Disclaimers: Most of the characters belong to the evil genius Joss Whedon. No copy-write infringement intended. There are scenes of two women in a loving relationship in this story. There is some violence in addition to allusions to child abuse. If any of this is likely to disturb you please do not read.
Spoilers: This story is supposed to take place during Season 4 between the episodes of "New Moon Rising", and "The Yoko Factor". It may make reference to any BtVS episode or storyline.
Rating: PG 13 (for now).
Willow sat at her desk trying to focus on a paper for Professor Smyth's class. She thought the topic was exciting, but her thoughts kept drifting to a certain blond. Willow was happy to hear that someone thought she was special, especially a witch who had been practicing as long as Tara. It was so strange how she said it. The blond stuttered a lot and seemed shy, but when she noted and affirmed that Willow was powerful she didn't stutter at all. She was very direct. Willow smiled, remembering the moment that Tara had spoken to her after that frightening period when nobody could speak at all. And she remembered the time before that when their hands first touched. There was a spark there, and it wasn't just the magic used to move the vending machine. No, there was definitely something else there. Willow didn't know what it was, but she knew she wanted more of it. Doing spells with Tara felt right but there was something missing. She wanted more Tara.
She recalled the previous night. Oz left again. It was the right decision for both of them. Willow knew that her choice would have eventually been Tara all along. She hated the idea of not being with Tara. Poor Tara, Willow thought, she never thought she would be chosen, and she was thrilled when she understood that she was. Willow remembered that sexy way that she blew out the "extra flamey" candle and the kiss that they shared the instant afterward. Who knew that being so close to the blond woman could feel so wonderful? Yes, Willow decided, there needs to be more kissing, and more snuggling. And definitely more Tara.
The phone rang interrupting Willow's thoughts just as they were getting more lustful. Hoping it was Tara she answered.
"Hello? Giles?" it wasn't often that he called.
"Yes, Willow, this is rather urgent. It looks like someone or something burglarized the Magic Box." He stated in a calm voice.
"What? Is everyone alright?" she asked, concerned for the welfare of her friends and the costumers.
"Yes. Quite. Anya was knocked unconscious but she's already back to her normal self and refusing to get treatment at a hospital," he explained. "She was the only one in the shop at the time".
Willow sighed with relief. "Good. Is there something I can do?"
"Actually, yes" Giles answered returning to the reason he called. "Many of the Bast related items in the store are missing, along with some basics needed for ritual. I need some research done on who or what would be interested in getting their hands on such items and for what purpose."
"Bast? The Egyptian cat goddess? Okay, I'll be over there in a few minutes." She stated, "And I'll, um, bring Tara. She may have some ideas and she is the more experienced witch". Willow now had a quirky grin on her face at the thought of Tara, which thankfully Giles could not see.
Giles agreed. Willow silently cheered, as she had an appropriate excuse to find Tara and... spend time with her doing boring research while not-so-secretly wishing they were kissing. Kind of a disappointment really, but time with Tara is precious none-the-less.
XXXXX
Tara sat in the chair in her dorm room, this time with a smile rather than the dread she felt at the idea of Willow leaving her. She also recalled the previous night. "She chose me!" She continued to consider incredulously. She thought about how wonderful it felt to be close to the slim, pretty, red head. To kiss her. It was better than she had imagined, and she had a lot of time to imagine. The spark of passion between them was so unlike anything she had ever felt before, for anybody.
There was a knock at the door. Sensing that it was Willow she opened the door and gave her a lopsided grin. "Hey".
"Hey," Willow smiled back. She wanted to kiss her, before telling herself there was a time and a place. "Um, I was hoping you could help with a little research".
Tara was a little disappointed that she did not get a kiss. "Oh, for school?" She asked quizzically, knowing the Willow doesn't usually ask for help with her studies.
"No, for Scooby stuff".
"Oh." The blond was intrigued.
"Come, I'll tell you about it on the way to the shop." Willow offered.
Tara agreed, not entirely certain she was doing so for the right reasons. She wanted to spend more time with Willow even if it meant flipping through books on spells and demonology rather than smooching. Well, maybe there can be some smooching later, she hoped.
XXXXX
The girl sat in the back of an alley way, her small dirty hands wrapped around the short statue of a black cat. She was ten years of age, but with her slim, malnourished body she looked as though she could be considerably younger. She looked at an old book in front of her. It was one of the few items she actually owned. It was an heirloom. She flipped the pages to a picture of the same cat. She compared the markings on the statue cat and the picture cat, including the "Eye of Horus" necklace, and the pierced ears. "What kind of cat pierces her ears?" the girl wondered to herself and shrugged. She heard some voices coming down the alley way. She picked up the book and the statue, along with a few more recently "borrowed" items and scurried to a common hiding place of hers; behind the dumpster.
