Uncommon Knowledge Chapter 2: Damsel in distress..not!
Disclaimer: I own neither Buffy the Vampire Slayer, nor X-Men Evolution. In other words, I'm just borrowing Xander and Marie for a bit. I'll return them unharmed.relatively speaking, please, don't sue.
Dedication: To my wonderful fiancée, I miss you sweetheart!!
Special thanks: to my reviewers who've kept the positive words coming despite the lack of updating. Speaking of which, I want to thank you guys for your patience. The past couple of weeks I've had 50+ hours at work and been exhausted when I got home, thanks for being so patient.
Without further ado...
Marie stared at her hand in astonishment, wondering just what the hell that thing had been and refusing to believe what her eyes and mind told her * Vampires aren't real * she thought fiercely * It's just not possible *. Still, her mysterious rescuer had dispatched the thing with a wooden stake and it had crumbled into dust. * My god, he saves my life from something out of a horror movie and Ah punch him out. Ah hope he's ok* Standing shakily, she walked to Xander's prone form. A dark purple spot had already begun to form on his jaw where she'd hit him, but aside from that, unconsciousness seemed to be the only thing wrong with him. * Ah'd better check just to be sure * Carefully, she placed two gloved fingers against his neck, and finding a strong steady pulse, breathed a sigh of relief * Thank god, the last thing Ah need is a murder on my conscience. * She slowly pulled her hand away from his neck and turned to leave when something stopped her, a craving more powerful than anything she'd felt before. * He's down, ours, feed * a voice rasped inside her head. Marie squeezed her eyes shut, it was never easy, dealing with this curse of hers, but she'd never been so tempted to give in to the mental commands from those she'd absorbed before. Unconsciously she turned back to the young man who'd saved her, her eyes locked on his throat. She could swear she could see his pulse point, throbbing, inviting her to feed. * Do it! * the voice commanded again * Take his blood, his strength, feed.* Licking her lips, Marie could almost taste the coppery warm blood, and the pleasure she got from that feeling scared her more than anything she'd seen so far that evening.
Despite her disgust at the thought of tearing into her savior's throat, Marie climbed atop of his body, knocking the offensive wooden weapon from his hand in the process, and leaned down towards his neck. * Yes! * the voice in her head rasped, * feed, feed and know true strength, power, yours for the taking *. With a hiss, Marie bared her teeth and lowered her head closer to his neck. Just as her teeth were about to contact the tender skin of his throat, her savior spoke, causing her to pull back, startled. " So, by Southern hospitality, people really mean punching you out in an alley. I'll have to remember that" Xander smiled, and quickly decided against it as he felt the slight pain in his jaw. Marie studied him silently, noting that he wasn't afraid of her at all.
*Damn! * the voice in her head fumed, * it's almost not worth it if he's not afraid. It adds such a delightful flavor to the blood. Oh well, we can take bland blood every now and then.feed!* However, this time the voice wasn't as strong, and Marie simply sat staring dumbly at the young man beneath her. " Ok, so my humor needs a little work," Xander said, " And not that I have a problem waking up with an attractive young woman sitting on top of me, I generally prefer to know her name first. I'm Xander by the way." As she sat there, Xander got an even better look at her than he had before dealing with the vamp. Her brown hair wasn't quite shoulder length, unkempt and roughly pulled away from her face. Her haunted eyes seemed a bit sunken in, dark circles surrounding them, and her cheeks looked a little thinner than they should. * I wonder how long she's been living on the streets * he thought. He was so caught up in looking at her that he almost missed the whispered " Marie, my name's Marie".
