cryptsleeper | Catch All

[ It's the warm sort of laugh. The kind that rumbles in his chest, shaking it slightly against Alucard. ]

Sleepy?

[ Fair enough. He pulls a thin blanket over Alucard's shoulders. Hopefully the silk won't be too much sensation. ]

A very, very late morning.

No just....

[Alucard shakes his head, finishing the sentence by mushing his face into Trevor's chest entirely. It's easier that way, blocking everything out. The silk helps too, the coolness of it bringing the vampire a little ways back to himself. Admittedly, he can't tell if the thing covering him is a blanket or Trevor's wings. Doesn't matter.

And with that, a question.]

Was it what you wanted?

[ The question catches him off guard, and for a moment he just blinks at Alucard in confusion. He thought he’d been more than clear about just how much he was enjoying himself.

Then the confusion softens into warmth, warmth because Alucard is like this. Always determined to see the both of them well and happy. He lifts one of the fallen lilacs, and returns it to Alucard’s hair, tucking another behind his own ear. Matching. ]

Everything. Everything I ever wanted. More than I could have thought of wanting.

[There's a soft sigh of contentment at the response. He can't see Trevor's face right now, but he can feel the warmth. It's radiating off his Belmont still, like a sun at the height of spring.]

Good. [He pauses, and with a little more conviction, says it again.] Good.

[And maybe that's all it needs to be. This night, the heightened romance of it, it may not have been the first version of it Trevor thought of when he laid eyes on the vampire, but it has happened. They've absconded from the world into a safe little corner, tucked away, whole and complete and capable of overwhelming the other. Alucard's let go of every hesitation he might've had, and this is the result.

He's able to squeeze Trevor. Just a little. Just enough to show that he's there, and that's all Alucard has in him. He is someplace warm and safe. He is loved. He's adored and protected and he's admitted how badly he wants and enjoys that fact.

He is happy.]

[Hector's arms tighten protectively around the animal, and his jaw takes on a stubborn set.]

No. [He has no idea. He's hoping not. The species bounds around without an issue, so he's hoping the motion of the ship won't bother this particular specimen.]

She won't be any trouble. I will see to her. [While Adrian and Sypha have seen to the supplies to satisfy their human(ish) needs, Hector has tucked away little bundles of grass and bark into his tunic to feed to the this fourth passenger.

As long as she isn't turned away, Hector will do as Adrian wishes on their journey.]

All right.

[Alucard and Sypha aren't going to talk Hector out of it, and if the most they need to get Hector out of here is a cute, if reforged, bunny then that's the price of it.]

If there's nothing else you need out of here, then we best get going.

Something.

[That's just vague enough to be infuriating, and it taps against Trevor's last remaining nerve. Something. Not that either of them can put words to it, so by all rights, Trevor has no place getting testy about it. Even so...

Even so, that's not the worst answer. Against odds (and Trevor's expectations), Adrian seems amiable to the idea that this isn't just a pastime. A distraction. A release. All those words Trevor parades around his own mind, all the many and varied excuses he invents to ignore what they really are. What this really is.

A connection. Companionship. Affection. Caring. For a man who's at least half what his family's hunted for generations. The irony of it hits harder than anything else, but it comes paired with a solid uppercut of dread and a sudden certainty that he's done for. Utterly and completely ruined.

Trevor pushes a hand over his face, digs the heel of his thumb against his eye and abandons the empty water glass on an emptier stretch of bed. With a huff, he snags Adrian around the waist and drags him close again. Close enough to bury his nose in a pile of soft golden hair, to hook his arm beneath Adrian's shoulders and practically cradle the dhampir against him, to coax the man back into that comfortable tangle they always fall into.

It's no verbal confirmation or gratitude, but it's the closest Trevor can manage to either.]

[Maybe in older times, Alucard would have a more poetic metaphor for whatever this is. Talk of an alchemist's crucible, where elements are put together, heated over the whitest of flames, and what comes out is transmuted into something wholly unique. But now, here, there's no such language. Only thoughts of handling a delicate situation with slip-proof gloves, while guiding that situation across a greased floor. Or approaching a skittish horse who is likely to stomp you to death.

Neither is great. Both are apt.

Trevor's mind is in too many places. That much Alucard can say with confidence, even before Trevor reaches for him. It's glaringly obvious from the way Trevor holds himself, and it's probably a good thing there's no more drink in the house. Alucard doubts that this conversation would be happening otherwise.

