Sire

By KnightMare

Kristin smiled as she noticed Willow had stopped bleeding. She looked up at the redhead from her place kneeling at her feet and gave a shy smile as her face shifted back to human. Her worries started to fade, and her sense of unease about her place in the world faded, as she stared up at her sire.

"You know how about we call it a night? You can work on this more tomorrow if you want, I'll cover the windows before I go to school." Willow spoke and Kristin glanced at the rest of the work she'd need to do. She wasn't thrilled with living in a basement, but she understood the necessity.

"But I'm not done with the books you gave me yet. You said we needed to hurry up and get them back into the library." Kristin said, still on her knees, waiting for some sort of sign she could get up. It came in the form of Willow taking a step back.

"You've been typing almost all night all week. You can give that a rest if you want." Willow nibbled on her lower lip. "I wish I didn't have to put you down here, but my parents usually don't stick around very long. They just wouldn't understand me having anyone living here, let alone why you slept all day." Kristin tensed at mention of Willow's parents. She'd never met them but she didn't like them.

Willow would be better off with no parents at all than with parents like that, Kristin thought bitterly, but she just nodded that she understood what Willow was saying.

They were up together for another two hours, before Willow went to bed and Kristin quietly went back to work in the basement, so that Willow wouldn't hurt herself helping.

It was hours later that Kristin went upstairs and showered. As she towel dried her hair she walked out into the hall, it wasn't like the mirror told her anything anyhow. Kristin stood in the doorway to her Sire's room and stared in, surprised that the redhead had forgotten to close the door.

Willow was curled around a book she must have been reading as she fell asleep, and her red hair was fanned out on the pillow. "Like an angel." Kristin muttered quietly as she stood in the darkened hall and stared. Her mind filled in her memories of the vampire that turned her and was surprised that someone that had seemed like satan incarnate was so angelic as a human witch.

Kristin hesitantly, slowly took a step into the room. Her steps were very quiet and her eyes stayed on the redhead, looking for any hint that she would wake up. "Sire." Kristin whispered ever so quietly as she felt the hum of the connection and smiled as she stood at the foot of Willow's bed.

She felt the urge to reach out and touch the redhead, to caress her neck and feel the pulse of her heart in her neck with her cold fingertips, but Kristin didn't. She just stared down a moment, and her foot bumped into something soft on the floor. When she looked down she recognized one of the larger soft stuffed animals that normally resided on Willow's bed during the day.

Willow had given her the use of her parent's room, with the old smell and abandoned feel. Kristin slowly lowered herself to the floor and rested her damp head on the stuffed animal as she listened to the beat of one heart she'd never silence, couldn't bear to imagine it silent even. This Willow wasn't vicious and strong like a vampire, but she was strong and gentle. Perhaps for such a horrible vampire, that was a much better sire.

Kristin cuddled up to the stuffed animal and sighed happily as she recalled the taste of Willow's blood, and she marveled at the way she could still seem to taste it. It was like the finest wine, the best chocolate, and somehow sunshine on a spring morning. It made that one man she'd captured seem like he tasted of day old beer and moldy bread, and she'd thought he was good at the time.

Kristin was going to make sure she was worthy of that blood again.

…………….

Willow heard the slight groan and her eyes shot opened as her heart hammered, scared of what she'd find. In the hall the light was on and it shined into the room. She heard the sound of someone shifting position and Willow slowly moved to look down at the floor. She sighed in relief as she saw Kristin. Willow stared at the brunette and watched as Kristin's hand clenched softly at Mr. Tibbles foot. Kristin snuggled up to the stuffed rabbit, one stuffed ear parting her hair and the other nearly in her mouth.

"Vicious vampire." Willow whispered with a small smile as she watched Kristin sleep. "Are you going to bite Mr. Tibbles?" She asked softly, and all she got was a small whimper from the vampire as the vampire shifted, actually hugging the stuffed animal tighter.

Willow grimaced a little as she turned onto her side to stared down at Kristin, because her wrapped finger was sore and pulling the sheets up was uncomfortable. Willow glanced at the window, seeing some light leaking through the curtains, and knew it was early morning.

Perhaps if Kristin was regularly going to be found on the floor in the morning Willow should buy thicker curtains. Willow frowned at that thought and stared at Kristin. Having the vampire sleeping on the floor seemed wrong on a few levels, but it just felt natural now, after having seen Kristin do this three times in the week she'd been here.

