It was only an hour past dark when they finished packing up the DeSoto with all of the stuff that Spike wanted to take with him. He didn't know when, or even if he'd *ever* come back to this piss-ant town on the edge of the bloody Hellmouth, so... he had spent a bit of time writing a note for the witches. Somewhere along the course of the last decade, he had been befriended by the two soft spoken yet powerful witches and he cherished their gentle concern and their unspoken trust in him. Never before during his unlife, or even his mortal life, had he known such a simple and basic pleasure as having friends.

And because of those silken invisible ties, he knew that it would only be a matter of days without seeing him around until they would make their silent and careful way across the most dangerous town on the planet in order to check up on him. He couldn't leave them thinking that he had left without saying goodbye, or even worse, that he was nothing but a pile of dust blowing in the wind. Hence, the note. He quickly read over it to make sure that it said what he wanted it to.

My Beautiful Red and My Luscious Shy One,

Smashing news my lovely Pets. My Eternal Goddess, Drusilla has sent word for me to come to her. She has created something wonderful which I've been assured can remove this blasted chip from my bloody skull once and for all. I'm leaving here to go to her now. Know that even if this crazy scheme of her's *does* work, it'll not be at my hand that either of you find death. Well... not unless you ask me very nicely with lots of eyelash batting and such.

Be a pair of luv's and let Ripper know that I'll tell him all about it when next we meet. I *know* he's been keeping meticulous records concerning my unlife with the damn bloody chip, and I know that he'll want the details of how I finally get rid of it.

Violent kisses and cold embraces,

William the Bloody

Smiling at his brilliantly written letter, Spike held it up against the heavy carved stone door of his crypt and then pulled out a steel hunting knife with a well crafted and strong blade. Then, using his vampiric strength, he stabbed the knife point into the stone with a loud echoing bang. It worked like a tack, pinning the note effectively to the door. Granted, the girls would never get the knife out of the stone without resorting to magick, but that was okay.

With one last look around the crypt that had been his home for over eight years, Spike turned and walked out into the clear cool night to find Kitten leaning against the side of the old battered car with a wicked gleam in his dark liquid eyes. Chuckling at the implicit violence and destruction hovering just beneath the smooth surface of the fledgling's skin, Spike felt a rush of unholy cheer throb through his chest. Unlife was definitely looking better and better.

"Come on Kitten. Climb in and let's get out of here."

Dru's Childe let a wicked smirk slide across his full lips before silently nodding his head and turning to get in the car. Spike shook his head in amusement and got in behind the wheel. The engine turned over smoothly with a loud grumbling roar that was a near imitation to Kitten's own throaty purr, an audio testament to the fact that Spike had worked hard to keep his vehicle in excellent condition... at least under the hood.

With a squeal of tires and reckless joyful abandon, Spike powered through the gears at top speed and they dashed off through the streets of downtown Sunnydale. When they turned onto Sunset Avenue West to head out of town and towards the main interstate system, Spike suddenly swore a blue streak and swerved dangerously up onto the curb, just missing plowing into a tall thin man in a light brown sports coat. Xander whipped his head around to grin maniacally at the Master Vampire.

"What'cha stop for? Bet you could've sent him ten feet up in the air if you'd have hit him."

Spike snorted out a bark of rough laughter and smirked at his nephew.

"Naw mate. That's Charles... the new Slayer's Watcher. A totally rude git with a bloody thick stick up his tight arse. You sneak up 'round behind him. Let's give him a good scare to sort of celebrate the occasion."

Kitten giggled wickedly and nodded his head. His eyes flashed yellow briefly as Spike opened the door and stepped out to confront the startled and quickly angering man. As soon as the stuffy British Watcher's eyes landed on Spike he heaved a sigh that was a mix of relief and annoyance. He knew that with the chip, Spike couldn't lift a finger to hurt him, yet he *really* didn't want to have a chat with the vampire.

Spike stalked over to him with an air of aloof cockiness, his long black duster fluttering out behind him, only to stop directly in front of him and smirk in his face. Charles wasn't the type of man to take that kind of attitude laying down, so he stuck a finger out and poked Spike in the chest with it.

"Now see here! What do you think you're *doing*? Have you *no* respect for the law? You can't be driving that... that... *vehicle* up onto the sidewalks! Are you a maniac?"

Spike raised his scarred eyebrow and graced him with a disdainful expression that spoke *volumes* about his opinion of Charles.

