miscellany n 1: a collection containing a variety of sorts of things.

The still utterly baffled freshman had given up for the evening, surrendering the work station to Giles. He had taken the seat before the computer and was tapping the keys busily. "Now, then, what time periods did you say you've covered so far?"

"I'm taking it slow. I did the pre-historic up to the classic era. Lots of snickers when I discussed the Greek take on older man/younger man relations and nude exercise, lots of whistles when I covered Roman orgies. Groans when I told them that they weren't as prevalent as most people think these days. I'm ready to move on to the middle ages, possibly the Renaissance if there isn't a lot of material for that."

"Well, you'll want to cover courtly love, and the class distinctions in chivalry."

Blair nodded. "Noble lady--protect to the death. Peasant wench--fair game."

"A concept that had a depressingly long survival."

They both looked up at the comment. Blair did a fast mental lip licking. *Ooo, boy! A leather jacket--and what's inside it is nice, too.* He had his hand on Giles's shoulder, and the muscles under his palm were suddenly tense.

"Angel?" Giles said quietly. Blair looked at Giles sharply. There had been a lift at the end of that word, making it a question. Blair noticed that the librarian's hand had left the keyboard, creeping toward his jacket pocket.

The dark-eyed young man smiled slightly, lifting his hands in a palms out 'no harm meant' gesture. "Hi, Giles. You're looking good."

"Thank you." There was a pause. Blair looked from one to the other, then squeezed Giles's shoulder. "Oh, where are my manners? Blair, this is an old friend--Angel. Angel, Blair Sandburg. He's a new member of the Sunnydale PD, and he's giving a series of lectures on campus."

They shook hands. Angel said, "Modern police procedures? Forensics? The policeman is your friend?"

Blair smiled. "Sex through the ages. I was an anthropologist before I joined the force." *Geez, his hand is cool, like Spike's. Is there something locally that screws up the circulation?* "So, Angel... Just Angel?" The other man nodded. "Just Oz. Just Spike. Is this a local tendency--just one name?"

Angel was giving him an amused look, but whatever he might have replied was lost when Jim and Xander came around the corner from the elevators. He noticed Giles zeroing in on Xander, and the teenager gave him the 'thumbs up' sign. Giles relaxed even more.

Blair also noticed that Jim was in 'detect' mode. He was giving Angel the laser going over, his nostrils flaring slightly as he sifted through the various scents that surrounded him, searching for the ones peculiar to Angel.

Jim easily screened out the scents of Blair and Xander-he'd been intimate enough with them to be familiar with their personal smells. It was a little more difficult to isolate the librarians scent, but as he asked Angel what brought him back to Sunnydale, he picked through the aromas. *Tea and old books-not surprising. Hmm.* But there was subtle scent that Jim had come to recognize over the past few years that seemed very at odds with the man's bland appearance. He had the distinctive odor of an Alpha male. Taking in the man's tweeds and his soft, cultured voice, Jim thought, *There's more to that one than meets the eyes.*

Finally he thought he had managed to fix on Angel's personal scents.

"I'm here on a case, Giles. You know that Sunnydale is peculiarly suited to look into the type of matters I deal with." Angel was speaking to Giles, but he was looking at Blair. Jim thought he didn't like that.

*Hair gel.* Jim looked sardonically at Angel's carefully coiffed hair. *Lots of it. Leather...* His head came up alertly. *Blood. But he doesn't look injured.* Jim wished that Angel would take off the long leather coat, so he could get a good look at his clothes. There were no bloodstains on the visible parts of his garments, but the coppery smell of fresh blood was faint, but unmistakable. And there was one more scent. It seemed so out of place that at first he couldn't identify it.

Angel continued. "I don't know how long I'll be in town. Giles, I was wondering if you still have that couch in the basement of The Magic Box? It would help considerably if I had a place to crash."

When Giles looked hesitant, Blair said, "Jim? We have a good sized couch. Couldn't we let him flop there for a couple of days?"

*Oh, I don't think so. I don't know what it is, but something about this dude is making the hairs stand up on the back of my neck.* "Well..."

"That won't be necessary," Giles broke in. "Yes, Angel, you can stay at the store while you conduct your business." His eyes held a warning. "I trust you'll do your best to see that there's no fallout from your business."

"Now Giles," he said, smiling slightly, "would you expect any less from me? You know that I try never to visit my personal problems on innocent bystanders." He glanced at Jim. "It's been a pleasure meeting you." Then he looked at Blair. "I hope we have a chance to get better acquainted before I leave." With a nod, he turned and left.

Jim muttered, "I'm not all that sure I want to get better acquainted with him."

Blair gave him a puzzled look. "Why, Jim? He seems inoffensive. I thought he was kinda... I don't know-intriguing."

