Exquisitely Bored 13/?

[Carol.Clarke@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Title: Exquisitely Bored 
Chapter 13: Predatory Act
Author: C. Clarke
Rating R maybe light NC-17 later on.
Disclaimer: All BTVS characters belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.
Summary: In an alternate world. Willow is the Slayer and she and her Father
just moved to Sunnydale. Life long friends, Cordelia and Buffy, run head
long into the new slayer in town.
Warning: Love and sex between two women, don't like it don't read it.
Special Thanks - Special thanks go to AleXander Thompson whose transcripts
made this story possible. 
And More Thanks - To my goddess Cheryl Hill and AnneBar
Feedback - Desperately, only please don't hurt me too bad I have a fragile
ego as it is.

Predatory Act

Cordelia Chase had woken up several minutes before hand but she had waited
until Xander had left the library to let anyone know she was awake.
Carefully she watched Buffy Summers. It was the hyena way to separate its
victims from the group before striking or in this case, talking them into
letting them go. 

Buffy sat in the corner of the library watching a national geographic
special on hyenas. Cordelia straightened her clothes from her mating attempt
with Willow and then carefully called out, "Buffy."

" How are you feeling?" Buffy said without even looking up from the TV.

" Like somebody hit me with a desk. Why am I locked in the cage?" Cordelia
said sounding every bit like Buffy's childhood friend.

"You're... resting? Something heavy fell on your head." Buffy said with a
slight grin.

"You mean like a desk? Buffy come on, it's me, do you really think locking
me up is helping." The cheerleader said taking a pose she knew Buffy found
irresistible. "Come on Buff, left me out and we can go shopping or
something." 

"Can't do that Cordy, Willow said to leave you locked up." Buffy said evenly
as she moved toward the cage.

"Willow is nuts. Before she came to Sunnydale everything was a lot better."
Cordelia replied waiting for Buffy to move closer to the cage.

"That's not fair. Willow saved both of our lives and you're not living with
your parents anymore. Willow gave you a home." Buffy argued back continuing
to move closer to the cage. 

"Before she came here our lives didn't need that much saving, did they?
Weren't things a lot simpler when it was just you and me?" Cordelia said
quietly still waiting for Buffy to get within reach. 

"Possibly." Buffy said carefully studying Cordelia as she stood right in
front of the cage.

"Buffy I know there is something wrong with me, different. But I can't wait
for Willow to punch the truth out of someone to find out. I need your help;
it could be just like it used to be. The two of us against the world. Come
on Buffy I really need your help here." The Hyena possessed Cordelia lied. 

" I am helping you." Buffy said in a quiet voice with her arms crossed over
her chest. Her demon side sensed the lie. Her demon half felt the wrongness
of her friend. Cordelia had said all the right words. Her body language was
correct in every manner but Buffy could still sense the lie.

"You're just doing what you're told. What people expect you to do. When you
first told me you were gay. You said you just couldn't do that anymore, you
couldn't live the lie, you couldn't just go on doing what people expected
you to do. Isn't that what you're doing now?" Cordelia argued. 

"Cordelia I wish it was really you talking." Buffy said in the same cool
quiet voice, staring at Cordelia.

"It is me talking. Look if Willow really thought I was that dangerous she
wouldn't have left me alone with you would she?" Cordelia said changing
tactics. 

"She didn't, she left Xander here with me. But I sent Xander away." Buffy
said frankly as she continued to study Cordelia.

" Why?" The cheerleader asked.

"Because nobody on Earth knows you better than I do and I wanted to be here
to see if... you were still you." Buffy said in the same quiet but frank
tone. 

"So look at me. It's me right Buffy, come on." The hyena soul asked, still
trying to free itself. 

"You are not Cordelia." Buffy said backing away from the cage. The hyena
roared and reached its arms out trying to grab Buffy. Not able to reach her
it screamed in fury and grabbed at the bars.

"LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! YOU STUPID DYKE BITCH!" Cordelia howled throwing
herself at the cage walls. 

After several minutes Xander returned carrying soda pop cans and chips.
Cordelia was still tossing herself against the cage bars and Xander heard
her last round of "dyke bitch" as he came through the door.

"I see she is awake." Xander said slowly handing Buffy a coke.

"Yeah she has been charming." Buffy said looking up from the nature special.

"It's not really Cordelia." Xander said as the cheerleader continued to call
Buffy a variety of names.

"In a way it is." Buffy said slowly. Xander could see the trail of tears in
her eyes. 

"Buffy that is not Cordelia." Xander said pointing at the cheerleader.

"Xander do you know why Cordelia slept with me?" Buffy said not taking her
eyes off the TV. She couldn't look him in the face.

"Because she loves you." He replied quickly.

"She loves me but not in that way. She slept with me because she was scared.
All of her life her father used her as a punching bag and I never knew it. I
was her best friend and I didn't know he hit her. I knew he treated her like
shit but I never knew he hit her." Buffy said looking at Xander for the
first time as her tears poured down her face. The hyena sprit had even
stopped banging itself into the cage and the room was quiet. 

"I never knew. She knew all my secrets. She knew I was gay before I did. But
I never knew. Then Willow comes to town. Everything is changed mostly for
the better. And Willow, not me, learns the truth." Buffy said carefully. 

"Yeah and things got a lot better for Cordelia." Xander replied frankly
sitting down next to Buffy.

"Better yes, but everything was also new, unknown. Cordelia is so very
scared. That I did know. She has been really afraid that her dad will come
back into her life. She likes living with the Rosenbergs. In a way I am the
only consistent thing still in her life. And she didn't want to lose me. So
she slept with me because she thought it was what I wanted. Which it was,
only I never thought about it from Cordelia's point of view." Buffy said
wiping the tears away. 

"Buuufffffyyyyyyy..." A singsong voice broke through the library. 

"Xxxxxxxxxaaaaaaannnder." 

Buffy and Xander both began looking around the library. The distant calls
continued from different points in the library. Both knew the other
four-hyena people were now hunting them. 

"Buuufffffyyyyyyy." Buffy looked up and saw Kyle and Heidi in the window
seconds before the glass shattered. Buffy grabbed Xander's hand and they
took off running out of the library into the hall. 

"Xxxxxxxxxaaaaaaannnder, Buuufffffyyyyyyy." Echoed up the hall. 

The two friends ran up the hall followed by the Kyle and Heidi. Soon
Cordelia, Tor and Rhonda joined them. Buffy and Xander tried to reach an
exit only to be cut off by the pack. The pack had moved quickly to herd them
into a dead end. Finally they made it to a classroom and locked the door.
Both friends slid underneath the teacher's desk. 

The door to the classroom was kicked in and the pack entered the room. Buffy
and Xander both held their breath. After a minute the sound of the packs
footsteps exiting the room was heard. After what felt like a lifetime Buffy
and Xander crawled out of their hiding place and tiptoed to the door. Just
as they started out the door Heidi stepped out from behind them, the rest of
the pack stepped out in front of them. 

Suddenly Giles hit Heidi over the head with a fire extinguisher. "Run,"
Joyce screamed waving her hands in their direction. Xander and Buffy ran
past Heidi and the four continued to run up the hall. The pack followed
right on their heels. Willow came up from behind Tor and tripped him,
pushing past Rhonda she came up the rear of the group. Giles opened a
classroom with a passkey and the group ran inside. Giles locked the door as
Willow came in guarding the rear. The pack stood outside the door pounding
to get in. Their growls completely inhuman. 

Then they suddenly stopped.

"I think they're going, they hunt by singling out victims." Buffy said
slowly. 

"They could be faking it." Xander said remembering their earlier attempt at
leaving the classroom.

"No, they're hungry. They'll be looking for somebody weak." Willow said
coldly. 

