Wild
Is The Wind
Disclaimer - I do not own any of BtVS or AtS characters.
They all belong to the Joss Pack. Other non BtVS or AtS characters are all
mine.
Part 7/???
Distribution - FINNatics and my site - The Claddagh Fanfiction Archive. Other
people please ask me first I will probably say yes.
Timeline: Set some time after "In the Woods"
SPOILERS: Anything before IN THE WOODS
Rating: PG maybe... I am not that good with Ratings
AUTHOR'S NOTE 1 - No... I am not crazy. And yes... this is a Riley fiction.
AUTHOR'S NOTE 2 -It is not a Buffy/Riley shipper fanfiction. I am still a
B/A hopelessly shipper... I ship B/A, Cordy/Doyle, Willow/Oz... see... all
the broken couples : )
AUTHOR'S NOTE 3 - * * denotes internal thought.
AUTHOR´S NOTE 4 - No I didn´t made up the words in Romani
or portuguese. I speak portuguese and made an extensive research of Romani
words and Gypsy traditions. Also note that Nariel was raised by the rules
of Vampire - World of Darkness : )
Teaser: Changes in Riley's life lead him to Brasil.
Dedication: To Lisa, for all the "inquiring mind" and beta stuff,
Nicole, Chris and mimi for the wonderful support and feedback.
Feedback: Please... mi casa es su casa. sgavino@gbl.com.br / claddagh@ieg.com.br
***
Rio
de Janeiro
Nariel
leaned his long body against a tree and observed Paulo putting the horses
back into the barn. Time would never change the way he felt about the gypsy
life. He missed his long rides under the open sky, laying lazily on the grass
listening to the music the river brought to his ears. Vida, he missed her
too. Nariel sighted and wondered how could a 800 year old vampire still miss
his first love. At least, the Powers held Vida near to them and once in a
while they would allow Nariel see and talk to her a little.
*
Once at each 100 years. *
The
sound of a female voice cursing out loud brought him back to reality, he turned
his head and saw Lea coming down the hill, barefooted and fighting against
the long skirt that she was now wearing. He smiled a little wider and noticed
that she looked a little like Vida.
*
Maybe this is the reason why I was sent here to teach her the underworld secrets.
I just hope I can help her to go safely through all this craziness. *
Lea
stopped in front of the vampire, her face in a frown.
"What are you laughing at? Do you think it is easy to step on all this
little rocks and hurt your feet as you are trying to get to a vampire's lair?"
"Oh...
wait a minute young lady. This is not my lair. Too simple... too beautiful.
I do not deserve this, I am a demon remember? A creature of the night, one
of the undead. Do you really think that the Powers would allow me to live
under a tree looking at the horses all day long?" A hint of smile was
playing on his lips.
Nariel
observed as Lea tried to grab the long skirt in one of her hands and sit down
on the grass. He could tell by the lines on her face that she had known hard
times and as she crossed her long legs under the skirt and looked up to face
him, Nariel decided to do his best to help her. Lea looked at the vampire's
face and wondered how many women must have died happily looking into his deep
dark eyes and realized that even she would be willing to die just to keep
him smiling. She shook her head in order to get hid of these thoughts and
spoke.
"So,
you are supposed to be my teacher, but I keep wondering what a vampire will
be able to teach me about."
Nariel
raised his eyebrows but before he was able to speak Lea went on with her nervous
babbling:
"And
please, spare me from this 'chosen one' conversation. I can't believe that
I, of all the people, am the one who is supposed to stand for the gypsies
against the world. I am not the most traditional gypsy kid over here."
"Have
you finished?" Nariel asked in his calm voice.
Lea
swallowed her words and nodded slightly.
"Alright
then, I guess now we can start to talk in a civilized way. First, do you have
any questions about me or my life?" Noticing that she was staring terrified
at him Nariel sat by her side and tried to sound a little less scarier.
"I
am not here to make you fear me, Lea. We have a tough way until you reach
the point of no return, and you have to trust me."
