Two very evil authors
Mar. 28th, 2006 09:41 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
winterFic later. Now, recs for the people who are making me write it.
First of all, I've mentioned![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
guede_mazaka's The Black Road before. Now she wrote an extra not-quite-epilogue that shorted out my brain rather neatly.
(In return, I owe her Van Helsing angelic party fic.)
And second, the usual suspect. In the Name of, the story that'll make you see just why adore the Tanz vampires so much. Because they can, in utterly plausible ways, kick anyone's arse. No, honestly - you really, really don't need to know anything about Tanz to read this crack. But I don't guarantee sanity afterwards.
(In return, I owe her Herbert ficlets galore, as soon as I come up with enough pretentious German titles.)
In related news, I still can't decide which is weirder as OTP: Dark!Harry Potter/Stockholm-syndrome!Lucius or Herbert von Krolock/Spike. H/S is way fluffier, though. And more blood. *gives up and ships both*
First of all, I've mentioned
guede_mazaka's The Black Road before. Now she wrote an extra not-quite-epilogue that shorted out my brain rather neatly.(In return, I owe her Van Helsing angelic party fic.)
And second, the usual suspect. In the Name of, the story that'll make you see just why adore the Tanz vampires so much. Because they can, in utterly plausible ways, kick anyone's arse. No, honestly - you really, really don't need to know anything about Tanz to read this crack. But I don't guarantee sanity afterwards.
(In return, I owe her Herbert ficlets galore, as soon as I come up with enough pretentious German titles.)
In related news, I still can't decide which is weirder as OTP: Dark!Harry Potter/Stockholm-syndrome!Lucius or Herbert von Krolock/Spike. H/S is way fluffier, though. And more blood. *gives up and ships both*
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
Re: Also, reading Buffy eps:
Date: 2006-03-28 04:46 am (UTC)Re: Also, reading Buffy eps:
Date: 2006-03-28 04:49 am (UTC)You do know it's amazing how every next chapter is even better?
Re: Also, reading Buffy eps:
Date: 2006-03-28 04:50 am (UTC)Re: Also, reading Buffy eps:
Date: 2006-03-28 04:51 am (UTC)Von Krolock looked towards the door with a warm look in his eyes. “We all have our reasons,” he murmured as Dawn stepped into the room, in the process of braiding her damp hair.
Re: Also, reading Buffy eps:
Date: 2006-03-28 04:53 am (UTC)(Back in 2-3 hours.)
Re: Also, reading Buffy eps:
Date: 2006-03-28 04:54 am (UTC)Re: Also, reading Buffy eps:
Date: 2006-03-28 07:46 am (UTC)You in the mood for being spammed back by random Herbiefic, by any chance? :)
Re: Also, reading Buffy eps:
Date: 2006-03-28 07:49 am (UTC)Re: Also, reading Buffy eps:
Date: 2006-03-28 07:55 am (UTC)And gah. Trying to wrestle the first bit into behaving right now. Alice once mentioned she wanted to see Herbert's first boyfriend, and it's turning into a bit of a trainwreck...
Re: Also, reading Buffy eps:
Date: 2006-03-28 07:56 am (UTC)Gah! *De-invisiblifies on AIM!*
Date: 2006-03-28 08:03 am (UTC)“Figured you’d be checking on the walking wounded,” the girl said with a grin, as she approached the bed. Blue eyes gleamed with amusement as she looked from Herbert to William and back again. “And look at you two, all snuggly!”
“Sod off, Nibs,” William muttered, but he was trying to hide a smile as he said it.
Circling the bed to approach von Krolock, Dawn met Herbert’s inquiring grey eyes with a small, knowing smile.
“Morning, cherie,” he murmured, his hand still on William’s shoulder.
“So... you gonna tell me why you tried to kick my sister’s ass, Herbert?” she asked with mock-sweetness, even as she stepped behind his father and casually draped her arms over his shoulders.
That gesture made William start under his arm, but Herbert merely smiled.
“It was a personality clash, cherie,” he replied, though he could not help but stare as well as his father lifted his hands and threaded his fingers between Dawn’s as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Re: Gah! *De-invisiblifies on AIM!*
Date: 2006-03-28 08:26 am (UTC)Both of the younger vampires, however, were watching Herbert’s father, who seemed so at ease with the young mortal’s closeness and easy intimacy.
“Think I can see someone who wouldn’t mind it,” William volunteered, shying back a little when dark eyes flicked open and locked on his face. Von Krolock’s upper lip curled slightly, baring a flash of a fang.
