For the_dawnster

[vikingly]

It had started because Dawn smells amazing. Different from Sookie (in every way) and her faerie blood, but amazing in her own right. That she's a pretty little thing hadn't hurt either. It had progressed further because in a place that is as hellish as any Eric had ever been in, Dawn is a piece of sunshine. Eric's had a weakness for sunshine since Godric turned him and he couldn't walk out in the sunlight. Of course, that's different here and it still feels wrong. He still hesitates before stepping out of the shadows and into the sun.

In any case, it matters little why or how this thing between them started. It only matters that it's new and good, at least for Eric. He wouldn't presume to think that he's a good influence (in fact, he's probably the opposite) or piece of Dawn's life. He's a force of destruction, but that works for him here. He's not even bothered by the fact that this thing between them is secret for now. It's not the first secret relationship he's had in the millennium that he's been alive.

Today, he's meeting her in the woods near the barrier. They're going to have a picnic (her idea) which Eric finds both fascinating and ridiculous. He's literally never had a picnic in his life. He hangs back in the shadows, watching and waiting for Dawn. There's a brief moment where Eric and a pony sized creature have a showdown; Eric bares his teeth, growls and comes up the bigger monster, but that's over and done with by the time he smells Dawn coming. He's back to pretending human and the immediate area is clear of all other monsters by the time he glimpses Dawn picking her way toward him, crossbow in hand.

Comments

[the_dawnster]

New and good is exactly what this is. Dawn gets why they have to keep it secret right now. Buffy would stake Eric. Eric is a bad ass. But Dawn knows from experience that Buffy would not stop, never stops, until she wins. So until Dawn can figure out a way to carefully break the news to her sister, (can you ever carefully break the news of Eric Northman?) they must remain a secret.

She breaks through with her crossbow in hands, quiver strapped to her back and her book bag filled with makeshift picnic stuff. She spots him standing there and once again wonders what the crap he sees in her. Guys like Eric don't usually go for her. Guys like him go for Buffy. Always. But hey, Dawn isn't complaining, unless he ever ever ever makes eyes at Buffy. She's hoping that never happens.

Right now, it seems like he only has eyes for her and she kind of likes that a lot. Her smile says so. Even a horrific place like Den can't stop Dawn from smiling. "Well hello to you too, tall, dark and... tall. Sorry I'm late. Getting away from Buffy is like this whole game of sleight of hand. I should actually be a professional by now. But even professionalism takes time."

[vikingly]

Eric is not afraid of Buffy (even if he maybe should be). Let's get that straight right now, but it would be inconvenient to have Dawn's sister attempting to kill him. In his experience (yes, he has experience with that), it's a bit of a strain on a relationship. Being a secret gives it a sort of thrill, a simple sort of excitement he'd forgotten. It's a very human sort of thrill and while Eric loves being a vampire, sometimes it's nice to actually feel human for a little while. (No, there is no way to carefully break the news of Eric Northman).

Eric has no interest in a woman with a destiny to kill him. This is not a Shakespearean tragedy. He's a vampire; that doesn't require him to be broody, maudlin or tragic. He's got no interest in acting out a cheap, bodice ripping, paranormal, paperback romance novel. Yes, he's read those books. He has to know what the tourists expect in Fangtasia after all.

He gives her an amused look, one eyebrow quirked up at her greeting. In response to her ramble, he steps forward, wraps one arm around her waist, bends down and leans in to kiss her. It's anything but innocent and designed to make her knees weak. They can talk while she eats and even then, her sister is not going to be his subject of choice.

When the kiss (finally) breaks, he looks down at her, maintaining his hold on her. "Does it bother you? Sneaking out to see me?"

He suspects that nothing bothers her right now, which was the reason for the kiss first. Manipulative. It's synonymous with Eric Northman.

[the_dawnster]

Well if there's any way to shut up Dawn both vocally and in the way she thinks almost constantly, that kiss is it. She's tall as far as most of the girls she knows are concerned, taller than Buffy, Willow, Tara and Faith. But she still has to lean up on the tips of her toes to get up to Eric height. And that's with him leaning down to meet her halfway. She's glad for the help.

