I don't need you: Embarrassment.
"St...stage two?" Spike stuttered as he spoke, obviously cautious and slightly wary of what it would be. And with good reason, when he found out about Sinco to begin with he had been so emotional he had to come to the Carer. "What's stage two? It's nothing bad is it?"
"No Spike," DL soothed, "It's not bad. Not bad at all."
"You're still going to have mood swings and be really emotional for a while though." Cheryll added. Receiving a glare from Amy, she instantly shut up.
"But, aside from all that, this next stage isn't so hard."
Spike looked at each of the girls in turn, a fearful gaze in his eyes as he asked, "What's stage two?"
* * * * *
Buffy was in the back room of the magic shop working out when she heard Dawn yell excitedly, and decided to go and see what her little sister found so great. When she entered the main shop she almost had the mind to turn around and go straight back to training.
"Hello Spike." She said between a forced smile. "Great to have you back." She turned to the others. "Nice to see you brought him back Higgy." She nodded at the Carer. "Cheryll, Amy." She waved at the other girls. "Thought you'd forgotten about us."
"Not at all." Amy smiled politely back, not quite sure why the slayers cheeriness sounded so forced. "Couldn't forget about the protector of the world and her sidekicks could we?" she muttered to herself, receiving a swift push from Cheryll who could hear her.
Spike hugged Dawn tightly and whispered something in her ear, and the two began a discussion, in which Higgy was sure she heard something about boys, shoes and an upcoming high school dance. She shook her head and began looking around the shop for ingredients.
Giles came out from the basement and looked ready to kill when he came in. "Blast it all to hell! I can't find anything on this poxy 'Sinco' in vampires."
"Why not just ask Higgy?" Cheryll's face lit up when she saw the watcher smile at her.
"Hello girls. Yes that would be an idea Cheryll but I'm afraid you girls haven't been around since we first saw you and you forgot to leave an address." He threw a book onto the nearby table and went behind the counter grabbing a few extra books.
"We like to keep a low profile." Amy grinned back at the man. He was now looking very flustered and was flicking over two books at the same time.
"What do you want to know? I've got all night." The Carer answered and sat on the table, juggling three glass jars, each containing a different colour liquid. "Well, until dawn, then we've got to get Spike home before he turns to dust."
"Well," the watcher began only to be cut off by Xander and Anya entering the shop, with Willow in tow.
"Hey, guys. I see our favourite un-evil vampire is back." Xander quipped. Making Buffy stare at him with a confused look on her tiny face. "Yes I like Spike more than Angel."
"Who wouldn't?" Spike immediately clapped a hand over his mouth and refrained from speaking. His voice had just gone into a growl at the end of the sentence, and it was like he had no control over it. He coughed and tried to speak again, only to whimper and get weird looks from all of the Scoobies, including his Nibblet. He knew if he had been human his face would be red right now.
"I was going to ask what happened after the mood swings, in Sinco. But it seems that Spike has answered that for me." Giles continued ignoring the vampire's look of utter embarrassment.
"Yes." Higgy uncorked one of the bottles she had been juggling and sniffed it. Making a repulsive face she continued. "The next stage for vampires is when their throats and mouths begin to mature. Being a vampire, Spike's main form of self-defence is to vamp out and bite at the attacker. Also, as you know, vampires have to bite to feed and bite to turn people. "
"So why is his voice changing then? I mean that's not used to kill or turn or fight is it?" Willow questioned, seeing the flaw in Higgy's explanation.
"No, you're right. Vampire's voices need to mature so they can communicate. It's not really used so much now, but when vampires were really common, they would have territories and usually they would hunt in packs, much like wolves today."
"So, why don't they just talk before hand? Like make a plan?" Anya suggested, making Spike roll his eyes, although he didn't speak in fear that his voice wouldn't work again.
"Because humans are extremely unpredictable creatures." Amy butted in. "One minute, you'll have them running for their lives, the next, they've run around a corner and have a whole army waiting for you. Vamps use the ancient language of Vampiric to communicate in a way that humans cannot understand. That way, when they hunt, if a human does something unpredictable they can change the plan while chasing it down."
"Cool!"
"Dawn! That is not cool. It's disgusting. Vampire's are disgusting." Receiving a hurt look from Spike and making him go straight over and stand by Cheryll who was exploring the shop.
