Alucard \\ Adrian F. Ţepeş (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
cryptsleeper) wrote2018-11-10 11:26 pm
cryptsleeper) wrote2018-11-10 11:26 pm
Little gaolers, they are.
[ He sits down near Alucard but not next to him. He took note of that no touching thing. ]
Ready for company again?
[ He sits down near Alucard but not next to him. He took note of that no touching thing. ]
Ready for company again?
Still needs a name.
[The dog is also very asleep right now.]
Mmm. I think so.
[The dog is also very asleep right now.]
Mmm. I think so.
I'm going to suggest 'Dog', just to see you try to come up with something better.
[ SHIT EATING GRIN TIME. He tries not to look at Alucard too much, staring at their shitty old wagon instead. ]
The talking kind of company, or the quiet kind?
[ SHIT EATING GRIN TIME. He tries not to look at Alucard too much, staring at their shitty old wagon instead. ]
The talking kind of company, or the quiet kind?
It was the first name that popped into my head as well, and I've been trying for literally anything else.
[Thank you, Enid. You've ruined every dog naming attempt forever.]
I am unsure. How did things go with experimentation?
[Thank you, Enid. You've ruined every dog naming attempt forever.]
I am unsure. How did things go with experimentation?
Sypha's still able to break through it and get a sense of what's inside it. And- it's Sypha so of course she fucking can, and warding spells will help, but I still don't like it. We're going to try to fuse the silver onto the iron tomorrow, but it's going to need to be outside.
[ He sighs, but it's the happy kind. The kind that comes from hard work and honest mistakes. ]
Incidentally, we'll get to find out if burned desks replenish themselves tonight.
[ He sighs, but it's the happy kind. The kind that comes from hard work and honest mistakes. ]
Incidentally, we'll get to find out if burned desks replenish themselves tonight.
I think there's some paving stones just beyond the stable. Better to do it on that surface, it'll be less likely to catch on fire.
[Alucard nudges not-Dog gently. Go cuddle with Trevor too.
Dog ain't moving for shit.]
Welcome to the exciting world of experiments with Sypha.
[Alucard nudges not-Dog gently. Go cuddle with Trevor too.
Dog ain't moving for shit.]
Welcome to the exciting world of experiments with Sypha.
[ Sorry Alucard, Trevor's many, many generations removed from Leon. You're one generation removed from Mathias. You're the favorite. Dog likes you best. ]
Do things always catch fire when working with her?
[ Yes. ]
Do things always catch fire when working with her?
[ Yes. ]
[Dog this is unfair.]
Oh, was it only fire?
[That question is way too mild and much too calm.]
Oh, was it only fire?
[That question is way too mild and much too calm.]
I'll- take that as a yes. Surprised you still let her do this kind of work in the castle.
[ He laughs and reaches over to pet the dog. It's not touching Alucard, but it's touching the dog, and the dog is touching Alucard, so it kind of is. ]
[ He laughs and reaches over to pet the dog. It's not touching Alucard, but it's touching the dog, and the dog is touching Alucard, so it kind of is. ]
We do it in designated spaces, and you never saw some of the set ups I grew up around. [Alucard grins, sly and surprisingly mischievous.] Sypha's caused nothing on the scale of a few remarkable moments.
[The dog will allow this. Because this is the transitive property of touch and these two weirdos are clearly part of his people's pack.]
[The dog will allow this. Because this is the transitive property of touch and these two weirdos are clearly part of his people's pack.]
And you complain about us being strange.
[ Us here being the Belmonts. ]
Bad at dog names, maybe a little too excited about salt and rice. But we never caused fires.
[ Us here being the Belmonts. ]
Bad at dog names, maybe a little too excited about salt and rice. But we never caused fires.
That's too on the nose.
[Just saying. But at least Alucard doesn't dwell on it, which is miles better than he's ever managed before. This entire experience has been deeply sobering on so many levels.]
This whole thing is.
[Just saying. But at least Alucard doesn't dwell on it, which is miles better than he's ever managed before. This entire experience has been deeply sobering on so many levels.]
This whole thing is.
Right. Shit. Sorry.
[ He's getting better at this himself, because his response isn't defensive, or an attempt to turn it into a very dark joke. A joke which with anyone else he would be entirely within his rights to make. But not with Alucard.
He moves his hand, hovering it above Alucard's now, waiting for permission. ]
May I?
[ He's getting better at this himself, because his response isn't defensive, or an attempt to turn it into a very dark joke. A joke which with anyone else he would be entirely within his rights to make. But not with Alucard.
He moves his hand, hovering it above Alucard's now, waiting for permission. ]
May I?
[The apology gets a sidelong smile. Trevor's come a long way too. They all have, on so many stupid and not stupid things.
The question is answered by Alucard's hand moving up, taking Trevor's softly and then bringing it down so both their hands are resting in the warm summer grass. Soft as anything. Softer than the dog, come to think of it.]
The question is answered by Alucard's hand moving up, taking Trevor's softly and then bringing it down so both their hands are resting in the warm summer grass. Soft as anything. Softer than the dog, come to think of it.]
