Series: Her
Author: eena_angel2001
Email: [email protected]
Category: AB/BTVS
Characters: Nathaniel, Willow
Rating: R
Disclaimer: LKH owns AB, Joss Whedon owns BTVS.
Spoilers: S7 Finale for BTVS, NIC for AB
Summary: Reflections on a visitor . . .
The Broken One
She fell from the sky.
There wasn't much else for me to say. She fell from the sky and right into Anita's lap. I wasn't there to see it for myself, but I'm told that's what happened. She fell right out of the sky.
Of course, the official story is that she's a distant cousin of Anita's, visiting after some serious trauma occured in her life. Just the word 'trauma' seemed to explain a lot to people, especially the fact that she didn't speak. Humans just have to hear that word and they immediately decide to mind their own business. They were curious as hell, but they didn't want to be the callous ones to try and drag that trauma out in front of the poor girl. It was an effective cover. But it failed to answer some very serious questions.
Who was this girl that fell from the sky? What was she doing here? Where was she before she fell out of the sky? Was she to be trusted? In fact, what was this girl? Was she human or something else entirely?
Whatever she was, I could tell you that there was not another out there like her. I've never seen such a creature before in my life. She was the tiniest thing, barely taller than Anita. Her skin was pale and flawless. She had green eyes, a colour that reminded me of ivy for some reason. She had these lips that were small but incredibly beautiful. And though no one has ever heard her talk, I would stake my life on the belief that her voice was as beautiful as the rest of her.
Her hair was red for the most part, but it had thin strands of pure white hair mingling in with the rest of her locks. And there were times when the colour would change, go from mostly red to completely white. I've seen it with my own two eyes. She was standing there, clad in clothes borrowed from Cherry, staring at the dying rosebush in Anita' garden. And then a smile touched her ruby red lips and her hand went out to touch the leaves of the plant. Her hair went stark white and the plant not only recovered but bloomed completely.
It was really hard to explain the rosebush in full bloom during the winter to most other people. Thank God we all live far away from most of our neighbours.
She was definitely a magical creature, but of what magic not even Anita knew. Certainly my Nimir-Ra knew much more than she told us, that was pretty obvious. The fact that she didn't even bat an eyelash at the arrival of this woman and the fact that she quickly invited the strange woman into her home was enough proof that there was something Anita was keeping from the rest of us.
But Anita was my Nimir-Ra, who was I to question her secrecy? There was naught much I could do but obey Anita when she instructed me to take care of our new guest. Willow was her name, though how Anita figured that out was beyond me. The girl didn't say a word, sometimes she wasn't even up to writing down her request. It wasn't to say that she didn't know how to write, or was being uncooperative. But when she did take the opportunity to write stuff down, she did so in a language that no one could read. Anita would sweep these communications away from us and take them God-Knows-Where. Anita was pretty hell bent on keeping Willow and everything about Willow a secret.
But even my Nimir-Ra's restrictions couldn't keep me from wondering, and sometimes even venturing to find out what I could about this woman. And since I had been designated her guardian for the duration of her stay, it was not hard for me to find ample opportunities to find out what I could.
But again, Willow was silent. It was as if she didn't need words to communicate anything. Her every whim, her every intent, it was all understood in her body language. With one smile she could assure even the most suspicious of creatures that she was here only for good. And the way she looked at people sometimes . . .It was as if she could see into their very souls.
I know because she had done the exact thing to me.
It was one odd morning, maybe a week since her rather odd arrival, when it happened. She had wanted to go outside, so I took her to a nice but quiet park. She sat rather happily on a park bench for more than fifteen minutes, her eyes lighting up with joy as she watched a group of children engage in a game of tag. It was odd the way she took joy in the simplest things, like she could see much more into them than most people. Maybe she could, maybe she had all the answers. I certainly felt that way when she took me by the hand and looked me right in the eye.
It almost reduced me to tears when compassion and understanding flooded those green eyes of her. Her hands went up, tracing the silver choker I wore around my neck. It was a mild discomfort, a little pain that I liked having in my everyday life. It was a part of me, the unabashed lure to pain. I sought it in almost all of my activities. And yes there was the matter of my sexual preferences. I was a subordinate in very sense of the word. I couldn't get off without pain, I didn't want to try.
And she knew that with one look.
It was amazing the shame that seemed to overtake me when I knew that she saw that part of me. It was kind of new to feel shame about it. I had come to the point where I was completely fine with it. But one look from her, just the thought that she saw that part of me, it was disconcerting. It felt wrong, I felt bad. I was ashamed.
