A/N: Hello readers! I'm happy to say that this post and the next chapter will be up really soon because well, I have time now! Yay!
Thanks to ALL MY REVIEWERS! U all rock!
Maranjade: thank u for the lovely review! You made me sooo happy! Thanks for letting me know I had author review only on, now I feel bad no one could review! Sorry people. I fixed it though so all is good ((which means, REVIEW)).
Answers to questions: Yes! Willow saw Oz's memories and Oz saw Willow's I should have been more specific hopefully this chapter helps explain how that worked. As for your other question, you will have to keep reading to find out… hee hee
Thanks to my new beta: evergreen-baby! U are awesome, I'm soo happy! Thanks for putting up with me!
DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING! I wish I did it's all owned by people with the shows and papers! Please don't sue me! ((I do own Sasha Jay and Blade, who ever else who shows up that's not on the shows… cause that made a whole lotta sense….))
CHAPTER 6: WOLF 1O1"Angelina Jolie or Kirsten Dunce?" Jay asked as him and Giles walked through the graveyard. Giles looked thoughtful, "Angelina." He said after a second. Jay grinned. "You're kidding! I thought you would have gone for Kirsten. I thought I had you pegged. Seeing as you work with a tough chick, I thought you would go for the wholesome American sweetheart." Jay said stooping down to check the name on the closest gravestone. Giles laughed, "You should meet the one I got back home."
Jay got up and stared. " She can't be hotter than Angelina, tomb raider, buddy, tomb raider, that scene with the robot and the… short-shorts…" he whispered. Giles grinned, "I'll give you that one." He said shaking his head. Jay stared for a second. "You know, under all those layers of tweed, you really are a pretty cool guy." He commented. Then he stopped. "Damn…" he whispered. Giles looked around wondering what was wrong.
"Another myth shot to hell." Jay laughed. He looked up at Giles who was still frozen and looking around. "Did you hear something?" Jay asked. Giles frowned. "What myth?" he asked. "That all stiff Englishmen stay stiff." Jay said grinning and thumping Giles on the back.
Giles smiled, "Well, if that's all then." he said turning up the volume on the speakers hooked up to Jay's I-pod. It was resting precariously on the top of another stone.
Then Jay stopped again. He motioned for Giles to turn the speakers back down again. Giles nodded and mouthed. "What is it?" "Vampires, bout' six, gotta a stake?" Jay mouthed back, Giles nodded and took out his piece of wood from his pocket.
Jay pointed to the crypt in the far corner of the yard and raised an eyebrow to make sure Giles would be okay before he crept towards it.
Giles followed cautiously but his footsteps seemed so much louder than Jay's. His sounded like car doors slamming compared to Jay's who he couldn't hear at all even when walking on dry leaves.
This was slightly bothersome to Jay who was used to being with trained wolves. But Giles was pretty quiet for a human, the vamps were too busy trying to compare stupid fang lengths or something stupid like that to realize they were about to become dust.
Finally he reached the side of the large crypt and silently took the gun out of his pocket, he would have much rather changed into the wolf for this part, he had always preferred not to use his crappy hand to hand combat. Then again he thought with a grin, he had the upper hand, and a gun that could shoot a stake faster than a flying bullet, or at worst as fast as one.
He only hoped Giles would stay out of the way, he also wasn't a great shot. He glanced back at Giles for a second and nodded motioning for Giles to cover the other side of the crypt. When he was in place Jay moved in, "This a private party?" He asked walking into the middle of the group.
Some of the vamps gasped, ahh, he loved it when they did that. One however only snorted. "Oh, wow a werewolf, I'm shaking in my boots." A taller, horribly dressed vampire sneered in Jay's direction.
For your own information, we've already talked to one of your kind tonight and we're telling you what we told his ugly good for nothing face, there's no way in hell that we are joining with you flea bags just to take out some more of your kind. We have no desire to kill wolves, all we want are the humans. Tell your boss we aren't interested, and next time he sends his damn goons over here we will have rip their damn heads off. You got that?" Another vamp growled.
Jay was intrigued, " Someone was here before us?" He asked the group. All of them looked hesitant to answer so Jay added "Cause he shouldn't have been here and I would have to tear him apart." in a deep growl.
The vampires grinned. "He said his name was Blade. He wanted us to help him hunt down another of his kind in return for cash." The first vampire said. A wide grin was plastered on his face. Jay was taken aback but his surprise didn't reach his face. He mentally thanked Oz for that skill.
"Do you happen to know where he's staying?" Jay asked once more. He noticed Giles peeking his head out from behind the crypt, his eyebrows raised. Jay shook his head and motioned discretely for him to keep hiding.
Mean while the vampire frowned, contemplating whether he should tell this new comer all that he knew. Jay actually watched his process of contemplation on his ugly warped face. Stupid vampires...
Finally he said, "Naw, I'll let you figure it out by yourself." The vampire said, his eyes glowing yellow in the darkness. Jay shrugged, "well than you're no more use to me." He said raising the gun from out of his pocket and shooting the vampire in the heart. He then turned to the rest of the group.
"Anyone else here know where the other wolf is hiding." Jay asked cocking his eyebrows. They all glowered at him their faces morphing into their demon-like counterparts. Jay gave an over exaggerated sigh. "Well, I guess we're going to have to kill you all then…"he mocked a yawn and signaled to Giles to come out of hiding.
This most importantly caught the vamps off guard and allowed Jay to take out at least three before they actually got into the fighting part.
