AB/BtVS FF: Living Underground 8/?
TITLE: Living Underground
AUTHOR: 38gnihsurc
RATING: en.sea.xvii overall
PAIRING: Willow/Asher, slight Willow/Richard and Willow/Asher/Nathaniel... plus, regular Anita pairings
SPOILERS: For the two fandoms... up until Micah for AB; the two series for Buffyverse stuff.
WARNINGS: A little bit of BDSM.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own anyone, except the Master of the City of Lafayette and her entourage.
NOTES: This story is a sequel to "Alive at Last."
Previous Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4-6, 7
PART EIGHT
The next evening, Willow woke up with a somewhat clearer mind. She was still worried---about Buffy's appearance and about Allura's arrival---but Asher's fingers were stroking over her spine and that simple touch relaxed her so much. Her conversation with Jean-Claude, which had continued until less than an hour before dawn, had also helped---but it hadn't provided definitive conclusions or answers.
Asher kissed her shoulder until she turned and smiled at him. Then, he held her close and they talked about some of her concerns. She still hadn't had any definitive conclusions formed in her mind, but knowing she wasn't alone---and that she would have their support---helped a lot.
They shared a bath together, during which Asher fed from her neck, and then they went their separate ways. Asher went to check in with Jean-Claude while Willow went to the kitchen---as soon as her legs could work---to find some breakfast.
Nathaniel and Jason were there. Willow smiled at them and before she could control the impulse, she hugged them both. They didn't seem to mind. If anything, Nathaniel seemed more relaxed afterwards, and Jason seemed happier; even she felt something positive stirring inside of her, a different sensation from what Richard could evoke and also different from what Asher could evoke.
"Here," Jason said, bringing her a cup of coffee, while she waited for her bagel to toast.
"Thanks," she murmured. She smiled at him and then looked at Nathaniel. "I didn't know you were spending the night," she said quietly.
He shrugged. "Well, I was already here... and I didn't want to make someone come and get me," he explained. He smiled again. "It's okay. Jason shared his bed with me."
"He doesn't hog the covers?" Willow asked in a teasing tone of voice.
Jason rolled his eyes. "Puh-lease! Nathaniel's the covers hog."
"I am not!"
"You so are!" Jason shot back, laughing a little.
Willow laughed as her bagel popped out of the toaster. She listened to them bicker back and forth as she spread cream cheese on the bread's surface; then, she turned and watched Nathaniel chase Jason around the kitchen with a wet dishcloth while she ate, pausing every few minutes to laugh at their antics. They weren't using all of their shapeshifter abilities, as if they were having more fun tormenting each other and drawing the moment out.
She had finished her breakfast and the young men were still playing around. Nathaniel pounced on Jason and they rolled across the kitchen. Jason pushed with his shoulder, moved his hand, and tickled the wereleopard; that tickling caused them to roll across the kitchen in the other direction. They rolled until they were almost out of the room---stopped only by Asher's presence in the doorway.
Willow smothered a laugh with her hand and she set her mug of coffee down as Asher stepped over the shapeshifters and walked to her. They shared a chaste kiss and then he leaned against the counter next to her.
"Play time?" he inquired.
"We hafta stay in shape," Jason commented, trying to sound nonchalant as he brushed his shorts off. "Nothing like a little friendly match of wrestling to work the muscles."
Asher shared a smirk with Willow and then he nodded. "Fair enough," he said, humour laced through his words.
"Did you want something?" Willow asked quietly, putting her hand on his arm.
"Ah... it can wait," he replied.
"Is it about Allura's visit?" He glanced at her and nodded. She squeezed his arm. "Tell us. If you can, I mean. If it's that vampire, top-secret political stuff... I can do without---"
"Allura has demanded, according to Dabney, that she be able to feed the ardeur while she is here," Asher said carefully, each word articulated very precisely. "Jean-Claude asked if she would like a willing victim, someone to bed while she visits, but she refused to feed from direct skin to skin contact."
Jason, who had moved closer to the couple, said, "So she wants to feed from afar."
"Oui," Asher confirmed.
"She wants a show to feed on," Nathaniel said, walking around the kitchen so he could sit on a clean and uncluttered area of the counter. "But, she doesn't want to go to Guilty Pleasures."
"Exactly," Asher said, nodding but not looking at the wereleopard. "She does not want to feed from a crowd of people she does not know---which, of course, is a lie, but to accuse her outright of lying would be completely inappropriate."
Willow frowned. "So... what's left... she wants to sit in a room and watch a couple of people go at it, while she feeds from them."
Asher didn't say anything, confirming Willow's statement. Then, he shrugged and said, "Not in a private room."
"She wants two people to... to screw in front of everyone?" Willow asked.
The vampire nodded.
"Well... that's insane!" the witch exclaimed. "How... I mean... honestly, can you ask anyone to---" she stopped short. She realised that Asher had already received his marching orders and that was why he was in the kitchen. "You... and me?"
