Title: Walkabout - Voyage of Rediscovery 3/?
Author: Mike McD
Rating: R
Summary: Two bitter and lost souls on rock bottom decide to go Walkabout. Two years after 'Chosen'.
Distribution: Anywhere, just let me know.
Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer nor do I own any other characters. This is a work of fiction written for fun and enjoyment.
WARNING!!!
If you don't like fics with some Buffy bashing then move along now. Everyone else, enjoy.
-------
They didn't stay long in Perth, just enough to recover from their flight, do some much needed clothes shopping, and hire a car.
They headed south, through the laid back streets of Fremantle and Rockingham, passing through small towns and orchards and vineyards and forests. They drove in silence, taking in the sights around them and feeling an odd sense of déjà vu. The landscape reminded them of something in their childhood; a trip on a school camp to a place now forgotten.
The silence was broken when Willow spotted something by the side of the road.
"Stop! Stop! Pull over!" she called out.
"What? What is it?"
"Just pull over!" she insisted. Xander edged the car to the side of the road. Once the car had stopped, Xander noticed what had Willow so excited.
Kangaroos.
There was a mob of a dozen or so grey kangaroos in a paddock grazing not 20 yards from where they were parked. It was the first time that they had seen any native animals and even Xander had to admit to feeling the thrill of seeing them so close and in their natural habitat. The sight of a joey poking its head out of its mothers pouch elicited a photographic frenzy from Willow.
Eventually the mob moved on and Willow and Xander marvelled at their long, effortless bounding.
"Wow. That was just... wow." Willow was hard pressed to verbalise her thoughts.
"It's funny. In Africa I saw elephants and zebras and hyenas and lions, but it wasn't... I don't know. It was interesting, but it wasn't a really big deal, you know. I mean, every school field trip to the zoo we'd see the elephants and zebras and stuff, or the circus would come to town. Never saw kangaroos though." He admitted.
"Well now you have. You can die happy now."
"I think it'll take more than kangaroos for either of us to that. Not sure if we'll ever die happy, Wills."
They shared a moment of unhappy introspection.
"So, where are we staying tonight?" Xander asked Willow who was acting as navigator for their journey.
"Manjimup."
"How far is that?"
Willow checked the map.
"About an hour or so. We'll stay there tonight and head to the Valley of the Giants in the morning."
"Uh, maybe I spent too much time living on a Hellmouth, but when you say giants, we're not talking about the fe-fi-fo-fum variety, are we?"
"Trees, Xander. We're going to see giant trees."
"Oh, OK." He said as they got back into the car to continue their journey. "Just don't expect me to climb them, magic goose be damned."
------
When they were nine, the school had taken their class to see the giant Californian Redwood trees. It was an impressive sight to a group of nine year olds and it had kick started Willow's interest in giant trees.
Now, years later and on the other side of the world, once again the pair found themselves in awe of one of mother nature's giants.
"Gotta admit, this is pretty cool." Remarked Xander. They were standing on the Tree Top Walk, an elevated walkway some 120 feet in the air that spanned its way through the giant trees.
"It's different being up here. These trees must look enormous from the ground."
"You wanna take the forest floor path tour?" he asked the redhead.
"Hell yeah! It'll make for some great photos from ground level."
The Ancient Empire, as this part of the park was called, had a protective boardwalk that wound though the ground level of the forest. From here the immense size of the trees could truly be appreciated. Unlike the Tree Top Walk, they were virtually alone.
The reason for this became apparent as the reached a roped off section of the walkway. They approached the park ranger who was standing there.
"What's the problem?" Xander asked the bearded ranger.
"Had to close off the walkway because of the danger. One of the trees is dying and we don't want any branches falling on our visitors."
Willow frowned at the news.
"What's causing it?"
"A virus, a fungus, we're not quite sure."
"Could I take a look? I'm a botanist with the Forestry Service back in California. I might be able to help." Willow lied. Xander quickly glanced at her, wondering what she was up to.
The ranger thought it over for a moment. Normally he would have refused the request, but there was a whispered thought echoing in the back of his mind to trust this young woman.
"Alright, but I'll have to escort you. For your own safety, that is."