Giles was surprisingly quick for a guy wearing tweed, and got a couple dusted his self. So Jay decided not to worry so much about the watcher and focused on the fight at hand. He tried to shoot a few more but found his bad aim more of a hindrance than a help and switched to hand and hand. Wondering why he hadn't taken his Katana out of his car and brought it with him.
Then he remembered why, as he punched the face of the nearest vampire in. The carrots. Stupid stomach, always getting in the way… he roundhouse kicked the tight group of vamps, knocking them to the ground and allowing Giles to stake the last of them.
He waited in silence as Giles took off his glasses and cleaned them with a cloth before dusting off his hands and getting to his feet.
"Well that was interesting, I thought for sure Blade would have killed himself after Oz turned him," Jay said picking up his I-pod. "Giles frowned "Well, this isn't sounding to good for both the werewolf community or anyone else. But then again, this Blade could be a poser trying to scare up a few vampires into joining a gang." Giles said as they headed back to the car. "That's a good point but none of the wolf community even the ones who aren't in control would dare go by the name Blade, this guy literally killed thousands of us. He was a direct threat to everyone. Secondly, he's looking for a certain wolf. If anyone was looking to find someone in particular it would be Blade. It makes sense, Oz was just in town and he's probably searching him out because Oz was the one who turned him. I'm not sure who the hell would help Blade survive, but he did and now he's out for blood again." Jay said biting his lip and pulling over his seat belt.
"This guy is probably a direct threat to everyone." Jay added with a sigh. He ran his hand through his hair again. "Erm… shouldn't you call the O.T.'s then?" Giles asked. Jay shook his head. "They were probably the ones who set him loose, they got their hands on him after Oz had left." Jay said gritting his teeth. He was really getting tired of them.
Jay took out his phone from his pocket and dialed the most used number, Giles glanced wearily as Jay brought the phone up to his ear and gave him a questioning glance.
Willow came back to earth all at once, she slowly eased open her eyes. She felt weak and slightly embarrassed. She hadn't wanted Oz to know what she had done. What would he think of her now? She looked up and he caught her gaze.
His green eyes pierced hers and he smiled softly. "That explains a lot." he said softly. Willow felt her cheeks grow slightly hot. Oz reached over and stroked her cheek. "You did what only many people could dream about doing when they loose someone they love; I can understand that." he said quietly.
Willow sighed and got up. "I just wish I didn't have that ability." She said quietly. Oz got up too and walked across the cold room to the fireplace, where he carefully prodded and fed the hot coals until the fire came back to life.
"You can look at it that way, or you can see it as something you can improve on make better, and make it work to your advantage. Most people aren't born with the gifts people like us have or have received in my case. So we might as well do the best we can with them." He said looking across the room and directly into Willow's eyes.
" Is that really worth a pile of bodies?" Willow asked turning away to stare at the gloomy rain hitting the windowpane. Oz looked thoughtful. "I don't know. I haven't figured that one out yet." He finally admitted. Willow smiled, "I guess we'll have to figure that one out later." She said through a resounding yawn. Oz cocked his eyebrows and asked "tired?"
"Yeah, but then comes tomorrow" Willow said with a sigh. Oz shook his head, "It'll be alright, try not to dwell." He said walking towards the small closet by the bedroom and taking out a few extra blankets before walking back to the couch.
"I'll take the Hide-a-bed." Oz said motioning towards the couch. Willow smiled; somehow she just wished that she wouldn't have be alone. She felt so cold and alone. Then she thought of Tara. Tara wouldn't have wanted her to feel alone.
Willow took the blankets she was being handed and gave Oz a weak smile. "Thanks, for everything. You didn't have to take me with you tonight. You could have, you know, drove right back here and left me with Jay and the others."
Oz smiled. "And leave you with that maniac? Jay's a goof, but he has his good moments. He just needs to figure some stuff out for himself."
Willow shook her head. Did he know what she had saw? Was he okay with it? She searched his face for answers in his eyes, but he showed none. She yawned again, she was exhausted, her brain was buzzing with all she had learned that night, but she was still recovering from the whole malnutrition thing.
Oz noticed again and raised his eyebrows. "Bed now?" He asked. Willow nodded. "I'll see you in the morning. The bathroom is over here and hopefully we get power back tomorrow, if the rain lets off." Oz said motioning towards the bathroom.
Willow nodded and Oz took another look around and their eyes met for a second before he turned around and allowed her to retire to the bedroom still clutching the wooly blankets.
She lay down in the cold bed and waited to fall asleep, she thought of lots of things, about Oz and Jay. Even Sasha entered her mind for a brief moment. She wished she had a chance to meet her. She still felt hollow inside. Her insides shivered when ever she thought of the next day and what she was going to become. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity she drifted off into a deep sleep in that dark and lonesome room.
Jay felt grim, Blade was back, that was never a good sign. The man was like a weed, he refused to die but it never hurt to try again.
But it was okay because, he had a plan. Sure, he was never the one with the plans but he had a brain, he had a P.H.D. for Gods sake. Well, just about; he dropped out in the last month. The studying drove him insane and he was gonna make it big with his band anyway.
He had decided that he was going to call a meeting in the morning. Sure, the Sunnydale squad didn't look like seasoned fighters but they would have to do. He needed someone to keep Blade confused and at bay so he could help Oz with Willow.
Why? Number one, Oz has been suffering the consequences of Blade for 3 years now. Number two, another C.W. would be a great help right now, and he was sure that Willow would be a valuable asset. Three, Oz had no clue what he was doing and NEEDED his help. What were friends for right?
Jay sighed and stared at the ceiling of Giles's house. He was lying on the bumpy sofa listening to the annoying sound of the clock ticking on the wall behind him. Now the only problem was telling everyone what was happening.