Giles said dryly, "He is that, and you aren't the first to think so, but your partner may have the right of it, Blair. Angel... Angel is all right--now. But there are some very dark things in his past, and sometimes the past revisits us. It would be safer if you didn't pursue a friendship with him."

Blair noticed Xander's slight nod, and frowned mentally. *Is there something I'm not picking up on? Oh, well, he makes Jim feel hinky, so I guess he's out as a bed possibility.* Blair glanced at Xander and Giles. *Not that I'm feeling deprived.*

"We ought to go, too," Jim said. "Morning comes awful early these days."

"Right. Can we give you a lift, Xander?" Blair asked.

"Yeah, thanks. I came with Willow and Tara. I was gonna get Giles to drive me home, but this way I don't have to wait and he doesn't have to go out of his way."

The three men strolled out toward the truck. As they got in Blair said, "So, Xander, tell me a little more about your friend."

Xander shifted uneasily. "He's not exactly my friend."

Blair looked at him curiously. "I didn't exactly get the 'enemy' vibe from him."

"Not exactly an enemy, either. At least, not now. It's more of a guarded truce type thing. Well, let's see... What can I tell you about Angel? Um, he's from Ireland, originally."

"Really?" Jim spoke up. "I didn't hear an accent."

"He hasn't lived there in a long, long..." he paused, "long time. He's older than he looks," he explained. "He's been a lot of places. Right now he's living in L.A., running a sort of detective agency/aid station."

"What does he do?" Blair asked.

"Whatever is necessary," Xander shrugged. "People come to him with unique problems, and he solves them. He's teamed with a couple of others, other ex-Sunnydales. There's Wesley--he's sort of a colleague of Giles, and there's Cordelia." He made a face. "Ex-girlfriend."

"Uh-huh." Jim nodded. "You sure that isn't what keeps this a truce instead of a peace?"

"No, I can safely say that there are bigger and badder issues involved here, but I'm not going into them right now."

There was silence for a moment, then Jim said casually, "I thought that he must work in a hospital, or maybe a mortuary."

Xander stared at him. "Interesting choice of career possibilities. What suggested those to you?"

Jim glanced at Blair, then said, "I have a very well developed sense of smell, and I caught a whiff of what I've come to associate with death--or rather with decay, not fresh death."

Xander stared at him. "You sure, man? Cologne I could easily believe, or even styling mousse with him."

Jim shook his head, "No. The aroma of something dead was there. I'm not making this up, Xander."

"He's not," Blair assured him. "I've seen evidence of his scenting abilities before."

"I didn't say I didn't believe you. Hell, you live in Sunnydale all your life and your threshold of disbelief is set real low, believe me. But maybe there was, like, a dead mouse or something around."

"It's possible, I suppose, but I don't think so. And I've noticed that I run into that scent a good deal around here, in places where it shouldn't be. I caught a trace of it at The Bronze, but I ignored it. Then I got it again the other night when we saw that suspicious activity out by the park." *Let's see how you react to that, Xander.*

"Suspicious?" Xander asked nonchalantly.

"Odd as hell," Blair contributed. "We thought we'd stumbled onto a robbery or mugging, but the bum laid out on the ground was all right, just drunk. The only thing strange about the situation was the bag of stuff we found nearby." He wrinkled his nose. "It was like someone had cleaned out a crematorium, then stuffed a very bad pastel formal suit in with it."

"Weird, but to the best of my knowledge not illegal," Xander said.

"Still, I think that the two guys we saw running away had to be up to something not kosher," Blair stated. "Otherwise why would they have jetted?"

"I told you, you need to be kinda wary out here at night."

"Then what were you doing there after dark, Xander?" Jim asked.

Xander stared at him blankly, thinking, *Shitshitshit. He did see me. What do you do now, Harris? I don't wanna lie to the guys, but they'll think I'm nuts.* Finally he said, "Okay, it was me. But I had a good reason to be there."

"And that would be?"

Xander studied them again, then said slowly, "Nothing illegal, or even unethical. Look, guys, I want to tell you. In fact, I think I should tell you, but I'm not the only one involved in this. Other people need to be consulted before I lay out the situation to outsiders.

"Are you in trouble, Xander?" Jim asked quietly.

"Not me personally."

"If it's a gang, I've dealt with them before.

"Mmm, and it's not exactly a gang--they're not that organized. Look, give me a little while to talk to the others and see what they say. I should be able to give you an answer tomorrow."

"Fair enough," Jim agreed. "But I warn you--if you decide not to talk, I will still look into it. I've been having odd feelings ever since we came here, and I'd like an explanation."

