Addendum to the disclaimer: The anime that Jane and Mike send Dawn is Cowboy Bebop. There's no frickin' way she could have watched the whole thing in the time that Xander and Willow are asleep, but I'm taking some liberties there. If you haven't seen it, then get off your but and at least rent the movie. It's worth it.
Also, Xander's little episode here comes courtesy of Josh on the West Wing. You'll probably figure out what I mean. If not, then watch more West Wing. If nothing else, it's a high quality show.
The comment about the aardvark is something my brother's roommate actually said once in his sleep. As for Aardvark 66 . . . . Well, I can't reveal ALL my secrets, can I?
Roads Less Traveled
by Casix Thistlebane
Story 6: The Sad Tale of Bunnyman
Part Four
When Dawn returned form the soda machine that night, loaded down with caffeinated beverages, Willow was sitting on her bed, idly surfing the web. Xander lay sprawled out half under the covers of his, on his back, his mouth hanging open, still fully dressed.
He was snoring like a bear.
"Oh, thank god," Dawn perched next to Willow, staring at her sleeping friend. "I was afraid he'd be up all night worrying."
"Me too." Willow closed her browser window. "So I made sure he wouldn't."
"You sleep-spelled him?"
"Not quite." Willow held out a hand, which contained a small pill box. "Over the counter sleep aids. We keep 'em stocked now at the Institute. You wouldn't believe how many slayers are chronic insomniacs."
Dawn grinned. "Yeah I would. I had to sleep in the same room with the potentials, remember?"
"Yeah." Willow stood and stretched. "Now that you're back, it's my turn to pop pills." She paused at the door to the bathroom. "You sure you can stay up?"
"Yeah, I'll find something to do. Maybe even catch up on my lessons."
"Well, as loathe as I am to support academic procrastination, this might be more fun." Willow reached into her backpack, which lay by the bathroom door, and pulled out a thick brown package. "It came in the mail for you, so I figured I'd deliver it in person. Catch."
Dawn caught the package easily, then turned it over to check the address. It was from Angie, down at Eckerd.
"Excellent, thanks!"
Willow smiled and stepped into the bathroom as Dawn ripped into the padded envelope.
It obviously contained more that just one CD, which surprised Dawn, since she'd only been promised OAR. The first thing she pulled out was a postcard, an old styled illustration of a man holding a roach clip, with the caption "Marijuana! It's a special kind of stupid!"
On the back of the postcard was Angie's scrawling, barely legible script.
"Gobshite survival kit. Featuring Of A Revolution, Bob Marley, Ani Difranco, and Jimmy Buffet. Come visit us, we'll head to Orlando and hit up Margaritaville!"
Dawn pulled out the four burned CDs and smiled at the little monsters Angie had drawn on each cover. Bob Marley's had dreads. Buffet's looked like an evil parrot.
There was still a small stack of CDs inside, and another note.
"While we're on the 'off-site backup copy' trend, Mike and Jane swear by this anime series. I haven't watched it yet, so I hope it doesn't require pot to enjoy it. M&J say 'hi', Emma says to keep up the good work, and I say to lay that stripper move on Xander, from me. Enjoy!"
Dawn took a look at the other CDs, which seemed to contain an entire anime series, including a movie. Each one stated in Jane's neat hand: "See you, Space Cowboy". She popped the first one into her laptop and gave Willow a thumbs up as she exited the bathroom.
Willow smiled and nodded sleepily back. "Just don't tell anyone, okay? You'll ruin my rep as a brain."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
By the time Dawn finished watching the movie, the sunlight streaming in the window had her seeing gold butterflies of her own.
She glanced at het clock and wondered if she should wake her friends, or let them wake up on their own. Xander had finally stopped snoring by sunrise, and the room was filled with a peaceful silence and the faint smattering of birdsong.
Willow murmured something in her sleep, and Dawn let her eyes wander over to the other bed.
Xander lay almost exactly the same way he had the night before, on his back, his feet kicked out over the covers, one arm bent up over his head. The other was hidden under the pillows and under Willow, who was curled up over his side. His head was tilted into her hair, her arm was draped across his neck.
Anyone else would have assumed the two were lovers.
Dawn smiled, and decided not to wake them just yet. She couldn't help but envy how close and comfortable they were with each other; what with the way Dawn's life was constantly being thrown off balance, she didn't really have a friend like that. She and Janice had exchanged emails on occasion after Janice's family left Sunnydale, but Dawn had stopped writing when she realized there was simply no way to explain this trip to the girl. Someday, she hoped she'd find a close friend her age whom she'd never have to lie to.
