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writers_muses Prompt 79
Mar. 10th, 2009 09:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
a_pretty_fireThey went underground. It wasn’t difficult in a city like LA. People disappeared there everyday and Darla was nothing if not resourceful. She was newly sired, but she felt as ancient and invigorated as ever.
Or she had felt like that. She currently ached all over, her skin – which had been as smooth and white as stone for centuries – marred by burns and her clothes stained with dirt. She was now more determined than ever. They would hide and they would heal and then they would get Angelus back.
All she needed was time, and vampires had plenty of that. If they were careful.
She woke up to find Drusilla mopping her brow with a square of ragged lace. Her face was scarred, just like Darla’s, but her eyes were as bright as chips of black stone. They’d been in the sewers for a little over a week and Darla was starting to suspect that Drusilla was actually enjoying herself. The younger vampire was happy to hide away in the dark and the damp, drawing it around herself like a cloak and talking about the games they could play in the shadows.
“Are you feeling better, grandmother?”
“I’d feel much better if you stopped calling me that.”
Darla tried to sit up, hoping that a show of strength would be enough to stop Drusilla from hovering at her side like an overenthusiastic nursemaid. There was a strange smell in the air and it took her a moment to place it. The girl had made some sort of poultice last night, hadn’t she? A sweet gesture, in a way, although, knowing Dru, it had probably been mixed from weeds and mould rather than anything useful.
She raised a hand to her cheek, feeling mud flake away beneath her fingertips as Drusilla beamed at her.
Wonderful.
“I’ve brought you something to eat,” Drusilla said, as Darla rose to her feet. The stone floor of the sewer was unpleasantly clammy, but the fact that she could feel it was enough. Things had been so … muted in her frail human body. She still couldn’t hear Drusilla’s whispers in the walls, but she could hear the frantic heartbeat of the man – bound and gagged, her girl was learning – on the floor, and that was all she needed.
Why had she ever considered redemption, when she could have everything else?
“Does he please you?”
Drusilla was still hovering, ready to help Darla if she needed anything. Like a good little granddaughter. Honestly. It would have been pitiful, if it hadn’t been so tender. It had been a long time since anyone had treated Darla with this much affection. Angelus had been anything but gentle, and Wolfram and Hart had been seeking to manipulate her at every step. Angel had set them on fire, for goodness sake! He didn’t care about his family, not anymore. Dru cared, though. Dru believed in them. She’d even spoken about returning to Sunnydale to collect her Spike.
If Darla hadn’t known better, she’d have said that the silly little girl was in love with all of them. Her Spike, her Daddy, her dear Grandmummy.
What a ridiculous idea.
She reached down, grabbing the bound man by the hair and dragging him to his feet. His muffled whimpers of fear sounded like music to the hungry vampire. It was amazing what being burned alive … so to speak … did to the appetite, wasn’t it?
It wasn’t until she moved her lips to his jugular that she realised she was still being watched. Drusilla’s sombre gaze traced Darla’s every moment, and the intensity of the look made her feel uncomfortable and a little warm at the same time.
“Must you watch me while I’m feeding?” she snapped, “I’m not a child, Dru.”
“Oh, but you are,” said Drusilla, with a musical laugh, “My little daughter. My little grandmummy.”
Darla shook her head, her face shifting. Drusilla was still watching her when she dropped the man – limp and empty, nothing but a shell without his blood – and turned away.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“We’re going to have a proper family again!” said Drusilla, clapping her hands together enthusiastically.
“Not yet,” said Darla, “Winning Angelus back will take time.”
“I saw him in the cellar,” she murmured in reply, “He was hovering behind the Angel beast. Snapping at his heels. He wished for the sunlight for so many years and now he’s falling back into the shadows.”
For once, Drusilla’s statement didn’t need translation.
“So Angelus isn’t lost?”
“There’ll be five in our family soon.”
Darla nodded, glancing down at the man once more. It was probably easier for someone like Drusilla to think of Angelus and Angel as two separate entities. It was certainly hard to link the person who’d been so desperate to save her soul with the person who had massacred alongside her for so many years.
It certainly didn’t occur to her that the fifth member could be someone else entirely. She didn’t even notice Drusilla’s eyes on her stomach.
“Come along,” she said, “We should go out. He was too gamey for my taste.”
“Can I have a pretty little shop girl?”
“You can have anything you want, Dru.”
The younger vampire probably wasn’t as patient as Darla was. It was best to keep her entertained.
