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
[There it is. The terrible fucking joke, and Alucard's face melts in relief for it. His laugh is so thin and so very near to cracking, but it's there and it is relieved.]
Or terrible sense of humor.
[He says it with terrible fondness, like he might break down for that instead of everything else that has happened tonight. Alucard's certain that his breaking point will come soon, spurred on by more turnings and more failed attempts to put this all to rights.
Alucard's watched Sypha take her careful measurements of Trevor's mass. Notes that there's an undercurrent of if not approval, then relief, because they had been noticing the same things. There's enough human in Alucard's blood to sustain the vampiric cravings, enough to put Trevor's body back to rights when he is human again.
Three, it seems, is still the order of the day.]
Or terrible sense of humor.
[He says it with terrible fondness, like he might break down for that instead of everything else that has happened tonight. Alucard's certain that his breaking point will come soon, spurred on by more turnings and more failed attempts to put this all to rights.
Alucard's watched Sypha take her careful measurements of Trevor's mass. Notes that there's an undercurrent of if not approval, then relief, because they had been noticing the same things. There's enough human in Alucard's blood to sustain the vampiric cravings, enough to put Trevor's body back to rights when he is human again.
Three, it seems, is still the order of the day.]
Consider me curious as to what it looks like when you dramatically attach yourself to my chest.
[ He pulls Alucard closer at that, kissing him again and sliding a hand just slightly below the waistband of his trousers to settle against his hip.
He is very much impeding movement. He'll deal with that later. ]
[ He pulls Alucard closer at that, kissing him again and sliding a hand just slightly below the waistband of his trousers to settle against his hip.
He is very much impeding movement. He'll deal with that later. ]
Even faster.
[Did he just sound smug about that? He absolutely did, and his laugh is pressed against Trevor's chest so happily.
So what if Trevor's impeding movement. At the moment, this is what Alucard wants. A handful of Trevor's chest in one hand, lips and tongue moving around said chest with not quite desperation but a desire to just be everywhere at once, his own shirt somehow still on and pulled halfway up because only the coat came off so far and just.
God. He's probably making some of this into an apology for not being in bed with Trevor last night. The rest is Trevor's stupid fucking smartassery taking the best turn.]
[Did he just sound smug about that? He absolutely did, and his laugh is pressed against Trevor's chest so happily.
So what if Trevor's impeding movement. At the moment, this is what Alucard wants. A handful of Trevor's chest in one hand, lips and tongue moving around said chest with not quite desperation but a desire to just be everywhere at once, his own shirt somehow still on and pulled halfway up because only the coat came off so far and just.
God. He's probably making some of this into an apology for not being in bed with Trevor last night. The rest is Trevor's stupid fucking smartassery taking the best turn.]
There we have it. Being a vampire doesn't improve me at all.
[ He's already regretting the 'self control' jab at himself, because fuck if that doesn't invite the comparison of the compulsion to feed to the occasional burning need to drink until he stops thinking that he can still feel sometimes. (Thankfully, right now, no matter how much he feels it it's impossible. Even water is too much to take in anything other than tiny sips.). It's- probably worth considering if ruining ones self-control with years of alcohol has an effect on the ability to resist the call to drink blood. It's also impossible for him to think about in an unbiased way, so he puts it out of his mind. ]
[ He's already regretting the 'self control' jab at himself, because fuck if that doesn't invite the comparison of the compulsion to feed to the occasional burning need to drink until he stops thinking that he can still feel sometimes. (Thankfully, right now, no matter how much he feels it it's impossible. Even water is too much to take in anything other than tiny sips.). It's- probably worth considering if ruining ones self-control with years of alcohol has an effect on the ability to resist the call to drink blood. It's also impossible for him to think about in an unbiased way, so he puts it out of his mind. ]
[It is after Trevor is Trevor again on the ninth day that a wild thought hits Alucard. Their experiments with the filtration have come with mixed success so far: Trevor's own human blood, a little transubsantiated wine, a lot of actual science, and pure will pushed through the sapphire stone (what else is sapphire but opposite of crimson?) work in fits and starts, but it eventually all fails. Different amounts of each have suggested that there is a formula that can work, but the exact one is still a mystery.
(The ethics have been discussed. Two weeks is all any of them can bear. It is a fair agreement.)
Spit. Trevor's specifically, because in the end this is about returning blood to a neutral form through not only science but the weird metaphyiscal level that all things unwordly exist on. Vampires included. They have every agent needed except for a neutral form, because nothing else is. Alucard remembers what it was like when Trevor mixed communion wine and his own fluids to reset all the holiness of the things from the Hold. It makes sense here. The spit is Trevor at his baseline. It is the way to indicate to all other components that this is how things ought to be, here is the pattern to follow.
The rest is magic. The rest is science. The rest is faith. The rest is sheer fucking will, and that last part must come from all three.
It is painful, using Trevor as a science experiment. Miserable because every attempt has come with failure. There's no optimism in Alucard today as they all prepare for the next round of fighting the first sign of turning, the part that happens during daylight. It is a third night, so at some point Alucard will have to go out and get blood, as the third day means Trevor's body has eaten too much of itself in this struggle.
