*****

Giles was sitting in the magic shop, sipping tea and enjoying the peace and quiet of the evening while he could. After all, when one lived on the Hellmouth, such opportunities are few and far between.

"Giles, what's purpleish-grey, built like a greyhound, and about the size of a Clydesdale?" Buffy yelled as she came barreling through the shop's front door, Willow and Tara following close behind her. All three girls gasped for air as if they had just run a marathon.

The former watcher sighed. Was it too much to ask for just one evening alone with a good book, without having someone come crashing through his door with some impending crisis?

"Buffy, please calm yourself. What happened, and where are Xander and Spike?"

The blonde took several deep breathes before explaining in a rush. "We were patrolling like usual, and for the most part, it was a quiet night. The only things we came across were a few minions and some old drunk. We were just about to call it a night when these two monsters came slinking out of the trees. They were big, about the size of a Clydesdale with purpleish-grey scales, lots of long, pointy teeth, and built kinda like a greyhound."

"When they saw us, they circled around a few times before suddenly turning to look in the direction they came from. Then they just took off. Xander and Spike are following them to find out where they came from and if there are anymore." Willow explained when Buffy paused for air.

"I came back here with Willow and Tara in case there were more of the things around. So, do you know what they are and how we kill them? Cause something that nasty looking can't be up to any good." asked Buffy.

"Well, um---yes, I think these creatures do sound rather familiar. Just give me a moment to find the right book." Giles retrieved a large, rather battered-looking tome from a nearby bookshelf and began quickly leafing through it "Ah, yes, here we are. Now, does this look like the creatures you saw?" he asked, holding out the book for the girls to examine the illustration.

"Yes, yes, that's it! What does the book say about them?" Willow exclaimed.

Tara nodded in agreement, more than willing to let her girlfriend do all the talking. Although she felt fairly comfortable around all of the Scoobies now, she still was reluctant to speak unless she had to.

"According to this the creatures are called Weryveths and...oh, dear...this is not good, not good at all. Weryveths are highly dangerous. They are quite swift, agile, and very intelligent, with excellent eyesight, hearing, and sense of smell. Their hides are extremely difficult to penetrate, and they have the ability to hypnotize their prey with their movements."

"That would explain why we all just stood there and stared at them." Buffy commented.

"Steel weaponry works the best against them but unfortunately their only weak spots are their eyes, mouth, and the underside of their jaw." Giles took off his glasses and quickly polished them after he finished reading.

Everyone was quiet for a moment as they processed the information. Suddenly, Willow's eyes grew big, and she jumped to her feet.

"Xander and Spike! We left them out there with these things. We have to go find them right now!" the redhead exclaimed in fear. Her words sent the group into a flurry of movement.

Giles quickly collected a wide variety of weapons from around the shop. He gave each of the witches a crossbow with steel bolts. For Buffy, he pulled a short pike with a wicked, jagged steel head down from the wall. For himself, he retrieved a broadsword from under the main display case at the front of the store. Lastly, he gathered up several long knives as back-up weapons.

Moments later the whole group was on their way.

--------------------------------------------------

Spike was in the lead as he and Xander trailed after the monsters. There was no wasted words or conflicting actions between the two hunters. After Spike had rather reluctantly began joining the Scoobies on their patroling, he and the brunnette had ended up being partnered together with more and more frequency. Both found to their surprise that despite their differences, or maybe because of them, they made a pretty efficient team. The pair was comfortable enough in each other's presence now that they even roomed together volutarily.

Xander whispered to his companion as they crept through the underbrush after the beasts. "Hey, Spike! I've got a bad feeling about this. I think it might be a good idea to leave these things alone. After all, it's not like they've hurt anyone or anything."

The brunet was glad to have the vampire in the lead. With his heightened senses, Spike would see an attack coming much quicker then Xander himself would. And Xander knew he could count on his partner to stay focused on the task at hand, something some of his teammates had difficulty doing.

