Two words: Krispy Kreme.

Mmmmmmm...do-nuts....

Two words: Krispy Kreme.

Pbbthlt. We only have Wal-mart. You have no idea how much I miss Krispy Kreme. I can't find one in Kentucky. It's upsetting.

There. I just added a substantial addition to that last bit. ANY feedback would be useful at this point.

Hopefully I'll get the last bit of Desperate Times done this weekend so I can post in various places. It's been a long time since a Career Change segment has seen public light of day

Plei, that was gorgeous.

Yes, definitely.

Huh? New stuff from Plei?

Where, goddamnit?

just the stuff from last night, I assume.

Boy, are they late.

Dudes! We already cleaned the car upholstery! Where were you?

Hear ye, hear ye! New fic!

Spoilery for Buffy S7, to (approximately) "Bring on the Night"; for Angel it's spoilery through "Calvary" and then goes AU (because I was Jossed, damn it).

HELP! I need a title!!!! I cannot think of one. Elena gave me some good suggestions, that I will post at the end. But nothing is clicking.

**************

The training session was boring all the potentials, Buffy knew. Their punches and kicks were rote at best, and half-hearted on Vi's part. She turned her back to hide her scowl of frustration. How to motivate them? If she sent them into a cemetery alone, the first group of vampires that came along would drain the girls before they could even scream.

Without turning, Buffy said, "Half of you will be dead by next week."

The girls stopped. "Wh...what?" Vi dropped the stake she was holding, her face turning ashen.

"I mean it." Buffy faced them, her mouth set in a thin line. "I know this training is boring, doing the same thing day after day. But it's something you have to do. If I sent you on patrol alone every night this week, only half of you would be standing here in seven days.

"You're not ready to patrol. You're not ready to fight. But you can be. These drills are the types of moves you'll need against vamps and demons. And I promise you, if you put some effort into it, you'll get ready.

"Now." She put her hands on her hips, trying to make the same stern expression Giles always had when she wanted to skip training to go to the mall with Willow. "Start over. Do it hard. Do it right."

The girls began sparring again, throwing and blocking punches, dodging and kicking. Kennedy and Rona squared off in the corner, circling each other, looking for an opening. Rona's sudden right hook sent Kennedy flying across the length of the basement.

Everyone froze.

"Rona, how did you do that?" Vi's eyes were wide with awe.

"I...I didn't do anything! We were just training, like we always did...Oh my God, did I hurt you?" Rona ran over to Kennedy, who was lying on her back, dazed.

"No, I'm okay...I think. Nothing's broken." Kennedy's eyes focused on Rona. "How did you do that?"

Buffy hurried to Kennedy's side, checking for injuries. "She seems fine, you guys. Let's take a break, okay? Everybody head upstairs."

Rona and Molly helped Kennedy to her feet, Rona apologizing repeatedly, while Vi wondered again about Rona's inexplicably increased strength and speed.

Except it wasn't inexplicable to Buffy. She knew that power intimately, sharing body and soul and breath with it for seven years. She didn't need a seer's vision to confirm what she knew in an instant, the moment Rona's punch connected. But Buffy knew the others would need more confirmation than just the quickening in her veins at Rona's irrevocably altered nature, so she followed the girls upstairs to ask Willow to call the coven's seer.

~ ~ ~

It is certain, the seer had said, a new Slayer has been called from among you. Your next moves will determine the fate of the final battle, so proceed cautiously. Rona leaned against the doorframe during the phone call, the same girl who had arrived in Sunnydale two months earlier - baggy overalls, no-nonsense attitude with a willingness to learn - but with a subtle difference. A new awareness in her eyes, a slightly surer gait.