Chapter 10: Rumblings

Swords clashed with a loud clang of metal on metal as the two Slayers danced around each other in the small dojo at the back of Giles's house. They had met up at their Watcher's to discuss their headache inducing Slayer dreams and that had let the usual modus operandi of splitting up and each member of the gang doing what each of them did best.

Willow had gone upstairs and was sitting in a lotus position as she mentally contacted her Coven members around the world. She was hoping to find out if anybody had sensed anything coming out of the jungles of South America.

Giles had done what Giles always did and hit the books and tomes, but not before handing a certain ebony hilted sword over to Faith telling her rather cryptically that she would need it more than him this time. The Watcher had seemed almost relived to hand the blade over.

Xander was in the basement going over their weapons cache and seeming to want to be alone as what the girls had described from their dreams had been eerily as to what he'd experienced in the Amazon jungle not so long ago. It had after been there after-all where his job as one of Daniel's Do-Gooders, so dubbed by Buffy, had come to a swift and gruesome end.

That just left the two Slayers with little else to do but train at Buffy's insistence. While Faith was sure they could take all comers the blonde Slayer wasn't so sure anymore. A lifetime of close calls and the hard lessons of last summer had forged within her steely focus.

With their blades locked and almost face to face. It would seem to the casual observer the two Slayers appeared to be equally matched in strength as both tried to push the other back.

"You're not holding back on me are you B?" Faith asked through gritted teeth as she pushed against her Slayer sister, but the Undying blonde wasn't shifting.

"Would I do that?" Buffy asked cheerfully clearly not even drawing on a fraction of her strength. She'd grudgingly fed properly after she and Willow had finished their love-making and the strength coursing through the embraced Slayer was intoxicating.

"I know that look B! You hit that Amber stuff hard didn't you?" Faith asked finally breaking the dead-lock and spinning away from the now grinning blonde. "Don't give me that grin. I do notice what goes on around me you know," she huffed and slowly twirled the flint black sword in front of her.

"Sorry Faith it's just that you have no idea how it feels," Buffy giggled and they started lightly sparing as they talked. They made an interesting pair as they weaved around each other. It was a stunning interplay of almost glowing blonde hair and curly black locks as Buffy's porcelain skinned and lithe body starkly contrasted against Faith's slightly tanned and curvier form.

"Not sure I want to know B. You don't usually giggle while we train," the dark Slayer quipped and saw the blonde Slayer's face turn from giddy to morose.

"I don't like it," she admitted as her blows started coming faster and faster, but Faith managed to keep up as their blades connected again and again.

"Hey brooding on past mistakes is supposed to be my deal remember?" the dark haired girl joked and danced away from the blonde Undying. "Look B I know it has to be majorly shit to be a sun-proof and souled vampire," she said with a bit more serious tone to her voice.

"Undying, not a vampire," the blonde instantly corrected making a quick lunge for Faith, but the dark haired beauty just danced away again.

"Whatever you call it B," Faith said pointing her sword down and leaning casually on it. "Look I know what happens sucks, but if Red's little mental whammy taught me anything is that sometimes you just got to move on," she said softly.

Staring at her fellow Slayer for a few moments before giving a salute with her sword and lowering it the blonde flashed a fanged grin and just shook her head laughing.

"What, was it something I said?" Faith asked looking around to see if this was that dream she sometimes had where she'd realize she was dueling Buffy in the nude. Then it she got her confirmation that this wasn't a dream because she was sure the next bit never happened in her dreams as she felt the blonde hug her.

"Thank you Faith," Buffy whispered into the Slayer's ear. Even as she'd embraced her role as Sunnydale's Undying-in-Charge Princess she still struggled with the urges brought upon by her transformation.

As Giles had suspected and Willow knew she'd been trying to drink as little of the Undying's blood substitute as she could get away with. Even though it wasn't blood it was still akin to feeding and her pride wouldn't allow her to fully give in to her need to feed. Even now she could sense Faith's rich blood rushing through the Slayer's veins.

"You're welcome I guess. So what? Does that stuff like make you PMS or something B? Because you're all over the place right now," Faith quipped as the Blonde Slayer let go of her.

"It's hard to explain, I mean really hard and half the time I don't get it myself… it's like…" Buffy tried to explain what the hunger felt like and the subsequent euphoria that followed fulfilling the urge to feed, even if it was just from a bottle.

"Imagine starving for a year and then being allowed your favorite meal which in your case I'm guessing is a cheeseburger," new voice smoothly explained as both girls looked up to see the slim form of Luna Largo stalk into the small dojo with Xander standing by the door shrugging helplessly.

"She rang the doorbell and asked to see you and I couldn't say no for some reason," he explained helplessly as Buffy glared at her sire with her icy blue eyes narrowing. The Undying woman who was wearing a tightly fitted white pantsuit just shrugged and her black eyes sparkled with barely concealed mirth. Buffy also noted that her sire's now wore her hair in short bob a far cry from the flowing black locks she'd sported when they first met. Her face was still almost elfin with her skin almost glowing white.

"What are you doing here Luna?" Buffy asked as the Undying seemed to be sizing up Faith and barely paying attention to anything else with her eyes lingering on the dark haired Slayer's full and rounded breasts.