"I'm a bloody *demon* you stupid git! What the hell do you *think* I feel about some stupid mortal laws? And I'm *not* a maniac. I'm a *homicidal psychopath* who also happens to *enjoy* the taste of blood. There's a difference. 'Side's that's not what I stopped by to tell you."

Charles shifted uneasily for a quick moment at the pointed reminder that Spike was most definitely *not* human, but then he reminded himself that even if he was soulless, he was 'chipped' and therefore not to be feared. He puffed up his chest in an exaggerated stance of bravery.

"Oh? What is it then? I don't have time to be bandying about with you. Places to go, people to see and all that."

Spike stifled a chuckle at the mortal's puffed up notion of his own importance, but ignored it. He had more enjoyable games to play with the man than ego-bashing. He grinned wickedly.

"I just wanted to let you know that there is a new vampire in town. Not like the regular minions that infest this place like cockroaches, but a real *Childer*, one that's been Sired by an old and powerful Master Vampiress."

Not familiar with Spike's personality and not being used to his ways, Charles heard the scathing tones in his voice, but totally missed the dangerously hungry glint in his eyes that revealed this his words to be the absolute truth. Riding his own arrogance and ignoring his better sense, Charles scoffed at the notion. He practically sneered at the blonde vampire.

"Oh really? That's just *fascinating* old boy. And just *who* is this mysterious Childer that's wandering loose in town?"

Spike laughed out loud at the wonderful expression of shock and terror that blasted across the snotty man's face when Xander suddenly wrapped an arm around his waist from behind while the other hand came up to clamp down over his mouth. The fledgling pulled the Watcher tightly to his muscled chest and purred into the man's ear causing those wide open eyes to practically roll around their sockets in overwhelming fear.

"Why... that would be *me*..."

Xander bent his head a bit more and ran his cold wet tongue along the line of the man's jugular vein and Charles let loose with a muffled whimper behind the inhumanly strong hand clamped over his mouth. Spike stepped forward and smirked in the Watcher's face, his bright blue eyes flashing gold for a second.

"Charles *old boy*... I'd like to introduce you to my nephew Xander. My beloved sister in darkness, the Vampiress Drusilla... you *do* remember reading about her, don't'cha? Angelus's *first* Childe? Well, it seems that she Sired him as a gift for *me*. Such a lovely demon, my Dark Princess is. Always sends the most unique and delightful prezzies. Don't you think it's wonderful?"

Charles never got a chance to give his opinion one way or the other since sharp fangs were suddenly slicing into his throat and his blood was being drained out of his body and into the wet mouth that gripped his throat with that strangely erotic mixture of pain and pleasure. Spike just grinned into his face, even as he faded away into unconsciousness.

Xander held onto the still living, but unconscious body of the Watcher and grinned up into his Uncle's face. He licked his lips with slow sensual movements of his tongue.

"Ummmm... tasty."

Spike chuckled and gestured back to the car even as he turned and walked back over to climb in behind the wheel. He didn't flinch or look back when he heard the distinctive sounds of a neck being broken or a dead body being dropped to the pavement. In a matter of seconds, the passenger-side door was yanked open and the long toned body of his lover slid in beside him. They leaned towards each other and shared a blood flavored kiss and then Spike slammed the car back in gear and they raced off into the night.

*****
Part 6:

It took them two solid nights of driving, with only short breaks to hunt down dinner or to catch a quick nap during the height of midday until they finally reached the make-shift medical lab that Xander had designed and then built in order to remove Spike's hated chip. It was during that long drive across the border, through Mexico and then deep into the Brazilian rain forest, that Spike got a truer glimpse of just how much Xander had changed when Drusilla had Sired him.

The boy had spent too many years living in the heart of violence to have developed anything but a dark sense of humor, but now that humor went beyond mere morbid cynicism and into a realm of deliberate harsh cruelty. The fledgling's twisted ability to see directly to the core of any situation and laugh with glee at the inner pain and suffering found there spoke to something deep inside of Spike.

What's more, he had perfected the air of unconcerned confidence that the mortal Xander had tried to carry off, but somehow never quite managed to do. Spike found this new sense of self and purpose to be alluring and sexy. The fledgling was playful, deadly and reckless with the defenseless mortals he toyed with. He brought an intensity into everything he did and he stood up for himself in ways he never would have before.

