A/N: Thank you for all the reviews! I really appreciate the feedback!
Buffy and Eric stared at each other. Neither one felt compelled to speak first, even as the seconds stretched into a full minute, and then another, of total silence.
For most people, this would have been extremely uncomfortable and even downright disconcerting. Of course, most people weren't a 1000+ year old vampire and the oldest living Slayer ever.
Both Buffy and Eric recognized the situation for what it was: a battle of wills. They didn't care that they didn't know what the stakes were yet. It was a matter of principle.
Buffy had already resolved to let the King of Fangtasia speak first. He 'summoned' her after all. Why should she start making with the pleasantries? Although it was an exercise in patience, something she was not exactly known for, she refused to give in. And she had accused Vi of being stubborn.
For his part, Eric was testing her, wanting to see how she would react. He had to admit, he was impressed. The human hadn't so much as flinched. Of course, it also made him that much more wary. And maybe a little annoyed. He idly wondered how long the silence could last.
Pam could see what was going on and decided to step in. There were too many others around to bear witness to something like this, and it just didn't look good. Besides, she was getting bored.
"Isn't this sweet?" she drawled. "Love at first sight."
This earned a scowl from Buffy. Eric, on the other hand, just quirked an eyebrow at his second in command in amusement.
Pam gave him a satisfied smile. The standoff had ended and she got a dig in; she did her job.
The Sheriff of Area 5 turned his attention back to the girl. "Who are you and what is your business here?" he asked almost lazily, although it was clear that answering his question was not optional.
Normally Buffy would've relied on her dumb blonde routine, but she had already shot that cover to hell, hadn't she? And she knew she couldn't just come out with stakes ablazin', either, at least not until she got a better sense of how things worked around here. Too much was at risk, not to mention that there were too many people around.
Her goal was to find out what happened to Vi, and she would do what she had to do to accomplish that, even if that meant playing nice with Mr. High and Mighty himself.
But that didn't mean she had to roll over and play dead. And just because these vamps had TruBlood and a soul, it didn't mean they played with puppies and kittens and saved orphaned children. Besides, the Slayer in her wasn't to be denied. Neither was Buffy.
"My name is Anne and I'm a big fan of yours," she said in a placid tone. Then she added, almost as an afterthought and definitely with a good dash of cheekiness, "Sheriff."
His eyes narrowed speculatively. "Try again, Anne," he ordered, not believing for one minute that that was her name.
"I'm looking for a little vamp lovin'?" she offered blandly, going to the next plausible reason why she'd be there.
Eric knew this wasn't true from his earlier observations, and he used this bit of knowledge to his advantage, both to test her further and just to toy with her. Moving with inhuman speed, he rushed toward her and stopped only when he was mere inches from her. The blonde vampire towered over her, using his height to its fullest advantage.
"Is that so?" he asked as a slow, playful smile curled his lips. He carefully measured her reaction. Still no fear, a slight flinch, a tensing of her body. And surprise, definitely surprise. Good.
Buffy barely curbed her instinct to lash out, especially since she was startled at how fast he could move, but she did. She didn't think that he would really try anything in front of all the other patrons, and she hardly wanted to announce her Slayer status right there.
It was a gamble, but it paid off. He was just trying to intimidate her and figure her out. So she continued to stand there and gaze up at him. And up. He must have been at least 6'4".
Dear god, he's tall… and Nordic, Buffy thought. Then she frowned. And really close.
"Please, invade my personal space," she said snarkily, pursing her lips in irritation.
In the back of her mind, she was thinking that maybe, just maybe, she should play a little nicer. But it was unsettling to have him right there, and the words came out before she could stop them. Oh well. In for a penny, in for a pound.
Eric was surprised to find that for all her insolence she was certainly entertaining. Most humans would be a quivering mess on the floor by now, but not this one. She was… cranky, and it was refreshing. For now.
"But isn't this what you wanted?" Eric asked innocently, though a faint smile played around his mouth.
"And you, Mr. Sheriff and Supreme Ruler himself, are more than happy to 'help' little ol' me get my vamp on? You're just a regular Boy Scout, aren't you?" she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
Eric smiled, purposefully letting her catch a glimpse of his fangs to show her exactly how much he wasn't like a Boy Scout.
Buffy couldn't help but blink a little in amazement. It was the first time she had seen one of the other kinds of vamps go… well, vampy.
Huh, he stayed pretty, Buffy thought. I guess not having a demon makes a big difference in the looks department, too. No wonder Angel never told me. He had fang envy.
A tiny smile came to her lips, unbidden. She quickly smothered it, but it was too late.
This was not the reaction Eric was hoping for. In truth, he wasn't sure how he expected this human enigma to respond. Fear, disgust, anger, indignation, morbid fascination maybe… but not surprised amusement. It threw him off balance, and he did not like that. It was her little smirk that pushed him over the edge, though.
Enough was enough. It was time for answers, real ones. He was tempted to use his glamour on her, but it was too risky out there in public. The smile dropped from his face and his eyes flitted over to Chow, who surreptitiously moved closer.
"Why are you really here?" he asked, allowing a hint of menace to enter in his voice.
Buffy could sense another vampire moving behind her. Apparently, the time for fun and games was over with.
She quickly weighed her options. Whoever took Vi knew about the potentials, which meant that they knew about slayers. If the Viking King and his minions were involved, then they would presumably try to get her, too, once they knew she was looking for Vi. But then at least she'd know.
And if they weren't involved, then maybe they'd have some useful information. Even if they didn't tell her anything, at least it was something, which was a hell of a lot more than she had at the moment.
She decided to throw caution to the wind. Time was of the essence, and this would be the fastest, if not the wisest, way to see if he was friend or foe.
"I'm looking for someone," she finally relented. "A friend. She was coming here on vacation, and now suddenly she's disappeared."
The Sheriff of Area 5 studied the stranger before him. It was time to make this conversation a private one. It was clear that if he wanted any real answers from this girl, it would have to be where he could use more 'persuasive' methods. She appeared to be telling the truth, but he had to make sure. She was too… unpredictable. And disrespectful.
And if a human did go missing in his territory without his knowledge by another vampire, he wanted to know about it. Without the whole bar watching. Already there were several vampires and humans pretending not to watch what was going on while really keeping a close eye on the action.
Getting 'Anne' to leave the crowded front room of the bar for a more secluded one could be difficult, but if she was truly looking for someone here, the owner and proprietor of Fangtasia could use that to his benefit.
"And you think that a vampire had something to do with it?" he said thoughtfully in mock contemplation. "This is serious. And not something that should be discussed out here. Why don't we continue this in my office where we'll have more privacy?" He started to walk to a door in the back of the bar without even bothering to see if she agreed.
Buffy watched as he motioned to Pam and the vampire standing behind her to follow. The Slayer didn't move an inch.
"You're joking, right?" she asked incredulously. "Can we say lion, lion's den?"
He stopped and gave her an amused look. "Would you prefer to be escorted out of Fangtasia?" he said mildly.
She scowled.
He smirked. And waited.
Buffy bit her lip in indecision. She just had to open her big mouth, didn't she? She had been outmaneuvered, and she knew it. Now she only had two choices: 1) follow him and possibly walk into a trap, or 2) leave and try to get answers outside of Fangtasia. Oh yeah, and hidden option 3, which was to clock the smug Sheriff and hope for the best.
As tempting as that last one was, it probably wouldn't help her in the long run. She told herself that she could always fight her way out against all three if it came to it. As it was, she had already reserved the right to kick the Sheriff's ass regardless.
"Fine," she ground out, falling in step behind the three vampires and hoping she wasn't making the biggest mistake in her life.