Spike didn't answer. In truth, he'd been rather uneasy about the whole situation. To have the human express the same feeling set him even more on edge. As he'd gotten to know Xander better, he'd come to the realization that the boy had something of a sixth sense about when a situation was about to turn nasty. Listening to his advice was usually a good idea. Not that the vampire was about to admit that to the whelp. No use in him getting a swelled head or anything.

**If someone had told me a year ago that me and the whelp were going to become hunting partners, I would have laughed in their face and demanded they share whatever they're smokin'. Now though, I could count on one hand the number of people I'd trust as much as him to watch me back and still have fingers left over.**

"Spiiiike! I'm serious here! Let's turn back before---" Whatever else Xander had been about to say was abruptly cut off by Spike's hand over his mouth as the blonde dragged him behind a dense clump of shrubbery.

"Quiet!" the blonde hissed in the boy's ear before the vampire released him and shoved him down lower towards the ground. As the pair crouched there, Spike noticed how quiet the surrounding woods had become.

**Bloody hell! Where'd they go? One minute they were just a little ways ahead of us, the next it's like they disappeared into thin air. Damn, this is not good!**

-----------------------------------------------

"Willow, Tara, work faster! We need to find them now!" Buffy urged. She paced around the clearing while the two witches chanted a spell to locate their missing companions.

She hated waiting like this, especially when two of her friends were unaccounted for and in possible danger. And despite the fact that they had started off as enemies, Buffy now considered Spike as much of a friend as Xander. Sure, they still argued and insulted each other, but that was for the most part just for the enjoyment of a good argument.

"Buffy, really, you must calm down. Yelling at them will only disrupt their concentration and possibly the spell." Giles said in an effort to distract the Slayer.

"Got them! They're over that way!" Willow said, pointing into the trees to the group's right.

"Right! Let's go." That said, Buffy took off into the trees, the other three right behind her. All of them hoped to find their friends before anything could happen to them.

-------------------------------------------------

"This is not good. I'm hoping you've got an idea of how to get out of this, Spike, 'cause I gotta tell you, I'm comin' up with zip." Xander peered down between the branches of the massive oak tree that he and Spike were perched in. He could see the reptilian monsters circling around the wide trunk of the tree, occassionally letting out an eerie, wailing howl.

If it weren't for the vampires superior strength and climbing abilities, Xander would never have been able to even reach the tree's lower most branches, much less have climbed up half it's towering height.

It had only taken a couple of hit-and-run attacks from the creatures they'd been tracking to convince the pair to hightail it to higher ground. Xander had lost his outer shirt when one of their attackers had ripped it off him, at the same time its claws sliced though his t-shirt, leaving behind three, long but thankfully shallow, cuts across his back.

Spike hadn't gotten off as easy. The second creature had bitten the vampire's left arm. The only thing that had prevented the long teeth from shredding Spike's arm was the heavy leather of his duster. Still, the bite was bleeding badly.

"I think we're going ta be stuck here for a while then, pet. Gimme a hand with this." Spike, shrugged off his duster, and scowled as he tried to wrap his arm with the remains of Xander's hawaiian print shirt. As far as he was concerned, the only good thing to come out of this hunt so far was that another one of the boy's eye-searing shirts had been ruined.

"Sure. We were lucky to find such a big tree so quickly. Those things are fast! If we had to go much farther, they would have taken us down, no problem. And it doesn't look like they plan on leaving anytime soon. You don't think they can climb, do you?" Xander rambled while he bandaged the blonde's arm as best he could under the circumstances.

"How the hell should I know if they can climb or not? It's not like I've ever come across the likes of them before. I'm more worried about why they keep howling like that. They remind me of hunting dogs that've treed their prey."

"That's of the bad. 'Cause I'd sure hate to see what keeps things like that as hunting dogs."

"You and me both, mate. You and me both."

Both of them returned to watching the predators below and hoped that help got there soon.

*****
Part 2:

"What is that sound? It's making my skin crawl." Tara said, rubbing her arms as she followed closely behind Willow.

The scooby gang had been hearing long eerie howls sound through the woods for nearly 15 minutes. The noise was setting everyone even more on edge then they already were.

"Giles, do you think the Weryveths might be making the howls?" Willow asked.

