cryptsleeper | Catch All

[One of the side effects of this place? That Alucard's skin keeps it's bruises. On his neck is a wonderful red mark in the shape of Trevor's bites, blossoming into something that might actually stick.

There's an instinct to brush Trevor's wings with his fingertips like this, and so Alucard does. The texture of them never gets old. It never will.]

I would never.

[Not now, at least.]

S'beautiful.

[Hector huffs out a disbelieving breath, but lowers his hammer. He doesn't mean to use it against Adrian, or anyone else but Isaac and his creatures.]

I believe his focus is on me, for now. He didn't pursue me until he'd routed the vampire generals. It will likely be the same before he turns his sights to the Belmont or you.

[He follows where Alucard leads, having no clue where he is being taken. Any knowledge he had of the castle in the past, he counts as completely unreliable now.]

When I talked theory with your father when he sought me out near Rhodes, he mentioned a type of crystal he'd discovered that he thought could enhance my work. He was cultivating them in the catacombs during the campaign, but we never had the chance to test them. They could still be there.

[Isaac isn't here, but at least if he can get his hands on them, this trip will not have been wasted.]

[His house now Hector, his rules.]

Not that there were many remaining. [They're words that Alucard murmurs darkly. Almost all of them were caught up in the madness of himself, Trevor, and Sypha storming the castle. He had only realized some fled months after, as he began to clean the castle.]

Singular in purpose. I suppose that would fit, based on what you've said so far.

[As it turns out, Alucard is going to the kitchens. They are a part of a newer section of the castle, built after his mother first arrived. What did Dracula need a kitchen for before he had a human living there?

It's a spacious room, with a large hearth sat along the outer wall, and a length of wood counters running alongside the perimeter. One of Dracula's inventions, a cast iron stove with two burners, sits not too far from the fireplace, and the rest of the room is lined with cabinets. Another work bench dominates the center of the room, and towards one end of it is a set of three stools. Alucard gestures Hector towards them.]

You will need to give me more details on what they are supposed to do. Even I don't know all the secrets of this place.

[This is in fact bullshit. Alucard ran into them while cleaning, but their purpose was not obvious at the time. Now that he knows, there's no small amount of hesitancy with the thought of handing them over to Hector.]

All the same, he wouldn't jeopardize his plans by dividing his focus, especially if he knows exactly where you'll be when he's ready to find you. [With the castle now stationary, and Alucard its devoted guardian, Isaac truly had no cause to rush.

It feels strange to sit down in the kitchen like he's an old friend come 'round for tea, but Hector sits, obedient while Adrian stands between him and the materials he needs.]

He'll have taken notes on them, at least on the theory. [Dracula had been meticulous when Hector had met him, though he'd changed much after the loss of his wife. He honestly had no idea whether Dracula had kept up with any of his research past that point.]

What I made before was born of necromancy, and the things that were not pure reanimation, were possessed with spirits of hell. I won't make such things again.

[Won't, not can't. Rosaly would not want him to fall back on his past sins.]

I know I can make something else, with the right materials. A creature of conjuration, something neither good nor evil, who would harm no one unless I will it so.

[He gestures to the fairy, who has flitted off to hover beside a wall where, before Dracula's long-ago renovations, must have held a door. She points at it, delighting in revealing what she thinks to be a secret path.]

She is proof it can be done. She's weak, made purely from inorganic matter and my magic, but with the power from the crystals, I could make a real weapon that could see Isaac put into a grave.

[It's a logical assumption that Hector hasn't eaten, so Alucard focuses on that. It gives his hands something to do while Hector talks, disguising the fact the dhampir is making a lot of careful calculations in all of this. He heads over to a little breadbox on the counter first and takes out a half consumed loaf, and then reaches for the knife block just a few inches away.]

I'm bound to this place, that much is correct.

[He's already scared off mobs. What's one more person with an army of forged creatures? The only problem is if they blaze a war path en route, but that is a discussion to be had with Trevor.]

Quite a few books were not...they weren't destroyed, but the pages were sent everywhere, and the combination of matching pages up to their original text and then rebinding them is a lifetime of work in and of itself. It impacted his research journals, the general collection, my mother's work....everything.