"Mon corbeau has asked if we would perform... with the assistance of Nathaniel," Asher said quietly, looking no one in the eye. "It is Jean-Claude's belief that Allura will be flattered that we have satisfied her so much... perhaps she... will be more pleasant to deal with."
"Jean-Claude described her like a princess with fangs," Willow pointed out. "I know that might mean she's spoiled, but---"
Asher turned his head and looked at her. "She is coming from France, mon colibri," he confessed. "We have only just learned this information. She had become the Master of LaFayette within this year... and it is custom to travel to one's maker beforehand. She had done so; we had heard from Augustine, since when you were at Feral Byte, we were discussing old friends and enemies."
"She went to see Belle Morte," Jason said without preamble.
"Who is pissed because Willow and Anita couldn't be claimed or killed," Nathaniel added.
Willow glared at Asher. "And you couldn't tell me this before---"
"Jean-Claude only just told me---"
"Oh, I'm gonna kill him!" Willow exclaimed. She glared at Jason. "Did you know why he was asking all those questions last night? God and Goddess, of all the---"
"Mon colibri..."
She glared at her lover. "He wanted to make me feel better... so I'd... so... well, I don't know what exactly I'd be doing, yet, but he wanted to make sure I had no problems doing it!"
"Could you imagine that perhaps... he is serving two causes?" Asher asked. "Your happiness and comfort is crucial to our bond, but at the same time, he has Allura's visit to contend with."
Willow huffed. She wanted to stay angry, but she knew Jean-Claude's nature and she knew he was in a difficult situation with another Master of the City coming to St. Louis. She sighed and shrugged. "Okay, okay," she said, the fire fading from her voice. "I get it... I do. It's just... y'know?"
"It won't be so bad," Nathaniel promised, his eyes larger than before.
The witch felt apprehension rolling off of the wereleopard and before she knew it, she was walking to him. She stood between his legs and put her hands on his face. "Being with you won't be bad," she assured him. "I'm just not sure if I want my first time... with leather and whips and stuff... to be in front of a room full of people."
Nathaniel's shoulders relaxed and his eyes seemed to sparkle. "Then, we'll practice."
"Practice what?" Anita asked as she and Micah came into the well-lit room. Anita was holding a travel mug and was moving straight towards the coffee machine, so Willow assumed that she wanted a refill before going to see Jean-Claude.
"Hey, guys," Micah said as he followed her towards the group. He put his hand on Nathaniel's knee. "Missed you last night," he said quietly.
Nathaniel smiled. "Did you keep reading without me?" he asked, batting his lashes.
The wereleopard king chuckled. "Of course not," he murmured gruffly.
"Oh, goody," Nathaniel breathed, before beaming at Anita.
Willow stepped away from him---until Nathaniel reached out and touched her arm. His fingers curled around her forearm and held her at his side, before she could get too far away from him.
"Touch him, mon colibri," Asher breathed into her mind. "I suspect your relationship to your familiars is similar to mine with you, in some regards. You will feel better when you are in sync with each other. Do not let Anita scare you away."
"But---"
"Does it not feel right to have him near you?"
Willow blushed as Asher's question lingered in her head. He arched an eyebrow. She sighed and put her hand on Nathaniel's thigh, smoothing her fingers over the curve of his muscles, before they met his knee. The wereleopard shuddered and his grip on her arm faltered, but he then put his hand over hers.
Anita's eyes narrowed for a moment, but she recovered and managed a little smile. "So, what were you guys talking about when we got here? Practice?"
"Oh... for Allura's visit," Jason said quietly. "Just... y'know, so we're all comfy with each other and able to be on our best behavior."
"Guys, we just went through two other visits," Anita pointed out. "We're gonna do fine."
Micah looked from Asher to Willow and from Willow to Nathaniel and then from Nathaniel to Jason. Willow suspected that he knew there was something more to Jason's truth but that he was also waiting for someone else to unveil that information. Willow did not want to be that someone.
"Is Richard here yet?" Asher asked.
Anita blinked, surprised and unable to hide that reaction for a few moments, and then she said, "I didn't know he was coming here."
The blond vampire nodded. "We were to meet in the sitting room," he said calmly. "I had been coming to find mon colibri."
The necromancer's eyes narrowed again as they flitted from Willow's face to the hands that she and Nathaniel had placed upon each other. Willow wanted to release Nathaniel but something wouldn't let her. It felt right to be in contact with him, in a weird way that she couldn't quite describe.
"Well... maybe we should get more comfortable, then," Micah suggested.
Asher nodded again and put his hand on Willow's shoulder. The witch looked at him and opened her thoughts to his. "Richard will freak out, especially if he's going to be an appetizer or anything for Allura," she silently told him. "And so will Anita. Are you sure that having them together is a good idea?"
"Best to get it over with... all at once." Asher looked at Anita and Micah and nodded. They turned first and walked towards the doorway; Jason nudged Nathaniel as he slid off of the counter, and they walked in front of Willow and Asher, as the couple brought up the rear.
She arched an eyebrow and looked at him as they left the kitchen. "Quick and painless like a band-aid, huh?"
"Hopefully."