Nariel
paused and watched Lea's eyes fill with tears. He unwrapped the kerchief of
his head, allowing his black hair to hang loose, and gave it to her. Lea took
it and started to dry her face while tried to make some coherent sentence.
"I
am sorry. It is just...." She sighted, "This is just too difficult
to me, and everything happened at the same time. I don't know if I really
want this fate."
Nariel
touched her hair and shot back.
"Do
you think I chose my own fate? Do you think I had it all planned? To become
a vampire and wander alone for 800 years, away from my only true love?"
Once
again Nariel caught Lea's attention and he realized that love was a key word
to convince this young woman into anything. He knew it was not fair, but he
would use it a lot from now on. Carefully, he started to tell her his own
sad story.
"Please,
don't let me surprise you with the fact that I actually was in love once."
Lea
was suddenly very interested in their conversation, and changed her position
on the grass, laying on her belly and resting her chin on her hands as she
asked him.
"In
800 years you only felt in love once?"
Nariel
smiled sadly.
"In
all eternity, child, I only loved one woman, and she is the one who will be
waiting for me when The Powers decide it is time for me to leave this world."
He
felt a breath of warmth around him, almost as if Vida was seated on his lap
again, and he closed his eyes lost in the memories of happier days. Lea broke
the moment.
"The
Powers? Well, that is sure one of the things that I don't understand. What
are they? Some kind of supernatural power that guides us into the fight against
evil?"
Nariel
opened his eyes and smiled.
"See,
I always knew you would be able to surprise me. You got it perfectly right.
The Powers That Be are the ones who help the Warriors of Light to fight against
darkness and evil. They are the ones that guide the Slayers."
Lea
rolled her eyes in exasperation.
"Oh
no! Please do not talk to me about the Slayer!"
"If
you were paying attention, you would have noticed that I said slayers. Plural.
More than one." Nariel answered straight and as Lea gave him a puzzled
look he went on. "This is the first mistake that everybody makes. In
order to protect the entire world we must have more than one slayer, don't
you agree? Otherwise, how could we protect both China and Canada at the same
time? Demons are spread all over the world and so are the slayers." He
paused.
Lea
sat straight and asked him:
"What
about the American slayer? The one that is supposed to live in a hellmouth?"
"Ah,
Buffy Anne Summers. You've heard about her?!"
Nariel's
eyes were locked with Lea's and he had a cynical smile as she burst out in
anger.
"Spare
me, ok? We both know I heard about her. We both know she is Riley's ex girlfriend,
and I am sure as hell you know that she is the one that has a vampire lover.
Am I right?"
"So
much anger focused on the wrong person. Do not hate the slayer, Lea. She had
bad times too. Try to think about her without thinking about your man's disgrace.
Try it, and maybe you will see that things are not as bad as they look. Sometimes
they are even worse."
With
these words, Nariel got up and offered his hand to Lea.
"Maybe
we should go for a walk."
Resigned
with her own fate, Lea accepted the vampire's hand and did not mentioned how
cold his touch was as he held her hand firmly into his. Nariel leaded the
way to a place near the fire that the gypsies were starting to light and then
he asked her.
"Do
you want to know a little more about the American slayer?" Lea nodded
in silence and he continued. "Buffy Summers is not the only slayer on
the world, but she sure is the strongest and the one that has lived the longest.
She has a pretty sad story of broken hearts and unfaithful friends. Or at
least one unfaithful friend and a bunch of stupid watchers that tried to fool
her." Nariel paused and looked at Lea. "I wonder why do people think
there is only one Slayer at each generation and a hundred of watchers being
trained at the same time. Isn't this stupid, to have a whole Council of Watchers
if we have only one slayer? Well, this is another mistake, but I guess I had
800 years to figure it out."
He
laughed out loud and some of the women that were getting ready to the dance
looked at him hungrily. He waved his hand to them and pulled Lea against his
chest whispering in her ear.
"Little
one, you are my savior tonight. Please let them think I am your lover, otherwise
I will surrender to them and will be damned forever."
