Xander The Vampire Slayer Part 2
Disclaimer: All Buffy the Vampire Slayer characters are property of Mutant Enemy et al. You know the drill. I don't own 'em. (But the things I could do to Spike if I did.) I'm just playing with them. (Er..that thing I said about you know who..?? Grrrrrrowl..) Author: GoddessBlue Archive: Gimme a yell so I know where! Note: Would appreciate feedback particularly where characters are concerned. I'm going slow on this so I can get it right - don't want to post quickly simply to have something to post. Stick with me.
As co-owner of the Bronze, Ethan Rayne often felt a tad guilty at leaving so much of the work to his staff. He was a definite 'people person', enjoying the nights behind the bar, watching the young people enjoying themselves, chatting to customers. But there were times when he felt fully justified in taking time off. Like tonight for instance. There was trouble brewing in Sunnydale, and there was really only one person who could deal with it. Well, maybe more than one, if he was to be completely honest. In times past, the Slayer worked alone, with only his Watcher. And perhaps the Council. But this Slayer, he was different.
"Rack 'em up, Watcher Man," said the Slayer, leaning across the bar.
"Perhaps in a few years, my dear Xander," Ethan smiled. "You may be old enough to slay the beasties that go bump in the night, but until those who set down our laws say so, it's the soft stuff for you."
Xander Harris, Vampire Slayer, rolled his eyes.
"Typical," he sighed, sitting on a stool before the bar. "Risk your life every day and every night, and can't even soothe one's brow with the golden liquor."
Ethan grinned and leant forward, his elbows resting on the bar as he watched his young charge. This Slayer was not just different in that he didn't work alone. Going by the voluminous Watcher Dairies that Ethan had read over many years, past Slayers had all felt that 'calling', that feeling of knowing they were doing a sacred duty, that life as one of the few who truly knew that so many tales and myths were real and not just fairy tales to frighten children was something to be taken seriously. Slayers lived and worked alone, studying under their Watcher and following the Council. But not this Slayer. The Council had, for some reason, lost track of certain Potential Slayers just before the last one had been killed. They had not known about Alexander Harris, and it had been a while before he had been found. And when he had, the young boy had been thrown head first into Slaying, without the benefit of training or knowledge. An untrained Slayer. The Council's worst fears had come true. Without the training and education that a young Potential received, anything could happen. And anything did. Ethan had lost track of how many angry phone calls he had received from the Council, concerning his charge's 'attitude'.
*"Slayers do not run around in a gang, Watcher Reyne," blustered Rupert Giles, Head of the Council. "They work alone. They work in secrecy. And the reason they work in secrecy is so we can continue our work. The more people who know about us, the more chance there is of sacred lore getting out into the..public." His voice as he said the last, certainly reflected his opinion of the great unknowing masses. "Xander is different," Ethan said quietly. "You have said yourself, Rupert, that he is possibly one of the strongest Slayers we have had. Xander does his job. He is a young man who did not ask for this. Regardless of his methods, he does what he was called to do. And he does it well." "Yes, well, be that as it may," Giles brushed it aside. "But what of the danger his..friends may find themselves in? A Slayer who has no friends nor family cannot be hurt by evil. A Slayer with any emotion other than hatred for the evil finds himself at a weakness."*
And that was the true problem, Ethan knew. If one of Xander's friends were to be caught and held as hostage, Xander would find himself having to choose between them..or perhaps the rest of the world. The boy's loyalty was never in doubt. His courage, his heart was what truly made him stand out from the hundreds of Slayers who came before him.
"Hey Rain Man," Xander was waving his hand in front of Ethan's face. "Earth to Ethan."
Ethan blinked and stood up.
"Wool gathering," he said, turning to a tray of glasses and starting to polish them. "We need to talk, Xander. There is a -"
"There is a great evil brewing in the land," Xander intoned in a deep voice. "Well duh, Ethan! Hello? Hellmouth? When is there ever not a great evil brewing? So where are the others?"
"I believe they are here," Ethan nodded as he looked past Xander.