[Which isn't a lie in the slightest. Alucard's picked up book binding as a matter of requirement, and he does it when sleep comes poorly to him.]

Conjuration is a different school of magic all together, is it not? [That's really a Sypha level question, isn't it?

But when Hector gestures at the fairy, he leaves the bread and knife be and walks over, trying to get a better sense of the creature.]

Do you really need to forge something entirely unique? Isaac is a man, just as any other.

[Hector hasn't had an appetite since his last meal with his wife, and he watches Adrian prepare food with apathy.]

I am sorry to hear it. [Those pages would be relics of the times before the Lady Lisa's death, and likely invaluable to the dhampir.]

It's a different application of the same theory. Devil forging uses elements of conjuring and necromancy, among other things. [It's one of the reasons it is so rare a talent, because of the delicate blending of various magics.

The fairy preens under the attention, flitting around to show off her wings, but ultimately always returning to the spot on the wall that she's decided is interesting. She's a spirit of minor healing and major curiosity, and Hector has relied on her to help find shortcuts to the castle.]

Isaac is stronger than I am. I could try to build an army of night creatures to match his, but...I wouldn't be able to control them. They would leave a wake of destruction in their stead, and I won't do that again. I swore to her I wouldn't.

The one thing Isaac could never rival me in is innovation. He makes things that kill, and do it well, but he has no spark of creativity beyond that. If I create something he can't anticipate, I'll have the edge I need to finish him.

[Unfortunately, Alucard's compelled to shove food at people. His mother raised him right, thank you very much.]

It'll be completed, in time.

[Alucard watches the fairy while Hector explains. His knowledge of magic is no where near that of say, Sypha. It never will be. But he can follow it all well enough, and what Hector has explained leaves a very sour taste in his mouth.]

So it takes the general framework of one and overlays it on the other? I want to be sure I'm understanding this correctly.

[Trevor is probably the better person to make this judgement call, although Alucard knows that the answer would be to tell Hector to go fuck himself and simply take over the matter of Isaac once and for all. Which is probably the best solution, all things considered.

Satisfied with inspecting the fairy, Alucard returns to his original task. The bread's sliced, and he reaches down under the cabinet opening a small cooling chest. There's leftover venison in there from last night's meal, and he puts a few thin slices of it over the bread. All of that goes onto the plate, and that's brought over to Hector.]

One thing you'd need to do, in order to not break that promise, is bait him into a place of final confrontation. That's more strategic than anything else, but something to bear in mind as you keep that promise.

[Alucard recognizes the desire for fidelity to the dead. God does he ever.]

I would joke about if he would expect alliance, but when all is said and done, I couldn't promise your own safety after that. [Alucard knows the company he keeps, after all.] But is it only creation that he won't be able to anticipate?

[Hector looks at the sandwich, then slowly picks it up and takes a bite without really tasting.]

It's hard to explain. Before, the creatures I made for Dracula's army were flesh from this world combined with spirits from beyond- necromancy, conjuration, binding. The components colored the end results, and they ended up with dark hungers. The fairy is composed with no such parts to taint her. Her body is conjured, and her spirit is...how to explain it...a piece of my will? We are connected. She has no needs or desires of the flesh to drive her, and could not cause harm to anyone unless I ordered it of her.

[That probably sounds no better to Adrian, but it's the best way Hector can explain it to a non-practitioner. The conjured creatures are no better or worse than the puppeteer who pulls their strings.]

With such a creature, I could pursue Isaac without risking collateral damage on my part. I could try to lure him out, but he knows I will come to him if he stays, so he may refuse to rise to the bait.

[Of the two of them, Hector has never been the more clever or devious, and they both know it.]

A...what? [No, Isaac wouldn't anticipate an alliance, because it has never even occurred to Hector that he could have allies. Even when he was part of Dracula's army, he and Isaac had existed in the same space, but they had never worked together. They were both too much of loners for that.

Adrian had defeated Lord Dracula with the help of the Belmont and the Speaker, true. But the only teamwork Hector knows is between forgemaster and forged. Anyone else who would oppose Isaac would likely kill him on sight. Anyone, apparently, except Adrian.]

