The November Project - Part 6

TITLE:	The November Project (6/10)
AUTHOR:	-Andy- see2go4me@yahoo.com)
STATUS:	Words: 2,237.
RATING:	18/R
DISCLAIMER:	This is a derivative work. All characters belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Fox Television, Panzer/Davis and others. I don't own any of this, just the words gluing my story together.
SUMMARY:	A Third Slayer Tale
SPOILERS:	All seasons of BtVS and Highlander.
DISTRIBUTION:	My blog fanfic pages. TtH eventually. Anyone else, e-mail me please.
AUTHOR'S NOTES:	This is my NaNoWriMo entry. Quantity over quality. Don't expect anything better than a rough draft until the whole thing is done. Then I'll revise it.

It was a damp late spring evening. Joe was puttering around, playing softly to himself, his attention more on the two immortals drinking quietly in the corner than the rest of the bar. It had looked like they wouldn't get much business with this weather, just the regulars he could handle himself, so he'd sent his staff home early. Just as he was about to put down his guitar and join his friends the door opened and a blast of damp air blew in followed by a slim figure wearing a dark, heavy leather jacket and a motorcycle helmet.

Seeing Mac stiffen Joe quickly looked at Methos, relaxing slightly when the older immortal remained calm. He'd gotten fairly adept over the years at detecting when his friends sensed the appearance of another immortal. From Methos' non-reaction this was obviously not one. Looking back at the figure as they turned and closed the door, Joe came to the conclusion that Mac must have reacted to the way this person was dressed. He sighed and wondered if Mac would ever really get over Richie's death.

Apparently oblivious that they were the center of attention, the person unzipped their jacket and taking off the helmet, shook their head, revealing the person to be a slim young woman with long raven hair. The other patrons tried to watch without seeming to stare as she sauntered over to the bar and perched herself on one of the stools. There was something about her that made it hard for them to not look at her.

Joe put down his guitar and walked over behind the bar, stopping when he reached the woman. Looking at her closer he revised his estimate of her age. From a distance she looked much older but from several feet away unless she was an immortal she was obviously too young to be in his bar by herself. "Can I help you?"

"Something hot would be nice." she told him in a silky voice.

"Coffee, tea, or cocoa?" Joe asked. At her quirked eyebrow he added, "Anything stronger kid and you'll have to show me some id."

"Tea will be fine, if you have something without caffeine." She told him, without confirming his suspicions about her age.

"Coming right up." He turned away and going to the corner where he kept such things, grabbed a large mug, filling it with hot water. He placed it and a selection of herbal tea packets in front of her on the bar. "Was there anything else you needed?" he asked as he watched her go through the tea bags before selecting one.

"No. All set. I'm just waiting for a friend." She gave him a small warm smile. "Thanks."

Joe left her absorbed in her tea and headed over to the table where Mac and Methos were sitting.

"Joe, not your normal kind of customer?" Mac asked him. Methos just snorted under his breath. "Isn't she a bit young to come in here?"

"Possibly." he admitted. "She says she's waiting for someone."

"Really?" Methos muttered. "I wonder who the unlucky person is."

"Certainly not you, Old Man." Mac responded giving him a look at the 'unlucky' comment. "She looks too innocent to even know you."

"I think she can take care of herself, Macleod." Methos retorted. "I don't think she needs you to defend her."

Joe looked at him in amazement. "How can you tell that? She's just a kid."

"There's something about her. I'm sure I've seen someone like her before." Methos shook his head. "She may look young but she's dangerous. Whatever she is, she doesn't need anyone's help." After that pronouncement he turned back to his drink and refused to speculate any further.

Sitting at the bar, Fann tried to keep her amusement from appearing on her face. With her enhanced hearing she'd overheard the conversation that the bartender, Joe, had been having with the other two men. From what she'd heard them saying she assumed that this Joe was Amanda's acquaintance Joe Dawson and the other two men were Duncan Macleod and Methos.