"It's quite likely, especially since they seem to be coming from the direction that you indicated Xander and Spike are in." the former Watcher replied as he hurried to keep up with Buffy.

Buffy was feeling worried and more than a little guilty. She questioning her reasoning for sending Xander out with Spike instead of going herself. Sure, it had seemed like a good idea at the time. She had planned on quickly escorting Willow and Tara to the Magic Shop and then heading back out to catch up with the guys.

Giles being able to provide information on the mysterious creatures so quickly had been unexpected and she had allowed it to distract her. Buffy could only hope that when she did catch to the missing Scoobies that they would be safe and sound.

**Although, I'll probably never hear the end of it if they ever find out just how worried about them I get when those two patrol without me.** the blonde thought in wry amusement.

----------------------------------------------------

Spike was examining the claw marks on Xander's back when the two creatures circling the tree suddenly stopped howling and stood motionless staring off into the woods.

"Get ready, mate, I think somethings coming this way. Let's just hope it's the Slayer and not whatever these things have been waiting for." the vampire commented as he tried to get a better view of the area that had caught the attackers attention.

Xander simply nodded and tightened his grip on the hunting knife that Spike had given him shortly after they had ended up in the tree.

The pair's hopes were crushed when, instead of a petite blonde women, they saw about a dozen dusky green demons drift into the clearing beneath their perch. The newcomers were humanoid, about 7 feet tall with sharp tusks jutting from their lower jaws and three horns curling down from the tops of their heads. The walked with a strange gliding gait, some on all fours, others upright.

Following close behind the demons was a man mounted on horselike creature. Elvish in appearance with long silvery blue hair and light golden skin, he was clearly in charge of the group currently surrounding the tree Xander and Spike had taken refuge in. The two reptilian hunting hounds positioned themselves to either side and slightly behind their master.

"The two of you might as well come down from there, I'll simply send my servents up after you if you refuse." the man informed the trapped hunters.

"Do you have any idea what they are?" Xander nervously asked Spike in a quiet voice.

"Yep and I can tell you we're in a shit load of trouble. The boss is a Nattaizell, a mage by the look of his clothes and jewelery. There's no telling what he wants with us. I hate to say this but I think we should do as he says for now. We're no match for his mojo." Spike replied.

"We're coming down. You just keep those pets of your's under control!" the blonde yells down at their apparent captor.

Spike was the first to reach the gound and he was quick to confront the mounted man "Now that you've caught us, mind sharing what you want with us?" he snapped, pissed to have been captured so easily. If he'd been alone he probably would have made a break for it already but he'd gotten a little too attached to whelp to chance losing him in such a risky move.

By this time Xander had also reached the ground but before he could reach Spike's side two of the mages servants grabbed him and proceded to bind his hands behind his back. At the sound the struggle going on behind him, the vampire turned and snarled "Get your hands off him now!"

"I wouldn't do anything rash if I were you, William. The boy will remain unharmed as long as you agree to be reasonable and don't try to escape. I'll explain what I what from the two of you as soon as we reach my stronghold." their captor said arrogantly before turning his mount and leading the group from the clearing.

--------------------------------------------

The remaining Scoobies had stopped to allow the witches to re-cast their seeking spell. When the howling had suddenly stopped the group had been unsure as to where and how far away their missing friends were.

"We think we've picked up they're trail, they shouldn't be to far from here." Willow said as she and Tara quickly gathered up the spell components.

"You think? The spell couldn't tell you for sure?" Buffy asked, suddenly getting the feeling that matters were about to take a turn for the worst.

"No, it was like something was interfering with the spell." Willow explained as she held Tara's hand tightly.

"Oh, dear, that does not sound good. It would take someone considerably more powerful than the two of you to block you spell." Giles commented before taking off his glasses and polishing them.

"Come on, enough talk, let's get moving already!" demanded the Slayer.

Not ten minutes later the group found themselves in a clearing, standing under the overhanging branches of a massive oak tree.

"I don't understand. According the our spell Xander and Spike should be here!" Willow and the others were hurridley moving about the clearing searching for any signs as to where the missing scoobies might be.

