Darkened Faith 3: Stroke of Luck
author: Lucinda
rating: pg 13
pairing: Faith/David (from Lost Boys)
Darkened Faith #3 Stroke of Luck
disclaimer: I hold no legal rights to any characters from buffy the Vampire Slayer or the movie Lost Boys.
distribution: Twisting the Hellmouth, TNL. anyone else ask.
note: rather AU-ish for Faith. No big needed in Sunnydale Crisis, no big needed in LA crisis.
That thing... the Lula whatsit demon had been terrifying. It had also been a stroke of luck, although he wasn't entirely certain that it was good luck. It had allowed him a chance to work with Faith, to give a good impression of himself as someone to have working with her, not against her. Not that he thought it would be that simple, as if helping her kill a big, hungry, terrible demon would make her fall into his arms, but... every little bit helped. And that had clearly established him in her mind as someone who cared about more than just finding his next meal.
Of course, it had only convinced him that he definitely wanted her. Not just because she was an attractive woman, but because she was a skilled and powerful fighter, and she knew things, useful things about what lurked. He'd known that demons were real, and that not all were the same, but... she could identify them, and knew how to kill the different types. That alone could be useful. But put them all together... and throw in that confidence... He wanted her. She would be his if he had anything to say about it. But it would take time.
Being a vampire, time was something that he had a lot of. Faith didn't have as much, but maybe that would help him to get her? No, he wouldn't count on time being his ally. Faith didn't seem like the type that would be sitting at home, worrying about time giving her wrinkles and gray hair, creaking joints and stiff muscles. Actually, he wasn't certain that she would get to the point where that would be a problem, being a Slayer seemed pretty dangerous.
He would have to continue behaving in such a way that she saw him as possibly useful, and not a personal threat. He needed to keep from getting caught doing anything that she would object too strenuously over. So, he would have to be more careful about feeding, and possibly a bit more careful in who he chose to eat. Maybe if he took criminals, the rapists, the murderers, and drug dealers of the city? Granted, there would still be more, but… he knew that the justice system didn't always work. Normally, it didn't make that much difference to him what sort of person he killed, but he was trying to get Faith, and it would matter more to her.
And it would be good practice on his stalking and for checking into things. He still wanted to kill those Froggs and the Emerson boys, Sam and Michael. He couldn't count on them still being in Santa Carla, so he needed to be able to track them down.
He saw a van pull into a dark parking lot, and a man got out of the vehicle. He had on a baggy shirt with a pocket full of chocolate and a big hat that would hide his face. What in the world was he doing? The man walked towards an open area where a group of kids were playing, and started trying to talk to them, being all friendly seeming. The whole thing raised a creeping sense of wrongness in him – that man was not as he appeared.
David dropped down from the air, landing on the far side of the van from the area where the kids were playing. Carefully, he opened the side door of the van, looking inside to see what he could learn. A big bag of chocolate sat on the passenger seat, the top open and partially emptied. There was a coil of rope that had the faint scent of old blood and a lingering scent of fear. A shirt had been dropped over something that turned out to be a couple pairs of small handcuffs. He felt himself hissing, now certain just what sort of predator he was dealing with. They'd run into the sick sort of creeps that preyed on kids before… that had actually been how they'd found Laddie. Not that that had been his real name, but he wouldn't ever tell them that name, having been so traumatized by his ordeal.
He heard footsteps, and went airborne again, not wanting to be seen. The man had come back, with a kid following him. The boy looked to be maybe six or seven, with a smile that seemed just a bit too big, too cheerful. Was the boy just one of those appallingly cheerful sorts, or did he have some sort of mental defect? Not that it would probably matter to the child-taker. There was a brief struggle as he handcuffed the boy, tying the extra shirt as a makeshift gag and driving away. David followed, now certain that he would have to kill the guy, and send the boy home, somehow.
Things seemed to work nicely when the van pulled up next to a quiet apartment building. The lights for the parking area seemed to have either burned out or been broken, which would work to the advantage of just about any not quite legal thing. David dropped to the asphalt, certain the man wouldn't see him. He could feel Faith nearby, her Slayerness a hum that he could feel. A couple blocks to the west… good, that might help with getting the boy home safely.
