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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[ Normally, Alucard would be able to shrug off pain that Trevor never could. But all things are equal, like this, Alucard's natural endurance doesn't come into it. There's no matching whine of pain from Trevor's side of things, just the sensation of teeth clamping together.

The stairs are a slow and painful process, and getting up them is a fight between having the pain be over as soon as possible and making sure to not risk injuring Alucard further. Worse, making sure not to risk falling. The impact of that might not injure either of them too badly, but it'd break the spell and leave Alucard alone and hurt and unable to move in the darkness of the execution room. ]

Almost there.

[ Sypha's hands are in Alucard's hair by the time they reach the top of the stairs, combing through it. It's an odd sensation, because Trevor's hair is much shorter and so her fingers meet the end of it and vanish into nowhere with each stroke. Carefully, Trevor lowers Alucard into the chair. ]

You going to be comfortable here?

[There's a railing to hang onto at least. It's the tiniest mercy, one that shouldn't be considered a mercy in the first place - just a natural part of architecture. Yet here it is a lifeline, in the way it takes some of the weight and exertsion away.

Almost there Trevor says and it feels like miles to go. It's miles still to the chair, even with the sensation of touch in his hair.

He's breathing hard by the time ass is in chair. Eyes closed, aware of the way the still healing cut on his thigh is threatening to bleed again.]

I'll have to be. [There's no choice.] See you soon.

Try to get some sleep. I'll be there soon.

[ There's a moment before he breaks the spell, even after he's finished talking. It's clear why after a few seconds, when the sensation of Sypha's goodbye kiss hits. The send-off is warm, at least, loving in a way that the use of the spell could never be before. Sypha has a way of foiling Trevor's attempts to be all business.

It is a half hour later (the brakes incident has made Trevor a still more cautious driver, even on the night's empty roads) that there's a knock at the door. The chair is well-placed, he doesn't need to stand to turn the key in the door. He just needs to reach out.

Not that doing so is easy. ]

[The kiss doesn't improve the situation, but oh it makes it bearable. Gives the vampire just enough stamnia to doze rather than simply pass out in full, missing the knock on the door and forcing them through a horrible panic.

There's no acknowledgement on the other side of the door that their vampire has heard the knock. The walls are suond proof, after all, and it is after a minute or two that the door opens. Alucard's one hand is on the door jamb, putting half of his weight there, and the rest relies upon the door knob itself for balance.

It's an improvement, unfortunately. A few days ago he was floating to bear all the weight, and that had nearly torn the stitches on his leg. At seeing the other two, there's a soft noise, and look of relief in Alucard's eyes that doesn't extend to the rest of his still-in-work-mode face.]

Let me lock up.

[He must be seen locking up, rather than trusting the key to a Belmont or to a Speaker. But he needs help bearing the weight, and so the hand on the doorknob lifts, reaching for Trevor's forearm.]

[ Almost immediately, there are hands on Alucard. Sypha's against his back, warm and comforting. Trevor's at his hip, pulling him in close to brace his weight against his own body.

They're here. They're here and it's over, at least for now. He can go home. He can rest. ]

Four eyes on us. [ Sypha whispers. It's one of Trevor's spells, technically, but she can make use of it far better than he can. Writing on things isn't exactly subtle. ] Two sets, and low to the ground. Cats, I think.

[ Cats may well just be cats. They may be vampires, and it's hard to say which. He nods, shifting the way he's holding on to Alucard to seem more like an overly-touchy lover and less like he's supporting his weight. Like this is indulgence, rather than weakness. Once the house is locked, they lead him back to the car, guiding him into the back seat with Sypha and a small mountain of cushions and blankets. Sypha makes a point of demonstrating that she's helping with the seatbelt, clearly wanting Trevor to drive away from here as soon as possible rather than waiting to double-check that everyone's remembered theirs.

Trevor's shoulders sink as soon as the car is moving, a sigh of relief escaping him. ]

You did well.

[They probably aren't just cats. No animals come near the House when it is opened and none dare near it until a few hours after it has been closed. It is much safer to assume that they are vampire or familiars, and for that there's too much of a charade of getting into the car. It helps that they can all manipulate appearances now, but that chafes at the vampire too.

He's never voiced that. No point, not when there are a hundred other priorities and this is the opposite of one. Just another stupid, tiny, annoying, shitty part of the regency that they have to endure. Making being lead into the car look like anything but leaning on the other two for support is something of an art, and once safe in the back seat, Alucard all but deflates.

The vampire's head is in Sypha's lap within moments. They've justified it with their charade of overeager affection, but honestly it's because sitting up at all is beyond Alucard to manage right now. There are warm hands immediately in his hair, and one of the blankets comes to rest over him through simple magic.]

Is there any sign the next round of investigations might take two or three days instead of only one?

It can take- [ No. It can’t take as long as they need, which is what he wants to say. ] Three days is the longest we can go without you being seen. Maybe four, if we can have Theodora vouch that she met with you in private. But I wouldn’t trust her with that until we’ve demonstrated her kin aren’t in danger of execution.

