[ He's starting to get his bearings. The priest. He went to the priest for holy water. And then the man asked him to take confession before going out to do his work, in case he didn't have another chance and- it had been a good enough point, and he'd stepped into the booth and-
Things get fuzzy after that. Something pressing down on his mind. He remembers being stripped and bathed, and a quip about not wanting contaminated food. He remembers teeth against his neck. He remembers being asked questions, and the tiny jeweler's hammer coming down on his hands when he stumbled over the answers. He remembers- chains. There was a chain. Talk of a way to demonstrate the son's unsuitability.
He's tearing at the bread determinedly but with tiny bites - this isn't the first time he's had to slowly become re-accustomed to eating. And there are footsteps. One set of them, as best he can hear. A woman's or a child's, barefoot.
And then the door opens. Not a woman or a child, but the vampire from before - footsteps too quiet to hear. There's someone else there. Does he have a partner, or a hostage, or-
-Shit. This is a feeding cell, isn't it? The nicest feeding cell he's been locked in, certainly, but a feeding cell nonetheless. The second set of footsteps must be another prisoner, and that complicates things. On the one hand, this is fucking fantastic please drain him to nothing and let him die. On the other, he can hardly allow someone else to be kept prisoner in Dracula's Fucking Demon Castle. ]
...seem to not be fucking dead yet. You're really, really shitty at this.
You are terrible at understanding intention, aren't you? If I wanted you dead, you would be. [There's no softness in that voice. Just barebones facts.] The transfusion equipment has a filter for bites to prevent turnings, my mother invented it. I expect having two pints of O- in your bloodstream will assist recovery to a certain extent.
[He stops at that for now. There's no reason to overload the Belmont with additional information, not yet. His eyes to to Trevor's hand, and there's an internal cringe. Lovely. Probably the least of all injuries anyway.]
Forgive the lack of additional furniture here. Even in your state, I assume your natural instinct would be to improvise a stake.
You assume right. And you did a shitty job of that, too. Left the fucking curtain pole.
[ Not that he can stand up and reach to wrench it off the wall right now. The rest, the rest he is bewildered by. Vampires don't put blood into humans. What the fuck. ]
Don't care about turning. [ And right now, that's true. This is going to be over long before it should be a problem. This should have been over weeks ago. ] Where the fuck is Dracula and why the fuck is there a willowy golden mosquito in his house refusing to kill Belmonts?
[ What the fuck. He doesn't move, except to tear into the bread in a way that is probably intended to be defiant and threatening but that's actually just entirely consistent with being hungry. ]
There's a woman outside the door. Is she here by choice, or am I going to need the curtain pole?
[So, no. Alucard's features cross into a deep frown, because God, the Belmont is not up on the times and he hates explaining it.]
And yes, my father. My mother was murdered, and you can imagine how well a man like that handles his grief. Dracula has been absent for some time, and a power vaccuum now rules this city. To say that you could potentially ignite a fire here would be a gross understatement.
You know as well as I fucking do that that isn't an answer that means shit where vampires are concerned. Is she here by choice?
[ Excuse him, he was kind of busy!!! It probably wouldn't occur to Alucard, at least not yet perhaps, how evasive his words with regard to Sypha are coming off to a vampire hunter. Any phrase that calls someone their anything in response to a yes or no question is- suspect.
The bread is abandoned. He's trying to push himself to his feet. ]
Yes. And at this rate, she's going to be the one to reset every broken bone in that hand of yours, and it will take a lot longer than if I do it.
[Sypha, he's sorry. He really is!
There's no sudden movements, no attempt to get Trevor to sit. It would come off as an attack, that much Alucard can guess without putting any effort into it.]
Let me get this right. You're meant to be Dracula's fucking successor, and the best threat that you can manage is that I might get slightly less gentle medical treatment.
[ No wonder there's a power vacuum? God. And also shit, now he has at least the vampire's word that the other human is here by choice he has to deal with. The rest of that information. There's a power vacuum. And he's- basically the ultimate trophy.
There's not a single vampire in the city that's going to fucking kill him, is there? Not when keeping a Belmont trapped but alive is the best symbol of authority there is short of Dracula's stone.
(Which leaves the question of why Alucard threw him out? Because 'is not evil' isn't an explanation he's willing to accept yet. Stupid, maybe. Spoiled and woefully unprepared for the task he's been left with.) ]
That hasn't been a settled matter yet. Do you want to be the man in charge when he returns? Even if you are family?
[Everyone is still holding their breath. There seems to be an unsaid agreement, with precious few exceptions, that at least another month of patience is required. After six have passed, then things must be attended to, or else something will burst.
The answer really lies in total exhaustion, enough anger to fuel Alucard but not enough brain to think everything through as he ought to have.]
My mother was a doctor. To not help would be to forsake what she stood for, even with the attempted staking.
[There is a long pause as Alucard searches for the right words to explain this all and do it concisely.]
There are several options, most will bring stability but a slightly different change to the rules of how this part of the world operates. I would change nothing, and for that there is debate.