The man opened the door, stepping out of the van, probably intending to drag out the child, whose frightened whimpers could be easily heard. David didn't give him the chance, instead grabbing the man's neck, slamming him into the side of the van hard enough to stun him. He opened the door, lifting the child out and tugging the shirt away from his mouth. Then, he reached down, snapping the chain on the handcuffs.
"Go that way. In a few blocks, you'll find a woman with dark hair, her name's Faith. She can help you get home." He pointed towards the direction that he felt Faith.
"Are you going to make sure the bad man can't… hurt me like he said he would?" Tears filled the boys eyes, and had made tracks down his face.
Trying not to smile too much, David nodded. "I'll make sure he can't hurt you."
Once the boy was safely out of sight, he turned his attentions back to the man in his grasp, eyes pale and inhuman, his fangs ready. "You won't be hurting anyone again. I'll make sure of that."
He loved the taste of fear.
Shortly after that, Faith looked up from the dust of the last vampire that had thought he could take down the Slayer. There was a small, frightened boy with a pair of broken handcuffs on his wrists and tear streaks on his face. "Are… are you Faith?"
"Yeah, I'm Faith. How did you know?" She had a feeling that the kid was just what he appeared to be, but… how did he find her? How did he know her name? Why were there a pair of broken handcuffs on him?
"The blond man told me you were here. He said that you could get me back home safe." The kid looked up at her with big sad eyes, his lip trembling just a little. "There was a bad man who tried to take me away and hurt me."
Faith sucked in a breath, her mind jumping to all sorts of things that 'bad men' could do to kids. "Where's this bad man now?"
"He promised that he wouldn't' be able to hurt me. Then, he broke the chain and told me to find you." The boy looked at her, so lost, so afraid. "Can you help me go home?"
Faith hid her sigh, having a feeling that this might take a while. "Sure, I'll help you get home. But I don't know where you live."
It felt like forever taking the boy home. Faith had just sighed, and put it down to a small miracle that nothing had attacked them on the way, glad that she wouldn't have to explain anything like vampires to the kid. He was collected by a very worried mother, who looked liked she had been working too much and sleeping too little. The warm and sincere thanks for Matt's safe return were almost overwhelming, and she felt sort of good as she left.
She almost didn't want to know what had happened, but she made her way back towards the area that she'd found the boy in. There was a dark parking lot, with a beat up looking van and a pair of police cars and an ambulance, their bright flashing lights adding a surreal note to the place. Faith kept walking, trying not to draw attention to herself. Maybe a block later, she felt a vamp, strong, and right over there. She wasn't at all surprised at who it was. "Hello David."
He was leaning against a light post, the lamp making his pale hair look even paler, almost like a halo. He looked almost pleased about something, and there was a bit of color in his cheeks, and on his lips. "Faith. Nice night, isn't it?"
"I saw the ambulance. Your work?" She frowned a little, not certain that she approved. But if it had been the man who'd tried to take Matt…
David shrugged, a thin smile on his lips. "Hey, a guys got to eat. And there are a few lines… it's not right to hunt kids like that. Now, I've made sure he won't ever do it again."
"You killed him." She felt something inside of her trying to scream, but she wasn't sure what it was saying. Yes, it was bad to kill, that was why vampires needed slain. But she remembered her friend Penny from when she was just a kid, Penny who's step father had been hurting her, who had tried to get help and nobody would do anything… Penny who had killed herself at thirteen, terrified at being pregnant from her step father's idea of games.
"If the police had gotten him, he might not have even gone to jail. If he had, it would have been what, sentenced to thirty, out in three? You really think he would have stopped?" David's voice was low, persuasive.
Faith shivered, hating the fact that David was right. He couldn't be right about his method of dealing with them, because… she didn't want to condone killing people. That would be the first step downwards… "Killing people… that doesn't solve everything, David."
"It solved that problem. I took a look in his van, Faith. This wasn't the first time he'd done this. And he wouldn't have stopped. Now, he is stopped. Can we at least agree on that for tonight?" David looked at her, his eyes the most intense blue. He wasn't trying to work any sort of mind control thingy on her, just… letting her see the emotions in his eyes.
Faith shifted a bit, feeling uncomfortable. "Yeah, we can agree that he's stopped. And that he wouldn't have just stopped because of it being wrong. But… that's it. Good night, David."
Faith turned and walked away, her whole body prickling and tense. She wasn't certain if it was from turning her back on a vampire, or from the whole mess with that child-predator. But… it had certainly raised questions.
