*Thank you so much to all of you who reviewed
*I'm sorry for how long this took to post, but my EVIL HP crashed and deleted a lot of it. I'm seriously thinking about throwing my computer out of a window and just buying a Mac.
*I have decided on the ships. But I wouldn't want to spoil the story for you, so you'll just have to wait and see. ;)
~~~
"I think we really need to invest in a guest room." Buffy said with a sigh as she surveyed the small living room.
"Where are they all going to sleep?" Anya asked gesturing toward the bathroom, where the Fellowship was learning about the miracles of modern plumbing.
"I don't know, the floor I guess. I'll have to get all the blankets and sleeping bags out of the basement." The slayer flopped down onto the couch. "Just when things are starting to get back to normal, something like this happens. Aren't we ever going to have a typical, average, non-demony week?"
Anya sat down next to her and gave the blonde an awkward, but reassuring pat on the back. "I don't think average weeks come in the slayer package," When that didn't cheer her up she added, "Come on Buffy, you've defeated Hell gods, giant snakes and vampires by the dozens. Putting up with Robin Hood and his Merry Men for a little while is going to be a piece of cake compared to that."
"Do you even know the meaning of the word jinx?"
Anya scowled at the slayer before standing and grabbing her purse off the table. "Well I'm off, I have to get some papers ready at home, I'm getting an estimate on the repair of the magik shop tomorrow."
"Why don't you just have Xander-"
Anya raised a hand to silence her. "No, I'm doing this on my own, I want to be independent." She smiled good-naturedly at Buffy; "The meeting's not till 10:00. I'll drop by in the morning and make sure that the house didn't burn down."
"Drive safe." Buffy said though she doubted that Anya would take her advice. The two women hugged and the former demon departed.
~~~
"You turn the knob this way to make the water hotter, this way to make it colder." Willow turned the shower knob to demonstrate.
Legolas stuck his hand into the spray. "This is truly an amazing device.
"If you feel that way you can have the first shower, there's the soap, shampoo and conditioner."
"What's shampoo and conditioner?" Pippin asked.
"They clean your hair. First you put in shampoo, then conditioner, not too much though." She squirted a bit of the shampoo into her hand. "See? Then you rub it into your hair, then wash it out."
"How does it clean your hair?" Legolas asked as Willow washed the shampoo from her hand.
"It just does."
"Is it magik?" Pippin asked, ever since learning that Willow was a witch he had constantly been asking if things were magikal.
"No, it's just chemistry."
"What's chem-"
"Never mind! Here," she dumped a towel and sweat suit, provided by Xander into Legolas' arms before ushering the rest of the fellowship out of the bathroom. Leaving the confused elf to fend for himself.
~~~
"I can't take much more of this Buffy." Willow paced back and forth in the kitchen, wringing her hands, "It's like spending time with my four- year-old cousin! At first the whole curiosity thing was cute, but now? They're always asking why and how."
"Well at least you're not the one that has to explain the concept of television to them. Poor Dawnie." The slayer grabbed the redhead's shoulders to stop her pacing. "Calm down Wills, something Anya said made me think. This isn't that bad, We find demon, kill demon, and then send them home. It's easy, might even be fun."
"Tell Aragorn that, his mother obviously never told him that if you scowl long enough your face will stay that way."
However Aragorn was not scowling at that moment, he was gazing in wonder at the small box. The box itself was rather unremarkable. It was the people inside the box that held his attention, there were three of them, they looked human, though he knew they could not be for they were no bigger than his hand. They were siting on a large orange chair inside the box, they looked happy enough. "Are these your pets?"
Dawn looked at him oddly, "No. This is a television, this isn't real." She said tapping on the screen. "It's just a moving picture." She changed the channel, and the news appeared onscreen. "This program tells you what went on in the world today." The Fellowship watched in awe as the anchor spoke of the weather.
"How do they know that it will be sunny tomorrow?" Boromir asked, reaching out and tentatively touching the screen.