XXXXX
When Willow and Tara arrived at the Magic Box, Anya was asked to recount what happened.
"Oh, it was terrifying!" she started, as Xander held some ice to the back of her head. "Ouch!" she scowled at her boyfriend. Xander tried to be more gentle. "A girl came in. She was pretty dirty."
"Ah, the frightfulness of uncleanliness" Xander teased.
"That's not the scary part" Anya stated, "She looked around the store for a bit. She picked up a few things including a couple of Bast statues, a pendant of the Eye of Horus, a mortar and pestle..."
"Yes, it's good that you keep track of the inventory." Giles interrupted with impatience. "Please continue with the burglary".
"Fine". Anya responded shortly. "She came to the counter and told me she had no money and couldn't pay for the items. She even asked if she could borrow them". Anya sounded disgusted at the thought. "I told her no. So then she offered to work for the money, but I told her she was too young, which she was. The girl protested stating that she had been practicing magic tricks and that she was willing to show me. I wasn't very interested, but there was no one else in the shop, so I figured it would be better than just standing around bored. Next thing I know she..." Anya cringed, just thinking of the incident.
Xander patted her back. "It's okay love, just tell us what happened".
Anya grasped his hand and gripped it hard "She...she pulled out...a bunny rabbit!"
Everyone groaned.
"And then I think I fainted and hit my head." she continued. "I don't remember anything else... That evil witch child must have taken the goods and ran!".
"Hey," Willow objected, "be careful of how you use that word 'witch'".
"Sorry," Anya apologized.
"I wonder where the bunny came from." Willow stated.
"I wonder where it went." Anya squeezed Xander's hand harder "It could still be in the shop!" She looked around with an expression of fear.
"It will be okay" Willow told Anya, "Tara and I will find the bunny".
"And kill it?" the former demon asked.
"No, we'll use it to cast a spell to find the girl." Tara chimed in.
"We can do that?" Willow asked, caressing Tara's hand.
Tara nodded to the red head "Sure, we just need to find the rabbit first".
"I'm going to get you, you wascalley wabbit!" Xander exclaimed in his best imitation of Elmer Fudd.
Anya looked admiringly at her boyfriend. "My hero," she sighed.
The group looked around the shop for the rabbit. After some searching and a fair amount of chasing Willow was able to capture it. "Awe!" she exclaimed, cradling the small white bunny in her arms as if it were a baby, "Just look at the sweet little thing. It didn't mean any harm! It just wants to be snuggled!" she cooed as she petted the soft animal and held it close to her. The red-head looked at Tara and gave her puppy eyes "can we keep her?"
Tara melted at the adorable look and the sweet image of the red-head holding the rabbit. She wondered how anyone was able to deny Willow anything. "Of course we keep her! Though I still want to get a kitten".
"Kitty?" Willow pondered at Tara "We should get one of those too!" Willow stated excitedly and walked toward the table with the rabbit.
Tara smiled as she prepared for the spell.
"Get that terrifying long-eared-twitchy-nosed-rat-thing out of my face!" Anya complained to Willow.
"Xander I think it's time you take your girlfriend home for some... rest." Giles suggested.
"Sex?" Anya questioned Xander, "I think Giles is right. I've had a rough day. We should go home and you should comfort me with lots of orgasms."
Giles winced and pulled off his glasses to clean them. Xander and Anya promptly left the shop.
Giles now focused on the two witches. "It occurs to me that even if we are able to find this girl, we do not know her motives, or if she is working with anyone else" he remarked "We ought to do more research on what she or they could do with the items she took before we do a spell to find her".
Willow and Tara looked at each other. Although neither of them were the type of person to do something in hast they both also had other things on their minds such as what they could be doing after this Scooby party. They rolled their eyes in acknowledgment that Giles was right, as usual. Willow found a cage to put the rabbit in until the time was appropriate to complete the spell. Both witches began looking through books for spells and rituals related to the cat goddess.
