"So, let's start with the basics," Paige suggested. They were all seated around the living room, and there was a fire burning to warm them up. "Introductions might be good. I'm Paige, and those are my sisters, Piper and Phoebe."
"Name's Faith," the innocent introduced herself.
"Nice to meet you, Faith," Piper said warmly. There was something about this girl; her intense blue eyes, made even more striking by the startling contrast of her raven hair, her independent, careless attitude; something that struck a chord with Piper's maternal instincts, making her want to reach out to Faith although she didn't quite know why or how.
"So, Faith," Phoebe started, interrupting Piper's train of thought, "How old are you?"
"Sixteen," the girl answered. "I'll be seventeen in the summer."
The sisters each raised their eyebrows. With her black lipstick, short leather skirt, low top, and high-heeled boots, she looked much older than sixteen. They'd all thought her to be nineteen at the very least, with possible guesses ranging from that to the mid-twenties.
"Maybe we should call your parents..." Paige suggested warily.
Faith shook her head. "Don't bother. I'm on my own."
"Faith, there's got to be somebody worried about you," Piper said.
Again, the child shook her head. "My adoptive parents died when I was six. I tried to find my birth family, but that was a bust, so I dropped it. I got put into a few foster homes, but none of them worked out, so I bailed. And now that you've all heard my sob story, can someone please tell me what the hell it was that tried to kill me back there?"
"A bit impatient," Phoebe remarked, glancing at Paige. "Sounds like somebody else I know..."
Paige glared at her sister, then turned to Faith. "Okay, you want to know what he was? A demon. He was a demon. And we're witches, Piper, Phoebe, and I. The Charmed Ones, specifically. Is any of this making any sense?"
"Oh yeah," Faith said, "It's making perfect sense. I know exactly what's going on. But hell, at least now I know I'm not the only one out of my damn mind."
"Faith, I know how hard it is to believe in things that you've spent your whole life thinking were made up," Piper said. "We've all been through it, and we'll help you deal, but first we need to find out why he's after you. Paige, Phoebe, take Faith and go look through the Book of Shadows. I'll see if I can find Leo-" Just then, they heard a toddler crying. "-Right after I check on Wyatt," Piper finished. She ran upstairs to her son's bedroom, as Phoebe and Paige led a skeptical Faith up to the attic.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
"Okay, so let's pretend for a second like we're not all going psycho here," Faith started as the entered the attic. "You're witches. What do you do? Can you fly around on a broomstick? Wear pointy hats? Dance naked under the full moon?"
"Well, I flew on a broomstick once," Phoebe answered. "See, me, Piper, and our other sister, Prue, went back to the past, to save our ancestor, Melinda, and her mother, Charlotte. We couldn't use our powers, and had to learn how to do things the old-fashioned way, which was actually modern at the time, but-"
"I think what she's trying to say," Paige interrupted. "Is yes, only on Halloween, and occassionally."
Phoebe glared at her. "Once. Once is not 'occassionally'. And Piper will kill you if you ever mention that again."
"Mention what?" Piper demanded, coming up the attic stairs with two-year-old Wyatt in her arms. Leo was right behind her.
"Nothing," Phoebe, Paige, and Faith chorused.
Piper raised an eyebrow, but let it go. "Leo, this is Faith, the innocent I told you about. Faith, this is my husband, Leo, and our son, Wyatt."
"Hey," Faith nodded.
"Nice to meet you," Leo replied. "So, Piper tells me you more than held your own with that Goron demon. That's pretty damn good, especially for someone with no magical training."
Faith shrugged. "Martial arts has always been my thing. I'm a black belt in karate, plus, yanno, the whole living-on-the-street thing. I like it enough, but I got into plenty of fights before I had these Gordo-whatever things on my ass. It can get to be a bitch, you know?"
"What exactly is a Goron demon?" Phoebe asked.
"Oh, um, I'm not exactly sure," Leo stammered. "I just know the name, and very little about them, but what I do know fits exactly with everything Piper told me."
"Okay," Piper said, looking at her husband suspiciously. She knew that he knew a lot more than he was letting on. He shook his head at her, nodding in the direction of Faith, who fortunately didn't notice.
"Hey, do you guys really get to use these things, like, on a regular basis?" Faith asked, picking up one of the sisters' athames and running her finger along the blade.
"Yes," Piper said as she gave Wyatt to his Aunt Paige and took the ceremonial knife from Faith. "Be careful. You could get cut."
Faith shrugged. Piper had looked so worried, seeing the teen playing with the dagger, that she didn't have the heart to tell her that she'd been cutting herself for years and that a little scratch wouldn't hurt her. "So when do I learn about all this magic shit you all seem to think I can do?"
"Tomorrow," Leo said just a little too quickly. Faith looked up sharply.
"What he means is, it's late," Piper reiterated. "Why don't we get you set up in the guest room, and we'll all talk about this tomorrow after we've had some sleep?"
Faith nodded indifferently, though inside she was thrilled at the prospect of having a nice, warm bed to sleep in instead of the usual dirty motel rooms and dark alleyways she called home. Trying not to seem too eager, she followed the sisters downstairs.
