[It has been a very long summer. Blessedly long. Quiet. Alucard has spent enough time in the garden that it has flourished. He's found his mother's notes on canning (because of course the future meant sterilization and thus canning), and there are at least enough preserved fruits to last them to January. Other things have been pickled, others salted, and he has been hunting with the local pack lately to get enough meat to cure for the winter.
Just apples today, foraged from one of the last trees in the woods. He makes his way back through the garden, stopping to check on the bees before he heads back into the castle itself. Just apple and honey cake today, the fire is burning brighter in the kitchen and that means just enough heat for it. He has everything ready, but the cake's best eaten warm. He'll start it at supper time.
He's done, and that means finding Trevor. Trevor who is not in the usual haunts, which take Alucard half an hour to check even using vampire speed. He catches a scent eventually though, and...the study?
It has gone unused lately. There's no strategy to tend to, and even checking in on Hector has lessened of late. The only reason Alucard comes in is to refresh the flowers beneath his mother's portait.
So he actually knocks to announce his presence and stands at the threshold rather than walk in.]
[ He raises his hand in greeting, beckoning Alucard to the window, quickly.
Outside of it, Sypha is coming out of the greenhouse with berry juice all around her mouth, looking around to make sure that nobody can see her and then, guiltlessly wiping it away with her sleeve. ]
[ He laughs, watching her still. She'll be making her way back to the castle soon, no doubt, but for now she's just strolling about, looking mournfully at what was the strawberries. They'll move that to the greenhouse, maybe, if she's missing them so much. ]
And it's around time to be moving her to the middle anyway. I think being imprisoned there is an appropriate punishment.
[ Tomorrow Alucard goes to treat with the wolf pack. They've been good to all of them, ever since Trevor was hurt. At first it was hunting for them. Recently it's been leading Alucard to what trees are still bearing fruit. ]
You have the coldest hands when you come back from that.
[Alucard's eyes go to the forest beyond. He smiles, because since their return, there have been such questions about how Alucard's pack is. It is...very touching, in truth.]
[ Before long at all, really. The wolves offered them so much help in the summer, it's only right that Alucard keep watch of them to make sure they survive over the winter. ]
-think you could help me with something? While we're here.
[ 'While we're here' he says, as if he hasn't been waiting here for Alucard to find him. ]
I...will have to make it clear that you're both fully human though. [Alucard focuses on the window, not Trevor.] I have been less than clear on that for a while.
[They think you're wolves, Treffy.
Anything to change the topic.]
Mmm. I had been wondering why you gravitated here, besides watching Sypha. What is it that you need?
[Alucard walks over to the mirror though, fixes his focus on it. Flanders. He can begin there, begin with Tielt. It must have a market, so...so he begins there. Carefully.]
[ He stares through the mirror as if that instruction would have been enough by sheer luck. It's not. Just a marketplace in the late afternoon, people starting to put away goods. ]
Ileana Felea. Probably. [ She might have had to change her name. But it should work, shouldn't it, if that had been the name he'd known her by? ]
[Alucard hums, thoughtful. It's easiest when you know the location. Not guessing like this. So what he does next is simply let the mirror take them through the city, his eyes focused on the names of shops for the time being.]
[ He can barely picture her in his mind, in truth. It's been a long time. A lot of ale. They never really spent that much time together to begin with, because three sisters was, as a twelve year old boy, quite enough girls to be having in ones life and because she liked those three sisters better than she liked him. ]
About to her shoulders. Curled. Brown eyes. Pale. Liked to read plays and to force people to act them out with her.
[ He hopes it's enough but- shit, he has no idea how much of that's even still true. And he's describing a 14 year old to look for a 34 year old. ]
[Alucard reaches over so he has Trevor's shoulder in hand. It'll be easier to use his words and thoughts to guide this, Alucard as nothing more than the conduit. He focuses, trying to let the mental images Trevor has in his head guide the work.
The city rushes by. There's a ward for those with money who make the city their home during certain months.]
She was a little older than me when I last saw her.
