A/N: I thought about dropping this story but since I already wrote a part of this chapter I just finished it. Don't know if I'm gonna go on with it though.
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"Oh fuck!" Faith yelled getting up from the floor. "Beginner's luck my ass!" That was the third time the woman had knocked her down. Yes, she was blindfolded, but she was a Slayer for fuck's sake. Why the hell wasn't she sensing her attacks faster? After the first time she just assumed she wasn't concentrated enough, so she got up and focused on the exercise. The second time she couldn't stop the curse falling from her lips. Asking how she did that only provoked a small chuckle from Tina and a lighthearted response of "Beginner's luck".
But that was before Faith found herself on the floor again. This was quickly becoming the most embarrassing practice she ever had. The woman was good; better then good to be honest. She moved without a sound, even for Faith's enhanced slayer hearing. She was obviously a nice strategist. Whenever the Slayer thought she figured out all of her tactics, her Watcher would produce a completely new one. And the next thing she knew, her back would make a loud contact with the ground.
After the fourth and the fifth time this happened Faith lost it. Getting back on her feet, she took the blindfold off and glared at the woman standing in front of her. "What the fuck are you!" Before Tina had the chance to answer the Slayer went on. "Don't even think of saying human! I know what humans are capable of and everything you did in the last hour and a half goes way beyond that." After letting another irritated breath she continued, talking more to herself then her companion. For her part Tina just smiled and let the girl fume. "I mean I would sense if you were a demon. Or at least I think I would. After today I wouldn't be surprised if all my senses had gone to hell. Maybe that's your doing, screwing up my slayer powers. Fuck, I can't believe I'm babbling. I'm starting to sound like Red, or B. Fuck!" She sucked in a lung full of air and exhaled slowly. When she felt marginally calmer she forced her attention back on her new Watcher.
"The tirade over?" Tina asked not showing any obvious emotion. Feeling a bit embarrassed Faith just nodded her head. "Good. As much as you want to know the whole story, I think I'll leave it for another time. For now, all you need to know is that your senses are working just fine. And while I'm not exactly human, I'm not a demon either." The quiet buzzing from Tina's bag stopped any other comment. She went over and took out a small golden cell-phone. Looking at the caller's ID she turned to Faith "I have to take this one. Go wait for me in Angel's office." With that she walked away from the Slayer.
Faith shook her head and went to take a shower. This was probably the shortest training she had and still she felt every muscle in her body scream with exhaustion. Plus she felt kinda crappy for pissing the woman off. Was it so important what she was? She's been pretty cool since the moment they met, and besides, Angel wouldn't have called her if she was a threat in any way. Why didn't she just except the fact that she was a worthy opponent and kept her mouth shut? "Now she'll think I have an attitude problem to go with my pathetic combat skills." After thinking about what she'd just said, she chuckled a little. "Since when's my attitude not been a problem? And for fuck's sake, why do I care so much what she thinks?"
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"So, how was the work-out?" Angel asked as soon as the Slayer closed the door behind her.
"Well, after today, I'd expect her to put a stake through your heart for wasting her time." Faith said sinking in a comfy chair.
"Why? What did you do?"
"Nothin. I think that's kinda the whole point. She kicked my butt royally."
"Oh, come on. I'm sure it's not that bad." he said trying to cheer her up.
"Angel, all the guys I screwed combined didn't keep me on my back that long! God, this is such a disaster." After releasing a frustrated sigh she heard a faint sound of approaching footsteps. There was a light tap on the door and Tina walked in.
"Sorry, that was an important call" she said taking a seat next to Faith. Looking across the desk at Angel she added "and it's something I'd like to discuss with you later if you don't mind."
Before the Vampire could answer Faith stood up. "Ya know what, I'm gonna go take a walk. Breathe some fresh air, kill a few vamps, and you two can have your talk." With that she went for the door.
"Faith." Tina waited till the girl turned around "Could you postpone your patrol for a while. I would very much like to go with you tonight."
'Great. She didn't humiliate me enough earlier. Now she's saying I shouldn't go slaying alone. Just fuckin great!' Although she was fairly sure she kept her expression neutral, her prolonged pause caused both Angel and Tina to raise their eyebrows in question. "Cours. I'll just go and see what Harmony's up to." She said a bit too sweetly. She turned around and quietly left the office.
"Faith!" She was greeted by a very exited Fred and always cool looking Gun. "Is the training over? How was it? Was she ok? You didn't hurt her, right? Cause she's a watcher, and I know you don't like watchers but maybe she's a good watcher, like Wesley or Mr. Giles, you know. And you should at least give her a chance…"
"And maybe you should make a quick stop and breathe in some air honey." Gun said putting a hand on his girlfriend's shoulder.
"Oh, right. Sorry. So how was it then?" She asked not taking her eyes off the dark Slayer.
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After watching the door for a moment longer, Tina turned to Angel, smile gracing her lips.
"So I take it you're not angry?" Angel asked slightly relieved at the notion.
"Why would I be angry?" The Goddess asked honestly surprised.
"Well, Faith thinks the training was a disaster. She's convinced she disappointed you on so many levels you'll just take your frustration out on me." After a shared chuckle he turned serious again "So your overall impression of her isn't that bad?"
"Actually, it's not bad at all. She has excellent instincts and reflexes, her fighting skills are well developed and her wild temper that I heard so much about is either exaggerated or nicely tamed. Either way, she has admirable control and concentration. She has all the components of a great Slayer. They just need a bit of polishing."
