Series
Title: 37 By 37
Chapter
Title: Take It Like A Man
Author:
Restive Nature
Rating:
PG-15 for language
Disclaimer:
I do not own the rights to Buffy the Vampire Slayer or LotR. They
belong respectively to Whedon and Tolkien.
Genre:
Crossover of Buffy The Vampire Slayer and LotR
Type:
Stand Alone
Time
line/ Spoilers: Post Chosen for Buffy and towards the end of the
Fellowship for LotR.
Summary:
Faith is a little fed up with Boromir.
A/N:
This is for the TtH Fic-for All. Pairing # 671 Faith/ Boromir. It
comes too late, as the spot has already been filled, but please enjoy
my take on this scene.
Take
It Like A Man
She
didn't know how she had ended up there. It had been another normal
night for Faith Lehane. Fighting, slaying, wise crackin' and takin'
down the enemy with the power granted to her by the smart asses
upstairs.
She
did remember several flashes. That much was clear in her brain as
time marched on. But goin' from a cemetery at night, with B and some
of the newbie slayers that they had created in the fall of the
Hellmouth of Sunnydale California, to a forest at twilight was a
situation that she had never found herself in before.
Faith,
as she had started moving around, trying to get a sense of what the
hell had happened, recalled, just prior to the flashes starting, that
she had lost her axe that she'd been using to decapitate the clan of
demons that had been attempting open up the new Hellmouth that had
formed in Cleveland. Since that was never of the good, she and Buffy
had roused and mustered up what recruits they had and headed out. She
knew that when she'd lost the axe, Buffy, ever mindful of her
environment and the people and things in it, just like a good little
Slayer she was, had tossed the Scythe to Faith.
The
rightness of it in her hands was still just as fresh and strong as it
had been the first time and every time since that she'd been able to
get her hands on it. But there was also the sense, coming from
herself, she knew, that felt unworthy of handling the weapon. Like
she was too dirty to touch such a pristine piece of history. This
time though, it felt powerful, strong, able to conquer anything with
Faith at the helm. It was odd and Faith, she liked it.
And
hated it.
She'd
had her stint as leader and it was the loneliest number for a reason.
Surprisingly,
as she moved through the dense copse of trees and other flora that
she couldn't for the life of her, identify, she began to hear the
sounds of a fight and a thought, only slightly absurd crossed her
mind.
Slayers
are always called where they are needed most.
It was something she had
heard numerous watchers, not just her own, say. And she knew it to be
true. From what they understood, Buffy was called in Los Angeles to
deal with a master Vampire there. Once dealt with, her mother had had
an insane urge to move and they'd ended up in Sunnydale. Really, an
art gallery in the exact speciality that Joyce Summers dealt with in
a town that could maybe boast forty thousand people in population?
But Buffy had been needed to guard over the Hellmouth and the coming
prophecies that dealt with that sinkhole of misery.
Kendra had been called at
Buffy's first death when she and her watcher had been in the right
place, close to some demonic activity. She'd put it down and when
word came her way of happenings in sunny Cali, her watcher had sent
her off to deal with it. Surprise, surprise that Buff had already
been there, doin' that, take two.
And then when Kendra had
died, Faith had been called because Kakistos, another Master Vampire,
had been settin' up shop in Bean town. She'd dealt and then moved on
to Sunnyhell, because that was where her watcher had been directing
her to, as the Hellmouth had been growing dangerously. And all those
girls that had gone running to B, with Giles' encouragement. Well of
course they were called on the Hellmouth They'd forced that one.
But from what the witches
research was uncovering, as they all ran around trying to get to
these new Slayers the world over, the more demonic activity in an
area, the denser the concentration of Slayers called. So some cities
would only have one or two potentials suddenly turned Slayer and
others? A dozen, easy.
But now, Faith wondered
if the potential pool had been tapped and there was a big bad that
needed dealing with. So if they couldn't call the Slayer the usual
way, they'd tapped the Scythe another way. Well, if so, that was five
by five for Faith. Because she'd just caught sight of something
large, mo-fo ugly and about to get it's ass handed to it.
“Hey handsome!” she
yelled out as she ran towards the demon that was trying to run down
two little people. Male, she guessed, though it was hard to tell with
the longish curly hair. Probably on location for a shoot, judging by
the period clothes they were wearing. But the hair was really iffy.
