cryptsleeper | Catch All

Trevor?

[It's a question, or at least Alucard tries to make it sound like a question. The sudden breath was a concern, but no. Alucard understands what's going on, and from him there's no whine. There's just a sharp breath and a loud groan, and--

---he's just warm. All over. Warm and boneless and breathless and he might be using his other hand to just remain upright.]

[ Remaining upright is highly overrated. Trevor sinks onto his side, letting the soft mattress and blankets devour him. ]

Adrian.

[ It's soft and contented, and it's a few long breaths before he has the energy to raise one arm, silently inviting Alucard to join him. But it is an invitation and not a demand. Alucard's managed so much today, he's not going to be upset if he can't manage the cuddling part. ]

[Alucard does flop over towards Trevor. He's overwhelmed. He might yet withdraw. But he still wants that kiss and after all of that, it feels wrong not to go close to Trevor in any way.

He doesn't press up close against Trevor. He's an small distance away, just enough to kiss Trevor again.

It's a soft and unsure one. Alucard isn't sure of his own feelings right now, never mind Trevor's.]

[ He wants more. No matter how much he tries to be unselfish, tries to think about how hard Alucard must be trying in order to get this far, he still can't stop himself from wanting more. He wants to pull Alucard close, until he can feel his heart beat against his own chest. Wants to bury his face in his hair and pepper every part of him he can reach in kisses.

But he barely even kisses back, just lets his lips press against Alucard's. When it ends he reaches up, twisting a lock of Alucard's hair around a finger, then brings it to his lips and kisses that instead ]

You did fucking brilliant.

[There's a sigh, and on it, two words, warm and pleasant and perhaps still surprised this happened at all:] Thank you. I--

[He knows there must be so much restraint on Trevor's end. It's beautiful, how he knows to reign himself in. How good he is to Alucard's needs.]

You do so much for me.

[I love you for that.]

I don't know if I express my gratitude enough but...it's there. It always will be. You're so important.

[In the end, they meet Carmilla in Wallachia. She arrives and begins to destroy not the countryside but the cities in her own version of a blood bath, delighting in the chaos and demanding the attention of the three.

It's awful. Trevor's daily reports make Alucard nearly throw up from the brutality she vists upon each city (Gresit is without a population now.) Sypha's people cannot come close to offer aid, and so they secret the few refugees that remain into the countryside itself.

Braila. She's heading there next, and so the castle is waiting for her. Alucard lands it in the middle of the river because he's a spiteful fucker, and he knows there are some vampires in her shambles of a court that cannot cross that place.

From the top of the tallest tower, Alucard stands, bellowing her name once and then placing himself on the bridge. He waits for her, and for Trevor and Sypha to get into position. The castle has instructions of course, to move itself if there is danger and to leave Wallachia entirely if it must. He's willed control over it to Sypha if he doesn't survive. The castle has accepted this.

When Carmilla shows his face, Alucard has no weapon. Nothing but himself, hair cut short to make it harder to pull. Nails extended. Face set in cold fury.]

The oldest rules. No weapons. No tricks. Only us, until dawn. Only on this bridge and above it. Do you agree?

[ She feeds them well, her court. Lets them grow fat upon the people of Wallachia. Fat and tender and too complacent to grasp at power themselves. But strong, strong enough to feed her in turn the moment they disobey. They don't need to be able to fight - she has an army crafted from the scraps of meat they leave behind for that. ]

You would have me at a disadvantage there, little prince. [ Carmilla's voice is different, a little, some sounds coming out wrong. She opens her mouth a little, tapping at a long tooth there that absolutely should not be present. ] And so I'm sure you'll understand if I at least keep this.

[Alucard doesn't react to the gaping hole in Carmilla's mouth. He should. He should be a smug thing about having taken that trophy. But no, he is stone faced and furious. This has to end. It has to.]

You won't have it for much longer anyway.

[It's a promise if Alucard has ever made one.]

Then an agreement has been reached.

[ It's outdoors, dangerous for her if the battle lasts too long. It won't.

She's upon Alucard in an instant, dashing toward him only to vanish at the last moment, reappearing as a panther behind him to pounce. ]

[Alucard is not above running this clash until the first rays of light force Carmilla to become naught but ash. But he wants it done before that. He wants her dead, and he wants it more fiercely than he's wanted anything in his life in this moment.

He anticipates the old come from behind trick. So he becomes a wolf just as she disappears, and his jaws snap at the panther's throat with a deep and abiding fury.

It's awful, the noises that ensue.]

[ The flesh tears, but she doesn't care much. It will knit back together. It always has. Even catching her off-guard, he didn't manage to kill her even before she began to feed in earnest. And certainly not now, not after her long feast. Between her own years and Godbrand's and ever other vampire she's consumed there are more years, more power, more blood consumed than even Dracula himself. She dissolves into mist again before Alucard's jaws can close completely, red particles of blood floating around within the fog from the open wound.

The long claw marks appear across the wolf's side before she reappears, and then there's a hand on his head. The hand closes, long nails aiming for the eyes. ]

[Alucard's a bat before the nails can find purchase in his eyes. It's such a near thing, and a horrible reminder of what the stakes are here.

