"Some of your classmates are Wesen." Rory Harris told Xander, after explaining where the term Grimm had come from, the Brothers Grimm who published folktales that were actually about Wesen. "You need to talk to one in particular or you could find yourself having problems at school. You don't need a reputation for getting into fights."
"No, I don't. I don't like bullies and I don't want people thinking I am one." Xander agreed. "This one that I saw, how do you pronounce this?"
"Eisbeiber (ice - bieber), sort of a beaver like Wesen. Big families, harmless. There's a few eisbeiber families around here, so you'll run into more of them. They can be fiercely loyal in an eager dog kind of way. They can be prey for other Wesen and for demons, so I keep an eye out for them. They're just not wired to be very aggressive, not that they can't be if pushed far enough. It's just not easy for them."
"I'm going to have homework, aren't I? Don't I already have enough?" Xander groaned.
"Don't kid a kidder, I know you take some of the same classes Willow does and manage to keep up with the workload. You can handle this. Let's start with a few basics. Magic is real."
"As in witches? That kind of Magic?"
"Yes, in fact there's a specific kind of Wesen that are inherently magical. The females are called Hexenbiests and the males Zauberbiest, but anyone can work Magic and there's times when you'll need to do it. There's a real Magic shop in town and I get the ingredients I need there."
"You said some Wesen prey on others, do you mean that like eat? Why, people aren't supposed to eat people."
"You got to remember, Wesen are human, but they're more than that. Most of them are part animal and animals are different in many ways from humans. Each subgroup of Wesen have developed customs and beliefs, because that's what humans do, but because they're part animal, insect or fish, some of their behavior and beliefs also reflect the animal, insect or fish behavior that's a part of them. They've developed laws prohibiting preying on humans and Wesen, but some of their behaviors are still hardwired and not easy to ignore."
"Which is where we come in." Xander guessed.
"Yes and it's why killing them when they cross the line can be and often is, necessary. It's the equivalent of an animal going feral. Sometimes they can come back from it, but some just don't want to come back. Others, have to prey on humans because humans are the only source of whatever it is that they need to survive. In those cases, you have to put the human first. They can't change and their actions result in humans dying or suffering badly. It's tragic either way, but we exist to keep Wesen in check and humans safe."
"I don't recognize some of the weapons you've got in here." Xander said, changing the subject, the idea of killing making him very uncomfortable. "I mean I recognize the guns and the swords, but what's that thing called that's kind like a big baseball bat?"
"Battle club, for when beating the crap out of your opponent is better than just killing them."
"Funny."
"I thought so."
"We both have a sense of humor that tends to annoy people, Uncle Rory."
"And yet it doesn't stop us from making jokes like that."
"Okay, on a more neutral subject, who's the classmate I need to talk to about being a Grimm?" Xander was kind of in shock at Rory's answer. "Alright, I'll go have that conversation now. Better to get it over with sooner, rather than drag it out. This is going to be fun, not." The teenager grumbled as he headed out to find his nemesis.
"Wear a pair of sunglasses." Rory advised. "Wesen can see their other face reflected in your eyes."
"Thanks, I'll grab a pair." An hour later he found himself at the Bronze, a teen hang out club, looking for someone he would never have guessed was anything other than exactly what they appeared to be. When his opponent took a break from dancing and headed back toward the restrooms, he took the opportunity to follow. "We need to talk." He said as soon as it was just the two of them away from the crowd.
"Why would I want to talk to a loser like you?"
"Please don't be scared." He said. "You've known me since we were five and you know I don't go looking to hurt people."
"What are you talking about?" He slowly removed his sunglasses and looked in Cordelia Chase's eyes. She gasped and took an instinctive step back.
"Please! I won't hurt you!"
"You're a, you're a Grimm!" She managed to say in a strangled shout.
"And you're a Wesen, but we don't have to be enemies! I am not one of those that think Wesen are monsters or demons or whatever. Neither is my uncle."
"Your Uncle? Which one?"
"Rory, apparently it bypassed my Uncle Dave and my dad, but not me. I've just activated, I didn't know anything about any of this until today. Rory says it's a secret and I can understand why."
"I knew there was a Grimm in town, I just didn't know it was your uncle. He's got a reputation for playing fair, from what I've heard."
"That's good to know. Like I said, I just found out about this today, what kind of Wesen are you? Because your Wesen face is cute."
"You really can see me?"
"Yes and like I said, kind of cute, like some kind of dog, maybe."
"Fox, I'm a Fuchsbau, which is a fox Wesen. My birth mother was too. I'm actually half, my father is fully human. It means I don't completely look like a full on Fuchsbau would."
"Still cute." He assured her and Cordelia began to relax at the sincerity in his voice and his scent, which didn't indicate aggressiveness.