But they looked and sounded masculine. They were throwing rocks at
the demon, but it didn't seem to be doing much. Faith, woefully for
it, dismissed by the demon, took a running leap, stabbing the demon
through it's back as she landed.
The
force of her attack took the thing by surprise and it's legs out from
underneath it. Faith was just able to yank the
sharp and pointy end of the Scythe out of the way as it rolled
backwards. She danced back and without bothering to delve into her
usual banter with the bad guy, much different from B's quips and
puns, brought the Scythe down, burying it in the creature's head. It
jerked once as the central nervous system was compromised, as far as
she could guess, because these things where a new breed of monster to
her.
She
didn't have any more time to wonder as there were shouts and when she
whirled, saw even more of these creatures coming. And those two
little guys? Seemed about as stunned as if someone had taken a stun
gun to them. Faith didn't have time to mollycoddle the victims. Not
that she ever did. A sharp short word to smarten up and be aware of
bad things was usually the most she handed out. Common sense really.
Most people, in her opinion, didn't have it. She, as a Slayer did
what she could. But there was a popular saying that she often
subscribed to. You just can't fix stupid.
As
the nearest creature got within striking distance, Faith whirled, the
Scythe screaming it's whistling song of death as she brought it
across the creature's chest, while it stupidly had it's arms raised,
a sword overhead. Surprised that that wasn't enough to make the
creature react, Faith followed it up with a backwards roundhouse kick
that had little effect, other than to bring the creature to a
skidding halt and jar her leg slightly. Those things were heftier
than she had thought. Using the Scythe to maximum capacity, she swung
again, this time severing the creature's head from it's body.
There
were too many coming and Faith quickly fell into her battle dance
that she had taught herself so many years prior. Her senses were
stretched out, ready to engage the enemy in single combat, or as some
of them tried, with group formation. But Faith was ready for them
all, staying fluid, staying unexpected. It seemed to confound them,
when they would think they had her cornered and then, without even
batting an eyelash, dodge a huge ass arrow aimed at her back, ducking
to let it land in the chest of the current opponent.
Relieved
that she had some arsenal aside from the axe she had lost and the
Scythe still in her hands, Faith retrieved a blessed dagger that flew
from her fingers with a skill that made the other mini Slayers
jealous. She'd always had a thing for projectile weapons and if none
were available, making her own.
It
was while she was battling hard, that she noticed the little people
had run off again, following no clear path, but it seemed to her,
that they were actually trying to get these demons to follow them.
Wondering at that absurdity, she started easing in the direction that
she had seen them go. After a few minutes, she heard a strange horn
sound a short distance away and like it was a homing beacon, the
demons she was fighting broke off and started running like lunatics
in the direction the sound had come from.
Not
bothering to bite off the curses that poured from her lips, Faith
gave chase and when she caught up, stabbing and slicing as she went,
it was to see that another actor had joined the little ones. But man,
this guy was actually one of those non pretenders who had some idea
of what he was doing. He used the sword in his hands to maximum
effect, looking kinda buff as he did so. The stringy hair was a
little turn off, but then, swords had heft that most people didn't
realize and he'd probably been busy with something else, working up a
sweat.
Faith
had to admire his coolness under the pressure of the situation. She
was pretty sure that aside from cops, soldiers and the merry band of
Slayers, not many people expected to have things attack them. But as
he lifted his weird horn thing once more and blew on it, obviously
calling for what help he could, Faith began to feel a niggling in the
back of her mind. Though the trio looked worried, they didn't look
that surprised by these things.
Faith
was startled out of her thoughts when she heard the thunk-ing sound
that usually denoted a large hit of sorts and a loud gasp. Out of the
corner of her eye, she saw that one of the creatures had landed an
arrow in the bigger human, stunning the little people from their rock
throwing.
“Shit!”
Faith yelped as that distraction caused her to receive a whack to her
wrist. She brought her attention back to her own fight, using every
resource she had to stem the flow of creatures that were after the
little people. Musta figured that since they were little, they
wouldn't put up much fight. Unless of course they were needed for
some strange ritual...
