Addendum to the disclaimer: Gainesville really exists. It also just might be the center of hell in Florida, but that's just my personal experience. Other than the city, and the café I'm referring to in this chapter, just about everything non-Buffy in this story is completely my own. I just couldn't seem to find anything really intriguing in this town, other than the bizarre activities of any Greek influenced state school.
addendum to the author's note: okay, so I really thought I would get back to this sooner, but I've had a VERY crazy week in RL, so bare with me. I also thought this particular story of the series would be longer, but again, craziness, and I just can't seem to bring myself to spend too much time in a story taking place in the city I'm about to be moving out of. So yeah. Hope you enjoy it, despite!
this story is going to be a bit of a departure from the general theme I've had so far of creepy beastie/new slayer per story. Instead, I'm focusing a bit more on relationships, and on Dawn and Xander in particular.
Roads Less Traveled
by Casix Thistlebane
Story 5: Gator-Slayers
Part One
"I thought you were kidding about that hangover thing."
Xander sank down further in the passenger seat and pressed his hands to his face. "So did I." He'd tried to take it easy at the cast party, and had thought he'd known his limits. But the pounding headache was growing exponentially worse the closer they got to Gainesville, to the point that he was beginning to hallucinate a silver glow hanging over the whole city.
I-75 wasn't a bad highway, generally smooth and straight, with no sudden hills or bumps, but the motion of the car was still playing havoc with his stomach. It didn't help that Dawn, the youthful driver she was, was doing well over the speed limit, making sharp lane changes so she wouldn't have to slow down.
"So, am I pretending to look at the school again?" Gainesville was the home of the University of Florida, one of the largest schools in the country, and she wasn't looking forward to driving around the city, waiting for Xander to spot the slayer.
"I don't think so." Xander's voice was hoarse, and forced out through clenched teeth. "We've got an apartment complex, this time."
"I can't believe that the Dead Zone is still playing hell with the locators."
"Could be worse."
"I know." They lapsed back into silence. Dawn couldn't even turn on the radio in deference to Xander's migraine. Instead, her mind kept looping what little of the O.A.R. song she knew. Ang had promised to send her a copy of the CD, via Cleveland.
Dawn spotted their exit ahead, and pulled sharply tot he right. Xander gagged and clung to the door handle.
"Pull over," he whimpered.
"We're almost there."
"Pull. Over." He gagged again, and Dawn hit the brakes, belatedly turning on the hazard lights. Xander lurched out of the car as it pulled to a stop on the shoulder, and Dawn hummed, drumming on the wheel to cover the sound until he finished. When he climbed back into the car and grabbed a water bottle, she forced herself to stop, then pulled ahead into the exit ramp. A couple of blocks later, they found the Gator Lake Club, and Dawn started looking for a parking space. Xander, looking only marginally more alive, levered himself to his feet and glanced around.
He slammed backward into the car, his hand flying to cover the left side of his face. Dawn swooped over to him a moment later.
"Jesus, are you okay?"
"The eye." Xander hissed, hand still clamped to his head, his right eye squeezed shut. "Grab my eye!"
"What?!"
Xander pointed blindly into the grass. "Popped out. Please?"
Dawn looked where he pointed, understanding blooming as she caught a glimmer a few feet away.
"Holy shit."
"Dawn, please," Xander struggled to sit up, looking green. He could see his own crumpled face, and Dawn's confused glance, and his headache roared. Dawn reached for the eye, and he flinched as her fingers poked directly at the faux pupil. He knew it wouldn't hurt, but still reacted as though the prosthetic was his real flesh and blood.
Dawn's hand brought blessed darkness, and he heaved a breath as the headache faded. "There's saline in my backpack, front pocket. Put it in the tupperware with some of the water and the solution." Dawn quickly complied, then helped him to his feet.
"What happened?"
"You know how it feels when you've been in a dark room and someone suddenly turns on the lights?"
"Yeah, but . . . ."
Xander gestured to the large group of college students, playing basketball, getting into cars, or just hanging out on the street.
"They're all slayers." Xander blinked his good eye. "Well, not the guys,"
Dawn looked around the parking lot, eyes wide. She swallowed.
