In a Corner of My Soul: The Pack: I Ate What?

[dragonyphoenix]

Masterlist for In a Corner of My Soul

It was only after he'd brewed a cup of the substandard tea on offer – Lipton indeed – that Rupert realized Principal Flutie's death meant he no longer had to start his day connecting with the rest of the staff. With any luck the next principal would be less touchy-feely. Rupert was definitely looking forward to being ignored.

The quickest way back to the library took him through a covered walkway, an open space that ran along the second level of the high-school. Rupert was looking forward to a nice cup from his Harrods stash when Xander's voice, rising from a set of nearby stairs, interrupted his reverie.

“I ate a pig? Oh, my God! I ate a pig? I mean, the whole trichinosis issue aside, yuck!”

“Well, it wasn't really you.”

“I remember going on the field trip, and then going down to the Hyena House, and next thing Mr. Giles is holding a knife to some guy's throat.”

Giles stopped and stepped into a shadow so he could listen without being seen. He wondered why Xander was lying about having no memories of the possession. Not that it truly mattered. It was the lie itself that interested Giles. It was something he could turn to his advantage.

“That was creepy,” Willow agreed, “even when I knew it was just the predatory act to get the hyena out of you.”

“I didn't do anything else, did I, around you guys or …”

“Owen.” Buffy's voice called out loudly, covering the last of Xander's sentence.

“Hey, what's up?”

“Just getting to class,” Buffy replied in that same overly-cheerful voice.

“Yeah,” Willow agreed. “We should get going. We're gonna be late. Uh, we'll see you at lunch, Xander.”

“Cool! Oh, hey, going vegetarian! Huh?” Xander raised two thumbs as he walked backwards.

“Why's Xander going vegetarian?” Owen asked.

“Oh that's nothing,” Willow replied. “He'll have forgotten all about it when he has to choose between a salad and a cheeseburger.”

The girl didn't notice Xander wincing at her words. Giles waited for the rest of the children to walk out of hearing range. Once Xander was alone, Giles stepped into view. “I've been reading up on my, uh, animal possession, and I cannot find anything anywhere about memory loss afterwards.”

There was panic in Xander's eyes. Good. “Did you tell them that?”

“No, and we can keep it that way.”

“Keep it that way? Oh, yes, please.”

“If you will do me one, small favor.”

“Favor? What kind of favor? You don't want me to shelve books again, because I thought we'd agreed that I'm hopeless working out what goes where.”

Giles did remember. Rupert had spent a good two days resorting books after Xander had reshelved them. He was, however, fairly certain the lad had done it on purpose to avoid ever having to shelve again. As a tactic it had worked, but it had made for a couple of frustrating days for Rupert. Looking to get a bit of his own back, Giles replied, “I merely want to perform a few tests, work some spells over you, to ensure there has been no permanent damage.”

“Permanent damage? What do you mean permanent damage?”

Giles hid a grin. “I'm certain it's nothing but better safe than sorry, yes? You do have a free period this afternoon, don't you? Why don't you stop by the library then?”

“But, I mean, if we're talking permanent damage, shouldn't we do these tests, oh I don't know, sometime that's more like now?”

“This afternoon will be fine.”

Comments

[velvetwhip.livejournal.com]

Oh Xander... Not sure Giles is quite as pure of heart as you believe.


Gabrielle

[dragonyphoenix.livejournal.com]

*grin* It's not too bad for Xander. Giles is messing with him, sure, but he's not going to actually harm a friend of Buffy and Willow's.

[feliciacraft.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't trust Xander to organize books, either. ;) But I really enjoy scenes where Xander's lovably goofy, as he is here.

[dragonyphoenix.livejournal.com]

*laughs* Yeah, totally no Xander near the re-shelving cart. I'm glad you enjoyed this scene. ;-)