Spikes stood frozen in place, shaking as she stared with wide eyes at the face she had only seen in her nightmares.
Takado swallowed taking a step towards her, beginning to reach his hand out.
Spikes shook her head back.
A million thoughts raced through her head, all clouded with disbelief.
This couldn't be her brother.
She'd watched him die. He could not possibly be standing before her.
This couldn't be her brother.
Spikes snarled, lunging at Takado. She slammed into him, throwing him against the wall.
The whole house shook from the force of his fall.
"How the hell did you get my brother's face?" Spikes screamed, forcing back tears. She pushed him back once again.
"What are you a shifter?"
She watched his lips curl into a snarl as he lifted her off the ground and threw her into the bookshelf.
She ignored Kitty's yelling and lunged at him once more only to find herself being thrown across the room again.
After the third try she weakly stood up. She grabbed the book case to balance herself as she watched him step towards her.
"Are you done?" He barked.
Spikes looked into his eyes, and felt as though she were a child once more.
"Are you done?" Takado grumbled. He rolled his eyes as he lifted Carissa to her feet.
"No." She yipped, slapping his hands away.
"You're never going to beat me." He laughed, patting the small girl's head.
"Quit being so stubborn."
"Shut up! I'll beat you one day, just wait!"
"No!" Spikes growled, kicking his feet out from under him. She quickly got to her feet, placing a foot at his neck.
"I told you I'd beat you!"
Takado's features softened as Spikes finally began to let tears fall from her eyes.
He exhaled slowly, a smirk forming across his lips.
He grabbed her ankle, quickly flipping her onto the ground and pulling her into a headlock.
He held her steady until she stopped fighting his hold.
He loosened his grip on her, lump forming in his throat as their eyes met.
She'd changed so much, grown so much in his absence.
The resemblance she bore to their mother uncanny.
"Carissa..." Takado sighed, rubbing her cheek with his palm.
"I've miss you! I've miss you so much!" Spikes whimpered, falling into his arms.
Takado smiled softly, petting his sister's hair as she cried against his shoulder.
Almost as if they were children once again.
Kitty shuffled anxiously beside Xander and Damon, unsure of what to do as they watched the two siblings.
Xander glanced down at the cat, raising a brow at her fidgeting.
He'd known her long enough to know she didn't handle serious situations too well.
"Why don't you just say something instead of giving yourself a damn anxiety attack?" Xander whispered, his voice annoyed as always.
"Leave me alone okay?" Kitty hissed at him.
"I don't want to ruin this moment for them."
"Okay, well don't you think someone should interrupt their awkwardly long hug before David and Nadine get here?" Xander growled under his breath.
"You're fucking stupid. That's her previously dead brother." Kitty slapped his arm. She crossed her arms, shifting her weight as she glanced back at the siblings.
"They should be here soon so I guess you're right."
Kitty smiled, bending over to look at Damon. "Oh Damon, who's a good boy?"
The dog took a step back, tail between his legs.
"Oh quit worrying. I just want you to go jump on Spikes, okay?"
Damon Barked, his ears perking up before her charged at Spikes, easily knocking her to the ground.
"Damon get off me you overgrown pup!" Spikes laughed, trying to push the dog off of herself as he struggled to continue to lick her face.
"Your dog I take it?" Takado chuckled as he helped pull Damon off of her.
"Yeah, this is my boy Damon." Spikes grinned, wrapping an arm around the dog.
"Damon this is your uncle, say hi."
Damon turned around, barking happily as his tail wagged.
Takado grinned, reaching over to pat the dog's head.
"Not to break this up or anything, it is great seeing my hard work pay off, but we do have a schedule to keep to." Kitty teased as she approached the siblings. She glanced briefly at Takado before focusing her attention on Spikes.
"What do you mean, your hard work?" Spikes questioned, glancing between her brother and best friend.
"Did you... did you have something to do with his return?"
