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Disclaimer: These characters aren't mine, no matter how much I wish they were. <sigh> They belong to Joss Whedon and the WB I have to live with borrowing them for my stories.
Feedback: Please. I live off the stuff like Buffy lives off Angel... Like Angel lives off blood... Like Willow lives off the computer... I'll shut up now.
Willow pulled up a hard wooden chair next to the cage and sat down. Looking at her shackled and very furry boyfriend behind the bars, she smiled softly and opened the book she held in her lap.
"Little Red Riding Hood." The werewolf growled at her soft voice and wandered closer to the cage's grating to look at the reader.
"Once upon a time, there was a little girl with red hair. Everyday she would pass the shop, she would look at this really pretty red cashmere cloak with a hood. Like little girls wore in the olden days but prettier." Willow held up a picture of a jacket, not fitting to her description, but red, and Willow figured that that would do. The were-Oz tilted his head to the side as his growl got fainter.
"Okay, so the little girl really really wanted it. And she had liked this cloak for a long time. Well, as soon as Hanukkah came around, it was hers! She was so happy, she wore it everywhere. She began to wear the beautiful cloak so often that people started calling her 'Little Red Riding Hood.' "
Oz stumbled over the the bars that separated her voice from him and laid a huge paw on them. Willow smiled and stopped speaking for a moment as she placed her hand on the other side of the cage She could feel the warmth of the hand radiating through the cold bars. She slowly pulled her hand away and turned the page of the book. Oz made a little sad, growling sound before going silent to watch her. Willow nodded at him, pleased.
"So anyway, one night, her mom got a call from her grandma. Her mom wasn't feeling very good, but her grandma seemed very sick, so she was going to go there. Little Red Riding Hood pointed out very logically how ridiculous this was, as she was seventeen and would be able to check on her grandmother just as easy. The mother gave her consent and Little Red Riding Hood went about to packing her grandmother some medication that would help her cold immensely and some nutritional and yummy food." The furry persona of her boyfriend sat down hard on the cold linoleum of the library and stared at her, enraptured by the slightly hypnotic sound in her voice as she wove the tale.
Willow grinned and held up the page that showed a little girl putting some food in a basket. Oz-wolf sneezed and Willow grinned, sure that she had just heard a laugh coming from the "fierce" creature.
"Little Red Riding Hood then took her mother's car keys--because she had just gotten her license and was really excited about it-- and started to leave. Her mother stopped her, though, saying, 'Little Red Riding Hood, be careful. It is a full moon outside and there are lots of scary creatures. Like werewolves for one. And other monsters. So watch yourself, all right?' But she only laughed and went on her way."
Willow stopped and looked at the werewolf staring unwaveringly at her. She shifted in her seat, confident that the uncomfort would make it impossible for her to fall asleep. And that was other than the fact that it squeaked relentlessly. Oz growled slightly at the break in the story and she shushed him before returning to it.
"On the way to her grandma's house, she saw a man on the side of the road. And he looked hurt! So she stopped her car, because she had been taught that it was good to always help those in need. So she stopped her car and he got in. She never thought that he would be bad, because she was a little naive, but in the good way." She flipped the page, shooting Oz a smile. It seemed he smiled back, through all the fur. The fangs appeared, and for once, didn't send one shiver of fright through Willow. She smiled broadly, proud of herself for several reasons.
"So, anyway. She invited him into her car, and he said that he was new in town, and that he was lost. He had been out walking when it got dark, and all of the sudden he couldn't remember his way back. It sounded a little suspicious to her, but she let it go, because he had a nice enough smile, and hadn't tried anything. She smiled politely at him as he gave her directions and wondered why he was lost if he knew the way so well.
"They finally got to the big old factory that he said was his home, and invited her inside. She shook her head quickly, and told him that she couldn't because of her grandmother. But that was only part of the reason...." Willow dropped her voice eerily and the giant Oz leaned in to hear her better. She allowed herself and internal, satisfied smile. She had always been able to tell a good story.
"See, when she was adjusting her rear view mirror, she notice that the man had no reflection!! She wanted to get away, but he pulled her out of the car roughly and she didn't know what to do! So Little Red Riding Hood screamed with all her might and looked at the moon in terror, silently begging for it's help." Willow paused dramatically. Oz's eyes widened. If she didn't know better, she would have thought that he was scared for Little Red Riding Hood. Willow shook her head and laughed to herself. Even she wasn't sure what was going to happen.