Willow stifled a snort. She sensed that the conversation would be anything but painless.
And when Richard arrived and when Jean-Claude and Asher explained why Allura's visit concerned them, Willow's beliefs had been confirmed.
Richard refused to be a part of any type of performance. He refused loudly. When Jean-Claude assured him that all he would have to do was sit, watch, and wear clothing that would attract Allura's and Odette's attention, he growled and sighed before slumping down in his seat. But, after his storm died down, he offered the services of his werewolves---not for performing, but for guarding and 'eye candy,' as Jean-Claude put it.
Anita had raved, furious that Jean-Claude would even consider having Nathaniel submit to Asher (and Willow, although she never mentioned the witch's name) without discussing it with her first. Micah put his hands on Anita's shoulders as she leaned forward in her seat on the sofa and proceeded to give the black haired vampire a piece of her mind. Willow looked from Anita to Jean-Claude and she could see faint signs that the Master of the City was losing his grip on an emotion she couldn't identify.
Asher put his hand on Willow's thigh, as they were sitting side by side, and he kissed her temple before nuzzling along her hairline. "Do not take offense," he advised.
"I know," she whispered, "I'm trying not to."
"Trying not to what?" Anita snapped.
Willow swallowed hard and looked at the necromancer through wide eyes. "I... um... nothing," she mumbled.
"Well, don't you have anything to say about this?" Anita asked her.
The witch shrugged. "Not... not really," she replied honestly. "I had already decided... well, Nathaniel's your live-in boyfriend and animal to call, but he's my familiar," she said, trying to explain what she was feeling and thinking. "And if I can give him something he needs, I'm going to. Performing doesn't bother him, so I'm going to try to do my best."
"Just like that."
Willow blushed. "Well, I don't know what I'm doing. Asher'll have to help me with that first." She looked at Asher, who nodded, and then she looked at Nathaniel and Jason, who were both looking at her with small smiles on their faces. She felt a little better with their encouragement.
Anita turned to Jean-Claude. "So, they have to practice, too?"
"But, of course," he replied, "for we want the scene to be effective and... and filling for Allura."
Anita frowned. "What would happen if we cancelled the visit?"
Jean-Claude opened his mouth and then closed it. He hesitated, and during those few seconds, Willow could almost see the wheels turning in his mind. When he spoke, his voice was level and calm---almost too calm.
"You would not have a pomme de sang," he told her. "You cannot go on feeding the way you have."
"But---"
"I had suggested to you that you include a few more people on your lists, so you could give your... your regular meals a rest, but you refused---"
"I wasn't going to feed off of---"
"Anita."
The woman stopped talking and looked at the vampire with angry, dark eyes. "This wasn't my idea," she ground out through her teeth.
"I know," he said in reply, "and every day I am reminded that it is my fault you require une pomme. But, ma petite, this is our reality... and Allura is on her way."
She sighed loudly. As she and Jean-Claude re-discussed the major reasons why she needed a new pomme de sang, Willow leaned back against Asher and watched Richard. He was still tense. She knew he wouldn't be comfortable with anyone feeding off of him---he didn't let anyone feed their ardeur from him. She could respect that; however, his firm attitudes worried her with Allura's visit upon the horizon.
Jason and Nathaniel startled her from her thoughts. Jason had propped himself up against the sofa, between her legs; he had moved her legs so they fell over his shoulders, resting against his chest with her feet resting against his stomach. Nathaniel had dropped himself on the sofa next to Willow and stretched out. Almost purring, the young wereleopard used her thighs as a pillow.
When they made those changes in their resting places, Anita's attention was upon them.
Nathaniel pouted a bit. "We're hers, too," he said, hoping to explain it so Anita would understand. "It feels... better being around her."
"And what does it feel like when you're with me?"
"Home," Nathaniel murmured. "Don't be jealous," he added. "Please. It's not about liking one of you more than the other, but just in different ways."
"Afterall," Asher said quietly, "isn't that how you explain one boyfriend to the other?"
The necromancer glared at Asher. "I can't believe you just said that! After I let---"
"Let?" he inquired, smirking when she stopped talking on her own. "You let me take a human servant, did you?"
The black haired woman's expression fell. "No," she said quietly, "I didn't... but... the idea of you dominating---"
"Is outside of your limits," Jean-Claude said, interrupting her. "Which is why I suggested that mon chardonneret and his lover perform in your stead."
Richard spoke up for the first time in a long time. He cleared his throat and rubbed his hands on his jeans as the words left his lips. "Allura wants to see something exciting... and we can give it to them. If she's acting for Belle Morte, we're in trouble. I don't want to make that mistake again. Maybe... maybe giving her some of what she wants will help us." He looked at Anita. "You can't do it. Not without freaking out or refusing a few times. And... we don't have the kind of time you'd need to be comfortable with it."
"But... it's just so..."
"It's not your thing, and that's okay," Richard said quietly. "No one's judging you... and you're not alone in that point of view."
Anita sighed and crossed her arms under her breasts. "Fine. But, I don't have to like it."
