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Buffy made it to the forest's edge at a full sprint and only once she was covered by the trees shadows did her pace slow down to a jog. Her hand stung from the cut that the small blade had delivered when it slipped from her grasp upon impact with the ground after her jump from the window ledge two stories up.

She jogged on the path for a few minutes, checking over her shoulder often and watching as the castle faded slowly into the distance behind her.

Her pace was steady, feet thumping away on the rough dirt path, breath heavy with exertion and coming in puffs as she supplied her adrenaline hyped body with oxygen.

The path.

Her heart skipped a beat and eyes widened when she realized the fatal mistake she was making by running on the path. A path that from the well worn carriage tracks and horse shoe imprints that were prominent in the ground was one that was used and occupied quite regularly.

Quickly darting off the path and into the nearby cover of the bushes and trees, she spent another fifteen minutes at a jog. The further she ran the harder it was to move forward, the forest getting more and more dense around her as she pushed inwards. Buffy let out a hiss as a nearby tree branch whisked her across the face leaving her cheek feeling like she had just been slapped. Her hand stung still from the cut from the small blade. Sparing a glance towards the main cause of her pain had her slowing to a walk, eyebrows knitting in concern. Her palm was bleeding freely. She pressed against her wound and scanned the shrubs and tree's around her for a solution.

There has to be something around here I can use!

Her father, a man of many talents and endless words of wisdom had taught her many things over the years of traveling on the road and one of them which had saved her life on more than one occasion was his knowledge of plants and their medicinal properties. The plant Buffy was looking for in particular was the Yarrow plant. It grew on dry ground and she knew she was pressing her luck to find any in these woods at this time of year. The plant mainly blooming in spring and fall.

It was almost winter now and her chances of finding any were slim.

Hand squeezed tight into a fist as keen eyes scanned the ground, leaves and bushes around her, lighting up with a smile when she found what she was looking for.

Jackpot!

Bristly little branches clustered together with a handful of small white and pale yellow flowers scattered amongst its leaves that lie tucked in the shadows, hidden underneath the awning of a low hanging tree branch. The winter nights and morning dew had the leaves moist and Buffy knew she wouldn't get crushed leaves out of this particular batch properly.

Guess I'll settle for the second best option.

Buffy scrunched up her face in disgust at the thought as she gripped a few of the flowers from their bush and crushed them in her injured hand before placing them in her mouth to chew together into a paste. The taste was bitter and not one she was fond of at all, still it would help stop the bleeding in her hand and to stop the wound from getting any infections. She spat the now mushed leaves back into her injured hand after chewing them for a few minutes and made sure to spread the chunky paste over her wound. The small blade that had done the damage sat tucked into the leather of her belt loop and with her good hand she pulled it loose and walked over to a nearby tree. Making swift work of cutting loose damp bark off a nearby tree, Buffy set to work in wrapping the bark around her hand to act as a bind.

It wasn't a bandage or a solution by any means, but she had no other option. She had little weapons and only the clothes on her back which she dare not rip for a bandage with the weather taking a turn for its worst.

Birds squawked in the trees, high in the canopy a few feet from where she stood binding her hand and she cast a cautionary glance their way, watching as they scattered into the sky above. She hadn't heard anything, no crunching of boots on the ground or body's moving through the trees, but still it was best not to linger.

Spike may not be able to leave his mansion during daylight, but he like Angelus would have day guards.

Buffy ran.

.........................................................


Giles had sprinted towards the room Buffy had been sleeping in and came to a staggering halt just inside the doorway upon seeing the two piles of ash that scattered the floor. His heart lurched in his chest, stomach dropping as thoughts of his friend being dead flashed before him. In his peripheral vision, a fleck of movement in the shadows caught his eye as a blonde head poked its way into the light the open doorway offered.

"What the bloody hell did you do to her?"

"Wha'?"

Spike's hand gripped the closest bed post he could reach, his head foggy as he struggled to stand, thoughts jumbled. He found himself thrust up against the post with 'Ripper' staring into his eyes, one hand around his throat and the other pushing against his chest before he could blink.

