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Tweak says, "Wangoballwime?"

Faith Lehane (dark_slayer) wrote in labyrinth_rpg,
@ 2009-04-27 20:35:00

Entry tags:

claudia, complete, day seven, faith lehane

Who: Faith and Claudia
When: Day Seven, late night, after Claudia got angsty with Armand and Pandora
What: ANGSTING!
Where: Their room, City of Illusions version
Rating: Uh. It's Faith. And Claudia. I'm gonna put a big old R on this right off, just to be safe.
Status: Complete

It was late, but Faith was the sort who could easily stay up into the early hours of the morning, no problem. Part of why she really was quite suited to being a vampire slayer was that she kept the same hours they did, more or less, and actually thrived on them. So she was wide awake, and contemplating going out again. Sure, she'd spent some time in the amusement park earlier, but she hadn't seen nearly all there was to see. The place was huge, bigger than Disneyland. It would take more than a couple of hours to see all there was to see.

Still, she did have some sense of responsability, if only to her position. And the fact that there were vampires here wasn't up for debate. If she was a wiser person, she would be nervous about the fact that she really knew nothing about this sort of vampire. But, as it was, all she felt was that she should probably practice more. She'd sadly neglected her training since coming to Mirage, and then the Underground. A session with her weapons was much overdue.

So, dresesd in a simple black tank top and black yoga pants, the brunette tugged out her weapons chest. Yeah, Buffy had taken quite a few things, but there was still lots left. Faith toyed with the holy water for a moment, but her fingers closed on the sword soon enough. Her hand wrapped around the leather-wrapped hilt as if it belonged there, and she unsheathed it in one smooth motion.

Ideally, of course, she'd have someone to train with. Maybe now that Buffy was here, she could rope her into it. But, for now, the other Slayer was in the Labyrinth, and Faith was alone. That was fine, though she did wonder where her tiny roommate was. In truth, she was worried about Claudia. But she'd never been much of a babysitter, so she shrugged and started working through some basic attack forms with the sword.

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dark_slayer
2009-04-29 09:13 pm UTC (link)

Faith had excellent reflexes. She had to have, in order to have not only succeeded, but thrived, in her role as a Slayer. So she heard the door open, but didn't turn right away to confront whoever had come in. She knew the rules around here as much as anyone else did, and she knew that no one could come in unless they belonged here. So it pretty much had to be Claudia. She could take the time to finish her routine, and did so, before turning to the child.

"S'up, little chica?" But her dark eyes widened as she took in the little girl's state. She dropped her sword on the ground negligently, and moved quickly to Claudia's side. Dropping to her knees, she put a hand on her slender, tiny shoulder. She meant to coo over her, well, at least as best she was able to do such a thing, but something about her demeanor puzzled her. She wasn't acting like a little girl, not even close. She frowned, and looked into her eyes intently.

"Claudia... what's up?" In truth, the Slayer was a bit freaked out by the tone in the little girl's voice. She'd never heard such emotion, or rather, nothing as complex as what Claudia was showing, not from a child. She peered at her, then grabbed her and pulled her into her arms. Maybe not the smartest thing to do with someone you were a little freaked out by, but deep inside Faith's mind, Claudia had touched some vulnerable place that she hadn't even been sure existed. Of course, so had Mercy, in a different way.

"Tell me.. tell Auntie Faith." She stroked the blonde ringlets soothingly. "I can tell somethings up. So, tell me?"

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wants_more
2009-05-03 03:24 pm UTC (link)

As soon as Faith held her, Claudia managed to smile. The embrace was comforting in a way that Claudia hadn't felt since Faith left. As Faith held her, she couldn't help but smell the scent of the Slayer's blood, feel the rush and rhythm of it in her veins, and she paused, needing to make a decision. Feed, and be alone, or have this woman whom she already respected and cared for as her guardian.

In Claudia's fragile, needy state, the choice was simple. She might have cried, with the emotion she felt, but her voice stayed the broken little whisper and her body was perhaps more still than any child should have kept. "Faith, oh beloved. You wouldn't understand even if I were to explain it in the simplest terms, you wouldn't understand."

She stepped back, head bowed as she tried to gather her thoughts. "I met others from my world, and they are cruel to me, they leave me lost. I long simply for knowledge and it seems as if they give only more questions and riddles." She looked up to Faith, blue eyes liquid pools of grief, and then ran and clung to her again suddenly. "I felt so alone."

The maturity of her speech would give away that this child was strange, if the emotion of her little lilt did not. Her skin was cold to touch, presumably from the cold outside, and she was still as pale as ever, though Bella's blood had returned a healthier glow to it. Little fangs were kept well hidden, though when she spoke, a sharp eye might catch a glint of one, and beneath the very bed that Faith would sleep in, lay the little coffin that Claudia had spent her long nights alone in. But still, she kept her secret.

