Grandchilde (1/?)
So yeah, I decided to post the first chapter of this fic I've been working on, I'm kinda proud of it, but I don't know if I actually want to keep going or not but yeah...
It will eventually be Spangel, just to warn you
at the moment it's pretty PG-13, but I'm not to sure about in the future
Angel stood taking deep, unneeded breaths, looking at the piles of dust he had created. A figured moved behind him and he swiveled to meet it, or at least he expected to.
She was incredibly small, probably only seemed so, but still. The blood spatter on her gave great contrast to her ivory skin and lacey white dress, which seemed outdated by at least a century. She looked more like one of Drusilla’s porcelain dolls that a child.
Angel knew he should be careful, he had no idea who this girl was, or what she was capable of. She could very well be a new Anointed One, she had no heartbeat he could hear, and she was cute enough to lure anyone into a dark alley. He kneeled down before her to get a better look at her. She brushed her fingers delicately across his forehead, her blue-gray eyes staring into him, almost at his soul.
“Angelus.” She whispered before closing her eyes and falling into his chest.
He couldn’t leave her alone like this, especially when there were still answers he needed. How did she know him? Why did she call him Angelus? The girl was hungry, exhausted, and beaten badly, why wait until she had found him to rest?
Angel scooped up the small girl and headed back to the Hyperion. She stirred a bit.
“She smells like you I think.” She said.
“Who?” Angel asked as she wrapped her arms around his neck as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“My Mama, she smells a bit like you. Sire smells like you the most. She’s not really my Mama, she just like when I call her that. She usually does anyway.” She trailed off, tired.
“Don’t use so much energy. When was the last time you fed?” it wasn’t honestly safe for him to assume she wasn’t going to hurt him, that this wasn’t some sort of elaborate trick, but he could tell she expected to be safe with him.
“Sadie only feeds when Mama and Darla-sire say she can. Sire’s gone, Darla-sire is in charge now. “The girl’s -Sadie’s- tone changed from sleep-thick to almost robotic and anxious. They’d reached the hotel by now, but Angel had frozen at the word Darla.
“Sire told me to find you. If I ever needed help I should find Angelus. I don’t want Darla-sire to find me, she thinks bad thoughts and they hurt, and she wants to do bad things. I can’t do the bad things like vampires are supposed to, I feel when the people hurt, but Darla-sire says that’s weak.” The tiny vampire sniffled, looking desperate and alone.
This was a very odd situation, Angel had decided as he stared at the small child passed out on his bed. There were still a lot of answers he needed, and only one way to get them. He needed to get a hold of Spike.
“Giles, it’s Angel, will you tell Spike that we need to talk, soon.” With that he flipped the phone shut, not having the patience to talk with the watcher right now. He went to the kitchen to warm up some blood. He didn’t expect a call back so soon.
“What is it exactly that we need to talk about Peaches?” a less than enthused Spike asked without a greeting.
“Your beaten and starving childe found me. Dru and Darla have her in some sort of trouble.” Angel answered, just as willing to skip the small talk.
“Sadie is with you? I’ll be there in- “
“Why didn’t you tell me you had a childe?” Angel growled, angry at his own, once favored, childe.
“You missed out on a lot after you did a runner there Peaches. I’ll explain everything when I get there. Just, take care of her alright?” Spike’s tone softened at the question, almost pleading.
“I’m warming up blood as we speak. “ Angel reassured.
“How-how bad is she?”
“You’ll see when you get here, don’t worry, I’ve got her.”
“Thank you.” Spike whispered, almost inaudibly, as if he didn’t actually want to be heard, “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“I’ll make sure she’s awake by then.” Angel promised before the line went dead. The microwave beeped, the blood was done. He took the mug and went back upstairs.
He set the mug on the table by the bed and pulled up a chair, watching his grand-childe sleep. Most vampires literally sleep like the dead, silent, no moving, no breathing (though most didn’t even do that awake), no life. Sadie, however, slept much more like the living, like her sire, tossing and turning, thumb stuck in her mouth.
She was cute, Angel admitted, but she could never become a master vampire. She was too young in her head. She looked no older than five, so she saw things as such. Even if she lived for centuries, she’d still be naïve, barely able to even read more than likely.
He had to wonder, though, about the things Sadie had said earlier. Darla’s violent thoughts causing her pain, feeling the pain of others; Angel knew this was possible, Dru had the sight, why couldn’t someone read thoughts and feel feelings of others? It was no wonder the poor girl looked half-starved, she could feel the pain of people, as if Darla would ever allow for a childe of hers to feed any other way. She would’ve probably cast the girl out on her own if it weren’t for her apparent gift.
