Xander

Slowly strolling into the library at the end of the school day and appearing to be the picture of nonchalance Xander made his way to the counter and Giles standing behind it. He had a plan of action, he knew what he wanted to know, now it was time to see if he could get it. "G-man, what it is?"

The long groan as Giles let his head drop forward for a second made Xander smirk. Raising his head Giles stared blankly at Xander. "Its pointless to even ask you to change, isnt it?"

"Stranger things have happened." Xander leaned on the counter top.

"And what brings you here today, Xander?"

Xander straightened up, "Right, straight to business. We clear for scooby talk? No hidden eaves droppers?"

Giles waved a hand at the library, "There are the books. There is us. There is no one else."

Xander rapped his knuckles on the countertop, "Groovy. So, speaking of stranger things: Vengeance Demons."

Giles pushed his glasses up and focused on Xander. "What about them? Have you spotted one?"

"Well, kind of what I wanted to know. How do I know if I've met one? Is there a way to scan for them? Can we radar detect them, magically speaking? When they do the voodoo do you guy find out?"

Giles paused and thought for a second. "Not as such... no, usually we find them after the fact by following the trail of, urm, unusual carnage."

"Unh- huh" Xander clicked his tongue, "which does us no good here on the hellmouth, magnet for weird."

"Regrettably." Giles nodded, "What brought it to mind?"

"The, um, one that isn't one anymore is still here. At school. I figured we should be on the look out for her friends if they show up." Xander gestured towards the school behind him.

Giles narrowed his eyes as he stared past Xander at the school. "Yes, I suppose I should see if we have any portraits or depictions of other Vengeance Demons. To keep any eye out for visitors." Giles turned and looked at his stack of supernatural lore. He quickly turned back to Xander, "The one that caused the Vampire version of Willow's visit wasn't wearing a necklace or locket, was she?"

"Newp." Xander shook his head.

"Good. Good." Giles seemed relieved, "The last thing we need is for her to regain her source of power while carrying a grudge."

Xander nodded his head. "Yeah. Yeah, that'd be bad." He continued on now that he had successfully fulfilled part one of the plan. "So... wish granting... does that mean Genies are real?"

Giles snorted, "If you mean the type of Genie found in Disney movies? No. They are not."

"But there are Genies?" Xander pressed.

"Ifrit and Djinn. Both are believed to be the basis for Genie myths. Magical beings that usually have an affinity for elemental magic. Fire, usually. Air, often. Both are known to be, hmm, temperamental and often use their elemental magic if given a sacrifice of some sort or a ritual is preformed for their amusement." Giles reached up and pushed his glasses up his nose into place.

"And we get wishes from that how?" Xander asked.

"Back in the days when tales weren't written down but past on by poets or preformers a story might be of begging for fire and a kind Ifrit on passing might light a fire for you. Preform a dance for the amusement of the creature and it might smite your enemy. A few hundred years of tales being told and the tale warps and becomes wishes being granted."

"So you guys have no way to scry or magically look for wishes and Genies?" Xander mused.

"Ifrit and Djinn. Not Genies. And no. The Watchers have no spell or ritual to find a one." Giles turned his attention to the books before him, "I suppose if pressed we could locate one if needed. Through the usual methods."

Xander leaned in, "The usual methods?" He quirked an eywbrow, "What, like Buffy beating on Willie for info?"

Giles looked up, "W-well, erm, yes. Sometimes... Sometimes a Watcher will pay for information. Just, usually over somewhere in the Islamic states. Iraq, Syria and there abouts."

"To recap. Genies aren't real. Vengeance Demons are. Watchers can't magically track 'wishes'. And you guys dont respond to wishes if there isnt a huge body count of strange deaths." Xander ticked off his points on his fingers.

Giles considered and the gave a sharp nod, "Essentially, yes."

Xander pushed back from the counter and turned toward the door. "Well, I certainly feel safer. Maybe I should go see about making sure Anya doesn't hold a grudge... just in case she has friends visit."

Giles chuckled, "Couldn't hurt."

Waving as he headed out the door Xander congratulated himself on a successful mission. He now knew that the Watcher's had no way to track 'wishes', also that the Watchers had no idea 'wishes' even took place unless something odd or horrific happened.

So as long as his wishes weren't odd or a complete bloodbath the tweed brigade had no reason to look at Sunnydale. And thanks to Sunnydale being Sunnydale he had a wide margin for weird.

He had been worried that if he was found out there'd be Watchers breaking down his door in the dead of night to try and kill him and take his genie. Although, it was probably best to keep this just between him and Cordelia. The fewer who knew the less likely the secret was to be blown. If Giles got proof that he had a wish granting genie then the Watchers probably would come in the dead of night.

Walking away from Giles and the library towards the school exit Xander finally began to relax. To spend just a minute day dreaming of what all he could wish for. There was so much he could do he just needed to figure out where to start.