The hook punch came fast. A full haymaker, and being a vampire he could certainly put a lot of power behind the attack. Faith step forward, moving into the centre of the attack's circle. She palm-striked his nose and kneed him in the groin. With a hiss the vampire staggered backward and she kicked him in the sternum to push him further from her. She withdrew her stake and ignored the raised eyebrow from Buffy. The vampire snarled, his yellow eyes intent on the kill. That's what leads to all vampires undoing. They were too focused on the end result, on the blood. They needed to feel the fight. He charged toward Faith and she smirked and positioned her stake at the last moment. She was knocked off her feet as he crashed into her and she tucked her chin to her chest so she wouldn't hit her head off the ground. As she landed the pressure on top of her eased and dust rained over her.
She got to her feet and brushed the dust of her leathers.
'Was that really necessary?' Buffy asked. She was perched on top of a large gravestone, her legs crossed, the top legging swinging demonstrating her Christian Louboutin boots. Of course it hadn't been necessary; as soon as Faith had missed the Haymaker she could have staked him. But there was no fun in that, and it made longer waits in between vampires while on patrol. Yet all Buffy saw was the same Faith that got carried away with the fight and ended up killing a man. Buffy never realised that when she fought she did the same thing. Faith had seen countless times when Buffy could stake but didn't.
'You could help you know,' she said.
'Do you honestly want me to?' Buffy asked. No, Faith didn't even want her in the country and she certainly didn't want her interfering with what little entertainment her job did bring her. Her inner voice was thankfully quiet, the sing song voice that begged her to hurt Buffy whenever she was near, it was sated with the vampires. She had wondered long ago whether all slayers had the voice in them that demanded blood, but she never asked. She was all ready the crazy one.
'Why don't you head back? I'm going to do another circle of the perimetre,' she suggested. Buffy looked at her, and Faith sighed. Fine Miss Annoying could stay and get her Louboutins dirty, whatever. She felt her skin shiver as she felt Sasha nearby. She was annoyed with herself. She felt him leave like someone ripping through her mind and his arrival was like a warm blanket. It had been a week since they had slept together and she could still feel him under her skin like he had been there her entire life. She'd never felt a reaction to a man like this, not even with Wood.
There were two weeks left on the clock, and Buffy reminded her of it ticking every day. They hadn't seen any hint of any other were-hunters, but she sensed someone or thing watching her. Someone other than Sasha. And it was directed at her.
His woman was magnificent. The way she fought. It was all passion and it thrilled him. Even in his wolf form he felt his skin buzz with excitement when he was near her. Her eyes lit up with fire behind them as she took on her opponents her body rippling with tension and power. He remembered that power beneath him and he would do just about anything to feel it again.
The other woman who had joined her seemed to enjoy rattling Faith. Sasha had to hold himself back a few times from rushing to her defence. They clearly had an odd relationship. Perhaps they were sisters, though they looked nothing alike. Buffy, the blonde, or so he had heard her being called, was small and lithe. Faith was short but she wasn't tiny like this other Slayer. She was also pretty: blonde hair, tanned skin. Altogether even he would admit she was more beautiful than Faith. But there was something about the turn of Faith's mouth, the passion in her eyes, the sensuality in her sweet curves that made Sasha hunger for her in a way he had never felt for a woman before. It almost scared him how much he desired her. He had nearly transformed human and ran to her hundreds of times, but then he remembered what she had threatened.
He growled low in his throat. So much so Faith turned toward where he was hiding.
She scowled.
'He's here isn't he?' Buffy asked. Faith turned back to the blonde and shook her head. Sasha wasn't sure why but he felt as if Faith didn't want Buffy anywhere near him, and that was fine. He didn't want her near any other guy either. In fact he quite liked it, it meant she already, although unknowingly, thought of him as hers.
'Angel?' Buffy suddenly spoke and Sasha started looking around and found nothing but another vampire. He was dark-haired and broody, he reminded him of Fang. Neither Slayer moved to fight him. Instead Buffy leapt off the gravestone and ran to him throwing her arms around him. Sasha frowned, he edged closer, careful not to make his presence known to the other two. He sniffed the air. This vampire had a soul, and a strong one at that.
Faith rolled her eyes at the two hugging, but there was sadness there. And Sasha clawed the ground slowly trying not to run toward her. The blonde let him go. He turned toward Faith but Buffy pulled him back.
'What are you doing here?' she asked, her voice dripping with cuteness. Her eyes were wide and she smiled at the vampire seductively. They obviously had history.
'Came to help out Faith,' he said. 'Were-hunters are powerful and I thought you two could do with the help.'
Faith smiled and Buffy for some reason frowned. There was energy in the air that started crackling between the three of them.
