2 Anya drabbles...I kinda forgot to post :)

[mfirefly10]

Title(s): Winter Song//A (Sort of) Tribute
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Characters: Anya and others
Rating(s): PG for both
Word Count: 260//419
Warning(s): Both drabbles are set sometime after the series finale so definite spoilers if you haven’t seen that.
+ Written a while back for a challenge at whedonland



1. He walked through the cemetery, the soles of his shoes sinking into the clean, white snow. This was not the first time he had visited a love one in this place nor would it be the last. That much he knew. Every war had casualties and this was one war with no end in sight. Certainly there would be some down-time between battles, but it never lasted long and often did more harm than good. In times of relative peace, people got sloppy. Began to forget and just...live. Not him. He stayed on-guard, knowing it was only a matter of time before the next battle cry.

He knelt by her grave and used his gloved hand to brush the snow from the stone surface. He ran a finger over each letter in long, smooth strokes, evoking memories from better days. A, her laugh. N, her smile. Y, her stubbornness. And A, her strength. He had loved her from afar, watching as she found her way in a world to which she would never quite belong. He had seen her grow from a selfish child with little respect for those around her into a confidant woman who gave her life in the service of humanity.

There were so many things he wanted to say to her. So many hidden feelings and unvoiced thoughts. In the end, he settled for simplicity.

“I miss you, my dear. And I will visit again soon.”

Rupert Giles left behind the serenity of that snowy sanctuary and marched back into the trenches. The war raged on.




2. He took his time walking to the grave-site. Though he wasn’t sure you could actually call it a grave since there was no body. After Spike used that super-charged man-necklace, half of Sunnydale was sucked into what used to be the hellmouth. Her body, and many others, went with it. The mall was lost too which was a shame because it had that great comic shop he went to every week. Now he would have to order his comics online, which he hated because the people who sent them never cared if they got bent or damaged before they reached him. Dawn said he was being too anal about it but that’s because she didn’t understand how awesome they were. Her favorite comic was Archie.

It took him almost an hour to find the right head-stone since he hadn’t gone with Xander and Willow when they picked it out and only had a vague description to go by. He would’ve seen it earlier but he volunteered to stay behind with the wounded while the others went to the funeral. Or the memorial? He had wanted to call it ‘the ceremony for the fallen hero’ but Xander didn’t like that idea.

He approached the head-stone slowly, listening to the crunchy sounds the leaves made as his shoes met the ground where they lay. Yesterday, he had written a speech for this very important occasion but he left it in his pants-pocket and Dawn had done the laundry without telling him so he would have to wing it. Maybe it was better this way.

“I just wanted to say thank you...” He paused until the sobs quieted enough for him to speak. “For saving my life.”

“I’m going to Europe with the chosen ones to help them learn about their new super-powers. Giles says I’m not allowed to help with the training since I usually wind up in the hospital every time I get into a fight with one of them. A practice fight, I mean. Anyway...I’ve been doing a lot of research on the history of the slayers and Giles thinks I know enough now to teach the new girls we find.”

“I’m going to make myself useful. I know I wasn’t worthy of the sacrifice you made me for me...but I will be.” Andrew placed the ceramic figurine he brought with him on the head-stone. He knew Anya died as a human but he saw her as his own personal guardian angel and left the evidence to prove it.

Comments

[meridian_rose]

I remember reading the first one though not the second. Damn Whedon killing off Anya. And Tara. But you did make good angst from it :)
That's just so Andrew, rambling about comic books, losing his speech to laundry day, bringing a (potentially kitsch?) figurine.

[mfirefly10.livejournal.com]

Glad to know I did okay with Andrew's characterization.

I don't love either piece but I thought they were decent enough to post and I wanted to spread the Anya love :)

[hondagirll.livejournal.com]

I really liked this and I was so surprised (but glad!) to see it was Rupert and Andrew visiting her. I think Anya touched more lives in her 1000 year life then she realized. (But I'm still upset she was killed off!!)

[mfirefly10.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I really loved the different dynamics Anya had with everyone but her relationships with those two always stood out to me. Deaths in the Whedonverse are always hard for me because I love those characters so completely but Anya's is probably the only one that actually made me angry. It was the series finale and she was the only main character to die (given that Spike's sacrifice isn't the end of him). I just wish Joss could've thrown us a bone that one time and let them all live. But he wouldn't be Joss if he did that :)