After arguing over what to do about dinner one night, he'd actually told Spike to 'Shoot down my ideas if you want, but fucking *listen* to them first. I may be young but I'm not *stupid* and I'll never learn what I'm doing wrong if you don't take the god-damned time to explain it.' Spike had blinked in shock for a moment and then agreed. He'd listen to the half-baked plan the whelp had cooked up for an evening of hunting and then point out all the holes in it for him if he wanted. To his delight, however, the plan hadn't been that bad, even if it *did* sound a lot like something Dru would've come up with.

When Spike pointed out the errors he'd seen, the young vampire had questioned him about it with a seriousness that told him he was *teaching* the boy a lesson. He *wanted* to learn what Spike knew. He couldn't blame the boy really. Dru was great at random destruction and applied torture, but she didn't have a solid enough grip on reality to form any tight knit plan and Spike *knew* she didn't have the patience or mental resources to teach anyone anything.

Still, Spike found the idea of being like a *real* Uncle to the whelp a fun one and he enjoyed the sense of control and power that it gave him to mold and sculpt the vast potential that the boy had inside. What's more, the longer he spent around the fledgling the more and more he thought of him as being totally different and separate from the Xander he'd known before. They were like two totally different people. Xander was dead and gone seven years now. This was Dru's deadly little Kitten and he was *much* more fun to play with.

And the boy was smart too. That fact had never been apparent before, but then, the old Xander had never been encouraged to learn things. Whenever he *had* tried, his friends and family scoffed at his attempts. Kitten was a whole different story. Dru had actively encouraged his studies so that he could help Spike and when pleased, Dru could be lavish with her praise. Suddenly handed an important purpose and given a heap of responsibility, Kitten had risen to the challenge with all of the inner strength and determination that he'd brought over into unlife with him.

And that was the main issue, the core of his whole trip out here. Yes, he was delighted with the very idea of seeing his Dark Princess again, but he had spent the last decade without her in his unlife. At first, he didn't think he'd survive the separation, but he knew now that he could live without her at his side. As painful as it had been to learn that fact, he felt stronger for it. But what had drawn him across miles and miles of American suburbia and into the vegetation choked heart of South America was the chance to get the chip out of his skull. And that meant placing his unlife in the hands of Buffy's long lost doughnut-boy.

He didn't want to insult or offend the boy so that he ended up pouting and sulking when he could be removing the bloody chip, but he wasn't ready to throw himself on a table and let the boy take a meat-cleaver to his bloomin' skull either. He wanted to see this... *lab* and a chance to look over Kitten's research and he wanted *details* about the whole operation. He had learned the hard way not to just trust that someone would take it out because they had said so. And if he wasn't satisfied with the amount of prep-work or with Kitten's ability to pull this off, then he'd just pick up where the young fledgling stopped and go from there until he *was* satisfied.

However, until then, he'd just enjoy his reunion with his Dark Princess and her lovely little Kitten.

*

Spike could tell when their journey brought them into Kitten's hunting territory. The young fledge had perked up and began to describe the people and places around them with more than a touch of possessiveness and pride. Like a nobleman who was showing off his herd of horses during a tour of the estate's stable. His enthusiasm was amusing and Spike enjoyed the undertones of happy purring that rested just below the words.

They entered a small town and Spike was charmed by the odd mix of third world poverty and twenty-first century technology. Weathered and battered shacks with hollow glassless windows were home to thin women with callused work-worn hands and dirty dark-eyed children. A stone and brick bar with a glowing red neon sign sold cheap tequila and watery beer to the slovenly men while a stucco Church with a ancient bell in the tower guarded the souls of old hags and mid-wives at the other end of the street. All along the dismal road, Kitten pointed out spots of interest with a real sense of happiness.

"Oh, *there*, see over there? That's a neat little shop where they sell woven rugs. Got me some."

Then, Kitten swung around in his seat and pointed to a shack with a strange red symbol that seemed to be a stylized cat's paw painted over the door.

"Ooo and over *there* is where Madam Marietta lives. She's this really cool witchy type person and she is a *total* expert on all things herb-y and plant-like. You can't eat her, okay? She's under my protection because I get lots of stuff from her and she taught me a *lot* about making up home-brewed medicines and such."

Kitten then made a sweeping gesture that took in the entire left half of the tiny village.

"Beyond these rows of houses is a huge series of fields. It's hard to see it from here, but they are growing sugar cane. Beyond that is the factory where it's processed into sugar and such. Most of the families around here work there."

Just as they were exiting the other side of the town, Kitten jerked his thumb in the direction of the old Church.

