Shortly after walking into Ethan's costume shop, and being abandoned by Willow and Buffy, Xander Harris wandered aimlessly through the aisles, looking at various costumes.
<Toy guns? A soldier? Has some possibilities, though a bit overused. Don't want to end up like Wills and wearing the same old costume for the last ten years. Hmm, swords? Maybe a knight? Might be worth a shot.> The young man continued to browse the rapidly dwindling selection, not finding quite what he was looking for. Looking around, he noticed that most of the after school crowd had left and he was the only customer left in the store. It was then that a costume caught his eye. A well worn black leather jacket, adorned with a variety of pins on the lapels rested on a hanger, next to a mannequin adorned in dark jeans, boots, and a shirt, all of which looked oddly out of date, yet seeming to match. <Woah. This looks interesting.>
Ethan was preparing to close up shop, when he noticed a tall and dark haired young man looking at a costume in the corner. <Odd, I don't remember pulling that out of storage.> As he walked closer to assist the young man, he got a better glance at him and critically analyzed him. <The hair is a bit short, and the color's off, but a bit of dye can take care of that. The build's pretty close, too. I'd wager that the personality is a close match as well. One last sale, then I'll close up.>
Ethan walked up behind Xander, who appeared to be entranced with the costume. Clearing his throat, he announced his presence, "Greetings, young man. Welcome to Ethan's. I am Ethan, what can I help you with this fine afternoon?"
Xander jumped and spun around, startled by the man's approach, "Geeze! You know, sneaking up on folks in this town isn't usually the best idea."
"My dear boy, please accept my apologies. Though, you seem rather facinated with this particular costume, perhaps you did not hear my approach."
"Yeah, what exactly is this, anyway?" asked Xander as he turned to Ethan.
"You could say that this was worn by a knight, a crusader of sorts."
"A knight? Not quite a suit of armor, and it doesn't have any sort of sword."
"Ah, I didn't quite have the shelf space, if you'll excuse me, I'll get it out of the storeroom." Ethan turned, and walked through a half opened door. He returned a few moments later carrying a sheathed sword in one hand, and in the other a few sheets of paper. Some were covered in sketches of a man's face painted white, with a red diamond around each eye and red highlights around the lips, similar to a clown or jester.
"Here we go. I also found some illustrations here, from stories that I've been told, the man had been known to wear facepaint at times.
This ought to help you with a more authentic look. I'm willing to add these in, as well as some makeup, at no additional charge."
"You've got a deal," said Xander. Ten minutes later, he walked out of the store, carrying several wrapped parcels. Looking at his watch, he saw that if he hurried, he'd be running a little bit late, but still able to meet up with Willow and Buffy later on.
Xander walked down the street, his group of children going from house to house. He was sweating a bit underneath the facepaint and the leather jacket was a bit heavy for the weather, but everything fit well. He occassionally had trouble with the blade bumping up against his legs, so he was content to wait at the bottom of each driveway. Spotting Willow halfway down the block he turned to wave, when he saw her collapse. "Willow!" he shouted, and turned to run to her side, when a wave of vertigo hit him, and everything went black.
Moments later his vision returned, and he became aware of a young red headed girl running up to him. "Xander? Xander? Are you okay?"
<Where the frag am I,> the man thought, <Last think I remember was talking to Jane, and now I'm here. Wherever here is.> Shaking his head a bit to clear the mental cobwebs, he looked at the girl who thought he was 'Xander.'
"My dear, you must have me mistaken with some one else." He grinned at her, "You can call me Caimbueul."