Disclaimer: Plot belongs to Kat, aka kitty-kat12, canon characters belong to Joss, and Loki, Evelyn, Aleke, Diana, and Cealyn are officially mine! Yay-ness!

Author's Note: Aleke is pronounced "Ah-LEE-kee"

Whispers In The Dark

Chapter One: Earth Heart

"Wanna tell the kids they'll never know

How much I love to see them smile…"

—Yellowcard

A sunny day was so rare and so coveted by Cealyn. She envied the children who were normal, the ones with no mystical heritage, no supernatural involvement, or, as she commonly worded it, 'normal'. But today was special.

She watched, mesmerized by a simple violet peaking from the short, blunt stalks of grass, dew still coating the world, sparkling in the early morning light. It had been so long since she'd been outside in the sunlight, and she was thoroughly enjoying every minute of lying in the most earthly beautiful place Cealyn had seen.

Most of the park was wild and overgrown, cines of ivy crawling up the oaks and pines, violets, daisies, and dark red, almost black, roses taking control of the place. Peony bushes dotted the park, among abandoned swing sets and teeter-totters.

And here the six-year-old gazed in wonder as she lay on her stomach, her mother, Willow, her aunt Dawn, and uncle Connor not too far away.

Cealyn's auburn hair was a shade too dark to look natural, but indeed it was, and it stood out against near deathly pale skin. It evidently hadn't seen the sun too many times. That was the cause of days slept in rooms with windows blocked by blackout curtains, and nights spent traveling and learning from what she knew as her family.

Connor approached Cealyn; causing her to rise from her spot, "Is it time to go already?" he sensed the disappointment in the child's voice.

"No." She smiled as he took her tiny hand, leading her through the unused park. Leafy green vines draped from upper pole of the swing set, in which the pair sat. Connor inevitably had a soft spot for the child, and grew to love her as if she was his own. He suddenly scooped up a handful of earth and studied it. "Ceal," he began, using her commonly used nickname. "Did you know that when you lie down on the land, you can feel its heart beating?"

"No," Cealyn answered, using a tone mirroring Connor's as he had said it. "I want to feel it." She whispered, getting off of the swing with him.

He took her hand again, leading her to a rather grassy place nearer to Dawn and Willow, and lay on his stomach, motioning her to lay down, too. Cealyn smoothed her already dirty jeans and knelt down. Then, like a caterpillar, she slowly inched flat next to him, their eyes focused on each other. The warm sun pressed on one of her cheeks, and the cool, wet earth against the other.

The singular sound of her giggles filled the air.

"Shhh," Connor urged gently, and she swallowed her laughter.

Cealyn waited and remained silent, watching Connor's striking, usually brooding blue eyes.

Then she felt it. A soft thumping at first, then stronger. A resounding thud against her petite body. She loved it.

And after what seemed like forever, another hand touched hers, and Cealyn rose.

"I'm sorry, Ceal," Her mother apologized sincerely. "We better get going."

"Loki!"

Loki Jeshickah Allodola growled a rather unflattering expletive under her breath. She hated being interrupted while she was in meditation; she was trying to concentrate, and concentration required silence. Aloud, she threatened, "This better be good, Evelyn."

"Unfortunately, it isn't. I've received word and conclusive evidence that Aleke was killed last night. By SEA. She died at the gun of Diana Osbourne herself." The young Slayer, Evelyn, said this all in one breath.

Loki, who had been sitting, was now standing, fists clenched. "Leave," she muttered incoherently. Evelyn obeyed. She was one who did not enjoy her leader's company when she was in a bad mood.

As soon as the door had closed, the only piece of furniture in the room, a simple wooden dinner table chair, was thrown and lodged into one of the white walls.

It was one of Loki's many flaws, but this one stood out the most; a fierce, fiery temper. Combined with her Slayer powers, it was rather devastating. She learned with the years on how to keep reserved, but in a situation like this, Loki had no control. Aleke really was large loss, her being one of the best of the best of her team of assassins and bounty hunters. And Diana killed her!

Loki had no stronger desire than to chop that damn woman's head off. Many, if not all, of her Slayers had the same wish. Diana was responsible for all of the thousands of deaths of demons, witches, Slayers, and other mystical beings, quite a few of those being Loki's friends and family.

That was why she was one of the original members of Frozen Sky, an organization devoted to Slayers, where they were housed here, in Frozen Cloud, as it was called, and taken care of, as long as you were willing to be hired for assassinating a SEA agent (among others) or two.

Loki was their leader. She took over after the original founder, her idol, had taken the gristly fate that most Slayers received.

And the founder's name was forever in the mind of every girl in Frozen Cloud.

Buffy Summers.

DING. DING. DING. DING.

Faith was still in just her underwear and an oversized t-shirt as she reluctantly answered the door, surprised that Dawn, Connor, Willow, and… well, she was sure who the young girl was, but she didn't have a name to go with the face.

"Sorry," Dawn spoke first. "You have a really cool doorbell."

"Uh—can we stay with you for a day or so?" Willow asked uncertainly.

"Uh…" Faith yawned, rubbing her eyes. "Sure…"

Author's Note: Ah! Another evilly short chapter, I know. I promise they'll get longer, but this is all my muse had to offer, at the moment.