The Lady or The Tiger
Overview
by
C. Woodhaven
| General | The Lady | The Tiger | |
| Major Characters | |||
| Tara spent her whole life as a Phelon Slave, until her adopted brother killed a vampire. She and Xander were brought to auction and sold to Spike. | Spike has her trained as a Pleasure Slave and claimed her. She can see auras and do magic, however during her time in the Pleasure House, it was restricted to pleasure spells only. It remains to be seen if she’s given more leeway now that she’s been claimed. She had a brief relationship with Willow. Spike found out about it and as a result, issued her claiming challenge, which she accepted. Now that she's claimed, she has a connection with Spike and he is able to project his emotions to her, sometimes so strongly that they physically manifest. In the first few days after the claim, she has an almost overwhelming need to sleep with Spike - a state which he assures her will pass once the bond settles down. | She’s been trained as a healer in exchange for helping Spike keep an eye on Xander. She can see auras, and is allowed to do magic – although she is supposed to restrict her magic use to healing - which she doesn't always do. She used magic to manipulate Dawn and Willow to get assigned to the Halsstarrig, where Xander is. She agreed to see Willow socially, but hasn’t as of yet. Once assigned to be Xander’s healer, she was given constant access to him. | |
| Xander | Xander spent his whole life as a Phelon Slave, his mother was taken away when he was very young and Tara's mother raised him as her own. He killed his lover, Jesse, after he'd been turned into a vampire. Xander was should have been sentenced to death and sent to Abattoir for punishment, but instead an overseer (Riley) intervened with their owners and bargained to have Xander and Tara sold instead. | Spike has had him trained to work in the kitchens so he can keep an eye on Tara and spy for Spike. He and Spike have become unlikely allies in Spike’s wooing of Tara. He feels responsible for Tara’s current vocation, as his slaying of a vampire was the reason they got sold to Spike. He is currently in a very serious relationship with Oz. They would be mated if Oz wasn't afraid that Xander wouldn't be sent to the slave games to fight once he became a werewolf. Oz does want to be committed to him though, and allows Xander to mark him with a tattoo. It's as close to being married as they are allowed, considering the circumstances. | Spike has had him trained as a Pleasure Slave. He also forced him to be tattooed with Spike’s mark on his inner wrist. Spike was convinced to ‘assist’ in his training one evening in a manor that was designed to fail. When it did, Xander was assigned to The Halsstarrig, a stable of whores for demon free-fighters in the warrior games. These are slaves with both a natural submissive streak and a strong masochistic streak (one that they fight). He’s been the play toy of Angelus, who has gotten him addicted to Halo Gas and convinced him that Spike is the one beating and screwing him. Oz has purchased his services to allow him to recover from his Halo addiction. He and Oz have been together previously and Oz has both offered to bite him and purchase him, but as yet, has done neither. He has feelings for Spike, but is confused due to the Halo addiction, his hatred of the vampire that made him a whore, and his own desire to deny his submissive streak. He turned to Oz for comfort and support after Spike visited him in the warrior stables. |
| Spike | Member of the Aurelian Council, one of the newer members. Drusilla was supposed to be serving, but because she was insane, Spike got called up instead. He's killed two slayers, but we don’t have details on that. Tara and Xander are the first two slaves he's purchased. | Owns both Tara and Xander. He has claimed Tara, which means she’s addicted to his bite. He knew about Tara’s relationship with Willow, and issued a Claiming challenge to Tara once he found out. He does NOT like to share his toys. He is affectionate toward Tara, in his way, but he thinks of her as a possession. He genuinely likes Xander, but also uses him to gather information from other vamps as well as Tara. | Owns both Xander and Tara. He was set up by Angelus and Narella and has lost all access to Xander for a punishment period of 100 days. He has feelings for Xander but won’t admit them. He set Tara up as a healer, and helped arrange things so she could be assigned to The Halsstarrig, including having Willow assaulted so severely that she’d end up in the infirmary. |