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dark_slayer
2009-05-03 03:53 pm UTC (link)

Faith, who was supposed to be a Slayer, had very little warning that she was almost vampire food. Yes, something about the way Claudia was acting bothered her, but in the end, she couldn't quite equate the idea of 'vampire' with this beautiful, sad, little child. And that very easily could have been her undoing, despite her training, despite her senses, despite her strength.

The more Claudia spoke, the more creeped out Faith got. But, though her body was tensed and ready, it hadn't quite communicated its unease with her brain yet, and was largely subconscious. So, while her muscles were tensed, ready to fight, she continued to hold the child until she stepped away. Then, she stayed hunkered down on her knees, peering at the blonde, doll-like vampire girl.

She frowned as the girl spoke. At first, she wondered if that meant Claudia was going to leave her, go be with her friends, but soon it became clear that that wasn't the case. "Dude, that blows! I saw that Red and her stupid dull little blonde chick was here, and B, too, but none of them pulled shit like that on me." As Claudia flung herself back at Faith, the Slayer held her, and then pulled away.

"Shit, you know, you don't talk like any kid I've talked to before..." She frowned, and her eyes narrowed as she pulled away to look down at the girl. Dimly-remembered images, some vampire movie, a girl like this... but she'd only seen the thing once, and a very, very long time ago. And, at the time, she'd been paying more attention to Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt than the child Claudia.

"Hey, chica, it's cool. You're not alone. I'm here." She pulled away slightly, so that she could look down into that perfect little face. "Uh... so what's your deal? Why do you talk like... I dunno, something from Anne Rice?" She was pretty sure she'd read the book, for some school book report or something. But that had been even longer ago than the movie. Still, the language was catchy. "Did you read that shit, too? Man, it was a trip, even if I don't really remember what the fuck happened. But that Lestat, damn. I'd tap him."

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wants_more
2009-05-11 02:09 am UTC (link)

It was only then that the devastating misery of her situation became completely clear to Claudia. The revelation washed over her like a huge wave and she almost gasped, overcome with the emotion as she fell to her knees, holding her little hands over her chest in agony. She felt as if she would drown. The few people she was able tell about her true nature couldn't understand her, or love her, and the one person that could would likely kill her if she knew the truth!

Death was almost a welcome prospect in light of this new found and horrible reality. She simply didn't understand how it was possible to survive such heartbreak and fear, why anyone would take this over death. She felt Faith's body tense and ready for battle, and even thought Faith's words were still kind she almost laughed at the perfection of it all. If there was a God he was punishing her for something and oh how tempted was she to take the hint. Closing her eyes for a moment, blood tears slipping from under doll's eyelashes, she said a silent goodbye to the world around her. And then, the little vampire gave herself over to fate.

"I'm not like any child you've spoken to before. I'm not like anyone you've spoken to before. I'm not even like those of my kind. I wish I was! Oh, how I wish to be simply a child." She stood and walked over to the window, sliding it open and curving her little white fingers over the ledge, taking in all the scents of the city before her. Scents of humans, of vampires, of animals, of creatures she didn't know. Scents of the forest, and the sweet aromas of the amusement park. The small imitation of a world, much like she was the imitation of a child, that soon she might leave behind. Turning, she rested her big blue eyes on Faith.

"Faith, I'm a..." She blinked as the Slayer's words caught up with her, tears suddenly dry on her pale cheeks and eyes full of excitement and confusion. "Who is Anne Rice? You know Lestat?" How could she possibly? Lestat must have lived, like Armand had said! There was a book about him! That meant she and Louis might be in it as well, and if Faith knew that...but wouldn't she remember? Had Lestat left them out of this story? It wouldn't be unlike him, certainly. Now, a million more emotions filled her, curiosity, guilt, bitterness, as she tried to catch up with her own thoughts. Just how much did Faith know? How much would she find out? To think she was so ready to leave this all behind, and now that she didn't want to, she might be forced to!

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dark_slayer
2009-05-11 08:52 pm UTC (link)

Faith didn't understand. She'd been chattering away, in the way that was so much a part of her, and then Claudia had freaked out even more. She was starting to wonder just how much trauma the girl had been through from her life before. And she could sympathize, better than most people, probably, though she wasn't good at communicating that all the time. But she had her own issues while growing up, and well, Claudia was acting like someone who had been through some stuff. That much, she got. But why should mentioning Lestat cause such a reaction?

Claudia pulled away again, and Faith let her go, but in the split second before the child turned away, she saw something that greatly alarmed her. A flash of red on pale cheeks. "Shit, you're bleeding!" She immediately rose, concern written on her delicate features, and walked over to the window where Claudia stood. It didn't take any effort at all to turn the small girl around, although Claudia could have made it difficult if she'd wanted to. She knelt down once more, her eyes strangely gentle as she pulled her sleeve down over her hand and cleaned up that beautiful, pale face.

