- ⤷ Note: This article is about the group. For the episode, see The Pack.
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Although this article is based on canonical information, the actual name of this subject is conjectural. |  |
A group of Sunnydale High School bullies, along with Alexander Harris, was unwittingly trans-possessed by the spirits of a pack of hyenas.[1]
History
Originally, the group consisted of several school bullies led by Kyle DuFours. During a field trip to the Sunnydale Zoo, they began harassing fellow student Lance Lincoln. When Principal Robert Flutie intervened, Lance chose not to report them, prompting Kyle to invite him to join their group inside the closed Hyena House. Once inside, the bullies attempted to throw Lance into the enclosure, but Xander intervened to protect him. At that moment, the Primal trans-possession ritual was inadvertently triggered. Standing upon the ritual's sacred symbol, Xander and the four bullies became hosts to demonic hyena spirits.[1]
After the possession, the group continued their bullying behavior, now with Xander emerging as their leader. The five exhibited heightened senses, enhanced strength, and distinctly animalistic traits, such as smelling themselves and others, adopting hyena-like laughter, and displaying increasingly predatory behavior. Their personalities, initially rude and insensitive, grew progressively malevolent and feral, which led them to attack and eat Herbert alive, the Sunnydale Razorbacks' new mascot pig.[1]
When Kyle, Tor Hauer, Heidi Barrie, and Rhonda Kelley were later confronted by Principal Flutie and taken to his office, the four students killed and ate Flutie alive. Meanwhile, Xander, whose unrequited crush on Buffy Summers had become dangerously obsessive under the possession, attempted to sexually assault her. Buffy overpowered him, knocking him unconscious and locking him in the library's book cage. The remaining four members soon broke into the library and freed Xander, reuniting their pack.[1]
Buffy attempted to reverse the possession by luring the Pack into the Hyena House, intending for the hyena spirits to be transferred back into their original animal hosts. However, Dr. Weirick, the zoo's zookeeper and a Primal, had his own plan to draw the spirits into himself but had previously been unable to complete the ritual due to interference. As Buffy and the others arrived, Weirick performed the predatory act required for the ritual by holding a knife to Willow Rosenberg's throat. The spirits were then transferred out of the possessed students and into Weirick. Freed from possession and disoriented by what they had done, the four students fled the scene.[1]
Members
Behind the scenes
- The original script for "The Pack" reveals that the group is known as the "Soshes," "Hotsnots," and "Attack Pack."[2]
Appearances
Canonical
Other
- Sunnydale High Yearbook
- The Xander Years, Vol. 2
- Demons of the Hellmouth (Only mentioned)
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "The Pack"
- ↑ Matt Kiene, Joe Reinkemeyer, et al. The Script Book: Season One, Volume 1. Simon & Schuster, November 2000.