When Piper, Phoebe, and Paige had gotten Faith settled, and Piper had put Wyatt down to sleep as well, the sisters went into the kitchen to talk to Leo.
"Okay, spill it," Piper said. "What do you know about her?"
"I don't know anything about her, specifically," Leo corrected. "I do, however, know something about the Goron demons that may or may not pertain to her."
"And do you feel like sharing with the class?" Phoebe asked impatiently, in the tone of a teacher asking a student to read his note out loud.
"Gorons are a special type of demon. They mainly go after two types of people: very powerful witches, and witches who are alone or don't know that they're witches. Either of these could apply to Faith, or neither could. Gorons don't always go after who they're traditionally supposed to. They've been known to attack a variety of innocents, witches, reletives of witches, future whitelighters, anyone who's destined for some kind of great good," he explained.
"So how do we find out which one Faith is?" Paige asked.
"Well if she is a witch, she doesn't seem to know it," Piper said slowly. "But I don't know. She didn't seem like a witch. She just seemed like a normal girl. Except... alone."
Phoebe and Paige nodded. They'd all been wondering how such a young girl could have ended up on her own.
"Maybe we should talk to her, find out more about her past," Phoebe suggested.
"She mentioned that she was adopted," Paige added. "Maybe I could run her name through the computers at work, and see if I come up with anything."
"That's probably a good idea," Piper agreed, "But can you do it without attracting any attention? Because you know, technically she's a runaway from foster care, and we don't want your co-workers finding out about this and trying to take her. She can't go back until we know she's safe."
Paige nodded. "I know. I'll be careful."
"And what are we going to do with her in the meantime?" Phoebe asked.
"We'll keep her here, of course," Piper answered plainly. "It's not like she's got anywhere else to go, I mean, we can't just put her back on the streets."
"Actually, Piper, and I'm not saying that we should put her back on the streets, but she seemed like she could handle herself more than adaquately," Paige countered. "Aside from being a black belt, she just has this whole 'don't-mess-with-me' vibe."
"She probably had to learn street smarts at an early age," Piper said. "After all, she hasn't had a real family since she was six."
"Hey, I just thought of something," Phoebe interrupted. "How did she become a black belt if she's been in foster homes since she was little?"
"That's a good point," Piper mused. "Ask her."
Phoebe nodded. "Tomorrow, I will."
"We should probably also find out how long she's had these Goron demons after her," Piper continued. "It might help us pinpoint why."
"We'll need more information on the Gorons themselves," Paige added. She looked over her shoulder at the Book of Shadows.
Piper read her sisters expression, and shook her head. "Not tonight, Paige. It's already late, and there's no telling how long it could take us to find some information in the book. Phoebe, Faith, and I will look through it while you're at work tomorrow."
"Do you really think that's a good idea? Letting Faith look through the Book of Shadows?" Phoebe questioned.
Piper nodded. She felt a closeness with Faith, a kind of familiarity and kinship she couldn't explain, that made her think that the girl should know everything they did about the Gorons, and even about magic in general, and in turn made Piper want to know everything she could about the girl. Phoebe felt it too, to a small degree, and Paige even less. Neither of them felt it the way Piper did.
Leo, who had been unusually quiet throughout the conversation, suddenly got up. "It really is late," he announced. "And you've all got a big day tomorrow, what with Faith and all. You girls should get some sleep."
"Are you coming to bed?" Piper asked him as she and her sisters rose to their feet.
He shook his head. "Not right away. I want to go check something Up There."
She kissed him good-night as her sisters went downstairs, then watched him orb out. Alone in the attic, she frowned, her eyebrows furrowed in thought. He'd seemed very preoccupied since she told him about Faith, and something about the way he'd said he'd wanted to 'check something' seemed off. Even his kiss had been quicker, more forced than usual.
Piper sighed, and turned out the light. She knew her husband, and she knew that something just wasn't right here. She just hoped he'd tell her what...
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
A/N: Just so you know, that bit with Leo *will* be resolved. Eventually. :P
A/N2: Some of you are wondering if the title character of this fic is the same Faith as the other Slayer in BtVS. Well, you're half right. I did base this Faith on the one from my other favourite show, but it's not a Charmed/Buffy crossover, so no, she's not the same character.
