Act2

“Here he comes“ the man repeated, pointing to the newcomers.

Faith stood still for a second and stared at the woman and the little boy before turning again to the man:

“What?” she simply said.

She was about to say something else but was interrupted by the woman.

“We think that Leo’s a demon” she asserted as she came closer with the child.

Faith’s gaze followed the woman’s one and fell onto the little boy near her. He was blonde, about ten years old, maybe less than that. Rather little for his age. His hair was a little bit too long and tousled and a rebel lock fell in the middle of his forehead. For a moment, he stared shyly at Faith until the woman noticed and pulled severely at his arm with a warning look. The boy looked between her and Faith before looking down to his shoes.

“Wh…” Faith began.

“Don’t trust his childish features” the man interrupted. “Leo is not an ordinary child. He has demon in him”

Faith could hear an approving whisper cursing through the assembly. She crossed her arms over her chest and frowned with a dumbfounded look as she considered the child.

“I don’t think that…”

“You cannot know right now” interrupted another man. “We do know what’s going on. That kid’s a demon. Can you help or not?”

Faith was about to vivaciously answer the abrupt question when she met Peter’s and his wife’s imploring gazes. The Slayer wavered for a second. The second after, she turned sharply her head to the side when a new voice could be heard:

“He-he’s n-not a-a de-demon”

Faith stared at Tara who had just stepped forward and horribly stuttered those few words as she was seeing her for the first time. The blonde stood beside her and crossed her arms over her chest and plastered a face Faith guessed she wanted resolute. Silence fell over the assembly before an insistent whisper came back.

“Who’s that?” Faith could hear as the villagers stared at Tara with obvious hostility.

Faith looked at the group, the little boy and then at the blonde with before turning to the villagers again:

“How do you think he’s a demon?”

At first, she didn’t get any answer. The villagers went on staring at the Slayer but the glimmer of hope she had seen in their eyes previously was gone and had been replaced by one of disappointment. Faith cast a glance to the little boy, responsible for such troubles. The boy didn’t inspire her anything in particular. She then turned to Martha and Peter and searched for an explanation in their gazes. Peter looked away to his friends and clenched his teeth. Martha looked at him hesitantly for a second before meeting Faith’s gaze.

“There’re…There’re all those weird things happening around him. He…” Martha explained and searched for her words. “He’s not normal” she concluded after a silence.

An approving whisper could be heard again and several voices repeated, “He’s not normal” with more zeal and many nodded to that summary explanation.

“Maybe you could…” Martha began.

But Faith was surprised when Tara interrupted her.

“He’s not a demon!” the blonde protested.

“Don’t trust his look” Martha answered sweetly and firmly at the same time. “He…”

“He’s not a demon!” Tara repeated.

“Then, prove it to us!” ordered one of the men as he raised a finger to her.

Tara looked intimidated for a second and turned to Faith. The Slayer looked like she was intensively thinking about what to do and said nothing at first.

“Prove it!” the man vociferated again.

“W…” Tara began and tried to master her trembling voice.

But Faith’s sharp voice cut her.

“Shut up Tara”

Tara’s mouth opened then closed and she made no sound. The blonde witch frowned and she curled up her arms around her shoulders in a protective gesture. Faith looked at her doing so before turning to Martha again.

“What do you want us to do?” Faith asked, more abruptly than she had intended.

Martha seemed to hesitate and turned to the boy Faith was staring at too.

“Stay here for a few days” she suggested. “You’ll be better than at the motel and you’ll be able to get what we’re talking about and to decide what to do about it”

A new whisper of approval went through the assembly. Faith’s gaze roamed over the room around her, over the villagers in front of her, over the little boy and finally over Tara who was staring stubbornly at her feet.

“It’s not too big…” Martha resumed. “But…”

“Okay” Faith interrupted. “I’m gonna go to the motel to get our stuff. I’ll be back in half an hour”

She then nodded and she saw Martha sending her a grateful smile. From the corner of her eye, she noticed Tara looking at her with an angry look on her face. She shrugged and nodded again.

“I’ll be back in a bit”

***

When Faith came back less than half an hour later, most of the villagers were gone. Martha and Peter were the only ones still there. Tara now sat on the sofa and seemed to look at Leo playing with some pieces of paper. But Faith knew to her blank look that the blonde witch was elsewhere.
Martha and Peter sat at the living room table and they got up when she came in and Peter came to help her with one of the bags she carried. She let him do even it wasn’t a burden to her.
The couple left immediately and Faith found herself alone with Tara and the child. She looked around her and when her eyes fell onto Leo, she deeply sighed. He really wasn’t the demon she expected.
Faith sat nonchalantly against the table and stared at the boy who wasn’t paying any attention to her. He didn’t make her Slayer senses tingle whereas they were usually so receptive to any kind of demons. For a moment, accepting this task felt ridiculous.

