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It disturbs me greatly that the new Slayer, this Buffy Summers, is still 'missing' and that the fate of Merick remains unknown to us. I urge a renewal of the efforts placed into determining the events that caused the presumed loss of our colleague.

Given the lack of a replacement Slayer, it must be assumed that the Summers girl is still alive, probably having fled the scene. Given the survival of the student body, it would seem that Lothos was defeated, presumably by the Summers Girl, but I do so hate to work on so little information.

I must underscore the vital importance of contacting the new Slayer as soon as possible. Given your familiarity with the background of the girl, you should immediately contact Mr Giles and Mr Tengui and see if your insights provide them any help.

Regards,
Lord Henry Fitzwilliam
Watchers Council.

Given her strong moral upbringing, we can probably rely on her assistance once her calling has been made clear. Her dedication to the battle would be unquestionable and I would suggest selection of a Watcher to match that dedication and directness. Perhaps Mrs Post or Mr Olsen would be most suited to the job of training such a sweet country girl into a dedicated warrior.

I would also like to suggest contacting Virginia now and developing trust and a working relationship before any potential activation. She may make an excellent Watcher, even if she never activates as a Slayer.

Faith Spencer

Faith's situation is perhaps the most difficult of all the candidates, and I hope that the Powers will not place the calling upon her. Given the abusive nature of her home life, a number of problems are likely to present themselves with the activation of her powers.

The girl is likely to fight all attempts at control placed upon her by her Watcher. She will meet force with force, pulling in the opposite direction until either the Watcher or her own will breaks. She is also likely to use the emotional tools from her childhood, namely deception and violence to assert control over her environment.

Given the need for harsh training and military type operations involved in Council operations and the urgency of such operations should Faith be chosen, it is unlikely that any form of psychological help would be effective in treating these problems.

[I can just imagine you sitting in front of the fire, reading this letter, sipping your brandy, muttering disparaging comments on my profession, Henry. In its defense, I would say that cases such as Faith's are treatable, but not when the patient requires her wits and defenses to fight and slay on a nightly basis.]

The issues that will cause the most problems will be in the area of trust. She will tend to view all personal interactions as thinly disguised power plays, with the assertion of power and control over another being the primary motivation behind others actions. Faced with an altruistic action, it is doubtful she would understand it for anything other than either some form of longer term manipulation, bribery, condescension or pity associated with her own weakness or need. Her reaction to any attempts to build the usual Slayer/Watcher relationship is likely to be ultimately negative and cause suspicion, perhaps even violent rebellion.

If chosen, then it is natural that she will tend to use her supernatural strength to assert her power over all she encounters. Subconsciously, she may crave emotional attachment, probably in the form of an idealised family but will be unable to deal with the level of trust required for any such deep relationship. Sadly, she will also tend to repeat her childhood experiences and use similar abusive and manipulative methods to try and grab, control and remain dominant in any such relationship, effectively smothering any such relationships that she does manage to start.

Given the impossibility of any Watcher to deal directly with her supernatural strength and her probable acceptance of violence as a normal personal relationship tool, it seems that control will need to be asserted through emotional rather than physical means.

By providing an understanding and supportive environment, one in which she does not feel threatened or feels that she is already 'in control' or 'unchallenged' by then there would be no need for her to use physical abuse as a method of controlling her Watcher. If provided with the support and nurturing that she craves, it becomes be possible to influence her behavior and guide her.

It should be noted that she will be expecting emotional manipulation and it is of vital importance (for the safety of the Watcher if nothing else) that the Watcher never be seen to be gaining either any personal reward or any direct control over Faith in any request or order given. Such action would just reinforce her childhood assumption that she is being used and will immediately break any emotional links that had previously been built up.

If, as likely will be the case, a supportive and nurturing environment will be impossible then it would be best to provide a well defined, almost Spartan environment. Given the emotional turmoil of her childhood, it may be that she would crave such a stable environment and accept its predictable boundaries. Also, by limiting the scope of any power play to the borders that we have defined, it becomes possible to set circumstances of any encounter and minimise the need for physical conflict.

Given the lack of potential Watchers we have in this country, I normally have suggested the softer hand of Mr Thompson or possibly even Mr Giles, except male authority figures will probably be unacceptable. A female watcher will probably be view with the least amount of suspicion and perhaps stands the greatest chance of making an empathic connection to Mz Spencer. Sadly, the lack of female representation in the council and especially in this country leave only Mrs Post, unless you decide to assign additional Watchers to this country.

Given Mrs Post's tendency to authoritarian directness and military action, she should be able to provide a strong and stable environment for Faith. I believe that it would be a mistake for her to attempt to provide emotional support, because, frankly, I do not believe that Mrs Post possesses sufficient empathy to achieve the task, at least in the long term.

Mrs Post should aim to provide Faith with a program of personal training that offers challenge to her and an obvious avenue of personal improvement. She should avoid any mocking or exploitation of Faith's failure and focus instead on making her stronger or teaching her how to avoid such failure in the future. When confronted by an assertive individual, such as Mrs Post, who is providing a defined environment with avenues for personal growth, Faith may accept such an environment, at least while she assesses the individual, If this initial cooperation can be harnessed by one as focused and motivated as Mrs Post, then there is a chance that a pattern of behavior can be established and a stable environment built.

If Mrs Post can build a mentor relationship with the girl, making sure that her own motives are never seen as suspect, then it is possible, even likely, that Faith will eventually pursue such a well defined and non threatening relationship. Mrs Post should present a predictable and non threatening front at all times and never try and assert control, but rather make it clear how and why she wants Faith's cooperation and then give orders and expect them to be followed, but never punish or manipulate Faith into obeying them. Disappointment in Faith's performance could be used sparingly to urge better performance, but it must be used carefully lest it be seen as emotional manipulation.

