A/N: The welsh words in this section are real welsh words that mean what Giles says they mean. I don't know if I put them in the phrase correctly, but hey...I'm not welsh. So sue me.
Willow and Tara hurried into the Magic Box to find everyone else
already gathered there. Buffy had just arrived after picking Dawn up from
school.
"Sorry we're late," Willow said as she and Tara
sat at the table with the others. "We, uh..."
"...overslept," Tara offered.
Giles looked at his and scowled in confusion. "Until
three in the afternoon?"
"We were really tired," Willow said nervously. She
grabbed a book and tried to look innocent.
"They were having sex," Anya blurted out. It was
Tara's turn to grab a book to hide her embarrassment. Anya noticed the looks on
everyone's faces and turned to Xander. "That's the excuse you give when
we're late because of sex."
Dawn's eyes widened and Buffy choked on the water she had
just drank from her water bottle. Xander laughed in embarrassment and then
looked across the table. He had to change the subject.
"So, Tara. Do you feel any different today? Any
demon-y...stuff happening? Let's talk about demon-y stuff."
Tara was more than willing to talk about 'demon-y stuff' if
it changed the subject. "No, I feel the same, pretty much," she
replied. "But I did find my birth certificate. I was born at 3:32 in the
afternoon."
Giles, who was standing behind her, looked at his watch.
"Well, that's five minutes from now."
"Yeah...sorry," she apologized for her tardiness.
"Do we know anything else?"
"Nothing terribly illuminating, I'm afraid," Giles
said. "It appears we'll just have to wait five minutes and see what
happens. Not exactly the best plan."
"But a plan, nonetheless," Xander said
sarcastically.
"Aside from the demon stuff, how does the big 2-0
feel?" Buffy asked, setting down the book she had been looking in.
"Not much different than the big 1-9," Tara
replied with a smirk.
"Did you get any presents yet?" Dawn asked.
"Just Willow's," Tara said with a smile. She
reached over and took Willow's hand.
"Sex," Anya muttered. Willow shot her a look.
"A protection spell," she said. "I figured
with all the unknown demon stuff today, it would be a good idea."
"It's definitely better than some of my past
presents," Buffy said. "Not only do arms in boxes not go with
anything, but they're really hard to return."
Everyone continued chatting about birthdays and the thought
of Tara's pending demon-ness left their minds. They didn't realize five minutes
had passed until Giles noticed the clock on the wall.
"Tara, it's been over five minutes," he said. He
removed his glasses and approached her. "Do you feel any different?"
"No," she said, confused.
"Maybe she's not a demon," Dawn said. "Maybe
Spike's chip malfunctioned."
"I would really be more comfortable with Tara being a
demon right now," Buffy said, not liking the thought of Spike being 'big
bad' again.
"Is there anything else you can tell us about your
mother?" Giles asked.
"Not much. Every month she would take me out to the
woods and we would pay homage to the earth and perform rituals," Tara
replied. "But again, I just thought she was a Wicca."
"You just thought she was a Wicca," Giles
muttered. Then a look of realization spread across his face and he grabbed a
book of a nearby shelf. The others just watched curiously as he flipped through
the pages. Finally he looked up. "Cawdr am daear."
"English, Giles," Buffy said. "We don't all
speak 7 languages."
"Tara, what was your mother's maiden name?" he
asked, ignoring Buffy's sarcasm.
"Griffiths," Tara replied, not sure what Giles was
getting at.
"I knew it," he said. "Griffiths originates
from the Welsh name Gruffydd. Cawdr am daear is the Welsh name for a species of
demon. It means 'keeper of earth.'"
He grabbed a pathetic looking potted plant off a table and
handed it to Tara. Everyone was clueless as to what Giles was getting at until
the withered leaves on the plant started to expand and become lush. The plant
grew in Tara's hands and became as healthy as ever. Giles took the plant back
and set it aside.
"Cawdr am daear are a peaceful species of demon. In
fact, they're only classified as demons because they can't be classified as
humans," he explained. "They look human and are often mistaken for
Wiccans because of their power. They can harness and manipulate the earth's
energies."
"So she can make stuff grow?" Xander asked.
"It's more than that," Giles explained. "In
their most basic forms, all creatures and objects come from the earth. She
could manipulate anything from this table to a bird to a person."
"But I'm a good demon?" Tara asked. Giles nodded
his head, and Tara smiled in relief. She looked to Willow who was also smiling,
happy that things had turned out okay. Then she thought of something else.
"Why isn't my brother a demon?"
"This species of demon, like your father said, is only
female. They mate with human males to continue on, but no male offspring will
inherit the demon traits."
Buffy stood and walked over to Giles to read over his
shoulder.
"Hey, it says here that these demons might have demon
strength," she said.
"Um, yes," Giles said. Tara stood to see the book
as well. "There are no documented accounts of the demons' physical
strength because of their passive nature."
"Well, there's one way to find out," Buffy said.
She stepped back and threw a right hook at Tara. But instead of making contact,
Buffy watched in awe as Tara grabbed her wrist and threw her halfway across the
store.
"Woah!" Xander exclaimed.
"You could have just asked her to pick up something
heavy," Giles said dryly, shooting a look of disgust at Buffy.
"Live and learn," Buffy said with a grunt as she
pushed herself up off the floor. Willow stood and she and Tara both moved over
to Buffy.
"God, Buffy, I'm sorry," Tara said. "Are
y-you okay?"
"Yeah," Buffy said with a smile. "It's okay.
You were defending yourself."
"She kicked your ass," Dawn said with a gleeful
smirk. It wasn't often somebody beat Buffy in a fight.
"I-I don't know if I want super strength," Tara
said nervously. "What if I hurt someone on accident?"
"Perhaps some training for you along the lines of
Buffy's training might be in order," Giles suggested.
"He loves training," Buffy said with a smirk. Tara
laughed, but then she realized what training meant.
"You want to teach me to fight?"
"Well, perhaps not necessarily fight," Giles said.
"It would just be best to make sure you know how to control your strength
and your powers."
"Although, with the new big bad bimbo looking for this
key, it would help to have all the super powers we can get on our side,"
Buffy said.
They saw Tara's reluctance and Willow wrapped her arm around
Tara's waist. "It's up to you. We'll understand if you don't want
to."
"I guess I'll think about it," Tara said timidly.
She smiled sheepishly. "This is the weirdest birthday I've ever had."
"Welcome to my world," Buffy said. She returned to
the table and her seat next to Dawn.
"Weird good?" Willow asked quietly with a coy
smile.
Tara returned the smile and sighed contendly. "Weird excellent."
