A Shrinking World
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“Do I know you?” Spike asked, peering at the stranger
sitting in front of him. She smirked, as did his daughter…and everyone else in
the room. This unified front of amusement was a cause for concern.
Dawn stepped closer to Spike, taking in the changes that
being dalhari had wrought upon him. It had been a very long time since she’d
seen him last, but she still had an image of him burned in her brain, one that
hadn’t changed despite all that Rali had told her about her father. Now that
she could see what Spike had become, though, that picture was being supplanted.
The thing was, it wasn’t the physical changes that
really caught her attention. Oh, he certainly looked different; wings and a
tail and dalhari eyes weren’t easy to hide. But it was something else,
something less tangible, that caused her to look
further. He seemed peaceful, happy and content, even though her presence
obviously unnerved him. She could tell he didn’t recognize her. “You don’t
remember me, Spike?”
Spike looked harder at the young dalhari. The more he
stared, the more the felt that he should recognize her, but he didn’t. The
shape of her face, the tone of her voice, it all seemed so familiar, yet he was
certain he’d never run across her in all his travels. “You look…”
“Familiar?” Rali interjected helpfully. Spike scowled at
his daughter. “Iriya should look quite familiar, father. You did know her, once
upon a time.”
The pale dalhari frowned harder. It was just like his
daughter to not help any, even when she seemed helpful. Not for the first time
he wished he’d never taught her how to play mindgames.
Turning his attention back to Iriya, the stranger, he worked harder. He got the
distinct impression he was being tested, not something he particularly liked.
Since her face seemed familiar, he focused on that. Where had he seen it
before? A friend’s child, perhaps?
After a moment, Spike closed his eyes. The curve of her
cheek just under the eye, the way her mouth crooked to one side as if he amused
her, the look of vulnerability…the colors of the mental picture he painted
faded away, leaving him a plain, black and white image. “Dawn?” He whispered
tremulously. It couldn’t be her…she was in Sunnydale.
“Hiya Spike. I ran into Rali in
Tereva’diel and thought I’d swing by to see how you were doing,” Dawn said
lightly, trying to hide some of her emotions.
Spike ignored her attempts, stepping forward to grab her.
He enveloped the young woman in a tight hug, completely uncaring of the tears
streaming down his face. This was Dawn, alright, despite the change in species.
He couldn’t believe she was here, in his world. At the moment, he didn’t care
how or why. She’d been one of the few things he’d actually missed about
Sunnydale, although he’d not thought about her for a long time—dwelling on
things he couldn’t change just made him feel bad.
Rali stood with her mother and grandparents while Iriya
and Laio reconnected. They all knew how much the teenaged human had meant to
Spike, how important it had been for him that she considered him a friend
despite what he was. In the centuries he’d lived among their family, most of
that time as a dalhari, the majority of his old wounds had healed. Iriya’s
arrival, however, would go far towards resolving old emotional injuries he’d
never quite erased.
Dawn stood pressed against Spike, her face happily buried
in the soft leathers that covered his chest. He smelled like herbs and ifnan
and Spike—a change from whiskey, cigarettes, blood and Spike. She thought that
it was a good change, though. Abruptly, Spike pulled away, staring down at her
with a fierce frown on his face.
“Why do you smell like Rali?” He asked sharply. After a
moment, he looked over at his daughter.
“What have you done to her, Rali?” Spike inquired
accusingly.
Rali just lifted an eyebrow. “I’d think, father, that
after all these years and the birth of your first child, you would have figured
that out by now. However, if you need instruction on that matter, I’m sure that
Gaha and Waei are more than capable of informing you about the mat—“
“That’s enough, Rali,” Spike said, cutting off his
daughter’s typically wisecracking reply. Her answer reassured him that whatever
was going on between Dawn and her was completely consensual. Between her and
Dawn… “When’s the bonding?”
Dawn’s jaw dropped. “What bonding? There’s going to be a
bonding? Where? When?”
“We’re not bonding!” Rali insisted. Well, okay, they were
going to eventually, if she had anything to do with
it, but that was there decision. Why did everyone have to keep asking that
question? It was getting a bit annoying.
It was Spike’s turn to raise an eyebrow and send a look
toward Rali. “Daughter…” He said warningly, not needing to finish the sentence.
Rali blanched. She should have seen this coming—Laio was going to have very
strong feelings about what went on between the two most important children in
his life—one from his past and one from his present. It would do both her and
Iriya good to simply not argue about it right now.
“Have you eaten yet?” Gaha asked, hoping to divert Laio’s attention from what might become a heated argument.
“No,” He replied, rolling his eyes. Spike knew what Gaha
was trying to do, but he didn’t mind. How could he, when he had Dawn in front
of him—and Rali. He’d missed his daughter dearly when she’d gone off to
Tereva’diel. Now she’d returned, which was a gift in and of itself.
The fact that she’d brought along someone he never thought he’d see again was
almost beyond comprehension.
Waei waved them all back toward the fireplace and provided
Laio with some warm supper. The elders sat back and watched in awe as Laio and
Iriya—Spike and Dawn—caught up. It was a fascinating thing to watch and listen
to; tears flowed freely as they switched seamlessly between their native
tongues and the dalhari one. Both Waei and Gaha jumped when Laio scolded Iriya
for doing the incredibly irresponsible and following Xander across dimensions.
She didn’t even blink, though, just told him that she’d chastised herself
enough for one lifetime and that he could just get over it. He blinked a couple
of times, and then nodded, knowing it was probably true.