"I..I think I found something." Tara stammered from were she was standing by the base of the tree holding something in her hand.

The others all rushed over to her to see what the blonde witch had found. It turned out to be a bloodstained scrap of brightly colored cloth.

"Oh God, that's part of the shirt Xander was wearing tonight." Buffy says as she takes the material from Tara. Tara wrapped her arms around her girlfriend as the redhead burst into tears.

*****
Part 3:

Xander was exhausted and leaning heavily on Spike by the time the group finaly reached their captor's mansion. The claw mark on his back felt hot and was throbbing with each step he took. All he wanted to do was collapse where he stood wait for the pain to go away.

Spike was worried. The whelp was pale and shaking as he leaned against the vampire's side. A quick check of the wounds on his back show them to be inflamed and well on the way to infection.

**Damn, the boys in no condition to make a break for it should the opportunity appear.**

Soon they were alone with the Nattaizell mage in a richly appointed, though sparsly furnished, room deep within the massive building. The room decorated in rich greens and burnished golds with at least a dozen large, soft looking pillows strewn about, as if to make up for the lack of furniture.

"Be seated and make your selves comfortable. We have much to discuss. But first, I would like to have my healer, Sharvy, look at the boy's injuries." their unwanted host instructed just as a petite woman entered the room, carrying a large bag.

Before Xander knew what was happening, the healer had him laying down on one of the many cushions, had removed his shirt, and was examining his back with gentle hands. After a moment she spread a cool salve over the angry looking claw marks and handed Xander a couple of pills and some water.

"Take this medecine now, it will make you sleepy but it will kill the infection in your wounds and speed up your recovery." Sharvy said as she re-packed her bag. As soon as she saw that Xander had swallowed the pills she stood up, bowed briefly to the mage, and left the room as quietly as she came.

Spike had watched all of this from the armchair next to the blue cushion that Xander was sprawled across. Judging by the way the whelp's eyelids were drooping, the vampire figured the mortal would soon be deeply asleep.

"Now that young Alexander is cared for, I think it's time that I explained why you are here." the Nattaizell remarked from where he lounged in a chair, with a small, if rather smug smile.

"That'd be nice, mate. It'd also be nice to know who I'm talking too, seeing as how you already seem to know who we are." Spike snaked back at the man.

"I suppose you would want to know that, wouldn't you. Very well, my name is Tirshnaav Amberdrake and I am an mage Adept of Clan Shadowsfall. And the reason I aquired you and you companion is quite simple really, it's revenge."

"Revenge? Bloody hell, what'd we do that makes you want revenge against us?" the vanpire demanded.

"The two of you are not the ones I seek revenge against, rather it's the one you both serve and your sire that have trespassed against me."

"Peaches? You want revenge against Angelus and I'm guessing the Slayer although I do not serve her, the whelp may but I don't? What'd they do to piss you off? And how are you planning to get revenge by snaggin' us?" Spike demanded incrediously.

**Should of known this mess had somethin' to with either her Buffyness or my poof of a Sire!**

"About two months ago, I sent my two favorite Hunters to the Hellmouth to retrieve some items from the tomb of one of my distant relatives. They had the misfortune to encounter the Slayer and your Sire while on their way through the cemetary. Although my Hunters had done nothing to antagonize the pair, Buffy and Angelus still attacked and killed them. I will not allow this offense to go unpunished."

"Right, so you lost a couple of minions, it's not like you don't have plenty more o the running about. What the Hell does any of this have to do with me and the boy? We weren't even in town the last time Angel decided to visit."

"My Hunters are not mere minions, I am very particular about who I chose and train to serve in that compacity. I have found that individuals that make truly excellent Hunters are few and far between. The lost pair were the best I have ever had and served me loyally for nearly two hundred years." Tirshnaav paused for a moment and locked eyes with Spike before continueing "I have decided that you, William the Bloody, and Alexander will make fine replacements. After all, what better revenge against the Slayer could I have than to claim her Hunters as my own."

Spike could think of no response as he stared at smuggly victorious expression worn by the mage.

