A/N: Just a little more info on what's going on in the scooby world. Next chapter should see our two main characters meeting.

Red Moon

by SJC

Buffy Summers was not having a good week. There was some big vague bad thing coming (and weren't those the most fun?), Spike had decided that insanity loves company and wouldn't leave her alone, Willow was back and despite the fact that she still loved her friend deeply, things were understandably awkward, and as if that wasn't enough- there was some new demon/werewolf/rabid animal-thing that was going around tearing up people.

Wasn't it a blast being the slayer?

The latest on her list of woes was what found her patrolling. The previous night the police reported a victim who had been 'torn apart, seemingly mutilated by a wild animal', and as it was Sunnydale, the odds were telling her to replace 'wild' with 'supernatural. Dawn was researching in an attempt to feel useful, but they weren't overly optimistic seeing as there were a couple dozen or so creatures that could fit the profile they had. To be safe, Buffy brought along a tranquilizer gun and a sword in addition to the usual stakes. There was no telling what she'd need to kill it, and remembering her experiences with their own former-friendly-werewolf, there was no telling if she'd need to kill it.

So far she hadn't seen so much as a suspicious cat.

Could this day get any worse?

As if in answer to her silent thought, a low growl alerted her to the fact that she wasn't alone and she spun to face three vampires. They seemed relatively young and eager and she supposed that if the day could get worse, it hadn't yet. If anything, she was looking forward to a chance to take out some of her frustrations. She spun around to kick the nearest vampire and make first contact. She hoped her opponents didn't mind that she wasn't in the mood for witty banter.

The trio was far from any serious competition and she found her mind wandering to the attacks of the previous evening. She dodged an attack that came a bit too close and tried to drag her attention back to the fight.

A distracted slayer was a dead slayer.

She grabbed the back of the closest vamp and slammed his head into a tree, enjoying the smack of his hard head hitting the solid trunk. A prickly feeling born as much of experience as her unnatural abilities told her she was being watched, and though all three vampires regarded her with a hungry gaze, her intuition told her it was someone else. Deciding it was time to end the relatively one-sided fight, she stepped up her offensive and within a few minutes was surrounded by ashes.

She avoided looking in the direction of her observer, and bent down to pick up the sword and tranquilizer gun she had dropped earlier. When each was safely in hand, she let her eyes search for her hidden company. She easily located the werewolf as it turned to leave and she cursed her luck. Of course the creature her conscience wouldn't let her kill had to be responsible for all this. The gun was already loaded and she effortlessly took aim and shot a dart into the backside of the retreating animal. It would have been so much easier had it been some demon she could have killed and been done with. With a sigh she heaved the massive beast over her shoulder and thanked Giles for suggesting she put a cage in her basement.

You really never know when you'd need a good steel cage.

So? Feedback would be appreciated!