Carcass *Chapter 11 up on 3/01*
by DawnBTVS
Impediment
I'm sitting in the kitchen. I'm smiling to myself and twirling a rose in my hand. I had come down this morning and was pleasantly surprised to see the roses already in a vase filled with water. I'll have to remember to thank Willow when she comes down, which should be any moment now. I just hope she likes what I got her too. I glance up at the sound of approaching footsteps.
"Morning...or I guess, night, Will," I greet her. She nods her head toward me as she stands opposite me at the island counter. She's wearing a pair of blue jeans and a short white top exposing her pale white stomach. My eyes sort of linger on her stomach a bit.
"What's this?" Willow asks, eyes staring at the coffee mug sitting in front of her. I flash a smile at her, suddenly feeling proud.
"It's pig's blood. Angel told me about a butcher shop in Los Angeles that he picks his up at," I answer. Willow merely arches an eyebrow at me. An arch isn't really right. It's more like shoots up. I give her a weak smile, suddenly getting the feeling that this is going to be tough.
"Pig's blood?" Willow asks and the slight disgusted sneer is unmistakable.
"At least try it," I say, trying to convince her that it isn't all that bad. It isn't human blood, thankfully, but it's still blood. Willow shoots me a skeptical look. She doesn't look too happy at the prospect of having to drink the blood of a pig. Like drinking from a human has some royal decency?
"Do I have to?" she asks with unhappiness. I firmly nod my head, giving her a stern stare. If need be, I'll force it down her throat because there's no way that I'll let her feed off a human again. Unless maybe it's me and oh my god could I be any more of a... something...better cut that thought off now.
"Yes," I tell her. She gives a none too quiet groan of displeasure. She raises the mug to her mouth and takes a small sip. "Will!" I cry out, wiping at the blood speckled across my pale green shirt. I grab a paper towel and begin to wipe the tiny puddle on the counter top that's slowly forming its own rivers. I shoot Willow a look as she glares back at me, almost accusing me of causing that reaction.
"It tastes like shit," Will informs me while wiping her lips with the back of her hand. I move off the chair and stalk past the side of the island. I begin opening cabinets, trying to find anything that can make it a bit sweeter to her. I pull out a bottle of honey and a packet of grounded chocolate powder. I grab her mug and pour in the chocolate powder, followed by a five second squeeze of honey. I pull a spoon out of a drawer and stir, before shoving the mug back in front of her.
"There," I state. Will frowns at me and eyes the mug wearily. I stand next to her, crossing my arms over my chest. She sneers down at the mug. She glances at me, trying a puppy dog look but I shake my head. Good thing she looks away otherwise I would've caved. She raises the mug to her lips, grimacing all the while. She closes her eyes and takes a very tiny sip. She takes a slightly longer sip now. Well, she didn't spit it out. That's progress.
"Better but not by much," she lets me know. She grabs the packet of chocolate powder, trying to pour more but tosses it away when she finds it empty. I grab three more packets and toss them to her. She smiles back like a child getting ice cream for breakfast. She swiftly pours them into the blood, using the spoon to stir thoroughly. She takes a sip, making a satisfied moan.
"You like it?" I ask, staring at her.
"It needed massive flavoring. I like the chocolate," Willow tells me. I smile back at her.
"Good to know. I didn't feel comfortable letting you feed off the human populace. I let you do it last night because you needed it but afterwards...I was going to force you to love pig's blood," I admit with a guilty look. Willow just looks at me with a slight tilt of her head.
"Lucky me," Willow remarks with ease but I ignore her and step forward, placing the rose down in front of her.
"Thanks," I say, earning a pleased smile from Willow.
"I wanted to make up to you for Faith. I'm not saying I felt bad about it...just didn't want you angry," she comments. I nod my head, just standing next to her. She takes another sip of the blood as I just watch in silence.
"This might be kind of touchy. Who, uh, sired you?" I ask, curious as to who it was while slightly scared at finding out. Will stares at me for a few moments before resting her eyes on the coffee mug.
"It was Spike," Willow announces softly. Wait...what? How could Spike have sired her? Doesn't he still have a chip? Damn, guess I should've asked Angel that.
"Spike?" I ask in disbelief. Willow turns her head to me and smirks. I growl at her, not pleased at all with her tugging my chain like that. She gives me an innocent look. It's surprising to me how easily she can transition from being a vixen to an adorable...vampire. She's definitely gotten the innocent look down. I'm so in trouble.
"I had to give you a scare. The look on your face was great. Remember how Amy was working the darkness? Turns out she brought back an old friend of ours. Ironically, you staked her this time but never saw her face just like before," Willow answers. I flashback to that night and all I remember is that it was a vampire.
"A female vampire, was it somebody important?" I ask, trying to figure out if I should really know this person. I have killed a lot of vampires during my time as a Slayer.
"One could argue it was an extension of...me," Willow cryptically replies. I frown at her. Oh...
"The doppelganger you," I mutter. Willow nods her head as I let out a growl. "I'll kill Amy," I snarl but Willow shakes her head at me, stifling my growing rage.
"She's dead already. My sire's doing," Willow explains. I slump back against the edge of the counter by the sink.