*****
Part 4:

It was a disheartened and exhausted group who stumbled through the front door of the Magic Shop just as the sky was begining to lighten with the first signs of dawn. They had searched the woods for hours after finding the remains of Xander's shirt and had nothing to show for their efforts. It was like the he and the vampire had simply vanished into thin air. To make matters worse, the two creatures the pair had been tracking had vanished at about the same time.

**Oh God, I sent them into a trap. This is all my fault! Ok, Buffy, get a grip. Panicing is not going to get Xander and Spike back. Right, what will?**

"I'm going to Willy's." Buffy announced, turning to walk right back out the door.

"Willy's? Oh, yes, I see why. But Buffy you need to rest first. We'll both go talk to Willy in a few hours." Giles moved to block the doorway even as he spoke. The former Watcher could fully understand why the young woman wanted to go and go now.

"Giles, I have to go now! If I wait" the agitated blonde started.

"Buffy, he's right. We're all exhausted. If we go charging out now, we're likely to miss something important. I know you don't want to admit that, neither do I, but it's the truth." Willow firmly stated. The red head had come to the realization that if they were to have any hope of finding their missing friends, they would need to keep their wits about them and not go off half-cocked.

"Buffy, go get the sleeping bags and air mats out of the storage closet and set them up downstairs. We are all going to get some sleep, then we will start looking for information. Tara, please help her." Willow ordered, her expression clearly stating the she would accept no arguements.

Surprised, and actually a little relieved that someone else was taking control for now, Buffy obeyed without a complaint. Willow waited until the two of them had left the room before turning her attention to Giles.

"Giles, I think we should call Angel and ask for his help. He has a lot more contacts than we do and can get information easier than us. Besides that, he's Spike's Sire, he needs to know that Spike's disapeared."

"You're right. If you will lock up, I'll call Angel now."

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Spike prowled the room that the mage had said was now his and Xander's. It was just as richly apointed as the rest of the mansion and was decorated in blue and green. The room had no windows and little in the way of furniture. A decoration emroidered panel seperated off a large bathroom.

"I'm beginning to think the bloke's got a fixation on pillows." he groused as he kicked a large royal blue pillow across the room.

What furniture there was in the room consisted of a large dresser, a armour, an overstuffed armchair big enough to hold to people comfortable, and the bed. If you could actually call the bed a piece of furniture. It was more like a large circular hole in the floor that had been filled with on emence feather pillow.

Laying sprawled across the bed was the still passed out Xander. Spike settled down next to the young man a ran a finger across the silver torque around his neck, a torque that was a mirror image of the one he himself now wore.

Growling quietly to himself, the vampire thought back to what Tirshnaav had said after magicing the bits of jewelery onto both his captives.

--I know that you will attempt to escape the first chance you get. Those torques will allow me to locate you no matter how far of fast you run and only someone more powerful than I can remove them. They do more than just that though. The one you wear makes you invulnerable to the sun, stakes, holywater, and crosses. It also will allow you to cast a reflection. Alexander's torque is also special, as you both will find out later.--

**This thing may be a collar but if it does everything that mage says it'll do, it's better than the Ring of Amara. All well and good, but I don't like the way he talked about the one he put on me pet.**

Spike was roused from his thoughts when Xander woke and peered sleepily up at him.

"Spike? Where are we?" the young man asked in confusion, as he looked around the room.

"Our new room, pet. Seems the mage has decided to keep us for a while."

"Keep us? Why and what for?"

"Why? Seems the Slayer and Peaches took out a couple of the git's favorite minions and he decided that we would make good replacements." Spike answered with a scowl.

"Replacements? Just what did the guys we're supposed to replacements for do?" Xander asked in a rush as he quickly sat up.

"They were Hunters, although I'm not to sure as to what all they did." the blonde answered "Hold still, I want to take a look at you back."

The brunette did as he was told, although now that it had been called to his attention, his back began to itch and beg to be scrached.

"How does it look?" he asked after a moment "It really itches."

"Looks good, in fact the wound's almost completely healed. Which is probably why it itches. Stay here, I think I saw some lotion in the bathroom." with that the vampire rose and retrieved said lotion.

