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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And I have just taken what you two call a depression nap so I can say with all confidence that you do not need to worry.

[More importantly, he nudges Sypha. Gentle. Starting to scoot towards the edge of the bed and taking her with him.]

You will need to let go for a moment.

No —

[It's stupid, really, to have such an immediate and kneejerk reaction to something as simple as let go for a moment, but even despite the fondness and the calm that have settled around them for the duration, the prospect of losing contact with him for even an instant makes something cold spark in the pit of her stomach, and before she even realizes it her hand is clasped around his arm, unexpectedly tight in its unconscious desperation.]

...I.

[But then it hits her, how ridiculous that is, how foolish she feels. He's here, and he's not going anywhere. Why is she reacting like this, about something so inconsequential?]

...I mean. I...

[The tightness is of no matter. Bruising force for Alucard is quite a lot more pressure than what Sypha is exerting at this very moment, and so he doesn't blink.

The sentiment though, that makes him ache. His arms releasing her, Trevor's arms, this will be the first hurdle to conquer.

He kisses her forehead, all reassurance and coolness trying to calm that desperation. Alucard remembers that terrible feeling, he hated when it overcame him in a wave.]

I understand.

...Do you?

[She hasn't let go of his arm, but some of the fight is seeping back out of her beneath the reassurance of his kiss. Her fingers loosen just a fraction, even if they don't properly let go altogether.]

That would make one of us who does, I think.

After...things like this, it takes the mind time to act as it usually does. It has built such defenses for a specific situation, and when those defenses are no longer needed...

[You get this. He nuzzles the top of her head, kisses it to try and make it clear that yes, yes this is a part of recovery.]

On this, you can trust me.

Oh.

[She doesn't seem altogether sold on the idea, but settles against him nevertheless, more willing to trust Alucard at the moment than she is to put her faith in just about anything else.]

I just...you said that, and I got so scared, without knowing why.

[Alucard makes a quiet note of this moment. The fear, and what it needs to subside if only for a few moments. When she is resting again, he will discuss it with Trevor. One of the many open wounds to heal, and no easy way to go about the work.

For Sypha though there is only holding onto her, making it clear that even if he has to stand up for a moment, it will be okay. He will still be here.]

The fear will dissipate in time.

I hope it will.

[Slowly again, she makes her fingers loosen, until she's no longer gripping his arm, but just resting her hand against it. For the moment, that's about as close to an invitation to move away as she seems to be able to get.]

And until then...you'll forgive me?

What is there to have to forgive?

[Guilt is going to eat at all of them in this aftermath. That much is clear already. Alucard knows it, he's already started, and to see Sypha following after him on that path is sobering.

Her hand can stay where it is. Alucard carefully scoots both of his arms under her (under knees, around her mid-back), then pulls her close. Closer. Closest and then up out of bed entirely, the sheets sloughing off like when snow slides off a tree branch.]

That I'm like this. Too scared to be left alone for even a second.

[And not even left alone. Too scared to lose contact with him for even a second, as though anything could snatch her away in the fraction of an instant between his letting go and his reclaiming her.

But perhaps it doesn't matter much, right now. Now she's scooped up into his arms, carried like a princess up and out of bed in the safety of Alucard's hold.]

I know it's burdensome.

Was my grief burdensome, in the beginning?

[Alucard has no problem walking into their bathroom. It's all terribly modern, shower stall and bathtub kept separate, the castle's heated floors having the option to be cooled in the worst summers. A concept stolen from the Romans, and one not turned on at the moment. It is February, cold as it really ever gets.

Sypha is placed on the edge of the bathtub (it fits two, in theory. They've managed three before with a lot of effort and a lot of water being dispelled.]

Do you need me to undress you, or would you rather do so on your own?

[Choice. Choice.]

You have never been burdensome. Not once.

[It's a fair question, though, with at least one easy loophole built right into it. She doesn't need it, perhaps, but...

But.]

...I want you to.

Well then that is my response to you.

[It isn't as if Sypha has that much on in the first place. When they had returned home, it was easiest to rely on a nightgown rather than one of the scrappier pair of PJ bottoms. Less to fuss with. Easier to check if they have to.

So Alucard kneels and works the fabric up Sypha's legs first. His hands are careful, borderline reverent for what he's being allowed to do right now.]

You'll need to stand up in a moment.

[She doesn't take her eyes off of him, while he works. She can't, and it might just be the first time since the ordeal with the necromancer that every last thought of it leaves her, just for a second, because of how utterly preoccupied she is with the sight of him.

