Lovely fic here as usual. Lyra Jane, I loved Spike's drinking stages. So, I have been spectacularly unmotivated to write recently and I thought I'd try Cindy's challenge from many moons back to write for 30 minutes. This is what came out. It's my first crack at first person POV. I still don't know how I feel about it.
Scales
“Don’t open your eyes until I say so. No peeking.”
“How far are we going?”
“Almost there. Just a little farther. Ok. Now open.”
“It’s a. . . room.” Faith was working hard to keep the disappointment out of her voice, but I could still hear it.
“And don’t forget. . .” I indicated a small table off to the side.
“Oh yeah. Wine and candles. It’s. . . great. It’s. . .”
“For a former criminal, you really are a terrible liar.” It might’ve come out angry if I hadn’t been laughing so hard.
“No, no it’s nice. It’s good. I just. . .”
“Not very surprising, huh?”
“Well, I been around. It takes a lot to surprise me.”
Faith was standing there, so beautiful, trying to be a good sport and failing miserably. Her long brown hair was tangled, courtesy of too many nights spent sleeping on the floor of a bus. She had her hands on her hips and that “seen it all” expression on her face. I had seen that look countless times on the faces of countless girls in countless cities. But never quite like that before. I reached out and ran my fingers lightly down her arm. I felt her shiver. I felt it. No, not like that.
“I’ll tell you, Faith. Most people think they’re hard to surprise, but usually they’re not. You just have to give them something unexpected.”
“I hate to bust your bubble, but wine and candlelight don’t make you a mack. It’s your typical seduction scene.”
“Seduction? Faith, I’ve already tried the merchandise. And like I told you before, it wasn’t all that. So why would I be trying to seduce you now?”
“What?” Her hackles were up immediately. She was on guard, sensing something not quite right. Her muscles tensed, just waiting for a reason to throw that first punch. Magnificent, but too late.
“Did you ever wonder about the First?”
“Don’t go all Andy Rooney on me?” I raised my eyebrows. “What, one of the guards liked 60 Minutes.”
“See what I mean? Surprise. The unexpected. And I’ve been around a fair bit, too. But really, the First? That last gambit: the ultimate evil calls up an army of Ubervamps that were easier to kill combined than the first Turok Han all by it’s lonesome. Pretty pathetic, don’t you think? And then what? What was the plan? What if it had won the battle? What did it want?”
“Don’t know, don’t care. I was just there to kick some ass.”
“Oh yes. You were amazing. If only you’d moved like that in bed. Oh, well. I guess nobody’s perfect.”
“That’s it. I’m outta here. I don’t have to take shit from you.” She tried to push past me, but I caught her by the arm and held her as easily as holding a small child.
“Faith, wait. I’m sorry. I’m confusing you. Be patient with me.” She was trying to pull away, but she was no match for my strength. The realization only made her more determined to break loose. As I watched her struggle, I saw the fear rising up in her eyes, and something else. That’s what I’d been waiting for. “In all my years, year beyond measure, I could never do this. Touch. Hold. Feel skin on skin.”
“How long?” She asked, eyes wide.
“How long what?”
“How long have you been controlling him?”
“Off and on since he came to Sunnydale. I wasn’t strong enough to take full possession of the body right away. I had to wait for the right time. The right souled vampire and a whole bunch of death and destruction. A complete tipping of the scales helpfully achieved by the Slayer, the Witch and the Watcher simultaneously activating every potential in the world. Once you all did that, it was easy enough. As Wood’s soul was slipping out, I slipped right on in.”
She was terrified now. I could smell the fear coming off of her. I could smell it. It smelled so good, like what freshly baked cookies must smell like to humans. I grabbed her chin and forced her to look into my eyes.
“Guess what else I’ve never done? Killed someone with my own two hands. I couldn’t before. I had to let my minions have all the fun.”
Surprising the feel of a neck snapping.