Spike followed Wren in silence, completely at a loss for anything to say. Instead he focussed his attention on what he was going to ask her when he finally had the chance.
Wren walked beside Spike with a look of complete relaxation on her race, oblivious to the mental wrestling her companion was doing in tying to fathom out what the hell was going on. After walking for around half an hour, and reaching a more respactable part of town, Wren caught Spike's attention, and signalled him to follow her into a small, dark fronted cafe.
Although he did not know the place, Spike could tell immediately that the clientele of the cafe was not exactly mothers and orphans. Instead there were a few scruplous characters, all apparently at ease. Some were clearly demons, while others seemed to be darker and somehow different. Not exactly demon but certainly not of the mortal world. Some, on the other hand, were perfectly normal humans, and Spike wondered whether they were aware that they were sharing the place with demons, of if the were somehow magically blinded to the fact that some of the patrons were big green things with horns.
Wren broke his speculations by gesturing him to follow her into a booth at the back of the cafe. Sitting down, she immediately picked up a menu and glanced over it.
"So, what do you fancy?" she inquired, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, "I've heard they do a pretty damn decent blooming onion." She glaced at SPike over the top of her menu and smiled, before turning her attention back to the page in front of her. "Personally I've never seen the appeal, but I suppose it takes all sorts."
A few minutes past, and Spike continued to say nothing. Instead he cast a speculative glance around the cafe, getting a better view than the brief one he had had as they had walked in. The corner they were sat in was dark, although not threatening, and a low ambient light seemed to fill the entire space around them. Other tables were set out in front of them, and a couple were taken up with small groups or couples who seemed to be enguaged in nothing more suspicious than ordering their food.
As Wren put doen her menu, the waitress came over. Spike glanced up and was not entirely suprised, as he was so far beyond being able to be shocked by anything any more after the nights events, to find that the woman before him looked like a stereotypical diner waitress. Quite old with permed grey hair and wearing a greeny-blue dress and apron. 'Looks like something out of bleedin' Happy Days,' Spike thought, then realised that someone was speaking to him.
"Spike! Hello, earth to bleach-boy!" said Wren, "I'm sorry about this," she said to the waitress, "he's had kind of a long night."
"Not to worry dear, I'll just fetch you kids some coffee," said the waitress in a kind, although tired, voice.
When she had returned and poured two mugs of coffee, Wren finally returned her attention to Spike, this time witha serious exression on her face.
"OK then, shoot," she said in a direct, no-nonsense tone.
"Wh-" Spike cleared his throat, having not spoken for some time, "What do you mean love?"
"Spike, I can practically See the gears turning in your head. You've got questions and I've got answers, so shoot." At his blank expression she pressed again. "Don't tell me this whole time you haven't been talking that nothinghas been going on inside that head of yours. From what I've heard you only shut up when forcibly made to...which means that either some creepy demon has come along and stolen your voice, or some serious thinking has been going on. So talk. I really didn't expect that would be a hard thing to get you to do."
Putting his questions about how exactly Wren knew so much about him, Spike asked the only prudent question he could think of."
"What are you?"
"Ah," said Wren, "the difficult ones first."
-+-
Casually sipping her coffee, Wren paused to think for a moment, before meeting Spike's eyes and talking.
"So do you want the long version or the short version first? 'Cos I've got to warn you, I may have to tell the full version in three parts," she said, a sarcastic smile on her face.
"I just want to know..." Spike paused momentarily, before continuing, "I just want to know who you are, and whose side you're on."
"I could ask the same of you Mr 'The Bloody'," Wren said, voice completely level and sincere."
"Yeah, but I asked first, love," Spike replied, with a small smile.
Wren sighed in an overly dramatic way before saying, "I know this is going to sound very much more than weak, but you can trust me Spike. Whose side I'm on...well, that's not really a question I can answer right now."
"Why not?" Spike interupted, his tone suddenly serious.
"Because I don't know which side your side is yet," Wren replied, equally seriously.
Silence fell between the two for a few seconds, each holding eye contact, before Wren looked away and continued, "But, I guess it wouldn't hurt for me to tell you my life story, as I'm most likely going to kill you later anyway," said the girl with a smile and a wink.
"So, where do you want me to start?"
"Hows about the beginning, and we move on from there," Spike said, before settling back and indicating Wren to start her story.
"Right then. The beginning it is."