Title:
The Outcasts
Author:
FerretGirl
Pairing/Characters: Wesley/Spike, Faith, Willow.
Rating: PG13 to NC-17
Disclaimer: They boys and girls are not mine, I'm just playing with
them.
Summary: A second chance, a new beginning?.
Spoilers: AtS S1 to 4, BtvS S3 and S5/6 I guess. At the beginning S4 of
AtS and S7 of BtvS, Joss and I go our separate ways
again.
A big thanks for my beta's miniera,
and eloise_bright
for their help and encouragement.
The Outcasts
Four pairs of eyes stared down the green hill.
To the left of them, was a forest. It had huge trees that made Faith think of
something she had read in jail once. Mammoth trees they'd called them. Only
these were bigger, with much smaller trees underneath. And they had odd
coloring, varying from blue to purple to red and yellow. To their right was a
huge body of water. And if the salty smell in the air, and the odd looking
birds flying near the water was anything to go by, she'd have to say it was a
ocean. If she looked real hard, she could even see some ships floating on the
surface of the water.
Right in front of them was, what they thought would be Vilnarsy.
"This is not what I had in mind when I thought of this town," Willow
said softly.
"Fort Knox is nothing compared to this," Faith agreed.
The town of Vilnarsy, was indeed not the tiny settlement they had expected to
find. Instead it turned out to be a huge town, almost a metropolis if you
will. The town was surrounded by walls, on which soldiers looked down at the
throng of people going to and from the town. A large road led from the forest
into the town, along which a variety of creatures traveled. Luckily for them,
the road they were currently on seemed deserted
"Most fascinating," Wesley said, as he peered down at the throng of
people and creatures entering the town. Some were humanoid, some were most
obviously not. There were odd looking creatures, used as work animals as far
as Wesley could tell. Outside the town, there were several tents set up.
Animals were kept in what looked like pens, wash was hung out to dry and
children were playing around the tents.
The various species of humanoid and non-humanoid creatures seemed to co-exist
in this dimension, whether or not in peace, they had no idea. There was
something else they noticed right away as well.
"We're gonna stick out like a flag in a mud-pool," Spike said. He
glanced at Faith, "Specially you, Slayer. What with the bright orange."
"Some of us will need to get down there when it's a tad darker and nick
some clothing from those washing-lines," Wesley opted, pointing below.
"That ought to give us some form of disguise."
"Good thinking Watcher," Spike approved. "As soon as it's
darker you and me are gonna go down there."
"Why you two?" Faith bristled. She was itching to go down as well,
ready for some action.
"Because, Spike and I are wearing the darkest clothes, Faith,"
Wesley explained calmly.
Faith looked from her bright orange outfit, to Willow's bright red knitted
sweater. Wesley was right of course. She should have thought of that. "Well
okay, but I'm not wearing a dress or...or a skirt," She hissed.
"We'll see what we can find Slayer," Spike smirked. He was enjoying
himself. Completely against his expectations he liked both Wesley and Faith.
He'd already had a bit of a soft spot for Willow, but the other two seemed to
be fun as well.
Faith's flaring temper, and her fight to control it, her sense of humor. Plus
Spike knew that as a Slayer, Faith would be an asset in a fight, would it come
to that.
Wesley's intelligence and sarcasm appealed to him. Recognizing himself a bit
in the man. What the Watcher's dependability was in a fight, Spike had no real
idea, but something told him the man would have his back.
"What the fuck is that?" Faith pointed down at the road below. A
big, horse-like creature was pulling a cart toward the entrance of the town.
It's hind legs were much smaller then its forelegs, it had funny looking round
ears, its fur was yellowish brown, but what stood out the most were the huge
tusks coming out of a snout.
"I've no idea," Wesley said thoughtfully. "It appears to be
some kind of horse-like creature." This was absolutely intriguing. A
demonologist could get completely lost in this dimension for centuries, with
all the strange new species of creatures and humanoids. Were the demonologist
interested that was. Which Wesley told himself he wasn't.
