A Morning Meeting

[sunnydalealum]

Midtown
Offices of Wolfram & Hart
May 26, 2005, 10:30am

Beth looks around the elegant office lobby uneasily, sidestepping a trio in business suits (two men, one woman) hurrying past her toward the elevator at the rear, as Brianna leads her toward the security desk. "Hey, Alan," she says cheerfully.

"Morning, Ms. Walden," says the uniformed young man behind the desk with a pleasant smile. "Signing in a guest?"

"Yeah. It's on B Clearance. Emma wants to meet her." Brianna says it casually enough, but Alan's eyebrows go up and he looks at Beth with a shade more respect.

"Very good. Could you please sign your name here?" He hands Beth a pen, and adds "And just fill in by invitation under Purpose of Visit."

Comments

[sunnydalealum]

"Now, there's a lot we don't know," Emma continues. "We don't know where these abilities come from -- it doesn't seem to be genetic; sisters and mothers of zhirelin are almost always perfectly normal themselves. We don't know why the abilities only show up in women. We don't know why some zhirelin manifest at puberty and some not for years after. We don't have any explanation for the connection between zhirelin and vampires; you've got about the same level of physical strength, and you can usually sense each other in some way, but if that means anything, we have no idea what. There's been all kinds of superstitions about you over the centuries, but most of them don't hold water."

Another pause, and she adds more soberly: "Speaking of superstitions."

[sunnydalealum]

"...yes?" Uneasy.

[sunnydalealum]

"You want to watch out for a group that calls themselves the Watchers' Council," says Emma. "They might be calling themselves the New Watchers' Council, whatever. I think there's a new faction in charge of them now. Nothing's changed."

[sunnydalealum]

Brianna's face darkens a little at that, and she nods grimly.

Beth glances at her, and looks back at Emma. "Who are they?"

[sunnydalealum]

"They're a group of religious fanatics who've been trying to control the zhirelin since pretty much ever," says Emma, her voice sardonic and a little thin with distaste.

"They're going to tell you that women like you are called Vampire Slayers, or just Slayers, and that your abilities come with a sacred destiny. They talk a lot about destiny. And duty, that's another favorite. And what that particular pile of crap boils down to is that they think they have the god-given right to use your power to kill their enemies."

[sunnydalealum]

Beth swallows. "Their enemies?"

[sunnydalealum]

"Pretty much everything super-, sub-, or preter-natural that exists," Emma says cheerfully. "Vampires yeah, but also ghosts, demons, witches -- you've heard about the medieval witch hunts, right? Probably won't have heard so much about the witch hunters sending out young girls to hunt down and kill other young girls, but you know who writes the histories."

A thin smile, ironic and unamused.

[sunnydalealum]

"And ... that was them? They're that old?"

[sunnydalealum]

"Older. They go back almost as far as the zhirelin do. A lot of what we know, we know from their records."

A pause, and she adds ruefully: "Which makes it a little suspect, since their attitudes toward women with power crystallized sometime around the Middle Ages, but we try to work around their prejudices."

[sunnydalealum]

Beth looks at Brianna again. "And those other girls, the ... the other group that night? The ones who asked you who's your Watcher?"

[sunnydalealum]

"Definitely theirs." Brianna's shoulders hunch a little. "Maybe just out hunting vampires." Reluctantly, she adds: "Probably not. Probably looking for you, same as we were."

[sunnydalealum]

Emma nods. "Yeah. Having a few of their tame zhirelin, their 'Slayers,' showing up to rescue a new one is a good way to win her confidence. Favorite tactic of theirs. I don't think the Council actually sent those vampires after you in the first place, but we can't be sure."

[sunnydalealum]

Beth stares at her. "You're not serious."

[sunnydalealum]

"No?" Again that ironic, isn't-this-funny-but-not-really smile. "Considering that their coming-of-age test for Slayers used to be sending the girl up against a vampire unarmed to see if she survived? And when I say used to be, I don't mean in the fifteenth century, I mean the last time they did it was five years ago."

[sunnydalealum]

I don't want to know all this, wails a tiny voice in Beth's head. I don't want to hear it, I don't, make it stop.

"...what happened to the girl?" she asks, unwillingly. "The one five years ago?"

[sunnydalealum]

"Oh, she lived." Evenly. "She's one of their most loyal Slayers now. Helps recruit the new ones, sometimes."

[sunnydalealum]

Beth takes a swallow of coffee, and then puts her cup down.

"Okay, wait," she says abruptly. "So they kill vampires and you kill vampires, right? What's the difference?"

[sunnydalealum]

"The difference is," says Brianna a little sharply, "the Council doesn't differentiate between a vampire trying to kill somebody and a vampire just walking down the street minding his own business."

[sunnydalealum]

"That about covers it," Emma agrees. "I said they were fanatics. I meant that pretty literally. If you're a vampire, they want you dusted, and they don't care whether you eat babies and nuns or get all your meals at the back door of the blood bank. Or the kosher butchers. Or from willing donors, for that matter.

"Listen, you don't want to judge all vampires by the ones who attacked you," she continues, very earnestly. "Demons, either -- most of them are thoroughly civilized. From civilizations older than ours. And here in this country we finally have a shot at compromise and peaceful coexistence, because a lot of them came here for the same reasons we did. They just want to live and let live here like everybody else. If old-world relics like the Watchers' Council will just leave them alone."

[sunnydalealum]

"So ... not all demons are evil?" She sounds very young in her own ears, young and ignorant. "Or all vampires?"

[sunnydalealum]

Emma smiles like a sculpture of a saint, gentle and caring and a little sad. "They're just people, Beth. We're all just people."

[sunnydalealum]

* * * * *




Emma sees the two to the lobby, waits as Beth finishes signing out, and shakes her hand warmly. "Again, if you've got any questions about what we discussed -- any of what we discussed -- you can call me. Take care."

Brianna makes her goodbyes and turns to head back into the building for her afternoon shift. Emma waits and watches as Beth leaves; the younger woman hesitates by the revolving door, looking back over her shoulder, and Emma raises one hand in a small reassuring wave.

[sunnydalealum]

"They say children are our nation's future," says a voice just behind her shoulder.

[sunnydalealum]

"They also say an apple a day keeps the doctor away," she says, still smiling after Beth, not turning around.

[sunnydalealum]

"Mmm," says Grant, checking his watch as he steps to her side, "only if it's accompanied by plenty of fiber and protein."

The time he sees seems to please him; he lowers his wrist, and offers her a pleasant if oddly reptilian smile. "And the early bird catches the worm."