In the morning… he thought. Right now I need my beauty sleep.
Willow woke up with a ray of golden sunlight in her face. She smiled self-consciously as she eased open her eyes. The anxiety about the new day melting off her, somehow after last night everything felt easier between Oz and herself.
The smell of cooking bacon wafted from the small kitchen and Willow suddenly remembered what day it was. She groaned and rolled over, but her hungry stomach protested, the smell was too tempting.
She got up off the bed and padded into the kitchen. Oz was sitting on the counter by the sink with a laptop on his lap. He looked up from the computer and smiled at her. "morning." He said quietly. Willow yawned and smiled.
"breakfast?" Oz asked cocking his head quizzically. Willow grinned and nodded. It was odd, since going into his head she could pick up his cues again.
"Guessing the power's back on then?" Willow asked smiling. Oz looked over his shoulder with flipper still in hand and nodded. Then he turned around and expertly poured a glass of orange juice with one hand.
"So, whatcha working on?" Willow asked taking the glass of orange juice she was being handed and walking over to the computer. "work." Oz said typing with one hand and pulling the lever down on the toaster with the other. "Like actual work or?" Willow asked looking skeptical. "Work." Oz said again.
Willow turned to the screen and saw he was decrypting codes on a government website then typing in his own. Willow nodded "complicated. Isn't that something the bad guy would do?" she asked trying to figure out what he was putting back onto the site, the codes were extremely complex. "it's okay, I gotta a job re-booting fire walls for all the governments secret-ness. The pay is quite admirable." Oz said deleting the last few lines of gibberish and re-typing them.
Willow frowned. "I thought you hated doing that kinda stuff." "As I said before, the salary is admirable." Oz said placing the computer down. Willow suddenly thought of something… "You, you aren't DOB are you?" she asked grinning. Oz nodded "flaming fox I presume." He asked plating up the toast. Willow laughed. "You beat me, but I got you back!" she said remembering the melted marshmallow she had sent though the computer and lodged into his hard drive via magic.
"ah but I got a new computer." Oz said raising his eyebrows and coming to the table with food.
"so what's the game plan?" Willow asked through a mouthful of eggs. "well, there's a few options, it would be easier if you won't remember the first change, but the whole adjustment will happen faster if you do. But it's pretty much up to you. Jay was always better at explaining it then me." Oz said frowning slightly. " Although, if you do choose to remember, you gotta keep in mind that you're gonna feel it." He added. Willow frowned. "What do you mean, feel it?" she asked.
"well in the natural change the wolf takes over the mind before it takes over the body, so it copes with the pain of the change all by it's self. But, the trick to control is to offer to receive your share of the pain; and it will give you a window of input into the action and thought process." Oz explained, clicking the mouse a few more times and music blared through the small speakers in the keypad.
He then slid off the counter he was sitting on, and sat down in the second chair at the table, across from Willow. "So that uh, spell you did last night, was you know, okay, you weren't going to go all, uh… you're okay with that again?" Oz asked trying to sound like it was no big deal. The truth was he was actually quite curious.
Willow seemed to pick up on this and nodded, "yeah, I had to go away for a while, but I learned to filter out the bad and harness the good." Willow said shaking her head. Oz nodded and a small knowing smile crossed his face. "That's good." He said quietly, he slowly took a sip of coffee and Willow just sat and thought.
She was going to be a werewolf, her body was going to change into some, hairy… oh God she was going to be hairy… beast. Not only that but, Oz had mentioned pain. Would it be bad? Could she handle it?
Willow looked up, Oz was fiddling with the music again and had managed to get it to good old Sunnydale Radio. He looked up at her and gave her a tight smile. she knew he had been thinking the same thing, albeit he was also remembering his first change and wondering how he could improve upon the situation.
Willow sighed and picked up a fork, sure she couldn't stop the moon from rising but she could definitely stop her stomach from rumbling. Besides Oz may not look like a chef, but she couldn't deny the fact that Oz was an excellent cook.
Oz was nervous, contrary to his cool behavior he had never really witnessed a first change before, frankly he felt like a rookie. Jay knew so much more about that kind of stuff, he was really starting to wish that he were here right about now. Well, excluding the fact that he would probably have to call in the orange togas.
He almost snorted he felt so ridiculous, what was he going to do? What if the wolf inside of Willow was too strong? Well that would be a problem, but he would deal with that as it came, right now he had to focus all his attention on making sure Willow felt as normal as possible.
He turned up the radio, Sunnydale Radio had never lead him astray, and he doubted it would now. He glanced at Willow and she was eating, that was good. He gave her a tight smile before leaving the room to check on the state of neatness in the living room. It wasn't great but it would have to do.
Sure clothes were spread out everywhere and he was in desperate need of a duster, but it wasn't un-live-able. Just to be safe though, he opened a few windows all the way and let the breeze clean away the stale smell of sleep, smoke from the fire and musk.
He had to do something, he had a female in the house, sure she wasn't judging him on his housework, but the least he could do is make it smell less smoky in there.
He turned and was now staring at his old guitar leaning in the corner; he hadn't touched it since she had gone away. Maybe it was time to start. He was just contemplating going to pick it up and dust it off when he heard Willow call. She sounded frantic, well at least, semi-frantic.
He jogged towards the kitchen and looked around, Willow was still sitting where he had left her. She looked at him and frowned. "Who does this song?" she asked. Oz sighed and listened intently. He recognized it at once.
Lunar Phases. His band. Then he heard who was singing and froze. God, it was like she was back from the dead. He had spent the better part of three years trying to convince himself she was gone and there she was, singing her heart out like nothing had ever happened.