"And it's not only that. Vamps use their voices in all different sorts of ways. They growl when angry, purr when content and different noises make a huge difference in vampire families."
"How?" Giles asked, again being the boring watcher.
"Well, say a childe, not yet reached Sinco, went out on his own. Daybreak comes and goes and still the childe isn't back. By now the sire would be out on the streets searching for his lost childe. After a while if he still doesn't find him he'll call."
"Call?"
"Yep. Sires call for their childe when they get lost. And if a childe gets into trouble, they usually call for their sire. It's really sweet when you see it. William used to do it all the time when he got cornered. He would cry like a little lost kitten after trying to avoid the sun all day, and Angelus would hear him, come sweeping in out of nowhere and hold him so tightly you couldn't tell if they were one person of two. Then Angelus would pick up his baby and carry him all the way home, lay him on his bed and whisper how sorry he was that he hadn't found him sooner." Amy stared out of the window, lost in her memories while the Scoobies all stared at her in confusion, and Higgy just began juggling the bottles again.
A shuddering breath and whimper from the corner of the room brought them back to reality and Amy continued.
"Any way. Vampire's voices mature through Sinco. That's why master vampires and fledglings sound so different. After Sinco, a vampire's growl is twice as loud and as low. They can reach frequencies we can only dream of hearing." Amy finished her speech and went over to Red and Spike to see what was wrong. Not even over there for a minute she turned back and mouthed something to Higgy who nodded in reply and watched as the other two took Spike out of the door, and by the looks of things, home.
"What's up with him?" Anya asked as the door swung shut.
"Just some minor discomforts."
"Like?"
"Well, it's not only his voice that changes. So do his fangs. Sinco is when a vampire becomes, like an adult. It's usually the time a vampire leaves their family and goes out to make it on their own, and make their own family."
"Therefore having to sire more people..." Willow followed.
"And have stronger teeth to do so." Higgy finished. Glad that the others understood. "So Spike's mouth is going to be very sore for a while. So if he gets really grouchy and grumpy, don't hold it against him. His fangs will get longer and he may not be able to control them. They've already started to hurt, so it wont be long until they bleed." She sighed and jumped up from the table, putting the bottles back and making her way to the door.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a vampire to care for."
"St...stage two?" Spike stuttered as he spoke, obviously cautious and slightly wary of what it would be. And with good reason, when he found out about Sinco to begin with he had been so emotional he had to come to the Carer. "What's stage two? It's nothing bad is it?"
"No Spike," DL soothed, "It's not bad. Not bad at all."
"You're still going to have mood swings and be really emotional for a while though." Cheryll added. Receiving a glare from Amy, she instantly shut up.
"But, aside from all that, this next stage isn't so hard."
Spike looked at each of the girls in turn, a fearful gaze in his eyes as he asked, "What's stage two?"
* * * * *
Buffy was in the back room of the magic shop working out when she heard Dawn yell excitedly, and decided to go and see what her little sister found so great. When she entered the main shop she almost had the mind to turn around and go straight back to training.
"Hello Spike." She said between a forced smile. "Great to have you back." She turned to the others. "Nice to see you brought him back Higgy." She nodded at the Carer. "Cheryll, Amy." She waved at the other girls. "Thought you'd forgotten about us."
"Not at all." Amy smiled politely back, not quite sure why the slayers cheeriness sounded so forced. "Couldn't forget about the protector of the world and her sidekicks could we?" she muttered to herself, receiving a swift push from Cheryll who could hear her.
Spike hugged Dawn tightly and whispered something in her ear, and the two began a discussion, in which Higgy was sure she heard something about boys, shoes and an upcoming high school dance. She shook her head and began looking around the shop for ingredients.
Giles came out from the basement and looked ready to kill when he came in. "Blast it all to hell! I can't find anything on this poxy 'Sinco' in vampires."
"Why not just ask Higgy?" Cheryll's face lit up when she saw the watcher smile at her.
"Hello girls. Yes that would be an idea Cheryll but I'm afraid you girls haven't been around since we first saw you and you forgot to leave an address." He threw a book onto the nearby table and went behind the counter grabbing a few extra books.
"We like to keep a low profile." Amy grinned back at the man. He was now looking very flustered and was flicking over two books at the same time.
"What do you want to know? I've got all night." The Carer answered and sat on the table, juggling three glass jars, each containing a different colour liquid. "Well, until dawn, then we've got to get Spike home before he turns to dust."