"Is it magik?" Pippin asked.
"No, they use air pressure and radar and stuff."
"What's-"
Dawn was saved from Pippin's question by Legolas who walked in the room, wearing Xander's old baggy sweat pants and the black shirt. His hair was no longer pulled back, and hung damply around his face. "Companions, you must try this shower. It is a wonderful experience!"
Willow and Buffy walked into the living room. "Oh, you're done." Willow said to the elf. "Aragorn, you're next."
"Why me?"
Willow looked at his greasy hair. "No particular reason." Then she ushered him into the bathroom.
"So you guys any good with those?" Buffy asked, gesturing to the pile of weapons lying against the wall.
~~~
When Willow walked back into the living room she found it deserted, except for Dawn who was sitting on the couch reading. "Where did everybody go?"
"They went down into the basement to train."
"Okay," The witch walked to the basement door and began to descend the stairs. She was surprised at what she found. Buffy and Boromir were slowly blocking and paring with swords, while the hobbits watched on. Gimli was still trying to heft Olaf's hammer. Legolas was watching them all with a smug look on his face; the look was slightly humbled by the fact that he was re-braiding his long blonde hair.
"You fight well, for a woman." Boromir said after Buffy easily blocked his complex move.
"Think you could take me?" Buffy said, her nostrils flaring angrily at his backward compliment.
"I could not fight honestly against a woman."
"Why not? You scared?" Buffy advanced on him, twirling her sword.
"Scared?" He scoffed, "I have been a swordsman since I could walk." Buffy gave him a grin before attacking him with a flurry of thrusts. Boromir blocked them; they began to fight in earnest.
Despite the fast-paced sword fight going on Willow felt her eyes drawn toward the group of hobbits, she felt her feet climb down the remainder of the stairs and over to the four, or more precisely to Frodo, who she found herself unable to look away from. She knew that it was not him she was drawn to but the ring.
Legolas watched the two spar, while marveling at the softness of his hair. His hair was of course naturally soft, as was typical of elves. But the remarkable cream that Willow had given him had made it even softer, and shinier. He looked up from his braiding and saw that Willow was walking toward Frodo with a glazed look in her eyes. He sighed heavily before standing.
Willow was knocked out of her stupor by Legolas when she found him suddenly standing in front of her. She was quite suddenly released from the ring's hold, and she shook her head to clear it. "Oh, Legolas, hi, what's up?" the elf gave her a puzzled look and looked up at the ceiling, "No, I wasn't asking you. It means how are you?"
"I am well," Awkward silence fell and both the witch and the elf stared at the floor. "Your friend is a strong warrior." He finally said nodding at Buffy, who was still locked in combat with Boromir.
"Yeah, it comes with the slayer gig, super speed, super strength, you know, the works."
He nodded as if he understood 'the works.' He watched the girl shift awkwardly, silently cursing Aragorn for charging him with this task. Then he said the first thing that popped into his head. "Do you want to braid my hair?"
"What?"
~~~
Thirty minutes later found Willow and Legolas sitting on one of the gym mats, speaking lightly about hair-care products. Boromir was now attempting to teach Merry and Pippin swordplay while Frodo and Sam laughed at their fumbling comrades. Gimli was watching Buffy in awe as she swung the trolls hammer effortlessly. Aragorn was sitting on the basement steps, talking to Xander.
"So your hair isn't really that color?"
"Not naturally I dyed it."
"Like one would dye a piece of cloth?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"I don't know, I wanted a change I guess."
Legolas reached out and touched her hair lightly; "I like it."
"How strong are you?" Gimli asked.
Buffy turned to the dwarf, "I don't know, as strong as ten maybe a dozen men."
Gimli gave her a disbelieving look, but it was Legolas that spoke, "Which means the strength of at least 100 dwarves."
"At least the dwarves fight, they don't run away to Valinor at the first sign of danger!"