Angel knew Sadie’s pain, at least to some degree, from the years in the sewers, with only the rats to drink from. He’d tried to drink from humans, but the fear in their eyes, his soul couldn’t take it. The regret and disgust he felt made him sick in those moments.
A small hand laced through his own fingers, looking away from the wall he didn’t realize he was staring at, he found Sadie giving him an attempt of a smile.
“Don’t think so sadly, it happened a long time ago. You feel very sorry, and you should feel very sorry, and that’s good enough for me.” She said nodding seriously. Angel could’ve laughed at this, she was trying to ease centuries worth of pain that he’d only within the last few years was able to get used to.
“How old are you little one?” he asked as he carefully handed her the warm mug.
“I was born in 1928, how old does that make me?” she asked in return sipping at the mug, she grimaced-more than likely at the flavor-but kept drinking.
“You’re 74, how old were you when your Sire turned you?” Angel questioned as the girl took huge gulps of blood.
“I was four, almost five. My father took me to the pretty fair, and I got lost, and I cried and cried. All the people made my head hurt. Sire found me and took me away. He took me to Mama and she said I was perfect.” Sadie handed the empty mug back to Angel.
“My Sire is coming right? I was hoping you’d know where he was . Mama wouldn’t tell me, and I needed to get away cause I hurt all over, and-and I had to find you- and I just want my sire. And I’m angry and I’m scared and I’m worried.” Angel moved to the bed and hugged the shivering vampire close to him.
“He’s coming little one. He was very worried about you.” He tried to think soothing thoughts, thinking maybe it would help the tiny telepath.
“It’s what my sire used to do.” She answered out loud his silent question.
“Do you always hear people’s thoughts?”
“If I try really hard I can make it quiet. But sometimes it doesn’t work, like with Darla-sire. Thoughts that are mean are really hard to make go away, cause they hurt. I don’t make the voice go away a lot because it makes my head go all dizzy and empty. “ Sadie replied after a while, “Don’t worry though, I don’t really listen all the time. It’s just like when people talk. You don’t hear what they say, but you hear the talking. I just feel what they’re thoughts are about.” Angel had to admire how smart this little girl was. Even if in reality she was old enough to be a grandmother.
Squealing tires, an engine cutting off, a frantically slammed car door, and the quick scuffling of heavy boots on pavement, these sounds weren’t lost on either vampire.
“Sire!” Sadie squealed happily. She grinned up at Angel, the bruises and dried blood reminding him that he’d have to deal with the rest of his “family” soon enough. As of right now, he’d let the girl be and just be happy her sire was here.
Sadie raced, as best she could, out the room and down the stairs, but she had slowed half way, she was still very hurt and exhausted. Angel trailed behind her, scooping her up when her pace lessened.
Spike met the pair at the bottom of the stairs. His eyes held so much worry and fear that he looked practically human. Angel handed off the toddler sized vampire to him with an attempted smile.
“I missed you very much Sire. I’m sorry we got separated. Mama isn’t as good as you are. Her silly head doesn’t help like yours.”
“I’m so sorry pet, so sorry. What happened to you?” Angel had never seen Spike so gentle with anything, not even Drusilla.
“Mama and I got taken by people, and then we were with Darla-sire. Mama had to bite her and make her a vampire again, and then Darla-sire said she had big plans for us and thought very bad things. I didn’t want to though, you know, because it hurts and I don’t like it, and Mama went to find you so you could be part of our family again. Darla-sire made me stay with her and she beat me a lot and told me she’s in charge now, and that I have to listen because you weren’t coming back. Then, she went to get someone to eat and I ran away and I found Angelus, just like you said to Sire. I’m really scared. Don’t leave me again, please.” She wrapped her arms around Spike’s neck like she had early with Angel, but this time she was clinging desperately.
“Shhh, it’s alright pet, Sire’s here. I’m not going anywhere. Me and Angel’ll take care of ya. Come on now, Sadie. Sire’s gotcha, you’ll be okay.” Spike started to rock slowly on his feet, back and forth, barely even stopping when he opened a vein in his neck with his finger, adjusting his childe to let her drink.
The scene would seem very strange to outsiders. A bleached-blond man in all black and a worn leather duster holding a demon-faced and dirty little girl that was feeding from his throat as a dark brooding man stood watching from the stairs. That didn’t sound straight out of a horror movie at all, nope. To the trio, though, it was just family. Angel shook himself out of his head and into the real world, leading Spike up to his room.
“We’re going to have to talk.”