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Since she was small, Kendra had had the dreams. Miles of endless sand, and a woman walking through it. The woman varied from dream to dream, and Kendra memorized their faces.
When her Watcher found her, he explained that the dreams were the sign she was a Slayer. The women walking through the sand were the slayers that had come before her, and the slayers that would come after her.
The ones she saw the most of were her direct predecessor, and her direct successor, according to her Watcher. Kendra watched their faces closely, through the blowing sands, trying to figure out who she saw the most.
Slowly, their images emerged from the melee: a petite blonde girl with a core of iron, and a sharp brunette that was occasionally obscured by the shadows that swirled around her.
The more Kendra focused on them, the more clearly they appeared in her sight, and the more frequently they haunted her dreams. The blonde was the current slayer, Kendra decided eventually: she appeared more and more tired as the years passed.
The brunette continued to be plagued by the shadows, and Kendra found herself hoping that she and the blonde lived long long lives, so that the brunette never faced the temptation of the darkness. Whispers finally reached her Watcher, giving Kendra a name to put to the face.
Buffy.
It fit the blonde girl, Kendra decided, and the next time she had the dreams she tested it out. "Buffy," she called.
The wind dropped in an instant, the shifting sands falling around them. The blonde — Buffy — looked at Kendra as though seeing her for the first time.
"Who are you?" Buffy asked.
"I'm Kendra. I'm the one who will come after you," Kendra said simply.
"Oh." Buffy considered that for a moment. "Good luck, I guess."
Suddenly the brunette appeared as well. "Well, that's a trip," she said, slipping her hands into her back pockets.
"Who's this now?" Buffy asked.
"I'm Faith," the brunette said.
"She's the one who will follow me," Kendra explained.
"And who exactly are you two?" Faith asked.
"Buffy."
"Kendra."
"Great, now we all know each other's names," Faith said. "Anyone want to tell me why the hell we're chilling in some desert together?"
"You have had the dreams, have you not?" Kendra asked.
"Chicks walking through the desert? Yeah," Faith shrugged. "Not the most… exciting thing ever, but I'm not gonna complain."
"They stop," Buffy said quickly. "Once you're… you know… called. These dreams stop."
"They do?" Kendra was surprised; her Watcher had never mentioned that.
"Okay, someone wanna clue me in here?" Faith demanded.
"Has your Watcher not told you?" Kendra asked.
"My watcher?" Faith asked. "Like some old perv?"
"Not exactly," Buffy said quickly. "Short version is that fairy tale monsters like vampires and demons are real. One girl is chosen to be the Slayer — to kick their butts, basically — and the Watcher trains her."
"Has your Watcher not approached you?" Kendra asked.
Faith shrugged again.
"In her defense, my Watcher didn't find me until after I was called," Buffy said, confusing Kendra even more.
"And by 'called', you mean…" Faith asked.
"When one slayer dies, another is called," Kendra recited.
"The last slayer died, and I was called," Buffy explained.
"According to the dreams, I will be the next slayer called after Buffy falls," Kendra added. "And you will follow me, Faith. That's why I've been seeing you so often."
"Let me get this straight," Faith said doubtfully. "You're just waiting for blondie here to kick the bucket so that you can take up the mystical mantle and spend your life killing monsters?"
"It's what I was chosen for," Kendra replied simply.
"That's fucked up."
"The superpowers are kinda cool," Buffy said with a shrug. "But yeah, the rest of it… not great."
"So is there a return to sender option here?" Faith asked.
Buffy smirked. "Basically your only hope is for one of us to outlive you. As long as we're alive, you're still on standby."
"Well that sucks."
"It is a great honor to be chosen," Kendra felt she had to say.
"Sure! Of course! Great honor. And yet… most days it feels like a heavy burden," Buffy said glumly.
"So does this dream thing happen a lot, or…" Faith asked.
"The talking thing is new," Buffy offered.
"I've seen you both hundreds of times," Kendra admitted. "But this was the first time I spoke to you."
"Well at least we're in this together, right?" Faith asked. "I mean, until both of you… well… die, I guess?"
Buffy actually chuckled at that. "Yeah, sure. I'll admit, it might have been nice to know what was coming before it actually happened."
"We could… compare notes?" Kendra suggested. It was her duty to study, after all, and if the current slayer had something to tell her, she should learn it.
"I'd like that," Buffy agreed with a little smile.
"Fuck it; I'm in," Faith said with a smirk.
Her Watcher had always told Kendra that she had to walk this road alone, but surely… surely having Buffy mentor her would be no different than having her Watcher train her, no? And Faith didn't seem to have a Watcher preparing her at all. How could Kendra abandon her to walk this road without any instruction at all?
"I'm with you both."