Time Spin

“HEY” Xander exclaimed “I haven’t jumped that fence.”



Faith ignored him and studied the woman lying in the bed, walking up she extended her hand. “Hey im Faith.” The woman stared curiously before turning to Buffy and said something to the blonde woman.



Faith turned back and looked at the three behind her curiously…what the hell did she say? Red shrugged and even Dawn who was the schools expert in languages seemed at a loss.



“Umm…B…what’d she say?” Buffy turned and smiled.



“She asked me if you were my family.” Buffy turned back and Faith guessed she was answering the redheaded woman.



“What language is that Buffy?” Dawn asked she stepped closer and glanced over at the two children who had stopped there playing and were watching the strangers warily.



“Its well…it doesn’t exist anymore. You see…I met Lonnie here in Germany. Just about a million years ago.” Buffy said this so matter of fact that the others were inclined to believe her.



“So…is she like…a caveman?” Xander asked cautiously. He wasn’t sure how he felt about it but he was so damned glad that Buffy was back and seemingly okay that the woman could have horns and tentacles and he wouldn’t have care…much.



“Yes. She’s my mate. And theses are our children. Jaeger and Axel.” Buffy turned and called out to the children and the only words the other recognized were there names.



“I need a drink” Willow muttered. Everyone turned and looked at her. “What? I drink.” She snapped back. This was so much…



“Hi…im Dawn, Buffy’s sister.” Dawn said as she waved at the three strangers. The redhead smiled kindly and Dawn looked at the girl who was glaring at them and the little boy had seemed to forget they were even in the room as he sat playing with a small toy car.



Lonnie looked up at her mate and turned back to the visitors. She recognized the one called Faith from what Buffy had told her as well as the man and the shaman woman. The younger girl though she decided didn’t look much like Buffy but subtle features were almost identical to Buffy and so it was easy to see that this was her sister.



“I am Lonnie” The words were difficult to piece together in there tongue, she had a new respect to Buffy for having to relearn an entirely new language.



Her attempt seemed to break the tension as the group broke into smile and talking to her and Buffy. ‘Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad’



****************************



Raya scoured her daughter’s room for any sign of where Skye could have disappeared too. It had occurred to her that she would have gone to the tiger but she didn’t want to go all the way out to the bar and into the tiger’s territory without probable cause.



Turning when she smelled Asher she watched as her grandson stood inside the doorway, shifting uncomfortably on his feet. Her eyes were drawn to the bandage around his arm. She wondered idly how he had gotten it.



“Threes something I need to tell you.” Asher felt hot and sweaty, dammit if the woman didn’t make him feel like a scolded child even after all these years.



“What is it?” Raya stepped back and studied the young man.



“Its about Skye...shes been sneaking out and ive always caught her before she elaves the grounds…least most of the time…but Raya, shes fully into her fever and well…I think shes at Gypsies.”



Raya fought and failed the urge to snarl, well that was ‘probable cause’ if she ever heard any. “How could you not tell me this?”



“You know me and Skye, we’ve always covered for each other its just….well…she’s not a kid anymore Raya and I don’t know…I just wanted you to knew but you cant go off the handle on her or shell never trust you again.” Asher straightened feeling the need to defend Skye.



“She is my child Asher; I deserve to know when she’s putting herself into those situations. I know she’s in the fever but she won’t hit the peak of it for another week or two.”



“She already there Raya.”



“…then…she truly is the tigers” Raya sighed unhappily, looking down at the t-shirt in her hands she stared at it momentarily…she didn’t want to believe that her daughter was blood mated to a stranger…much less one that didn’t smell right but dammit…there wasn’t anything she could do.



“What are you going to do?” Asher asked.



“Wait for her to come home. There is no point in dragging her away when shell just find a way to go back.” Raya sat down softly on her child’s bed. Well this was going to be an uncomfortable phone call to Faith.



************************



Ryan slowly came awake, all her senses snapped into overdrive when she realized there was someone beside Remy in bed with her. This someone was curled around her and snoring softly.



Carefully removing herself from the wolfs sleeping grasp she turned and looked down at the sleeping girl. Sighing she stood and walked stiffly to the locker in the far side of her and Remy’s room. Opening it she carefully pulled out the medicine bottles and sorted out the ones she needed and swallowed them whole.



Tucking the bottles back into there hidden places she turned and stopped when she saw Remy lying in the bed silently watching her.



“Go back to sleep kiddo” Remy turned and looked at the still sleeping wolf and climbed out of the bed and bent down and pulled on his vans and a shirt before walking out of the room.



Sighing she brushed a hand through her hair and went back to wake the wolf up and kick her out of the bed.