Dawn made a face at them both. “I’m gonna tell Buffy the same,” she said, one of her thumbs moving in a circle on von Krolock’s palm. “You guys start killing each other and sooner or later, I’ll have no one left and... well... that would suck.”
Re: Gah! *De-invisiblifies on AIM!*
Date: 2006-03-28 08:55 am (UTC)In Herbert’s loose embrace, William went rigid.
Looking down, puzzled, Herbert followed William’s stare, then saw what the young vampire had seen. His own jaw dropped, his hand tensing on William’s shoulder. If he had been surprised by the mark on his father’s throat, it was doubled at the sight of the bite-mark adorning Dawn’s wrist.
“Nibs...”
Her eyes half-closed, Dawn’s cheek was resting against von Krolock’s hair, her expression as quietly blissful as his was. One side of her mouth pulled up and she forced an eye open. “Mm?”
“You... er... got something on your wrist...”
Tilting her head to look down at her wrist, albeit reluctantly, Dawn’s smile was one of satisfaction. “Yup.”
“I cannot help but notice,” Herbert added, his voice reflecting his confusion more than he would have otherwise liked. “That you also still have a pulse...”
His father’s dark eyes snapped open, fixing him with an icy gaze that made William flinch back against his arm.
Lowering her head, Dawn brushed a kiss and a whisper against his father’s cheek, something so quiet that, even straining to hear, it slipped by Herbert’s acute hearing, her flashing blue glance telling the golden-haired vampire that was precisely what she had intended.
Scene! :D
Date: 2006-03-28 09:08 am (UTC)Nudging Herbert’s ribs gently with his elbow, apparently unable to tear his eyes away from the pair, William mumbled, “I’m confused. Bit scared and all.”
“Agreed, cheri,” Herbert murmured, watching Dawn disentangle her fingers from his father’s and stroke his cheek with her knuckles.
Dawn’s face broke into a beatific smile, eyes dancing. “Then, I’ve done my job,” she said, kissing von Krolock’s temple fondly. “C’mon, sweetie. Spike can do his nurse-maid thing with Herbert.”
“You will rest?” von Krolock’s gaze was penetratingly focussed on Herbert again.
“I’ll make sure he does,” William said quickly.
Rising from the bed, von Krolock nodded approvingly. “We have repairs to see to,” he said gravely. “And when next you encounter the Slayer in such a manner, do so within her property, Herbert.”
Sheepishly nodding, Herbert grimaced. “Yes, father,” he said apologetically.
Without another word, von Krolock offered his lover his arm and they seemed to just fade out of sight, leaving the two younger vampires sitting on the bed, staring at empty space.
“What the...”
“Precisely my thought, darling,” Herbert murmured dazedly. “It appears I have a new and wicked step-mother.”
Re: mid-tweak...
Date: 2006-03-28 09:48 am (UTC)“Probably not the best thing for you to notice, my silly darling,” he murmured, eyes fondly drinking in William’s expression.
Von Krolock’s upper lip curled slightly, baring a flash of a fang.
Dawn made a face at them both. “I’m gonna tell Buffy the same,” she said, one of her thumbs moving in a circle on von Krolock’s palm. “You guys start killing each other and sooner or later, I’ll have no one left and... well... that would suck.”
“I concur,” von Krolock murmured, tilting his head to kiss the inside of the girl’s slim wrist.
In Herbert’s loose embrace, William went rigid, concern pulling Herbert’s focus from the befuddling spectacle before him to the suddenly-tensed vampire in his arms.
Puzzled, Herbert followed his stare, then saw what William had seen. His own jaw dropped, his hand tensing on William’s shoulder, but whether in support or reassurance, he couldn’t be entirely sure. It might even have just been assurance that he was not lost in the meanderings of his imagination.
If he had been surprised by the mark on his father’s throat, it was doubled at the sight of the bite-mark adorning Dawn’s wrist.
“Nibs...” William’s voice was quaking and Herbert didn’t need to ask to know why, his own fingertips skirting William’s shoulder to brush across the long-placed traces of bites on William’s throat.
He felt William tremble, remembering the significance of the marks, even when they were given, months ago. Now, more than ever, the meaning was intensified and now, he wanted to add to them, re-affirm what he had said, what he had meant, wordless proof by the most binding of means.
Her eyes half-closed, Dawn’s cheek was resting against von Krolock’s hair, her expression as quietly blissful as his was. One side of her mouth pulled up and she forced an eye open. “Mm?”
“You... er... got something on your wrist...” Beneath Herbert’s hand, William was as tense as a wire, as if he could not believe what he was seeing, as if he had suspected that their... encounter would have been naught more than a brief dalliance.
