Title: Dark Inklings
Author: Jmaria
Rating: FR-15
Disclaimer: Joss owns all things Buffyverse, Christine owns all things Darkverse. I merely mash em together.
Summary: Two worlds of hunters collide, and each seems to bring the other a bit of the salvation that was needed.
A/N: A bit of Vi being unsure and Josef growing up.

Dark Inklings

Chapter Two: The Prerequisites to Lifemating

"But I'm not a psychic!" Vi cried three hours later, her hands raking through her short hair. "I thought it was you know, necessary for the whole part of the girl in question not dying during conversion! Haven't all of the other new Carpathian females been half Carpathian or psychics? And - I thought Josef was the damn baby!"

"Well, from my research, only half of the new lifemates were psychics. The other half were either half Carpathian or descended from the Jaguar people. Its kinda interesting -"

"My getting handed an over possessive baby, who's claiming that I'm his lifemate is just kinda interesting, Dawn?" Vi snapped, whirling around to face her. "It's awful! I - I can't be this unlucky. This is all your fault!"

"Destiny bitch slapping you twice is my fault how?" Dawn asked, leaning forward on her knees, lecture forgotten in the face of the slayer's tantrum.

"If you weren't all research girl and just dying to know all about Carpathians and Dark-Hunters and Lords, I wouldn't even be here, and Josef wouldn't know about me at all!" Vi cried, tossing herself back on the pillows of the massive bed of her suite in Mikhail's house. There had been a lot of fighting over who was going to room her now that the whole 'Josef's lifemate' issue had come up. It was safer for nearly everyone if she just stayed in the room across from Dawn's like planned.

"And then that poor child would be doomed to walk eternity never knowing you," Raven Dubrinksy's voice floated over her and calmed her. Both women turned to look at the petite beauty. She was only a few inches taller than Vi, and was already showing the signs of pregnancy. Vi could only guess that was what the urgency to find lifemates for the males was all about. To repopulate the species.

"Raven, this is -"

"Vi, yes, I do remember her from a few hours ago. Indeed, after Josef's declaration, I doubt any of us could forget her."

"Great, so now that infamous part is stuck there like glue," Vi groaned. Embarrassment and an overwhelming sense of wrongness swamped her senses. This should not be happening. She was supposed to be the undercover one, the calm, collected warrior who was going to make things easier for the poor persecuted Carpathian people. But no, now she was up to her neck in complications. She pushed hersef up and rubbed a hand over her eyes.

"Vi?" A masculine voice purred behind her, and Vi immediately felt her spine stiffen like Giles on an Oops? day.

Josef stared down at her lowered head, which he noticed she ducked the instant she heard him behind her. The rest of her remained coiled and tense, waiting for the attack.

Because this - this is just wrong!

Vi's thoughts hit him hard, and Josef resisted laying a hand on her. His hands itched to pull her close, to join with her, to claim her as the gift she was. But she was tense and coiled and not at all receptive to the idea of being a lifemate. Yeah, try telling that to his feral, mate driven mind.

"Josef, you are not welcome in these rooms," Raven said quietly from behind them. Yet. It hovered between them, and they all knew that the yet was attached.

"You're distressing her," Josef snarled, coming on stronger than he should have.

Vi's head jerked up before him, her fingers clenching into tight fists. An alluring blush spread just below the collar of her soft yellow tank top and brushed out like angel wings on the tops of her bare shoulders. Tight black jeans clung to her athletic form, and showed the world nearly everything worth seeing. Nearly. Need and hunger clenched tightly in his belly, his fingers itched to drag her to him, claim her and hide her away from prying eyes.

Josef's eyes skimmed over her shoulder to see her watching him through the mirror that had been moved. It had once hung over the dresser, but now it leaned away from it, its view on the window just past the bed she now stood before. He nearly bit his tongue off when he saw the front half of the view she made.

