The Immortal Slayer - Chapter 13
Astra paced nervously across the floor of the mansion. Hearing Angel come out of his room she took a deep breath and sat down, trying to gain some composure.Walking across the room to the couch Angel sat down, he leaned forward and looked at Astra. "How long have you been pacing in here?"
Astra looked up at him, her expression mimicking that of a child with her hand caught in the cookie jar. "Only a little bit. Did I wake you?" She asked, an edge to her voice. Grabbing the arms of the chair she launched herself up and pretended to study the ornate design on the rug in front of the door.
Inwardly she groaned. She wasn't sure why but she felt as though she could have no weaknesses. All her life she had always been important and in control. To show weakness was almost like betraying her duty. Yet she had never faced so great a challenge as she faced now. To inhabit Willow's body and try to infuse all the memories and thoughts of past slayers was strenuous. Astra sighed softly and admitted the truth to herself; she was scared. She still had her doubts about what she was doing and even the Universal Slayer could make mistakes.
"No, you didn't wake me." Angel sat back and watched Astra staring intently at the rug.
"You have a beautiful rug." Astra said as she walked back over to the chair. "I love the design." She continued absentmindedly running her hands over the back of the chair. She wanted to share some of her thoughts with Angel but was unsure of what the reaction may be. Combining that with her doubts and the weirdness of being in a human body made Astra unbearably nervous.
Angel took in the distracted look on Astra's face, but decided to stick with the topic of the rug. "It's one of my favorite pieces. I acquired it in Ireland. The design is simply one of Celtic knots, only done with many intertwining strands, making it look much more elaborate than it really is."
Astra mutely agreed nodding her head, not really having heard what Angel had said about the rug. Her thoughts were still turned inward and she found herself struggling more and more to fight off the doubts she had. The more she thought about it, the harder it was.
"Astra."
She continued to stare off blankly, lost in her thoughts.
"Astra." Angel said again, putting more emphasis on the word, trying to rouse Astra from her thoughts.
Astra looked up, recalling she had said something about the rug, and vaguely wondering what Angel had said in return. Sitting down in the chair she pulled her legs up under her and gave the vampire a slight smile. "Sorry. Sometimes thoughts are louder than words."
"I can identify with that feeling." Angel said softly as he walked across the room and leaned against the wall, enjoying the feel of the cool stone against his forehead. He knew there was something bothering Astra, but was unsure of how he might be able to help. Talking to Willow would have been so much easier, and thinking of her Angel realized how much he missed her. Pressing his hands against the stone to either side of his head he began thinking how much Willow and Astra were interconnected now. If Astra were this unsettled, it would affect Willow after she regained control of her body. Rolling over he pressed back against the wall and looked at the small form sitting in the chair. There was more to Astra than just a cocky confidence. Cautiously he walked over to the chair and squatted down beside of it.
"How can I help you?"
Hearing those words Astra was unsure of how to react. He was being sincere. No one had ever really offered to help her before; usually she forced it upon them because it was necessary, as she had done with Willow. As her thoughts turned to Willow, Astra decided to trust this vampire.
"Distract me?"
"Distract you?" Angel repeated what she had said, somewhat taken aback at the simple answer when he had been expecting her to actually open up to him. She puzzled him more than anyone else he had known.
"Yes. I need to do something so I'm not thinking about how confining it is to be in a body. I can't stop fidgeting and I just don't know what to do with myself." A half pleading look centered on Astra's face as she tried to explain her need to be distracted.
"We can train. Willow's body is not used to physically fighting and it would help to condition her muscles." Angel began pushing furniture towards the walls, to clear the middle of the room.
"I need some different clothes." Astra stated before walking off down the hallway towards the room she had been given. She was wearing a long skirt and sweater of Willow's that Buffy had given to her the day after the ritual. Now she was hoping there had been some shorts and a t-shirt in the stack also.
Astra changed quickly; hoping training would be sufficient enough to quiet her thoughts. She had never before had to physically fight so this experience would be new to her as well as Willow. Walking back into the living room she took a quick breath as she saw the muscular Angel in a tank top. As the feeling passed Astra felt more confused than ever. The feelings of human emotions were very intense for her, with this body having so many ways to react. Astra felt emotions in her original form, but they never varied so much. She also realized that Willow was much stronger and her thoughts began merging with Astra's. Smiling Astra hoped this training session would bring Angel and Willow that much closer.
Vampire and Slayer began trading blows, allowing the techniques to consume their minds. For now only the two of them existed and they had to spar in order to survive. The morning turned to afternoon as they matched blow for blow, and afternoon was soon slipping away as well.
****
"I've got to get out of here." Buffy looked up from the book she had been going over all evening. "The words just don't make sense anymore. Even the normal ones." She said, adding an emphasis to the word normal. "I say its time to go Bronzing. Who's with me?"
"What's Bronzing?" Astra asked, walking into the library with Angel. "It sounds peculiar." She added, the uncertainty evident in her voice.
"I think the only way for you to understand would be to experience it first hand. Wouldn't you agree Xander?" Buffy prodded her friend with a wide-eyed look. There was no way she was going to spend the evening researching with Giles.
