While Kat was upstairs pondering the mass of dolls and getting acquainted with Spikes leathers Giles, Willow, and Angel adjourned to the living room. The watcher tried to appear nonchalant about entering the room but his gut clenched, remembering the torture he'd endured there. He sat down on one of the two sofas and prepared for the difficult conversation ahead.
Willow led Angel to the sofa opposite the one Giles occupied and sat down with him. She went to release his hand but the vampire increased his grip and she relented, wrapping her fingers around his hand once more. "Giles? I'm so sorry I didn't tell you what I was planning, I knew you wouldn't let me try if I told you, but, don't you see, I had to bring him back. As awful as Angelus was, Angel didn't deserve to suffer for the demons crimes. I hope you understand. Please, try to understand."
The librarian sighed, removing his glasses and pinching the bridge of his nose. "My dear girl, I am trying, I really am. But don't you see how dangerous this was? There was no way to know for sure that your second attempt to re soul Angel worked. You could very well have brought Angelus back, or Gods forbid, ended up in hell with him. As it is, the magicks you invoked could have dire consequences in the future. If you'd only explained about your dreams, we could have worked to find a way to relieve you of them, instead, you risked great peril to bring back a demon the rest of us were quite happy to see the end of." Giles cut himself off. The older man could've kept ranting until the end of days. He was frightened, both of the demon sitting across from him, and the sweet young girl who was intent on protecting him as though he were a child.
Clearing his throat to try, Angel leaned forward, rubbing Willow's hand lightly in reassurance as he addressed Giles. "Rup..," Angel began using the librarian's given name then, seeing Giles stiffen, started over, "Giles…I know that, after what I did to the group, and to you as well, that nothing I say can take back what happened. I betrayed everyone; I exploited your weaknesses, and I threatened to kill all of you. I regret every moment of it, especially when I..when I killed Jenny." Angel's voice wavered as he mentioned the gypsy he had left in Giles' apartment for him to find in bed, dead by the vampire's hands. A bloody tear fell down his cheek as he continued, staring off into space as he unburdened himself to the librarian. I relived it all; every single, horrific moment over and over, until I thought I would go insane. I tried to stop myself, but each time…each time I…"
Letting go of Willow's hand, Angel brought his hands up to his face, openly crying now as all the torment, all the guilt, assaulted him anew. "I'm sorry…I'm so sorry," he sobbed, his body wracked with shudders as he continued his litany of sorries. So much…I did so many horrible things. Gods, Willow, sweet girl, you're wrong, I did deserve what I got in hell, that and so…so much more." Overwhelmed, Angel couldn't continue and again when Willow touched his shoulder the vampire turned, burying his face in the girl's lap, sobs wracking his large body.
None of the three people realized the scene was being watched by a pair of brilliant green eyes.
Willow sat, cooing to the grief stricken vampire and stroking his back. She looked over at Giles and was relieved to see that her mentor no longer believed that Angel was soulless. She smiled sadly at the british teacher, silently thanking him for his understanding. Slowly Angel's sobs lessened; under her gentle caresses Angel seemed to recover a bit of his composure.
As they waited for Angel to completely recover, and for Kat to return, a stray thought occurred to Willow. "Giles," she asked, her voice quiet, "How did you and Kat know what I was doing? How did you manage to find me?"
The librarian blinked, momentarily taken aback by the change in subjects. "Oh dear lord, that's another story altogether. I spent the entire night researching after Kat warned me and left rather err, abruptly. I eventually found the spell you were casting on that infernal bloody machine you love so much. But I think we should wait for Kat before we discuss last night's events more thoroughly."
Moving back into the hallway, Kat leaned her head against the wall, closing her eyes as she contemplated what she had witnessed. As long as she had known vampires, she had never known them to show the depth of emotions that dark-haired one had exhibited. In fact, she couldn't recall ever having seen one of them so much as shed a tear, even for a fallen companion. Angel's misery touched a chord inside of her, much as she hated to admit it; she knew what it was like to have suffered such gut-wrenching heartache.
