Disclaimer: Only the creature belongs to me, Angel and all of the characters I use from it do not. But I'm guessing you knew that already. So don't sue me…please?
Feedback: Glad to see some more of you are missing the old days, Phoenix*Moon and Eloise, I certainly preferred it when things were a lot less complicated…not that I'm complaining. Keep your reviews coming, I like to see your opinions and any suggestions you might have for the story. And don't worry all you angst fans out there, it won't stay mega fluffy for long. Does it ever?
Note: Special thanks to FerretGirl for enduring my writing yet again in this second story, and to Tariq for all the nice things you said! Here's the next part, sorry it took so long. Enjoy! :)
CHAPTER 2.
The lobby doors eased open with a sigh, the old hotel welcoming the return of the exhausted warriors in its own reassuring way. The way the space echoed as they entered gave the impression that they were sorely missed, their absence leaving only an empty, joyless void that no other sounds would fill.
The contemporary building had seen many people pass through its doors, and endured the changes that decades of existence had wreaked upon it. But, despite the years, never before had a single group of people brought such familiar warmth and vibrant life to the old place, even when it was the buzzing centre of activity at the peak of the golden era with all the comings and goings associated with a thriving hotel business.
No, these were different. This tediously ordinary structure held a special place in their hearts, and the sense of belonging they felt when they were here made it more akin to something they could call home than any of the other various set ups they had each found themselves in previously. It wasn't just their base of operations, or simply a place to work from. Here, family gathered, and it grounded them.
Everyone breathed that little bit easier, (metaphorically speaking, since Angel didn't need to breathe at all), when they all piled in, shuffling wearily over to the counter to dump their weapons and consider slumping momentarily into one of the soft, inviting guest couches that still furnished the place. Like kids that had finished playing with their toys but were loath to tidy them away afterwards, none of them relished the task of cleaning the essential pieces of itinerary that they often owed their lives to. Maybe it was a little too easy to take such things for granted. But having to systematically wipe away encrusted blood, check for damage and then deposit and rearrange the items carefully in the cabinet took energy that none of them felt they had at the moment.
With that in mind, they each intended to put the job off for a bit, at least until the pull of apartment comforts became to strong to bear. As it was, they were all in unspoken agreement that even moving to a chair took too much effort right now, and they all leant their arms heavily on the counter top, resting their chins in their palms.
Only the occasional tired sigh broke the silence, no one feeling lively enough to make conversation, or even to move. If the penholder in the middle of the group had had any awareness at all, it would probably have felt uncomfortable enough to jump to the floor crying right now, everyone staring holes into it as their minds drifted around in daydreamer's space.
Angel was the first to break his unintentional scrutiny, lifting himself straight again with painfully slow stiffness.
"Coffee?" he asked, seeing the zoned out expressions on the faces of his friends. They looked somewhere between intensely bored and dead on their feet, and Angel figured that caffeine was the only solution, unless he wanted them all to end up sprawled on his lobby floor for the night.
A couple of I'm-not-really-paying-attention 'hmm's escaped in response, and Angel took that as a 'hell yes, we need a fix'.
No one noticed the small shadow creeping around under the chairs on the other side of the room, just as they'd failed to notice the way that the entrance doors had hung open just that second or two longer than they should have done.
As Angel turned to the coffee machine, the same twinkling pair of eyes that had seen them all leave the warehouse watched with interest. A nose twitched with curiosity, the fragrant scent being something new to its owner, and definitely worth investigating.
Angel returned to the counter with his bounty, and Wesley took a couple of the hot mugs from his hands, handing one to Gunn and placing the other in front of Cordelia, who had finally pulled up a stool to perch on. She looked at it with disinterest at first, but gave in to the aroma, grateful that someone else had made it for a change. Taking a sip that almost burnt her tongue, she patted the seat next to her, and Angel joined her at her side, facing Wes and Gunn who still had their backs to the rest of the room.