Two minutes to go. Sypha is holding the stone in her hands, speaking the words that charge it and prepare it to work. Alucard tries to send his own will up through the tubing of it as he puts the firt of two needles into Trevor's arm. (He makes sure it's the opposite arm that Trevor didn't nearly tear to shreds.) There is minimal incense now, because Alucard needs a clear head. Too much and he's fogged over. Useless when he ought to be in his element.
Both needles are in place. One minute to go. Sypha brings the stone down between all three of them, and Alucard wraps his hands around it.]
You too.
(The ethics have been discussed. Two weeks is all any of them can bear. It is a fair agreement.)
Spit. Trevor's specifically, because in the end this is about returning blood to a neutral form through not only science but the weird metaphyiscal level that all things unwordly exist on. Vampires included. They have every agent needed except for a neutral form, because nothing else is. Alucard remembers what it was like when Trevor mixed communion wine and his own fluids to reset all the holiness of the things from the Hold. It makes sense here. The spit is Trevor at his baseline. It is the way to indicate to all other components that this is how things ought to be, here is the pattern to follow.
The rest is magic. The rest is science. The rest is faith. The rest is sheer fucking will, and that last part must come from all three.
It is painful, using Trevor as a science experiment. Miserable because every attempt has come with failure. There's no optimism in Alucard today as they all prepare for the next round of fighting the first sign of turning, the part that happens during daylight. It is a third night, so at some point Alucard will have to go out and get blood, as the third day means Trevor's body has eaten too much of itself in this struggle.
Two minutes to go. Sypha is holding the stone in her hands, speaking the words that charge it and prepare it to work. Alucard tries to send his own will up through the tubing of it as he puts the firt of two needles into Trevor's arm. (He makes sure it's the opposite arm that Trevor didn't nearly tear to shreds.) There is minimal incense now, because Alucard needs a clear head. Too much and he's fogged over. Useless when he ought to be in his element.
Both needles are in place. One minute to go. Sypha brings the stone down between all three of them, and Alucard wraps his hands around it.]
You too.
And here I've been complaining about you being too fussy about where you rest your head.
[ On its own, the chest thing doesn't do that much for him. Or at least, doesn't do that much for him compared to having those hand and lips and that tongue on any other part of his body. He doesn't dislike it, of course, it's wonderful, there are just other places he'd offer up for affection first.
But the absolute adoration - that does a lot, because fuck, it's- it's something amazing, to know that some part of him can make Alucard this hungry to touch it just by existing. ]
Though I suppose you're being a little too active there to call this 'resting' anything.
[ On its own, the chest thing doesn't do that much for him. Or at least, doesn't do that much for him compared to having those hand and lips and that tongue on any other part of his body. He doesn't dislike it, of course, it's wonderful, there are just other places he'd offer up for affection first.
But the absolute adoration - that does a lot, because fuck, it's- it's something amazing, to know that some part of him can make Alucard this hungry to touch it just by existing. ]
Though I suppose you're being a little too active there to call this 'resting' anything.
Hmmmm.
[He pulls away finally to look up at Trevor, the smug in his voice from before translating into a smirk.]
I suppose that as a princeling, I ought to offer recompense and ask where you'd like my head instead.
[Okay, he's also going to take this moment to be rid of his shirt, because he kind of got distracted. It's gone now. Much better.]
[He pulls away finally to look up at Trevor, the smug in his voice from before translating into a smirk.]
I suppose that as a princeling, I ought to offer recompense and ask where you'd like my head instead.
[Okay, he's also going to take this moment to be rid of his shirt, because he kind of got distracted. It's gone now. Much better.]
If this works, and you start calling it the 'Magical Stone of Death' afterward, I'm going to fucking bite your arm off again.
[ He probably shouldn't joke about it, this being a third day. But deer's blood sufficed to keep him under control on the sixth day, even if it didn't stop his body from consuming itself the way that Alucard's did. There's less incense - he wouldn't be able to make threats at all if there were any more, even joking ones. But there's a bottle of holy water, and Sypha's given her word to use it and her ice to restrain him should the worst happen.
It's the first time that he's joining in with this shit, which is why he's so quick to complain. He does not do magic. It's a wonder the the transubstantiation works for him (moreso now. He did it in the morning, before the bite set in). Magic is another fucking matter entirely. But they're running out of time. Five more days. Five more days until they leave and he's left alone here. He's willing to try, no matter how stupid it seems.
The arm with the needles in it is frozen to the side of the bed at the wrist. The ice is made with holy water and it already burns even now, but it'll stop him from thrashing that arm about and knocking the needles out of place once the turning sets in (this, they tested on the seventh day, once it became clear that they'd need Alucard as sharp as possible - if Sypha was going to be close to him during the turning, they needed some other form of protection for her. It works, it works well enough that he'll be incorporating it into plans from now on).
He lays the other hand on the stone. ]
So I just have to want really hard to not be a vampire. [ It's a question as well as a probably-unfair dismissal of his role in this whole thing. ] I don't know if I can manage that. I've been enjoying it so much so far.
