It had been so long since she'd deliberately remembered that for a moment Julianna was unable to summon the necessary words. Her recollections when they came were bittersweet. "She was like you, actually, or at least what I know of you. She was exceptionally bright and her studies were important to her. I started to lend her books from my personal library because I believed she could grasp the material and the ideas behind it."
She was no longer hungry for the rest of her sandwich, so she wrapped it up in the napkin and pushed it aside. "She'd never been chosen first for athletics in her life until her calling. It took weeks to convince her that I couldn't truly hurt her in our sparring sessions and not to flinch away. I had to curb my impatience countless times. Once she understood that her powers gave her grace, it grew easier."
Around them, students came and went. Someone sat down at the out of tune piano and plinked at the keys. The Watcher looked to see if it was Brian, but it wasn't. Her elbows came to rest on the tabletop, allowing her unadorned hands to prop her chin on them. "She had just turned fifteen when she found out she was a Slayer, just out of girlhood. The first day I met her, her face was all eyes. Green eyes, like a cat. She was certainly as skittish as any feline I ever knew, at least at first."
Julianna's expression darkened a bit, and she met Valerie's gaze without self-pity. "She was afraid. Of London, of the training program, of me. Especially of me. Some loose-lipped bugger told her I was an old dragon of a woman and that if she didn't live up to expectations she'd regret it. Seven years later, and I've never found out who it was."
She laughed shortly when she said it, then shook her head. "I am not a warm person, Ms. Vause, at least not in the field. But something in Allison touched me, and so I reached out to her. She was a child, like so many other children who have come and gone during my career. When she died, she was only eighteen. Her death destroyed my confidence that I could do the job. I didn't even want to come here, not at first. I'd like...I'd like to have resolve again."
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It had been so long since she'd deliberately remembered that for a moment Julianna was unable to summon the necessary words. Her recollections when they came were bittersweet. "She was like you, actually, or at least what I know of you. She was exceptionally bright and her studies were important to her. I started to lend her books from my personal library because I believed she could grasp the material and the ideas behind it."
She was no longer hungry for the rest of her sandwich, so she wrapped it up in the napkin and pushed it aside. "She'd never been chosen first for athletics in her life until her calling. It took weeks to convince her that I couldn't truly hurt her in our sparring sessions and not to flinch away. I had to curb my impatience countless times. Once she understood that her powers gave her grace, it grew easier."
Around them, students came and went. Someone sat down at the out of tune piano and plinked at the keys. The Watcher looked to see if it was Brian, but it wasn't. Her elbows came to rest on the tabletop, allowing her unadorned hands to prop her chin on them. "She had just turned fifteen when she found out she was a Slayer, just out of girlhood. The first day I met her, her face was all eyes. Green eyes, like a cat. She was certainly as skittish as any feline I ever knew, at least at first."
Julianna's expression darkened a bit, and she met Valerie's gaze without self-pity. "She was afraid. Of London, of the training program, of me. Especially of me. Some loose-lipped bugger told her I was an old dragon of a woman and that if she didn't live up to expectations she'd regret it. Seven years later, and I've never found out who it was."
She laughed shortly when she said it, then shook her head. "I am not a warm person, Ms. Vause, at least not in the field. But something in Allison touched me, and so I reached out to her. She was a child, like so many other children who have come and gone during my career. When she died, she was only eighteen. Her death destroyed my confidence that I could do the job. I didn't even want to come here, not at first. I'd like...I'd like to have resolve again."