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
[They've already figured out the important lines. Magic and Belmonts. Literally anything about Alucard's father. Fires in the destructive sense. They're important boundaries, and that they're being respected is even more so.
Well, Trevor, you've gone and done it. You've used the word cute. There's more red in his cheeks, and he is flustered as anything.]
That's a word I haven't had associated with myself.
Well, Trevor, you've gone and done it. You've used the word cute. There's more red in his cheeks, and he is flustered as anything.]
That's a word I haven't had associated with myself.
Because you're not terribly observant.
[ Few people are as observant of Alucard, after all, as Trevor Belmont, who stares at vampires far, far too much. And he brings a hand up to Alucard's cheek, stroking it with a thumb. ]
You probably still don't even know what any of this is.
[ That was what he said, wasn't it? And things have changed since then, in the last hour or so. But they haven't necessarily become clearer. Just better. More comfortable. He doesn't know what this is either, but he has a few good guesses. ]
[ Few people are as observant of Alucard, after all, as Trevor Belmont, who stares at vampires far, far too much. And he brings a hand up to Alucard's cheek, stroking it with a thumb. ]
You probably still don't even know what any of this is.
[ That was what he said, wasn't it? And things have changed since then, in the last hour or so. But they haven't necessarily become clearer. Just better. More comfortable. He doesn't know what this is either, but he has a few good guesses. ]
...Really, I'm not observant?
[The stink eye Trevor gets for that is deserved as far as Alucard is concerned. Because oh, it is there and he knows that the withering, pinched, judgmental face is as much a part of their back and forth as anything else.
Then he just sort of lets it go with a soft shake of his head.]
In truth, there's simply been too much happening to truly make sense of it all.
[Not just this but...very much this. Even this with Sypha.]
It is all new to me.
[The stink eye Trevor gets for that is deserved as far as Alucard is concerned. Because oh, it is there and he knows that the withering, pinched, judgmental face is as much a part of their back and forth as anything else.
Then he just sort of lets it go with a soft shake of his head.]
In truth, there's simply been too much happening to truly make sense of it all.
[Not just this but...very much this. Even this with Sypha.]
It is all new to me.
Not at all.
[ Excuse u which person here was it who took nearly 5 months to figure out that Trevor has best tiddy????
He pulls Alucard's head down against his shoulder, letting sunlight and golden hair alike fall over his face and lazily blowing the latter out of his eyes. ]
This is making shit bearable. It's what people do instead of lying down and dying.
[ Because that's not an option for either of them anymore. Because Sypha's gone and started caring about them both, so they have to live. ]
[ Excuse u which person here was it who took nearly 5 months to figure out that Trevor has best tiddy????
He pulls Alucard's head down against his shoulder, letting sunlight and golden hair alike fall over his face and lazily blowing the latter out of his eyes. ]
This is making shit bearable. It's what people do instead of lying down and dying.
[ Because that's not an option for either of them anymore. Because Sypha's gone and started caring about them both, so they have to live. ]
[Look he did not have the time to even think about tiddy. Now he does. Speaking of, Alucard's hand goes back to where it was as Trevor pulls him back towards the shoulder. He settles, and his eyes flutter closed. Just breathing the moment in.
He's quiet for a few moments. There's a soft hm to let Trevor know he's been heard, but the rest is the Heavy Thinker again. Making shit bearable wasn't supposed to happen like this.
What Alucard wants to do is make a shitty asshole comment about how they're harder to kill than most anyway. It falls flat on his tongue, and instead he just presses closer.]
Different approach than I expected. Better.
He's quiet for a few moments. There's a soft hm to let Trevor know he's been heard, but the rest is the Heavy Thinker again. Making shit bearable wasn't supposed to happen like this.
What Alucard wants to do is make a shitty asshole comment about how they're harder to kill than most anyway. It falls flat on his tongue, and instead he just presses closer.]
Different approach than I expected. Better.
It's this or the ale.
[ Which sounds more like a threat to his ears than he intends it to, so he just shakes his head. ]
And you'd tell her about that, too. [ Which is to say, the ale isn't an option anymore and he understands that. ] If I'm damned either way, I may as well do what inconveniences you most.