Trying
to divide her focus wasn't working for her. She couldn't keep an eye
on the others as well as she liked and she began to allow the demons
to push her back. Their leering faces as they attacked held a
smugness that she knew she would be mirroring as soon as she was
where she wanted to be. She could see a level of just the barest
smidgens of intelligence in some of the creatures she fought. But
there was a single-mindedness in getting to the others that told her
that someone else was probably in control of them. Directing them in
some way.
Finally,
she was several feet from the group she was protecting and with a
fury that denoted her Slayer senses aroused to their fullest, Faith
became a whirling dervish, taking down anything big and stinky that
came within her striking distance. Everything around her was a
weapon, including her own body.
But
when she caught sight of the big and burly notching another arrow to
take aim at the little people's friend and protector, she broke off
quickly. Her dash was well timed as she leapt before the male that
had just knocked down several more creatures, looking partially
stunned and if her momentary glimpse of his face was correct, battle
weary and in shock from his injury. But he kept fighting. That was
what was important.
Faith
herself barely noticed the arrow that pierced her body between
shoulder and neck. It went through almost neatly, miraculously high
over the clavicle, missing the bone. Her landing broke the shaft,
which saved her the trouble of doing so. She saw the large creature
with the funny markings on it's face growl and snarl, reaching for
yet another arrow as it stood back from the small battlefield.
Snarling her own battle cry, Faith pushed to her feet and holding the
Scythe crosswise over her body, ran straight at it, using the
axe-head to block another arrow shot. The bolt shattered on impact
and Faith felt the sharp sting of wood pieces embedding in her cheek.
The
creature, looking as if it couldn't believe her impudence in not
dying, lifted it's bow, but she was too fast and in a slight panic,
it dropped the weapon and reached for it's back, pulling loose an old
blade. Looked like a Saracen designed, curved weapon and that was all
Faith could discern before it met the Scythe, the ringing almost ear
shattering as metal met metal. Knowing how big and burly these
bastards were, Faith put all her forced behind the blow, knocking the
demon's sword down to the ground, bowing him over with it. Faith used
the momentum, holding the sword down low with the Scythe as she
followed the move up with a circular kick to it's head. The
unexpected use of martial arts brought the creature to it's stomach
and Faith yanked the Scythe back, reversing it slightly as she leaped
slightly to ram the point of the Scythe into the creature's spine.
She heard a shout from a human sounding voice, but she knew without a
doubt that this creature, slightly bigger and more intelligence in
it's eyes, that she couldn't be distracted. The Scythe didn't
puncture clear through the bones of the demon, if it had actual bone.
Surprisingly, it was able to, even though partially skewered, throw
it's sword and sword arm back, catching her shin and taking her legs
out from under her. Faith rolled backwards even as it pushed itself
up, uncaring it seemed of the large implement jutting from it's back.
Looking
for a weapon, any weapon, Faith's eyes darted around only briefly,
because that thing was moving way faster than it should, climbing up
as well, the sword still in it's hand. The Scythe quivering in time
to it's pulse. But even as it raised it's sword arm, Faith spied the
creatures discarded bow. She swooped low to catch it off the ground,
figuring that she could use it to block, and probably end up turning
it into kindling. But then, another guy was there, catching the
lowering sword with his own and splitting the creature's offense.
Faith waited, seeing that this new guy, just as oddly dressed and
stringy haired as the other, though his hair was darker, more hints
of gray in it, knew what he was doing.
The
bow still in her hand, she waited only momentarily as the creature
parried rapid blows from the newcomer. She darted forward, only to be
knocked backwards to the ground by a large shield covering the
demon's forearm. She rallied, as the other man tried to
move in again, only to have the shield thrown at him in a truly, she
could admit later, inspired move. It drove him back into the tree,
the shield's bottom edge catching the man's throat, nearly
decapitating him. Faith knew that they had little time then and
catapulted to her feet, bow still in hand.
“Hey
ugly!” she shrieked as she flew forward. “You still got somethin'
of mine!” The creature paid her no attention as he ran forward, his
sword aloft. But before he could make the final blow, she had hooked
the bow string around his neck, jerking the creature off balance. It
snarled and then roared, spinning around as Faith ducked the sword,
her hands coming up upon it's completion of it's tight circle, to
yank the Scythe free. It roared and raised the sword again, but Faith
danced nimbly out of the way, catching the thick wood of the bow
bouncing along it's back and deftly spinning it as she stayed behind
the monster, creating a very strange noose.