But never once was there recrimination in her eyes. Never once did I see anything like disdain in her eyes, not even one trace of disgust. All I could see was her understanding. She patted my hand and then placed her palm over my heart. Her hair seemed to shimmer before the thin strands of white in her hair became big thick strands. Her hair became an even mix of red and white and I felt this warmth start down in the centre of my being. It was like a pleasant caress, starting from the inside and heading out. It was heavenly, divine, sensual, and gentle all at once.
Then it receded, flowing out of my body as quickly as it entered. I blinked and her hair was back to normal. She offered me another smile, this one more pleased than anything else. But I didn't understand what it was that pleased her. I didn't feel any different than before. The only change was the left over tingle I felt from her touch, one that extended all the way through my body.
"What did you do?"
But she didn't answer. She never answered any questions. She only gave smiles and some sort of knowing look. And that was exactly what I got. She even giggled a bit, a few musical notes coming from deep within her throat. She reached over, patted my cheek in an almost maternal fashion before getting to her feet.
She took a deep breath, looking around the park like she was trying to preserve the image of it inside her mind. Then she extended a hand towards me, pulling me up and out of my seat and dragging me out of the park. I was shocked to find her dragging me to a ice cream shop. She was new to the city, how did she know where to find an ice cream shop?
Again, she offered no answers, only smiles and a few gentle squeezes of my hand. I still had no idea what she did to me, and I knew somehow that I wouldn't know for quite some time. It was like she set something into motion, something that she felt would be for the very best.
And I didn't know why, but I felt like it would be for the best.
There was just something about this girl, something that made everything she did seem right. And whatever she did to me, I couldn't help feel better for it.
It was like whatever had been broken was on its way to being not fixed, but mended. I trusted her to have done nothing less. But that still didn't tell me who she was. I don't think I'm meant to know. Maybe it was better that way.
Either way, it was all up to Her.
*****
Title: The Shrewd One
Series: Her
Author: eena_angel2001
Email: [email protected]
Category: AB/BTVS
Characters: Nathaniel, Willow
Rating: R
Disclaimer: LKH owns AB, Joss Whedon owns BTVS.
Spoilers: S7 Finale for BTVS, NIC for AB
Summary: Reflections on a visitor . . .
~*~
Ma petite wants her to live, and so she lives.
There was no other reason why I allowed this strange woman to roam so freely inside my territories. Anita's protection was all that kept this girl from being ousted from the city by a handful of my minions. It bothered me that I had to allow her to stay at all, not when the power she gave off made my skin crawl and nerves shake. She was too powerful of a creature to just be left to herself, running all over as she saw fit. Only ma petite's insistence on her safety kept me from acting as I should. But make no mistake about it. If Anita was not in the picture, I would have had this redhead killed the minute she entered my city.
Of course, that is, if she can killed. I doubt someone with her kind of power would go down easily.
Maybe that's what scares me so much about her. The knowledge that even if Anita is wrong about this woman, there was nothing I or any other creature at my disposal could do to stop her. She seemed to be beyond anyone's ability to eliminate. Her power rolls off of her in waves and there are times when even I shocked at the extent of it. Never, in all my centuries on this Earth have I sensed anything with even a fraction of the power I sense in her. She wears her magic like a second skin, or perhaps a shield, for I cannot think of one weapon that would stand a chance against her.
And yet, she is only human.
There is no question of that. She is completely and utterly human. She has power that I, perhaps even the whole of the Vampire Council, can dream of, but she is human. She is still mortal, a body as fragile as any others. All one would have to do is catch her off guard and then snap that lovely but oh-so-delicate neck of hers.
But again, I doubt she would ever let her guard down enough to give anyone a chance to do that. She is too wise this one; it is like she has seen all of this before, and maybe she has. Maybe she has, maybe she has even seen worse.
After all, she is from another world.
Anita told me this, told me all she could of this strange girl who fell onto her lap. Ma petite tells me all she can about this witch and her mission. I listened to all of it, but I understood very little. Never had I heard of differment dimensions, worlds like our own but different in their own world. With different kinds of demons and vampires in each world, everyone with their own version of magic and reality. It was an amazing revelation.
