Fic: The Wolf Within (4/?)

[Erin <erin@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Sorry this took a little longer than I thought, but it was the
weekend, and I sorta have a life. Well, not really, but I can
pretend.

TITLE: The Wolf Within
AUTHOR: Erin (erin@xxxxxxxxxxx)
SPOILERS: None, really.
RATING: PG-13 at worst, because of some violence. It is a
Buffy/Willow fic, so if that bothers you, or it's illegal to even
think of a Slayer and a Witch getting it on, then just don't read it.
Or move.
DISCLAIMER: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and all characters belong to Joss
Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and Fox. I'm just borrowing them for a bit.
I'll put them back when I'm done, no worse for wear (but maybe a
little happier). Most of the werewolf stuff is copyright White Wolf,
such as Garou, Crinos, Child of Gaia, Glass Walker, etc.
ARCHIVE: Currently, none. Just ask, I'd love to say yes.
FEEDBACK: Constructive comments are encouraged.
SUMMARY: (Buffy/Willow) Willow discovers that there is more to her
than meets the eye, and it could tear her life apart.

Part the Fourth

"...and since your shifting is going very well, I don't see any reason
why we shouldn't go right on to history and culture, ok Willow?"
Nichole looked over at the young woman, who appeared to be
daydreaming. "Willow?"

Willow's head jerked up with a start. "Oh, uh, sure," she said.

Nichole gave her an amused look. "You haven't heard a word I've said,
have you?"

"Um, not really," Willow replied, chagrined. "I was kinda thinking
about something else."

"Oh? Care to tell me? Maybe I can help," Nichole said, taking a seat
next to the young woman.

"Well, I don't know if you can help," Willow replied. After a moment,
she sighed. "It's Buffy. I knew this werewolf thing was going to
change our friendship, but she's just gotten so distant over the past
couple of days. She uses all sorts of excuses to stay away from our
room, for one thing. She's never there when she thinks I might be.
She patrols until late at night so she thinks I'll be asleep when she
returns, and she leaves before I wake up in the morning. It's like
she doesn't want to see me, doesn't want to have to deal with this
whole thing." Willow sighed dejectedly.

Nichole laid a comforting hand on Willow's shoulder. "Well, sometimes
people have a hard time dealing with something that shakes up their
life as much as this has. I know you've had a lot to adjust to, but
in a way it's almost worse for Buffy because she has no control over
what's going on. Usually it will just take time, and once she works
out whatever it is that's bothering her, she'll remember why she loved
you in the first place."

Willow looked up at Nichole, uncertainly. "Love? You mean friendship,
right?"

Nichole smiled and instead of answering, said, "You're very lucky,
Willow. You don't need to hide who you are from Buffy. You can both
trust each other, and share yourselves with each other. There need
not be any falsehoods between the two of you." Nichole stood, and
walked away a few paces, lost in thought. "Most other Garou never get
that opportunity. Human and wolf mates would only be placed in great
danger if they knew about our battle against the Wyrm's forces. It is
impossible for a Garou to be completely honest about who we are with
the ones we love."

"Why not choose a mate who is another Garou, then?" Willow asked,
quietly.

Long-remembered pain etched Nichole's features. "Garou do not mate
with Garou. The children born from such a union are always hideously
deformed, and are usually treated as outcasts in Garou society. It is
our oldest Law...and the one which is the most difficult to follow."
Nichole passed a hand over her eyes, wiping away tears. She turned
and faced Willow, her countenance grave. "But you, Willow -- you have
the chance to be friends with someone who is truly the sister of your
heart. Perhaps it is time to bring our lesson to an end for the
evening. Go to Buffy, and talk to her. Do something together
tonight, something which doesn't involve your Garou heritage.
Something which will help her remember." Nichole smiled.

Willow nodded; she felt like she had just been privy to one of the
young woman's deepest, most painful secrets. And it was only after
she left the store and headed for campus did it occur to her to wonder
if Nichole was really only talking about Buffy and Willow's
friendship.

* * *

Willow returned to the dorm room just in time to see Buffy placing
some books in a backpack. All the nervousness came back to her all at
once, and she had a hard time sounding casual. Even to her own ears,
it sounded forced. "Hey, Buffy... Say, how about you and me grab some
pizza, rent some movies..." She trailed off when Buffy grabbed her
backpack and walked past her to the door.