Throughout it, Alucard gives as good as he gets. Oh, he takes blows, blows that take more than an instant to recover from, but he always gets back on his feet. It feels like a miracle when he does that some moments, and there is such satisfaction on his face when Carmilla is disappointed he is standing.

Hours go by. Or maybe minutes. It's hard to tell, but the moon changes position as the fight drags on. This? This may be too long.]

[ Something's wrong. The wound at her throat doesn't immediately close. The blooding slows, but it doesn't stop. The other blows she amasses heal similarly slowly. Vampires ten times this whelp's age have failed to leave lasting marks on her. Dracula's blood is infuriating, she'll need to eat again to recover her strength.

She isn't tiring, though her injuries are beginning to slow her down. But she knows how long this has taken. She's all too keenly aware. They don't have long before dawn.

She'd rather hoped to stay within the spirit of the rules, for appearances' sake. But- well. The little prince allowed her to wear her false tooth. She's within the letter of them, and that's enough. She reaches into her mouth, tugging out the ornate golden tooth there, and twists the top of it with all the delicacy that anyone could muster in the middle of a vampire fight.

It's in the middle of a transformation that she catches Alucard with the tooth barely a minute later. She'd grabbed onto his fur as a wolf to wrestle his jaws away from her and when he changes shape to loose her grip, she drives the fake fang into his neck.

And then she relaxes, letting herself stretch as the tooth injects its poison. It's done. ]

Oh, dearest. Aren't you proud of what you helped me achieve? I wouldn't have had that little toy without your help.

[Alucard knows that Carmilla will not adhere to rules. The question is when will she finally throw off any guise of obeying them and reveal her usual awful self. As hours pass by, the moment comes closer. Alucard knows that much.

The wolf is meant to get him out of a tight spot. Let him lung at her legs to disable her futher, and oh--

There's a sudden gasp. Alucard knows something has hit his blood stream that shouldn't be there, and that the neck as an injection site is very bad. It will spread the thing much too quickly. Moving will make it worse, and yet he does so within moments as a man.

He doesn't respond. He snarls a horrible noise and lunges at her, all nails and fangs and pent up decades, and he latches onto her arm to rip out a chunk of flesh. The movement is slower than it ought to be. He manages the tear, but after he spits it out, oh.

Fuck.

His hands aren't moving as fast as they ought to be.]

Inevitable.

[He hisses, and that? That is a noise and a codeword to the other two.]

[ Carmilla hisses in turn when Alucard's teeth sink in to her arm- shit, he shouldn't have been capable of that. He shouldn't be moving at all.

Dracula's blood really is irritating. No matter. It'll be hers, soon enough. She looks down at the blood flowing down her arm and flicks droplets of it from her hand. ]

I'm not sure I care for that tone. I asked your leave, did I not? [ She throws Alucard to the ground and kicks at the side of his head once, twice. At the third, she instead nudges her foot against the fang in his neck, driving it in further. Whatever aid he was hoping for, it hasn't arrived yet. ]

Answer carefully, dear. Do you mean to accuse me of violating our agreement?

[Alucard can't reach into his coat and take out Carmilla's tooth. He has it mounted as a small dagger now, for moments just like this. His hands aren't working, and she'd be able to regain that tooth.

But he can still move his head. As painful as it is to have the awful thing in his neck, he can still move. Just a little. Just enough to dig his own claws into that foot, and sink fang in as well. He may not be able to draw out more awful flesh, but he can still deliver pain.

It won't buy him time for the other two to arrive. If they fail entirely, well, at least he can say he got a few licks on her.]

May my father's blood be just as poisonous to you as this concoction is to me then.

[He's refusing to give her an inch. But he's also hoping the other two are listening and carefully. They'll know what's happened.]

[ She hisses in pain again, pulling her foot away to bring it down once, quickly on the side of his head and then backing away. She doubts that he could kill her now but this is still painful. No need to allow him even small victories. ]

This is childish, my prince.

[ When she moves close again, it's to grab his wrists, bringing them together to hold them above his head in one hand. And it's with actual purpose, rather than pure spite. Still a lot of spite, but there's some purpose there as well. She begins to drag him. Dawn will come soon, and whatever allies he has will miss him before long. Best to retreat somewhere more secure.

The building he's being dragged to smells of reeks of blood, a mixture of pig and goat and human and vampire. Even Carmilla finds it difficult to navigate through the maze of overwhelming stenches. Vampire senses do have their disadvantages. Some way in, once Alucard's eyes are used to the absence of moonlight, long heavy hanging figures become clear. Another moment, and they can be seen even more clearly. Pigs, about half of them. A few more are human. A couple are forged creatures, by the looks of them. One has long fangs. All are hanging from the ceiling by wicked-looking hooks. ]

[Alucard can't struggle. His limbs are lost to him right now. He attempts a retort to her, but no. Words are also lost. His mouth is numb and in his eyes there is a flash of terror. He'll die if this fails and...

...for the first time, he doesn't want that.

