Los Angeles, California, USA
Wesley winced slightly as he stretched, his fingers cracked, loudly, as did his joints. Rubbing the bridge of his nose, he sighed. Absent-mindedly he reached for his tea; it was cold. Frowning slightly, he continued to sip quietly. The clock, on the opposite wall of his desk near the door, began to peal. Chiming twice, it fell quiet once again, leaving his office silent. Workers had left hours ago, leaving him in solitude.
As Wesley turned back to his work, he began to feel pressure in his ears, much like taking off or landing in an airplane. He blinked once or twice as the pressure increased. Finally, his ears popped, and a then there was a sound of several heavy objects hitting the floor. Looking up, the head of Wolfram and Hart's Department of Ancient and Magical Artifacts, was greeted with a pile of people that looked more like a pile of puppies than actual humans.
The first to wriggle out of the group was a short girl, 5'4" at most, with fading dyed black hair piled up on her upon her head. "Oy, that was my chest ya know!" a guy's voice called from the ground. The girl just looked down at the group, nudging one with a booted foot.
"You're laying on my backpack," she said, her English accent relaxed compared to Wesley's once precise one, dulled by years of being in the States. She nudged the boy again, and he looked up, scowling. Pushing himself up, the guy handed her a ratty black bag. Willa was stenciled in silver paint on the top. She grinned, "Thanks Walker."
A few moments later, the guy's voice again came from the floor. "Geroff! What am I, your footstool?" A few seconds later, a young girl scrambled up. There was a hole in her jeans, just above her right knee, and on her t-shirt, there was a chocolate stain, at least Wesley thought it was a chocolate stain.
He rubbed his eyes, making sure he really saw the people in front of him. For all he knew, they were figments of his overworked imagination. "Are there any more of you?" he asked, voice sharp. By that time, the young male, a young teenager by the looks of it, had stood up. There were three total, one male, and two females.
The elder female looked at the younger one. "Winnie, you really weren't supposed to come," she glared for a second before shoving her black backpack into the arms of the guy, Walker, standing next to her. "Hold brother-o-mine," she ordered, and began to rummage through it.
The younger girl, the youngest by the looks of it, stamped her foot. "But Willa!" she whined, making her eyes wide and puppy like, "he's my brother too!"
"Shut up Winnie," the boy said, looking a little bit bored about being in the office; he continued holding the girl's backpack.
Winnie stuck her tongue out. "I know what you are Walker, but what am I?" she taunted
"Found it!" Willa shouted, her face lighting up, as she drew out a piece of paper. "Here you go," she said as she handed him a piece of paper. "You've been ordered to attend."
Wesley looked at it, and looked back up at the group standing in front of him. Then back at the paper, and then at the group. He did this a few times before he finally put down the paper. "What are all of you doing here?" he asked finally. Willa looked at the paper then at him. She quirked a smile, as if to tell him it was obvious. "Well, you certainly have grown up," Wesley said finally.
"Damn Skippy," Willa said as she walked over to behind his desk. Opening the top left hand drawer, her grin on her face grew wider. "Jackpot," she told the group as she lifted out a bag of chocolate. "Always had the sweet tooth," she told Wesley. "Predictable really."
"Do you mind?" Wesley snapped, taking back the bag of candy.
Willa shrugged, "Not really," she said, swiping the bag of candy back. "Hey," she called, "Think fast." Tossing the a few chocolates to her brother, she went to go sit on one of the leather chairs in Wesley's office. The other two moved around as well, Winnie took a place on the floor. After catching the chocolates, Walker went to lean against the wall close to his sister.
Everyone was silent for a time before there was a knock at Wesley's office door. Gunn stuck his head into the room. "Hey Wes, I saw the light on and I wanted to ask…" he trailed off as he caught sight of Willa, Walker, and Winnie. "Oh I'm sorry, I didn't know people where here. Isn't it a little late?"
"Hello salty goodness," Willa muttered, Walker poked her in the side, being the only one who heard her. She swatted at his hands.