Should you be considering additional Watchers, I would perhaps suggest Mz Livingston. My personal experience with Mz Livingston indicate that she could present a non threatening and yet caring environment for Faith and would not be seen as a threat by the girl. I know that she lacks seniority, but in my opinion Mr Livingston would provide the best environment to bring Faith up to the performance required from a Slayer. The process would be slow, as the trust and training required would be initially slowed by the necessity to build the base of trust, but in the end, I think the results from this action would make Faith a more acceptable Slayer. I would recommend that Mz Livingston provide strictly defined 'work' and 'relax' times with strictly no crossover. The work time should be similar to that outlined in the advice to Mrs Post.

During 'relax' time Mz Livingston should offered friendship and support and attempt to find activities that can be shared by both Slayer and Watcher (no competitive activity naturally). Such activities should be only offered and Faith should be given the freedom to pursue her own interests. Mz Livingston should just be there, carefully making sure never to push the issue or be drawn into the power play challenges that will inevitably arise. By maintaining these environments, friction between Slayer and Watcher could be minimised while some of the greater problems present can be eased making her a more manageable Slayer.

I would recommend skipping stages 1 to 8 of training which focus on building patience and mental discipline and start on the more physically demanding aspects of stages 9 to

I must put personal feeling aside, if I am to recover the Glove from Mr Giles and his cohorts. They intend to destroy the Glove, ignorant of its true power, so my first priority must be to recover the Glove.

It seems my only ally in this task, will have to be Faith, as the group surrounding the Summers girl is just too tight and untrusting for me to gain their trust before the Glove is destroyed. If Faith can distract Buffy long enough for me to get the Glove, I hope my research into the Glove will allow me to harness its power of teleportation and simply magic my way out of this town. Still, I must plan for the worst case and figure on an encounter with Buffy, and possibly even Faith.

So much depends on the situation surrounding the recovery of the Glove. If the recovery can proceed with little bloodshed, or should my attempt be foiled before the Glove is in my posession, then their is a reasonable chance that Buffy or Rupert would listen to my reasoning. The psychological report on Faith is, alas, all too correct. Should she become aware of my motivations, I fear that her reaction will indeed by violent. I fear that should this come to blows, I see no other way than to fight my way out.

I considered telling Mr Giles my intentions, I feel that he would understand my desire to fight this war as more than just an assistant to a Slayer, but I am not sure he would consider using a weapon such as the Glove an acceptable tactic. I feel that he would consider the risk of having the Glove recovered and used by demonic forces too great.

With the aid of Mr Giles, I have recovered some documents that I hope will allow me to control the transformation abilities present in the Glove. Should that be the case then

Your report paints a dark picture of the use of Mz Spencer. While quick adaption to the violent nature of a Slayer's duty may reduce the need for some forms of training, I hardly consider such a situation to be a plus for the girl. She sounds little better than a blunt weapon, and hardly the material for one fighting the good fight. With so many prophesies seeming to culminate, the world needs a talented soldier who can work with the Watchers to bring both mind and muscle to avert the supernatural danger we all face. The Council was never been and shall never be an organization that wields the Slayer as a blunt instrument while I am at it's head.

Given the tradition that the Slayer must pass the Cruciamentum ritual before her 18th year, I shall be recommending to the council we place a recommendation that the ritual be performed as early as possible should she be chosen. I know tradition specifies that we wait until the 18th birthday, but their are precedents for performing the ritual earlier, such as in the case of Erica (1931-1932) and Jane (1844-1844).

I meant no official censure in my last message about your behavior. Personally I am disappointed with my own performance in re-empowering the council. The situation that this poor girl finds herself in saddens me greatly. That I find such a recommendation necessary speaks volumes of how much our order has allowed its influence to slip from the days when potential slayers were prepared by the council as children. I regard it as a personal failure on my part that we are unable to intervene in this case, but we must shepherd our resources carefully. We deal here with the fate of the world, and while it is harsh to state, if we fail in our duty, it is the whole world, including this girl, that pay the price.

On a personal note, I know that it does not feel much like it at times, but I would remind you that our goal to fight for the the side of light and we are fighting to keep evil forces at bay. I know there is temptation to use the most direct method available to us to reach our goals, but while I am head of the council, upstart whelps such as Mr Renford's shall never have their way. I can imagine him recommending the `removal' of this candidate to the nods of many of our new members, but perhaps because I am old enough to remember the inhuman behavior of the last war and I find such 'efficiency' personally repulsive.

I realise that my recommendation to move the ritual forward is not without its callous side, but believe me when I say that, should it be required, I hope with all my heart that the girl comes through the experience for it would prove her to be a most excellent candidate.

I shall take your advice and make sure that Mz Livingston is fully briefed about the situation and should this girl activate, then you have my word that we shall send Mz Livingston to the United States to be the girl's Watcher should she be chosen.

Sadly, there has been somewhat of a problem with Mrs Post. It seems that she, like so many others, has been taking Mr Renford's call for direct action somewhat to task and her decent into the Black Arts and disappearance from her Council post has cause quite some headache for the members in the United States. Our agents found no evidence of your third report at her residence, so we must conclude she was is in possession of it at the time of her defection

On a more cheery note, I have recommended to the recruitment committee that Virginia be considered for application to our order and they assure me that

Lawyers take note: Buffy, the Vampire Slayer and Angel and all characters related belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and fox.