cryptsleeper | 20s AU Post

20s AU Post

Current Carmilla plot outline
--Post-fire, Carmilla and Mr. Peanut team up mostly to use each other. Carmilla's spent the past several months (since November, it is now February 1925) networking, and it's clear to her that Alucard's not suited for the position and that the other two are the obvious weakness. Mr Peanut needs something back, so this is perfect on her end. Mr Peanut can only imagine the joys of vampire blood in his work, and he'd like an army of vampires for his own ends.
--Shit stirring from Mr Peanut (all of March?)
--Mr Peanut also begins to sell mis Miracle Serum, which has vampire blood in it.
--Gang is very much trying to murder Mr Peanut during this.
--Start of April, vampire gets a call from one of the blood bank contacts that 3 patients have come in and are displaying some bizarre signs. Investigation yields the fact that they're in process of turning, and they've all taken the same serum.
--Additional investigation reveals O FUCK IT MR PEANUT
--Meanwhile Carmilla's been made aware of a familiar she didn't sire, so she knows something's up. Big fight with Mr. Peanut and thus Mr. Peanut is left depowered
--Gang commits a murder
--Carmilla's well sured up on her contacts now, and it's time for open rebellion (mid-April)
--In a more subtle attempt to let Alucard just step aside, she cuts the breaks on demon car and shows up to gloat/suggest he not pull a dad and go to deal with his grief quietly while she runs the city. The how he wants to do it is up to him (black widow joke goes here.) Treffy and Sypha walk in.
--1 week of straight up rebellion; feedings, no help from allies, need to do damage control instead of fight carmilla, every dracula rule is
--MEANWHILE IN GRAVITY FALLS, triangle shows Vlad what's up to try and psyche him out, somehow this finalyl snaps Vlad out of his depression and he heads home
--Just in time for Alucard and Carmilla to be tearing each other to bits in one of the bayous, it's not going well
--Vlad coming in means the king of vampires is accosted by a belmont with a pair of blessed knitting needles and a speaker with a fucking gun and he's just like what the shit happened to the world while i was gone
--Wards around the fight means that only demon car can break the wards, everyone has to pile in.
--Carmilla gets her ass kicked AND SENT TO THE JUSTICE DIMENSION

THEN THERE WERE FAERIES.
--Prior to all of this the vampire and Sypha have done a shit ton of research on how to get their Belmont back
--Sypha has also been practicing debating with dad, which leaves everyone Very Tired.
--When Trevor is actually snatched up (1 year after marriage, it takes fae effort. Taking Arn's shape fails, so it's a lot more kidnapping by force), Sypha and Alucard go into Faerie
--But they're playing this as politics, not as heroes rescuing their damsel, so that means the faeries are just "wait what now excuse u?"
--There are 3 gates and 3 trials (the particulars we're still bullshitting.) Each is asked to sacrifice 3 things. (Alucard: voice, his titles as bestowed upon by his father and his people, i forget the third; Sypha: her human form (she's a birb), fuck what were the other two)
--They enter the court at the end of the third trial. After LITERALLY ALL THE TITLES Sypha declares she Speaks for Trevor Belmont
--Claim debate over Trevor, turns out that the rules are in Sypha's favor.
--But that means debating to leave Fae without giving up what they've chosen.
--Sypha lawyers it all out, Alucard is a safety deposit and hangs out with Fae!Trevor
--In the end, safe passage out of Faerie consists of Sypha giving up her memory of the necromancer (billed as a great mage she studied under), the vampire gives up his immortality, and Trevor is replaced with Carmilla (dad was aware of this option and OK with it), but Trevor has his ability to swear taken. He now soundslike a rubber ducky when he tries
--Everyone gets home okay, except for the AU of this AU where the gang fails, but Trevor's on their doorstep like a bat out of Hell because time doesn't work right and he's been in Hell for a WHILE.

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Shit. [ He repeats. He gave them a hell of an openning to get at the other two, didn't he? He knew there was a chance of this and he didn't care because it meant getting Sypha back. It's easier to regret it now she's safe. ]

...sorry. Should have known they'd jump at the chance to get to you.

You do realize that I also very much provoked the matter, right?

[Alucard gives up. The hand on Sypha's side rises, and reaches over to brush against Trevor.]

Could've sat there and done nothing.

I doubt it would be anything too dramatic. Nothing so severe as refusing to recognize Sypha Belnades.

[She squeezes his hand a little, looking up at him.]

But it may be that I am not one of them anymore, by their perception. I may have lost my right to be a Speaker, I don't know for certain.

[ He doesn't hesitate. Can't.

