[#110] Meeting Place (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

[badly_knitted]

Theme Prompt: #110 - To The Library
Title: Meeting Place
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Rating/Warnings: PG / None
Bonus: Yes.
Word Count: 1000
Summary: Buffy and her friends gather in the library after school to hang out with Giles and each other.




With lessons over for the day, Buffy and her friends had wended their way to their usual after-school home away from home, otherwise known as the Sunnydale High library, home of Giles and his extracurricular book collection. Buffy had to check in with her Watcher at least once a day, just to get a heads-up on anything of a supernatural nature that might be about to rear its ugly head, so her friends usually tagged along to help with whatever research into the demon du jour might be required.

It came as no surprise to anyone with the slightest experience in the subject that most demonic beings came in various shades of ugly, vampires tending to be the exception that proved the rule. Evil liked to wear its loathsomeness as if it was a badge of honor, but at least that generally made demons easier to identify, and once Buffy knew what she was up against, the question of how to defeat it was usually right there along with its mugshot.

“Ah, Buffy, there you are. Good.” Giles looked up from the book he was studying and polished his glasses.

“Good what? Why?” If Giles was already consulting his books, that didn’t bode well for Buffy’s hope of a quiet night. She’d been looking forward to getting her homework out of the way so she could maybe spend some time doing actual teenage girl stuff: hanging out with friends, dancing at the Bronze, maybe a bit of smooching with Angel. A quick patrol before and after, just to keep the vamps in line, and bed before the crack of dawn. Even a Slayer needed her beauty sleep; there was only so much cosmetics could do to cover up too many late nights.

“We might have a bit of a problem with that Kelvrik demon you dealt with a few nights ago.”

“But I killed it! One of the easiest kills I’ve had recently.”

“Precisely, and I think I know why. I’ve been doing some further research into the species, and from what I’ve discovered, it very likely isn’t actually dead, just… well, dormant.”

“I buried it. If it wasn’t dead before that, it should be by now, suffocated.”

“Ah, no, you see Kelvrik demons don’t need to breathe the way you or I do. It has an internal air bladder that could, in theory, sustain it for several weeks. That would be more than long enough for it to dig its way out of its grave. We should go there as soon as possible, dig it up, and kill it properly. You’ll need to remove its head completely, then remove its heart and brain, which will have to be burned to ashes. After that, we shouldn’t have any more trouble with it.”

“We have to do all that tonight? But it’s Friday! The Bronze, live band, no cover charge!”

“Well, if we’re quick enough about it, perhaps you can still go. You’ll need to do the actual… ah… dismembering, as I recall Kelvrik demons have rather thick necks under the bony armor plating, but I should be able to handle the burning ritual myself.”

“Fine,” Buffy grumbled, slumping into a chair at the library table. “I don’t suppose there’s any chance I could get my homework done first, is there?”

“I’d prefer not to leave this demon any longer than we have to. If it succeeds in escaping its grave, we’d have to track it down again, which might well take all night.”

“All right, I get the picture. You do know you’re stunting my emotional growth, don’t you? Teenagers have to be allowed to socialise.”

“They do,” Willow agreed, nodding. “Like puppies. If they’re not, they don’t play well with the other puppies.”

“Really? Fascinating, but I hardly think it’s germane to our current topic, which is kill…”

“Kilts!” Xander broke in. “Kilts and the proper way of wearing them!” He gestured towards the library door with a jerk of his head as Principal Snyder stalked towards them.

“What are you all doing here? This is a library, not a debate hall! Shouldn’t you be in class?”

“Um, no,” Willow said, “because classes are over for the day. We’re just here for the books. Research. For our homework. We’re very dedicated when it comes to learning.” She shot a glance at her friends. “Aren’t we?”

“Oh. Yes. Very. Learning is important,” Xander agreed.

“Hmpf.” Snyder glared at them all. “You’re up to something. I don’t know what it is, but I don’t like it. Don’t you have homes to go to? That’s where homework should be done, not here on school property. Get what books you need and go.” He stalked back to the door and left, probably looking for someone else to pick on.

“Pillock,” Giles muttered.

“What was that, Giles?” Buffy looked questioningly at her Watcher.

“Some sort of British swearword,” Willow guessed.

“Quite, and not a word that should be used in polite company.”

“But one that totally applies to Snide man?”

“Principal Snyder hardly counts as polite company,” Buffy pointed out.

Xander snorted. “No kidding. He barely even counts as human.”

“He’s a nasty little troll.”

“That about covers it, Will.” Buffy smiled at her friend.

“Right, well, as much as I’m enjoying this…”

“Debate?”

“Yes, thank you, Buffy. Now, I believe we have some rather pressing business to see to.”

“Dismemberment. Oh joy. I’d better not end up with demon ick on this top. It’s new, mom would kill me. Do we have an axe? Might make removing the demon’s head easier.”

“Yes, of course, I’ll get one.” Giles headed for his weapons collection.

Buffy stood up. “I wish demons would just die and stay dead, so I wouldn’t have to waste time killing them again.”

“Look on the bright side; next time there’s a Kelvrik demon you’ll know exactly how to deal with it.” Few things got Willow down for long.

“True, it could be worse. At least we get to party after.”


The End