"I got a date with Owen." Buffy happily informed Willow.

"I didn't get a date with Fitz." Willow returned. "No sparkage on either side, I'm afraid, he has more sparkage with a computer and I don't mean the computer short circuited, I mean Fitz takes being a computer nerd to near scary levels. Maybe even full on scary. It's possible he thinks cyberspace is reality, I'm not sure, I bailed five minutes into his very impassioned speech on the wonders and joys of the advances in computers. I like computers, I don't love them. I'm pretty sure Fitz does."

"Misfire than, I'm sorry, Willow." Buffy sympathized, it happened to everyone, her more often since the Slayer thing started than before and definitely enough for her to sympathize with her new friend. "But you can't give up, somewhere out there is guy who will understand what a jewel you are and we'll keep looking."

"On the plus side, I have been getting compliments on my new look, so thank you for helping me with that."

"You do look good and people are noticing." Buffy checked out what Willow was wearing today, a rust colored top and darker skirt, the colors worked well with her shade of red hair and showed the fact that she actually had a figure, slight as it was, because it didn't hang on her like a potato sack without being form fitting or revealing even a hint of cleavage, both of which would have really pushed Willow's comfort zone. Buffy absently noted Willow had a slight flush to her checks that also looked good on her and wondered what caused it. "You're blushing." Buffy realized. "A particularly nice compliment came your way? Maybe from a cute boy?"

"A few compliments, but it's been a little while, I'm not sure why I blushed just now. Anyway, anything on the mantis ladies?"

"Cordelia said her dad agreed to help them after hearing her out last night when she called him, beyond that I don't know. We can ask her later. We should get to class, we can ask her when we see her or Alex, since she probably already told him." The two headed off to class and Willow get a few double takes as people took in her new look, it was only her second or third day wearing the new clothes, but most people hadn't really noticed anything before, but today it was sinking in, it was Willow Rosenberg dressing like that and she looked good.

They didn't see Cordelia or Alex until lunch and they both agreed to meet everyone in the classroom turned meeting room to discuss the situation with the mantis ladies.

"So, your father really is going to help them?" Giles asked.

"Yes, there's no proof they've killed, Margo agreed to a truth spell and assured them aside from when she had Kami, she hasn't been going around seducing and killing boys. They did intend to do it here in Sunnydale so Kami, who's old enough to begin producing the pheromones that also signal she's got eggs ready to be fertilized, could kill, but they hadn't done anything more than grab a couple of guys. It's a confession, but it's not legally binding or anything and they also agreed to not try again and allow the testing and exploration of other possibilities. Margo did admit to killing Dr. Gregory because she's an actual Science teacher and it was a convenient cover for her. They had no idea how long it would take Kami to actually achieve the goal, she only has a short window of time each time and they'd have had to try again until it actually worked."

"I wonder how they managed to evolve given what's needed for them to reproduce?" Giles considered the possibilities. "Or this is an adaptation, perhaps. Something may have happened to their males and they had to find an alternative in order to continue their race. That makes more sense, they are mantis shifters and mantis' have both males and females. Granted the insect versions also consume their mates, but only their mates, not every male they encounter, so they may have had an established behavior and it simply carried over. We may never know."

"They don't know." Alex agreed. "They've been doing it this way for so long, they don't remember any other way. Anyway, she's going to be our new Science teacher, she's fully qualified and she's committed to changing and regrets the necessity of prior actions. She starts next week. Anything new with anyone else since yesterday?"

"Just that I wish to establish a time to evaluate you in the field, Buffy." Giles informed her.

"Tomorrow, I have a date tonight."

"I think the battle against the forces of darkness is more important than a social life, Buffy." He said disapprovingly.

"Giles," Cordelia glared at him. "remember when Alex told you that my father would only allow her to hunt in Sunnydale if it benefits her to do so, not you and your agenda? This is one of those instances where it doesn't benefit her and guilting her into being your weapon, instead of a girl, doesn't in anyway benefit her. Her date will be at the Bronze, it's the only place to have it and I'm sure she'll be alert for any vamps that show up and she can deal with them. You can do your evaluation on a night she doesn't try to have a life outside of being your tool, got it?"

"Yes," Giles said stiffly. "I've got it."

"Good, than the only other thing we have to report is Kami really will be attending Kent Prep and Blaine is unconsciously taking full advantage of the willful avoidance spell to completely repress last night." Alex grinned somewhat ruefully. "But somehow a rumor has gotten started that he's not just a jerk who claims to have slept with a lot of girls and brags about it, he's actually a liar and is a virgin. Girls already avoided him because they didn't want him talking about them, now they're laughing at him too."