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"What the hell is that noise?" Angel asked about three miles later.
"It sounds like someone chopping wood or something." Faith said.
They made their way up a big hill. They finally reached the top.
A village of about twenty wooden houses spread before them. They surrounded a large hut, which looked like some kind of meeting area. A fire burned in another spot and a large pot was hung over it. Delicious homely smells reached Faith's nose, making her stomach rumble loudly. And, sure enough a man was on the far side chopping wood.
A large white woman with dark hair, held back in a plait emerged from one of the huts.
"Hilo!" she greeted calling up to them.
They went down the hill to meet her. "Hi." Faith said.
She went off in a trail of excited babbling in another language neither Faith or Angel understood. Buffy couldn't be bothered to think. She brain felt like cotton wool.
"Do you speak English?" Faith asked.
"I speak Latin, French, German, Irish, Greek, Spanish..." Angel started.
"I speaketh Engosh." The woman said in a strange accent.
"Hello. We escaped from this big building over there." Faith explained pointing behind her.
"Baadd place." The woman frowned. Then she brightened up, "My name ez Mara."
"I'm Angel. This is Faith and this is Buffy."
"Pretty girl hurt?" Mara asked.
"Yeah. Can you help?" Angel asked.
Mara nodded before screeching, "Lana!"
A girl of about fifteen came running out of the nearest wooden hut.
"Ma?" Lana, who had waist length dark hair that was almost black, questioned.
Mara told her something in a strange language.
Lana smiled at them and beckoned them to follow. She led them back to her hut. Angel stopped in the doorway, unable to enter.
"You sure it's alright for us to come in?" Angel asked Lana.
"Oh yes, come in." They followed her in, she pointed to a straw bed. "Hurt girl there." Lana told them.
Angel lay Buffy down on the bed and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead Mara came bustling in with a smaller pot than the one they saw cooking.
She spooned the thick stew into three bowls. She gave one to Angel and the other to Faith.
"Lana..." she the babbled something again in her native language.
"Come." Lana told Faith and Angel. She led them back outside.
"Are you sure they are human?" Faith whispered to Angel.
"Yes." Angel replied.
"How can you tell?" Faith asked.
"I can smell them."
"Can we just leave her there?"
Angel shrugged, "They seem nice."
"Yeah, until they pull out a knife and stab her." Faith muttered.
Angel ignored her comment as they were led into what Angel guessed was the meeting hut.
Two huge tables were either side of the hut with another fire in the middle. Around forty people, men, woman and children all sat at both tables. They all ignored Faith and Angel's entrance.
"Sit." Lana said, pointing to the end of the table where space was.
"Hello." Angel greeted as he slipped in next to a young woman who smiled at him before continuing a loud conversation with a woman opposite her. Faith sat next to him and grabbed a spoon.
"This stuff is lovely." Faith complemented the stew, before adding, "Can you eat this stuff?" to Angel.
"I can eat. Doesn't have any nutritional value, but yeah." Angel explained.
"Will you starve with no blood?" Faith asked.
"In time, but I'll find something later." Angel said.
"Like what?" Faith continued.
He shrugged.
"Not like rats or anything. That's disgusting!" Faith explained.
Angel ignored her, missing Buffy who was never disgusted by anything he did. She loved him for what he was.
Buffy lay in the middle of a hut where Angel and Faith had abandoned her.
Mara seemed to be mixing some foul smelling herbs in the corner.
"You lucky to escape." Mara informed her. "Baadd place there. Evil people."
Mara picked up a clean cloth and dipped it into some warm water.
"There you ago my Belle. Clean nasty cuts." She dabbed it gently on Buffy's face where it was badly cut.
She dipped another in cold water and put it on Buffy's swollen eye.
Mara then got some of her herb mixture and dabbed it onto the burn marks on her arms.
She opened a small jar that had some yellow ointment in it. She poured a little ointment on another bit of cloth and clean up the whip marks on Buffy's legs.
"I have pretty dress." Mara told her.
Buffy glanced at Mara's brown dress that had patches all over it.
"Nice." Buffy smiled, not wanting to hurt the kind woman.
"In here." Mara continued, opening a large wooden trunk by the bed. She pulled out a silky long blue dress. It had a lacy top and some kind of blue jewel's sown into the skirt.
"It's beautiful." Buffy agreed.
