TITLE: Cat's-Paw
AUTHOR: Ophelia
EMAIL: ophelia_rd@yahoo.com
DISCLAIMER: Joss, not I.
DISTRIBUTION: Let me know where it's going
CATEGORY: Darla, so far
RATING: M
PART: 1/?
FEEDBACK: Yes please!!!
VISIT ME: http://www.au.oocities.com/dra_gon_fly_er/
PS: Special thanx to Laure for betaing!!!
Cat's-Paw
They all stood around her, watching her like she was some kind of fierce animal in the zoo.
Oh well, this wasn't a zoo but some fine indoor office and she definitely wasn't an animal - at least not anymore. She felt tears building up behind her tightly closed eyelids and tried hard not to show them she was awake. Which was pretty hard since her body was making the most traitorous noises. Her tummy had been growling for hours on end, a growl that seemed to increase with every minute she listened to it. She also felt like blowing her nose, which she assumed to be an immediate effect of the air-conditioned dry air. She tried to hold her breath for a while or breathe through her nose, but it nonetheless felt awkward.
Breathing… the tiny blonde shuddered.
For almost five centuries she hadn't taken a single breath.
+Oh my God, I'm breathing,+ she thought. +Something must be terribly wrong.+
She had a vague idea why she was here - Angel. The vampire with a soul, who once in a different life had been her - the evil hers - favorite childe. Although she had never met the people around her, she could all too well imagine their reaction when they found out about their mistake. If this was, as she suspected, all about Angel they must have brought her back for only one reason; to destroy her fallen childe.
***
She struggled for another few hours, but the pangs of hunger and even worse thirst wouldn't disappear. If anything the opposite was the case. When she felt she couldn't take one more minute without water, she apathetically stumbled to her feet.
"Wa… Blood!" She demanded hoarsely[,] slamming her tiny fist into the wooden planks of her cage.
"She's awake…"
Even without her former enhanced senses she felt the abrupt change around her. Busy feet were scurrying to lower the shutters, making the sun-flooded room somewhat vampire-proof. Her heartbeat sped up and she thought she would faint when a couple of crowbars efficiently removed some of the planks.
Holding her breath, she warily watched two well-dressed men approach her confinement.
"Welcome back, Darla," one of them said, offering her a damp manicured hand.
Darla, however, didn't react. Arms folded in front of her chest she firmly remained in the same spot.
"Where am I?" She growled in her best vampire-Darla imitation. "And who are you?"
The two men didn't seemed to be offended by her rudeness.
+Must have experience with moody short-tempered vampires,+ she figured.
When she looked up again, she was offered a huge glass of what she correctly assumed to be blood.
"Here," the younger man smiled, gesturing her to step out of the box. "You must be hungry."
He didn't even flinch {about}[FROM] the warm coppery smell and it took her every ounce of self-control to do just the same. Just the smell was making her sick and for one short moment she felt tempted to throw the disgusting
red liquid into his curious face. But she didn't, of course. Instead, with a somewhat awkward expression, she accepted the glass and drained its content in less than a second all the while trying not to throw up. She could hardly suppress a wince, when she immediately was offered a second glass. But, so as not to rouse suspicion, she accepted it with a little nod and gulped it all down heavy-heartedly. Her stomach revolted violently against the nourishment offered and she was very sure that her face must have taken on a greenish color.
+I'd like to see the toffs' faces if I were to vomit on them.+
She felt a giggle building up, a giggle born out of despair and disgust.
+I just had a pint of blood - warm human blood…+
The coppery taste in her mouth was so omnipresent she couldn't conceal the waves of nausea washing over her.
"Please, have seat{,}[.]" {t}[T]he younger man's warm clammy hand caught her elbow and guided her to a chair. "You must feel terribly weak. "he offered her a comforting smile. "You mustn't worry about this now, you'll be back to your former strength within a couple of hours."
"Right," the second man cut in. "As for now can just sit here and Lindsey shall fill you in."
With a rakish smile he reached for the pitcher. "Would you care for another glass?"
more to come - some day, hopefully