"Of course I did, anyways-"
"Do you have any idea how stupid you are?" Spikes growled at the cat, grabbing her by the shoulders.
"Do you have any idea the cost of something like this?"
"Spikes relax." Kitty said gently, moving her hands from her shoulders.
"I met your mom's ghost, and she gave me a 'gift'."
"A gift?" Spikes eyes her suspiciously.
Kitty opened her mouth to speak, to be honest. Her eyes met Takado's briefly, pulling away instantly.
"A gift for you. She gave me the ability to bring your brother back, as an apology for her death." Kitty lied smoothly, grinning at her best friend.
"She said you two needed one another."
Spikes's expression softened as she wrapped her arm's around Kitty. She hesitated briefly before returning the embrace.
"Thank you." Spikes whispered, wiping a few more tears away.
"This is... This is the most amazing thing I ever could have imagined."
Kitty pulled away from Spikes at the sound of the doorbell. She brushed aside a tear from her cheek before trotting to the front door.
"You both made it with perfect timing!" Kitty grinned, opening the door for Nadine and David to step through.
"Nadine why didn't you bring you fiance?"
"They... they're not really in town." Nadine responded nervously, hugging Kitty briefly before walking past her towards the living room.
"Still no girlfriend I see?" Kitty tried to tease David, playfully batting at his arm.
"It's not like you're one to talk." David glared at her as he walked past.
Kitty inhaled sharply, her eyes following David as he stepped into the living room. She'd known they weren't on the best of terms, she just hadn't thought it might effect the way they interacted tonight.
"My old art teacher is pretty cute, huh?" Spikes joked with Takado upon introducing Nadine to him just before Kitty entered the room. Takado's face contorted with disgust as Spikes winked at him.
"What? You don't agree?"
"Dude, she's engaged." Kitty cut in, her voice thick with annoyance.
"Oh yeah... Whoops, I just forget since we've never met the mystery man." Spikes laughed.
"Engaged or not, she's a cat. I don't lay with their kind." Takado growled, shaking his head.
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Kitty hissed, stepping closer to him.
"It means I don't waste my time on feline's." Takado snarled. His eyes met his sister's and he quickly calmed himself for her.
"And what do you mean cat? Nadine isn't... Are you?" Spikes barked, her eyes wide as she looked at their former teacher.
"Carissa, use your nose, she wreaks of feline." Takado sighed heavily.
"And if that's not enough, when was the last time you saw a human with natural crimson red eyes?"
Kitty rolled her eyes, stepping away into the kitchen as everyone else made their way to the living room.
"Kitty." His voice alone me her cringe.
"We need to talk."
"What do you want to talk about?" Kitty hissed through a smile as she turned to face him.
"I want to talk about what happened yesterday, and why the hell that asshole is here." David's glare was ice cold. Kitty took a step back, her eyes on the ground.
"Is he your boyfriend or something?"
"We are not doing this now David." Kitty hissed, her pupils shifting to slits.
"Why? Afraid your boyfriend will get upset?"
"He is not my boyfriend." Kitty rolled her eyes, grumbling under her breath.
"Quit acting like such a high-schooler."
Kitty sighed softly, her eyes drifting to Takado in his seat beside Spikes.
She wasn't even sure they were friends, wasn't sure she'd even want him as a friend.
She groaned loudly, finally tuning in to David's complaining she'd been ignoring.
"David, shut up!" Kitty hissed, grabbing the front of his shirt.
"You are in a house filled with demons, all of whom adore me. So if you want to keep breathing I suggest you put on a smile, say happy birthday and eat some goddamn cake."
David gulped, rubbing his arm once Kitty released him. She turned and continued to make her way into the kitchen and David turned around to join everyone else in the living room.
Spikes sat in between Takado and Xander, laughing as they swapped stories of their childhood. Spikes finally visiting the memories she'd left behind because they'd hurt too much.
"I can't believe you got into a fight with an actual dog." Nadine laughed, nearly choking on the glass of water she'd been drinking.