It can take longer than that, but just because I’m busy doesn’t mean people don’t need to see you. It just means you’ll be alone for it.

[Two days to sleep properly. That...that might be the better choice right now. It isn't as if this is an aberration in a particular pattern, and it isn't untrue that a number of vampires are trying to go to ground in this aftermath. Alucard sighs, feeling all the air leave him at once.]

Perhaps two days then. Just to keep people on their toes. I'll return on the third day, like some kind of...

[He can't even try and make the joke.]

It may at least let me move around under my own steam more. Justify the acquisition of a cane, lie and say it's in the place of a scepter.

It’s the fucking season for returning on the third day.

[ Well. A little way into the season, to be exact. Pentecost is on the way, and Agatha’s deadline with it. Not that it matters much anymore. ]

We can have your next appearance be at office hours. You can sit for it. And I can be in the same room, if you can manage that without help.

That it is, I suppose.

[The vampire's humor is about as tired as he is, to the shock of no one at all. Alucard so very much wants to sleep here and now, but he can't. If something happens like the break incident, he has to be alert.

What Trevor's saying is good. Close to rest as he can get right now.]

That'll have to be enough. When we're home, I'll rest as I ought to have been.

[Read: mini-depression nap.]

[ With a soft 'mhnm', Trevor just continues driving in silence. Alucard's had him in his head for the last couple hours. He could probably do with a break from it and a chance to, if not sleep, rest in silence.

It's hard. For all of them, it is. Hard for Alucard to do all of this when he ought to be recovering. Hard for him to take the weight and be one man doing work that should never have fallen to only two. Hard for Sypha to be the one they lean on when it's over. And if any one of them cracks under the strain, all of this is over.

It was supposed to be easier with Carmilla dead.

Eventually, the car stops in the cool - so far as anything here is cool - of the garage. He reaches in to wrap his arms around Alucard, looking to Sypha for confirmation that- ]

-four eyes on him.

One speaker and one Belmont?

[ She nods, and he lifts Alucard out of the car. ]

I figure I'd count as one and a half, at best.

[In the silence of the car, Alucard closes his eyes and lets himself just absorb Sypha's heat. It's reassuring, the way her fingers have always gone through his hair. It means so much more now. They're a comfort, so small but they weigh so heavily.

There's going to be so much guilt after this recovery. Sypha's shouldering too much emotional weight. Trevor's spending too much time having to pilot the vampire, to the point where Alucard doesn't know if Trevor's sleeping at all. They're both working so hard because Alucard did the dumbest option of all and fought a vampire so many centuries his elder.

As the car enters the garage, which is part of the castle, all the glamour on Alucard falls away. His face is far thinner than it should be, there are claw marks that are still slowly healing, even his hair is without it's usual luster.

Trevor's arms are safe though. A sign that he can rest, at least for a time. So he's slid out of the car into the safest of places, and he reaches for Sypha with his better arm to hold onto her as well.]

I think I'm supposed to have some kind of rebuttal to that comment.

[He absolutely does not.]

[ He still has bruises.

That alone is fucking terrifying. The cuts are one thing, but he's always known that Alucard could cut and it might scar. Bruises and scrapes, though, they've never held. Not even when they've been wanted. Yet here they are, and some of them still haven't faded. He pulls Alucard as tight to his chest as he dares. Tilting his head and trying to grin. ]

Usually you'd complain, I think.

[ He doesn't usually like the morbid sorts of jokes, and ones about Trevor not really having two eyes would probably count. ]

You have medicine to take, before you sleep. But you can rest after that. Promise.

Seems like a bit too much effort at the moment. [He pauses, then clarifies:] The complaining, I mean. Not the rest. The rest is...thank you both.

[He's so useless right now, and it chafes. It's the vampire's job to protect them from the worst things, just as it's the vampire's job to bounce back quickly and not let any injury linger. He's failed at all of these things, and now the Belmont can barely smile against easier, more familiar banter.

Alucard sighs, miserable with that particular thought.]

How are you both for food?

Still miles off from having to rely on Sypha's- ow!

[ Somehow an elbow found its way into his ribs. However could that have happened? ]

We're fine. I owe Tanti a few more favours than I'd like, but we'll be fine. She sent iron salts, too. We were running low.

[ That last part is uncomfortable but important, because the requirements of the spell are difficult to achieve over and over in such a short period of time. He'd rather not be doing his work while too anemic. ]

So long as you're avoiding that terrible fate.

[It's a poor attempt at humor, but at least it's an attempt. Ripping on Sypha's cooking is always fun, although the mood is brought down with the mention of favors.

They don't need to be in anyone else's debt, and at this point in time, Alucard has very little affection for Trevor's grandmothers. Agatha had been a part in bringing this all to a head after all.

Alucard manages to put a hand against Trevor's chest and hold it there. Just enough to press against the fabric and make it clear he's still here.]

