Chapter 4:

"So Giles, find anything new and exciting out?" Buffy said walking into the Magic Box and taking a seat at the Scoobie Table.

"No, not as such. I have found some references to wild animals being tamed and used as weapons around the turn of the century, but not much else," He replied.

"Well that's why we're here to help," Willow replied cheerfully and pulling a huge stack of books out of her bag. "There's nothing like a traditional Saturday spent at the Magic Box doing some research." Both Willow and Tara began delving into the Magic books they brought that referenced animals.

"Well what do you think she is?" Buffy asked. "Should we be checking for any zoo escapees, or are we definitely going with the supernatural here?"

"Considering her sheer size, the fact that she helped you slay vampires, quite successfully I might add, and the fact that she didn't try to eat any of us, I think it's fair to assume we're going with supernatural," Giles replied from behind the counter. "Although what kind of supernatural, I'm not quite sure."

"Is there anything else that you remember about last night that might be able down the search?" Giles questioned.

"Not so much. She definitely showed up when I needed her to last night though, and she did a fair number on those vamps. But other than that, there isn't a whole lot to tell. She's a big cat, she kills vampires well, and she doesn't want to eat any of us...I'm thinking it's fair to assume she's on the good side for now," Buffy finished, finally relenting and picking up a book.

"It would seem so, although I don't think I need to remind you to be careful if you run into her again. We don't know what her motives are yet. We don't even know if her motives are her own," Giles added picking up a book himself.

The Scoobies spent the better part of the morning trying to find any reference to animal taming, manifestations and control, with little success.

"You know Giles, I don't think this is going anywhere. We don't have a whole lot to go on," Willow said startling the silence of the group. "Maybe we could, ah, call it quits for the day?" She asked giving a side-long glance to Tara. "There are some other things I wouldn't mind doing today."

Before even getting a response from Giles, Buffy jumped up. "Yes, you're totally right Wills. This is going nowhere. Maybe we should just wait and see if I run into her again, or if someone gets mauled or something." The last statement receiving a disapproving glance. "And I can patrol tonight and let you guys know if anything comes up."

"Well I guess that's alright. Maybe Willow and Tara should go with you tonight though. Maybe there's some mystical explanation for her presence," he asked giving the three women a questioning glance.

"Cool, yeah, no problem here." Buffy responded.

"I'll meet you guys at the house tonight and we can leave from there," she said picking up her bag and heading for the door.

"Have a good afternoon Buff," Willow called out as Buffy left and began packing up here own things.

"One would think that she had some place urgent to be this afternoon," Giles said looking at Willow.

"No place that I'm aware of...I think Tara and I will be going now...right baby?" She said grabbing Tara's hand and heading toward the door.

"Yes well do be careful tonight," Giles called out, only receiving the clang of the bell as the door closed as a response.

"Well I don't mind spending the day with my books..." he said picking up another one and getting comfortable at the table.

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"Phew! I'm glad we got out of there. It's way too nice to be stuck inside reading all day," Willow said swinging Tara's clasped hand.

"I agree. Way too nice out. Did you still want to go to the park today," Tara asked. "We can go home, and I can pack us a terrific picnic with cookies, and sandwiches and lemonade..."

"Can we eat the cookies first?" Willow asked. "And snuggle in the sun and think of only happy thoughts?"

"Whatever my girl wants she gets," Tara giggled back placing a kiss on Willow's forehead.

After packing some food, they headed over to the campus park. After enjoying a nice lunch, they read and lounged around in the California sun.

Looking up from her book, Willow asked "where do you think she went this morning?"

"Who?" Tara responded flipping over on her back.

"Our Miss Kitty?"

"Oh, I'm don't know. She definitely wouldn't blend in to well around town, so she's probably in the woods somewhere, doing what cats do." Tara responded smiling up at Willow. Suddenly noticing Willow's pensive mood, she prompted "why? You worried about her?"

A few moments ticked by, Tara's concern growing slightly. "Well I guess so. I mean she can probably fend for herself, being a huge carnivore and all, but I still haven't been able to shake the feeling that I got last night. That...mental weight that I felt last night hasn't left yet," she finally answered.

"Why didn't you say anything about it earlier?" Tara asked growing concerned.

"I don't know. I just figured it would eventually go away. And it's not that bothersome," she added trying to appease the worrying look she was getting from her girlfriend. Reaching for Tara's hand she added "honestly, I'm fine."

Not completely satisfied with Willows response, Tara smiled back and tried to return to her book. "Will you do something for me though?" She finally asked looking up again. "Tell Giles next time we see him. It might help us to figure out what she is." Getting a firm nod in response from Willow, Tara returned once again to her book.

"Hey girlies!" A voice suddenly shouted from across the field. Both Willow and Tara looked up at the sound.

"Hey Xand!" Willow said as he approached. "What? No Anya at your shoulder today?"

"Nah. She said she wanted to spend some time shopping today. And supposedly I'm not a good shopping partner..." He said finally reaching them and sitting down. "Did you know about this Will? I thought I was totally down with the girl-type clothes, and the fashion sense. But apparently, no so much," he said grinning his big goofy grin. "And besides, I wanted to stop by the site today and finish up some drawings."

"How is the construction of our new library going?" Tara asked.

"Pretty good. We've got the foundation laid, and the boys are working on the framing next week. So far so good," he added. "What are you guys up to today, besides the obvious" he said looking in the picnic basket and pulling out an apple.

"Did some research this morning, without much success, and now just enjoying a quiet afternoon in the sun," Willow responded.

"So no news yet on the big kitty?"

"No luck so far. Although Buffy is pretty adamant that she's one of the good guys."

"I don't see any reason to assume otherwise. That being said, I don't necessarily want to run into her on the way home from work or anything," he said. "And everything went well at the house last night I take it. Since you're here, and not, well, cat food."

"Yeah. We went to bed pretty soon after you guys left. We did a spell to warn us if she left the living room, but nothing exciting happened. She left this morning."

"Huh," was all he responded, taking another bite of his apple. "Well if no one's getting all worked up about her, than neither am I".

"You know, I've been meaning to ask you about the..." Willow started.

A loud scream erupted from across the field.

"Spoke to soon," Xander said getting to his feet. Quickly grabbing the stake she had hidden in her backpack, Willow followed suit and the three of them jogged across the field where they heard the scream.

"You know I thought vampires still didn't like the sun," Xander said jokingly as they slowed their pace reaching the edge of the field.

"Well I'd rather be safe than sorry," Willow responded trying to pinpoint where the sound had come from.

Coming upon a large circle of people, Willow motioned for them to get closer. After making their way through the crowed they realized what everyone was looking at.

At their feet lay a huge carcass, looking pretty fresh. "Eww," was all Tara could say looking at it. "What is it?" She asked as Xander took a step closer.

"Looks like a deer, or something," he said. "Pretty mauled up though, it's hard to tell."

"There aren't very many large carnivores in this area that could take down an animal that size," someone said from the crowd.

"Maybe it was a coyote," someone offered.

"Nah . There too small to take down an animal that size. Probably a mountain lion."

Willow, Tara and Xander looked at each other knowingly.

"We should probably report this to Giles," Willow said. They nodded in response, and headed back to pack up the picnic early.

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