It's the sort of kiss that makes her insides tingle and her breath catch in her throat. It empties everything out only to refill it with Eric Northman. And it reminds her of why she's okay with keeping this secret for the most part, at least for now. If Buffy knew right now, she would put a stop to it in any way she could. And when words didn't work, she'd go for the violent route.

She looks up at him, doe-eyed and a smile slowly curling her lips after the kiss breaks. One shoulder lifts in a shrug and her arms wrap around his waist. "Mostly it's okay. But you know eventually she'd gonna find out cause she always does; sometimes cause she's snoopy mcsnopperson and sometimes cause the PTB's are just not very good at keeping secrets. Which is weird considering how long they've been around to build up an awesome resume of secret keeping. But anyway, I'd kind of prefer it to be from me."

[vikingly]

Eric would be so disappointed if his kiss didn't render Dawn speechless and thoughtless. As for his height, at 6'6 he's taller than most anyway, but Dawn's height is appreciated as well, and not just for kissing. He likes those legs that go on forever.

She would complicate things and Eric likes things uncomplicated, at least at the moment. He's not sure angry relatives are ever an entertaining complication, particularly when the angry relative in question makes it her business to hunt vampires.

He likes that doe-eyed look. He cups her face in one hand, his thumb running along her jawline as she speaks. He probably doesn't look like he's paying much attention. He's more focused on her skin, the line of her neck, her mouth, but he is listening to her. That becomes apparent when she's finished speaking and his gaze snaps back to hers. One brow rises, as if he's considering her words. Finally, he inclines his head a bit in a slight nod.

"Then I'll leave it to your discretion to decide when to tell her. However, I think we've got far more important things to focus on than your sister." His lips curve into a devilish smile at that.

[the_dawnster]

Normally, Dawn might have scoffed at the thought of anything being more important than her sister. Buffy is the Slayer. Things always revolve around her. She has boyfriends and demons and vampires. Even Dawn's friends are vicarious through her sister. And on top of that, is the protectiveness that Dawn feels. She's allowed to say whatever she wants about her sister. But to imply that Buffy isn't important? Well, Dawn would usually argue.

The reason she doesn't is because Eric Northman knows how to spin words like a champ. He'd not only implied that Dawn is more important right now, but he'd also given her the power in when they should tell Buffy about them. Anything that might have upset her is tossed out the window.

She smiles and takes his hand, walking the both of them closer to the middle of the clearing so that they can see in every direction with some breathing room in case anything were to jump out at them. See? She knows strategy. Then she plops down in the grass.

She opens her bag and grabs two strawberry pop tarts and a bad of chocolate. Dawn Summers knows how to dine in style. To be fair, the options in Den are not that great. You make do with what you can find/scavenge. She'd thought the pop tarts and chocolate were a gold mine. "You know what I miss? Sugary cereal. Like fruit loops or Lucky Charms with the little marshmallows in it? I used to pick all around the marshmallows and dig out each piece of cereal to save the sugary goodness for last. And if you let the marshmallows sit and soak that long, but the time you get to drinking the milk, it tastes awesome." See? Strategy.

[vikingly]

Eric has been around long enough to know that words are power. If he didn't know how to spin words like a champ, he'd have been dead long ago. He doesn't have the proper respect for authority to be a bumbling idiot. The fact that he's unimpressed with Dawn's sister, beyond the fact that it is her family, will go unspoken.

He still flinches internally when he walks out into the sun. He knows it's not going to burn him, but a thousand years of avoiding it doesn't disappear over night, especially as he remembers nearly being burnt alive by the sun when the effect of Bill's blood wore off. While she's thinking strategy, Eric is simply assured that he's still the scariest monster here. He moves with a great deal more relaxation (after the initial trepidation) than Dawn and lowers himself to the ground all feline grace.

He reclines back on one elbow and to his side as he listens to her ramble. Some of it he tunes out (sorry, Dawn, it's true) but he listens well enough to catch the important points.