She had a day and the faster she got rid of the wolf the better. For everyone. It was ridiculous that she could be mated, it was impossible for someone like her to be mates with anyone. She wasn’t natural. Neither she nor Remy was.



Sitting down on the bed she turned back in time to see the wolf stir and smile up at her. Almost against her will she felt a smile break out across her sharp features.



“So…I have to leave?” Skye asked softly. Not meeting Ryan’s eyes as she picked invisible lint off the old sheets.



“No…you can stay.” Ryan said before she could stop herself. ‘Where the fuck did that come from?’



The smile that broke across Skye’s face tugged at something inside Ryan and she promptly shoved it back. Standing she went over to her clothes line and pulled off her dirty shirt before pulling on a new one.



After straightening her clothes she turned back to the prone wolf. She didn’t miss the way Skies blue eyes danced…the way her hair fell softly across her shoulders. Ryan turned away and tried to calm her breathing. Her own fever wasn’t for another year. But she knew she was mated to Skye and therefore she had something that was jokingly known as ‘sympathy fever’ where the mate of someone in fever would contract the same symptoms.



She couldn’t mate with the girl though. It would never work. She had one job and that was to keep Remy safe and soon they would need to leave. They had already been here to long.



“Why don’t you smile more?” Skye asked, sitting up she hugged her knees and studied the every movement of the lithe tiger. The woman was graceful with an undoubtedly feral beauty. The ten seconds she had seen Ryan topless had confirmed her suspicion that the woman was dangerously thin. But at the same time that made the tigers muscles stand out in stark relief.



There wasn’t anything soft about the animal grace of the woman. No it was all sharp planes and rigid muscle. ‘I wonder what she looks like when she laughs.’



Skye swallowed when she noticed the way the tigers arm muscles bunched and knotted as she picked up a trunk and hefted it off the ground and onto the bed before opening it.



When the tiger pulled out a long dagger and studied it. “You should leave Skye.” Ryan said without looking at the wolf.



“Why?”



“Because I said so. You know nothing about me or Remy. Just go…Go and forget about us.”



“I…can’t do that.”



“Yes you can…and you will.” Ryan felt her irritation rise. She was dangerously close to hoping maybe she wasn’t as unnatural as she had been led to believe. She had learned form an early age that if other skin walkers feared her that had better results than being the clans punching bag.



“Tell me what you are. And ill leave.” Skye knew she was lying but so the fuck what. This was her mate, whether she liked it or not, whether she wanted it or not she knew Ryan was.



“I’m a hybrid Skye. Lion and tiger. A freak.” Ryan looked Skye straight in the eye. Not surprised to see the almost gross fascination on the young girls features.



“That’s not possible…the lions went extinct.” Skye’s mind swam in misbelieving wonder. The Lion Skin Walkers had been wiped out nearly six years ago. Lions weren’t territorial like Tigers or wolves…no they were a dying breed. The only species that had responded to biological warfare between Skin Walkers and some zealous cult. It was said that something they had been exposed too had infected every Lion and they slowly went insane and either killed each other or died themselves.



“Yes…Lions did…my mother. But Remy and I are not Lion…least not only lion. We were immune to the virus. But we are hybrid...unnnatual. And the second our parents were killed they cast us out. So five and a half years later. Here we are.” Skye scowled at the look of seething rage on the tigers face.” Now you know…so leave.”



Skye stood and walked over to the…what did she call her now? Lion? Tiger? No she was simply Ryan. Resting her hand on the stiff shoulder. “Your not a freak. Not to me.”



Brushing her off “That’s the fever talking”



“No…its not.” Skye leaned in and rested her chin on Ryan’s shoulder. “You are not a freak. Neither is Remy.”



Ryan stiffened. How dare this…child come in here and tell her such things when she was so innocent…so naive. What did she know of pain? What the fuck did she knew of rejection and loneliness. She and Remy were alone…there was no one they could trust and she would not listen to these lies.



Snarling she shoved the wolf away from her and walked out of the room, stopping only to pick up a case of barley beer before heading up the stairs.



*************************



Lonnie watched the exchange between her mate and the family. They were all sitting and taking animatedly, occasionally the conversation would stop long enough for Buffy to translate before continuing on.



Willow was holding and smothering Axel with kisses and tickles which the boy loved. He had always been a somewhat clingy child and loved attention.



Turning she saw Faith carefully showing Jaeger her lighter. Smiling at the enthusiastic reaction from the girl. She would never admit it either but Lonnie was transfixed by the simple fire stick.



Leaning back she smiled, this was a Buffy she hadn’t seen in a long time. Carefree and happy. The stress was gone, her smile ready and willing. Laying back Lonnie laced her fingers between Buffy’s and studied there new family.



TBC



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