Not that it's truly much of a conversation, but they are both stubborn idiots. They aren't Sypha, born of Speakers and thus equipped to use language as she does. Actions are far easier, and being dragged over into Trevor's arms is all that needs to be said right now. Whatever thoughts exist within Trevor's mind right now do not negate the need for Alucard to be precisely where he is right now.

Before Alucard even tries to settle against Trevor, he angles himself at just the right spot to kiss Trevor's forehead. It's sappier than the dhampir might usually risk, but it feels right in this moment to try and be reassuring. Hell if Alucard can articulate why.

Then there's the rest of him. One arm moves down to wrap around Trevor's midsection, and the other moves over his shoulder so Alucard's hand to thread through Trevor's hair. He can lie. Excuse the gesture as starting to pick out all the tiny little knots that are doubtlessly there, but there's no real effort to undo them. That would require sharp, fine vampire fingernails, and Alucard's are pointedly blunt right now. All he cares about is the repetition of the gesture, and that it be a natural thing. Not something that can be read as pity.

There's a soft sigh, one Trevor doubtlessly hears. His next few words are practically whispered.]

It makes me happy, whatever it is.

[If he tries, Trevor can remember all the times he's been happy over the past few years. Not amused, not drunk, but actually genuinely happy. If he's honest with himself, he was perfectly miserable before he linked up with Sypha and Adrian; drinking away his trust fund and living in his car hadn't exactly been the charmed life he'd imagined for himself. Not that monster-hunting had been much better in the grand scheme of things, and that was still a sorer spot than he wanted to acknowledge.

But Trevor's happy moments? Laughter? Smiles? They were all down to Sypha and Adrian. Now if Trevor could only learn to seek those moments out for himself.

But Adrian's nails against his scalp are more than just comforting. If men could purr, Trevor would be boneless and vibrating beneath Adrian's hands on a daily basis, and he's damn close to it now. His brow relaxes from the furrow it had worked itself into, eyes drifting shut, and one arm tightens minutely around the dhampir's waist.]

Good.

[It's a gruff tone. Tired, but just a tiny bit hopeful.]

[Hector shakes his head again. He's said his goodbyes. There's no more reason to linger.

During the major journeys he's taken, he's booked passage on a vessel and left the sailing up to the professionals. He's picked up enough to lend a hand, though, and his familiarity with the area will surely come in handy. With only the three of them on this ship, he doesn't have the luxury of sitting back and twiddling his thumbs.]

Unless you two are more experienced sailors than I, we should keep near to the coast. It'll add a little time, but it's the safer option. [If they end up running into trouble, Hector could reconstruct the bodies of his de-materialized devils, but he's keeping that in his back-most pocket for now.]

[Trevor says good and it feels like progress. When Alucard relays the exchange with Sypha, she'll narrow her eyes and then throw her hands to the air, frustrated by the fact that unfortunately, Alucard is right. For them, it is progress, even if to the rest of the world it is utter nonsense that has no business wearing such a title.

But then the conversation will go to that far too long stretch of time between Trevor's leaving the room and returning with water, and they'll sit and worry for hours. That much is so very normal for them both. Trevor's bad moods are not the easiest thing to understand. (Well, the root causes of them are, but the current complexity that sets any particular one off is the challenge.)

Alucard doesn't change the pace of his hands or shift his weight or do anything to disturb the fragile balance of the moment. He doesn't even make a noise, because that would move the focus from Trevor to himself, and that is not where attention needs to be at this moment in time.

Eventually, Alucard nudes Trevor with a gentle knee.]

Better?

[The last words exchanged between them make it sound plausible that this is a follow up question that statement, rather than checking in on Trevor's mental well being.]

Well, I am not.

[At least Aucard has the grace to look embarrassed about that fact. And it is a sad and embarrassing thing, how for all his father traveled and saw the world, he's barely left Wallachia. Oh there are good reasons for it, but none of those reasons make it better, just as none of those reasons are ones Lisa would approve of.]

My people have some skill, but it's mostly navigation rather than the practical. I can help manipulate the water in our favor, but you're the one who knows the area best.

[Congrats, Captain Hector is what that all really means.]

I'm fine with safer but longer. Lead on.

[~~Captain Hector. God save their souls.~~

The responsibility is a blessing that doesn’t consciously register to Hector. It keeps his hands and his thoughts occupied. There is too much to do to dwell on the bleak shape of his future.