[ He probably shouldn't joke about it, this being a third day. But deer's blood sufficed to keep him under control on the sixth day, even if it didn't stop his body from consuming itself the way that Alucard's did. There's less incense - he wouldn't be able to make threats at all if there were any more, even joking ones. But there's a bottle of holy water, and Sypha's given her word to use it and her ice to restrain him should the worst happen.
It's the first time that he's joining in with this shit, which is why he's so quick to complain. He does not do magic. It's a wonder the the transubstantiation works for him (moreso now. He did it in the morning, before the bite set in). Magic is another fucking matter entirely. But they're running out of time. Five more days. Five more days until they leave and he's left alone here. He's willing to try, no matter how stupid it seems.
The arm with the needles in it is frozen to the side of the bed at the wrist. The ice is made with holy water and it already burns even now, but it'll stop him from thrashing that arm about and knocking the needles out of place once the turning sets in (this, they tested on the seventh day, once it became clear that they'd need Alucard as sharp as possible - if Sypha was going to be close to him during the turning, they needed some other form of protection for her. It works, it works well enough that he'll be incorporating it into plans from now on).
He lays the other hand on the stone. ]
So I just have to want really hard to not be a vampire. [ It's a question as well as a probably-unfair dismissal of his role in this whole thing. ] I don't know if I can manage that. I've been enjoying it so much so far.
Don't be ridiculous. If this works, I have to give it a halfway decent name and enter it into the Hold. Which means Sypha gets to name it, because you'll just name it Rock.
[It is a joke. A real one, because there's no greater joy than dragging Belmonts for their terrible sense at naming things. It even comes with the closest thing that Alucard has managed to a smile in over two weeks, because he was grimfaced even before this turning nonsense began.
His eyes remain on the needles in Trevor's arm, even as a final pair of hands come to rest on the stone. Sypha tries to speak of magic in plainer terms, that intent is more important than thinking of it as magic in any way that involves mysticism or spells or anything else because intent is at the base, but they've all tried to explain magic to Trevor time and again.
So Alucard settles for something blunter:]
Put every single stubborn thought you've ever had into this thing by running it over and over in your head. A portion, I realize, shall have to do, since you've spent a lifetime behaving like that.
[It's close to that same joking tone, but with greater urgency. They have little time left, and Alucard needs to do his part too.
I have watched this happen for nine days. I will not allow this. I will not permit this. I am the only man who may have even a fraction of that cursed blood in my veins, and that is only because my mother loved my father so dearly. I love this man just as much, if not more. So for that, for the concept of equviliant exchange, I shall draw all of it out. This man is a man, no other's will can change that fact. I say these things through no faith in a God, only in myself and in knowledge that the world runs on intent. It is my intent that all of this will be so, and I shall rend the world in two if I am defied. I will not permit this and the world shall heel to my commands.]
[It is a joke. A real one, because there's no greater joy than dragging Belmonts for their terrible sense at naming things. It even comes with the closest thing that Alucard has managed to a smile in over two weeks, because he was grimfaced even before this turning nonsense began.
His eyes remain on the needles in Trevor's arm, even as a final pair of hands come to rest on the stone. Sypha tries to speak of magic in plainer terms, that intent is more important than thinking of it as magic in any way that involves mysticism or spells or anything else because intent is at the base, but they've all tried to explain magic to Trevor time and again.
So Alucard settles for something blunter:]
Put every single stubborn thought you've ever had into this thing by running it over and over in your head. A portion, I realize, shall have to do, since you've spent a lifetime behaving like that.
[It's close to that same joking tone, but with greater urgency. They have little time left, and Alucard needs to do his part too.
I have watched this happen for nine days. I will not allow this. I will not permit this. I am the only man who may have even a fraction of that cursed blood in my veins, and that is only because my mother loved my father so dearly. I love this man just as much, if not more. So for that, for the concept of equviliant exchange, I shall draw all of it out. This man is a man, no other's will can change that fact. I say these things through no faith in a God, only in myself and in knowledge that the world runs on intent. It is my intent that all of this will be so, and I shall rend the world in two if I am defied. I will not permit this and the world shall heel to my commands.]
[ The laugh that Alucard gets is genuine and also the kin that only barely disguises surprise and delight. Because shit, usually it's him who says that kind of shit. It's hardly the first time Alucard has managed a delightfully dirty retort, but it's always something to hear that kind of thing spoken with his voice. ]
Oh, I can think of a few places- [ And it is tempting to throw his stupid plans (so far as he had a plan at all) to the wind and just tell him exactly where his head can go. ] -the pillow, for now. I believe his highness expressed an interest in seeing how this was going to end, after all.
Oh, I can think of a few places- [ And it is tempting to throw his stupid plans (so far as he had a plan at all) to the wind and just tell him exactly where his head can go. ] -the pillow, for now. I believe his highness expressed an interest in seeing how this was going to end, after all.
Doubtlessly.
[Just for that, Alucard doesn't go where Trevor wants him immediately. He instead kisses Trevor's chest again, this time down to be a total shit, ending at the waist of Trevor's pants where there is still a whole lot of fabric in the way. He lingers for just a moment, self-satisfied smile on his face as he withdraws.