"Well," the watcher began only to be cut off by Xander and Anya entering the shop, with Willow in tow.
"Hey, guys. I see our favourite un-evil vampire is back." Xander quipped. Making Buffy stare at him with a confused look on her tiny face. "Yes I like Spike more than Angel."
"Who wouldn't?" Spike immediately clapped a hand over his mouth and refrained from speaking. His voice had just gone into a growl at the end of the sentence, and it was like he had no control over it. He coughed and tried to speak again, only to whimper and get weird looks from all of the Scoobies, including his Nibblet. He knew if he had been human his face would be red right now.
"I was going to ask what happened after the mood swings, in Sinco. But it seems that Spike has answered that for me." Giles continued ignoring the vampire's look of utter embarrassment.
"Yes." Higgy uncorked one of the bottles she had been juggling and sniffed it. Making a repulsive face she continued. "The next stage for vampires is when their throats and mouths begin to mature. Being a vampire, Spike's main form of self-defence is to vamp out and bite at the attacker. Also, as you know, vampires have to bite to feed and bite to turn people. "
"So why is his voice changing then? I mean that's not used to kill or turn or fight is it?" Willow questioned, seeing the flaw in Higgy's explanation.
"No, you're right. Vampire's voices need to mature so they can communicate. It's not really used so much now, but when vampires were really common, they would have territories and usually they would hunt in packs, much like wolves today."
"So, why don't they just talk before hand? Like make a plan?" Anya suggested, making Spike roll his eyes, although he didn't speak in fear that his voice wouldn't work again.
"Because humans are extremely unpredictable creatures." Amy butted in. "One minute, you'll have them running for their lives, the next, they've run around a corner and have a whole army waiting for you. Vamps use the ancient language of Vampiric to communicate in a way that humans cannot understand. That way, when they hunt, if a human does something unpredictable they can change the plan while chasing it down."
"Cool!"
"Dawn! That is not cool. It's disgusting. Vampire's are disgusting." Receiving a hurt look from Spike and making him go straight over and stand by Cheryll who was exploring the shop.
"And it's not only that. Vamps use their voices in all different sorts of ways. They growl when angry, purr when content and different noises make a huge difference in vampire families."
"How?" Giles asked, again being the boring watcher.
"Well, say a childe, not yet reached Sinco, went out on his own. Daybreak comes and goes and still the childe isn't back. By now the sire would be out on the streets searching for his lost childe. After a while if he still doesn't find him he'll call."
"Call?"
"Yep. Sires call for their childe when they get lost. And if a childe gets into trouble, they usually call for their sire. It's really sweet when you see it. William used to do it all the time when he got cornered. He would cry like a little lost kitten after trying to avoid the sun all day, and Angelus would hear him, come sweeping in out of nowhere and hold him so tightly you couldn't tell if they were one person of two. Then Angelus would pick up his baby and carry him all the way home, lay him on his bed and whisper how sorry he was that he hadn't found him sooner." Amy stared out of the window, lost in her memories while the Scoobies all stared at her in confusion, and Higgy just began juggling the bottles again.
A shuddering breath and whimper from the corner of the room brought them back to reality and Amy continued.
"Any way. Vampire's voices mature through Sinco. That's why master vampires and fledglings sound so different. After Sinco, a vampire's growl is twice as loud and as low. They can reach frequencies we can only dream of hearing." Amy finished her speech and went over to Red and Spike to see what was wrong. Not even over there for a minute she turned back and mouthed something to Higgy who nodded in reply and watched as the other two took Spike out of the door, and by the looks of things, home.
"What's up with him?" Anya asked as the door swung shut.
"Just some minor discomforts."
"Like?"
"Well, it's not only his voice that changes. So do his fangs. Sinco is when a vampire becomes, like an adult. It's usually the time a vampire leaves their family and goes out to make it on their own, and make their own family."
"Therefore having to sire more people..." Willow followed.
"And have stronger teeth to do so." Higgy finished. Glad that the others understood. "So Spike's mouth is going to be very sore for a while. So if he gets really grouchy and grumpy, don't hold it against him. His fangs will get longer and he may not be able to control them. They've already started to hurt, so it wont be long until they bleed." She sighed and jumped up from the table, putting the bottles back and making her way to the door.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a vampire to care for."