And he doesn't speak anymore, either, just draws the ice away and cuts, and it's as quick and shallow as he can manage to without risking having to do it again because it's not enough. He coaxes Alucard's mouth open - easy enough, between the unconsciousness and the incense, and slips the cork of the rose oil bottle between his back teeth to keep him from biting down.

It won't be enough to stop him, if he's somehow able to choose to. But it's enough to feel a little more secure. ]

Hold it to his mouth. I'll count time, but take it back if you start to feel faint.

[He squeezes back, and it's reassuring as well as a recognition of a very real concern. Maybe she has. And to force that loss of identity upon Sypha is so very, very cruel. Alucard can't fathom forcing it on her, and if that's the case, they'll find other places to be.

He kisses the top of her head, because those eyes are hard to take in this moment.]

We may not even have to see, if the idea is downvoted.

[This is the kind of stupid protective possessiveness that he's supposed to have. Not fending off the world of horrors and nightthings from either of them, just humans who'd hurt their feelings.]

[It hurts. It's blade passing through skin and parting it along its edge, of course it hurts; it has to, for the blood to well up enough to matter. But it's faster and less terrible than claws taking off the top layer of her skin, and she's a little dazed and startled at how fast the blood actually wells up once the cut is made, how it goes from a thin line to a fat one to starting to cascade over the edge of her wrist.

Hurriedly, she moves to get it over his mouth before it can start to drip — no sense in wasting even a drop — and hesitates about how close to get it before eventually drawing a breath and simply pressing it outright against his lips, letting the blood run down her skin and onto his tongue, into his mouth.

The threshold is supposed to be if she starts to feel faint. Supposed to be. But — Alucard has to wake up, has to have what he needs to heal himself. And that creates a much more weighty calculus than just taking care of herself and her own needs.

Hopefully this will work before that happens, she thinks determinedly, and focuses on breathing steadily as her blood continues to run, tacky and thick, into her vampire's mouth.

Be well, she whispers within the confines of her own mind, as though it really were possible to fuse her intent with her own blood. Be well, my friend, my love.]

Of course you fucking couldn't have.

[ His tone isn't quite warm, but it's trying for it. It was only a day or two ago, depending on how one counts days in the small hours of the morning, wasn't it? That Trevor had told Alucard that he was a monster, but that it was his own refusal to accept it that it was wrong. That he shouldn't have been denying the existence of half of him just because it was more comfortable that way.

And that was tempting fucking fate, wasn't it? Because he's not been letting the others accept what he is, either. It's humiliating, having Alucard see him as he is. ]

...You're right.

[Of course he's right. Alucard let the world take from him exactly once and since then he's become his father when the world tries to do it again. It's...it's the thing that being called a monster forced him to accept, in the end. That if there is any point to be compared to his father, then let it just be this. Sparked by deep love and protectiveness, enough humanity in there to keep something truly terrible from happening.

Alucard's hand doesn't squeeze, doesn't dare demand more from Trevor. Holding onto the Belmont too tightly is fraught at the moment.]

We've been trying to figure out ways to make sure none of that happens, you know.

[Trevor should know.]

[ He's a Belmont.

He's a Belmont and he's aiding his girlfriend in bleeding into a vampire's mouth. And the vampire is also his boyfriend.

He really fucked up somewhere along the way, didn't he?

He moves his hand to Sypha's hair, stroking it while she holds her wrist over Alucard's mouth, counting seconds as he does. It's difficult, there's no way to know how fast the blood is flowing (her heart always beats too quick, probably faster than is normal) or how much she can safely give. He can only guess as best he can and hope that he doesn't screw it up too badly. They should have used a vessel of some sort, to allow them to measure out the amount. But-

-but this is important, isn't it? A drinking vessel wouldn't be Sypha, wouldn't have her fever-hot skin and mouse-fast heartbeat. Wouldn't be doing this out of love. And for once, for once, maybe that shit can be trusted to make a difference.

When he takes his hand out of her hair, it's to take open bottle of rose oil and soak the dressing pad with it. ]

Ten more seconds. If you can, hold your arm up then, so it's above your heart. Don't worry if you can't.

[Ten more seconds. That's easy enough. The reference to not being able to lift her arm is a little more puzzling — why shouldn't she be able to lift her arm? — and it's somewhere around there, when Trevor actually calls attention to it, that she starts to realize just how much blood she's actually lost by doing this, and just what effect it's had on her. When all she's had to do was hold still and watch Alucard's expression for hints of color and mending, it had been fine; she'd been holding still, steady, firm from her convictions.