That smile is probably going to get wiped away in a few seconds, but for now it lingers as Alucard lies back.]
That is true, I did say that.
[Just for that, Alucard doesn't go where Trevor wants him immediately. He instead kisses Trevor's chest again, this time down to be a total shit, ending at the waist of Trevor's pants where there is still a whole lot of fabric in the way. He lingers for just a moment, self-satisfied smile on his face as he withdraws.
That smile is probably going to get wiped away in a few seconds, but for now it lingers as Alucard lies back.]
That is true, I did say that.
We already have a 'Rock'. And a Rock Two through Five, I think. It would be 'Rock Six'.
[ ...the first sentence is true, because of course it is. It's a thin disc of petrified wood, polished to a mirror shine and it's a component of an unfinished contraption used to intercept magical communication.
But there'll be time for making fun of his ridiculous fucking family later. If nothing else, they'll have three hours to burn, and it'll be nice to have something stupid to talk about instead of just sitting and mourning for him while he's still alive and right there.
There's no artfulness to his own thoughts, no commanding. They start out as a lot of consideration of how shitty this is going to be if they fail, but that immediately feels wrong. At odds with whatever it is that Alucard and Sypha are doing, (he doesn't know why he knows this, he just knows it to be true) because it's considering failure and they aren't doing that. They can't do that.
He wants to know if Alucard does the stupid thing with his paws - and that feels like the least powerful thought in the world but it's the one he finds and grasps onto. He wants to know if Sypha ever chooses to grow her hair out, now it's an option for her after years of being impossible. He wants to go through Enid's writings with Alucard, he wants to go through all his sisters' work with him, to offer whatever proof he can find that the scene from that dream would never have happened. He wants to give Sypha the half-completed collection his grandfather made of the Speakers' history, the one that was left unfinished out of respect for their wishes. He wants to go home and lie on the grass in the space between his childhood home and Alucard's with the two of them, flanked on each side by places that were always full of love. He wants to take Sara home, lay her by Leon's portrait and go back to using his old whip. He wants to eat strawberries after being tempted so long by the ones in this place. He wants to sit on a rug in silence on the floor of the library and reach out to touch the inside of Alucard's elbow and be told that it was worth it. He wants to steal berries from Sypha's plate even though he has his own and get threatened with a pastry fork until he surrenders his own in turn. He wants so very many things, and he wants all of them so much. ]
[ ...the first sentence is true, because of course it is. It's a thin disc of petrified wood, polished to a mirror shine and it's a component of an unfinished contraption used to intercept magical communication.
But there'll be time for making fun of his ridiculous fucking family later. If nothing else, they'll have three hours to burn, and it'll be nice to have something stupid to talk about instead of just sitting and mourning for him while he's still alive and right there.
There's no artfulness to his own thoughts, no commanding. They start out as a lot of consideration of how shitty this is going to be if they fail, but that immediately feels wrong. At odds with whatever it is that Alucard and Sypha are doing, (he doesn't know why he knows this, he just knows it to be true) because it's considering failure and they aren't doing that. They can't do that.
He wants to know if Alucard does the stupid thing with his paws - and that feels like the least powerful thought in the world but it's the one he finds and grasps onto. He wants to know if Sypha ever chooses to grow her hair out, now it's an option for her after years of being impossible. He wants to go through Enid's writings with Alucard, he wants to go through all his sisters' work with him, to offer whatever proof he can find that the scene from that dream would never have happened. He wants to give Sypha the half-completed collection his grandfather made of the Speakers' history, the one that was left unfinished out of respect for their wishes. He wants to go home and lie on the grass in the space between his childhood home and Alucard's with the two of them, flanked on each side by places that were always full of love. He wants to take Sara home, lay her by Leon's portrait and go back to using his old whip. He wants to eat strawberries after being tempted so long by the ones in this place. He wants to sit on a rug in silence on the floor of the library and reach out to touch the inside of Alucard's elbow and be told that it was worth it. He wants to steal berries from Sypha's plate even though he has his own and get threatened with a pastry fork until he surrenders his own in turn. He wants so very many things, and he wants all of them so much. ]
I hate your family's naming systems so much.
[One last bit of banter. One last bit of light before it all begins anew. Another last hope to spend. Alucard is so very quiet as the last minute passes. As Sypha says that all the intent the stone can reserve is full, and that when she calls for it again, they all need to be able to lay hands and repeat their thoughts as the transfusion tries to work again.
Alucard braces himself. His eyes are no longer on Trevor, but on the tubes, waiting for the signs that the blood has begun it's terrible transformation. The intent mixed with blood mixed with the Blood of Christ mixed with the spit of an excommunicate, it's been flowing already. It has been added preemptively, and for the love of whatever will make this transformation stop, it will be more effective than all past tries.
He tenses. Keeps nails as nails rather than as claws. He doesn't breath.
Work. Work or I rend everything asunder.]
[One last bit of banter. One last bit of light before it all begins anew. Another last hope to spend. Alucard is so very quiet as the last minute passes. As Sypha says that all the intent the stone can reserve is full, and that when she calls for it again, they all need to be able to lay hands and repeat their thoughts as the transfusion tries to work again.
