Disclaimer:
Anything you recognise belongs to the creative genius that is Charlaine Harris and/or Alan Ball. I'm just playing around with their universe(s).
A/N:
You can pronounce her name in Russian too, or any other language, I don't discriminate! ;-)
xXx
7
Irin sat quietly in his arms without removing her head from underneath his chin, breathing in his scent while he flew them home, and he wasn't sure she'd even noticed that they took to the air as her eyes had been closed every time he glanced down at her. She didn't look up when they landed, and her only response to the change in light and air around them when he entered his nest was to wrap her arms tighter around his neck and bury her head deeper in his coat.
"Irin," he called softly, easing her to her feet on the parquet flooring inside the warmly-lit hall. "We are home now."
She reluctantly lifted her head from his chest, and he noticed that she really was quite petite – the top of her head only just came up to his lips, and he was not a tall man by modern standards – before her violet eyes darted around the room, her nostrils vibrating as she took in the foreign smells.
Godric nimbly loosened her arms from the death grip she had around his neck, offering her a small, comforting smile as he reached out a hand to her instead. She quickly grabbed it, clutching tightly as he led her towards the large living area where Stan and Isabel were currently talking quietly with each other.
"Underlings, there is someone I would like you to meet," the Sheriff called to the two. "This is Irin, my…" He was interrupted by a sudden hiss and sighed inwardly as the baby vampire snatched her hand from his and crouched down, slowly backing away with her eyes fixed on his underlings, who had turned around when he addressed them.
"Irin," he began, finding his stern-but-fatherly voice for yet another time that evening. "That is very rude."
"Is that the little bitch from the park?!" Stan's voice broke through his attempt at verbally disciplining his new charge. "What the hell, Sheriff? Why are you bringing that wild thing back to the nest – unchained?"
Godric's head snapped in the direction of his most outspoken and difficult underling, eyes darkening at the very inappropriate timing of yet another test of his leadership, but Isabel immediately stepped in to defend her Sheriff.
"Stan, don't be such an idiot! She's just a scared girl. Come here, honey, no one will hurt you." She smiled warmly at the – now growling – young vampire and took a step towards her with a hand reached out.
And that's when all hell broke loose.
Irin, apparently, missed the soothing tone and relaxed pose of the other woman, and lashed out with a snarl, which caused Stan's very easily ignited fighting instincts to kick in. He launched himself at the vampire who had attacked his nest mate with a fierce roar, and suddenly Godric's nest was a swirling inferno of growling, hissing and snarling vampires zipping through the large living area, knocking over furniture in the process, with the frequent pops of Irin's teleportation and Isabel's shouts for Stan to stop being an idiot breaking through the predatory noises.
Godric allowed himself a brief moment to rub the oddly throbbing spot between his eyebrows before stepping in and getting the situation under control.
"Enough!"
The very rare sound of their Sheriff's shout made both Stan and Isabel freeze to the spot, Isabel with both hands on her nest mate's shoulders in an attempt at stopping him from chasing the feral girl Godric had had in his arms like an overgrown kitten only minutes prior. She was currently up one of the decorative curtains by the floor-to-ceiling windows, fangs bared and a high-pitched growl rolling off her while her big eyes were focussed on the large male trying to get to her.
Godric was not thrilled at the outcome of the first introduction of his new Child. "Stan, please leave the room. Now."
The vampire cowboy sighed, casting a last, annoyed glance at the dirty little thing clutching at the curtain before leaving the room, for once without arguing. He knew better than to push his Sheriff beyond his limits.
"Isabel…"
The Latina woman stepped back, nimbly balancing on one foot and then the other while removing her broken pair of heels. "I shall leave too, Sheriff," she offered calmly.
"No, please." He glanced up at Irin, who had stopped growling as Stan left the room, but she was still eying Isabel with mistrust. "If you would wait in the door." Not bothering to check that he was obeyed he easily scaled the tipped-over sofa, strode over the shattered floor lamp and stopped below the curtain currently occupied by his adopted Daughter.
"Irin, get down. Now, please."
