Saku gave his dad a hug.
"Guess I'll see you at Christmas," Saku said.
"Guess you will," Zac replied. "Have a good trip. Say hi to Friday for me if you see her, and tell her Elektra's fine."
Saku chuckled.
"I renewed the protection spell I put on them," he said.
"Thanks."
Orion
"Thanks for giving me a place to live, Uncle Zac," Orion said, giving the man a hug. "And for taking care of me." Orion made the chant and a portal opened in the floor.
Zac and Saku
"No problem," Zac replied. "Enjoy yourselves. Learn heaps. Try not to get into too much trouble."
Saku grinned mischeviously as he waved goodbye and followed Orion through the portol.
Orion
The portal came out into the main hall of the Watcher Academy. Brennan Falin was waiting for them.
"Hey boys, I'm Brennan, and I'm one of the teachers here. Let me guess, you're Orion, and you're Saku?" He said, guessing correctly. Orion nodded.
"Let's get you guys settled in. You're in the room next to Draco and Percy. It's lunch in a couple hours, but things are pretty lax on the weekends. Plus there are little kitchenettes in the dorms."
He showed them up to their room.
Saku
"Cool," Saku said.
He followed Brennan up to their room and peered inside.
"Very snick," he nodded approvingly.
Orion, Percy and Draco
Orion agreed with Saku and started to unpack his thing.
"ORI!" cried two voices in unison, and he was spontaneously tackled by his brothers. About 10 seconds later, they were all fuzzy little kittens, wrestling on the floor.
missedyoumissedyou said Draco absotivelyposolutely Percy agreed. You too, Saku! Draco insisted. Yepsaid Percy Missed you guys tooOrion said.
Saku
Hey Cuzes! Saku said. Long time no see! How's things?
He batted playfully at Draco and Percy.
Orion, Draco and Percy
Things is good Draco said, pouncing playfully on Saku's tail
This is gonna be goodgood year, Percy insisted. Our litter reunited, plus awesome cousin-ness he said.
I like our family Orion said.
Saku
That's good, Saku said with a mental giggle. Otherwise you'd be in trouble right about now, wouldn't you?
Vampire kitties
prolly Orion said. He looked up just in time to see a calico bundle pounce on him.
Boys! Cassie cheered nuzzling Orion and Saku. Missed you! The kitties were all kind of rolling about on the floor in a heap.
Wonder what someone walking by would thing? Draco mused. 5 cats in a heap, on a boys dorm room floor.
Saku
Umm, who brought the cats? Saku suggested.
He nuzzled Cassie back.
Hey Cassie-Cassie. Hear you made slayer.
Vampire Kitties
Yeah, said Cassie. Weird, eh? Willow said she couldn't tell at first, 'cause I'm not thirteen and I wasn't born when the spell got cast. But physically I'm past puberty. It's weird. she said.
Our sister's supergirl Draco declared.
Declan and Liam were passing by the open door, and saw the pile of cats rolling around on the floor.
"Uh, Deck?"
"Yeah, Li?
"When did this school get cats?" Liam asked his cousin.
"I don't know. Wait, can't Percy and his family turn into cats?" Declan replied.
"Oh, I think you're right."
Saku
That depends, Saku said. Can you shoot lazers out of your eyes?
He wriggled around and spotted the two boys at the door.
Vampire kitties
No, no lasers, Cassie giggled telepathically. Oh look, boys! she said. Cute boys.
Yes, yes they are, Percy said. No flirting.
Awwwwwww, Cassie pouted.
Draco turned to the boys at the door, and shifted back into human form.
"Hi, Declan? Liam?" he asked, a bit unsure of their names.
"Yep." Declan said. "Draco, right?"
"That's me. That's Percy, Orion, Cassie and Saku," he said, pointing at the other cats.
"That's kinda weird," Liam said. "Not really weird, just. . odd. Not used to seeing cats turn into people."
Saku
I don't mind if you flirt, Cassie, Saku said. We can go looking for dates together and I won't tell.
Grinning, Saku took human form and held out his hand.
"Hey."
Vampire kitties
Actually, Cassie can do what she likes, Orion pointed out. We just try to be protective brothers. It seems Cassie can protect herself now.
Cassie turned back into human form as well. "Yes I can," she told her brothers pointedly. "Hi, I'm Cassie she said, introducing herself to the two boys."
"I'm Liam, that's Declan," the boy said, shaking Cassie's hand. "Technically, girls aren't allowed in the boys dorms," he pointed out.
"She's our sister," Percy said, taking human form. "It hasn't been a problem before."
"Of course, she was usually in cat form," Draco pointed out.
"True," Percy replied. Orion felt left out, and took human form as well.
"I'm Orion," he said. "This is our cousin Saku. We just got here."
Saku
"I suppose this means no boys in the girls dorm too?" Saku said thoughtfully.
"That would be right," Liam agreed.
"Hmm. What about cats?"
