Okay, after this, spuffy dreams on the way. Oh, and if anyone feels inclined to review and give me an excuse to write in some cute Willow and Oz scene, that'd be good.
"Faith, you down here?" she called, making her way down the basement steps. For whatever reason, the crates that had been in the process of being moved upstairs were now littering said stairs. She sighed heavily. Though she knew it wasn't entirely true, sometimes she felt like nothing got done if she didn't either do it herself or delegate the task to someone specific.
"Bout time you showed, B." the other senior slayer met her at the bottom of the stairs, arms folded across her chest and a mischievous grin on her face. "You get busy with Angel or what?"
"No." Buffy replied dryly, stepping past her to toss herself in one of the two plush armchairs that they'd brought down for observing younger slayers while they trained. "Oz came by. I was setting him up with a place to stay. And I kinda forgot until I was upstairs and already late." Faith sat down in the chair next to Buffy's.
"What gives? You're all kinds of spacey lately."
"I don't know. I guess I just haven't been paying attention." She was living dream to dream, and the real world often failed to capture her interest with what she had to look forward to in sleep. Only Angel really understood, and he was afraid to draw her out.
"Don't sweat it, B." Faith gave a dismissive wave, then pulled a thick file from behind her chair. "I take it this is what you wanted to talk about?"
"Exactly." The file contained all the practical information they had on Hellmouths in general, the Sunnydale Hellmouth specifically, and the demonic activity in Cleveland. "You've got everything in there?"
"Everything except…" Faith rifled through the file for a moment, "A few spells that Willow and the brainy slayers working with her kept, and an excerpt from a watcher's diary that Wes and Giles keep arguing about."
"Have they asked Angel? He's pretty good at that stuff, ya know, having been around way back when." The brunette sent her blonde counterpart an incredulous look.
"Case you haven't noticed, the big guy doesn't seem to have much to say these days, unless you're, oh say… you." Buffy shrugged, taking the folder from Faith to check through it herself. It was true, Angel did seem to be breaking his own records for broodiness, and she knew part of it was their less than simple relationship. Plus the presence of so many strangers in his hotel, and, with her taking charge, the decreasing need for his management. Add all that on to whatever had happened to him before they had all arrived…
"Yo, B." She shook her head briskly, bringing her attention back to the other slayer. "We gonna do this or what?"
"Yes. Sorry." She took a deep breath, pulling a map of Cleveland from the folder. The area where the Hellmouth was thought to be was circled in red marker. Someone, she suspected Willow, had turned the circle into a smiley face. Someone else, using a black pen, had added little horns and evil eyebrows. Probably Xander. She smiled a little, then looked up at Faith.
"I want to send a group out there, to check the scene, do some basic prep work. You and Wood have the more advanced slayers for defense and combat. How are they coming?
"Pretty awesome, most of them are ready for some action."
"Good. Xander and Dawn said they have a few girls in their basic defense group that might be ready to join you soon."
"More the merrier. But Robin can handle 'em, I want in on the road trip."
"Kay. Choose five of your best girls, and we'll have Willow send… maybe three of her little mini wiccans?"
"Sounds good. I think Xander wants to go too. What about Angel's crew?" Buffy shook her head, closing the file once more.
"Nah, they're busy with their new law firm thingy. Sides, I want us all to get a taste of how everyone works within the new and expanded Scoobies." The slayers both stood, headed towards the steps.
"So you're staying here?" Faith asked, walking backwards up the stairs to look at Buffy. "With Angel?" The blonde sent her a half-hearted glare.
"I've got work to do here. And besides, I've had enough Hellmouth for a while. You can handle this fine on your own."
"Wait a second," Faith stopped with her hand on the doorknob, "You putting me in charge?" Buffy rolled her eyes, pushing gently passed her to open the door.
"Well, duh." Faith hesitated on the steps a moment longer, memories of a certain explosion making her decidedly uneasy. Then a slow, devilish grin slid across her face.
"Wicked."