[ Which sounds more like a threat to his ears than he intends it to, so he just shakes his head. ]
And you'd tell her about that, too. [ Which is to say, the ale isn't an option anymore and he understands that. ] If I'm damned either way, I may as well do what inconveniences you most.
I absolutely would.
[Trevor's commitment to being an inconvenience is touching though.]
And yes. How inconvenient for me that I'm being held here instead of making breakfast.
[Trevor's commitment to being an inconvenience is touching though.]
And yes. How inconvenient for me that I'm being held here instead of making breakfast.
You ought to watch yourself, or I might keep you from making lunch, too.
[ Because right now, holding on to the vampire and being hungry seems better than letting go and being fed. He's half considering seeing if he can get away with sleeping like this. Because if he's being honest, that's what he's wanted most since Sypha left and why this all began when it did. ]
[ Because right now, holding on to the vampire and being hungry seems better than letting go and being fed. He's half considering seeing if he can get away with sleeping like this. Because if he's being honest, that's what he's wanted most since Sypha left and why this all began when it did. ]
Hm. Well, it's terribly early now. I'll let your stomach pick the argument come noon.
[The vampire's fine with waiting. It is early, and maybe they could do with slightly more rest. That might require moving though, and Alucard can guess Trevor's firmly against that.]
Do you think you can sleep again?
[The vampire's fine with waiting. It is early, and maybe they could do with slightly more rest. That might require moving though, and Alucard can guess Trevor's firmly against that.]
Do you think you can sleep again?
Edited 2018-12-22 00:43 (UTC)
I think I can manage that.
[ He twists his head a little, so that Alucard's is rested neatly between his chin and his shoulder, and rubs his back softly. It's nice, to be able to feel a heartbeat and breathing against him. He's gone soft, become used to it, so that the lack of either feels like something is terribly wrong. ]
But if you want me to go back to the room to do it, I'm carrying you again.
[ He twists his head a little, so that Alucard's is rested neatly between his chin and his shoulder, and rubs his back softly. It's nice, to be able to feel a heartbeat and breathing against him. He's gone soft, become used to it, so that the lack of either feels like something is terribly wrong. ]
But if you want me to go back to the room to do it, I'm carrying you again.
[A week goes by. Observing the estate where the stone resides through the viewing mirror gives precious few clues. Whoever is responsible is a vampire. That's the only thing that can be certain, as come nightfall there are shadows visible through the curtains, and sometimes the screams of those who are about to become food instead of respected guests. (Alucard cuts off the viewing mirror the minute he hears them.)
But that is the only thing they have. Exploring the estate leads to more notebooks, which have now piled up in the part of the kitchen that is now the research corner (they could move into the servants' quarters, but none of them have.) Sypha has found enough old research to begin to develop new spells, and hidden away in that bedroom has been one journal of Leon's that never quite made it to the Hold. It's all the beginning signs of turning, and notes on the first horrible attempt to engage the vampire responsible for it.
Alucard's read it once, and only for one reason: to figure out how far the location of Walter's own home was, and how far it is from the estate.
If we fail in this, then we should know how to fight him.
Which was why he and Trevor were walking through the forest now, March closing and a few precious spring flowers under foot. Sypha's spell development was in a whirlwind, which meant not coming along. Alucard didn't like it, but they'd need those spells in the future. Better she do that.
The forest is too quiet. He hates it.]
But that is the only thing they have. Exploring the estate leads to more notebooks, which have now piled up in the part of the kitchen that is now the research corner (they could move into the servants' quarters, but none of them have.) Sypha has found enough old research to begin to develop new spells, and hidden away in that bedroom has been one journal of Leon's that never quite made it to the Hold. It's all the beginning signs of turning, and notes on the first horrible attempt to engage the vampire responsible for it.
Alucard's read it once, and only for one reason: to figure out how far the location of Walter's own home was, and how far it is from the estate.
If we fail in this, then we should know how to fight him.
Which was why he and Trevor were walking through the forest now, March closing and a few precious spring flowers under foot. Sypha's spell development was in a whirlwind, which meant not coming along. Alucard didn't like it, but they'd need those spells in the future. Better she do that.
The forest is too quiet. He hates it.]