It doesn't really hit her until she tries to move the hand that isn't pressed to Alucard's mouth, and finds with some surprise that there's a sort of lag between when she decides to move it and when it actually moves — sluggish, slow to respond. Cold, in a way she'd thought was just the chill in the air, or maybe from fear and worry.

Five more seconds. The loss of Trevor's hand in her hair is an ache she feels keenly, even though she knows he's right there with her, right where she can still see him, even. Heal, Adrian; her wrist is tacky and wet and her sleeves are threatening to slip down from her elbows and get in the way.

Three.

Two.

One.

...One.

......One?

She tries to make herself sit back, clumsy and sluggish, and fumbles a little as an odd weight like exhaustion seems to settle around her limbs, like she's too heavy and too high and the air is too thin.

She has to lift her hand above her heart, she reminds herself, and tries her best to get it up there, slow and painstaking but she's so tired, and so she winds up just clasping her hand to the top of her head so that at least there's something to rest it on for the duration.]

[ He waits only as long as it takes to make sure that Alucard isn't going to choke on the blood, turning his head to the side to be sure, before he has the dressing pad pressed against her wrist, using it both to clean the cut and to put pressure on it. ]

Once the bleeding's stopped and it's all wrapped, you can put it down again. You did well. You did so, so well.

[ That's what Arn would say, isn't it, when he cleaned people's cuts? You did well. Even if he hated everything that they were hurt in the course of doing. Because it was what they needed to hear when they were so far from home. ]

You need to drink something soon. Eat something, too. I- there's the tin of mints in the car.

[ He needed to bring a snack and he forgot to. Father Robert's going to be so disappointed. ]

Mmmm.

[The affection is welcomed and she accepts it gladly, tilting her head to make it easier for him to drop his kiss against her hair with a soft, satisfied little sigh.]

I do have to admit, I think I'm going to miss being your witch, a little bit. It wasn't all bad, to have people look at me and recognize at once that I was yours.

[That little sigh is everything, isn't it? Alucard lingers, his nose nuzzling against the top of Sypha's head just because he can.]

But what if things were to be reversed? Walking into the room with either of us, and you're the focus. The two of us are just yours. Your vampire. Your Belmont. The particulars aren't as important.

Trevor.

[She can't raise her arms very well, but if she could she'd have them up and open in a silent plea to be gathered up; as it is, she has to settle for just sort of leaning in his direction while her eyes turn back to Alucard, searching for any sort of sign that the feeding is working, that his shallower wounds are starting to repair themselves because of it.

They're not done yet. They're so, so far from being done. They still have to get Alucard out of here, get him upstairs, reclaim Dracula from wherever he'd gone, leave in the car...

There's so much still to do and they're so far from being out of the woods yet.]

I don't know what else to do for him.

...Oooh.

[Oh, now that's cheating. What a cheater, appealing to her sense of possessiveness about her lovers. That's such a dirty trick, and she loves every moment of it.]

My dark servants, hmm?

[Sypha PLEASE.]

Better known as your husbands?

[Alucard's not exactly opposed to that route at the moment, but he's smart enough to know trying to discuss it on ice skates is a choice they should not be making.]

We'll figure it out after New Year's. Although I think I may vote for a quiet night in this year.

[Theodora will kill them. That's okay.]

[ He moves to Sypha's side, settling against her. Once the bleeding finally slows, he takes a clean dressing pad and covers the cut, bandaging it. And then he does gather her up in his arms, watching as Alucard's chest rises and falls softly. ]

You've done so much. Just trust me from here, and I won't let anything happen to either of you.

[ He doesn't have that much power over the situation. But he can try to pretend he does, at least. He's never done comforting lies well, but- it feels true. It has to be true. (It is not a matter of whether he can, only a matter of he must). ]

We let him be for a few more minutes. Let what he can heal heal on its own. After that, I'll wrap up his leg and take him to the car. If you can't climb the stairs alone, I'll take you first and leave you with Bunicuta and the car, then return for him.

I would feel bad, I think, about stepping on a husband of mine. Less so a dark servant.

[Is she trying to make him blush? Probably. But luckily they're not really moving anymore, and they're nice and close, so she can abandon holding his hand in favor of shuffle-gliding forward for a hug and wrapping her arms around him instead.]

You know, I was thinking we should go out on New Year's. One last time, like a farewell. Your chance to attend as just Adrian, and nothing else.

[She hums a little, rubbing her cheek against his still-damp coat.]

But if you want to stay in, I support that too.

Oh, that's the distinction you make?

[Well, mission accomplished. The vampire is indeed blushing, just as he's leaning in closer for Sypha's warmth. Back home, the warmth was nice but often pointless given the heat and humidity. Here, in these mountains and with all the snow, the vampire is far clingier. Sypha's not just a hearthfire she is absolutely a furnace and he just wants to wrap up in her warmth.]