XXXXX
The girl peeked around the dumpster. The people to whom the voices belonged to didn't appear to be looking for her. They walked through the alley without noticing her. She sighed with relief. Shortly after they passed an orange tabby cat jumped out of the dumpster. "Hi Jasper!" the girl greeted the cat, uncertain if the feline actually understood her or not. The tabby nuzzled her ankle. She petted its somewhat mangy fur. "Did you find any food in there?" she asked it, knowing that the only response she could get was a meow. "No?" she patted the tabby as it lay at her feet. "It's okay. Tonight we'll go out hunting." she smiled at the thought.
XXXXX
Willow was flipping through a book she found on ancient Egyptian rituals and spells. "I'm finding quite a few spells that use an invocation of the goddess Bast." she began, intrigued by the spells listed on the page. "There's one that can give the caster the power of communication and control of cats. This one can turn a person into a were-cat. Ooh, but if it goes wrong a person may be stuck in a cat form or worse a grotesque looking hybrid creature." She showed Tara the picture.
"Ouch, that is kinda ugly," Tara responded, squinting at the picture, "but also sort-of cute, in a way".
"It seems the greater danger is if this caster intends to acquire control of the cats". Giles stated.
"Sounds neat to me," Willow injected. Giles and Tara gave her weird looks. "What? Seems like a fun thing to have" she reasoned.
"It might be fun for someone like me or you to be able to communicate and understand a cat that we had as a pet, for example, but such a power could be horribly abused." Tara explained.
Giles regarded the witches and briefly skimmed the text of the spell they were looking at "Yes, this caster could in theory create an army of cats and have it attack humans."
"Or have the cats hurt themselves." Tara added sadly.
"Oh! Poor kitty!" Willow exclaimed. "I see where you're going with this, and I'm all for saving the world from the army of coerced kittens. But it will have to wait until later this evening, I have to get to class. Professor Smyth hates it when people are late".
Tara nodded, "That's fine, I think the location spell with the rabbit will be more effective in the evening, and this caster would probably have to wait until eight or nine o'clock to do their Bast spell".
"So we meet back here at seven-ish and do the locator spell?" The red-head asked.
"Sounds agreeable. I'll see if Buffy can join you." Giles replied. "And I'll see about getting our new store mascot a carrot," he added referring to the caged rabbit.
The witches left the shop holding hands happily.
XXXXX
The girl observed the sunset while sitting on the edge of the roof top of the Bronze, a couple of alley cats at her side. She was glad to have the cats as company. It seemed as though no one else really noticed her. After all she was just a small street urchin with no home or family. She petted the cats. One was the orange tabby from the dumpster and the other a black cat with a white tummy and feet. She liked seeing the differences in the cats, their coloring, size, and characteristics. It was like they had unique personalities too. Jasper was definitely one of the more friendly ones. He would help her find food sometimes. She smiled at him as she scratched between his ears. He purred back at her.
XXXXX
It was only five o'clock when Willow's evening class ended. She walked towards Tara's dorm happy with the idea of having the blond all to herself for a couple of hours. Then again two hours isn't very long, but there was time for some kissing. She knocked on Tara's door for the second time that day. It wasn't long before the blond opened it. "Hey," Willow smiled.
"Hey," Tara smiled back, "Is it time to go already?"
Willow walked into the room "Nope. I just got out of class. We still have a couple of hours before we need to get back to Scoobyage. So we could just...hang around here for a bit... if you want to". She wrapped her arms around the blond's shoulders and leaned in for a kiss.
Tara gladly provided the kiss that the red-head was clearly asking for and closed the door behind them. The couple stepped toward the bed which conveniently was the only piece of furniture in the dorm room large enough for both of them. "So, is there anything I need to do to prepare for this spell?" Willow asked the more experienced witch as she sat on her bed.
"No, not really, it- it's a pretty s-simple spell".
Willow observed the return of Tara's stutter. She faced the blond to see if everything was alright. It seemed to be. Tara had joined her on the bed. "So it's not going to be one of those spells that leaves me breathless like that one for the Nether Realm?" the shorter girl asked leaning in toward Tara.
Tara closed her eyes as she recalled how the red-head had shuddered and arched on her dorm room floor. God she's beautiful, she thought. Tara returned Willow's gaze, feeling a little breathless herself. "No," Tara whispered as she reached for the Willows cheek "you should be fine".
