The One Who Was Lost

267 - In medias res

The shop is in Koreatown, which under other circumstances is a place I quite enjoy visiting. Although I've never quite grown to have the kind of tolerance for culinary spice heat that Gunn or Angel do, I find that even in as cosmopolitan a city as Los Angeles, a good Korean Barbecue restaurant is a joy to find. Of course, I'm not here to sate my hunger or indulge my tastes. I'm here to do my job.

My job. In this moment, the thought gives me no comfort, fills me with no sense of righteousness to bring even the least bit of brightness to the un-ending night that has become our world here in L.A. And no, that's not poetic license or purple prose, this city is quite literally under permanent nightfall, thanks to the machinations of the powerful demonic presence we know only as the Beast.

What the thought of 'my job' does give me, though, is the determination to see this through to the end. Even though that end is almost unbearably difficult.

I have to kill my friend.

( Fight scene )

(613, not counting direct quote)

262 - Lines

amo, amas, amat, amamus, amatis, amant
amo, amas, amat, amamus, amatis, amant
amo, amas, amat, amamus, amatis, amant

( I love, you love, he or she loves... )

(341, not counting Latin)

256 - What do you hope for?

Clarity of vision.

Now, once upon a time, I would have meant that in a much more literal sense. Those who've known me for some years will recall that I was very rarely to be found without my glasses. Although my vision is generally quite good, I was always a creature of books and reading, and wearing spectacles constantly served to simplify the situation, rather than having to constantly draw them from a pocket and risk misplacing or damaging them.

I suppose I should count myself fortunate that by wearing them so frequently, I did not inadvertently cause greater damage to my eyesight that would truly necessitate them.

The longer I spent in Los Angeles, however, the more often I found myself out in the field and dealing with vampires and demons right in front of me, rather than on the printed page. Not needed glasses to see what was howling, gnashing or otherwise terrorising me in the face, I took to wearing my eyeglasses less frequently. I very rarely even take them out these days.

When I speak of clarity nowadays, I mean the kind that brings peace of mind. In dealing with the darkest magics and the most evil of beings in this world, it is frighteningly easy for any would-be Champion to lose his or her way. So much of what we do requires compromises and snap decisions that can alter lives and fates forever that it is difficult to be sure of oneself.

A demon is prowling the streets. Do you stop them immediately? What if their species is known to be a nesting one, and they're likely to have dragged victims back to a hidden location? Now do you stop them, or follow them, hoping to save more lives?

The way is narrow, steep and slippery. And one can only hope to be able to see the way.

(313)

250 - Write page 57 of your 300-page autobiography

( from Chapter 3: Into Each Generation )

(376)

245 - What's the first thing you remember?

That it was a wonderful thing, having not only a place to call my own physically-- in the sense that I would now have a permanent address and domicile-- but a place of my own with Angel and Cordelia. There was something very appropriate in my taking of an apartment the day after Angel asked me to stay on with his agency, and the metaphor hit me as I was signing the lease papers.

( Home Sweet Home )

(400)

244 - "That's something I think is growing on me as I get older: happy endings." -- Alice Munro

It isn't the way Wesley Wyndam-Pryce imagined it would happen.

( The End )

(670)

238 - Freudian Slip

"This," I remember saying emphatically, "is not a relationship, Lilah."

( Semantics )

(199, not counting direct quotes)

233 - Surprise! Your... is at the door -- and at a most inopportune moment! Now what?!

When most boys are in their bedrooms with the door shut tight, fervently hoping that their father does not enter unannounced, they are more than likely up to something a great deal different than I was that day.

( Surreptitious )

(541)

229 - If you could get anyone drunk, who would it be and what would you do?

"His name is Vinnie," Angel had said as the vampire was pulling on his black coat and was already halfway out of the agency door. "And he's a complete pushover, don't let the horns fool you. Just get him a little drunk, and he'll spill everything we need."

Dealing with had always traditionally been Angel's purview, as he was the one with the reputation and the clout (in both senses of the word, after a fashion) required to either coerce or intimidate information as necessary. Such tactics were necessary, given Angel Investigations' laughably modest operating budget. So, when circumstances dictated that Angel's talents were best used elsewhere, somehow it fell to me to "roll the snitch".

( Unusual duty )

(422)

OOC Note: This is a fic, based solely within canon. The Angel referred to is canon, and this fic is not binding to any muse.

226 - Name three things that you're looking forward to in the near future and why.

From the training journal of Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, Watcher-in-Residence, Sunnydale, California, USA

Training plan for the third week of April, 1999

Training is to begin at 6:00 A.M. sharp, prior to the opening bell of school. We will start with calisthenics, including at least ten laps of the school track and ten minutes of any of the Council-approved martial arts kata with which the Slayers may be familiar.

Immediately after the last bell of school, both Buffy and Faith are to meet with myself in the school Library. Weapons training will be saved for the latter part of this afternoon session, providing that both Slayers are able to satisfactorily complete the following three study goals:

First: Commit to memory the eight major classes of demonkind, outside of vampires, and their primary characteristics. Also, to be conversant with the twelve minor classes of demons and at least the preferred methods of dispatching all of the above.

Second: Demonstrate working knowledge of the Basic Battle Tactics for Slayers, as outlined in pages 341 through 359 of the Slayer Handbook, and be able to discuss practical Sunnydale applications thereof.

Third: Prepare an outline of the greater administrative structure of the Watchers Council. Propose a proper and acceptable chain of command to most effectively take advantage of the unique characteristics of the so-called "Scooby Gang".

Should these tasks be completed, weapons practice will involve the compound crossbow. Hopefully that should be sufficient motivation.

Found in the rubble of Sunnydale High School, crumpled burned and completely unusued.

(251)