Legolas stood, "I cannot abide this!" needless to say he was startled when Willow grabbed one of his hands and pulled him back down, he landed on the mat with an ungraceful oomph. The dwarf started to chuckle, but stopped abruptly when Buffy handed him the hammer, and, unable to handle the weight, he dropped it on his foot.
"Maybe if you didn't provoke him." Willow said to the elf, sounding like a scolding parent.
The slayer sat down on the stairs with Xander and Aragorn, "Hey guys. What's up?"
"Aragorn here was just about to tell a story."
"OOO I like stories, does it have a happy ending?"
"The ending has not yet been determined, and it is not a story, but a history." He drew a sword out from behind his back. And placed it on his lap.
Buffy reached out and touched the scabbard lightly, she couldn't help herself, it was the most beautiful weapon she had ever seen. The scabbard was studded with precious jewels, and runic symbols ran down its sides. "Wow." she breathed.
"This is Anduril."
The moment Aragorn had brought out his sword Legolas had seen Willow start, she tilted her head, as if listening to something far away. Legolas stood and offered her his hand, he helped her up then drew her over to the stair. "It's elven magik" He whispered to her as her hand floated over the decadent scabbard.
"What is it Wills?" Buffy asked, her friend was looking more than a bit spaced out.
"Protective charms, lots of them, they're coating this blade." She met Aragorn's eyes "It must be very important."
"It is." He drew it slowly and began to speak in a hypnotic voice, "It was long ago, so long in fact that only the immortal memories of the elves can recount it." When Boromir and the hobbits heard the story he was telling they gathered around him. Even Gimli, who was still moaning in pain, hobbled over. They all sat, entranced as the heir of Isildur told his tale. He spoke not only of the war, but also of Bilbo's adventure, and their own, greatly expanding on the brief outline he had told them earlier. He spoke of Gandalf's demise and their short respite at Rivendell. They all listened, rapt, even though the fellowship had heard the tale many times, and had even lived part of it.
When he drew to a close they all sat in stunned silence, Dawn's startled shout broke it and Buffy was up the stairs in a flash, the others close behind her.
*I'm sorry for how long this took to post, but my EVIL HP crashed and deleted a lot of it. I'm seriously thinking about throwing my computer out of a window and just buying a Mac.
*I have decided on the ships. But I wouldn't want to spoil the story for you, so you'll just have to wait and see. ;)
~~~
"I think we really need to invest in a guest room." Buffy said with a sigh as she surveyed the small living room.
"Where are they all going to sleep?" Anya asked gesturing toward the bathroom, where the Fellowship was learning about the miracles of modern plumbing.
"I don't know, the floor I guess. I'll have to get all the blankets and sleeping bags out of the basement." The slayer flopped down onto the couch. "Just when things are starting to get back to normal, something like this happens. Aren't we ever going to have a typical, average, non-demony week?"
Anya sat down next to her and gave the blonde an awkward, but reassuring pat on the back. "I don't think average weeks come in the slayer package," When that didn't cheer her up she added, "Come on Buffy, you've defeated Hell gods, giant snakes and vampires by the dozens. Putting up with Robin Hood and his Merry Men for a little while is going to be a piece of cake compared to that."
"Do you even know the meaning of the word jinx?"
Anya scowled at the slayer before standing and grabbing her purse off the table. "Well I'm off, I have to get some papers ready at home, I'm getting an estimate on the repair of the magik shop tomorrow."
"Why don't you just have Xander-"
Anya raised a hand to silence her. "No, I'm doing this on my own, I want to be independent." She smiled good-naturedly at Buffy; "The meeting's not till 10:00. I'll drop by in the morning and make sure that the house didn't burn down."
"Drive safe." Buffy said though she doubted that Anya would take her advice. The two women hugged and the former demon departed.
~~~
"You turn the knob this way to make the water hotter, this way to make it colder." Willow turned the shower knob to demonstrate.
Legolas stuck his hand into the spray. "This is truly an amazing device.
"If you feel that way you can have the first shower, there's the soap, shampoo and conditioner."