When the discussion turned to her sister, Iriya was a bit
quieter. She truly regretted leaving her sister behind and knew that Buffy
probably worried herself to death over her. That turned the discussion to
Xander and how he and Laio had figured that time flowed differently between the
worlds. Iriya added some theories she’d developed about the human tongue being
the one they spoke in their dimension, and at one point Iriya made the comment
that there was every chance their friends were still alive and kicking in
Sunnydale. Laio wasn’t so sure, but he didn’t argue too much. Every so often he
got a sort of glazed look, complete with a silly grin. It was very obvious he
was happy.
It was well past
Spike looked at her blankly for a moment, and then cursed
vehemently. “Fuck! I forgot. Waei, there’s a group of orth
coming in from Ranver. They have a trade dispute; it
seems they claim that the Disiaron have broken a contract.”
Waei groaned. “Them again? Why
can’t they go away? We’re honoring the contract they signed; it’s not our fault
they underestimated what they’d be needing.”
Rali looked over at Iriya. The musician was just about
gone; riding all day and talking all night and half of the following day had
worn her out. “I think we should get some rest; Iriya’s not used to all-night family
meetings. Besides, neither of us will be any help during this dispute.”
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Spike watched his daughter and Dawn walk hand in hand down
the hallway toward Rali’s quarters. “It’s difficult to believe, isn’t it?”
“They’re both too young to bond,” He muttered to himself.
“They’re barely a century old.”
“But you were older, much older,” Spike countered.
“They’re not too old and you know it, Laio. You just don’t
want to see your daughter grow up,”
“Do you?” Spike asked sharply. “She’s so…”
“She’s in love. And don’t you tell me you can think of a
better person for her. If even a tenth of what you used to say about Iriya is
true, she’s more than good enough.”
Spike sighed. “And that’s the other thing. I know it’s
been a long time, but I can’t help but think of Dawn—Iriya—as a kid, a teenager
with gangly legs and a crush on Xander.”
“I don’t think she has a crush on Xander anymore,”
“She’s going to go see him,” Spike commented. “They just
got here, but they’re going to leave again.”
“Perhaps not immediately,”
“They could stay in Ke’reo Der with Baura,”
Spike suggested. “Since he seems to be in no hurry to come
back here to visit. It’s been more than a century.”
“I know,”
“Or perhaps they could stop by on their way back,” He
continued. “Even if they stayed a year or two in Tragith with
Xander and his family.”
“You should mention it to Rali. She would very much like
to see her uncle again,”
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“Are you happy?”
Dawn turned when she heard the whispered question. “Happy?
At seeing Spike? Of course I am.” She sat down on the
edge of their bed and began to remove her boots. “He’s different. Calmer, at peace. I think your mother is good for him.”
Rali laughed. “I think being dalhari is good for him,” She
countered. “According to him, anyway. My mother is
just…”
“The light in his eyes,” Dawn finished. “I see how they
look at each other—like if we hadn’t been there they’d be naked and—“
“They’re my parents,” Rali warned. “And yes, they would
be. It’s a good think none of us are very concerned with nudity, because those
two have a difficult time staying clothed when they’re together.”
“That I can see,” Dawn said, giggling. She remembered how
diligently Spike had pursued her sister and wasn’t surprised by his behavior
here.
“I just wish that they’d let up on the bonding thing,”
Rali complained as she started a small fire. “It’s getting annoying. Chadei, Gaha,
Dawn didn’t say anything for several minutes. “Does it
bother you that much?” She asked eventually.
Rali’s head whipped around. The tone of Iriya’s voice was
odd—almost sad. “No, I simply dislike it when others nose about in my affairs.
When and how I ask you to bond is none of their business.”
“I see,” Dawn murmured. She wasn’t really reassured by
that statement. It still seemed to her that Rali was feeling trapped by
everyone’s expectations that they bond. While it was true that the majority of
courtships that had progressed as far as theirs had ended in bonding, not all
did, and there was no law or rule, written or otherwise, that said that they
had to bond. Neither of them would be looked down upon for breaking off their
relationship, so long as they had a reason for it.
Rali watched Iriya carefully. She’d been afraid of this
ever since their elders and parents had started mentioning bonding—that
regardless of how they handled it, one or both of them would start worrying about
how the other felt. It was obvious that Iriya didn’t understand the depths of
her feelings. Sighing softly, Rali stood and walked over to the dispirited
dalhari, sitting beside her on the bed. “Iriya, I have every intention of
bonding with you, if you so allow it. I have never, nor will I ever, meet
another so well-suited to me. We, I believe, are meant for each other. I simply
believe that we should wait until we are both ready to bond—after you’ve seen
Na’alha, visited with Xander and decided where you would like to live.”
“I want to live wherever you are,” Dawn responded quietly.
“And I wish to reside where you are, which leaves us with
no answers,” Rali said lightly. “We are both young and have time to think about
such things. Why should be bend to the pressures that
others put upon us? Was it not you who said that rules were there to be bent?”
“Me? I’d never say that!” Dawn joked. “I know what you
mean, Rali. It’s just difficult to put up with all the poking and prodding.”
“Yes, and unfortunately my family is much worse than
yours. My father and mother’s courtship was unusual due to the lack of parental
involvement, among other things. And, with my uncle gone, no one has anything
else to do. I suspect that as long as we’re here, we’re going to get pressured
about it.”
“Ah,” Dawn murmured. “Perhaps we should go see Xander
sooner rather than later. Once we’ve returned from that trip, we can do battle
with your family.”
“Or, we can do battle with them, then get relief by
visiting with Xander,” Rali shot back quickly.
“Either way…I don’t feel up to deciding tonight,” Dawn
finished. “I just want to sleep for a few days.”
“That’s all? Sleep?” Rali
inquired mischievously.
Dawn gave her an evil smirk. “No, I can think of a few
things I’d like to do,” She replied. “But I’d rather do them once I’m awake
enough to enjoy them.”
“Point,” Rali murmured as they pulled back the covers and
burrowed into the bed. “Sleep well.”
“And you.”