The skin of the other man's hand was warm and rough, leathery and calloused.
Riley Finn's own hand was cool from the helicopter ride and much less coarse. Sure, he'd fought hand-to-hand or with various weapons numerous times over the years. He'd even hung from the sides of rocky vertical cliffs. His hands, however, remained less worn than the hand which returned his solid grip.
"Xander, hey!" Riley said.
"Riley! Got a message you were coming. Here after the Gryk'Tla demon, huh?" At Riley's grin and nod, Xander grinned back.
Riley took in the layout of the grounds. People were meandering here and there. Several tents were arranged around a clearing, and two campfires were blazing. A nice set-up, Riley thought.
Xander motioned Riley to follow him to a nearby tent. "I've gotten a few of the slayers in the area together, and there's zero combat training between the three of them. One's recovered and training again, but the others have to spend another week in the med tent." A shadow passed behind Xander's visible eye. The other was behind a patch which had seen better days.
They reached the tent and Xander indicated for Riley to enter. Xander's voice took on a flight attendant's tone, as he explained that they would be roommates for however long Riley would be staying. "And please stow all luggage and miscellaneous items on top of what we shall lovingly call your bunk, even though it's just a sleeping bag."
After he finished settling Riley in, Xander led him a few yards behind the tent to a circle of stones which enclosed burnt grass.
"He used a cleansing ritual?" Riley asked.
Xander nodded. "Yeah, the night before last. He came, saw, conquered, and sacrificed to his evil god. He grabbed one of our guides at random from where they were sitting around the campfire over there," Xander gestured to the tents on the other side of the clearing. "And when the girls tried to stop him, he threw the guide into the circle, said some magic words, and turned around and fought the slayers. And the girls, well..." Xander paused, looked down and seemed to gather himself up. "Let's go see how they're doing."
The med tent was the largest and most sturdy looking of the bunch. The entrance was hooked up and open for easy entry. There were several empty cots near the front and a couple of occupied ones in the back. Probably the slayers, Riley thought.
Xander ahem'd for their attention. "This is Agent Riley Finn. He's here to help with the Gryk'Tla demon. Been tracking him how long, Ri?"
Somewhat surprised by Xander's authoritative tone, Riley took a second before answering. "Six months, across the Sahara and now here to the savannah. Trail hasn't been very fresh, and we couldn't catch up. And when we have caught up with it, bad luck runs our way, and we haven't been able to hit the mark."
"See? This guy, he does this for a living. Has oodles of resources at his hands. And he couldn't catch it," Xander paused, "until you slayers slowed it down."
One of the girls rolled her eyes, but looked minutely pleased. The other had a small smile, though it looked painful. They both had various bruises and cuts and swollen noses and lips. It took a hell of a beating for a slayer to show that much damage, Riley remembered.
After the visit with the slayers, Xander took Riley to eat some of the stew that was simmering over one of the campfires. "The house special out here." Xander looked somewhat apologetic as he spooned some into his mouth.
"No worries. I've had to eat raw sloth before, this is nothing." Riley said, and immediately dug in. It was hearty and rich, a bit greasy, but tasty.
Xander's spoon had stopped halfway to his mouth. "Raw sloth?"
Riley gave a rueful laugh. "Don't ask."
"You know, I don't think I will."
After a minute or two of silent scarfing, Xander asked him how Sam was. Riley replied that she was fine. "She's in Finland. Has been for about six months. We got into a scrape with a Hy-Mang just before I went after this Gryk'Tla, and she was hurt. She's okay. But she found this teacher and philosopher who has all this in-depth demon knowledge, and she wanted to learn what she could while she could. I guess. Been a month since I talked to her." The last he said quietly and looked down. He missed her, but the separation hadn't been all bad.
He looked back up at Xander, who nodded and gave him a sympathetic look.
Needing to change the subject, Riley asked, "So, how's Anya? I haven't seen her around yet. Is she still back in California?" He took a drink from his canteen.
Xander flinched before he answered. "She didn't make it through the last battle with the First."
Riley's stomach dropped and he blinked. "I'm sorry to hear that."
Xander's face went blank, and he shrugged and spooned more stew into his mouth.
# # # # #
That night Riley's dreams were full of vivid color and disturbing scenes of destruction and mutilation. When he woke at dawn, he shook them off out of habit, and went outside to relieve himself.
The grass was wet with dew and he was glad he was wearing his heavy, reliable boots.
When he was finished, he noticed a movement to the left, where the weeds were thick. Several possibilities occurred to him, including both wild animals and the wind, but something, maybe a sound that he couldn't make out, made him stand alert, wishing he had brought at least one weapon.
When after a full minute of waiting nothing came out, he relaxed slightly and turned back to the tents. As he took a step something large, solid, and fast rammed into his back and he fell face-first to the ground. Spitting out wet grass and soil, he scrambled to stand up. While still trying to pinpoint where the thing had gone, he heard shouts from the tents on the far side of camp. He ran toward the sounds, nearly tripping over Xander who was coming out of their tent, brandishing a machete and a gun unlike any Riley had ever seen. Xander handed him the machete, along with a vial of honey, which when thrown into the Gryk'Tla's eyes worked like a more-potent mace.
Riley raised an eyebrow at the gun, and Xander shrugged. "Shoots a kind of fruity smelling mystical bullet," he said, by way of explanation.
They took off toward the screams and when they rounded one of the guides' tents, they nearly ran full-force into the Gryk'Tla. Wearing extensive armor and toting a large sword, it was tearing through the back of the tent. People were running away from it and past them, most with terrified but exhausted looks on their faces.
