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Nobody. My father- he must know that we are here, but he doesn’t seem to mean to attack.
[ They don’t know the kind of resistance Leon is encountering from the things of the night, for the right reasons and the wrong reasons alike. Other vampires don’t care for the idea of being locked in hell away from easy targets. People want them to succeed, are pulling strings to ensure this, and not all of them mean to do good. ]
You’re not dizzy? Or... falling down?
[ Dizzy and falling down, the two symptoms of blood loss in humans. ]
[ They don’t know the kind of resistance Leon is encountering from the things of the night, for the right reasons and the wrong reasons alike. Other vampires don’t care for the idea of being locked in hell away from easy targets. People want them to succeed, are pulling strings to ensure this, and not all of them mean to do good. ]
You’re not dizzy? Or... falling down?
[ Dizzy and falling down, the two symptoms of blood loss in humans. ]
That worries me.
[Far more than blood loss does. Alucard takes the canteen and when he sips, it takes some time before he puts it down. There's a thud as it gets shelved for the time being, and Alucard reaches for the dried deer meat that Trevor is still holding.]
A little light headed, but that will pass quickly enough. You didn't take that terribly much.
Maybe he thinks I won’t do this. Thinks he raised a better son than he did.
[ ‘Maybe he can be convinced to see reason’ is a little too much to hope for. ‘Maybe an Austrian vampire has no desire to see her access to human blood stopped’ is too grave a possibility to consider. ]
Rest. Whatever method your family had to disable the stone, it’ll still work in another day.
[ ‘Maybe he can be convinced to see reason’ is a little too much to hope for. ‘Maybe an Austrian vampire has no desire to see her access to human blood stopped’ is too grave a possibility to consider. ]
Rest. Whatever method your family had to disable the stone, it’ll still work in another day.
I'm sorry.
[for whatever this demands of Trevor, in the end. He's already lost so much of his family, and Alucard knows that loss far too keenly. He takes a bite of the dried meat and chews, knowing that the dhampir is about to launch into a long brooding session.]
There's a more comfortable nook around the corner. I'll be there for a bit.
[If he's needed. Or if Trevor doesn't want to brood alone.]
[ Look he has two moods, brooding and horny but guilty about it. ]
It’s the way things are. Nothing to be done. I’m going to go antagonise the speaker.
[ He shouldn’t. If nothing else he knows that she and her family were the first people in a long time to show Alucard any kindness. But also? It’s fun. It’s fun and she’s a lot less pretty when she’s being irritated with him.
And maybe, just maybe, he still wants one of them to give up so they don’t have to go through with this. ]
It’s the way things are. Nothing to be done. I’m going to go antagonise the speaker.
[ He shouldn’t. If nothing else he knows that she and her family were the first people in a long time to show Alucard any kindness. But also? It’s fun. It’s fun and she’s a lot less pretty when she’s being irritated with him.
And maybe, just maybe, he still wants one of them to give up so they don’t have to go through with this. ]
Please do that within reason.
[Sypha is a woman of patience within reason. Alucard thinks the situation has long since exhausted that patience, but he says nothing of the sort. He instead goes to do exactly as intended, and he flops down on a well worn sofa a few rows over. It has a little side table beside it, and the fabric is thread bare. It has been that way for as long as he can remember, and this? This was his little corner. All the alchemy and medical books met here, and he cold take everything he needed. There were once forts built of books around this sofa.
Aluard lies down, mushing his face into the cushions. He breathes in the must and the old book smell, and then sleep claims him.
Dreams do not come. That? That is a blessing.]
[ Sypha doesn’t give up, of course. It’s difficult to come up with anything to really get to her, beyond her inability to beat him in a fight. They’re both of them better informed than him on most topics. And the things he knows that she doesn’t? She’s far too intent on getting him to tell her them to be properly antagonised. It’s only keeping knowledge from her that really works.
