"Really."
"Yes! I must say, for a tropical island, it seems terribly strange that there are coniferous trees everywhere."
"Uh-huh."
"Though I suppose it's better for us. More dead logs. Less prickly to carry about. Though perhaps coconut trees would be lighter than fir trees. And perhaps a tad drier as well… likely burn far better than the samples we've collected."
"Far better."
Wesley peered around nervously as the trees thickened. There was suddenly significantly less light shining through. "This is an intriguing bit of woods. I wonder why the trees grow so much thicker here." He paused. "It's nothing a… a rogue demon hunter can't handle, but I do wonder… sometimes…" An owl seemed to hoot from above and Wesley jumped and clung to Xander's shoulder, who promptly dropped all his firewood.
"Here. Take this and go back to the others. I'll keep searching and see what I can see," Xander told him, giving him the firewood. Wesley dipped slightly under the weight of the pile but found his footing.
"Good plan!" Wesley said, turning and walking back the way he came. He stood for a second and considered which way they'd come. He promptly turned left, walked for a bit and realized it was the wrong way, grinning back at Xander as he passed. Xander raised his eyebrows at the extreme dorkishness of Wesley and continued forward.
The further Xander went into woods, the darker they became. He looked up and noticed that there was a total roof of branches above his head. If Spike hadn't already found a cave, Xander would probably have informed him of this area. Oh God. Did I just consider being kind to Spike? This island must really be weird. First I'm jealous of him for being close to Buffy, which is a change from being disgusted beyond all measure about Spike, and from being over Buffy for a few years now. Now I'm potentially being considerate—
Xander looked up and stopped dead in his tracks. He remained perfectly still and perfectly silent. A wave of light had just shone over the trees. He had seen each of them in detail for a moment, and then the darkness had been restored. He waited. Another shimmer passed. It was like a wave of light was coming from somewhere within the dark and was washing over the rest of the island from a central point. Xander started walking again, carefully, slowly, ignoring the voice at the back of his mind telling him to run in the other direction. More light passed. He was getting closer. He took another step—And disappeared completely from view as another wave passed over him.
MEANWHILE…
Oz jumped down from a tree with a boar in hand. Buffy scrunched her nose as Oz threw the meat by the fire and sat down beside her. "Sorry. I'll deal with it in a minute."
"Tired?" Buffy asked.
"Starting to be." He shook his head. "Look, I'm sorry I frightened you a couple nights ago."
"Don't be. I'm getting used to wolfy Oz."
"It's getting more intense because the full moon is four nights away. After it's over I think I'll settle down a bit."
"No worries. Did Spike find you?"
"No. Was he looking?"
"He said he was. Did you sense him in the woods at all?"
Oz thought for a moment. "It's hard to sense a vampire, but if I had I would have gone to him."
Buffy frowned. "Hm."
"Where are the others?" Oz asked.
"Down by the beach. Dawn went swimming."
Oz raised his eyebrows. "On this island?"
"Yeah. Tara and Kennedy are watching over her to make sure she doesn't get abducted by a giant squid or something."
"Good…" Oz was interrupted by Xander as he appeared right in front of them. "…plan."
Xander peered around, looking as though he was intensely concentrating on something. "Oh… kaaaay…"
"Hey Xand," Buffy said lightly, looking at him with raised eyebrows. "What's going on?"
"I… couldn't tell you."
"Oh. Okay."
"I… have to go back there now."
"Back where?"
"Again with the I couldn't tell you. I was looking for the source of the funny light, and I took a step and then I was here."
"Funny light?"
"Yeah. Like a wave or something, coming from the middle of the island and… whooshing across the rest of it. Look, I can't explain… you really have to see it to believe it."
Buffy glanced at Oz. "I guess we'd better go, then. Where's Wesley?"
Xander frowned. "What do you mean?"
"He was with you."
"No… I sent him back with the firewood at least a half hour before I was poofed."
Buffy looked worried. "He should have been back by now."
Oz glanced around. "I'll go get the others."
"Thanks," Buffy said distractedly. She realized that she didn't know where Spike was, either; if he hadn't been in the woods looking for Oz, there was no other real explanation for where he could be. That's two tribe members missing. Not a good sign.
Dawn, Tara and Kennedy joined the small circle. Dawn was soaking but looked a lot cooler than the rest of them. Buffy was jealous. "Okay, guys. We have two missing tribe members and a strange light occurrence to investigate. Dawn and Tara, stay here in case Wesley does eventually find his way back to camp. Kennedy, you and Oz go with Xander to figure this light thing out. I'm going to go look for Spike and Wesley in the woods. It's still morning; let's all meet back here in what feels like a few hours to regroup."
MEANWHILE…
"I'm bored," Cordelia whined.
"Then go find something to do," Faith answered annoyedly.
"There's nothing to do!"
"Sure there is," Anya provided. "Go get firewood. Go find food, since Angel sucked all the blood out of what we had.""That sounds hard and stuff."
Faith blinked hard and set her jaw. "Excuse me, I'm just gonna go pitch the idea of voting Cordelia off to Angel."
"Okay, okay. Fine, I'll go. Geez." Cordelia got up off the sand and started walking towards the woods. "The least anyone could do was help me. Why should I have to go get food? It's not like I'm the least slackerish person on the island. Last time I went into the woods, killer bees chased me out and then almost made me drown. I think that would make anyone phobic…" Cordelia continued muttering to herself, but fortunately, no one else was within earshot.
MEANWHILE…
Buffy ascended the slope up to Spike's cave. He was stretched out along the far edge of the cave, shirt serving as a pillow.
"Oz didn't sense you in the woods," Buffy stated quietly as she entered.
"I didn't sense you either until you were two feet away," Spike responded without opening his eyes. "I looked. He was wolfing about someplace. The sun was coming up, so I came here." He turned his head and opened one eye to regard Buffy sleepily. "He's not a threat, really. Not yet. In a few days it might be another story."
"I know. I want to keep an eye on him anyway, though, and he wants me to keep an eye on him."
"Then why aren't you the one keeping an eye on him?"
"You know why."
"If you want something done right, you do it yourself, right?"
"I trust you." She said it without thinking. Spike sat up and looked directly at her. They remained in silence for a few minutes.
"That's a start, then," he said quietly, and lay back down.
"You sound tired."
"I am. Haven't slept well in a few days. I don't usually need sleep, but the challenges are draining."
"Sorry I woke you."
"I'm not."
Buffy cracked a dim smile. "Anyway. I've still got to go and find Wesley. He's missing. You haven't seen him or anything, have you?"
"No. Under normal circumstances I'd be able to tell you the general idea of where he is from here, but I can't sense a sodding thing."
"Oh well. Thanks anyway." She turned and started to walk from the cave.
"I can take care of myself, pet," he said quietly. She stopped in her tracks.
"I know."
"Then why did you come here before you went to look for Watcher Junior?"
Buffy didn't have an answer to that. Spike felt a change in the air around her and he realized that it was compassion. Usually that feeling, especially from her, was a lot stronger. He hated this island. "You've got to make a decision, Buffy. This island can't be for real; if we know the future, we'll get back home and try to change it. So make a decision. Either be with me or don't, but stop sending me mixed signals. I'm not sure I can take much more of it."
Buffy stood for a moment longer, and then continued down the hill. Spike smiled ever so slightly and rolled over. He fell asleep almost instantly.