cornerofmadness

It's been a high pain day. Ah well. Hanging in. I've been trying to decide about tomorrow. I am SO regretting not going to the Loveland Frogman festival. But I am trying to go to Herdcon. Parking is a nightmare on Marshall's campus. it even says so on their website. I called them and said hey I'm handicapped where should I park. The librarian (who arranged this con) went from happy you're coming to 'oh...yeah...good luck. Get here early.'

So I said blah, let's try that Athens book fair but it's in a bar with even worse parking. Sigh.

I'll probably go to herdcon. If I can't park I just don't put on my steampunk hat and corset and I drive another mile and go to the comic book store and mall. It's not like I don't go to huntington every 6 weeks. The only problem is I have to get up early on a weekend.

Talk about whining about first world problems.

Someone bid on my auction so now I'm happy. I did have a beta offer I wanted to talk to the person about but they only have tumblr as a contact. sigh. I wonder if I'll be outbid on everything because I'll be gone all day tomorrow

I didn't make it into the wedding horror anthology. Ah well. I sent out a different story today.

Hey I wrote a thing.

Title: Sisterhood

Summary: When Buffy calls, Dawn comes running and vice versa. If there is one thing they know in this crazy monster-hunting world is that they can count on each other.

Rating: teen

Author Note - Written for spikesgirl58’s six word challenge. The six words were Farmer, Blushing, Behavior, Parched, Impossible, & Elbow
This is in memory of and, in thanks, to Michelle Trachtenberg. R.I.P.

The thing about being a Watcher was Dawn never knew what would come next. Sometimes that was great. Sometimes it was terrifying. Sometimes it meant she was knee deep in mud helping farmers deal with the impossible. She hadn’t expected a call out to a family farm full of soy and corn and more kinds of chickens than she realized existed. Had she known agricultural tourism was a thing? She certainly hadn’t known that there was some monster with scales and claws and wings that snatched livestock and small children lurking around rural America. Some even said it had octopus tentacles because of course it did. All the better to do tentacle porn with, she supposed.

She’d been having some nice leisure time back on the west coast with Spike, Angel and Connor. Willow had popped up to say hi and apparently Faith now worked with the half-demon trio. Dawn had missed that Watcher memo. Of course, when Buffy had said ‘Dawnie, I have a case for you in Maryland,’ how could she say no? She rounded up her Slayer, a twenty year old from Italy who’d been excited that not only could Dawn speak many languages, she also was offering Aurelia the chance to travel and kill the baddies.

Unfortunately, Aurelia looked about as excited to be next to a chicken hutch waiting on the farmer who had called them in as Buffy was. These were not women meant for rural life. There was a funk in the air that Dawn was relatively sure was the chickens and not the monster. Buffy’s expression about it was priceless.

“So, shall I sign you up for some ag tourism?” Dawn asked them out of the corner of her mouth and caught Buffy’s elbow for her trouble.

“I thought it would be a nice workout for your slayer. Nice to meet you again, Aurelia,” Buffy said sweetly.

“Always nice to meet la vecchia assassina again.” Aurelia smiled and Buffy beamed back at her. Dawn knew her sister had no idea Aurelia had just called her ‘the old Slayer.’ While she meant it as an honorific – Dawn hoped at least – Buffy would be giving them annoyed face if she had understood Italian.

“My Nonna kept chickens when I was young.” Aurelia looked at the feathered flock around them. “I was glad when we moved to Milano.”

“Leah Jones is the farmer who owns this boutique farm,” Buffy said. “She’ll be back any minute. Something went sideways with one of her guests…probably trying to get away from the tentacle bird sucker.”

“I think it’s a snallygaster, actually. From the German Schnelle Geist which roughly translates to quick spirit. They’ve been documented in Maryland for over two hundred years,” Dawn said, happy to show off the fruits of her research labor.

Buffy’s brow crinkled. “I swear every time I see you, your behavior gets more and more like Giles.”

“Oh good, then I think that means I’m due for a little crisis, drop out, join a band, and start a drug-sex-magic cult,” Dawn quipped.

“Che cosa?” Aurelia asked.

“Tell you later.”

“Anyhow, now that you’re here, I have to run. I need to be in Ocean City by nightfall.” Buffy patted Dawn on the back.

“Hot date?” Dawn arched her eyebrows.

“As if you have room to talk. I know what you did on your trip with Faith and Connor.”

“Anything different that you do with Angel and Spike?” Dawn said.

Blushing, Buffy scowled. How predictable. Dawn knew she’d get her sister flustered any time she brought up their tumultuous relationship, which was so silly. Dawn was all for it and her own relationships were equally complicated and fun.

“Thought so.”

Buffy waved her off. “Anyhow, you have the smelly thing in hand.”

“It’s Snally,” Dawn retorted but of course, Buffy knew that. She was nowhere near as airheaded as she still sometimes liked to pretend.

Buffy sniffed the air. “Are you sure it’s not smelly?”

“I think it’s both,” Aurelia said, patting the blessed dagger on her hip. “I have this in hand.”

“I’m sure.” Buffy gave Dawn a big hug. “Come out to Ocean City when you’re done. And it’s not a date. There might be some ocean monster. Wonder if it’s like the spell that was on the Sunnydale swim team?”

“I hope not.” Dawn frowned, remembering how they had nearly lost Xander. “We’ll meet you there. Save me a cocktail. I plan to show up parched.”

Buffy snorted at that. Dawn watched her sister walk off and then turned to her Slayer and smiled. “Ready to stake out some chicken coops at night?”

“Ready to tear the wings off a Snallygaster.” Aurelia laughed.

“That’s the spirit.”

They’d have to wait for Leah to return so she could tell them the best places to stake out the livestock without freaking out the guests. So long as she didn’t have to help harvest eggs in the morning, everything would be fine. Aurelia and she made a good team and Dawn had magic up her sleeves to cover the things a Slayer couldn’t handle with brute force. The Snallygaster wouldn’t know what hit it.

And here are the story recs of the week

It's Our Time...Again The Goonies

A Beautiful Sight FAKE

A Reason to Celebrate Stargate Atlantis/Stargate SG-1

First We Take Manhatten Murder She Wrote/The Avengers

It Was A Trap Hazbin Hotel

What? Torchwood

It's About Time Stargate Atlantis

The Afterworld Stargate Atlantis

Chance Of A Lifetime Torchwood

When vaggie called lucifer dad. Hazbin Hotel

Thanking The Recipe Hazbin Hotel

A Duty Discharged
The Jacobite Trilogy | The Flight of the Heron Series

Three-Way Fray Grimm

Depravity Is Hard On A Kind Heart
Sherlock Holmes (1984 TV)

Two Girlfriends Star Trek: Lower Decks

To love and protect Call of Duty

Without a 'shadow' of a doubt (Pt 2) Hazbin Hotel

Cats And Dogs Deadpool (Movieverse)

Face In The Mirror The Owl House

You Never Forget The Owl House