Disclaimer: All Buffy the Vampire Slayer characters are property of Mutant Enemy et al. You know the drill. I don't own 'em. (But the things I could do to Spike if I did.) I'm just playing with them. (Er..that thing I said about you know who..?? Grrrrrrowl..) Author: GoddessBlue Archive: Gimme a yell so I know where! Note: Would appreciate feedback particularly where characters are concerned. I'm going slow on this so I can get it right - don't want to post quickly simply to have something to post. Stick with me.
As co-owner of the Bronze, Ethan Rayne often felt a tad guilty at leaving so much of the work to his staff. He was a definite 'people person', enjoying the nights behind the bar, watching the young people enjoying themselves, chatting to customers. But there were times when he felt fully justified in taking time off. Like tonight for instance. There was trouble brewing in Sunnydale, and there was really only one person who could deal with it. Well, maybe more than one, if he was to be completely honest. In times past, the Slayer worked alone, with only his Watcher. And perhaps the Council. But this Slayer, he was different.
"Rack 'em up, Watcher Man," said the Slayer, leaning across the bar.
"Perhaps in a few years, my dear Xander," Ethan smiled. "You may be old enough to slay the beasties that go bump in the night, but until those who set down our laws say so, it's the soft stuff for you."
Xander Harris, Vampire Slayer, rolled his eyes.
"Typical," he sighed, sitting on a stool before the bar. "Risk your life every day and every night, and can't even soothe one's brow with the golden liquor."
Ethan grinned and leant forward, his elbows resting on the bar as he watched his young charge. This Slayer was not just different in that he didn't work alone. Going by the voluminous Watcher Dairies that Ethan had read over many years, past Slayers had all felt that 'calling', that feeling of knowing they were doing a sacred duty, that life as one of the few who truly knew that so many tales and myths were real and not just fairy tales to frighten children was something to be taken seriously. Slayers lived and worked alone, studying under their Watcher and following the Council. But not this Slayer. The Council had, for some reason, lost track of certain Potential Slayers just before the last one had been killed. They had not known about Alexander Harris, and it had been a while before he had been found. And when he had, the young boy had been thrown head first into Slaying, without the benefit of training or knowledge. An untrained Slayer. The Council's worst fears had come true. Without the training and education that a young Potential received, anything could happen. And anything did. Ethan had lost track of how many angry phone calls he had received from the Council, concerning his charge's 'attitude'.
*"Slayers do not run around in a gang, Watcher Reyne," blustered Rupert Giles, Head of the Council. "They work alone. They work in secrecy. And the reason they work in secrecy is so we can continue our work. The more people who know about us, the more chance there is of sacred lore getting out into the..public." His voice as he said the last, certainly reflected his opinion of the great unknowing masses. "Xander is different," Ethan said quietly. "You have said yourself, Rupert, that he is possibly one of the strongest Slayers we have had. Xander does his job. He is a young man who did not ask for this. Regardless of his methods, he does what he was called to do. And he does it well." "Yes, well, be that as it may," Giles brushed it aside. "But what of the danger his..friends may find themselves in? A Slayer who has no friends nor family cannot be hurt by evil. A Slayer with any emotion other than hatred for the evil finds himself at a weakness."*
And that was the true problem, Ethan knew. If one of Xander's friends were to be caught and held as hostage, Xander would find himself having to choose between them..or perhaps the rest of the world. The boy's loyalty was never in doubt. His courage, his heart was what truly made him stand out from the hundreds of Slayers who came before him.
"Hey Rain Man," Xander was waving his hand in front of Ethan's face. "Earth to Ethan."
Ethan blinked and stood up.
"Wool gathering," he said, turning to a tray of glasses and starting to polish them. "We need to talk, Xander. There is a -"
"There is a great evil brewing in the land," Xander intoned in a deep voice. "Well duh, Ethan! Hello? Hellmouth? When is there ever not a great evil brewing? So where are the others?"
"I believe they are here," Ethan nodded as he looked past Xander.