"Oh man," Willow said dreamily, "I could spend years here
updating my demon database. If they had databases," she babbled on.
"Or...you know electricity, which they don't by the looks of it. Or even
computers."
"You'll just have to find yourself some paper and a pen then," Spike
grinned.
"I think it's best we wait until morning before we attempt to enter the
town," Wesley said, still looking at the entrance into Vilnarsy.
"Why's that?" Faith wanted to know.
"This town, odd as it may seem, has a certain 17th century feel to it,"
Wesley started. "The busiest hours were usually in the mornings. We could
easily slip into town then, hiding in the crowd, as it were."
"Huh, the Watcher has a point," Spike agreed.
"Spike, just for the record, I'm not a Watcher," Wesley said,
turning to face Spike.
"Yes you are," Faith insisted, interrupting anything else he was
about to say.
Wesley blinked at her. "Pardon?"
"Yes.you.are," She said again, punctuating her words. "You're
my Watcher." She folded her arms over her chest and stared him down.
"You don't need a Watcher," Wesley sighed. "Least of all
me."
"I don't think so," Faith said. "You're my Watcher and that's
that." She gave him a look that could melt ice.
"She's right, you know," Willow agreed with Faith. "A Slayer
needs a Watcher. And besides, who else is going to be her Watcher here? You're
the only one around."
Wesley looked from Faith to Willow. Marvelous, only here one day and they were
already ganging up on him. "Oh fine," Wesley said, throwing his
hands in the air. "It's your funeral."
"Now that we've got that settled we can go clothing hunting." Spike
said, smirking at the exasperated Watcher. "Before it's too dark for you
to see anything," he added smugly. "Come on." And with that,
Spike started to walk down the hill toward the tent camp in front of the town.
Casting a last glare at both Willow and Faith, Wesley turned on his heels and
followed him. Sighing when he heard the girls giggling behind him. Oh, this
was going to be a lot *fun*. Bloody marvelous.
The men decided to split up. That way they would be noticed the least and could cover the most ground. Spike would look at something for him and Willow, while Wesley would look for something for himself and Faith.
About an hour later they met up again, safely outside the camp. Both men had succeeded in their little scavenger hunt and were already wearing native clothings.
Wesley stared at Spike. The man wore clothing similar to what he was wearing. Light brown pants, soft, thin, leather-like shoes, and a white tunic. Wesley himself had found a short brown coat to wear over the ensemble. The vampire looked, and Wesley had no other word for it, quite handsome.
But what astonished him the most, was Spike's coat. The vampire had actually managed to find a long coat, much like his duster. Only this one was made of the crude fabric they used in this world. Either the art making of fine textile hadn't reached this world yet, or it was only for the very rich.
"What?" Spike asked, looking himself up and down and then back at Wesley. "If I look as good in this outfit as you do in yours, I don't see a problem," he winked at the other man.
Wesley made a vague gestured toward Spike's coat. "What is it with Vampires of your line and dramatic coats?" he wanted to know. "I mean, I've always suspected Angel wore his billowing coat for the dramatic effect. But you managing to find one even here confirms my suspicions."
"Oy! I'm nothing like the poof," Spike complained.
"This is true," Wesley had to agree. Because if he'd learned anything in the short time he'd known Spike, it was that he was indeed nothing like Angel. Exactly the opposite one could say. For one, Spike seemed to be more connected to people. And he had a sense of carefree humor Wesley found odly refreshing.
"All right then," Spike nodded. "Just so that's clear. You find anything for the Slayer?"
"Yes," Wesley said, holding up a bundle, "Several things even. She can have her pick. There has to be something in here she can't complain about too loudly."
Spike smirked. "Same here," he said, gesturing to the bundle under his arm.
"I did notice one thing while walking around there," Wesley said, looking at Spike thougthfully. "I've seen many different hair-colors. Blond, brown, red and even blue. But I've not seen anything quite like your extreme shade of blond."
