A Cat's Tale 11: Running Plots
Author: Lucinda
rating: pg
Main Characters: Sabertooth, Willow
Disclaimer: I do not own Sabertooth or anyone else from 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.
note: set during FT 12, One Family's Bonds during Vic & Willow's morning run.
Vic was looking out the window while his fingers drummed an erratic rhythm on the sill. His fingers stilled as Willow came down the stairs, dressed in the soft and comfortable clothing that she wore to excercise in.
"You look a bit restless... Morning run sound good to you? I just want to leave a note so nobody freaks out." Willow's voice lacked her usual cheer, as if something had pulled the vibrancy out of her.
He glanced at her, a small frown on his face. "There were bad dreams. And too much static everywhere."
Willow stifled a giggle, barely. "Fear the house of static... Sounds like everyone had bad dreams. I know Chrys and Lili had them all night... and you probably heard them waking up too."
He gave a small nod. He hadn't liked those dreams, even if they were fading away as he moved. They had been full of pain, and rejection, and people laughing at him, screaming that he was a freak. There had also been a small dark room that smelled of damp soil and vegetables... His snarled a bit, trying to hurry away whatever forgetting wakefulness brought. "Ready?"
Putting the paper on the table, anchored by a coffee mug, she opened the door. "Ready. Let's go get some fresh... well, not so staticky air."
They began their morning run, the movement warming their muscles, soothing his uneasiness. He focused instead on Willow, on keeping his pace slow enough that she wouldn't lag behind, listening to her even breathing. He would rather pay attention to real things, physical things that he could do something about than wrestle with the meaning of dreams.
Willow made a few of the small noises that indicated she was thinking before she spoke, her voice soft and almost hesitant. "Vic? Did anyone... or maybe everyone else in the house have bad or unsettling dreams last night?"
"Yeah. Lots of waking up and they weren't happy dreams. Can't say what they did dream about, but they didn't like it." He was looking at her, certain she had an idea. Maybe an answer to the whole mess.
"I think... well, I remember that one of Xavier's people is a telepath, so she can look into people's minds or influence their thoughts. What if there's an empath or telepath in the house? If there was, and they had a bad dream or bad feelings... maybe they sort of shared the feelings with everyone else? Sort of a projected misery?"
He frowned a bit as he pondered the idea. "We all had bad dreams because there's an unhappy mind walker? Can't they keep it inside?"
Willow looked at him, and gave a small grin, intended to be reassuring. "Not if it's Chrys or Lili. They would have only recently had it develop, so the wouldn't have had time to learn how to keep it inside."
He nodded, and they continued their run in relative quiet. He wondered how long someone had been a mind walker, and if they whispered into a persons thoughts or just twisted their emotions, leading them into things that they hadn't planned, hadn't wanted. Hmm... a bit of bitterness there. Had he known a mind-walker before? He must have, but when? Back in the forgotten past, how much had he done, what had he known? Would he recognize the man he'd once been?
She sighed, apparently thinking about everything. About the complications in her cousins lives, and her need to help them fix everything. Her need to help people in her home town, to fight vampires and demons, which could actually be quite fun, in his experience. Probably thinking about her friends, Amy the nice one, Fluffy the Slayer, and That Boy. Maybe even thinking about the vampire that had known him before, Angel.
"Tonight, we have to go pay a visit to Brian Alvarez. We need to find out exactly what's going on with him, and then we probably need to feed Lili strawberry ice cream." Her voice barely trembled, something no normal person would have caught, but there was a bit of nervousness in her scent.
"Sounds like fun." Vic had a hint of a smile as he spoke. Maybe he would even get to hurt something. Probably not the boy, or his parents, but... maybe something. Were there vampires in San Diego?
End ACT 11
Author: Lucinda
rating: pg
Main Characters: Sabertooth, Willow
Disclaimer: I do not own Sabertooth or anyone else from 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.
note: set during FT 12, One Family's Bonds during Vic & Willow's morning run.
Vic was looking out the window while his fingers drummed an erratic rhythm on the sill. His fingers stilled as Willow came down the stairs, dressed in the soft and comfortable clothing that she wore to excercise in.
"You look a bit restless... Morning run sound good to you? I just want to leave a note so nobody freaks out." Willow's voice lacked her usual cheer, as if something had pulled the vibrancy out of her.
He glanced at her, a small frown on his face. "There were bad dreams. And too much static everywhere."
Willow stifled a giggle, barely. "Fear the house of static... Sounds like everyone had bad dreams. I know Chrys and Lili had them all night... and you probably heard them waking up too."
He gave a small nod. He hadn't liked those dreams, even if they were fading away as he moved. They had been full of pain, and rejection, and people laughing at him, screaming that he was a freak. There had also been a small dark room that smelled of damp soil and vegetables... His snarled a bit, trying to hurry away whatever forgetting wakefulness brought. "Ready?"
Putting the paper on the table, anchored by a coffee mug, she opened the door. "Ready. Let's go get some fresh... well, not so staticky air."
They began their morning run, the movement warming their muscles, soothing his uneasiness. He focused instead on Willow, on keeping his pace slow enough that she wouldn't lag behind, listening to her even breathing. He would rather pay attention to real things, physical things that he could do something about than wrestle with the meaning of dreams.
Willow made a few of the small noises that indicated she was thinking before she spoke, her voice soft and almost hesitant. "Vic? Did anyone... or maybe everyone else in the house have bad or unsettling dreams last night?"
"Yeah. Lots of waking up and they weren't happy dreams. Can't say what they did dream about, but they didn't like it." He was looking at her, certain she had an idea. Maybe an answer to the whole mess.
"I think... well, I remember that one of Xavier's people is a telepath, so she can look into people's minds or influence their thoughts. What if there's an empath or telepath in the house? If there was, and they had a bad dream or bad feelings... maybe they sort of shared the feelings with everyone else? Sort of a projected misery?"
He frowned a bit as he pondered the idea. "We all had bad dreams because there's an unhappy mind walker? Can't they keep it inside?"
Willow looked at him, and gave a small grin, intended to be reassuring. "Not if it's Chrys or Lili. They would have only recently had it develop, so the wouldn't have had time to learn how to keep it inside."
He nodded, and they continued their run in relative quiet. He wondered how long someone had been a mind walker, and if they whispered into a persons thoughts or just twisted their emotions, leading them into things that they hadn't planned, hadn't wanted. Hmm... a bit of bitterness there. Had he known a mind-walker before? He must have, but when? Back in the forgotten past, how much had he done, what had he known? Would he recognize the man he'd once been?
She sighed, apparently thinking about everything. About the complications in her cousins lives, and her need to help them fix everything. Her need to help people in her home town, to fight vampires and demons, which could actually be quite fun, in his experience. Probably thinking about her friends, Amy the nice one, Fluffy the Slayer, and That Boy. Maybe even thinking about the vampire that had known him before, Angel.
"Tonight, we have to go pay a visit to Brian Alvarez. We need to find out exactly what's going on with him, and then we probably need to feed Lili strawberry ice cream." Her voice barely trembled, something no normal person would have caught, but there was a bit of nervousness in her scent.
"Sounds like fun." Vic had a hint of a smile as he spoke. Maybe he would even get to hurt something. Probably not the boy, or his parents, but... maybe something. Were there vampires in San Diego?
End ACT 11