'Willow may be right; he certainly doesn't act like any vampire I have known…' she mused silently. The cynical part of her mind questioned her judgment however. 'But…if he's such a good person when he has a soul, why was he sent to Hell?' Confused, the brunette decided to find out as soon as possible. From what she had heard, they would want to know about her as soon as she returned. Hesitating, the dark-haired young woman debated going in, or leaving and facing them some other day. Steeling herself mentally, she moved towards the doorway, this time making enough noise that at least the vampire should be able to hear her coming.
Hearing footsteps nearby, Angel raised his head, wiping the tears from his face as he moved from his rather comfortable position to sit beside Willow on the couch. The trio watched as Kat emerged, striding across the room in a rather unexpected outfit: Instead of one of Dru's ancient gowns, Kat had picked out something that undoubtedly belonged to Spike. A silk shirt of a vibrant red color, the tail ends tied together so that her midriff was exposed, topped a pair of sleek leather pants. A little loose on the slender woman, they rode low on her hips as she approached the couches.
His defenses weakened from his outburst, Angel was slightly jarred by the young woman's attire. 'Spike never looked that good in those pants did he?' Angel thought, not realizing he had murmured those words until he heard a muttered response from the redhead sitting next to him. 'He sure did.' Shooting a dark, confused glance down at Willow, the dark-haired vampire frowned, not sure he heard her correctly.
Meanwhile Kat moved to sit on the couch Giles occupied, sitting as close to the edge as possible. As the three stared at her silently, she crossed her arms over her chest, slouching back in the couch and glaring defensively. "What?"
The other three fidgeted slightly, uncomfortable about the conversation they were about to have. No one wanted to start talking first. Finally Willow, resolve face making a brief appearance, began. "Ok, first I don't think you two were properly introduced, what with the fighting and all." Willow glanced between Kat and Angel before she continued. "Angel, this is Kat. We don't know much about her as of yet but I'm hoping to rectify that today. Kat, this is Angel. He's a dear friend of mine, and yes, he's a vampire, but like I said before, he has a soul. Before we start I'll catch you up a little so you understand better."
Willow gave Kat some details about the scooby gangs' history with Angel. She told the skeptical brunette about how she and Xander found out about vampires and about how Angel had slowly made his way into their group by first giving Buffy vague clues as to what was happening with the Harvest, patrolling with the slayer and aiding the scoobies with research. When Willow was finished Kat looked over to Giles, silently asking for confirmation of the redheads statements. Giles nodded his head and answered, "Everything Willow told you is true. Angel has been with the group since we formed and has aided us time and again." It hurt the watcher to admit it, as he was still dealing with his memories of Angelus.
"Ok so he's helped you guys out, but what about this soul thing? I mean yeah, helping humans is strange but that doesn't mean he's any different on the basic level." Kat questioned the group.
Angel answered, leaning forward as he began to speak, "Well…I guess you could say I fed off the wrong girl." A sardonic smile touched his lips as he continued, his voice smoothing out from its earlier hoarseness. "My sire gave me a present in the form of a beautiful young woman…turned out she was favored among her clan of gypsies, the Romany." Sighing heavily, the vampire resumed his explanation, "In retaliation, they decided to do the worst possible thing they could think of to a vampire; they gave me a conscience. Basically, I can still do everything I did before, but I suffer for it." His eyes betrayed the truth of his words, a haunted look echoing in the depths of those chocolatey orbs.
Kat stared at the vampire in shock, mouth partly slightly. 'A conscience…yea, I can see where that would suck; facing your bad moments and wishing you could…ok, don't go there Kat,' she shuddered slightly, nodding her understanding to Angel. "Ok, I think I get the soul thing." Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to continue. "But if that is the case, then why did Giles come in here ready to kill? And why were you in Hell for that matter?"
When Angel went to reply, anguish written clearly in his features, Giles waved him back. "No Angel, I'll tell her." Relieved, but knowing the next few minutes weren't going to be pleasant, the vampire sat back and took Willows hand when she offered it.
The watcher sighed deeply and began to polish his glasses. "I'll answer the second question first Kat. Last spring something happened, which none of us are prepared to speak of right now, and Angel lost his soul. Angelus, as he was known before the curse, returned and bent his attentions to destroying us."