Bonus points if he happened to be extremely hot.
Dawn promised herself that, when they managed to subdue the Bunnyman spirit, she'd find some reason to make herself scarce for a few hours so her friends could have some alone time. They weren't likely to get any more for the foreseeable future.
"Keeping yourself busy?"
Dawn started, then glanced over to see Xander staring back at her over the top of Willow's head.
"Yeah. You HAVE to watch this anime Angie sent me."
"How're you holding up?"
"I'm good. Young, energetic, ready to be turned into a psychotic animalistic predator. How'd you sleep?"
"Like a thing that sleeps really deeply." He started to sit up, then froze, staring down at Willow. "And my entire right arm is still at it."
In response, Willow scrunched her nose, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like "put the aardvark down."
"What aardvark, Will?" Xander tapped her forehead with his free hand. She thumped his throat, making him gag.
"Aardvark 66 . . . ."
Dawn winced. "Should we wake her up?"
"Nah, this is nothing. When we were six she once literally kicked me out of bed."
Dawn smirked at the mental image. Having not known either of them at so young an age, the visual was suffering "big head on little body" syndrome, and she nearly laughed out loud.
"Anyway," Xander was grinning as well, looking down at the frown on Willow's face as she continued mumbling at whomever it was holding the aardvark. "Tell me about this anime?"
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
They arrived at the site in the woods at dusk, in hopes that the hour would mean that they could be alone, and not worry about other people near the bridge.
Dawn fought back a yawn. Assuming they were right about how this spirit chose its host, she was a shoo-in. Xander cast a worried glance at her. It was no overstatement to say that he REALLY didn't like this plan.
Of course, it was the only one they had. He was suddenly glad that Carmella wasn't joining them. A plot this half-assed would not impress the young slayer.
"You ready, Dawnie?" Willow looked almost as worried as he was; another point against the plan. Dawn's jaw was set, though. She would not be talked out of this.
"We're giving you a ten minute head start." Xander glanced at his watch. "That's hopefully long enough for the spirit to get possessive." He caught Dawn's eye. There was steel there, but he had to try. "You're sure you want to do this?"
"YES, okay?" Dawn glared at him, then her shoulders slumped. "I know you're worried, but Willow's got my back." She glanced at the witch. "But I'm blaming you if I eat any more rabbits."
"Duly noted." Willow flapped one hand toward the woods. "Now, shoo!"
Neither Willow nor Xander spoke for the entire ten minutes. Once upon a time they might have filled the time with old in-jokes and friendly banter, but there was no longer a need to speak. For all their time apart, it still seemed at times that they were two halves of the same person. Sharing a silence told each other as much as one hundred jokes.
Still, it was a long ten minutes.
Finally, they set off, Xander leading the way toward the creek where Dawn had tackled him. They made no effort at moving quietly, but rather joked and chatted at full volume, hoping to draw the spirit's attention. About ten feet from the edge of the creek bed, Willow reached out and idly snapped a limb off a tree.
Xander barely had time to turn before Dawn rushed out of the bushes and slammed Willow to the ground.
He moved quickly to his best friend's side, but Willow was already rolling over as he crouched down to help her up. She'd had the wind knocked out of her–for all of her height, Dawn didn't have the physical strength to do much more–but Xander's heart was racing somewhere in the vicinity of his clavicle, and it shot up to his Adams apple when Dawn, growling, grabbed him by the right ear and wrenched him up.
Xander knew, he KNEW that he could easily break Dawn's grip and push the girl away, but he froze, panic eating at his ribs, as his mind replaced his slight friend with a taller, bulkier figure.
A figure in a clerical collar.
"You're the one who sees." Caleb's voice echoed in his head as Dawn cocked her fist to strike. "Let's see what we can do about that."
Pain shot through Xander's head even as Willow shouted and Dawn froze, fist inches from his jaw. The witch called his name, but Xander couldn't find the breath to answer as his own scream bounced through his mind and he wrenched himself backward and felt his legs go out. He threw a hand up to his prosthetic eye, scooting backward through the rotting leaves until his back struck bark. He huddled there, while Dawn twitched and hissed, left eye shut tight, watching the same sparks and flashes that had erupted across his vision when Buffy and Spike had dragged him from the vineyard along with the injured girls. He shivered in agony even as he tried to remember that it was over, that it had happened almost a year ago, and that he was okay.
