"Let's hope not, shall we?" he said, and it was unconscious, moving himself a bit in front of her. Knowing full well that she could hold her own, he still felt an oddly instinctive need to look after her.

Growing tired of simply standing there, the three of them sizing each other up, Spike strode forward, bringing his axe down in a clean arc that severed one overly floppy ear. The creature shrieked, scurrying back a few feet but not quite ready to flee.

"Remind me later to tell you the time that Angel got himself turned into a puppet."