Work Text:
Mild Mannered
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Damiane's fatigue-faded senses came to attention as she felt the approach of her student. Somehow the feeling of her mortal pupil drawing near always reassured her. She knew part of it was that even after all he'd seen, all he'd done, there was still something of a wide-eyed innocent to the boy. In a weird way, it was almost refreshing to feel that kind of innocence shining through the darkness that was all too common in this town.
{And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb} supplied her age old memories of a Catholic education. Never mind the fact that if any of the "wolves" in the waiting room decided to make trouble, *they* would be the ones in for a world of hurt. She had certainly seen to that. Even though he had barely half his power at his command, her apprentice was more than a match for the usual run of demonry the Hellmouth brought in. It hadn't always been that way, though.
As her young pupil paused to chat with one of the regulars, the vampiress thought back to her first encounter with the dark-haired mortal. Her Stephen had found the young man wandering the streets in the middle of the night, seemingly unaware of the danger surrounding him. Her human beloved had brought the teenager to her door, telling her this one was a special case. The boy had been shaking, terrified to the bone. Not surprising, considering that he'd just been in a waiting room filled with demons. The first real shock had arisen when she'd tentatively brushed the surface of his mind. The child had been scared half to death, all right, but not because of any of the creatures in the other room. In fact, he'd barely even noticed them. He had been petrified of himself.
Damiane had hesitated a moment, reluctant to further disturb an already frantic mind. Then, her demon side had come to the forefront, and she'd smelled it. Spilled blood. The boy had killed. Within twenty-four hours, unless she missed her guess. Not a human, but from the child's reaction, that hadn't mattered.
"It's all right, child. Let it out," she had said, "It always hurts like this the first time."
The youth hadn't been able to meet her eyes.
"It wasn't the first."
At those words, morbid curiosity had overcome Damiane's cautious nature, and she had ventured deeper into her young patient's mind. As soon as she had done so, she'd wished she hadn't. She didn't think she'd ever forget the overwhelming loss that accompanied the painful image of all that remained of a dear friend turning to dust. And the grim satisfaction of luring the trusting redhead into the hyena spirit's clutches had been chillingly gratifying to her inner demon. Burying those disquieting emotions beneath a layer of protective instincts, she had cradled the sobbing mortal in her arms.
{Gods, kid, you can't be more than fourteen.}
And then one word had turned her world upside down.
"Fifteen."
* * * * * * *
Damiane's green eyes had gone wide, and it had taken significant effort to stop them from turning gold. Flattening the shock flooding her mind, she'd offered an inquisitive smile to the young man, who had finally managed to compose himself.
"What did you just say?"
The mortal's dark brow had wrinkled in confusion.
"I'm fifteen. You said I couldn't be more than fourteen."
The vampiress had braced an arm against her desk and waited for the room to stop spinning. {Gods Almighty, he's one of *us*.} As a wave of the boy's stark terror had broken over her own already troubled mind, Damiane had belatedly realized that she had slipped into game face. {Now that's just perfect. The kid's only a month into transition *at most*, and I just told him he's one of us. And to top it all off, I did it wearing a face only a demon could love. All in all, I'll be lucky to get him to calm down this *millenium*.} Consigning the self-beratement to a later date, she had turned her attention back to the terrified human who had favored her with an often used "please don't hurt me" expression.
"You- you're a vampire."
It hadn't been a question, but she had felt obliged to answer. Forcing her human features back into place, the vampiress had tried for a disarming smile.
"Among other things, yes."
By that point, the dark haired mortal had backed into the opposite wall.
"Oh, man. This is how I'm going to die, isn't it?"