"My oh my they do make you Slayer's pretty don't they," she commented in her soft almost hypnotic voice as she brushed a lock of her ebony hair behind her ear. The woman was shorter than both Buffy and Faith, but Buffy knew that that meant nothing when it came to her strength or speed.

"Hey I'm up here," Faith growled and Xander gave a chuckle. "Is this the bitch that turned you B?" she then asked as her hand tightened around the hilt and Buffy could sense Xander tensing up by the door.

"Everybody just relax. Guys this is Luna… my sire I guess and Luna these are Faith and Xander," she tried to be diplomatic knowing that Luna wouldn't have come unless she had good reason to.

"Yes I am that bitch and the correct term would be; embraced," Luna stated in an icy voice as the two dark haired women were still staring each other down.

"Fancy words don't mean nothing to me vampire," Faith half-growled back as Buffy rolled her eyes and Xander did the smart thing and went to get Willow. Luna didn't show any sign of anger, but Buffy knew that Undying hated being called vampires and Faith had just hit a major sore spot.

"Look what is done is done right Faith?" Buffy said inserting herself between the two women before the almost inevitable throw-down would occur.

"Still she had no right," Faith protested still holding tightly onto the hilt of Giles's sword as she fought against the strong urge to behead the woman where she stood.

"The little Slayer wants to prove herself?" Luna asked and Buffy pinched the bridge of her nose, closed her eyes and when she opened them they were a solid icy blue with no hint of any other color to them.

"That's enough!" she stated firmly and both Faith and Luna seemed to recoil at the power off her command.

"Impressive," Luna muttered rubbing her forehead were a headache was starting up as Faith was just staring wide eyed at Buffy. She'd seen her fellow Slayer display some of her Undying powers before, but it had always been an extension of what they did as Slayers. This was something new and quite a bit scary.

"Oh lovely you're here," Willow half laughed as she swept into the room with a faint glow of green still shimmering around her and her long red and silvery hair trailing behind her like a waterfall. The red-head's opting for a giddy airy tone of voice to try to ease the tension in the room.

Faith wordlessly nodded her head and Luna just smiled at the Witch. Willow nodded back and placed her hand on Buffy's shaking shoulder as Faith wordlessly drifted to Xander's side putting some distance between her and the three scarily powerful older women in the room.

"I have some information that I couldn't trust to the airwaves," Luna said and it seemed as if Willow presence made her get straight down to business.

"Did you find something that could be linked to our dream?" Buffy asked with a groan still rubbing her eyes from the little mental smackdown she'd just laid down on her unruly companions.

"Yes most definitely. An old friend of mine came across a village just south of the border as you say. Every man, woman and child had been torn asunder and there was talk in neighboring towns of a blood red moon," Luna explained and Faith felt Xander's arm around her shoulder tighten.

"Did you get a location?" Buffy asked as Willow's eyes seemed to float from person to person in the room and judging their reactions.

"Of course I did," Luna exclaimed sounded a bit offended and that made Willow chuckle and Faith snort. "I've even got the Largo Learjet waiting at a small airstrip and I would gladly take you there," she added smoothly.

"Oh and what will that cost us?" Faith asked before Buffy could speak up and the blonde just shook her head as Willow seemed to be taking an almost gleeful pleasure in seeing the interaction between Luna and Faith.

"I was going to offer it as a gesture of goodwill, but my bed is empty at the moment," Luna teasingly purred at Faith causing Xander to step in front of her protectively. "Oh he is a cute one!" the Undying declared and clapped her hands.

"Luna…" Willow drawled while shaking her head and running her hand through her red maim of hair. "I know you are missing Emily, but that's no reason to go looking for trouble," she stated effectively defusing the situation by mentioning the Undying's Wiccan lover and Willow's one time student. The pair had been together ever since last summer but if asked both of them would deny it until Kingdom come.

"Very well I only ask to be allowed to come with you to investigate. There are interested parties within the Undying community who would like to be kept abreast of the situation," Luna admitted instantly stopping her teasing at the mention of Emily's name. It also helped that Faith was now glaring at Xander's back with her arms crossed looking quite upset that he thought he she couldn't protect herself.

"Well it is your jet," Buffy admitted. "Somebody go drag Giles out whatever book he's buried in and let's go take a look at what happened to that village. Because I bet it will look a lot like the one me and Faith dreamed about," she stated and Willow gave a firm nod followed by a kiss on the cheek.

"You're cute when you're acting all I'm in charge," she giggled and then slipped away to get the Watcher and inform him of the latest development.

"And you three, behave," Buffy stated looking pointedly between Faith, Xander and Luna. "I've got enough to deal with as it is. So just you know… act your age," she added.

"Oh and what is that for her? One hundred and twenty?" Faith shot her mouth off not a second after Buffy finished her pleading for them all to behave causing Luna's eyes to light up and Buffy to pinch the bridge of her nose again. This was going to be a trying end of the world thing that was for sure.

Author's notes: Another shorty so sorry about that, but I'm swamped by summer related real-world stuff so plotting this thing isn't something I have a lot of time for at the moment.