"Beautiful, isn't it?" A voice startled her. She quickly turned
to see
a figure emerge from the shadows. As soon as she recognized
the figure,
she ran terrified to the other end of the house, searching for
an exit.
Knowing there wasn't one she'd find in her present state of
mind, Angel
slowly walked to where she stood, cowering. When he saw her,
he smiled.
It had worked! <Long time since I've tried it, but I haven't
lost my
touch...> he preened.
Gently, he took her hand and led her to a mirror. Confused, she
lifted
her head and gazed into it. Hands shaking, she lifted them to
her face,
felt the ridges and valleys...moved her hands to her mouth,
felt a stab
of pain when she touched a tooth. She screamed and fell to the
floor,
shaking. Angel began to laugh. Terror quickly turned to fury,
and she
got up to face him.
"You bastard, you son of a bitch. You-I'm-How-" Delighted at
hearing
her swear, he kept laughing. Fury overwhelmed her, and she flew
at him
with enough force to knock him through a wall. "Change me back."
"I can't." he said, pleasantly surprised at her strength. For
a new
vampire, she had remarkable skills.
"You will."
"I can't." he repeated.
"You CAN and you WILL, or I *will* kill you." she threatened.
His
manner turned menacing.
"You think you can, little girl?" he asked. "Try it." She walked
slowly towards him. He stood where he was, torn between amusement,
admiration, and a small amount of apprehension. She held an
odd appeal,
as a vampire. Her yellow eyes glowed with a light he had never
before
seen from her.
Suddenly, she forgot to be afraid. He didn't look like a "bad
guy" to
her. Within seconds, she was right in front of him. Putting
her hands
on his shoulders for balance, she lifted herself and kissed
him firmly
on his lips. After his initial surprise, he lifted her and kissed
her
back passionately, his tongue dancing with hers between pairs
of fangs.
She melted into his arms as he lifted her higher. She lifted
one leg
and kicked him decisivley between the legs. He dropped her and
doubled
over in pain. With a smirk, Willow stepped back.
"I win." she said.
Once he regained his composure, he quickly got up, and, delighted
with
her, swung her around the room. She laughed and held on for
the ride.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The slayer and friends had spent an exhausting day with police,
official
reports, and Willow's parents. It was dark now, and Buffy had
to go
hunt. Xander had been quiet all day, not even going for the
easiest of
wisecracks. He looked liek he'd lost part of his soul. Cordelia
was
doing her best to comfort Xander and for once was just being
helpful.
Oz was in the hospital, being treated for a minor concussion,
at the
insistence of Mrs. Rosenberg. Buffy...well, Buffy was doing
her best to
hold everyone else together. And she had to go hunt, apparantly
by
herself. She quietly told Giles she was leaving, and grabbed
her
supplies from his office.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Graveyard duty. It was a slow night. She'd been here for three
hours,
and killed only one vampire. She missed the days when Angel
had hunted
with her...now he just hunted her friends.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw dark figures running towards
her.
<Oh, goodie.> she thought, and jumped off the tombstone she'd
been
sitting on, body poised for a fight. There were two this time.
She
pulled a stake out and was somewhat surprised to see Angel.
The other
one looked familiar, but Buffy couldn't place her face.
"Where is she?" Buffy asked, hitting Angel.
"Who?" he teased, dodging and giving out a hit of his own. Tired
of
being antagonized, she floored (well, grounded) him with a punch
and
kick, and held the stake poised above his heart.
"You know who."
"Buffy." The other vampire piped up, in a chillingly unmistakable
voice. Buffy turned her head, lowered her guard, and was floored
herself.
"Willow?!" Angel hit her, just enough to slow her down, and ran
into
the night with Willow, laughing. She knew she should go after
them, but
she needed to go back to the school and figure out what next
to do.