Cassie and Percy
Declan thought about it. "That must be nice," he mused. "I mean, lots of girls have no qualms about changing with a cat in the room. Although I did once know a girl wou couldn't go to the bathroom if there was a pet in the room. Which was interesting because their cat liked to sleep in the bathtub."
Cassie looked at him. "I like you," she declared. "You amuse me."
"Of course, she thinks the same thing about mice before dismembering them," Percy pointed out.
Saku
"Y'know, I actually hadn't thought of that," Saku mused. "I was actually thinking more of sneaking in there and when confronted, reminding them that I'm actually a cat. But that works too. Even better in fact."
"I'm guessing we've given him ideas," Liam said to Declan.
Cassie
Declan laughed. "I'm sure he would have thought of it eventually," Declan said. "He is a teenaged guy, after all."
"Wait, Saku's a guy?" Cassie said, pretending to be shocked.
Saku
"Yes, yes I am," Saku replied. "And unlike my Uncle Tay, I will pull my pants down if you feel it's really neccesary."
"I don't think it is," Liam said. "Really. I don't."
Vampire Kitties
"Yes, please don't," Declan agreed with Liam.
"Hey, I saw the video for MMMBop," Orion said, "Uncle Zac looked like a girl too." ORion turned and growled at his suitcase, before starting to unpack. Percy didn't have anything to contribute to the conversation, so his moved behind Cassie and started playijng with her hair, combing it with his fingers.
Saku
"Not for long, he didn't," Saku smirked.
"It must be really weird for you to be almost as physically old as your father," Liam said, shaking his head.
Saku shrugged.
"I just don't call him 'Dad' in public."
Vampire Kitties
"Yeah, we usually stick with the 'distant cousins' story at events," Orion said. "But Zac's cool. Gave me a place to stay. Gave Cassie a place to crash over the holidays. Even invited Draco & Percy to stay, but they came here instead."
"I like it here," Draco said, helping Orion put away his clothes. "The Hansons are really cool though. Grandma Diana insists we call her Grandma, even though were not related to them at all. She's just one of those people."
"I think she likes having all these wayward kids to look after," Cassie said. "She said 'If I can manage 7, a few more won't kill me,"
Saku
"Sometimes I like telling people that I'm his son and seeing their reactions when they think I'm joking," Saku mused.
Liam chuckled.
Draco and Percy
"Saku. want some help unpacking?" Draco offered.
"It's like when people ask how old you are and you say, 'Oh, I'm about two,'" Percy said. "They never believe you, of course."
"You guys are two?" Declan asked incredulous.
Saku
"Yes," Saku replied. "We age quickly. Also, Orion and I spent sometime in an alternate universe. I imagine that people who are born on the 29th of February have the same fun."
Liam chuckled.
Vampire kitties
"Willow says we should stop again sometime next year. Probably when we look about 19-21," Cassie said. "After that, who knows. I mean, Giles has photograph of Auntie Priss, and she looked about 16 or 17, and she was thousands of years old, I think. Dad looks about 20ish." She rolled her eyes. "Not that he's bothered to visit."
Percy threw his arm around his sister. "Cassie, he's a tomcat. They're not exactly notorious for being great dads. Or sticking around, for that matter."
"I know," Cassie said. "Still, it's be nice if he dropped in once in a while."
"Our family is kinda dysfunctional," Draco explained, helping Saku unpack.
"Whose family isn't?" Declan joked.
Saku
"Yeah, I don't get to see my littermates all that often, either," Saku said. "Y'know what? I haven't got even one full-blooded sibling? They're all half-sibs. Even my littermates are all half-sibs."
"How'd that happen?" Liam asked, who automatically assumed that his littermates would all be full blooded siblings.
"When Ma when into heat she found a few different fathers," Saku shrugged. "Kanika, Faolan and Victory's fathers are three different mutants: Wolverine, Mordred and Sabretooth respectively, and Serafina's da is Angel."
"Oh, so you guys aren't the only vampire cats around, huh?"
Vampire kitties
"Sera's the only other half-vampire of us," Draco said. "Saku's half-alien, Kanika, Faolan and Victory are half-mutant."
"I was a little worried at first, when I found out I was a Slayer," Cassie said. "Thought I might be overcome with a desire to kill myself or my sibs, not that a stake would have much effect. Godling powers and all that. We barely register as blips on the metaphorical vampire radar. We can go out in sunlight, we have reflections, except for Percy, and Draco gets a rash from Holy water. I'm allergic to garlic. We all get occasional blood cravings, so Mr. Giles makes sure there's some blood on hand for us, usually cow or chicken. We have no desire to kill, and we couldn't turn someone into a vampire even if we wanted."
"Well, I thinks I might be able to, but I don't want to," Draco said. "I'm the only one who really needs blood to survive. A couple times, when I've gotten really desperate, Mr. Doyle gave me some human blood from the infirmary. But I don't want to get hooked on the taste. I'm a natural witch, been writing my own spells since infancy, Cassie and Orion have the Sight, and Percy's also a witch, he can Heal, levitate and make force fields."
"We don't really know the extent of all our powers," Percy said, "That's why we're here. Plus, Mum wants us here, says we're safest over the Hellmouth."
