A heartfelt recommendation
Mar. 16th, 2006 09:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
winterSome of you may have noticed that there are 260 comments on my last post. 240 of these are me and ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
fyrie talking about a single story. She fed it to me by spoonfuls, killing me softly just as I was trying to work, or sleep, or just get the vampires out of my head by any means possible.
What Remains - Jossverse and Tanz der Vampire. After LA goes boom, Spike comes back to the last two vampires he knows who might take him in.
If I had to put a label on this, it'd probably be Hurt/Comfort. After the Angel finale, Spike is broken to pieces, and it's up to von Krolock, with Herbert's help, to put him back together. But gods, this is so sweet and heart-breaking, and there's one scene (which I won't spoil) that killed me dead.
Even if all you know about Tanz is that I blather about it a lot, go read it - all you need to know is that von Krolock is Herbert's dad, and that he's a sorcerer and occasional seer. All else speaks for itself.
(She's not finished with the first chronological fic in this series, but it will explain a lot if you read the two she posted previously - Until the Moon is Abed, slash and het Herbert/Spike, von Krolock/Dru, and then Unwritten Words, where pre-Buffy Season 2 Spike asks for advice on helping Dru.)
fyrie talking about a single story. She fed it to me by spoonfuls, killing me softly just as I was trying to work, or sleep, or just get the vampires out of my head by any means possible.What Remains - Jossverse and Tanz der Vampire. After LA goes boom, Spike comes back to the last two vampires he knows who might take him in.
If I had to put a label on this, it'd probably be Hurt/Comfort. After the Angel finale, Spike is broken to pieces, and it's up to von Krolock, with Herbert's help, to put him back together. But gods, this is so sweet and heart-breaking, and there's one scene (which I won't spoil) that killed me dead.
Even if all you know about Tanz is that I blather about it a lot, go read it - all you need to know is that von Krolock is Herbert's dad, and that he's a sorcerer and occasional seer. All else speaks for itself.
(She's not finished with the first chronological fic in this series, but it will explain a lot if you read the two she posted previously - Until the Moon is Abed, slash and het Herbert/Spike, von Krolock/Dru, and then Unwritten Words, where pre-Buffy Season 2 Spike asks for advice on helping Dru.)
Re: And the last two paragraphs of the scene:
Date: 2006-03-17 10:03 am (UTC)Now, shall you go back to Dawn-glompage, or straight on to next morning?
Re: And the last two paragraphs of the scene:
Date: 2006-03-17 10:14 am (UTC)Although I did just have the thought that Dawn going wandering and running into Herbert properly and them having a mutual "you hurt him, I keel you" match ;)
Re: And the last two paragraphs of the scene:
Date: 2006-03-17 10:22 am (UTC)And gah. I need to glue together all the fragments of today's scene, print them out and carry in my wallet for reading when I'm feeling down :D
Re: And the last two paragraphs of the scene:
Date: 2006-03-17 10:25 am (UTC)*flails* You just made me squee and blush like a crazy giddy person, I hope you know :D
Re: And the last two paragraphs of the scene:
Date: 2006-03-17 10:27 am (UTC)*OMGiconLUV*
...now I really, really want to write Dracula and a young von Krolock being all snarly at each other...
Re: And the last two paragraphs of the scene:
Date: 2006-03-17 10:31 am (UTC)(AND YES! YES! YES AND A THOUSAND TIMES YES!)
Re: And the last two paragraphs of the scene:
Date: 2006-03-17 10:34 am (UTC)(I've done some sketches for the Herbiefic, and they're just so mmmm together. Each is completely fascinated by the other even as he despises him. They bring a new quality to the words, screwed-up relationship.)
Re: And the last two paragraphs of the scene:
Date: 2006-03-17 10:38 am (UTC)(EEH! Yay! Can't wait to see it :D Am actually working on sleepy!Dawn and Herbert just now ;))
Re: And the last two paragraphs of the scene:
Date: 2006-03-17 10:40 am (UTC)(Gimme once you're done?)
Re: And the last two paragraphs of the scene:
Date: 2006-03-17 10:44 am (UTC)(Naturaly :D Herbie's just wandered into her room without asking permission while she's in the bathroom ;D)
Re: And the last two paragraphs of the scene:
Date: 2006-03-17 11:09 am (UTC)Those two are getting along like a house on fire, aren't they? :)
Re: And the last two paragraphs of the scene:
Date: 2006-03-17 11:10 am (UTC)Re: And the last two paragraphs of the scene:
Date: 2006-03-17 11:12 am (UTC)Re: And the last two paragraphs of the scene:
Date: 2006-03-17 11:18 am (UTC)Re: And the last two paragraphs of the scene:
Date: 2006-03-17 11:19 am (UTC)Re: And the last two paragraphs of the scene:
Date: 2006-03-17 11:21 am (UTC)Re: And the last two paragraphs of the scene:
Date: 2006-03-17 11:23 am (UTC)Swearing vengeance at it and reminding herself that there were curtains around the bed and across the windows for a reason, she had grumpily surfaced, forcing herself out of the large and excessively snug bed.
Wearing nothing more than mismatched socks, an oversized t-shirt and shorts, she squeaked another expletive when the morning air hit her. Dragging the large duvet off her bed, she wrapped around body. It was become clear that vampires still hadn’t worked out that a heating system was a good thing.
Shuffling her way through to the connected bathroom, idly speculating what use vampires had for toilets, she tossed some water on her face, admiring the panda-eyes she had acquired.
“Make-up off before bed, remember that,” she chastised her reflection. Digging through her bag, she pulled out a brush and - gripping the corners of the blanket with her teeth - negotiated the mess of her hair into a more human look.