Alucard braces himself. His eyes are no longer on Trevor, but on the tubes, waiting for the signs that the blood has begun it's terrible transformation. The intent mixed with blood mixed with the Blood of Christ mixed with the spit of an excommunicate, it's been flowing already. It has been added preemptively, and for the love of whatever will make this transformation stop, it will be more effective than all past tries.
He tenses. Keeps nails as nails rather than as claws. He doesn't breath.
Work. Work or I rend everything asunder.]
Well, then.
[ Well fuck, that's not right. He's meant to be the bully here, not the recipient of bullying. And fuck if having his mouth so close doesn't make it even more tempting to just-
-well, lesson learned (it will not be remembered). Failing to plan things out results in the vampire trying to take things in his own direction. Which would be fine, normally, but he he's not sure he trusts him to play along with this stupid game in doing so. And this stupid shit is important.
Because it's going to be hilarious when he can force Alucard to think of nothing but this every time he decides to behave himself and do what he's told for the next month. He's already planned out how funny it's going to be when Sypha tries to figure out why his displaying good table manners or putting things away when he's done with them apparently gets the vampire hot and bothered.
(He's getting a little ahead of himself, there. But he's fairly sure he can manage it. If not, he'll just try again.) ]
Good, because- [ And he pauses while he actually puts some work into getting ready this time. Frees himself from his trousers. Takes a small glass bottle from the drawer of the nightstand and puts it down on top of it with a very, very deliberate sound of glass on wood. ] -unless my dear princeling objects, I have my own fucking plan.
[ Well fuck, that's not right. He's meant to be the bully here, not the recipient of bullying. And fuck if having his mouth so close doesn't make it even more tempting to just-
-well, lesson learned (it will not be remembered). Failing to plan things out results in the vampire trying to take things in his own direction. Which would be fine, normally, but he he's not sure he trusts him to play along with this stupid game in doing so. And this stupid shit is important.
Because it's going to be hilarious when he can force Alucard to think of nothing but this every time he decides to behave himself and do what he's told for the next month. He's already planned out how funny it's going to be when Sypha tries to figure out why his displaying good table manners or putting things away when he's done with them apparently gets the vampire hot and bothered.
(He's getting a little ahead of himself, there. But he's fairly sure he can manage it. If not, he'll just try again.) ]
Good, because- [ And he pauses while he actually puts some work into getting ready this time. Frees himself from his trousers. Takes a small glass bottle from the drawer of the nightstand and puts it down on top of it with a very, very deliberate sound of glass on wood. ] -unless my dear princeling objects, I have my own fucking plan.
[ The pressure starts. It starts in the point between his nose and the inner corners of his eyes, where the bone is thinnest (he has been learning so much about the structure of the human skull in the last week. He can manage an educated conversation with Alucard on the topic). And he knows how this goes. The bone snaps there first, at both points, then along the line of his scar, where it was scored over before so many years ago. Most days that's enough room for it to reform with the bony growths that aren't actually teeth (he has also been learning so much about the structure of the vampire skull). Some days it's not, and the bone between his nose and teeth cracks at the right side, along where the fang will eventually be.
But that doesn't happen. It's just pressure. Painful pressure, but just pressure. Nothing breaks. And it hurts, but what the fuck doesn't hurt right now? And if anything the pain sharpens his focus, because 'I want it to not fucking hurt' is a powerful thing to focus on.
He wants to lie on the grass with them both on summer afternoons, until he burns in the human way because all Belmonts, ironically, get fucking sunburn, and then stay there all through the evening to let the cool evening air soothe it. He wants Alucard's lips kissing down his spine. He wants Sypha to try out that thing she keeps threatening to, with the fake cock attached to a selection of straps. He wants to see if Alucard ever manages to successfully keep chickens when he's on such good terms with the local wolf back and wouldn't dream of denying them a meal if they were hungry. He wants to watch from the outside with Alucard, hand in hand and both staring in absolute fucking adoration while Sypha reunites with her family, all love and warmth and stories, and then try to excuse himself but fail as she drags the two of them into the firelight and forces them to introduce themselves to seventeen new people who they somehow havn't managed to meet any of the previous times this has happened.
There are false starts. He can feel his insides twisting about again, but then they stop. He chokes and pants with pain and- blood. There's blood in his mouth. And that's both horrible and a good sign, because whatever's happening inside him the vampire blood at least isn't healing it. ]
Fuck, fuck. [ His neck is bleeding. It's not as terrible as the original wound, but there's blood at the seams of that grey section of skin as his body rejects it. Because it's not part of him.
Because this is working. ]
But that doesn't happen. It's just pressure. Painful pressure, but just pressure. Nothing breaks. And it hurts, but what the fuck doesn't hurt right now? And if anything the pain sharpens his focus, because 'I want it to not fucking hurt' is a powerful thing to focus on.
