Sophie
Sean ran a brush through Robyn's hair and plaited it.
Sophie put on a nice top with her good jeans. IE, not the ones she went slaying in. Which did remind her...she'd have to start patrolling again here.
Sean patted Robyn on the back as he stood.
"You ready, Soph?"
"Yeah..."
Sophie slid two black hairslides into her hair and went into his room.
"Let's go then."
They walked over to the Braddock's house and Sean knocked on the door.
Braddocks
"Hi!" Duke said, opening the door wide.
"Duke!" Sam called. "Get back up to your room, and get some clothes on now."
Duke's expression immediatelysaid "uh oh" and he ran off just as Sam appeared.
"Sorry about that," he said. "Boy seems to think he's living in a nudist colony or something. Please, come in. I'm Sam."
Sophie
Sean blinked slightly. "Ah...I'm Sean, nice to meet you."
Robyn giggled and Sophie rolled her eyes.
"And this is Sophie and Robyn," he said introducing his daughters.
Braddocks
"Nice to meet you," said Sam.
Rowena poked her head into the hallway.
"Please, come and sit down. Dinner won't be long."
Sean
The O'Shaugnessys moved inside, Robyn clutching at her father's hand and looking around shyly.
"Nice house," Sean remarked, squeezing Robyn's hand back gently in reassurance.
Braddocks
"Thank you very much," Rowena said.
Duke reappeared, now wearing clothes.
"Much better," Sam said sternly.
Duke didn't answer, just sat down at the table.
Sophie
Robyn hid a smile behind her hand and sat next to Duke.
"Hi!"
Sophie smiled slightly. Trust her little sister not to let things get her down.
"They usually grow out of it sooner or later," Sean said. "I remember Sophie used to-"
"Shut up, Dad." Sophie put a hand to her face in embarassment.
Sean chuckled.
Braddocks
"Hi!" Duke said cheerfully back. "I'm Duke."
Sam smiled.
"Yes, they all go through their little phases, don't they?"
"Dinner's ready!" Rowena said, bringing over a heavy hot pot of chunky soup.
Sophie
"I'm Robyn!" Robyn said back. "With a 'y'."
"So proud of the 'y'," Sophie murmured as she sat down at the table.
"That smells great, Ro," Sean said smiling. "Thanks again for inviting us."
Braddocks
"No problem," Rowena replied, setting the pot down.
She walked back to the kitchen to get the next plate.
"Here, let me help," said Sam.
"Thanks, honey."
"You talk funny," Duke said.
"Don't be rude, Duke," warned Sam.
Sophie
"I think you talk kinda funny too, so ner." Robyn giggled.
Sophie kicked her lightly under the table.
"Behave, brat."
"Well, I guess they do because we just moved from Australia," Sean said.
"And I just kept my Irish accent, no matter where I moved."
Braddocks
Sam and Rowena brought the rest of the food to the table and sat down.
"And what part of Australia do you come from?" Rowena asked.
Duke started to fill his plate.
Sophie
"A tiny country town in New South Wales," Sean said.
"There's no way you would've heard of it."
"We were about five hours drive from Sydney," Sophie said.
Braddocks
"I see," Rowena replied. "Duke, save some for our guest."
"Oh but -"
"Duke," Sam warned.
"Hmph," Duke complained, "Hey Robyn, have some of the chicken. Yummmmmm."
Sophie
Robyn gave him a bit of a look, and started to serve herself from the table.
"So, what work do you do?" Sean asked Sam.
Sophie started to eat from the food she'd put on her plate.
"This is really good," she complimented Rowena.
"Better then Dad's, that's for sure."
Braddocks
"Thank you," Rowena smiled.
"Architect," Sam replied. "I have an office in the main street."
Sophie
"That sounds interesting," Sean said as he served himself finally.
"Yeah..." Sophie nodded.
"How things are built...always good to know."
Braddocks
Sam smiled.
