It whirled around to where the smell was coming from but all it saw was bushes russelling. Its prey was escaping. Ignoring the rest of the little gnats that were attacking it the demon began his pursuit of Xander. It didn't get to far as Spike and Buffy lobbed its head off.
The bushes russelled again to find Xander walking out. Sort of. Willow and Buffy gawked Spike took a glance and went over to chack on Drusilla before both disappeared into the night. Xander was still in Centaur form. From the abdomen up looked normal but where legs should be was the body of a horse. The horse part looked like bay pinto.
"Good thinking distracting it like that. Don't ever do that again!" Andrew told his son. That had been very ingenious to distract the demon but also extremely dangerous. It would have sounded very harsh if it hadn't been for the fact that his voice was still recovering from the demon induced flight. "Do you have a change in clothing in your bookbag?"
"Yeah, though I thought it was going to be because of Demon Goo not because I lost my pants to the Change." Xander said with a laugh grabbed his previously disgarded bookbag and disappeared in the bushes for a moment. He came back out looking exactly like the old Xander.
"Wow! That was so cool." Willow enthused. Her eyes were alight with delight Xander looked as yummy in his centaur form as he looked in his human form. Bad Willow no bad thoughts about Xander only bad thoughts about Oz remember?
Curiosity finally satisfied Buffy said, "Can I have a ride sometime?" Spontaneously both Andrew and Xander started to laugh and walk away.
The group broke up rapidly it was time to go home do homework and catch a couple of hours sleep before going back to Sunnyhell High. Xander stumbled into the house exhausted. He made his way quickly down to his bed and crashed.
"So how did the Demon hunting go?" Leann asked her husband.
"I was very sloppy. I'm gonna start working out again can you call Maurice tomorrow and arrange for him to set up shop somewhere. I need a sparring partner and a fully equipped gym to do it in." Andrew was not pleased with his own performance tonight. Though the thrill of the hunt was a welcome change from the tedium of court.
Leann now concerned, "How was Xander? I know he didn't have the same training as you." Concern for her two men welled up.
"He could use a few lessons but he was very much a professional all of his friends were. Even Willow." That had surprised him. sweet Willow was a capable fighter and definitely rising in the magic ranks.
"Little Willow's a demon hunter?" Leann smiled.
"Yup. I'm for bed. See you tomorrow."
Leann woke before her Husband and son and began to make more calls. She mused that she should have been a secretary instead of Demonologist. Xander stumbled into the kitchen looking for food and soon after her husband strolled down looking for the same.
"Lets just go out to eat. Xander is Missy's Diner still around?" Leann remembered how good Missy's quiche had been.
"No she was killed by the Sunnyhell plague last year." He missed going to Missy's. "A new place opened called Roberto's though its pretty good. It's actually Missy's daughter and husband running it. The old name hurt them to much. Still great quiche though." Xander gave a huge grin.
After a very filling breakfast Leann got treated to watching her husband work out at Maurice's new gym and her son get his first Karate lesson. She spent her time admiring her husband's very nice body and reading the rather long journal her son kept on the various demons and monster that had cropped up the past few years.
Maurice leaving Andrew on his own made straight towards the younger centaur, "Welcome to my gym Prince Alex. My name is Maurice and I am apart of the Achne herd. I've known your father for years and actually demon hunted with him for a little while before opening my gyms. Your mother expressed some interest in you learnign some Martial Arts so lets get started with the most basic Karate and we'll move of from there."
"Sounds good." Karate might have been useful with a couple of demons if only to help and break his falls better. Which was exactly what they worked on falling, basic punching and kicking, and throwing techniques. A basic self defense course for the demon hunter which included how to punch with a stake for maximum effectiveness.
Andrew lifted weights and sparred with an older slightly larger centaur in the big boxing ring near the mats where Xander and Maurice were. He worked on his speed and reaction time mostly. He went through three more sparring partners before Maurice called an end to the session.
