Giles deftly moved a priceless and irreplaceable volume of Bahram’s Divinations and Portents out from underneath Xander’s hammer as the young man went to lay it on the desk, heedless of what else might be there. His face appeared pained and very much as though he was regretting his earlier request, but Xander’s mood had visibly improved tenfold and Giles’ disapproving frown soon melted. The Watcher simply sighed and returned to temporarily relocating much of his office to one side of the room.

The other half had been claimed by Xander. Large sections were covered with plastic sheets to help contain the sawdust which was flying in the air as the carpenter worked. He was complaining, and from the sounds of it, had been doing so for some time.

"...so I had to go to go to 'Big Fred’s’, all the way across town. More expensive, but at least someone was actually there to relieve me of all my hard earned cash. Well, your hard-earned cash. And as an added bonus, I didn't get threatened by scary tree-people."

"I can’t believe 'Big Fred’ hasn’t worked those two selling points into an advertising campaign," remarked Giles dryly.

Xander jabbed the pencil he’d been using to mark off sections of the wood at the Watcher. "I’m tellin’ ya though, Giles, it was freaky, all deserted like that. I mean yeah, you don’t typically expect a lumberyard to be the most happenin’ place in town," he shrugged, "but you’d think someone would’ve at least been around for customers. But nothin’. Just a group of women with a wood fetish. Which I’m usually all for, but—"

The office door opened, effectively cutting off that entire thread of conversation and relieving the pained look that had returned to Giles’ face. "Andrew! How marvelous to see you," greeted Giles. Then his words sank in and he sighed ruefully. "Oh, how far I’ve fallen."

Andrew missed that part, however. "Why thank you, Mr. Giles!" he beamed, obviously flattered. "It’s marvelous to see you too!"

"Hey Andy," nodded Xander, not looking up from measuring the lumber.

"Xander!" Andrew went to move closer, but then realized he would be stepping on the plastic. Unsure if that was something he should do, he danced back and forth for a moment, finally deciding to stay where he was. "I was hoping to run into you. I was thinking we could indulge ourselves for 97 minutes in the movie that will put the 'slash’ back into 'slasher films’: Freddy vs. Jason. I haven’t seen it yet, but I’ve heard it’s really good ... in a totally bad kind of way," he added, losing some enthusiasm, but just for a second. "And who hasn’t been waiting for this exciting clash of the horror movie titans? It’ll be like a modern-day Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla. Only do you think there’ll be more blood? Because blood makes me really queasy now. Blood and pork." Andrew looked uncomfortable and rubbed his tummy.

"No thanks, Andy. Kinda workin’ on somethin’ here," Xander replied, inclining his head towards the supplies.

"Oh," pouted Andrew. "But I thought I remembered you saying back in Sunnydale how excited you were about it? Or was that Aliens vs. Predator? Hey, do you think they’ll bring back Ripley? I don’t mean weird Robo-Ripley, I mean real Ripley."

Xander turned to the blond with amazement. "What, are you kidding me? She got all chest-bursting with the Alien thing and threw herself into a gigantic fire pit. You don’t just dust yourself off and walk away from that."

"And then they wonder why I choose to remain ignorant about most of their conversations," Giles muttered, still packing away his books.

"Plus, Ripley would totally kick the Aliens’ and Predators' asses," Andrew added with great certainty.

"Totally," echoed Xander just as surely, but then his face darkened and he turned his attention back to the bookcase. "But no. Not really in the mood right now for big screens and dealing with lots of people."

Andrew nodded reluctantly. "Okay. Maybe later though?" he asked hopefully. "Underworld is coming out soon, and that looks really good. Vampires, werewolves ... " He trailed off and surveyed his surroundings. "Although I guess when you put it in perspective ..."

The phone chose that moment to ring and Giles quickly picked it up, grateful for yet another distraction. "Hello?"

Willow’s voice came through, strained and nervous. "Giles? I-I need you to come down here. To campus. There’s something ... Bad. Bad things. Really bad. An-And kinda gross," she amended almost as an afterthought.

"Willow, what? Are you all right?"

Hearing Willow’s name, Xander’s head jerked up from his work and he quickly moved to Giles’ desk. "What’s goin’ on?" he demanded.

Giles didn’t answer, instead waving his hand for Xander to be quiet as he listened to the phone.

"Yeah, yeah, we’re okay, me and Dawnie. We- We were just hangin’ fliers for this— Oh, but th-then there was the jacket and the tree and then snap! There went the branch only now it’s all with the blood and— Bad," Willow finally summed her entire experience up into that one word. "Giles, I need you to get down here, a-and bring some stuff. Spell stuff. I wanna do a spell."