But his breath still quickened and his heart still thundered and all he could do was watch as Caleb thrust his thumb into his eye-socket over and over again.
End part four
Also, Xander's little episode here comes courtesy of Josh on the West Wing. You'll probably figure out what I mean. If not, then watch more West Wing. If nothing else, it's a high quality show.
The comment about the aardvark is something my brother's roommate actually said once in his sleep. As for Aardvark 66 . . . . Well, I can't reveal ALL my secrets, can I?
Roads Less Traveled
by Casix Thistlebane
Story 6: The Sad Tale of Bunnyman
Part Four
When Dawn returned form the soda machine that night, loaded down with caffeinated beverages, Willow was sitting on her bed, idly surfing the web. Xander lay sprawled out half under the covers of his, on his back, his mouth hanging open, still fully dressed.
He was snoring like a bear.
"Oh, thank god," Dawn perched next to Willow, staring at her sleeping friend. "I was afraid he'd be up all night worrying."
"Me too." Willow closed her browser window. "So I made sure he wouldn't."
"You sleep-spelled him?"
"Not quite." Willow held out a hand, which contained a small pill box. "Over the counter sleep aids. We keep 'em stocked now at the Institute. You wouldn't believe how many slayers are chronic insomniacs."
Dawn grinned. "Yeah I would. I had to sleep in the same room with the potentials, remember?"
"Yeah." Willow stood and stretched. "Now that you're back, it's my turn to pop pills." She paused at the door to the bathroom. "You sure you can stay up?"
"Yeah, I'll find something to do. Maybe even catch up on my lessons."
"Well, as loathe as I am to support academic procrastination, this might be more fun." Willow reached into her backpack, which lay by the bathroom door, and pulled out a thick brown package. "It came in the mail for you, so I figured I'd deliver it in person. Catch."
Dawn caught the package easily, then turned it over to check the address. It was from Angie, down at Eckerd.
"Excellent, thanks!"
Willow smiled and stepped into the bathroom as Dawn ripped into the padded envelope.
It obviously contained more that just one CD, which surprised Dawn, since she'd only been promised OAR. The first thing she pulled out was a postcard, an old styled illustration of a man holding a roach clip, with the caption "Marijuana! It's a special kind of stupid!"
On the back of the postcard was Angie's scrawling, barely legible script.
"Gobshite survival kit. Featuring Of A Revolution, Bob Marley, Ani Difranco, and Jimmy Buffet. Come visit us, we'll head to Orlando and hit up Margaritaville!"
Dawn pulled out the four burned CDs and smiled at the little monsters Angie had drawn on each cover. Bob Marley's had dreads. Buffet's looked like an evil parrot.
There was still a small stack of CDs inside, and another note.
"While we're on the 'off-site backup copy' trend, Mike and Jane swear by this anime series. I haven't watched it yet, so I hope it doesn't require pot to enjoy it. M&J say 'hi', Emma says to keep up the good work, and I say to lay that stripper move on Xander, from me. Enjoy!"
Dawn took a look at the other CDs, which seemed to contain an entire anime series, including a movie. Each one stated in Jane's neat hand: "See you, Space Cowboy". She popped the first one into her laptop and gave Willow a thumbs up as she exited the bathroom.
Willow smiled and nodded sleepily back. "Just don't tell anyone, okay? You'll ruin my rep as a brain."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
By the time Dawn finished watching the movie, the sunlight streaming in the window had her seeing gold butterflies of her own.
She glanced at het clock and wondered if she should wake her friends, or let them wake up on their own. Xander had finally stopped snoring by sunrise, and the room was filled with a peaceful silence and the faint smattering of birdsong.
Willow murmured something in her sleep, and Dawn let her eyes wander over to the other bed.
Xander lay almost exactly the same way he had the night before, on his back, his feet kicked out over the covers, one arm bent up over his head. The other was hidden under the pillows and under Willow, who was curled up over his side. His head was tilted into her hair, her arm was draped across his neck.
Anyone else would have assumed the two were lovers.
Dawn smiled, and decided not to wake them just yet. She couldn't help but envy how close and comfortable they were with each other; what with the way Dawn's life was constantly being thrown off balance, she didn't really have a friend like that. She and Janice had exchanged emails on occasion after Janice's family left Sunnydale, but Dawn had stopped writing when she realized there was simply no way to explain this trip to the girl. Someday, she hoped she'd find a close friend her age whom she'd never have to lie to.