Tilting her head to look down at her wrist, albeit reluctantly, Dawn’s smile was one of satisfaction. “Yup.”
And Herbert knew, from his own encounters with the girl, that she knew precisely what it meant and was entirely content with it. Whether William was aware of that or not, he did not know, but it meant Dawn was claimed, one of theirs now, in ways that went far deeper than they had before.
Slowly, he started to grin. That certainly explained his father’s mood.
“Er... Nibs, you do know... that is... er...”
Tilting his head to bring his lips close to William’s ear, Herbert murmured, “She knows precisely what it means, darling.” His grip on William tightened as he gave in to the desperately impulse and sank his fangs into William’s throat.
Re: mid-tweak...
Date: 2006-03-28 10:03 am (UTC)Withdrawing his fangs, he kissed the wound, then brought his other hand across his body to bring William’s lips to his, kissing him softly, reverently. Blue eyes gazed at him with such captive wonder that he kissed the adorable darling once more.
“You’re mine now, darling,” he said, nuzzling William’s nose with the tip of his own. “No escape.”
“Bugger...” William feigned a grumble, smiling as he was soundly kissed again.
Finished!
Date: 2006-03-28 10:29 am (UTC)Admittedly, it was worth looking up at her to see her clinging onto his father tightly and looking as if her face were about to crack from smiling.
“What?” he inquired, arching a brow.
“You two! You are so cute!” she exclaimed, then she smirked at Herbert. “And you, Herbert, are a big, fat liar!” Before he could protest, she turned to kiss his father warmly on the cheek. “Told you!”
Patting her hand indulgently, von Krolock could not mask his own smile. “Claimed, Herbert?” he murmured.
“Two in one night, father,” Herbert grinned with a pointed nod towards Dawn, who nodded and nuzzled his father’s silver hair happily.
Lowering her head, Dawn brushed a kiss and a whisper against his father’s cheek, something so quiet that, even straining to hear, it slipped by Herbert’s acute hearing, her flashing blue glance telling the golden-haired vampire that was precisely what she had intended.
Turning his head fractionally, von Krolock gazed up at her. The look on his father’s face made Herbert shiver, the slow curve of his lips utterly sensuous and he lifted her bitten wrist to kiss it once more.
Nudging Herbert’s ribs gently with his elbow, apparently unable to tear his eyes away from the pair, William mumbled, “I’m confused. Bit scared and all.”
“Agreed, cheri,” Herbert murmured, watching Dawn disentangle her fingers from his father’s and stroke his cheek with her knuckles.
Dawn’s face broke into a beatific smile, eyes dancing. “Then, I’ve done my job,” she said, kissing von Krolock’s temple fondly. “C’mon, sweetie. Spike can do his nurse-maid thing with his boyfriend.”
“Niblet!” William protested.
“What?” Dawn grinned widely at him.
He glanced at Herbert, who chuckled, then back at her. “Prefer something bit more manly,” he grumbled.
“Which part? The nursemaid or the boyfriend-having?”
Herbert’s lips pressed into a line and he was shaking silently. “Cherie, let him settle before you tease him?” he suggested when he forced his mirth under his control.
“You will rest?” von Krolock’s gaze was penetratingly focussed on Herbert again.
“I’ll make sure he does, sir,” William said quickly, receiving a quick kiss for his promptness.
Rising from the bed, von Krolock nodded approvingly. “We have repairs to see to,” he said gravely. “And when next you encounter the Slayer in such a manner, do so within her property, Herbert.”
Sheepishly nodding, Herbert grimaced. “Yes, father,” he said apologetically.
Without another word, von Krolock offered his lover his arm and they seemed to just fade out of sight, leaving the two younger vampires sitting on the bed, staring at empty space.
“Um... so, he bit her, eh?”
“So it appeared,” Herbert agreed, then turned to look at his lover. “And she bit him also.” Grey eyes met blue and Herbert tilted William’s chin up. “As I see it, there is only one of our number who had not been bitten in the past evening.” Tilting his head slightly, he smiled. “I trust you remember what to do?”
Blue eyes tinting gold, William lifted a hand to cradle Herbert’s cheek. “I think so,” he said, leaning closer.
Re: Gah! *De-invisiblifies on AIM!*
Date: 2006-03-28 08:30 am (UTC)Almost alone, he thought ruefully, as he heard bright, infectious laughter. Father Peter was talking to the one other person who stayed behind after Mass. Tibor ducked his head to hide his own smile before they noticed.