A raised eyebrow spoke volumes. "A spell?" Giles asked. "Are you quite sure?"

"Giles, trees are bleeding," emphasized Willow. "Real blood. Real, human, O-positive-type blood. Or, well, I guess it could be AB-negative or something, I didn’t test it, but— blood, Giles."

"All right," he relented. "Tell me what you need."

The Watcher grabbed the pencil out of Xander’s hand and began scribbling down ingredients on the first piece of paper he found. Cautiously, as though afraid he would disturb something vital, Andrew joined Xander by the desk.

"Willow’s gonna cast a spell?" he whispered to Xander. "The last time she did that, she nearly blew off the door of her Sanctuary."

Xander glanced at Andrew but when he spoke, his full attention was focused on Giles. "I know. She’s gettin’ better, though," he said with a touch of pride. "She and Giles have been workin’ together to sort of stabilize her power. She’s still a bit iffy now and then when she’s on her own, but she’s workin’ on it."

Andrew nodded as Giles spoke again.

"Yes, I know where that is. I’ll gather the supplies and be there as soon as I can." Giles hung up the phone and looked to Xander and Andrew. "Willow’s discovered something rather unusual at University. We’re going to cast a spell to determine exactly what it is."

Clapping his hands together, Xander rubbed them anxiously. "What’re we waitin’ for? Let’s make with the mojo."

"I’m certain we can handle this. You’re welcome to remain here and continue working—"

"What and miss out on all the unusual unusualness?" asked Xander with a grin. "It’s what we do, what we thrive on. It’s our bread and butter, our meat and potatoes, and is anyone else gettin’ hungry?"

Giles rolled his eyes. "Come on," he said, moving for the door, Xander right behind him.

Andrew watched them go. His stomach growled and he looked down at it.

The shiny red sports car pulled up alongside Dawn who was resting her chin in her hands and moping. Giles and Xander got out of the car, Giles nodded a quick greeting to Dawn before heading straight for Willow, who was standing next to the tree. Her hand was gently pressed against its trunk and her eyes were closed tightly in concentration. As Giles approached, he set the armload of supplies on the ground and moved next to her. Xander watched them both for a moment and then turned to Dawn.

"Yet another potential resume item marred by the weirdness that is us," she offered as an explanation for her mood.

He didn’t get it. "Huh?"

Dawn rose to her feet, brushing her pants as they both walked across the lawn towards Willow and Giles. "Nothing," she sighed. "Just trying to write my college resume. I was hoping this would help, but ... " she waved her hand at the bleeding tree.

"You know the secret to those things is embellishing," said Xander, glancing at Dawn. When he saw she didn’t understand, he clarified. "Look, there’s no way they’re gonna check up on everything you write down. Do you think they’re gonna bother calling up some small-town group of tree huggers with zero celebrity backing, just to see if you really spent a Saturday hanging up fliers? No way, they’re too busy wonderin’ if they can jack up tuition next year. So you embellish."

The light slowly came on. "So ... rather than saying 'Helped find out why some tree was doing this freaky bleeding thing’ ..."

"... You say, 'Investigated the condition of and worked to preserve the health and well-being of local forestry’."

Dawn practically jumped in the air as she squealed in delight. "Oh my god!" she bubbled. "That’s so brilliant!"

He shrugged sheepishly and grinned. "Xander Harris: Making as little look like as much as possible for 23 years."

Having reached the others, they turned their attention to the other major problem of the day. Willow was seated on the ground Indian-style at the center of a makeshift circle. Nearby, herbs and incense were burning, creating a heady but not overwhelming scent. Giles stood close, watching Willow intently.

"Just relax," he soothed. "I’ll be right here if you should need me."

Willow laughed nervously. "Right. Relax. Tree bleeding, general feeling of unease and discomfort. What’s to not relax about?"

She closed her eyes, breathing deeply and steadily. For several moments it seemed as though nothing would happen, but then –

Flashes. The frat boy walking. Carving into the trunk of a tree. Fear. A female face. A t-shirt. A hand stretching out. Unable to run. The bark spreading. A scream—

With a gasp Willow jolted back and her eyes snapped open. The others were instantly at her side as she swayed, ready to catch her if she fell, but she didn’t. Instead she turned to the tree, regarding it with horror and sadness.

"It’s a-a person," she said, her voice wavering. "Was a person...? He was ... He was doing something, to that tree o-over there," she pointed not too far from where they were all gathered. Xander got up to investigate as Willow continued, "an-and then ... Something saw him. He was scared, tried to run, then ..."