Jean-Claude rolled his eyes a little. "I would never imagine... in a million years... that you would."
Micah cleared his throat and then spoke. "It is just feeding from a distance, right?"
Jean-Claude nodded. "She refused the right to feed from one's flesh... on her own time," he replied. He sighed and shrugged. "I plan to have many of you dressed up, to enhance the experience for her."
The wereleopard shrugged, too. "That's okay," he conceded.
"Makeup, too?" Jean-Claude inquired.
Micah smiled and then chuckled. "Sure, whatever," he said while holding his hands up for a few seconds. Then, he grinned, "What about Richard?"
Richard snorted. "If you think for an instant... that I'll be wearing makeup..."
"Mon ami," Jean-Claude purred, "you would look so bold with a little brown eyeliner... perhaps some bronze glow." He smirked in Asher's direction. "Don't you think so, mon chardonneret?"
Asher nodded and smiled. When he spoke, his voice was full of unreleased laughter. "Very... enticing."
"I'm not trying to entice you," Richard muttered.
"Mmm, non, but you do it anyway," Asher teased.
Willow fought to hide a smile as Richard's cheeks actually flushed. He turned and looked at her; his angry expression dissolved slightly and a smile tugged at his lips. "You really can't get him to tone it down, can you?"
"If I tried, he'd only tease you more," Willow said, holding her laughter inside her chest. "I'd say, normally, that the best way to push him away would be to give him some of his own medicine, but... I think he'd like that too much," she teased. She grinned at the blond vampire as he nodded, conceding her point. "So, you're just gonna have to deal with it," she added.
"Oh, she knows you so well," Jean-Claude said in an amused tone of voice. He rubbed his hands on his pants as he changed subjects. "Ma petite, we will need some of your wereleopards to... deck the halls, so to speak."
"Who?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Perhaps Cherry, because Allura has always had an affection for attractive women, and Gregory, so we can have both twins together---with Richard's permission, of course," he replied with a nod towards the Ulfric.
Richard nodded. "Stephen will be here," he said. "We need someone to help with hair and makeup."
"Oui," Asher agreed.
Anita frowned. "Anything else?"
"Your glowing, delightful self," Jean-Claude replied without a hint of sarcasm or bitterness, "perhaps in an outfit of my choosing."
"Something tasteful," she warned. "No strategically-placed straps."
Willow blushed as she spoke up. "Actually, the shirt made out of straps isn't too uncomfortable," she commented. When Richard, Micah, and Anita turned and looked at her, she blushed even more and insisted, "Well, it's not!"
"I believe you," Nathaniel said quietly.
"Me, too," Jason added.
"Seriously?" Anita asked.
Willow nodded. "It was well-made. It wasn't something cheap... it was almost custom-made---"
"It was custom-made," Asher interjected.
The witch turned her head and looked at him. "How did you do that?" she asked. "Did you measure me in my sleep?"
"Since you sleep while I am dead to the world, that is unlikely," he murmured, smiling at her. He added: "I have good eyes."
"I'm kinda flattered that you pay so much attention... and kinda creeped out," she joked, her tongue poking out from between her top and bottom front teeth as she grinned.
Asher smirked and tweaked her chin. "Just be flattered," he advised.
"Okay," she said, smiling still.
The blond vampire gently brushed his fingers over her cheek and then he said, "We will have your first lesson in the next few days." He turned and looked at Anita. "Would you care to join us?"
Anita frowned. "Definitely not."
Jean-Claude frowned, too. "Ma petite, you should watch even a little... before the feast, because a strong, united front---"
"I'm not going to sit and watch Asher teach Willow how to whip Nathaniel."
Nathaniel purred a little as he spoke. "There's more to it than that," he pointed out. He turned his wide lilac eyes upon her. "Will you watch us... a little... after Willow gets comfortable with it?"
"Nathaniel," Anita said quietly, "I can't even watch your movies---"
"But those aren't personal. They're not really me," he interrupted. "This is me. I... you don't have to participate. But, I'd like to share it with you."
"Nathaniel..."
He batted his lashes and pouted a little. "Please? Before Allura comes?"
"Okay."
"Promise?" he pushed.
She sighed and bowed her head before nodding a few times. Nathaniel's lips stretched into a huge grin. Micah smiled but Anita couldn't see it; Willow knew that Anita didn't make promises lightly so she knew that Nathaniel and Micah knew that as well. Nathaniel had gotten her to agree to watch, at least twice. She didn't know if she wanted the necromancer to watch her as Asher tried to teach her something that she felt was out of her depths, but she knew it was important to Nathaniel, so she didn't balk at the idea.
Jean-Claude looked at Richard. "It might be wise for you, too, to watch," he said quietly. "I do not want your quick reactions to halt Allura's feeding."
Richard frowned but he nodded without saying a word. He looked at Willow, his eyes much more open than his side of the bond she shared with him, and she could see how concerned he was---for her, for him, for all of them. But, she felt that his recognition of his problem, in this scenario, and his (albeit reluctant) agreement to work on that problem were worth quite a lot.