Bonus points if he happened to be extremely hot.
Dawn promised herself that, when they managed to subdue the Bunnyman spirit, she'd find some reason to make herself scarce for a few hours so her friends could have some alone time. They weren't likely to get any more for the foreseeable future.
"Keeping yourself busy?"
Dawn started, then glanced over to see Xander staring back at her over the top of Willow's head.
"Yeah. You HAVE to watch this anime Angie sent me."
"How're you holding up?"
"I'm good. Young, energetic, ready to be turned into a psychotic animalistic predator. How'd you sleep?"
"Like a thing that sleeps really deeply." He started to sit up, then froze, staring down at Willow. "And my entire right arm is still at it."
In response, Willow scrunched her nose, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like "put the aardvark down."
"What aardvark, Will?" Xander tapped her forehead with his free hand. She thumped his throat, making him gag.
"Aardvark 66 . . . ."
Dawn winced. "Should we wake her up?"
"Nah, this is nothing. When we were six she once literally kicked me out of bed."
Dawn smirked at the mental image. Having not known either of them at so young an age, the visual was suffering "big head on little body" syndrome, and she nearly laughed out loud.
"Anyway," Xander was grinning as well, looking down at the frown on Willow's face as she continued mumbling at whomever it was holding the aardvark. "Tell me about this anime?"
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
They arrived at the site in the woods at dusk, in hopes that the hour would mean that they could be alone, and not worry about other people near the bridge.
Dawn fought back a yawn. Assuming they were right about how this spirit chose its host, she was a shoo-in. Xander cast a worried glance at her. It was no overstatement to say that he REALLY didn't like this plan.
Of course, it was the only one they had. He was suddenly glad that Carmella wasn't joining them. A plot this half-assed would not impress the young slayer.
"You ready, Dawnie?" Willow looked almost as worried as he was; another point against the plan. Dawn's jaw was set, though. She would not be talked out of this.
"We're giving you a ten minute head start." Xander glanced at his watch. "That's hopefully long enough for the spirit to get possessive." He caught Dawn's eye. There was steel there, but he had to try. "You're sure you want to do this?"
"YES, okay?" Dawn glared at him, then her shoulders slumped. "I know you're worried, but Willow's got my back." She glanced at the witch. "But I'm blaming you if I eat any more rabbits."
"Duly noted." Willow flapped one hand toward the woods. "Now, shoo!"
Neither Willow nor Xander spoke for the entire ten minutes. Once upon a time they might have filled the time with old in-jokes and friendly banter, but there was no longer a need to speak. For all their time apart, it still seemed at times that they were two halves of the same person. Sharing a silence told each other as much as one hundred jokes.
Still, it was a long ten minutes.
Finally, they set off, Xander leading the way toward the creek where Dawn had tackled him. They made no effort at moving quietly, but rather joked and chatted at full volume, hoping to draw the spirit's attention. About ten feet from the edge of the creek bed, Willow reached out and idly snapped a limb off a tree.
Xander barely had time to turn before Dawn rushed out of the bushes and slammed Willow to the ground.
He moved quickly to his best friend's side, but Willow was already rolling over as he crouched down to help her up. She'd had the wind knocked out of her–for all of her height, Dawn didn't have the physical strength to do much more–but Xander's heart was racing somewhere in the vicinity of his clavicle, and it shot up to his Adams apple when Dawn, growling, grabbed him by the right ear and wrenched him up.
Xander knew, he KNEW that he could easily break Dawn's grip and push the girl away, but he froze, panic eating at his ribs, as his mind replaced his slight friend with a taller, bulkier figure.
A figure in a clerical collar.
"You're the one who sees." Caleb's voice echoed in his head as Dawn cocked her fist to strike. "Let's see what we can do about that."
Pain shot through Xander's head even as Willow shouted and Dawn froze, fist inches from his jaw. The witch called his name, but Xander couldn't find the breath to answer as his own scream bounced through his mind and he wrenched himself backward and felt his legs go out. He threw a hand up to his prosthetic eye, scooting backward through the rotting leaves until his back struck bark. He huddled there, while Dawn twitched and hissed, left eye shut tight, watching the same sparks and flashes that had erupted across his vision when Buffy and Spike had dragged him from the vineyard along with the injured girls. He shivered in agony even as he tried to remember that it was over, that it had happened almost a year ago, and that he was okay.
But his breath still quickened and his heart still thundered and all he could do was watch as Caleb thrust his thumb into his eye-socket over and over again.
End part four