A/N: Not much to add at this point, thank you for reading, and special thanks for those who have reviewed.

The Dawning of Faith

Chapter 16

"Really dark chocolate, I think," Dawn answered, isomething close to the color of her hair…"

Faith appeared at breakfast on Monday along with everyone else. She made no mention of what she had done on Sunday, and Dawn decided not to ask. Dawn knew her well enough to know when she needed room, and cared for her enough to respect that.

But Dawn was worried; Faith seemed sort of – intense. Even for her.

Breakfast conversation centered on the effectiveness and potency of Willow's Elixir of Fire, and those who had been most in need of it were treated to their full share of taunting. In other words, it was a gathering of what seemed to be perfectly normal young people.

"We should have made these changes long ago, Faith," Buffy said in a low voice. "Look at them, last week they were wound so tight you could hear them humming. Funny how something as simple as a little time off can make such a difference, isn't it?"

"Centuries of tradition can be tough to shrug off, I guess," Faith answered. "What counts is what we do from now on. When you were alone in this there just wasn't the time, now there is, and we're all gonna live longer. No more throwing some scared green kid to the monsters. When they go out they'll be ready. And they won't be alone."

"And that can make all the difference. Dawn pulled off a great move on patrol last night, likely saved my ass," Buffy told her. "You're a great teacher, Faith. I know you'll do right by her."

"Yeah, yeah, for sure… see you on the field, Buff," said Faith as she rose to carry her dishes to the washer.

"Is something bothering Faith?" Buffy asked Willow.

"She's just got a lot on her mind I think," Willow replied, her eyes on Dawn's concerned face.

"I bet it's that girl, you know, the one she wants to keep to herself for a while."

"I bet it is too. I've got Kennedy working on getting folks set to go to the club on Wednesday; I'll have Giles talked into it by then too. We're working on something really exciting that Wes sent before, well, before."

"He wasn't really a bad guy," Buffy admitted, "I actually kind of miss him. Him and – it never goes away does it Will?"

"Nope. It never does. We've always got each other though."

"Kennedy is a lucky gal," Buffy said wistfully.

"Not that lucky, I snore and I hog the covers," Willow confessed. "I don't think we'll be together much longer to tell you the truth. We'll always love each other, but we have really different interests and stuff. If things hadn't been so intense when we met I don't think we'd ever have gotten together."

"Rebound girl?" asked Buffy.

"Kind of, I guess." Willow grinned, and it was the old Willow grin that had always warmed Buffy's heart. "I think she fell for my sexy black eyes."

"Well heck, who didn't?" laughed Buffy, and she missed the swift frown that clouded Willow's face for an instant. "Have fun with your book Will, see you later." Buffy did her part of the morning chores and headed out to warm up for her morning's work.

"Okay ladies," Amanda addressed the group, "give me five good laps and that's it for this morning. Who can tell me the prize you win if I see you dogging it?"

"Wind sprints!" chorused the group.

"Bet your ass," Amanda promised them, and she led the way to the track.

"They look good this morning," Giles said to Buffy, "more at their ease."

"Yeah, they do. The new schedule is already paying off. So is the news about getting paid, you should have been head of the Council, Giles."

"Bugger the Council, those hidebound old relics sucked the life out of one Slayer after another. Playing their cruel games and pretending to have authority over those far greater than themselves. You rather corrected them on that score as I recall."

"They really were assholes," admitted Buffy, "but at least they invested well. How's that going?"

"Quite well, actually, I've managed to gain control of the pension fund for the higher ups. I'm actively ashamed of how large it is, but it will be put to good use now, to provide for you all."

"You're pretty special; you know that, don't you? We're lucky to have you," Buffy said as she laid her head on his shoulder.

"I expect that the good fortune is mutual. My word, it is a positive joy to watch Amanda run, isn't it?"

"They'll never catch her," Buffy said, "but they keep trying." A moment later a shorter form passed Amanda on the track and rapidly increased the gap.