She was in no hurry to introduce herself, that would ruin the task Amanda had set for her and besides which it could wait for Amanda's arrival in Seacover in a week. She'd just been very curious about the place and thought she'd check it out before heading to the hotel she'd booked a room in instead of waiting for the enxt day like they'd originally planned.

Taking one last sip from her mug, Fann reached into a pocket for change, dropping it on the bar with just enough of a tip that wouldn't draw attention to herself, something Amanda had drilled into her. There were times and places to draw attention to oneself but this wasn't one of them. Picking up her helmet and jacket she headed towards the door.

She'd been hanging out at Joe's for a week taking careful note of everyone and everything as unobtrusively as possible in her head. Fann noticed that after the third night sitting at the bar with a mug of tea no one seemed to pay any attention to her presence.

During the day she'd been exploring Seacover on foot, getting a feel for where everything was located and comparing the image she was building in her mind with the map Amanda had given her. Amanda had been drilling her for weeks on how to remember the smallest detail. Without the immortal's almost photographic memory she'd initially found the process to be a challenge but she'd eventually mastered it. Now she just had to pass the tests Amanda had set for her and she would be allowed to go with her on her next big job.

She'd picked a spot at the bar that gave her a good view of the rest of the bar and the door, without appearing to be too obvious about it. It was the perfect spot for people watching, one of the aspects of the profession Amanda was teaching her Fann found very fascinating. With practice she'd begun to pick up subtle clues about the other patrons of Joe's bar.

It was that part of the evening when the number of patrons had dwindled down to just a few regulars when Fann noticed Duncan and Methos momentarily stiffening before relaxing as Amanda finally made her appearance in Seacover. Her only acknowledgement of Fann's presence was a subtle nod of her head before heading over to the corner table where the other two immortals were seated. With a shrug, Fann went back to sipping her third mug of tea while keeping her attention on the table where Amanda now sat.

Noticing her sitting down as he returned to the front from his office at the back of the bar, Joe smiled and headed towards the table where the three immortals were now seated. "What brings you to Seacover?" he asked her.

"I need a reason to visit some old friends?" Amanda asked him with a twinkle in her eye.

"You?" Methos laughed before taking a gulp from his glass. "The only time you show up is when you want something from Mac."

"That's not true." She protested looking at the three men with a pout.

Macleod just raised his hand in surrender while Methos just laughed at her again.

"What's new?" Amanda asked in an obvious attempt to distract them from herself.

"Nothing." Methos muttered.

"She is." Macleod announced, motioning towards the young woman who'd seemed to have taken up residence in the bar in the last week.

"Isn't she a bit young for you Mac?" Amanda asked with a knowing grin, shaking her head at her friend. "Or have you decided she needs to be rescued from something?"

Macleod shrugged helplessly. His friends were well aware of his tendency to take in strays and teased him about it when they could. "No. But why is she here? She isn't old enough to drink."

At Amanda's raised eyebrow Joe jumped in. "We don't actually know that Mac. She hasn't ordered anything alcoholic so I haven't seen her id yet."

"Did anyone think of asking her?" Amanda asked. "Or are you all afraid of her?" At their blank looks at the taunt she shook her head. "Why don't we take care of this right now?" She turned in her seat and motioned to the bar in an obvious summoning gesture.

"What are you doing!" Methos protested.

"Getting you answers to your questions so the poor girl doesn't have to deal with you staring at her." Amanda grinned at him playfully. "What do you think I'm doing?"

Before anyone could respond the slim young woman had approached their table and given Amanda a hug before sliding into the remaining empty seat at their table as they stared at her in shock. She grinned at them before turning to Amanda and telling her with a smirk "That was mean!"

"You know her?" Macleod asked in surprise while Joe nodded as if something suddenly made sense. Methos just frowned for a moment before relaxing and staring at her thoughtfully.