"What's shampoo and conditioner?" Pippin asked.
"They clean your hair. First you put in shampoo, then conditioner, not too much though." She squirted a bit of the shampoo into her hand. "See? Then you rub it into your hair, then wash it out."
"How does it clean your hair?" Legolas asked as Willow washed the shampoo from her hand.
"It just does."
"Is it magik?" Pippin asked, ever since learning that Willow was a witch he had constantly been asking if things were magikal.
"No, it's just chemistry."
"What's chem-"
"Never mind! Here," she dumped a towel and sweat suit, provided by Xander into Legolas' arms before ushering the rest of the fellowship out of the bathroom. Leaving the confused elf to fend for himself.
~~~
"I can't take much more of this Buffy." Willow paced back and forth in the kitchen, wringing her hands, "It's like spending time with my four- year-old cousin! At first the whole curiosity thing was cute, but now? They're always asking why and how."
"Well at least you're not the one that has to explain the concept of television to them. Poor Dawnie." The slayer grabbed the redhead's shoulders to stop her pacing. "Calm down Wills, something Anya said made me think. This isn't that bad, We find demon, kill demon, and then send them home. It's easy, might even be fun."
"Tell Aragorn that, his mother obviously never told him that if you scowl long enough your face will stay that way."
However Aragorn was not scowling at that moment, he was gazing in wonder at the small box. The box itself was rather unremarkable. It was the people inside the box that held his attention, there were three of them, they looked human, though he knew they could not be for they were no bigger than his hand. They were siting on a large orange chair inside the box, they looked happy enough. "Are these your pets?"
Dawn looked at him oddly, "No. This is a television, this isn't real." She said tapping on the screen. "It's just a moving picture." She changed the channel, and the news appeared onscreen. "This program tells you what went on in the world today." The Fellowship watched in awe as the anchor spoke of the weather.
"How do they know that it will be sunny tomorrow?" Boromir asked, reaching out and tentatively touching the screen.
"Is it magik?" Pippin asked.
"No, they use air pressure and radar and stuff."
"What's-"
Dawn was saved from Pippin's question by Legolas who walked in the room, wearing Xander's old baggy sweat pants and the black shirt. His hair was no longer pulled back, and hung damply around his face. "Companions, you must try this shower. It is a wonderful experience!"
Willow and Buffy walked into the living room. "Oh, you're done." Willow said to the elf. "Aragorn, you're next."
"Why me?"
Willow looked at his greasy hair. "No particular reason." Then she ushered him into the bathroom.
"So you guys any good with those?" Buffy asked, gesturing to the pile of weapons lying against the wall.
~~~
When Willow walked back into the living room she found it deserted, except for Dawn who was sitting on the couch reading. "Where did everybody go?"
"They went down into the basement to train."
"Okay," The witch walked to the basement door and began to descend the stairs. She was surprised at what she found. Buffy and Boromir were slowly blocking and paring with swords, while the hobbits watched on. Gimli was still trying to heft Olaf's hammer. Legolas was watching them all with a smug look on his face; the look was slightly humbled by the fact that he was re-braiding his long blonde hair.
"You fight well, for a woman." Boromir said after Buffy easily blocked his complex move.
"Think you could take me?" Buffy said, her nostrils flaring angrily at his backward compliment.
"I could not fight honestly against a woman."
"Why not? You scared?" Buffy advanced on him, twirling her sword.
"Scared?" He scoffed, "I have been a swordsman since I could walk." Buffy gave him a grin before attacking him with a flurry of thrusts. Boromir blocked them; they began to fight in earnest.
Despite the fast-paced sword fight going on Willow felt her eyes drawn toward the group of hobbits, she felt her feet climb down the remainder of the stairs and over to the four, or more precisely to Frodo, who she found herself unable to look away from. She knew that it was not him she was drawn to but the ring.