What else are we running low on?

The iron salts were the tricky one. Rather not risk using anything bottled inside the city.

[ In truth, if the ruby tonic had been sold as a supplement rather than a miracle cure, he might have fallen victim to it himself. He’s a little spooked. ]

We’re getting low on some of the medicine shit, aren’t we? [ Sypha nods. ] She has a list. I can pick it up easily enough, but they’re not going to give me shit if you don’t sign off on it.

Mm. We take only from trusted sources, and even then, let me do a sniff test.

[It's one of the precious few advantages of Alucard's station at the moment. Good nose. Or else they need to start thinking about getting a scent hound.]

If you can manage two more days, then I can make the phone call during office hours. It'll be fine.

[Fine. That's a precious word right now. Alucard knows that it's bullshit, and that maybe, just maybe, they need to stop talking about things that can even hedge into work. They're past the office now. They have to.]

Two days. I think we can manage that long.

[ Slowly, surely, work has been edging its way further and further into their home. It’s hard for it not to, when the consequences of it are so clear and so unavoidable. No amount of efforts to seperate the two will make it so that Alucard’s injuries don’t trouble him in their home, will make it so that there aren’t certain innocent nursery rhymes he comes home from sunday school humming to Sypha’s utter horror, will pull the sheer exhaustion from all of their bones. He falters a little as he tries to carry Alucard up the stairs but catches himself.

He can feel Sypha’s eyes on him. No spell needed. But he shrugs it off. ]

Vampire hours. They’re the fucking worst.

They are. I...apologize.

[It's a light apology, one that doesn't even scratch the surface of how deep the apology well goes. Alucard could spend one of his lifetime writing the full apology, and even then he'd only be halfway through. He's let this horrible work infiltrate every part of their lives, and for what reason? Because he wasn't willing to have someone else fight a battle for him. Because it'd potentially sacrifice Trevor to the city's gaping maw.

Spoiled princeling.

They're at least near the bedroom now. Alucard gives up. Closes his eyes.]

If we are to try that painkiller out, then we had best hurry before I drift off.

[ Sypha seems less convinced about the stumble being just down to the lateness of the hour, but just shakes her head and sighs, picking up the bottle of medicine that's been left by the side of the bed. He ought to feed again as well, but that- that can wait until morning. They're all exhausted. He sets Alucard down on the bed, arranging the pillows behind him so that he can at least sit up for as long as it takes for Sypha to administer the medicine.

Trevor sets about removing Alucard's shirt and tie as Sypha draws the liquid from the bottle into a syringe. There's no sense rolling up his sleeve to give it to him when he's going to need to have his clothes changed anyway. They're still not so far fallen that they're going to be sleeping in their own bed wearing work clothes. ]

Just stay with us a little longer. We want you conscious for the first use of it, at least.

[ Everything else can be done in his sleep - checking and replacing the bandages, making sure that the stitches are holding, pulling his night things onto him and curling up on either side of him. But he needs to be awake for the first use of a new medicine, so he can tell them if anything is wrong. ]

I can manage that much.

[He hates this. Hates how much they have to act as doctors for him, rather than the content pile of entangled limbs that they get to be at their very best. He demanded this once of Sypha, and to force it again, that ached more than he'd ever have words for.

There's no flinching as the syringe goes into his arm. Not even a soft hiss that he's made in the past when dealing with medicine. There's just a very tired vampire, who for a moment seems more alert than he has been since the journey home began.

It's a part of being a vampire, feeling the sort of changes in blood that Alucard feels when something enters his bloodstream directly. There's a shift in the make up, but nothing feels particularly wrong. Not yet.]

Whatever instructions you were following, they've been managed to the letter.

[ When he's able to deal with it, they might let him know that the medicine was something Lisa developed when she first learned that she was pregnant, not knowing what his needs would be but determined that no child should ever be in pain. For now- for now it's not relevant. ]

At least if it doesn't work, you'll be asleep anyway.

[ He's looking over Alucard's banadages now. They all seem clean enough. Maybe- maybe they can leave that for the morning as well. Let him go to sleep between them for once, instead of just in the knowledge that they'll join him eventually. Sypha passes him a pajama top and he wraps his arms around Alucard's chest as he pulls it onto him. ]

Safe here. Always safe here.

Hmm.

[It's hard to tell what that's in response to - Trevor reminding him that he's safe here, that the painkiller is having some effect, or another thought that has stuck in the vampire's mind. Maybe it doesn't matter in the end, because once Trevor's arms are around his chest (never mind the fabric), his eyes flutter shut.

It means he's nearly passed out. It's how he's been since first coming to out of all the awful injuries.]

Get some sleep too.

Don't mind if I fucking do.

[ His own pajamas are only halfway on when he falls onto the bed next to Alucard, and all Sypha does is sigh and pull the trousers of them up the rest of the way ('Won't be needing that tonight.') before curling up on Alucard's other side.

This, at least, still feels normal. ]

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20s AU Post

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