She craned her head to look at the tree, focusing on the wound. The blood had stopped flowing by now. It had dried and crusted around the bark, continuing to be an unpleasant sight, and Willow shuddered. "It hurt so much. It still hurts," she whispered, rubbing her arms for comfort.

Dawn looked almost as freaked out as Willow. "So much for the 'plants can’t feel pain’ theory." Trying to find the bright side, she asked, "Hey, does this mean I don’t have to eat Brussels sprouts any more?"

She was spared the refusal by Xander’s return. He held out an open butterfly knife to the group. "I found this. There’s a couple of carvings in the tree, but it doesn’t look like either one was finished."

"Did he get a good look at who did this to him?" Giles asked Willow.

Willow shook her head. "No, just ... Female. And ... " Her eyes widened as she remembered a detail from the visions. "Pining Away! She-She had a Pining Away t-shirt!"

"The scarily intimidating 'nature good, man bad’ girls are behind this? Color me not surprised," Xander stated.

"But how?" queried Dawn. "This is way beyond making speeches and handing out fliers."

Giles frowned, looking from one tree to the next. "There’s clearly something eldritch at work here. I-I think it’s imperative that we track down the group as soon as possible and get to the bottom of this." He turned back to the redhead. "Willow, did you get an address or-or phone number where we can contact them?"

Willow had calmed down considerably and was packing away the ingredients she’d used in the spell. "No," she admitted. "I met up with Xylia at The Common Grounds, I have no idea where they are ..."

She reached for a bundle of herbs she’d placed on top of the fliers next to her and then stopped, rereading carefully.

"... but I know where they will be."

Faith glanced over her shoulder as she heard the front door opening. She took another drag of her cigarette and watched as Kennedy stepped outside, squinting in the sunlight. She walked down the front steps of the complex that had become known as "Slayer Central".

"Yo, Brat," Faith tipped her head to the side, blowing smoke away from the other girl, "you goin’ somewhere?"

Kennedy nodded, checking her pockets for something. "Yeah. Willow’s wrapped up in some school thing, so I thought I’d go hit a few places downtown. Do some window-shopping." Finally finding what she was looking for, Kennedy flipped open the arms of her sunglasses and put them on. She looked around and smiled slightly. Much better.

"Oh?" Faith looked directly into the sun before puffing on her cigarette again. "An’ what’re we shoppin’ for?"

"Oh, nothin’," Kennedy replied nonchalantly, but unable to hide a mischievous smirk.

It certainly didn’t escape Faith’s notice. "Uh-uh. I know that look. That look means evil. An’ as a Slayer—" she dropped her voice an octave and spoke with exaggerated exactness. "I have a sacred duty to confront and defeat evil wherever I may find it." With a grin she took another pull. "Though I been known to team up with it on occasion, so spill."

Kennedy glanced around and then moved away from the entrance, beckoning for the other Slayer to follow her. Faith raised a questioning eyebrow, but flicked her cigarette into the grass and did just that.

"Okay, so you know how Nate has this thing about bugs?" Kennedy spoke in a low, secretive manner, leaning over to Faith.

"No, but okay," replied Faith in her normal tone, not at all playing along.

"Well he does. So I was thinkin’," she grinned maliciously, "how much fun would it be to buy a whole bunch of those rubber cockroaches and stuff, and leave them lying around his office!"

Delighted with her plan, an expectant smile appeared on Kennedy's face. Faith simply stared.

"You went to boarding school for how many years, and that’s the best you can come up with?" she finally commented, thoroughly unimpressed.

The other girl deflated. "Well I’m out of practice."

"What’cha got against Giles Junior anyway?" Faith asked. "He seems harmless."

"Mostly harmless," grumbled Kennedy. "And mostly irritating. If I have to listen to him tell me one more time to work on my temper, I’ll—"

She looked over at Faith’s smirk and unballed the fist she’d unconsciously clenched. "Shut up," she poked her finger at her friend.

Faith threw her hands in the air, still smirking. "Not sayin’ a word. Don’t hafta." Kennedy stomped off, Faith quickly following behind. "I’m just sayin’—"

"I can’t help but notice those are words," remarked Kennedy. "Words that you just said you didn’t need to say."

"—you should give him a chance," she finished. "I know these Watcher guys are uptight and boring and take way too long to say stuff, but y’might learn somethin’. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t know everything."

"Unlike you," Kennedy shot back sarcastically.

That only caused Faith’s grin to widen. "Oh hell no, I dunno jack about squat."

"And yet here we both are, and only one of us has their Watcher space filled to capacity."