He wants to lie on the grass with them both on summer afternoons, until he burns in the human way because all Belmonts, ironically, get fucking sunburn, and then stay there all through the evening to let the cool evening air soothe it. He wants Alucard's lips kissing down his spine. He wants Sypha to try out that thing she keeps threatening to, with the fake cock attached to a selection of straps. He wants to see if Alucard ever manages to successfully keep chickens when he's on such good terms with the local wolf back and wouldn't dream of denying them a meal if they were hungry. He wants to watch from the outside with Alucard, hand in hand and both staring in absolute fucking adoration while Sypha reunites with her family, all love and warmth and stories, and then try to excuse himself but fail as she drags the two of them into the firelight and forces them to introduce themselves to seventeen new people who they somehow havn't managed to meet any of the previous times this has happened.
There are false starts. He can feel his insides twisting about again, but then they stop. He chokes and pants with pain and- blood. There's blood in his mouth. And that's both horrible and a good sign, because whatever's happening inside him the vampire blood at least isn't healing it. ]
Fuck, fuck. [ His neck is bleeding. It's not as terrible as the original wound, but there's blood at the seams of that grey section of skin as his body rejects it. Because it's not part of him.
Because this is working. ]
[There's blood coming out of Trevor's neck. Alucard's first and only instinct is to apply pressure to the wound because he's bleeding from his fucking neck and that's a quick way to die. It takes a moment of him lurching forward to realize that no. No this is good. It's working. Trevor's agony is muted so much more than it has been in any of these other attempts and...
...and Sypha tugs on him. Demands more intent for the stone, demands it from both, because it has already begun to dwindle and it needs more, more, more to work. Alucard hisses because he's too caught up in that terrible fear of Trevor just bleeding out in spite of all of this, and Sypha has to physically move Alucard's hands where they need it to be.
There is a wild shred of hope. That shred has been in Alucard's grasp twice before in this process, and he clings to it as fiercely as he can. Puts every last bit of intent that he can into the stone he has in his hands (is in Sypha's hands, is in Trevor's because she's brought his hands back up too, even the one with the needles in it).
Get out. Get out of those veins. We are not our fathers. Get out. It is the will of no God that he be whole and human but ours. We who destroyed Dracula himself. We who have written Carmilla from the pages of history. We who do the things no others can because we have the strength to do it. This destroys that. This destroys the world. This is apocalypse in waiting and I shall not allow it. This is my intent, this is my will, all of this is my world and nothing may destroy it again.]
...and Sypha tugs on him. Demands more intent for the stone, demands it from both, because it has already begun to dwindle and it needs more, more, more to work. Alucard hisses because he's too caught up in that terrible fear of Trevor just bleeding out in spite of all of this, and Sypha has to physically move Alucard's hands where they need it to be.
There is a wild shred of hope. That shred has been in Alucard's grasp twice before in this process, and he clings to it as fiercely as he can. Puts every last bit of intent that he can into the stone he has in his hands (is in Sypha's hands, is in Trevor's because she's brought his hands back up too, even the one with the needles in it).
Get out. Get out of those veins. We are not our fathers. Get out. It is the will of no God that he be whole and human but ours. We who destroyed Dracula himself. We who have written Carmilla from the pages of history. We who do the things no others can because we have the strength to do it. This destroys that. This destroys the world. This is apocalypse in waiting and I shall not allow it. This is my intent, this is my will, all of this is my world and nothing may destroy it again.]
[ And with that- with that it's done. He knows that it's done, because he's a fucking Belmont. And because he's become the local expert on how it feels to suddenly have vampire blood gone from one's system after having that exact thing happen eight times. The rest of the process he knows - a lot of it he's been through even before all of this. There'll be sores over the next few days, opening themselves up to push out the last of it. Nothing supernatural, nothing magical, just a body rejecting something contaminated.
And it must be visible to Sypha, too, because she leaves the stone and the tube in Alucard's hands and moves hers to his neck, trailing fingers across the join between human and vampire skin to burn the seam shut. Distantly, he can smell burning flesh, but he can barely feel it. Everything else hurts too much, the burning is just more and it fades into the rest of it. That little bit of something terrible, that he'll have to keep. It would never heal as a human. But- it's discolored skin. Nothing worse. He'll live with it.
Sypha's arms are around his neck and shoulders now, pulling him tightly against her. And he's tired. So, so tired. But they have three hours. Three hours to send him through the mirror. Home, probably, but really to anywhere that isn't this estate. Because fuck, this cannot be reset.
...They can take a moment to celebrate, though. ]
And it must be visible to Sypha, too, because she leaves the stone and the tube in Alucard's hands and moves hers to his neck, trailing fingers across the join between human and vampire skin to burn the seam shut. Distantly, he can smell burning flesh, but he can barely feel it. Everything else hurts too much, the burning is just more and it fades into the rest of it. That little bit of something terrible, that he'll have to keep. It would never heal as a human. But- it's discolored skin. Nothing worse. He'll live with it.
Sypha's arms are around his neck and shoulders now, pulling him tightly against her. And he's tired. So, so tired. But they have three hours. Three hours to send him through the mirror. Home, probably, but really to anywhere that isn't this estate. Because fuck, this cannot be reset.
...They can take a moment to celebrate, though. ]
[It isn't until Sypha heals the wound that Alucard even dares to entertain the thought that somehow, this has worked. He still has the stone in his hand as Sypha drags Trevor close to her. He's just staring at them both in total disbelief.