Hector calls on his fairy to act as compass, and keeps the shore in sight whenever possible. He knows which ports won’t ask questions and which to steer clear of to avoid unnecessary complications. When he’s not manning the steering of the ship, he fishes off the side of the boat and tends to the hare. She is old and snoozes for long stretches of the day.

Hector isn’t good with normal conversation, so he’s mostly quiet during their travels. He points out interesting birds and fish when he spots them and gives his acerbic commentary on some of port town taverns they pass by. So if nothing else, Adrian will get to experience that on his rare trip beyond Wallachia’s borders.]

[~~Hector would look great in a tricorn though.~~

Alucard is the most useless of the three. Sypha can guide the ship through rougher waters, or suddenly fill in shallow areas where the bottom of the boat might scrape against a reef, Hector clearly knows how to boat, and Alucard is...

...he has decent eyes and can pull three times everyone's weight when they need it, but in everything else, he's truly without purpose. That in and of itself is a novelty, just as the mode of travel is.

Vaguely, when he sits on the deck with Sypha napping against him, or when he's checking on the hare and her good health, Alucard wonders if his father felt the same way on such trips. Perhaps. Perhaps not, as he would have traveled in these ways before, whenever it was that he was alive.

Then there is night. He and Sypha argue about constellations and their meanings, Sypha ever with a story, Alucard sniffing that No, that's a star going supernova and the discussion about how a thing can be two things unfolds in some capacity.

Sypha's already asleep tonight. There's one day left of all of this, and there's been room for Hector to think. Alucard walks over to where he's camped out on the boat, and his cough is as polite as possible.]

How is she faring this evening?

[The hare. Obviously.]

[~~It's a solid look.~~

Hector looks up at the dhampir. He's been waving a handful of grass in front of the hare's nose, trying to bait her into following it as he moves.]

She's well. I worry she's not getting enough exercise. She'll get fat if she keeps sleeping all day.

[She was alarmingly skinny when he found her, the way wild creatures are when they've lost the ability to fend for themselves and are waiting for the end. Hector wouldn't mind seeing her grow round again, but still. She should stretch her muscles from time to time.]

I think I've come up with a name for her. Meet Deino.

[One of the three Gray Witches, the blind sisters of myth who shared a single eye between them. Deino the hare twitches her nose, then takes a few lazy hops toward Hector's hand and snags a blade of grass to chew.]

[~~Clearly he's just gotta go that route now~~]

Admittedly, there isn't much space to explore that any of us would consider safe.

[Alucard's not sure if he can sit down and be welcomed. He'll settle for standing awkwardly, eyes resting on the hare rather than Hector. That seems easiest, as any real moments of connection he has managed with Hector has been through the reforged animals.]

That's...a pointed name choice.

[Wait. Cezar's no less pointed.]

Your name choices tend to skew towards the ancient histories, don't they?

[~~As if Alucard wouldn't live that full Pirate King lifestyle if he had the choice.~~]

She's no silly leveret to go jumping over the railings.

[Yes, their space is limited, but Hector has at least a little faith in his pet to not take a dive, if only because she's too lazy to jump high enough to clear the side of the ship.]

You're looming. Sit. [Hector's not going to crane his neck to look up at him. It's late, and Adrian's too tall.]

It feels too odd to name a reanimated creature 'Flopsy' or 'Mittens'. So I err toward the side of the dramatic.

[Dhampirs who live in glass castles can't throw stones.]

[~~careful that's how aus start~~

Alucard sits, mostly because Hector's right. He's looming, and that's never a good look. He's across from Hector, mostly in case a certain hare wants a little exercise and a different lap.]

I suppose that it makes sense, given your own name as well. Still, hers in particular feels...weightier, in it's way.

[You're naming a rabit after one of the Fates, Hector. It's impossible for him to not comment, glass castles and all.]

[Had Trevor not been two seconds from dozing, Adrian might have gotten more than a vague grunt in response. Yes, perhaps. No, but I'm getting there, maybe. Probably not You make me better and I'm better for having known you, but the sentiment is there somewhere. Part of Trevor wishes it were as easy to say as it was to think, but if emotional constipation were an Olympic event, Adrian and Trevor would be vying for gold, so--

So it's nothing more than a grunt, at least audibly. But Trevor noses Adrian's hair and presses a lingering kiss to the crown of his head. It's almost shockingly tender and affectionate, but he doubts he'll hear any complaints. Not when most of their more physical encounters involve a good deal of shoving and grabbing on Trevor's part.

