"So, anywhere else?" Hope asked, looking up at the girls walking on either side of her.
"Not that I can think of. We've hit most of the less hostile demon haunts." Willow said with a shrug. "Buffy and Spike will get the rest."
"Looks like it's back to books." Dawn muttered disdainfully.
Hope shrugged. She was almost certain she could con her way out of researching, she had a knack for getting whatever she wanted from Spike. Just whine, and if that doesn't work, pout a bit. He'd give sooner or later. She sighed, squinting as she looked up at the setting sun. "Those oracles were weird."
"Eh, yeah, but once you get past the green skin and tentacles they're pretty descent people." Willow said with a nod.
"People… with tentacles?" Hope questioned, looking up at her with an amused smile.
"You know what I mean." She replied, rolling her eyes.
"Yeah, but…" The blonde froze. "You guys hear that?"
The other two girls stopped, falling silent. They heard the same thing Hope's delicate ears had picked up on. A quiet, rhythmic clicking coming from behind them, growing progressively louder as it neared. After a moment, the clicking stopped, and suddenly they became aware of a very loud and very ragged breathing. There was warm air blowing far too close to their necks for comfort, and the trio slowly turned.
And screamed.
----------
"You sure that's healthy?" Spike asked, making a face at the greasy burger Buffy was finishing off as they walked.
"I made the things for two years, Spike. They might not be healthy, but they are edible." She explained, crumbling up the wrapper as she finished her meal off.
"No offense, but it didn't look very edible."
She smirked. "And this coming from the guy who drinks blood."
"Yeah, well at least…" He was cut off as a sharp scream echoed through the newly descended night. They both stopped, exchanging a quick glance before taking off full speed down the street. They had run nearly two blocks when another scream pierced the night. Spike cringed, recognizing the voices. "This way." He instructed, turning and cutting through someone's front yard. He leapt over the gate leading to the back yard and hit the ground running, pushing through some tall decorative bushes and emerging back in the street. He stopped, looking around.
Buffy slammed into the vampire as she emerged from the bushes, sending them both tumbling to the ground. She looked sheepishly at the blonde as he pushed her off of him, scowling. He climbed to his feet, his eyes still scanning the surrounding area as he offered the Slayer his hand. "You see anything?"
Making a slight face, she wrapped her hand around his, allowing him to pull her up from the ground. "No."
"Bloody Hell…" He growled, stalking up the street, his eyes still flitting about.
Buffy followed after him, keeping up with his brisk pace as she strained to hear anything else. "Spike, I don't think…" They both turned quickly, the sound of voices drawing their attention. A brief second later, Hope rounding the corner, running, followed closely by Willow and Dawn.
Hope didn't break her stride as she passed Spike, grabbing the sleeve of his jacket and pulling him into a run beside her. "Running is good." She panted.
"And what exactly are we running from?"
"Down!"
Upon hearing Buffy's voice, Spike grabbed Hope by the waist and took them both to the ground, skidding across the rough pavement. The vampire looked up as four paws slammed into the ground just ahead of them. Hope cringed. "That's what we're running from."
Spike's eyes went wide and he scrambled backwards, climbing to his feet and pulling Hope up after him. He kept an arm across her chest, keeping her with him as he backed slowly away, eyes locked on the huge beast in front of them.
Buffy, Dawn, and Willow stood a good distance behind them, staring in disbelief at the creature. It stood at least six feet tall at it's shoulders, it's fur glistening black. It's eyes were yellow, splashed with flecks of crimson red. It narrowed them as Spike and Hope continued to back away, stopping when they stood alongside the others.
"What's it doing?" Dawn asked quietly, watching as it sniffed, not making any move to come closer to them.
"I vote we don't stay and find out." Willow answered quickly.
"Don't move." Spike instructed sternly. "You'll just piss it off."
"It's doesn't look very dangerous." Buffy pointed out, tilting her head to the side as she watched the canine. He was just standing there, ears perked up, tail wagging slightly as he watched them. "He looks like a big puppy."
"Yeah, and big puppy's come with big teeth." Spike stated in an agitated tone.
