The Kitten's Claws

by
Jujukittychick

*Crack* The sound of a whip splitting the air and the cut-off cry of a male voice as it then split skin open seemed to echo inside a stone chamber with the rattle of chains following soon thereafter as the male in question struggled against his bonds and panted harshly as he struggled to fight through the stinging pain.

“So very brave you are…or simply foolish.” A female voice that carried no warmth or kindness of any kind spoke up behind the male, a rough tongue and sharp fangs dragging across the open skin of the welt the whip had created across his shoulders, and the satisfied moan that followed, caused him to suck in quick breaths as he tried his best not to give in and give her the screams she desired. The bright red fingernail that followed behind, reopening the cut had him fighting back the same urge. This was the fourth such mark she’d left on his body and so far he’d managed to stay strong. He knew that nobody he knew would ever believe him if he told them that though…well, almost nobody.

A hand grabbed his hair, tugging his head sharply back. “Well, which is it, human? Bravery or stupidity? Tell me where to find the Slayer. I know you know; everybody says you are one of her friends, one of her… Slayerettes.”

Deep brown eyes met her glowing gold ones before a twisted smile tilted bloodied lips and a gob of spit landed on her face. “Try taking a walk… through one of our… scenic graveyards, she’ll find you… soon enough.”

The female screeched and tossed his head away, causing him to twist and turn and his shoulders to wrench as he hung helplessly in the chains attached to the stone ceiling. “You impudent wretch! Do you know who you are messing with?”

“Not a clue… so obviously… nobody important. You’re just…dust in the air… as soon as my friends… find me.”

Another crack of the whip and another burning trace of fire across his back had Xander biting back another scream, one reason why his lips were bloodied besides her backhanding him a couple times. Oh, Buffy so owed him big time for this… a year’s supply of Willow’s guilt cookies and Twinkies would be a good start. He knew he was simply distracting himself from the crazy ass vamp stalking around him, not the best idea, but then he was shackled naked to the ceiling with only the very tips of his toes able to touch the floor so it wasn’t like there was a whole lot he could do to protect himself anyway. He watched as the vamp came to a stop in front of him once more, all her delightful assets showcased to perfection in the black vinyl catsuit she was wearing… well, if you ignored the bloody whip she carried and the bumps and fangs and grr aspect anyway. Blatantly looking her up and down, he smirked the best he could with swollen lips. “So what’s with… the whole dominatrix… look? Trying for… intimidating? Dru pulls the look off… much better and she wears… like twenty pounds of dress… and talks to baby dolls.”

“Dru? Is that the Slayer?” Bright red nails bit into his cheeks as she grabbed his jaw, leaving little crescent shaped cuts in his skin.

Xander chuckled, he couldn’t help it. “You must be new if… you don’t know who… Dru is. Drusilla and Spike… of the Aurelius clan? Childer of Angelus? Half of the Scourge of Europe? You’re in their territory…and they don’t take kindly to… trespassers. If the Slayer doesn’t get you… they’re going to.” He laughed again at the angry expression that twisted her face and made the bumps and ridges stand out all that much more. “Dust in the wind… oomph!” Another backhand had him spinning uncontrollably as he swallowed a mouth full of blood as his teeth once again tore through the inside of his mouth, giving him glimpses of her licking the blood from her fingers and making him cringe for other reasons entirely.

“You…you child! You know nothing! I fear no one! No vamp, no Slayer, they can’t touch me!”

“Naughty, naughty girl, playing so rough with the Kitten when he hasn‘t his claws with him.” A lilting child-like voice filled the room and made Xander smile evilly at the vampiress that had held him captive most of the night.

A willowy young woman dressed in an old-fashioned dress with flowing raven hair seemed to dance into the room, dreamy dark gaze completely skipping over the vinyl-clad female, regulating her to unimportant, and resting immediately on Xander’s bloodied body. “Oh, my poor Kitten, what has the naughty girl done to you? Mummy told you not to play alone after dark without your claws, now you must both be punished.”