Trevor’s coat is over Alucard when he stirs. He sits on the floor near the sofa, thumbing through a book. There’s more dried meat on the table, as well at a cup of particularly foul-smelling tea. ]
Trevor’s coat is over Alucard when he stirs. He sits on the floor near the sofa, thumbing through a book. There’s more dried meat on the table, as well at a cup of particularly foul-smelling tea. ]
[Alucard stirs a few times in his sleep, but that's just to tug blankets around him again. Other than that? He sleeps very still, his breath shallow to the point where it could be dangerous. But no, that? That's just a way to make people think they're looking at a dead man, letting him be rather than harassing him.
When he wakes, it is all at once. He sits up and....oh. Trevor's coat. That's a kind gesture, although he doesn't utter those words out loud. Instead his eyes go to the table, then the tea (he doesn't want to know what's in it), then to Trevor himself.]
How long have I slept?
When he wakes, it is all at once. He sits up and....oh. Trevor's coat. That's a kind gesture, although he doesn't utter those words out loud. Instead his eyes go to the table, then the tea (he doesn't want to know what's in it), then to Trevor himself.]
How long have I slept?
Couple hours. It’s dark outside.
[ The book he’s going through is- a little grim. Which is to say that it’s a history book, one detailing places that are and are not safe for mages. A collection of men and women tortured and executed for trying to help their fellow man. It’s a bit of a shock, when Leon had always regarded humanity so highly. ]
She wants you to drink the tea. Something about metal. She says her people use it for blood loss.
[...Iron, he means. Which might go a little way to explaining the red colour. Less so the smell. ]
[ The book he’s going through is- a little grim. Which is to say that it’s a history book, one detailing places that are and are not safe for mages. A collection of men and women tortured and executed for trying to help their fellow man. It’s a bit of a shock, when Leon had always regarded humanity so highly. ]
She wants you to drink the tea. Something about metal. She says her people use it for blood loss.
[...Iron, he means. Which might go a little way to explaining the red colour. Less so the smell. ]
I see.
[Alucard sits up slowly, aware that he has still lost blood. His eyes go to the cover of the book Trevor is reading, and goodness. Of all the books.
His eyes go back to the tea, and Alucard shakes his head.]
It smells foul. I take it annoying her didn't go well?
[Alucard sits up slowly, aware that he has still lost blood. His eyes go to the cover of the book Trevor is reading, and goodness. Of all the books.
His eyes go back to the tea, and Alucard shakes his head.]
It smells foul. I take it annoying her didn't go well?
Look, the tea isn’t my fault. She was telling me about old goat blood tea before I pissed her off.
[ There’s the main ingredient. Fermented goat blood. ]
Any better? [ He kind of wants to ask if it hurts. He’s just not sure what he’d do with either answer. ]
[ There’s the main ingredient. Fermented goat blood. ]
Any better? [ He kind of wants to ask if it hurts. He’s just not sure what he’d do with either answer. ]
I am not drinking that.
[Hell no. He knows better than to drink blood. Blood sausage is one thing but this? This is probably full of bacteria.]
A bit, yes. I'll be fine come morning.
[Hell no. He knows better than to drink blood. Blood sausage is one thing but this? This is probably full of bacteria.]
A bit, yes. I'll be fine come morning.
Morning. Will you be ready to head out then?
[ He looks down at the book, not quite taking in the words anymore. They don't really seem real. The people that Leon dedicated himself to protecting couldn't be just as bad as the things he's protecting them from. ]
There's sunlight at the estate, during the day. But it's not real sun. It's magical. We won't get any advantage from it. No time is really better than any other.
[ He looks down at the book, not quite taking in the words anymore. They don't really seem real. The people that Leon dedicated himself to protecting couldn't be just as bad as the things he's protecting them from. ]
There's sunlight at the estate, during the day. But it's not real sun. It's magical. We won't get any advantage from it. No time is really better than any other.
Yes.
[He's confident, but that's because there's no other option. He's ready or they die. Easy as that.]
You know the place better than we do. We'll follow your lead on when to begin.
[Alucard sits up a little bit more, and he grabs the dried meat. He needs to keep eating, and this is actually pretty good as far as rations go.]
Is Sypha asleep?
[He's confident, but that's because there's no other option. He's ready or they die. Easy as that.]
You know the place better than we do. We'll follow your lead on when to begin.
[Alucard sits up a little bit more, and he grabs the dried meat. He needs to keep eating, and this is actually pretty good as far as rations go.]
