Chapter 2
The fight was the Grimosh had been exhilarating even if just a hair bit too close for comfort. It raised Spike's spirits just enough to put a spring in his step as he made his way back to his crypt.
An overwhelming smell of spilled human blood caused him to stop and sniff the air. He ascertained the direction from which the smell arose and tentatively, nervously approached. The whimper of a dog broke the silence. The dog noticed Spike and started to growl low in its throat. Spike first gave the dog a long lookover which caused the dog to lay low and whimper. It appeared to be a bloodied white ball of fur, possibly a terrier Poodle mix. With the dog subdued, Spike could give his full attention to the scene before him. There were splatters of blood on the ground and in the bushes but no body. There was also a bit of torn clothing. It was over this bit of torn lacy clothing which that the dog sat watch. Spike could now make out two distinctly different human scents. He quickly backed away and turned around looking for some avenue of escape. Spike was virtually defenseless against a human what with the chip in his head. He relaxed gradually as he realized that no one was near.
Why did humans do this to each other? Vampires killed humans because that was the natural order of things in order to survive. But humans seemed to engage in a lot of homicide..and they had souls. Why?They were not driven by blood lust. The Slayer seemed to turn a blind eye to the incidents of homicide and so she refused to look at the statistics. Spike, however, read about them and was astounded at the homicide frequency. Humans did it with varying patterns and methods. Oh well. Nothing he could do now. This fell under the purview of the Sunnydale Police who probably would be along shortly. He had to book it and fast.
He turned and started walking once again to his crypt. He'd gone a few meters before he realized that he wasn't alone. The little dog was quietly following him. "This is just great. Now I got a dog on my tail", he said. "Go on. Go home."
The dog limped towards Spike. The little fellow was hurt. Why hadn't he noticed that? He'd thought that the fur was bloodied with human blood alone. Even with all the human blood, Spike should have been able to ferret out the odor of canine blood. "Poor fella. Can't leave you out here. Plenty of beasties would like to eat you." Spike himself was being swayed by the blood lust.
Spike mentally flashbacked to Prague 1997. He had brought plenty of puppies to Drusilla for dinner after the mob had weakened her enough that she was unable to hunt for herself. He had had no compunctions about dogs at that time. They had to eat. Now looking at the dog's big eyes, Spike did not know why the dog was getting to his undead heart. He should be the Big Bad after all. But this dog has a certain mournful pout. Reminds him of one of Buffy's expressions which he can't refuse. He also remembered the Niblet saying that she wanted a dog but Buffy wouldn't hear of it. That sold him.
"Come along, little fella. Mustn't dally out here in your condition." He slowed down so that the dog could keep up. When they had approached the crypt, the dog jumped up on his leg.
"Hey, stop that. Don't need a dog on my leg," he said as he somehow found himself scratching the dog's ears. "Bloody hell, being around the Scoobies so much is rubbing off on me. The lot are always going on about puppies." Spike kneeled and petted the little dog. The dog looked back with sad eyes. Spike knew exactly how the dog felt. " You and me have seem to have both lost the women in our lives. Maybe we can comfort each other? What do you say?"
Spike and the dog entered the crypt. "Have a seat anywhere. What am I going to do with you? Can't feed you blood. Too precious for the likes of you." He pulled out his first aid kit and cleaned up the dog's injured leg. Someone had taken a swipe at it with a sharp edge, probably a knife. Spike found some rags and laid the dog down on them. Then he spied a rat in a corner. Spike quickly caught it and took it to the dog. "Not much but I'd wager its more than you could catch on your own." THe dog sniffed, then devoured the rat. It was obviously tired. Spike walked away and just stared at the little dog. The little fella must be awfully tenacious to have survived an attack that killed its mistress. Not only did he look like a little white bear, he must be strong like a bear. " Hey, that's what I'll call you...Bear."
****************************************
Buffy had just finished up patrolling. It just so happened that this particular cemetery was the one in which Spike's crypt was located. "This is a habit that I'd better break right now," she thought. But she couldn't stop herself from walking in the general direction of Spike's crypt. As she drew closer, she saw Spike pick up and carry a dog into the crypt. "Gross. He's a puppy eating vampire!" she said as she stormed away. "Good riddance."