"What's that?" Hope asked, pointing at something metallic hanging from the leather cord wrapped around it's massive neck.
"Rabies tag?" Dawn suggested, shrugging.
"No, it's not flat. It looks like an orb or something." Hope said, taking a couple steps towards the creature.
Spike grabbed her shoulder, pulling her back. "Don't think so, kitten."
"Leggo." The teen snapped, pulling away from him. "If he was gonna hurt us he would have already." She said informatively, walking towards it once more.
Spike went to go after her, but was stopped when Buffy grabbed his arm. "Don't move. You'll just piss it off." She stated, repeating his earlier instructions. He scowled, pulling his arm away from her, but not moving any further.
Hope was halfway between the creature and the others when she stopped, tilting her head to the side and squinting at the orb on it's neck. She unconsciously took a few steps closer, bring her mere feet from the beast. It growled, causing her to look up slowly. A sheepish smile found it's way to her face. "Good doggy, nice doggy…" She said sweetly, backing away a bit. A sharp yelp escaped her lips as the canine let out a sudden howl. She slammed her hands over her ears and closed her eyes, trying to block out the noise. The next thing she knew, she was over Spike's shoulder, gripping his coat as he ran, following the others as they made their way quickly down the street.
"Where is it?" Buffy demanded, not breaking her run.
Hope opened her eyes, looking behind them as Spike continued to run. She instantly regretted it. The creature was running towards them, snarling. Her breath caught in her throat as he leapt through the air, heading right towards them. Her eyes slammed shut, but the hit never came. Spike abruptly stopped running, and she slowly opened her eyes. Turning her head, she looked up at what the others were staring at.
The creature was about a block ahead of them, soaring about twenty feet above the ground on massive, flapping black wings, it's form illuminated by the glowing moonlight. After a few minutes, it vanished, leaving the shaken group standing in silence in the middle of the street.
Spike was the first to break the silence, sighing as he pulled Hope from his shoulder and set her on the ground in front of him. "You alright?"
"I'm fine." She muttered, still staring at the sky.
"Alright, does anyone have the sudden urge to kill things?" Buffy questioned, her eyes locked on the sky as well. "Well, except for Spike."
The vampire narrowed his eyes at her, giving her an unamused snort.
"I'm good." Willow muttered.
"Me too." Dawn added.
"Does anyone else have the slightest inkling as to why it didn't attack us?" Hope asked, looking between everyone.
"I'm not arguing for the moment, but I say we get home before it decides to come back." Buffy said, pulling her gaze from the sky. "Come on."
----------
"That it?" Spike asked, pointing to a picture in one of the books. They had gone from looking for information on the demon to looking for information on the charm it wore. Of the little info they had on the beast, nothing was mentioned about it. Hope leaned over from her seat beside the vampire on the couch, peering down at the page.
"Nope. It's got that swirly little symbol thingy on it. That doesn't."
The vampire regarded her with an unamused expression. "Yeah, we got that. It's round, shiny, and has a swirly little symbol on it. Like that can't be hundreds of bloody charms." He grumbled, returning his focus to the book.
"You, my friend, seriously need t'get drunk or somethin'. You're all grumbly." Hope said, punching him in the arm and grinning.
"And you, my dear, need t'stop bein' a pain in the ass." He replied in the same sweet tone she had just used, smiling smugly. She rolled her eyes, slumping back in her seat and refocusing her attention on the book in her lap.
"Oh! Shiny round thing with a weird swirly symbol!" Willow exclaimed from her seat on the floor, pointing excitedly at the screen of her laptop. Buffy looked up from her chair and Dawn peered over from her seat on the other side of Spike. Hope slid down from the couch, taking a seat beside the redhead.
"Yeah, that's it. So what's it do?" She questioned, looking expectantly up at the witch.
Willow punched a few keys on the keyboard, bringing up a screen of text. "Well, it's basically just your run of the mill magical charm. It can be used for a bunch of different spells and incantations, most having to do with sight. It says here it's most commonly used like an extra set of eyes. You know, whatever is reflected in the orb, the caster can see."
"Like a little spy camera." Dawn offered.