The
creature reached for it's neck but she was too fast and it could not
get it's fingers adequately under the string immediately at it's
neck. It forewent dealing with Faith though, as the man had escaped
the shield and was on the attack again. The parried each other's
blows, until the man was able to chop off the creature's arm.
She
helped as much as she could, jerking the demon here and there to keep
him from landing a full blow on the shorter man. She had to shrink
back though when the man stabbed the creature in the belly area and
the crazy ass demon yanked the man's sword all the way through to the
hilt. She could only imagine that it was trying to back her off. But
the sword was pulled free quickly and she spun the Scythe landing a
beautiful blow that severed the creatures head from behind in mid
growl.
The
man stared at the creature, then lifted his eyes to her just before
the body toppled to the ground, his eyes dark and troubled. But Faith
had no time for whatever bug was up his ass. The bad guy was dead and
those little people were nowhere in sight. Seeing the other guy, the
one she'd been helping before, struggling to get to his feet, she
hurried over to him. Newcomer was hot on her heels.
Faith
stopped short, because although she knew real well how to cause
injury, she sure as hell wasn't as sure about curing it. The other
guy had no compunctions about it though, falling to his knees by the
man on the ground, who was grasping at the arrow wounds inflicted in
his body.
“They
took the little ones,” he managed to get out. Faith looked around,
but the killing field was empty of the other creatures that had been
attacking, and like he said, the little folks that she had been
trying to protect were gone. She scanned the ground, looking for a
clue as to the direction that they had taken.
“Be
still,” the newer guy warned softly.
“Where
is Frodo?” the one on the ground wondered aloud harshly and Faith
wondered if that was someone's name. It obviously was, as the new guy
spared hurt guy a glance.
“I
let Frodo go,” he answered.
“Then
you did what I could not,” injured guy nodded. He was still
grasping, this time now at the other guy's shoulder and head. Faith
frowned. “I tried to take the ring from him.” Ring? What ring?
This guy was weird and just as much the other one who sat there
listening to him.
“The
ring is beyond our reach now,” darker haired guy sighed.
“Forgive
me,” hurt guy gasped. “I did not see. I have failed you.”
“No
Boromir,” the other guy crooned softly and Faith, distracted from
scanning the path the creature's must have taken, started to wonder
if there was something more between these guys. Lovers perhaps?
“You've
fought bravely,” new guy commended. “You have kept your honor.”
That said, he reached once more for the arrows sticking out of the
guy. Boromir? These weird ass name's were really starting to make her
head hurt as Faith realized that the suspicions she had been fighting
down really were a possibility. Was she in some new place,
transported by God alone knew what? It seemed she was. But she didn't
have time when it happened, nor did she now to figure it out.
“Leave
it!” Boromir spoke harshly, pushing the other guy's hand. “It
is over. The world of men will fall and all will come to darkness,”
he stammered out, fighting against his injuries to speak. “And my
city to ruin.”
Faith
was starting to get the idea here. Kinda like they had fought the
Turok-hans to keep them from over running first Sunnydale, then the
world, at the behest of the First Evil, these guys were fighting off
these demons. And from the looks of it, they needed all the help they
could get. Boromir was grasping at the other guy's shoulder again as
the newer guy regarded him.
“I
do not know what strength is in my blood,” he finally spoke and she
could hear something tangible in his voice as strangely, the Scythe
seemed to warm in her hands. “But I swear to you, I will not let
the White City fall! Nor our people fail.”
Our
people? Were they brother's, or cousins maybe then? Didn't matter to
her. It did to Boromir thought as a tremulous smile came to his lips.
“Our
people,” he repeated. “Our people.” It was said like an
affirmation and truthfully, she was starting to get bored. She wasn't
cut for this maudlin crap.
But
Boromir was now stretching out his hand and the other guy reached for
his sword, which Boromir dragged, hilt first to rest over his chest.
She would have continued watching, but caught movement in her
peripheral vision and swung around, the Scythe coming up to cover her
body defensively.
