‘Hey, when she said get him presentable, she didn’t mention anything about having to give up our own clothes!’ Xander complained loudly as they came into sight of the two girls.
As they saw the others, Buffy and Willow realised what Xander was complaining about, and they broke into wide grins. Oz was wearing the tweed jacket in the normal manner, and underneath it he was wearing Xander’s t-shirt and boxers, a fact which Xander was complaining about at great length.
Finally, Cordelia snapped. ‘That is it!’ she cried. ‘If I hear one more word out of you, you’ll be lending Oz your jeans instead!’ she ordered.
Xander paled at the thought. ‘Y’know, I always thought those would suit you much more than me,’ Xander told Oz hurriedly. ‘You can keep them.’
Oz grinned good-naturedly. ‘Thanks, but I’ll stick with my own underwear in future.
He caught sight of the girls, and a worried frown settled on his features.
Buffy thought, knowing he couldn’t hear her. she thought, squeezing Willow’s hand in hers. The quiet redhead squeezed back, and smiled warmly at Buffy.
‘Go say hi,’ she prodded.
Buffy hesitated. ‘I can’t, Will. I’m afraid. What if... well, who knows what could happen?’
‘Buffy, just because you had one bad experience doesn’t mean you have to swear off men forever. Oz won’t hurt you.’
Oz thought, and Buffy shivered at the shock of his voice inside her head.
she thought cautiously.
< I can hear you > he replied mentally. < I guess it’s the blood-thing > he told her.
< I always knew she was a remarkable person >
Buffy could actually feel herself blush mentally.
Oz burst out laughing, something which puzzled the others, as they had heard none of Oz and Buffy’s mental conversation.
‘Thank you, Willow,’ Oz said, as he reached them.
‘Look after her, Oz. Or I’ll come after you with an axe,’ Willow warned in a joking tone, but Oz could see behind the laughter she was deadly serious.
‘Hey, you realise this means we can be chained up together? We could have long meaningful howls at the moon,’ Buffy commented, feeling slightly giddy at the touch of Oz’s hand on her waist.
Willow took Oz’s hand in her own, and brought her two hands together, one holding Buffy, the other Oz. She intertwined their fingers, and smiled happily at them. ‘You won’t need the chains, Buff,’ she pointed out. ‘The whole point of this was to get control, and now you both have it. You can go howl at the moon on the hill, or in the graveyard, or something.’
She released their hands, and Buffy felt a thrill of excitement when Oz tightened his hold on her fingers.
‘We can pay the vampires a visit,’ Oz suggested. ‘Two well-organised werewolves in a prepared attack against a bunch of unprepared, confused vampire minions. We’d knock out half their forces in one evening.’
‘Hmm. There could be certain advantages to this werewolf thing,’ Buffy said, musing to herself.
‘Like what, fleas and excessive body-hair?’ Cordelia interrupted, as the others reached them.
‘Like we’re going up against the vampires tonight,’ Buffy explained.
‘Excuse-me?’
‘As werewolves. They won’t be expecting any attack on their home, much less one by two intelligent, thoughtful werewolves with a plan.’
‘I, uh, I see you are adapting to your new lifestyle well, Buffy, but, uh, do you not think this is a little, uh, premature? You’ve only been a werewolf a few hours, and you haven’t even transformed once yet.’
‘I appreciate your concern, Giles, but I’ll handle it. I know exactly what it will be like, I already understand how a werewolf moves, and how it hunts. Plus, we’ve only got two nights left, and then it will be a whole month before this chance comes around again.’
‘Uh, yes, I can see this is a good strategy-- you know what it feels like!? How?’
Buffy waved a hand airily. ‘I just do. Innate werewolf knowledge,’ her voice took on a suitable austere tone, ‘passed down from generation to generation, each werewolf instinctively understanding its true nature.’ She dissolved into a fit of giggles.
‘Maybe we should head back. I’m a little tired, and I’m sure we could all do with a good night’s sleep, which we have now missed,’ Willow said, casting a mock-stern face at Buffy and Oz.