He let himself slowly down onto a chair and stared into space, he could just see her in the rec. studio the day this was recorded, her green eyes sparkling with playfulness and intensity all in one. Focused directly on his, even though she couldn't see him behind the mirrored glass…
Willow stared, Oz looked like a ghost, all the colour had drained from his face and his eyes glimmered with emotion. He hadn't moved since he had sat down. The woman on the radio hit a high note that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand.
"Oz?" she asked quietly. He didn't respond. He didn't move. Willow hoped he was still breathing. Something about this was REALLY weird.
The shrill shriek of her cell phone sounded over the music and Willow ran from the kitchen to answer. She was in the bedroom in a flash and dug through her purse before finding her phone and flipping it open.
"Hello?" she asked. "Willow, hi, it's Jay. I really need to talk to Oz, is he around?" Came a familier voice from over the staticy phone.
Willow hesitated chewing on her lip for a moment before answering.
"Yes, but I'm pretty sure he doesn't want to talk to you right now." She answered remembering the last night. She glanced out her window at the sunlight streaming out through the cracks in the trees.
"Willow, listen, I gave you the wrong impression last night and I'm really sorry. I went out with Giles last night and we talked and I realized what a jerk I had been. But this is really urgent I have to talk to Oz."
Willow sighed. "Okay, but he's kind of out of it right now, I'm not sure what's up." Willow explained walking towards the kitchen. "What do you mean?" Jay asked. "You'll see." Willow said handing Oz the phone.
Oz barely noticed the phone being shoved in his hand but raised it to his ear anyways. "Oz?" came Jay's staticy voice from over the phone. "Put it on Sunnydale radio." Oz said shaking his head and allowing Jay's voice to come in contact with his brain. "What? Oz, this is important." Jay said confused. "Just… do it." Oz said quietly.
Oz only slightly heard Jay sigh and put down the phone. It was silent for a second and Oz closed his eyes and just let the memories drift into his head and mingle with the present.
It took Jay a couple times before Oz figured out he was talking. "man, I'm sorry. God, it's like she's standing right here." Oz focused on the words and could almost picture his friend running his hand uncomfortably through his thick curls. Then the song ended.
Oz shook his head as he was pulled back into reality. "I guess this wouldn't be a good time to mention our album got released a year ago, huh?" Jay said over the cell phone. Oz chuckled, despite the situation he found himself in a good mood after listening to that song.
"What did you want to tell me?" Oz asked getting up and turning off the radio. Jay was surprised by this change of heart but grinned. "Brace yourself buddy, it's a big one." He started. Oz waited patiently. Motioning to a confused looking Willow that it was okay to sit back down and finish her food.
Jay took a breath in. he really didn't want to ruin Oz's good mood, no matter how weird that was; so he opted for the good news first. "I quit the monks." He said grinning.
Oz was taken aback "What?" he asked, not sure if he had heard him right. Cause if he had that would mean that he was turning his back on the people that gave him a life. "I quit the monks. I couldn't take their shit anymore, they've gone too far." Jay said.
Oz raised his eyebrows, "And you couldn't have said that before breaking through their window?" Oz asked referencing Jay's dramatic entrance into the Summer's front room. "Well, you know. I wasn't sure yet. Then I saw Buffy and the gang and was like, I really miss that. The O.T.'s just take away from that. Besides, I had to make a dramatic entrance." Jay concluded sarcastically. Oz sighed.
"Oh and I had a chat with Giles. He's pretty cool." Jay added. "So, have they called you yet?" Oz asked thinking about the monks. "Only about a gazillion times. I have like fifty messages on my voice mail. I even got one from the head honcho telling me to come back." Jay said rolling his eyes. "And all I got was a team to come and hunt me down. Figure that?" Oz said smiling slightly.
"Yeah, you know I was expecting at least like a parting gift or something; a fruit basket, something…" Jay said with a laugh. "yeah, a tee-shirt, I survived the monks." Oz said shaking his head. Jay laughed. "So, when do you want me down there and do you need any groceries?" Jay asked grinning. "You don't even know where we are." Oz said knowingly. "You're in the country, or Willow's phone wouldn't work." Jay said grinning. " Brilliant deduction Watson." Oz said shaking his head.
"Are you still in the State?" Jay asked wondering if they were still driving. "Just outside, remember Jake's cabin?" Oz asked. "Dude! You're there, I love that place, I should have known!" Jay exclaimed. "We need toilet paper, and a duster." Oz said glancing at Willow and raising his eyebrows. She nodded and mouthed toothbrush and razor.
Oz nodded and relayed the new information. "Right, I can be up there by four." Jay said not having the heart to tell him about Blade right now. Oz hung up the phone with a sigh of relief. Help, and most importantly, help without monks, was on the way.
Oz tossed the phone back to Willow who gave him a questioning look. "Jay's coming to help out." Oz explained. Willow frowned, she was nervous now, she didn't know Jay, and when she left Sunnydale the night before, she hadn't really wanted to.
Now he was going to be around when she was going to change into this beast? She frowned not knowing what to say. "He's okay Willow. He's done this tons of times before." Oz said meeting Willows eyes. Willow nodded hesitantly.
Willow sighed, "So, who was that band anyways?" She asked trying to change the subject. Oz looked down, "I, I should go chop some firewood." Oz said leaving the room. Willow stared, something was wrong, something to do with that band, but she couldn't put her finger on it. She watched as he closed the door and sighed.
Oz was never like this, all avoidy. Maybe Jay could clear it up with her when he got here, even if she wasn't too sure about him. At least he apologized right?
