Arrive Before the Birds is a Buffy the Vampire Slayer fanfiction by everythingelse published on Elysian Fields Archive in 2024.
It is an entry in the Fandom-Specific Plot of "retconning Dawn" fanfiction. The fic explores what might have changed in Season Two if the monks had performed the ritual to create Dawn three seasons early. Dawn's presence acts as a catalyst for developments between canon characters, specifically Spike, Angel, and Buffy.
As of July 2024, the fic is still updating.
Arrive Before the Birds contains examples of:
- Chickification: Invoked. Due to Ethan Rayne's Halloween spell, Buffy briefly becomes a terrified noblewoman prone to fainting spells. She's so weak, she needs her little sister and her vampiric enemy to rescue her from a pirate.
- Clothing Reflects Personality: Dawn notes that although Spike's human face is the kind of handsome that Buffy might be interested in, his "clothes" still just look "like Spike," i.e., crass and evil.
- Out-of-Character Moment: Spike saves Dawn from a pirate and is unable to completely explain why he did so.
