Animalisticby CynaminDISCLAIMER: Okay,
obviously anything you recognize, I don't own. Buffy: The Vampire
Slayer and all related characters, etc. doesn't belong to me. This is all your fault! Buffy yelled at the top of her lungs, looking at the small white mouse on the floor of her dorm room. Willow looked flustered. Buffy, I I mean, I can see it now. Sorry, Professor Walsh, but Riley wont be coming in today because my roommate turned him into a mouse! Well, if you hadnt been complaining about how none of your boyfriends are honest with you, maybe I could have completed the truth spell without messing up! Riley-mouse squeaked and started wandering. Buffy scooped him up and sighed. What are we going to do with him? Ill find someway to turn him back. Maybe Tara will help me, Willow said. Meanwhile, put him in the cage with Amy. Change him back? Change me back! Cause youre so good with reversal spells, arent you Willow? So, youve messed up another and I get a new roommate. This is so unfair. This is all your fault! Cordelia yelled as soon as the door opened. Cordelia? Buffy asked in shock. The aspiring actress was standing in the hall outside her dorm room, a large black cat squirming to get out of her arms. Stop it! she yelled at the cat, then replied, Yeah, its me. Who else did you think it was? Your roommates been messing with magic again, and now she has to fix it! Willow was sitting by Amys and Rileys cage looking over her magic book to see where the spell had gone wrong. Im trying to fix it! she whined. Fine! Cordelia suddenly yelled at the still squirming cat, not at Willow. You hold him, she said, shoving the cat into Buffys arms and pushing her way into the room. Hes only happy with you anyway. She paused for a moment. Which is a bad thing, so watch it. The cat fell still the moment he was in Buffys arms. You do realize that you make absolutely no sense, Buffy said as she tried to get the cat into a comfortable position to hold him. The cat trembled slightly and let out a quite pitiful meow. I think you traumatized the poor thing. Cordelia just rolled her eyes and turned her attention to Willow. Fix him! I said Im Willow looked at Cordelia oddly. What are you doing here? How did you know about Riley, anyway? Cordelia looked at the white mouse in amusement. Thats Riley? She laughed. Willow looked back and forth between the mouse, Cordelia, and the cat. Cordy? Who ? Buffy, however, found her answer in the cats amber eyes. Angel?! No, thats my cheese! Get your own! You know, this is all your fault, Giles said seriously once Willow let him into the room. Why does everyone keep saying that? Willow cried. Because it is, Cordelia answered. Buffy nodded from where she sat on the bed, Angel curled up in her lap. Yeah. I mean, am I going to keep finding boyfriends turned into animals? This is ridiculous! She absently stroked Angels fur while she spoke. And I told you not to cast spells when you werent focused, Giles added. Well, lesson learned, Willow said sheepishly. Could you please help me fix this? Cordelia nodded. Yeah. I want my boss back. Giles walked back into the hall for a moment and returned with an armload of books. I brought everything I thought could be of use, he explained. He put down the books in the middle of the floor. Suddenly Buffy chuckled for no apparent reason. Everyone looked at her, including Angel who lifted his head from her lap for a moment. Buffy returned his gaze and said with a laugh, You were purring. The two of them then noticed everyones strange glance. Well, he was! Buffy defended herself. Angel shrugged as best a cat could stretched, and jumped down to the floor and Giles pile of books. He looked at the ex-Watcher expectantly. Right. So, um, research. Research. Why didnt they ever do research like this when I got turned into a rat? Hey! Go away, its my turn on the wheel! Angel had given up trying to be much help on the research end. After finding that he couldnt turn the pages with paws at least, not without great difficulty he curled up on the floor next to Buffy and tried to read the books she was looking at. Theres one thing I dont get, Willow said at one point, looking at Angels still human mannerisms and expressive cat noises. I mean, how come Angel still has his personality and Rileys just a mouse? Maybe because Riley had no personality to begin with, Cordelia muttered. Angel chuckled sort of. Why couldnt you be a handsome, human intelligence, rat? Whyd you have to be a mouse? Guys, I think Ive found something that might work, Willow said finally, but But what? Cordelia demanded. I dont have to go looking for a new job, do I? Umm, actually Buffy, I need you to look at this. Buffy took the old spell book from Willows hand. She looked at the open page for a moment and blinked at the words. Love Transformed? she asked, making sure that she was reading the correct spell. Willow nodded. Yeah. Um, you see the part where it says true loves true form? Oh, was