He gets to his feet, stone left on the floor for a moment. Goes over to the box of medical tools they've stashed in the corner in case ther was a need, and with that he takes out bandages. Bandages because the injection site will not heal automatically.
(It won't heal automatically!)
It's so easy to focus on the requirements for removing the transfusion equipment. Needles out. Bandages applied with all the right pressure. Equipment moved far away in case there is any horrible lingering vampire blood that can undo all of this.
He's whole. He's human. He looks like absolute shit. (There is a joke about how Trevor always looks like shit. Or maybe the Vampire Jesus joke is better. No. That comes after a few days of quiet.) He's Trevor again, in all the ways that matter most. And for that there's a thin, nervous laugh that betrays total bewilderment at this success, before Alucard buries his head on Trevor's chest and settles besides his heartbeat.
They have to make sure this doesn't reset. Alucard's not actually sure Trevor can stand easily, never mind go through a barrier. Or a magic mirror. But it has to be done, and then the two of them can order the Belmont to rest and pack up the estate. There's too much equipment scattered around, they have to deal with the horse too, and and and
and Trevor is human so everything else is lighteness.
And because he can. Because it'd be wrong not to, there's a softer laugh from Alucard, pressed against that very same heart.]
I'm back to being the worst vampire in Europe.
He gets to his feet, stone left on the floor for a moment. Goes over to the box of medical tools they've stashed in the corner in case ther was a need, and with that he takes out bandages. Bandages because the injection site will not heal automatically.
(It won't heal automatically!)
It's so easy to focus on the requirements for removing the transfusion equipment. Needles out. Bandages applied with all the right pressure. Equipment moved far away in case there is any horrible lingering vampire blood that can undo all of this.
He's whole. He's human. He looks like absolute shit. (There is a joke about how Trevor always looks like shit. Or maybe the Vampire Jesus joke is better. No. That comes after a few days of quiet.) He's Trevor again, in all the ways that matter most. And for that there's a thin, nervous laugh that betrays total bewilderment at this success, before Alucard buries his head on Trevor's chest and settles besides his heartbeat.
They have to make sure this doesn't reset. Alucard's not actually sure Trevor can stand easily, never mind go through a barrier. Or a magic mirror. But it has to be done, and then the two of them can order the Belmont to rest and pack up the estate. There's too much equipment scattered around, they have to deal with the horse too, and and and
and Trevor is human so everything else is lighteness.
And because he can. Because it'd be wrong not to, there's a softer laugh from Alucard, pressed against that very same heart.]
I'm back to being the worst vampire in Europe.
[He will bully whoever he pleases, Belmont! Especially when you give him opportunity, like here and now.
Alucard turns onto his side to watch those trousers finally be gotten rid of. His own hand lingers at the waist, because for all Alucard knows, these things have been factored into whatever's wild plan is. He can't ignore how deliberately placed the bottle is, and the grin on his face crosses the threshold into one far more full of anticipation.
Besides. It's nice, looking at Trevor like this. All of the scars, the reminder of sheer resilience, that's a powerful thing to look at. He knows almost all of their stories now too, and that makes the whole thing even more special to take in, even as there's more important things to focus on.]
Mmm. Does said plan allow me to disrobe in full, or are you to steal everything I have?
Alucard turns onto his side to watch those trousers finally be gotten rid of. His own hand lingers at the waist, because for all Alucard knows, these things have been factored into whatever's wild plan is. He can't ignore how deliberately placed the bottle is, and the grin on his face crosses the threshold into one far more full of anticipation.
Besides. It's nice, looking at Trevor like this. All of the scars, the reminder of sheer resilience, that's a powerful thing to look at. He knows almost all of their stories now too, and that makes the whole thing even more special to take in, even as there's more important things to focus on.]
Mmm. Does said plan allow me to disrobe in full, or are you to steal everything I have?
[ It's going to be months before he's back to how it was. It's the lost muscle mass mostly, because he's lean and haggard in a way he hasn't been since the last winter before Dracula's rampage began (it had been a long winter, and he'd been ill during it, and being ill meant no hunting, no working, no money to buy food and so little of it to spare that he couldn't have anyway). It's been a while since he's been able to see his ribs so distinctly, and his elbows are probably sharper than Sypha's right now.
But he's alive. He's alive and he's what he ought to be and he can touch both of them without it feeling profane and wrong and-
-and fuck it. The world can manage without him at his best for a few months. It managed for a decade and a half without a Belmont. ]
Mine was a short but eventful tenure.
[ He can maybe, maybe stand. It's lucky that their room is the easiest place in the world for any of them to focus on, because the chances of him making it as far as the bed before collapsing if he's more than a few steps away from it are very low indeed. But then, the floor isn't so bad. He could sleep there, on their own stupid floor, in their own home, as everything that he ought to be. ]
I'll let you keep your title from now on.
But he's alive. He's alive and he's what he ought to be and he can touch both of them without it feeling profane and wrong and-
-and fuck it. The world can manage without him at his best for a few months. It managed for a decade and a half without a Belmont. ]
Mine was a short but eventful tenure.