The skin is still purple-yellow with bruising around her ankle, where the manacle had sat for a week. She presses her hands against the edge of the tub, wishing it were easier to grip, and keeps her eyes on Alucard instead of on the sight of her own body.]

Tell me when.

Now, please.

[Alucard's careful to note where the bruises are at the their worst. He needs to get some ice to that, most likely, and check his mother's notes for what other comforts can be used.

With that, there's nothing left to do but to tug up the rest of the garment, fingers gathering up more and more fabric. Knuckles brushing against her sides, and Alucard smiles for that contact. It's precious, so precious right now.]

Arms, please?

[She gets up slowly, more from trying to take it easy on her injuries than out of any attempt at being sultry, and doesn't even realize that she's begun to hold her breath as she continues to watch him.]

I don't know if I can.

[It hurts to lift them, a little. Still, she tries, slowly easing them up and over her head and trying not to let the motion make her feel vulnerable.]

Then hold them parallel to me.

[It's much easier that way. He can lift the fabric of the nightgown over her head first, then pull the rest of the nightgown from her arms. Alucard can see the moments of pain, he won't force any of it.]

[He's right, that is better. And just like that, the gown is off, and the air feels just a touch more brisk and chill now than it did before, but she lowers her arms and looks at him, just as softly and intently as before.

She's a mess, really. Not just from the bandages on her arms and the bruises on her ankle, but from the other bruises and scrapes she'd picked up over the course of the week. He'd forced her to use her magic, sometimes, so that he could siphon it away; sometimes she didn't want to, and the marks of her punishment for her reluctance are littered all over her skin.

She knows how bad it looks. But she doesn't curl up in shame, and she doesn't look away. She keeps her eyes on Adrian — golden, perfect, beautiful Adrian — and waits.]

[Alucard knows that if he focuses too hard on the damage, all the tenderness of the past waking hours together will disappear in another snarl of rage. They don't need that right now, now is about Sypha and seeing to her needs.

He sheds his own clothes quickly. They're pitched in the general direction of the hamper (which is overflowing, because guess who does the laundry and guess who totally hasn't done it for a week). It is an embarrassment how messy the house is, how chores have gone undone, and that is that.

There's too much of a contrast between his own form and what Sypha has suffered. (Suffered, and he hates it. A week of damage. They don't know what the scars shall be on her body, and when they heal, they'll be kissed over every time.)

So he pulls her back to him so that neither of them can dwell on the contrast. Sure, one hand reaches past her in order to turn the faucet on for the tub but...multitasking. The vampire is good at that.]

...This is what happened when the wall grabbed you.

[Quietly, she reaches forward, tracing her fingers lightly over his chest, following the old scar with soft familiarity and never quite treading too close to the newer one.]

When you told me to make it stop. This is what it was doing to you...?

[Because she couldn't hold them all, seems to be the implication. Because she was so tired, and couldn't get them all in time to prevent it.]

Yes.

[He won't obscure what happened. It's a thin scar in comparison to the other, just a jagged white line that lies on the opposite angle and axis of the one dealt by his father. Alucard is still, letting Sypha's fingers go where they may.]

I knew you could snap it.

[His mind is not on failure to grasp all the horrible things and hold them fast. It is on the sheer force of intent that followed, beautiful and terrifying and Sypha asserting herself over the horrors that bound her.]

I didn't.

[The admission is very soft, and thin, and weak. But she hasn't sought to stop touching him, and she hasn't averted her eyes in shame.]

It hurt so much...

[There's a very soft hum of acknowledgement to that admission. They can talk about it later, excise any guilt, but for now? It is too early to address it.]

Your absence hurt much worse.

[With that, Alucard steps backwards, climbing over the bathtub. He hasn't actually put the stopper down, but the water is warm enough and then some. Lying in baths like this, it tends to make him run warmer. Alucard can't imagine something better right now.

There arms around her move, move up to her shoulders, and then down her arms until he is holding only her hands. The lightest of tugs follows.]

[She nods slowly, letting him get in first, and once he's better situated she follows carefully, joining him.]

I kept telling myself you would find me. That you were looking for me, even if I couldn't find a way to reach you myself. I tried to just...trust you.

[There's a moment of fussing to put the stopper down. Another to add a few drops of soap to ensure bubbles. (Ones scented with sweeter floral smells of summer at it's best.) Then there is Sypha again, and Alucard waits for her to find where she is most comfortable.

There's a soft, rueful laugh though.]

Trevor did the hardest part of it all. I...you can imagine my ability to function, I'm sure.

20s AU Post

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