Flesh Of My Flesh

Chapter 1

I watch Faith flick her tongue over her fangs. Nervous twitch. Well, partially. I think she's still getting used to the lengthened canines. They aren't as long as mine, or as long as a true werewolf's, just twice as sharp. I called them dainty once and she bit me to prove they FEEL anything but dainty. Not that I minded. I might even say it again when she's especially growly so we can fight and bleed each other until the sun rises. Her huff of annoyance makes me smile innocently.

"Don't even try it, B. You were thinkin' bad, sticky things when ya should be keeping your head in the game."

Blah blah. I know why we're here and what game we have to play. I let the diamond studded leash trickle through my fingers as I tug her closer to me seductively.

"Sticky and sweet."

Another annoyed sigh. It's almost cute how hard she's trying to stay on task. Almost. I give that leash a harder tug to bring her gaze to me. Long, calloused fingers clamp down on my wrist just this side of painful and I writhe against her, purring.

The leash is a sign of ownership but truthfully, when she locks her arms around me like she is now, I'm not sure who own who. I'm also pretty sure I don't care.

"Keep it up, B."

That's not a threat and she knows it. Which means she knows something I don't. Yet. I nuzzle down her neck, letting my own fangs graze over the steady pulse there. Her heart stops for a millisecond allowing me to hear the faint, slow thud of a heartbeat for something much larger than us.

Watching.

I pull my head back with an annoyed look of my own. Fine. Play time is apparently over. I turn back to the obnoxiously posh vestibule. Heavy deep red drapes cover most of the wrought iron framed stained glass windows.

I run a hand down one liking the soft velvet texture. It's past sundown but I doubt any direct light gets through anyway. How very nocturnally friendly. I don't have to see her to know Faith is more concerned about what's hiding in the shadows waiting us out. I'm two seconds from checking to see if her patience is worn out when a set of black double doors materialize in the wall in front of us. They open slowly with no more than a whisper letting a spill of soft candle light bathe the vestibule in warmth.

"Pretentious or nifty?"

Faith smirks and gestures me ahead of her in to the room beyond.

"Snooty as shit."

Well I'd have to agree with her on that. I chuckle softly and step in a chamber with high ceilings and a large ornate wooden table. It's round. Faith's scent surrounds me when she slides an arm around my waist from behind. It's not the gesture it's meant to look like. It's a warning. My steps slow to a halt and stare at the group of assembled uh, people. Demons I can't even name, a vampire or two, and a few weres. Instinctively my arms come up to cross over my chest.

To be completely honest I'm a little tired of the whole Illuminati theme. And I'm getting hungry. A soft shuffle brings my attention to the behemoth that we heard earlier. Wow. I thought Gus was a big boy. It's mouth opens and I'm completely blown away by the gentleness of it's tone. He bows easily at the waist. Yep that's a male. And boy howdy is he ever lucky. Or cursed. I'm still staring when Faith nudges me gently. Right. Busy times. I blink and draw my attention back to the table.

"The Lady Buffy and her Consort."

I kind of like that. The Lady Buffy. I'm still pondering my new title when a chair scrapes heavily across the stone floor. Right. Business. My gaze narrows, focusing in on a werewolf in an impeccable tailored suit. I can tell by the way Faith is suddenly still that he's powerful. She's cautious. My brow raises as he shifts effortlessly with each step.

Fur recedes as muscles roll and shift, bones break and shorten, making soft popping sounds and I know that it has to hurt but you couldn't tell it by looking at him. But then. Oz always was pretty unflappable.

"Buffy, Faith. Hey."

Son of a bitch.

"Long time no see, Fuzzface."

He smiles all easy goin' and slips his hands in to his pockets. Just like old times. I shift from foot to foot tryin' to decide if this is bad or good or just whatever, ya know? Buffy slides a hand in to my back pocket to pull out the fancy black invitation. She says it's some kind of expensive ass parchment. I was more interested in the neck ruffling scent of the blood they used for ink. Buffy holds it up casually.

"So what's up with this? I mean, this is nice and everything. But...why? Also. Who?"

He gestures back to the group around the table, his buddies. I'm clockin' everything but human. Well. Nah that's not quite right. There are some humans but I think they're more like pets. Or snacks. Probably both. Eh. Not my problem. "Sorry about the theatrics. It's kind of a thing with us. May I present The Circle of the Black Thorn."

Buffy's brow wrinkles. That means nothin' to her. But it means somethin' to me. My lip curls in a snarl as I let my eyes track every face there. I had a run in with Wolfram and Hart before. I'm makin' sure I remember who I gotta kill if shit gets complicated.

"I see you're familiar, Faith." I give him a slow nod, letting Buffy's cool touch on my overheated skin soothe me. "It's kind of a long story. You have seats at the table, maybe we could sit?"

He makes it all sound so reasonable. Like we're just old pals catchin' up. I'm not sure I trust it but if this were a trap we'd be dead already. I nudge B, givin' her a half shrug. Might as well hear it all out right? Still I pull my chair out further from the table, to give me room. Room that Buffy takes up when she spills in to my lap, wrigglin' a lil. Ungh. I love it when she wriggles.

"We're listenin'."

"As you know, Wolfram and Hart was a pretty evil collective of demons. They used everyone and anyone they could, brokering deals between demons to exchange services that would gain them power in the human world for tangible power in underworld. Not everyone that worked for them was evil, just opportunistic. The Circle of the Black Thorn for instance."

