Chapter 2: The Sleepover

Dawn hurried home after school that next Friday, eager to get home and ask her dear, loving sister if Jaeger could spend the night. She knew Spike was babysitting her so Buffy could go with Giles to do a bit of 'hands-on' research about those wereFenris, so tonight would be a perfect night for Spike to get to know the little German. Dawn stepped into the house to see Spike sitting on the counter, duster draped over a chair, and Buffy rummaging through her weapons trunk for some silver edged swords and axes.

"There's been a couple of attacks recently, so Giles figured we'd leave early." Buffy informed her little sister as she closed the trunk and headed out the door. Spike sighed as soon as the door shut.

"Hey, Spike?" Dawn started, a bit awkwardly.

"Yeah, niblet?"

"I was wondering if my friend could come spend the night..."

Jaeger calmly stepped over the threshold as Spike held the door open for her. Dawn quickly grabbed her friend and sat her on the couch. Spike merely watched the two, feeling a strange energy flitting about the room.

"We've got lots of movies...and some of my personal favorites," Dawn pulled out the box set of 'The Cheesiest Horror Movies Ever' as she and Spike had dubbed it. Jaeger agreed on those as Spike settled himself on the far edge of the couch, the strange sense growing stronger. He glanced nonchalantly at the little blue-haired girl and could swear he almost spotted a knowing glance from her, but she reverted back to the little German human so fast, he wasn't ever sure if he had seen it.

Some hours later, Dawn had her nail polish out and was doing Spike's nails just for the heck of it. Jaeger was watching with a little smile at her Kumpel and the vampire. She started humming a little tune as she stepped into the kitchen to get a soda. As soon as she was gone, Spike took the opportunity to ask Dawn some important questions.

"Niblet, your lit'l friend there...she's very amiable, that's for sure...but, do you sense anything...I don' know, wrong?" He had a puzzled look on his face, as if he didn't know quite what he was asking. Dawn shook her head, not snapping at him like she did to her sister, because on reflection, the little shy thing that had walked into her Math class had transformed rather swiftly into a bouncing ball of energy...but only with her. Jaeger soon returned, still humming the little tune. "Kumpel," she started, interrupting her tune, "I have a bit of a confession."

"Yeah? Can't be as bad as my crush on Xander..."

Jaeger giggled at that. "Nein, really. Ven I said I vas veird...I-I'madaemonpleasedon'thateme." She whispered, hoping they wouldn't turn on her. Dawn paused, trying to decipher the rapidly said words in a German accent. Spike calmly addressed the situation.

"So what? I'm a vampire."

"So...'dis is not a problem?" Jaeger asked, fear of rejection shining in her green eyes. Spike shrugged.

"So long as you don't go around hurting anyone, I can't see why it would be a problem."

"I'm friends with a German demon? Cool! What kind of demon are you?" Dawn seemed a bit more enthusiastic about the turn of events. Jaeger allowed her a little smile.

"A Shashu'ke."

After a few more hours sitting up talking and listening to some of Spike's stories, the two friends scampered up the stairs to be in bed by the time Buffy came home. As Jaeger changed clothes, Dawn spotted a large, black tattoo swirling up the German's spine.

"What is that?" The Slayer's sister asked. Jaeger paused for a moment, trying to think of the best way to explain something a 15 year old wouldn't have knowledge about.

"It's a...daemon seal, of sorts. Helps me hide my daemonic aurora. I knew the Slayer vas here...but I didn't count on becoming her little sister's Kumpel." Jaeger smiled.

"Why did you come to Sunnydale?"

"I needed to...I...I know more about 'dose vereFenris than I care to admit." She shrugged. Dawn put that aside for now as she climbed into bed. Jaeger laid out the blanket and pillow she borrowed on the floor and curled up in it. The two were fast asleep by the time Buffy returned to relieve Spike of his duty. The vampire quietly pulled the Slayer aside and spoke in a hushed voice as he relayed what he had heard.

"That girl...she's a demon, all right."

"I knew there was something wrong with her!" Buffy looked smug, but Spike gave her one of those 'big-whoopty-doo' looks.