She shot him a stubborn glare. "Not while she is still here! She tried to shoot me!"
"She tried to catch you, after you had killed several humans, remember?" Godric folded his arms over his chest. "If you had come with her voluntarily she would not have tried to harm you in any way. Now, get down here. Right now."
Something in his tone made her let go of the fabric and land on the floor with a small thud.
"It is very rude to show fangs and hiss at other vampires, kitten," he scolded, gently so he didn't risk her spooking again.
Her eyes slid from Isabel to him, and her shoulders slumped slightly. "I'm sorry," she muttered.
"Don't tell me – tell Isabel. She was just trying to be nice." He looked at his underling, who – to his great annoyance – was watching him with a smirk on her discretely painted lips. He frowned at her, but she simply ignored him by changing her focus to the girl.
"I am sorry I scared you," Isabel offered first. "And for the way I chased you in the park. That wasn't very nice."
Irin looked thoroughly surprised at the apology given in a gentle tone, and Godric was happy to note that her tense stance relaxed the tiniest bit. "I am sorry too." It was hardly more than a whisper – but it was enough.
Godric offered her his hand again, and she gingerly placed hers in it, glancing up at him to gage his mood. Relief filled her face at his calm expression, and he felt her fingers constrict a little tighter around his.
He was very aware that for this little thing, he was now the absolute centre of the universe, as he had been for Eric and Nora – and to some degree still was – but that for her it was her desperate situation that caused this rather than the ancient connection in the shared blood between him and his progenies. And that difference meant that she did not have the steady reassurance of the bond between maker and Child that her universe was still intact and safe.
"Do you think you can control yourself if I ask Stan to return?" he asked her, keeping her gaze locked with his.
Her full lips pinched as she scooted nervously from side to side. She did not look best pleased at the idea, but finally caved under his eyes and nodded.
"Good girl," he encouraged, breaking the eye contact to find Isabel – who once again was watching him with a smirk. It was becoming a rather annoying habit of hers, it would seem. "Would you find Stan for us?" he asked, tone somewhat clipped.
"Of course, Sheriff," she said, smirk turning to a full smile at his displeased tone before she disappeared out the door for a brief moment.
A few seconds later she reappeared with the brawny vampire by her side.
"Now, if I could finish without being interrupted…" The three others in the room looked suitably ashamed at his pointed look that managed to catch all of them. "This is Irin, my new Child."
His underlings' reaction was expected: Complete shock.
"But…?" For once, Stan seemed speechless.
"My adopted Child," Godric clarified. "She lost her maker and is too young to be on her own, so I am claiming her as mine. I would ask that you do not discuss her origin outside of this nest." It was something he had considered since first offering to act as her maker – the less people knew about the lacking blood connection, the less trouble it could cause them with people… testing him. He had a strong dislike for being tested, and there was no need to have rumours of a Child of his he couldn't locate by sense floating about the territory; it would just be a temptation to anyone wishing to see how much of his feral reputation was well-earned.
"Well." Stan seemed to have regained his ability to speak. "There is taking home work, and then there's taking home work, Godric." His eyes slid over the destruction of the living area. "But I suppose congratulations are in order."
Godric accepted his offer with a nod, knowing the sarcastic comment was his rebellious underling's way of showing acceptance.
"Yes, congratulations," Isabel chimed in, dark eyes zoning in on the girl. Godric had seen the way she was sizing her up before when she had been decorating the nest, and knew the appearance of his feral Child was probably making his Second in command itch to fix her up. "How about I take your Daughter to get cleaned up?"
Irin's fingers constricted tightly around his hand, her face turning to him in fear of being separated from him.
"I will be right here," he promised, giving her hand a comforting squeeze. "Go with Isabel – you will be safe with her, I promise."
"There's a Jacuzzi the size of a small pool," the black-haired woman coaxed, which made Godric suppress a snort. Irin did not exactly seem the type to care about bathing facilities.
But to his surprise the girl lit up, letting go of his hand and following the now widely-smiling Isabel out the room, giving him a quick glance over her shoulder before she disappeared out the door.
