My description wasn't meant to be a condemnation of Buffy, but to explain how I think Faith saw the events; how Buffy's reactions must have looked in her eyes.
Faith is a lot more traumatised by the killing than she lets on (see her reaction when she goes back to the body; or how in 'Sanctuary' a year later she's still having PTSD-style flashbacks to it); but she's also someone who's known since childhood that if you show any weakness at all, people will take advantage of you. That's why she tells Buffy she "doesn't care". I think she's trying to convince herself of that as much as she's trying to convince Buffy. Caring is a weakness; weakness makes you vulnerable.
Note how many different stages of denial Faith goes through:
"It doesn't matter, I was just doing my job, it's no big deal." "I can make the problem go away; there is no body, it never really happened." "I can leave this all behind, I can skip town and keep on running." "I'm not a bad person, I've saved thousands of lives, you can't blame me for killing him." "He was a bad person. Maybe he deserved to die. Maybe I did a good thing by killing him." "You and I are better than normal people. I had the right to kill him. You can't blame me." "Maybe I can get you to take the blame for this instead of me. It was your fault."
As for Buffy pulling away from Faith... I don't think Buffy herself would describe it that way. I think she'd say she was reaching out desperately to Faith, trying to help her. But from Faith's point of view, I think she felt Buffy was betraying her.
Faith's in denial, remember. She's desperately trying to convince herself that this was no big deal, that it doesn't matter, that there'll be no consequences. Instead of Buffy agreeing with her - colluding with her denial, that is - Buffy says exactly what Faith least wants to hear. Buffy says it's a huge deal, that it's a really serious, major, important problem that is not going away and Faith has to face it.
Buffy uses the words 'dirty' and 'sick'. Yes, she doesn't actually say that Faith is dirty and sick, but rather assumes that's how Faith must be feeling. Which is probably quite true, in fact - but again, denial. What Faith desperately wants at that point is for Buffy to reassure her; shrug, tell her it's no big deal, she did nothing wrong, she shouldn't worry about it. Buffy can't do that - not least because she's in a panic herself, of course - and instead does the exact opposite.
Buffy might not specifically say she'd going to call the police herself, but she raises the matter. Again, see it from Faith's perspective: teenage runaway, high school drop-out, petty criminal, comes from a broken home; it's a fair bet she regards any form of official authority with intense suspicion. Buffy with her nice middle-class background and nice-middle class mom and nice cosy relationship with her Watcher; she has no such fears. And for Faith at that moment, in a state of panic and denial, for Buffy to start talking about them going to the police - I think it would seem like the final betrayal.
"Buffy is going to side with the authorities; given her background of course she is. It was a mistake for gutter trash like me to ever see her as an ally or a friend or a lover"
no subject
Faith is a lot more traumatised by the killing than she lets on (see her reaction when she goes back to the body; or how in 'Sanctuary' a year later she's still having PTSD-style flashbacks to it); but she's also someone who's known since childhood that if you show any weakness at all, people will take advantage of you. That's why she tells Buffy she "doesn't care". I think she's trying to convince herself of that as much as she's trying to convince Buffy. Caring is a weakness; weakness makes you vulnerable.
Note how many different stages of denial Faith goes through:
"It doesn't matter, I was just doing my job, it's no big deal."
"I can make the problem go away; there is no body,
it never really happened.""I can leave this all behind, I can skip town and keep on running."
"I'm not a bad person, I've saved thousands of lives, you can't blame me for killing him."
"He was a bad person. Maybe he deserved to die. Maybe I did a good thing by killing him."
"You and I are better than normal people. I had the right to kill him. You can't blame me."
"Maybe I can get you to take the blame for this instead of me. It was your fault."
As for Buffy pulling away from Faith... I don't think Buffy herself would describe it that way. I think she'd say she was reaching out desperately to Faith, trying to help her. But from Faith's point of view, I think she felt Buffy was betraying her.
Faith's in denial, remember. She's desperately trying to convince herself that this was no big deal, that it doesn't matter, that there'll be no consequences. Instead of Buffy agreeing with her - colluding with her denial, that is - Buffy says exactly what Faith least wants to hear. Buffy says it's a huge deal, that it's a really serious, major, important problem that is not going away and Faith has to face it.
Buffy uses the words 'dirty' and 'sick'. Yes, she doesn't actually say that Faith is dirty and sick, but rather assumes that's how Faith must be feeling. Which is probably quite true, in fact - but again, denial. What Faith desperately wants at that point is for Buffy to reassure her; shrug, tell her it's no big deal, she did nothing wrong, she shouldn't worry about it. Buffy can't do that - not least because she's in a panic herself, of course - and instead does the exact opposite.
Buffy might not specifically say she'd going to call the police herself, but she raises the matter. Again, see it from Faith's perspective: teenage runaway, high school drop-out, petty criminal, comes from a broken home; it's a fair bet she regards any form of official authority with intense suspicion. Buffy with her nice middle-class background and nice-middle class mom and nice cosy relationship with her Watcher; she has no such fears. And for Faith at that moment, in a state of panic and denial, for Buffy to start talking about them going to the police - I think it would seem like the final betrayal.
"Buffy is going to side with the authorities; given her background of course she is. It was a mistake for gutter trash like me to ever see her as an ally or a friend
or a lover"