Title: Confessions of a Teenage Watcher

Author: Episkopos Reverend Alixtii O'Krull V, TRL of the Church of St. Jesu the Heretic, Discordian

Timeline: Somewhere around "The Girl in Question." Spoilers for "Chosen."

Rating: PG

Summary: Dawn Summers is an American attending an Italian high school in Rome. Beatrice DeCosta is her Italian classmate. Their rôles as Watcher and Slayer will send them into a world of high intrigue as the Council tries to assert its control over the guardianship of the Cleveland Hellmouth.

A/N: Another story in the Watcher!Dawn mode, as always able to be read on its own.

A/N2: The Italian is courtesy of the web. If it's ungrammatical, who really cares? I don't translate (or rather untranslate) it on purpose.

Disclaimer: All original Buffy and Angel characters belong to Mutant Enemy, not me.

"E cosí, Dante segue Vergil profondo nel cuore di inferno," the teacher says. "Lí, impara del trucco teologico dell'universo. Come un pubblico moderno, è facile per noi ignorare che impara. Se lei non crede nell'inferno, i suoi pericoli non colpiscono la paura nel suo cuore. Ma che impara di sé? Della natura umana?"

Dawn believes in hell, in the inferno. After all, her sister has been there. She raises her hand.

"Signorina Summers?"

"Debolezza," Dawn answers. "Corruzione. Vizio. I demoni che tormentano l'umanità."

The teacher nods and continues. "E ciò che circa...."

But the class is over, and the students do not hesitate to leave. Outside the classroom, Dawn sees the one person she least would have liked to run into in Italy. Because he isn't even supposed to be in Italy. He's supposed to be in England.

Roger Wyndham-Pryce.

"Oh, no," says Beatrice next to her, speaking English for Dawn's benefit. "What the hell is he doing here?"

"Wish I knew, Trish," Dawn says, catching herself only after she's said it and hoping that no Vengeance Demon is in hearing range. "But I have a feeling we are about to find out."

Beatrice is a Vampire Slayer. More than that, she's Dawn's Slayer. Because Dawn, who hasn't even finished high school, is a Watcher. This is because things being the way they are, the new Council will hire pretty much anyone who just happens to be fluent in proto-Sumerian. Not to mention Dawn has some major connections. Buffy practically insisted her younger sister be placed on the High Council along with Giles, to balance out the traditionalists Lydia Chalmers and Roger Wyndham-Pryce and keep them from having the majority and driving the policy. Part of a vision for a more Slayer-friendly Council. And what Buffy wants, Buffy gets: even Lydia and Wyndham-Pryce realize that they don't want to compete with the senior Slayer for influence over the Chosen. After all, the majority of trained Slayers are loyal to her, not the Council.

Dawn thinks Buffy is too quick to prejudge Lydia-after all, the Higher Powers intervened to save her from the Council explosion for some reason. Whereas she agrees with Buffy's preconceptions as regards Wyndham-Pryce perfectly. And so, apparently, does Beatrice.

The two girls make their way reluctantly towards Wyndham-Pryce, knowing that there isn't any way of getting out of this. "Roger," says Dawn as greeting, making sure to use his first name, asserting her equality with him.

"Miss Summers," he answers, and she can hear the damnèd British aloofness in his voice. He's treating her like a child.

Which of course she is.

"Miss DeCosta," he greats Beatrice.

"Mr. Wyndham-Pryce."

There is a beat as they all just look at each other, waiting. Finally, Dawn decides to break the silence. "Now that we've demonstrated we all know each other's names, is there a reason you chose to come here?"

"The Council has procured some intelligence we thought you would like to know."

"And that required a trip to Italy? I have a cell phone, an e-mail account. Hell, I can receive telepathic communiqués with minimal discomfort."

"Yeah, but last time they tried that you still keeled over in History class," points out Beatrice. Dawn glares at her.

"Perhaps we could . . . ?" Wyndham-Pryce makes an expansive gesture that reminds Dawn they are in public, and that talk of telepathic communication would raise more than one eyebrow should anyone overhear.

Dawn nods. "Beatrice and I were just going to train. Come along with, and we'll talk in my office."