Is Sypha asleep?
She is. [ A pause. ] I waited until she was asleep to leave.
[ She hates him and he hates her, but she also hates being alone and he gets it. ]
Just before dawn. The night creatures will be resisting him, too. But if we win, they might take the opportunity to strike us before we can recover to take the gate for their masters. If we can win at dawn - the real dawn - then we'll have until dusk to make sure they can't do that.
[ She hates him and he hates her, but she also hates being alone and he gets it. ]
Just before dawn. The night creatures will be resisting him, too. But if we win, they might take the opportunity to strike us before we can recover to take the gate for their masters. If we can win at dawn - the real dawn - then we'll have until dusk to make sure they can't do that.
Is she using one of the other sofas, or the floor?
[It seems worth clarifying.
Quietly, Alucard considers all of this. Then he nods.]
We'll do that then. Sypha's people probably already know the best defenses.
[It seems worth clarifying.
Quietly, Alucard considers all of this. Then he nods.]
We'll do that then. Sypha's people probably already know the best defenses.
She's in the big leather chair with the dragons carved into the armrests. All curled up like an animal. It's [ HEART-STOPPINGLY ADORABLE. ] fucking hilarious.
[ He curls up himself, trying to imitate it, but he doesn't get quite as tiny and perfect as Sypha does. ]
The two of you are human. He'll spare you if you ask him to.
[ He curls up himself, trying to imitate it, but he doesn't get quite as tiny and perfect as Sypha does. ]
The two of you are human. He'll spare you if you ask him to.
That's the least comfortable chair here. [His father loved that chair, his mother hated it, Alucard agreed with mom. But good. She's resting, and not on the floor.
Alucard does laugh a little at Trevor's attempt to imitate Sypha's state, but then? Then he sobers up terribly.]
Why would we want that?
Alucard does laugh a little at Trevor's attempt to imitate Sypha's state, but then? Then he sobers up terribly.]
Why would we want that?
Think she just wanted to sleep in the dragon chair, honestly.
[ But it's a serious topic, not one for laughing at Sypha. ]
If this turns out to be impossible. There's no reason for you both to die if we fail.
[ But it's a serious topic, not one for laughing at Sypha. ]
If this turns out to be impossible. There's no reason for you both to die if we fail.
Sypha is a magic user, I don't see her accepting such a change. And frankly, what's left if he succeeds?
You can still live, even without magic.
[ He'd thought this would be an easier sell. Just don't die. Humans are stubborn. ]
I'm not saying we shouldn't try. But if anything happens to me, there's no need for the two of you to die there.
[ He'd thought this would be an easier sell. Just don't die. Humans are stubborn. ]
I'm not saying we shouldn't try. But if anything happens to me, there's no need for the two of you to die there.
It's....
[Different? Complicated? Alucard trails off, and he simply sighs.]
Talk to Sypha about it. I think that if I go forward with anything or not should be my choice and mine alone.
[Different? Complicated? Alucard trails off, and he simply sighs.]
Talk to Sypha about it. I think that if I go forward with anything or not should be my choice and mine alone.
Mm.
[ He sighs at that. Sypha will assume he's trying to get them to stop. She knows better than Alucard does that things like him aren't trustworthy. He looks about, then tries clumsily to change the topic. ]
What is magic, for you?
[ He sighs at that. Sypha will assume he's trying to get them to stop. She knows better than Alucard does that things like him aren't trustworthy. He looks about, then tries clumsily to change the topic. ]
What is magic, for you?
Like being back here.
[It's a response drenched in sentiment, and Alucard's eyes move to the whole Hold around them. His fingers curl against the fabric of the sofa.]
It helps me defend myself, but for the decade that I've been traveling Wallachia's countryside? Magic has been the only tether to home and my parents.
[It's a response drenched in sentiment, and Alucard's eyes move to the whole Hold around them. His fingers curl against the fabric of the sofa.]
It helps me defend myself, but for the decade that I've been traveling Wallachia's countryside? Magic has been the only tether to home and my parents.
