved to the counter and sat down.
Buffy looked back at Xander who had begun to move toward Tara. Her senses didn't show any signs of threat from him toward the blond witch, but she stood in his way anyway and was unprepared for the growl that came out of him.
"I'd back off B; unless you want to have your head ripped off," Faith warned the older slayer.
Buffy looked at Faith as if she was crazy. Xander had no strength or any other special abilities to help him in a fight. She'd knock him on his arse if he tried anything, but Faith seemed certain that Xander would take her apart.
She turned to ask Tara what was going on only to see her moving closer to where she and Xander stood, the look in her eyes was almost primal. This shocked her even more. Oz and Riley were both moving toward where Xander stood, ready to restrain him if necessary.
"Everyone stop right now," Giles ordered as he saw Oz and Riley move to where Xander stood. "Faith, what exactly is the problem with Xander?" he asked turning to where the dark-haired slayer sat.
"During our trip he underwent a change. His senses became more powerful and so did his instincts," she answered moving to the side of her friend. "He's also stronger. Not as strong as a slayer, but strong enough to tear a vampire apart; but his senses are more attuned than a slayer's," she continued.
"Senses?" Giles asked looking at Willow who was looking between him and Tara. He knew she was thinking of the troubling connection this put between Xander and Tara. They both seemed to have more powerful senses, and it was possible Tara had the other traits as well, but she had hid them from the group.
Tara took another few steps toward where Xander, Buffy and Faith stood. All her senses were locked on him and she could feel it was the same for him; they couldn't pull their eyes off of each other.
Willow couldn't take it anymore. She walked in front of Tara to halt her advance toward her friend and received the same growl Buffy had. This freaked her out even more. As she took a step back, Tara advanced again, not really seeing anyone but Xander.
"Giles, what's going on?" Oz asked as he warily watched Xander; his hatred for Willow's best friend was still firmly in place.
"I don't know," Giles answered. "Faith, do you think you can get Xander to snap out of whatever trance he seems to be in?"
Faith shrugged and grasped her friend's hand in hers. For a few minutes nothing happened and then, finally, Xander's head moved and he looked at her with a questioning glance.
"We came here for answers, remember," she told him.
Xander looked to where Tara was and sensed she, too, was awakening from whatever had happened to them, but they both could still feel some sort of connection between them. Faith led him to the counter whilst Tara went and sat at the table, followed by Buffy and Willow. Oz and Riley stayed standing just in case something happened.
Giles stayed where he was, uncertain how to proceed. He had little to tell Faith or Xander. His research into what Tara was, had gone nowhere, and it was obvious he'd find little with what Faith had told him either.
"How far into your trip did this change start?" he asked.
"A month and a half," Xander answered speaking for the first time seeing laying eyes on Tara, who was watching him intently. Her senses were on fire from the closeness of Xander and what had just taken place. She could tell he was faring little better.
"How attuned are your senses?" he inquired moving toward the table.
"Very attuned; and my instincts are sometimes out of control," he replied.
"Could he be processed like the hyena incident?" Willow asked, shuddering at the memory of what had transpired.
"That would mean Tara is processed as well," Giles said forgetting the crowd that was gathered in the shop
"We're not processed," Xander said; his voice gave off a hint of warning.
"How would you know if you were processed or not?" Willow shot back, trying to find something to break whatever connection Xander had with her girlfriend
"Faith would know. Buffy sensed the change in me when the hyena took control of me, so Faith would be able to sense a change in me as well," Xander told them.
"Maybe, but there is a chance Faith's senses aren't as attuned as Buffy's," Oz put in.
"That's bullshit! Faith and Buffy are evenly matched in every aspect," Xander said, facing Oz with a cold glare.
"How would you know that?" Riley asked, trying to protect his girlfriend's pride.
"They're both slayers; that means they have equal strength and the other aspects of the slayer essence," Xander shot back.
"Enough! We're not here to discuss which slayer is best," Faith interjected. "We're here to find answers as to what's happening to Xander," she continued.
"I can't tell you much. Since finding out Tara has more attuned senses than Buffy, I've been trying to find any references similar to this with no luck. I don't know if her instincts are 'out of control sometimes', as you put it, or stronger than she seems, as she has chosen not to tell us much about herself in that area," Giles told them.
