CHAPTER TWELVE: QUEST
She awoke with a start, her dreams having awoken her, though it hadn't been quite as bad as all of the others. Giles moaned a little in his sleep and Buffy smiled down at him, gently touching his cheek. He moved closer to her in his sleep, something that made Buffy's heart give a small leap.
She lay back down next to him, closing her eyes, just listening to him breath. She couldn't believe how incredible he had been last night. He had been nothing but understanding since she had been back. Between the nightmares and suddenly not being entirely human, he had stuck by her side unswervingly.
Giles pulled her closer to him in his sleep, sighing contentedly. Maybe Giles was right. Maybe they would fix it, and everything would be fine. Well, one could hope at any rate.
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Buffy lay contentedly in Giles' arms, waiting for him to either wake by himself or for the alarm to startle him into consciousness. She couldn't believe that she was actually relaxed, considering the surprises that she had found out last night.
But, Giles' words had worked wonders for her. She knew he wouldn't leave her, and she knew that even if they weren't able to fix what had happened to her, he would be at her side the entire time.
Giles mumbled something unintelligible in his sleep, nuzzling his face into Buffy's shoulder. She smiled at his unconscious desire to be closer to her. She could feel him beginning to wake up, and knew exactly when reality hit him.
His lips rans over her shoulder, and he shifted his weight so that he was resting on top of her. He ran his lips over her jaw and up to her mouth, kissing her gently.
She responded immediately, thankful that she had him to help her get through everything that was about to begin in her new life. She could feel her heart beginning to pound loudly in her chest, making her so very aware that she was alive.
She smiled at the thought for the first time and let the sensations that Giles was causing take over her entire being.
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Buffy and Giles descended the stairs, their hands clasped firmly together. They were both still smiling, something that didn't escape Tara's notice as she watched them enter the kitchen.
"Morning," Buffy said.
Tara bit back a grin and just smiled sweetly. She, for one, hadn't been surprised by the announcement of their new relationship. She had often wondered why they weren't together when they were so obviously in love with each other.
"Sleep well?" Tara asked.
Buffy smiled and quirked her eyebrows quickly.
"Better than ever," she replied, giving Giles' hand a gentle squeeze.
Tara almost giggled as she saw Giles begin to turn red.
"So uh…what are you two doing today?" Tara asked.
Buffy faltered a little, reminded of why she was going on her spiritual quest.
"Uh…college obviously. Then me and Giles are going out later tonight," Buffy said, sitting herself on a chair at the bench in the middle of her kitchen. Giles stood behind her as if to protect her from whatever the world had to throw at her.
Tara nodded, knowing that the vague answer was all she would be getting out of the Slayer.
Giles put his hands on Buffy's shoulders and leant down to whisper in her ear. "We should probably leave fairly soon if we wish to make it to classes on time today," he said, his lips gently touching her ear lobe while he whispered.
She nodded and leant back into him. He reluctantly stepped back and went to the fridge, retrieving a bottle of juice as well as some fruit, handing them to his Slayer.
"Breakfast first," he said.
Buffy smiled gratefully and bit into her apple.
"You have everything we need for after?" she asked.
He nodded and resumed his position behind her.
The door to the kitchen swung open and a tired looking Dawn walked in, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
"Morning," she mumbled, walking to the cupboard and retrieving a glass, taking the bottle of juice that Giles had given to Buffy.
The Slayer smiled as her sister took a seat beside her.
"Morning," Buffy replied.
Giles smiled and stepped back as his Slayer stood up.
"Are you gonna be alright if I go out this afternoon?" Buffy asked her sister.
Dawn looked up with interest. Buffy hadn't really been big with the going out since she had come back, and the request struck Dawn as unusual.
"Where are you going?" she asked curiously.
Buffy ran her hand through her sisters' hair, marvelling at the fact that Dawn had stumbled down the stairs half asleep but had found the time to brush her hair.
"You remember that spiritual quest I did last year?" Buffy asked.
Dawn nodded. It had been just after their mom had died, and Dawn hadn't really wanted Buffy to go, but she knew that it was something that was going to help Buffy be better at the slaying.
"I'm gonna do that again," she said.
Dawn nodded and spun around in her chair to face her sister, catching Buffy's hand with her own.
"D'you think it'll help?" Dawn asked. "I mean…with finding out what uh…what…what went wrong?"
Buffy looked at her, surprised that her sister knew about last nights revelations. "So, you know?"
Dawn nodded and kept hold of her sisters' hand even though she had felt Buffy try and pull away. "Spike explained it to me," she explained. "And…he also said that you're still you. No matter what. And I believe that, so…no matter what you find out…I will always be your sister."
Buffy smiled, fighting back tears at her sisters' declaration. She bent down and kissed her sisters forehead. She sniffled sentimentally and gave Dawn's hand a gentle squeeze.
"And here I was thinking I had finally found a way to get rid of you," she said, a tear slipping down her cheek.
