Title: LOST
Author: syrai
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Series: Envenom
Timeline: post Chosen
after 'weapon'
Characters: original characters
Prompt: #038 outcast
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: occasional curse words
Word count: 2072
Status: -fin as in finished
Summary: She had become a slayer...

Author's Notes: Well. Blah. Continued in the next prompt :)

LOST

As so many times before, the street seemed fairly abandoned at first glance, but after a bit more careful examination, it was easy to tell the difference. The street, it was anything but empty; she could sense them even though she couldn't see or hear them anywhere. Still, they were definitely there, lurking, hiding… trying to escape.

From her.

Fuckers.

"Great," Rhian snorted in annoyance managing to suppress the loud and highly frustrated sigh tickling her insides, wanting to be expressed. If there was no one there trying to slit her throat and rape her, in said order most of the time, because they thought she was some naive school girl wandering around, trying to find the night's fuck, then there was only one thing it could mean.

They knew who she was.

Well, naturally she had expected it to happen sooner or later, but she had honestly thought it would take a little bit longer for them to realise she was an actual threat instead of a fucking joke told in the safe houses' waiting rooms. Gossip from one nightwalker to another.

Yeah, have you heard about that one bitch who runs around the city and tries to kill us? Fucking maniac. Yeah, yeah, that's the one. I heard her family got butchered and she's just trying to be the good little school girl she is, avenging their deaths. Doesn't know what's up against. I'd say, we go find her and have a good time with the little bitch…

She had heard some of the first rumours that had circled around the city, but it hadn't taken more than few weeks for them to stop, completely… she'd honestly thought they'd stop talking after she had proved herself to be something more than just a fucking little school girl. Guess she should've known better.

Yeah, shit happens. It wasn't about her at all, was it?

No, she was ready to bet her little fucked up head on that one. Okay, she had made a mistake... once again. Was it her fault she always underestimated Teagan and his right of determination? It was so fucking easy for him to lay his influence on others, to make them do whatever it was he he wanted them to. They feared him and had every reason to do so. He had the whole fucking Triad behind him, all their vampire power and resources and whatnot... but what the hell did she have?

Nothing. Nothing, but his favorite knife she'd stolen from him while packing her stuff and leaving. It didn't even begin to compensate all the pain and suffering he'd brought her and she hadn't expected it to, but at least it was something. She never let it out of her sight, not willingly, and strangely enough, it was comforting to feel it against her ankle, hidden by her brown boot, waiting to be reclaimed by its rightful owner.

And he'd come back, just as much for the knife as for her. She wasn't sure if that was supposed to flatter or insult her, and so she didn't really think about it.

Sometimes she felt he was already there, though. It seemed no matter where she went, he always found his way there too, but only few steps behind her. Was he playing with her? Letting her believe she was doing good, she was being fucking invincible and then, just like that, he'd come and grab her, lock her up. When she'd least expect it, he'd be there, laughing and mocking. Winning, again. False sense of security, maybe that was what it was all about.

She had credit them for a job well done; the Triad really knew how to train its little blood hounds.

Not that she had much from what to draw the said conclusion, since Teagan had always carefully kept that side of his life apart from their shared one. But she'd seen enough; she'd seen both Teagan and Finnegan in action and it'd told her pretty well what the Triad wanted from its members, how they were supposed to be. Plus, she'd met Rhys, once, and just that single meeting had spoken loud and clear.

The thing that bothered her the most was that if Teagan hadn't... if... she bit back the tears, refusing to cry for him. Never again.

The bottom line was, if he hadn't done it, betrayed her like that, she would've already been one of them. He probably didn't even realise it, fucking solange pissant.

She would've joined them, because it was the only option Rhys had given her and at the time, she would've done anything for her lover. Rhys had demanded a meeting and in the end Teagan had had no other choice but to finally bring her in to meet his boss. He'd been commanded to leave the room and he'd given her a hesitating look and she'd nodded, nodded even though she'd been so fucking scared. But she'd nodded, because she didn't want to cause Teagan any trouble and he had left the room after kissing her forehead gently.

During that meeting it had been made clear that Rhys was ready to make a deal simply out of respect towards Teagan. He'd explained sounding like a true professional how Rhian had nothing but two options. If she didn't join them and take an oath to always do what was best for the Triad, to serve and protect it, well, then they'd eliminate her with or without Teagan's consent.

If things had gone differently... I would be one of those I hunt.

Glancing around, trying to catch a glimpse of something – anything at this point, really, just something to kill and slaughter to take her mind off things she didn't want to be thinking of -, but seeing nothing but empty bottles and papers rolling in the wind only fed her growing irritation.