"It's not a problem Charles," Wesley waved him in. "What did you need?"
"Do you know what the Kyr-te-pey-ka Shrine is?" Gunn asked, looking at his file, sounding out the word. Walker's ears perked up at the sound of anything mystical and potentially dangerous.
"The Kirtepayca Shrine is holy to the Caralukki sect of the Pirke Demons," Wesley recited from memory. He turned to his computer and typed in a few words. "First discovered in the Nairobi desert by a Englishman named Edger Best in 1921. It was in the British museum for the past 80 years, it has been on loan for the past three years to the Los Angeles Museam of Ancient History," he looked up. "Why?"
"It's been stolen," Gunn shrugged. "I'm working with a few clients to get it back."
"Oh, we're doing something good then?" Wesley raised an eyebrow. It had been a long while since that had happened.
"It looks like it," Gunn said, shrugging.
"Hey Wes?" Angel walked in, nodding to Gunn, totally ignoring the four other people in the room.
Willa's grin widened. "I'd like some of those biscuits," she said, still whispering. Walker poked her again, harder. Angel looked at Willa and she waved her fingers.
"Who are you?" Angel asked. At this question, Gunn looked up.
"Angel," Spike swaggered into the room. He looked at Walker, who was leaning against the wall, then at Winnie, and then finally towards Willa. "Well who are you?" he said bluntly.
"Have I died and gone to heaven?" Willa asked aloud. Then, she looked at Wesley. "Why do you have all the hot co-workers? Is it just me, or do I get stuck with all the pimply leftovers?"
"Well that all well and good, luv, but that still doesn't tell me who you are," Spike said.
"We're not telling you who we are until you tell us who you are," Winnie told him, standing up quickly. She put her small bawled up fists on her hips.
"Listen here, pet," Spike replied gruffly. "You don't tell me what to do, clear?" Winnie raised her chin in defiance as she sneered at him.
"She won't listen to you, you know," Walker pointed out, walking over and placing his hands on the little girls shoulders protectively. "She doesn't listen to anyone, let alone you."
"Expect for Mum," Willa chirped as she flipped through one of Wesley's books that had been left on the footstool. "Wesley, this is interesting, the breeding rituals of a Shintra demon, hey Walker, come here, pictures."
"Thank you," Wesley mumbled as he snatched the book away from the girl. "Would you kindly explain yourself, Willamina?
Willa seemed to wince at the sound of her full name. "Well, Wesley Parker," she said with a smirk. "We came to give you this." She went to her backpack, that her brother had thrown carelessly to the ground, and began to dig threw it again.
"Ah-ha!" She held up a red envelope above her head. "Official invite now."
Winnie and Spike were still glaring at each other. "Your hair is ugly," Winnie sputtered quickly.
"Ooh, the Scythe of Aruloke," Walker said suddenly, walking over to the wall. Taking it off, he held it in his hands. "Wicked." He turned it over in his hands; he ran a finger over the tip lightly, and around the raised engraving. "Do you know how much damage this thing can do?" his voice had an odd quality to it, like he was excited.
"Yes, yes I do." Wesley cut in, jerking if from the younger boy's hands. "I know quite well the damage it can do." He placed it back upon the wall. Walker began to eye other swords, axes, daggers, and other weapons of mystical destruction. "Don't even think about it," Wesley said, steering the boy away from the wall. "Stay," he said, pushing him down into a chair.
"Actually, we all have to go now," Willa said as she placed the letter on her desk. "Mum doesn't know we left, she'd have our heads."
Willa made her way back to the exact spot where they had appeared. "Come on kid," Willa called to Winnie, who was still having a glaring war with Spike.
"We'll finish this later," she promised before stomping on his toe and running to stand beside her sister.
In the mean time, Walked had seized the axe and ran. Wesley tried to grab him, but with a flash, the three of them were gone.
"Want to explain Wesley?" Angel asked, wearing an amused smiled as he sank into the chair Willa had previously occupied. "Friends of yours?"
"Not friends exactly," Wesley answered as he sat down, clearly annoyed. "Family."