"Don't like the guy that runs *that* place. He's all cross waving and preachy. And he has this nasty habit of trying to sprinkle people with holy water."

Spike shot him an incredulous glance and then broke out in amused chuckles.

"Yeah, them Priests aren't a real fun-loving bunch, are they? Always trying to mess up a bloke's fun time, they are. We could always bleed him dry and leave him out on his own alter some night."

Kitten flashed him a delightfully wicked smile and his low rumbling purr suddenly became louder.

"Yeah. That's sounds like fun. It's a date."

Spike offered up his own charming smile and then they were back in the jungle again. The dirt road had deep groves etched in it from countless cars and trucks traveling this way. Thick foliage lined the roadside and the sweet heady perfume of blooming flowers flavored the nighttime air. The rustling of small animals in the underbrush was loud to his sensitive ears and his keen vampiric eyesight showed him many details of the lush countryside. Still, the most delectable and beautiful sight to him was the young demon sitting in the DeSoto beside him.

"Oh, you'll get a kick out of this, but there is this native tribe that lives *that* way..."

Kitten pointed off the road and into the dense brush.

"...and the only way to reach them is to travel on foot through the jungle. They live in these really cool grass huts and they hunt down their own food and everything. It's the best place in this whole jungle to hang out. They aren't even really afraid of me... Okay, they *are*, but that's because they think I'm some reincarnation of one of their ancestor's Gods or something wacky like that. They've made it taboo for any of their hunters to kill cats in my honor and they even go so far as to bring me live dinner. Of course, it's usually an animal or some such. I visit them on the full moon and we party all night. Once a year they sacrifice a human tribe member to me. Oh! I also get to eat any of the enemies they capture in their never-ending boarder wars with the other tribes and the encroaching land developers."

Spike stared at the fledgling with a mixture of shock and admiration.

"Are you trying to tell me that you have an *entire* tribe of native warriors and hunters under your protection and that they *worship* you as some sort of cross between some mystical Cat Spirit and an evil Blood God?"

Kitten blinked rapidly as if he'd never thought of it quite that way before. Then, with a wickedly sly grin and a golden glint to his dark eyes, he nodded his head slowly.

"Yeah... yeah I guess that's what I'm saying."

Spike's jaw snapped shut with an audible click of teeth. He was slowly beginning to understand Dru's fascination with this continent and how even her American Childe could choose to make this place his home. For him personally, it was a refreshing change from twenty-something pop-culture, demon hunting and guarding the Hellmouth, not to mention dealing with snotty know-it-all Slayers who couldn't even hold a candle to the long dead blonde power-house that both of the vampires had loved. Spike figured that he was going to find himself facing a long line of culture-shock situations, but he found that he was looking forward to them.

They drove along in the blossom fragrant jungle night. The sultry air carried the lush sounds of wild animals to them both and insects buzzed around. Breaks in the dense canopy showed glimpses of a cool bright moon and brightly glittering stars. Coming round one last twisting bend, the hard packed dirt road they traveled came to an intersection with another, smaller road. Spike slowed down to a rumbling stop and turned his head to glance at Kitten. The younger vampire was lost in thought.

"Well pet? Which way."

Kitten pulled himself from whatever it was he had been contemplating and glanced around with a grin.

"Oh. Um... take a right. The road gets a bit rough in spots since I'm the only one that drives on it regularly. It's technically my driveway. If we'd have gone forward, we'd have ended up in another small village and beyond that, a coffee plantation. It we'd have turned to the left, that road will go on for a bit until you hit a small river. On the far side of the river is a logging company's camp. I hunt the jungle killer's a lot."

Spike turned right onto the small rutted road that Kitten said was his driveway and snorted in amusement at his words.

"Don't like the logger's luv? You a bloody treehugger then?"

Kitten let loose a low growl of annoyance.

"Hey. This is *my* jungle and I *don't* want them cutting it down. If I didn't like the trees I'd burn it to ashes my*self*."

Spike glanced over to his see his lover looking absolutely adorable with his full lower lip jutting out in a pout and his arms crossed over his chest in a posture of insolent defiance. Kitten was too cute for words, all indignant anger and sharp teeth. He couldn't contain his indulgent smile at the display, especially when the fledgling began to mutter softly to himself.

"...stupid humans. Think they can come down here and just *take* my trees without my *permission* as if I wouldn't even *notice*. Should just go and eat the whole stupid lot of them. Munchy crunchy goodness, that's all they are. Don't they realize that *prey* lives in the jungle? Take away the jungle and the prey *leaves*. I mean... *duh*!"