"Yeah, something like that." Willow agreed, placing the computer on the coffee table.
"So, what? The demon didn't attack us because whoever summoned him wanted to see who they were gonna be up against?" Buffy asked, making a slight face.
"Looks like it." Willow said, her eyes still scanning over the text.
"Anythin' else?" Spike questioned, looking bored.
Willow shrugged. "Not really, just where it originated and what it's made of. I'm guessing that's not very important."
"Oh, Prague. Pretty." Hope commented to herself, reading the origin out loud.
"What?" Spike demanded, becoming suddenly alert.
Hope made a face. "I've seen pictures, it's not like I've ever been there."
"No." He snapped, climbing down from the couch. Grabbing the teen by her shoulders, he lifted her easily from the ground and tossed her absently back onto the couch. She scowled. "Bring the picture back up." He said flatly, crouching down beside Willow.
"O-Okay." The redhead muttered, giving the vampire a wary look.
"What's the deal?" Buffy asked, leaning forward in her chair. "You're even grumpier than you were ten seconds ago." Spike turned and glared at her.
"H-Here it is…" Willow muttered, pointing at the screen.
Spike turned back to the computer, looking where Willow instructed. He choked. "Bloody Hell…"
Dawn cringed. "That wouldn't happen to be a good 'Bloody Hell', would it?"
Hope looked down at the vampire and back at the screen. He remained quite, his eyes not moving. "Should we, like, leave you and the computer alone for a few minutes?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
"Spike?" Buffy prodded, giving him an odd look. Willow just sat their, staring at the vampire beside her.
Hope poked him roughly in the arm. "Hey, earth to loser, you still with us?"
He shook his head, as if pulled from a daze. "What? Oh, yeah…" He muttered. With that, he stood, stalking towards the front door.
"Uh, Spike. Care to inform us as to where you're going?" Buffy asked, an amused expression on her face.
"Smoke." He answered flatly, swinging the door open and stepping onto the porch, slamming it behind him. They all sat there for a minute, staring at the door.
"That was…weird." Willow stated with a small nod.
"What was that all about?" Dawn asked, looking over at Buffy.
"You mean besides the fact that Spike's insane?" The Slayer asked snidely.
"He knows something." Hope muttered, standing and walking towards the door. Buffy stood to go with he, but she stopped, shaking her head. "Just stay here for a few minutes. I'll find out what his deal is." Buffy was about to protest, but Hope cut her off. "Please?"
Sigh, Buffy relented. "Fine. Hurry up."
Hope nodded, pulling the door open. Closing it behind her, she watched curiously as Spike paced back and forth, puffing heavily on a cigarette. "Care to share?"
He stopped, staring out at the street as he took one final drag from his cigarette, flicking the butt out into the yard. He exhaled slowly, sending a long stream of gray smoke into the air. After a few moments of silence, he shoved his hand back into his coat pocket, searching for his cigarettes.
"Hey, hey!" Hope closed the distance between them, grabbing his wrist before he could get the cigarette to his mouth. She stared up at him, confused. "What's going on?"
"Nothin'…" He muttered, pulling his hand from her grasp and dropping it to his side.
She continued to stare at him, disbelieving. "You're shaking." She pointed out, nodding to his hand.
"I'm fine." He said hastily, raising his hand quickly and putting the cigarette between his lips. He lit it quickly, returning his lighter to his pocket.
She scowled, reaching up and snatching the cigarette from his mouth. She tossed it roughly to the ground and retnred her gaze to his, her eyes narrowed. "I'm not stupid."
He sighed, shoving his hands deeply into his pockets. "Yeah, I know…"
"What's wrong?"
"Bad memories, tha's all." He lied.
She dropped her gaze, unsure whether to believe him or not. After a few moments, she looked back up, watching as he shifted his weight, his eyes staring blankly at the ground. Sighing, she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head against his shoulder. He reluctantly pulled his hands from his pockets, wrapping them around the girl. "I love you…" She muttered, staring absently at the Summers house.
He smiled slightly, running his fingers through the girl's hair. "Yeah, kitten. Love you too."