More than that, it is a crown no one desires. So it will likely fall to me due to blood.
Less rules, you mean. Dracula always did run a tight fucking ship.
[ Less rules is bad. Dracula is an evil fucking asshole, but the Belmonts have known for a long time that he holds the vampires to at least some standards. Europe was a mess for a few decades after he left - the measures that had to be taken by his family are a large part of why so many other vampires followed him. ]
Do you think you can keep this shit under control?
[There's maybe one or two people that Alucard would trust with the city. Theodora's name was put forth and she's entertained the notion, but confided him already that she would not wish for it. A shame because he'd give her that support without question.
The answer to Trevor's question depends on one thing only: time. How long his father is away. If it is short, then there will be no problem. But if not then...then it becomes dicey.
And what would you ask of me, other than presumably not stabbing you? I'm not going to be leaving a city that's on the verge of vampire bullshit in any way other than posthumously.
[ He's picked up the bread again by now, tearing his way through it again. ]
Which is still an option I'm considering, just to keep you aware.
[There is an instinctive cringe as Alucard gets a good look at how bad that hand is. He asks Sypha to come in, and soon one cringe is joined by two. It's bad. It's really bad.
Still, Alucard takes it, and he is as ginger as possible as he inspects the full of the damage. Lowly he mutters, my mother would've had Damien destroyed for this, then sighs.]
I rather hope you pass out from the agony of this. It'll be easier for all of us.
And yet if desperate measures are needed? I doubt anyone else fucking remembers how.
[ He grins at that, and it's the grimmest fucking thing there is in a city full of fucking vampires. ]
Good fucking luck with that.
[ He chokes with pain at it, but that grin only grows wider and he doesn't break eye contact with Alucard. This is a fucking contest now. He's going to stay awake out of spite. ]
And Alucard ignores that grin and the eye contact. This requires concentration, and that means nose down, eyes on the impacted body part and impacted part alone.
It is easier to focus on this than everything else tied up in having the Belmont here now. He'll have an unwanted houseguest. He'll have to contain the Belmont, because to let him wander the castle's halls would be to endanger his father and himself. Political pawn as the man may be, he is also still a threat to Alucard's safety if all goes so very wrong. Sypha won't like it, Alucard doesn't already, and they're going to have such a long talk about this when Trevor's...well, contained, because that will be the only thing they can do for the time being.
[ He remains silent, for the most part, and glaring until the thumb. The thumb is the worst, was the worst first time around and remains worst now. The hardest to break, needed a few strikes even with vampire strength behind the blow. The hardest question to answer (where is your family). And the hardest to move back into place. The yell begins halfway through it and it's muffled until he bites through his lip and then it isn't muffled. It continues until he runs out of air and it dies first into choking, and then into silence.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
cryptsleeper) wrote2018-11-10 11:26 pm
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Things get fuzzy after that. Something pressing down on his mind. He remembers being stripped and bathed, and a quip about not wanting contaminated food. He remembers teeth against his neck. He remembers being asked questions, and the tiny jeweler's hammer coming down on his hands when he stumbled over the answers. He remembers- chains. There was a chain. Talk of a way to demonstrate the son's unsuitability.
He's tearing at the bread determinedly but with tiny bites - this isn't the first time he's had to slowly become re-accustomed to eating. And there are footsteps. One set of them, as best he can hear. A woman's or a child's, barefoot.
And then the door opens. Not a woman or a child, but the vampire from before - footsteps too quiet to hear. There's someone else there. Does he have a partner, or a hostage, or-
-Shit. This is a feeding cell, isn't it? The nicest feeding cell he's been locked in, certainly, but a feeding cell nonetheless. The second set of footsteps must be another prisoner, and that complicates things. On the one hand, this is fucking fantastic please drain him to nothing and let him die. On the other, he can hardly allow someone else to be kept prisoner in Dracula's Fucking Demon Castle. ]
...seem to not be fucking dead yet. You're really, really shitty at this.
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[He stops at that for now. There's no reason to overload the Belmont with additional information, not yet. His eyes to to Trevor's hand, and there's an internal cringe. Lovely. Probably the least of all injuries anyway.]
Forgive the lack of additional furniture here. Even in your state, I assume your natural instinct would be to improvise a stake.
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[ Not that he can stand up and reach to wrench it off the wall right now. The rest, the rest he is bewildered by. Vampires don't put blood into humans. What the fuck. ]
Don't care about turning. [ And right now, that's true. This is going to be over long before it should be a problem. This should have been over weeks ago. ] Where the fuck is Dracula and why the fuck is there a willowy golden mosquito in his house refusing to kill Belmonts?
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(The rest is tiresome. Alucard walks into the room cautiously.)
My father has been gone from this city for months. No one knows where he is, and for that you seem to have become the victim of the city's politics.
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[ What the fuck. He doesn't move, except to tear into the bread in a way that is probably intended to be defiant and threatening but that's actually just entirely consistent with being hungry. ]
There's a woman outside the door. Is she here by choice, or am I going to need the curtain pole?
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sir that is his emotional support sypha]Sypha is my partner.