"Belle have." Mara smiled.
"Oh n o, I couldn't. It's your. Maybe your daughter's." Buffy protested.
Mara laughed, "No, Lana like boy. Like's trousers to pretty dress. I want Belle to have it."
Faith reached for another piece of bread. "Food here is good!"
Lana placed a cup in front of Faith, "More wine?" she asked.
Faith downed it with a grin.
"You're gonna get drunk." Angel muttered.
"So?"
"We won't be able to do the spell to get back."
"I'm not leaving here until tomorrow. Food's good here."
"I'm going back to Buffy." Angel said standing up.
"I'll meet you back there." Faith nodded.
Angel got up and left the hut. The fire in the middle had gone out.
"Hilo Handsome." Mara greeted as he entered the hut.
Buffy was sitting in a chair with her own empty bowl of stew in her hands. Her eyes were closed.
"She asleep." Mara stated.
Angel took the bowl from Buffy's hands. He then noticed her dress.
"Wow." He exclaimed.
"Little Belle look beautiful." Mara smiled.
"Yeah, yes she does." Angel agreed.
"The nasty cut's are healing. The others will take longer." Mara told him. "Can you move her to the bed?" she asked.
Angel did so, putting her on the large straw bed.
"The other girl sleep there too." Mara told him.
"What about you?" Angel asked her, "And your daughter?"
"We sleep in other hut. This is sick people hut."
"So your like a doctor?" Angel asked.
"I prefer nurse." Mara laughed.
Mara disappeared outside and came back with a large stack of straw. She spread it out on the side Buffy was on.
"You sleep. Lie down."
He did as he was told and she spread a blanket over Buffy and Angel. She folded another and put in out for Faith.
"Night."
"Thanks and goodnight." Angel replied.
Mara left the hut, leaving them alone.
Angel stood up and found another blanket, he hung it across the single window.
He lay back down next to Buffy and took her in her arms. He finally succumbed to sleep. Not noticing a slightly drunk Faith crawl into bed half an hour later.
"Night." Faith grunted to the sleeping pair.
*They make a good couple.* Faith thought to herself as she too drifted off to sleep.
TBC.........
"What the hell is that noise?" Angel asked about three miles later.
"It sounds like someone chopping wood or something." Faith said.
They made their way up a big hill. They finally reached the top.
A village of about twenty wooden houses spread before them. They surrounded a large hut, which looked like some kind of meeting area. A fire burned in another spot and a large pot was hung over it. Delicious homely smells reached Faith's nose, making her stomach rumble loudly. And, sure enough a man was on the far side chopping wood.
A large white woman with dark hair, held back in a plait emerged from one of the huts.
"Hilo!" she greeted calling up to them.
They went down the hill to meet her. "Hi." Faith said.
She went off in a trail of excited babbling in another language neither Faith or Angel understood. Buffy couldn't be bothered to think. She brain felt like cotton wool.
"Do you speak English?" Faith asked.
"I speak Latin, French, German, Irish, Greek, Spanish..." Angel started.
"I speaketh Engosh." The woman said in a strange accent.
"Hello. We escaped from this big building over there." Faith explained pointing behind her.
"Baadd place." The woman frowned. Then she brightened up, "My name ez Mara."
"I'm Angel. This is Faith and this is Buffy."
"Pretty girl hurt?" Mara asked.
"Yeah. Can you help?" Angel asked.
Mara nodded before screeching, "Lana!"
A girl of about fifteen came running out of the nearest wooden hut.
"Ma?" Lana, who had waist length dark hair that was almost black, questioned.
Mara told her something in a strange language.
Lana smiled at them and beckoned them to follow. She led them back to her hut. Angel stopped in the doorway, unable to enter.
"You sure it's alright for us to come in?" Angel asked Lana.
"Oh yes, come in." They followed her in, she pointed to a straw bed. "Hurt girl there." Lana told them.
Angel lay Buffy down on the bed and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead Mara came bustling in with a smaller pot than the one they saw cooking.
She spooned the thick stew into three bowls. She gave one to Angel and the other to Faith.
"Lana..." she the babbled something again in her native language.
"Come." Lana told Faith and Angel. She led them back outside.
"Are you sure they are human?" Faith whispered to Angel.
"Yes." Angel replied.
"How can you tell?" Faith asked.