Rowena frowned at Duke, who was filling his face quite full.
"Duke, we have guests, remember?" she shook her head. "You never would guess that he was twelve."
Sophie
"Sophie's school collapsed into a great big hole," Robyn said perkily.
Sophie choked slightly.
"Nothing to do with Sophie, however," Sean said.
"Something about a fault in the ground, I think the authorities decided..."
Braddocks
"Cool!" exclaimed Duke. "I wish that would happen to my school."
"That would have put a big... dent... into their education huh?" Sam joked.
Sophie
"Could say that," Sophie said quietly.
"I know! I was all, why did that only happen to the high school?" Robyn said.
Braddocks
They chatted some more while they had dinner, then Rowena started picking up the empty plates.
"Dessert's up next," Rowena smiled. "Would you kids like ice cream?"
"Yes!" exclaimed Duke.
Sophie
"You're being too kind," Sean demurred.
"Daaaadddd. Icecream!" Robyn said.
"Yes please!"
Sophie shrugged slightly.
"I guess I'm outvoted," Sean said dryly.
Braddocks
"Don't worry," Rowena smiled. "I have something special for us adults. I hope you like apple pie."
Rowena dished out the ice cream.
"Apple pie. Yuck," Duke said, pulling a face.
Sophie
Sophie ate quietly while the adults chattered. They seemed nice enough. No signs of demonic posession, or anything like that...
Robyn and Duke seemed to be getting along well enough.
Suddenly, she felt something and she fingered the cross around her neck.
Oh, not now!
No vampires, not on her first night!
There was a knock on the door.
Braddocks
"Honey, would you mind getting that?" Rowena asked.
"Sure," Sam said, getting up. "Excuse me."
Rowena handed out the bowls of ice cream and put some topping on the table. Duke grabbed it eagerly
"Duke, remember your manners."
Sophie
Sophie drummed her fingers nervously on the table, and one hand went to the cross around her neck. She did have a stake...so she was armed. And there was no way she was letting these people be eaten. Or her own.
Sean helped Robyn with her dessert.
Sophie stood.
"May I use your bathroom, please?"
She could see the front door from here.
Dear god, just please don't let Mr Braddock invite it in.
She wasn't that happy about maybe outing herself out as a Slayer.
But one thing she'd learned in nights of patrolling on the Hellmouth, was that people were *really* good at ignoring the obviously impossible.
Braddocks
Rowena started cut up the apple pie.
"Certainly. Just down the hall, first door on the left," Rowena told her.
Sam opened up the door.
"Yes?"
Sophie
Sophie nodded and left the table, ostentaniuosly to use the bathroom.
"Thanks."
"Hi, my car broke down...can I borrow your phone?"
Don't invite him in, don't invite him in...
Sam
"Where about's is the car?" Sam asked. "There's a mechanic just a couple of streets down..."
Sophie
Shit, shit, shit...
Sophie looked around, found a window and climbed out it, sliding her stake from her sock. She crept around the house to where the vampire was talking with Mr Braddock.
"Is there? Car's just across the road..."
Don't lean out past the threshold. Damn vampires. But thank god for that invite law.
And then another vampire, a female one came out of the darkness towards her.
"A Slayer...Brad...I found something better..."
"Oh, joy." Sophie rolled her eyes and settled into a fighting crouch. "C'mon then, ugly."
"You know they say the blood of a Slayer is a great aphrodisiac?"
Sam
Sam frowned. He had been about to open the screen door when he had heard another voice.
"What's going on?" he asked.
Sophie
"Surprisingly enough, not really interested in hearing what qualities my blood contains," Sophie said dryly.
The vampiress smiled and vamped out.
"Oh no? Then you won't mind if I cut right to the chase."
"Please do. I'm simply bursting with anticipation to find out whether British vampires dust the same as the Australian versions."
The male vampire looked back over his shoulder and frowned.
"Lee, what are you doing?"