‘Now, children, what do we say for keeping our friends up all night worried sick, walking through miles of cold dark forest, and,’ her voice rose, ‘*most of all*, preventing Cordelia from keeping to her normal beauty routine, which, I am sure you are aware, is a serious offence-’
Cordelia interrupted with an annoyed, ‘Hey!’ but it wasn’t very forceful. She’d accepted that her obsession with her appearance would always be a running joke to them.
‘And meanwhile, children, you were *sleeping*! Peacefully!’
‘And warmly,’ Buffy added, mischievously.
‘We’re sorry?’ Oz hazarded, struggling to look suitably contrite.
‘We’ll never do it again?’ Buffy offered, fixing an apologetic look on her face.
‘I should hope not!’ Willow said, prompting all three to explode into laughter. Cordelia soon joined in, and even Giles cracked a smile. Only Xander was unimpressed.
‘You forgot the fact that I’m standing here without *underpants*!’ he exclaimed indignantly.
This, to his irritation, merely caused a fresh gale of laughter. Xander sniffed, and set off towards the graveyard, struggling to appear insulted. The others stared after him, bemused, then followed.
Oz and Buffy’s entwined hands, and Willow’s benevolent looks did not pass Cordelia, she guessed Buffy and Willow had had a serious conversation a few minutes ago, and briefly pondered why Willow was such a push-over. Then she caught herself, and admonished that idea - Willow was just selfless < A quality I could do with once in a while > Cordelia thought. She smiled at Buffy’s obvious happiness, an emotion she had been distinctly lacking lately.
* * *
The next night, Buffy and Willow were waiting at the door when Oz arrived.
‘Are you ready, my love?’ he asked, then cast a quick apologetic look at Willow.
‘Oz,’ she said firmly, ‘I’m happy for you two. Please don’t walk on eggshells for my sake.’ She waved a set of chains at them, and gestured to her basement.
‘Remember, don’t come near unless you’re certain,’ Buffy warned her.
‘Okay,’ Willow agreed. ‘I’ll be fine, with Giles here to help me,’ she reassured the anxious Slayer.
‘I’ll just go check if that’s him,’ Oz said as the doorbell rang.
‘Have fun,’ Willow said, as she snapped the first cuff on.
‘I will.’ Buffy smiled, imagining the vampires faces when she and Oz showed up.
Giles appeared at the basement door with Oz on his heels. ‘Ready?’ he asked, as Oz and he began to chain Oz up as well.
‘And raring to go,’ Buffy said, smiling at Oz.
‘Good luck,’ Giles said as he and Willow stepped out of range, ready to make a run for it if anything went wrong.
The moon began to rise, and Buffy surveyed her naked body, clothed only in a shawl. She had paid good heed to Oz’s tales of ripped clothes, and chosen the safe route, an item of clothing that would, in theory, simply fall off as she changed.
‘We’ll come back here,’ she said, glad Willow’s parents were out.
‘We’ll be waiting,’ Giles promised.
Then the moonlight crept in the window. Buffy felt her body begin to shift, and she shivered as the energy coursed through her body. First hair began to grow, then her face lengthened and narrowed into a snout. Her bones shifted, becoming longer, and her spine curved into that of an animal able to walk both on all fours and hind legs. Her fingers and toes melted into paws, and thick pads grew on these, along with razor-sharp claws. A tail sprouted, and her ears moved to the top of her head, becoming pointy and furry. Finally her jaw grew, and her teeth became sharp and pointed, lengthening until her mouth was filled with two rows of deadly teeth.
Willow and Giles watched in fascination at the transformation which only took a few seconds. Before them crouched two werewolves, both much larger than an ordinary wolf, and much more powerful. One was a stocky build, with broad shoulders and dark grey rough fur, while the other, Buffy, was sleek and slender, with golden blond fur laid flat on its body, giving it a more aerodynamic shape. It stared at them with startlingly bright green eyes, much sharper and more radiant than Buffy’s human eyes had been, and Buffy felt a laugh bubbling in her throat.