" Pleased to meet you Marie. I'd say that you hit like a girl, but there's only a few girls I know who can hit like that. You're not a slayer by any chance are you?" From the "Did he suffer some sort of head trauma" look Marie was giving him, Xander figured that wasn't the case. " Ok, you're obviously not much of a talker. That's ok, I can handle the talking for both of us. Which would be a tad easier if you weren't perched on my stomach." Marie blushed, snapping out of her temporary stupor and scrambled off, backing cautiously into the shadows and studying him as he stood up and brushed himself off. He wasn't too much older than she was as far as she could see, toned without being too muscular, kind of handsome in a rough sort of way. His clothes were well worn, as was his denim jacket, but obviously clean * He's got somewhere to be, a home," she thought morosely, * Why would he care about a runaway freak like me? Why did he save my life? Does it even matter? * Sensing that her rescuer was on his way to asking some questions she didn't feel like answering, even if she could, she simply turned and began to walk away towards the entrance of the alley. She didn't make it too far, as she was stopped by a hand, firmly but gently grasping her shoulder. " Are you alright?" Xander asked, concern filling his voice, " I mean, aside from the whole being attacked by a stranger in an alley"
" Peachy" She replied gruffly, shrugging his hand from its resting place on her shoulder, " Ah appreciate you jumping in there and saving me and all, but if you'll forgive me, Ah've got somewhere Ah have to be". She began walking again, quicker this time, hoping he'd believe the lie and just leave her alone. Given that fate had cursed her once in her life already, it was really no surprise that her hopes were in vain. " Really?". It was a statement more than a question, as if he already knew the answer and was calling her on the lie. A sudden anger filled her and she whirled around, marching back to him * Who the hell is he to judge me? Does he think that saving my life gives him a right to know all about it? If he does he's got another thing coming * She briefly considered purposely taking her gloves off and knocking him out, but decided it would be more satisfying to give him a piece of her mind instead of taking a piece of his. She stopped barely a foot from him, glaring, " No. Not really. But then, it's none of your business if Ah don't have anywhere to go, now is it? What could it possibly matter to you? You don't have to worry about finding somewhere to sleep tonight where no one's gonna try and kill you, or worse, do you?" Xander stood quietly, letting her rage at him, wondering if he should have just let her go on her way. * Yea, like you could have kid * the soldier sneered in his mind * Angelus was right about you, you're a goddamn white knight. One of these days it's going to get you into trouble*. Giving the soldier a mental command to shut up, he focused on the young woman in front of him, who appeared to be waiting for an answer.
" You're right," he said, " I don't have to worry about those things. I've been remarkably lucky. And no, it's not my business what you do with your life." Marie stared at him in shock, some of her anger draining away with his words, she hadn't actually expected an acknowledgement that she was right. Her shock grew with his next few words, " However, I've seen too many people, friends and otherwise, put into graves far too early over the past few years and I've come to realize that every life matters. Not that I'm calling you my friend, I admit I know nothing about you. And this isn't born of some religious experience, I'm not going to preach to you about getting off of the streets or going back home, trying to work out whatever issues caused you to run out. I am, on the other hand, going to offer you dinner; that is, if you don't have anywhere to be right now." He smiled gently, taking in the shock evident in her eyes; he was so focused on her eyes that he barely had time to register the shock quickly transitioning back to anger, as her gloved fist once again connected with his jaw. Fortunately, the punch was a good deal weaker than her first, and he stayed on his feet.
" So that's it, you think Ah'm some little whore, that you can buy off with dinner" She hissed, her eyes blazing. This time the gloves did come off; having him trapped in her head be damned, there was no way she was going to let him call her a whore. Placing a hand to his jaw, Xander backed away, * Damn, she just had to hit the same spot, didn't she? * he thought as his back pressed against the cold stone of the wall behind him. Watching her slow advance, he briefly wondered if this was the time trying to be a hero would get his ass kicked. Desperately, ignoring the pain in his jaw, he tried again, " No, it's not like that at all. I just meant dinner, no strings attached. You don't even have to have a conversation with me if you don't want to." Marie paused, her hands just inches from his face, feeling her stomach grumble at the thought of hot food for a change. It seemed like forever since she'd had a decent meal, and he sounded sincere. " Alright" she said softly, slipping her gloves carefully back on. " That is if you can forgive me for slugging you again. It's just that Ah've had bad experiences with..other men..since Ah've been on my own" A memory threatened to surface in her mind and she quickly stomped it back down with a shudder.
Xander heard the hesitation and pain in her voice, and coupled with the slight shudder that ran through her body, he had no doubts as to what she meant. Forcing a smile for her sake, he carefully touched the bruise on his jaw, " Forgive you for this? Please, I can't even feel it. I've taken so many blows to the head that I'm used to it" Noticing the slight smile that flashed across her face, he decided against correcting himself and extended his hand " So what do you say? Dinner, on me? I know a diner not to far from here that's open all night". Her smile widened, and he could see it in her eyes, " Ah say just one minute". Xander watched curiously as she darted back down the alley and retrieved a beaten up duffel bag before rejoining him at the entrance. " Ah hope you don't mind. Ah just didn't want to leave my clothes and things where just anyone could find them." Xander smiled, once again offering her his hand, which to his surprise she took, " Not at all, I can completely understand." With that, he led her back out of the alley and towards the diner he had only recently vacated.
