Catherine Baclanova (russian_slayer) wrote in btvsal, @ 2009-02-11 21:36:00 |
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Current location: | Jeremy's House |
Current mood: | accomplished |
Entry tags: | catherine baclanova, jeremy lewis, place: la |
Some Training
Who: Catherine and Jeremy
Where: Jeremy's House
When: Wednesday Afternoon
After getting out of school, Catherine drove her little car over to Jeremy's house. They had been getting along well so far, but they were still new to each other, so only time will tell. Catherine wondered why she couldn't keep a Watcher to save her skin right now. This would be her fourth Watcher to date. She couldn't help but wonder if it had something to do with her. She hoped that Jeremy would stick around. She kind of liked him. She got out of her car when she got to his house and knocked on the door.
Right on time, Jeremy thought with a smile. Nothing like a punctual student. He'd always been good at putting on the front of being put-together, and even happy... but since his unwanted but not unhelpful confrontation with Iris the previous night... he felt like his head was finally a little more straight. How ironic... that it took a ghost to make him see that life was too precious to throw away. Wearing a nice black suit and tie, he'd fixed his hair as well as he could (typical man, there), and opened the door with a smile. "Afternoon, Catherine... c'mon in."
Catherine smiled at him as she walked inside. "Hello," she said. She noticed that he looked a little happier today. She kind of wondered what happened to change his mood, but didn't ask for now. "How are you doing today?"
"I'm alright." He'd taken a look at her file, and upon seeing how many watchers she'd had already, he knew he had to say something. The Council never told these kids anything, and he knew sometimes... they needed to know certain things, for their own benefit. "Before we train today... mind if we talk for a few minutes?"
Catherine nodded. "Yes, we can talk." She wondered what he wanted to talk to her about, but figured that she would learn that quickly enough. She just hoped that she would like what he had to say.
He sat down at the dining room table, opening the file he had on her. "I.... was reading up on you, and I noticed the frequency with which you've had to change watchers. And it worried me a little." He shook his head and rolled his eyes at how he made that sound. "I meant, worried for YOU. For what you must think. I know the Council rarely thinks of the fact that you're all still teenage girls, and have feelings and emotions like all of us. And I need you to know that not ONE watcher has left you because of anything you did. Not ONE." He pointed to the file again. "Ms. Woodward was reassigned back to training, because they didn't feel she was ready yet to handle the responsibility of being a full Watcher. The others were similarly stricken by fate. You must understand that with the sudden influx of Slayers, there was suddenly a call for more Watchers, and a lot of us had to be... rushed through our training. Because of that, just like a product that was rushed through production, sometimes Watchers need to be, well... recalled. I guess. They just aren't ready yet. And you, you poor thing... you've just been kicked in the ass by luck enough to get saddled with several of those."
"So, I was just lucky that way, I guess," Catherine said with a slight grin. "You are my fourth Watcher. I couldn't help but think that something was wrong with me. It's good to hear that there were other problems than just me being...well, a not so good Slayer or something."
"Far from it, dear." He looked at her, giving her his sweetest smile. "Again, with nobody ever telling you poor girls anything... evidently they feel that too much praise gives you girls too much overconfidence, but between us? I think that's a load of crap. It's right here in your file, Catherine... you're actually rated as one of the top Slayers currently active. You're rated as a wonderful learner, a natural fighter, and supposedly you show the instincts of a natural leader. Why nobody ever thought you should hear this is beyond me... I think you should hear ever accolade you get."
Catherine couldn't help but smile when she heard that. She had known she was good. She only had to compare herself to some of the others to see that. She hadn't realized that she had shown instincts toward leadership, though. "Did it really say all of that?" she asked.
"It's right here, kid." He turned the file to her, giving her the option of reading anything in it she wanted. She knew the Council would have fits if they knew he was doing this, but right now, all he cared about was making sure this girl knew she was in good hands.
Catherine opened the file and started to skim through it. "Wow, I didn't realize that they kept such detailed files on us." It didn't shock her too much. She just hadn't put much thought into it.
"You'd be surprised how much this new Council knows. About all of us." He gave her a waggle of the brows in teasing. "Let's just say... I'm glad they're on OUR side."
