Gypsy Girl
Pairing: OC/Spike
Summary: When a travelling Gypsy from the Kalderash clan settles on the Sunnydale, she'll be no exception to the challenges of life on the Hellmouth. Alexandreina will survive though, she always does, but will she get a chance to live?
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CHAPTER ONE
Alexandreina couldn't hold back the sigh that escaped her as she sat up in bed. Idly she wondered about the last time she had woken up and not had the urge to sigh. However, the thought was brandished by another sigh, as it always was. Alexandreina was never one to let such melancholy stew for too long anyway. She much rather preferred dedicating what little energy she had left nowadays into surviving.
Surviving with the goal of eventually living.
Because Alexandreina was aware of the difference between the two states of life. Surviving was the feeling of frantically treading water in an effort not to drown under the strong currents. Where as living was truly enjoying and experiencing what life had to offer.
Alexandreina wasn't quite there yet though.
Never really had been.
Either way, Alexandreina had to take it one step at a time right now. Which she seemed to do well enough considering the circumstances. Alexandreina shook her head, further dismissing the thoughts of hardships. Her arrival at the Hellmouth known as the small town of Sunnydale meant she had a few things to do today. Some of which were thankfully more mundane tasks rather than anything too shady or exerting. But none of those things could be done until she consulted the cards...
New town, new reading.
It was a rule.
Alexandreina, never far from a stack of Tarot cards, reached over to the bedside table and grabbed the family heirloom.
With a comforting feeling washing over her body, Alexandreina shuffled the cards that were older than herself. This particular set of Tarot cards belonged to her mothers side of the family, passed down from daughter to daughter as per tradition. The beautiful cards were enchanted to withstand time and wear, making them even more beautiful in their pristine condition. While these particular cards weren't printed or glossy or animated in its illustrations, they were by far the best set. The handmade cards had been painted with the traditional Kalderash Tarot images. Painted using a darker colour palate, the intricacy of each image spoke to the skill and dedication to the creation of the cards. Alexandreina loved the feeling of thick stock of the card and the slightly rough feel to the dried paint strokes. She liked the weight of each card in her hands as intuition guided her in finding answers to life's many questions.
Todays question; what's to come of her time in Sunnydale?
Alexandreina consulted the cards.
She shuffled the Tarot cards, focusing on reaching out with her mind and body to find a calm mindset. Alexandreina cut the cards, laying out a two-card spread with a specific question in mind. "What will the Hellmouth bring into my life?" Alexandreina wondered out loud as she placed the cards.
The Hierophant reversed.
"The Hierophant, when reversed, is known for referring to a rebellion of sorts. A change or defiance of tradition or expectations"
With that in mind she flipped over the second card, revealing the next part of her reading.
The Justice Reversed.
"The Justice, when reversed, is representative of an unbalance. Often when a person feels inequality, unfairness or injustice. The card can also mean dishonesty and even an unfairly skewed viewpoint or opinion"
Alexandreina scoffed slightly.
She shuffled the Tarot cards back into a deck and set them aside with a small huff as she analysed what her intuition told her would be a relevant interpretation of such cards. Alexandreina knew that the Hierophant in reverse wasn't a new card when it comes to her own readings. The card had reflected her actions and opinions a few times before in the past. She wasn't big on doing what everyone else wants her to do simply because they want it.
Alexandreina hated feeling weighed down.
By anything.
Which was the main reason that even though she was very in-touch with her heritage and abilities, that she was not with what was left of more traditional clan. Alexandreina very much liked being her own person.
She marched to the beat of her own drum, as they say.
So, she supposed that the first card wasn't anything out of the ordinary. Aside from making her think there would be someone or something that attempts to dictate how she acts in the near future. Recalling the second card brought more curiosity than the first card had. The Justice reversed was not one that Alexandreina had expected to receive. Its appearance made her a little more apprehensive about this town. She had been through more than enough in her 17 years of life to know how bad a situation that this card indicates to could be. Though Alexandreina couldn't help but feel like the two cards were related to the same thing. She wasn't sure whether or not to be relieved by that though.
