"Instructor Wyndham-Price? Headmistress Frost said I should ask you about new developments in my weapons training?" Amara's voice was curious, unmistakable with her Latin accent.

Wesley smiled at her, a corner of his mind fighting the urge to gloat over a student who had Latin as her native tongue. Not a language learned early, not one she was quite familiar with, her actual honest native tongue, the one she thought in, the one she'd used when learning her earliest concepts and ethics. Just giving her sword lessons had quadrupled his ability to use Latin profanity, to say nothing of the increasing complexity and creativity of the insults.

"I hope this conversation isn't about to become very awkward. How much have you been told about monsters? Demons, ghosts, blood-drinking walking corpses and the like?" Wesley figured the best way to start discussing demon-fighting strategy would be to figure out what sort of knowledge she already had.

"I was raised with stories of demons and monsters out there. The place of my childhood was ruled by a person who was called a dark goddess, she fed upon the life of her subjects, leaving her chosen meals little more than withered husks. Since I have been here, many have tried to say the monsters of the old stories are not real, but," Amara shrugged. "I know she is real. It would be foolish to assume there is nothing dangerous but not quite as dangerous as her. Hopeful, but foolish. I do not wish to be a fool."

"Quite sensible. I presume you have kept quiet about these stories and suspicions to avoid having people tell you that you are being foolishly naïve and that monsters aren't real?" Wesley resisted the urge to rub his hands together in glee. Not only did she speak Latin, she could use a sword and had a sensible view on demons! The only way she could be more perfect was if she could destroy vampires with a wave of her hand. Very disturbing news about some sort of life-draining creature preying upon her homeland, and it would normally be advisable to alert a Watcher to have something done about her, but he was forbidden any contact with the Council. Surely there would be local Watchers wherever that region was, surely they would notice and take actions.

"You know things, do you not? Can you help me prepare in case I encounter some of those dangers?" Amara's eyes were focused on him.

Wesley handed her one of his volumes of lore, with a chapter on vampires and another on werewolves, and three on magical problems. It was one of the volumes written in Latin, and he'd always felt the writer had been very stuffy and smug. "Read this later. It contains enough material to serve as an introduction. For now, we have a sword lesson. My own training in weapons was partly to teach me the skills to kill such problems and partly to encourage me to be fit enough to fight or retreat as the situation requires."

"Does Headmistress Frost want us to be hunting such dangers?" Amara tucked the book into her backpack.

"I would not presume to guess at her longer range plans. She asked me to help increase awareness of potential dangers, starting with her special students. With swords, decapitation will kill a vampire, as will severing the spinal cord between the brain and the heart. While cutting tendons will not kill a vampire, it will impede their abilities to fight or flee, making a killing strike easier. If not killed, if they find shelter from the sun, they will eventually heal, and likely seek gruesome, bloody vengeance," Wesley replied.

"There are quite a few people who try to predict what Headmistress Frost will do," Amara spoke softly, her face solemn. "We generally call them fools."

"While I do not claim to be a genius or a sage, I try not to do things I know are foolish," Wesley knew his tone had gained a bit of an edge. "While lack of sufficient background knowledge is always harmful, I try to correct that as quickly as possible."

"Someone sent you into a situation uninformed?" Amara tucked her things away, voice soft. "Some people did similar things to me when I first arrived. She told me not to retaliate with full force. Soft hearted laws against killing stupid people…"

"Foreign countries often have laws we find unfamiliar or strange," Wesley admitted. "There were several I found troubling when I first arrived from England. You'll do best if you try to follow them while you learn, especially learn why those laws exist and how they would be changed if you find them quite intolerable."

"What did you find?" Amara looked curious.

"Some of the more frustrating ones aren't part of the official legal code, they are the informal social customs of an area. Ignoring them is possible, if you're willing to pay the price in reactions, and perhaps lessened opportunities. Other times there are ways around laws, especially if those in power also find them foolish, antiquated, or useless. Sometimes what sounds excellent in concept executes very poorly," Wesley paused before adding, "I suspect the proper thing for me to say is that a proper young lady would learn and obey all of the local laws and customs."

Amara giggled, sparks dancing around her golden hair.

"A proper lady should learn and appear to follow all the local laws. Remember that," Wesley waved a finger. "Whatever else she may say or expect, I very much doubt Headmistress Frost wants her special students gaining a reputation as law-breakers. Frequently, without witnesses or evidence, nothing happened. Even if it did."

"That I learned a long time ago," Amara sighed. "It worked like that at home. Especially for the families with power."

"America is far less likely to have inherited, entrenched power than some other countries, but it does exist. Be aware of it, even or especially if the laws do not support or mention such things. America is said to be the land of equality and opportunity, but it seems some people are more equal than others, and some have more opportunities," Wesley tried not to drift back into the ugly memories of his father. Of being cast out.

Amara nodded. "You give good advice."

"I try. Not that I always succeed," memories of Sunnydale flooded his mind, and Wesley shuddered. "I also try to learn from my mistakes."

End part 8.