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Rome 14: Collections

Collectionsby Red Wolf

While Spike and Dawn were staying with Wolf and Declán, Wolf had seconded them to an archiving project she was overseeing.

It wasn't quite as boring as it sounded. The archiving was being done by other people, they just needed to provide their expertise to identify the odd magical or demon related artefact. Wolf's staff specialised in antiques and collectibles, but had little experience in the objects that fell outside their field.

Dawn had volunteered to look through the books and manuscripts. She looked around the great warehouse, it was overflowing with all manner of items, fortunately most had already been checked. Wolf had explained that the warehouse belonged to a man who had been arrested and that the contents needed to be categorised for his upcoming trial.

As she worked her way through the shelves of books that Wolf's team hadn't been able to identify, Dawn marvelled at the collection. She couldn't even begin to guess if he was truly interested in magic or just an avid collector of old and rare books.

"This one's really old, 1700s if I remember correctly. There's only a handful in existence. Make a note to contact the coven about it, they have a copy and can confirm if this one's genuine." A studious young man took notes on a PDA as Dawn dictated the titles and added her own comments.

Looking up, Dawn waited for Michael to complete his entry before starting on the next book. He was not much older than Dawn. Cute, but geeky, he reminded her of Andrew. If Andrew had bright red hair that stuck out in all directions and was a good foot taller.

"Okay, got it. What's next? The blue one with the lock?" Michael nodded to the large tome Dawn had taken from the shelves. "We haven't been able to open that one."

Waving her hand over the lock, Dawn muttered a charm and the books lock obediently opened. "There's a knack to these books. They tend to contain some of nastier spells and occasionally have boobie traps, so it's not a good idea to force the locks." She carefully studied the opening pages. "This one is Escutchic, talk to Mr Diego in Barcelona about this one. He specialises in these books and will be able to give you a full history and price estimate."

It wasn't until she'd got into the swing of checking the books that Dawn realised that she had a wealth of contacts in both the magical and rare book communities. It was also the first time she realised that, while she may not be fluent in many of the demon languages present in this collection, she could identify all of them on sight and generally knew what the particular book was about.

It was funny the things you learned about yourself when you were placed in new surroundings.
15 Minute Ficlets — challenge #73: harvest

Published Babble Horde — 24.09.2004
Published fanfiction.net — 24.09.2004
Published Forever Fandom — 24.09.2004
Published The Slayer's Fanfic Archive — 24.09.2004
Published Little Girl Lost — 03.10.2004

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Comments

This is a fascinating bit of narrative. I'm all for rare books, and "...fluent in many of the demon languages..." has a wonderful ring to it. Quirky and curious — via LiveJournal — posted by Luci at 27.09.2004 19:29 AEST | #
Many thanks. I too, adore rare books, unfortunately they're way out of my price range. I must admire them from afar — via LiveJournal — posted by Red Wolf at 27.09.2004 19:29 AEST | #
That, I think, is one of the best brief Dawn scenes I've had the pleasure of reading. She's competent, knowledgeable, deals well with people... yeah, it's funny the things you realize about characters when you see them in new surroundings. :-) — via LiveJournal — posted by Elizabeth Culmer at 27.09.2004 19:30 AEST | #
I wanted to get her away from the familiar, so she's no longer Buffy's little sister or someone to be babysat, but someone with her own skills, expertise and contacts who can stand on her own two feet — via LiveJournal — posted by Red Wolf at 27.09.2004 19:31 AEST | #
Hm, very interesting. I like this one — it's quiet, but full of activity at the same time — via LiveJournal — posted by Laridian at 27.09.2004 19:32 AEST | #
Thought I'd try for less dialogue this time out — via LiveJournal — posted by Red Wolf at 27.09.2004 19:32 AEST | #
I love it when Dawn is acknowledged as being self-sufficient and intelligent! Very nice! — via LiveJournal — posted by Jessica at 27.09.2004 19:33 AEST | #
That's where I've been going with this — via LiveJournal — posted by Red Wolf at 27.09.2004 19:33 AEST | #
I like the independence she's exhibiting, nice to acknowledge that people do grow up in fandom too. Now we need a snippet of Spike testing the weaponry.. all sweaty and exerted... oiy.