| Angelus | He’s just plain Evil. His position on the council is unspecified; however it is clear from the fic that he actually runs things – even if it’s in an unofficial capacity. He’s brutal and ruthless in this verse and dislikes Spike immensely. He has quite a few slaves in the pleasure house, the ones we know are :Willow, Gunn, Wes, and Dawn. These slaves he has marked with a tattoo or a brand of the letter A on their body somewhere. He has no claimed slaves or consorts. | He intended to stop Spike’s claim on Tara – but for no specified reasons. He ordered Willow to start a relationship with her to pass him information. He has farmed Willow’s daughter out off-world, and keeps occasional tabs on her. It is implied that he has leverage like this on either all his slaves, or all the ones that are ‘special’ to him. He hasn’t yet broken the slave in the corner; it’s assumed he hasn’t found the right leverage yet. He’s also set Willow for mage training, but hasn’t told her what the price will be. He intends to turn her once she's completed training. | He conspired with Narella to get Xander shipped to the Halsstarrig, he likes having access to slaves he can beat and torture. When it turns out that Spike is Xander’s owner, however, he makes the torture personal. He gets Xander addicted to Halo gas, and then uses it to trick Xander into thinking that Spike is the one torturing him. |
| Angelus rescued Willow from being a breeder, she has one child, River, living off-world. It’s implied that she’s been the property of Angelus for over 8 years, and she understands him very well. She’s a hacker and magic user, but doesn’t do either on a regular basis. | She was in a relationship with Tara at the behest of Angelus, he wanted her to spy on the Spike’s slave. It can be inferred that she was also asked to try to stop the claim in subtle ways; however, she fell in love with Tara and actually assisted her in meeting Spike. She is friendly with the slave in the corner, telling them that when they break, they will have a friend in her. | Willow was beaten and raped by a Daninhos demon named Morash. The attack was set up by Spike, so Tara could enchant Willow and use her hacking skills to get assigned to see Xander. Willow is surprisingly unaffected emotionally by her assault, and asks to see Tara again on a social level – to which Tara agrees. There is an interlude where we see Willow and Angelus discuss her attack. | |
| Gen | She is a MicroCosm SevenGen unit (an android) who was purchased for Spike by Angelus. Her loyalties lie with Angelus because of this. | She deliberately left Xander kneeling for several hours in the viewing room, presumably to have an extended chat with Angelus about Spike’s slave purchase. Xander could barely walk when he brought to Spike. Spike comes close to beating her and threatens her with having her memory wiped if she didn’t cease her spying for Angelus. She agrees to cease, however on the night that Spike claimed Tara, she phoned Angelus immediately after she found out to tell him. | As she brought Tara to Spike’s office, she phoned Angelus, who met them there and assaulted Tara in the name of an ‘examination’ of Spike’s new purchase (interlude). Spike discovered this and nearly tears her apart by ripping out circuits. His intent was to completely destroy her, but she negotiates with him, promising to spy on Angelus for him and bring him information. She follows through, by giving Spike oceans of data in the form of dossiers on all of Angelus’ slaves, members of the council Angelus does business with or anyone else he has extended contact with. Spike hasn’t delved much into this information, however he did use it to learn more about Willow as he set up her assault. |
| Oz | He’s a free-fighter (demon warrior in the warrior games), a werewolf that came to Abaddon because of the triple moons. He has traveled the galaxy looking for somewhere he can be at peace with the wolf, and this is it. It doesn’t seem to bother him that humans are slaves on this planet, and he definitely considers himself a demon. He has long auburn hair in ropes or dred-locks and tribal tattoos all along the left side of his body. He’s a really good fighter, and everyone respects him as well as defers to him. | He and Xander have a pretty serious relationship. Oz would like to claim him as a mate, but can’t because he’s afraid that Xander will be taken from him and trained to fight or kill. He asked Xander to mark him (give him a tattoo) in kind of a marriage ceremony instead. Xander agreed. | Oz rescues Xander from being gang-banged by a group of horny warriors his first night in the Halsstarrig. He and Xander have a decent relationship, more than friends, but less then partners. Oz looks out for Xander, and reports the Halo addition and Angelus’ behavior to Narella, threatening to bite Xander if it continues. This is assumed to be just a regular werewolf bite, not a claim. He also offered to buy Xander from Spike, only to be told that Spike isn’t quite aware of the danger Xander is in. He agreed to pay for time with Xander in exchange for not biting him, and allowing him to heal. |
| Minor Characters | |||
| Adara | Mimeologue Demon - her duty is a handler/trainer in the pleasure house. She is respoinsible for both Xander and Tara in their respective stories. She is kind, but ultimately follows orders, regardless of her personal feelings on the matter. | No additional information. | No additional information. |
