Come Dawn Come Down

Buffy watched them scampering, yeah, that was the word for it all right, and there they were they two scamps chasing and pinching and any excuse to touch, to tackle, to roll about in the grass.

Buffy sighed.

Dawn was in love.

They had both come out to the wall that morning, well the three of them Buffy and Dawn and Scott...Scott the Great. Great Scott. O.K. enough, Dawn was in love, she was, and her shining bright eyes already so large--couldnt get big enough to drink in the lanky tall red headed Scottish Scott.

The first change Buffy had noticed in her sister since Dawn had left for Oxford (OXFORD) was ooh! Nice haircut, so very cut. A cut, well cropped really, long sway gone and now sassy, very Audrey Hepburn short and on most girls it would have been a disaster, but on Dawn as on Audrey--it was her eyes, her lovely big gamine gaze turned the risk into brave and brilliant.

She was beautiful. Just a throw down stunner. And as if to prove it, Scott cave-manned her up over his shoulder and spun, spun like how kids do when they want to remember heaven. Spin until the world goes hazy and it feels like flying.

Buffy sighed again. She missed heaven...she missed (she almost said it--but didnt...did not...) but how could she be surprised she missed him when she was in Northumberland, and every other Geordie sounded, reminded her, perhaps not in total--his accent had diminished from world travel, but it was enough, it was the cadence...that broad working class home spun...

Spin, spin, spin now see them fall, fall, fall and loving it. Falling in love and loving the fall.

Well, good for them.

So there was the moment with the haircut, so short, accentuating Dawns long slim neck, black velvet ribbon doubled up and around...say wait a minute Buffy knew that trick and had almost done a minny freak until Dawn undid the ribbon and let her sister see not a bite, well yeah it was but of the hickey kind...

O.K. well that was alright. WAIT! What? Hickey equals...sex, yes? Oh god, oh great, another worry...but...why not happy? Why not a happy end for Dawny?

They had just driven down from Hamilton where it was all about meeting the parents and ooh...what a cool house they have Buffy and they so want to meet you soon.

Buffy had choked that one down. She was happy for Dawn, she was...it was something else...something she couldnt quite put her finger on. Not yet. Just a ping in her heart and a choky throaty thing that happened when she saw the two of them rolling around on the grass like the well met moment before some...porno flick.

(Not that she had seen many of those)

Ahem...its early morning and other walkers are at least a mile away, but theres my lack of knowledge of your naked bodies entwined together, and I wanna KEEP IT THAT WAY!

Buffy bounced this at the young man struggling to understand an upper garment that didnt have buttons nor zipper and just how was he going to get at those breasts?

Dawn laughed and pushed Scotts hands away and suddenly he stopped...he grabbed her hands looked into her eyes and he just...stopped, time stopped, all of nature and the solar system besides stopped to watch as they looked into each others eyes, and then the miracle happened and Buffy saw it all.

The world was gone, the world was gone for them, Buffy was gone, the cool morning dew soaking their bottoms, the sun, all decisions, all matter all and all...dumped into the file of meaningless, next to...you...

What did the old world matter when you were discovering a new one?

The look in his eyes. Scott loved her sister, he did. There was no doubt no doubt and that look said it all...devotion, loyalty and longevity...

Heart ping again. It was beautiful, it was good--so why the hurt?

Jealous?

No, no, not that...something else...

Dawn and her red headed lover rose and walked toward Buffy but strangely never took their eyes from each other.

Um...Buffy, Scott and I are gonna go back into Newcastle, cuz I need to do some research...on the wall you know for school, gotta keep that Pirie Reid Scholarship--

--Amazing. Isnt she foockin amazing? Scott asked in his Scottish accent. No one sides a Scot has ever won the Pirie Reid, shes a stunner with languages...a stunner...

He was so proud of her accomplishments and that was good, very good. How much had Dawn told him, about her, her past--last oil check Dawn had revealed that she had told him...nothing. Buffy would have to be careful abut what she said and did...but Dawn had better break that biscuit soon.

Research huh? And Buffy cleared her throat significantly like all of a sudden she couldnt get enough of clear esophagus.

Yeah, need to get some local books on the wall...might be some diaries, you know, personal account stuff like that, the big books have never dreamed of covering. Theres gotta be local legends...

