Angel walked gravely through the doors of his hotel, the hawk perched on his arm. Cordelia got up from her place on the couch where she had been reading a magazine, taking a few steps toward him. Wesley was at the computer. “Wesley, get out your spell books. Whatever you’re doing can wait.” “Angel, what happened?” Cordy asked. “Did you find Ghost?” “And why are you carrying that bird?” Wesley asked, turning the computer off but not going over to his books. “I found Ghost. She looked a little different. Kind of like this.” Angel held up his arm, and the hawk that was Ghost opened and closed its mouth a few times in a silent shriek. “That’s Ghost? What the hell happened?” Cordy asked, coming closer and squinting. Ghost flapped her wings nervously, shuffling her claws over Angel’s arm. “Ow! Cordy, squinting isn’t gonna make her turn back, and you’re just upsetting her. Wesley-?” Angel winced as the hawk’s claws dug into his arm, and gently stroked her feathered back. “Yes, of course, books.” Striding over to the nearest bookshelf, Wesley pulled out a stack of books. He shoved half of them at Cordelia, who oofed, moaned, and sat back down. “Thanks, guys,” Angel told his friends. “Do we have any- meat, or anything? She might be hungry.” “We might have some leftover chicken,” Cordy told him. Angel grunted his thanks, and walked towards the kitchen. Before he could exit the room, Ghost flapped her wings and flew over to the desk where Wesley sat, perching on the bendy lamp’s neck. Angel shrugged and went to fetch a small bowl of water and the chicken, tearing off a few pieces and setting them on a plate. As he walked back into the main room, Wesley spoke to him. “Angel, come look at this.” The vampire strode over and set down the dishes, to see Wesley examining the hawk’s leg. “That bracelet Ghost wore? There appears to be a marking similar to that here.” He pointed at the feathered part of Ghost’s leg, where Angel could see a silver pattern running through the feathers, that did indeed resemble Ghost’s bracelet. “If only I could have gotten a better look at it before,” Wesley said mournfully. “Then I might’ve been able to reverse the spell, if the artifact had anything to do with the transformation. How did this happen, anyway? If I know all the details, the research might go faster.” “Uh, I was following Ghost and we talked, then she ran away again and was attacked by vampires. Just as I got there, she started glowing blue, and then she was like that.” Angel waved his hands at the bird, trying to think if there had been anything else. “But what she said to me before-” He stopped as the bird-Ghost started shrieking, hopping from foot to foot. He glared at her and said, “It might help. Shush.” Ghost looked as disgruntled as a bird could, but shut up. “She told me that she used to have wings. She meant it literally, but I don’t think like this.” Angel finished his sentence, and felt Cordy look up from the books Wesley had forced upon her. “Huh?” She said, demanding more of an explanation- but Angel had none to give her. “Wings...” Wesley looked troubled, but shook his head. “I’m not sure what that means; it just confuses me more. For now, I think we should concentrate on getting her back to human form.” Ghost hopped down from her perch and landed awkwardly next to the food dishes Angel had brought in. Angel watched as she lapped up some of the water, leaning against the desk by her. “Ghost- you can understand me, right? I mean, you can remember everything?” The bird stopped drinking and pecked at his hand, drawing blood. “Ouch!” He exclaimed, wincing. “I guess I’ll take that as a yes- though you didn’t have to be so violent.” The bird’s face was not good for forming expressions, but Ghost was talented- she managed to convey a ‘you deserved it for being stupid’ look. “So, about the wing thing-” Angel quickly moved his hand out of Ghost’s range before continuing. “Did you mean what I said?” Remembering that she couldn’t speak, he hurriedly added, “Squawk, or chirp, or whatever it is you do once for yes, twice for no.” The only answer he got was to have a piece of chicken thrown in his face. “That means you’re not gonna tell me. Y’know, I think I actually preferred when you made sarcastic replies.” *** The tires on the convertible screeched as Angel spun the wheel and slammed on the brakes, spinning the car into the path of the fleeing vampires. Cordelia and Wesley simultaneously grabbed onto the side of the car they were nearest