"I can smell them."
"Can we just leave her there?"
Angel shrugged, "They seem nice."
"Yeah, until they pull out a knife and stab her." Faith muttered.
Angel ignored her comment as they were led into what Angel guessed was the meeting hut.
Two huge tables were either side of the hut with another fire in the middle. Around forty people, men, woman and children all sat at both tables. They all ignored Faith and Angel's entrance.
"Sit." Lana said, pointing to the end of the table where space was.
"Hello." Angel greeted as he slipped in next to a young woman who smiled at him before continuing a loud conversation with a woman opposite her. Faith sat next to him and grabbed a spoon.
"This stuff is lovely." Faith complemented the stew, before adding, "Can you eat this stuff?" to Angel.
"I can eat. Doesn't have any nutritional value, but yeah." Angel explained.
"Will you starve with no blood?" Faith asked.
"In time, but I'll find something later." Angel said.
"Like what?" Faith continued.
He shrugged.
"Not like rats or anything. That's disgusting!" Faith explained.
Angel ignored her, missing Buffy who was never disgusted by anything he did. She loved him for what he was.
Buffy lay in the middle of a hut where Angel and Faith had abandoned her.
Mara seemed to be mixing some foul smelling herbs in the corner.
"You lucky to escape." Mara informed her. "Baadd place there. Evil people."
Mara picked up a clean cloth and dipped it into some warm water.
"There you ago my Belle. Clean nasty cuts." She dabbed it gently on Buffy's face where it was badly cut.
She dipped another in cold water and put it on Buffy's swollen eye.
Mara then got some of her herb mixture and dabbed it onto the burn marks on her arms.
She opened a small jar that had some yellow ointment in it. She poured a little ointment on another bit of cloth and clean up the whip marks on Buffy's legs.
"I have pretty dress." Mara told her.
Buffy glanced at Mara's brown dress that had patches all over it.
"Nice." Buffy smiled, not wanting to hurt the kind woman.
"In here." Mara continued, opening a large wooden trunk by the bed. She pulled out a silky long blue dress. It had a lacy top and some kind of blue jewel's sown into the skirt.
"It's beautiful." Buffy agreed.
"Belle have." Mara smiled.
"Oh n o, I couldn't. It's your. Maybe your daughter's." Buffy protested.
Mara laughed, "No, Lana like boy. Like's trousers to pretty dress. I want Belle to have it."
Faith reached for another piece of bread. "Food here is good!"
Lana placed a cup in front of Faith, "More wine?" she asked.
Faith downed it with a grin.
"You're gonna get drunk." Angel muttered.
"So?"
"We won't be able to do the spell to get back."
"I'm not leaving here until tomorrow. Food's good here."
"I'm going back to Buffy." Angel said standing up.
"I'll meet you back there." Faith nodded.
Angel got up and left the hut. The fire in the middle had gone out.
"Hilo Handsome." Mara greeted as he entered the hut.
Buffy was sitting in a chair with her own empty bowl of stew in her hands. Her eyes were closed.
"She asleep." Mara stated.
Angel took the bowl from Buffy's hands. He then noticed her dress.
"Wow." He exclaimed.
"Little Belle look beautiful." Mara smiled.
"Yeah, yes she does." Angel agreed.
"The nasty cut's are healing. The others will take longer." Mara told him. "Can you move her to the bed?" she asked.
Angel did so, putting her on the large straw bed.
"The other girl sleep there too." Mara told him.
"What about you?" Angel asked her, "And your daughter?"
"We sleep in other hut. This is sick people hut."
"So your like a doctor?" Angel asked.
"I prefer nurse." Mara laughed.
Mara disappeared outside and came back with a large stack of straw. She spread it out on the side Buffy was on.
"You sleep. Lie down."
He did as he was told and she spread a blanket over Buffy and Angel. She folded another and put in out for Faith.
"Night."
"Thanks and goodnight." Angel replied.
Mara left the hut, leaving them alone.
Angel stood up and found another blanket, he hung it across the single window.
He lay back down next to Buffy and took her in her arms. He finally succumbed to sleep. Not noticing a slightly drunk Faith crawl into bed half an hour later.
"Night." Faith grunted to the sleeping pair.
*They make a good couple.* Faith thought to herself as she too drifted off to sleep.
TBC.........