The three of them ducked under the rope and headed toward the ailing giant.
High above them, the once green canopy was now brown and withered. They could see where a number of huge braches had broken off leaving the jagged remains protruding like smashed bone. On the ground around them lay thousands of dead leaves that crunched under foot.
Nobody spoke as they saw centuries of life slowly coming to an end. The incredibly sad look on Willow's face gave way to a look of determination.
"No. Not this time. The dying ends now." She vowed, stepping off the walkway and heading over to the base of the dying majesty.
"Uh, miss! You're not allowed too..." the ranger started calling out to her when Xander laid a hand on his shoulder.
"Leave her be." He advised, never taking his eye off Willow who now stood before the giant. She kicked off her shoes, her bare feet sinking into the leaf litter on the ground. She placed her hands on the side of the giant tree and began to chant quietly.
"What's she doing?" the now confused ranger asked. His eyes grew wide as Willow's feet began to glow. The glow travelled up her body to her hands and from there into the tree.
There was a stunned silence as they witnessed the giant tree seemingly stir to life. It creaked as wood once rotted regenerated into living new wood. Life spread through the dead canopy like green ink seeping onto a page. New branches spouted and grew while new leaves reached out like thousands of tiny green hands catching the sun.
Willow's glow faded and she collapsed exhausted. Xander hurried over to his friend leaving the ranger the stare in total disbelief and amazement. When Xander got to Willow, she was ghostly pale and weak. A small trickle of blood ran out of her nose. He held her close and wiped away the blood with his handkerchief.
"Speak to me Will." He quietly implored. Willow smiled weakly up at him.
"No more dying. No more death." She rasped. Xander gently brushed away a lock of hair from her face.
"Yeah, no more dying." He assured. "Come on, I'll take you back to the motel."
Xander helped Willow put her shoes back on then helped her back to the walkway and the awestruck and slightly fearful ranger.
"What just... how did... who..." a worn but smiling Willow answered the ranger's questions.
"No more death."
Until his dying day, the ranger never forgot her words as he watched the pair slowly making their way together out of the forest.
Author: Mike McD
Rating: R
Summary: Two bitter and lost souls on rock bottom decide to go Walkabout. Two years after 'Chosen'.
Distribution: Anywhere, just let me know.
Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer nor do I own any other characters. This is a work of fiction written for fun and enjoyment.
WARNING!!!
If you don't like fics with some Buffy bashing then move along now. Everyone else, enjoy.
-------
They didn't stay long in Perth, just enough to recover from their flight, do some much needed clothes shopping, and hire a car.
They headed south, through the laid back streets of Fremantle and Rockingham, passing through small towns and orchards and vineyards and forests. They drove in silence, taking in the sights around them and feeling an odd sense of déjà vu. The landscape reminded them of something in their childhood; a trip on a school camp to a place now forgotten.
The silence was broken when Willow spotted something by the side of the road.
"Stop! Stop! Pull over!" she called out.
"What? What is it?"
"Just pull over!" she insisted. Xander edged the car to the side of the road. Once the car had stopped, Xander noticed what had Willow so excited.
Kangaroos.
There was a mob of a dozen or so grey kangaroos in a paddock grazing not 20 yards from where they were parked. It was the first time that they had seen any native animals and even Xander had to admit to feeling the thrill of seeing them so close and in their natural habitat. The sight of a joey poking its head out of its mothers pouch elicited a photographic frenzy from Willow.
Eventually the mob moved on and Willow and Xander marvelled at their long, effortless bounding.
"Wow. That was just... wow." Willow was hard pressed to verbalise her thoughts.
"It's funny. In Africa I saw elephants and zebras and hyenas and lions, but it wasn't... I don't know. It was interesting, but it wasn't a really big deal, you know. I mean, every school field trip to the zoo we'd see the elephants and zebras and stuff, or the circus would come to town. Never saw kangaroos though." He admitted.
"Well now you have. You can die happy now."
"I think it'll take more than kangaroos for either of us to that. Not sure if we'll ever die happy, Wills."
They shared a moment of unhappy introspection.
