A Cat's Tale 10: Worlds Collide
Author: Lucinda
rating: pg, pg 13
Main Characters: Sabertooth, Willow
Disclaimer: I do not own Sabertooth or anyone else form X-Men, I do not own Willow.
Distribution: If you have permission for Family Tree or one of the earlier Cat's Tale, yes. Otherwise, please ask.
After dinner, Willow and Hans 'please, call me Grandpa like Chris and Lili do' Dane made their way into the sitting room. Willow started asking a lot of questions about his genetic research, showing her usual near obsessive thirst for details. As she pressed for details on when he got interested in sorting out genomes and why, Chris and Lili backed slowly away from the doorway, their eyes wide.
"She's smart. Soaks up information fast too." Vic's voice rumbled from slightly behind the twins, and they both jumped.
"umm... you startled us." Chris' voice was a bit apologetic.
Lili was eyeing him thoughtfully. "Are you really over two hundred years old?"
He gave a small grunt. Willow's cousins were a bit afraid of him. "Yes, but I can't remember most of it. Someone else she knows knows that I was around then..." His words trailed off, as if he was trying to figure out if they had made any sense to the girls.
Chris spoke, her words slow and puzzled. "Who would she know that's over two hundred... was this someone even there, or just looking at records?"
The cousins went upstairs, muttering something about evil homework, and someone named Green who loved to make them suffer. It took a moment to realize that they actually just meant a teacher who gave a lot of homework... algebra homework. Not actually a sadistic person who enjoyed torturing girls, or some sort of demon, just an enhtusiastic teacher.
It was sort of amusing. Had he ever had so few worries? After a moments envy of the girls, he realized that they weren't entirely without troubles, just without some of the ones that had made things miserable for him. They knew exactly what their names were and where they came from, and they were teens with no influence. They looked entirely human, and probably had no more strength than a human would, even though the one was a mutant and the other might be. He couldn't quite manage any sympathy for the boyfriend problem though.
He went to rest outside on a tree, finding it a soothing perch. Maybe he was just an overgrown, odd-looking cat in a few ways. In that case, he would be Willow's cat, which was actually a bit of an unsettling thought. He'd been domesticated. He let his mind dwell on that for a while, wondering how it had happened and if it was quite as terrible as he'd feared. His attention was caught by a sudden melodramatic line from one of the cousins.
"Fear the House of Static! Nobody gets out unfrazzled!" Chris' sounded like the announcer of some old, corny horror movie, the sort with lame plots, cheesy special effects, and melodramatic lines.
They collapsed into laughter, and from science and mutant inheritance, they slid into a discussion on old horror movies. Debating the relative merits of a slew of cult classics, and shredding their special effects to mirthful bits.
Inside the bedroom, the three girls thought no more on the ever-present static. But down the hall, Vic had been listening. The distance of the hallway was no impediment to him, not with his keen senses. He'd met mutants with many different abilities, one of them, the X-Man Storm, having the ability to call lightning bolts. Wasn't lightning just very, very big static from the sky? What if the static wasn't just a matter of the house, but was actually a sign of someone's mutation?
He smiled into the darkness, certain that as long as he stayed with Willow, his life wouldn't be boring. She lived over a place of demons, some of which were extremely challenging, and had a knack for getting involved in troublesome and dangerous situations. She was still plotting to possibly break into the house of some boy, the sort-of-ex of one of her cousins. Fighting demons in Sunnydale, and breaking and entering in San Diego... Willow was certainly going to keep things interesting. Even if she might had domesticated... no, tamed sounded a lot better, tamed him.
He wondered about the whole hereditary thing that she'd discussed with the old man. About mutations being passed down in families. Had he been given is abilities by a different parent, or were they no more than the product of random changes? Had he left children somewhere with these altered genes? Did he even have children? There was so much of his life that he couldn't remember, but he was certain that he'd had sex, most likely quite often. Sex was what lead to children, after all, so it was possible that he had offspring out there in the world. Poor kids.
"Ummm... actually, there are. Vampires at least, since I haven't run into any werewolves, but if vampires are real, there could be werewolves too." Willow's voice was quiet, and a bit worried. It dragged his attention back to the girls' conversation.
