Per Aspera Ad Astra
"Thou reader throbbest
life and pride and love the same as I.
Therefore for thee the following chants."
Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, 1881
***
Chapter Octem
***
She watched her opponent warily, evening every breath of oxygen her lungs consumed. The room faded slowly away in a swirl of colors, leaving nothing but the two of them. Her senses dulled, and she relied on pure instinct. She focused on nothing but him and the fight. Their blows were well countered as they circled one another in an endless dance. Their movements were purely fluid, attacks and parries perfectly timed.
She smiled secretly, taking pleasure in the rush of the dance. She was well matched; in her heart she knew she had yet to meet another whom could predict her movements so easily. Grinning to herself, she realized that she could read his actions with equal ease. Years of fighting side by side brought a familiarity that she had not had with anyone else.
Swiftly moving, she knew a victor would be long in coming. Even as she fought, she admired his lithe form effortlessly keeping up with her, black leather swirling around a lean frame. He was pure energy, matching her pace, unfaltering in his capability to execute his half of the dance.
Her hair had come free from its confines, and it was now tangling wildly in a golden web as she ducked, rolled, and regained her footing. She could tell that he was taking as much pleasure in the fight as she. He had relaxed himself and was simply acting and reacting accordingly.
Her fingers itched for the familiar texture of a wooden state despite the knowledge that she could never use it on him. The object simply brought her comfort. The longing thought brought her back to a conversation she had had with him at the Bronze.
Always reach for your weapon.
In a burst of pure adrenaline, she kicked his feet out from under him, bringing a hand down over his chest, miming a staking motion.
"I win."
Spike grinned despite himself. With a quick yank to her arm, she was sprawled out over his chest. "And yet how distracted you are," he drawled lazily before he rolled them over.
"You would've been dust a long time before that could ever happen," Buffy pouted, mock pushing against his chest. Realizing that he wasn't going to rise anytime soon, she glared, crossing her arms in front of her.
Spike laughed quietly. "You look so menacing on the floor, love," he teased. "Anyway," he continued, "I would've been disappointed if you hadn't 've beaten me. Would be a little sorry, you being the Slayer and all." He rested on his side next to her, planting all his weight on an elbow. "If you couldn't bring ol' Spikey down, what's to say some old nasty wouldn't slip in and-"
"Ego much?" Buffy glowered, cutting him off. She pushed herself up onto her forearms but didn't rise from the floor just yet. "Anyway, practically all the vamps we come across are idiots anyway and probably couldn't find their way out of a paper sack." She watched as Spike rose to his feet, pulling Buffy up right after himself.
"Just taking care of the Slayer," Spike grinned from beside her.
Finally, the two turned towards Tiberius, eyes inquiring as to his opinion of the fight.
"Quite poetic." Tiberius pulled his thin wire spectacles off the bridge of his nose to clean the lenses absentmindedly.
Dawn, Willow, and Tara giggled lightly at the obvious connection.
"Have you trained together before?" Tiberius asked curiously, never looking up from his parchment. "You were well synchronized."
"Nope," Buffy replied, plopping herself down onto a folding stool next to Dawn. "Just comes from a couple years of fighting together and against each other." She fastened her hair back into its bun.
Spike moved closer to the door, leaning against the frame. "Are we going to get to business or what, Watcher?" He frowned impatiently.
"That's right," Tara added in hesitatingly. "We still have to get home."
"And there's the apocalypse," Willow almost groaned. "But yeah! Research!"
"I really don't think research if of the good, Wills," Xander arched an eyebrow.
"Uh, right," Willow agreed, pressing her lips together as Dawn giggled at her. "But at least it's non-magicy stuff."
"Aren't Spike and Deadboy here supposed to go out info hunting?" Xander asked from his position at the large wooden oak table. He lighting ran his fingers over the trim, silently admiring the craftsmanship.
"Deadboy?" Anya asked, confused. "I thought that was Angel. And did you just call Spike by his name?" she folded her hands prettily in her lap, smoothing out the wrinkles of her tunica.
"Seeing as Angel isn't here, Ahn," Xander answered, spreading his hands out emphatically, ignoring her second question completely.
Continuing with the conversation, "Perhaps they should go back over the graveyards as well as the local taverns," Livia suggested.
"Probably," Portia countered slowly, "but there happens to be a little problem." She smirked silently, arching an eye playfully.
"And that might be ?" Xander asked.