A gust of wind came in the open window, brushing her dark hair back, and she shoved it behind her ears impatiently. "What happened, why are you bleeding?" She could have sworn that the girl wasn't bleeding before. But Faith was nothing if not easily distracted, and as Claudia started speaking, she found herself laughing. Not in a mean way, for once, but she was honestly amused.

"Yeah, Anne Rice. She wrote these fucked up vampire books, you know? I only read the first one, but damn, I kinda thought I needed to wash my hands after. Louis and Lestat were all over each other, well, mostly Lestat over Louis, you know?" Having no idea what turmoil she was causing, she kept blithely on. "Uh, I don't know Lestat personally, but damn, I mean, I wouldn't fucking mind! Hottie, majorly. Did you see the movie or something? You seem to know some shit about them." She stopped for a second. "Wait, you're a what?"

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wants_more
2009-05-22 11:16 pm UTC (link)

The gentleness with which Faith turned her and wiped away her tears only made the small vampire cry more, and she shook her head, reaching out to touch Faith's pale cheek, to feel that dark windblown hair. "Oh, my love. My sweet Faith. You know so much, feel so much, and yet you realize so little. Everything is before your eyes and yet you do not see." Leaning in, long lashes closing, she pressed a kiss to the other girl's forehead, soft rose petal lips cold against warm skin.

"I'm not bleeding. These are my tears. Do you know why I weep blood? Can you imagine?" She listened to Faith as she spoke of her fathers, of their strange love for each other, of the tales that had been woven about them, and almost smiled in her heartbreak. "I know them, yes."

With another caress, almost a farewell, she moved away, over to the bed, and pulled her coffin out easily. It was small and beautiful, crafted perfectly to fit her and painted with the most pure white, embellished with gold. She threw back the lid and showed Faith the inside, lined with rich blue silk the colour of her eyes, and a small, soft pillow in a slightly darker shade of the same colour. When she spoke, her lips drew up to show sharp and deadly little fangs. She pointed in disgust and anger to the place where she had lay merely hours before. "This is where I have slept these past days! This is where I am during the day! And at night, when the sun has gone down and I may roam the streets? I hunt. I feed off the blood of mortals! I could have killed you!"

Taken over by desperation and fear, she moved forward again. "And the only one that has come to care for me, who has not ignored me or shunned me or looked at me as if I am a monster, I have kept in ignorance, for fear of losing. You're a Slayer, Faith, I know this! And I know that you must kill me. I thought, perhaps, that I could keep you from knowing. But the pain of lying to you was not worth having you."

She gazed almost beseechingly into Faith's eyes, blood tears still staining her pale cheeks, and her little white hands balled into fists. "Please. Do what you must. But do it knowing who I am. What I am. I am a vampire."

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dark_slayer
2009-05-23 12:35 am UTC (link)

Again, Faith was struck by how Claudia spoke to her. In truth, if it had been a man, or even anyone who looked like an adult, she would have freaked the hell out. To call Faith a commitmentphobe was completely understating the case. She made commitmentphobes look like they were eager for a meaningful long-term relationship. But from Claudia, well, it sounded odd, of course, but not horrible. She could handle it. Although she wasn't sure how to deal with the fact that she was basically being told she was blind. "What the hell am I supposed to...?"

She didn't get to finish her question, though, because the child-like vampire showed her exactly what she was supposed to see. Blood tears, well, the vampires didn't cry blood on her world. So it was the coffin that really got her attention. Even then, she couldn't quite make herself take that final leap. "Shit, girl, you don't gotta sleep in a coffin. Weird ass shit. Did you have fucked up parents or something who made you..."

But it seemed that she was doomed to not be able to finish a sentence. Claudia kept talking, and the blinders that had been on, the blinders made up mostly of the fact that this vampire child was, in form at least, a little girl, dropped off. For the first time, she listened to the reactions of her body, and it all made sense. When Claudia spoke the words 'I am a vampire', there wasn't even a split second where Faith didn't believe her. On the contrary, it was the only thing that made sense, and Faith wasn't unintelligent.

"I know." Her hand quivered, and then she reached over, grabbed a chair, and broke it to pieces. Taking one of them, a convienant stake-shaped one, she walked closer to the vampire who looked like a little girl. "I know you are, shit, I guess I always knew, somewhere." The Slayer paused, looked down at her hand, and glared at it until it dropped the piece of wood.

She suddenly fell to her knees and held open her arms. "No, fuck it. I'm not gonna kill you. You're the best damn roommate I've ever had." Not waiting for Claudia to come into her arms, she scooped her up, picked her up, and even kissed her perfect little white cheeks, stained as they were with blood. "Come on. You need some fun. Let's go out. There's a motherfucking amusement park out there, what the hell are we doing in here?"

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