Avoiding eye contact with her friend, Buffy said, "Ah, gee, I'd love
to Will, but I have to get to the library to do some homework. I'll
probably be back late, so don't wait up or anything..." She left the
room, shutting the door behind her.

Willow stood there for a moment, stunned. Feeling the anger grow
inside her at being brushed off, she left the room, running after her
friend.

She finally caught up with Buffy on a concrete sidewalk outside.
Willow grabbed Buffy's elbow, whirling the Slayer around. Surprise
etched the blonde woman's features.

"Homework?" Willow said, anger building in her voice. "Buffy, it's
eight o'clock on a Friday. You're not _that_ dedicated a student.
What the hell is going on here?"

Buffy, who had been busy looking alternately nervous and guilty,
bristled under Willow's tone. "Why don't you tell me, Will?" she
said. "You apparently don't need me anymore for anything. You've got
your own little werewolf friend. Hell, you're even a tougher fighter
than I am, now. You don't need me." She ripped her elbow from
Willow's grasp fiercely.

All the anger seemed to drain out of Willow when she heard Buffy's
words. Buffy was avoiding her because she felt out-of-place in
Willow's "new life." Willow shook her head sadly, seeing Buffy's
angry gaze. "Buffy, you don't understand. Since I found out I'm
Garou, I need you more than ever." She winced at Buffy's flatly
disbelieving gaze, and continued. "I can never go back to who I once
was. But I need you in my life, Buffy. It's just not worth it if I
don't have you to share it with."

Buffy looked at Willow, her anger fading to uncertainty. "I just
don't know what my role is supposed to be anymore. I used to be your
Slayer, the person who kicked butt for you and tried to protect you
from all the nasties. But you don't need me to be that anymore. I
used to be the friend you ran to when you had something you wanted to
talk about. But it looks like you're running to Nichole now." Faint
bitterness tinged the words as she spoke.

Willow shook her head, and said, "Buffy, you can be who you always
were, and always _are_: my best friend. Nichole has been a good
friend, but she's not you. She can never be you." Willow looked at
Buffy, her heart reflected in her eyes.

Before Buffy could speak, a low, haunting voice came out of the
shadows. "She'll only disappoint you, Willow... They always
disappoint you..." Buffy and Willow whirled around to see two tall
figures emerging from the shadows. They moved with an accomplished
grace, like lethal predators examining the herd for weak members.
They were obviously werewolves, but a kind that Willow had not seen
before; they were in full Crinos form, and their oily black fur melded
into the shadows surrounding the lit sidewalk. Their eyes glowed with
a deep green inner flame, and their ears were hairless and leathery,
almost like bats' wings. When they spoke, Willow felt the hair at the
back of her neck stand on end.

"Come with us, Willow..." One of them said. "We're the only ones who
won't disappoint you, who won't leave you." The other one chimed in.
"Your parents, Buffy, none of them love you, Willow, none of them will
take care of you. Not like we'll take care of you. Come with us."
They circled around the girls until they stood on either side of them.
"Don't refuse us, Willow. You shouldn't refuse us."

"Who the hell are these guys, Will?" Buffy asked, turning so as not to
let them get behind her.

Willow just shook her head. Every fiber of her being was telling her
to kill these beings; she had never even seen one of these things
before, had never even seen a Crinos besides Nichole, but these things
exuded such a sense of _wrong_ that she couldn't ignore it. "I don't
know what they are, but they're evil," was all she said.

"That's all I need to know," Buffy replied, and to Willow's horror,
she launched herself at the first werewolf. She delivered a
devastating series of kicks and punches; at least, they would be
devastating, if the werewolf had reacted at all to being hit. He
leveled one punch at the Slayer, and sent her sprawling heavily to the
turf.

Willow watched in shock as Buffy landed on the ground and struggled to
rise. The werewolf she had attacked smiled, and walked over to stand
above the fallen Slayer. Willow ran toward the thing, her rage
growing as she drew closer to the beast. She leapt at the werewolf,
shifting into the Crinos as she did so. Soon, her clawed hands
grasped at the thing's throat, seeking to puncture some vital artery.

Buffy looked up and saw Willow in full Crinos form grappling with the
other werewolf. The Slayer whirled around and ducked just in time to
avoid a clawed hand, which passed through the space her head had
occupied just a moment before. The second werewolf, who had been
forgotten in the excitement, had decided it was time to strike.