Disclaimer: I own neither Buffy the Vampire Slayer, nor X-Men Evolution. In other words, I'm just borrowing Xander and Marie for a bit. I'll return them unharmed.relatively speaking, please, don't sue.
Dedication: To my wonderful fiancée, I miss you sweetheart!!
Special thanks: to my reviewers who've kept the positive words coming despite the lack of updating. Speaking of which, I want to thank you guys for your patience. The past couple of weeks I've had 50+ hours at work and been exhausted when I got home, thanks for being so patient.
Without further ado...
Marie stared at her hand in astonishment, wondering just what the hell that thing had been and refusing to believe what her eyes and mind told her * Vampires aren't real * she thought fiercely * It's just not possible *. Still, her mysterious rescuer had dispatched the thing with a wooden stake and it had crumbled into dust. * My god, he saves my life from something out of a horror movie and Ah punch him out. Ah hope he's ok* Standing shakily, she walked to Xander's prone form. A dark purple spot had already begun to form on his jaw where she'd hit him, but aside from that, unconsciousness seemed to be the only thing wrong with him. * Ah'd better check just to be sure * Carefully, she placed two gloved fingers against his neck, and finding a strong steady pulse, breathed a sigh of relief * Thank god, the last thing Ah need is a murder on my conscience. * She slowly pulled her hand away from his neck and turned to leave when something stopped her, a craving more powerful than anything she'd felt before. * He's down, ours, feed * a voice rasped inside her head. Marie squeezed her eyes shut, it was never easy, dealing with this curse of hers, but she'd never been so tempted to give in to the mental commands from those she'd absorbed before. Unconsciously she turned back to the young man who'd saved her, her eyes locked on his throat. She could swear she could see his pulse point, throbbing, inviting her to feed. * Do it! * the voice commanded again * Take his blood, his strength, feed.* Licking her lips, Marie could almost taste the coppery warm blood, and the pleasure she got from that feeling scared her more than anything she'd seen so far that evening.
Despite her disgust at the thought of tearing into her savior's throat, Marie climbed atop of his body, knocking the offensive wooden weapon from his hand in the process, and leaned down towards his neck. * Yes! * the voice in her head rasped, * feed, feed and know true strength, power, yours for the taking *. With a hiss, Marie bared her teeth and lowered her head closer to his neck. Just as her teeth were about to contact the tender skin of his throat, her savior spoke, causing her to pull back, startled. " So, by Southern hospitality, people really mean punching you out in an alley. I'll have to remember that" Xander smiled, and quickly decided against it as he felt the slight pain in his jaw. Marie studied him silently, noting that he wasn't afraid of her at all.
*Damn! * the voice in her head fumed, * it's almost not worth it if he's not afraid. It adds such a delightful flavor to the blood. Oh well, we can take bland blood every now and then.feed!* However, this time the voice wasn't as strong, and Marie simply sat staring dumbly at the young man beneath her. " Ok, so my humor needs a little work," Xander said, " And not that I have a problem waking up with an attractive young woman sitting on top of me, I generally prefer to know her name first. I'm Xander by the way." As she sat there, Xander got an even better look at her than he had before dealing with the vamp. Her brown hair wasn't quite shoulder length, unkempt and roughly pulled away from her face. Her haunted eyes seemed a bit sunken in, dark circles surrounding them, and her cheeks looked a little thinner than they should. * I wonder how long she's been living on the streets * he thought. He was so caught up in looking at her that he almost missed the whispered " Marie, my name's Marie".