However, it did nothing to quell the fears I have about this Willow. She is far too powerful for one so young. Her power outshadows even Anita's, and yet she shows no real sign of it. Had I no way to sense her magic, I would have assumed her as innocent as a young babe. Her smile alone is enough to bring up images of purity and sweetness.
It was a quite an illusion.
I shifted in my seat, sending another look to the creature that had been dominating my thoughts since her arrival. Anita had to work tonight, so she informed me that I would be entertaining the adorable witch and her chosen bodyguard. And so I sat here, behind my desk, watching her sitting on the floor of my office, Nathaniel stretched out on the sofa at her back. She was hard at work, scrawling something onto a pad of paper, the tip of her tongue peeking out of the corner of her mouth as she worked.
It was not uncommon to see her in such a way. The girl did not speak to anyone, communicating solely through her smiles and gestures. She put onto paper whatever she couldn't convey through her body language. Anita confiscated these papers, stating that they were clues as to what tools the girl would need in her task. And Willow was quite meticulous in her instructions. I once saw her drawing out a diagram to accompany them, complete with smiling stick figures and labels. The girl was interesting.
And she had an effect on all those she crossed. Nathaniel, her chosen bodyguard, was one prime example of that. It was not a blatantly obvious change, but one that everyone would recognize in time. As things stood now, even Anita did not see this transformation that was taking place in her wereleopard, but I could see it and what it would become.
Nathaniel stood taller than before. And I knew it was her doing. I could almost smell the trace her magic had left on him. It was very faint, almost not even noticeable, but it was there. Willow had worked some magic over him, opening something inside Nathaniel that many thought had been lost forever.
Before, his posture had been slightly guarded, like he expected to be attacked at any given moment. I know the boy had been damaged before, through his former Nimir-Raj. He was very often in trouble, finding himself in dangerous situations entirely of his own making. Nathaniel was a submissive creature, and unfortunately for him he only seemed to be drawn to those dominant creatures who had no real regard for his well-being. Anita often said he looked like a kicked puppy, wide fearful eyes awaiting the nasty master who would come to deliver him even more punishment than before.
But that would not be the case for much longer.
Perhaps the transformation would not be complete for many years, but as time went on, they would be there. Nathaniel was slowly changing; he might never become an alpha, or even a creature of that much power or prestige. But given time, he would not be that kicked puppy anymore. This witch, she did something to him, something that was leading him down this path. He would be better for it, I know this.
But this does not mean I trust the witch any more than before.
She is still a mystery, refusing to share much with anyone other than Anita. She did the strangest things, had the strangest mannerisms. At the drop of a hat, she had some other urgent errand that needed completing. Just yesterday Anita had sent her Nimir-Raj Micah along with Caleb and Zane to somewhere in India, with a map drawn by the redhead herself that would apparently lead them to some trinket imperative for her misson's successful conclusion. Anita went to great lengths to make sure that all these outings and inquries were kept silent, but even she could not prevent the gossip from spreading.
News of the redhead has spread out of St. Louis, touching the ears of powerful creatures all over the world. Even now I herald many calls from the Vampire Council, demanding answers about this girl. I know her presence is putting many people on guard. Her power frightened many creatures, to the point where they were becoming dangerously defensive. The Master of New York insists I am harbouring the witch in return for her help in overthrowing the Council. A presposterous idea, but one with merits. Perhaps I would bring it up to ma petite later on.
She raised her head, as if registering my surveillance finally. For a split second her pencil stops scratching its path on her paper. Her green eyes meet mine and the white in her hair becomes slightly more prominent. The power of my eyes is easily deflected and for curiosity's sake, I give her shield a tiny push. I feel myself run right up against an iron door, something I have no hopes of breaking down. I dropped my attempt and a smile touched her lips.
Amused, I watched as Willow climbed to her feet, pulling Nathaniel along with her. I know what she wants and I nod my head before Nathaniel can even ask. She smiled even brighter than before, impishly blowing me a kiss before dragging her bodyguard out of my office.
I leaned back into my desk chair, knowing that she was heading to the Circus kitchen. She would go for ice cream, knowing that I had the fridge packed with cartons of the dessert after Anita told about her obsession with the treat.
A complete mystery she was. A child and a goddess, seemingly wrapped up into one little body. I have no doubt that she will see her mission through to completion. I can expect nothing else. The next few weeks should be very interesting, even dangerous at points. I may have to face down the most powerful beings on this earth, just so that she could finish what she came here for. I might not even survive all that is coming. There could very well be a war on the horizon.
And it was all because of her.
*****