DISCLAIMER: Blade: The Series and its characters are the property of Spike TV, New Line Cinema and Marvel Comics . No infringement intended.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
Tough Love
By Janine
Krista listlessly tilted her head up as Chase approached her with a damp cloth allowing the blonde to lightly grasp her chin in her hand before she lifted the cloth to her face and carefully began to clean the cuts her fight with Marcus had caused.
Chase had been mostly silent on the limo ride back to the coven but she had felt the blonde's eyes on her, boring into her as they drove. Chase was looking at her the same way now, with silently accusing glances, judging her even as she tenderly cared to wounds she would have gladly inflicted if Marcus hadn't taken care of it himself for once.
"Why don't you just say it," Krista muttered morosely as Chase drew the reddened cloth away from her face.
"Say what?" Chase responded softly though her eyes focused intently on Krista making it clear that she had quite a bit to say but was holding herself back.
"That I fucked up," Krista replied meeting Chase's gaze. "That I never should have been made, and am more trouble than I'm worth. That I bring nothing but trouble and destruction and that he should have just let you break my neck on that rooftop two months ago and spared everyone the headache," she finished finally looking away from Chase, blinking rapidly to combat the stinging in her eyes as she did.
"Honey," Chase drawled slowly, running her finger down Krista's cheek gently as she spoke. "There's really no need for me to say it now, is there?" she asked watching as Krista's back stiffened, feeling her jerk her head away from her hand a moment later. "And I wouldn't have snapped your neck," she added conversationally smiling suggestively at Krista before stepping away from her and tucking some strands of white-blonde hair behind her ear.
"Why do you say things like that?" Krista asked standing up, glancing at Chase briefly before she walked over to her window and gazed out waiting for Chase's response. She wanted to hate the blonde for agreeing with her earlier statement, but Chase was right she was the one who had made it, and she truly believed it. It would have been easy to transfer her anger at herself over to Chase and give herself a brief reprieve, but she didn't deserve to feel better about herself.
"Because I mean them," Chase responded simply once Krista had ensconced herself by the window, smiling when the brunette turned to look at her questioningly.
"You despise me," Krista stated as if that disproved Chase's response.
"So?" Chase asked smirking a little as she shrugged and began to move towards Krista. "I'm attracted to you. I don't want to marry you. You're not naïve enough to think they're the same thing are you?"
"No," Krista replied leaning against the wall and turning to face Chase. "I understand," she continued licking her lips as she stared at the blonde. "I understand too well. I don't even think I'm capable of love anymore."
Chase stopped as Krista's words hit her and eyed the brunette curiously before enlightenment dawned in her eyes.
"She wasn't caught by the sunrise was she?" Chase asked, surprise and something that sounded a lot like pity in her voice. Krista had told her about her mother's cancer in the limo. She told her she'd seen her when she came back to the coven and had followed the ambulance, but that after the crash her mother had escaped. She'd given chase, but the sun had started to rise. She managed to find shelter but her mother … hadn't. That's what she had said, but clearly that wasn't the case.
Krista looked away from Chase, looking towards the window though her eyes were squeezed shut.
"Silly girl," Chase murmured moving towards Krista once more stopping just in front of her. "We never turn anyone over forty-five, and never anyone sick. The older you are the harder it is to let go of your former life, to change your way of thinking and adjust not only to a change in circumstance but your entire way of life. And the sick," Chase continued resting her hand on Krista's shoulder as she spoke. "They're already weakened. The virus attacks them much more aggressively," she went on molding herself against Krista's side. "You really couldn't have helped her. Ashing her was the smartest thing you did after leaving the coven three days ago."
"I'm not sure whether you're trying to torture me or comfort me," Krista replied after a moment opening her eyes and turning her body slightly so that she was facing Chase. They were practically nose to nose.
"I'm trying to help you," Chase replied. "Which is a little bit of both I suppose," she continued reaching up to brush some lose strands off brown hair off of Krista's forehead. "You're a liability to us right now, but you're also a danger to yourself. Reckless and suicidal is not good for the house."