| Dawn | Riley’s younger sister, she was also a slave of the Phelon. Tara performed a spell oh her when she was 14 to prevent pregnancy, which was when she started working in the tents. Angelus bought her directly from the tents sometime between when Xander killed Jesse, and they got sold (which is not defined in the fic – the only clue on time is that once they’d decided to sell Xander and Tara, it took them a week of extra rations and healing potions). It’s inferred that she zoomed through pleasure house training because she was actually servicing Lord Arvis and had been returned to the pleasure house around when Spike purchased Tara and Xander. She spent a week in the infirmary after Angelus bought her (this is implied in a ficlet interlude). | Meets Tara in the Pleasure House and is thrilled to find out Tara and Xander are both alive. Spike hired her and put a truth spell on her to find out who Tara was sleeping with (this was in a drabble). She’s in love with Angelus and he’s strangely kind to her. She serves the daddy!kink market in the Pleasure House. | Mentioned, but not seen. Tara treats Dawn for a bite wound, and does a truth spell on her to get Willow’s name as someone who could manipulate computers. |
| Gunn | He's a former warrior who is currently owned by Angelus and working in the pleasure house. He's one of Angelus' special pets and wears his mark. A tattoo on his neck. He's involved with Wes. | No additional information. | No additional information. |
| He is a free-fighter in the warrior games. Unusually strong and he has a cold demeanor he's a human synthetic hybid, or Bio-Mod. He is 'brothers' with Jayne as they came from the same stock. | Not mentioned. | No additional information. | |
| Harmony | An unsponsored whore in the pleasure house, she travels between the 13 houses as 'fresh blood' for the stables. She was bred to be a pleasure slave and her goal in life is to become a vampire while she's still young and pretty. | Not mentioned. | |
| Janson | A human slave who works as a healer. | Not mentioned. | He was assigned to Xander when he entered the Halstraag. He was forbidden to tell Spike how Xander was being treated. Instead, he went to Oz and told him about the Halo addiction. Narella sells him out (instead of Oz) when Angelus asks who ratted him out about the gas. Janson ended up in Abattior, on reanimation level. Spike managed to question him using a stolen Ident-card. |
| Jayne | He is a free-fighter in the warrior games. Unusually strong and crass he's a human synthetic hybid, or Bio-Mod. He is 'brothers' with Hamilton as they came from the same stock. | Not mentioned. | No additional information. |
| Morash | Daninhos demon - Not very bright rat-like demon. It is unclear if Morash is simply not smart, or it is a trait of the species. He's a type of henchmen. | Not mentioned. | Spike pays him to beat up Willow so severerly that she'll end up in the healing center. He sodimizes her as well, because it is mating season and he would impregnate her if he had raped her in a traditional way. In his mind, that was a favor to her. Spike pays him and gives him a shuttle, but as insurance he sets the ships autodestruct to fire once Morash cleared the solar system. |
| Narella | Mimeologue Demon - she runs the pleasure house for the Aurelian Council. | No additional information. | She sells Xander out to Angelus and the Halstraag. She sets Spike up so that he will violate his contract so she can 'punish Xander by sending him to the warrior stables for 100 days. At Angelus' behest, she lies to Xander and tells him that he's being punished at Spike's request. |
| River | Willow's daughter. She's being raised off world and is a prodigy. She's currently 8. Willow was a breeder and pregnant with her when Angelus bought her. She is the leverage Angelus holds over Willow to do his bidding. | No additional information. | No additional information. |
| Slave in the Corner | The yet unnamed slave in Angelus’ room. This is the person that was in cryofreeze at the beginning of the tale. | Angelus has a human slave in his room that he is trying to break. Angelus recently discovered that causing another person pain was the best method of breaking his new toy. | Angelus is given 3 doses of an unknown substance by Narella that is expected to be helpful in breaking this slave. This was exchanged for Angelus agreeing to discontinue giving Xander Halo gas. |
| Tarasios | One of the older vampires on the council. All we know about him is that he's fat, doesn't have a consort or claimant and has a voracious appetite for anything new in the pleasure house. | No additional information. | Currently the vamp in charge of Abattoir. Harmony is his bit of fluff at the moment and she drugs him at Spike's behest to acquire Tarasios' ident-card. This allows Spike to question Janson in Abattior as well as visit Xander. |
| Valera | One of the older vampires on the council. She isn't very fond of Angelus. She is old enough to have lost her ability to appear human. She has one consort, Lily. She doesn't sample pleasure slaves as sport as some of the council members do. | No additional information. | No mention. |