They had time.
They’d always have time.
Prompt: "Skin is a covering for our immortality."
Word Count: 899
Or she had felt like that. She currently ached all over, her skin – which had been as smooth and white as stone for centuries – marred by burns and her clothes stained with dirt. She was now more determined than ever. They would hide and they would heal and then they would get Angelus back.
All she needed was time, and vampires had plenty of that. If they were careful.
She woke up to find Drusilla mopping her brow with a square of ragged lace. Her face was scarred, just like Darla’s, but her eyes were as bright as chips of black stone. They’d been in the sewers for a little over a week and Darla was starting to suspect that Drusilla was actually enjoying herself. The younger vampire was happy to hide away in the dark and the damp, drawing it around herself like a cloak and talking about the games they could play in the shadows.
“Are you feeling better, grandmother?”
“I’d feel much better if you stopped calling me that.”
Darla tried to sit up, hoping that a show of strength would be enough to stop Drusilla from hovering at her side like an overenthusiastic nursemaid. There was a strange smell in the air and it took her a moment to place it. The girl had made some sort of poultice last night, hadn’t she? A sweet gesture, in a way, although, knowing Dru, it had probably been mixed from weeds and mould rather than anything useful.
She raised a hand to her cheek, feeling mud flake away beneath her fingertips as Drusilla beamed at her.
Wonderful.
“I’ve brought you something to eat,” Drusilla said, as Darla rose to her feet. The stone floor of the sewer was unpleasantly clammy, but the fact that she could feel it was enough. Things had been so … muted in her frail human body. She still couldn’t hear Drusilla’s whispers in the walls, but she could hear the frantic heartbeat of the man – bound and gagged, her girl was learning – on the floor, and that was all she needed.
Why had she ever considered redemption, when she could have everything else?
“Does he please you?”
Drusilla was still hovering, ready to help Darla if she needed anything. Like a good little granddaughter. Honestly. It would have been pitiful, if it hadn’t been so tender. It had been a long time since anyone had treated Darla with this much affection. Angelus had been anything but gentle, and Wolfram and Hart had been seeking to manipulate her at every step. Angel had set them on fire, for goodness sake! He didn’t care about his family, not anymore. Dru cared, though. Dru believed in them. She’d even spoken about returning to Sunnydale to collect her Spike.
If Darla hadn’t known better, she’d have said that the silly little girl was in love with all of them. Her Spike, her Daddy, her dear Grandmummy.
What a ridiculous idea.
She reached down, grabbing the bound man by the hair and dragging him to his feet. His muffled whimpers of fear sounded like music to the hungry vampire. It was amazing what being burned alive … so to speak … did to the appetite, wasn’t it?
It wasn’t until she moved her lips to his jugular that she realised she was still being watched. Drusilla’s sombre gaze traced Darla’s every moment, and the intensity of the look made her feel uncomfortable and a little warm at the same time.
“Must you watch me while I’m feeding?” she snapped, “I’m not a child, Dru.”
“Oh, but you are,” said Drusilla, with a musical laugh, “My little daughter. My little grandmummy.”
Darla shook her head, her face shifting. Drusilla was still watching her when she dropped the man – limp and empty, nothing but a shell without his blood – and turned away.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“We’re going to have a proper family again!” said Drusilla, clapping her hands together enthusiastically.
“Not yet,” said Darla, “Winning Angelus back will take time.”
“I saw him in the cellar,” she murmured in reply, “He was hovering behind the Angel beast. Snapping at his heels. He wished for the sunlight for so many years and now he’s falling back into the shadows.”
For once, Drusilla’s statement didn’t need translation.
“So Angelus isn’t lost?”
“There’ll be five in our family soon.”
Darla nodded, glancing down at the man once more. It was probably easier for someone like Drusilla to think of Angelus and Angel as two separate entities. It was certainly hard to link the person who’d been so desperate to save her soul with the person who had massacred alongside her for so many years.
It certainly didn’t occur to her that the fifth member could be someone else entirely. She didn’t even notice Drusilla’s eyes on her stomach.
“Come along,” she said, “We should go out. He was too gamey for my taste.”
“Can I have a pretty little shop girl?”
“You can have anything you want, Dru.”
The younger vampire probably wasn’t as patient as Darla was. It was best to keep her entertained.
They had time.
They’d always have time.
Prompt: "Skin is a covering for our immortality."
Word Count: 899