Raising her hands in a gesture of capitulation, Damiane had drawn the young man's quaking mind into her own inner calm. She'd known the conversation would go more smoothly if they didn't have to actually speak. {It's all right. I'm not going to hurt you. The way your control is right now, I'd probably get blasted across the room if I tried.} The vampire had tried not to flinch as the mortal's wordless question exploded through her mind. {No, it's nothing like that. You're not a monster, you're not a demon, and *I'm* the only vampire in the room.} Gathering her resolve, she had pressed on. {What you are, my dear boy, is a Guardian, the youngest of the Seven. We're kind of a support team for the Forces of the Light. It's our responsibility to keep the big heroes out there in their right minds, stop them from giving up on humanity, that sort of thing. Not the greatest job in the world, but somebody has to do it. On the bright side, that somewhat dubious distinction comes with phenomenal cosmic power.} When her soon-to-be-pupil has answered, she'd decided that she liked feeling the sardonic bite of the boy's humor in her mind.
{So, what's the catch? Let me guess: itty bitty living space?}
If it hadn't been for the serious question hiding behind the joke, she would have laughed. The poor kid had had no idea what he was in for. {It's a bit more serious than that, sugar. You see, right now you're in what we call transition. Pretty much what it means is that you have all the power inherent in a Guardian, but you don't know how to control it. Pretty scary if you think about it, especially this close to the Hellmouth.} Ice cold terror had washed through her brain, as the teenager had realized what she meant. {Don't worry, kid. It'll be okay. You don't have control now, but you can learn it. And I'll be there to help you.}
Frightened brown eyes had locked onto her own green orbs.
{You promise you're not going to, you know. . .} And a sudden image of herself sinking her fangs into the boy's neck had had her fighting back her demon side.
{I don't eat anybody I've been introduced to. It's in bad taste.} Feeling the child finally relax, she had continued. {This would be the point where you introduce yourself.}
The infant Guardian's frantic blinking had given way to real laughter, a sound his mentor had looked forward to hearing many times over. Shaking the ancient vampire's hand, the mortal boy had smiled.
{I'm Alexander.}
For some reason, the name had started her waxing poetic.
{'And Alexander wept, for he had no more worlds to conquer.' Well, Alexander, somehow I don't see that day coming anytime soon.}
* * * * * * *
Damiane snapped out of the past when she felt the younger Guardian graze the surface of her mind as her opened the office door. She couldn't help but be proud of Alexander's progress. {Kind of a given with someone who's ad-libbed raising the dead, and in his first year no less.} Her young student flushed at the compliment. {Well, it's true. And kudos for getting Deadboy to believe the whole CPR thing. You think he'd be interested in some swampland down in Florida?} Her pupil apparently didn't find that worthy of a response. {Alexander? Is everything all right?} Settling himself on the couch, the young man met her gaze.
{He tried to kill us all again.}
So it was going to be one of *those* sessions. She should really be used to this by now, especially since it had been going on for the past four years.
{Well, he *is* a vampire, Alexander. You know, fish got to swim, birds got to fly. . .}
A shadow crossed her student's eyes as he finished the thought.
{. . . I've got to love one man 'til I die.} The vampiress flinched as the mortal's raw pain washed over her mind. Feeling his teacher's discomfort, Alexander broke the connection and turned his gaze to the floor.
"Sorry. It kind of got away from me."
Damiane smiled at the young man.
"That's all right. You didn't hurt me. So what did the Blond Menace do this time?"
The Blond Menace was how her pupil always referred to the object of his affections. The mix of endearment and insult seemed to suit the odd combination of emotions the younger vampire seemed to awaken in Alexander's mind. Not surprising considering how it had all started.
Nearly a year into the apprenticeship, the young Guardian had come in distracted, unable to focus. After a complex working had backfired in a way that had left her relieved that Alexander hadn't been casting it on anybody human, she'd asked what had been troubling him. He'd come right back with a question of his own.
{What's a Sire?}
Her face had instantly flushed blue. She had been as flustered as if he'd asked her where babies came from.
{Well, at the most basic level, your Sire is the vampire who turned you. You know what is means to turn someone, right?} She'd been grateful for the affirmative response. She was reasonably sure she would have died of embarrassment if she'd had to go through *that* conversation. {That's part of it, but there's more to it.} The ancient Guardian had searched her mind for a suitable explanation. {Have you ever seen "Empire Strikes Back"?} That analogy had earned her the young man's laughter.