Chris' voice was a soft startled whisper, almost like a plea. "What, really real? Like... Dracula is out there type real?"
"I don't think he's really out there. And none of the one's I've met can turn into bats or wolves, but yeah, really real. And dangerous, on account of eating people." Willow's voice had just a hint of doubt.
Chris spoke again, and there was a wispy scent of fear/nervousness drifting down the hall from both of the cousins. "How do you know that vampires are real?"
Willow sighed. "Well, Sunnydale isn't just a quiet little town. It's little, but not quiet. There's something called a Hellmouth, this weird mystical evil power. It sort of draws evil things to it, like vampires and demons. There's a special person who has a destiny to fight them, and her name's Buffy... my friend Buffy. I sort of found out accidentally. But vampires are real, and if you're ever in Sunnydale, I can take you out for some hands on vampire hunting. Umm... quick tip, never invite some stranger into your house after dark. Vampires really do need a spoken invitation to enter someone's house. They don't reflect, and contrary to Lost Boys, crosses and holy water do work, the only thing garlic does is smell really bad. Vampires have a better sense of smell than humans, and they're really strong."
"Vampires are real?" Lili sounded worried, and as if she was trying not to believe.
Willow sounded sad and a bit wistful. "Yes, very real. As real as mutants, but without the publicity. And a lot more consistent in what they do. Super strong, faster, better senses, and that whole blood drinking no sunlight thing. I just... I want you to know how to be careful. I haven't got a lot of people that I care about, I don't want to loose you."
She was trying to make them aware of the dangers out there, the things that she fought against. Red didn't want her cousins to get eaten because she hadn't warned them. Nice of her, and just the sort of thing that he was starting to expect of her. With a sigh, he tried to relax, having the feeling that this would be a long talk for the girls.
It made him smile, realizing all over again just how much she cared about her people. How much she worried about their safety. Settling back, he was pleased that magneto had asked him to keep her safe. Otherwise, he would never have met her.
end Worlds Collide
Author: Lucinda
rating: pg, pg 13
Main Characters: Sabertooth, Willow
Disclaimer: I do not own Sabertooth or anyone else form X-Men, I do not own Willow.
Distribution: If you have permission for Family Tree or one of the earlier Cat's Tale, yes. Otherwise, please ask.
After dinner, Willow and Hans 'please, call me Grandpa like Chris and Lili do' Dane made their way into the sitting room. Willow started asking a lot of questions about his genetic research, showing her usual near obsessive thirst for details. As she pressed for details on when he got interested in sorting out genomes and why, Chris and Lili backed slowly away from the doorway, their eyes wide.
"She's smart. Soaks up information fast too." Vic's voice rumbled from slightly behind the twins, and they both jumped.
"umm... you startled us." Chris' voice was a bit apologetic.
Lili was eyeing him thoughtfully. "Are you really over two hundred years old?"
He gave a small grunt. Willow's cousins were a bit afraid of him. "Yes, but I can't remember most of it. Someone else she knows knows that I was around then..." His words trailed off, as if he was trying to figure out if they had made any sense to the girls.
Chris spoke, her words slow and puzzled. "Who would she know that's over two hundred... was this someone even there, or just looking at records?"
The cousins went upstairs, muttering something about evil homework, and someone named Green who loved to make them suffer. It took a moment to realize that they actually just meant a teacher who gave a lot of homework... algebra homework. Not actually a sadistic person who enjoyed torturing girls, or some sort of demon, just an enhtusiastic teacher.
It was sort of amusing. Had he ever had so few worries? After a moments envy of the girls, he realized that they weren't entirely without troubles, just without some of the ones that had made things miserable for him. They knew exactly what their names were and where they came from, and they were teens with no influence. They looked entirely human, and probably had no more strength than a human would, even though the one was a mutant and the other might be. He couldn't quite manage any sympathy for the boyfriend problem though.