Jay was ready to hit the road, okay so he didn't feel too great about leaving the Scooby's to their own devices, especially with Blade running around as a wolf. But Giles and Buffy had both assured him that they could handle it. They had told him to take as much time as he wanted to get Willow to be okay again.
Even with those reassuring promises Jay felt the urgency of his rehabilitation mission, the people here were in danger. Oz was in danger, and the worst part is Oz didn't even know what was happening.
But a new changling was a dangerous thing, and in order to speed up the control part she would have deal with a lot of pain, and with a looming war. Yes he said war, cause if Blade was gathering an army and it would be a difficult fight, one that would most certainly need Willow on the front line.
Yes this was going to be a very painful for Willow, he hoped very much that she had the strength of mind and body to keep control. If she lost control in the middle of a fight there's no saying what chaos could ensue, she could start attacking the good guys for all he knew.
He shook his head, he didn't want to think about it. At least he was on talking terms with Oz again, that would be a tremendous help. If worst came to worst, he was positive that he could get some other C.W.s on HIS side. Then there was of course Jake, who wasn't really a werewolf but would help all the same.
As he got into the car he glanced back at the Summer's house, it was cheery looking in the bright sunlight. He just hoped it would stay that way.
Jay arrived later that day, it was four thirty and he had pizza, along with handfuls of groceries, most of which hadn't been asked for but was totally welcomed all the same.
"I thought that grocery list sounded kind of short and then I saw the bakery." Jay said looking at the two red heads in front of him. He raised his eyebrows, "you two both look a lot a like you know." He said grinning. Willow smiled. "Well, knowing Oz, the hair colour thing is likely to change soon." She commented.
Jay laughed, "I thought so too." He said opening the bag he had in his arms and shuffling around for a while before pulling out a handful of colourful packets and showing them to Willow. "Thought you'd want to change it up." He commented tossing one to Oz before slapping his hand on his shoulder with grin.
Oz smiled slightly and crossed his arms, "haven't done that in a while." He said glancing at the colour. It was a dark blue. He nodded satisfied and bumped knuckles with his friend.
Willow lead as they entered the house and Oz almost didn't recognize the place. It was clean, well just about; but organized? Yes. Jay whistled from behind him. "Far cry from what I remember it looked." He commented.
He glanced over at Oz, "Man, this place was trashed, remember?" He exclaimed. The sides of Oz's mouth twitched as he remembered when all four members of the band had headed up to the cabin for a long weekend. They had decided to make brownies, but realized they had no eggs, or chocolate, or anything else for that matter. Except flour, needless to say they had ended up covered in flour and then had decided to wash it off, which was a good idea, if they had remembered that there was a hose outside and that the sink wasn't an ideal washing vessel. The whole thing ended badly with a water fight all over the house and a sticky wet flour-y mess EVERYWHERE.
Jay grinned, "Remember when Sasha found out the sink nozzle came off?" he asked with a mischievous glimmer in his eyes. Oz chuckled, "until we dumped the remaining flour on her head." He added. "yeah, then it was war." Jay said grinning and glancing at the couch where Jake had ended up performing the victory dance.
Willow grinned, despite the situation, and the fact she hadn't been there, it sounded pretty funny.
They settled on the wooden floor, well, except Jay who sprawled out on the couch and passed out pizza and cans of pop. They ate in silence for a minute or so as they all of them tore into their pizza.
"So, I'm guessing we're going out tonight?" Jay said as he reached for his third slice of pizza. Willow paled, but Oz nodded. "What have you explained so far?" Jay asked as he swallowed. Oz glanced over his shoulder at Jay, "Not much, just the basic idea of sharing identities and the choice over natural or memory." Oz said frowning slightly.
Jay smiled, "then we have a bit to cover. You'll have to excuse the lack of explanation at this point, the whole change part is really hard to explain, it's one of those experience it and know, deals." Jay said glancing at Willow and running his hand through his curly hair.
Willow nodded. She understood, even though this was WAY scarier than magic, it was the same idea, she could never explain a spell and how it made one feel until they experienced it themselves.
Jay sighed and put down his the pizza box. Oz got up and took the box, he then walked into the kitchen and put it in the garbage before re-entering the room and announcing that he was going to take a shower.
Jay and Willow eyed each other wearily before Willow broke eye contact. "I know the feeling." Jay said fidgeting. "What you have to understand is that there will be pain. I can't sugarcoat that for you, and no matter what you choose, either remembering or not, you will eventually have to go through it." Jay said acting serious for the first time that evening.
Willow nodded solemnly. "I guess I should just start out remembering, might as well, right? The faster the better?" She asked. Jay sighed. "yep. I should tell you now, you won't be able to influence anything it does. That takes time. The faster you realize that there's nothing you can do but watch, the better understanding you'll get of how this animal works." Jay added.
Willow paled even more. "We'll be right beside you, I promise. Oz and I won't let anything happen." Jay said reassuringly. Willow smiled weakly.
Then she shook her head and asked the question she had been dying to ask all night. "You know that song Oz was listening to this morning when you called?" she asked. Jay nodded; happy for the change of subject. "what band was that?" Willow asked.
Jay's eyes went wide. "Oz didn't tell you?" he asked amazed. Willow shook her head. Jay laughed, his head shook and his dark hair fell in his face; he pushed it out of his eyes before continuing. "That was us," he exclaimed, "Our band, Lunar Phases." He added. "we got released last year, and that song has been kind of a hit on the alternative stations. Which is ironic, it was Oz's favorite song." He explained.