Willow felt the soft touch and wanted more of it. More sweet soft Tara goodness. She kissed the palm of Tara's hand as it came to her lips. The hand paused. Willow brought her own hand to Tara's and flipped it over to kiss the back of the hand and the knuckles too. She looked into Tara's eyes. Tara seemed entranced. They both lay back on the bed. Willow continued kissing Tara's hand as Tara wrapped her other arm around the red-head and caressed her back. "Mmmm" Willow hummed. Tara wanted to go under Willow's shirt and feel her skin, but felt uncertain if she should or not. Willow moved from kissing the blond's hand to kissing her cheeks and stroking her hair. Tara wrapped both arms around the red-head and pulled their bodies together. Both women reveled in the closeness and smiled at the other. Willow wrapped her arms around Tara as well and nuzzled the area between Tara's neck and shoulder. She enjoyed the tenderness of the area and nibbled at it just a little. It was enough to elicit a short gasp from Tara, who then decided that the idea of more Willow skin was pretty irresistible. She gently placed her hand under the red-head's shirt and continued the caressing of the back. She appreciated the warmth and softness of Willows fair skin. Willow finally kissed Tara's lips. It wasn't long before the kiss intensified. Willow found herself on her back with Tara's leg between hers. The pressure and friction was starting to feel really good. Tara's hand had arrived at Willow's front and it began rubbing the slim tummy and continued up her torso lifting her shirt and showing just a little bit of skin. "Wait." Willow whispered. She swallowed.
Sensing something wasn't right Tara stopped and pulled her hand out. "What is it, Willow?" The blond looked at her with concern. "What's wrong?"
Willow glanced at Tara and melted at the compassion she saw in her eyes. "I don't know... I feel strange... kind of confused, I guess." She started to babble. Tara briefly looked hurt and Willow saw it. "Not about you!" The red-head tried to explain herself, "I want to be with you, I just- I just don't know what I'm doing and I- I think...".
"Are- are we going to fast?" Tara finished for her.
"Maybe?"
The couple rolled back on to their sides facing each other in an embrace. "It's okay," Tara said "I don't want to push you into anything you don't feel ready for."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah, of course." Tara affirmed, "Willow, I- I don't want to hurt you".
Willow found this endearing. "I know," she responded, "and you don't hurt. You feel... really good, actually" she stated.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah."
The couple smiled, pulled in more tightly, and basked in the warmth of their bodies. After a few more minutes of snuggling happily Willow realized it was nearly time to go. The women got out of bed, packed a few ritual items for the spell, and left for the Magic Shop.
XXXXX
When the sun was well below the horizon and the last light of dusk grazed the sky the girl decided it was time to prepare for the ritual. She went to the side of the building where there was a ladder and climbed back down to her back alley. Strange, how she thought of it as hers now. She walked toward the box she had brought up to the roof with her and took all the items out of it. She placed the box upside down and laid a raggedy sweatshirt on top of it. That will have to do for an altar, she thought to herself. She placed her old book in the center of the make-shift table and set the statue next to it. The two cats seemed curious about what she was doing. Jasper even sniffed at some of the ritual items that were still on the ground. "Patience, Jasper", the girl told the cat, "I'll be able to explain this all to you later".
She heard footsteps and looked down the alley way. A figure was coming toward her. She could tell it was female but she couldn't make out the features in the dark. Darn human eye-sight, she thought. She wondered what a cat's sight ability would be like. She abruptly halted preparation for the spell and hid behind the dumpster again. When the person came closer she was finally able to see.
"Mom?" the girl asked incredulously, wanting to believe it could be her. She stepped out from her hiding spot.
The woman looked at her "Sweetie," she crooned, "what are you doing here, I've been looking for you". The woman spoke calmly. Too calmly. She walked toward the girl.
The girl stared at the woman "Mom?" She could feel her eyes welling up. "I- I thought you were dead".
The woman shook her head and looked at the girl kindly. "No, baby, I'm right here" she opened her arms to embrace the girl who by now had tears running down her cheeks.
The girl stepped away. "You were gone for three months!" She cried, "Look at me! Look at how I lived!" she exclaimed furiously, trying to show her dirty clothes, matted brown hair, and skinny arms.
The woman remained serene. "I've come back for you," she stated, "I can take care of you now. We can be together again. Forever". She hugged the angry girl. The girl leaned in wanting to be cared for, wishing to feel the warmth of another human's body. But the body was cool to the touch.
The girl grew skeptical. This was not her mother, the neglectful parent that had hardly ever shown an interest in her. She gently pushed the woman away and looked at her face, "Forever?" she repeated suspiciously.
"Yes, baby, isn't that what you want?" the woman said as her face changed, growing bumps over her eyes and longer teeth. The girl's deep blue eyes widened with fear as she now understood what her mother had become.
