3rd Person's POV

"You went hunting last night..."

Giles turns to face Buffy for a moment then looks back at Laney's arm. He stitches her up as she winces in pain.

Buffy nods at Giles remark, "Yep."

"...when you promised me you wouldn't."

"Yeah, I lied, I'm a bad person. Let's move on."

"Did you see someone with a fork?"

Laney nods, "More like a jumbo claw."

"Oh, well, at least you weren't- well the both of you weren't hurt."

Laney grimaces as she looks down at her arm, "I better be able to wear short sleeves after this or that Claw guy is dead. No he's worse than dead. I'll kill him then bring him back to life just kill him again with his own claw. See how he likes it."

Giles looks up from Laney's arm and frowns, "I feel as though I should put you in some anger management classes."

Laney smirks, "Tried that before. Didn't work."

Giles nods, "Very well."

Buffy interrupts remembering the important last part of the night, "And we saw something else, something much more interesting than your run-of-the-mill killer vampire."

"What was that?"

"Do you know Miss French, the teacher who's substituting for Dr. Gregory?"

"Oh, she's lovely..."

Buffy and Laney look at him in disgust.

"In a common, extremely well-proportioned sort of way."

Laney scoffs, "Right."

"So we're chasing clawguy last night, we're on the street... And Miss Well-Proportioned is heading home, I figure she's his next meal. He takes one look at her and runs screaming for cover."

Giles sits up stiffly, "He what? Ran away?"

"He was petrified."

"Of Miss French." Giles mimics.

"Yes! So I'm an undead monster who can shave with my hand-- how many things am I afraid of?" Laney says waiting for Giles to answer.

"Not many. And not substitute teachers, as a rule."

Buffy nods then crosses her arms, "So what is her deal?"

"I think it would be a good idea to keep an eye on her."

"Then I'd better get to class. Sorry about your arm Lane."

"It's all good Buff. Giles is making it good as new."

Laney holds up her now stitched up arm to Buffy, who smiles in return and leaves the library. Giles wraps her arm in gauze then looks at her with an emotion she can't decipher.

"Be careful Laney."

"Alright dad." Laney teases as she gathers her things.

Giles gives her a serious face, "I'm serious. You're not the slayer. You're a potential... possibly. You don't have Buffy's strength."

"Then teach me. If I'm going to be helping Buffy out and you're worried I'll keep getting hurt. Teach me. Train me."

Giles considers this, "Fine but it's going to be hard work."

"I'll be fine Giles... swear. Thanks for looking out for me."

"No, no I'm not saying she craned her neck, it was the full-on exorcist twist."

Giles closes his book as the girls walk in the library full on freaked out.

Willow holds her neck, "Ouch."

"Which reminds me, how come Blayne who worked with her 'one on one' yesterday, isn't here today?"

Laney nods, "Inquiring minds want to know."

Willow and Laney move to the computer. Buffy turns to Giles.

"Any luck?"

"I haven't found any creature just yet that strikes terror in a vampire's heart-- I'm not sure I want to."

"Try looking under 'Things That Can Turn Their Heads All The Way Around'."

Giles frowns as he takes his glasses off and cleans them, "Nothing human can do that."

"No. Nothing human. But there's some insects that can. Whatever she is, I'm gonna be ready for her."

Willow, Laney, and Giles all look up as she heads for the stacks.

"What are you going to do?"

Buffy looks at Giles, "My homework."

She disappears into the stack, only to return a second later, smiling sheepishly.

"Where's the books on bugs?"

Willow's at the computer, Giles pours over texts, and Laney sits with her head on the table, asleep. Buffy charges out of the stacks, book in hand, featuring photos of the praying mantis. She drops the book on the table causing it to make a loud thud sound.

Laney jumps up in her chair and groans as she hits her stitches, "I'm up... and in pain."

"Sorry... Dig this-- 'the praying mantis can rotate it's head a hundred and eighty degrees while waiting for a meal to wander by...' Hah!"

No one says anything.

"Well, come on guys. Hah!"

"Well, Miss French is sort of big. For a bug." Willow frowns.

Giles nods agreeing, "She is also, by and large, woman-shaped."

"Factoid one: only the praying mantis can turn it's head like that. Factoid two: a pretty wacked-out vampire is scared to death of her. Factoid three: her fashion sense screams predator."

Laney nods, "I thought I was the only one who noticed that! It's definitely the shoulder pads."

Buffy smiles nodding, "Exactly."

"If you're right, she'd have to be a shapeshifter, or perception distorter... Half a moment... I had a chum at Oxford, Carlyle, advanced degrees in entomology and mythology..."

Buffy frowns looking confused, "Whosy and whatsy?"

"What's a chum?" Laney says glancing at Buffy who just shrugs.

"Bugs and fairy tales. Friend."

"Oh... I knew that."

"I'm not even gonna lie. I did not." Laney smiles widely.

"If I recall correctly, poor Carlyle, just before he went mad, claimed there was a beast..."

Willow gasps from the computer, "Buffy, nine one one. Blayne's mom called the school, he never came
home last night."

"The boy who worked with Miss French yesterday?"

"Yeah. If Miss French is responsible for... Xander's
supposed to be helping her right now... he's got a crush on a giant insect!"

Laney laughs harder than she ever has before. Willow frowns as she looks over at her sister.

"Laney! He could die!"

"Phew! I'm sorry... it's just... wow his luck."

"Let's not panic, me and Laney will warn him. I need you to stretch your hacker muscles and see if you can get something from the Coroner's office."

"What are we looking for?" Willow asks.

"Autopsy on Dr. Gregory. I've been trying to figure out the marks I saw on his corpse-- I'm thinking they might have been teeth-- and these cuddlies..."

She shows Willow a picture of horrible mantis teeth.

"...should definitely be brushing after every meal."

"I have to make one trans-Atlantic phone call." Giles says as he heads for phone.

He stops and looks at the computer, "This computer invasion Willow's performing on the Coroner's office-- one assumes it's entirely legal?"

"Of course." Willow smiles.

"Entirely." Buffy grimaces.

Laney chuckles, "Maybe in your dreams."

"I wasn't here, didn't see it, couldn't have stopped you."

"Good idea."

JUST FOR FUN
Laney's Outfit and Hair