"Did you bite her?"

"No! Wha' the hell gave you th-"

Giles narrowed his eyes and pushed firm against Spike's throat making him sputter before he stepped back and released his hold. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and threw it at Spike's chest which he caught with ease, indicating to him that his face and mouth were covered in blood.

"Must have rubbed off when I fell asleep. Bloody bint went right mental when she woke up."

"Think about what she has been through for the last two years let alone the last few days and nights. Waking up next to you with blood smeared all over your face, knowing what you are and her hips bleeding, hands covered in blood. She had every right to go mental on you. The look on her face-" Giles threw his hands in the air, letting out a growl. "You have no idea how much danger she is in. If Angelus gets his hands on her-"

"He won't." Spike growled, already pushing his way out of the room, snorting at seeing the two piles of ash laying on the floor under his feet. She was a fighter, tough as nails and as much as he was pissed off at her for knocking him out and running away, he felt almost proud.

With the proper training she would be amazing.

"Damn right he won't!" Giles followed in his wake, fixing the glasses that sat atop his nose as his eyes and lip set in a firm line. "I made a promise to her father." He took a shaky breath. "If Angelus gets to her before I find her, so help me god-"

"You don't need to remind me again how important she is. She's vulnerable right now, Dru's dug her way into her mind deep." Spike stopped just inside the library at seeing the double windows open and the morning sun filtering in. He inhaled and could smell the scent of Buffy's blood blowing in with the breeze, eyes darkening. "Too deep."

"What do you mean?" The way Spike spoke the last words made Giles pause, worry in his voice.

"Her eyes changed this morning. I've only seen it once before, but it's Dru alright. It's part of her bite, almost like a long distance thrall. She can only hold on for a few seconds at most from this distance, but it was enough to knock me down and take me by surprise."

"I've never heard of such a thing." Giles scoffed in disbelief.

"There's a reason it's unheard of."

Giles waited for him to continue watching as Spike stood in the shadows peering through the open windows in the room and to the trees in the distance.

"Spike..."

"It's dangerous alrigh'! Dru's pushing herself into Buffy's mind to take control. To pull her back, yeah. Her mind, for seconds is molded with Dru's so the longer she tries to do it the longer they're stuck together."

"Drusilla will drive the poor girl mad!"

Spike only nodded his response, too many thoughts rushing through his mind at what the consequences of Drusilla's last mind meddling had created. What she was doing to Buffy would no doubt have long term consequences if she continued for much longer.

"Angelus would be free to do whatever he wanted." Giles was rushing around his library pulling books off shelves, cluttering and clanking together a mortar and pestle and lumping them onto an open desk space. He rushed to the window and swiped on the glass there with a small torn piece of parchment, pulling away with him the faintest trace of blood that Buffy had left behind when her hip touched the glass before she pushed off and jumped.

He spoke words in Latin over the bloodied piece of parchment before lighting it on fire in the mortar bowl. He tipped the ashes the parchment left behind onto a map that he had laid out in front of him and closed his eyes, focusing on the object that he was searching for.

Buffy.

Spike watched as the ashes moved on the map towards the tree's lined on its paper and further inwards. She'd gone far. The ash pooled in a spot and left a cluster behind before it began moving again. A few miles more on the map and it slowed it's pace having caught up with the object it searched for. Giles opened his eyes.

"There."

He was already rolling up the map, tucking it under his arm before he glanced at the open window and the sunlight streaming in and back again at Spike, knowing his friend wouldn't be able to follow.

"Bring her back."

"You know what needs to be done when she returns. Whether you like it or not."

"I know what needs to be done, Ripper." Spike growled, still fighting his demon over his heart. "She's going to like your idea less than I do."

"She'll do what's necessary to save her own sanity and life."

Spike nodded and swayed his hand to indicate Giles' leave.

"If you're no' back in an hour I'm sending Oz out."

Giles nodded his agreement and rushed past Spike, down the hall and stairs.

Whatever happened next would affect all their lives.


Chapter End Notes:
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