to, trying to avoid flying out of their seats. Ignoring the nauseous looks on their faces, Angel leaped from the car and slammed a stake into the heart of the leading vampire. “That’ll teach you to hurry,” Angel muttered under his breath. One of the other three vampires rushed at him, landing a kick on his arm, knocking the sharp wooden object out of his hand. The monster got in a kick to his stomach before Angel threw him into a concrete wall, then turned to kick another in the shin as it swung at Cordelia, who was now out of the car with stake in hand. Turning once again, another of the vampires was in Angel’s face, lashing out at him. Instinctively, Angel knocked him flat onto the ground, then dove for his stake- which wasn’t on the ground anymore. A cry from above drew his attention as the blue-feathered hawk dropped the weapon into the vampire’s chest, stopping no less then half-an-inch away from its heart. Angel finished the job, stomping his foot down on the stake, watching the vampire turn to dust. Wesley killed the last of the vampires, turning to see Ghost fly down to perch on Angel’s shoulder, looking as proud as a bird could. “You’re getting better at this,” Angel told her. “Good aim.” He looked up at Wesley and Cordelia. “Come on, let’s get back and try to call Willow again.” Angel had been trying to get ahold of his old witch-friend for the past months, hoping she would know how to reverse the spell Ghost had accidentally cast on herself. Or at least, he thought it was accidental- you couldn’t really tell with Ghost. He hadn’t known her for too long, but he’d already figured out that she was unpredictable. All Angel knew was that he had to get Ghost to talk once she was physically capable of it. The group pulled up in front of their hotel, Ghost flying in through an open window on one of the above floors. She always knew when Angel was going to call Willow, even if he hadn’t said it, and she always disappeared. He absently wondered why as he unlocked the front door and stepped in, picking up the phone. A few moments later, he slammed it down perhaps a bit harder than he should have. “Damn it!” He cried. Wesley glanced up at him from his book. “Still not working?” He asked, foolishly. Of course it wasn’t working. “No, it’s still not working,” Angel stated, slightly annoyed. “It’s still disconnected. Maybe they changed their number without telling us.” “And I can’t find any spells besides the ones I’ve already tried five thousand times,” Wesley sighed, flipping the pages in his book. “I never thought I would say this, but I’m getting tired of reading. I have been tired of reading ever since I’ve worked for you.” “You could always make Cordy help you,” Angel suggested. “No, he can’t!” Cordelia shouted, walking into the room with a bowl of cereal in her hands. “I’m sick of helping him. I don’t see why Ghost can’t just magick herself back.” “Because her power is being- compressed. Her form can’t handle the magick.” Wesley stared at the pages of the thing in front of him, trying to remember what he was supposed to do. Giving up, he slumped down with his face in his hands. Angel decided not to say anything else for the moment. He had been pushing his friends too hard to find a solution, but he was frustrated with the tiny tidbit of trust Ghost had placed in him, mostly because he wasn’t sure that’s what it was. The words ‘I used to have wings’ had just slipped out of her mouth. A loud crash from the second floor jolted Angel back into the world. He looked around to see Cordy and Wesley were still there- Wesley was half-asleep, and had barely noticed the noise, and Cordy was looking up. “Probably Ghost,” Cordelia said. “She seems to have a knack for destroying things.” Angel went up the stairs and called out Ghost’s name. He surprised himself by actually expecting her to answer. Turning into the bird’s room- she still slept in it- Angel jumped and unintentionally took a step back. Kneeling on the floor, her hair in front of her face, was Ghost. “Uh- um. Oh.” Angel walked forward. “Gh-Ghost. Are you- all right?” He wasn’t sure what to say. The girl looked up at him, eyes holding the same feelings as always. “Seven months,” She said. “I just spent seven months as a bird, and you ask me if I’m all right!?” Ghost stood up, hugging herself- she wore the same shirt she had on the day she had changed. Then she grinned. “It was the best time I’ve had in my life.”
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