Smile giving way to soft chuckles as the ranting continued, Spike navigated the twisting dark road as it made it's way up a hill that was covered in dense brush and tall trees that dangled thick leafy vines. As his headlights cut through the inky darkness, he noticed bright glowing eyes perched in the lower branches and peering out from under bushes. The sensation of being watched grew in leaps and bounds. It wasn't a *malevolent* gaze that followed their progress... it was more of a sense of excited waiting.

Eventually, the dirt road opened up into a wide barren patch of dirt and gravel at the peak of the hill. Following his lover's directions, Spike pulled up outside of an abandoned warehouse and drug manufacturing plant. Gold flecked blue eyes roamed over the dilapidated and boarded up building that Kitten had built his lab in. A flutter of hope that this insane plan might actually work blossomed in his chest, but he squashed it down before it could build up. Turning his head, he glanced over at the fledgling to see the flash of a quick grin.

"Come on Spike. Mom's waiting for you."

*****
Part 7:

Before they had even reached the pitted steel door located at the side of the large cinder-block building, a handful or so of half-feral house cats wandered over and began to wend their way around and through Kitten's legs. The cats were all purring madly and the young vampire answered them with rumbling throaty purrs of his own. Spike recognized some of the breeds. He saw a calico, two tortoise-shells and even one that appeared to be a half-Siamese, but the others were just 'cats' to him. Kitten, however, murmured and talked to them in a low sing-song type of voice as if they could understand him. Amused, Spike tuned into what he was telling them.

"Yes kitties, daddy is home to stay."

Meeowrrr

"No, I didn't bring back any crunchy squeak-squeaks. I'll go out and get some yummy mice for you all to chase later on."

Puuuurrrrr, mmmeeoooww

"What?... Hmmm... yes, yes the two-legger with the blonde fur *is* lovely."

Mmmee-rowlll

Kitten sent a quick glance over at Spike and blithely ignored the fact that the older vampire was staring at him in a sort of fascinated horror.

"Yes... I *did* notice his blue eyes. They also turn golden when he's feeling frisky... just like Mom and me."

Grroowlll, Merrr

"What was that Tiger? Oh, yes... that would be wonderful, I *do* want to see Baby as soon as she can get her lazy butt up."

Suddenly, all of the half-feral house cats turned tail and dashed around the side of the building. Spike could hear the distinct sounds of tiny paws with razor sharp claws digging into wobbly wooden crates as the cats climbed up and up. His nephew just turned a faintly apologetic look at him and shrugged slightly.

"Sorry about that. They all try to play it cool in that feline way, but they still manage to get all excited and kittenish after I come back from a trip and it's been... oh, about two weeks this time around."

Spike just blinked and he figured that he would regret it, but he *had* to ask.

"Um... Kitten? Correct me if I'm wrong here, but... were you just, um... *talking* to those kitty-cats?"

Kitten gave him a look that could clearly be read as "Duh!" and nodded his head. Spike sighed to himself. In a warped sort of way, it made sense. After all, the boy *was* Sired by his Dark Princess so it was only right that he have a few screws loose in his brain box... but *cats*? Spike was aware that Dru had renamed him Kitten after he had first been turned so the obsession made a deranged sort of sense. Besides, he figured that at least the cats were *alive* whereas Dru's doll were distinctly *not*. But to *talk* to them? Did the fledgling think *he* was part cat or some such rot?

Spike's philosophical pondering on the mental instability of certain family members was brought up short, however, when they finally reached the main entrance and Kitten quickly opened the door and led him inside. Spike stepped through the door and looked around. Then he came to a jarring halt and did a double take, this time studying the room with greater care.

He was standing on a cement platform with a green painted metal pipe railing. Cement stairs led down towards the floor of a large cavernous room. Three large domed skylights were situated in the ceiling. They were equipped with blinds that were currently open to let in the view of the shimmering stars overhead. The walls were painted in a dizzying geometric pattern with bright jewel-tones and in many places material hung from the walls or was draped from the ceiling. The fabric ranged from soft heavy velvets to light breezy silks. But as exotic as it all was, that wasn't what stunned Spike's already overtaxed mind.

