016: Beating to a Funeral Song [Accidental Visual / Location: Hyperion Hotel]

[hamsterbait]

She could feel her heart beating.

The blood pulsed through her veins to a rhythm that, once upon a time, Drusilla would have danced along to. But she wasn't dancing today. Because it was her heart. A heart that had been silenced for centuries.

Her eyes snapped open.

No. Not her eyes. She'd fallen asleep as a vampire, safe in the forest and with

Comments

[ voice ]

[downtonine]

What the hell did you do to me, you bitch!

[ hello drusilla, do you recognize the sound of your own voice? ]

[Visual]

[hamsterbait]

She does, but she doesn't answer. Not at first. She twirled, gracefully, in front of the mirror, wondering what she could do to make this body more acceptable. She smoothed her hands over Cordelia's hips, a thoughtful frown on her unfamiliar face.

"I didn't do it," she said, eventually. "Why would I want to be you?"

[ voice ]

[downtonine]

[ ...okay, weirder and weirder. she's... actually talking to herself. or her body, to be more precise, only that someone else is in it. cordelia's already experienced what it was like to see her body from the outside, but this? totally different. ]

Who wouldn't want to be me? [ that was rhetorical, by the way. ] And hello, not like you should be underestimated - however insane you might be.

[Visual]

[hamsterbait]

She answered the question with a dark look. She'd been a vampire. Even with the chip in her head, she'd been powerful and free. Why would she want to go back to being human?

Turning back to the mirror, she experimentally piled Cordelia's hair up on her head. It would do.

"I hope you're going to look after me."

[ voice ]

[downtonine]

Don't do that to my hair! I look awful. Just... you know, comb it and wear it as I would. [ ...yes, cordelia, because giving tips about how your hair should be worn by someone else in your body is the sane thing to do. ]

Duh. Unfortunately I have to, since I am in your body. And on that note, why are you still sleeping with a doll? How old are you, seven?

[Visual]

[hamsterbait]

"I'm going to make you look pretty," she assured Cordelia. The silly human didn't make enough of herself. She'd never be beautiful, but she could be passable.

"Miss Edith?"

The idea of her beloved doll in Cordelia's arms made her skin crawl.

"If you don't look after her," she added, "I'll pluck your eyes out."

It'd be worth it. She'd be blind for a little while, but the Vision Girl would be damaged forever.

[ voice ]

[downtonine]

What are you, crazy? [ pause. ] Wait, stupid question.

[ she was about to call drusilla on that bluff - but cordelia knew that it isn't a bluff as much as it is a threat. being blind once, in sunnydale, evoked not-so-pretty memories. she didn't want to experience that again. ]

And if that body gains as much as a single pound or another scar? Your doll's toast. You hear me?

[Visual]

[hamsterbait]

That wouldn't work on Drusilla. They both knew who was the wicked one. Cordelia had limits that Drusilla would have no qualms about crossing.

She hummed, idly, twirling once more.

"What happens when a human drinks blood?" she mused. She was a little hungry.

[ voice ]

[downtonine]

Humans usually don't do that, you freak. [ another pause. ] Normal humans, that is. Unless you're pregnant with demonic hellspawns. [ oh, such fond memories. not. ] Besides, I doubt it'll taste the same to you, now that you have my non-vampire taste buds. Better stick to low-fat, low-sugar food.

[Visual]

[hamsterbait]

"Like chocolate," she said, suddenly. She'd always wanted a chance to have proper chocolate. (It was one of the many reasons why she'd gone through a phase of hunting the sugar coated girls who worked in the sweet shops.) "And lemons!"

[ voice ]

[downtonine]

[ ...what. oh god no. ] No! Not chocolate. Need I remind you that a single pound my body gains is equivalent to a limb of your doll that will be twisted off?

[Visual]

[hamsterbait]

Drusilla gave Cordelia a blank look. She'd never been concerned about counting calories before. She didn't understand the concept.

"She only has four limbs," she said, eventually, with an innocent smile, "You have lots of flesh."

[ voice ]

[downtonine]

[ this? this will be the sound of utter outrage. ]

You did not just call me fat.

[ technically drusilla really didn't but it sure did sound like it! ]

[Visual]

[hamsterbait]

No, she hadn't. Cordelia Chase was a lot of things - Drusilla's hatred went beyond words - but she wasn't fat. In different circumstances and if her life had taken a different turn, she might even have been pretty.

"No," she answered, apparently honestly, "Just human."