[ It's nice. And warm. And loving. And only a medium amount of weird. Which is less something insurmountable and more the way things were when this all began, when they first returned to the castle after Dracula's defeat. He can deal with a medium amount of weird. ]
I'm not going to play the stupid game this time. [ Because playing it would mean letting go, and he's not about to fucking do that. ]
So you don't have to talk about this shit if you don't want to. But I've still got ears, game or not. So if you do want to, I'll use them.
I'm not going to play the stupid game this time. [ Because playing it would mean letting go, and he's not about to fucking do that. ]
So you don't have to talk about this shit if you don't want to. But I've still got ears, game or not. So if you do want to, I'll use them.
[Ears. They really have come a long way, haven't they? It's enough to put a flicker of a smile on Alucard's face, one that stays there as he gives the hand a very soft squeeze.]
Tomorrow, I shall not make this about me and my own endless need to revaluate what my father was.
[And that's the real simple truth here. Every new detail sends him spiraling back, wondering if what he did was the right thing. He knows it is, it was always a cold hard truth, but guilt alwas wormed it's way inside of Alucard to convince him that there was some action to make his father whole again. Sane again. The man he knew just shy of twenty years, not the man he was for centuries before.
Who, as it turned out, was the same man he always was. Just expressed differently. A dedicated scientist. Someone who wanted to defy the world for love. And who fell into his own bullshit.
And maybe he could live with that truth now. Even if it made him more and more afraid of becoming his father. Even if it made this trio feel just a little stranger for the ways history had decided to repeat itself.
No. No maybe.
He'd live with that.]
Come here.
Tomorrow, I shall not make this about me and my own endless need to revaluate what my father was.
[And that's the real simple truth here. Every new detail sends him spiraling back, wondering if what he did was the right thing. He knows it is, it was always a cold hard truth, but guilt alwas wormed it's way inside of Alucard to convince him that there was some action to make his father whole again. Sane again. The man he knew just shy of twenty years, not the man he was for centuries before.
Who, as it turned out, was the same man he always was. Just expressed differently. A dedicated scientist. Someone who wanted to defy the world for love. And who fell into his own bullshit.
And maybe he could live with that truth now. Even if it made him more and more afraid of becoming his father. Even if it made this trio feel just a little stranger for the ways history had decided to repeat itself.
No. No maybe.
He'd live with that.]
Come here.
I make no such promises.
[ Because he's not as overt about it as Alucard is. Because he doesn't feel it as keenly as Alucard does. He will never drive a stake through the heart of the Belmmont line, only eventually decide whether or not it ought to end with him. But Alucard's seen the dream (they were wrong in the worst possible way, and then they were right and it was just as terrible). He's heard that stupid comment about sacrifices. There's no sense pretending that he's not searching for some way for his family's mission to justify or damn itself in his eyes to make the choice easier.
So he doesn't pretend, he just shuffles closer to Alucard when invited to, letting go of his hand to instead put an arm around his shoulder. ]
[ Because he's not as overt about it as Alucard is. Because he doesn't feel it as keenly as Alucard does. He will never drive a stake through the heart of the Belmmont line, only eventually decide whether or not it ought to end with him. But Alucard's seen the dream (they were wrong in the worst possible way, and then they were right and it was just as terrible). He's heard that stupid comment about sacrifices. There's no sense pretending that he's not searching for some way for his family's mission to justify or damn itself in his eyes to make the choice easier.
So he doesn't pretend, he just shuffles closer to Alucard when invited to, letting go of his hand to instead put an arm around his shoulder. ]
You're entitled. I've spent too much time doing it.
[The heavy thinker. Trevor called it for what it was so early on. It's never changed, and it makes so many more problems than it's worth, in the end. But to stop it would make Alucard fundamentally not himself, and then where would any of them be?
Alucard leans into the arm around him. Swings his left arm low around Trevor's waist, since Trevor's right is around his shoulder. Maybe this repeats history too. Maybe this part of history is worth repeating.]
I love you. I'm terrified of whatever unspoken history was inside of these walls for all the reasons you already know. I don't want four hundred years of history to repeat itself, only for some terrible children of ours to be discovering the same information in the castle walls. But the first part is much more important. I love you both.
[The heavy thinker. Trevor called it for what it was so early on. It's never changed, and it makes so many more problems than it's worth, in the end. But to stop it would make Alucard fundamentally not himself, and then where would any of them be?
Alucard leans into the arm around him. Swings his left arm low around Trevor's waist, since Trevor's right is around his shoulder. Maybe this repeats history too. Maybe this part of history is worth repeating.]
I love you. I'm terrified of whatever unspoken history was inside of these walls for all the reasons you already know. I don't want four hundred years of history to repeat itself, only for some terrible children of ours to be discovering the same information in the castle walls. But the first part is much more important. I love you both.
Sounds like we should tell more horses about it. Keep it from becoming a secret. Hard to uncover something you already know.