"Noticed that too," Spike growled, as if this was highly offending. "Found something for it." And with that he reached inside his coat, pulled out a big, floppy hat and put it on his head. It covered the platinum blond hair completely.
Wesley blinked once, twice. Crossed his arms in front of his chest and pretended to rub his chin thoughtfully, while hiding the fact that he was biting his bottom lip behind a hand. His shoulders were starting to shake and he hoped to God that Spike wouldn't move.
Spike frowned at the other man. "What's so funny?" he demanded to know, bouncing on the balls of his feet, making the hat flop up and down dramatically.
That did it. Wesley couldn't hold it in anymore. He burst out laughing, holding on to his side, almost doubled over in hysterics. When he looked up and saw Spike giving him an annoyed look from under that ridiculous hat, it brought on a new round of choked laughter, so much so that he was wiping away tears.
Spike narrowed his eyes at Wesley. On one hand he didn't like be laughed at. On the other hand, he hadn't yet seen the man smile, let alone laugh. It was enchanting to watch. He could almost feel the corners of his own mouth twitching. Sighing, he grabbed Wesley by his shirt and hauled him up the hill.
Wesley was still snickering and snorting when they reached the top of the hill. Spike himself was torn between hitting the man and joining him in laughing. He settled for pouting and looking annoyed.
Faith and Willow came from under the trees, looking at the men curiously. They saw Wesley first. They both nodded their appreciation at his attire. Faith took hold of the bundle he thrust at her, watching as he wiped away some stray tears.
"What's so funny?" Willow asked confused. Then she saw Spike appear. She glanced at a still laughing Wesley, then at a smirking Faith and then back at Spike. "That's...a different look," she said, trying her best not to laugh.
"Here," Spike said, pushing a bundle toward her, glaring at Faith who'd begun to join Wesley in a new round of laughter.
"Thanks!" Willow said brightly. She was glad to follow a, by now, hysterical Faith into the covering of the bushes. Spike could hear her giggling as she ran to catch up with Faith.
"All right, lets see what's so funny about this thing," Spike said. He pulled off the hat and plopped it down onto Wesley's head.
Wesley blinked from under it surprised. Nodding a few times, to emphasis the ridiculousness of the hat, he stared back at the vampire.
Spike blinked at him ferociously a few times, taking a deep breath. "Okay, I see your point," he finally said, deflating visibly.
"Oh come on, it's not that bad," Wesley said, pulling off the hat. He reached down and pulled out the knife he had strapped to his ankle. He cut some of the brim off, thus making it smaller and slightly less ridiculous. Then he put it on his own head and looked at Spike. "How's this?"
Spike huffed and looked at Wesley. He pulled a face of approval and grabbed the hat back. "Thanks," he said.
"Oh that looks much better," Willow's voice came from behind them.
Turning around both men looked at the redhead. She was wearing something similar to their own outfits. Only her pants were dark green and her tunic a lighter green. Over it she wore a sleeveless vest in the same color as her pants. "This stuff itches," Willow complained, scratching her arms.
"But you do look lovely," Wesley pointed out.
"Uh, thank you," Willow smiled blushing slightly. "You don't look too bad yourself. Even Spike looks better, now that the hat looks less stupid," she nodded.
"Awh Damn," Faith's voice came. "I thought the hat looked kinda funny." She was pulling on her tunic. "I think the sleeves are too short," she complained.
"No, you twit," Spike said. "It's supposed to be that way." He pointed to his own sleeves.
"Oh," Faith said, looking at Willow. "Nice color Wills, looks good on you."
"And you're very...uh...you, Faith," Willow said, looking over Faith's outfit. It was almost identical to her own, only Faith's was a dark blue with a lighter blue tunic.
"Yes, you look lovely as well, Faith," Wesley agreed. "And no dress," he smirked.
The Slayer scowled at him and then stuck her tongue out at him.