"If we had known they would comeback for Cordelia we would have never left
you alone honey." Joyce said angrily. 

"It's ok Mom, you couldn't have known." Buffy said completely passively. 

"Let me guess boss, we need to lead them back to the zoo?" Willow said to
Giles.

"And before their next meal." Buffy replied.

"I am afraid that is going to be your job Willow." Joyce said as she
wrapped her arms around her daughter.

"I am not sure that is the best plan, individually they're almost as strong
as you, Willow. As a group they're... but honestly I can't think of a better
plan." Giles said placing his own hand on Buffy's shoulder. 

"They're tough, but I think they're getting stupider. You guys go to the zoo
and I will bring them to you." Willow said bravely. As she stepped out the
door to find the pack she wondered what her own parents reaction would be to
finding her in danger. It was clear Giles and Joyce were terrified for
Buffy. Glancing back as she left the room both parents were still holding on
to Buffy. 

(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((())))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
))))))))))))))))))))

The Anderson family got into their SUV. Mrs. Anderson leant over and checked
the seat belt on her young son for the second time. 

"Joey." A voice called out in a distant sing song manner. Both parents began
looking out the window for the voice calling their son's name.

"Joey" continued to be called from all directions. The Anderson strained to
find the source of the voices when five teenagers seemed to appear out of
thin air surrounding their car. Tor quickly jumped on the hood of the family
car. 

Before either parent could react Cordelia's arm broke the glass window
beside Joey. Reaching in she grabbed the small child.

"Get away! Help Mommy!" The boy called out in terror. Mrs. Anderson reached
back to protect her son trying to fight Cordelia off but from the front
passenger seat it was nearly impossible. Cordelia tried to pull the child
out the broken window only to be stopped by the seatbelt. 

Growling like a wild animal Cordelia let go of the boy and reached in to
unbuckle the seat belt while fighting off Mrs. Anderson. 

Willow flipped onto the hood of the car and kicked Tor off on to the ground.
Then she flipped off the car kicking Ronda in the head on her way to the
ground. With a quick roundhouse she tossed Kyle to the ground next to
Rhonda. Tor was already standing back up on the other side of the car. All
five students were growling, their attention no longer on the Anderson's. 

"Very bad manners, you know you shouldn't play with your food before you eat
it. I really need better come back lines." Willow said to the group.

Cordelia had let the boy go and the five were now gathering into a pack,
their eyes completely inhuman. 

"Tag your it." Willow said then took off running down the street. The slayer
didn't even look back to see if they were following her. She could hear
their inhuman hunting sounds as they followed right on her heels. 

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"Giles where is the zookeeper?" Buffy asked her stepfather looking around
the pathway to the hyena cage. 

"He must be inside getting things together. Xander you go back near the
front gate, darling would you go to the back gate, and Buffy why don't you
stay here, when you see Willow coming run ahead and warn us that she is
approaching." Giles said outlining a game plan. 

"Are you sure?" Joyce asked not wanting to leave Buffy along again.

"Yes, Willow is most likely coming in the front gate and the children run
faster than you dear, but we still should watch the back gate, we will need
all the warning we can get." Giles said then added, "Buffy will be ok."

"Mom Ti Kwan Do for ten years." Buffy added smiling at her mother. 

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))

" Doctor? Uh... zookeeper?" Giles called as he entered the viewing area of
the hyena habitat.

The Zookeeper stepped out of the corner of the viewing area dressed in fell
costume startling the watcher. As Giles looked at the man he felt the hairs
raising on the back of his neck once again. 

" Oh! Oh, of course, the, uh, Masai ceremonial garb. Yes... Very good. Are
you, uh, otherwise prepared for the trans-possession?" he asked studying the
man carefully. 

"Just about." The zookeeper said with a small grin. Giles looked at the man
again staring into his eyes and then quickly looked away. His senses were
screaming at him to run but Giles was a logical man and seldom listened to
his instinct, as a watcher he couldn't allow himself that luxury. You had to
stand and fight evil not run away and hide. 

