Fic: Shanshu 34: Extra-curricular

[dragonyphoenix]

Title: Extra-Curricular
Fandom: BtVS
Prompt: 464 - Coltish
Rating: PG
Summary: Another chapter for Shanshu
Word Count:1057

For all that Andrew's office was lined with walls of books, it didn't even come close to all the Watchery tomes held by the LA branch, which Andrew called the League of Extraordinary Watchers. At first Buffy had tried to squelch the name because it was far too long to say each time. Andrew and Xander had gotten it down to the League as a nickname although Buffy was still holding out for LA branch even though pretty much everyone else was fine with calling it the League. But back to the books. They took up an entire building. Buffy couldn't quite work out how anyone found the ancient tome or scroll or whatnot they were looking up. Granted modern books were hooked into the Dewey Decimal System but none of the tomes piled high on table or cart had call numbers. Not that she had to worry about finding the books. Andrew had a team of Slayers working on the research although it was sort of a mystery how a girl with seven piercings – and that was only her face – could stare at a book so long without going bonkers. Still it made a nice change from Giles expecting her to stare at dry and dusties, tomes that is, without pulling her own hair out except Andrew's approach sort of left her with nothing to do while everyone else was getting all extra-curricular.

Buffy grabbed another donut. She could be sleeping, but that'd put her in with Angel who wasn't sleeping at all but brooding, which would sort of end with her strangling him. That'd be okay except it wouldn't do any good. Strangulation was no way to kill a vampire. She leaned over Andrew's shoulder and he winced as a sprinkle or two, okay or maybe more than two, fell on his sacred ancient tome. “Maybe,” he said as he brushed the sprinkles onto a napkin, “you could evaluate one of our squads.”

One of the tables, granted not a table with books on it, was piled high with bagels, donuts, coffee, and orange juice. If Andrew was so concerned with his books, why'd he bring breakfast into the library? “Do your Slayers even patrol during the day?”

“Well, no,” Andrew conceded. “Demons do tend to be creatures of the night, sort of like Elvira except without the slinky dresses, or no, some of them do wear slinky dresses. There was this vampyress one night a few months back …”

“Andrew.” That was Zin, the Slayer with all the piercings. At least they were willing to shut down their Watchers even if they did go in for too much reading.

Andrew glanced at the Slayers. “All that pacing you're doing, it's distracting my girls.Maybe you could inspect their quarters sort of like in Galaxy Quest when Commander Taggart inspects the barrack, which are infinite, they sort of go on forever, and all the crew stands and salutes as he enters except the Slayers won't salute you as a group, even if you make it an order.”

Buffy figured that if the Slayers could still research while Andrew was babbling on, they pretty much wouldn't even be distracted by, say, a ten foot dragon rampaging through the library although maybe that would get their attention because dragons breathed fire and that would damage the books. “Your Slayers bunk in barracks?”

“Um, no. At first they were two to three in a room here or at the Hyperion but some of them have been moving out and getting places of their own although some of the girls do still bunk together but it's more because they want to now, which is a totally valid choice and not something I should even have an opinion on, not that I would voice one to say that they shouldn't be roomies or, you know, something even closer because that wasn't even what I'd been trying to say …”

Which is when Wesley burst through the doors and straight into a cart. He almost knocked it over as he fell but then he let go, apparently deciding his bones were worth less than a bunch of moldy old books which some days, yeah, Buffy agreed with but not on all days, and she certainly was never going to voice how clumsy he was. Just because she'd once called him coltish, there'd been no reason for Fred to get her warrior on and totally rampage over how the world coltish had connotations that meant undisciplined and incompetent which Wesley totally wasn't. Buffy had just meant he tended to knock things over. Stupid Word of the Day calendar.

Wesley rose to his feet and didn't even bother dusting his clothes, which meant it was something big, biggy-big. “They're gone.”

“Gone?”

“The artifacts.”

“The ones we brought with us?” Buffy asked. “The artifacts to Shanshu a vampire and use him to end the world? Those artifacts?”

