"A dead cat, Giles! A dead cat. It ran into the room and jumped up on the table in front of us." Buffy ranted.
"You're certain it was dead?" Giles asked.
"Aside from the fact that it was missing significant potions of its body, there is also the fact that mom and I found it in the basement this morning and buried it in the backyard. So yes, I'm sure it's dead."
"Okay, so Pet Cemetery come to life." Xander snarked. "What makes dead animals move on their own, Giles?"
"Some spells can do it."
Everyone looked at Willow.
"What? I've been good. Anna, the teacher Giles found for me, threatened to bind my ability to cast Magic if she ever found out I went, as she put it, off script. She's as adamant as all of you about me following the rules. She spent over an hour detailing all the ways Magic can go wrong and another hour listing the rules. I haven't even cast a spell yet. She wants me to memorize the rules first and study why those rules were created. I didn't do this, I promise, guys."
"Well, she's right about Anna's methods of teaching. It's why I chose her as a teacher for Willow in the first place. As frustrating as Willow might find it to learn slowly and carefully, in the end it'll make her a far better and more responsible witch." Giles informed them.
"Willow's out as a suspect." Xander said. "Doesn't mean Magic wasn't used. What else is a possibility, Giles?"
"Talismans, cursed objects, items dedicated to gods of the walking dead. Unfortunately, there's quite a few possibilities. If it is at all possible, catching the cat in question would allow me to run tests on it. I'll purchase a cage."
"Where was it last seen, Buffy?" Xander asked.
"Running into my mom's bedroom." She answered. "I shut the door behind it. Mom's even more unhappy."
"Can't really blame her. Dead animal smell lingers." Again Xander was snarking, they were all feeling a little uncomfortable with a Scooby meeting so soon and little having been resolved yet with Buffy.
"I'll be back shortly." Giles promised and headed out to his car.
The group sat in awkward silence.
"So Xander, Willow says you're not exactly normal anymore. That doesn't mean you can't have a normal life. You don't need to keep Slaying, especially now that I'm back."
"Whether you're here or not, Buffy, we're going to continue Slaying. It's not your call, we've each made that decision for ourselves. One person can't do it alone and shouldn't have to. If you don't want to patrol with us, that's your choice. But us hunting, that's our choice."
"You can't be serious. Why, Xander? Why do you insist on doing something that's dangerous and stupid?"
"Just living in this town is dangerous, Buffy. Hell, living in L.A. with human crime is dangerous. Surviving life is dangerous. Just because you fight being involved doesn't mean the rest of us have to. I get that you aren't given a choice, but that doesn't mean you can take choice from the rest of us."
"I just want you guys safe." She protested.
"What you aren't getting Buffy, is that we're safer eliminating vampires then letting them go around killing people. And we do it in as a safe a way as possible. You saw what Cordy and I were wearing last night. A vampire can't bite through the neck guard, we know, they've tried. Its claws can't do more then scrape the vest. The helmet protects our heads if we fall. The weapons we use have proven very effective. Fourteen vampires between us last night. You normally get what? Three or four a night? Give our methods a try before you condemn them."
"You're really going to keep doing it even knowing I disapprove?"
"Your approval or disapproval doesn't affect our right to chose for ourselves. If your mother disapproved, it might make us reconsider, but not yours."
"But I'm the Slayer, Xander. I'm the authority when it comes to vampires."
"My gods look at the ego on you. First off, no you're not the Slayer, the Slayer's name is Faith Lahaine and she lives in Boston with her Watcher. The Slayer detection spell couldn't find you. You stopped being the Slayer when you died. You're now A Slayer. And an authority on fighting and dusting vampires. You're not an authority figure. You're not even a role model."
"I'm not the Slayer?"
"You were The Slayer, you died. Kendra was The Slayer. She died. Faith Lehaine is The Slayer. You're A Slayer. Whether you're The Slayer or not, you can't tell us what to do. We want to be friends, Buffy. You dictating terms to us doesn't endear us to you. Normal people fight and survive fighting vampires everyday. You're just going to have to accept the reality of that."
"I guess I will if I can't convince you to stop. But I'm on record as protesting that I think it's a bad idea."
"We've been doing it for months with no real problems, Buffy. Like I said, give our methods a chance before you condemn them."
Giles arrived back then and they all followed him up the stairs to Joyce's bedroom.
"We can't give it a chance to run past us." Xander said. "So only open the door wide enough to slip in. One at a time and last one in, closes the door. Anyone who manages to get close drops a blanket on it. It'll make it easier to catch and hold it."
Xander's plan worked and they were able to catch the cat. Figuring out what caused it to run around after being buried was easy too. The glowing red eyes in the mask hanging on Joyce's bedroom wall kinda made it a no brainer.