[ It's very strange to see the Forest of Eternal Night in daylight. But then, it hasn't been known by that name for some four centuries, and the sun returned to it when Walter's influence faded.
But clearly it didn't fade entirely. This place isn't protected by the same spells as the estate, no, but it has a similar air to it, driving away everything from travelers to wildlife to wind. It's silent, and that's- probably appropriate, but it's still strange. The place where Dracula had been human is trapped in eternal life, bright and warm and devoid of humans but filled with whatever had been there before, the horses and the dog and the animals and birds that ran wild in the land around it. The place where he had died as a vampire is trapped in the strangest place that it could be and the warmest place that he can imagine, filled with love.
And the place between them, where he had ended and begun, not trapped anywhere by anything and yet deathly silent. ]
The trees bent away from Walter's castle, because it was the source of the darkness. That was how he navigated.
[ He's committed Leon's journals to memory. What else can he do but to keep himself sharp and to learn what he can? The information isn't as useful four hundred years later, with the trees growing used to the sun being in its normal place and growing upward as they ought to instead. But some of them, the oldest, still bend in that strange way. ]
But clearly it didn't fade entirely. This place isn't protected by the same spells as the estate, no, but it has a similar air to it, driving away everything from travelers to wildlife to wind. It's silent, and that's- probably appropriate, but it's still strange. The place where Dracula had been human is trapped in eternal life, bright and warm and devoid of humans but filled with whatever had been there before, the horses and the dog and the animals and birds that ran wild in the land around it. The place where he had died as a vampire is trapped in the strangest place that it could be and the warmest place that he can imagine, filled with love.
And the place between them, where he had ended and begun, not trapped anywhere by anything and yet deathly silent. ]
The trees bent away from Walter's castle, because it was the source of the darkness. That was how he navigated.
[ He's committed Leon's journals to memory. What else can he do but to keep himself sharp and to learn what he can? The information isn't as useful four hundred years later, with the trees growing used to the sun being in its normal place and growing upward as they ought to instead. But some of them, the oldest, still bend in that strange way. ]
[There are spring buds on all of the trees, which is an advantage. Alucard's eyes go upwards, his eyes seeking strange shapes in the canopy.]
When we find the right path, we'd do well to mark it with notches or some other indicator. Something our eyes will know to look for.
[Should eternal night fall again, they'll have their guideposts. Alucard's dark vision won't require any additional lights, and so there is their advantage.
There is a tree ahead that twists as an angle too severe, like it was growing upright, twisted 60 degrees, and then decided to grow upright again. Alucard puts a foot to the trunk, testing if it is hollow or not, and then scales the trunk of it as if it is the easiest thing in the world.]
A sign post by any other name.
[He'd be happy for the energy here to be different. The forest outside the castle back home is so very alive. He knows the wolf pack well now, the birds, tracks the deer population. Knows when the birds have returned home for the spring. Even during the time of the night hoards, there was terrifying life in the forests that snarled and spat, but it was still life. The forest here, the estate, they are sterile, even as they are bathed in the natural world.
It should not be.]
When we find the right path, we'd do well to mark it with notches or some other indicator. Something our eyes will know to look for.
[Should eternal night fall again, they'll have their guideposts. Alucard's dark vision won't require any additional lights, and so there is their advantage.
There is a tree ahead that twists as an angle too severe, like it was growing upright, twisted 60 degrees, and then decided to grow upright again. Alucard puts a foot to the trunk, testing if it is hollow or not, and then scales the trunk of it as if it is the easiest thing in the world.]
A sign post by any other name.
[He'd be happy for the energy here to be different. The forest outside the castle back home is so very alive. He knows the wolf pack well now, the birds, tracks the deer population. Knows when the birds have returned home for the spring. Even during the time of the night hoards, there was terrifying life in the forests that snarled and spat, but it was still life. The forest here, the estate, they are sterile, even as they are bathed in the natural world.
It should not be.]
[ Fucking showoff vampire you don't even like trees half as much as Trevor does. ]
Something small. I'd rather not lead anyone here.
[ Foes are perhaps what they should be most concerned about, but he's also concerned about random people wandering into Walter's old castle. It's almost certainly still a dangerous place for the unprepared. ]
Do you see anything from up there? It ought to be a big fucking castle. Presumably inspires thoughts of 'actually I don't like this one, I'm going to leave France and make a better one'.