From his vantage point at the top of the stairs, Spike could see the layout of the entire large room. Many area's had been sectioned off through use of freestanding screens and large pieces of furniture, or even groupings of large flourishing potted plants. No areas were designed as a bedroom, or a laboratory, so they must be elsewhere, but there was a section devoted to reading judging by the overstuffed chairs and bookcases filled with volume upon volume of books. Another area was set up as an entertainment center complete with stereo and television/VCR combination. Other areas weren't as easily defined, but it was all very lush and comfortable, especially for a couple of demons.

Even that wasn't *too* much of a shock to Spike's system since in a strange sort of way, it was reminiscent of Angelus... if Angelus had ever decided to do some decorating while on some heavy-duty hallucinogens that is. No, what made Spike's jaw drop down as he stared around was all the bloody plants and animals.

Kitten's home had *lots* of plants. Potted plants that were *alive* and not some cheesy silk or plastic imitation. They were obviously well cared for and got enough water and sunlight. There were large leafy jungle plants and small flowering trees. Spike recognized several varieties of ferns and grasses, but they were a whole lot more that he *didn't*. Flowering vines crawled and wrapped themselves around support pillars and the place smelled *fresh* and *wild*, not damp and moldy.

There were also bird-cages *everywhere*. Each divided up section of the cavernous room held one. Some were large and some were small. Some were gilded and some were plain. Most of them actually held song birds and some were empty. What's more, many more birds were flying about the huge space completely free, swimming through the air and flitting about the leafy plants. There were several perches attached to walls and some swings hung from the ceiling itself. Spike spotted a pair of brightly plumed parrots on a large reinforced wooden branch squawking into a gilt framed mirror on it's own stand.

And *cats*! Cats lounged on almost every piece of furniture and many more were to be found on a narrow six inch ledge that wound it's way around and around the room along it's walls. Spike could practically *see* the free-floating cat fur as it drifted through the air. They were *everywhere*.

Looking around to see where his nephew had gotten off to, Spike spotted him down towards the far end of the room talking with what appeared to be a chaos demon. Instantly, Spike felt his face shift into it's true form and he heard the unconscious growl that rumbled from deep in his chest. However, before he could do or say anything, the ugly demon nodded it's misshapen head and shuffled off and out a side door. That's when Kitten turned around and looked unerringly over to him on the steps and grinned.

"Come on in Spike. Wilbur is going off for a few days to allow us a... um... family reunion. He says Mom should be home from hunting in a bit, so..."

Spike watched his lover give a small shrug and he tried to ignore the relief coursing through him over the fact that 'Wilbur' the Chaos Demon was leaving. Allowing a small smile to drift across his face, Spike walked down the stairs and made a show of looking around at the bizarrely decorated place. He saw it as another symptom of Kitten's inherited insanity, but he wasn't going to... upset the boy over something as trivial as loud decor and the oddity of allowing birds to fly free and unprotected in a room literally overflowing with cats.

Finally, he made his way past several plants, a double handful of purring fur-balls playing near an obviously harried mother cat, and several mismatched chairs and tables until he reached Kitten. Pulling the younger vampire into a loose hug, he looked over the small sitting area with it's native throw rug and bamboo sitting chairs.

"Interesting place you've got here pet. Colorful."

Kitten turned in his arms to face him and beamed with happiness.

"Do you like it? I found this place about three years ago and I thought it was *perfect* for what I needed. There's two subbasements below us. The first level is where the bedrooms, bathrooms and the kitchen is and the one under that is where I have my medical lab and my torture chamber."

Spike's eyebrow raised up at that little bit of news, but he just offered up an encouraging smile to his nephew.

"I'll have to get the guided tour then, won't I?"

Kitten grinned and gestured around grandly.

"I decorated. The birds are Mom's, but she and Wilbur don't always stay here with me. They tend to bounce back and forth between here and Wilbur's place down south further. Wilbur thinks it's too hot here this close to the equator, but he puts up with the heat for me and Mom."

Spike felt himself begin to growl at the mention of Wilbur, but he refrained from saying anything nasty. He had spent enough time with Drusilla to know better than to upset those creatures whose grip on reality wasn't too firm over things that didn't really matter... or couldn't be changed. And this was one situation that Spike knew he couldn't change. It was in his Dark Princess's hands.

Instead, he allowed himself to be guided back in the direction they had come and then even further to the other side of the cavernous room with the crazy decor and the menagerie. As they walked, he noticed that many of the cats would get up from their perches to walk over and rub against his Kitten and purr loudly at him. The young dark haired fledge often murmured soft sweet words to them as they touched him and he wore an enchanting expression of happiness on his face. Spike also noticed that he seemed to be purring even louder than normal.

*****