Looking around the cage Giles noticed the marking on the floor. He carefully
studied them remarking, "Oh, right! The, uh, sacred circle. Yes, you'd need
that to, um... This would be here when... when the children first came. Why
would you..."

And then it hit him like a ton of bricks, "How terribly frustrating for you
that a bunch of school children could accomplish what you could not." He
should have known the symbol had to be there before the children were
possessed. 

"It bothered me. But the power will be mine." The zookeeper said seconds
before both men broke into a run. Giles desperately trying to flee. The
zookeeper used his spear to trip Giles. The watcher fell to the ground and
the zookeeper clubbed him over the head with the blunt end of the spear
breaking the wooden stick in half. Giles was out cold and the Zookeeper
dragged him in a storage room. 

The sound of Xander tripping followed by, "Ok fuck, they're coming," was the
first indication Buffy had that Willow was on her way. She peeked out across
the expanse of the zoo and could see Xander hiding near the Polar Bear cage
and Willow and company coming by the Zebra cage. In the coming months she
would remember this moment, remember that in the dark she had been able to
see the surrounding zoo as clearly as if it were daylight. She would realize
that even at this point in her life her demon half was rising to the
surface. But at the very moment she never questioned her abilities. 

Knowing that Xander would be safe where he was she turned to run inside to
warn her stepfather. 

"Hey Giles Will is almost here. Hey, where are the hyenas for the
trans-possession?" Buffy asked as she gazed around the cage. Even her better
then human sight had trouble spotting the animals at first glance.

"They're right here in the feeding area." The zookeeper said stepping out of
his hiding place. Buffy barely looked at him as she moved over to the side
of the cage to look at the hyenas. Scanning she moved closer to the rail
spotting two of them behind a large rock. 

"Stay back! They haven't been fed." The zookeeper said moving right up
beside her. Buffy continued to look in the cage to spot the five animals. It
was clear they were very good at hiding.

"Where's Giles?" She ask casually still following the five animals around
the cage with her eyes. 

"He's... laying in wait." The zookeeper lied.

"They're almost here. Shouldn't you bring the hyenas out, or ...well do
whatever it is we are supposed to do, ...or something?" The girl asked
looking at the zookeeper and realizing he was in costume for the first time.


"When the time is right. I'm gonna need your help." The zookeeper said.
Buffy just knodded her head. The zookeeper then began tying a rope around
Buffy's hands binding them together. Buffy just looked back into the cage
not really able to focus on anything other than the hyena's in the cage.
Something about them hiding in the cage was bringing something primitive
inside her to the surface. Some predatory act that her demon understood,
wanted, her whole body was humming with an ancient dance. She was one of
them, like them hiding, hunting her prey, and stalking them in the wild. And
she could not take her eyes off the hyenas; she was watching them and
stalking them in the cage. She was hunting the hunters. 

The voice of Willow called from just outside the viewing area, "I'm on my
way and they are right behind me!"

The voice jarred her from her hunting, as the song inside her head
whispered, 'my mate is coming.' Breaking out of her trance she noticed her
hands were now bound. 

"Willow is here. Get ready!" Buffy said as she shook the last part of her
trance away. The zookeeper moved behind her and positioned himself
whispering in her ear, "Don't worry this is just part of the ceremony." He
needed her calm before he was ready to act.

Taking a knife he moved it to her throat. Buffy immediately registered the
danger. 

"What the hell is that?" She asked.

"A predatory act, remember?" He said hoping the girl was really as dumb as
she seemed. It had been far too easy to bind her. 

"You'll pretend to slash my throat and, and put the evil in the hyenas?"
Buffy asked as she remembered what she had read in Giles book. Her senses
were very confused. She had shut off the demon sense when she heard Willow
approach. Pushed them to the back of her brain. But they were still there
telling her she was in danger. 

" Something like that." The man lied again. 