Giles paused for breath and continued, his voice shaking. "He tortured us with mind games, and killed one of our group, my girlfriend Jenny. When his efforts failed to break us he decided to destroy the world. The statue of Acathla had been unearthed and he stole it. Buffy went to stop him from opening the portal as Willow tried to re curse him. Apparently the curse worked, but not in time. Angel was sucked into hell."
Giles stopped speaking, though he wasn't finished. "After you warned me that Willow was doing something dangerous, I spent the entire night researching. When I figured out what she was trying to do I panicked, I was afraid she had brought Angelus back. You see, there was no way to know for certain that the curse had worked. I wanted to send him back to hell before he could hurt us any more."
A look of apology flickered across the librarian's face as he turned to Angel, noting the vampire's pain, which rivaled his own. "I do apologize Angel; I can see that Willow was right, you do have your soul back. Please forgive my rather…rash conclusions?" The vampire nodded slightly, knowing there was still much the two men had to talk about…another time.
Brow furrowing, Kat watched the two of them, nibbling her lip in deep thought. "So, you believe that this really is the old Angel…but, how do you know he won't become Angelus again?" A flinch from Angel, small but noticeable, made the young woman wish she could take back the question.
A look was exchanged between Giles, Willow, and Angel. Giles responded, saying, "I believe that is one of the things we don't wish to discuss at the moment. Let's just say that circumstances now don't allow for that to happen again." Both Angel and Willow nodded. Now that they had explained who and what Angel was, Giles prepared to change the subject. He still wanted answers from Kat, and now had even more questions for her, and since this appeared to be what the children called 'share time' the watcher was determined that Kat would do some sharing of her own.
Acting on his thoughts Giles turned to Kat and asked the question that was foremost on his mind. "Alright Katura, we've all explained ourselves to you, I think it's about time you returned the favor. Just who are you?"
Kat grimaced, knowing full well the librarian's determination by the way he didn't use her nickname; instead calling her Katura. Sighing, she reached up with one hand, capturing a strand of hair in her fingers and playing with it idly as she stared at some spot past Willow and Angel. After a moment she began, her voice low as she spoke, "My full name is Katura Akensakhmet." Seeing the look in Giles' eyes, she continued, "My last name roughly translates out to 'Servant of Sakhmet;' it is a family name…passed down from mother to daughter. It symbolizes our tie to the Egyptian goddess, as well as the curse that we have had to bear over the years."
Taking a deep breath, the brunette rushed on before her courage could leave her. "Many centuries ago, a young thief entered one of the temples of Sakhmet, the Egyptian goddess of divine justice. She made the mistake of trying to take one of the statues from the shrine…a mistake for which she paid dearly, for Sakhmet is not what you would call a forgiving goddess." Smiling darkly, the young woman continued. "Every night the full moon shines upon the land, the woman was cursed to become a panther, something twin to the werewolf curse if I'm not mistaken…except no one may become cursed like my family by a bite or scratch."
When the young woman stopped speaking Giles nodded his head, saying, "That does explain a few things, not the least of which was why I saw you change form last night. I have the remains of your clothing in my office if you'd like them back." The older man paused before continuing with his questions. "Now, my next question is; Why are you in Sunnydale?"
A faint blush appearing on the young woman's cheeks as she remembered the remains of her clothing she had left behind, she almost didn't hear Giles' question. Frowning, she lowered her gaze to her lap, curling her feet under her body as she tried to figure out how to answer his question. "I'm not sure why exactly…my dreams led me here, so to speak. Ever since my…for a long time now I've been traveling around, but for the past several weeks I've felt drawn here, like there is something coming, and I'm a part of it all."
"Dreams you said? Do you often have prophetic dreams? Though the pull you felt may have simply been that of the hellmouth." Giles paused and Willow took the opportunity to ask a few questions of her own.
"I'm sorry to interrupt you Giles but I'd like to ask Kat some questions too." The redhead directed her gaze to Kat. "How did you know what I was doing last night? Giles mentioned that you warned him I was up to something. Is it a connection to the goddess, 'cause, you know, Sakhmet is the goddess I invoked for help last night…and now I'm starting to babble so I'll shut up now." Willow cut herself off before she could start a full blown babble, giving the brunette a chance to answer her.