"Uhh, yeah. Definitely. It's no good unless you've been there. Words wouldn't do it justice."
"Buffy, are you certain…" Giles started even though Buffy and Xander had already started collecting their things.
"Giles, we've been researching like non-stop. Please, give us a break."
"Very well." Giles conceded, knowing he was fighting a losing battle. Once that girl got something into her head there was no stopping her. "Do be careful and remember, the Dark Goddess is not to be taken lightly."
"Right, no problem." Xander called back as he and Buffy steered Angel and Astra out the door.
"Good timing you two." Buffy said with a smile. "I couldn't study those books another minute, even if my life depended on it."
"Which it very well might." Xander threw in grinning himself. "At any rate I'm glad to get out of there though. I feel like I've been living in the library."
"Glad to help." Astra said, "but could you give me some clue as to what Bronzing is?"
"The Bronze is a small club here in town. It's a place for people to congregate." Angel simply stated.
"People hang out, enjoy one another's company, dance and have a good old time." Xander said, then added, "Usually at least. Sometimes it does attract vampires and such."
"Sounds interesting." Astra said, unsure of how to react. She had seen such places before, but usually found them loud and raucous and very uninviting in general. She hoped fervently that this would be a better experience for the mere fact that she could actually experience it.
"I have to go home and change. Why don't we meet at the Bronze in like an hour?" Buffy suggested, looking down at her rumpled clothes. Research did not agree with looking good.
"What should I wear?" Astra quickly asked, hoping she might be allowed to accompany Buffy. According to Willow's thoughts, the two had a lot of fun getting ready to do things like this. Not to mention Astra wanted Buffy to trust her a little more, and figured this could be the remedy. "Is there anything in that stack of clothes you gave me that might work?"
Buffy grinned at the thought of dressing Willow up in her clothes, although it wasn't really Willow she would be dressing. "You could come with me, if you want. I have a lot of outfits that would look awesome on you."
Astra smiled as she waved to Angel and turned following Buffy.
***
Astra sat perched on the edge of Buffy's bed, feeling out of place. Buffy had invited her along, but it felt like there was still a wall between them. Astra wanted to know Buffy, in a way she had never allowed herself to interact with any of the slayers. As time went by and Astra matured along with the world, she realized that a closer relationship to the slayers could be allowed. Granted she had to be careful and keep some measure of distance. But there was no reason she couldn't allow herself to become friends with them. She relaxed a little more as she realized she had become friends with Angel, so becoming friends with Buffy was possible too. Astra also couldn't help but wonder if her desire to befriend this slayer in particular didn't have something do with the girl whose body she was occupying.
"You have a nice room." Astra rotated her gaze around the room, taking in the vanity, the bedside table, and the various pictures. "It looks very safe and comfortable."
"Thanks." Buffy replied while rooting through her closet. She was looking for a particular dark green dress she had that would go great with Astra's long red hair. "Ah ha! Here, try this on. " She said while tossing the dress to Astra.
Astra held up the dress in front of her as Buffy began going through her clothes again. It was sleeveless, with thick shoulder straps and a low cut neckline designed to accentuate the breasts. Blending into the dark green material was an embroidered design of ivy adding a subtle texture to the rich material. The design roamed across the whole dress, adding emphasis to al the right places. Astra slowly ran her hands over the velvety material and grew very excited. She quickly began changing to see what this dress might feel like on her body, the satin lining against her skin.
Looking into the mirror Astra took in a quick breath as she became filled with awe. This body she inhabited was very fit, and the dress hugged every curve the way it was supposed to. With her bright hair and pale skin, she looked ethereal and Astra wondered for a moment if she might really be glowing. Tearing her eyes away from the mirror, she looked over at Buffy. "It's - it's perfect. Thank you."
Buffy looked up and saw a confident young woman, rather than her shy friend Willow. Seeing the wetness behind Astra's eyes Buffy realized this experience was totally new to her. "You're welcome. It looks great on you. You will definitely have to convince Willow to keep that dress. I could never pull that off."
Astra stared the blonde girl, not sure how to react. This was the first time anyone had so willingly given her something, and for no reason other than the fact that she liked it so much. As the tears started sliding down her cheeks a troubled look came onto her face.
"Astra, is something wrong?" Buffy walked over and handed Astra a tissue.
"No, everything's fine. It's great." She managed to choke out, finding her throat was tight as well. "It's just so nice of you, and I'm so happy…" she trailed off, desperately trying to regain her control, letting out a small laugh surprising Buffy. "It would take years for me to get used to all these emotions."
Buffy grinned and felt the distance between them slowly disappearing. "I guess it would be hard if you weren't prepared for all of this. I mean I'm sure you know a lot about humans and all, but being stuck in a body would be weird if you're not used to it." Buffy took in a deep breath as she prepared to tell Astra how she felt. "I'm sorry I've been so edgy with you, now I realize just how hard this must be for you. Maybe even like when I first realized what slaying really was. You also have to understand that none of us were prepared for you to completely take over Willow. I'm willing to try and be friends, if you'll accept that."
Astra smiled softly. "I think I'd like that."
The two girls hurried to finish getting ready, hoping they wouldn't be late.