Godric silently admitted that he had never truly understood females. Then he turned to more important matters – the recent report from the Authority.
It was not long before dawn when Isabel pushed the door open to his office, allowing the young vampire to slip in past her.
She was wearing drawstring pants and a soft, short-sleeved cotton shirt that he recognised as his own for the times he wanted to blend in with humans without drawing attention, and she was thoroughly clean – he could smell a mixture of soaps and shampoos from Isabel's own, impressive collection on her, and her long, strawberry-blonde hair had been detangled, which could not have been an easy job.
"Thank you, Isabel."
She nodded once at his thanks, patted the girl on the shoulder – which caused her to tense, but no hissing erupted so Godric assumed they had bonded during the bathing experience –and disappeared.
"You look better," he said, taking in her appearance. She looked more like a normal, young woman now, rather than a feral animal. The lack of dried blood and dirt everywhere let her pretty features shine through, and though her petite body was pretty much hidden in his too-big clothes it was an awful lot better than the dirty, torn rags she'd worn before.
But her eyes still had a wild, unsettled look to them as they darted around his office, taking everything in as if she was scanning for possible attackers.
Her violet gaze finally landed on him. "I feel better. Thank you. For… everything."
"It is my pleasure," he assured her, because he noted the shy look on her face. "You should go to sleep now, dawn is near. There are a couple of guest rooms with light-tight resting spaces; you can have one as your room."
Her face fell. "I have to sleep alone?" It was such a pathetic whimper that she seemed to notice herself, slim arms folding protectively around her own midsection as she looked down to the floor, avoiding his eyes.
The question startled him a little; he had spent several years resting with his progenies when they were young, so it would only be natural that he did the same with his adopted Child, but the thought hadn't even crossed his mind. Not only was it less than twelve hours since she had even accepted his touch - it was also centuries since he had last shared his daytime sleep with anyone, apart from the occasional, nostalgic moment with Eric.
"You can spend the day in my resting place, if you wish," he offered, feeling a little ashamed that she had had to ask as he got up from his desk to lead her to the sleeping quarters.
The redhead nodded mutely and grabbed on to his hand when he walked past her, silently following him out the door and down the hall.
He punched in the code to his private rooms, scanned his fingerprint and idly remembered that he would have to log her information in to the system as well the next night as she slipped in past him, taking in his room with big eyes.
It looked like a normal bedroom, with an en-suite bathroom and a walk-in closet, and even a big bed in the centre of it all, as well as a comfortable chair and a bookcase.
"You can sleep here?" she asked, confusion plain on her delicate features.
"I could – all the windows in the house have UV protection and the shutters are light-tight and would take a rather powerful grenade to get through. But my sleeping space is through here." He motioned towards the walk-in closet that hosted the cleverly hidden trapdoor to his pillow-lined cubby.
As most vampires, especially those who were old enough to have lived through centuries of hiding their existence from humans, Godric only really felt safe during the day when he was below ground levels.
But Irin wrinkled up her brows at the comfortable space. "But… do we not need… dirt?"
"We do not. Only when we heal from grave injury do we need to sleep in the actual ground," he explained, easing himself into the hole. "As long as no light can reach us we are fine to sleep through the day. Come." He reached up a hand, which was strictly unnecessary as the girl was perfectly capable of making the small leap herself, but she grabbed it nonetheless and jumped in, bare feet sinking into the soft material underneath her. Without further hesitation she plopped down and curled up, violet eyes staring up at him expectantly.
Godric closed the trap door, slid the bolt over it and sank down next to her. It was a bit of a squeeze, but the girl moved out of his way, only to wrap herself around him when he'd settled in, a content sigh escaping her lips as her head nuzzled up under his chin – it seemed to be a favourite position of hers.
The ancient man moved the tickling mass of her hair out of his face and closed his arms around her in a protective embrace, which only caused the baby vampire to cuddle closer before going dead in his arms as the sun broke the horizon.
His last conscious thought of the night was that he didn't recall Eric or Nora being quite this affectionate.
xXx
A/N:
So this chapter took on a life of its own. Back to normal length next upload!