"Marcus …"
"Marcus has injected people with garlic extract for a lot less than you've done," Chase interjected before Krista could continue. "I don't know why, but Marcus has gone retarded for you, which means it's up to me to make you less of a screw-up for all of our sakes."
"Yeah, well … you're not doing a very good job," Krista responded somewhat petulantly though she was surprised by Chase's response. She knew that Marcus was fond of her, but she hadn't realized how many allowances he'd made for her that he wouldn't have made for others.
Chase smirked at that. "Maybe you just need tough love," the blonde responded before stepping back from Krista and turning her back towards her as she started to walk towards the door. "How are you feeling?"
"Like shit. I thought we covered this already," Krista responded tightly as Chase reached the door and bent down to pick up a black duffel bag that hadn't been there when she had left a few days before.
"So you're not feeling dizzy? Nor having flashes? You're head doesn't hurt?" Chase asked moving towards the bed with the bag, dumping it on the mattress before turning her attention back to Krista. "That's what I thought," she continued when the brunette simply frowned at her. "You're going to want to change into something more comfortable."
"Why? What's happening to me? What are you going to do?" Krista asked pressing herself against the wall suddenly feeling very uneasy. She thought that the beating she'd taken in Marcus' office would be the extent of her punishment, but with Chase's previous comments and current actions she wasn't quite sure.
"I'm not going to do anything to you except make you comfortable … well, as comfortable as possible," Chase responded as she unzipped the duffel bag. "Then Marcus will be coming to see you," she went on moving over towards Krista. "When he rubbed his blood on your lips it strengthened the bond that formed between the two of you when he turned you. It'll be like your after death experience only this time Marcus will be able to control what you see," she finished reaching out to stroke Krista's hand softly before lightly grasping it in her own and guiding Krista towards the bed.
"What's in the bag?" Krista asked allowing Chase to lead her towards the bed. The last thing she wanted was to be inside Marcus' head again, but she could feel the flashes coming more often and more intensely. She was beginning to be able to see buildings, and people though for no more than a second.
"Chains," Chase responded turning to smile at Krista. "The leather cuffs are quite forgiving however, there's no need to fret," she went on releasing Krista's hand and reaching for the bag, beginning to remove the chains.
"Is he going to punish me again?" Krista asked her voice surprisingly devoid of fear. In fact as Chase separated the chains she thought that she almost detected a note of anticipation in Krista's voice that shocked and excited her.
"Is that what you want?" Chase asked abandoning the chains for a moment and moving over to Krista's closet flinging open the doors dramatically before walking in. "To be punished for being a naughty, stupid girl?" She didn't look back at Krista as she began to look through her clothes. "Do you want Daddy to spank you?" She asked removing a thin black slip from the closet and heading back towards Krista.
Krista opened her mouth a small sound emerging before she closed her mouth again and stared at Chase.
"Put this on," Chase said flinging the slip at her. "Then Mommy will give you what you want," she continued smirking at Krista who eyed her hesitantly for a moment before beginning to strip her clothes off.
"Lie down on your stomach," Chase commanded softly when Krista had finished changing. As the brunette disrobed she had removed the duffel bag from the bed and moved the chains over to one side.
Krista moved towards the bed but didn't get on it right away. "Why?"
"Because I agree with you," Chase replied simply rubbing her hands together slowly. "You deserve to be punished. You need to be punished, and Marcus won't do it."
"So once again the responsibility falls to you?" Krista asked lifting her eyebrow mockingly though she placed a knee on the bed as Chase spoke. She knew that she should fight the blonde, that she shouldn't let those chains anywhere near her, her pride screamed at her to fight. But her pride and arrogance had killed her mother and uncle and she deserved to suffer for that in some tangible way. Feeling bad wasn't enough. She wanted to hurt as her mother had. She wanted to suffer for it. She needed … she needed to pay a price.
"As usual," Chase replied as Krista settled herself face down on the bed.
Once the brunette was lying still, Chase then climbed onto the bed herself, running a finger up Krista's thigh as she crawled up beside her before settling next to Krista's hip. Once positioned where she wanted to be, Chase then slipped her hand under the hem of Krista's slip pushing it up over her ass and hips exposing the brunette's firm, tanned bottom to her.