Ooh ghost stories... Scott intoned.

Ah yeah...ooh. Buffy said deliberately nonplussed.

They just laughed, by now they were used to the rest of world looking on, wanting in, but never, never to know the super, super special ness of their love.

You coming? Dawn asked

No, Im gonna stay--I got my cell and can take the bus back, the 685 from almost any interval--if this map is well... mapped...Im gonna do... a walky, hike thing. Seems the thing to do

When in Rome--

More like roam... her voice drifted away at his puzzled expression, at his lack of comprehension at her simple pun.

Scott offered/asked dropped items into conversation but was never completely sure of himself with this odd sister and how her mind worked and the things she said. He hadnt yet learned how to quip with her.

And so the best parts of his personality were secreted away, lest he be judged the village dolt for saying something wrong, he said nothing. So all Buffy really knew so far about this plain simple Scot, was: he had few skills, many freckles, no wit or much to offer really...except...except...that glowing love, the gift of his open heart.

He wasnt as smart as Dawn, not nearly, and as far she Buffy could see, notorious Scottish economic thrift was infecting his sparse use of language...he was good looking in an ordinary way but Buffy would look at him and find herself wondering: what? Why? Why him?

But then she would see him look at Dawn, well, when he looked at Dawn that way, that way...his love for her made him Achilles and puppy all rolled into one.

Ping.

There it was again.

Oh. It was the ping of Pavlov. Ring ding the memory bank and poor piggy spilling the secret pennies.

In short.

It was the look. The look. It was the way Spike had looked at her. Maybe nothing could be quite equal to gaze of Spike...but Scott was in the ballpark all right, he was in the game.

To be looked at like that. It was a gift wasnt it?

Dawn was lucky. And...and she knew it. She knew about accepting love when it came along. When youre young...it is so tempting to think that this gold strike is just the beginning and there would be many, many more chances...but all that said...Buffy thought life gave you maybe...maybe four chances.

One for every season. And one best take care.

All these thoughts, these feelings flash carded her and were gone back undercover even as she answered Scott.

Yeah, yeah...a walk sounds good--Dawn...as long as youre shopping, do me a favor--check out this Book Store on St. James Street, near the park. This guy that owns it did me and Giles a favor, but he wouldnt take a tip, you know and I think hes hard up for cash--could you, like, buy a lot of books on the Hadrian Wall from him?

Buffy pulled her wallet from the inside of her vest and gave over some very pretty pictures of Queen Liz to her sister.

300 pounds?

Loose those pounds in America--not so much. Sides he was a real help.

Yes, your highness... Dawn bobbed her knee

Not so high... Muttered 53 Buffy.

You are to me, my sister, my sister, you are my high water mark...

Scheech. Love and flowers and bowled over with sugarery bluster.

Take off--your Mudders callin' ya...

Poor Scotts head was spinning. A horse? A Mudder? Why is a horse calling you?

Dawn whinnied and then shook her head and turned tail and while running said: Its mating season thats why--

Scotts eyes popped and thank god his back was to Buffy cuz she really did not need to see what else might be popping.

And then they were gone.

She sat quietly while the sun warmed the world, just sat and fed off the rich green hills. Just gazed, grazed really.

Buffy sat on a low end of the stone wall, THE wall and man it was. Here it was and all stretched out from Wallsend to westward HO! Solid real evidence of what could happen when some King got an idea into his head.

Cuz Im royal, thats why.

Buffy could just about hear the sharp edge of any debate dulled by that statement time and throughout time. Some crazy idea that might not stand heat of a democratic oven flew far and hard in the old world of: cuz I said so.

And didnt she know all about that?

Often times, were she used her birthright as The Slayer to work her will--without a spell or anything--but hadnt that also obtained amazing results? Like this wall for instance. Never would have existed unless, one guy one Roman emperor didnt like the breeze blowing down from the North. A solid wall that stretched for 78 miles all cuz the Barbarians could do with a bit of hygiene.

So dictators got things done, amazing ideas that never would have survived the discussion of committee and she knew that was the way of it in battle sometimes, most times of necessity--precious time lost in maybe left, maybe right, no sometimes it had to be hark the clarion and now, or RIGHT NOW! But, as many wonders of the world that have been created that way--who could count the disasters?

