Yeah, maybe with an undertone of "Yeah, and I was just gonna do it till the K-Mart opened up in Rocky Point. But here I am. Years later and with actual scars, but I can't stay away."

Once again, not a complete scene, but I wanted to get it out here. V!Giles, by the way, but new folk.

In a lonely part of France was a very ancient cave. Painted on the walls were pictures hidden away from the world's eyes for millennia, strange scenes of hunters in pursuit of their prey. Unlike the mysterious caves of Lascaux, however, it was not only the hunters in these scenes who went on two legs. In this cave, the humans fled from fearsome creatures with long, clawed fingers and hungry fangs. The ancient vampires ran down their prey, ravaged and fed and gloried in their mastery over the world.

In the deepest cave, other pictures told another part of the story. A human figure fought back, attacking with a long spear as another group of human figures stood by. The warrior was smaller than the observers, as if the human who dared defy the vampires was a youth, or even a girl.

The only lights permitted were small lanterns barely capable of breaching the primal dark. The only vampire who usually occupied the caves was one so ancient he'd forgotten what his human face had looked like. He tended the paintings, speaking to them as old friends. Every few hundred years he added new ones in his own private section of the caves.

Tonight he had more mobile company, important company. Or, at least, important to themselves. The elders of the Order of Aurelius met in council, to discuss who would become their new leader.

Male and female vampires from around the world had gathered in the largest cave, where concessions to civilization had been made in the form of comfortable chairs and couches. The elders were attended by minions, and more than one had brought a private supply of humans. Debates could be thirsty work.

The vampires mingled quietly, greeting others they hadn't seen in centuries. Most eyes followed one particular female, who made sure she greeted everyone.

She had last seen the bright sun of her African homeland over two centuries ago. Her black hair hung unbound to the floor, where a human slave crouched behind her, carefully holding the hair clear of the floor and keeping the strands untangled with a golden comb. Her champagne silk gown had been made for her in 1952 by Dior himself. Her name was Fleur de Mal, and she was widely considered to be the primary candidate for leadership of Aurelius.

When the ancient vampire caretaker entered the chamber, the others ceased their conversations and bowed. He gestured them to the seats and waited till they were silent again.

"Our Master has fallen. Prophecy was fulfilled. He rose from his prison, but his reign was brief."

"Slayer," came the hiss from several portions of the chamber.

The guardian glared at his audience. "The Slayer fell. Prophecy was fulfilled. But she rose up as well, outside of all prophecy, and battle with our Master and threw him down."

"Revenge," muttered several.

"To what end?" the guardian challenged. "There are always Slayers. If not this one, then another. And that is not why we are here. Our Master has fallen. Aurelius is without a leader. You all know this, and in the time that has passed, you have discussed this. Tonight we decide."

Fleur de Mal rose to her feet. Her slave hurried to pull her hair out of the way as she stepped forward.

"I claim the leadership of the Order of Aurelius, by right of lineage and deed."

The guardian bowed in acknowledgement. Fleur de Mal gazed around at the others, waitng for the response.

On the far side of the chamber, a male vampire in impeccable Georgian court garb, stood. "I challenge the lineage." He bowed to Fleur de Mal, then gestured to the minion behind him, who handed him an ornate snuff box.

Fleur de Mal inclined her head. "I am pleased, Magus, that the reports I heard of your grievous injuries were exaggerated."

The Magus smiled. "The stake bounced off a rib. Good assassins are so hard to find these days, aren't they, Fleur?" He inhaled a small portion of snuff.

The guardian frowned. "Challenge has been made to your candidacy, madam."

Fleur nodded. "On what grounds, Magus, do you challenge my lineage? My sire was begotten by the Master himself. How thin is the Master's blood in your veins?"

The Magus, six vampiric generations removed from the fledgling created by the Master in Renaissance Florence, twitched very faintly. "Your sire, yes. An interesting story, that. He was destined to be a meal, was he not? Except that he somehow managed to grab the Master's wrist and begin feeding himself. Quite tenacious of him. I believe the Master compared him to a rat."

"My sire served the Master for nearly two hundred years," Fleur said calmly.

"True, true. He cared for those little dogs, didn't he? The Master was still amused by human foibles then."

"Yes, my sire and the Master spent a great deal of time together. So many of his other children had to be summoned back to their place at his side."

The Magus brushed away a few remaining grains of snuff from his upper lip. "Yes, they were out in the world, tending to a vampire's business of blood and death, when they weren't forwarding the purposes of our Master. Still, someone had to stay behind and clean up after the little monsters."

ooh, the dreaded original female character. I don't think she can sing.

MUNCH

I watch as the shadows get long and purple around the Hyperion. Why hasn’t she left yet? Go, Kay, for Christ’s sake. I can’t fend the dragon lady off forever, especially since my wiles didn’t work. She’s with someone, a young pretty shrill-voiced someone...is every woman in this town gorgeous?