"Besides," Blair put one arm around Jim's shoulders and the other around Xander. "We are both as curious as a clowder of cats."

At the apartment complex, Blair rubbed Xander's back as they got out of the car. "Care to come over for a while?"

Xander bit his lip. "Tempting, but like I said, I have people to talk to, and I ought to get started right now, so I'll take a rain check." He waved goodnight and started for his battered car as Jim and Blair made their way to their apartment.

Once inside, Blair said, "What do you think?"

"He was nervous, but not afraid. I think it's probably like he said--nothing really illegal. But from the way he talks about it and the secrecy, I'd say it's probably dangerous. I haven't a clue as to what it could be."

Blair frowned in thought. "If they weren't out there to attack anyone, could it be the opposite? You know what a sky-high violent crime rate they have here. Maybe he's part of a neighborhood patrol."

"If that was all it is, why not just tell us? No, if it's anything like that, I'm afraid it might be a vigilante group, and we can't have that."

"Don't spring to judgment, man. Let's just wait and see what he tells us."

"If he tells us anything, and I hope he does. I hate using my senses to snoop on someone I like. I feel like such a prying bastard."

Xander sat across from Giles at the older man's kitchen table. He took a sip of beer and said, "So he knows something is up, he just hasn't figured out what yet. What do you think?"

Giles shook his head. "It's an awful risk, Xander. Even if they don't just think you're insane... We're insane, if they aren't prepared to deal with what Sunnydale actually is, then the knowledge could endanger them."

"Yeah, but I get the feeling that they could be a real asset if they can handle it."

Giles thought for a moment, then said slowly, "I'm a bit surprised to find that I'm in favor of it. I'll want to run this by the others. Let me give them a call. If there are no objections that can't be answered, then bring them here tomorrow evening. It would be best if we were all present. Perhaps when they see how many of us are involved they'll be less likely to believe this is a cult."

"Cults are generally more financially successful." They both looked up, startled, to find Angel standing in the doorway.

"Damn, man, don't do that!" Xander snapped. "I hate that 'silent as a ghost' shit!"

"Sorry, next time I'll stomp. So, you're going to be trusting those two with the real nature of Sunnydale? You aren't afraid they'll call in the National Guard? Or perhaps the World Weekly News?"

"No. I think they're going to listen, and then I think they're going to believe."

"Somehow I never pictured you as Pollyanna, Xander. Well, I wish you luck. I think I'll turn in early." Angel left.

Xander looked at Giles. "I know he's ensouled and all that, but I just don't feel comfortable with having him back, especially having him here, this close to you."

"Thank you, Xander, but don't worry. I have my bedroom so protected that a vampire shouldn't be able to get within ten feet of it." He gazed at the door Angel had just disappeared through. "I do wish I knew, though, why he's here. I seriously doubt that it's to renew old acquaintances."

Angel, just out of sight at the head of the stairs leading down to The Magic Shop, heard the last exchange, then went downstairs. He spend a little while prowling the shop, looking at the merchandise. Most of it was simple stuff, very little actual power involved. Giles must keep the real articles locked away. Sensible. You didn't want someone window shopping to get their hands on something that might vaporize them.

Finally he went to the fridge behind the counter on the off chance that Giles had a bag or two of blood stored there in case Spike wanted a snack. Bottled water, a half eaten sandwich wrapped in clingwrap, a Snickers candybar... Angel smiled. *Probably Xander's. The boy has a sweet tooth. I do, too,* he glanced up at the ceiling, and a rather nasty smirk curled his lips. *Of course, I like a different kind of sweet, and little Xander would do me just fine.*

There was a bag in the freezer compartment, but it didn't hold blood. Angel took it out and examined it, curious. It looked like it was some sort of cloth. He opened the baggie and pulled out the cloth. It felt stiff. Something had frozen on it, but what? It was something white, because there were no visible stains. He held it up and sniffed.

*That smells familiar.* He sniffed again. *Familiar, but not quite right. It's the cold. Let's see, imagine it warm.* He sniffed. *Mm, not just warm, almost steamy.* Another deep whiff, the cloth almost touching his nose, and he suddenly grinned. *Oh, ho! What have you been up to, Giles? Is this just yours? No, I don't think so. There'd be no reason to save it. In fact, in your profession it could be downright dangerous. Another magik user could get hold of it and do all kinds of nasty things.*

He laughed softly, putting the handkerchief back in the bag and tucking it away in the freezer. As he descended to the basement he was still chuckling. *So I'll just have to try and decide what nasty thing I'm going to do with it.*

Alone in the dark, the vampire's face shifted slightly, the demon inside briefly showing itself. Angel... or more properly this time Angelus, settled down on the couch, happily contemplating the cat and mouse games that had already begun.