Krista tensed as Chase exposed her, her breathing becoming shallow with apprehension and anticipation as Chase ran exploratory fingers over her ass.
A moment later Krista's head flew back, her fangs showing as she growled at the first contact of Chase's palm against her bottom. She knew that the blonde was planning on slapping her, but the movement from caress to smack had been so quick that it caught her entirely unaware.
Chase watched as her hand connected with Krista's bum, breathing in deeply at the sound of contact before removing her hand so that she could watch as Krista's ass reddened slightly.
Krista forced her tense muscles to relax and settled against the mattress once more burying her head in the pillow beneath her preparing herself for the next blow, lifting her ass minutely when the blonde didn't immediately strike her again.
She didn't have to wait long after that before the sharp sting of the blonde's hand was felt against her once more.
Krista pushed her face down into the pillow below her, flashes of white and nameless faces, intermixed with those of her mother, and brother and uncle accompanying every blow of Chase's hand against her tender flesh. Tears stung her eyes and dampened the pillow beneath her as she gasped into it with each new painful contact, crying and crying out, lifting her ass demanding more, feeling lighter and calmer with every shooting pain that flowed from Chase's hand to her ass and through the rest of her body.
Chase stared down at Krista, lowering her hand without striking the brunette as Krista ceased to move beside her except for taking in shaky breaths every few seconds. The younger vampires sobs, and cries and growls and curses had gotten progressively quiet as her spanking went on and were now gone completely.
Chase bent over Krista and lowered her cheek to the brunette's ass, resting her soft skin against the temporary heat of Krista's red, abused posterior, making soft sounds as she caressed the exhausted woman's other cheek with her hand soothingly until Krista's rough breaths evened out as well.
"Come on darling," Chase said finally pulling back from Krista and lowering the slip back over her bottom. "Let's turn over," she continued her voice soft and soothing as she spoke as she gently helped Krista turn over, stroking her forehead and brow as the brunette hissed slightly when her bottom hit the mattress.
"How do you feel?" Chase asked a few moments later, still gently stroking Krista's face.
"Sore," Krista responded tilting her head into Chase's touch unconsciously sighing tiredly. "Better. Calm," she added her eyes fluttering shut as she fought a sudden wave of exhaustion.
"You're strong Krista, and because of that the transition has been especially hard for you. Most don't need to suffer this much before they let go," Chase said gently, drawing her hand away from Krista's face as she twisted her body slightly to reach for the chains. "This was a harsh lesson for you, but one you needed to learn. You've been punished," Chase continued securing the straps on Krista's ankles, "and now you need to accept it and move on. You fucked up, okay, we all do. We all have. Remember, but let it go," she went on shifting up the bed to begin securing Krista's wrists.
"I don't know if I can," Krista admitted softly, closing her eyes and seeing her mother's face once more.
"You have to, or you'll die too," Chase replied moving to straddle Krista's waist now that she was secured. "Our lives are measured in centuries, soon you'll understand how decades go by in the blink of an eye. You would have lost her soon enough anyway, as we all lose our friends and family to sickness and old age," Chase went on as she drew her hands up Krista's sides. "Marcus was right, we are your family now. You're not alone," she continued softly before leaning down to press a kiss against Krista's forehead. "So don't let us down," she added staring seriously at Krista before pulling away from the brunette and climbing off of her to stand by the side of the bed.
"Marcus will be here soon. Try to rest until then," Chase instructed a few moments later as she bent of Krista testing the restraints making sure they had enough give so as not to hurt her too badly. "You'll need it."
Krista watched as Chase headed towards the door. She wanted to say something to the blonde, but she was so tired. She hadn't slept in days and thought she might never sleep again but she could now barely keep her eyes open. She wanted to … she wanted to tell Chase that she had helped, but all she could do was close her eyes.
Chase stopped by the door and turned to look at the now slumbering brunette, shaking her head.
Krista was a piece of work.
But then again, that's what everyone had said about her.
The End