Birthright : Crouching Tiger, Hidden Vampire

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Vampire
Spike was thankful for underground parking garages.

Mostly because they kept the sun at bay, which meant the Champion was in virtually no danger of suddenly bursting into flames -- unless the cigarette lighter in Chloe's car suddenly broke or whatever, causing everything within a 300-foot radius to become engulfed in flames. But that wasn't likely, was it?

Spike hoped not.

Surveying his surroundings, the vampire seemed content in what he had to work with while training Chloe to not be helpless. He admired her desire to stick up for herself, her willingness to hold her ground and fight back, not scream bloody horror and run off into a dark alley in heels and a top that looked any minute as if it would fall off, leaving her chest bouncing along as she ran away from whatever it was that frightened her.

Because those damsels in distress? Those were the ones Spike wastempted to let get killed. Maybe if enough of them got whacked, other ditzy bimbos would eventually learn their lesson.

But Chloe wasn't one of those, and for that, the Champion was glad. He was also glad to be able to help someone like this; before, Spike was always helping those in dire peril, those on the brink of death or Armageddon. It was nice to be able to lend a helping hand just because for once, and if nothing else, it validated Spike's decision to take this little journey to Los Angeles.

Even if the city still sucked.

"Right," Spike said, partly to himself. "What first, then?"

(Thread open to Chloe.)

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pocket_aces
2007-12-13 11:55 (link)

There was a war going inside Chloe's head. Part of her wanted to scream. Part of her wanted to drive into the sunlight and turn this vampire sitting next to her to dust. Yesterday, if she had known Spike was a vampire, would she have still sought him out to help her?

That's when the other side of her kicked in. What better way to learn, then by a vampire?

It was strange. Her first encounter with a vampire had left her frightened, but unhurt. That same vampire had virtually rescued her from the dungeon of Tristan, and certain death.

Chloe wanted to be stronger. She wanted to not be scared anymore. She was lonely, and alone, and had no one. Not anymore. This was the only way. If she wanted to be independent, confident, and strong, this was the only way.

She would learn from Spike. Life had many layers. No blacks or whites, just gray. Vampires were a part of that gray world. Most were evil, and Chloe knew it was only Spike's soul that kept him from killing her.

It was all about soul.

Chloe didn't want to lose her soul, so she would learn. She would learn averything she could.

She turned to Spike as he asked his question, parking her mustang in a darkened corner of the covered lot. "Teach me how to save my soul?"

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souled_spike
2007-12-13 13:02 (link)

"Well, yeah," the vampire responded with a cheeky grin. "Cause traveling halfway across the world to get it back is no bloody picnic."

Stepping out of the car, Spike gave a small sigh, glad to be out of the sunlight's cover. He still smelled a little like bacon, which was really annoying, but better to be annoyed than extra crispy, right?

Unless, of course, you were the Colonel.

"Slayers have a rule," he began. "Don't die. Rather simple, yeah, but it works.

"Oh, yeah ... you can't talk about Fight Club, either."

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pocket_aces
2007-12-15 18:21 (link)

"I'm not planning on dying, not that I'm a slayer..." Chloe began. "And...fight club?" She gave the blonde vampire a confused look. Was that a joke?

As they headed inside Chloe went through her purse to find her key card. The inside of the hotel was mostly deserted. Chloe's room was just at the end of the hall on the ground floor so the elevator wasn't necessary.

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souled_spike
2007-12-15 19:51 (link)

Spike shrugged his shoulders and gave a cheeky grin. "Sorry, love ... guess humor's not my strength."

Following Chloe, Spike quickly realized they'd be doing this whole training thing in her hotel room, which was confusing to the vampire. His memory of hotel rooms included the fact that they weren't very spacious, and the last thing the Champion wanted to do was break something and have to pay for it.

Or worse, explain what happened to make the thing break.

"Not teaching you to make people laugh, though."

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pocket_aces
2007-12-16 20:16 (link)

"That's very true," Chloe agreed.

When they reached her room, she hesitated when it came time to swipe her key card to unlock the door. Thoughts struck her:

This is my room. I'm alone, and inviting a stranger to my room. He could hurt me. He's a vampire. He could kill me. He could... what am I doing? This is crazy isn't it?

Pausing, Chloe turned to look at him. "You know, I think they have a gym here. Or if we need more room or privacy, perhaps we should ask about using an empty conference room? I mean... there can't be much room in here for the things you need to show me," Chloe said softly.

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souled_spike
2007-12-17 09:16 (link)

Spike nodded once to himself. She was hesitant to invite him into her hotel room. On account of him being a vampire. It was understandable, really, and the Champion appreciated her caution.

Not only that, but after nearly 150 years of not being invited into people's homes, Spike was above being offended.

"I like privacy," Spike mused. "Don't really fancy on-lookers gawking at the strong Billy Idol wannabe."

Or risk changing into his vampire face and having everyone in the gym freak -- or even worse, have someone in the gym be a Slayer and wind up a magnificent dust pile.

Neither option seemed that appealing.

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pocket_aces
2007-12-18 21:41 (link)

Chloe paused and then nodded. She was already committed anyways, one way or the other. She slid the key card into the slot and the green light came on, unlocking the door. She pushed it open and walked through. She didn't know if she had to invite him in or not, and now that the moment had arrived, she still wasn't sure if she wanted to.

"Uh, I could call about that conference room? Or... push the bed aside?" It was a large hotel room. If they moved the bed and dresser against the wall, and piled the chairs onto it, they would have at least a little more room to work with.

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