"The worst part is she lost." Takado grinned, pulling his sister into a headlock and ruffling her hair.
"How could you lose to an actual dog?" Xander laughed. He grunted slightly when she punched his arm, her cheeks burning red.
"I was still just a pup okay?" Spikes responded defensively.
"I just preferred being a dog in those days."
"That must have been adorable to watch you pretend to be a dog as a child." David chuckled, feebly attempting to join the conversation.
The four demons in the room stopped laughing, staring at David as Kitty walked back into the room.
She instantly glared at him, sensing the sudden tension in the room.
"What did the idiot human do now?" Kitty groaned, shaking her head.
"I didn't do anything." David responded defensively.
"I just said it must have been cute to see Spikes pretend to be a dog."
David looked up at Kitty, trying to imitate a sad puppy's face himself. A smile began to tug at the corner of her lips.
Half because he was stupid, half because at least he was trying to be social.
"Come on guys, give him a break." Kitty chuckled, patting David's head before taking a seat in between David and Takado.
"He doesn't know anything about demons, or sub-types."
"I'm so used to speaking with those like us that I forget how ignorant humans are on the matter." Nadine giggled.
"No offense of course."
"None taken." David laughed, nodding in agreement with her.
"Sub-types?" Spikes questioned, glancing around the group.
Everyone turned to glance at Spikes, her ears turning bright red with embarrassment.
"Takado did you not teach her?" Nadine questioned, her gaze falling on his own.
"I planned on teaching her when she turned ten, but I... died before that was possible, so no." Takado responded, his own eyes falling to the floor.
"I thought she may have learned over the years, but it wouldn't appear to be the case."
"Maybe you guys can teach both of us." David grinned at Spikes, who smiled reluctantly back at him.
"There's several different sub-types of demons. Elemental demons, succubi, animal demons which is us, and many more." Kitty explained, smiling as she relaxed in her seat.
"Animal types are categorized by the ability to shift into the respective animal as well as carrying similar traits to them.
Example: As a demon I naturally have better sight than a human, but as a cat demon my sight is even better than that of those dogs."
"I'm actually a direwolf, and so is Carissa." Takado rolled his eyes as Kitty gestured to the tree canines on the couch.
"What?!" Spikes barked as she jumped off of the couch. Everyone turned to look at Takado, and he shifted uncomfortably under their gaze.
"Our father and mother were direwolves, this really isn't that big of a deal," Takado shrugged his shoulders, his eyes falling to his feet.
"I thought direwolves went extinct when the sabertooths did during the war 500 years ago," Katherine whispered. Takado looked up at her, surprise coloring his jade eyes.
"They nearly did. Between the war with Sabertooth, and internal struggles between packs..." Takado inhaled deeply, fidgeting with his hands in his lap.
"My father said he searched for 450 years approximately before he found my mother, who was only 150 years old at the time. It's pretty likely that they were the last two, so they were married and now there's Carissa and I."
Spikes stared at her brother, eyes wide as she shook. She sat back down beside him, eyes pleading for him to continue speaking of the family she'd never known.
"It's very likely that Carissa and I are the last two pure direwolves in existence," Takado's voice shook as he spoke. He hung his head, his tawny hair falling over his eyes. Spikes stared at her brother for a moment before turning to look at everyone else preseant.
"I'm... I'm a direwolf," Spikes hestitated as she spoke. She looked down at her hands, turning them over as if somehow the new information hand changed them. She looked back up at Xander, a wild grin on her lips. "That's so fucking cool!"
Xander, Nadine and David began laughing, but Kitty stared at Takado, still hunched over. His shoulders moved slowly with each breath he took. She reached over, barely touching his elbow. His head shot up and his eyes focused in on hers.
'Are you okay?' she mouthed. Takado glared at her, taking a deep breath he turned and began engaging in the conversation as he had before. Kitty sighed softly, rubbing her arm with her hand. Everyone else was speaking too excitedly to notice the exchange between the two, and it almost made her wonder if it had actually happened.