" Pleased to meet you Marie. I'd say that you hit like a girl, but there's only a few girls I know who can hit like that. You're not a slayer by any chance are you?" From the "Did he suffer some sort of head trauma" look Marie was giving him, Xander figured that wasn't the case. " Ok, you're obviously not much of a talker. That's ok, I can handle the talking for both of us. Which would be a tad easier if you weren't perched on my stomach." Marie blushed, snapping out of her temporary stupor and scrambled off, backing cautiously into the shadows and studying him as he stood up and brushed himself off. He wasn't too much older than she was as far as she could see, toned without being too muscular, kind of handsome in a rough sort of way. His clothes were well worn, as was his denim jacket, but obviously clean * He's got somewhere to be, a home," she thought morosely, * Why would he care about a runaway freak like me? Why did he save my life? Does it even matter? * Sensing that her rescuer was on his way to asking some questions she didn't feel like answering, even if she could, she simply turned and began to walk away towards the entrance of the alley. She didn't make it too far, as she was stopped by a hand, firmly but gently grasping her shoulder. " Are you alright?" Xander asked, concern filling his voice, " I mean, aside from the whole being attacked by a stranger in an alley"
" Peachy" She replied gruffly, shrugging his hand from its resting place on her shoulder, " Ah appreciate you jumping in there and saving me and all, but if you'll forgive me, Ah've got somewhere Ah have to be". She began walking again, quicker this time, hoping he'd believe the lie and just leave her alone. Given that fate had cursed her once in her life already, it was really no surprise that her hopes were in vain. " Really?". It was a statement more than a question, as if he already knew the answer and was calling her on the lie. A sudden anger filled her and she whirled around, marching back to him * Who the hell is he to judge me? Does he think that saving my life gives him a right to know all about it? If he does he's got another thing coming * She briefly considered purposely taking her gloves off and knocking him out, but decided it would be more satisfying to give him a piece of her mind instead of taking a piece of his. She stopped barely a foot from him, glaring, " No. Not really. But then, it's none of your business if Ah don't have anywhere to go, now is it? What could it possibly matter to you? You don't have to worry about finding somewhere to sleep tonight where no one's gonna try and kill you, or worse, do you?" Xander stood quietly, letting her rage at him, wondering if he should have just let her go on her way. * Yea, like you could have kid * the soldier sneered in his mind * Angelus was right about you, you're a goddamn white knight. One of these days it's going to get you into trouble*. Giving the soldier a mental command to shut up, he focused on the young woman in front of him, who appeared to be waiting for an answer.
" You're right," he said, " I don't have to worry about those things. I've been remarkably lucky. And no, it's not my business what you do with your life." Marie stared at him in shock, some of her anger draining away with his words, she hadn't actually expected an acknowledgement that she was right. Her shock grew with his next few words, " However, I've seen too many people, friends and otherwise, put into graves far too early over the past few years and I've come to realize that every life matters. Not that I'm calling you my friend, I admit I know nothing about you. And this isn't born of some religious experience, I'm not going to preach to you about getting off of the streets or going back home, trying to work out whatever issues caused you to run out. I am, on the other hand, going to offer you dinner; that is, if you don't have anywhere to be right now." He smiled gently, taking in the shock evident in her eyes; he was so focused on her eyes that he barely had time to register the shock quickly transitioning back to anger, as her gloved fist once again connected with his jaw. Fortunately, the punch was a good deal weaker than her first, and he stayed on his feet.
" So that's it, you think Ah'm some little whore, that you can buy off with dinner" She hissed, her eyes blazing. This time the gloves did come off; having him trapped in her head be damned, there was no way she was going to let him call her a whore. Placing a hand to his jaw, Xander backed away, * Damn, she just had to hit the same spot, didn't she? * he thought as his back pressed against the cold stone of the wall behind him. Watching her slow advance, he briefly wondered if this was the time trying to be a hero would get his ass kicked. Desperately, ignoring the pain in his jaw, he tried again, " No, it's not like that at all. I just meant dinner, no strings attached. You don't even have to have a conversation with me if you don't want to." Marie paused, her hands just inches from his face, feeling her stomach grumble at the thought of hot food for a change. It seemed like forever since she'd had a decent meal, and he sounded sincere. " Alright" she said softly, slipping her gloves carefully back on. " That is if you can forgive me for slugging you again. It's just that Ah've had bad experiences with..other men..since Ah've been on my own" A memory threatened to surface in her mind and she quickly stomped it back down with a shudder.
Xander heard the hesitation and pain in her voice, and coupled with the slight shudder that ran through her body, he had no doubts as to what she meant. Forcing a smile for her sake, he carefully touched the bruise on his jaw, " Forgive you for this? Please, I can't even feel it. I've taken so many blows to the head that I'm used to it" Noticing the slight smile that flashed across her face, he decided against correcting himself and extended his hand " So what do you say? Dinner, on me? I know a diner not to far from here that's open all night". Her smile widened, and he could see it in her eyes, " Ah say just one minute". Xander watched curiously as she darted back down the alley and retrieved a beaten up duffel bag before rejoining him at the entrance. " Ah hope you don't mind. Ah just didn't want to leave my clothes and things where just anyone could find them." Xander smiled, once again offering her his hand, which to his surprise she took, " Not at all, I can completely understand." With that, he led her back out of the alley and towards the diner he had only recently vacated.