all Buffy said, very softly. Thats the part that worries me, Willow explained. I mean, what about Riley? Buffy looked stricken. Arent you making an awfully big assumption there, Wills? Everyone stared at her. Cordelia rolled her eyes. Angel looked hurt and let out a very soft meow. Buffy sighed. Youre right. What about Riley? Willow took the spell book back. I think That is, Giles and I could try and modify this spell so that it works for two people that you care about. Its worth a try. Buffy nodded. Then do it. Fifteen minutes later Willow and Giles thought they had a workable spell. The center of the room was a circle of candles, Buffy in the center, Angel to one side of her. The only hitch came when Willow went to place Riley-mouse in the circle as well. As she went to put him down on Buffys other side, Angel hissed and swiped at him. Buffy put a restraining hand on his back, and Willow scooped up the mouse before he could hide. For your sake, Buffy muttered to Angel, Im going to assume that was feline instincts getting the better of you and not because hes my boyfriend. Angel lowered his head and watched the mouse closely. Willow, Buffy said, exasperated, lets just do this spell before anything else goes wrong. Right, Willow acknowledged. Now Giles and I will be casting the spell, but the results are going to depend on you. I need you to picture in your mind Angel and Riley the way theyre supposed to be Yes! Ive got the cage all to myself again. Who needs a roommate anyway? Now, if you could just find a reversal spell that would work for me, things would be great This is all your fault, Angel muttered, sitting on Buffys bed wrapped up in her blanket. Im sorry I forgot to bring clothes for you, okay? Giles went to find you something to wear out of here, Cordelia declared, extremely tired of this. Smile already. Everything else worked out great. That it had. While clothes, embarrassingly enough, had apparently not been a part of Buffys visualization process, sunlight had been. When the spell was complete and Angel found himself in human form (all be it with vampire strength because of all of the times he and Buffy had fought together) Buffy admitted that shed dreamed of him being human everyday since about a week after she visited him in L.A. Telling her that the dreams had really happened had been uncomfortable. Angels currently unclothed state made things even more awkward. Buffy was quite purposefully standing as far away from him as she could. Only the presence of others in the room led to their self-control. What I dont understand, Willow said after a moment, is what happened to Riley? Whered he go? She looked at Buffy. Did you picture him somewhere in particular, maybe? To be honest, Buffy replied softly, I was really concentrating more on Angel at the time. I dont know. Angel looked at Buffy when she said that. She would not meet his eyes. Perhaps the changes in the spell had done little, and it had been true love that made the transformation possible. Hell turn up, Cordelia said, her tone clearly indicating that she didnt care one way or another. They might have continued looking for Riley then, but the door opened suddenly. Without any introduction, Xander began rambling. How are my two favorite girls? I come bearing snacks, donuts, and AAH! Xander finally took in the whole situation. He gaped at them. What the hell are you doing here, Dead Boy? And where are your clothes? Long story, Cordelia began, surprising Xander with her presence. A spell went bad, Willow said sheepishly. Apparently not that long. Xander shook his head in dismay. Uh, okay. Well, if anyone wants donuts He took a step forward and everyone heard a quite loud crunch. Uggh, Cordelia said in disgust. Cockroach problem? Never had one before, Buffy said, disinterested. Willow, however, had another idea. Riley? Huh. Serves him right. Eat my food, will you? This may have been all your fault, Buffy said to Willow softly, but thank you. Youre not upset about Riley? Buffy shrugged. Oddly, no. Im just glad theres no body or anything so I dont have to explain. Well, there is a body, Willow said, but its on the bottom of Xanders shoe. Buffy laughed slightly and stared across the room. Willow smiled and followed Buffys gaze to where Angel sat, staring out the open window at the vibrant sunset. True loves true form, huh? Buffy smiled. Yeah. Angel turned to look at them both. What? Your true form, Angel. Not quite human, not vampire, just Angel. Perfect, Buffy said softly. Perfect, Angel replied with a smile and stood up to move closer to Buffy. Think we can make this work this time? Of course, Buffy replied, and they kissed as if there was no one else in the world. Cordelia rolled her eyes. Willow smiled broadly. Xander groaned and looked away. Giles shrugged and began gathering his books. And Riley well, Riley was dead. So all was right with the world. Hey! What about me now?! I want to be human too! Darn it. |