“I really liked the Ruth parallel,” Herbert von Krolock said. He was perched on the balustrade separating the altar from the pews.Normally Father Peter would chastise anyone attempting such sacrilege, but Herbert had a habit of getting away with things.
“It took me a long time to come up with it,” Father Peter admitted. “I’m glad you’re such a devoted listener. It does a young man credit to be versed in theology as you are.”
“Oh, it’s all Father’s fault.” Herbert laughed again and winked at Tibor over Father Peter’s shoulder. This probably meant ‘stop staring and get on with it so we can go’. “He’s interested in it – after the last Encyclical came out, he made me translate it into German as an exercise.”
“I thought your Father-“ The priest sounded unsure, since the Graf had a mixed reputation in the village.
“He still has faith,” Herbert said softly, leaning in as if to confide a secret. “I’m hoping that one day he’ll make his peace with the Church. I’m working on it.”
Tibor shook his head. The avoidance of Mass, just another in a long list of peculiarities, would have made the lord of the castle hated a long time ago, if not for Herbert’s golden-haired presence in the first pew of the village church, every Sunday without fail.
Re: Gah! *De-invisiblifies on AIM!*
Date: 2006-03-28 08:52 am (UTC)“I don’t want to leave, but Father wanted me to check up on the horses on the upper meadow today,” he announced. “Tibor, you want to come? Maybe this time you’ll be able to stay in the saddle for once.”
“I guess so.” Tibor said, then turned around and gulped.
Herbert was standing in front of the altar with his back to the priest. A stray ray of sunlight fell through a panel of blue glass, turning the pale gold hair silver. Now that only Tibor could see his face, Herbert’s expression was no longer angelic. The tip of a pink tongue flicked out over a full bottom lip that was curling in a wicked smile, and Tibor had to concentrate hard to remember to breathe.
“God be with you, boys,” Father Peter said placidly.
Re: Gah! *De-invisiblifies on AIM!*
Date: 2006-03-28 09:23 am (UTC)And Herbert, Tibor thought as he watched the other boy gracefully dismount, always got what he wanted.
There was a moss-covered tree trunk in the small clearing, and Herbert sprawled on it as if it was a four-poster bed. He patted the wood beside him. “Come on. I haven’t seen you for a week, and you look beat.”
“It’s almost harvest time,” Tibor muttered as he sat down. “We have some sunny fields that had to be harvested early. Imre’s been on my case, so I haven’t spent much time with Father Peter.”
“Imre’s an idiot,” Herbert pronounced, though as far as Tibor knew, he had only met Tibor’s older brother once. “I should have come down and rescued you, but Father had guests staying.”
“From Vienna?”
“Nah. Transylvania.” Herbert grinned, tossing his head back to expose his neck to the afternoon sun. He was always pale, as if he didn’t get to do that often. “They brought new books, so Father buried himself in the library and I got fencing lessons. I was too tired after that to ride down anyway.” He shot Tibor a look from under his lashes. “I missed you, darling.”
Tibor flushed. “Don’t call me that!”
That just drew another laugh, and Herbert wriggled on the tree trunk until his head was resting in Tibor’s lap. He frowned when Tibor’s hands didn’t touch his head. “You’re tense, liebling. What is it?”
Re: Gah! *De-invisiblifies on AIM!*
Date: 2006-03-28 09:51 am (UTC)“Mmm?”
He searched for the right words, for the speech he’d prepared over the past week, as the thoughts had grown too immediate to ignore. “I – it’s not really right, what we do, is it?”
Grey eyes narrowed with irritation. “You’re not on about social differences again, are you? You’re smart, you see things beyond this village, even Father Peter can see you’ve got a future ahead of you. There’s a reason I chose you, you know, besides those strong muscles and chocolate eyes of yours.”
Tibor flushed again. He had not even heard of chocolate until Herbert had shared that drink with him, and even the memory of the taste was heavenly. “I’m just – it’s not right, you’re supposed to kiss girls, not boys, and do – I mean-”
“Do what we do?” Herbert twisted sinuously, standing up in one smooth motion. “Darling, I leave you alone for a week and you get God knows what notions about you.”
“But I-“ Tibor struggled to his feet as well. He had a hand’s breadth of height on Herbert still, though he had a feeling they’d be even by the time winter came around. “Herbert, it’s just-“
“Tibor.” The sunlight falling through the leaves left Herbert’s face in shadow but lit up his hair like a halo. “It’s not. It’s just summer fun. By next year I’ll be in Vienna, and you’ll probably be at the seminary in Budapest. But now we’re sixteen, and the sun’s shining – what’s the point in not having fun?”