"She doesn't have to tell you everything," Xander told him as he stood and walked over to the window where Oz stood.
"Maybe not, but if she does have any extra strength like you, then it could be helpful to the slaying," Giles mused.
"So you can't tell us squat?" Xander asked.
"Not unless you and Tara give me more to go on. If you have similar traits, then I might be able to find something more," Giles answered standing and walking over to where Xander stood.
Xander however, turned and walked to the table and looked to Tara. He could sense her fear at telling any of them the full truth. He decided he needed to talk to Tara first before they did anything else
"I think me and Tara need to talk first before we can tell you anything, Giles," Xander informed the ex-watcher.
Willow bristled at hearing Xander wanted to talk to her girlfriend alone; a hundred images ran through her mind of what could happen. She was about to object when Tara spoke up.
"I agree. I want to discuss this with Xander first," she told the others.
Willow glared at her girlfriend's response, but she noticed Tara was paying little attention to anyone but Xander, and she knew Tara wouldn't appreciate her trying to stop her from discussing whatever it was that seemed to connect her with Xander.
"Very well," Giles nodded.
Tara stood and unconsciously took Xander's hand in hers and led him out of the magic shop, ignoring everything else. She could feel both of their senses going crazy at the touch but she didn't mind.
Faith watched this with a smile, hoping their talk led to some answers for the both of them. She looked back at the others only to find Willow glaring at her; she shook her head knowing they were going to question her endlessly.
Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy or any of the other characters. They belong to Joss Weadon.
Paring: Xander/Tara
Summary: Faith didn't turn evil in season three and helped defeat the mayor; she joins Xander on his road trip however neither returns in season 4 but decide to stay in L.A. whilst their Xander begins to undergo a change. His senses become acute and he becomes much stronger than ever before, he also begins to act more on his instincts than anything else. Back in Sunnydale Willow meets Tara and gets her involved in the slaying and soon they both fall in love with each other however she seems to be hiding something from her friends.
Buffy couldn't believe it; she had never expected to see either Xander or Faith again. They'd left Sunnydale two years ago and they'd heard nothing from them. Even Angel said he hadn't seen or heard from them. She noticed Riley was looking somewhat confused as to who the two at the door were; she decided to explain to him later. She took a few steps closer to them and then noticed that Xander's eyes were pinned on Tara and, when she looked to where Willow's girlfriend stood, she was surprised to see the same thing. She looked at Willow who was looking nervously between the two them not sure what was going on. Faith was smiling somewhat and Buffy knew she knew why they were staring at each other.
"Faith, what are you doing here?" Giles asked calmly.
"We need your help, G-man," Faith answered adopting Xander's nickname for the ex-watcher who frowned at her.
"With what?" Buffy asked.
"With Xander," she answered as she moved to the counter and sat down.
Buffy looked back at Xander who had begun to move toward Tara. Her senses didn't show any signs of threat from him toward the blond witch, but she stood in his way anyway and was unprepared for the growl that came out of him.
"I'd back off B; unless you want to have your head ripped off," Faith warned the older slayer.
Buffy looked at Faith as if she was crazy. Xander had no strength or any other special abilities to help him in a fight. She'd knock him on his arse if he tried anything, but Faith seemed certain that Xander would take her apart.
She turned to ask Tara what was going on only to see her moving closer to where she and Xander stood, the look in her eyes was almost primal. This shocked her even more. Oz and Riley were both moving toward where Xander stood, ready to restrain him if necessary.
"Everyone stop right now," Giles ordered as he saw Oz and Riley move to where Xander stood. "Faith, what exactly is the problem with Xander?" he asked turning to where the dark-haired slayer sat.
"During our trip he underwent a change. His senses became more powerful and so did his instincts," she answered moving to the side of her friend. "He's also stronger. Not as strong as a slayer, but strong enough to tear a vampire apart; but his senses are more attuned than a slayer's," she continued.
"Senses?" Giles asked looking at Willow who was looking between him and Tara. He knew she was thinking of the troubling connection this put between Xander and Tara. They both seemed to have more powerful senses, and it was possible Tara had the other traits as well, but she had hid them from the group.