"Okay, spill it," Piper said. "What do you know about her?"
"I don't know anything about her, specifically," Leo corrected. "I do, however, know something about the Goron demons that may or may not pertain to her."
"And do you feel like sharing with the class?" Phoebe asked impatiently, in the tone of a teacher asking a student to read his note out loud.
"Gorons are a special type of demon. They mainly go after two types of people: very powerful witches, and witches who are alone or don't know that they're witches. Either of these could apply to Faith, or neither could. Gorons don't always go after who they're traditionally supposed to. They've been known to attack a variety of innocents, witches, reletives of witches, future whitelighters, anyone who's destined for some kind of great good," he explained.
"So how do we find out which one Faith is?" Paige asked.
"Well if she is a witch, she doesn't seem to know it," Piper said slowly. "But I don't know. She didn't seem like a witch. She just seemed like a normal girl. Except... alone."
Phoebe and Paige nodded. They'd all been wondering how such a young girl could have ended up on her own.
"Maybe we should talk to her, find out more about her past," Phoebe suggested.
"She mentioned that she was adopted," Paige added. "Maybe I could run her name through the computers at work, and see if I come up with anything."
"That's probably a good idea," Piper agreed, "But can you do it without attracting any attention? Because you know, technically she's a runaway from foster care, and we don't want your co-workers finding out about this and trying to take her. She can't go back until we know she's safe."
Paige nodded. "I know. I'll be careful."
"And what are we going to do with her in the meantime?" Phoebe asked.
"We'll keep her here, of course," Piper answered plainly. "It's not like she's got anywhere else to go, I mean, we can't just put her back on the streets."
"Actually, Piper, and I'm not saying that we should put her back on the streets, but she seemed like she could handle herself more than adaquately," Paige countered. "Aside from being a black belt, she just has this whole 'don't-mess-with-me' vibe."
"She probably had to learn street smarts at an early age," Piper said. "After all, she hasn't had a real family since she was six."
"Hey, I just thought of something," Phoebe interrupted. "How did she become a black belt if she's been in foster homes since she was little?"
"That's a good point," Piper mused. "Ask her."
Phoebe nodded. "Tomorrow, I will."
"We should probably also find out how long she's had these Goron demons after her," Piper continued. "It might help us pinpoint why."
"We'll need more information on the Gorons themselves," Paige added. She looked over her shoulder at the Book of Shadows.
Piper read her sisters expression, and shook her head. "Not tonight, Paige. It's already late, and there's no telling how long it could take us to find some information in the book. Phoebe, Faith, and I will look through it while you're at work tomorrow."
"Do you really think that's a good idea? Letting Faith look through the Book of Shadows?" Phoebe questioned.
Piper nodded. She felt a closeness with Faith, a kind of familiarity and kinship she couldn't explain, that made her think that the girl should know everything they did about the Gorons, and even about magic in general, and in turn made Piper want to know everything she could about the girl. Phoebe felt it too, to a small degree, and Paige even less. Neither of them felt it the way Piper did.
Leo, who had been unusually quiet throughout the conversation, suddenly got up. "It really is late," he announced. "And you've all got a big day tomorrow, what with Faith and all. You girls should get some sleep."
"Are you coming to bed?" Piper asked him as she and her sisters rose to their feet.
He shook his head. "Not right away. I want to go check something Up There."
She kissed him good-night as her sisters went downstairs, then watched him orb out. Alone in the attic, she frowned, her eyebrows furrowed in thought. He'd seemed very preoccupied since she told him about Faith, and something about the way he'd said he'd wanted to 'check something' seemed off. Even his kiss had been quicker, more forced than usual.
Piper sighed, and turned out the light. She knew her husband, and she knew that something just wasn't right here. She just hoped he'd tell her what...
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
A/N: Just so you know, that bit with Leo *will* be resolved. Eventually. :P
A/N2: Some of you are wondering if the title character of this fic is the same Faith as the other Slayer in BtVS. Well, you're half right. I did base this Faith on the one from my other favourite show, but it's not a Charmed/Buffy crossover, so no, she's not the same character.