"Name's Faith," the innocent introduced herself.
"Nice to meet you, Faith," Piper said warmly. There was something about this girl; her intense blue eyes, made even more striking by the startling contrast of her raven hair, her independent, careless attitude; something that struck a chord with Piper's maternal instincts, making her want to reach out to Faith although she didn't quite know why or how.
"So, Faith," Phoebe started, interrupting Piper's train of thought, "How old are you?"
"Sixteen," the girl answered. "I'll be seventeen in the summer."
The sisters each raised their eyebrows. With her black lipstick, short leather skirt, low top, and high-heeled boots, she looked much older than sixteen. They'd all thought her to be nineteen at the very least, with possible guesses ranging from that to the mid-twenties.
"Maybe we should call your parents..." Paige suggested warily.
Faith shook her head. "Don't bother. I'm on my own."
"Faith, there's got to be somebody worried about you," Piper said.
Again, the child shook her head. "My adoptive parents died when I was six. I tried to find my birth family, but that was a bust, so I dropped it. I got put into a few foster homes, but none of them worked out, so I bailed. And now that you've all heard my sob story, can someone please tell me what the hell it was that tried to kill me back there?"
"A bit impatient," Phoebe remarked, glancing at Paige. "Sounds like somebody else I know..."
Paige glared at her sister, then turned to Faith. "Okay, you want to know what he was? A demon. He was a demon. And we're witches, Piper, Phoebe, and I. The Charmed Ones, specifically. Is any of this making any sense?"
"Oh yeah," Faith said, "It's making perfect sense. I know exactly what's going on. But hell, at least now I know I'm not the only one out of my damn mind."
"Faith, I know how hard it is to believe in things that you've spent your whole life thinking were made up," Piper said. "We've all been through it, and we'll help you deal, but first we need to find out why he's after you. Paige, Phoebe, take Faith and go look through the Book of Shadows. I'll see if I can find Leo-" Just then, they heard a toddler crying. "-Right after I check on Wyatt," Piper finished. She ran upstairs to her son's bedroom, as Phoebe and Paige led a skeptical Faith up to the attic.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
"Okay, so let's pretend for a second like we're not all going psycho here," Faith started as the entered the attic. "You're witches. What do you do? Can you fly around on a broomstick? Wear pointy hats? Dance naked under the full moon?"
"Well, I flew on a broomstick once," Phoebe answered. "See, me, Piper, and our other sister, Prue, went back to the past, to save our ancestor, Melinda, and her mother, Charlotte. We couldn't use our powers, and had to learn how to do things the old-fashioned way, which was actually modern at the time, but-"
"I think what she's trying to say," Paige interrupted. "Is yes, only on Halloween, and occassionally."
Phoebe glared at her. "Once. Once is not 'occassionally'. And Piper will kill you if you ever mention that again."
"Mention what?" Piper demanded, coming up the attic stairs with two-year-old Wyatt in her arms. Leo was right behind her.
"Nothing," Phoebe, Paige, and Faith chorused.
Piper raised an eyebrow, but let it go. "Leo, this is Faith, the innocent I told you about. Faith, this is my husband, Leo, and our son, Wyatt."
"Hey," Faith nodded.
"Nice to meet you," Leo replied. "So, Piper tells me you more than held your own with that Goron demon. That's pretty damn good, especially for someone with no magical training."
Faith shrugged. "Martial arts has always been my thing. I'm a black belt in karate, plus, yanno, the whole living-on-the-street thing. I like it enough, but I got into plenty of fights before I had these Gordo-whatever things on my ass. It can get to be a bitch, you know?"
"What exactly is a Goron demon?" Phoebe asked.
"Oh, um, I'm not exactly sure," Leo stammered. "I just know the name, and very little about them, but what I do know fits exactly with everything Piper told me."
"Okay," Piper said, looking at her husband suspiciously. She knew that he knew a lot more than he was letting on. He shook his head at her, nodding in the direction of Faith, who fortunately didn't notice.
"Hey, do you guys really get to use these things, like, on a regular basis?" Faith asked, picking up one of the sisters' athames and running her finger along the blade.
"Yes," Piper said as she gave Wyatt to his Aunt Paige and took the ceremonial knife from Faith. "Be careful. You could get cut."
Faith shrugged. Piper had looked so worried, seeing the teen playing with the dagger, that she didn't have the heart to tell her that she'd been cutting herself for years and that a little scratch wouldn't hurt her. "So when do I learn about all this magic shit you all seem to think I can do?"
"Tomorrow," Leo said just a little too quickly. Faith looked up sharply.
"What he means is, it's late," Piper reiterated. "Why don't we get you set up in the guest room, and we'll all talk about this tomorrow after we've had some sleep?"
Faith nodded indifferently, though inside she was thrilled at the prospect of having a nice, warm bed to sleep in instead of the usual dirty motel rooms and dark alleyways she called home. Trying not to seem too eager, she followed the sisters downstairs.