Meanwhile Leann was mulling over what she had learned in her son's journal. It was very disturbing. He'd been possessed twice in the past few years. He worried that both spirits might not be comletely gone. Leann knew for sure they weren't and never would be. Centaurs once possessed would forever carry that spirit with them the spirit could only be put to sleep by the dispossessing spells the strong the dispossessing spell the longer the sleep. She would have to make sure both spirits were safely napping when they got back to the house.
Leann listened as Xander and Andrew talked about the upcoming night during the ride home. Andrew was psyched and ready but it didn't take a genius to figure out that Xander wanted his dad home safe and sound preferrably giving him a little brother or sister to play with. Xander went back into the basement to catch a nap before patrol.
"Why doesn't he want me to go with him tonight?" Andrew wanted to be apart of his son's life and was aching to kill some demons.
"Honey we just came home he wants us to be around for a while he's afraid you'll get hurt. He wants you safe at home with me giving him siblings not getting killed by the Demon-of-the-Week." A reasonable attitude coming from her son but she knew her husband all to well. He'd be more careful now but nothing would prevent him from joining his son to demon hunt.
"Hadn't thought of that. Well Xander has a good idea a nap is in order before we go hunting tonight. Oh can you dig out my old armor from the weapon's storage?" They had left most of their weapons in a large room in the garage it had been heavily protected by magic and locks to keep their relatives from getting in. It had also been individually alarmed by a big name home security firm.
"Maybe we should commission someone to make armor for Xander too?" The Armor was invisible once put on and magically protected the user against guns, most acids, vampire bites, blunt force, and some magics. The armor was created by special artisans and usually came in the form of jewelry or article of clothing that could be removed easily.
"Good idea. See if you can get some for the others as well. Let's just comission an even dozen just to be safe." Leann made a single call and an hour later fourteen plain gold rings arrived at the house. It had been very expensive but very worth it. The longer a person wore the armor the more protection it gave them eventually it could only be worn by one person and it protected against virtually everything to some degree. Her husband's old armor was very powerful and looked like a regular gold necklace.
Meanwhile dark gold eyes were opening for the first time in nearly four millenia and it was very hungry.
TBC...(soon I hope)
The bushes russelled again to find Xander walking out. Sort of. Willow and Buffy gawked Spike took a glance and went over to chack on Drusilla before both disappeared into the night. Xander was still in Centaur form. From the abdomen up looked normal but where legs should be was the body of a horse. The horse part looked like bay pinto.
"Good thinking distracting it like that. Don't ever do that again!" Andrew told his son. That had been very ingenious to distract the demon but also extremely dangerous. It would have sounded very harsh if it hadn't been for the fact that his voice was still recovering from the demon induced flight. "Do you have a change in clothing in your bookbag?"
"Yeah, though I thought it was going to be because of Demon Goo not because I lost my pants to the Change." Xander said with a laugh grabbed his previously disgarded bookbag and disappeared in the bushes for a moment. He came back out looking exactly like the old Xander.
"Wow! That was so cool." Willow enthused. Her eyes were alight with delight Xander looked as yummy in his centaur form as he looked in his human form. Bad Willow no bad thoughts about Xander only bad thoughts about Oz remember?
Curiosity finally satisfied Buffy said, "Can I have a ride sometime?" Spontaneously both Andrew and Xander started to laugh and walk away.
The group broke up rapidly it was time to go home do homework and catch a couple of hours sleep before going back to Sunnyhell High. Xander stumbled into the house exhausted. He made his way quickly down to his bed and crashed.
"So how did the Demon hunting go?" Leann asked her husband.
"I was very sloppy. I'm gonna start working out again can you call Maurice tomorrow and arrange for him to set up shop somewhere. I need a sparring partner and a fully equipped gym to do it in." Andrew was not pleased with his own performance tonight. Though the thrill of the hunt was a welcome change from the tedium of court.
Leann now concerned, "How was Xander? I know he didn't have the same training as you." Concern for her two men welled up.