A young woman, probably the recovering slayer, ran up to them asking for a weapon. She was in obvious pain, her arm bent a little crooked.
Xander saw the arm and said, "Med tent. Go!"
She looked like she might argue, but changed her mind as she saw the people around her. She began yelling out different commands, wildly gesturing her good arm, ushering them all toward the med tent, which was farthest from the action.
Attention once again on the Gryk'Tla, Xander said, "You go left, I go right?"
"You bet." Riley walked forward, angling his approach.
The Gryk'Tla made to tear into the next tent, but stopped. It straightened, smelled the air, and pivoted slowly. It faced Riley and tilted its head. Maybe it recognized him, and the slight huffing sound it made was a kind of acknowledgment, as if to an old friend. Whatever the case, it then turned to Xander and made a riotous screech when it saw the gun. It moved so quickly Riley didn't have time to do anything but lean to his right and watch as it swiped its sword at the gun. Xander fired, but the thing's sword had already shifted it and the shot went awry. The sword came away with blood on the blade.
By then Riley had come up behind it, and using his might shoved the machete through one of the only unprotected parts of the Gryk'Tla's body--its neck. It shuddered and made a loud gurgling noise before half-rotating and falling to the ground. Riley dumped the honey onto its eyes. Steam erupted. There was one last shudder, and the demon died.
Riley went over to Xander who was cradling his side and looking woozy. Riley reached out and steadied his friend. "You okay?"
Xander grinned a little. "It's only a flesh wound." But he blanched when he pulled his hand away, with blood on it. "Well, okay, that's not good."
The med tent was luckily untouched. People were gathered around it, looking half-relieved and half-ready to sprint away again.
Riley and Xander entered the tent. The slayers who had been in the beds were standing awkwardly, but they were standing. Each had scalpels and vials of honey ready to use.
Seeing Xander, one moved forward, angry and all nerves, but balked as she put pressure on her wrapped up ankle.
The other slayer, the quieter one, sat back on the bed. "Is it still out there?"
Riley shook his head and helped Xander lay down on the nearest bed. "It's dead."
The doctor, or at least Riley assumed he was the doctor, hurried over and began asking very quick and precise questions. Riley didn't know how Xander kept up but he did. Then he was divested of his shirt, and Riley saw the large gash in his side.
A few minutes passed, and the doctor continued to fuss over Xander. Riley's worry grew as Xander became more pale and less lucid.
The doctor gave Xander a shot. "Looks much worse than it is," the doctor said at last and gathered his instruments. "Will need stitches and time. But it's not life-threatening."
Relief flooded through his system, and Riley sat on the nearby bed. He didn't know why he was so worked up. It could be the fight to the death and all, but those were routine. He guessed that the possibility of losing a good friend added to the anxiety. Deciding to lay down, he admitted that losing Xander was not something he would like. At all. With that, he slipped into sleep.
# # # # #
He was awakened by someone singing softly nearby. He got his bearings and saw the quieter slayer standing beside Xander's bed, holding his hand.
She stopped singing and looked up to meet Riley's eyes. "He's helped us through many trials," she said.
Riley nodded and sat up. "He's a good guy. One of the best." He looked at Xander's face, relaxed in sleep. "He wouldn't think twice about jumping into a fray with people who needed some help." He smiled.
She smiled back and slowly made her way back to her own bed.
Xander stirred. Riley moved to stand beside him, smiling a little when the other man opened his eyes and looked up at him blearily.
"Hey, Xan."
"Hey, Ri." Xander shifted, a pained look stretched his mouth and creased his forehead. "I've had worse."
Riley laughed somewhat nervously. "Yeah, I would think so." He couldn't help glancing at the patch-covered eye.
Xander noticed. "You know, I still haven't gotten a parrot. And why didn't the Gryk'Tla have the courtesy to chop off a leg? Then I could get a peg-leg." A slight pout gave way to mock-solemn shake of his head. "Maybe now I'll have a cool scar though. I've heard that the chicks dig them."
"Oh, yeah. Ladies love a good scar." Riley pointed to the one stretching down his own face.
"Yeah."
They remained silent for several moments. A hint of something was tingeing the air, but it wasn't identifiable. Riley took a deep breath. "So, I guess I'll be staying for another week or two." Xander opened his mouth to speak, maybe to protest, but Riley held up his hands. "Now, don't think it's because of the injured or that I'm avoiding responsibilties elsewhere. I need a break, Xan. I've been tracking that demon for a long, long time. Okay, not centuries or anything, but it's actually taken a lot out of me, and I could use-" Riley paused, then smiled. "More of that delicious stew."
Xander laughed, then gritted his teeth from the jostled wound. "That'd be great. The stew has been known to tempt and nourish the gods themselves. Which gods though? I have no idea." He shook his head. He looked tired.
They gazed at one another with small smiles for several moments before Riley began to feel awkward and glanced away. "Well, you should get some rest. I'm going to go and you know, burn the carcass so it doesn't affect dinner."
"Ah. Yeah, the smell won't be pretty." Xander wrinkled his nose, then yawned widely. "Sounds like a plan, my man." Xander's eyes closed and he drifted off to sleep.
Riley stepped out into the twilight. The few stars that were yet out were bright. Riley looked from tent to tent, watching as the people performed various chores. He felt both relieved and comfortable, feelings that he hadn't felt since before Finland.
He looked back to the med tent, watched Xander breathe. He felt something, something not unwelcome, that made his nerves tingle slightly. He crossed his arms, and decided that maybe he could stretch the two weeks into three, maybe into a month.
He smiled. Yeah, he could swing that.
The End.