"Sugary cereal was introduced a bit after my time," he smirks. "So I'll have to trust you. We often had jerky or cold venison for breakfast."

[the_dawnster]

If he is unimpressed with Buffy and still alive, he would be the first. But maybe that's one of the things Dawn likes about Eric, the fact that her sister is no big deal, the fact that he barely even knows Buffy, the fact that this is something that's hers and not something she vicariously has through her sister, as most of her friends are.

Eric looks even more pale beneath the glare of the sunlight, blue veins visible just beneath his skin, eyes rimmed with a reddish-pink hue. He seems to look even more Vampire in the sunlight, which Dawn thinks makes sense. She doesn't feel all that vulnerable, partly because she's learned strategy from her sister, partly because she feels like Eric is the scariest monster here.

"Ooo I wonder if I can find jerky for you." She says thoughtfully, because isn't that what every girlfriend gets her boyfriend? She knows he won't be able to taste it. But it's the thought that counts. "Or even deer jerky." She'll just file that away for now.

"So did you have a helmet with horns on it?" She pauses only briefly. "Oh! And did you wear hardly anything? Something to show off your ab-licious-ness?" She has a new interest and attraction for Vikings lately. Or a certain Viking.

[vikingly]

He's unimpressed with Buffy, but then in Eric's world being impressed makes you someone's bitch and Eric isn't willing to be anyone's bitch. He barely knows Buffy, but he's got no desire to get to know her better. He's never really done the family thing, at least not since he was human a millennium ago.

The sunlight probably isn't particularly flattering to him, but the fact remains that he's still Eric Fucking Northman and he looks like some Norse god. Dawn is as safe right now beside Eric as she is ever in this place.

He raises one eyebrow at her, smirking a little at her pondering. He tilts his head, expression softening a little as he reaches out to run his index finger along Dawn's neck. "How about you eat the jerky?" he suggests, his voice turning to a low purr-growl at the next suggestion, "and I'll eat you?" Yes, his words could sound threatening, but Eric hasn't lost control while feeding in centuries (the one fairy thing aside). He's not going to start by losing control with someone he's actually beginning to give a damn about.

He snorts and rolls his eyes at that. "älskling, have you ever been anywhere close to the norselands?" Pro-tip, Eric: They're not called norselands anymore. They're individual countries now. "It's cold and as a human, I was as affected by it as you would be. Making helmets was expensive and time consuming. I wore a round iron helmet because I was to be king one day and deemed important. The horns are a creation of some opera in the nineteenth century." He appreciates that interest and attraction. it's mutual, even if he does get frustrated with her sometimes. He gets frustrated with everyone. He's charmed by few and Dawn is one of those few.

[the_dawnster]

Eric Northman is probably the first person to ever be unimpressed with Buffy and live to tell about it. Dawn can only attribute that to the fact that she has played buffer between the two of them butting heads. Eric seems to be on his best behavior around her (and boy can he turn it on) for Dawn's sake and she's grateful for that.

He might think he look unflattering in the sunlight, but Dawn is pretty sure that Eric Fucking Northman (EFN™) always looks amazing. Something about the way he carries himself. Something about the way that he's just that damn gorgeous. Sometimes Dawn wonders why he's with her.

That thought is immediately cast aside when he runs his finger down the side of her neck. She always wondered why Buffy liked being with Vampires. Everything with them is sex and blood. And truthfully, between Angel, Spike and Eric, Dawn knows that her vampire is the winner.

"Well that can be a thing too. After I eat I'll probably be super sweet." Cause of pop tarts and chocolate. "Also it's super sexy when you talk Viking to me." She knows Viking is not a language. But still.

She does sober a bit, getting a little bit serious as she listens about how his life once was. No, she's never been to those lands and so she shakes her head in response. "History lesson. That's good to know. And kind of sad that you weren't half naked." She takes a bite of one of her pop tarts.