“Oi, Princess, think the Kitten’s been punished enough for one night, don’ you? Got t‘ remember he breaks easy.” A young man entered, bleach blonde hair seeming to glow in the uneven light as the black leather duster he wore floated around him dramatically as he stalked forward, a lit cigarette dangling carelessly between his fingers. His crystal blue gaze raked over the room, once again discounting the strange vampire in the room and focusing solely on the young human male dangling in the chains. “Did a right half-arsed job on ya, didn’ she, pet?”

Xander couldn’t help the laugh the comment dragged from him, leave it to Spike. “I’ve had worse, yeah. Should probably…make introductions. Bitch… meet Dru and Spike. Dru, Spike… meet the bitch… or as I like to call her… Dusty.”

Unable to take being ignored any further, the woman screeched again, causing the other three to wince at the piercing noise, and stomped her foot. “I am Fiona, Mistress of the Dark…”

Spike cut her off and looked incredulously at Xander. “’Mistress of the Dark?’ You’ve got to be bloody kiddin’ me. How’d you let this stupid bint grab you?” Shaking his head, he looked at Dru who was twirling carelessly around Xander, leaning forward occasionally to lap up some of the blood that leaked from the welts to drip down his back, coincidentally healing the cuts at the same time, causing a completely different reaction in the boy than the one the stranger had received if the significant stirring Spike saw was anything to go by. Raising an eyebrow, he gave Xander an amused look. “Enjoying yourself there, pet?”

Blushing furiously at his body’s unconscious reaction to Dru’s gentle ministrations and Spike’s teasing, Xander refused to meet the laughing blue gaze, muttering, “Shut up, Spike.”

“Kitten’s blood is sweet, sweeter, sweetest, like candy in my mouth. But Kittens must have cream to stay so sweet so we must feed our naughty boy so I can taste his cream later.” Dru’s lilting words, spoken mostly to herself, or maybe to her stars, didn’t help Xander’s embarrassment, or Spike’s amusement, as there was really only way he could think to translate that last half, and he’d gotten pretty decent at translating Dru-speak since he’d met the two.

Fighting back a laugh so as not to irritate his Dark Princess, Spike’s lips still quirked as he watched their Kitten struggle with embarrassment and arousal, both causing his tanned skin to flush a lovely pink as the blood rushed furiously under the surface… sweet indeed. “So, which one of us is providing dinner tonight d’ya think, pet?”

“Spiiiike!” Xander closed his eyes and pretended he was anywhere but there, hanging helplessly in chains with a now raging erection and surrounded by three insane vampires, one who wanted to kill him and two who wanted… well, he never was quite sure what those two wanted with him, but regardless, at least the rest of the Scoobies weren’t there to witness this particular night’s humiliation of the Xan-man.

The guys’ attention was pulled once more to the creator of the night’s entertainment when she yelled, “How dare you ignore me?! I, Fiona, Mistress of the…”

“Mistress of the Dark, yeah yeah, we heard ya the first time, didn’ we? Princess, do you want to punish the naughty girl or shall I?”

“No!” A sharp crack split the air as Dru struck out suddenly, slapping Spike and leaving a trail of crimson behind as one of her nails sliced his cheek. Licking the wound closed, she danced past him and towards the fuming vampire. “Mummy must punish the naughty girl for playing too rough with the Kitten. You remove the kitten’s collar and brush his fur ‘til he shines once more.”

Spike watched as Dru sprung forward suddenly, not even slipping into game face as she began to toy with the other woman. Making sure that she was in no real danger, he turned his attention to the blushing boy in front of him and grinned. “Oh pet, she does give me the best prezzies, don’ she?”

“Just get me down, Spike…please?”

Spike chuckled and stepped forward, leaving only a breath of space between their bodies, though not enough to keep the boy’s pulsing erection from pressing against his stomach and leaving a wet spot against his t-shirt as he reached upward to wrench the manacles around each wrist apart. “Going to need a good soak after tonight, pet; your shoulders are swelling. “

Catching him around the waist and holding him close as he was freed, Spike inhaled the spicy-sweet scent of their Kitten, taking in the smells of embarrassment and arousal, but only a little fear, as well. Yes, even without his claws, their Kitten was something else. Looking into those deep brown eyes as Xander pulled back a little, getting feeling back in his legs, he leaned forward, hesitating only a moment before capturing the bruised and bloodied lips in a deep, gentle kiss, tongue swiping over his lips before plunging inside, mapping out the warm cavern of his mouth.