"We're gonna need more pamphlets."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Two days later, the Scooby Gang sat around three outdoor tables at Maude's Café in downtown Gainesville, sipping coffee. Giles, Buffy, Willow Kennedy, Andrew, and Joanna had piled into the school van as soon as Dawn had explained the situation to them, leaving Wood and Faith to continue training at the school.
They were already discussing the best way to contact the fifty-plus slayers living at the Gator Lake Club.
Xander sat off to one side, watching his friends talk and shooting smiles at Joanna, who'd insisted that, as Dawn and his first recruit, she was qualified to help. She still looked a little uncomfortable with the veteran Scoobs, but by the way she and Dawn were giggling, Xander suspected she was starting to relax.
Xander leaned back, scanning the crowd. Fortunately, the only three slayers at the café were with his group, giving Xander a reprieve from the overload of slayer-glimmer. His eyes landed on an unassuming brunette across the patio.
She had short, wildly curly hair and standard issue college-Weezer glasses. Her platform sandals hung off her tapping toes, and she had an array of books and notebooks in front of her. Xander never would have noticed her if she weren't staring openly at their group.
She caught his eye and blushed furiously, turning her wide gaze back to her notebook. He saw her mouth something that looked like "no fucking way" before she started scribbling furiously in her book.
"Xander, are you listening?"
Xander turned back to the group to see Willow watching him.
"Did you see–" Xander turned back to the girl, only to find a meta-fictional shimmer around an empty table. He shook his head, turning back to the conversation, the incident passing from his mind. "You were saying?"
"Buffy, Andrew, Joanna, and I will scout out locations for an assembly." Giles looked up from his own notebook. "Xander? You and the rest will keep an eye on the girls at the club. Talk to them if you like, but we'll wait until we have a location before we really approach them. Try to work out a flier to get them to attend." Giles glanced at the resident witch. "Willow, can you work out a temporary enchantment for slayer identification? We'll all have to be ready to recruit, to make sure we identify them all, and get their attention."
"Sure, Giles." Willow pulled out a book.
"It's going to be hard to convince that many girls in such an impersonal environment," Kennedy took her arm from around Willow to wave away smoke drifting over from a nearby table. "What are we going to tell them?"
Xander caught Joanna's eye, thinking back to the Tastee Diner in Bethesda. "Simple," he smiled at her as she tilted her head curiously. "We'll just have to tell them a good story."
End part one
addendum to the author's note: okay, so I really thought I would get back to this sooner, but I've had a VERY crazy week in RL, so bare with me. I also thought this particular story of the series would be longer, but again, craziness, and I just can't seem to bring myself to spend too much time in a story taking place in the city I'm about to be moving out of. So yeah. Hope you enjoy it, despite!
this story is going to be a bit of a departure from the general theme I've had so far of creepy beastie/new slayer per story. Instead, I'm focusing a bit more on relationships, and on Dawn and Xander in particular.
Roads Less Traveled
by Casix Thistlebane
Story 5: Gator-Slayers
Part One
"I thought you were kidding about that hangover thing."
Xander sank down further in the passenger seat and pressed his hands to his face. "So did I." He'd tried to take it easy at the cast party, and had thought he'd known his limits. But the pounding headache was growing exponentially worse the closer they got to Gainesville, to the point that he was beginning to hallucinate a silver glow hanging over the whole city.
I-75 wasn't a bad highway, generally smooth and straight, with no sudden hills or bumps, but the motion of the car was still playing havoc with his stomach. It didn't help that Dawn, the youthful driver she was, was doing well over the speed limit, making sharp lane changes so she wouldn't have to slow down.
"So, am I pretending to look at the school again?" Gainesville was the home of the University of Florida, one of the largest schools in the country, and she wasn't looking forward to driving around the city, waiting for Xander to spot the slayer.
"I don't think so." Xander's voice was hoarse, and forced out through clenched teeth. "We've got an apartment complex, this time."
"I can't believe that the Dead Zone is still playing hell with the locators."
"Could be worse."
"I know." They lapsed back into silence. Dawn couldn't even turn on the radio in deference to Xander's migraine. Instead, her mind kept looping what little of the O.A.R. song she knew. Ang had promised to send her a copy of the CD, via Cleveland.
Dawn spotted their exit ahead, and pulled sharply tot he right. Xander gagged and clung to the door handle.
"Pull over," he whimpered.