Horrible moment for a break through as he's dragged through the streets. Hopefully anyone remaining in Braila can escape during the day. He hopes that the fight has bought some people their freedom. It's worth it, only for that.

They remain along the river though, to the section of the city where all the worst and the smelliest trades are. Alucard can tell a slaughter house by the scent, and oh God he understands what's going on.

Yet it works, doesn't it? It's a horror. It fits Carmilla's awful person that she has devolved into, feeding from her own kind.

Alucard doesn't struggle. But the hatred in his eyes remains.]

Poor dear. It could have been so easy for you. You could have just eaten your supper and slept forever. Been safe and happy with your father’s lovely little pet. You didn’t need to suffer.

[ She lifts Alucard by the collar with one hand, the other stroking the side of his face in mock-comfort. Something cold pokes between his shoulder blades. ]

You make everything so difficult for yourself.

[ With that she pulls down sharply, pushing the meat hook through Alucard’s chest to hang him there. ]

[He tries forming words. A retort. Something.

Alucard's mouth won't work. He's screaming insults within and yet he is mute. Mute and now in absolute agony as the hook pierces through him.

All he can manage is a sharp attempt at drawing in air. Nothing else.

The other two have to be on their way. They have to have something clever. They have to.

I’m afraid I need you alive a little longer. Best that you metabolise the poison so that I don’t have to.

[ she gives a long pause in mock-thought, the kind that’s calculated to be just long enough to instil dread, and them moves close again. ]

...you don’t need arms or legs to metabolise the poison, now do you?

[ Her long claws dig deep into Alucard’s thigh, deep enough to scrape bone, as she sets about trying to clumsily cut through the limb with her bare hands. It’s horrible, grisly work. But then, then she stops.

Freezes, to be precise, staring up horrified at something that doesn’t appear to be there. ]

[Metabolize. Good. That might be the one chance he has to escape. At least Alucard thinks that for second before Carmilla makes her intentions known. Fuck. Fuck. He won't be able to heal from that and still attack her.

This is how it all goes then. Carved up by Carmilla, who finally has the awful crown she wanted since Dracula was sealed away and Alucard was dragged into her care. Longer than he expected, but...

...he tries to fight back out of instinct. Attempts to kick at her even as long claws dig into thigh, and oh. Nothing should touch bone. She's nearly at an artery, and the blood spray is so dangerous right now.

He can't know what Carmilla sees when she looks up. Alucard can only guess that magic is at work, buying him time.

Yet what Carmilla sees is the face of Dracula, red eyes and blood dripping from his face, every inch of him contorted in fury. He has only one question on his lips.]

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE, CARMILLA OF STYRIA?

[Even two steps from death, Trevor's contrariness threatens to rear its head. Adrian says: You can't move, and that rebellious little part of Trevor's mind replies: Make me. But it takes every last dreg of his strength to remain upright against the -- frankly soggy -- tree stump, and he can't quite find the breath to argue when the order's given.

So he stays quiet (for once), limp and useless and quite sure this damned forest is going to be his final resting place. And that's-- That's all right, he supposes. There are worse places he could imagine (Dracula's castle is the top of that list), and if nothing else, he's gone down fighting. Maybe he's made Adrian and Sypha's jobs just a tad easier, taking so many of the creatures out as his dying act.

Will they miss him? Probably be better off, but--]

Adrian... [His voice is small, breathless, but Adrian would hear it in the stillness of the clearing.] Thank you for coming. If I don't make it, don't blame yourself. Give Sypha my love. Get a dog and name it after me. Something big. Like one of those wolf-hounds.

Shut up.

[The response is instant and automatic and yes, angry. Alucard understands exactly what this train of thought means, and the implications are enough to petrify him.

One of them dying early from the wounds of some monster has always been a possibility. One they've considered, accounted for, and then had to pull away from because the thought was too painful.

And so here, now, in one of those moments, Alucard still pulls away. It's a violent retreat, one that happens as he pulls the teeth out of one of the night creatures. What comes next is the same awful smell that is clinging to Trevor, and--

--he's got this. He thinks.]

Do you have the antivenomn kit in your gear, Trevor? Moan once for yes, two for no.

[ She sees Dracula. She sees Dracula, and she sees him not as Alucard saw him, nor as her own kind saw their ruler. She sees him as the Belmont siblings saw him. As Trevor saw him, soon after Lisa's death. So he doesn't simply have a couple feet of height on her, he towers twice her size. She has to tilt her head back as far as it will tilt to see his face, and god she has to look at his face because his face is the only part of him that a mind can comprehend. It's horrifying, but it's human-shaped. The rest of him is roiling darkness, the kind of darkness that bores its way into the skull.

She stumbles back away from him, from Alucard, as the blood dribbles onto her face. And oh, just as Alucard cursed, it does burn. Like acid. ]

My lord. My- my lord. Please. [ Something stikes her back. She's stumbled back into one of the bodies. But she can't see them. There is only Dracula, and the darkness and the cold dead things trapping her here with him, and in the terror that freezes her veins it barely occurs to her that she could tear the bodies down with a wave of her hand. ] Please understand, I act only in love for our kind-.

Catch All

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Feral role swap AU kill the carmilla

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