| Wes | His past is unspecified, but he's currently working in the pleasure house. He is owned by Angelus and was apparently very difficult to break. Instead of being tattooed he was branded by Angelus, an experience that was 'less than pleasant to watch' according to Willow. Willow was also present when he was broken. He is involved with Gunn. | No additional information. | No additional information. |
| Terms | |||
| Abaddon | This is a demon planet in the far reaches of the galaxy. It was established once humans began trekking to the stars. Originally it was a 'safe world' where the demons waited for humans to forget about them, but chaos reigned. From the ashes of a great demon war, new laws arose that separated demon clans by type and seeded the planet with human slaves in an effort to allow the demons to have an outlet for their aggression. It has worked incredibly well, the whole society thrives on some aspect of slave trade. | Sanctioned Turnings | A vampire makes a Childe off world, or turns a human who has been approved to be elevated to vampire state. They are considered citizens, although may be either minions or children depending on who does the turning and how. |
| Abattoir | This is where humans (and some other demons) are sent to be punished for crimes leveled against demons. A complex consisting of punishment chambers in which vampires can watch 'criminals' being punished. There are two levels of punishment, torture followed by death for an infraction, and reanimation. Reanimation level includes an additional level of spells so once the victim dies, they begin to automatically heal (or reanimate) allowing the torture cycle to begin again. The reanimation spell can only be taken off by the vampire (or demon) who ordered it. | Slave Games | Slaves forced into fighting as their vocation. These can be straight fights or death matches. Slaves bitten by werewolves are still considered slaves and can fight in these matches. It isn't known if other demons fight as well. |
| Bliss Gas | A difficult to detect gas that is used to befuddle humans into a blissful servitude. Technically illegal, as vampires can not detect it in anyway. It was banned because once the gas wears off, the slaves temperament can be markedly different. It is common knowledge that it is used in the 'Toy' market, slaves that are not expected to survive ownership very long. | The Aurelian Council | The council of vampires that runs this section of Abaddon. There are 13 vampire councils planetwide. It's name is enough to inspire terror in slaves. There are an indeterminate number of vampires on the council, and it is unclear how long their servitude extends. Vampires are obligated, during some point in their unlives, to server on the council, no matter where they currently live (on or off world). It is implied that all the vamps on the council are children and not minions and all are of the line Aurelius. |
| Claim | Human addicted to a vampire bite. The human will crave being bitten by the vamp who claimed them for the rest of their life. Being bitten by other vamps will help calm the craving, but it will never be the same. | Triptych | Night when all three moons of Abaddon are full. It happens twice a year. |
| Consort | Next stage beyond Claim. Nothing more is known at this time from the tale. | Unsanctioned Turnings | A vampire makes a random human, often a slave, a vampire. These are considered lower than minions and usually are staked on sight by other vamps. However, if a human kills one, it is treated as any demon killing would - the penalty is death. |
| Death Matches | Warrior matches between slaves where the slaves fight to the death. | Warrior Games | Demons fighting demons in the only sport on Abaddon. Vampires gamble on the games. Everyone participating is a free demon, and they get paid. |
| Halo Gas | Gas smelling of burnt cherries, causes directed hallucinations in humans. A human can be made to see or believe whatever the 'giver' wants. It is addictive. | Phelon | Group of demons who have set themselves up as a merchant class. The are known for their lust for profit and would sell their mothers to make an additional credit. They neglect and mistreat their slaves, including denying them food and healing to keep costs down. They are infamous for the establishments of 'tents' - in which they tie down one of their slaves and charge for the sexual use. They mostly do this with their female slaves, but occasionally the male ones. Tara was put to use in the tents at 12, however this is unusual, even for the Phelon. Dawn began working in them at 14, and even that was considered 'young'. |
| Mimeologue Demon | Asexual clones that run the pleasure houses. Some are unnamed drones, used to collect information, others are handlers, and others are managerial class. They look identical, so their uniforms indicate their vocation. Green and Blue for drones, Red for management, Black for handler class. Their intelligence correlates to their function, so the drones are unfeeling and very focused on their tasks, handlers are bred not to question things, etc. |
| Lady | Index | Tiger |
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