She
blinked and for just one moment considered if it would be that bad to be Nariel's
lover. Lea was swept of her feet, involved in a lust that was making her hot
and wet. Unbearable feeling. It was almost as if she were in a trance, but
the vampire broke it wisely.
"Lea,
please do not let my presence enchant you. You are strong and this is the
first thing you must learn: the difference between true love and charming
presence. You're gonna fight vampires and even other things, and most of the
evil creatures can wrap you in this same feeling that I am wrapping you now."
He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. "Resist me. Now!"
Lea
felt his cold hands gripping her shoulders to the edge of pain and focused
her mind on Riley. Nariel was forgotten immediately as her body heated with
the memories of love and desire. She lifted her eyes to the vampire.
"Thank
you. I own you."
"No,
favorita . It is my duty. Come on, sit here next to me." Lea sat by Nariel
side as he continued to talk about Buffy. "The American girl is the strongest
for sure, but not the only one, just like her vampire is not the only one
who has a soul. In fact, we all have souls, what makes each vampire different
from the other is the humanity we have into our souls. The less you have,
the evilest you are."
She
was impressed with his knowledge.
"Nariel,
you know so much about slayers... was your love a slayer?"
"Vida?
No, her mother was a Slayer." He paused and raised his eyes to the stars.
"And I was her watcher. Her name was Myrka, she was a gypsy just like
me, and she was not the most perfect slayer, but I was not the most skilled
watcher either. I was embraced, or turned as the younger undead call it, in
the same battle she was killed." Nariel didn't want Lea to see his pain
so he kept his eyes focused on the stars above. "They hang her body on
a tree, and only after two nights I was able to reach her. I still remember
how it felt to hold her dead body against mine, none of us had a heartbeat,
thus I was still able to walk the world. An undead, as they now call us. Sometimes
I still feel I was the one to blame for her death."
Lea
could not hold her tongue.
"I
know the feeling."
"I
guess you do. But the difference is that I will have eternity to deal with
the pain." He ran his fingers through his hair before continuing. "My
gypsy honor made me untie her body and return it to her family. At that time,
all the slayers had a family, husbands and children. Myrka had two kids, Rodrigo
and Vida. Vida was the younger, counting only one year old when her mother
died and I could not bare the thought I would have to see her baby face calling
for he mommy every night until she felt asleep. So I made my decision and
left the kumpanya, For 23 years I wandered alone, feeding on burglars and
rapists and all the low forms of human beings that ever crossed my way, I
used to think that they were not worth living. If a good woman wasn't, why
would they? Now I know almost all the souled vampires think that way."
He looked back at Lea, smiling sadly. "I tried as harder as I could to
stay away from the gypsies, but we can't stop fate and one night I was in
Andalucia when I heard the soft chords of a violin. My dead gypsy heart felt
apart and I found myself walking to the place where the music was being played.
And there, in the middle of the street, surrounded by several men I saw the
most beautiful woman I'd ever seen, Dancing barefooted, dark hair waving around
her, lips parted as if the dance was arousing her, the eyes of the most pure
shade of green. At that moment, as I felt for her, I knew my search had come
to an end."
"Was
it Vida?" Lea knew it was a stupid question, but she had to say something.
"Yes,
and after 23 years avoiding my past, Myrka's daughter came my way like a promise
of hope, sparkles of light on her eyes and a soul that I simply couldn't resist.
Nor could she resist me. Love is cruel, Lea, but I think you know it already.
I had to make my choice so I gave her my dead heart and she kept me warm and
happy for 62 years."
Lea
was astonished. "You let her grow old? Never though about turn... embracing
her?"
"A
thousand times a day. But I could not bring darkness to her life, I could
not make her as damned as I am. You have no idea what it is like to see you
true love fading away day by day. I could see the white shades showing in
her raven hair as she got tired of dancing cause her legs were just too heavy.