Kat clenched her jaw, the memory of the searing pain her tattoo had dealt her still fresh in her mind. "Yes, you could say it was because of my connection to Sakhmet," she replied darkly, narrowing her eyes as the redhead's words played in her mind. "Wait a minute…how exactly did you find an incantation for Sakhmet in the first place?" Before the redhead could answer the brunette stood up abruptly, eyes flashing emerald fire. "Of course!" Anger coursing in her veins, the brunette shook a finger in Willow's direction, causing Angel to move protectively in front of her. "You saw my tattoo didn't you? That's where you got the idea to use Sakhmet for the incantation…and that's why it burned when you were rescuing him from Hell!"
Angel growled low in his throat, taking a defensive stance in front of the shocked redhead. He didn't like the way this stranger behaved, she could be docile and friendly one minute and then suddenly go on the attack as she was now. Kat growled back at the vampire, feeling justified in her accusations.
Once again the small redhead calmed Angel, grasping his hand she quietly told him, "Sit down Angel, she isn't going to attack me." After a moment Angel backed down, but growled once more in warning before resuming his seat next to the witch. Willow continued, answering the emerald-eyed woman.
"Yes I saw your tattoo, but that isn't the reason I looked to Sakhmet for help. I'd been looking for a way to rescue him almost from the day he…left. It's purely coincidence that I found the website with the right spell after I saw you. We hadn't even met when I found the spell; we'd just seen each other in the bronze. And I don't appreciate having you jump at me like that without reason." After putting the brunette in her place Willow sat back, leaning slightly against Angel.
Before Kat could speak up again Giles decided it was time to regain control of the conversation. "Kat, please sit down, I realize that Willow's spell last night caused you some discomfort…I did see the tattoo on your back glowing as you ran off. I assure you Willow would never have intentionally hurt you."
Still obviously upset, the brunette cast the redhead a dark look before sitting back down. "There are no coincidences…I don't believe in them," she retorted, scowling. 'And with good reason,' she added silently.
Watching Kat fume silently on the couch, Angel frowned, his arm still protectively around the petite witch sitting beside him. An uneasy silence loomed over the group, which he broke as he spoke, directing his question to the hellcat, "Well, we know who you are, and what you are doing in Sunnydale…care to explain why you felt the need the attack me the moment you woke up?" His eyebrow rose questioningly as he looked at her, waiting for a response.
Crossing her arms over her chest, Kat glowered at the vampire for a few moments before replying defensively, "Instinct…you were looming over me, and I sensed you were a predator. Also, I smelled blood and, judging from the state she was in," indicating Willow with her chin, "I assumed you had attacked her." It wasn't entirely the truth, but it was enough to suit her purposes for now. She wasn't about to tell them about her mother, not now anyway.
Angel knew she was holding something back, but he nodded, accepting her answer for the moment. The uneasy silence was resumed until Giles decided it was time to end the discussion. "Does anyone have any more questions that can not wait until another time?" The young women and the vampire all answered in the negative. "Well then, I suggest we adjourn until later, when we've all had some time to sleep and think. We'll get together tomorrow in the library if everyone is available."
Upon hearing the librarians suggestion of sleep a yawn made it's way contagiously around the room. When he'd finished speaking they simultaneously agreed and Giles and Kat got up to leave. Willow decided to stay at the mansion with Angel for the moment, feeling that the vampire might need her comfort once he had time to think more clearly about everything that had transpired.
The redhead walked the others to the door, saying her goodbye's to them both. Before she could shut the door after them Giles stuck his head back in the door. "Willow, I suggest you go and see Xander before we meet tomorrow and warn him about Angel. I don't think I need to remind you of the boys' feelings toward Angel. He isn't going to take this well I imagine. Be prepared for his anger." With that last thought the librarian left the redhead and Angel. When he got to his car, hap hazardously parked in front of the mansion he saw that Kat was already halfway down the driveway. He got in his car and caught up with the girl. "Would you like a ride home Kat? I don't think your feet would appreciate walking home barefoot."
Kat looked down at her bare feet and the dragging hems of the leather pant legs, then back at the librarian. "I don't know that I'd get to the hotel any faster in this thing but thanks, I'll take you up on that offer." She walked around to the passenger side of the car and climbed in. She gave Giles directions to her hotel, then closed her eyes to rest.