It came out as a low growl, and she saw Willow and Giles take a step back. She realised smiling was not a good idea as it would only bare her fangs in a seemingly aggressive gesture. Instead, she prostrated herself on the ground, flattening her body and whining in a submissive posture Giles and Willow understood immediately.
They relaxed. ‘Buffy?’ Willow asked, taking a tentative step forward.
Buffy turned her attention to Oz, certain she was fully in control but not so sure about him. His thoughts were hard to read, something she found disconcerting having become used to communicating with him telepathically. She tried to bark at him, pleased with the inquisitive sound she produced. He turned to face her, and suddenly she could hear his thoughts again.
he greeted her, and she smiled inwardly.
Buffy gave an experimental tug on her chains, and they snapped like they were made of plywood.
‘Those are made of extra-strong steel,’ Giles exclaimed. ‘Even Oz or a vampire such as Angelus could not break them.’
‘Well, when you add Slayer strength to werewolf strength, I’m sure Buffy has doubled her power,’ Willow commented.
Buffy meanwhile was sniffing at Oz who was still bound by his chains. Willow walked boldly over and reached for a cuff, fitting the key into it and turning. Soon Oz was free, ad the two gave Willow a friendly lick before they raced up the stairs and out the open front door.
‘Well, it looks like we just have to wait,’ Giles said, heading upstairs.
* * *
Buffy and Oz loped easily and quickly through Sunnydale. Buffy barked in delight at the unfamiliar method of transport - she felt she could keep this up forever, covering the miles like they were nothing, barely ever needing to stop for rest of sustenance. They were soon at the mansion, and Buffy nosed around the back while Oz tried the front.
‘Ohhh, Spikey, they’re coming. Spike, they want to hurt Princess. Don’t let them hurt Princess,’ Drusilla moaned.
‘Who’s coming pet?’ Spike asked, but he needn’t have bothered. His question was answered as two werewolves attacked simultaneously, one from the front and one from the back.
The grey one immediately ripped the throat out of the two nearest vampires, yelping joyously. Oz had never been able to indulge in his werewolf side, and he intended to get full pleasure from tearing the vampires surrounding him to pieces.
Buffy leapt into the room, powerful muscles bunching under her as she landed.
Angelus took in the situation with a quick glance, and barked out orders. ‘Get silver,’ he said, calmly. ‘Spike, take Dru away, you two can only get in the way.’
Stinging at the insult, Spike nevertheless realised the strategy was a sound one. This way, maybe the ‘wolves would get Angel, and solve one of his biggest problems.
But there was something about their attack... Spike wheeled Dru into the nearest room, and bolted the door. Spike realised.
Werewolves don’t feed off vampires, they need live flesh, and therefore this wasn’t hunting. This was an attack in which the ‘wolves had taken the offensive, and Spike intended to find out why. He peered out of the spyhole in the wall, and noticed that while the vampire forces were severely depleted the werewolves looked fine. They’d had the upper hand from the minute they burst in, and they obviously didn’t intend to lose it.
The yellow one - Spike knew it wasn’t blonde, animals are never blonde, but that was the colour it looked... a familiar shade of blonde - was taking care of peripheral damage, preventing scared vampires from escaping, and stopping any silver from coming into the hands of a vampire who could use it against them, of which there weren’t many left. The only vampires left were mainly newborns, too useless to do much but run away or attack the werewolves in stupid head-on suicide attempts.
Angelus was roaring in fury, and heading for the grey ‘wolf, which was busy using its massive front claws to stake a couple of hapless vampires.
Spike considered.
The smaller one noticed Angelus advancing on her companion, finished off the last two vampires still trying to bring weapons, and dashed to his rescue.
Spike wondered if they were mates; one was obviously female, the other male.
The smaller female one crashed though several startled vampires all bright enough to realise this was one battle they couldn’t win, and headed for Angelus.
Drusilla screamed with the sudden knowledge her ‘daddy’ was about to die, and wrenched the door open, running to his aid.
‘Damn her visions,’ Spike muttered, as he wheeled after her.
Werewolves weren’t known for their intelligence, and despite this obviously organised attack, there was a strong possibility they would kill Dru as well now. Drusilla threw herself at the female werewolf and tried to rip its ear off. The ‘wolf gave up on Angelus for the time being and busied itself with getting rid of Dru.