And even knowing that I could have saved her from death, she never asked me
to. She understood me just like you understand your soldier. This is love
Lea. It hurts, burns and leaves its scar on you, but nothing in the world
will ever make you feel better. And believe me, love is worthy a sacrifice.
Thousands of sacrifices."
Lea
was enchanted by Nariel's words. His fate did not seem to be that different
from so many other tragic lover's fates she 'd heard about. She touched his
shoulder.
"And
now? She's gone and you are here. How do you know she will be waiting for
you in the afterlife?"
Nariel
patted her hand and answered.
"The
powers, child. They were good to us. They watched my behavior towards Vida's
life, our life, and as they noticed I would never turn her just to keep myself
loved, they granted us a second chance in the afterlife." He paused.
"As long as I agreed to help them in this dry land. As long as I agreed
to be a warrior of light."
Lea
smiled.
"It
is just as Riley says: It always has a catch."
Nariel
laughed.
"And
what a catch! I've been waiting patiently for 800 years, and only once at
each 100 years I am allowed to see her and talk to her a little. And believe
me, Lea, these are the moments, the only moments of my unlife when I feel
alive, warm and loved."
He
lifted his eyes to the stars again and Lea knew he was searching for his lover.
"Nariel,
does the name Vida has a special meaning?"
Without
looking at her he answered.
"Yes.
It means Life."
****
For
the last 45 minutes Riley had been smiling to the old lady sat beside him.
She was telling him all about her life and he could not help wondering how
come she had a life this boring and still thought it was worth to share it
with someone. His thoughts wandered to Lea and their last night together.
Riley felt his shoulder relaxing as he could almost smell his lover's breath
on his face, her hands on his neck...
"Don't
you agree, young man?" it was the old lady's voice breaking his bliss
again. Riley gave her his best smile and excused himself.
"I
am sorry Mrs. Mildred. I just drifted away a little... I am already missing
my girlfriend."
That
was enough to please Mrs. Mildred and she patted Riley on the shoulder telling
him that he should rest a little and dream of his girl. Riley thanked her
and closed his eyes falling asleep almost immediately, but instead of Lea,
his dreams were filled with Sunnydale images. Buffy, Giles, Graham and Adam.
Even Spike. He woke up covered in sweat and once again wondered if this was
the right thing to do. Mrs. Mildred was fast asleep and he raised his arm
to call the steward in order to get a drink.
*
Vodka. On the rocks. No, scotch maybe.*
As
the steward arrived with his drink, Riley had already calmed down and was
able to drink his scotch while his eyes wandered through the lines of the
paper he was studying. Graham sent him a complete file about the last actions
that took place in Sunnydale and all the information he could get about the
demon. Tjokal. Riley had never heard about this one but considering the mess
it was making on the Hellmouth, it was sure one of the evil ones.
The
battle in which Graham lost his legs was described in full details, and Riley
was surprised when he found out that his friend was injured in order to protect
Giles. He knew that Graham had acted just like a soldier protecting a civilian,
but deep in his mind Giles was still the Watcher and he should be protected
by his Slayer.
*
Where the hell is she? What could be more important than her sacred duty?
*
As
soon as his mind registered the question, his broken heart already had the
answer.
*
Angel. *
Riley
closed his eyes. None of this was a good idea. Coming back to Sunnydale, facing
Buffy and all her friends, facing his dark past and stand all alone. Missing
Lea and her strength, her love and heat. He could not stop the tears that
filled his eyes and run freely down his cheeks. Riley Finn was never ashamed
to cry, and he won't start now.
"Hush,
babe." It was Mrs. Mildred voice. She caressed his hair just like his
grandmother used to do. "I don't know what is going on, but I am sure
it will be alright."
Riley
kept his eyes closed as he asked.
"Mrs.
Mildred do you pray?" and before she was able to answer he asked
shamelessly. "Would you include my name on your prayers?" Riley
opened his eyes to see the old woman crying too.
She
sniffled and answered.
"You
didn't even had to ask, young man. You didn't even had to ask."
TBC