"Oh," I respond, not truly registering that yet. Willow gives me a sexual smile and I frown at her. I think I have a good idea of what she's thinking but I don't dare admit it.
"Can I be with you in your bed tonight?" Willow asks. I almost do a double take as she looks at me with a puzzled look. I wasn't quite thinking of that. It involved a bed definitely but it also involved.... uh...kinkiness.
"Of course...uh, sleeping wise, absolutely," I answer, blushing in a mixture of awkward embarrassment and at the feeling between my legs. Willow's eyes linger to my crotch as I quickly place both hands over it.
"I know other ways of using chocolate, you know," Willow remarks innocently enough. I can feel my eyes widen at the suggested innuendo.
"I-I should go and patrol," I mumble, clearly not liking where this conversation has turned. More because Willow knows what I'm feeling and my self-control is dissipating the more I talk to her. Willow gives me a knowing look and a sly smile.
"Aww...don't be scared of me. I'll just lap, no biting," Willow says. I can feel my knees buckling slightly at the images flashing through my mind. I make some feeble gesture at the stairs while Willow watches me with amusement. I dash down the corridor, grabbing the bag of weapons by the stairs, and disappearing out the front door. I don't think I'll be able to wait this sex thing out.
~~~BTVS~~~
I stand up and pour the trickle of blood still left in the mug into the sink. I place the mug in and turn the tap on to wash the blood into the drain. I turn the tap off and turn around, not at all surprised to see Giles standing in the doorway with his hands in the pockets of his tweed coat. He hangs his head as I stay where I am, just watching him.
"It's hard seeing you in this state, Willow" Giles comments. I continue watching him. "Buffy clearly has a soft spot for you, regardless of this...condition of yours. I promised her that I wouldn't stake you," Giles says, lifting his head up to meet my gaze.
"I appreciate it. Giles, can I ask you something?"
"What?" Giles asks back with a noticeable bit of venom. I ignore his anger.
"How much of the original person is the vampire? I would like to think that like most vampires I'd want to kill you right now but I don't. It's not that I just had blood either, pig's blood, okay? Still, I remember Angel getting cut off when I remarked about my doppelganger in the cage. He was going to say that vampires retain traits of the human, wasn't he?" I ask. Giles looks slightly taken aback at the intelligence I put forth. I'd like to think that anyway because I really want answers. I'm sick of not knowing the intricate details of what I am. It's like having a directory on the desktop that has some files available and others locked.
"Yes. Most vampires tend to retain the traits they had as humans," Giles answers. I nod my head slowly. I stare at him, a small guilty look crossing my face.
"What about feelings? Emotions? When Angel and Spike appeared, especially Spike, I felt protective of Buffy but it was on a completely different level. Not like humans but taken up a notch like I had to protect Buffy even if it meant death. It's only happened a few times but every time it does, the urge is overwhelming," I explain to Giles. He steps forward, eyes trained on me. I look down at my hands and nails.
"Some of the books within The Council's grasp, the original group that is, contained theories that vampires were humans. Not in the anatomical sense excepting the outward features but also mental capacities. That also included emotions, only heightened. When were these instances, exactly?" Giles asks me. I lift my eyes to his, trying to decide on how specific I should get.
"The aforementioned Spike and Angel visit. Talking with Tara in Angel's office was likely obvious to anybody within several miles of the building. Last night, with Faith."
"Faith?" Giles asks, clearly prodding me for a deeper explanation. I roll my eyes.
"She entered the bedroom while Buffy was about to let me bite her-"
"Bloody hell!"
"She made the first move, Giles. I didn't bite her anyway, didn't get to at least. It only would've been a hickey, at most. Faith entered and basically threatened me. Even pulled a stake out to show her power. Let's just say that I'm no longer scared of her," I snarl. I could feel my face shift, much to Giles' horror. I quickly shift back, giving him an apologetic smile. "Sorry," I whisper. Giles doesn't look the least bit assured however.
"How can I be assured that you won't attack any of us?" Giles asks. I give him a sly smile.
"Buffy told me not to," I answer with a nonchalant shrug of my shoulders.
"You seem to have a lot of trust in Buffy and vice versa it seems."
"Guess an interest can do that."
"I gather so," Giles responds. I just watch him, wondering if he can ever trust me.
"Does our attraction surprise you?" I ask, wanting to see how far I can take a potential relationship with Buffy. Giles stares at me but doesn't respond immediately. "Think of it like Buffy and Angel but I have bigger boobs," I respond. Giles blanches slightly.
"Forgetting the comparison, Buffy was always territorial of you. She sought to protect you first and foremost whenever trouble arose. I can't say the attraction surprises me but I'll warn you just this once. You hurt her and I'll stake you before you have a chance to think," Giles warns me. I give him a smirk.
"If she hurts me?" I ask. Giles just stares and doesn't respond. I frown at him and nod my head. "Right," I mutter to myself. Giles stands up from the chair, eyes still trained on me. I hold up both hands to show I'm not armed. Unless one counts my fangs as lethal weapons, which they could be.
"Tell Buffy that I stopped by. I have some information that she might like to hear," Giles remarks as he heads towards the hallway. I nod my head, scowling at his back that I'm not privy to this information. The front door soon closes as I stare at the island countertop. Might as well head out and see what Buffy's up to and give her the request from Giles.