“It feels like it was made for me!” Buffy agreed, looking to Faith, “For us!”

The opening of the front door caused everyone to stop momentarily and turn towards the figure.

Giles stepped into the small hallway and paused, looking down at the lifeless body of an American pit-bull before looking over to the assembled group and then back to the pit-bull.

“Everyone is aware of the deceased canine in the hallway?” he said.

Buffy and Faith smiled and nodded slowly.

“Ok, then. I need to shower.” he continued.

“Erm Giles?” Buffy called after him and he paused with one foot on a step. “Do you know what this is?” she asked holding up the weapon.

Giles turned and looked towards the group, his face wearing the perfect mask of shock.

“Giles?” Buffy asked as the man made his way slowly towards her, holding his hand out for the weapon.

“This is it!” he announced, startling some of the group with the excitement in his voice.

The group waited for him to continue, his unexplained excitement permeating the atmosphere and seeping into everyone present.

“This scythe is a symbol of death!” he began before Tara cut him off.

“It’s technically not a scythe, it’s an axe.” she corrected him.

“Yes, I’m fully aware of that Tara!” he told her curtly, “I remember seeing something once in some of my research, it’s represented by m glottal stop.”

From her silence in the corner, Willow spoke up. “A whoey?”

“A sort of gulpy noise. Now I’m remembering something

here.” he explained “Hieroglyphs!! Hieroglyphs stand for sets of

Consonants, as you know.” He directed his information tirade towards the redhead and she nodded, although looked thoroughly confused.

“Yes, absolutely.” she agreed.

“The “m” plus glottal stop is represented by a picture that’s commonly thought to symbolize a sickle or a scythe. It’s in thousands of carvings in Egypt, throughout the ancient world.”

“Carvings like you’d have on a pagan temple?” Willow asked, finally working out where Giles could be going with this.

Giles nodded, a full grin lighting up his face.

“We need to get researching. The scythe is a symbol of death. Let’s see where these pagans buried their dead.”

Both he and Willow turned towards the dining room to begin their research and Giles stopped before stepping over the dog.