Hmm. Another chapter. Woohoo!

Chapter 18.

For a moment no one in the room spoke or moved. Finally Mari's groaning broke it. Travers looked away from Faith and down to the semi-conscious Mari.

"How are you feeling?" He asked gently as Mari groggily opened her eyes.

"B...bad" Mari answered closing her eyes as the room began to spin in front of her.

Faith snorted before wandering over to where Legolas was. "Any chance of some sense being knocked into her?" She whispered almost silently.

Legolas and Aragorn both smirked before hiding their amusement at her comment.

***

The fellowship and the slayers watched as the current watcher lectured them about the girls' behaviour.

"… Such actions are unacceptable! Mari here could have been seriously injured." Travers said gesturing towards Mari who was reclining on a couch with an ice pack pressed to her head. "You of all people should be careful Faith. Your reputation proceeds you and as such I would have thought that…"

"Enough!" Growled Aragorn who was undoubtedly not the only person whose patience was beginning to run out with the watcher. "Faith did nothing this morning, as you very well know. Mari's actions were unprovoked and because of her Kendra is once again injured."

Travers looked down his nose at the former Ranger and once King. "May I remind you sir that I am the current watcher and therefore these girls must obey me."

"And may I remind you Travers," Faith interrupted, "That technically we are dead and therefore are not yours to watch! Not minding the fact that myself and Buffy weren't being 'watched' for a hell of a long time before we died." She grinned at the glare he sent her way and slouched more comfortably in her chair. "Not counting the way I never listened to my watcher when he was around…"

"And look where that got you!" Mari said from her couch glaring over at the girl she despised. "A murderer! Thrown in jail! Removed from the watchers' journals except for an example of just how 'bad' a slayer can go. And how bad you really…"

"Removed from the watchers' journals except as an example of just how bad slayers can go? Really?" Inquired Faith her eyes alight with mischief. "Well, well. Fame at last. Never managed that did you B?"

"Oh I got my own entries. Don't forget – I preferred my men to be the things I was supposed to be killing. Remember?" Buffy answered with a large smirk on her face.

"Oh yeah." Faith commented. "How could I forget? Angel."

"And Spike."

"Spike too?" Kendra asked incredulously. "Really? You were insane."

"Oh trust me. It was well worth it. Highly recommended. Real men do not compare to dead men." Buffy stated seriously, her eyes dancing as she saw the look of horror on the watcher's face. "Course it can be difficult but all that fighting just like…"

"Gets you all hot?" Faith questioned.

"Oh yeah. Hot and hungry." Buffy answered.

"Hungry for luuuurve." Faith said seriously before cracking up laughing. Within seconds the three slayers were all hysterical and oblivious to anything Travers was trying to say.

***

Kendra winced as she knocked her arm against the wall in the corridor. It had been healing quite nicely until that morning's run in with Mari. Kendra sighed. "That girl has problems." She commented aloud to herself. She shook her head for a moment trying to figure out exactly what Mari's problem with Faith was. Granted she herself disliked the fact that Faith had killed; but she also knew thanks to Buffy that Faith had worked hard to redeem herself once she had realised just how far she had gone.

Kendra thought back to her own life as a slayer. She remembered times when she too had gone almost as far as Faith in doing her 'duty'. She knew that it would have been easy to slip over and use her strength to do what she had wanted instead of what she should. Regardless of how hard she had trained she had known there was a darkness to her power and also how easy it would be to use in regards to the darkness.

She sighed again. Mari seemed to be incomprehensible to her. What would her watcher would have made of it? She smirked. No doubt he would consider her to be part of some 'great power that would rise' or some 'great conspiracy' or some 'great' something. But he was dead, as was she. She frowned. "At least if I was still dead my arm would not be hurting so much." She declared exasperatedly.

"Your arm still hurts you Kendra?" Questioned Aragorn who had just walked into the corridor where Kendra was standing.

"Err. Yes. It does." Kendra answered nervously whilst looking at the floor.

Aragorn smiled. "Come. Let us see what we can do for you." He opened the door for Kendra and the two headed off to find Aragorn's healing pack.

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Hmm. Another chapter.No idea when/if there'll be another but hey R&R and it may appear quicker. No promises mind!