The
latest guy in the trio of males left behind by the marauding demons,
was blond, so there was a relief, since she only had one name, well,
perhaps two. Was this the elusive Frodo? He paid her scant attention,
focusing more on the other two guys, but he slowed considerably,
holding his empty hands up. It didn't deter Faith from keeping a firm
grip with both hands on her Scythe, because the guy was definitely
loaded for bear. But he finally came to a halt, his head tilted sadly
as he regarded the other males.
“I
would have followed you,” Boromir continued his little diatribe of
whatever the hell it was, which made Faith relax. If this new blondie
was an enemy, wouldn't he have warned his friend? And blondie made no
move to take them out, so they were probably friends, or at least on
the same side. “My brother,” Boromir gasped, which made Faith's
lip curl. But he went on, “my captain... my King.”
“Oh
my God!” she finally spat out, drawing blondie's and
brother-captain-king's attention. “Can we can the bullshit?”
“Lady?”
captain guy spoke sharply, his head twisting to look at her, heavy
censure in his eyes, but it was like water off a duck's back. That
type of look had long ago ceased to matter to her with strangers. “I
do not know who you are-!”
“And
it ain't important right now,” Faith snorted as she took a few
steps forward.
“She
protected me, the little ones,” Boromir groaned. “She fought...”
“And
I'm still ready to fight,” Faith snapped. “Unlike you, mister
urgent death scene. For cryin' out loud, it's just a few freakin'
arrows. Get your ass up!”
“Lady,”
captain guy broke in, looking slightly bewildered, as if suddenly
remembering that she had helped save his life as well. “The arrows
were tipped with poison and-!”
“And
if the guy's anatomy is typical, then no major organs were hit,”
Faith denied angrily. “So get him up, give him an antidote and
let's go. Those little people? Still... need... help.” She saw that
they were all frowning at her, even blondie and she rolled her eyes.
“Fuck! I took an arrow and I'm still going. You guys do what you
want.” She turned to storm away, but the captain king guy scoffed.
“One
arrow to his several lady,” he pointed out. “And we have no
antidote.”
“So
he's gonna die because he refuses to stand up and do something about
it,” Faith nodded knowingly, like she was expecting this. She
glanced down at Boromir, who was staring up at her, dumbfounded. “You
ever hear the expression, 'talk is cheap'?”
“I...
have not,” he coughed.
“It
means that everyone can afford promises and swearing, but the price
comes when you have to back that crap up,” she pointed out angrily.
“So if you really mean it, then take it like a man and get your ass
up!” She darted forward, not wanting to lose any more. Her prices
had already been too great. “You die, you do it on your feet, boy!”
She knocked the other guy aside and hauled Boromir to his feet. He
swayed unsteadily, grasping at her shoulders, beads of sweat rolling
down his face. Faith regarded him and then turned to the other guy.
“Get a fire going and see if you can burn the poison out. We can at
least close the wounds.”
“Boromir?”
He
seemed content to stare at Faith for the longest time before he gave
a nod. “My Lady, you are... indeed correct.” He turned his face
back to his Captain-King friend and reached one shaky hand up. “Honor
will only be served on my feet in such a time as this.”
The
other guy sighed, long and heavy before he moved to help Boromir
further. The groan he gave as he moved his impaled body was painful
for them all to hear and his friend instantly moved to support him as
best he was able. Blondie moved to help, but Faith was already there.
Boromir glanced down at her as she snuck under his other arm. “Don't
be afraid to lean on me,” she instructed. “I'm a lot stronger
than I look,” she chuckled, knowing they would be wary. But for
some reason, it seemed like this Boromir was ready to give her the
benefit of the doubt.
“I...
thank you Lady,” he murmured as they shuffled along, wincing along
with every moan and groan the guy gave.
“Do
you know aught of the healing arts?” the other asked as blondie
guided them through the forest.
“Other
than slap a bandage on it and hope it quits bleeding?” Faith asked
derisively. “Not really.”
“But
you know to try burning the poison out?” blondie asked from several
feet ahead of them. Faith tried to shrug, which elicited another soft
grunt from her passenger.
“Believe
me, that's it,” Faith sighed. “Where I'm from, I get hurt, I keep
going until the job is done and I'm either dead or the winner. And if
I know I'm gonna die, I'm gonna take as many of the evil baddies with
me as possible, ya know.”