And it might be the drowsiness or it might be just how comfortable this all is, but Trevor's lips are suddenly loose, and his voice is a soothing rumble when he murmurs:]

'Something' is good. [Punctuated by a kiss to Adrian's temple.] I'll take 'something.'

[~~you say that like its a bad thing~~

Deino raises her head and twitches her nose, smelling what she cannot see. She hops over and bumps her head against Adrian's leg, begging for a treat without having to work for it. Hector huffs at her.]

My name isn't my fault. And there's no deeper meaning behind her name, other than a classical reference. A macabre sense of humor is a prerequisite for necromancers.

[~~IT ISN'T i'm just saying it as a value neutral thing~~

Deino gets a scratch behind her ears first, Alucard being very careful with the pads of his fingers as to make sure the hare is comforted. His other hand stretches out to Hector, asking for grass or some other food that she clearly needs as a reward for just saying hello.]

I don't think it's limited to necromancers. This...night work, I suppose you can call it, for lack of anything else, makes it a prerequisite.

[There's a secret that Sypha's figured out, but Trevor hasn't. Not yet, not really, not in any meaningful way. Show the dhampir real, soft, romantic type affection and he practically melts. He's grown up around parents whose own romance is practically stomach churningly sweet, and so to be in a relationship is lean against each other. To mutter stupid terms of endearment, for arguments to be over the little things like Lisa just because the lab equipment is broken you can't use the microwave for chemicals, I said give me ten minutes. Being closer to that makes Alucard happy. Full stop.

That first lingering kiss gets a soft noise of contentment. One that is followed by Alucard closing his eyes and breathing out in a sigh that might be better from a fair maiden threatening to swoon. But it's the next part that makes Alucard weak at the knees (and thank God that he's seated.)

Those words and that kiss. That's more than he's dared to hope for with Trevor. And here it is, raw and as vulnerable as Trevor will allow for the time being. The trick is not to capitalize on it. To only let Trevor be, and to make sure that come morning, this can be built on.]

Mmmm. Agreed.

[The hand stroking through Trevor's hair slows though, and a yawn escapes the dhampir in spite of his best efforts.]

We should rest.

[~~a neutral thing that probably needs to happen after this thread wraps y/n?~~

Hector rolls his eyes, but hands over some little seeds he's been saving to give to her. Deino's a shameless beggar, and he can't blame Adrian for falling right into her little paws.]

Yes, when you're surrounded by death, it's gallows humor or none at all.

[He's attached to the hare now, even knowing she can't have much longer in her second life. He can fix a variety of hurts, but the damage done by time, he has no remedy for. Maybe there is a wish there, giving her the name of an immortal, but it is a wish made in vain.]

She's the first non-predator I've taken in in a long while. I worry how my other pets will react to her.

[It's been one of the thoughts that has preyed on him lately. Where will he go with his little menagerie, and how will he keep them all safe?]

[~~hell fucking yes it does~~

Look, everyone wins Hector! She gets fed, Alucard gets to pretend to be good at making friends, you get to watch her be cute. Victory!

Alucard takes the seeds though, careful not to drop a single one. Once they're in hand, he makes sure that his hand is close to Deino's nose, so she can get a full whiff of the food.]

Mmmm, I suppose. I think I'm the only person that has limits on it.

[Trevor makes jokes that get sour dhampir faces, but usually it's because the gallows humor is about Trevor dying. It rattles Alucard, even now.]

Perhaps introducing her to some of the smaller dogs who are more companions than hunting breeds would be appropriate?

[~~\o/~~

Deino flops into Alucard's lap, the traitor, even though she's supposed to be working for her treats. Hector can try to play at being stern, but he has no more control over her than he has in any other aspect of his life.]

Cesar won't be a problem, of course. She's larger than he is, and I don't think it's ever even occurred to him that he's a descendant of wolves and could do another creature harm. The others, though, I'll have to keep separate, at least at first. They get along with one another well enough, but having a prey animal in front of them could reawaken some of the instincts they've forgotten in captivity.

[He watches Deino, not Adrian. She's the crutch both of them lean on when they talk to one another.]

I will be permitted to retrieve them, whatever else happens, will I not? [They haven't actually talked about what Adrian and Sypha plan to do with him. He got on their boat, but the rest is uncertain.]

Catch All

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