"So, where are we staying tonight?" Xander asked Willow who was acting as navigator for their journey.
"Manjimup."
"How far is that?"
Willow checked the map.
"About an hour or so. We'll stay there tonight and head to the Valley of the Giants in the morning."
"Uh, maybe I spent too much time living on a Hellmouth, but when you say giants, we're not talking about the fe-fi-fo-fum variety, are we?"
"Trees, Xander. We're going to see giant trees."
"Oh, OK." He said as they got back into the car to continue their journey. "Just don't expect me to climb them, magic goose be damned."
------
When they were nine, the school had taken their class to see the giant Californian Redwood trees. It was an impressive sight to a group of nine year olds and it had kick started Willow's interest in giant trees.
Now, years later and on the other side of the world, once again the pair found themselves in awe of one of mother nature's giants.
"Gotta admit, this is pretty cool." Remarked Xander. They were standing on the Tree Top Walk, an elevated walkway some 120 feet in the air that spanned its way through the giant trees.
"It's different being up here. These trees must look enormous from the ground."
"You wanna take the forest floor path tour?" he asked the redhead.
"Hell yeah! It'll make for some great photos from ground level."
The Ancient Empire, as this part of the park was called, had a protective boardwalk that wound though the ground level of the forest. From here the immense size of the trees could truly be appreciated. Unlike the Tree Top Walk, they were virtually alone.
The reason for this became apparent as the reached a roped off section of the walkway. They approached the park ranger who was standing there.
"What's the problem?" Xander asked the bearded ranger.
"Had to close off the walkway because of the danger. One of the trees is dying and we don't want any branches falling on our visitors."
Willow frowned at the news.
"What's causing it?"
"A virus, a fungus, we're not quite sure."
"Could I take a look? I'm a botanist with the Forestry Service back in California. I might be able to help." Willow lied. Xander quickly glanced at her, wondering what she was up to.
The ranger thought it over for a moment. Normally he would have refused the request, but there was a whispered thought echoing in the back of his mind to trust this young woman.
"Alright, but I'll have to escort you. For your own safety, that is."
The three of them ducked under the rope and headed toward the ailing giant.
High above them, the once green canopy was now brown and withered. They could see where a number of huge braches had broken off leaving the jagged remains protruding like smashed bone. On the ground around them lay thousands of dead leaves that crunched under foot.
Nobody spoke as they saw centuries of life slowly coming to an end. The incredibly sad look on Willow's face gave way to a look of determination.
"No. Not this time. The dying ends now." She vowed, stepping off the walkway and heading over to the base of the dying majesty.
"Uh, miss! You're not allowed too..." the ranger started calling out to her when Xander laid a hand on his shoulder.
"Leave her be." He advised, never taking his eye off Willow who now stood before the giant. She kicked off her shoes, her bare feet sinking into the leaf litter on the ground. She placed her hands on the side of the giant tree and began to chant quietly.
"What's she doing?" the now confused ranger asked. His eyes grew wide as Willow's feet began to glow. The glow travelled up her body to her hands and from there into the tree.
There was a stunned silence as they witnessed the giant tree seemingly stir to life. It creaked as wood once rotted regenerated into living new wood. Life spread through the dead canopy like green ink seeping onto a page. New branches spouted and grew while new leaves reached out like thousands of tiny green hands catching the sun.
Willow's glow faded and she collapsed exhausted. Xander hurried over to his friend leaving the ranger the stare in total disbelief and amazement. When Xander got to Willow, she was ghostly pale and weak. A small trickle of blood ran out of her nose. He held her close and wiped away the blood with his handkerchief.
"Speak to me Will." He quietly implored. Willow smiled weakly up at him.
"No more dying. No more death." She rasped. Xander gently brushed away a lock of hair from her face.
"Yeah, no more dying." He assured. "Come on, I'll take you back to the motel."
Xander helped Willow put her shoes back on then helped her back to the walkway and the awestruck and slightly fearful ranger.
"What just... how did... who..." a worn but smiling Willow answered the ranger's questions.
"No more death."
Until his dying day, the ranger never forgot her words as he watched the pair slowly making their way together out of the forest.