"These people don't have much imagination when it comes to clothing it seems," Spike complained.
"Well, you have to give them points for the dramatic coats and the funny hats," Wesley pointed out.
"Oh shut up," Spike mock growled, giving the watcher a gentle push.
Willow giggled at the banter. She was feeling funnily at ease in this group. No one expected anything of her; no one gave her scared looks. Even though they had only been together for a very short time, she already saw them as friends, possibly becoming good friends. And that surprised her.
"I don't know about you lot," Faith yawned, "But I'm beat. I'm gonna find a place to sleep. Since we got no idea how long the night here lasts."
"Oh here," Wesley said, pulling out the other bundle. "I've managed to get us some blankets." He gave them to Willow, who was standing near by. "I think it's best to make a make shift camp under those bushes there," he pointed. "From there we can see the town and the roads."
Faith and Willow nodded and made their way toward the bushes, followed closely by Spike and Wesley. Making the small camp was easy. They opted not to make a fire. Since it wasn't cold and it would only alert people to their proximity.
Spike surprised them all by pulling something that looked like bread and meat from out of his coat. 'His magical coat' as Willow was calling it already. He'd told them he'd already eaten something while down in the camp. They didn't ask what. Not that they didn't care, but because they trusted the vampire not to eat any humans, or humanoids.
"What do we do with our old clothes?" Faith asked, chewing on the bread.
"We'll take them with us," Wesley said. "We can perhaps trade them for some of these." He had his glasses on his nose, peering down at a coin, to have a better look at. "It seems to be gold, with odd symbols on it. They appear to have a money system similar to the one in our world." he looked up from examining the coin he had taken out of a small pouch, to see the rest of the group staring at him. "What?" he asked.
"You look kinda cute with those," Willow giggled, pointing at his glasses. A small blush crept on her face.
"Though it does look very cute," Spike agreed, "I'm not sure if they wear glasses or even have something like it here."
"I'm not taking any chances on that," Wesley said, scowling at Faith who was smirking at him. He pulled off the glasses and put them back inside the pocket his coat again, feeling a brief flash of pride that he'd managed not to blush.
They continued to eat the meal Spike had provided them with, in companionable silence. Then Spike and Faith lay down and were asleep fast enough. Covered by a thin blanket, while the thicker one covered the ground.
Wesley had walked to the edge of the hill and was staring up at the sky. It was strange to watch. The stars were about every color of the rainbow, while the moon was blue purple, and like the sun, much closer to the planet than in their dimension.
"Blue moon, I saw you standing alone," Willow's voice came from behind him.
Wesley smiled at her as she joined him. "Quoting pop-songs now Willow?"
"You standing here and that moon just reminded me of it," She shrugged. "Can't sleep?" she asked.
"Not yet," Wesley admitted. "Too many questions going around in my head."
"Yeah, same here," Willow agreed. "It's funny though," she continued, wrapping her arms around herself. "How at ease I feel here, with you guys. How we all seem to fit together, like it was planned."
Wesley looked at her thoughtfully. "You're a very observant young woman, Willow," he said softly. "I was thinking much the same. Maybe it has something to do with our experiences in our own world, or because we are, as you called it, outcasts there." He looked at the moon again. "Only time will tell if it shall last, but I have a good feeling about this whole situation."
Willow nodded and looked at the moon as well. "Things sure are very different here, and we haven't even been in the town yet or anything. We're going to have to learn quickly and adjust a lot."
"We'll just take it one day at the time, or one moment even," Wesley said. He put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her toward their makeshift camp. "Let's get some sleep as well. I've a feeling we're going to need all the energy we can get come morning."
"Yeah, you're right," Willow yawned, "I'm beat anyway."
They both laid down, next to their two already sleeping friends, pulling the thin blankets over themselves. It wasn't long before either of them were asleep as well. The impressions and the long walk during the day had made them tired.
Little did they know what they were about to face tomorrow in this strange new world. And perhaps that was just as well...
2004 by FerretGirl