"He could use a few lessons but he was very much a professional all of his friends were. Even Willow." That had surprised him. sweet Willow was a capable fighter and definitely rising in the magic ranks.
"Little Willow's a demon hunter?" Leann smiled.
"Yup. I'm for bed. See you tomorrow."
Leann woke before her Husband and son and began to make more calls. She mused that she should have been a secretary instead of Demonologist. Xander stumbled into the kitchen looking for food and soon after her husband strolled down looking for the same.
"Lets just go out to eat. Xander is Missy's Diner still around?" Leann remembered how good Missy's quiche had been.
"No she was killed by the Sunnyhell plague last year." He missed going to Missy's. "A new place opened called Roberto's though its pretty good. It's actually Missy's daughter and husband running it. The old name hurt them to much. Still great quiche though." Xander gave a huge grin.
After a very filling breakfast Leann got treated to watching her husband work out at Maurice's new gym and her son get his first Karate lesson. She spent her time admiring her husband's very nice body and reading the rather long journal her son kept on the various demons and monster that had cropped up the past few years.
Maurice leaving Andrew on his own made straight towards the younger centaur, "Welcome to my gym Prince Alex. My name is Maurice and I am apart of the Achne herd. I've known your father for years and actually demon hunted with him for a little while before opening my gyms. Your mother expressed some interest in you learnign some Martial Arts so lets get started with the most basic Karate and we'll move of from there."
"Sounds good." Karate might have been useful with a couple of demons if only to help and break his falls better. Which was exactly what they worked on falling, basic punching and kicking, and throwing techniques. A basic self defense course for the demon hunter which included how to punch with a stake for maximum effectiveness.
Andrew lifted weights and sparred with an older slightly larger centaur in the big boxing ring near the mats where Xander and Maurice were. He worked on his speed and reaction time mostly. He went through three more sparring partners before Maurice called an end to the session.
Meanwhile Leann was mulling over what she had learned in her son's journal. It was very disturbing. He'd been possessed twice in the past few years. He worried that both spirits might not be comletely gone. Leann knew for sure they weren't and never would be. Centaurs once possessed would forever carry that spirit with them the spirit could only be put to sleep by the dispossessing spells the strong the dispossessing spell the longer the sleep. She would have to make sure both spirits were safely napping when they got back to the house.
Leann listened as Xander and Andrew talked about the upcoming night during the ride home. Andrew was psyched and ready but it didn't take a genius to figure out that Xander wanted his dad home safe and sound preferrably giving him a little brother or sister to play with. Xander went back into the basement to catch a nap before patrol.
"Why doesn't he want me to go with him tonight?" Andrew wanted to be apart of his son's life and was aching to kill some demons.
"Honey we just came home he wants us to be around for a while he's afraid you'll get hurt. He wants you safe at home with me giving him siblings not getting killed by the Demon-of-the-Week." A reasonable attitude coming from her son but she knew her husband all to well. He'd be more careful now but nothing would prevent him from joining his son to demon hunt.
"Hadn't thought of that. Well Xander has a good idea a nap is in order before we go hunting tonight. Oh can you dig out my old armor from the weapon's storage?" They had left most of their weapons in a large room in the garage it had been heavily protected by magic and locks to keep their relatives from getting in. It had also been individually alarmed by a big name home security firm.
"Maybe we should commission someone to make armor for Xander too?" The Armor was invisible once put on and magically protected the user against guns, most acids, vampire bites, blunt force, and some magics. The armor was created by special artisans and usually came in the form of jewelry or article of clothing that could be removed easily.
"Good idea. See if you can get some for the others as well. Let's just comission an even dozen just to be safe." Leann made a single call and an hour later fourteen plain gold rings arrived at the house. It had been very expensive but very worth it. The longer a person wore the armor the more protection it gave them eventually it could only be worn by one person and it protected against virtually everything to some degree. Her husband's old armor was very powerful and looked like a regular gold necklace.
Meanwhile dark gold eyes were opening for the first time in nearly four millenia and it was very hungry.
TBC...(soon I hope)