It took a moment for Xander to think any further beyond “kissing” and “Spike-kissing” and “damn, he can kiss,” but an angry shriek had him pulling away from the kiss and stumbling back from the other male as he glared accusingly at him. “Spike!”

“Wot? Had to heal your mouth up, didn’ I? No sense in walkin’ around smellin’ like a vampire buffet with every breath you take, is there?”

Xander didn’t believe him any further than he could throw him, though it was probably part of the truth at least. He couldn’t argue with the results anyway. Deciding to cope as he usually did with things he had no control over, he shoved it in his “ignore” box and turned his attention to the catfight going on in the far corner of the room. “Kinda feel like we should have popcorn.”

Spike grunted his agreement and leaned against the nearest wall, watching as Dru continued to toy with the other female, wearing her down and driving her into an unthinking rage little by little as she danced and twirled seemingly carelessly around her, hands striking out at random to slice open fabric and skin with razor sharp nails even as she effortlessly dodged the swipes and punches aimed at herself.

Getting a prickly feeling through his body, he scented the air as a stray breeze rushed into the room. Pushing away from the wall, he removed his beloved duster and tossed it to the boy. “Put that on. Oi, Princess, Slayer and her pets are coming; need t’ hurry things up.”

Pouting, Dru reached out, grabbing the other vampire’s head between her hands and twisting it completely around until it detached and the “Mistress of the Dark” did just as Xander predicted and became nothing more than dust in the air. Turning to face her boys, she stomped one slippered foot. “She always spoils Mummy’s fun.”

Making her way over to Xander, she ran a bloodied fingertip over his now-healed lips before darting forward to lick them clean. “Good boy, Kitten is all clean and shiny again but I shan’t be able to taste his cream tonight.” Leaning against his larger body, encased as it was in Spike’s duster, she inhaled the combined scent of her two boys, moaning softly as she darted forward to nip at his neck, fangs just barely piercing his skin and drawing blood before she was licking it closed, laughing softly as she felt him suck in a deep breath and shudder against her. “Naughty boy isn’t clean anymore. Mummy must punish you later, but the naughty Slayer spoils the fun so we shan’t be able to play tonight.”

“Drusilla! Spike! Get away from Xander!”

“Good Lord!”

“Xan…Xander?”

“Oh, um, hey guys.” Xander blushed and subtly… or perhaps not so subtly… guided Dru behind his back with one hand, the other holding fast to the front of the almost too-small duster, keeping it closed. “Good to see you guys.”

“Oi, pet, think you might want to get to explainin’? Don’ relish ending up like the ‘Mistress’ over there.” Spike kept a wary eye on the Slayer and her minions though he couldn’t help but be pleased at the boy’s protective action, not that his Dru couldn’t protect herself.

“Huh? Oh, yeah, right! Buffy, it’s okay, Spike and Dru totally saved me. There was this totally out there vamp who kidnapped me and whipped me, and can I just say ‘ouch!’ and called herself ‘Mistress of the Dark’ and really? How many vamps would actually come up with something that cheesy?”

“More than you would think actually, pet” Spike couldn’t help adding, shrugging carelessly as Xander glared at him, mouthing “not helping!”

“Wait a minute. Dru and Spike rescued you?”

Xander blinked at them, confused, not knowing what the big deal was. “Well… yeah.”

Giles fought the urge to polish his glasses, unwilling to hinder his vision in the present company. “Xander, are you quite feeling okay? It has been noted that Drusilla has the power to enthrall her victims, often causing them to willingly offer themselves to the clan as, well, food.”

Xander felt like he was missing something and looked helplessly at Spike. “You speak his language, translate.”

“Oi! It’s bloody English you nob, not Fyarl!” Grumbling, Spike exchanged an aggravated look with the Watcher, united in common exasperation for a moment before returning his attention to the clueless boy. “He thinks Dru scrambled what little wits you show them so you’d become our happy meal on legs.”

