Steal Your Pain

Angel rummaged through his closet, trying to find a change of clothes that were small enough to fit his temporary guest. He could hear her hisses of pain as Wesley checked over the injury, marvelling at how she was able to transfer Angel's wound, while minimalizing the damage, onto her own person. He eventually took an airtight bandage from the first aid kit and placed it over the disinfected area, saying that she could even shower with the bandage on.

"It'll be gone before morning," she tried to assure, but was hushed. "You are bursting with curiosity." She wore a faint smile that touched her lips as she watched Wesley fidget causing Cordelia to snort in laughter, wondering what was wrong with the man that time.

Wesley stuttered at her words, however, looking at her with wide eyes. "H-how did you know that?"

"Aside from the fact that you've been playing with your hands and staring at my side as though it was going to start singing?" she asked in amusement, causing Cordelia to outright laugh that time. "I can feel your emotions; they are in your energy. That's how I was able to help Angel. I swapped some of my energy with his, taking his pain as my own and giving him some of my strength as replacement."

"Wow, that's really cool and really creepy," Cordelia said as she pulled up a chair next to the couch that the other two were sitting on.

"Look, Siren-"

"Desiree," she interrupted smoothly, keeping her eyes on Wesley's face as he look baffled by being cut off so suddenly.

"Pardon?" He asked, drawing his hands into his lap and looking at her in confusion.

"Her name's Desiree," Angel answered for her as he emerged from the closet, carrying with him some clothes. "They're going to be big on you, but it's something clean to wear. You can go and shower in there if you'd like." He motioned over to the door that directed toward the bathroom off of his bedroom. She smiled her thanks and accepted the clothes form him, rising to her feet.

"Careful with your side, you may heal fast but you're still injured," Wesley called in direction as she walked away, getting a quick nod in reply before she disappeared into the room. The three occupants were quiet for a time as they looked at the bathroom door, hearing when the shower started a couple moments later.

"What is she?" Cordelia asked bluntly after a moment, the first to break the silence.

"I'm not sure," Wesley replied, his tone and face turning serious. "Did you find out anything while you two were under?"

"No, all I know it that she's really strong, she was called Siren and what she told you guys earlier. I never saw her actually fight so I don't know what she's able to do. She killed one of the guards, though. It looked like she drained the life out of him just by touching him." Cordelia shuddered visibly at the image that came to mind.

Was it wrong to keep from them that she had told him she wasn't a Siren 'in a sense' and she was 'alone'?

"Maybe we could use that Demons, Demons, Demons website thingy," Cordelia offered, looking excitedly over to the two men. "I mean, she doesn't look like a demon exactly, but there are things that we could use. I mean, there's no way that she could be that tall and normal. And her eyes! I love her eyes, actually-"

"She can hear you, Cordelia," Angel warned, knowing that she was probably listening to their entire conversation. The other woman looked dumbstruck for a moment, looking at him with wide eyes before scowling and making her way over to the elevator, no doubt going to look up the demon that was presently in Angel's shower.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Angel?" Wesley asked in a hushed tone, unsure of whether or not she could hear him at the reduced volume.

"She deliberately hurt herself to take my pain away. I don't see why someone would do that if they could very easily have just killed me when I was weak," he answered back in an even tone. Wesley still didn't look convinced, but he also respected what Angel was saying and his decision and rose to stand, patting the vampire on the shoulder once before he departed as well, leaving to make sure that Cordelia didn't get herself into trouble while rummaging through demon sites.

Angel moved over to sit on the couch once he was alone, the sound of the shower the only noise in the apartment. He couldn't hear Desiree as she was moving around in the shower, the only proof that she was inside was the sound of the water splashing on the ground whenever she rung out her hair or shifted her body out from underneath the spray.

It was true that he was taking a great risk with trusting her, especially after what had happened with their most recent client that had put Angel in that fighting ring in the first place. Although, if he hadn't been put in there he never would have known about it and had the chance to free the locked up demons, saving many more from getting killed in the future.

His attention was diverted from the ring, however, when he heard the shower turn off. Even though he knew that she was moving around he could barely hear her. Her footfalls were ghostly silent, those of someone who had always been light on their feet. He wondered if it was a natural trait or a learned one. Did she have a reason to go about unnoticed?

He stood up to greet her when she finally emerged from the small bathroom, her long red hair pulled back away from her face and twisted around before falling over one shoulder. The black shirt that she was wearing was far too large for her, the sleeves rolled up slightly so that they reached her wrists and left her hands free. The shorts were the same, hanging down past her knees when they were meant to stay above.

"Sorry about the sizes," he mumbled at the sight of her, feeling the stirrings of attraction. The dirt and sweat was gone now, leaving her porcelain skin clean and unblemished. She looked like someone carved from marble. Maybe she was a Siren, born to attract the opposite sex.

"It's like you said, it's something clean to wear." She actually looked sheepish as she tugged awkwardly on the sleeve of his shirt, looking to the ground and licking at her lips. Angel continued to look at her for a moment, wondering why she was suddenly so shy and awkward when it occurred to him that she must have been waiting for him to say something.

"Oh! Uhm, you can have the bed and I'll take the couch," he said in a rush, trying to correct himself quickly. "I'm gunna go and grab a quick shower. There might be some food in the kitchen if you're hungry, but I don't really eat, so…" he rambled out, motioning back toward the kitchen as he looked away from her at last. "I'm sorry."

When he looked back to her she was smiling at him, revealing a dimple on her right cheek. The dark makeup had mostly been washed away from around her eyes, giving them a more natural look and toning down the intensity of them just slightly. "I'll be okay. I think that all I need right now is to sleep, but I don't need the bed-"

"I insist," he interrupted right away, causing her to laugh softly. Even the sound of her laugh was magical.

"Alright, if you insist," she agreed as she raised her hands in surrender, turning around to make her way toward the bedroom area. She glanced back at him when he made his way over toward the bathroom door, grasping the thick duvet in her hand to pull back. Without lingering longer, he slipped into the bathroom and closed the door behind him.

Desiree had folded up her clothes and placed them on one of the unused shelves he had. It looked like she had dusted them off, probably in the shower since there was no dirt on the floor, before she folded them away with the intent to wear them again the next day. She was neat, that much was obvious.

He was quick to shower, letting the hot water wash away the blood and dirt that covered his body from the fights in the ring and numerous times he had been electrocuted. Even though he was dead, his body felt much more relaxed under the hot water, letting it wash away everything. He was nearly reluctant to leave the spray, but felt that he had used up enough water and stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around his waist as the cold air of the apartment assaulted his wet skin.

Desiree must have been freezing. She was very good at hiding it, however, if she had been.

He opened the door as quietly as he could, looking out into the bedroom. She had left a light on, probably for his sake, but was already curled up under the duvet. He could hear her even breathing, but with her it was unclear of whether or not she was actually sleeping. He didn't linger in place long before he moved over to the closet to get a change of clothes for himself, preparing for a night on the couch.

At least she was better mannered than Cordelia. He didn't think he could stand the thought of someone else getting peanut butter on his sheets and then blaming it on a vampire. Desiree seemed too shy in someone else's home to be as rude as to eat in his bed.

Moving out of his closet after he had pulled on his robe, he took one last look at where she was lying on her side, her fiery hair thrown about the pillow. It was still damp, but the colour began to lighten more and more as it dried. Although she looked human, there were attributes to her that were just too strange to be human. Even if he hadn't seen her throw a man across a room with one hand he would still take the assumption that she was a demon nearly immediately.

The smell that came off her of was one of the first things that he would notice.

Pheromones.