End Stroke of Luck.
author: Lucinda
rating: pg 13
pairing: Faith/David (from Lost Boys)
Darkened Faith #3 Stroke of Luck
disclaimer: I hold no legal rights to any characters from buffy the Vampire Slayer or the movie Lost Boys.
distribution: Twisting the Hellmouth, TNL. anyone else ask.
note: rather AU-ish for Faith. No big needed in Sunnydale Crisis, no big needed in LA crisis.
That thing... the Lula whatsit demon had been terrifying. It had also been a stroke of luck, although he wasn't entirely certain that it was good luck. It had allowed him a chance to work with Faith, to give a good impression of himself as someone to have working with her, not against her. Not that he thought it would be that simple, as if helping her kill a big, hungry, terrible demon would make her fall into his arms, but... every little bit helped. And that had clearly established him in her mind as someone who cared about more than just finding his next meal.
Of course, it had only convinced him that he definitely wanted her. Not just because she was an attractive woman, but because she was a skilled and powerful fighter, and she knew things, useful things about what lurked. He'd known that demons were real, and that not all were the same, but... she could identify them, and knew how to kill the different types. That alone could be useful. But put them all together... and throw in that confidence... He wanted her. She would be his if he had anything to say about it. But it would take time.
Being a vampire, time was something that he had a lot of. Faith didn't have as much, but maybe that would help him to get her? No, he wouldn't count on time being his ally. Faith didn't seem like the type that would be sitting at home, worrying about time giving her wrinkles and gray hair, creaking joints and stiff muscles. Actually, he wasn't certain that she would get to the point where that would be a problem, being a Slayer seemed pretty dangerous.
He would have to continue behaving in such a way that she saw him as possibly useful, and not a personal threat. He needed to keep from getting caught doing anything that she would object too strenuously over. So, he would have to be more careful about feeding, and possibly a bit more careful in who he chose to eat. Maybe if he took criminals, the rapists, the murderers, and drug dealers of the city? Granted, there would still be more, but… he knew that the justice system didn't always work. Normally, it didn't make that much difference to him what sort of person he killed, but he was trying to get Faith, and it would matter more to her.
And it would be good practice on his stalking and for checking into things. He still wanted to kill those Froggs and the Emerson boys, Sam and Michael. He couldn't count on them still being in Santa Carla, so he needed to be able to track them down.
He saw a van pull into a dark parking lot, and a man got out of the vehicle. He had on a baggy shirt with a pocket full of chocolate and a big hat that would hide his face. What in the world was he doing? The man walked towards an open area where a group of kids were playing, and started trying to talk to them, being all friendly seeming. The whole thing raised a creeping sense of wrongness in him – that man was not as he appeared.
David dropped down from the air, landing on the far side of the van from the area where the kids were playing. Carefully, he opened the side door of the van, looking inside to see what he could learn. A big bag of chocolate sat on the passenger seat, the top open and partially emptied. There was a coil of rope that had the faint scent of old blood and a lingering scent of fear. A shirt had been dropped over something that turned out to be a couple pairs of small handcuffs. He felt himself hissing, now certain just what sort of predator he was dealing with. They'd run into the sick sort of creeps that preyed on kids before… that had actually been how they'd found Laddie. Not that that had been his real name, but he wouldn't ever tell them that name, having been so traumatized by his ordeal.
He heard footsteps, and went airborne again, not wanting to be seen. The man had come back, with a kid following him. The boy looked to be maybe six or seven, with a smile that seemed just a bit too big, too cheerful. Was the boy just one of those appallingly cheerful sorts, or did he have some sort of mental defect? Not that it would probably matter to the child-taker. There was a brief struggle as he handcuffed the boy, tying the extra shirt as a makeshift gag and driving away. David followed, now certain that he would have to kill the guy, and send the boy home, somehow.
Things seemed to work nicely when the van pulled up next to a quiet apartment building. The lights for the parking area seemed to have either burned out or been broken, which would work to the advantage of just about any not quite legal thing. David dropped to the asphalt, certain the man wouldn't see him. He could feel Faith nearby, her Slayerness a hum that he could feel. A couple blocks to the west… good, that might help with getting the boy home safely.
The man opened the door, stepping out of the van, probably intending to drag out the child, whose frightened whimpers could be easily heard. David didn't give him the chance, instead grabbing the man's neck, slamming him into the side of the van hard enough to stun him. He opened the door, lifting the child out and tugging the shirt away from his mouth. Then, he reached down, snapping the chain on the handcuffs.