Hunched over as they were, they blocked Cordelia and Angel's view of the floor, allowing the movements of the intruder to go on undetected. Feeling slightly disappointed at the lack of attention it had received so far, it moved forward from the shelter of the furniture to assert itself more fully, hoping for the chance to get a better look at the food the four strange humans seemed to be enjoying.
Wesley was pleasantly surprised when he tasted his drink, somewhat relieved that he wouldn't have to force himself to down the stuff out of politeness.
"This is good", he commented, smiling at Angel appreciatively.
"Yeah, I chucked out the old and put in some fresh", Angel replied, as if that was an explanation in itself.
Cordelia frowned at him, too tired for her usual dramatics. "What did you do that for? Do you know how expensive that stuff is? It was good for another couple of days!"
She gave each of them a glare in turn when they produced knowing smirks, reminding them that she didn't like to be teased. "Nobody here has a right to complain since I'm the only one who ever bothers to put the thing on in the mornings. If it's that bad, then you know what you can do, don't you? You can…"
A shrill chirp stopped her mid-rant, and everyone froze. Lowering their mugs slowly, they gave each other a cautious look before they moved. Cordelia and Angel leant out to side to see around the two men in front of them, and Wesley and Gunn turned their heads to look over their shoulders.
Sat upright on little hind legs was a tiny knee-high creature, patchy white and ginger fur standing out against the marble floor of the lobby. It seemed they had found the source of the noise.
"What the…"
"Jesus!"
Gunn leapt up from where he was standing and flung himself over the counter away from the…whatever the hell it was.
Cordelia shrieked and jumped up on her stool, shuffling her feet and wavering her hands about under her chin like she'd seen the hairiest house spider in the world.
Angel instinctively grabbed one of the discarded swords on the tabletop and moved around to face it, battle stance ready.
Wesley stared at the thing in disbelief and backed away until his back was pressed against the counter and he could get no further.
"Wesley, what the hell is that thing?" Gunn demanded, all thoughts of bravado gone.
"I don't…um…"
His mind drew a blank, quite certain that he had never before seen anything like this. If this was some strange demon from one of his books, he had certainly never had the pleasure, besides which, to all appearances, the creature looked…well…endearing. Unless it was indeed the devil in disguise, Wes was pretty sure it wasn't demonic in nature.
For a second, no one dared to breathe, and they waited for the vicious attack to begin. The animal pricked its long ears up and rose a bit higher, its deep black eyes sparkling. It wiggled its dainty paw like hands and chirped again, cocking its head as though it was waiting for the answer to some important question. What could only be described as a puzzled frown appeared on its face when everyone just stared in shock, and it quivered its whiskers in encouragement.
It took a step forward and everyone gasped, Angel and Gunn taking another step back. The creature didn't understand their reaction, but decided that they definitely were not intimidating. These humans seemed friendly and harmless enough and, deciding there was nothing to be afraid of, it made up its mind to continue with the encounter.
Giving what it considered to be a friendly squeak so that they wouldn't be frightened, it scampered forward suddenly, moving so fast that even Angel didn't have time to intercept it. Before they knew what was happening, the little creature had wrapped itself around Wesley's calf, muzzling its head into the fabric of his clothing and purring.
Wide eyed with shock, Wesley looked down at the mysterious creature, paralysed and awe-struck.
"Oh my God!" Cordelia cried, jumping down and snatching up a weapon, ready to hack the little beast off if she had to.
She Gunn and Angel rushed round, keeping a safe distance whilst trying to appear supportive.
"It's okay, nobody panic!" Wesley entreated, his slightly high-pitched and shaky voice betraying his anxiety.
"Just…just don't move", Angel instructed.
"The thought never crossed my mind", Wesley replied nervously, his eyes pleading for help.
The animal seemed quite content to stay where it was for the time being, not even seeming to notice the fearful audience it had. Cordelia grimaced down at it with open fear, moving her long sword round in an attempt to poke it.
"We have to get it off", she almost whispered, "maybe we should…"
"No! Don't touch it. It might…do something. You don't know if it's safe…"
Wesley's reluctance for them to interfere didn't have the desired effect, and only strengthened Cordelia's resolve to act.
