Home is the Hunter (2/5)
I saw Up in the Air today. Rarely been surprised by a romcom before, so I thoroughly recommend it because it pulled off two genuine surprises. (I might argue with calling it a romcom, though.)
Part two of Spike in the Rulesverse follows. I should probably mention at this point that this isn't a chaptered fic, but one divided by moods. Parts 1-4 are short ficletty-type beasts, while part 5 is more of a real fic, which would probably standalone. That said, I hope you enjoy the scene-setting ficlets.
Title: Home is the Hunter (2/5)
Characters: Spike, Giles and ensemble, with cameos from Wesley, Dawn, Illyria and Faith
Rating: PG13 to be safe
Summary: The First Quest and the Second: in which our hero sails the high seas and explores the speleology of the Maghreb, and in which the length and loneliness of the questing become apparent.
Part one: is here
Mesopotamia proved a bust. The Codex had probably been there, somewhere uncomfortably near Karbala, where a three-headed goat had been found slain by an archaic hunting bolt, but by the time Spike arrived, it was gone, and he found instead the testing ground of a group of guerrilla fighters developing dangerously unpredictable explosive devices.
He survived. Rumours kept on coming in, widely spaced in time and pace. So the mission progressed to many a far distant location, and Giles came to expect Spike’s irregular and explosive reporting.
April 2005
“I want you to know I hate Samoa. All this fucking sunshine. People are all cheerful and friendly and welcoming and I can’t fucking stand it. There’s nothing here but sodding fruit.”
“So I take it the mission isn’t proving productive?”
“It’s not here, Giles. No fucking sign of it. Red herring. I’m coming home. By the way, heard a rumour about Harris meeting a real life gorgon. Can’t be true, can it?”
Giles deplored gossip, naturally. But Spike sounded sufficiently fed up that he was willing to throw this glorious snippet out. “I’m afraid so; Medusa herself, in fact. Xander never seems to have wondered why the girl wore sunglasses in the dark, but Kennedy spotted it rather swiftly, so no harm was done. Though gorgon’s blood plays hell with natural fibres, as you’ll see in the entrance hall when you get back.”
They’d try again, when they got another sign. This was going to be a long process. Giles hoped desperately Spike realised what he’d signed up for. Or perhaps that he didn’t. There was a reason this quest had gone to an immortal being.
*
July 2006
“What’s up Watcherman? You sound pissed off. More so than usual.”
“It’s nothing.”
Spike waited. Silence worked well on Giles, at a distance. He tended to feel compelled to talk, as though hosting an embarrassingly stiff dinner party.
Then it came. “Well, perhaps I’m missing Faith a trifle.”
“She off then?” A little prompt was needed to keep it coming, but then Giles spilled quite a bit about Faith’s new mission.
“Ulan Bator? Fuck me, that’s a crappy beat... Come to think of it, I’ll probably be up there next year. Snowbound, with my luck.”
“Yes, I can’t say the thought fills me with pleasure. The distance is formidable, and connections are not good... I’m going to miss her.” That last was quietly spoken, but it was there. Giles in emotional outburst shocker. But Spike knew all too bloody well how he felt.
“Yeah. Sometimes destiny’s a bitch. Speaking of, this coy Codex of ours. I’m pretty sure someone tried to summon the Hand of Artemis again last month. Got three intel reports so far, and they all point to Oran. Good news is, it doesn’t seem to have worked. Still, got to follow up. Any idea what the connections are like from Pitcairn Island to Algiers?”
That particular side trip, a lengthy trawl round the hidden tombs of north Africa, proved fruitless once more. The Coven stepped up their efforts, but the Codex remained hidden.
Which was good, because it postponed the Apocalypse. Giles and Spike tried to remember that, while they waited for the next time.
*
Part three is here
*
Part two of Spike in the Rulesverse follows. I should probably mention at this point that this isn't a chaptered fic, but one divided by moods. Parts 1-4 are short ficletty-type beasts, while part 5 is more of a real fic, which would probably standalone. That said, I hope you enjoy the scene-setting ficlets.
Title: Home is the Hunter (2/5)
Characters: Spike, Giles and ensemble, with cameos from Wesley, Dawn, Illyria and Faith
Rating: PG13 to be safe
Summary: The First Quest and the Second: in which our hero sails the high seas and explores the speleology of the Maghreb, and in which the length and loneliness of the questing become apparent.
Part one: is here
Mesopotamia proved a bust. The Codex had probably been there, somewhere uncomfortably near Karbala, where a three-headed goat had been found slain by an archaic hunting bolt, but by the time Spike arrived, it was gone, and he found instead the testing ground of a group of guerrilla fighters developing dangerously unpredictable explosive devices.
He survived. Rumours kept on coming in, widely spaced in time and pace. So the mission progressed to many a far distant location, and Giles came to expect Spike’s irregular and explosive reporting.
April 2005
“I want you to know I hate Samoa. All this fucking sunshine. People are all cheerful and friendly and welcoming and I can’t fucking stand it. There’s nothing here but sodding fruit.”
“So I take it the mission isn’t proving productive?”
“It’s not here, Giles. No fucking sign of it. Red herring. I’m coming home. By the way, heard a rumour about Harris meeting a real life gorgon. Can’t be true, can it?”
Giles deplored gossip, naturally. But Spike sounded sufficiently fed up that he was willing to throw this glorious snippet out. “I’m afraid so; Medusa herself, in fact. Xander never seems to have wondered why the girl wore sunglasses in the dark, but Kennedy spotted it rather swiftly, so no harm was done. Though gorgon’s blood plays hell with natural fibres, as you’ll see in the entrance hall when you get back.”
They’d try again, when they got another sign. This was going to be a long process. Giles hoped desperately Spike realised what he’d signed up for. Or perhaps that he didn’t. There was a reason this quest had gone to an immortal being.
*
July 2006
“What’s up Watcherman? You sound pissed off. More so than usual.”
“It’s nothing.”
Spike waited. Silence worked well on Giles, at a distance. He tended to feel compelled to talk, as though hosting an embarrassingly stiff dinner party.
Then it came. “Well, perhaps I’m missing Faith a trifle.”
“She off then?” A little prompt was needed to keep it coming, but then Giles spilled quite a bit about Faith’s new mission.
“Ulan Bator? Fuck me, that’s a crappy beat... Come to think of it, I’ll probably be up there next year. Snowbound, with my luck.”
“Yes, I can’t say the thought fills me with pleasure. The distance is formidable, and connections are not good... I’m going to miss her.” That last was quietly spoken, but it was there. Giles in emotional outburst shocker. But Spike knew all too bloody well how he felt.
“Yeah. Sometimes destiny’s a bitch. Speaking of, this coy Codex of ours. I’m pretty sure someone tried to summon the Hand of Artemis again last month. Got three intel reports so far, and they all point to Oran. Good news is, it doesn’t seem to have worked. Still, got to follow up. Any idea what the connections are like from Pitcairn Island to Algiers?”
That particular side trip, a lengthy trawl round the hidden tombs of north Africa, proved fruitless once more. The Coven stepped up their efforts, but the Codex remained hidden.
Which was good, because it postponed the Apocalypse. Giles and Spike tried to remember that, while they waited for the next time.
*
Part three is here
*