Willow frowned. "That was Oz on guitar?" she asked. Jay nodded and smirked, "the cut on the c.d. was the first one he cut in the studio. Sash. Didn't even tell him what it was, she just gave everyone the sheet music and let us have it. Before that we didn't even know she wrote music. Then again, you never knew with her, you know? Like one day we got into a cab and she just started rambling on in Russian to the cabbie. We didn't even know she spoke Romanian, she had no hint of an accent, but apparently, she grew up there." Jay said with a grin.
Willow smiled. "It was a good song." She said nodding. Jay smiled. "Yeah, the only problem with that one is the lack of a drum solo." He agreed. Willow smiled. "the drummer I presume?" she asked.
Jay nodded. "And former lead singer, until Sasha blew my voice out of the water." He said matter-of-factly. Willow frowned. "Who was the drummer when you were singing?" she asked. Jay laughed. "The drummer and I were one and the same." He said glancing over at the bathroom and then at the clock.
"Is that even possible?" Willow asked. Jay nodded, "anything is possible with superpowers." He said frowning. Willow sighed. "I could do with out those." she mumbled. Jay smiled knowingly. "It will take a while to get used to it, but it normally turns out okay." He said sliding off the couch and onto the floor beside Willow.
"Can you feel it yet?" he asked motioning towards his chest. Willow nodded, her chest had been buzzing for hours now, her insides felt shaky, like she had just finished running a marathon she felt weak. She heard Oz come out of the shower and jumped out of her skin.
Jay smiled knowingly. "You'll get used to it." He said smiling. Willow nodded slowly, but looked skeptical. She turned around as Oz came down the hallway still toweling off his newly blued hair.
He smiled at her and glanced over at Jay who was checking his watch. They made eye contact and then Jay said "It's just about time. Wanna get out there and I'll meet you there with Willow?" Jay asked cocking an eyebrow. Oz nodded. "Yeah," he glanced over at Willow, "you can trust him you know that right? He's done this before, I haven't, just do what he says and it'll be okay, I promise." He said meeting Willow in the eyes, before going over to her and giving her shoulder a squeeze before silently walking out of the cabin.
"he's in a weird mood today, isn't he?" Jay asked as Oz left. Willow nodded, " Ever since he heard you guys on the radio, when I asked him about it, he changed the subject and walked out. That's DEFFINALTLY not like him." Willow agreed.
Jay frowned, "I guess my phone call didn't help very much huh?" he asked with a half shrug. Willow nodded and then decided to change the subject, "So, what do I need to do?" she asked.
Oz slowly headed into the quiet woods, the sun had just set, but the sky was still a dark crimson. He glanced up at it every chance he had as it peaked through the tall trees. The forest was silent and his footfalls matched the silence perfectly. This was his realm, his domain, where he could pull off the reality of life and live in his purest form.
Oz sighed, as he found a secure and safe area to make the change. He found a clearing and got undressed, yes he undressed, he liked his outfit today and it wasn't very comfortable changing with clothing on.
Then he got down on all fours, contrary to certain beliefs the change took time, normally anywhere between 5 to 15 minutes, and depending on how much energy he had.
When he felt comfortable he put himself in the 'mind frame' this, including the pain, was the hardest part, he had to keep his mind absolutely cued on what was happening all around him and what he was doing at the same time.
Finally he began the change, it started slowly, his body shook and he was soon covered in a hot sweat. His insides quivered and his body tremored, his skin stretched, the pain came in waves and he counted off the familiar states as he went along.
His back cracked and his spine arched, wiry hair sprouted on his body, and he watched as his hands morphed into paws the size of dinner plates, claws as sharp as razor blades sprouted where his finger nails used to be. His face distorted in pain as his mouth elongated his teeth ripped through his gums and his canines elongated into sharp points.
His hips twisted into a downward position and the change was just about complete, this ears moved from the sides of his face to the top of his head and stretched into the familiar wolf-like shape and the change was complete.
I lay down on the soft forest floor panting slightly as I waited for my muscles to loosen up, the pain still came in waves but the intensity slowly died down and I waited a second more before getting to my feet.
Off in the distance a mole or mouse was rustling through the dried leaves on the ground. I tilted my head to get a better idea of where it was and snorted. I turned around slowly and stretched my newly shapen body, I started with my neck and bent down slightly to get the most stretch through my back and finally the stretch came to the tip of my long feathery tail.
Once I was finished I walked slowly out of the clearing. I glanced up at the sky it was slowly darkening "they should be out soon." I wasn't sure who they were but I circled around the house anyways. My tongue hung out of my mouth and to the side as I watched two humans walk into the forest, one was chattering on nervously, I could smell the fear one her. It was like a drug. She was saying something to the male, he smelt familiar, it was so hard to make out, like a familiar language but I hadn't spoken it in a while. "something about doing some Zen…" whatever that was it made him laugh and he shook his head his hair moving into his eyes.
I glanced up at the sky again; it was just about nightfall, another few minutes. Then I saw the male come my way, I snorted once to let him know I was where I was, he glanced over in my direction, his lips moved upward and he whispered something under his breath, but I was too lazy to get it translated.
The male then looked away, his eyes flashing orange as he turned. I decided to follow him, he was in my domain, I was bigger than him anyways. He knew I was behind him and looked over his shoulder. I silently shot into the bushes, ah, stalking my prey, this was always fun. The hunt would be fruitless tonight however, I was full. "pizza."
As he turned around again and headed into a clearing I followed closely behind him. Then he wheeled around and said something I couldn't understand, I cocked my head from left to right as he talked, but my eyes never left his. Finally he stopped and rolled his eyes, the then motioned towards the wood behind me.
