Willow Gen Fic - Robert Frost Poem Line - PG
I wrote this for a prompt community. It's a gen fic for post finale and before comic.
Willow still couldn’t get used to snow in the summer months, or rather getting used to having winter be in August. She gathered her coat tight around her wishing she had someone besides a potential with her. The girl had no idea she was a Slayer until Willow arrived, and now she was going to fight evil before she was prepared. Was this how Buffy felt? The weight of someone’s life being held in the palm of your hand? One wrong thought or decision and they died. No wonder she preferred going on patrol alone.
She glanced over to the frightened expression of Maria and gave her a reassuring smile. At least she hoped it was, with her luck it would probably look like a pained grimace. Catedral Alta Patagonia ski resort should have been a week of relaxation and massages until Maria had to go to London for training. Instead they were silently moving through the snowy woods hoping to find a Pengniao demon. She’d always thought the Mayan legend of a winged serpent was that… legend, but Argentina had it’s own version.
Giles had told her it would be hard to defeat, but it could be done. Willow just hoped she could finish the spell before the demon attacked Maria. She hated using the young Slayer as bait, but she fit the description of the other girls that had been killed by the demon. At least she had a fighting chance with her Slayer abilities, even untrained.
“O-okay. R-ready?” Willow glanced over at Maria, holding her hand out for the bag of ingredients.
Maria nodded her head despite her heart now in her throat because of terror. “Si.” She swallowed the lump and prepared herself for seeing a demon for the first time.
Willow carefully drew a pentagram in the snow, placing the ingredients in it’s exact center. She faced the East, the beginning of the spell and spoke the words in Latin. A rumble deep in the forest echoed in the night and Willow desperately tried to ignore it. It seemed they got the demon’s attention.
She turned to the South, repeating the words in that direction before asking for the assistance of Circe. The rumble was closer and Willow could feel the earth tremble beneath her feet together with a small cry from Maria. She couldn’t risk dropping her concentration and looking to where the girl stood. Willow had to trust in Giles and trust in the Slayer’s abilities.
Turning to the West, Willow now had her back to Maria and where the demon was going to approach. They were at the critical junction, only one more direction to face and the demon would be defeated. Before Willow could get the words out, there was a sharp pain behind her shoulder moments before her body flew in the air.
The wind was knocked out of her as the slim redhead hit a tree full force. Willow fought the pain and looked over to where Maria was in a battle with the demon. oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god. The words were frantically repeating in Willow’s head before she forced her body to move. Every muscle ached, and it felt as if her ribs were broken, but she moved. She had to finish the spell or both of them would die.
Willow stood to the North, calling on Hecate and Circe to aid her in the spell. A power that she hadn’t felt since activating the Slayers flowed through her. Words were spoken that she had no idea what they meant. A preternatural wind blew around her, her hair dancing in the magical breeze, as she turned to face the demon.
The Pengniao was no longer attacking Maria, but slithering closer to where Willow stood. Its red eyes staring into hers, its mouth opening wide for a strike, but Willow ignored it all. She ignored the pain, and the terror, only concentrating on words that someone else seemed to be saying.
White hot pain engulfed the petite redhead and fire seemed to erupt from every pore in her body, but she held her hands out to her side with her palms up. Bright red light erupted from the center of her palms streaming toward the creature. Its unholy scream of agony melded with Willow’s scream of pain, both locked in a struggle for survival.
The world around her began to fade away and her last thought before collapsing on the snow was that she hoped Maria hadn’t died because of her.
“OW!” Willow’s eyes flew open when she felt a cold hand slap her cheek. Her gaze collided with Maria’s and she instantly sat up, but soon regretted the action. “OW! Okay, definitely not of the good.” She held her hand over her ribs while pain radiated throughout her body. “I guess that means I’m alive even it feels like I died. Did we kill it?”
Maria beamed at Willow and held out her hand to help her up. “Si. The demon is dead.” She pointed over to where the winged serpent lay on the ground charred beyond recognition.”
Willow’s nose scrunched up in distaste, “Ewww, burned demon smells terrible.” She looked down at the palms of her hand that was covered in blisters and back at Maria holding out her hand. “How about a helping elbow?”
Maria gently took Willow’s elbow and helped her to slowly stand. “Is this normal? Is this what I’m going to do as a Slayer?”
Willow nodded her head, “Welcome to the club. This is a normal day.”
Her eyes widened and Willow gave her a smile. “Yeah, that’s exactly how I felt my first time, too. Excited terror. It’s a feeling that never goes away, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
Muse: Willow Rosenberg Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Word Count: 965 Rating: PG Warnings: None