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Chapter 3

Buffy had no sooner stepped into the circle, than the air in the room began to swirl. Buffy spun to see Willow sitting Indian style on the floor. Her hair had turned black; as had her eyes, and her skin was covered in black veiny lines.

“Willow?” Buffy tried to go to her friend and was immediately surrounded by wind. A ‘tornado’ had appeared around her in the circle, whirling the colored sand and loose objects, obscuring her view of Willow and her basement. Through the high-pitched siren sound of the wind, she could barely hear Willow’s chanting out the spell. She called out to her, afraid of what was happening to them both, but she wasn’t heard. Buffy stood in the middle, afraid to get too close to the rapidly swirling wind, fearing she would lose her balance. Then suddenly the world around her turned pitch black and silent.

Afraid to reach out or speak, she slowed her breathing and stood very still in the dark, listening, waiting for some clue of what had just happened. Was she still at home? She was trying not to make a sound, straining her ears for the smallest clue as to where she was, when a blinding flash of light appeared. She covered her eyes, trying desperately to shield them. The ground below her began to shake. The blinding white light continued to surround Buffy. The tremors quickly increased in severity, and Buffy found herself falling. A sharp pain in her head was the last thing she remembered. She had lost consciousness.

~~~~~~

When she awoke, she had no clue how long she had actually be unconscious. Buffy was lying on the ground outside, under a clump of trees. She laid there for a few minutes, trying to evaluate if she was injured. Buffy took a deep breath of the cleanest, sweetest smelling air. Her arms were numb from the position she was lying in, but she managed to move them and brought her hands to her torso to check for injuries. Her clothing felt dirty and odd. She lifted her head to take a look at the damage.

Buffy was shocked to find her clothes weren't hers. She was wearing crudely cut pieces of fur and leather. Her legs were bare and filthy. Panic started to wash over her. Buffy sat up to get a better look at herself and her surroundings. Her legs didn’t even look like her own. She felt her hair, which was very dirty, almost in dreadlocks. Pulling a piece in front of her face she realized it was blond, but much lighter than her normal color. As she dropped her hands, she noticed the difference between these hands and her own. They were not hers. She felt faint. Darkness began to surround her again, she felt herself falling backwards when she heard the name. Not her own, but hers, the little girl.

“Kaia!”

Buffy turned expecting to see Kaia, but saw a rough looking woman rushing toward her. She knew this woman to be Groma from her visions, but wait… She knew this woman from what Kaia had shown her, but at that split-second, she realized she had Kaia’s memories in her head, as well as her own. She could feel Kaia within her. Her essence filled her. And like a light bulb moment, she realized where she was. She was in Kaia’s body.

Without understanding how she did it, she answered the medicine woman in a series of roughly formed words, in a voice that was not her own. She understood the woman, and she understood Buffy, as well. Buffy was speaking a language she had never heard of.

“I’m fine, Groma. I was just lightheaded.” Buffy told the woman, hoping she would understand her.

“Thanks be, to the spirit guide. I saw you fall to the ground and was concerned for your health.” Groma dug in her hide pouch, which was strung across her chest, and handed her what looked like a gourd. Unsure of what to do with it, Buffy simply stared at it. Groma became even more worried about her child not knowing how to drink from the hollowed out gourd. “I think we should head back, I think you have been in the sun too long.”

Buffy nodded and got to her feet. She stood taller as Kaia. Kaia’s body was lean and muscular like her own, but she was taller. Buffy started to wonder about Kaia’s physical strength as she walked toward what she figured would be the cave where Kaia lived.

She watched Groma walk ahead of her. Groma was not an attractive woman by today’s standards. She was short and stocky. Her legs were bowed. She was very hairy, her brow was very pronounced, and she was missing several teeth. Buffy ran her tongue along the inside of her mouth, searching for gaps. She relaxed when she found none.

Buffy searched through Kaia’s memories, finding that Kaia was jealous of the look of this woman, and all of the woman in the clan. Kaia was different and treated badly because of it. She wanted desperately to fit in, to have a friend her own age… and to, some day soon, have a mate. Buffy’s emotions spilled over and she began to sob as they walked back. This poor child. She can’t be more than nine or ten and already she feels that her life will be nothing but full of pain, because she is different.

Groma had noticed the girl crying, and rushed to her side. “Perhaps you are nearing womanhood. You will relax on your hides when we return. Say nothing to the men folk. I don’t want them anywhere near you now. I will deal with Kahn, when he asks where you are.”

As they approached the cave’s huge entrance, Groma handed her an animal hide filled with plants. “Go directly to my hearth. Speak to no one.”

Buffy began to panic that she didn’t know where to go, but Kaia was with her, in spirit. She knew exactly where to go. She glanced around a bit on her way to Groma’s hearth, taking in the layout of the cave.

There were many people there, who all looked similar to Groma. The women and children briefly glared at her, while the elder men smiled and laughed. There was a central fire where the women were working, doing food preparations, and other family type chores. The elder men sat on one side of the cave, overseeing the daily operations. There were a few men coming and going, but they looked much younger than the ones on the far side of the cave. As she walked further into the cave toward Groma’s area, she began to see what looked like apartments to her. In the cave walls there were smaller areas that appeared to be carved out. In these smaller rooms, there were piles of furs and hides. Each room had its own fire pit, or hearth as she learned from Kaia.

She saw women with small children in these areas, tending to them and sewing. She saw a woman braiding strips of what looked like grass into rope. When she reached the back of the cave, she found a rack of drying plants, many items made from bone, and many gourds like the one Groma had in her bag. She knew this was Groma’s hearth.

Buffy quickly stoked the fire as Kaia instructed her, and then climbed under the hides. Their warmth was welcome; as the temperature had dropped the further into the cave she had walked. She was exhausted from the recent events. Buffy thought of Willow as she started to doze off. Then Spike. She knew he’d be worried and upset, she hadn’t told him of her plan to talk to Willow. Buffy could feel Kaia’s spirit, which was peaceful for the first time in weeks. She fell asleep, hoping she would not only find a way home, but also find a way to help Kaia while she was here. Buffy knew it would be difficult, especially because she didn’t think she’d be here long.