I grunted in reply, I'd wait until he took the right form before I continued my hunt. Then I turned around and left the clearing to go find a new sport whilst I waited. I trotted around for a while catching scents of rabbits and birds here and there, and hearing the rustling sounds of them clambering through the woods and out of sight.
They knew that here. I am the king. Then I remembered the other human and could smell her just beyond a cluster of trees, I blinked a few times. It was getting darker and my night vision was just kicking in.
I found her just beyond the trees, huddled up in a ball, shaking. I could smell the wolf on her coming off in waves, but decided to ignore this. She smelt familiar, I couldn't place my finger on where I had smelt her before but I knew I couldn't harm her. I walked cautiously towards her and she looked up frightened.
Her eyes glowed a bluish colour in the remaining light of day. I walked causousely towards her and sniffed her hair; it smelt of chemicals, nothing nice. She whispered something under her breath before she started to convulse as the change took hold. "I'm scared Oz…"
I sighed impatient as I exited that part of the woods, she'd learn. I padded over towards the stream and took a drink, tongue slapping the roof of my mouth with cool water.
I stopped when I heard a twig break behind me and turned around just in time to see a chocolate coloured wolf in mid air, before it landed with it's front paws firmly pinning me to the ground. It growled playfully and our eyes locked. I feined hearing something behind us and he took the bait, I was able to flip him over and now had him pinned to the forest floor. Now I growled.
I'd missed him. He had been gone for so long. After a while I found I'd have proved my point and got off him slowly backing away. He got up and we circled playfully, out teeth shone bright in the moonlight above, finally I got tired of going in circled and reached out my neck and nipped the end of the tail. He yelped in surprise and I took off into the woods, weaving in and out of trees in an attempt to loose him.
I glanced behind my shoulder and he was right there. We raced as far as the pond and I stopped right before I skidded into the cold and weed filled water. He, however wasn't so lucky. He landed in the pond with a large splash, spraying me with greenish algae and water.
I snarled as the water hit and was caught off guard as he locked his jaw around my back leg and pulled me into the pond also. The mud on the bottom oozed between my paws and I sunk in slightly. I reached over to him and bit his neck, hitting the large flab of fat on the top, I just about inhaled his thick wiry fur before forcing the air out of my nose.
I dragged him out of the pond and we both shook off, it was his turn to run from me so he shot off into the woods again, a piercing howl burst though the silence of the woods and I skidded to halt, he stopped behind me and we glanced at each other, we were being joined by a third.
Slowly I raised my snout in the air and howled back, he soon joined me and we let out a long howl, calling her towards us. He shifted from foot to foot, nervously as we heard quiet footfalls coming our way. We turned around slowly awaiting our newest foe; we saw her eyes gleaming in the newly risen moonlight first. Green, then we watched as a ginger coloured wolf walked over the ridge and moved towards us. Wearily eyeing us as she came up to us. When she got about 5 feet away she began to pace. Back and fourth, white teeth flashing as her gaze never left us.
But the weariness she was trying so hard to hide was coming off of her in waves. He snorted and stepped forward, she back stepped and growled low from her throat, a warning. Then she started shaking her eyes widened in alarm as she seemingly fought herself for control. One foot went towards him the other stepped backwards.
I glanced over at him and we met eyes, both of us were getting the same thought. "She was fighting it. Fighting nature in it's purest form, and she wasn't ready"
Literal sparks started to fly from her body, some were green other's were orange. Then she turned herself around and started running. She was going too fast to be in control and she was headed for an embankment. We ran after her, he was faster than I, my breathing got harder as I ran at a faster pace and soon I was left behind. Finally I came to a complete halt. "They're going the long way."
I turned around and cut through the woods. My breathing slowly evened out as I trotted through thick woods. The thudding of both wolf's footsteps grew as they came up in front of me, I found the embankment and lined myself up with where they would pop out of the woods.
I waited pacing slightly in an attempt to get my air coming in the regular pace. I stopped when I heard a resounding yelp from the woods and watched curiously as more sparks flew from the forest before a ginger blur came barrelling through the bush followed closely by a larger black one. I stopped a few feet from the 40 ft. drop and barred my teeth in an attempt to change her direction.
It was too late; she didn't notice until she was halfway off the ledge " Grab her!" I reached out with my jaws and grabbed her in the hindquarters but the speed she was going, there was no way even I could stop her.
We both fell down the cliff. I tumbled, hitting the sharp edged rocks on the way down, the world became dizzying as I fell down, every once and a while I would see a ball of ginger fur tumbling just in front of me. Or the slightly looming chestnut figure above me staring down at us with flashing orange, the next interval I looked up to see he had disappeared. Then I felt a sharp pain as I hit the bottom of the gorge and then the splash of cool water on my left haunch.
Then next time I woke up I was in a literal puddle. The rain last night saved me slightly from the hard ground. Slowly. I got up, my bones aching in protest. The world spun slightly as I swerved on my feet before finding my balance. I blinked and looked around, she was lying on the ground beside me, but I saw no signs of movement. I tilted my head slightly and caught a heartbeat and breathing. She was out, and was going to be out for a while. I caught the smell of blood on the wind and looked down at her, there was a gash on her head the side that was in the puddle. It was bleeding slightly and the blood mixed with the water as it snaked through the puddle around her head.
He came up beside me on my left shoulder and growled slightly. He tilted his head in my direction. I covered up a wheeze and snorted acknowledging the fact that I was okay. He slowly walked over to me and glanced at my paw, for the first time I noticed it was bleeding. He bent down and licked it once. Then he moved his head up and examined my left haunch, it was also bleeding slightly and there was a larger gash, but when he moved to examine it I sidestepped and motioned towards her.