Legolas watched the two spar, while marveling at the softness of his hair. His hair was of course naturally soft, as was typical of elves. But the remarkable cream that Willow had given him had made it even softer, and shinier. He looked up from his braiding and saw that Willow was walking toward Frodo with a glazed look in her eyes. He sighed heavily before standing.
Willow was knocked out of her stupor by Legolas when she found him suddenly standing in front of her. She was quite suddenly released from the ring's hold, and she shook her head to clear it. "Oh, Legolas, hi, what's up?" the elf gave her a puzzled look and looked up at the ceiling, "No, I wasn't asking you. It means how are you?"
"I am well," Awkward silence fell and both the witch and the elf stared at the floor. "Your friend is a strong warrior." He finally said nodding at Buffy, who was still locked in combat with Boromir.
"Yeah, it comes with the slayer gig, super speed, super strength, you know, the works."
He nodded as if he understood 'the works.' He watched the girl shift awkwardly, silently cursing Aragorn for charging him with this task. Then he said the first thing that popped into his head. "Do you want to braid my hair?"
"What?"
~~~
Thirty minutes later found Willow and Legolas sitting on one of the gym mats, speaking lightly about hair-care products. Boromir was now attempting to teach Merry and Pippin swordplay while Frodo and Sam laughed at their fumbling comrades. Gimli was watching Buffy in awe as she swung the trolls hammer effortlessly. Aragorn was sitting on the basement steps, talking to Xander.
"So your hair isn't really that color?"
"Not naturally I dyed it."
"Like one would dye a piece of cloth?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"I don't know, I wanted a change I guess."
Legolas reached out and touched her hair lightly; "I like it."
"How strong are you?" Gimli asked.
Buffy turned to the dwarf, "I don't know, as strong as ten maybe a dozen men."
Gimli gave her a disbelieving look, but it was Legolas that spoke, "Which means the strength of at least 100 dwarves."
"At least the dwarves fight, they don't run away to Valinor at the first sign of danger!"
Legolas stood, "I cannot abide this!" needless to say he was startled when Willow grabbed one of his hands and pulled him back down, he landed on the mat with an ungraceful oomph. The dwarf started to chuckle, but stopped abruptly when Buffy handed him the hammer, and, unable to handle the weight, he dropped it on his foot.
"Maybe if you didn't provoke him." Willow said to the elf, sounding like a scolding parent.
The slayer sat down on the stairs with Xander and Aragorn, "Hey guys. What's up?"
"Aragorn here was just about to tell a story."
"OOO I like stories, does it have a happy ending?"
"The ending has not yet been determined, and it is not a story, but a history." He drew a sword out from behind his back. And placed it on his lap.
Buffy reached out and touched the scabbard lightly, she couldn't help herself, it was the most beautiful weapon she had ever seen. The scabbard was studded with precious jewels, and runic symbols ran down its sides. "Wow." she breathed.
"This is Anduril."
The moment Aragorn had brought out his sword Legolas had seen Willow start, she tilted her head, as if listening to something far away. Legolas stood and offered her his hand, he helped her up then drew her over to the stair. "It's elven magik" He whispered to her as her hand floated over the decadent scabbard.
"What is it Wills?" Buffy asked, her friend was looking more than a bit spaced out.
"Protective charms, lots of them, they're coating this blade." She met Aragorn's eyes "It must be very important."
"It is." He drew it slowly and began to speak in a hypnotic voice, "It was long ago, so long in fact that only the immortal memories of the elves can recount it." When Boromir and the hobbits heard the story he was telling they gathered around him. Even Gimli, who was still moaning in pain, hobbled over. They all sat, entranced as the heir of Isildur told his tale. He spoke not only of the war, but also of Bilbo's adventure, and their own, greatly expanding on the brief outline he had told them earlier. He spoke of Gandalf's demise and their short respite at Rivendell. They all listened, rapt, even though the fellowship had heard the tale many times, and had even lived part of it.
When he drew to a close they all sat in stunned silence, Dawn's startled shout broke it and Buffy was up the stairs in a flash, the others close behind her.