"Lay down on your stomach." Spike instrusted once he returned.

Quick to comply, Xander couldn't help but sign in relief when he felt the soothing coolness being spread across his back. Relaxing under Spike's hands he drifted back to sleep. Soon after, the vampire settled down to join him.

*****
Part 5:

Spike half woke up, batting at something that was tickling his face. Whatever it was just wouldn't go away so he finally gave up on going back to sleep and opened his eyes. What he saw sent him sitting bolt upright in bed to stare at his sleeping companion.

The vampire's sudden movement caused Xander to stir and look at him in confusion.

"Spike, what's wrong? You look like someone hit you over the head with a 2x4." the brunett commented while yawning.

Instead of responding, Spike grabbed the young man by the arm and dragged him into the bathroom.

"Spike! What's your problem? Do you...What the fuck?" Xander forgot all about the vampires strange behavior as he stood gaping at his reflection. He still saw a young man with brown/black wavy hair, chocolate colored eyes, and lightly golden skin. But now the hair hung down to his waist, his pupils were slitted like a cats, and it appeared that his skin was covered in a short layer of fur. On top of all that, he now also had cat-like ears and long black tail.

"Why do things like this always happen to me?" he asked plaintively, still staring at the mirror.

"Don't know, pet. I must say though, you're taking this better than I'd have thought you would." the older man replied as he chuckled and gave Xander a quick once over "Guess Dru was right when she called you 'Kitten'."

"Funny, Spike, ha ha. And after everything else that's happen to me, I figure it was just a matter of time 'til something like this happened. What I want to know is, what caused this and is it permanent?"

"I figure it was probably that collar our would be owner put around your neck that's the cause. We'll have to wait to ask the git to find out if it's permanent or not" came the answer "This must've been what he was referring to when he said you're torque was special."

The pair was interrupted by a knocking on the bedroom door.

-------------------------------------------

The jangling of the bell hanging from the door drew Giles attention from the book he was studying just in time to see a smouldering Angel come into the shop. Weasley and Gunn entered after him at a more sedate pace. The ex-watcher had not been expecting the group from L.A. to arrive until well after sunset and that was still several hours away. The girls had gone to the dorms to shower and grab a change of clothes.

"I must say, you came quicker than I expected."

"You said that my Childe needed my help. Now that I've finally made some peace with him, I'm not going to make the mistake of seeming not to care when he's in trouble." Angel replied "Now where is Spike and what kind of trouble is he in."

"The trouble is that Spike, as well as Xander are missing." Giles answered, taking off his glasses to polish them. He was already beginning to regret his rather hasty decision to not go into details of the problem with Angel over the phone.

"What do you mean, they're missing?" the brunette vampire demanded.

"Last night, while patroling, Buffy and the others encountered a pair of Weryveths, that circled the group a few times before suddenly taking off. Unsure as to what the creatures were or if there were more running about, Buffy sent Xander and Spike after them while she rushed Willow and Tara back here." Giles paused to take a sip of his tea.

"You sent my Childe after Weryveths with only one human for company." Angel growled, eyes showing hints of gold at the thought of the younger vampire facing off against two such fierce predators practically by himself.

The former librarian took one look at the furious vampire and rushed to explain "None of them knew what the creatures were at the time. It wasn't until later that we realized how dangerous they were. As soon as we did, we gathered the appropriate weapons and rushed to catch up with Xander and Spike. Unfortuneatly, all we found was the remains of Xanders outer shirt. I was like the two of them had vanished. All of Willow's and Tara's spells have been blocked by someone or something."

"For a Weryveth to approach a person but fail to attack either means that it's unsure of winning the fight or a magic user is controlling it. Which means that Spike and Xander are most likely being held captive." commented Weasley.

It was Gunn who voiced the question that was on everyone's minds "Yeah, but by who?"

-----------------------------------------

After being told by a servant that Lord Tirshnaav 'requested' that they join him for a meal, Xander and Spike found themselves in a small dining room. While waiting for the mage to show up, the pair settled down on some of the cushions that surrounded a low table situated in the center of the room.