Either way she would have to keep it in mind.
It was quite possibly a choice that would be simple to make, after all. The Cards don't always mean bad things... despite her past experiences.
Sunnydale is supposed to be a new start.
A home.
If there was ever going to be a town for someone like her to settle down in, the hellmouth was certainly the place.
Alexandreina's upbringing had been had been a contradicting mix of strictly traditional methods and completely unorthodox methods. She hadn't lived with the small remaining Kalderash clan as tradition stated. Instead she had visited them for the first and last months of each year before going back to wherever her parents had decided they were going to live. Living that way meant that Alexandreina had never really settled down somewhere and she was hoping to change that now. She couldn't afford to keep moving around when all alone.
It was dangerous.
Not that she couldn't take care of herself though.
Alexandreina was more than physically capable of defending herself - even without her natural Kalderash gifts. Which was why she had come to the Hellmouth to make a home.
Keeping that in mind, Alexandreina got up and stretched her bones. Her mind filtering through her clothing options for the day. Finally deciding on a white crop top that accentuated her rather large chest. The skirt she wore was a dark maroon colour, the thick and snug waistband sitting right under her pierced belly button. The maroon fabric clung beautifully to her thin waist, toned stomach, and round ass. With a slit beginning near the top of her olive toned thigh, and continuing down to where the material almost reached the floor in length.
Alexandreina glanced at herself in the mirror attached to the wall.
She smirked.
It was an undeniable fact that she had been blessed with beauty. Although it was practically guaranteed considering the Kalderash clan had been blessed with beautiful children for centuries. It wasn't a simple beauty they possessed in their DNA though. There was no girl-next-door types or the shy and kind she-doesn't-know-how-beautiful-she-is types. There was nothing subtle about the Kalderash beauty. In fact, it gave them a darker and more sinfully seductive type of beauty.
Often cause for some of the trouble the clan got into.
Especially a few 100 years ago...
Alexandreina was glad she hadn't been born back when women were seen as lesser than men. She didn't think she would farewell in such a constricting time period. Even though the Kalderash clan had been more progressive than 'regular society' had been at the time.
Nevertheless, Alexandreina enjoyed her own attractiveness.
But she wasn't vein.
It was simply one of her many outlets for emotions. Alexandreina took great enjoyment in perfecting her own style - the unique appearance serving as a visual indicator of who she is at the core.
It was fun.
Alexandreina found grooming and getting ready to be the only enjoyable thing to do so early in the mornings. As she stared at herself in the mirror she went about adding her regular, and slightly excessive, amounts of silver jewellery. She slid an intricate antique armlet onto her left bicep, the pure silver shaped as a serpent wrapping around most of her bicep. Fastening a silvery chained belt around her waist she smiled as the pendants that hung all around her waist swished when she turned. Alexandreina rolled her eyes at herself and put on a pair of large silver hoops before donning her hands in an array of silver rings.
Looking back in the mirror she was happy to find her look was almost complete.
Alexandreina slipped her feet into knee high black boots and snatched up her black shoulder bag.
Now, she was ready for the day.
For her first day exploring Sunnydale, the hellmouth, and hopefully her new home...
Alexandreina grabbed the keys for her remodelled home-on-wheels and stuffed them into her handbag. She stepped out of the converted school bus that she calls home and brushed her hand along the runes that were pained onto the side. It was her peoples version of security systems... having perfected the art of living in homes-on-wheels long ago. Nobody who wasn't explicitly invited into her home could get in, even when she was out and about. Not to mention the protection runes she had added to prevent damage to her vehicle were strong enough to withstand almost anything.
She'd of been homeless by now without the runes.
Living in a reconstructed school bus, while it gave her freedom, also meant that she had to settle in some odd places.
Parking lots were common for when she was just stopping for a night or two while travelling. However, when she arrived in an area that she planned to stay for longer than a few nights, she needed to find someplace less suspicious to park and leave her home. In this case, she had found an old decommissioned bridge on the outside of the small town. It was right next to the edge of the forested area of Sunnydale. The dead-end bridge didn't make much structural sense at all, but was tucked away with just enough space for her to make a small camp nobody would find.