"When all of a sudden, a loud howl pierced the air. Out the the cluster of trees burst something. To Little Red Riding Hood, it looked like a giant dog and she was immediately relieved, having always liked dogs, but no, she soon found out how wrong she was! It was a werewolf! And he was fighting the evil vampireman for her! Little Red Riding Hood stood by, not able to speak or even to scream as she watched the strong and brave werewolf fighting the horrible creature over her life. The werewolf glanced at her and she stared at him with large eyes. He turned back to his opponent and pummeled him, swiping at him with large, ferocious claws for the maiden in distress. All the werewolf could think of was the horrible terror he smelled from that beautiful, different she-wolf and how he must save her from that terror. With one last motion, the werewolf shoved the horrible vampire into the wall, where a piece of protruding wood was shoved through it's heart. Before the eyes of Little Red Riding Hood and the brave and strong werewolf that saved her, the vampire turned to dust."
Willow looked closely at Oz, seated two feet from her on the ground. He seemed to be purring. She giggled and showed him the picture, of Little Red Riding Hood smiling at the wolf.
"Little Red Riding Hood was so happy that she ran to the werewolf who sniffed her hair and then pulled her into a wolf-kind of a hug. She hugged him back, knowing that he would never hurt her. He growled again, a kind of happy growl and pointed at her car. She nodded and ushered him in, deciding that she needed to get him home to tend to his wounds. So, not forgetting about her sickly grandmother, she stopped at her house to drop the medication and food on the doorstep before heading home shortly before sunrise.
"As soon as Little Red Riding Hood got home, she scurried about, leading a very nice and docile werewolf to her room and getting first-aid supplies. She went into her bathroom to pull out some gauze from under the sink and when she came back, the first thing that she noticed was that her werewolf protector was gone!" One of Oz's ears shot up and the other shot down. He looked surprised and displeased with the new development in the story. Willow hurried to explain before he got all growl-y again.
"The second thing that she noticed was the light shining in the window. The sunlight. Little Red Riding Hood had never been more relieved to see the light, after the events of the past scary night. She looked over at her bed again, and there, under the covers lay him. A boy from school that she had had a crush on! Little Red Riding Hood watched him sleep, exhausted from the fight, and the transformation back into human.
"She walked up to the side of the bed and, careful not to disturb him, tenderly bandaged his already healing wounds. She heard him mumble "Red" in his slumber and smiled to herself, blushing a little. As she finished covering his wounds with the soft, white gauze, the non-werewolf's eyes opened and he regarded her softly.
'Hey. Maybe I should expl--' but Little Red Riding Hood cut him off.
'No, I think it's pretty self explanatory. You're a werewolf. You saved my life. I owe you my life. I should thank you,' she said.
'Oh, no please don't. I don't do thanks. I get all red... Have to bail.' The non-werewolf named Bob smiled at Little Red Riding Hood. She returned his smile and they spent the rest of the day talking as he healed. He was the best listener and best person she had ever met, and by the end of the day, the best kisser, too. The end."
Willow trailed to a stop with a smile on her face as she looked at the sleeping werewolf on the floor in the cage. Her glance flitted to the window, and to the growing light. She was always glad that she took the later shift, as she got to be with him when he became Oz again. The sunlight hit him and Willow opened the cage and reached in quickly to throw a blanket over him. He rapidly became himself again, and she walked into the cage, kneeling beside him, stroking his then-blond hair. He woke up and looked at her, grinning. He yawned.
"Bob, huh?" Oz asked, smiling widely. Willow smiled back at him, sheepishly.
"I couldn't think of anything else. How do you even remember??" The stroking of her hand on his hair never stopped, he acknowledged. Oz smiled tenderly at her.
"I don't know. It kinda seems like a dream. And I was there... And you were there..." Willow laughed quietly. "But I remember. Maybe it was your voice..." he finished. Oz propped himself up on his hands and kissed her sweetly. "I'll never forget anything about you." She beamed at his simple and honest statement.
"Likewise." Their lips met again in a fiercely sweet kiss. Willow pulled away at the sound of Giles entering the library.
"Everything go all right?" Willow nodded to Giles's question and then got to her feet, pulling Oz up by the hands. He clutched the blanket around his waist and smiled at her before heading to get his clothes.
It was time to start another day.