Less thatn five minutes had passed when the Nattaizell entered the room and joind them at the table. Immediatley after his arrival, servants began bringing in dishes of food until the table's surface was completely covered.

Once the three of them were alone, Tirshnaav turned his gaze upon Xander "I see that your torque has done it's job and before you ask, yes the change is permanent but you will be able to take on your human appearance when needed. Now let us enjoy our meal before discussing the training you will be recieving."

*****
Part 6:

"Seeing as how we're all done eating now, why don't you start explaining what you plan to do with us." Spike demanded impatiently.

Tirshnaav simply smiled indulgently at the blond's outburst "Very well, if you insist. Let's move somewhere move comfortable first though."

The three settled themselves comfortably on overstuffed couches in a room overlooking a large garden lit only by the fading remains of the sunset. Tirshnaav watched with satisfaction as his newest Hunters curled up together with the dark-eyed youngling leaning against vampire.

**These two balance each other perfectly. I doubt that it will be long before they become mates, with how protective the vampire is of his partner. They certainly do look good together.**

"As my Hunters, the two of you will need to be able to carry out a wide range of tasks. Tasks that will require you to learn how to track better, fight better, and cast minor spells, among other things we will cover later. William, tomorrow morning you will work with my arms-master, Morgan, to access your fighting skills. At the same time, Alexander, you and I will begin your training in magic."

"Wait just a bloody minute here! First, the name's Spike and his is Xander. Secondly, if you think that I'm leaving you alone with my pet after what you have already done to him, you're insane!" the vampire snarled as he pulled the changed human closer to him and glared at the silver haired man.

"You will do as I say." the mage commanded "The changes I made to Xander were neccessary. As he is now, his lifespan equals your own, also he is faster, stronger, as well as, quicker to heal. Your strengths and weaknesses lie in different areas which means you will be spending quit a bit of time training separatly, so you might as well get used to it now."

Silence reigned as Xander and Spike took in this new information and all that it might mean for them.

"You said that I would be able to 'take on my human appearance'. Could you tell me how?" Xander asked after a moment, hoping to break some of the tension that filled the room.

"You simply need to picture your human self in your mind and will the change to happen. It might be a little difficult at first but over time it'll become easier" Tirshnaav explained.

Before either Xander or Spike could ask any more questions, he rose and tugged once on a braided rope hanging from the ceiling. Moments later, a servant entered the room.

"I think it's time to call it an evening. I'll leave you to think over what I told you. The servant will show you back to your room." the Nattaizell said before leaving.

-----------------------------------------------------

"Spike, can I ask you a question?" Xander asked hesitantly from where he was sprawled across the bed.

"Sounds like you just did, whelp." the older man replied as he flipped channels on the TV he had found hidden inside the armour.

"Ha, ha, blondie, very funny." the dark-eyed man said as he rolled over onto his stomach and rested his chin on his heads. "Seriously, though, I wanted to ask you about something you said earlier today."

The vampire sighed in mild annoyance before turning off the television and turning to look at Xander. "What did I say that has you oh so curious now?"

"Ummm...well, I kinda want to know why you called me your pet when you were snarling at Tirshnaav. The only other person I've heard you refer to as Pet was Drusilla." as he spoke, Xander's gaze stayed firmly fixed one of the tapestries hanging on the wall.

For a moment, Spike simply sat there and stared at him, unsure as to what to say.

**Bloody hell, when am I going to start thinking before opening my mouth? As if the situation isn't bad enough already, I just had to slip up and call him 'my pet'.**

Standing up, Spike stretched before sauntering over to the bed and settling down beside the fidgeting young man, who rolled over onto his side to face the vampire "I'm pretty sure that you already have an idea as to why I called you 'my pet' so I guess there's no reason to beat around the bush about it, is there. The truth is, Xan, is that I like you a lot and want to be more than just your friend and patrolling partner." he said bluntly.

Xander lay there stunned as his mind tried to grasp what Spike had just said. "You... you like me? As in the 'want to kiss me' kinda way?" he finally managed to ask.

"Yep and since you asked, I think I will." Spike responded before leaning over and claiming his mouth with his own.

*****