[So, no. Alucard's features cross into a deep frown, because God, the Belmont is not up on the times and he hates explaining it.]
And yes, my father. My mother was murdered, and you can imagine how well a man like that handles his grief. Dracula has been absent for some time, and a power vaccuum now rules this city. To say that you could potentially ignite a fire here would be a gross understatement.
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[ Excuse him, he was kind of busy!!! It probably wouldn't occur to Alucard, at least not yet perhaps, how evasive his words with regard to Sypha are coming off to a vampire hunter. Any phrase that calls someone their anything in response to a yes or no question is- suspect.
The bread is abandoned. He's trying to push himself to his feet. ]
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[Sypha, he's sorry. He really is!
There's no sudden movements, no attempt to get Trevor to sit. It would come off as an attack, that much Alucard can guess without putting any effort into it.]
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[ No wonder there's a power vacuum? God. And also shit, now he has at least the vampire's word that the other human is here by choice he has to deal with. The rest of that information. There's a power vacuum. And he's- basically the ultimate trophy.
There's not a single vampire in the city that's going to fucking kill him, is there? Not when keeping a Belmont trapped but alive is the best symbol of authority there is short of Dracula's stone.
(Which leaves the question of why Alucard threw him out? Because 'is not evil' isn't an explanation he's willing to accept yet. Stupid, maybe. Spoiled and woefully unprepared for the task he's been left with.) ]
That's just kind of sad.
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[Everyone is still holding their breath. There seems to be an unsaid agreement, with precious few exceptions, that at least another month of patience is required. After six have passed, then things must be attended to, or else something will burst.
The answer really lies in total exhaustion, enough anger to fuel Alucard but not enough brain to think everything through as he ought to have.]
My mother was a doctor. To not help would be to forsake what she stood for, even with the attempted staking.
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[ Fuck. Fuck. Dracula's gone. His family had a plan for this, but it was a plan that involved- significantly more than one Belmont.
His tone is too serious, too calm. ]
Do you mean to act as his successor?
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[He's also serious.]
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[There is a long pause as Alucard searches for the right words to explain this all and do it concisely.]
There are several options, most will bring stability but a slightly different change to the rules of how this part of the world operates. I would change nothing, and for that there is debate.
More than that, it is a crown no one desires. So it will likely fall to me due to blood.
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[ Less rules is bad. Dracula is an evil fucking asshole, but the Belmonts have known for a long time that he holds the vampires to at least some standards. Europe was a mess for a few decades after he left - the measures that had to be taken by his family are a large part of why so many other vampires followed him. ]
Do you think you can keep this shit under control?
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[There's maybe one or two people that Alucard would trust with the city. Theodora's name was put forth and she's entertained the notion, but confided him already that she would not wish for it. A shame because he'd give her that support without question.
The answer to Trevor's question depends on one thing only: time. How long his father is away. If it is short, then there will be no problem. But if not then...then it becomes dicey.
So he lies:]
Yes.
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[ He's picked up the bread again by now, tearing his way through it again. ]
Which is still an option I'm considering, just to keep you aware.
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[He's firm about that. That much is so very certain.]
Hm. I'd wonder why you haven't done the act yourself, but I presume you're religious enough to not consider that option.
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[ His voice lowers into a snarl at that. ]
Fuck off with that shit. I meant I was considering the option of stabbing you. And you're not doing much to change my fucking mind.
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[Bite him, Belmont.]
You are not the only hunter in this city, never mind the country. [But he'll take the point.]
Hand out. I'm getting sick of looking at how askew your hand is. That's the first thing I'm going to ask of you.
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[ But he does hold out his hand, mangled into a rather unpleasant shape. ]
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[There is an instinctive cringe as Alucard gets a good look at how bad that hand is. He asks Sypha to come in, and soon one cringe is joined by two. It's bad. It's really bad.
Still, Alucard takes it, and he is as ginger as possible as he inspects the full of the damage. Lowly he mutters, my mother would've had Damien destroyed for this, then sighs.]
I rather hope you pass out from the agony of this. It'll be easier for all of us.
[So he begins on resetting the first finger.]
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[ He grins at that, and it's the grimmest fucking thing there is in a city full of fucking vampires. ]
Good fucking luck with that.
[ He chokes with pain at it, but that grin only grows wider and he doesn't break eye contact with Alucard. This is a fucking contest now. He's going to stay awake out of spite. ]
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[Because Florence would.
And Alucard ignores that grin and the eye contact. This requires concentration, and that means nose down, eyes on the impacted body part and impacted part alone.
It is easier to focus on this than everything else tied up in having the Belmont here now. He'll have an unwanted houseguest. He'll have to contain the Belmont, because to let him wander the castle's halls would be to endanger his father and himself. Political pawn as the man may be, he is also still a threat to Alucard's safety if all goes so very wrong. Sypha won't like it, Alucard doesn't already, and they're going to have such a long talk about this when Trevor's...well, contained, because that will be the only thing they can do for the time being.
He keeps working in silence.]
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He has, in fact, passed out. ]
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