A nice view too.
Alexandreina had always appreciated a little bit of nature.
She wasn't as crazy about nature as her Uncle Ridden who lived completely off the land with his little family though. Not that she didn't have an appreciated for how difficult that lifestyle would be to maintain, let alone thrive in. But this little structural accident seemed like the perfect mix for Alexandreina.
She set her handbag down beside the door of her home/vehicle. Alexandreina was suddenly thankful that it was so sunny here in California at this time of year. The little bridge created a pocket that blocked out most of the natural light, making it slightly hard to see even in the daylight. However, Alexandreina wasn't too bothered by the small flaw. Instead she focused on pulling out the small knife from where it was secured inside her boot. She sliced the palm of her hand and went about placing warding runes on the area she had chosen for her new home.
Her rent-free home.
Alexandreina snorted at the thought.
The government, as far as she was concerned, was a joke. Alexandreina was a natural born outlaw and she lived her life without much regard for laws or restrictions that society deemed important.
Alexandreina couldn't help but mutter a few choice words about the overpraised asshats who run the country.
It was fair to call her anti-government for the most part.
With an eye roll, she painted the ancient symbols onto the walls and the entrance to the little hide-away. The biggest runes making sure anyone passing by felt naturally deterred to be near this area. Smaller runes, though no less important, protected the area from damage and ill-intent. Her blood possessed natural and powerful magic that very few witches could match. She used her magic and runes to protect her home, and while she was strong for her age in that regard, Alexandreina took no chances this time.
Not when she was hoping to settle down here.
So she stood in the middle of the dead-end bridge that was little more than a man-made cave. She sliced her other palm and dropped the knife to the ground. "leshya'e" Alexandreina called out, arms wide as she allowed her mind, body and soul connect to the spirits. She spoke in the ancient Romani language, calling upon the spirits and ancestors for strength, "sadullos! sadullos!" she declared like a passionate prayer.
The wind picked up around her in the man-made cave.
The air crackled heavily with power.
A dark crimson sheen momentarily flashed over the runes once again. The answer to her call for aid evident by the change that occurred in the runes. She watched as the runes faded to only be visible to a Kalderash eye.
"Thankyou" Alexandreina declared with a grateful smile at the sky.
She wasn't entirely sure if any of the spirits or her ancestors could see the grateful smile. Nor was sure sure that they would care if they could, but it didn't stop her from thanking them in gratitude nonetheless. Alexandreina was more powerful than she really had any right being for her age - blooming early apparently. Meaning she didn't really need help to do strong and basic runic wards. But Alexandreina knew staying in a town like this warranted the extra protection. And if there was ever one thing the ancestors were always willing to help with; it's protection for their homes-on-wheels.
Alexandreina didn't take that for granted.
She knew she wasn't at all entitled to their help.
She had seem some of her people express an entitlement to their abilities. Just because the Romani people of the Kalderash clan possessed magic in their very DNA did not make them entitled to their intuition or connection with the spirits and ancestors. Alexandreina understood that and chose to cherish the gift she had been given as best she could. It was the only 'organisation' or 'rules' anyone would ever catch her following... and even then, she sometimes was a little careless with the liberties she took.
But her mother had said the ancestors smiled in amusement at her wild and untameable nature.
Alexandreina hoped her mother had been right.
But she doubted it.
Her mother had clearly not been too great at making her own decisions. Evidence being the fact that her mother loved and married her father. No tradition was worth the price her mother had paid for that mistake. Not that her mother had been around too long to figure that out, and when she had, it had been too late anyway.
Alexandreina sighed.
She shook her head and dispelled the thoughts of the past.
It had been years since her mother had been killed and months since she had last thought about it. A new record in her determination to focus on the here and now. Alexandreina felt that determination steel her mind once again as the prospects of a fresh new start here in Sunnydale gave her a sliver of hope for the future.
It's time to start living.
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