"Hey…hey, little critter, get off my friend!"
The creature opened its eyes and turned to look at her, releasing its hold slightly at the sound of her raised voice. It gazed up at her face and chirped softly, moving towards her with its furry little arms outstretched.
Cordelia immediately reeled backwards, helped on her way by a tug on her arms, courtesy of Angel and Gunn. Free of its embrace, Wesley scrambled away, and the creature was once again left alone on the floor, staring up in confusion at the group of people that surrounded it.
"Wes, are you alright?" Angel asked, not taking his eyes off of the perpetrator.
"Fine, it didn't do anything."
The creature turned to look at him again at the sound of his voice and followed his movements with its eyes. Backing into the rest of his friends and pushing them along with him, Wesley rounded the counter, heading for the office where they may have a chance of shutting the thing out. The others complied, trying not to make any sudden movements that might aggravate it.
The behaviour of these humans seemed very strange indeed, but the creature decided to play along, intrigued by their version of the introductory greeting. It looked like they wanted it to follow them, so it did, not wanting to appear rude.
Wesley quickened the pace when the creature started after them, eager to get out of its reach before it decided to lunge at him again. Stumbling hastily into the office, everyone helped to get the door closed, peering down at the creature as it waited patiently outside.
"What is going on here?!" Cordelia demanded, turning to look at the others like this was their fault. "Did someone go to the pet store and buy a giant mutant rabbit without telling the rest of us?"
The guys shrugged, too freaked to fall into that argument trap.
"We have to find out what it is", Angel told them, motioning towards the bookshelf. Wesley didn't miss the hint and got straight to it, reaching for the more obscure volumes in his collection.
"It looks like one of those weird little bear things in that Star Wars movie, don't you think?"
Gunn looked at Cordelia in disbelief, unable to imagine her watching anything of that persuasion.
"Hey", she said, countering his look, "I dated Xander."
Wesley gave a frustrated sigh and stood up straight, staring down at an open book on the desk.
"What is it?" Angel asked, moving round to see the pages for himself.
"I don't know, I need to get a better look. There's not much to go on as it is, and I've got a feeling that I'm not going to be able to find the answers in any of the books I have here. There's a couple of possibilities, but I already suspect that they're a bit far fetched, and like I said, I need to get closer to confirm."
"Wait a minute, you're not going back out there, are you? When it's still alive?"
"What are you suggesting, Cordelia, that we kill it without finding out why it's here, or if it's even evil?"
"No…I guess not, I mean, it is kinda cute…but who knows what it can do?"
Everyone moved back to the door and peered through the glass, finding that the creature had made it's way up onto the counter.
"It looks peaceful enough", Wesley observed as they watched its movements. It was studying the abandoned mugs of coffee with amazement, eventually venturing to prod the dark liquid with a finger. Surprised at the warmth, it went on to sniff at it, then tentatively taste it. It screwed up its face at the result, obviously deciding it didn't like what it found.
Dismissing the coffee as useless, it turned its attention to the small vase of fake flowers at the side, pulling one down and trying to eat it. Kept for their aesthetic quality for the benefit of customers and not their nutritional value, the creature was disappointed to find that the fabric petals were not easy to chew. Throwing the stem to the side, it gazed at the decorative glass vase and spotted the water it held inside. Trying to reach its stubby arms inside, it toppled the glass over, scaring itself so that it ran back onto the floor and spilling the contents everywhere.
"Whoa!" Gunn shouted, "don't let it get near the water!"
The others frowned at him, and he elaborated.
"What? Ain't you guys never seen 'Gremlins'?"
Wesley ignored his comment and opened the box of donuts on the desk, left over from the day before.
"A bit late for a snack, don't you think?" Cordelia snipped as he took one out.
"I think it's hungry", he replied, pushing past her and opening the door.
"Um, Wes, do you think that's such a good idea?" Angel asked, moving forward with his sword at the ready.
"I'm sure it's perfectly safe", was his reply, Wesley's curiosity getting the better of him.