“Indeed,”
Boromir huffed. “As I was trying before you graced me with your
interference.” That finally got a chuckle out of the other one on
Boromir's other side.
“I
believe that was gratitude, of a sort,” he commented.
“Snarking
under pressure,” Faith nodded. “Better to quip than quit. I know
all about that shit.” She lifted her head to glance across
Boromir's chest. “Look, you guys got names I can call ya? I'm
confusing myself a little.”
“If
you will return the favor,” the other guy grunted as together, they
lifted Boromir over a fallen log. “I am known in these parts as
Strider. The man we carry is a countryman of mine, Boromir.” They
heard a shout and Strider sighed, even as Blondie chuckled and shook
his head, his feet picking up speed. “There yonder is Legolas of
the Woodland realms and we go to meet a companion of ours, named
Gimli.”
“Okay,
that works,” Faith nodded. “My name is Faith and don't laugh, my
ma picked it.”
“Why
would one laugh at your name?” Boromir wondered, sounding
breathless.
“Because
it's not kosher to name your kids like that,” Faith sighed. “You
know destiny, chastity, karma...”
“Kosher?”
both males questioned. Faith wrinkled her nose as she thought how to
explain. A word they weren't familiar with. That wasn't new to her
since she'd come across plenty of occasions like that.
“Kosher
as in, well, I know it used to mean that certain foods
were okay to eat under Jewish law,” she rambled a little. She
wouldn't admit it outright all the time, but her years in prison had
allowed her the opportunity to learn and she had decided to take
advantage of that. If only to keep her mind from exploding from the
boredom. “Other people use it to mean anything that's acceptable.”
“And
naming your children in such a way is not?” Strider wondered. Faith
felt Boromir leaning a little more on her, which wasn't a problem,
since Legolas was picking the easiest route he seemed able to find.
Perhaps these were his realms and he knew them well.
“You
name your kid something like that, and you usually end up with the
opposite,” she grunted. “Like Patience, and the kid has none.”
“I
see your meaning,” Strider agreed. “So you have no faith?”
“I
didn't,” Faith retorted, “until the powers that be decided to
throw my ass into a fight bigger than the world. Give me the power to
protect the weak and innocent. And finally, the maturity to know what
I had to do, rather than exploit the gift I was given. Don't get me
wrong, I like kicking demon ass. But I take my responsibilities a
little more strongly these days.”
“Then
perhaps your mother knew more than you credit her for,” Strider
seemed to be teasing and Faith just shook her head. If the guy knew
what kind of mother she'd had, he'd not be joking. Unless this was
some misogynistic world... but she hadn't seen proof of that yet.
“We
are here,” Legolas man announced as he pushed aside brush, holding
it out of their way as they made it through to an encampment along a
river bank. There was another short dude there, though not as short
as the others little people.
It
was just as well that he had already gotten a small fire lit as
Strider helped her lower Boromir to the ground. Guy wasn't looking
too good know, as sweat was erupting from his skin like the river
they were camped next to. Legolas quickly performed introductions
between Faith and their friend Gimli, who was worried about the 'wee
ones'.
“I
think I saw which direction they were headed off in,” Faith
announced as she helped Strider pulling paraphernalia off of
Boromir's torso. “We can track them if we need to.”
“Who
is this wench?” Gimli demanded huffily.
“Gimli!”
Strider snapped, leaning over to grab up a bag and a pot. Faith
suppressed a smile. Word must mean the same as her world. Didn't
bother her any. The dude didn't know her. A little caution was never
amiss. For others at least.
“She
fought to save the little ones,” Boromir gasped from his position
on the ground. “And me.”
“And
her actions kept me from being beheaded by one of the enemy,”
Strider added. He glanced up at her with a half smile. “Very
unusual, but I was not going to quibble over the manner of said
help.”
Faith
shrugged as Strider handed the pot to Legolas who moved down to the
river edge to scoop up some water. But something apparently caught
his sight and he gave a sharp noise before tossing the pot to the
side and dashing over to a boat that Faith had noticed, but hadn't
given thought to.
“Frodo
and Sam are on the other side,” he called back, apparently ready to
shove the boat into the water.
“No!”