"Tried the Watcher thing, didn’t work out." That earned her a glare. "Hey, I’m not sayin’ it’s for everyone," Faith conceded. "I’m pretty much livin’ proof of that. But y’don’t know 'til y’try, right? I mean you had your Watcher for what? All of a couple’a weeks before the Bringers got him?"

Kennedy opened her mouth to retaliate, but Faith kept going, not waiting for a response. "You never know, the whole Slayer/Watcher thing might do just fine by you. Lookit B, she was practically glued to hers, and she turned out okay. Better’n okay. 'Cept for dyin’ a few times," she added with a shrug. "Anyway, I just think you should try, that’s all I’m sayin’."

"Oh, I’m trying," Kennedy agreed with enthusiasm. "Right now I’m tryin’ to think where I can buy rubber roaches in bulk."

Faith slung a companionable arm around Kennedy’s neck as the two walked. "I think I know a place. Though hey," she asked brightly, "have you considered real roaches?"

She completely missed the look of mild disgust Kennedy shot her.

"You don’t think you should’ve told Kennedy?" questioned Xander.

He and Willow were in Giles’ office. Xander was tidying up the mess he’d left earlier, trying to make the area a little less of an affront to the Watcher. He moved one partially cut board to the top of a stack, patting at his shirt and sending a plume of sawdust into the air. He nearly sneezed, but managed to hold it in.

On the other side of the room, near where Giles had been earlier, Willow reached into an open cabinet and retrieving supplies, placing them carefully in a small bag nearby. "Well ... No. Maybe. It’s just— It’s not that I don’t trust Kenn, but—"

She sighed and paused for a moment to collect her thoughts. "They’re not evil," she tried again. "Okay, yeah, people into trees, not really toppin’ the list of good deeds. But way deep down, I don’t think they’re evil. I wanna do this without bones breakin’ a-and body parts flyin’, and Kenn sometimes? Not so good with the plans that don’t involve decapitation."

Xander threw her an admonishing look. "I’m not sure lyin’ to her is the best way to go here, Will."

"I didn’t lie!" protested Willow immediately. "I-I told her I had to go to a meeting. And I do. So see? No lie. I ... skimped. Glossed over. There’s just a-a thin glossy veneer over the truth. Hardly even noticeable," she tried to dismiss.

Xander’s expression didn’t change.

The redhead became even more flustered and defensive. "Well you’ve seen how she gets! Just a whiff of something a little teeny bit dangerous, and she goes all butch and defendery. I-It’s better this way. We go, we talk, we rationalize, we stop the death-by-treeing, and then it’s home for hot chocolate and snuggles."

"Things must be so nice in your world," commented an envious Xander. "You’ll have to show me slides sometime."

Willow’s response was to toss a pencil at him. It bounced harmlessly off his chest. "Hey watch it!" he exclaimed. "You’ll put my only eye out."

Seizing the opportunity for a subject change, Willow turned back to the cabinet and asked, "How about you, how is being Xander workin’ out for ya?"

He shrugged noncommittally. "Eh, it’s passable. I’m really jazzed about the bookcase project. Which probably says more about me than I’d like," he acknowledged. "This helps, though. Us, goin’ out to fight the good fight ... " Xander glanced over nervously at Willow’s glare. "Or debate the good debate, whatever."

"And ... the other thing?" she broached tentatively. "The leaving thing?"

"I dunno. It comes and goes. Sometimes I feel almost claustrophobic. But other times," he took in the room and smiled, "I can’t imagine bein’ anywhere else. I guess I’m really just takin’ it one day at a time."

Willow nodded in agreement. "Sometimes that’s all you can do. People can only deal with stuff how it’s best for them, y’know?"

Dusk was settling over the park where the members of Pining Away were setting up for their rally that night. The area was mostly just grass, however there were several long tables holding refreshments and a small makeshift stage set up to one side facing rows of folding chairs. One member in particular, the woman Willow had seen speaking in the quad, was mingling with the others, speaking to them in the same passionate, confident manner.

"The time of bending in the wind like saplings has passed, my Sisters. Soon, they will come. Lured by greed, curiosity, boredom, or cruelty, they will come. There will be some among them that are Kindred. To those, we will bestow upon them the gift of sisterhood. To the rest ..." she gazed around the clearing, a shadow of a smile on her lips. "We shall give their worthless lives meaning. They will finally become part of the Earth that they feel themselves so far above."

Moving toward the park entrance, she turned away from the others. Her face began to change, her skin becoming a pale brown and her hair transforming into a rich forest green. Her hands and feet morphed, adopting a bark-like appearance. She raised her hand, she flexed fingers that were now akin to long, thin branches.

"Such are the failings of human nature. They will come."