He moved slowly over to where the creature was cowering under Cordelia's desk and crouched down in front of it. Big eyes were turned up to him and the creature squeaked, perking its ears up again.
"Hey there little chap. Want some of this?"
Wesley offered the donut, careful not to look too threatening. The creature sniffed cautiously at his hand, then at the treat, looking back at his face as if for permission. Wesley lowered the donut to the floor and moved back a bit, watching the creature as it picked it up and licked it. Liking what it found, it got to work nibbling away, holding it up like a hamster with a peanut. Before long, the whole thing had been devoured, and all that was left was a generous sprinkling of sugar on its fur and a big red smudge across its nose.
Wesley smiled and stood to face his friends as the creature emerged from its hiding place, brushing its padded paws over its face.
"There, see? It chose the donut over my hand at least."
Face washing over with, the little animal looked back up at Wes, pawing at his leg entreatingly.
"Get the rest", he told Cordelia, and she brought the box from the office and set it down on the counter top, inching sideways around their guest. It saw what she was carrying immediately and scrambled its way up shelving to reach it.
Everyone stood and watched with amazement as the small animal munched its way through the entire pack, not a single grain of sugar escaping its attention.
"Are you sure that's healthy for it?" Cordelia asked, doubting that a copious amount of donuts was its staple diet.
"Fascinating…" Wesley replied, clearly in his element. He couldn't resist the urge to touch it.
Occupied as it was, and absorbed with its food, the creature didn't seem to mind as Wesley prodded and poked it, lifting up its ears and examining its hands. It had strange little padded fingers in amongst all its soft fur, but that was all the skin that was exposed. Its coat was so thick that Wesley couldn't see what was underneath. The huge fine whiskers and little stubby tail helped him to narrow down the species to be at least within the rodent family, but other than that, its origin was a mystery. He doubted that anything like this had ever been discovered before, at least outside of the mystical world.
Finishing off the treats and brushing itself down, the creature gave them all a satisfied look before yawning widely. Tiny little needle teeth of glimmering white flashed at the onlookers before being covered once again by the angelic, fluffy face.
The guys looked at each other, but no one said anything.
"Maybe I should get back to those books", Wesley offered after a pause, determined to get to the bottom of this. All thoughts of sleep had been chased from his mind with the arrival of this particular enigma, and his interest had been stirred.
The others were not so eager, however, and Cordelia longed for her bed. After standing around with nothing to do for a few minutes, she finally looked up at Angel with a smile, deciding that nothing apocalyptic was going to happen if she left. Unless the creature was able to grow to ten times it's normal size and secretly harboured a taste for human flesh, she guessed that no one was in any danger.
"You guys have a nice time babysitting", she called as she turned to leave, "I'm going home. I'd tell you to call me if you need anything, but then I'd have to lie, what with the wanting to sleep and the grouchiness when I get woken up and everything. I'll be thinking of you when I climb into my nice soft bed, and I really do hope I won't come into work tomorrow to find that you've all been eaten. See ya."
"Yeah, I'm off too", Gunn joined in, "will you guys be okay with…it?"
"Sure, you two go ahead. I'll help Wes and make sure it doesn't go anywhere. I'll see you tomorrow." Angel waved them off as they departed, and then realised that he had been left with equipment cleaning duty. Sighing, he picked up a cloth and began polishing.
The creature had followed Wesley into the office, and he turned from the bookshelf to find it sitting on his desk watching him. He laid down the open book and sank into the chair, leaning forward on his elbows and studying the face in front of him. The creature tilted its head and stared right back, a look in its eyes that suggested it wanted to read his very soul.
"What are you?" Wesley asked it with a whisper, knowing he wouldn't get an answer.
As he turned back to his book and flicked through the pages, the creature began to build up its own picture of the human that had saved its life. It remained silent throughout its observation, not moving from the spot it had picked as a vantage point. It kept Wesley company through the rest of the night, remaining so still and quiet that he eventually forgot that it was there.
To be continued…