K... this is shorter than I had set out to post... but I am working on the next bit after this right now... so perhaps there will be more today.
Here We Go!
__________________________
Upon entering the cozy home, Giles paused a moment in the foray to enjoy the air-conditioning before moving the rest of the way into the living room followed closely by Buffy. Tara excused herself to the kitchen to prepare the tea while Willow sat in one of the easy chairs, a light blanket draped over her right shoulder and covering Michelle, whom she was breastfeeding discreetly. The hacker blushed again as her friends entered the room to sit down.
“I guess I should have picked another room”, she said apologetically.
“Nonsense, Willow”, soothed Giles, “It’s nothing to be embarrassed about. And it’s not as if we can see anything. You’ve done an excellent job of…er… camouflage with the blanket.”
Again, Willow blushed.
“Relax, Will”, added Buffy, “This is Giles. He who endured Anya breastfeeding Joseph at the Magic Box… topless.”
“Until I swiftly put a stop to it”, the Watcher amended hastily.
“Well, sales did improve that week”, Tara noted as she re-entered the room with a tray of teacups filled with piping hot liquid. She set her burden down on the coffee table. “And Mr. Giles’ glasses were the cleanest I think I’ve ever seen them”, she added with a grin, passing Giles his cup.
“Yes, well… Thank you, Tara”, he said, accepting her hospitality. He took a small sip of tea, and nodded is approval.
“So, what brings you back to Sunnydale?” asked Willow.
The watcher blinked. “What brings me ba…” He blinked again. “I don’t know whether to be insulted by that question”, he said playfully. “What brings me back? You mean other than the birth of your new baby?”
“Um…well… yeah”, the redhead attempted to clarify.
Giles sighed and slumped into the couch. “Am I that predictable? I only come back into town when something terrible is happening or going to happen?”
“C’mon, Giles”, said Buffy, “You gotta admit, you have kinda been our own personal harbinger guy.”
The older man let out another disgruntled sigh. “Did it ever occur to you that I could be here just to see the baby? Or maybe that I’m moving back.”
“You are?” Tara said happily.
“Er…no”, Giles frowned, “consider that a poorly chosen example. However, I am here to see the baby.”
“And..?” Buffy fished for more.
“And I received this package by post yesterday”, he stated in a defeatist manner, pulling an overnight FedEx envelope from his briefcase and removing from it a black feather and a handwritten note. “Dear Giles”, he read aloud, “What does this mean? Love, Buffy. P.S. Willow had her baby.” He set the two objects down on the table. “I would have preferred a phone call.”
“Hey, we tried”, the slayer said, defending herself, “Your line was busy and you don’t have voicemail.”
“Or email”, Willow added almost grumpily.
“It’s a raven feather”, said Tara, examining the object. “Buffy, where did you get this?”
“Ghaena had it”, Buffy explained.
“And she gave it to you?” The wiccan pressed.
“Sort of… it was in her hair. She asked us to burn it.”
Tara’s expression paled, her brow furrowing as she frowned.
“Tara?” Willow prompted, her voice filling with concern.
“There’s blood on it”, the blonde noted softly. “The Raven is a totem animal of Morrigan”, she explained, turning to her wife.
“Morrigan”, Willow said in alarm. “I thought we bound her to that tree. Do you think she got out?”
“Did what to whom when?” Asked Buffy, perplexed.
“Back in college, when you went to visit Angel”, the hacker illuminated, “Tara and I had a run in with Morrigan. We bound her to a tree.”
“You tied someone to a tree in college and you’re just now remembering them?” The slayer inquired.
“Not tied”, Tara clarified, “Bound. Morrigan is a very powerful sorceress, sometimes considered to be a deity. We bound her essence to a tree when one of the Wicca Group members accidentally set her free on a murderous rampage.”
“So this sorceress lady is lose again?” questioned Buffy.
“She’s more than a sorceress”, Giles interrupted. “She’s a priestess of the goddess.”
“Like Ghaena?” asked Willow, then adding, as realization dawned on her, “Or… exactly like Ghaena?”
“So wait, are you saying that Morrigan is Ghaena?” asked Buffy.
“She has been acting weird recently”, Tara commented, a terrible feeling sinking into the pit of her stomach.
“There’s no way we can know for sure at this moment”, said Giles, “But it is a possibility. How has she been acting strangely?”
“She’s been putting a lot of pressure on Emily in her studies”, Willow answered. “She was so patient before. But now that Michelle has been born… it’s like she’s on hyperdrive.”
“It’s important that we try and root out what Ghaena’s ultimate intentions are”, Giles pointed out. “She may just be trying to hasten Emily’s training in order to protect the girl.”
“I thought she wanted to raise Avon from the myths”, Buffy commented.
“Avalon”, Willow gently corrected. “She wants to raise Avalon from the mists.”
“Which isn’t a bad thing”, said Tara, “If that’s what she really wants. But, if she’s really Morrigan…”
“Emily could be in serious danger”, Willow stated, picking up where her wife had left off. “So could we.”
*****
TBC....