Faith deeply sighed again. She had to look on the bright side  : they would have a house for them alone for a few days. Almost alone. Alone with that demoniac child. Faith thought that she couldn’t have everything. She would keep an eye on the kid. But for now, she had something else to worry about.

“Have you visited Blondie?” she asked.

Tara slightly jumped and laid her eyes on Faith. She nodded.

“The-there’s a room over there” she said, gesturing toward the corridor. “And there’s Leo’s room there” She gestured again behind her.

“Just one bedroom?” Faith grumbled.

Tara shyly nodded.

“It’s rather small” she stated.

“Yeah” was Faith’s only comment.

She got away from the table and started to have a look round the house. Tara hadn’t lied or made too much. It was small. Beside the living room and the short corridor leading to it from the entrance door, there were just a kitchen and a small bathroom between two small bedrooms. One of the bedrooms was Leo. It was deprived from any kind of decoration. Only a bed and a dresser made up the room’s furniture. The walls were dirty white and an alone opaque windowpane let the outside light in. Faith didn’t waver at the door: there was nothing to see.

The other bedroom was barely larger and decorated but it was far brighter and cleaner. Faith cast a glance to the room and found not much furniture: a bed, a dresser and two rows of shelves where some magazines were laid on. The Slayer came back to the living room and went to the French window and opened it. The backyard there was small and the grass obviously hadn’t been mowed in a long time. Faith closed the window. Satisfied to have checked out the whose house, she came back to the living room door and took the bags she had brought back from the motel. Then she went to the bedroom, closely followed by Tara. There, she casually threw the bag on the mattress.

“Wh-what are y-you gonna do?” the blonde witch asked.

Faith turned round in surprise.

“How’s that what I’m gonna do?”

“About Leo” Tara specified. “You’re not gonna…”

“I’m gonna investigate, find out what kind of demon he is”

“He’s not a demon” Tara asserted.

Faith shrugged to show she didn’t know.

“Maybe not” she admitted. “But maybe he is. I’ll see”

“He’s not a demon” Tara repeated.

“We don’t know” Faith grumbled and turned to her. “You don’t know, I don’t know. Those people don’t think that kid’s a demon without good reasons”

“People always think they have good reasons” Tara protested. “But they…”

“Listen Blondie” Faith impatiently interrupted. “You saw Martha and Peter like me. Not the kind of guys to tell that kid’s a demon without a reason?”

Tara opened her mouth to say something but Faith didn’t let her enough time.

“So I’m gonna try to know what is it about exactly. And I’m gonna act after. Is that okay with you?”

Faith crossed her arms and stood in front of the blonde who mimicked her position despite her will.

“He’s not a demon” she repeated with a stubborn look on her face.

Faith dropped her arms to her side and rolled her eyes.

“My God! What’s your problem? You can’t tell a word for weeks and now it seems you just can’t shut up ! »

“He’s not a demon” Tara repeated again.

“What do you know about that?” Faith asked impatiently. “And who’s the demon expert here?”

“Don’t tell me you were thinking about yourself here?” Tara replied in a sharp tone Faith had never heard before.

The Slayer was slightly taken aback by the outburst and she vaguely gestured something, which could mean “whatever”.

“Y’know what Blondie?” she asked in a bitter and sarcastic tone. “I liked you better when you just shut up”

Tara didn’t answer at first and seemed to tighten her arms’ grip around her chest in a protective gesture. She clenched her jaw and Faith saw her swallow hard before she finally said:

“People usually do”

Faith stood still for a second and stared at Tara in silence. Finding nothing to answer, she eventually shrugged and came back to the living room with Tara on her heels.

Leo slept on the sofa. Faith wavered about what to do. She looked between the sofa and the door several times before gesturing to Tara to follow her to the entrance door.

“We’re gonna get back to Peter’s and Martha’s place to know more about this.” She said, already at the door.

But Tara didn’t follow. Faith noticed, she laid a questioning look on the blonde.

“You coming Blondie?”

Tara simply shook her head.

“No”

Faith frowned as she had badly heard.

“What no?”

“I’m staying here with Leo“ explained the blonde.

Faith looked at the child on the sofa and seemed to consider the option before shaking her head.

“No. You’re coming. We don’t know what might…”

“No” Tara repeated. “I’m staying here”

Then, she resolutely sat on the sofa and looked at Faith with the most resolute face she was able to plaster. The Slayer rolled her eyes, and shrugged then gave in.

“Right. Do what you want”

Then Faith existed the house and the door slammed loudly behind her.

***

When the Slayer came back almost two hours later, she hadn’t learnt much about the child and his demonic side. None of the things she had gotten from the villagers could help her to know what kind of demon Leo was. For a moment, she almost missed Giles, Wood and the library. Almost. And well, Wood probably not only for the library.