"I'm just-"
Sophie's stake found her heart and the vampiress went 'poof'.
"Lee! You're so gonna die for that, you little Slayer bitch."
"That's what your girlfriend said."
Sophie started to fight the male vampire, only to find out he was a much better oppenent then the female.
She was picked up and thrown past the front door.
Oh, shit.
Stake! Where the hell was her stake?!
Sophie scrabbled on the ground as the vampire approached, snarling.
She punched him to gain some time, moving elegantly and rather betraying the fact that she was stronger then a normal human.
Braddocks
Sam scrowled. This was all he needed. He stormed down to the dining room.
"Thank you Rowena!" he said sarcasstically. "Once again you have invited trouble to this house!"
And he stormed off, leaving Rowena rather confused.
"Umm, okay..." she said. "What's going on?"
Sophie
"I have nae idea," Sean said, accent thickening in his confusion.
"Perhaps we should leave..."
Robyn stared wide eyed where Sam had disappeared, spoon halfway to her mouth.
Sophie lunged with her stake and the vampire danced back.
He whistled shrilly and Sophie cursed quietly as a shambling Chaos demon appeared out of the darkness.
"Great. Just...great."
And Chaos demons don't require an invite.
Sophie staked the vamp and moved in to battle.
She was thrown against the front of the house with a crash.
Braddocks
Duke jumped up and raced to the window.
"What was that?" he asked excitedly peering out. "Mum? What are they?"
Rowena started to walk over.
Sophie
Sophie threw herself back into battle.
"Why," kick, "don't," punch, "you just," punch, kick, headslam, "sod off and DIE?!" Punch, punch, kick, twist, kick.
Robyn put her spoon down in her bowl and ran over to look out the window with Duke. Her eyes widened.
"Uh oh."
Sean stood from his place at the table.
"Where's Sophie?"
"She's outside..." Robyn said in a whisper as she watched her older sister battle something huge, green and slimy with antlers.
"First night here, you think this destiny would give me a rest so I can meet the neighbours in peace! But no..."
Punch, punch, kick.
Then she was picked up and thrown through the air by the Chaos demon when she got caught on its horns.
Braddocks
"Mum, are they alien hunters?" Duke asked.
"I don't think so, Duke," Rowena replied, staring out the window. "But your daughter seems to be doing a good job of fighting... whatever they are, Sean."
"But if you don't know what they are, how do you know they're not alien hunters? They could be here to kill Dad!"
Sophie
"Aliens?" Robyn said in interest. "Cool! Are you aliens?"
"I have absolutely no idea what's going on..." Sean said slowly as Sophie picked herself up again and dove back into the fray.
With a crack, she got one horn off. The demon staggered.
Then she managed to get the other one off too.
The demon collapsed into a heap of goo.
Sophie walked away, looking at her shirt.
"Oh, now that was one of my favourite shirts..."
She looked at her audience, smiled weakly and waved.
Robyn waved back.
Sean was open mouthed in shock.
Braddocks
"Dad is. And us kids are only half, because Mum's human," Duke told her.
Rowena shook her head and gave Sean a look that clearly said 'kids' as Duke bounded to the front door
"Hey! Sophie! Can you teach me to fight like that?"
Sophie
"You're half alien? That is so cool!" Robyn bounced after Duke. "Sophie, how come you never told me you did cool stuff like this?"
Sophie sighed.
"There are aliens? And what in the name of all that's holy is that?" Sean asked.
"More like what in the name of all that's unholy...it's a Chaos demon."
Duke Braddock
"Cool!" Duke exclaimed, his eyes glittering. "And now it's choas goo!"
He laughed.
Sophie
"Yeah..."
Spohie picked up her stake from the ground and lifted a slime encrusted strand of hair out of her face.
"Sophie."
"Yes Dad?"
"Explain."
"Sophie, I wanna learn how to do that! Did ya see that back kick thingie she did?! And then she ripped the horns off its *head*!"