Angelus decided to continue his attack on the grey ‘wolf, but it had caught wind of his plan, and he had blown the element of surprise. He stared at the werewolf, recognition surfacing in his eyes.
‘You’re that damn ‘wolf who tried to take my kill a while ago,’ he said. ‘You’re one of Buffy’s gang.’
Spike sighed. ‘Great! The Slayer’s using werewolves on us now. Who’s the blonde?’ He stared at the female, who had by now thrown Drusilla off, and was busy choosing between Angelus and Dru. There was something about her fighting style, even as a ‘wolf...
‘Christ!’ Spike exclaimed, just as the blonde ‘wolf staked Dru with a claw.
Surprisingly, he didn’t care as he watched Dry turn to dust. ‘She never minded me, anyway,’ he said. ‘I’m happier without her.’
He turned his attention back to the three left in the room. Angelus was thrown to the ground by a single swipe of the male’s paw, and the grey werewolf pinned him to the ground, obviously intending to wait until he was told otherwise by the female.
The female werewolf, looking increasingly familiar to Spike, padded over to the fallen vampire and raised a claw. Angelus shuddered in fear, but the claw didn’t come down on him. The werewolf scraped it along the floor, and Spike realised with incredulity that she was writing. He wheeled himself over, strangely certain the ‘wolves wouldn’t hurt him, and read the roughly scrawled word.
‘Leave’ he said, glancing at Angel. ‘Looks like they don’t want us here, mate,’ he said, grinning. ‘If I were you, I’d agree to do what the lady asked.’
‘Lady?’ Angelus grunted, pinned underneath the massive weight of the grey werewolf.
‘You mean you don’t recognise her? Mate, it looks like your ex has got herself a new boyfriend. And a new species,’ he added absently.
‘WHAT?!’ Angelus roared, as he suddenly understood what Spike was saying. He turned to the female and spoke. ‘Buffy?’
She somehow ordered the male to get off him, and Angelus stood up. Buffy grinned at him, a smile that was truly terrifying, revealing as it did several deadly fangs, obviously not meant for eating lettuce.
Werewolves and vampires were natural enemies, competing for food in, usually, limited space, and they tended to keep apart for that reason. Vampires had always held the advantage with their natural intelligence, something the wolf-form of the werewolf lacked. It looked as though the tables had turned.
Buffy gave a warning growl, that managed to convey a surprisingly large amount of information, it said: I don’t want to kill you, yet, but if you’re still around next time I swing by, I’ll have no such compulsions.
Angelus growled softly, sounding like a kitten standing up to a lion, and headed out the door. ‘This isn’t over, Buffy,’ he warned. ‘You’ll only look like this three days out of the month.’
Buffy let out a sound which, Spike guessed, was meant to be a derisive snort, meaning ‘But you’ll *always* look like a loser’.
Angelus disappeared into the night.
Spike decided it was probably time to move on, but unfortunately for him, Buffy knew what would happen if she let him go. More people would die. Spike stared at her in surprise and fear as she advanced in him, and he was too slow to get out of the way of her deadly claw.
Buffy glanced around her at the destruction she and Oz had caused, and howled triumphantly to the moon. Oz joined her, and the sound shook Angel to the bone, far away from the mansion as he was.
|
|
|
|
Rave
Barbie Girl (Becca)
biscuit07
Filmtheory (Jim)
Malice (Jess)
MebbtheScribe (MichaelB)
Reset (Allie)
Shay (Marrisa)
somnambulist29 (Shea)
Stephanie Loss
Wendyness (Wendy)
Questions?Contact Us
|
|
All stories on this site have been archived with the authors' consent. Do not copy these stories for your own uses without the express consent of the author themselves. Buffy the Vampire Slayer TM and Angel TM are © UPN, WB, Fox and its related entities. All photos on the site are © UPN, Fox, Warner Bros, and/or their respective owners. No profits are being made by use of these images.
Powered with the assitance of eFiction.
|
|
|