"We're almost there."
"Pull. Over." He gagged again, and Dawn hit the brakes, belatedly turning on the hazard lights. Xander lurched out of the car as it pulled to a stop on the shoulder, and Dawn hummed, drumming on the wheel to cover the sound until he finished. When he climbed back into the car and grabbed a water bottle, she forced herself to stop, then pulled ahead into the exit ramp. A couple of blocks later, they found the Gator Lake Club, and Dawn started looking for a parking space. Xander, looking only marginally more alive, levered himself to his feet and glanced around.
He slammed backward into the car, his hand flying to cover the left side of his face. Dawn swooped over to him a moment later.
"Jesus, are you okay?"
"The eye." Xander hissed, hand still clamped to his head, his right eye squeezed shut. "Grab my eye!"
"What?!"
Xander pointed blindly into the grass. "Popped out. Please?"
Dawn looked where he pointed, understanding blooming as she caught a glimmer a few feet away.
"Holy shit."
"Dawn, please," Xander struggled to sit up, looking green. He could see his own crumpled face, and Dawn's confused glance, and his headache roared. Dawn reached for the eye, and he flinched as her fingers poked directly at the faux pupil. He knew it wouldn't hurt, but still reacted as though the prosthetic was his real flesh and blood.
Dawn's hand brought blessed darkness, and he heaved a breath as the headache faded. "There's saline in my backpack, front pocket. Put it in the tupperware with some of the water and the solution." Dawn quickly complied, then helped him to his feet.
"What happened?"
"You know how it feels when you've been in a dark room and someone suddenly turns on the lights?"
"Yeah, but . . . ."
Xander gestured to the large group of college students, playing basketball, getting into cars, or just hanging out on the street.
"They're all slayers." Xander blinked his good eye. "Well, not the guys,"
Dawn looked around the parking lot, eyes wide. She swallowed.
"We're gonna need more pamphlets."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Two days later, the Scooby Gang sat around three outdoor tables at Maude's Café in downtown Gainesville, sipping coffee. Giles, Buffy, Willow Kennedy, Andrew, and Joanna had piled into the school van as soon as Dawn had explained the situation to them, leaving Wood and Faith to continue training at the school.
They were already discussing the best way to contact the fifty-plus slayers living at the Gator Lake Club.
Xander sat off to one side, watching his friends talk and shooting smiles at Joanna, who'd insisted that, as Dawn and his first recruit, she was qualified to help. She still looked a little uncomfortable with the veteran Scoobs, but by the way she and Dawn were giggling, Xander suspected she was starting to relax.
Xander leaned back, scanning the crowd. Fortunately, the only three slayers at the café were with his group, giving Xander a reprieve from the overload of slayer-glimmer. His eyes landed on an unassuming brunette across the patio.
She had short, wildly curly hair and standard issue college-Weezer glasses. Her platform sandals hung off her tapping toes, and she had an array of books and notebooks in front of her. Xander never would have noticed her if she weren't staring openly at their group.
She caught his eye and blushed furiously, turning her wide gaze back to her notebook. He saw her mouth something that looked like "no fucking way" before she started scribbling furiously in her book.
"Xander, are you listening?"
Xander turned back to the group to see Willow watching him.
"Did you see–" Xander turned back to the girl, only to find a meta-fictional shimmer around an empty table. He shook his head, turning back to the conversation, the incident passing from his mind. "You were saying?"
"Buffy, Andrew, Joanna, and I will scout out locations for an assembly." Giles looked up from his own notebook. "Xander? You and the rest will keep an eye on the girls at the club. Talk to them if you like, but we'll wait until we have a location before we really approach them. Try to work out a flier to get them to attend." Giles glanced at the resident witch. "Willow, can you work out a temporary enchantment for slayer identification? We'll all have to be ready to recruit, to make sure we identify them all, and get their attention."
"Sure, Giles." Willow pulled out a book.
"It's going to be hard to convince that many girls in such an impersonal environment," Kennedy took her arm from around Willow to wave away smoke drifting over from a nearby table. "What are we going to tell them?"
Xander caught Joanna's eye, thinking back to the Tastee Diner in Bethesda. "Simple," he smiled at her as she tilted her head curiously. "We'll just have to tell them a good story."
End part one