Dawn grinned and stood up, hugging her older but shorter sister tightly. Buffy returned the hug, careful not to cut of Dawn's circulation.
"I love you kid," Buffy whispered.
"I love you too shorty."
~*~
Giles convertible came to a stop in a clearing that looked all too familiar to Buffy. She gave a small smile to Giles and slowly got out of the car.
"You don't have to do this today," he said gently, closing the door as he got out.
She shook her head. "No, no. I want to, it's just…"
He nodded even though she was unable to complete her sentence. He always knew what she meant.
He opened the trunk of the car and got out the book, gourd and twigs that Buffy remembered only too well. He shuffled the items in his hands and managed to balance everything in only one hand, reaching out for Buffy to take the other.
She took it, letting him give her a reassuring squeeze as they began the short walk until they could no longer see Giles' car.
Giles arranged the twigs in a circle and smile at his Slayer.
"Here goes," Buffy whispered to herself as she watched Giles begin.
Awkwardly, Giles jumped inside the circle, jumped out, and then back in, shaking the gourd. Buffy bit back a grin, remembering the comments she had thrown at him the first time he had done this for her. Now, they just seemed far too inappropriate.
Giles gave her a soft smile and stepped out of the circle. He took her into his arms, hugging her tightly.
"You'll be fine," he whispered.
She nodded and held him closer to her, believing his words, but still wanting the comfort of his arms. Reluctantly she stepped away from him and gave him a final grin.
"You'll still be here when I'm done?" she asked.
He nodded and gave her a gentle kiss.
She breathed in deeply and turned, walking away from him into the desert once more.
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Ten minutes passed before Buffy saw the familiar animal sitting in front of her. She smiled a little as the small mountain lion stood up and stalked towards her.
"Hey kitty," she said quietly.
The lion walked up to her, rubbing itself against her legs. He hadn't done that in the previous quest, but Buffy didn't question it. She bent down and tentatively touched the animals' head, ruffling its fur and stroking him behind his ears.
He purred loudly and nuzzled his nose into her neck.
She smiled and forced herself to relax even as it licked her face. She ruffled him a little more and stood up, keeping one hand on its head.
"Wanna show me where to go again?" she asked.
She almost felt as though the lion nodded its response, and the two of them began walking.
On the previous journey, it had felt as though they had walked for several hours, but now that Buffy was recognising more of her surroundings, she realised that their journey took no more than an hour.
The lion stopped and looked up at her expectantly. They were once more at the place where Buffy knew the last spiritual journey had taken place. She sat down on the rocks and was a little startled when the large feline jumped up next to her, resting its head on her knee.
She continued playing with its fur, the lion seemingly content to let her stroke him.
Her movements seemed to lull them both to sleep, and before she knew it, the sky had darkened. She was jolted awake by the hooting of an owl, her movements surprising her new friend. It sat up and looked around sleepily, jumping off the rocks and standing in front of the Slayer protectively.
There were flames rising in front of them, and Buffy squinted her eyes to look through them, the figure of the first Slayer appearing before her eyes.
"Back again Slayer," it asked.
It was exactly as Buffy remembered it to be. She could only hope that the answers that the first Slayer gave her were more forthcoming than last time. 'Death is your gift' had been far too cryptic for her liking.
"I…I need answers," Buffy managed to get out.
"You want to know who you are," it said.
Buffy nodded and blinked back tears. She wasn't sure if it was from the pain of the last few days or from the smoke of the fire.
"I need to know…what I am," she replied.
"You are…the Slayer," it replied.
Buffy sighed, inanely wondering whether cryptic guide girl had learnt its tactics off Angel.
"And?" Buffy asked. "What else?"
"You are not a demon. You are the Slayer."
"Then why can Spike hit me?" Buffy asked, slowly becoming frustrated.
"You…are a warrior. More than human."
"But he couldn't hit me before I died." Buffy knew she was beginning to sound like a four year old, but she really didn't care. She wanted…needed answers.
"You are the One. The Chosen One."
"But-"
"Your question has been answered," the form said, beginning to fade.
Buffy let out a sigh as the fire disappeared, covering the desert with darkness. She felt something furry brush up against her hand, almost yelping in surprise before she remembered her feline friend.
"What do you think, Mr Lion?" she asked, squatting down to be at eye level with the animal.
The lion tilted its head, its ears sticking up. She smiled gently and gave the creature a peck on its nose. It nuzzled its face into her shoulder and she felt the strange urge to throw her arms around it and sob out all of her woes.
She stared at the animal for a moment, scratching him behind his eyes, enjoying the soft purr that filled the quiet air around them.
"You need a name I think," she whispered quietly. "Something manly for a lion."
The creature looked at her, its eyes large and searching. It the light of the moon they looked silver with a dash of blue.
"Blue," she whispered.
The lion nuzzled closer to her, almost as though it approved of its new name. She smiled and stood up tiredly.
"Take me back to Giles," she said.
Blue began walking and Buffy quickly followed suit.