Shoving the brush back into her bag, she pulled the blanket around her more snugly and walked back out into the main room, only to stop dead. Apparently, in the high-backed chair by the table, someone had made themselves comfortable.
With slipped-clad feet resting on the table on the end of silk-pyjama-clad legs, the only other part of him that was visible was the hand that was extended casually over the broad arm, beckoning her closer.
“Most normal people would knock before walking into a girl’s room,” Dawn said.
The occupant of the seat shifted and fraction of a face became visible around the edge of the chair back. “Normal is such a relative term,” the man murmured, then swung his feet down off the table.
“I’ll say,” Dawn agreed dryly, approaching the chair with caution. “You do know the boss here says I’m not allowed to be eaten, don’t you?”
The vampire in the seat laughed. “What makes you think I would answer to him?” the wicked murmur rose, the visible hand making a casual gesture. “I am not usually up this early and I am a little hungry.”
Standing almost level with the chair, Dawn stopped moving. Her hand under the blanket shifted slightly. “Sorry, but I’m not really in the mood to get eaten,” she said casually. “I just found out my friend is alive and I kind of want to do the catch-up thing with him. There’s going to be ice cream.”
Rising out of the chair as swiftly and lightly as a cat, the vampire swung around to face her. With long, golden hair and a wicked little smile, he reminded her a little of Spike before he got crazy and sad.
“That is a shame,” he murmured. “I do so hate to disappoint William.”
“I could say the same,” she replied with a charming smile. “He’ll be pissed if I have to kill you.”
One golden brow rose. “You believe you could do such a thing?”
From within the folds of the blankets, the muzzle of her pistol emerged. “I could,” she replied sweetly. “Eventually.”
The vampire’s brows rose and he glanced at her. “Little girl,” he murmured. “You know shooting me will not kill me.”
“I know,” Dawn said meeting his gaze and smiling. “That’s why I said eventually. I figure I shoot you enough, you’ll fall down and then, I’ll just mosey on over, get my stake or my axe.”
“You think you would be fast enough?”
“You wanna try me?”
Reaching out, the vampire tweaked the fold of the blanket aside. “Impressive,” he observed. The gun was in a hand-holster which made it nearly impossible for it to be knocked out of her hand. “You came well-prepared.”
The Slayer’s sister grinned. “Lived on a hellmouth,” she replied, lowering the gun into the recesses of the blanket. “Teaches you a few things.”
Re: And the last two paragraphs of the scene:
Date: 2006-03-17 11:40 am (UTC)Dawn rolled her eyes. His hair tickled against her neck, then his lips touched the side of her throat. She grinned as he swore in a language she didn’t recognise and released her. “What?” she inquired innocently, turning to face him.
His fingertips touched lips that were blistered as if burned by contact with her skin and he stared at her, more especially her throat. “How...?”
Re: And the last two paragraphs of the scene:
Date: 2006-03-17 12:16 pm (UTC)“I had no intention of eating you anyway, Miss Summers,” the vampire replied with a half-grin that turned into a wince. “I am genuinely curious. In four hundred years, I have never had such a thing happen before.”
“That’s because you ate really dumb people,” Dawn replied, stepping closer to him and into the light. She tilted her head up. “Take a closer look.”
The vampire eyed her, then bent to look at her neck. “What is it I am meant to be seeing?” he asked, then seemed to see it, judging by the whistle of a breath he blew out. “Istenem!”
“Isn’t it pretty?”
For her previous Christmas, she had persuaded Faith to take her to a tattoo parlour and together, they had got rings of crosses tattooed in barely visible, flesh-coloured ink around their throats, a permanent, indestructible barrier against the bite of all but the most masochistic of vampires.
“Very impressive,” the vampire murmured, shying back and eyeing her with a combination of interest and admiration. “When William said you were a friend of his, I wondered why. Now I can see it.”
Dawn grinned at him. “And you’re that Herbie guy, right?” She held out her empty hand for the vampire to shake. “He told me that you’d been looking after him.”
A brow arched. “Is it safe to touch any other part of you?” he inquired dryly, then motioned to his lips that were still swollen. “I would not wish to make the same mistake twice.”
End scene :D
Date: 2006-03-17 12:37 pm (UTC)Herbert gaped at her. “You wash with holy water?”
“Only when I’m hanging out at vampire-villa,” she replied with a half-grin. “I have to be suspicious or else Buffy’ll get pissed when I get eaten.” She adjusted the blanket around her shoulders. “So, did you come here to eat me or was that just for fun?”
“What better way to introduce myself?” Herbert said with a hint of a grin, leaning against the edge of the table. “I have heard so much about you that I had to see if it was true.”
“And?”
“Every word,” he said, then inclined his head towards the door. “I actually did have another purpose for invading your chambers. Will you join me for breakfast in the dining hall?”
“You have a dining hall?”
Herbert lifted his shoulders in an expressive shrug. “Just because we drink blood does not mean we are entirely uncivilised,” he said. “And since William arrived, we have had to start providing something called Weetabix.”
“So he’s still eating the gross stuff?” Dawn made a face. “You’d think coming back from the dead would make you change even just a little bit...” Shaking the blanket back, she glanced at her watch. “You wanna give me five minutes. I’ll get some clothes on and meet you outside.”
“I could wait in here,” Herbert offered innocently. “I won’t peek.”
“You could wait,” she agreed. “And I could totally kick your ass with the rest of my secret tricks.”
Pushing off from the table smoothly, Herbert laughed. “Promises, promises,” he chuckled, strolling towards the door. “I give you five minutes. If you are not waiting, I shall be coming in to find you.”
“I’ll be out there,” she said. “Promise.”
Withdrawing backwards, taking both handles of the doors, Herbert gave her a smile that was anything but innocent. “Pity.”