“What other artifacts would I be bringing up?” Wesley certainly did have that Watchery disdain down. “One of the scrolls, written in a language related to proto-Mon-Khmer, mentioned something about an artifact that could cause a human's soul to scream in madness with a demon's tongue. Some of the linguistic markings led me to believe it could possibly refer to a Shanshued vampire. The scroll mentioned signs on an icon, markings which I believe match those on one of the artifacts we took from those demons in Rome. I went to the safe to compare the markings in the scroll to those on the artifact but something hit me from behind. When I woke, the artifacts were gone.”

“Gone?” Andrew asked. He was so nervous that, if Buffy hadn't known better, she'd have thought he'd never gone through an apocalypse before. “As in whatever's got them could be using them to end the world already?”

“Do we know how the ritual works?” Buffy asked.

“Not yet,” Zin replied as Wesley shook his head.

“So we don't know how to stop it other than just barge in and stop it.”

“Assuming we could find the ritual,” Wesley confirmed.

“Zin, get me some of your witchy Slayers over to the safe and see what energies they can pick up.”

“On it.”

As Zin vanished down the hall, Buffy felt like breathing a sigh of relief. At last, something she could do.

Comments

[dragonyphoenix.livejournal.com]

It's Buffy's PoV all the way through. I try not to change PoV within a scene.

I'd much rather people loved me than my authorial inserts. *Grin*

I think Andrew's Slayers are clever enough to keep the fate of the world out of his hands when Buffy isn't around, which is - you're right - good for the world. ;-)

I've been working on Giles as the Big Bad. Over at Summer of Giles they've gotten me to agree to post chapter 4 (Teacher's Pet) there toward the end of July.

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

I'm horribly behind on reading your Giles as Big Bad fic thank you so much for the reminder! (and I'm not being sarcastic I really do need reminders - especially now that I'm working this job at a nursing home. Oh I had no idea how spoiled I was by the luxury of time when I was unemployed.)

[dragonyphoenix.livejournal.com]

I had no idea how spoiled I was by the luxury of time when I was unemployed. I'm unemployed but looking. With any luck I'll be able to relate soon.

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

Good luck with the job hunt! It took me four years to find one (although one of those years I had a back injury that left me in such pain I could hardly walk so I wasn't really looking during that year. I got this job through someone I know knowing about the job. That's always how it works.)

You may have told me before but what kind of work are you looking for (in theory anyway)?

[dragonyphoenix.livejournal.com]

You may have told me before but what kind of work are you looking for (in theory anyway)? I wish I knew. I used to be a computer programmer but I'm burnt out from that career. My main criteria seem to be medical insurance and enough money that my finances are stable, which sadly means full-time because I'd love to work only 30 hours a week and have more time for writing.

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

You know the experts say "don't be too generalized, look for something specific" - but that's not the way my life has turned out. I've had all sorts of jobs and job titles in all sorts of settings. The steady positions don't exist anymore, or are dwindling.

My main criteria seem to be medical insurance and enough money that my finances are stable, which sadly means full-time

Good luck with the search!

I thought this job would leave me time for art and play but it's more exhausting than I had imagined it would be even at 20 hours a week.

[dragonyphoenix.livejournal.com]

Thanks.

it's more exhausting than I had imagined it would be even at 20 hours a week. Well, that's encouraging. ;-(

Actually I found I was more focused on writing when I was working. Since I knew I had so few hours, I made them count. When I have the whole day, I sort of don't get around to as much writing.

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

Well, that's encouraging. ;-(

That sort of intense care situation is exhausting - and the building has been sold to another company, it's understaffed, so extra exhausting. Very different to anything else I've ever done.

When I have the whole day, I sort of don't get around to as much writing.

I definitely had more time when I was unemployed, but I wasn't necessarily using all that time wisely! In fact I'm embarrassed by what I squandered.

[dragonyphoenix.livejournal.com]

That would be a tiring job.

I'm embarrassed by what I squandered. Yep!

[dragonyphoenix.livejournal.com]

If it helps, you can read my story grouped by scenes (https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10857450/1/In-a-Corner-of-My-Soul) rather than by chapters over at fanfiction.net

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

Oh thank you, I bookmarked the link!

I should log in at ff.net but it's been so many years since I've done that (I wrote a 4-chapter story for Moulin Rouge ages ago) and I'm too lazy to dig up my account. (which was under a totally different pseudonym to my LJ one. )