TBC...
AUTHOR: 38gnihsurc
RATING: en.sea.xvii overall
PAIRING: Willow/Asher, slight Willow/Richard and Willow/Asher/Nathaniel... plus, regular Anita pairings
SPOILERS: For the two fandoms... up until Micah for AB; the two series for Buffyverse stuff.
WARNINGS: A little bit of BDSM.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own anyone, except the Master of the City of Lafayette and her entourage.
NOTES: This story is a sequel to "Alive at Last."
Previous Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4-6, 7
PART EIGHT
The next evening, Willow woke up with a somewhat clearer mind. She was still worried---about Buffy's appearance and about Allura's arrival---but Asher's fingers were stroking over her spine and that simple touch relaxed her so much. Her conversation with Jean-Claude, which had continued until less than an hour before dawn, had also helped---but it hadn't provided definitive conclusions or answers.
Asher kissed her shoulder until she turned and smiled at him. Then, he held her close and they talked about some of her concerns. She still hadn't had any definitive conclusions formed in her mind, but knowing she wasn't alone---and that she would have their support---helped a lot.
They shared a bath together, during which Asher fed from her neck, and then they went their separate ways. Asher went to check in with Jean-Claude while Willow went to the kitchen---as soon as her legs could work---to find some breakfast.
Nathaniel and Jason were there. Willow smiled at them and before she could control the impulse, she hugged them both. They didn't seem to mind. If anything, Nathaniel seemed more relaxed afterwards, and Jason seemed happier; even she felt something positive stirring inside of her, a different sensation from what Richard could evoke and also different from what Asher could evoke.
"Here," Jason said, bringing her a cup of coffee, while she waited for her bagel to toast.
"Thanks," she murmured. She smiled at him and then looked at Nathaniel. "I didn't know you were spending the night," she said quietly.
He shrugged. "Well, I was already here... and I didn't want to make someone come and get me," he explained. He smiled again. "It's okay. Jason shared his bed with me."
"He doesn't hog the covers?" Willow asked in a teasing tone of voice.
Jason rolled his eyes. "Puh-lease! Nathaniel's the covers hog."
"I am not!"
"You so are!" Jason shot back, laughing a little.
Willow laughed as her bagel popped out of the toaster. She listened to them bicker back and forth as she spread cream cheese on the bread's surface; then, she turned and watched Nathaniel chase Jason around the kitchen with a wet dishcloth while she ate, pausing every few minutes to laugh at their antics. They weren't using all of their shapeshifter abilities, as if they were having more fun tormenting each other and drawing the moment out.
She had finished her breakfast and the young men were still playing around. Nathaniel pounced on Jason and they rolled across the kitchen. Jason pushed with his shoulder, moved his hand, and tickled the wereleopard; that tickling caused them to roll across the kitchen in the other direction. They rolled until they were almost out of the room---stopped only by Asher's presence in the doorway.
Willow smothered a laugh with her hand and she set her mug of coffee down as Asher stepped over the shapeshifters and walked to her. They shared a chaste kiss and then he leaned against the counter next to her.
"Play time?" he inquired.
"We hafta stay in shape," Jason commented, trying to sound nonchalant as he brushed his shorts off. "Nothing like a little friendly match of wrestling to work the muscles."
Asher shared a smirk with Willow and then he nodded. "Fair enough," he said, humour laced through his words.
"Did you want something?" Willow asked quietly, putting her hand on his arm.
"Ah... it can wait," he replied.
"Is it about Allura's visit?" He glanced at her and nodded. She squeezed his arm. "Tell us. If you can, I mean. If it's that vampire, top-secret political stuff... I can do without---"
"Allura has demanded, according to Dabney, that she be able to feed the ardeur while she is here," Asher said carefully, each word articulated very precisely. "Jean-Claude asked if she would like a willing victim, someone to bed while she visits, but she refused to feed from direct skin to skin contact."
Jason, who had moved closer to the couple, said, "So she wants to feed from afar."
"Oui," Asher confirmed.
"She wants a show to feed on," Nathaniel said, walking around the kitchen so he could sit on a clean and uncluttered area of the counter. "But, she doesn't want to go to Guilty Pleasures."
"Exactly," Asher said, nodding but not looking at the wereleopard. "She does not want to feed from a crowd of people she does not know---which, of course, is a lie, but to accuse her outright of lying would be completely inappropriate."
Willow frowned. "So... what's left... she wants to sit in a room and watch a couple of people go at it, while she feeds from them."
Asher didn't say anything, confirming Willow's statement. Then, he shrugged and said, "Not in a private room."
"She wants two people to... to screw in front of everyone?" Willow asked.
The vampire nodded.
"Well... that's insane!" the witch exclaimed. "How... I mean... honestly, can you ask anyone to---" she stopped short. She realised that Asher had already received his marching orders and that was why he was in the kitchen. "You... and me?"
"Mon corbeau has asked if we would perform... with the assistance of Nathaniel," Asher said quietly, looking no one in the eye. "It is Jean-Claude's belief that Allura will be flattered that we have satisfied her so much... perhaps she... will be more pleasant to deal with."