Stopping at a set of red lights Giles glanced over at his passenger. ' Poor dear, she has so much to deal with, though she handles her destiny with more grace than Buffy ever did.' The lights changed and Giles drove on.
Willow led Angel to the sofa opposite the one Giles occupied and sat down with him. She went to release his hand but the vampire increased his grip and she relented, wrapping her fingers around his hand once more. "Giles? I'm so sorry I didn't tell you what I was planning, I knew you wouldn't let me try if I told you, but, don't you see, I had to bring him back. As awful as Angelus was, Angel didn't deserve to suffer for the demons crimes. I hope you understand. Please, try to understand."
The librarian sighed, removing his glasses and pinching the bridge of his nose. "My dear girl, I am trying, I really am. But don't you see how dangerous this was? There was no way to know for sure that your second attempt to re soul Angel worked. You could very well have brought Angelus back, or Gods forbid, ended up in hell with him. As it is, the magicks you invoked could have dire consequences in the future. If you'd only explained about your dreams, we could have worked to find a way to relieve you of them, instead, you risked great peril to bring back a demon the rest of us were quite happy to see the end of." Giles cut himself off. The older man could've kept ranting until the end of days. He was frightened, both of the demon sitting across from him, and the sweet young girl who was intent on protecting him as though he were a child.
Clearing his throat to try, Angel leaned forward, rubbing Willow's hand lightly in reassurance as he addressed Giles. "Rup..," Angel began using the librarian's given name then, seeing Giles stiffen, started over, "Giles…I know that, after what I did to the group, and to you as well, that nothing I say can take back what happened. I betrayed everyone; I exploited your weaknesses, and I threatened to kill all of you. I regret every moment of it, especially when I..when I killed Jenny." Angel's voice wavered as he mentioned the gypsy he had left in Giles' apartment for him to find in bed, dead by the vampire's hands. A bloody tear fell down his cheek as he continued, staring off into space as he unburdened himself to the librarian. I relived it all; every single, horrific moment over and over, until I thought I would go insane. I tried to stop myself, but each time…each time I…"
Letting go of Willow's hand, Angel brought his hands up to his face, openly crying now as all the torment, all the guilt, assaulted him anew. "I'm sorry…I'm so sorry," he sobbed, his body wracked with shudders as he continued his litany of sorries. So much…I did so many horrible things. Gods, Willow, sweet girl, you're wrong, I did deserve what I got in hell, that and so…so much more." Overwhelmed, Angel couldn't continue and again when Willow touched his shoulder the vampire turned, burying his face in the girl's lap, sobs wracking his large body.
None of the three people realized the scene was being watched by a pair of brilliant green eyes.
Willow sat, cooing to the grief stricken vampire and stroking his back. She looked over at Giles and was relieved to see that her mentor no longer believed that Angel was soulless. She smiled sadly at the british teacher, silently thanking him for his understanding. Slowly Angel's sobs lessened; under her gentle caresses Angel seemed to recover a bit of his composure.
As they waited for Angel to completely recover, and for Kat to return, a stray thought occurred to Willow. "Giles," she asked, her voice quiet, "How did you and Kat know what I was doing? How did you manage to find me?"
The librarian blinked, momentarily taken aback by the change in subjects. "Oh dear lord, that's another story altogether. I spent the entire night researching after Kat warned me and left rather err, abruptly. I eventually found the spell you were casting on that infernal bloody machine you love so much. But I think we should wait for Kat before we discuss last night's events more thoroughly."
Moving back into the hallway, Kat leaned her head against the wall, closing her eyes as she contemplated what she had witnessed. As long as she had known vampires, she had never known them to show the depth of emotions that dark-haired one had exhibited. In fact, she couldn't recall ever having seen one of them so much as shed a tear, even for a fallen companion. Angel's misery touched a chord inside of her, much as she hated to admit it; she knew what it was like to have suffered such gut-wrenching heartache.
'Willow may be right; he certainly doesn't act like any vampire I have known…' she mused silently. The cynical part of her mind questioned her judgment however. 'But…if he's such a good person when he has a soul, why was he sent to Hell?' Confused, the brunette decided to find out as soon as possible. From what she had heard, they would want to know about her as soon as she returned. Hesitating, the dark-haired young woman debated going in, or leaving and facing them some other day. Steeling herself mentally, she moved towards the doorway, this time making enough noise that at least the vampire should be able to hear her coming.
