Part 9: The good news: We'll help. The bad news: We'll help.
Catherine was drifting in and out of half-sleep when she heard the door open and the tread of two people walking down the stairs. Her eyes snapped opened as she jumped to her feet and turned to face her captors.
Her breath caught.
"Harris-rah, Lanoire-rah," she greeted calmly, "what's the infor?"
The pair looked at each other. "Infor?" Lanoire-rah asked.
"Probably something like 'What's the 411'." As he said that, Harris-rah shoved his hands in his pockets, a comforting move that nearly brought a smile to the Watcher Honoria's lips.
"We've been talking and we're willing to listen," Harris-rah continued.
"Told you," Ruda said smugly. "Harris-rah-sen and Lanoire-rah-sen wouldn't say no. Not to us."
"Again with the –rahsen," Harris-rah muttered. He cleared his throat. "Look, I'm sure the –rahsen doesn't mean smeghead, or anything like that, but it's definitely making me uncomfortable."
"Sounds like we're a kind of sushi," Lanoire-rah agreed.
"Or extras in a Bollywood flick," Harris-rah added.
"Don't ask," Catherine ordered her group. "We got what we want, just let the nice, strange words go in one ear and out the other."
"Look, can you guys do me a favor?" Harris-rah asked.
"Anything Harris-rah," Catherine said.
"Don't call me Harris-rah," he said. He quickly fixed Ruda with a look, "Or –rahsen, whatever that means."
"Put me in the 'no' camp on that one, too," the Cleveland-transplant Slayer added. "Whenever someone uses my last name for anything I have flashbacks."
"So what should we call you then?" Charlie asked.
"Xander's fine. Alexander if you absolutely have to. Harris if your mouth will catch on fire if you even attempt to use my first name," said Harris-rah…Xander…Alexander…Harris…figuring out how to think of him was going to be harder than Catherine thought.
"I don't have fancy nicknames," his Slayer companion shrugged. "Faith. Just Faith. No Lanoire shit. I got issues, like I said. Start calling me Lanoire and I'll start raising my hand to ask to go to the bathroom."
"Why would you…" Charlie began.
"Don't start," Catherine said. "Please, don't start."
TBC…