This time Buffy knew he was lying but before she could react Willow came
running into the viewing area of the cage. 

"Will, it's a trap!" Buffy said before elbowing the zookeeper to move the
blade away from her throat, then she used her feet to trip him, knocking him
and herself on the floor. Willow had started to move toward him when
Cordelia and Kyle tackled her. Buffy struggled to get away from the larger
man as he grabbed his knife and flung himself on top of Buffy. 

Rhonda, Tor and Heidi had piled on top Willow. The slayer was fighting for
her life. The Zookeeper was now sitting on top of the bound Buffy, the knife
high in the air. "YU BA YA SA NA!" He screamed. 

Willow managed to kick Cordelia off of her. She flipped up and rammed Kyle's
head into a post knocking him out cold. She was still fighting with the
other three when all five possessed students eyes flashed green and then
back to normal, at the same instant the five hyena's eyes flashed green. 

Looking up from her spot on the ground Cordelia saw the zookeeper with the
knife above Buffy's chest. 

"No" she called before she took off running across the viewing area. She
threw the whole of her body at the man, knocking him off of Buffy seconds
before he plunged the knife down. As he was tackled he let go of the knife
flinging it into the cage. Furious he scrambled back to his feet and punched
Cordelia knocking her near the rail. Pulling back his arm to punch her a
second time. He was just about to throw the punch when first Willow punched
him spinning him around and second Buffy roundhouse kicked him into the
hyena cage. The demon animals were on him in seconds. 

It was her first Predatory Act, even if in self-defense, her demon-half
still recognized the event as a signal to her body, she was ready for the
change. The demon was now ready to emerge. 

Giles stumbled out of the storage room and looked around. "I missed
something didn't I?" 

(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((())))))))))))))))))))

"I heard the vice-principal's taking over 'til they can find a replacement."
Xander replied walking along side the girls. Things were slowly getting back
to normal. 

"It shouldn't be too hard to find a new principal. Unless they ask what
happened to the last one." Willow said quietly.

"You're sure I had nothing to do with that?" The now vegetarian Cordelia
asked her friends.

"I am pretty sure you only ate Herbert the pig." Willow replied knowing that
wasn't really helping her roommate. Cordelia had given up eating meat all
together. 

"It's still gross." The cheerleader whispered. 

"Trust me, it really wasn't you." Buffy said with a smile. 

"I remember going into the cage and the next thing I remember is that weird
zookeeper guy holding a knife to your throat." 

"My hero... You saved my life." Buffy said leaning over and kissing
Cordelia's cheek quickly. No more than a peck. Buffy quickly pulled away
after her kiss. They had not talked about their relationship since it
happened. They were both pretending that things were back the way they had
been before they slept together. 

The group laughed at Buffy's gesture and then they all separated in
different directions. Giles had been watching them. He knew where each of
them was going and had placed himself to catch Cordelia before she went to
class.

"Funny I've been reading up on my, uh, animal possession, and I cannot find
anything anywhere about memory loss afterwards."

"Did you tell them that?" Cordelia said quickly and then added in complete
panic. "I really only ate the pig." 

"And you called Buffy a lot of less than flattering names but your secret
dies with me."

"I am so sorry." Cordelia said letting a few tears roll down her cheeks. 

"They will forgive, you know that. None of them hold you responsible for
what you did." He said quietly.

"But you do?" She guessed.

"No I would never hold you responsible for the actions of a demon spirit.
But I do think the hyena spirit did bring some of you fears to the surface.
I know what happened between you and Buffy." He said carefully. 

"I...I..." She stammered. She didn't know what to say. 

"Sooner or later you and Buffy are going to have to sit down and talk about
it. About sleeping together. About how you feel, about each other. Cordelia
I know you haven't had it easy. And I wish I could make things better for
you. What I do know is that you and my stepdaughter have been friends most
of your lives. And if you don't talk about it, that could change. And that
would be a shame." With that Giles turned and walked away. 


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