[ It feels different, right now, to be holding Alucard. A little like when he's floating, like there's a weight that isn't there. ]
For what it's worth, I'm sure Leon Belmont would never curse. Or insult someone. So I can fucking guarantee he never once said 'I adore this pompous fucking bloodsucker'.
[ It feels different, right now, to be holding Alucard. A little like when he's floating, like there's a weight that isn't there. ]
For what it's worth, I'm sure Leon Belmont would never curse. Or insult someone. So I can fucking guarantee he never once said 'I adore this pompous fucking bloodsucker'.
Hm. Well, the dog knows, so that's a start.
[Trevor's warm in a way that the summer heat isn't. Not Sypha's warm which is always like a fire. There's no good comparison really, it just is. It is and it is a wonderful thing that he's stupid to overthink.
And that's affection and love in only the way this great big stupid Belmont can express, and Alucard can only smile for it. This is peace, as much as he can have with everything learned over the past two days. Even if there's more, he'll accept it because at this point, there's nothing else worth getting upset over.]
You're right. Never uttered.
[Probably he said the first thing with real sincerity though.]
[Trevor's warm in a way that the summer heat isn't. Not Sypha's warm which is always like a fire. There's no good comparison really, it just is. It is and it is a wonderful thing that he's stupid to overthink.
And that's affection and love in only the way this great big stupid Belmont can express, and Alucard can only smile for it. This is peace, as much as he can have with everything learned over the past two days. Even if there's more, he'll accept it because at this point, there's nothing else worth getting upset over.]
You're right. Never uttered.
[Probably he said the first thing with real sincerity though.]
Not once in his holier-than-thou life. It'd be something bullshit and flowery and knight-in-shining-armour-ish and neither of you would tolerate that shit for a second.
[ Or maybe they would. Now he actually says that it's hard not to be tempted to try it sometime. Except that he's awful with this stuff and wouldn't get three words in without fucking it up by swearing instead of expressing a feeling. ]
I'm not Leon Belmont. Never fucking will be. Wouldn't be even if I were a pale babyfaced frenchman with no fucking concept of pragmatism. And you're not your father. And if Sara cooked like Sypha did, it'd be enough of a medical emergency to warrant a mention or two in your father's books.
[ Or maybe they would. Now he actually says that it's hard not to be tempted to try it sometime. Except that he's awful with this stuff and wouldn't get three words in without fucking it up by swearing instead of expressing a feeling. ]
I'm not Leon Belmont. Never fucking will be. Wouldn't be even if I were a pale babyfaced frenchman with no fucking concept of pragmatism. And you're not your father. And if Sara cooked like Sypha did, it'd be enough of a medical emergency to warrant a mention or two in your father's books.
Oh, I might indulge it for a moment, just to see if it ends sincerely or crudely.
[It's like...a 25-75 split and Alucard knows which way the odds lean. That's not the point. The point is honesty and reassurance, and all the other little important things. As well as pragmatism, because that is something all three of them have that were never, ever evident in Leon's journals. Leon was to noble his father was always prone to drama, and Sara was still the daughter of those who stood next to royalty. Pragmatism wasn't their nature.
The three of them, they were cold creatures if the world demanded it. Because the world demanded that they fix it's ills.]
It's safe to say that last part was why there are servants' quarters here.
[Pedantic shit.]
[It's like...a 25-75 split and Alucard knows which way the odds lean. That's not the point. The point is honesty and reassurance, and all the other little important things. As well as pragmatism, because that is something all three of them have that were never, ever evident in Leon's journals. Leon was to noble his father was always prone to drama, and Sara was still the daughter of those who stood next to royalty. Pragmatism wasn't their nature.
The three of them, they were cold creatures if the world demanded it. Because the world demanded that they fix it's ills.]
It's safe to say that last part was why there are servants' quarters here.
[Pedantic shit.]
Well shit. That sounds like a challenge.
[ In that it literally sounds like it would be challenging. He can lead an army if he needs to, can compose a decent death threat, but he doesn't have the first clue how to do flowery bullshit. Sincerely, at least. ]
Perhaps once we're back. Once all of this is done. To give you something to look forward to.
[ It's going to be awful and he knows it. ]
[ In that it literally sounds like it would be challenging. He can lead an army if he needs to, can compose a decent death threat, but he doesn't have the first clue how to do flowery bullshit. Sincerely, at least. ]
Perhaps once we're back. Once all of this is done. To give you something to look forward to.
[ It's going to be awful and he knows it. ]
Consider it one. Maybe we'll take the long way back to Wallachia to give you ample time to think of something.
[Alucard smirks up at Trevor, because now? Now he's just being a total ass. And that means they're back to their definition of normal.
[Alucard smirks up at Trevor, because now? Now he's just being a total ass. And that means they're back to their definition of normal.
Let's not. That sounds like a wonderful way to get a whole lot of flowery metaphors about shitty wagons and probably-dying horses.
[ Look maybe he does like Useless but he hates that wagon please don't make him endure it for any longer than he absolutely has to. ]
[ Look maybe he does like Useless but he hates that wagon please don't make him endure it for any longer than he absolutely has to. ]
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