"What else can you guys do?" David chimed in. Kitty smiled briefly at his enthusiasm.
"Aside from shifting to our given animal states, most demons also have some sort of ability, gift, affinity or whatever else you might prefer to call it." Nadine smiled, opening her palm.
David, Spikes and Kitty gasped as a small flame appeared in her hand.
"For example, I can create and manipulate fire."
"That's so cool." David commented. Kitty and Spikes both trying to hide their excitement.
"What can you do?" Spikes asked, turning to her brother. Her grin so wide it almost made him uncomfortable.
"I don't have anything that cool." Takado responded, almost hesitantly.
"I have energy manipulation, which means I can copy a persons energy or aura, mask my own or those around me. It's a nice defensive ability."
"What do you mean defensive?" David asked, his face stern as he met Takado's eyes.
"My ability helps me hide from hunters or other demons, whereas an ability like Nadine's is better for attacking."
Kitty's stomach lurched at the brief mention of hunters. Takado's eyes instantly found her, watching her as she calmed herself outside of anyone else's notice.
"No more learning!" Kitty cheered, hoping to escape Takado's gaze.
"We have a cake to eat and a birthday to celebrate!"
"Alright, alright." Xander groaned, standing from the couch as Kitty stood, bouncing around the group. Takado's eyes narrowed, unsure of what to make of her reactions. He sighed, returning his attention to his younger sister.
They stepped into the dinning room, everyone gathered around Spikes who was forced to sit at the head of the table.
Kitty brought in the cake, excitedly encouraging everyone to sing happy birthday.
"Make a wish!" Kitty called out, smiling down at Spikes's beet read face.
"Call me cliche, but there's really nothing more I could wish for." Spikes smiled. She looked up at her brother, Kitty and Xander. She reached up, wiping a tear from her eye.
"I've had the most amazing birthday imaginable. But I can think of something so I can eat this cake."
Everyone laughed as Spikes paused for another moment before blowing out the candles and everyone cheered, Kitty throwing her arms around her before they all sat down to eat cake.
Spikes smiled more than she had in years, for once truly enjoying her birthday.
...
Kitty sighed, dropping the plates into the sink while everyone else had retreated into the living room once again.
She was surprised to find Takado staring at the coffee machine with confusion as she turned around.
She inhaled deeply before walking up to him, lightly touching his arm.
"What do you want, Princess?" Takado growled, turning to face her.
"I wanted to thank you for being civil and even nice to me today. I didn't expect it after the last time we spoke." Kitty kept her voice down. She smiled weakly at Takado, fidgeting with her hands.
"I'm not going to ruin my sister's birthday." He responded curtly, moving to turn back around.
"And I want to apologize for my outburst yesterday." Takado paused, once again turning to look at her.
"I was angry, but what I did was completely out of line and I'm really sorry. I hope you can forgive me, and maybe we can be friends?"
Takado smiled sweetly down at her. Kitty shoulder's relaxed slightly just before his smile turned cruel.
"Friends? Seriously? Do you really think any apology you give me will ever make up for you threatening to keep my sister from me?" Takado began to laugh as he stepped toward Kitty.
She stepped back, running into the kitchen's island. He leaned over her, his face inches from hers.
"If you ever try to take her from me again and I will have you begging for death. I will leave you completely alone, you will have nothing and no one, do you understand me?"
Kitty nodded briefly, struggling against the tears that were forming in her eyes.
"Good." He scoffed, straightening himself.
"Time for you to grow up, and leave me the fuck alone."
Kitty watched him step out of the kitchen, her legs giving out from beneath her once he'd left her sight.
Her heart was racing and tears still threatened to fall from her eyes.
She hadn't realized how deeply she'd hurt him, how deeply she'd likely hurt many others before him.
He'd frightened her, that was inescapable. But what scared her even more, was he was right.
It was time to grow up.
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