Hearing footsteps nearby, Angel raised his head, wiping the tears from his face as he moved from his rather comfortable position to sit beside Willow on the couch. The trio watched as Kat emerged, striding across the room in a rather unexpected outfit: Instead of one of Dru's ancient gowns, Kat had picked out something that undoubtedly belonged to Spike. A silk shirt of a vibrant red color, the tail ends tied together so that her midriff was exposed, topped a pair of sleek leather pants. A little loose on the slender woman, they rode low on her hips as she approached the couches.
His defenses weakened from his outburst, Angel was slightly jarred by the young woman's attire. 'Spike never looked that good in those pants did he?' Angel thought, not realizing he had murmured those words until he heard a muttered response from the redhead sitting next to him. 'He sure did.' Shooting a dark, confused glance down at Willow, the dark-haired vampire frowned, not sure he heard her correctly.
Meanwhile Kat moved to sit on the couch Giles occupied, sitting as close to the edge as possible. As the three stared at her silently, she crossed her arms over her chest, slouching back in the couch and glaring defensively. "What?"
The other three fidgeted slightly, uncomfortable about the conversation they were about to have. No one wanted to start talking first. Finally Willow, resolve face making a brief appearance, began. "Ok, first I don't think you two were properly introduced, what with the fighting and all." Willow glanced between Kat and Angel before she continued. "Angel, this is Kat. We don't know much about her as of yet but I'm hoping to rectify that today. Kat, this is Angel. He's a dear friend of mine, and yes, he's a vampire, but like I said before, he has a soul. Before we start I'll catch you up a little so you understand better."
Willow gave Kat some details about the scooby gangs' history with Angel. She told the skeptical brunette about how she and Xander found out about vampires and about how Angel had slowly made his way into their group by first giving Buffy vague clues as to what was happening with the Harvest, patrolling with the slayer and aiding the scoobies with research. When Willow was finished Kat looked over to Giles, silently asking for confirmation of the redheads statements. Giles nodded his head and answered, "Everything Willow told you is true. Angel has been with the group since we formed and has aided us time and again." It hurt the watcher to admit it, as he was still dealing with his memories of Angelus.
"Ok so he's helped you guys out, but what about this soul thing? I mean yeah, helping humans is strange but that doesn't mean he's any different on the basic level." Kat questioned the group.
Angel answered, leaning forward as he began to speak, "Well…I guess you could say I fed off the wrong girl." A sardonic smile touched his lips as he continued, his voice smoothing out from its earlier hoarseness. "My sire gave me a present in the form of a beautiful young woman…turned out she was favored among her clan of gypsies, the Romany." Sighing heavily, the vampire resumed his explanation, "In retaliation, they decided to do the worst possible thing they could think of to a vampire; they gave me a conscience. Basically, I can still do everything I did before, but I suffer for it." His eyes betrayed the truth of his words, a haunted look echoing in the depths of those chocolatey orbs.
Kat stared at the vampire in shock, mouth partly slightly. 'A conscience…yea, I can see where that would suck; facing your bad moments and wishing you could…ok, don't go there Kat,' she shuddered slightly, nodding her understanding to Angel. "Ok, I think I get the soul thing." Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to continue. "But if that is the case, then why did Giles come in here ready to kill? And why were you in Hell for that matter?"
When Angel went to reply, anguish written clearly in his features, Giles waved him back. "No Angel, I'll tell her." Relieved, but knowing the next few minutes weren't going to be pleasant, the vampire sat back and took Willows hand when she offered it.
The watcher sighed deeply and began to polish his glasses. "I'll answer the second question first Kat. Last spring something happened, which none of us are prepared to speak of right now, and Angel lost his soul. Angelus, as he was known before the curse, returned and bent his attentions to destroying us."
Giles paused for breath and continued, his voice shaking. "He tortured us with mind games, and killed one of our group, my girlfriend Jenny. When his efforts failed to break us he decided to destroy the world. The statue of Acathla had been unearthed and he stole it. Buffy went to stop him from opening the portal as Willow tried to re curse him. Apparently the curse worked, but not in time. Angel was sucked into hell."