It wasn't as if he'd never seen a woman, lusted after a woman before, because he had. And not one of them had ever looked like his Vi, none of them had looked back at him with that mix of confusion and wanting and fear before. And none of them had had the downright sexy gleam in their eyes that Vi had right this very second. His heart sped, and he knew hers did too.

"Stop looking at me like that," Vi murmured, her eyes lowering away from his in the mirror. "They aren't distressing me. You are."

"I think perhaps we should let Vi get some rest."

"Yeah, you must have boatloads of jetlag, Vi," Dawn glanced between the two of them again before settling her glare on him. "Don't you have stuff to do, Josef?"

"I'm doing it now," he snapped.

Josef, son, you were warned not to rush her

I am not rushing her, but I need to speak with her.

Youre not thinking clearly, son,

, his mothers' voice was high and panicked. Vlad was even-toned and concerned.

How could he think clearly when Vi was standing there before him, her eyes watching his? Wearing what she was, standing as she was - facing him - huh?

"It's cool, we need to talk."

"Huh?" Dawn gaped at them, and Josef felt like gaping at her as well.

"It's not like he's gonna try anything, and even if he did, I'm not some defenseless little airhead who can't handle herself."

"You would never come to harm while I'm around -"

"Yeah, there was someone else who said that to me once upon a time. He's dead now because of me," the blush vanished, her words shocking them all back into the uncharged mind frame they needed to be in to think rationally.

"Are you sure, Vi?" Dawn asked softly, concern clear in her face.

"Yeah. We're just gonna talk."

"Okay."

Don't you try and pressure her, Josef,

I would -

Not be the first Carpathian male who has attempted to do so, Josef. You start with good intentions, but the compulsion to claim and mate and bind are so very strong. She's not ready for that just yet, little one,

Raven's voice said sharply in his mind, echoing Mikhail's thoughts that he too had shared with the younger Carpathian. Raven watched him sharply, and even though Mikhail was not present in the flesh, he was firmly in the mind of his lifemate.

"I'tll be fine, honestly!" Vi shouted, watching the darting eyes between the Queen and the boy who would be her lifemate.

Josef caught the tail end of her thought and glanced down at her. The jerk. Vi shoved past him, ignoring the shiver of anticipation that flicked across her skin as fact that they were going to be alone together hit her. Raven and Dawn left, closing the door with a small click behind them, the sound echoing loudly in her ears. She raised her eyes to Josef's face.

"Just for the record, kid, I think you're absolutely crazy."

"I am your -"

"I know what you think I am, but honestly, its all kinda hokey."

"Destiny is hokey?" Josef fought the grin from forming on his lips.

"No, destiny is a bitch. The convenience of you finding your lifemate in me is just a little farfetched, dontcha think?" Vi frowned harder at him, somehow knowing the little twit was laughing at her.

"No. It's destined to be. I've seen it happen this way before. Out of the blue and -" Josef's hand had reached up to brush a strand of her hair from her eyes. Vi jerked away, hastily taking a step back.

"Okay, but I'm not like any of those other lifemates of your people. I'm not psychic or Puma -"

"Jaguar."

"Whatever. I personally think you're nuts."

"So you've said."

"It's an odd ass infatuation, though personally, I would have picked Dawn to obsess on, but whatever -" Vi shook her head at him, a sad smile on her lips.

"Stop it!" Josef's hand reached out to cup her cheek, the force in his voice was strong enough that Vi didn't even consider pulling away. Her eyes made her look innocent, years younger than she actually was and Josef wanted nothing more than to pull her closer into himself and keep her safe. Gone was the teasing boy hed been, the annoying child many of his elders thought him to be, simply because of the girl in his arms. Vi shivered as he dragged the pad of his thumb along the line of her jaw. "I could never have picked anyone other than you. You are the light to my darkness, the salvation of my very soul."

And though he knew he promised his mother and all of the other older mated Carpathians that he would go slow for her, Josef couldn't even think of stopping the descent of his mouth to hers. Vi wasn't sure she even wanted him to stop.