"Jean-Claude described her like a princess with fangs," Willow pointed out. "I know that might mean she's spoiled, but---"
Asher turned his head and looked at her. "She is coming from France, mon colibri," he confessed. "We have only just learned this information. She had become the Master of LaFayette within this year... and it is custom to travel to one's maker beforehand. She had done so; we had heard from Augustine, since when you were at Feral Byte, we were discussing old friends and enemies."
"She went to see Belle Morte," Jason said without preamble.
"Who is pissed because Willow and Anita couldn't be claimed or killed," Nathaniel added.
Willow glared at Asher. "And you couldn't tell me this before---"
"Jean-Claude only just told me---"
"Oh, I'm gonna kill him!" Willow exclaimed. She glared at Jason. "Did you know why he was asking all those questions last night? God and Goddess, of all the---"
"Mon colibri..."
She glared at her lover. "He wanted to make me feel better... so I'd... so... well, I don't know what exactly I'd be doing, yet, but he wanted to make sure I had no problems doing it!"
"Could you imagine that perhaps... he is serving two causes?" Asher asked. "Your happiness and comfort is crucial to our bond, but at the same time, he has Allura's visit to contend with."
Willow huffed. She wanted to stay angry, but she knew Jean-Claude's nature and she knew he was in a difficult situation with another Master of the City coming to St. Louis. She sighed and shrugged. "Okay, okay," she said, the fire fading from her voice. "I get it... I do. It's just... y'know?"
"It won't be so bad," Nathaniel promised, his eyes larger than before.
The witch felt apprehension rolling off of the wereleopard and before she knew it, she was walking to him. She stood between his legs and put her hands on his face. "Being with you won't be bad," she assured him. "I'm just not sure if I want my first time... with leather and whips and stuff... to be in front of a room full of people."
Nathaniel's shoulders relaxed and his eyes seemed to sparkle. "Then, we'll practice."
"Practice what?" Anita asked as she and Micah came into the well-lit room. Anita was holding a travel mug and was moving straight towards the coffee machine, so Willow assumed that she wanted a refill before going to see Jean-Claude.
"Hey, guys," Micah said as he followed her towards the group. He put his hand on Nathaniel's knee. "Missed you last night," he said quietly.
Nathaniel smiled. "Did you keep reading without me?" he asked, batting his lashes.
The wereleopard king chuckled. "Of course not," he murmured gruffly.
"Oh, goody," Nathaniel breathed, before beaming at Anita.
Willow stepped away from him---until Nathaniel reached out and touched her arm. His fingers curled around her forearm and held her at his side, before she could get too far away from him.
"Touch him, mon colibri," Asher breathed into her mind. "I suspect your relationship to your familiars is similar to mine with you, in some regards. You will feel better when you are in sync with each other. Do not let Anita scare you away."
"But---"
"Does it not feel right to have him near you?"
Willow blushed as Asher's question lingered in her head. He arched an eyebrow. She sighed and put her hand on Nathaniel's thigh, smoothing her fingers over the curve of his muscles, before they met his knee. The wereleopard shuddered and his grip on her arm faltered, but he then put his hand over hers.
Anita's eyes narrowed for a moment, but she recovered and managed a little smile. "So, what were you guys talking about when we got here? Practice?"
"Oh... for Allura's visit," Jason said quietly. "Just... y'know, so we're all comfy with each other and able to be on our best behavior."
"Guys, we just went through two other visits," Anita pointed out. "We're gonna do fine."
Micah looked from Asher to Willow and from Willow to Nathaniel and then from Nathaniel to Jason. Willow suspected that he knew there was something more to Jason's truth but that he was also waiting for someone else to unveil that information. Willow did not want to be that someone.
"Is Richard here yet?" Asher asked.
Anita blinked, surprised and unable to hide that reaction for a few moments, and then she said, "I didn't know he was coming here."
The blond vampire nodded. "We were to meet in the sitting room," he said calmly. "I had been coming to find mon colibri."
The necromancer's eyes narrowed again as they flitted from Willow's face to the hands that she and Nathaniel had placed upon each other. Willow wanted to release Nathaniel but something wouldn't let her. It felt right to be in contact with him, in a weird way that she couldn't quite describe.
"Well... maybe we should get more comfortable, then," Micah suggested.
Asher nodded again and put his hand on Willow's shoulder. The witch looked at him and opened her thoughts to his. "Richard will freak out, especially if he's going to be an appetizer or anything for Allura," she silently told him. "And so will Anita. Are you sure that having them together is a good idea?"
"Best to get it over with... all at once." Asher looked at Anita and Micah and nodded. They turned first and walked towards the doorway; Jason nudged Nathaniel as he slid off of the counter, and they walked in front of Willow and Asher, as the couple brought up the rear.
She arched an eyebrow and looked at him as they left the kitchen. "Quick and painless like a band-aid, huh?"
"Hopefully."
Willow stifled a snort. She sensed that the conversation would be anything but painless.