[ He can maybe, maybe stand. It's lucky that their room is the easiest place in the world for any of them to focus on, because the chances of him making it as far as the bed before collapsing if he's more than a few steps away from it are very low indeed. But then, the floor isn't so bad. He could sleep there, on their own stupid floor, in their own home, as everything that he ought to be. ]
I'll let you keep your title from now on.
Thank God.
[Two words very rare from the vampire. Because he's certain that is the only reason that this has happened at all. Faith. Trevor's specifically, Trevor's belief in the church's power to deny Heaven because of the concept of excommunication. No addendum. No your God. Just that.
It's impossible to miss how worn that body is, being pressed so close to it. It wasn't as bad even yesterday, but the toll of being fully, properly human must be the explanation. Magic bullshit that no one has the desire to come to understand.
Sypha has her head buried in the top of Trevor's head now. Alucard can hear ever kiss she plants there. He doesn't have it in him to move with now, at least not for another few minutes. They can't linger, not really. But it'll have to be so. He'll have to stand up and undo all the castle defenses and they'll at least get Trevor home. Alucard can send everything through the mirror. Clean up the estate, take what they need, and then follow them all home on another wild arc of lightning. He'll collapse too after that, then where else shall they end but in their room, ice to the door, the only world that matters being the one that exists in that perfect room.]
[Two words very rare from the vampire. Because he's certain that is the only reason that this has happened at all. Faith. Trevor's specifically, Trevor's belief in the church's power to deny Heaven because of the concept of excommunication. No addendum. No your God. Just that.
It's impossible to miss how worn that body is, being pressed so close to it. It wasn't as bad even yesterday, but the toll of being fully, properly human must be the explanation. Magic bullshit that no one has the desire to come to understand.
Sypha has her head buried in the top of Trevor's head now. Alucard can hear ever kiss she plants there. He doesn't have it in him to move with now, at least not for another few minutes. They can't linger, not really. But it'll have to be so. He'll have to stand up and undo all the castle defenses and they'll at least get Trevor home. Alucard can send everything through the mirror. Clean up the estate, take what they need, and then follow them all home on another wild arc of lightning. He'll collapse too after that, then where else shall they end but in their room, ice to the door, the only world that matters being the one that exists in that perfect room.]
Go ahead, my dear princeling, I wouldn't dream of stopping you.
[ He would, however, apparently dream of distracting him. He kneels by the side of the bed to be level with Alucard's neck, stroking a thumb idly up the underside of his jaw. And he takes the moment to just stare at him, face as much adoration as it is 'having found an extremely funny and extremely enjoyable thing to do'. ]
And if I did, I'd ask your leave first. I'm behaving, remember.
[ He would, however, apparently dream of distracting him. He kneels by the side of the bed to be level with Alucard's neck, stroking a thumb idly up the underside of his jaw. And he takes the moment to just stare at him, face as much adoration as it is 'having found an extremely funny and extremely enjoyable thing to do'. ]
And if I did, I'd ask your leave first. I'm behaving, remember.
Hm. Behaving. A fascinating definition of it.
[That, sadly, is a very, very good distraction. Because Trevor's right there but not daring to kiss his neck (rude!), putting his hand in all the lovely and right places (teasing!) and all Alucard can think of is kissing that dumb, stupid, smug face because at least it wouldn't be looking at him like that!
The pants do come off though. Quickly.]
[That, sadly, is a very, very good distraction. Because Trevor's right there but not daring to kiss his neck (rude!), putting his hand in all the lovely and right places (teasing!) and all Alucard can think of is kissing that dumb, stupid, smug face because at least it wouldn't be looking at him like that!
The pants do come off though. Quickly.]
[ His hands are unsteady. One finds its way, eventually, to Sypha. The other has a more difficult time, because the arm that had the needles in is just about useless right now. But after a few attempts it flops down in Alucard's hair, his fingers curling in and out of it. He can manage that much. ]
A little longer. You both only have to be strong for a little longer now.
[ It's not the most Trevor-like of things to say, and the soft and almost coaxing tone of it even more so, but this is a rare situation. He's safe. Alive. And he can manage to be The Strong One for a few minutes, at least. He owes them both that much. ]
You're both fucking miracle workers, and we can all rest soon.
A little longer. You both only have to be strong for a little longer now.
[ It's not the most Trevor-like of things to say, and the soft and almost coaxing tone of it even more so, but this is a rare situation. He's safe. Alive. And he can manage to be The Strong One for a few minutes, at least. He owes them both that much. ]
You're both fucking miracle workers, and we can all rest soon.
[ There's mock horror at that, even as he climbs back over Alucard, knees at each side of his hips. ]
Have I offeneded, your highness? [ He leans down now to kiss the crook of his neck, just once, because of course he has to back up enough to be looking Alucard in the eyes when he's saying stupid shit. ]
How can I begin to right this wrong?
Have I offeneded, your highness? [ He leans down now to kiss the crook of his neck, just once, because of course he has to back up enough to be looking Alucard in the eyes when he's saying stupid shit. ]
How can I begin to right this wrong?
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