"It's daylight, el stupido." Dawn rolled her eyes, going over to stand near Spike. "But Spike can go out in the light now, can't he?" Dawn squealed ecstatically. "We should go outside. You seriously need a tan, though," she wrinkled her nose at his milky complexion. "I wonder how Angel always stays tan Do you think he uses that tan in a bottle stuff?" She grinned wickedly. "Anyway, white on white just isn't a good look for you. White on black isn't a good look for you either," she added as an afterthought. "Remind me to buy you a blue shirt when we get home."
Everyone paused at this, avoiding eye contact with her.
"We are going to go home, aren't we?" Dawn approached timidly.
"Sure, Bit," Spike answered finally. "How about we go outside like you said earlier?"
Dawn agreed happily, and she dragged Spike out to the stables with Portia.
Buffy immediately slouched, sighing quietly. "Great-we don't even know if we're going to get home." She scratched her head in frustration, mussing her hair once again.
"M-maybe we'll find something out tonight," Tara reassured lightly, smiling consolingly at the Slayer.
"Yeah, who knows what goes on at night," Lucius finally spoke up lewdly. "I'm sure we'll find out a lot at the local whorehouses."
"Lucius!" Livia snatched up a throw pillow and smacked him across the head with it, barely fazing him.
"What?!" he protested. "It's true!"
"It's not like they need to know that!" she frowned. Glaring narrowly, she moved towards the door. "I'll meet you all again at sundown. I have to be somewhere." She wandered off, muttering something vaguely sounding like, "stupid council."
"That was real fun," Willow piped up. She hugged a throw pillow to her chest, absently toying with a piece of golden thread. Everyone's eyes trailed after Lucius's retreating form following Livia out the door.
"You're coming back, right, Deadboy?" Xander called out at him.
"Xander!" Anya criticized. "I may not be too sure about everything, but I don't think it's very nice to call people names."
"Spike calls me names all the time!" Xander complained weakly.
"Only because you call him names first," Anya reasoned sweetly. "Plus, we all know Spike. It's not really a big deal with him."
Tara grinned. "Spike has nicknames for everyone. I just noticed that. He barely calls any of us by our real names."
Tiberius cleared his throat, reminding everyone of his presence. "I'm quite sure Lucius will return later." He finally set his quill down. "Now, as to your predicament, I have a rather extensive library. Perhaps something within these scrolls will be of some assistance."
"Well then, let's get started," Willow grinned, rubbing her hands together. Then, at the looks on everyone's faces, she immediately frowned.
***
Xander flopped himself over the desk. "This is just no fun." Hundreds of scrolls scattered the room forming random piles.
Buffy groaned from her spot on the table, her arms folded over an open scroll. "I hear ya." Her hair blocked her face. "This is hopeless."
Tara glanced over the scroll she was avidly rolling and unrolling. "Sp-Spike will probably find something out tonight," she stuttered lightly before returning to her zealous reading.
Anya smiled, somehow managing to stay peppy after hours of research. "Do you think they'll let Xander go with them?" Her light hands trailed over the words as she read.
"Huh?" Willow lifted an eyebrow. "Do you think they will? I thought it was a demons only type thing," Willow grinned, her head resting in the palm of her hand.
"Why can't I go?" Xander asked, seemingly offended. He sat up straighter in his chair.
"Because, sweetie," Anya patted his leg, "they're demons. They're much stronger and faster and more agile than you."
"Gee thanks, Ahn," Xander glowered. "Rub it in the human's face." He immediately slouched once more.
"You're welcome," Anya's smile brightened, pleased with herself.
Willow lifted her eyebrows, pressing her lips together. "Right."
"If you really wish to go, Alexander," Tiberius' voice caught their attention, "I'm sure they would let you." His glasses rested low on the bridge of his nose, and the scrolls he had read were piled neatly in two piles in front of him.
Before anyone could answer, the heavy door swung open and Livia stepped through, instantly shutting it behind her.
Tiberius pulled his spectacles off. "How was the meeting?" He placed them down next to his "Have yet to read" pile of scrolls.
"How do you think it was?" she frowned. "They finally get back to me about that damn cruciamentum," she sneered. "They should get rid of that stupid rule."
Buffy snorted, immediately catching Livia's attention.
"You had to complete the cruciamentum?" Livia asked, almost sounding disgusted. "And you're from when? A couple thousand years in the future?"
Buffy nodded stiffly, apparently sharing in her sentiments. "I quit the Council because of it."
"Really?!" Livia asked, genuinely surprised.
Buffy grinned and nodded. "So how did you kill it?" She grinned.
Livia shrugged. "Smashed a chair for a makeshift stake and caught him from behind." She smiled at herself. "Hey, do you want a break?" she asked the older slayer.
Buffy jumped up. "God, yes!" Without a second thought, she flounced out the door. Xander rose right after her, obviously intending to do the same.