Strider called and Legolas turned back, staring at his friend in
puzzlement. It was quiet for a long moment after that as Faith looked
between the group of males. Sighing, Strider shook his head slowly.
“I let Frodo go. His path lies on a different way now.”
There
were soft groans and then Gimli scoffed. “Then it was all for
naught. The Fellowship is destroyed.”
“Not
so long as we hold true to one another,” Strider retorted and it
was Faith's turn to frown.
“You
guys have a goal in mind?” she wondered. They were obviously up to
something, protecting these little people. She could see who Legolas
had been after and they looked like the two little people that she
had seen before. Except one of those across the river was blond. The
other two had both been darker haired. How many of these little
people were running around? There were wary looks thrown her way and
she held up her hand. “Don't need the details,” she offered.
“Just sayin', you try one way, it don't work, then you try another.
They seem to be tryin' another. Doesn't mean you've lost the battle.”
She squinted her eyes and then grinned. “Or okay, maybe a skirmish,
but not the war, right?”
“The
lady Faith is indeed correct,” Strider nodded. He took the pot of
water from Legolas who had slowly returned. He settled it near the
fire and made a gesture and Legolas immediately began building the
fire up. “We must heal Boromir if we are able and we will not
abandon Pippin and Merry to death and torment at the hands of their
captors!”
“Aye!”
Gimli immediately growled, coming to his feet. Legolas nodded as
well.
“We
must hurry,” he implored. “The beast flees on swift feet.”
“Gotcha,”
Faith nodded. She glanced around at their encampment and then turned
to Strider. “You got any slim pieces of metal. The sword blade is
probably too wide and hard to heat up enough to do it.”
Strider
nodded and began rummaging through his packs while Gimli and Legolas
moved to brace up Boromir for the process. Arrows had to come out,
flesh burned, and it wasn't a pretty sight. The screaming alone would
have brought down the enemy upon them, if they hadn't all fled the
area.
But
just as the final puncture wound was being burned, Boromir gave a
huge gasp and then fell back on the ground. Nothing. There was
nothing.
“What?”
Strider gaped and then threw himself back a little. “He has stopped
breathing!” He pushed forward, laying his hand to Boromir's neck,
his eyes wide, his body shaking. “Boromir! Awake!”
Faith
took the situation in in a glance and shoved the other man away.
“Glad I learned CPR in prison,” she muttered and checked for his
pulse, which was almost non-existent. She placed her mouth over his
after tipping his head back and pinching his nose shut. She blew two
hearty breaths in and began compressions on his chest. She was
mindful of her Slayer strength and was relieved when after four
rounds of compressions, the man gave a gasp and coughed weakly. She
had just been about to breath for him again, her lips hovering over
his when Boromir came back to them. Instead, his eyes fluttered open
and his hand moved with more swift movement than Faith would have
thought possible and he caught the back of her head, pulling her
down.
It
had been not that long ago that she had felt Robin Wood's lips upon
hers as they had celebrated what they thought would be their last
night together on earth. She had her suspicions that it really had
been hers. But it was nothing compared to the kiss that Boromir gave
her. Like she could feel his gratitude, his strength and not a small
amount of desire. It awoke senses in her that she hadn't thought
present since the days before she was a Slayer. When people, men
actually might care for her and not what she could do for them. True,
there had been only one man, more of a boy really, but...
Faith
pulled away, her eyes wide as Boromir stared up at her. “What the
hell was that?” she demanded.
“Twas
but following you directive, milady,” Boromir retorted, obviously
breathless once more. But at least this time he had the power to draw
oxygen on his own.
Faith
chuckled. “Yeah, you took that like a man. Typical.” Then she
shrugged and glanced at the amused faces of the others. “Looks like
they don't call it the kiss of life for nothing.”
“It
was... most instructive,” Strider mused, his lips quivering with
suppressed amusement. But it was over quickly as he turned to assess
the patient. “Can you sit Boromir?”
Boromir
nodded and together they helped him to a seated position while the
male did his own assessment of his injuries. Finally he glanced up at
them. “I will be sore for many days to come, but I will not impede
our mission.”
“Good
to know,” Faith nodded as she scooted back. “So now we get to the
planning, yeah?”
“Forgive
me lady,” Legolas interrupted softly, “but truly, in this dark
time...”