"Now look, she's a Shashu'ke, luv. Don't go pissing her off." The vampire warned sternly. Buffy scowled at him.

"Why don't we just kill it and be done with it?"

"Argh...no, Buffy. If you want my opinion, keeping Jaeger around might actually be a good idea. Shashu'kes grow very close to certain humans. I heard her refer to niblet as a 'Kumpel'. That's a good thing, especially for Dawn."

"What does 'Kumpel' mean?" Buffy butchered the word.

"Means friend in German, slayer. A close friend. Look, if you're just going to question my judgment when you were the one who came to me about all of this, why don't you go read one of Giles' books? I'm sure a 50 year old book is more reliable than a 175 year old vampire who saw some of these things first hand." Spike growled and stomped out of the house, intent on not allowing Buffy the time to utter a quick apology. The Slayer sighed, realizing her mistake and wishing she could fix it. She trudged up to her room, glancing into her sister's room out of habit. The little German girl looked so innocent curled up there on the floor, but Buffy shook her head. Demon, she reminded herself.

That next morning, Dawn and Jaeger scampered off to go shopping at the local stores, leaving Buffy plenty of time to go to Giles. She knocked politely on his door and finally opened it to find Giles half asleep in his kitchen. He started when he saw Buffy, but she calmed him by requesting to look at some of his books.

"What demon are you looking for?"

"Shashu'ke...or whatever the heck Spike called it." Buffy gestured with a hint of disgust at the name, but she stopped at the look on her Watcher's face.

"A Shashu'ke? Are you sure? They were said to have died out years ago." He cleaned his glasses nervously as he moved toward his bookcase to find the book of choice. He finally pulled one out and flipped through it for a bit until he found the right page. Buffy took it and sat on the couch, reading the information.

"Shashu'ke, also known as the Shantua. Shashu'kes once inhabited the desolate regions of Germany, Russia, and Alaska. Known to be very societal, they often lived in group villages with other Shashu'ke or even humans. Looked to as Shamans in the earlier civilizations, they were practiced in many forms of healing and protective magics. A sub-form of magic known as Agrak-tu'kun, or Agrtu'k for abbreviations was gifted to them through the Goddess Tezcali. As a side-effect of the magic they used, Shashu'kes often grew close to a particular human, usually of the same gender, and thus formed a type of protective bond with the human. These humans were referred to as 'Kumpels' or 'Shashu Angels' and were revered for their ability to call upon the Shashu'ke at will. The average lifespan for the Shashu'ke in human years was 1200. But, as their kind began to grow less apt to gain the powers of Tezcali because of the humans abusing their powers over them, and thus became less amiable, they were hunted and ultimately killed. A Shashu'ke survivor has yet to be found in nearly 350 years.

"Shashu'kes were known to be extremely human-like, and if they so wished could pass as human except for their distinct hair colors. No Shashu'ke was ever known to have a human hair color. The more common colors were blue, green, purple, midnight black, gold, and blood red. A Shashu'ke also never cut their hair. To cut their hair would forfeit the gift of Agrtu'k from Tezcali. Humans could decipher amiable Shashu'kes from the more aggressive ones simply by the length of their hair. They often preferred dark colored clothing to hide their birthing scars and markings. A Shashu'ke always died in childbirth, and their spirit would enter the new babe, thus granting the newborn with the gift of Agrtu'k. When the newer generations began cutting their hair, the newborns would usually never go through the process of gaining the gift of Tezcali, and slowly the Shashu'ke lost their long life spans.

"The only Shashu'ke line to never waver from the traditions of Tezcali and their species was last reported in Germany before reports confirmed that humans had killed off the entire species."

Buffy finished reading and bit her lip in thought. Spike had been right, and now she felt like kicking herself for doubting the vampire. She suddenly realized that he had given something away. The book had mentioned the last spotted 350 years ago, yet Spike was only 175...

Review and love on me! Again, any German word trouble, e-mail me.

by the way, it took me forever to write that book entry. i was trying to make it sound all, Giles booky.