[ ...pause. Because sometimes Trevor says stupid things. The city continues to move by quickly, until it isn't moving by quickly anymore. It's a residential area used by local craftspeople, well enough off but not particularly rich. It passes through a wall.
And there's a woman there, pale with short, dark curls, sat at a work table and sewing what looks to be the sleeve of a shirt or dress. She seems- perfectly normal in every way, really. And Trevor stares, because he's never seen an actual living person from before the burning before. ]
...Which presumably means she'd still be a little older than me.
[Alucard's gentle when he says it though. He's taken a guess at who this person might be, but why Trevor has decided to wonder about her fate now is beyond him. There's nothing but quiet from him instead, and steps back, hand brushing over Trevor's shoulder.
There's a door. There's a young boy who comes running in, and he calls her mother.]
[ It's a little bittersweet. He didn't expect it to be- he's happy here, more happy than he could ever think possible. But it's still- something. It's something, to see paths that have been closed off, even if they would have never led you to where you wanted to be.
(She would have been a Belmont. Her name would have struck fear into any creature of the night who heard it. She would have been matriarch of an ancient family, eventually. But who can say if she would have been happy?
She's a seamstress. And the way she pulls that boy into her lap, scolds him gently for picking up the needles-
She's happy as a seamstress. ]
That's all I needed to know. I shouldn't pry any more.
[ He doesn't quite want to stop watching, but this feels too intimate all of a sudden. It's not meant for him.
(The boy would have been- one, maybe two when Dracula's hordes came into the land. And perhaps they would not have got so far as Flanders, but there's nobody now who can say if he intended to stop at Wallachia. Her son could have died, and he wouldn't have cared.) ]
[Alucard's eyes are on the window. Considering Sypha, the greenhouse, the forest, everything about home. It doesn't take a heavy thinker to know that Trevor's contemplating the roads not traveled at this very moment, but he hasn't asked Alucard to leave or give him space either. So he stays.
The scene in the mirror plays out, and it's a simple one. Domestic as anything the three of them engage in, although more ordinary for where it is rather than the castle. Alucard sneaks only one glance, and his mind returns to the discussion he and Trevor had some time ago. The one about children.
Mm. Not his business to bring up.]
...So long as you have your answers.
[It takes only a wave of Alucard's hand to dismiss the image, for the mirror to show the world outside. Alucard likes having it focused on the outdoors when he's in the study. Makes the air less oppressive.
[ Not a lot productive, anyway. This is everything he wanted. The worst would have been that she'd died, and that he'd never learn if it was because of a connection to him and his family. And if she were alive and still waiting for him- family promises are family promises. That she's alive, that she's alive and living a life of her own and happy, is the best possible option.
He's happy, he thinks. He's probably happy. He needs a few more minutes to be certain. ]
Figure out how the fuck it would even work, and then ask me again. Once you're ready.
[ Or maybe he'll ask Alucard and Sypha. Depends who figures out first how this shit even works with three people, one of whom is a vampire. He doesn't specify what he's talking about. ]
[Oh Trevor, like the vampire hasn't been thinking about this for years.
Alucard doesn't let the warmth that's sudden eating him up inside out. Not yet. But it's there, and oh. Oh he has things to do now.]
I could use a hand in the kitchen, you know. Too many apples to peel.
[It's quiet work. Not in the study. And it's a prelude to totally busting Sypha.
Which they do eventually, and is so, so so worth it. And then the late autumn becomes winter, and there are snow flurries that dust the world around them. The world is at rest, dormant, waiting for the spring to arrive again.
There are things Alucard must wait for too. Not for spring sun to warm the garden, but for others to do work he has requested, and for the news to reach him that it is done. There are a few days he spends away from the castle, and then there are days he spends in the library, quietly doing...something. He's thinking too much, and that means he's planning something.
Something that's no more obvious than just leaving two things wrapped up in a thick dark cloth in the Hold. For a long time now, Alucard has put a worktable next to the lectern, making it easier to queue up new additions for the Hold. He's down there now, working, and has asked Trevor to come by at some point. Silver issue, he needs a hand.