I remember a little about them. Mostly I remember the kind of power they dealt with. It's why Angel had them all put down. He wouldn't have had a chance in hell against Wolfram and Hart if he hadn't severed their power base. Buffy plays with my leash, makin' lil clinking sounds. She does little things like that when she's really thinkin' hard.

"I thought that Angel had everyone killed."

See? Thinkin'.

"Almost. As a precaution when you become a member you name a scion. In the event of your untimely death, your scion becomes endowed with the assets of a full member. It didn't take us long to realize we had an out with Wolfram and Hart once The Circle was taken care of. To be fair we hadn't thought to organize until after."

"After?"

"After the fall of Los Angeles. Angel left a pretty nasty tear in the inter-dimensional fabric. It let in all kinds of nasty things."

I go a little still at that. Buffy lost a whole team of Slayers closin' that Hellmouth. I lost my hero. Oz lost his home. Guess we all lost somethin'. Buffy lets out an exaggerated sigh as she leans back in to my chest. She's makin' it look like she's never been more comfy.

"Blah blah blah, skip to the now part."

Heh. He nods once and settles in to a high backed chair across the table from us. I know this whole round table thing is supposed to be all equal and all but I get the feelin', Fuzzy, runs the show a lot more than he lets on.

"After we escaped we thought it was probably a good idea to lay low. Eventually we formed a new kind of Circle. And now... you are part of that. You own a House now that your predecessor is dead."

We give each other a look, Buffy and I. My brow crinkles a bit. So... do we get a say in this or what? My girl is smart and asks the question we're both wondering.

"What about the scion that was supposed to take her place?"

"You're sitting on her lap." I give a long slow blink at that and frown slightly.

"Hold up. This whole scion thing sounds like a big deal, wouldn't I know if someone made me their second banana?" I sure as hell don't remember signin' up for that. I only play second to B and play is the operative word here. As soon as I think of her Buffy goes from still to dangerous. She stretches out even more on my lap, her head tipped to the side eying Oz speculatively. I can see the flashes of bright light as she plays with the leash in her hand.

"Well there's usually a big hootenanny after a naming but you were MIA. You should remember the ritual though. Little blood, some sex, a few candles and some chanting." Oh. Okay well maybe I do remember somethin' like that. Sorta. "Erzabet was distinctly lacking a sense of tradition so it's entirely possible you got the basic ceremony of sex and blood letting without the rest. I could only track her back to the 1500s but she was much older. Patience wasn't her thing."

Buffy goes still and she turns her head back to look at me. "You shared blood. With a vampire." No I didn't. "One with excruciatingly bad taste, I might add." I raise my brow already smelling the danger in the air. I could be fucked here if I say it wrong. So I wait a good long minute, keepin' eye contact with her so she can read all my tells an' see I'm not lying.

"Never happened. I fucked her, I even cut her up a lil, but most she got outta me was a scratch. I thought the chanting was an Enya CD." B's look goes from angry to hungry at the mention of my violence and she runs a long fingernail over my cheek bringin' a bead of blood to the surface. Everyone else in the room fades out for me so there's only her but I know they're all there watchin' and listening to the show.

"If you're lying..." Her tongue comes out to lick the slowly rolling bead of blood off my cheek. "I'll kill you."

I just snort at that and tangle my hand in her hair, yankin' her head back so I can bite down hard on her neck, marking her and takin' my own sip of blood. "If ya thought I was lyin', B, I'd already be dead." Her squeal is both pleasure and pain and she gives a low throaty laugh with I let her hair go. I look up at Oz and shrug a shoulder. "So what? We take who's her face's place at the round table?"

"Erzabet, Faith. As in Bathory. That is what you're suggesting isn't it Oz?" Bathory. Like. Elizabeth Bathory? I fucked Elizabeth Bathory? For real? Xander is gonna be so fuckin' jealous when I tell him this shit.

"You got it in one." He half smiles and shrugs, folding his hands in front of him as he watches us. He's not sure what to expect from us and I can see the wary edge in his eyes. But that puts us on a level field because I don't know what to expect from him either. Not this, that's for sure. "There's still time for that hootenanny if you're interested. Membership is life long of course. The assets, the House, the servants, those are part of the deal. There are more mundane details of the responsibilities, mandatory attendance for our Council Meetings. Once the Council votes a decision in, you fall in line with the majority rule even if you disagree. Standard practice, you understand."

Now we're gettin' to the meat of it all. Buffy snorts daintily, mimicking me as she rolls her eyes. "Always a catch. What kind of votes are we talking about here, Ozzie Paws? End of the world things or new wallpaper patterns for This Old House?" About half of them chuckle, a few mutter in irritation. One just stares at Buffy. Disgust and hatred plain in his eyes. He's the one I mark for dust. Buffy can feel the rise of dark intention in me and shivers in my lap happily.

"A little of both." Again, Oz gives us a tight lipped brief smile. He's holdin' out on us an' he knows we know it. "I'm sure you both want time to think it over but time is money as they say, so I can only give you until nightfall tomorrow. There's a room and dinner ready for you in the crypt if you'll follow Darwin." He gestures to the behemoth that announced us without looking at him. Buffy slides off me with a saunter and a gentle tug of the leash.