[ Okay so probably the reason Dracula didn't claim this castle was more more personal (so many bad memories here, if he really did care for Leon and Sara) and also more practical (he'd as good as killed the daughter of the king's cousin. There was no way that could have ended well for anyone if he'd stayed here). But he'd rather not think about that right now, so he's settled on 'it probably didn't meet Dracula's high standards for castles'. ]
Something small. I'd rather not lead anyone here.
[ Foes are perhaps what they should be most concerned about, but he's also concerned about random people wandering into Walter's old castle. It's almost certainly still a dangerous place for the unprepared. ]
Do you see anything from up there? It ought to be a big fucking castle. Presumably inspires thoughts of 'actually I don't like this one, I'm going to leave France and make a better one'.
[ Okay so probably the reason Dracula didn't claim this castle was more more personal (so many bad memories here, if he really did care for Leon and Sara) and also more practical (he'd as good as killed the daughter of the king's cousin. There was no way that could have ended well for anyone if he'd stayed here). But he'd rather not think about that right now, so he's settled on 'it probably didn't meet Dracula's high standards for castles'. ]
Agreed. You know how hunters would approach this, so what would they miss?
[He's careful as he climbs higher, the weight of younger branches starting to groan under his weight. At a certain point, Alucard simply stops, looking further and further into the forest. The thickness of growth does not change, but the way this tree points, it lines up with others that bend just ever so slightly. There's a thin smile of satisfaction.
Good tree. Best tree.]
I don't see the building, but the path is clear. The angle this tree bends at is the correct way to go.
[Alucard doesn't bother climbing down. He leaps, landing neatly on his feet. His coat is appropriately dramatic for the moment as well, and his hand moves to rest atop his sword.]
My expectation is that architecturally what we're looking at would likely have some Roman features, but in comparison would be, in a word, basic.
[He's careful as he climbs higher, the weight of younger branches starting to groan under his weight. At a certain point, Alucard simply stops, looking further and further into the forest. The thickness of growth does not change, but the way this tree points, it lines up with others that bend just ever so slightly. There's a thin smile of satisfaction.
Good tree. Best tree.]
I don't see the building, but the path is clear. The angle this tree bends at is the correct way to go.
[Alucard doesn't bother climbing down. He leaps, landing neatly on his feet. His coat is appropriately dramatic for the moment as well, and his hand moves to rest atop his sword.]
My expectation is that architecturally what we're looking at would likely have some Roman features, but in comparison would be, in a word, basic.
[ Well there's the obvious answer. ]
If you're going to be going about leaping through the treetops, I doubt anyone would think to look there. Otherwise, we make marks not to find our way to the castle itself, but to find the closest of the bent trees.
[ And he chuckles, putting an arm around Alucard's shoulders. ]
Basic. We really are looking for a castle that isn't good enough.
[ PRINCELING. ]
If you're going to be going about leaping through the treetops, I doubt anyone would think to look there. Otherwise, we make marks not to find our way to the castle itself, but to find the closest of the bent trees.
[ And he chuckles, putting an arm around Alucard's shoulders. ]
Basic. We really are looking for a castle that isn't good enough.
[ PRINCELING. ]
I'll keep that option in mind upon our return. Perhaps we simply need to mark the next tree after this one. This one is painfully obvious.
[Alucard can only elbow back. Gently, but his elbows are still plenty sharp.]
This is a castle that at the most was no longer built onto in the 11th century. Architecture continued to evolve, that is all I meant by the statement. [Okay no it wasn't, and he can hear that unspoken word Belmont.
So now he's going to be an asshole about it.]
You know at this point, I might as well start fussing about sharing titles with you both.
[This is 200% a threat to lighten the mood only.-
[Alucard can only elbow back. Gently, but his elbows are still plenty sharp.]
This is a castle that at the most was no longer built onto in the 11th century. Architecture continued to evolve, that is all I meant by the statement. [Okay no it wasn't, and he can hear that unspoken word Belmont.
So now he's going to be an asshole about it.]
You know at this point, I might as well start fussing about sharing titles with you both.