Buffy ducked under another blow, noticing that although these things
were strong, they weren't fast or very agile. They were big, though,
and if her previous experience was any indication, her usual
compliment of attacks really wouldn't work. Unless... Buffy ducked a
clawed swipe, and rolled forward until she was positioned on her back,
between the thing's legs. Kicking upward with all her force, she
solidly contacted the beast's groin, lifting him completely off the
ground with her kick. She rolled away quickly, just before the thing
came crashing to his knees in pain.

Not exactly a killing blow, Buffy thought, but it does buy me some
time.

Willow had now lost herself completely to instinct; she raked and bit,
sending pieces of fur and flesh flying everywhere. She felt a solid
blow to her side, and felt something warm and wet run down her leg.
She was strong but she was still an inexperienced Garou, and this
beast made her pay for every scratch she dealt.

Buffy knew she had to end this quickly. While the werewolf was still
recovering from the blow she had landed, she leapt on his back
wrapping one arm around his thick neck. She tightened her grip, and
with her other hand slowly but inexorably twisted the werewolf's head
around. He grabbed for her, but too late; a final jerk snapped the
werewolf's neck, sending him sprawling on the ground, lifeless.

Buffy stood on shaking legs, and looked over to where Willow was
battling the other werewolf. She watched with a sinking feeling as
the werewolf sank his claws, time and again, into her body; finally,
Willow collapsed in a heap at the beast's feet.

"You should not have refused the Wyrm," the werewolf hissed. "If you
do not join us, you will not be allowed to live." He reached down,
wrapping his hand around Willow's throat.

Instantly, the werewolf reared up in surprise as Buffy jumped on his
back, her arms wrapping around his throat. Holding her forearm with
her other hand, she slowly tightened her grip and felt the thing's
throat give way under her crushing pressure. The werewolf rent her
arms with his claws, tearing deep gashes in her skin, trying to get
her to release her hold. The Slayer ignored the pain, only tightening
her grip further. After what seemed like an eternity, the werewolf
dropped to its knees, a lack of oxygen weakening the creature. He
finally fell face down, his limbs going limp as he passed out. Still
Buffy did not relinquish her hold until she was satisfied that the
beast was dead. Stumbling away from the bodies, she ran to Willow's
side.

With the detached air of many hours of practice, she evaluated
Willow's injuries. The redhead had managed to shift back into human
form, which revealed numerous minor scratches and bruises. The most
disturbing injuries were several puncture wounds to her body caused by
the werewolf's sharp claws. Willow's eyes fluttered open and she
regarded Buffy calmly.

"Hey," she said, coughing. "I guess they look worse than I do, huh?"

Buffy smiled, a smile which did nothing to dispel the worry in her
eyes. "Yeah, you tore 'em up, Will. Don't worry, though, you just
have a few scratches. Nothing a big, bad werewolf can't handle,
right? We'll get you patched up in no time, don't worry."

Willow shook her head weakly. "No...isn't like the knife. These
wounds feel hot...aren't healing. Need..." The talking sent her into
a coughing spasm, and mercifully she passed out.

Working fast, Buffy tore her sweatshirt into pieces and managed to
patch up the worst of Willow's wounds. The deep gouges on her own
arms were still dripping blood, so she quickly wrapped those as well.

"Ok, Will, we've got to get you somewhere, and fast," Buffy said,
bending down to pick up the young woman. She lifted her with some
difficulty, but could only take her a short distance before her head
began to swim from blood loss and exertion. She quickly set Willow
down again, afraid she would drop the redhead if she continued.

Dammit! Buffy thought, savagely. We don't have time for me to be weak
right now!

"Hey, are you guys ok? Were you in an accident, or something?" A young
blonde guy came running up to them. "My car isn't far, I can take you
guys to the hospital."

Buffy ran through her options, which admittedly weren't many. "Sure,
that would be great," she said, "but we're not going to the hospital."
With the young man's help, they carried Willow to his car, a
late-model, black Range Rover. After settling Willow in the back,
they jumped in.

"Ok, where are we going, then?" He asked, starting the car's engine.

"I'll just give you directions." Buffy glanced at the young man, and
realized how brusque she sounded. "Thanks...thanks for your help. My
name's Buffy. Buffy Summers."

"Chris Maxwell," the young man replied, and pulled his car out of the
lot, onto the street.

END Part 4
--
"I question the stability of a company whose future depends on
Microsoft programs being intelligent. I don't question the idea
that Office Assistants are the most advanced Microsoft technology."
-- Joel Ray "Piquan" Holveck
*email: erin@xxxxxxxxxxx