We can just see what we're feeling that evening, I think.

[His arms are around her now too, and he squeezes gently.]

I'm fairly sure that outside a small circle, I won't be terribly missed.

He has to go first.

[What little urgency she can muster is dwarfed somewhat by how weary she is, how she sags against him and lets his arms and his promises wrap around her like a blanket.]

We promised, we get him out first. We can't leave him alone, not like this.

[She closes her eyes, just for a minute, resting in the comfort of darkness before opening them again.]

He was like this, the night I met him. He came to our camp looking for healing. There was nowhere else he could go. Our elder — my grandfather — we, we help everyone but he was the son of Dracula, whose wife had just died, and we had come to preserve her story though we knew we were unwelcome. We gave him supplies but could not let him stay, and I told him I would still come and help him even so...I sewed him up just like this and he slept the night in the woods, and I didn't even tell him my name.

[ He was always going to be first. Usually is (words like useless try to claw their way into his mead, at that, but they have no fucking place here). He tries, but- well, it's not a contest, is it? And it's not as if anyone is leaving this mess disappointed at this rate.

At Alucard's first touch, his shoulders twitch in anticipation. His hand moves up against Sypha, fingers tensing and curling until they're rubbing against her properly rather than simply as a consequence of their movement. His other hand falls back against Alucard's thigh, squeezing at it with a force that would probably be painful on anyone else and that is certainly bruising, if only temporary. He knows what's going to happen, because there's only ever one thing that does happen when he does this, and he's always useless against it and-

-and then it does, in fact, happen, and he curls backward into the contact, his voice tearing through what started as a long exhale to end it as a moan, and when Alucard does break contact he falls against Sypha bonelessly, forehead against the top of her spine, breath coming out in pants that turn noisy and desperate by the end of each one, alternating between Delighted Belmont Noises and soft whines and pleases and just one sorry. Until she rocks a little harder against him, at just a sligtly different angle as a result of all his moving about, and he's gone. He tugs her tighter against him, breath catching in his throat and rendering him silent until he finally breathes out too much and far too loudly. ]

He couldn't stay because the story was still young. Known by too few. If his presence summoned Dracula's wrath upon your people, you would suffer it gladly to help someone. But you couldn't allow the story to be lost.

[ He doesn't know this. He suspected, because he had known that Sypha had come into Alucard's life around the time of his mother's death. He had known Alucard was injured at the same time. But he never asked.

But he's known Speakers. And they do not fear death, but the stories they carry within them are fragile things when they are young and the death of a few could destroy them entirely. And the stories, unlike their lives, are not theirs to lose.

You don't give a Speaker a gun if you want them to live. You give them a secret. He's given Sypha both. ]

He has the two of us now. He'll sleep the night in his own home, and he knows your name better than he knows anything else.

I- probably could have guessed that, If I thought about it.

[ He didn't know, but- he really could have guessed if he'd tried. Because of course they were doing that. Of course with a hundred thousand other, more important things to do, they'd be procrastinating with the one that didn't matter. ]

You don't need to. I was born for this. Just- think of it as an opportunity to get used to puny human lifespans.

If there was ever going to be a place with resources to fix this, it'd be here. We'd be fools not to take advantage of it.

[He does flinch at the comment regarding lifespans. How can he not? But that isn't the point, the point is the basic stupid fear that drives the vampire.]

I'm not letting anything else take away those I care about, Trevor.

[It's possessive. It's weary. It's admitting to the fear of it all.]

You understand.

[And what a gift he gives her, perhaps without even realizing it, just by knowing. It's a concept she's never found easy to explain, even after so long, the terrible choice her grandfather made and how it still could be reconciled with what the Speakers believe, with their vows. Too easy to look at the situation and simply see them turning away a vampire, as if that made any difference.

But Trevor has known Speakers, and he proves it like this, with the way he instantly intuits and understands. It makes her want to cry, almost, but that's probably just the catharsis and the blood loss.]

We risked everything because history had to remember that there was once a woman that Dracula loved. Not a rumor, not a suspicion. We knew we had to preserve her, forever, so that the future would always know.

[Her shoulders tremble; she turns her head and buries it in Trevor's shoulder, a soft little noise escaping her throat.]

He had leaves in his hair, when I found him. He was filthy...I didn't know, then, why he was hiding his wound from everyone. I had promised him I wouldn't ask.

[She swallows hard.]

You told me that once, do you remember, that I coddle him. And you were right. I've been watching him be torn apart and having to sew him back together again since the day that I met him.

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20s AU Post

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