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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You're doing fine. Just keep holding like this.

[He says it with more of a doctor voice than an incredibly worried boyfriend voice. The first one is the priority right now, and it takes Alucard more time than he'd like to finish it all up. Takes time because he can't touch Trevor and it's as much a professional pain as a personal one, it seems.

When it's all done, Alucard recalls the needle to himself. Returns it to the water bucket (it isn't hot enough to sterilize anymore, but that's fine), and breathes out tiredly.]

Can you bandage it on your own?

[ He watches the needle float away with a snort and a slight smile. He's been smiling a lot, throughout this shit. Makes it easier. Makes it feel like he's at least trying to do something to make the whole situation less shit for Sypha and Alucard. ]

Clever.

[ And slowly he begins the process of untangling his arms from where he moved them to. It's slow and uncomfortable, but not half as much of either as the bandaging is going to be. With some effort, he pushes himself into a sitting position. The stitches hold. Good. ]

Yeah, should be able to. You have clean bandages there?

Hn. Lucky.

[A needle is just a very small sword, after all. That the skill transfers at all is a miracle, one that Alucard is grateful for even as he hates that he had to figure it out in the first place.

As Trevor sits up, Alucard reaches down to the pile of bandages in sterile little wrappings that he grabbed. When Trevor asks for them, they're piled right next to the Belmont, all neat and ready to be used.]

Yes. Let me see your hand before you proceed.

A little of both.

[ He holds out the hand. Right now, there's no change. The discolouration is still about where it was earlier. Even the yew is not an instant solution, though it's one that can be applied quicker than the salt in future to prevent the damage from spreading this far. ]

About sixteen hours for it to move down to the first knuckle with the salt. I'll measure how well the yew does when I wake up.

[This time, Alucard knows better than to take the hand. Knows better and still fights instinct because Trevor is injured and it's his job to fix that. If he can't protect, he has to heal, and now even that capacity is limited.

He hisses, unhappy.]

That'll have to do.

[He. Hates. It.]

Adrian.

[ He turns his arm over, setting about bandaging himself. It's difficult, but he manages it. And then- he can't touch Alucard himself, but he can reach up very carefully to brush his fingers against his hair without touching his skin. ]

Thanks. For taking care of me.

[Alucard's face nearly shatters for that comment. They're all making such efforts to reinforce the fact that the other two are the most important things right now, even as hell sits on their doorstep. The little callbacks, they're worth everything.

He doesn't care about the burns. He grabs Trevor's wrist for just a moment, a terrible and painful one, squeezes carefully, then lets go.]

It's all I can do.

[A fact that devastates him in this moment.]

[ It's like the blood keeps Alucard from him and Sypha, except the danger is more clear. He can feel the blisters forming on Alucard's skin when they touch. And it's hard to smile, knowing that he's hurting him like this, that Alucard is allowing himself to be hurt for his sake.

But he does, and he lies back down. ]

You don't need to do more. This is- just what succeeding looks like sometimes.

Looks like hell.

[His hand withdraws. Sypha's going to yell at him for doing something so stupid. Alucard can't bring himself to care. He can do as much as grab blankets and try to drape them over Trevor as carefully as he can. They're light ones, good for the city's warm winters. In truth, it's more about the act than any required warmth.

He has to let them go at Trevor's chest. Fuck.]

Feels like it too.

Sure does.

[ He pulls the blankets up the rest of the way. And it is awful. He wants to just let Alucard and Sypha take care of him - he's only just started to accept that doing so isn't some horrible burden, just as it became impossible. But right now it won't work. And in all honesty, in the absence of comfort he just wants to sleep. Recover quicker.

And he wishes he could be more help, but he doesn't know how to make it better. This kind of bittersweet victory is just the best that one can hope for in his family. ]

Go have Sypha ice the burns. I'll be back with you in a few days.

I'll leave dinner for whenever you're up.

[He has to eat. And that's an excuse to check on how things are healing. It'll have to be enough. He'll train himself to accept this for now, just as Alucard's done for so many other shitty parts of this job.][He withdraws slowly. Gathers everything up, and lingers at the door to make sure that Trevor at least closes his eyes.]

[ He does close his eyes, shifting on the bed to settle into it. ]

'ppreciate it.

[With that, Alucard withdraws. Sypha does yell at him.