"Ok..."
Sophie sighed slightly.
"I, am a Vampire Slayer. I get to kill to kill things, usually with sharp pointy sticks. It's a whole destiny thing."
Braddocks
"Cool!" Duke explained. "Oli has a fire power and Mi can do neat tricks with light. Once she even blinded Dad, but this healer guy was able to unblind him."
Rowena coughed.
Sophie
Robyn giggled.
"I want to meet your sister! She sounds cool!"
"So, you're not demonic, are you?" Sophie asked carefully.
"No, aliens apparently," Sean said in a shocked voice.
"Oh, that's ok then." Sophie rolled her eyes slightly.
Rowena
Rowena sighed, deciding it was too far gone to save the situation.
"How about we all go back inside?" she suggested.
Sophie
"I think I'm going to go have a shower," Sophie sighed.
"You have no idea how glad I am that these things don't exist in Oz. Too hot and dry, according to the guy in LA."
"How long has this been going on?" Sean asked his daughter.
"Ummmmm...A while. Heath and Sam used to..." Sophie bit her lip and tears glimmered in her eyes.
"Look, I'm going to go wash this off before it dries in my hair. Which is really gross, I know already."
She caught her father's look and sighed.
"When I went to LA for the Hanson concert, a Chaos demon followed me and Heath back to our hotel room. We had to kill it. Well, I had to kill it. Not that Heath isn't really handy with an ax, it's just bonus Slayer strength is more useful sometimes then pure human."
Duke
"Hanson?" Duke repeated. "Hey they're aliens too! I met Isaac. He and Miette used ta go out. I like him. He can move stuff around with his mind."
Sophie
"Wow, Hansons are aliens?!" Robyn bounced. "That makes them so much cooler."
"Soph, why don't you go have that shower. And then we need to have a talk," Sean said wearily.
Sophie nodded and started towards their new house.
The Chaos demon heap slowly got smaller.
"The demon ought to have dissolved by morning," she informed Rowena, before disappearing around the edge of the fence.
"Well..."
Sean rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Braddocks
"Well, we still have uneaten pie," Rowena said, beign a firm believer that a good meal can cure anything.
"Aww... I don't want it to dissolve. I want some to put in a jar and -"
"Duke, I harly believe that's appropriate."
"Awwwwwww."
Sean and Robyn
"That would be nice," Sean said, moving back inside.
"Robyn, come inside now."
"But I want to look at the demon!"
"Not until your sister comes back. She seems to know a lot moer about this type of thing then we do."
Braddocks
Rowena led the way back to the dining room, and finished preparing the pie.
"I wanna see the demon too when she comes back," Duke said decisively.
Sophie
Sophie showered and got the demon goo out of her hair.
She sat on her bed for a few moments, head in her hands. What was she going to tell them? Rabid animal wasn't going to work this time...
Robyn bounced.
"My sister is cool!"
Duke
"Yeah!" Duke agreed. "I wanna fight evil demons from hell too. Think she'll show me?"
Sophie
"Maybe!" Robyn clapped her hands.
Sophie got dressed again and then walked back over slowly.
Braddocks
"Here's your pie," Rowena said, setting the plate down in front of Sean.
"Hey Mum, can we have more ice cream?"
"No, Duke."
"Aww, dang."
Sophie
"Thank you, Ro," Sean said politely.
Sophie slunk back into the house.
"Sophie. Sit. Talk. I want to know more about this Slayer business."
The teen winced and closed the door behind her.
Braddocks
"My pleasure," Rowena replied, sitting down to her own plate.
"And I wanna join you," Duke said to Sophie.
Sophie
Sophie looked at him.
"Well...for starters, all the Slayers are female. I don't know why, they just are. It used to be that there was only one Slayer. Until she got killed, and another one got called. Something changed that. And second, I don't think your mum would approve."
"I want to!"