'Thanks, though B isn't here to do any fighting, just to watch me suffer,' Faith answered. Angel looked to Buffy.
'Not true,' she said. 'I came to congratulate. I didn't know there was a need for fighting.'
Angel raised an eyebrow at her and Sasha didn't blame him. He didn't exactly believe her either. She shrugged.
'It is so good to see you,' she hugged him. This time he disentangled himself from her.
'The last time I tried to see you, you had Andrew send me away,' Angel said casually. Buffy pouted.
'You were working for Wolfram and Heart,' she said. 'I couldn't trust you anymore.'
'I don't think you ever did,' he answered.
'I do trust-'
'Hey guys,' Faith interrupted them. 'Not that I want to interrupt this little marital spat you two seem to be having. But I have a job to do. Have your tiff elsewhere and I'll meet you back at my place.'
'It's –'
'I know where it is,' Angel interjected.
'You know where it is,' Buffy said eyes wide. Sasha had started growling without realising it.
'Yes I do,' he said. Buffy turned to glare at Faith who just shrugged.
'What can I say B, my door's always open,' Faith replied. Buffy took one aggressive step toward her at the same time Sasha got ready to pounce on Angel. But Angel put his hand on her shoulder and pulled her back.
'Nothing between you two ever changes does it,' Angel said and Buffy opened her mouth to object but closed it again.
'Come on. Let's go, we have some talking to do,' Buffy said to Angel. Angel nodded and followed as she walked away. Faith stood there and leant against the gravestone Buffy had sat on. She folded her arms across her chest.
'You can stop growling now,' she said. Sasha's ears raised up. She looked weary as she stood there. Sasha whimpered and moved forward slowly, not wanting to risk her threat too much. He gave her a chance to refuse his presence but she made no sound. He reached her and nudged her leg with head and patted it with his paw. She sighed and let herself slide down the gravestone till she sat in the mud.
'You know, if you were human right now I'd tell you to fuck off,' she said. He did. He had known from day two that she was more accepting of his wolf side than his human side. He just couldn't work out why.
'The last time all three of us were in the same town, I went to jail and they went all fist fighty on each other. The time before that, he nearly died and I ended up in a coma. We don't do well around each other,' she said quietly.
Sasha was shocked by her confession and what she revealed. But he could tell that the impending doom of them being in the same area was not what concerned her. There was something else about those two that unsettled her. She seemed annoyingly comfortable with the vampire and she was alright with the other slayer. So whatever bothered her was caused by the combination of all three of them. He growled slightly at his frustration. She didn't flinch.
'Damn right,' she said. 'Where are those jackals of yours anyway?' If Sasha could he would have shrugged. He had thought they would have attacked already too.
They stayed like there, side by side, unconcerned with time as they sat in silence.
'Aright this shindig has been a barrel of laughs but I need to head back, and you need to get back to avoiding me.'
Sasha thought to protest, but he had covered ground. The two visitors had unwittingly helped him, and he wasn't about to take two steps back. So he turned and bounded off. He would wait for her at her home. Perhaps see what the vampire was like and maybe they could answer him some questions.
Buffy had sat herself on the sofa and Angel leant against one of the walls, a mug in his hand. Sasha could smell the Pig's blood from outside.
'She's been gone a while,' Buffy said.
'Avoiding coming back here I imagine,' Angel answered, taking a sip of his blood. Sasha turned human and summoned some clothes to him. He was going to get some damn answers at last. He walked into the house and into the living room.
Neither of them seemed particularly surprised by his presence though he did gain a raised eyebrow from the vampire.
'You must be Sasha,' Buffy stated. 'I'm - '
'I know,' he said. He between her and Angel eying them. 'I want you to tell me everything you know about Faith.'
'Why?' Angel asked. He was sizing Sasha up in return, he'd appreciate him being protective over Faith if it didn't send grate against his Alpha tendencies.
'She's my mate, it's my right to know,' Sasha said with a matter of fact about his voice. It was true after all, who ever heard of mates keeping secrets from one another. It simply was not done.
'Just wait a min-'
'No he's right Angel,' Buffy smiled. 'He does have a right to know what he is getting himself in for.'
'Buffy,' Angel warned. Sasha narrowed his eyes. What was she planning? She indicated with her hand for him to take a seat but he shook his head. He couldn't figure out the blonde, she seemed nice enough, except her attitude toward Faith at times seemed almost venomous and vice versa.
'Faith isn't the hero you think she is,' Buffy said.
'Buffy don't do this, it's her business,' Angel said at the same time Sasha spoke.
'Who said I thought she was a hero?'
'You mated her,' Buffy retorted.
'The fates mated us,' Sasha corrected.