It was fucking annoying; here she was, trying to kill the goddamned things and make a mess of their pathetic existences, but instead of defending themselves… instead of attacking her and trying to kick her pretty little traitor ass for all the things she had done to their kinds, to her kinds, they kept running away the second they smelled her coming.

Why?

Because they are fucking cowards, that's why, she snorted without voicing it... they run only because they knew. To the creatures of the night, she'd always be a slayer.

Now you're giving too much credit for yourself, Rhian, she pointed out bitingly.

Gods, if only she was so lucky... but of course she wasn't. It wasn't like Life to give the winning cards and she'd learn that lesson early. That's what her Mother had told her once. Made her cry by telling her she was a pathetic little whore who'd always be a loser and nothing but… and she, at the age of 7, had told her Mother to shut the fuck up, because she'd never, ever, end up like her mother.

You know what the best part was? The whole fucking punch line?

She had. Yeah. She'd ended up just like her mother and it'd been, yes, ironically, Teagan to pull her out of it, to buy her out from the street. The first man ever to love her for what and who she was. He could've gone and killed the guy who ran the business, but he didn't, because Rhian had asked him not to. The guy they'd all known as Frankie, he'd taken care of her, given her a place to stay and he'd never, not once, hurt her the way she knew many others alike her were hurt.

So, Teagan had ended up paying... and he'd paid a lot. Then again, Rhian knew he had money to spend. She'd never found out how fat his bank account was, but it didnd't really matter to her anyway.

It was funny how it always came back to him somehow, one way or another.

The thought of a rogue slayer gone wild wasn't what made the nightwalkers run for their lives. The simple truth was that she wasn't just a slayer, now was she?

She was Teagan's slayer.

His.

And there it was, the sole reason why she was still alive, why they rather ran away like chickens than faced her in a combat. She hissed, angry, not knowing her hiss didn't go by unheard.

If they had feared her, it would've been all good. It would've been just fine in fact. She would've laughed at them, laughed and laughed, and she would've felt proud. Joy and delight. But the fact they dared to run away from her because they feared Teagan, not her, and what he might do to them if his little slayer got hurt…

It was insulting, ok?

Did they not realise they weren't together anymore? Did they not understand that he would not have simply sat by and watched how his mate annihilated every nightwalker, every demon… every Triad member she encountered? Were they really that stupid and blind?

Obviously.

God, they were all fucking idiots with no brains. How the hell had it come to this? Weren't these creatures supposed to be smart and cunning? Fearless? When had it changed? She didn't know... things had been bad for years, at least that's what Teagan had told her. Never had he told her why, though.

Hell, they were supposed to be rulers of all dimensions, at least that's what Teagan always liked to repeat. She wasn't so sure she believed all that "multiple dimensions" crap he always kept pouring on her, but she'd listened to his stories anyway. Partly because to her they were more like bed-time stories fathers' told to their children and partly, because of the way his eyes lit up every time he started telling some story, be it already told or some new fancy plot. Besides, the stories had always been interesting and funny, full of twists and action. One of her personal favorites was the old tale of Angel returning from hell dimension; it always cheered her up. Not the fact he'd returned, but the fact he'd been in Hell.

It didn't seem so amusing anymore. Angel had betrayed the vampires and gone to Hell for it, like he deserved... but what was she doing now, huh? Hell if she knew...

It was all so fucking confusing, ok?

But what she knew for sure was that if Teagan didn't want her around, then there was no reason for her to be one of the nightwalkers anymore. Or was there?

No.

Okay, so she'd simply adjusted, found a new reason to be. Hey, at lesat now she was finally able to do what she was born to do.

She had become a slayer. Not in every sense of the word, but a slayer anyhow.

The word still tasted funny in her mouth, though, surreal. She, a slayer? It'd been a shock to her when she'd learnt why Teagan always kept calling her his little slayer and he'd really taken some time before telling her too, but she'd forgiven him, because she loved him. And because slaying as he'd called it, couldn't possibly be worth losing him...

No, she had to stop thinking about him right now!

Eyes on the prize, slayer.

Rhian whipped her head trying to chase away the rebellious lock of hair that had been bothering her eyes for quite some time. She could've always used her hands, but the other one was safely stuffed into her pocket, wrapped around her precious little colt (so what if it didn't kill everything, it still felt good to have it with her) whereas the other was lying against her side, squeezing her own beautiful knife.

Jackal - her favorite.

She inhaled, deep, before releasing the air from her lungs and concentrating on the hunt again. But her moment of concentration was cruelly interrupted when she realised the echoing steps coming closer.

"Nice," a husky female voice said from behind, with relaxed laughter rolling out, and Rhian wasn't sure which one confused her more, the playful tone or the word she'd said, "it's a beauty isn't it?" the stranger continued, "Had one just like that. Loved it like a lover, too."

-fin.