Have you hunted down and mauled that "quiet" at the beginning of the second paragraph yet? Go on... attack!! — via LiveJournal — posted by Pheral at 27.09.2004 19:34 AEST | #
Spike will probably be the next 15 Minute Ficlets challenge. A drabble won't be long enough — via LiveJournal — posted by Red Wolf at 27.09.2004 19:35 AEST | #
Thanks for spotting the typo. That'll teach me to write things on Homesite — via LiveJournal — posted by Red Wolf at 27.09.2004 19:35 AEST | #
Oh goodeee, spikefic ::rubs paws together::

and you're welcome. ::kicks homesite, catches sight of icon.. faints:: — via LiveJournal — posted by Pheral at 27.09.2004 19:36 AEST | #
Homesite rocks, but it was never meant to be used as a word processor — via LiveJournal — posted by Red Wolf at 27.09.2004 19:36 AEST | #
Go Dawn! It's nice to see her developing an identity of her own and feeling comfortable in her own intelligence. :-) — via LiveJournal — posted by Anne at 27.09.2004 19:38 AEST | #
Certainly better than leaving her like Lisa Simpson and never growing up — via LiveJournal — posted by Red Wolf at 27.09.2004 19:38 AEST | #
At the beginning of S5, they introduced Dawn as a studious, well-read kid. Then they forgot that in two seconds flat and made her boy/clothes-obsessed and snippy about schoolwork.

Again, in season seven, she was finally back her book-lovin' roots. o_o

I'm not sure what the hell Mutant Enemy was up to, but you seem to have a perfect grasp on her original character in everything you write. Wonderful job.

By the way, will we be seeing more of this Michael fellow in future chapters? ::grins:: — via LiveJournal — posted by Radia at 27.09.2004 19:39 AEST | #
Marti Noxon is the bitch responsible for screwing Dawn up.

She was written younger than the actress, which is why she was so whiny in S5. In S6 the Marti bitch had this weird phobia of Spike and Dawn appearing together. And in S7, while she got the chance to grow up a little she was virtually shoved into the background.

No plans to resurrect Michael, just one of those disposably characters I write. But you never know, sometimes they just won't go away — via LiveJournal — posted by Red Wolf at 27.09.2004 19:40 AEST | #
It's really sad when fans handle the characters better than the writers do. And Noxon had a phobia about....the hell? That is the most retarded thing I've ever read. What, did she think their friendship would get in the way of the BUTT-RAPING ANGST of season six? God. >_LiveJournal — posted by Radia at 27.09.2004 19:41 AEST | #
Noxon seemed to think that having Dawn and Spike in the same room together was enough to bring down a barrage of paedophilia hate mail. Which I think says more about Noxon and her screwed up mindset than anything else.

And you're right about the angst-fest, the writers were nothing but hypocrites that season — via LiveJournal — posted by Red Wolf at 27.09.2004 19:41 AEST | #
I really like Dawn's feeling of self awareness — her confidence continues to grow. The books are fascinating, and I love the archiving project — via LiveJournal — posted by Chessie at 27.09.2004 19:44 AEST | #
The archiving project is one of the more boring aspects of Police work, unless you're into the things you're cataloguing. Fortunately, Spike and Dawn have come in on the tail end of the job, but the guys who have been doing it are from the antiques and antiquities department and are more than likely delirious at the prospect of fondling old things — via LiveJournal — posted by Red Wolf at 27.09.2004 19:45 AEST | #
I liked this. And, I think Dawn realised that she's got knowledge to fall back on — via LiveJournal — posted by dreaming reality at 27.09.2004 19:46 AEST | #
Dawn's grown up, this is her first chance to get away from the people who still think of her as a child to realise it for herself — via LiveJournal — posted by Red Wolf at 27.09.2004 19:47 AEST | #
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