"Excellent. But I'm guessing you didn't tell her who you are."
"No, and I don't intend to. At least not for a while." After repositioning herself slightly in the chair, Tina went on "That's the thing I want to work on the most. I want her to learn to read her opponents while confronting them. She needs to start thinking while fighting, not just going on her previous experience and training."
"What about the whole 'Watchers do the research, Slayers do the fighting' rule? Isn't that the whole point of Watcher-Slayer relationship?" Angel asked confused.
"Well yes. That would be the traditional way of the Council. But I highly doubt you'd call me if you wanted a standard Watcher." They both shared a smile at that. "Honestly Angel, you know I never liked their way of doing things. They were creating mindless killing machines whose sole purpose in life was to fight till they die. That's the last thing I want for Faith. I want her to use her own head. She needs guidance, not control."
"Yeah, I agree." Thinking for a second he nodded his head "All right, I'll leave it in your capable hands. But just have one thing in mind. She might look tough on the outside, but underneath she's very emotional. And her self-esteem was never very high so…"
"So I won't bully her if she makes a mistake and I'll be more than happy to commend her if she does well. Will you stop worrying so much?" She asked laughing.
"Fine, fine! If you insist!" The brooding expression might've been more convincing if there wasn't a slight curving of his lips. "Enough of that. What was the phone call about?"
"Artemis. She and Aphrodite went to England to talk to the head of the Council, Rupert Giles if I'm not mistaking." After getting a confirmative nod she continued "I want to see if anything's changed since Travers. The balance between good and evil has gone to hell after that spell so I'm guessing those girls will need lots of people in their corner."
"Hmm, you and Artemis want to help training them?"
"I'm sure Artemis wants it. I'll stick to one slayer for the time being. But we are probably going to need help convincing Mr. Giles to go along with it. I understand they didn't have a pleasant experience encountering a Goddess before."
Grimacing slightly Angel nodded. "I get your point. I'll call Giles and see what I can do."
"Great! Well, I think I left our young friend to brood long enough. I should really get going before she decides I'm just not worth the wait."
Smiling, Angel followed her to the door.
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Despite herself Faith was beginning to feel a bit better. This was what she always craved for. To have someone who would support her even when she wasn't at her best. All the time she spent in Sunnydale, watching Buffy and the Scoobies, she never felt as part of the group. Even the last time, before the fight with the First, she felt more like a third wheel. She knew she was there just to be a backup for Buffy but it still hurt. But for these people she was the Slayer. Even when she screwed up, she was still the one and only. It was a new and strange experience and she was just learning to enjoy it.
This was her group, these people were her friends and they were doing their best to cheer her up. Even Harmony sitting at her desk, filling her nails. She was a poor replacement for Queen C but she was trying her best to fit in. And maybe that was the whole point. They were all outsiders one way or the other. They weren't old friends from childhood, or best buddies sworn to fight side by side. They were outcasts thrown on the same road, former enemies forced to become allies. None of them was perfect, so none of them expected perfection from the others. For Faith not being constantly reminded of past sins was more then she would dare ask for. And the true compassion she felt from the Fang Gang was a pure bonus. With these people, maybe for the first time in her life, she felt truly at home.
"Oh, come on. I'm sure it's not that bad. And I'm sure there is a good side to all of this that you just can't see at the moment." Fred said trying to stay positive.
"Oh, I can see the good side!" When she was sure she had everyone's attention Harmony continued "After today she'll think you're a complete loser, so whatever you do, it can't get any worse then that." She finished proudly, surprised by the murderous looks Fred and Gun were throwing her way. "What?"
"Well that's one way to look at it. I doubt even I can fuck this up more then I already did." The Slayer said leaning on the edge of Harmony's desk.
"That's soooo not what I meant!" Fred whined glaring at Harmony.
Faith just chuckled. "Relax girl. I'll get myself outa this somehow. For now I'll do my best and keep my mouth shut and we'll see how it goes."
"Yes, and if that doesn't work, you can always go back to your 'get some, get gone' philosophy." Harmony said not taking her eyes of her nails. "Since you already think she's so hot, you can just screw her brains out and skip town afterwards."
Laughing at this Faith was about to answer the blonde Vampire when she noticed Fred and Gun frantically shaking their heads. After hearing a discreet cough, she turned to face the duo standing behind her. The Slayer couldn't really read their expressions so she just averted her eyes downward and took a deep calming breath. 'Guess I can fuck it up more after all.'
"Ok, well we should really be going. We have things to do, places to be, demons to kill." Gun was saying ushering a red-faced Fred out of the room. "See ya later Faith. And good luck." He added before finally disappearing.
"I need to get this to Wesley to sign, really urgent, no time to waste." Harmony grabbed the first file she could find and practically ran for Wesley's office.
"Well, since I'm absolutely sure you know what you're doing, I'll just leave you to it. Faith, have fun slaying tonight." Whit that Angel made two steps back and closed the door to his office.
'So much for the friendly support' Faith thought keeping her eyes down. She knew that if she were to look up she would see a very pissed off and disappointed Watcher. It was the image she already had engraved in her memory from all the other people she failed. She didn't need another reminder.
"And then there was one." She heard her new Watcher say with such an obvious amusement that she risked a glance at the woman. To her surprise, she found a warm smile and a pair of caring eyes looking back at her.
"What on earth am I going to do with you, child?" Tina asked not really expecting an answer. 'This is certainly going to be an interesting challenge.' She thought looking at a confused Slayer who suddenly looked much younger without her cocky grin and bad girl attitude.
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