'When Faith was seventeen she arrived in Sunnydale. We were the only two slayers then. She was reckless and she got carried away and killed a man. After she failed to blame it on me she went rogue. She tried to kill Angel, and she tried to kill me. She ended up in a coma for six months. After waking she beat up a woman, stole her clothes and switched our bodies. She stole my life, slept with my boyfriend and allowed me to be taken in her place for her crimes. I switched us back and she ran to LA where she beat a man so thoroughly he was unrecognisable. She then tortured another man who had once tried to help her,' Buffy finished. 'And you want to mate her.'
Sasha didn't know what to say. What Buffy presented was horrific, but it was only one side of the story. He knew better than most people how important the other side was in an argument. You needed to know everything before you could make any judgements.
'She tortured that man because she was trying to instigate me to kill her. Afterward she admitted her crimes to the police and was sent to prison. She later helped save me, and she helped you save the world Buffy,' Angel argued.
'That doesn't change anything of her past. She's a killer and she always will be.'
The front door shutting echoed around the room and Buffy's cursed in realisation.
'Some things never change B,' Faith called casually. But as she stepped into the room and her eyes saw Sasha she froze. Her eyes grew wide and she let out a hiss of air. He stepped toward her but she shook her head and she ran. His heart dropped and he moved to run after her. She turned and punched him. Again. Like before she had caught him off guard and his head whipped back.
'Follow me and I'll kill you,' she snapped.
'Let her go Sasha,' Angel added from the front room. He saw her back as she practically sprinted out of her house. This was useless. Everything about this was useless.
Angel walked into the hallway and put his hand on Sasha's shoulder. Normally he would have fought off the man's hand.
'Faith is complicated,' Angel said. 'She's had a dark past.'
'Haven't we all,' Sasha replied looking out of the open door. He wasn't sure what to do. He didn't want to go after her in case she reacted badly, and he didn't want to leave her out on her own. He also needed to know more about her past. There was only one solution and he really didn't want to take it.
'Zarek!' He yelled. Zarek being a god meant he had god hearing . The psycho appeared before him his eyes like daggers. He glared toward the vampire, his mouth curling into a snarl. Angel shrugged in response and went back in to the front room. Sasha had a distinct feeling he was listening very intently to them.
'This better be good Scooby. I was on a break.' Sasha let the insult slide for now. He needed the psycho's help more than he needed his pride.
'I need to see Astrid. She has that sleeping thing she snuck you moons back,' Sasha said.
'Why?'
'Same reason she did,' Sasha said simply.
'You're in charge of cosmically judging whether she can live or be obliterated from existence,' Zarek said. His mouth almost twitched to a smile, almost.
'I think you'll find it had more to do with her wanting to see who you really were,' Sasha quipped and regretted it almost instantly as Zarek's eyes darkened.
'Her past is hers to give,' Zarek said.
'And I would agree if I wasn't running out of time. Send me to Astrid, and keep a godly eye over Faith while I'm gone.'
'Since when do you order me?'
'Please,' Sasha gritted out. How low the mighty had fallen. Zarek took his time but eventually nodded and waved his hand in Sasha's direction. One minute he was in Faith's front room and the next he was on a beach. Astrid was lying on a towel in a white bikini while Bob was asleep in the cot next to her. Well, he guessed this kind of life was alright for some.
'Astrid,' he called. She sat up shocked. She turned her head around a few times and he realised she was looking for Zarek.
'He's not here, and I thought you were busy these days,' Sasha remarked walking toward her. He felt unsteady on the sand and heat bore down on him from the sun. Beaches were not places for wolves.
'We are. We took a few hours out to have some time to ourselves. I must have fallen asleep,' she said and stretched as if to prove her point. Her back arched gracefully, and even as she slumped afterward she appeared elegant. She peered into the cot and smiled. She turned back to him still wearing the same motherly smile.
'Ok so where is he? And how come you're here. I thought you'd be busy for a while,' she said suggestively.
'He's keeping an eye on her when I visit you. I need the dream thing you gave Zarek,' Sasha said.
'Lotus or Idios,' Astrid asked, her eyes obviously disapproving.
'Idios obviously, I can't use lotus on her. I know the effects that can have on a mortal,' he answered. He had once listed them all to Astrid to convince her from using it on Zarek.
'But she isn't exactly mortal either,' she said.
'What do you mean?' Sasha asked. Astrid looked down to the sea.
'I'll get you your serum,' she said ignoring his question. She stood up and stretched again. Astrid was stunning, even Buffy was no comparison. But there had never been anything between them and there never would be. She was like a little sister to him. She walked toward him with a sad smile on her face. 'I hope you know what you are doing.'
'Of course I do,' he replied instantly. She raised a blonde eyebrow but he didn't back down.
'Aright. Go relieve my husband of his duty and I'll get the serum to you in time for her sleeping.'