"Go that way. In a few blocks, you'll find a woman with dark hair, her name's Faith. She can help you get home." He pointed towards the direction that he felt Faith.
"Are you going to make sure the bad man can't… hurt me like he said he would?" Tears filled the boys eyes, and had made tracks down his face.
Trying not to smile too much, David nodded. "I'll make sure he can't hurt you."
Once the boy was safely out of sight, he turned his attentions back to the man in his grasp, eyes pale and inhuman, his fangs ready. "You won't be hurting anyone again. I'll make sure of that."
He loved the taste of fear.
Shortly after that, Faith looked up from the dust of the last vampire that had thought he could take down the Slayer. There was a small, frightened boy with a pair of broken handcuffs on his wrists and tear streaks on his face. "Are… are you Faith?"
"Yeah, I'm Faith. How did you know?" She had a feeling that the kid was just what he appeared to be, but… how did he find her? How did he know her name? Why were there a pair of broken handcuffs on him?
"The blond man told me you were here. He said that you could get me back home safe." The kid looked up at her with big sad eyes, his lip trembling just a little. "There was a bad man who tried to take me away and hurt me."
Faith sucked in a breath, her mind jumping to all sorts of things that 'bad men' could do to kids. "Where's this bad man now?"
"He promised that he wouldn't' be able to hurt me. Then, he broke the chain and told me to find you." The boy looked at her, so lost, so afraid. "Can you help me go home?"
Faith hid her sigh, having a feeling that this might take a while. "Sure, I'll help you get home. But I don't know where you live."
It felt like forever taking the boy home. Faith had just sighed, and put it down to a small miracle that nothing had attacked them on the way, glad that she wouldn't have to explain anything like vampires to the kid. He was collected by a very worried mother, who looked liked she had been working too much and sleeping too little. The warm and sincere thanks for Matt's safe return were almost overwhelming, and she felt sort of good as she left.
She almost didn't want to know what had happened, but she made her way back towards the area that she'd found the boy in. There was a dark parking lot, with a beat up looking van and a pair of police cars and an ambulance, their bright flashing lights adding a surreal note to the place. Faith kept walking, trying not to draw attention to herself. Maybe a block later, she felt a vamp, strong, and right over there. She wasn't at all surprised at who it was. "Hello David."
He was leaning against a light post, the lamp making his pale hair look even paler, almost like a halo. He looked almost pleased about something, and there was a bit of color in his cheeks, and on his lips. "Faith. Nice night, isn't it?"
"I saw the ambulance. Your work?" She frowned a little, not certain that she approved. But if it had been the man who'd tried to take Matt…
David shrugged, a thin smile on his lips. "Hey, a guys got to eat. And there are a few lines… it's not right to hunt kids like that. Now, I've made sure he won't ever do it again."
"You killed him." She felt something inside of her trying to scream, but she wasn't sure what it was saying. Yes, it was bad to kill, that was why vampires needed slain. But she remembered her friend Penny from when she was just a kid, Penny who's step father had been hurting her, who had tried to get help and nobody would do anything… Penny who had killed herself at thirteen, terrified at being pregnant from her step father's idea of games.
"If the police had gotten him, he might not have even gone to jail. If he had, it would have been what, sentenced to thirty, out in three? You really think he would have stopped?" David's voice was low, persuasive.
Faith shivered, hating the fact that David was right. He couldn't be right about his method of dealing with them, because… she didn't want to condone killing people. That would be the first step downwards… "Killing people… that doesn't solve everything, David."
"It solved that problem. I took a look in his van, Faith. This wasn't the first time he'd done this. And he wouldn't have stopped. Now, he is stopped. Can we at least agree on that for tonight?" David looked at her, his eyes the most intense blue. He wasn't trying to work any sort of mind control thingy on her, just… letting her see the emotions in his eyes.
Faith shifted a bit, feeling uncomfortable. "Yeah, we can agree that he's stopped. And that he wouldn't have just stopped because of it being wrong. But… that's it. Good night, David."
Faith turned and walked away, her whole body prickling and tense. She wasn't certain if it was from turning her back on a vampire, or from the whole mess with that child-predator. But… it had certainly raised questions.
End Stroke of Luck.