Faith was having trouble falling asleep. She was having trouble wrapping her head around the fact she was in a freakin' mansion! In a big, comfy bed. 'How did this become my life,' she thought, 'first some mystical whosit somewhere picks me to be some kinda superhero, still think Slayer is a stupid name, and now I'm in a big, comfy bed in a mansion! How did a street kid from Boston end up here?!'
'And all that stuff they laid on me. D was good to me, but the Council sounds like a buncha stuck up asses.'
'They said they knew D was dead. Does that mean they know about Kakistos too? They didn't say anything, but I'm the one that wanted to stop talking. I don't think keeping it from them is a very good idea. I'll have to tell them tomorrow.' Having made that decision, Faith fell into a troubled sleep, images of D dieing and Kakistos chasing her blended into a nightmare that had her waking up gasping. Then trying to fall back asleep. Eventually, she managed some sleep and morning came all too soon.
She stumbled into the shower and then dressed before heading downstairs. She followed her nose to the smell of food. A big spread had been laid out. Scrambled eggs and pancakes. Xander had stayed over, (obvious since even as far down the hall as she had been from them, she still had been able to hear them, Cordelia was um loud). Faith smirked when she saw them. "Is he as good as he sounded?"
Xander froze for a moment before carefully swallowing. Cordelia smirked back. "Yes, why do you think I let him get away with stealing kisses." Xander's ears went bright red.
"Anyway, we thought you could come to school with us and meet the rest of the Pack, as well as, Jesse, Xander's best friend and Willow, who's like a sister to them. Jesse's studying to be a Medicine Man and Magic user with Xander's grandmother, she's the Tribes' Medicine Woman and Willow as we said yesterday, is training to be a Research Watcher."
"Sure, no problem. Um, I don't know if the Council told you how D, um Diana, my Watcher died. A big, ugly and really old vamp named Kakistos got her. I managed to hurt him and got away. But he's been chasing me. I've seen him like 4 or 5 times since I left Boston. I don't know if he'll find me here, but I thought I should tell you."
"They didn't tell us any of that. We'll have to let the others know. In the meantime, we can see about getting you some armor and something besides a stake to use when hunting." Xander said. "We use two kinds of armor. A lightweight one that fits under our clothes for patrolling and a heavier set that goes over our clothes for close quarters fighting or if we're going into something big."
"You're going to just give me armor. What do you want in return?"
"Nothing, it's the Tribes' gift to us and that includes you. Jesse, Willow and Giles have a set too. So did Buffy, but she didn't use it the night she died. She wasn't thinking clearly at that point. Not that I blame her, she was overwhelmed."
"Okay, guess it can't hurt."
After breakfast, the three climbed into Cordelia's car and headed over to the school. Xander had called the Pack and Jesse and Willow the night before and had them assemble in the library and introduced them to Faith. After which she filled them in on Kakistos. They were sympathetic about Diana and promised to help if Kakistos showed up.
Faith hung out in the library with Giles while everyone else was in class. She was bored and at lose ends, when Giles offered to spar with her. Eager for something to do, she agreed. She was pleasantly surprised. While he lacked Slayer power, he still knew what he was doing. It was a good work out and kept her busy for awhile. The others wandered in and out of the library during their free periods, doing homework, talking to her and Giles and working to make her feel welcome. She appreciated it.
After classes let out everyone gathered in the library to discuss Kakistos and make tentative plans for if he showed up. Faith filled them in on everything she knew about him and Trick, his chief follower. It unfortunately, wasn't much, but Giles assured her every little bit could help.
Afterward the Pack invited her to go patrolling with them and she agreed. She wanted to see how they did it. She watched as they put on what they called the light armor. It went under their clothes. They strapped on their weapons. Xander had a sword strapped to his back. Cordelia had a fancy double bladed staff weapon. Tor had claws, of all things. Heidi had sais. Rhonda sharpened tonfa and Kyle had an ax strapped to his back.
Patrolling was fairly uneventful. They dusted vamps, but nothing else stuck its ugly head out. Xander and Cordelia took her to introduce her to Willy. Finally, something familiar. Snitches are a universal thing. She was amused by the sign over Willow, Jesse and Giles pictures. "Off limits, unless tired of existing."
"Anyone take it as a challenge?"
"Occasionally, but Jesse's gotten good at fireballs and Willow never goes anywhere alone. So it hasn't really been anything to worry about." Xander answered.
After a couple of hours they headed back to Cordelia's where Faith once again found herself in a big, comfy bed, in a freakin' mansion! 'This is going to take some getting used to.' She thought, before finally falling asleep.