Madness is Part of All of Us, All the Time, it Comes and Goes, Waxes and Wanes

[which_willow]

Characters: Willow Rosenberg, Alexei Romanov, El'Ari Brooks and Dree Brooks-Donovan
Rating: PG 13 because I like the safe side
Time Period: Modern
Location: Child Room
Relative Date: A day after  Jack takes Alexei to his Room
Status: Open

Willow still couldn't quite believe that this kid was a vampire. Vampires were big and bad (usually) and ugly (usually

Comments

[longago_buried]

Alexei stirred once the night had fallen, blinking as he slowly came too, sitting up in the bed. he was wearing a decent pyjamas Jack had put him in after the bath, his hair a bit ruffled and sleep in his face. jack had been smart enough to leave a bag of blood by the bed for Willows safely, and the first thing he did was bite into it and drink, empting it pretty fast as he was hungry. He looked up at her with his impassive eyes, feigning an interest he did not have.

"What are you doing?" he asked in his accented voice yawning, small fangs showing as he did.

[elari_brooks]

El looked at the room names as they walked down the hallway. "Each of these rooms has a different name." She glanced down and noticed something on the floor. "Hold on a second, babe."

She crouched and drifted a finger across one of the spots. With concern, she realized what it was and scanned the floor more more spots. "Hey, sweetie, this is blood." She pointed out the trail to Dree. "It looks like it leads to that room." She stood and walked to the door. She looked at the name on the room and blanched. "Oh, Gods." she turned to Dree, "the room name is 'Child'."

[heartof_thezone]

Dree was looking at the door across the hall when El stopped. Leaning forward, she glances over El's shoulder and saw the red spots. "Is it.. the other man, El. He was bleeding." She remembered seeing blood on the floor of the red room, with all the paintings. This blood, though, looked fresh.

Seeing the word carved into the door made Dree's stomach turn. "Should we knock?" Dree reached for the solid surface and knocked lightly.

[which_willow]

A child drinking blood from a bag- it was something she didn't think she'd ever see. It was unsettling, but she was determined to hide her discomfort and help the boy. "I'm here to make sure you stay safe Alexei," she said, going for the reassuring den mother approach. Jack had told her about the Master, and Alexei's Master and she didn't want him to think she wanted to be a 'master'. Why was the word Master always associated with some crazy person who created chaos? "Do you need anything sweetie?" Willow asked, unable to think she was actually talking to a vampire. Sure, there were teeth, but he was so little! Almost automatic, like a robot but still... a child. Oh God, she was going to be helpless to Morgana's baby. Children had some kind of weird mojo magic of their own, she was sure

[longago_buried]

Alexei blinked slowly at the knock, He was not to bothered by Willow. Women had never scared him as a vampire, mostly because he had grown up with tons of sisters which had pampered him like a doll, even put dresses on him at times.

"I know you are." he said in reply to her 'stay safe' as he got out of the bed, curious to see who it was. Alexei was almost 14 years old, but his sickness as young had left him with the body of a 10 years old, small and pale. "Who is it?" said his dull, small Russian accented voice.

[elari_brooks]

El walked with Dree and Alexei as they moved down the hallways to the kitchen. "What kind of cake do you want to make, Alexei?"

She looked at Dree and smiled. It was almost like having one of the kids with them. Granted this child was an old vampire and drank blood instead of eating food.

[longago_buried]

"I used to like Chocolate and Jam cake. I like to bake too. But I cannot eat it." he said a bit sadly, a flicker of emotion now in those blue eyes. He walked with them, and as he did so, he snaked his hands out to grasp theirs.

Alexei was about 90 years old, but Appiuls Livius Ocello, which was his Master, had always treated him like a doll and a child, so he had remained to be one. Even when the official findings of the skeleton. That had been horrible for Alexei. Because Appius had cut out bones from his body to place in the grave. But he had accepted it because he loved his master. He loved him because his blood was tied to him.

[heartof_thezone]

"Chocolate and jam, huh? I like jam," she said, thinking about biscuits and jam. My favorite dessert is actually pie."

Dree smiled as a smaller hand found hers. She ran a thumb lightly over the back of Alexei's hand and gave a look to El, ready to pull him up at a moment's notice and let him dangle between them.

She was having trouble not seeing him as anything more than a child, but she didn't care. There was someone who needed some attention and she had more than enough attention to give.

[randomly, if we need to organize something for why Alexei is alone the next morning, D is open for the noon watch and had stepped out for something, etc. Or not.. we'll figure it out later]

[elari_brooks]

El smiled as the small hand reached hers. She squeezed it lightly, affectionately. "Chocolate with jam? That sounds good. I am sorry you can no longer have it." She told him, "would even a little taste make you ill?"

She looked at Dree, who smiled in return. She could see a light in her wife's eyes that she hadn't seen in a while. She was always happiest around children. She knew though that the little boy who walked between them was anything but a child, but his actions don't reflect any different from his physical looks. She just hoped that Dree understood that, while Alexei was a child, he was equally a potential monster in a child's body. However, at the moment, he was every bit the child that he looked.

El lifted him by his arm and the two let him swing between them. It was a game their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren had enjoyed immensely. She wasn't sure though, if Alexei was enjoying it or not. His emotions were very deep and hard to read.