I’m surprised nobody has asked me to leave...arrested me for felony non-sexy or something. I like Kay’s companion, too. She complains as much as I do. God, I miss that. The Princess is so used to being anticipated she has no need to kvetch, and Dru has an enviable ability to make reality fit the pretty dancing pictures in her head.And that sounded like her, didn’t it? Don’t think that’s not a frightening thought.

“So, you really think this guy left this threat because he...can’t perform?” the brunette asks Kay. Hey, standing right here. I almost feel like consoling my equipment, telling the boys that the lady...girl, really, with the perky breasts and the big mouth doesn’t know whereof she speaks.

“Not exactly.” Thank you, Kay. “It’s more...what-do-you-call it...symbolic. He’s powerless...some little weasel living in his mama’s basement. Has to fold up his plastic woman in the box with his Star Trek figurines.” I want to come out of the shadows, and explain myself, but I can’t.
“Yuck. Two words: Xander. Harris.”

“This Xander, has he ever been to Balmer?”

“Not that I know of. But I try to put my mistakes behind me.”

“One of those, huh?” And Kay smiles a crooked smile that tears at my heart. Love should never make *her* make that face. Just idiots like me. Just get in the car, babe, I think.They do, but I can’t leave. A smarter creature of the night/mercenary/ double agent would have, but I’m a schmuck.

KAY

We pull into Cordy’s place and immediately the lights turn on.”Funny wiring?” I ask.

“No, that’s Dennis. Dennis is a G-H-O-S-T.”

“Oh, hi, Dennis. “ I say, feeling a little stupid, but you gotta have manners, right? Mom always said they didn’t cost anything. “Look, I’m not sure what communication’s like where you are, but if you ever run into another gh—g-h-o-st named Agnes Saunders, let her know that puke Fenwick got life. I couldn’t have done it without her. I know she wanted him to walk the Mile, but this’ll be a better punishment, maybe. Let’s see how much cons want to hear about blue in the Old Testament, huh? Asshole.”

“Every day is a casefile for you, isn’t it?” Cordy asked.

“Aw, once and a while you bring one home...you’ll see. By the time you’re my age...”

“No,” Cordy says.

“I’m not as old as all that, you know.” I couldn’t help feeling a little offended.

“I’m just here till the acting takes off...of course I’ll never forget the little people but...”

“Uh huh. What if I told you it’s in your blood? That almost in spite of yourself, you’re a natural evil-fighter. That if you could get your old life, it’d never feel right? It happens...that’s what my Job and your Job does. We’re just a little bit ruined for normal life, huh?”

“I don’t have to be.”Cordy said.” This is just a temporary thing.”

“You just keep telling yourself that, hon.”I said. “ Any day now, I’m gonna be married to an oysterman and working at K-Mart. Doesn’t my face just scream blue-light special?”

“Honestly?”

“No, that’s ok. You’ve been pretty decent. I wouldn’t want you to sprain something.”

I thought I’d adjusted to the whole ghost thing, when a flower floated out from the vase on the table. “I think that means Dennis likes you. I can’t remember the last time he brought a flower for me.”

“It’s not me. It’s this. “ And I shook my hair out. I mean, I was okay with it and everything, but every single guy in my life has been apeshit over it. “Let me touch it, Kay. Let me wash it, Kay. I love it when you lie on top of me and it spreads across my chest.”Please.

Even my friends...well, I thought Munch was my friend. I saw in a magazine a bunch of cute short haircuts, and I asked “Munchkin, what do you think of this on me?” Just idle, shooting the shit, huh, not gonna do anything. He acted like I said using big words gives you cancer of the testicles. Like I upset his whole apple cart.
“You know, you guys are all the same.” I told Dennis, but I put the flower behind my ear anyway. A compliment is a compliment.

Oh, damn, erika. That's so sweet, and I like sweet (as opposed to sappy).

Dennis was my favourite underutilised character on televsion for the past couple of years. I love that ghost.

Aw, shucks. Well, there was the Dennis thing...and the Saunders case thing(without which there would be no Homicide/ME crossovers, as I've said before, but Detective Howard's willingness to believe she saw a ghost just let the little hamster on the wheel of my brain try all kinds of stuff. I still sort of laugh at "and I may have observed a floating(big word I can't remember) in the shape of lips. Cause it is both spooky and cop-like.(That is a favorite around our house though cause it's also the "Die, you bastard, die!" ep which my mother thinks is some of the funniest shit ever filmed) "We wanted to wait to get a divorce after all the children were dead."

Anyone around to do a quick beta on a Fred/Harmony thing for the Fred ficathon?

Sure! You can email me at my profile addy.

Anyone around to do a quick beta on a Fred/Harmony thing for the Fred ficathon?

I can as long as it doesn't include any spoilers for the last episode, which I haven't seen yet.

Thanks, Anne!

(Fred is a *hard* voice.)