He went to rest outside on a tree, finding it a soothing perch. Maybe he was just an overgrown, odd-looking cat in a few ways. In that case, he would be Willow's cat, which was actually a bit of an unsettling thought. He'd been domesticated. He let his mind dwell on that for a while, wondering how it had happened and if it was quite as terrible as he'd feared. His attention was caught by a sudden melodramatic line from one of the cousins.
"Fear the House of Static! Nobody gets out unfrazzled!" Chris' sounded like the announcer of some old, corny horror movie, the sort with lame plots, cheesy special effects, and melodramatic lines.
They collapsed into laughter, and from science and mutant inheritance, they slid into a discussion on old horror movies. Debating the relative merits of a slew of cult classics, and shredding their special effects to mirthful bits.
Inside the bedroom, the three girls thought no more on the ever-present static. But down the hall, Vic had been listening. The distance of the hallway was no impediment to him, not with his keen senses. He'd met mutants with many different abilities, one of them, the X-Man Storm, having the ability to call lightning bolts. Wasn't lightning just very, very big static from the sky? What if the static wasn't just a matter of the house, but was actually a sign of someone's mutation?
He smiled into the darkness, certain that as long as he stayed with Willow, his life wouldn't be boring. She lived over a place of demons, some of which were extremely challenging, and had a knack for getting involved in troublesome and dangerous situations. She was still plotting to possibly break into the house of some boy, the sort-of-ex of one of her cousins. Fighting demons in Sunnydale, and breaking and entering in San Diego... Willow was certainly going to keep things interesting. Even if she might had domesticated... no, tamed sounded a lot better, tamed him.
He wondered about the whole hereditary thing that she'd discussed with the old man. About mutations being passed down in families. Had he been given is abilities by a different parent, or were they no more than the product of random changes? Had he left children somewhere with these altered genes? Did he even have children? There was so much of his life that he couldn't remember, but he was certain that he'd had sex, most likely quite often. Sex was what lead to children, after all, so it was possible that he had offspring out there in the world. Poor kids.
"Ummm... actually, there are. Vampires at least, since I haven't run into any werewolves, but if vampires are real, there could be werewolves too." Willow's voice was quiet, and a bit worried. It dragged his attention back to the girls' conversation.
Chris' voice was a soft startled whisper, almost like a plea. "What, really real? Like... Dracula is out there type real?"
"I don't think he's really out there. And none of the one's I've met can turn into bats or wolves, but yeah, really real. And dangerous, on account of eating people." Willow's voice had just a hint of doubt.
Chris spoke again, and there was a wispy scent of fear/nervousness drifting down the hall from both of the cousins. "How do you know that vampires are real?"
Willow sighed. "Well, Sunnydale isn't just a quiet little town. It's little, but not quiet. There's something called a Hellmouth, this weird mystical evil power. It sort of draws evil things to it, like vampires and demons. There's a special person who has a destiny to fight them, and her name's Buffy... my friend Buffy. I sort of found out accidentally. But vampires are real, and if you're ever in Sunnydale, I can take you out for some hands on vampire hunting. Umm... quick tip, never invite some stranger into your house after dark. Vampires really do need a spoken invitation to enter someone's house. They don't reflect, and contrary to Lost Boys, crosses and holy water do work, the only thing garlic does is smell really bad. Vampires have a better sense of smell than humans, and they're really strong."
"Vampires are real?" Lili sounded worried, and as if she was trying not to believe.
Willow sounded sad and a bit wistful. "Yes, very real. As real as mutants, but without the publicity. And a lot more consistent in what they do. Super strong, faster, better senses, and that whole blood drinking no sunlight thing. I just... I want you to know how to be careful. I haven't got a lot of people that I care about, I don't want to loose you."
She was trying to make them aware of the dangers out there, the things that she fought against. Red didn't want her cousins to get eaten because she hadn't warned them. Nice of her, and just the sort of thing that he was starting to expect of her. With a sigh, he tried to relax, having the feeling that this would be a long talk for the girls.
It made him smile, realizing all over again just how much she cared about her people. How much she worried about their safety. Settling back, he was pleased that magneto had asked him to keep her safe. Otherwise, he would never have met her.
end Worlds Collide