"No, Robyn," Sean said firmly. Robyn pouted.
"No. This isn't a game. Sam *died* because she wanted to help me..."
Sophie stared at her hands and a tear slipped from her eye.
Duke
"Rats," Duke complained.
He paused.
"Who's Sam? Not my dad..."
Sophie
"My best friend," Sophie said in a small voice.
"What happened?" Sean asked softly.
"She shouldn't have been there. I told her not to come, but she did..."
Braddocks
"That was obviously very hard for you," Rowena said quietly.
"Where did you go?" Duke asked.
Sophie
"You know how I said about the school collapsing?" Sophie said.
"Damurum is, was I guess now since we closed it, situated on something called a Hellmouth. We were underneath it when it started to fall. Sam...a rock crushed her skull. But you know, we saved the world."
Duke
"A noble death," Duke nodded solomnly.
It would sound like the voice of experience, if only all that experience hadn't come from video games.
Sophie
Sophie gave him a look.
"You have *no* idea what you're talking about. I'd rather she was still alive. And she would be, if Faith hadn't..."
Braddocks
"Of course you do," Rowena nodded, reaching over to touch her hand. "Duke, please keep such comments to yourself."
"But -"
"Duke."
Duke folded his arms across his chest and huffed.
Sophie
"It only happened a couple of months ago, sorry if I..." Sophie bit her lip.
"Anyway. Few pointers. Get some crosses. Never invite anyone into the house after dark."
"Is that why you told me to...?" Robyn began.
"Yeah. More or less. If they can't have a Slayer, vamps will go for the family usually."
Rowena
Rowena shook her head.
"Unfeeling creatures. Do you battle with them often then?"
Sophie
"They're demons. They don't have souls," Sophie explained.
"And yeah, I usually dust about five vamps a night. Or did, back in Oz. LA had heaps though. But there were other people there who hunted as well, so that was ok."
Braddocks
"Well, that would explain it," Rowena replied.
"How many slayers are there?" Duke asked, wide eyed.
Sophie
"Well, there used to be only one apparently. And then something happened, and now there's lots of us," Sophie said.
"I'm one, and the girl who came to Damurum to close the Hellmouth, Faith, she was one. And she knew of others."
Braddocks
"Cool," Duke replied.
"I expect it's dangerous for you, fighting those... those things every night," Rowena said.
Sophie
"What I was thinking," Sean said.
"The Slayer package also comes with an enhaced healing factor." Sophie shrugged slightly. "It's not like I have a choice. Demons are still going to come after me. I might as well be prepared for when they do."
Braddocks
"Healing factor?" Duke repeated. "Awesome! Can you regenerate limbs?"
"Duke Braddock," Rowena scolded.
"What?"
Sophie
"I haven't had to test it yet," Sophie said dryly.
"And thank god for that," Sean murmured.
"Yeah, well...I'm not sure how much he has to do with it."
"Anyway...I think we better head off home," Sean said.
"Thanks for having us over, Ro."
Braddocks
Rowena smiled.
"It was my pleasure. And you're welcome over any time," she said, then paused. "Although... at least you will be by me. Sam on the other hand... he's..."
"He doesn't like alien stuff, even though he is one," Duke cut in. "And he probably won't like you guys either 'cause you have powers."
"It's a long story," Rowena said, standing up. "Maybe another time. Have a good night."
Sophie
"Well, me and Robyn are just straight human, ay, Rob?" Sean looked at his young daughter.
She pouted.
"More's the pity."
Sophie just shook her head.
The family stood and started towards the front door.
"Thanks for dinner, it was lovely," Sean said.
"Yes, thank you, Mrs Braddock," Robyn said.
Rowena
Rowena smiled.
"You're welcome," she said, walking them to the front door.
Sophie
The O'Shaugnessys left.
Sophie nearly made it to her bedroom.
"Sophie, I think we need to talk."
She winced and went to talk to her father after Robyn had been put to bed.