...no. He wouldn't... [The cost, he is willing to pay, but the idea itself is too baffling to even be possible.]

[Where's Sypha when you need her, truly?

Alucard keeps listening though, and by the end of Hector's explanation, he thinks he has some understanding of the matter. The nuances? No, not so much.]

So anything at this point is only an extension of yourself, and doesn't draw from anything beyond the current material well. Have I followed that much correctly?

[He seems eager to have the understanding, at the very least. That kind of curiosity and desire for knowledge is inherited and something encouraged throughout Alucard's life. He can't help that.]

He wants the upper hand and will work to keep it that way. Anyone would do the same in the position.

[Alucard remains quiet stern faced at Hector's reaction. It wasn't a true offer, if only because he knows how it'll end.]

As I said. It isn't a true offer I can extend, unless you're keen to perish afterwards. My actual point is that from all you've said, Isaac does not view you as a strategist. Playing on that assumption and disproving it may very well be the key to ending this situation once and for all.

[Hector should probably just smile and nod at this point, but he doesn't have it in him to lie about his work.]

They do have some abilities beyond my capabilities. It comes from the nature of their conjured matter, I believe. The fairy can see things that are hidden from mortal sight, and is capable of minor healing. In time, we might unlock other abilities in her, though she lacks the capacity to use them without my will. Her existence is tethered to mine...like a tool that only I can pick up and use.

[Beneath the grief and resignation, there's still a hint of his old pride in his work. The fairy is an innovation he long dreamed of, but was never able to execute during his forging. Now, he can't give her the recognition she deserves.

Sensing a shift in her master's mood, she finally abandons the wall and flies over to take a seat on his shoulder.]

It doesn't matter if I walk away from it, so long as Isaac is stopped. I'm not a strategist, but I'll keep what you say in mind, and if I can find a way to turn the tides in my favor, I will.

[Really, Hector has much more faith in himself as a craftsman than he does as a tactician. He can't outwit Isaac, but he can out-forge him, given the right tools. And if he falls, he assumes he will at least have weakened Isaac's defenses enough that Adrian's acquaintances could finish the job.]

I'm sure there are books here that can offer additional theory on conjured matter, although I don't recall it being one of his particular fields of interest. [Alucard breathes out in one long, slow breath. He doesn't like any of this, not one bit.] Is she the first construct you've made in this way, or are there other assistants that are not visible?

[How many tools in the tool box, so to speak.

There's something else familiar in Hector's words, the one about walking away from it that Alucard knows. These kinds of deaths, it seem, bring around nothing but a desire for one's own death in the end, and it's all brought about by love. Learning to be without is the challenge, and...

...now isn't the time for musing on past and future. There's only the present.

And realizing Hector's missed the point. Alucard's face falls, and he looks mildly annoyed all things considered.]

That was an offer to help you plan strategically, Hector.

[Hector shrugs. The sandwich is gone somehow, though he doesn’t remember eating it. Apparently he was hungry.] There might be books, if you can find them and read them. I’ve always just learned by doing.

[He drums his fingers on the table absently.] I made a simple construct to watch over Cesar and the others. They draw their energy from mine, so there’s a limit to how many I can construct.

[With Alucard’s clarification, his eyes go wide.] Oh.

[When it comes to forming creatures out of things that are no longer or never had been alive, Hector is competent, maybe even a genius. In every other aspect, he’s a hopeless idiot.]

No, Isaac wouldn’t see that coming. [Which may be the understatement of the century.]

[ The wings are soft, each scale almost clothlike in texture and about the size of a fingernail. They're far sturdier than a normal-sized moth's wings, enough to be touched without any scales coming loose, but even a human could cause damage to them if they tugged and put some force behind it. It's trust that Alucard wouldn't that means he doesn't start at the contact, his movement and breathing instead sinking into a slow, easy rhythm. The possessiveness from just a moment earlier is silenced for the moment, replaced with almost sleepy contentment. ]

Fuck, 'd I leave a mirror in here?

[ Not quite enough contentment that he's not going to use 'I know you are but what am I' as flirting, but contentment nonetheless. ]

[Alucard’s fingers run over the wings with a measured care. He knows how to touch them now, how to not only care for the things but maintain them so that no part of their sheen comes off under his touch. He’s so, so careful, like this is some kind of sacred act.