To be continued...
The fight was the Grimosh had been exhilarating even if just a hair bit too close for comfort. It raised Spike's spirits just enough to put a spring in his step as he made his way back to his crypt.
An overwhelming smell of spilled human blood caused him to stop and sniff the air. He ascertained the direction from which the smell arose and tentatively, nervously approached. The whimper of a dog broke the silence. The dog noticed Spike and started to growl low in its throat. Spike first gave the dog a long lookover which caused the dog to lay low and whimper. It appeared to be a bloodied white ball of fur, possibly a terrier Poodle mix. With the dog subdued, Spike could give his full attention to the scene before him. There were splatters of blood on the ground and in the bushes but no body. There was also a bit of torn clothing. It was over this bit of torn lacy clothing which that the dog sat watch. Spike could now make out two distinctly different human scents. He quickly backed away and turned around looking for some avenue of escape. Spike was virtually defenseless against a human what with the chip in his head. He relaxed gradually as he realized that no one was near.
Why did humans do this to each other? Vampires killed humans because that was the natural order of things in order to survive. But humans seemed to engage in a lot of homicide..and they had souls. Why?They were not driven by blood lust. The Slayer seemed to turn a blind eye to the incidents of homicide and so she refused to look at the statistics. Spike, however, read about them and was astounded at the homicide frequency. Humans did it with varying patterns and methods. Oh well. Nothing he could do now. This fell under the purview of the Sunnydale Police who probably would be along shortly. He had to book it and fast.
He turned and started walking once again to his crypt. He'd gone a few meters before he realized that he wasn't alone. The little dog was quietly following him. "This is just great. Now I got a dog on my tail", he said. "Go on. Go home."
The dog limped towards Spike. The little fellow was hurt. Why hadn't he noticed that? He'd thought that the fur was bloodied with human blood alone. Even with all the human blood, Spike should have been able to ferret out the odor of canine blood. "Poor fella. Can't leave you out here. Plenty of beasties would like to eat you." Spike himself was being swayed by the blood lust.
Spike mentally flashbacked to Prague 1997. He had brought plenty of puppies to Drusilla for dinner after the mob had weakened her enough that she was unable to hunt for herself. He had had no compunctions about dogs at that time. They had to eat. Now looking at the dog's big eyes, Spike did not know why the dog was getting to his undead heart. He should be the Big Bad after all. But this dog has a certain mournful pout. Reminds him of one of Buffy's expressions which he can't refuse. He also remembered the Niblet saying that she wanted a dog but Buffy wouldn't hear of it. That sold him.
"Come along, little fella. Mustn't dally out here in your condition." He slowed down so that the dog could keep up. When they had approached the crypt, the dog jumped up on his leg.
"Hey, stop that. Don't need a dog on my leg," he said as he somehow found himself scratching the dog's ears. "Bloody hell, being around the Scoobies so much is rubbing off on me. The lot are always going on about puppies." Spike kneeled and petted the little dog. The dog looked back with sad eyes. Spike knew exactly how the dog felt. " You and me have seem to have both lost the women in our lives. Maybe we can comfort each other? What do you say?"
Spike and the dog entered the crypt. "Have a seat anywhere. What am I going to do with you? Can't feed you blood. Too precious for the likes of you." He pulled out his first aid kit and cleaned up the dog's injured leg. Someone had taken a swipe at it with a sharp edge, probably a knife. Spike found some rags and laid the dog down on them. Then he spied a rat in a corner. Spike quickly caught it and took it to the dog. "Not much but I'd wager its more than you could catch on your own." THe dog sniffed, then devoured the rat. It was obviously tired. Spike walked away and just stared at the little dog. The little fella must be awfully tenacious to have survived an attack that killed its mistress. Not only did he look like a little white bear, he must be strong like a bear. " Hey, that's what I'll call you...Bear."
****************************************
Buffy had just finished up patrolling. It just so happened that this particular cemetery was the one in which Spike's crypt was located. "This is a habit that I'd better break right now," she thought. But she couldn't stop herself from walking in the general direction of Spike's crypt. As she drew closer, she saw Spike pick up and carry a dog into the crypt. "Gross. He's a puppy eating vampire!" she said as she stormed away. "Good riddance."
To be continued...