What was a little unnerving was that Willow never heard her come in. A vampire regularly snuck into her room and Willow wondered at why that didn't downright terrify her, because it didn't. This was bad. Willow had to remember that Kristin wasn't a tamed pet, but looking at the vampire cuddling a stuffed animal she used as a pillow it was hard to do.

……………….

Willow sat in the library with a book on the table in front of her, but her eyes were on the clock. It was getting late, and it was making her jumpy. Buffy would want to walk her home in the dark, and that was a bad idea, but Willow couldn't just leave them to research this demon alone.

"Man, makes me miss the weekend and I hate being home." Xander muttered as he flipped another page. "What's wrong with an axe to the throat? That seems to kill everything."

"Unless it's one of the rare demons that regenerate twice as many heads." Giles said distractedly from his own book.

"I say we give the axe a try." Buffy commented from her place pacing, her book left alone on the table. "Even two heads couldn't make that thing any more ugly."

"Makes you miss the good old vamps." Buffy continued her words, moving all the while. "There isn't a lot to killing them, just a stake or a beheading. Nothing to look up."

"Buffy, we need to understand the demon to kill it without risking you." Giles scolded and tossed the book in front of him gently to the side.

Willow internally grimaced like the others, but apparently it wasn't all that internal because Buffy gave her a puzzled look. They went back to research, and finally it was Xander that found the demona, but it was three hours later and dark.

Willow couldn't even sneak off and call Kristin, because then there would be questions about who she was talking to, but the vampire probably had dinner ready two hours ago.

"I say we celebrate with some Bronzage." Buffy smiled and Willow's jaw clenched. "I haven't seen a vampwill vamp in days and Willow needs to get out of the house. I can patrol later."

"I have a lot to do." Willow spoke up. "My paper for English and then I should really work on the database, if it were done we wouldn't have needed to look so long."

"Will, Will, Will," Xander grinned at her and Willow noticed it didn't do anything for her, no fluttery heart, no sweaty palms. That was new. "All work and no Bronze, Will," He shook his head. "You really don't want to know what that will do to you. We will save you from your textbooks and keyboard."

"I think that Oz guy's band is playing." Buffy grinned at her and Willow found her friends packing her backpack for her and herding her towards the door.

"I don't really want to…" Willow muttered as they seemed to propel her through the library doors, feeling helpless to stop this.

………………

Kristin stared out the darkened window into the night and she couldn't see anyone walking down the street. Willow was strong, Kristin felt nervous as she waited. It wasn't safe out there.

Dinner was old, and Kristin had given up and put it in the fridge as leftovers. The phone's ringer had been checked and it was on. Where was Willow?

What if Willow never came home? What if she were turned, the Vampire Willow would never have been as kind to her as this Willow was. Kristin preferred her sire to the one she'd originally had, even though at times she wished Willow understood her a bit more. But Willow tried.

If Kristin could just step outside, maybe then she could find Willow just to make sure she was okay. Kristin stared out the window nervously. She was supposed to be a creature of the night.

Willow told her to stay inside, but inside was feeling small and lonely. Maybe if she stayed in the light, away from dark alleys, she would be safe. Kristin thought with some lingering hope, but she just stayed on the couch and stared out into the dark. Willow wanted her to stay inside.

Willow should have been home hours ago.

……………

The music was loud and Willow had to put a hand over her other ear to even attempt to hear the phone ring. It was probably covered in a million different germs, but Willow ignored it mostly and waited for the machine to pick up. "Kristin, it's me." Those words were all she got out before she heard the vampire pick up.

"Willow?" That one word sounded nervous and Willow felt the lump of guilt in her heart grow. It had taken over an hour for her to get a moment alone to call, and she'd already been late. Xander had finally started to dance with someone else as Cordy arrived.

"I'm sorry." Willow had to lean into the wall as a couple passed her on the way to the bathroom. Willow eyed them carefully noticing the woman walk into the men's bathroom with him. "Buffy and Xander wanted to go dancing."

"Oh." Kristin's words were flat. "Well, I guess I'll work on the database." And Willow grimaced. They had planned to rent a movie tonight. Willow had asked what Kristin wanted to see, because with all the hard work the vampire was doing Willow wanted to reward her. Well reward her in something less painful than blood.

"Do you, well, nevermind." Willow sighed and looked around to see Buffy appearing to be looking for her, but not seeing her yet. Willow wanted to invite Kristin, but that wasn't really possible. "I need to go."

