"Xander, I need my suitcase. I'm sure my hair is a mess." Cordelia requested.
"Sure, no problem." He pulled it from its pocket and set it down on the floor of the cave. Cordelia immediately opened it and pulled out a case with a mirror and a brush in it and began brushing her hair. Xander pulled out his own case and set it down as well. "You can use that to sit on if you want, Miss Wells." He told her.
"Wade. And where did they come from?"
"A dimensional pocket. Very handy for storing things. Now, to get those collars off of you."
"That could be dangerous." The Professor warned him. "They require special equipment and just cutting them off could cause several traps built into the technology to go off."
"I don't need tools." Xander assured him and using his apportation ability - a combination transporting/telekinesis ability - dematerialized it and brought it to his hands. "There, solves that problem."
"How did you do that?" Quinn asked.
"Sort of a combo teleporting/telekinetic ability." Xander answered as he removed the rest of the groups collars.
"Oh, that feels better." Rembrandt said, as he felt around his neck and didn't find it.
"Are they adjustable? Or do they expect people not to gain weight? They seem awfully close fitting." Cordelia asked.
"They are adjustable." Quinn answered. "And they do fit awfully close at the same time."
"We're going to need a fire." Xander said. "Help me gather some rocks so we can contain it."
"Okay, that'll help if a dinosaur gets too close as well. Fire tends to scare animals, I don't imagine dinosaurs would be any different." Quinn agreed.
Once they had a complete circle of stones and a small pile of branches and leaves, Quinn dusted his hands off and said. "Do you have anything to light it with?"
"Yes." Xander held his hand over the pile and it lit up.
"You have some sort of technology embedded in your hand?" The Professor asked.
"No, just abilities."
"Abilities? You mean the telekinesis and the fire are just things you're able to do?" The Professor questioned.
"Yes, alot of people can. Learning how isn't the hard part, getting control is. Some abilities, like the telekinesis and pyrokinesis are easier for me to manage. The teleporting is nearly instinctive for both of us. Others take concentration. But I've got time. This little road trip could last decades, maybe even centuries, so there's no rush in getting there."
"Centuries? You expect to live for centuries?" Wade asked.
"All our people can." Xander answered. "Is anyone hungry? We don't have any food with us and I don't see you guys carrying any bags. We should probably hunt something."
"Oh, this will give me a chance to use my bow and arrows!" Cordelia said excitedly. "And show off my gorgeous quiver. It was a present from my mother." She pulled it out of its pocket as well, followed by the bow and the archery gloves. "She's a hunter herself and prefers bow hunting." Cordelia told their companions, who were becoming rather shell shocked.
"So, Cordy and I'll go get us something to eat, you guys stay cozy." And Xander and Cordelia headed out to find something to eat.
"It seems our new friends are full of surprises." The Professor said dryly.
A couple of hours later, Xander and Cordelia returned with a deer that Cordelia had successfully shot and Xander had cleaned, hopefully thoroughly enough since it was the first time he'd done it. Duncan had entertained them both with stories of hunting for survival and explained how to clean a kill.
"So we didn't see any signs of civilization." Xander said. "The ground slopes down into the woods. We managed to avoid several dinosaurs. But considering we caught a deer and they didn't exist at the same time as dinosaurs, maybe we're in some kind of nature preserve."
"You mean like they've figured out how to clone dinosaurs from preserved DNA samples like that Michael Crichton book, Jurassic Park?" Quinn asked. "I suppose it's possible. I mean if your reality is advanced enough to make dimensional pockets, then another reality could be capable of figuring out how to bring back extinct species. What kind of dinosaurs did you see?"
"Not alot actually. That one that might have been a T-Rex, and I recognized a stegosaurus, but nothing bigger then those two. Some ones that reminded me of ostriches, except no feathers, And alot of mammals, mostly deer species. Which makes sense, since they make good prey."
"I think they're my mother's favorite prey to hunt, aren't they, Xander?"
"Yeah, I think so."
"You don't know for sure what your mother's favorite prey to hunt is?" Wade asked.
"I was adopted. I only recently met my birth mother. Xander met his birth father at the same time."
"Both he and my foster father are head and shoulders better then the people who adopted me. Which is only one reason why I will not be returning to my hometown." Xander told them. "But I'm determined to make my father and foster father both proud of me. It's getting dark, we should set up a watch and take turns getting some sleep. How long until your timer says you guys slide out of here?"
"About fourteen more hours." Quinn said, checking his display.
"Well, how about I take first watch and wake you in two hours? Then Rembrandt and the Professor, that should get us though the night. If we needed a second night, the girls would have to stand a watch too." Xander grinned.
"I need my beauty sleep, Xander." Cordelia grinned back, waiting for him to pick up the bait.
"You could go a century without sleep and still be gorgeous, my Queen." He assured her. With smiles, they settled in for the night.