Tara took another few steps toward where Xander, Buffy and Faith stood. All her senses were locked on him and she could feel it was the same for him; they couldn't pull their eyes off of each other.
Willow couldn't take it anymore. She walked in front of Tara to halt her advance toward her friend and received the same growl Buffy had. This freaked her out even more. As she took a step back, Tara advanced again, not really seeing anyone but Xander.
"Giles, what's going on?" Oz asked as he warily watched Xander; his hatred for Willow's best friend was still firmly in place.
"I don't know," Giles answered. "Faith, do you think you can get Xander to snap out of whatever trance he seems to be in?"
Faith shrugged and grasped her friend's hand in hers. For a few minutes nothing happened and then, finally, Xander's head moved and he looked at her with a questioning glance.
"We came here for answers, remember," she told him.
Xander looked to where Tara was and sensed she, too, was awakening from whatever had happened to them, but they both could still feel some sort of connection between them. Faith led him to the counter whilst Tara went and sat at the table, followed by Buffy and Willow. Oz and Riley stayed standing just in case something happened.
Giles stayed where he was, uncertain how to proceed. He had little to tell Faith or Xander. His research into what Tara was, had gone nowhere, and it was obvious he'd find little with what Faith had told him either.
"How far into your trip did this change start?" he asked.
"A month and a half," Xander answered speaking for the first time seeing laying eyes on Tara, who was watching him intently. Her senses were on fire from the closeness of Xander and what had just taken place. She could tell he was faring little better.
"How attuned are your senses?" he inquired moving toward the table.
"Very attuned; and my instincts are sometimes out of control," he replied.
"Could he be processed like the hyena incident?" Willow asked, shuddering at the memory of what had transpired.
"That would mean Tara is processed as well," Giles said forgetting the crowd that was gathered in the shop
"We're not processed," Xander said; his voice gave off a hint of warning.
"How would you know if you were processed or not?" Willow shot back, trying to find something to break whatever connection Xander had with her girlfriend
"Faith would know. Buffy sensed the change in me when the hyena took control of me, so Faith would be able to sense a change in me as well," Xander told them.
"Maybe, but there is a chance Faith's senses aren't as attuned as Buffy's," Oz put in.
"That's bullshit! Faith and Buffy are evenly matched in every aspect," Xander said, facing Oz with a cold glare.
"How would you know that?" Riley asked, trying to protect his girlfriend's pride.
"They're both slayers; that means they have equal strength and the other aspects of the slayer essence," Xander shot back.
"Enough! We're not here to discuss which slayer is best," Faith interjected. "We're here to find answers as to what's happening to Xander," she continued.
"I can't tell you much. Since finding out Tara has more attuned senses than Buffy, I've been trying to find any references similar to this with no luck. I don't know if her instincts are 'out of control sometimes', as you put it, or stronger than she seems, as she has chosen not to tell us much about herself in that area," Giles told them.
"She doesn't have to tell you everything," Xander told him as he stood and walked over to the window where Oz stood.
"Maybe not, but if she does have any extra strength like you, then it could be helpful to the slaying," Giles mused.
"So you can't tell us squat?" Xander asked.
"Not unless you and Tara give me more to go on. If you have similar traits, then I might be able to find something more," Giles answered standing and walking over to where Xander stood.
Xander however, turned and walked to the table and looked to Tara. He could sense her fear at telling any of them the full truth. He decided he needed to talk to Tara first before they did anything else
"I think me and Tara need to talk first before we can tell you anything, Giles," Xander informed the ex-watcher.
Willow bristled at hearing Xander wanted to talk to her girlfriend alone; a hundred images ran through her mind of what could happen. She was about to object when Tara spoke up.
"I agree. I want to discuss this with Xander first," she told the others.
Willow glared at her girlfriend's response, but she noticed Tara was paying little attention to anyone but Xander, and she knew Tara wouldn't appreciate her trying to stop her from discussing whatever it was that seemed to connect her with Xander.
"Very well," Giles nodded.
Tara stood and unconsciously took Xander's hand in hers and led him out of the magic shop, ignoring everything else. She could feel both of their senses going crazy at the touch but she didn't mind.
Faith watched this with a smile, hoping their talk led to some answers for the both of them. She looked back at the others only to find Willow glaring at her; she shook her head knowing they were going to question her endlessly.