And then yells at him for the next several days, because Alucard cannot help but confirm how long it is until the oil has stopped clinging to Trevor in full. There are actual reasons for it, like checking on Trevor's hand and his side. Everything else is terrible and selfish.

So it is a relief when he takes Trevor's hand to examine it and there is no reaction at all. There's also no hiding that relief, there is only the sigh of contentment.]

About time.

[ His guess is just about correct. By tuesday night, there's no burning, only what seems to be the sensation of a nettle sting. And by Wednesday morning, it's nothing more than an occasional numbness. The cold iron poisoning has faded almost entirely as well, just a horrible black bruise around the stitched wound.

He squeezes Alucard's hand gently - he knows how raw the skin must be. ]

Told you. Wednesday.

[The skin is healed, mostly. His natural healing abilities are slowed due to the oil, but they are still there. He lets the hand be squeezed, then holds it closer so he actually can examine it.]

You were right.

[He turns the hand over, careful to inspect the palm as well.]

How does the hand feel? Any traces...?

Still stiff, but mostly back to normal.

[ The discoloration had moved back past his wrist by the time he woke up after applying the yew ash. The stuff works well, even if it's not instant. ]

I've been able to write just fine, for the most part. No lasting harm.

Squeeze again? Full strength.

[He's using his non-bandaged hand anyway.]

I need to know exactly how many days it takes for normal operation to resume in full.

[ He does so. His grip isn't quite as powerful as it might be normally, but it's hard to tell how much of that is the remains of the iron and how much of it is just the result of spending the last few days resting. ]

It feels okay. Probably wouldn't trust myself with the whip in that hand yet.

I think it'll need a day or two more.

[Alucard squeezes back gently, but he doesn't let go. Instead his fingers entwine with Trevors, and there's the stupidest look of relief on his face.]

The good news is that it's a quiet weekend. No outings for once, except monthly spell club, and that's not me acting in an official capacity.

[That's Theodora hosting the local covens and other nerds to talk shop for an evening.]

I have church, and- I probably ought to look over the shit I retrieved, make sure none of it's trapped before I bring it back home.

[ Home. Shit, home. It's been less than a year and this is home. ]

Other than that, I am at your disposal. And free, it seems- [ He punctuates that by bringing Alucard's hand up to his lips. ] -to touch you as I please.

I'll have to call Agatha after this and give her an update. [Because of course Alucard's been on the phone with her daily about this. Playing it off as just a bad side wound, not your adopted grandson is a fae and got smacked with cold iron in the form of an arrow. That is not his information to tell.

He does catch that word home. He catches it just as Trevor's lips hover, and there's such a sigh from Alucard that it sounds like he might swoon in another second.]

I've no objections to however you want me.

[ He pats the bed beside him. ]

Sit with me, for now?

[ He's become spoiled. A few days with only the bare minimum of physical contact and he's already basically demanding hugs. The worst of the pain has passed, but that doesn't mean he doesn't want to comforted and looked after and feel protected. If anything he's been looking forward to it for days now. ]

[Easily done. Done without letting Trevor let go of his hand, because it's so easy to just move onto the bed beside Trevor and wait for the Belmont to make himself comfortable.

Sypha will be glad to have them both in bed tonight. They'll move Trevor to the middle, as he ought to be, and cling much too tightly for it.]

Did I ever tell you the stupidest thing she made me fall for, early on?

[ He curls up against Alucard, head resting against his shoulder. And he laughs, looking up at his perfect vampire. ]

You're saying that I'm not the stupidest thing you've ever fallen for? I might get jealous.

You're not that stupid. [He tries to drive the point home, pressing a kiss to Trevor's forehead. It doesn't escape Alucard that his hand is still in Trevor's. Which, good. That's right.]

I gave her the townhouse address by disguising it as patronage for her tarot reading, since the castle was...not an option, after we first met. Too raw. [It still is, and that damned anniversary will be coming up soon.] I had bled all over her robes, and owed her recompense for that and the fact she managed to stitch up the thing on my chest.

Recompense also became dinner, and we spoke of what cards I had pulled. [Alucard remembers which three, but they're not the point.] She did nothing to influence it, and asks for my palm to see if there might be something there that aligns with what was pulled instead.

[He squeezes Trevor's hand again.]

She just wanted to see if I could be fooled into letting me hold her hand.

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