FIC :: Fabula Rasa (1/3) REPOST

["C S Armitage" <soren_nyrond@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

As requested

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Fabula Rasa

 

 

Some fables are born from trying to make sense of awe-full events, some areborn as wish-fulfilment, and some are simply born out of Primal Chaos.

Onto the off-whiteness of Void, initial lines are drawn, to outline the subject matter. Then a little more gets filled in, details and perhaps a bit of background. Then, if the fable goes well, if its creator likes it, if its hearers demand, more is added, shading, colour, texture, perhaps even sound, and scent and taste.

 

 

"Where'd he go ?"

"No idea, Will - - he opened the book, looked in, looked up, and vanished."

"We'll get later to the how you know that with your eyes shut," Willow declared. "First, let's get him back."

"Totally in agreement, Willow. How ?"

"D-er ."

Willow Rosenburg (red-haired, T-shirt, soft snugly jeans and comfy pumps) looked round Giles' front room. There were books stacked, everywhere (as usual), and the clutter of an "Englishman Abroad", but no sign of their host.The only other person (as was right, given they'd been there together) insight was Buffy Summers (blonde, athletic, fashion statement blouse, jogging pants and well-worn-in slaying boots (just in case)).

"Tell me again."

"Okay - perhaps I had my eyes open a second or two. He picked up that book, from the packing ." There was indeed a big book (about two by one, heavy-looking, leather bound, with a curious design in red on the top cover) lying on the floor, next to a discarded postal packing carton.

". And he opened it, and looked in, and vanished, and the book fell down again."

 

Buffy couldn't think of anything more to say.

Willow, it turned out, could.

"Okay - - major clue has to be the book. So, who sent it and what is it ?"

She was bending down when Buffy made an "ick" noise.

"Should you do that ? I mean, Giles vanished . "

"You said he had the book open, Buffy. Anyway, what does the wrapper say ?"

Buffy sorted out the cardboard posting packet while Willow carefully prodded the book with a pencil.

"It's addressed to Giles, and it doesn't have a sender address. 'Part from that . "

"It's old," Willow said, crouching by the book. "What that is," she went on, pointing to the curious, curled, coiled design worked into the leather cover, "I don't know, but I think I saw something like it in one of Giles' books.

"And there's a bookmark in it, like somebody meant it to be opened at a particular place."

"Which we don't," Buffy suggested.

"If we can't find any more clues . " Willow pointed out, heading for the bookcases, for serious rummaging. "How long's he been gone ?"

"Five, maybe eight minutes.," Buffy replied, casually watching Willow stretch to reach books and remembering how that body felt when she .

"Here," Willow said, proudly. "Research Girl strikes again !" She held out one of Giles' volumes, and pointed to a wood-cut. It did look similar tothe design on the book cover.

"What is it - - obscure Oriental cult, mega-demon, or little-known English book-club ?"

"None of the above," Willow said, turning round and backing into Buffy's arms so they could both see the page, and some she could get the huggies she felt she deserved.

"Says here it's a symbol used for a mythical being called Scriptator. You were right about English and obscure, though: says his chiefest power was in creating fantasies, but that he was overshadowed by a greater power, named by some Lyng.

"Weird sense of style these books have," she added, off-handedly.

 

"What do we do now ?" Buffy asked, although in her heart she already knew the answer.

"We open the book," Willow said. "Carefully."

"Shouldn't that be 'you open', as in me, as in Slayer-person, as in - "

"As in Wiccan-type person isn't going to be helpful ? As in I get left behind and have to come after you anyway ?" Willow said, pulling out of Buffy's embrace. Buffy saw that two of the pencils of Giles' desk were starting to quiver.

"Okay, okay, 'we', then. You, me, Slayer, witch - " She leaned forward andkissed Willow on the nose. "- Lover, lover," she said, acquiescently. "But maybe you take some precautions first."

Willow, who had been thinking thoughts which put the word 'precautions' into quite another sense, came back to the present and smiled. "Magick bag ready," she said, pointing to the sideboard cupboard. "Giles lets me keep a spare here, for when it's too risky at my folks. Like you used to have spare Slayage kit in the book cage."

"That reminds me, maybe I should zoom over and pick up a crossbow or something," Buffy said.

"Zoom ?" Willow queried. "As in, drive ? In the Gilesmobile ? He lets you ?"

"He isn't here to say I can't. And my driving's getting better . "

"Oh, sure - last week you only went through - "

"All right - no driving," Buffy said: "I run."

"No time," Willow replied. "He's been gone over a quarter-hour - - anything could have happened. Any way, we're only going to look." She emphasisedthe last word, and moved the book to the living room table.

"You stand one side, I stand the other: that way, whatever it is, it's upside down to one of us."

"Sounds logical," Buffy admitted.

Carefully Willow opened the big book at the page indicated by the (blood-red, she now noticed) bookmark.

 

It was a full-page illustration, of a part-open door, set in a stone wall. Through it could be seen a landscape.

But, before either of them could take in more than that, both Buffy and Willow left pulled toward the book, pulled so hard that they were off-balanced, and fell . and fell . and fell into the off-white page amid the black printed lines.

 

 

 

Part 2 to follow

(Couldn't resist - mind you, it's hardly a cliff-hanger: everyone must haveseen it coming from the first few seconds)