And, all, all because the culture at hand agreed that a particular person was blessed by birth, whereas now, now post Apocalypse number seven, there was a whole generation of slayers, not blessed by birthright, but by an idea whose time had come.

Slayer power working through something Giles called the collective unconscious was guided into girls, women, and females of all ages who contained in their particular makeup the common facility, the desire...to help.

Slayer energy flagged the women who simply...wanted to help other people...to help make the world...well...if not better than...manageable. Easier.

She had discovered something about herself as the New Council watched and made note of who emerged and with what particular calling. As one could not help but notice the recurring theme, the common hearts desire natural to all of the women who stepped up--she couldnt help but notice...that...she agreed.

That all those years as The Slayer of Sunnydale and now she remembered something Spike had pointed out to her one time--that she may not have wanted the job herself per se--but she certainly, most definitely wanted the job done.

Something else, they discovered...if the girl or woman could not reconcile herself to such a change that is, if she did not tap and actually use her power...it would fade from her. Simply over time, diminish into gone.

Who would have ever guessed that? But it made sense, much the same thing will happen to a talent unused, untested. And of course the pressure had always been on the Slayer before as a single entity--so no one ever would have watched such a thing, simply because it never happened.

This was the part that Buffy liked best. It was females of all ages. Slayer energy reached out into grandmas even and that was the best, because it brought wisdom and scale and proportion and not a generation of Lord of the Flies kids out of control and world look out!

And not all Slayers were warriors, well the young ones were and at heart they all were, of course they were that was the common natural facility but because of the age span, the Slayer energy also expressed itself in more mature forms, in different ways to defend society--namely, the healing arts was a big one.

Willow was very excited about that--said it was like how it was before the Inquisition had burned so many wise women in the Dark Ages, so many women of power had been lost in those years that The Way had disappeared for centuries. And now the slayer power working through the older members of their club was finding expression in the true best power of the feminine expression. Love...

Love of fellow humans is what had kept Buffy at it all those years, love of love now awoke the old way, the wise ways...and the world was getting better...it was...household by household, teachers taught teachers and of course...The First was fighting back.

Well that was to be expected. But this next part wasnt. The first was fighting back--and using men to do it. Ordinary men, Willow guessed that this was the same tact that The First might have used in the Dark Ages--during the witch burnings. Just Ordinary guys, not demons or beasts, just playing on the ordinary guy and a fear of change, loss of power, just fear...well...and she had to be honest...fear based on a certain reality. Because the Slayers if not physically stronger than men, were certainly powerful in healing or seeing and if a man thought his power lay in his body than, yeah...he would definitely be threatened.

Also...well tell the truth...not all women use this kind of power wisely. And why should the past be so different than the present. And so the bond between men and women was the new frontier and almost battleground...and they all needed to tread lightly and be circumspect. LETS NOT have history repeat itself.

O.K. the long and short of it was--not many Slayers had mates. Just simply couldnt find them.

Of course there were some, of course there were but the vast majority lived with love mostly as a...hope.

But they had community...and ahem...Xander was certainly popular. A man who loved strong women was well loved back by the Slayers and ensemble. And of course he had not abused his appeal, he was Xander the wise heart after all, and his presence gave hope to women that other men like him might exist, so it was good.

Where was she? Where was mind going?

Thinking.

Yes, thinking, walking was good for thinking and luckily Hadrians Wall had miles and miles of it.

She started walking as just this thing to do to give her body a repetitive activity that was similar to being in a meditative state. It was working, it stilled her mind, calmed her body and she could feel her inside flower...uh...flowering...

She started walking as a thing to do until it was time to go back and meet Dawn in Newcastle.

She had started walking as a walking thing and now she couldnt stop.

*

At mile three and just past the third Milehouse she felt cougars foot pad on the wall to her left.

She was padding along the top of the wall saying nothing just keeping pace, just watching and waiting...

Mile four she pulled abreast and walked along side her Buffy just blonde by blonde and no dumb jokes to be heard.

Middle afternoon and mile six point two cougar was leading her Buffy, and Buffy was following and felt nothing, not the earth beneath her feet, or the sun heating her skin or the sweat of pre-vision detox--just the pull, the tug of her friend who wanted to take her...shopping...

*