"Good lord!" exclaimed Giles. "Who on earth is that?"

"Faith."

By the time the rest of them had finished the fifth lap Faith had passed them all again, and then rather than join them in walking to cool down, she bent her path towards the gym and vanished from sight.

"What do you suppose precipitated that?" Giles asked.

"I dunno, but if she's pissed off, I hope it's not at me. I better get to running or Amanda will punish me, see you later Giles." Buffy drew a few admiring glances as she ran, but everyone was mostly talking about Faith, and wondering what was up with her. Especially a slender redhead with blue eyes.

"Hi Dawnie, ready to go?" Faith asked cheerfully when Dawn entered the gym that afternoon.

Dawn looked around the room in wonder; one of the heavy punching bags was hanging from just one of its three chains and had a large hole in it. A wooden tree used to practice blocking form was broken in two, as were two of the striking pads. Faith's hair was matted with sweat, her clothes were soaked, her knuckles were scraped, and her face was alight. Dawn had never seen anything half so beautiful in her entire life, and she felt her insides turn to mush.

"I'm not sure," Dawn said hesitantly as she continued to catalog broken equipment, "are you going to kill me?"

"Nah, I was just working off a little steam, clearing out my head, like," Faith answered with a laugh. Then her teacher face came on.

"Okay, from what I've seen and from what Buffy told me, you can handle that thing pretty well against unarmed targets. And by that I mean things that are not carrying swords, axes, and stuff like that. All demons are always armed. You aren't finished that training, of course, and you never will be. Slayers train until they die, or they die too soon."

"I'm not a –"

"In this room you are a Slayer," Faith cut her off, "and what am I?"

"My instructor," answered Dawn.

"Damn skippy. We start today by working on blocking other weapons using your scythe, and you will be using the real thing this time. iThat/i you can hurt me with. You could kill me in an instant, but there is enough difference between that and the training scythe that I feel like we have to get you at least some practice with it. Clear?"

"Clear," Dawn responded.

"I'll be using these," Faith said, indicating a pile of sticks of various sizes and lengths. Most of them had some sort of foam padding on them in one place or another. "The idea is that I attack, and you block with the scythe; for right now, just block. Don't get carried away and counter unless you just want my head as a souvenir, kay?"

"Kay," Dawn said nervously.

"One last thing before we begin; I'll start slowly, but before we're done I'll have to make it kind of real. If you miss the block, it's gonna hurt. Put the pads on, and the headgear, and the goggles." Dawn complied, and she noticed that Faith had slipped on a kind of turtleneck made of metal mesh, followed by gloves of the same material, and she felt a bit more at ease then.

"Try to block with the flat of the blade, or the body of the scythe, to protect the edge. Your weapon is not magical like the original. But take no chance of letting something through, it's tough and it can be replaced. Can you?"

"I hope not."

"Okay then," Faith said as she held up a stick, "this is a sword. Ready?"

"Ready," Dawn replied as she took her stance.

"Here we go…"

"Perhaps she simply decided to show the girls that she could run," Giles speculated later that afternoon as he and Buffy observed Dawn's training, "she certainly seems all right now. She's an excellent instructor, Dawn is fortunate to have her."

"Looks like she decided to redecorate a little, too," Buffy observed as she took in the breakage, "but you're right, Dawn is lucky to have her."

"I know that Faith is holding back some, but it's really amazing how well Dawn anticipates her moves. Look at that! That blow would have knocked her off her feet had she tried a hard block, and so she merely guided it away from her. Really Buffy, your sister is remarkably graceful, almost like a ballerina."

"She is a ballerina, and yet here she is, training in lethal weapons with the deadliest woman in the world. Ain't life funny?"

"A positive riot," agreed Giles as he pulled Buffy to his side and kissed her forehead, "there are times that I feel that God is a member of the Pythons."

"We all play the cards we have; I just want to see them happy. They both deserve to be happy."