So, she had learnt that the boy seemed to know things he wasn’t supposed to know. He never read any book but knew more than a lot of people about too much stuff. And there were all those incidents around him. His parents’ mysterious death. That fire in her aunt’s former house where he lived with her and which had nearly killed the poor woman. No one had ever known how the fire had started. And the kid had made it through without any damage. And there was the way he could remain without talking or moving for hours. Or the way he seemed to talk to unseen people or creatures.

Faith had listened to all those tales with less and less interest. Her stuff was killing demons. Killing demons threatening humans. Not investigate about the whys and hows a kid would be a demon.

Tara was probably right. He probably wasn’t one. All this situation was probably only gossiping and hokum. !how had she gotten herself in such a situation? It was beyond her.

And had she promised again to Martha and Peter to take care of their problem ? It was even MORE beyond her. Well, maybe it had something to do with their imploring gazes and the basket full of cookies and candies that Martha had gave her with much thanks. Faith had found herself dumb with the basket in her hand and when she was ready to tell she had nothing to do with their demon, she had finally promised to do her best to help them.

She was still cursing her inability to say no to a basket full of cookies when she crossed the house doorway.

A vaguely familiar scent hit her nose and Faith frowned, wondering what it was. She got to the living room and found Leo sat on the sofa and eating something. Something disappeared in his mouth and Faith’s eyes followed the kid’s hand to the coffee table.

A plate was there and Faith identified pancakes in it.

“What’s this?” She asked nevertheless as Leo took another one.

The boy turned to her and looked at her in surprise.

“Pancakes” He answered in an obvious tone as he put a new one in his mouth.

“I see that” Faith replied abruptly. “How? Someone came?”

Leo shook his head.

“Tara cooked them”

“Tara?” Faith repeated in a clearly dumbfounded tone.

Leo nodded and Faith shrugged.

“Tara wouldn’t even find the kitchen”

The blonde chose that precise moment to come in with a frying pan in hand.

“And anoth…”

The end of her sentence died in her throat when she saw the Slayer.

“Faith”

Tara stood just before the door leading to the kitchen, not knowing what to do with her pan anymore. Finally she held it to the Slayer.

“I’ve cooked some pancakes. Do-do you want some?”

Faith came forward and put the basket on the coffee table. Then she looked curiously at the aforementioned pancakes, as she wanted to be sure they were real.

“You cooked pancakes?” she repeated almost defiantly.

“Do you want some?” Tara asked again and nodded.

“I’ve brought back cookies” she announced.

“They’re still hot” Tara replied and pointed to the pancakes

Faith looked again at the plates on the table, at the syrup, the butter then at the frying pan in Tara’s hand. She smelt a good scent she hadn’t smell in a long time.

“Okay” she simply said.

Then she sat on the sofa, grabbed a plate on the table and started to generously cover in syrup the hot pancake Tara had put in front of her.

***

It was night. Faith was alone in the kitchen and swept quickly and without much care some plates Tara had cleaned before. Her task came to an end fast and she put the last still wet plate in a closet before dumping her dishcloth on the back of a chair.

She switched the light off, opened the door and went to the living room. It was almost dark, only lighten by the moon. Faith looked around her and saw no one there. She then looked at the corridor leading to the rooms. As she caught glimpse of light coming from there, she headed toward the bedrooms. The main bedroom was lit. When she passed by Leo’s room, she stopped in front the open door and cast glance in the room. She was surprised to find Tara there. The witch sat on the edge of the bed where the little boy was sleeping.

“Hey, you’re here” she simply said.

Tara nodded to her and Faith remained still in the dorrway for a moment. Then she came closer to the bed silently and pointed to the boy with her chin:

“So, the kid’s sleeping uh?”

Tara nodded again.

“He is”

She turned to the kid she looked at for some seconds before turning round to Faith again.

“He-he’s not a demon”

For the first time, she was calmly saying this, without any anger, and in an almost pleading voice. Faith would probably had rolled her eyes again or casually shrugged but something in Tara’s voice refrained her from doing so. She came even closer and looked at the child in her turn.

“H-he’s j-just a kid” Tara resumed.”Not a demon”

Faith considered alternately Leo and Tara in silence for a while.

“Why are you so sure?” she eventually asked.

“I mean” she added and gestured vaguely to the kid. “You saw Peter and Martha like me. Why would they make up that thing? It’s a nonsense!”

Tara shrugged and let her gaze glued to Leo.

“He’s different. They’re scared.”

“Different?” Faith repeated and frowned.

“He’s not a demon” the witch simply said. “I can feel that”

Faith nodded and remained there for several minutes looking at Tara who was looking at Leo.

“Hum…Blondie, I’m gonna get my stuff and sleep on the sofa” she eventually announced.

“Y-you can have the room” Tara said and turned to her with a wince she probably had intended to be a smile.

Faith casually shrugged.

“I’ll be okay. Sofa’s big. Far better than usual”

She then turned around and started to leave the room. She stopped in the doorway and turned again to Tara.

“You should sleep too Blondie. It’s late”

Tara nodded and tried a new smile.

“I will. Good night Faith”