[vikingly]

One of the reasons that Eric has survived so long is because he knows when to turn on the charm. Yes, he's vicious and no, he doesn't respond well to authority, but he does know which battles to pick. He cares enough about Dawn to know that a fight with her sister isn't something that he wants to have. Maybe it wouldn't be conducive to a long life and maybe it would, but it definitely wouldn't be conducive to his continued relationship with Dawn. He's not ready to end that just yet.

It is his middle name. True facts Eric was born a king and genetics were on his side, but maybe some of that is the way he carries himself. However, Dawn is entirely lovely in her own right. She's bright, shining, beautiful and innocent, naive in a way that most people don't manage. Maybe it's because she's young, but Eric tends to think it has more to do with her than her age.

She's not wrong there and Eric won't even try to argue it. Of course, he'd add sex, blood and power. He has very little of the latter here and he doesn't do terribly well when he lingers on that thought. He's gone from a king, the oldest vampire in his world, to someone's entertainment or experiment, depending on how he looks at it.

"We'll have to give it a half hour or so before it makes it's way into the bloodstream." He skips his finger down along her arm to her wrist, picking up tracing the veins there in her wrist. He's going to ignore the bit about 'viking'. "Perhaps I'll teach you Swedish as well." He misses speaking it with Pam. He misses Pam. He'd taught her the language so he'd have someone to converse with.

He chuckles a little at that. "I spend a great deal more time half naked as a vampire."

[the_dawnster]

"Ooo science. I like it." Dawn says of the thirty minutes or so they would have to wait before he could taste the sugar of the pop tart in her blood stream. She's actually kind of interested in that, in if she ate beef jerky, would he taste it in her blood half an hour later? "Especially in the actual doing of science and not the experimenting with it. Nobody deserves to be a lab experiment."

She starts to eat her pop tart, growing thoughtful. It has always been a fear of hers that she would wind up as an experiment, in a lab like the Initiative had once been or something similar.

One way to get her out of a nosedive in her thoughts is to mention something she's passionate about. Obviously Eric knows she loves learning new languages. "Ohmigosh! I would so love to learn Swedish. I could talk dirty to you and be all knowledgeable when Swedish people cuss at me for driving on the wrong side of the road or being generally annoying." Priorities.

His laugh lightens her heart just a little bit too. "Yay for my team!" Cause this vampire is hers. Or she's his. Or they belong to each other. And either way, she wins. "I'm hardly ever naked. Except that one time I was turned into a Minotaur. There was half nudity involved then."

[vikingly]

"Science I personally conducted," Eric reminds her. It's not really science; it's personal experience, but he knows that Dawn likes science so he's willing to play along. Mostly he'd be able to taste the salt in her blood stream. Most food break down to one main component (salt, sugar, alcohol) and it's that that he tastes. He'd spent some time in a science lab being an experiment., something he hasn't told Dawn yet. Her comment gets a growl out of him. Nora's death is still fresh in his memory. "Some people do. Particularly if they made science experiments of others." Though what they'd done to the humans that had run that lab hadn't really classified as experimenting. It had been torture before killing them, but the experimenting that the humans had done on the vampires had been torture as well. Eric is very much an eye for an eye and he's confident enough in his ability to win that he doesn't think he'll end up the blind (literally) one.

Eric reclines, stretching out a bit on the grass as he watches Dawn eat the poptart. Honestly, he's been a vampire so long that he can't remember what eating tasted like, what it felt like.

He knows she's something of a natural at languages. He can't help but smirk. "Only about 4.2 percent of the population actually speaks Swedish. Most of those live in Sweden. However, I'd like to teach you Swedish." He takes a deep breath. It's mostly unnecessary, but he does need the breath to speak. He's about to allow himself to be vulnerable in front of Dawn, and for Eric, that's a big thing. "I miss being able to speak something as close to Norse as still exists with someone." The language he spoke as a human isn't Swedish, but it's what Swedish used to be and that's close enough.

His voice turns into a purr at her words. "You'll have to tell me more about this minotaur thing, but it's quite a shame that you aren't naked more often."