ahem, erika, I gave Giles immortality. What have you given him lately?

This is true...sigh. Connie fixed his eyesight and gave him eternal life...I'm very good at the devoted protegee thing which I think he might like, but it is nothing, comparatively.(hanging head)

Oh, I imagine he'd be delighted to have a protegee, someone to nurture and mold and train.

Yeah, well, I gave him his own contemporary Slayer as a lover and the loss of his virginity, in "The Apprentice" and "The Pensioner." MINE, yo.

I have never given Giles anything. But, someday, I'll give him the world.

I think Giles would be a good king.

Then, I will own him. And auction him off to you ladies for cash cuz, honestly, I kind of like girls. Willow/Tara/Fred, though, I would love to keep for myself.

ETA: Chapter four, at least the first bit of it (I haven't decided whether to jump to a different scene or not after this point - if not, my next writing will just extend the chapter.) is up, for those interested in reading. If you lost the link, my up-and-coming-freshman-fic can be found here.

Thanks!

Nova, a couple of notes on your latest chapter:

Wesley looked at her piteously

Pityingly, as in, looking at her with pity - that's what you meant here, yes? Because "piteously", whereas it can be synonymous, reads very oddly here, as if Wesley is the one desiring or in need of pity.

Also, a couple of quickies: You have her examine the apartment, and then tell Wes she's examined the apartment; why are both needed? Second thing is small, but it did make me stop and think, thereby acting as a flow-breaker. Would Tara, the character as we know her, say something like "I examined the apartment"? That one line made me stop, trying to hear her saying it, and I had to stretch. That's especially true because otherwise, you've got a nice handle on her voice.

The story's moving right along. If the necklace is neutral, though, why her reluctance to touch it? Is she afraid of it, or herself?

Keep it coming.

She's wary of it. Not afraid that it will do something evil, necessarily, but afraid that it might affect her in some way she doesn't want.

I agree, pityingly is better. I forgot that was a word.

I'm sure I'll be changing wording on this chapter quite a lot on re-reads, that seems to be my m.o. I'll try to make her reluctance to touch it more clear, and also stop the flow-breaking of examination.

Thanks, again, of course.

Hon, you're doing some damned good stuff in there. No one to thank but you, really. Keep it going.

One way to show her reluctance and explain it without telling us is to have one of the other characters ask her. You illuminate two characters for the price of one that way: if Wes or Gunn notices her unwillingness and questions her as to why she's looking at the damned thing as if it was a puff adder or a widowmaker, you shed light on that character's perspicacity, as well as illuminating Tara even further.

Added a conversation to Chapter 4, extending it a bit. Tried to fix the addressed problems while I was at it. Not a lot of work, all told, had kind of a Career Crisis Panic Attack (see Natter) that blocked me from working much.

"The Fledgling" is 60 pages long today. Damn.