(Sypha got her gifts yesterday. She's waiting for this as much as he is.)]
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cryptsleeper) wrote2018-11-10 11:26 pm
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Just apples today, foraged from one of the last trees in the woods. He makes his way back through the garden, stopping to check on the bees before he heads back into the castle itself. Just apple and honey cake today, the fire is burning brighter in the kitchen and that means just enough heat for it. He has everything ready, but the cake's best eaten warm. He'll start it at supper time.
He's done, and that means finding Trevor. Trevor who is not in the usual haunts, which take Alucard half an hour to check even using vampire speed. He catches a scent eventually though, and...the study?
It has gone unused lately. There's no strategy to tend to, and even checking in on Hector has lessened of late. The only reason Alucard comes in is to refresh the flowers beneath his mother's portait.
So he actually knocks to announce his presence and stands at the threshold rather than walk in.]
Trevor?
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Outside of it, Sypha is coming out of the greenhouse with berry juice all around her mouth, looking around to make sure that nobody can see her and then, guiltlessly wiping it away with her sleeve. ]
She's ruining her dinner.
[ He says warmly, laughing. ]
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[Alucard folds his arms over his chest, grinning at that. And elbowing Trevor.]
Shall we hold it over her head this evening?
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[ He laughs, watching her still. She'll be making her way back to the castle soon, no doubt, but for now she's just strolling about, looking mournfully at what was the strawberries. They'll move that to the greenhouse, maybe, if she's missing them so much. ]
And it's around time to be moving her to the middle anyway. I think being imprisoned there is an appropriate punishment.
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[Actually, that's a good idea. He's going back out when he can, because this will be hilarious.]
Mm, you're probably right. The frost has started to really set in in the mornings. Although is it really imprisonment to be between us?
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[ Tomorrow Alucard goes to treat with the wolf pack. They've been good to all of them, ever since Trevor was hurt. At first it was hunting for them. Recently it's been leading Alucard to what trees are still bearing fruit. ]
You have the coldest hands when you come back from that.
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[Alucard's eyes go to the forest beyond. He smiles, because since their return, there have been such questions about how Alucard's pack is. It is...very touching, in truth.]
And I can't help it, it's nearly winter.
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[ He's laughing as he watches Sypha leave the garden, so blissfully unaware of the horrors that await her. ]
Cold hands, right on her arse.
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[And he's laughing too, because really, this is the perfect plan. Totally unexpected. Beautiful.]
I'd invite you along, if it wouldn't give away the plan. They do want to meet you both.
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[ Before long at all, really. The wolves offered them so much help in the summer, it's only right that Alucard keep watch of them to make sure they survive over the winter. ]
-think you could help me with something? While we're here.
[ 'While we're here' he says, as if he hasn't been waiting here for Alucard to find him. ]
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[They think you're wolves, Treffy.
Anything to change the topic.]
Mmm. I had been wondering why you gravitated here, besides watching Sypha. What is it that you need?
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[ No, actually, this is a great topic and he's like to procrastinate on this conversation some more. ]
I want to use the mirror to find someone. But. Me, magic, not friends.
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[The frost is thick in the mornings. Winter will be heavy, that much is clear.]
Of course. Do you know the location to seek out?
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[ Because moving between countries is a pain to do when you're restricted to human methods. ]
It's been a while.
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[Alucard walks over to the mirror though, fixes his focus on it. Flanders. He can begin there, begin with Tielt. It must have a market, so...so he begins there. Carefully.]
Who are we looking for?
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[ He stares through the mirror as if that instruction would have been enough by sheer luck. It's not. Just a marketplace in the late afternoon, people starting to put away goods. ]
Ileana Felea. Probably. [ She might have had to change her name. But it should work, shouldn't it, if that had been the name he'd known her by? ]
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Describe her.
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[ He can barely picture her in his mind, in truth. It's been a long time. A lot of ale. They never really spent that much time together to begin with, because three sisters was, as a twelve year old boy, quite enough girls to be having in ones life and because she liked those three sisters better than she liked him. ]
About to her shoulders. Curled. Brown eyes. Pale. Liked to read plays and to force people to act them out with her.