Fuck it. It is a sacred act, and eventually Alucard’s fingers reach the tip of the wing, then trail right back. They move from wing to shoulder, and then to stroke down Trevor’s cheek. It’s a gesture to draw him closer, and kiss him again.]

Shut up. [He’s impossibly warm and fond as he says it.] You’re radiant.

[ The scales move just slightly under Alucard’s fingertips, colours shifting a little in the moonlight as they lift and fall like goosebumps might on skin. The gesture has the intended result, and he chases Alucard’s hand the way a plant chases the sun all the way to his lips.

He doesn’t answer at first. His lips are occupied and besides, he was told to shut up. Instead, he moves to accept the offer that was made earlier. He drags his tongue across the front of Alucard’s teeth, avoiding the points-

-but perhaps he doesn’t need to. Alucard hasn’t taken from him since the solstice, and even if he wanted to it isn’t an option right now with his injuries. But here, very little of this is actually real. There would be no blood truly given or taken. ]

Would you like- [ He begins the offer, still slightly breathless from the kiss, but trails off. He doesn’t want to risk ruining this. ] -if you wanted-

[ And then he gives up on subtle and just gestures at his neck. ]

My command of the libraries here is extensive, but not exacting, unfortunately. [Which isn't a lie. Alucard's good, but Dracula never kept an index and there are still books in disarray. What he can and cannot provide right now is a bit of a guessing game.

Alucard takes back the plate, walking it over the sink while Hector considers everything.]

I could take over their care again, if you wanted to recoup the energy from the construct itself. I'm unsure how useful that would be though, considering that this time frame is a question and I can't say how far away your friends are.

[That's the right term, isn't it? They're as close to friends as Hector has these days.]

Good. Then that is a solid place to start. What kind of terrain suits him and his reconstructed dead best?

[Yes. That's the kiss Alucard craved, but before he can try to deepen it, his Belmont pulls away. He wants to protest, but something like that? That'd kill the mood. He doesn't want that.

His eyes focus on Trevor, gold and keen and so very still. For Trevor to withdraw at all now seems like a loss but then he makes the offer and Alucard realizes that it isn't so much a question of do you want but will you?

Alucard moves his hand to Trevor's neck, carefully. Carefully.]

Do you wish for it?

[He won't say no. But only if Trevor truly desires it.]

[ The touch is so much. Even just the attention, Alucard’s gaze upon his neck, is so much. He can feel his pulse, and he swallows. He wants Alucard’s face to scape against his stubble. Wants cool breath against his rapidly heating skin. Wants to have all of his component parts be his to keep or give away as he pleases, if he’s being honest. ]

Want to see if the stubble’s an effective deterrent. [ He manages, then grins. ] Might have to shave it, if you don’t help me test.

You could just say yes.

[It's said with a soft huff and an eyeroll, before Alucard's thumb traces a small circle on Trevor's neck. Slow. Measured. Contemplative and maybe a little teasing.]

It'll help if we both sit up and you have your legs on either side of me. Easier access.

[As if to make his point, Alucard tries his best to sit up. Easier said than done right now, with how tangled they've made themselves.]

[Sitting, eating, talking about forging theory...it’s a sorely needed distraction from his grief. A ghost of a smile crosses his face.]

Still trying to steal my dog.... [He’s kept his home secret for six years, but there’s really no point any longer. He names the village.] It is too far to collect them now, but if I can’t return there when this is finished, you’ll know where they can be found.

[Between Isaac and the Belmont, it’s a very real possibility that he won’t make it back, and the golem he left to watch his friends won’t outlive him. They could do far worse that Adrian as a new protector.

He thinks on Isaac’s creatures and fighting style. Maybe he can get the hang of this strategizing thing, rather than rushing in with no plan whatsoever.]

His strongest night creatures, he makes with wings. You, um, might have encountered some of them. When we sparred, he would leap and attack from above and behind whenever he could. He’ll want to fight somewhere open, where such maneuvers won’t be hindered.

Please.