And when Richard arrived and when Jean-Claude and Asher explained why Allura's visit concerned them, Willow's beliefs had been confirmed.
Richard refused to be a part of any type of performance. He refused loudly. When Jean-Claude assured him that all he would have to do was sit, watch, and wear clothing that would attract Allura's and Odette's attention, he growled and sighed before slumping down in his seat. But, after his storm died down, he offered the services of his werewolves---not for performing, but for guarding and 'eye candy,' as Jean-Claude put it.
Anita had raved, furious that Jean-Claude would even consider having Nathaniel submit to Asher (and Willow, although she never mentioned the witch's name) without discussing it with her first. Micah put his hands on Anita's shoulders as she leaned forward in her seat on the sofa and proceeded to give the black haired vampire a piece of her mind. Willow looked from Anita to Jean-Claude and she could see faint signs that the Master of the City was losing his grip on an emotion she couldn't identify.
Asher put his hand on Willow's thigh, as they were sitting side by side, and he kissed her temple before nuzzling along her hairline. "Do not take offense," he advised.
"I know," she whispered, "I'm trying not to."
"Trying not to what?" Anita snapped.
Willow swallowed hard and looked at the necromancer through wide eyes. "I... um... nothing," she mumbled.
"Well, don't you have anything to say about this?" Anita asked her.
The witch shrugged. "Not... not really," she replied honestly. "I had already decided... well, Nathaniel's your live-in boyfriend and animal to call, but he's my familiar," she said, trying to explain what she was feeling and thinking. "And if I can give him something he needs, I'm going to. Performing doesn't bother him, so I'm going to try to do my best."
"Just like that."
Willow blushed. "Well, I don't know what I'm doing. Asher'll have to help me with that first." She looked at Asher, who nodded, and then she looked at Nathaniel and Jason, who were both looking at her with small smiles on their faces. She felt a little better with their encouragement.
Anita turned to Jean-Claude. "So, they have to practice, too?"
"But, of course," he replied, "for we want the scene to be effective and... and filling for Allura."
Anita frowned. "What would happen if we cancelled the visit?"
Jean-Claude opened his mouth and then closed it. He hesitated, and during those few seconds, Willow could almost see the wheels turning in his mind. When he spoke, his voice was level and calm---almost too calm.
"You would not have a pomme de sang," he told her. "You cannot go on feeding the way you have."
"But---"
"I had suggested to you that you include a few more people on your lists, so you could give your... your regular meals a rest, but you refused---"
"I wasn't going to feed off of---"
"Anita."
The woman stopped talking and looked at the vampire with angry, dark eyes. "This wasn't my idea," she ground out through her teeth.
"I know," he said in reply, "and every day I am reminded that it is my fault you require une pomme. But, ma petite, this is our reality... and Allura is on her way."
She sighed loudly. As she and Jean-Claude re-discussed the major reasons why she needed a new pomme de sang, Willow leaned back against Asher and watched Richard. He was still tense. She knew he wouldn't be comfortable with anyone feeding off of him---he didn't let anyone feed their ardeur from him. She could respect that; however, his firm attitudes worried her with Allura's visit upon the horizon.
Jason and Nathaniel startled her from her thoughts. Jason had propped himself up against the sofa, between her legs; he had moved her legs so they fell over his shoulders, resting against his chest with her feet resting against his stomach. Nathaniel had dropped himself on the sofa next to Willow and stretched out. Almost purring, the young wereleopard used her thighs as a pillow.
When they made those changes in their resting places, Anita's attention was upon them.
Nathaniel pouted a bit. "We're hers, too," he said, hoping to explain it so Anita would understand. "It feels... better being around her."
"And what does it feel like when you're with me?"
"Home," Nathaniel murmured. "Don't be jealous," he added. "Please. It's not about liking one of you more than the other, but just in different ways."
"Afterall," Asher said quietly, "isn't that how you explain one boyfriend to the other?"
The necromancer glared at Asher. "I can't believe you just said that! After I let---"
"Let?" he inquired, smirking when she stopped talking on her own. "You let me take a human servant, did you?"
The black haired woman's expression fell. "No," she said quietly, "I didn't... but... the idea of you dominating---"
"Is outside of your limits," Jean-Claude said, interrupting her. "Which is why I suggested that mon chardonneret and his lover perform in your stead."
Richard spoke up for the first time in a long time. He cleared his throat and rubbed his hands on his jeans as the words left his lips. "Allura wants to see something exciting... and we can give it to them. If she's acting for Belle Morte, we're in trouble. I don't want to make that mistake again. Maybe... maybe giving her some of what she wants will help us." He looked at Anita. "You can't do it. Not without freaking out or refusing a few times. And... we don't have the kind of time you'd need to be comfortable with it."
"But... it's just so..."
"It's not your thing, and that's okay," Richard said quietly. "No one's judging you... and you're not alone in that point of view."
Anita sighed and crossed her arms under her breasts. "Fine. But, I don't have to like it."