"I didn't mean you," Livia said pointedly. She crossed her arms over her chest and arched an eyebrow. "You sit."
Groaning once more, he collapsed back into his chair.
***
Buffy wandered around, wondering where to find the stables. Finally becoming fed up, she asked a servant who directed her in the right direction.
Stepping into the waning sunlight, she followed the paved rock path only to find Portia, Dawn, and Spike atop horses in the middle of the extensive field behind the villa. She felt a grin spread over her face as she approached them.
"Hey Buffy!" Dawn called from her porch on a dark brown mare. She held onto the reins tightly.
"Salvete!" she returned to everybody, speeding up her pace slightly.
Spike automatically dismounted and neared her. "What's going on? Do I need to come back for something?" he asked.
Buffy smiled and shook her head, indicating no. Tilting her head to the side, she bit her lip while studying him.
"What?" Spike asked self-consciously, his hands flying to his face. "Is there something on my face?"
"No," Buffy said again. "You just look different in the light."
Spike frowned for a second. "I would know. Haven't seen myself outside for more than a century. Bet I wouldn't even recognize myself."
Buffy shrugged. "Anyway, Xander wants to go with you and Lucius later," she changed the subject casually.
Spike led the horse by the bridle back into the stable, his back turned to her.
"Spike?"
"It doesn't matter. He can go if he wants." He led the horse into the stall, patting it one last time.
Buffy bit her lip before following him into the stable. "Do you want me to go also?"
"No," Spike answered immediately, shutting the gate on the stall.
"Why not?" Buffy asked, indignant. She frowned, pursing her lips.
"Simple," Spike answered, finally turning to look at her. "You're the Slayer."
Buffy opened her mouth to say a comeback but stopped mid-breath. "Oh."
Spike grinned at the expression on her face. "Don't act so surprised, pet. Do you actually think we could go info hunting with the Slayer right there?"
Buffy stumbled for words. "No, but "
"There you go." He walked over to the entrance. "Dawn! Portia!" he called loudly to them, then gestured for them to come back. When they dismounted, he told them, "It's about time you gave those horses a rest. We've been riding for a couple hours now."
"Sure," Dawn answered and the girls led their horses back into the stable.
"Go back in when you're done," he called to them. Then, to Buffy, "Let's go."
***
Xander closely followed Spike and Lucius, keeping a wary eye about him. The cemetery they were currently traveling through was dark and dank, and he had seen enough for one night to know to keep his wits about him.
Spike and Lucius took up the lead, their gait resembling large cats, their muscles coiled for attack. Wild eyes searched the night for any demons they could happen to come across and pump for information.
Xander winced as he recalled the night's events. He had never been so scarred in his life. Never in his wildest imagination did he think Lucius would bring them to a lupanarium. He had always thought that a lupa was a wolf. Apparently it was also something else ...
"I can't believe you brought me there," he accused. "Anya's going to kill me!"
"No one asked you to come," Lucius shot back, not even turning around.
"I'm sure you've seen it all before, whelp," Spike joined in grinning. "I noticed all those dirty magazines you tried to hide me from that little stint a couple years ago in your basement."
"What are you talking about?" Xander asked wide-eyed, dancing around the situation.
"Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about." Spike smirked at him. "A couple pictures of some bints going at it shouldn't phase you one bit."
"Well I didn't exactly expect the specials of the day sculptured out on the walls!" Xander protested, his arms making wild gestures. "They even *painted* them!"
Spike chuckled but didn't respond.
"Maybe we should stick to the cemeteries. Wouldn't want to hurt his poor eyes," Lucius suggested, grinning.
"Your choice," Spike answered as Xander started to sputter. "No one made you come along," he told him smugly.
Frowning grimly, Xander said nothing but continued along.
"He finally decides to shut his mouth," Lucius chuckled quietly to himself.
The three continued on in silence, occasionally throwing glances towards one another. Xander warily took in his new surroundings, his hands clasped tightly to a stake.
Suddenly, he slammed into Spike who had stopped in front of him. "Hey!" he exclaimed in annoyance. "Why don't you watch what you're doing?" He took several steps back, grumbling in annoyance.
"Vampires," Spike hissed back at him. "Got your stake?"
Xander nodded, wiping a sweaty palm on the leg of his jeans. "How many?" he asked, glancing past Spike's shoulder.
"A lot."
***
Ok, guys, I was planning on adding a lot more, but eight pages is sufficient enough and I think I ended it at a good point. I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while, but all my teachers have been throwing projects at me, not to mention State Convention. To continue, I need to do research, which obviously can't happen at this point. Thanks for sticking with me, guys.
Eva