Defeating Dracula and saving the whole of humanity from endless night was a simple task, compared to navigating the pitfalls of a trifold relationship. Simply getting them all on the same page regarding their mutual attraction and interest had been a frustrating exercise in small words and locked doors. They aren't always able to spend as much time together as they like, duties and emergencies calling one or the other of them across the countryside, so progress in communication and understanding comes slow. But it's so good, electrifying when they get it right. Sypha's never considered herself a patient person, but she would compromise much for that perfect balance they sometimes achieve.
Case in point: she's gotten used to waking up alone, even when they're all together. Her childhood had been small and tight-knit, siblings and cousins and age-mates all piled into caravan bunks together. She doesn't sleep well without someone's knee in the small of her back, her limbs are predisposed to twine around other warm bodies, and she's immune to snores.
Not so, for either of her men.
Take Alucard (yes, please, and thank you): only child of an obscenely powerful and wealthy figure. Sheltered and privileged. He'd had his own room in a massive castle, and no brothers or sisters to squabble with over toys or books or nightmares. Not a cuddler by nuture, though perhaps the nature of one lurked underneath the shell of night court manners. And Trevor! He understood the push and pull of a large family, but he'd lost that closeness to fire and violence. He didn't speak much about the years that came after, but in sleep he bundled himself into a defensive ball, shielding his softer underbelly. Sypha could guess how he may have slept in fits and starts, waiting for a knife in the dark.
It broke her heart to think about. She'd decided early on on a course of exposure therapy, inflicting the casual physical affection of her people on them left, right, and center. It seemed to go well, during waking hours. But she'd woken more than once at night to Trevor reflexively knocking her arm away and crab-scrabbling out of the bed, or curled into Alucard only to be met with an initial, hesitant stiffness.
She told herself it wasn't that they didn't trust her, didn't love her. It was only that she'd been a part of their lives for such a short time; she had so much history to work against. She could compromise, demand less, set aside the empty feeling when she woke up alone (the latest riser of the three by far).
So when she turned her face from her pillow that morning and found Alucard still in bed beside her, absently tracing his fingertips up and down her arm, she blinked. Scrubbed the heel of her other hand against her eye, and blinked again. But there he was, all serene and calm in the late morning light. Someone - Trevor - must have pulled the curtains back, not that it had impacted her sleep in the slightest.
"'morning," she rasped. "'time is it?"
Case in point: she's gotten used to waking up alone, even when they're all together. Her childhood had been small and tight-knit, siblings and cousins and age-mates all piled into caravan bunks together. She doesn't sleep well without someone's knee in the small of her back, her limbs are predisposed to twine around other warm bodies, and she's immune to snores.
Not so, for either of her men.
Take Alucard (yes, please, and thank you): only child of an obscenely powerful and wealthy figure. Sheltered and privileged. He'd had his own room in a massive castle, and no brothers or sisters to squabble with over toys or books or nightmares. Not a cuddler by nuture, though perhaps the nature of one lurked underneath the shell of night court manners. And Trevor! He understood the push and pull of a large family, but he'd lost that closeness to fire and violence. He didn't speak much about the years that came after, but in sleep he bundled himself into a defensive ball, shielding his softer underbelly. Sypha could guess how he may have slept in fits and starts, waiting for a knife in the dark.
It broke her heart to think about. She'd decided early on on a course of exposure therapy, inflicting the casual physical affection of her people on them left, right, and center. It seemed to go well, during waking hours. But she'd woken more than once at night to Trevor reflexively knocking her arm away and crab-scrabbling out of the bed, or curled into Alucard only to be met with an initial, hesitant stiffness.
She told herself it wasn't that they didn't trust her, didn't love her. It was only that she'd been a part of their lives for such a short time; she had so much history to work against. She could compromise, demand less, set aside the empty feeling when she woke up alone (the latest riser of the three by far).
So when she turned her face from her pillow that morning and found Alucard still in bed beside her, absently tracing his fingertips up and down her arm, she blinked. Scrubbed the heel of her other hand against her eye, and blinked again. But there he was, all serene and calm in the late morning light. Someone - Trevor - must have pulled the curtains back, not that it had impacted her sleep in the slightest.
"'morning," she rasped. "'time is it?"
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