Amanda ignored the question. "Fann, these gentlemen are Duncan Macleod, Joe Dawson, and on the days he feels younger than normal - Adam Pierson."

Fann nodded at each of them as they were introduced, giving Methos a wink when Amanda introduced him.

"I see they were wrong when they said you'd taken on a new student." Joe said quietly so that only the others at the table could hear him.

"No, they weren't wrong." Amanda denied. "Well, mostly anyway. Fann's my new partner." she told them.

"Partner?" Macleod gave Fann a concerned look. "Isn't she a bit young to be involved in one of your schemes?"

"Is there anyone who's old enough?" Methos grimaced before subsiding and taking another gulp.

Fann shook her head at them. "I know what I'm getting into. We understand each other perfectly." She grinned at Macleod who was rubbing his head as if he was fighting off a headache. "Besides, it's fun!"

"Not another one!" Methos muttered.

"She's a natural." Amanda told them. "And it isn't like it is going to hurt her."

Joe looked intrigued while Macleod just groaned. "How long are you in town for?"

"Fann?" Amanda directed his question in her direction. "How much longer do you think you'll need?"

"Whenever you're ready." Fann told her confidently. "It was an interesting exercise."

"Okay, let's take care of that other business we talked about and then we can go."

"Are you sure about that?" Fann asked her, waving her hand in the direction of Macleod.

"He can't help himself." She answered, giving Macleod a dazzling smile. Methos laughed under his breath and Macleod sat up nervously.

"What do you need Amanda!" He asked her defensively. "I don't have time for one of you schemes."

"You'll have plenty of time for this." she grinned at him. "Fann needs to learn everything you can teach her about self-defense."

"She's not..." he said, reluctant to say more.

"No, I'm not." Fann answered, surprising everyone except Amanda. "And I can take care of myself." Amanda shook her head at the younger woman. "But she doesn't agree."

"You're good, for someone who hasn't had any training." Amanda admitted. "But you need to be better, especially if Cassandra is correct about your future."

"She's seen Cassandra?" Joe asked curiously.

"She read my future. Sort of." Fann told him with a shrug. "She was curious."

"What did she say?" Macleod asked looking at the younger woman, intrigued.

"It was about her destiny and none of your business, Mac." Amanda scolded him. "The only thing you need to know is that she needs to spend time in Seacover learning from you."

"I don't just take on random students." he protested.

"If I'm here with you I won't be out on jobs with Amanda." Fann told him, surreptitiously winking at Amanda when she said it. "Just think of it as your good deed for the year." She smiled, giving him the wide-eyed innocent look she'd practiced with Amanda.

"I won't promise anything." Macleod grumbled. "Come by the dojo tomorrow and we'll see what happens."

"Thanks!" Fann got up and gave the embarrassed immortal a hug. Turning to Amanda she said "All set?"

"Why don't you head back to the hotel?" Amanda suggested. "I'll be in later."

"Okay." Fann smirked at Amanda who just grinned back. "Later." She turned to Macleod and asked "When tomorrow?"

"After nine." He told her.

"Thanks!" She flashed him a big smile, waved at the others and grabbed her helmet and coat on the way out the door.

As soon as Fann was out the door Macleod looked over at Amanda and asked her "What's really going on here? Since when do you take on a non-immortal student?"

"Or any student." Methos added.

"Well..." Amanda looked at Joe for help but he just shook his head. "I was curious about her. I accidentally ran into her." Macleod raised an eyebrow. "Literally. And she just got up like nothing had happened."

"So?"

"She was knocked into another car hard enough to dent it. She should have ended up in a hospital." Amanda looked at them. "There was something about her. I just had to help. She reminded me of an old friend."

"She's not immortal." Methos pronounced. "She's not ever going to be."

• Yes, I know I'm probably misspelling a few names. I'll fix that later.

© Copyright 2009 Andy Stoffel. Last update: 7/19/09; 10:53:59 PM. This theme is based on the SoundWaves (blue) Manila theme.