"Besides," Orion said, "I don't want to piss off Dracula. He's a jerk. Mum had been turned human. Yeah, she was still crazy, and a Seer, but she was human. Then Drac had to step in and turn her back again. Took her away from us again. I wish I could stake him myself."
"You're too small," Cassie said, looking at Orion, who was in fact several inches shorter than him. "You're not strong enough." It was true. Orion had always been the weakest, he was sickly from kittenhood.
"Yeah," Orion said. "I'm the runt."
"That's not nice to say about yourself," Declan said.
"It's true," Percy said. "Orion was born last. Didn't get enough oxygen. He's the smallest and has always been the 'sickly one,'" Percy made air quotes with his fingers. "The dictionary would define him as the runt of the litter."
Saku
"I'm the third born in my litter," Saku said. "I've got fire magic, protection magic and hydrokinesis. Oh, and atom manipulation. And my protection magics aren't really as good as my fire magics. Unless it's a protection from fire spell."
He chuckled.
Vampire kitties
"We don't really know all that much about ourselves," Orion said. "Da and Auntie Nyx aren't actually around, so we've no one to ask about the cat godling stuff, and our mom and her boyfriend are insane. We've pretty much just been winging it."
"Hence the wanting to come to school here," Draco said.
Orion continued to put away his clothes. Percy helped Orion unpack his books and things. They were really simple books, and Orion, as usualy, felt a little self-conscious about not being a strong reader.
Saku
Saku decided Orion had a good idea and opened up his bags. The first thing he pulled out was a scratching post.
"You're kidding me," Liam said, pointing and rasing his eyebrows.
"I like scratching stuff," Saku replied. "Dad prefers me not to scratch the carpet, so..."
He shrugged.
"I'm the most cat-like out of my siblings."
Vampire Kitties
Orion pulled out a bag of cat toys. Little furry mice and jingly balls and shiny things.
"Yeah. I scratch stuff too. Percy and I are actually werehuman, of sorts. 'were' actually means human, but the point is we were born kittens, and turn human at will. Cassie and Draco are werecats. Born as babies, but turn cat at will."
Declan picked up a little jingly mouse. "You like these things?"
"Yeah. When I get hyper, I just start pouncing things. It's much better that I attack toys than real things. Kate has a ka'millian named Sophie that turns into a rabbit, and I always have to force myself not to hunt it."
"Ooooh, shiny!" Percy said, and grabbed one of the sparkly balls. He started tossing it between his hands.
Saku
"I'm a weredathrian. Okay, well, actually more like a feline-dathrian," Saku chuckled, eying the sparkly ball Percy was tossing.
Liam noticed Saku's attention, and chuckled.
Vampire Kitties
Draco couldn't really help himself. All this excitement was making him hyper. He dumped the bag of cat toys out on Orion's bed, turned into a cat, and pounced.
"I second that emotion," Cassie said, pointing at Draco.
"So, very much cats," Declan said, laughing a bit.
Saku
"Yes, yes we are," Saku said, and a mischevious glint came into his eye.
He held out his hand and sent a stream of water at Draco.
"Trying to unpack here, Draco."
Draco and Orion
Draco pouted, shaking off the water and spluttering.
Hey, I'm not on your bed, he complained.
"Great, now my bed's wet," Orion joked.
He continued to unpack.
Saku
"That can be fixed," Saku nodded.
He then created a fireball, set it above Orion's bed and let it evapourate the water away.
"Tada!"
Orion and Cassie
Orion laughed. "Just don't scorch my sheet by accident."
"Show-off," Cassie teased.
Declan made a water sphere in his hand. "I have water magic too," he said.
Saku
"I won't," Saku assured Orion and grinned at Cassie, wiggling his ears.
"I think Cassie's right. You are a show-off," Liam nodded.
"I get it from my Dad."
Percy
"Yeah, your dad the rockstar," Percy said. "Have any inspiration to follow in his footsteps?"
"Your dad's a rockstar?" Declan asked Saku.
Saku
"Yep. Zac Hanson, of the band Hanson. He's the drummer," Saku replied. "Well, primary drummer. Uncle Tay plays drums too, but not as often. And no, no musical aspirations at this time."
"Hanson. Never heard of them," Liam said.
"Yeah well," Saku shrugged. "They've been on the international scene for, umm, 8 years now."
Orion
"Yeah, but they're not played on the radio much," Orion pointed out. "They had this really popular song called MMMBop, about 8 years ago."
"Oh!" Declan said, "My older sister Dara, she used to sing that song all the time. I think she even saw them in concert once."
Saku
"Cool," Saku said.
He closed the drawer, his clothes all nicely put away now.
Vampire Kitties
Orion finished unpacking.
"Kay, I'm hungry now, let's go eat," Orion said. "I want chicken."
"Mmmmm, chicken." Cassie and Percy said in unison. Draco went human again.
"Chicken definitely sounds awesome," Draco said.
Ending as written by Michelle
And thus the kitten-cats went out and ate chicken and celebrated their reunion.