[ He hopes it's enough but- shit, he has no idea how much of that's even still true. And he's describing a 14 year old to look for a 34 year old. ]
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The city rushes by. There's a ward for those with money who make the city their home during certain months.]
Nearly there, I think.
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[ ...pause. Because sometimes Trevor says stupid things. The city continues to move by quickly, until it isn't moving by quickly anymore. It's a residential area used by local craftspeople, well enough off but not particularly rich. It passes through a wall.
And there's a woman there, pale with short, dark curls, sat at a work table and sewing what looks to be the sleeve of a shirt or dress. She seems- perfectly normal in every way, really. And Trevor stares, because he's never seen an actual living person from before the burning before. ]
...Which presumably means she'd still be a little older than me.
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[Alucard's gentle when he says it though. He's taken a guess at who this person might be, but why Trevor has decided to wonder about her fate now is beyond him. There's nothing but quiet from him instead, and steps back, hand brushing over Trevor's shoulder.
There's a door. There's a young boy who comes running in, and he calls her mother.]
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(She would have been a Belmont. Her name would have struck fear into any creature of the night who heard it. She would have been matriarch of an ancient family, eventually. But who can say if she would have been happy?
She's a seamstress. And the way she pulls that boy into her lap, scolds him gently for picking up the needles-
She's happy as a seamstress. ]
That's all I needed to know. I shouldn't pry any more.
[ He doesn't quite want to stop watching, but this feels too intimate all of a sudden. It's not meant for him.
(The boy would have been- one, maybe two when Dracula's hordes came into the land. And perhaps they would not have got so far as Flanders, but there's nobody now who can say if he intended to stop at Wallachia. Her son could have died, and he wouldn't have cared.) ]
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The scene in the mirror plays out, and it's a simple one. Domestic as anything the three of them engage in, although more ordinary for where it is rather than the castle. Alucard sneaks only one glance, and his mind returns to the discussion he and Trevor had some time ago. The one about children.
Mm. Not his business to bring up.]
...So long as you have your answers.
[It takes only a wave of Alucard's hand to dismiss the image, for the mirror to show the world outside. Alucard likes having it focused on the outdoors when he's in the study. Makes the air less oppressive.
He squeezes Trevor's shoulder gently.]
Your turn to be the heavy thinker?
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[ Not a lot productive, anyway. This is everything he wanted. The worst would have been that she'd died, and that he'd never learn if it was because of a connection to him and his family. And if she were alive and still waiting for him- family promises are family promises. That she's alive, that she's alive and living a life of her own and happy, is the best possible option.
He's happy, he thinks. He's probably happy. He needs a few more minutes to be certain. ]
Figure out how the fuck it would even work, and then ask me again. Once you're ready.
[ Or maybe he'll ask Alucard and Sypha. Depends who figures out first how this shit even works with three people, one of whom is a vampire. He doesn't specify what he's talking about. ]
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Alucard doesn't let the warmth that's sudden eating him up inside out. Not yet. But it's there, and oh. Oh he has things to do now.]
I could use a hand in the kitchen, you know. Too many apples to peel.
[It's quiet work. Not in the study. And it's a prelude to totally busting Sypha.
Which they do eventually, and is so, so so worth it. And then the late autumn becomes winter, and there are snow flurries that dust the world around them. The world is at rest, dormant, waiting for the spring to arrive again.
There are things Alucard must wait for too. Not for spring sun to warm the garden, but for others to do work he has requested, and for the news to reach him that it is done. There are a few days he spends away from the castle, and then there are days he spends in the library, quietly doing...something. He's thinking too much, and that means he's planning something.
Something that's no more obvious than just leaving two things wrapped up in a thick dark cloth in the Hold. For a long time now, Alucard has put a worktable next to the lectern, making it easier to queue up new additions for the Hold. He's down there now, working, and has asked Trevor to come by at some point. Silver issue, he needs a hand.
(Sypha got her gifts yesterday. She's waiting for this as much as he is.)]
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