“You
don't know if you can trust me still,” Faith nodded. She shrugged
then, taking them all in. “Strange times makes strange bedfellows,”
she sighed. Removing the Scythe from where she'd slung it on her
back, she held it before her. “This might be hard to believe, I
know I'm having trouble with it. Back where I came from,” she
decided to delve right in, “my friends and I were engaged in a
battle, with something not unlike what you guys were fighting. We
took the fight to them, on their turf. Their ground We won, but the
underground cavern we
fought in,” her lips twitched at the thought
of trying to explain the Hellmouth, “it began to collapse. My
friend Buffy and I were the last ones out,” barring Spike of
course. But sunlight coursing through a Vampire? Only one way for
that to end, she knew. “It was a miracle that any of us survived.
Now, I don't know what power made it happen, but when we were
fighting some more baddies, we saw your little friends being
attacked. She went left, to protect our friends, I went right to
protect them. And then I was here. And the job's not finished. I
guess the powers,” she gestured with her forefinger, up to the
sky,” aren't done with me yet. Got myself a new destiny, yeah?”
There
was silence all around her as Faith continued to hold various gazes,
waiting uncharacteristically patiently for their answers. Out of them
all, none looked assured, except maybe... and then Faith felt her
lungs hitch as Boromir struggled upwards. Strider tried to keep him
from rising, but upon seeing his determination, turned instead to
help. Once he was on his feet, Boromir lifted his sword in an awkward
salute, before allowing it to drop.
“Lady,”
he began, slightly breathless and sounding as wounded as he looked,
but attention was riveted on him nonetheless. “I began this quest,
sworn to be true and through no intention of mine, I played false
against my companions, my compatriot and those that I swore to
protect. Through all I have seen and done, you have shone in our
short acquaintance as one that has held these promises in your heart
and soul from the moment you came to us. I do not know that I can as
yet accept the story you weave for us. But as I have been given
another chance, I believe in my heart that you should be given one as
well.” He turned to his friend and country man and leaned against
him. “I have spoken my piece. Do with it what you will.”
Strider
stared a long moment at his friend and then turned to regard Faith.
“In these times, we can not afford to fall in with the enemy. But
even less can we afford to turn away those who would aid us. My heart
tells me that you have come here by a greater design than most can
understand, let alone even acknowledge. If our companions will agree,
we will welcome you to our Fellowship.” He turned to look at the
others, even as he helped Boromir to sit and then recline once more.
It
was Legolas that spoke up next. But he barely glanced at Faith.
“Strider, you have brought us and the little ones through dark
times and dangerous places. Stood against the greatest of poor odds
and still you stand. I will trust you, as I have trusted you for many
long years. My vote is aye.”
And
as a group, they turned to the dwarf as he harrumphed. He didn't
rise, didn't make a pretty speech, just leaned on his axe and glared
at Faith. “Lass,” he began, “I don't think I need to make it
much more clear than this. You go with us, you fight with us. You
betray us, and I will take that verra pretty axe of yours and chop
your traitorous head from your body. And then I'll shine that pretty
axe up, strap it to my back and step over your dead body as one would
a fallen bit of stone broken away in the quest for gems of real
worth.”
Faith
nodded. She got it. She felt about the same when someone new and
extremely suspect entered her realm. Her world. Her killing field.
With ease, the Scythe came free and with a flourishing whirl, she
balanced it on her palm. She looked to Gimli first and with a trace
of a grin, told him, “just to make things clear, it's The Scythe,”
she emphasized, “not just an axe. It carries the purity of my line,
all that came before me, all that are and all that will come after
me. It has made me what I am today.” She turned slightly to include
the others as she finished creating an oath that meant more to her
than words she had spoken before. “By my blood and that of my kin,
wherever they may be in these worlds, I will not rest until the
darkness is beaten back, or my death takes me.” With that promise,
she thrust the Scythe into the ground and reveled in their wide eyes
as the Scythe quivered between them, zinging in the still air, almost
as if it were making her promise true, written in something more
eternal than blood. And truly, Faith could feel it.
With
a soft chuckle, Boromir stirred once more, his hand over his heart.
“Welcome to our Fellowship, Lady Faith.”
That
was all she needed, to know that she had indeed, found a new destiny.
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