Even needing to go, Willow hung up slowly. Willow stepped out of the hall and watched at Buffy seemed to relax after seeing her.

As they sat down the band stopped for a break and the way Buffy wiggled her eyebrows and smiled as Oz made his way to the table actually irritated Willow. Oz stood at the table and gave her a small smile. "Willow, hey."

Willow felt Buffy lightly kick her shin to get her to talk and Willow had no idea what to say. "Hey Oz." It felt awkward and stilted. They'd broken up, he called it taking a break while he tried to make sense of being a werewolf, but the result for her was the same. He hadn't been around until lately. He came to her after seeing VampWill to make sure she wasn't really a vampire, but other than that it was nothing.

Nothing until now. "Willow, movie tomorrow?" Oz asked and Willow could see how happy that made Buffy, and Willow sighed. She almost wanted to say yes just because it did make Buffy happy, and because Oz had been a good boyfriend, but she felt awkward and wrong as she considered it. Dating on top of helping the slayer would really increase the chances of her getting caught with Kristin, and that would be very bad. Oz used to come over on the weekend and watch movies with her, he couldn't do that now.

With Buffy beaming, Willow turned to give Buffy a semi-stern look to try and get a little privacy. It worked, but Buffy sauntered away and her movements seemed to promise an awkward discussion later.

"Oz." Willow turned to look at him as he slipped into the chair Buffy had vacated.

A half hour later Buffy was walking Willow home. Xander had stayed with Cordy and Willow currently wished it was the other way around as Buffy gave her puzzled looks. "You said no?"

"Buffy." Willow glanced at her friend. "It just wasn't the same."

"But you two were so cute together." Buffy complained and Willow was already feeling upset. She didn't want to justify herself too.

"Well maybe I've found someone else. He was gone for a while after all." Willow tossed out to prove a point, but her mind went back to Kristin as she said it, causing her to go quiet a moment. "Not that I did, but I could have. He didn't care that I was alone, didn't ask if I'd found someone, he just assumed we'd start up with the snuggles again right away."

"So you just want him to work for it?" Buffy asked, seemingly happy with her interpretation.

"No." Willow replied, glad that they were almost to her house. "I don't want to date someone that would rather run away than let me help them. I'm research girl, I could have found something to help him, I could have at least gotten a chance to try, but he just up and leaves."

"But he's back now." Buffy glanced around at the shadows in Willow's yard. "Hey Will, how about we talk later? I feel that slayer spider sense and I want to get you inside before I check the neighborhood."

Those words startled Willow and had her heart pounding as she was torn between wanting an evil vampire outside looking for her or not, because hey evil vampire outside meant that Buffy would stake and go, but if Buffy sensed the vampire inside tonight was about to get really messy.

……………..

Kristin looked up from the computer screen with concern as Willow turned a pale face towards her and held a finger over her lips for silence. "Upstairs, my room." Willow spoke quietly and Kristin glanced at the front door, which was closing and then at how Willow's wide eyes pleaded for something like obedience and Kristin immediately responded to it.

Kristin was up the stairs and sitting on the bed waiting as Willow came and then quickly opened her closet and pulled out a bag. "Buffy's outside looking for a vampire she senses." Willow explained and Kristin swallowed hard. "I want to try a spell, just a small spell, to keep your vampy vibes contained so she goes away. We have to do this fast before she suspects the vampire is inside. I'm sorry." Willow's eyes moved from the bed she'd tossed her supplies out on quickly, a brief but intense apology and nervousness stared at Kristin. "Stand up in the middle of the room." Kristin did it without a word, becoming more nervous as Willow's nervousness filled the room with quick motions and a heart beat that moved faster than Kristin normally heard it.

Kristin stared in apprehension as Willow started to pour sand in a circle around her on the floor, a circle only about three feet in diameter. "You have to stay in the circle. This is a demon containment spell, it isn't meant for this, but the side effect is that you'll be vibe free in the circle."

"If you told her not to kill me, wouldn't she leave me alone?" Kristin asked quietly. After hearing about that spell that brought her blood sire to this world, Kristin was not eager to be a part of a spell.

"Not fast enough. Buffy acts faster than she listens." Willow muttered as she flipped through a book for the words. "You're my secret and I think that's best. No one would understand."

The magic felt crackly in the air and Kristin saw the light yellow glow in the air in front of her appear with surprise, her head jerking back, but she couldn't move back. She reached out to touch the magical see through walls around her and got a shock she found herself very unhappy with just a three foot circle of space.