“Oh! Well why didn’t you just say that?” Rolling his eyes at Giles and earning an annoyed growl from both Englishmen, he turned his attention to Buffy who looked ready to pounce on the first vamp that moved. “I’m fine; well I wasn’t fine, but Spike and Dru lic…” Blushing furiously as he realized what he was about to say, he shook his head. “Ummm, Spike and Dru patched me up, and other than needing a long soak in a tub, ‘cause dangling from chains and spinning around is seriously bad on the shoulders and I really don’t think I’m going to be able to move all that well tomorrow, I‘m all good. Hey how did you guys find me anyway?”

“Mummy followed your scent from where the naughty girl stole you.”

“We used a scrying spell, but it wasn’t very exact so we got a little lost looking… for… you.”

It took a minute for Xander to separate the two sentences out as Dru and Willow answered at the same time, though considering the incredulous looks the three Scoobies turned on him, it didn’t take them long to figure it out.

It was Buffy once more that spoke into the following silence. “’Mummy’? Is there something we should know, Xander?”

“Silly girl, the Kitten isn’t big enough for his claws yet so he must take them with him, but the naughty boy went out without them and the naughty girl stole him away. But sweet William and Mummy rescued him and showed the naughty girl his claws.”

Three sets of blank looks stared back at the unlikely trio. “What?” “Huh?” “Good Lord.”

“Umm, I‘m not translating that first part ‘cause that would end in all kinds of bad I think, but she said that I needed protection and since I was out without any tonight, meaning like you guys or them, the weird vamp lady kidnapped me so they had to rescue me and they showed her that they were my protection…or something like that.

“Bloody ‘ell, this is gonna take t’ daybreak at this rate.” Spike growled and strode forward, standing between Dru and Xander, an arm draped casually over each of their shoulders, though it was plain to see he’d be able to fight at a moment’s notice. “The boy here’s under our protection, yeah? Did us a good turn a ways back; helped me with Dru when she was having a bad spell, he did. We’ll always help him… ‘less he turns his back on us, that is.”

“You…You’re under the pro…protection of William the Bloody and Drusilla the Mad?”

“Um…yeah? Didn’t I tell you guys that?”

A rounding chorus of “NO!” echoed through the small room.

“Oh, um, sorry?”

“You nob,” Spike gently slapped the boy on the back oh his head. “S’like you’re tryin’ to get us dusted.”

“Geez, sorry; I thought I had told them like ages ago.” Rubbing the back of his head with his free hand, ‘cause he sooo wasn’t letting go of the front of the duster, Xander glared at the blonde vampire, though it soon faded as he thought back all those months ago to when the incident happened, and he specifically recalled telling the others about it.

Watching the changing expressions on the boy’s face, Spike realized what had happened and gave the boy a soft smile, his hand smoothing down his hair in apology as he whispered. “S’alright, pet. Y’ know we listen to ya, right.”

“Yeah.” Softly, the hurt from his friends’ inattention clearly seeping through, then stronger, “Yeah,” as he took a deep breath and shook the feeling away; wasn’t the first time they’d ignored him after all.

“Good on ya, pet. Now get on with ya and let the Slayer see ya home and doctor those shoulders. I’ll get our Princess home alright.”

Nodding, Xander stepped away from the comfortable hold on his shoulders and walked towards his friends, practicing his own skills of ignoring as they looked at him in differing shades of “are you out of your ever loving mind” to “you poor thing.” Looking back at the vampire couple, he gave them a warm smile. “Thanks, guys, for rescuing me and everything. I appreciate it.”

Spike nodded in return, waiting as the others filed out of the underground room, waiting until just Xander remained before calling out to him, “Oi, pet, make sure you clean my coat before you return it, that stuff’s a mess to get out of leather once it sets. Then again, might like to carry your scent around with me for a while.” He could see the blush that lit the tanned skin from across the room, as well as smell the scent of a little arousal on the air. His laughter followed the blushing boy out of the building and into the night.

The End