{That's exactly how *he* put it.}
Her questioning glance had been met with a feeling best described as Oh. My. God, which the dark-haired mortal had quickly flattened before continuing.
{Nobody. There's this new vamp in town. He said Deadboy was his "Yoda" or something.}
Returning to the present, Damiane raised her eyes to see her student smile at her sadly.
"Yeah, I remember. Just call me Pinocchio."
"I would have gone with King Tut. Goes so much better with denial. So what did Blondie do this time?"
Alexander pushed back a wave of resentment as he answered.
"He's back with Harmony. They had this new plan to kill the slayer, take over the Hellmouth. You know, the usual fun and games."
Damiane favored the younger Guardian with a look that said "You know I'm right."
"Is it just me or are you more upset about the 'back with Harmony' part of that?"
Her apprentice's bitter laugh cut into her psyche like a knife.
"Even dead, that bitch is still screwing up my life."
The dark-haired vampiress sighed. She hated how vulnerable Alexander's feelings for the other vampire made her student. This was the second time in as many months that the young man had come in torn up inside because of the Blond Menace. She could still see the betrayed look on Alexander's face from last month's confrontation with Vlad. Her borrowed blood still boiled when she thought of what Dracula had done. Claiming Sire right in another vampire's name, wearing his face even: now that was appalling. It had taken hours to ensure the Impaler's final death, but she had enjoyed every last minute of it. Her mortal student blanched as he came across that thought.
"Can we work on something else now?"
Damiane mentally cursed herself. It was far too easy to forget that Alexander could read her mind just as well as she could read his.
"All right, why don't you work on bypassing mental shielding?"
The ancient vampire broke the connection to her pupil and closed off her mind. Searching her brain for a thought that wouldn't upset the boy if he stumbled into it, she let her mind return to the last patient of the night before. {No matter how long I live, this world will still keep finding ways to surprise me.} She didn't know what she'd expected when she'd ventured into the bleached blond's troubled mind, but a sexual identity crisis had not been it. Vampires usually didn't go in for that kind of inhibitions, or any inhibitions for that matter. As a psychiatrist, Damiane had known there were exceptions, but she'd never expected to actually meet a vampire who'd hide behind the Slayer rather than admit that he wanted a pretty boy in bed with him. Not that she'd gotten a good look at the boy in question. Every time she'd even gotten close, the other vampire had covered his thoughts with an image she was sure was now burned into her brain. Despite her natural curiosity, a major part of her really didn't want to know how the younger vampire had gotten to the point where the thought of offering himself exposed and vulnerable to what was essentially Death incarnate was the distraction rather than the real problem. Then she realized the horror in her mind wasn't all her own.
{You're getting good at this, Alexander. Sorry about the mental picture. For the record, it creeped me o-}
Damiane realized that opening the connection between them had been a mistake when the image of the blond draped over the slayer slammed into her mind again, the rage and anguish radiating from her student practically frying her brain. Her horrified gaze met eyes as green as her own. Alexander had had bad days before but never like this. His control was just plain gone. Not daring mental contact, she rose to take her student by the hand.
"Alex? What's wrong?"
An overwhelming rush of images submerged the elder Guardian's mind. The last thing she was aware of before she fell to the floor unconscious was a familiar voice in her mind.
"Yeah, fine, you're a *nummy* treat."
* * * * * * *
When Damiane regained consciousness, her mortal husband was standing over her.
"How many fingers am I holding up?"
She sighed in annoyance, as she got to her feet.
"I'm already dead, Stephen. I'm not going to get a concussion. Besides, I really don't have time for this."
The look her mate gave her did not leave from for argument.
"How many?"
"Three. Is Alexander still here?"
Stephen shuddered visibly at the thought.
"No. It would have been suicide to try and stop him in that state. The kid's a walking critical mass right now. What set him off anyway?"
A shadow passed over the Guardian's eyes as she thought over the last hour's events.
"It's the Blond Menace. He's not so much of a phantom anymore."
End Part Two