He snorted and glanced up at the moon it was in the middle of the sky, full and shining silver. It looked mysterious and out of place somehow, like a firefly on the streets of New York. It loomed over their heads as they paced the scene of the accident, not sure whether to leave her or move her out of the puddle.
"Consult Dr. Jay." I looked up to see him nudging her head gently from side to side with his nuzzle and walked over also, he growled as I got close so I backed off. I walked towards the clearing I had changed in. Slowly, very slowly, the world was still spinning and the shaky feeling hadn't left and I was still having difficulty breathing. It didn't help the fall had knocked the breath out of me, taking air came in weak gasps.
My footfalls kept getting slower on the mossy ground and I stopped a few times waiting to catch my breath. My rib cage shook with every breath and the trees on either side of me seemed to bend and retract as my eyes darted from side to side. Finally I reached my destination and lay down. Allowing my still shaky body to shift back into human form.
Oz woke up with a start, he had passed out, allowing the change back to human form to be carried out painlessly, for once Oz was glad he had passed out. He lay on the ground a while, his chest hurt like hell and this along with a headache was slowly making him regret ever stepping foot outside.
He sighed and sat up, the forest was quiet and the moon had almost finished it's cycle around the sky, it would be dusk soon. He was covered in mud but at the moment he was more concerned about getting his breathing back to the right rhythm, he sat there, for what seemed like hours, willing his lungs to keep going, all the while keeping his ears on the forest surrounding him. He fought to keep control of the rhythm until he was totally satisfied and slowly got up, earning him another dizzy spell, but this one was less harsh.
He then slowly walked over to his pants, which were tossed over a tree. Sure the plan was to fold them neatly and place them on the ground, but this never happened. He tugged them on and found his shoes, which were scattered haphazardly around the clearing.
Oz smiled despite his situation, he wondered if he would ever take the time to fold his clothes neatly before a change. Probably not… he finally decided whist tying his shoes. He slowly straightened and turned towards the ravine.
He glanced down at his wrist and sighed, he had sprained it and it throbbed. It was already turning that sick black colour as he approached the ravine. The pain was slowly starting to set in but, he had had worse. He flinched slightly as he hit a hard root, his leg was sore, but he wanted to check up on Willow and Jay first.
He pondered quietly what happened to her, the sparks that had come out of her were powerful. He wondered if the Wicca in her was fighting the wolf. Then he remembered his first change, she was fighting it, and had panicked. Not having control of your body was a scary thing but she had to learn to except it for now, or she could get seriously injured. It was going to be a long road, and they still had two wolf nights left this month.
He walked back into the ravine and found Jay, still in wolf form cleaning out Willow's head wound. The giant wolf turned around and stared straight into Oz's eyes. His orange irises pierced Oz's blue-green eyes. The pupils in his eyes contracted until they were almost as thin as a piece of paper flashing in the light of the moon. Oz sighed he knew Jay wasn't going to leave his patient. He also wasn't going to move her.
Oz grinned at his friend and motioned towards the house and back to him. The Jay-wolf snorted and his huge chestnut head motioned towards the ground and back up to him in a nodding gesture. The patch of white over his chest seemed to glow and the wolf turned back to his unconscious patient.
Oz slowly walked back to the house and downed some Advil, before gathering some blankets and clothes for both of them and taking them back to the woods. When he got back Jay was in human form again and was bending down over the ginger coloured wolf.
"Brought blankets." Oz said approaching Jay who was facing the other way. "Thanks man. How's your wrist?" Jay asked turning around and smiling. "Pretty sure it's sprained, but I took something, it's not too bad." Oz said walking over to them and handing Jay the blankets and fresh clothes.
"I should wrap that up later, when you get back to the cabin get some ice on it as quick as you can, it should minimize the swelling." Jay said getting up and picking up Oz's hand. "And your leg?" he added glancing down at Oz's left leg. "Hit it on a boulder on the way down, got a cut." Oz said showing off his blood stained pants.
"You'll probably need stitches as well." Jay added grimly. "What about Will? How's her head?" Oz asked brushing aside Jay's hands and focusing on Willow again. "She's got head trauma obviously, and cuts and scrapes. She'll have a hell of a headache when she wakes up, but I'm more concerned about her mental state and her nutrition, Giles mentioned she was hospitalized for that, so I got Jake to hack into the system and pull her charts." Jay said looking from the wolf to his friend.
Oz nodded grimly. "She ate a lot this morning and I wasn't around for lunch but she had some bread and stuff." Oz said frowning, "She should be okay, she was just stressed out when she was bitten and got all depressed." Oz added.
Jay smiled "Cause I mean, who would get depressed over a stupid thing like getting turned into a werewolf." He said sarcastically. Both guys chuckled wearily. "Do you want your bag?" Oz asked looking at the gash on Willow forehead. "No, it needs stitches, but when she turns back into a human they would rip so it'll have to wait until she turns again." Jay commented shaking his head.
Oz nodded slowly, it made sense. "You should go ice that, I'll stay here, and we'll be okay." Jay commented, motioning towards Oz's wrist. Oz looked over at Willow and slowly nodded, turned and headed back to the cabin.
End of chapter 6! (for those of u who got confused, the bold italics wereOz influencing the wolf. i hope it wasn't too confusing. because it wasn't flashback like i had previous chapters... sorry for any confusion... if u have suggestions on how i can do that differantlyreview)Yay, Willow has transformed! Not without miss-haps if I may add but transformed all the same. The next chap will be up soon, I have it half done already. So if you review I might update quicker! Please people review, make someone's day, no matter how bad it is I don't mind it will still make me happy cause I'm weird that WAY!
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