"I'm very glad for that," Catherine said. She read the file for a few more minutes before shutting it. "How do they know all of this stuff about us? Almost like being home again."
"Much like you see in bad movies... we'll say they have, for lack of a better word, spies everywhere." It occurred to him that technically, Iris had a free show to watch a Watcher and Slayer train, and he smirked a little at that. Ghostly or not, he actually found he liked having an impromptu roommate. "Now... you ready to train for a bit? Remind me why they rave about you?"
"I'm more used to spies than you might believe." She had lived in Russia before being here, where the government encouraged people to spy on their neighbors and all of the phones were tapped. "I'd be happy to do some training."
"Alright..." Without warning, he reached under the table and produced a bo staff, with heavy, round weights at each end. Twirling it around, he started coming towards her. "As you've surely found by now... enemies rarely wait for you to be ready for an attack. So now... I want to see you avoid my attacks, plus disarm me."
Luckily, unlike some girls, Catherine had some sense to wear comfortable clothing at all times, even if they looked weird to most outsiders. Her clothes were wild and colorful, and easy to move around in. She jumped off the sofa she was sitting on, easing back into a stance. Her eyes quickly flickered over him, and, deciding to go low, she quickly crouched, using her Slayer speed, kicking out a leg to sweep Jeremy's legs out from under him.
He fell backwards, right on his ass, the staff falling and conking him right on the head with a comical thud. "Right then. Well done." He just KNEW, with his luck, Iris had seen this, and would likely tease him mercilessly.
Catherine picked up the staff and smiled at him. "Thanks," she said, backing away so that he could get up. "At least you didn't crash into a coffee table."
"Yeah. That would have been just fantastic." He hopped up, preparing for what he knew would be some wonderfully embarrassing pain. Luckily, after going through some other battle techniques with her, none of them resulted in him being unceremoniously dumped on his ass again. Finally, after about another hour or training, he took a deep breath and leaned against the wall with a chuckle. "I'd say that's good for today..."
Catherine nodded to him when he said that they were done for the day. "That is good. I still have some homework to do before patrolling tonight." Unlike some of the other girls, Catherine had made plans for college and beyond, and was sticking to them.
"Care for something cold to drink before you leave? God knows I need something..." He laughed.
Catherine smiled and nodded again. "I wouldn't turn down a nice drink," she said to him.
"Alright. Be right back." He went into the kitchen, opening the fridge to grab two bottles of water.
Catherine sat back down on the sofa for the time being. When he brought her back a water, she opened it and took a big gulp.
"So... just in case you, I don't know, see her floating around.... don't be startled, but I sort of have a ghost in the house." How exactly WAS one supposed to say something like that and not sound either crazy or ridiculous?
Catherine arched an eyebrow at him. "You have a ghost?" Not the strangest thing that she had heard, but it was kind of odd to just blurt it out.
"Yeah. The, um... the lady that lived here before me." He rubbed his eyes, already feeling like a moron. "She's kind of back."
"Mrs. McConnell?" Well, not exactly shocking. OK, maybe a little shocking...or very shocking. "Are you sure it's her?"
"At the risk of sounding like a jerk... yeah, I'm pretty goddamned sure it's her." He laughed though, finally chugging his own water down. "We've.... had a few conversations now. Hell, my luck, she probably saw you knock me on my ass."
"You don't sound like a jerk," Catherine told him, finishing off her water. "What, will she make fun of you for getting beat up by a girl or something?"
Without realizing it, he found himself smiling as he thought of her. "Yeah, something like that. She's a bit of a character, that one."
She nodded. Catherine had only met her once or twice, but she had seemed like a nice person. "I should probably get going."
"Alright. Be careful, kid. And remember what I told you. All that stuff in the past? NOT your fault. You're a hell of a Slayer, and I'm lucky to be assigned to you." He smiled, knowing deep down that she really needed the confidence boost.
She smiled at him. "I will remember that," she said, standing up. "You take care of yourself, alright?"
Just a day or so ago, he'd have been lying when he said his next line. But now? For once, he meant it. "...always."
"Good," Catherine said. She turned and headed out the door after that.
He watched her go, sighing as the door closed. "...God I hope I can do right by her..."