Jean-Claude rolled his eyes a little. "I would never imagine... in a million years... that you would."
Micah cleared his throat and then spoke. "It is just feeding from a distance, right?"
Jean-Claude nodded. "She refused the right to feed from one's flesh... on her own time," he replied. He sighed and shrugged. "I plan to have many of you dressed up, to enhance the experience for her."
The wereleopard shrugged, too. "That's okay," he conceded.
"Makeup, too?" Jean-Claude inquired.
Micah smiled and then chuckled. "Sure, whatever," he said while holding his hands up for a few seconds. Then, he grinned, "What about Richard?"
Richard snorted. "If you think for an instant... that I'll be wearing makeup..."
"Mon ami," Jean-Claude purred, "you would look so bold with a little brown eyeliner... perhaps some bronze glow." He smirked in Asher's direction. "Don't you think so, mon chardonneret?"
Asher nodded and smiled. When he spoke, his voice was full of unreleased laughter. "Very... enticing."
"I'm not trying to entice you," Richard muttered.
"Mmm, non, but you do it anyway," Asher teased.
Willow fought to hide a smile as Richard's cheeks actually flushed. He turned and looked at her; his angry expression dissolved slightly and a smile tugged at his lips. "You really can't get him to tone it down, can you?"
"If I tried, he'd only tease you more," Willow said, holding her laughter inside her chest. "I'd say, normally, that the best way to push him away would be to give him some of his own medicine, but... I think he'd like that too much," she teased. She grinned at the blond vampire as he nodded, conceding her point. "So, you're just gonna have to deal with it," she added.
"Oh, she knows you so well," Jean-Claude said in an amused tone of voice. He rubbed his hands on his pants as he changed subjects. "Ma petite, we will need some of your wereleopards to... deck the halls, so to speak."
"Who?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Perhaps Cherry, because Allura has always had an affection for attractive women, and Gregory, so we can have both twins together---with Richard's permission, of course," he replied with a nod towards the Ulfric.
Richard nodded. "Stephen will be here," he said. "We need someone to help with hair and makeup."
"Oui," Asher agreed.
Anita frowned. "Anything else?"
"Your glowing, delightful self," Jean-Claude replied without a hint of sarcasm or bitterness, "perhaps in an outfit of my choosing."
"Something tasteful," she warned. "No strategically-placed straps."
Willow blushed as she spoke up. "Actually, the shirt made out of straps isn't too uncomfortable," she commented. When Richard, Micah, and Anita turned and looked at her, she blushed even more and insisted, "Well, it's not!"
"I believe you," Nathaniel said quietly.
"Me, too," Jason added.
"Seriously?" Anita asked.
Willow nodded. "It was well-made. It wasn't something cheap... it was almost custom-made---"
"It was custom-made," Asher interjected.
The witch turned her head and looked at him. "How did you do that?" she asked. "Did you measure me in my sleep?"
"Since you sleep while I am dead to the world, that is unlikely," he murmured, smiling at her. He added: "I have good eyes."
"I'm kinda flattered that you pay so much attention... and kinda creeped out," she joked, her tongue poking out from between her top and bottom front teeth as she grinned.
Asher smirked and tweaked her chin. "Just be flattered," he advised.
"Okay," she said, smiling still.
The blond vampire gently brushed his fingers over her cheek and then he said, "We will have your first lesson in the next few days." He turned and looked at Anita. "Would you care to join us?"
Anita frowned. "Definitely not."
Jean-Claude frowned, too. "Ma petite, you should watch even a little... before the feast, because a strong, united front---"
"I'm not going to sit and watch Asher teach Willow how to whip Nathaniel."
Nathaniel purred a little as he spoke. "There's more to it than that," he pointed out. He turned his wide lilac eyes upon her. "Will you watch us... a little... after Willow gets comfortable with it?"
"Nathaniel," Anita said quietly, "I can't even watch your movies---"
"But those aren't personal. They're not really me," he interrupted. "This is me. I... you don't have to participate. But, I'd like to share it with you."
"Nathaniel..."
He batted his lashes and pouted a little. "Please? Before Allura comes?"
"Okay."
"Promise?" he pushed.
She sighed and bowed her head before nodding a few times. Nathaniel's lips stretched into a huge grin. Micah smiled but Anita couldn't see it; Willow knew that Anita didn't make promises lightly so she knew that Nathaniel and Micah knew that as well. Nathaniel had gotten her to agree to watch, at least twice. She didn't know if she wanted the necromancer to watch her as Asher tried to teach her something that she felt was out of her depths, but she knew it was important to Nathaniel, so she didn't balk at the idea.
Jean-Claude looked at Richard. "It might be wise for you, too, to watch," he said quietly. "I do not want your quick reactions to halt Allura's feeding."
Richard frowned but he nodded without saying a word. He looked at Willow, his eyes much more open than his side of the bond she shared with him, and she could see how concerned he was---for her, for him, for all of them. But, she felt that his recognition of his problem, in this scenario, and his (albeit reluctant) agreement to work on that problem were worth quite a lot.
TBC...