Tibor could only stare as Herbert stepped closer. In the presence of the Graf’s heir, all his careful arguments simply fled.
“What’s so bad about kissing? Touching? Laying down together?” Somehow Herbert could talk easily of the same things that made Tibor stutter and blush. They were the same age, but sometimes Herbert felt decades older. “Can anything this pleasant be wrong?”
Tibor closed his eyes as smooth, uncallused hands cradled his face. “Just for the summer?”
“Unless you want it to last,” Herbert whispered before he closed the distance between their mouths.
Re: Gah! *De-invisiblifies on AIM!*
Date: 2006-03-28 10:24 am (UTC)Imre was in the yard, feeding the dogs. He looked up as Tibor approached. “And where the hell have you been?”
“Out.” Tibor shrugged. “Herbert was teaching me to ride.”
“Herbert!” Imre spat. “So now you’re better than all of us just because the Graf’s son tells you to call him that?”
Don’t look, don’t flinch, don’t react, Tibor thought. Just get past, get home, get in bed and try not to think about the afternoon and sunlight on Herbert’s skin.
Just this morning, he’d promised God he wouldn’t do it again, but that was before he had seen Herbert at church.
Re: Gah! *De-invisiblifies on AIM!*
Date: 2006-03-28 11:16 am (UTC)He squirmed, trying to free himself. “Leave me alone! Can’t I have friends?”
“Friends? You? You’re-“
Imre fell silent suddenly. Tibor looked at his brother’s paling face, then realised the cause. His shirt had been tugged off one shoulder, exposing a perfect imprint of teeth.
Before he could react, Imre dragged him into the barn and threw him against the wall. The impact drove the air out of his lungs.
“What did he do to you?” his brother growled.
“N-nothing!”
“So what, you’re telling me you two were tumbling girls up there?” In the dark barn, Imre’s pock-marked face loomed like a sculpture of the Devil. “Or you got bitten by a wolf?!”
Tibor squeezed his eyes shut. This was too much – he didn’t even want, it was just too hard to say no, everybody found it hard to say no to Herbert-
Grasping desperately, he settled for a half-truth. “He – he tried to kiss me. Bit me and tried to hold me down like a girl. I told him to go to hell!”
Imre stepped away. “I’m going to kill him.”
“Why?” Tibor felt his head spinning. “What do you care?”
“You’re a moron, but you’re my moron brother,” Imre spat. “Nobody treats my brother like that!”
Was this happening at all?
But yes. Imre’s hand, back at his throat now, hurt too much.
“Listen. Do you know when he’s coming back to the village again?”
“Tomorrow.” It felt like someone else speaking. “Midnight vigil on the eve of St John the Baptist’s. The Graf’s patron saint...”
The hand at his throat disappeared, and Tibor sat down heavily. He was alone now, and the barn smelled of fresh hay.
Wait for me after the vigil, Herbert had said.
Re: Gah! *De-invisiblifies on AIM!*
Date: 2006-03-28 11:43 am (UTC)He saw the light of a lantern first, then the white figure walking down the path from the castle. The Graf’s spawn almost always wore white, he knew. Normal colours not good enough for him, just like tumbling normal girls.
Imre had an axe and a knife, and he could turn wood to toothpicks and pigs to sausages with both. Now he clutched the hilts hard as he tensed.
Jumped.
The light moved. A desperate twist, and he evaded the burning oil as the lamp whipped past his head. He barely managed to put his axe up to avoid a – sword?
The silver blade, the moon-bleached hair and the steel-cold grey eyes were the last things he ever saw.
Re: Gah! *De-invisiblifies on AIM!*
Date: 2006-03-28 11:51 am (UTC)Tibor’s voice echoed in the empty church. Father Peter had left with the last parishioners, leaving Tibor to keep the vigil until dawn. It wasn’t custom, but Tibor had told the priest that he wanted to ask John the Baptist’s assistance and guidance on choosing his own path.
Instead, he was repeating the words by rote and passing the beads of the rosary between his fingers as his mind felt desperately empty.
What was he waiting for?
“Sancta Maria, mater Dei-“
A footstep, in the empty – empty – church, and Tibor’s mouth was suddenly dry.
A hiss. “Ora pro nobis pecatoribus.”
He knew that voice. He had heard it laugh, tease, shout at horses, whisper endearments that made him blush.
He had never heard it so poisonous.
Re: Gah! *De-invisiblifies on AIM!*
From:Re: Gah! *De-invisiblifies on AIM!*
From:Re: Gah! *De-invisiblifies on AIM!*
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