My Family: Tor

calikocat

word count: 687

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He really wasn't sure about this. The change...the change would give him a boost. Make him stronger, faster, and a little more resilient. And if he was better, it would help the pack, help him keep the people he cared about safe. The others too, kids he'd known since elementary school, and their families. The work the pack did was good, important, and he already counted as human plus.

Accepting the gift Merlin and Nimue had offered him would help him carry out Rule One: Protect the Pack. Tor smiled at the thought of the first rule Xander had laid down. It was good that both alphas agreed on the order of the rules. Protect the Pack. Keep your Weapon. His grin broadened. Xander had included that rule specifically for Summers and her habit of letting her stakes dust. It was Willow though who had added an all important rule...Don't Die. And for now that's really all the rules they need.

Protect the Pack. Keep your weapon. Don't Die. All three were direct and simple. Just like his alphas. Neither Xander nor Buffy liked complicated things.

Tor sighed and looked up at the multicolored crystals of the chandelier...the library was an odd place for the decorative object but if Merlin wanted a chandelier in his library he wasn't going to say anything. But it made the room feel less like home; he'd retreated to this room in hope that being surrounded by ancient books would help him think. Unfortunately the atmosphere was nothing like the school library. Sure there were thousands of books in hundreds of languages but he missed the familiarity of Giles' sanctuary.

"It is only a gift child."

Tor jumped up from the settee he'd been resting on, a stake already in his hand, before he realized that it was only Nimue...not that anything of the night bump variety could get to where they were. He gave her an apologetic smile. "Sorry."

Her face remained the picture of kindness, and her eyes were gentle. "It's my fault. Lin is always scolding me for walking too softly." She leaned closer and continued in a stage whisper. "He says I always spook our guests and that's why no one ever wants to come back."

Tor snickered a little and pocketed his stake once more before he sat back down. Nimue settled beside him and he twisted enough so that he could face her and still be comfortable. "Did you want something?"

Her pink eyes were gentle as she shook her head briefly. "No, you just seemed troubled.

"I guess I am."

"You do not have to accept our gift to be part of our family."

Tor looked down for a moment. "It's just, Xander is very protective of me, of all of us...but I'd be so much more useful to the pack if I accepted your gift."

"Xander? Oh, the boy Botan speaks often of, the younger brother of her friend Yusuke."

"Yeah."

"She speaks highly of him, of all your friends, and of you Tor."

"...Really?" He met her eyes again.

"Really. Now, I believe it's time for our midday meal, shall we see-" Nimue's words were cut off as the castle shook and a large sounding boom echoed beneath their feet.

"What was that?"

Nimue sighed. "Lin and Botan are experimenting in the lab again."

"Should we check on them?"

She wrinkled her nose and shook her head. "They'll be fine. Besides, the last time I walked into the lab I ended up green. Lin couldn't figure out how to change me back for nearly a week."

"Okay...so..." He smiled. "You said something about food?"

"I did. Let's go see what we can find in the kitchen." Nimue stood and held her hand out to him. Tor only hesitated for a second. It had been a long time since he'd had a mother... since he had a family. Second chances didn't come often so he accepted her hand and walked with her.

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