Giles stopped speaking, though he wasn't finished. "After you warned me that Willow was doing something dangerous, I spent the entire night researching. When I figured out what she was trying to do I panicked, I was afraid she had brought Angelus back. You see, there was no way to know for certain that the curse had worked. I wanted to send him back to hell before he could hurt us any more."
A look of apology flickered across the librarian's face as he turned to Angel, noting the vampire's pain, which rivaled his own. "I do apologize Angel; I can see that Willow was right, you do have your soul back. Please forgive my rather…rash conclusions?" The vampire nodded slightly, knowing there was still much the two men had to talk about…another time.
Brow furrowing, Kat watched the two of them, nibbling her lip in deep thought. "So, you believe that this really is the old Angel…but, how do you know he won't become Angelus again?" A flinch from Angel, small but noticeable, made the young woman wish she could take back the question.
A look was exchanged between Giles, Willow, and Angel. Giles responded, saying, "I believe that is one of the things we don't wish to discuss at the moment. Let's just say that circumstances now don't allow for that to happen again." Both Angel and Willow nodded. Now that they had explained who and what Angel was, Giles prepared to change the subject. He still wanted answers from Kat, and now had even more questions for her, and since this appeared to be what the children called 'share time' the watcher was determined that Kat would do some sharing of her own.
Acting on his thoughts Giles turned to Kat and asked the question that was foremost on his mind. "Alright Katura, we've all explained ourselves to you, I think it's about time you returned the favor. Just who are you?"
Kat grimaced, knowing full well the librarian's determination by the way he didn't use her nickname; instead calling her Katura. Sighing, she reached up with one hand, capturing a strand of hair in her fingers and playing with it idly as she stared at some spot past Willow and Angel. After a moment she began, her voice low as she spoke, "My full name is Katura Akensakhmet." Seeing the look in Giles' eyes, she continued, "My last name roughly translates out to 'Servant of Sakhmet;' it is a family name…passed down from mother to daughter. It symbolizes our tie to the Egyptian goddess, as well as the curse that we have had to bear over the years."
Taking a deep breath, the brunette rushed on before her courage could leave her. "Many centuries ago, a young thief entered one of the temples of Sakhmet, the Egyptian goddess of divine justice. She made the mistake of trying to take one of the statues from the shrine…a mistake for which she paid dearly, for Sakhmet is not what you would call a forgiving goddess." Smiling darkly, the young woman continued. "Every night the full moon shines upon the land, the woman was cursed to become a panther, something twin to the werewolf curse if I'm not mistaken…except no one may become cursed like my family by a bite or scratch."
When the young woman stopped speaking Giles nodded his head, saying, "That does explain a few things, not the least of which was why I saw you change form last night. I have the remains of your clothing in my office if you'd like them back." The older man paused before continuing with his questions. "Now, my next question is; Why are you in Sunnydale?"
A faint blush appearing on the young woman's cheeks as she remembered the remains of her clothing she had left behind, she almost didn't hear Giles' question. Frowning, she lowered her gaze to her lap, curling her feet under her body as she tried to figure out how to answer his question. "I'm not sure why exactly…my dreams led me here, so to speak. Ever since my…for a long time now I've been traveling around, but for the past several weeks I've felt drawn here, like there is something coming, and I'm a part of it all."
"Dreams you said? Do you often have prophetic dreams? Though the pull you felt may have simply been that of the hellmouth." Giles paused and Willow took the opportunity to ask a few questions of her own.
"I'm sorry to interrupt you Giles but I'd like to ask Kat some questions too." The redhead directed her gaze to Kat. "How did you know what I was doing last night? Giles mentioned that you warned him I was up to something. Is it a connection to the goddess, 'cause, you know, Sakhmet is the goddess I invoked for help last night…and now I'm starting to babble so I'll shut up now." Willow cut herself off before she could start a full blown babble, giving the brunette a chance to answer her.