[This is 200% a threat to lighten the mood only.-
Is this the vampire version of a dick-measuring contest? Castle measuring?
[ Wow rude. He's perfectly fine with having had all his titles stripped away. Literally the only part of that situation he's okay with. ]
'Trevor Belmont, Consort to the Worst Vampire in Europe'. I can live with that.
[ Wow rude. He's perfectly fine with having had all his titles stripped away. Literally the only part of that situation he's okay with. ]
'Trevor Belmont, Consort to the Worst Vampire in Europe'. I can live with that.
I have opinions about architecture, Belmont!
{THIS IS 200% PURE DAD RIGHT NOW it cannot be helped
And that comment, strangely enough, just gets an all too pleased laugh.]
You're only content with that because it involves mocking me in the process.
{THIS IS 200% PURE DAD RIGHT NOW it cannot be helped
And that comment, strangely enough, just gets an all too pleased laugh.]
You're only content with that because it involves mocking me in the process.
Most people don't look at a castle and go 'goodness, what an unworthy castle'!
[ The laughing helps, flooding through the silence of the forest. Perhaps he should be concerned about the sound making it easy to find them, but in the silence even Alucard's light footfall would be sound enough for that. This is better than the quiet. Somehow he doubts there's been any laughter here in a long time. ]
Well I can't exactly be consort to a better vampire, now can I? Most have the good sense not to keep a Belmont around.
[ The laughing helps, flooding through the silence of the forest. Perhaps he should be concerned about the sound making it easy to find them, but in the silence even Alucard's light footfall would be sound enough for that. This is better than the quiet. Somehow he doubts there's been any laughter here in a long time. ]
Well I can't exactly be consort to a better vampire, now can I? Most have the good sense not to keep a Belmont around.
People who understand how buildings work can venture upon critique.
[It is said with such sulleness, such grump, that it's hard to believe that the vampire is serious. Except the vampire is serious, which makes the whole thing funnier.
Perhaps, the vampire thinks as they keep going through the forest, that's the better approach. The last time members of their families came this way, it was with grim seriousness. Such a stupid way to avoid being their fathers, and yet.
And this other branch of the conversation. That wouldn't have happened either. Not with these words, even if the affection was close.]
Please, what vampire have you known to have good sense to begin with, you being mine or not?
[It is said with such sulleness, such grump, that it's hard to believe that the vampire is serious. Except the vampire is serious, which makes the whole thing funnier.
Perhaps, the vampire thinks as they keep going through the forest, that's the better approach. The last time members of their families came this way, it was with grim seriousness. Such a stupid way to avoid being their fathers, and yet.
And this other branch of the conversation. That wouldn't have happened either. Not with these words, even if the affection was close.]
Please, what vampire have you known to have good sense to begin with, you being mine or not?
Point well made, point well made.
[ There aren't many vampires he's run into who at least had the sense to not start shit when there's someone around carrying a thing called a Vampire Killer. ]
What title would you prefer, then?
[ There aren't many vampires he's run into who at least had the sense to not start shit when there's someone around carrying a thing called a Vampire Killer. ]
What title would you prefer, then?
Was that a stake joke?
[There's a soft sigh of consideration. Titles are pointless with the three of them, aren't they? Which makes the answer easy to produce.]
Yours and hers. Nothing else at all.
[There's a soft sigh of consideration. Titles are pointless with the three of them, aren't they? Which makes the answer easy to produce.]
Yours and hers. Nothing else at all.
Well now it is.
[ He already has an arm around Alucard's shoulders, so he pulls him closer and grins. ]
'Trevor Belmont, Consort to Yours and Hers'. Doesn't quite have the same ring to it, but I can work with it.
[ He already has an arm around Alucard's shoulders, so he pulls him closer and grins. ]
'Trevor Belmont, Consort to Yours and Hers'. Doesn't quite have the same ring to it, but I can work with it.
[There's just a warm hum of contentment at that. He remembers the not-a-proposal and how it went down. This is leagues better.]
The word consort is what makes it all too strange sounding. Never liked the word, it doesn't imply a sense of equality.
The word consort is what makes it all too strange sounding. Never liked the word, it doesn't imply a sense of equality.
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