[ It’s breathed out softly as Alucard’s thumb teases at his neck, and he manages to surprise himself with it. The neck has never been to him what it is to Alucard, but the promise there, the anticipation of it-

-it was the first thing he tried to offer, wasn’t it? And then later, the first thing Alucard took from him willingly. Slowly, he untangles their legs. He doesn’t want to move, but if it’s necessary then he can sit up, extending a hand. ]

I am offered freely, every part of me. [ There’s no real need to clarify that anymore. ‘Offered freely’ has long ceased to be a statement that no deal is being struck, long been more about the unspoken ‘as a token of adoration’ that follows. ] Freely and enthusiastically.

[Alucard waits to try and move again until Trevor's managed to get himself a little bit more sat up. He follows, pausing just long enough to gather a few softer blankets close. It's for the sake of having them there, if nothing else.

When Trevor extends his hand, it is the easiest thing in the world to take it. Bring it up to Alucard's lips, and kiss each and every knuckle in turn, lingering just long enough. This entire night, the point is devotion. Willingness to give what the other not only needs, but wants deep in their heart.

It's call and response too. Heavy lidded gold eyes gaze up from Trevor's hand.]

I take what is offered, freely and enthusiastically, with no binding matters.

[Except for the ones chosen in all the little ways that could ever matter. Alucard lets go of Trevor's hand, and he moves to the right side of Trevor's neck.

He doesn't bite. Not immediately. Instead Alucard settles himself, one arm low around Trevor's waist, the other caressing the the opposite side of Trevor's neck. All the while, his tongue ghosts over Trevor's pulse point, careful to not press down too hard or tease too terribly. Teasing isn't the point anyway, it's more a preparation. Letting Trevor know where to anticipate the pain and--

--the bite is razor sharp, but also razor thin. Alucard's fangs sink in, careful with where they reach inside Trevor's bloodstream. He doesn't go in deep in the vein, just enough to cause a blood flow.]

A long term borrow. [It's a correction that maybe in any other discussion, would come off as light hearted. Right now, it's a sober statement, one that seems very much aware that this is a fight Hector's not likely to walk away from. Alucard nods once in acknowledgement of the verbal will.] They'll be in caring hands.

[That much is a true statement. The things may live as long as Alucard, unless something happens to cause a break down before that. He doesn't voice that particular thought out loud though, it isn't the time or place. Besides, Alucard has never liked gallows humor anyway.

Wings. That's a start, and Alucard huffs softly.]

Yes, I believe they ambushed us on the road here once. Only one returned to the castle's location at the time, if my memory serves correctly.

If that is the case then, he'll expect you to stick to covered areas, and if anything, find a way to use that terrain as an advantage. Flying means bringing things down upon people's heads, and a forest has high branches. So you'd want to stick to open areas in order to give the illusion that you've no cunning in this fight.

How were either of you with water?

[ Pain is something that happens after the fact - if the bite itself is painful, it’s quick enough that there’s not time to feel it. Pain is the slight ache that comes after, easy enough to ignore in comparison to lips and tongue against him, not nearly enough to wake him.

His legs are either side of Alucard when the cut begins to bleed. The blood is green with copper but otherwise is much like deer blood. It tastes of blood just as the tea tasted of tea. It’s nice. Nice to be trusted. Nice to be useful. Nice to have something that some part of Alucard will always want. Very nice to feel the friction of his stubble between his face and Alucard’s. His knees bend, his legs coiling around Alucard’s waist and pulling them closer until he’s practically grinding himself against Alucard. ]

[Alucard picks his head up, just enough to withdraw his teeth. With their removal is the press of Alucard's tongue over the two little pinpricks, and he's careful as he puts his mouth over them as well. It's so simple, lapping up blood like this. He does it so rarely, because taking from anything person shaped a rarity for him.

It's blood. It's copper-y and iron-y and there's that thread of magic through it. It's sustaining, in all the ways blood is for any vampire.

The arm that is low around Trevor's waist moves down, trying to still Trevor's hips. For him, this can't be sexual. This is dietary requirement, it cannot become a thing of arousal as well.

There is a point where all of the lapping and tongue becomes kissing over the wound though, blood smearing along Trevor's neck in a long, slow trail.]

Catch All

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