Kat clenched her jaw, the memory of the searing pain her tattoo had dealt her still fresh in her mind. "Yes, you could say it was because of my connection to Sakhmet," she replied darkly, narrowing her eyes as the redhead's words played in her mind. "Wait a minute…how exactly did you find an incantation for Sakhmet in the first place?" Before the redhead could answer the brunette stood up abruptly, eyes flashing emerald fire. "Of course!" Anger coursing in her veins, the brunette shook a finger in Willow's direction, causing Angel to move protectively in front of her. "You saw my tattoo didn't you? That's where you got the idea to use Sakhmet for the incantation…and that's why it burned when you were rescuing him from Hell!"
Angel growled low in his throat, taking a defensive stance in front of the shocked redhead. He didn't like the way this stranger behaved, she could be docile and friendly one minute and then suddenly go on the attack as she was now. Kat growled back at the vampire, feeling justified in her accusations.
Once again the small redhead calmed Angel, grasping his hand she quietly told him, "Sit down Angel, she isn't going to attack me." After a moment Angel backed down, but growled once more in warning before resuming his seat next to the witch. Willow continued, answering the emerald-eyed woman.
"Yes I saw your tattoo, but that isn't the reason I looked to Sakhmet for help. I'd been looking for a way to rescue him almost from the day he…left. It's purely coincidence that I found the website with the right spell after I saw you. We hadn't even met when I found the spell; we'd just seen each other in the bronze. And I don't appreciate having you jump at me like that without reason." After putting the brunette in her place Willow sat back, leaning slightly against Angel.
Before Kat could speak up again Giles decided it was time to regain control of the conversation. "Kat, please sit down, I realize that Willow's spell last night caused you some discomfort…I did see the tattoo on your back glowing as you ran off. I assure you Willow would never have intentionally hurt you."
Still obviously upset, the brunette cast the redhead a dark look before sitting back down. "There are no coincidences…I don't believe in them," she retorted, scowling. 'And with good reason,' she added silently.
Watching Kat fume silently on the couch, Angel frowned, his arm still protectively around the petite witch sitting beside him. An uneasy silence loomed over the group, which he broke as he spoke, directing his question to the hellcat, "Well, we know who you are, and what you are doing in Sunnydale…care to explain why you felt the need the attack me the moment you woke up?" His eyebrow rose questioningly as he looked at her, waiting for a response.
Crossing her arms over her chest, Kat glowered at the vampire for a few moments before replying defensively, "Instinct…you were looming over me, and I sensed you were a predator. Also, I smelled blood and, judging from the state she was in," indicating Willow with her chin, "I assumed you had attacked her." It wasn't entirely the truth, but it was enough to suit her purposes for now. She wasn't about to tell them about her mother, not now anyway.
Angel knew she was holding something back, but he nodded, accepting her answer for the moment. The uneasy silence was resumed until Giles decided it was time to end the discussion. "Does anyone have any more questions that can not wait until another time?" The young women and the vampire all answered in the negative. "Well then, I suggest we adjourn until later, when we've all had some time to sleep and think. We'll get together tomorrow in the library if everyone is available."
Upon hearing the librarians suggestion of sleep a yawn made it's way contagiously around the room. When he'd finished speaking they simultaneously agreed and Giles and Kat got up to leave. Willow decided to stay at the mansion with Angel for the moment, feeling that the vampire might need her comfort once he had time to think more clearly about everything that had transpired.
The redhead walked the others to the door, saying her goodbye's to them both. Before she could shut the door after them Giles stuck his head back in the door. "Willow, I suggest you go and see Xander before we meet tomorrow and warn him about Angel. I don't think I need to remind you of the boys' feelings toward Angel. He isn't going to take this well I imagine. Be prepared for his anger." With that last thought the librarian left the redhead and Angel. When he got to his car, hap hazardously parked in front of the mansion he saw that Kat was already halfway down the driveway. He got in his car and caught up with the girl. "Would you like a ride home Kat? I don't think your feet would appreciate walking home barefoot."
Kat looked down at her bare feet and the dragging hems of the leather pant legs, then back at the librarian. "I don't know that I'd get to the hotel any faster in this thing but thanks, I'll take you up on that offer." She walked around to the passenger side of the car and climbed in. She gave Giles directions to her hotel, then closed her eyes to rest.
Stopping at a set of red lights Giles glanced over at his passenger. ' Poor dear, she has so much to deal with, though she handles her destiny with more grace than Buffy ever did.' The lights changed and Giles drove on.